|| 21 days later || Maxie & Trey
It was times like these that Trey wouldn't have minded having a fire type handy.
A street light's orange glow filtered through from the Pokecenter's broken windows, not quite reaching the back of the room, and the overhead fluorescent lights flickered on occasionally, accompanied by an annoying buzzing sound. It didn't help that the lost Aqua grunt didn't have a clue what he was doing, but it would be nice to at least be able to see the stupid buttons on this stupid machine.
The Center itself was a mess, having clearly been looted long ago, with not a potion or antidote in sight. Even the precious healing machine had not been spared - evidently someone had attempted to rip it out at some point, and it was in a sorry state, covered in dents and frayed wires. Who knows if it could even work any more.
"C'mon..." Over the past half hour, the frustrated grunt had tried each of the console's buttons in every possible sequence several times, and still, nothing. With a groan, Trey slumped down onto the console, his forehead pressing down on multiple buttons.
A merry little jingle started to play quietly. Trey shot up to find the console lit up, with his three pokeballs enveloped in it's warm glow.
"YES!"
...And then the light promptly faded again, the jingle warping and distorting eerily before cutting out.
"No no nonono..."
Trey gritted his teeth, finally losing patience with the temperamental machine. He grabbed the nearest piece of rubble and started to bash it against the console repeatedly.
"WORK, DAMMIT!"