Chapter 24 Welcome to ZapRock

I'm greeted by an insanely bright light that basically flashbangs me. The intense, searing pain was too much to bear, so I instantly shut my eyes. I grit my teeth and tried to open them again, then quickly close them.

With my eyes clenched, I took great delight in a fantastic breeze that washed over me and helped to ease my weary body. I raised my chin slightly to better experience that fantastic breeze compared to the stuffy air of the dank cave.

I sneaked a couple of peaks of the area around me, with each peak becoming easier since my eyes were adjusting.

Sneasel, who was standing towards my right, made a sharp grunt. "Ah, it's so bright out here!" she sneered. The next thing I was able to make out were the sounds around me. I could hear the breeze, the rustling of the trees, and some screeches of a bird Pokémon. Oh, and the sounds of something fast approaching.

"Sneasel!" the familiar voice of Scorbunny cried out. I heard a loud 'thud' to my right, where Sneasel was, and the sound of someone getting the wind knocked out of them.

With my eyes finally adjusted for the most part, I quickly spied a pained Sneasel with a Scorbunny sobbing on top of her. The only noise she was able to make was a pathetic gasp that was devoid of breath. Seeing how I was not in danger, I relaxed my vines that had come out on instinct.

I let out a sigh, causing me to stumble a bit. Fatigue was hitting me like a tone of bricks at this point. I went to help Sneasel from her terrible snuggle situation, where another voice greeted my ears.

"Ace!" Vulpix cried out. I looked in the direction where the sounds were coming from. There was a small path that led straight from the Mystery Dungeon and continued forward. Along with it was a small blur of red fur, zipping very quickly towards me.

I closed my eyes, ready for a similar situation that Sneasel was greeted with. However, I was instead berated by a small amount of tiny rocks and a small dust cloud. I reopened my eyes to see Vulpix screeching to a stop just in front of me. She let out a shrieking gasp.

"Ace! What happened to you?!" Vulpix quickly moved all around me, taking a look at my various battle wounds. "Are you okay? Are you in pain? Do you need an Oran Berry? I think Servine still has one- oh, but that blasted Oran O.D condition. What to do, what to do?"

I quickly grabbed her with my vines and brought her in for a hug. The pain that I was greeted with when she hit me was well worth it. "I missed you too."

Vulpix, who was tense at first, relaxed and went in for the hug. I let out a huge sigh that had sat heavily in my chest with the only thought running through my head being 'this is right.'

"Geez you lot. You are acting like you haven't seen each other since forever," Servine observed. I relaxed and recalled my vines, ending the hug. Vulpix broke off from me, letting slip a sneer she now had seemed from Servine's comment.

"It shows how much you cared about Ace and Sneasel. You wanted to leave them there," Vulpix said.

Servine let out an audible sigh. "I keep telling you, I didn't want to leave them. I wanted to go to ZapRock and get help."

Vulpix let out a humph and turned her head away from Servine.

"Aww, you wanted to save me? Now doesn't that make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Well, that might be me snacking on this delicious sunlight. Oh, how I missed it," I said, trying to diffuse the situation.

"O-of course I wanted to save you. You are my-my b-best friend afterall," Vulpix stammered.

I was Vulpix's best friend? Ain't going to lie, that felt good hearing her say that. I let out a smile. "And you are my best friend, Vulpix."

"Get off me!" I heard Sneasel yell from behind me.

"Buuut, I m-missed y-you s-so muuuuuch!" Scorbunny cried out with literal big tears.

"Alright, time up Peter CottonTail. Give her some space, will ya?" I asked.

I grabbed Scorbunny with my vines and went to pull him off from Sneasel, but that dang rabbit was holding on tight. Only when I used my other vine, plus Servine's, were we able to separate the two.

Sneasel quickly got to her feet and took in a deep breath. "That's better." She then walked over towards Scorbunny. She placed an arm over his shoulder, earning a small smile from Scorbunny. She then clenched her free hand and delivered it straight into Scorbunny's lower sternum, making him sputter. "That's for winding me with that tackle of yours."

With everything calming down, I sat down and just basked in the mid-evening sun. It would've had to have been around ten in the morning when we entered the dungeon and now it's getting quite late, meaning we spent a good number of hours in there. It really felt like we had spent a week or something there. Vulpix sat down next to me, her fur brushing against my side, tickling me slightly.

"Ace, please, are you okay? You really don't look that good," Vulpix asked again, but this time more calmly.

"Physically, I could do with a long day in the sun and a hot bath. But emotionally-" I took a look towards Sneasel who was fighting off a ravanish Scorbunny that craved hugs. Scorbunny wriggled under Sneasel's defense and gave her a hug which she just gave into. She patted his head then spied me looking towards her. I gave her a small nod to which she gave back. "I'm doing good. Yeah, I'm doing good."

"I'm glad then."

I took in a deep breath and took in the area around me. We are in a large boreal forest of sorts. Strong, thick, and darkened trees lay around the grounds spread out while reaching very tall to the sky. They had few leaves.

The ground was barren and darkened in color with the color brown being the main one. There was grass and small shrubberies, don't get me wrong, but compared to the lush, rich forest that I'm familiar with, one could call it a bit dull.

