Groaning weakly upon having his eyes wrenched open by a pale beam of light, Trevor awoke to find himself sprawled out atop a massive bed of straw. The Meowth laid in a large, circular room which he did not recognize, its wooden walls illuminated by dull beams of sunlight that managed to seep through giant, curtained windows. He couldn't help but stifle a sneeze upon whiffing the pungent smell of gauze and bitter herbs.
Trevor felt a dull pain gnaw at his neck as he attempted to haul himself upright, and upon reaching to touch his collar, was met with the familiar texture of soft, tightly wrapped bandages. The memory of his neck being held in a crushing grip suddenly shot into the Meowth's mind, causing him to cry out in fear while looking around for any sign of the Drowsee who had previously attacked him. He swiftly found, however, that he was the only living thing present in the room.
After greedily drinking from a pot of water which lay to his side, Trevor allowed himself to fall back onto his bed as he attempted recall the events which took place before he had lost consciousness. It did not take long for everything to come flooding back: the two strange Pokémon that suddenly began attacking Aiden, the furious pounding of his heart as he attempted in vain to escape the winding forest which entrapped him, Grudd's bloodshot, furious eyes as he struggled against the Drowsee's relentless stranglehold...
Trevor only broke out of his stupor upon seeing the door slowly creak open. Releasing a small yelp, Trevor quickly struggled to sit up with the intent to scurry towards a window and escape outside.
"Stop right there, don't push yourself," a female voice firmly commanded, causing the Meowth to instantly freeze up.
An Audino with bright pink fur, sharp blue eyes, and white nurse's cap entered the building, walked towards Trevor's quivering body, and sternly laid the Meowth back downwards onto his straw bed. Tucked under her right arm sat a plump, yellow berry, which she promptly shoved into Trevor's arms.
"Eat," the Audino ordered, "This Sitrus Berry will help your neck to heal. You weren't hurt too badly, so your wounds should completely heal in the span of a couple days. Still, I'm going to need you to lay down for the time being to ensure a lack of further damage."
The Audino briefly glanced towards the door she had entered from. "I have another patient to look after for the time being," she explained, "And I want you stay as still as possible while I'm gone. I'll be back in a moment, so just rest up on your lonesome for a while."
Trevor couldn't resist calling the Audino back as she turned to leave, his mind abuzz with an abundance of questions which continued to gnaw at his mind. "What happened yesterday?" he asked worriedly, "Do you know who attacked us? Where's Aiden, why isn't she here?! Is she okay?! Oh no, could she be-"
"Slow down, please!" the Audino groaned while covering the Meowth's mouth with her palm. "Your teammate is fine, she's just in another wing which specializes in Pokémon who've been poisoned. After the poison's fully removed and you both get fair amount of rest, the two of you can back to recklessly taking on those dungeons as a proper team."
"That's good to hear." Trevor heaved a sigh of relief, then breathed in to ask more questions. "If you don't mind me asking, who were those Pokémon that attacked us? I think Aiden knew them; she said something about them being 'rookie crushers.' Who were they, exactly?"
The Audino heaved a deep sigh. "That team that attacked you called themselves the Bush Burners. They were infamous for intimidating and brutally assaulting new explorers they deemed "unqualified." Many a fresh explorer team have disbanded as a result of their attacks, fearing that entering another dungeon would mean meeting them again. This is the first time they've reappeared in years- nobody expected that they would strike again so suddenly after such a long period of time." Holly gave Trevor a reassuring look. "You don't have to worry about them now; the local sheriff and his fellow officers found all three of its members unconscious at that forest you were in. They've all been brought to the local jail."
YOU ARE READING
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rising Spirits
Adventure"All things... must eventually come to pass..." Trevor, a timid human turned Meowth, has been thrust into an unfamiliar world of talking Pokémon who view his kind as inexplicably tied to the looming, unseen threat which threatens their world. With n...
