The walk to the Pokémon Centre was mostly a silent affair, but it was not a peaceful silence. It was the kind of silence that pressed down on the chest, heavy and suffocating, filled with all the words no one dared to speak.
Ash carried Yellow in his arms, her small frame surprisingly light, yet feeling like an immense weight against his chest. Every step made his muscles ache, but it wasn't her weight that burdened him — it was the responsibility, the fear, the guilt. He held her close, his cheek resting against the crown of her head, murmuring quiet reassurances he wasn't sure she could even hear. His voice was low, almost a whisper, the words tumbling out more for himself than for her.
"It's okay… you're safe now… I've got you…"
Her breaths came in ragged, shallow gasps against his shirt, each one a reminder of how fragile she felt in his arms. Occasionally, a tremor rippled through her body, and Ash's grip tightened instinctively, as if he could shield her from the memory clawing at her mind. He hated it — hated the fear that gripped her, hated the Rattata that had caused it, hated himself most of all for letting it happen. He replayed the moment again and again in his head, searching for what he could have done differently, what he should have done. Each time, the answer was the same: he had failed her.
Pikachu padded faithfully at his side, his small paws crunching softly against the gravel. Every so often, he would leap up just high enough to brush his cheek against Yellow's dangling hand, letting out soft, comforting chirps. The little gestures were simple, but they carried a weight Ash couldn't put into words. Pikachu was trying to remind her — and maybe remind Ash too — that she wasn't alone.
Above them, Spearow circled in wide arcs, his sharp eyes scanning the route ahead. The bird that had once been a brash, arrogant bully now flew with a soldier's vigilance, his wings cutting through the hot air with steady beats. Every so often, he let out a sharp cry, a signal that the skies were clear, that he was watching over them.
Behind Ash trailed Janice, Coulton, and Ben. The siblings, usually a whirlwind of chatter and energy, were subdued now, their silence almost as heavy as Ash's guilt. Coulton walked with his head bowed, scuffing his shoes against the gravel, each scrape a small confession of the guilt etched across his young face. He hadn't spoken since they left, but his hunched shoulders and downcast eyes said enough. Ben, usually the loudest of the three, stayed close to Janice, his earlier excitement replaced by wide-eyed concern. He kept glancing at Yellow, his small hands fidgeting nervously with the hem of his shirt, as if unsure whether to ask questions or stay quiet.
Janice, the eldest, walked with a determined stride. Her jaw was set, her eyes sharp, but every so often she glanced at Ash and Yellow, her expression softening into something more complicated — worry, sympathy, resolve. She seemed to understand, perhaps better than her brothers, the gravity of what had happened. She didn't ask questions, didn't offer platitudes. She walked, her presence steady, as though lending them her strength by sheer will.
The path itself felt longer than it ever had before. The sun hung high overhead, its heat pressing down on them, making the air shimmer faintly above the rocky ground. Sweat trickled down Ash's back, dampening his shirt, but he barely noticed. The silence magnified every sound: the crunch of gravel beneath their shoes, the occasional snap of a twig underfoot, the distant cries of wild Pokémon echoing faintly from the hills. Each noise made Ash flinch inwardly, his senses stretched taut, his body ready to react.
The terrain was changing as they walked. The lush greenery of the earlier route had thinned, giving way to rougher, more mountainous ground. Jagged boulders jutted from the earth like broken teeth, and the soil was dry and cracked in places, the grass sparse and brittle. The air carried a faint mineral tang, the smell of stone and dust, and the occasional gust of wind kicked up small clouds of grit that stung the eyes.
Ash adjusted his grip on Yellow, shifting her weight slightly to ease the strain on his arms. She stirred at the movement, a small, frightened sound escaping her lips. Her fingers twitched against his shirt, clutching weakly at the fabric, before she burrowed deeper against his chest, seeking safety in his proximity. Ash's heart clenched. He lowered his head, pressing his cheek gently against her hair.
"I've got you," he whispered again, though his voice cracked.
