I, Gastly, God of Alleyway Battles!

"Calling the police was the right choice. If you encounter something like this again, please trust our Alliance Police Station."

Outside Canalave Police Station, Officer Jenny spoke sternly to Jing He and Steven Stone after they had finished giving their statements, then turned and walked back inside.

Jing He and Steven exchanged a glance.

Both of them could not help recalling what had happened earlier.

At the time, that Camerupt's Flamethrower had been ready to fire. And judging by the strength it displayed, it was clearly stronger than Steven's Metang.

Coupled with the type disadvantage and the narrow alleyway, once the attack erupted, there would have been almost nowhere to dodge.

Fortunately, Officer Jenny had appeared in time and frightened them off.

"Teacher Jing He, thank you."

Steven thanked him sincerely.

At first, he had felt that Jing He's decision to call the police was somewhat ill-timed. Given the circumstances, by the time Officer Jenny and the others arrived, the robbers would have long since vanished.

But looking back now, Jing He's decision to call the police had been extremely wise.

Jing He waved a hand thoughtfully.

The two left together.

The neon lights still gleamed along the streets, noisily proclaiming Canalave City's prosperity. But upon closer inspection, behind that dazzling glow there were always one or two pitch-black alleys with no visible end, as though quietly telling of the secrets hidden beneath this prosperity.

"Teacher, do you know them?"

After walking for a while, Steven could not help asking.

Jing He did not slow down. He carried the bag of Energy Cubes they had bought earlier, his gaze sweeping back and forth across the street as if searching for something. At the same time, he asked, "Aren't you surprised?"

"Hm?" Steven did not understand.

Then Jing He's eyes lit up. He had finally found what he was looking for. Crossing the road through the sparse traffic, he arrived outside an unassuming little restaurant across the street.

Only then did he continue, "A Dark-type Mightyena, a Fire-type and Ground-type Camerupt, and a Zangoose known for its speed..."

"You mean..." Steven gradually caught on.

As a Steel-type and Psychic-type Pokémon, Metang was weak to Dark-, Fire-, and Ground-type moves. Moreover, a cramped place like an alley was absolutely unfavorable for Metang. It would make the already less agile Metang even more sluggish, and he might not even have had room to send out a second Pokémon.

While Steven was thinking, Jing He had already lifted the restaurant curtain and entered.

Inside, a middle-aged man in a chef's uniform smiled and greeted him when he saw him.

"Yo, Jing He. The usual?"

Jing He glanced sideways at Steven, who had followed him in.

"Make it two more."

"Sure!"

The two then headed to the very back of the small shop, where little booths were separated by curtains. They found an empty one and slipped inside.

Only after Jing He sat down did Steven impatiently press, "Those people were actually targeting me?"

Jing He shrugged. Rather than answer, he said:

"The pork cutlet rice here is quite good. The owner's tempura is excellent too."

"Koujie—"

Gastly floated out from Jing He's clothes. Its mist-formed hand held a fork it had somehow acquired, and its face was full of impatience.

Dinner time had long passed, and after that battle in the alley, it was so hungry its chest was nearly stuck to its back. It felt like it could eat an entire Tauros!

"But why? And what was their purpo—" Steven spoke again.

Yet what met him was Jing He's calm, pond-like gaze. Ripples faintly stirred within it, yet it remained utterly tranquil.

Steven's words came to an abrupt halt.

"Coming through! Your pork cutlet rice and tempura—"

At that moment, the owner brought over the fragrant food, breaking the brief silence.

There were five full set meals!

The steaming aroma instantly filled the small booth.

"Koujie!"

After the owner left, Gastly's eyes gleamed, drool practically sliding from the corners of its mouth. With a shout, it immediately began skillfully sweeping through the food with its fork.

Jing He started eating as well.

After a few bites, he noticed Steven had not moved and asked, "Not used to it?"

"No, no."

Steven, whose expression had been grave, snapped back to his senses. He hurriedly denied it and picked up his chopsticks to eat. Jing He and Gastly were not the only ones who had skipped dinner.

Still, his table manners were far more refined than Jing He's and Gastly's.

By the time Jing He finished one serving, Gastly had nearly polished off its third. What surprised him was that Steven quickly finished his portion as well.

And he ate it very cleanly.

He showed none of the supposed "self-awareness" expected of Devon Corporation's Young Master. After finishing, he even neatly placed his chopsticks on the plate.

"Burp—"

Gastly let out a long, satisfied burp and flopped limply onto the cushion. Its eyes turned into wavy lines, its expression one of utter contentment.

"It really does taste quite good."

Steven seemed to have pulled himself out of the mental dead end he had been stuck in and could not help praising it.

For even him to praise the food showed just how skilled the restaurant owner was.

Then he looked at Gastly lying beside him and said solemnly, "Thank you for tonight too, Gastly."

Without Gastly repeatedly passing through walls to scout the surroundings and even knocking several people unconscious, they would not have had such an easy time today.

"K-Koujie?"

Gastly froze atop the cushion.

It... it had been thanked? This was the first time anyone other than Jing He had thanked it. It was... kind of embarrassing. "Koujie, koujie!"

Gastly swayed its black mist around, though it was hard to tell whether it was shy or showing off.

I, Gastly, god of alleyway battles! Gastly: ()

Both of them laughed.

"Teacher, I analyzed it."

After laughing, Steven looked at Jing He again, his expression serious.

"First, those people were probably after me. But I usually haven't offended anyone, so I'm guessing it was probably because of the Stone surname, or simply because of Devon."

"Other than that Camerupt, their Pokémon could not be considered particularly strong, yet they knew my situation extremely well."

Only now did he realize that Jing He had not answered earlier in order to leave him time to think for himself.

Moreover, from Steven's perspective, Jing He had been completely dragged into this incident. Compared with Jing He, as the one being targeted, Steven should have known more information and should have had a better idea of who the enemy was.

In truth, his analysis was quite well organized.

His final conclusion was that the people who had plotted against him most likely had some conflict with Devon Corporation. As for who exactly they were, that could not be determined from such limited information.

"Very good." Jing He rose with a smile and patted Steven on the shoulder.

"Steven, you're very talented. You understand Pokémon, understand people, and even understand all kinds of stones. That will make you outstanding whether as a Trainer, Devon Corporation's heir, or a stone collector..."

With one hand on the doorframe and the other lifting the curtain, he walked out.

His praise undoubtedly delighted Steven.

"...But you still don't understand yourself well enough."

You haven't realized just how outstanding you can be—outstanding enough to perfectly fulfill the three roles of Top Trainer, Devon heir, and stone collector at once, rather than making compromises in confusion and hesitation.

Jing He did not say those words aloud, because they were still a little too far off for Steven at the moment.

After Jing He and Gastly left, Steven sat quietly in his seat for a long time.

"Whew..."

Steven slowly exhaled the stale breath in his chest, and his eyes gradually brightened.

"Not understanding myself well enough?"

He vaguely felt that he might be able to better "understand" himself through Jing He.

Of course, that was something for the future. It could not happen overnight.

Walking out of the booth, he thought, Still, I should properly thank Teacher Jing He for what happened tonight, and for what he did for Metang before.

But how should he thank him? Money?

Steven immediately shook his head.

No, he should not measure this help with something so mundane.

But he quickly thought of another way, and his eyes lit up.

"Um."

At that moment, the restaurant owner's voice sounded from behind him.

"Sir, are you paying the bill?"

Steven: "??"

There was a small issue in the previous chapter regarding Normal-type immunity to Ghost-type moves, but it has been corrected and does not affect reading.