10 o'clock the next day…
Lana heard a loud cry in the sky over Pallet Town and rushed out of the tent that she had just finished setting up and looked into the sky. Seeing a Togekiss and an Altaria she thought, 'So, they're here. It's about bloody time!' Seeing the direction that the two flying types were headed, she thought, 'So, they're headed towards Professor Oak's Lab, huh? I suppose I should probably go and get them myself, but…' she bit her lip and looked back at the inside of the tents that she'd set up. She sighed and said, "Ah, it'll be fine. They'll figure it out," and went back inside to continue her work.
When they went to land outside his Lab, Gary rushed outside and frowned as they touched down after sending all of the feeding grass types running. He demanded, "Exactly what do you think you're doing? Huh?"
"Excuse me?" the taller Joy said.
"You just scared all of the grass pokémon away with what you just did."
The Joy gasped and said, "I…didn't mean to!" an apologetic look on her face.
Gary sighed and said, "So, I take it that the pair of you are the Apprentice Joy's that Lana organized to help her, are you?"
"That's right. I'm Lydia Jane Lyanna Joy," the taller Joy said.
"And I am Fiona Jane Felicity Joy.
"That's great 'n' all," Gary said, annoyed at the two Joy's. "Lana is setting up a ward near the market." Gary then went back inside, no less annoyed than when he had come out to meet the two.
Lydia said, "Well, Fi, I guess we should just go and find wherever this market is that he was talking about."
Fiona said, "Sure thing, sis'. Sounds like a plan." As they walked, she said, "You know, Professor Oak just said that this Ruffian Joy was setting up a ward."
"Come to think of it, you're right. I wonder what it's going to be like."
"I'm sure that she's hired some office space and is converting it with some dividers."
"What about healing machines?"
"Potions will suffice in an emergency, and, since we're in Pallet Town now, all of the pokémon in the outlying areas are really weak."
"That's true. Come to think of it, that could be why Professor Oak's machine worked for as long as it did," Lydia theorized.
"Maybe." Then, seeing a number of buildings with signs outside of them, Fiona said, "Oh! That must be the market that Professor Oak was telling us about."
The sisters then rushed past the large sequence of tents that had been set up for some ungodly reason and went to the store next to it to see if the Ruffian Joy was there. It was newsagent. Next to that was a fruit & veg store. There were a few other stores as well, none of which had anything remotely to do with pokémon, their care, or even medicine in general. The went through them another three times before Lydia sighed and said, "Who knows. Maybe there's another market in this town," and led the way away from the series of shops.
They spent the next two hours wandering around Pallet Town trying to find a store of some sort that could pass for a market. But, they met with no success. Eventually, their stomachs got the better of them, and they went to a café that they'd seen along the way. They both bought sandwiches and a bottle of water before sitting down to eat. Fiona sighed as she bit into hers and, when she had swallowed it down, she sat back and said, "So, what should we do?"
Lydia blew a stray lock of hair out of her eyes and sighed before she said, "Who knows. We might as well just ring Nurse Selene and tell her that we couldn't find this Ruffian Joy."
"Before we do that, how about we go back to that market that we saw this morning and ask them about it?"
"Yeah. I suppose that that would save us an earful of Nurse Selene's talks."
"That's very true," Fiona said, having been on the receiving end of one of Selene's 'talks', and not wanting to be there again.
The sisters made their way through their meal at a quick, yet respectable, pace. When they were done, they got up and left, taking what was left of their water with them, having some way to go till they got back to the market. When they were there, they went into the market and looked around to see all sorts of odds and ends, ranging one person tents, to pokéballs, to compound longbows they went up to the desk and he said, "Hello ladies. It's not too often I get Nurse Joy gracing my store. This must be my lucky day to have three of them in my store today. I know! I'll put a sign outside saying 'Official Supplier of Pallet Town Nurse Joy!"
Lydia said, "Really; please, don't."
Fiona said, "So, you're saying that that ruffian joy came in here today?"
