Seeing their bodies gleam blue-green beneath the oil pollution made my heart ache.
"They... are these corpses?" I held my breath, tense.
"Ah-! It, it, it moved!" Yu Shan screamed.
Watching the oily lumps move slowly made me sick. Sorry to put it that way, but you would understand if you saw them. It felt like reaching out to touch a drain cover smeared with phlegm.
Their bodies were coated in oil, making it hard for them to move. They seemed to be dying. It hurt just to look at them.
...Would Tanabata end up like this? I thought of Swablu.
"Chu..." Xiao Chao turned to look at me. Could it be...
"Chu~ Pichu, Pichu, pi~"
Sure enough, it wanted me to take them home.
"No... I already have you. Don't add to my burden."
I frowned at it.
"Pichu! Pi! Pi! Pi!"
It kept wheedling.
Where would I get the money to look after them all? Medical care, food, items... none of it was free, and I couldn't just earn it back by battling random people.
When I didn't respond, Xiao Chao rubbed its head against my leg, trying to look cute. "Pi~ Pichu~"
If I hadn't been wearing long trousers, I would have kicked it away already. I quickly pulled my leg back. "No. Come back here." I recalled Xiao Chao into its Poké Ball.
I looked around the woods, my heart aching a little. "Look closely. There's rubbish everywhere... when will humans ever learn?"
"You, You, our lunch break is almost over. We need to head back."
"Oh, okay..."
As I turned away, I felt as though Dratini and Chikorita were watching me.
"I-I'll go look over there," Yu Shan said, adjusting her large glasses.
Ah Hui had a meeting and couldn't leave, so Yu Shan and