“Dragon Breath.” A brilliant multicolored beam tore across the Pokémon Center’s rear training field and exploded against the ground, throwing up a cloud of snow.
Jun waited for it to settle, inspected the shallow crater, then opened his research notebook.
Dragon Breath.
A Dragon-type move with a chance to cause paralysis.
At least that settles any lingering doubt about the newborn’s Dragon typing.
The power lives up to the name, but her accuracy and activation speed still need work.
I wonder if she’ll eventually learn Dragon Dance.
Hopefully she doesn’t take after a certain land shark.
Her Ability is still unknown too…
“Cuu~” The newborn gave an enormous yawn, trudged through the snow, and wrapped both arms around Jun’s leg.
By the time he looked down, she was already asleep against him.
Jun scratched gently beneath her chin and added one final note.
She’s still growing.
No reason to rush.
He closed the notebook, returned her to her Poké Ball, and headed inside.
Nurse Joy was still treating Ralts and Morpeko in the medical room, while Marnie sat on one of the lobby sofas with Purrloin stretched comfortably across her lap.
She was running a small grooming brush through its purple fur, and Purrloin looked close to falling asleep.
One ear twitched when Jun approached.
Purrloin opened an eye, glanced at him, then closed it again as if deciding he wasn’t worth interrupting the brushing for.
Jun sat across from Marnie.
“Do you actually have a destination in mind for this trip?” Marnie’s hand never stopped moving.
“Planning to leave Frostleaf?” Jun nodded.
“The world’s too big.
There are plenty of places out there waiting for us to see.” Marnie raised an eyebrow.
“Us?
Fifty thousand a month, or you can go see them by yourself.” Jun sighed.
“Humor is important, Marnie.
Someone very wise once said that without a sense of humor, a person is basically just an overgrown gorilla.” “A gorilla?” Marnie set the brush aside and smoothed Purrloin’s back with one hand.
“You mean Rillaboom?” Jun paused.
“For another five hundred thousand,” she continued, “I could probably get you a Grookey.” Jun stared at her.
Damn League families and their connections.
“The monkey isn’t really the point.
I’ve always preferred snakes anyway.
I’ve even got a nickname ready for one.” “We have connections in Unova too.” Of course they did.
Jun immediately changed tactics.
“Actually, now that I think about it, humor is overrated.
Marnie has always struck me as someone with the beauty of a Milotic and the elegance of a Cresselia.
Far beyond the reach of some rude, irrelevant monkey.” “When you can hand me one million Pokédollars while saying that, I’ll consider finding you a Snivy.” Jun blinked.
“One million?
Wasn’t it five hundred thousand?” “Humor is important, Jun.” Marnie brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and tilted her head slightly.
“Without it, how are you any different from a Rillaboom?” Jun decided the gorilla-and-snake discussion had gone far enough.
Instead, he took out the Wishing Star and held it toward her.
“Do you know where I can have this made into a Dynamax Band?” Marnie’s expression became more serious.
She took the stone and examined it for several seconds.
“That man attacked you because of this?” “Yeah.
Rookidee gave it to me.” Marnie hummed quietly before returning the Wishing Star.
“The process for making Dynamax Bands is tightly controlled by Macro Cosmos.” Macro Cosmos was the largest corporation in Galar, with influence stretching through almost every major industry in the region.
Its position inside the Galar League made it comparable to the Devon Corporation in Hoenn, and its president, Rose, also happened to serve as Chairman of the League.
In other words, Macro Cosmos had its hands everywhere.
“If you want this turned into a Dynamax Band through official channels,” Marnie continued, “you’d normally have to go to Macro Cosmos in Wyndon.
The problem is that the League keeps a close eye on Wishing Stars.
Without documentation proving where yours came from, most people aren’t going to touch it.” Jun’s mood sank slightly.
His Wishing Star definitely didn’t have clean paperwork.
It had come from Rookidee, who had stolen it from a suspicious alley, and there was a good chance the black-robed man had acquired it through equally suspicious means.
