Chapter Three – Prelude
The rest of that day passed without incident. Ash, much to his own chagrin, spent the majority of his time simply laying in bed and recuperating from his wound. Every now and again though Oak would suffer him to stand and stretch, during which times Ash would eagerly check on Pikachu and Growlithe who had both been stationed upstairs to keep watch on what remained of the laboratory.
Oak divided the day between tending to Ash, making sure his grandson was healing properly, and rummaging through debris in the upper portion of the building. The Professor's laboratory had been the first building attacked by the Gyarados and thusly the one which sustained the most damage. Oak remained positive though and never let on whether or not the massive loss of valuable equipment deeply bothered him.
Of the three living humans in Pallet Town, Misty did the most legwork. Having taken it upon herself to maintain a safe perimeter around the lab she, escorted constantly by her Blastoise and two Staryu, roamed the ruins of the town, never straying more than a kilometer or so from the laboratory. Occasionally the trainer would stop to investigate the derelict of a ruined building and more than once she found an item of value which she either stuffed into her pack or slung across her back. Returning to the laboratory just before sunset, Misty asked Professor Oak to help her sort through some of the cache and determine what would be useful and what could be thrown away.
Sitting cross-legged on the floor across from Oak and sifting through contents of her pack, Misty held up a small metal box. Catching the fading rays of daylight filtering in through the huge breaks in the roof, the box glinted with a steely light. "This is probably the most valuable thing I've found so far," said Misty, flipping the latch and opening the box for the Professor to view the contents. "They're all empty of course."
Oak raised an eyebrow as he surveyed what was inside. Six orbs, each the size of a large marble sat side by side in foam depressions in the box. Each sported a white lower half like all pokeballs, but the upper hemispheres of these particular items were grey with a golden 'U' emblazoned across the face. "Ultraballs," said Oak, surprised. "I didn't know anyone in Pallet Town had access to these, or could afford them."
"Pokeballs in general are valuable and these looked unique so I assumed they must have some worth to them," said Misty, sounding surprised. "How much arethey worth?"
"Ultraballs can catch young and weakened Pokémon without fail," said the Professor. "They can even contain most Pokémon that are at full strength. On the casual market an Ultraball is worth more money than most Gym Leaders make in a month, and to the right person, say a man like myself, these could be worth a lot more than money."
Misty instinctively lowered the lid on the case a bit and cocked her head off to one side. "Why would they be more valuable to you than they would be to other people?"
Oak laughed quietly and put his hands up placatingly. "Don't act so defensive," said the Professor. "I'm not going to take them from you, but I will offer to trade you something for them. You see, before I took up studying Pokémon I spent a great deal of my time studying how to capture Pokémon and I have available to me a means by which I can turn an Ultraball into a much more potent device of incalculable value; a ball that can capture anyPokémon without fail… a Masterball."
Misty pursed her lips just a little. "That sounds a little too good to be true," she said cautiously. "But you've got my attention."
"How about this," said Oak, sitting back. "In exchange for those six Ultraballs, I'll give you ten Greatballs and my word that as soon as I complete the Masterballs I'll send you two of the finished six."
Misty paused for a moment. "If these Masterballs are so amazing and you can make them out of Ultraballs then why haven't I ever seen any on the market or heard about them anywhere else? For that matter why don't you mass produce them and make a huge profit?"
"All good questions" Oak said, "and all have relatively simple answers… Masterballs are amazingly difficult and time consuming to construct. I would spend between six and seven months just making one. And as for your other question, I'm the only person alive who knows how to make them and I don't want the secret getting out so I've only made two over the course of my life, both of which I gave to the Elite Four in exchange for the money and materials to set up this lab."
"I'm still not sure I buy it," said Misty, incredulous. "If you've only made two then why would you be willing to make six now?"
