Pokemon: Radical Redux-Chapter 348: Non stop

It has been three days, three days since everything happened, three days since the city fell, and three days since Ash 'took care of it.'

When Ash got back, he immediately took Vee to the Pokémon Center, since they had more specialized equipment for this. Vee was apparently in some kind of coma for a bit, so Joy would look after him.

As for the city, well, besides Orla helping out with the reconstruction, Lance kept his promise and sent support to Olivine. The reconstruction and rescue operations were progressing even faster.

But even though Ash's friends wanted him to finally relax and talk to them about what happened, he didn't. He just handed Pikachu to Yellow again and changed back into his doctor uniform. Despite their protests, he went right back in to keep working on people.

And that's where he stayed for three days. He just kept doing surgery, trying to save as many people as he could. Although the other doctors were worried his lack of rest was affecting him, he did a quick test every now and then to show all his functions were still good, even if the nurses watched him work carefully.

Ash didn't need to eat or sleep; he could sustain himself with his Aura. But it wasn't infinite. When he ran out, he would collapse, but he refused to stop. Even when the number of patients was manageable and no one was at risk of dying, Ash didn't stop.

Every morning, Yellow, Brock, Misty, Liko, Roy, Dot, and even the rest of the Rising Volt Tacklers team came to check, but heard the same thing: Ash never left.

And that's how it went. Even as they did their part to help, they couldn't stop thinking that Ash was literally working himself to death. But on the bright side, the number of people going in had significantly decreased.

Meanwhile, Ash was still in the hospital. At the moment, there weren't any more patients he could work on, thankfully. After finishing his last patient (just a check-up on a little girl), he felt a small wave of relief. Being able to help calmed him, so he stepped out of the surgery room.

He made a few rounds, since he didn't have anything else to do, checking in on his patients. As much as it still weirded them out that their doctor was an 11-year-old kid, they were grateful. Then he got to Jasmine's door. She'd been in the hospital, healing after what she went through. Ash still checked on her, since technically she was his first patient.

When he looked inside, however, he saw Jasmine sitting up, with casts on her leg and arm. Thanks to Ash being able to cheat with Aura, it also meant no scars.

He walked up to her and waved. "Hey, how are you feeling?"

Jasmine smiled softly. "Better, thanks to you." She looked out the window. "Did you take Amphy?"

"Yeah, I did what you asked. I took him to the Pokémon Center," Ash nodded.

Jasmine sighed in relief and leaned back. "Thank you. For everything, really."

"There's no need for that. I just did what I thought was right," Ash waved his hand dismissively.

Jasmine pouted. "No, don't say that. You saved me. If you hadn't, I'm pretty sure no one would've found me. Then you were the one that took care of my surgery... You did much more than just help."

"Ha, maybe..." Ash shook his head. "But I'm happy you're okay now. Really. Seeing you alive and well is all the thanks I need."

Jasmine's cheeks dusted with a light pink at his words, but she quickly hid it by looking back toward the window. "You really say things like that so easily..." she mumbled, half to herself.

Ash tilted his head, not really understanding what she meant, and he wasn't trying to be flirty either he was to tired to do any of that, but he smiled anyway. "It's the truth."

For a moment, there was a comfortable silence. Then, from the door, Yellow peeked in first, her expression brightening when she spotted Ash.

"There you are! We've been looking all over!"

Behind her, Misty, Brock, and Liko followed, with Roy waving enthusiastically the moment he saw Ash.

"No," Ash said before they could say anything, but Pikachu jumped up on his shoulder and nuzzled him.

Brock crossed his arms. "Come on, you've been working for the past 72 hours with no sleep, no food, and no break. That isn't healthy."

Liko nodded. "I don't even know how you're still standing."

"My symptoms are both manageable and none of your concern—" Ash slightly stumbled for a bit but caught himself. "I got it, I'm fine. The serious symptoms haven't even started yet."

"What the heck was that?!" Misty said, pointing at Ash accusingly.

"Symptom 7. Minor narcolepsy... I'll get over it," Ash said, rubbing his eyes. He was starting to run out of Aura, so the symptoms were starting to get to him.

