《A New Sort of Trainer (ANST)》


 Chapter One: My head hurts

    ¡°Man, my head hurt, and my body ached.¡± I thought groggily as I woke up in a dark and hazy room. I had a crazy long dream that I was a pokemon trainer from an eevee breeder family. Eevee evolutions are awesome, so that tracked. In the dream, I had four siblings. They are two sets of identical twins. (Twins ran in the family.) My brothers are the older set, and my sisters are the younger set. (Guess that made me the odd ball.) I was given my eevee when I turned five instead of my eighth birthday because my family thought that I was lonely. The eevee was freshly hatched but was much larger than the other eevees, so we couldn¡¯t sell it. People wanted pocket sized eevees for pets or speed builds. Since I was only five and eevee was bigger than normal, she was half my height when she was given to me with a rainbow ribbon tied to her tail. I announced to the family that I want to be a trainer when I turn eight. The first night of my pokemon journey, me and my team are attacked by a musharna. My recently captured pidgey and spearrow are killed and the last thing I see before the dream ends, is a bloody eevee standing between me and a musharna that is crazed from all the nightmares.


    ¡°That dream had . . .¡± What? That didn¡¯t sound like my voice. My throat hurt so, maybe that¡¯s why I sound so weird. . . but my body felt weird. . . smaller? I want to look around, so I sit up, but my head spins and I lean back into the headboard of a hospital bed?? Why am I in a hospital?! I notice a blue light out the corner of my right eye just before something furry with a wet nose touches my right hand. Instinctively, my head jerks toward the animal and my world spins. I fall back into the headboard again and wince at the searing pain in my skull. The light turns on suddenly and, in this moment, I want to be dead. My stomach revolts and I lurch to the left to be sick off the bed. Two strong arms keep me from tumbling onto the floor. The world fades to black accompanied by the sounds of people yelling.


    I wake from the same weird pokemon dream. I lay still, staring at the ceiling. The room seems to be lit by the sunlight coming through the windows. I guess it¡¯s daytime now. I guess that I¡¯m still in the hospital, but I don¡¯t have the courage to shift my head and confirm this. Fur and a damp nose nudge my right hand again. Why is there an animal in my hospital room? I have a fur allergy. Are they trying to kill me? Oh, well. What¡¯s new? In sixty years, I had only met more and more people that hated or were jealous of me. No, my kids wouldn¡¯t stand for this. . . unless something happened to them. The furry head starts to lick my hand. That feels like a cat tongue. . . a big cat tongue. Did my daughter buy me one of those new hypoallergenic cats? Wait. . . what¡¯s my daughter¡¯s name? Zoey? Chloe? No, those are my sisters¡¯ . . . wait, I only have a brother. ¡°Ugh. My head really hurts,¡± I say to the ceiling. My voice still sounds weird. I feel paws batting at my hand and a head nuzzling my fingertips. Someone wanted pets. I sigh and lift my fingertips weakly when another sharp pain sends me back into the dark. This is getting old.


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    The next time that I wake up, it¡¯s dark again. I had that same dream again. Why do I keep dreaming about Pokemon? My head isn¡¯t hurting so, that¡¯s nice. I search a little with my right hand. I can actually lift it now, sweet! A blue light shines brightly to my right. I feel fur under my fingers. The cat starts purring very low. I can¡¯t hear it but I can certainly feel it.


    A door to my left swings open so I use my arm to cover my eyes. The furry creature retreats as I hear a voice. ¡°Oh, Ms. Oline, you''re awake. Dr. Aphasia said to expect you to be up soon. That man is amazing.¡± ¡°Oh. . .leen?,¡± I repeated questioningly, or I hope it sounds like a question. My voice still sounded weird. ¡°Oh, sorry. I¡¯m from Kanto, an old habit. Would you prefer that I call you Flame instead?¡± Huh? Flame Ohleen? My confusion must¡¯ve shown because she continued, ¡°Oh, perhaps you go by your middle name. What¡¯s your middle name sweety?¡± Is she for real? Wait. . . Flame Oline . . . ¡°Gas. . . oline?¡± I stutter as I realize the nurse is teasing me. ¡°Oh, Gast. Do you have a beloved gastly in your family? That¡¯s adorable!¡± Huh? ¡°Let¡¯s sit you up and get you ready. The Journey Administration has been waiting for you to wake up. I need to call them immediately so they can ask you a few questions.


