The group set off again. May walked behind the others, looking at Pikachu on Ash Ketchum's shoulder, and asked with curiosity, "Ash Ketchum, aren't Pokémon usually kept inside Poké Balls?"
"Yeah, they are. But my Pikachu—he doesn't like staying in a Poké Ball," Ash Ketchum explained as he walked slowly.
Chén Nuò didn't know what to say to that. *If you can care so much about Pikachu and those Pokémon, why can't you use even a little bit of that emotional intelligence on actual people?*
"Every Pokémon has its unique personality, just like people. Pikachu doesn't like staying in a Poké Ball because of his nature. As Trainers, we should understand that." Chén Nuò tried his best to act like a senior and show some concern—after all, expecting Ash Ketchum to do it was pure fantasy.
"Oh, I see. No wonder my Torchic is willing to stay in its ball. Come to think of it, I still don't know much about Torchic yet," May said, looking at the Poké Ball in her hand.
"You can use the Pokédex at times like this," Ash Ketchum finally said something sensible. Perhaps it was the only thing a senior like him could teach.
"Oh, right!" May nodded at these words, took out her Pokédex, and began checking the information on Torchic.
Right in the middle of this search, Ash Ketchum noticed a Pokémon up ahead. "May, look!"
At this prompt, everyone looked over.
In the middle of the road was an adorable blue Azurill.
Seeing the cute Azurill, May couldn't help herself and immediately said, "Wow, so cute! I want it!"
"Then catch it!" Ash Ketchum chimed in from the side.
"Right, you're supposed to use an empty Poké Ball now, right?" Feeling rather clever, May immediately took out an empty Poké Ball.
"Wait, aren't you supposed to battle it first?" Chén Nuò was caught slightly off guard. *Isn't this a bit too fast? How many years has she practiced throwing balls like that? Pretty accurate, though, holy crap.*
The Poké Ball sucked Azurill right inside.
"Yay, I caught a Pokémon!" May cheered all by herself.
None of the three spoke, quietly watching the Poké Ball shake. Then, with a *pop*, the Poké Ball sprang open and Azurill came running out.
The Azurill that emerged clearly looked a little angry. After all, walking peacefully down the road only to be ambushed by a stealthy rookie would annoy anyone.
"No way, May? Do you not even know how to catch them?" Ash Ketchum poured fuel on the fire, demonstrating top-tier low emotional intelligence.
Lillie could barely watch anymore and quickly spoke up, "It's your first time catching a Pokémon! Being a little nervous is totally normal. You can do it, May!"
Hearing Lillie's words, May pouted at Ash Ketchum, clearly cursing that clueless blockhead in her heart.
Chén Nuò didn't know what to say to that either, and quickly changed the subject. "Azurill is a Normal and Fairy-type Pokémon. Even though it's not a Water-type, it can still use Water Gun attacks. Be careful—Torchic has a poor matchup against water."
"Okay, thank you, Chén Nuò." May nodded, expressing her gratitude to Chén Nuò, and then tossed out Torchic.
"What are Torchic's moves?" Right on the verge of battle, May was still looking at her Pokédex, a textbook example of cramming at the last minute.
Chén Nuò could only slap his forehead in speechless frustration. *It's a new Pokémon she's unfamiliar with, and she's never participated in a Pokémon battle before, so this is totally normal... as if!*
This girl was an absolute clone of Ash Ketchum. Ash Ketchum was the exact same way when he first started his journey.
Shortly after, Azurill bolted. Seeing this, Torchic immediately gave chase, only to be toyed with by the little water mouse and led off into the bushes.
The group hurried after them into the woods.
Then, Torchic treated everyone to a wonderful impression of a woodpecker!
Tricked once more by the little water mouse, Torchic foolishly chased after it again.
Looking in the direction they had run off to, Chén Nuò had a vague premonition that something bad was about to happen.
Just as the group caught up, they saw Torchic blast flying back from a Water Gun attack.
"Torchic!"
Looking at the dizzy, swirl-eyed Torchic ahead, along with a family of three—a water mouse, a water rabbit, and a water Azumarill—Chén Nuò felt a deep sense of foreboding and immediately tossed out Cottonee. "Cottonee, use Stun Spore!"
Sure enough, the family of three teamed up to unleash another blast of Water Gun.
As soon as Cottonee appeared, it immediately launched Stun Spore. The rapidly fired powder quickly plunged the entire family of three into a state of paralysis.
Realizing the severity of the situation, Ash Ketchum quickly called out Pikachu. "Pikachu, use Thunder Shock!"
Pikachu leaped off his shoulder, and a single bolt of Thunder Shock sent the trio of Pokémon straight into the water.
The crisis was averted.
Only May remained, cradling the injured Torchic and grieving all by herself.
"Don't be sad, May. First, return Torchic to its Poké Ball—it can stabilize its injuries. Water-type moves deal heavy damage to Torchic, but bringing it to a Pokémon Center will get it back to normal." Although Lillie had never raised Pokémon before, as the young miss of the Aether Foundation, her knowledge of Pokémon was extensive.
Coupled with the fact that she had loved Pokémon dearly since childhood, while her practical combat skills were lacking, Lillie was a master in theory.
"Ah, thank you, Lillie." May expressed her thanks, recalled Torchic into its Poké Ball, and stood up with a dim gaze and lowered brows.
"What's wrong?" Ash Ketchum asked, tilting his head as he saw May's dejected look.
"I don't know if I'm suited to be a Trainer. On the very first try, I got Torchic hurt so badly. Chén Nuò just warned me that Torchic has a bad matchup against Water-type moves, but I still..." May lowered her head, looking utterly crestfallen.
"Aw, come on! That's totally normal. Every beginner goes out and runs into that. When I first set out with Pikachu, I ended up getting Pikachu badly hurt too. I even got slapped by Misty for it." Seeing the situation, Ash Ketchum had no idea how to comfort her, so he stupidly spilled his own dark history, including the part about getting slapped.
Hearing Ash Ketchum's words of comfort, May couldn't help but burst into a chuckle, then chased after Ash Ketchum to grill him about the girl who slapped him.
Chén Nuò couldn't help nodding at this. Ash Ketchum's comfort hit the mark just right this time around; it was just his method of airing his own embarrassing past that left people torn between laughing and crying.
"Alright, we need to head to the Pokémon Center." Chén Nuò interrupted at the right moment.
"Yeah." May nodded.
After that, the four of them anxiously hurried toward the Pokémon Center. This time, May didn't complain about being tired even once.