"Legend" Begins (Please Follow!)

"Legend" Begins (Please Follow!)

Early Sunday morning.

Jing He unexpectedly slept until he woke naturally, which left him both surprised and relieved.

This little Gastly had finally learned to care about people. Knowing he had worked hard yesterday, it had actually let him sleep in comfortably.

"Koujie!"

Who would have thought that the moment he woke up, he would see a ghost face dropping from the ceiling, its slick tongue hanging out. Before he had time to react, it gave his face a solid lick.

He had been careless.

Wiping away the saliva, Jing He skillfully took out a Cheri Berry and ate it, silently thinking to himself.

He said irritably, "Eating such a spicy Cheri Berry every morning—when I'm old and my stomach's ruined, it'll definitely be your fault."

Gastly wore a mischievous grin.

"Koujie koujie~~"

When you're old, I'll still be here. Don't worry, I'll feed them to you then.

Jing He smiled and shook his head. He got up, washed up quickly, and began making breakfast.

Meanwhile, Gastly continued hugging its Technical Machine and studying. Even while eating breakfast, it kept reading.

Seeing the black mist around its body expand and contract, Jing He checked Gastly's Pokédex.

Gastly

Type: Ghost-type, Poison-type

Ability: Levitate

Held Item: Toxic Orb

Known Moves: Confuse Ray, Lick, Hypnosis, Mean Look, Spite, Astonish, Curse, Will-O-Wisp, Toxic Mist, Toxic, Hex

Mood: Happy, serious (I'm studying seriously)

Condition: Excellent (Full and satisfied, bursting with energy. It'd be even better with a mouthful of gas!)

Friendship: 100 (You are its best partner. It would even be willing to hug Grimer for you)

Hmm? Jing He also noticed that although Gastly's list of known moves included Toxic and Hex, the words for those two moves were dim, grayish-white, and flickering.

Clearly, Gastly had not truly mastered those two moves.

On the other hand, Hypnosis and Will-O-Wisp were brightly colored, indicating that its proficiency with them was quite good.

But what truly left Jing He speechless was that the brightest move was actually Lick! Still, this also helped him understand another use for his seemingly not-so-useful cheat—it could give him a simple understanding of how well a Pokémon had mastered its moves.

Gastly looked over at him.

"Finished eating? We still have a mission today."

Jing He prepared to change clothes.

"Koujie?"

"Toxic is one thing, but how can you become proficient with a move like Hex if you don't have anyone to use it on?"

Upon hearing that, Gastly's eyes turned wavy. It looked Jing He up and down while tears of "emotion" streamed from its eyes.

"Koujie."

You're finally willing to let me do whatever I want?

Jing He's face darkened.

"If you want to change Trainers, just say so!"

Jing He first returned to the school and gave Gastly some basic training.

By evening.

He took a taxi and brought Gastly to a restaurant called Blastoise Tail.

It was a chain star-rated restaurant founded by a famous Kalos chef named Zhi Mi, who was also a powerful Trainer and would one day become Kalos Region's Water-type Elite Four member! The moment they entered the restaurant.

Jing He and Gastly immediately felt a wave of Water-type energy rushing toward them. Sculptures, murals, and dolls of Water-type Pokémon such as Squirtle, Blastoise, Swampert, and Dewgong could be seen everywhere. The overall decor was filled with oceanic elements.

It was not extravagant, but it was refined enough.

"K-Koujie?"

Gastly quietly moved closer to Jing He, swallowed, and lowered its voice.

Did you win the lottery? We're eating here? Jing He smiled faintly without explaining and found a seat in the corner.

A waiter wearing a uniform printed with a Squirtle design quickly brought over the menu and reminded him, "Sir, today's head chef special is Slowpoke Tail."

"Koujie?!"

Gastly, which had been drooling while flipping through the menu, cried out in shock.

Eating Pokémon?

Was this really that intense? "Wipe up your drool. Don't let it drip down and corrode their floor tiles."

Slurp—

Startled, Gastly immediately sucked it back in. It could not afford to pay for that.

It then immediately claimed that those were tears of emotion, not drool.

Jing He remained calm as he looked at the menu. Considering Gastly, he still explained.

"Their head chef's codename is Slowpoke."

Gastly's expression went blank.

After a long while, it spat out a single word.

Awesome! There really was the practice of eating Pokémon in the Pokémon World. Farfetch'd, which came with its own seasoning, was a typical example.

As a result, Farfetch'd were nearly extinct, and the Pokémon League had already issued protection orders.

As for Slowpoke Tails, because they could regenerate, many people coveted them as well. There were often news reports of Slowpoke Tails being stolen.

Jing He actually found the act of eating Pokémon deeply repulsive. Fortunately, such behavior was only an extreme and rare occurrence.

In truth, many restaurants simply used such names as gimmicks rather than actually using those ingredients.

Things like Farfetch'd Wraps, Tauros Steak, Mareep Skewers, and so on.

