"Oh, are you saying sorry to Zubat?"
The baby Kangaskhan, who thought Anthony was already asleep, was startled. Even though it was technically stronger than Anthony, it froze in place due to the guilt it was feeling. It realized its mistake due to the chewing on it received for more than an hour.
"Aww, come on, it's fine, if Zubat is already conscious, you should properly give these berries to it."
Anthony waved his hand to bring Kangaskhan over him as he finished getting the potion using a dropper with a portion of the potion on it and because Zubat doesn't have eyes and relies on the sound of its wings when they're flapping to see and the sound of their voice if they're flying at high speeds, Anthony stroked its small head so that it will know its not alone.
Zubat also snuggled its head in Anthony's finger unconsciously before going to sleep.
"See, it's not angry or anything, don't be afraid."
Anthony smiled at baby Kangaskhan, the Pokémon, however, just ran towards the bed of Zubat, placed the berries to the side, and ran off to the mini farm again, making Anthony sigh.
_Being chased by your conscience is not a pleasant feeling._
Anthony then continued to caress the head of Zubat. Anthony doesn't know if the Zubat is just doing this for assurance, as he is yet to touch any books about the Zubat race, and the only thing he knows is that it has a three-line evolution and they're very annoying in the games.
_I should finish reading about the code of ethics and the breeder profession fast so that I can start my Pokémon knowledge procurement. I can't let those books rot in my room while reading only 9 book entries in repeat._
Anthony also emphasized in his mind that he can't rely on the Pokedex alone in the future.
___________
In Hana's room, another Pc that has 3 compartments to handle Pokémon transports between two PCs is present. Well, Hana plans to give the Pc in the living room to Anthony when he retires from his training, too, and needs some of his pokemons in the far future.
Hana just woke up to check on the status of the injured Zubat, that's the fault of her Pokémon; however, before she checked on Zubat, Hana decided to put the three pokeballs of Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur, as well as the pokemons that reside in them, into the 3 compartments.
She then put on a video call and contacted the Pokémon Professor of the Kanto region, Professor Oak. After 3 rings, a man with a side brush, mostly grey hair, appeared on the screen with a green serpent in a regal posture binding him on its body.
"Oh, is that the final evolution of the Unovan starter? What was its name... Serperior?"
Hana asked, she was quite eager to explore since the start of the globalization and trainer exchange efforts of Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Unova, Kalos, and beyond; however, Hana still has a son to take care of while also having assets to tend, so she's skeptical.
"Oh, yes, a trainer from Unova let me have a look at it, but as you can see, even after I bond with it for a long time, we seem to be unable to find a common point."
Hana nodded slowly at this, though she couldn't help but think that no Pokémon or human would have the patience to bond with a stranger from morning till 1 am. Still, she's in a hurry, so Hana is not in the mood to say such remarks.
"I see... well, I called because I want you to know that I will be returning Charmander, Bulbasaur, and Squirtle."
While grunting due to the increasing amount of pressure from the regal grass snake Pokémon that he had just borrowed, Professor Oak tilted his head a little in confusion.
"Didn't you say that they're needed for your son to catch his partner Pokémon? Do you realize how dangerous that is, and decide to just give him one of Charizard or Venusaur's offspring?"
Professor Oak was quite glad at this, after all, there was a reason why people needed at least one Pokémon when going out of their hometown or had to use transportation if they really couldn't procure one. Now, all pokemons are for laughs and giggles, and even most are territorial.
And even though Hana has a lot of strong pokemons, it was still better and safer to have her just gift a Pokémon to her son than to let him battle a Pokémon and make it his partner. Unfortunately for Professor Oak, Hana shook her head at such a question.
"No, Professor, you should understand the importance of children's young age independence. After all, this world is all about 10-year-olds going on an adventure, whether that adventure is becoming a breeder, a researcher, or a trainer, and even all those 3 combined. You can't expect a good parent not to teach their kid how to act on their own, right?"
Prof. Oak sighed at this. It was always his point that even though independence is a must in the world of Pokémon, giving your kid a head start is not a bad thing. The owner of the Devon Corp. is one such example who searched far and wide for a Beldum that would eventually become a 'pseudo legendary' Metagross.
Yet the boy still wanted to catch pokemons on his own after receiving his partner.
Professor Oak stopped thinking about such trivial matters and said.
"Alright, alright, I'll receive the pokeballs."
Professor Oak then put Serperior on its pokeball and ended the call with a "Goodnight" while Hana started the transfer process and peeked towards her son's 'Heal Zubat project'.
_____________
Anthony didn't read any books after the second dose of potion he had administered to Zubat; instead, he fell asleep and in 5 sharp, he woke up.
Surprisingly, Anthony doesn't need an alarm and just woke up due to Zubat, who started to create a "Zuu... Zuu..." sound to use its echolocation to scan the house around.
_Potions are amazing..._
At this rate, the recovery of Zubat will be very fast, and the only problem will be the wing and ribcage that took a lot of damage, which will also be healed.
"Ah, it's food before the potion dose."
Anthony stopped thinking about such things and went to get a knife, a chopping board, and some berries. Anthony was already taught by his parents how to use a knife, plus his adult mind made it so that he is not likely to cut his fingers. Using these tools, he started to finely mince the berries.