"Look around," said Oak. "I made the Masterballs in the first place to get the money to set up this lab. Now that the lab is destroyed I need to start over and frankly I don't have the capital to do it on my own. I'd plan to sell two for the money to start up another laboratory, I'd keep one for myself, I'd give my grandson one to help him on his journey, and I'd give you two since it would have been you that enabled me to make them to start with. Does that sound like a fair deal?"
Misty sighed and cast about the room for a moment. "It sounds too good to be true… but you've got a deal if you throw in something to sweeten the deal."
"Name it," said Oak calmly. "I don't have anything notably valuable but I'd trade any single thing in this lab."
"Two items actually," said Misty, holding up two fingers to emphasize her point. "Body armor, two sets of it," she went on, "one for me and one for Ash. Having the strongest Pokémon in the world won't do us much good if some flying debris or a lucky hit from a wild Pokémon kills us in one shot."
"Ah," said the professor as if the request caught him off guard. "I can't guarantee that I have anything that will fit but I'll take a look around. Actually," he paused. "They might have something at the guardhouse out by the palisade. I'll go have a quick look."
"No rush, I'll wait," said Misty, crossing her arms and smirking a little.
The rest of the night was quiet. After having checked through the guardhouse, Oak returned with two sets of light, rudimentary, armor consisting of hardened, black, plastic plates fitted over a dark green, woven cloth backing to protect the wearers' core vital areas, forearms, and shins. He even came back with a pair of protective boots for Misty. The two quickly completed their transaction, then had dinner with Ash and filled him in on their deal.
By that point in the night Ash had recovered almost completely and Oak judged it was safe for him to move around more energetically. The risk, he judged, of reopening the wound was minimal. Ash then tried on the armor, making sure that it fit securely over his clothes and, having verified that it would not noticeably hamper his movement, packed it away for the night. Misty did likewise, impressed that the Professor picked out boots and equipment that fit her, then suggested that, if Ash and Misty were to get an early start, everyone turn in for the night.
At Ash's behest, Misty took the bed while the professor slept on the floor. Ash took a brief watch with Pikachu and Growlithe, using the time to further assess the newly captured Pokémon. He instructed Pikachu to patrol the upper level of the laboratory while he and Growlithe held a stationary position at the remnants of the entrance. Throughout the four hour shift, Ash inched incrementally closer to Growlithe, a fact the Pokémon did not fail to notice, but never once did Growlithe move to back away.
"See," said Ash, slowly extending his hand towards the wary Pokémon. It was now just after eleven. "I'm not a monster," he went on, very slowly putting his hand on top of Growlithe's head and scratching his fur, making absolutely sure not to let his fingers come anywhere near the canine's neck. "But I am your master," he said, holding the Pokémon's full attention. "And you will obey me."
Ash couldn't be sure how much Growlithe understood, different Pokémon grasped different aspects of language, but he knew that Growlithe got the gist of it. The orange Pokémon stood up a moment later, growling. Ash withdrew his hand and stood up, wondering what he'd done to provoke the Pokémon. A second later he realized it was nothing of his making. Growlithe stalked to the edge of the ruined laboratory and leered off into the darkness, growling feraly and hunkering down to the ground.
What is it? Ash wondered, ducking behind a large bit of collapsed roof and following Growlithe's glare. And where's Pikachu?
Several minutes passed without any manifestation of what the Pokémon saw in the dark and slowly Growlithe grew quiet and seemed to relax. Ash remained wary, staring into the gloom until Pikachu emerged from the blackness behind him, fur beginning to prickle up. "You saw it too?" asked Ash in a whisper. Pikachu's fur laid down a little and the yellow Pokémon passed by Ash and stood next to Growlithe. Both Pokémon remained alert, though neither made any move to proceed into the dark.
"I'm going to turn in," said Ash. "Be careful you two."
