49: Rescuing Zigzagoon

Castform fell into deep thought. From what Chingling said, every family member in this household was helping the family in their own way.

So the question was, what could it help everyone with?

Regarding this question, Chingling didn't know the answer either. It thought carefully, then asked: "Ching?" (Do you have any moves you're good at?)

Castform shook its head: "Cast..." It didn't know either.

Seeing Castform's expression, Chingling had a realization.

"Ching!" (You were just born by Mommy today—you haven't grown up yet! When you grow up, you'll know what you can help with. That's how it was for me!)

Chingling looked proud.

"Ching..."

Or, if that doesn't work, they could go ask Kawaki!

The two Pokémon made their decision and immediately returned to the breeding house, finding Kawaki who was studying the Berry Blender and making Pokéblocks.

With another addition to the breeding house population, plus the occasional traveling trainers staying over, the berries from the fruit trees in the backyard weren't quite enough.

To supplement the household income, Bewear had gone out to the wild to gather berries again.

While following the recipe steps to put berries into the blender and make Pokéblocks, Kawaki mentally planned to expand the berry orchard later and plant more fruit trees. This way, Bewear wouldn't need to go out gathering berries anymore.

Seeing Chingling and Castform float in from outside, Kawaki raised an eyebrow and asked: "What's wrong? Are you done touring the breeding house?"

Chingling replied happily: "Ching!"

"In that case, take Castform to get some good rest!" Kawaki said. Newly hatched Pokémon needed plenty of sleep to grow properly. When Growlithe first hatched, aside from drinking milk for nutrition, it had slept for quite a long time!

Although they were different species of Pokémon, Castform should probably be similar.

However, after hearing Kawaki's words, Chingling and Castform didn't leave.

"Ching!"

They seemed to want to tell Kawaki something.

Seeing this, Kawaki was stunned and somewhat surprised: "You have something you want to tell me?"

"Ching!" Chingling nodded hurriedly.

Kawaki immediately felt troubled—the problem was he couldn't understand Pokémon speech at all!

In the Pokémon world, human and Pokémon languages were completely different. Except for some humans with special abilities who could communicate with Pokémon, only Pokémon capable of telepathy could convey their thoughts to humans.

Oh, he almost forgot—there was also that talking Meowth from Team Rocket! It spent most of its time helping Jessie and James translate other Pokémon's language.

But the problem was, his cheat ability didn't have that function either!

Kawaki observed the two Pokémon and tried guessing: "Are you hungry?"

However, Chingling shook its head. "Then do you not want to rest and want to keep playing?"

"Ching!" Chingling continued shaking its head, looking somewhat anxious.

Seeing it anxious, Kawaki immediately became nervous: "Don't tell me bad people went to the backyard to steal Pokémon?"

This was no small matter.

While putting down the half-finished Pokéblock in his hands, Kawaki hurriedly walked outside.

However, when he reached the backyard, he saw nothing at all.

Kawaki: "..."

This was troublesome!

"Ching..."

Seeing that Kawaki seemed unable to understand what it was saying, Chingling deflated. Castform beside it was even more at a loss for what to do.

Just then, Bewear returned from gathering berries outside. However, instead of carrying a pile of berries as expected, it was holding a Pokémon that looked a bit like a small raccoon.

That was... a Zigzagoon?

"Bewear!" Bewear hurriedly placed the Zigzagoon on the ground. Only then did Kawaki notice that the Zigzagoon wasn't moving at all and seemed to have fainted.

"What happened?"

While asking, Kawaki went forward to examine the Zigzagoon's body. Zigzagoon's brow was tightly furrowed, looking very pained. When Kawaki touched it, he discovered its body was burning hot! It had a fever!

Kawaki used his ability to take a closer look.

[Pokémon: Zigzagoon]

[Gender: Male]

[Ability: Pickup]

[Moves: Tackle, Growl, Tail Whip]

[Status: Severely Injured, High Fever]

[Mood: Suffering]

[Joy Level: -50]

[Friendship: 0 (It doesn't know you yet)]

[Description: It hurts so much! —Zigzagoon]

Just as he had judged!

Kawaki hurriedly took out medicine to give the Zigzagoon emergency treatment, then retrieved herbs he had previously bought in Autumn Leaf Town from the cabinet.

