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

#063 Abra

Abra, the Psi Pokémon. Abra sleeps for eighteen hours a day. However, it can sense the presence of foes even while it is sleeping. In such a situation, this Pokémon immediately teleports to safety.

Tonight was the night Nurse Isabelle had been anticipating for a couple weeks, ever since the e-mail reached her. Tonight, she'd have her first, official date with Dominic Whitewater.

Standing in her old bedroom of her parental house in Celadon, Isabelle inspected herself in the full-length mirror, touching up on her make-up. No trousers and sneakers tonight. She wore a knee length dress in female Nidoran blue, adorned with white lace. On her feet, she wore white, strappy heels of medium height. Her curly blonde hair had been done up in a bun on her head, fastened with a flower in the same colour of Ivysaur's bulb.

Her mother wasn't at home, so when the doorbell rang, Isabelle had to go down to open the door herself. As expected, Dom stood at the door, holding a bouquet of flowers for her, causing her to smile brightly. She invited him in as she headed to the kitchen to place the flowers in a vase on the kitchen table. Mum would love these, too.

Dominic looked really nice. He'd changed his white sweater for a Poliwhirl coloured blouse. Black slacks and black shoes never looked wrong on a guy. He'd even combed and put some gel in his black hair. Despite his confident smile, she could see the nerves in his eyes. Said nerves were replaced by appreciation when he took in how she looked.

"I hope I look okay?" Isabelle asked, smoothing down her dress. "Despite growing up here, I've never been to the game corner."

"You look amazing," Dom promised her, a little breathily. She gave him a fond smile, took his offered arm, and off they went.

It was a clear evening as they walked to the game corner. They discussed their plans for the night, only planning on staying for an hour or two at most, before going out for dinner. Dom mentioned he made reservations at a pancake place, which made Isabelle giggle.

It wasn't very busy inside. A handful of people were already at the slots machines, hoping to win something. While Dom bought some coins for their coin boxes, Isabelle checked out the prices. There were some neat little prices such as a few powerful moves as Ice Beam and Flamethrower, to be taught to Pokémon who did not learn them naturally. There was a different set of prices available, too, but a man stood in front of the sign, making it impossible for Izzy to read it. Oh well, it didn't matter.

For the next hour, Dom and Izzy had a lot of fun, challenging each other who could win something first, or who had the most winnings. After a while, they had doubled their winnings, so they decided to stop while their luck was still smiling their way.

At the desk, Dom informed what he could get with this amount of coins. The lady behind the counter cheerfully told them they could purchase an Abra with that amount of coins. That immediately killed Isabelle's mood. She tried to play it easy, though.

"An Abra? Can we see it first? Or maybe even pick one?"

"Sure! We got loads."

As they were led to the floor underneath the game corner by a man, Isabelle shot Dom a worried look. He, in turn, took her hand and squeezed it, telling her to stay calm.

The "price room" was as bad as Isabelle feared. The air smelled highly chemical and not in a good way. In tiny cages all over the room were Abra, slouching unnaturally. From the dazed look in their eyes, it was obvious they had been drugged. In horror, Isabelle walked around, faking indecisiveness on which one to pick. What she was actually doing was slide her hand in her purse, locate her phone, and pressed the emergency button. That alerted the police and sent a squad her way as soon as possible.

Isabelle knelt in front of one that had been throwing up in her cage. "They don't look so good, do they?" She remarked casually. The man shrugged. "Aren't you their caretaker?" Isabelle asked, indignant.

"What do I care about them, missy? They're just for sale."

"Pokémon aren't merchandise," Dominic commented, crossing his arms. While he was muscled from his job, the 'caretaker' had the weight advantage on him.

Isabelle rummaged through her purse for her badge and showed it to him. "I am a Pokémon Nurse. I demand these are taken to a centre right away, or else we'll have them confiscated and you arrested for Pokémon neglect and abuse."

"What?! How care you, you little..." He tried to punch the blond nurse in the face, but Dominic leapt in front of her, taking the hit.

"That's my girl you're talking about," the ranger proclaimed, before punching the fat guy himself. That was all it took, that one hit, and the abuser went down.

The door swung open and a pack of Growlithe ran inside, barking furiously, followed by the police squad Isabelle asked for. A look was enough for the decision to arrest the fat guy to be made, and he was dragged off. Taking her phone out of her purse, Isabelle turned the emergency signal off.

While someone was calling for a Pokémon ambulance, Isabelle sat Dominic down against the wall upstairs, away from that chemic stench that gave her a headache. Feeling a little guilty, Isabelle pressed a cold cloth against Dom's bruised cheek, from where he took the hit for her. As she knelt between his legs on the plush carpet, Isabelle was close enough to see a scar underneath his left eye which she had never noticed before. His blue eyes stared at her intensely.

Then, he grabbed her blushing cheeks with both hands and pressed his lips against hers. In surprise, she dropped the cloth with which she had been cooling his bruise, sat frozen for a moment before wrapping her arms around his neck to kiss him back. When some of the police agents on the background cheered, Isabelle broke away, with her cheeks as red as a Charmander. Dominic merely grinned at her, stroking her cheek before sitting back.

Taking a glance at his watch, Dominic laughed; "We missed our dinner." Isabelle chuckled, smiling softly.

"Yeah... we've been busy. I'm not really hungry though. Are you?"

"Nah,"

Hand in hand, he walked her home. At her doorstep, he kissed her one more time. Because he was taller than her, she had to stand on her toes, and still he had to bow down. Neither seemed to mind, though. With Butterfree in her stomach, Isabelle watched him leave from the kitchen window, sighing happily.