"Why yes. She wanted to buy some tents and make sure that it was alright to set them up outside."
The two Joys blinked and said, "Did you just say…tents!?" their eyes boggling at the sheer lunacy of it.
The man smiled and thought, 'So, some city-dwellers, huh?' he said, "So, where are you ladies from?"
"Viridian."
"Ah. I see. Well, this must be a change of pace coming here then."
"Yes," Lydia said, "very much so."
"How long are you planning on being here?"
"Not long, we hope."
Fiona said, "Just a few weeks."
"Oh? Why so short? Given the sudden influx of Nurse Joy, I'd thought that there was finally going to be a pokécentre being built here."
"I thought that Professor Oak took care of all of that."
"He does, but, there's really only so much that he can do. Unlike his grandfather, his research tends to be more based on the various legends rather than pokémon in general, so his healing skills are not as good as his grandfather's. Still better than just about everyone around here, but even so, they're nothing compared to what a Joy like yourselves can do."
"I see," Fiona said, more worried about antagonizing the locals, no matter how backward they may be, than her sister. "Well, we'll see what we can do about it when we get back, but, this time, we are only here to aid that…other…Nurse Joy until new Healing Machines are delivered to Professor Oak's facility."
"I see. Well, that's good enough then I suppose."
"Even if it's not, that's the way it's got to be. After all, despite our uniforms, Lydia and I are still only Apprentice Joy's, thus unable to operate on a pokémon by ourselves, let alone run an entire pokécentre like what would probably be needed here."
"I see. Well, in any case, I suppose I'll be seeing you around here for the time being."
"Indeed you shall," Fiona said, bidding the man farewell, and with that, they left. They immediately went to the…tent…that had been set up and went inside the small tent that the three larger ones were attached to. They found that it was completely empty. They started tapping their fingers against the table that had been set up in front of the three entry ways. Eventually they called out, "Hoy! Anyone here?"
Lana came out of the central entryway. Seeing the uniforms, she said, "So, you're the ones that Aunt Selene sent, yeah?"
Fiona whispered to her sister, 'She looks younger than us.'
Lydia whispered back, 'Yeah. What was Nurse Selene thinking?' she said, "Sorry. There seems to be some mistake. Where is the Nurse Joy of this…ugh…Pokécentre."
Lana said, "You're looking at her."
Lydia said, "Yeah, now pull the other one," taking in the black skirt and blue tank top that the imposter was wearing."
Lana's eye started to twitch and she said, "Come with me," and let the two Apprentice Joys past the table. she pointed at Lydia and said, "You, go in that one…" pointing at the left entryway before she turned to face Fiona. "…and you, the other,' pointing at the right entryway.
"Alright," Lydia said, not wanting to do it, but just to prove the young upstart wrong, went through. To her shock, there was set up a makeshift bed using a table and a thin mattress with a side table and that had bandages and potions on it. Fiona's side had a similar setup, but the pieces of metal that were being used to hold up the tables had been doubled up, reinforcing the tables so that they could handle heavier pokémon. The sisters looked back through the entryways and saw Lana, who hadn't moved once. Fiona reluctantly thought, 'Okay, so maybe she does know a thing or two, but just because she can set up an emergency ward doesn't mean a thing in our line of work.'
They went back to the central tent and Lana asked, "Satisfied now?"
Lydia said, "Hn, just because you can set up a ward, doesn't mean a thing."
"Oh? Then look in there," Lana said, nodding at the central tent that she had been working in when the two Apprentice Joys had arrived. Lydia and Fiona went in, followed by Lana, not only because she hadn't finished what she was doing, but also because she wanted to make sure that the two uppity apprentices didn't do something to make her have to start from scratch. They were stunned motionless by what they saw. Lana had laid out some berries, a mortar & pestle and a bunch of containers on one table. on another, she had a tripod set up over a camp stove with a variety of measuring jugs. On another, were garden-variety spray cans, along with a few regular, empty, medicinal dispensers. After about a minute of silence with the two Apprentice Joys trying to imitate a Magikarp, Lana said, "See, not just some 'Ruffian' Joy."
