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A/N: I recently found this document in my files, so I figured if anyone is still interested in reading about Chip and Rotom, I'll put the other chapters up too!

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CHAPTER 14

THE BROKEN POKEDEX

The sharpedo watched from a distance, waiting, until the electrical field in the water died down. It had seen Rotom floating from beneath the waves and fully intended on collecting its prize. The sharpedo didn't know what kind of pokemon it was, just that it was shiny and most likely delicious, like the license plates it occasionally snapped up.

"Chip!" Hau said. The boy turned around. He'd been looking at a luvdisc as it moved among the waves. "Did you see that?"

"See what?" he asked, rubbing his face.

"The sharpedo! Rotom was coming over and a sharpedo knocked it out of the air!"

Chip's body went cold. "Where?! Where's Roro?!"

Hau pointed. "Over there! That's where the sharpedo jumped out of the water!"

The two boys scrambled frantically in the direction Hau had pointed. When they hit the boundary of water Rotom was electrifying, Hau yelped and jerked back. He'd reached it first. "It's electrified! Rotom must be out of the PokeDex or something! Chip, you can't go in there!"

Chip looked at him in panic. "I can't let Rotom drown!"

"It's a ghost! Can it actually drown? Chip, let's go back to the shore and we can get help!"

Chip just couldn't risk it. He didn't know whether Rotom needed to breathe or not, and a mistake would lead to his partner's death. He held his breath, steeling himself against the inevitable assault of electricity, then swam forward.

The electricity hit him like a wall. Chip found himself struggling to move as his muscles involuntarily contracted on their own. Then, just as he was trying to force himself forward, the electricity abruptly stopped. Beneath his feet, he could see water pokemon starting to dart around again, no longer under threat of the electricity. But Chip's heart started pounding hard, so hard he thought it would explode from his ribs. That wasn't a good sign. It could mean Rotom had fallen unconscious. It could have mere minutes left to live.

The blond didn't have much experience with swimming. He could paddle along, but he wasn't used to the water like the Alolan residents were. Still, he sucked in a deep breath and dived down, feeling his ears pop. It was so dark down there he couldn't see anything, except the tiniest speck of light near the bottom. Chip hadn't realized how far he and Hau had swum out, and now he had no idea how far the bottom of the sea was.

As he swam further and further down, he realized the speck of light was Rotom! It was a faint blue, but he could still see it! Chip's chest was starting to ache, but he forced himself forward. His head was screaming at him to go back up for air, but he couldn't. Not while Rotom was inches from his fingers…

Chip saw that Rotom had tried exiting the PokeDex, but was entangled by the string and feather around it. He picked Rotom up, then the PokeDex, ignoring the light-headed feeling washing over him. Rotom's eyes were closed, its form slack. The blue aura around it was faint, and its wings had shrunk in size, barely an inch off its body. The blond positioned his feet against the seafloor, then pushed, shooting up toward the surface.

When Chip exploded from the water, the first thing he saw was the stars. They stretched in every direction around him as he pulled Rotom up toward the air. Hau immediately swam over, and he handed the PokeDex to the other boy, disentangling the thread from Rotom.

Chip treaded water, pushing at Rotom's lower body in an attempt to get it to throw up the water. "Roro… Roro, come on… come on. Breathe!"

Hau's expression went serious as he realized that Rotom did need to breathe. His eyes went glassy as he clung to the PokeDex as if it were a life vest, realizing that he had just suggested Chip let his partner die because of his ignorance.

The dark-haired boy's guilt disappeared the moment he saw a fin cutting through the water toward them. "Chip! The sharpedo is coming!"

Chip turned to see the fin slicing through the waves. It was coming so fast he instinctively knew that there was no getting away. There was no swimming back. He ducked under the water, as did Hau, looking for any means of escape-a cave, an underwater boulder, anything. He spotted a crevice covered in coral beneath them, just wide enough for them to squeeze through, but not big enough for the shark pokemon. The two of the dove down, squeezing themselves into the crevice. A look of pain crossed Hau's face as he gritted his teeth. Blood trickled into the water, drifting out into the open like strings. He'd cut his leg on the sharp coral on the way in.

