Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Hands of Creation

Chapter 158 - Unexpected Return

The rhythmic beeping of life monitors was becoming uncomfortably familiar to Owen. He was a demigod, right? Why was he constantly being put in hospitals? Could they even help?

Well, the last one did, he supposed.

Groggily, he opened one eye to figure out his surroundings without alerting anyone. A white wall of well-made material. Certainly not a hut or some den, but the beeping would have given that much away. Still, it even looked more advanced than what he would see in Kilo Village. Even the Voidlands didn't seem quite this... modern.

"He's waking up," hummed a voice.

"Charizard? Are you okay? Can you hear me?" called another.

"Mhm," Owen groaned.

He just realized he couldn't Perceive anything. He tried to stand up but binds restricted him. The fatigue in his body still weakened him—he couldn't do a thing against these mundane bindings. None of his limbs responded.

"It's okay, you're okay. We need you still while we check on you, okay, Charizard? Is that okay?"

"My horns," Owen said again, trying to calm down. "Please, can you put them back on?"

Three voices gasped—there were three? How many were in the room? He couldn't move his head easily and his vision was blurry from all the strain.

"He really can talk," whispered a new voice.

"Just like the Milotic..."

Talk?

Owen stopped. Why did that surprise—

"Is Zena—Milotic okay?"

"She is, and in much better condition than you. You don't need to worry about her."

He... could trust that. He felt that he could trust that. "Where am I?"

"You're in Pallet Town, in a new Pokémon Center. We're trying to make sure you're okay. People said you fell from a hole in the sky, so..."

Pallet Town. Pallet Town. Pallet Town.

"We'll... get your horns, but they sort of... fell off you. We weren't sure what to do with them, but..."

"Kanto?" Owen suddenly asked.

"Yes, Kanto. So, about your horns, they can probably be reattached, but we've never seen this bone structure before. Are you from a faraway region? Your appearance is different from a normal Charizard, and . . ."

Owen didn't pay attention. He was in Kanto again. He was...

Oh no.

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Humans were so strange. They were tiny, and they radiated no strength, but they acted fearlessly. Maybe they couldn't sense power the way Pokémon could. That was Zena's conclusion.

Still, that they were so weak yet fearless was a little charming.

And smart! She couldn't figure out half of what was going on in this place, and some of them were kind enough to explain a few of the gadgets.

The lead human—Zena had an easier time telling who he was because he usually held a clipboard—entered the waiting room lobby, which had seats that were not suited for a Milotic at all. "Zena?"

She nodded politely. Speaking seemed to startle them, so she kept that to a minimum for now.

"Owen is doing just fine. He's waking up now, but he's still very groggy. Would you like to be with him?"