    The nurse presses a button, and my bed starts raising me into a sitting position. I look to my right to see what sort of cat is in my room. I pale. The nurse notices. ¡°So, that umbreon is a surprise to you too? She responds to Blink, but Blink¡¯s poke ball couldn¡¯t be found. This umbreon has refused to leave your room for long since she woke up. Your family said that there¡¯s no way that your eevee evolved into an umbreon. You and your team were attacked by a wild musharna. She watched the rest of your team die so of course she evolved into an umbreon.¡± The nurse says coldly as she looks down at the umbreon.


    ¡°That was real. . .?¡± I whisper the question. No way!?! But Pokemon aren¡¯t really real. But that¡¯s an umbreon in front of me?!


    Have I been isekai¡¯d into the world of Pokemon or I guess one similar. There seems to be a sort of stigma around my umbreon.

 Chapter two: World of Pokemon

    Umbreon. My all-time favorite Eeveelution. As I stare at Blink, I realize that it has blue stripes on its body. Cool, I have a shiny pokemon as my starter.


    ¡°Dear me, you thought it was a nightmare? I suppose we¡¯ve all had a lot longer to come to terms with what happened. You¡¯ve basically been asleep for eight weeks.¡± The nurse informs me as she busies herself changing out my pillow. ¡°You are really behind all the other trainers that started The Journey this year and you still have a few weeks left to recover before we can clear you to get back on the road.¡± The nurse begins changing my covers and gives me a quick wipe down. ¡°You might be better off going to the Kanto region and starting there. My nephew said The Journey was pushed back this year. I think he said a trainer shortage has them waiting until August. Kanto will have buses collecting trainers from rural areas so everyone can start The Journey from Celadon City.


    After gaping in surprise, I stuttered out, ¡°A trainer shortage?! How is that possible? An entire region has a trainer shortage?!¡± Is being a trainer not important in the world? That''s nothing like in the anime. The nurse shakes her head side to side as she checks my vitals now. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear about the Dragon Rampage? The top Kanto breeders have been destroyed. The news said that the families were secretly cross breeding dragon types with Kanto''s starter pokemon. No one knows exactly why but the dragonite, charizard, and gyrados at two major sites started raging and no one could stop them. They destroyed hundreds of eggs and young pokemon before the rage ended.¡± I listen intently as she now brushes my long purple hair. ¡°Many people decided to postpone the Journey. Some refused to start The Journey without a Kanto signature pokemon. Many others simply have no way to get a starter. The Journey Administration gives away one hundred certified Kanto starter pokemon every Journey year. Kanto is so proud of bulbasuar, squirtle, and charmander that they developed a program to encourage every trainer to use one of the three. The JA of Kanto will even accept the starter back at the end of your Journey. Did you know they even offer silver if you return a pokemon with a couple of badge wins on record?¡± I shake my head from side to side and stroke Blink¡¯s head. She climbed into my bed while the nurse talked.


    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    The nurse smiles down at us. She pulls a chair over to the bed and sets a couple of cups on a side table. As she sits, she takes out an oran berry from her half apron around her waist. She starts breaking it into chunks as she continues to talk.


