"Here is your Staryu." Nurse Joy had a tray containing two Pokemon.
"Thank you, Nurse Joy," Amrit said to Nurse Joy.
"Your Staryu is fine but how did you catch these Staryu with hidden ability? They are very rare." She was curious how a six-year-old was able to catch two Staryu with hidden ability when he shouldn't even catch Pokemon.
"I followed the same method as the Pokemon Professors. I isolated the Staryu based on their abilities." Amrit replied softly. He knew she was going to scold him now.
"It must have taken you a few days right?" She asked. She was now interested to know how many days Amrit spent searching for Staryu.
"It took me two days."
"Only two days?" Nurse Joy asked in shock. "How did you find two Staryu with hidden ability in two days? That's almost impossible."
"Yesterday I searched for the Staryu with Analytic ability on the Cerulean beach but I couldn't find them because there weren't as many Staryu as I needed. So, I went to the place with hundreds of Staryu" Amrit still replied softly as he knew Nurse Joys don't like things like Shiny Hunt and what he did was similar to Shiny Hunt.
"Oh, I forgot that you can find many Staryu in this season." She realised.
"Still, you shouldn't catch Pokemon based on their ability, colour or size. You are discriminating against the Pokemon. All of them have equal potential and all Pokemon can reach the same height. What makes the difference is the trainer and their bond." She grabbed his ear and scolded him.
"You're a smart kid. You know this, don't you?" He may be only 6 years old but she knows he is smarter than many teenagers.
"I know Arceus made all the Pokemon equal. With a good bond between trainer and Pokemon, they can reach unimaginable heights." Amrit replied in pain.
"Good" She released his ear.
Amrit touched his ear and looked at her. Her anger had already 'vanished' from her face but he knew better than anyone.
"Nurse Joy, I will go now. My sisters may be worried about me." Amrit said as he tried to slip away from further scolding.
"Wait, have you found a Pokemon breeder yet?" She 'caught' his shoulder. He winced but had a smiling face when he turned towards her.
"No, we haven't found a good Pokemon breeder yet. When we advertised for the job, we had many applicants, but most of them were average. So, you should know it is hard to find a Pokemon Breeder like the one we need," Amrit replied.
"I know someone who is a good Pokemon Breeder. Her name is Lara Boysen. She was the one who called me first to know about the gym. She has just completed her studies form Indigo Academy. She seems to be interested in working in your gym but you know your gym's reputation isn't good for now. So, she called me to ask if she could learn or research more about water Pokemon in the gym." Amrit perked up when he heard Indigo Academy.
"They are our family friends so I told her everything truthfully."
"What?" Amrit interjected. "Did you say everything to her?"
"Don't interrupt me." She glared at him. "I also told her that you are going to be the next gym leader and have great plans for the gym and You can meet him and talk. I haven't told her your age though but she may already know. She will at least meet you since I said good things about you."
"At least she will meet me. If she is as good as you say then just leave the rest to me. I will never let a good Pokemon Breeder go. Have out told her about the Ancient Pokemon. I am going to Cinnabar Island soon with Professor Oak. Also, tell her I am going to catch Pokemon with hidden abilities and I already have two different Pokemon with hidden abilities." Amrit's sound got smaller and smaller at the end as he realized he slipped when he tried to make him look more impressive.
"You are still going to catch Pokemon with hidden ability?" She looked furious this time.
"I am doing this to become a qualified gym leader. I have thought of testing the trainer their knowledge on abilities. You know that Goldeen has a lightning rod and Marill has Sap Sipper as a hidden ability right? I want to test Challenger using these Pokemon since most bring grass or electric type to counter water-type Pokemon." Amrit said so fast that Nurse Joy only understood half of it.
"So, you want to test challengers using Pokemon with hidden ability. Then which Pokemon is going to be your 'second Pokemon' as you haven't caught one yet?" She calmed down when she heard his reason. It felt like a good idea and she knew he would not catch Pokemon just because they are rare as some common abilities are better than hidden abilities. This was common in the world but as Nurse Joy, she will never approve of it.
"It's going to be Goldeen with Lightning rod ability." He replied in a low voice.
