Episode 102: Going Viral

Ash, Brock, and Brenda's various Pokémon are playing a game with a ball. It's some sort of keep-away. Meteorfight throws the ball. Kappaqueous tries to intercept it but misses it, and Dashilisk catches it. Dashilisk then passes it to Glitterfly, but Blissey manages to intercept. With a massive amount of strength, Blissey throws the ball like missile far across the field. Arborrior manages to catch it, but the force of the ball causes it to skid backwards. Arborrior prepares to throw the ball to Heala, but Wispirit appears from nowhere and startles Arborrior into dropping the ball. Eagladiator swoops in and grabs it while Wispirit laughs at the still frightened Arborrior.

While our heroes take some much-deserved time to relax, their Pokémon take the chance to have some fun.

Pikachu waves its arms, calling for Eagladiator to pass it the ball. "Pikakapi!" Eagladiator nods and throws the ball.

Before Pikachu can grab the ball, Rabbolt leaps in and tackles Pikachu. Pikachu is sent flying into a nearby bush, and Rabbolt grabs the ball. Rabbolt turns towards the bushes and makes a rude face at Pikachu. It laughs, "Rab rab rab rab rab rab!"

Moments later, Pikachu emerges from the bush. It appears dizzy and even a little ill. "Pika…"

Seeing this, Ash gets up from the spot he was sitting and watching. He calls out, "Pikachu, are you okay?"

From the bush, another Pokémon emerges. It's bizarre and almost alien in appearance. It's composed of a main body shaped like a cylinder formed from tightly bound wire. Atop the body is a head. The head looks like a geometric shape made of multiple panes of purple glass. On one of the panes is a projected face that also has a geometric quality. On the bottom of the body are six spindly and spider-like legs that encircle the body. Each thin leg ends with a circular pad as a foot. On the bottom of the body is what looks like a beak.

Ash quickly pulls out his Pokédex. "That's one of the strangest Pokémon I've ever seen."

The Pokédex says, "Assimlophage, the Assimilation Pokémon, and a Poison and Steel Combo-Type. Assimlophage injects in own genetic material into other Pokémon, which completely rewrites the victim Pokémon's DNA. The infected Pokémon will slowly transform into a genetically identical Assimlophage. Evolves from Germite at level 30."

Brock, who's busy cooking, overhears the Pokédex and drops all his cooking implements to the ground. He shouts, "Everyone away from it! Don't get near it!"

He runs over to see the Assimlophage. "Blissey, don't get near it, but get rid of it!" Blissey uses its Egg Bomb to scare off the Pokémon. The explosion causes it to flee. Brock asks, "Did anyone come in contact with it?"

Before anyone answers, Pikachu falls to the ground. "Pika…"

A dire look comes to Brock's face. "Oh no…" He runs over to Pikachu and scoops it off the ground. He feels its forehead, and finds it has a severe temperature. "No, no, no, no, no…"

Brenda asks, "What is it? What's wrong?"

Ash says, "You're freaking me out, Brock. Is Pikachu going to be alright?"

Brock starts running. "Not enough time to explain! We've got to get Pikachu to a Pokémon Center as fast as possible!"

Ash gulps nervously. "Pikachu…"

Brock bursts into the Pokémon Center cradling Pikachu. He shouts, "I'm a traveling Pokémon doctor-in-training, and this Pikachu was just infected by an Assimlophage!" Ash and Brenda run in after him.

The local Nurse Joy is currently giving a check-up to a trainer's Sobble. She exclaims, "Oh dear! Bring it to the intensive care unit immediately!"

Nearby, someone looks up upon hearing Brock. He says to himself, "Assimlophage, you say? Hello, Certificate of High Medical Honors." It turns out to be Alistair, Brock's rival Pokémon doctor.

Pikachu is down on a medical bed. Brock has put on a doctor's coat and is currently slipping on rubber gloves. Nurse Joy is monitoring Pikachu. Nurse Joy's Chansey and Brock's Blissey are also in the room, ready to help. Ash and Brenda stand on the side of the room, looking nervously at Pikachu.

Nurse Joy asks, "How long ago was the infection?"

Brock answers, "Only five minutes. We were just outside town when it happened."

Nurse Joy nods. "Good, then the changes haven't begun yet." They both look down to Pikachu, who is currently unconscious and squirming in pain. Nurse Joy hooks Pikachu up to several medical monitors.

Ash asks, "Please, what's wrong with Pikachu? I need to know."

