"Jenny! Joy!"
Victor dismounted from the Charizard and called out to them, then helped Shana down.
Jenny, who had been talking with Professor Rowan, hurried over.
"We're counting on you today." She patted Victor's shoulder. Seeing the hesitant look on his face, she smiled.
"Just do your best. Leave the rest to me and Joy."
Nurse Joy also walked over and gave a gentle nod.
"Okay."
"So, you're Victor?" a deep voice asked.
Victor looked over.
A stern-faced old man with a salt-and-pepper walrus mustache, wearing a gray overcoat, a blue fleece vest, and a gray tie, was looking at him.
Victor recognized him at once as Professor Rowan, the leading researcher in the Sinnoh region on the topic of Pokémon Evolution. Cynthia had once been his assistant before becoming Champion.
"Professor Rowan," Victor said politely.
Professor Rowan looked at Shana and the Pokémon beside Victor. The three Machoke had arrived earlier and were already helping out.
He could feel the deep trust and connection between Victor and his Pokémon.
He smiled.
"You've raised your Pokémon very well, just as Jenny and Joy told me."
"Because we're a family."
Professor Rowan's eyes widened for a moment, then softened.
"Is that so? A family."
He looked at the Celebi floating near Victor, the legendary guardian of the forest with the power to travel through time.
"Then, I'll be counting on you, Victor."
"Mhm." Victor didn't say much more, just gave a simple affirmation.
He would do his absolute best to help these Pokémon.
He followed Professor Rowan into the lab's observation room. Many Pokémon were isolated in separate spaces, their eyes filled with fear.
Victor scanned the room. They were all Pokémon he recognized.
[Roselia]
[Introduction: Deceived by a Pokémon hunter, it gave all its love to the one who tricked it. But when no buyer was willing to purchase it, it was met with scorn, abuse, and torment from the hunter. Once desperate for love, it is now filled with despair.]
Almost all the Pokémon left in the observation room had similar psychological problems.
Victor frowned, then went to Shana's side, crouched down, and whispered some instructions in her and the Petilil's ears.
Shana nodded seriously. The Petilil also chirped in agreement.
The Petilil then walked into the observation room where the Roselia was.
Celebi floated above its head, following it inside.
"Rose—Roselia—"
Seeing the Petilil and Celebi enter, the Roselia cried out fearfully, noticing that no humans had come in.
"Roselia.."
"Aren't you afraid of humans?"
The Petilil tilted its head, and its body along with it, looking at the Roselia with curiosity, puzzled by its question.
"Lili?"
"Why should I be afraid of humans?"
"Rose—lia"
"They'll hate us. They'll despise us."
As if remembering something, the Roselia instinctively shrank back.
"Lili~"
The Petilil, seeing the Roselia's state, comforted it. It then remembered what Victor had done when it was in despair.
It began to speak in a gentle, delicate voice.
"Lili~"
"I was just like you once. I had lost all hope in humans."
"Roselia?"
"Then why are you—"
"Lili~"
"But I met another human. The first time he saw me, he didn't try to comfort me. He just trimmed the leaves on my head."
A hint of nostalgia appeared in the Petilil's eyes.
"Lili~"
The Petilil began to recount its first meeting with Victor.
Its voice was delicate, and it was naturally adorable, so the Roselia found itself listening intently. Celebi did, too.
"Lili~"
"Later, he found out I was afraid of the dark. He and Gengar put me in a flowerpot on the balcony and left a light on for me. Even now, after I've overcome my fear, that room's light is always left on for me."
"Lili."
"Always."
The Petilil finished its story with a blissful smile, leaving the Roselia stunned.
Its own memories were the complete opposite of what the Petilil had described.
It began to imagine the scenes the Petilil spoke of, and they started to clash with its own memories, tangling together.
It grew more and more distressed, more pained.
Tears began to stream down its face, and its emotions started to spiral.
"Lili~"
Just as it was about to break down, it heard the Petilil's words.
Its emotions stabilized.
Then, it asked weakly—
"Roselia?"
"Can I... too?"
The Petilil nodded.
"Lili~"
"Of course you can."
It then looked at Victor, who had been watching from the window the whole time, and couldn't help but smile.
Just now, the Petilil had said to it:
"Would you like to join us?"
Celebi, floating in the air, stopped the Petilil, then turned to look at Victor.
It then smiled, a very happy smile.
It flew over to the Roselia, gently took the two flowers in its hands, and with a flash of light, the flowers became vibrant and beautiful again.
Watching the Roselia's smiling face, Victor looked at the Petilil's small figure in the observation room. From a distance, it looked like a round little onion.
A proud, gratified smile spread across his face.
The Petilil that was once in despair from being abandoned had now overcome its fear of the dark, was beginning to face its past, and could even comfort other Pokémon. It had become reliable.
Wiping the sweat from the corner of his eye, Victor stood at the doorway and opened his arms to the emerging Petilil.
"Let's have a meal later. To forget the bad things of the past and embrace a new life."
Victor picked up the Petilil, then looked at the Roselia that followed it out, still trembling slightly, and said with a smile, "You are so beautiful, Roselia."
The Roselia looked up at Victor, a little dazed.
Just then, Shana, accompanied by Gengar, also succeeded in stabilizing the Pokémon in her section.
He gave a high-five to the emerging Shana, praising her and her Tinkerbell, then led them to the next observation room.
For the gentle Pokémon, he let Shana and the Petilil handle them. After all, a child's words can most easily touch the softest part of a person's or a Pokémon's heart.
For the more aggressive-looking Pokémon, Victor handled them personally to prevent Shana and the others from getting hurt.
This was the plan he had made from the beginning and was now putting into action.
Victor, along with Shana and the Petilil, managed to stabilize the condition of all the Pokémon. Although the process was winding and some Pokémon took more time, the final result was a happy one.
They had taken the first step in untying the knots in their hearts. The rest would just require time and quiet care.
Looking at the group of Pokémon that had come out of the observation rooms, their bodies still trembling slightly, Victor rubbed his stomach.
"Alright then! Tonight, let's have a grand feast that will make us forget all our troubles!"
He believed in good food. It could make you forget your worries, even if only for a short while.
...
[Get 10 chapters ahead on - P.a.t.r.e.o.n "RoseWhisky"]