Cerulean’s Joy and bath plans.

The Oak sisters continue to chat, laugh and joke with one another while their Fearow keep playing around up above. The two large bird Pokémon are swooping through the upper half of the lobby, occasionally bumping into or pecking at each other playfully. The flying types seem to get along just as well as their owners, and you smile as you watch both human and Pokémon have fun together. You’re still reeling from the one-two punch of Daisy both being here and her kissing you in front of everyone, but you need to shake yourself free and get a move on. There’s other things to do today.

Doing your best to collect yourself, you turn to your friends and ask “How about we go get our rooms sorted? Give the sisters a little time with each other?”

“Sounds good to me. Kay?” Daniel replies, looking down at his ****.

“Sure…” The green-eyed young woman replies, still staring at the two girls from Pallet. As she turns her gaze away, a small smile sits on her face. “Blue’s lucky. Wish I had a nice, pretty older sister like Daisy.”

Smiling back at the Vermillion girl, you say “Right? She’s great. Always has been…” Your smile grows a little dreamy as your mind starts to wander back over the years of kindness Daisy has shown you.

The golden-blonde chuckles at the look on your face, shaking his head. “Well, I think it’s safe to say Daisy’s feelings are mutual.” You flush pink in minor embarrassment at his words, but he keeps speaking before you can say anything. “Oh, but a word from the wise to you two only children; older sisters aren’t always all they’re cracked up to be. Sometimes they’re a bit annoying, or overbearing. Some of them, anyway.”

“I’m telling the Lieutenant you said that~.” Kayla replies, sticking her tongue out playfully at her master.

“Psh, as if I haven’t? Knock yourself out.” The muscular young man responds with a shrug and a grin.

“Hmm… But aren’t you and your sister pretty similar? Does that mean you can be a bit annoying or overbearing, Little Surge?” A huge grin crosses your face as you speak, while Daniel’s eyes narrow in mock-anger.

“…Fuck you, I don’t have a comeback. Let’s go get our rooms.” You and Kayla laugh together as you all start to make your way towards the far end of the lobby, the buff blonde joining in despite himself. You can tell he doesn’t actually mind his sister all that much, so it’s not like the comparison really bothers him all that much. And talking about the Lightning Lieutenant actually brings an interesting thought to the forefront of your mind; you’re going to Vermillion City soon. And you’re definitely going to meet the elder Surge sibling while you’re there, and maybe Kayla’s parents as well… You’re sure that - despite any complications the pair may have with their respective families - both Daniel and Kayla are looking forward to their own reunions soon, and you know you’re looking forward to meeting their relatives. Hopefully Mom can make it to Vermillion for the tournament too, so you can see her again and introduce her to your friends…

When you all finally make your way up to the reception counter, instead of just standing around near the entrance talking, a second familiar voice of the day greets you. “Hello, and welcome to the Cerulean City Pokémon Center. How may I be of assistance today?”

Sitting behind the counter is a woman you’ve simultaneously seen before and never met; Nurse Joy. This Joy looks to be in her mid-twenties, making her older than your girlfriend in Pewter but younger than the placid nurse on Route 4. She’s nearly identical in appearance to the previous Joys you’ve met; the same height and build, with pink hair tied back in loops and a white and pink nurses uniform on. There are only two main differences you can spot, one far more obvious than the other. The smaller difference is the same one you’ve noticed between the previous Joys you’ve met; eye color. Viridian’s Joy had bluish-green eyes, Pewter’s had gray eyes, Route 4’s had white eyes, and this Joy has eyes that are a cool blue in coloration, with hints of a green undertone.

The second difference is much easier to notice, and far more pronounced; she’s pregnant, her uniform being adjusted to compensate for her rounded belly. It looks like she’s… maybe four or five months along? You’re not entirely sure, though this is something you should probably learn more about, seeing as you’re likely to have quite a few children in your life thanks to your girlfriend telling all her relatives about you, in addition to any other women you may end up with like Daisy…

And then it hits you; this Joy is already pregnant. So you can’t… A pang of disappointment hits you at this realization, but irritation quickly follows. Irritation at your own childish reaction. Impregnating Nurse Joys isn’t a right you’ve been given, or even a privilege really. It’s an option they’ve been given, and you have to expect that at least some of them won’t want to take you up on it. Or won’t need to, as the case is here. So, even if you may have been secretly hoping to have every Joy take you up on the offer, you do your best to push aside your initial disappointment and listen as Daniel replies to the nurse.