The sky was littered with small clouds while the sun hung low in the sky. It was peaceful. Well, besides for my other three teammates causing a ruckus.

Vulpix then prodded an open cut on my leg.

"Stop it."

The rest of the day was spent walking throughout this boreal forest. The tall trees were quite intimidating to be honest. They don't compare to the OakVale's guild tree, but they do outnumber it. Guess it depends if you are a quantity over quality type of person.

The path was getting on my nerves. Instead of the flattened out path with barely a stick or rock on it, this path was more of a warned down trail. So, with my injured body and the sun's energy it was giving to me through my bulb, it was getting very cumbersome to travel. I nearly tripped over many times, slowing down our group even more.

Along our travels, I was able to make out a large amount of mountain ranges that were filled with trees, with a small amount of flat lands here and there.

One such flat land along our journey happened to be a campsite, to which we eagerly came to a stop on. This campsite was basically one to one with the others we had been to before, albeit the boreal forest theme and a Simisear running it instead of a Simipour.

We all showed our I.D's, grabbed a spot, and sat down at it. There wasn't anyone else here besides the Simisear, so it was quite peaceful. The others went out and got everything sorted for our camp, including sticks for the fire, some ingredients for cooking, and everything in-between. I had offered to help, but after everyone here insisted I just take it easy, I was forced into doing nothing. Oh, the horror.

I felt myself starting to nod off when the sound of a pile of branches sounded like they collapsed into a heap nearby. Looking up, I could see Sneasel dusting off her claws as she eyed the new pile beside the fire pit, then turning towards me. Coming closer, she sat down beside me.

"So, uh, how are you?" Sneasel awkwardly asked.

"Peachy. I love feeling like I have been hit by a falling tree," I sarcastically replied.

"Hmph. I was just asking. No need to bite my head off."

I just grunted and lowered my head.

Sneasel started to build a fire by stacking wood into formation while I just watched. It kept falling over and over, and she got more frustrated as it kept happening.

"I'm surprised," I said.

"What? Is it about my fire-building skills? It's not my fault these sticks don't want to stand up."

"No, not that. Although it does indeed seem like you are struggling, I'm surprised you haven't asked me any questions yet."

"Questions?" She looked up, puzzled about what I was talking about. "Oh, right. Questions. To be honest, I can't think of any at the moment, and besides, you don't look to be in the mood for questions."

"Eh, kinda. I'm not in the mood for Scorbunny's questions. There's no one here, so if you want to ask a question that pops into your mind, then shoot."

"Alright then." Sneasel thought for a second. "Are you humans the only creatures? You talked about Pokémon not existing, which just sounds crazy, but I can't imagine you being the only creatures."

"You are correct; we aren't the only creatures, but we are the smartest and most adaptable. There are creatures called animals and, um... Oh, think of Pokémon, but with no powers and dumb as rocks. They used to rule the world until we decided that we were the real apex predators and took that mantle."

"Oh, so are humans big and powerful?"

"Nope. The opposite, actually."

"Then how? Are those animals just that pitiful?"

"No, humans are actually very weak in the animal kingdom. We have little strength compared to others, are small in size, and have no claws or natural weapons. So we decided to make our own weapons and kept advancing them until we were able to shoot projectiles so powerful they could pierce rock or completely destroy it. So with brains and weapons, we just kind of took over everything and kept advancing. You know, we even sent a man to the moon."

"That sounds like you are making it up. How can you even go to the moon? It's so far away."

"Huge, contained explosions and extremely advanced calculations—that's how."

"You humans are crazy."

"Yeah, we are. If we could, we would travel space, conquer worlds, or just invent something cool like instant delivery pizza."

"You really like talking about this, don't you? Even to Vulpix, you don't talk in length about, well, anything."

"I guess. Vulpix doesn't ask about me being human, and I guess I got a bit excited."

"Sure beats you trying to kill me with your mind."

"Are you sure? I could do that again if you'd like."

"No thanks."

Sneasel went back to her wood stacking and after a couple attempts, got it to stand up. She grabbed two rocks from a nearby bag being a flint and steel-looking pair, placed some dried grass under the fire, and began to hit the two stones together, making sparks fly. After three hits, the fire came to life, creating a nice warmth as it grew larger.

"Can I ask you a question, then?" I asked.

"Sure. What's on your mind?" Sneasel replied. She then took a seat opposite of me, so she could still hear.

"How would your people, or, I guess, this world, handle the idea of me being a human?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I mean, would they attack me? Put me in an insane asylum? Place me in a lab for experiments? That sort of thing."

"That's what you think Pokémon would do to you?"

"Well, I was beaten and tortured over being involved with Aura. So I think I'm not too far from thinking worse could happen for being an alien from another dimension."

"I guess. Look, to be honest, I don't think that many would care or even believe you. If you are wondering if they would attack you for being a human, I doubt they would. Humans are more of a legend, if anything. I have heard tales of a Pokémon teaming up with a human-turned Pokémon to save the world from something or another. But that's all they are: legends."

"What are you two talking about?" Servine asked while walking back with a pail of water towards us.

Sneasel scoffed. "Nothing important."

