Vincent's mind remained calm and still as its tranquil state allowed him to continuously keep his eyes shut. His sleeps were rather peaceful yet empty, almost as if he was just a machine being ready to be turned on again. It was nice to feel relaxed though one cannot remain sealed inside a state of sleep forever…
"Chanseeey."
"Huh?"
Sometimes if needs must, then it was time to exit that blissful state and come back to reality in order to continue with things initially intended and thought of the other day to take strides further and further to a goal, if it existed.
"Chanseeeeeeeey!"
"Argh…"
Vincent's goal for now was just to hope that he could still function and do something, anything, even if he was still shocked by the sights and sounds around him.
"Chansey! Chansey!"
"Oh…a Pokémon. You still here? Still real?"
"Chansey?"
There it was in his sights as his eyes slowly began to open and Vincent quickly adjusted himself, rubbing his eyes, as he could recognize the shape of what was standing there in the now sun lit room with him.
"Ooooooooh, go away…!" He groaned as he lay his head back down. "What time is it?"
"Chansey, Chansey, Chans!"
"Well I can't understand ya so…I'm just gonna assume you woke me up way too God Damn early. But…fuck it." He quickly grabbed the covers and threw them off of him, feeling a slight chill as he lifted himself up. "If I gotta get up, I gotta get up!"
The Pokémon inquisitively stared at the tired and seemingly miserable Vincent as he continued to snarl and rushed to his aid when it seemed like he appeared to have almost lost his balance in his step.
"I'm good, I'm good." Vincent insisted with a yawn.
"Chansey?"
"Oh, how'd I sleep? Yeah good but you kinda woke me up so…"
"Chansey…" The Pokémon sighed.
"Nah…it's fine. I get up early sporadically anyway. I'll find a way to keep going."
"Chansey!" The Pokémon grabbed the doorknob as it seemed to regain its happy composure.
"Actually…can you give me a minute?"
"Chansey!" It responded happily as it closed the door behind him.
"Yeah…I'm gonna start making this a regular thing." Vincent muttered to himself as he walked over to pick up his notebook and pencil, beginning to write on an empty page.
Day Two started out FANTASTICALLY…
Woken up by a Pink Egg lookin' ass Pokémon at five in the morning is still just as shitty as some other person waking you up out of nowhere for no reason at all. I'm a little pissy writing this down but I don't think Chansey meant any harm…come to think of it, if my mind can even straighten itself out at all, Nurse Joy probably needs to go through this every single day to keep this center running.
Haven't really needed an alarm clock since COVID hit back home but I guess it'd be best to start getting used to that sort of thing again while I'm here.
"Hmm…'Pink Egg lookin' ass Pokémon'. Was that too harsh?" Vincent thought to himself as he tapped his chin with his pencil. "Yeah I'm just gonna leave it in there. Screw it. It captures the moment…probably regret writing that later." He shrugged as he closed the notebook and rested it on his hip. "Man, I gotta calm down…"
Vincent slowly walked back towards the door, pulling it towards him with a turn of the knob and stepping outside to see it thrilled and happy to see him out of the room.
"Hey." He waved.
"Chansey!" The Pokemon cried joyfully.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to get riled up there…" Vincent sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I just haven't been woken up like that in a long time."
"Chansey." The Pokémon patted his arm gently with its own short arm.
"I still don't really understand you and I'm still making things up and taking wild guesses, but I guess that means we're good? Okay that's good…I think I vented out my frustrations now." Vincent sighed, as he rubbed his eyes. "Though I might need a nap later as the day goes by."
"Oh, Vincent!" Nurse Joy's voice chimed across the hallway. "Good morning!"
"Morning." Vincent greeted passively as he saw her approach.
"I'm really sorry Chansey woke you up this early but I usually get the center up and running early before my day starts so we both thought it'd be a good idea to show you how things run around here before Officer Jenny comes back later to chat with you."
"Um…sure why not? I'm here for a bit, aren't I?" Vincent shrugged.
