"Chansey, would you mind taking over for me?" the Joy asks, stepping out from behind the counter.
The Chansey in question gives me a last, lingering glance before moving to take the Joy's place, which I guess is a relatively regular occurrence, given that she otherwise doesn't even hesitate to do so. I've no idea how a Pokemon who can't speak to anyone is supposed to effectively man the front desk, but the Joy clearly isn't worried, as she's already walking off towards a hallway to the right. Not wanting to be left behind, I dash after her, skirting around one of the trainers who just walked up as I do.
"Ah- hey, wait! Nurse Joy, was that Pokemon really just-"
The Joy passes through a pair of doors leading into what looks like an Employees Only area, holding one open just long enough for me to make it inside as well before allowing it to swing shut again, cutting off the rest of that question. This thankfully stops the gawkers in their tracks — or at least, none of them try to follow us — and a couple of hallways later, the Joy and I step into a nearby elevator, whereupon the nurse looks back down at me.
"I'm sorry if I seem a bit frazzled." she sheepishly apologizes, pressing a button and prompting the elevator doors to slide shut. "This isn't exactly a scenario I was trained for."
I nod. Understandable — I imagine this situation is rather novel for her on a number of fronts, so I can't really blame her for being off-kilter, or not knowing exactly how to treat me. I don't even know if I'd know how to treat me in her place, honestly.
Twenty seconds or so later, the elevator dings, and the doors slide open to reveal another hallway. The Joy walks out, and I continue to follow, trailing a bit behind due to my stride length being so much shorter than hers... annnnnd also to avoid unintentionally looking up the nurse's fairly short uniform skirt. I never really took note of that before, but it's kind of hard to ignore right now given my current height, much like it was with the Jenny, and- yeah, I'm just going to stay back here, where I don't have to worry about accidental voyeurism.
Pushing all thoughts related to that subject out of mind as best I can, I allow the Joy to escort me to a wide door near the middle of the hall, which she opens to reveal a space immediately recognizable to me as a veterinary exam room, though a fair bit larger and more high tech-looking than the kind I'm familiar with. At the very least, it's clearly been built with a higher degree of flexibility in mind, as the sturdy-looking metal table at the center of the room appears to be capable of extending to over twice its size in every direction, or even lowering into the floor if necessary for space.
"I suppose this will do." the Joy says, seemingly to herself, before turning to me and patting the table in question. "Would you mind hopping up onto this?"
Before I can ask how I'm supposed to do that when the table is at least four feet tall, the Joy presses a button on its side, and a small metal ramp emerges from within, extending outwards before slowly lowering itself to the floor in front of me. Huh... convenient.
I can't help but squint up at the nurse for a brief moment, slightly concerned that I'm about to be "examined". I can't see any particular reason she'd bother with that though, especially right now, or without even asking, so...
Shrugging, I walk up the ramp and seat myself down on the table, my not-pants thankfully protecting me from its lightly cold surface. Meanwhile, the Joy grabs a tall, cushioned stool from the corner of the room and moves it slightly closer, such that when she sits down on it a moment later, we're left roughly eye to eye with each other. Ahhh, so that's why she asked me to move up here.
"I must admit, this is a new experience for me." the Joy says with a small laugh. "When Jenny said you had an impressive grasp of language, I didn't think she meant it to quite this degree. Most of the Pokemon she brings in off the streets aren't exactly as... talkative, as you."
[I wouldn't imagine so.] I write and display, pausing for a moment before adding a second sentence. [Can I get some more paper?]
I'm running out of room on this one — it's pretty hard to write small when you can't even hold a pen correctly.
The Joy nods, opening a nearby drawer and grabbing a pair of notepads from inside. She hands one of them to me, accepting the clipboard and form in exchange, but keeps the other notepad for herself, withdrawing a second pen to use it with before closing the drawer again.
[Thank you.]
"You're quite welcome." the Joy replies. "Now then. There are... a number of questions I would like to ask you, but the ones related to your health come first."
Works for me, especially since I don't... actually have any plan regarding what to tell her, should she ask me more about myself. While in retrospect somewhat careless of me, I didn't exactly prepare a whole fake backstory for my Mawile-self to justify my knowledge of written language, and there's no way I'm going to try explaining how the ~real~ reason is that I'm not only a human who got turned into a Mawile by unknown means, but a dimensionally-displaced one, so... yeah, I'd prefer this discussion stay focused elsewhere. I'm not here for my own sake, after all.
"This is unconventional," the Joy continues, "but you're clearly capable of answering me yourself, so... may I ask why you ran away?"
