A/N: Well, here's chapter two! Hope you guys like it. Let me know if you think I should continue with this fic. I'm really liking the ideas I have for literally the next 30 chapters.

Healing Journey

Chapter 2

A Healing Emergency

Being pink, wearing a diaper, and having a tiny curl of hair did not usually make for a ferocious Pokemon. Happiny was no exception. Luckily, battling was not the reason most trainer's caught a member of the Happiny line. Chansey, Happiny's evolution; was the optimum and most commonly found Pokemon that helped out in Pokemon Centers around the world. What they lacked in battling skills, they made up for with a host of healing abilities and a strong desire to protect any 'patient' they came across.

"Hello, Happiny. I'm Collin, a Pokemon Nurse-in-training; and I'd like you to be my partner!", he greeted the small Pokemon with a wave and a grin to show her that he meant no harm.

"Hap-hap-peeny!", the pink ball of joy shouted back to him before immediately jumping towards his face before he could get his arms up.

"Ahhh wait, wait!", Collin tried warning before the Pokemon connected with his nose and pushed him back, sending them both careening to the ground where they landed with a loud groan.

"Hap...", the Pokemon moaned while looking like it was ready to start crying at any second.

"Ugh", Collin moaned after raising his head off the ground before noticing his new partner with tears collecting in her eyes, "No, no! Don't do that! I tried warning you that I wasn't ready for that! I didn't expect you to be so friendly right away! I'm sorry!"

"Happpppeeenyyyy!", she ended up bursting into tears the moment he started raising his voice with her.

Collin shook his head exasperatedly before grabbing Happiny and holding her close to his chest as she let her tears out before noticing where she was and looking up at him in awe and happiness.

"It's okay, little one. I didn't mean to yell, I just don't deal well with sudden movements and I guess I've never dealt with children before. I guess I'd better get used to it if I supposedly plan on becoming a Pokemon Nurse, huh?", he asked more to himself rather than the little creature staring at him but was surprised to see her nod in response before she jumped out of his arms and back to the ground.

"Happeen!", she told him with a very serious expression on her face and pointing to herself and then him.

"Wha?", was his intelligent response.

"Hapeen!", she repeated more forcefully while grabbing his finger and holding it in her nub of a hand.

"Are you saying you're gonna help me become a better nurse? That with both of us together, there's nothing in the world that can stand against us? We will become the best medical team in the world! Collin and Happiny, the famous healing duo!", he shouted in delight and triumph as he imagined the ways they would change the world.

"...peeny", Happiny responded while slowly edging away from her new trainer already.

"Well, at the very least you plan to help me, right?"

"Happiny", she agreed with a nod while walking back towards the weird human.

"Great! Our first stop is Viridian City then! We're supposed to be training there for the next month or so. It's gonna take a bit to get there... luckily we have the bus of course! Imagine the new trainers that are starting out and they actually walk the entire region! No thank you!", he laughed while Happiny pretended to understand what he was talking about.

"Is this the place?", Collin questioned his egg-shaped companion while looking at the large red building with a giant Pokeball symbol on the front.

"Hap", the small Pokemon responded with a deadpan stare while pointing at the sign that read "Viridian City Pokemon Center".

"Ahh, yeah. I guess that's a good indicator hehe", he commented while scratching his cheek in embarrassment for his rather stupid question.

"Happeeny Hap Hap", Happiny said while starting to walk toward the entrance doors.

"Hey! Don't go in without me!", Collin yelled while chasing after the Pokemon only to immediately quieten as he made his way through the doors after his charge. He noticed he was being glared at by the Nurse at the front desk and decided it would probably be worth his while to keep on her good side.

"Happiny", he whispered while trying to coax the pink Pokemon towards him, "Come here, we need to present a good impression for the nurse!"

"I promise you that you have already failed in that regard, Mr. Joy", a stern voice came from the area of the front desk, and he knew that the Nurse hadn't decided to just ignore him until he made his way to her.

"Umm... hi! How did you who I was?", he asked with a bit of confusion as he hadn't done anything to announce himself.

Nurse Joy looked from Happiny to Collin's pink and curly hair, back to Happiny, and then looked at Collin once again with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't know, I must be psychic", she sardonically responded with a sharp click of her tongue.

"Err... right", he began as Happiny and he looked at each other with concerned expressions, "Well, I'm Collin Joy. This is my partner, Happiny! We look forward to being trained by you!"

The Viridian Nurse scoffed.

"I'm sure you do, Mr. Joy", she bit out, "I'll have you know that if it wasn't for who your grandmother is, I would have disagreed to this immediately. You're fortunate you were born so lucky."

