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The way Eevee and Mai met was a little comical. While playing upstream near the riverbank, Eevee tripped and tumbled straight into the water, getting carried downstream by the current.
After a long struggle, she managed to grab onto a dead tree branch jutting from the bank. But the moss on the branch was slippery, and after flailing in the water for so long, she had no strength left. She could only hook her claws around the branch, half her body still dangling in the water, waiting to recover some energy.
Mai, who had snuck out with Corsola to search for berries, hadn't originally planned to go near the river. But Corsola, catching the scent of running water, bounced excitedly in that direction.
For Water-type Pokémon, running water and stagnant water are two completely different sensations.
At Mai's home, Corsola could only enjoy the feel of water spraying on her body in the bathroom on days when Mai could manage to get the family out of the way. Most of the time, Mai had to pour water over her with a cup just to keep her spirits up. At night, she'd secretly order Corsola to sneak outside and find water sources on her own to play in.
Mai knew her way of raising Corsola was a bit cruel. Corsola's entire world was limited to her bedroom. If she showed herself in front of Mai's family, there was no doubt she'd be driven out like the others.
Mai's constant reminders helped Corsola understand her situation. She stopped being mischievous and obediently stayed in the room all day.
The toughest days were when Mai had to go to the hospital for her routine checkups. On those days, her family would take the chance to clean and tidy her room.
Whenever that happened, Corsola had no choice but to bury herself under Mai's clothes and stay perfectly still, holding that pose until Mai returned in the evening to call her out.
Sometimes, Mai would go to bed early, set an alarm for the middle of the night, and then sneak Corsola out into the courtyard for some fun while the house slept. Those were their freest moments. Though risky, the thrill of those secret adventures kept both Corsola and Mai addicted to them.
That's also why Mai didn't stop Corsola from running off that day. She felt Corsola had already suffered too much just to stay by her side. Pokémon food was almost nonexistent, and they often had to split Mai's own meals just to get by, most days, they were still hungry.
After a few times sneaking food from the kitchen, Mai's family began to suspect a strange Pokémon was stealing from the cabinets. They locked them all up, putting an end to Mai's nightly food raids.
Feeling so indebted, Mai thought: Let her be happy for once. That was her only thought.
Back to Eevee, while clinging to the dead branch, she saw a pale blue body rise from the water. One of Corsola's coral branches poked her. When Eevee turned to see what it was, she lost her balance and dropped directly onto Corsola's head.
Completely dazed, Eevee was carried to shore by Corsola. At that moment, Mai finally arrived at the riverbank, gasping for breath.
Because half of Eevee's body had been hanging on the branch and the other half submerged in water, her top half had already dried in the sun, the fur clumping together in messy patches.
The bottom half, soaked and dripping, had its fur stuck flat to her skin, making her look shrunken by a full size.
Catching her breath and seeing Eevee's half-poofy, half-shriveled appearance, Mai couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Eevee noticed Mai laughing at her, and Corsola, too, was struggling not to laugh. She ran to the river, cautiously looked at her own reflection in the water, and only then realized what had happened.
Luckily, Eevee's embarrassment didn't last long. With gallant loyalty, Corsola declared, 'Leave it to me!', and fired a Water Gun that completely soaked Eevee head to toe.
Now she looked evenly drenched, no more weird half-and-half look.
Eevee didn't show much wariness toward Mai. Although Corsola had messed with her a bit, she had still saved her. So the two Pokémon and one girl teamed up to go berry hunting in the forest.
Mai told Luther that it was the first time she had ever put into practice the berry knowledge she'd learned from books.
Mai picked the berries, and Corsola, without hesitation, chomped them down in one bite. Only after Corsola had finished would Eevee start eating as well.
Luther was a bit embarrassed to tell Mai that Corsola reminded him of Shennong, the mythical herbalist who tested hundreds of herbs on himself. If she ever bit into a berry with side effects, things could get pretty serious.
That day, Mai played until she was totally worn out. It wasn't until the sun was about to set that she snuck back into her room through the back door, taking a roundabout path and keeping out of sight.
Before she left, Mai left a pile of berries for Eevee.
She knew Eevee didn't have a trainer and was likely a stray. But because of how much she already owed Corsola, Mai understood she wasn't in a position to raise two Pokémon at once. For Eevee's own good, she decided it was better not to make any promises.
Just like last time, Mai pushed herself too hard and fell ill again. At that time, she was already a sickly child, like a walking medicine cabinet. After the excitement, her body couldn't take it anymore.
The doctor said Mai had extremely low immunity and resistance and needed a long period of rest and recovery.
It was three days before Mai returned home. The first thing she did was check her wardrobe. She found Corsola inside, looking a little sickly, but after feeding her and confirming there were no serious issues, Mai finally let out a sigh of relief.
Corsola tugged at the hem of her skirt, prompting Mai to open the window. There, beside the flower pot on the windowsill, was a pile of berries.
Climbing the drainpipe with all fours, a certain Eevee had a Lum Berry in her mouth and turned her head to glance at Mai. After a brief pause, she leapt nimbly from the pipe to the windowsill.
Seeing Eevee and that pile of Lum Berries, Mai felt a bit dizzy. Something heavy weighed in her chest.
On the first night Mai was in the hospital, Eevee had already returned to the vicinity of her house, following her memory.
While resting on the windowsill, Corsola, covered in morning dew, spotted her. But she didn't dare make a sound and instead used a series of bizarre gestures to signal Eevee not to make any noise.
Eevee struggled to understand Corsola's strange sign language but eventually figured it out and climbed up the drainpipe to the window.
Mai's room was pitch dark, and without seeing her inside, Eevee looked visibly disappointed.
Corsola had no choice but to explain the situation. Their meeting was brief, clearly, Mai had been too sick to even chat much.
The next night, after finishing the food Mai had left behind, Corsola returned to her usual dew-gathering post by the window when several Lum Berries suddenly rained down on her head.
Just as Corsola looked up in surprise, Eevee, seeing there was no one in the room, slid down the pipe without a word and dashed off.
As a wild Pokémon, Eevee didn't understand the difference between a human illness and a Pokémon's.
In her survival experience, Lum Berries were basically miracle cures, if you didn't know what was wrong with you, eating one usually made you feel better.
She even cursed Corsola in her head for being so dumb, not understanding something so obvious, and ran off to search for more Lum Berries.
Corsola, on the other hand, figured Eevee's brain must have been cooked by fever… That kind of logic meant she could pretty much say goodbye to Mai for good.
Of course, there was one thing Corsola, who had grown up sheltered at Mai's side, didn't understand either:
In the wild, Lum Berries are incredibly rare.
(End of Chapter)