A/N: Chapter 3. I decided to upload several at once, since I know my chapters are too short right now to really give you an idea of what this story is and whether you should continue reading it.
A/N 2: Let me know if you notice anything wrong with my English.
A/N 3: I've edited this story as of 16/10/2021. For this chapter I've add a little bit more talking with Slowking, hope that you enjoy it.
A/N 4: When something is underlined that means that it has been spoken aloud by a Pokemon. If it's italic that typically means that it is telepathically spoken. However, italic in this chapter and at least one other also means that Jennifer is quoting something really important. When that differences happens, I've tried to make it as clear as possible in the writings.
Chapter Three: Found
I drifted across the sea for two days, rarely trying to direct or power the boat after I'd gotten away from the island. I was trusting in the waves and currents to carry me to land, or at least close enough that I could do the rest. It was a waste of energy to try and fight the currents or propel the boat forward with the water if I couldn't be certain that I would reach shore. I kept the oars in the water and regularly used them to check them to ensure that we stayed travelling in roughly the same direction instead of being drawn back in circles.
Then my luck ran out, and the calm seas which had been pulling us along, ran out. A raging storm came from the south, the only warning I had was the sudden dropping of temperature and pick up of wind as the sun dropped. As soon I realised what was happening with the increased tilting of the boat indicating that the waves were getting higher, the drop in temperature and the wind whipping around my head, I checked on the ropes to ensure that they were secured.
Once I was sure the ropes were secured, I grabbed the waterproof tarp from the camp bag and wrapped it tightly around my body before anchoring myself over the eggs. If the storm got much worse, I didn't want the eggs moving around and getting damaged and I definitely didn't want to get capsized and separated from them. The bags were tied under the helm and wouldn't be lost, and the eggs were also as secured as I could get them without handles, but I wasn't as secured. I didn't have any spare rope to use to secure myself, and I wasn't going to risk the eggs just to make sure I was safe when I had hands to hold on with. A luxury these future lives didn't have. I was going to have to make do with the strength of my hands for as long as I could.
I was determined that these eggs would make it out alive, even if I didn't. These lives were innocent and hadn't yet had a chance; a chance I was going to make sure that they got. If we got close enough to an island, then even if we were capsized and the cold of the water caused my grip to loosen, then that meant that the water Pokemon would be more docile and likely to see and save the eggs even if they wouldn't save me. Nearly all Pokemon had protective instincts over young and eggs, and would move to get orphaned and standard eggs to somewhere they could hatch in safety. Of course, if we capsized to far out to sea then it was likely that a Tentacool school would find the eggs and they wouldn't make to save them, and Gyrados' would be to wired by the storm to notice the vulnerable eggs.
The storm continued for a long time, the wind, rain and waves battering me and the boat from different directions. Several times I was terrified the boat was going to capsize and I'd drown before the eggs reached safety. I know that I was caught in the storm for more than a day, since my body was crying out for sustenance and the drinking of rain water wasn't enough to keep me hydrated. My fingers were cold and shaking, blisters and splinters appearing in the pads of my fingers and palms from the way that they were moving on the boat and unable to hold myself completely in place. My leg and arm muscles had both cramped from the strain, cold and lack of sustenance.
Eventually, the boat jarred as it came ashore. I used some strength to use Aura Sensing to ensure that I was actually on land and not on a rock or dry dock, before summoning as much strength as I had to get out of the boat and pull it further up on dry land. It was only a few inches, but it was all I had the strength for. Untying the ropes securing the incubators, I lifted them out onto the sand, upturned the boat over them and curled up under it to shelter from the rain. I should have checked the eggs, but I just didn't have the strength to do it.
For the second time in a week, I found myself unconscious for an unknown amount of time but this time I was sure that it was less than a day. I woke no hungrier or thirstier than I had been when I passed out, my body was still heavy with exhaustion and the cramps in my limbs had become spasms as they'd been allowed to relax. Pushing myself up as best I could under the boat on shaking arms, I started carefully pulling each of the eggs out and doing a complete check.
Only using my Aura sensing enough to feel the egg what I was holding in my arms, not feeling strong enough to extend my strength beyond that yet. I needed to eat and drink, as well as sleep instead of pass out, before I thought about really trying to extend my Aura sensing once more. Each of the eggs still had a healthy blue glow and felt warm to the touch. But I couldn't tell if they had any micro-damages, I wasn't strong or experienced enough to feel that.
