Jason Creight awoke in room 7 of Pallet Town Hospital's Intensive Care
Unit.
A breather mask was strapped to his face.
He was wearing a medical gown.
And whatever had gone into his stomach wasn't sitting well just now.
His sight was fuzzy, but he could make out the extremely blurred image of a nurse standing on his left. He could tell it was a nurse, because the image was wearing green and white. It also had long, shockingly red hair.
He tried to clear the fuzziness by shaking his head. Big mistake; that only brought on a splitting headache.
*Man, if I can't shake my head without being dizzy, I must have been lying here a long time.*
And that was when the nurse noticed he was awake. Jason saw her making motions with sudden urgency. He could hear her pick up a phone and say, "Doctor Morgan, Jason Creight has just regained consciousness.... Yes... Yes, I understand. I'll wait."
Jason heard the click of the phone as it was returned to the receiver, and he saw the fuzzy green-and-white image lean over him. He hoped she was smiling. *At least if she's frowning, I won't know it.*
He knew that normally, at this point, his thoughts would be racing. But he realized that his neurons were firing at a much slower rate than normal.
*Can't even think straight. Must've been drugged or something.*
He stared up at the image, which had just grown a dark area near the top. *Must be a mouth,* Jason thought.
"Can you hear me, Jason?" the nurse asked.
Jason opened his mouth and uttered a muffled, "Yeah... think so." Not only was the mask making speech difficult, but his tongue was lolling around in his mouth.
*Man, I can't even get a proper sentence out!*
"That's a good sign, Jason. My name is Jessie, and I've been taking care of you for... well, for a while now." Jason saw the nurse's hair shift around as she looked up at a nearby calendar. "Wow. It's been longer than I thought."
"How... long?" Jason wheezed into his mask.
"Almost two months now," she answered.
Jason wanted to utter a curse so badly, but as slowly as his thought processes were working, none came to mind.
Instead, he asked, "Where...?"
"Where are you? Pallet Town Hospital, in the ICU," she answered.
And then he remembered.
He remembered the ungodly bolt of electricity that had gone surging through his entire body.
He remembered flailing under the surface of the water.
He remembered...
*Kelly!*
"Where... Kelly?"
"Kelly? You mean the girl who brought you in?"
"Kelly... okay?"
"Yes, yes, she's fine. She caught a bit of that shock you got, but not enough to seriously injure her or your Lapras." Jessie smiled down at Jason. "She's been visiting you every day since she brought you here. She saved your life."
*Nuts,* Jason thought. *I told her that saving her from Daniel was a freebie!*
Of course, Jason knew that Kelly didn't have to feel that particular kind of obligation to him to save his life. It was a moral obligation, not a payback.
"You need to rest, Jason," said Jessie. "You've been through a lot."
"Been... restin'," Jason answered. "How bad?"
"I can't tell you that," Jessie responded. "You need to hear it from a doctor."
"When?"
"Doctor Morgan should be here in a little while. He's admitting someone else to the emergency room right now, but he'll be around soon enough."
Jason's sight was beginning to get better. He began to see the general shape of his nurse. *She keeps a good figure,* he thought.
In fact, everything seemed to be getting sharper. His breathing felt a little less forced, his blood was pumping, and he could feel a small portion of his strength returning.
"When I get out?"
Jessie sighed. "That's not up to me. I don't know, but if I had to guess, I'd say you'll be here for a while. So you may as well make yourself comfortable."
"Can't do that. Can't move well."
Jessie nodded. "Yes, I know. Your muscles have atrophied somewhat because you haven't used them."
*Oh, so that's why,* Jason thought. *Just great. My mind's trapped inside my sluggish body! I know what I want to say, but my mouth won't let me say it!*
"How do you feel, Jason?" Jessie asked.
Jason groaned. "Feeling better since awake. You give me something?"
"Yes, a small stimulant. It'll help you wake up. Can you move your finger for me?"
Jason tried to grin. "Thought docs did this."
"They do, normally, but this is strictly off the record. Just practicing to be a doctor someday."
Jason slowly waggled his left index finger back and forth.
"Good. I'll bother you about your toes later. I'll let you rest," she said.
She left the room.
Jason groaned again. "Been resting," he mumbled.
He opened his eyes a bit more and looked at the environment he was, for the moment, trapped inside. It was a small, one-person room with loads of equipment surrounding him. And all the cords from that equipment seemed to be running in his direction.
*Oh, nice,* he thought, as he tracked the cords and found they'd all been attached to him in some form or another. For example,there was the breather equipment, which was breathing in and out with him.
There was also sensor equipment, and Jason looked himself over. Two sensors had been applied to his temples. Two were on his chest, and two more were on his arms. He couldn't check his legs, because they were under a blanket.
Then he noticed something strange. He could feel the sensors on his head. He could feel them on his chest. He could feel them on his arms.
He saw cords running under the blankets. He knew something was there.
But he couldn't feel anything on his legs.
Because he couldn't feel his legs.
"Crap," he muttered.
He passed out.
***
As it had been for nearly two months, Kelly and Professor Oak had dinner at the lab that evening.
They had it in near silence.
Truth be told, there wasn't much left to say. They both knew he'd awakened for a few minutes, only to drift back into the ether of unconsciousness.
They both knew this was supposed to be a major step on the road to recovery.
And they both knew he was paralyzed.
Kelly finally looked up from her plate. "Someone's going to have to tell him. Sooner or later, he's going to find out something's wrong."
Oak scoffed. "Knowing Jason, I'd be willing to bet he's tried to get up and already figured it out."
"That's not funny."
"It wasn't meant to be."
Kelly stared back down at her food. She remembered running in to the hospital, crying and screaming for help. Jason had been fortunate that the hospital had the right resources and amount of experience within its walls; the doctors rushed to his aid immediately and got him into the emergency room in no time.
According to the doctors, Jason had already been flat-line for two minutes by the time Kelly had gotten him inside, and he'd flat-lined no less than half a dozen times on the table. It was nothing less than a miracle that he'd survived.
Jason had the entire town praying for him. They didn't know what else to do.
"You realize, Kelly," said Oak, "that this means the end of Jason's Pokemon training."
She looked up at him. "He hasn't got anything else, Professor."
