Chapter 13 – Taking the Initiative
"My mom and grandpa were on a caravan headed to Pallet from Viridian. Grandpa hired a bunch of trainers to protect the caravan on its trip south, and one of them just happened to be my dad," said Ash as he watched the low flames of the aged campfire smolder. He grinned a little. "Mom told me she fell for this one guard, love at first sight, and started hanging around him. By the time they reached Pallet, well, they were basically together by default."
Misty nodded. The two trainers sat beside each other, leaning against a lightly dozing Arcanine. Pikachu sat by the fire a few feet away, watching the darkness and vigilantly scanning for any threats. Ash relaxed, confident that between Pikachu's constant sniffing around, Starmie hovering overhead, and Haunter's regular patrols of the surrounding woods, that they were as safe as they could be here in the wilds. Ash exhaled, enjoying the relative calm of the night, the feeling of his arm around Misty's shoulder, and the chirping of insects in the forest.
"So," Misty smiled over at him. "Just like that?" she said. "Your parents met in Viridian, traveled for a week to Pallet, then decided to get married and start a life together?"
Ash shrugged. "Life is short," he said, taking the question more seriously than Misty had intended. "Most people on the frontier don't have a lot of time to mull over decisions like that for a long time. You've got to make the best call you can in the least time you can." He stopped and glanced down at her. "Besides, I'm pretty glad they decided not to wait."
Again Misty nodded. A joke crossed her mind but she just put the thought away. "Me too," she replied.
Both trainers watched as Pikachu gave up his sniffing for danger. The small Pokemon seemed almost disappointed as it sat down beside Ash and began cleaning itself. Arcanine trembled in his sleep a little, dreaming, Ash thought. The trainers both knew Arcanine could get as much rest from waiting in his pokeball as he could from sleeping outside, but the warm canine's presence was a nice additional layer of security.
"So what-" Ash began, intending to ask about Misty's family before he remembered that he already knew most of the story... and had no desire to dig any further. Misty looked over at him, curious. "Nothing," said Ash. "Lost my train of thought," he added. When Misty nodded and dropped her head on his shoulder, he looked up at what little he could see of the stars through the canopy. It had been a full day since they left Fey and her mercenaries behind, and for the entire journey, Ash had been trying to come up with a way to tell Misty about Haunter. The ghost, a surprisingly social creature for an undead spirit, had expressed no misgivings about the idea, imparting to Ash the idea that it wouldn't be a bad idea for Misty to know, if only so she wouldn't be surprised if Haunter were to suddenly appear.
Maybe I should just tell- Ash thought, stopping as Haunter's empathetic link rocketed to the forefront of his mind. Immediately Ash was acutely aware of something approaching from the northeast. Over the link Ash saw a crystal clear image of a long snake, betrayed by its hood as an Arbok, slithering silently through the grass. Hovering like a ghost beside the Arbok and keeping behind the snake was another shape, a Weezing.
These two again, Ash thought, the hair on his neck bristling. Fat chance they'll get the drop on us this time. He directed his thoughts at Haunter. Slip behind them, when I hit them from this side attack from the rear. If we draw out the trainers and you get a chance, take them out. The ambushers will walk right into an ambush, eh?
Haunter acknowledged the instructions with a giddy laugh and slipped instantly into the shadows, relaying the intruders' positions to Ash as it stalked them from behind. When the Arbok closed to within fifty yards, Ash nudged Misty. "Hey," he said, breaking her out of her quiet daze. When she looked up at him he put one finger over his lips. "We've got company," he whispered, nodding off behind them. By now Pikachu had stirred and sniffed around curiously, undoubtedly smelling Weezing's stink, he thought.
"Where?" asked Misty, reaching for a pokeball.
"Northeast," whispered Ash. "Keep your Pokemon back for defense. I'm going to send Pikachu and Arcanine at them."
"Right," Misty nodded, muscles tensing. Her eyes narrowed and Ash watched as his companion's entire demeanor changed in front of him.
Arcanine woke even before Ash nudged him with his elbow. No sooner had his eyes opened than was Arcanine on alert, ears twitching as he sniffed the air. The intruders closed to twenty yards and Ash put a hand on Arcanine to keep him from reacting and blowing the surprise.
"Smell that?" Ash said to the canine. He picked up Pikachu, by now completely aware of some nearby danger, but remaining quiet for Ash's orders. "Arcanine left, Pikachu go right," he said in barely more than a whisper. Ash felt his heart beating. Something wasn't right. Haunter reported that the closing Pokemon had slowed to little more than a crawl and Ash felt his blood freezing. Misty sat beside him like a coiled viper, ready to snap into action. No time for hesitation, he thought.