Once the eggs were safely back in the incubators, I wiggled my fingers under the rim of the boat and turned it back up right, making sure it didn't rock back onto the eggs.
Groaning in dismay, I realised that I hadn't untied the bag before turning the boat upright and I now had to lean into the boat despite having used up a lot of the energy I had left. With protesting muscles and more strength than I had thought possible needed for such a simple task, I managed to get to the bag. I sat collapsed next to the incubators, drinking slowly from one of the water canteens; I knew better than to down the water considering the fact that I hadn't been able to drink enough water while out to sea. Drinking the water in one go would see me throwing it back up and I couldn't afford to do that.
I was half way through the water canteen when I sensed a psychic type Pokemon approaching. As he got closer, within ten metres of the boat, I noticed that the psychic type Pokemon felt more like a water-type Pokemon who had psychic type as their secondary nature and seemed to have trained to use said secondary typing. He felt familiar, a Pokemon I used to encounter regularly on Kumquat, but not one I'd encountered since being on Grasshope and developing my Aura abilities.
As it was a Pokemon, and not a human, I didn't feel threatened enough to push myself into activating my Aura sensing in its entirety. Now that I'd had something to drink, I felt a little stronger, but I didn't want to push myself. I did, however, shift so I was between the slowly approaching Pokemon and the incubators, just encase; even if I remained seated.
"Hello young one," The Pokemon greeted me after it stopped about a metre away.
"That, that wasn't telepathy." I blinked, confused.
I was used to Pokemon talking to me using telepathy as it was the way that Lucario used to talk with me, but that had a distinctive feel to it. That feeling had been absent from the Pokemon's words, which meant that the Pokemon had spoken as a human would.
"You can talk?" I questioned, before taking a sip of water as my voice rasped on the last word.
"Indeed, I can young one." The Pokemon's words were slow, carefully measured.
"What type of Pokemon are you?" I asked, wondering if he would be strong enough to help me move the eggs somewhere safer and more secure than the edge of the beach. From my seated position, he was quite a bite taller than me.
"I am a Slowking." The Pokemon was kind enough to inform. "And what is your name, young one?"
"Jennifer, but I prefer Jenny. It's nice to meet you, Slowking." I smiled at being able to use my name again for the first time in years.
The criminals just called me 'girl', none of them had bothered to learn my name and the majority of my mother's friends had also not bothered to learn my name. I'm not sure if I even have a memory of my mother using my name, as she had always called me 'the mistake'. I hadn't told Lucario my name, he had simple referred to me as 'apprentice' or 'young one' during our conversations. It will be nice to be a person again, instead of just a thing, around to do other people's bidding.
"You appear quite injured, young Jenny." Slowking observed.
"Nothing is infected, so I won't die from any of my injuries. Do you know anyone who can help me? I can't tell if the eggs got microfractures during the storm, and I'd feel better if someone checked them over." I disregarded the concern for my own injuries and asked after the eggs.
Hopefully, if Slowking didn't know any moves himself that could help him sense the wellbeing of the eggs, considering how strong his psychic skills were, he'd know other Pokemon who did know such moves and have such abilities like an Alakazam, Gardevoir, Espeon, Clefairy or Florges. The Orange Islands was one of the few places where Pokemon congregated from multiple different regions. If all else fails, there was always the hope that this was one of the inhabited islands and that Slowking would know the direction to a town or city, and therefore a Pokemon Centre where a Nurse Joy would be able check the eggs over.
"I'm afraid I can do no more than sense that they are alive." Slowking said, the sadness and disappointment coming across very clear with his slow and carefully deliberate words.
"Yeah, at my current strength, that's also all I can do. Do you know another Pokemon, who might be able to help?" I shifted so I could wrap an arm around the incubator holding the Vulpix egg which was the most likely to have been damaged due to its smaller size.
"There are no Pokemon with such skills on this island, as far as I know as this is not my normal home. I am simple visiting as I felt that I was needed here. Why is it you have so many eggs in your care, child?" Slowking questioned.
"I had to protect them from the humans." I admitted. "Give them a proper life, a safe life. A life the others didn't get; I just wish I could have saved more."
"There is a small town on this island, the humans are all very good and kind. Nurse Joy runs a Pokemon Centre there, and I have taken several injured Pokemon to her over the years when they cannot heal without interference. All have been released back into the wild, hale and whole within the week. I can assist you in escorting the eggs to her." Slowking suggested after a moment.
