Shadow

Current Popularity Points: 1700

Only 1,700 points?

That was only 700 more Popularity Points than yesterday, and that was with Little Fatty Fujino bringing quite a few people over.

But it made sense. Rustboro Academy only had so many people, so accumulating this much was already pretty good.

Roy looked at Litwick, exhausted and sprawled across his shoulder.

Even Duskull, who usually loved passing through walls, no longer had the strength to do so. It lay quietly on the desk by the window.

Roy knew both Pokémon had done their best.

The two little ones had worked hard in battle today, but compared to them, the Pokémon they fought had suffered even more.

They had barely managed to touch either of them. They were either Burned, Poisoned, Confused—in short, they were constantly afflicted by status conditions.

That guy named Wu Ming had it even worse. His Charmeleon had become Litwick's charger.

The two little ones had spent the entire day making people miserable.

But they could hardly be blamed. Neither Pokémon had any particularly powerful moves in the early stages.

Of course, it was not the planners' fault either. They were already immune to moves from two types. If Ghost-type Pokémon were also given powerful moves, how were Pokémon of other types supposed to play?

Using the Inspection Eye, Roy discovered that both Duskull and Litwick had gained a level, reaching level 29.

It seemed battling was the fastest way to level up.

At a time like this, as their Trainer, he should step up and help his Pokémon ease their fatigue.

Purple light curled around his fingers. Roy coated his hands in Ghost Power, allowing him to touch Duskull's body and give his little ghost a Thai massage.

Hehehe~~ Little ghost, tremble beneath my hands! Roy slapped Duskull.

Duskull: Dusk~~~

Whether Duskull found it comfortable was anyone's guess, but Roy had satisfied his urge to play with it. With Ghost Power coating his hands, he could touch Duskull's physical body, and it felt just like jelly.

Roy and Duskull's shadows were cast onto the wall, making it look as though a demon were tormenting Duskull.

Litwick on the bedside table shuddered in fear. It quietly dimmed the flame atop its head, praying Roy would not notice it.

Its back no longer hurt, and its legs were no longer weak.

Litwick: Doctor, I think I'm feeling a little better.

At the current rate of gaining 700 Popularity Points a day, he would be able to exchange for an Eviolite in another ten days or half a month.

But that was still a little too slow. Was there any way to earn a hundred million Popularity Points in a day?

After tormenting Duskull, Roy lay in his hammock, pondering ways to attract more people to watch battles and earn himself more Popularity Points.

Whoosh~~~

As if it had heard Roy's inner thoughts.

A gust of wind blew open the window, carrying a flyer into the room. It drifted onto Duskull's skull mask.

Duskull impatiently shook its mask, sending the flyer flying onto Roy's face.

The incoming flyer interrupted Roy's thoughts. He instinctively started to crumple it into a ball, ready for a classic shooting motion.

But then his gaze was caught by several large words on the crumpled paper, and his hand froze.

What was this?

Roy unfolded the crumpled flyer.

[The Pokémon Contest Rookie Cup has begun!]

[Newcomers take the stage, their brilliance impossible to hide!

The Hoenn Region Pokémon Contest venue welcomes a peak showdown between a new generation of Pokémon.

This is a battlefield for rookie Pokémon. Break prejudice with dazzling moves and Lock-On glory with spectacular performances.

The Hoenn Rookie Cup—let us witness the birth of the next Contest Master!

Event Location: Hoenn Region Pokémon Contest branch venue

Event Name: Pokémon Contest · Rookie Cup

Rewards: 1st–3rd place: one Evolution Stone + one month of Moomoo Milk and Intermediate Pokéblocks.

4th–10th place: one Technical Machine + one month of Basic Pokéblocks.

11th–50th place: one month of Basic Pokéblocks of every type.

Registration Restrictions: Under fourteen years old. One Pokémon per participant. Pokémon level must not exceed level 30.

What are you waiting for!? Chase your Contest dreams and become famous in a single battle!]

A Pokémon Contest?

Roy recalled the Wallace Cup from the anime, an event hosted by Wallace himself and held in every region.

Several generations of female leads in the anime, such as Dawn and May, had participated in Pokémon Contests.

But why did this Pokémon Contest have a battle segment?

Roy remembered that when he watched the anime before, Pokémon Contests usually involved Pokémon and Trainers performing together. Could it be?

Roy stared thoughtfully at the Skitty dressed up in fancy attire on the flyer.

Tomorrow and the day after were both rest days. A Pokémon Contest was still an event, big or small, so there should be plenty of participants. He could go and see whether he could ride the event's popularity to gain some Popularity Points.

After all, it would be much faster than blocking people at the entrance to the school battlefields.

Roy felt as though he had discovered a new continent. Wasn't a Pokémon Contest the perfect stage to show off his Ghost-type Pokémon?

And this kind of competition restricted Pokémon levels and participant ages. Looking at it that way, his Pokémon had quite an advantage.

But there was only one Pokémon entry slot. Who should he bring?

Roy turned to look at Duskull lying by the window. Since Duskull's body was naturally black, it had blended entirely into the night. From Roy's angle, all he could see was a lone skull resting on the windowsill.

Hiss~

Roy then turned back toward the soft, sweet Litwick on his bedside table.

He instantly wanted to slap himself.

What am I even thinking! Is there any need to hesitate over who to bring?

Duskull, lying flat on the windowsill, suddenly felt inexplicably excluded.

"Litwick! Turn off the—"

Woooooo~~~~~

Just as Roy was about to tell Litwick to turn off the lights, he suddenly heard a miserable cry coming from the back mountain.

Roy was not afraid. When he had first arrived at Mt. Pyre, a family of Gengar would often Sing beside his ears.

But now, even the Ghost Power in the air had grown several degrees denser.

After a while, the sound vanished. Unable to make sense of it, Roy had no intention of exploring the back mountain. There might be some powerful Ghost-type Pokémon lurking somewhere.

This was not Mt. Pyre. Without the protection of those two powerful elderly people, he had better forget it.

He would explore it after his strength improved.

"Rest!"

The lights went out.

The room fell into darkness.

Late at night.

Duskull stared blankly toward the back mountain. It too could sense the dense Ghost-type energy coming from there.

But Roy had specifically told it not to float over there to play.

Otherwise, if Roy found out, it would inevitably be tormented again. Thinking of Roy's massage just now, Duskull could not help but shudder.

It still remembered the last time it had accidentally entered the territory of the Banette colony on the fifth floor of Mt. Pyre. It had been so frightened by the Banette that it hid behind a tombstone and did not dare come out. In the end, Roy had been the one to bring it back.

Yes, ghosts could scare ghosts to death.

Ghost-type Pokémon could feel fear too. They also possessed emotions and perception. Otherwise, Duskull would not have chosen Roy as its Trainer.

Just as Duskull was reminiscing.

A black shadow abruptly appeared by the window, its lone eye facing Duskull's through the glass.

The three Red Orbs hanging from the shadow's neck gleamed with scarlet light, especially clear in the pitch-black night.

Duskull suppressed the fear in its heart and pretended to be asleep.

The black shadow ignored Duskull's act. It merely stared silently at Roy in the hammock.

Half an hour later.

Sensing that the shadow's aura had disappeared, Duskull opened its lone eye again and found that the black shadow wearing three Red Orbs around its neck had indeed left.