Pokémon, Ash's art style is off!

For example, Miss Joey with pink hair behind the counter seemed to be acting strangely.

She rested her chin on her hand, staring blankly ahead.

He exuded a listless aura.

The jellyfish that was supposed to help was nowhere to be seen. The documents on the counter were piled up in a mess, and there were several cups lying around, each containing half a cup of water that had been sitting there for who knows how long.

"Miss Joey?"

Xiao Zhi tentatively called out.

His nose had already told him that this person was the source of the smell.

Joey slowly turned her head to look at them.

The movement was so slow it was like it was playing at 0.5x speed.

"Welcome..."

Her voice was weak and listless, with the last syllable drawn out, as if all her energy had been drained away.

"Take care, and don't bother seeing me off..."

After saying those words, her gaze drifted elsewhere, and she once again drifted into a state of blankness.

"?"

Xiaoxia moved closer to Xiaozhi and lowered her voice.

"What's going on? Why is Miss Joey acting like this?"

"Yes, why is it like this?"

Xiao Zhi looked at Xiao Gang.

"Pikachu, Pikachu?"

Ash's Pikachu on his shoulder also looked at Brock.

Seeing that Pikachu and Ash had both done this, Misty also put pressure on Brock.

Xiao Gang: "......"

No?

Why are you all staring at him?

He wasn't someone who knew everything—

Although he is indeed knowledgeable and experienced, he shouldn't be able to tell at a glance why Joey is so listless.

But then again, whether it was his imagination or not, this sickly-looking Miss Joey... seemed to have a certain charm!

Xiao Gang suppressed the burning passion in his heart.

Take a few steps forward and speak politely.

"Miss Joey, are you alright?"

"fine......"

Joey's eyes looked somewhat unfocused at that moment.

She slowly straightened up, as if it took a lot of effort to pull herself out of some state.

"It's just that I worked overtime for two days straight without a break..."

Xiao Zhi and the others had different expressions.

Have you been working overtime for two days? / Haven't you had a break for two days? / Is it already like this after only two days?

Xiao Gang perked up, keenly realizing that this might be a good opportunity to win favor.

He immediately asked.

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

"To be honest, as a former gym leader, current breeder, living map of Kanto, and captain of the logistics team... I have some achievements in every aspect."

"Whether it's taking care of Pokémon, handling affairs, organizing documents, or cooking and cleaning, I can lend a hand."

Upon hearing this, Joey finally focused her attention on him and looked him up and down.

"you?"

"It is I!"

Joey did not explain immediately.

She emerged from behind the counter, her steps somewhat heavy.

"Can you smell anything?"

Xiaoxia sniffled.

"It smells foul?"

"Huh? Isn't that a foul smell, or perfume?"

Ash was taken aback and glanced furtively at Nurse Joy.

Having seen Rika make perfume from the scent of the stinky flower before, he assumed it was Miss Joey who was wearing perfume.

I noticed Ash's gaze.

Xiao Gang and Xiao Xia also noticed that as Miss Joey approached, the scent became increasingly stronger.

It wasn't just a simple stench, but a complex, layered, strange smell.

The bottom layer smelled like the sour rot from a long-neglected garbage dump, the middle layer was mixed with a pungent odor similar to industrial chemicals, and the top layer faintly smelled of some kind of biological substance.

The various smells mixed together were like a dirty rag that had been repeatedly trampled on and smeared directly onto a person's face.

Even someone as strong as Xiao Gang hesitated to take a step back when faced with Miss Joey.

Seeing the expressions on their faces, Joey sighed.

"You can smell it, right?" She lifted her sleeve to sniff, then put it down with a bitter laugh. "It smells like stinky mud and tattered bags. I've already pickled it."

The three looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Broken Bag?" Ash scratched his head. "That's not a Pokémon native to the Kanto region, is it?"

Joey nodded, gesturing for them to sit down in the nearby rest area.

After the three of them sat down, Joey did not approach them. Instead, she chose to sit on another sofa three meters away, with her hands folded on her knees, her movements revealing a sense of caution.

"Sorry, sitting too close isn't very friendly to you." She gave a self-deprecating smile. "It's a long story... You should know that Changqing City used to be a heavily polluted industrial city, right?"

The three nodded.

"Then I won't have to say any more."

“After this industrial area was abandoned, although the alliance invested a lot of manpower and resources in greening it, the problem of historical garbage has persisted.”

After all, they've been doing this with great fanfare for so many years.

The industrial waste, construction waste, and household waste accumulated over the years are buried in the soil and submerged in water.

This is not something that can be solved overnight.

“The alliance tried various methods,” Joey said. “Manual cleanup, mechanical operations, and chemical treatments were not very effective. In some places, the pollution was so severe that ordinary methods were simply useless. Later, an ecologist proposed a solution—biological control.”

"Biological control?" Xiao Zhi asked curiously, "With ripped bags?"

"Correct."

Joey nodded.

The Pokémon Slug feeds on garbage and is extremely efficient at processing it.

They can swallow all kinds of waste, break it down and transform it through special organs in their bodies, and finally excrete harmless substances.

In a sense, they are mobile waste treatment plants.

"As it turns out, this solution was indeed very effective."

"In just a few years, the amount of garbage in this area has been reduced significantly, and the soil and water sources have begun to recover slowly."

"Many wild Pokémon that had left have gradually returned."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

Xiaoxia asked, puzzled.

“That’s a good thing,” Joey sighed. “But there’s already a wild Mud tribe in this area that has lived here for generations and feeds on garbage as well.”

"As the amount of garbage decreases, so does the amount of food they can eat."

Xiao Zhi had already vaguely guessed what would happen next.

"So they started fighting?"

Joey nodded.

"Broken Bag and Muk are two Pokémon with similar living habits and overlapping food sources."

“When there was a lot of garbage, everyone ate their own food and kept to themselves. Now that there is less garbage, competition has emerged.”

“At first it was just small-scale fighting,” Joey said, a hint of weariness in his voice. “Then it gradually escalated; we started fighting over territory and food. And then…”

She raised her eyes and glanced at the three of them.

"Then a group fight broke out."

Joey raised his hand.

"Can you imagine? I had to personally intervene and treat them every time they fought. For three years, a full three years!"

There was a hint of despair in her voice.

She did consider mediation.

Unfortunately, Pokémon don't speak the same language, and they don't have time limits when fighting.

Even if both sides listen to this, they'll behave themselves for a few days and then fight again as usual.

Three years ago, she was a sweet and soft Joey, but three years later...