Hau had a terrified look on his face as he clung to Chip. The two had only maybe three minutes tops before they had to leave their sanctuary and get air. Chip looked down at Rotom, how faint its glow was. Rotom didn't have much time either. None of them did.

Either they pulled through this together, or they died together.

The sharpedo blasted past them. Chip tapped Hau's shoulder and pointed. But a moment later, the shark did a u-turn and slammed into the rock guarding them. Chip and Hau screamed as they were slammed against the rocky wall, bubbles of precious air slipping from their mouths. The slam made the crevice shake around them. Chip was starting to feel lightheaded. What were they to do?

A massive shadow passed overhead, drenching the sharpedo and the crevice in darkness. A moment later, a huge blue pokemon slammed into the sharpedo, driving it back. Hau clutched the rocky entrance to the crevice, a dizzy look on his face as he leaned out slightly to see what was happening. The massive blue pokemon roared, sending vibrations through the water that shook the crevice again, causing rocks to fall off it. The sharpedo turned and darted away. Delicious shiny meal or not, there was easier prey to catch.

Hau started to swim out of the crevice, blood still trailing behind him. Chip could barely focus, he knew that massive pokemon was out there, and it would probably eat them. He grabbed for Hau's foot, but it was slick with blood and slipped out of his hands. That blue monster had been bigger than the sharpedo and likely had a more massive appetite. But he needed air. He needed it. He was seconds from fainting, his whole body feeling weak.

Chip's vision started to blink out. But then he felt something pushing him up, up, up-and he broke through the surface, sputtering and coughing. Beside him, Hau had been pushed up as well and was whimpering and spitting out water when he wasn't violently coughing.

"Wh…" Chip looked around in confusion. Beneath him was the massive blue pokemon, but now that he looked at it closer… it was a huge school of wishiwashi, all tightly interlaced together. One of them broke free of the group and approached him. It swam in a tight circle and giggled at him. "...Wishiwashi?"

Hau gagged and coughed up some more water. "It's… wishiwashi… school… form."

"Thank you Wishiwashi," Chip said, breathless. He coughed up some water, his head hurting. "Can you get us to shore? Please?"

The two massive wishiwashi schools jetted Chip and Hau back toward the shore. When they reached it, Hau's other pokemon dashed up to meet them. Litten gasped in surprise when it saw Rotom unconscious, and Pichu and Pikipek let out cries of alarm. Pichu dashed up to Chip as he collapsed onto the sand, holding Rotom in his arms. He couldn't get it to breathe, and he couldn't get it to throw up water. Chip's vision swam around him as tears trickled down his cheeks. No, this couldn't be happening. He couldn't lose another partner. He couldn't lose Rotom. He loved Rotom!

"Pichu!" the little mouse hopped into Chip's lap, taking him by surprise. As Hau sat down beside Chip, the stricken look still on his face, Pichu pressed its paws to Rotom's body. Its tiny body started to spark, then it electrocuted the ghost. Rotom's blue aura brightened, just slightly.

"That's it, Pichu!" Hau exclaimed. "Try it again!"

Pichu shocked Rotom again. The blue aura grew a bit stronger. Chip clutched Rotom tightly, tears streaking his cheeks. "Please, please, be okay…"

With the third shock, Rotom stirred, immediately starting to cough. Pichu moved back, its mouth pressed into a worried line as it watched the other electric pokemon. Rotom shuddered and coughed as Chip held it close, water trickling out of its mouth. Then, its coughing started to get more violent, its entire body shaking as it brought up all the water it'd breathed in. Rotom's blue eyes slowly started to open.

"Roro! Roro, you're okay!" Chip held the ghost tightly, pressing his cheek against Rotom's. He pulled the ghost back and looked at it, his heart still pounding in worry, but now he was awash with relief. Rotom looked around, its gaze unfocused and unseeing, then its eyes slid closed again. The ghost was breathing, though, and its tiny body shuddered every few seconds.

