There was a strange sense of amusement within me when I returned to the Pokécentre. Mostly, because the attendant treated me as if nothing had happened, while I felt worn out and exhausted, knowing just how close I had come to disaster these last few days. It was a complete contrast to the worry and concern I had been treated with after my experience with the Uxie, despite that being far less dangerous. At least it felt that way to me, this time, out in the wilderness, I had almost been overrun by Durants, followed by almost getting crushed, lost in the wilderness and snowed in, each of which could have been the end of the Route for me.

Thinking about it now, sitting in the warm room I was renting in the Pokécentre, I started to shiver, the realisation of just how close things had been gripping me with full force. My whole body began to shake and I started to fumble for my Pokéballs, desperate to have Charm by my side, or my dear Vio. Alas, I had none of my Pokéballs with me, they were all being checked out in the front, leaving me all alone.

Just as alone as I would have ended up if Vio hadn’t been able to teleport us out, alone, crushed and dying. The shakes started to hit me even worse and I felt myself slip from the bed I had been sitting on and onto the floor, unable to do anything but wrap my arms around me and curl into the smallest ball I could accomplish.

It was a familiar soothing voice that drew me out of my misery, the sound instantly managing to calm my heart and steady my mind. It was Vio, softly singing to me, though I had no idea how that could be. My eyes fluttered open and for a moment, I worried whether I had merely imagined Vio’s presence, but no, there she was, her legs curled under her as she floated a hand above the ground. It looked just a little surreal, but the purpose of her position quickly became apparent when she reached out and pulled my head and chest onto her lap. Once she had me in her grasp, she started to gently stroke my hair and made soft, cooing noises.

That gentle treatment caused the dam within me to completely burst, emotions flooding out of me. Fear, despair, but also joy, relief and excitement, they all surged through my body, leaving me shaking once more, only that I wasn’t just shaking with tears but also laughter and all sorts of emotions. Not even I knew what I was feeling at that moment, it was all jumbled together in a big steaming mess.

My catharsis was interrupted by an insistent knock on the door. Frowning, I forced the entire mess boiling within me down, wiping my face off with my sleeve before standing, to find out who was disturbing me.

Opening the door, I looked into the face of a worried-looking nurse, whose eyes immediately focused on Vio, who had slid up behind me.

“Yes?” I asked, my voice rough from my recent bout of crying.

“Your Gardevoir vanished, but I see it’s here,” the nurse studied me, her eyes flickering from my eyes, across my face and hair, before looking me in the eye once more. “Are you alright? You look…” She let the sentence hang in the air, likely looking for a word that wasn’t insulting.

“Not really,” I admitted, letting out a sigh, “I believe Vio here felt my distress and came to help. I hope she didn’t push herself beyond what is healthy for her.”

Vio simply responded by putting one of her hands on my stomach, pulling herself against my back in a half-hug. It was an amusing mixture of her previous habit of hiding behind me and a comforting embrace, making me chuckle just a little.

“That reminds me,” I continued, “I’ll have to fill out an incident report anyway, I stumbled across something problematic out there. Pretty sure people would want to know about non-native Pokémon setting up shop in the region, right?”

“Certainly, there are quite a few Pokémon species that can be horribly destructive if they aren’t checked by their natural competitors,” the nurse nodded, glancing at Vio once more. “Will you bring your Gardevoir back to the treatment area? It should really be resting right now.”

While there was a part of me that bristled at her words, I also knew she was right. Sadly, from the way Vio pressed against my back, her head tucked in between my shoulders, I had a feeling my dear friend wasn’t quite willing to calmly stay there and rest, not while my emotions were still roiling within my gut. Closing my eyes for a moment and taking a deep, calming breath, I forced myself to keep it together, even if Vio wasn’t here to cuddle me any longer. However, just as that thought went through my mind, I felt Vio shake her head against my back, clearly dismissing the idea before I had even time to voice it. But I had a different idea, Aura hadn’t been strained, so he should be fine to accompany me.

“Vio, would you get the rest you need if Aura stays here with me?” I asked, looking over my shoulder only to see nothing but teal hair, Vio still pressing her face against my back. She seemed to consider for a moment, before her head came up, just enough so she could look me in the eyes.

After her gaze weighed me for what felt like ages, she gave a nod of acceptance, though she still didn’t move away from my back.

“We’ll be right down. Has the treatment of my Riolu finished? It seems my partner here feels that I shouldn’t be left on my own right now,” I asked the nurse, noticing a peculiar look on her face.

“If you suffered emotional trauma out there, you should see one of our councillors, you know that, right? Not just rely on the connection to your Pokémon to keep things together, or bury everything deep inside. That’s what leads to burnout and suffering, there are people here who can help you,” she reminded me, and it might be a necessary reminder. There was a part of me that was hesitant about going to get treatment. Intellectually, I knew it had been set up to help trainers but at the same time, I wanted to be self-sufficient. To show that I was strong enough to stand against the world, no matter what. Just me and my partners, especially after Claire… No, I didn’t need other people!

“Be that as it may, if my Riolu is done, I’ll check him out. If not, I’ll fill in the report, I believe I’ll have to fill out multiple, the last few days have been rather exciting,” I told the nurse, stepping past her with Vio still clinging to my back. It was an interesting situation, she didn’t touch the ground, but at the same time, I didn’t need to carry her, as if she was a backpack. She just floated there, getting pulled along with me.

The nurse didn’t look convinced about my course of action but she didn’t press, she simply accompanied me to the front and into the treatment area, quickly checking on Aura when we got there. The little guy’s treatment was finished and while he could do with a little more rest, it wasn’t like he was exhausted. Letting him sleep through the night would be perfectly sufficient, something I planned to do anyway, given how exhausted I was myself.

Vio gave me another gentle squeeze, before stepping to her Pokéball, looking almost apologetic at having exited it without my say-so. Given the circumstances, I didn’t mind and quietly told her so, giving her an embrace before sending her back into the shell that housed her, allowing her to get the best rest possible.

The nurse gave me a glance, before taking the Pokéball from my hand, muttering about reckless trainers and their partners under her breath, but I couldn’t really fault her for it. She was supposed to treat Pokémon, not have those Pokémon run off, even if their trainer needed them. It still happened, she just didn’t have to like it.

After taking Aura’s Pokéball, I made my way to the reception desk, getting the forms necessary to document the troubles I had run into. Reporting on the Durants was easy, they were a foreign species, but what should I put down about the Rainbow Rock? Reporting the cave-in was obvious, it might be important, but did I want to report the rock’s presence?

Or that it might have been the trigger? I really didn’t want to, the rock, still sitting in my pouch, felt strangely personal to me, making me want to keep it to myself. Maybe my best bet was to ask Cynthia about it, when we met again. For now, reporting the Durants and the cave-in without adding the exact circumstances would have to do, if I left the rock out of it, the report would read as if the battle against Rex was the cause. Which it might very well have been, removing a single small rock, no matter how pretty, couldn’t cause a massive cave-in, could it?