Chapter Seventy-Eight: A Bit Too Short

“Mmm…” When Am awoke, she found herself in a tidy hospital room.

Her head still throbbed slightly, a reminder of how she had lost consciousness earlier. Judging by her level of hunger, Am estimated she hadn’t been out for long—perhaps only a night.

Just then, Misty pushed open the door. Seeing Am sitting up, she exclaimed in surprise, “Ah! You’re awake? I’ll call the doctor to check on you again.”

Her tone wasn’t particularly anxious; after all, they’d already examined Am before and determined it was a classic case of exhaustion—quite common among professional trainers. Among novices, though, it was rare. Most new trainers hardly had the chance to push themselves so far, since their involvement was minimal, often limited to giving commands.

Soon a doctor arrived and took Am to the examination room, where she learned she was in the Suzuki family’s hospital. The room was filled with impressive instruments, and Am underwent a series of tests she didn’t quite understand.

Although Am herself was an apothecary—sharing some kinship with doctors—in this world, the two professions were distinct in many ways. The biggest difference was that while pharmacology had modernized, it still retained an ancient flavor and was primarily focused on Pokémon. Its techniques for treating humans were somewhat outdated. Human medicine, on the other hand, was far more advanced but had little effect on Pokémon compared to the special abilities of trainers or the art of the apothecary.

For instance, in the current qualification exams for apothecaries, human-related medicine accounted for less than ten percent of the content.

“There’s nothing serious—just typical exhaustion. Fortunately, you’re still young. So long as you rest and avoid triggering Mega Evolution again, you’ll recover on your own,” the doctor said, glancing at the strange waveforms on the monitor.

“So it really was caused by Mega Evolution?” Misty breathed a little easier, though she still looked at Am with concern.

“Yes, this kind of issue in young people usually happens when they remain in resonance with Mega Evolution for too long,” the doctor replied calmly.

Professional trainers generally used more advanced methods of command, akin to a shallow form of telepathy. Some older trainers could become exhausted simply from extended periods of directing their Pokémon.

“But he wasn’t in resonance for long!” Misty insisted.

Am: …

Indeed, Am hadn’t been connected for long—not even a full minute. Yet the symptoms were the same.

In fact, it was almost too brief. Normally, no young trainer would be so quickly drained, even with double Mega Evolution.

“What? Less than a minute?” The doctor was surprised after hearing Misty’s description.

Am: …

When the Suzuki family had brought Am in, they’d only explained her situation briefly. The doctor hadn’t seen Kid and had assumed Am had simply spent too long in Mega Evolution.

Upon learning the actual circumstances, the doctor ran another battery of tests with various instruments.

“All your indicators are normal—better than most young people, in fact. Maybe you were just too nervous?” the doctor offered reassuringly.

Am: …

Am found the examination and diagnosis somewhat odd, so she interjected, “Excuse me, but could there be another cause? After all, the Mega Evolution was actually brought about by my special ability.”

“Hmm? Special ability?” The doctor paused, then added, “That’s possible, too! Besides prolonged Mega Evolution, certain special abilities can also lead to exhaustion.”

“Energy” here referred not simply to mental or physical strength, but a deeper, more integrated concept.

Misty, still uneasy at the uncertain cause, pressed, “Are there any other possibilities?”

“I’ve heard… Bond Evolution is even more likely to cause this sort of thing, but examples are rare, and there have been almost no cases in the Kanto region,” the doctor replied uncertainly.

“As long as it’s nothing serious!” Am was satisfied with the diagnosis—so long as there were no irreversible side effects. As for the cause, she could guess well enough.

Blaming it on her “special ability” was fair, and so was citing prolonged Mega Evolution. Her Animal Empathy was indeed skillful when it came to Mega Evolution; but whatever “emotion” her skill replaced, it was filled in with her own energy.

If it had been one of her own Pokémon, even if their bond wasn’t deep enough to trigger Mega Evolution, it wouldn’t have drained her so much.

“What, you want to leave already? The doctor said you could stay for observation for another two days…” Misty tried to persuade Am, seeing her so eager to leave.

“No need. I’m an apothecary, too. If it’s just ordinary exhaustion, I can handle it myself,” Am replied, not intending to linger.

“At least wait for Sonoko! I just told her you woke up, and she’s on her way—she said she needs to see you,” Misty reminded her.

At that, Am decided she could afford to wait a little while longer.

Soon Sonoko arrived, and to Am’s relief, Ran and Conan were not with her.

“Well! Congratulations, rising star!” Sonoko teased as soon as she entered the room.

“Huh? Rising star?” Am was momentarily confused.

“Your special ability can ignore the bond and directly trigger a Pokémon’s Mega Evolution… My father said you must be one of the brightest young stars in the Indigo League,” Sonoko said with a hint of mischief.

Many people present at the scene had guessed that Am had used a special ability.

Am rolled her eyes. “There are far more useful special abilities than this…”

Indeed, if one only considered her current Beastmaster’s power, it wasn’t particularly outstanding among the myriad special abilities in the Pokémon world.

Forcibly triggering Mega Evolution sounded impressive, but the energy cost was excessive, making its practical value questionable—though its potential was promising.

Sonoko didn’t press her teasing further but retrieved two boxes from her bag. “These are from Uncle Jirokichi and Mr. Hisashi—they asked me to give them to you as gifts for stopping Kid before.”

“That’s too generous… I was only trying, and even without me, Kid would almost certainly have secretly returned ‘Gyarados’s Wrath’ to Mr. Hisashi,” Am replied, a bit embarrassed.

“That’s not the same at all! If Kid had succeeded, Uncle Jirokichi would have been furious. And having Kid secretly return the item is nothing compared to having it openly restored like this,” Sonoko explained, then urged, “Go ahead and see what they are.”

At her prompting, Am opened Jirokichi’s gift first and found inside a polished Mega Evolution Stone with a green and purple spiral core.

“This is…” Am had already guessed.

Sonoko nodded. “Yes, it’s a Venusaurite. Uncle Jirokichi found it for you since you can trigger Mega Evolution.”

Am didn’t ask why Jirokichi had a Venusaurite; for the Suzuki Group, they could likely “find” almost any known Mega Stone in short order.

Opening Mr. Hisashi’s gift, Am was not surprised—it was the Key Stone pendant left behind by Lady Mina.

Though not as valuable as a Mega Stone, a Key Stone was still precious and carried far greater symbolic meaning.

Mr. Hisashi had given it to Am because he saw her use his mother’s Key Stone to once again trigger Gyarados’s Mega Evolution, believing it to be a sign from his mother in the spirit world.