Pachirisu and the Oddish

Pachirisu's home wasn't far from the Beedrill colony. Xia Chi followed along behind and arrived in no time.

Compared to the Beedrill's Berry-rich habitat, this place was practically the middle of nowhere.

A few low berry bushes and several tall trees that bore no edible fruit-resources were decidedly scarce.

"Pachi!"

Pachirisu stood in the clearing in the middle, holding the Oran Berries snatched from the Beedrill, and called out excitedly.

Just as Xia Chi was wondering who Pachirisu was talking to, little clumps of grass rose out of the surrounding ground.

On closer inspection, he realized they were all Oddish.

But these Oddish looked terribly listless, the wilted leaves atop their heads looking as if they'd spent a few rounds in a microwave.

Then the bushes rustled, and several equally bedraggled Bellsprout emerged.

"Wow, this whole family's made up of the old, weak, sick, and injured. No wonder Pachirisu went out for food. So Pachirisu's actually their strongest fighter?"

Xia Chi quietly shared his observation with the livestream viewers, trying not to hurt the little ones' pride.

Meanwhile, Pachirisu set the Oran Berries on the ground and invited the others over to eat.

The Oddish and Bellsprout had initially been a little frightened of the unfamiliar Xia Chi and Sprigatito, but after Pachirisu apparently said something, they stopped worrying about the outsiders and gathered around to eat.

With bodies like giant blueberries, the Oddish looked adorable as they ate. They balanced on their short, round feet and gnawed on Berries almost as big as themselves, looking willing but barely able.

Pachirisu stood nearby and watched them eat.

Whenever an Oddish or Bellsprout pushed a Berry over, Pachirisu smiled and waved it away.

Xia Chi faithfully captured the heartwarming scene on his livestream.

"LOL, how is Pachirisu acting like a doting mom at such a young age? 'You eat it, sweetie. I don't like those.'"

"Waaah, what White Demon? This is a white angel!"

"Am I the only one wondering why an electric squirrel is living with a bunch of Grass-type Pokémon?"

"It's perfectly normal for Pokémon of different types to live together in the wild. Looks like their leader disappeared or got caught by a human. Otherwise, they wouldn't be doing this badly."

"Mr. Shui, take a look at those Oddish. They don't look well. They might be injured."

"."

After interacting with the chat for a while, Xia Chi took their advice and played barefoot doctor, examining the Oddish.

The Pokémon breeding elective he'd taken after starting university finally came in handy.

According to Dr. Xia Chi's diagnosis, the Oddish were indeed injured, though not seriously.

Most seemed to be suffering from negative conditions such as burns or fright, while some were simply listless.

That was a little strange. Grass-type Pokémon were supposed to have the most resilient recovery abilities.

With water, light, and a little sunshine every day, they should have recovered within a few days.

Oddish, however, were a little different.

Also known as "Mystery-Walking Grass" and "Moonlight Grass," they disliked intense sunlight. Only under gentle moonlight could they recover and grow.

"So you can't get a proper rest at night?"

After treating the Oddish's injuries, Xia Chi asked curiously.

If he hadn't asked, that would have been that. But the moment he did, the Oddish nodded furiously and poured out their grievances.

"Dimi!"

"Dimi!"

Their overlapping cries gave Xia Chi a headache, and he hurriedly interrupted. "Stop, stop, stop! Could you pick one representative to tell me?"

The Oddish discussed it among themselves, then pushed the tallest one forward.

"Dimi, dimi!"

With eyes the size of mung beans, this Oddish began a vivid account.

Xia Chi studied the rich expressions on the little face and voiced his guess. "You're saying that whenever you bask in the moonlight at night... you see something really scary?"

"Dimi, dimi!"

Oddish nodded furiously, while the others behind joined in protesting. Clearly, this had been troubling them for a long time.

Xia Chi suddenly remembered what the experienced driver had told him that morning: the area near the little lake south of Mingchong Mountain was haunted at night.

The two locations weren't far apart. Could the same Ghost-type Pokémon be responsible?

Xia Chi said thoughtfully, "I understand. Sprigatito and I will stay here tonight and help you get to the bottom of this."

Whether it was to find that potentially real Ghost-type Pokémon or simply to finish the good deed he'd started, he had reason to stay.

Xia Chi decided not to camp beside the little lake as originally planned, but near Pachirisu's home instead.

The Oddish were delighted. They gathered around Xia Chi and rubbed the leaves on their heads against him.

That sent Sprigatito into another jealous fit. After chasing all the Oddish away, Sprigatito curled up on Xia Chi's lap and released a fragrant scent, as though trying to erase every trace of their smell.

Xia Chi didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

He'd read in the Pokédex that Sprigatito could get jealous when its Trainer interacted with other Pokémon, but since he'd been staying home lately, he hadn't had many opportunities to do so.

Now that they'd gone out, wasn't his little companion being a bit too possessive?

Still, to be fair, Sprigatito's fragrance smelled much nicer than the Oddish, who would eventually evolve into Gloom.

After lunch and a little more rest for Sprigatito, Xia Chi set off again for his original destination.

Once they ventured deeper into Mingchong Mountain, the wild Pokémon they encountered were no longer limited to harmless creatures like the Caterpie on the outskirts.

Plenty of fiercely territorial Spearow and Nidoran♂, along with hot-tempered, testosterone-fueled Pokémon like Mankey, leaped out and tried to drive Xia Chi and Sprigatito away.

Battles became unavoidable.

Trainers exploring the wild would normally steer clear of such aggressive Pokémon to reduce unnecessary fighting.

But Xia Chi had no intention of doing that.

Me, steer clear of them?

Then who's going to make up for all the Fear I'm short on?

Every battle along the way was another thrill.

With the Bloodthirster providing sustain, Sprigatito entering a beginner zone like the foothills of Mingchong Mountain was like a fish returning to water, or a Motorcycle Clan Warrior returning to the City of Energy.

By the time Xia Chi reached his original destination, the Fear for the system's Dark-type bond had soared from 27.3 before entering the mountain to 38.6.

That rate of growth, however, wasn't sustainable.

For one thing, Xia Chi couldn't get that many leave slips, so spending every day on Mingchong Mountain was out of the question.

More importantly, that much Fear also reflected just how intense Sprigatito's battles had been that afternoon.

Sprigatito was still growing. A body at this early stage of development couldn't sustain such prolonged, high-intensity battling.

Otherwise, it would be no different from pulling up seedlings to make them grow faster.

Of course Xia Chi wouldn't do anything so shortsighted.

So, after failing to find any trace of Grovyle or Ivysaur, Xia Chi stopped "grinding levels" in the area and retraced his steps to where Pachirisu and the Oddish lived.

He treated their injuries, ate dinner, and set up a simple campsite.

Holding Sprigatito in his arms, Xia Chi watched the setting sun on the horizon and quietly waited for night to fall.