    ¡°No one has been kind to Blink. One of the nurses started a rumor. She blamed umbreon for you not waking up. These superstitious ninnies stopped feeding the poor girl. Some yelled at her and chased her out of the room. I made sure that each one was reprimanded or transferred. Unfortunately, that took a while, and the poor thing went a little wild. I ended up being assigned as your personal nurse because of things like this. Most of the other nurses have actually tried to battle her. Can you believe nurses releasing pokemon in a hospital room to battle? The last nurse that I caught, told me that someone is offering gold and platinum for pokemon with unique coloring.¡±


    Huh? ¡°Umm gold and what?¡± I hesitantly question the nurse. I thought the currency was poke dollars. The nurse raises an eyebrow but quickly changes to a sympathetic look. ¡°Since your parents are eevee breeders, I thought you would have heard of platinum coins before. I guess being the fifth child is rough even in rich families.¡±


    Maybe the currency was like that fantasy role-playing board game. It sounds like platinum is the highest currency so copper and silver were probably the common currency. I wonder what the ratio is or if they have any subdivisions. She said coins so maybe they don¡¯t have a paper currency. I¡¯m distracted from my thoughts by Blink¡¯s plaintive whines. I follow her gaze to the now generously filled cups. My stomach lets out a terrible grumbling sound. That hurt.


    The nurse hands me a berry chunk and then offers one to Blink as well. ¡°My husband is an oran berry farmer. It¡¯s weird only to grow one common type of berry but he swears that they are the best in all of Unova.¡± I nibble at the berry despite my hunger. It was soft and had an interesting flavor. The nurse hands me one of the cups and says, ¡°Munch on these. I¡¯m going to see if I can get you a late lunch, but the JA of Unova will probably arrive before your meal.

 Chapter three: Umbreon

    A gave Blink her own cup of berry chunks. I had a lot of information to digest so I couldn¡¯t keep up with feeding her and myself. My hunger was a distraction now that I realized I was hungry, but the nurse just put out a lot of stuff and a small timeline to think it all over. ¡°Where do I even start?¡± I ask Blink as she reaches the bottom of her cup and starts cleaning her face and paws. Blink stops cleaning to give me a . . . shoulder. . . shrug? . . . Maybe? ¡°Hey Blink. Can you understand me?¡± I asked her. She stops her cleaning and stands up on all four feet. She nods her head up and down, very deliberately. ¡°Thank you blink. I¡¯m sorry for worrying you all this time.¡± She sits back down next to me and purrs.


    Okay. So, I¡¯m a ten year old in a world that has pokemon but I was attacked on my first night out in the woods. This world uses minerals instead of poke dollars. Umbreon seems to be an eevelution that you get from hurting an eevee. I haven¡¯t heard umbreon say her name or any part of it, just beast sounds and purring. I¡¯m in Unova and Kanto exists. Orann berries are tasty and I¡¯m out. I flip my empty cup upside down. Blink hops off the bed. She seems excited. I notice that I have a big room. I have my own living room here. A couch, a sofa, an end table . . . or . . . no two, and a coffee table.


    Blink jumps back on the bed with a battered backpack. I guess this is the one from . . . the . . . ummm. . . attack? . . . battle? . . . massacre? . . .


    Blink paws at one of the pockets and makes a plaintive yowl. I look in the pocket but it¡¯s black on the inside. I look over at Blink who is sitting patiently. ¡°Are there more berries in here? Are they safe to eat after all this time?¡± I asked her. She nods vigorously.


    I put my hand in the pocket and an inventory square opens next to the pocket. It only has six squares and only two, have items. ¡°It looks like we have some orann and pecha berries.¡± Blink¡¯s ears slump a little when I announce this. I press the button or . . . screen? . . . maybe? I feel the orann berry in my hand and pull it out. ¡°Cool.¡± I hand the berry to Blink and notice a button that says EMPTY. It was a tiny red button in the bottom left of the ummmm . . . screen? Seven orann and ten pecha berries pop out of the side pocket of the backpack. I put one orann and one pecha in my cup and let Blink have the rest. ¡°Just don¡¯t eat them on the bed, Okay? You¡¯re pretty clean but it¡¯s juicy and we are expecting company.¡±