"Pi, pichu, pi," the tiny mouse said, reaching forward to electrify the ghost again. Its aura was half of what it normally was, but Rotom was alive.

Hau let out a little whimper of pain. Chip turned to see that the dark-haired boy had a number of cuts on his arms, legs, and feet, possibly from jamming himself into the crevice after Chip without regard for any sharp coral. No wonder that sharpedo was so excited. It probably smelled the blood in the water.

"I can help you with that," Chip said. He looked down at himself, but miraculously, he didn't have any injuries. That was a first. "I still have a human first aid kit in my backpack."

"That'd be great," Hau said, wiping at the tears building up in his eyes. "Is Rotom going to be okay?" Hau set the PokeDex on the table they'd claimed for their possessions. Pichu hopped onto the table with the help of Pikipek and looked at the machine, making a soft noise of sadness. It was clearly very broken.

Chip looked at Rotom, frowning. "It's unconscious, I think…" He gently stroked Rotom's cheek. "Roro? Can you open your eyes?"

"...Ro… to…" The ghost looked up at him wearily, blue eyes watery. Tears began to drip from them.

Chip felt like he wanted to cry too. This whole adventure was a disaster, and it felt like every day brought new forms of pain and terror. But he knew he had to be strong for Rotom, so he stroked its cheek gently, wiping the tears away. "It's all right. I've got you. You're safe, Roro."

Rotom's tears dribbled down Chip's chest as the ghost buried its face against him. From his peripheral vision, Chip could see that Hau was struggling to keep his emotions in check as well, tears dribbling down his cheeks as he looked at the injuries on his arms and legs. Chip couldn't feel anything but an overwhelming relief that Rotom was safe, and neither of them had a bite taken out of their limbs. They could have easily lost an arm or a leg, or worse.

The PokeDex was very clearly broken. Chip picked it up, feeling his heart sinking as he looked at its state. The screen had cracked, and there were numerous other cracks in the rest of it as well. It was logged with water and sparking slightly, but Chip put it in his backpack anyway. In truth, the PokeDex didn't matter. If he lost it, then so be it. What mattered was that he, Rotom, and Hau were safe.

"We're all right," Chip said, half to himself and half to the others, as he slung his backpack over his shoulder. Hau looked up at him and nodded weakly. "Let's wash off, then I'll take care of your injuries, okay, Hau? Then we'll take Roro to the Pokemon Center…" Oh, god, he couldn't imagine how Nurse Joy would look at him. He was already earning himself a bad reputation as a trainer.

But there was no way around it. No potions could solve this problem.

Now that the adrenaline had worn off, it seemed like Hau was having some trouble walking. There were cuts on the underside of his feet that were getting jammed with sand, and every step left the boy gritting his teeth with pain. Chip held Rotom in one hand and wrapped an arm around Hau's waist, helping him walk up the beach. The dark-haired boy was breathing hard with every step, tears trickling down his cheeks. Beside him walked Litten, the kitten's eyes wide with concern.

"Here we go," Chip said, gently leading Hau to the outdoor showers. "Let's get you cleaned up."

Chip set his backpack off to the side, then gently placed Rotom in it. The ghost had its eyes closed, body shuddering. The blond didn't want to let go of Rotom, but he also didn't want to expose it to water anymore, not while it was stressed like this. The water was cold, and Hau yelped in pain and surprise. Chip's hands started to feel numb as he helped Hau clean out his wounds, but he ignored the pain. He had no right to complain.

"Do you have a towel with you?" Chip asked.

Hau winced. "Yeah, um-Litten? Can you get my towel from my backpack?"

