A fright

By then, the sky was gradually darkening. Looking at the buildings looming like black holes, Ye Qing shivered for no apparent reason.

Picking his way over broken bricks and tiles, Ye Qing led Chimchar to a relatively level spot.

"Ooh-wa."

Chimchar looked around, unable to understand why Ye Qing had brought him here for no reason. Were they going to do something shady?

Ye Qing had Chimchar jump down to the ground. "Let's do it here. Try spinning a few times first so I can see."

Chimchar scratched his head in confusion, then dropped onto all fours and quickly spun a few times.

"No, spin like this."

No longer caring about the dust, Ye Qing got down on the ground to demonstrate the Thomas Flair for Chimchar.

Ye Qing had learned this move before, but he wasn't very good at it. He lost his balance and promptly face-planted.

"Ooh-wa-wa!"

Seeing Ye Qing make a fool of himself, Chimchar happily clapped and cheered from the sidelines.

"Ptooey."

Ye Qing spat out the dirt in his mouth and shot Chimchar an irritated look. Then he took out his phone and found a video of the Thomas Flair for him to watch.

"Oh?"

Chimchar's eyes lit up as he watched the flashy move. Before long, he wanted to try it himself.

Ye Qing put away his phone. Seeing how confident Chimchar was, he gestured for him to give it a shot.

Chimchar tried planting both hands on the ground and lifting his body, then spinning like in the video. But a moment later, his lack of coordination sent him straight to the ground.

Holding back his laughter, Ye Qing told him to stop for now and patiently began explaining what to watch out for.

"To pull off this move, you first need to control how quickly your center of gravity drops. At the same time, swing your spread legs in different directions and use your shoulders and arms to generate the momentum for a horizontal rotation.

"That lets you shift your center of gravity properly. As you bring your legs in, turn your body and shoulders slightly to the left, roll your hips, and get your left hand down to support yourself as early as possible. That helps you flow into the full Thomas Flair."

Only after patiently guiding Chimchar through it several times did Ye Qing let him try on his own.

Chimchar first crouched on the ground and thought for a moment, then began breaking the Thomas Flair down step by step.

Ye Qing watched for a while. He had to admit that Pokémon really were absurdly strong. Chimchar could easily support his entire body with just one hand.

As he grew familiar with each movement, Chimchar gradually picked up speed.

The force of Chimchar's continuous spinning stirred up layers of dust, sending them swirling in every direction.

Ye Qing backed away and hid behind a pile of debris. When Chimchar's speed peaked, he shouted, "Now, use Ember!"

At his command, Chimchar immediately opened his mouth, and clusters of little flames shot out like bullets.

Because Chimchar was spinning constantly, the position of his mouth kept changing too, causing the flames to lash outward in every direction like a long, blazing whip.

Just as Ye Qing was getting excited, he suddenly felt a chill at the back of his neck. Then he saw the flaming whip abruptly break apart, while the tremendous momentum sent Chimchar flying out of it.

"Ooh-wa."

Chimchar lay on the ground, utterly dizzy. He tried several times to get up but couldn't manage it.

Ye Qing quickly ran over to check on him and found quite a few burn marks on his legs.

After thinking for a moment, Ye Qing figured out the cause. Chimchar would be able to avoid this problem once he got more practice.

Ye Qing took out a Super Potion and sprayed it onto Chimchar's wounds, then carried him toward home.

It was already late, and both of them were hungry, so it was no longer a good time to keep practicing.

Of course, those were just excuses. The main reason was that Ye Qing had kept feeling a chill at the back of his neck, as though someone were blowing on it.

Ye Qing forced himself to think about something else and quickened his pace toward the exit.

"Hehehehe~"

Just then, Ye Qing suddenly heard an eerie laugh behind him.

"Who's there!"

The hairs on Ye Qing's back stood on end. He immediately turned around, only to find nothing but empty space behind him.

"Hehehehe~"

The eerie laughter came again from every direction. At the same time, footsteps began sounding out, gradually drawing closer.

"Fuck, pick on someone else!"

Ye Qing shouted. Although it occurred to him that this was probably some Ghost-type Pokémon playing a prank, he still couldn't stop trembling inside.

The construction site's exit was less than a hundred meters away, but for safety's sake, Ye Qing didn't simply turn and run. Doing that would leave his back exposed to an attack, and he really wouldn't have a chance to react.

"Ooh-wa!"

Just then, after taking a good while to recover, Chimchar finally regained his senses. He jumped straight to the ground and yelled at whatever lay ahead.

Why were there wild Ghost-type Pokémon here? The Public Security Bureau shouldn't allow them anywhere near a residential area.

Looking at the pitch-black buildings around him, Ye Qing told Chimchar to return to his shoulder.

Right now, the other party might only be trying to scare and tease him. But if Chimchar attacked rashly, it could easily turn into a real fight.

Besides, this place was so vast that it hardly seemed likely there was only one Ghost-type Pokémon here. If they angered them, he and Chimchar might never leave this place.

Chimchar obediently returned to Ye Qing's shoulder, glaring fiercely around with his big eyes. At the same time, the flame on his rear flared up with a whoosh, nearly setting Ye Qing's hair on fire.

After waiting a while without hearing any more laughter, Ye Qing had Chimchar watch behind them. He then put on an utterly terrified look and quickly ran out of the construction site.

As for why he acted that way, Ye Qing knew that most Ghost-type Pokémon enjoyed playing pranks. They didn't all genuinely want to hurt people.

Seeing someone scared out of their wits would satisfy their vanity.

He ran all the way out of the construction site and, sure enough, wasn't attacked. Only when he saw the traffic on the street did Ye Qing finally breathe a sigh of relief. He thought that perhaps their fondness for merely teasing people was why the understaffed Public Security Bureau had never come to clear them out.

Carefully avoiding passing vehicles, Ye Qing hurried home, still shaken the whole way. This world full of Pokémon really was dangerous. After all, he didn't have the freakishly tough physique of that guy who could carry a Larvitar on his shoulder.

Not long after Ye Qing and Chimchar left, Gastly after Gastly revealed themselves inside the construction site. Whenever they thought of Ye Qing's frightened, dazed expression, they couldn't help bursting into laughter.

Ye Mom was sitting on the sofa watching TV. Seeing Ye Qing and Chimchar drenched in sweat, she smiled. "You're back? Hurry up and eat. The food's still warm."

"I'll take a shower first."

Ye Qing answered hastily and headed straight into his room with Chimchar.

Leaning against his desk, Ye Qing still looked badly shaken. In a way, he really had just encountered ghosts.

"Ooh-wa."

Crouched on Ye Qing's shoulder, Chimchar didn't feel much of anything. To him, they were simply a few Pokémon that posed a threat. There was nothing to be afraid of.

"What's that smell?"

Ye Qing sniffed and noticed a sour stink wafting straight into his nose.

"Huh?"

Noticing Ye Qing looking at him, Chimchar immediately waved his hands to indicate that the smell had nothing to do with him.