Oak nodded dismally. "I know. But it's too dangerous for him now. Even if he does walk again, he'll never regain all of his ability."
"Professor, I don't know about you, but I was taught that when it came to training, the body did not matter so much as the mind," Kelly responded. "And as far as I'm concerned, Jason's mind is still as sharp as it was when I first met him."
"You don't know that," said Oak. "He could have suffered brain damage."
"*You* don't know *that*," Kelly countered. "He has just as good a chance that he didn't. The doctors just don't know one way or the other."
"Maybe he didn't suffer physical damage," said Oak, "but this was an electrical attack we're talking about. Electricity is what runs the brain. For all we know, he was fried the moment his Raichu tried to hit the Tentacruel."
"I know. But I refuse to believe anything has happened to his mind until I talk with him myself."
"And if he has?"
Kelly shook her head. "I don't know."
"This is something you need to think about, Kelly. You still have your own Pokemon journey to complete, and you're not doing yourself any favors if you stay behind to keep watch over a vegetable."
Kelly glared at Oak. "That's a rather insensitive outlook, Professor. I expected better of you."
She left the table.
Oak's shoulders slumped, and he held his head in his hand.
"So did I," he muttered.
***
Three days later, Jason's life was turned upside down again. He was moved out of ICU, had his mask taken off, had it replaced with nose tubes, and he finally met his doctor.
The man was bald on top, but had hair that circled his head from temple to temple. That hair was short itself, and Jason morbidly wondered how much of it had been falling out as of late.
"Hello, Jason," said the doctor. "My name's Doctor Morgan. It's great to see you awake."
"Believe me, Doc," said Jason, "I prefer being awake right now."
"Your nurse tells me that you've been feeling steadily stronger since you first awakened. That's a good sign."
"I sure hope it is," Jason responded. "I'd hate to be feeling stronger when I'm on my deathbed."
The doctor grinned. "Another good sign is that you're able to respond at all. We were afraid the shock had scrambled your neurons."
Jason considered this, then shook his head. "I don't think anything's changed, at least as far as my memory goes."
"If what you're saying turns out to be true, it'll be a miracle," said Morgan.
"After what I've been hearing, it's a miracle that I'm still alive," Jason responded.
"Yes, it is," the doctor replied. "However, the miracle extends only so far. There is some bad news."
"I was waiting for that," Jason muttered, as he began to suspect where this was going.
*He's about to tell me exactly what's wrong with my legs. Prepare yourself, Jason.
I'm talking to myself in my own thoughts. Surely that's a sign that I'm still normal in the head.*
"Jason, I'm afraid that Raichu's attack fried your two lowest vertebrae, and the nerve bundles inside them. Those nerves are what send messages to-- "
"Cut the crap, Doc," Jason interrupted. "What's happened to my legs?"
The doctor sighed. "The electrocution caused the nerve singals from your legs to be disrupted. In short, you are, I'm afraid, paralyzed from the waist down. Permanently."
Jason let his head fall back against his pillow. "I was hoping it would be temporary."
Morgan raised an eyebrow, though he was less surprised than he looked. "I take it, then, that you already had it figured out by the time I came in."
"Wasn't hard. I can't feel my legs at all. It's like I've got two dead Arboks attached to me. And as far as my brain is concerned, I haven't peed in three days, which is a definite indication of something horribly wrong."
Dr. Morgan nodded. "I suppose so." He paused for a few moments. "You're taking it well."
"We'll see how well I take it once I actually leave this hospital. No doubt you're going to want me to start getting used to a wheelchair or some such."
"You're rather quick, aren't you?" Morgan asked.
"When it comes to how I'm going to get around, you bet I am. A wheelchair, right?"
Morgan sighed and nodded. "You'll have your choice of wheelchair to buy, but I have to warn you, none of them are very cheap."
Jason shrugged. "I've got money."
"Obviously. Your friend Kelly Shields helped herself to it in order to pay for your care here."
Jason grinned. "Kelly to the rescue yet again."
"Yourself, as well. It seems you're doing well for yourself."
"I suppose so. If it gets me out of here with even a hundred credits to spare, I'll be grateful." Jason chuckled. "What a lousy mistake, huh?"
"Hmm?"
"Ordering Raichu to attack when we were in the middle of the water. That was asking for trouble. Lousy mistake."
Dr. Morgan stood from the seat he'd taken. "I only help heal the injuries. I don't wonder at the mentalities of those I treat. A psychologist would be better suited to the task. But that's only if you want one."
"No, thank you. I'll ask for one when I want one."
"Suit yourself. For now, I think you've got a couple friends who want to see you."
Dr. Morgan left the room, and Kelly and Professor Oak came in.
Kelly stood there for a moment, not sure if Jason was awake or asleep.
But when Jason smiled at her, she knew it.
She raced up next to his bed...
...and kissed him on the cheek.
Jason's eyebrows shot up, and his grin got wider. "Man, I should hurt myself this badly more often."
"I don't think so, Jason," said Oak, walking up.
Some of Jason's grin faded. "Isn't it ironic, Sam? Two months ago, I was standing over you while you lay there in your room. And now here you are, standing over me. And as I understand it, I'm going to be permanently shorter than you, so you'll be standing over me every day. Lucky you, huh?"
Kelly pulled up a chair and sat as near Jason as she could. She reached through the bed's railing, took Jason's left hand, and whispered, "I'm so sorry, Jason."
Jason scoffed. "You don't have anything to apologize for, Kelly. It's *my* bad track record that got me here, not anything you did." He looked over at Oak again. "Yeah, I'm not doing too well. First you're in here for something I did, then *I'm* in here for something I did."
"And we're both bearing the scars of the consequences of your actions," Oak responded. "Though I think you got a worse deal."
"Becoming a paraplegic? Oh, yeah, Sam, I think so," Jason retorted. Then he sighed, seeing the look on Oak's face. "Sorry."
Oak waved his hand dismissively. "You're entitled, after hearing this sort of news. All is forgiven. But I think I'm going to leave the two of you alone. You've got some catching up to do, and I think you might prefer it if I not be around..." He glanced at Kelly before he turned toward the door.
And he left.
"I thought I was going to lose you," said Kelly.
Jason shook his head. "Not this time."
Neither of them said anything for a moment.
"Kelly," Jason finally said, "I think I owe you a secret. I hope you're ready to listen."
