Chapter 41. It's an Appetite Stimulant; I Added an Appetite Stimulant
"Charmander, hang in there!"
In the torrential rain, Ash Ketchum wrapped Charmander in his clothes, the flame on its tail flickering in and out.
"Pika!"
To lighten Ash's load, Pikachu didn't ride on his shoulder as usual, but ran alongside.
Misty felt the scene before her was painfully familiar.
What a pity that this time, Ash didn't have a bike.
Sigh, how she wished a bike would show up right now.
She'd even make Natsume go a whole day without eating if that would make it happen.
"Ash, we need to go faster.
Charmander's tail flame is about to go out."
Brock took off his own jacket to shield Charmander's tail from the wind.
"Rotom, Heal Ball!"
Suddenly, a shout rang out ahead, and in the next second, a green beam struck Charmander.
"Great, it's Natsume!
We're saved!"
Ash was overjoyed.
"Let's get back to the Pokémon Center first!"
Natsume and the Poké Ball Rotom appeared.
Very soon, everyone returned to the Pokémon Center, and with a beam of light, Charmander's figure emerged again.
"Roar—"
The flame on Charmander's tail swelled and gradually returned to normal.
"Natsume, your Pokémon is amazing.
Charmander's injuries are all mended."
After an examination, Nurse Joy clicked her tongue in wonder.
"But… this Charmander still can't seem to perk up."
Brock and Ash looked at Charmander with worry.
It remained listless.
"Of course not.
This child probably hasn't eaten in days."
As she spoke, Nurse Joy brought over a standard Pokémon meal.
She tore open the package and held it out to Charmander, but it turned its head away, clearly not in the mood.
"What's going on?"
Everyone was taken aback.
"Charmander, did you eat my red pill?"
Natsume spoke up from the side.
At the words—as if a keyword had been triggered—Charmander turned its head and spat at Natsume.
"Uh… was it trying to use Ember just now?"
Misty eyed Charmander, feeling its reaction was a bit extreme.
"Natsume, didn't you say if you don't want to live anymore you take the red pill?
If Charmander took it, how are we still seeing it now?"
Ash remembered what Natsume had said earlier and couldn't help asking.
"Right.
It looked half-dead, so the blue pill is a Potion concentrate, and the red pill is a Super Potion concentrate."
"Oh, and I added a touch of breeding aphrodisiac in the pills.
That way, even if it wants to die, it won't have the focus to see it through."
Natsume said this as a matter of course.
Charmander: "…"
It truly hadn't wanted to live.
Abandoned by its Trainer, then set upon by Spearow.
In despair, it remembered something Natsume had told it.
So Charmander resolutely swallowed that red pill, and then—its waist stopped aching, its legs stopped hurting, and energy surged back!
In shock, it found itself uncontrollably manic, even driving off the Spearow that had kicked it while it was down.
After the frenzy came an endless emptiness.
Charmander panicked, figured Natsume liked to say the opposite of what he meant, and swallowed the blue pill too.
Sigh.
Even more energy!
"Oh no—this child doesn't want to eat.
If this continues, its life will be in danger."
Nurse Joy's worried voice rose.
The flame on Charmander's tail was slowly shrinking.
Seeing this, Ash and the others pulled out their own Pokémon food—little biscuits, little treats, and the like.
But without exception, to a Charmander whose heart was set on dying, none of it was the least bit appetizing.
"Natsume, do you have a way?"
Honora walked over and looked at Natsume.
She produced top-tier Pokémon food, and it was even a flavor Fire-type Pokémon love.
But this Charmander just wouldn't take a bite, its face all set on dying.
"Damn it, that scumbag.
He ought to be taught a good lesson!"
Brock clenched his fist.
He had rarely been this angry.
"Natsume, do you have a way?"
Like Honora, Misty looked at Natsume with pleading eyes.
"Natsume, please think of something!"
At a time like this, Ash thought of Natsume first.
After realizing he had suddenly become the one everyone was counting on, Natsume pondered for a moment.
"Let's try this."
Natsume produced a small vial from who-knows-where, filled with powdery grains that looked like salt.
He sprinkled a bit of the powder over the Pokémon food everyone had brought out.
"Pika!"
Not far away, the dozing center-parted one's nose twitched, and it jolted upright from the brink of slumber.
