Chapter Ten: Joey Chun and Junsha Ling

Perhaps it was because of the rainy weather that there weren’t many pedestrians on the road, but quite a few Pokémon were out and about. Although Zhao Fang was eager to train his Magikarp’s battling abilities, seeing the muddy ground around him and the lively Grass-type Pokémon, he decided against it.

Even though Magikarp had impressive potential and its diet was improving its base stats, the issue of type advantage couldn’t be ignored. In the games, winning battles against Pokémon with a disadvantageous type usually relied on having a higher level, but in reality, there's no such thing as levels. Zhao Fang didn’t believe a Magikarp that only knew Tackle could challenge those Grass-types, like that Bellsprout over there.

He guessed a single Vine Whip from Bellsprout would leave Magikarp sprawled on the ground, unable to fight. So, to avoid the tragic situation of having no usable Pokémon, Zhao Fang chose to continue his journey quietly. He needed to reach Petalburg City as soon as possible to find a job, or his travels would come to an abrupt end.

“What a hassle... Who would’ve thought that even a transmigrator has to work these days? I wonder what kind of job I could find. With my strength, I’d probably only be able to take on low-level tasks commissioned by the League, right?” Zhao Fang touched the Poké Ball hanging at his waist, feeling a bit overwhelmed.

In this world, the Pokémon League issues tasks, such as clearing out excess Rattata or Magikarp, or defeating rampaging Pokémon. Completing these tasks earns a reward, similar to the adventurer system, but Zhao Fang was just a rookie without any gym badges. High-paying tasks were out of his reach.

He figured the best he could hope for was being asked to help an old lady find her lost cat.

After walking a bit further, Zhao Fang noticed that the density of Pokémon ahead suddenly increased. Earlier, he had to walk some distance to spot one or two Pokémon, but now, every four or five steps brought another into view. Though most were weak, like Caterpie and the like, their numbers made Zhao Fang more vigilant.

Something unusual was definitely happening; he didn’t think these Pokémon were gathering for a meeting or some event.

A short while later, Zhao Fang saw a peculiar sight ahead: several Pokémon were lined up in a queue, at the end of which stood a sun umbrella with a pink figure beneath it.

“Chansey?” Zhao Fang was a bit surprised, but seeing the nurse’s uniform on Miss Joy behind Chansey, he immediately understood.

Although he realized that Chansey belonged to Miss Joy and that these Pokémon were here for treatment, Zhao Fang still couldn’t fathom why a Pokémon Center nurse would be out here tending to wild Pokémon.

“Who’s there?” Miss Joy, busy as she was, seemed to sense Zhao Fang’s gaze. She turned around sharply, looking at him with caution.

But after seeing Zhao Fang’s height and appearance, she relaxed a little, though her hand remained poised on the Poké Ball at her waist.

“Hello, Miss Joy. I’m Zhao Fang, a trainer who started my journey from Littleroot Town.” Zhao Fang greeted her politely.

The Joy family was enormous, and Zhao Fang didn’t want to be disliked at Pokémon Centers in the future. Anyone who dared offend a Joy was either a villain or... still a villain.

“A trainer, I see. I’m Joy Chun, still an intern... By the way, did you notice anything unusual on your way here?” Joy Chun smiled sweetly. The Joy genes were indeed strong—each one looked remarkably similar and all were beautiful.

In the anime, it seemed Brock was the only one who could distinguish between each Miss Joy, though no one knew how he did it.

“Anything unusual?” Zhao Fang was momentarily confused. Since leaving Verdanturf Town, the only odd thing he’d experienced was that telepathic episode, but that was yesterday and nothing had happened since.

“No,” Zhao Fang shook his head. That was just a suspected Psychic-type Pokémon, most likely Ralts, as it was the only Psychic-type commonly found in the area.

A single Psychic-type Pokémon wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.

“I see... Please be careful. There seem to be some bad people around here, and many wild Pokémon have been injured. I only came because my elders at home told me about it. My good friend Officer Jun Sha Ling is here too; she just went out looking for clues. Would you like to have your Pokémon treated?” Miss Joy’s voice was pleasant, but her words made Zhao Fang more alert.

It was normal for trainers to defeat wild Pokémon, but not so many at once. Unless they were trying to catch them, got ambushed, or were training, it was rare. Yet the number of injured Pokémon here was excessive.

That meant there really might be one or two evil trainers causing trouble on this route—or perhaps members of Team Magma or Team Aqua.

“Thank you, Miss Joy. I’ll be careful... My Pokémon aren’t injured, so I won’t need treatment.” Zhao Fang nodded seriously. His current strength was nowhere near enough to confront those organizations, so caution was wise.

“Alright, take care on the road. A few more hours ahead and you’ll reach Petalburg City. If anything happens along the way, run toward Petalburg as fast as you can. Officer Jun Sha Ling is investigating in that direction.” Miss Joy smiled as she spoke to Zhao Fang.

He took her advice to heart. As he was about to leave, Zhao Fang glanced worriedly at Joy Chun.

Unlike ordinary trainers, if those really were Team Magma and Team Aqua members, they wouldn’t care that Joy was a Pokémon nurse, and Chansey was a rare Pokémon.

“You don’t need to worry about me. I’m quite strong, you know!” Joy saw the concern in Zhao Fang’s eyes and smiled even brighter, proudly patting the Poké Ball at her waist.

Only then did Zhao Fang feel reassured. It seemed Miss Joy had the strength to protect herself.

He continued on his way to Petalburg City, and as he walked, he noticed fewer injured Pokémon and the density of Pokémon on the roadside returned to normal.

Unfortunately, he was disappointed that he hadn’t seen any sign of Ralts during his entire walk.

“So much for starting with a wife...” Zhao Fang sighed in disappointment.