Without a word Ash and Misty bolted up in unison and Arcanine leapt to his feet with a thunderous bark. Ash threw out his arm and Pikachu leapt from his fingers into the air, his cheeks flashing like the sun, illuminating the forest before him and revealing Arbok and Weezing like stains on a photograph. As Blastoise appeared from a white flash and materialized behind the trainers, Arcanine tore forward, circling towards the dazed would-be ambushers, while Pikachu leapt to a branch and hissed like water falling into a hot pan.
Liquid fire boiling in his eyes, Arcanine roared and threw himself at the Arbok. As the snake recoiled from the surprise attack Arcanine's jaws closed around one side of Arbok's hood. Latching on with his front paws and kicking with his powerful hind legs, Arcanine tore at the writing serpent's coils. Pikachu simultaneously closed on the Weezing like an arrow, flashing brilliant white as a bolt of lightning arced between the two Pokemon. Weezing croaked out a complaint and turned on Pikachu, twitching, vision blurring from the jolt.
"Good start," said Ash, glancing over his shoulder to watch for a flanking enemy. He saw Blastoise do the same at Misty's direction while Arcanine and Pikachu forced the Arbok and Weezing to give up ground. Watch for a good opening, he thought to Haunter. Try to stay under the ra-
A blinding flash of light stunned Ash. Spots flashed in his eyes as some enormous shape appeared in front of him. "The hell?" he gasped, trying to throw himself backwards and reach for Charmeleon's pokeball. Roaring as it materialized, the Charizard wheeled around on Ash and snapped at him. Ducking and falling to the ground Ash watched the jaws crash shut above him. The massive flame tipped tail came smashing down on Ash's shoulder, crushing him into the ground and cracking his armor like an eggshell. Kicking himself backwards Ash avoided the jaws as the Charizard snapped twice more at him, both times missing by paper's thickness.
Darting around Misty gasped and pointed at the winged Pokemon. "Hydro Pump!" she shouted.
Blastoise acknowledged the order and dropped one elbow to the ground, angling its cannons at Charizard. After missing another snap at Ash, the Charizard turned on Blastoise and leapt forward, jaws wide in a shrieking roar. Blastoise fired not an instant too soon. The jet of water slammed dead into Charizard and blasted the Pokemon to the ground. Shaking like an enraged hornet the Charizard rolled from its back onto all fours and faced Blastoise, tail flailing.
Ash went for Charmeleon's pokeball again, ignoring the screaming pain in his shoulder. He unclasped it from his belt and moved to throw it, dropping it instead as his feet slapped together and bolted up off the ground. Ash's head smacked against the ground, making his vision flash and his world spin. Casting about as something hoisted him up like a hog in a butcher's shop, Ash saw a vine had whipped around his ankles and dangled him above the gaping maw of some huge plant.
Oh... a Victreebell, he thought through his daze, not noticing the white light beside him.
Charmeleon flashed into existence, taking a moment to look around. It saw Misty first, the trainer ordering her Blastoise to attack a Charizard. The great duel immediately drew Charmeleon's attention. Fire flashed in the younger Pokemon's eyes to see such a challenge. Charmeleon turned on the Charizard, ignoring Ash's plight, and bellowed its war cry.
I can't believe it, Ash thought. "Help!" he shouted.
The word echoed into the forest, registering in Arcanine's ears and drawing the canine's attention like a beacon to Ash. Staring down the badly wounded Arbok became a non-issue and Arcanine reeled around and bolted for Ash before his cry for help had even registered in another ear. Taking the opportunity, Arbok lashed out and Arcanine yelped.
Pikachu glanced away from Weezing only long enough to take in what happened. The little rodent saw Arcanine first, down on three legs, Arbok biting deep into the canine's flank, and then the chaos beyond. Charmeleon had engaged the Charizard, utterly ignoring and nullifying Blastoise's attempt to subdue the fiery lizard, as Blastoise seemed unwilling to risk friendly-fire. Misty looked to have just spotted Ash and- Pikachu's attention locked on his trainer. Chittering madly, Pikachu bolted from the tree branch, not caring about the Weezing's boiling sludge, which had only barely missed him.
Releasing Arcanine rather than risk being flayed alive by the canine's good leg, Arbok whipped around and snapped at Pikachu. The rodent vanished in a blur of speed and reappeared behind the snake. Pikachu attacked with a Thunderbolt, sacrificing the energy to buy Arcanine a split second. The huge canine rocketed forward, seemingly unharmed by the wound in its flank, and chomped at the slow-acting Victreebell. Ash dropped to the ground with a thud as Victreebell's vines dripped into mush before Arcanine's rending claws.
