July 15th

1996

Monday

Seven days have come and gone after the starting days of the outbreak, Striaton City was now closed down due to the alarming number of infected citizens. The total number of  sickened citizens had surpassed the one-hundred mark; there were five-hundred and thirty-one. Most of them were children. Only those listed in the last announcement from the Unova Emergency Alert were allowed to leave. Thanks to the immediate response, the disease hadn’t gone beyond city limits. 

During the first initial days, Hazmat Specialists and Scientists had discovered that the cause of this disease originated from contaminated Oran Berries that were improperly cleaned before being shipped out. With this discovery, this sickness was given the name of Oran Berry Flu or OBF-96 for short. It was also found that there is only a five to ten percent chance of it being spread by physical contact since it’s usually spread through consumption of the contaminated berries. 

The mayor sent out a radio message to each governor in the region, alerting them about the outbreak and telling them to stop all food transports that contained Oran Berries. The governors received the message and passed it onto the President of Unova, who in return would address the nation when he could. 

After the announcement had been made, Mayor Reinhardt ordered any stores that sold Oran Berries in the city to either incinerate or discard them immediately for the safety of the public. There was a rumor that this virus could spread to other berries as well, which caused a bit of panic among the city population. This was immediately debunked by the U.H.O, who made a statement that any other berries were safe for consumption and aren’t affected by the virus while also stressing the importance of properly cleaning them before using them for food preparation. 

On the eleventh of July, President John Dirkenson made an important announcement to the entire region while at the Silver House in Opelucid City, which was broadcasted by many news stations:

“My fellow citizens of the Unova region, there is a great danger that I must tell you about: Striaton City is currently dealing with a local outbreak from a terrible sickness called Oran Berry Flu, it has stricken the beloved people that live there. It brings me great concern, and my heart goes out to those infected. Especially the children who are easily prone to infection. This disease is contracted when contaminated Oran Berries are consumed, and is rarely spread through physical contact.

While those outside the city are safe, it doesn’t mean this should be taken lightly. All food products should be thoroughly cleaned before being shipped out to prevent foodborne illnesses from spreading. The most important thing to do is not to panic, for this will only exacerbate problems and make the issue worse! 

From a recent call with the director of the Unova Health Organization, a squad of Hazmat Specialists has been assembled and assigned to find the source of the contamination. This disease shall not stick around for long, and we’ll make sure of that. Please be sure to follow all guidelines, it will help everything go smoothly. Until the outbreak is under control, all shipping planes and cargo boats are temporarily grounded to prevent any contaminated food products from being shipped to the other regions. Thank you for listening, we’ll get through this together!”

With the information they had, the UCD had to shut down the source of these contaminated berries until a vaccine could be developed. Dabien McAster was assigned to the mission of finding it, which he agreed to in a heartbeat. He was made a captain of his own Hazmat Squad by Director Chris Maxon. Today was the day for the whole team to go out and perform their mission!

The first part of the mission involved going straight to Striaton City Mall, and searching the food outlets in Food Court for any contaminated Oran Berries, this included questioning anyone about where they came from. Chris called the owner of the mall ahead of time, and told him that the food court was going to be searched for any contaminated food product. The owner agreed and said that he’d tell his employees ahead of time so the door would be unlocked for them.

While on their way to the mall, the captain of the squad sat with his squad in the back of the Hazmat Van about the mission parameters, giving a mission briefing before they arrived at their destination.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I know you’ve been informed about this mission from the director… but I want to go over it so we all have it clear: We're going to search each shop in the Food Court for any contaminated oran berries, make sure to ask any employees about it for the purpose of gathering information!” said Dabien.

“Yes sir!” said the squad members. 

“Excellent, we’ve got to shut down the source before it has the potential to spread again!” said the captain with urgency. 

Inside the Quarantine Center, Nicholas was sitting with a male charmander who had severe symptoms like him. The only difference is that he had profuse sweating from his cold body temperature. The two were playing with blocks while Julie kept an eye on them, everything in the room is sanitized on a daily basis. 

Nick had built up a little block tower while the fire-type lizard was making a little house for some toy action figures that he was playing with. Even if the two kids were sick, they were doing alright for the most part. Their symptoms have been mostly alleviated due to being cared for around the clock.

“I miss my mama… I want to go home and watch Alphabet Avenue.” said the charmander. 

“You like that show?” asked Nick as his ears slightly perked up.

“Ahuh, my favorite character is Terry The Tepig. He’s cool.” the fire-type lizard responded as he tugged on the tapes of his tight diaper.

“Mine is the Blazikwen.” the pup replied.

“Ah, Benny? She’s a nice character on the show, and compassionate as well…” the orange lizard replied. 

He glanced at the fighting-type’s red bracelet and saw that his body temperature was only fifty-three degrees, while his own was at fifty-two. 
“Hm?” asked the pup as he let out a small coughing fit.