"Just a Nurse Joy? No other Pokemon healers?" I questioned unsurely.
Nurse Joy's cannot be corrupted, paid off or linked to criminal organisations because they were meticulous with checking the background of where Pokemon came from and had a strict honour code. However, other Pokemon Healers weren't as clean cut and would have to be trusted on a case-by-case bases.
"As the town is so small, she is the only Pokemon Healer working here." Slowpoke reassured.
"Okay," I agreed. "We'll go to the Pokemon Centre."
"I know Psychic, I can levitate the incubators. You are in no conditions to be carrying them. Can you move without your sight?" Slowking offered before questioning.
"I need to eat something to get the strength I need to use Aura, so I can sense a limited area around me. Unless, you can find a stick I can use as a guide?" I worried my lip as I considered the options.
"Eat child, the eggs are alive and will remain so without immediate care." Slowking immediately urged coming closer and, from the displacement of sands, sitting down. Making it clear with his actions that he wasn't going to move until I'd eaten.
"Alright," I sighed my agreement, reaching around the eggs in order to get the bags I'd left to the side.
I wasn't sure what food I had left, because I hadn't paid much attention to what food I'd grabbed from the bag while on the boat beyond ensuring that it was the none canned things since they all needed cooking. After a little rooting around in the pack, I found a packet of nuts and biscuits but all that was left was the things that needed cooking in some form or another. Between munching on the food, I continued sipping at the water.
Once I was finished with both, I put the food and water back in the bag before searching for the change of cloths and expanding cleaning whips. Nurse Joy wasn't going to focus on the eggs if I walked in looking as bad as I suspected that I did. I knew that the tarp had mostly protected my body from the storm water, which meant the dried blood and dirt was still engrained in my cloths. I also hadn't had the opportunity to clean my wounds, which I needed to do before I even thought about allowing a doctor near me and Nurse Joy would definitely want me to have medical treatment along with the eggs because I wouldn't be able to hide the damage to my eyes despite the cloth.
"You have many scars, young one." Slowking observed sadly as I poured some water onto the cleaning whips to trigger their expanding effects and release the soap.
"I know," I whispered, consciously keeping my fingers away from my skin so that I wouldn't feel those scars or any new cuts or scabs. I could still feel the sting as the soapy water past over new wounds, especially my eyes. I didn't want to be reminded of my scars now that I couldn't actually see them; perhaps I might forget about them after a while of not touching them. A foolish hope, but a hope none the less.
"Alright, are you ready, young Jenny? I'd say that the Pokemon Centre is about an hour away." Slowking questioned once I was relatively clean and dressed.
"Yes, I'm ready." I got to my feet, opening my Aura senses and expanding them to a metre out which allowed me to determine that Slowking was 6'7", which was the average hight for the rare few Slowpoke who could get their hands on a King's Rock.
"Oh, I see. You are one of the Aura gifted." Slowking hummed as the eggs were surrounded by his energy and carefully lifted. I didn't move until I was certain that he had a good and sturdy hold on the eggs. "You've had training."
It was an observation, not a question.
"An elderly Lucario, a good friend. If it would not have endangered him and his charges, I would have sought sanctuary with him instead of taking my chances with the sea." I explained.
"Could he not have protected you from the humans?" Slowpoke asked curiously as they started walking.
"Lucario is strong, but not strong enough to fight forty-two highly trained Pokemon who belong to hunters and criminals. There was a couple of other Pokemon strong enough to fight alongside Lucario, but not nearly enough." I whispered sadly, thinking off all those Pokemon who I had rescued.
Very few of them recovered enough to be able to fight and defend themselves and their fellows. Of the wild Pokemon, few grew strong enough to be able to fight and defend themselves from more than a single normal trainer, let alone a fully trained team of hunting Pokemon because there just hadn't been a need for them to grow to strong before the criminals arrived and after they arrived, they couldn't train to be that strong without attracting attention.
"Forty-two Pokemon? Will these criminals track you here?" Slowking's sounded concerned, and the psychic energy around the eggs thickened protectively, easing the tension and concern that had been radiated from my own body as I walked by the eggs – ready to react and catch them if the psychic energy should fail.
"I travelled two days on the sea before the storm. I left without their notice, and I laid a false trail inland to throw off their scent for the first few hours after they noticed me missing – which would have taken them several hours as I left at night." I hummed thoughtfully, thinking about the criminals and how they would have responded. "Unless they have an agent on this island, they shouldn't be able to find me."
