"Kah-kah—"
Seeing Gastly and Johan dare to block its way, Golbat got angry, letting out a furious cry.
At its command, the two Zubat instantly opened their mouths wide, unleashing "Supersonic."
"Ka-kah!"
Gastly cackled, and the black mist around its body began to swirl. A portion of the mist detached from Gastly, forming a dense cloud between itself and the sound waves.
The "Supersonic" vibrations passed harmlessly between the two wisps of fog, failing to disrupt Gastly at all!
In the next moment, Golbat saw two grinning Gastlys in front of it.
"Gastly, make it quick! It's badly injured and needs to get to the Pokémon Center immediately!"
"Ka-kah!"
Gastly responded with a determined nod.
Meanwhile, crouched on the ground, Johan ignored the filthy state of the small creature, trying to press his hand over its wound. Blood oozed between his fingers.
"Oowuu~~"
The little creature whimpered and struggled, clearly resisting Johan's touch.
Johan softened his voice. "I'm not a bad person."
The words seemed to trigger something in the little Pokémon, and its struggles intensified. As it thrashed, its wound reopened, and blood pooled on the ground.
It let out a trembling, frightened growl, baring its tiny fangs in an attempt to look fierce.
In the moonlight, its crystal-blue eyes, resembling polished gemstones, reflected fear—and Johan's gentle smile. The sight overlapped with something in its memory, leaving it confused.
But it also recalled a night when someone had given it the best meal it had ever tasted.
The little Pokémon's struggles eased, just slightly.
Johan saw the hesitation in the Vulpix's eyes and felt a weight settle in his heart.
Another Pokémon hurt and abandoned by humans…
Vulpix wasn't an uncommon species, and given its cuteness, it was highly sought after—second only to Pokémon like Eevee and Pichu.
Many owners kept Vulpix as a domestic pet.
But some more superstitious people feared it.
Because of ancient legends about the nine-tailed fox, some people viewed Vulpix and Ninetales as sinister creatures.
Judging by this little one's temperament, it hadn't been a very suitable "pet" to begin with.
Johan thought of a certain patient he once had.
Someone who wanted to build an "ideal society"—a "mathematical magician."
To a degree, Johan could understand his ideals.
"Ka-kah!"
Gastly floated over, having already dealt with the two Zubat. Golbat lay unconscious on the ground, minus a couple of teeth.
Johan didn't fuss over the missing teeth and instead gave a quick command to Gastly, "Put it to sleep with Hypnosis."
Johan's own hypnotic techniques required cooperation or catching the subject off guard. But this Vulpix was on high alert and injured, so Gastly's direct approach was necessary.
"Ka-kah~~"
Gastly nodded, its eyes glowing with the blue light of Hypnosis.
"Oowuu…"
Vulpix tried to resist, but Gastly's Hypnosis quickly overcame its defenses. After a few weak attempts, the little creature fell into a deep sleep.
Johan sighed.
He took off his jacket and wrapped the dirty little Pokémon in it before picking it up.
So much lighter than I expected…
"Let's go."
He hailed a taxi and headed straight to the Pokémon Center.
At the Rustboro Pokémon Center, Johan sat on a bench outside the emergency room, frowning as he waited.
"Ka-kah, Ka-kah~~"
Gastly floated back and forth, looking more anxious than Johan.
"Calm down, Gastly. We're at the Pokémon Center; it should be fine now," Johan tried to reassure it.
"Ka-kah?"
Do you have enough money?
Johan blinked in surprise. "You're worried about the money?"
"It's enough, don't worry."
"Not enough?" came a gentle voice from Johan's pants pocket.
Huh?
Johan took out his phone, realizing that he had only locked the screen earlier and hadn't actually hung up.
He lifted the phone to his ear, sighing.
"Uh, hey…ma'am…"
Just as he was about to say something—
[Your account has been credited with 200,000 Pokédollars. Current balance: 235,000 Pokédollars]
"…Has anyone ever told you that your voice sounds like a Lapras?" Johan said, his tone suddenly overly sweet.
"Ka-kah?"
Gastly watched Johan's abrupt shift in expression, cold sweat dripping down its face.
It felt like it had just witnessed something it shouldn't have.
The voice on the other end chuckled softly before asking, "Is that enough? If not, I can wake up my uncle."
"No, no, it's enough," Johan said, smiling into the phone while glaring at Gastly.
Click—
The emergency room door opened, and Nurse Joy emerged, pushing a cart covered in a white sheet.
"Ka-Kah!!"
Gastly gasped in horror.
A white sheet…
Did it die?!
Johan rolled his eyes. "Relax, it's just sleeping on top of the sheet."
Sure enough, Gastly saw the pristine white-furred creature lying peacefully on the soft white blanket, its six translucent, fluffy tails draped around it, breathing steadily.
"Ka-Kah?!"
Gastly's eyes widened in disbelief.
Is this the same little black ball from earlier?
It was hard to reconcile the snowy Vulpix in front of it with the dirty, matted creature it had rescued.
To be fair, Johan was just as astonished as Gastly.
He had known it was a Vulpix, but he hadn't expected it to be an Alolan Vulpix!
Or rather, an Ice-type Vulpix from Alola!
How did an Alolan Vulpix end up in Hoenn?
And in such a dire condition, no less.
"Mr. Johan, the little one is stable now, but it's severely malnourished and has lost a lot of blood. It's very weak, so it'll need proper care and nourishment."
Nurse Joy knew Johan by name since he often assisted the Rustboro Police Department in calming down rampaging Pokémon, and she frequently helped with these cases.
"Thank you."
Johan then went to settle the bill.
To his surprise, he learned that although he wasn't a registered Trainer, because of his consistent support of the League's Investigation Bureau and the Rustboro Police Department, he had long been granted free access to Pokémon Center services.
That saved quite a bit of money.
On the taxi ride home, Johan held the slumbering Alolan Vulpix in his arms. It looked like a delicate porcelain doll, its face serene as it slept.
"You must have been through a lot…"
The Vulpix instinctively snuggled deeper into Johan's arms, its nose twitching as if dreaming of something.
"Ka-Kah, Ka-Kah…"
Gastly watched the little creature, licking its lips.
Heh, an Alolan Vulpix… Heh heh…
Back home, Johan carefully laid the Alolan Vulpix on his bed, managing to find a leaf-patterned blanket from who-knows-where.
"Don't scare her; she's a girl," he reminded Gastly, who was hovering nearby, eyes gleaming with curiosity.
"Ka-kah?"
Gastly looked puzzled.
How do you know that?
Of course, Johan had already confirmed it earlier.
But he didn't bother explaining, heading out to the balcony with his phone.
Meanwhile, Gastly positioned itself protectively beside the sleeping Vulpix.
If Johan hadn't forbidden it, it would've licked her at least a hundred times by now.
"Still awake?"
On the balcony, moonlight poured down, casting a gentle, bright glow.
"Yeah," came the quiet, sleepy murmur from the other end of the line.
It seemed like she had already drifted off to sleep.
Johan decided to put off returning the "treatment fee" for now.
Returning inside, he found Gastly already dozing off beside the Vulpix, its mouth open, snoring lightly and occasionally mumbling, "Ka-kah" in its sleep.
Heh heh, an Alolan Vulpix…
Meanwhile, in a distant bedroom, golden-haired Cynthia was curled up among a pile of adorable plush dolls.
Moonlight filtered through the window, enveloping her in a soft, ethereal glow as she slept, a peaceful smile on her face.
Kindness should always be met with kindness.
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Powerstones?
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