BOO! Did I scare you? I'm not surprised after how long I've been absent from this story. But never fear, I am back! However, before we begin, notifications and thank yous need to be dispensed.
1. A huge thank you to the Warrior of Many Faces. Seriously, if it weren't for your reviews and encouragement, I'd never have come back to this so you have my sincere thanks.
2. EDIT: Apparently, according to new rules, I can't ask for OCs anymore, so I won't be doing so. Sorry if you were intending to send in a Trainer, but that's just how it goes I'm afraid.
Chapter 4: A friend in need.
Disclaimer: Pokemon and all related characters are owned by Nintendo. Jeffrey is owned by Blake Wilson and I own Richard and any other original characters.
Jeffrey pounded on the door of Richard's room so hard that the door gave in a little under the force. Torchic sat nervously on his shoulder and helped in it's own little way by pecking on the door. After about a minute, Richard opened the door and looked out groggily whilst Treecko peered out from behind his trainer's legs. Richard was wearing his jeans and shirt from the previous day, but they had the look of clothing that had been thrown on in a hurry. The boy's face brightened slightly when he realised that it was Jeffrey in front of him but it fell when he looked at his wristwatch.
"What the hell? It's half past one, man!" Richard groaned, rubbing a hand across his face.
"It's Zubat." Jeffrey said simply and Richard's face instantly transformed from an expression of sleepy annoyance to one of alert concern. "There was an…accident." Richard paused just long enough to grab his room keys from the counter by the door before he was out and running after Jeffrey towards the infirmary.
"Hey! Wait up!" Treecko shouted, sprinting along the hallway after the two and scrambling up Richard's back as the two ran down the stairs. At the bottom, the double doors leading to the medical wing of the Pokemon centre swished open and Jeffrey led Richard in silence to a pristine white hospital bed at the end of the room. Nurse Joy and a Blissey were already standing over the bed as the two trainers approached. Joy looked up at their arrival and smiled gingerly at Richard.
"He's stable." she said quietly and moved out of the way to adjust an IV drip, allowing Richard to see Zubat for the first time. The bat was laying on his back staring blankly up at the ceiling. Multiple bandages wound around his wings, in some cases obscuring the wing completely. Purple blood was already seeping through a particularly large dressing placed in the centre of his left wing. A trio of slashes scored through his torso were slowly starting to close as the nurse's assistant Blissey gently applied some more healing salve to the wounds. Blood from already closed wounds had seeped into the fur on Zubat's head, staining the area a sickly greyish-black. But the worst injury that Richard could see was to the bat Pokemon's right foot. It was completely mangled and turned in on itself at the most unnatural angle Richard had ever seen. Almost involuntarily, Richard reached out a hand to stroke Zubat, to comfort his starter through the pain. But as he did so, Nurse Joy quickly slapped it away.
"If you touch it, it'll only make it worse. That leg will take enough time to heal as it is. But all things considered," she said, taking her surgical gloves off and dropping them in a bin. "he was very lucky. From what your friend tells me, the Hoothoot that attacked him could easily have killed him."
"Is he going to be O.k?" Richard asked slumping into a chair by the bed. Blissey trotted back from the water cooler in the corner of the room and handed Richard a plastic cup of water which he downed in one gulp.
"He should be fine." Nurse Joy replied. "I've put him on Blissey's strongest Softboiled medication and everything bar his leg should be healed by the morning. You can take him away tomorrow but he can't put any weight on that leg for at least a week and no battling for a few days. He's a fast healer." The pink-haired woman turned to leave and Blissey waddled up to her side. "You can stay down here with him if you want but I'm afraid your friend will have to leave."
"That's fine." Jeffrey replied as he walked after the Nurse. When he reached the doors, Richard looked up from his defeated posture.
"Hey, Jeffrey. Thanks." he smiled. For a second, Jeffrey was shocked at the difference between the enthusiastic Trainer that he had met that morning and this boy, reduced to a grieving wreck. He realised that Richard was agonising over his inability to help Zubat or even to protect him from the attacker that had caused this, but Jeffrey also knew that nothing he could say would make Richard feel any better.
"No worries." he smiled back. Torchic chirruped and hopped up and down on his shoulder. With a small wave, Jeffrey left the infirmary and walked back up the stairs to his room. He thought he was going to stay awake for hours with concern over his new found friend, but the adrenaline of the evening's events had drained away over the last few hours and he fell into a deep sleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. Torchic hopped off his trainer's shoulder and onto the dresser where he flopped down, curled his head into his body and fell asleep as well.
***
As Richard returned from the water cooler with another cup of water, Treecko sat down slowly on the edge of the bed and placed a paw on Richard's arm.
"Hey, cheer up." Treecko said reassuringly. "I've only known Zubat for a few hours but even I can tell that he's going to be back chasing bugs in no time."
Richard chuckled softly and rubbed Treecko between his eye-ridges. The Grass Pokemon purred quietly and curled up, wrapping his tail around himself.
"Well, say Hi to Zubat for me if he wakes up, but I'm gonna catch up on my beauty sleep." Treecko yawned as he closed his eyes..
"And trust me, you really need it." A tiny voice piped up. Zubat forced his mouth into a wry smile as Richard shot to his feet. As his trainer bent over him, Zubat whistled between his teeth in surprise.
"And I thought I looked like crap. Relax, will you? You heard the Nurse, I'll be fine. Just let me get some shut eye before the morning." Richard nodded before he frowned.