Brock hangs his head sorrowfully. "You heard the Pokédex. Assimlophage has infected Pikachu. Now, over the course of the next several hours, the virus will slowly rewrite Pikachu's DNA until it becomes a mindless Assimlophage drone that can think of nothing but spreading its virus to others."

Brenda gasps. "That sounds terrible!"

Ash forces himself to sound confident and asks, "But you'll be able cure him, right?"

Brock hangs head in sorrow. "To tell the truth, I don't know. There is no known cure to the Assimlophage virus."

A tear comes to Ash's eye as he struggles to accept the words.

The door burst opens. "Until today, that is!" Alistair confidently strides in. His Slowking strides in behind him.

Brock says with shock, "Alistair!?"

Alistair looks to Brock, trying to remember him. "Oh yeah… You're that other one going for Certificates of High Medical Honors. What was your name…? Rock…? Jock…? Sock…?"

Brock corrects with annoyance, "It's Brock."

"Brock. Right. Anyways, you're free to leave now. I can take things from here. I'll find the cure."

Ash stomps up to him angrily and shouts, "No, you get out of here! That's my best buddy on that bed, and Brock is the one I trust to cure him. There's no way I'd ever let a selfish, no good, pompous, jerk like you anywhere near-!"

Brock cuts him off, "Let him stay, Ash."

Ash turns around in surprise, "But, Brock! You told me all about this guy. All he wants is one of those certificates! He doesn't care one bit about Pikachu!"

Alistair smirks. "Did I ever claim otherwise?"

Brock shoots a disapproving look at Alistair and says to Ash, "Everything you said is true, but to put it completely bluntly, I don't know if I can come up with a cure. Alistair may have a one-track mind, but in the end, his goal is the same. He needs to cure Pikachu to get a certificate. He's already earned at least one of them, which means he knows what he's doing. The more minds we have on this case, the better. Alistair helping is what's best for Pikachu."

Ash slowly nods. "You're right… It's best for Pikachu…"

Alistair interjects, "I'm sorry, but I only work alone. If you want my help, then you have to leave."

Brock looks to Alistair. "We've already gone over the fact that the patient's trainer wants me as the doctor. You're welcome to leave if you want, but that means no chance at a certificate."

Alistair slowly nods. "Touché. Fine, I'll work with you this one time. Lucky you."

Brock, Alistair, and Nurse Joy gather around Pikachu. Brock suggests, "We should start by administering broad-spectrum antiviral medication. Studies have shown that that will slow down the virus' progress."

Nurse Joy nods. "On it." She turns to retrieve the medication.

Alistair scoffs, "Anyone could have said that."

Brock looks Alistair straight in the eyes and says, "If you've got any better solutions, now would be the time to share."

Alistair considers for moment. "Well, traditionally, the best way to treat a virus would be antibody therapy."

Brock shakes his head. "Not possible. Antibodies are only produced by an immune system that has battled the virus before. So far, not a single known Pokémon has been infected by Assimlophage and defeated the virus. And since it's impossible to make an immunization shot for the Assimlophage virus, there simply is no known source of antibodies that could fight off the virus."

Alistair nods. "I knew that. I just wanted to see if you knew that."

"Right."

Nurse Joy returns with a syringe. Brock holds Pikachu still while she administers the shot.

Ash somberly asks, "How long does Pikachu have?"

Brock takes a deep breath and says, "It's impossible to say for sure. Since Pikachu is a smaller Pokémon, the point of no return will come sooner than if, let's say, a Rhydon, was infected. This antiviral will buy us some time, so I'd predict two… maybe three hours until we hit the point of no return."

Ash hangs his head.

Alistair adds, "But it could always be less."

Ash slumps back into his chair. Brock looks at Alistair with ire.

Alistair asks, "What? No sense in sugar-coating things."

Brenda gets up and tugs at Ash. "Come on, Ash. I think it might be best if we leave."

Ash shakes his head. "No, I won't leave Pikachu."

Brenda sighs and nods. "Okay… just…" She gives up, uncertain of how to console Ash. She turns to leave.

As she leaves, she passes three nurses just outside the intensive care unit. A male with blue hair, a female with red hair, and an oddly shaped one. It's actually Team Rocket in disguise. The one that is Meowth is somehow taller than Meowth and has a bloated midsection, but the overly large doctor's coat covers whatever is causing it. James asks, "Do my ears deceive me?"

Meowth says, "No, I heard the same. Pikachu is gravely ill."

