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

#049 Venomoth

Venomoth, the Poison Moth Pokémon. The evolved form of Venonat. Venomoth live in dense forests with much undergrowth and little light. As a nocturnal Pokémon, Venomoth comes out at night to hunt of its favorite prey. It prefers to feed on insects that gather around light, and Venomoth is attracted to bright lights itself.

Despite the antidote last night, Nurse Isabelle slept poorly. Her hand had tingled deep into the night because of Venonat's poison, which caused terrible dreams about that stupid Ekans again, only it was bigger than an Arbok this time. Before dawn, Isabelle decided she was unable to sleep anymore and got out of bed. Her Pokémon were deeply asleep, so Isabelle headed over to the cafeteria of the Pokémon centre she was staying at to have breakfast with the Joy on morning shift.

Saffron Joy, or at least this one, was a peculiar one. The other Joys called her 'Gothic Joy' behind her back. She had dyed her hair Rattata-purple, wearing it in all kinds of punky fashions that the conservative Joys would never do. Today, she'd braided the left half of it into a faux Mohawk. Her clothing also lacked the pink elements. Instead, they were Ekans-purple. On her feet were high, belted boots. Isabelle thought she looked cool, and always complimented her on her looks. After all, she tried to be her own person, instead of yet another Joy.

Instead of sitting properly upright, both nurses laid languidly on the booths, cradling a cup of tea in their hands. The scent calmed Izzy down some. While they had chatted animatedly during breakfast, now they only listened to the mostly silent Pokécentre.

Until, suddenly, a massive, purple moth descended on the table in between them. The Joy sat up, nearly knocking over her tea.

"I know that Venomoth! Isn't that Sabrina's?"

Isabelle merely shrugged a little; she was exhausted and didn't really care whose Venomoth it was. It was obviously in good health and after Izzy's encounter with the Venonat, she didn't hold a lot of love for the evolved form, either.

"Oh, come on, Izz. It's got a note, with your name on it," Joy encouraged her. Raising an eyebrow, Isabelle sat up, slower than Saffron Joy had done, and took the envelope Joy held out.

"Wandering Nurse Isabelle,

Welcome to Saffron City. My name is Sabrina, and I am the Gymleader here. We, the Saffron Gym, have foreseen your coming to Saffron. We've heard and seen a lot of your reputation as travelling nurse and we'd like to invite you over to the Saffron Gym the next time you're in town.

Be careful of the man with the Nidoking and Nidoqueen. He's dangerous.

-Sabrina"

To Isabelle's surprise, Gothic Joy burst out laughing.

"Oh, that's just like her. I love that lady. Do tell me you'll come back soon. I want to hear all about your visit there! I'm so jealous; I wish I could go."

On the back of the note, Isabelle wrote her reply that she'd be back soon and would visit then. The Venomoth took the note and flew off.

"I still don't like that Pokémon..." Isabelle muttered.