Pokemon : I'm Just a Photographer!

Chapter 129: Chapter 129

Mike looked at the weak Nidoran♀ sitting on Nidoking’s shoulder and carefully approached them.

"Nidoking."

He kept his voice gentle.

"Do you trust me enough to let me take a look at her? I might be able to help."

Nidoking stared at Mike, then glanced at Gengar, Snivy, and Beedrill.

After a moment, he nodded.

He carefully lifted Nidoran♀ from his shoulder and placed her into Mike’s arms.

The moment Mike held her, Nidoran♀ began trembling in fear.

"Hey, hey. It’s okay."

Mike immediately used the same gentle petting technique he normally used on Glameow, slowly stroking Nidoran♀’s back and head until she began to relax.

Her fur was surprisingly soft.

She looked somewhat like a rabbit, although the small poisonous spines and rounded body also gave her something of a porcupine-like appearance.

From the trees nearby, Glameow watched Mike petting the unfamiliar female Pokémon.

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

Then she silently leaped down and disappeared into the bushes.

Mike, meanwhile, continued examining Nidoran♀.

It didn’t take long for him to understand the problem.

Her old injury had never properly healed, and traveling constantly with Nidoking had put additional stress on her already weak body.

Combined with exposure to the elements, she had developed a fever.

Mike looked toward Nidoking, who was clearly worried.

"Don’t panic. Her old injury still hasn’t fully healed, and traveling like this made her sick. It looks like a fairly ordinary fever on top of that."

He thought for a moment.

"We’ll need some medicinal herbs, but she should be fine."

Nidoking immediately nodded and turned to leave.

Before he could take a single step, Glameow emerged from the bushes.

Several medicinal plants were held carefully in her mouth.

She raised her head, gave Nidoking one cool look with those crystal-blue eyes, and walked past him with elegant little steps.

Glameow’s expression practically said—’Shameless.’

Nidoking: "???"

’What do you mean shameless?!’

Nidoking and Nidoran♀ were biologically compatible.

That was literally how their species worked.

This was nature!

Glameow ignored him and carried the herbs directly to Mike.

Mike inspected them.

They were exactly what he needed.

Then Glameow began chewing the herbs into a paste before carefully applying them to the injured area on Nidoran♀’s hind leg.

Mike watched her practiced movements.

His chest tightened slightly.

’How often did she have to treat injuries like this before she became so good at it?’

He quietly shook the thought away and asked Gengar to open the backpack.

Mike took out some fever medicine, estimated the dosage based on Nidoran♀’s size, then mixed in a small amount of powdered Stantler antler bead.

Finally, he added a few drops of honey Gengar had left over and stirred everything together.

He carefully spoon-fed the mixture to Nidoran♀.

Not long after swallowing the medicine, her eyelids began drooping.

Mike returned her to Nidoking.

"Hold her for now and sit somewhere quiet. Don’t move around too much."

He gestured toward the sleeping Nidoran♀.

"I added some powdered antler bead to help her sleep. Let her rest properly."

Nidoking said nothing.

He simply carried her off to one side, sat down carefully, and held her against his chest.

Mike glanced at the time.

There was a water source nearby, so instead of continuing their journey immediately, he decided they might as well take a proper break.

He quickly set up a temporary campsite and started preparing lunch.

Nidoking sat nearby with Nidoran♀ sleeping in his arms, watching Mike toss ingredients through the pan with practiced movements.

The smell spreading from the cookware became more tempting by the minute.

Nidoking swallowed.

"Gar—"

[Here.]

Gengar floated over and offered him a grilled mushroom.

Nidoking stared at it.

Then stared at Gengar.

The mushroom was poisonous.

He hesitated.

"Nido..."

[That’s poisonous.]

Gengar was already happily chewing on another one.

He nodded.

"Gar—"

[Yeah. We’re Poison-types dumbass. What’s it going to do, poison us?]

Nidoking blinked.

His eyes slowly widened.

’...That makes way too much sense.’

’Why have I never thought of that?’

He accepted the grilled poisonous mushroom and took a bite.

His expression immediately changed.

It was delicious.

Nidoking silently made a mental note to find more poisonous mushrooms in the future.

Mike glanced over and discovered that the helper he had assigned to assist with lunch had somehow abandoned his post and started chatting with Nidoking instead.

He sighed helplessly.

Some things never changed.

...

By the time lunch was ready, Nidoran♀ had also woken up.

Mike first prepared a lighter meal suited to her weakened condition, then invited Nidoking to eat with everyone else.

After lunch, Mike sat beside him and took Nidoran♀ into his arms again so he could check her condition.

"Much better."

He gently touched her forehead.

"The fever’s gone down, and the injury already looks a little better. Keep applying medicine for the next few days and make sure she gets plenty of rest."

Mike stroked her head, carefully avoiding the small horn on top.

Nidoran♀’s poison could be extremely dangerous.

Even a tiny amount of venom entering a human body could potentially send someone straight to meet Arceus.

Mike looked back at Nidoking.

"One more thing. She’s still physically weak, so until she has completely recovered, don’t try breeding with her."

Nidoking immediately reached over and took Nidoran♀ out of Mike’s arms.

"Nido."

[Don’t you have a girlfriend of your own? Why do you keep petting mine?]

Nidoking gently stroked Nidoran♀ while glaring at Mike.

Mike: "..."

"You—"

He pointed at Nidoking.

"I just treated her!"

His hand moved between the two Pokémon in disbelief.

"I helped both of you, and this is what I get?"

"Nido."

[Thank you for helping her. But now that she’s feeling better, stop touching my girlfriend.]

Nidoking paused.

Then added pointedly,

[And you still haven’t washed your hands.]

Mike rolled his eyes so hard it almost hurt.

"You two barely know each other and you’re already calling her your girlfriend."

He folded his arms.

"And are you seriously saying she’s the only one you’ll ever want?"

"Nido..."

[Nidoking are loyal! Unless we can’t find a Nidoran♀ at all, we usually won’t choose another species.]

Mike looked at him more carefully.

Thinking about it, the Nidoran family really was unusually complicated when it came to breeding.

Only Nidoran♀ could produce Eggs.

Once she evolved into Nidorina and then Nidoqueen, she lost the ability to breed entirely.

According to some theories, the evolutionary line traded reproductive capability for greater physical strength and the ability to protect offspring, making it one of the strangest reproductive adaptations among Pokémon.

Even more interestingly, many Nidoking did not abandon their mates after the female evolved into Nidoqueen.

Pairs that had lived together for a long time often remained together, and Nidoking were known to behave surprisingly gently around their Nidoqueen partners.

Mike fell silent.

Then another question occurred to him.

Pokémon Eggs generally followed the mother’s species.

So if Nidoran♀ and the male Nidoran line reproduced...

How exactly did they end up producing both Nidoran♀ and Nidoran♂ offspring?

Mike stared into space.

He had suddenly discovered a question that was going to bother him for the rest of the day.

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