"I actually took the liberty of washing and drying your clothes the other day. I have them ready for you so you neatly folded." Nurse Joy said. "I left them near a towel in one of our bathrooms so feel free to shower, wash up, get dressed, anything you need to do."
"Much obliged, Nurse Joy."
"My pleasure!" She smiled. "Chansey helped me out last night as well so I wouldn't forget thanking her if I were you."
"Chansey!" The Pokémon chimed.
"Yeah…" Vincent snickered quietly. "These two are really nice…I'm gonna regret writing that entry later for sure."
"Hmm?"
"Oh nothing. I just wrote something down out of spite because she woke me up early today." Vincent sighed in his reply. "I didn't expect to honestly since I haven't really done that in months…honestly I just feel like a shadow of my former self, a weakling…"
"Please don't stress about it, Vincent." Nurse Joy assured. "I know you had a really rough day yesterday, but you've gotten back on your feet really quickly. I don't think you're weak one bit."
"Well…I appreciate the compliment and all but I can go and-"
"Yes, yes, of course! It's just down the hall so take your time. Come find me when you're done! We can eat breakfast together too if you'd like."
"Alright. I'm up for it."
Having completed his shower and getting his clean dark pants and white dress shirt back on, he felt a sense of nourishment and satisfaction to feel clean and have these clothes back on. As he adjusted his hair, combing through it a couple times with a brush, he looked at his own reflection in the mirror as he leaned forward on the sink.
"Hmmm…" Vincent pondered as he stroked his chin.
Looking over to his hung-up jacket and backpack at the wall, he reached inside one of the jacket pockets and pulled out his sunglasses. Inspecting them, while continuing to look at his reflection, he placed them over his eyes.
Focusing on his look as he leaned forward, he shrugged as he creased his hair with the grace of his fingertips, nodded at his own reflection, then walked over to take up his jacket and slide his arms into the sleeves as he carried his bag over his shoulder.
Leaving the jacket unbuttoned as he kept it loose for the time being, thus keeping his shirt exposed, he went out the door and pulled it open gently. He took at his watch, noting that the time as half past five.
"Alright…wonder what's on the menu?" He wondered to himself as he walked down the hall.
One by one, with each step taken, it didn't take him long to notice down the now bright hallway, a sign that displayed 'CAFETERIA' in bold letters just painted on the wall. Entering, he saw Nurse Joy sitting at a table, sipping what appeared to look and smell like, a cup of coffee.
On the opposite end of the small table she was sitting, there appeared to be a small plate and a cup that had a small serving of eggs, toast, and orange juice. From what he was seeing from a distance, it looked really salivating and his yearn to just sit down and consume the whole thing admittedly increased as he approached, even if he held back his urgency.
"Vincent! Welcome!" She exclaimed as she gently put down the cup.
"Hey." He waved in response, taking off his jacket and backpack, setting them on the back of the chair, while setting his sunglasses on the side of the table.
"Come on, take a seat! I know it's not much but Chansey was able to whip this up for you!"
"Oh, it did, eh?"
"Chansey!" A cry came from the kitchen.
"Thanks a bunch!" Vincent replied as he sat down.
"I hope it's enough. Chansey didn't know if you wanted more or…"
"Nah…" Vincent said, as he took up a fork and gulped a little bit of the egg. "This is great! I really appreciate the thought! Like…seriously."
"Of course! No need to thank me!" Nurse Joy smiled, as she took another sip of her cup. "For future reference, are you a coffee person."
"No." Vincent replied directly.
"Oh? Well, that's alright! I usually like my coffee in the morning. Helps me start the day…heh, heh." Nurse Joy smirked. "Though sometimes I can get a little bit too addicted to it at times, since Chansey and I often switch sleeping patterns here and there to help each other out."
"I mean, it's alright with me. I ain't gonna judge." Vincent shrugged as he continued to eat, then pointed his fork in the air as he swallowed. "As long as you're happy and enjoying it responsibly without any stress, I think you'll be fine."
