Pokémon: Who let him leave Pallet Town?

Chapter 523 Wait a minute, things aren't quite what you think.

Okay, let's go to the hospital first.

He picked up Cattleya, and she immediately wrapped her arms around him, squeezing Natsume's neck until it ached.

Natsume took Gadriya to the hospital where the prodigy had been treated.

This hospital primarily treats humans and operates separately from the Pokémon Center.

"hiss--"

After much effort, Natsume carefully "torn" Cattleya off him like an octopus and gently placed her on the hospital bed.

He moved his slightly numb arm and clapped his hands helplessly.

A young intern nurse strode in and began a preliminary examination of Cattleya with instruments in hand.

She looked at the stable vital signs data on the screen, then at Cattleya, who was sleeping soundly on the hospital bed with a slightly furrowed brow and a pale face, and a hint of confusion appeared on her face.

“This Miss Cattleya…her vital signs seem fine, but…” She hesitated, carefully choosing her words:

"It seems like your emotions are fluctuating a lot? Or perhaps you're mentally unstable?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she felt a calm yet scrutinizing gaze fall upon her.

Natsume raised an eyebrow slightly as he looked at her.

The intern nurse immediately became nervous and quickly waved her hand to explain, "No, I mean... that's what the instrument shows. I'm not really sure I can judge the specifics."

"Please wait a moment, I'll go and get my tutor to come and take a look!" After saying that, she turned around and ran out quickly like a startled little rabbit.

"Tsk," Natsume watched her retreating figure, shook his head slightly, and muttered to himself.

"I should have just gone to the Pokémon Center."

Although the treatment areas for humans and Pokémon are separated, in Caitlia's case, all she really needs is a quiet environment to recuperate.

Moreover, he is more familiar with Nurse Joy at the Pokémon Center, making communication easier.

"Mr. Natsume"

A faint, almost inaudible call, thick with nasal tones and sleepiness, abruptly pulled Natsume back to reality.

He turned his head and found that Cattleya on the hospital bed had opened her eyes at some point.

Those deep blue eyes were now veiled with a layer of mist, their gaze lost and empty, as if they had just struggled ashore from the deep sea and had not yet found their focus.

Her gaze swept aimlessly across the hospital room, finally settling on Natsume standing by the bed. Those previously unfocused eyes instantly lit up with a faint but persistent light.

"You're awake?" Natsume took a step closer and leaned down to ask.

Cattleya did not answer, but stared at him blankly, her lips moving slightly.

The next second, she reached out her arm as if she were a drowning person grabbing the only piece of driftwood.

The cold, slender fingers gripped Natsume's wrist tightly with astonishing strength.

The fingernails were almost embedded in his skin, causing a sharp, stinging pain.

"Mr. Natsume"

She called out again, her voice trembling uncontrollably, as if she had used all her strength to squeeze out those few words.

She struggled to sit up, but her body swayed weakly.

Natsume instinctively reached out and firmly supported her slender shoulder.

"Little Liya is gone, she's gone!"

Suddenly, Gadriya's voice cracked with sobs, and tears welled up without warning, sliding down her pale cheeks and dripping onto the white sheets, spreading out in a small dark patch.

"Little Liya?" Natsume was taken aback, not immediately realizing what she was referring to.

But he still quickly pulled a few tissues from the tissue box on the bedside table and handed them over.

"Thank you, Mr. Natsume."

Caldelia's voice was soft and nasal as she took the tissue and wiped her face haphazardly.

“It’s okay, it’s free, there’s plenty more here.” Natsume said, and simply took the whole box of tissues and placed it next to her.

After wiping away her tears, Cattleya seemed to calm down a little, but the hand gripping Natsume's wrist did not loosen at all; instead, it gripped even tighter, her knuckles turning white from the force.

She even unconsciously moved a little closer to Natsume, as if trying to gain more sense of security.

A faint, cool floral fragrance wafted into Natsume's nostrils.

Immediately afterwards, Cattleya did something that surprised Natsume.

She leaned forward slightly, her head resting gently and tentatively against Natsume's chest.

Natsume frowned slightly, his body stiffening instinctively, but he didn't push her away immediately.

He could clearly sense that the restless, untamed psychic energy within Cattleya's body, like a wild horse, was soothed by an invisible force the moment it came into contact with him, miraculously calming down and becoming gentle and docile.

"Well, it's okay."

Natsume hesitated for a moment, then raised his hand and gently patted her back, trying to offer some comfort.

Cattleya didn't respond, but buried her face even deeper and tightened her arms around his waist.

"Can you let me go first?" Natsume suddenly asked, his voice calm.

It was quite obvious that he could feel Cattleya, who was leaning against his chest, suddenly tremble, as if she had been stung by those words.

"Oh," she responded softly, her voice muffled.

The arms that had been wrapped around Natsume stiffly and slowly loosened.

She raised her head, a few strands of golden hair clinging to her tear-streaked cheeks. Her eyes darted away, avoiding Natsume's gaze, and she leaned back slightly, creating some distance between them.

However, her right hand remained firmly gripping Natsume's left wrist, refusing to let go no matter what.

"Well, I might have something to take care of." Natsume actually wanted to set off immediately to investigate clues at the Peace Dove Company.

"Okay," Cattleya replied softly, nodding, and then released her hand.