"Do they have many agents?" Slowking's concern only seemed to be growing.
"Yes. Official ones who work directly with them, and those they have corrupted and bribed over the years. Do you know the name of this Island?" Being a background figure in camp meant that I had overheard lots of important information, information I was going to use to keep my charges safe and if given the opportunity bring the operation down.
"Shamouti, the Island that Watches." Slowking answered solemnly.
"Island that Watches?"
"The island and the people watch over the Isle of Fire, Ice and Lighting. Home of the Three Legendary birds." Slowking explained. "Watching the balance, and watching for the Chosen One."
"Hmm," I hummed thoughtfully, trying to recall my lessons from so long ago before I'd been pulled from school. For history, we'd learnt about the history of the islands through various songs and poems and I was sure one of the most popular ones had been on the three Legendary Birds: Moltres, Articuno and Zapdos.
"Disturb not the harmony of Fire, Ice or Lightning, lest these Titans Wreak destruction…" I trailed off slightly as I unable to remember the next line of the poem, which now I thought about it was probably a prophecy.
"Upon the world in which they clash. Though the Water's Great Guardian shall arise to quell the fighting." Slowking picked up proudly. "Alone its song will fail…"
"Thus, the earth shall turn to Ash." I picked back up, as the line had always harmonized with me.
"O Chosen One, into thine hands bring together all three, their treasures combined tame the Beast of The Sea." We spoke the next two lines together.
"From the trio of islands, ancient sphere shall you take, for between life and death, all the difference you'll make. Climb to the shrine to right what is wrong," Slowking continued the next three lines.
"And the world shall be healed by the Guardian's song…" I finished softly.
"I was not aware that the Prophecy had been passed onto humans." Slowking was definitely proud that I had known some of the prophecy, even if I had been unable to remember it all.
"It's taught to children as a poem, when we learn about legendary Pokemon which have visited the islands over the years; with a focus on the three titans. I'm sure I would have learnt more if I had stayed in school." I smiled sadly. "All natives of the islands know the prophecy."
"Then, should the time come, and the Chosen One be needed, they will know what to do. This pleases me." Slowking's energy thrummed proudly.
"As part of the lessons, we discussed what the words could mean. The 'Water's Great Guardian' and who that might be. Some thought it might be Primal Kyore, but I think it's Lugia. He's not a water type, but there's something…"
"You are very wise young Aura Guardian. Lugia is the greatest of the flying Titans, with power over psychic energy which is strong even as he sleeps. And yet, he also has a very strong connection with the water. He is the one the prophecy refers to." Slowking confirmed.
"I'm not an Aura Guardian. Just an Aura Adapt." I corrected softly, reaching out and running my hand over the rim of the incubator holding the Vulpix egg and what I was pretty sure was a dragon-type egg.
"No child, you have the makings of an Aura Guardian. Its in the way you protect the Pokemon around you, in the way you connected to a prophecy about the balance and was able to identify that it was about Lugia. In the strength of your will." Slowking explained. "It is just a matter of time before you have the strength to do the acts that your will and mind already prepare you for."
"Lucario said I had the potential to become an Aura Guardian if I trained hard." I admitted. "But I was more likely to remain as an Aura Adapt."
"Potential, that is already flourishing with your rescue of the eggs." Slowking pointed out. "I have no doubt that your Lucario could feel it, but didn't wish to frighten you with the responsibility."
"He mentioned once that he only had a rough idea of what it meant to be an Aura Guardian because it had been so long since one had been born. His knowledge came from stories, past from Lucario to Lucario." I whispered softly, sadly.
There was once a time where there were many Aura Adapts, with Aura Guardians to watch over them, all of them keeping and watching the balance. Now, there were only a handful of Aura Adapts located on Rota, not doing their jobs as they studied books and didn't learn to manipulate their Aura; there might be a couple of Aura Adapts like me out there, but they weren't known.
"But sometimes, I get these feelings; feelings that I should be doing something. Or that there is something I know… to act on those feelings when I had been effectively a prisoner would have been suicide for myself and the Pokemon I wanted to protect."
"You should start following your feelings, young one. Show the world what a true Aura Guardian looks like, and teach those lazy Aura Adapts what they should be doing to earn their name." Slowking instructed strongly. "The humans have grown lazy, and The Balance stands on a knifes edge. The years ahead will be full of challenges, and you need to be ready."
