Outside the emergency room on the M.S. Aqua Wing, three Pokémon waited in tense silence.
Gardevoir stood closest to the door.
Her white gown remained as elegant as ever. She stood perfectly still, hands folded before her, posture calm and composed.
Yet her crimson eyes never left the closed door.
Lopunny sat beside her.
A large plaster covered her right leg where the reckless kick had injured her earlier. She shifted slightly from time to time, trying to ease the dull pain.
Her long ears were drooped with worry.
Meowscarada leaned against the wall nearby. Dark scorch marks stained parts of her green fur from the battle.
Bandages wrapped around one arm and along her hand. Several fingers were covered where the strain of repeated Night Slash had split the skin around her claws.
Her tail flicked slowly behind her.
All three stared at the same door.
None of them spoke. They simply waited, the quiet hallway pressing in around them.
They had fought with everything they had. Yet the silence made it feel like it still was not enough.
Ryan was inside that room.
And there was nothing they could do now but wait.
The guilt hung heavy in the still air.
Gardevoir felt it the most.
The same thought kept returning to her again and again.
She had evolved too late.
Too slow.
Ryan had stepped in front of attacks meant for her. The memory of his scream still echoed in her mind, sharp and impossible to forget.
Inside her chest, her heartbeat felt heavy and uneven. Each slow breath carried a dull ache that refused to fade.
It was a pain she could not escape.
The hallway remained silent.
Then soft footsteps approached.
"Tap… Tap…"
An old man slowly walked down the corridor toward them. It was the same man who had spoken with Ryan yesterday.
In his hands, he carried a small brown wooden box.
He stopped a short distance away and looked toward the emergency room door. His gaze lingered there for several seconds before he spoke.
"Everyone on the ship already knows," he said quietly. "The trainer with the unusual Pokémon. The one who fought hardest in the atrium."
His eyes lowered slightly.
"They say he was badly injured."
The three Pokémon stiffened.
The old man's gaze shifted to them, studying their wounded bodies, the bandages, the exhaustion still clinging to them.
"But I was there," he continued after a moment. "I saw what happened."
His voice carried a calm certainty.
"You three did not run. You did not hesitate."
He paused briefly.
"You fought harder than most trainers ever ask their partners to."
Lopunny straightened despite the pain in her leg. Meowscarada's tail stiffened slightly. Even Gardevoir lifted her head.
Yet none of them felt proud.
To them, it did not feel like bravery.
It felt like failure.
If they had only been stronger… faster… better…
Ryan would not be inside that room now.
The old man seemed to understand the thoughts written across their faces. He let out a quiet sigh.
Then his gaze settled on Gardevoir.
Even for someone who had traveled far and seen many rare Pokémon, he could not help but pause.
He had never seen a Gardevoir quite like her.
After a moment, he stepped closer.
In his hands was a small brown wooden box.
"This…" he said slowly, offering it to her, "is for you."
Gardevoir hesitated before reaching out.
Before she could take it, the old man added quietly,
"It will not help your trainer right now."
His eyes moved briefly toward the emergency room door.
"If such things were that easy… this world would be far kinder."
His voice held a faint trace of old regret.
"But one day," he continued, gently placing the box into her hands, "when the time comes… it may help you protect what you cherish."
The moment her fingers touched the box, a strange warmth spread through her palm.
It was faint.
Soft.
Almost like a quiet pulse sleeping inside the wood.
The sensation stirred something deep within her instincts.
Yet it remained distant, like a power that had not awakened yet.
Gardevoir's eyes widened slightly.
The old man noticed the reaction and gave a small nod, as if confirming something to himself.
"Good," he murmured.
Then he turned and began walking away.
Before leaving the corridor, he stopped once more and glanced toward the emergency room door.
His expression softened.
"That trainer of yours…" he said quietly,
"He has the kind of heart that refuses to give up."
After a brief pause, he added,
"People like that don't die easily..."
With that, he continued down the hallway and disappeared around the corner.
The corridor grew quiet once more.
-><-
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