That afternoon.
Wayne dialed Blue's phone number.
Blue got straight to the point and laughed knowingly. "Calling me so soon? It seems you've already heard about the Arcanine situation, right?"
Wayne nodded even though Blue couldn't see him through the phone. "I've accepted responsibility for it, but why specifically recommend me? Yellow from Viridian City seems far more suitable than me for this kind of case."
Blue shook his head firmly. "Yellow isn't suitable for this particular situation. She relies on her Viridian Forest powers to read Pokémon's memories and emotions directly."
"However, reading traumatic memories and negative emotions isn't without serious personal burden. There's an intense feeling of empathy and shared experience, and that..." Blue paused meaningfully. "That isn't pleasant at all. It can be psychologically damaging."
Wayne nodded in understanding. "Alright, I accept that explanation completely."
Blue tried his absolute best to hide the smile forming at the corner of his mouth, but he failed miserably. "Don't worry. I won't just stand by and do nothing to help with this matter. Wait just a moment."
A notification message suddenly popped up on Wayne's messaging app:
"Administrator Blue has added you to the group chat."
Blue had just added Wayne to a chat group with the unusual name "Did you battle today?"
A message immediately appeared:
"Silver: Yo, it's Wayne! Want to battle sometime?"
Wayne felt confused. ???
Wayne temporarily stopped looking at the rapidly accumulating group messages because Blue started talking again.
"This is a group chat that Red created specifically for arranging Pokémon battles between strong Trainers. That guy complained it takes way too much time to call and text everyone individually to set up matches."
"..."
Alright, that was very characteristic of Red's personality.
Wait, why did this group chat concept sound suspiciously like some kind of harem anime setup?
This group wouldn't operate like the King of Hell's list, picking people off one by one, would it?
If Red one day specifically hand-picked Wayne for an intense battle, wouldn't Wayne just get completely destroyed?
No, wait—Lucario would probably explode from the intensity first.
But Wayne had the Heavenly Aura Physique enhancing his stamina.
Fighting Red in an actual physical wild battle should theoretically be manageable, right?
Should he seriously consider learning proper boxing techniques from Alan?
Blue had absolutely no idea how far Wayne's thoughts had jumped in such a brief moment.
"Although it's primarily a battle coordination group, everyone also exchanges useful information and advice on it regularly, which might be helpful to you. Probably," Blue added with decreasing confidence.
Recalling some of the completely meaningless and random topics that frequently appeared in the chat group, Blue's tone became noticeably less certain.
Wayne couldn't help but call him out. "With that uncertain tone, even you yourself don't feel confident about it!"
"Let's not dwell on that topic. How's Feebas doing lately?" Blue changed the subject.
"Same as usual—no major changes yet. I've invited a friend to visit with her Milotic. She should arrive in a few days," Wayne reported.
Blue's expression shifted to one of playful curiosity and gossip. "A friend, you say? Make sure to let me know if there are any interesting developments. I can't keep talking anymore—that guy is rushing me to start our training session."
"Beep, beep, beep, beep..."
The call ended abruptly.
"..."
He hung up way too fast, didn't he?!
Wayne opened the chat group interface. Even in just that short conversation time, the group already had accumulated many messages, clearly indicating the presence of several enthusiastic chatterboxes.
There were quite a few notable people in this group.
The famous Kanto quartet of Red, Blue, Yellow, and Green were all present.
Silver and Crystal from Johto were there as well.
Several members of the Kanto Elite Four like Lorelei and Bruno, along with various Gym Leaders including Brock, Misty, Sabrina, and Lt. Surge...
Wayne thought nervously: Are you absolutely sure they won't clash with conflicting personalities?
Honestly, Wayne would love watching dramatic conflicts unfold!
Ruby and Sapphire from the Hoenn region were members, and Steven Stone was also there.
What surprised Wayne the most was discovering that Diantha, the current Kalos region Champion, was also in the group.
She must have been added by Blue personally, right?
After all, Blue had traveled extensively to the Kalos region and had directly interacted with Diantha during his time there.
Blue had mentioned this himself a while ago during their conversations.
Wayne felt grateful for Alan's naturally sociable personality—he asked many questions, was extremely outgoing, and became naturally familiar with everyone he met.
There were many prominent people in the group, but currently, only two major chatterboxes—Silver and Lt. Surge—were actively engaged in conversation.
Wayne would absolutely call their chatting ability legendary. They were like the Water Saint and Water King of conversations.
"Silver: How's the Breeding Center business going?"
"Lt. Surge: Idiot, haven't you seen how fast his account's follower count is growing? Business must obviously be doing great."
Lt. Surge, who had also created his own video account on Eevee Video Network, was extremely envious of the impressive number of followers Wayne's account had gained so rapidly.
