So when the next customer came and left his Pokeballs to Nurse Joy, Brock waited for her to place them down next to him so that she could warm the healing machine up. That’s when Brock started pushing one of the balls towards the machine. Joy gasped when she saw the ball rolling, and then looked behind it to see Brock was rolling it. The trainer only noticed the ball moving and gave a confused face.

“Uh… automated process. A tiny conveyor belt is moving your Pokeball across. Saves me some work.” Joy said. The trainer just nodded while Joy had a face of ‘what the heck was I talking about?’ The trainer looked around the place as he waited for his Pokemon to heal, not bothering to see Brock place the ball on the machine. Joy afterwards activated the machine and the Pokemon was healed.

“Here you go. Thanks for stopping by the Pokemon Center!” Joy said as the trainer left. As Joy looked over at Brock once more, he offered a thumbs up to his protector. Joy just shook her head as she met with the next customer.

This kind of thing would continue for the next several trainers as Brock would try with all his might to push the Pokeballs to the healing machine. Joy didn’t want to take the balls from him for fear that the trainers would see a tiny person and faint like that one girl earlier. But this only made her job more frustrating. Soon, it appeared Brock was getting full of himself, speaking out once again to congratulate Joy for a job well done and to the trainer for choosing a nurse like Nurse Joy to take care of their Pokemon. Of course, even though they couldn’t see Brock, Joy still felt worried for him.

Finally, it got to a point where Brock almost did everything for Joy. Greet the trainers with only a voice, then push the Pokeballs to the machine. He had started to forget to seclude himself from sight of shocked trainers who saw a person that small on Nurse Joy’s desk. Joy was doing all her best to keep her emotions in check, but this was proving difficult. Finally, when one happy trainer left and Brock commented on how much they agreed that Nurse Joy was beautiful… she snapped.

Joy then formed a fist with her right hand and slammed it down inches away from Brock’s tiny body. The gym master found himself jumping off the ground in shock as he turned to see one furious-looking Nurse Joy.

“What in the name of Hoenn is your problem!?!?” Joy shouted. Brock was about to say something, but Joy just cut him off.

“All I ask was that you sit tight and wait for your friends to return, but nooooo!!! You had to come out and make my job miserable!” Joy said.

“What do you mean? I helped you with your chores, didn’t I?” Brock said.

“That may be true. But I’m not about to let you scare trainers like that! No wonder my sisters have said weird things about you…” Joy said. She then put up an “AWAY” sign on the top of the counter and stormed away, walking towards an open hallway and leaving Brock all to himself.

“Was it something I said?” Brock asked himself. He was having mixed emotions right now. On one hand, he was happy to be small enough to literally fit into Joy’s hands, something that he used to dream of ever since he met her for the first time in Ash’s travels. But on the flip side, he started to feel that maybe he did go overboard in hurting Joy’s feelings. Did he do it because he loved Joy very much? Or was it out of trying to get out of boredom while waiting for Ash, May, and Max to bring back the cure from Johto? One thing’s for sure, he was at a crossroads as to what to think.

“I see Joy’s a little busy.” a familiar voice said. Brock turned around and looked to see Officer Jenny had returned.

“I guess you could say that.” Brock said.

“So what’s going on? It’s not like Joy to leave her desk often.” Jenny said.

“I think I upset her by trying to help out… she just stormed out of here a couple minutes ago.” Brock said.

“I see.” Jenny said.

“I really feel bad, actually. Now I admit I was being a jerk about this whole thing.” Brock said.

“It may not be all your fault, actually. Sure, all Nurse Joys work very hard to run these Pokemon Centers, but this Joy probably works the hardest of them all. She cares so much for Pokemon. Only the Joy in Kanto’s Porta Vista Harbor is more pbumionate.” Jenny said.

“No kidding?” Brock said.

“Nope. So you can imagine how secluded she feels as hard as she works. Sometimes even added help is too much for her.” Jenny said.

“Oh…” Brock said, putting a hand on his chin like he was thinking of something.

“Well, I’m going back to work. Stay safe.” Jenny said as she walked away. Brock wouldn’t look up at the significantly taller Jenny, but was instead thinking about what she had said about Nurse Joy. Was Joy really such a hard worker that added help was too much for her? If this was true, then she absolutely needed some comfort value, and as he looked around, he felt he was the only one that could provide just that.

