"This is… healing energy?" Aven's eyes widened in astonishment as he watched.
It wasn't just him—even Petilil's gaze brightened in surprise. Immediately, it began guiding more life energy toward Chansey's body.
As the flow of energy inside Chansey grew denser, the pink waves of energy around it grew more concentrated as well, quickly spreading outward into the surroundings.
"Could this be the Healer ability?" Aven's heart stirred as he felt the comforting, soothing energy wrap around his entire body.
Chansey possessed three possible abilities: Natural Cure, Serene Grace, and Healer.
Among them, the Healer ability allowed it to restore all kinds of abnormal conditions, dispel fatigue, and even enhance the effectiveness of healing moves.
Because of this, Chansey with the Healer trait were considered the most suitable healers of all Pokémon. Their mastery over healing moves could push recovery effects to the absolute limit.
"Chaan~ sey~!"
Chansey opened its eyes happily, gathering the pink energy into its hands.
This healing energy contained an immense vitality within, though it was entirely different from the life energy Petilil wielded.
"Lil?"
Petilil blinked in astonishment as it saw how easily Chansey had grasped the energy.
It had always believed itself to have an exceptional gift for healing, yet Chansey had only briefly come into contact with life energy and had already mastered it. Could it be… that Chansey's talent was even greater than its own?
The thought sparked a pang of jealousy in Petilil's heart. It cast a glance at Chansey's pristine nurse outfit and suddenly felt that its own uniform didn't look so nice anymore.
But the feeling passed just as quickly as it came. Watching Chansey radiate warmth and skill, Petilil's envy softened into admiration, and soon it found itself genuinely happy that its teammate had such a special gift.
"Chaan~ sey~!"
Chansey gave another soft call.
The egg it carried in its pouch suddenly began to glow faintly.
Within the light, streams of life energy steadily flowed into the egg, merging into it.
Gradually, the pink aura faded away. Lifting the egg high, Chansey could sense the dense vitality now emanating from within it.
"This is… the move Soft-Boiled!?" Aven exclaimed in shock once again.
As expected, a Pokémon that possesses the Healer ability naturally shows an extraordinary talent when it comes to mastering recovery-type moves.
Although Soft-Boiled was said to be the move that Chansey could learn and grasp with the greatest ease, considering that this particular Chansey had only just been born, it was still an incredibly remarkable gift.
"It seems… in the future, I really can entrust the Pokémon Center to Chansey without worry," Aven thought with anticipation welling up inside him.
With Soft-Boiled alone, Chansey would already be able to handle most common injuries. If it could continue and eventually learn Heal Pulse, then it would have truly reached the standard of a qualified Pokémon doctor.
"However, a single Chansey is obviously not enough."
"Perhaps I should set aside some time and make a trip to the Western Domain… maybe I'll be able to bring back more Chanseys."
Aven quietly contemplated his next step in developing the Pokémon Center. For the Pokémon League, Pokémon Centers were not just important—they could be called the very foundation upon which trainers stood.
By then, it wouldn't just be Fairhaven Town and Fruitvale Village. Ideally, every village and settlement within his territory would have a Pokémon Center established, and from there, the concept could spread gradually throughout the entire city of Aspiration.
With Pokémon Breeding House combined with Pokémon Centers, the influence of trainers would undoubtedly rise to a whole new level, completely suppressing the underground trade of monster beasts once and for all.
That said, under normal circumstances, for a Chansey to actually lay an Pokémon egg was an extremely difficult matter. Across the entire Western Domain, there probably weren't more than a handful of Chanseys in existence.
The fact that he had been so fortunate to obtain one this time was largely thanks to Petilil's life-sensing ability playing a role, but luck had undeniably been the biggest factor.
"Perhaps… I can exchange with Marquis Salt, trading the method that allows Chansey to reproduce in exchange for more of them." Aven suddenly thought of another possibility.
Though Chansey's reproduction rate was notoriously low, there was a special resource known as Lucky Incense, which could dramatically increase the chances of Chansey producing a Pokémon Egg!
As a professional breeder, Aven had naturally studied countless methods of increasing Pokémon fertility, and incense-based items were among the most essential tools.
However, there was something important to note—Pokémon hatched with the help of Lucky Incense were not Chanseys, but instead Happiny, a baby-stage Pokémon. Only after proper training and further growth could Happiny evolve into Chansey.
(TN: Ughh, why didn't author mentioned it earlier huhuuhu. Just erase mine in you guys' head.)
"Happiny is one of those extremely rare infant-stage Pokémon," Aven muttered to himself in thought. This was, after all, a method of artificial breeding.
He didn't know everything about infant-stage Pokémon, but he did know one crucial fact: they were incapable of reproducing until they evolved.
Even so, while this method of using incense to boost fertility had clear drawbacks, it was still overwhelmingly advantageous in the long run, since it allowed for the mass cultivation of Chansey.
"Chaansey~!"
Chansey, having just successfully mastered Soft-Boiled, was bubbling with excitement.
It immediately conjured three eggs in rapid succession, cracking open their shells. Unlike natural eggs, these contained no normal internal structures.
Instead, what lay within was pure condensed life energy—energy that, when released, could swiftly restore physical strength. Its effect was practically on par with high-grade medical potions!
"Lil, Lil~!"
Petilil's feelings at this moment were very complicated.
At first it felt jealous—Chansey's healing talent might even surpass its own.
But then again, the thought that in the future, it wouldn't need to stay confined inside the Pokémon Center all the time, and could confidently leave such matters to Chansey, also filled it with relief and even a bit of joy.
With that in mind, Petilil turned its gaze toward the entrance of the Pokémon Center, waiting for injured trainers to arrive so that Chansey could test its newfound powers.