    Each pocket on the backpack seems to have the same digital display with various item capacities. I had a thunder stone, some empty pokeballs, a couple bottles of fresh water, a full canister of full heal, house key, badge case, several educational books and magazines, knife, shirt, pants, underwear, hat, gloves, shades, and a pokedex. ¡°A pokedex! Oh, this is awesome!¡± I exclaimed as I pressed the button and I feel a thick tablet in my hand. I pull out a regular twelve-inch tablet that¡¯s kinda bulky. ¡°This isn¡¯t what I was expecting.¡± I look for a button or something to turn it on. ¡°Where¡¯s the on button?¡± ¡°This pokedex belongs to trainer #HHO 668. Please confirm identification.¡± says the pokedex. Not sure where that sound was coming from. I didn¡¯t see any speakers. ¡°Why?¡± I ask sarcastically. ¡°Identity confirmed. Welcome back Trainer Oline. Would you like to enter manual mode or continue in voice mode?¡± asks the pokedex. ¡°Can you explain manual mode?¡± I asked hoping that it didn¡¯t backfire on me and only picked up manual mode. I needed to know what I¡¯m doing. ¡°Yes.¡± It responded. Ummm. That¡¯s it? No prompts? ¡°Begin explanation of manual mode?¡± I sort of commanded. ¡°Explanation of manual mode will now begin.


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    I recline my head back with a sigh. The pokedex was pretty basic. It was just a tablet with internet. It did have a lot of my trainer and team info saved on it. It listed my registered pokemon with all the normal stats like height, weight, color, and gender. I had made notes for all my pokemon, even the pidgey and sparrow that were on my team for a few hours.


    Pidgey didn¡¯t like me. He was only nice while I fed him chesto berries. I had to put him back in the ball when i ran out. Sparrow likes to ride on my head and sleep. She didn¡¯t mind when I covered her with my hat. Discovering cherri berries in my hair was a gib surprise. Blink is the fastest eevee ever! She was too big to sell, and everyone said her fur didn¡¯t have any color so that means the breeder didn¡¯t take care of her egg but I¡¯m going to prove all of them wrong. Blink will be fast one day and I will buy her a thunder stone so we can show the world that me and my partner are more than anyone though we could be! Chesto berries are her favorite, but she likes pecha berries a lot too! She really doesn¡¯t like aspear berries, but she eats them when mom gives them to her. Dad bought Blink a wiki berry when she ran off three rattata from the yard! Those might be her new favorites, but I can¡¯t get them very often.


    I look down at my empty cup and then my partner. This isn¡¯t just my umbreon, this is my starter. She¡¯s been through so much and now everyone is trying to pretend that she died so they can save face because her being an umbreon tells everyone around her that she¡¯s had a hard life. I know that feeling. I had something similar before I came here. ¡°Hey girl. The nurse said that no one believes that you are my eevee, Blink.¡± My umbreon moves from my side and sits upright in front of me. She doesn¡¯t say her name but makes kind of low rumbling growling sounds. ¡°It looks like you already know what I¡¯m going to ask.¡± I say to her as I scratch behind her ear.


    She pushes my hand back and stares at me with those endlessly deep eyes. ¡°So, we¡¯re going to decide this now? You do realize that I changed while I was asleep, right?¡± I ask. I feel a little wrong about this but since my umbreon and I both seem to have the same idea, I feel less guilty. ¡°It says here,¡± I hold up the tablet/pokedex, ¡°that a pokemon can receive a nickname after it is captured in a registered pokeball. A trainer can pick a nickname that will become their legal name for as long as he/she is an active trainer. The nickname can be changed at the start of a Journey, if I register to a gym, or if I defeat a gym leader in a battle for the gym badge.¡± The umbreon nods. ¡°I don¡¯t have any registered poke balls for some reason, so we have time to think about this.¡±


    *knock, knock, knock*

 Chapter four: What now?

    ¡°The nerve of that grrah!¡± I scream as I strangle my pillow. ¡°I challenged her to a battle, and she dared to deny me ¡®because¡¯ all I have are wild pokemon following me around!¡± I scream as I throw my pillow while I rage. ¡°I cannot believe they were waiting for me to wake up JUST to tell me that NONE of my pokemon survived!¡± My umbreon hops onto my bed with my pillow. I snatch at it, but she evades me. I try again and she evades once again. I sigh heavily and take a calming breath. ¡°Are you insisting that I calm down, girl?¡± She drops the pillow and puts a paw on top of it.


