If Living Isn't for Going to Pidgeot Heaven, It Must Be Because There Are No Gentle Sandwiches There

In the forest on the outskirts.

Beneath a tall tree.

A paper bag containing sandwiches lay overturned in the shade. Blood dripped from a broken branch overhead, soaking the bag.

"Pidgey!?"

"Uwoah!!"

Upon seeing the familiar figure, both Mu Yun and Weedle's pupils trembled.

Pidgey was not in good condition right now. Or rather, he was in terrible condition.

His feathers were disheveled as he lay motionless on the ground not far from the paper bag.

A bloodstained branch had pierced through his skin from above at his left wing.

Blood ran down the emerald branch, staining the feathers on his chest red and dyeing the ground crimson as well.

"Pidgey!!"

Mu Yun hurried over and carefully examined Pidgey's injuries and condition.

Perhaps he had not been injured for long, or perhaps Mu Yun had arrived in time. Pidgey had not completely lost consciousness.

But he could only barely force open his heavy eyelids halfway and look at Mu Yun.

"Pidgey~~"

His once energetic cry now carried nothing but unconcealed exhaustion.

As blood flowed steadily from him, Pidgey felt as though he were dreaming. Before heading to Pidgeot Heaven, he had seen the person he most wanted to see.

"Pidgey, hang in there!!"

In his daze, the sounds grew increasingly faint, while drowsiness became ever stronger. In his sleep, Pidgey seemed to replay his brief and ordinary twenty-something days of bird life like a montage.

When he was born, he had never seen his parents. According to other Pidgey, because of food competition, the Pidgey clan in the residential complex had always given birth without raising their young. Survival depended entirely on oneself.

So he did not blame his parents. After all, everyone did the same thing. He was not an exception.

Still, at night, when moonlight and lamplight fell over him, he would occasionally envy human children, who were loved and spoiled by adults and never had to worry about tomorrow's food.

But only occasionally. After all, when he was hungry, it was better to sleep early.

Until...

That human holding a sandwich appeared before him.

He had never seen food so delicious. It was so delicious that even his stomach, which could usually endure going a day and a night without eating, frantically sent signals to his brain demanding food at the mere scent of it.

So he made the fiercest expression of his life, used all his strength, and flew over at his fastest speed.

He thought that he had to eat that sandwich. Even if the human beat him to death, he had to take a bite!

Fortunately, things did not turn out as badly as he had imagined. That human was very kind. Although Pidgey had charged over aggressively and been subdued until he could not resist, the human did not hold it against him. He even gently gave him a piece of sandwich. The price for wanting more afterward was merely flying alongside Big Bug for a while.

What kind of condition was that?

He was the fastest Pidgey, capable of avoiding every stone thrown by three human children without so much as brushing a leaf!

Yet it was also that day that, while eating, he suddenly found the meaning of living.

He no longer had to worry about what he would eat the next day. Instead, he wanted to become more agile and fly faster. As long as he became fast enough that Big Bug could never hit him, that person would surely appear forever on warm afternoons and gently stroke him.

For that, he left the residential complex and came to the unfamiliar, distant outskirts, finally finding a place suitable for training.

He flew desperately and dodged desperately, yet one mistake still led to his wing being pierced through.

The moment he hit the ground, he remembered something an old Pidgey had said. A bird with broken wings was like a fruit without flesh. Both were trash, with no tomorrow...

No tomorrow...

That seemed fine too. He just wondered what that human and Big Bug would think when they saw that he had not come.

Would they think of him?

Or would he be forgotten forever, like that old pavilion...

"Pidgey, Pidgey!!"

In his daze, Pidgey heard a familiar call by his ear. It sounded a little like that handsome, gentle human's voice.

If he had been a female Pidgey, he thought he would have fallen hopelessly in love with that voice.

Unfortunately, he was not. Males and males were like fruits without flesh. They had no tomorrow.

"Uwoah~~"

Why was Big Bug's voice here too? Wasn't Pidgeot Heaven supposed to have only things he liked? Did that mean he liked Big Bug?

Impossible!!

Though he did not really dislike him either...

Still, if they met again in Pidgeot Heaven, he would definitely curse him out!

Hmph!

Calling him a crybaby, gluttonous, stupid bird every day—did Big Bug really think Pidgey had no temper?

"Doctor, how is Pidgey doing?"

In his daze, he heard that gentle voice again, but it was full of concern and anxiety.

"Don't worry. It's just a simple puncture wound, and no bones were injured. Chansey has already used Life Dew and Heal Pulse. The wound has basically healed. Just take him home and let him rest properly for a night."

A female nurse in a pure white uniform, with a nice figure, spoke in a relaxed tone.

She had seen injuries of this severity many times. Every summer vacation, plenty of foolish high school students brought injured Pokémon in.

"Lucky~~"

Beside her, Chansey, wearing a white nurse's cap, gently patted Mu Yun's arm to indicate that he did not need to worry.

"Still, be more careful during training next time. If the bone gets injured, recovery will become much more troublesome."

Perhaps because Mu Yun's overall appearance was remarkably pleasing, the nurse did not use her usual sharp tone for scolding children. Instead, she spoke relatively gently.

"Oh, and remember to show your Pokémon registration certificate when you pay. Students can get fifty percent off the treatment fee."

"Um, sis, what if I don't have a Pokémon registration certificate?" Mu Yun asked cautiously.

He had been so anxious just now that he had forgotten how expensive treatment for unregistered Pokémon was. Many small hospitals would not even accept unregistered Pokémon at all.

After all, wild Pokémon were everywhere. If someone could bring one in, get it treated, and then run off without paying, the hospital would suffer nothing but losses.

That was not a joke. There were real cases like that everywhere.

"A wild one!?"

The young nurse raised an eyebrow. If his appearance had not truly been so pleasing to the eye, and if that "sis" had not made her heart itch, she really would have exploded.

Damn it, she had been distracted by male beauty and carelessly forgotten to check the Pokémon registration certificate before treatment.

"Um, half-wild. I was planning to catch him," Mu Yun said, scratching his head awkwardly.

The hospital rules were right there. Treating an unregistered Pokémon without authorization could result in a fine if discovered.

Once his rationality returned, Mu Yun realized that what he had done just now had been inappropriate.

Though if he had to choose again, he would still rush to save Pidgey...

But he would definitely find a way to remedy things first, rather than cause trouble for someone who had tried to help him.

"Honestly, kids these days are always causing trouble for others!"

The young nurse complained as she reached out and rubbed Mu Yun's head. When she pulled her hand back, she took the opportunity to pinch his cheek.

Finally got to touch a handsome guy!

Nice!!

Mu Yun, unaware of the young nurse's inner drama, did not resist. She might have her pay docked because of him, so what was wrong with letting her rub his head and pinch his cheek?

This was not some head-patting village. He did not mind.

"Forget it. Since your sister here is kind-hearted, bring that Weedle of yours in to register him. Put the treatment fee under his name. Don't tell me this one doesn't have a registration certificate either."

Having gotten her fill of head-patting, the young nurse gave him a solution with satisfaction.

"Lucky~~"

Chansey did not understand all those twists and turns. Seeing Mu Yun's hair messed up by her trainer, she stepped forward in tiny strides and gently tidied it.

Pink skin, a soft touch, a round body, a gentle expression, careful movements...

Everyone, Chansey really was an angel!!

He had decided. If he ever got the chance, he absolutely had to raise one!

"What are you standing there for? Get in here and pay!"

"Ah, coming, sis!"