“Your body is slightly warmer than mine, but it’s still not high enough. I really hate all this sweating, it’s getting absorbed by my diaper…” said the charmander as the fire-type lizard felt his bladder release a small torrent, feeling the front of his padding warm up. It added to the discomfort of being sweaty. “Warm… but still uncomfy…”

“I don’t like coughing, or even the…” said Nick as he suddenly felt his tail hike up as a warm and slightly runny mess filled the back of his diaper. The pup whined from the uncomfortable feeling. He didn’t mind filling his diapers, but this wasn’t pleasant.

FRRRRRT! BLLLRTSH!

“Wow… you really got it bad! I’m glad I don’t have that…!” said the charmander.

“Alright, time for your third diaper changes this hour.” said Julie as she picked up the two using her vines and brought them over to the changing table. She’d remove their diapers carefully and carefully dispose of them into a biohazard bin, taping new Bio Diapers onto them after applying baby oil. “There you go, nice and clean kiddos. I’m sorry about these tight diapers, but they are necessary. Once you feel better, you’ll be put in softer medical diapers” The Hazmat Nurse brought them back over to the toys, and let them play on their own while she went to check on the other children. 

The squad of Hazmat Specialists arrived at the mall and parked their van right outside the entrance, the revolving door had been removed so the team had easy access. They exited the van, holding big suitcases with biohazard symbols on the front. This is where they kept their equipment for collecting samples, scanning objects, and cleaning up bio-spills. Dabien McAster led the team inside the now empty and quiet mall.

The elevators and escalators were currently powered off, and the loudspeakers weren’t playing any music at all. There was a skeleton crew of employees cleaning up the mall, making sure to properly sanitize everything. One janitor looked at the Hazmat Specialists and was slightly terrified, returning to his work. 

The captain led his small team up the escalators and over to the food court, which had no tables or chairs. It made the whole area look rather lifeless. The only things that weren’t removed were the ropes for the line queue, those remained in the same place. It appears they were recently wiped down, and the strong scent of bleach cleaner was present in the area. This area had been disinfected of any germs. 

“Alright, split up and search the food court. I’ll check out this restaurant right here: Jason’s Sandwiches.” said the captain.

“Right away sir!” said the squadron members. 

The four specialists went off as Dabien entered the kitchen and put down his big suitcase, he took out a scanner that was similar to barcode scanners from grocery stores. The difference with this one is that it contains a small vial of the latest virus, and a computer within the device uses it to help scan objects to see if it contains that pathogen on the surface. 

He began to scan around the main part of the kitchen where the stoves and sinks are, his device glowed green as it gave off a single beep. This meant there was no trace of the virus in this area. The man said to himself “Not here… looks like they keep the kitchens clean. Let’s try the fridge…” 

The captain entered the refrigerator, and turned on the light. He then held down the trigger on the scanner as he began to scan the floor, shelves, and ceiling. Nothing was detected. Dabien then looked over at a box of Oran Berries and took them down from the shelf. He opened it up and scanned them until the scanner sounded off. 

Five seconds into the scanning process, the light on the scanner turned red and emitted a loud beep three times! This sandwich shop had Oran Berries that were contaminated with the virus, which shocked the squad captain as he slowly grew angry. He grabbed a walkie-talkie from his pocket and contacted the other members.

“This is Captain Dabien McAster, I’ve found a package of Oran Berries contaminated with the virus. It looks like the sickness originated from Jason’s Sandwiches in Striaton City Mall!” exclaimed Dabien.

“Good work sir, so far… we’ve not found any other contaminated Oran Berries, everything else is clean!” said one of the squad members.

“That’s good, I am going to take away this box of Oran Berries. Meet me near the escalators, I’m going to talk with the manager of this establishment…” said the captain as he ended the call, putting his walkie-talkie into his pocket. 

Dabien McAster looked around in the kitchen until he came across the manager of the facility, he was a nineteen year-old teenager with a red shirt, blue jeans, and black sneakers. The teen looked at the man with confusion and said “Hey there, I am Jake Everson! May I help you today sir?”

“Where did you get these Oran Berries from?! They’re contaminated with the OBF-96 virus!” exclaimed the man. 

“Ack…! Contaminated…?!” asked Jake as he looked on with disbelief. “That’s impossible… Farmer Jones from Emerald Farms told me they were the newest and healthiest batch from the harvest!”

“Emerald Farms… so that’s where the source is, thank you!” said Dabien as he took a deep breath in to keep his composure. “I have a question for you: Why didn’t you clean these berries before using them in your sandwiches? Hundreds of children and adults are now sick because of the contamination!”

The manager shook his head as his mind filled with fear and guilt, all those who were infected happened because of his lack of attention to food cleanliness. He then said to Dabien, “I was guaranteed by Farmer Jones that these were cleaned berries, and were ready for consumption! I should’ve checked them again… confound it!”

“So that’s why, well… at least you admitted the truth behind this. In doing so, you’ve assisted me in putting a stopper on this virus. You won’t be arrested, but you will have to close up for a while!” said the captain.

“Fine with me, I'd rather have those poor children recover than serve any more contaminated food. I’ve already given my employees time-off for a while.” said Jake Everson as he looked Dabien in the eye. “Please… find the cure to this sickness. I hate seeing the mall like this, it’s a ghost-town now. It’s a total buzzkill!”

