Following behind the Maushold, Ange and the others walked for about half an hour before finally stopping beneath a dense, leafy tree.
"Zhizhizhi~" The three Maushold scurried around to the other side of the tree and beckoned to Ange.
Ange stepped over and saw a tree hollow at the base of the trunk. The hollow was lined with dry grass, and two Pokémon were lying side by side, snuggling against each other.
One was the final member of the Maushold family, while the other was a small, canine-shaped Pokémon.
Ange shone his flashlight forward and saw that the canine Pokémon had a bread-shaped body, with a color resembling fermented dough, giving it a soft and fluffy appearance.
He recognized the Pokémon's identity at a glance: a Fidough.
Fidough, the Puppy Pokémon, Fairy type. Its breath contains a special yeast that causes the surrounding environment to ferment.
Because this yeast can also be used in cooking, Fidough has been loved and protected by people since ancient times.
Ange had always wanted a Fidough, but such Pokémon were quite uncommon and mostly existed only in the Paldea region. Even the Azoth Royal Family, skilled in raising Fairy-type Pokémon, did not have one.
Lila had once helped Ange inquire about them, but anyone who owned a Fidough was unwilling to part with such a rare and useful Pokémon.
After all, a single Fidough could create massive wealth simply through its ability to produce yeast, making selling one an unprofitable choice.
People in the Pokémon world loved eating bread, and yeast was an indispensable ingredient for making it, which made Fidough precious.
Ange had never expected to encounter a wild one.
However, the Fidough looked extremely distressed at the moment. It was unconscious, and its entire face was twisted in pain.
The injured Maushold also looked to be in less-than-ideal condition.
Ange hurried to squat down and inspect the condition of the two Pokémon.
He checked the Fidough first, as its condition was more severe. The moment his hand touched the Fidough's skin, he discovered that its entire body was burning hot.
The Fidough had a fever, and a high one at that.
With a temperature this high, what would happen if it kept burning?
Ange was not a doctor; he could only tell that the Fidough was gravely ill, but he could not diagnose the cause and did not dare to treat it rashly.
Next, he inspected the injured Maushold.
The Maushold had only sustained ordinary external wounds. Ange applied Potion to it and fed it a Berry that restored stamina, and its condition immediately stabilized.
After treating the Maushold's injuries, Ange looked at the other three Maushold with a solemn expression and said, "The Fidough's condition is very serious. If it isn't treated properly, it might die."
Upon hearing this, the three Maushold panicked instantly and scurried about in confusion.
"Zhizhizhi~" What should we do? What should we do?
Ange reached out and scooped them up. "Don't panic yet. I'm going to take it to the Pokémon Center to see Nurse Joy right away. With Nurse Joy around, the Fidough will definitely be fine."
Hearing this, the three Maushold immediately began cupping their hands and bowing repeatedly to Ange, begging him to save the Fidough.
"We're setting off right now." With that, Ange pulled out Poké Balls and released Latias, Latios, and Salamence.
"Latias, Latios, Salamence, could you please give us a lift?"
"La la~"
"Lati~os!"
"Roar~"
The three Pokémon nodded in unison.
Thus, Ange climbed onto Latios's back holding the Fidough, Lilligant, Flabebe, and Floette climbed onto Latias's back, and the four Maushold boarded Salamence's back.
"Let's go, to Dendemille Town!" Ange said.
Herb Village did not have a Pokémon Center, so Ange and the others had no choice but to head to the neighboring Dendemille Town.
"La la~"
"Lati~os!"
"Roar~"
With three cries, the dragon Pokémon soared into the air one after another, quickly vanishing into the night.
"Latios, please hurry. The Fidough's condition is very bad," Ange urged along the way.
"Lati~os!" Latios nodded, accelerated, and instantly shot far ahead.
Seeing this, Latias and Salamence likewise increased their speed.
In less than half an hour, Ange spotted the illuminated lights of Dendemille Town.
Dendemille Town was a very unique place. Located near the Frost Cavern, it was frequently buffeted by strong winds and snow, even during the summer.
As soon as they entered the borders of Dendemille Town, the dragon and grass-type Pokémon, which were unaccustomed to severe cold, all shivered together, and Ange instinctively pulled the Fidough closer into his arms.
Scanning quickly across Dendemille Town, Ange soon spotted the sign of the Pokémon Center: a Poké Ball pattern.
Because the pattern was illuminated by lights, Ange locked onto it at a glance.
