beep...beep...beep...beep...
'Mmn...I never thought I would feel relieved to hear the beeping of a heart monitor...' Jason thought to himself, rousing from a deep, dreamless sleep. His body felt heavy to the point that raising his head from his pillow felt like an impossible task, but he could at least turn it to his right, where Lillie could be seen in her Pactio outfit, sleeping with her head down next to him.
'She must have exhausted herself trying to heal me...' Jason concluded, his expression weary but his eyes full of love as he raised his right hand and gently combed his fingers through Lillie's hair.
'But if my suspicions are correct, why am I so tired...?' Jason wondered, numerous possibilities entering his mind. Medical science in the world of Pokémon was far more advanced than in his world, but even if that hadn't been the case, his wounds shouldn't have been beyond the capacity of a Pokémon to heal.
'It must be related to my blood...' Jason determined, closing his eyes and entrusting his head fully to his pillow. His Blood Type, AB Negative, was rare, even in his own world. To further complicate things, those with AB Negative blood in the world of Pokémon had different Rh markers from him. In other words, even if the hospital he was taken to had blood bags matching his Blood Type, he couldn't receive them.
shft
Fortunately, though it was far away in Alola, Jason had been having his blood, marrow, and plasma drawn regularly for use in experiments and to transfuse into himself. The lab back in Akala had been able to clone tens of bags of blood using stem cells painfully extracted from his hip, so, as Jason turned his head to his left, he was unsurprised to see a blood bag with his name and blood type printed on the label. There was also a bag of phosphorescent blue liquid that he knew to be made from the refined extract of various berries—functioning as the Pokémon world's version of a Banana Bag.
No longer concerned for his life, Jason reached up to touch his chest with his left hand, finding nothing but EKG leads. Ren's Poké Ball was nowhere to be seen. But since the person who had stabbed him seemed to be after his life, not his Pokémon, he chose to believe it had simply been removed when he was brought in for surgery.
"Mmnngh...Jason...?"
Reacting to her hair being caressed, Lillie groggily raised her head and stared at Jason.
"Hey, there..." Jason muttered, a guilty smile adorning his face.
Seeing that Jason was awake, Lillie inhaled a deep, steadying breath. Her green eyes became noticeably moist, but instead of crying, she adopted a smile of her own, wiped away the tears from her right eye, and remarked, "I just knew you would pull through..."
"Of course...I have much too much to live for..." Jason responded, raising his hand to caress the left side of Lillie's face. He had many questions for her, but they were inconsequential compared to reassuring those he held dear—those he cherished far more than his life...
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Following some suppressed tears and mutual comforting, Lillie, having regained her poise, carefully peeled an apple-like fruit known as an Appa Berry while explaining, "After you were stabbed, those on the scene tried to apprehend the person responsible, but he managed to escape through a wall like a Ghost-type. Fortunately, there was an exceptionally capable Ghost-type Trainer on the scene, Miss Phoebe of the Hoenn Region's Elite Four. Her Dusknoir was able to pursue and apprehend the culprit—who is currently being held in League custody."
"I'll need to thank her for her assistance..." Jason noted aloud, the image of a slender, blue sarong-and-swimsuit-wearing woman with short brown hair, olive-brown skin, and dark blue eyes surfacing in his mind. As part of his regional studies, he had memorized the names and appearances of all Elite Four members. But even if he hadn't, he would have known who Lillie was referring to, as Phoebe had a very distinctive design.
"Shall I arrange a meeting...?" Lillie questioned, pulling out a tablet-like planner.
"Please do. It's not something we need to jump through hoops to make happen, but it's something that should be done..." Jason affirmed with a nod. Then, waiting until Lillie had finished typing away with her thumbs, he asked, "How are Ren and the others? I hope this incident didn't cause them to miss their matches..."
Frowning deeply, Lillie questioned, "Would you be able to focus in such a situation?"
"A compelling point..." Jason conceded with a smile.
"As for Ren, she's here with me," Lillie revealed, causing Jason's brows to perk as she pulled Ren's Poké Ball, affixed to its usual necklace, from her collar.
Passing Ren's Poké Ball to Jason, Lillie revealed, "As you can imagine, she caused a bit of a scene back at the stadium. Since then, she's been in her Poké Ball, sedated."
"You poor thing..." Jason sighed, holding Ren's Poké Ball to his chest and doing his best to transmit his warmth to it while asking, "Do we know why that man stabbed me? I got the impression that he was someone from my world, but unless a Constellation incited him to do so, I can't imagine why he would want to kill me..."
Contrasting the words leaving his mouth, Jason could imagine several reasons why someone from his world might want to kill him, especially if that person was a fan of Pokémon. It could be that they were jealous that he was in a romantic relationship with someone they may or may not have had a crush on. Or, on a more foundational level, they could resent him for corrupting what was previously a pure world...
