David got up and started to run.
The route to the Pokecenter was a blur. He had no idea what route he was taking. All he knew was that the Pokecenter was in the center of Saffron, so he ran towards larger streets. One of them had to take him there.
When the red metallic roof appeared, he sprinted faster. He ducked under the hands of the slow moving guard and pushed his way into the building.
There wasn’t much of a queue, but he ran past it anyway. People shouted from a distance. He didn’t stop until he pushed Pidgey’s pokeball into the hands of the startled nurse behind the desk.
“Please. She needs help.”
The nurse’s eyes left David and shot down towards the pokeball. They grabbed it off him without hesitating and disappeared into the door behind them.
An arm came down on David’s shoulder.
He knocked it off reflexively and twisted around, ready to fight. Had they followed him?
“Woah there,” A man said and backed away from him.
David’s eyes went to his shoulder. No armband. No white and red at all.
It was the security guard.
“I need you to come over to the side here.” The guard gestured to the seating over to the side of the counter.
“Sorry. I just - Pidgey.” David got out. He was wired, shoulders heaving from the run and adrenaline. He tried to breathe as he took in the room.
The people that had been queuing before the desk had backed away and several had their hands on pokeballs.
“We’ll be just over there,” The guard said as he pointed off to the side. ”When there’s news on your Pokemon they will find us here. Come on.”
He ushered David over and sat him down.
“Are you hurt?” The guard asked quietly.
“No. I’m not hurt at all.” David coughed. Pidgey had been the one to take a beating because of him. He hadn’t fought at all.
“Can you tell me what happened? Is anyone else hurt?” The guard asked, giving David a once over before seeming satisfied with his answer.
“It was Team Rocket. They grabbed me outside the market. I had no choice. Pidgey didn’t have a chance.” David stopped to stare at light drops of red beading on his pale clenched hands. Was it Pidgey’s?
The guard cursed before standing. “I’m going to call the police. Stay here. I will be back in a second with some wipes.”
“The Police?” David questioned. He was trying to avoid them but Pidgey. He couldn’t leave.
“Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble. They will want to know about Team Rocket,” The guard said, holding a hand out towards him before letting it drop and turning to leave.
David was left alone to think about the police. He had a trainer's license now but little else. He couldn’t answer any questions. No one could vouch for him.
But he couldn’t leave Pidgey. She had no chance against that Golbat, but she fought anyway. Right up until she was crushed against the pavement.
So he sat and fretted.
The guard came back at some point to hand him some wet wipes and let him know that the police were on the way. This was his last chance to run.
David took the wipes numbly and began to clean the blood off his hands. The wipes stung the grazes on his hands. It wasn’t Pidgey’s blood. It was his. Pidgey had been crunched not sliced. It was her feathers, the source of her flight, that she lost, not her blood.
When the guard saw that David was unharmed and calming down he went back to the entrance but told David to ask him if he needed anything.
It was at this point that David realized it was the guard from his first day. Another thing to thank the man for.
-.-
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The police arrived before he heard any news about Pidgey. Two of them entered the building with the Pokecenter’s guard who pointed David out to them. Their uniforms, dark blues with silver highlights, were unmistakable.
“Hello Sir, I am officer Grace and this is officer Arthur. Would you mind accompanying us into a meeting room here?” The smaller officer said, gesturing to one of the doors leading away from the hall. When David hesitated she continued. ”If there is any news on your Pokemon you will be notified.“
David numbly followed her into a room off from the facilities wing. He sloughed off his backpack and sat at a long table. One officer took a seat across from him and the other to his right at the table edge.
“Do you have a trainer card or other identification?”
David searched through his backpack and pulled it out. It wasn’t hard to find. He’d had it ready for the library. The taller officer with the scowl, Arthur, took the card and made a note in a book. He slid it back over to David.
“Can you tell us about your encounter with Team Rocket?”
David hesitantly started talking. He began from when he left the market. As he recounted the story, Officer Grace asked the majority of questions, but Officer Arthur chiming in the occasional one. At the end, Officer Grace took off her cap and rubbed her forehead.