But how? It was a long way down both to ground level of the Pokemon Center, as well as to the hallway where Joy’s office was located. Brock looked over to see a Chansey walking over to behind the desk, and he saw opportunity as the Chansey was very close to the edge of the desk. Brock then made a leap of faith from the desk and landed on Chansey as he slowly slid down its soft body. He had to hang on tight for the ride he was taking from Chansey walking around was quite rough.

Finally, Brock jumped down to the ground when he was close to the open hallway. He looked around in awe. The place was so much bigger from his current perspective, not to mention those pretty female trainers… what? You thought he wasn’t thinking about that? Anyway, Brock wasted no time running towards the hallway. Once there, he kept close to the walls so that he both wouldn’t be easily spotted as well as not be crushed so easily. As people walked back and forth, Brock slowly crept along the wall, not wanting to draw attention. He was able to do just that as he had made it to the door to Joy’s office unharmed. Brock crawled underneath the opening.

And there was Nurse Joy, sitting at her desk with one hand on the side of her face, and another writing away over something. Brock took a few steps forward before stopping. He didn’t want to get too close as she wouldn’t be able to see him.

“Uh… Nurse Joy?” Brock said. He of course had to elevate his voice in order for her to hear him. And it worked out, ‘cause she looked up and almost leapt out of her chair.

“What the… what in Hoenn are you doing here!?” Joy shouted. She then walked over to where Brock was standing and kneeled down to look closely at him.

“Well… I, uh… wanted to say something to you.” Brock said.

“Did it have to be right now? How did you get down from the desk? You could’ve gotten killed, for crying out loud!” Joy shouted.

“I had a little help from Chansey. I stayed against the walls so nobody could see me or step on me.” Brock said.

“Still… you had every right to make me nervous if I saw you sneaking through the hallway like that.” Joy said. She then held out both of her hands, allowing Brock to jump onto them. Then Joy slowly got up and walked over to her desk. She sat down as she laid her hands down on the table, allowing Brock to walk down from them and face his protector from the desk.

“I take it you have something on your mind?” Joy asked.

“Well… uh… yes. But how did you know?” Brock asked.

“What else would it take for you to make it all the way from the front room to my office when you should be busy waiting for your friends to come back with a cure?” Joy said.

“Well. I wanted to say that I’m sorry.” Brock said.

“Sorry?” Joy said.

“Yeah. For being a jerk back there. I just can’t resist someone like you or Officer Jenny, and my mom always said to me that a real man would step up and offer any kind of bumistance to the most beautiful of women. I never realized until today that I had been driving myself too far.” Brock said. The expression on Joy’s face changed. She now had a face of concern.

“I see.” Joy said.

“But I know that’s not saying a whole lot, especially since I’m this tiny compared to the rest of the world.” Brock said.

“No… it’s okay.” Joy said. Brock lifted his head to look up at the good nurse.

“I have to admit… I think I acted like a jerk too. Us Nurse Joys always have to be caring for other Pokemon because we realize how important their lives are. But… I have to admit. Maybe I’m feeling a bit too protective.” Joy said.

“Really?” Brock asked.

“Yeah. Last year, I kinda annoyed one trainer because I made such a big deal over a minor injury to his Charizard. And even one of my sisters, who was on hand to watch me care for it, told me afterwards that I’m too pbumionate for caring about Pokemon. Sure, you want to treat it with the most care possible, but you don’t want to make every situation seem life-threatening.” Joy said.

“So what do you mean?” Brock said.

“My point is that it’s my fault that I was angry for you. I was being too overprotective of you. And I can understand why… this is the first time I’ve had to care for a small human like yourself. I mean, there was that one friend of yours, but his girlfriend protected him for me.” Joy said.

“Well, Ash and May aren’t exactly close mates yet, but I don’t see how you could blame yourself. This is new for both of us!” Brock said.

“True, but the way I handled the situation was wrong, and for that… I’m sorry. I promise I won’t go as far as to force you to stay in one place.” Joy said, lowering her head in shame.

“I’m sorry too. I promise I’ll try not to scare you like I did.” Brock said.

“Well, that makes two rights then.” Joy said, cracking a giggle at that remark. Brock couldn’t help but laugh as well. She then smiled.

“Come here, you.” Joy said. She then grabbed Brock and gave him a soft hug close to her chest. To Brock, this was quite an experience to be stuffed so close to her body as well as be engulfed by her hands.

As the hugfest went on, Brock’s body started to emit a light gray color from his clothes. Joy didn’t notice it until the light got extremely bright. As Joy was looking at this, she could feel something else happening… Brock was growing! But how? He shrunk by way of a malfunctioning Heavy Ball? How could a hug help bring Brock back to his normal size? This was all that Joy was thinking as she was forced to put Brock on the ground because he was getting a little heavy now.