"I haven't heard anything, but I'm certain the League will inform Mother as soon as they learn anything. Your top priority should be recovering as quickly as possible," Lillie contended, slicing the Appa Berry into wedges and using a long toothpick to bring one to Jason's lips as she revealed, "To facilitate that, we will be returning to Alola tomorrow or the day after that. You should regain most of your mobility within forty-eight hours, but a complete recovery will take weeks."
Though he was tempted to argue that he would only need a few days to recover with his hot spring, Jason silently accepted the Appa wedge with his teeth, closed his eyes, and focused on chewing. His most recent brush with death made it more clear than ever that the world and his would-be enemies weren't going to wait for him to become stronger. So as much as he wanted to stick around to support Korrina, Maeve, and Nanahoshi, his priorities needed to be his physical recovery, ensuring that Ren wasn't too traumatized by the incident, and becoming a licensed Pokémon Trainer as soon as possible...
"Hmmn? You're not planning to argue or insist that you're okay...?" Lillie questioned, tilting her head cutely.
Shaking his head, Jason answered, "Because of this incident, I imagine that Korrina, Maeve, and Nanahoshi will struggle to perform well in their remaining match-ups. The sooner I'm able to recover and get back to my usual routine, the better it will be for everyone."
"Even after you've been stabbed, you're more concerned with us than yourself..." Lillie sighed, an exasperated smile adorning her face as she proffered another Appa wedge to Jason's mouth. She was hoping that the incident would compel Jason to take at least a short break before their enrollment in the Pokémon School. Instead, she got the impression that he would be training two, maybe even three times as hard as before—not because he had an inherent desire to become strong, but to protect them and avoid further injuries.
"It's a new day..." Jason noted, prompting Lillie's brows to perk as he produced his subspace, adopted a cheeky smile, and asked, "Does this room lock from the inside...?"
Understanding Jason's intentions, Lillie exhaled in exasperation before placing her hand on his stomach and saying, "Give me a few minutes to talk with the personnel the League left to guard you. Then we'll have a Nurse peel away all these cables and remove your catheter."
"I'll leave it to you..." Jason responded, closing his eyes and leaning his head back. His System didn't care if he was injured. If he neglected even a single day of his foundation training, the chain would be broken, and he would lose access to his most reliable source of AP. Thus, even if he had to spend half the day recuperating in his hot spring, he needed to perform his morning routine before the day's end.
With such thoughts in mind, Jason didn't notice when he fell asleep. This set him back several hours, but it was ultimately for the best, as, by the time he awoke, he had received a second transfusion and was in a much better condition...
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"This isn't how I imagined we'd be parting ways..." Korrina remarked, doing her best to appear smiley and optimistic despite her apparent lack of sleep and her eyes appearing noticeably puffy.
"It's only temporary. I'll either see you at the end of the coming League conference or at the Tower of Mastery directly once Lillie and I have set out on our journey..." Jason responded, caressing Korrina's hips with his thumbs and holding her gaze with an affectionate smile as he prepared to board the military-grade rotorcraft that would ferry him and Lillie directly to Akala Island.
"Mmn...Luca and I will be training hard to give you and Ren the best fight possible when you challenge us..." Korrina affirmed, tightening her hold on Jason's body before standing on the tips of her toes to give him a peck on the lips.
"I'll be counting the days..." Jason asserted, his smile broadening as he briefly lost himself in Korrina's cerulean-blue eyes. He didn't want to say goodbye, but he understood that, at least for the time being, they walked separate paths. He didn't want to hold her and Luca back from achieving their maximum potential, so despite his reticence, he released his hold on her waist and took a step back.
Filling the gap that Jason's and Korrina's separation had created, Maeve gave him a firm but not too firm hug, her chin resting on his left shoulder as she whispered, "When Nana and I get back, I'm going to be teaching you some close combat moves to protect yourself..."
"Sure...sounds good..." Jason responded, his calm tone belying the fact that his heart had skipped a beat when Maeve boldly embraced him. He was tempted to point out that he was already learning self-defense from his and Wicke's practice battles. But since the latter specialized in throws and take-downs, contrasting Maeve's strike-focused combat style, there was merit to learning both.
Releasing her hold on Jason, Maeve met his gaze, nodded her head, and gave his biceps a few affirming smacks before making way for the next in line to see him off—a notably annoyed-looking Nanahoshi. But behind her were Maylene, Bea, Mikan, and many other world-class Trainers, including most of the Galar Gym Leaders, several Elite Four members, and a sextet of Champions that included Iris, Steven, Lance, Cynthia, Diantha, and the reigning Monarch, Leon. A stabbing at a WCS venue had the makings of a massive scandal, so even if it was entirely for optics, even Chairman Rose was present to, with a glove on, see Jason off with a limp handshake and a smile that failed to reach his eyes...
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