Supply

With Hideo Kino.

"I'm going out—" He said as he looked over his shoulder, pausing as his eyes roved over every patient present before sighing.

Things were tough on the island, to no one's surprise.

Resources were constantly being used up, and when they weren't, they were stolen and/or destroyed by rocket instead.

He couldn't be everywhere at once, and it wasn't like he put patch up every single injury— not with the time, resources and number of patients he had to deal with.

He had somehow been around the island more than anyone else, yet had simultaneously seen basically none of it, with how much of his time he spent cooped up inside the healing bays.

"—Urgh. This is almost rougher than frontline work." He said, rubbing at the back of his neck as he exited the tarp, pausing where he stood yet again to look around once more.

The league's medic camps were like a roaming caravan in the battlefield, following the shifting front lines of the battle at as safe a distance as they could afford to, maintaining their secrecy through numerous cognition altering pokemon moves and secret base-style planning...

Smacking himself in the face with both hands, Doug shook off all the unnecessary thoughts before jogging off.

He had a supply runner to meet with. Given the secretive nature of HQs, they weren't quite so easy to find.

A few moments later, the youth was outside the base and on his way to (hopefully, if they didn't get ambushed and taken out) meet with their supplier.

He didn't expect to see Hideo Kino of all people, but at this point, he really shouldn't be surprised.

"All hands on deck, huh?" Doug said casually as he approached, the other youth still a considerable distance away. No reason to jolt his pokemon into action.

No way to know if Doug is really Doug when approaching, after all!

"How's that compulsory military service treatin' ya, champ in the making?"

Hideo could recognize the voice instantly, his head lifting.

But only for a moment; it went back down a moment after. He simply kept on walking without answering, until he was closer. "...we're here to deliver some supplies," he blankly stated, unable to even face Doug.

It would be his Beheeyem that would give a more substantive response. It had Hideo's phone floating beside it, held up by its psychic power; it floated the phone over to Hideo's hand, and Hideo's hand began tapping away at the phone. It wouldn't even seem like Hideo was aware of the typing, simply walking along.

Soon, the tapping would stop, and the phone would float over towards Doug for him to read.

He's just been through something difficult. Needs time to process.

No physical harm to him, no casualties to his Pokemon.

Can elaborate further, but need private area to rest. Can you lead to one?

Supply caravan should arrive shortly.

Elga watched Doug, awaiting a response.

John Sullivan

Supply

With Hideo Kino.

Well that couldn't be good.

"Oi, 'sup with him?" He asked Elga bluntly as Hideo walked past, cocking a brow as he threw a thumb Hideo's way.

As ever, Elga summarized it all rather succinctly, leading to Doug staring at Hideo's back curiously, scratching at his cheek.

"Huh... Must've been something wild." He thought. After all— Hideo wasn't really a kid anymore. He just looked like one. The man he remembered in Galar was pretty unflappable, all things considered.

Turning his gaze back to Elga, he nodded, muttering his thanks before gesturing with his neck for the little guy to follow. He jogged after Hideo shortly after, approaching the payload of supplies the youth (or his other pokemon?) were bringing along and helping push it.

"Alright y'all, follow me. It's just ahead— s'well hidden, though!"

---

A cold can was pressed to Hideo's cheek later on. Perhaps not entirely a surprise— the flap of the otherwise empty tent had been audibly opened, and the steps approaching were rather clear.

"Heard from Elga something happened." He said, still holding the can out for the other youth to grab. "... Wanna talk about it?"

Hideo quietly followed Doug into the tent, his Beheeyem helping him find a seat. He barely reacted as Doug pressed the cold can against his head, merely recoiling against the sudden cold.

His Beheeyem carefully carried the can down next to Hideo.

It took Hideo a moment to speak, the tears welling in his eyes. "I'm sorry," he muttered, the distress clear in his voice. "I didn't mean to…"

The Beheeyem looked over towards Doug, placing a hand against where its mouth should be. It once more took Hideo's phone out, using the boy's hand to type out another message for Doug to read.

Hideo was sent out on patrol along the beach.

He encountered a Rocket, and got into a battle.

