"Haunter, long time no see." Although Cheng Tian knew Haunter was here, he still hadn't seen it for a month.
"Haun-ta!"
"I was wondering if I could discuss something with you." Cheng Tian delivered the speech he had prepared. "We're about to have our Central Assessment. This time, my opponents are very strong members of the Elite Four. Although they're only using their second teams, I'm still not confident I can beat them with absolute certainty."
"Could you help me? As long as you help me get a good placing, I can buy you more Pokéblocks. I'm sure you've felt it over the past month-these Pokéblocks also nourish you to some extent. Working together would benefit both of us, wouldn't it?"
After learning that Haunter had once been abandoned, Cheng Tian had changed his strategy. Rather than trying to catch it outright as he had before, he switched to patiently guiding and persuading it. In truth, Cheng Tian had his own calculations: if his persuasion failed, their relationship wouldn't fall apart, and if it succeeded, everyone would be happy.
Haunter certainly didn't dislike the person before it. In fact, it was even somewhat fond of him, because he had something its former Trainer hadn't.
If it really was just cooperation, Haunter thought there was no harm in it. It would benefit from helping Cheng Tian, too.
Ultimately, however, Haunter was too naive. Every Pokémon Cheng Tian currently had was a higher level than it was; its help was merely a pretext.
Haunter nodded, agreeing to Cheng Tian's request. Once you'd eaten someone's food, your tongue softened; once you'd taken their gifts, your hands were tied. After eating free Pokéblocks for a month, there was no harm in putting in some effort.
Cheng Tian secretly rejoiced at this. As long as