I think on that for a moment before forming a response.
[Let's just say Paul wasn't my kind of trainer.]
Apparently he is Chimchar's though, so I'll refrain from calling him a jackass outright, no matter how much I may want to.
The Joy quickly jots something down on her notepad before continuing.
"How commonly did you visit the Pokemon Center, or any similar health-care facilities?"
[This is actually the first time I've ever been in one.]
Not like I was with Paul long enough to visit one before now, after all.
The Joy scribbles down another note, her grip seeming slightly tighter this time.
"Did your trainer — this 'Paul' — feed you properly?" she asks. "Did you often find yourself hungry for long periods of time?"
I blink.
Wait a second. Is she... checking if Paul was mistreating me?
I run the trio of questions over in my head again, and quickly conclude that yes, that's definitely what she's doing. I don't see any other reason she'd be phrasing these questions in such a way, or even asking them to begin with if not. Which is great — very professional and all — except that the entire point of coming here was to have the staff get Chimchar back together with Paul, which I imagine will be a lot more difficult if I paint the latter as- well, exactly who he is.
I frown. That being said, I don't really want to lie about this, especially not to someone who's presumably just trying to help Pokemon in the exact sort of situation Chimchar was genuinely in, up until I accidentally stole him. Maybe this shouldn't really be my decision? I don't personally have more than a day's worth of personal experience with Paul anyways... so I suppose I'll leave this up to someone who does.
[No, but to be honest, I wasn't actually with Paul for very long.] I write. [Do you mind if I let my-]
I struggle to think of the right word for a moment before continuing.
[-companion answer your questions instead?]
The Joy gives me a slightly quizzical look.
"Can your companion... also, write?"
[No, but I can translate for him.]
"Ah," she remarks, nodding her assent, "I don't see why not then."
Nodding back, I pull Chimchar's Pokeball back out and lightly toss it onto the table next to me. Its occupant emerges in the expected blinding flash of light, rubbing at his eyes a little as he does so — only to freeze as soon as he notices where we are.
"...w-wait." he stutters, rapidly looking around the room. "We're here? Already?"
"Yep." I reply. "Welcome to the Jubilife Pokemon Center."
Don't know what he means by "already", given how stupidly long it took me to get here, but I'm glad he didn't find it too boring in there I guess.
"It's very nice to meet you, Chimchar." the Joy says, giving him the same soft smile she gave me earlier.
"Uh..." Chimchar stutters, glancing up at the Joy, then back to me, then over at the Joy again. "Um..."
"Sheesh, there's no need to be scared." I say, slightly bewildered by his reaction. "She's not gonna bite."
Surely he has met, or at least seen a Nurse Joy before now, right? Again, for as little as I think of Paul, I really can't imagine he's so cruel as to completely shun Pokemon Centers, if only because said cruelty would likely drastically impair his ability to train his Pokemon day in and day out.
"Nurse Joy here just needs you to answer a few questions about Paul before she can let you hang around to wait for him." I explain.
"Answer... questions?" Chimchar repeats, confusion clear on his face. "How? She can't understand us, can she?"
"I can translate for you."
Chimchar's eyes nearly bug out of his skull. "Wait, you can speak human?!"
Hah, I wish.
"No, but I can write it." I reply, tapping my notepad. "She'll ask you the questions, and I'll transcribe your answers so she can read them."
And if those answers end up condemning Paul in the process... well, it's not like he didn't hang the rope himself.
Chimchar opens his mouth again, staring at the notepad and looking like he wants to say more, but closes it a moment later, as though rethinking his words.
"I... okay. I can do that."
Satisfied, I turn back to the Joy, who's been patiently waiting for the two of us to finish our discussion.
[We're ready.]
The questioning session goes about as I largely expected it to, plus or minus a few details. I learn a few things about both Paul and Chimchar in the process, like that Chimchar learned Dig under Paul's instruction rather than naturally, and that he's been with Paul for "less than a season" (which is the narrowest measurement of time that Chimchar is capable of giving me), but for the most part it's all stuff that I already knew, or at least could have reasonably guessed — particularly what daily life as Paul's Pokemon is like. Abbreviated meal times, repeated criticisms and put downs, nigh-on constant training paired with infrequent healing sessions... all details that just make me quietly hate Paul a little bit more. It's a sentiment I'm pretty sure the Joy is coming to share with me, as she looks progressively less and less pleased with each answer she receives.
"So, Paul will at times tell you to deliberately not dodge attacks?" the Joy asks, her thin pink eyebrows creasing downwards.