"You have it organized..." Jasmine said in disbelief.

"I have everything organized. Get on my level," Ash said.

Roy stepped in after Misty. "Symptom 7!? Dude, you're naming your symptoms like a Pokédex entry! That's not normal!"

"I heard surgeons often go a long time without sleep, but this is ridiculous... What's next, muscle failure?" Dot asked.

"No... that's Symptom 9..." Ash said, rubbing his eyes. "Just need some coffee and to be ready. Anyone could come in at any moment, and what if I'm not here?"

"Ash, listen. Please, everyone is safe. They got everyone. You don't need to be here. You did enough," Yellow said, grabbing Ash's sleeve. "Everyone is safe thanks to you."

Ash wanted to protest, but seeing everyone looking at him, he sighed. "Are you sure? There's no one left... Everyone is safe... What if someone else comes and I'm not here...?"

"Then the other doctors will take care of it," Brock said, walking up to Ash. "Now come on, either you walk out of here, or I'm carrying you out. You look like you're half-dead."

"...Fine... I guess. I am tired..." Ash said as he slightly stumbled. Brock caught him, lifting him onto his back.

"I've got you," Brock said.

"Thanks... Sorry. I guess I'm more tired than I thought... Sorry, but I'm just gonna..." Ash mumbled as he fell asleep on Brock's back. Pikachu had to jump off his shoulder, going back to Yellow.

"He just collapsed..." Liko said with concern, watching Ash on Brock's back.

"Yeah... I guess," Yellow mumbled as she held Pikachu. "He really works himself too hard..."

Brock adjusted Ash on his back, and his expression softened. "You know, as much as we listen to him, and despite everything he's accomplished, we forget he's still only eleven."

"Yeah, I guess we forgot, didn't we? He never acts like one. He always says he's fine, that he can deal with everything himself," Misty said, crossing her arms. But she was worried. "That stubborn idiot."

"I know he promised he'd try to rely on us more, but... even still, he keeps doing these kinds of things alone," Yellow said as Pikachu gave a worried "Pika..."

"He really does care about others too much. He wanted to save everyone else, but there was no one to take care of him," Liko said, frowning as she looked at Ash's sleeping face. "I could never imagine doing half the things he does."

Dot nodded as she crossed her arms. "He's reckless, but not careless. He knew what was going to happen, he just didn't care, not if it meant saving people."

"Well, it's a good thing it's all over," Brock said, hoisting Ash higher on his back. "I'm going to take him to get some rest. He's done enough. I'll take him to the Pokémon Center and get him a bed, he's gonna need it."

"I guess I should go too," Misty said, looking away. "Knowing this idiot, he might wake up in the middle of the night to go do more stuff."

"I—I want to go too!" Yellow suddenly announced. She blushed as all eyes turned toward her, and quickly tried to make an excuse. "U-uh, for Pikachu! Y-you know, since Ash trusted me with him, and Pikachu doesn't want to leave Ash alone!"

Liko looked at the three and clenched her fists slightly, taking a breath. "W-we're going too," she said nervously, then backtracked. "I-um, it's not that we don't trust you guys. I-it's just, Ash is our friend too. I know maybe you don't know us, but we want to be there for Ash too."

Dot and Roy looked at Liko, then nodded in agreement.

Dot's eyes flicked toward Ash, still sleeping soundly on Brock's back. "He won't like it when he wakes up and finds everyone fussing over him."

"Oh, don't remind me," Misty said with a small smile. "I can already hear him: 'Why did you guys waste your time looking after me? You shouldn't waste your time on me. I'll be fine,' or something like that."

"That... is disturbingly accurate," Brock added.

Roy grinned. "That's why we do it while he's asleep! Classic strategy," he said proudly, as if it were a stroke of genius.

"And what about when he wakes up?" Dot asked, raising an eyebrow from under her bangs.

Roy froze, then scratched his cheek. "I, err... haven't thought of that. But I'm sure it'll come to me!"