Originally, Antony wanted to use a food processor; however, it's not a viable option as the Pokémon is conscious and Zubat might get used to it fast, as pokemons are very adaptive creatures, so cublets is just the right cut and Anthony has to administer it by hand.
Anthony was also instructed to use gloves as opposed to what he had done last night, which is dangerous as Zubat, even though known for their Sonic attacks, are still poison types. Anthony thought that he was lucky that he didn't get bitten last night and vowed to be more careful from now on.
Such were Anthony's thoughts as he let Zubat eat using his hands; he repeatedly gave it food until it was full, and when the last bite was eaten by the Pokémon, it unexpectedly started sucking on Anthony's small index finger.
Anthony's eyes widened as such a gesture as he looked at the still far away Kangaskhan, who also had its eyes shocked. Anthony then smiled and, because Zubat didn't release any poison, Anthony didn't retract his hands and stroked the head of Zubat gently instead.
"Zhu... Zhu..."
Anthony smiled slightly as Zubat made small, sucking sound, but before long, it was time for the pokemon to receive another dosage of its medicine, so Anthony reluctantly made his finger retreat, which made the Zubat anxious, making a loud "Zuu..! Zuu...!" sound, however, of course, Anthony as the caretaker won't let it cry like that, so he stroked its head gently a few more times before saying.
"Don't worry, I won't leave you."
Hearing this, the Zubat seems to relax, its nervous voice and breathing eased up, now its cries that it uses for echolocation have steadied.
_It seems like it can already freely use its head's movements; however, its left ribcage is still a little messed up, and the place alongside the left wing that got severely damaged because of Baby Kangaskhan is not yet 100%. That's the main target of the medication._
Anthony thought of such things while he put the dropper into the potion bottle and took the right amount instructed by her mother before taking it to Zubat's mouth. Anthony then confirmed that Zubat just wanted his finger to suck on.
Which is Anthony was quite glad, this means that his mom's (and quite honestly, his too) plan will have a higher chance of success, seeing that Zubat has been mellowing up to him.
_Well, Zubats are not prideful creatures. If this is Absol, then this won't be easy._
Anthony again looked at the still nervous Kangaskhan, who was watching him do all the work by himself.
_If you're so guilty, you could have helped me watch it..._
Anthony sighed at this before picking up the two books on the chair, one of which was the Code of Ethics of the Pokémon World and the other was the introductory book to the Breeder profession.
_After these two books, I would rest._
Such were Anthony's thoughts as he was quite tired when he tried to read books in the middle of his nap time, so he opted that he read during day time and sleep like a normal person at night, though he have to be wary as Zubat's routine started to include crying gently at night to scan the surroundings as it doesn't have eyes.
Anthony stopped thinking such things and started reading the book about the Code of Ethics that all trainers, breeders, field researchers, professors, and Coordinators have to abide by. In there, Anthony realized that it was as the original Anthony had remembered, like a parent should homeschool their children, only 10-year-olds can go to become trainers, no catching severely injured pokemons who never put up a fight...
The stuff one can expect in a society with pokemons and humans living side by side, however, the one section that caught Anthony's attention is a section that finally justified the existence of poachers, which in games are like "We catch pokemons all over the world", which doesn't make sense because trainers do that all the time too.
It goes like this:
Code of Ethics of the World of Pokémon, Section 4 states that: Any kind of trade of Pokémon, which includes physical compensation, shall be deemed unethical and punishable by criminal law. Physical compensations include, but are not limited to: Money, Materials, and favors. Any individual, group, or organization that practices such acts will be deemed as poachers and shall be banned from any kind of official tournaments and be actively hunted by the law.
This Section is almost of no flaws, and only the Ethical Trades and Pokemon Purchase Section of the code of ethics, as well as the corresponding act that gives it more fangs, can allow such practices. This act makes trading and gifting Pokémon legal, given that these two acts are supervised by the Pokémon Professor of the region in the flesh or otherwise through a call, depending on the situation. This regulation means that not even the Leader of the League itself can supervise such exchange; anyone who does the gifting without the notarial expert observation of the Professor shall be subjected to investigation immediately.
This is also the law that lets professors immediately register partner pokemons of non-illegible children for the starter program.
Also, as evident of Hana still not going to jail despite effectively using her pokemons for money, several individuals and organizations such as Breeder headquarters, construction firms, battle clubs, pokemon gyms, and strong retired trainers are allowed to buy and sell pokemons only up to its first evolution line, meaning once a pokemon evolves, the seller will either have to gift it voluntarily, trade it or give it to the organization they were contracted with.
This is the reason why Hana and Ben, Anthony's parents, can sell the offspring of their pokemons; they can also, of course, rent the Pokémon via contract. This renting program is for the league to keep ties to strong trainers and maybe, someday, ask them for favors.
Of course, in order to ensure the adherence to the code of ethics of individuals like Anthony's mother, they will be audited by the Ethics Board of the Pokémon League annually, and even a little lapse on their part can trigger an investigation and, if proven, jail time.
Anthony sighed in exhaustion as he finally was able to close the book after his lengthy reading session, he then decided to sleep for the remaining hours as he was quite sleep deprived and again because of his worry about Zubat, he woke up at 10 am sharp and started feeding the pokemon who have grown more energetic, now voluntarily cocking its head up to be fed more easily.