After using Double-Edge, the user had to take substantial recoil damage. In the game, it was one-third; in reality, it could vary.
Double-Edge, move proficiency: 51%.
"She's that good at it?!"
Mega Kick, a Normal-type move with 120 power and only 75 accuracy. Proficiency: 76%.
This was already beyond what Chansey could learn naturally. She needed a TM to learn Mega Kick, and she had even trained it to 76% proficiency.
Brick Break, a Fighting-type move with 75 power and 100 accuracy. A powerful chopping attack that could shatter defensive Light Screens and Reflect barriers.
Another move Chansey couldn't learn naturally...
"Who the hell teaches a Chansey Brick Break, then trains her proficiency all the way to 71%?"
Chansey's physical attack was rock bottom, yet everything listed above was a physical move.
Although the real Pokémon world didn't have the game's four-move limit, this moveset was still utterly ridiculous.
Soon, Shen Qi realized where the problem lay.
One of the keywords for "Crazy Quack": Tendon-Splitting Bone-Dislocating Technique.
To hone her unique massage technique, Chansey had trained relentlessly in Double-Edge, Mega Kick, and Brick Break.
"She's trying to send people straight to the afterlife! Just kill them to end their suffering, huh?"
Based on all available data, Chansey's final assessed level: 23.
Yet her physical attack stat was only 29. She had clearly worked very hard on her physical moves, and her Effort Values weren't low, but the final result was still... worse than Caterpie.
Worse even than a fairly lousy Caterpie at the same level.
Meanwhile, her barely trained special attack had reached 33. That was also pretty pathetic, not much better than a Caterpie at the same level, but it still revealed where her species' natural talents lay.
"Ah, looks like even without rigid Base Stat limits in the real world, the proportions are still pretty close to the game. No matter how hard Chansey trains, she'll still... huh?!"
Before he could finish his conclusion, Chansey's attack stat suddenly changed to 30.
Shen Qi rubbed his eyes, then realized something else was wrong.
He actually perceived the game interface's images through his mind. His eyes could merely see them as well.
His eyes could blur or misread something, but the chances of his mental perception suddenly making a mistake were very low.
Shen Qi watched quietly. The [Inspection Card] would remain active for another twenty-three hours, so he could keep observing.
It might also be the result of Chansey's intense training, with her stats naturally increasing during rest. Much like resting for two or three days after a full workout cycle could actually promote muscle growth.
Fighting off sleep, Shen Qi held out for another half hour.
Chansey's attack stat reached 31.
"That's way too fast!"
This definitely wasn't as simple as natural muscle growth, especially for a Chansey, a Pokémon unsuited to physical attacks.
As he stared in surprise, Shen Qi remembered the note under [Physical Health Index].
[Internal mutation in progress due to exposure to laser rays.]
Chapter 32: Intern Chansey
Shen Qi had no idea when he had fallen asleep. When he blearily woke, the round body in the neighboring bed was sitting up, leaning against the headboard as though pondering life's philosophy.
Who am I?
Where am I?
"Chansey."
"Jili!"
Snapping out of her daze, Chansey realized Shen Qi was beside her, and her expression immediately grew excited.
She struggled to pull back her blanket, then shakily turned to get out of bed. She looked ready to dash toward Shen Qi, but her weak limbs gave out, and she fell to the floor.
"Don't get so excited." Tears gathered in the corners of Shen Qi's eyes. He hadn't expected Chansey's feelings to run so deep.
Fortunately, Shen Qi had recovered fairly well. Otherwise, he really wouldn't have been able to lift a sixty- or seventy-pound ball.
"We have plenty of time together ahead of us. You don't have to be so eager..."
[No, I need the bathroom!]
"Oh, come on!"
As he helped Chansey to the bathroom, her limbs remained weak and unsteady. She was completely unaware that her physical attack stat had risen considerably.
Attack: 44
She had already caught up to a rather poor level-23 Caterpie.
For a Chansey whose theoretical natural aptitude for physical attack was only one-sixth of Caterpie's, this was simply inconceivable. It completely shattered the understanding established by the game's framework.
Still, this was the result of a bodily mutation.
If she kept mutating, she might pick up an incredibly heavy shield and become Captain Sevii Islands or something.
