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Chapter 9: Counterbalanced - An Unovan Tale

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Counterbalanced - Chapter 9

Feeling disoriented, Yena almost rolled off the soft bench she had been sleeping on.
Striaton City's Nurse Joy, who had gently woken her up, stopped her just in time.
The pink-haired lady helped the sleepy girl sit up.

"Good morning. I see you managed to catch some sleep."

Yena rubbed her face, shaking off her sleepiness.
Sounds from her surroundings started to get through to her – people rushing by, the lamps above her head buzzing softly, the cries of Pokémon that needed medical attention… Striaton City's Pokécenter was a busy place.
Memories from last night came back to her as well. The night nurse had been surprised, to say the least, to see a Tauros walk through the door, carrying Alex on its back. She had hardly paid any attention to Yena, and the girl had been given no choice but to wait in the hallway while Alex was being looked after in hospital wing reserved for people.

Yena looked up at Nurse Joy.

"Thank you for waking me… Do you know anything about Alex? How is he doing?"

Nurse Joy's eyebrows went up in surprise.
She took a quick look on the sheets of papers she was carrying.
Then she took out a pen from a pocket on her chest, changing something on the form.

"…He has been quite a handful. The night nurse was clearly exhausted when I arrived here this morning."

Yena frowned. "That sounds worse than I thought. Is he badly hurt?"

Nurse Joy shook her head.

"Don't worry about Alex' injuries, he'll be fine. It's just that he resisted all treatment quite agressively. We eventually managed to give him some antidote, so he should be feeling much better soon."

Yena got up from the bench.

"Can I see him now?"

Nurse Joy looked at her for a while. "Are you just travelling buddies, or…?"

Yena quickly got out Alex' Pokédex from his bag.

"I'm his sister. And this is his Pokédex. I don't know if you need to look at it?"

"No, no. That's fine. It'll be good for him to see his sister.
We gave him something to help him calm down, so he'll probably be a little drowsy."

Yena grabbed their bags, preparing to enter the hospital wing.
But Nurse Joy stopped her, and looked back at the paperwork she was holding.

"One last thing. The night nurse changed Alex clothes when he was brought in.
She noticed he was quite underweight."

Blood rushed to Yena's face.

"We only started travelling together recently. But he's been eating proper meals since then!"

Somewhat reassured, Nurse Joy nodded, writing something down on the forms.

"What would you like us to do with the clothes he was wearing? They're ragged and worn out."

When Yena hesitated, she added:

"There are plenty of clothing shops in Striaton City. We're keeping Alex here for another 24 hours, just to see if the antidote has worked properly. I'm sure you can find something he likes in that time frame."

---

Alex turned his head when Yena opened the door to his room.
She smiled at him, hoping to make him feel more at ease.

"Hey, you. How are you doing?" She closed the door behind her.

Alex had pulled up the sheets of his bed to just under his chin, but she could see he was wearing white hospital clothes when he prepared to sit up. He gave up after a few seconds, sinking back into the pillows with a sigh. Yena could hear an undertone of anger as he said:

"They took my clothes."

Yena nodded.

"Nurse Joy told me about that."

Alex paused, as if he expected her to say something else.
When she didn't, he asked:

"…Can you get them back for me?"

Yena sat down on a chair next to his bed.

"I can do even better than that. Nurse Joy told me there were some great shops in Striaton City, so I can get you some new clothes while you get better!"

Alex frowned, as if it was difficult for him to concentrate.

"…What? No… I don't want new clothes. Just give me back my old ones."

"The ones you had were okay for summer, but just think how cold you'd be when autumn comes."

"…I don't care."

Yena held up her hands.

"Too bad, Alex. Nurse Joy already threw them away. I'll make sure to buy something you like."

Alex opened his mouth as if he was going to yell at her, but closed it again at the last moment, looking tired.

"I can't afford new clothes. Or anything at all."

"Don't worry about that, I can buy you the clothes."
When he made no further objections, she studied his face.

"Now tell me how you're feeling. Are you feeling sick at all?"

His reply was sluggish.

"…Sick of being here, yes. I hate hospitals… I really do, Yena.
I was ready to leave, but that damn nurse gave me something so I could sleep."

Yena got up as she noticed Alex' words were getting slower.

"Why don't you take a nap, Alex? You'll have to stay here for a little bit longer.
I'll be back in a bit, okay?"

When she walked out the room, Alex was already asleep.

---

The clear sky and the pleasant temperature promised a fantastic day for those spending their time outside.

Yena had only been as far from her home as Accumula Town, and the lively Striaton City was a nice surprise for her – there was a market going on, with vendors inviting customers to their stands. Looking at the fresh products as she walked by, Yena's stomach growled, loudly pointing out the urgent need of breakfast to her.
She exchanged a couple of coins for some fruit, and ate one of the apples while she strolled across the market. There were some Pokémon helping their owners on the market as well. She was stopped by a friendly Panpour, that offered her decorative ribbons in exchange for Pokédollars. Yena's mood lifted by the delicious fruit and the fantastic weather, she picked out a light blue ribbon, paying the Pokémon and spending the next couple of minutes putting it in her hair.

A brightly-colored poster caught Yena's attention – the Trainers' School was open to anyone wanting to learn more about Pokémon. She promised herself to visit it with Alex, as soon as he was feeling better.

Her thoughts back with Alex, she looked around for a sign of a clothing store.
She quickly noticed there was an abundance of them.
Where to start? She promised Alex to bring him back something he liked, but…
…An idea suddenly came to her.

Yena got out a Pokéball from one of the bags she was still carrying on her shoulder.
A moment later, Zigzagoon appeared in front of her, looking up to her in surprise.
She kneeled down in front of him.

