Elf: Rewriting the script, starting with Black Stocking Hanako

The campfire crackled and popped, and the meat skewers sizzled and dripped oil on the rack.

Hanako flipped the meat skewers, glancing up at the pond every now and then.

Hakron coiled beside her, chewing rapidly, a small biscuit still dangling from the tip of its tail, its eyes narrowed into slits. Xia sat opposite her, holding a skewer of grilled mushrooms, blowing on them twice before biting into one, wincing in pain from the heat.

Pikachu lay beside Jiang Chuan's legs, its ears twitching every now and then.

The atmosphere at the campsite was very peaceful.

Hanako arranged the grilled meat skewers on a plate, counted them, and then glanced towards the pond.

"Jiang Chuan," she called out.

"Um?"

"Why isn't your mini dragon back yet?" Hanako put down the plate. "It's been so long since you said you were going swimming. The meat's getting cold."

Jiang Chuan put down the kettle and glanced at the time on the illustrated guide.

It has indeed been quite a while.

"It said it wanted to swim in that pool over there, not far away." Jiang Chuan stood up, brushed the grass clippings off his pants, and said, "I'll go check it out."

As he spoke, he took several Poké Balls from his belt, activated the retrieval beam one by one, and recalled the resting Pokémon.

Hanako stood up, moved the remaining skewers to the side of the grill to keep them warm, and patted Hakron on the head.

"Xiaoxia, take your time eating. Jiangchuan and I will go take a look." Huazi turned to Xiaoxia and said, "Leave the food here for now, I'll come back to collect it in a bit."

Xiaoxia had a meat skewer in one hand and a mushroom in the other, her mouth stuffed full. She could only nod twice with "uh-huh" sounds, and waved to Hanako, signaling her to hurry up.

Hakron stuffed the small biscuit hooked on the tip of its tail into its mouth, twisted its body, and slid out with Hanako.

Jiang Chuan walked ahead, passing through the grove of trees they had come from. The fallen leaves rustled under his feet, and sunlight filtered through the leaves, shimmering like fragments of gold on the ground.

The pool is less than a hundred meters ahead. It's a small pool formed by the confluence of streams, and the water is so clear that you can see the stones at the bottom.

Once we emerged from the woods, the pool came into view.

Jiang Chuan spotted the Mini Dragon at a glance.

It was not in the water.

Instead, he lay on the lawn by the pool.

Its body was curled up, its tail drooping to the ground, and it remained motionless.

Jiang Chuan quickened his pace instantly, almost running over. Hanako followed behind him, and when she saw the Mini Dragon, she panicked and started running, lifting her skirt.

Hakron's expression changed instantly.

With a leap, faster than Hanako and Egawa, it darted to the side of the Dratini in a flash. Its long body formed a circle, encircling the Dratini in the middle, and it brought its head close to the Dratini, letting out a panicked low growl.

"Ah, ah!! Baby! Baby, what's wrong!"

Jiang Chuan squatted down and placed one hand on the Mini Dragon.

The dwarf dragon's body was trembling.

The shiver wasn't from cold, but a chill emanating from within. Its scales felt damp and cool to the touch, but beneath the coolness, a burning heat emanated from deep within its body.

"Meow..." The mini dragon heard the noise and barely opened its eyes a crack. It saw Jiang Chuan and its mother around it. Its voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz, "Master...Mom..."

Hanako also squatted down, her little face full of anxiety.

"What's wrong, Dratini? Did you encounter some kind of attack?" She reached out and gently touched Dratini's head, her voice soft yet urgent.

The Dratini slowly shook its head, its movements so slow it seemed as if it had used up all its strength.

"No...no attack." Its voice was broken, and the tip of its tail rubbed against the ground. "It's just that I swam in the deep water for a while...and when I got out, I felt...so cold...so tired..."

As it spoke, it closed its eyes again and shrank even more.

Hanako reached out and touched the Dratini's body, but immediately sensed something was wrong.

It was cold; the surface of the scales was frighteningly icy.