Easy, Ash, Roshi's voice murmured in his mind, unusually gentle. Just keep moving. Focus on getting her there.
Ash nodded imperceptibly, his jaw tight. He forced himself to focus on the rhythm of his footsteps — left, right, left, right — on the reassuring weight of Pikachu at his side, on Spearow's vigilant silhouette against the sky. One step, then another. That was all he could do.
The minutes stretched into what felt like hours. The sun climbed higher, the heat pressing down harder, the silence growing heavier. Ash's arms ached, his back throbbed, but he refused to falter. Every time his grip loosened, he tightened it again, as if letting go for even a second would mean failing her all over again.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Spearow let out a sharp cry. The sound cut through the silence like a blade. Ash's head snapped up, following the bird's trajectory as he swooped lower, circling tightly.
There, nestled in a small dip just off the main path, partially hidden by a cluster of rocks, was a familiar red roof.
The Pokémon Centre.
Relief washed over Ash so suddenly that it nearly buckled his knees. His arms trembled, his chest heaved, but he kept moving, his eyes fixed on that red roof like it was the only thing anchoring him to the earth.
They weren't there yet. But they were close.
And for the first time since Yellow's panic attack began, Ash allowed himself to believe they might make it.
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It was a slow day, Nurse Joy decided.
She had woken as she always did, to the soft hum of the Centre's machines and the faint smell of disinfectant that never quite left the halls. The lobby was nearly empty, its rows of chairs unoccupied save for a lone hiker dozing with his pack at his feet. The quiet was unusual but not unwelcome. This Centre, perched on the edge of Route 3, was the last safe haven before Mount Moon. Most mornings, it bustled with trainers eager to heal their partners before venturing into the caves. By midday, though, the place often emptied, leaving her with only the steady rhythm of her duties and the occasional call from her sisters in other towns.
She glanced out the window at the rocky horizon. Mount Moon loomed in the distance, its jagged silhouette softened by the haze of late morning. Hikers sometimes stayed the night here, she remembered, setting out under the moonlight for the novelty of it. They always came back sooner than expected, driven out by the endless swarm of Zubat. She could almost hear their frustrated voices now, echoing in her memory: "We were so close to the Clefairy, and then—bam! Zubat everywhere!"
The thought made her smile faintly. Trainers could be so single‑minded, chasing after the elusive Clefairy, the so‑called "fairies of Kanto." She had seen the disappointment on their faces when they returned empty‑handed, wings still ringing in their ears. Still, it was better to be irritated by Zubat than to stumble into something worse.
Her expression sobered. There were other presences in Mount Moon — older, more dangerous. She had heard the stories whispered by hikers and confirmed in fragments by her sisters. Disturbing those two was as good as signing one's death warrant. Their leaders were not to be trifled with. She prayed the trainers who passed through here never learned that lesson firsthand.
Her thoughts drifted to the recent reports. Mount Moon had been drawing more attention lately, not just for Clefairy but for its moon stones and the possibility of fossils buried deep within. Fossils always brought trouble — scientists, collectors, opportunists. And opportunists often meant criminals.
She hadn't heard much from her sister in Cerulean about new trainers arriving from Mount Moon. That silence unsettled her. Normally, there would be a steady trickle of names, faces, and stories. Instead, there had been only a brief mention of two boys and a girl who had taken the long way around, through Rota. The girl especially — she had really taken the scenic route. Joy had chuckled at that when she first heard it, but now the humor felt thin.
What about the others? Where were they?
Her mind flicked back to the news from Pewter. The Team Rocket attack had shaken everyone. She had dismissed it at first — surely no criminal organization would linger near the site of their own crime. That would be reckless, suicidal even. And yet…
She caught herself frowning, shaking her head as if to scatter the thought. "No," she murmured under her breath, straightening the stack of forms on her desk. "They wouldn't be foolish enough to stay so close. Not after that."
