Withering

After calming down his startled heart, Yuga gently placed the Lombre he was holding on the ground.

Upon seeing their leader suddenly evolve, the other four Lotad quickly gathered around the Lombre and chatted excitedly with it. Then, they all turned their gazes toward Yuga in unison.

Feeling somewhat bewildered under the scrutiny of their ten pairs of eyes, Yuga couldn't help but wonder if his ability had anything to do with their leader's evolution. After all, he hadn't heard that his abilities could trigger Pokémon evolution.

"Just a coincidence! It's purely coincidental!"

In the end, unable to resist their collective gaze, Yuga had to give each of them a massage. As expected, the evolution of the Lotad had nothing to do with him; the remaining four didn't evolve at all.

"If you want to evolve, you need to train regularly. Slowly, you'll evolve. No need to rush," Yuga reassured the disappointed Lotad.

Hearing Yuga's words, the Lotad nodded in agreement. They followed the Lombre out of the herb field, returning to the ridge where they lined up once again. The only difference now was that the lead position was held by the Lombre, but the near-dazed expression remained, as if it was passed down from one to the next.

Seeing the Lotad leave, Yuga also exited the herb field and left the Grassland Sub-Ecopark.

In fact, the reason Yuga was in such a hurry to grow Revival Herbs was to see if they could heal the injuries of Dragonair's mother. After all, Revival Herbs were known as a "life-saving" elixir, so they should be able to heal Dragonite's injuries without a problem.

However, considering the growth rate of the Revival Herbs, Yuga realized that there might not be much hope in the short term.

Nonetheless, Dragonair's mother's injuries were stabilized by the Guardian Orb and wouldn't worsen. She was slowly recovering, albeit not as quickly as Yuga had hoped.

Upon returning to the shop from the Ecopark, Yuga noticed Chatot perched on the small weather tree in the shop, engaging in cheerful conversation with a customer.

The customer had never seen a talking Pokémon before and was thoroughly entertained by Chatot.

When the customer left with the Pokéblocks that Suzuki Koen had prepared for him, Chatot finally noticed Yuga's presence in the shop and flew over joyfully.

"Darling, you're here!"

Chatot landed lightly on Yuga's shoulder, evidently in a great mood, probably because it had just flirt with a handsome guy.

"Why can't you do something productive for once? You're always idling around," Yuga said helplessly.

"Productive work? Is there something I need to do? Besides, I have my own ideal lifestyle, so how can you say I'm idling around?" Chatot was quite dissatisfied with Yuga's accusation, even though it did tend to idle around.

Yuga grabbed the neck of the Chatot and pulled it down from his shoulder. He then said, "Can't you help the Noctowl take care of your baby?"

The Chatot struggled, trying to escape from Yuga's grip, but found that he was holding it too tightly and couldn't break free.

"Don't... don't... I'm almost choking!" The Chatot exaggeratedly stuck out its tongue, as if it were about to suffocate, urging Yuga to release it.

However, as Yuga continued to hold onto the Chatot, he suddenly felt that something was not right with its body.

"What's wrong with your body?"

Yuga suddenly let go of Chatot's neck and asked Chatot with a frown.

"What... what... what's going on! I don't know what you're talking about!" The Chatot rapidly flapped its wings and distanced itself from him, wearing a look of utter confusion, as if saying, "I have no idea what you're talking about!"

Yuga watched the fluctuating expression of Chatot and said in a deep voice, "Are you pretending with me?"

When he had held Chatot's body earlier, he had sensed that the bird's life force was extremely weak, as if its entire body had withered away, devoid of any vitality. Although his special ability couldn't yet heal Pokémon, he could still perceive their physical condition.

"When did I ever pretend with you? Everything I said was the truth!" Chatot continued to be defiant.

"Come here!"

Yuga's expression turned serious as he waved his hand towards Chatot, unintentionally taking on a commanding tone in his voice.

"W-what are you going to do?"

Chatot was visibly nervous under Yuga's stern gaze, slowly flying over to Yuga.

Seizing the opportunity, Yuga grabbed Chatot with both hands, holding one of its wings firmly, and began to examine it closely.

Chatot struggled to break free, but Yuga's grip was too tight.

He covered Chatot with a green aura of energy and carefully observed. He discovered that Chatot's physical condition matched what he had sensed earlier. Chatot's body resembled that of a withered plant, completely devoid of moisture. Within its body, Yuga felt large areas of darkness. He marveled at how Chatot was still alive in such a state.

"Has your body always been in this condition?"

Yuga released his grip on Chatot, his eyebrows tightly furrowed. Before he had this special ability, he hadn't noticed anything unusual about Chatot's body. It usually acted just like any other Pokémon. Yet, he now discovered that Chatot's body was in a state of extreme depletion.

Chatot, realizing it couldn't hide anymore, flapped its wings and flew into the air. Annoyed, it tugged at its neck and said, "Yeah, yeah, it's always been like this, ever since I met you! What's the matter?"

"Follow me!" Yuga ignored Chatot's dismissive attitude and said firmly.

Watching Yuga head upstairs, Chatot hesitated for a moment but eventually gritted its teeth and followed.

Yuga reached the second floor, entered his room, sat down on the bed, and then looked at Chatot, which had followed slowly. He said, "Spill it, what's going on."

He felt that he had to get to the bottom of this today. With Chatot's current condition, it might not survive much longer.

Once inside Yuga's room, Chatot landed gently on the table and then impatiently said, "Why are you asking all these questions? It's none of your business!"

"It's none of my business? Don't forget that you're my Pokémon now. You eat what I provide, drink what I offer, and live under my roof. Now you say it's none of my business!"

Yuga was visibly angry at Chatot's indifference.

"But what can you do even if I tell you? What do you want?"

Chatot impatiently flapped its wings, causing the table to creak under its talons. It shouted in a restless tone.

"What can I do? Of course, we need to find a solution! Do you want to die?"

Yuga's eyes widened, and his voice unintentionally rose significantly.