AN: Thank you all for the positive response of last chapter. I had forgotten about giant/alpha Pokémon being a thing!
If Yun had been in a clear state of mind she would have been mortified at how dramatic her return to Veilstone city had been. The Rapidash leaving a blazing trail behind them as the ranger ordered people to make way. People who, more often than not, gaped at them with open mouths.
It was almost a good thing then, that the bumpy ride was so excruciatingly painful that she could only focus on not passing out. Her leg had started bleeding heavily now, leaving dark red streaks trailing down the pale horse's side. Only the fear of falling off, even with the woman's arm around her, kept her somewhat upright during the ride back.
The woman made a beeline for the hospital and she had to all but drag Yun in, who hung limp in her arms. People burst into motion around them, asking the ranger questions while she was pushed into a wheelchair. When someone tried to lift her leg, fingers digging into the worst of wounds on her calf, her scream echoed through the room. Not long after, someone else placed a mask over her mouth and nose and she forced her numb hands to try and push it off. Yun couldn't lose consciousness, she had to make sure they didn't separate her from her Pokémon.
It turned into a losing battle very quickly, and just seconds later her vision turned black.
She woke up from a dream she couldn't quite remember, staring at a light grey ceiling, an IV dripping steadily beside her.
"Here again." She mumbled, throat so dry the words came out barely recognizable.
Not for the first time she was incredibly grateful for the league's sponsoring, it kept her medical bills from being forwarded to her parents' insurance. She didn't want to imagine what they would say if they saw that she had been admitted to the hospital three times in the last four and a half months.
At least, she consoled herself, she was getting her money's worth out of this sponsorship. Her injured leg was propped up and bandaged in a thick cottony material from the knee down with only her toes peeping out. They were colored rather yellow, probably from whatever antiseptic they had dosed her leg in.
She looked around and was surprised to find a colorful bouquet of flowers on her windowsill. There was a card attached to it and while Yun's curiosity was peeked, she couldn't reach that far and didn't want to risk getting out of bed so soon after waking up. Turning to the other side she found a nightstand that currently didn't have anything on it. If she twisted herself just so, she could reach the drawers and ignored the twinge in her leg as she pulled one open.
She sighed a breath of relief when she found three Pokéballs inside and quickly gathered them in her lap, smiling when one of them felt significantly heavier than the others. That one was Twinkle's, the warm one was Tenno's and-
Wait.
There were only three Pokéballs yet she had four Pokémon.
Cold panic gripped her when she realized which of them was missing and why. Fish's Pokéball was tampered with, with not a single trainer registered to it, and with all these open cases of missing Pokémon...
Suddenly no longer caring about the risk, she ripped out the IV, barely even registering the sting of removal. Finding no place in the hospital gown to stash her Pokéballs, she hid them under her pillow before trying to get up. Her leg was nearly unresponsive but she gripped it with both hands and managed to swing it over the edge of the bed. Gritting her teeth when it immediately started throbbing, she pushed herself up, keeping her hands on the bed for support.
She had to explain, she just had to-
"What on earth are you doing?!"
The nurse who walked in paled when she saw Yun. She wanted to justify her actions but the woman didn't give her a chance to speak before pushing her back on the bed.
"Wait, I-"
"You shouldn't be up, you've lost a lot of blood and that bite wound had started to infect." The nurse explained, having regained some of her composure as she undid the bandage on her hand to check out the damage Yun had done by removing the IV.
"But-" Yun tried.
"No buts. If you need anything, just press the button, that's what it is for." She returned Yun's leg to the pillow that kept it raised as Yun, almost cheekily, pressed the button the nurse had referred to.
"Yes?" The woman said sarcastically, a ghost of a smile passing on her lips.
"I'm looking for my Pokémon," When the woman reached for the nightstand Yun hurried to elaborate, "my other Pokémon." Her hand dropped.
"Hm, if I recall properly, your Pokémon came in quite injured. I see if I can find someone from the Pokémon department to come to you. They will know more. In the meantime stay put." She added the last bit quite sternly.
Yun nodded meekly and she left the room with finality but not before speaking over her shoulder. "Also, someone else will come by with a light meal soon so don't ring us for food, okay?"
"Okay." She parroted.
