Summary: Ash has his Pokémon treated by Nurse Joy before the tournament...except... BreezeShipper
Extra Joyful
Ash, Brock, Dawn and their Pokémon friends arrived at Lily of the Valley Island. After Dawn's runner-up finish losing to Zoey in the Final Round of the Sinnoh Grand Festival, Ash stood to the plate for his crack at fame. It wasn't long ago since Ash beat Volkner at the Sunnyshore Gym. Now arriving, the stage was set for an extraordinary tournament. Just look at the crowd! "Oh, wow!" Dawn gasped. "Have they all come to see the tournament?" See it or take part in it?
"We'll only know when the tournament starts," Brock didn't want to jump the gun. Ash became anxious to make sure he was ready for his opponents.
"Hey, lemme make sure my Pokémon are ready to go," he prepped. "And I wanna use more than the Pokémon I captured in Sinnoh." This surprised Brock, Dawn and Pikachu.
"Wait, you mean you wanna use Pokémon you got from other regions?" Dawn jumped in need of verification.
"Well, yeah! The reason I finished in the Top 8 in the Evergrand Tournament is because I preferred to stick with the Pokémon within the region. If I use a bigger combination of Pokémon, I believe I can go even farther." An interesting theory.
"Well, you can't use any of your Pokémon until you register," Brock reminded. Ash bobbed a nod, knowing that he needed to make sure his eight badges were authentic. When they entered the Center, it was chaos. Only a handful of Nurse Joys were attending to so many trainers. It would take a while before a Joy was free to take care of Ash.
"Oh, man! What now?" He needed to register for the tournament and get his Pokémon ready for training. A man came forward with a scanner.
"I'm sorry about all the confusion," he apologized. "But there's been a few complications which can explain the slow registrations." What complications could there be? "If anything, I can scan your Dex and badges." Ash handed his items to the man who plugged a device to it. On the screen popped Ash's photo and information. A message read "VERIFICATION COMPLETE." Finally, he opened the case and viewed the eight badges within. Scanned, the screen now read "REGISTRATION COMPLETE- ASH KETCHUM." A card was printed out. "And you're all set. Here's your key." Oh, he's giving a keycard to Ash. Slightly satisfied, the group retreated to the trainers' hotel and entered. Fruits in a bowl on a table surrounded by sofas, a window view of the ocean, room fit for an Onix...they were set.
"Wow!" Dawn gasped. "Massive!" There was a gift basket with Ash's name on it. When Ash read the card, a familiar name appeared.
"It's from Prof. Oak!" he realized. "That reminds me, I gotta call him about having all my Pokémon here to train." A great reminder but to a point.
"Remember, you can only hold six at a time," Brock warned. "And even if you can trade your Pokémon here, we'll need a Nurse Joy to verify the safe transfer." And with the current situation, that's easier said than done. Dawn didn't see this as a problem.
"No need to worry," she voiced. "We still have until the end of the week to prepare for it all." A sure reason not to panic so much.
"Yeah, good point," Ash acknowledged. "By that time, all those complications with the Pokémon Center shouldn't be a problem." So, everything's all honky-dory. Suddenly, a knock on the door. Someone competing in the tournament wanting to wish Ash luck? A fan of Ash's that wants an autograph? Paul, perhaps? Brock opened the door, a Nurse Joy visiting.
"Hello," she greeted. "I've come to check Ash's Pokémon." Finally, Ash's Pokémon will receive a well-deserved checkup but something wasn't right. Normally when it comes to a Joy or an Officer Jenny, Brock is head over heels, swooning to no end at them. However, there was no reaction. Not a heart in his squinted eyes, not a wish to drop onto a knee in the release of wanting a little action...nothing! One clue could be that Joy was shorter than the Joys he knew during their travels. Perhaps it's a Joy from the Orange Islands while he was living with...her. Joy wheeled in a machine normally used at all Pokémon Centers. Battery operated?
"Thank you, Nurse Joy! But why come all the way here when we could have visited you at anytime?" Joy knew she'd be quizzed about this.
