Chapter 19: Rescue on a Rainy Night

As time passed, the sky grew darker and more overcast. Andrew and the others had just arrived home when the rain began to pour down.

Standing at the doorway, Andrew gazed out at the view, now blurred by the falling rain, and couldn't help but remark, "I didn't expect such heavy rain, especially now that it's already autumn."

At that moment, Diancie walked over and said, "The Nebel Plateau has a unique terrain, so it's not surprising that the weather here differs from other places. According to other Pokémon, a special Pokémon resides here, which keeps the Nebel Plateau in a state of perpetual spring."

As Diancie spoke, it draped a coat over Andrew's shoulders. With the rain, the temperature had dropped, and Diancie was worried that Andrew might fall sick again.

Although Andrew's health was improving as his physical strength gradually increased, his stats were still low, so precautions were necessary.

Andrew did feel a bit chilly and pulled the coat tighter around himself. "A special Pokémon? What kind of special Pokémon?" he asked curiously.

Diancie shook its head. "I don't know exactly. I've just heard that thanks to this Pokémon's protection, everyone on the Nebel Plateau can live peacefully without worry."

"I see..." Andrew murmured in thought. "I hope I get a chance to meet it someday." After all, he was now a part of the Nebel Plateau, too.

"I'm sure you'll have the opportunity," Diancie smiled.

"I hope it doesn't dislike me."

"It definitely won't."

"Let's go inside. The rain is getting heavier." After standing at the door for a while, Andrew noticed rainwater splashing at his feet, and the air becoming increasingly damp, so he suggested they go inside.

As a Rock-type Pokémon, Diancie naturally disliked water, so it nodded and went inside with Andrew.

The rain continued for a long time, showing no sign of stopping even as night fell.

In the evening, Andrew and Munchlax steamed some buns, prepared a cold lotus root salad, and cooked a pot of soup. They then sat around the table with Diancie, Komala, and Vivillon to eat dinner.

The Dugtrio brothers were underground, each with three bowls in front of them—one filled with buns, another with the cold lotus root salad, and the third with soup.

The warm light from the lamps cast a cozy glow, and the aroma of food filled the air. As they ate and chatted, everyone felt warm and content.

"Totodile~ Toto!~"

However, just as they were halfway through their meal, an urgent cry suddenly came from outside. Andrew quickly went to the door to check, and Munchlax, noticing this, jumped off its chair and hurriedly followed behind him.

When Andrew reached the door, he saw a large puddle of water at the entrance, with a Totodile standing in it, carrying a Swablu on its back.

"What happened?"

Seeing Swablu drenched and shivering from the rain, Andrew's heart tightened with concern. He immediately moved forward, intending to take Swablu off Totodile's back.

However, Totodile seemed very frightened of Andrew. As soon as he approached, it jumped back as if it had springs in its feet.

Seeing this, Munchlax quickly stepped forward, taking Swablu from Totodile. This time, Totodile didn't mind Munchlax's approach and obediently handed over Swablu.

Andrew quickly took Swablu from Munchlax's arms and rushed back inside.

"Diancie, Diancie!" Andrew called out anxiously, "Hurry, get me a dry towel!"

"Got it!" Diancie responded and dashed to the bathroom, returning shortly with a bath towel.

"What happened?" Diancie asked as it handed the towel to Andrew.

"I'm not sure," Andrew shook his head, quickly drying Swablu with the towel.

As Andrew continued drying it, Swablu slowly regained consciousness. It looked around in confusion, but upon seeing Andrew and Diancie, it immediately started chirping excitedly.

"Swablu~ Swablu~~"

After Diancie translated, Andrew learned that Swablu was asking for help for its parents.

The rain had been so heavy that it had washed away Swablu's family nest. Since Swablu's feathers get waterlogged easily, flying had become nearly impossible. If Totodile hadn't passed by and saved the Swablu from the ground, who knows what might have happened!

"Alright, alright, I'll go right away. Don't worry," Andrew reassured Swablu after hearing its plea.

But Diancie looked worried. "In such heavy rain, are you sure you'll be okay? What if you get sick again?"

