Chapter 8

Sparks-in-the-Rain sat on the rail that surrounded the bed, watching the human's chest gently rise and fall. She had sat this quiet vigil, surrounded by the human's other Pokémon, for days now, but she refused to be moved. She owed him a debt that could not be repaid.

She glanced around at the small group. The two birds, Wind-that-Shakes-the-Trunks and Pierces-the-Heavens, roosted over the head of the bed, their sharp eyes ever watching for the slightest sign of movement or consciousness. Sparks knew that the large birds were immensely loyal to the human, several times they had glared at the human healer until she had left, bristling every time she got close. She wondered at that.

Sparks had heard of the bond between human and Pokémon before, but had never put much thought into it. Up until now, she had been content with her life in the forest, quietly surviving with her small family, her parents and brothers and sisters. It was her father who had gently pushed her to follow the human female as she carried the male out of the forest.

"Little one, we may not be big Pokémon in the great grand world, but you now carry a big debt. This human has saved all of us, and it was you who found him."

"What am I supposed to do father? How can I repay this debt?"

He had simply smiled at her, twirling the jagged yellow bolt at the end of his tail. "When you know, your heart will tell you."

And indeed, it had taken a scant few seconds for her to realize. A life deserved a life. She would follow this human. She would learn from and protect him, from this day to her dying day.

Her eyes flicked over to the two spine-rabbits, taking comfort from each other even as they grieved their wounded master. Thorne and Spyke were a stereotypical if successful couple. Apparently they had decided on their own to challenge the human. So far they seemed happy with the choice. Spyke had told her that the two of them were leaps and bounds beyond where they were even a few days ago. He had smiled when he talked about their human. Thorne had sighed and told Sparks that the human knew all the best places to scratch. The two obviously held a great deal of respect for the now-injured human.

The flame-fox, Dawning-Embers, paced back and forth, nervous and angry in equal measures. Sparks could hear her mumbling under her breath. "Not strong enough… couldn't even protect him from a few measly bugs… spirit…. Evolution….. d-death? No. No. Surely not that one. Evolution. Strength. Stronger… grumble…"

She had been like this for ages, blaming herself for his injury. Sparks barely knew this fox, even so she could tell that she was blaming herself.

"Dawning-Embers?"

The fox paused her pacing. "What."

"What are they? The things you keep mentioning. I know the words, but the way you say them makes it seem like they're something more than that."

"Hmph. Fine. Every flame-kit knows the canon of legends that belong to the flame-bourne. The Ninetales Nine Tales. Each one tells a story about the world around us or about ourselves. It is a thing of the vulpix. Don't worry about it."

"It's not your fault. His getting hurt. It's mine. I owe him a debt, because I brought him into our problems. Don't blame yourself. Blame me."

"Hmph." And then the small fox turned away.

Sparks turned to Joy-of-the-Spring-Dawning, but the small psi-page was in the same position she always was, sitting sieza on his chest, scanning his mind with her own. Every so often, she would update the group with his status, but it wasn't changing. The ralts was his First, his most Loyal. The impromptu leader of his Pokémon, and she had so far been nothing but kind. She also worried about the human, but she hid it under a layer of stoicism.

A sniffle drew Sparks' attention to the other human, whom she had labeled "fire-top". She sat in a corner, hugging a lesser sea-star to her chest, quietly weeping. Sparks could sense there was something deeper there, but it seemed she would get no answers. After all, everyone knew humans and Pokémon couldn't understand each other.

Far away, and yet so close as to be remarkable, a vast alien intelligence linked into Scott's mind. Scanning his memories and motivations. Number Eight marveled at them. So far, she had seen the worst of humanity, the dark heart of them all. But this one, ah this one was different. This one was unique. There was a texture, a purity to his mind that other humans lacked.

The female sitting in his room even lacked this purity. She was not an evil human, by any means, but Number Eight could still detect the selfish attraction coloring her concern.

Her path decided, Eight reached out, across the intervening distance to touch this human, this Scott's mind. Only to recoil in shock at the presence of another!

This interloper was carefree, joyous, yet almost pathologically curious. Playful to a fault, she knew exactly where her place in life was. Eight envied that. Even so, a conversation without words took place, in the manner of born telepaths. An agreement was made. A slight shift in Scott's mind was pushed into place. Far off in Pewter city, Scott began to awaken.

I coughed slightly as I shook off the sensation of strangers riffling through my head. My eyes fluttered and opened. For a second, a split instant of sheer panic, I thought I was back in the hospital I had spent so much of my life in.

But then the gentle weight on my chest, and the sensed presences around me told me where I was.

"Hey guys. Is everyone ok? Pidgeotto and Fearow, the Nidorans, vulpix and ralts all shouted in joy. Then a small body landed on my chest.

"Pi-pichu!"

"Oh! Well hello there!"

"Scott! I'm glad you're ok! That pichu hasn't let you out of her sight since the forest."

"I'm more than alright, misty! I feel like I could wrestle an ursaluna!"

"A what?"

"Ursaluna? Evolves from ursaring?"

"Ursaring can evolve?!"

"Uh… never mind… can you help me out of bed?"