Chimchar nods, and I silently curse Paul out for at least the tenth time this hour.
"Do you have any idea why he would ask that of you?"
"It's... because of my ability." Chimchar nervously admits. "Blaze..."
I start transcribing that, but pause, feeling that subject deserves further elaboration before I write it down.
"What do you mean by that, exactly?" I ask.
Chimchar flinches, his expression shifting from being merely nervous, to almost... scared?
"Paul wants me to be able to control my ability." he says in a low voice. "When I get really hurt, my fire attacks get really powerful... but I also go completely out of control."
...oh yeah, I remember that now. As I recall, Paul was only interested in Chimchar to begin with because of how powerful he gets once that ability kicks in... which I guess is why he's apparently been telling Chimchar to essentially throw himself in front of attacks. He literally wants Chimchar hurt.
I scowl and copy all that down for the Joy to read. She stares at the words with the same distantly angry look she's been giving most of what I've been translating, and I swear I can hear her teeth clenching behind her pursed lips, even as she writes something down on her own notepad.
"...I see." she says after a moment of silence, sounding rather drained.
[Are we almost done, by the way? My hand is getting tired.]
Seriously, these claws were not meant to hold a steady grip on something for this long, and I feel I've conveyed more than enough about how Paul treats Chimchar on a daily basis for a judgment to be made in that regard.
"Yes, I believe we're just about finished here." the Joy wearily replies, glancing over her notes again before turning back to Chimchar, drawing in a deep breath as she does so.
"Just to confirm, one last time — despite everything you've told me, you still want to return to, and be trained by Paul. Is that correct?"
Chimchar resolutely nods his confirmation, which I don't bother transcribing. For a moment, I see clear worry and sympathy flash in the Joy's eyes... but then they're gone, as she seemingly forces her expression back into tranquility.
"In that case, we'll do our best to take good care of you until he arrives. Alright, Chimchar?"
Chimchar smiles and lets out a relieved "Yes!" which the Joy presumably only hears as "Char!", while I just sigh.
Well, looks like this little Q&A session turned out to be rather pointless. I expected better from Nurse Joy, especially given that she cared enough to ask all this stuff to begin with — I mean, she's clearly not exactly happy about it, but it doesn't sound like she's going to do anything about it either. Maybe Paul's training methods really don't constitute as abuse here... or maybe it's just that the Pokemon's own desires are considered more important than the deeds of their trainer?
I shake my head. At least Chimchar will be getting what he wants, I guess. Technically I will be as well, since there's still a better chance he'll eventually end up with Ash if he gets back together with Paul first, even if my intervention likely means it's no longer guaranteed. This is honestly probably for the best — I just wish it didn't leave such a rotten taste in my mouth.
*guUuRrRgle*
And... on that subject...?
I turn, somewhat incredulously, to the apparent source of that rather tremendous groan. A few seconds later, Chimchar's stomach repeats its previous complaint, prompting him to rest one hand against it, a somewhat-pained look flashing across his face as he does.
...oh. He... hasn't eaten anything since this morning, has he?
The realization brings with it a crushing wave of guilt. Now that I think about it, I spent a good chunk of the day stuffing myself with free samples handed out by generous food vendors and charmed passerby — yet it never even occurred to me to share some of that with my shrunken passenger, even though said passenger hadn't himself had anything to eat today besides a dirty Sitrus berry. Truth be told, even though getting us to the Pokemon Center was one of my main priorities in Jubilife, I kind of forgot Chimchar was even with me until we actually arrived...
While I'm busy internally hanging my head, the Joy merely smiles at us again.
"I take it you two are hungry?" she asks, glancing over at a nearby wall clock. "It is getting awfully late... I'm sorry that this took so long. I admit to still being quite curious about a number of things-"
She shoots me a quick, meaningful look.
"-but they can wait a while longer. For now, why don't we go get you two some food?"
Both of us perk up at that, though I'm immediately hit by a second surge of guilt in doing so. I don't have nearly as much right or reason to be excited by that as Chimchar, who's probably all but starving right now. Not that such precludes me from being hungry too, but- ergh...
The Joy gestures for us to dismount the table, which Chimchar immediately does. After grabbing his Pokeball and tucking the notepad and pen under one arm, I do the same, falling in step as the Joy opens the door and leads us back down the hall. As we trail after her, I find myself turning to Chimchar, remorse still tying a knot in my intestines.
"Hey, I'm... sorry I didn't think to get you any food today." I apologize, cringing at my own apparent negligence. "Just kind of slipped my mind, I guess. Which is horrible of me, I know; I'm just not used to having to feed anyone but myself, and-"
"Huh?" Chimchar stops me, seeming confused. "What do you mean? You gave me that berry..."
