Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rising Spirits

Chapter 1, Part 7 - Recuperation

The Audino sat on a bed adjacent to Trevor, now staring at the ceiling with sad, wistful eyes. "I knew that Drowsee, you know. Before he formed the Bush Burners and became its leader. His name's Grudd." She crossed her arms and gave another plaintive sigh, as if saying the name alone was enough to cause a flood of memories to come crashing back. "He was previously a test supervisor like that Espurr who monitored you. And before that, he was a member of a well-respected rescue team before the Explorer Association even became a thing. He used to be nice, if you can believe it. He was one of the most driven Pokémon I'd ever met; he'd end up here plenty of times with how studious he was. I... just can't imagine what could possibly have driven him to do such terrible things."

Trevor again pictured Grudd's trembling, bloodshot eyes as he was held aloft into the air while recalling the mixture of conflicting emotions which emanated from them: anger, resentment, as well as the slightest tinge of fear. The Meowth began to consider the idea that Grudd was more afraid of him than the other way around.

Trevor continued to think silently for a while before being struck by a sudden flash of realization. "Excuse me, um..."

"It's Holly," the Audino stated offhandedly, "But just call me 'Nurse.'"

Trevor nodded. "Nurse, earlier you said that we could go back to taking dungeons as a 'proper team.' Does that mean..."

Holly let out a subtle smile; it was the first time Trevor had seen her do so. "Yep. Given that you and your friend were able to help arrest someone as infamous as the Bush Burners, the Explorer Administration officially announced that your team deserves to become a proper team, even if you technically didn't complete the test. Congrats, you're now officially a member of 'Team Spirit.'"

Holly pulled a folded newspaper from under her nurse's cap and gently handed it towards Trevor, who instantly began perusing it to see for himself whether the Audino was telling the truth. Sure enough, Trevor managed to find a block of text detailing an interview from an Explorer Association official which stated, "Given that Team Spirit has shown exceptional competence in preventing these elusive criminals from escaping justice yet again, we council members have made the unanimous decision to have to grant them the status of an official explorer team despite not having formally completed the exam. The Explorer Administration looks forward to seeing what Team Spirit will be able to accomplish in the future."

Trevor sunk back downwards, laying on his straw bed while staring at the ceiling in a state of disbelief. Holly gave an understanding grin.

"For the second time, eat up," the Audino insisted, "I've got to check up on your friend at the poison wing, so I'm going to have to leave for the time being. Just take it easy, don't exert your body too much. With luck, you'll be able to leave this hospital in a few days to start tackling missions as a proper team." With that, Holly gave a slight wave before exiting the room, leaving Trevor alone with only his thoughts to accompany him.

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Trevor followed Holly's instructions by motionlessly laying on his bed for the next hour while occasionally biting off pieces of the hard-shelled Sitrus Berry provided to him. The lush, flavorful texture of the berry warmly enveloped the Meowth, causing him to exhale deeply as he suddenly became overwhelmed by a desire to fall into a deep, well-deserved sleep...

"Let me through!"

Trevor immediately rose upwards, upon hearing the shrill, assertive utterance which had come from just outside his room. Perking his ears upwards, Trevor became able to barely hear pieces of a heated argument which only escalated over time.

"I'm serious, you can't go in there!" Holly's muffled voice commanded. "Your teammate is trying to rest in there and I will not allow him to be disturbed!"