When Ash descended into the basement he found Oak fast asleep on a pile of blankets in the corner opposite Misty's bed. Ash got a loose blanket from the pile without disturbing the Professor and lay down on the floor, closer to the bed than to Oak. Misty rolled over and looked down at him, only able to see via the illuminated numbers on the face of the cheap alarm clock on the makeshift end table next o the bed.
"Everything alright?" she asked quietly.
Ash nodded. "Pikachu and Growlithe saw something outside the lab," he answered, pulling the blanket up to his waist and putting his hands behind his head as he lay on his back on the concrete floor. "It was probably just a Rattata or something, but it bothered them a little."
"Should I send up Blastoise?"
"I don't think it's anything important," said Ash. "Pikachu knows to raise the alarm if anything happens. I'd just be sure that I could get to my Pokémon quickly…"
Misty shrugged and rolled onto her back, not saying anything else. Ash sighed and closed his eyes. He grimaced at the churning in his stomach, trying to convince himself that there was nothing he should be apprehensive about and knowing full well he was lying to himself. Pallet Town was gone, he tried to make himself realize that when he woke up in the morning that he wouldn't be in his bed in his room and that his mother wouldn't be downstairs making breakfast and insisting he do more to take care of himself. The thought of his mother sitting in her chair in the living room as she often did, reading late into the night, brought a tightness to his chest.
Did I tell her I loved her before I left? Ash wondered, the question making him heartsick. He couldn't remember.
SC
By the time Misty woke up from a deep sleep, Oak and Ash had already gotten around to going upstairs and packing supplies into the young trainers backpack. Misty yawned and got up, straightening herself out a little and putting on her new boots. She pursed her lips, a little uncomfortable with how awkward the new footwear looked when paired with her grimy, tattered clothes. It wasn't important though, she told herself, getting up and grabbing her pack from beside the bed. She quickly donned the cheap body armor Oak had brought the night before and went upstairs to join Ash and the Professor.
"Good morning," said Professor Oak nonchalantly when Misty arrived. He looked her over quickly and approvingly, gesturing to the armor and nodding to Ash who had likewise put his on. "I'm glad to see it fits. It might not be top of the line, but it's definitely better than having nothing at all. It will stop most flying debris if nothing else."
"Are we about ready to leave then?" asked Misty, noting that Ash already had his pack laced up and across his back.
The young trainer nodded. "I'm good whenever you are."
Stepping back to give his grandson a last onceover, Oak crossed his arms. "You've got the map and directions to Bill's," said Oak, as much to himself and for his own sake as for Ash and Misty to hear. "You've got the extra field rations, the Greatballs, the extra medical supplies… that's everything isn't it?"
"Sounds like we're ready," said Misty.
"I'll see you Grandpa," said Ash, giving Oak a parting hug before he and Misty made for the exit where Pikachu and Growlithe were both waiting for them.
"Don't forget to contact me when you get to Bill's!" Oak called after them.
The two trainers left the lab and rounded a corner, disappearing from Oak's sight. The Professor sighed and reached around behind his back. He took a Pokeball from his belt and tossed it to the ground. The white energy spilling out of the ball quickly took the roughly humanoid shape of the Professor's trusted Alakazam and the Pokémon, needing no cue other than the thought in the man's mind, took up a position behind Oak as the Professor began rummaging through the remains of his once grand laboratory.
As they left the ruins of Pallet Town via the gate in the palisade neither Ash nor Misty turned to look back at the village. Escorted by Pikachu, Growlithe, and Misty's Blastoise, the two trainers began the journey in silence. It was just before dawn when they set out and neither one spoke before the sun had trekked two hours into the sky, and then it was Ash who broke the silence.
"So you never did tell me where you were from," he asked, his voice as crisp as the cool morning's air. By now he and Misty were pushing through Route 1's thick golden grass, neither one making any particular effort to be quiet. "And all I can come up with is that you're probably from around Cerulean City. Am I close?" He grinned a little bit, seeing Misty twitch just a little from the corner of his eye. He thought nothing of it.