"You…uhh…heard…that?" Fiona asked.
"No. but I know what they call us. Believe me, I got more than enough of it at the Sinnoh Academy."
"You're from Sinnoh?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Do they use Silph medicinal gear there too? Or is there another supplier that you use?"
"There are a few companies that compete over there. I'm pretty sure that Silph is one of them. There's also Devon Corporation and Pokétch Inc."
"Really? Wait…doesn't Pokétch make those cool watches?"
"That's right. Why?"
"Just curious."
"O…kay…" Lana said. "In any case, since you're here, I'd like you to go into the forest and find me some MiracleBerries, MysteryBerries, Bitter Berries and Figy Berries. They should all grow around Pallet."
"Huh?" Lydia said. "Now hold on a minute! We're Joys! Not some workhand that you can order around as you like!"
"Actually…that's a rather good interpretation of exactly what you are. Now, go!" Lana said, pointing out of the tents. "I've got work to do, finishing up this place."
"You're…not…finished?" Lydia asked.
"No. I've still got to…"
"Actually," Fiona said, "we will do that…right now!" clutching her sister's arm and dragging her out of the tent.
When they were outside, Lydia demanded, "What did you do that for?"
"Look, Lydia. It's clear that she knows at the very least, different things than we do. If we do what she says, that expands our repertoire of healing techniques. Maybe to the point that we could aim higher than being just a Nurse Joy in some town!"
"You…aren't seriously considering becoming a Ruffian Joy, are you?" Lydia asked, a concerned look on her face for her sister.
"Don't be absurd. I was thinking more along the lines of being one of the Indigo Joys."
"A…! Hmm…alright Fi. I'll go along with it. For now at least."
Fiona smiled wanly and said, "I suppose that's good enough, for now at least," mocking her sister.
The sisters returned two hours later with a lot of berries in their apron's pouches. Lana said, "So, how'd you go?" Lydia and Fiona emptied the berries that they'd picked on a table that was behind the one with all the berries on it. Lana's eyes widened as she surveyed their intake, saying, "Bluk, Nanab, Wepear, Pinap, Cornn, Magost!" She rounded on the sisters and glared at them as she almost plead, "Tell me you've never collected Berries before."
Fiona asked, "Uhh…why?"
"Because, none of these are of any use in medicine!"
The two sisters' eyes widened and they stepped backwards, saying, "Uhh…Nurse Joy…" as Lana advanced, the area around her eyes seeming to darken somehow.
Lana said, "The pair of you! Come with me, now!" the two sisters hung their heads and followed meekly behind Lana as she brushed past them. When she was out of the tents, she went into the market next door and said, "Hey, Bill, can you have someone look after my place for a bit?"
"Sure. I'll put Mikey on it."
"Just make sure that he only stays in the central tent unless he hears something fishy going on in the back."
"Sure thing."
"Thanks," Lana said, waving as she left.
Then, when she exited the store, she was all business and stormed past the sisters and headed down the main street of Pallet Town. About ten minutes of incredibly awkward silence later, they reached Professor Oak's Lab and went through the gate and up to the door. Lana knocked on it and waited until Gary opened it. When he had she said, "Hi," in a clearly annoyed, but not at him, tone.
"Lana? What is it? I thought that you'd be busy setting up that temporary ward."
"I was. Then these two, came and, when I told them to get me some very specific berries that can be used to make healing medicines, they bring me back lots of berries. None of which are useful in any way, shape, or form."
"Okay. So…what can I do about that?"
Lana said, "I was hoping that you have a few spare pokédexes lying about that you could give to this pair," thrusting her thumb at the two Apprentice Joys behind her.
"Hmm…I think that some just came in for the next batch of trainers. I suppose I could just give them two of those and postpone giving them their pokémon until some replacements came in."
"Really?" Lana asked happily.
