Ethan followed Joyce through the door behind the reception counter into the back of the ranch’s Pokemon Center. He’d only been through this door once before, when Jocelyn had tried her surprise therapy session. The surroundings and details were largely the same. It wasn’t that surprising, given that Joyce had no reason to change the decor, but it did give him a mild sense of unease, which he quickly ignored.

  Dipping into an open doorway at the end of the hall was the large pink form of Chansey, who disappeared into the room with Emolga’s pokeball. Joyce walked with a steady gait, business-mode activated and work to be done. As he followed the bopping pink hair in front of him, Ethan tried to think if he had a ‘work-mode’ that others saw when he got into the groove of things. He probably did, but sadly, he wasn’t getting too much actual work done lately. That would need to change by the time spring came along.

  They entered the room which Chansey entered to find said healer plopping Emolga’s pokeball into a wall-mounted ball holder. The holder spanned the entirety of the back wall, capable of holding upwards of roughly one-hundred or more pokeballs. The mount was connected to a nearby computer, located in a desk similar to one you’d find at a local library for free use. Emolga’s pokeball was the only ball on the entire wall, and that made it easy for Chansey to use her clumsy and stubby hands to chicken-poke at the keyboard, bringing up her information.

  Chansey twisted her body at their arrival, giving them a large smile and nod of acknowledgement before turning back to the screen.

  Ethan stood off to the side as Joyce looked over Chansey’s shoulder. From his position, he could still see the information provided.

  ══════════════════════════════════════════════

  PCMEI v4.7

  ? Authorized Personnel: League Medical Liasion - Nurse Joyce Joy

  ══════════════════════════════════════════════

  POKEMON IDENTIFICATION

  ──────────────────────

  Species: Emolga

  PokeDex No.: #587

  Type: Electric / Flying

  Gender: Female

  Possible Abilities: Static / Motor Drive

  Poke Ball: Pokeball

  TRAINER REGISTRATION

  ────────────────────

  Trainer Name: Ethan Reed

  Trainer ID: 39471

  League Rank: N/A

  Affiliation: Independent Breeder, Rancher, and Move Tutor

  Region: Sinnoh

  Behavior Flag: Expanded Roster – (Non-Adverse)

  System Note:

  Pokemon roster exceeds regional average.

  The trainer demonstrates appropriate care and emotional engagement.

  Recommend periodic check-ins to prevent unintentional strain.

  CURRENT MEDICAL STATUS

  ─────────────────────

  Energy: 96%

  Status Effects: None

  Injury Scan…

  ….

  …..

  High Caloric Food Source Detected.

  Item Type: Snorlax-Grade Pokeblock.

  Scanning…

  …

  ….

  …..

  Medical Assessment:

  ? No immediate danger detected

  ? Risk of hyperactivity, mild nausea, mild stomach pain, and/or physical energy crash

  Energy Levels: HIGH

  Hydration: Moderate

  Last Visit: 3 Weeks, 5 Days, 2 Hours, and 12 Minutes ago.

  SPECIAL NOTES (JOY-ONLY)

  ───────────────────────

  ? Emolga exhibits a joyful demeanor when her trainer is present. When separated, she becomes mischievous, overly playful, and easily distracted.

  ───────────────────────

  ───────────────────────

  Joy and Chansey both took their time scrolling down the information provided, doublechecking the information line by line. It looked like it was protocol, a safety measure to ensure that it was indeed the pokemon listed and there wasn’t a malfunction in the diagnostic machine, but they probably went even slower just so Ethan could read and follow along.

  Joyce waved him closer as they got towards the end of the information. With a tone like that of a professor explaining a college course, she began to explain. “This wall mounted machine is the successor to the healing machine you have at your home. Unlike the healing machine, which was a very bland and oftentimes confusing name, this system—The Pokemon Center Medical Intelligence Interface—allows for scalability and ease of use. The minimum slots installed at all Pokemon Centers is one-hundred, but some of the busier cities have massive thousand slot units for day to day operations.”

  She scrolled back up and began to review the information again, going point for point. “Obviously, it scans the pokeball and the pokemon inside, grabbing the registration ID number from the ball and ensuring it matches the species housed inside the ball at the same time. Normally, we’d cross reference with information you provide at the front desk, but given I know for a fact that you're Ethan Reed and that Emolga is yours, and that this may have been an emergency, that process was skipped. That information is listed near the top, with Emolga and your information listed clearly.” Chansey nodded along, agreeing with the assessment. “If for some reason the pokeball and the pokemon inside are not what they’re supposed to be, the scan is terminated and the pokeball would be locked into place until a League Official, representative, or some other suitably high ranked person comes by to investigate the issue. That’s only happened twice since I’ve been a Nurse, but it's good safety in case some criminals are afoot.”

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  “Next,” Joyce scooted over, grabbing Ethan’s shoulder and pulling him forward to get closer. “It scans Emolga herself, giving a very basic diagnostic and health review. It does well, but we Nurses always double check that the information is correct in a separate physical check-up if it’s not a serious life threatening emergency.” Joyce then looked disdainfully at the ‘Medical Assessment’ portion. “That is for those with little to no training. We Joys will be the judge of its accuracy.”

  “Chansey!” The large pink healer frowned unhappily and put her finny-hands on her hips.

  Joyce looked to her partner, and flashed an apologetic smile. “You're a Joy too, Chansey.”

  That seemed to cheer her up, as Chansey nearly instantly reverted back to her joyful self. (Pun intended)

  “At the bottom, we have individualized notes for reminders. All pokemon must have something filled in. If left blank, the system will not close, and the pokeball will be locked in. This is to ensure that each pokemon that visits a Pokemon Center gets individualized care.”