"Well, I didn't wanna be stuck all day at the Pokémon Center...and since I heard that some of the trainers couldn't wait to get their Pokémon treated, I thought coming by to aid them could help," That's real thoughtful of her...if she was Nurse Joy as Brock realized.
"Well, thanks...Marnie!" he ratted out. Joy jumped in surprise, creaking her neck to Brock who seemed confident that she's not Nurse Joy. Ash, Dawn and the Pokémon were flabbergasted. She was an imposter.
"M-M-Marnie!" Dawn hiccuped. It was a shock that the phony Joy was found out.
"H-H-How d-d-did you know it was me?" Joy- Marnie gulped. Ash harshly palmed his head. If there was someone who could differentiate girls from women, Brock was the man for the job.
"Well, you're too short and don't really have the charm your mother or her younger sisters have." Poor Marnie. She dressed up as a Nurse Joy and brought the necessary equipment but couldn't bring the age or charm on Brock.
"I should have known to trust Brock's instincts with Nurse Joys," Dawn admitted to the shortcoming. Marnie ripped off her nurse hat and flung it to the ground in defeat. She wanted to help out Ash but she's not old or qualified enough to do what her mother and aunts and cousins do for a living. Not that there's anything wrong with another Joy. Ash stood up for Marnie.
"Brock, Dawn, back off!" he argued. "She may not be Nurse Joy but give her a shot. I mean, who knows. She might be better than her mom." Ash gave Marnie faith and Marnie glared back, surprised that he's giving her a chance. Even Pikachu supported Marnie. The Nurse wannabe became humbled with the support of those who she wanted to check.
"Thank you, Ash," she sighed. Brock and Dawn gave up on saying that a real Nurse Joy needed to treat the Pokémon.
"Oh, well," Dawn shrugged. "I gotta call Mom to tell her we've made it." She walked off to make the call. Marnie hoisted Pikachu up and noticed a bruise around his abdomen.
"What do we have here?" Rubbing it, Pikachu winced. The bruise hurt the Electric Mouse Pokémon. "I saw a similar bruise on a Bidoof. I know what I can use." She dabbed some ointment onto the bruise before applying an ice-wrapped tissue on it. The bitter cold made Pikachu shiver and the ointment was worse. "There!" Marnie rubbed the bruise again. No reaction from Pikachu. "It's gonna take a day for the bruise to swell down."
"Wow!" Ash awed. Brock couldn't believe her discovery.
"I wouldn't have noticed that bruise," he confessed. Marnie giggled to the disbelief she gave Ash and Brock.
"Like I said, being a family member of Joys has its perks," she gloated. "Now, let's take a look at the rest of your Pokémon." Ash presented four Pokéballs and opened them to show Marnie his Staraptor, Infernape, Buizel and Gible. What about a sixth Pokémon?
"I wanna bring out Torterra but knowing how big it is..." Ash explained. Marnie understood. That's when Brock remembered something.
"Hold on a second," he spoke up. "If you're here, what about Paige?" Marnie knew he was talking about her little sister.
"She's back home," she answered. "One of my mom's cousins wanted to bring me here for extra help. I didn't want to pass this off." No one asked about how she got to the island but there's the answer.
"Okay, I gotcha. I'm gonna make dinner." Praises from Ash and Marnie welcomed the thought of food. This left Ash and Marnie alone with the Pokémon as he left for the kitchen. Hands on approach underway, Marnie studied the color, muscles and their mouths, a risky task with Gible. Gible leaped, wanting to bite Marnie in the head. Ash pushed Marnie and took the bite on his head.
"Gible, stop!" he ordered. Marnie grabbed Gible, petting it to release Ash. Once off, Ash relaxed...a little. "Gible, she's making sure you're okay!" Gible didn't feel shamed about the reaction. Putting him down, Marnie got to Ash and removed his cap. She's worried about how deep the puncture wounds got. Luckily, they were only flesh wounds. He'll be okay. After that stunt, Ash and Marnie got outside so she could look at the Continent Pokémon. Marnie saw nothing wrong with Torterra.
