A Visit

Kanto Region.

In a somewhat old training ground in Viridian City.

"Charizard, Flamethrower!"

A massive pillar of fire erupted without warning, its terrifying flames dazzling even in broad daylight.

"Roar!!"

But within that pillar of fire, a grayish-white Aerodactyl beat its wings and tore through the flames. Ignoring the burning heat entirely, it charged straight at Charizard.

Seeing this, Charizard showed no fear. It stood its ground, bracing its feet apart as it prepared to take the impact.

Bang!!

The two powerful Pokémon collided fiercely, the shockwave kicking up clouds of dust.

What followed was a near fist-to-fist frontal clash.

"That's enough."

At that moment.

A voice came from beside the training ground. It belonged to Wataru, the young investigator from the Kanto Region! But his words seemed to have little effect—or, more precisely, they had little effect on Aerodactyl.

Aerodactyl's eyes were red, bloodshot veins spreading across them as it fought Charizard with savage intensity. Caught up in the battle, it seemed not to have heard Lance at all.

Charizard had heard him, but it could only continue defending itself.

Wataru frowned deeply. After watching for a moment, he could only sigh helplessly.

"Come back, Aerodactyl."

Taking out a Poké Ball, Wataru had no choice but to recall Aerodactyl. Only then did Charizard stop moving as well.

"Roar—"

Charizard walked over.

Wataru patted its arm, signaling that it was fine.

He had caught Aerodactyl some time ago, and Aerodactyl had already acknowledged him as its trainer. But Aerodactyl's emotions were extremely unstable.

Normally, it was fine. But once it became immersed in battle, it would gradually lose control and stop listening to its trainer's commands.

For that reason, Wataru had tried many methods and done his best to help Aerodactyl control itself, but with little success.

Looking at Aerodactyl in the Poké Ball as it gradually calmed down, seemingly realizing its own mistake as it hung its head, Wataru could only comfort it. "It's okay, Aerodactyl. We'll overcome this together."

But before that, he had to figure out why Aerodactyl was like this.

After hesitating for a long time, Wataru decided to seek help.

Fortunately, he had many friends and plenty of people he could turn to, such as Professor Oak, the Dragon Tamer Clan, certain Elite Four members, chief investigators, and so on.

After describing Aerodactyl's condition online, he quickly received several replies.

But the one that caught Wataru's attention was a reply from Drake, Hoenn Region's Dragon-type Elite Four.

King of the Seas: Lost control? Going berserk? I might know someone who can help you.

Both were Dragon-type Pokémon trainers, and both were investigators. Wataru knew a little about Drake's experiences and admired him greatly, so he took the initiative to contact Drake.

The call connected.

Wataru briefly explained Aerodactyl's situation once more. After listening, Drake said, "You can go to Canalave City in Hoenn and find a trainer named Jing He—or rather, a Pokémon Psychology expert. He should be able to help you. Just tell him Drake sent you."

Jing He?

A trainer? Wataru's eyes lit up again.

"Alright, Elite Four Drake. Thank you." Wataru thanked him.

"Ah, right."

Drake's voice came through the phone again. Perhaps he was dealing with something, because the other end was extremely noisy and his voice was loud.

"If you're asking someone for help, don't go empty-handed. Remember to bring a gift!"

"Oh, and his Pokémon is a Gastly. You can try starting from that angle. That's all—I still have something to deal with here."

A Gastly? That was going to be difficult.

As for Poison-types and Ghost-types, Wataru only knew a little about them as opponents.

He scratched his head. "Can't I just give him money? Yeah, that's too crude."

Suddenly, he thought of someone.

"Got it!"

With a swift leap, he landed on Charizard's back. "Charizard, Mt. Silver."

Whoosh—

Amid the howling wind, the orange figure swiftly flew into the sky.

Hoenn Region.

Over the past few days, Jing He and Gastly had been living very regular lives.