"Well, I'd like to ask to go too," Jasmine said, breaking the silence, "but I can't really leave, can I? Take care of him, he saved my life, after all."

Brock nodded. Sure, he might've liked to flirt with Jasmine, but his friends came first. "We will. He'd do the same for us."

"Oh, please," Misty said, crossing her arms and looking away. "...He'd move a mountain for us if he needed to..."

Everyone smiled a little more at Misty's words.

"Y-yeah... I think he would," Yellow said, hugging Pikachu to her chest just a little tighter.

Brock turned toward the door. "Let's go, and make sure he actually gets some rest."

Everyone turned to follow, waving goodbye to Jasmine.

"See you. Please get better soon."

Jasmine waved back with her good hand. "No promises," she giggled as they left.

—-

The group brought Ash to the Pokémon Center, where they managed to get him a room. Some of the doctors and Ash's past patients nodded as they saw him being carried in, understanding he more than earned the rest.

Inside the Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy saw them and quickly grasped the situation. Even though most of the rooms were taken by Pokémon and people affected by the recent attack, she managed to get Ash into Vee's room.

They just assumed, since Ash came with Vee, that he was either his trainer or at least someone the Pokémon trusted. And since both were knocked out, it was easy, they tucked Ash into the same bed Vee was resting in.

As they slept, Ash and Vee shifted. Vee ended up nuzzling closer to Ash, and Ash subconsciously held Vee like a teddy bear. For once, Ash was acting his age, and everyone watching couldn't help but smile.

Except Pikachu, who was just a bit jealous that his favorite spot was taken. So he jumped out of Yellow's arms and climbed onto Ash's other side, making himself comfortable.

—---

{Two days later}

The city was slowly starting to find some level of normalcy. With everyone's efforts, and the League stepping in to provide support, they had at least started to rebuild. It would take time, but eventually, things would be good as new.

As for Ash, he had been sleeping non stop for the past two days. Nurse Joy checked in regularly to make sure he wasn't, you know, dying or anything, but aside from pure exhaustion, he was mostly fine.

The others took turns watching over him. Even Friede and the rest of the Volt Tacklers joined in after Dot told them about Ash's condition. And to be honest, they weren't watching him because they thought he'd run off again, but because they missed him. Sure, he could be reckless and do some pretty stupid things, but seeing him like this, completely still, completely silent, it worried them.

Right now, it was Yellow's turn. She was sitting quietly by Ash's bedside, her Pokémon gathered around her. Chuchu rubbed up against her arm, trying to calm her down.

Just then, Liko peeked her head in. "Hey... it's my turn to watch. You should go get something to eat."

"I'm... not hungry," Yellow said softly. But as she said that, Dody's stomach grumbled loudly, breaking the silence.

Liko giggled quietly. "Well, maybe you're not, but it looks like your Pokémon are."

"Yeah... Can I stay a little bit longer?" Yellow asked, hugging her arms around herself.

Liko could tell Yellow was probably the most worried of them all. Honestly, she and Yellow had a lot in common: both of them were complete nervous wrecks half the time, and both absolutely adored Pokémon. They got along well, even if most of their conversations were just one sentence long.

"Okay. I don't mind," Liko said, walking over and sitting beside her, gently hugging Sprigatito close to her chest.

For a moment, they sat in silence. They didn't need to say anything, they were thinking the same thing.

Then Liko turned to Yellow. She remembered what Yellow had said before, about Ash. "Hey... can I ask? You said that he does this a lot. Can you be more specific? What did you mean?"

Yellow buried her face in Chuchu's fur. Her voice was barely above a whisper, "...He always does this," she said at last. "He pushes himself until he breaks. It's not fair... Why does Ash have to be the one who suffers?"

Liko looked down, nodding slowly. She remembered her own experience, how not even a week after they'd met, Ash had already saved her and Sprigatito. And how, not long after, she saw him get shot in the chest saving the world.

"I hear that," she murmured. "When I first met Ash, he saved me. Just like that. No hesitation he didn't need to, we barely knew each other, but he did it anyway."

