Energy Cubes

Kanto Region, Viridian City.

A secret underground base somewhere.

A middle-aged man with a cold gaze and a stern expression walked step by step toward his seat.

Behind him stood numerous researchers in white lab coats, as well as subordinates standing like soldiers with their hands behind their backs.

In the past, whenever these people looked at the middle-aged man, their eyes would inevitably fill with fervor and admiration.

But today, mixed in with that fervor and admiration was a trace of something strange.

That was because the middle-aged man wore an apron over his black suit, the sort of apron commonly worn by housewives. It was far too out of place with both his demeanor and the surroundings.

Yet the middle-aged man did not seem to care much about it.

With one hand at his collar, he twisted his neck and casually loosened it.

He nonchalantly untied the apron and tossed it aside, revealing a fiery red "R" on the left side of his chest. As he reached the table and sat down, an affectionate, lazy cry rang out.

"Meow—"

The Persian lying beside the chair immediately leaned against the man when it saw him. His palm naturally settled on its head, gently stroking it and earning a contented purring sound from the Persian.

After the man sat down, his gaze swept across the dozens of white-coated researchers before him. He spoke in an even tone. "Tell me."

Those words made the entire room fall utterly silent. The researchers below exchanged glances as beads of sweat rolled slowly down their foreheads.

The man said nothing more. He simply continued stroking the Persian while silently watching them.

But sometimes, unspoken words carried even greater pressure.

And the Persian emanated an intense sense of danger as well. It looked gentle enough, but its cold gaze sent shivers down their spines, as though it would pounce like a tiger at the slightest gesture from the man.

Under the immense pressure, the leader among the researchers finally wiped his forehead and stepped forward to explain.

"B-Boss, all of its indicators are normal. In fact, in fact, its thoughts have become even more active than before, but they've also become much more orderly."

Hmm? The middle-aged man narrowed his eyes slightly and leaned forward. "Go on."

The lead researcher took a deep breath, then finally gritted his teeth and said,

"In other words... this c-cooking..."

As he spoke, he carefully glanced at the man sitting in the darkness, a man whose mere stomp of a foot could make the entire underworld of the Kanto Region and even the Johto Region tremble.

Honestly, if it had been before, he would never have believed that this man would actually try cooking, even if the scene back then... ahem.

He continued.

"...greatly stabilized its originally chaotic thoughts and emotions. It has been very beneficial to it."

"Is that so?"

The middle-aged man withdrew his gaze and slowly leaned back in his chair.

"In that case, let it handle the newly discovered island this time."

"Yes!"

Three days later.

Canalave Pokémon Academy.

Training Room.

"Take a break."

Jing He said to Gastly.

"Koujie~~"

Upon hearing that, Gastly immediately let out a long breath. It glanced at the balls scattered all over the floor, then quickly floated back to Jing He's side with a pitiful expression.

It kept circling around him.

From Gastly's perspective: This Old One has been so good, shouldn't there be a reward? ()

From Jing He's perspective: Hmm, it seemed he had still underestimated Gastly's stamina. He could increase the training volume next time.

That entire morning, Gastly had been undergoing training called "Dodgeball."

The specific training involved dodging balls fired from machines. It sounded simple, but there was more than one ball-launching machine in the Training Room. Timing, direction, and angle were all things it had to consider.

After one morning, it was exhausted.

Fortunately, Gastly was a Pokémon known for its speed, and it had performed exceptionally well in this training.

Jing He took out the food he had prepared beforehand.

Two deep-purple Energy Cubes, crystal-clear and giving off a faintly sweet aroma.

Gastly's eyes instantly lit up.

"Koujie!!"

"Don't! Don't pounce on me! The gas is poisonous! Don't—"

One minute later.

"Koujie koujie~~"

Gastly hugged the two Energy Cubes and happily gnawed on them. Looking at Jing He, whose hair was slightly messy as he straightened his clothes, it revealed a sly smile.

Got him!

|·'-')

Jing He found himself gradually getting used to Gastly's mischievousness and pranks.

He let out a long breath he had been holding for quite some time.

For Pokémon, ordinary food is enough to sustain their daily needs, but once battle and training are added, only highly compressed energy foods like Energy Cubes can provide them with sufficient nourishment.

That was why, after the first day of Gastly's training, he had immediately spent a large sum buying Energy Cubes.

What Gastly was currently eating was an intermediate Energy Cube suitable for Ghost-type Pokémon. Each one cost fifty League Credits, which was undeniably expensive.

His salary could have handled it just fine.

After all, he was an instructor at the most famous Pokémon academy in the Hoenn Region. His salary and benefits were quite good.

But unfortunately.

Though Gastly looked light and was not very big, its appetite was far greater than he had expected! Still, to be fair, with Energy Cubes replenishing its strength, Gastly's training efficiency had indeed improved considerably.

Jing He could not help but sigh that being a Trainer truly was a profession that required throwing money at it.

"Koujie?"

While eating an Energy Cube, Gastly noticed that Jing He had been staring at his phone and frowning from time to time. It cautiously floated closer.

When it discovered that the screen was filled with dense blocks of text, its head immediately began to ache.

Compared to words, it still preferred watching videos and looking at pictures.

But as Jing He continued scrolling, Gastly saw pictures it liked.

And they were even pictures of Energy Cubes! "Koujie?"

Jing He had long gotten used to Gastly suddenly appearing behind him. As he browsed the content, he said, "It's the process of making Energy Cubes."

The school had actually taught this sort of knowledge when he was a student, but since he had majored in Pokémon Psychology and did not have a Pokémon back then, he had not explored it much.

But now that he had caught Gastly, and Energy Cubes were so expensive, he had begun considering learning to make them himself.

There was no harm in giving it a try.

Hearing that Jing He was going to learn how to make Energy Cubes for it, Gastly's eyes immediately turned into wavy lines, so touched that it was practically in tears.

"Koujie!"

"Damn it! Again?!"

Jing He walked out of the Training Room while straightening his clothes.

Gastly did not like going into a Poké Ball, perhaps because of the "aftereffects" left behind from when Jing He first caught it.

Jing He did not force the issue.

After all, having a little "portable air conditioner" around still felt pretty nice.

Gastly's training has been going fairly smoothly, but training is training and battle is battle. It's difficult to maintain the same mindset in two different environments, especially in dangerous situations.

So it would be best to find Gastly some opportunities for real combat.

When he stepped out of the training building, the sky was overcast, as though it might rain at any moment.

But before he could take two steps, he heard someone call out in surprise.

"Teacher Jing He?"

Following the source of the voice.

He discovered it was Roxanne and Steven Stone.

Uh... if I said I forgot to set automatic updates, so the update came late, would you believe me?