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

#027 Sandshrew

Sandshrew, the Mouse Pokémon. Sandshrew spends much of its time hidden underground in deep burrows. It only emerges to hunt, which it does by waiting within its burrow to instantly lunge out and drag in passing prey. Sandshrew can quickly curl into a tight ball to protect itself from great falls and opponents, but may also throw sand at attackers. While its body can efficiently absorb water to facilitate life in the desert, Sandshrew has been found in caves as well.

For the last few days, it had been raining mercilessly. Water-type Pokémon were overjoyed with this, but other types not so much. On the first sunny day after the heavy rain, Nurse Isabelle walked around to check out the damage. The most obvious issue was that the rivers had flooded. The people in the towns weren't in dire need of help. They merely had wet ankles. Nurse Isabelle was worried more for the Pokémon.

It didn't take long to find her one. On the place where there used to be a grassy slope, filled with burrows, none of the ground was visible anymore. The entire slope was covered with murky water. The ground was soggy and mud-covered, making it unable to support weight or hold the structures built in it by the Ground-types.

Speaking of the Ground-types, a Sandshrew laid on the mud-covered ground, seemingly unconscious. Sandshrew hated water, so to see one laying in the muddy water was concerning at the very least. Isabelle immediately called Ivysaur out of his ball.

"Ivy, use Vine Whip to pull Sandshrew out of the mud," she commanded. Grunting determinedly, the Grass-type followed the order right away. His claws dug into the sludge as he jerked hard to free the Sandshrew from the sucking grip of the muck. As Isabelle fully expected him to, Ivysaur was able to pull it free and onto the dry grass which had been spared from the muddy water. The grass had dried in the sun.

Against her wish to clean the Mouse Pokémon up, Isabelle ordered the Sandshrew to be laid down in the sun. Rather than a bath, the Ground-type would benefit much more from simply drying in the sun. It was a Pokémon capable of handling a desert, after all.

As Sandshrew laid in the sun, drying up, Isabelle sat nearby, guarding it. Ivysaur napped next to the Sandshrew. Her Grass-type could be so lazy sometimes, never skipping a possible nap. About an hour or two after the Sandshrew was pulled from the mud, its eyes opened. Carefully, Isabelle crawled closer, stroking its head gently while smiling and making soothing sounds. With her hands, she brushed the dried mud from its dry skin. This little Pokémon would be okay. This knowledge relieved Isabelle. She loved fortunate endings.