Pokemon: The Journey

(AN: Shorter updates from tomorrow.)

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Breath hitching, Ash and Pikachu rushed to the girl's side.

She was the source of the discomfort he was feeling.

After placing his bag beside him on the forest floor, he looked at her to take in her features.

She had long yellow-blonde hair in a disheveled ponytail with a layered fringe at the front. She was also wearing a long-sleeved crumpled black shirt under a frayed and dirtied yellow tunic dress edged with green-blue tights, and purple ankle boots. She also had a leather belt with a pouch.

She was unconscious.

He recoiled at the smell.

'It would seem that she has not bathed and has soiled her clothes.'

He was about to move away from her...

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Pain.

He was hit in the face.

He was cradling his face while trying to throw up water and not throw up his stomach contents on the ground.

He failed.

Speaking to him in disgust, "I am not talking about you, moron. I am talking to your Pokémon, who is hurt. You do not take care of him properly, and you are a trainer? You should be ashamed of yourself. Take him to the nearest Pokémon Center to treat him now. I don't care about your excuses."

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He hardened his eyes at remembering what had been done to him and refused to not help the girl in front of him.

She had a fever.

He grabbed her left hand to wake her up, when he felt her discomfort increase a little.

The bone shifted a little under his touch.

'Stop!'

Startled at Roshi's voice, he mentally asked what had happened.

'There might be a fracture in her bone. Bring out the device that we got at the center.'

Mentally cursing himself for forgetting about the first aid lessons, he remembered how the bones moved under his touch back then. This was subtle, but he felt the bone move in a direction it should not have.

He started searching his backpack for the device Roshi had spoken of, recalling its ability as he did so.

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(Flashback Begin)

While searching for the gear in the lost and found and the storeroom, he came across a table covered with a dusty cloth.

Turning towards Nurse Joy, he asked, "What's this?"

Looking at the cloth-covered table, she replied, "I do not know. I normally do not come to this side of the storeroom. Let's lift it."

Pulling the cloth, it revealed some devices which Nurse Joy looked over and gasped.

"I thought these were scrapped years ago and were collected as part of collections for the rich collectors or destroyed as there was no use for them."

Picking one scanner-looking device, he asked, "You know what these are?"

Nodding, she said, "The one you are holding was used as a portable X-ray device that was used by medics during the war to diagnose the injured. The others are..."

"What war?"

Flinching a little, she said with a forced voice, "You do not need to know about that, and hopefully you will not. I will not talk about it. Understand?"

Scared at her voice, he nodded a little too quickly.

"Good. Now the others are..."

Hearing what the other devices were, he asked Nurse Joy a question upon being prompted by Roshi, who sounded excited about it.

"Can I take them?"

Nurse Joy took a contemplative pose and said, "You can take them, but they cannot be used now."

Flabbergasted at the response, "Why not?"

"These look like they can be used, but the hardware used along with them is no longer available as they were scrapped after the war or were too damaged to be of any use."

Sighing at his bad luck, he accepted it and moved on to find other things he might need.

The very next day, i.e., today in the morning had told him that he could use them as his Pokedex, unlike others was an upgraded prototype mixed with the very hardware that used the devices. It was a side project of his. When he asked the professor whether he should return it, he said that it was his Pokedex now and he should use it wisely.

(Flashback End)

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Taking out the scanner, he connected the scanner to the Pokédex.

He slowly moved the scanner along the limbs and her body and checked the image formed in the Pokédex's screen.

She had fractures in all of her limbs.

'Those are Greenstick fractures.'

Nodding at that piece of info, he places a hand on her stomach to wake her up instead.

She squirmed a little, and he again felt a sense of discomfort.

He took away his hand only to see a yellowish dust on it and felt a little numb.

'Stun Spore?!'

Quickly taking a bottle, he washed his hands.

Taking out the survival knife, he cut the fabric of her outer clothes at the side of her stomach.

Underneath, mottled blue bloomed across her stomach—a massive, spreading bruise.

Gasping in horror, he looked at her face and saw it.

There was a small incision, thin and clean, just above the clavicle. The skin around it was inflamed, flecked with pus.

'You have got to be kidding me. We need to treat her now! Bring out Chansey!'

