The fever was catching up to Robin.

"Is that an apple with eyes?"

Said apple with eyes was snoozing on the path before them. At least, as far as she could tell. "Mun. We need an apple with eyes. So bad." Snorlax made a dissenting noise. But she overruled his naysaying and pointed forward dramatically. "Onward to capture him!" She declared in a stage whisper.

Snorlax carried Robin closer to it. Then, she pulled a pokeball and tossed it, but she missed. Oh, yeah, that fever was catching up to her alright. "'m fine," she insisted before Mun could start to verbalize his worries. "I got it this time." She more dropped the ball than tossed it, but it was close enough to enact the capture feature on the ball.

It was always nice to have a specialist at hand. She loved helping with ghosts, but she had only a handful of environmental rescue missions under her belt, so she felt much more confident about their success with a water-type specialist around. "They're pretty close to shore, so we should see them if we keep following the sea floor down." She thought about the other part of his question.

"I think they're caved-in? Like there was a little alcove that closed in on them? The report was a little unspecific." Civilian reports were a little finnicky like that, though she couldn't fault a citizen for doing a good deed.

"There! I saw a flash of pink!" Beneath them was a sliver of pink imbedded in the rock-and-coral formations. But some skrelp stood between them and the luvdisc. They would have to be careful, for the skrelp could produce a lot of poison in a short amount of time that wouldn't be good for the luvdisc or the coral formations.

"I could use more protection in the garden," Robin mused as the petlil walked in front of the duo. "What do you think?" Snorlax' face was largely impassive, but she could read it like a neon sign: YOU NEED TO REST. "Okay, okay. Let's catch a few more and leave, alright? I'll even drink the disgusting chesto-flavored medicine." She grumbled more as she pulled a pokeball and waited for the petlil to drink from the river. While it was distracted, she launched the ball at the back of her head. It wasn't the nicest approach, but at least she didn't have to sic Snorlax on her to get the result she needed.

Robin boarded Pazuzu after petting him. She liked that he was vocal and seemed to know what he was doing. Though, that seemed to be universal among Josh's pokemon. They were all confident and fast, though she couldn't be totally sure which trait had come first. He brought both out in his pokemon, undoubtedly. She wondered, as she settled in on Pazuzu, what she brought out in her own pokemon. What kind of impact could she have on her domesticated partners? What would make them better?

"Okay, I think I've got it." His instructions on flying were straightforward. She'd just been fortunate so far that her Hydreigon was more content to take the reigns himself, but it was important that she learned how to steer if she ever wanted to be a competent Ranger. "Pazuzu, I'll do my best to make this a good flight." She was overly-cautious in getting into the air, barely flapping above the ground, but she over-corrected, and Pazuzu sharply brought them higher into the sky, eliciting a yelp from Robin. But it turned into a laugh, and she found the stomach-flipping sensation really fun.

"Let's try that again," she insisted when they leveled out. She instructed him to dive low before correcting into sharply gaining altitude. She didn't risk it too low to the ground, but the rapid rises and dives pulled giggles from her. "Flying's the best!" She shouted as they leveled out high above the sky. "I could do this forever."

A wave of a nausea threatened Robin a moment after pocketing her new pokemon. She grabbed at her stomach, feeling herself stiffen at the threat of bile. But after a tense moment, she relaxed. No, she wouldn't be doing any of that right now. She sighed at Mun's close eye. "I'm totally fine. Fine-ish. Okay. Fine adjacent." She brushed off Snorlax' concerns. "Let's get through this quickly. Then, I can get back to bed." She coughed into her sleeve as they walked past the shiny fish in the river.

Could burning your tongue turn your face that read? Robin wasn't sure. Maybe Gwen was far more sensitive to heat than she thought. She made a note of it. Or tried to. Fever brain was uncooperative like that. "Well..." She didn't want to inconvenience Gwen, but water would do her some good. And if Gwen took Gisath, the devious thing would stop messing up her pillows. But the more important thing was getting hydrated so she could get better.

And perhaps she would take a small nap while Gwen was gone, just a brief closing of her eyes.

"I could use more water. I need to keep my fluids up, given how much I tossed up earlier..." She didn't share the details but it might have ruined pinap berries for her forever. But her mind returned to Gwen. "If that isn't a problem, of course. You're already doing a lot for me. I don't really deserve such VIP treatment."