    ¡°Room service Ms. Oline.¡± says the nurse as she walks in with a cart filled with meats, pastries, and a variety of berries. ¡°You didn¡¯t have much written on your trainer profile, so I peeked at Blink¡¯s info for meal ideas. I¡¯m not sure what¡¯s good for an umbreon to eat but I called Nurse Joy in Castelia City, and she sent me a meal plan. She also said your pokemon¡¯s flavor preferences will take after your preferences since the two of you have been together for so long. So, take a few bites and then tell me what had you in here raging worse than a gyrados.¡±


    Maybe it was the food in front of me or my partner waiting patiently in front of her food, but I chuckled at the nurse''s words. ¡°Sounds like a plan.¡±


    I had been shoving the amazing food in my mouth for a few minutes when the nurse put a firm hand on my wrist. I looked up to see my poor umbreon pouting as the nurse held her by the scruff of her neck. ¡°Alright you two, take a break and let that food settle. You are both acting like munchlax.¡± says the nurse with some strain in her voice. She lays umbreon on the bed with me and starts to move our leftovers to the side and covers everything. Maybe she really just means a break and we can finish the rest soon. Hmmm, two plates and three bowls are stacked to the side. Have I really ate that much? Those dishes were overflowing with food. ¡°Umm. . . so, please tell the cook that the food is great and that I really appreciate it.¡± I said, somewhat tired now that I started to feel how much I had actually eaten. The nurse simply nods as she works to straighten up.


    Umbreon lays down next to me but continues to stare at the huge pot that I suppose her meal came from. To my surprise, the nurse pulls a chair next to my bed and settles in for a conversation. ¡°From my experience, the JA of Unova told you that your entire team is listed as K. I. A. Your trainer privileges are suspended until you register at least one new pokemon, which you cannot do until you pass a written exam that will emphasis Journey safety. This umbreon here,¡± She waves a hand toward the former Blink. ¡°Must undergo a complete physical and certified training before you may register, it as your official starter pokemon. The real icing on the cake is that once you were suspended, your parents had the right to make all these decisions for you while you were out of commission.¡± the nurse sighed as she saw the confirmation on my face and simply asked, ¡°When did your parents schedule your Journey safety class to start?¡±


    Her matter-of-fact tone surprised me, but she was older than me. She¡¯s also a trained professional that¡¯s seen this play out before. ¡°Nurse, what¡¯s your name?¡± Oddly enough, that question seemed to surprise her, and she blushed as she nervously answered. ¡°It¡¯s ummm well ya see, my first name is Carmine, and I umm well married into the Joy clan last year. Please do not call me Nurse Joy. It¡¯s embarrassing.¡±


    Oh my gosh! I bet it is! A nurse Joy that is a nurse but not a Nurse Joy! Oh, I guess the family that all look alike is a real thing here too. Maybe? ¡°Sorry to embarrass you. I just wanted to know your name. You¡¯ve been nice to me since I woke up and defended my partner when I couldn¡¯t. Mrs. Carmine, is it alright if I consider you a friend?¡± I asked with all the bashfulness of a ten-year-old despite my age because as I started talking, tears started to fall. Maybe I was just overwhelmed or maybe I hadn¡¯t recovered physically yet, but the tears came.


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    Mrs. Carmine pulled out her berry bag and handed me a bowl of oran berries. She motioned for me to pass my tablet to her and tapped around on it for a few minutes then handed it back to me. There was her name, nurse number, clan title, trainer title, phone number and mailing address. I blinked and rubbed the last of the tears out of my eyes. No way!


    I looked at Carmine and then the screen a couple of times before I could speak. ¡°You. . . you are an Elite Four finalist! Aa and and Master nurse of the Joy clan?!¡± I exclaimed in awe. The lady with broad shoulders and a full figure, pats at her dull black hair pretending to straighten up her perfect hair bun low on her neck. Her red eyes sparkle and the light skin around her cheeks is covered in a rosy blush of modesty as she says. ¡°I was and I am. The Joy clan gave me a test six months after I married into the clan. As for the certification, well I am going to lose that title and my trainer status soon. It¡¯s almost been two years since I earned the right to challenge the Elite Four. Since I¡¯m not part of a gym and I¡¯m not a certified breeder, I can¡¯t maintain my trainer status much longer so I will forfeit my shot at the Four once I lose my status as a Pokemon trainer.