She smiled sadly, looked down at her shoes, and nodded. "Yes."
"When I was younger, I belonged to a really wealthy family in the Orange Islands. We owned our own company, called the Creight and Ship Corporation. We were a huge success, too. But we were also criticized for our business.
"The business dealt in breeding and selling Pokemon. We had just about a hundred thirty kinds of Pokemon in total."
Kelly nodded, remaining silent.
"As I said, among some we were wildly successful. Those who wanted to collect some of the rarer kinds of Pokemon would buy from us, provided they had the money for it. We kept our prices reasonable. We even had a convenience shop at the marina we owned; trainers intending to improve upon their own Pokemon or ones they were purchasing could buy TMs and health restoration items.
"To contain the Pokemon we were breeding, we had to buy a lot of land. For water Pokemon, we constructed the marina I mentioned before, and kept them there. While my dad managed the entire venture, I handled the water types, Mom took care of the grass types, and my brother..."
Jason dropped off for a moment. "My brother murdered the ground types."
Kelly's eyes widened, but she otherwise stayed quiet. Jason was impressed.
"My brother and I had a rivalry that almost defied human understanding. But I think my brother didn't just not like me, he hated my guts, and he hated my mother for giving birth to me. Because I had called him on brutality a couple of times, I had been turning into a more likely candidate for taking over the business than he. He hated me for that, too.
"One day, when I was almost twelve, a pair of trainers caught up with me while I was taking a break. They started asking questions about the business, and I began to realize that some of their questions were starting to strike a little close to home, especially when it came to my brother. So I went to the ground type range."
Jason hesitated on his next sentence, but he was this far. He had to keep going.
"I found my brother wet-whipping a Sandshrew to death."
Kelly's eyes had turned the size of saucers.
"I tried to stop him, tried to reason with him, but he wasn't listening. He'd been strength-training with the Machop on that range and had a huge advantage over me. So I stormed back to my room and refused to come back out until dinner. When I finally did come out, Dad chewed me out for leaving work. But he also chewed me out for sticking my nose in my brother's business."
There was a considerable degree of uncertainty in Jason's grin. "I called Dad insane and tried to make him realize that what my brother was doing was wrong. Then Mom turned on me and said I shouldn't have been spying on him. My brother and I got into a yelling match, but Dad ended it by screaming at both of us and putting me on indefinite vacation from work.
"When I finally went back to work, I heard Dad and my brother talking about a new TM, called Devastator. It was supposed to be a one-hit KO, but with a real evil twist. The attack was both mental and physical, and either one of those alone would have caused the target enough pain to faint. To combine the two would have been too much pain for a Pokemon to bear. I decided something needed to be done.
"So that night, I sneaked into Mom and Dad's room and stole the keys for the convenience shop. I stole a TM that was supposed to teach Hyper Beam, and I went to the water cages where the Gyarados were. I offered it to one, and it used its newfound knowledge to great effect. It used Hyper Beam to destroy the cages, the marina, and all the fences for the ranges. It freed all the Pokemon.
"I sat there and watched it all, and began to wonder at the scope of what I'd done. I didn't want to go down with the rest of my family. I knew the business would flop; no one wants to buy from people who can't prevent their products from escaping. So I ran away. The next morning, I woke up near the shoreline, and saw the Gyarados from the night before lying there, half in water, half in sand. I had thought it would return to its family after freeing itself and the other Pokemon, but no, it was lying there, watching me.
"It was waiting for me. I walked up and asked what it was doing there, why it didn't want to go back into the sea where it came from. It moved its head like it was telling me to get onto its back. So I did. And three months later, we arrived in Pallet Town. We met Professor Oak, who first suggested I become a trainer. He knew who I was because he remembered the news clips from that incident. Apparently, I'd been presumed dead by my family and the authorities on Tangelo Island, but obviously, they never found the body.
"Now, Sabrina's obviously not that big on privacy. She must have scanned me and found out about what I did, and that's how she knew. And as for the gym leader in Viridian, he's a story all to himself. His name is Giovanni, and it's widely rumored that he was the one who founded Team Rocket. He bought cheap and sold high. He was a major buyer from our company until Gyarados wrecked the marina and the ranges. After that, like so many others, he stopped buying, which was a major contributor to my family's sudden bankruptcy. Suddenly, he was without a company to buy cheap Pokemon from, and he blamed Creight's blasted younger son for it. He must have found out somehow that I was still around; that's how *he* knew me.
"And finally, your kidnapper in Pallet Town. You said you told him a couple of details about me, how we met, and what we'd been doing since meeting. Then he used a Pokemon to knock you out, and he kidnapped you to that room. That was my brother, Daniel."
Kelly gaped at him.
"Yeah. We found out that his Gengar had Devastator as one of its attacks. That was the attack it used on Professor Oak. The night he kidnapped you, I found him with a Charizard; they were trying to torch Mrs. Ketchum's house, and I stopped them. He challenged me to a battle, and I accepted, but I wasn't really interested in battling. So I cheated, according to battling rules, and sent out all of my Pokemon at once. Then I had him taken in to the police station, where, I assume, he's still rotting. And I'll bet he hates me more than ever. He may have even been on Giovanni's payroll, trying to take revenge and get paid for it." Jason scoffed. "Not like Giovanni would have paid him. He probably would have let Daniel be taken to jail and not have to pay a single credit.
"And that's the end of the story. Now you know my dirty little secret."
Kelly was still trying to take it all in. "And you've managed to survive, with the whold world against you."
Jason shrugged. "Doesn't everyone?
Both of them remained silent for a very long time.
Jason shifted around in his bed. "So, how much are they stealing from me?"
"Twenty thousand per month," Kelly answered.
Jason shrugged. "Not bad, all in all. So even if I'm in here for another two months, I'll still have enough to get by for a while."
Kelly looked at him with sad eyes. "But do you plan to keep going?"
"I'd love nothing more. But I don't know if I can. My doctor seems to want to warn me away from it."
"And what will you do if you can't?"
He considered. "I suppose I'll make one last capture of some hapless Pokemon in a tree, then become an assistant for Professor Oak. He said he could use more manpower, didn't he?"
"Yes, he did."
