Gotta get away…can't let them catch me…
The boy panted in fear as he raced through the bushes, trying to elude the Pokémon that was pursuing him. As he darted into the underbrush, thorns crisscrossed the boy's arms, legs, and face with scratches. But the boy was too terrified to notice the pain. The only thought in his mind was running – get away from the Pokémon that was pursuing him. But it was coming closer…closer…
As he crouched in the rosebush he could hear the hum of wings as the huge Beedrill hovered above him. The boy screamed in terror as the menacing red eyes peered through the bushes and spotted its prey. Then the Beedrill charged and a searing red-hot pain tore through the boy's leg. The boy's bloodcurdling shrieks alerted the other Beedrill that their prey had been located, and in a matter of seconds boy found himself surrounded by what seemed like thousands of the huge yellow and black wasps. There was no escape.
Sick with pain and terrified by the certainty that he was going to die, the crying boy covered his head and cried out for the one person he wanted now more than ever.
"Mama! Mama! Mama!"
A pair of arms – human ones – pushed their way into the bush and seized the screaming boy.
"No! Don't let them get me! Don't!"
"Ash…Ash, I'm here. Wake up, son."
Something was shaking him -- shaking him roughly. With a start, Ash's eyes shot open and he found himself lying on the ground with Professor Oak hovering above him. "It's okay, Ash. You're safe," the older man said reassuringly.
Ash looked around in terror as the burning pain in his leg jarred him back to consciousness. "The Beedrill! Where are they?"
"Ash, there aren't any Beedrill around. You were having a nightmare."
"A nightmare?" Ash then saw that he wasn't at Professor Oak's preserve. "Oh…oh man." With a sigh of relief, Ash collapsed back on his pillow.
"Pika!" Pikachu, who had been watching Ash anxiously, jumped on his trainer's chest.
"Pikachu wanted to shock you awake, but I told him to let me try waking you up first," Professor Oak explained with a slight smile. "How do you feel, son?"
"I was dreaming about the time when I was five and I got stung by the Beedrill at your place. Remember?"
Professor Oak nodded. "Yes. As I recall, you were running away from your mother and thought that my preserve would be a perfect place to hide."
"Yeah. She was going to take me to the doctor to get a shot. I should've just gone with her…those Beedrill stings hurt about ten times worse than the actual shot did. But Professor…" Ash looked up at his friend with frightened eyes. "This Tentacruel sting hurts about a million times worse than those Beedrill stings ever did. My whole leg feels like it's on fire."
"Hang on, Ash. I'll get the pain spray." A quick application caused the anxious look to disappear from Ash's eyes.
"Thanks, Professor. That's a lot better. I just wish that spray would help the rest of me, though." Ash shivered and Pikachu wrapped its paws around its trainer to help him keep warm.
"Ash, do you have any aspirin, ibuprofen…anything like that? That may help you feel better."
"Check in Brock's backpack. He keeps all the first aid stuff in there."
Professor Oak opened Brock's backpack and found an assortment of various Pokémon medicines and vitamin supplements. "Looks like there are a lot of Pokémon remedies in here. It's a regular pharmacy."
"Yeah. Whenever one of our Pokémon gets sick or hurt, Brock always has something in there to help."
Professor Oak began rummaging through the backpack's contents. "Let's see…burn heal…calcium tablets…here's a thermometer."
"Don't use that on me, Professor. It's the one Brock uses on the Pokémon."
"Super potion…mint berry…iron pills… What in the world is Brock doing with a stethoscope?"
"That's the one the Nurse Joy at Amber Falls threw at him when he wouldn't stop flirting with her."
"Bandages…protein supplements…a bottle with blue liquid and no label…"
"That's Brock's cologne. He swears that it makes him 'irresistible to women'." Ash rolled his eyes.
"Several bags of Poké Chow…" Professor Oak pulled out a white pillbottle. "…and a bottle of ibuprofen."
He popped open the lid and was dismayed to find out that the bottle contained only two tablets. But it would at least give Ash a few hours' respite from his pain until Brock and Misty returned with (hopefully) the Paras/Parasect mushroom.
