We quickly reached the Pokémon Center. It was a pretty small building, and like I mentioned earlier, only had one nurse. As we entered, the Nurse put down her novel and stood to greet us.
"Micto, have you been picking fights again?" Her voice was slightly disapproving. The pink Chansey at her side frowned at him.
"Um," Micto looked at the ground sheepishly.
"Is your name Joy?" Pete asked abruptly. "All of the nurses back home are called Joy!"
The nurse blinked. "Why yes, we're all called Joy."
"Why?"
"Um." She startled at the question. "I don't know actually. It's just the way it is."
"Oh." I thought that was enough to keep him happy but noo oooooo! "Do you think it's the same reason that you all look the same?"
"Maybe," the nurse replied evasively. "Did you or your friend need to have your Pokémon healed?" That reminder made Micto jump.
"Nurse Joy," he shouted, "My Vulpix, she was poisoned, and I think she's going to catch a cold too!" Micto ran forward holding a Pokéball. The nurse took the ball from him, and managed to get the others, then processed them in her Healing Machine.
"Now don't worry Micto," she reassured him. "Your Vulpix will be fine." She removed the balls from the machine and released the Vulpix. I froze again. It had been easier facing the Vulpix from across a field, but now it was much too close!
I backed up a step or two.
"Miss Sulia, don't you need to heal Flim-Flam and Nectaar?" Pete tugged on my sleeve. That habit was getting rather irritating.
"I—I-ah," I couldn't speak. The Vulpix was looking much better now, and Micto scooped her up in his arms. He turned to face me, and the Vulpix just gazed at me, the little flames dancing in her eyes.
"She's afraid of my Vulpix," Micto gasped. The little flames danced hypnotically. "How could someone be afraid of such a—"
"Put her back in her ball," Pete interrupted.
"Micto, that'd be a good idea," the nurse prompted.
"I—but—" Micto gaped another moment, then recalled the Vulpix to her ball. I found myself able to breathe again.
"Sulia? What is wrong?" At least Pete wasn't tugging my sleeve again.
I sat down on the floor, shaking my head. "It's—it's nothing."
"That was most definitely not ‘nothing,'" the Nurse replied briskly. "But whatever it was, I think talking about it will help."
"You'll have to deal with this some time, Sulia," Pete reminded me. "As a Trainer, you'll wander through the countryside, and when other Trainers challenge you, you can't say ‘Oh, but just don't use a Vulpix because they scare me witless, but I'm not going to tell you why.'" He scowled at me.
I started to laugh at his expression, and his squeaky imitation of my voice. I think I was getting a bit hysterical, and I'm not sure when I started crying. I haven't cried in years, and somehow I forgot how absolutely miserable I feel when I cry! I think I passed out as well, because when I finally regained my senses, I was sitting on one of the Center's sofas, and the Nurse, her Chansey, Pete, and Micto were sitting around me with worried faces.
I sighed. There was just no getting around it. I was already completely miserable. It was no use keeping the old fear bottled inside. And maybe telling them about it would help. "This is going to sound cliché," I warned them. "When I was a little girl, I was attacked by a wild Vulpix. I don't know why it attacked me, Vulpix didn't live where I grew up, and I wasn't doing anything. Just walking to a friend's house after school. It burned my arm and my leg pretty badly, and it ran away when I started screaming. I was scared witless, and it was an hour before someone found me.
"That's probably why I never became a Pokémon Trainer," I continued after a moment. "I was absolutely terrified of Fire Types, and Vulpix is one of the most popular Fire Pokémon." I rubbed my eyes. "My father was extremely disappointed. It was something of a family tradition to train Pokémon for at least a little while, and I refused to even choose one. He tried to cure me of my phobia, he carved a little wooden Vulpix and told me to throw it into a fire. I never understood what he thought that would accomplish, but I didn't throw it in. I was afraid that the Vulpix which had attacked me would get revenge if I burned an image of it.
"I thought—I thought that after all of these years—I have not so much as seen a Fire Pokémon, I thought that maybe the fear was gone, or reduced, enough for me to at least be able to face them across a field." I sighed. I wasn't sure if I had already sighed, but it felt like a good time to sigh. My nose ached abominably and my eyes felt puffy. My face was probably a blotchy mess.
"Don't worry Sulia," Pete told me. "I'm sure there's a way to help you with this! Maybe you can get used to the Vulpix from a distance," he suggested dubiously. "And bring her a little bit closer all the time."
"I don't know—" Micto began.
"I think it might just do the trick," the nurse interjected. "She'll get to the Vulpix being around in an easy gradual manner, until she doesn't even notice that it's supposed to bother her!"
"Yeah, but that could take weeks!" Micto exclaimed. "My mother—"
"I'll explain it to her," Joy replied. "I'm sure that she'll understand." She turned back to me. "Miss Sulia, will you be all right for now?"
"I think so—but my Pokémon?"
"They're fine now," Pete told me. "I got them out of your pouch while you were um... not quite coherent."
"Oh."
