"So, the reason Professor Cozmo couldn't sleep and kept having nightmares before... was because of you?"
A dim yellow lamp cast a flickering shadow on the wall. Johan, sitting at his desk, toyed with a jagged, pitch-black stone that was oddly shaped and uneven.
Although he didn't know much about stones, let alone fossils, it was clear that this one had some age to it.
Most likely, this was the "interesting stone" Professor Cozmo had mentioned finding.
What Cozmo didn't know was that this stone had a Gastly sleeping inside.
"Ka-kah~~"
Gastly seemed to be in a good mood, nodding its head as it happily floated circles around Johan, occasionally making strange and goofy faces.
"So... you could be a Pokémon from decades, centuries, or even thousands of years ago?"
"Ka-kah?"
That long ago?
Gastly had no idea.
After all, it had been sleeping the whole time. If Cozmo hadn't dug it up, it might still be asleep.
As for why it had been sleeping inside the stone and its memories from before that, Gastly had long since forgotten.
That explained why it had never eaten instant noodles or why it seemed so curious about everything in the room.
"Amnesia, huh?"
In that respect, Johan felt like he could relate a little.
Pulling the folded blanket from the sofa, he wrapped it around himself.
For some reason, he felt cold.
Perhaps it was because there was a Ghost-type Pokémon like Gastly in the room.
"Wait!"
Johan suddenly had a strange, stiff expression.
He slowly raised his hand and wiped his already-dried cheek.
"Does that mean... you haven't brushed your teeth in a thousand years?"
"Ka-kah."
Gastly: (ˊo oˋ)
Johan: "..."
The next moment.
A faint purple hue appeared on Johan's face.
"Ka-kah!!"
Gastly gasped, looking at him in surprise.
Johan also noticed that something was wrong. Smacking his lips, he muttered, "So... I've been poisoned?"
Poisonous saliva?
Though Gastly was a Ghost-type Pokémon, it was also part Poison-type.
Still, Johan hadn't expected that just getting licked would result in poisoning... After all, Gastly doesn't even know that many Poison-type moves at its stage.
"Looks like you've got quite a knack for Poison-type moves," Johan said as his lips turned a little pale.
"Ka-kah! Ka-kah! Ka-kah!"
Gastly panicked and began flying in frantic circles around him, looking both anxious and clueless.
What do I do? What do I do?!
"Don't panic."
To Gastly's surprise, Johan remained remarkably calm. "Since it's your poison, you should be able to control it. Try to take it back."
"Ka-kah?"
Take it back?
How?
I don't know how!
Is he going to die? He's going to die, isn't he?!
Die?
Though Johan didn't have the superhuman resilience of a seasoned trainer, he could tell that his condition wasn't fatal. He was just feeling unwell. Even if Gastly couldn't control the poison, he could always go to the Pokémon Center for treatment.
That's why he remained calm.
"Think about how it felt when you licked me earlier," Johan said again.
"Ka-kah..."
Perhaps it was Johan's calm demeanor, his lack of blame in his eyes or tone, that gradually made Gastly calm down as well.
"Good, stay calm, and then you can—"
Slurp—
Before Johan could finish his sentence, Gastly's long, red tongue shot out again and licked his face.
"...Well, that's... better, I guess."
Wiping the saliva off his face, Johan forced a smile, almost as if trying to reassure himself.
But soon enough, he noticed that the earlier discomfort had eased quite a bit.
His eyes lit up slightly.
With Gastly looking at him, full of hopeful yet anxious anticipation, Johan nodded affirmatively. "It worked."
"Ka-kah!!"
Gastly let out a triumphant screech.
It then squinted its eyes, smacking its lips and licking its tongue as it slowly approached Johan, giggling, "Hehe, hehehe..."
"That's enough! Hey, don't wipe your saliva on my clothes, you idiot!"
A few minutes later.
Johan sat shirtless on a small stool on the balcony, scrubbing his shirt in a basin with a resigned expression.
Gastly floated beside him, looking as guilty as a child caught misbehaving.
"Ka-kah."
It apologized sincerely, both for losing control earlier and for accidentally poisoning Johan.
Johan paused his scrubbing, lifted his soapy hand, and gently patted Gastly's misty body with a smile.
"It's okay. From now on, we're friends, partners..."
Friends? Partners?
Gastly gazed at him, its large white eyes sparkling like stars.
"...family," Johan finished.
"Ka-kah," Gastly whispered, savoring the meaning of those words.
'Raising a Gastly, huh?' Johan thought to himself as he looked at the swirling black mist surrounding Gastly.