"But I don't want it to come to that. I've come too far just to be stopped by misfortune." Jason's eyes hardened with resolve. "Kelly, I'd like you to do something for me."
"Name it," she whispered.
"Get my Pokemon league rulebook. Get yours, too. We're going to do some homework."
***
After another week of sitting in the hospital, between a wheelchair and his bed, Jason was getting tired of sitting.
He looked up at Kelly. "It's at times like this that I'm going to really miss standing up. But hey, at least I don't itch."
"Don't even go there, Jason."
He grinned and turned his attention back to the rulebook.
Their goal was to find out whether or not physically disabled people could train Pokemon and battle in Pokemon leagues. So far, neither of them had come up with anything.
"What if we don't find anything that says disabled people can compete?" asked Kelly.
"Then we start looking for rules that say they can't," Jason answered. "And if we find neither, then I'm going to keep competing."
"Wouldn't you prefer to err on the side of caution?"
Jason's eyes flicked back up to his companion. One eyebrow shot upward. "I hope you know me better than that by now."
"Hey, I've only known you for a few days."
"You call two months 'a few days'?'
"You've only been awake for a few days."
Jason snorted. "True enough."
A few minutes later, Jason announced, "I've read the thing from cover to cover. Nothing."
"Then we'd better search for preventative rules," said Kelly.
"I couldn't agree more."
They started in.
***
Jason didn't know how to express his thanks to Kelly and Professor Oak for going through all the paperwork for his stay at the hospital. In total, the hospital charged just a little over forty-five thousand credits, which Jason was happy to pay. He was ready to be released in his brand-new, black-and-silver, collapsible wheelchair.
"It's made of titanium alloy, making it light and strong. Bending any of the bars is impossible for humans five times your weight," Dr. Morgan had said. "But don't put a Snorlax in it."
Jason had chuckled in response.
He'd had his clothes returned to him and was prepared to check out of the hospital. Professor Oak insisted on taking Jason out himself; with a firm grasp on the handlebars, Oak guided Jason's wheelchair out of the hospital.
*And hopefully, I won't have to see it again,* Jason thought.
And that was when the press arrived.
*Nuts.*
***
A shadowed figure sat in front of the television screen, seeing the little upstart's face contort just for an instant at the appearance of the unexpected media.
"Ah, so he still doesn't like attention," said the cold voice of the figure.
"Perrrsian." The Persian sitting next to the figure knew that its master was annoyed. How annoyed, it didn't know. But since its master was annoyed, it decided to be annoyed, as well.
"Sir, there's a transmission coming from Pallet Town."
The figure grinned maliciously. Of course there was a signal coming from Pallet Town; the one in front of him. But he knew what his subordinate was talking about. "Type?"
"Audio only. It's him again."
The figure sighed. He'd just about had enough with this caller. He'd been badgered by calls from the man for the last two months, ever since he somehow found a way to get through. "Put it through."
"Yes, sir. Coming in now."
A button flashed on the control panel. The figure punched it.
"What do you want?" the figure demanded.
"Please, just give me one more chance! I'll make good on it!"
"You are a failure. Not only you, but your father, as well. My Tentacruel were murdered at the paws of your brother's Raichu, and your father with them. No wonder your mother died of a broken heart; look how pathetic you both are."
"Please! One more chance, I'm begging you! I'll pay everything back!"
"I'm watching your brother being released from the Pallet Town hospital at this very moment. No doubt he's going to figure out that there are no rules against cripples competing, and he'll keep going on his journey."
"Please!"
The figure let the silence dangle on the line.
Finally, he said, "Why should I believe you'll do any better than you did before?"
"He caught me by surprise! I won't let it happen this time! Please!"
The figure reached out to his control panel and hit a button.
The line disconnected.
He sat for a moment, watching the screen. Then he sighed and hit another button. He didn't know why he was even doing this, but...
"Yes, sir?"
"Send our best local agent to Pallet Town, and have him report to the Pokemon Center. Then have him report in for further instructions. I have a mission for him."
***
"So, Jason, what are you going to do now?" Oak asked, after they had returned to the lab.
"I'm going to keep going," Jason answered, strapping his backpack to his wheelchair.
Oak frowned at him. "You can't possibly be serious."
"I'm dead serious, Sam." Jason wheeled himself around to face Oak. "Kelly and I have checked the Pokemon league rules. There are no known Pokemon leagues that forbid disabled people to train and compete. I might get a couple odd looks or jeers, but that goes with the territory of being a trainer in the first place. It goes with the territory of having any job."
"I still don't think you should do this."
"That's what I thought to myself when I stole the Hyper Beam TM for Gyarados. And guess what? I did it anyway."
"Yes, and that entire sequence of events led you right into a wheelchair for life."
"Hey, even *Sabrina* can't foresee everything. So this might not be the best future for me, but it's a heck of a lot better than I'd have had otherwise. And better for the Pokemon, too."
Oak sighed. "Very well. It's a foolish venture, though."
Jason's eyes hardened as he locked gazes with Oak. Oak could see the determination in the boy's eyes; it was stronger than he had ever seen. "Yeah. *My* foolish venture, not yours. No one asked you to risk your life. And I'm of the understanding that you were once a dazzling trainer yourself."
Oak smiled. "Well, yes, I suppose I was. But that was back in my prime."
"And I'm in mine. We're both human. Because of that, we're both incapable of always making the right decision. Sometimes that 'wrong' decision turns out to be for the best, sometimes not. But isn't that what life is all about?"
The professor's smile grew wider. "How did you get so wise all of a sudden?"
"I'm a natural-born wise guy. Now, I plan to complete this journey. I never asked for your blessing, but I would appreciate it if you gave it to me."
***
That evening, Kelly and Jason left the lab together.
"The professor's right," she commented, as they headed down the path to the shore. "Somewhere, somehow, you suddenly got a whole lot wiser."
"Must have been all those times I flat-lined," Jason replied, wheeling himself along the path. "I've been told I was dead when you got me there."
"Yeah," said Kelly, her voice suddenly dropping to a whisper. She didn't want him to hear her voice breaking.
"I've also been told," he continued, "that you visited me every day, for as long as they would let you."
She nodded.
He looked up at her and smiled. "Just hearing that was worth coming back for."
She returned the smile, tears in her eyes.
*Soon enough, we'll be there,* he thought.
