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

#079 Slowpoke

Slowpoke, the Dopey Pokémon. Slowpoke uses its tail to catch prey by dipping it in water at the side of a river. However, this Pokémon often forgets what it's doing and often spends entire days just loafing at water's edge.

On the boat back from Cinnabar Island, Nurse Isabelle could be found on the deck. She was sitting at the railing, having slid her legs underneath, feeling the sea spatter droplets against the soles of her bare feet. Her arms held onto the railing at chest height and her head rested on her arms, watching the island behind them grow smaller and smaller.

The sea wind tasted salty on her lips and messed up her hair in the best way. It was nearing dusk and Isabelle wished to miss no moment of the gorgeous sunset over sea. The sky coloured from pale blue to a gorgeous rosy/purple colour that she had yet to find in any Pokémon. With every minute, the colour changed as the sun sank deeper behind the horizon.

Next to her, a Slowpoke sat. Not impressed with this show of nature, he sat with his back towards the sunset, dangling his tail off the side of the boat, where Isabelle's own feet hung. Waving her hand in front of his face, she wasn't entirely sure whether the Slowpoke was awake or just sleeping with his eyes open. He was awfully quiet; making no other sounds than his deep breathing.

Before standing up to regain some feeling back in her legs, Isabelle stroked Slowpoke over his wet, little head. The dim Pokémon did not respond so the young nurse walked away.

As she sat on one of the benches on the ferry, putting her socks and shoes back on, a guy suddenly yelled in alarm. Trained for such things, Isabelle was on her feet in an instant and rushed over to where the guy was yelling. She found him at where she had left the Slowpoke to ... whatever it had been doing. The guy was pointing at Slowpoke now, as it cradled its tail to his chest. The white part of the tail had been bitten off! As a woman fainted nearby, she stepped over her to kneel in front of the Slowpoke. Of all Pokémon to treat, Slowpoke were the easiest. While they weren't the best in telling where it hurt, they never attacked either. They're just a tiny step higher than the plush dummies the girls had trained on. Running her hand over the non-bleeding stump, Isabelle smiled and rubbed Slowpoke's head again. Then she stood up and turned to the hysterical man.

"Are you Slowpoke's trainer?" The guy nodded, suddenly in tears. Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, she showed him her ID. "I'm Nurse Isabelle, a fully trained Pokémon nurse. I want to let you know that Slowpoke is perfectly okay. This happens more often than you think, and Slowpoke's tail will grow back. They're really cool like that. So calm down. Slowpoke isn't in any pain and, in a month or so, it should have grown back."

"A month?!"

"Yes, well... Like everything Slowpoke does, regenerating also goes very slowly." She offered him a soft smile. "Don't worry. Your Pokémon is okay. Now, can someone see to this lady? I'm a Pokémon nurse, not a human nurse..." She referred to the lady who had fainted just as Isabelle had been about to check on Slowpoke. Two men carried the lady away, to revive in the captain's cabin.

With the Slowpoke in his arms, the man must have bowed to Isabelle a dozen times before he finally disembarked from the ferry. A little bit annoyed but very amused also, Izzy entered Vermillion to spend the night at the Pokémon centre. Maybe she could earn some money by doing the night shift. She was running a bit low on funds, and was not tired at all.