The good doctor made his way through the forest, searching for something. He wasn't quite sure exactly what he was looking for but he knew that when he found it, he'd know. He straightened both his body and bowler hat, helping both his vision and spinal issues. If he were some ordinary doctor, he wouldn't need to do all of the manual labour himself. Still, Cass knew that this was something he had to do.

Sam Baker's situation had gotten worse. It'd been almost a month since Cass first suggested his crazy idea to the Baker's and their poor son and fallen into a coma-like state, unable to do anything with his body thanks to his useless brain. The boy needed surgery and he needed it now. Cass had to act quickly if he was to save a life.

The major issue with Cass's idea of a brain transplant was a sizeable flaw. Every transplant needs a donor. For the surgery to be a success, he wouldn't need to just remove Sam's current brain without killing the boy, he'd need to replace it with another living one and unsurprisingly, people weren't queuing up outside his office to donate their most vital organ. He needed a donor desperately. He couldn't use the brain of a dead person as the chances of the brain suddenly being brought back to life in another person's head were so slim that even he, the maverick doctor, wouldn't attempt it.

And so here he was, trying to find a solution to the problem. If he couldn't get a human donor, Cass was just going to have to find the next best thing and if the Baker's weren't happy with it then tough. He was saving their son after all. If the surgery was a success. Which was highly unlikely.

It took Cass several hours of virtually meaningless wandering before he realised where he was headed. Nearby, or somewhere not too far away, or perhaps it was a week-long trek away, there was a group of Pokémon that could help him out. Yes, he decided, they were the solution he didn't even know he'd been looking for. Now armed with a true goal and a purpose, he was fuelled by a determination he'd been lacking until just moments ago. He grinned and soldiered on.

The journey was exhausting. It was a relentless trek over rough terrain and through countless trees, a journey full of stumbling over huge tree roots, shielding his eyes from pointy branches and hiding from dangerous Pokémon. His once fancy attire quickly became tatty and torn, splattered by mud and coated in dust. He'd never be able to wear this again. Still, every tiring step brought him closer to the tribe.

When he finally saw what he was looking for he felt overcome with emotion. Cass felt a rush of joy and a sense of accomplishment but he was also extremely weak. His quest to find the tribe had been a success but now he'd need every bit of debating skill he ever had to convince them to help him and he barely had the energy to stand. He dropped to his knees, now feeling defeated.

The thin Pokémon slowly walked by him. Some pausing for a moment, perhaps allowing a moment of rest for their brown joints or perhaps eyeing up the strange newcomer with their wise old eyes, others passing Cass as if he didn't even exist. Cass only saw their three-toed yellow feet trot slowly by, never once witnessing their trademark spoons or facial hair. Eventually, the entire tribe had passed him and he hadn't even spoken a word to them. He'd not only failed himself but Sam Baker and his mother. He felt ashamed.

"Ala... ka..." came a croaky voice not too far away. It sounded like a creature in great pain. Somehow finding the energy to bring himself to his feet, Cass stood up and shuffled towards the direction of the sound. He came to a small clearing and saw the poor monster.

It was an Alakazam, presumably part of the tribe that had just passed by only it looked hurt. It was sprawled on the ground, face firmly placed into the dirt and spoons nowhere to be seen. Whilst it had no visible wounds, they were in the grounds of psychic type Pokémon and their attacks generally didn't leave their opponents with cuts and bruises. Their effects were invisible but often much worse.

"Surely this wasn't the tribe?" Cass muttered to himself. Why would a tribe of Alakazam attack and abandon one of their own kind? Whatever the reason, this Alakazam was in no fit state to follow its tribe. It was on its own, injured and alone in the wilderness. Cass saw his solution immediately.

