Nurse Isabelle and the Kanto Pokédex: the Diary of a Travelling Nurse

#020 Raticate

Raticate, the Mouse Pokémon. The evolved form of Rattata. If attacked, Raticate stands up on its hind legs, bares its fangs and shrieks in an intimidating manner at its enemy. It is willing to take on larger foes if provoked enough. It often needs to gnaw on something, like rocks and logs, but it may even chew on the wall of houses and is capable of chewing cinder walls and topple concrete buildings. This Pokémon typically lives in plains and savannas.

There was a rat where it should not be. That was Nurse Isabelle's first reaction when she heard about the problem at hand. A Raticate had crossed the water in his search for something to chew on, probably, and ended up in the Power Plant. From the owners of the Power Plant, she heard some news about agitated Pokémon in the Power Plant. They used Pokémon to run this place and the Raticate was causing a disturbance.

Arriving at the highly electric venue, Isabelle easily found where the Raticate let himself in; there was a hole in the wall with teeth marks everywhere. Sighing, Isabelle opened the front door of the Power Plant with the key card she borrowed.

For some reason, the Power Plant always gave her the creeps. The building had been abandoned many years ago and many electric Pokémon were now living here. Since Isabelle did not have any Pokémon resistant to electric attacks, she hoped she would not encounter any. All the old equipment still stood here, gathering cobwebs and dust, looming eerily over her.

Walking as silently as she could, she followed the path of destruction left by the Raticate. Chewed on beams, scratched metal. It apparently tried to bite everything.

At the other end of the massive hall, she found the Mouse Pokémon. It laid on the ground, twitching as if electrocuted. Finding a chewed on cable nearby that sparked ominously, Isabelle decided that electrocution was exactly what had happened. What was also noticeable was the state of his teeth. They were longer than it should be, which might be an indication why it was so frantic to find something to chew on.

"Come on, you little troublemaker. Let's get you out of here." Wrapping her arms around the paralysed rat, she heaved it up from the ground. It was a tad heavy but nothing she couldn't handle. Her backpack had been this weight on more days than she liked to admit.

Pidgeotto was waiting outside with a makeshift stretcher to carry the Raticate to the nearest Pokémon centre. However, just as Isabelle exited the Power Plant through the front door, the Raticate seemed to be revived again and bit down hard on her arm. Crying out, she dropped the rat on the ground, clutching her sore arm.

"Oh, you ..." She bit back a curse as the Mouse Pokémon dashed away, out of sight, away from the Power Plant. Apparently, it wasn't too defeated, after all.

Stroking the red spot that most definitely would bruise hard, Isabelle walked back to the worried Pidgeotto.

"It apparently doesn't want to be treated. His loss. Let's go, Pidgeotto," She stroked his head, undid the stretcher and let her bird fly with her as she left the site of the Power Plant, after looking behind her once more and muttering an insult to the Biting rat.