Poisoned

"Hey, heicha. Heicha."

Geodude panted as it cried out, looking at Jing He and Gastly as though they were two smiling devils!

Devils!

They were devils!

They called it a battle, but Geodude had not managed to touch Gastly even once from start to finish! Its attacks seemed to have no effect on Gastly whatsoever. Gastly had not attacked it much either, but every move Gastly used made it suffer more than a direct attack would have.

More importantly...

It could not even run away! Not only was Gastly far faster than it, but whenever the thought of fleeing arose in its heart, it would inexplicably shudder and be unable to move at all.

Just think about what it had gone through. Paralysis, confusion, sleep, flinching, burns. Every time it finally broke free from one negative condition, it was immediately hit with another. And before it could even endure a full round of moves, its stamina would drain away amid inexplicable, agonizing pain. Was this even a battle? Was this not just pure abuse? Whenever Geodude thought of its battle with Gastly, it shivered with fear.

And Gastly's strange laughter, especially the way it kept inexplicably appearing behind Geodude. Also, that human called Jing He was even more terrifying! He looked so thin and weak, with nothing going for him besides being handsome, yet one sentence of his had been deeply carved into Geodude's heart—heal it, then fight another round.

Could a normal creature even say something like that?

Geodude felt as though its young heart had suffered a critical blow.

Compared to this, Metang was so much more "gentle," and Roxanne was absolutely the best Trainer in the world! Seeing Geodude's pleading, submissive expression, Jing He raised a hand to stop Gastly.

"That's enough. Don't be so cruel, Gastly."

"Koujie~~"

Gastly cried out unwillingly.

Cruel? Me?

"It adapted much faster than I expected." Jing He ignored Gastly's gaze and rubbed his chin as he spoke to himself.

Honestly.

The result of Gastly's battle against Geodude had been entirely within his expectations.

Mainly because Gastly countered Geodude too thoroughly.

Roxanne's Geodude did indeed have considerable potential, having inherited the move Mega Punch, but the problem was that it was a Normal-type move.

And without supporting moves such as Foresight or Odor Sleuth, Normal-type moves could not possibly hit a Ghost-type Pokémon like Gastly.

At least, this Geodude was not strong enough to do so.

It was not just Mega Punch. The move Tackle, which Geodude had used twice, was also a Normal-type move and could not affect Ghost-type Pokémon.

Furthermore.

Geodude was a Rock-type and Ground-type Pokémon, but Gastly's Ability was Levitate.

Pokémon with Levitate, so long as they did not land on the ground themselves or come under the effects of a move like Gravity, could ignore the vast majority of Ground-type moves.

Putting it all together.

That meant...

Of all the moves Geodude had mastered, only Rock-type moves could damage Gastly.

On top of that, Geodude's kind was known for powerful Physical Defense but slow speed.

And Gastly?

Its strengths were Special Attack and speed.

A complete counter!

So long as Jing He and Gastly did not do anything foolish, and Geodude was not far stronger than Gastly, there was no way it could win.

That was also why Jing He had chosen to come himself rather than let Steven Stone and Metang do it.

Gastly's first battle needed to build up enough confidence for it.

But judging by things now... perhaps it had built a little too much confidence. Still, it was not a big problem.

"Geodude?"

Seeing that it was finally over, Roxanne jogged into the battlefield and called out tentatively.

"Heicha!"

Finally, it was no longer Jing He's calm commands or Gastly's strange laughter. To Geodude, Roxanne's voice sounded like heavenly music. It immediately ran to her side and pressed itself tightly against her, looking like it wanted comfort.

Only after losing something did one understand what was most precious.

Roxanne froze slightly at the sight.

Was this really her Geodude, the one that had always acted like it had its nose in the air? At Jing He's signal, Roxanne hurriedly began soothing it.

It was foreseeable that after today, Geodude would probably behave itself much more.

It might still be proud, but at least it would not turn into Shi Aotian.

Steven Stone also walked onto the field with Metang, his expression complicated.

On one hand, he had not expected Roxanne's Geodude to truly settle down.

On the other, there was Jing He's treatment method, as well as his battling ability.