Still, the unease lingered, a shadow at the edge of her thoughts. She glanced again at the red phone on the counter, half‑expecting it to ring with bad news from Cerulean or Pewter. But the line stayed silent.
For now, the Centre was quiet. For now, it was just another slow day.
But Nurse Joy had been in this job long enough to know slow days never lasted.
Just as she was yawning from boredom and sleepiness from the warm afternoon, the wooden doors of the Centre swung open, breaking the monotony of the day. Turning her head to greet the trainer, she saw them.
A boy stumbling in, gasping for breath, his clothes dusty and sweat-stained. He was carrying a girl in his arms, holding her with a fierce, almost desperate protectiveness. The girl was pale, trembling, her eyes wide and unfocused, tucked against his chest as if trying to hide from the world. A Pikachu clung to the boy's side, letting out anxious chirps, while a Spearow landed heavily on his shoulder, panting.
Close behind them followed three more children – a teenage girl and two younger boys – their faces a mixture of exhaustion, worry, and confusion.
Nurse Joy was on her feet before the door even closed, her professional instincts overriding her surprise. "What happened?", she asked while the boy carried the girl with him to her.
Instead of asking their names, she looked at the girl in the boy's arms. Without even a possible diagnosis, she was already thinking about what could have happened. Did she get hit by a confusion inducing move? Paralytic agents? A misplaced move during a battle? Wrong dosage of the wrong medicine? Allergic reactions? A concussion? Extreme fright? Or...
"Nurse Joy!", the boy called out after reaching her desk, "I-I think she is having a panic attack!"
"How can you be so sure?" Nurse Joy asked the boy as she reached her hand for the girl to check her vitals. Looking at her closely now, she was beginning to recognize the symptoms of a panic attack as well, but she has to be sure before doing anything else.
"She was freaking out after she saw my Rattata!" One of the two younger boys, who was not wearing the bug catcher outfit exclaimed.
"She is having it worse than Ash though." The one in the bug catcher outfit pointed out.
'So, the boy's name is Ash.' She mentally filed that information away, she had a patient to look after. It would seem that the girl in Ash's arms was really having a panic attack of sorts, but she had to check more.
Turning to the boy, Ash (if she guessed his name correctly), she asked, "Can you tell me what happened, and why you think she reacted this way? You seem to know a lot more about this." While doing so, she notices the girl clench her hands in the supposedly Ash's shirt, while tugging the blue jacket around her as she tried to pry her off to examine her. Well, she wasn't going to leave the boy, it seemed.
"Ah-h... about that...", the boy said as he looked at the others present beside him in the lobby. From the corner of her eye, she saw that the hiker had woken up and was discreetly looking at them, trying to eavesdrop on the conversation. Well, that won't do. This one needed privacy.
Nodding her head at that, she asked the boy, "Why don't you carry her inside with me? Do you happen to have injured Pokémon?"
Seeing their nods, she called out, "Chansey!" Within a few moments, a Chansey came out from one of the rooms with a medical hat on her. "You can give your injured Pokémon to her, and they will be returned to you after being healed back to perfect health. Now, follow me."
After handing his injured Pokémon to Chansey along with the siblings, Ash, carrying Yellow, followed Nurse Joy to a room, that looked like a clinic, with Pikachu on his heels.
"You can keep your bag by the table," Nurse Joy said to him as she was looking through the cupboards. "Now, where is it? I know that I had kept it here. Where is it? Where is it? Aha!" Nurse Joy exclaimed after pulling out a white bottle with a label on it, after going through cupboards and checking through every drawer and bottle. She brought that bottle with her to the table where the boy was sitting with the girl and his Pikachu.
"Now, can you tell me..."
Nurse Joy suddenly stopped speaking and looked at the door and said aloud, "Oops, this is the wrong medicine. Wait a moment, please." After saying that, Nurse Joy got up, and tip-toed the way to the door before she suddenly swung open the door.
When Nurse Joy had said she had mistakenly brought the wrong medicine, Ash was a little worried, which turned to confusion when he saw Nurse Joy tiptoe to the door, and then bewilderment as he saw Janice, Coulton, Ben, and a hiker fall through.
