(Day 3)
"He's waking up."
"So soon? He shouldn't wake for another four or five days?!"
"Quick, hold his arm down, he's going to dislodge the IV!"
Voices sound out all around him, his ears ringing, mind tiredly stirring, wishing for the noise to cease. Lilac eyes abruptly open as he feels hands grasp his left arm. Opening his mouth to give a warning, he finds no sound comes out. The panic turns to fear and utterly overwhelming terror as he tries to move his arm. The hands gripping him keep his arm in place, and the terror helps him focus, all thoughts on getting those hands off of him.
A strange feeling bubbles within him, a warmth beginning to prickle across his right arm, but just as soon as the feeling comes, it vanishes with a sting of a needle, and a cold feeling flows through his veins. His thoughts slur, his body no longer fighting the arms holding him. Voices flow all around him, none truly heard by him as he lays there, eyes taking in the appearance of multiple people appearing in his line of sight. Their mouths open and close, but to him it's just white water noise, nothing sticks in his mind.
"Doctor Shell, he doesn't seem to have the best mental state right now. His Z-band is detecting scarily high levels of mental activity and it's clear he almost summoned a pokemon just now." Nurse Rea states, giving a clear analysis right after on the child's physical condition. "He appears to be in safe health now. The wounds on his body have all been treated by talented healers, no marks remain. However, his heart did stop for almost five minutes, it's a miracle we managed to get it to start again."
A few other nurses chime in on the child's condition. Head Doctor Shell listens intently, observing the child who lies on the hospital bed, staring at the ceiling, eyes dazed and out of focus. "His physical condition has recovered, however it was detected that there is something wrong with his heart and his body itself seems very weak. Which is very odd as it seems he's contracted a pokemon."
"How far away is Professor Oliver?" Doctor Shell finally asks, her eyes settling on the child's right arm, pale skin is covered in swirling marks of red, brown, and a deep purple from his wrist to his shoulder. The marks had lit up only moments ago as the child had attempted to call out his pokemon. Just which pokemon the child contracted is unknown, but letting a pokemon run loose in a hospital is unacceptable, and so she had no choice but to order the child to be given a tranquilizer that would keep him unfocused for an hour at least.
The marks on the child's arm shifted, the swirls moving, absolutely stunning, but Doctor Shell knew better than to be entranced by the marks. Right now, she has to finish writing the final report on the child and keep him tranqued until Professor Oliver is here and can handle the child's pokemon if an unforeseen accident comes about.
"The professor is only about an hour away now." A nurse says, eyes never leaving the child. The child is beautiful and fragile. He almost didn't seem real, it felt as if you could shatter the child with a single touch.
Casting one last glance at the child, Doctor Shell feels a hint of pity, recalling her own ten-year-old who's at home. Having a contracted pokemon may be desired by many, but it means one thing. You can't escape the fate of being a pokemon trainer. This child is so young, but the rules are the rules, those who can contract pokemon must abide by the laws set in place, this child won't be able to escape that fate. She can only pray this child survives what lies ahead.
(1 hour later)
"Thank you for filling me in." Professor Oliver says. For the past fifteen minutes he was debriefed on all that Doctor Shell had found out about the child's condition. Glancing over at the child, Professor Oliver felt empathy for the young one. The child had been brought in covered from head to toe in injuries. The worst were three deep incisions across his chest, one of which directly pierced his lung. The child was frostbitten severely, and he seemed mentally unstable based off of the tests run with a psychic Pokémon's help.
The child's condition has stabilized, all physical conditions have been successfully treated, however even though he's treated, the child woke up too soon. According to the report the child should've remained unconscious for at least another few days to finalize the healing process as it saps a lot of energy to undergo rapid healing. The child waking up could be due to his contracted pokemon, another concern which must be addressed, but his body is abnormally weak, Doctor Shell had reported.
The child's heart could stop at any time and the child seems to be very prone to get sick due to a fragile immune system. Overall, the child is not fit to be a trainer, which makes the mark of the contracted all the more strange. 'Just why would a pokemon contract this child?' The professor wonders. Sure, anyone could end up contracted to a pokemon, but normally pokemon refuse to choose someone weak, they seek out the strong if they so much as desire to be contracted, which is few in number, but someone as fragile as this child? No, no pokemon would want to contract such a weak human.
