Chapter 13: Cared for by Liz
"Ugh..."
His consciousness hazy and dim, Will shifted his body uncomfortably.
"Goldie... you have to get better soon."
Liz's voice sounded by his ear. Then, Will felt the child place something in his mouth. He chewed instinctively. Based on the primarily sweet and sour taste, he could tell it was an Oran Berry. An Oran Berry looked like a purple orange and had the same effect as a Tangleberry, restoring 10 HP when eaten. It was an extremely common berry in the wild, often used by Pokémon to fill their stomachs.
Warm... why am I so warm?
Will gradually opened his eyes. He found himself being held in Liz's arms as she fed him the berry.
"Goldie! You're awake!" Liz smiled happily when she saw Will open his eyes. She had been incredibly worried during the two or three hours he had been unconscious. It wasn't that their bond was particularly strong—they had known each other for less than a day, after all. She was just terrified that if Will, the leader, died and there was no one in charge, his beastly underlings would eat her.
"Pain."
Will tried to move but found his entire body ached, leaving him almost immobile. Although he was conscious, his condition had not yet recovered. He hadn't expected that Heracross to be so strong, especially with an inherited move like Seismic Toss. That move, combined with its ridiculous height and weight, resulted in explosive damage.
But the results were also clear. Defeating a Heracross so many levels higher than him had provided Will with a huge amount of experience, causing him to level up twice, from Lv. 27 to Lv. 29. He had also learned a new move: Toxic Spikes.
Judging solely by its effect in the games, a move like Toxic Spikes might seem useless in the wild, but its actual application was surely more than that. In the future, he could scatter Toxic Spikes around his territory. Any Pokémon that trespassed, as long as it wasn't a Poison or Steel-type, would become poisoned.
"Goldie, you just stay here and don't move, okay? I'm going to find some herbs for you."
Seeing how pale Will looked, Liz stood up and ran off. For a child living in this Era of Primal Beasts, identifying wild medicinal herbs was a mandatory life skill, even for the princess of a tribe.
"..."
Will watched the little girl run off by herself and quickly ordered Wally and Milly, "Protect her." He truly had no idea where this kid got the audacity to run around alone. Even he wouldn't dare to wander off by himself. One wrong move could get you killed. There was a reason Pokémon from this era were called "primal beasts." These untamed wild Pokémon didn't know the meaning of mercy. To fight for resources, they would eliminate any and all enemies, just like humans.
Although Wally and Milly were only Lv. 22, which was merely mid-tier in this region, very few Pokémon would dare to provoke the two of them when they were together.
So, less than half an hour later, Liz returned with a few handfuls of grass.
What is this stuff? Will looked at the ordinary-looking sprigs, seeing no difference between them and the weeds that grew everywhere.
"Now Goldie, don't move. This might hurt a little, so you have to bear with it, okay?"
Liz popped the grass into her mouth and started chewing. After just a few chews, her face scrunched up. The grass was clearly very bitter. Then, she spat the mushy herbal paste onto her hand and started smearing it on Will's injuries.
What are you doing? That's disgusting! Get your hands off me!
Will's eyes went wide as he watched Liz's hand get closer and closer.
"There, there~ It won't hurt, it won't hurt~"
Liz thought Will was just afraid of the pain, so she quickly used her other hand to stroke his head, trying to comfort him.
The herbal paste was smeared onto Will's body. The next moment, he felt an immense jolt of pain and his whole body trembled violently. Wally and Milly, thinking Will was under attack, instantly prepared to stab Liz to death.
"Stop," Will yelled hastily, then gave Liz an exasperated look.
Did this little girl not realize how dangerous her actions were? It was only because he could understand her words that she was safe. If he were any other Pokémon who couldn't understand, or who was in too much pain to listen, that sharp jolt of agony would have been more than enough reason for them to launch a fatal attack. By the time the Pokémon realized its mistake, Liz would have already been dead.
"How is it, Goldie? Feeling much better, right?" Liz's eyes lit up, completely oblivious to the danger that had just passed. She was just purely happy that Will's condition seemed to have improved. Thinking of this, she quickly brought over some more berries to feed him.
"..."
Will glanced at Liz, then opened his mouth and obediently accepted the food. Humans really did have a higher skill level in 'caring'.
After that, Will quietly accepted Liz's care. Before he knew it, three days had passed. It was incredibly difficult for a wild Pokémon to recover from its own injuries. No wonder most of them were unwilling to fight opponents of equal strength. Once injured, it could take days to heal, and during that time, if you were unlucky, you would go hungry. It could even increase the probability of being preyed upon by other Pokémon.
"Goldie~"
One morning, Will was awoken by Liz's voice. He sat up and looked at her. The once clean and cute little girl was now filthy. Not only was her face covered in dirt, but she also had an indescribable smell about her.
"What is it?"
"My tummy hurts... and I want to take a bath. My body feels sticky and uncomfortable." Liz clutched her stomach with a pitiful expression, looking utterly miserable.
"..."
Will paused for a moment. It was only then that he remembered: Liz was a human. She was fundamentally different from Pokémon like them. If she kept eating nothing but berries and didn't bathe, her body was bound to have problems sooner or later.
I have to send this kid back... Will thought to himself with a frown.
But for now, he decided he should first take Liz to get cleaned up. And so, Will picked up Liz and flew with her towards the lake.
"Whoa~ I'm flying~"
Looking down from mid-air, Liz couldn't help but dance with joy. She wasn't worried at all that her movements might affect Will's flight and cause them both to fall.
Will didn't know whether to call Liz brave or just purely trusting of him. If it was the latter, then Liz had what could only be described as the heart of a natural-born Trainer.
This kind of blind trust would be foolish in human society, but when dealing with Pokémon, it was a powerful weapon—a weapon that could dramatically increase a Pokémon's affection.