Knowing fire outmatched it, the Victreebell attempted to fall back but Arcanine's jaws tore into its bulbous body. Eyes and muzzle flashing with light, fire exploded from Arcanine's jaws and blasted directly into the breech in Victreebell's tough shell. Shriveling like burning weed, the Victreebell flailed away and burst into flame, smoke and charred plant matter shooting out from its mouth. Without missing a beat, Arcanine positioned itself between a dazed Ash and the rest of the action. The canine swooned, but remained standing.
Playing like a cobra and a mongoose, Pikachu and Arbok dodged and wheeled around each other. Snapping into and out of sight the duel intensified. Arbok would whip forward and coil around Pikachu, the rodent disappearing just before the coils tightened and threatening to fry Arbok with a Thunderbolt only for the snake to dodge away at the last instant. Charmeleon and Charizard scrambled over each other, clawing, biting, slashing, blasting with fire. Charmeleon had rent open the Charizard's left wing and Charizard had sunk its teeth into Charmeleon's hind leg. Hot blood splashed the ground as the two tore at each other and Blastoise waited patiently and methodically for a chance to strike.
Misty hid behind Starmie, dodging and weaving away from the vines that slashed out of the dark foliage at her. In the brush she made out the lumbering shape of a huge Pokemon... probably a Venusaur. The vines hacked at her and Starmie, the aquatic Pokemon taxed to its limits in trying to defend both itself and its trainer.
Watching in dismay as the battle turned against them, Ash reached out for Haunter. Hit the Charizard, he thought, locating Haunter and detecting through the ghost that the two trainers directing the fight were too far away to be an immediate priority. Kill that damn thing!He felt Haunter acknowledge the order and tracked the ghost's movement as it came zigzagging out of the forest like death itself. Ash shivered at the new side of the ghost.
Stumbling as though hit by a truck, the Charizard fell backwards and began convulsing, cutting at itself with its claws. Both Blastoise and Charmeleon hesitated, unsure of what was going on. Ash knew though. He could feel so acutely, almost see, Haunter had shot into Charizard through the dragon's mouth and nostrils and begun shredding the Pokemon from the inside out. The trainer had to turn away from the scene, feeling both Charizard's draining life force and Haunter's waxing blood lust.
"Charmeleon!" Ash shouted, his head clearing. "Take out that Venusaur!"
Charmeleon looked up, like a fog lifted from its mind, and turned to Misty and Starmie, seeing the vines whipping out of the darkness at them. The fiery Pokemon sneered at Ash, as though it found the order offensive, but the trainer's steady and icy gaze brought Charmeleon quickly to heel. Scuttling forward the lizard charged into the darkness with a cry of rage, jaws opening and blasting the nearby trees with a thin curtain of flame.
Immediately Ash spotted the Venusaur as Charmeleon's fire lit up the foliage. The lumbering Pokemon stepped back, recoiling from the heat and turning its attention on Charmeleon. The fiery lizard leapt through the air, all four limbs poised to grapple, and landed on the Venusaur. Charmeleon's claws blurred as it tore and ripped at its enemy.
"That fight is over already," Ash muttered, looking passed Arcanine to the duel between Charizard and Blastoise. That fight was over also. Charizard collapsed and blood ran like water from its mouth and nose. Its glassy eyes went dark staring up at Blastoise as the big Pokemon's bulk slammed down on Charizard's skull. The fiery Pokemon's head deformed with a horrid crack and both Ash and Misty looked away, though Ash turned back when he felt a soul numbing cold.
"Oh no," he muttered. Haunter, though invisible, was as clear as day to Ash, who felt the ghost's presence like a malign rush of wind. He traced Haunter as the ghost glanced around, and the trainer immediately knew the ghost was not the Pokemon he'd met in Lavender. Stop,he tried to tell it when Haunter turned its attention on Misty and began to invisibly stalk towards its new target. Stop! he repeated, sensing that Haunter had heard noting.
STOP! The word tore into Haunter like a javelin as Ash directed all his will at the ghost. Haunter twitched, phasing quickly in and out of visibility behind Misty, before reverting back to invisibility and reestablishing the empathetic link with Ash. The young trainer couldn't see the ghost, but he felt something akin to excessive guilt and shame radiating from the Pokemon. Easy, Ash thought. Back off for now.
