Chapter 107: Taken Away by Officer Jenny
The moment the Pelipper landed, the sound of human discussion started up nearby.
"Huh? Why is there a little Treecko in that Pelipper's beak?"
"I don't know. Don't Pelipper usually eat fish? Even if they eat other Pokémon, it should be Wishiwashi or Luvdisc."
"The little Treecko came out on its own. Looks like they're friends."
Will climbed out of the Pelipper's beak and looked around. Three or four children were gathered around him and the Pelipper. Seeing this, Will was even more certain that he was in the Era of Leagues. In the past, humans would have forbidden their children from casually approaching a primal beast; Iris had been spanked by her mother more than once for that very reason.
"Peli?" The Pelipper, seeming used to this, ignored the children and looked at Will, asking if he needed its company.
"Thank you. If you have something to do, you can go ahead. I'll just wander around on my own."
"Pelipper," the Pelipper nodded, then flapped its wings and flew off towards the port, where its Trainer probably was.
"Ah, the Pelipper flew away! It left the little Treecko here."
"What do we do?"
"I don't know. It's so small. Should we take it to the Pokémon Hospital?"
The three children squatted down and looked at Will, unsure of what to do.
Pokémon Hospital...
Will looked up at the kind-hearted children, then carefully surveyed the surrounding buildings. So this isn't the same time period as the anime.
He had confirmed it now. He was indeed in the Era of Leagues, but in a timeline much earlier than the anime. He could tell from the children's somewhat "old-fashioned" clothes and the older architectural style of the city. The "skyscrapers" around him only seemed so tall because he was so small. Compared to the height of the adults, they were probably only three or four stories.
And the "Pokémon Hospital" the child had mentioned. Everyone knows that this is what the Pokémon Center used to be called. It was only after the Pokémon League began to hold official battle competitions that the name was changed. Before that, they were just Pokémon Hospitals, and their main social responsibility was to rescue and heal Pokémon. They didn't have all the other Pokémon-related services and equipment that the future Centers would have.
"Tree-cko, cko. (The battle tournaments haven't started yet. No wonder.)"
Will slipped between the children's legs and looked out at the city street. There were indeed a lot of Pokémon. Basically every person had one following them, as if it were the "mainstream" of this era. However, he barely saw anyone carrying two or more Poké Balls. If this era had Battle Competitions, Contests, and so on, this would be a very strange sight. Clearly, the Era of Leagues had only just begun.
Just then, Will's tail twitched, and he subconsciously took two steps forward.
"? How did it dodge when its back was to me?" one of the little girls asked, looking at Will in amazement. The three of them had just decided to take the Treecko to the Pokémon Center. Afraid it would run away, the girl had tried to pick it up.
Will glanced back at them, said nothing, and scurried into a narrow alleyway.
"! The little Treecko!"
"Will it get snatched up by the Meowth and Persian in the city?"
"I don't think so. They like to steal food, but they don't have a hobby of bothering other Pokémon."
The three children couldn't catch up and could only watch as Will disappeared from their sight.
On the other side, Will was moving through the city's shadows, trying his best not to be seen. Although the people of this era were very friendly to Pokémon, that was precisely why he didn't want to go out on the street. A lone baby Treecko was too worrying. If he was seen, he would definitely be taken to Nurse Joy or Officer Jenny, or even sent to the local Pokémon Professor's lab. And he was still planning to go to the Johto region.
"Hmm, if I want to get to Johto, a plane is undoubtedly the best choice. It should be able to reach a big city there. I just don't know if planes exist in this era. Maybe they do, but they're probably not very fast," Will thought, peeking his head out from an alley. He was looking for the way to an airport.
"?"
Suddenly, a woman's voice sounded from behind him. The moment he heard it, he immediately bolted. Come on, do you really think my two years of—
"Treecko!"
A terrified expression appeared on Will's face. He had been snatched up by something. With his reaction speed, no ordinary human from this era should have been able to catch him. It had to be a Pokémon. Based on the hot breath behind him, he guessed it was a Fire-type.
"Woof!"
A bark sounded. The next moment, the dog Pokémon delivered him into a human's hands. As he was transferred, he finally saw what had caught him.
