Pokémon: Starting with Ash's Mom

Kazuki immediately noticed something was wrong with Pikachu and called off the competition with Misty.

"Get out of the water, Misty—Pikachu and Psyduck on the shore don't look too good!"

Shivering, Misty turned to glance at the shore. "Huh? You're right! I thought you were just playing dirty!"

With that, she quickly swam toward the shore.

Once both of them climbed out, Pikachu's condition had worsened. It was curled up on the ground, trembling uncontrollably, its face pale and weak—it looked seriously ill.

Psyduck stood nearby, dazed, nodding its head blankly.

Misty, worried, crouched down and asked, "Pikachu, Psyduck, what's wrong?"

Kazuki knelt and touched Pikachu's forehead, startled by the heat. "It's burning up—feels like a fever!"

Misty reached out to touch Psyduck's head as well. "Hot… huh? Not really hot or cold!"

"Wait, don't tell me… did it hurt its brain?!"

"No! Psyduck, you weren't that bright to begin with—if your brain's hurt now, what are we going to do?!"

Kazuki looked at Misty's panicked expression, puzzled but soothing her. "Psyduck's a duck Pokémon—it's covered in fluff. It probably didn't get cold."

"Anyway, let's get some medicine first! We'll treat them and figure it out afterward!"

Misty nodded and ran off toward the backpack. Halfway there, Suzie returned with a worried frown.

"Bad news—we're out of medicine!"

"What do we do? Pikachu looks like it's in pain!" Misty cried anxiously.

Kazuki calmly scanned the area. "Suzie, bring me the map!"

Suzie quickly dug it out and jogged over to Kazuki.

Kazuki began examining it, surprised to find that even a tiny pond like the one they'd just swum in was marked.

"There's a town not far ahead between the mountains—Mossgreen Village. Let's get Pikachu and Psyduck to a doctor there, fast!"

Following Kazuki's orders, Misty and Suzie packed up in a hurry, and the trio set off with the Pokémon.

As they rushed along the path, Pikachu's condition worsened, trembling more violently in Kazuki's arms.

Just as their anxiety peaked, a girl with a round bun hairstyle appeared ahead.

Her hair was a soft teal, with a few playful strands falling to her cheeks. Her lips, slightly pursed, were like ripe cherries.

She wore a snug white crop top that hugged her curves just right, her skin faintly visible and irresistibly alluring.

Tight-fitting red pants clung to her long legs, the tailoring accentuating her graceful figure. In her hands, she carried a basket of herbs—she looked like a local villager.

The girl saw their anxious faces and the barely conscious Pikachu in Kazuki's arms. She stepped forward and asked, "What happened? Do you need help?"

Kazuki quickly replied, "My Pikachu and her Psyduck are sick. The symptoms are strange—we're heading to Mossgreen Village to find a doctor!"

The girl examined Pikachu, frowning slightly. She touched its forehead and said, "This looks like a fever."

"Please wait a moment!"

She reached into her basket, took out some herbs, mashed them into a small lump, and fed them to Pikachu.

Moments later, Pikachu began to perk up a bit.

"Wow! That's amazing! Sis, can you check Psyduck too?" Misty asked excitedly, releasing Psyduck.

The girl crouched and examined Psyduck. After a moment, she said, "This Psyduck seems perfectly healthy. I don't see any illness."

"Huh? Nothing wrong?" Misty blinked.

"Maybe my skills aren't great and I missed something. Can you describe Psyduck's symptoms in more detail?" the girl asked gently.

"We were just swimming in that mountain pond! Right after we got out, Pikachu was like that, and Psyduck… well…" Misty said as she shook Psyduck up and down, trying to recreate its odd behavior.

"Did Psyduck have lots of water droplets on it at the time?"

"Yes! Yes!" Misty nodded vigorously.

"Then if I'm not mistaken, it was just shaking off the water."

"Usually Psyduck shakes its head to do that, but nodding… that's a first for me."

"Could be an individual quirk!"

The girl smiled as she explained.

Misty stared at Psyduck, dumbfounded. "So… you're perfectly fine? Then why were you acting so miserable coming out of the water?"

"Oh, right. You always look like you're in pain…"

At the mention of the pond, the girl's expression suddenly changed.

