Arata's Pokémon-
Ceaser – Fraxure
Livia – Pidgeotto
Orin – Teddiursa
Titania - Larvitar
I stepped over the broken tree trunks and branches. The underbrush scraped against my pants as I tried to reach the girl who had collapsed against the tree. Ceaser had made short work of those wild Pokémon. The massive Fraxure stood in the middle of the clearing as he snarled low into the thickets where the last Rattata and that lone surviving Raticate had vanished, red eyes narrowed to slits.
He glanced at me as I stepped behind him, looking in the same direction the Rattatas and the sole remaining Raticate had fled. He stomped the ground once and thumped his tail against the ground, looking down at me, a reassurance through our bond that there was no danger in our vicinity.
I gave him a small nod. "Good work, big guy."
His head dipped once in acknowledgment before he swung his gaze back to the treeline
I focused on the girl and the two small Pokémon that stood in front of her. From what I could sense with my power, they were shivering in fear and determined to protect their trainer from Ceaser.
She's not a bad trainer then...I thought. No Pokémon would risk their lives for someone who didn't treat them right.
They looked horrible. The little Pichu could barely stand, bleeding with missing patches, and weakly tried to bring about a charge to its cheeks, failing. The Tangela was in worse shape, with much of its vine-like body torn up. I stepped up to them slowly and calmly, making sure to broadcast my intention to help them.
"Hey there," I called out, trying to keep my voice gentle. "You okay over there?"
I continued walking, still keeping an eye on her Pokémon, especially the little electric type. Even babies could kill with a panicked discharge if they felt cornered. The last thing I needed was a stray Thunder Shock setting Caesar off. He'd flatten the clearing trying to protect me, and after all this, that would've been a shitty way to end the day.
Grim amusement flickered through me at the thought. Yeah. That would be a real shame.
I knelt next to her. She was not in good shape; her arm was torn up and bleeding as she held it close to her chest blood soaking through what remained of her sleeve. Her blond hair was matted to her face, and she looked at me through the pain.
"Who are you..." she murmured, side-eyeing Ceaser, who was looming over us all. I nearly facepalmed; I had not introduced myself.
"I'm Junior Ranger Ishida. You're going to be fine..." I removed my bag from behind me, opening it trying to take out my medical supplies
"Maggie... Maggie ran off... My little sister. She could be in danger," she exclaimed, trying to get up.
"Hey! Calm down... easy..." She continued to struggle as I gently but firmly held her down. "Your sister is fine... I met her before coming here to you."
I turned over my shoulder, calling out, "Orin! Come here, bring the little girl with you."
Behind me, branches rustled. Orin padded into view first, still wary but calming down, looking at the dead raticate and ceaser standing in the clearing. Right behind him stumbled Maggie, her straw hat askew, eyes huge and shining with tears. The second she saw her sister she broke into a run.
"Marrie! Marrie, are you okay?!"
She threw herself forward; I had to catch her mid-hug before she could slam into the older blonde and make everything worse. "Whoa, easy there. Let me patch her up first, alright? Then you can hug all you want."
Maggie sniffled, nodding frantically, and stepped back just enough to let me work.
I quickly took out a trauma scissors first, laying her down on the forest floor, ignoring the mud, knowing I had no other option.
"Marrie, right? I'm gonna have to cut your sleeve and top open so I can see the wound properly. It's gonna sting a little, but I need to stop the bleeding. Okay?"
She gave a tiny nod, teeth clenched.
I worked carefully peeling back the ruined fabric. Being glad I had the necessary training to do this, the bite was ugly: deep punctures from a Raticate's incisors, ragged edges already swelling, fresh blood welling up every time she moved. Mud and forest grime had caked into it.
She would get infected if not treated now
I poured sterile saline over the wound in a slow stream, washing away the worst of the dirt. She hissed through her teeth, body jerking once, but she didn't pull away.
Next came the MediCade spray, It was made and designed for humans to treat open wounds, their effect was near miraculous. Expensive as hell though; one canister cost more than most trainers spent on potions in a month. I hesitated for half a second then shook my head and pressed the nozzle.
I could get it reimbursed..
A fine, mist hissed out, shimmering faintly blue-green under the dim light. The moment it hit the torn flesh, the wound reacted edges drawing together like magnets, torn muscle knitting, skin sealing over in seconds. The bleeding stopped cold. The wound had not fully healed but now it just a small wound that could be dressed instead of a life-threatening one.
Marrie let out a long, shaky breath. She looked very pale after losing a lot of blood,her eyes glassy with pain and shock, but the worst of the tension bled out of her shoulders.
"Thank you," she said.
Maggie flew into her arms, hugging her tight. I stood back, giving the girls some space. I had inspected her leg; it didn't seem too bad, just a sprain. Her Pokémon had crowded around her at this point, and I was starting to get concerned, as both of them needed medical attention as well. Just as I was about to mention it...
"I need to get them a potion," Marie said, trying to stand up, grunting as she put pressure on her left leg.
"Do you need a potion?" I asked her.
"No, I have some in my pack. It should be somewhere there. I dropped it while I was being chased. I'll go get it," she said, pointing in a direction. She huffed and tried to stand again, futilely.
"Marie, stop. I'll go get it," Maggie said quietly, not wanting to see her sister in agony.
"No!"
She's quite stubborn, isn't she?
"It's alright, Orin can find the bag and get it," I said quickly, not waiting for a reply. I nodded at Orin, who had perked up his ears. He grinned at me and ran off into the thicket, sniffing the air. The girls sank back down, watching him disappear.
I took in our situation. She was stabilized but did need a hospital, at least for her leg, and we were relatively safe. The sky was darkening, and I could smell the distinct smell of rain in the air.