That's not what I- wait, did he not even realize what I was doing earlier-
"Here we are." the Joy suddenly interrupts.
She opens the door we've come to, this time revealing what appears to be a combination food storage room and lounge. There's a Chansey standing behind a sizable kitchenette and counter on our right, as well as a huge number of colorfully-labeled cans sitting on a series of shelves at the other end of the room, along with several stacks of varying-sized pet bowls. There's also a large glass window set into the left wall, with an accompanying door on its right that I assume leads into the next room over, as well as several soft-looking chairs and cushions arranged in a semi-circle around a small coffee table... which is really more like a normal table, at Chimchar and I's height.
"We have a wide variety of Pokemon food available." the Joy explains, gesturing to the shelving units. "Do you two have any flavor preferences?"
I look over at Chimchar, who just sort of looks back awkwardly at me, saying nothing. Well, I don't know about him, but even if the Pokemon Center presumably stocks better-tasting food than the kind Paul buys, I'd prefer something a little more filling, as well as slightly less... dehumanizing.
Pulling the notepad back out from under my arm, I write.
[I'm actually not that fond of Pokemon food. Are there any other options?]
The Joy blinks at me, the possibility evidently not having occurred to her, before raising a hand to her chin in thought.
"Hmm... we usually reserve the option for Pokemon in more immediate need of nutrition, but I suppose there's no harm in making a minor exception. Chansey?"
"Yes, Head Nurse?" the Chansey replies, emerging from behind the counter and waddling over to us.
"Would you mind sparing an egg for these two?"
She smiles. "Not at all."
Before I can process exactly what that means, the Chansey grabs and lifts the egg out of her stomach pouch — only for it to be immediately replaced by a second egg that somehow pops up from directly underneath it, despite there being absolutely no visible room in the pouch for it to have existed scant moments ago. What the hell...?
While I'm busy being perplexed by that apparent violation of sense, the Chansey closes her eyes in concentration, and a soft orange glow envelops the egg she's now holding. When the glow fades a few moments later, the nurse Pokemon reopens her eyes, then sets the egg down on the floor and lightly taps it with one hand. The shell instantly splits down the middle, and both halves of the egg fall away from each other, revealing their perfectly soft-boiled interiors.
"Here you go." the Chansey says kindly, pushing one half towards me and the other towards Chimchar. "This should help you get your strength back up."
I look down at the rather strange alternative meal I've just been served, intrigued by the preparation method, but more than a little reluctant to simply dig in. I've never really been the biggest fan of eggs, especially boiled ones, and I have my doubts that my change of species has changed that as well. Also, even after being cracked in half, this thing is like a quarter of my height? Not that I'm exactly annoyed by the portion size, given just how much I eat nowadays, but when I don't even know if I can tolerate the taste or not...
I shake myself. Oh, whatever — it's free food, so I can't really complain. If I don't like it, I can always just dump it straight down my maw anyways.
Bending down to grasp the sides of the eggshell "bowl", I move a few feet over and set it down on the nearby table, not particularly wanting to eat off the floor. Then, tentatively raising the egg up to my mouth, I take a small bite of its insides.
...and then another bite. Followed by another, and another, and another, pausing only long enough to chew and swallow.
Okay, I take it back. This is shockingly good — though, it also tastes almost nothing like the kind of eggs I'm used to. The whites are soft and creamy, with a texture somewhere in-between marshmallow and tapioca, and have a very pleasant taste even eaten on their own. It's the yolk at the center that's the real star of the show though — cooked, but still runny, and thick enough to coat the whites almost like a glaze or sauce, it's quite frankly delicious beyond belief, with a uniquely savory-sweet flavor that I can't even think of an adequate comparison for, but find I can't get enough of. I'm extremely tempted to just tip the eggshell upwards and drink the pool of yolk at the center like a smoothie, but manage to refrain, not wanting to finish it off that quickly.
I briefly glance over at Chimchar, who if anything seems even more satisfied with his food than I am, scooping out entire fistfuls of egg at a time and delightedly shoveling them into his mouth. I personally feel like food this good should be enjoyed at a slightly slower pace — even more so now that I'm a Mawile, honestly — but even if Chimchar wasn't understandably quite hungry, I don't think I could really blame him. I ate a lot of different things today, but flavor-wise, this tops them all.
In no time at all, the two of us have polished off our respective meals, and I find myself feeling quite full for the second time in recent memory. Having been waiting at the side of the room for us to finish, the Chansey re-approaches.
