After taking Gengar out for dinner, Chen Yan stopped by the Pokémon Restaurant as usual to get two meals to go, then headed toward the Pokémon Center.
Gengar looked at the food Chen Yan was carrying and nodded in satisfaction.
Chen Yan was a promising pupil!
That was because Chen Yan had brought Nurse Joy dinner this time, too.
As far as Gengar knew, Grandmother had told it that whenever someone helped you, you had to find a way to thank them. That was why it had given Nurse Joy the snacks it could barely bear to eat itself at noon.
Upon entering the Pokémon Center, Chen Yan went straight to the front desk, handed Nurse Joy the food, and said:
"Nurse Joy, Gengar brought you dinner. It said you might be working and wouldn't have time to eat."
Nurse Joy looked at Gengar and found it grinning at her. The sight of its innocent smile swept the exhaustion from her face.
"Thank you, Gengar."
"Geng-"
Chen Yan took Gengar and Weedle toward Glameow's ward.
Watching them leave, Nurse Joy put the cookies in her hand back into the drawer, then opened the lid of the meal container. The delicious aroma made her smile even brighter.
What an adorable Gengar.
This was why she worked so hard to care for those Pokémon. So many of them were wonderfully kind, innocent, and adorable.
At the door to the ward, they happened to see Chansey approaching with a small cart laden with medical equipment. Chen Yan stepped aside and greeted it.
"Lucky~"
Good afternoon~
"Good afternoon, Chansey. Here's today's dinner. Make sure you eat on time."
Chen Yan handed Chansey its food first, then placed Glameow's meal on the cart.
"Lucky~"
Thank you~ I'll take good care of it.
Chansey's eyes curved into happy crescents at the sight of its generously sized meal container.
"Thanks for all your hard work."
After saying that, Chen Yan glanced through the glass at Glameow. Seeing that it was asleep, he turned and left.
Inside the ward, Glameow had heard Chen Yan's footsteps long before he arrived. Listening to them fade into the distance again, it opened the eyes it had kept shut while pretending to sleep and turned to look at the door.
Chansey pushed the cart inside, with no sign of Chen Yan or Gengar behind it. Glameow blinked its blue-and-yellow eyes, its thoughts unreadable.
"Lucky-"
Time to change your dressing-
Chansey first bound Glameow's other paw with gauze so it couldn't scratch its injured one, then deftly removed the bandages from the injured paw and applied medicine.
Today, Glameow simply sat obediently while Chansey changed its dressing. When Chansey fed it, it obediently opened its mouth, eating one bite after another.
"Leaving already?"
Nurse Joy had only taken a couple of bites when she saw Chen Yan come out with Gengar and Weedle.
Chen Yan nodded. "It should eat properly and focus on recovering now."
Remembering Glameow's reactions over the past two days, Chen Yan laughed. "It probably hates my guts right now, doesn't it? I'd better not go in to see it, in case I upset it again."
Nurse Joy smiled at the man before her.
No wonder Gengar and Weedle liked him so much.
"I'll be going now, Nurse Joy."
"All right, take care. Gengar, you don't need to bring me breakfast tomorrow. I have tomorrow morning off."
"Geng-"
Got it-
Back in his room, Chen Yan finished his shower and came out of the bathroom. He grabbed Weedle, which was lying on the bed with its big rear sticking up as it munched on leaves, lifted it up, then walked to the bathroom door and tossed it toward the tub.
"Gengar, wash it while you're in there."
"Geng-"
Okay-
"Wee..."
Bugs don't need to glub glub glub... don't need baths, glub glub... baths...
Chen Yan swept the leaf crumbs Weedle had scattered off the bed, straightened the sheets, then settled comfortably onto the bed to scroll through his phone.
First, he opened PokéVideo for a look. The video he had posted seemed to have gone viral.
It had over a million views. Chen Yan checked his View Count, which had reached over ten thousand.
Chen Yan browsed the comments. Most were discussing Shiny Suicune's appearance.
Sure enough, including it in the video had been the right choice.
That counted as completing Suicune's task, too, netting him another few hundred View Count.
Sweet~
[Since your View Count has surpassed ten thousand for the first time, you may choose one of the following two rewards as encouragement to keep up the good work: "Ten draws" or "Mystery draw."] (Note: The mystery draw grants only one draw, but the item obtained is guaranteed to be valuable.)