Jing He did not order immediately and said they would wait a little longer.

"Koujie~~"

Gastly immediately declared that it could eat an entire Tauros right now!

"We have a mission, remember?"

A mission?

Here? "This is a Battle Restaurant," Jing He explained.

Battle Restaurants were common in the Pokémon World. They used Pokémon Battles to attract customers, with the added gimmick that the final winner could have their bill waived within a certain limit.

Jing He had also learned that not only did this restaurant have different head chefs and signature dishes every day, but the strength level of the Trainers battling each day varied as well.

Today was quite suitable for Gastly.

Upon hearing that, Gastly showed a look of realization.

"Koujie."

So that was it.

It had thought Jing He was going to take it to one of those Battle Clubs.

But it quickly showed a suspicious expression and looked Jing He up and down.

Today, Jing He was not only wearing casual clothes, but also a baseball cap and a mask.

"Koujie?"

What's with your outfit today?

Jing He's expression did not change as he replied evenly, "I'm a university teacher, after all. It wouldn't be good if I ran into students and got recognized."

"Koujie?"

The suspicion on Gastly's face deepened.

Really? As more and more customers flooded into the restaurant, the Battle Restaurant's battle segment officially began.

Using the name Wu Da, Jing He brought Gastly through a simple inspection and completed the registration.

"Next up, contestant Wu Da versus contestant Yusuke!"

At the host's announcement, the two sides entered the arena.

Their opponent was a boy who looked fifteen or sixteen years old, and his Pokémon was a Plusle.

As soon as the two stepped onto the stage, the customers below began cheering. Yusuke and his Plusle looked full of fighting spirit.

Of course, Gastly was just as fired up, while Jing He appeared exceptionally calm.

"Battle start!"

Following the host's loud shout.

Yusuke seized the initiative. "Plusle, Spark!"

Without even needing Jing He's signal, Gastly let out a strange laugh and disappeared underground with a puff, causing the golden arcs that had just begun dancing across Plusle's cheeks to freeze.

"Where did it go?" Both Yusuke and Plusle were somewhat bewildered.

"Gastly, Astonish."

"Koujie!"

Suddenly!

Gastly appeared behind Plusle.

The enormous ghost face frightened Plusle so badly that all its short fur stood on end.

It was directly unlucky enough to fall into a flinching state.

"Gastly, Hex."

"Koujie!"

The black mist around Gastly trembled and writhed as a terrifying red glow filled its eyes.

But halfway through using the move, Gastly seemed like a deflated balloon and stopped moving.

It had failed.

At the same time, under Yusuke's shouts, Plusle finally recovered.

"Don't rush. Take it slow. Confuse Ray first, then Hex," Jing He's voice came again.

This time, it succeeded.

Although the process of defeating Plusle had not gone particularly smoothly, it was not difficult either.

Afterward, Jing He and Gastly battled several more opponents in succession: a man in his forties and his Whismur, a woman in her thirties and her Masquerain, and others.

However, the once extremely lively restaurant gradually grew quieter, until it eventually became completely silent.

About half an hour later.

A waiter drenched in sweat nervously invited Jing He aside.

"Um... esteemed guest Wu Da, our restaurant will make an exception and waive your bill. Could you and your G-Gastly please stop being so dirty—ah, no, take a break? Please rest for a while?"

Gastly hid behind Jing He, looking somewhat resentful.

It finally understood why Jing He had wrapped himself up so tightly.

"Sure." Jing He was also afraid of being thrown out, so he agreed decisively before adding, "Please pack the food for me."

The waiter let out a long breath of relief.

"Thank you, thank you. Our restaurant will also give you two free desserts."

After Jing He and Gastly left.

The silent restaurant finally gradually became lively again.

"Who was that guy? So, so dirty..."

"Dirty? Can tactics be called dirty? You should say he was so strong!"

"I heard the host say his name was... Wu Da?"

And so, a Trainer named Wu Da and his Gastly gradually became the "nightmare" of certain Battle Restaurants in Canalave City, as well as a "legend" spoken of by some people.

Of course, that was a story for later.

Back at home.

Seeing Gastly still wearing a resentful expression, Jing He could not help laughing.

"Alright, alright, I'll give you my dessert too. Consider it compensation, okay?"

If Battle Clubs were not so expensive, and if he were not trying to help Gastly master its moves better, he would not have wanted to do this either.

"Koujie!"

Sure enough.

After one serving of dessert, Gastly beamed with joy.

It even asked.

Which restaurant are we going to tomorrow?

Jing He's face darkened.

He did not want every Battle Restaurant in Canalave City to blacklist him. What if he really drew out someone powerful? But before he could speak, his phone suddenly rang.

A message popped up.

Who Am I: I get it! I can be Gastly, and I can also be Mewtwo! I am... myself!

Hmm?—

PS: This chapter is 3,000 words, and I've updated 8,000 words today. Asking for follows and monthly tickets isn't too much, right? Three more updates tomorrow!