A Pair of Clueless Fools (Please Continue Reading)

Watching Sinistcha stop in midair, Mingyou had never expected this...

To be honest, before this, he had always thought Sinistcha was the aloof type that never responded when greeted.

Only today did he realize... he had been wrong. You call this aloof? It simply didn't want to talk to him—or perhaps it disliked him?

As the only Pokémon discovered living inside the Villa, Sinistcha had definitely moved in with Grandpa's approval. Because of that, Mingyou had always treated it with a friendly attitude.

Despite what had happened today, he wasn't angry. Instead, he was relieved that Sinistcha hadn't finished eating everything, and he also thought he could use this opportunity to get to know it.

"Um..."

"Mooh~"

Sinistcha ignored him completely and flew toward the living room, seemingly full and ready to rest.

But Weepinbell and the others didn't seem willing to let it off. It had secretly eaten so many Tangerines right under their noses—didn't that prove they were completely useless?

"Wait a moment..."

Mingyou hurriedly stopped them, indicating that everything was fine and that he would handle the rest himself.

At that moment, he suddenly realized that although many Pokémon lived on the Manor, most of them weren't familiar with one another. They each did their own thing and never managed to mingle.

Maybe these Pokémon hadn't been here for very long—perhaps only one or two years, or even less than half a year. And since Grandpa's health had been poor before his death, he hadn't been able to care for them properly, resulting in this situation.

In that case...

Mingyou came up with an idea of his own: he would bring all the Pokémon living on the Manor together and let the neighbors live in harmony!

He immediately stepped forward, wanting to stop Sinistcha. But the moment he approached, Sinistcha suddenly pushed open the lid on its head. From inside the teapot emerged a round-headed body covered in yellow swirls.

Mingyou was slightly stunned. The next second, Sinistcha extended a liquid hand through the opening and pulled out a wooden Tea Scoop.

It was a spoon-shaped tool used to scoop matcha out of a tea container and place it into a tea bowl. Sinistcha then used the Tea Scoop to fling out a cloud of matcha powder.

The powder instantly dispersed, filling the air with a rich matcha fragrance. It sprinkled over Mingyou, and after his skin came into contact with it, his skin began to grow smoother and more delicate, as if it could be broken with a puff of air—like a girl's skin.

"Oh no..."

Mingyou took a step back and nearly fell.

It was said that Sinistcha was a Pokémon born when the lingering resentment of a tea master who had failed to reach the pinnacle of the tea ceremony before death became attached to matcha.

Its true body wasn't the teapot, but the matcha powder dwelling inside it, making it somewhat similar to Sinistea.

For a time, Sinistcha had been considered the Regional Form of Sinistea. However, after scholars investigated the matter several years ago, they discovered that the two had no connection whatsoever, whether in their habits or abilities.

Similar to Diglett and Wiglett, or Tentacool and Toedscool, scholars currently believed that Sinistcha and Sinistea were examples of convergent evolution.

As the powder that formed its true body, matcha powder could create the illusion of improving the skin when sprinkled on humans or Pokémon. However, it would continuously absorb their vital energy and convert it into its own energy.

Therefore, in Kitakami, where Sinistcha was common, there was even a story used to frighten children: "If you waste food, Sinistcha will sprinkle matcha on you." Matcha itself was even banned there...

"Mooh!"

The expression on Sinistcha's teapot changed, its brows knitting together. It seemed to be warning Mingyou: if he didn't want his vital energy drained, he should hurry up and take a bath and stop approaching it...

"Not very easy to get along with..."

Mingyou wiped the matcha powder off his body. He realized that Sinistcha wasn't bad by nature.

It simply seemed to dislike him. He also had no idea how Grandpa had gotten along with it. Apparently, there was still a lot he needed to learn.

But just as he was thinking about how to deal with the situation, Munchlax suddenly ran in front of him.

Then it stuck out its tongue and licked all the matcha powder off his body!

Perhaps the matcha's fragrance was simply too enticing. It even made Munchlax ignore the Tangerines.

"Munch~"

"Uh..."

Mingyou blinked, suddenly remembering that Munchlax was a Normal-type Pokémon. As Sinistcha was a Ghost-type, its abilities had no effect on Munchlax. The matcha powder couldn't affect it!

After licking up the matcha powder, Munchlax immediately looked at Sinistcha, seemingly wanting to eat more.