Haunter took a floating step back into the woods and informed Ash that the other trainers, a man and a woman, were quickly retreating while another Pokemon, a small feline was rushing up to the fight. It took Ash a moment to process what was happening, but he pulled himself to his feet and leaned on Arcanine as the Charizard's corpse and the Venasaur disappeared in flashed of white light.
The Meowth, Ash remembered. Jesse and James had a Meowth with them in Viridian. They had sent the stealthy little Pokemon to facilitate a retreat. Stop the cat! Ash shouted mentally at Haunter.
Misty looked around in surprise as the forest seemed to go suddenly quiet. She looked over at Ash and Arcanine, then between Starmie and Blastoise. "Is it over?" she asked. "Where'd they go?"
Ash didn't answer, he was trying to track Haunter as the ghost chased after a Pokemon, definitely a Meowth, that dodged and weaved to avoid the ghostly pursuer. "Damn it's quick," thought Ash as he saw through Haunter that the Meowth retrieved the Arbok and Weezing, suddenly ending Pikachu's fight and leaving the rodent reeling in confusion. Stop the Meowth! Ash ordered. Don't let it get away- He hesitated as Arcanine gave out beneath him and collapsed.
Catching himself, Ash knelt down by the canine and put his hands on the Pokemon. "What's going on?" he asked. "What's the matter?"
Arcanine didn't respond. The big Pokemon panted and had begun to twitch as though he were gripped in a nightmare. Ash pulled his hands away and felt them soaked with Arcanine's sweat. "What's the matter?" he repeated, beginning to panic.
Beside him in a flash, Misty put a hand on Ash's shoulder. "Are you alright?" she asked.
Ash nodded. "Fine," he muttered. "Something's wrong with Arcanine though. What's going on out there? he asked Haunter.
The ghost reported that the Meowth was making for a clearing in the forest, and asked Ash what he wanted it to do. Ash looked down at Arcanine, noting the Pokemon's panting and sweating, and then finding the two deep puncture wounds on the canine's rear flank. "Shit," he hissed. "He's been poisoned." Fuck the Meowth, he thought to Haunter. We'll have other chances to take those bastards out. Get back here.
Blastoise meandered up to Misty while Starmie hovered protectively above. Misty looked up at Ash and took a quick breath. "Poisoned?" she asked. "Did you see what bit him? These wounds are huge."
"An Arbok," Ash answered as Haunter and Pikachu emerged from the trees. The ghost and the rodent both approached Ash and took defensive positions on either side of him and Misty. "That big one we fought back at Bill's came back."
"Arbok venom is deadly," Misty said, her demeanor hardening further. "And we don't have any anti-venom. Ash, Vermilion isn't far away and we might make it there before sunrise if we hurry. Put Arcanine in his pokeball and we'll make a rush for it. The center there will be able to treat him but not if we don't hurry."
Ash nodded, swallowing the lump in his throat. Arcanine was burning up beneath him, but Ash stood up and returned Arcanine to the pokeball. As soon as the white flash faded, Ash turned to Misty. "How fast is Blastoise?"
"Not as fast as us over any long distance," she answered. Blastoise disappeared in a white flash, along with Charmeleon and Starmie. "You ever run a marathon?"
Ash didn't answer. He paused only long enough to get his bearings and point off to the south. "This way," he said.
Misty nodded and both trainers jogged off into the forest, Pikachu in front and Haunter keeping watch from behind. Less than twenty minutes later, Ash felt his lungs began to burn. The terrain, the foliage, past fatigue, and the end of an adrenaline rush began to eat away at his considerable stamina. Slapping through the undergrowth slowed their progress, weaving between trees slowed their progress, and Ash's mind began to race. He knew that even inside of a pokeball, Arcanine wouldn't be immune to the effects of the poison. As time ticked by and the party reached the two hour mark in their forced run south, Ash tried to hurry their pace.
"Slow down," Misty reminded him, jogging just beside Ash. "We need to stay steady. Alright?"
"Right," Ash puffed. "Gotcha." Misty's voice had remained even, but Ash could pick up the growing frequency of her breathing. He felt the sweat rolling down his back and the salt stinging his eyes. To hell with it, he thought. As he jogged he reached up and unfastened the buckles holding his broken armor in place. It's useless now anyway, he thought, dropping the protective layer to the ground and continuing on his way.
Losing the extra weight helped, but it could only do so much. As they continued on, Ash and Misty stopped keeping the time. Both trainers felt their muscles burn and their chests ache as they kept on. Neither was in any way out of shape, but the hours and the inhospitable terrain slowed them down and sapped their already dwindling energy. Ash felt his mind getting fuzzy and his legs going numb. He could no longer tell if he was even sweating from the exertion.