What were they doing here?
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A tangle of limbs sprawled on the floor just inside the doorway. Janice flushed crimson, scrambling to her feet while trying to pull her brothers up with her. Coulton looked mortified, Ben looked guilty, and the hiker just looked utterly panicked, already trying to edge back towards the lobby unnoticed.
Nurse Joy stood over them, hands on her hips, one eyebrow raised in a look that was equal parts exasperation and professional disapproval. The "wrong medicine" bottle was still clutched in her hand.
"Well, well," she said, her voice dangerously calm. "Fancy meeting you all here. Is there something I can help you with? Perhaps a sudden urge to study door hinges?"
Janice sputtered, brushing dust off her clothes. "N-Nurse Joy! We were just... worried! We wanted to make sure... uh..."
"That she was okay?" Coulton finished lamely, avoiding Nurse Joy's gaze. Ben just nodded vigorously beside him.
The hiker mumbled something about looking for the restroom and tried to sidle past, but Nurse Joy fixed him with a sharp look that stopped him in his tracks. "The waiting room is that way," she said, pointing firmly back towards the lobby. "And patient privacy is a cornerstone of Pokémon Center care. For all patients."
The hiker practically sprinted away.
Nurse Joy turned her attention back to the siblings, her expression softening slightly but still firm. "I appreciate your concern, truly. But this room is for patients and necessary personnel only. The boy needs space to talk, and his friend needs quiet. Please, wait in the lobby. I promise I will update you when I can."
Looking thoroughly chastised, Janice nodded quickly. "Yes, Nurse Joy. Sorry, Nurse Joy." She grabbed her brothers by their collars again, practically dragging them out of the room. "Come on, you two. We're waiting. Quietly."
The door clicked shut behind them, leaving Ash, Yellow, Pikachu, and Nurse Joy in a sudden, heavy silence.
Nurse Joy let out a small sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose for a moment before turning back to Ash, her professional demeanor fully restored. She placed the (presumably correct) medicine bottle on the table beside the bed where Yellow still lay, trembling slightly but quieter now. Pikachu hadn't left her side, nuzzling her hand.
"Now," Nurse Joy said, pulling up a stool and sitting opposite Ash. Her voice was low, calm, and serious. "No interruptions this time. You said this was triggered by a Rattata, and it's happened before?" She paused, her gaze searching his face. "Ash, if that is your correct name, I need you to tell me everything you can about what happened previously. The more I understand, the better I can help her."
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Ash shifted uncomfortably on the stool, his arms tightening around Yellow as if the very act of speaking might somehow loosen his hold on her. Her fingers were still curled into his shirt, knuckles pale, her breaths shallow but no longer as frantic as when they had first stumbled through the doors. Pikachu pressed close against her side, his tail flicking anxiously, ears twitching at every small sound in the room.
The quiet hum of the fluorescent lights above seemed louder now, filling the silence between Nurse Joy's words. The faint scent of antiseptic clung to the air, sharp and sterile, a reminder that this was a place of healing — though Ash felt anything but.
He swallowed, his throat dry. "Yeah… it's happened before, though not exactly." His voice was low, rough, as though admitting it out loud made it heavier.
Nurse Joy leaned forward slightly, her hands folded neatly in her lap, her eyes steady but not unkind. "Tell me everything you can. Don't leave anything out. I need to understand what she's been through."
Ash's gaze dropped to Yellow. Her face was pale, her eyes half‑closed, but she still clung to him, her body trembling faintly with each breath. He brushed a strand of hair from her forehead with a shaking hand, his chest tightening.
With that, he started mentioning bits of what had happened in the Viridian Forest, how she was left to die, finding her uncle's dead body, and then what had happened the day before involving the Rattata eating the bodies of humans and possibly Pokémon, and her reaction then.