"Well, I'm glad to see you two getting along now," Servine smiled.

"Your smile is creepy." I snarked.

I then received a very stern slap from a vine to the head for my transgressions.

That night, nothing much happened. We ate food, and I was out like a log after. Annoyingly, I didn't have a great night's sleep, as one would after a hard day of getting my teeth kicked in. Something about the eyes that my dream fog had. Yes, it was a fog with eyes, but there was just something about them that sent a chill up my spine when I woke up. Needless to say, I got some sleep, but not much.

I just brushed off that dream as one of my usual creepy dreams and just basked in the early morning sun while the others woke up.

After breakfast and some complaining from Scorbunny about not wanting to get out of bed, we were off.

The jagged path we had been traveling through for a couple of hours now, including yesterday, seemed to finally come to an end at a large drop-off. We stood at the edge of the cliff, taking in the view the clearing provided.

At the bottom of the drop and all around were flatlands, filled with grays and browns. There were a large number of large rocks scattered about that had an odd color of yellow mixed in them. In the very far distance, mountains could be seen poking up from the horizon.

A long white path that led somewhere to our left of the drop travelled a very long way until it hit a large settlement of sorts. No, wait, a huge city—is that where we are going?

"And there she is: ZapRock," Servine announced.

"That place? Ah man, it's still so far away," Scorbunny complained.

"Hey, at least you don't have to travel there while looking half dead like Ace there," Sneasel joked.

Everyone kind of froze in place, waiting for my reply. So I replied. "I may look half dead, but I'm still one hundred percent better looking than you." I snarked back. The rest of the group let out a small breath of relief.

"Ha! I guess you really are half dead if you think that. Anyway, how do we get down from here? I know I can use my claws to scale down, but I doubt I could carry you a lot."

"While that would be fun to watch, there is a path just a short distance that way," Servine said, pointing towards our left to where the path was leading off to.

"Are you sure? I could dangle Scorbunny here off the edge," I joked. Scorbunny's eyes lit up at the sound of doing something so cool.

Servine shook her head. "I know you are kidding, but it's best to avoid areas you are unfamiliar with or without a guide or map. Ground Pokémon love to nest in those flatlands and spring attacks on unsuspecting Pokémon. So, no mountain scaling for you, fluff butt."

"Aww! But that sounded so cool." Scorbunny sulked.

"It's okay, Scorbunny; I bet we can do all sorts of cool things once we get to ZapRock," Vulpix consoled.

"Oh! Like what?"

"We could learn about the rich culture and history of the locals. If I'm not mistaken, that town wasn't this vibrant until recently."

Scorbunny suddenly ran off towards the path's entrance. "No! I hate learning!" The others, save Vulpix, quickly took off after him.

Vulpix raised a paw, shocked at Scorbunny's display, then pouted.

"Don't worry, Vulpix, I'll listen to the boring stuff with you."

"It's not boring. It's interesting."

"Of course it is. Now, let's go catch up with others."

We quickly hobbled over towards where Scorbunny had ran off towards. We then arrived at a dirt road where a bunch of Pokémon were traveling through, like a Graveler and a Shieldon, with a large cart of various items inside it.

We didn't pay them much mind and traveled down the dirt road to where a large crew of Pokémon, mainly Machops and a set of Timburrs with a menacing-looking Conkeldurr, stood watch. They were at the entrance of what is now seen as a white brick road that led all the way to ZapRock.

We were led off to the side and started to travel along the brick road, which felt like magic to my feet. Instead of a mismatched shuffling of uncertain foot placement, a stable path was replaced by a stable path.

Man, I missed human-made roads and footpaths.

It was interesting, however, to see the different Pokémon that would be traveling here compared to OatTown. There was mainly a wide variety of grass types back there, but so far I'm seeing a lot of rock, ground, and electric types. A Nosepass would float on by, a couple of Geodudes, a Scraggy, and even a Pickachu would pass us by. Another thing is that back at OakTown, most Pokémon would give a wave or even a small smile to you as you passed them by, but these Pokémon all frowned or took steps to avoid us.

A nice brown fence started to appear about halfway down the path, and something caught me so far off guard that I actually mumbled, "What the heck is that doing here?" on our walk. It was a lamppost, just sitting there, acting like it was not from this world.

The others didn't pay it any mind, so we continued walking. I was so confused; most places so far had candle lamp posts, like in olden times. But this one actually had a light globe resting inside it. Maybe my allies didn't notice that part, but I sure as hell did.

I pondered for a while about the random dabs of human technology like the card scanner, elevator, and now the lightbulb when it hit me: if humans don't exist here, then what about human-made Pokémon? Would a Porygon exist since Pokémon don't really use computers? What about a Revavroom or hell, what about MewTwo? I will get to the bottom of this, like my Pokémon meat questions.

We finally arrived at the end of the yellow brick- I mean, white brick road and encountered a small guarded gateway at the entrance of a very tall, white brick wall with a lightning bolt pattern along the middle and random splatters of blue. There were two guards with the right one being a Sawk and on the left being a Heliolisk respectively. The Heliolisk was interesting for it was wearing a knight's-styled helmet while holding a spear. They seemingly haven't noticed our small group approaching since they were too absorbed in their conversation.