"All of your Pokémon look ready to compete." Ash was happy to get the all-clear.
"Well, they won't be competing alone. When I call Prof. Oak and transfer my Pokémon here, you can take a look at them, too." Something Nurse Marnie was excited to hear.
"I can't wait." Ash recalled Torterra back into its ball before returning inside themselves for dinner. That's when someone began shouting from behind.
"Outta the way!" a young man roared repeatedly. Turning back, Ash saw Barry coming their direction at full speed. He had to act fast. He pulled Marnie towards him to make room for the blond. Unfortunately, disaster. Ash's jeans-covered legs and Marnie's pantyhose-coated legs tangled up, tripping both onto the hard-tiled floor with Marnie landing on top of Ash. Barry craned his head to see Ash's cap fly off. "Ash?" He should be paying attention to the elevator he's dashing right at. Worse was the door opening and Paul ready to step out. This wasn't going to end well for anyone.
"What the-" Paul jumped as he saw the orange striped shirt barreling towards him. He stepped to the side as Barry slammed into the elevator, leaving a dent the shape of him. As Paul looked on, surprisingly not counting his blessings that he narrowly escaped unharmed, Marnie found herself seated on Ash. His first concern was for Marnie.
"You okay?" he asked. Marnie slowly nodded, more worried about Ash.
"I should be asking you that," she teased. Soon enough, they were caught gazing to the eyes of one another. They couldn't look away. Paul did dart his head away.
"You know, there are rooms here for that kind of activity," he snorted. As he passed them, Barry unglued himself from the elevator wall and looked toward the target that he nearly ran into.
"Hey, you!" he snapped. "You moved outta the way of me and made me smash into the elevator! I'm fining you for allowing me to hit-" He stopped with Paul's turned head. "Paul?!" The scowl at the blond began scaring Barry in his place.
"Watch where you're going!" Barry stepped back into the elevator he claimed Paul made him ran into. Ash and Marnie weren't paying attention to this. Marnie leaned down.
"Lemme heal you," she whispered as she leaned in and kissed Ash. These had to have been harbored feelings she bottled up until now when he saved her from injury. Another elevator opened up, Brock stepping out to see Ash and Marnie...and their positions. Paul left the facility so he couldn't be reached for comment...like he would anyway.
"What are you two doing?!" he screeched. Ash wanted to say something but his lips were occupied at the moment. If it helped anything, Ash's pants were still on but don't be surprised if anything happened due to the position of Marnie sitting on his lap. Barry got out and glimpsed at the two on the ground. One thought popped into his mind.
"Does this mean you don't like Dawn?" Barry questioned. Dude, not the point. Ash was getting a little nursing...but love healing his wounds? Brock's the one who needs healing now that he's seen his friend be nursed like that.
"I love Nurse Joys and he's got a Nurse Joy loving him... It's not fair!"
"Nothing is, Brock old buddy. Nothing is." Harsh...but truthful. After that long moment of lip-locking, Marnie broke away to allow Ash to breathe and get off the floor.
"Sorry about that," she apologized. "Caught in the moment." Ash wasn't worried. After standing, the two spotted the other two.
"Brock, Barry, what's up?" Ash wondered. Barry just shrugged his shoulders, unsure what to say.
"Well, since I saw that moment, I'm not gonna question and just tell you to get ready for the tournament," he chimed. "I just got my eighth badge and registered. So you better bring your A-game." Ash nodded.
"Always!" Satisfied, Barry walked off while Ash, Brock and Marnie headed elsewhere for dinner. A few days and some training later, Ash, Marnie and Pikachu stood at the gateway that led to the battlefield to start his tournament run. "This is it, Pikachu!" The Electric Mouse Pokémon was ready to face competition. Marnie, in her street clothes, had a wish to give Ash.
"Do your best out there, okay?" she asked. A nod and a kiss, Ash readied himself and stepped into the sunlight for his battle. There's someone he needed to face...and someone he wanted to impress.
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY