Pokemon Regression

Chapter 21: Pewter Pancake Parlour

Chee and the nurse helped me to tie up Morty, and we started chatting while I filled them in on what Brock and I had done, as well as how I managed to take down Morty. 

The nurse's name was Joy, and by talking to her I was able to get a basic idea of what had happened while Brock and I were infiltrating the museum. 

Apparently when Morty had captured Chee, he'd taken her to the same room as the nurse and locked them up together. He'd been thorough enough to take away her Pokeballs and PokeDex, but he'd just left them on the table outside. 

So while Joy had tried to soothe Chee at first, the young girl had rapidly gotten bored and freed herself. Then she helped untie nurse Joy, and the two of them managed to break the lock on the door. After that it had been a simple case of reclaiming Chee's belongings and making their way up the stairs, where they'd navigated through the dark halls and encountered me.

Fortunately they'd arrived late enough to miss my violent outburst, which I was somewhat relieved to realise. I'd really lost my cool there, and I didn't want Chee to be frightened of me-Even if she would probably win in any actual fight. 

"We should probably go let Brock know you're okay." I began, getting back to my feet. "But I'm worried about leaving this guy alone... His Haunter might still be out there."

"Don't worry, I dealt with the Haunter." Brock's voice echoed from further down the hall, and he walked in with his Graveler trailing behind him. The giant boulder Pokemon held a ghostly Pokemon between it's four arms, securely locked in place. He glanced over at the man on the ground. "You took out the kidnapper?"

"Brocky!" Joy exclaimed, running over to him and throwing her arms around him. "Joy!" He responded by lifting her by the waist and spinning in a circle, equally happy to see her. 

"I've missed you." He said quietly, his forehead pressed against hers. 

"I've missed you too, sweetie..." She answered, and the two of them stood in a sweet embrace for a long time. I could almost see the hearts flying around their heads as they muttered sweet nothings to each other. 

"Good for you..." I murmured, not really wanting to look at the lovey-dovey couple any longer. 

Chee tilted her head at the duo, then she leaned her head into her hands as she turned to look at me. Are you supposed to act like that after exploring? Should I be doing that too?

"Don't let it bother you." I dismissed her as she stretched her arms into the air to mimic Joy. "More importantly, Brock, can you deal with our kidnapper over here?"

Brock split from his partner and came to see the man I'd knocked out earlier. He leaned over and squinted, pulling the black robe all the wall off of the tied-up man's face. "...Morty, huh? What's a Gym Leader from another region doing in a place like this?"

Morty spat at him, but Brock deftly dodged by whipping his head out of the way. "Well, I suppose it doesn't matter." He grumbled. "You're under arrest for kidnapping and extortion. You can tell me all about it in prison."

"Hah...!" Morty just grinned at him. "I'll be the one who has the last laugh...!"

Brock turned to me, ignoring the foreign Gym Leader. "Thanks for the help, Cyan. Who knows how long I would have just waited, hoping for the best, if it weren't for you and Green." He nodded to me. "You two can go home now, I'll take care of the rest. Will you be alright on your own?"

"We'll be just fine. Thanks for your hard work, sir." I responded, and we both started to leave. I was more than ready to head home, the exhaustion from staying late combined with the adrenaline from my battle with Morty wearing off were really making me feel tired.