"I'm telling you, when we have to fight, I would rather keep my distance and have a nice pointy stick between me and the invaders," the Heliolisk said.

Sawk with his arms crossed shook his head. "That's a coward's weapon. See these?" Sawk brought forwards his arms, showing off his well seasoned hands. "These are all the weapons I need."

"Good luck using those when I poke you full of holes from a nice safe distance."

"Ha! I'd like to see that toothpick pierce my stoney hide." The guards then butted heads, grumbling while they continued to do so about stick or no stick. Personally, I choose stick. Stick good. Acey like stick.

We all looked at each other. Servine cleared her throat, then spoke. "Hey, um, hello?"

Both guards stopped in motion then rotated their heads while keeping them together, finally noticing our merry group.

"Halt! Who goes there?" they both yelled at once. They broke off from each other, the Sawk with his arms low ready for a fight, and the Heliolisk with his spear pointed at us.

Servine took a step forward. "Hi, good morning. We're from Benevolent Heroes and we are responding to a quest. Well, they are, I'm just the navigator. So, could you lower your weapons?"

"What do you think? Do we let them in? They could be lying." Heliolisk asked.

"Hmm, I'm not- wait! Wouldn't you have those thingies? Those guild whatchamacallits?" Sawk asked.

"Oh, the thingamabobs, good point."

"It's called an I.D badge and yes we all have them. Can we hurry this up? I'm tired and I'm not in the mood for a Tweedle-dee and Tweedledumb act," I asked, letting my fatigue get the better of me.

"What?" Sawk asked dumbly.

"I think he just called us dumb!" Heliolisk accused.

"Hey, we're not dumb! We can read and do maths!"

"Simple maths. Times-tables still confuse me. Oh, and only small words, big words scare me."

"I think they get our point, Sawk. but I'm in a good mood, so in you go."

We were a bit confused at first, thinking that something was going to happen, so we entered the town with me being last when a Heliolisk's spear dropped down in front of me. I glared angrily at these two guards.

"Hey, you know what? I don't think we should let that one in. Look at him, he looks like a troublemaker. Just look at how bruised and dirty he is. I bet he is a Low-Towner," Heliolisk smirked.

Sawk seemed confused at first, but caught on to his friend's plan. "Hey, you're right. Look at how dirty he is. We can't let him in. I bet he would just cause trouble for the others."

"Hey! I haven't even been to this town before, so I don't even know what you are talking about. So get out of my way, I have guild work to do," I snarked.

"Nuh-uh. We don't like you, so scram! Dirty Low-Towner," Sawk grumbled.

"Yeah, scram. You ain't getting past us, Low-Towner," Heliolisk said, pointing his spear at me now. I deepened my glare, causing them to back up a little bit, but stuck to their guns. I was about to retaliate when Vulpix interfered.

"How dare you!" Vulpix called out from the town's side. She quickly got right up into Heliolisk's face, making him flinch. "Do you know why he is so beat up? That's because we had to go through Turn-Back Mountain to get here! To help out this town so give him some respect! He is a brave fighter and a proud member of The Benevolent Heroes, and I will not stand for this!" Vulpix said with a very harsh tone.

Heliolisk, who was leaning back, fell over himself. He quickly grabbed his spear and held it in front of him like he was hiding behind it like a tree, shaking while doing so. "S-sorry, ma,am. We were just teaching him a lesson on calling us dumb."

"I don't care. Let him in and get out of our way, or so help me I will teach you boys some proper manners to guests."

Heliolisk quickly jumped to the side of the gate and stood there shaking in place. "W-welcome to ZapRock. P-please don't cause any trouble."

"Yeah, please don't, I don't want to get yelled at again," Sawk cowered.

Vulpix huffed and nodded. "Come on, Ace, we have important matters to deal with."

I raised an eyebrow, impressed at Vulpix's demeanor. With a slight raised head, I walked past the gate and into ZapRock.

"Remind me not to get on her bad side," Sneasel whispered to me as we walked further into the town.

"Sounds like you should avoid being on my bad side then. Well, again that is," I said.

"Right."

"So, what's the plan? Go to our mysterious quest giver and kick some serious butt? Or find a thingamajig? What is the quest again?"

"Oh no you don't, mister," Vulpix said in the same tone she had with the guards. "We are getting you to a doctor before anything. You can't help any Pokémon if you can barely even walk."

"What? I'm fine, don't worry about the smaller stuff."

"Now, mister!"

I sat there and raised an eyebrow at her. She must have realized that I was not having it and bashfully rubbed the back of her head. "Please," she added. I just rolled my eyes.

"Fine, but only because you asked so nicely," I sarcastically said.

Vulpix poked her tongue out and off we went to go and find a doctor for who knows why. Like, I'm fine!

As I got up, I put too much pressure on my right leg, causing a huge shock of pain to run up it. On second thought, maybe some medical attention would be good. Hope the doctor isn't as insane as Lilligant is.

