Summer Storm

	Rain tapped the windows, understating the raging weather outside. The nurse’s mind briefly wandered to the hiker that had passed by a few hours ago, the quiet Ace and the Swanna flock that’d flown by on his stead. It was an unusually quiet evening, storm notwithstanding, and soon her mind was wandering, slowly slipping into a dream. Blurry scenes went by her eyes, of cities and caverns and grand gyms, the colors melting together as the sound of rain became more distant.
	The nurse looked up, jolted from her drowsiness by the familiar ding of the sliding doors. She fixed her posture and tried to put on a convincing smile as the trainer, roughly her age and soaked to the bone, walked up to her counter and deposited a belt of four Pokeballs, fumbling with something in his bag.
	“Welcome to the Pokémon Center, your Pokémon will be good to go in a few minutes.”
    The boy looked up, pushing his black hair away from his eyes as he pointed to the corner of his mouth, staring at the nurse’s face. Her eyes widened as she realized her nap was probably longer than she remembered. She chuckled, cleaning the thin line of saliva with the back of her hand and pointing at all of the soaked boy at once. The boy laughed softly at first and soon the two were giggling at nothing in particular, the nurse loading the Pokéballs into the large machine behind her as the boy pulled up a chair, gladly taking a light pink towel from a concerned-looking Blissey. The machine whirred softly, muffled by the rain. The nurse leaned forward, covering her mouth as she yawned.
	“Taking on the Gyms?” She asked idly, used to the steady influx of trainers on their way to the big leagues. The boy shook his head, removing his shoes and wet socks, letting his feet revel in the conditioned warmth of the Center. “Not born for it, I think. I’ve been wandering, mostly. Looking for something nobody’s ever seen before, you know?” It was the girl’s turn to shake her head. “Not sure I follow but it sounds like fun. Where are you from?” They spent the next few minutes talking about each other. The trainer was from Virbank, the girl was from Pastoria and had the badge from there, the only one she got before she decided to sign up as a Center Nurse, which eventually led to her current station. She wanted to see Prism Tower and he was planning a trip to Ecruteak to see the Bell Tower. Exchanging names hadn’t even passed their minds. Before long the machine stopped with a sharp click and the nurse returned the Pokémon to the boy.
	“Mind if I let them roam for a while? They get annoyed if they stay locked up too long.”
    “As long as they don’t break anything, feel free.”
The first to come out was a Pachirisu, its unusually silky fur gleaming under the soft light of the center. It hopped as it saw its trainer and ran up his leg, producing a prismatic, heart-shaped shard. The boy took it and raised it towards the light. “And where did you find this?” The small rodent chirped, seemingly proud of itself, and laid across his lap, a single thin jolt of electricity running off its fur before dispersing. The boy shook his head and released his second Pokémon, a Farfetch’d holding an oversized leek. It held the leek on its beak and flapped up to the counter, examining the nurse closely. The girl tilted her head and reached under the counter, producing a Berry as a peace offering. The Farfetch’d let out a satisfied coo and took the berry, waddling to an end of the counter, leek in wing and berry in beak.
	“He doesn’t usually like strangers.” The boy chuckled to himself, petting the Pachirisu who seemed already fast asleep.
	“Bribes can take you a long way.” The girl answered naturally, waiting for the next Pokémon. A Yamask was the third, shyly scanning the Center, its golden mask swinging along with him. The boy stretched out his hand, letting the dark mass of the ghost’s body pass through his palm as a form of rudimentary petting.  The girl could see the moisture on the boy’s hand evaporate as it trembled slightly. She felt it was polite to wait until the Yamask had floated to the window, setting its mask in front of itself as it watched the pouring rain and the mysterious golden facade before she spoke up.
	“Are you sure that’s good for you? I heard a few Ghost-types can get greedy taking human energy.” The boy shrugged, rubbing his hands together. “It makes him happy.”
	The last Pokemon managed to surprise the girl: A Roselia with purple and black roses stared up at them. The nurse had seen her share of Roselias, having been to Floaroma as a child, but never one with such an odd color. The boy pointed at the door. “You can go play on the rain, just don’t wander off too far.” The small Pokémon quickly moved away, leaving a lingering aroma on her wake. The boy tilted his head back, looking up at the nurse. “Do you have any?” The girl nodded and pulled a Luxury Ball out of her deep pockets, releasing a Murkrow from within. It flapped its wings lazily, being quickly approached by the inquisitive Farfetch’d. The small crow cawed as the Farfetch’d circled it and moved away, occasionally looking back and flapping its wings. In a few moments, Murkrow understood the other’s purpose and joined him in a walk around the Center, finally settling perched on an open window, loudly chattering to each other, the restless wind blowing their feathers back.
	Neither of the humans had realized they’d been quietly watching the birds until the nurse broke the silence. “We took her in after she crashed against the center during a thunderstorm.” “We?” The boy looked around the empty Center. “There’s another Nurse, she left earlier to restock on Antidotes but I doubt she’s coming back under this weather.” The boy nodded, watching the Roselia soak under the rain by the glass door.
	A gust pushed the window shut as the two bird Pokémon flapped back inside. The nurse passed by the Yamask on her way to reopen the window and caught it singing a slow, deep melody, swaying from side to side, two shadowy appendages holding the corners of the mask. The girl timidly stretched her hand towards the ghost, a numb cold creeping up her fingers. It did not feel bad despite the blood rushing to her hands to recover the suddenly lost warmth and soon the small creature was singing louder, filling its corner of the center with a song long forgotten. She pushed the birds’ window open again, putting her hands on the pockets of her uniform.
	“Where are you going next?” The girl asked while walking back behind the counter, strongly considering sharing some tea with the boy. He did not respond. She looked down to find the boy asleep, his head leaning on the counter.
	The storm had moved on and the sun had appeared by the time the boy had woken up. A chill ran down his spine as he realized all his Pokémon spent the night unsupervised. Soon, however, he found his Pachirisu running up and down the Center, between a Ranger’s legs and up a bookshelf, chirping to itself. The Farfetch’d was asleep by his feet and the Roselia was watching a passing Maractus with deep curiosity just outside the building.
	“The Yamask crept back into your Pokéball a while ago.” An unfamiliar voice rang behind him. An older nurse was sitting behind the counter, writing something down as she spoke. The boy thanked her and stood up, slightly disappointed by the girl's disappearance and only then realizing there was a Pokéball-colored pillow behind his head. He lazily summoned his Pokemon back, attaching the belt to his hip and walking out, letting the morning sun blanket him in warmth. He was about to move out when a sharp caw reached him. A Murkrow was watching him from a nearby roof, a small tube attached to his leg. It flapped down and landed on the trainer’s shoulder, hopping slightly and looking at the route ahead. The boy detached the tube and unfurled the Mail within as the crow tugged on the boy’s shirt, trying to pull him towards the wilderness.
	A crude drawing of a Nurse waved at him, taking most of the space in the letter. Besides her, the hurriedly-written message read:
	Let’s go find something nobody’s ever seen before.