Nurse Joy tried to remain professional, but her heart went out for the girl clearly struggling in front of her and the boy who himself was having a hard time to recount everything. Nobody should have to go through that, but the world is a cruel place, especially for children, even if they are considered adults by law.
Her face had softened by the time Ash had finished telling her everything he deemed necessary. Handing the bottle of meds to Ash after she had taken one out and helped the girl, Yellow, take it with water, she said, "You have gone through a lot. These are anti-depressants. Give her these once every day and you should take one as well. One every morning, and you can only break it if either of you have an attack at any time. You have to continue for four to five months. Okay? Let me write you a prescription for you to buy the meds at a pharmacy."
After handing the bottle to him, Nurse Joy went to get a pad to write the prescription for them. Ash seeing the bottle in his hands was reassured, but then Roshi's voice rang out in his head.
'Psst. Check for the expiration date, will you?'
Finding the request odd, but still complying with the request, Ash looked for the expiration date of the bottle on the label, and it was...What. Shaking his head and then rubbing his eyes to see if he was seeing properly, he saw that yes, the expiry date was the same, and there was a thin layer of dust on the underside of the bottle, he turned to Nurse Joy.
"Why is there only this month and year given as expiration, and not a specific later date?"
As Nurse Joy was facing away from him, Ash was not able to see her face. Otherwise, he would have seen sweat pouring off her face. Finally, she answered after thinking of a reply. "Details. Details. Those meds would work just fine, or do you not want them?"
"Nono. It's alright. We will take them." Ash said after looking at Yellow's face to see that the meds were actually working.
'Phew. Danger averted.' Nurse Joy thought. What was she supposed to tell him? That she had forgotten to do an inventory check, and that was probably the only medicine in the room that had not expired?! Does he even know how many trainers even come to her for something like this? None! They only come to this Centre to heal their Pokémon, and tackle Mount Moon. This Centre wasn't even as advanced or as spacious as the one in Pewter City. The humans went to the human hospital to get treated, not Pokémon Centers! This Centre only operated to full extent towards the beginning of the League season. This Centre was not only new, but she was also just transferred here, to get experience in the field, damn it! She cannot show her incompetence here, the two of them needed a dependable professional, not an incompetent inexperienced fool! She will have to make calls to get new supplies and change the inventory, which will probably arrive by tomorrow morning or noon at latest.
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Ash frowned, still holding the small white bottle in his hand. The label was smudged from handling, the ink faded at the edges, but the near‑expiration date printed in tiny black letters stood out clearly. His stomach tightened. It wasn't expired yet, but it was close — too close for comfort. He turned the bottle over in his palm, the pills inside rattling softly, a sound that felt far too fragile for something meant to steady Yellow's heart.
In the back of his mind, Roshi's voice exhaled with a long, weary sigh. 'Close call. Always check the dates, Ash. Especially in smaller places like this. Standards can slip. Corners get cut. People don't always notice until it's too late.'
Ash's jaw clenched. He made a mental note, pressing the thought into his memory as firmly as if he were carving it into stone, always check. Always. He couldn't afford mistakes. Not with her.
When he looked up again, Nurse Joy had already turned back around. Her professional smile was in place, but Ash could see the strain behind it — the faint tightness around her eyes, the way her shoulders didn't quite relax. She handed him a slip of paper, her voice brisk but kind.
"Here you go. You can get this refilled at any pharmacy or larger Pokémon Center. As I said, once a day, preferably in the morning. And plenty of rest, for both of you."
Ash accepted the slip with a nod, folding it carefully and tucking it into his pocket as though it were something precious. His eyes flicked back to Yellow.
Nurse Joy leaned over her again, her hands gentle as she checked the girl's pulse. Yellow's breathing had deepened, no longer the shallow, panicked gasps that had wracked her earlier. Her chest rose and fell in a steadier rhythm now, though her small frame still trembled faintly with the aftershocks of fear. Her eyelids fluttered, caught between wakefulness and the sedative's pull, lashes trembling against pale cheeks.
