Mistralton Arc: The Gift
"Mari... you..." Outside, Jacky stopped and turned to the black haired girl. "...I can do this by myself, you don't have to do this if it bothers you so much... You can stay here with your aunt and I'll bring Maki back.",
"Are you stupid?" Mari asked, crossing her arms. "Let's be honest, I have no idea where you got that totally stupid idea from. Aside from the fact that Hypno has a much bigger influence on you than it does on me, she's MY family, not yours. It's my job to save her. It's out of the question for you to do it alone.",
"But I'm worried about you, don't you understand? I saw it in your eyes, how sad you were, and I just don't want you to go through more trouble.",
"No." Mari shook her head. "It's all right... We've done everything together so far, and that's not going to change. I don't want this sadness around me.",
"Stubborn as ever." Jacky had to grin and then nodded.
"Well. I thought you knew me." Mari grinned widely. "What are we going to do now?",
"I'd use the next few days for training and then, we'll tackle the gym.",
"Alright. The gym is run by Skyla. She has flying-type Pokémon.",
"Flying, huh? Okay..." Jacky nodded and they decided to go back to Mistralton and take their quarters in the Pokémon Center.
However, they suddenly heard a scream. "What was that?" Mari asked in surprise.
"That sounded like a Pokémon..." Jacky replied. Another cry rang out. A cry of pain. "Come on!" Mari sprinted off, in the direction of the scream. Jacky followed her. They hurried through the streets and then found the source of the commotion. They were coming from a Combusken being kicked by a guy, apparently its trainer. "Hey! STOP IT!" Jacky shouted in age, grabbing the man by the arm and dragging him back. The man growled. "You're such an incredible loser, Combusken! So fucking weak and worthless! Urgh, let go of me, brat!" He kicked at her. "Argh!" Jacky held her breath as he hit her shin with force, but didn't let go and managed to push him against the wall of a house. Mari rushed to the Pokémon and it backed away. Scars, scrapes, and bruises covered the Pokémon's body. "Shht, don't be afraid! I don't want to hurt you!" She knelt down to it and seeing it like this, in this state, pissed her off. The Combusken continued to back away. "Don't be afraid. We're here to help. Ngh... Gardevoir!" Her starter appeared next to her. "Psychic, hold this guy down! Move aside, Jacky!" Jacky let go of the man and Gardevoir held him in place with its psychic powers. Mari turned back to the Combusken. "Calm down, will you?" Jacky looked over at her. "We need to get it out of here! Preferably to the Pokémon Center!"
Mari nodded. "Got it. Skarmory, come to me!" She sent out her Skarmory, who landed on the ground next to her. She carefully lifted the Combusken up and placed it on the steel bird before swinging onto her Pokémon's back behind it and holding it so it wouldn't fall off. "Fly to the Pokémon Center!",
"Kyaaah!" Skarmory pushed off and flew away. Jacky turned back to the guy, who still couldn't move.
"You maggots...!" he growled. Jacky looked at Gardevoir before calling the police and the guy was eventually taken away. Then, she and Mari's starter ran off to Mistralton's Pokémon Center. Mari had left Combusken with Nurse Joy and was patting Skarmory's head as she entered. "Mari!" Jacky came up to her. "How's the Combusken doing?",
"The nurse is taking care of it right now. That bastard broke one of its arms and bruised its ribs... Not to mention all the wounds and grazes it has received.",
"The police have taken him into custody and will investigate on the matter." Jacky informed them. "If proven guilty, which he will, he'll be put in jail for Pokémon abuse. But I still can't believe he hurt his own Pokémon so badly... The police confiscated the Poké Ball which he has kept it in. I have it with me." She rummaged around in her bag and pulled out the ball. "Good job", Mari commented, and then looked at her starter. "You too, Gardevoir." Then, she withdrew her Pokémon and took Combusken's Pokéball. "We'd better give this one to the nurse. Combusken will need a new trainer when it has recovered. One who will take good care of it. Come on, let's go check on it.",
"Do you think we can go in yet?",
"We can." Mai nodded, walked to the treatment room and opened the door. Jacky followed her quietly and closed the door behind her.
The nurse was bandaging Combusken's arm. "How is it doing?" Mari asked.
"It's doing okay. My Audino's Heal Pulse was able to treat most of its injuries already. It's recovering well..." the nurse replied. "However, upon closer examination, I still found residue from old wounds. This kind of thing seems to have happened more often. In my estimation... it may never be able to really fight again.",
"Oh..." Mari nodded. "Well, that's so sad..." She walked over to the Pokémon and stroked it dejectedly. "You poor thing... I'm so sorry for you.",
"I'll do what I can and maybe, I'll even manage to rehabilitate it completely, although, with those wounds... it would be close to a miracle. As soon as it can stand on both legs again, we'll find a new trainer for it... or someone to take care of it, should it no longer be able to fight battles.",
"It must be someone who will raise this Combusken with care and patience," Mari remarked. "We trust you to do that, Nurse Joy." She held out Combusken's Pokéball to the nurse. The nurse accepted it. "Officer Rocky and I will do our best to find the right caregiver for this Combusken." Then, she glanced at Jacky. "By the way, you... must be Jacky, right?",
"Yes, that's right.",
"Something arrived for you.",
"Oh, really?" The girl with dyed hair became curious and the nurse pointed at the door. "Yes, it's behind the counter.",
"I'll be right back, Mari." Jacky left the room and curiously walked to the package behind the counter. It had her name on it. She knelt down and pulled a greeting card from under the parcel tape.
It was a greeting card from her mother, Evelyn Heavens. She read through the card and sighed, touched. "Aww...that's so sweet of her..." She opened the package and found a tightly closed cylinder. Carefully, she opened it. "...!" Inside the cylinder was a Pokémon egg. She carefully lifted it up and came back into the room. "That's an egg..." Mari noted in surprise. Combusken sat on her lap and she stroked it lightly.
"My mother sent this to me." Jacky just couldn't stop smiling and stroked the smooth surface of the egg.
"Is it warm?",
"Mmm." Jacky nodded and held the egg out to her. "Here, feel it." Mari touched the egg gently. "Woah..." Then, she carefully put Combusken back on the bed. "Get some rest, will you? They'll nurse you back up, and then, you'll end up with someone who won't be so mean to you. I promise!" Combusken nodded. Then, Mari and Jacky left the room together.