'So what makes him special?'
(20 minutes later)
"The tranq has worn off Professor, the child is lucid." Nurse Rea reports, getting a nod from Professor Oliver. Standing, Professor Oliver leaves the side room, heading into the main room to have a discussion with the child and get some answers.
"Professor Oliver is coming to talk to you."
"Stay calm, we don't want to keep you sedated, your body can't handle it."
Voices sound out all around Lucryn, the noise bringing him out of a daze. Everything was oddly peaceful aside from the noises. Nothing hurt, which is new, but he still felt sort of floaty, not really in connection with his body, but the sensation is fading away, his mind recentering him into reality.
"Hello child." A voice says, the bed sagging on his left. Lucryn's eyes move to the side, a face entering his view, way too close for his liking. Trying to shift away from the man, he realizes something is holding down his left arm. Not a person, but straps that tied his arm to the bed. Panic sets in as he roughly pulls at his arm, trying to move it, but all that does is cause him some pain.
His body feels out of it, still feeling sort of floaty, not all there, but his brain urges him to move, and so in half a second he's kneeling on the bed, arm still held captive on the bed from the elbow down, but within seconds he's managed to undo the strap, yanking out a needle inserted in his arm in the process, and back up to the head of the bed, away from the blue-haired man who's watching him with a concerned, yet amused smile.
With his new vantage point he can see that the room is empty, the owners of the other voices had already left the room, only the man still sitting far too close to him remains. "I'm starting to see why a pokemon would be interested in you."
The violet eyes of the man study Lucryn, Lucryn watching back with empty lilac eyes, showing nothing. "How amusing." Professor Oliver says with a laugh, getting a small hiss from the child.
Coughing to hide the remainder of his mirth, Professor Oliver gets his act together and says, "Care to tell me about your contracted pokemon?"
Silence is the only answer, which only proves to amuse the Professor further.
"Alright, no need to tell me. Just tell me this, did you contract this pokemon only recently?" Professor Oliver asks, once again getting no answer. Not getting an answer in a way is his answer as he watches the child who watches him.
"Your Z-band gave us your basic info. You're 13, which is young, way too young to be a pokemon trainer, but here you are. As the law dictates, all who contract pokemon must enlist within the military under the pokemon trainer division. You have yet to enlist which tells me this is a recent development for you, or you simply were unaware of this law."
"I've taken it upon myself to start your enlistment, I've input your basic info and within a little bit your Z+ Band will be delivered here for you to wear. Your enlistment date is within a week of receiving your contracted, which means you will only have a few days here before you must go report to the military squadron located within Ice Pellet Town. That is assuming you received your contracted right before the emergency team found you."
Lucryn watches the old man, quietly listening to his never ending chatter. The room is much too small for his liking, but there's only two exits he can see, and there's no saying either one is actually an exit, they could end up with him trapped in a smaller room. As he is now, he decides to just listen and get as much information as he can from this man.
"Now, there are some special options that you should consider. Joining the military at your age as a pokemon trainer will not end well. You will surely suffer, so it's much better to learn of your other options. Option number 1 is that you join a specialized military force under a Pokémon Professor who will give you assignments to help further their research. Some of these assignments can be dangerous, but considering your age, I doubt any Professor would throw you into the deep end so soon."
The man smiles and continues to talk. "Option number 2 is that you manage to get approved to join the Youth Training Committee where you will have little free time as you will be trained by seasoned veterans for the following three years before being thrown into the field. Or finally Option number 3, you join the medic team for the military, but that is only an option if your contracted is of the healing type."
"Let me introduce myself. I'm Professor Oliver of the 13th Military Research Division. What do you say to joining my research division as a Researcher's Assistant?" Professor Oliver smiles, lips curling up, Lucryn seeing a cunning light in his violet eyes.
