"Naturally dull to begin with, it lost its ability to feel pain due to Shellder's seeping poison."

-Silver Pokedex entry on Slowbro.

Some pokemon say it must be nice not being able to feel pain, but it isn't as good as it sounds.

I've had some close calls in battles, mostly because I can't tell whether or not I'm low on health. Whenever I get weak, I just feel really tired.

I don't remember my days as a Slowpoke, but I do remember the day I evolved. I was just minding my own business, fishing for Magikarp, when I felt something bite down on my tail. It did hurt, but only for about a second. After that, I realized I was evolving. The Shellder fused to my tail, and thanks to the poison, I forgot what pain felt like after my first week or so as a Slowbro.

Having the Shellder bite down can be kind of nice at times, since the poison from it has made me slightly smarter.

But not being able to feel pain is kind of an unsettling thought. I can still get hurt, but I don't feel it. I keep thinking, What if I got a really deep wound, and it was never treated? I know that Pokemon rarely ever bleed in battle, but you never know…

Whenever I did get a wound, I'd always tell myself, "just be glad it doesn't hurt. It would just slow you down more if it did."

And here I am on my belly, scraping along the beach with my front legs. I just barely managed to flee a battle with a huge Kingler. I was hunting this Krabby, but its mother just happened to be nearby, and I had no choice but to battle her. She dealt some pretty good blows with her larger claw, knocking me down. I don't remember much of the battle because it all happened so fast, but the Shellder on my tail bit down harder, which motivated me to run away. After that, I lost most of my energy and fell back down, unable to get up.

I flipped over to examine the huge gash on my abdomen. Wow, this is DEEP. I thought. But I'm sure I'll be able to make it back to my cave in no time, because it doesn't hurt. Then I looked at my "arms". Man, I had no idea how scratched-up these things are until now. And I've lost some of my claws… I'm surprised this doesn't hurt. Yeah… it doesn't. I flipped back on my stomach, and continued to scrape my way back to my seaside cave. The sand felt awkward against my wound, and I wasn't sure if it was healthy to have it rub into my bloodstream. Don't worry, it doesn't hurt.

My front legs were starting to get tired, but I knew I HAD to come home. I couldn't just fall asleep out in the open in this condition. You can make it, Slowbro. It doesn't hurt.

Heck, my whole body started to feel tired. Really tired. At least it doesn't hurt.

I just kept scraping along, trying to ignore my painless injuries. My Shellder started to bite down harder onto my tail, and the poison seeped deeper into my body, flowing to my brain, which gave me a slight headache. It doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt…

I could now see my cave, and the Shellder continued to bite into me. I wouldn't be surprised if it went to the bone in under a minute. It wouldn't hurt, though.

I got more and more tired as the shelled Pokemon continued to attack my tail. I could feel my world going black. I wondered how much longer I had left. It doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt…

IT HURTS.

I woke up from my nightmare, startled. It took me a few seconds to remember that am a human, not a Slowbro.

For some reason, I felt this lump on my back. I sat up and looked behind me. On my sleeping bag, I saw the Pokeball that contained the Gastly I just caught.

I then started to panic, as I felt blood trickle down my stomach and lower back. Out of horror, I stared at the pokemon through its partially translucent ball. "Are you…?" I said under my breath.

The Gastly nodded, and spoke three words to me in a low, long-dead voice.

"It doesn't hurt…"