"Yes, I feel it too. There is a…" I paused. "A cry for help? I feel a push to train, but the urgency isn't immediate."
"You are very sensitive. Can you tell how long you have before the events come to be child? I do not have the sensitivity or connection to feel such a thing." Slowking chuckled softly. "I am only psychic, I do not have the advantage of feeling life force and the world in the unique way that one with Aura senses does. But it would be nice to be ready."
"I'm not sure. I'm not strong enough… a few years? Ask me again after I've had a proper rest? Or after I've had some training feeling the world as more than telling where rocks are." I shrugged, not confident in those feelings I'd been mostly ignoring over the years and so hadn't been able to pin down and identify.
"I will be hanging around the island to check on the eggs until they hatch. It is a sad day when so many Pokemon are orphaned." Slowking stopped. "We are within sight of the village. The Pokemon Centre is the first building you will encounter and the humans are not wandering about as the majority will be working on the fields which are on the other side of the village from which we approached."
"How many homes?" I asked curiously, not daring to extend my sensing when I could already feel the strain that walking sensing the Aura of the life around me by a metre had placed on my already strained body. Their conversation had kept me mostly distracted during the walk, but not enough.
"Twenty-eight homes plus six independent business buildings. Much of the businesses around here are run from the homes." Slowking hummed before continuing and giving more details than I had asked for. "There is a small dock with three boats presently docked at them. The dock is protected by the crest curve of the island. The sun rises from the east, which is behind us and sets in the west, coming down between the two points of the crest tips of the island. As it's afternoon, the sun is before us but the sky is still blue with the day. Dawn is several hours away."
"I can feel the breeze, is it coming in from the sea? It feels like it's coming slightly from the right – which might be north if behind us is west. Are we on a hill?" I hummed.
"It's coming from the north-east." Slowking agreed. "And yes, we are on a hill. The incline up here was very gentle from where we started."
"Is this the only town on Shamouti?" I asked curiously. "From what I can remember, it's a small island which produces and exports berries."
"This is a small island, and they only settled on this one spot so as to maintain the agricultural integrity as much as possible." Slowking explained. "Even as the generations continue, this has remained true. The humans here… the humans here remain true."
"The last human I met who was like that…" I swallowed thickly, unable to cry which alerted me to the fact that my tear ducts had been destroyed, which also meant it was likely my eyeballs had either been completely destroy or removed. I'm sure I'd get over the pain and trauma at some point and completely remember what Adam had done before I'd fallen unconscious. "Do you think they'd let me stay, Slowking?"
"Yes child, I'm sure you and your eggs will find a home here." Slowking reassured. "Are you ready to go."
"As ready as I can be." I whispered. "The eggs need to be checked over, and I've delt with worse than my insecurities."
"That's the spirit." Slowking said brightly, starting to move forward. As the eggs had started moving forward at the same time, I was forced to also start walking forward with him and the eggs. They were all I had left – I wasn't letting them out of arms reach.
"Oh my," a woman's worried voice greeting us upon entering the Pokemon Centre. Her Aura was kind and gentle, soothing and genuine emotions flowing off her. "Slowking, child, what happened?"
"We don't know if the eggs are okay. We were caught in the storm. I tried to secure them, but they could still move with the boat and that could have harmed them. There is also a Vulpix egg, born a runt and was kept out of an incubator and away from its mother for a few days with a slowly cooling heat sauce. I'm concerned for their overall heath." I fought my instincts to step in front of the eggs, reminding myself that this woman had a kind Aura and that Slowking trusted her and that I knew Nurse Joys were always reliable.
"Chansey," Nurse Joy called her fairy type Pokemon from a back room. "Please help Slowking escort the eggs into the examination room."
Chansey appeared, rolling something which rattled across the floor.
Slowking placed the eggs onto what I identified as a stretcher based on the shape of the void. I walked at the stretchers side while Chansey pushed it and Slowking lumbered behind like a silent guard. Nurse Joy had gone ahead, by the sounds of it, setting up some sort of equipment.
"Do you know the breed of the eggs?" the Nurse Joy questioned.
"Vulpix is this one," I opened the incubator with the unnaturally small egg, and handed it over with unnatural care.
"Vulpix, the one who was born a runt. How long ago?" Nurse Joy placed the egg on a bed which was heavily cushioned to support the eggs.
