Akihito hummed to himself as he carefully checked over the zubat's wing. It looked like it was healing well and the pokemon was quiet and trusting under his administrations. It made him proud that he had won over the frightened zubat's trust and hopefully it wouldn't be long before he could be released again.
He gently scratched the zubat's head as he folded the wing back down before moving on to check the baby bellsprout that had been brought in yesterday. His eevee, Fuku, dutifully followed along at his heels, keeping an eye out in the small nursing area to alert him if any of the other injured pokemon needed anything. Fuku, meaning lucky, was Akihitio's first Pokemon and they had been together since he was seven. He had found the poor eevee virtually drowning in an overflowed storm drain during a massive downpour. He had been running late to get home from a friend's house and had been caught in the storm but he was glad he was, because he had been able to rescue Fuku. They had both been very sick afterward but together they had healed up and had never been separated since.
That was the event that had sparked off his career as a Pokemon doctor and rehabilitator. Growing up there was always a handful of Pokemon in their house under his care. Pidgey's with broken wings, caterpie's that had washed up in storms, and once even a lost teddiursa.
He adored Pokemon big and small and was wholeheartedly dedicated to taking care of the sick and injured Pokemon that were brought into his care. He worked in a section of Professor Kirishima's lab on the edge of a huge Pokemon preserve. It was a protected area and not too far from the city. They had multiple rangers who patrolled the area to keep away poachers and complete rescues of injured or endangered Pokemon in the city.
Being at the edge of a preserve that backed onto even more forest meant that most of their Pokemon where easily able to be released back into the wild fairly close by. There was even a huge lake less than thirty minutes' walk away too, perfect for their water type Pokemon. The professor had chosen the perfect spot to establish his research lab.
Fuku's ears jumped up and he dashed forward to the open door just as Akihito was tucking the bellsprout carefully back into the loamy dirt that made up its bed.
"Fuku?" he called after his companion only to be stopped dead by a sharp cry.
Akihito dashed outside to spot a familiar skarmory standing one legged on the grass outside the lab. Clutched in its other foot was a small basket and Akihito dashed forward.
"Oki!" he called out as he reached the steel bird. "What's happened?"
The skarmory finally let go of its precious cargo and let out an outraged shriek that had Akihito even more worried. Oki was Asami's skarmory and the ranger had been going to follow up on a claim of possible Pokemon abuse. The man must have sent Oki ahead but that could only mean he had found something dire.
The young Pokemon doctor set to unbuckling the carry basket while his eevee tried to calm down the steel bird. When he was finally able to open the lid, he cried out in dismayed shock. Four skittys huddled together, shaking in fear. They were so obviously underweight and malnourished it broke his heart. Their fur was matted and their eyes dull. They were nothing like the playful, mischievous little things they were supposed to be.
"Fuku, go get Tao," Akihito called as he dashed back inside to set up a cleaning and quarantine area. Who knows what kind of infections the poor things had caught? He couldn't risk them spreading anything to his other sick patients and if their fur was too bad, they might even need to shave it all off.
Fuku run full tilt further into the lab while Oki stayed guarding over his charges. He only backed down when Akihito returned to grab two of the skitty's in his arms.
"Hey, it's okay. Shhh, I've got you. You're safe now," he murmured gently to the trembling Pokemon. The other doctor in training working at the lab, Tao, came running up just as Asami himself came leaping over the fence on the back of his huge arcanine. The poor Pokemon had obviously run full speed non-stop from the city to get there so quickly and he was panting, taking huge breaths of air when he skidded to a stop.
The ranger on his back leapt down and Akihito gasped when he saw another three skittys in his arms. They looked even worse for wear than the ones in his own arms.
"It was a breading mill," Asami explained grimly as he strode forward. "There were some that we were too late to save as well."
Akihito felt his heart break in two again before he firmed his resolve. No time for break downs now, he had to save the ones he could.
"I've set up a cleaning and quarantine area, follow me." Akihito led Asami and Tao to the aforementioned area and together they quietly set to work cleaning up the mistreated Pokemon. Once they were clean, fed, and checked over, Akihito transferred all seven of them to a small cardboard box filled with blankets to make a dark, comforting nest.
Asami stepped forward, pulling out a pokeball and Akihito cocked his head quizzically. A familiar light appeared to materialise a magnificent delcatty. It was clearly well looked after judging by the beautifully shining coat of fur and it didn't wait for any instructions from Asami. Instead, it took one look at the woeful skittys and ran forward to comfort the little ones.
"Saki will take care of them," Asami said quietly as they watched the skittys immediately calming and moving forward to cuddle the older pokemon.
"They are supposed to be in quarantine," Akihito gently chided but his heart wasn't in it. Their anguished little cries of fear had stopped and there was no way he would take such a comforting presence away from them.
"You've cleared them of all the usual contagious viruses," Asami replied as he moved to help Akihito tidy up while Tao left to double check on the other pokemon in their care.
"Yes, but that's not the point. It's a safety precaution."
Neither of them spoke after that and Akihito took the opportunity to give the man a once over. He was new to the area, only having been there a few weeks and rumours were flying around. Lab staff whispered that he had been in the Pokemon league, possibly one of the elite four before he retired. The only thing Akihito knew for certain was that he was from the capital and an old friend of Professor Kirishima's. He also cared a great deal for his Pokemon and Pokemon in general and really, that was all he needed to know to know that he was at least a decent human being.
The only real problem Akihito had with him was that he was a distraction. Now that the immediate crisis was over, he could see that the water from skittys baths had soaked the man's t-shirt so that it clung to washboard abs and even allowed his back definition to be seen. It was hard to focus on cleaning when such a distraction was in front of him.
Fuku whined gently as he headbutted his leg and Akihito flopped down in the middle of the room to pick the eevee up and hug him.
"I know," he whispered as he held his companion tight. "It makes me sad to see them treated like that too. And so angry, ugh! How could you ever do that to a Pokemon?!"
The frustration and anger that had been forced aside earlier bubbled to the surface and not even Asami's drool worth figure could distract him from his outrage.
"We got the bastard who was responsible," Asami said quietly and Akihito looked up in time to see the hand coming to ruffle his hair. It was oddly affectionate as fingers tangled briefly in his hair. "You just focus on these little ones, it's all we can do now. I need to check on my other two outside, I'll leave Saki in your care."
Akihito nodded then watched the older man leave, eye's roaming inappropriately far down. Ah, it wasn't fair for Asami to wear pants so tight. He flushed red and buried his face in Fuku's fluff with a groan. He was supposed to have his thoughts on his new charges, not the apparent firmness of the other man's ass.
"What am I going to do about him?" he whispered to his long-time friend. The eevee just licked an affectionate stripe up his cheek in response.