'There is Max Repel here. With it, it would be nearly impossible to have her heal it. We need to clean her first to get rid of the smell.'

Taking out a ball, he called out his Pidgeotto, who gagged at the combined smell of stench and Max Repel and started flying upwards.

"Pidgeotto!"

She turned around to look at her trainer and saw an injured person near him with her Keen Eye.

"Look for any water body near here and come to get me when you find it, please!"

Hearing the desperation in his voice, she understood that it was an urgent matter and flew away to find one.

Turning back to the girl, he feels that the discomfort is weakening, and her breathing is slowing down. A pit formed in his stomach.

'We are losing her! We need to do CPR. We need to swap, now!'

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During their time to get ready for the journey, they had tried to see whether they could swap the person who could control the body. They found out that they can. Both of them need to be in consent for the swap to occur. Otherwise, nothing happened.

They decided to save it for only emergencies and away from people.

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'Swap!' 'Swap!'

Now, under normal circumstances, before unlocking the aura, this swap was possible to occur smoothly.

Keywords: before unlocking aura.

'AAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHH'

'AAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHH'

Pain.

Immeasurable pain hit them for a brief moment.

The swap failed.

Ash curled into himself with the pain.

"PIKAPI!"

Pikachu rushed to Ash's side with concern.

Gasping, he reassured Pikachu that he was okay and mentally talked with Roshi.

'W-What was that?'

Roshi was groaning with pain and looking at the burns in his spiritual body, but talked with Ash as there were more important things to do now.

'Hah. Hah. Hah. I-I think that when you unlocked the aura, there were some unintended consequences. Your aura must think that I am some sort of parasite and is acting as an antibody to me. It would seem that we cannot swap anymore.'

Taking deep breaths, he looked at the girl.

She has stopped breathing.

'NO!'

Ash went near her and was about to start CPR.

'Don't! With the bruise on her stomach, the paralysis from Stun Spore, and the incision in her throat, there might be complications with the normal CPR. The swelling might also prevent us from using the plastic tubing we have to give her a better air supply. We need to restart her heart with Pikachu's Thunder Shocks and need to do CPR in between, too. Do it. Fast!'

"Pikachu! On my signal, use Thunder Shocks on her here. Okay?"

Still looking concerned at him, Pikachu nodded.

"Now!"

Pikachu used a weak Thunder Shock.

The girl's body spasmed.

Putting his hands on her heart, he started following Roshi's instructions for CPR.

He adjusted the strength, the position, and the frequency of the thrusts.

He put a hand on the incision to stop the air from flowing out and blew air in through her mouth.

They never noticed the faint blue hue around his hands, so focused they were.

Pikachu used Thunder Shocks in between.

The girl spasmed again.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Again.

This process was repeated for some tense minutes, and when all hope seemed lost.

Tha-thump...tha-thump...tha-thump

Cough...cough...

The girl's heart started beating, and she started breathing again.

Reinvigorated with this, Ash continued the CPR for some more minutes.

Her breathing had stabilized.

Giving out a sigh of relief, all of them rested a little bit more.

Ash felt tired, but she was not out of the woods yet.

"Pikachu."

Perking up, Pikachu looked at Ash.

"Can you get four long sticks like this size, buddy? I need it for her."

Nodding at the request, Pikachu went to search for the sticks that were nearly half the size of the girl's arms.

While Pikachu was doing so, he used the bottle to clean his hands as best as he could.

He took out another handkerchief and moistened it.

He brought it to her lips and mouth to moisten them. There was a chance she was dehydrated, too.

'She needs to be cleaned.'

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With Pikachu.

He was searching for sticks of that size when he came across the hole.

He looked at it and saw that it was tilted towards the small clearing.

Following the direction of coming out with his head, he saw that the hole was in a straight line with the place where they found the girl.

Hell, he could see Ash and that mysterious girl from here.

There was also a faint scent of blood and a weird smell in the opposite direction of the clearing.

When he was about to go there, something fell to one side.

Immediately alert, he looked to the side and saw four thick branches of the size his trainer was looking for.

Taking them in his arms, he started walking towards them.

He noticed that the end from which the branches fell looked much older than the branches as a whole, as if they had undergone aging or had their moisture taken too fast.

