Are Ghost-type Trainers All This Casual?

After Duskull confirmed that this Misdreavus was the shadow that had appeared outside the window last night, Roy looked directly at Misdreavus and asked his question.

"Misdreavus!"

Misdreavus nodded. She really was the shadow Duskull had seen last night. She had come to Roy's window mainly because she had been drawn by the "scent" on him.

However, entering someone else's home without permission was bad, so she had not gone inside to greet Roy.

Surprisingly polite.

Misdreavus then floated over to Duskull and Litwick respectively, greeting them both.

Duskull was so frightened that he immediately backed up beside Roy. That Misdreavus had scared him badly that night.

Litwick did not sense any hostility from Misdreavus. The little flame atop his head waved at her in response.

The two of them were equally baffled. They could not tell at all that this was the Flutter Mane who had defeated them with a single glance just moments ago.

This was probably Misdreavus's first time seeing Ghost-type Pokémon other than herself. She kept circling around Litwick.

Every now and then, she would fiddle with Litwick's flame or touch Duskull's skull mask. Having met three companions in one day, Misdreavus was truly excited.

Roy was also observing this Misdreavus, who could evolve into the Paradox species Pokémon Flutter Mane.

Weren't Paradox species supposed to mean something that did not exist?

He thought about it for a long time without reaching any conclusion, but Roy knew that this Misdreavus was definitely hiding plenty of secrets.

Forget it. As long as she was not that Flutter Mane from earlier, anything was fine.

"Phew~~~

Roy let out a sigh of relief as well. He had genuinely thought he was about to die.

Just as he caught his breath, Roy saw a blinding flash of light appear before his eyes.

It was the first ray of dawn rising in the east.

Only then did Roy realize that it was already daylight. He had actually been at this all night.

He checked the time on his Spatial Bracelet. It was already past four and nearly five. At this hour, he should be heading to the cafeteria to wait for the first batch of red bean buns.

He still had to participate in the Pokémon Contest semifinals today. Roy stood up, dusted himself off, and prepared to bid Misdreavus farewell.

Seeing that Roy was leaving, Misdreavus reluctantly tugged at the hem of his clothes, pleading for him to stay and play with her a little longer.

Roy was the only person in a long time who was not afraid of her, who was willing to play with her and give her tasty food. Besides, Roy smelled nice too.

Roy found himself in a difficult position. It was not that he did not want to catch this adorable Misdreavus. After all, he could raise her simply by letting her absorb his Ghost Power.

But if Misdreavus transformed into Flutter Mane and lost control, his current strength would be nowhere near enough to restrain her.

From what he had just seen, Roy could tell that Misdreavus and Flutter Mane were completely different personalities inhabiting the same body.

An ordinary Poké Ball could not restrain her either.

Keeping Misdreavus by his side would be like carrying a ticking bomb. He would not know when it might explode and take him down with it.

"Misdreavus!"

Misdreavus looked at Roy with tearful eyes. Unable to bear it, Roy finally promised that he would come to the iron fence to see her tonight—provided she had not turned into Flutter Mane.

"Misdreavus!"

After receiving Roy's promise, Misdreavus happily floated around, saying that she would come find him on time tonight to play. She even invited Roy to visit her home.

Then, with a reluctant expression, she floated toward the back mountain, turning back from time to time to look at Roy.

"Duskull!"

Duskull floated in front of Roy, signaling for him to wake up!

Right!

What if she turned into Flutter Mane again tonight and came looking for him? Would he still be lucky enough to escape?

But if he could catch a Misdreavus capable of evolving into Flutter Mane...

As Roy fantasized about giving the current Pokémon League a Paradox species shock, Litwick waved the flame atop his head in front of Roy's eyes.

"Right, right, right. There's still the competition. We'll talk about it after that."

Roy did not even bother sleeping. He changed out of the clothes that had been torn when he fled in too much of a hurry earlier.

He rode his old roadster toward the cafeteria. He was determined to get the first red bean bun of the morning.

Yesterday, the 256 contestants in the Pokémon Contest Rookie Cup had been narrowed down through preliminaries to the 64 competitors with the highest scores, who would advance to the second-round semifinals.

In other words, today's battles would determine the final top sixteen.

Unlike the preliminaries, the semifinals had no time limit. The magnificence of the Pokémon's displayed moves and their own bearing accounted for seventy percent of the score, while the battle result accounted for thirty percent.

Roy sped all the way to the outskirts of the Pokémon Contest venue on his old roadster, then stored it in his Spatial Bracelet.

As Roy walked along the road toward the Pokémon Contest venue, he heard people around him discussing... him?

Although he did not know what they were saying, it seemed that wherever he went, he became the center of attention.

Roy even noticed people secretly taking photos of him with their communicators. He did not mind at all. He happened to need buzz and discussion.

He casually walked over to a girl who had just been taking pictures. Thinking Roy was angry, she hurriedly apologized. "I'm sorry, I'll delete the photos right now."

Instead, Roy took her communicator and found that its appearance resembled the touchscreen Nokia models that had just come out in his previous life. Its functions were similar too.

Roy directly switched on selfie mode, called Litwick out to perch on his shoulder, and flashed a peace sign. Under the girl's astonished gaze, he handed the communicator back to her.

Then he leisurely walked into the venue with Litwick.

The girl stared at Roy's clear selfie on her communicator, feeling as though she had just been dreaming. But the photograph on the communicator could not lie.

She had actually taken a photo with a Ghost-type Pokémon and Trainer?

Were Ghost-type Trainers all this casual?