Lucryn lowers his eyes, considering all of the info he's heard. In his own world the military existed, and if the meaning of the military is similar in this world, then he understands most of what the professor is saying. The only thing that isn't fully understood by him is the use of the word contracted in relation to him.
The info he received briefly goes over-contracted, but it doesn't provide him much info. A contract can be made between a pokemon and human where the pokemon chooses to become the human's companion. However, this is rare considering that most pokemon hate humans with a burning passion and most humans won't approach a pokemon close enough to contract them, much less befriend them. However, all of this info does give him an inkling of an idea of who his contracted may be. 'Those three pokemon I met, it should be them.'
"I'll give you a few minutes to think about it." The professor says, getting no response. "I'll be right back, Head Doctor Shell wished to come in and let you know about your current condition."
Professor Oliver leaves, a woman with auburn hair coming in and launching into a medical diagnosis on his current condition. Lucryn listens, all while internally debating on his options. Somehow, he has an identity in this world, but it would seem being a contracted has made it impossible for him to go under the radar. As it is now, he has no choice but to join the military and choose an option that Professor Oliver gave him.
The safest option is most likely the option to join the medic team, however he is relatively positive that those three pokemon aren't healers. However, he could be wrong, but at the moment he decides to simply cross that option off as he doesn't feel like being in such close contact with people anyway. The only option he's really considering is the research option, as the special training option clearly means that he'll be expected to battle once his training is complete. For now, the safest bet is the researcher option that will allow him to hopefully avoid the battlefield and give him the chance to better understand this world.
"You are severely malnutritioned, you need to be more mindful of your health from now on. I noticed in your records that there's no family listed. Have you been living with anyone?" Head Doctor Shell asks.
Getting no response but a blank look from Lucryn, she sighs. "Look, you can't remain on your own. Regulations state that until a person is 18 they need a legal guardian. As such, I need to report you to Child Services who will arrange for your adoption or for you to be placed in a foster home. Since you are a contracted your file will go through the elite trainers before the adoption process begins, it is likely you will be adopted by a pokemon trainer."
Lucryn freezes. 'Adoption? Like, getting a family? No...no.' His mind weakly wars with itself over the idea of being adopted. He doesn't like the idea at all, but he can't exactly fight it without fighting the laws put in place, something he doesn't want to do.
"Oh, Professor, good timing. I just went over the adoption matter with Lucryn." Doctor Shell says, looking up to see the blue-haired professor entering.
Professor Oliver smiles. "Good, good, that is of course an urgent matter to be sorted out. Have you decided which option you wish to choose? Going to join my research team?"
Lucryn sighs, looking at Professor Oliver, his eyes showing hints of wariness as he nods. Professor Oliver beams. "Wonderful! Welcome to the team! I'll get right on the paperwork aspect and then you'll officially be in. To review, you will be a research assistant under me known as a RA. The contract we will sign will be a two-year contract. As a RA, your job will be to help me in whatever ways I request, which is usually collecting data on the pokemon you meet to continue to enhance the pokedex. Of course, I specialize in training methods and Pokémon Growth, so you will be helping me in those areas. Being so young you have plenty of room to grow, but of course, I am understanding enough to give you time off. How about you work with me Monday-Wednesday, 8-hour days and you can be with your family or off doing your own thing the remainder of the time?"
Professor Oliver just keeps talking, and Lucryn realized one thing. Professor Oliver is a chatterbox, once he gets going, getting him to stop isn't easy. Lowering his head, Lucryn studies his right arm, taking in the way the mark shifts across his skin, shifting in a mesmerizing way.
"Pretty isn't it." Professor Oliver says with a grin. "I can't wait to meet your pokemon. If I'm right, you have more than one, don't you?"
Professor Oliver's eyes flash with a cunning light as he gazes at the child who had yet to look up. He is positive the child has multiple pokemon, and he is even more sure that having this child close at his side will be a very good thing for his side project of researching trainers with contracted pokemon. This child somehow convinced at least two, possibly three pokemon to form a contract with him.
While he harbors no ill intent towards Lucryn, he won't let the child walk off, not without his curiosity being satisfied first. 'Just how did the child do it? One of them is even the illusive and tricky ghost type.'