I wasn't terribly pleased at the prospect of being around Micto for the next few weeks. My first impression of the boy was rather low. I didn't much like the idea of being around a Vulpix either—though I knew that it was probably the only way to keep me from freezing to the spot every time I so much as saw a Fire Pokémon!
After dinner, Joy and Micto disappeared for a while, presumably to visit the boy's mother. When she returned, my guess was confirmed. She quietly told me that Micto's mother had agreed to letting him go on a short trip with Pete and me, as long as he regularly phoned her.
That night, Pete and I slept on sofas in the Pokémon Center's main room. It seemed that since Fern Rock was such a small town, the Center had just one room. The Nurse only stayed overnight when there were Trainers staying over, and she slept on a sofa as well. Micto left his Vulpix with us, but she slept on the far side of the room. I waited until I was sure that she was asleep before drifting off myself.
In the morning, I found that the Vulpix had moved during the night. She was curled up in a chair not too far from where I had slept. She seemed to be soundly asleep, so I moved as quietly as I could. Naturally, one of the springs of my makeshift bed was squeaky, and made a huge noise as I stood up. I creaked too! I froze, watching the Vulpix. She didn't move.
When I finally remembered how to breathe, I continued gathering my belongings, then tip-toed across the room. The tip-toeing was a bad idea; my legs were already sore from two days of strenuous activity! Wincing with ever step, I headed for the restrooms.
I only had two spare changes of clothing with me—according to Pete, there was never a gap of more than three days between towns, and as long as we made use of the Pokémon Center's free facilities, we wouldn't have to wear filthy clothing. But we would reach the next town, Mauve Thicket, some time tomorrow so I wouldn't have to wash my clothing until then. I had chosen to take along clothes I could walk and work in, hoping to never need something formal during my journey!
The Women's Restroom in this town's Pokémon Center only had three toilet stalls—one designed for people who used wheelchairs—and the two normal-sized ones were so small I couldn't imagine how anyone could possibly make use of them!
There was a shower stall in the corner as well. It was about the same size as the smaller bathroom stalls. It was maybe big enough for an occupant to turn around. I would hate to drop a bar of soap while using that shower!
When I emerged from the women's restroom, I found that Micto had arrived. His Vulpix was curled up on his lap, and it looked like everyone was waiting for me before eating. Breakfast was a rather modest spread of the usual foods. Pancakes, sausage, and some special Chansey eggs featured largely. Fresh Miltank milk was available, but although it's nutritious, it's always made me sick. What the Nurse and I didn't eat, Pete and Micto did. The sheer amount of food they consumed reminded me rather abruptly of the needs of growing boys!
The Pokémon were also fed from the Center's larder. Zephyr looked rather smug about yesterday's battle, until she was told about how badly Nectaar was burnt. The little turnip took her Oddish friend off to one side, and from the sounds of their conversation and a few leaps from the Hoppip I guessed that Zephyr was giving Nectaar some dodging tips.
Micto was suitably impressed by Pete's Natu, and surprisingly, I found myself befriended by Micto's Zubat. The little eyeless creature was a sweetie, and I found she had a sweet tooth to match! The Vulpix stayed a bit on the edges of our group. Although I was afraid of her, I was glad that she was willing to help me through my problem. I warily tossed half a sausage from my plate to her, and she seemed to appreciate the gift.
The sun was well up by the time we managed to leave. Since Micto was allowing his Vulpix some loose time, Pete and I allowed our "special favorites" to walk with us or ride on our shoulders. We were all rather quiet as we journeyed to Mauve Thicket, and I used this time to think.
It occurred to me that almost every Trainer I had ever met had a "special favorite" Pokémon. For most of them, it was their first one, usually given to them by their local Professor. Others prized an especially rare Pokémon, and still others favored Pokémon which were much like themselves. I suppose others could debate over whether I preferred Flim-Flam or Zephyr, but honestly I'm not sure if either of them is my "favorite." The Sudowoodo enjoyed the peaceful walk though, and Zephyr certainly had a blast dancing around on the light breeze.
Mauve Thicket was a bit larger than Fern Rock. Its Pokémon Center seemed nearly identical to the previous one. After only one night of camping, I was thrilled to learn that the only difference between the Fern Rock and the Mauve Thicket PokeCenters is that this one had actual beds!
At this point, I was getting accustomed to seeing a Vulpix every time I turned around, but I wouldn't let her get too close to me. After learning the names of my and Pete's Pokémon, Micto introduced his. The Vulpix was Calda, he called the Zubat "Sonique," and the Pikachu had been dubbed "Zap." He admitted that he hadn't come up with names for the Metapod, Kakuna, or pair of Magikarp.
Not much happened in Mauve Thicket. None of the local kids fancied themselves Trainers—the ones who took Pokémon seriously were all on Pokémon journeys and there weren't any other Trainers staying overnight at the local Pokémon Center. I washed my dirty laundry, made sure that Pete and Micto cleaned their clothes as well, and set about trying to get Zephyr to learn some offensive attacks. That evening before we turned in, we had progressed as far as the rather mediocre attack "Tail Whip." Somewhat disappointed, but tired from the long day, I decided to try again later.
