#059 Arcanine

Arcanine, the legendary Pokémon. The evolved form of Growlithe. Arcanine is a fiercely brave and loyal Pokémon. It is capable of running 10,000 kilometres in 24 hours with a speed and grace reminiscent of flight. Arcanine has long been admired for its beauty and speed. The source of its power is a flame blazing wildly inside its body. It was shown that it stashes food in its mane and carries it to its nest for its young. Arcanine lives on prairies, and it has also been seen living near active volcanoes – Nurse Evergreen.

Nurse Isabelle had both looked forward to coming back to Cinnabar and dreaded it a little. The old man Blaine still made her uncomfortable, but she longed to see how the Vulpix, Ninetales, Growlithe, and Arcanine that lived around the gym were doing. Blaine had tagged her in a blogpost about puppies, possibly knowing she couldn't resist checking up on them.

Wearing her shorts from the time at the beach with Golduck again, Isabelle wore a new tank top. This one had a Meowth on it, happily licking some ice cream. Her hair was in the usual braid, away from her face. It felt good being out of the regular uniform.

As she walked up the volcano, she attracted some looks from the locals. With her white skin that hadn't seen sun in a long time and her medicine bag, she clearly wasn't from Cinnabar island. However, no one bothered her with cheaply made souvenirs and other trinkets, leaving her to do her thing.

At the gym, no one answered the doorbell so she let herself in. Purposefully, Isabelle strode right away to the dog kennel. There, in a soft box in the middle of the room, were about five Growlithe playing. These were the first puppies she'd seen alive since the incident. Keeping her bag just outside of the pen, Isabelle stepped over the cage and knelt on the padded ground, letting herself be swept over by excited puppies.

Adult Growlithe were less eager to accept strangers but these were less than a year old. They were all playful and happy in the way puppies should be. She had her hands full, rubbing all over their happy, little heads and soft bellies.

The sound of their young awoke the parents from their naps. Slowly, two massive Arcanine came stumbling from wherever they slept. Isabelle held still while the dog, which were taller than her, sniffed her hair and her skin. She apparently smelled okay because she received a warm lick, making her giggle. One Arcanine settled down behind her and the other curled up in the pen as well, making one big, soft sleeping pit with dogs.

Isabelle must have fallen asleep, exhausted from the boat journey to Cinnabar, because it was dark when she was woken up by a hand on her shoulder. Looking up, sleepily, she saw a man's silhouette. She carefully wiggled her way away from the dogs, having to carefully pull some puppies off her lap and chest, and stood up.

In the streetlight outside, the man turned out to be Blaine. Unsurprising. As Isabelle followed Blaine into the cool air of the island around dinner time, she waited for him to start talking. For the longest time, he stared out over the sea, of which he had a gorgeous view from his volcano.

"Join me," he eventually said.

"Pardon?"

"Join me. Stay here. Be Cinnabar's personal nurse. Stay here with me," he turned around and looked at her intensely. Isabelle, however, felt highly uncomfortable.

"Ehm. No, thank you. I love my job as it is and am not willing to settle down yet."

As Isabelle tried to step away, Blaine reached out and grabbed her wrist tightly. His skin was calloused and leathery, from handling fire his entire life.

"Don't do it for me. Do it for the Pokémon. It's obvious they love you. That Joy in the centre below is hideous anyway. We could use you around."

"Let me go! I love them too, but I'm not staying! I'll call to reschedule the check-up, now let me go!" Isabelle yanked her wrist free, swung her bag over her shoulder and ran.

The last ferry back to Vermillion had already left, but when a fisher's wife saw the light hand-shaped mark on her wrist, starting to bruise, a boat was arranged for her immediately. All the women seemed to understand, which made Isabelle even more uneasy about the fire gymleader. His Pokémon were in amazing shape, but it felt he spends too much time alone up there on his volcano. It wasn't her problem to tackle, however. That would be someone else's adventure.