"I can't give you an exact day, but it's been perhaps a week. No more than nine days, no less than five."
"Alright, and the others."
"I don't' know for certain. I was never allowed in the hatchery, so I don't know where within the building they put the eggs after the mothers had given birth. And, of course, there was also the eggs which they brought in or stole." I explained with a frown, bringing out the egg which had been partner to Vulpix. "This one, I think is a dragon type of some kind with a secondary typing."
"I will contact Professor Elm; he is a specialist in Pokemon breeding and might be able to give an idea of the secondary typing if not the actual Pokemon." Nurse Joy hummed. "Egg care doesn't generally differentiate depending on breed, but there are a couple of extra steps that certain breeds prefer. Fire types, for example thrive better at a slightly higher temperature, dark types in the dark and water types with some time submerged in warm water."
"Okay, well the next two are a flying type and water." I pulled out the next two eggs and handed them over. "The last are a dark type and another water. I think the dark type might have a secondary of dragon, because of the similarities with the second egg."
"Two dragons, that is very rare. Do you have an estimation of how old these might be?" Nurse Joy placed the sixth and final egg down.
"No. With it being spring… and not having access to the eggs or knowing which of the dozens these five actually are…"
"Alright, I'll do a deep scan to determine if there are any micro-fractures to the eggs. We'll have to wait for the Professor to determine age." Nurse Joy picked up the Vulpix egg and moved to a point in the room outside of my current sensing range. I fought my instinct to extend my senses to see what was going on, knowing that doing so would cause me to collapse in exhaustion.
"It's alright young Jenny," Slowking placed his paw on my shoulder. "Nurse Joy is just placing the Vulpix egg in a monitoring machine. It will come to no harm."
"I'm sorry, it's just that I promised Ninetales I'd protect her egg… it was the last thing I…" I stopped, unable to say it.
"Why don't you take a seat on the bed, and when Nurse Joy is finished checking on the eggs, you can hold them?" Slowking suggested gentle. "You're exhausted, over-extending yourself and risking your injuries re-opening." He finished telepathically, knowing that saying such was something that I didn't want to happen in front of Nurse Joy.
"That's a good idea. Body heat and personal proximity is good for all breeds of eggs." Nurse Joy agreed with Slowking's suggestion. "You are looking quite pale, child."
"Jennifer, or Jenny." I muttered my name, allowing Slowking to direct me to a second bed which had also been out of my sensing range. Fortunately, sitting on the bed didn't put me to far away from where the eggs were resting. The taller Pokemon actually had to lift me up onto the bed because it was too tall for me to jump onto and my arms too weak to pull my weight up.
"Alright, so that means we have a fire type, a dragon, a flying, two waters and a dark type which might also be dragon." Nurse Joy hummed, as something beeped on her machine. "Well, the Vulpix egg seems to be in remarkable good health, although I'd advice that the egg be kept either on your person or in its own incubator which is set five degrees warmer than average just to be on the safe side. You cared for this egg from the moment it was born?"
"Yes. I saved it and managed to hide it under an incinerator to keep it warm. I checked on it for the next two days before I was… I suppose incapacitate for maybe a day or three, I'm not sure how long I was unconscious for. Then, I spent the next three, maybe four days on a boat with the eggs checking on them and protecting them." I hummed. "Of course, a period of that time was with the storm so I couldn't do more than protect them."
"That storm raged for nearly thirty-three hours." Nurse Joy said horrified, "And you survived out on the sea, on a boat? On your own?"
"I was washed ashore at some point near the end of the storm, and I flipped the boat to protect us from further battering." I shrugged.
"I would like to do a medical exam on yourself once I've checked the eggs over, to be on the safe side." Nurse Joy requested. "But I asked about your care of the egg, because it's possible that the Vulpix has imprinted on you and that is the reason it is so strong. Professor Elm will be able to confirm if there is a bond there before the egg hatches, and I will have him check the other eggs due to the time you spent on the sea with them."
"There is a strong bond between the eggs and young Jenny." Slowking confirmed, reminding the nurse that he was a psychic type Pokemon and so capable of feeling and seeing such things.
"Chansey, could you find some Mineral Cleaner for Jenny to use so she has something to do while holding the egg." Nurse Joy requested of her Pokemon who had been silently hovering over the eggs.
