#062 Poliwrath
Poliwrath, the tadpole Pokémon. The evolved form of Poliwhirl and the final evolution of Poliwag. It has powerful muscles in its arms and legs that never tire. When it swims, it uses all the muscles in its body, and is able to swim vast distances with minimal breathing. Poliwrath, despite being an excellent swimmer, usually lives on dry land near the water's edge – Nurse Evergreen.
The following morning, Nurse Isabelle was still in Cerulean, having returned yet again to the park in the south of the city. This time, she sat in the grass of one of the more maintained areas while she watched rangers walk back and forth from that depressing, secluded pond she had discovered yesterday. She struggled to trust the rangers to do their job properly, despite knowing they're trained for this. To soothe her worries, she allowed herself to watch them.
Next to her, on the grass, laid Ivysaur. For once, her starter wasn't napping. He had rested his head on his front paws and was staring out over the water, where Wartortle would be swimming, had she not acted up yesterday. Isabelle stroked Ivysaur over his head gently. Pressing the call button on the Pokéball didn't give a response, which was a first for Izzy. So she'd decided to stop trying for a while.
"I know, Ivy. I feel just as bad as you do, maybe even worse."
"Ivy…" He replied.
Pidgeotto wasn't out, either. He was resting up in the Pokécentre. Izzy pushed him a bit hard yesterday and so he stayed in their room to be sure he hadn't seriously sprained anything.
On the path on the right came the oddest duo Isabelle had seen in a long while. On the left walked a little girl, who looked she was about five or six years old. She wore a frilly yellow dress that looked like a nightgown. From the way she stared ahead, not focussing on anything, Isabelle guessed she might be blind. She did have the most adorable, ecstatic grin on her face, showing off some missing teeth.
On the right walked a massive Poliwrath, who was taller than the girl was. The water/fighting type looked nothing like the Poliwrath she had seen before. This one, instead of the usual mean look, behaved gently as he held the little girl's hand. Instead of a Growlithe for blind people, this girl had a Poliwrath. Well, Isabelle thought amused, it certainly kept robbers away.
"Hey there," Isabelle said kindly, to not startle her. "What a magnificent Poliwrath you have there, little girl. Does he have a name?"
The girl turned her head in the direction of Izzy's voice. "Polly. His name is Polly."
Isabelle smiled. "How fitting. What's your name?"
"Polly."
"Polly and Polly? All right. I am Isabelle. I'm a Pokémon nurse. Do you like Pokémon?"
Polly grinned. "Yes! Polly was my first Pokémon when he was a Polly-wag! But I love all Pokémon."
Izzy had to muffle a snort at "Polly-wag". It was so incredibly adorable. Meanwhile, Ivysaur had crept closer.
"Have you ever touched an Ivysaur, Polly? Because Ivy here is very friendly. Come kneel down, he's not as tall as your Polly-wrath. Poliwrath, be careful, she might fall over." Isabelle instructed gently.
Guided by her Poliwrath, the girl sat on her knees and stroked Ivysaur's head. As she expected, Ivy is exceptionally good with young children, being one of the kindest and most patient Pokémon she knew. Meanwhile, Izzy snapped a photo of the three of them, sending it to Dominic and saving it for her blog. She debated sending it to her mother, but feared she would not approve of Polly-wrath. Her mother was rather … traditional.
After a small while, a man came running, who recognised his daughter because of the Poliwrath. He thanked Isabelle with a deep bow for taking care of his daughter, explaining they liked to go exploring. While Poliwrath was capable, they still worried. Isabelle smiled and said not to worry about it. She stroked Poliwrath's head, praising him for his good work, and waved at them as the family walked away.
Sitting at the lake-side again, Isabelle watched Ivy crawl onto her lap. He seemed a little revived from this meeting.
"Even if Wartortle might leave us, one day, that doesn't mean it's the end. Pokémon come and go. I will not force Wartortle to stay, just as I will not deny a Pokémon that wants to join for a while. You'll find new friends, Ivy. Don't worry."
"Ivy…" was the reply.
"Who knows, maybe you want to leave one day."
"Saur! Saur!" Ivysaur denied vehemently. The poor guy couldn't even imagine a different life than this, it seemed. He was still young, though. His wishes in life could change, as Wartortle's has.