Misty didn't answer right away. "That's right," she said a moment later, almost under her breath. Her tone brightened a little as she went on though. "But I've been wandering for a while now. I've spent quite a bit of my time in and around Mt. Moon, exploring some of the passes and the deeper tunnels."
"Wow, I've only ever heard of the tunnels beneath the mountain," said Ash. "The ones running through Mt. Moon are dangerous enough but I've heard some horror stories from Grandpa about the lower caves and passages."
"It was pretty tough," said Misty. "And I didn't go very deep. But Blastoise," she patted the large Pokémon, walking on all fours beside her and rumbling happily to himself, with one hand on the side of his shell.
"What were you looking for down there?" asked Ash.
Misty shrugged. "I'd heard some rumors that there might be treasure down in the lower tunnels. But I left before I could find anything valuable. It was just too dangerous. Treasure isn't worth your life," she laughed a little.
"No," no it isn't," replied Ash.
By the time noon rolled around Ash and Misty had travelled what they judged to be more than half the distance between Pallet and Viridian. The morning had gone by without major incident. Misty had put Blastoise back in his pokeball to him some rest. The pair decided to take a brief respite under the cover of a lone tree jutting up in the sea of grass and enjoy their lunch. Ash guessed that it was the same tree under which he and Pikachu had rested before running into Growlithe.
"You know," said Ash, standing up after finishing his seedcake. He glanced around as much of the plane as he could and set his gaze on a not so distant patch of wooded brush. Misty still sat under the tree and worked on her rations in the shade. "I caught Growlithe less than a mile from here," he said, pointing to the thicket a stone's throw away. "It was right over there in that brush."
Misty followed his motion but couldn't see over the top f the grass and she didn't bother to stand. "What are you thinking?" she casually inquired. "Want to go have a look?"
"You read my mind," Ash nodded. "I want to go have another look at the place, see what happened. That is if you don't mind."
Misty finished her seedcake and stood up, releasing Blastoise from his Pokeball. "I don't mind," she answered. "You were going to go look anyway and somebody has to keep an eye on you." She grinned a little and Ash returned the smile.
Blastoise in front, Pikachu and Growlithe behind, Misty and Ash carefully made their way across the plane to the edge of the thicket where the grass suddenly stopped growing, replaced by tangled bushes and hardy trees. Ash stepped forward, passed Blastoise and peered into the thicket. Just as the day before, the brush remained thick enough that he couldn't see to the little island's center so, keeping Growlithe close beside him and Pikachu ready on his shoulder, Ash proceeded inside. Misty moved around the perimeter a bit and began her approach from the flank, keeping Ash with eyeshot.
Prepared this time, Ash took a handkerchief from his pocket and tied it over his nose, tucking the bottom of the cloth under his shirt's collar and breathing through his mouth. Even so, when he broke into the glade in the middle the scent was all but overwhelming and made his eyes water. The sight also nearly made him. Many of the dead Growlithe were in the early stages of decomposition and the trainer who lay more in the pond than out was farther along than any of the Pokémon.
A quick hiss from Pikachu instantly put Ash on alert and when the yellow Pokémon's fur burst into a coat of needles, some of which poked Ash's cheeks like razor-grass, the trainer took a quick step backwards. "Where-" Ash stopped, seeing the large mass laying only a few paces in front of him. "Oh," he muttered.
Laying collapsed and ostensibly dead in a feathered heap on the ground was a Fearow. Growlithe caught the bird's scent and immediately jumped into the clearing, less than a meter from the Fearow, and began barking and growling. Ash saw Misty emerging from the brush with Blastoise off to his right,
Ash took another step back when the Fearow stirred and raised its head up to look at the by now roaring Growlithe. The bird's long, bloodied neck spasmed and twitched, as though holding up its head was mammothly burdensome. Slowly it set itself back down, still looking at Ash with one eye and breathing in small motions, making the blood-matted feathers grind against one another.
