The Gengar Who's Incredibly Popular at School

The next morning, the streets outside had already quieted down. This bustling Kabukicho had once again fallen into a brief rest.

The Alolan Muk and Garbodor from the street sanitation department were organizing the Grimer and Trubbish to clean the streets.

They should have been natural enemies, yet they got along unexpectedly well here. And because their living conditions were good, they were all surprisingly clean and did not leave behind much of a smell while cleaning.

Xingye got up early, tidied himself up, opened the front door to air the place out, then went to make breakfast for the still-sleeping Gengar and Cyclizar. Those two were each more troublesome than the other.

One had learned Levitate and kept flying around the room without getting tired, while the other played along and constantly chased it around the room...

Breakfast today was the same as yesterday. He would go to the commercial district after school in the afternoon to buy some groceries. He had earned money yesterday, so naturally, he had to improve his quality of life.

With nowhere that required him to spend a large amount of money, Xingye did not really like saving money. It was a habit he had developed long ago. He was not considering marriage or buying a house, so he did not have a steady job and just drifted from place to place.

But now that he had Pokémon, he knew he needed to make some changes.

Still, only two months had passed. Changing habits formed over more than twenty years was difficult, but at least he was already trying to change.

While waiting for the water to boil, he returned to the living room and glanced at the Sparkling Stone on his desk. He had left it there after studying it last night.

Unfortunately, he had not figured out anything. He had also asked Boss Slowking about it yesterday, and the other party said he had seen one before, but it was just a strange stone...

"I wonder how this thing is supposed to become a Z-Ring. I have no clue... Should I find someone to help research it? I remember the island kahunas should have that technology..."

The thought appeared in Xingye's mind, but he quickly set it aside. He did not like cooperating with others. It was a personality issue, which was why he did not even have a single human friend.

"Forget it. I'll take it slow. Developing Odd Jobs is what matters most to me right now!"

After breakfast, he rode Cyclizar to Smile Restaurant. Nae-chan had returned, so it was only right to say hello.

Gardevoir was dressed as usual in a high-slit cheongsam. When she saw him arrive, she assumed he had come to help again.

After all, breakfast only had so many things. No matter how much they worked at it, they could not make anything fancy. This was a Chinese restaurant, and the breakfast menu was fixed.

So Xingye had already learned everything. After that, he mostly came to get familiar with the ingredients in this world, though he had basically mastered those by now as well.

After that, he had started coming every day under the excuse of helping out, mooching breakfast for free. In truth, they did not need him for any of it. Gardevoir knew, but she did not refuse him.

"Nae?"

Gardevoir looked at the little Gengar floating in midair. For the first time, her lazy expression brightened, and her eyes fixed on it with delight. She had fallen for it at first sight.

"This is Nae-chan. Say hello."

"Gengar~"

"Nae~"

Gardevoir reached out and caught the drifting Gengar. Though she had long passed the age of liking dolls, she simply could not resist cute things, especially when it was such an adorable little girl.

Seeing this, Xingye and Cyclizar exchanged a glance. Their little one seemed unexpectedly popular...

After saying goodbye to Nae-chan, he took the Little Gengar, now holding a pile of candy, and rode Cyclizar to school. Winter break would begin this weekend, and he would have plenty of free time then, but he still had to attend school.

Oddly enough, they did not run into Meowth and the others when leaving the Drifter District. Whenever that bunch went missing for several days, they were usually preparing something big. He just needed to keep an eye out over the next few days.

It was nearly nine when they finally arrived at school without any hurry. After Xingye got off, Cyclizar ran off to play by itself, while he carried Gengar upstairs. He was usually the last one to arrive...

Every student except him had already arrived. Since class had not started yet, the room was noisy with everyone chatting about all sorts of things.

Selene was used to it and did not bother managing them. She turned around, rested her hands on the desk, and asked Lillie, who was reading in front of her, "Winter break is coming soon. Do you have any plans for the end of the year?"

"Hmm..."