Jessie grins. "The perfect time to steal it."

James and Meowth both assert at once, "No!"

Jessie is baffled. "Excuse me? When have we ever turned down an opportunity to nab Pikachu when it's weak?"

Meowth explains, "This time it's different. If we gave Pikachu to The Boss in this condition, then it wouldn't be long until he has an Assimlophage instead, and that would be worthless to him. Not to mention, the world's most valuable Pokémon would be gone forever."

Jessie slowly nods. "I see the problem."

James laments, "I can't imagine what I would ever do if my precious Mime Jr. were to come down with such a disease. The horror. That's it. We have to do anything we can to help Pikachu."

Meowth agrees, "Help Pikachu, help ourselves."

Jessie nods. "We'll do whatever we can."

From beneath Meowth's coat, Wobbuffet agrees, "Wobbuffet!"

A doctor just happens to be walking by, and stares at Meowth with confusion.

Meowth panics and says, "Excuse me, must have been those beans I ate for lunch…" He chuckles awkwardly.

The doctor shrugs and walks on. Once he's out of sight, Jessie, James, and Meowth all lean in towards the hidden Wobbuffet that Meowth stands atop and shush it.

Brenda anxiously paces back and forth in the main lobby. She says to herself, "Please be okay, Pikachu."

One of Brenda's Pokéballs opens on its own and Rabbolt appears. It looks up to Brenda and asks, "Rab rab?"

Brenda can't help but grin. "You want to know how Pikachu's doing? I guess you probably feel kind of guilty for pushing Pikachu into that bush."

Rabbolt reluctantly nods. "Rab…"

"Pikachu's in the best hands," as an afterthought, she adds, "and another pair of not so good hands, but still the best hands. Pikachu is going to be fine."

"Rabbolt…"

Brenda grins. "You really do care for Pikachu after all, don't you?"

Rabbolt suddenly crosses its arms and looks away. "Bolt."

Brenda giggles slightly. But it's short-lived, as the gloom of the situation quickly returns.

Who's that Pokémon!?

Strong electricity courses through the tips of its sharp claws. A light scratch causes fainting in foes.

Brock shouts with frustration, "No! Absolutely not! Pikachu is not a test subject, it's a patient!"

Alistair looks off to the side. "Look, you wanted a solution, and this is it. Total genetic therapy would completely expunge all foreign genetic material from Pikachu and restore Pikachu's original genome in the process. It's thought to be the only way to cure an Assimlophage infection."

"The keyword being thought! Total genetic therapy has only been tested once, and it went horribly wrong!"

"But the doctor who administered the treatment claims it was because of a mistake in the administration! I don't make mistakes!"

"There's no proof of that claim! No one has ever determined what went wrong! And since then, no one has ever performed the treatment again!"

"And that's why we need to perform it! If it works, then I'll get that certificate for sure!"

"No! We will not gamble with Pikachu's life like that! I'm a doctor, not a mad scientist! And so are you! It's our job to heal Pokémon, not experiment on them!"

Alistair crosses his arms arrogantly. "Fine, let's see you come up with a better solution."

Ash, who has remained silent and watched all this time, speaks up and asks somberly, "Brock… what's total genetic therapy…?"

Brock turns to Ash and sighs. "It's an extremely experimental procedure that involves replacing the entirety of a subject's genome, its DNA. Normally it would be done with a different genome, but in the case of an Assimlophage infection, we could hypothetically replace Pikachu's currently changing genome with its original one. This would completely flush any of Assimlophage's invasive genetic material and cure Pikachu. But as you heard, it's extremely dangerous and risky. Even the most optimistic of estimates give it only a five percent chance of succeeding. There's a fifty percent chance that it weakens Pikachu's immune system enough to cause the infection to become complete even faster, and a forty-five percent chance that the procedure itself cause irreparable harm to Pikachu."

Ash slowly nods. "Brock, promise me, if it comes down to it, and there's no other way to save Pikachu, that you'll perform the procedure."

"But Ash-!"

"If Pikachu isn't going to make it anyways, we'll take that five percent chance. Besides, you're the one who said we have to work with Alistair."

Alistair grins. "This kid may be smarter than he looks. Maybe."

Brock is speechless for several moments. Finally, he takes a deep breath. "Okay. As a worst-case scenario, we'll perform total genetic therapy." He looks to Nurse Joy. "Would you mind gathering the necessary equipment?"

Nurse Joy nods. "Yes, of course."

