After spending several nights sleeping in a tent, Chen Yan slept until noon the moment he finally got into a bed.
Once he had washed up, he took Gengar out for lunch. Afterward, he headed toward the Pokémon Center carrying food he had ordered to go from the Pokémon Restaurant.
Upon arriving at the Pokémon Center, Chen Yan grabbed Gengar by the ear and hauled the Pokémon back before a prank could be played on a little girl, then headed for Glameow's room.
As soon as he reached the door, Chen Yan heard a helpless voice trying to coax Glameow inside.
"It's lunchtime. How are you supposed to recover faster if you won't eat?"
"Did you secretly take your bandages off yesterday? You can't do that. There's a cast underneath."
"It's uncomfortable? Even so, you can't take it off. Let's eat first. Still refusing? You skipped breakfast. You can't skip lunch too."
"Then how about I leave? Chansey can stay in here. Can you two have lunch together?"
The door opened, and Nurse Joy stepped out. She startled at the sight of Chen Yan and Gengar standing outside.
"You're here?"
Chen Yan nodded gently. "Thanks for all your hard work. Gengar and I came to check on Glameow."
Weedle had eaten so much that the Pokémon did not want to move, so Chen Yan had simply returned Weedle to the Poké Ball.
Nurse Joy stepped aside, and Chen Yan walked in with the food and Gengar.
Glameow lay on the bed, unable to resist reaching over to scratch the heavily bandaged paw.
But Chansey reached out and pushed Glameow's other paw away, preventing any scratching.
"Ahem."
Chen Yan cleared his throat.
At the familiar sound, Glameow's fur instantly bristled, and the Pokémon stared warily at Chen Yan.
"Meow!"
"Time to eat."
Chen Yan set lunch on the table. As usual, he had brought a portion for Chansey too.
Chansey looked at the staff meal in hand, then at the food Chen Yan had brought, and decisively put the lid back on the staff meal.
"Lucky."
I'll feed this to Meowth later.
After putting the staff meal away, Chansey accepted the lunch Chen Yan offered, gave him a sweet smile and a soft little cry, then sat down to enjoy it.
Chen Yan took out Glameow's lunch and placed it on the table. Looking at Glameow with a smile, he asked:
"Want me to feed you?"
Glameow backed away several steps in fright, keeping a wary gaze fixed on Chen Yan.
"Do you really have to be that scared of me? I'm an upstanding guy."
Glameow simply curled up both ears and closed both eyes.
Chansey quickly finished lunch and let out a satisfied burp.
"Lucky-"
Chansey covered the mouth with both hands and looked shyly at Chen Yan.
"Burp~"
Chen Yan burped too.
Chansey laughed happily, then picked up the food on the table and began feeding Glameow.
Glameow cracked open both eyes, trying to see whether that annoying human had left, only to find him standing beside the bed, smiling down.
Opening both eyes fully, Glameow discovered that Gengar had somehow already come over to the bedside, and quickly swallowed the food Chansey offered.
"Thanks for your help, Chansey." Seeing that Glameow was eating properly, Chen Yan thanked Chansey and left the room.
"Leaving already?" Nurse Joy asked from the front desk as Chen Yan and Gengar came out.
Chen Yan nodded. "I mainly came to see whether Glameow was eating properly. I'm visiting Professor Rowan next, so I won't stay to keep watch."
"Besides, Glameow probably really hates seeing me right now."
Chen Yan said it with a smile.
"All right. Take care."
Nurse Joy gave a slight bow as she spoke.
Chen Yan left the Pokémon Center first, while Gengar floated over to the front desk and took out the remaining snacks to share with Nurse Joy.
"Are these for me?"
Nurse Joy looked at Gengar in surprise.
Holding a slender bamboo staff, Gengar nodded vigorously and flashed an embarrassed grin.
"Gengar-"
Thanks for all your hard work~
"Hahaha, it's no trouble. This is my job. But thank you for being so thoughtful, Gengar."
Nurse Joy accepted the snacks and thanked Gengar with a smile.