Lillie looked up and fell into thought. After quite a while, she smiled and replied, "Nothing decided yet. I'll probably do what I usually do and go to Malie City Library to read and study. I can't go out into the wild, after all."

Hearing that, Selene sighed softly, seemingly knowing the reason, but she did not say it outright. Then she smiled and asked, "Do you want to come to my house for New Year's? My mom really likes you. She'll definitely be thrilled if you come!"

At her words and invitation, an expression of wanting to agree flashed across Lillie's face. There even seemed to be a trace of envy in her eyes, but in the end, she gently shook her head. "No, I still have to go home..."

"..."

Selene knew Lillie was hiding something, but even as her friend, she could not ask directly if Lillie did not want to bring it up. She could only comfort her from time to time, so she was about to change the subject.

But just then, surprised voices suddenly erupted from the classroom, especially from Mallow and several of the other girls.

Selene and Lillie instinctively looked over, only to see Xingye, still covered in injuries, slowly walk in through the classroom door while holding a pink Gengar doll wearing a dress.

The annoyance from over a month ago had long passed for them. Usually, they treated Xingye like a passerby they would brush past without paying attention to, but now it was impossible not to notice him.

"This guy finally..."

Selene simply could not understand it. A guy who looked intimidating at a glance had entered while holding a pink doll. The contrast was so overwhelming that she did not even know where to start mocking him.

But Lillie's expression was different. Her attention was completely focused on Gengar as she murmured, "What a cute doll..."

As usual, Xingye ignored everyone. Under the gaze of the whole class, he returned to his seat, but he did not immediately start sleeping.

He planned to make use of his free time at school to train Gengar through reading. The textbooks contained material on moves. This world did not have anything as convenient as TMs, so everything had to be learned bit by bit.

His first priorities were Thunder Punch, Fire Punch, and Ice Punch—the three elemental punches. Then Focus Punch, Drain Punch, and Mega Punch could not be left out either. With a full combo of punches, who could withstand that?

"This feels like I'm training it all over the place, but wasting such good talent on anything but punching would be a shame. Still, one step at a time... Hmm?"

Xingye came back to himself and noticed Lillie in the row ahead staring at the Little Gengar on his desk, which was curiously observing its surroundings. She looked like she wanted to touch it but did not dare.

"What are you doing?"

Hearing his voice, Lillie snapped back to her senses. Looking a little nervous, she quietly asked, "Um... could I borrow this doll and hold it for a moment?"

"..."

Xingye silently glanced at her. His first instinct was to refuse, but he suddenly recalled what had happened at the claw machine store before. After hesitating for a moment, he agreed.

"You can, but don't bully it."

"Thank you!"

It was unclear whether Lillie understood what he meant. Under the envious gazes of the other students, she picked up the Little Gengar.

But the moment she held it, she noticed something strange and asked curiously, "This doll's dress doesn't look like something from a factory assembly line. Was it sewn by hand?"

"I spent half the night making it myself."

"You're so skilled!"

"Just average. Don't lay it on so thick. I know my own limits..."

Xingye answered casually, but to Selene and the others, it was as if they had witnessed something unbelievably rare.

Normal conversation was one thing, but hand-sewing a doll dress? You actually had that skill?

Lillie's attention remained on the doll, and a smile never left her face. It was obvious that she truly liked it.

But when she saw Gengar curiously blink because someone had touched it, she suddenly froze, then blinked rapidly as well.

"Huh?"

"Gengar~"

Seeing that, Xingye suddenly grinned proudly. "My Gengar is cute, right? It looks like a doll, but it's actually a real Pokémon. So don't squeeze it too hard. It hits people."

"!!!"

When she heard that the doll was a real Gengar, Lillie's expression changed drastically. She instantly bristled, an utterly ridiculous look appearing on her face, before her body stiffened in place as if she had turned to stone.

"???"

Xingye was startled by the sudden situation. Selene and the other students hurriedly shouted, "Lillie can't touch Pokémon!"

"Huh?"