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With Pikachu bringing the sticks required, he began the splinting of the limbs after removing the handkerchief from her mouth.

She looked better than before.

From his backpack, he took out the extra lengths of cordage he had bought in the mart. He was saving it for when he would require it. He was not expecting it to be used so early.

Roshi was still recovering from trying the swap if his unconscious grunts when speaking were to be believed.

He brought out Caterpie. He was going to need his help for this one.

Caterpie did not retch or gag as much as Pidgeotto or Pikachu. The dex did say that they release a stench from their proboscis to escape from predators. Maybe it has adapted to be unaffected by it. The Max Repel was still proving to be a hindrance.

Taking out some of the Razz berries from his bag, he crushed them a little and applied them to her clothes. It reduced the smell to some degree that at least allowed Caterpie to come near her.

He had Caterpie use String Shot on her limbs near the fractures to make a padding to which the sticks will be tied using cordage.

All the while he was doing so, he kept an eye on her condition and tilted her head to let her breathe properly.

While doing this for the right leg, he noticed that she had sprained her ankle. Removing the boot, he had Caterpie use String Shot to provide a soft padding.

Her face relaxed a little.

Caterpie, Pikachu, and Ash were tired by the time they finished it.

After relaxing for a bit, they heard a call from above.

"OTTO"

Pidgeotto's call.

Looking up, they saw that Pidgeotto was resting on a branch. She nodded at them and pointed in a direction using her wing.

She had found a water body.

Putting on his backpack, he took the girl in his arms, placing an arm beneath her thighs and back while making sure that as little pressure as possible was put on her bruised stomach and fractured limbs, while making sure that her head stayed at a comfortable position to breathe.

She whimpered, and her feverish body shook a little.

This was going to be a long walk, and he had to make sure not to jostle her much.

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Pidgeotto was in the front, leading them to the water body.

Pikachu was walking in front of ready to attack anything that leapt at them.

Caterpie was on his shoulder, keeping a vigilant eye around.

Spearow, whom he had taken out a little while back, was the rearguard and keeping an eye on the surroundings from above.

He was carrying the girl in his arms with the wet handkerchief around his mouth and nose.

They had stopped a few times to perform CPR on her when she nearly stopped breathing a few times.

He wanted to bring out Chansey, but she will not be able to approach properly to give aid due to the max repel. Pidgeotto and Spearow were far from him, Pikachu had a handkerchief around his nose, and Caterpie was most likely adapted to strong smells.

It looked as if the forest itself was clearing a walkable path in front of them, as if urging them to hurry.

It was their imagination, right?

After some time, they had reached a stream.

Moving along the stream a little, they came upon a spot that they required.

The stream here was slow enough to help bathe her.

He called out Chansey.

As expected, she recoiled from the smell and immediately took a few steps back from them.

"Chansey."

Hearing her new trainer's voice, she opened her eyes, and they landed on the visibly injured girl in his arms.

"I need your help in curing her. Without your help, there is a chance she might die. I know that you are scared of humans except me now. You are a medic. Are you going to let her die when you know that you can help her? She might as well be you if I were not there yesterday at the Center. Are you going to do nothing after this?"

Seeing Chansey hesitate, he continued with a soft voice, "It is okay to be scared. I just want you to trust me to help her now. Okay?"

Still hesitant, Chansey looked at the girl and nodded shakily.

Breathing out a sigh of relief, he ordered everyone to keep a vigilant eye out for anybody who was approaching.

After giving the order, he set the girl down gently on the forest floor and put down his backpack.

He took out soap and some antibacterial lotion and placed them by the river.

He approached the unconscious girl and used the survival knife to cut the String Shot silk after untying the knots and taking the sticks. He took off her soiled dress and put it to one side.

Cradling her gently, he carried her to the stream where he gently gave her a thorough bath using soap and the antibacterial, he had bought in the morning.

He was careful of her injuries.

The clothes were hiding it, but there were bluish bruises on the parts of the limbs where there were fractures.

After some silence, he carried her gently to the shore and set her on the floor. Chansey and the others were able to approach now that the smell was gone. Pikachu had taken off his handkerchief as well.

