A Sense of Crisis

A Sense of Crisis

On his way to work.

Jing He walked alone, carrying a bag of steamed buns from the convenience store. Every now and then, he took one out and tossed it toward the wall of a nearby alley.

Before the bun could hit the wall, however, Gastly drifted out from within it and snatched it in one bite.

"Koujie!"

Gastly cautiously glanced at him, looking like a pitiful little thing that had done something wrong.

Jing He naturally understood why, but he was also helpless about it.

After all, this was simply in Gastly's nature. He could not forcibly erase a Pokémon's instincts. Even Kikuko of the Elite Four still had Gengar play pranks on her from time to time. Kikuko simply had enough experience not to fall for them anymore.

Besides, this did not really count as a prank. Gastly had only inhaled the gas because it did not understand.

"You're not allowed in the kitchen from now on." Jing He glared "fiercely" at the "pitiful" little fellow.

"Koujie, koujie!"

If Gastly had hands, it would probably be raising them in oath right now.

Seeing that Jing He was not truly angry, Gastly's pitiful expression immediately vanished, replaced by the joy of happily enjoying its food.

Jing He could not help shaking his head. He had known Gastly's pitiful act was fake.

"Just in time. I need to buy Energy Cubes after work, and we can pay the gas bill while we're at it."

"Koujie, koukoujie?"

Gastly had been responding when it suddenly froze and looked toward the alley behind them.

Noticing Gastly's reaction, Jing He followed its gaze.

Hm? He vaguely seemed to see a figure.

He looked at Gastly and saw that it wore a serious expression as it nodded at him.

There were not many people in this alley to begin with. It was a shortcut to the academy, and he might not encounter a single person here for an entire month. What was more, that person seemed to have been following them for a while.

"Koujie!"

Gastly's face hardened as it moved to chase after them, but Jing He hurriedly stopped it.

Under its puzzled gaze, Jing He said grimly, "We don't know who they are, how strong they are, or what they want. Chasing after them recklessly would be the same as exposing ourselves."

As he spoke, his expression returned to normal. He took a bun from the bag and stuffed it into his mouth, signaling Gastly to return to him as well. They continued toward the academy at their usual pace.

The other party did not dare follow too closely, which meant they had some concerns. They were also so far away, and the alley was narrow and dim. It was entirely possible that Gastly had not been noticed.

Now that they had exposed themselves, as long as he acted as though nothing had happened, their positions in the light and dark would switch.

Still, Jing He more or less had some guesses about their purpose.

It was most likely related to the stone on him.

The thing he had feared most had still happened.

Fortunately, the other party merely followed from afar and did nothing out of line.

He made it back to the academy without incident.

That let Jing He breathe a slight sigh of relief.

But at the same time, it made him realize that the peaceful, quiet life he had been living might become difficult to maintain.

There was one thing, however, that he had to figure out.

After arriving at the academy, Jing He did not immediately return to the consultation room. Instead, he went to Dr. Solanus's office.

"Jing He?"

Dr. Solanus, who was sitting by his desk organizing lesson plans, looked surprised to see Jing He enter.

"I came to borrow the computer tower." Jing He smiled and got straight to the point.

Upon hearing that, Dr. Solanus understood. He stood and moved aside.

"I'm not using it anyway, so just take it and use it first. I reported it to the Academic Affairs Office yesterday, but they said the start of term has them busy, so it may take a few days before they can arrange anything."

Jing He took off his coat, rolled up his sleeves, and began dismantling the computer tower. At the same time, he casually asked, "Was the loss significant?"

At that, Dr. Solanus looked troubled. "It was significant, but really, it was only some stones. It's just that those stones were important to me."

"They must have been hard to find." Jing He's tone was gentle. "Like the one you told me about the day before yesterday."

"Yes."

Dr. Solanus sighed softly. "I hadn't even had time to properly study that one. I can barely remember whether I brought it to school that day or left it at home. In any case, it's gone too."

"Was that the fossil you found with Steven Stone?"

At the mention of Steven Stone, Dr. Solanus's expression relaxed considerably.

After all, there were not many people who liked stones. Having someone who shared the same hobby, even if he was much younger, was something worth taking comfort in.

Besides, he had known Steven Stone for a long time, dating back to when Steven's father still worked at the Mossdeep Space Center.

"Yes, Steven is an exceptional child," Dr. Solanus said with feeling.

"But whether that stone was a fossil is hard to say. My first impression was that it looked more like a meteorite fragment."

Jing He had already removed the computer tower.

"A meteorite fragment? Where could something like that be found?"

"Meteor Falls."

Dr. Solanus answered without hesitation. "Meteorites are actually quite close to us. Meteor Falls was formed by a meteorite impact, and Sootopolis City as well—the glass there was formed by the high temperatures after a meteorite impact."

"I think I've heard something about that."

Jing He looked enlightened. After thanking him, he picked up the computer tower and headed out.

