"I guess this stuff is what's been improving everyone's health?" Harvey thought, not entirely sure.
Just as he was lost in these thoughts, Linus and James walked in, supporting a disheveled-looking Gunther.
"What happened here?" Harvey put his coffee on the table and hurried over to the three of them.
"I slipped and fell," Gunther said, a bit embarrassed.
However, when he checked his camera just now, he had managed to take a few interesting photos—a group of Sunkern huddled together for the winter.
"Lie down on that bed over there. Let me take a look," Harvey said, picking up a first-aid kit from the side.
Linus and James then helped Gunther onto the bed.
"Since we've delivered him—then I'll just—"
"Wait a moment, Linus," Harvey said as he opened the first-aid kit and took out the medicines inside. "I respect your way of life, Linus—but regardless, the annual check-up that needs to be done still has to be done."
"I'm perfectly healthy!" Linus couldn't help but say. "No one in town is healthier than I am!"
"—" Harvey fell silent for a moment.
"A check-up?"
"Ah, right." Harvey looked up at James. While cleaning Gunther's wound, he said to James, "It's a check-up, free of charge. Consider it a town service. If you're interested, you can come by on a Tuesday or Thursday. Maru will create a file for you, and then you can come for a check-up on a fixed day each year."
Speaking of which, he suddenly remembered, "Oh, right. Please remind Ron for me. The day after tomorrow is his scheduled check-up. Don't let him forget."
James nodded.
He had originally thought that Linus's refusal to get a check-up had something to do with the cost or something similar.
Although he knew Linus had chosen this life voluntarily, in fact, one could often discern a person's financial situation from their attitude towards check-ups, or towards being sick in general.
Only those who are powerless, or unwilling to bear the consequences of treatment after a diagnosis, would deceive themselves by resisting the truth about their own bodies.
But—it was actually free.
The clinic didn't look big or new, and the equipment was all very old.
James scanned the clinic and Harvey, who was dressed in simple clothes.
It was obvious that Harvey wasn't wealthy at all.
"You'll be fine after resting for the night." After finishing the simple treatment on Gunther's wound, Harvey stood up and continued to earnestly persuade Linus, "It's just a check-up. If you're really as healthy as you say, what is there to be afraid of?"
"This isn't about being afraid," Linus said with righteous conviction. "I chose to live in the wild precisely to get away from things like this!"
Harvey let out a long sigh. He then began to ask about Linus's health, constantly observing Linus's appearance, trying to make a simple judgment about his condition using his life's learning.
"How about this, we'll each take a step back," Harvey said. "Take this medicine once a year, and you won't need a check-up."
"What is it?"
"—You don't need to worry about it," Harvey said, hiding the deworming medicine's label.
He wasn't sure if it was due to professional habits, but whenever Harvey saw Linus, his mind didn't go to other things, but rather to the images of him eating sashimi and the fruits and vegetables he found in the wild.
Followed by a large number of parasites—
As for Harvey himself, although he could eat these foods, if given the choice, he would choose a healthier way to consume them.
"—" Linus was silent for a moment. Looking at Harvey, who was blocking his way, he glanced at Gunther on the bed.
Gunther guiltily averted his gaze.
So, Linus popped the pill into his mouth, then took the water Harvey handed him and swallowed it.
"Is this good enough now?"
"Of course." Harvey paused, then made one last attempt at persuasion: "Of course, it would still be better to come to the clinic for a check-up."
"Hmph."
Linus left the clinic in a bit of a huff.
Because they had found Gunther shortly after entering the woods, Linus hadn't collected much food. Just as Linus was wondering if he should go back to his tent to get the dried fruit he had prepared in the autumn, James walked over to him, carrying Moomoo Milk he had bought from the Pokémon Center.
"Let's go, let's hit the Spa!" James said, passing a bottle of milk to Linus and keeping one for himself.
"Thanks—Let's go."
James nodded, but his mind was on the prices at the Pokémon Center.
Even in Kalos, they were excessively cheap.
Especially the Moomoo Milk, which was shockingly inexpensive. Even the Miltank Ranch probably couldn't provide Moomoo Milk at such a low price.
Speaking of which, James had noticed that the farm did have a Miltank. Every day, a Rattata would go to the collector to get the Moomoo Milk and then gather the vegetables and other supplies for the Pokémon Center to be transported over.
"What do you think of Ron?" James asked as they walked.
"Him?—He's a good guy," Linus said after thinking for a moment.
Come to think of it, only Ron and the Wizard were people who, upon their first meeting, didn't look at him with strange eyes.
"I see."
James nodded and followed Linus to the hot springs.
---
Meanwhile, after finishing with the Starfruit planting on Ginger Island, Ron said goodbye to Willy and led Penny down a shortcut.
"What's this?"
Penny looked up at the strange totem pole and asked.
"A Teleport Obelisk. You can use this to get back to the farm quickly," Ron answered.
Penny had already changed into her winter clothes and was wiping the sweat from her forehead. Hearing this, she glanced at Ron.
Ron took her hand and pressed it against the totem.
The next second, with a flash of light, the two appeared back on the farm.
"Aaaah!"
James, who was squatting by the statue pondering life, was startled and screamed.
"—G-Good evening?" Penny said, looking at James a bit awkwardly and flustered.
"Good evening—"
James awkwardly walked away from them. Before leaving, he glanced at Ron and Penny's intertwined hands and couldn't help but pause for a moment, then went inside.
Inside, Meowth was at the window, lost in thought. When he saw James come in, he couldn't help but let out a chuckle.
"I told you not to sit over there, meow," Meowth said gleefully. "It seems like that place is a—transport point or something, meow. If you use that kind of magic somewhere else, you'll suddenly appear right there, meow."
"Then why didn't you say so earlier."
"I have no obligation to tell you, meow."
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