"You said… you were swimming in the mountain pond?"

Seeing her go serious, Misty instantly shrank back behind Kazuki.

"Uh, Kazuki… the way she's reacting—don't tell me that pond water was… was their maiden's holy water?!"

"Holy water? No way!" Kazuki blinked, then realized, "Damn, I didn't even get a good sip!"

Misty lightly slapped his arm. "Sip? If you really wanted to drink it, then I'd—ugh! This isn't the time to joke!"

"She helped Pikachu—we need to apologize quickly!"

"Um, sorry, miss! We didn't do anything weird in the pond!"

"We were just soaking in it for… maybe ten minutes!"

"Ten minutes?!" The girl's eyes nearly popped out.

Kazuki shot Misty a look. "You blockhead! If you knew it was holy water, why admit to that? You could've just said you touched it briefly!"

"I… I just thought honesty was better…" Misty blinked up at him with big innocent eyes.

Kazuki sighed and stepped forward to explain, but the girl suddenly circled around him and Misty.

"You came straight from the pond to Mossgreen Village?"

Kazuki noticed her tone wasn't accusatory, so he answered honestly, "Yes. We left quickly. We didn't damage anything."

"Incredible…" The girl stopped in front of them, staring at Kazuki and Misty as if they were superheroes.

"My grandmother says the cold spring in Mossgreen is extremely strange—the water is icy to the bone. Normal people can't last three minutes without their whole body freezing, and they might even contract frost poisoning."

"Your Pikachu probably got its symptoms from entering the pond with you."

"Pokémon have stronger constitutions, so it's just a bad cold or fever."

"But for humans—it's dangerous!"

"Yet the two of you look perfectly fine!"

"Hiss… well, not totally fine. Now that you mention it, my back does feel a little chilly," Kazuki said, rolling his shoulders.

"Mhm, I feel it too!" Misty nodded.

"Frost poisoning seeps into the bones and can impact your health long-term!" the girl warned.

"If you're already feeling off, I suggest you both come with me. Let me check you thoroughly."

"If you really were poisoned, treating it now can prevent permanent damage!"

"That serious? You guys should really put up a sign there—No Swimming, No Fishing!" Kazuki muttered. Though he wasn't worried for himself—his poison resistance had been boosted by 50%—he was more concerned about Misty.

"Uh… hehe…" the girl smiled awkwardly. "I've been to that pond too. Just touching it with my hand sent chills through me!"

"I never thought someone would actually stay in it for over three minutes!"

Kazuki turned to look at Misty, who shrank back and whispered to Suzie, "You nodded too—you agreed to the challenge!"

Kazuki sighed and thanked the girl. "Really, thank you. May I ask your name?"

The girl smiled and replied, "I'm Cassandra, an herbalist from a nearby village."

"Cassandra?" Kazuki blinked.

He suddenly remembered—in the original script, Mossgreen Village did indeed have an herb-savvy girl named Cassandra. She owned a timid Paras.

Kazuki had assumed Mossgreen, lacking a Gym, was just a stopover and Cassandra might not appear. He never expected to meet her like this!

But seeing her now—her well-proportioned figure, delicate face, cute hairstyle, and sweet voice—she had a refreshing charm.

"My family's pharmacy is just ahead. Come with me!"

Kazuki and Misty exchanged a glance and nodded. "We'll be in your care, then!"

The three followed Cassandra down the path and soon arrived at a traditional wooden house with a small courtyard.

Just as Cassandra pushed open the door, a raspy voice came from inside.

"Cassandra, meddling again?"

"Wasting your time every day—when will you finally brew the medicine?!"

Cassandra gave an awkward but polite smile and turned to explain, "Don't mind her. That's my grandmother. She's an amazing herbalist—just a bit temperamental."

"Grandma! I'll work hard and brew the specia; medicine soon!"

"But they ran into trouble—I couldn't just ignore it!"

Kazuki looked toward the direction of her voice and saw a dimly lit little room.

Though he couldn't see clearly who was inside, his Aura Power told him—whoever it was, they were definitely no ordinary person…

----

Join my Patreon for early access to chapters: Patreon.com/rivyura