Sick and Tired

It felt good to finally be off the mountain and traveling through the plains again. The heroes were feeling sick because of the altitude and the weather. They found an abandoned cabin and rested there for a few days to get their strength back and feel better.

Joey finished making breakfast for the group. Kaiba looked at his meal in disappointment. "Wheeler, I thought you were going to fix me a bowl of healthy bran."

"Ran out," Joey explained. "So I thought I'd make it up to you with some hearty oatmeal."

"Looks more like gruel to me," Kaiba complained, mixing it around.

"Well, at least the pancakes look delicious," said Yugi. He sampled a taste and figured he was right. They were plain buttermilk pancakes, but there were small bowls filled with apples, strawberries, walnuts, blueberries, chocolate chips, and slices of bananas to add flavor. Kaiba pushed his bowl aside and filled a plate with pancakes and fruit. Joey didn't appreciate his efforts being wasted away for nothing. What he didn't appreciate more was receiving no appreciation at all.

Emily looked down and stared at her plate of pancakes. She had been feeling more out of it than her friends and didn't have the strength to eat. But she was able to drink fluids. She poured a glass of milk and drank it down.

Yugi noticed that Emily's condition hadn't changed. "I guess you're still not hungry, are you?"

Emily shook her head. "I just can't fathom it, Yugi. I know I need to eat, but my stomach just does't feel empty and I can't chew. But I can still drink fluids."

"Are you always more thirsty than hungry when you're feeling sick?" Kaiba asked.

"All the time," Emily answered. "You know, in nutrition class, I read in the textbook that a human can survive weeks without food, but can't go for long periods without water or fluids."

Kaiba didn't want to hear anymore. Sometimes the books aren't always right. On certain occasions, experience is better. He got up and walked Emily back to the cabin. After getting her to lie down, he placed his hand on her forehead. "You've had this fever since yesterday." Kaiba reached into his first-aid kit and took out a thermometer to take her temperature. Yesterday, Emily had a fever of 101. Today, it was down to 100. "Your fever hasn't gone down by much. We'll stay here for one more day."

"Okay," Emily gurgled.

Kaiba took out a bottle filled with tablets of aspirin. He placed two tablets next to a glass of water. "Take these tablets. They'll bring down the fever. Wait a few hours before taking more. Call me if you need anything."

"Thank you, Kaiba," Emily said weakly. She relaxed herself and closed her eyes.

The brunette stepped outside and told Yugi and Joey of Emily's condition. "Her fever hasn't gone down much. We'll stay here for one more day if we have to."

Yugi couldn't help but feel worried about Emily. "If her fever's going down, she must be getting better by a little bit. I don't want to push her, though. Her health is my biggest concern. We'll stay here until she recovers."

Joey was in agreement. "If any one of us were in her place, Emily would do the same for us." So it was decided that the group would stay for their friend's sake.

Even the Pokémon were worried about their trainer. Undine kept cooling Emily down with a cold, wet cloth. Salamando used his body heat to keep her warm. Lumina used her psychic powers to help her relax and sleep. Luna cuddled up next to Emily to comfort her. "Mmm, so soft," Emily whispered. "It's like Avalon is right here with me."

After getting their chores done, the boys decided to have a few battles. They distanced themselves from the cabin so the commotion of the battles wouldn't disturb their sick friend. Joey had more Pokémon than Yugi and Kaiba, but he was willing to face them both and divide his team. After all, Joey had five Pokémon and Yugi had two and Kaiba had three, so it would be fair game for all of them.

The first match would be the blonde against the brunette. For Joey's first Pokémon, he called on Poliwag. Kaiba called on Quilava. It was true that water-type attacks were strong against fire-type Pokémon, but Quilava was fast and capable of dodging his enemy's attacks. Poliwag launched his Water Gun and Bubble attacks, but none of them could land on Quilava. He dodged by using Flame Wheel and knocking Poliwag over. Just when it looked like Poliwag was about to lose, he began glowing. He grew bigger and arms grew from his body. He evolved into Poliwhirl.

