Chapter 360: May and Swablu
After saying goodbye to Mayu, Ash's group continued their journey towards Petalburg City.
That day, as they walked along a muddy forest path following a rainstorm, Brock glanced at the surroundings and said gloomily, "Well... it seems we are lost again."
Upon hearing this, May sat on the ground and wailed, "So annoying, why are we always getting lost!"
"It's just getting lost, it's not a big deal. It just means a delay of a day or two, we'll be fine once we get out of the forest!"
Ash was already used to getting lost. If there was ever a day they didn't get lost, he would start to suspect that his status as the protagonist had expired.
Ever since he started his journey, whenever they got lost, they always encountered some decent Pokemon, and sometimes, with incredible luck, even Legendary or Mythical Pokemon.
"That might be true, but getting lost all the time is really bad luck!" May said.
"Alright, especially at times like this, let's fill our stomachs first!"
Brock knew exactly how to distract May, the foodie.
No sooner had he finished speaking than May's traitorous stomach responded.
Brock moved quickly, and in no time, he had prepared lunch.
Suddenly, Pikachu's and Eevee's ears twitched, and they both looked in a certain direction.
Ash noticed Pikachu's and Eevee's actions and immediately projected his Aura in that direction to investigate carefully. "There's an injured Pokemon over there."
"Huh? An injured Pokemon? Then let's go rescue it quickly!"
May was immediately interested and took off running in the direction Ash had pointed.
Ash and Brock followed at a leisurely pace.
Before long, they saw many fallen trees, and some of the trunks bore marks of fire.
Underneath several overlapping trunks lay a Swablu with rather serious injuries.
[ Pokémon: Swablu ]
[ Type: Normal + Flying ]
[ Gender: Female ]
[ Level: Elite Beginner ]
[ Ability: Cloud Nine (Any weather effects will disappear) ]
[ Potential: Quasi-Champion ]
[ Moves: Growl, Round, Peck, Dragon Rush (Egg Move)... ]
Swablu's right wing was drooping on the ground, and it stared at Ash and the others with a wary expression.
"It's a Swablu..." Brock said.
Ash projected his Aura, filled with goodwill, to soothe the Swablu.
Once the Swablu was certain that Ash and his group meant no harm, it slowly crawled out from under the tree trunks.
May crouched down and said softly, "Swablu, don't be afraid. We aren't bad people. Let me help you check your injuries..."
Swablu lifted its little head, met May's gaze, and then obediently shuffled forward two steps. Seeing this, May reached out and picked up the Swablu. After seeing the injury on its wing, she looked at Ash and said, "Ash, can you use your Psychic powers to help heal it?"
Watching how concerned May was about the Swablu, Ash easily determined that she had taken a liking to it.
He would be very happy to see May catch this Swablu, but it appeared that this Swablu had a flock nearby, and Swablu were known for their migratory habits.
Given the situation nearby, it was very likely that the Old man where the Swablu flock had temporarily stopped during the rainstorm had been struck by lightning, igniting them. The trees had collapsed, and the Swablu hadn't been able to escape in time, suffering as a result.
Thinking of this, Ash only used Natural Power to partially heal the injury on the Swablu's wing, without curing it completely.
Seeing that the Swablu was improving, the look of worry on May's face faded significantly.
Afterward, under Brock's guidance, she personally treated the Swablu's injuries.
During the process of treating the Swablu, May and the Swablu established a good bond.
However, in Ash's view, this level of bonding was not enough for the Swablu to leave its flock and follow May.
Just then, a man wearing a ranger uniform appeared before them with a Nuzleaf. "Who are you..."
Before the man could finish speaking, the Swablu cowered and hid behind May.
Seeing this, the man said somewhat apologetically, "I'm really sorry, I seem to have scared you! I am Nature Conservation Officer Morita. May I ask why you are here?"
"Hello, Mr. Morita. I am Alliance Inspector Ash. The situation is like this..."
Ash first showed his Inspector identification, then described the sequence of events in detail to Morita.
After fully understanding the situation, Morita very politely invited Ash's group to be guests at a cabin in the forest.
According to Morita's description, yesterday's rainstorm had caused considerable damage to the forest. Many wild Pokemon nests had been destroyed, and there were even several places where lightning had started fires. The Swablu that Ash and his friends had rescued was one of the victims.
In the forest where they were now, every year at this time, large numbers of Swablu and Altaria would migrate through.
After learning this, May felt very conflicted. She really wanted to catch the Swablu, but thinking about the fact that it had family waiting for it, she reluctantly gave up the idea of catching it.
However, because the Swablu's wing was injured and it couldn't fly for the time being, May decided to take care of the Swablu until it recovered, and then send it back to its family before setting off again.
Ash and Brock had no objections to this.
Under May's careful care, the Swablu's injuries completely healed a few days later, and its bond with May became even deeper; it had almost become May's constant companion.
"Swablu, your injuries have completely healed. Now, try flapping your wings and see!"
May said, full of expectation.
"Gelogelo~"
The Swablu fluttered its wings, but it struggled to stay in the air for even ten centimeters before it landed heavily on its bottom.
"Swablu!" May immediately became nervous.
Brock examined the Swablu's wings. "That shouldn't be right. The injury on its wing is completely healed!"
"This is likely Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The Swablu probably has psychological trauma from being struck by the falling tree when it was hit by lightning and falling from a great height, which is causing it to instinctively resist flying now," Ash analyzed.
"Ah? What should we do? Mr. Morita said the migration time for the Swablu is almost over! If it's too late, the Swablu might get separated from its family," May said.
Brock tried to comfort her. "May, don't panic yet. Psychological trauma is very different from physical wounds; it can't be cured by simple treatment."
"Brock is right. Psychological trauma is hard to heal, but certain 'kind-hearted people' should be able to provide a Helping Hand to the Swablu to fully recover."
The kind-hearted people Ash spoke of were, naturally, none other than the assist kings, the Team Rocket Trio.
When it came to providing assists, those three were professionals.
Most importantly, those three were currently hiding not far away; one could say the Team Rocket Trio had been within the range of Ash's Aura detection the entire time.
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