As the territory continued its reclamation of the Black Forest, patrol members and rangers were frequently injured. Whenever this happened, they came straight to the Pokémon Center as their first choice.
Through case after case of successful treatment, the name of the Pokémon Center had become renowned. Now, everyone in the Pokémon Domain knew—if you were hurt, the place to go was without question the Pokémon Center!
"Chaan~ sey~!"
Chansey happily nodded, its eyes brimming with eagerness to help.
"Ralts~ Ralts~"
Ralts opened its eyes, glanced briefly at Petilil and Chansey, then closed them again to return to its meditation.
Lately, as its psychic power continued to grow, it had begun to feel as though it was on the verge of evolution—it just needed the right opportunity.
"Help! Somebody please save him!"
Just then, a desperate shout rang out from outside, startling everyone within the building.
Aven hurried outside and immediately saw a Mightyena and a Bibarel rushing toward the Center. Bibarel carried a human across its back.
"He's poisoned! Petilil, it's up to you."
At his words, Petilil's expression grew serious, and a surge of life energy quickly gathered around its body.
Both Chansey and Ralts turned their attention toward Petilil, watching the flow of healing power ripple from its form.
"Lord Aven, please—save Buck quickly!" Jean gasped as he stumbled inside alongside Mightyena and Bibarel.
"Lil, Lil~!"
Petilil rushed over immediately, its gaze locking onto Buck, who was clearly in a state of severe poisoning.
"Chansey, chansey…"
Chansey hurried to follow, but upon seeing Buck's condition, it instinctively shrank back in hesitation.
"Petilil—use Aromatherapy!"
At Aven's command, Petilil nodded and motioned for Chansey to observe carefully.
A soothing fragrance soon spread across the room.
The fragrance enveloped Buck, and as wisps of the aroma entered his nose, Aven finally exhaled in relief.
Petilil's Aromatherapy carried with it an intense vitality—normally, such a poison would be dispelled with ease.
But the next moment, Petilil froze.
To its shock, Buck's condition did not improve. Instead, even after being treated, his body suddenly glowed faintly with a sickly purple light. Though unconscious, he groaned in pain.
"What's going on? Aromatherapy didn't work?" Aven's face darkened.
By now, Petilil's Aromatherapy had already surpassed the effectiveness of most healing potions. Ordinarily, it should have been more than enough to cure a poisoned state.
Even the last time, when facing a Sludge Bomb from an advanced-level Muk, the poison had been cleansed without difficulty.
Yet now, not only had Aromatherapy failed, but Petilil's Heal also seemed ineffective. Despite channeling life energy, Buck's injuries refused to heal.
The faces of everyone present fell at once.
Buck had risked his life to save that Stunky, and in the process, he had saved them as well.
If Buck could not be healed, none of them would be able to forgive themselves.
In their hearts, each person thought the same—if only they had been braver back then, Buck wouldn't have had to fight alone!
"Stun… stun…"
Stunky's expression was filled with panic.
It already knew this man had been the one who saved its life, and so it had followed without hesitation.
It could never forget—that moment when it was on the brink of despair, and then that faint, muffled voice reached it, bringing hope for survival.
"Stun Stun Stun!" Please, you must get better! I haven't even had the chance to thank you yet—please don't let anything happen to you!
"Lil…"
Petilil was stunned, its face showing grievance.
Originally, it had wanted to display its seniority and competence in front of Chansey, but now it seemed to have failed miserably.
"Ralts~ Ralts~…"
Ralts opened its eyes once again to glance at Petilil.
Though it found amusement in Petilil's blunder, it knew this wasn't the time to gloat.
"…Could I perhaps learn a healing move as well?" it wondered silently.
"Chansey… chansey…"
Chansey's expression wavered with uncertainty. Should it give it a try?
"How exactly was Buck poisoned?" Aven quickly asked the patrol members.
Jean wasted no time recounting everything, placing emphasis on the black tentacles that had stretched out from the river.
Aven listened carefully. When he heard that Buck had leapt into the water to rescue Skuntank, his eyes flickered.
Although Buck had only just become a trainer, as a former serf he clearly understood the responsibility a trainer must shoulder. No wonder Oddish and Bidoof had chosen to follow him.
"So, it was a water-dwelling Pokémon that inflicted the poison."
"To survive in that stretch of river, it must have a Poison typing… and those black tentacles…"
Immediately, a certain shadowy figure surfaced in Aven's mind. He sank deep into thought.
"Lil…"
Petilil lifted its gaze to Aven.
It too had never before encountered a case where even Aromatherapy couldn't cleanse the poison.
"Buck must have been struck by that Pokémon's attack."
Aven narrowed his eyes slightly, then turned to Ralts. "Ralts, use Psychic—probe inside Buck's body and see what you find."
Ralts nodded. Its psychic power spread outward, carefully enveloping Buck.
The next moment, Ralts's eyes flew open. Buck's mouth opened involuntarily, and a lump of black sludge, wrapped in psychic energy, floated out.
As the sludge was expelled, Buck gagged once, then his complexion visibly began to improve.
"Petilil—use Aromatherapy again."
This time, the healing process was smooth. The purple blotches faded quickly from Buck's skin, and his breathing grew steadier.
Petilil exhaled in relief, then cast a wary look toward the floating sludge. From it radiated a strange, unsettling energy.
Another day survived, barely.
(End of Chapter)
TN: Now I felt like an idiot, just treat the Happiny part as AU or a sidestory, I really thought the author forgot about Happiny since I searched that Happiny came out on 2006 in Diamond and Pearl. From now on, I'm just gonna stick on translating and editing on this story.