Brock looks back to Ash and sees him sobbing into his arm. Brock thinks to himself, Ash, I swear to you, I won't let it get to that point. If it does, then I will not only have failed you as a doctor, but as your friend. He then says aloud, "For now, let's try a targeted radiation treatment. Some studies have shown that Assimlophage RNA is susceptible to specific frequencies of radiation."

It's Luxio!

Brock is sitting at a messy desk. Books and papers are scattered all about him. He's constantly flipping through pages and cross-referencing information on a computer. In frustration, he throws a book across the room. "There's nothing here!" He puts his hands over his face in frustration. He looks up when he hears the door open.

It's Nurse Joy and Blissey. Nurse Joy reports, "We've done all we can radiation. Genetic scans confirm that we've reversed the infection by five percent, but we've hit a saturation point. No matter how much radiation we use, we can't do any more than that."

Brock nods slowly. "So, all we've done is bought ourselves some time, and not even that much at that."

Nurse Joy nods. "I'm afraid so."

"Okay, thank you Nurse Joy. I'll keep my research up. Hopefully I can find something somewhere." Nurse Joy turns to leave. Before she does, Brock asks, "Nurse Joy?"

"Yes?"

"Could you please just make sure that Pikachu is as comfortable as possible?"

"Yes, of course." She leaves.

Blissey stays behind and approaches Brock. "Blissey bliss."

"I'm sorry, Blissey. I just don't know what to do. I've been pouring through all the research material on Assimlophage infection there is, but I can't find anything that will help. Everything says its uncurable."

Blissey points out, "Blissey bliss blissey." It points to itself.

Brock sighs. "Yeah, I did figure out how to cure you when there was no cure. But this is different. When you couldn't regenerate your egg, the only reason there wasn't a known cure is because it was such an exceedingly rare ailment. It's simply that no one had had the chance to discover a cure yet. But Assimlophage infection isn't rare. There're hundreds of cases reported each year. The greatest medical minds in the world have yet to be able to find a solution. What am I supposed to do?"

"Blissey bliss."

Brock shakes his head. "No Blissey, I'm afraid that this time I just won't be able to come up with anything." Brock leans his elbows on his lap and his head in his hands.

Blissey walks behind and rubs his back in an attempt to soothe him. "Blissey."

Alistair struts through the door and asks, "Have you come to your senses yet? Are you prepared to go forward with the total genetic therapy? Surely now you must realize that there is no other solution. Even if it fails, the data gathered can be used to refine future trials. It may even earn me a certificate."

Brock is too fed up with Alistair to take this any longer. He stands up and shouts with uncharacteristic rage, "Will you get off your high Horsea! This isn't about earning some dumb piece of paper! This is about saving the life of a Pokémon! And not just any Pokémon, the best friend of my best friend! I don't know what's wrong with you! A Pokémon doctor needs to value each and every life! A patient is not an opportunity for advancement! A patient is someone who desperately needs help, and we're the only ones who can help! I said I wanted you here, so you can help! So how about you start helping, or you get out of here!"

Alistair shakes his head. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. You're stuck with me now, Sock. I will see this case through until the end. It's only a matter of time before you realize that this Pikachu is a lost cause, and you might as well use this opportunity to advance medical science. Doesn't that fit your noble aspirations? The electric rat may not make it, but other Pokémon might in the future thanks to the data we gather today. What's so wrong about that?"

Brock steps up to Alistair so that they're eye-to-eye. "It is the most sacred oath of a doctor to do no harm. It doesn't matter how you spin it, what you're suggesting would do harm to Pikachu. I refuse to listen to you any longer. Get out of here, and don't come back until you've come up with an idea that might actually help Pikachu."

Alistair rolls his eyes. "Fine. You've got one hour left. Let's see what you can come up with." He turns and leaves.

Brock collapses back into the chair. Blissey looks to him with concern. "Blissey?"

Brock takes a deep breath. "Is he right, Blissey? Is this a conflict of interest? Am I too close to Pikachu to make an unbiased call? Would it be best to do the genetic therapy?"

Blissey gloomily states, "Blissey…" It has no idea.

Ash and Pikachu are momentarily alone. Ash stands at Pikachu's bedside. He's still battling tears. "Pikachu… I know you can't hear me… but I just wanted to tell you how much you mean to me. I know I don't need to say it, you know already, but I just need to say it aloud. You're my partner, you're my best friend. I don't know what I would do without you. Please Pikachu, keep on fighting. We've never accepted defeat before, and this time is no different. This is one battle that we can't afford to lose."