The cat pokemon brought a gold-and-white towel over. Chip took it wordlessly and started drying off Hau's wounds. The towel had some streaks of red on it now, but Hau's wounds didn't seem too bad. They could have been much worse, a fact that kept circulating through Chip's mind. He took the disinfectants and bandages out of his own backpack and finished up. "Did you want to go to the Pokemon Center with me, Hau?" Chip murmured, wondering if it was even a good idea to have Hau walking around.

Hau nodded. "Of course I'll go...ah!" He winced as he tried putting his weight on one foot. "I want to make sure Rotom's okay too."

As Hau recalled Pichu and Pikipek into their PokeBalls, Chip reached into his backpack to take Rotom into his hands again. The ghost's eyes shot open, but they were glassy, as if it wasn't seeing anything. Chip leaned his forehead against Rotom's, feeling the faintest sense of electricity pulsing through his skin. Rotom's eyes closed without response. Chip had to keep telling himself that Rotom was okay, though a horrible thought started circulating through his mind, deafening everything around him. All of this has happened because Rotom became my partner. It's gotten hurt over and over because it's close to me.

I can't do this. I can't watch Rotom get hurt anymore.

The thoughts hurt. They scalded at his insides, leaving him with a feeling of emptiness that didn't go away. He wanted to argue with them. He wanted to cling to Rotom as tightly as he could, no matter how selfish it might be-but Chip knew it was true. Everything that'd happened to Rotom was because of him. His bad luck, the misfortune that'd followed him since he was young, had nearly stolen the life out of someone he loved.

The walk to the Pokemon Center was silent. Chip didn't bother hesitating in the doorway, he simply helped Hau in. Nurse Joy dashed up to them, gasping in horror at the state of them both. Chip felt like everything was muted, like there was this buzzing in his ears, a static in his head that he couldn't escape. As a stretcher took Hau into the back of the hospital, Chip followed along silently, as did Litten.

Nurse Joy was speaking to him. Chip kept walking-until she put a hand at his shoulder and stopped him. Finally, the world came back into focus. "Are the pokemon okay? Please, let me see your rotom."

The blond looked down at Rotom, feeling that familiar numbness spreading through his entire body. The static in his head was beginning to return. He felt like his knees could give out at any moment. He should have known better. He shouldn't have pulled Rotom into this adventure, knowing what misfortune followed him.

"Excuse me? Please let me see it," Nurse Joy said. She slowly reached over to take the unconscious pokemon from the blond. Chip hadn't even noticed that Rotom had gone unconscious, maybe because he had expected it would return to its PokeBall if it had. It hadn't, and he felt its slight weight-Rotom weighed a little less than a pound-disappearing from his arms.

Chip felt trapped in that moment, unsure whether he should follow Nurse Joy or Hau. A choice that would have been so easy before seemed impossible to handle. It was like his thoughts wouldn't process correctly, leaving him blinking and confused in the middle of the hallway. Nurse Joy reached to take Chip's arm and guide him into the hospital with her. Though Chip didn't realize it, she'd seen how close the two partners were before, and knew that if Rotom woke up, it would panic if Chip wasn't nearby. All the same, she guessed Chip and Hau were friends, and they wouldn't want to be separated either. Chip himself didn't seem as fine as he appeared physically. The boy had very clearly gone into shock.

There were some private rooms for matters like this, usually when trainers blacked out after their entire team being wiped out. Hau rested in one of these emergency rooms, as did Rotom. With some effort, Nurse Joy coaxed Chip into one of the beds as well. Though he hadn't been injured much, Chip still had some scratches that needed treatment to ensure there would be no infection-and clearly his mental state needed addressing as well.

A twinge of pain caused his brain to take notice of the world around him. Chip lifted his arm to notice there was an arterial catheter in it. He hadn't even realized they'd put one in, but now Nurse Joy was preparing something in a bag. The words on the bag blurred and slanted as the liquid dripped into the tube. "Don't worry, honey," Nurse Joy said. "You'll feel better after you wake up. I promise."

In Chip's mind, one thought chased itself around and around as he drifted off: I'm the reason Rotom keeps getting hurt. I have to let it go.