"The Pokémon Center is over there, let's head over!" Ange pointed toward the direction of the Poké Ball emblem.
"Lati~os!" Carrying Ange, Latios flew toward it first, with Latias and Salamence following closely behind.
Inside the Pokémon Center, because there were no guests at night, Nurse Joy was propping her head up with one arm and dozing off when a sudden rush of footsteps startled her awake.
Seeing Ange walk through the door carrying the Fidough in a rush, Nurse Joy hurried over with Wigglytuff.
"What's wrong?"
"Nurse Joy, this Fidough is sick. Could you please take a look?" Ange replied.
Nurse Joy reached out to take the Fidough, and upon sensing its excessively high body temperature, her expression turned serious. She comforted Ange, "Leave it to me. It will be fine!"
With that, she looked at Wigglytuff and said, "Quickly, prepare the operating room!"
"Puff~ puff~" Wigglytuff nodded and followed Nurse Joy in quick strides toward the treatment room.
Watching Nurse Joy close the door to the treatment room, Ange said to the Maushold, "Let's wait patiently. The Fidough will be fine very soon."
The Maushold nodded, but their eyes kept glancing persistently toward the direction of the treatment room.
Time ticked by second by second as Ange and the Maushold waited anxiously in the lobby.
About two hours later, the door to the treatment room swung open with a bang, and Nurse Joy walked out drenched in sweat.
Ange and the Maushold hurried forward to meet her.
"Nurse Joy, how is the Fidough?" Ange asked anxiously.
A smile bloomed on Nurse Joy's face. "Rest assured, it's out of danger."
Hearing this, Ange breathed a sigh of relief, while the three Maushold hugged each other in excitement, jumping up and down.
Ange asked curiously, "Nurse Joy, what exactly happened to the Fidough?"
Nurse Joy replied, "It's an intestinal infection. It must have eaten something it shouldn't have."
Hearing this, Ange lowered his gaze to look at the three Maushold.
The three Maushold exchanged glances, momentarily unable to recall what the Fidough could possibly have eaten to fall ill.
They had been living a nomadic life of travel, basically eating whatever they foraged, and had no way of noticing if they accidentally consumed something unhealthy.
Seeing them look so blank, Ange sighed helplessly.
Nurse Joy crouched down to pat each of the three Maushold on the head and said gently,
"Forget it if you can't remember, but you must be careful next time and not eat just anything."
"Zhizhizhi~" The three Maushold nodded obediently.
Ange asked again, "Nurse Joy, can we go see the Fidough now?"
Nurse Joy nodded. "Go ahead. The Fidough is awake, but the food you give it recently should be light. You must avoid irritating its gastrointestinal tract at all costs.
I'll write you a prescription for some medicine later. Take it back and have the Fidough take it on schedule, and it should be completely fine once finished."
Ange said gratefully, "I understand, Nurse Joy."
Nurse Joy smiled and waved her hand. "Go on then."
When Ange and the three Maushold entered the ward, the Fidough was lying listlessly on the bed, closing its eyes to rest.
Its illness had not originally been a major issue, but dragging it out for too long had left it severely drained of vitality.
Hearing movement, the Fidough slowly opened its eyes. Upon seeing the Maushold, a faint, weak smile touched its face as it struggled to climb down from the bed.
Ange hurried forward to press it back down. "Don't rush to move. Just rest properly."
"Woof woof~" Who are you?
The Fidough looked at Ange with confusion.
"Zhizhizhi~" At that, the Maushold chimed in all at once, recounting to the Fidough the process of how Ange had helped them.
"Woof woof~~" Afterward, the Fidough turned to Ange with a grateful expression and thanked him.
Ange smiled. "You're welcome."
Seeing that the Fidough's complexion was still very poor, Ange thought for a moment and asked, "Fidough, are you hungry? Should I go make you something to eat?"
The Fidough wore a hesitant expression, unsure whether it should accept so much help from Ange.
However, the three Maushold instead cupped their hands in thanks to Ange on its behalf, expressing their deep gratitude for his assistance and vowing to repay him in the future.
Though they had nothing to their name, for the sake of their good friend getting better as soon as possible, they had no choice but to swallow their pride and accept Ange's help.
Ange patted the heads of the three Maushold and said, "You wait here then. I'll go ask Nurse Joy to borrow the kitchen."
"Zhizhizhi~~" The three Maushold nodded obediently.