These herbs didn't have healing or status condition curing functions, but they did have a very common effect. Treating fevers! Some human fever reducers contained components from this herb. Similarly, if Pokémon had fevers, this herb could be used for treatment.

He ground the herbs into a paste, mixed it with energy-restoring Moomoo Milk, then helped Zigzagoon up and slowly fed it into its mouth.

After a while, Zigzagoon's tightly furrowed brow relaxed somewhat. With the herb's help, it seemed less painful, and it slowly opened its eyes. Then Zigzagoon saw the human in front of it.

"Don't worry, Zigzagoon. You're safe now," Kawaki said.

Whether from exhaustion or weakness, Zigzagoon didn't stay conscious long and soon fell into deep sleep again.

Kawaki carefully carried it to a Pokémon bed in the corner of the main hall, letting it rest there. "Did you encounter it outside?" Kawaki asked.

"Bewear!"

Bewear nodded its big head. It had originally wanted to gather some berries, but unexpectedly encountered this severely injured Zigzagoon on the road. So without much thought, it directly brought Zigzagoon back to the breeding house for treatment.

"Probably attacked by other wild Pokémon and didn't receive timely treatment, causing the wounds to become infected and trigger a high fever," Kawaki recalled Zigzagoon's injuries and speculated.

From its condition, it would probably need to sleep for quite a while before waking up.

"Bewear, you don't need to go out today. Rest at home!" Kawaki said. "In a few days, we'll expand the berry orchard together and plant more fruit trees."

Kawaki had noticed before that there was actually a large area behind the inn. The original owner's parents had only sectioned off a small part for growing vegetables.

"Bewear." Bewear nodded, then sat on the sofa to rest.

"Oh right, I almost forgot about your matter!" Kawaki slapped his forehead, then looked at Chingling and Castform, saying to them: "If you have something to say, you can tell Bewear. I think it will help you."

Hearing this, Chingling's eyes immediately brightened—it had been dejected because Kawaki couldn't understand their speech. It turned to look at Bewear and asked about what it wanted to know—namely, what Castform could help with at the breeding house.

Hearing this, Bewear scratched its head. It looked at Kawaki, then at Castform in front of it, and quickly recalled what Kawaki had told it some time ago.

[Once Castform hatches, it can use Rain Dance to help water the herb garden in the backyard!]

It knew the answer to this question, Bewear thought.

Kawaki continued using the Berry Blender to make Pokéblocks. The Pokéblock manufacturing process wasn't complex. With the machine running and following the recipe steps, Kawaki soon obtained blocks that were crystal clear and shaped like small cube candies.

[Pokéblock (Basic Type): Basic-type Pokéblocks that suit most Pokémon's tastes, suitable for Normal-type, Flying-type, and Fighting-type Pokémon. Decent taste, and long-term consumption can make Pokémon's fur more glossy and smooth.]

Oh, a beauty-enhancing Pokéblock!

Kawaki carefully examined the Pokéblock in his hand. Visibly, there were quite a few impurities inside. Obviously, this Pokéblock's quality wasn't very high.

Bewear's typing was Normal and Fighting. Kawaki handed the Pokéblock to it and asked: "Try it and see how it tastes!"

Bewear took it and chewed it carefully in its mouth. Mm, the taste was so-so... It had eaten better-tasting Pokéblocks before. But looking at the little human in front of it, Bewear couldn't bring itself to tell the truth. This seemed to be the little human's first time making Pokéblocks, right? It couldn't make the little human sad!

The next second, Kawaki saw Bewear in front of him light up as if it had tasted some heavenly delicacy.

"Bewear!"

Kawaki: "..."

Liar!

Bewear's joy level and mood clearly hadn't changed at all, and no little sun representing happiness had appeared above its head. This meant the Pokéblock's taste hadn't reached "delicious" levels—it could only be considered average.

From Bewear's behavior, it obviously didn't want to make him sad. Kawaki didn't expose it. He looked at the Pokéblock in his hand, planning to go back and continue researching to make higher-quality Pokéblocks.

Just then, a familiar bird cry suddenly came from outside. Kawaki turned to look and saw a familiar figure land by the breeding house window, looking in through the glass. It was that Taillow that provided him with information—it had returned!

Kawaki's mind stirred. He looked down at the Pokéblock in his hand. What perfect timing!