At the edge of a forest not far from Hearthome City, the travel-worn Yong and his two companions sat beside a river, preparing lunch.
Taking advantage of the rare fine weather, Yong let all his Pokémon out to bask in the sunshine nearby. But the sharp-eyed Larvitar spotted a "thief" hiding in the grass, sneaking bites of the Pokémon food and Berries the three of them had laid out!
How could Larvitar let that slide?
The little one gave an imposing roar, drawing the attention of the busy trio.
Reggie looked surprised.
"Oh! This little one is..."
Looking at the Bird Pokémon hiding in the grass, pinned beneath Larvitar, Reggie stepped forward to examine it closely.
It was a small gray bird.
Its belly was light gray, with a round white patch, and there was another patch on its forehead. Its little body was very round, with black-and-white tail feathers. The upper half of its beak was longer than the lower half and had a black tip.
Its claws were not particularly sharp, and a tuft of feathers stood up on its head.
"It's a Starly!"
A Starly!
Yong signaled for Larvitar to stop pinning the poor bird down. With Larvitar's weight, even a healthy Pokémon could end up hurt!
"This little one looks injured, doesn't it?"
Reggie gently picked up the rather aggrieved Starly. The little bird neither struggled nor tried to escape, merely blinking as it warily watched the three humans and the crowd of Pokémon gathering around, especially Aerodactyl, whose intimidating presence never let up.
Reggie gently felt Starly's wing and said with a frown,
"I think this little one's wing is broken! No wonder it can't fly!"
Yong found a Potion, bandages, and a splint in his backpack and handed them to Reggie, nodding as he