Pokémon AU: Dimensional Travelers

Chapter 12: It Gets Worse...

By the time they made it back to town, Gladion had already been set up in a hospital room and the Doctor had come to see him already. Her friends were waiting in the lobby waiting area, aside from his sister and mother. The remainder of his team were also waiting for her. Umbreon almost leaped up onto her lap when she sat down with her bag in her lap, but Nymphia held him down, citing that the eggs had to stay hidden until Christmas the following week.

When the nurse came down to fetch someone, she called out Mitsuki's name. A hush fell over the room. Nobody knew who she was talking about. The nurse cleared her throat and asked again, this time specifying who was asking for her. Confused, she stood up and approached the nurse, followed by Umbreon, Nymphia, Blaze, both Lucario, Silvally, both Lycanroc, and both Zoroark. The nurse seemed surprised at the amount of Pokémon she had with her.

"Are you Mitsuki Bushida?"

"Yes."

"Does the name Gladion Aether ring any bells?"

"Yes, my friends and I are traveling with his family in search of Professor Mohn Aether, if you've heard of him..."

"I see..." The nurse blinked, then held her clipboard at arms length, as if she was wondering if she was reading things right.

Mitsuki tilted her head and asked, "Ma'am, are you alright?"

"Y-yes... It's just... you look like a little girl who my Cousin--a nurse in Alola--assisted through a similar illness when the girl was four years old. She didn't give out names due to privacy policies, but she mentioned that Young Gladion Aether was a dear friend of hers and visited her in hospice many times during her stay."

Mitsuki swallowed. She remembered, vaguely, being very sick for a few months when she was very little and her friend visiting her in hospice, but she couldn't be sure.

"Anyway, I'll take you up to Mr. Aether's room right away." She looked at the group of Pokémon behind her. "I'm afraid some of you might have to stay behind..."

Mitsuki felt all the Pokémon's auras sink and grow sad.

"How many are allowed in at one time?"

"We allow many, but without proof of ownership we can't allow them in."

"Oh... Well... I don't expect you to believe the testimony of one teenage girl, but... pretty much every Pokémon in this group here--except the shinies, the orange Lycanroc, and the Mega-Stone-holding Lucario--belongs to Gladion. That's Umbreon, Zoroark, Silvally, and Midnight-Lycanroc," she explained, gesturing to each in turn. "The rest belong to me: Blaze, Nymphia, Kyra, Zinnia, and Twilight. I have one more, but I think she'll be more comfortable once we're up in the room... White walls remind her of a bad time in her life... and I can tell Silvally's equally as anxious," Mitsuki explained, stroking Silvally's back and shoulders, "Gladion will know what to do."

"'Tsuki, I think Gladion still has his bag with all his Pokéballs in it. That should be proof enough," Maria said.

"Thanks, Maria." Prior to this, if someone needed a heal or medicine of some kind, she was their gal. However, a Full Heal wasn't going to fix this. She knew that too.

"Very well. I'll take all of you up. Miss Bushida, would you kindly recall your Pokémon and follow me?"

"Yes, Ma'am." She recalled all but Nymphia, placed the Poké Balls in the right pocket of her huge bag, and scooped up both Eeveelutions. Once they were out of earshot and the nurse gave her a strange look, Mitsuki elaborated on her decision. She opened the main compartment of her bag and showed the nurse the eggs. "Nymphia and Gladion's Umbreon produced these eggs a week or so ago. It was a complete fluke; we were staying in a hotel nowhere near a Daycare in Shalour and these two happened to be left alone in the same room for 'too long.' We're not mad at them, since we should have seen it coming. Umbreon would do anything to protect Nymphia even though she can handle herself. We're planning on giving the resulting Eevees to my fellow Orphan, Leah, and Gladion's little sister, Lillie, for Christmas. I'd like the parents to be there when they hatch, unlike Nymphia who hatched in my arms after I'd won her egg at a Showcase in Santalune. Hopefully, they'll hatch soon so we--I, I guess--can train the Eevees up a little before Christmas. Gladion read somewhere that having Pokémon of the same Evolutionary line or tree around the egg can help with hatch-times, especially if it's the parent since the mother will instinctively incubate the egg. The father does too, although it's more likely to happen if the parents are of the same Evolutionary line or tree. So... Eevee eggs will hatch quicker when kept around other Eevees or any of the Eeveelutions, and Vulpix eggs will hatch quicker when kept around other Vulpix--of either form--or around Ninetales of either form."