The town of ZapRock was quite a sight. The main roads were in fact stone paths that looked remarkably clean and white. Well, as clean as a road can look. It was made of the same white brick as the path leading in and along it was lined a row of repeating street lights and small trees placed here and there. In the middle of the road sat a large strip of baby blue with a yellow zigzagging pattern running through the middle of it.

The buildings to the side were surrounded by small gardens, lawns, and knickknacks giving every small house a unique bit of character. The buildings themselves looked very similar to a Britain style housing set up. Instead of the familiar white bricks, some houses were made of timber or regular brown bricks and were, on average, two stories in size. There was one thing, one very familiar thing that united them and that was they all kept each house and lawn, if they had one, extremely clean. As we walked on by we could spy Pokémon- such as a Sudowoodo- who was sweeping dirt out of his house from his door. Needless to say, it was a peaceful sight. If it wasn't for the Pokémon walking around, I could have easily mistaken this place for an olden time village.

There was one thing that helped to unify all the buildings and that was the colors: yellow, blue and white. Even if it was only on the mailbox, all buildings had something to that extent. This town sure did like those two.

Along our clinic searching, we would ask the locals about where a clinic might be, but once they noticed me, every single Pokémon would scuff loudly and walk off, muttering something about Low-Towner.

"Why is no Pokémon talking to us?" Vulpix asked. "Are we scaring them?"

"With how they are looking down at us? I doubt that. If it's one thing I've noticed so far, it's that they all seem full of themselves, "I replied.

A nearby Zebstrika overheard what I said and huffed, "My word!" and stormed off.

"See?"

"He does have a point," Servine added. "I don't recall this place being so… I don't know, hostile? They were weary about travelers, but I don't recall them being like this."

"How long ago did you come here?" Sneasel asked.

"Hmm, would've been a couple of years. Maybe four? I don't recall. So many adventures, so little time to remember them all. But hey, that's what it's like to travel. Not every place is welcoming and not every place stays the same. If we keep to ourselves and not say anything outlandish or ask a million questions then we should be right." Servine then looked to Scorbunny then to myself.

"What? I don't say mean things. Do I?" Scorbunny asked.

"No, but you can be a bit dull to boundaries."

"Hey, I just like saying hi and talking about other Pokémon's days and how they are feeling and their dreams and their favorite trees."

"That's what I'm talking about, you don't just ask a million questions to a Pokémon you don't know yet."

"Then how am I supposed to get to know them?"

Scorbunny and Servine continued this back and forth conversation when I noticed Vulpix staring off into a nearby alley. She started to walk off towards it, to which I curiously followed behind.

Looking past Vulpix's many tails, I was able to spy- well, mostly hear- a conflict of sorts. The closer we got the more Vulpix sped up and the more I could hear what was going on.

It seemed to be a fight of sorts with three Pokémon being a Fraxure to the left, a Sandile to the right and in the middle was a Jangmo-o. They were basically dogs piling on a cowering, bruised-looking Riolu.

I was able to make out some of their intense name callings that would make a schooler proud.

"Looser," "Get lost, stinky," and the most terrible insult of them all, "You don't belong here!"

"Hey! What are you doing to that poor Pokémon?!" Vulpix screamed out.

All three looked at her. They stopped their kicking. "Having a bit of fun is all. What's it to you, stranger?" the Fraxure asked.

"When I see a bunch of bullies like you beating up a helpless Pokémon like a bunch of cowards it angers me! That's what it is to me."

"Tch, so what? Are you going to pick a fight with us, then? Why would you care about some trash like this? Why don't you get lost already? This has nothing to do with you."

"It is my duty as a member of the guild Benevolent Heroes to stand up to villains such as yourselves, no matter how small or large the situation may be."

"Wait, you're guilders?" the Jangmo-o asked. "Ah, guys? I think it would be best to leave."

"Hmph, yeah, you have a point. No point in wasting our time with this pair of trash-saving nobody's."

They all turned their backs to us and started to walk away. I relaxed my vines that were ready to shoot out on a second's notice.

"Hey, wait! you have to apologize when you do something wrong! Hey!" Vulpix let out a huff. "The nerve."

"Yeah, you showed them," I chimed in.

"It just gets on my nerves. I would love to teach them a lesson."

"Where did this battle-hungry Vulpix come from?"

"Oh, haha, um, I knew you had my back and just knowing you are there fills me with courage. You should've seen me back at Turn Back mountain. I could barely move, let alone fight."

"Ha, yeah, right. I bet you kicked all sorts of butt. You are braver than you give credit for."

A small blush bloomed across Vulpix's cheeks. Small scraping noises of the injured Riolu getting up caught our attention. "Ah right, are you okay?" Vulpix asked. "Oh, they didn't hurt you too much, did they?"

The Riolu with worn out, yet sharp eyes locked onto Vulpix's. Now that he wasn't getting beaten up, I could see that he was way worse than I thought. His fur was covered with blood, mud and various other textures. Even though he was covered with a light layer of fur, I could see some bits that were raised higher than the other, possibly meaning a high amount of bruising.

"Oh my, look at the state of you. Those dang ruffians," Vulpix remarked. She started to approach the Riolu who backed up, making Vulpix stop.

"No, they didn't hurt me, so I'm fine. Don't worry about me. For your sake," he said with a frown.