"Wait a minute, I deserve this-"

"You do not deserve anything, boy. I don't know what it is with your generation and spitting upon the years and years of tradition that we try to uphold, but I do not agree with it and I will not actively participate in our family's destruction. I will 'train' you as I see fit. You will have no complaints and you will do what I say. If you have any issue with the way I teach, you can take it up with the Head Nurse; Arceus knows she apparently will bend over backward for you", the nurse ranted with flared nostrils and a disapproving look in her eyes the entire time.

"Settle down! I just want to learn how to heal! Happiny and I are ready to learn anything you have to throw at us!", Collin attempted to defend his decision to become a healer and his grandma's decision to instruct the nurses of the regions to train him.

"Anything? Here's your room key then", the woman abruptly stated as she handed him a key from the nearby wall with an assortment of different style key rings on it, "Put your stuff away and then you will be learning whatever I have to throw at you."

"This isn't really the training I had in mind", Collin admitted to his partner Pokemon as they stood in the middle of the waiting area in the Pokemon Center, throwing water on the floor and scrubbing at it with the brushes Nurse Joy had handed them.

"Happ-Happiny", she agreed with him as she used both of her arms to push the brush that was the same size as her across the large floor.

"And was it just me or does she seem to not like us?", he questioned Happiny with a hopeful look that maybe he was wrong.

"Hapeen."

"Yeah, I didn't think so."

They continued to mop the floor in relative silence as they both became more and more mopey about the fact that they weren't allowed to do anything that actually mattered. Collin hadn't even considered the fact that even though the nurses had to obey the Head Nurse's demands, it didn't mean they had to fulfill them to the highest degree and that some of them might not like the apparent favoritism. He hoped it wouldn't be like this at every Pokemon Center or else he wasn't sure if he'd be learning anything throughout this trip.

"Maybe she'll give us actual training tomorrow? There might just be nothing to do tonight", he decided to look on the bright side and hoped he might have just read the situation wrong.

"Hap-hap-hap", Happiny responded with a phrase that Collin was unsure of the meaning of, but he was almost certain it shouldn't be said in public.

The next morning saw more of the same chores being assigned to Collin and Happiny. Sweeping the floor, mopping the floor, watering the flowers, calling out names of trainers who needed to come to pick up their Pokemon and Pokeballs. This was how the rest of the week continued for the duo, causing them much despair over the fact that they weren't doing any jobs that actually involved healing or medicine.

It wasn't until about a week and a half into the 'training' that something actually changed.

"Here. Take these to the backroom and store them in the 'waiting for pick-up' area", Nurse Joy came up to him with her always stern expression as she pushed a tray of 3 Pokeballs into his hands.

"What are they?", he questioned more out of surprise than confusion.

"Pokeballs, Collin. Pokeballs."

He growled a bit before responding, "Yes, I can see that. I'm just surprised you're actually letting me do something that isn't cleaning."

"That makes two of us. These Pokeballs belong to a trainer who hasn't come back to pick them up yet", she surprisingly explained patiently.

"I thought trainers were supposed to wait in the center until we called them up to collect their Pokemon", he replied confusedly.

She sighed.

"Yes, they're supposed to. Every now and again we have trainers who wander off and don't come back in time to hear their names called off. We put their Pokeballs in the backroom under an area that designates them for later pick-up."

"Oh, gotchya! So what, the trainer will be here at some point soon to get them?", he asked her with a shrug as he started walking to the backroom area.

"Usually. If not, we contact their Pokemon Professor to see if the trainer is going to be coming back for their Pokemon", she shrugged in return as she also turned around.

Collin stopped in his tracks.

"What do you mean 'if the trainer is going to be coming back'?"

She stared at him in surprise before something resembling pity came over her face.

"Well... some trainers decide to use Pokemon Centers as a dumping ground for Pokemon they wish to abandon. We hold on to them once we find out and we slowly let worthy trainers adopt certain ones and release the rest into the wild at a steady pace so as to not cause an ecological disaster in nearby environments", she explained more softly than she had anything thus far into their training.

"That... that's horrible! Who would do that? There can't be many, right?", he asked as if grasping for an answer that wasn't horrifying.

"Why don't you take those Pokeballs to the back now, Collin? Make sure you put them in the 'waiting for pick-up' area. You'll see the 'abandoned' area when you're back there."

Collin and Happiny slowly made their way to the back room with a hesitance that they hadn't used so far. What were they going to find? A few trainers' worths of abandoned Pokemon in their Pokeballs, stuck in there until they were either adopted by a trainer who could handle them or if they were native to the surrounding areas? He didn't want to know how many Pokemon were stuck to this fate. He couldn't imagine leaving Happiny on her own and he had only met her two weeks ago.

"Happ...", the usually happy Pokemon whispered aloud as they entered the storage area.

"What..."

At least one hundred Pokeballs were in the area marked 'Abandoned'. One hundred Pokemon were stuck in tiny cells for who knows how long, waiting for trainers who would never return. Looking at the area he was supposed to be finding, he saw there were another twenty or so in the 'waiting for pick-up' storage space. Would these Pokemon make it out of here anytime soon? Or would they go the same way as the other hundred? He was going to be sick.

