Pokémon: Leah's Journey {Rewrite}

Chapter 16: The Scientific Method

Leah felt drowsy, almost like she had just recently woken up from a deep sleep. Nurse Joy held a file which Leah recognised to be her medical record. The woman who usually greeted trainers with a cheery smile looked at her with a stern and rather unimpressed expression. This wasn't the first time Leah has been greeted with such an expression from the nurses and she's sure that it won't be the last. Mrs. Cuddletails and Skalli's tails were wagging wildly as they showered their trainer with licks. Stardust simply opted to nuzzle her trainer. They were all relieved that she was alive and well. Leah ran her hand in Mrs. Cuddletails and Skalli fur, "So what's my prognosis?"

"You'll recover fine." Nurse Joy told her, "I do suggest that you stop that reckless streak of yours."

Leah then started playing with her Eevee's toe beans, "Or what? I'd make my parents gray before their time?"

Nurse Joy chuckled, but ultimately regained her stern expression, "No, it's more about the issues you'll have when you're older."

"That sounds like a problem for future Leah."

The nurse did not look impressed with that one, "We'll discharge you once you're not at risk of ripping your stitches."

Nurse Joy sighed and walked out of the room, letting Leah's friends flock in one by one. Gurkinn had opted to approach as well, taking a seat on the chair next to Leah. Omen stayed in a corner of the room, seemingly unaware of what was happening around him. She knew that he felt great remorse for her injuries and she decided to give him the time he needed to come to terms with that. Leah spoke softly, "Before he attacked, I saw something in his eyes. The way he looked at Mrs. Cuddletails..."

"It was envy." Gurkinn said.

Leah buried her face in her hands, "so what should I do about it?"

"Maybe put Mrs. Cuddletails in her Pokeball the next time you mega evolve him and see what happens?" Korrina suggested.

Gurkinn nodded, his approval showing, "That's not a bad idea, however should things go south despite it, I suggest you go to Pomace Mountain. I know someone who might be able to help you master Mega Evolution."

Leah nodded in response, stating that she'll consider it. She spent the rest of the day chatting with her friends until Nurse Joy promptly kicked them out. The next few days weren't as depressing as Leah thought they'd be. Like clockwork, her friends would come in the room talk with her all day and then get kicked out by the nurse. Tonight, there was some new development with Omen. He finally got the courage to approach her! Leah's expression softened, "You know I've forgiven you for what happened, right?"

Omen made a soft, sad sound. Leah reached out to pet him, "It's okay, Omen. If anything, it's my fault that it went to shit. Why didn't you give me any indication of what you felt towards Mrs. Cuddletails?"

Omen didn't respond to the question. Leah sighed, "Once I'm discharged, Korrina wants us to test the waters again without Mrs. Cuddletails in the audience. Would you be willing to try that?"

Omen hesitated, but nodded anyway. He'd do anything to make Leah happy even if it meant he had to put aside his own feelings. Leah was discharged the following day. Nurse Joy got tired of her and her injuries had healed well so there wasn't much of a reason to stay any longer. Leah then promptly withdrew her entire team except for Omen and took Korrina up for that rematch. She could only pray that things would go better than the last attempt. That's how she ended up in the same place, same position she was in the last time she tried Mega Evolution. This time Omen seemed to be more in control and in less of a trance. With a simple flap of his wings, everything in the vicinity felt a wave of intimidation, but Korrina and Lucario were not deterred from it. Leah decided to start the battle, "Omen, let's start this with style, use Snarl."

With a shrill screech, Omen released multiple purple rings of energy from his mouth towards Lucario. On Korrina's command, Lucario summoned a blue orb of energy from his paws and threw it towards the Absol. The Aura Sphere went through the Snarl, making it dissipate in a sea of sparkles. Omen leapt upwards, narrowly avoiding the Aura Sphere. Leah cheered, "Good job, Omen! Now use Night Slash!"

Omen lunged towards Lucario. His claws were glowing in a pale purple colour. Lucario managed to grab Omen and while the Absol managed to slash his opponent, he was still trapped. Leah saw Lucario's fist glowing an orange colour and took a risk, "Omen use Counter!"

Omen's body was surrounded by an orange aura. The moment Lucario's Power-Up Punch made contact with the Absol's body, Omen's hind paws glowed a pale green colour. With all his strength, Omen kicked Lucario back. Lucario was starting to falter. Things were going well until they weren't. Omen started snarling and growling again. Mrs. Cuddletails wasn't even in the audience, he had no reason to be going crazy. Leah called out to Omen, "Omen? Omen, stop that!" Omen showed no signs of having heard her, so Leah turned to Korrina, "Rina, I think you should finish this battle soon!"

"Right. Lucario finish this with Aura Sphere!"

Lucario didn't hesitate to put his paws together and summon a blue ball of energy. Once he was satisfied with its size, he fired it at Omen whose claws started glowing a purple hue. The Absol climbed on the Aura Sphere and leapt towards Lucario. On Korrina's command, Lucario's fist started glowing in an orange hue. Lucario arched his arm in an upper-cut and landed the hit on Omen. The Absol stumbled on its feet before collapsing. Omen slowly lost the wings and extra fluff. Leah withdrew Omen, "Time to pester Nurse Joy again before making the trip to Pomace Mountain."

"Leah, with your track record, every time you step in the Pokemon Center, Nurse Joy ends up thinking you managed to get yourself in another life threatening situation." Mildred quipped.

Leah shrugged, "Well with the shit we end up doing, it's not too far off from the truth."

"She has a point, Millie." Zayn chimed in, "Our majors are high risk."

Mildred huffed, "That doesn't mean you two knuckleheads have to run straight into danger at a constant."

"Lighten up, Millie!" Leah told her friend, an indignant smile graced her features, "What kind of adventure is this if I don't get a scar or two out of it?"

"One where you don't actively try to get yourself killed." Mildred deadpanned.

Leah blinked before finally speaking, "Okay, I deserved that."

They returned to the Pokemon Center. Nurse Joy eyed Leah with an air of annoyance. The woman prayed that she didn't get injured again. To her relief, Leah was only there to get her Absol healed and to get some supplies for the upcoming trip.