It's barely hanging on, thought Ash, a pang of guilt lancing into his chest.
Growlithe howled and cast itself forward, teeth bared to bite and rend. Fearow closed its eye and Ash saw its body relax just a little as Growlithe closed the gap between them in an instant.
"Stop!" Ash barked, his voice echoing through the thicket like a quick thunderclap. Misty jerked in surprise and Growlithe instantly skidded to a halt. The canine leered back at Ash for only a second before whirling back on the Fearow watch lacked the energy to even open an eye to observe the action. "Down!" Ash's voice boomed again, louder even than before.
Growlithe stumbled and sat as though compelled irresistibly by the simple command. It's jaw snapped shut as a whimper escaped its throat as Ash moved forward. Growlithe shuffled/scooted backwards as Ash placed himself between the canine and the Fearow, grabbing a pokeball from his belt. He threw the ball at the bird and it stopped just short of the matted feathers and snapped open. The Fearow disappeared in a white light which the pokeball greedily sucked up. The orb clicked closed and dropped to the ground.
Misty, wearing an expression akin to shock, watched as Ash stepped forward and picked up the pokeball. He checked it quickly and attached it to his belt. Misty snapped from her daze and stepped with Blastoise into the clearing as Ash knelt down in front of Growlithe. The little canine acted as though it was going to recoil from Ash's touch, but remained still. For a long moment the young trainer, Pikachu silently sitting on his shoulder, scratched the back of Growlithe's head and behind his ears, eventually succeeding in coaxing Growlithe to relax and even go so far as pant and wag his tail a little.
Misty watched the entire exchange, amazed by how quickly Growlithe went from cowed and punished pup to a tail-wagging and bright-eyed dog that, if she hadn't known better, she would have assumed had been Ash's companion for months. That, she told herself, was not normal. Trainers, even trainers as old and experienced as Professor Oak, much less as young and green as Ash Ketchum, shouldn't be able to exert that kind of influence.
"The Fearow should be stable now that it's in the pokeball," said Ash, standing up and giving Growlithe a final, friendly, pat on the side. "Once we get to Viridian I want to take it to the Pokémon Center and see if we can't get it patched up."
Misty nodded. How did you do that? she wanted to ask. Nobody should be able to control a Pokémon as enraged as that Growlithe and then go on to pet it and play with it, especially not a rookie… "That was impressive," she said instead.
"The Fearow was already had both claws in the grave," Ash said. "Catching it was as simple as throwing the pokeball."
"Not what I meant," Misty shook her head and glanced down at Growlithe, now looking up at Ash and panting, letting its tongue hang from its mouth. "Most trainers take years to gain that kind of respect."
Ash cocked his head off to one side a little. "What do you mean?"
Misty looked at him dumbly for a moment. How could you not know you just exercised perfect control over a blood-drunk Pokémon? She almost blurted. How can you be so casual about being able to stop a raging Pokémon, even if it is just a Growlithe, with so little effort?
"Never mind," said Misty, flustered. "Let's just check the trainer's body and get out of here before the smell draws anything else."
Muscling past the urge to gag, Ash and Misty worked together to pull the dead trainer's cadaver from the water. Misty stepped back and simply observed as Ash rolled the body over. "Not exactly a flashy dresser," he said, commenting on the olive-drab uniform worn by the man. Holding one hand to his face and pressing the handkerchief closer to his nose, Ash reached into the jacket pocket of the corpse and pulled out a wallet.
A card fluttered to the ground and landed beside Ash's boot, but the trainer let it be as he opened the wallet and sifted through it. "A little bit of money," he said, drawing a few messily folded bills from the wallet and slipping them into his own pocket. "Not much else though, not even an ID," he tossed the wallet aside and picked up the card in the grass, looking it over quickly.
"Oh, scratch that," he went on, holding the unassuming card out to Misty. She took it and scanned it.