The forest gave no warning that it was coming to an end. The trees simply opened up around Ash and Misty as they broke passed the edge of the treeline and into a clearing. They both stopped for a moment to catch their breath, and get their bearings. "There," Misty pointed directly to the south. "There is it."
Ash, bent over and resting his hands on his knees, looked up. From their position on the edge of the forest, Ash and Misty both saw that the land angled steeply downwards. Under the moonlight and from the pinpoints of light in the city, they both made out the borders of a large town running along the coast to the south less than a mile away.
"Vermilion," Ash muttered. The city was long but shallow, following the coast but rarely progressing more than a block or two inland. The buildings, he saw, were squat and never higher than three stories. Some were built on the edge of the water, and a few were built on artificial islands set a few dozen yards out in the bay. The Pokemon Center, even from this distance, was easy to spot. The moonlight made its big red roof stick out prominently. "C'mon," he said hoarsely. "We got lucky and ran right into it."
Already too exhausted to feel much additional fatigue, Ash and Misty closed the distance between themselves and the city quickly. Vermilion had no walls, so there was no obstacle to check their movements as they entered, passing by a few residential buildings and angling for the small Pokemon Center. As they moved at a hurried walk, Haunter grabbed Ash's attention, pointing out the numerous people watching them as they passed. Ash looked around, taking stock of all of the people laying, sleeping, and sitting in the streets of the city. They're all homeless, he told Haunter. Don't bother them and they shouldn't bother us. Ash nodded when Haunter noted that there seemed to be far too many people without homes here. We'll think about it later, Ash closed the matter as he and Misty walked through the automated doors of the Pokemon Center.
Giving both trainers pause, this hospital seemed remarkably different from those others they'd encountered elsewhere. It seemed smaller, and dirtier. Whereas all of the other Pokemon Centers had been big, well lit, and immaculate, Ash and Misty both stopped and looked around, noting that the receptionist's desk sat in the middle of the dingy room under a chandelier holding more burned out lights than working ones. Chairs and poorly maintained sofas lined the walls and dotted the floorspace, though most were occupied by people who were poorly dressed and obviously dirty. Some had small Pokemon beside them and others slept alone.
"This is the Pokemon Center, right?" Misty asked Ash, whispering to him. She looked passed the front desk and off towards the emergency wing.
"Has to be," said the other trainer, advancing quickly to the receptionist. He cleared his throat to get the girl behind the desks attention. "Excuse me," he said in a rasp. He cleared his throat again, realizing his run had left his voice on the verge of giving out.
The young woman, hiding behind big circular glasses and pink locks that hung down to frame her face, jumped at the sight of the newcomers and put down the book she'd been reading. "Oh," she started, cautiously looking over Ash and Misty. "I'm sorry but we don't have any more room. If you need a place to stay for the night I don't think I can help you." Her voice struck Ash as almost timid.
"Right now we only need a doctor," said Ash, fighting to get his voice back. "My Pokemon's been poisoned and he needs treatment."
"Oh my," said the woman, quickly getting to her feet and straightening out her wrinkled nurse's outfit. "The two of you are trainers then?" she asked.
Ash nodded and Misty spoke up. "Of course we're trainers. Why would we come to the Pokemon Center if we weren't?"
"And that means you have some money then?" asked the pink haired girl. "You can pay for treatment?"
"Listen," said Misty, stepping up beside Ash. She glanced at the nurse's faded name tag and then glared at her. "Joy, are you going to help us out or not? We have a Pokemon who isn't going to make it until morning without help, so either take us to a doctor or tell us where the hell we can find one."
"I'm sorry," squeaked the nurse, hunkering down behind her desk. "I'm very very sorry. But there isn't much I can do. The last real doctor left Vermilion weeks ago and ever since then the Center has been a homeless refuge. We ran out of supplies days ago and there isn't much I can do without any money. Me and my sister are all that's left of the staff. Please don't cause trouble. I don't have anything to give you."
Haunter quickly drew Ash's attention to the dozen or so people in the lobby who had woken up and now watched the exchange. Ash glanced around at all the faces, unable to miss the fear written in their eyes and evident in their postures. His glance lighted across one particular little girl, a lone figure hiding in the shadow of a sofa, watching his Pikachu with horrified awe. Ash felt his heart skip. The little girl was dressed in clothes that he could barely call rags, as were many of the people throughout the room.
"Please," said Ash, as kindly as he could when he turned back to nurse Joy. "My Arcanine has been poisoned by an Arbok and he really needs help. Anything would be better than nothing." His tone became softer and drew Joy's attention. The nurse looked up at him and Ash could see thoughts turning over behind her sharp eyes.
