Knock, knock, knock!
Just as Maki had finished freshening up and was about to get some well-deserved rest, a crisp knocking sound echoed from the door.
"Hold on a second!"
Maki called out loudly while quickly putting his clothes back on, feeling a little exasperated. Who would come knocking at this hour, disturbing him right when he was about to relax?
But when he opened the door, he realized it wasn't a person standing there—it was a... Chansey. And not just any Chansey, but the one belonging to Nurse Joy from the Cerulean City Pokémon Center, still wearing its little nurse's uniform.
"Chansey! Chansey!"
As soon as it saw Maki, the Chansey wasted no time, grabbing his hand and pulling him along.
"Wait, wait, wait! At least tell me what's going on first!"
Maki quickly stopped in his tracks, utterly confused.
"I'm really sorry about this," a familiar voice chimed in.
Nurse Joy hurried over, looking a little embarrassed.
"Is something wrong?" Maki asked.
"Well… it seems there's a bit of a situation with Mawile," Nurse Joy hesitated before explaining. "Could I trouble you to come with me?"
"Mawile?" Maki frowned but nodded. "Alright."
Nurse Joy visibly relaxed. Honestly, just getting Maki to bring Mawile back was already a huge help—no one could have blamed him if he didn't want to get further involved.
"Thank you so much," she said with a grateful smile before leading him toward the room where Mawile was staying.
"How's Mawile doing?"
Seeing the look on Nurse Joy's face, Maki instinctively assumed that something had gone wrong again. But even so, why did they have to come to him? It's not like he was a doctor.
Even top-tier Pokémon Breeders couldn't compare to the Joy family and their Chanseys when it came to healing—it was practically a genetic trait, passed down alongside their identical looks.
"Mawile's condition has stabilized. It wasn't anything too serious to begin with. But the problem is... You'll see for yourself."
Nurse Joy looked like she was struggling to find the right words.
"...Alright," Maki decided not to press further and followed her inside.
Inside the room, Mawile was sitting on the bed, looking a little better but still flushed from its fever. A Chansey was trying to feed it medicine, but the stubborn Pokémon just kept shaking its head furiously, refusing to take it.
A Pokémon Center typically had more than one Chansey—otherwise, there'd be no way to handle all the work.
"Chansey!"
The Chansey next to Mawile was growing increasingly anxious, trying to reason with the little Pokémon. Even though Mawile's condition had improved slightly, it still hadn't fully recovered. Taking medicine was necessary.
As soon as the door opened, Mawile glanced in their direction, tilting its head slightly in confusion. Then, the moment it recognized Maki, its eyes lit up.
With surprising speed, it leaped off the bed and scurried toward him, its little feet making soft pitter-patter sounds against the floor.
"Chansey!"
The Chansey immediately grabbed the medicine bowl and hurried after it.
"Mawile?"
Mawile sniffed the air around Maki, and upon detecting a familiar scent, its face brightened with delight. Without hesitation, it threw its short arms around Maki's leg, rubbing its face affectionately against him.
"Huh...? What's going on?"
Maki was taken aback and turned to Nurse Joy for an explanation.
She let out a sigh, rubbing her temples.
"It looks like, while you were taking care of it, Mawile memorized your scent and now sees you as family. It's been making a fuss, refusing to calm down unless you came over."
"But I didn't even take care of it for that long!"
"It's still a baby Pokémon. They can be very sensitive about these things," Nurse Joy explained.
"...I guess that makes sense." Maki sighed. That was probably the only reasonable explanation. But still... did it really have to cling to him like this?
"And there's one more thing—this little one refuses to take its medicine. That's why we called you. Please, Maki, we need your help!"
Nurse Joy looked at him with pleading eyes, making it incredibly hard for him to say no.
"...Fine," Maki relented with a reluctant nod. He looked down at Mawile, still clinging to his leg.
Why did this situation feel so much like… a clingy stalker?
Wait, Mawile was female, right?
...So that would make her a clingy fangirl?
"Mawile, can we take our medicine first?" Maki crouched slightly, speaking gently.
Mawile looked up at him, then quickly nodded.
Maki let out a sigh of relief, thinking maybe this wouldn't be too difficult after all—
Until he felt a slight tug on his pants.
"Hmm?"
Looking down, he saw Mawile stretching out her stubby little arms toward him, her eyes shimmering with expectation.
She wanted to be carried.
"...Seriously?"
Maki sighed but still bent down and picked her up, placing her back on the bed.
She was surprisingly obedient while being carried. But the moment he set her down, she became restless again, wiggling around non-stop as she tried to burrow into his arms.
"Nurse Joy… Mawile isn't usually this clingy, is she?" Maki asked, suddenly doubting his own knowledge of Pokémon behavior.
"No, normally they aren't. This one seems to be… an exception," Nurse Joy replied hesitantly.
Maki took the medicine bowl from Chansey and handed it to Mawile.
And just as he was about to start convincing her to drink it, she grabbed the bowl and gulped it all down in one go.
"Chansey..."
Chansey stood there, completely stunned.
She had been chasing this little troublemaker all over the place trying to get her to take her medicine. And now, Maki hadn't even needed to say a word?!
I was here first!
Taking care of Mawile, trying to get her to take medicine—Chansey had been doing it first.
So why… why was Maki the one getting all the affection?!
Feeling slightly dejected, Chansey couldn't help but think that Mawile was playing favorites.
But Maki had no time to dwell on that, because the moment Mawile finished drinking the medicine, she snuggled right back into his arms, refusing to budge.
Maki turned to Nurse Joy with a desperate look in his eyes.
Come on, you're the one who called me here! At least do something instead of just standing there watching!
-----------------------
Want to read ahead of schedule?
Join here for advance chapters: PATREON.COM / PRIMALDEMON