"I can't worry about that right now," Andrew shook his head. "I can't let you go, and I wouldn't feel safe sending Munchlax alone."

"But..." Diancie still felt uneasy.

"Don't worry," Andrew said with a smile, "I'm much stronger now. I'm not as fragile as you think."

Seeing that she couldn't change his mind, Diancie had no choice but to agree. She took the Swablu from Andrew's arms and said, "Just make sure to come back quickly."

"Got it."

With that, Andrew took Munchlax to change into raincoats and rain boots, grabbed a flashlight from the house, and then approached the doorway where Totodile was peeking inside.

"Totodile, could you lead me to where Swablu's parents are?" Andrew asked.

Totodile hesitated for a moment, but then nodded and quickly dashed out into the rain. Being a Water-type Pokémon, it could move freely in the rain without any difficulty.

Seeing this, Andrew tucked the flashlight into his transparent raincoat so it would still shine through, then followed after Totodile with Munchlax close behind. The night was pitch-black, the rain pouring down in sheets, and strong winds howled across the empty plateau, making it seem especially eerie.

Andrew and Munchlax ran through the wet grass, feeling a bit frightened. Munchlax, in particular, was terrified. Its short legs moved as fast as they could, not daring to let Andrew out of its sight.

"Master, slow down! This is so scary!" Munchlax cried.

After crossing the grass and some bushes, Totodile led Andrew to the edge of a cliff. Shining his flashlight down, Andrew saw a large tree lying in a puddle at the bottom, with a shattered bird's nest beside it.

This must have been Swablu's original home.

Swablu's nest was intricately woven from twigs and dry grass, resembling a small house. Normally, it would have been sturdy enough to withstand the elements.

But unfortunately...

The tree that supported the nest had been growing halfway down the cliff, but the heavy rain had caused part of the cliff to collapse, taking the tree down with it.

Andrew searched the area but couldn't find Swablu's parents. So, he, Munchlax, and Totodile split up to search further.

"Altaria! Altaria!" Andrew called out loudly into the rainy night, but the heavy rain muffled his voice, preventing it from carrying far.

Another hour passed, and Andrew still hadn't found any trace of the Altaria. Although he was wearing a raincoat and hadn't gotten wet, he was starting to feel cold.

Just then, Totodile came rushing over, excitedly shouting.

"Totodile, did you find them?" Andrew asked eagerly.

Totodile nodded enthusiastically.

"Great! Let's go."

Following Totodile, Andrew soon found the Altaria couple.

A weak chirping sound came from a bush. As Andrew approached, he saw the two Altaria huddled inside, drenched and covering themselves with large leaves.

But no matter how large the leaves were, they couldn't protect them from the wind and rain. The father Altaria had already fallen unconscious, and the mother Altaria, struggling to lift her head, glanced at Andrew as if asking about Swablu.

It was she who had asked Totodile to take Swablu to find Andrew.

"Don't worry, Swablu is safe!" Andrew shouted to the mother Altaria.

Upon hearing this, the mother Altaria seemed to relax, her head drooping to the ground.

Andrew reached out to pick her up, but she weakly tried to resist, unwilling to accept help from a human.

Andrew couldn't hold back anymore and scolded her, "Are you really going to be stubborn at a time like this? What about Altaria? Can you bear to see him suffer in the cold? And if something happens to both of you, what will happen to Swablu? She's still young; how will she survive without you?"

Hearing this, the mother Altaria looked at her unconscious partner and finally stopped resisting.

Andrew turned to Totodile and said, "Totodile, could you please help me find Munchlax?" He then draped the extra raincoats he had brought over the Altaria couple.

Totodile nodded and quickly disappeared into the rain.

Soon, Totodile successfully found Munchlax and brought it back. As soon as Munchlax saw Andrew, it rushed into his arms, crying.

"Master, I was so scared!"

Munchlax had been terrified while searching for the Altaria on its own but had held back its fear to avoid delaying the rescue. Now that they had found the Altaria couple, it could no longer hold back its tears.

"You did great. Let's go home now," Andrew said, gently patting Munchlax's back to comfort it.

"Munchlax~Munch~~"

Munchlax nodded obediently.

