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

#138 Omanyte

Omanyte, the Spiral Pokémon. Omanyte is considered extinct, although successful attempts have been done to revive it from fossils. Omanyte's shell seems to consist of several gas-filled chambers. It is believed these are used to regulate buoyancy within the water. By emptying or filling the chambers, it rises and falls respectively while using its tentacles to swim. Furthermore, Omanyte is believed to withdraw into its hard shell when attacked or endangered. However, this did not prevent it from becoming extinct. - Nurse Evergreen

"Do I look okay?"

Nurse Isabelle looked over to her worried friend, who was smoothing down her skirt to dispel any imaginary wrinkles. Wendy Foxglove was wearing a white blouse with a high-waisted pink skirt with rolling Jigglypuff on it. To finish the look, she had pinned her short, sandy hair up and tied it with a pink bow she had borrowed from Izzy's collection. She looked both mature and cute. The outfit suited her greatly.

"More than okay. You look great, Wen," Isabelle smiled at her, earning her a smile back.

"But this is important!"

Isabelle looked outside for a moment to appreciate the rolling hills around them. The bus they were in shook lightly as it made good speed over the asphalt road. "I'm pleased you're taking this so seriously."

"Are you not nervous?"

Isabelle looked at her friend and shook her head serenely. "No. I've met Professor Oak several times. I highly respect him. One of my favourite things about him is that he is so casual. Once, when I was over there for research, he invited me over for dinner. That's the kind of man he is."

"And Gary?"

Isabelle regarded her with a raised eyebrow. "Gary Oak is his grandson. I don't know much about him, other than that he cares much for his grandfather and Pokémon in general. A good man, as far as I know, though a little stuck in his grandfather's shadow."

"I don't care whose grandson he is. Good with Pokémon, hm?" As expected, fame or money meant nothing to Wendy.

The bus arrived not long after that. Gary's flashy red cabriolet waited for them. Without a glance at the car, Wendy sat down in the backseat. "Good day, Gary."

Isabelle smiled at how poorly her friend was handling her nerves and sat down next to Gary in the passenger seat. As Gary put the car in first gear and drove off, Izzy spoke up:

"So, Professor Oak has obtained an interesting specimen?" Gary looked over with a slightly confused look. Isabelle merely shrugged. "His words, not mine. Something about new results in fossil research."

Gary let out a soft 'ah' of understanding and nodded. "Yes, he indeed mentioned that. I've yet to see them."

The ride to Oak's laboratory was too short for any more conversation; the two nurses stood in front of the lab in no time. Gary had driven off, mentioning he'd park the car. Taking her friend by the hand, Isabelle guided them inside. Opening the door without knocking, she yelled loudly: "Hello! It's us!" An incomprehensible shout was returned from the general direction of the main lab, so that's where Oak probably was. Wendy looked a little horrified at the casualness of Izzy entering someone else's house, but Izzy merely smiled at her.

Oak was on his knees in his lab, reaching out his hand to something that swiftly withdrew in its shell when the nurses arrived. Spotting he had visitors, Oak wiped off his hands and stood, albeit a little stiffly. "How good of you two to make it. Miss Evergreen, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to accompany miss Foxglove here. I promise you: your time has not been wasted."

Isabelle waved her hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it, Professor. Wendy was nervous and wished for me to come. I'd do anything for a friend. What do you have there, anyway? I don't recognise it." She pointed at the Pokémon that had withdrawn into a helix-spiralled shell.

"That's what I wanted to show you. Come and look. It's very shy, so you'll have to be patient." Oak knelt down again and reached out his hand. Two eyes could be seen glistening from the safety of the shell before a blue Pokémon showed itself, rubbing his little tentacles against Oak's hand, causing him to chuckle. "This is an Omanyte. They went extinct many, many years ago but new research has been able to resurrect some complete samples. This specimen is truly unique."

Behind them, Gary had appeared quietly. He waved Wendy over to the door, leaving Isabelle and Professor Oak to their nerding about resurrected Pokémon. He took the nervous girl for a walk around the many fields of the lab, possibly hoping that the sight of Pokémon could calm her down and convince her to stay. He really wanted her to accept the internship.