Chapter 104. Gringey City
"It's so dark here."
On the road, Misty held up an umbrella.
"There's no rain. Why are you using an umbrella?"
Ash used the championship belt to strap himself and Pikachu together, the fit just right.
"Haven't you noticed the air here is terrible? … Hmph, forget it—it's impossible to explain it to you."
Hearing the bickering, Natsume looked up, pulling his attention away from the Ultra Ball.
The ghostly blue glow gradually faded.
He rubbed his sore eyes, yawned, and then broke into a violent cough.
"Cough, cough, cough, cough!"
"Mr. Natsume, are you okay?"
Honora, who had been observing, came to her senses and hurriedly handed Natsume a bottle of water.
"The air here is too bad. Don't you feel it?"
Natsume was surprised to find that every breath felt like a knife scraping down his throat.
"Gulp—gulp—."
After half a bottle of water, Natsume felt a little better.
"Bad air? I guess it is a bit."
Ash, slow on the uptake, looked up at the sky.
Gray-white smog blanketed the city.
The setting sun refracted into a strange coppery red through the murky air.
The birdless sky looked like a corroded metal dome.
"Hey, hey, hey, Natsume—don't tell me you've caught a cold?"
Misty seemed to notice something.
"Yeah, Mr. Natsume looks cuter than usual—I mean, your face looks a little flushed," Honora hastily corrected herself.
"A cold?"
Natsume touched his forehead.
It shouldn't be that bad.
"Achoo!"
The instant the thought surfaced, Natsume sneezed several times in a row, followed by the stuffy discomfort of a blocked nose.
"…"
"We're here. Gringey City is just ahead," Brock called from the front.
"Perfect. Natsume, let's go rest at the Pokémon Center," Ash said quickly.
They moved on, but Brock, walking point, suddenly stopped.
"What is it, Brock?"
Misty looked ahead—and froze.
At the harbor of Gringey City, steel forests loomed in and out of the haze.
It was factories—one after another.
Rusty pipes swallowed and spewed dark red wastewater.
Concrete outfalls poured continuously into the ocean.
The cluster of factories, like crouching steel beasts, belched sulfur-colored columns of smoke.
"Uh… what?"
"This place has the largest Power Plant in Kanto, and many factories were built here as well," Brock checked the map and explained.
"Doesn't the League care? This is way too polluting," Misty griped.
"Cough… The clothes on our backs, our Poké Balls, cars, all kinds of tools—these factories contribute to those," Natsume said hoarsely.
"You can't look at things from just one side… cough, cough, cough!"
"Mr. Natsume, we should hurry to the Pokémon Center!"
Honora's face showed a flash of worry.
She reached out and steadied Natsume.
"Pika…"
In Ash's arms, Pikachu let out a feeble sound.
"Pikachu, what's wrong?"
Ash looked down and finally noticed Pikachu's pallid face.
Its nose kept twitching, and arcs of electricity flickered around the two electric sacs in its cheeks.
"I know this one. It's a classic symptom of Pikachu fever."
Honora only needed a glance to recall what Natsume's book had described.
"Huh?"
Ash was stunned.
"Huh, what huh? We've got two patients in our party. Of course we're going to the Pokémon Center right now!"
Misty tugged Ash by the ear and charged straight for the Center.
"Teacher Natsume, let's go too."
Honora pressed up alongside him, cool to the touch.
For once, Natsume didn't push her away.
At the doors of the Gringey City Pokémon Center—
"We're practically downtown, and we can still hear the factories roaring," Misty frowned.
"Yeah. All the way here, we barely saw anyone on the streets. The place feels like a ghost town," Brock said, looking around.
"This area… cough… was zoned by the Pokémon League for heavy-industry development… cough, cough… and the policy moved residents out," Natsume explained weakly.
"Ah, Teacher Natsume, you don't have to explain at a time like this."
Natsume leaned half his weight on Honora's support; her face was flushed, barely hiding her excitement.
Then Honora reached out and felt Natsume's forehead.
Her hand was cool, and Natsume was now one hundred percent sure he had a fever.
"Hello? Anyone here? Anyone at the Pokémon Center?"
Ash went to the door and knocked.
"That's strange. Pokémon Centers are usually open around the clock."
Brock eyed the Gringey City Pokémon Center.
The main doors were shut tight, and there wasn't a light on inside.
"Who is it?"
The door cracked open.
A beam of light shone across the group.
Nurse Joy stepped out with a flashlight, yawning.
"Honestly, don't disturb my sleep," she said, glancing at them.
After Ash showed his Trainer ID, she let them in.
She still didn't turn on the lights, just waved the flashlight around the lobby.
"Uh… why does this Nurse Joy feel different from the others?" Misty whispered.
"Whatever medicine you need, the vending machine over there has it.
If there's nothing else, don't bother me."
Nurse Joy pulled a lounge chair out from behind the counter.
It was huge, and a Chansey was lying on it.
Hugging Chansey, Nurse Joy yawned and closed her eyes.
"…"
"Hey, Nurse Joy, please take a look at my Pikachu!"
Ash rushed up, hoisted Pikachu high, and held it out to her.
Nurse Joy opened her eyes and gave it a glance.
"A cold.
Vending machine number two, third row, second column.
Buy the medicine yourself.
If you want reimbursement, plug your Pokédex into that port over there."
With that, she lowered her sleep mask.
"…"
"Fine…"
Ash turned and went to get the medicine.
"Nurse Joy, I need medicine—cough, cough…"
Natsume's voice came.
"Huh?"
On the lounge chair, Nurse Joy flipped up her mask and sprang to her feet.
Click!
The next second, the entire Pokémon Center lit up.
"Ah!"
The sudden brightness made everyone squint.
"What is with this Nurse Joy?" Misty muttered under her breath.
"Mmm, my sixth sense was right," Brock whispered.
"What sixth sense?"
Misty blinked, and then realized—
Normally, Brock would be the first to charge up to any Nurse Joy.
But this time, he was acting normal—oddly normal.
When everyone's eyes adjusted, they saw that Nurse Joy wasn't in a nurse's outfit at all, but a strappy nightgown.
"Teacher Natsume?"
She slipped on a jacket as she hurried toward him.
"Teacher Natsume!?"
Everyone exclaimed.
"Teacher Natsume?"
Honora tightened her hold on Natsume's arm.
"You seem to have a fever," Nurse Joy said, feeling his forehead, and then pulled him—Honora and all—closer.
"Hey!"
Honora stamped her foot.
"Heh-heh, I'll go prepare the medicine," Nurse Joy covered her mouth with a laugh, then turned and went into the back.
Before long, in the dining area, at a certain table—
"Wow, this place is really filthy!"
Misty wrinkled her brow as she and Brock scrubbed at the tables and chairs.
"Everyone has left this city.
Hardly any Trainers come by," Nurse Joy said as she approached with a bowl of medicine and set it down.
"Here, Pikachu—take your medicine and you'll get better," Ash said, feeding Pikachu an oral solution.
"Here, Teacher Natsume—take your medicine and you'll get better," Nurse Joy said, then noticed the prepared mixture was gone.
"Here, Mr. Natsume—take your medicine and you'll get better," Honora said, holding up a bowl.
Natsume: "…"
"I'll drink it myself."
He took the bowl and drained it in one go.
"Natsume, why did Nurse Joy call you 'Teacher'?"
Ash finished dosing Pikachu and turned, curiosity piqued.
Honora straightened up sharply, leaned forward a little, and, without making a scene, pinched the corner of Natsume's jacket.
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