Lydia, wasn't. she said, "You needn't bother. I'm sure that my sister and I will be fine without them."
"No, it's nothing, really," Gary said, turning to go back inside. He realized something before he could though, and asked, "Uhh…so…what were your names again?"
"Lydia Joy."
"Fiona Joy."
Gary said, "Great, thanks," before closing the door behind him as he went in and plugged some basic details into the pokédexes. He quickly came back out and handed them to the Joys. He said, it's a hi-tech encyclopedia that will automatically record data on Pokémon you've seen or caught, though you're going to have to manually enter the data for the pokémon that you already have."
Lydia said, "Yeah, we know what it does," as if she thought Gary thought she was stupid or something. She did.
Gary said, "Well, I'll see you later, Lana."
Lana said, "Yeah. Sure thing," as Gary closed the door. She then turned to the two Apprentice Joys and said, "Now, there's just one more thing before I call it a day for you two."
"Really?" Fiona said, her doubt fully evident in her tone.
"Yep," Lana said with a smile. She then walked past the sisters and led them back to the market. When she was about to enter, she said, you two can come in with me this time."
"Alright?" Lydia hesitantly said, unsure what was about to happen, but entirely certain that she wouldn't like it.
When they were inside, Bill said, "Lana! Back already?"
"Yeah. I just had to get these two a couple of pokédexes."
"Seriously?" Bill asked, having thought that Nurse Joy had no need for them.
"Yeah. Turns out they couldn't tell the difference between a cooking berry and a medicinal one," Lana said, causing Bill to laugh.
When he saw the sisters glaring at him he said, "Wait…seriously?"
"We are Apprentice Nurse Joy," Fiona said.
"Besides," Lydia said, "there's no need for us to know how to identify them when we have every intention of working in a pokécentre."
She sighed and said, "In any case," picking up what she'd wanted and going over to the counter. "Can I buy these please?"
Bill, looking down at the lights that Lana had chosen, raised an eyebrow, to which Lana shrugged mercilessly. As he ran it through the system, Bill nodded at a rack and said, "You can take three of them, on the house."
Lana turned around and saw that Bill was pointing at a rack of rucksacks and raised an eyebrow, having looked at them earlier and putting the acquisition off due to the price. She said, "Alright. Thank you!" and walked over to the bags, picked them up and put them on the table for Bill to scan the barcodes to take them out of his system. When he was done, Lana shrugged one of the packs on herself and looped the other two over her arms, grabbing the torches before leaving the store.
As they left, bill called out, "You can tell Mikey that he can take the rest of the day off if he wants."
"Alright. Thanks again, Bill!" Lana shouted as she left, followed by the two sisters, who didn't like the look of what Lana had just bought.
When they entered the central tent, Lana relayed Bill's message, but Mikey went back to the shop to finish off his day. As he left, Lana put the two rucksacks on her arms on the table that was serving as a front desk and put some headlamps and torches in the outer pockets. She then arranged them so that they were facing her two apprentices and said, "Right. The both of you, take these, go and get as many of those berries as you can carry, and don't come back until you do!"
Lydia said, "You can't be serious! Surely?"
Fiona said, "I…uhh…think she is."
"No! I refuse!"
"Why's that?"
"You can't seriously expect us to go and gather berries in the forest at night?"
"I can, and I am."
"But…we won't be able to see! Let alone identify what berries you want us to get."
"And why do you think I bought those torches, hmm?"
"The…" Lydia said, trailing off, unable to come up with any way of getting out of the situation.
Fiona sighed and said, "Face it Lydia, there's no way to get out of this," and begrudgingly picked up the rucksack and slung it onto her back the way she had seen Lana do it back in the store. Lydia quickly followed, not wanting to be left alone in the dark of the forest at night. As the sisters rushed into from the tent, Lana sighed and shook her head and exasperatedly said, "What was Aunt Selene thinking, sending the pair of them to me?" Lana then set about finishing setting up the 'lab' that she had been working on when the two Joys found her.