Without delay, Andrew and Munchlax, each carrying one of the Swablu parents, started running home.

Before leaving, Andrew thought about calling for Totodile, but when he turned around, Totodile was already nowhere to be seen.

When Andrew and Munchlax returned home with the Altaria couple, they found Diancie pacing anxiously at the door, holding Swablu in her arms.

The moment Swablu saw them through the rain, it chirped loudly.

"Swablu~blu~~" You're back!

Diancie quickly handed the towels she'd prepared to Andrew and Munchlax.

"Let's get inside," Andrew said as he and Munchlax wrapped the Altaria couple in the towels.

"Swablu~~Swablu~~~"

Swablu anxiously looked at its unconscious parents. Seeing this, Andrew reassured it, "Don't worry, your mom and dad will be okay."

After Andrew and Munchlax set the Altaria couple down, Diancie helped them take off their raincoats and said, "I'll take care of the Altaria. You two should take a hot shower so you don't catch a cold."

Hearing this, Vivillon quickly came over to assist Diancie. The Diglett brothers, however, could only stand by and watch, as they didn't have hands.

Andrew didn't hesitate. He handed the Altaria couple over to Diancie and Vivillon, then immediately headed to shower with Munchlax.

When they finished and came back downstairs, they saw that the Altaria couple had woken up. Diancie had dried and warmed their feathers with a hairdryer, making their once wet feathers fluffy and white again.

The family of three was huddled together, sharing warmth while eating the food Diancie had prepared.

After enduring the ordeal of the rainy night, even Swablu's usually stubborn mother couldn't refuse the food Andrew offered.

Besides, she figured that since they already owed Andrew a favor, one more wouldn't make much difference.

+200

+200

+200

As they ate the warm food, their happiness soared, and Andrew's happiness points increased by 600.

When Andrew came downstairs, Swablu excitedly flew out from between its parents and dove into his arms, thanking him while nuzzling affectionately.

Andrew gently stroked its feathers and asked, "How are you feeling? Is anything still bothering you?"

"Swablu~Swablu~"

Swablu shook its head. After drying its feathers and eating warm food, it had fully regained its strength.

"Good, I'm glad you're feeling better," Andrew said with a smile.

At this point, Swablu's father stood up and sincerely thanked Andrew. Swablu's mother still had a slightly grumpy look on her face, but she no longer showed any hostility toward Andrew.

Gratitude, after all, was still there.

"Altaria~Altaria~~" I will definitely repay this kindness.

Diancie translated Swablu's mother's words for Andrew.

Andrew just nodded with a smile and said, "Alright, I'll be waiting."

Hearing this, Swablu's mother seemed to feel a weight lifted off her shoulders.

"You all keep eating. Stay here tonight, and don't worry about anything else," Andrew added.

Both Swablu's father and Swablu nodded in agreement.

After dinner, Diancie prepared rooms for the Swablu family, as well as for Vivillon and the Diglett brothers, so they could rest. Meanwhile, Andrew and Munchlax stuck to their routine, heading to the training room for an hour of training before going to bed.

Andrew snuggled into his warm bed, ready to turn off the light and sleep when he heard a knock at the door.

"Who is it? Come in."

"Munch~~Munchlax~~~" Master, can I sleep with you tonight?

The door creaked open, and Munchlax, wearing a sleep cap, peeked in with a pitiful expression.

"You want to sleep with me?" Andrew asked.

"Munchlax~Munchlax~~"

Munchlax nodded eagerly.

"Alright then, come on over."

Andrew readily agreed, patting the spot next to him.

"Munchlax~~~"

Munchlax cheered, grabbed its pillow, and quickly scurried to Andrew's bedside, eagerly crawling into the bed.

Seeing Munchlax's content expression, Andrew smiled and shook his head. "Goodnight, Munchlax."

"Munchlax~~" Goodnight, Master.

Click~~

The light went out. Just as Andrew lay down, he noticed Munchlax scooting closer to him. So, he silently reached out an arm and placed it on Munchlax's soft belly, and Munchlax snuggled up to him.

"Snore~~snore~~~"

Soon, the sound of Munchlax's peaceful snoring filled the dark room.

(End of chapter)