"Did you find anything, Professor? The spray is starting to wear off already." Ash moaned and shifted his injured leg to try to keep it from touching the ground.
Professor Oak examined the level of liquid in the spray bottle containing the Lickitung saliva. At this rate, the pain relieving spray would be gone before the night was over.
"This should help you feel better, Ash." He administered another dose of the topical anesthetic and then gave the boy the ibuprofen tablets. "Those should start working in a little while. Why don't you try to go back to sleep?"
Ash shook his head. "Uh-uh. Not after that nightmare." Ash shuddered and cuddled Pikachu to his chest.
Professor Oak covered the boy and his Pokémon with a blanket, being careful to not to touch Ash's injured leg with it. "All right then. Just try to lie there quietly and relax."
"It's kind of hard to relax when your whole body is shaking and itchy and you feel sick to your stomach. I feel really anxious – kind of like the way I did before my first round match in the Indigo League. My heart feels really jumpy, too. Like there's a whole bunch of Butterfree inside me trying to get out."
"That's part of the allergic reaction, Ash. Pokémon react the same way when they're stung by Beedrill." Professor Oak realized that he had to figure out some way to get the boy to relax until the ibuprofen took effect. The "jumpy heart" in particular worried him.
He had some success using biofeedback with some of the more high-strung Pokémon, but in Ash's condition, the boy was too distressed to be able use the technique successfully. Too bad there wasn't a Drowzee or Hypno around.
Hypno…wait, that's it.
"Ash, I have an idea. Which one of your Poké balls has Noctowl inside?"
Ash reached for one of the red and white balls on his belt and pressed the button on it. A golden owl appeared with a flash of light beside Professor Oak.
The scientist turned to the owl Pokémon. "Hello, Noctowl. The reason I asked Ash to let you out of your Poke ball is because he needs your help."
Noctowl looked at Professor Oak questioningly. "Cooo?"
"Noctowl, I want you to use Hypnosis on Ash."
The owl Pokémon shook its head. It would never use an attack on its own trainer.
"Noctowl, please. It's important that Ash tries to relax. You can use Hypnosis to put Ash to sleep for a little while. That way, he'll get some relief from his sore leg and the rest of his symptoms."
"Noctowl, do as Professor Oak says," Ash ordered. "Hypnotize me."
The Pokemon gave its trainer a bewildered look. "Coo?"
"Do it, Noctowl. I command you to use a Hypnosis attack on me." The owl Pokémon shook its head, ruffled its feathers, and began to flutter about in confusion. "Come on, Noctowl. Do what Professor Oak says," Ash coaxed. "You'll be helping me if you do it."
The Pokémon stopped fluttering and flew over to Ash's side. "Coo?"
"Please, Noctowl…just do it," Ash pleaded, reaching up and stroking the golden feathers on the owl's breast.
"Pika. Pi-pikachu." Pikachu added. ["It's okay, Noctowl. Your Hypnosis attack will help Ash, not hurt him."]
The bird nodded and stared intentely into its trainer's eyes. Ash felt his eyelids grow heavy. "Thanks, Noctowl…you're the best." Ash sighed, closed his eyes, and immediately fell asleep.
"Thank you, Noctowl," said Professor Oak. "I know that was hard for you to do, but I think Ash is feeling much better now, thanks to you."
The owl Pokémon cooed in reply and nuzzled Ash's head affectionately.
"Why don't you go back into your Poké ball now and let Ash get some rest?" Professor Oak picked up the Poké ball that was sitting next to Ash's hand, aimed it, and Noctowl disappeared inside with a flash of light. He gently placed the red and white ball down next to the sleeping boy and watched the boy's chest slowly rise and fall for a few seconds. He felt certain now that Ash was free of pain.
"I saved you from the Beedrill then, Ash," Professor Oak whispered as he tucked the blanket around the boy and his now-sleeping Pikachu. "And I'm going to do whatever I can to save you now."
To be continued…