“Hi there! Name’s Daniel. Sorry about just loitering around in your lobby like that, we weren’t expecting to bump into someone that some of us knew.”

The pink-haired woman lets out a small giggle before responding. “Oh, no need to worry about that. This lobby is meant to be a gathering place for trainers when they aren’t out and about. Plus, Miss Oak let me know beforehand that she was here waiting for a group of trainers to show up. Also…” Those cool blue shift their gaze onto you, and a small smirk replaces the professional smile on the nurse’s lips. “That was quite the enjoyable show, from where I’m sitting. Like watching a soap opera in person. You’re quite popular, be it with my relatives or otherwise, aren’t you Red?”

“Oh…” You blink a few times in surprise, then smile. “So, you’ve heard about me from said relatives, I take it?” You ask, blushing at her remark about finding you and the Oak sister’s reunions entertaining. Of course she had been watching, it was the only thing happening in the lobby!

“But of course. The Joys from Pewter and Route 4 can hardly stop talking about you, they’re so smitten. And it’s made everyone else very curious about you. You’ve become a centerpoint of our little group chat as of late.” The pregnant woman says, giggling as she sees your red face grow even redder.

“And that is why we call him Casanova!” “Only you call him that.” “Oh yeah…” Daniel and Kayla shoot back and forth, laughing at their own antics as you continue to flush in embarrassment. This is starting to remind you of what happened when you met the white-eyed Joy on Route 4 for the first time, just constant blush.

“My my! ‘Casanova’, is it?” Joy joins the Vermillion pair in their laughter, finally causing the return of ‘no more face, only blush’. “I suppose that’s fitting, all things considered. Sigh. If half of what my relatives say about you is true, then I wish I had been a little more patient and waited on deciding to have my daughter until you came along. You sound like quite the ideal candidate, in many regards.”

You don’t really know how to respond to that, and you’re a little busy feeling like your face is on fire, so you just laugh awkwardly and don’t say anything. Your blonde friend steps in to save you, having mostly calmed down his laughter. “Oh man. Okay, we should probably stop before Casanova’s head pops or something.” He slaps you on the back as he says this, shooting a big grin your way before once again addressing the blue-eyed woman. “We’d like two rooms, please. One for me and Kay here and the second for Casanova.”

“Very well. Please allow me to scan your Trainer IDs.” Each of you present the nurse your respective Pokédex, bringing up your IDs on the devices. After checking how many badges you all have, she hands out two keys for the lowest tier rooms at the center. “There you are. Do let me know if you need anything else-“

“Yeah, I’m gonna need a room too, thanks.” Blue’s voice cuts through Joy’s words, and you all turn to see her and Daisy walk up behind you. Their Fearow are nowhere to be seen, so you assume they’ve been returned to their balls. The elder Oak gives you a small smile as she approaches, and you do your best to return it through your beet-red face as her sister pushes past you and up to the counter.

“Certainly. If you’ll show me your trainer ID?” The pink-haired woman responds, repeating the same process she just did with you and your friends for your rival. The Pallet girl pulls out her Pokédex, presents her ID, then Joy scans it and gives her a key for one of the lowest tier rooms.

“Thanks… Oh, wait.” The sandy-blonde looks over her shoulder, back at her sister. “Where are you staying, Sis?”

“I have a room at a hotel just down the road, where I stayed last night. So I suppose I’ll be staying there again.” The blue-eyed girl answers.

“You can technically stay here, if you so choose.” Nurse Joy chimes in. “Even if you aren’t a registered trainer, you can still stay in another trainer’s room if they allow it. So if you’d like to spend the night with your sister… or someone else, feel free.”

The pregnant woman winks at you as she finishes her sentence, making sure that her meaning is very obvious. This earns her a sharp scowl from Blue, who then speaks up immediately. “Well then you can stay with me tonight Sis! It can be like a sleepover!” The brown-eyed girl smiles at her older sister excitedly, clearly thrilled with her own idea.

Daisy gives you a short sidelong glance, but very quickly responds to the younger blonde’s request and returns her smile. “That sounds lovely! We have a lot to talk about, a lot to catch up on.”

“Great! That’s settled then!” It’s your rival’s turn to give you a quick look as well as a triumphant smirk, like she’s won a victory of some kind. “But first; I really need to go take an actual shower. Or maybe draw a bath. Creeks and cave water do not make a girl feel clean.”