"Pika pi!"
It dashed at the spread of food, but before it could say a word, Natsume lifted it by the scruff.
"Wait till Charmander finishes.
Then it's your turn."
"Pika!"
Off to the side, Pikachu pinched its nose and forced its head away, but its eyes couldn't help sneaking glances at the food on the floor.
"Chansey, Chansey—"
From behind Nurse Joy, Chansey poked out its head, longing plain on its face.
"No.
That's for Charmander."
Nurse Joy was stunned inside.
Her Chansey had specialized training and wouldn't usually leave its post.
Unless it just couldn't help it.
Prone on the floor, the previously food-averse, dispirited Charmander suddenly showed interest in the food once Natsume sprinkled the powder.
It twitched its nose.
Though its expression was full of resistance, its body edged toward the dish in front of it, as if unable to refuse the aroma wafting from the food.
One bite.
Two bites.
"Look, it's eating!"
Misty pointed at the dish, delighted.
"Natsume, you're amazing!"
Unlike Ash and Misty, who didn't really understand, Nurse Joy and the others looked to Natsume with earnest eyes:
"Natsume, what is that?
I want to learn!"
"Natsume, what did you just add?"
"Natsume, I want to know too.
This is vital for treating Pokémon with anorexia."
Honora, Brock, and Nurse Joy all gazed at Natsume, eyes blazing with hope.
Facing the three hopeful stares, Natsume nodded solemnly:
"It's an appetite stimulant—
I added an appetite stimulant."
"…"
The air suddenly fell silent.
After a long moment, Misty broke it:
"Um… aren't appetite stimulants harmful to Pokémon's bodies?
Lots of Pokémon food brands that added them got shut down by the League."
"But if Charmander doesn't eat, it'll die."
Ash reflexively spoke up in Natsume's defense.
"No, Misty."
Brock picked up the thread:
"Those unscrupulous manufacturers add appetite stimulants to cover up food that's already bad to begin with.
Our Pokémon food is high-quality in the first place."
"Although long-term use of appetite stimulants is harmful to a Pokémon's body, for a dangerous case like Charmander's, this is a life-saving measure."
"Brock's right."
Natsume nodded, then continued:
"Drugs themselves aren't good or bad.
It depends on the situation and the person using them."
For example, the breeding aphrodisiac he'd added for Charmander only had a frenzy-inducing effect on a baby Pokémon.
And in a Spearow attack, bursting out with violent power to scare them off was precisely the correct move.
"I see.
I've learned a lot, Natsume."
Honora pulled out her little notebook and began writing who-knows-what.
"By the way, Natsume."
Nurse Joy looked over.
"I've never seen an appetite stimulant that tempts Pokémon this strongly.
Where did you buy it?"
"That?"
Natsume fell into recollection.
"Mm.
I mixed it myself."
He'd worked out the formula for this appetite stimulant back at Professor Oak's Laboratory.
Some Pokémon that stayed around him too long would get inexplicably depressed and stop eating.
It gave Natsume a real headache.
For the sake of those Pokémon's health, he had no choice but to develop this appetite stimulant with relatively low bodily harm.
Mm… roughly like mixing a cheap snack seasoning into plain food.
At worst, a Pokémon with a weak stomach might get an upset stomach.
"Please, Natsume.
I really need this."
Nurse Joy clutched Natsume's hand, pleading.
The odds weren't high, but every so often she would get one or two Pokémon with anorexia.
It drove her up the wall.
"I'll give you some, then?"
Natsume arched a brow.
"No, Nurse Joy."
Honora grabbed their hands and pried them apart in one motion, then said:
"For the next year, my family should be sending it to you regularly."
"Natsume!"
Honora suddenly turned to him, a crimson streak flashing across her face.
"Could you license this formula to Kanto Pharmaceutical Company?
I'll have my dad pay you the patent fee!"
"Send him this."
Natsume said, handing Honora the half-vial of powder that was left.
He didn't mind.
It was just a little trinket he'd come up with by accident, not even worthy of inclusion among his "ten authentic tomes."
Earning a bit of patent money wouldn't hurt.
The funds he would need in the future were going to be enormous.
Honora put the tiny bottle away as if it were a priceless treasure.
She suddenly realized Natsume was like an undeveloped trove.
Every now and then, another surprise would pop out.
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