"Okay, okay I get it. Many trainers even use the catch-and-release method to get the Pokemon of their choice. I just don't want you to run after certain Pokemon because of their rareness. If you are catching them for a reason then I am not angry anymore." Amrit peaked at her face to see if it was the case. She did look normal.
"I know you don't like when people catch Pokemon and release them if they are weak. You don't like overhype of Shiny and you also don't like my idea. The idea to test challengers is true but there is also my desire to have strong Pokemon as my partner to get a head start and hole card rather than catching the Pokemon I encounter."
"I didn't want to tell you about this as you would be angry. You are like a sister to me. So, I was afraid to anger you." Amrit told his true feelings.
"Oh, so your mouth slipped just now. You wanted to hide this from me. But for how long since you will have to bring your Pokemon to the Pokemon centre for treatment?" She asked with a chuckle. She wasn't angry anymore after Amrit confessed.
"I don't know," he said, looking a little sheepish.
"Alright, alright, I get it." Nurse Joy smiled, patting Amrit's head. "Don't look so down. I like you far more than I dislike your methods."
"Chans-ey, Chans-ey"Just then an angry Chansey came towards them. She was pointing at her watch and saying something.
"Hi, Chansey" Amrit greeted.
"Chansey" Chansey also replied happily then became angry again.
"Looks like it's time for me to get back to work." She sighed as Chansey tugged at her arm, trying to pull her along. "You should head home too, Amrit. You must had a long day."
"Thank you, Nurse Joy, for always being there for us," Amrit said sincerely as Chansey was dragging her away.
Nurse Joy gave him a warm smile letting Chansey pull her away to her duties.
*****
(In the evening, Cerulean gym)
"-and that's how I caught the Staryu," Amrit said as his sisters were looking at the video.
"Thank you Amrit for catching a Staryu for me." Misty thanked him while holding her Staryu.
"Amazing, I learned so much from your video." Lily praised Amrit.
"As a daughter and sister of the gym leader, you should feel ashamed to say this," Amrit mumbled in his heart but still thanked her. "Thank you"
"Why did you catch that specific Staryu? You even went through so much trouble for it." Violet couldn't understand why her brother worked so hard for a Staryu.
"I wanted to catch Staryu with a hidden ability so I had to do so much work." He replied.
"Are you going to catch all of your Pokemon like that?" Lily asked.
"No, I won't but I will have to search like that if I want Pokemon with hidden ability." Amrit also doesn't want to do an ability hunt because it takes a long time. He got Staryu quickly because he is lucky but he may have to search for three or four days to catch Goldeen with lightning rod ability.
"Are you going to upload this video to the internet?" Daisy finally asked something important.
"No, I am not going to upload this on the internet. This video will be shown to the Pokemon trainer of our gym in the future." He doesn't want everyone to know about Ability Hunting and its method. It may bring disaster to the wild Pokemon if everyone went on Ability Hunting.
"Are you again going to wild tomorrow?" Dasiy asked looking worried.
"You don't have to worry. Has anything happened today? I will also be fine tomorrow." He assured Daisy.
"Amrit will be fine. He is very strong and I am going to become the strongest Water Pokemon trainer like him." Misty declared.
"Oh, a kid who can't even make her bed wants to become the strongest water Pokemon trainer" Violet quibbed.
"Yes, she can't even wear Kimono properly." Lily also added.
"It begins again." Amrit sighed. No matter how hard he tries he can't stop his sisters from bullying Misty. They seem to like teasing her as much as their modelling.
"It is because I am small. I will be able to do all of that when I grow up. I will also be more beautiful than you." Misty was getting angry.
Yep, this is the cue for a catfight.
"Misty it's time for bed. You should also sleep early, it is good for your health." Amrit said to his sisters. He then dragged Misty to her room.
"No, I am not going to sleep. I have Staryu now let's do a Pokemon battle and decide who is more beautiful." Daisy and others could still hear Misty's voice's sharp voice.
"Do we tease Misty too much?" Daisy asked.
"I don't think so." Lily tilted her head.
"Our parents also used to tease us like that" Violet replied.
"Yes, our father used to tease us all the time." Daisy also nodded.
If Amrit had been here he would have scolded them for being idiots. Sure, parents tease their kids from time to time, but not like they do and certainly not as much as they tease Misty.