Jason Creight wheeled on.
To Be Continued
A breather mask was strapped to his face.
He was wearing a medical gown.
And whatever had gone into his stomach wasn't sitting well just now.
His sight was fuzzy, but he could make out the extremely blurred image of a nurse standing on his left. He could tell it was a nurse, because the image was wearing green and white. It also had long, shockingly red hair.
He tried to clear the fuzziness by shaking his head. Big mistake; that only brought on a splitting headache.
*Man, if I can't shake my head without being dizzy, I must have been lying here a long time.*
And that was when the nurse noticed he was awake. Jason saw her making motions with sudden urgency. He could hear her pick up a phone and say, "Doctor Morgan, Jason Creight has just regained consciousness.... Yes... Yes, I understand. I'll wait."
Jason heard the click of the phone as it was returned to the receiver, and he saw the fuzzy green-and-white image lean over him. He hoped she was smiling. *At least if she's frowning, I won't know it.*
He knew that normally, at this point, his thoughts would be racing. But he realized that his neurons were firing at a much slower rate than normal.
*Can't even think straight. Must've been drugged or something.*
He stared up at the image, which had just grown a dark area near the top. *Must be a mouth,* Jason thought.
"Can you hear me, Jason?" the nurse asked.
Jason opened his mouth and uttered a muffled, "Yeah... think so." Not only was the mask making speech difficult, but his tongue was lolling around in his mouth.
*Man, I can't even get a proper sentence out!*
"That's a good sign, Jason. My name is Jessie, and I've been taking care of you for... well, for a while now." Jason saw the nurse's hair shift around as she looked up at a nearby calendar. "Wow. It's been longer than I thought."
"How... long?" Jason wheezed into his mask.
"Almost two months now," she answered.
Jason wanted to utter a curse so badly, but as slowly as his thought processes were working, none came to mind.
Instead, he asked, "Where...?"
"Where are you? Pallet Town Hospital, in the ICU," she answered.
And then he remembered.
He remembered the ungodly bolt of electricity that had gone surging through his entire body.
He remembered flailing under the surface of the water.
He remembered...
*Kelly!*
"Where... Kelly?"
"Kelly? You mean the girl who brought you in?"
"Kelly... okay?"
"Yes, yes, she's fine. She caught a bit of that shock you got, but not enough to seriously injure her or your Lapras." Jessie smiled down at Jason. "She's been visiting you every day since she brought you here. She saved your life."
*Nuts,* Jason thought. *I told her that saving her from Daniel was a freebie!*
Of course, Jason knew that Kelly didn't have to feel that particular kind of obligation to him to save his life. It was a moral obligation, not a payback.
"You need to rest, Jason," said Jessie. "You've been through a lot."
"Been... restin'," Jason answered. "How bad?"
"I can't tell you that," Jessie responded. "You need to hear it from a doctor."
"When?"
"Doctor Morgan should be here in a little while. He's admitting someone else to the emergency room right now, but he'll be around soon enough."
Jason's sight was beginning to get better. He began to see the general shape of his nurse. *She keeps a good figure,* he thought.
In fact, everything seemed to be getting sharper. His breathing felt a little less forced, his blood was pumping, and he could feel a small portion of his strength returning.
"When I get out?"
Jessie sighed. "That's not up to me. I don't know, but if I had to guess, I'd say you'll be here for a while. So you may as well make yourself comfortable."
"Can't do that. Can't move well."
Jessie nodded. "Yes, I know. Your muscles have atrophied somewhat because you haven't used them."
*Oh, so that's why,* Jason thought. *Just great. My mind's trapped inside my sluggish body! I know what I want to say, but my mouth won't let me say it!*
"How do you feel, Jason?" Jessie asked.
Jason groaned. "Feeling better since awake. You give me something?"
"Yes, a small stimulant. It'll help you wake up. Can you move your finger for me?"
Jason tried to grin. "Thought docs did this."
"They do, normally, but this is strictly off the record. Just practicing to be a doctor someday."
Jason slowly waggled his left index finger back and forth.
"Good. I'll bother you about your toes later. I'll let you rest," she said.
She left the room.
Jason groaned again. "Been resting," he mumbled.
He opened his eyes a bit more and looked at the environment he was, for the moment, trapped inside. It was a small, one-person room with loads of equipment surrounding him. And all the cords from that equipment seemed to be running in his direction.
*Oh, nice,* he thought, as he tracked the cords and found they'd all been attached to him in some form or another. For example,there was the breather equipment, which was breathing in and out with him.
There was also sensor equipment, and Jason looked himself over. Two sensors had been applied to his temples. Two were on his chest, and two more were on his arms. He couldn't check his legs, because they were under a blanket.
Then he noticed something strange. He could feel the sensors on his head. He could feel them on his chest. He could feel them on his arms.
He saw cords running under the blankets. He knew something was there.
But he couldn't feel anything on his legs.
Because he couldn't feel his legs.
"Crap," he muttered.
He passed out.
***
As it had been for nearly two months, Kelly and Professor Oak had dinner at the lab that evening.
They had it in near silence.
Truth be told, there wasn't much left to say. They both knew he'd awakened for a few minutes, only to drift back into the ether of unconsciousness.
They both knew this was supposed to be a major step on the road to recovery.
And they both knew he was paralyzed.
Kelly finally looked up from her plate. "Someone's going to have to tell him. Sooner or later, he's going to find out something's wrong."
Oak scoffed. "Knowing Jason, I'd be willing to bet he's tried to get up and already figured it out."
"That's not funny."
"It wasn't meant to be."
Kelly stared back down at her food. She remembered running in to the hospital, crying and screaming for help. Jason had been fortunate that the hospital had the right resources and amount of experience within its walls; the doctors rushed to his aid immediately and got him into the emergency room in no time.
According to the doctors, Jason had already been flat-line for two minutes by the time Kelly had gotten him inside, and he'd flat-lined no less than half a dozen times on the table. It was nothing less than a miracle that he'd survived.
Jason had the entire town praying for him. They didn't know what else to do.
"You realize, Kelly," said Oak, "that this means the end of Jason's Pokemon training."
She looked up at him. "He hasn't got anything else, Professor."
Oak nodded dismally. "I know. But it's too dangerous for him now. Even if he does walk again, he'll never regain all of his ability."
