Chapter 67: Psychological Issues

Without resting for even a moment after rescuing the leader of the Combee formation, Joy quickly took the medical kit from Chansey, patted the bandages that had gathered dust from lifting the tree trunk, and with practiced skill began diagnosing and treating the Combee leader.

A short while later.

Chansey wiped the beads of sweat from Joy's forehead; feeling as if a heavy burden had been lifted, Joy stood up and kindly instructed the few Combee attendants: "Fortunately, these are only superficial wounds; if pressure had been applied to the internal organs any later, it would have been difficult to handle. It should regain consciousness shortly; when it does, remember..."

After conveying all the precautions to the Combee attendants, Joy departed gracefully with Chansey under their grateful gazes.

Watching the Combee attendants carefully lift their leader and march in unison toward the nearby hive, Luo Mu smiled; indeed, Miss Joys and Chanseys rarely encounter attacks from wild Pokémon in the wilderness, a result of the good reputation they have accumulated over many years.

"We'll soon see the town, so the bandages can be removed now."

Thinking this, Joy skillfully unwound the bandages wrapped around her hands and arms; the fair skin revealed once the bandages were gone bore no scars whatsoever—she had worn them merely for convenience while traveling in the wild.

"Miss Joy!"

Just as Joy was about to chat with Chansey, she suddenly heard a shout from behind; turning to look, she saw a rather young boy, appearing to be around seventeen or eighteen years old.

Is he a Trainer?

Joy blinked; assuming a Pokémon must be injured, the experienced Joy and Chansey immediately halted their steps.

"Hello, is there something you need help with?"

Wearing a perfectly appropriate, amiable smile, Joy looked at Luo Mu.

Luo Mu did not beat around the bush with useless chatter but got straight to the point: "I have an injured Pokémon I would like to ask Miss Joy to examine."

As expected, this is a Trainer whose Pokémon was injured after training in the wild for a long time.

A look of understanding flashed in Emperor Yan Di's eyes as she smiled and said, "No problem; we are about to arrive at Pingdie Town, so please follow me to the Pokémon Center for a detailed examination."

Luo Mu nodded slightly and fell into step behind Miss Joy and Chansey.

It took approximately fifteen minutes to travel from the wilderness into the town and then to the Pokémon Center.

During this time, Luo Mu did not simply walk with his head down; he recounted the entire incident involving the encounter with Delibird and explained Delibird's current condition to Joy in full detail.

Joy used a key to open the doors of the Pokémon Center, while Chansey, familiar with the routine, pressed a button, instantly illuminating the previously pitch-black Pokémon Center.

Leading Luo Mu into a tidy medical room, Joy said, "In any case, I have a general understanding of Delibird's condition, but I must perform a physical examination to determine the exact cause and formulate a treatment plan."

Luo Mu nodded and, following Joy's eye signal, took out a red-and-white Poké Ball, releasing Delibird onto the single small bed in the medical room.

"Oh my!"

As soon as Delibird appeared, although Luo Mu had already described its condition, the sight of its completely featherless, bald body still caused Joy, upon clearly seeing its appearance, to involuntarily cover her mouth and gasp in surprise.

Delibird surveyed the unfamiliar surroundings, its expression showing some timidity; only because Luo Mu was present did Delibird barely suppress its urge to flee.

"A Delibird with such a large tail shouldn't be this timid... I've never seen a tail this large before; within the Delibird species, it would be sufficient to serve as a leader."

After observing Delibird's movements and demeanor for a moment, Joy frowned in thought and instructed the Chansey beside her: "Please prepare the examination tools and activate the medical system."

"Lucky~"

Chansey smiled, nodded, and immediately began bustling about in the medical room.

Looking at Luo Mu, Joy tactfully said, "For the upcoming examination, could Mr. Luo please wait outside the door for a moment?"

Luo Mu nodded slightly, went over to Delibird to soothe its emotions, and then turned to leave the medical room.

Miss Joy's examination lasted approximately ten minutes; as the green light above the medical room door frame extinguished, Miss Joy, wearing a mask, emerged with a Solemn expression.

Seeing Miss Joy's Solemn expression, Luo Mu's own demeanor also became serious.

Joy removed her mask, closed the medical room door leaving only Chansey and Delibird inside, and said to Luo Mu in a grave tone: "Was it struck by lightning from the storm clouds on the night three days ago?"

Luo Mu nodded to confirm: "That's correct."

"I see..." Joy frowned and pondered for a moment before adding, "The treatment measures you performed were flawless... I found no hidden injuries or other underlying issues on Delibird."

"The lightning did not damage the base of Delibird's feathers; although most feathers have fallen out, given a Pokémon's constitution... the feathers should fully regrow within half a month at most."

Luo Mu was not surprised by the first part of the results; although this was his first time meeting the Miss Joy of Pingdie Town, his medical knowledge had been learned from other Miss Joys in several towns across Paldea, so handling such injuries was second nature to him.

Joy paused, then said seriously: "I have identified two reasons why Delibird cannot fly: first, the lack of feathers prevents it from maintaining balance, which is easy to resolve."

"The second problem is somewhat more difficult to handle; based on psychological testing, I have diagnosed that this Delibird... harbors a fear of the sky and lightning, what is known as—psychological trauma."

Luo Mu frowned, sinking into thought; although he had vaguely suspected that the root of Delibird's ailment might be psychological, now that he had received professional confirmation from the medical authority, Miss Joy, he still found it somewhat tricky.

In this world of Pokémon, the vast majority of injuries can be resolved through the Pokémon's own miraculous powers or through technology, whereas problems like psychological trauma are extremely troublesome to treat.

Luo Mu remembered that in the animations from his memories, after Ash's Grovyle evolved into Sceptile, it was once unable to use moves due to psychological issues.

To resolve Sceptile's emotional knot, Ash and his companions had expended considerable effort.

Seeing that Luo Mu's expression was somewhat serious, and knowing that Luo Mu was rescuing a wild Pokémon, Miss Joy comforted him: "In such cases, only someone Delibird trusts can guide it; I have several books related to Pokémon psychology here that you may borrow temporarily to read, and you can try to resolve Delibird's emotional knot using the methods described within."

Luo Mu nodded gently; at present, this was the only option.

Releasing such a Delibird back into the wild would undoubtedly be sentencing it to death; apart from whether Luo Mu could overcome his own moral hurdle, even considering the feelings of the Luxray that had helped rescue Delibird, Luo Mu would never do such a thing.

"Then I must trouble Miss Joy to lend me those books temporarily."