Beside her, Pikachu had curled into a tight golden ball, his tail wrapped around himself, his ears drooping. He had fought to stay awake, to keep watch, but exhaustion had finally claimed him. His soft, even breaths filled the quiet, a counterpoint to Yellow's.
"She's stable," Nurse Joy said at last, her voice softer now, stripped of the briskness she used with most trainers. "The medication will help manage the immediate anxiety, but it's not a cure. What she really needs is time, safety, and support."
Her gaze lifted, meeting Ash's. There was no judgment in her eyes, only a steady empathy that made it harder for him to hold her stare. "She trusts you implicitly. That much is clear. Just being there for her, letting her know she's not alone — that's the most important thing right now."
Ash swallowed hard, his throat tight. He nodded once, firmly. "I know. I won't leave her."
"Good." Nurse Joy straightened, smoothing her apron. "I'll arrange a private room for you both. You should rest too. Chansey will bring your Pokémon once they're fully healed. The other three's Pokémon are fine as well — just a bit worn out from the battles."
She hesitated then, her expression softening further. "Ash… what you told me… about Viridian Forest…" Her voice lowered, almost a whisper. "That's not something children should ever have to see. If… if you ever need to talk about it, truly talk about it, my door is always open. Or I can connect you with counselors in Cerulean City. There are people trained to help with this kind of trauma."
Ash's chest tightened. He looked down quickly, unable to meet her eyes. The offer felt like a lifeline and a weight all at once. He wasn't sure he could bear to speak those memories aloud again, not yet. But the thought that someone might listen — that someone might understand — was strangely comforting.
"Thanks, Nurse Joy," he mumbled, his voice rough.
She gave his shoulder a brief, understanding squeeze before turning toward the door. "I'll have Chansey show you to your room when it's ready. Just rest for now."
The door clicked shut behind her, and the room fell into silence.
But it wasn't the sterile, clinical silence of before. Something had shifted. The hum of the machines, the faint scent of antiseptic, the white walls — they no longer felt cold. The room felt like a sanctuary now, a fragile bubble of safety carved out of the chaos of the road.
Ash carefully adjusted Yellow's position on the bed, sliding his jacket more securely around her shoulders. She stirred faintly at the movement, her lips parting in a soft sigh, but she didn't wake. He brushed a stray lock of blonde hair from her face, his fingers lingering against her cheek. Her skin was warm, her expression softened by exhaustion. The lines of fear that had twisted her features earlier were fading, replaced by something gentler.
She was safe. For now.
Ash sat back on the stool, his elbows resting on his knees, the bottle of pills still clutched in one hand. He turned it over again, staring at the label, at the date. His mind wouldn't stop circling.
The image of the Rattata gnawing in the shadows. The sound of Yellow's panicked gasps. The way her hands had clawed at his shirt, desperate for something solid to hold onto. The guilt that burned in his chest, sharp and relentless. And now, layered over it all, the new worry Nurse Joy had planted in his mind — Yellow's legal vulnerability, the way the system could strip her of her Pokémon if someone decided to take advantage.
It all swirled together, a storm he couldn't escape.
This isn't over, Roshi's voice murmured in his mind, quieter now, but steady. Not by a long shot. But you're learning. You're adapting. That's what matters.
Ash exhaled slowly, his shoulders sagging. He looked down at the prescription slip in his pocket, then back at Yellow. Mount Moon loomed ahead, and beyond it, Cerulean, and beyond that… who knew what else. The road was long, and it was only getting harder.
He needed to be stronger. Smarter. More vigilant. For her. For Pikachu. For all of them.
With a deep sigh, he leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes for just a moment. The weight of exhaustion pressed down on him, but he forced himself to stay alert, to keep one ear tuned to Yellow's breathing, one hand resting lightly on the edge of the bed.
He couldn't afford to falter. Not now. Not ever.
But for this one fragile moment, in the quiet of the clinic room, with Yellow safe beside him and Pikachu curled at her side, he allowed himself to breathe.
Just breathe.