Destiny [Pokémon]

❥ chapter XXI

"Huh? What was that about?" you wondered, confused by the boy's behaviour, and turned to Rosa for help. Maybe she knew something ... and it seemed like she really did, because you found her wearing a knowing, roguish smile.

In response to your questioning gaze, her smile grew into a smirk, but she didn't bother to answer your unspoken question. "Don't worry about it," was all she said as she waved her hand in a dismissive manner before changing the subject. "C'mon, let's sit you down. The docs are still busy with some patients, so you gotta wait a little bit." With her arm still around your shoulders, she steered you into a nearby chair and sat beside you.

You had scarcely made yourself comfortable with the Ralts siblings huddled together on your lap and Phiala curled around your feet when a small commotion erupted in the hallway, followed by what sounded like a stampede of Tauros rushing towards the waiting room.

Before you realized what was happening, a bunch of people had already burst through the double door and crowded around you. They were bombarding you with questions left and right—and all at the same time. You couldn't understand what exactly they were asking, but you heard the words "Pokémon" and "Trainer" being mentioned quite a few times.

As soon as you had overcome your initial surprise at being besieged like this, you burst out into hearty laughter. "Guys, please, don't all talk at once!" You had to raise your voice to be heard above this hubbub of voices, but you were still laughing. "I can't understand a single word you're saying!"

Near-instantly, your co-workers—from both the day and the night shift since the change of shifts was currently underway—stopped talking, but their eyes remained fixed on you, a burning curiosity in all their gazes.

With a chuckle and a crooked grin, you gently patted Phiala's head in an effort to calm her since your co-workers' sudden barging-in had scared her, much like Rineis. Then, you looked back up at your co-workers. Some of them were clad in casual clothing while others were wearing the white nurse uniform of this clinic. "I guess you want to know why these cuties are with me, huh?"

"Tell us everything that happened since yesterday evening," Delia, a girl who was just a few years older than you, breathed, her brown eyes sparkling. "Absolutely everything!"

And thus, you spent the following (at least) ten minutes describing down to the last detail how the three Pokémon had become part of your team—except for the parts where you had talked with them and the fact that you had seen Ho-Oh, of course. The seven nurses kept quiet the whole time, hanging on your every word as they looked at you like little kids would while listening to an adventurous tale about princesses, knights, and Dragon-type Pokémon. A few of them even pulled up nearby chairs to sit on, their eyes not once leaving your face.

But they weren't the only ones listening intently to your story. The two Ralts and the Poochyena were too. Phiala had sat up straight at your feet, a little bashful, but nonetheless bursting with pride. But whereas Raleia was revelling in this situation with her chest puffed out, her brother Rineis had huddled up even closer to you in a feeble attempt to escape your co-workers' curious gazes.

In the meantime, four other people crossed the waiting room and left the clinic, three of them being patients with their now-healed Pokémon and one of them being the third doctor of the day shift staff, Augustus. The latter just grinned at the sight of you and your Pokémon being surrounded by the other nurses. Before he walked out the door and disappeared from your field of view, he gave a quick wave of the hand you mimicked with a polite smile.

You co-workers broke out into loud, excited chatter as you ended your story of how you and the three Pokémon had ended up together. They showered you with hearty congratulations, effusive praise, and words of advice for the future, just like your best friends and your classmates had done, giving you a slap on the back, patting your head, or—of course—ruffling your hair.

"Taking a journey with your Pokémon is a really wonderful experience!" Junia said—and she could speak from experience because she had already finished her Pokémon journey four years ago, having left the island at the age of 11 and returned two years later.

"You'll have Pokémon by your side at all times, so you'll be just fine," Amelia assured you with a brilliant smile, "believe me!" She looked on amused as her brother Nik, who was leaning against the wall behind you, slung his arm around your neck and pulled you close.

Your face contorted in pain a moment later—not just because of the chair's metal frame that was pushing uncomfortably into your back and against your spine, but also because of the playful noogie the boy was currently giving you. "For Arceus's sake, Nik! Let me go already!"

Alas, Nik remained unfazed by your struggles to free yourself of his headlock. All you achieved was that his lips curled into a smirk. "You got nothing to worry about, shorty! Just go out there and enjoy your journey to the fullest!"

The laughter, snickering, and giggling of the other nurses died down as the sound of someone clearing their throat coming from the other end of the waiting room grabbed everyone's attention. The consultant of the night shift's team of nurses, Doctor Horatio, stood in front of the double door, next to your parents. But unlike them who were both smiling in amusement, he wore a severe expression and had his arms folded over his chest, tapping his fingers on his upper arm.

He fixed Rosa, Amelia, and Nik, one by one, with a hard glare that wiped the grins right off their faces, and they all gulped audibly. "What are you doing here in the waiting room? I believe your shift has only just started, and not ended." That was all he needed to say to make the nurses from the night shift scramble to get back to work.

After the three of them had given you quick, but tight hugs and affectionate pats on the head (and, in Nik's case, another gentle noogie you couldn't evade) and told you to call them sometime, they hurried past Doctor Horatio, studiously avoiding his stern gaze. But they turned around once more and waved you goodbye before disappearing in the back part of the clinic to care for the Pokémon that were not yet fully healed.

Giving a slight cough, Felix strained out a smile. "Well, we better get going too then," he said, and your three other co-workers—Junia, Candace, and Delia—murmured in agreement, all eager to get away from Doctor Horatio who was notorious for his strictness.

The four of them, too, briefly hugged you and tousled your hair for the umpteenth time in the past twenty minutes—and for the umpteenth time as well, you immediately set about smoothing it again to prevent it from looking as though a Swablu had tried to make itself at home on top of your head. They said their goodbyes, wishing you good luck on your journey, and then left the clinic with hasty steps.

The smallest of smiles slowly worked its way across Doctor Horatio's face when he turned to you next, softening his usually stony expression as he looked at you over the rims of his glasses. "Going out on a Pokémon journey really helps you mature," he said. "Have faith in your Pokémon and yourself, and I'm certain you will do alright." And with that, he turned around and followed the night shift nurses through the double door.