Slowly, Simon wandered back from the counter with two steaming mugs of tea and sat down in front of his brother Gus. Since meeting him in the tunnel, there had been an unbearably awkward silence, punctuated only by the most pathetic attempts at conversation. Gus leaned back in his chair, silently scrutinising Simon. Eventually he let out a long sigh and leant forwards again.
"Okay," he said in his normal, relaxed tone, "What's going on?" defensively, Simon just muttered,
"Nuthin." Gus sighed again before speaking once more,
"Come on Simon, don't fool around. You've barely said a word since I saw you. Now I know from experience that you aren't going to tell me what's wrong straight out, so just nod your head when I guess right, 'kay? Now...is it one of your Pokemon?" Simon shook his head, then immediately felt guilty. He hadn't given Zubat a spare thought since arriving at the Crystal Path Pokemon Centre.
"Is it mum or dad?" Another shake of the head.
"Are you ill?" And again, a shake.
"Is it girl trouble?" No response.
"Simon..? Has my baby brother finally grown up?" Simon, more than a little embarrassed, just bit his lip and stared at the mug of grey tea. Then, like a wave of solid anxiety, it all came pouring out of him. His meetings with Jade and Nick, the lies she had told, their last encounter and why he still wanted to see her. When he had finally finished speaking, he looked up, expecting to be ridiculed. instead, Gus was just chewing his nails, looking faintly concerned. Eventually, he spoke,
"The way I see it, this girl, Jade, is nothing but bad news. It may sound clichéd and unhelpful, but you really just need to forget her." Simon gave a wry smile,
"I know Gus, I know, but...it's just hard, you know?" Gus nodded silently then said,
"To change the subject entirely, how's that Zubat you brought in? It looked kinda hurt." At this point, the Nurse Joy (who had been hovering around with sugar packets and milk jugs) chipped in,
"Well, I have good news and bad news. The good news is that Zubat is definitely not going to die - the heal order sorted out the blood loss and the actual wound. The bad news is that Zubat's wing has been permanently damaged. The muscles have been torn, bent and twisted, and the heal order has simply pasted over these problems. It's unlikely that it will be able to fly again until it evolves. You see, upon evolution, a Pokémon's entire molecular structure changes, so it would effectively have an entirely new, working wing. But training a grounded Zubat until it evolves is a hard task, and I don't have the time. So, as much as you have already done for this poor Pokemon, I'm afraid I must ask you for one more thing."
Simon understood immediately, and said quickly,
"I'll be glad to do it, Nurse Joy." The Nurse smiled, and quietly led him through to the next room, where his newest partner was waiting for him.