#029 Nidoran
Female Nidoran, the poison pin Pokémon. The poison secreted by the spines and horn is extremely potent, and even a scratch from its horn or a drop of poison from its barbs can be deadly. However, this docile Pokémon only uses its poison when it feels threatened. Nidoran lives in open spaces, such as savannas and plains. Nidoran is an exclusively female Pokémon, with the purple Nidoran being its male counterpart – Nurse Evergreen.
The summer had officially ended and with autumn, a lot of wind and rain came. Today was such a day. It was raining so hard that Nurse Isabelle couldn't see a hand in front of her eyes. The wind nearly blew her over. She needed to find shelter and fast.
Covering her face with her arms to prevent rain from getting into her eyes, Isabelle took step by difficult step. The Squirtle-patterned raincoat she was wearing had reached the limit of what it could protect her from. Her white pants were sticking to her legs, and her socks were so wet every step was accompanied with a squishy sound.
Suddenly, Isabelle heard something, causing her to stand upright and try to hear over the gale. There it was again. A piteous cry for help. It did not sound human so that meant a Pokémon was in trouble. Leaving the path, Isabelle went straight to the sound, keeping her eyes out for any Pokémon that might still be out in the rain. Immediately, her foot sank ankle-deep into the mud. Still, she would not be deterred.
After slipping and falling twice, causing her trousers to be covered with mud – which was an improvement from wet/see-through white, admittedly – Isabelle found the source of the sound. Underneath a tree, a small blue Pokémon was huddled, trying to keep itself warm. It was so tiny Izzy almost overlooked it. Those ears and barbs, in that colour, were unmistakable; it was a female Nidoran. It was curled up and whimpering, being rocked back and forth by the merciless wind. It was curious to find one alone. Usually, they stuck together, especially in weather like this.
Coming closer, Isabelle was noticed by the frightened little Pokémon. It looked up at her with its pleading, big eyes. Kneeling in front of her, Isabelle rubbed the Nidoran's head with her thumb. For a moment, she had forgotten the weather, with all its roaring around her. The tree sheltered them a little from the rain, anyway. A glorious tree, many times older than she was, with a trunk so thick she would not be able to wrap her arms around it.
"Many years ago, I would have loved to capture you, to take you with me. I love Nidoran. But why must you be so poisonous?" Isabelle asked the pure poison-type. Despite their cute looks, she did not trust it. She didn't trust those barbs or the tiny horn on her head.
With a sigh, Isabelle took her raincoat off and wrapped it around the female Nidoran, protecting the poison pin Pokémon from the rain and herself from those pins.
"I hope you like Squirtle," She mumbled, referring to the pattern on her raincoat as she covered the Nidoran. "It wasn't going to keep me dry anymore, either way. Come on. Let's go find shelter. You're shivering," Isabelle said. It was truly a shame she could not give this Pokémon the love it deserved. This would have been such an easy capture. The rabbit-like creature was so cute, and the final evolution as useful as any Pokémon a nurse may want, maybe even more so.
The light blue Pokémon was a tad heavy on her exhausted arms but nothing Isabelle couldn't carry. Ivysaur was much heavier than this tiny one, as he should be.
Not far away, Izzy found a cave. After exploring carefully, she declared it safe to rest in. Shivering because she was frigid, Isabelle wished she had a fire-type Pokémon. She could certainly use the warmth right now.
Something bumping against her leg made her look over curiously and then tense up. The Nidoran had left the raincoat and was snuggling up against her leg, burying her snout underneath her paws to make it darker or something.
That night, Isabelle slept restlessly, in a seated position. Whenever the tiny rabbit-like Pokémon moved, she was afraid of being pricked by her poisonous points. So, when the morning came and the sun rose, she was happy when it woke up. Stretching her sore muscles, she got up and prepared to leave, brushing some mud off her trousers. Muttering to herself about this pair being ruined, a soft rustling made her look back. There was the Nidoran, looking eagerly up at her.
"Oh, no. We're not doing this," she told it, but it would not listen. Whether it did not care or wasn't used to human speech, Izzy could only guess. The female Nidoran followed her around as she headed back to the main path, maybe thinking Isabelle was her mother now? With a sigh, the golden blond nurse decided to look for the mother. She should be around here somewhere. It was completely unlike her to leave the Nidoran behind, despite not being comfortable around it at all.
"You're lucky that you're cute, you know?' She called over her shoulder to it, as if that explained why she was helping the Pokémon. Who was she kidding? She didn't even believe it herself.
