"Is that... Gengar?"
Looking at the notification before him, Fang Yan realized what was behind the haunting.
"A prank?"
Fang Yan read the description in the status panel, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
Then he continued upstairs with his luggage.
Gengar emerged upside down from the chandelier, watching Fang Yan head upstairs with its mouth stretched wide, revealing gleaming white teeth.
Then it silently flew toward Fang Yan.
A rotten, musty smell filled his nostrils, and a damp, cold draft licked his neck like a scarlet tongue. With the notification's help, Fang Yan set down his luggage.
"Gwaaah!!~~~"
"HAAH!!!"
Gengar opened its mouth and pulled out its tongue. Just as it was about to tap Fang Yan on the shoulder, he suddenly turned around, his expression as grotesque as a zombie's, and let out a deafening shout.
He watched Gengar, frightened by him, careen through the air like a deflating balloon leaking air, before finally disappearing into the chandelier.
Fang Yan laughed, slurped back his saliva, and said, "You little punk."
Then he turned around, picked up his luggage, and went upstairs.
Fang Yan opened the master bedroom door, walked in, and looked around. Compared with the lavish furnishings downstairs, the bedroom was much simpler, with only a bed, a pink wardrobe, and a dressing table.
The bed looked usable; he just needed to replace the mattress. Fang Yan walked over to the dressing table, where a photo frame lay facedown.
Fang Yan picked it up and wiped the dust off the glass, finally getting a clear look at the woman whose most beautiful moment had been captured inside.
Dressed in splendid clothes, with a dignified, graceful East Asian face, she sat elegantly in a garden with a Glameow in her arms, smiling at Fang Yan.
Looking at this great-aunt of his, the only relative in this world who shared his blood, Fang Yan felt an inexplicable emotion well up in his heart, his mind awash with thoughts. After a while, he gathered himself and carefully set the frame back on the dressing table, letting that beauty face the world once more.
He opened the wardrobe, took out everything useless inside, and dumped it on the floor. Then he took an unwanted piece of clothing to the bathroom and soaked it in water.
Fortunately, some of the house's utilities still worked; the water and electricity, for instance, had not been cut off.
He returned, cleaned the wardrobe, and put all his clothes inside. Then he went over to the bed, lifted off the ruined mattress, inspected the bed boards, and wiped them down with the wet rag.
Finally, he cleaned the dressing table. Since it was still intact, Fang Yan decided to make do with it for now.
He opened another door in the bedroom and stepped onto the balcony outside. There was a small table and two little stools, but exposure to rain and sunlight had ruined them all, and weeds filled the flower bed.
After checking that no one was below the balcony, Fang Yan threw the broken table and stools down, then carried out the mattress and tossed it down too.
Once he had finished, he braced both hands on the balcony railing and quietly gazed outside.
The house stood on the outskirts of Twinleaf Town, with no inhabited homes in sight and a forest right behind it, making it especially quiet.
Just then, Xia Lan returned.
Seeing Xia Lan return, Fang Yan went downstairs and found her directing several Machamp as they carried in a mattress, bedding, and other things.
Fang Yan waved to the Machamp, signaling for them to carry everything upstairs.
Once the mattress was in place, Xia Lan helped Fang Yan fit the sheet over it and stuff the quilt into its cover.
"Thank you."
Watching Xia Lan work, Fang Yan thanked her.
"You're welcome. I'm better at this sort of thing than you are."
After getting everything fitted, Xia Lan straightened up, wiped away her sweat, and spoke to Fang Yan with a smile.
Then she took out an agreement and handed it to Fang Yan.
"Have a look. If there are no problems, you can sign it."
Fang Yan took the agreement and skimmed it. It was written in the League's language, and there were no problems, so he picked up a pen and signed his name.
[Achievement completed: Heir. Received your great-aunt's final gift: ten draws.] [Received Moomoo Milk ×12] [Received Poké Ball ×10] [Received Pokémon-tech safety helmet ×3. Safety helmet: protects your head from impacts by heavy objects and cleans itself automatically, greatly reducing wasted labor.] [Received Pokémon-tech stethoscope ×1. Stethoscope: perhaps it can let you sense movement inside a Pokémon Egg?] [Received Pokémon-tech white coat ×1. White coat: makes you look like a doctor?]
The rest were a few Oran Berries and Pecha Berries.
"This is what you call generous rewards?"
Fang Yan grumbled, speechless.
["Generous rewards"]
Not bothering with his cheat any longer, Fang Yan left the room with Xia Lan. A Machamp stood at the door, holding a wet mop.
"Sorry for the trouble, Machamp."
Fang Yan thanked the Machamp before him.
"Ni-keh~"
Machamp grinned, then went into the room and began mopping the floor.
Fang Yan went downstairs. The Machamp had already carried out all the broken tables and cabinets, swept the floor clean, and mopped it.
"You're really capable, Machamp."
Seeing how efficiently they worked, Fang Yan could not help commenting.
"Aren't they? They're homeless Pokémon too. They usually earn money by taking on other people's requests, though they can't handle delicate work."
Xia Lan came over to his side as she spoke.
"I thought you might need some help here, so I brought them along."
Fang Yan nodded. He happened to need a lot of things thrown out, and the Machamp's help would save him plenty of effort.
Then Fang Yan entered the kitchen. The cabinets looked undamaged, but when he opened them, there were hardly any dishes inside.
He called a Machamp in to carry out some useless things and throw them away.
Opening the small door in the kitchen, he stepped outside. Before him lay a vast open space overgrown with weeds and dotted with jagged rocks. Wooden fences surrounded it, but long neglect and prolonged exposure to sun and rain had left them dilapidated.
In the distance, he could see a shimmering expanse of blue that looked like a small lake. Nearby stood a long-broken parasol, a table, and a lounge chair.
Fang Yan had seen this spot in the photograph. It should have been where she had afternoon tea.
"Well? Have you decided what you want to do?"
Leaning against the small door behind him, Xia Lan asked.
"I'll probably... reopen this Pokémon Day Care."
Fang Yan considered it for a while before answering.
This was where the original owner's great-aunt, whom he had never met, had run a Pokémon Day Care. Since he had come here and inherited the place, he might as well run one too, as a way of fulfilling the wish of that aunt he had never met.
"A Pokémon Day Care? That sounds good. Twinleaf Town doesn't have one yet, so people in town who want a starter Pokémon would have somewhere to buy one. Besides, this place is halfway between Twinleaf Town and Sandgem Town. As far as I know, Sandgem Town doesn't have a Day Care either, aside from being able to get starter Pokémon from Professor Rowan."
"Looking at it that way, business probably won't be bad."
Xia Lan said.
"There's plenty I'll need to spend money on, too."
Looking at the dilapidated surroundings, Fang Yan sighed.
"That's true."
Xia Lan chuckled, then asked, "Do you have enough money?"
"If I'm careful with it, it should hold out."
Fang Yan replied. The original owner's parents had left him around three or four million League dollars, and he had never touched it.
"But there's still a lot I'll have to do myself."
Fang Yan continued. But as he gazed at the open space before him and imagined raising a whole bunch of his favorite Pokémon here, then sitting in a lounge chair enjoying afternoon tea, his desire to become a Trainer suddenly faded, and he even felt a faint sense of anticipation.
Who wouldn't want a life like that, surrounded by Pokémon?
A Trainer? Sorry, not familiar.
Before you continue