Shen Qi struggled to push the round-bodied Chansey out through the passenger seat, which faced upward after the car tipped onto its side.
He righted the car, and the pink light in the distance began to fade.
Still chewing, Shen Qi swallowed the egg liquid with its complicated flavor, his thoughts racing.
What Pokémon could be that powerful?
Psychic-type...
Ruins Valley...
At the center of Ruins Valley was an area called "Point Cave" (also translated as "Braille Cave"), where players deciphered Braille messages and used the corresponding moves to pass through puzzle chambers.
The final chamber contained an inscription in Braille:
Two stones shone with light, one red, one blue. Together, they would connect the past and bring forth a radiant glow.
Then a new world would appear before your eyes, a future world of your own creation.
It had already begun.
The Red and Blue Orbs mentioned there had little to do with Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire. In the game, they were only used to restore communications with the offshore Sevii Islands and exchange ferry tickets.
In the anime, however, the Mythical Pokémon Deoxys needed the two orbs to mimic conditions in different regions before it could change forms.
Deoxys was a Psychic-type Pokémon and, in a broad sense, counted as a Legendary.
Created when a virus on a meteorite was exposed to cosmic rays, it had its own classification: the DNA Pokémon.
If Shen Qi had to name a Pokémon in Ruins Valley with exceptionally powerful Psychic-type energy, Deoxys was the only one he could think of.
[Shen Qi, head back first.]
"You should come back with me! It's this dangerous, so why would you keep going into Ruins Valley?"
Shen Qi hurriedly tried to dissuade her. Ascetic training wasn't something accomplished in a day or two; it took perseverance.
[There must be injured Pokémon in the area hit by the storm. I'm a doctor. I can't run away now!]
Chapter 27: Heal Pulse
"This is awful."
Shen Qi hadn't followed Chansey far into the forest before he spotted two or three Pokémon caught in the psychic storm.
Those like Wooper, who had been soaking in pools of water, were relatively lucky. They were merely disoriented, lying listlessly on the stony shore.
Pokémon that happened to be airborne had suffered more. One Spearow had plunged headfirst into the mud, sticking straight up. Fortunately, Shen Qi pulled it out in time, or it would have suffocated.
Within moments, Chansey brought back an injured Yanma and a Psyduck with bleeding webbed feet.
Grayish-white energy gathered in front of Chansey.
Normal-type move: Egg Bomb.
Rather than giving the other Pokémon an egg to eat, this was a proper healing move.
"Quack-blegh!!!"
Psyduck covered its mouth, looking ready to throw up.
Shen Qi's eyelids twitched.
No way. Had this Chansey modified even Egg Bomb herself, adding that complicated assault on the taste buds...?
Seeing Psyduck look both apologetic and nauseated, Shen Qi figured his guess was probably right.
Buzz-
The unconscious Yanma jolted awake and covered its mouth with its legs, looking as though it had motion sickness.
Good grief. Even insects couldn't handle it?
[Shen Qi, take them outside.]
There was no telling whether another psychic storm would erupt in Ruins Valley. The injured Pokémon needed to be taken outside.
Even if another storm came, they would only have to face its aftereffects on the outer road, where the impact wouldn't be as strong.
"What about you?"
[I'll keep looking.]
Chansey was sweating from her efforts. Shen Qi knew that empty words of concern wouldn't help. He could only do what was within his power.
"I'll go outside and call the Security Bureau!"
Gently gathering the two Pokémon into his arms, Shen Qi hurried out of the woods.
He took out his phone. The screen seemed a little unstable; the strange call earlier had affected it.
Fortunately, it wasn't broken. The signal was weak, but he could still make a call.
After a brief busy tone, the call connected.
"Island 6 Sub-bureau."
"I'm Shen Qi, a student at Pokémon High School. I'm on the road by Ruins Valley. Just now..."
He explained the situation as clearly as possible in a few sentences, but the Security Guard answering the phone sounded puzzled.
Shen Qi understood that this wasn't the time to discuss what had caused the storm.
"A lot of Pokémon here in Ruins Valley are injured!"
"We'll request assistance from Island 5 and the Ranger Union immediately."
The less-developed Island 6 had no Pokémon Center, and its Security Bureau was only a basic local branch. It could handle everyday matters, but a rare major disaster required assistance from nearby islands.
Just as he ended the call, Chansey carried out several more Pokémon.
Among them were even a little dog from the Hoenn Region, Poochyena, and a Buneary from the Sinnoh Region.
"Jili!"
Once again, Normal-type energy gathered into the shape of an egg. This time, though, thin strands of bright red streamed out of Chansey's body.
It wasn't Fire-type energy. It looked more like... blood.
Shen Qi quickly realized that the move's form had changed.
In the game, Egg Bomb worked differently in and out of battle. In battle, it restored the target's HP normally;
Outside battle, Chansey converted her own HP and shared it with other Pokémon.
Reality didn't make that distinction. Instead, once she used the move beyond a certain limit, the excess began to consume her own HP.
"Chansey! You can't keep doing this!"
There were too many injured Pokémon. Even with Chansey's enormous HP reserves, she couldn't save every one of them by draining herself dry.
Besides, reality wasn't a game. Having full HP didn't mean being in perfect condition.
Pokémon couldn't instantly recover from muscle damage or broken bones. Egg Bomb could only stop bleeding and accelerate healing; any necessary treatment still had to come afterward.
Chansey was being too hard on herself, pushing herself too far.
[But... but there are still so many injured...]
"You'll collapse from exhaustion first at this rate. I've already contacted the Security Bureau. Reinforcements... will be here in a little while."
Shen Qi took out an egg Chansey had left earlier. "Eat an egg and rest for a bit."
Chansey accepted the egg and ate it in big bites.
[Just what I'd expect from a recipe I perfected. Delicious.]
"Is there something wrong with your sense of taste?!"
After only a brief rest, Chansey made more trips to bring out injured Pokémon.
It was clear that she was already exhausted, and she had pushed Egg Bomb to its limit.
But it wasn't enough. Nowhere near enough.
[If only... I'd worked harder before.]
Chansey pressed her little hands against the dog's wound. She no longer had the strength to use a move, and regret filled her heart.
"It's all right." Shen Qi gently held Chansey. "You've already worked so hard."
[It's not enough... not enough... not enough!]
As Chansey cried out stubbornly, pink energy surged from her body.
It was the Psychic-type energy Shen Qi had only recently begun to encounter and sense...
The pink energy formed a ring and spread outward. Poochyena's wound began to stop bleeding.
Heal Pulse!
Shen Qi quickly recognized the move.
It was a Psychic-type healing move that Chansey could learn naturally by leveling up in the game.
Chansey herself was startled by her sudden discovery of the move.
Soon, she began doing her utmost to get a feel for it.
Heal Pulse was visibly unstable, its shape twisting in all sorts of ways. Still, it already had some healing effect, and at least Chansey didn't have to consume her own HP.
After quickly treating the Pokémon she had carried out, Chansey immediately stood up.
[Shen Qi, please take care of them.]
"You're going back into the woods?!"
Most of the Pokémon on the outskirts along this route had already been brought out. To keep searching, she would have to venture deeper into Ruins Valley.
Chansey didn't answer. Instead, she gave him a look of absolute determination and quickly disappeared from Shen Qi's sight.
"Honestly, the Security Bureau's reinforcements are taking far too long."
Shen Qi picked up Poochyena and moved it into a hollow beside the road.
Before you continue