He tried to get the Rocket to surrender.

But the Rocket's Klinklang wouldn't give up.

His Iron Valiant killed it in retaliation.

He tried to save it, and is now in this state.

The Beheeyem looked back at Hideo, the tears dripping down. It reached over, patting him on the back - to no effect.

John Sullivan

Supply

With Hideo Kino.

He dropped down besides Hideo in silence, considering the other boy as he hesitantly reached to him with his hand.

He wasn't sure how the man named Hideo, the one back in Galar, would've reacted. But... Doug couldn't imagine him breaking down like this.

He had been sure that Hideo remembered — like him — but... Now, he wasn't sure if Hideo remembered like him, or, if he remembered as much as him.

Slowly, His arm wrapped around Hideo, before pulling the boy into a half hug.

"It wasn't your fault." He said softly.

Hideo didn't move, even as Doug knelt down to hug him. The only thing that got a reaction out of him were Doug's words - which would only be followed by the boy's protests. "It…it was. If I was more careful, I could've…"

All the while, his hand continued tapping away on his phone, his Beheeyem having another set of messages typed out for Doug to read.

Douglas. I have a request for you.

I want you to make sure that nobody walks into this tent for about a minute.

I'm going to make Hideo forget what happened.

The sooner I remove the memory, the less impact it will have on his psyche.

I can assure you there won't be any side effects afterwards.

John Sullivan

Supply

With Hideo Kino.

Doug stared at the message on Hideo's phone, mouth left open in an 'oh'.

For a brief moment, he considered simply agreeing and letting the little green man looking pokemon work his magic. Whatever Hideo didn't remember, wouldn't hurt him.

But Doug wasn't a child anymore.

"Ya sure that's for the best?" Doug asked the pokemon simply, before slowly drawing an arm around Hideo and half-hugging the kid against him. "I... don't know if we should do that."

Hideo was going to be in a lot of battlefields from here on out. A lot more mistakes were bound to happen.

Would Elga erase his memory every single time?

Trauma was awful— Doug knew from experience. But it was also part of the experiences that shaped him, that guided his choices. It wasn't something one could just erase.

Hideo's tears matted Doug's shirt, the boy completely quiet beside the occasional sniffle or sob.

The Beheeyem's posture lowered slightly after Doug's response. Immediately after, Hideo's hand was tapping out another set of messages.

It is for the best.

The time will come when he will have to accept the possibility of killing.

As he did in the dream Galar. Even if he doesn't remember it.

But the situation there was far more dire than our current one.

Where he needed to kill to survive.

The Klinklang's death was not necessary, and was completely accidental on his part.

The Beheeyem took another moment to look at Hideo, looking at the boy's face, before having him type out more lines. There were a few moments where he had to delete lines, before having Hideo type out new ones; Elga was struggling to find the right words to use.

This is his first time directly participating in a League operation.

To prove that he can be trusted by the League.

If he is seen like this, or the League as a whole knows this happened on his first operation, they likely will not trust him enough to deploy him.

Perhaps even remove him from his position as Gym Leader.

He has already received doubt from at least one other Gym Leader.

I do not want to watch what remains of his aspirations fall apart.

Please.

John Sullivan

Supply

With Hideo Kino.

The Beheeyem might've had Hideo's wellbeing in mind, but that didn't mean that its choice was the right one for the boy.

Doug couldn't go through with it without giving it some serious thought first. Something about merely erasing trauma didn't sit right with him.

It wasn't pretty, but this was the sorta thing one could get past with the right support. And Hideo had that support— friends and family that could get him through this.

The timing was less than ideal, though... but—

"... Even if you erase the memory, it doesn't necessarily mean he'll be okay to keep fighting, you know?" He said, brow furrowing. "The limbic system has been known to triggr panic attacks when exposed to stimuli reminiscent of forgotten or repressed trauma."

Whatever it was Elga's kind did to erase memories, human brains weren't PCs. You couldn't just grab 'trauma.mp4' and drop it in the recycle bin. Brain chemistry couldn't just be undone after it had already happened... right?

Doug gripped his temples, rubbing them as he tried to think.

