Life and the Path Ahead

"All done."

Nurse Joy carried a white tray with four Poké Balls secured on it. One, painted jet-black, had been set apart in a corner.

Beside her stood Blissey, likewise carrying three plates of curry.

"Here, this is your Carnivine. It may have accidentally inhaled some of the Stantler's extract, which caused its condition. It's fine now."

Nurse Joy handed the black Poké Ball to Ailan, then placed two plates of curry on the table. "I made this for lunch. I hope you like it."

"Bliss, bliss!"

Blissey happily clapped along.

Once Ailan and Dark had finished thanking her, Nurse Joy, the goddess of lunch, finally arrived at Dian's seat.

"Today's lunch is curry. I added a little blueberry, so it should have quite a distinctive flavor."

Nurse Joy sounded rather confident.

She handed him three Poké Balls. "All three are very healthy. It seems your approach to raising them is sound, without any hidden problems or excessively harsh treatment damaging their bodies. Thank you!"

"Thank me? You must be joking, Nurse Joy. I should be thanking you."

Dian took them and was about to thank Blissey for setting down his curry, only to hear those unexpected words from Nurse Joy.

"No, I've worked at this Pokémon Center for a long time. This isn't a large town, but plenty of Trainers come through."

Nurse Joy thoughtfully placed a packet of wet wipes and some tissues on the table. "Every so often, we get Pokémon who have been seriously injured during training.

"Some cases aren't too bad, but others are very serious. Sometimes I really want to ask what on earth they think their Pokémon are when they train them."

She sighed. "But as a Nurse Joy, I'm not allowed to interfere too much with a Trainer's decisions, so I simply