"Professor, I don't know about you, but I was taught that when it came to training, the body did not matter so much as the mind," Kelly responded. "And as far as I'm concerned, Jason's mind is still as sharp as it was when I first met him."
"You don't know that," said Oak. "He could have suffered brain damage."
"*You* don't know *that*," Kelly countered. "He has just as good a chance that he didn't. The doctors just don't know one way or the other."
"Maybe he didn't suffer physical damage," said Oak, "but this was an electrical attack we're talking about. Electricity is what runs the brain. For all we know, he was fried the moment his Raichu tried to hit the Tentacruel."
"I know. But I refuse to believe anything has happened to his mind until I talk with him myself."
"And if he has?"
Kelly shook her head. "I don't know."
"This is something you need to think about, Kelly. You still have your own Pokemon journey to complete, and you're not doing yourself any favors if you stay behind to keep watch over a vegetable."
Kelly glared at Oak. "That's a rather insensitive outlook, Professor. I expected better of you."
She left the table.
Oak's shoulders slumped, and he held his head in his hand.
"So did I," he muttered.
***
Three days later, Jason's life was turned upside down again. He was moved out of ICU, had his mask taken off, had it replaced with nose tubes, and he finally met his doctor.
The man was bald on top, but had hair that circled his head from temple to temple. That hair was short itself, and Jason morbidly wondered how much of it had been falling out as of late.
"Hello, Jason," said the doctor. "My name's Doctor Morgan. It's great to see you awake."
"Believe me, Doc," said Jason, "I prefer being awake right now."
"Your nurse tells me that you've been feeling steadily stronger since you first awakened. That's a good sign."
"I sure hope it is," Jason responded. "I'd hate to be feeling stronger when I'm on my deathbed."
The doctor grinned. "Another good sign is that you're able to respond at all. We were afraid the shock had scrambled your neurons."
Jason considered this, then shook his head. "I don't think anything's changed, at least as far as my memory goes."
"If what you're saying turns out to be true, it'll be a miracle," said Morgan.
"After what I've been hearing, it's a miracle that I'm still alive," Jason responded.
"Yes, it is," the doctor replied. "However, the miracle extends only so far. There is some bad news."
"I was waiting for that," Jason muttered, as he began to suspect where this was going.
*He's about to tell me exactly what's wrong with my legs. Prepare yourself, Jason.
I'm talking to myself in my own thoughts. Surely that's a sign that I'm still normal in the head.*
"Jason, I'm afraid that Raichu's attack fried your two lowest vertebrae, and the nerve bundles inside them. Those nerves are what send messages to-- "
"Cut the crap, Doc," Jason interrupted. "What's happened to my legs?"
The doctor sighed. "The electrocution caused the nerve singals from your legs to be disrupted. In short, you are, I'm afraid, paralyzed from the waist down. Permanently."
Jason let his head fall back against his pillow. "I was hoping it would be temporary."
Morgan raised an eyebrow, though he was less surprised than he looked. "I take it, then, that you already had it figured out by the time I came in."
"Wasn't hard. I can't feel my legs at all. It's like I've got two dead Arboks attached to me. And as far as my brain is concerned, I haven't peed in three days, which is a definite indication of something horribly wrong."
Dr. Morgan nodded. "I suppose so." He paused for a few moments. "You're taking it well."
"We'll see how well I take it once I actually leave this hospital. No doubt you're going to want me to start getting used to a wheelchair or some such."
"You're rather quick, aren't you?" Morgan asked.
"When it comes to how I'm going to get around, you bet I am. A wheelchair, right?"
Morgan sighed and nodded. "You'll have your choice of wheelchair to buy, but I have to warn you, none of them are very cheap."
Jason shrugged. "I've got money."
"Obviously. Your friend Kelly Shields helped herself to it in order to pay for your care here."
Jason grinned. "Kelly to the rescue yet again."
"Yourself, as well. It seems you're doing well for yourself."
"I suppose so. If it gets me out of here with even a hundred credits to spare, I'll be grateful." Jason chuckled. "What a lousy mistake, huh?"
"Hmm?"
"Ordering Raichu to attack when we were in the middle of the water. That was asking for trouble. Lousy mistake."
Dr. Morgan stood from the seat he'd taken. "I only help heal the injuries. I don't wonder at the mentalities of those I treat. A psychologist would be better suited to the task. But that's only if you want one."
"No, thank you. I'll ask for one when I want one."
"Suit yourself. For now, I think you've got a couple friends who want to see you."
Dr. Morgan left the room, and Kelly and Professor Oak came in.
Kelly stood there for a moment, not sure if Jason was awake or asleep.
But when Jason smiled at her, she knew it.
She raced up next to his bed...
...and kissed him on the cheek.
Jason's eyebrows shot up, and his grin got wider. "Man, I should hurt myself this badly more often."
"I don't think so, Jason," said Oak, walking up.
Some of Jason's grin faded. "Isn't it ironic, Sam? Two months ago, I was standing over you while you lay there in your room. And now here you are, standing over me. And as I understand it, I'm going to be permanently shorter than you, so you'll be standing over me every day. Lucky you, huh?"
Kelly pulled up a chair and sat as near Jason as she could. She reached through the bed's railing, took Jason's left hand, and whispered, "I'm so sorry, Jason."
Jason scoffed. "You don't have anything to apologize for, Kelly. It's *my* bad track record that got me here, not anything you did." He looked over at Oak again. "Yeah, I'm not doing too well. First you're in here for something I did, then *I'm* in here for something I did."
"And we're both bearing the scars of the consequences of your actions," Oak responded. "Though I think you got a worse deal."
"Becoming a paraplegic? Oh, yeah, Sam, I think so," Jason retorted. Then he sighed, seeing the look on Oak's face. "Sorry."
Oak waved his hand dismissively. "You're entitled, after hearing this sort of news. All is forgiven. But I think I'm going to leave the two of you alone. You've got some catching up to do, and I think you might prefer it if I not be around..." He glanced at Kelly before he turned toward the door.
And he left.
"I thought I was going to lose you," said Kelly.
Jason shook his head. "Not this time."
Neither of them said anything for a moment.
"Kelly," Jason finally said, "I think I owe you a secret. I hope you're ready to listen."