When he reached the door, he suddenly turned back and asked, "By the way, have they found those thieves? Who were they?"

"No." Dr. Solanus shook his head helplessly. "Officer Jenny and the others are looking, but since only some stones were stolen... you understand."

Back in the consultation room.

The smile faded from Jing He's face, and his expression gradually darkened.

Meteor Falls?

In his memories, Dr. Solanus had attracted the attention of Team Aqua and Team Magma because he found a fossil at Meteor Falls.

He therefore had reason to suspect that the people who had broken into Dr. Solanus's home and searched through those stones were very likely Team Aqua or Team Magma!

Team Aqua and Team Magma were the two largest underground forces in the Hoenn Region. They were extremely powerful and influential, even capable of contending with the Hoenn League to a certain extent.

Furthermore, the goals of these two groups were utterly outrageous: the legendary Super Ancient Legendary Pokémon, Kyogre and Groudon! As Jing He thought about it, he frowned again.

But the timeline doesn't match.

Steven Stone was still only a student and nowhere near Champion-level, while Team Magma and Team Aqua should still be in their dormant phase. In other words, maybe things haven't gotten that bad yet?

"Koujie—"

Gastly watched Jing He stand motionlessly in the consultation room with a grave expression, then drifted in front of him and waved.

Jing He came back to his senses and said seriously, "Gastly, I'm afraid we... need to get a League Registered Trainer License."

"Koujie?"

Huh? Whether it was Team Aqua or Team Magma, the identity of a League Registered Trainer would undoubtedly be a form of protection for him and Gastly.

Unless Team Aqua and Team Magma wanted to openly clash with the League ahead of schedule, even they would not dare casually lay hands on a League Registered Trainer. If it was not one of their groups, there was even less to worry about.

Although his status as an instructor at Canalave Pokémon Academy offered some deterrence, Dr. Solanus's situation proved that it was clearly not enough.

As for becoming a League researcher, the original owner had worked at it for so long without success. Compared to that, becoming a Registered Trainer was more achievable.

Even in the worst-case scenario.

If they truly encountered danger, having a certain level of strength would undoubtedly improve their ability to protect themselves.

This was the first time Jing He had felt a sense of crisis and urgency since coming to this world.

Even counting the original owner's experiences, it was the first time either of them had felt this way.

But for some reason... he felt a faint trace of excitement deep inside.

Sure enough, men have an instinctive urge for adventure hidden in their blood.

After hearing Jing He's brief explanation, Gastly not only showed no resistance but even looked eager to give it a try.

It had learned quite a lot yesterday and was getting impatient.

"Looks like men aren't the only ones with an urge for adventure."

Setting down the computer tower, Jing He took Gastly and left the consultation room.

One advantage of being an instructor at a Pokémon academy was that the school's various training facilities were essentially unrestricted for him.

Soon, they crossed two corridors and a lawn before arriving at the academy's Training Room.

Though the semester had begun, classes had not yet started, so there were not many people in the Training Room. Jing He brought Gastly into a small private training room.

"Koujie?"

Gastly was extremely excited upon arriving and impatiently asked.

What are we training? Sneak attacks from behind? Nighttime assassinations?

Black lines appeared across Jing He's forehead.

He took a deep breath and said slowly, "Your direct offensive methods are lacking, but we do not actually need powerful frontal attacks. What we need now is to improve your overall abilities while refining your proficiency with the moves you have mastered. It would be best if you could specialize in one or two moves."

As a seasoned Pokémon enthusiast, Jing He already had a plan in mind for how Gastly should battle.

"Koujie, koujie—"

Gastly nodded, half-understanding.

So?

Seeing its confused look, Jing He patiently began explaining.

Put a Curse on the opponent, then throw in a full package of sleep, confusion, paralysis, flinching, and burns.

By the time the opponent finally recovered from all those negative conditions, the Curse would probably have already drained their stamina down to a sliver—or they might simply collapse under the status effects.

"Isn't that much more practical than sneaking up from behind? Of course, a sneak attack from behind isn't a bad tactic either."

Jing He rubbed his chin, feeling that Pokémon like Gastly were simply too well-suited to someone as tactically inclined as him.

"Kou... koujie..."

Gastly looked at Jing He, whose eyes glinted with a "dangerous" light. It quietly swallowed and floated a short distance backward.

This man was so dangerous!

Now it finally understood why Jing He did not watch videos of Elite Four Kikuko.

Because when it came to "dangerousness"... Jing He was absolutely no less formidable!

But why was it looking forward to it too?

Thanks to the adorable Bao Hu Long for the generous 10,000 reward! Thanks as well to Jiu Hu 1, Ordinary Heart Is Me, Follow Your Heart and Be Well, Listen to the Wind's Song, Missing One Yi, Gui You Bai, Mo Sha, Book Friend 20170405163115365, and many other generous supporters for their rewards!