"Chans, Chansey." The Fairy sang before leaving my sensing and hearing range as the egg I'd identified as dragon type ended up in the machine that the Vulpix egg had just come from.
"Mineral Cleaner?" I questioned, not recognising the term.
"Research has determined that eggs raised by Pokemon absorb important minerals and nutrients that the Pokemon inside needs in order to ensure they grow strong. It's how they are able to battle so quickly after hatching." Nurse Joy was kind enough to provide an in-depth answer without questioning whether or not I'd be able to understand what she was saying. "Eggs raised by humans don't get these minerals, so we developed mineral water. It's best to gently massage it into the eggs once a day using a soft rag."
"Which also allows the egg to be close to body heat." I hummed understandingly, reaching out to take the rag and bottle from Chansey who returned to the room. "How damp should the rag be?"
"You should be able to feel the water through the cloth, but your hand shouldn't be wet. Don't fold the rag." Nurse Joy instructed.
Sitting crossed legged, I rested the Vulpix egg against my stomach and poured a small amount of the liquid onto the rag before beginning to carefully and gentle massaging the shell – using small concentric circles. As I worked methodically, the other eggs were slowly added around me on the bed – supported by blankets to ensure that they couldn't move. When I was finished with the Vulpix egg, I moved onto the next.
"Will the eggs all be kept together?" I asked softly as I worked on the flying type egg. "In double incubators when they weren't with me?"
"I don't have any long-term incubators, and I don't trust the ones you brought with you. But I can ask Professor Elm to bring some paired incubators, and if he has one a family incubator, if that would make you more comfortable?" Nurse Joy's voice lilted curiously.
"Not me, the eggs." I admitted, my head bowed as I focused on caring for the current egg in my lap. "They like being together."
"How can you tell they like being together?" Nurse Joy lost her professional persona and questioned in complete confusion.
"I can feel them. It's how I knew what type they were." I shrugged uncomfortable, not feeling confident enough to reveal that I was Aura Adapt.
"The young one is gifted." Slowking spoke solemnly, directing the attention onto himself. "She will grow to understand more about her gift as she grows and bonds with her Pokemon partners."
"Will you be staying for long, Slowking? You don't normally stay to talk…" Nurse Joy asked.
"I will be checking in on young Jenny regularly," Slowking admitted. "But will leave shortly, once I am sure of the young one's health."
"Won't you be returning to your own home, Slowking?" I questioned softly, gentle depositing the egg on my left and picking up the dark type egg. I was leaving the water-type Pokemon till last, since they were both brighter and stronger compared to the others.
"My home isn't far from this island, young one. It takes me only an hour to travel here." Slowking chuckled. "Visiting you and your young charges will not be a problem for me."
"It will be nice to have a friend." I smiled shyly over at the psychic Pokemon. I didn't need, or want a new Pokemon mentor, but a friend would be nice. Especially an elder Pokemon who the future eggs might be able to look up to.
"Being your friend would be my honour, young Jenny." Slowking chuckled.
"Jenny," Nurse Joy apologetically interrupted the conversation. "Would you mind if I contacted the village doctor and had him come here to give you an exam? It doesn't sound like you were in a good situation before, and you've just spent several days at sea in a storm and I'd like to make sure you haven't suffered injury from such an experience."
"I… I'm not comfortable with the idea of being examined." I admitted, curling around the water type egg which I'd just picked up after swapping the dark type out. "I know I should… but… it… I can't… I'm not ready." I finished my failed attempted at explaining in a shamed whisper.
"Would you be comfortable with the doctor taking blood to run some basic tests, looking for elevated white blood cells which would indicate infection or low nutrient and vitamin levels that need to be addressed?" Nurse Joy suggested instead. "And with non-invasive scans, like an MRI or X-Ray?"
"I… okay." I sighed, knowing that she was right and I needed to give them something. I didn't think I'd developed an infection, but it would be nice to know how I should adjust my diet to make sure I get the strength I need to care for the Pokemon who were soon going to hatch and be under my care.
"What is the condition of the eggs?" I asked since Nurse Joy hadn't said when she handed the eggs over beyond the general confirmation of them being 'okay'.
"The eggs are all in good condition. The ones you identified as water type are in the best condition, and your Vulpix egg is well but seems to be in a delayed hibernation state. I'll have to confirm with Professor Elm, but all this means is that the Vulpix egg will be delayed in hatching to ensure that it has time to grow a little more." Nurse Joy explained.