She lowered her head, but her free left hand reached into the pocket of her coat and began to rummage around.

Under Natsume's questioning gaze, she took out a small white medicine bottle.

The bottle had no label and was filled with mostly small, white, round pills.

"Sleeping pills?! What are you trying to do?!"

Seeing Cattleya unscrew the bottle cap, seemingly about to pour out the pills to put in her mouth, Natsume's pupils contracted, and he swiftly snatched the bottle away. "Huh?" Cattleya seemed a little bewildered as the bottle was taken away.

She looked up at Natsume, her eyes still heavy with sleep and confusion.

"Hehe." She suddenly gave Natsume a silly laugh, her smile pale and fragile.

"Since Xiaoliya isn't here, I need to take my medication to stabilize my telekinesis."

She explained in a low voice, as if stating a self-evident fact.

After saying that, she reached out and grabbed the medicine bottle in Natsume's hand.

"Give me."

Natsume raised an eyebrow slightly, and with a flick of his wrist, easily dodged her hand.

He now fully understood who "Little Lydia" was—it was the name that Cattleya had given to the baby inside her.

"Taking medication can stabilize my telekinesis? But these are sleeping pills!"

Natsume shook the small white bottle in his hand, his brows furrowed, and emphasized again that he thought she had taken the wrong medicine.

Unexpectedly, Cattleya nodded absently, her eyes serious.

"If they eat and sleep, they won't riot."

Her tone was flat, as if she were talking about something perfectly ordinary, something she was used to.

In an instant, Natsume was stunned.

Indeed, during deep sleep, psychomotor activity decreases to a minimum and tends to stabilize.

He looked down at the medicine bottle in his hand that had been unscrewed; there were still a dozen or so pills inside, and the bottom of the bottle was almost empty.

He suddenly remembered the reports about Cattleya that he had read before.

"The news said that's how you developed your excessive sleepiness?" Natsume's voice lowered, carrying a hint of barely perceptible heaviness.

He looked up, his gaze sharp as he looked at Cattleya.

“I don’t want to hurt anyone,” Cattleya’s voice was soft, with an almost numb calm, as she reached out her hand again.

"Give me."

"You've been eating this for over ten years?" Natsume's tone turned serious.

"You can't eat this for a long time, you know? It's very harmful to your health!"

After saying that, Natsume casually tossed the sleeping pills out the window.

"Hmm," Cattleya stared at him blankly, seemingly not quite understanding what he was saying.

She scratched her head, then rummaged in another pocket and pulled out another identical small white medicine bottle.

Natsume: "."

He watched as Cattleya clumsily tried to unscrew the cap of the new medicine bottle, her movements slow and laborious.

That look of familiarity mixed with a touch of bewilderment and helplessness made Natsume feel a little sorry for him.

It's heartbreaking to see; they're so pitiful!

An indescribable emotion welled up inside me.

Natsume took a deep breath and made a decision.

I want to help her!
"Don't eat anymore." His voice softened a little. "I have a way to help you."

"Hmm?" Cattleya stopped what she was doing, looked up, her beautiful eyes filled with confusion and a faint glimmer of hope:

"Are you trying to put me to sleep? I'm resistant to Pokémon hypnosis. Only medication works."

"Don't worry, there are other things that can make people sleep besides drugs," Natsume sighed, interrupting her.

"What is that?" Cattleya looked at him curiously, her eyes as pure as a child's.

"Close your eyes," Natsume said.

Without the slightest hesitation, Cattleya immediately and obediently closed her eyes.

Long eyelashes cast fan-shaped shadows under her eyelids, and her pale cheeks looked particularly fragile under the light, like an angel waiting for redemption.

The world fell silent, and there seemed to be the sound of wind all around.

"boom!"

A dull thud, like the sound of a heavy wooden board being struck, echoed in the quiet ward.

Three seconds later, Cattleya's body slumped back onto the hospital bed, her breathing became even and long, and she fell into a deep sleep.

"Knew it!"

Natsume looked at the sleeping Cattleya, wiping the smooth-edged brick in his hand with a tissue, and muttered to himself, his tone tinged with self-mockery and helplessness:

"A person as noble and kind as me cannot bear to see such a pitiful little girl suffer."

at this time.

"Squeak-"

The door to the ward was suddenly pushed open.

“Yes! Professor! My student said that a strange man brought Miss Cattleya to see a doctor! And his behavior was very suspicious!” An old and anxious voice rang out.

The butler hurried in, followed by the intern nurse from earlier and a venerable old doctor wearing glasses.

On the top of the old doctor's head, there were still a few small white pills, stubbornly imprisoned in the Mediterranean Sea by a few strands of hair.

"Ok?"

The butler's gaze was instantly drawn to it.

He first saw Cattleya, who was fast asleep in the hospital bed, but had a small, red, swollen bump on her forehead.

Immediately afterwards, his gaze was fixed on the brick in Natsume's hand, which he hadn't had time to put away yet and whose edges were still a little dusty.

In an instant, the anxiety and worry on the butler's face froze, turning into extreme shock and disbelief.

He stared at Natsume as if facing a formidable enemy, his trembling finger pointing at the "murder weapon" in his hand!
"Wait a minute!" Natsume immediately raised his hand, trying to explain.

"Things might not be as you think."

(End of this chapter)