After leaving the food behind and giving repeated reminders, Ash finally headed home with Pikachu and Frogadier.
The hillside where Pidgeotto and Spearow lived—beneath that Triadica tree—wasn't far from Pallet Town at all.
That slope already lay beyond the borders of Viridian Forest; standing there, one could clearly see Pallet Town's red roofs and white walls in the distance.
Leading Pikachu and Frogadier down a narrow dirt path along the hillside, Ash didn't head straight home.
Instead, he first went to Dashiwan Valley and then to the riverside Stone Bridge, where wild Pokémon often gathered, to provide them with healing.
Dashiwan Valley (18 Pokémon)
Stone Bridge (21 Pokémon)
After completing the treatments:
Viridian Power Level: LV.35 → LV.36
The higher one's supernatural cultivation, the more experience each level required.
Although quite a number of wild Pokémon gathered at Dashiwan Valley and Stone Bridge, healing close to forty Pokémon in total only raised Ash's Viridian Power by a single level—and that was only because he had accumulated some experience from yesterday's treatments.
As he healed the wild Pokémon, Ash's thoughts wandered.
He had just witnessed the extinction of more than a hundred lives with his own eyes.
The Spearow flock struck into charcoal by heavenly lightning.
Scar-Eye the Fearow killed.
And Pidgeotto's adoptive mother—Fearow—passing away.
Seeing so many lives disappear in such a short time had dealt a tremendous shock to Ash's heart.
Life could be magnificent and resilient—
yet at the same time, fragile, fleeting, and unbearably small.
Whether one's life held value or not ultimately depended on oneself.
No matter what, today's experience made Ash cherish life even more, and revere it from the depths of his heart.
At the same time, Ash came to a clear realization:
His Healing Grace was not omnipotent.
Back when Pidgey had suffered festering wounds on its chest and abdomen, without proper surgical cleaning, Healing Grace alone had been unable to close those injuries.
And today—
Fearow's poison had already spread throughout her body.
Most of her internal organs had failed.
On top of that, her abdomen had suffered a fatal injury, pierced clean through by Scar-Eye's Drill Peck.
With injuries like that, Ash simply couldn't save her.
At least—not with his current level of power.
Not yet.
Another issue also became increasingly clear to him:
Training Viridian Power through healing Pokémon was slowing down.
Ash began to think seriously—
Was it time to open another clinic?
In fact, this wasn't a new idea.
Stone Bridge connected Pallet Town's river and the downstream sea, bringing in Water-type Pokémon.
Dashiwan Valley connected the wastelands and Viridian Forest, drawing in Pokémon from the grasslands and woods.
As long as Ash stayed in Pallet Town, he'd never lack patients.
But the problem was—
He couldn't stay here forever.
Four years later, once he turned ten, he would have to set out on his journey.
When that happened, both Stone Bridge and Dashiwan Valley would be abandoned.
And during his future travels, without a steady stream of Pokémon to heal, wouldn't his Viridian Power stagnate completely?
He couldn't possibly wander into the wild each time, using Aura to "gather mobs" like some kind of beacon.
Wild Pokémon were extremely cautious by nature.
Without a long-term, stable clinic, it would be impossible for Pokémon to continuously seek him out for treatment.
So the real question was:
Where—and how—could he establish a clinic that would keep drawing Pokémon even while traveling?
Ash had already thought of the answer.
Just like his online shop, Ash's Move Mastery Room, he could rely on portable Poké Ball transfer technology—
And open an online clinic.
Of course, clinics weren't like skill shops.
Medical facilities required qualifications.
You couldn't just open one on a whim.
And unlike skill teaching, treating Pokémon involved health and safety.
These would be trainers' Pokémon, not wild ones.
If something went wrong, the consequences would be severe.
Even though the Pokémon world didn't suffer from the same doctor–patient tensions as Ash's previous life, any medical accident would still have a massive impact on him.
Yet if he wanted to cultivate Viridian Power continuously—
and ensure a steady flow of Pokémon to heal during his travels—
Opening an online clinic was unavoidable.
And if he was going to do it, it would be best to make it free.
Only then would enough Pokémon be sent in for treatment.
"Maybe there's no need to open a separate clinic at all," Ash thought.
"I could just add a special medical consultation section to Ash's Move Mastery Room."
"The shop already has massive popularity and traffic. Once the clinic section goes live, there's no way it'll lack attention."
"The key issues are qualifications—and setting strict rules and conditions to minimize risk."
As he finished treating the Pokémon at Dashiwan Valley and Stone Bridge and walked home with Pikachu and Frogadier, Ash continued pondering the plan.
No rush.
There are still four full years before I officially set out on my journey.
Plenty of time to prepare.
By the time dusk settled in, Ash returned home and greeted his mother, Delia Ketchum, before borrowing Gary's bicycle again to return it—and only then heading back.
"Ash, did you go to Viridian City this afternoon?" Delia asked with clear concern.
Although Ash had never told her about the Rocket Team attack, the League's conspicuous deployment of guards around Pallet Town hadn't escaped her notice.
Delia wasn't foolish.
Her son's Trainer talent was extraordinary, and he could even use supernatural powers to teach Magikarp Tackle.
It was inevitable that powerful forces would set their sights on him—hence the League's protection.
Especially recently, when she had wanted to go to Viridian City with Miho to look at shop locations, Ash had come up with all sorts of excuses to stop her from leaving Pallet Town.
That alone told her something was wrong.
Not only was Ash in danger—
she herself might be as well.
"Don't worry, Mom," Ash said with a smile.
"I'm fine. My current strength is already at an Advanced Trainer level."
"And Professor Oak left a Charizard by my side for protection."
"It's Champion-class."
"At this point, there's no individual—or organization—that can hurt me."
"Charizard… is Champion-class?!" Delia exclaimed, stunned.
She wasn't a professional Trainer, but she knew what Champion-class meant in the Pokémon world—the very peak of combat power.
She knew Professor Oak had left a Pokémon behind to protect Ash, and she'd even seen Charizard herself.
But she had never imagined it possessed Champion-level strength.
Hearing this, Delia could only stare at her son in disbelief as the evening light spilled through the window.
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T/N:
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