It was going to rain...
And I could tell it was going to be quite heavy.
"I could call the Center to have you picked up. We're close enough to Viridian for emergency transport." The Pokémon Center had an emergency service where people and Pokémon could be picked up if they were near the vicinity of the Center; they had their own group of trainers and field medics. I could call ahead with either my Dex or my Nav, but...
"No. I can get to the city myself. I don't want to pay for the service," she said quietly. She had noticed the darkening sky, too. "I can use a stick as a crutch, and we can make it."
I doubted it. The city was at least three hours away, and she wasn't in any condition to travel with all her blood loss. She looked hesitantly at me. I sighed; I had no more obligation here, but it would leave a bad taste in my mouth to leave the pair of sisters here alone in the forest.
Caesar affirmed my decision through the bond. He was probably more interested in his pride at the girls being saved after he had gone through the effort of saving them.
I shook my head. So much for not camping through the storm, I thought.
"We'll camp for the night; we can leave at first light," I made the executive decision.
"Won't the Ratatta come back, mister?" Maggie asked, wiping her eyes.
I smiled. "Don't worry about that; we're safe." I nodded towards Ceaser.
The little girl nodded, awe creeping into her features as she stared at the massive dragon-type.
Ceaser reacted to her strangely. He wasn't arrogant, by any means, for a dragon-type, but he was dismissive to most people I wasn't close to. All I could feel from him was unbridled curiosity as he gazed at the little girl.
"Hi~~" she waved at him, her earlier ordeal already forgotten.
Ceaser grunted back at her. I focused back on my surroundings.
We had to make camp, but not here.
"Let's move closer to the road and make camp there. We need to move before the rain hits, and don't worry about Orin; he'll find us." I told them.
As I looked at them, I realized that Marrie was a little bare uptop, trying to cover her breasts and failing. A stray thought crossed my mind: She's certainly blessed.I felt a little guilty thinking that of an injured woman before pushing it away. I rummaged through my bag and gave her a loose, spare t-shirt of mine.
She quickly and gratefully accepted it and began wearing it. I turned away to give her some privacy. Once she was done, I asked her whether she wanted to return her Pokemon. The little Pichu and the Tangel immediately protested, as the Pichu even gave me a side-eye and said, "Try it, buddy."
I stared back, unamused, then shrugged. "Fine. They can stay out."
I helped support Marrie from her left side. She struggled to walk, even as I held most of her weight. It was the right call to stay the night; there was no way we would reach the city today. Ceaser led the way, clearing the path for us, making it easier to walk.
"I'll pay you back for everything..." Marrie murmured against my side.
"Just doing my job," I said, feeling a little weird at the gratitude. After all, it was my first rescue.
It took us twenty minutes of slow walking to reach the main path. I chose a spot right between two large trees to make camp.
I sat the woman down on a patch of grass, and right on time, Orin rustled out of the bushes, dragging a large travel backpack behind him.
"Good job, buddy," I patted his head as he puffed in pride. I handed the backpack to Marrie, who sat up eagerly.
The bag was torn and ravaged, with sections missing probably food. But it still had the rolled-up tarp in it; good news, then the girls still had their camping supplies. I knelt down next to her and removed the tarp and the tent from her backpack. I stilled a little as I realized I should have asked her permission first, but seeing as she didn't say anything, I continued.
I ignored the girls as they went about healing the Pokemon.
They would be fine; Pokémon were just built different.
I pitched the tent quickly, strung the tarp overhead as a rain shield, and got a small fire going underneath it. Just as I finished stacking the last stones around the pit, the sky opened, and it poured well into darkness. We huddled under the tarp, the fire crackling low into embers.
The rain eventually eased to a steady patter.
Seeing as the girls had lost all their food, I dug into my own pack, Delia's care package from Pallet Town: sandwiches, fruit, homemade cookies. I thanked her silently in my head and divided it up amongst us.
Maggie pulled a wrapped sweet from her pocket and pressed it into my hand as a thank you. I smiled at her and accepted it.
We ate together. I released the rest of my team: Livia gracefully perched on a branch overhead, preening; Titania waddled out last, blinking sleepily.
The girls stared wide-eyed, especially Marrie; it wasn't every day you saw Pokémon like mine. Maggie just beamed, already reaching toward Titania.
"She's so cute!"
Titania growled low, spines bristling, instinct ready to attack.
Fearing the worst, I lunged forward. But Marrie reached out gently. "Hi, do you want to be friends?"
Shocked, I stood there, halfway to them. Titania paused. Through the bond, Caesar sent a flicker: She feels... similar, somewhat like you.
This little girl has Aura, I thought, amazed.
Titania snapped out of it, moving away from Maggie, ignoring her protest, and making her way to Caesar. Marrie noticed me looking at her sister. Her expression shifted. "Maggie, come here, now."
"Awe..." Pouting, she complied with her sister.
The night passed in relative rest and safety as rain drummed on the tarp. We left the camp, packing it all up first light, having a small breakfast of rations.
Marrie insisted on walking with a sturdy stick as a crutch that her Tangela had cut from a nearby tree. It took us till noon, with lots of stops for water and more calorie bars.
The trees finally gave way to a paved road, then scattered buildings, then a checkpoint. The guards barely glanced at us, stamped our papers, and waved us through. There were no offers of help, no concern.
I was surprised; Pallet folks would've fussed over an injured trainer. But most cities... yeah, they were like this.
I had gotten too used to hospitality.
We crossed into Viridian proper. There were no real walls on this side, just fencing with patrols. Then the main road opened up to multi-story buildings, with trucks rumbling past, a bus station buzzing with people. We decided to get on a bus that would take us to the Pokémon Center.
We made it.