The words 'quite injured' echoed in her head. Her Octillery had had several shark bites as well but had appeared to be unbothered by them. Had he just been putting up a brave front? Were his injuries infected too?
Thankfully the nurse from before must have stressed how restless Yun was because it was not long before someone else came by. Her coat was red on one side and white on the other and she evaluated her with a stern look.
"Kazama Yun?"
"Yes?" She answered meekly.
Then she perked up when the woman held out a Pokéball to her, quickly snatching it from her hand. The surface of the Pokéball was cool to touch. "Thank you." She remembered to bow her head.
"Your Octillery will be fine with some rest and I do recommend letting him rest. His injuries have healed just fine but he's dealing with severe exhaustion from a recent evolution. Given his size, I imagine his desire to evolve must have been strong, very strong."
Listening with rapt attention, she nodded. He was going to be fine.
"Now it goes without saying, don't release him in your room."
"Okay."
Even if she really wanted to, with Fish evolving to be the size of a smaller boat, she knew that wasn't an option.
The woman had more to say and her voice dropped a few degrees in temperature. "Now young lady, there will be questions about the state your Zoroark arrived in. His condition is beyond critical. He has several bullet wounds, two broken ribs, a badly healed broken arm, bite wounds and on top of some old scars a severe worm infection and scabies. Now, I have it on good word that he's likely going to make it and they might be able to set his arm in a way that will make it functional again but we all want to know just how things have gotten this far."
There was a clear accusation in both her tone and her glare. Confused, Yun did a head count of the Pokémon in her possession and came up blank.
"What- what's a Zoroark?" She decided to ask.
The nurse blinked. "The Zoroark? Your Zoroark? The dark furred Pokémon brought in alongside the other four?"
It clicked. "O-oh, it's not mine! I just found it like that." Had the ranger captured it and brought it along? "It's a wild Pokémon, I swear!"
"He's not yours? But the ranger that turned him in said he was."
Yun repressed the urge to shudder and realized that the ranger found her with five Pokémon around her. She must have thought Yun lost its Pokéball somewhere. "I ran into it a couple of times." She admitted. "But it's not... friendly."
The woman seemed to mull it over. "That is... problematic."
"How so?" She ventured to ask.
"The Pokémon department will not cover the cost of those surgeries for a wild Pokémon, nor will the league if he isn't yours."
"Oh... then who will have to pay?" Realization dawned on her even before she got an explanation. The ranger had likely known it was a wild Pokémon after all, but had told the hospital it was Yun's so they wouldn't charge her for bringing it along.
The lady shrugged, confirming her fears. "I don't know, probably the one who brought him in."
"I-" She stumbled, trying to gather his thoughts. "Can I still claim it as mine?"
"Of course, that's the easy way." The woman replied before analyzing her. "But, are you sure? If it's an aggressive Pokémon, you will be responsible for its actions."
Yun gulped but figured after it was healed she would just call Chihiro to ask her what to do. She could help her release it somewhere far away from people. Or, the thought popped into her head, they would put it down for the crimes it committed. Pushing the idea aside, she nodded, she owed at least that much to the ranger that saved her life.
"I'm sure."
She would deal with the problems as they came. For now the creature was half dead anyway, and hopefully harmless.
On her side, the woman seemed almost happy to hear her reply and Yun could swear she heard her mumble. "That's one less administrative nightmare to worry about."
For the first time since entering her room, she offered Yun a smile. "I suppose I should leave you to your rest as well. We will keep you updated on your Zoroark's condition as soon as we know more. In the meantime, you should think of a name for him."
Absolutely not, she thought as the woman left her room. Contrary to Fish, who had been innocent and sweet when she met him, she had no reservations about releasing the Zoroark. She would be getting rid of it as soon as she humanly could.
But with nothing else to distract her, she did follow the woman's advice to try and think of a name, for Fish. After all, Fish was an outdated moniker now. Unlike with Twinkle, his name came easily to her. She thought of a story her father used to tell her of ghost lights appearing on the ocean's surface to forewarn a shipwreck.
Ayakashi, strange creature of the sea.
A knock on her door snapped her out of her musings.
A nurse, this time a young man, made his way into her room while dragging along a cart. "I hope you were awake, I've come with dinner." He announced gently.
