After checking on Dragonite's Extreme Speed training, Lucas took two bottles of differently colored juices into town to the Pokémon Center for Nurse Joy's private tutoring.
Fortunately, the Los Platos Town Pokémon Center was relatively laid-back. If it were an official Gym or a big-city center like Mesagoza or Levincia, Nurse Joy would be so busy she'd wish for Shadow Clone Jutsu—no time to teach Lucas foundational medical knowledge from scratch.
When she first graduated top of her class and got assigned to this underdeveloped town, she'd felt a bit resentful. Young and ambitious then, she wanted to achieve something, maybe even make history.
But after living with the locals and providing free treatment for wild Pokémon without pay, she gradually came to like the town.
As for Lucas—like her, someone who'd come midstream to Los Platos Town—setting aside his Champion title, she felt a certain affinity with him, and was willing to teach him medical basics from the ground up.
Not for that tin of black tea leaves at all!
The lessons were like private tutoring, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., two hours.
Los Platos Town's pace was much slower than an international metropolis like Levincia—one could call it Los Platos's unique looseness.
Most folks napped at home at that hour; the streets were empty. The Pokémon Center echoed with soft, soothing healing music; almost no one walked around.
Nurse Joy taught systematic medical knowledge right at the front desk.
Chansey, whom Lucas had brought to assist her, and Comfey—who'd met no sick Pokémon to help—ended up playing cards together.
Comfey laid a card down with a vine.
"Flo-flo" (A three Single left~)
Holding just two cards, Chansey grimaced.
"Lucky." (Pass.)
Comfey' eyes lit up. It drew the last card from the table and flicked one out with a vine.
"Flo!" (Pair of sixes!)
Chansey, pained, placed down its two cards: the five of spades and an ace of clubs. Bigger, but unplayable under the rules.
Then Chansey shook its head wildly. Though it suggested playing in the first place, it chose to quit: "Lucky." (I'm done, I never drew a good hand…)
With Serene Grace as an ability, why was its luck so bad today?
This wasn't lucky at all!
Gambler Chansey, fallen today!
Comfey knew the reason but said nothing, tidying up the cards with Vine Whip.
Then, glancing guiltily at Chansey and the seemingly empty space by its side, Comfey pondered whether having the sneaky little Victory Star tag along counted as cheating.
At that moment, Lucas and Nurse Joy wrapped up the lesson. Nearing three o'clock, they called Comfey and Chansey over.
Chansey stiffened, instantly pulling the egg from its belly pouch, hiding the deck deep inside, then putting the egg back.
Smooth as water—clearly a repeat offender.
After Chansey's emphatic "don't tell," Comfey made a zipping motion across its mouth. The two Pokémon—and an invisible third—came to the front desk.
Lucas placed two bottles filled with a yellowish liquid on the counter.
"The red bottle and the blue bottle are both freshly fermented Berry juices. If you don't mind, could you taste them?"
Pointing to the differently colored bottles under Nurse Joy's puzzled gaze, Lucas explained.
"I can, but…" She frowned. "Why two different bottle colors?"
"To tell them apart."
He didn't elaborate, just poured ten paper cups. He filled five from the red bottle and handed one to her.
"Please try it."
"Then I won't be shy."
Joy nodded, took the cup, dropped any pretense of daintiness—she'd already uprooted a willow before him once—and downed it in one go.
Her body shivered; she curled slightly, as if enduring something. Her pretty, Joy-standard features scrunched up—yet her eyes shone brilliantly.
"A bit sour, but delicious!"
"Especially after the sourness fades, a slight sweetness blooms on the tongue. I might've never had Berry juice this good in my life!"
The sweet-and-sour danced on her tongue like a summer breeze brushing the cheek—irresistibly sippable.
Every drop felt like the essence of nature's finest fruit, as if one stood in a Berry orchard—utterly intoxicating.
She didn't hold back the praise.
Comfey and Chansey took their cups and sipped eagerly.
Their reactions mirrored Joy's: sour, yes—but so tasty they sighed in delight.
Seeing Joy, Comfey, and Chansey savor the saliva-inducing juice, the invisible Victini panicked.
But it didn't want to reveal it had secretly tagged along—that'd get tonight's dinner docked…
So it could only watch Lucas leisurely lift his own cup and drink, anxious beyond words.
After they tried the red-bottle juice, Lucas poured five cups from the blue bottle and handed them to Joy.
This time, as if the flavor shattered her frame of reference, Joy opened her mouth, at a loss for words.
She touched her belly. She could feel a warm current spreading after the drink, flowing through her bloodstream into all her limbs, easing the fatigue from two straight hours of teaching.
Seeing her reaction, Lucas sighed. He already knew the result.
In the games, Shiny Pokémon have no special differences—so why did such a difference appear with the Shuckle siblings?
He shook his head, looked at the empty air, and called out as if he'd known all along, "I knew you were here. If you want a drink, come out, Victini."