When Steven had learned that Jing He also had a Pokémon, he had curiously asked whether Jing He could battle.

Jing He's answer at the time had been—what was battling? No, he could not.

But now... whether it was the timing of his moves, their transitions, or their combinations, he did not look like someone who could not battle at all.

Especially Gastly's moves. They were really... really... Metang rubbed its eyes twice.

It felt like something had gotten into them.

Before Steven and Metang, who had just approached, could say anything, they heard Jing He studying Geodude's condition and muttering thoughtfully, "Hmm, it seems that under certain circumstances, 'physical intervention' can produce effects more simply and directly than 'psychological intervention.'"

"Ku!"

Metang's expression stiffened.

It looked at Steven with a pleading expression.

Did it have a course of "physical intervention" too?

The corner of Steven's eye twitched slightly.

Physical intervention?

He felt that Geodude had suffered a far more severe psychological blow, did it not?

But regardless of the process, they had to admit that the result was good.

That much could be seen from Geodude, which was currently glued to Roxanne's side and refused to leave.

Steven took a deep breath.

"Teacher Jing He, is it over?"

"It's over." Jing He nodded. "I was originally thinking that if Geodude proved more resilient, then once Gastly got tired, I'd switch you and Metang in."

Steven: "..."

Was Geodude not resilient enough?

A normal Pokémon would have been unable to endure it after being awakened by treatment the first time, right? Geodude had endured two full rounds.

In Steven's view, that already counted as exceptionally strong-willed.

Geodude's Ability was Rock Head, not being thick-headed.

Instead, he was a little worried that Geodude's confidence might have been completely crushed.

"Thank you, Teacher!"

At that moment, Roxanne, having calmed Geodude down, brought it over to thank Jing He.

"Hey, heicha."

Geodude no longer had that scornful, superior attitude from before. It hid beside Roxanne and called out awkwardly.

"Koujie—"

Gastly gave a strange laugh, its black mist forming a hand that waved at it.

But the sound of its laughter made Geodude's body tremble slightly.

Jing He crouched down and said to Geodude, "Listen to your Trainer properly. It isn't as though you have no chance of defeating Gastly."

"Heicha?"

Geodude froze at that and instinctively looked toward Roxanne.

Roxanne had long since received Jing He's instruction, and she nodded solemnly.

"Heicha!"

Light burst forth in Geodude's eyes once more.

Jing He smiled faintly at the sight.

Steven's eyes also brightened slightly.

Clearly, he had worried too much.

The way he looked at Jing He gained a little more approval.

"Koujie, koujie~~"

I'm awesome, right?

Steven and Roxanne went off to class, while Jing He brought Gastly back to the consultation room.

Along the way, Gastly was exceptionally excited.

This was its first battle, and the result was obvious—it had easily handled its opponent.

Moreover, this was also an affirmation of Gastly's training results over this period. It was a good thing for both it and Jing He.

"Don't get too proud."

Jing He smiled as he made himself some coffee.

He saw more than Gastly did. There were Gastly's merits and advantages, naturally, but also many areas where it fell short.

And those shortcomings would be the primary direction of their training going forward.

Actual combat was one of the most effective ways to test training results.

"If Geodude had listened to its Trainer's commands, you wouldn't have won so easily."

At appropriate times, Jing He also needed to keep this little fellow in check, lest it become too proud.

But Gastly did not care.

"Koujie—"

As if it did not have a Trainer.

As Gastly watched Jing He seriously making coffee, a sly glint flashed through its eyes. It let out a low, mischievous laugh, and its body slowly faded away.

When Jing He finished making the coffee and turned around—

"Koujie!"

Gastly suddenly appeared, pulling a face as it stretched out its long tongue to lick him.

A sneak attack!

Jing He's expression stiffened.

He raised a hand to wipe the saliva off his face, but halfway through the motion, his hand stopped in midair.

A hint of purple spread across his face.

"This time, I really was poisoned..."

"Koujie?!"

And it was not ordinary poison, either.

Gastly's panicked cries rang out from within the consultation room.

I might increase the update frequency a little. Please keep reading.