"A mystery draw? That's a first. Guaranteed to be valuable? How valuable?"
"I'm asking you. How valuable?"
[As valuable as valuable gets.]
"...Great explanation. You might as well have said nothing." Chen Yan had already figured out how this cheat of his worked, so he decisively chose ten... no, he didn't.
"Mystery draw."
The text before his eyes began to flicker.
Then a striking purple orb appeared before Chen Yan.
[Toxic Orb: A mysterious orb that releases toxins upon contact. A Pokémon holding it will become badly poisoned.]
"A Toxic Orb? A valuable item? I thought it'd be something really precious. You're not even a Legendary Plate, and you have the nerve to call yourself valuable?"
After the Toxic Orb was placed in his spatial backpack, his cheat fell silent.
"A Toxic Orb... I remember the toxins inside can be absorbed. It'll make a nice toy for Gengar and Weedle."
Chen Yan wrapped the Toxic Orb in a tissue and took it out, setting it on the nearby table so Gengar and Weedle could take it once they finished bathing.
Ding-dong.
His phone chimed. Chen Yan checked it and found a message from Rich Bro.
Gholdengo Is Number One: Chen Yan, do you know much about Pokémon evolution?
"Pokémon evolution? Is Rich Bro's Pokémon about to evolve?"
Chen Yan: Rich Bro, is one of your Pokémon about to evolve?
Gholdengo Is Number One: It actually should have evolved a long time ago, but its health isn't very good. I was afraid something might go wrong if it evolved, so I haven't let it... but these past few days, it seems especially eager to evolve.
Gholdengo Is Number One: It hasn't eaten anything all day because of that.
Chen Yan: As far as evolution goes... I'm not confident enough to say.
Chen Yan wasn't sure how Pokémon evolution worked in this world. In the games, all they needed to do was glow white, but in the real world, some Pokémon really did fail to evolve because of health problems.
Gholdengo Is Number One: I see. All right, I'll ask someone else.
Chen Yan suddenly remembered that Professor Rowan seemed to be an authority on Pokémon evolution, so he hurriedly typed:
Rich Bro, is it urgent? If not, I'll consult a professor tomorrow who has done extensive research into Pokémon evolution and see whether he can solve your problem.
Gholdengo Is Number One: Really? That would be wonderful. Thank you so much, and please don't feel any pressure over this.
Chen Yan: All right, don't worry. I'll go ask him for you tomorrow.
After ending the chat, Chen Yan looked toward the bathroom, wondering why Gengar and Weedle were taking so long to bathe.
He stood, went to the bathroom door, and pushed it open. Steam immediately billowed into his face.
He took in the steam-filled bathroom and Gengar and Weedle reclining at opposite ends of the tub, each with a hot towel over its head.
Weedle, in particular, had insisted it didn't like baths, yet now it was soaking away with a rosy glow.
Wait...
Weedle's expression...
Had it passed out from the stuffiness?
Chen Yan rushed in, ignoring Gengar as it covered its body with a towel. He reached out and patted Weedle. No response.
He checked beneath its nose. Thank goodness, it was still breathing.
Gengar floated over as well. Seeing Weedle's tightly closed eyes, it panicked.
"Geng!"
Chen Yan... did Weedle... did it die again?!
Chen Yan took a deep breath, then...
"Gengar!!!"
Sitting on the bed, Chen Yan looked at the culprits before him and gave each a flick on the head.
"Next time you take a bath, leave some ventilation! Don't block everything up! Do you understand?"
"Geng!"
"Wee!"
Understood! ×2
"You two are really... going to be the death of me one day!" Chen Yan said helplessly, pressing a hand to his forehead.
Once he had recovered, he pointed at the Toxic Orb on the table. "That's a Toxic Orb. It's a toy for you two. Go play with it. I'm going to sleep."
With that, Chen Yan lay straight down on the bed and closed his eyes.
Gengar picked up the Toxic Orb, switched off the light for Chen Yan, then carried Weedle into a corner and carefully examined the orb in its hand.
"Geng-"
What's this? Can we eat it?
"Wee?"
Want to try?
"Geng."
Nope. Chen Yan said we can't just eat random things. What if we get poisoned?
"Wee-"
But Boss, aren't we already Poison-type Pokémon?
Gengar's eyes lit up.
Oh, right!
At that thought, Gengar tossed the Toxic Orb straight into its mouth.
"Geng-"
Can't bite through it...
Before you continue