    I waited eagerly, for a few minutes. There¡¯s a long story coming, right? Mrs. Carmine fidgets with something in her apron. It looks like the outline of a box. Oh? Is she carrying her badges around still? I lean back into my hospital bed and actually look at the woman in front of me. She acted so sure of herself and in command. She would explain herself when it was important for understanding and she was efficient. I assumed that she was in her thirties or forties because of what I¡¯d seen but now that I watched her fidget in front of me, nervous about whether I would believe her, I could see it. Carmine Joy is young.


    I felt my own cheeks flush as it dawned on me what she had just admitted and an envious ¡°Wow.¡± escaped me. ¡°That husband of yours is one amazing capture.¡± I told her with a twang of resentment. The nurse goes scarlet and asks. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to demand to see my badges? Don¡¯t you want proof?¡± she asks in disbelief. Heh, that¡¯s why she carries them around. A smile spreads across my face. ¡°I am only just starting my Journey but even I know that finding a perfect partner is worth more than any title.¡± Mrs. Carmine lets out a loud and boisterous laugh alongside a few tears. ¡°My mother said those exact words to me and until I met Marcus, I thought she meant that my team was still lacking! Look at you and your old soul. You already know more than I did ten years ago!¡±


    She earned a shot at the Elite Four when she was eighteen. I wonder if that¡¯s normal. Probably not since she was ready to prove herself.


    A few days ticked by in the hospital. My schedule could be called light if it hadn¡¯t taken so much out of me. Umbreon and I started the morning with breakfast, then we watched T.V. until Nurse Carmine took me to physical therapy and took umbreon outside for some exercise. Once that was done, we returned to our room and shared lunch with our amazing nurse.


    Carmine told me how she was buying and mixing umbreon¡¯s food herself since the staff refused to do so. She agreed to let me cover some of the cost of food. I still had some money left in my personal account. Turns out, I really am a rich kid. I had been more surprised by all the zeros in my frozen trainer¡¯s account!


    After lunch there was more physical therapy. Carmine left work while I was still in therapy. I would return to my room to find cups of oran berries and an umbreon that was just as tired as I was. Last night she left a cup of chesto berries and a note praising how much effort umbreon had put into exercising. Was an Elite Four finalist training my girl?! I smiled despite the exhaustion because my umbreon, no, my partner, was getting tips from a pro.

 Chapter Five: Trouble

    The reoccurring nightmare still haunted me every night. Some nights, I would wake up over and over again from the same dream. Some nights other dreams would have me waking in a pool of sweat. My sixth morning in the hospital, I woke from the reoccurring nightmare to the sounds of growling, yelling and someone holding me tightly against her chest. ¡°It¡¯s ok Flame!¡± the woman yelled but I was buried in her chest and that was not ok! ¡°I¡¯m here! You¡¯re ok!¡± she continued to wail. Finally, I managed to pull back and gasp for air.


    The woman had dark blue hair and lavender eyes. The same lavender eyes that I had. I take a few deep breaths before gasping out a questioning, ¡°Mom?¡± With an ear shattering squeal she yells, ¡°Yes Flame, Mommie is here sweetest child!¡± as she returns me to her suffocating embrace. Mother or not, I really couldn¡¯t breathe. I briefly contemplate the backlash of biting or jabbing a finger into her ribs before I am suddenly released.


    On Mom''s pale white shoulder, rests a tense, deeply tanned hand. Behind Mom is a man with steely, pink eyes and dark red hair.


    ¡°Dear, calm down before you extend Flame¡¯s hospital stay even further.¡± He says this evenly. No anger or threat. Just an order to be followed. Mom pouts before I notice the realization cross her face that he is being serious. That¡¯s not exactly reassuring.


