Chapter 286

Chapter 286

CHAPTER 286

I stirred awake as a sharp pain shot up my hands, then spread everywhere else. My fingers felt like they were on fire, and moving them around made me whimper. It took a few seconds to remember that I hadn't fallen asleep the last time I'd been conscious and that I wasn't actually supposed to be in a bed, but there was no mistaking the fluffy feeling behind my back or the covers over me. Blinking, I wormed my way from under the covers, realizing I was not in a Pokemon Center. This room was a lot larger than that, though it did look like a hospital room, only larger. My bed was big enough to fit two, and instead of the blinding white I'd come to expect from hospitals, this room was more of a homely beige and gray. This looks more like a hotel room than a hospital room, I groggily thought as I dragged myself out of bed, and then promptly realized there was a needle poking into my hand through the bandages around them, slowly dripping fluids into my system. A flat-screen TV played some news about the Lost Tower being different lately, though I was too out of it to actually listen properly. On my bedside table sat four Pokeballs which had clearly been polished, seeing as none of my dry blood remained on them. I assumed that most of my team had been taken to be healed.

"Water..." I muttered.

A new pair of crutches had been laid on the side of the bed, which I clasped with a pained grunt, and I dragged the IV stand with me. I found walking harder than usual, not because of my ankle hurting more, but because of how dizzy I was, and the headache certainly didn't help. I turned the room's corner— because yes, it actually had a corner— and found myself in some kind of tiny living room with a kitchen, leathery khaki couches a coffee table with flowers on it, and... a fridge, just what I was looking for. I found it difficult to open the damn thing, with how my fingers kept twitching. Grabbing onto things tightly helped, though, even though it hurt more. There was water, but also frozen meals which I'd be able to heat in the microwave. I downed the entire bottle in one go, ignoring the pain shooting up my hands.

Lou... I bit my lip and looked away from my wounded fingers.

They were expecting me to stay here long, which made sense, considering I could barely walk and my Pokemon were all hurt... but where was here? There was a note next to the flowers, so I hobbled my way to the coffee table and slumped against the couch, only to realize that it was a get well soon letter from Cynthia and not anything explaining where the hell I was. It was at this point that I decided to look for my phone, which for some reason they'd put in an Arceus damn drawer, along with the clothes I'd been wearing before passing out and my ring instead of my backpack. There were so many questions I wanted to ask, and it felt like I was being kept in the dark.

But first, I needed to text my friends I was okay. I had warned them I'd be going down in the city, and they were probably worried sick. At least it looked like I hadn't been out for too long— only twelve hours or so, like having a particularly long night's sleep. Texting was like a cruel joke, now, but at least my thumbs were the least fucked up fingers, from what I remembered, which was barely anything. Yesterday still felt like a dream to me, but it was real, and Lou was dead.

I'd killed her.

Before I could see my friends react to the news, there was a soft knock on the door.

"Come in!" I eagerly said.

I expected for a doctor of some kind to come in, not the Champion of Sinnoh herself. She was as pretty as always, decked out in her usual black coat and straightened hair this time. My body froze, save for the occasional twitch, because I was already facing her when I'd gotten one of her ACE Trainers killed. Unlike Rene, who had protected Chase, Lou had reported directly under Cynthia and they'd known each other quite well. Even if I went at this from a pragmatic point of view, which I thought Cynthia operated under, Lou and her abilities had been one of a kind. She was quite literally irreplaceable. I shrunk slightly in my seat, though Cynthia's face was the same as always. Her long, confident strides had her next to me in seconds.

"Grace," she smiled at me. "How are you feeling?"

"Wh—where am I?" I forced out.

"The League," The Champion answered. "You'll forgive the fact that we basically kidnapped you, I hope. We needed to keep the metallic Pokemon you caught a secret, at least for the time being."

Forgive her? Legendaries, I was the one who should have been asking for forgiveness! "Yeah, um, that's fine. My Pokemon, are they—"

"Being healed by the best Joys in Sinnoh. They took a real beating, so they'll take a while to recover. Your Electivire especially. His wrist and hand will regrow in around two weeks, but it'll take longer for him to be able to use it properly. Your team was the victim of mercury poisoning, some more than others. Your Togekiss was hurt the most, with the way fairies are vulnerable to metal, and she'll take a similar number of days to get back to full health. The rest will take less time," Cynthia quickly explained.