"Let's get out of here", he quickly told Happiny as he set the tray of Pokeballs down on the correct shelf and made a quick pace out of the room with his small Pokemon at his heels.

Nurse Joy stopped him outside the room.

"Why don't you go upstairs and have an early night?", she requested of him in a show of compassion he hadn't experienced from her yet.

The next week and a half progressed in much the same way as the previous week and a half. Collin was given easy jobs that were likened to chores in his mind, and Nurse Joy went back to treating him as she had in the beginning. If he looked hard enough, he thought he maybe saw a bit of a smile every now and again when he did something to her specifications; but Happiny assured him he was imagining things and to just go back to hating the world as she did.

She was far too pessimistic for a baby Pokemon.

Collin had been scrubbing at a particularly tough stain while Happiny slept in one of the nearby waiting room chairs when he thought he heard sirens in the distance. He looked up for a second before he decided it didn't involve him so why should he care? He went back to scrubbing at the spot in front of him. What was it? Mud? Blood? Oh, my god, had someone died here? That is so-

The doors slammed open and a motorcycle flew through the entryway.

"HELP! We have a Pokemon who needs immediate medical attention!", the local Officer Jenny shouted from her motorcycle. That she had parked. In the Pokemon Center.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?", yelled both Collin and Nurse Joy before they blinked at each other. Collin smiled while the nurse simply glared at him and then returned her glare to Officer Jenny.

"No time to explain! This young boy has a Pokemon that needs your help!", she shouted while pushing the until now hidden boy forward.

He was a shorter boy with black hair and a red hat, actually; wasn't that a Pokemon League Hat? A trainer, then. He was wearing a blue and white jacket with a black undershirt and blue jeans. The most noticeable thing about the boy wasn't anything on his person though, rather it was what he was holding in his hands. A Pikachu! And if looks could be believed, it seemed to be in desperate need of help.

"Chansey! I need a gurney, stat!", Nurse Joy jumped into action and Chansey came barreling out from a nearby storage room with a wheeled stretcher.

"Please, please help him!", the young trainer begged of my 'teacher' with tears in his eyes.

"We will do all we can", she replied while helping Chansey set the electric mouse on the gurney, "Now while Chansey transports your Pikachu back to the emergency room, I expect you to tell me why you let your Pokemon get into such a horrible state. I should revoke your trainer's license right now!"

Collin had never seen Nurse Joy get this angry, not even at him. He couldn't disagree with this level of anger of course. Even though he wasn't a trainer himself, he knew enough that no trainer worth their own salt would ever let a partner get in the state that Pikachu was in. If he had any control over the situation that led up to those injuries, he most likely wouldn't be keeping his license for much longer.

"I didn't mean to!", the boy began to blabber, "We were attacked by a huge flock of Spearow and we couldn't get away! I tried to defend us but instead... Pikachu jumped to defend me... he saved me and now... he might... he might-"

"Nurse Joy is one of the best healers in the region. If anyone is going to help your Pikachu, it's her", Collin attempted to reassure the young boy who seemed to be on the verge of a breakdown.

Nurse Joy gave him a look that he couldn't discern.

"Right. We'll talk more about this later, young man. I'm going to go attempt to save your Pokemon", she informed him as she turned to walk to where Chansey had run, "Officer Jenny, I expect you to be out of here in the next few minutes. Collin, I expect you to stop this trainer from crying all over my clean floors."

Collin looked at the trainer with a sigh before looking over at Happiny and seeing she had of course woken up during the ruckus that had gone on. She had a glare that said she was ready to use her only attacking move; Pound, on him. He knew he had better stop her from doing that and then needed to stop the trainer from messing up 'the Nurse's' clean floors.

He walked over and picked Happiny up before making his way to the trainer and sitting down next to him.

"Look, kid; I know Nurse Joy can be a bit... aggressive, but she cares about Pokemon and is going to make sure your Pikachu is healthy by the end of this fiasco", he explained to the boy in an attempt to cheer him up.

"I just... I just can't believe I've already messed up this badly and I've only been a trainer for a day", the black-haired boy admitted with a sniffle.

"A DAY?", Collin began to incredulously yell in disbelief, "I mean... um... we all mess up sometimes. You just need to continue training to become a better Pokemon trainer, ya know?"

"I guess..."

"It's not all bad anyway! I see you didn't need us to heal any of your other Pokemon, so you can't be that bad of a trainer, right?", Collin commented with a pat on the boy's back.

"Actually, Pikachu's my only Pokemon", the kid sheepishly told him.

"Oh... well, it's only your first day! It's not like you have to catch every Pokemon you come across. That's a job for someone who wants to be a Pokemon Master or something", he laughed at his own words.