She then touched the dwarf dragon's chin and neck.

It was scalding. The heat emanated from beneath the scales, as if a fire was burning inside its body, yet it was tightly encased by the icy exterior.

"It's burning up!" Hanako jumped up, her face turning pale. "Jiangchuan, you stay here with it, I'm going back to get the medicine!"

After she finished speaking, she turned and ran. Hakron looked at Hanako's retreating figure, then at the Mini Dragon in her arms, its tail slapping loudly, its whole body expressing its anxiety.

Jiang Chuan didn't wait idly.

He stood up, walked to the edge of the pool, took a deep breath, and spread out his wave-guiding power.

A ring of transparent ripples emanated from his body, creating delicate ripples on the water's surface. The ripples submerged, sweeping across the water plants, the crevices between the rocks, and every corner.

There was nothing there.

There are no powerful individual Pokémon with aura response, no hidden aggressive Pokémon, and not even any large fish.

The pool was completely clean, except for a few weak wild Pokémon auras, which were all tiny creatures that couldn't even be considered strong enough to fight.

It was not an attack.

Jiang Chuan withdrew his wave-guiding power, squatted down, and reached his hand into the water.

He frowned as soon as his fingers touched the water; it was very cold.

The sun hasn't set yet, and the sunlight is just right, so the water in the pool should be warm from the sun.

But the water was so cold it felt like it had just gushed out from deep underground, and it even felt a bit icy to the touch.

He touched the stones by the water again.

The stones were also chilled by the water.

"This water isn't right," Jiang Chuan said in a low voice, shaking the water off his hands and quickly walking back to the Mini Dragon.

The Dratini huddled in the arms of the Dragonair, its body still trembling.

Dragonair rested its head on Dratini's body, letting out a series of low growls, a soothing sound only Dragon-type Pokémon understand.

"It's okay, Mom's here." Hakron's voice was trembling with tears.

Jiang Chuan squatted down and placed his hand on the Mini Dragon's body.

The dwarf dragon's trembling improved slightly, but only slightly.

"Jiangchuan!"

Hanako's voice came from the other side of the woods, filled with panic.

She was panting heavily as she ran, carrying a first-aid kit in her hand, but her expression was very strange.

"Oh no!" Hanako ran over and squatted down, frantically opening the medicine box as she said, "We're running out of medicine."

She opened the medicine box, inside which lay a few bottles of spray, a few packets of antipyretics, and some wound medicine.

She rummaged through the bottles, picked up a bottle of fever-reducing spray, shook it, and her face looked even worse.

"From the reserve to here..." Hanako's voice was anxious and self-reproachful, "It's all grassland, hillsides, and forest roads. We haven't passed through a single town, let alone a city. We used some of the medicine we brought in the reserve, and then used some more while leveling up here. We're definitely not enough now."

She shook the bottle of fever-reducing spray again and again, then sprayed it a few times onto the miniature dragon's body. The spray landed on the scales, producing tiny white bubbles.

The dwarf dragon's body was still trembling, but the frequency had slowed down slightly.

"There's only a little bit left in this bottle." Hanako bit her lower lip, looking at the bottle with red eyes. "This small dose isn't enough to suppress this level of fever."

Without a word, Jiang Chuan reached out and scooped up the Mini Dragon, cradling it in his arm. The Mini Dragon's head drooped limply on Jiang Chuan's arm, its tail hanging loosely over his arm.

"Go to the nearest town." Jiang Chuan's words were barely finished.

There was a sudden movement in the bushes.

Jiang Chuan's aura reacted instantly. A human aura was approaching; the aura was gentle, carrying a soft frequency, and was not aggressive.

It's a girl.

Then the bushes were parted, and a figure emerged from the woods.

She was a girl with her hair in a bun.

Her hair was light green, styled into a round bun at the back of her head and secured with a wooden hairpin. She wore a white, traditional-style top with narrow cuffs and a fitted waist. Her lower body was clad in wide, bright red trousers, the cuffs tucked into leggings, and she wore straw sandals.

