Could You Really Be a Genius?

Could You Really Be a Genius? Night.

The stars were especially bright tonight.

"Burp—"

Gastly burped and staggered along behind Jing He, looking both satisfied and uncomfortable.

"Koujie."

"I told you not to eat so much."

"Kou, kou."

"Don't! We're almost home. Don't puke on me!"

Half an hour later.

Gastly lounged lazily on the sofa, holding a phone and scrolling through videos.

Jing He came out of the bathroom, rubbing his wet hair with a towel. He sat at the dining table and looked helplessly at the Pokémon Egg in the incubator on the table.

Raising one Gastly was already hard enough. Of all things, why did he have to be given a Pokémon Egg?

The key was that he did not even know what kind of Pokémon was inside.

During dinner, Stone Mokuren had called him. First, he reassured Jing He that Castform was fine and that he did not need to worry. Then, he apologized for being unable to have dinner with him.

Finally, when Jing He asked what kind of Pokémon Egg it was, Stone Mokuren had only smiled mysteriously.

Jing He had reason to suspect that perhaps even Stone Mokuren did not know what Pokémon was inside the egg.

"Sigh, I'll just leave it for now. With the incubator, I only need to add nutrient solution every few days."

The Pokémon Egg given by President Stone could not possibly hatch into a Magikarp, could it?

He carried the incubator over and placed it on a cabinet.

When he turned around and saw Gastly watching him, he immediately said sternly,

"Don't get any crooked ideas about it."

"Koujie!!"

Gastly instantly jumped up.

What did he take it for, some kind of ghost? Would it really eat it? At most, it would give it a lick.

"You can't lick it either!"

Jing He said with a dark expression.

"Koujie?!" Gastly tilted its head.

How could they be friends without licking? It was already eager for the Pokémon inside the egg to hatch so it could be friends with it.

Jing He took a deep breath and pulled out a Technical Machine from his pocket.

"I'll trade this for one month of you not licking it."

Gastly's eyes immediately lit up.

"Koujie?"

Where had it come from? "I earned it by selling myself."

Jing He replied irritably. After roughly drying his hair, he changed his clothes.

"Koujie?"

Selling yourself again?

This was the Technical Machine for "Substitute." After agreeing to Stone Mokuren's request, Jing He had exchanged his salary as a "Devon Corporation consultant" for it.

After changing, Jing He came out of the bathroom again with a brush, mop, and bucket.

Gastly immediately gave him a puzzled look.

What was he doing? "Cleaning up your 'masterpiece.' If I leave it there, wouldn't that be uncivilized? If it attracts Grimer, we'll get complaints."

Gastly smiled sheepishly.

Scrub, scrub, scrub—

Bright moonlight poured down like a waterfall, draping Canalave City in a hazy veil. The puddles reflected a faint moon, their shapes constantly shifting under the brush.

Gastly drifted around nearby, sometimes to the left, sometimes to the right. Under the moonlight, its shadow cast terrifying ghostly figures across the ground and walls.

"Koujie, koujie—"

Go! Go! It shouted, but in truth, it was clutching the Technical Machine, its eyes never leaving it for even a moment.

"Whew—"

Jing He let out a long breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Looking at the now-clean ground, he nodded in satisfaction.

"That should do it."

As he spoke, he picked up the bucket.

Splash—

After being rinsed with clean water, the ground returned to its original spotless state.

"Koujie, koujie!"

Gastly called out to get Jing He's attention.

Then he saw it.

The mist around Gastly's body kept changing, swelling, and writhing. Its expression gradually grew serious, and its face flushed slightly.

With a low shout from Gastly—

Black mist separated from behind it, transforming into another, smaller mass of gas. It slowly formed the outline of Gastly, accompanied by a sinister grin.

Two shadows appeared on the ground.

Substitute?! Jing He was a little stunned as he watched the entire process.

"Koujie!"

Gastly looked immensely proud.

It directed the "Substitute" to slowly merge into its shadow. With a thought, it could make it appear or disappear at any time.

"It learned it already?"

In Jing He's view, the move "Substitute" had already appeared under the "Mastered Moves" section of Gastly's Pokédex.

It had only watched for at most an hour, right?

Maybe not even an hour.

Although Substitute was not an especially difficult move—one could even say it was relatively simple—other Pokémon would still need at least a day or two, wouldn't they?

How did you not even need an hour?

"Could you really be a genius?"

Or did you have some kind of "top student" system?

"Koujie, koujie—"

Gastly let out a strange, smug cackle. It had said long ago that it was exceptionally talented. Did he believe it now? Come to think of it, Gastly really did have some talent for moves.

Whether it was Toxic Mist, Toxic, or Hex, it learned them all very quickly.

And the moves it had already mastered also improved in proficiency very quickly.

Poof—

Watching the Substitute disperse into black mist and merge back into Gastly, while the mist around Gastly's body flickered unsteadily, Jing He showed a look of realization.

Gastly's learning ability was indeed strong, but the main reason it had learned Substitute so quickly was because it was always changing its form. It had sufficient control over its body.

"Koujie!"

This Old One can't wait to learn the next move!

Gastly clamored.

"No, that alone isn't enough." Jing He's expression turned serious.

Confidence was a good thing, but he could not let Gastly become too arrogant. Otherwise, its tail would be sticking up into the sky. "Koujie?"

"Think about it. Since the 'Substitute' is part of your body, why can't it use moves?"

Eh? Gastly blinked and pointed at the Technical Machine.

It did not say that in there.

"Hypnosis only says it makes the opponent fall asleep. Does your Hypnosis just make your opponent take a nap?"

Hearing that, Gastly showed a look of realization.

That made sense.

"So, just because other people's Substitutes can't use moves doesn't mean yours can't. After all, you're exceptionally talented, aren't you?"

A "dangerous" glint appeared in Jing He's eyes as he continued, "Think about it. If your Substitute could also use moves, then it could use Will-O-Wisp while you use Hex. Wouldn't that take down the opponent in one hit?"

"Or it could use Confuse Ray while you use Lick. Double control."

"Or, be even bolder. Make three or four Substitutes and have them use different moves. Your opponent wouldn't even be able to tremble."

A brilliant light burst from Gastly's huge white eyes.

It was as though it could see the door to a new world slowly opening.

That made perfect sense! "Koujie—"

The excited Gastly pounced on Jing He.

Slurp—

Its tongue gave him a solid lick.

"Crunch."

Jing He wiped his face as he took out a Cheri Berry and bit into it. He mumbled, "See? You still have a lot to learn."

"Koujie, koujie!"

Gastly nodded seriously.

"Come on, let's head back."

With a Cheri Berry in his mouth, Jing He was just about to pick up the bucket when he suddenly seemed to remember something. He walked over to a nearby garbage station, pulled out a handful of Energy Cubes, and placed them on the ground.

"Koujie?"

"A few days ago, I saw in the news that the city was too clean, so Grimer lost their living environment and their numbers dropped drastically. The Pokémon League had no choice but to build dedicated garbage stations to shelter them. They don't have it easy either. Help more if you can, help less if you can't, but do your part."

After putting down the Energy Cubes, Jing He took Gastly home.

After they left, movement came from the previously quiet garbage station, and a pair of eyes appeared.

The next day.

While waiting for breakfast, Gastly was practicing Substitute by the window when it suddenly noticed an orange figure circling in the sky.

"Koujie!"

Look, an airplane!