'Actually, it's not so bad.'
The smile on his face grew wider, and a rare mischievous glint flashed in his eyes as he flicked his fingers.
Plop—
White bubbles from the soap splattered onto Gastly's face, snapping it out of its thoughts.
"Ka-kah!!"
With a screech, it lunged toward Johan.
"Stop! Stop, you're going to slip!"
Thud!!
No matter how light Gastly was, it couldn't beat the slickness of the balcony tiles combined with the soapy water.
In the end, both trainer and Pokémon ended up crashing to the floor.
The basin tipped over, sending white bubbles flying everywhere.
Just then...
The first rays of morning sunlight pierced the night sky, spreading like ink on paper, painting a scene of joy.
The shimmering bubbles reflected vibrant colors, capturing two smiling faces.
Yawning and sporting dark circles under his eyes, Johan returned to the Pokémon Psychology Consultation Room at the school, ready to slack off—cough, I mean, go to work.
Professor Cozmo was nowhere to be seen, and the blanket was neatly folded on the side.
Taking a nap first thing in the morning wasn't the wisest choice, even though the consultation room rarely had any visitors, and classes hadn't started yet. Still, if someone saw him napping, it wouldn't leave a good impression.
Taking a nap around noon, under the excuse of "oversleeping during lunch," was a much better option—one he had plenty of experience with.
The grinding noise of the Onix coffee grinder echoed as Johan prepared to brew himself a cup of coffee.
At that moment, Gastly floated out from under his clothes.
"Ka-kah?"
It curiously observed the Onix-shaped coffee grinder.
Johan smiled faintly and asked, "Want a cup?"
"Ka-kah, Ka-kah!"
After a brief hesitation, Gastly nodded enthusiastically.
Soon, two cups of rich espresso were placed on the desk.
Johan opened his laptop, took a small sip, and the bitter taste instantly stimulated his taste buds, with a subtle sweetness following, perking him up.
Gastly, however, stared at the black liquid in front of it, hesitant. It sniffed at it, floated around it a few times, but couldn't bring itself to take a sip.
It glanced at Johan.
"Ka-kah?"
Is this stuff really drinkable?
It smells good, but it looks so... untrustworthy.
Johan didn't respond, merely taking another sip as a demonstration.
Seeing this, Gastly finally gathered its courage, stuck out its long tongue, and carefully licked the coffee.
It was thinking about the delicious instant noodles from the previous night.
But the next second—
"Ka-kah!!"
Gastly's entire misty body seemed to shiver as if it had been electrocuted.
It looked at Johan with utter disbelief.
How could you drink something so bitter?
Johan laughed, "Not a fan? Judging by your reaction, it seems you don't like bitter things."
Gastly's gaseous body wobbled as it desperately tried to wipe the taste off its tongue.
"Ka-kah..."
I don't need this tongue anymore!
Amused by its antics, Johan teased, "You'll get used to it after a few more tries."
Gastly wasn't falling for it this time and shook its head vigorously.
It treated the cup of coffee like a mortal enemy, floating far away from it.
Johan chuckled, no longer teasing it.
He opened a file on his computer and, after creating a simple chart, turned to Gastly, who was finally recovering from its ordeal.
"Gastly, let's get a sense of your abilities. What moves do you know?"
To train a Pokémon properly, understanding its current abilities is the first step, which helps in making a more detailed training plan later.
"Ka-kah!"
As long as you don't make me drink that coffee, I'll do anything.
Gastly's black mist swirled in readiness.
Just then, the sound of high heels clicking rhythmically down the hallway reached their ears, getting closer.
Johan and Gastly exchanged a glance before he quickly recalled it into the Poké Ball.
Moments later, there was a knock on the door.
"Johan, have you seen Professor Cozmo?"
A tall, beautiful woman with long black hair entered the room.
She was Saiko, an instructor from the Pokémon Breeding Department.
"Uh, no, I haven't," Johan answered truthfully.
"That's strange. I saw him in the cafeteria earlier, but now he's vanished," Saiko muttered, pouting slightly.
"What's going on?" Johan asked, rubbing his temples.
"Today's the new students' registration day, right? Cozmo was supposed to help, but now he's disappeared. Every teacher already has their tasks assigned, so where am I supposed to find a replacement?"
New student registration day?
Today?
Johan froze.
No wonder there were so many cars at the school entrance this morning.
Suddenly, he had a bad feeling.
Sure enough, when he looked up, Saiko's bright eyes were fixed on him.
"Johan, could you help out?"