When Ash entered the Pokemon center Lobby, all eyes were directed to him.
Nurse Joy was standing by a stretcher, bandaging the injured arm of a Machop.
Ash sat in an armchair that was there and waited for the woman to finish the service.
When he saw the trainer leave the center, in the company of his Pokemon, Ash walked towards her.
Joy was arranging her things inside a box when she turned and looked at him.
Ash began: "Joy, I wanted to apologize for the way I treated you earlier. I was a complete asshole."
The nurse smiled, "It's okay, Ash. I know you're going through a difficult situation, so I understand you just needed time. I shouldn't have insisted so much, after all."
She finished organizing her things and turned to him. "I know you don't think so... But I understand very well what you're going through. As a Pokemon nurse on a daily basis I go through stressful situations. Do you know the pressure of knowing that a Pokemon's life is in your hands? I've lost count of how many times I've seen a Pokémon die in my hands, without being able to do anything. Despite so many years working here I still feel like a part of myself dies with each lost case."
Ash felt even worse when he heard what Joy had said. For no time had he put himself in the woman's shoes. As a healthcare professional it was clear that she understood what he was going through more than anyone else.
"Do you still have that psychiatrist's card?," Ash asked.
She took something out of her lab coat pocket with her hands. "Here."
Ash took it and put it away.
Then he climbed the downtown stairs and headed toward the dorms.
When he opened the door, Ash saw that Luna was sleeping in his bed.
Trading day for night, typical.
He admired the Pokémon's ability to spend practically the entire day sleeping.
Careful not to make any noise, he grabbed his trainer robes from a corner of the room and grabbed them. Blood still marred the fabric, so he'd have a hard time cleaning it all up without leaving a trace.
"Ash..." said Luna sleepily.
Ash turned to the Pokemon that was starting to open its eyes slowly.
"What?"
"Where did you go?"
"Somewhere..."
"Are you feeling better already?"
"I'm getting better."
She looked at the clothes he carried with her.
"Where are you going?"
"I need to wash these clothes. Soon I'll be heading to Pewter, after all, I have yet to earn my first gym badge."
"I'll go with you too!"
Ash shrugged. "All right."
Ash pedaled through the streets of Viridian on his bicycle, carrying a bag of dirty clothes with him. Luna was in the bicycle basket, following him.
When he arrived in front of the public laundry, he went downstairs. He parked the bike and carried the bag with him. He entered the establishment.
There were several washing machines. Some people put clothes inside them, others waited while the washing was done.
He found an unoccupied machine. He put the clothes in a basket.
"Which one do I pick?..." he said to himself after noticing how many cleaning product options were available to use.
"Soap powder, it removes stains and fabric softener," said one woman when she saw the boy headbanging as he looked at the products. "I believe it's paint or ketchup, these products remove just as fine."
Little did she know that this was actually human blood.
Ash picked up the products the woman had mentioned.
"Thank you," he thanked.
He threw all the products into the machine, put the clothes and waited for the washing time to complete.
"I'm hungry," Luna complained, bored as she watched the clothes swirl in water through the glass of the washing machine.
Ash couldn't even blame her because he was too. Lucky for him, he had brought money with him.
"There must be some cafeteria around here...", he said. "Let's go."
Luna climbed on his shoulder and the two left the laundry, walking through the center of the town.
Luna looked through the glass window.
"What is this?," she asked Ash.
They were in front of an ice cream shop that was nearby. In front of him was a sign with the name of the place: "Lapras' Breath."
"You don't know what a ice cream is?"
He had realized how stupid that question had been. Of course not, she lived on the moon.
She shook her head in denial.
Ash's eyes sparkled.
"So it's time for you to try one for the first time!"
The idea of seeing someone try an ice cream for the first time excited him.
The two entered, sat at a table and waited to be attended by an employee. She wore a white dress and wore a tiara.
"Welcome to Lapras' Breath, how can I help? "
"We want two chocolate ice creams! With lots of mint and syrup."
That was his favorite flavor.
The woman jotted something down on a notepad, then said, "Just wait." She smiled.
It wasn't long before she returned with the ice cream serving in two bowls.
Ash watched anxiously as Luna grabbed a scoop of ice cream and slowly placed it in her mouth.
When she tasted it, she made faces and mouths. He was waiting for the verdict.
"Delicious!", she said, devouring the ice cream as if there was no tomorrow.
Ash smiled when he saw her smear her mouth with ice cream.
He started eating his with the spoon.
When it was over, he remembered something.
He was so busy with the latest happenings that he had completely forgotten. Luna's mysterious past and why she wanted to get to Mount Moon was still something that intrigued him.
"Luna…" Ash began. "Why did you come to earth?"
The Clefairy was going to put a spoon in her mouth. She stopped on the way and grew dark.
"That... It's none of your business," she told dryly.
Ash just said nothing.
I'm still going to find out what she's hiding from me, he thought determinedly.
Whatever it was, from her expression, it couldn't be a very good thing.