#057 Primeape
Primeape, the pig monkey Pokémon. The evolved form of Mankey. Primeape is easily angered; even the slightest glance of eye contact will make it furious, if you are a stranger to it. When Primeape is furious, its blood circulation is boosted. This makes its muscles stronger, but at the cost of some of its intelligence. It will chase anyone who upsets it and will not stop until it has caught its victim. Even if it is awoken from sleep, it will groggily chase whatever woke it. Primeape can be found in vibrant forests or on mountains. It has shown some fondness for bananas – Nurse Evergreen.
The unfortunate encounter with a Primeape had happened only a year ago, when Isabelle had just graduated from the nursing academy. Now, without her friends, helping Pokémon was a lot more daunting. These Pokémon weren't actors and well behaved; they were genuinely sick and quite likely upset.
To gain more experience, Isabelle's mother had granted her the opportunity to be a Joy's assistant in a centre different from where Mrs Evergeen herself worked. Izzy'd be joining that Joy on all her shifts to get used to the life as a nurse. As the weeks progressed, Isabelle was allowed to do more and more alone.
On that fateful day, Isabelle started her very first shift alone, filled with confidence laced with doubt. She would no longer be overseen by Joy, who had different matters to attend to. It was early in the morning and the nurse at the reception told her that her first patient was a Primeape who'd gotten injured while jogging with his trainer in the morning. Nothing serious, just a bleeding cut on his forearm, the handover had said.
Feeling amazingly professional, Isabelle entered the fourth treatment room, where she'd be during her shift. The Primeape sat on the bed, already bristling with rage as he held his injured arm in his gloved hand. Primeape could have very soft fur, but when agitated, it bristled to something akin to spikes. A slightly worried-looking body builder sat in the chair nearby, who instantly smiled in relief when Isabelle entered in her pink dress and white apron.
"Nurse, I'm so glad you're here. Primeape has been grumpy all morning because of the pain. The sooner we can fix him up, the better."
Isabelle agreed with the man, reached in a cabinet nearby for antiseptic and bandages. Cuts were easy to do. She'd done them all the time at school. Primeape would soon feel better, she decided.
While the trainer stroked his pig monkey over his shaggy head, Isabelle stood at his injured arm. She laid her right hand on his glove, stroking it soothingly while moving to dab the wound with the antiseptic. However, she forgot to mention it stings some, and this Pokémon did not expect it to like the simulation patients.
Shrieking in pain, the Primeape did what was his nature to do: he attacked. He stomped the offending hand away that had been causing his wound to sting. Izzy's left wrist got caught between the wall and Primeape's fist, causing it to break with a painful 'crunch'. Upon the nurse's scream of pain, the Primeape leapt back, startled and fearing punishment from his trainer, who stared at the nurse on the ground cradling her broken wrist.
The Joy from the lobby came rushing in, took in the scene, and called for a colleague to take over here while Izzy would be taken to a hospital herself. Tears ran down Izzy's cheeks. Not only from the pain, but also in humiliation. Merely fifteen minutes into her first shift alone and then something like this happened.
At the hospital, Izzy's wrist was put in a cast. Primeape are strong and had shattered most of the bones. The doctor warned her left hand would not likely ever be the same anymore. Izzy didn't listen much. She just sat there, still cradling her wrist.
Only when her mother came in, sat next to her on the bed, and pulled her only daughter into a hug did she finally break fully. She cried for a long while, had over a litre of tea while sharing stories of failed treatments, and eventually felt better. It had been a painful lesson, but a necessary one nevertheless.