Yellow didn't respond at first. Then she gave a small, sad smile as she looked toward the bed, Ash still clutched Vee in his sleep, with Pikachu curled up tightly at his side.

"He's always been like that... even when we were little. I thought maybe, after all this time, he'd learn to let others carry the weight too."

"So I'm guessing... he hasn't?" Liko asked gently.

"...He promised he would. And I can tell he's trying. But after everything that's happened... I miss when this was just about having fun. Just traveling with my friends." Yellow's voice was soft, wistful.

"I think that's why he's always smiling. Or... pretending to, at least," she added. "Even if he doesn't show it, I think he's scared. He's just really good at hiding it. Sometimes I see him get stressed over nothing. One minute we're all eating together, and the next... It looks like he wants to punch the ground."

"Have you ever asked him about it?"

Yellow shook her head. "I always figured... if it was important, he'd tell us. I still think that. But sometimes... it feels like he knows more than he lets on." She buried her face in her hands. "And that scares me."

"Yeah..." Liko murmured, thinking back to the Orange Islands. That strange trial they went through. It had seemed like Ash already knew the answers, like he'd seen it all before, "Yeah... I think he does too."

"I'm scared..." Yellow said softly. "That one day he'll go too far. He'll push himself just a little too much, and... he won't come back."

They sat in silence again, surrounded by the soft sounds of Pokémon breathing gently around them. Liko hugged her knees to her chest.

"He means a lot to you, doesn't he?" she asked.

Yellow flinched slightly, her cheeks going pink. "Y-Yeah! He's my friend. One of my best friends."

Liko just nodded, looking down with a small, goofy smile tugging at her lips. "I think he means a lot to all of us. Even though I only met him a few months ago, it's like... he's just easy to talk to."

She could feel her heartbeat quicken slightly, and she didn't quite know why.

As the two girls looked away from each other, a soft rustling broke the moment Ash shifted slightly, his fingers twitching as his eyes slowly blinked open. The light stung at first, and instinctively, he wanted to shut them again, but it was too late. With a deep breath, he forced himself to sit up. His limbs felt heavy and weak, but there was a familiar hum, his Aura, slowly trickling back. He spread it gently through his body, just enough to stay upright.

Yellow and Liko both jolted up, nearly tripping over themselves.

"Ash! You're awake!" Yellow said, her voice catching slightly with relief.

Ash gave a tired, lopsided smile as Pikachu immediately leapt onto his chest, nuzzling in close. Vee remained asleep beside him, but even he began to stir.

"Hey... how long was I out?" Ash asked, rubbing the back of his head.

"Two days," Liko said, stepping closer. "You were sleeping for two days straight."

"Oh... that's a long time. I must've been really tired..." Ash murmured, glancing down. "Did I... make everyone worry?"

"Yeah," Liko said gently. "Everyone was worried. We took turns looking after you."

"...Oh." Ash's voice softened. "I'm sorry."

Yellow shook her head, her smile trembling as she fought the urge to cry. "Don't apologize, Ash. We're just glad you're okay. That's what matters."

Ash didn't respond right away. His hand gently stroked Pikachu's fur as he looked toward the ceiling.

"...How is everyone?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"The city's okay," Liko replied. "And the people are too. Everyone survived. We checked."

Ash let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. His shoulders slumped as he relaxed back into the bed.

"Really... so no one died. That's... that's a relief."

His eyes turned toward Vee, who was finally waking up. The small Pokémon blinked blearily, looking up at Ash with cautious eyes. There was still a flicker of uncertainty, fear, even, but it wasn't the wild, defensive kind. It was just... guarded.

Liko clapped her hands lightly, trying to lift the mood. "You know that Eevee of yours was sleeping with you the whole time! He even nuzzled into you. You must be good friends."

"Vee! ∑(; °Д°)" Vee squeaked, eyes wide in shock at being called Ash's.

Ash chuckled gently and rubbed the fox Pokémon's head with his Aura. "No, he's not mine. It's... a long story. But the short version? I found him in a Team Rocket base. They were doing experiments on him. That's probably why he was knocked out for so long."