“Don’t worry, everything will be back to normal once we get this outbreak under control. Thank you for your time,” said Dabien as he packed up his supplies and headed out of the kitchen. The manager looked on as he returned to his office, sitting and thinking about the consequences of his actions. 

The squad members watched as their captain walked over to the escalator where they waited for him, giving him an affirmative nod. 

“What’s our next location, captain?” asked the first squad member.

“Emerald Farms is the source of the contaminated Oran Berries, the prelude before the official outbreak.”  said the captain.

“Let's put an end to this!” said the second squad member. 

The whole squadron returned to their Hazmat Van and drove off to their next destination. Captain Dabien spoke with the squad members, telling them that he was proud of their dedication and hardwork. Even recommending that they should be promoted.

“Us promoted? I would rather not… I like my current position.” said the first squad member.

“Yeah, I don’t mind this job,” said the second.

“Promotions don’t matter to me, all that matters is keeping the public safe!” said the third. 

The captain was rather impressed by their focus and determination to save lives, it almost brought a tear to his eye. This was not the time for crying, for this was a serious matter. He stayed silent through-out the whole trip, not saying a word as he idly thought to himself.

After fifteen minutes, the whole squad arrived at Emerald Farms as the Hazmat Van parked outside the field where the berries are grown. There were no employees working on the berry fields at the time being, and there was a man in a pair of blue overalls with a red shirt underneath, along with brown shoes. He appeared to be in his 60s. 

The team stepped out of the back, grabbing their black suitcases on the way out. The driver of the van stayed inside while the squad did their work. Dabien approached the man with his squad, he’d ask him “Are you Farmer Jones?”

“Yes sir, that’s me. Farmer Jones, owner of Emerald Farms. How may I assist you?” asked the man after introducing himself.

“Farmer Jones… we heard that you sold Oran Berries to the manager of Jason’s Sandwiches in the Striaton City Mall, and upon further examination… Those berries were contaminated with the OBF-96 virus!” said Dabien. 

“What in the… but I was certain that those berries were cleaned!” said Farmer Jones as he panicked. 

“Due to your failure to properly clean your berries, hundreds of adults and young children are now sick and quarantined in Striaton General Hospital!” said the captain as he looked over to his squad members. He said to them “Search for any contaminated Oran Berries and collect them for samples.” The rest of the squad nodded as they went off to perform their task.

“Oh goodness… What have I done?! All I did was quickly-clean them so most of them could be shipped out on time, Castelia Cones asked me to do this, they wanted an on-time delivery of berries for their new Oran-Berry Twist ice-cream.” said the farmer as he hung his head in shame. 

“Unbelievable, an ice-cream company asking you to rush on delivering berries. Fortunately, you’ll be spared from being arrested while the owner behind Castelia Cones will be facing charges, but you’ll have to close your farm down for a while. You should always remember to clean all harvested berries before having them shipped out, you can’t rush a cleaning job.” said Dabien McAster.

“Yes, of course sir! I’ll never do that again, I didn’t want to do this… but I had no choice. If I didn’t do it, I wouldn’t get paid at all. Not a single cent.” said the farmer. 

“And one other thing… you’ll have to write an apology to all the citizens in the city.” said the squad captain. 

“That I can do, I want to make up for all those who fell sick to my harvested berries. My great grandfather always told me… a berry should always be cleaned, can’t ship a dirty product. Back then in the 50s, companies were nicer and didn’t rush you on when a product was to be delivered.” said Farmer Jones.

“Alright, I’ll look forward to that letter. Please be careful next time…” said Dabien as he checked on his squad members. “Found any contaminated berries?”

“We found two boxes of Oran Berries, and marked them as contaminated samples,” said the first squad member. 

“Excellent work, we’ll take them back to the UCD and process them from there.” said the captain as he ordered his squad back to the Hazmat Van with the two boxes of Oran Berries. Farmer Jones sat on a rocking chair near the empty fields, feeling guilty for shipping out those unclean berries. He hoped that everyone that was infected would have a good recovery.

After the mission was done, Dabien Mcaster arrived at the UCD building in Striaton City. Chris Maxon was waiting for him at the front entrance, wondering how the mission had gone. The squad captain told the director everything that happened, including the story behind the rushed-cleaning of the berries. Chris Maxon was rather saddened that this whole outbreak occurred due to someone performing a rush-clean on a harvest of new oran berries, and hoped that it won’t happen again. 

“Well, aside from my own sadness… you’ve done your job well! Once we get the vaccine created, everything will return to normality at a slow rate. The samples provided from the collected Oran Berries will provide great information!” said Chris Maxon.

“Thank you sir, I care about everyone who lives in this city. All those infected deserve a good recovery!” said Dabien.

“I like you, maybe you’ll take my place one day! But for now… go rest up in the break room!” the director said as he gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder.

“Thank you, director!” said the man as he went off to the break room to rest up after a long day of investigations. 

With the source of the contaminated berries shut down temporarily, the amount of infected shouldn’t be able to increase as much for a while. Which will keep a lot of citizens from falling ill. For the time being, any foods that had Oran Berries as an ingredient would have to be substituted with something else.