"Poison," said the nurse, eyes flitting from side to side. "Maybe," she stammered, getting to her feet and turning her shoulder defensively to the newcomers. "No promises, but maybe there's something in the back," she said. "I remember trying to sell it but I couldn't find anyone willing to trade. This way." she motioned for Ash and Misty to follow.
"Sometimes you've got to be nice," whispered Ash, nudging Misty as they followed the nurse.
Misty shrugged. "I softened her up for you," she whispered back.
SC
"Oh my... ... oh my," said Joy, looking over Arcanine's big form. "This doesn't look good at all."
Ash, Misty, and Joy had all made their way back to a small room with an operating table. Glass medicine cabinets, empty by far and large, lined the walls and a cabinet sat in one corner. Ash had released Arcanine onto the table and the trainers had then worked to get him carefully positioned for Joy to examine.
"The poison's already done a number on him," said the nurse, holding Arcanine's eyelid open and watching as his pupil's dilated and contracted in rapid succession. The nurse reached over to a light fixture on the wall and flicked a switch, further illuminating the little room. "But Arcanine have a natural resistance to toxins," she went on and opened up a cabinet, looking through tiny bottles as Ash and Misty stood by. "Their bodies run at temperatures that would kill humans and most other Pokemon which helps their immune systems to break down poisons and infections into harmless-" she stopped as she read the label of a glass bottle.
"Can you help him though?" asked Ash, crossing his arms and swallowing the lump in his throat. Misty stepped closer to him and put a hand on his shoulder, giving him a comforting squeeze.
"Possibly," said Joy, brushing her hair behind her ear and pulling a plastic bag full of clear fluid from a drawer in the cabinet. "Here it is," she said. In a flurry of motion, Joy set up an IV drip beside Arcanine and attached the tube from the plastic bag to a needle she slid through Arcanine's pelt and into a vein beneath. "I remember a Charmander came in here while I was still in training a few years back," she went on, speaking now mostly to herself as she worked to to fill a syringe from the the glass bottle. "How much does your Arcanine weigh?" she turned quickly to Ash.
"What?" Ash twitched.
"This is potent," said Joy, nodding to the anti-venom. "Too little will be useless, too much might make it worse. How much does Arcanine weigh?"
"Uh," he stammered. "I don't really know..."
Joy looked down at the big canine, eyes quickly memorizing his frame. "We'll be conservative," she said after a moment, drawing sufficient anti-venom into the small syringe to fill it halfway. Joy inserted the needle into a junction in the IV tubing and pushed the plunger, quickly emptying the syringe. Arcanine remained absolutely still.
"It will take time," said Joy, preempting Ash's thought process. "Arbok venom is a potent neuro-toxin and your Arcanine's likely sustained severe damage to the Potassium channels that keep his motor-" Joy fell silent. She glanced at Ash who had gone completely stone-faced, and Misty who only watched her with an expression the nurse couldn't read. "This should prevent any further damage," Joy continued. "Once Arcanine is stable I can see about getting him some more focused treatment to put him back on his feet if I have the resources."
Ash nodded, but it was Misty who spoke up. "So there's nothing more we can do until he stabilizes?"
Joy shook her head and took a seat in a chair opposite the trainers and the Pokemon. "Afraid not..." she said. "If I had more resources then sure, definitely, but as is I'm barely equipped to let people sleep on my couch, much less treat conditions like this," she gestured to Arcanine.
"What the hell is going on here?" Ash broke in. "I thought Vermilion was supposed to be a prosperous port? Why is the Pokemon Center a homeless shelter and why are you so under-equipped?"
A spark of fire flashed through Joy's eyes and the muscles in her neck tightened. She took a moment to respond. "It's all the-" She clenched her fists and shut her eyes, going silent for a moment and taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry," Joy said a few seconds later, her tone calmer. "It's late... maybe we can talk over a cup of tea?"
SC
Filling his lungs with the aroma of the spiced drink, Ash took a deep breath as he held the steaming cup before his face. Something in the tingling scent did a great deal to calm his nerves, though looking through the glass observation window at Arcanine still tore at his chest. Nevertheless, there was something comforting about the normalcy of sitting at a table with other people, drinking a flavorful brew. The waiting room, small as it seemed, had the relief of comfortable if plain trappings. Obviously Joy had not gotten around to pawning off the items this deep in the Center... that or there was no one left to buy them.
"So," Joy began after finishing off her cup and setting aside the cup. "If you have questions, I can try to answer them now."