Pikachu stirs slightly as it grunts in pain. It faintly says, "Pikapi…"

After a pause, Ash continues, "I can see it in Brock's eyes. He doesn't think he can save you. But I have faith in Brock. He may not admit it, but he's the greatest Pokémon doctor alive. He may not be certified yet, but he has more experience than any of those so-called professionals that claim there is no cure. Brock will find a solution. I know it. So, we just got to stay strong…" Tears start to fall from Ash's eyes. It's clear he's trying to convince himself, not Pikachu. "Stay strong…"

He forces himself to stop crying when both Brock, Nurse Joy, and Alistair enter the room. He looks to Brock inquiringly. Brock remorsefully shakes his head. "I'm sorry, Ash. I couldn't find anything. I even delved into the crackpot theories that Assimlophage came from outer space, but found nothing that could help." He takes a deep breath. "We're running out of time. If the total genetic therapy procedure is to have a chance at working, it must be started soon."

Alistair grins. "Told you."

Brock and Ash ignore him. Ash slowly nods as he thinks it over. "Let's do it. A five percent chance is better than no chance."

Brock nods. "Okay. I found a piece of Pikachu's hair from before it was infected. It contains Pikachu's complete original genome. With it we can program the genome resequencers. They'll be able to erase any genetic material they come across no problem. It's the rewriting of the DNA that's the problem."

Shock suddenly comes to Brock's face. "No… it couldn't be that easy… could it…?"

Alistair stares at him with a perplexed look. "What are you babbling on about?"

"I think I've figured it out. I think I know how to cure Pikachu safely!"

Hope floods through Ash. "You have!? How!?"

"If rewriting the DNA is the problem, then we don't rewrite it!"

Nurse Joy asks, "But that would leave Pikachu without any genetic material at all. We'd only make a new, worse problem."

"No, we wouldn't. Not if don't perform a total gene wipe. If I can get my hands on the complete genome of the exact Assimlophage that infected Pikachu, then I can program the resequencers to only wipe the genetic sequences belonging to Assimlophage!"

Nurse Joy realizes, "The genetic resequencers would essentially be working as some kind of super antibody! You're a genius, Brock!"

Alistair grumbles, "I don't know if I'd say genius…"

Brock casts aside his doctor's coat. "There's no time to lose, I've got to find that Assimlophage!"

On his way out, he passes by Brenda and Rabbolt. Brenda starts to ask, "How's Pika-"

Brock shouts, "Can't stop now! Come and help me!"

Brenda nods. "Let's go, Rabbolt!"

"Rab!" They both run after Brock.

Nearby, Team Rocket, still in their disguises, all nod at each other.

Brock, Brenda, Blissey, and Rabbolt are back in the area where they first encountered Assimlophage. Brock cautions, "Be extremely careful. We don't want anyone else to get infected. If you see it, attack from a distance."

Brenda nods. "Understood."

They begin their search, specifically focusing on bushes, as it was first found in a bush.

Brenda suddenly shouts in surprise, "Ah!"

Brock asks, "Brenda!?"

"I found it! Rabbolt, use Shockwave!"

Rabbolt attacks a nearby bush with electricity and Assimlophage leaps out. It angrily shouts in a robotic voice, "Assimlo!"

"Shockwave again!"

Brock adds, "Secret Power!" The attacks just barely miss Assimlophage and cause it to run. Brock shouts, "Don't let it get away! That Pokémon is Pikachu's only hope!" They chase it through the trees and bushes. They continue to launch attacks, but Assimlophage's erratic movements allows it to avoid them all.

Suddenly a large open capsule falls from the sky and locks the virus Pokémon within it.

Brenda asks with surprise, "What's this!?"

Jessie steps out from behind a tree and answers, "We were prepared for trouble!"

James steps out from behind another tree. "So, we came here on the double!"

"To protect Pikachu from devastation!"

"To unite against disease in our nation!"

"To denounce the cures of truth and love!"

"To extend medicine's reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket saves lives at the speed of light!"

"Never surrender and keep up the fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

"Wobbuffet!"

"Mime mime!"

Brenda shouts angrily, "Team Rocket! Pikachu is extremely sick and needs out help! We don't have time to fight you!"

Jessie asks, "Did you not just hear what we said?"

James complains, "This is why you should always listen to the Motto!"

Meowth explains, "We captured this Assimlophage so that you can cure Pikachu!"

Brock questions, "You did…?"