Training for Byron before the Red Chain deadline had just gone out the window, and the fact that I even worried about that made me want to ball up my hand into a fist until the pain had me pass out. I assumed the ACE Trainers were also sick, and even though I wanted to ask, I couldn't get the words out of my throat. At least the poisoning wouldn't leave anything permanent.

"You're also sick, which is why I asked how you were feeling," Cynthia continued.

"I have a horrible headache, I feel like I want to throw up continuously even though I haven't eaten and my body keeps twitching," I mumbled. "Breathing is also a little hard."

"Common symptoms of mercury poisoning. We've been giving you chelating agents through your IV, so you should feel better within the week or so. We contacted the other Shards and told them you were alright, but you'll have to tell your other friends."

I didn't bother asking what chelating was or what it did, but I did feel somewhat relieved I would recover— a feeling that sickened me. I'd already messaged the rest of my friends, and no one else had known I'd be going to Lakhutia, not even my parents.

"Cynthia, I'm sorry about Lou..." I muttered.

The Champion crossed her legs. "Don't worry yourself about casualties," she said. The fact that word had been plural wasn't lost on me and probably meant some Pokemon had died too. "Your fingers will take longer to heal, but no permanent damage was done. Your ankle was also deemed to still be healing fine and progressing along well."

I nodded, skin gone pale.

"Aliyah will be coming here tomorrow morning to help with any... issues you might be dealing with, though I am always willing to lend an ear if you need to vent. Let us know if you need someone else to talk to as well."

"Thank you." I stopped, sinking into the leather couch. "Listen, I should be the last one to make demands right now, but I... um, the city's still fine, right? You won't destroy it because Zoroark and Melmetal are gone?"

"We had a few League Trainers look through Lakhutia, but the city won't be touched. I plan on going there as well, when I have the time."

"I caught Zoroark," I said, my eyes glancing at the four Pokeballs on my bedside table.

"Yes, and Melmetal, or that small version of it. That is what I wanted to bring up."

"Do you have someone to look after Zoroark?" I asked. "I don't want him to stay in a Pokeball forever... he needs someone who'll teach him that there's more to life than hatred, but I'm honestly a terrible candidate for the job."

I had a few candidates in mind, but Fantina and Cynthia herself were at the top of that list. It would, however, probably be a year-long journey, and I didn't know if both women would be able to commit to such a thing. ACEs would not be an option. They were trained to shoot first and ask questions later, and Zoroark had just killed one of their own. A random League Trainer would be fine, so long as they had the stomach to handle a Pokemon that would continuously try to kill them. For the Elite Four, none of them were ghost type specialists, but that wouldn't matter so long as they were willing to work with Zoroark. There were also Frontier Brains, but that was probably pushing it.

"This makes things a lot easier. I believed you would try to keep it, which the logistics of wouldn't have worked and would have put you in too much danger," Cynthia said. "If it's something you want, I can try to make it happen, but I cannot guarantee someone will accept. It would have to be someone high in the chain of command who knows about today's events, but few of those will want to take care of Zoroark."

"What about... you?" I tried.

The Champion laughed, which sounded a lot more genuine than the few times I'd seen her do so. Why are you laughing? Lou is dead. Was she really laughing, or was it a trick? The hair on my neck rose, and I felt a chill.

"I suppose I could be an option," Cynthia finally said. "I'll have to see after I speak with Fantina, though I doubt she'll want to burden herself with a murder-obsessed Pokemon. She's always had a soft touch, so maybe."

Thank the Legendaries. I was still important enough for her to at least try to listen to my suggestions. I didn't know if I would have been able to stand back up if I had to live with the fact that I'd condemned Zoroark with years of prison with no stimulation.

"Now, onto your new captures," Cynthia said. "Claydol will be fine to show, though we'll need to hide your... the name we're working with is Meltan, from a few ancient texts we recovered in the city. The scripture is similar to the one used in ancient times in Solaceon, so we managed to figure that out."

I nodded. "Okay."

"And before you're allowed to take it, we'll have to run some tests. Make sure that it's safe to be around, measuring its capabilities, along with taking some general samples from its body, if possible."

"Oh... wait, can the sample stuff wait a few days? And can the safety tests be done in this room? Meltan's never known anything other than the city, so they'll be overwhelmed. Claydol, too."