"Actually...", the boy began to say.

"No way. You want to be a Pokemon Master, don't you?", Collin asked with his forehead in his hands.

"Yeah..."

"You know you should really have caught at least a couple of other Pokemon then, right? Like a Rattata? Or a Pidgey? They're some of the easiest to catch and I know you saw at least one hundred of them on the way here."

"I can't just catch any Pokemon I come across! I need to form a special bond with them before I know they want to come with me!", the boy defended himself with a harrumph, "Besides, I already saw what looked like a Legendary Pokemon on the way here! It was a humongous bird in the sky that had a rainbow behind it!"

No way.

"You saw Ho-Oh? The Legendary Ho-Oh? Give me a break, kid", Collin scoffed in disbelief at the thought of a brand new trainer seeing a symbol of good luck that hadn't been gazed upon in years and years.

"Is that its name? And I'm not a kid! I'm Ash Ketchum! And I'm going to be a Pokemon Master!", the newly named Ash declared with a grin while holding up a peace sign right into Collin's face.

"What kind of Pokemon Master nearly loses their starter on their very first day as a trainer?", Collin meant to think to himself but said it out loud only to see Ash deflate in front of him.

"You're right... I'm a horrible trainer", Ash began to mope again as he had been before Collin came over.

"Now I didn't say that, I just meant-"

The doors to the Center opened.

"YOU! I've chased you for miles! How dare you fry my bike? I expect you to pay me back! WITH INTEREST!", shouted an orange-haired young girl wearing a yellow tank top showing off her midriff with blue jean shorts and suspenders, weirdly enough.

"Oh noooo", Ash moaned with his head in his hands.

"Don't you 'oh no' me, mister! I bought this bike with my own money and I'm not buying another one! You're a trainer, you should have money from battles! Give it to me!"

"I just started out!"

"I don't care if you just started out, you owe me a new bike!"

Collin stepped in before the fight could escalate any further.

"Miss, might I remind you that you are in a Pokemon Center and the Emergency Light is currently on? Indicating we have this young man's Pokemon in critical condition?", he stepped in to inform her and watched her face slowly pale.

"Critical condition?", both the female and Ash asked in unison.

"Yes, that's what that light on the wall means. We need this place as quiet as possible so that my mentor, Nurse Joy; can concentrate on healing the Pokemon", he explained to the pair in a manner which suggested it should be obvious to anyone who saw the light with the words "Critical Condition" under it.

Both trainers looked down in shame.

"You're Pikachu isn't doing well?", the girl asked Ash with a frown on her face.

"No... and from the sounds of it, they aren't sure what will happen", he began to tear up once again and Collin wasn't sure he could take much more of it.

"Look, I'm sorry for what's happening, but crying isn't going to help. I need you both to either sit here quietly and wait or you; Miss, should leave", he demanded of them.

"Why should we be listening to you anyway?", the girl demanded of him in return.

Collin straightened himself up and stared her in the eye before saying "I am Collin Joy, a future Nurse Joy; and the person in charge of this center until Nurse Joy is done with Pikachu's operation. And you will do as I say."

The girl gulped and sat down next to Ash in silence.

What seemed to be hours passed in an atmosphere that seemed nearly as tense as it was quiet. Collin began helping trainers who came into the Pokemon Center for quick healing for the Pokemon. Luckily, the majority of trainers simply required traditional healing using the rejuvenation machine that existed in most centers. He had just finished giving Pokeballs back to a young female trainer with a tight smile when the light to the surgery room turned off. Ash and female trainer jumped up immediately while Collin simply looked towards the door.

Nurse Joy walked out with a stern expression on her face and was about to speak to Ash when she noticed where Collin was standing.

"Have you been treating Pokemon?", she asked him with a strange look.

"Erm... yes... you were busy and the center needed to continue healing", he shrugged as if it were obvious. Normally Chansey would help run each Pokemon Center while nurses slept, but in situations like these; it was a bit harder to make things work.

"Of course", Nurse Joy continued looking at him before finally saying, "Thank you for that. You may go back to cleaning."

He didn't growl at her.

"Nurse Joy, please! Tell me how Pikachu is doing! Is he okay?", Ash stepped in and nearly groveled at her feet for answers about his partner.

Nurse Joy gave Ash an aggressive look that seemed as though she were glaring through his soul before finally gaining a small smile and saying, "Pikachu will be okay. He's going to need to stay with us overnight, but he should be up and ready to see you tomorrow morning. He's just lacking a bit of power at the moment."

Ash broke down in tears before hugging Nurse Joy and thanking her repeatedly.

"Ugh. I told you everything would be fine, kid. Nurse Joy can fix anything", Collin rolled his eyes while something akin to happiness was felt inside his body.

Then the ceiling crashed down upon them.