"Silver: Oh right, a certain someone's account has literally no real followers except for his own Gym apprentices and students."
Lt. Surge fell completely silent after that comment. Wayne could vividly imagine Lt. Surge's frozen, stunned expression in front of his screen.
"Wayne: We've found our footing and established ourselves. We're seriously considering expanding into hatching and breeding Pokémon eggs."
They were genuinely considering this expansion. This step had to be taken sooner or later for business growth.
This was actually one of the specific conditions the Jubilife City mayor had stipulated when he'd sold the property to Wayne's family.
"Silver: Oh! That's progressing fast! If you have any questions about egg hatching techniques, you can definitely ask me!"
"Lt. Surge: Ask YOU? The Pokémon eggs will spoil and go bad!"
Wayne didn't spend too much time chatting in the group. Currently, only Silver and Lt. Surge were actively online and engaged.
Wayne didn't have time for extended conversations with them. He needed to go to the back mountain area this afternoon.
However, before making that trip, Wayne absolutely had to check on the traumatized Arcanine's current condition first.
Wayne had released Arcanine from its Poké Ball earlier that morning.
But it clearly wasn't in good mental condition, so Wayne had only provided it with some food and fresh water.
He'd decided to let it rest peacefully for a while and gradually get used to its new environment.
Not far to the left of Wayne's family house, there was a row of five connected rooms that were shared facilities between Wayne's property and the adjacent Pokémon Center.
Wayne spotted Arcanine curled up tightly in the corner from quite a distance away.
The Pokémon was clearly very large and physically imposing, but its courage and confidence had become incredibly small.
In many significant ways, Feebas and this Arcanine were remarkably similar. Both would instinctively curl up in corners and refuse to come out or interact.
Arcanine absolutely couldn't have been like this before its trauma.
Otherwise, it would never have been able to successfully join an elite tactical unit and participate in dangerous operations to capture Team Galactic members.
It could only be concluded that the severe psychological illness had caused it an overwhelming amount of harm.
Standing in front of the traumatized Arcanine was another person.
"Nurse Joy," Wayne greeted respectfully.
"Wayne," she responded warmly.
Seeing Wayne arrive, Nurse Joy, who had been squatting down near Arcanine, slowly stood up.
"Nurse Joy, are you also concerned and worried about Arcanine?" Wayne asked gently.
Nurse Joy paused for a moment, then sighed helplessly with visible emotion. "Actually, I was personally involved in its initial emergency rescue operation after the incident."
Recalling the extensive and severe injuries that Arcanine had suffered back then, Nurse Joy couldn't help but frown with deep concern.
"I also heard detailed reports about its subsequent psychological abnormalities and behavioral changes."
"When I heard the news at lunchtime that it had been brought here, I immediately wanted to come see it," she explained.
Wayne and Nurse Joy both looked together at the Arcanine still curled up defensively in the corner.
It was dramatically different from Wayne's own young Arcanine.
Wayne's personal Arcanine looked round and somewhat plump, with luxuriously long manes. It was constantly full of boundless vitality and energy, and it never wanted to stay home quietly.
This was completely normal behavior because Wayne's Arcanine was only a little over one year old—still essentially a puppy.
However, this Arcanine, which had once been an ace police Pokémon, had a perfectly well-proportioned and athletic body built through rigorous training.
Because its entire body was covered in thick fur, not many physical scars were immediately visible. Only a single distinctive knife-like scar marked its face prominently.
Interestingly, this knife scar on its face didn't look ugly or disfiguring at all. It actually looked quite handsome and gave it a battle-hardened appearance.
According to Zorro's information, this Arcanine was eight years old, which represented the absolute golden prime age for a police Pokémon.
Arcanine generally retired from active duty around eighteen to twenty years old, so it was still extremely far from natural retirement age.
Perhaps it wouldn't engage in destructive behavior like tearing down houses the way Wayne's young Arcanine occasionally did, but it definitely wouldn't normally behave like this either.
Although this Arcanine was currently very timid and withdrawn, fortunately it didn't actively refuse physical contact entirely.
Nurse Joy gently stroked its soft, warm mane and spoke softly with encouragement. "Arcanine, so many people genuinely care about you and want to see you recover. You have to work hard and try your best."
She turned to look directly at Wayne, her eyes burning with intensity and hope. "I'm counting on you, Wayne. Please help this brave Arcanine cheer up and regain its confidence."
Wayne's expression suddenly became completely serious and committed. "I will do absolutely everything in my power to help."
"If you need my assistance for anything at all, please don't hesitate to ask," Nurse Joy offered sincerely.
"I will. Thank you," Wayne responded gratefully.