Stepping out of the kitchen later, Ange saw Floragato talking with Wigglytuff while holding the unconscious Maushold, so he walked over and asked, "What's wrong?"
Floragato shook its head. "Nothing, Wigglytuff is just helping check on the Maushold's condition."
Hearing this, Ange thanked Wigglytuff gratefully.
"Puff~ puff~~" Wigglytuff smiled and waved its hands, indicating that Ange had handled everything well and it hadn't been of much help.
After Wigglytuff left, Ange said to Floragato, "Go to the ward and chat with the Maushold. I'm going to the kitchen to make something for the Fidough."
Floragato nodded and entered the ward with Flabebe and the Floette.
After exchanging a few words with Nurse Joy, Ange headed to the Pokémon Center's kitchen.
After thinking for a moment and remembering the lotus seeds and lily bulbs Grandma Yulian had given him, he decided to make a lotus seed, lily bulb, and millet congee for the Fidough. It was nutritious and easy to digest, making it just right for the Fidough in its current state.
Pulling out the ingredients one by one: lotus seeds, lily bulbs, millet, rock sugar, goji berries...
Just as Ange finished preparing the ingredients, he saw Floragato push the door open and walk in. He asked in surprise, "Why did you come in?"
"Came to help you out, is that not allowed?" Floragato asked, lifting its chin.
"Allowed, of course it is!" Ange laughed. He inspected the ingredients and pointed to the millet and lotus seeds, saying, "Then you can help wash these."
Floragato nodded, took the items from Ange's hands, and began working by the sink.
Once the ingredients were washed clean, Ange used his Aura power to process them before placing them in order into a pot to simmer.
The cooking utensil Ange used to simmer the congee was an earthenware pot he had prepared himself. Before long, a faint aroma drifted from the pot, and Floragato instinctively twitched its nose.
Ange thought for a moment and told Floragato, "Keep an eye on the heat for me while I make something else."
Floragato nodded, pulled up a stool to sit before the earthenware pot, and stared blankly at the flames at the bottom, lost in thought.
As for Ange, he took out flour and Grass Nanny Milk to make milky little steamed buns.
Drinking only congee felt a bit monotonous, so Ange decided to make some small steamed buns as well.
Thinking of Nurse Joy and Wigglytuff, who were still working so late, Ange made a bit extra intending to give some to them as a midnight snack.
When the millet congee was done, Ange's milky small steamed buns had also finished steaming.
The moment the steamer lid was lifted, a gentle milky fragrance filled the air.
The little steamed buns were white, round, and soft, making anyone's mouth water at the sight.
"What is this?" Floragato asked curiously.
Ange replied, "Milky small steamed buns. Want to try one?"
Floragato hesitated for a moment, then nodded lightly.
Ange smiled, picked up a small steamed bun with chopsticks, blew gently on it to cool the steam, and said to Floragato, "Here, open wide."
Floragato swallowed a bite. The soft texture paired with a rich milky flavor was sweet and delicious, and its expression instantly brightened.
"Delicious, right?" Ange asked.
Floragato turned its head away, muttering vaguely, "So-so~"
Ange didn't call it out. "I made plenty. Later on, you, Flabebe, and the Floette can eat some together. You've been running around all night, so you must be hungry too."
After delivering the portion prepared for Nurse Joy, Ange returned to the ward.
He released Mewtwo's wife, Komala, and Aegislash, inviting everyone to enjoy the midnight snack together.
"Here, Fidough, this is yours!" Ange placed the milky small steamed bun and the lotus seed, lily bulb, and millet congee in front of the Fidough.
Only the Fidough received the congee.
"Woof woof~" The Fidough thanked Ange gratefully, then lowered its head to eat. After just one bite, it was completely conquered by Ange's culinary skills.
Conquered right along with it were the four Maushold.
They had never eaten such delicious food in their lives.
The injured Maushold had already woken up while Ange was busy in the kitchen, and it enjoyed the rare delicacy alongside its family members.
With food this good, after today, they probably wouldn't ever get to eat it again!
After a hearty feast, everyone rested contentedly with rounded bellies.
Latios and Latias snuggled against each other.
Salamence tucked in its wings and wrapped its tail around itself, letting Glaceon curl up inside its protective circle.
Gardevoir dozed on Gallade's shoulder while Gallade held her hand.
Aegislash hung on the wall, and Komala nested in Ange's arms.
At that moment, Ange asked the Fidough and the four Maushold, "What are your plans for the future? Will you continue traveling everywhere?"