"Munch~"

"Mooh?"

Sinistcha held the Tea Scoop, a trace of confusion appearing in its expression. It sensed that something bad was coming. Then it scattered another cloud of matcha powder, but Munchlax simply stuck out its tongue and caught it all...

"Mooh!"

Seeing this, Sinistcha furrowed its brows again, seemingly preparing for battle.

Looking at its expression, Mingyou immediately understood. "You want to settle this with a battle?"

He wasn't a Trainer and had never studied anything related to battling. But in his previous life, he had watched plenty of anime and played plenty of games. He should be able to pick it up quickly.

"Then... bring it on!"

"Munch!"

Munchlax spread its arms, its expression suddenly becoming ferociously adorable. It was far too mischievous, even preparing to glare at its opponent!

Although it wasn't Mingyou's Pokémon yet, being fed by him every day had already raised its affection for him considerably. Not to mention... it wanted to eat matcha!

And so, a battle inexplicably began at the Villa entrance. Sinistcha launched the first attack. A mass of shadows emerged from its body and instantly wrapped around Munchlax, using Hex.

But Ghost-type moves had no effect on Normal-types...

Seeing an opening, Mingyou immediately waved his hand and shouted, "Munchlax, use... use... um, that... what moves do you know again?"

Only then did he remember that he had no idea what moves Munchlax actually knew.

"Munch!"

Munchlax began its performance. It rapidly converted the energy inside its body to its highest intensity, instantly emitting dazzling yellow light. Abandoning all defense, it charged violently toward Sinistcha!

It was Double-Edge! Its power was astonishing!

The attack struck Sinistcha in an instant, dealing... absolutely no damage! Normal-type moves were ineffective against Ghost-types. Munchlax passed straight through Sinistcha's body and crashed onto the steps at the Villa entrance.

A pair of clueless fools...

"What am I even doing..."

Mingyou covered his forehead and shook his head, unable to bear watching any longer. But when he looked up at Sinistcha, he suddenly froze. Something seemed to flash through his mind... He had suddenly remembered something very important!

He hurried into the living room, while Munchlax climbed to its feet. It seemed to have started a grudge match with Sinistcha. Nearby, Weepinbell and the others hesitated, unsure whether they should come over and help...

Just then, Munchlax attacked again. Sinistcha floated motionless in midair. When Munchlax approached within range, it forcefully scattered a cloud of yellow powder, and Munchlax immediately stuck out its tongue.

But this time, it wasn't matcha powder—it was Stun Spore... A current of electricity flashed over Munchlax's body, and it fell into a state of Paralysis on the spot.

However, its tongue had already touched Sinistcha. Lick connected, dealing super-effective damage. At the same time, accompanied by flickering electricity, Sinistcha also fell into Paralysis.

They both crashed to the ground, unable to move. But Munchlax's tongue continued licking Sinistcha. It even struggled to move its arms, grabbed Sinistcha, and prepared to suck the matcha directly out of it.

Mingyou had just run out of the living room when he happened to encounter the bizarre scene before him and was startled.

"Oh my gosh... What are you two doing!"

He hurried over, rescued Sinistcha from Munchlax's mouth, then had Nuzleaf pick a green Tangerine and stuff it into Munchlax's hands.

"Eat this!"

That had been close...

If he had arrived any later, the matcha would have been drunk.

Mingyou let out a long breath of relief. Looking at the teapot in his hands, which was suffering from Paralysis, he took out the letter Grandpa had left for him.

"Come to think of it, this letter..."

He hadn't forgotten that on his first day at the Villa, it had been Sinistcha that drew his attention, leading him to discover the letter.

The letter was originally supposed to be mailed together with the key. But Grandpa's health and memory had continued deteriorating, and he had forgotten to send it. Not long afterward, he was hospitalized and passed away...

Yet this letter, left behind in the Villa, had somehow been placed right beside Sinistcha on the bookshelf. Why hadn't it reminded him at the time?

Clearly, this couldn't have been a coincidence. Someone must have found the letter and deliberately left it by Sinistcha's side for some purpose!

Mingyou suddenly thought of all this. Looking at Sinistcha, he continued asking in a gentle tone, "So you were the one keeping this letter safe? Were you waiting for me to come here, then guiding me to find it..."

"..."