"Toxic" Training Method?

"Toxic" Training Method? "Koujie!"

Gastly suddenly poked its head out from behind Jing He, pulling a ferocious face.

Jing He had long since grown used to Gastly's jump-scare pranks, but when he saw what Gastly looked like this time, he could not help but freeze.

That was because Gastly had actually dressed up as a vampire. Though it was only a head, with black mist forming the collar of a cape, those sharp, crimson fangs were real—and very familiar.

"Are those... Seviper's venom fangs?"

"Koujie~~"

Gastly grinned, looking as though it were showing off its spoils.

Jing He did not know whether to laugh or cry.

"Even if its fangs will grow back, you still..."

He had not expected Gastly to turn around and pull out Seviper's pair of fangs. They were among Seviper's most important weapons; most of its venom was released through them, and they naturally carried potent toxicity.

The Seviper that might originally have needed to hide for three or four months would need to hide even longer this time. After all, its means of making a living was gone.

"Don't go poisoning yourself later."

"Koujie!"

Gastly wore an expression that said, How could that happen? It was a Poison-type Pokémon, not some other kind of Pokémon. How could it possibly get poisoned?

Jing He naturally knew that, so he had only reminded it jokingly.

Even setting aside the fact that Poison-type Pokémon could not be poisoned, Gastly was also four times resistant to Poison-type attacks.

"Koujie, koujie—"

Gastly floated in front of Jing He again, the black mist around its body churning.

Hmm? What was it doing? Then, a slurping sound came from Gastly's body, accompanied by the sound of jelly being chewed. It smacked its lips twice, as though it were eating jelly.

Jing He's expression became rather strange.

Gastly had eaten the venom from Seviper's fangs? "Koujie!"

After smacking its lips and swallowing with a gulp, delight immediately appeared in Gastly's big white eyes.

It was unexpectedly delicious!

But Gastly was not done yet. After smacking its lips twice more as if savoring the taste, the black mist around its body churned again, and strands of purple haze emerged.

Toxic Mist!

Yet Gastly did not release Toxic Mist directly as usual. Instead, it compressed it into the venom fangs.

Then, a purplish-black bubble suddenly appeared at the tip of the crimson fangs. It finally turned into drops of thick venom that fell to the ground, sizzling as they corroded small holes into the stone slabs of the path.

"Koujie!"

Gastly grinned and raised its eyebrows at Jing He.

See that? My venom is strong!

Jing He was somewhat surprised by the sight as well. He stopped where he was, rubbing his chin lightly as a thoughtful look appeared on his face.

"I have to admit, after being compressed through the fangs, the toxicity has increased considerably..." He looked up at Gastly and asked, "Gastly, did you use the Toxic Orb?"

"Koujie?"

Gastly blinked.

No.

Jing He nodded slightly and muttered to himself.

"Even if Gastly's Toxic Mist is compressed into a liquid, its toxicity theoretically should not be this strong. Is it because of the fangs? Or because... it ate Seviper's venom?"

With the urge to investigate, Jing He said to Gastly again, "Gastly, try adding the Toxic Orb's toxicity."

Oh.

Though Gastly did not understand why, it did as told. Its mouth gurgled twice, and it curled its tongue around a dark-purple orb before spitting it out.

Then, its tongue slurped around the Toxic Orb several times before it quickly swallowed the orb again. Following Jing He's instructions, it used Toxic Mist once more.

Drops of venom fell bit by bit from the tips of the fangs. Compared to before, they had become thicker and darker, while their toxicity and corrosiveness had also grown stronger.

The result confirmed his guess, and Jing He's eyes brightened slightly.

Maybe Gastly really could learn Toxic through this method! With that thought in mind, Jing He continued toward Lavaridge Town, though his pace became much quicker than before.

"Koujie—"

Seeing this, Gastly hurriedly chased after him.

Why were they running so fast? Jing He glanced from the corner of his eye at a pitch-black crater corroded into the path behind them.

If they did not run, were they going to wait to be caught? Noticing Jing He's gaze, Gastly understood too.

It immediately floated in front of Jing He and put on an expression that said, I didn't do it. It had nothing to do with me.

But it soon seemed to think of something else. With a sly smirk, it asked:

"Koujie, koujie?"

Right, you said earlier... how long would it take for Seviper's fangs to grow back?

Back at the Lavaridge Town Pokémon Center.

Jing He went to find Nurse Joy at the Pokémon Center.

Because of the Mt. Chimney incident two days ago, as well as the academy's arrangements, Jing He, who was not a League Registered Trainer, was using official Pokémon examination equipment for Gastly for the first time.

The free kind.

Standing outside a huge transparent glass window, Jing He watched Gastly in the examination room blankly follow Nurse Joy and Chansey's directions, moving from one sophisticated machine to another. He could not help wanting to laugh.

Gastly looked like an old country bumpkin in a grand manor—overwhelmed and at a complete loss.

Yet he could not hide the faint trace of worry in his eyes.

Gastly had been asleep for so long. Had it really recovered completely? Had he been training Gastly correctly during this time? Would he leave any hidden problems behind?

Would the examination find anything bad?

Gastly had eaten so many things, both things it should and should not have eaten. Would it feel unwell? Inside the examination room...

Although Gastly had been exposed to new gadgets like computers and phones under Jing He's influence.

Those were completely different from the highly advanced large-scale machines before it now.

The little guy's confusion and helplessness were genuine.

But as long as it looked up through the glass.

And saw that familiar, comforting figure still there, it did not feel so nervous.

Besides... "Gastly, we're going in here next. Be careful not to bump into anything," Nurse Joy said gently.

"Koujie—"

Nurse Joy smells so good.

Gastly: (●｀●) Seeing that Gastly was being cooperative and that Nurse Joy showed no sign of anything unusual, Jing He relaxed slightly and took out the phone that had already vibrated several times.

Eevee Eating Cabbage: If it's because you don't have time, that's fine. I can come find you. You're in the Hoenn Region, right?

Eevee Eating Cabbage: Feebas's condition really has been getting better and better these past two days, but it seems a little off today. (Video.MP4)

Meeting in person?

No, no, no.

We were simply online friends.

He opened the video.

They had not seen each other for only a few days, but Feebas's body color had become noticeably brighter than before. But... Jing Zhong Zhi He: Is it possible that it simply has indigestion because it ate too much? Not only had Feebas's color become more vivid, but its body had grown much larger as well. Someone who saw it every day might not notice that as clearly.

Jing Zhong Zhi He: Also, don't keep Feebas together with so many Water-type Pokémon for now. Its inferiority complex has only just eased a little, so it might... not be convenient for it to use the bathroom. Click—

The examination room door opened, and Jing He put away his phone.

"Koujie~~"

Gastly floated over happily.

"Teacher Jing He, your Gastly is in very good condition," Nurse Joy said with a smile.

"Thank you." Hearing that, Jing He secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"However, don't let it eat too much lately. It may have a bit of indigestion."

"Uh..." Jing He froze for a moment, glanced at Gastly's blank expression, then nodded. "All right."

"Oh, and there's one more thing."

Just as Jing He thanked her again and prepared to leave, Nurse Joy called out to him.

"Camerupt has already woken up. Drake, who has been following this matter, also happens to have arrived in Lavaridge Town. He hopes you can assist with their investigation."

"Okay... hmm?"

Drake?! Please keep reading—more, more!