"And... Don't worry about his career, man. Just focus on him. No one will know unless you want them to know." If the issue could be solved by erasing Hideo's memory, then it meant Hideo, his pokemon, and presumably his opponents, were the only witnesses.

The only way for it to affect the league's assessment of him was for him to reveal it to the league.

The phone floated by Hideo's hand, fingers ready to tap away - but the Beheeyem struggled to put down any words. Every word that was typed out was quickly erased, and the Beheeyem was visibly straining itself trying to think of a good response.

But the next answer didn't come from the phone - it would be heard in both the Beheeyem's and Doug's heads.

COMPROMISE

Uxie's figure popped out from behind Hideo, one of its tiny hands atop his head. A small bit of psychic energy emanated from its hand - which caught the Beheeyem's attention. But by the time it raised a hand to do something, Uxie had already finished. Hideo was put into a daze, leaning a bit more heavily into Doug.

The little pixie floated aside - psychically taking the phone along with it. Its tails rapidly tapped away at the screen as it grabbed the soda Hideo never opened. Once the message was complete, it tapped the text-to-speech option, the message read out as it opened the can.

His memory of what happened will not be removed, but for the moment, it shall be suppressed.

Once the fight over this island is complete, he will remember.

He can continue to perform his duties as necessary until then.

Uxie took a sip of Hideo's soda, tapping out another line with its tails.

He'll wake up in a few seconds.

Sure enough, the moment the message was finished being read, Hideo woke up, a look of confusion on his face. "Wuh…what happened?" he asked, wiping away the wetness on his face. "Was I crying?"

It took a moment for him to realize he was being held by someone. "U-uh…who're you?"

John Sullivan

Supply

With Hideo Kino.

A 'resolution' was reached, but neither he nor Elga really had any say on the matter.

The little pixie following Hideo around had stepped in and 'resolved' the problem for them.

Doug could only exchange a look with Elga, shoulders sagging and brow twitching. Hideo's misery had more or less simply been put on hold...

Which both prevented it from affecting his performance while still keeping the chance to overcome this hard moment...

Okay, so maybe it was kinda 'resolved'.

As Hideo came to himself— and, naturally, began questioning the... everything he found himself in— Doug ruffled his hair, pulling his head to his chest.

"Me. Forgot already? You were resting." He said simply, stepping into the lie despite himself. "Bad dream?"

If only.

Hideo felt a sense of relief wash through him as he recognized the voice at the first syllable - as if the hair ruffle wasn't enough. "Whew, someone I know," he sighed, "Would'a been awkward if I was laying on some stranger."

"But uh, where are we?" he asked. This time, his Beheeyem would give him the answer, walking towards the boy as the buttons on its hand blinked. "The medical area? Huh…guess this stuff is a lot more tiring than I thought. Can't even remember coming here."

Maybe he'd passed out or something? Wouldn't shock him if his Beheeyem brought him here to get some rest.

On that topic…he didn't feel like he got any rest. Or he at least needed a lot more. "...is it ok if I stay a bit longer? Think I didn't catch enough Z's yet. Might get some of my other Pokemon healed up too."

Uxie quietly made its exit, facing towards Doug one last time before fading out of the place - taking the soda with it. The phone it'd been holding dropped down, Hideo's Beheeyem catching it psychically before it hit the ground.

"And, uh, there something I could drink? Feeling kinda thirsty."

John Sullivan

Supply

With Hideo Kino.

Doug swallowed a sigh, watching Hideo get caught up to speed by his pokemon with a heavy conscience.

He hadn't realized that messing with memories would be such a sticking point for him. Now he knew, at least.

"'Course you can stay, man." He scoffed, ruffling his hair. "I'll be the last guy to kick ya back into a battlefield."

His gaze followed Uxie as it made its exit, wondering what its game was until it was completely out of sight. Was it just trying to help Hideo...?

He turned his gaze over to Hideo, his gaze and brow softening as he spoke.

"... Oran or Leppa Juice?" He asked after a moment, smiling as he reached into his bag before producing a pair of juice boxes.

Eris Halla preferred Leppa. Where did Hideo fall?