It had been a hectic morning at the Viridian Pokémon Center. A power outage earlier had delayed diagnostics on a few critical cases, and a Tauros stampede on Route 22 had flooded the center with injured Pokémon. Nurse Joy moved briskly behind the counter, her Chansey wheeling a tray of Poké Balls into the back room for treatment.

The automatic doors hissed open as a dusty, travel-worn trainer stepped inside.

She glanced up from her terminal, offered a gentle smile, and met his eyes.

“How can I help you today?