Nurse Joy's delicate brows furrowed slightly...
She set the empty cup down on the table, her expression turning serious as she looked into Caleb's bright black eyes and asked, "Do you know where your home is?"
Caleb shook his head and remained silent.
Nurse Joy looked troubled. Seeing the little boy's tense expression, she figured he might still be frightened. She gently ruffled his soft black hair and comforted him, "Don't worry, everything's fine now. Hmm… Wait here for me for a bit, okay? I'll go get you a blanket."
She also needed to notify Officer Jenny to help investigate the child's situation.
Caleb nodded, watching as Nurse Joy disappeared behind the inner door.
The moment Nurse Joy's presence left the room, a flash of white light burst in the air, and Dragonite (still damp from melted snow) appeared in front of him.
Using his tiny hands to push himself up, Caleb hopped off the sofa, grabbed the dry towel from his head, and began wiping Dragonite down.
"Wuu~"
Dragonite's eyes sparkled as it watched its trainer's unbearably cute movements.
To make things easier for Caleb, it obediently lowered its head and sat on the floor, its tail wagging happily behind it.
"Lift your arms." Caleb stood on his tiptoes, hastily drying Dragonite's wet head before giving the order.
Dragonite complied without hesitation.
Caleb glanced at it and asked, "Do you remember what Mewtwo told you in the last Instance?"
"Wuu wuu~" Dragonite scratched its head, looking a little embarrassed.
It didn't want to admit that it had been genuinely frightened by Mewtwo's words... things like 'Your trainer is dead'...
At the time, it had really thought it would never see Caleb again.
Caleb sighed, "...Relax, I'm not that easy to kill."
He thought about it and figured Mewtwo must have assumed he had disappeared like Amber, which was why it had said those things to Dragonite.
Just then, footsteps echoed from inside the room. Dragonite immediately turned its head, alert... a habit it had developed from the previous survival Instance.
Caleb pressed his lips together, took out Dragonite's Poké Ball from his inventory, and recalled it. Then, clutching the towel, he climbed back onto the sofa.
Nurse Joy returned, her heart softening at the sight of the adorable little boy obediently waiting for her. Suppressing the urge to scoop him up and smother him with affection, she set down a blanket printed with cute Piplup and said:
"I've drawn a hot bath for you. Go take a warm shower first. The Pokémon Center doesn't have clothes your size, so… if you don't mind, you can wear my pajamas for now."
The little boy's clothes were soaked through with melted snow. If he stayed like this, he'd likely catch a cold by tomorrow.
With that, Nurse Joy pulled out a pink Eevee-themed pajama set from under the thick blanket.
Caleb: "..."
He stared at the 'manly' pajamas with a pained expression, hesitating before saying, "Isn't this… a bit inappropriate?"
Nurse Joy adopted a coaxing tone, "But if you don't wear them, you'll get sick tomorrow! And if you get sick, you'll have to go to the hospital… and at the hospital, they'll give you shots…"
"Alright, enough. I'll wear them..." Caleb nodded weakly.
Nurse Joy smiled with radiant maternal warmth, picked him up, and carried him toward the bathroom.
A drowsy Chansey stood in the hallway. Nurse Joy reached out and patted its head, "Lucky, can you watch the front desk for me? I'll be back soon!"
Chansey glanced at the little boy in Nurse Joy's arms, nodded, and headed to the front.
Once in the bathroom, Nurse Joy placed a towel and a rubber duck into the steaming bathtub, then turned to Caleb, "Come check the water temperature."
Caleb walked over, dipped his hand in, and nodded, "It's fine."
"Good." Nurse Joy said, then reached out to help him undress.
Caleb immediately took two steps back.
Nurse Joy blinked, then burst into laughter when she saw the little boy's flushed face. She glanced between the height of the bathtub and Caleb's tiny stature and asked, "Are you sure you don't need help?"
Caleb nodded firmly.
"Alright then!" Nurse Joy stood up and walked toward the door, "Call me if you need anything!"
"Got it."
Only after watching Nurse Joy leave and locking the door did Caleb finally relax. He turned around, stripped off his hoodie, and climbed into the bathtub...
....
Meanwhile, as soon as Nurse Joy stepped out, she saw Chansey supporting a Smeargle as it stumbled inside...
The Smeargle looked utterly miserable, its body covered in a thick layer of snow, its limbs trembling from the cold.
At the sight, Nurse Joy immediately frowned and ordered, "Lucky, bring out the electric heater from my room!"
She took the Smeargle from Chansey, brushing off the snow with her hands before pouring a cup of warm water and helping it drink.
As warmth seeped into its body, the Smeargle shuddered in relief.
It glanced up at Nurse Joy and, unable to hold back, blurted out: "Thank you!"
Nurse Joy froze, staring at the Smeargle in disbelief.
The Smeargle immediately realized its mistake and clamped its paws over its mouth.
Nurse Joy: "You… can speak human language?"
The Smeargle shook its head frantically.
Just then, Chansey wheeled out the heater.
Nurse Joy didn't press further, turning the heater on and letting the Smeargle sit beside it to warm up.
When Caleb emerged from his bath, this was the scene he walked into... Nurse Joy, Chansey, and a Smeargle all huddled around an orange-glowing heater.
The Smeargle was holding a cup of hot water in an eerily human-like manner, gulping it down.
"Come sit over here!" Nurse Joy turned and waved at Caleb, who was drowning in her oversized pajamas, the hem of the top reaching down to his calves.
Caleb awkwardly tugged at the pajamas and sat down by the heater, glancing at the Smeargle.
At the same time, the Smeargle turned to look at him.
Their eyes met.
Caleb: "..."
For some reason, he felt like he saw a human soul staring back at him from behind those canine eyes.
Nurse Joy looked at Caleb and asked, "By the way, little one, can you tell me your name?"
Caleb paused for a moment before answering, "My name is Terrence Jones."
The moment the words left his mouth, the Smeargle's head whipped toward him, eyes wide with shock as it stared at Caleb in disbelief.
The expression in its eyes was one of utter existential crisis.
Its thoughts screamed: 'You're Terrence Jones?! Then who the heck am I supposed to be?!'