Misty nodded, watching the nurse carefully, making a note of the dark circles beneath her eyes. "We won't eat up too much time," said the trainer. "But really, what's happening in Vermilion?"
"That is the big question, isn't it?" said Joy. She set the cup on a coaster and folded her hands in her lap. "To shorten a long story, for as long as I could remember, Vermilion was a rich port. We traded with Fuchsia, Cinnabar, Pallet, Viridian, and even several cities in Johto. Vermilion for a long time was richer than Saffron or Celadon, even if we were a lot smaller, but that all started to change a year or so ago. All of a sudden Fuchsia and Saffron stopped trading with us, the food shortage in the west started to strangle Viridian's economy, and political turmoil in Johto cut off those lines of trade. More recently, Pallet was destroyed which cut off most of the natural gas we imported to help keep our industry running."
Ash nodded and folded his arms in front of his chest. "But that still leaves trade with Cinnabar. And Vermilion has natural resources it can exploit, doesn't it?"
Joy nodded. "Yes, and that would be enough for us to get by, if not for the Gym."
Ash and Misty both spoke up in unison. "The Gym?" they asked.
Shifting in her chair and crossing her legs, Joy leaned forward and rested her elbows on the table. "Six months ago, just about the time that the food crisis in Viridian became a problem for trade, the Gym Leader here packed up and left town without giving any warning. One day he was just gone, and a new leader from out of town arrived to take his place."
"That's a little unusual," said Ash. "Indigo Plateau appoints most Gym Leaders unless a city decides to elect their own."
"Right," said Joy. "And when Lieutenant Surge came to town, promising that he'd be the one to change everything for the better and get people who were losing their livelihoods back on their feet, who wouldn't want him appointed? The only problem was that there was no opposition. Surge's lackeys made a point to intimidate anyone who publicly spoke out against him, and before we knew it, Surge was officially the new Gym Leader. That's when things started going from bad to worse.
"Surge imposed all kinds of new taxes and tariffs that sucked all the life out of shipping and trade along what few routes we had left. When the town started to complain, Surge started imposing regulations on our home-industries and working even harder to drain all the money out of the city, and of course there was nothing we could really do about it. Politically he was safe because he'd bought the mayor and shipped him off to Celadon. And here we are," Joy leaned back and held out her arms. "More people are losing work every day, and our industry is dieing."
Sitting in silence, Ash and Misty both looked at each other. Ash couldn't miss the look in Misty's eyes, the subdued anger which he sensed was connected with some aspect of the city's situation which Misty understood and Ash did not. Misty looked over at Joy.
"We're really sorry to hear all that," said Misty. "Do you think there's anything we can do to help out?"
Ash shot a sidelong glance at his partner. Was she being polite, he wondered.
Joy shook her head. "Not unless you feel like running Surge and all of his goons out of town," she said casually.
The room slipped into silence for a long minute. Nobody made any eye contact with anyone else and only Pikachu, sitting in the corner and obliviously licking himself clean, seemed to miss out on the awkward pause. It was Ash who spoke first after finishing off his spiced tea and setting the cup out of the way.
"Do you think you could put us up for the rest of the night?" he asked. "I know you don't have much room, but we'd settle for a clear bit of floor."
Joy nodded. "I could probably do that," she said. "In fact, if you wanted to sleep here in the waiting room I'd be fine with it. I should go and wake my sister anyway, so she can take the next shift at the desk."
"Thanks," said Misty. "We owe you one."
Standing up and giving the room a once-over, Joy pointed to the door. "The bathroom is down the hall that way. The water won't be hot, but it's clean. The light switch is by the door," she pointed out. "Don't worry about leaving it on too long, and I guess I'll see both of you in the morning."
Ash got up and glanced over at Arcanine, laying unconscious on the operating table as Joy walked for the door. "Hey," he called after her. "Thanks," Ash said when she stopped and turned around in the doorway, "for helping us so much."
Joy smiled warmly. "That's what I do," she said. "Now you two should get some sleep."
Ash nodded. "Still," he said. "We appreciate it."
The door closing behind her, Joy disappeared into the hall and Ash turned around to Misty. His partner had already begun rummaging through her pack and pulling out some rudimentary supplies. Ash sighed and sat, unzipping his pack and reaching inside.
"Well," said Misty, tearing open the plastic wrapping around a seed cake and moving from the chair to the floor, leaning her back against the wall. "I guess we've gotten ourselves into another mess here."
"No kidding," Ash answered. He sat quietly for a moment, nibbling on the half of the cake that Misty handed him. "You think we're the only ones?" he asked.