    ¡°Hey Dad.¡± I say in a way of greeting my serious looking savior. His dark caramel skin color, red hair, and pink eyes had images of Tieflings popping into my mind. Good to know that I won¡¯t lose my own tan anytime soon, if I take after him.


    Dad pulls Mom down into a chair next to my bed and settles into his own chair beside her. Mom wipes at her face and sniffles as she tries to pull herself together before she starts into a fresh outburst of tears. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry Mommie wasn¡¯t here when you woke up. Your father only told me this morning that you had finally woke up!¡± she yells as she clutches my hands and buries her face into my tiny palms.


    My umbreon is still growling from the side of my bed. Only her eyes and ears are visible. Eyes that are glaring dagger at Dad.


    ¡°This is why I didn¡¯t tell you, Angel. Flame wasn¡¯t even awake before you started smothering her and now, you¡¯re hysterical. They only cleared her for your visit today.¡± he said flatly. I kinda understand why the doctor would not want me exposed to Mom right after waking up. My first physical therapy session was stretching and breathing exercises and I fainted before the session ended.


    Mom asked me to tell her about my stay and recovery. I thought my body was recovering fast, so I talked about how I had already progressed to jogging and talking on a treadmill in just a few days. Dad started to return Umbreon¡¯s glare at some point while I talked.


    So, this was our reunion . . . It didn¡¯t. Well. It didn¡¯t really match what I had dreamt about. I thought those few happy dreams that I¡¯d had so far were memories from this life but as I looked at the red-haired man and the blue haired woman, I couldn¡¯t see it.


    The man was aloof and cold. The woman had wiped her ruined make-up off once she¡¯d stopped crying and was now reapplying it while I sat there in front of them. She seemed to have tuned me out. It was around the time I started talking about the exercises the doctor wanted me to continue, on my own once I was released and where to find the information online.


    No one spoke after I trailed off from reciting the instructions the doctors had given me. I hadn¡¯t even bothered to finish my sentence. I could tell they weren¡¯t listening now. Mom was focused on her hand mirror and Dad was on his tablet or maybe it was his pokedex? I wasn¡¯t sure what the differences were, I initially thought he might have been taking notes, but he kept tapping even after I went silent.


    This is the scene that Nurse Carmine walked in on. ¡°Good morning and and umm apologizes for uh oh for well uh he interruptions.¡± she stuttered as she took in the scene. Mom didn¡¯t even react as she finished applying her lipstick. Dad put his tablet away in some sort of shoulder sling carrying case as he stood up. ¡°Angel, it¡¯s time for our meeting.¡± Dad announced flatly.


    Mom gave herself a final look in her mirror before pulling me into her chest for another suffocating hug and then kissed each of my cheeks as Dad started toward the door. ¡°I love you sweet child. I¡¯m going to transfer all the allowance that you¡¯ve missed. I will do it the second that I get a chance to! Don¡¯t worry for a moment that we forgot about you! I know it¡¯s been rough on you since most of your coins are in your trainer account. You are so smart! Keeping some silver in your personal account!¡± Mom steps away with a final pat on my head.


    ¡°Hey Mom. Can you tell me when my Safety exam is? The JA said you guys would tell. . .¡± Dad cuts me off. ¡°We aren¡¯t scheduling the exam yet. You need to prove that you learned something before you waste our time.¡± He announced in the same flat tone he¡¯d used every time he opened his mouth. How could he utter such a cruel statement in such a cold way? To his ten-year-old daughter! I¡¯m in the hospital after being attacked and losing my entire team!


    My voice turned quiet while my face tenses. ¡°Say that again.¡± I demanded of the retreating adult. Dad turned to face me. His face ready to reprimand me. ¡°You listen. . .¡± He started but trailed off as a flicker of fear darts across his face that is quickly replaced by anger. He must not like the hatred seething out my glare. Umbreon is now on the bed beside me. Her expression was just as angry and dark energy building all over her body.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    I slide off of my bed and stand in front of my parents. Rage filling my thoughts. How could they? How dare they? Umbreon jumps from the bed and positions herself between us, ready for a battle. ¡°Is that REALLY what you think?! I question with anger seething out of every syllable.