Still, Jun remembered another option from the games.
Marnie stroked Purrloin’s fur thoughtfully.
“There is one exception.” “The Pokémon Research Lab in Wedgehurst,” Jun said.
Marnie nodded.
Jun couldn’t help laughing.
Somehow, after everything that had happened in Frostleaf, he was still being pushed toward the same place he’d originally intended to visit.
“Then I have a request.” He leaned back against the sofa.
“Would you be willing to put everything else aside and accompany me to Wedgehurst?” “Not for you.” Jun waited.
“For fifty thousand Pokédollars, sure.” Purrloin curled its paws beneath its body and nudged itself more comfortably into Marnie’s hand.
Jun had expected nothing less.
A short while later, Nurse Joy approached with Indeedee pushing a small cart beside her.
“You’re leaving?” Jun and Marnie each collected their Pokémon’s Poké Ball from the cart.
Jun nodded.
“We’re heading to Wedgehurst.” Nurse Joy let out a long hum and gave him a look before asking Indeedee to bring out Marnie’s Pokémon Egg.
“If anything seems wrong, contact me immediately.
You can act reckless with yourself all you want, but don’t take chances with an Egg.
Incubation problems aren’t something you can just ignore.” Jun accepted the warning without argument.
“And while we’re at it, maybe try taking care of yourself too.
What kind of Trainer gets injured more often than his Pokémon?” Jun wisely remained silent.
Nurse Joy wasn’t finished.
“If you’re going to Wedgehurst, the Nurse Joy there is my cousin.
Tell her I sent you if you need anything.
And make sure you keep the Egg warm during the trip, check it regularly, don’t leave it somewhere unstable, and—” Jun listened for a while before a question slipped out.
“Wait.
Aren’t all Nurse Joys just called Nurse Joy?” The lobby went quiet.
Nurse Joy stared at him.
Jun immediately suspected he’d made a mistake.
“First,” she said, very carefully, “Joy is my family name.
I have an actual first name.” Jun opened his mouth.
“Second, are you seriously telling me you can’t tell me apart from the other Nurse Joys?” There was no correct answer to that question.
Nurse Joy’s glare sharpened before she turned on her heel and marched away.
Jun watched her go.
Across from him, Marnie quietly picked Purrloin up and turned her back.
Her shoulders began trembling.
Jun narrowed his eyes.
“Are you laughing?” Marnie didn’t answer.
Apparently Jun getting himself into trouble was one of the few things capable of breaking through her usual expression.
Despite her irritation, Nurse Joy still came outside to see them off.
She stood beneath the Pokémon Center awning while Jun and Marnie prepared to leave, then finally told Jun the first name he’d somehow gone this long without knowing.
Dale.
Jun saved it properly in his phone.
Dale Joy.
“Now I’ll actually know which Joy I’m calling,” he said.
Dale gave him a look that suggested he was already testing her patience again.
Jun smiled and waved goodbye before setting off with Marnie through the snowy streets.
Dale remained outside the Pokémon Center, hands folded in front of her as she watched them grow smaller in the distance.
She stayed there until another Trainer hurried toward the entrance carrying an injured Pokémon, pulling her attention back to work.
She turned to go inside, hesitated, and glanced once more down the street.
Jun and Marnie were already gone.
Dale was Frostleaf Town’s Nurse Joy: sharp-tongued when Jun tested her patience, prone to lecturing him whenever he got hurt, and considerably less serene around him than a Nurse Joy was probably supposed to be.
But from that day onward, whenever Jun thought of Nurse Joy, there would always be one who wasn’t simply Nurse Joy.
She was Dale…
[End of chapter] Jun’s Pokémon Research Notes Newborn Dragon Breath confirms her Dragon typing beyond reasonable doubt.
Power is promising, but accuracy and activation speed still need considerable work.
Whether she can eventually learn Dragon Dance remains unknown.
Ability still unidentified.
She is still in an early growth stage.
Training intensity should remain limited.
Additional note: Apparently Nurse Joy has a first name.
Dale Joy.