He took out the first aid kit from the bag and used the gauge with the antiseptic and antibacterial creams to clean the area around the incision.

After doing that, he covered her body with his old shirt and started removing his clothes.

Taking out an Oran berry from his pack, he showed it to Pidgeotto.

"Pidgeotto, fly along this stream, and if you find a berry that looks like this or any berry, bring it here. Okay? The rest of you, keep a watch around here and protect her and my bag. Chansey, you will have an additional job to make sure that her condition does not decline. Pikachu, collect some dry sticks. I will go into the stream to collect something. Okay?"

Nodding at their trainer's words, Pidgeotto went out to find the berries, and the others started keeping a vigilant eye on the surroundings.

Going near the stream's bank, Ash dived.

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The water was soothing to the touch.

It felt peaceful.

A complete contrast to what he was feeling before.

He swam downwards towards the bottom of the stream.

Growing up in Pallet, which was near the sea made ensured he learnt how to swim.

Sometimes, he used to play with the Poliwag in the ponds, so he knew something important.

How to search for Salveyo Weed.

It would be required to treat her paralysis. He had sprayed her with Paralysis Heal to reduce the effects a little, but it only worked for Pokémon, not humans. Salveyo Weed, though, worked for all and was far more effective in treating paralysis. He was glad he learned how to search for it on his own and knew how they looked.

They normally grew in lakes, but he did see them once in a stream near Pallet Town, where the speed of the stream was slow.

Just like this one, where he had placed his belongings and had his Pokémon keep an eye out.

Looking around, he still saw a blurry image of everything. Then, something green entered his field of vision near the stream bottom.

Taking one of them in his hand, he swam to the top and emerged. He looked at his hand.

Bingo. Salveyo Weed.

Taking a deep breath, he dived again to reach them.

Reaching the bottom, he started collecting them.

After seeing that he had plenty, he surfaced and swam to the shore and deposited them near his surprised Pokémon.

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After drying himself a little, he took some of the firewood from Pikachu, used the stones from the shore to form a fireplace, and lit them on fire.

Taking a tripod stand, he set it up on the fire.

Filling a pot with water from the stream, he took out a few Pecha berries from his backpack and crushed them in the pot with the water. He set it up to heat with the water from the stream.

Taking another pot, he had Caterpie use a little String Shot in it. He also filled it with water and stirred it slowly over another fireplace he had set.

Pikachu had gone again to collect some more firewood. Spearow was keeping watch over the group. Chansey was looking after the girl and stabilizing her a bit with small Heal Pulses on her stomach to ease the bruise. Looking at the girl's face, it seemed to be working.

Pidgetto returned with some of the Oran berries.

The String Shot silk was now forming individual strings. He stirred a little faster, not enough to damage the silk. He tied some cordage to form a drying line. Taking out the strings, he let them dry on the clothesline. He also put a needle to sterilize in the first pot.

While they were drying, he went near her belt's pouch to search for anything that would identify her.

He was not able to find any form of identification. He did get a Poké Ball. It looked as if it was in use.

Signaling to his Pokémon to be prepared for anything, he had them gather around to possibly attack or defend.

He let out the Pokémon from its Poké Ball.

He was not expecting to see what happened next.

The Pokémon was...

"Doduo, the Twin Bird Pokémon. A Normal/Flying dual-type Pokémon.

Both heads have an identical brain. However, it is believed that on occasion, they may possess different brains. It is also theorized that the two heads communicate with some form of telepathy for coordination. Even when sleeping or nourishing itself with food and water, one head is usually awake and alert and keeps a keen eye out for enemies. The two heads switch turns every hour or so, with both only sleeping at the same time when they feel completely safe. Both heads have the same genes and battle together in perfect sync.

Due to its almost non-existent wings, it cannot fly very well. However, it has developed legs that make it a powerful runner. Reaching speeds of 60 mph (100 km/h), it energetically strides across the plains, leaving large 4-inch (10-centimeter) deep footprints behind it. It can better maintain balance while running by raising and lowering its two heads. Doduo lives in wide open plains, grasslands, and savannahs."

The Doduo was... badly poisoned and looked ready to faint or die from it.

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"Chansey!"

