On his way to work, Johan carried a bag of buns he bought from a convenience store. As he walked, he occasionally tossed a bun toward the wall of a nearby alley.
Before the bun could hit the wall, Gastly floated out from it and caught it in its mouth.
"Ka-kah!"
Gastly glanced at Johan with a guilty, pitiful expression.
Johan knew exactly what was going on, but he was helpless. After all, trickery was part of Gastly's nature. He couldn't suppress a Pokémon's instincts, even if it meant putting up with some mischief. Even Agatha of the Elite Four occasionally had to deal with pranks from her Gengar, though she'd long since learned not to fall for them.
Plus, Gastly's mistake with the gas wasn't really a prank—it was simply curious.
"No more going into the kitchen," Johan scolded the "pitiful" Gastly with mock seriousness.
"Ka-kah ka-kah!"
If Gastly had hands, it would be swearing an oath right now.
Seeing that Johan wasn't truly angry, Gastly quickly dropped its act, happily enjoying its snack instead.
Johan shook his head, knowing full well that Gastly's display of guilt had been fake all along.
"After work, we'll pick up some Pokéblocks, and pay the gas bill too."
"Ka-kah, ka-kaah?"
Gastly responded but suddenly froze, turning its gaze toward the alley behind them.
Noticing Gastly's reaction, Johan also looked back in the same direction.
Hmm?
He thought he glimpsed a figure in the distance.
Turning to Gastly, he saw it nodding solemnly, confirming his suspicions.
This alley was a quiet shortcut to the academy, where you could go weeks without running into anyone. Moreover, it seemed like this person had been following them for a while.
"Ka-kah!"
Gastly's expression turned fierce, and it looked ready to chase after the figure, but Johan quickly stopped it.
In response to Gastly's confusion, Johan explained with a serious tone:
"We don't know who they are, what their strength is, or their motives. Rushing in would just expose us."
His expression returned to calm as he popped a bun into his mouth and signaled Gastly to return to his side. They proceeded toward the academy at their usual pace.
The fact that their stalker kept their distance meant they were cautious. And since the alley was narrow and dim, Gastly likely hadn't been noticed.
Now that the pursuer had revealed themselves, Johan figured that as long as he acted as if nothing had happened, the roles would reverse—he'd have the advantage of knowing while they remained unaware.
Still, Johan had a good idea of why they were being followed.
It was probably related to the stone he had.
The situation he had feared the most had finally come to pass.
Luckily, the follower had done nothing reckless, merely tailing them from a distance.
They arrived at the academy without incident, allowing Johan to relax a bit.
But it also made him realize that his previously quiet life might soon become much more complicated.
There was one thing he had to clear up first.
Upon reaching the academy, Johan didn't return to his consultation room immediately. Instead, he headed to Professor Cozmo's office.
"Johan?"
Professor Cozmo, who was sitting at his desk sorting through lesson plans, looked surprised to see Johan.
"I'm here for the computer tower," Johan said with a smile, getting straight to the point.
Professor Cozmo understood and stood up.
"Right, go ahead and take it. I spoke to the administration, but they said they're busy with the start of the term, so it'll take a few days to get you a new one."
Johan rolled up his sleeves and began disconnecting the tower, casually asking, "Was the theft bad?"
Professor Cozmo sighed, looking troubled. "It depends on how you look at it. They didn't take anything valuable in monetary terms, just some stones that are important to me."
"Rare finds, I imagine? Like the one you told me about the other day?" Johan prompted.
"Exactly," Professor Cozmo said with a sigh. "I barely had a chance to study it. In fact, I can't even remember if I left it at the academy or back home, but either way, it's gone."
"Did you and Steven find it together? Is it a fossil?"
Mentioning Steven seemed to brighten Professor Cozmo's mood.
"Yes, Steven's a remarkable kid," he said fondly. "We've known each other for a long time—ever since his father worked at the Mossdeep Space Center."
"But as for that stone… I'm not sure if it's a fossil. My first impression is that it's more like a meteorite fragment."
By then, Johan had removed the tower.
"Meteorite fragment? Where could you find something like that?"
"At Meteor Falls."