Robin was deeply involved with her soulmate, this bowl of soup. After demolishing most of it, she pulled the spoon aside and tipped the bowl up to her mouth, slurping until it was finished. She exhaled with relief and stared at the empty bowl with love in her eyes. "You could retire as a Ranger. I could keep you around as a personal chef with a soup this good. The broth is healing my soul, I think."

She then turned to see Gwen who looked... sick? Why was she so red? "Ohmyarceus, did I infect you?" She was going to need to give Gwen's mom a present for establishing such good teachings for Gwen. She put the bowl at the foot of the bed and made to slide out of her covers, but she paused as she noticed Gisath now, too.

"Hm. If he gnaws up those pillows, I'm gonna owe the managers... he just eats gems, right? Nono- priorities - Gwen, we need to get you some cold medicine, too. I don't want you to have this. I can't make a soup that holds a light to yours if you fall under the weather as bad as this." Robin had little experience taking care of anyone or anything outside of Mun, and that was minor. Her heart was racing. Would she even be able to provide for Gwen if she needed to? Could she take care of her at her most vulnerable, as Gwen did so effortlessly for her?

Robin gasped at the sight of the shiny rookidee, which immediately descended into a coughing fit. Snorlax, however, correctly interpreted her sound and tackled the bird so he could use crunch. He didn't want to hurt it too badly. Robin thankfully recovered as the rookidee used scary face on her beloved Mun. "I gotcha," she said breathily, tone destroyed by the phlem build up. She secured a ball and launched it over in a solid arc. Robin coughed into her sleeve as another fit began, unable to watch and confirm the capture.

She stumbled upon a woobat, which was creating such clamorous chaos that she was certain it would scare away other pokemon. "Take it out," she insisted to Snorlax, who was already on the case. Snorlax summoned a wave of water, using surf to move over to it with a large gush of water to knock it far away. The dampened woobat's racket was quieted, though it squeaked out something angry as it flew away. "Let's take a different path," she croaked, taking Snorlax in an opposite direction from the woobat's exit.

The mess of the kitchen was a later-Robin problem. Now-Robin accepted the bowl of soup with a stupidly pleased look on her face. She brought to her face and took a deep breath. "Ah, I love you..." Whether she was speaking to the soup she was about to enjoy or the person she valued most on the planet, was unclear.

Her nose had dried up a bit while she slept, so she was in a sweet spot between a stuffy and runny nose. It was the perfect condition to enjoy soup. And Gwen's broth was savory and tempting beyond belief. Robin took a hearty spoonful, moaning around it. She swished the soup around with the spoon, looking at the layers of flavor swirling inside. She took another spoonful, then finally remembered her manners.

"This is excellent. This doesn't taste store-bought... did you make this from scratch?" She thought Gwen would maybe bring something from a local shop, but... this was so much better. Gwen did all this for her?

Ever grateful, Robin drank from the canteen as quickly as she dared. "Soooooouuuuuuuuup," she repeated with adoration and love and fever-dreaminess. She covered the canteen and put it under her pillow to keep it from falling off her bed and into the treacherous land of the trash can below, filled with tissue. "Sooooouuuup." In her cold-addled mind, she didn't even consider yelling at Gisath to keep away from the furniture in the rented space. She barely thought at all, except that of a delicious soup...

She must've dozed off.

She blinked herself away, pulling herself (slowly!) into a seated position. It was a very small rest, but even that made her feel better. She hoped the soup would pull her into a panacea nap. Arceus, she would've betrayed the Rangers if they tried to keep Gwen's soup from her, given how heavenly the scent was as it filled the room.

Gwen was a hero. Robin couldn't measure or think much about the medicine, but she had nothing but faith in Gwen's skills and judgement. She accepted the cup dutifully, taking it in and swallowing despite it being a gross chesto flavor. She feebly handed it back to Gwen. "Thank you," she said hoarsely. She had little else in her bag besides a trading card game she'd picked up in East Hoenn that was popular with kids. She hadn't learned about all of the elements and type of beasts yet. She had nothing to offer Gwen for her help, and nothing to entertain the other girl when sleep would finally claim her.

"Did... you have water?" Robin really wanted soup, but water would be better for herself. She knew that much despite her desire for anything to chase away the chesto berry taste of cold medicine.