“SAME!” Kayla pipes up, her face screwing up as she looks down at her disheveled appearance. You and Daniel voice your agreements as well, as you’re all in the same boat there, not having had a chance to bathe properly in days. You’ve all kept as clean as you can whenever fresh water presented itself, so it’s not like anyone is disgusting or anything, but a long, hot shower still sounds heavenly right now.

That may not be exactly what’s in your future though, as it seems like Daisy has another idea. A wide smile graces her beautiful face as she speaks, reaching into her handbag to grab something at the same time. “Well in that case, why don’t we all go take a bath together! Here, look.” Pulling out what she had been looking for from her purse, the honey-blonde holds it out to show to the rest of you. What you see is a brochure, like a travel guide. It’s covered in pictures of different points of interest and tourist attractions in Cerulean City. “I picked this up in my hotel yesterday. I’ve never really traveled before, so I didn’t even know where to begin in terms of exploring a new city. Oh, but that’s not what’s important! What’s important isss…” She flips open the brochure, eyes scanning it quickly until she finds what she’s looking for. “Here! The Seabreeze Bathhouse!”

You all lean in to look at the section of the pamphlet that the elder Oak is trying to show you. After looking it over for a moment, you say “So it’s a famous public bathhouse here in Cerulean…”

“Yup!” The blue-eyed young woman replies happily. “So, we could all go relax and get clean together! What do you guys think?”

You and your friends share a quick glance. After getting a nod from the two Vermillion trainers, you answer for the group. “Sounds great! Thank you for inviting us. But…”

All eyes lock on to one person, waiting to see her reaction. Blue seems at a loss for words, mouth opening silently several times as she shifts her weight from foot to foot before finally speaking… sort of. “I mean… Um… Is it only mixed baths?”

“Hm?” Daisy tilts her head in confusion. “Well, no. There’s a mixed bathing area as well as separate baths for men and women…”

“That settles it then!” Kayla pipes up, catching you by surprise. “Us ladies can have ourselves some girl time in the women’s bath, while the boys go do whatever it is boys do when we’re not around! Sound good?”

You’re briefly confused about Kayla’s suggestion, because you’re fairly sure she’d have no issue bathing with you and Daniel, but are given your answer almost instantly.

“Oh, are you sure Kayla? Wouldn’t you rather have a soak with your boyfriends while Sis and I go to the women’s baths?” Blue says tightly, a half-smile, half-grimace on her face.

So that’s what this is. It seemed like your rival was going to try and convince her sister to just bathe with her, so the brunette jumped in to make sure that didn’t happen. And she did it in a way that would be difficult for Blue to refuse, since she’s ostensibly getting what she wants… Kayla is really dedicated to messing with her newfound frenemy. Though, to be fair, she also does probably want to spend time with Daisy and get to know her better. So this most likely isn’t just because she wants to annoy your rival.

“Yeah, I’m sure. We can make it a girls’ day!” The green-eyed young woman says, ignoring the sandy-blonde’s irritation. “The boys’ll just have to make do with imagining what goes on. What do you say, Daisy?”

“Well…” The honey-blonde hesitates, looking over at you and Daniel. “I invited everyone though. I would hate to exclude the boys like that…”

“It’s fine, Daisy. We don’t mind. Right Daniel?” You say, turning to look at your friend.

“Yeah, no worries. If that’s what Kay and Blueberry want, that’s what we’ll do. I’m sure Casanova and I will survive.” The muscular young man answers, giving the elder Pallet girl a thumbs-up.

“Hmm… Alright then. I’ll definitely want to spend some time with you two at some point though. But for now…” Daisy claps her hands together, smiling at your whole group. “Why don’t you all go put your bags in your rooms? Then we can get going! Oh, this should be fun!”

“It sounds like you all have a plan. I do hope you enjoy yourselves!” Joy says, speaking after having been silently watching your exchange. Was this entertaining for her too? Probably.

With thanks to the nurse and assurances to Daisy that you’ll be quick, you all set about doing as the elder Oak sister said. You quickly run up to your rooms, leaving your bags and rushing back down so that you can all go to the Seabreeze Bathhouse together, albeit in two different baths. You wish you could take this as a chance to catch up with Daisy, but Blue being around makes that difficult, so you’ll have to put that idea on hold. You already feel lucky that she didn’t blow up on you after her sister’s surprise kiss, so you don’t want to push things. You and Daniel will just have to enjoy some quality guy time together, while Kayla gets to know the Oaks.

Man, to be a fly on the wall for that…