Wataru

Wataru. The next day, Saturday.

"Koujie~~"

Waking up under Gastly's "Lick" once again, Jing He felt like he had gone numb to the spiciness of Cheri Berries.

Fortunately, Gastly had only just begun to grasp "Toxic" and could not even guarantee that it would successfully use it every time. After downing three Pecha Berries yesterday, Jing He had finally cured the poison.

After a quick wash, the first thing Jing He did was tie on an apron and head into the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

He skillfully cracked an egg with one hand, gently shaking the frying pan while watching the news on his phone. Amid the sizzling and the newscast, a tempting aroma soon spread through the room.

Meanwhile, Gastly sat on the sofa, tapping the screen nonstop with its tongue.

One inconspicuous comment after another thanking Thousand-Year-Old Ghost for the little stars it had sent was drowned in the sea of scrolling messages.

Yet it was completely engrossed.

That was because it was watching a battle livestream—one from Sinnoh Channel.

The battlers were Cynthia and Volkner! But Gastly's attention was focused on the Pokémon Cynthia was commanding.

An Eevee.

Hehe, Eevee, hehe. "Breakfast is ready."

Jing He suddenly called out.

"Koujie!"

Gastly jolted, hurriedly flipping its phone shut like a guilty thief. It secretly glanced toward the kitchen and only relaxed when it saw that Jing He did not seem to have noticed.

It quickly used its tongue to close the livestream it had been watching.

"What were you sneaking around watching?"

At the dining table, Jing He untied his apron and asked casually.

"K-Koujie."

Gastly shook its head hard, trying its best to look unconcerned.

But how could its expression possibly escape Jing He's eyes?

Still, Jing He did not press the matter.

Gastly's account had no money anyway, so there was no need to worry about it getting scammed. He let it be.

"Since it's the weekend, let's first go to the Canalave Police Station and see if we can calm one or two Pokémon down. Then we'll head into town and see if we can buy you a Technical Machine."

Gastly had just learned "Toxic," but for it right now, "Toxic," "Will-O-Wisp," and "Curse" overlapped too much.

It knew quite a few moves, but most of them were debuffs. It had pitifully few offensive moves, so Jing He wanted to see whether he could afford "Hex."

Since Gastly had said yesterday that it wanted to become stronger, and he happened to have a trainer's dream, there was no reason to hesitate. He just needed to work hard and try to make it happen.

"Koujie~~"

Gastly's eyes spun twice.

I thought of a really powerful move last night!

"Hm?"

Jing He, who had taken a bite of fried egg, looked surprised.

Could Gastly really be so gifted that it had comprehended another move? Two moves in one day? "Koujie—"

Gastly gave a confident smile.

The mist around its body shifted, gradually forming an outline.

Jing He's expression slowly turned strange. He stared at Gastly's current appearance for a long while before tentatively asking:

"Is that... a lizard?"

"Koujie!" Gastly glared at him furiously.

"A bat?"

"Koujie koujie!"

"A tardigrade?"

Gastly: "..."

After Gastly's strenuous explanation, Jing He finally realized. "You mean that was Giratina you just transformed into?"

"Koujie!"

Gastly nodded repeatedly.

Just imagine transforming into Giratina the next time I use "Astonish." Wouldn't that be terrifying?

Right?

Jing He finished the remaining half of his fried egg and pursed his lips.

"How about we just transform into Gastly Bay from now on?"

Gastly's "Transform" ability was truly hard to compliment.

"Kou! Jie! (((//Д//)))"

Kanto Region, Big Dumb Valley.

"Charizard, fly lower."

A young man in a cape with short reddish-brown hair lay prone atop a powerfully built Charizard, skimming over the barren valley almost close enough to brush the ground.

At the same time, a voice came through the headphones he wore.

"Investigator Wataru, all nearby tourists have been evacuated."

Hearing that, the young man pressed a hand to his headset and said, "All right, thanks for your hard work."

His gaze continuously swept over the jagged rocks around him, as though he were searching for something.

Suddenly—

"Roar!!"

Charizard let out a low growl, beat its wings fiercely, and rapidly shot upward.

Just then, the rock wall along one side of the valley cliff suddenly exploded. Countless sharp chunks of rock in varying sizes shot outward, instantly blasting a huge hole in the wall.

If Charizard had not reacted quickly enough, those shattered rocks might not have done much to Charizard, but Wataru could have been injured.

"Found you."

Wataru did not panic.

A few days ago, someone had encountered an extremely vicious and unknown Pokémon in Big Dumb Valley. In the days that followed, quite a few people and Pokémon had suffered injuries of varying severity.

As a member of the Kanto League's investigative division, Wataru had taken on this mission and come here to investigate.

After searching back and forth several times, and with Charizard deliberately provoking it, he had finally lured the creature out.

There it was.

From the bottomless hole, a grayish-white Pokémon suddenly shot out. It had a pair of light-blue eyes and looked remarkably like a pterosaur!

Having finally seen the culprit, Wataru dismounted Charizard and froze for a moment.

He said in clear surprise, "Aerodactyl?"

There was even a hint of delight in his voice.

Then he threw a Poké Ball.

Amid a flash of red light, a fierce-looking Gyarados appeared.

"Roar!!"

Aerodactyl naturally did not fear Gyarados. It answered with an equally loud and majestic roar.

The two Pokémon glared at each other.

"Charizard, Dragon Breath!"

"Gyarados, Waterfall!"

Wataru's commands rang out.

Huh? Aerodactyl was stunned as it watched the two Pokémon charge toward it.

Wasn't this supposed to be one-on-one? "Thud!"

The Poké Ball stopped shaking, and its red light faded.

Wataru stepped forward and picked up the Poké Ball. Through its translucent red casing, he saw the Pokémon sleeping inside.

Yet he did not seem particularly happy.

Because during the earlier battle, he had clearly sensed that this Aerodactyl seemed to have only just awakened from fossil form. Its body was unhealthy, and even its emotions and thoughts seemed somewhat unstable.

At that thought, he did not dare linger. He immediately recalled Gyarados and returned to Charizard's back.

He hurried toward the Pokémon Center.

"I'm sorry, sir."

Amid the saleswoman's smiling apology, Jing He led a dejected Gastly out of Rustboro Department Store.

The department store did indeed have a Technical Machine for "Hex," but Jing He could not afford it.

Even after taking Gastly to the Canalave Police Station and helping treat two rampaging Pokémon there, he still could not afford it.

That was also because there had only been two rampaging Pokémon at the Canalave Police Station.

The other rampaging Pokémon had been sent to Canalave City at Drake's instruction, but that would take time.

After all, those Pokémon were not easy to transport. Ordinary Poké Balls could barely contain them.

"It's fine. We'll save up enough eventually," Jing He comforted Gastly.

They just needed to take on more "side quests" and earn money.

Jing He took out his phone, scrolled through it, and settled on a name.

Jing Zhong Zhi He: How has Feebas been lately?

PS: I've decided—so long as the follow-up reading data I see in the backend doesn't drop, I'll post three chapters every day! I'm not even asking for much growth, just no decline! So... please, everyone, don't stockpile chapters. Please keep reading during the new-book period! Please give me some monthly votes, pretty please~~ Sneak attack!