  Ethan nodded along, following the lesson with ease. “Couldn’t you just type a bunch of gibberish at the end?”

  “You could,” Joyce started, then blinked as she realized her arm was still around Ethan’s shoulders. She quickly released her hold and held her hands in front of her. “Bu—But if you’re already registered into the Pokemon Centers databases, you’ve been given the training and trust to be here. If for some reason a Nurse or worker was found doing so, then they’d be fired and have their credentials revoked.”

  “I see…” Ethan murmured as Chansey poked a few more keys to shut down the machine. The all too recogniseable sound of dings and chimes of the Pokemon Center healing from the games rang out from the speakers. Joyce walked over and plucked Emolga’s ball from the mount and gestured for him and Chansey to follow.

  The walk wasn’t far, just across the hall into an open room with a wide table-like pokemon platform, some chairs, a sink, some medical racks, and all the other stuff you’d find in a doctor's office. The platform appeared to be designed to fit many different species of pokemon, given its large size.

  “This is the exam room,” Joyce swiftly pulled one of the nearby chairs closer to the main table and gestured for Chansey. Chansey raised the pokeball—

  “One second.” Ethan cut in, raising a hand. Both Chansey and Joyce paused and waited in mild confusion. Ethan took a solid ten seconds to put on his mean face. He couldn’t let Emolga get away with what she did today. If he had to be upset to prevent this in the future, he would be.

  Once he had a suitable mixture of anger, disappointment, and sadness etched onto his face. He earned a surprising solemn nod of acknowledgement from Chansey. She released Emolga onto the table.

  Emolga appeared from her flash of white and scanned the room, quickly finding Ethan leaning against the sink behind Chansey and Joyce. Her ears flattened out as she tucked her arms together in front of her in shame. Ethan didn’t say a word and only watched.

  Joyce stepped forward, explained what she was going to do, and once Emolga gave her consent, began her examination. As Joyce felt around Emolga’s tummy, Emolga’s eyes repeatedly flicked towards Ethan’s disappointed and upset stare. After a minute of feeling around and some general checkups, Joyce leaned back in her chair. “I don’t think there’s going to be any problems, but you must listen to Ethan when it comes to things you don’t yet understand. If you’d eaten that full pokeblock you would have been in serious trouble, Emolga.”

  Emolga sank into herself and began to sniffle, eyes only looking at Ethan. “E—Emol?”

  Joyce waited for Ethan to say anything, but he was giving Emolga the silent treatment. “No more eating for the rest of the day and a light breakfast tomorrow. You should go and burn off all of your energy as well. That should help if you start to feel uncomfortable. If you suddenly feel worse or think that something is wrong, come back immediately.” She said to both trainer and pokemon.

  After her proclamation, an awkward silence reigned supreme.

  “I don’t ask you for much.” Ethan broke the silence, speaking to Emolga. The flying squirrel flinched and stayed quiet. “I don’t command you to do anything, ask for help, and try to ensure you live your best life.” He continued. “So when I tell you to not do something, there is a really good reason for it. Even if you don’t understand why I am telling you to do or to not do something, at least trust that I have a good reason. Can you do that for me?”

  Emolga stood up from her seating position with a hopeful smile, tears still in her eyes as she prepared to jump and glide towards him.

  “I’m serious, Emolga. You scared me. I don’t think you want me to be afraid for you… right?” Ethan laid it on thick… but it was working as Emolga nodded rapidly while murmuring quiet “Emols”.

  Ethan held out his arms, and Emolga took the opportunity to glide towards him. She smacked into his chest and began to cry while rubbing her face all over his shirt, mucking it up with tears and a little bit of ugly crying snot. Ethan held her as she cried.

  Once she was sufficiently calmed down, Ethan turned her around and held her against his chest. Once she was secure, he did what had to be done.

  “Now, for your punishment.”

  Emolga began to wiggle and laugh, thinking he was joking.

  He wasn’t.

  “For the rest of the day, you’re going to help me out around the ranch. You’re going to charge up the batteries for the house without any help to burn off some energy, then you’re going to help me find more fish in the nearby creek to add to the pond. Afterwards, you will help with dinner… since you won’t eat for today, you will also help do the dishes and then do laundry.”

  Emolga laid limp in his grasp. The weight of her punishment weighing her down.

  “Then for the next week, you’re going to help Smeargle learn a move.” Ethan added the final nail in the coffin. “When he says to be still for his painting, you are still. When he says he needs you to move or pose, you will move accordingly...”

  “And…” Ethan continued, to Emolga’s horror. “You will never do anything foolish like this again. Am I understood?”

  “Emol…” Emolga wiggled her assent.

  Ethan released his tight grip and let her lay in his arms on her back. They locked eyes… and Ethan saw that she understood today's lesson. Ethan always used the carrot, but the stick always existed. He did not like using the stick, but negative reinforcement had its place.

  When he turned to Joyce, he found her and Chansey standing to the side with slight smiles. Chansey was shaking her head in disappointment at Emolga needing to be punished, causing said flying squirrel to squirm in embarrassment.

  “Thanks for your help, Joyce.” Ethan thanked her, “And you Chansey.” He added.

  “It’s what we’re paid to do.” Joyce responded, pushing herself off the chair she was leaning on to make her way to the door. Once they were all back in the lobby, Ethan had Emolga say goodbye and thank them for their help.

  When Ethan’s feet crushed the snow outside and the automatic sliding doors shut behind them, Ethan looked down to Emolga once again. “I love you, but don’t make me hate it.”

  He chucked her into the air with a baseball throw, causing his squirrel to deploy her winged membrane to fly. “Now go charge those batteries and meet me at my garden when you’re done!”

  Emolga swooped through the air, doing a twirl before speeding off to the house.

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