"I love my job!" Nurse Joy nodded. "It's what I raised and born into and I feel like I have a responsibility to use the skills that I was taught to help trainers and their Pokémon whenever they need my help."
"About that actually…I'm not a trainer. I don't have a Pokémon so…" Vincent trailed off for a second.
"Oh, don't worry about a thing! We couldn't just leave you there! I am curious though…can I ask you something?"
"Shoot. I'm listening." Vincent leaned in, as he put his fork down.
"Did you ever consider becoming a Pokémon Trainer when you were younger?" She asked.
"Hm." Vincent shrugged in response, taking a sip of his juice. "Uh…maybe. Why?"
"Do me a favor for a second?" Nurse Joy requested as she stood up and leaned in somewhat closer to Vincent.
"Um…" He gulped.
"Your eyes they…look really familiar." She commented as she squinted and adjusted her head. "They remind me of another young trainer I met who came through here with a Mudkip a while ago. It's been a while since I've seen him though and his name was also Vincent, funny enough. His eyes had the same color as yours."
"Well, I'm sure there's more than one Vincent with brown eyes in this world. It happens." Vincent replied, then pointing to himself with his fork. "As for this Vincent, he doesn't really have any interest in training Pokemon like he did ten plus years ago. I mean, I'm twenty one, I can't be screwing around-"
"It doesn't matter!" Nurse Joy interjected. "It's never too late to start a journey or have a team of your own. I believe that eyes are windows to the soul, and I can definitely see a love of Pokémon somewhere deep inside of you just like that boy I met."
"It's just…not my forte anymore. That's all." Vincent responded as his voice grumbled. "Though I must say that it's amazing to see such magical creatures with my very eyes."
"Mhmm! It never gets old!" Nurse Joy chimed as her eyes sparkled. "I couldn't imagine a world without Pokémon honestly."
"Well…" Vincent sighed. "It wouldn't be like this, that's for sure."
"For sure." Nurse Joy nodded in agreement. "But Vincent…if you ever change your mind, let me know."
"Eh. I'll think about it." Vincent quipped. "And now I want to ask you something very briefly. Did you ever think about switching careers throughout your life?"
"Let's see…" Nurse Joy murmured. "I didn't but I had some sisters who wanted to explore other occupations other than nursing Pokémon to health. But most of us were honored to continue the family name, and we never looked down on anyone who wanted to do something else with their lives."
"Sounds like a lovely family." Vincent commented. "So, what are we going to do afterwards? Where are we going to start?"
"Alright, let me think." Nurse Joy huffed. "I promised you that I'd show you how Chansey and I run things around here before Officer Jenny comes back later. Let's get to finishing up breakfast and we can get started."
"Sure thing!"
With the time hitting close to ten in the morning, Vincent was sitting in solitude in a shady spot on a bench, filtering out the cheery sounds of kids and their Pokémon battling and practising within the borders of a marked practise field.
I gotta say that it's a little more complicated than I thought to run a Pokemon Center, even for a small town like Oldale Town. Sure, Nurse Joy was trained to be a one-man, or I should say, one-woman operation, but at least she has her Chansey to help her out with things.
Powering things on, making sure the equipment is still functioning, Pokémon/Poké Ball storage, etc, that's a lot even for one person. Nurse Joy's been sweet overall, but when push comes to shove, she doesn't fuck around, but she doesn't bluntly conduct herself either since that'd be a bit too scary. She's got a perfect balance with things, especially with the kids.
I just hope the other Nurse Joys out there in the bigger cities are just as compassionate and focused as this Joy is.
"Vincent!"
He jumped when he heard Officer Jenny's voice yell out to him as his focus shattered from the page, he was writing on to the woman in uniform approaching him with her arms crossed.
"Jesus, Jenny!" Vincent wheezed and sighed.
"Sorry, my bad." Jenny sighed. "I didn't think you'd jump like that."
