Chapter 290: Rinko's Resolve
"It's useless. Get rid of him," Xiu waved his hand casually towards Scizor, who was still holding the last conscious thug under psychic restraint.
A crisp sound of breaking bones followed. The thug's head lolled at an unnatural angle, his eyes wide and vacant, a final look of terror frozen on his face.
The other young man, who had been forced to watch, was even more shocked, but struggling was futile against Xiu's psychic power. He could only watch in horror as Xiu walked towards him…
After a while, Xiu drove the thugs' car back towards Pallet Town's outskirts.
It was impossible for Xiu to simply let go of someone who was so obviously a dangerous criminal. He had only spared the leader's life temporarily because he hadn't wanted the scene to be too bloody or violent in front of Sol and Mei.
After leaving Chen and his family, Xiu, along with Abra, had immediately rushed out of town, tracking the fleeing vehicle. The thugs had stopped for a while, probably for the leader to crudely bandage his stump.
To create some distance and ensure there were no accidental witnesses, Xiu had waited until they were far from any populated areas before taking decisive action.
To have warranted so much of his personal attention, these few individuals were, in a grim way, quite privileged.
It was impossible for the newly acquired car to be driven directly into Pallet Town without raising questions, so Xiu parked it in a remote, hidden spot and then hurried to the location where he had arranged to meet Chen.
A car was stopped on the side of the road. Xiu suddenly emerged from the nearby trees and knocked on the car window.
This startled Chen, who was already on edge, but he quickly recognized Xiu and opened the passenger door.
"Drive. I'll take you somewhere safe," Xiu said, getting into the passenger seat and gesturing forward.
The group stopped at the foot of the mountain where the botanical garden was situated. Xiu, sensing something, opened his door and got out first.
He didn't forget to instruct them, "Don't worry too much about food and water for now. Just bring your most important personal belongings and follow me."
As soon as they got out of the car, Sol seemed to feel something and looked up at the sky. Chen noticed his son's reaction, looked up as well, and saw a large bird – Rinko's Fearow – circling above.
"Don't worry, just follow me," Xiu said without further explanation and started walking up the path. Chen exchanged a look with Mei, then followed with Sol.
Led by Xiu, the family quickly arrived at the botanical garden. The Fearow also descended, landing gracefully nearby. Xiu noted it was the one that had been injured previously but now seemed fully recovered.
"Don't wander around. Wait here for a moment. I'll go and inform the owner of this place," Xiu told the family at the entrance. He went over to briefly acknowledge the Fearow, then walked into the building.
The Chen family was understandably curious about this impressive structure built into the mountainside, their eyes wandering around. But even without Xiu's explicit warning, they didn't dare to move from the spot he'd indicated.
Xiu found Rinko in the laboratory. This time, she was fully kitted out in protective gear – mask, gloves, lab coat – and was intently focused on something at her workbench.
Xiu didn't rush to disturb her but slowly approached. It took him less than two minutes to realize she was attempting to prepare the antidote. The preserved Pokémon brains he had left for her were gone, presumably already processed.
"Miss Rinko," Xiu called softly, pulling her away from her work.
"Huh!" Rinko was clearly engrossed and hadn't even noticed Xiu observing her for the past two minutes.
"What are you doing?" Xiu asked.
"I… I am trying to prepare an antidote," Rinko stammered, her voice muffled by the mask, sounding like a student caught daydreaming in class by the teacher.
"Don't force yourself to do things you don't like. Some things you can just leave to me," Xiu said with a gentle smile, his tone surprisingly soft.
"I just want to help…" Rinko seemed a little hesitant, like a child who felt she had done something wrong.
"Relax, I don't mean to blame you at all," Xiu said softly to comfort her, reaching out to pat her shoulder reassuringly. "Everyone has their weaknesses, things they find difficult. There's no need to force yourself to do something you dislike or find distressing."
Previously, Rinko had been extremely resistant to the sight of blood and gore, let alone using animal organs to make medicine.
This task was undoubtedly a double blow to her, both psychologically and physically— but she had still worked hard to overcome her aversion, and the neatly arranged vials of solution on a nearby tray showed the results of her efforts.
"Wait a moment, I need to discuss something with you," Xiu said, remembering the Chen family outside. He briefly explained their situation to Rinko.
"It's too chaotic outside right now. My friend's family, including their young daughter, are in great danger. I was hoping to ask if you could help by letting them stay here temporarily."
"No problem at all," Rinko replied immediately. "There are many guest rooms on the second floor. No one has used them for a long time, so they're sealed off, but I just need to air them out and prepare them."
As she spoke, Rinko took off her mask and gloves. "Let's go and get them inside first. We can't let guests stand outside."
Xiu noticed her slightly pale face and, for a moment, felt concern for her.
The main door was opened, and the Chen family, who were originally a little nervous, became visibly curious when they saw the young woman following behind Xiu.
Especially after Xiu introduced them to each other, Chen felt even more surprised.
A young lady like this actually lives alone in such a remote place? Isn't she afraid of something going wrong? But then he quickly thought of Xiu and felt reassured.
Since she's friends with Xiu, she must be a powerful Trainer herself, or at least under his protection.
"Miss Rinko has kindly allowed you to stay here temporarily," Xiu first reminded Chen and his family. "But please don't cause any trouble for her. This is her home, after all, and it would make my position difficult."
"No, no, of course not!" Chen nodded quickly in response. "It's more than generous to have a safe place to stay."
Rinko's attention had initially been on Sol, but she was drawn back by the conversation. She fully opened the door and said, "Please, come in."
Xiu followed them as Rinko gave them a brief tour, familiarizing them with the layout, and then they stopped at a guest room on the second floor.
"We haven't had any guests here for a very long time, so this place is a little old and dusty. I hope you don't mind," Rinko said, taking out a key, unlocking the door, and pushing it open.
It was a very ordinary room: a large bed, a desk, a wardrobe, and not much else. It was quite bare. But that was normal, considering it had likely been locked up for years.
They exchanged polite pleasantries, and Xiu soon felt like an outsider to their settling-in process.
After making sure there were no immediate problems, Xiu returned to the laboratory alone.
Xiu picked up one of the vials of antidote Rinko had prepared and swirled it gently.
He didn't need to conduct extensive, time-consuming experiments to verify the general feasibility of the antidote.
He directly released one of the smaller, less aggressive Pokémon he had captured earlier.
Xiu also made sure Abra was present and ready to suppress the test subject if necessary.
There was no clear dosage indicated on the formula Professor Oak had provided, as different Pokémon would have different reactions based on the amount of stimulant they had consumed and their individual physical fitness.
Xiu's method was very simple: administer a small dose and use his psychic senses, augmented by Abra, to monitor its physical condition.
If it wasn't enough, he would administer more.
After the third drop, Xiu finally observed some reactions from his psychic perspective.
The inexplicable, drug-induced excitement in the Pokémon finally subsided, but then, unexpectedly, the creature fell into a deep, dormant state, almost like a coma.
He was a little confused by this strange outcome, so he could only switch to another captured Pokémon to continue his research and refine the dosage.