It's 'Toxic'!

It's 'Toxic'!

"Pfft—"

At Lavaridge Gym, Drake spat out the Sugared Hot Milk in his mouth while reading a report, splashing Mula's face across from him.

Mula's eyes widened in stunned disbelief, veins bulging on his forehead moments later.

"Hahahaha—this kid."

Yet Drake acted as though he had not seen it and instead burst into laughter.

Catching sight of what Drake held, Mula could not help asking, "A reimbursement application? Are you handling the finances now?"

"No, Poni is."

Mula let out a long sigh of relief.

Before stepping down as one of the Elite Four, part of his work had involved managing finances. He was a meticulous and serious man, and Drake had often argued with him over reimbursements back then.

If Drake were handling the Hoenn League's finances, Mula would only feel that the Hoenn League's future was utterly bleak.

"The Chairman won't let me touch that stuff." Drake set down the form and took another sip of Sugared Hot Milk.

Mula gave him a deep look.

"The Chairman is right."

Who did not know Drake's nickname among the League's upper ranks—the Reimbursement King!

"What do you know?" Drake shot him a sidelong glance.

"Don't our investigators work hard enough? You have no idea what our investigators 'witness' every day."

"Take this Camerupt, for example. It inexplicably ended up like this—don't you think it's pitiful? If we don't apply for a little more aid, whether it can continue living after returning to the wild will be an unknown."

Mula fell silent.

Of course he knew. Having worked with Drake for decades, how could he not know what kind of person he was?

Besides, League investigators truly were among the hardest-working professions. Not only were they run off their feet every day, but they also encountered things ordinary people would never come into contact with.

That was why, when he had managed the League's finances, although Drake's "reimbursement forms" had always been outrageously exaggerated, he had never actually withheld the money or supplies.

"Print fifty copies of this 'reimbursement form' first."

Drake handed the form to a subordinate beside him dressed in a sailor uniform.

"Use this standard for future applications."

"Yes, Drake!"

This Autumn Excursion, which had worried Jing He somewhat, finally came to an end.

Although an accident involving Camerupt had occurred, fortunately its impact was limited. Instead, it had landed him a "part-time job," giving him another way to make money.

After handing over the last attendance sheet, Jing He and several other teachers watched the students leave one by one.

Some rode Dodrio while bickering as they ran, some rode Ponyta with Ember trailing all the way, while others rode Rhyhorn and did not seem much faster than walking. Come to think of it, after Gastly evolved into Gengar, it seemed like it could ride Alola's "Greedy Lapras" and carry Acerola through the air.

As if sensing his "malicious intent," Gastly cried out.

"Koujie, koujie!"

What kind of look was that? How heartless! "Ahem, nothing. I just thought of something funny."

Once the students had all left, Jing He took Gastly home as well.

When they arrived home, they found a large orange Pokémon sitting on the old flowerbed by the stairwell. Its short arms propped up its head, and it looked utterly bored.

Fatso!

Pah! Dragonite!

It was actually Dragonite, the pseudo-legendary Pokémon from the Kanto Region!

If Jing He's residential complex had not been so old and secluded, Dragonite's appearance alone would probably have drawn quite a crowd. Dragonite had clearly noticed Jing He too. It perked up a little and began rummaging through its crossbody bag.

At last, it pulled out a wrinkled photograph. Its plump claws barely managed to smooth it flat as it compared the photo with Jing He.

"Bwoo~~"

It was him, no doubt.

Dragonite stood up, jogged over to Jing He, rummaged through its bag again, and took out a package.

"For me?" Jing He could not help asking.

"Bwoo~~"

Dragonite nodded.

Jing He glanced at the information on it, a look of realization appearing on his face.

So the items from his reimbursement application had arrived.

He had not expected them to come so quickly.

As he accepted the package, he slipped several Energy Cubes to Dragonite in thanks.

The resentment Dragonite had built up while waiting vanished at once, and it happily tossed the Energy Cubes into its mouth.

Dragonite waved at Jing He, flapped its wings, and swiftly departed.

"As expected of the League and a Dragon-type Elite Four. They even use Dragonite to deliver packages." Jing He sighed as he watched Dragonite rapidly disappear into the distance.

Gastly, however, looked a little confused.

"Koujie?"

With wings that small, how could it fly so fast? "Uh."

That was really not an easy question to answer, so Jing He changed the subject.

"Come on, let's open the package!"

"Koujie!"

Sure enough, Gastly's attention shifted immediately.

New phone! New phone! New phone! It eagerly floated upstairs.

Though it was only a small package, it seemed to make use of spatial technology. Boxes of Energy Cubes, crates of Moomoo Milk, and all kinds of Berries, medicinal herbs, and Poké Balls would not even fit on the table, filling the floor instead.

"Koujie—koujie—"

Gastly lay among the Energy Cubes and Moomoo Milk, rolling around while clutching a brand-new phone.

Gastly: (▽) Jing He also opened his new phone and logged into his League account.

The first thing he checked was his paper.

The popularity of the paper he had published had gradually declined, though it still ranked near the top.

After that, he briefly browsed through other people's papers.

He wanted to get a sense of the current direction of Pokémon research. While the popularity of his first paper had not completely faded, he could strike while the iron was hot and write another one. Perhaps the League would actually issue him a researcher's certificate in a few days, and then he would not need to undergo an assessment for Registered Trainer status.

As he read, he casually asked:

"Gastly, do you like training? Do you like battling?"

"Koujie?"

Gastly, which had been rolling around on the floor, froze at the question and looked at Jing He strangely. However, the phone blocked its view, and it could not see Jing He's eyes.

Jing He had actually wanted to ask this question a long time ago.

Come to think of it.

After catching Gastly, he had begun training it.

On one hand, it was because of the pressure from the "stalker."

On the other, it was because he had subconsciously believed at the time that Pokémon should train and battle.

But after spending so many days with Gastly, he suddenly realized that he had never asked Gastly what it wanted. After the Camerupt incident, Jing He understood even more clearly that some Pokémon were very simple. They merely enjoyed the happiness of being with family and friends.

Gastly floated over to Jing He with a bottle of Moomoo Milk in its mouth. Its mist formed the shape of a hand and gently touched his forehead.

"Koujie?"

No fever. Is it that time of the month for you?

Jing He's expression darkened.

"Koujie, koujie—"

Laughing loudly, Gastly patted Jing He on the shoulder and raised its head at a forty-five-degree angle.

With talent and gifts like This Old One's, do you think I'm supposed to stay home and inhale coal gas every day? Set your sights farther. Our goal is—

Jing He did not respond, but he understood what Gastly meant.

He let out a soft breath.

"All right, then we'll stick to the original plan. Tomorrow's training workload will be doubled!"

"Kou, Koujie?!"

Gastly stared in shock.

Why did it feel like it had walked straight into a trap after being set up? Jing He laughed.

"Koujie!!"

Seeing how happily he was laughing, Gastly gritted its teeth in anger. Its body instantly expanded as it lunged at Jing He.

Bang! One human and one Pokémon tumbled to the floor.

"Don't! Don't lick me! It's Toxic—this time it's Toxic!"