Steven Stone

Steven Stone

Jing He carried a cup of coffee toward the freshman registration area.

Though he was not particularly willing, he guessed that Professor Sorans's inability to find anyone was most likely related to the missing stone that had contained Gastly.

Perhaps Professor Sorans had gone looking for the stone.

Since he and Gastly bore part of the responsibility for this matter, he accepted the task.

When he arrived at the freshman registration area,

several teachers were already seated there. Some were sorting forms, while others chatted with each other. The most exaggerated was undoubtedly a battle department instructor with a Kadabra. While laughing and chatting with the female teacher beside him, he also sorted through documents.

With a bend of Kadabra's spoon and a faint gleam in its eyes, the documents on the desk immediately rose and fluttered through the air on their own.

He just did not know whether they were being sorted correctly.

Kadabra can do it. Gastly should be able to do that in the future too.

Jing He could not help thinking.

Although Gastly was a Ghost-type and Poison-type Pokémon, that did not mean it could not learn Psychic-type moves and abilities.

Besides, ghosts and specters. Was it not perfectly reasonable for them to know a little psychic power? All that supernatural nonsense could be explained away when it came to Ghost-type Pokémon.

"Teacher Jing He, are you handling freshman reception today?"

"Morning, Teacher Jing He."

"..."

Jing He found his seat and exchanged a few brief pleasantries with several teachers he had only met a handful of times.

He sorted through the forms and waited for this year's freshmen to arrive.

Very soon,

students began arriving at the registration area one after another.

Some brought their own Pokémon or Poké Balls, while others carried piles of documents.

His task was actually very simple: register each student's name and department, and arrange a dormitory if they needed to live on campus.

Their admission qualifications had all been processed before they arrived. Registration was merely a formality, making it very simple.

"Next."

Without even looking up, Jing He called out.

A long line had already formed in front of him.

As one of the Hoenn Region's top Pokémon academies, Canalave Pokémon Academy had quite a reputation throughout the Pokémon World. Naturally, many of the students enrolling came from prominent backgrounds.

A male student sat down in front of him.

"Name?" Jing He asked, holding a form.

"Steven. Steven Stone."

"Steven... Steven Stone... Major: Pokémon Battle, Pokémon Breeding. Electives: History, Geology and Rocks, Metal Synthesis... Hm?"

Having found the student's name and department information on the form, Jing He suddenly paused. Without drawing attention to it, he looked the boy before him over.

Light blue hair, almost silver-blue; a proper little noble suit; a handsome face; and a pleasant smile. Jing He said, "Steven?"

Steven Stone! The future Hoenn Region Champion, the Young Master of Devon Corporation, one of the largest companies in the Pokémon World, and the Pokémon World's most famous rich and handsome young man!

"Yes, Teacher."

Steven's smile was gentle, without the slightest trace of the airs one might expect from Devon Corporation's Young Master.

Jing He nodded slightly, recorded the information on the registration form, then found the corresponding student ID and handed it over.

"You're not living on campus, so no dormitory will be arranged. Enter the number on your student ID on the school's official website to receive your digital textbooks."

"Thank you."

After taking the student ID and thanking him, Steven stepped aside, seeming to wait for someone.

Then, before Jing He could call for the next person, a quiet girl with twin bun pigtails, a JK uniform, and pink pantyhose sat down.

"Are you... Teacher Jing He?"

The girl seemed to recognize Jing He but was not entirely sure, so she asked tentatively.

Hm? Jing He was slightly taken aback.

He had not expected a freshman to recognize him.

Even among older students, there probably were not many who could call him by name. "You know me?" Jing He asked.

"It really is you?!"

The girl looked delighted.

"Roxanne, you know this teacher?" Steven, who had been waiting beside her, asked with some surprise.

Roxanne?

The Rustboro Gym Leader?

Jing He's gaze swept over the two of them.

Roxanne nodded vigorously. "Cousin, you don't know this, but Teacher Jing He got into Kanto Silver University with perfect marks in Pokémon Theory Knowledge, ranking first in the entire Hoenn Region!"

Perfect marks in theory?

First in the Hoenn Region? Steven looked at Jing He in astonishment. He did not seem much older than Steven himself.

With results like that, why had he come to teach at Canalave Pokémon Academy?

Even if Canalave Pokémon Academy was the most renowned Pokémon academy in the Hoenn Region.

Steven could not help feeling a little curious.

"Ahem."

Jing He coughed lightly and handed Roxanne her student ID. "Student Roxanne, your student ID. Please keep it safe."

"Thank you, Teacher." Roxanne obediently accepted it. After hesitating briefly, she asked again, "Teacher Jing He, may I ask... which department do you teach in?"

"Pokémon Psychology," Jing He replied casually.

