The next morning.
"Koujie!!"
Jing He was jolted awake by Gastly's shriek. Opening his bleary eyes, he saw it buzzing around the room like a headless fly.
"Not waking up paralyzed from being licked feels strangely unfamiliar."
Jing He withdrew the hand that had instinctively reached toward the Cheri Berry by his bed and asked,
"What's wrong? Did the Technical Machine disappear?"
"Koujie, koujie!" Gastly hurriedly cried.
Little Fox was gone!
Huh? Only then did Jing He remember that there was another Pokémon in the house.
He looked toward the foot of the bed, but Ice Vulpix was nowhere to be seen.
"Don't panic. This is the sixth floor. It couldn't have jumped out the window, and the door's locked. It should still be inside."
As he spoke, Jing He quickly got out of bed and began searching the apartment with Gastly.
"Koujie!!"
Fortunately, Gastly could pass through walls and slip straight through furniture.
They finally found Ice Vulpix curled up in a corner beneath the wardrobe.
It was pressed tightly against the wall, its tails covering its head, with only two pale blue, Crystal-like eyes exposed.
When it saw Jing He lying on the floor and Gastly grinning mischievously,
"Owu!!"
Ice Vulpix bared its two tiny fangs and gave them a low growl.
Adorable, yet fierce.
"Koujie~~"
Waves rippled in Gastly's eyes.
So cute~~ Jing He felt a little heavy-hearted.
Ice Vulpix's rejection of them was even more severe than he had imagined.
Perhaps it had something to do with what it had gone through.
After thinking for a moment, Jing He grabbed a handful of Energy Cubes, lay down, and reached them beneath the wardrobe.
Even for a Pokémon Psychology expert, soothing a wounded Pokémon's heart required being able to communicate with it, or at least make contact.