With Josh's roommate having been discharged, it was lonely having no one to talk to. On the other hand, there was now enough space that he could have one of his Pokémon with him to keep him company. He clicked the switch on a Poké Ball on a shelf-on-arms, Pinky's distinct, low-pitched squeal loud enough for Elise to hear if she was nearby. She wrapped her feelers around Josh's right arm, the Gym Leader wincing. "Careful, Pinky," he replied with an unintended hiss, able to feel the sting of one of the Bullet Seed fragments cutting into more of his skin.

When Elise wheeled herself into Josh's room, the first thing he did was weakly wave to the royal. "Not the best, but seeing you will help," he moaned. The extracted Bullet Seed fragments, covered with dried blood, had been kept in a cup near the Gym Leader's bed by request. He wanted them as a way to remember what he had fought for that day. The transparent holder was in plain sight. "You seem like you're in a lot better shape than I am."

The Gym Leader gestured toward the cup of extracted seeds. It may have been grotesque to look at, but it was something Josh requested be done. Requested to have an eternal reminder of what war did to him. "That's a quicker surgery, but yikes that's painful," Josh winced through his own pain. Every time he significantly shifted his body weight on his bad side, the seeds still lodged inside him cut into the inner layers of his skin.

"I've got more Bullet Seeds than that stuck in my body still," he lamented aloud. There were days where all he wished he could do was sleep and let his body heal. He couldn't even use a phone without agitating the hard projectiles too much. "Extracting them is a lot easier, but they have to operate in stages. I'm gonna have more cuts in me than a piece of white cheese when this is all done. And even once it's over. I might need rehab, too. Might need to learn how to ride a Pokémon again."

That last remark prompted a squeal from Pinky, the Sylveon sending all the good vibes she had Josh's way. She knew he loved riding more than anything else in the world. "Did you meet any... strange Pokémon while you were out there?"

Josh had been in more ways than one. Perhaps one day, once the documents surrounding his work had been declassified, there would be a film about his work that day. So many people had limited the damage Rocket's victory caused. Without Greyson Connors running interference, Josh never would have learned of the Rocket military complex's location. Without Hyakkaryōran Tsubaki , he never would have found the blueprints that exposed a critical weakness. And without Hideo Kino , he never would have been able to enter the largest Terastal Cavern beneath the island city.

"I wouldn't call this 'okay', but I'm safe for now," Josh replied. "I just can't stand being bedridden like this. There's so many people out there I owe my life to." He paused to listen to Elise's response. "I fought against this... cervid Pokémon with eight antlers. Was every color of the rainbow. Even with Hylda, I was totally helpless. Have you ever seen a Pokémon like that?" he asked, referring to bryan delarosa 's Xerneas.

If the Pokémon with rainbow antlers was a god, then of course it made sense why Josh was so badly beaten. "An Avatar..." he logically concluded. "No wonder I was overwhelmed. Their powers are on... a whole different level than anything I've ever seen." Pinky stretched her feelers toward his trainer's good side and gently rubbed them against his arm to console him.

The mention of the Tree of Life piqued Josh's interest. "Elise, I love mythology. Tell me more about this... Tree of Life." If he could learn more about Xerneas, perhaps he would be ready if they were to clash again. Little did Josh know that such a contest was not to be...