#088 Grimer

Grimer, the sludge Pokémon. Grimer's sludgy and rubbery body can be forced through any opening, however small it may be. This Pokémon enters sewer pipes to drink filthy wastewater. Grimer's origin is credited to the sludge that settled on a polluted seabed. This Pokémon loves anything filthy. It constantly leaks a horribly germ- infested fluid from all over its body, yet by consuming trash and filthy water, it helps keeping the area somewhat clean – Nurse Evergreen.

Nurse Elenor Evergreen decided, a few days after the incident with the Ekans biting her only daughter, Isabelle should get out again. The poor girl had stayed inside while receiving the antidote, but hardly ever smiled. Fortunately, she was still at the wonderful age where she accepted all her mother told her, without talking back. So Elenor deviced a story that there was this Gloom who was very lonely and needed to get out of the centre. She spoke of Gloom's siblings, all Oddish, who hadn't evolved yet and so Gloom couldn't play with them anymore. As expected, her tender-hearted daughter fell right for it and offered to walk with Gloom.

As Isabelle put on her shoes and coat, all by herself to prove she could, Elenor called her good friend Astrid, who was the current Celadon gymleader. She had a daughter Isabelle's age and the two of them seemed to get along.

Meanwhile, young Isabelle was feeling better than ever. Eager to prove herself and longing to help Pokémon like her mother, she had jumped at the chance to walk with Gloom. The Pokémon itself was easy enough. They held hands as they walked the distance to the grass-type gym and Gloom even chanted quietly to herself. However, at the gym itself, some of the trainers told her that they had not seen the girl since morning. They reassured the young blonde that Erika was probably wandering the grounds surrounding the gym.

"Gloom Gloom!" The slightly smelly Pokémon next to Izzy suddenly spoke up, pointing in some direction before heading off. Thanking the adults, Isabelle dashed to catch up to the surprisingly speedy Gloom.

The small Gloom led her to the older parts of the city, with loads of abandoned warehouses and sheds. Pokémon such as Mankey and Primeape liked to hang around here, because the buildings made a great playground. The little girl was worried for her friend because they were not supposed to come here. Their mothers had told them so, very often. Still, Gloom rushed on. Feeling responsible for Gloom, Izzy continued to follow.

The place reeked like old sewage, or possibly rot. Torn open trash bags littered the streets. It was eerily quiet, except for Gloom calling out and Izzy running, until they heard a scream.

Like a Growlithe on a mission, Gloom dashed towards the source of the sound, being one of the tall warehouses. The door was many times taller than Izzy was and she had to jump over more trash. The awful smell got worse as she got close.

Inside, an agitated Grimer launched acid at a limping girl who struggled to get away. Gloom launched a stun spore at the Grimer of her own accord, while Isabelle dragged the girl away. Gloom had been right and had found Erika. Poor Erika looked terrible. She was scraped all over and very filthy. Her black hair was messy and tears streaked her face. Her mother would be so mad. As Izzy helped Erika outside, Gloom somehow defeated and chased away the Grimer. When it came back, it reached up for Erika's hand, holding it while the girl cried.

"Don't cry, Eri. We're okay. See? Gloom is okay, too!" Izzy said, assuming Erika was scared Grimer would come back.

"Gloom Gloom!"

The entire way home, Gloom held Erika's hand, even when they arrived at the Gym and were yelled at by Erika's mother. Izzy found the gymleader very scary, unlike her own, gentler mother. She was too young to realise this kind of sternness was because the woman had been worried sick and was really alarmed to see her daughter injured and filthy; she thought it was just anger.

Izzy received a sigh and a hug from her own mother when Elenor came along after Erika's mother had called, to explain what happened. Because Erika needed to be bathed, Izzy would have to go home. However, Gloom did not want to come with her. She kept calling out as she stood as close to Erika as possible, who hid behind the Pokémon.

"Mother, Gloom saved Erika. I think she wants to stay with Eri," Izzy told Nurse Elenor.

"Is that so? Astrid, what do you think?"

"Well, I have been trying to get Erika to open up to a Pokémon. I mean, it's about time she starts to learn how to deal with one. If Gloom is so dedicated to her, they both could learn a lot. Is Gloom up for adoption?"

"Yeah, she is. Came from a band of Oddish, but this one evolved when the others did not and so she was cast out." Elenor looked rather sad to see it happen. Izzy didn't see the two mothers exchanging some non-verbal gestures to indicate it was only a story for Izzy's sake.

"I see. Let's go inside to get the paperwork done. I'll sign her as property of the gym, for now, until Erika's old enough to inherit it." Astrid, a mother herself, didn't miss a beat and picked up on the story easily.

Utterly excited, Izzy hugged Erika, who didn't seem to realise what was going on just yet. The poor girl looked kind of stunned after all that had happened Luckily, she did over time, and that Gloom was still a very good friend to Erika to this day.