Neither of their registration forms listed his class as an elective.

Since there was still a long line behind them, Steven and Roxanne did not linger. After receiving their student IDs and completing registration, they left.

Jing He subsequently completed the freshman registration task without issue and dragged his tired body back to the counseling room.

"Koujie?"

When it realized Jing He had returned, Gastly cautiously poked its head out from the ceiling, wearing an awkward grin.

Jing He's mouth twitched.

Honestly.

Having a Pokémon that could pop out of the walls at any moment... was not so bad.

At least it added a few scares to life, right? "Koujie?"

"It's fine."

Click.

Jing He flipped the switch on the wall.

The fluorescent light immediately brightened the previously dim room, dispelling much of the eerie feeling Gastly brought with it. The room's temperature, however, was noticeably three or four degrees lower than outside.

I won't need air conditioning in the summer anymore.

While silently grumbling to himself, he said, "You can keep the lights on from now on."

"Koujie~~"

Gastly obediently responded.

"Alright, let's continue from before. Let me see what you can do."

Gastly, which had long been prepared, once again stirred the black mist around its body.

The already cool counseling room suddenly dropped several more degrees.

"Hm?"

Jing He, who had been staring at Gastly while rubbing his arms and waiting to see what moves it knew, froze.

Because rows of illusory, translucent text suddenly appeared before his eyes.

Gastly

Type: Ghost-type, Poison-type

Ability: Levitate

Known moves: Confuse Ray, Lick, Hypnosis, Mean Look, Spite, Astonish, Curse, Will-O-Wisp

Mood: Happy, uneasy

Status: Good (it seems it has not fully recovered after sleeping for too long)

Friendship: 75 (Gastly has acknowledged you, but you still have to work hard before you become inseparable)

Was this Gastly's...? Looking past the text, Jing He saw faint glowing specks flickering within Gastly's drifting black mist. The specks then gathered together, condensing into a small orb that radiated an eerie glow. It was—

Confuse Ray!

It truly was a move Gastly knew.

So this really was Gastly's information? Jing He's mouth twitched as he glanced over all the moves it knew.

Good lord.

Jing He silently exclaimed in disbelief.

It knew a total of eight moves, which was definitely quite a lot.

Yet all eight of those moves were control or debuff moves!

Confuse Ray could confuse an opponent. Hypnosis, as its name implied, could put an opponent to sleep. Mean Look could prevent an opponent from escaping. Spite could interfere with an opponent's move usage. Curse could continuously weaken an opponent's stamina. Will-O-Wisp could leave an opponent burned. Even the two attacking moves, Lick and Astonish, came with the negative effects of paralysis and flinching respectively.

With a whole set of moves like that, honestly, even if the opponent did not lose, their mentality would probably be shattered.

All Jing He could say was—just as expected of Gastly, just as expected of a Pokémon that would one day evolve into Gengar.

Of course, in the games, a Pokémon could only be afflicted with one status condition at a time. How things worked in reality remained to be seen.

However, there was one thing he could be sure of: the success rate of status conditions was tied to move proficiency and the Pokémon's strength.

Sometimes, knowing many things poorly was not as good as knowing fewer things well.

But Gastly has Poison-type abilities too, doesn't it? Maybe it poisoned me without even realizing it because it hasn't developed them yet. But it definitely has potential in that area.

Wait.

The friendship section was easy enough to understand. Gastly was willing to become his Pokémon, so its affection naturally would not be low. But since it had only just been caught, it was impossible for it to be particularly high.

There was nothing strange about "happy" in the mood section either, but why was it "uneasy"? Jing He looked suspicious.

When he had first entered the room, Gastly's expression had seemed off.

"K-Koujie?"

After using a move, Gastly saw Jing He's expression and became somewhat flustered. Its eyes darted about as its body swayed.

Jing He soon noticed that its wandering gaze most frequently drifted toward the office desk.

He immediately walked toward it.

Sure enough, after seeing what he was doing, Gastly grew even more panicked.

When Jing He reached the desk and saw his computer... "Gastly!"

"K-Koujie!"

Listen to my explanation! A wisp of black smoke was floating from Jing He's computer tower.

Black lines appeared on Jing He's forehead.

"K-Kou..."

Knock knock.

Just as Gastly was about to explain itself, someone knocked on the door again.

Jing He rubbed his temples and waved at Gastly.

Gastly immediately slipped into the ceiling as though it had been granted a reprieve.

"Come in."

The door opened, and a voice Jing He found somewhat familiar followed.

"Sorry to disturb you, Teacher. I'm a first-year freshman. May I ask if you know Professor Solanus, Teacher Jing He?"

The one who entered was Steven.

I tried using the illustration feature. I wonder what everyone thinks of it.