"Wait, you were awake for that?" he asked semi-accusingly, too relieved over Zubat's recovery to be genuinely angry.
"Maybe a little." Zubat admitted, "Now go away. Some of us need to recover you know." And with that, Zubat lay back and refused to speak any more. Shaking his head at his Pokemon's behaviour, Richard returned to his chair, lay his head on his chest and tried to go to sleep himself.
Ten O'Clock the next morning found Jeffrey pacing anxiously outside the Pokemon centre. Upon visiting the reception desk when he woke up, Jeffrey was pleased to be informed that the majority of Zubat's injuries had healed to the Nurse's satisfaction and that Richard would be joining him shortly so that the two of them could continue on to Petalburg city.
That was 45 minutes ago. Now Jeffrey was getting really bored of waiting. He casually threw a rock from hand to hand as Torchic scratched in the dirt at his feet. The Chick Pokemon was looking for large stones to sharpen his claws on but so far all his scrounging had unearthed was three cigarette butts and half an Oran Berry that was so mouldy that Jeffrey had thrown it in the nearest bin before Torchic could swallow it.
The double doors of the Pokemon Centre swished open again and Richard walked through, a huge smile on his face. Treecko was sitting on his shoulder again, swinging his legs into Richard's backpack strap. Zubat was nowhere to be seen but his Pokeball was clearly visible on Richard's belt.
"He can't ride with his busted leg just yet." Richard smiled, gesturing towards the Pokeball. "I'll let him out when we stop for the night."
"Which hopefully will by at my place." Jeffrey sighed, looking at his watch and frowning when he saw the time. "Hopefully."
"Well, I'm ready to go now." Richard clapped his hands enthusiastically and started walking towards the exit to town. As Jeffrey turned to follow him, something small, blue and travelling very, very, fast sprinted straight into Torchic's back, barrelling him to the floor.
"Heeeeeeeeeeeeyyy!" it screamed, although the word was muffled as the blue and red rolling blur tumbled across the courtyard. Richard stopped in surprise and stared as Treecko leapt off his shoulder and into the fray. The multicoloured blur bounced a few more times before it came to a halt. When the motion stopped, both Richard and Jeffrey could see that intruder into their midst was a Mudkip. As it paused to allow Torchic to scramble to it's feet, the fire bird spun and leapt onto Mudkip's head, playfully batting at it with his wings. Treecko disengaged himself from the tussling duo and ran over to Richard.
"It's Mudkip! The third Pokemon from Elm's lab." Treecko called, grinning broadly. "It's our little sister!" Richard nodded in understanding as Treecko ran back towards his faux siblings and grabbed Torchic around the waist and threw it to the ground before Mudkip slammed into him.
"Hey! Mudkip! Stop that!" Someone called from across the square. The two boys turned to face the source of the voice.
The girl standing across from them was obviously a Pokemon trainer, even if she hadn't identified her Mudkip, which was now being held in a headlock by Treecko. Her brown hair fell to just below her shoulder blades and a loose belt was holding her jeans up. She was wearing a pair of sturdy shoes and a light grey jacket over her purple striped T-shirt. Her attire clearly suggested someone who expected to spend a lot of time on the road and yet didn't want to sacrifice the essence of stylishness that seemed to be present in all women. She jogged over to them and held out her hand, grabbing each of theirs in turn and shaking them vigorously.
"Hiya! I'm Jo, short for Josie if you must know. And you…" she paused, holding up her fingers in a wait-a-minute gesture before rummaging in her pockets. Eventually, she pulled out two slim red machines. "need these. Your Pokedexes. Professor Birch forgot to hand them over before you left yesterday and when he found out I was passing through this way, he asked me to drop them off." She smiled broadly before yelling at her Mudkip, who was still brawling with Treecko and Torchic.
"Mudkip, come here girl!" she called. Mudkip managed to extricate herself from her brothers and trotted over to Jo. The female trainer bent down and picked Mudkip up in her arms, cradling the water Pokemon like a newborn. Then she beamed at the two boys.
"So, shall we go? Petalburg City awaits!" As she wandered off down the path, she stopped in confusion when she realised that Richard and Jeffrey weren't following her. "What's the problem?" she asked.
"Umm…you're coming with us?" Richard asked confused.
"What, you can't expect a helpless little girl like me to go wandering through this wild, inhospitable region alone?" She cried, throwing a hand to her forehead dramatically. Jeffrey looked on nonplussed.
"That was the general idea yes." he replied, deadpan. As he spoke, Torchic ran up and sunk his claws into the back of his trainer's leg. Jeffrey cried out in pain and bent down clutching his leg, whereupon Torchic leapt onto his shoulder. The chick Pokemon chirped excitedly.
"Hey, don't be like that." he squeaked. "We gotta take our little sis with us! She's so much fun!" Jeffrey groaned softly as he realised that this argument wasn't one that he could win.
"Yeah, we already got split up when you guys picked us up from the lab. This reunion has got to be a…sign, or something." Treecko added, leaping onto Richard's backpack and hanging there.
"Then it's settled." Jo grinned, turning on her heel. "She we get going?" And with the, she set off down the path at a brisk march. Shrugging at each other, Richard and Jeffrey headed after her.
*Fanfare* And there we go, long time in the making wasn't it? Stayed tuned for Chapter 5 in the (hopefully) near future. Don't forget to leave a review using the button below, as this chapter as shown, they do work. See you all next time.