"So he was a member of the Viridian Gym," noted Misty. "Jonathan Dread… interesting name if nothing…" she trailed off as her eyes caught the little motif embossed in the lower right corner of the card, the letters 'TR' cast in red enamel. "TR," Misty mumbled reflexively.
"I saw that too," said Ash, turning back to the corpse and quickly rummaging through some of the pockets inside the man's vest. "Any idea what it means?" He pulled out a small leather purse and shook it. Coins jingled inside and he slipped reached around his back, putting it in his pack.
"No," Misty answered immediately, flicking the card away. "Ash we're leaving right n-"
A deafening buzz came out of nowhere and Ash looked up just in time to see an enormous insect screaming straight towards him, two enormous stingers poised to drill into his chest. Reflexively Ash shouted "Thundershock!"
Pikachu, already alert, appeared by Ash's side in a flash of speed, cheeks already sparking and in the middle of unleashing a bolt of electricity. The yellow javelin of energy slammed into the approaching Beedrill and exploded across its exoskeleton in a flickering web. The insect's red compound eyes burst like tomatoes smashing into a brick wall as the frail Pokémon died instantly.
Still carried by inertia the Beedrill barreled into Ash's chest and knocked him to the ground. One stinger scraped across that hard plastic plate protecting Ash's chest and left a smoking rivulet in the material. Ash rolled backwards with the cadaver and tumbled into the small pond.
Misty whirled towards where the Beedrill had come and threw a pokeball than snapped open and released her purple Starmie. "Who's there?" she yelled as Ash reached the bottom of the small pond and threw off the Beedrill's corpse. "Come out!"
Flanked by another Beedrill, a trainer dressed in a uniform identical to that of the dead trainer emerged from the trees. "So you two are the ones who killed my partner," she said, tossing her ebon hair out of her face and glaring angrily at Misty. "Twin Needle!" she shouted, prompting the second Beedrill to rocket forward towards Misty.
"Hydropump!" Misty retaliated and instantly water jets as big around as a man's fist roared out of Blastoise's cannons. The jets smashed into the Beedrill just as the Pokémon closed to within four meters of Misty, shearing the insect into numerous distinct pieces and scattering said pieces. Then, unordered, Blastoise turned on the stunned new arrival and fired a single missile of hyper-pressurized water at her.
"Shi-" the other trainer swore, unable to dodge and taking the bullet square in the leg. Her knee snapped backwards and her pretty face contorted in pain as she dropped to one side, barely propping herself up on her elbow.
Ash gasped loudly as he broke to the surface of the pond and took a deep breath. The Beedrill had knocked the wind out of him and beneath the surface of the pond there was nothing for him to breathe. He glanced quickly from Pikachu, sitting nervously on the side of the pond and chittering frantically at Ash, to Growlithe who was growling but remaining out of sight off in some brush. Another trainer, a girl Ash thought, had just gone down on the edge of the clearing.
"Fuck you!" screeched the girl, spitting at Misty. "I swear to god I'm going to rip you a new-" she stopped and stared at the redhead for only a second. "Misty?" she asked quickly as though she couldn't believe what she saw.
Misty's face froze in a mask of horror as she glanced at Ash from the corner of her eye. "Starmie! Double-Edge!" she shouted.
Quick as a thought the purple Pokémon flung itself through the air, spinning like a shuriken towards the downed trainer. Ash could barely process what Misty had said before Starmie passed by the trainer, stopped in midair and turned around to face the now silent woman.
Misty breathed a sigh and watched as the trainer's head lolled off to one side, then kept shifting farther until it fell from her shoulders completely, tumbling across the ground as her truncated torso collapsed. Blood poured from the corpse's neck like water from an overfull pitcher and pooled in the grass. The head's lips shifted only a second, unable to form sounds without a larynx or lungs, before the eyes glazed and faded.