Finally, after the light died down, Brock was back at his normal size. He looked around him to see the scenery looking a little more normal, and Nurse Joy not as “big” as she was before.

“What… just happened?” Brock said.

“I don’t know. All I did was just hug you… well, nevertheless, you’re back to your normal size now!” Joy said.

“Well, that’s great! I guess we don’t need that antidote now!” Brock said.

“Nope… let me go call Kurt, just in case your friends have already been there.” Joy said as she walked out the office. When Brock was by himself, he threw a fist in frustration. He wanted so bad to be cuddled by a bigger Nurse Joy for just a little longer.

One hour later

Ash, May, Max, and Pikachu were walking back to the Pokemon Center with mixed feelings. Sometimes they would show happiness, while other times they would show frustration.

“So, what did you guys think of Johto?” Ash asked.

“I think it’s an amazing land. So many diverse Pokemon, including strong ones, and really tough trainers to boot! It kinda puts Hoenn to shame, now that I think about it, though I still think this land is a nice home.” May said.

“I was impressed by all the Pokemon there, and how strong they were! And they even looked amazing! Like that Xatu we ran across!” Max said.

“(sigh) But in the end, we still didn’t get the cure we asked for.” May said.

“What could he have possibly meant by only the power of love saving Brock?” Ash said.

“If that means hugging and kissing him, then count me out!” May said.

“And there’s no way he can get someone like Nurse Joy or Officer Jenny to kiss him!” Max said.

“If the past is any indication, we may be in for quite a problem. All we can do is tell Nurse Joy.” Ash said. The other two nodded as they approached the Pokemon Center. Ash was the first to open the doors, and the three looked and almost found themselves filled with shock.

There was Nurse Joy… and by golly, there was Brock! At his normal size! He was standing behind the counter helping Nurse Joy with things like moving the Pokeballs from one part of the desk to another as well as greeting and waving off the customers one by one. Ash and friends ran up to the desk.

“Brock!” They all shouted.

“Hey, guys! What took you so long?” Brock asked.

“I guess you could say Max and May were fascinated with Johto.” Ash said.

“So what happened?” May said.

“Yeah! Last time we saw you, you were smaller than a Diglett!” Max said.

“Well… it’s a long story, guys.” Brock said.

“Basically, I made an apology to Brock after yelling at him for trying to help out too much. I ended up giving him a hug, and the next thing I knew… he grew back!” Joy said. Ash’s eyes then lit up.

“Ah! I get it now! That’s what Kurt meant by the power of love!” Ash said.

“What do you mean?” Joy asked.

“We were coming back to tell you that the only proper antidote for shrinking from a malfunctioning Heavy Ball was having the victim show a little appreciation and a lot of love for someone they think of more than anything else.” May said.

“It was strange, we thought, but that’s all he would offer us. And obviously… it worked out.” Max said.

“Well… I’m glad I could at least get your friend back to normal size.” Joy said.

“Yeah. So… can you be my girlfriend now?” Brock said. Joy then just slapped him on the face.

“Nice try, Charming.” Joy said. The others just laughed at Brock’s continued bad luck with Nurse Joy.

“Hey, come on, Brock. We really should get going to the next gym now that you’re all better.” Ash said.

“Okay. Thanks, Nurse Joy.” Brock said.

“Anytime, Brock. Please come visit again! I promise I won’t be as uptight as I was today.” Joy said. Brock nodded as the group of heroes walked outside the Pokemon Center, leaving behind the Heavy Ball that Joy already decided she’d take and have experts look over it.

As soon as they got outside and started to walk towards their next town, Ash suddenly stopped.

“What’s wrong, Ash?” Brock said.

“Everyone check their Pokeballs. I don’t think I want to go through a mess like that again.” Ash said. Everyone smiled and felt that Ash had a good point. So they spent the next several minutes trying out all their extra Pokeballs.

“All of mine are okay.” May said.

“Same here.” Brock said.

“Yes! Everything’s a-go here too. Hopefully that’s the last time any one of us has to go through being small.” Ash said.

“Dang… and I was hoping May would be going through that.” Max said.

“Hey! What is that supposed to mean!? You’re lucky you didn’t shrink because I would’ve kicked your little bum!” May shouted in frustration. The two continued to argue as they walked along with Ash and Brock down the open path towards their next challenge. Ash and Brock didn’t bother to stop the two. Instead, they just smiled because they were happy to see life returning to normal.