"Did you enjoy the food?" she asks, picking up the cracked, but still mostly intact eggshells and depositing them into a nearby waste bin.
"Yeah!" Chimchar immediately cheers.
"It was delicious!" I follow up, echoing his sentiment. "Albeit slightly, er... messy."
The shape of my mouth let me manage alright without, but next time I'm definitely asking for utensils. There is egg all over my face right now.
The Chansey giggles. "I can see that... let me clean you two off."
Before I can ask how she intends to do that, she bends down, and a small, light blue ring of energy appears at the end of her arm. It floats there for a moment, before rapidly expanding outwards to wash over Chimchar and I, and I find myself reeling back slightly, feeling like I just got spun around once or twice after running through a shower of mist.
Slightly confused and just a tad dizzy, I reach up and touch the sides of my mouth. They feel slightly damp, but otherwise clean... wow, what was that? Water Pulse?
"Um, thank you." I say gratefully, looking up at the Chansey. "That feels much better."
Chimchar nods in agreement, though he seems too woozy to do more than that — I'm guessing he was slightly more affected by the not-quite attack than I was, what with being weak to water. Doesn't look like it hurt him at all though, and the egg has been washed from his hands, along with all the dirt that got ground into his fur during this morning's altercation.
I raise a nonexistent eyebrow, impressed at the Chansey's fine control. It almost makes me wonder if Mawiles can learn Water Pulse too — I may not plan on staying a Pokemon forever, but I'd still love the ability to conjure an instant miniature shower on demand while I am one. Would certainly have been helpful during my first week in this world, for... well, multiple reasons...
"Would you like us to heal you as well?" the Chansey suddenly asks.
"...huh?" I blink up at her. "Isn't that only for Pokemon with trainers?"
She shakes her head. "Healing is a complimentary service we offer to all Pokemon who find their way here, regardless of ownership."
Oh. Well then, that sounds... quite nice, actually. I may be both full and clean now, but my feet still kind of hurt from spending most of the day trekking around the city, and I'm probably not fully healed from the fight this morning either, seeing as that damn scarred Staraptor — Scaraptor? — stole all my emergency recovery berries the moment we landed here.
"I'd like that." I confirm, before turning to Chimchar, whose wooziness seems to have passed. "How about you?"
"Ah- yes, please!"
The Joy seems to have left the room at some point when I wasn't paying attention — probably while Chimchar and I were busy stuffing our faces — so the Chansey beckons for us to follow her instead. As I stand to do so, I can't help but think to myself that in spite of the way it started, and just how long of it I spent completely lost?
This has actually been a pretty darn good day.
Surprisingly, rather than being led back out into the hallway, Chimchar and I are instead taken through the door on the left, which exits into a somewhat strange-looking patient care room... or maybe operating room? Radiology room? A different kind of exam room? I'm genuinely not sure — all I really know is that there's a large white table at the center of the room, and a really complicated-looking machine built into the ceiling above it, equipped with numerous lamp-like attachments hanging from jointed metal arms.
I can't help but balk for a moment at the sight of the aforementioned machine, which really doesn't look terribly safe — in fact, it kind of reminds me of the sort of high-tech torture contraption a movie villain might use to threaten someone who's been forcibly bound to the table below. I try not to let that initial impression color my perspective too much though, as I know full well that a Pokemon Center wouldn't actually have something like that... at least, I'd assume...
"So, um, how exactly does this work?" I ask the Chansey, trying to take my mind off the looming ceiling appliance. "What exactly does the 'healing' process entai- woAH!"
The last word exits my mouth as a small yelp, the Chansey having literally just picked me up and lifted me onto the table. I open my mouth to protest as I'm urged to lay down, wanting to know more about precisely what this involves before going any further-
And then the lamps of the overhead device abruptly flicker on, and I can't find it in myself to complain anymore.
Oh wow...
My muscles almost immediately relax themselves, the light of the machine soothing me to a degree I'd have not even imagined possible. Aches that I'd all but stopped noticing until just now seem to numb and vanish from my awareness, and while I can't see them, I could swear some of my lingering bruises from this morning are literally fading away. This feels amazing...
I let out a sound of pure contentment, luxuriating in the warmth and comfort of the seemingly literal healing light. I was only ever in the one, and not even for terribly long all things considered, but I feel safe in saying this even beats out the comfort of a Pokeball. I swear, I'd be the happiest Mawile alive if I could just...
*yawn*
...curl up here and...
...close my...
...eyes...