The Matter of the Wrecked Ship

"Auntie, your cooking is really amazing."

After picking up a piece of fish and tasting it, Blake praised her lavishly.

"If you like it, eat more. These fish aren't worth much anyway."

Anna's face immediately lit up at Blake's words, and she eagerly began piling food into his bowl. Before long, Blake discovered that his bowl had turned into a treasure basin. No matter how quickly he ate, the moment he paused, it was filled again. It was practically an urban legend.

"I really, hic! can't eat anymore, hic!"

With his belly swollen, Blake collapsed onto the sofa. He even had to cover his mouth whenever he hiccupped, afraid that one careless moment would make him throw up everything in his stomach.

"If you can't eat anymore, then stop eating. Who told you to force yourself?"

Lulina watched Blake's current state with amusement and reached out to poke his cheek.

"It was Auntie's heartfelt kindness. It wouldn't be good to refuse. Oh, thank you."

"Chew."

Blake accepted the cup of tea Chewtle carried over and thanked it. Chewtle, having been praised, blushed and smiled shyly.

"Geh-heh~~ (￣~￣) burp!"

Gastly floated over as well. He did not look much better; his body had swelled by a whole size, clearly stuffed full of food by Anna too.

"Have some tea to help digest it. You two really are something—don't make yourselves sick from overeating."

Lulina helplessly pressed a hand to her forehead as she looked at the similarly miserable human and ghost. She had just been laughing at someone else, yet her childhood friend turned out to be just as worrying.

"Hic! I'm actually fine, hic!" "Hic! Geh-heh~~￣﹃￣"

Blake and Gastly wanted to prove that they were fine, but their difficulty even moving was hardly convincing.

"Hahahahaha! A man should eat more! Blake, you really are a little too thin. You can't be built like a beanpole."

Uncle Sam walked over and laughed at Blake, who was too stuffed to move.

"I was born thin, Uncle Sam. There's nothing I can do about it. But do you need something? You hesitated several times during dinner."

Blake struggled to sit up straighter and looked at Uncle Sam.

"It's not exactly a major problem. It's just... how should I put it? You know Rat Reef, right?"

Sam said with a troubled expression.

"I do. Did something happen at Rat Reef?"

Blake sat up straight. What was going on today? Two people had brought up Rat Reef already.

"It's like this. You know about the stranded cargo ship there, right? We turned that cargo ship into a temporary shelter. If any ships get stranded there, the supplies in the wreck can help the people there wait for rescue. It was originally a good thing. There are some wild Pokémon there, but there had never been any problems. Recently, though, people reported that something suddenly became wrong there. Someone was attacked inside the wreck. There were no casualties, but they really were attacked. And the wild Pokémon in the wreck that have a good relationship with us were attacked too."

Sam chose his words carefully before speaking.

"Did you report it to the Pokémon League?"

Lulina asked curiously. That wreck had been there for a long time and was practically half a tourist attraction at Rat Reef.

"We did, but we don't know the result yet. The Pokémon League has been too busy to spare anyone lately."

Uncle Sam said with a headache. Galar was currently undergoing reforms, and every place needed manpower. It would be difficult to send someone over for such a minor matter anytime soon.

"So the troublemaker is a Ghost-type Pokémon, right?"

Blake said, rubbing his chin.

"Yeah. You know, if it were any other Pokémon, we could have handled it ourselves. But Ghost-types are too strange, and it's dark inside the wreck. After we were attacked, we didn't dare go deeper."

Uncle Sam spoke somewhat embarrassedly. Everyone knew that Ghost-type Pokémon might not be the strongest type, but they were definitely the strangest. Unlike Dragon-types, whose strength was straightforward, Ghost-types and Psychic-types excelled at being unpredictable. Even Pokémon of those two types that were not particularly strong were not something ordinary people could afford to provoke. Your Pokémon might not fear them, but that did not mean you could handle being targeted by them.

"Alright, I understand. As it happens, Ms. Haisewai came to see me today and told me about the wreck too."

As Blake spoke, he took out the map Haisewai had given him that day. He understood now. Haisewai had not simply come by for a visit, and this was not some reward either. It was probably an assignment the Pokémon League had given Haisewai, and she had merely asked him for help. After all, his family specialized in dealing with Ghost-type Pokémon and possible cases involving human ghosts.

"Is that so? Perfect, then. How about this? Get ready, and once things at the tourist area are settled, I'll take you there by boat. We'll make it back before the Great Fishing Festival. After the festival, we won't be able to go out to sea for a while."

Uncle Sam said joyfully at once.

"I'm going too!"

Lulina darted over and shouted.

"You should ask Ms. Haisewai whether she agrees first. You still have training to do, don't you?"

Blake said with a shrug.

"Teacher will definitely agree! I don't care! Take me! Take me! Take me!"

Lulina grabbed Blake by the collar and shook him wildly, immediately sending his world spinning.

"Stop shaking me! I'm going to throw up! I'm really going to throw up!"

Blake shouted, his head wobbling back and forth.

"Alright, alright, stop messing around. We'll talk about it then. I'll bring a few capable people along to help you out too. You can focus on dealing with that Ghost-type Pokémon."

Seeing Blake's face grow increasingly worse, Uncle Sam spoke up to stop them—for the sake of his upholstered sofa.

"No problem. But Uncle Sam, did you see what kind of Pokémon it was? I'd like to prepare in advance. You know, Gastly is the only Pokémon I have."

Blake asked after finally managing to suppress the urge to vomit.

"We really don't know. It was too dark in there, so we couldn't see clearly. But it was huge. No, enormous! That shadow nearly reached the ceiling."

Uncle Sam said after thinking carefully.

"Large, and a Ghost-type Pokémon that lives in the sea? That narrows it down quite a bit. Let me think, let me think."

Blake began to think. Ghost-types that lived in water or by the water were generally uncommon. Although the wreck was not truly underwater, most Ghost-type Pokémon preferred places like dilapidated houses or caves. The wreck was above the water, so it had to be a Pokémon that did not need to stay in water constantly. Basculegion could be ruled out. Combined with its large size, a Pokémon that fit the situation extremely well appeared in Blake's mind.

"Great, I've got a rough idea now. Let's find time to go there next week."

A lightbulb seemed to pop up over Blake's head, and he spoke excitedly. If it really was what he thought, then this Pokémon was rather rare.

"Have you guessed what it is?"

Lulina and Uncle Sam asked.

"I've roughly guessed, but I can't guarantee it. Still, I'm pretty sure. As for exactly what it is, let me keep you in suspense for now, so I don't end up embarrassed if I'm wrong. Hehehe."

Blake smiled and scratched his head.