Infected

| Chapter 3 |

Ash slowly became aware of his surroundings as he began to rouse from the darkness of his own mind. He scrunched his eyes, pain rampaging around his head like an angry Typhlosion. His entire body ached softly, making him uncomfortable. But, he was laying on something soft, which helped greatly.

The trainer finally opened his eyes, his eyes focusing on a light just above him that was dimmed. He squinted, turning his head away. He was still in the Pokémon Center, he could tell by the light pink walls he was surrounded by. He blinked again, sitting up in the bed with his hand to his head. He must've blacked out once his adrenaline drained. Arceus, Serena and the others must've been so worried.

Ash looked around the room, finding Pikachu's sleeping body on the red chair beside Ash's bed. He smiled, reaching out to touch him, and noticing the new bandage that wrapped his forearm. He pulled his hand back, touching the bandage curiously. It was slightly stained where the wound was, but Ash's arm wasn't in pain.

"Nurse Joy must have numbed it." Ash thought, rubbing the material gently. He twisted his arm again, examining it. The bandage went up past his elbow and tied neatly under itself to keep the fabric from coming off. Ash was half tempted to take it off and look at the wound, to see if it had recovered more then before, but he didn't. 

Just then, Pikachu awoke again, his head blearily perking up. Ash smiled at the sight of his drowsy partner. Pikachu yawned, rubbing it's eyes.

"Hey Pikachu, did you have a good nap?" Ash asked, causing his partner to snap open its eyes again. Pikachu looked up at Ash, before a smile burst across his face and he leapt into Ash's chest. Ash caught the small pokémon, hugging it tightly as Pikachu rubbed it's cheeks into Ash's face. He chuckled as the pokémon hopped up onto Ash's shoulder.

"Let's go find the others." Ash suggested, standing up off the bed and stretching his back. Pikachu cooed in agreement as Ash picked up his cap from the corner of the bed and placed it back on his head.

Ash cautiously left his room, closing the door with a gentle click. He turned back into the hall, just in time to bump into Nurse Joy. Ash stumbled back, looking up in shock. Nurse Joy looked at him for a minute, before taking a breath.

"Are you in a good enough condition to help me?"

Ash blinked, caught off guard by the sudden question. His words caught in his mouth as he let out a few stutters. Nurse Joy urgently looked back down the hall, then back to Ash.

"Just follow me then." She ordered, hurrying down the hall. Ash looked up to Pikachu on his shoulder, who shared the same confused look as his trainer. Ash then turned and quickly jogged after the Nurse into one of the rooms. The door closed behind him with a mechanical hiss, and Ash was left stunned as to what lay before him.

Suicune.

The legendary dog was not in good shape. Scars and deep wounds covered it's once sleek body, both fresh and dried blood soaked into it's blue coat. One of the spikes from it's crystal was snapped off near the base, and one of its ribbons was torn short. 

In other words, Suicune was just barely alive.

Ash hesitated, unable to comprehend what was before him. He hadn't seen Suicune in such a long time, but it was always cautious when Ash was around. How it had been so injured so badly concerned him. It was a legendary beast, it was meant to be one of the most powerful pokémon on the planet. It was meant to be strong. It wasn't meant to get this hurt.

"I need you to hold Suicune still while I tend to it's wounds." Nurse Joy ordered.

Ash gently pressed his hand onto Suicune's shoulder, feeling the warmth of the pokémon. Pikachu hopped down onto the metal table that the dog lay on, cooing sympathetically. Ash gently stroked its shoulder.

"What happened?" Ash asked as Nurse Joy and Audino gathered some materials. Nurse Joy sighed, turning around with a platter of gauze and sprays.

"We don't know. It just appeared here with a few other pokémon, but Suicune is definitely one of the worse cases we've seen. I don't know if we can save it." She explained sadly, beginning to spray some of the wounds. Suicune started, but Ash held him down, trying to keep the pokémon from moving.

"Whoa hoa, hey Suicune! Calm down!" Ash urged, pressing his hand against Suicune's face. The pokémon stilled, looking up at Ash with wide eyes. Ash smiled gently, stroking it's face.

"Just stay calm Suicune. We'll get you patched up as best as we can. Then we can get you something for that fever of yours." Nurse Joy soothed, pressing more gauze and bandage wrap onto some of the worse wounds. Suicune growled, kicking its leg a little in protest. 

"Fever?" Ash blinked as an old memory faded into his head. The memory of him healing Mew with Lucario when Mew was sick flashed passed his eyes, and a familiar warmth rushed through his hands. Ash blinked in thought. Lucario and Sir Aaron had both died when they had transferred their aura, but they gave it to an entire tree, not a single pokémon.

"It doesn't matter. Suicune can't die. The world needs it." Ash told himself, thinking back to how he had activated his aura before. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. A sharp static raced up through Ash's body, and his eyes opened again in shock. Pikachu was looking up at him in confusion.

"Sir? Are you okay?" Nurse Joy asked, concern lacing her voice. Ash looked up at her. She was staring at him with a look of confusion, her hands frozen in mid-air. Ash looked back down at Suicune and took another breath.

"I've got an idea. It worked before on another pokémon, I just need a minute." Ash explained, laying his hands against Suicune's neck. Nurse Joy looked down at Audino in contemplation, before nodding hesitantly. Ash smiled, closing his eyes again.

The static raced through his body again, however this time Ash ignored it, trying his hardest to grasp onto his aura. He heard Pikachu coo in worry. He focused on that, on what made him happy. He needed to protect what made him happy, what made everyone happy. He needed to protect life.

"Yes, that's it. Now, focus on that thought and let your aura manifest itself." A foreign voice whispered in Ash's head. The trainer did as he was told, exhaling deeply as he focused. He needed to protect life, even if it meant his own. He needed to protect pokémon.

A final, much more painful static charge raced up through Ash's body, forcing him to stop. Ash cried out, his knees buckling beneath him. He grasped the table before he fell, gasping for breath as he held himself up. His body trembled as he tried to get his legs working again.

Ash looked back up at the table and was stunned silent as he was met with Suicune's eyes. The pokémon was sitting on the metal table, watching Ash with silent gratitude. The previously fresh and bloody wounds were now scarred and pink, and the torn bow was reformed back to its former glory, flowing gently in the air. 

Pikachu, however, ignored the legendary dog and stared worriedly at Ash, it's ears drooping down by its head. Ash rubbed his partner gently, finally getting his footing back under him as his strength returned. He sighed heavily, looking over at Nurse Joy, who was paled.

"H-How did you do that?" She stammered. Ash thought for a moment, trying to figure out a way to explain what had just happened. He shrugged.

"Magic?"

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I took longer off then expected. Apologies. I meant to update this about a week ago, but my Laptop crashed before I could post it and I lost all my progress. No matter, I liked this version more anyways.