Evolution is a great achievement, but it doesn't always mean that the battle's won. Poliwhirl was faster and gained a new attack called Double Slap. He managed to smack Quilava around. Even his Bubble attack became Bubblebeam. Quilava tried to dodge, but the bubbles stopped the flames, slowing him down. Poliwhirl used Bubblebeam again, but Quilava countered with Swift. He got his flame going again and used Flame Wheel to knock Poliwhirl out.

Joey wasn't disappointed. He lost that round, but his Pokémon evolved. For his next Pokémon, he chose Wooper. Kaiba chose Houndour. Kaiba remembered that Wooper are slick and capable of dodging attacks, so he was going to have to be careful. Houndour started by attacking with Flamethrower and Wooper countered with Water Gun. Houndour stopped his attack and used Smog to conceal himself. Wooper was confused and couldn't see through the smoke. Finally, Houndour came out and tackled Wooper, but the little mudfish slipped away and smacked Houndour with his tail. Houndour grabbed his tail with his teeth and slammed him against the ground.

After beating Wooper, Houndour began glowing. He became a fully grown dog with horns on his head and a greater skeletal armor and a longer tail with an arrowhead at the tip. He was now a Houndoom. Kaiba was thrilled that he won another round and his own Pokémon evolved. He and Joey had one last round. The blonde called on Croconaw and Kaiba called on Onix. Onix tried to trip Croconaw with his rocky tail, but Croconaw jumped away. He launched his Water Gun and soaked Onix. The rock snaked cried out in pain, but ended up hitting Croconaw with his tail. Croconaw was still able to battle, but Onix wasn't. It was a good battle between the blonde and the brunette. Now it was Yugi's turn to battle.

Yugi chose Noctowl as his first Pokémon. Joey decided to battle with his Mareep. Noctowl used Hypnosis to distract Mareep and cause her mind to play tricks on her. He used Confusion to not only attack her, but cause her to be confused as well. Noctowl tried to attack Mareep with Wing Attack, but her special ability Static paralyzed him. Mareep shook off her confusion and attacked with Thunder Shock. After Noctowl was defeated, Mareep began glowing. When the light stopped, everyone saw that she was standing on her hind legs, her skin was pink, her fleece turned white, and the orb at the tip of her tail changed from yellow to blue. She evolved into Flaaffy.

Joey could hardly believe it. Two of his Pokémon evolved in one day. He was feeling victorious. But the battle wasn't over yet. He and Yugi both had one Pokémon left. Joey called on Girafarig and Yugi called on Bayleef. They both charged and used Take Down against each other. Girafarig tried to attack with Stomp, but Bayleef dodged and tripped him up with her Vine Whip. She attacked with Razor Leaf and defeated Girafarig. The match between Yugi and Joey resulted in a draw, but they both enjoyed it.

They boys returned to the cabin and say Emily in the lake. It was a good thing she was wearing her swimsuit because they were about to worry that she was taking a bath. She saw her friends coming back, so she got out of the lake and dried off. "Hey, guys," she said, sounding stronger. "You're back. Where'd you go?"

"We had a few Pokémon battles," Joey answered. "We distanced ourselves so you could rest."

Kaiba approached Emily and felt her forehead. "You're not so warm anymore."

"No, that aspirin really worked and I managed to rest well," said Emily.

The boys were glad to hear it. "Do you have an appetite again?"

"Not yet," Emily answered. "But I'm feeling active again with the need to move around." She went inside the cabin and changed clothes. She was back in her dress, sandals, hat, and gloves. "What do you say, guys," Emily says, picking up her purse, "ready to get back on the road?"

Yugi was still concerned. "Are you sure you're strong enough to move?"

Emily was sure. The water in the lake cooled her down and eased her nerves. "I'm feeling much better. But we don't have to leave right now if you don't want to. We can stay a little while longer."

"I don't mind," said Joey. "Those battles did take it out on me and I'm working up an appetite. Aren't you guys too?"

Yugi and Kaiba agreed. Joey decided to start making nice, hot soup for lunch with buttered bread on the side. Emily decided to have a little bit to get her strength back. The carrots, celery, and potatoes would be easy to chew and swallow and drinking the broth would warm her up and hydrate her.