Memories, sharp and chaotic, flooded Eric's mind.
He saw a majestic, silver-green forest under a twilight sky. A beautiful Gardevoir, covered in deep wounds, was standing defensively in front of a tiny, shivering Ralts. Surrounding them was a vicious pack of Houndoom, their growls echoing with predatory hunger.
The Gardevoir was powerful, an Advanced-level Pokémon. She unleashed a blinding wave of pink and blue energy, sweeping back several of the attackers. But they were simply too many. Her breath was ragged, her energy core rapidly draining.
Realizing she couldn't win, she turned to Ralts. With a tragic, loving look, her eyes glowed with an intense blue light. She forced a powerful, desperate Teleport, wrapping Ralts in a protective psychic bubble and launching the baby far away from the clearing.
The last image in the memory was Gardevoir being engulfed by a barrage of Flamethrowers as the teleportation took effect.
The memory vanished as quickly as it had arrived. Eric snapped back to reality, gasping slightly as his mind adjusted to the sudden influx of foreign thoughts.
Beside him, Ralts was looking up at him, tears streaming down her face.
'Please… Mama… still there… save her…'
The telepathic voice was faint, desperate, and filled with a child's raw grief. It struck a chord deep within Eric.
"Haunter," Eric called out quietly. "Can you track the residual psychic energy from her teleportation?"
Haunter materialized from Eric's shadow, and focused, closing his eyes for a moment, and then nodded, pointing toward the deeper part of the Route 7 forest.
"Lead the way," Eric said, recalling Growlithe and Poliwhirl. "Fearow, keep a lookout from above."
They sprinted through the dense fog. Ralts clung tightly to Eric's shoulder, her tiny hands gripping his collar as if her entire world depended on him.
After five minutes of frantic running, the smell of burnt wood and copper hit Eric's nose. They burst into a devastated clearing. Several trees had been snapped in half, and the ground was scorched black.
In the center of the clearing lay the Gardevoir.
She was collapsed on her side, her elegant white dress-like body torn and stained with blood. Standing over her were three massive wild Houndoom, their jaws dripping with fire as they prepared to finish her off. These were the only three remaining of the pack.
"Haunter, Shadow Ball! Blow them away!" Eric roared.
Haunter didn't hesitate. A massive, double-layered ball of condensed Ghost-type energy formed in his hands. Due to absorbing 70% of the unknown fragment, the pressure of his Shadow Ball was immense. He launched it like a cannonball.
Boom!
The explosion ripped through the clearing, sending the lead Houndoom flying fifty meters back. The remaining two Houndoom turned, snarling in rage, but Haunter's sheer presence -- infused with Grade 4 Ghost energy -- was enough to make them freeze, despite their type advantage.
But they weren't Pokemon that retreated. Otherwise they would have escaped instead of continuing to fight Gardevoir, despite their heave losses. Well, they weren't Haunter's match either way, so he easily dispatched them.
"Mama!" Ralts cried telepathically, jumping off Eric's shoulder and rushing to her mother's side.
Gardevoir slowly opened her heavy eyelids. Her breathing was incredibly shallow, and a faint, erratic blue light was leaking from her chest.
Eric approached her and immediately ran a scan.
---
Pokémon: Gardevoir (Near Death / Fractured Core)
Gender: Female
Level: 45
Type: Psychic/Fairy
Ability: Trace
Held Item: None
Potential: Purple
Energy Grade:
Psychic type - Initial Grade 3
Fairy type - Initial Grade 3
Status: Core Cracking (Life Force Leaking)
---
'Dammit, her energy core is fractured,' Eric thought, his brows furrowing. 'If the core shatters completely, she's dead.'
Gardevoir looked at Eric, then at the crying Ralts. Using the absolute last of her psychic strength, she projected a weak, bittersweet message into Eric's mind.
'Thank you… for saving my child… Please… take care of her… protect her…'
Her eyes began to lose their luster, her head sinking back into the dirt.
"Save your breath," Eric interjected coldly, kneeling beside her. "I didn't run all this way just to watch you die. I don't like these kinds of cliches."
With his system's recent upgrade after absorbing Bill's database, Eric had access to a ridiculous amount of advanced medical knowledge and core-stabilization formulas. He knew exactly what needed to be done, but it was going to be a massive gamble.
"Haunter, stand guard. Poliwhirl, I need you to carefully clean her wounds," Eric ordered rapidly.
He reached into his spatial watch and pulled out a Max Potion, a Revive, and a core of an intermediate-level Kadabra he had bought from the black market because it was being sold for cheap.
"Listen to me, Gardevoir," Eric said, his voice commanding. "Your core is cracking. I'm going to inject a Max Potion to stabilize your physical body, but you need to consciously guide the energy from this Kadabra core to patch up your own psychic core. I will guide you through the process, but you have to fight to survive."
Gardevoir weakly nodded, a flicker of hope returning to her eyes.
Eric sprayed the Max Potion over her worst injuries, then crushed the Kadabra core, letting the rich, dense energy hover over her chest. Under the system's precise guidance, Eric began directing Gardevoir how to absorb the energy efficiently.
For fifteen agonising minutes, Eric managed the delicate balance of energy, guiding Gardevoir's failing consciousness to seal the leaks in her core.
Finally, the leaking blue light subsided. The cracks on Gardevoir's core were sealed by the foreign energy, stabilizing her condition.
Eric let out a long, exhausted breath and checked her status again.
---
Pokémon: Gardevoir
Status: Stabilized (Damaged Core / Incapable of Battle)
---
She was alive, but the damage to her core was severe.
"Your core is patched, but it's heavily scarred," Eric explained to her, his tone calm.
"You won't be able to battle for a long time, maybe never. In the wild, a Pokémon of your level without the ability to fight is just prey. Come with me. I'll raise Ralts, and I promise to find a way to fully heal your core in the future."
Gardevoir looked at her daughter, who was clinging to her, and then at Eric. She could feel his unwavering honesty. He wasn't lying to her.
She let out a soft, grateful cry and nudged her head against Eric's hand.
Eric pulled out two Poké Balls. He tapped the first against Ralts, and the second against Gardevoir. Both balls clicked instantly without a single struggle.
He picked up the two Poké Balls and looked at them.
The burden on his pocket once again increased as he now had two more mouths to feed -- one of them requiring specialized, expensive medical care.
But looking at the Poké Balls, Eric smiled.
"A Purple potential Ralts, and an Advanced-level Gardevoir. What a bountiful day."