She carried a bamboo basket on her back, which was filled to the brim with plants.

The girl looked up and saw them.

"Excuse me," she spoke, her voice clear and pleasant, her tone gentle, "what trouble have you encountered?"

Hanako was squatting on the ground collecting her medicine box when she heard the sound and quickly stood up.

"One of our Pokémon has an abnormal fever." Hanako pointed to the Dratini in Jiang Chuan's arms, her tone urgent and earnest. "We're running out of medicine. We've used too much on the way, and it's simply not enough..."

The girl looked in the direction Hanako was pointing.

She saw Hanako first.

Then she saw what was behind Hanako.

Dragonair followed nervously beside her, its long body slightly hunched, its head peeking out from above Hanako's shoulder, its eyes glistening as it looked at Dratini, its tail swaying uneasily.

The girl's eyes widened suddenly.

"Huh... Hakron?"

Her voice suddenly rose a notch, and she leaned back slightly, her bun swaying slightly. Her mouth was agape, and her eyes were wide and round.

That expression was exactly how a fan would react if they bumped into their idol on the street.

The girl's mouth opened and closed repeatedly, she stood there stunned, the straps of the bamboo basket slipping down her shoulders.

But she quickly realized what was happening. She pursed her lips tightly, took a deep breath, and forcefully pulled her gaze away from Hakron, turning it back to Hanako.

"I...I know a little about herbal medicine." When the girl spoke again, her voice still carried a hint of excitement, but her tone was now serious. "Maybe I can help! Where is the sick Pokémon?"

Jiang Chuan took a step forward and raised the mini dragon in his arms a little higher.

"Here it is." Jiang Chuan's voice was steady. "Thank you very much for your help. Please take a look at my Minidragon."

The girl's gaze fell on the Mini Dragon.

Her expression underwent three changes in that instant.

First stunned.

Then his pupils contracted, his eyebrows rose, and his mouth opened slightly again.

Finally, she was completely frozen in place, and a leaf fell out of the bamboo basket and floated to the ground without her noticing.

"Mini-Dragon!"

Her voice was half an octave higher than when she saw Hakron earlier.

Those eyes looked at the Dratini, then up at Jiang Chuan, then turned to look at the whole Dratini that was anxiously circling, and then down at the listless Dratini in Jiang Chuan's arms.

Two.

She saw two legendary Dragon-type Pokémon today.

One Hakkarosaurus and one Minidragon.

The girl closed her eyes tightly, shook her head vigorously, and her bun bounced twice as she did so.

The moment she opened her eyes, her expression changed.

She forcefully suppressed the excitement of a fan meeting their idol, replacing it with a serious and focused expression.

She took the bamboo basket off her back, placed it on the ground, and squatted down.

"Please lay the dwarf dragon flat so I can check its scales and mouth first," the girl said, her voice becoming very professional.

Jiang Chuan gently placed the mini dragon on the lawn as instructed, allowing it to stretch out as much as possible.

The girl crouched down and reached out, first touching the Mini Dragon's body, then flipping open a scale to look at the skin underneath, and then gently prying open the Mini Dragon's mouth to observe the color of its oral cavity.

"The body surface is cold, there are red rashes under the scales, and the oral mucosa is flushed..." The girl muttered as she examined it, then turned the miniature dragon over to observe its abdomen. "There are irregular cold spots on the abdomen, which is a symptom of 'cold enveloping fire' caused by the invasion of cold air."

She looked up at Jiang Chuan and Hua Zi, her expression certain.

"It's not a normal fever; it's caused by the invasion of cold energy into the body. This cold energy locks the heat inside, preventing it from dissipating, so the exterior is cold while the interior is burning hot."

As she spoke, she turned around to rummage through the herbs in the bamboo basket. Her fingers flew across the pile of leaves and stems, muttering, "Two leaves for this, three roots for this, this needs to be crushed and applied..."

