"Ka-kah?" Gastly floated over, curious, as Johan sat writing at his desk, phone in hand, watching a battle video. Gastly, meanwhile, was sipping on a bottle of "digestive liquid" given by Nurse Joy.
What's he busy with?
Ever since they returned, Johan had been hunched over, writing non-stop.
Without lifting his head, Johan replied, "Medical report."
"Camerupt's case file," he added, sensing Gastly's confusion.
Gastly still didn't quite understand.
What's the point of writing a case file?
Then, Johan finished the last word, neatly arranging it alongside several other forms.
"Ka-kah?"
What are those?
Gastly continued sipping on the sour-sweet digestive liquid, already having finished half a dozen bottles.
"Reimbursement forms."
Since Johan had wrapped up, he didn't mind sharing his "work" with Gastly.
This was something Drake had suggested.
Treating Pokémon that were mentally and physically injured counted as working for the League, so Johan had to follow League protocol and submit reimbursement requests.
"Ka-kah?"
Gastly peered at one of the forms, its misty fingers pointing at the section labeled "Clothing Damage."
Is that really necessary?
Gastly remembered Johan's clothes had gotten torn while climbing Mt. Chimney and passing through some cracks.
"Just reporting the facts," Johan said casually.
"Ka-kah?"
But why is it listed as "×3"?
"Steven's and Flannery's clothes too. I'm filing for them as well," Johan answered smoothly.
"Ahhh…"
Gastly nodded, realizing that Steven's clothing was indeed quite expensive.
"Ka-kah?"
What about this?
It pointed at the line reading: "10 boxes of energy cubes, 5 crates of Moomoo Milk—used to calm Heatran."
Weren't you the one who only used a bottle of milk and a few cubes to calm Heatran? Wasn't it just 10 cubes?
Each box of energy cubes usually contains 100 pieces.
Remaining calm, Johan explained, "Do you think anyone will believe you calmed down a legendary Pokémon with just one bottle of Moomoo Milk and 10 cubes? What if someone actually tries to replicate that and gets themselves hurt? It's for their safety!"
"Besides, who do you think those energy cubes and milk are really for?"
"Ka-kah?!" Gastly's eyes widened.
All for me?!
"Of course, some of it will go to the injured Pokémon," Johan added.
He wasn't about to take food meant for Pokémon, so he figured it was best to request a bit more.
Gulp—
Gastly swallowed nervously, then noticed another line.
"Luxury Balls ×10 used to capture Camerupt…"
Even though Gastly had braced itself, seeing the line about using 10 Luxury Balls still caught it off guard.
"Only a few trainers get lucky with one ball. Considering Camerupt's rampage, it's perfectly reasonable to use 10 balls to capture it, don't you think?"
Johan shrugged.
This reimbursement form was entirely based on "realistic" circumstances.
It was all perfectly reasonable.
And as for the fact that the actual ball used had been a regular Poké Ball, not a Luxury Ball…
Well, Johan had thought about writing "Cherish Ball," but considering the League's limits, he decided to settle on Luxury Balls.
After all, Steven, being the heir to Devon Corporation, would naturally carry a few Luxury Balls, right?
It's just that, by sheer luck, Johan had managed to catch Camerupt with a regular Poké Ball.
Pure luck.
Gastly didn't quite grasp all the intricacies.
But it was deeply impressed.
In addition to these items, Johan also filed claims for many other things.
For example, he listed the Pecha Berries used to treat Camerupt's burn, the healing sprays for the injuries sustained by Gastly and Steven's Pokémon during their battle with Camerupt, and some medicine he used to calm Camerupt physically during treatment.
See? Perfectly reasonable.
"Ka-kah?"
Is this really okay?
Even Gastly, who usually didn't worry about such things, couldn't help but feel a little nervous.
Isn't this a bit much?
"Of course, it's a problem," Johan admitted as he stacked the papers and slipped them into a file folder.
What?!
Gastly blinked.
Then why submit them?!
Johan smiled slyly.
"If the League staff were the ones reviewing this, it would definitely get rejected. But Drake is the one handling it, so it's different."
In the Hoenn League, were there many people with more authority than Drake?
With Drake's signature on the reimbursement forms, no one would dare raise an objection.
That's why Johan hadn't bargained or hesitated when Drake made his offer.
On one hand, Drake's offer was more than generous.
On the other hand, it was all part of an unspoken understanding between them.
Drake had once been an ordinary sailor with a dream of conquering the seas with his partner Seviper. After surviving a shipwreck, he was saved by a Dragonite, which ignited his passion for Dragon-type Pokémon and led him to the path of a Pokémon Trainer.
Because of this, Drake always carried a deep sense of empathy for Pokémon.
When he saw how Johan had managed to make a rampaging Camerupt smile so peacefully, it stirred something within him.
That was the true reason Drake had asked Johan for help.
After all, while Johan was a rare Pokémon psychologist, the League had plenty of people in that profession.
But none of them had Johan's ability to truly and precisely calm an enraged Pokémon.
Moreover, Johan's reimbursement forms were primarily aimed at benefiting the Pokémon—whether Gastly or the injured Camerupt.
That was the tacit agreement between Johan and Drake.
Of course, most importantly, Drake himself had subtly hinted that Johan could ask for more, since the injured Pokémon would also need a steady supply of food.
Gastly didn't understand all this.
But it trusted Johan completely.
If Johan said it was fine, then it was fine.
And so...
Gastly suddenly understood.
I get it now!
A moment later—
"Ka-kah!"
Crash!
A sharp cracking sound echoed through the room.
Johan froze mid-motion, hardly able to believe his eyes.
Gastly's prized possession—the phone it had been holding—was now shattered on the floor, broken into several pieces.
"You!"
Johan's forehead pulsed with a vein of frustration.
But Gastly just looked calm and unbothered, as if it had never liked that old, slow phone with its terrible internet connection.
Using Hypnosis earlier was too tiring, and I dropped it by accident…
Johan's face darkened as he ground his teeth.
"Did you ever think that even without breaking the phone, we could have added it to the form?"
"Ka-kah?!"
Gastly: Σ(￣□￣|||)
"And did you think about how long it will take for the reimbursement to come through? What are you going to use in the meantime?"
Gastly: Σ(ﾟДﾟ|||)
Sigh—
Johan exhaled, trying to calm himself, before taking out the reimbursement form again.
He calmly wrote down, "...damaged phone."
Gastly let out a relieved sigh, but then it froze again when Johan wrote, "Phones ×2."
Shallow.
Its understanding had been too shallow.
"Ka-kah!" Gastly raised a thumbs-up, its misty hand giving Johan a nod of approval.
Reimbursement, after all, was an art form.
I hereby crown you—The God of Reimbursement of the Sinnoh Legends!