She inclined her head. "Which is why they were not taken yet." She gestured at the Pokeballs on my table. Zoroark, Jellicent, Meltan, Claydol, with the rest being taken care of by the League's Nurse Joys. "I'll have one of our people come and take a look to make sure being near Meltan won't be poisoning you further, but the rest can wait. It'll just be a small scan, it won't take more than a minute."

"Thanks. Um..."

Arceus, just fucking ask.

"Who else died in the battle?" I choked.

"Do you want to know?"

I nodded.

I am glad I am to your liking and that I will not be destroyed and discarded, my King, Claydol chimed. There was a strange tune that played along with their words, like some kind of celebration music built into them, though it glitched halfway through and stopped instead. Please ignore that horrifying failure. I tend to be the victim of comedic timing, they added.

I snorted. "Really? Comedic timing? Can I have an example?"

Claydol's pupils dilated slightly. Processing request: Hold on while I recall this memory... Memory found. I once wished the first King I served good health, and he died choking on a fish bone six hours, twenty-five minutes, and three seconds later. I was then placed in the Royal Crypt as a bringer of bad luck, where I stayed until you found me.

"That's just superstitious stuff. Anyway, do you have a name I should call you? Or a preferred gender, or anything?"

Awaiting for your input, they said.

"Okay, never mind, we'll put that on hold," I said. "If you want, I'll think of a name for you, and you can just be... you probably don't even understand the concept of gender, so we can just have you be whatever you want, or keep just being outside of that spectrum entirely."

Whatever you wish, my King.

"And what's with this king stuff?" I scoffed, pointing the Pokedex toward Meltan. "You can call me Grace, you know?"

Issuing correction: negative. I am your guardian, and can only be committed to defending a King. You have a Pokemon called Princess. Consequently, you should be referred to as a King.

I rolled my eyes as the screen for my Pokedex went blank at the sight of Meltan, which was something I'd expected, since it hadn't known what that ancient Zoroark was either, when Chase had fought him. It was weird, with Claydol. Sometimes they felt like they had a personality, but other times they just became a regular old computer again that deferred to my every thought. At the very least, they weren't completely blank. Meltan deflated when they saw they didn't have a Pokedex entry.

"Hey, we can just make one up," I grinned. "How about..."

Images of Lou flashed in my head, and I imagined her body melting inside of the sea of metal Melmetal had created. I bit my lip, clenching at my fingers until they hurt. No. Don't do this. Don't put the blame on them. Meltan eagerly screeched next to my ears as they held onto my hair so they could balance themselves on my shoulder. They still couldn't walk properly, after all.

"...I don't know, 'this Pokemon can alter their state from a solid or a liquid, create small jolts of electricity with their tail, and... yeah, I'm out. But look, we can create one together when we figure out more about you."

Pleased with themselves, Meltan nodded and pointed toward the floor. I placed them back on the ground, and they began to practice walking again, though their head was so heavy compared to the rest of their body that they fell over numerous times.

"Are you okay with Meltan being here?" I whispered to Claydol. "They were kind of a God to your people, no?"

The ground type's eyes flashed. Of course. Preserving natural order through the companionship of the Endless Alloy and the King is a rational course of action. Any alternative perspective would defy established principles and be deemed irrational.

I snorted, which confused the psychic and had their eyes turn to strange glyphs again.

"Claydol, I have this thing I've been doing that you'll probably find weird..."

I explained the context to Gym Battles to the psychic, and the way people battled for sport these days and not just for war and actually real fights. Claydol was so confused they failed to compute whatever I was saying multiple times, and the only way I managed to frame this in a way they understood was that battling made Pokemon stronger, so it was like training, but really quickly, and other people enjoyed watching that training. That led to me having to explain that Ditto was a thing, and that injuries in battle were treated far easier now than back in the day. Thinking about it, the implementation of Ditto cells in Pokemon Centers had probably moved the needle when it came to Pokemon training. There were far fewer powerful trainers before, and that included during the Great War. The treatment had begun in Kanto-Johto, but even though they'd tried to keep a lid on it, it spread like wildfire in every region and got to Sinnoh around the time when Cynthia was a kid. By the time she'd gone out on her journey, the cells had already been normalized.