"It's okay, Zigzagoon. Alex is being looked after, and he'll be just fine. I know you're not my Pokémon, but I'd like your help. I'm looking for some clothes for Alex, something that he'd like. Do you feel like assisting me? You probably know Alex better than I do."

Zigzagoon nodded happily, and followed Yena into the nearest clothing store.
She quickly discovered Alex' Pokémon had a clear idea of what his owner would or wouldn't like.
Within minutes, they had developed a sorting system where she would show Zigzagoon a piece of clothing, and he'd either growl or bark. After visiting a couple of stores, Yena had a better vision of Alex taste in clothing.

---

Is there a way out?
Open the window!

The air is so thick! Can't breathe!
Open the window! Open the window!

The fire is so close now, scorching hot!
Open the window! Open the window! Open the window!

Yes! Fresh air in my face.
Crawl outside!

It's too small!
I can't squeeze through!
I'm stuck!

The flames have reached my legs!
Someone is screaming…

Sharp teeth in my arm.
Pulling me, pulling me…




What's this?

Bright lights.

There are people nearby.

An endless stream of voices and faces.
I can hardly move my body.
The smell of hospital food.
The smell of hospital food.
The smell of hosiptal food…


---

When Yena returned to the Pokécenter, Nurse Joy immediately gestured her to come closer.
With Zigzagoon still at her heels, she hurried towards the woman, who looked slightly shaken.

"I'm glad you're here. Your brother…"

"What happened?"

Nervously, Nurse Joy wiped some pink hair out of her eyes.

"I was bringing him lunch…" She sighed and shook her head. "I'm sorry. You're probably worried.
It's just that he… He suddenly started panicking, and threw the whole plate of food through the room. I thought he was going to attack me, so I left the room. I was just about to send my Audino in there, to assist me in calming him down, but now that you're here…"

"It's okay, I'll go. Please wait here."

Feeling slightly apprehensive, Yena made her way to Alex' room, Zigzagoon following her as a shadow.
She opened the door up a bit.

"Alex? It's me…"

When nothing happened, she stepped over the doorsill.
By the trail of food, she could see the how the plate had flown through the room, scattering as it had hit the opposite wall.
Zigzagoon hopped over to the bed in the room without hesitation.
As the Pokémon jumped into his arms, Alex pulled its trusted friend close to his face.

Alex was sitting in the middle of the bed, the sheets thrown aside, and his hair even messier than usual. Yena studied him for a moment, then followed Zigzagoon, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

She waited patiently for the moment Alex had calmed down enough to talk to her.
Zigzagoon had been licking his face, but then retreated to sit between his owner and Yena.

It took a couple of minutes before Alex looked up at Yena.

"Get me out of here, Yena."

She nodded, but then waited.
Sensing he should at least explain the mess in the room, Alex hesitantly continued:

"I had this terrible nightmare…" He rubbed his face with both hands.
"It was… It reminded me of…"

Eyeing the girl in front of him, he seemed to come to some sort of decision.
Carefully thinking over every word, he told her:

"About two years ago..." His hands scratched Zigzagoon's bristly while talking.
"A little over two years ago, even… I was in the hospital as well."
He stared at the food stains on the wall.
"Castelia City's hospital. It is said to be the best hospital in Unova.
But I never want to go back there again.
I was stuck in that place for months, before I ran away."

Zigzagoon rubbed his head against his owner's legs, and was rewarded by a small smile from Alex.

He finally looked back at Yena.

"So when I woke up after that nightmare… the smell of the food was enough to…"

"You thought you were back there."

Alex nodded, and Yena got up.

"Nurse Joy is waiting outside. You scared her, Alex."

He sat up straight, a frustrated look on his face. "I couldn't help it!"

"I know that. Why don't you apologize to her now?"

He sniffed and rolled his eyes. "Yes, mom."
Happy to hear sarcasm back in his voice, Yena went to call Nurse Joy.

---

Alex closely studied his reflection in the bathroom's mirror.

"It's actually… not half bad."

Yena gave him a beaming smile as he opened the bathroom door, showing his new outfit.
Zigzagoon barked, happy with the result.

The clothes Yena had brought back for him consisted of a dark blue sweater, that fell around his body quite loosely, and a pair of long, black pants. His worn-out, black sneakers were replaced by dark blue ones.

"The clothes look good on you, Alex. Aren't you feeling much better now?"

Alex walked back into the bathroom to look at his reflection again.

"Sure do. I can't wait to leave this place."

Yena had talked to Nurse Joy, explaining what had happened as the aftermath of a bad dream.
Alex was much more lively now, so after a bit of persuading, Nurse Joy agreed on releasing Alex from the hospital earlier than planned, if he agreed to visit Nacrene City's Pokécenter as soon as they arrived there.

"And we will. It's not a bad deal, either. You'll be in and out of that Pokécenter in no time at all.
They'll just check your blood pressure, reflexes and the your shoulder."

Alex turned off the bathroom light, and hurried to grab his old, black bag.

"That won't be a problem. There, I'm ready now. Where did you say you wanted to go?"

"The Trainer's School. I think I can learn a thing or two there."

Since he heard he was permitted to leave, Alex had been quite cheerful.

"Anywhere's fine by me. Let's go."
Yay, new trainer sprites!
I figured it'd be nice to give them both a new sprite.
What do you guys think? ^^

---

This is the ninth chapter of my story 'Counterbalanced'.

The story takes place in the Pokémon world, in the Unova region.

:iconcommentplz:

Comments are welcome, tell me what you think!

First chapter - [link]

Chapter 8 - [link]
Chapter 9 - You are here!
Chapter 10 - [link]

Pokémon © Nintendo
Yena and Alex © PokeNOMNOMNOM
© 2011 - 2024 PokeNOMNOMNOM
Comments10
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RhiVolt's avatar
So good, I can't stop reading it!