"You are clearly not fine. Oh, I know: we are looking for a hospital ourselves. How about you come with us? We can help make sure you make it there and not pass out or beaten up again."

"What? Didn't you just listen to what I was saying?"

"Look, we are new to this town and she is all about that saving-Pokémon schtick. So, it's best to just go with her," I commented. Riolu looked straight at me. Even though his eyes screamed hostility with how sharp they were, I could tell that he was more confused than anything. I looked at myself also confused at what he was looking at. Oh right. "I got into a huge fight on our way here."

The Riolu pointed to his right. "The hospital is down the road, take a right and it's the big building with a large purple cross." The Riolu then turned around. He looked over his shoulder, mainly towards Vulpix. "You should avoid helping those like me. Unless you want your reputation to go into the dirt." And before Vulpix could reply, he started to run down the alleyway with his arms drifting behind him.

"Wait!" Vulpix called out to the Riolu, but it was useless because he was already around the corner and gone.

"And he was gone without a trace," I nonchalantly said.

"Ace, this isn't funny. He looked very hurt."

"Well, as bluntly as it sounds, there's no point in worrying now. I doubt we could catch him, especially if he is street smart."

"I guess. I hope he doesn't do anything rash."

"Right. Now, let's get back to our meeting with our quest giver."

"Aaaace. You look just as bad as he does, so no weaseling your way out of a doctor's check up."

"Tch. It was worth a shot."

We left the alley and explained what had happened to our confused allies. There was some hesitation over the information, but Vulpix claimed that the Riolu had no reason to lie, so we followed his instructions.

After following Riolu's instructions we did indeed come across a building with a large purple cross hanging above its door. It was a rounded white building with a blue arch where the door was, with the door having yellow lighting bolt patterns on it. The building was only one story tall with only a couple of windows.

We approached the building. "Alright, I guess this is the place. Do you need us to wait for you guys, or can we look for a place to stay?" Servine asked.

"What? We can't leave them," Scorbunny cut in.

"We aren't leaving them. We are being proactive while respecting their privacy."

"Not the first time you suggest leaving an ally in need," Vulpix muttered. The others didn't hear it, but I sure did.

"We will be fine, I guess. With Vulpix here, I doubt anyone would mess with us," I stated. Vulpix just looked away all shy like. It was very cute.

"Alright, well we will be back in a short while, so don't go running off. From memory, some of the inns are close to the entrance so if you really need us we will be searching around there."

"Look at you, Miss Professional-Adventurer."

"Of course, there's three things one must do when venturing to a new location: secure a place to sleep, find work, a good place with affordable food, and where the doctors are. Like in this case, medical stuff always comes first."

Vulpix nodded along with big sparkly eyes that I admit, I was copying. This adventuring talk was getting me pumped up for what quest brought us here.

We waved to our allies and moved towards the front door. Vulpix scratched at it, but no response. So, I banged on the wooden door heavily with my vines, well as heavy as a vine could knock.

Some shuffling wormed its way out from behind the door, making me recall doctor Lilligant. I gulped. Vulpix in the meantime thought it was funny and let out a small chuckle. "Does the big bad Acey-poo need me to hold his paw?" Vulpix mocked.

"Hey, if you're offering, I'll take it," I jokingly said. I must have called her bluff for she started to fumble and stutter about.

"Coming!" a feminine sounding voice boomed. We waited for barely a second before the door suddenly swung open revealing an out-of-breath Chansey. "Haaa, haaa, welcome! How can I help you both?"

"Um, a Riolu said that this was the doctor's building?" Vulpix asked.

"A Riolu? Was he mattered with sharp eyes?"

"Ah, yeah."

"Is he here with you?"

"No, he left once he told us where this place was located."

Chansey let out a deep sigh. "I wish that foolish lad would just come to me for a check up already. Oh, sorry, that's not your issue. What seems to be the problem?" Chansey then started to examine Vulpix, ignoring my existence. "You don't look injured, in fact, your fur looks well groomed so you seem healthy at least."

"No, not me. It's Ace there, he is the injured one."

"Oh my my, how silly of me-" Chansey sang, but once she got a sight of me, she froze in place. "Haunter brothers! Get a stretcher, quick!" she called out. Some loud crashes could be heard that raised my concern levels. My breathing began to speed up as did my heart rate.

Vulpix and I both tried to look past Chansey when I felt something cold suddenly touch my underbelly. I instantly took in a deep shrill breath when I found myself quickly floating into the building and placed on a stretcher.

The stretcher that was seemingly moving on its own quickly darted through the halls and smashed through a sliding door. I could only close my eyes, embracing for a pain that didn't come and when I opened my eyes I was now in a doctor's room.

Before I could even take in a breath to calm down, I was once again lifted from the stretcher and placed on a nearby patient's bed. My world suddenly was in a spin even though I was now stationary. My heart rate began to beat as loud as a drum inside my chest as my breathing quickened.

"What is going on!? Stop touching me!" I screamed.

There's something you should know about Pokémon anatomy I have discovered. Unless you want someone to touch your underbelly for whatever reason like when you trust someone for a pat or to see if a spot has disappeared, I find it extremely unnerving for others to touch there. Now, when a stranger goes for your underbelly, especially if you can't see what it is that is grabbing you, you feel a sense of complete vulnerability like your life is on the line. You are completely exposed there, after all.