Misty wiped the back of her hand across her lips. "What do you mean?" she asked. "The only ones?"
"Who wind up in all of these crazy positions," Ash explained. "Do you think there are other people who travel through the wilds, having huge misadventures or is it just us?"
"I don't really know," Misty shrugged. "Guess I never thought about it. I'm sure we're not the only ones though. We can't be."
"Anyway," Ash transitioned, reaching down to pet Pikachu when the little rodent meandered over to the trainers. "What do you think we should do?"
"About?"
"What's going on here. About this Surge guy."
"Depends on what you want to do," said the girl. "We came here to get Arcanine to a Pokemon Center, but we also need to get the Gym Leader's recommendation for the Elite Four. If you're still up for it I think we should rest up and head to the Gym as soon as we can. If we hang around too long without making a move, Surge might catch wind that there are real trainers in town... that could only be bad for us."
"I was thinking the same thing," said Ash. "Maybe tomorrow then."
"Tomorrow?" Misty looked over at him. "Ash, tomorrow is a little soon, don't you think? I mean we can only recover so much strength in one night."
"I know," said Ash. "But we should have the element of surprise," he went on, a small grin crossing his face. "Besides, I don't know about you, but I'm sick of being on the receiving end of all this punishment. I think it's about time we went on the offensive and hit the bad guys where they live before they can even see us coming. If that means sacrificing a little sleep, then I think it's worth it."
Misty sighed. "Alright," she said. "If we're up for it we'll see about taking on Surge tomorrow. I just hope you're not being too ambitious."
"Don't worry about it," said Ash, suppressing the little smile again. "I think it'll turn out just fine."
Misty nodded and both trainers set about getting ready to turn in. While Misty had a cold shower, Ash took advantage of the decrepit washing machine in the Center's utility room. Then, while Ash endured the shower's lack of hot water, Misty and Pikachu set about hanging up the trainers' gear to dry. Aside from changing some bandages, repacking some equipment, and cleaning themselves up, Ash and Misty did next to nothing before both were ready to turn in.
"You ready?" Ash asked, standing next to the light switch of the waiting room.
"Go for it," Misty answered.
Ash took another look at Arcanine, still laying like a statue on the operating table. Only the canine's steady breathing betrayed that he was still alive at all. Ash sighed, feeling his chest tighten and ache, then looked over at Misty, laying on the pile of sleeping bags and cushions she'd stolen from a nearby sofa. Flicking the switch, Ash plunged the room into near total darkness, and carefully picked his way through the unfamiliar room to the makeshift bed, and sat down next to Misty. The girls nearness brought him more peace, even if worry for Arcanine ate at him. He remained seated in the dark, thinking about, for what reason he wasn't sure, Pallet Town, and remembering faces he knew he wouldn't ever see again.
"Don't worry," said Misty soothingly as she sat up and rubbed his back. "Arcanine is tough. He'll be fine. Just wait and see."
"I hope so," said Ash. "I'm just... this has already been a long trip we're on, and god only knows how much farther we have to go."
Misty smiled in the dark and snuggled up to Ash. Both trainers bedded down on the cushions and shifted into comfortable positions. "We'll know when we get to the end," said Misty, cuddling into Ash. "I'm willing to bet it will be a happy ending."
"I hope so," said Ash, turning to Misty and putting an arm around her.
They drifted into silence, both trainers feeling the fatigue wash over them as the stress of the day began to dissipate into exhaustion. Whereas Misty quickly fell asleep however, Ash fought to stay awake longer, waiting until he was sure that Misty's rhythmic breathing breathing meant she was completely out.
Hey, he called out mentally, reaching out to the cold presence that lingered outside the room. Ash grinned when he felt Haunter's response as the ghost silently and invisibly poked its head through the wall. I've got an assignment for you, Ash thought. Think you're good for it?
Haunter nodded and bobbed up and down excitedly. Immediately the ghost conveyed to Ash that it was ready for some action, hungry for it even. The trainer couldn't miss the cold thoughts coming across the empathetic link he shared with the ghost, and he quickly explained his designs to the spirit. After another giddy acknowledgment, Haunter disappeared through the wall again and stalked down the Pokemon Center's main corridor.
Ash sighed and buried his face in Misty's hair as he felt his link with Haunter fade into the distance. He shivered once, putting out of his mind how quickly the ghost's personality seemed to oscillate between benign altruism, and a downright malicious disposition, and focused instead on the warm body held against him. If Haunter, he thought, was willing and able to operate covertly, Ash was at least going to make use of it.