Hanako squatted down beside her, helping to support the mini dragon. Watching the girl skillfully pick out the medicine, she felt both grateful and admiring.

"Thank you so much for your help, that's wonderful!" Hanako said sincerely.

The girl turned and smiled at Hanako, her hands never stopping.

"I'm glad I could help. This situation needs to be dealt with as soon as possible; if it's left untreated, the cold will take root in the internal organs, and then it will become troublesome."

She turned over a few green leaves and a yellow root, then took a small mortar and pestle from the basket and began to pound the herbs with a small pestle. Her pounding movements were quick and skillful, clearly indicating that she had been doing this since childhood.

She pinched a small ball of the pounded herbs and applied it to the miniature dragon's belly and neck. As soon as the herbs touched the scales, the miniature dragon's body twitched slightly before slowly relaxing.

Then, the girl took out a small cloth bag from the basket, opened it to find some dried herbs inside, wrapped them in a clean cloth, and placed them under the dwarf dragon's head as a medicine pillow.

"Let it smell this scent and slowly inhale it. The medicinal properties will enter its body through its breath." Qingmei clapped her hands, stood up, and bent down to observe the dwarf dragon's reaction.

The dwarf dragon's tightly furrowed brows relaxed somewhat, the frequency of its trembling decreased significantly, and the tip of its tail even twitched slightly.

Hanako felt a huge weight lifted off her shoulders, and she quickly said thank you again.

The girl shook her head, her expression turning serious.

"My herbs can only temporarily relieve the symptoms and suppress the cold in the body from spreading." She looked at the mini dragon on the ground, then at Jiang Chuan and Hanako, "but this level of cold-heat syndrome cannot be cured by external application and inhalation alone."

She paused, organizing her thoughts.

"If you trust me, you can come home with me. My name is Qingmei, and my family has a long tradition of herbal medicine. My grandmother's medicine is much more effective than mine. Go back and have my grandmother prepare a prescription. Drink it for two days, and your Mini Dragon will be fully recovered."

The moment the words fell.

A light screen suddenly popped up in Jiang Chuan's field of vision.

Ding!

[Trigger Quest: Help Qingmei's Paras regain her confidence and complete her evolution!]

[Quest Reward: Blooming Flower - When consumed by a Grass-type Pokémon, it can cleanse all its flaws and restore it to its perfect state.]

The task panel expands.

Qingmei, Jiangchuan recalled that there was indeed a beautiful girl who knew about pharmacology near Songzao Town, it seems that this is her.

She looked at the reward description on the panel.

A blooming flower.

Cleanse the body of imperfections to achieve perfection.

It's a nice item, and the task isn't difficult either, so it's a good way to repay Kiyomi for her medical help.

Jiang Chuan turned his gaze back to Qingmei.

"Okay, then I'll leave it to you."

When Qingmei heard him speak so readily, she was first taken aback, and then a smile bloomed on her face.

"Thank you for believing in me!" She turned to pack up her bamboo basket, her movements much lighter than before. "My home is not far down the mountain, only a half-hour walk away, the road is very easy to walk."

Just then, footsteps came from the woods again.

Xiaoxia emerged from the bushes, holding a skewer of uneaten roasted mushrooms in her hand.

"Hey, what are you doing here? I'm full and you're still not back." She called out as she walked, then saw the stranger, Kiyomi, and paused for a moment. "Huh, who's this?"

Hanako quickly explained the situation to her.

After listening, Xiaoxia quickly stuffed the mushroom into her mouth and chewed it up. She went over to look at the Mini Dragon with the herbal poultice on it, then looked at Qingmei and said, "Thank you so much." She then helped Hanako pack up her medicine box.

Qingmei squatted down to pick up the bamboo basket, but Jiang Chuan reached out and stopped her.

"Let me help you." Jiang Chuan bent down, picked up the basket, and slung it onto his back.

The basket looks bulging, but it's actually not heavy.

"Thank you." Qingmei glanced at him, didn't refuse, and then led Jiang Chuan and the other two towards the mountainside...