The mood shifted instantly. Liko and Yellow both stiffened, their faces darkening with discomfort. Vee trembled slightly, his tiny body shaking as memories rushed back, and he lowered his head.

"Eevee..." Yellow murmured, heart aching.

"That's... so sad..." she whispered as she slowly reached out, trying to comfort him. But Vee jumped back, his ears pinned flat. Even Yellow, the one that is impossible to hate, couldn't get through to him.

"So... he's not yours," Liko said, watching the fox with concern. "What are you going to do with Eevee then?"

Ash tilted his head, "I dunno," he said honestly, Then, turning to Vee, his voice soft and steady, he asked, "What do you want to do?"

Vee was taken aback by the question.

No one had ever asked him that before.

From the moment he hatched from his egg, his life had been nothing but cages and needles. Experiments. Commands. Pain. He'd never even seen another one of his kind. He didn't know how to forage, or play, or even speak properly with other Pokémon. All he had was strength, raw power. So he wouldn't survive if he just ran into the wild

And even if he did, Team Rocket might still come looking for him.

Vee looked down and shivered. He had dreamed of freedom so many times. But now that he was here... he didn't know what to do with it.

Ash noticed the fear in Vee's eyes. Gently, he picked the small fox up and held him in front of his face.

"Well," Ash said softly, "if you don't know what to do... how about you come with us?"

Vee flinched slightly.

"We treat each other like family," Ash continued, voice calm and steady. "And I promise, I'll protect you from Team Rocket."

Vee took a step back on the bed, his ears twitching. He didn't trust Ash. Not completely. In his world, humans couldn't be trusted. They took and hurt and never gave, all they wanted was his power. But... Ash's eyes, there was no cruelty in them. No greed. Just warmth.

And then—

pat pat

Pikachu walked over and gave him a gentle pat on the back. "Pika... Pika Pi."

Ash moved slightly, about to reach for a Pokéball, only to pause. Right. He didn't have his stuff. Not here. And he couldn't just pull something out of his personal space with Yellow and Liko around.

Thankfully, Yellow noticed the moment of hesitation. She stood quickly and brought over his bag, setting it beside him with a smile.

"Thanks," Ash said, reaching inside and pulling out a fresh Pokéball. He placed it carefully on the bed between them.

Vee stared at it. It wasn't glowing or humming. It wasn't forcing anything. Just... waiting.

For once, he had a choice.

He looked down at the ball, then back at Ash, this strange human who saved him, protected him, and then asked him what he wanted.

Vee huffed and turned his head to the side, "Vee ve! [Fine! But only because I have nowhere else to go. As soon as I do, I'm gone!]"

Then, with a small grunt, he raised a paw and tapped the Pokéball. His form dissolved into red light and vanished inside.

Click.

Ash gently picked up the ball, looking down at it. Then he smiled and popped it open again. Vee reappeared in a flash of light, landing on Ash's lap and instantly turning to face the opposite direction.

Yellow clapped her hands. "Congratulations, Ash! You got an Eevee!"

Liko grinned. "What do you want to evolve him into? Oh! You can't go wrong, no matter which one you pick!"

Ash chuckled. "Honestly? I don't know yet..."

Truthfully, if he could help it, he wouldn't ask Vee to use that power again. Not unless Vee wanted to. Especially knowing how much it hurt him. But he was glad that this Eevee had options, at least more than Red's in the manga ever did.

He was just about to say something else when the door suddenly flew open.

"Ash, you're awake!!" Roy's voice rang out as he nearly tripped trying to push his way in.

Misty followed right behind, arms crossed. "Don't scare us like that again, idiot."

Brock, with the grace of a true multitasker, managed to squeeze through last, carefully holding a bowl of steaming soup in one hand. "I figured you'd be hungry. It's been, what, five days since you last ate?"

Roy was practically vibrating beside them. "And we have so much to tell you! You missed a ton of stuff while you were out!"

Ash couldn't help it, he laughed, as he smiled up at them, "Thanks, guys,"