With such wild thoughts running through his head, Shen Qi waited on a chair outside the bathroom for over half an hour before he heard the toilet flush.
After another while, Chansey still showed no intention of calling him, so Shen Qi pushed open the door, which hadn't been locked to begin with.
"How are you doing?"
"Jili----"
Inside the separate shower stall, Chansey huddled up nervously, her face full of embarrassment.
[I'm taking a shower-]
"Ah, sorry, sorry!"
He hurried outside and shut the door, then suddenly realized something was off.
"You're just a Chansey! You don't normally wear clothes anyway, so what does it matter if someone sees you showering?!"
[Good point... get me a bath towel, please.]
He took a towel from the sterilizing cabinet and handed it to Chansey. While she slowly dried herself, Shen Qi selected another game item.
[Memory Image]
To see the memory fragments that had left a deep impression on Chansey... he might as well use this item directly.
He clicked to confirm. The images still had the same Colored Crayon style.
A Chansey noticeably smaller than she was now stood with her back to the viewer. Because of her height, everything around her was... nurses' thighs.
Am I allowed to see this for free?!
"A Chansey who came to our Sevii Islands from across the sea."
"Looks like she hasn't been evolved from Happiny for very long."
"You're welcome to intern here. If you can stay and form a bond with one of the medical staff, you'll have a Trainer too."
Listening to the gentle words flowing straight into his mind, Shen Qi noticed that Chansey hadn't come from Kanto or the Johto Region, but from across the sea.
Coming from Sinnoh like Lilligant would be plausible, but the other continents were far too distant.
Aside from that, there shouldn't have been any offshore islands inhabited by Chansey.
Next came two images of Chansey receiving training alongside other Pokémon and medical interns.
The space around her was empty, and the colors were more muted, conveying the loneliness of having no companions.
The first set of images ended, followed by the second.
"Aaaah-!"
The scream in his mind made Shen Qi jolt.
"What happened?"
"You again, Chansey! I've told you several times that you can't use your methods to treat people."
At the center of the image, a little boy with tears and snot streaming down his face threw himself into his mother's arms, while a doctor reprimanded Chansey.
"Your treatment methods are far too rough. How can you treat patients like that?"
It went without saying that the little boy in the image had undergone Chansey's "massage" treatment.
A fallen crutch lay on the floor, and thick bandages wrapped the boy's leg...
Putting those clues together, Shen Qi could tell that the little boy had suffered a fairly serious problem with his leg. After Chansey treated him, he could run smoothly into his mother's arms. Even if it wasn't a medical miracle, it at least counted as an effective treatment.
Still, the doctor's reprimand was reasonable. Intense stimulation during treatment could trigger violent reactions in the heart and other organs, posing considerable risks to anyone with fragile organs or tissues.
If gentle treatment was possible, then of course a gentle, reliable method was the better choice.
The image clearly conveyed that Chansey hadn't changed despite repeated warnings. This wasn't the first time she had used her massage on a patient.
Fortunately, she hadn't caused any major problems. If there had been a genuine medical incident, the Pokémon Center couldn't possibly have kept her on.
"This Chansey from who knows how many years ago clearly wasn't as powerful as she is now."
Shen Qi recalled being treated with Chansey's massage. That level of stimulation was definitely more than a little boy could endure.
Or perhaps her technique back then hadn't yet advanced to the "Tendon-Splitting Bone-Dislocating Technique."
If the current Chansey had been there, the little boy would never have had a chance to scream. His vision would have gone black, and he would have slept like a baby.
He flipped to the next picture. In an office on an upper floor of the Pokémon Center, a Chatot, the Music Note Pokémon, perched on Nurse Joy's desk. She was communicating with Chansey through it.
Quite a few Pokémon could speak human language directly, and birds made up a large proportion of them. Pokémon capable of learning "Mirror Move," including Pidgey, had the foundation needed to speak human language.
The Xatu he had met in Ruins Valley didn't know that move, yet still spoke very fluently.
"Chansey, intern number 016, why do you insist on treating patients with strange prescriptions and strange techniques? The Pokémon Center already has the most scientific, proper methods of treatment."
Chansey pouted and muttered, while Chatot helped explain:
"She says it's the Martial Arts spirit passed down by her master. She'll keep pursuing it until she reaches its pinnacle."
"What Martial Arts spirit?"
Before you continue