“So I have some bad news. We can’t charge them for this.” Officer Grace held up a hand to forestall his outrage. “Even if we could find them, nothing was stolen. The challenge was against the spirit of the rules but without proof it is their word against yours. There are no cameras in those alleyways. We can have officers patrol near your house if you’re worried about the threat, but without evidence we cannot do anything.”
“Spirit of the rules?” David stared at her aghast. They could do nothing? Even if he had a house, was the only option to lock himself into it forever? What good would a patrol be if they could attack him anywhere in the city?
“The League’s recent code of trainer conduct changes are controversial but it is the law. The League knows what they are doing even if it isn’t immediately clear,” She said with a sigh.
Officer Arthur snorted but didn’t contradict her.
“I know how you’re feeling right now but don’t worry. We will get this group. Trust in the police and the League.”
David didn’t understand. None of this made sense. It was Team Rocket. Wasn’t that enough to arrest them? These were criminals who blew up buildings, took hostages, stole Pokemon and wanted to control the world.
A cold realization settled in his stomach. Team Rocket hadn't started attacking people yet. He had been transported here too early. Mewtwo either didn’t exist yet or hadn’t made an appearance.
Could he warn people about the danger? Could he save them as he couldn’t save Pidgey?
“They were talking about attacks and stealing Pokemon. Their leader said something about the Elite Four and legendaries.”
Officer Arthur laughed.
“Listen, I know you’re upset about your.. your Pidgey. But Team Rocket is small time. They commit some petty crimes and complain. To say they could take on an Elite is ridic-”
“Arthur!” Officer Grace hissed and gave him a look.
Officer Arthur scoffed and stood. “I’ll be outside. Let me know when the coddling is over.”
The room was silent as the officer left. As the door swung shut, Officer Grace placed her hat on her head and sighed. “I’m sorry about that. The Rocket grunt was just trying to stir things. Ever since Elite Haze passed away there has been tension within the ex-military about Johto.” She stood and held her hand out to David. “We will investigate your case. Thank you for the information today. It will be helpful in taking Team Rocket down. Any crime is met with our full effort.”
They clearly didn’t believe David but he had to try. Officer Arthur was an asshole, but this.. Pidgey.. David didn’t want anyone to be hurt. If standard Pokemon were this dangerous, what would the invincible, world ending Mewtwo be like?
A cold anger gripped David as he reached out and shook officer Grace’s hand. They couldn’t help him. He was alone. They wouldn’t listen to his warnings. But he had to try give them anyway.
“They’re dangerous. I know I don’t have any proof but Team Rocket will do anything. Be careful.”
This warning seemed to be more successful. Officer Grace’s face went through a variety of expressions before settling on a tight lipped grimace.
“I will be. Now let’s check up on your Pidgey.”
As they left the room a nurse came up to them with a pokeball on a tray.
“Pidgey?” David whispered and reached for the ball.
“Ah ah a!” The nurse scolded and dodged back. “Pidgey is very weak at the moment. She suffered several fractures and strains. It took multiple Heal Pulses to clear these up. She can't handle any more serious healing in the next two weeks. Restrict her to light movement and rest for the next few days. Combine that with nutrient rich food and time out of the ball and she should make a full recovery.”
With that the nurse brought the tray forward. David was able to grasp Pidgey’s ball.
“Thank you,” He said softly, to both the nurse and Pidgey.
“The fractures were bad.” The nurse flicked their eyes to Officer Grace. “I don’t know what happened but those wounds were targeted. The Pokemon that did this had training on how to ground a flyer permanently.”
David clutched the ball closer to him and nodded to them. He left them talking behind him as he walked numbly from the building. He paused briefly to utter a thanks to the guard on his way out before heading back to the Route 7 clearing.
-.-
David stopped in his tracks when he arrived in the clearing.
He took in his home away from home. The footprints and marks in the dirt. The Tackle breaking stick. The remains of several Peck branches. The familiar trees. The small stream snaking its way around the outskirts of the clearing. The spot where he had met Pidgey for the first time.
The clearing had sheltered him for seven days but anyone could have stumbled across his camp in those seven days. Maybe they had. That Team Rocket grunt had warned him that he’d see more of them. Pidgey wouldn’t be able to defend him again. He wouldn’t be able to defend her.
David walked through the clearing and stepped across the stream.
He knew a spot where Pidgey and he could recover.