"Of all places our research might've led us, none of us expected it to be the backwater region of Orre. Once a prolific mining province, the gradual depletion of minerals inevitably led to an exodus of first wealth and then people. Only the stubborn and the crazy still remained. The man the student introduced us to was both."
- doctor Harrison
Patricia the housemaid
"When I say you cannot help, there is a very good reason for it. Not every patient benefits from having a Pokémon present. In fact, sometimes it can even be damaging. You could have really scared him."
They were back in Lindsey's room. Espeon at least had the decency to look ashamed of itself. Its head and ears hung low, giving her the Growlithe eyes of remorse.
Lindsey wasn't sure if it had understood what she was trying to explain. Sometimes she realized she must look slightly unhinged, talking to a Pokémon like it was a human colleague. But she had always respected the intelligence of these creatures. That made it even more unacceptable when they disobeyed a direct order. Lindsey's work was not like a Pokémon battle where the only consequence of a serious mistake was a lost match. They were dealing with the lives of real people, and the effects of their actions could have long-term ramifications.
When Espeon continued to look at her apologetically, she sighed. It was hard to stay mad at a creature that was completely incapable of ill intentions. It just wanted to do what she'd trained it to.
"You should have known better." She said. "But I admire your determination to help. Maybe you still can, eventually. Just not right now."
Espeon cautiously perked up at this. Lindsey gave it a small smile and returned to her office, Espeon followed her with its tail back up in the air in a sign of contentment. When she entered, she spotted a document holder on the desk that hadn't been there before. There was a small note on top of it.
"Doctor Lindsey, Please find Ash's medical records inside. I apologize for the delay in getting these to you. Yours sincerely, Frank."
How in the world had he managed to get them here? Did Frank somehow dig up an old fax machine in a fossil site nearby? Regardless, Lindsey wasn't going to look a gifted Rapidash in the mouth. She sat down and opened the file.
She took her time to read through it carefully. It was not a cheerful document. She felt no satisfaction in having her suspicions that Ash was suffering from PTSD confirmed in the cold clinical terms that were typical of all medical reports. She was even less happy to see a list of injuries she hadn't been aware of before. Among these a concussion, broken ribs, and, somehow, whiplash. Previous medical staff had also noted that the patient wasn't eating or sleeping properly and needed to be heavily medicated to decrease the frequency and severity of flashbacks.
'Oh dear' Lindsey thought with trepidation. 'So they turned him into half a zombie to keep him calm.'
And Ash had been off those drugs for hours now. Lindsey searched through her cabinets to find the right medicaments. She'd gradually decrease the dosage once she created a treatment plan for him. When she'd found everything Ash needed, Lindsey picked up the walkie-talkie. She stared at it for a moment, only now realizing she had no idea it worked. She experimentally pressed a few buttons until she heard a bleeping noise and raised it uncertainly to her face.
"Uhm, hello?"
"Hi there!" responded a bright, southern voice.
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry. I was trying to get a hold of Frank…" Lindsey said awkwardly, her face flushing.
"This is Patricia, dearest. You must be doctor Lindsey! Oh, how nice to finally meet you!"
This wasn't the way Lindsey was used to meeting new people. "Likewise, Patricia, I-".
"I says to Oliver, I says to him, 'I'm going to be right happy when the master's son and the doctor come to live here and breathe some life into this place! It's been much too quiet! Don't you agree?' With only Pokémon to talk to. And I love dear Gothitelle but I tells you, all it ever says is its own name."
Lindsey nodded along empathetically, then remembered Patricia couldn't see her. She waited for the woman to take a breath before politely interjecting.
"Do you know where Frank is? I'd like him to bring Ash's medication to his room while I begin to arrange a plan of treatment for him."
"But of course! I'm afraid Frank is a little busy at the moment but I'd be happy to do it myself! I was just about to bring up dinner anyway."
"That would be perfect, Patricia, thank you so much."
"Oh, it's nothing at all, dearest! Nothing at all!"
Lindsey didn't know how to hang up on her though, she just continued to chatter away. So instead, she set the walkie-talkie down on the desk and began looking through books (since she still lacked an Internet connection) to refresh her memory on specific treatments. All she had to do was say the occasional "I see!" and "Indeed." whenever the housemaid took a breath.
When Patricia knocked on Lindsey's door a few minutes later, she turned out to be a plump, Unovan woman in her late fifties. She had been pushing a tray carrying dinner for the mansion's occupants and offered Lindsey the day's appetizers. Exchange between medication and onion soup made, merciful silence returned.
It tasted quite delicious, Lindsey thought, as she absentmindedly ate while reading. It was nearly dark outside now. The sound of rain against the windows grew louder as the weather worsened. But Lindsey found the noise soothing. The lamp light inside was warm and pleasant, spreading a cozy glow across the room. Espeon had even curled up beneath one of them. Everything down to the wallpaper looked more inviting than it had done a few hours ago. The perfect image was broken only when the walkie-talkie crackled back to life.
"Uhm, d-doctor Lindsey?"
Lindsey picked up the device, frowning. "I'm here, is everything alright?"
"No," Patricia whimpered, voice shaking. Espeon raised its head to look at the walkie-talkie as Lindsey slowly stood up, looking serious. "What happened?"
"T-There is something wrong with Ash, I don't know what happened-"
"I'm on my way."