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

#062 Poliwrath

Poliwrath, the Tadpole Pokémon. The evolved form of Poliwhirl and the final evolution of Poliwag. Poliwrath's highly developed, brawny muscles never grow fatigued, however much it exercises. It is so tirelessly strong, this Pokémon can swim back and forth across the ocean without effort.

The following morning, Nurse Isabelle was still in Cerulean, having returned yet again to the park in the south of the city. This time, she sat in the grass of one of the more maintained areas while she watched rangers walk back and forth from that depressing, secluded pond she had discovered yesterday.

Next to her, in the grass, laid Ivysaur. This time, her starter wasn't napping. He rested his head on his front paws and stared out over the water, where Wartortle would be swimming, had she not acted up yesterday. Isabelle stroked Ivysaur over his head gently.

"I know, Ivy. I feel just as bad as you do, maybe even worse."

"Ivy..." He replied.

Pidgeotto wasn't out, either. He was resting up in the Pokécentre. Izzy pushed him a bit hard, yesterday, and so, he stayed there to be sure he hadn't seriously sprained anything.

On the path on the right came the oddest duo Isabelle had seen in a long while. On the left walked a little girl, who looked she was about five or six years old. She wore a pink dress that looked like a nightgown. From the way she stared ahead, not focussing on anything, Isabelle guessed she might be blind. She did have the most adorable, ecstatic grin on her face, showing off some missing teeth.

On the right walked a massive Poliwrath, who was taller than the girl was. The Water Fighting type looked nothing like the Poliwrath she had seen before. This one, instead of the usual mean look, behaved very gently as he held the little girl's hand. Instead of a Growlithe for blind people, this girl had a Poliwrath. Well, Isabelle thought amused, it certainly kept robbers away.

"Hey there," Isabelle said kindly. "What a magnificent Poliwrath you have there, little girl. Does he have a name?"

The girl turned her head in the direction of Izzy's voice. "Polly. His name is Polly."

Isabelle smiled. "How fitting. What's your name?"

"Polly."

"Polly and Polly? All right. I am Isabelle. I'm a Pokémon nurse. Do you like Pokémon?"

Polly grinned. "Yes! Polly was my first Pokémon, when he was a Polly-wag! But I love all Pokémon."

Meanwhile, Ivysaur had crept closer.

"Have you ever touched an Ivysaur, Polly? Because Ivy here is very friendly. Come kneel down, he's not as tall as your Polly-wrath. Poliwrath, be careful, she might fall over." Isabelle instructed gently.

Guided by her Poliwrath, the girl sat on her knees and stroked Ivysaur's head. As she expected, Ivy is very good with young children, being one of the kindest and most patient Pokémon she knew.

After a small while, a man came running, who recognised his daughter because of the Poliwrath. He thanked Isabelle with a deep bow for taking care of his daughter, explaining they liked to go exploring. While Poliwrath was capable, they still worried. Isabelle smiled and said not to worry about it. She stroked Poliwrath's head, praising him on his good work, and waved at them as the family walked away.

Sitting at the lake-side again, Isabelle watched Ivy crawl onto her lap. He seemed a little revived from this meeting.

"Even if Wartortle might leave us, one day, that doesn't mean it's the end. Pokémon come and go. I will not force Wartortle to stay, just as I will not deny a Pokémon that wants to join for a while. You'll find new friends, Ivy. Don't worry."

"Ivy..." was the reply.