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

#023 Ekans

Ekans, the Snake Pokémon. Ekans moves stealthily through grass and preys on Eggs from Pidgey and Spearow nests, but can strike other prey from behind. It grows longer with age and wraps itself around tree branches at night to rest. If not in a tree, it will coil itself up—a position in which it can defend itself from all directions. Its jaw can detach to swallow large prey, but such a meal can make Ekans too heavy to move. A new-born Ekans's bite is painful, but not venomous. It flicks its tongue out to detect danger and the scent of prey. It was also observed to possess some swimming abilities. Ekans lives in grassy savannas and plains.

The first encounter with a fairly uncommon type was usually memorable for a child. Young Izzy clearly remembered the wonder she felt upon seeing the Pidgey fly near the fountain on the main square.

Isabelle Evergreen grew up in Celadon City. This massive town had many facilities, including a Grass-type gym. As the daughter of a Pokémon nurse, the 10-year-old often went with her mother to check on the Pokémon used in there. She had a friend there, too. Young Erika, whose mother was the Gym leader. Together, they petted the Bulbasaur and the other Pokémon that walked around in the fragrant gardens of the Celadon gym.

On one afternoon, Izzy sat in the outskirts of town on a bench near the road, watching the tall grass sway in the wind. Trainers came and went, to challenge Erika's mommy. Excitedly, the girl with the golden, braided pigtails would ask the trainers to show her their Pokémon. Once in a while, one would comply. Izzy made quite an adorable sight with her blushing cheeks, emerald eyes, Butterfree t-shirt, and Bulbasaur bulb backpack.

Rustling brought Izzy back to the present. She had been thinking about the Electric-type the previous trainer had. She had never seen anything like it. It had been taller than her, too. The grass rustled again, signalling a Pokémon nearby. Izzy did not have any Pokémon with her. Sometimes, she brought one for safety, borrowed from the Pokémon centre to give it some exercise and to protect herself, but Izzy had not done so today.

The grass parted and a snake slithered out. Brilliantly purple and longer than she was tall, the serpent was not a pleasant sight for an unarmed girl.

"Ekanssss," it hissed as it slithered along. Izzy kept quiet, not wanting to draw its attention or chase it off. Just as it was passing by, it stopped right in front of her bench, so close that if little Izzy would stretch out her foot, it would touch the snake. She wondered if it felt hot or cold to the touch.

The snake rose up and turned around, facing the girl that was beginning to get quite scared. The way the snake looked at her didn't sit well with her.

"Ekanssss," it said again, flickering its tongue to taste the air, which Izzy found unsettling. Izzy held as still as she could. Her breath came out in tiny gasps and her knuckles were white from gripping the bench so tightly.

Without any obvious provocation, the Ekans lunged at her. It bit down on her shoulder and wrapped itself around her body. The place where it bit began to burn immensely right away. Without even thinking about it, the young girl screamed in pain and terror, unable to move as the surprisingly strong snake wrapped its long body around hers to keep her still. Over and over, she screamed until the burning in her shoulder became too much and everything went black.

In the hospital, her mother told her she had been found by a trainer who had rescued her, but he had nearly been too late. She had been badly poisoned and would need to stay in the hospital for quite a while.

The poison was cured, the wound healed, and even the scar was barely noticeable on her left shoulder. The fear for Poison-types never left her though and continued to plague her for the rest of her life.