Journey Through Johto |Discontinued|

Chapter 2.24: A-maze-ing

It's another beautiful day in the forest on the way to the next gym. Bright sun, warm breeze, no ra-

"It's raining now!? Come on!" Sky growled as her mane got soaked, causing it to slip down in front of her eyes. Thunder rumbled in the distance. "It's not safe out here. We need to find somewhere to stay." Zia said as they started to run.

A flash of lightning caused them to jump as they looked around for a good spot. "Hey, over there!" Emmy shouted over the loud rain patters and thunder crashes. On a nearby hilltop was a castle.

Taking the opportunity for what it was, the three trekked up to the large building and knocked on the double doors. "Hello, is anybody in there!? We just want to get out of the storm." Zia yelled as she used the Zubat knocker again. There was no response, which caused all of them to sigh in disappointment.

"This sucks." Emmy complained as she leaned against the door, only for it to open, causing her to fall inside. "It's not locked?" Sky asked suspiciously as they peaked inside, seeing a luxuriously decorated entrance hall.

It certainly looked creepy, though, what with it being dimly-lit and seemingly empty. "Should we be going in here?" Emmy asked nervously as they all stepped inside. "Probably not. We're most likely going to regret it later, but it's dangerous to stay outside right now." Zia answered her, looking around. It's not her fault people want to leave their doors unlocked.

They all flinched as another round of thunder and lightning hit just as a masculine voice screamed from further inside the castle. "Did anybody else hear that?" Emmy asked, seeing the other two nod. "How about we just leave, obviously there's someone here and-" "Emmy, what if they're in trouble?" Zia grabbed the Serperior who was trying to make her way back to the door.

"Well, I don't want to get murdered with them!" She exclaimed. "Come on, let's go." Sky said and began running down the hall the screaming was coming from, Zia following. "W-Wait, don't leave me." Emmy chased after them.

They heard another scream as they stopped at a closed set of doors in front of them. "What if it's a torture chamber!?" Emmy asked fearfully. "Hold it right ther-" Zia went and opened the doors, only to see something unexpected.

It was a man getting a deep massage from a Machoke, but there were other people too. A Spinarak was wrapping someone's arm up with its string, and another guy was getting shocked by a Mareep.

"What is going on here?" Zia asked in confusion as a girl with pink hair and green eyes turned to them. She had a doctor's dress on with a dark blue skirt underneath. She also had a stethoscope around her neck and a clipboard in her arms.

"Oh, you must be here for a treatment session. We're pretty busy today, do you have an appointment?" She asked. "No... we don't. We came to get out of the storm." Zia answered, very confused by all of this.

"Well, I'm Dr. Anna." The pinkette introduced. "Dr. Anna, we're ready for the Zubat scan." A nurse popped out from an adjacent room. Zia followed behind as they went inside. There was a Zubat with a green bow attached to it circling around a patient, using echolocation to send back data.

Dr. Anna looked at the tablet showing the gathered information. "I have good news. Your scan looks perfectly clear. There's no need to worry." She told the patient. "That's great news doctor." He said happily. "You just need to relax. Why don't you get a Machoke massage while you're here?" The doctor. suggested.

"Will do." He agreed as the nurse from before led him away. Meanwhile, Zia was looking at the Zubat curiously. "It's amazing that you've thought to use a Zubat for something like this. It's ingenious." She stated. "We don't only use Zubat. We use the special abilities of a number of Pokémon in diagnosing and treating medical problems here. Machoke's super strength is perfect for chiropractic. Spinarak's web makes a very effective bandage, and Mareep's electricity runs our low-voltage muscle stimulators. The Pokémon and I work together." Dr. Anna explained as the Zubat landed on her shoulder.