Jessie says, "Duh. Without any Pikachu, we lose our purpose."

Meowth adds, "And if we lose our purpose, then we'll be written out of the show for sure."

James agrees, "And no one wants that."

Brock looks to Blissey and asks, "Can you carry that capsule?"

Blissey nods. "Bliss." It runs over picks the heavy capsule and Pokémon up with ease. Assimlophage is continuously ramming its beak into the walls of the capsule in an attempt to break free. Brock and Brenda run off.

As they do, Brenda shouts, "Thanks… I guess!"

Team Rockets stands around looking proud at themselves. Meowth suddenly realizes with horror, "Wait a second, with a Pokémon like Assimlophage at his side, The Boss would be unstoppable! We just gave away a superweapon to the twerps!"

Jessie and James collapse to the floor. Jessie complains, "Even when we win, we lose…"

"Wobbuffet!"

Assimlophage has been placed in a biohazard containment cell. Brock says, "Alright, I'm having the computer sequence Assimlophage's genome now. This should only take a minute."

Ash squeezes Pikachu's arm. "You hear that, buddy? Everything's going to be okay. I told you Brock would find a cure."

Brock warns, "Don't celebrate yet. Something like this has never been tried before. There may be no risk like the total genetic therapy, but there's still a chance nothing will happen at all." He pauses then adds, "And if that's the case, it will be too late to try anything else."

Ash firmly states, "I believe in you, Brock."

Brenda steps forward. "I do too."

Nurse Joy joins in, "So do I."

Everyone looks to Alistair. He looks back to them with confusion. "What? Is there something you want me to say?"

They ignore him. Brock nods. "Okay, the genome has been sequenced. The DNA resequencer should now be able to distinguish Pikachu's DNA from Assimlophage's RNA. Activate the resequencer."

Nurse Joy nods. "Right away." She activates a machine positioned next to Pikachu's bed. A large metal arm unfolds and positions itself over Pikachu. It begins to move back and forth over Pikachu's body while making a humming sound. Everyone watches anxiously.

After several passes, a chime goes off. Brock says, "That's it. The process is over. If this worked, the effects should be immediate.

Everyone watches Pikachu with bated breath. After a few moments, one of Pikachu's ears twitches. Then its tail. Ash's face lights up with joy. Another moment later, and Pikachu has woken up. It questions with confusion, "Pikapi?" It still sounds weak and exhausted. Everyone except Alistair let's out sounds of excitement.

Ash grabs Pikachu and embraces it. "Pikachu! You're alright!" Ash begins to cry once more, but this time with tears of joy. Pikachu doesn't seem to fully understand the situation, but it smiles and enjoys Ash's embrace. It licks his cheek.

Brock, smiling profusely, explains, "Pikachu is still going to need a day or two of recuperation as its genome reasserts itself. Its body has been through a lot in the past few hours."

Ash nods and places Pikachu back down on the bed.

Brock at long last allows himself to breathe a sigh of relief.

Alistair is exiting the Pokémon Center. Brock calls, "Hey, wait!"

Alistair notices that Brock is holding a piece of paper. It's a Certificate of High Medical Honors. Alistair grimaces. "Come to rub it in?"

Brock stops and is confused. "What? No. I've come to give you this." He hands the paper to Alistair.

Alistair is baffled. "I don't get it. Why are you giving this to me?"

"Because you earned it. I had Nurse Joy put both of our names on the application for the certificate, so the PMC sent this for you."

Alistair can't believe this and is left speechless for once. "But… why…? I didn't do anything."

"But you did. If it weren't for your insistence that we use the total genetic therapy treatment, I never would have come up with idea of a modified genetic therapy. You deserve that certificate just as much as me."

Alistair stares at the paper with disbelief. "Do you know what this means?"

Brock suggests, "That you now realize the true meaning of being a Pokémon doctor?"

Suddenly snapping back to his normal self, Alistair laughs, "Of course not! It means I'm now half way towards being acknowledged as the world's greatest Pokémon doctor! Ha! You'll regret this mistake, Squawk! You might have had a chance at beating me if I didn't have this! But now that I do, you'll never defeat me!" He rushes out.

Brock is left flabbergasted. "But it's not a contest…" He adds, "And my name's not Squawk…"

Some people never seem to learn. Alistair may not be the most selfless person - okay, he's not selfless in the slightest – but today he truly did no harm, and perhaps someday he'll be able to learn from the lesson taught here. Stay tuned.

To Be Continued…