Gengar grinned, waved a chubby little hand goodbye to Nurse Joy, and floated out of the Pokémon Center.
When a customer pushed open the front door, Nurse Joy could still hear Chen Yan's voice.
He seemed to be chatting with Gengar.
"What were you doing?"
"Gengar-"
Why didn't you bring Nurse Joy a gift? You only brought one for Chansey.
"...!"
Faced with Gengar's scrutinizing stare, Chen Yan's eyes darted about before he put on an appreciative smile.
"Because I knew you were here, Gengar."
Gengar: !
"Think about it. You're so clever, Gengar, and I'm so dumb. I forget all sorts of things. That's when I need King Gengar to help me out."
"After all, our King Gengar is just that smart."
Gengar: !!
"I'll be counting on you to handle these things from now on, King Gengar, and make up for my shortcomings."
Gengar: !!!
"Can you do that?"
"Gengar!" Gengar clenched both fists, then nodded solemnly.
Leave it to me!
Watching Gengar float beside him, with a mind that had wandered who knew where, Chen Yan breathed a sigh of relief.
At the front desk, Nurse Joy wore a smile caught between laughter and exasperation, startling a trainer waiting beside her for his Pokémon to recover.
"N-Nurse Joy, did something happen to them?"
Nurse Joy snapped out of her thoughts. Seeing the panicked trainer, she quickly shook her head. "No, your Pokémon have recovered. They're all in excellent physical condition."
"Huh? Oh, really? Hehe, thank you. I put a lot of care into raising them."
Upon reaching Professor Rowan's laboratory, Chen Yan called him. Professor Rowan said he would send someone out to meet him.
Soon, a staff member in a researcher's outfit came outside. He approached Chen Yan and shook his hand. "Hello. Are you Mr. Chen Yan?"
Chen Yan nodded. "Just call me Chen Yan. Is the professor free right now?"
The researcher led the way as he answered, "He was."
???
What do you mean, he was?
Seeing how hurried the researcher was, Chen Yan asked no further questions and quickened his pace to keep up.
When they reached the office, Chen Yan saw Professor Rowan standing before an enormous electronic screen. A hint of anxiety showed on his stern face, and his brow was tightly furrowed.
"Professor."
Chen Yan called out quietly.
Professor Rowan turned around. Seeing Chen Yan, he walked over.
The two went to the lounge area, where Professor Rowan poured Chen Yan a cup of tea. Chen Yan sat down, thanked him, then looked at the worried professor and asked softly:
"Professor, did something happen at the laboratory?"
Professor Rowan sighed. "The laboratory's starter Pokémon have run away."
Chen Yan was not surprised to hear that.
Starter Pokémon going missing from laboratories seemed perfectly normal, especially in the Sinnoh Region.
"Have you found them?"
Professor Rowan shook his head. "We've already put more people on the search."
Then he added worriedly, "The main issue is that I borrowed them from Professor Juniper in the Unova Region for one of our assistants to study. It's research into hidden abilities."
"Snivy, Tepig, and Oshawott?"
Professor Rowan looked at Chen Yan in surprise. "You know them?"
"I've seen them before."
Professor Rowan did not dwell on it. Starter Pokémon were not particularly rare, and they often appeared on television and online, so Chen Yan having seen them was nothing especially noteworthy.
"Then..." Chen Yan thought for a moment before continuing:
"Professor, would you like me to help look for them? As it happens, I have a drone with a pretty clear camera. Searching with it should make things a lot easier, right?"
"A drone?" Professor Rowan increasingly felt that Chen Yan was difficult to figure out. First there was the Rotom Phone, which had yet to see a widespread release, and now a drone.
If his guess was right, Chen Yan's drone would not have been cheap either.
"In that case, I really can't thank you enough."
Chen Yan nodded, then took the drone out of the backpack behind him. He expertly switched it on, connected it to his Rotom Phone, and sent it out using the remote control.
Looking at the logo on the drone, Professor Rowan thought, Just as I suspected.
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