"Well then. I suppose I could save two creatures at once. It's a good day to be a doctor," he grinned, whipping out his mobile phone to call for some help. He'd never be able to get himself and the Pokémon out of this forest alive. He chuckled to himself at the brilliance of his plan. This Alakazam's body was in ruins. His patient's mind was useless. He needed a brain donor and if biology had taught him anything at school, it was that Alakazam was one of the most human-like Pokémon. If a brain transplant was possible between a Pokémon and a human, this was the one that had the best chance of success. He punched a second number into his phone, grinning to himself.

"Hello? Cass?" Mary Baker said through the phone.

"Mary? I've got some good news for you. You're going to need to get Sam to my operating theatre," he said with confidence despite his current lack of strength.

"Really? So you've found a donor?" Even though he couldn't see her face, he could feel Mary's joy. There was still hope for her son.

"I believe so. If you're alright with using the brain of an Alakazam that is."

"I... I'll do whatever it takes to save my boy," Mary replied after a brief pause. Understandable of course. It wasn't every day you agreed to swap your son's brain for that of a Pokémon's.

"Then get ready Mrs Baker because we're about to do our damn well best to save your son."

*

Never before had Cass felt such anticipation and tension in one room. As the two parents on the verge of tears handed over their son, he could feel their mixed emotions. They had hope. A tiny glimmer of hope in amongst the all too powerful sense of foreboding that the boy would not survive the surgery but that was all they needed. On top of that, Cass was nervous. This was by far the toughest task he'd ever undertaken and he had to deliver. If he failed, he'd have essentially murdered a young boy.

He strapped on his surgeon's mask and rubber gloves as per usual although nothing about the imminent surgery would be normal. He'd gathered as many doctors as he could to assist him. The majority of those he asked had declined, saying that he was barbaric for even trying such a ridiculous idea. However, some had thankfully answered his call for help. After all, they were going to need to remove someone's brain and then try to keep him alive for as long as possible. They'd need to manually operate most of his organs and Cass couldn't do it alone. He'd make sure every single one of them would receive a generous proportion of the amount of money the Baker's were paying him.

The scene certainly looked strange. Usually, there was one table with a patient in critical condition hooked up to all sorts of machines to keep them alive. Never before had there been a second table with an unconscious Alakazam laying on top of it, waiting to have its life cut short. Cass took a deep breath. This was going to be the most difficult surgery of his life.

It was a real team effort. When removing both brains, every cut had to so precise, so delicately accurate, so diabolically pinpoint that no permanent damage would be done. The first cut was the worst. It was like cutting off the life supply of a thirteen-year-old boy. His body spasmed and his limbs flailed. His breathing sounded more like a dying Wailord than a young boy but with several expert surgeons manually making his heart beat and his lungs fill with air, he was just barely alive.

Replacing the brain was even harder. They had to connect the dots of two systems that didn't quite match up properly and it took several hours just to figure out the configuration of how to insert Sam's only hope of life. It was exceedingly delicate work. To stitch the new brain into the boy's head without causing any permanent damage was borderline impossible but with the help of some brilliant surgical glue, the team eventually managed to have every possible point of connection hooked up. All that remained was to fix the skull back which now seemed a relatively easy job.

Sweating like he'd never sweated before, Cass checked his watch. They'd been operating for nearly fourteen hours. The wait outside for the Baker's had to have been almost as agonising as the surgery if Sam could've felt any of it. The team of doctors all took deep, heavy breaths, still unsure if they had succeeded. In five minutes, nobody said anything. They just watched the motionless boy. Hoping.

"Sam?" Cass whispered. "Can you hear me?" They all waited with bated breath. The experts all watched the boy intently, looking for some kind of response. Anything would do. The tiniest movement could mean that he was in fact alive.

"Was that a twitch?"

"Did he just?"

"Surely..."

"Sam!" Cass cried out as the boymiraculously opened his eyes. His mouth hung open and his tongue flopped aroundhopelessly like he was trying to talk but had no idea how. But still! Therewere no two ways about it. Sam Baker was alive! They'd done it!