Chansey, who I didn't even notice had rushed in the room, was now holding a needle of sorts. The needle seemingly began to grow in size, sending a cold shiver down my spine.

"This won't hurt one bit," she said. When I looked up at her after trying to find what grabbed me, my mind decided it was horror movie time and my vision distorted Chansey. My mind seemed to have mixed both Machoke and Dr. Lilligant together and let me tell you, that was not a pretty picture in my mind.

So I freaked out.

Vines lashed out and went completely haywire in a desperate attempt to protect their master. "Get away from me!" I shouted, panic was the only thing driving me. While my vines were acting to protect me, my mind kept flashing to Machoke from the mine; his smile getting closer and closer to me, while I also could hear Liligant's voice saying that 'she wants to examine me, much closer.'

Breathing began painful as did a huge deep pain erupt from inside my chest. I felt myself sink deeper and deeper into this terror with seemingly no exit. When a warmth pressed itself against me.

Surprisingly it felt familiar and I could feel myself starting to calm down just a bit. "It's okay, you're safe, I'm here. Breathe with me."

After mimicking the sound of breath so familiar and calming I could feel the picture in my mind fade, and I started to rise out of that dark area in my mind. I started to really calm down and I slowly opened my eyes. Vulpix was now in front of me, concern and worry plastered on her face. "You're okay. You're okay."

"Wha- what happened?"

"You freaked out when you were suddenly rushed to this room. Keep taking deep breaths."

So I indeed kept taking in deep breaths feeling myself reset. I stared deep into Vulpix's eyes feeling safe once again. "Thanks."

I took a look around my area to find that I was in a patient's room. Shelves lined the edges of the room where windows would rest above them. There were two other beds to this one, and at the corner of the room sat a large desk where a bunch of vials were sitting- guessing the preparation area or something.

I now looked down to my bed that was torn here and there, then to the Chansey who was using a chair as a makeshift shield. "That was quite a freak out," she said.

"Please don't be mad at Ace," Vulpix pleaded. "He has been through a lot of painful times and he must have freaked out by how sudden he was moved."

"Ah, that explains the freak out. No, I'm the one who should apologize. We shouldn't have done anything that was so hasty. We apologize."

"We?"

"Yes, we. Get out here and apologize, please."

Upon saying that, two Haunters came out through walls. One sat halfway in it while the other came out completely. "On behalf of my sister, we apologize for what we did," the emerged Haunter apologized while bowing slightly.

Chansey gave a stern look to the other Haunter who was still stuck in the wall. That Haunter then emerged enough so that her mouth was free, then spoke. "Yeah, sorry. We didn't mean to scare you."

With apologies thrown around, Chansey then slowly started to approach the bed with her hands clearly shown to be free of anything. "I'm not going to do anything without permission, so please don't panic, okay?"

I was about to say that it's fine when my words got caught in my throat and the desire to run filled my being. Vulpix placed her paw on top of mine, helping me to calm down. She gave me a small nod.

"Fine, I'll try to keep cool," I muttered.

Chansey kept her hands raised until she arrived. "It's okay, I'm a certified doctor. See?" She pointed to a plaque that rested on the wall near the desk. "I only want to help you, so can I ask you some questions about your injuries."

"Yeah. Yeah, that should be fine."

I took in some deep breaths that felt like they were filling a void deep in my lungs. Guess I finally caught my breath.

"Great. Now could you please explain how you got them?"

I slowly went into small details about the recent events that led me to getting all my injuries. The numerous fights in the Mystery Dungeon and getting jumped by Team Dread.

"Well, that explains why you look as you do. Not many Pokémon could survive a trip through Turn Back Mountain while getting split from your group. You must be a very strong and brave Pokémon."

"Look, I don't need you to baby talk to me."

"And mature, too." Chansey and Vulpix giggled. Their giggles did help to liven the mood. "May I examine you? I would like to see how badly those injuries are to see how strong of an Oran berry strength I need. If you want me to stop, I will stop immediately."

"Fine, but just don't touch my underbelly or my bulb."

"Yes, sir."

Chansey then slowly reached out her arms and got a better look at some of the injuries I had and gave a 'does it hurt and how much when I touch this area?' I was then asked to do some breathing tests.

"Hmm, nothing broken. Mainly just sprains and bruises. Nothing a good old Oran Berry can't fix," Chansey said with a smile.

"Excuse me, but Dr. Lilligant said that Ace can't have Oran Berries right now. She said he had an Oran overdose," Vulpix interrupted.

"An overdose?" Chansey looked me in the eyes. "Oh, I see. Can I ask you a personal question, Ace? May I call you that?" I nodded. "First, lovely name, I'm glad to see they are catching on. And have you been through anything traumatic recently?"

"Uh, no?"

"Ace," Vulpix cut in. "Doctor, Ace was experienced to torture very recently. Not even a month ago."

"Oh, I see. Is this where he got the overdose from?" Vulpix nodded. I felt myself getting more and more angry the more we walked about this and I wasn't too sure as to why. "Do you both understand what that means, did Dr. Lilligant explain what an Oran overdose means?"