    A red light shot from Dad¡¯s hip and materialized into his flareon standing in front of Umbreon. Flareon¡¯s mouth is already open and building flames for an attack. ¡°Number One, that¡¯s enough, return.¡± Is all Dad said, before he turns back to the door and leaves. Mom follows behind him with her tablet in hand. ¡°I transferred your allowance. Be sure to check your dex after breakfast.¡± She said with a wave and a bright smile on her face as she closed the door.


    Nurse Carmine pushes our breakfast cart toward us. Umbreon is still bristling with dark energy and rage, so she lets out a warning yowl toward the nurse. This caused me to tear my eyes away from the closed door. ¡°No girl.¡± I said sternly. ¡°She is not our opponent. Our opponent chose to run.¡± I continued bitterly.


    Umbreon lowers her ears and lets out an apologetic yowl toward Carmine as the dark energy around her, starts to evaporate off of her. Carmine looks from trainer to partner with a deep frown. ¡°You two look as though you¡¯ve had quite a few rawst berries for breakfast already. Do you think you have room for any of the breakfast that I slaved away in the kitchen to make?¡± she asked while she helped me back into my bed. I tried to smirk at her lighthearted teasing. It was better than awkward silence or worse. She had every reason to excuse herself from my pity party.


    I look toward the now meek umbreon. ¡°Umbreon, go ahead and eat. I feel like someone just poured aspear juice down my throat. . .¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with aspear juice¡± Carmine said as she hands me an oran berry. ¡°Sure, if you like feeling your throat close up.¡± I retorted before taking a bite from my berry and looked over my breakfast plate. ¡°No,¡± she said as she ruffles my hair gently. ¡°That¡¯s what rowap berried do to you. I once saw a munchlax faint after eating one of those infamously sour rowap berries. I hear they are common in Sinnoh and that some eccentric locals carry then around and offer them to unknowing trainers.¡± she said with an all too knowing grimace.


    I picked at the food in front of me. It was another amazing meal. Hospital food sure was good in the pokemon world. . . wait. I still with my fork pausing between mouth and plate as the though fully forms. I jerk my head up to look at Nurse Carmine.


    ¡°Child, what is that look on your face? Is there a gengar behind me?¡± she asked with a small laugh in her voice, but the question derails my thoughts and sends a shiver through me as the scene with the musharna flashes through my mind. While talking with Carmine this past week, I had come to realize that talking about ghost pokemon always brought the attack to the front of my thoughts. Since musharna are ghost type pokemon, it makes sense for ghost to be a trauma trigger. I had tried to discuss this with other staff at the hospital but only Carmine seemed to understand what I meant to some degree but she had a habit of talking about the ghastly evolution line.


    The color draining from my already paling face reminds Nurse Carmine of my problem. ¡°Flame, I¡¯m sorry. Your expression just seemed so strange. Are you ok?¡± she asked. ¡°I understand.¡± I said as I rolled food around on my plate. ¡°Dealing with this is new for everyone. Heh. I kinda had a thought suddenly. So, I am just wondering and would appreciate it if would tell me how much or how often my meals are actually made by the cook here at the hospital?¡± I said nervously. ¡°Ah, you noticed. Your records said that you have never been in a hospital so I figured that you would just make assumptions.¡± Carmine settles into her normal spot on the chair in front of my bed. ¡°I like to cook.¡± she said. She pulls out a 3x5 photo from her apron as she continued. ¡°My team each had different needs, and I spent so many years of my life on my Journey and on the road with my team. Cook, train, play, cook, clean, train, groom, and then sleep. Snacks and berries all day long.¡± Carmine passed the photo to me. It¡¯s another blurry image. Marcus loved taking pictures with an old camera so he could develop them himself. Carmine continued, ¡°The cooks at this hospital have three types of meals they are allowed to make for patients but none of those diets are meant for children with vitamin deficiencies. You have vitamins prescribed to you, sure, but I have watched you take them twice a day and you are still recovering so slowly.