And thank the Legendaries for that, with the way Honey had lost his hand.

I specialize in your protection, my King. Uncertain about proficiency in mock battling.

"Hey, if you don't feel confident with battling, that's okay," I said. "But we'll have to train, still. Your barriers are already great, but offensively, you're lacking. Something like Ancient Power and bettering your use of Psychic would be a good start. Princess can show you the ropes when she's back. And also, we'll need to find you a teacher for Teleport eventually."

Acknowledged.

"And since I want to be honest," I said, standing up to face Claydol. "There's this evil organization I'm involved with that you might have to protect me against called Team Galactic. That was one of the main reasons I ventured into Lakhutia to find you, really."

Meltan tilted their head, peeking out from below my hospital bed.

"You'll be safe," I said. "I'll keep you in your Pokeball if it comes to a fight. But what I want to know, Claydol, is if you're okay with that? The rest of my team is, but if you don't feel comfortable—"

I specialize in your protection, Claydol repeated in their monotone voice.

"O—okay. Thank you."

We'd need to find Claydol a hobby, and soon. I didn't want them to just protect me. They needed to have a life outside of that, and being intrigued by the TV was a good start, if anything. I crouched next to Meltan again, who slid from under the bed and toward me.

"Now, Meltan, I wanted to ask you, do you have a name you want to be called? I can pick, but you might want to. I can throw out suggestions until you settle on something."

Gender was not something they understood, either, so I settled on sticking with what I'd been referring them to, at least for now. I threw some names at them, but they refused every single one.

"Claydol, what do you think of Goopy?" I said, lying on my hospital bed. Meltan stood on my stomach, the cold feeling of metal having seeped through my hospital gown. Of course, the steel type's eye turned into an X instantly.

Requesting permission to speak freely.

I raised an eyebrow and nodded. "You always have it."

The choice of 'Goopy' appears to be a whimsical attempt to encapsulate the molten, gooey essence of the Eternal Alloy. It seems apt, considering the Pokémon's appearance is reminiscent of a metallic blob. However, in the realm of creativity, one might argue that 'Goopy' lacks the imaginative spark found in more inventive nicknames—

"Okay, I get it!" I groaned. "We'll figure something out later."

My apologies, my King.

I grabbed my phone, painfully scrolling through my messages with my thumbs. "No worries, it was just a suggestion anyway," I mumbled, trying not to let the hurt show.

It appeared that Cece was still in transit to Pastoria and that Mira was still traveling up north, but the others had seen the message. I wanted to speak to her so badly... but she'd have reception in a few days at most. The fact that I had to hide Meltan from them left a bad taste in my mouth. Of course, I also had to hide the fact that a Melmetal had attacked me from the non-Shards (save for Denzel) for now, but not wanting to lie, I kept light on the details and said I didn't want to talk about it in-depth, which was the truth. Thinking about yesterday just wracked me with guilt, and my mind just wanted to pretend it hadn't happened as long as I was stuck in this hospital room and I could ignore the consequences of my choices.

Though I would tell them all the truth as soon as I could. Denzel and Louis were especially worried about the way I seemed to get into life-and-death situations at least once per month, but I wasn't planning on doing much of that any longer. If I wanted to, I'd need to be strong enough not to endanger others, at the very least. The last thing I wanted was for someone else to die, and I dreaded the look on my ACE's faces if I forced them to follow me into some death trap again.

I lifted my phone up, staring at the little Meltan.

"How am I supposed to hide you?" I mumbled. "Your existence is bound to come out eventually, and if you're in a Pokeball constantly, I won't be able to show you around."

Meltan warbled, crawling onto my wrist before molding themselves into an iron bracelet and a streak of gold. The transformation had been slow, taking up to a minute, but it was a very nice way of hiding them. The bracelet shivered on my wrist, and I would have rubbed it, had my hands not been shredded.

"That's... perfect," I said. "I didn't know you could do tricks like that."

Well, it seemed I had a lot to learn about both of my new teammates, but I was growing tired, and I was still sick, so I opted to close my eyes and eventually drifted off to sleep.

After Claydol offered to play me a lullaby, of course. One in their catalog of over two hundred songs. Instead, I asked them to watch Meltan— who I was already feeling was slipping off my wrist— while they explored the room and not to attack anyone if they entered the room.