"I was awake." She confirmed. The platter that was served to her contained white rise, some steamed vegetables and miso soup. It was a rather sober spread but the nurse from before had mentioned it would be a light meal. Probably to see if she could hold down food after being sedated.
"Thank you." She remembered to say.
The young man lingered in her room before asking. "How are you feeling?"
She shrugged. Her mouth tasted dusty, her head felt light while her limbs felt heavy and she still hadn't quite processed everything that happened aboard the Ichiban or had even dared to think about it. However, she didn't feel like telling a stranger any of that. "Okay, I guess."
"That's good," He replied. "If you are feeling up to visitors, there's some people who's been waiting to see you for awhile now. If not, I'll tell them to come back tomorrow."
Police, or rangers, perhaps even both. She figured they would want a detailed account of what had happened to her as well as the Ichiban. The burning boat must have been discovered by now. While she didn't feel like reliving the whole ordeal in that moment, she knew that this wouldn't change come tomorrow. Better to get it over with.
"I'm well enough." She let him know before taking a sip of her lukewarm soup. It was bland but not outright disgusting.
The man smiled. "Good to hear. I'll let them in."
A few bites of rice later and a voice called from hallway.
"Yun!"
Xavier burst into her room, blue eyes shining.
"Yun, I'm s-so sorry!" His voice broke while he rushed to her bedside. "I swear, I swear, it wasn't me. I didn't want to l-leave you there." His eyes spilled over and tears started running down his cheeks as his breathing became ragged. "I begged for him to turn back but he just didn't budge. I don't know why. He always listened before!"
Something dawned on her then. The rangers had been looking for her because someone alerted them, someone who knew she was in trouble. She just couldn't place the what happened and she didn't know how to feel about any of it but her gut told her he was genuine. Quietly, she reached out and grabbed his arm, tugging him towards her in a somewhat awkward sideway hug. "I believe you."
The cold rage in the psychic's red eyes passed through her mind, it had definitely wanted her dead, of that she was sure. But she couldn't begin to phantom why.
The accented voice of a woman interrupted her thoughts. "Xavier, quiet down. Your friend has only just come to."
With red cheeks, he pulled away from their embrace and quickly wiped his cheeks. "I know, mom."
Then he stepped aside, allowing Yun to see her other visitors. A blue eyed woman with her dark hair tied in a neat bun and skin a shade paler than Yun was used to, beside her her stood a stoic man with stress lines around his eyes and mouth. He was holding something in his hands and Yun had to blink twice to realize that it was her bag. The brown faux leather was looking worse for wear, flaking off in multiple places, but the Skorupi pin was shining bright.
"Yun, these are my parents. Camille and Kosuke Ikeda." He looked almost shy, introducing them.
The man spoke up gravely. "I believe our family owns you a sincere apology for the grief one of our Pokémon has caused you. Rest assured we will take all necessary actions to remedy or wrongdoings. If you need help with anything during your recovery, do not hesitate to call on us."
Then he placed her bag on the nightstand along with a business card, his expression so severe that Yun didn't dare to ask where they found it. When she reached for it the woman spoke up, her accent not particularly heavy but still noticeable. "I'm afraid a lot of your belongings were damaged due to the water but don't worry, we will cover the cost of replacing your lost items in full."
Not sure what to say, Yun nodded. "I-I, thank you."
She shook her head with a restrained smile. "It's the least we can do. Now, I'm sure you are very tired from everything. We should leave you to eat and rest for the evening."
They both bid her farewell and turned to leave the room. "Come along, Xavier." His mother called when he hesitated.
"Can I visit you tomorrow?" He quickly asked.
Yun smiled blankly. "Of course."
AN: Lore time. So while looking for inspiration for the Octillery's name I found an urban legend pertaining remoras (they look nothing like remoraid but they swim along the belly of larger sea creatures and the same thing is mentioned in Remoraid's Pokédex entry so I assume the name isn't a coincidence). It is the same one Yun mentioned while thinking of the name, basically if a remoras attaches itself to the bottom of your boat, you're destined to sink. These remoras are then not regular fish but Ayakashi's. It literally translates as strange phenomenon of the sea.