A Growlithe.
"Little one, what are you doing here all alone? You didn't run away from a daycare, did you?" a somewhat heroic-sounding voice asked.
Will turned his head. As expected, accompanying the Growlithe was the city's Officer Jenny.
Speak of the devil. What do I do now? Am I really going to be sent to a research lab?
Will smacked his lips and began to speak his thoughts out loud. Humans couldn't understand him anyway. There was no need to whisper; he could plot his escape at full volume.
"Hmm, what's this little one 'tree-ckoing' about? Honestly, a little baby like you can't be running around the city alone. You'll get snatched up by a Meowth," Officer Jenny said, holding Will and looking him over. She even reached down and gave him a little pat-down to check. "It's a little boy."
"What the—you have no sense of personal space!"
Being checked like that, Will couldn't sit still any longer and began to struggle frantically. Not even Liz or Hestia had ever been so rude to him!
"Hey, don't move, don't move! It was my mistake! Be good, and when we get back to the station, I'll get you some Moomoo Milk."
Hearing this, Will immediately settled down. He had no choice. He was pretty hungry right now; it was better to get something to eat first. In any case, even if he was sent to a lab, he should be able to escape. Worst case, he'd just wait a week until he was out of his infant stage. With Extreme Speed, he wasn't afraid of being unable to get away.
"You quiet down as soon as you hear about food. I bet you're going to be a big eater when you grow up," Officer Jenny said, playfully flicking his large tail with her finger. She then carried him out of the alley.
After that, Will was placed in the basket of a bicycle.
"Is the police force this shabby in this period?" Will sat in the basket and complained. Although the bicycle was a classic item in the games, he didn't think even Officer Jenny would be using one. How was she supposed to catch bad guys with this?
He then looked out at the street. Humans were still using horse-drawn carriages, a mode of transport from a thousand years ago. But come to think of it, Earth had used them for over four thousand years, let alone the Pokémon world, with its varied levels of development. The Pokémon world's tech tree was very strange. On the one hand, they could create artificial legendary Pokémon. On the other, even the wealthy nobles were still using ancient tools and etiquette. A mode of transport like a horse-drawn carriage was still used by James's family in the future.
Thinking of this, Will wasn't so surprised anymore.
Officer Jenny skillfully got on the bike and began to ride towards the police station, the Growlithe running alongside. The journey wasn't far. The roads were well-paved and very clean. Will didn't feel any bumps or smell any strange odors; the experience was quite pleasant.
The police station was a simple, three-story office building. If not for the deep blue sign outside, Will would have thought it was an apartment building.
"The Pokémon League still has a long way to go," Will sighed.
"Don't just sit there like a little lord. Weren't you running around just fine a minute ago?" Officer Jenny said, stopping the bike and coming over to pick him up. A three-pound Treecko weighed less than the groceries she usually bought.
Originally, Will wasn't going to respond to her, but then he looked down and saw the Growlithe's fluffy head and got an idea.
"...Put me there," he said, pulling on her collar and pointing at the Growlithe's head.
"What about Growlithe?"
"Woof?"
The Growlithe looked up, tilting its head, wondering why its trainer was calling it.
Seeing that she didn't understand, Will gave a powerful leap. Fortunately, Jenny wasn't holding him too tightly, and he jumped free, landing on the Growlithe's large head.
"Alright, let's go," Will said, grabbing the tuft of fur on top of its head.
"You little..." Officer Jenny put her hands on her hips and shook her head helplessly.
"Woof!" The Growlithe didn't mind at all. Like a happy goofball, it trotted behind her, its head bobbing.
They made their way up to the second floor. The moment Will appeared in the office, he immediately attracted a lot of attention.
"Yo, Jenny, what little Treecko did you arrest?"
"Yeah, did this one steal something to eat?"
"It probably got separated from its trainer."
"Come to auntie, little baby. Auntie has some berries."
Pokémon were common, but baby Pokémon were not. A Pokémon's infant stage was very short, only a week or two. Most of the time, before a trainer even realized it, their Pokémon was already past the baby stage. So, when the officers saw Jenny bring back a little Treecko, they all found it quite novel.
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