Except on weekends, they went to the academy in the morning. If he had classes, Jing He would prepare his lesson plans a day in advance. But most of the time, he had no classes, so he would stay in the consulting room for an hour. Once he confirmed that no one had come seeking advice, he would take Gastly to the academy's Training Room for basic training.

At noon, he and Gastly would take a nap together, then return to the Training Room in the afternoon for move training.

After work, they would first visit the Canalave Police Station to calm and treat the berserk Pokémon there, which also counted as strengthening Gastly's Hypnosis.

If Gastly still had plenty of energy afterward, they might choose a Battle Restaurant in Canalave City, provided its battle events suited Gastly's current strength.

After returning home at night, Gastly would watch shows for a while, while Jing He answered questions from people seeking advice through his online Pokémon Psychology Consulting Room.

The buzz around his paper had gradually died down recently, but more and more people were visiting his online consulting room.

Sometimes, he also had to spend an hour or two soothing Feebas (Cynthia) to sleep. Well, that was currently the easiest money among all his "jobs."

Overall, though, these days had been quite fulfilling and peaceful.

Today.

Canalave Police Station.

"Thank you for your hard work, Teacher Jing He."

Officer Jenny smiled at Jing He, who was preparing to leave.

"Koujie, koujie!"

Gastly, floating behind Jing He, called out.

"Yes, you worked hard too, Gastly."

Only then did Gastly smile.

"Koujie~~"

"Tomorrow is the weekend. Unless something special happens, we probably won't come in," Jing He said with a smile. "Of course, if there's an emergency, you can call me anytime."

Officer Jenny nodded.

She had seen how hard Jing He and Gastly worked, so unless something truly unusual happened, she would not seek Jing He out.

Leaving the police station.

They walked along a road bathed in golden sunset light.

"Gastly," Jing He called softly.

"Koujie?"

A pair of eyes emerged from beneath his collar, blinking curiously.

"When do you think you'll evolve?"

"Koujie?"

Gastly looked equally confused.

Evolve?

It had no idea.

"Forget it. Evolving or not doesn't matter. Once we save up a little more money, we'll go buy the Technical Machine for Substitute."

With Toxic, Substitute, and Protect, the most basic Toxic Stall setup would take shape. By then, getting certified as a junior trainer should be fairly smooth.

Screech—

Suddenly.

A rather luxurious-looking car pulled up beside the road Jing He and Gastly were walking along.

As they looked on in confusion, the car door opened, revealing Steven Stone's smiling face.

"Teacher Jing He."

After getting into the car.

Gastly floated out with a curious expression, looking around and touching things inside the vehicle.

"What is it?"

Jing He asked directly.

"Uh, this may be a little presumptuous, but my father asked me to invite you to our home as a guest?"

A visit?

Jing He froze.

Stone Mokuren? The president of Devon Corporation?

"Now?"

"He said there were some things he wanted to talk to you about."

Talk?

Jing He's eyes narrowed imperceptibly.

That was fine.

He also wanted to learn more about Greater Mauville Holdings.

The car began moving smoothly.

Looking at Gastly's increasingly solid form, Steven Stone sighed inwardly.

Although he saw Gastly almost every day, he still felt as though it grew a little stronger each day.

With Gastly's current strength, along with Teacher Jing He's command—and, ahem, tactics—even the Pokémon of intermediate trainers might not be its match. Even advanced trainers would be hard to say.

Then Steven Stone seemed to think of something and asked, "By the way, Teacher Jing He, have you heard of a trainer named 'Wu Da' recently? His Pokémon also seems to be a Gastly, and it's very strong. It has nearly swept through most of Canalave City's Battle Restaurants lately."

"Koujie?"

Gastly froze in the cabin and slowly turned its head.

Jing He's expression did not change as he replied evenly, "Never heard of him."

"Koujie, koujie~~"

Gastly hurriedly nodded in agreement.

Never heard of him. We've never heard of any 'Wu Da' or 'Steven Stone'!

"Really?"

Steven Stone did not suspect anything. He sighed and said, "I heard that Gastly is really powerful. I'd like to battle it myself."