Kam Was Injured

The Clamperl ranch would not see any returns anytime soon, and the villagers were never ones to sit idle. Every now and then, they would head out to sea.

Kam thought the same way. With so many Pokémon waiting to be fed, they needed to stockpile more supplies in the village warehouse. So, the group set out to sea again in grand fashion.

Gu Yan had gone sightseeing in Lilycove City. Things were basically wrapped up, and there was no point in him staying behind. He took the chance to enjoy himself in Lilycove City. Zeno had originally wanted to go with him, but he still had data to organize and the entire experimental process to summarize, so he truly could not get away.

Now, Zeno was the only one at home, accompanied only by Carvanha and an egg that had not made the slightest movement.

"I wonder when it'll hatch."

Zeno muttered to himself in boredom.

"Is Zeno here?"

Hearing someone call for him, Zeno put down his pen and went out to open the door.

"Qingqing, why are you here?"

She seemed extremely excited, with a thin layer of sweat on her face. She must have run here.

"I... I got... accepted."

"At the Lilycove City Pokémon Center?"

Zeno remembered that she had applied not long ago. The results should have been released around now.

"Yes!"

"That's wonderful, Qingqing! You can become a proud Pokémon doctor now." Zeno was happy for her. The job truly suited her.

"Mm. I was so excited that I didn't know who to share the good news with. Teacher Zhihe and Xiao Hai aren't here, so I could only come to you." Although her grandfather was happy too, he merely thought it was a good job and could not truly share her feelings.

"Congratulations. You've taken a huge step toward your dream, so keep working hard."

"Mm, I will. Once I've gained enough experience at the Pokémon Center, I'll return to town and open a small clinic."

Zeno knew this was already the best possible outcome. Pokémon Centers in this world had to be staffed by a Miss Joy, because they possessed the finest medical skills in the world. Zeno had actually considered inviting her to join his future sailing team, but he had nothing to offer at the moment and truly felt too embarrassed to bring it up.

"Qingqing, if I remember correctly, your Gloom hasn't evolved yet, right?"

Zeno remembered her Gloom vividly. Because it carried an unbearable stench, it was rather introverted and even somewhat insecure, especially resistant to contact with other people and Pokémon.

At the mention of Gloom, Qingqing became troubled as well. Then, remembering that Zeno was studying at Littleroot Research Lab, her eyes lit up.

"Zeno, do you have any way to help it? I'm really worried seeing it like this. It's all my fault. If I'd known it would become like this after evolving, I wouldn't have let it evolve."

"It's like this because of its Stench ability."

"Stench?"

"That's right. It's an innate ability of Pokémon and can't be changed."

"But when it was still an Oddish, it didn't have that smell. It only became like this after evolving." Qingqing thought it over and seemed to understand something. "If it evolves into Vileplume again, will it change once more?"

"That's true, but I suggest evolving it into Bellossom instead."

"Bellossom?" The farthest she had ever traveled was the town, and she had never heard of that kind of Pokémon.

"Yes. Let me show you a picture." Zeno had recorded information on Bellossom in the ecological park before, so his Pokédex had data on it.

"So pretty! Gloom will definitely like it!"

"Not only that, after your Gloom evolves into Bellossom, its ability will become Healer. The Chansey at Pokémon Centers have that ability too. It'll work even better with your job."

"Really?" Qingqing was thrilled. She knew how useful Chansey were, but she had never imagined her Gloom could become like one.

"Mm, but you'll need a Sun Stone."

"I'll remember that, Zeno. Thank you so, so much."

Qingqing had originally come to share her joy with Zeno, but after this visit, her happiness had multiplied several times over. She secretly decided that whenever she did not understand something in the future, she would ask him.

After seeing Qingqing off, Zeno went back to his work. His efficiency was abysmal today. After working for ages, he had not even finished a single page. He had no motivation at all.

"Zeno, come out quickly! The village chief is hurt!"

Zeno had been lying listlessly over the table, nearly dozing off. The moment he heard this news, he jolted awake and rushed outside.

"What happened to Uncle Kam?"

The moment he stepped outside, he saw several people carrying Uncle Kam. Zeno immediately ran over in alarm.

"The village chief hit his head, passed out from exhaustion."

"What happened?"

"On the way back, the village chief saw a Pokémon trapped in a whirlpool. He rode Mantine over to help it. After saving that Pokémon, though, he got flung away. By the time Mantine found him, he was already unconscious."

"Did a doctor examine him? How is he now?"

"The doctor said there's a little bruising in his brain. He prescribed some medicine and said it wasn't a serious problem. Once the bruising goes down, he'll wake up."

Dazhuang had originally wanted the village chief to stay in the hospital, but the doctor said Kam was in good physical condition and only needed medicine. He told them not to waste money, so they brought Kam back.

Looking at Uncle Kam lying unconscious on the bed, Zeno felt both angry and anxious. Uncle Kam had always told him not to take risks, yet now he had done something so dangerous himself. Luckily Mantine had found him. Otherwise, Zeno did not even dare imagine the consequences.

Because he had to care for Uncle Kam, Zeno had no mind to continue working. Uncle Kam remained unconscious for a long time and did not wake until the following afternoon.

"Hiss... it hurts."

Kam slowly sat up in bed, only to suddenly feel a sharp pain in the back of his head. He hurriedly reached up to touch it and discovered a huge bump there.

"Uncle Kam, you're finally awake."

Zeno had been sitting by his bedside the entire time to look after him. He had been so tired that he had dozed off with his head down, but the moment he heard movement, he woke up at once.

"Mm, you've been watching over me this whole time. You've worked hard. Go rest for a while." Seeing the heavy dark circles under Zeno's eyes, Kam felt distressed for him.

"It's fine, I'm not sleepy. Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?" Zeno was deeply concerned about him.

"Just a little pain in the back of my head. It's nothing."

"Uncle Kam, honestly, how could you do something that dangerous? What would I do if something happened to you?" As soon as Zeno said that, his eyes reddened.

"Didn't I turn out fine?" Seeing him like this, Kam hurriedly comforted him.

"Hmph. You're not allowed to do anything so dangerous again. Otherwise, I won't let you go out to sea anymore."

"Alright, alright, I understand." Looking at Zeno acting like a little adult, Kam found it both amusing and heartwarming.