Chap 3

"Hello, welcome to the Viridian City Pokémon center" Nurse Joy said as I raced to the counter.

"Pidgey… hurt… need… help" I managed to say between heavy gasps.

My hands were shaking as I quickly thrusted the poke ball towards her. Her big blue eyes immediately began calming my nerves.

"Okay it's a Pidgey, and how was it injured?"

It surprised me that her tone of voice remained calm and soothing even as she acknowledged my problem. I made a mental note to work toward that kind of resolve.

"It was battling three Rattata and got bitten really bad" I said after finally catching my breath.

"Oh okay, battle fatigue is a simple fix. We'll get this little guy fixed up as good as new. Just have a seat in the waiting room or you can leave a number where I can contact you once Pidgey is ready to travel again."

That statement reminded me of several things. I didn't have a phone or any money. I didn't even have a clue how to get either of those things.

"Okay, how much will this cost me?" I asked suddenly realizing I had no way to pay.

"There isn't any charge. Are you a new trainer?" she said as a gigantic smile spread across her face.

I started to lie to her, but she had a harmless quality about her that made me feel safe.

"Yeah, I started tonight."

"Well, you've come to the right place to start your journey. Viridian is home to the famous Pokémon Academy."

I had heard of the Pokémon Academy, but I never knew where it was. I also figured it was only for elite trainers.

"Is it hard to get accepted into?"

For a split second, a look of confusion showed on her face, but it vanished just as quickly as it had arrived.

"All you have to do is go there and start learning, they accept everyone." She said as her smile returned in all its glory.

I started wondering if I had ever seen a woman more beautiful than Nurse Joy. If I had, I certainly didn't remember it.

"Thank you" I said and laughed nervously.

I went and sat in a chair by the door and watched Nurse Joy walk into the back with Pidgey's ball. She moved so softly she could've been floating. I giggled to myself when I realized that her hair and the top of a poke ball were similar shades of red. The next thing I knew I was getting irritated because someone was shining a blinding light in my face.

It was the sun. I had apparently fallen asleep without realizing it. I bolted forward in my seat once I realized how long I had been sitting in one place. I looked out the window, half expecting an army to be coming for me. There was no one there except an old man who, for some reason, was lying in the middle of the road. I doubted he was the person that was after me.

As far as I knew, he could be though. How could I truly run from an enemy I couldn't identify? Just thinking about it made my heart race. I could get snatched from any direction, at any moment, by this faceless, reptilian-voiced killer. The only good news was that he didn't see me either. All he knew was that his egg was missing. That didn't even prove it was stolen. There really wasn't anything linking me to that lab besides the egg. That made me feel a lot better. I relaxed in the comfort that I was safe. If I could keep the egg hidden that is.

"Good morning" Nurse Joy said.

She didn't look tired at all. Had she really worked the entire night? I didn't see another nurse, so I assumed she had. How could that be possible. I felt like crap, and I had actually gotten sleep. There was no way she was still feeling good.

"Good morning, did you seriously work through the night?" I asked.

"No, I'm day shift Joy. Night shift Joy left while you were sleeping."

An alarm started blaring in my head. She had just told me that her clone had worked the night shift. I began to wonder if she was truly insane or if the long hours had finally gotten to her. I wasn't sticking around to find out which one it was either way.

"So, how's Pidgey?" I asked cautiously.

"She's all healed up. There was a nasty gash above her right wing. What happened?" she asked.

I felt my eyes narrow before I could stop myself. What kind of weird test was she giving me and what would happen if I failed it. I decided to go along with it until I had my pidgey which it turns out was a female.

"She was fighting with three Rattata. One of them bit her in the back."

"Oh, poor thing must've been in a lot of pain. I'm glad you were able to get her to us before she lost too much blood."

She handed me the poke ball back and started to walk away from the counter. Once I had Pidgey back in my possession I decided to play a game of my own. I didn't like being toyed with by anyone, no matter how attractive or insane they were.

"Hey, how do I get to that place we talked about last night?" I asked certain she would fall for my scam.

"What place?" she asked nervously.

"You told me about a special place here in Viridian."

I expected to see at least a brief look of recognition on her face, but instead the look on her face became almost fearful.

"I'm guessing you mean night shift Joy. If you would like I can call her and let you ask her yourself. She probably isn't asleep yet."

I felt bad after that response, like I was picking on her for no reason. Whatever her reason was for pretending to be multiple people it seemed severe. I decided to drop the subject.

"No, that's okay. It's not a large town I'm sure it won't take long to find it on my own." I said and walked out.

The town really was tiny. There were only about 6 buildings including the Pokémon center. The academy sat directly behind it. There were two houses a Pokemart, and a Pokémon Gym as well. I didn't plan on going into the Pokémon gym since I only had a weak Pidgey. I did want to visit the Pokémon Academy though. I headed towards that. Just before I walked in, movement in the house that sat behind it caught my attention.

In the upstairs window, I saw a woman from behind. She was wearing just a pink towel around her body and her hair was wrapped up in a white one. I felt a little weird for watching her, but something about the way she moved forced me to keep staring. She never turned around, but I knew exactly who she was when she pulled the towel off her head. My jaw dropped in disbelief as the red hair fell down her back. There truly was a second Nurse Joy, how in the world was that possible?