Ash stood, waist deep in the dirty water and stared, shocked at the scene. Misty looked over at him and they looked at each other. Ash's stunned gaze met Misty's expressionless façade and he shook himself and walked out of the pond without a word. Pikachu hopped back up on his shoulders and watched Misty like a rabbit watches a cat.
"She was down already," said Ash.
"I didn't know if she had anymore tricks," said Misty, not looking away from Ash. "It was the safe thing to do."
"I-" Ash hesitated and kept staring at the decapitated body. "We really should leave."
Misty nodded. "I'll see you outside in a second."
Ash acknowledged her with a nod and walked out of the thicket, accompanied by Pikachu and Growlithe. He didn't look back to see what Misty was doing, he simply went to the edge of the thicket, leaned against one of the trees, and stared out over the sea of golden grass. He thought for several minutes. He looked down at his breastplate and traced his fingers across the scratch from the Beedrill, knowing that, even though the Pokémon had been dead upon striking him, if not for the armor the blow likely would have killed him. His face grew progressively harder as his thoughts churned, uninterrupted until Misty emerged from the brush behind him, followed by Blastoise.
"Are you alright?" she asked as soon as she cleared the brush.
Ash shrugged. "I'm alive," he said. "I wouldn't be if that other trainer had gotten her way… so I guess I'm doing alright. Did the body have anything useful on it?"
"A little money," said Misty. "I took the two Beedrill's pokeballs. There was also a small medical kit… pretty standard stuff."
"We should keep moving if that's it then," said Ash, pushing himself up off the tree and looking around to get his bearings. "We're not far from Viridian now."
"Right," said Misty. She reached over and touched Ash's shoulder. "You're sure you're good?"
"Positive," said Ash. "That wasn't the first corpse I've seen," he gave her a quick grin, only having to force the smile a little.
SC
Viridian City sprung up rapidly from the plains. Beyond a protective ditch filled with water and bordered on the inside by a palisade not unlike Pallet Town's lay the successful (at least as successful as a city on the frontier could be expected to be) city. Two guards at the Southern entrance to the city, both sporting uniforms of the Viridian Gym and each guarded by a Machoke, stopped Ash and Misty but let them pass after recognizing Ash as Professor Oak's grandson. When asked about his business in Viridian, Ash mentioned the disaster at Pallet Town and both guards offered their condolences.
Beyond the gate the city seemed to spring out of nothing. Being contained within a wall and moat did not allow the city the luxury of outskirts and most of the buildings along the borders of the town were just as large as the structures in the center, giving both Ash and Misty the impression that they were instantly immersed in the city. People were bustling about their noontime business and the streets, while wide, were crowded, compelling Ash and Misty to stay close or risk being separated.
"The Pokémon Center is just East of here," said Ash as they reached an intersection. He pointed off to the large and plainly visible building with a whitewashed walls and a red roof. The Center took up the better part of a city block and the trainers, having since returned their Pokémon to their pokeballs, minus Pikachu who remained on Ash's shoulder, made their way to the center.
Entering through the big double doors was like stepping into a hospital, a restaurant, and a hotel all rolled into one. Across from the entrance was a counter with a clerk behind at a register, ostensibly the manager of the hotel division. To that desk's right there was a tiled hallway marked by a hanging sign with directions to the emergency room. Opposite that hall the lobby opened up into another section of the building, this one occupied by tables and chairs and booths. The big lobby was, compared to the streets outside, very quiet and the trainers slipped off to one side to discuss exactly what to do.
"How long are we planning on staying?" asked Misty. "Do you think we'll need a room for the night?"
Ash nodded. "I'd plan on it. Fearow is going to be in critical condition and even with the care we can get here it's probably going to be more than a few hours."
"Alright," said the orange haired trainer. "I'll get a room and get things settled."
"I'm taking Fearow to the emergency room then. Try keep us on a budget."
Misty nodded. "I can do that. As soon as I get that taken care of I'll come find you in the hospital wing."