Chansey, seeing the condition, quickly rushed to the bird's side and started using Heal Bell to cure it of poison, and Ash sprayed it with Antidotes and poured crushed Pecha berries down its throat.

The Doduo recovered from the poisoning after some time. Chansey used Heal Pulse, and he used a potion to stabilize the bird's condition.

Relaxing a little, they set it near its master, who was possibly the girl.

Looking at the first, they saw it was boiling. Taking out the pot, he set it aside and let it cool. He took the silk threads and dipped them a little in the liquid and took them out to dry them a little.

After the liquid had cooled enough, he asked Chansey if she could sew the wound using the sterilized needle and the silk. She nodded.

He held the girl's head while Chansey sewed the wound shut. There was still an inflammation.

Taking out the Oran berries, a few Pecha berries, Lum berries, and a few Rawst Berries, he crushed them in the second pot and made a mixture to form a salve.

He gently applied it to the affected area on her throat, the bruise on her stomach, her sprained ankle, and the areas where there were bruises on her limbs. He had Caterpie use String Shot to pad them.

Chansey was tired, so let her rest a little.

The girl's condition was already improving from what he could see.

He dressed her in his old clothes and applied the splints again.

The sun was setting.

Tired, he still started setting up the tent while he talked with Roshi.

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'Kid, there is something wrong with how we found her.'

'What do you mean? It was most likely an accident that led to her getting hurt.'

'That cannot be the only thing. Let's try to piece together what had happened to her.'

'I just hope that she was not the person who was at Route 1. I will never be able to forgive her, even if she was injured.'

'Nah. That one had a bike. Did you see anyone near this girl?'

'No. Thank my luck.'

'Yeah. That would have been too awkward to put in words. Back to the topic at hand, what do you make of it?'

'Hmm. There was Stun Spore on her clothes, so she must have been attacked by a Grass-type. We saw Oddish and Bellsprout on our way, so they must have attacked her and poisoned her Doduo.'

'Plausible. What do you think caused her bruising in the stomach?'

'Beedrill?'

'No. They have stingers. They would not give blunt force trauma. They will stab you with their stingers to death. Wasn't there a hole in the ground?'

'Yeah. So, whatever that must have attacked her must have attacked her from digging in the ground and hitting her on coming out! But she was leaning against a tree.'

'She had a bruise on her stomach, fractures in all of her limbs, and a sprained ankle. It is impossible. Somebody must have placed her there.'

'She had sprayed herself with a Max Repel to keep the Pokémon from attacking her. Wait. If she had that, then why was she attacked by the wild Pokémon?!'

'It is impossible. Somebody must have sprayed on her after they had kept her there.'

'Doduo's ball was in the pouch. She was too injured to place it there, so it would mean somebody had placed it there after the Doduo had been poisoned and she was knocked unconscious!'

'There were bruises in the places where there were fractures in her limbs. It would seem that if it were a grass-type, it used vine whip to attack the spots. Seeing the precision, the grass-type must have been a trained one.'

'But the incision?...'

'Ash, the incision was nearly 30 hours old by the time we discovered her. It was too precise to have been done by a Razor Leaf from a grass-type. It was done precisely to injure her larynx, the voice box, and nothing else. It would seem they did not want her to talk.'

'It can't be...'

'The Max Repel would have prevented any Pokémon from helping her. This is the Viridian Forest, reputed to be a natural labyrinth that sunlight does not even penetrate towards the ground. Nobody would have noticed her from above if they were flying and deliberately trying to search for her. We also found her away from the main path established by the league, deep in the forest. Nobody would look for her here.'

'No...'

By this time, Ash was sitting in front of the fire, and his paling face had drawn the attention of his Pokémon.

'If she had died, nobody would have known about it, and the smell from her rotting body would have overwritten the Max Repel at some point, and the Rattata in the forest would have eaten her remains, thus disposing of her body. Even if her body was discovered, they would not have been able to distinguish her bruise and would have most likely buried it here with no form of identification.'

'You don't mean that...'

'Unfortunately, yeah. There is no other explanation.'

Ash said the same words as Roshi with a trembling voice that had his Pokémon widen their eyes.

"This isn't an accident, it's an attempted murder."