"It happens." Vincent bellowed. "I was too focused on writing things down that I…kinda lost all focus on everything around me."
"Nurse Joy was just telling me a few things about you. No Pokémon?" Jenny inquired.
"I think I used to want to be a trainer when I was younger like those kids out there…I mean, look at 'em." Vincent marveled as he gestured his hand towards the battlefield.
"RALTS! USE CONFUSION!"
"DODGE IT, WHISMUR! SUPERSONIC, NOW!"
"I like their passion." Vincent continued. "As a matter of fact, I'm kinda putting my money on Ralts right now but…yeah, I dunno if I'd really be into that myself. Calling out attacks, training, etc."
"If you wanted to a be a trainer, then what stopped you?" Jenny asked.
"Well…I think it kinda started when my parents more or less, wanted me to get serious with 'real-life' things like working, managing my money, you know, that kind of stuff that doesn't involve Pokémon."
"Oh…well, that's a shame." Jenny frowned. "What about now? If you could, would you want to do it?"
"I'd probably prefer something to do with either writing or potentially voice over." Vincent answered. "I did some…experimentation from time to time with video editing and voice over as a hobby."
"So maybe you'd want to pursue radio or television, something like that? I do like how you sound; you've got a really good voice. I'd listen to you."
"Maybe." Vincent shrugged as he seemingly brushed off the compliment.
"It's true!" Jenny insisted. "I think you'd hit it off really well in that world."
"Though thinking about Pokémon for just a second, if I can recall how things work around here, right?"
"Okay? Go on."
"If I had to approach Professor Birch for a Hoenn region starter Pokemon, I'd probably have gone with Mudkip, no hesitation."
"Oh?" Jenny's interest began to peak. "Why Mudkip?"
"I dunno, something about 'em just…ya know, no offense to Treecko and Torchic, but as a Water Type, they can progress into Marshtomp and then into Swampert, making them a Ground & Water Type." Vincent grinned. "I'd say they can pretty versatile with their attacks and defenses. Like if they had to take on Sceptile, an Ice Beam followed by other attacks could take 'em on. Blaziken, no doubt, it'd wipe 'em out with a Surf or Water Pulse."
"You seem to have a fair sum of knowledge, though anything can happen in any battle. It's not just about Type." Jenny commented. "Growlithe and I have taken on and battled opponents that had us outmatched by type."
"I remember a thing or two." Vincent remarked. "But who am I to say what happens for certain? As for these kids though, I wish 'em luck. Maybe one day one of these little persistent bastards will be marching up on the gates of Ever Grande City to show the Elite Four and the Champion whose boss, because I remember fantasizing about that from time to time."
"I would keep your language to a minimum if I were you," Jenny urged. "But I get your point. Even if you don't want to be a trainer, you can always have a Mudkip as a companion or something."
"I wouldn't mind."
"So, what are you going to do, now?" Jenny asked.
"Hm…good question. I could retrace my steps to Littleroot, potentially or…hm…yeah I dunno." Vincent growled. "I don't want to impose on Nurse Joy since those rooms are meant for trainers and I'm NOT a trainer, so I'd understand if she had to evict me from this center."
"That's completely up to her." Jenny chimed. "Actually, since you brought it up, I could put in a good word for you in Rustboro City if you need work. I know a place that can potentially help you out with those interests."
"You'd do that?" Vincent questioned.
"Sure, absolutely! I can have them contact you for other details. They usually respond quickly. Just make sure your phone is charged up."
"Right." Vincent stood up from the bench and raised his arm at stomach level. "Well Jenny, a pleasure talking with you. I think I'm gonna go scout around Littleroot for a little bit, and maybe come back to the center later…"
"Same to you, Vincent." She smiled as she shook his hand. "And alright, best of luck to you. If you need anything," She reached into a pouch and slipped out a card. "Don't hesitate to contact me."
"Appreciate it." Vincent nodded as he accepted the card.
"And don't get lost." Jenny urged.
"...Right."