The walk between Mauve Thicket and the next city, Amethyst Stream, was only about six hours. Amethyst Stream was a tiny hamlet, lacking a Pokémon Center and, so Micto snickered as we reached it, running water.
"Well, they are by a stream," I told him somewhat crossly. Micto was getting on my nerves. "And last I heard, streams are by definition, running water."
Pete laughed. "You're a treasure, Sulia!"
I rolled my eyes. "I'm much too old to deal with these children,"
((Old? You? Never!)) I glared crossly at Flim-Flam, who seemed to be enjoying himself altogether way too much. I couldn't think of a suitable reply, so I decided to loftily ignore him.
Micto was proven wrong, as the small rest stop we visited was equipped with toilets, faucets and showers! We didn't make use of those showers, planning to reach Prickleback Ridge by late evening.
The forests were rather quiet. Although we had all seen several Pokémon over the past few days, none of them were noteworthy enough to capture. Micto was rather disappointed by this development, as he had been hoping to catch something better than his Magikarp.
"Sulia," Micto asked as we stopped at a branching to read a signpost. "When you battled me the other day, did you tell your Oddish to use Vine Whip, or was I hallucinating?"
"Hallucinating?"
"Well, I was pretty sure that you told Nectaar to use Vine Whip, and I know that Oddish don't learn Vine Whip..." He trailed off expectantly.
"I've made a few TM's in my time," I replied absently. "Usually grass-type since I could get a—ah—demonstration of those attacks from the Pokémon in my garden."
"Well, why don't you use a TM on your Hoppip, so she can be more useful in a battle?"
Micto was speaking in a perfectly reasonable tone, and what he said made perfect sense.
"That would be a good idea," Pete added. "I feel stupid for not thinking of it myself!"
"Imagine how I feel," I muttered. Flim-Flam laughed. The two boys snickered, and I again decided to loftily ignore them, stalking down the path to Prickleback Ridge.
The evening was purpling as we reached the town. It was larger than Virescent City, and the Pokémon Center was marked by a giant illuminated Pokéball.
"Tacky," I decided as we headed into the town proper. The people who lived here seemed prone to flashy displays of lights and bright paints. At this time of the day, the streets were crowded with people returning home from work. The Pokémon Center had several other people in it, but no line to speak of. Our Pokémon didn't really require a checkup, but I figured it would be a good idea to make sure that they hadn't picked up anything on the road.
Once the pink-haired nurse—another Joy, I presumed—returned my Pokéballs, I headed over to a group of unoccupied chairs. After releasing Zephyr, I shrugged off my backpack and rooted around inside. It was amazing how much I didn't ache after lugging that thing around! I suppose I'm more tougher than I had thought! Eventually I found my small supply of hand-made TM's, small spheres which looked much like the official Sliph Co. TM's.
Pete and Micto were off socializing with a group of older Trainers, so I figured my Hoppip and I would have a few free moments. While I was occupied, the little turnip had decided to explore the small cluster of chairs, and I had to call to get her attention.
Once she was in front of me, I took a deep breath. "Zephyr, remember how I'm trying to help you learn some new attacks?" She bobbed her head. "Well, I have a way to help you learn a new attack right now, one that you wouldn't normally be able to learn."
"Piiip?"
"These are called Techincal Machines—‘TM's'—and they help Pokémon learn new attacks.
"Hop!"
"Do you want to try one?"
"Hoppip!" She bobbed her head again, and leapt onto my lap.
"Now we'll just decide which one to use." I looked at the whole four TM's I had found. One for Sweet Scent, another Vine Whip, an Absorb, and a Razor Leaf. Sweet Scent was ruled out quickly, being just as useful as Tail Whip in some cases. Absorb didn't really do much damage, and Zephyr already knew Synthesis for healing. Vine Whip was a decent attack, but it took a lot of energy to perform. We decided on Razor Leaf—any good Grass Type could shoot out Razor Leaf after Razor Leaf without getting too tired!
Together, we activated the TM, and the glow inside the sphere seemed to shift into Zephyr's body. She absorbed the light, and it faded. It was a rather interesting process.
"Do you want to test it out now?" She bounded to the floor and hopped quickly to the door. Calda the Vulpix trailed after the Hoppip, but I tried to ignore her fiery presence.
Once we got outside, I looked around for a quiet area for Zephyr to practice a bit. Prickleback Ridge's Pokémon Center, like most of the ones I had seen, was set back from the street by several yards. This one had buildings on either side, with a few potted trees and decorative benches set to the side of the path leading from the street to the Center.
I sat on one of those benches facing the windowless wall of the building to the left of the Center. Zephyr settled in front of me, and glanced askance at me.
"Okay dear, Razor Leaf away." Zephyr flicked her leaves quickly, and two sharp green crescents flew wildly at the wall, shattering on the painted bricks. "Try it again, you'll get better with practice!"
After half an hour of Razor Leafs which gradually increased in accuracy, Zephyr and I agreed that it was enough for the night. I scooped her up onto my shoulder and we headed back inside. I was rather pleased with how quickly I was picking up Hoppip vocabulary. The Vulpix followed us back inside.
