Dark Town, Pokémon Center
"Where did you find this Pokémon?" Dark Town's Nurse Joy asked, her face full of anger.
Ash hurriedly explained everything to Nurse Joy, leaving out that he had sensed the Pokémon through his Aura. Thinking back, it really was strange. Over the past few days, wild Pokémon had occasionally rushed out to ambush him and Cyndaquil during training, which made this Rattata's behavior even harder to understand. Perhaps he was injured?
Seeing the anger fade from Nurse Joy's face, Ash quickly asked her what was wrong with Rattata.
"This Rattata used to have a Trainer, but it seems he's been abandoned. He's listless and feels as though something is missing from his body. These are all symptoms of a Pokémon Bonding connection being severed unilaterally."
Ash was shocked. When he had first arrived in this world and learned about Pokémon Bonding, he had found it baffling-none of the works he remembered had that setting. But perhaps because everyone at home and around town had treated their Pokémon so well when he was little, he had never given Pokémon Bonding much thought. He had never expected to encounter something like this.
While Ash was still reeling, Nurse Joy continued, "The League recently raised abandoning Pokémon to the highest category of offense, so I have to report this. Ash, you may need to stay here for a while. Officer Jenny will come by to ask you some questions."
"All right, I understand."
"Nurse Joy, could you tell me the story behind Pokémon Bonding? All I know is that there was a great war, and after it ended, Pokémon Trainers started using Pokémon Bonding."
"Of course. Here's what happened..."
It turned out that thirty years ago, Pokémon Trainers had not needed Pokémon Bonding. But that had led to a