After rescuing the Falinks leader, Joy didn't rest for even a mont. She quickly took the dical kit from Chansey, patted the dust off the bandages that had gotten dirty from lifting the tree trunk, and skillfully diagnosed and treated the Falinks leader.
A short while later—
Chansey wiped the sweat from Joy's forehead, and Joy stood up with a look of relief. With a gentle expression, she instructed the Falinks followers, "Thankfully, they're just superficial wounds. If we'd been any later, internal organs might have been compressed, and then it would've been difficult. It should wake up soon. When that happens, rember to..."
After giving all the necessary instructions to the Falinks followers, Joy and Chansey left gracefully under their grateful gazes.
Seeing the Falinks followers carefully lift their leader and, with coordinated steps, head toward their nearby nest, Lucas smiled. As expected, Joys and Chanseys rarely encounter wild Pokémon attacks in the wild, thanks to their long-standing good reputation.
"We're about to see the town; I can take off the bandages now."
Thinking this, Joy skillfully removed the bandages from her hands and arms. The fair skin revealed beneath showed no injuries—the bandages were just for convenience when working outdoors.
"Miss Joy!"
Just as Joy was about to chat with Chansey, she suddenly heard a call from behind. Turning around, she saw a young man, about seventeen or eighteen years old.
A trainer?
Joy blinked. His Pokémon were probably injured. With plenty of experience in such situations, Joy and Chansey imdiately stopped walking.
"Hello, do you need any help?"
Joy flashed a perfectly warm smile at Lucas.
Lucas didn't waste ti with small talk and said directly, "I have an injured Pokémon I'd like to ask you to take a look at, Miss Joy."
As expected, a trainer whose Pokémon got hurt after training in the wild.
Joy's eyes briefly flashed with understanding, and she smiled, "No problem. We're about to arrive at Los Platos Town. Please co with to the Pokémon Center for a detailed checkup."
Lucas nodded slightly and followed Joy and Chansey.
It took about fifteen minutes to go from the wild to the town and then to the Pokémon Center.
During this ti, Lucas didn't just walk in silence; he told Joy exactly what had happened with the Delibird and its current condition.
Joy opened the Pokémon Center door with a key. Chansey pressed a button, and the dark center instantly lit up.
Joy led Lucas into a neat dical room and said, "I've got a general idea of Delibird's situation, but to be sure, we'll need a physical exam to determine the cause and treatnt plan."
Lucas nodded. At Joy's gesture, he took out a Poké Ball and released Delibird onto the room's only small bed.
"Oh my!"
Even though Lucas had already described Delibird's condition, Joy couldn't help but cover her mouth in surprise when she saw its bare, featherless body.
Delibird looked around the unfamiliar environnt, a bit timid. It only managed to suppress its urge to flee because Lucas was present.
"With such a large tail, Delibird shouldn't be this timid... This is the first ti I've seen such a big tail. In a Delibird group, it could be the leader."
Joy observed Delibird's behavior and frowned thoughtfully, then turned to Chansey, "Please prepare the exam tools and start up the dical system."
"Chansey~"
Chansey nodded with a smile and got busy in the dical room.
Joy looked at Lucas and said politely, "Please wait outside during the examination, Mr. Lucas."
Lucas nodded, comforted Delibird, then left the room.
...
The examination took about ten minutes. When the green light above the door went out, Joy stepped out, mask still on, looking serious.
Seeing this, Lucas's expression also turned solemn.
Joy removed her mask, closed the door behind her, leaving Chansey and Delibird inside, and said in a low voice, "Was it struck by lightning from the clouds three nights ago?"
Lucas confird, "That's right."
"I see," Joy frowned in thought, then continued, "Your treatnt asures were correct. I didn't find any hidden injuries or other issues on Delibird."
"The lightning didn't damage the roots of its feathers. Although most feathers fell off, with a Pokémon's resilience, they'll regrow in at most half a month."
Lucas wasn't surprised at this result. Even though it was his first ti eting Lost Platos's Joy, he had learned treatnt from Joys in other towns in Paldea and was skilled at handling such injuries.
Joy paused, then said seriously, "There are two reasons Delibird can't fly. First, the lack of feathers makes it unable to balance, which is easy to fix."
"The second problem is more difficult. After a psychological test, I've diagnosed that Delibird has developed a fear of the sky and lightning—a so-called psychological trauma."
Lucas frowned in thought. He had vaguely suspected the root of Delibird's issue was psychological, but hearing it confird by an expert like Joy made it feel more troubleso.
In this Pokémon world, most injuries can be solved through a Pokémon's powers or technology. However psychological trauma is much harder to treat.
Lucas rembered that in the ani, Ash's Treecko couldn't use moves after evolving into Sceptile due to psychological issues.
To resolve Sceptile's issues, Ash and his friends went through a lot of trouble.
Seeing Lucas's grave expression, Joy comforted him, "In this case, only soone Delibird trusts can help guide it. I have a few books on Pokémon psychology you can borrow—try using the thods described to help Delibird overco its trauma."
Lucas nodded gently. That was all he could do for now.
Releasing Delibird back into the wild would be a death sentence. Not only couldn't Lucas accept that, but he also couldn't do that to Luxray, who had rescued Delibird.
"Then, Miss Joy, please lend the books."
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