Chapter 29: Sobble's Sad Story

While Goh, Ash, and Lillie were in Galar, Magnolia had allowed them to stay in her guest house for the time being, provided that they helped around the lab. At the moment, Ash, Lillie and Sonia were feeding the Pokemon around the lab.

"Thanks for the help, guys. You'd be surprised how much work it can be for such a small lab!"

"I can believe it. Professor Kukui always seemed to have hordes of Pokemon to feed on the beach."

"You think that's bad? Professor Oak's ranch is three times as large, and it takes me all morning to keep my Pokemon fed."

Before this conversation could continue further, they heard a Pokemon crying out in pain. Shocked, the three ran towards the sound to see a Sobble being attacked by a Galarian Zigzagoon, a Rookidee, and a Nickit. The poor thing could only hold his arms in front of him in a pathetic attempt at defense.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

"Powder Snow, Snowy!"

The two Pokemon launched their attacks at the bullies, making them scowl before running off. Sonia quickly ran over to the little Sobble and cradled him in her arms. Sobble whimpered, and buried his face into her chest.

"Shh, shh, it's ok. Come on, let's get you some first aid."

"Sobble."

Sonia picked the little water type up and hurried him inside, Ash and Lillie following suit. Goh came out to see what the matter was.

"Hey guys, what's with the-"

"No time to explain, come on!"

Luckily, Sobble's injuries weren't too bad, and he was soon bandaged up. At the moment, Ash, Goh, and Lillie were seated at the table, listening to Professor Magnolia explain about the poor Water Type.

"I'm afraid he hasn't had a very happy life. You see, Sonia and I found his egg alone in the Wild Area. No mother, no father, all alone exposed to the elements."

"You think his parents died?"

"Or worse."

The trio nodded their heads grimly. It was a sad reality, but reality nonetheless.

"Of course, we took it back to the lab, where it hatched into Sobble. But the poor thing was weak, and couldn't even stand up on his own. Gram and I weren't sure if he would make it."

"Of course, he did get better, but his story doesn't end there. Once he was old enough, we gave trainers the choice to pick him as their starter. And some did, but…"

"...The poor thing was so scared of battling that it would flee the moment it saw an enemy Pokemon. And everytime, the trainer would abandon it in the Wild Area. Some of the more responsible trainers would return it to us after catching more Pokemon, but more often than not we'd discover the poor thing left exposed to the elements."

"That's horrible! How can anyone do something like that?"

Professor Magnolia sadly shook her head.

"Some people just don't have the discipline or patience to train him properly. He'll always have a home here, but…"

The four younger researchers nodded their heads sadly. Lillie got up, and grabbed a bowl of Pokemon food. Sobble took notice of her as she approached and backed away in fear, but Lillie smiled warmly and held out the bowl for him. Sobble sniffed it curiously, and after determining it to be safe to eat he began to chow down. Lillie smiled.

"You sure were hungry, huh little guy?"

"Sobble!"

"You know, I don't like Pokemon battles much either. I don't like seeing Pokemon get hurt."

Sobble nodded, slowing down as he neared the end of the bowl. Lillie smiled and gently rubbed the fin on his head, making Sobble smile.

"I've got to get back to my friends, but I'll check on you in a little bit, alright?"

"Sobble!"

Lillie picked herself up, and rejoined her friends at the table. Sonia, who had been watching the whole event, hummed to herself in thought.

"'That's interesting."

"What's interesting?"

"Sobble usually doesn't accept food from strangers. Any time someone other than gram or I try to offer him some food, he backs away and refuses to take a bite. And yet here comes Lillie, someone he just met today, and he barely hesitated."

Lillie shrugged, not sure how to answer that.

"I guess I'm just good with Pokemon like that. I loved feeding Pokemon back at Professor Kukui's lab, I guess I just picked up a few things about interacting with Pokemon."

"Sobble let her feed him because he knew he could trust her! Just look at her, how can you not trust someone as sweet and cute as her?"

Lillie blushed at Ash's words. Sonia just shrugged, choosing to let the matter slide.

"Ah well, nice to see he's opening up to other people."

The next day, Ash, Lillie, and Goh were preparing to head home. After packing up their things and saying goodbye to Sonia and her grandmother, they set off for the train station. They had just stepped onto Route 2 when…

"Wait!"

Sonia came running up, Sobble plodding along right beside her.

"What's up, Sonia?"

Sonia smiled, and gestured towards Sobble.

"Somebody wants to come with you."

"Really Sobble? Are you sure?"

Sobble nodded, making his eyes as big as he could to try and woo Lillie over. Lillie smiled, and offered her arm, which the water type quickly ran up.

"Welcome to the team, Sobble!"

Sobble smiled, and rubbed against her cheek. Snowy growled, jealous at the attention the new addition was, but went unheard.

"Travel safely!"

"We will! Thanks for everything!"

Waving goodbye to Sonia, the trio left for home with a new friend in tow.