Professor Cozmo replied without hesitation:
"Meteorites aren't as rare as you'd think. Meteor Falls itself was created by a meteorite impact, and Sootopolis City was formed from the heat of another meteorite."
"I think I've heard that before."
Johan smiled as he thanked Professor Cozmo and carried the tower toward the door.
Just as he was about to leave, he turned and asked, "By the way, did they find the burglars? Do you know who they were?"
"No," Professor Cozmo shook his head. "Officer Jenny and her team are searching, but since only stones were taken... well, you know how it is."
Back in his consultation room, the smile faded from Johan's face, replaced by a serious expression.
Meteor Falls?
From what he remembered, Professor Cozmo attracted the attention of Team Aqua and Team Magma because he found a fossil there.
Could the people who broke into Professor Cozmo's house be from Team Aqua or Team Magma?
Both of these underground organizations were the biggest in the Hoenn region, with enormous power and influence, capable of challenging even the Hoenn League itself.
Moreover, their goals were incredibly ambitious—they sought the ancient Legendary Pokémon Kyogre and Groudon!
But then Johan furrowed his brows.
The timeline doesn't match up, he thought.
Steven was still a student, far from becoming a Champion, and both Team Aqua and Team Magma should still be in hiding...
So maybe things haven't escalated that far yet?
"Ka-kah—"
Gastly floated in front of Johan, waving its misty form to get his attention.
Johan snapped out of his thoughts and said gravely, "Gastly, we might need to take the Pokémon League Trainer Certification exam."
"Ka-kah?"
Huh?
Whether it was Team Aqua, Team Magma, or someone else, having a certified League Trainer status would provide Johan and Gastly with some protection.
Team Aqua or Magma wouldn't dare target a registered Trainer unless they were ready to provoke the entire League.
While his position as an academy tutor provided some deterrence, it clearly wasn't enough—Professor Cozmo's situation proved that.
As for becoming a League researcher, Johan had already tried multiple times without success. The Trainer Certification seemed like a more achievable goal.
At the very least, it would give him some self-defense capabilities if things got dangerous.
For the first time since arriving in this world, Johan felt a real sense of urgency and danger.
It was even the first time the original Johan had ever experienced such a feeling.
Yet, for some reason...
Johan felt a twinge of excitement.
I guess adventure really does run in a man's blood, he mused.
After Johan explained the situation, Gastly didn't seem worried. In fact, it looked eager to take on the challenge.
It had learned so much yesterday and was raring to put it into practice.
"Looks like it's not just men who crave adventure."
After setting down the computer tower, Johan and Gastly left the consultation room.
One benefit of being a Pokémon Academy tutor was unrestricted access to the school's training facilities.
Before long, they arrived at the academy's training area, passing through corridors and across a lawn. Since classes hadn't started yet, the training room was mostly empty. Johan and Gastly entered a private training room.
"Ka-kah?"
Gastly buzzed with excitement.
What are we going to train on? Sneak attacks? Shadow strikes?
Johan's brow furrowed in exasperation. He took a deep breath and said:
"You're lacking in raw offensive power, but that's okay because we don't need brute strength. What we need is to improve your overall abilities and focus on mastering one or two key moves."
As a longtime Pokémon fan, Johan already had a strategy in mind for training Gastly.
"Ka-kah ka-kah—"
Gastly nodded, still a bit confused.
So... what's the plan?
Seeing its bewilderment, Johan patiently explained.
They'd start with a Curse, followed by a combination of Sleep, Confusion, Paralysis, Flinching, and Burn. By the time the opponent recovered from these status effects, the Curse would have drained most of their energy, or they'd already be defeated.
"Isn't that more practical than sneak attacks? Though, sneak attacks do have their place in the strategy..."
Johan stroked his chin, thinking how perfect Gastly was for a tactical approach.
"Ka-kaah..."
Gastly floated back a bit, looking warily at Johan, who now had a dangerous gleam in his eyes.
This man... is dangerous!
Now Gastly
understood why Johan didn't need Agatha's videos for strategy tips.
Because in terms of "danger"... Johan was just as formidable!
And yet, why was it looking forward to this?