To the Pokecenter

Ash was confused at the introduction until he saw Gary having trouble focusing his eyes. He figured that Gary couldn't really see him well, while unfortunate, it did mean that Ash wouldn't have to explain himself.

Ash curtsied on instinct and began to speak but he couldn't get more than a whisper out of his mouth. He tried again but still, nothing came out. He grabbed his neck and made one final attempt before giving up. Gary rubbed his eyes once more and blinked, attempting to clear his vision. Ash pointed at his throat, which Gary was only just barely able to make out threw the blur.

“Oh no, you lost your voice? I'm sorry you got hurt saving our butts. I really appreciate you stepping in when you did. I was transporting some fossils to a former colleague of mine who lives here and if Team Rocket had gotten them, our research project would have gone...up in smoke.”

Gary was pulled from his line of thought by Eevee as he slowly pushed the cooler into Gary's leg. He crouched down and clumsily reached out and scratched his pokemon's head.

“Thanks, little buddy. Not sure what we are going to do now though.”

Ash knew exactly what they were going to do. He bent down and got the attention of his pokemon, pointed at himself and then to the chest. He walked over to the cooler, grabbed a handle and pointed to them before pointing the other end. Pikachu and Hypno understood and stepped over and lifted the other end of the cooler together. Once Eevee saw what was happening, he crouched under the chest and joined the other pokemon in lifting. With the cooler secure, Ash took Gary's hand into his own. Gary smiled as Ash lead them all down the sidewalk.

Together they all walked carefully into the direction of a Pokecenter in hopes that they might be able to help Ash and Gary out. Being the only one able to speak, Gary told Ash about himself. Ash silently chuckled to himself at hearing Gary explain who he was and where he was from. Once he got his voice back, they were going to laugh about this later. Of course, only after he had gotten changed into something less silly looking. It wan't long before, they all arrived at the pokecenter and were greeted by a curious nurse Joy.

“Welcome. How can I help you today?”

“We got into an altercation with a bunch of thieves and a liberal use of smog. All of our pokemon need to be looked over but this trainer and I got it pretty bad too,” Gary explained, unable to figure out where she was exactly.

“Oh dear. That's horrible but don't worry, you are all in good hands. Can I get your names and what your symptoms are?”

“I'm Gary Oak and I'm having trouble seeing but I don't know their name. Looks like the smog messed with their vocal chords.”

Nurse Joy frowned hearing what happened and instructed the group to take a seat. They all sat down and waited for Nurse Joy to get everything ready.

“Hey, so, I don't know how long this is going to take and I'm sure you are busy but I'd really like it if you'd let me thank you. Would you be interested in joining me for dinner tonight?” Gary asked with a hint of nervousness.

Ash, never one to turn down food, nodded. Once he was sure Ash said yes, he told him the place and time just as Nurse Joy came round with a wheel chair. Gary and Eevee said goodbye before being taken away. It was a short wait before she came back for the rest of them and were taken to another room.

After a short examination, Joy was able to confirm that Hypno and Pikachu were both fine. Unfortunately for Ash, his vocal chords were swollen and inflamed. Nurse Joy opened a cabinet and pulled out a pink bottle as well as a small paper cup. She poured the contents into the cup and instructed Ash to drink it, which he did after sniffing the cup.

The relief was immediate but his voice was still gone. She assured him that his voice would not only be back sooner than later, he would also be pleasantly surprised with the sound. Ash didn't pay that last bit any mind since he didn't really care how he sounds but was happy with how the medicine soothed his throat. As they finished up, she wrote him a script and told him that he could pick up a bottle at the Celadon Department Store. Ash gaver her the softist of squeks of thanks before leaving with a destination in mind. Not only were they going to get the medicine, the department store sounded like a great place to pick up something else to wear.