She smiled sadly, looked down at her shoes, and nodded. "Yes."
"When I was younger, I belonged to a really wealthy family in the Orange Islands. We owned our own company, called the Creight and Ship Corporation. We were a huge success, too. But we were also criticized for our business.
"The business dealt in breeding and selling Pokemon. We had just about a hundred thirty kinds of Pokemon in total."
Kelly nodded, remaining silent.
"As I said, among some we were wildly successful. Those who wanted to collect some of the rarer kinds of Pokemon would buy from us, provided they had the money for it. We kept our prices reasonable. We even had a convenience shop at the marina we owned; trainers intending to improve upon their own Pokemon or ones they were purchasing could buy TMs and health restoration items.
"To contain the Pokemon we were breeding, we had to buy a lot of land. For water Pokemon, we constructed the marina I mentioned before, and kept them there. While my dad managed the entire venture, I handled the water types, Mom took care of the grass types, and my brother..."
Jason dropped off for a moment. "My brother murdered the ground types."
Kelly's eyes widened, but she otherwise stayed quiet. Jason was impressed.
"My brother and I had a rivalry that almost defied human understanding. But I think my brother didn't just not like me, he hated my guts, and he hated my mother for giving birth to me. Because I had called him on brutality a couple of times, I had been turning into a more likely candidate for taking over the business than he. He hated me for that, too.
"One day, when I was almost twelve, a pair of trainers caught up with me while I was taking a break. They started asking questions about the business, and I began to realize that some of their questions were starting to strike a little close to home, especially when it came to my brother. So I went to the ground type range."
Jason hesitated on his next sentence, but he was this far. He had to keep going.
"I found my brother wet-whipping a Sandshrew to death."
Kelly's eyes had turned the size of saucers.
"I tried to stop him, tried to reason with him, but he wasn't listening. He'd been strength-training with the Machop on that range and had a huge advantage over me. So I stormed back to my room and refused to come back out until dinner. When I finally did come out, Dad chewed me out for leaving work. But he also chewed me out for sticking my nose in my brother's business."
There was a considerable degree of uncertainty in Jason's grin. "I called Dad insane and tried to make him realize that what my brother was doing was wrong. Then Mom turned on me and said I shouldn't have been spying on him. My brother and I got into a yelling match, but Dad ended it by screaming at both of us and putting me on indefinite vacation from work.
"When I finally went back to work, I heard Dad and my brother talking about a new TM, called Devastator. It was supposed to be a one-hit KO, but with a real evil twist. The attack was both mental and physical, and either one of those alone would have caused the target enough pain to faint. To combine the two would have been too much pain for a Pokemon to bear. I decided something needed to be done.
"So that night, I sneaked into Mom and Dad's room and stole the keys for the convenience shop. I stole a TM that was supposed to teach Hyper Beam, and I went to the water cages where the Gyarados were. I offered it to one, and it used its newfound knowledge to great effect. It used Hyper Beam to destroy the cages, the marina, and all the fences for the ranges. It freed all the Pokemon.
"I sat there and watched it all, and began to wonder at the scope of what I'd done. I didn't want to go down with the rest of my family. I knew the business would flop; no one wants to buy from people who can't prevent their products from escaping. So I ran away. The next morning, I woke up near the shoreline, and saw the Gyarados from the night before lying there, half in water, half in sand. I had thought it would return to its family after freeing itself and the other Pokemon, but no, it was lying there, watching me.
"It was waiting for me. I walked up and asked what it was doing there, why it didn't want to go back into the sea where it came from. It moved its head like it was telling me to get onto its back. So I did. And three months later, we arrived in Pallet Town. We met Professor Oak, who first suggested I become a trainer. He knew who I was because he remembered the news clips from that incident. Apparently, I'd been presumed dead by my family and the authorities on Tangelo Island, but obviously, they never found the body.
"Now, Sabrina's obviously not that big on privacy. She must have scanned me and found out about what I did, and that's how she knew. And as for the gym leader in Viridian, he's a story all to himself. His name is Giovanni, and it's widely rumored that he was the one who founded Team Rocket. He bought cheap and sold high. He was a major buyer from our company until Gyarados wrecked the marina and the ranges. After that, like so many others, he stopped buying, which was a major contributor to my family's sudden bankruptcy. Suddenly, he was without a company to buy cheap Pokemon from, and he blamed Creight's blasted younger son for it. He must have found out somehow that I was still around; that's how *he* knew me.
"And finally, your kidnapper in Pallet Town. You said you told him a couple of details about me, how we met, and what we'd been doing since meeting. Then he used a Pokemon to knock you out, and he kidnapped you to that room. That was my brother, Daniel."
Kelly gaped at him.
"Yeah. We found out that his Gengar had Devastator as one of its attacks. That was the attack it used on Professor Oak. The night he kidnapped you, I found him with a Charizard; they were trying to torch Mrs. Ketchum's house, and I stopped them. He challenged me to a battle, and I accepted, but I wasn't really interested in battling. So I cheated, according to battling rules, and sent out all of my Pokemon at once. Then I had him taken in to the police station, where, I assume, he's still rotting. And I'll bet he hates me more than ever. He may have even been on Giovanni's payroll, trying to take revenge and get paid for it." Jason scoffed. "Not like Giovanni would have paid him. He probably would have let Daniel be taken to jail and not have to pay a single credit.
"And that's the end of the story. Now you know my dirty little secret."
Kelly was still trying to take it all in. "And you've managed to survive, with the whold world against you."
Jason shrugged. "Doesn't everyone?
Both of them remained silent for a very long time.
Jason shifted around in his bed. "So, how much are they stealing from me?"
"Twenty thousand per month," Kelly answered.
Jason shrugged. "Not bad, all in all. So even if I'm in here for another two months, I'll still have enough to get by for a while."
Kelly looked at him with sad eyes. "But do you plan to keep going?"
"I'd love nothing more. But I don't know if I can. My doctor seems to want to warn me away from it."
"And what will you do if you can't?"
He considered. "I suppose I'll make one last capture of some hapless Pokemon in a tree, then become an assistant for Professor Oak. He said he could use more manpower, didn't he?"
"Yes, he did."
"But I don't want it to come to that. I've come too far just to be stopped by misfortune." Jason's eyes hardened with resolve. "Kelly, I'd like you to do something for me."