"No. She just said to avoid Oran berries for a while."

Chansey let out a sigh. "Of course. A brilliant mind that one, but terrible patient side manners."

Chansey then went into small details about what an Oran Berry actually does to a Pokémon in terms of healing. In short, in just jet speeds your cells' natural healing order. She then went on to explain that when you do this over and over and over your cells tend to lose out on how to rebuild themselves properly and thus can lead to terrible affects like your organs or skin just not building themselves correctly if damaged, or to them simply not fixing anything and tearing themselves apart.

The way I thought of it to help make it easy for my brain was to imagine getting a bunch of building blocks and asking to make a simple building. It's easy with the instructions, time, and all the parts right? Well, how about being told to do it over and over after it gets smashed up, faster and faster? You would do your best, but some pieces would get lost when it gets smashed again. The Oran Berry would help to add that piece back in, but it can only do so much. So If you try to quickly build that building with half parts that building would just collapse in on itself.

That's how I imagine it anyways.

"So, you can't heal him?" Vulpix asked.

"Sorry, but the best I can do is to patch him up and clean up the wounds," Chansey replied.

"Ah, old fashion style of medical practice. Now that I'm familiar with it," I replied.

Chansey had a frown, but gave a forced smile. I just cocked my head, confused slightly at that. Chansey- with the help of her assistants- disinfected my wounds and bandaged them. I asked if it was common practice to go old fashion with healing and surprisingly yes. An Oran berry is great, but sometimes you need good old fashion medical skills. An Oran berry can't heal a surgery patient after all. It can help, but that's about it.

So, after getting patched up, I was told to come and get a check up often or before I left here. I was not going to do that since I knew my bulb would just heal me. I wonder if it's the same thing? Eh, who knows?

Chansey finished with her practice and had a concerned look upon her. No, she looked worried. She backed away from me, then looked at Vulpix then myself. "Ace, may I speak to you in a private room?"

I felt myself worry a bit at what this could mean.

"Why? What's wrong?" Vulpix asked with a worried expression.

"I'm sorry, but I can't share this with you," Chansey replied.

"You can tell her, I trust her with my life," I proudly stated.

Chansey looked me in the eyes, worry and concern dripping from them.

"Ace, I think you should go with her. This seems serious. I will be nearby if you need me. I promise." Vulpix said.

"Fine. But if you try anything, I will lay hell fire on you," I aggressively said.

Chansey gave a nod, then ushered me to follow her. We exited the patient's room then arrived at another room. Chansey opened up the door revealing a smaller, more personal looking examination room. There was a small desk to the right with a rotating chair and an examination bed towards the left. She walked inside and stood near an examination bed. She lowered with a nearby leaver so that I may hop on it. She gave a small nod and gestured for me to enter.

I felt myself hesitating. I don't know why, but my danger senses were off the charts at the moment. My breathing began to speed up again.

"I will be right here," Vulpix's calming words reassured. I took a deep breath and entered the room. Chansey closed the door behind me. She then sat down at a rotating chair.

She sat there with a soft smile, waiting patiently for me to move. I felt my nerves relax a little and moved towards the bed. I hopped on the bed but I dared not to lie or sit down.

"I'm going to raise the bed now," Chansey Announced. She grabbed the leaver and cranked it a couple of times, raising the bed closer to her levels. "Ace, I'm going to ask you a couple of questions. If you feel uncomfortable about answering them, then feel free to not reply to it. I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable."

I wanted to say something witty or snarky, but my mind was blank. I simply nodded.

Chansey then started her questions. "Ace, are you always alert?"

"Yeah? Why wouldn't I be? Hostile Pokémon literally live in the neighborhoods," I replied honestly.

"Do you have trouble sleeping?"

"Ah, I guess. I had a nightmare last night. And I guess the night before."

Chansey who was holding a clipboard I didn't realize she grabbed, scribbled something on it.

"Do certain unpleasant memories croup out of seemingly nowhere? Even if you are having a good day?"

"That happens to everyone I'm sure, so yeah?" I felt a bit annoyed all of a sudden.

"Do you get annoyed, angry or even nervous when Pokémon talk or mention about what had happened to you."

I felt myself getting angry. "Yes."

"Do you ever relive that traumatic event?"

I just sat there in silence. It was then that I realized that I was starting to grit my teeth. "No, comment," I let out through gritted teeth.

Chansey then scribbled something on her clipboard. The scratching markings of her pen were really getting on my nerves. She wrote for a small while, then stared at it.

"Was there a reason for your questioning? Or were you just curious about what I was feeling? Does it fuel your curiosity? Huh? Are you satisfied? Does it make you feel better knowing that I was tortured and I keep living through it?! Does it-!" I cut myself of when I realised I was getting worked up. I relaxed my vines and moved back closer towards the wall. I looked down to my forelegs and stared at the palms of them. A bead of sweat fell down on them. When did I start sweating?

Chansey who was sitting patiently waited for me to look at her. She stood up and moved towards the bed. She wore a look of concern.

"Ace, you have PTSD."

End Chapter 24