Mission #6

Jackson began to move as quickly as he could with his metal leg back towards the street. His pokemon, Atlas and Shadow, were hot on his heels. The trainer could see a group of medics and police officers gathered nearby.

“Hey! I have someone that needs help!” He called out to them. One of the officers and two of the medics immediately rushed towards him.

“How bad is it?” One of the medics questioned as Jackson began to quickly lead them back to the location. This location was one of the buildings that had been mostly destroyed by the Guardians’ destructive fighting. The trainer had come to help after he received a request from the Grovehart police, who were becoming very short handed considering the amount of destruction that had occurred.

“I don’t know. She’s trapped in the building but I can tell she’s hurt so I thought I’d better get medics first.” The trainer explained and the medics nodded with understanding.

“You made the right call. If she has a spinal injury then we won’t want to move her right away.” The medic reassured him.

Soon enough the four of them had reached the mostly destroyed house. “Please help!” They could hear the girl call out.

“Don’t worry ma’am! I’m a medic, and I have two of my first responder friends here to help.” One of the medics said, who then turned to Jackson. 

“We’re going to need a way into the building. Think you can handle that?” She said and the trainer nodded.

Atlas and Shadow were both staring at him while eagerly awaiting instructions. “Alright Shadow go ahead and try to make a way in.” He said to the delta ghost turtwig, who immediately got to work. Jackson figured that Atlas’ more powerful moves may turn out to be a bit much for the already crumbling wall.

The turtwig seemed to study the unstable rocky wall for a few moments. Jackson was right in thinking that Shadow was better suited for this job, his smaller size and less powerful moves being perfect for carefully clearing debris. It only took a few minutes for Shadow to create an opening in the wall that was big enough for Jackson and the first responders to squeeze through. Atlas took over the lead as he sniffed at the ground, leading them towards the injured person.

“Oh thank Arceus…” She said with a sigh of relief. The woman had a fair amount of dust and dirt on her skin and in her hair. Her leg was also at an awkward angle and although Jackson wasn’t a medical professional he thought it looked swollen.

The medics knelt down next to the woman as they began to examine her leg. Jackson and the officer stood next to each other silently watching. “It’s definitely broken so we’re going to need to carry her out of here.” The female medic said.

“I uh… Might not be the best for that task. I have a prosthetic leg.” Jackson answered as he looked around. The rocky and uneven ground would be challenging enough for him to navigate without also having to carry someone.

“That’s alright, I’ll help.” The officer said as he moved forward and grabbed the woman’s shoulders. The two medics held her legs, trying to be steady and careful so as to not hurt her. Still, she winced in pain as they began to move through the partially destroyed house.

Progress was slow but together they were finally able to get her out of the house. An ambulance had pulled up next to the house, a stretcher already on the ground where the officer and medics placed the woman. 

“Thank you for finding me.” The woman said to them.

“Well, the credit for finding you goes fully to this gentleman right here.” The officer said as he patted Jackson on the back. The woman smiled.

“Thank you. And thank you guys for the help.” She said as the medics began to load her into the ambulance. Within a few moments the car was driving away, heading to one of the nearby hospitals and away from the destruction.

“The police department does greatly appreciate your help. With that it does seem fitting for you to call it a night.” The officer said as he looked up at the sky. Darkness had set in, twinkling stars being visible due to the lack of lighting from the destruction. Jackson was very much exhausted and could tell his pokemon partners felt the same way.

“Yeah… I’m pretty beat. So are my pokemon.” Jackson replied and the officer nodded with understanding.

“Well you can rest up in a nearby hotel. Here, take this.” The officer said as he handed a small card to Jackson. As the trainer looked at it he saw that it was a voucher for a free room at one of the nearby hotels. “They’re providing rooms for volunteers so no need to pay for one.”

“Thank you.” Jackson said as he shook the officer’s hand. With how tight he was on credits Jackson wasn’t really sure that he could have afforded a hotel stay otherwise. 

As he said goodbye to the officer and the medics who were standing nearby he began to head in the direction of the hotel. Shadow and Atlas followed after him, both of them moving a bit slower due to their fatigue. 

Jackson soon enough found himself in a hotel room and collapsed onto the bed, his pokemon laying at his side. The dull ache in his leg made him know that it would be sore tomorrow. However, he knew it would all be worth it as he thought about the injured woman they had been able to get help. Earlier in the day they had also helped free someone else from the rubble.

Reflecting on his experience, the trainer also knew there was still a lot of work to be done there. Even now that most of the trapped people had been rescued, the destruction would take time to repair. Though, he also felt a bit lucky since that part wasn’t his problem.