"Name it," she whispered.
"Get my Pokemon league rulebook. Get yours, too. We're going to do some homework."
***
After another week of sitting in the hospital, between a wheelchair and his bed, Jason was getting tired of sitting.
He looked up at Kelly. "It's at times like this that I'm going to really miss standing up. But hey, at least I don't itch."
"Don't even go there, Jason."
He grinned and turned his attention back to the rulebook.
Their goal was to find out whether or not physically disabled people could train Pokemon and battle in Pokemon leagues. So far, neither of them had come up with anything.
"What if we don't find anything that says disabled people can compete?" asked Kelly.
"Then we start looking for rules that say they can't," Jason answered. "And if we find neither, then I'm going to keep competing."
"Wouldn't you prefer to err on the side of caution?"
Jason's eyes flicked back up to his companion. One eyebrow shot upward. "I hope you know me better than that by now."
"Hey, I've only known you for a few days."
"You call two months 'a few days'?'
"You've only been awake for a few days."
Jason snorted. "True enough."
A few minutes later, Jason announced, "I've read the thing from cover to cover. Nothing."
"Then we'd better search for preventative rules," said Kelly.
"I couldn't agree more."
They started in.
***
Jason didn't know how to express his thanks to Kelly and Professor Oak for going through all the paperwork for his stay at the hospital. In total, the hospital charged just a little over forty-five thousand credits, which Jason was happy to pay. He was ready to be released in his brand-new, black-and-silver, collapsible wheelchair.
"It's made of titanium alloy, making it light and strong. Bending any of the bars is impossible for humans five times your weight," Dr. Morgan had said. "But don't put a Snorlax in it."
Jason had chuckled in response.
He'd had his clothes returned to him and was prepared to check out of the hospital. Professor Oak insisted on taking Jason out himself; with a firm grasp on the handlebars, Oak guided Jason's wheelchair out of the hospital.
*And hopefully, I won't have to see it again,* Jason thought.
And that was when the press arrived.
*Nuts.*
***
A shadowed figure sat in front of the television screen, seeing the little upstart's face contort just for an instant at the appearance of the unexpected media.
"Ah, so he still doesn't like attention," said the cold voice of the figure.
"Perrrsian." The Persian sitting next to the figure knew that its master was annoyed. How annoyed, it didn't know. But since its master was annoyed, it decided to be annoyed, as well.
"Sir, there's a transmission coming from Pallet Town."
The figure grinned maliciously. Of course there was a signal coming from Pallet Town; the one in front of him. But he knew what his subordinate was talking about. "Type?"
"Audio only. It's him again."
The figure sighed. He'd just about had enough with this caller. He'd been badgered by calls from the man for the last two months, ever since he somehow found a way to get through. "Put it through."
"Yes, sir. Coming in now."
A button flashed on the control panel. The figure punched it.
"What do you want?" the figure demanded.
"Please, just give me one more chance! I'll make good on it!"
"You are a failure. Not only you, but your father, as well. My Tentacruel were murdered at the paws of your brother's Raichu, and your father with them. No wonder your mother died of a broken heart; look how pathetic you both are."
"Please! One more chance, I'm begging you! I'll pay everything back!"
"I'm watching your brother being released from the Pallet Town hospital at this very moment. No doubt he's going to figure out that there are no rules against cripples competing, and he'll keep going on his journey."
"Please!"
The figure let the silence dangle on the line.
Finally, he said, "Why should I believe you'll do any better than you did before?"
"He caught me by surprise! I won't let it happen this time! Please!"
The figure reached out to his control panel and hit a button.
The line disconnected.
He sat for a moment, watching the screen. Then he sighed and hit another button. He didn't know why he was even doing this, but...
"Yes, sir?"
"Send our best local agent to Pallet Town, and have him report to the Pokemon Center. Then have him report in for further instructions. I have a mission for him."
***
"So, Jason, what are you going to do now?" Oak asked, after they had returned to the lab.
"I'm going to keep going," Jason answered, strapping his backpack to his wheelchair.
Oak frowned at him. "You can't possibly be serious."
"I'm dead serious, Sam." Jason wheeled himself around to face Oak. "Kelly and I have checked the Pokemon league rules. There are no known Pokemon leagues that forbid disabled people to train and compete. I might get a couple odd looks or jeers, but that goes with the territory of being a trainer in the first place. It goes with the territory of having any job."
"I still don't think you should do this."
"That's what I thought to myself when I stole the Hyper Beam TM for Gyarados. And guess what? I did it anyway."
"Yes, and that entire sequence of events led you right into a wheelchair for life."
"Hey, even *Sabrina* can't foresee everything. So this might not be the best future for me, but it's a heck of a lot better than I'd have had otherwise. And better for the Pokemon, too."
Oak sighed. "Very well. It's a foolish venture, though."
Jason's eyes hardened as he locked gazes with Oak. Oak could see the determination in the boy's eyes; it was stronger than he had ever seen. "Yeah. *My* foolish venture, not yours. No one asked you to risk your life. And I'm of the understanding that you were once a dazzling trainer yourself."
Oak smiled. "Well, yes, I suppose I was. But that was back in my prime."
"And I'm in mine. We're both human. Because of that, we're both incapable of always making the right decision. Sometimes that 'wrong' decision turns out to be for the best, sometimes not. But isn't that what life is all about?"
The professor's smile grew wider. "How did you get so wise all of a sudden?"
"I'm a natural-born wise guy. Now, I plan to complete this journey. I never asked for your blessing, but I would appreciate it if you gave it to me."
***
That evening, Kelly and Jason left the lab together.
"The professor's right," she commented, as they headed down the path to the shore. "Somewhere, somehow, you suddenly got a whole lot wiser."
"Must have been all those times I flat-lined," Jason replied, wheeling himself along the path. "I've been told I was dead when you got me there."
"Yeah," said Kelly, her voice suddenly dropping to a whisper. She didn't want him to hear her voice breaking.
"I've also been told," he continued, "that you visited me every day, for as long as they would let you."
She nodded.
He looked up at her and smiled. "Just hearing that was worth coming back for."
She returned the smile, tears in her eyes.
*Soon enough, we'll be there,* he thought.
Jason Creight wheeled on.
To Be Continued
