Gray chose a high-end restaurant and sent the location to Cynthia.
Don’t ask why.
The answer was simple: when he treated guests here, his meal was free.
By the time Gastly came down from the battle platform, Gray had already ordered an outrageously luxurious feast.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.” A voice as clear and pleasant as spring water drifted over from behind him.
Cynthia had arrived.
She wore a simple yet elegant cream-colored trench coat.
Her golden hair shimmered brilliantly beneath the sunlight, and she remained as dazzling as ever, attracting the attention of quite a few diners throughout the restaurant.
Beside her stood Garchomp.
Its imposing aura was still overwhelming, though it was deliberately keeping its sharpness restrained.
“No, I just got here myself.” Gray smiled in response.
Then he accepted an ice cream from Gastly, who had been holding it in his arms, and handed it over.
“I saw a shop on the way here and picked one up.
I didn’t know what flavor you preferred, so I chose a strawberry and matcha combination.” “Thank you.” Cynthia accepted it naturally.
With Garchomp carefully pulling out a chair for her using its sharp arm blade, she sat down gracefully.
Her red lips parted slightly.
She gently licked the pink strawberry scoop on top.
The cool sweetness immediately spread across her tongue.
Her eyes narrowed in satisfaction, curving into crescent moons.
“It tastes wonderful.
I really like it.” “Most of the credit belongs to this little guy.” Gray pointed at Gastly.
The Ghost-type was currently doing its best to compress itself into a harmless-looking black ball while hiding in his arms.
“It spent the whole trip using cold air to keep it from melting.” In reality, Gray had gone out specifically to buy the ice cream.
It had spent the entire journey stored safely inside the system’s storage space.
Only after arriving at the restaurant had he handed it over to Gastly for refrigeration duty.
“Oh?
The little prankster?” Cynthia leaned forward with interest and looked toward Gastly.
“It looks very energetic.
Are you planning to build a new team?” “Gaaaast!” Its disguise exposed, Gastly immediately escaped from Gray’s embrace.
Floating in front of Cynthia, it pulled an exaggeratedly ridiculous ghost face.
Cynthia covered her mouth and laughed softly.
A faint blush colored her cheeks, making her even more captivating.
“To be precise…” Gray grabbed the troublemaker and dragged it back.
Pinching its large face that somehow seemed to exist and not exist at the same time, he said seriously: “This is actually the first Pokémon I’ve ever trained.” Cynthia rolled her beautiful eyes at him.
Whether she believed him or not was impossible to tell.
Gray merely smiled.
He was telling the truth.
Absolutely.
After finishing her ice cream elegantly, Cynthia accepted a delicate handbag from Garchomp, which had been carefully carrying it with its arm blade.
She opened the bag and took out two items.
The first was a dark blue velvet box tied with a silver ribbon.
The second was an old notebook with a worn cover and slightly yellowed pages.
“The last time, you helped me quite a bit.
It took some time to find a suitable item for Gastly.” She gently placed both items on the table before him.
Then she introduced them one by one.
“As for this notebook, Professor Oak asked me to deliver it to you as compensation.” “Helped you?” Gray froze.
When exactly had he helped Cynthia?
Why didn’t he know anything about it?
Filled with confusion, he opened the velvet box.
Resting quietly atop the soft velvet cushion was a perfectly round orb.
Its crystal-clear surface emitted a deep and mysterious purple glow.
Unlike the simple game item from his memories, real-world enhancement items that could positively affect Pokémon were always rare and extremely valuable.
Gray immediately took out his phone.
He snapped a picture and searched for information.
Searching item database…
[Toxic Orb] Item Description: A mysterious orb condensed from highly concentrated Poison-type energy.
Contact with it places the holder into a severely poisoned state, while simultaneously nourishing and strengthening the constitution of Poison-type Pokémon over time.
League Official Price: Unavailable (Currently Sold Out) Gray sucked in a sharp breath.
His first instinct was to refuse.
“This is too valuable.
I can’t possibly acce…” “This is also a gift for Gastly.” As though she had already anticipated his reaction, Cynthia rested her cheek against one hand and leaned lazily against the table.
Smiling, she interrupted him before he could finish refusing.
Her gaze shifted toward Gastly, whose eyes had already begun shining brightly.
“Gastly?” (Is this tribute for this Majesty?) Gastly froze.
It was just about to celebrate when it suddenly remembered something.
Immediately, it suppressed its excitement and turned toward Gray.
Waiting for his approval.
It was a cultured ghost.
A ghost with principles.
Without its Imperial Father personally granting permission, there was absolutely no way it would casually accept gifts from others.
Even if it desperately wanted them.
Gray pinched the large face that was pretending to be serious.
With a helpless sigh, he nodded.
The imperial decree had been issued.
Receiving official authorization, Gastly happily floated out of Gray’s arms and arrived beside the Toxic Orb.
Its thick, rosy tongue slowly wrapped around the orb.
The image resembled an elegant emerald encountering a bright pink cherry.
Then it began enthusiastically licking it.
Reoreooreooreo…
The flavor was rich.
Highly recommended.
Watching the scene, Gray let out a long sigh.
What else could he do?
As long as the child was happy.
Although…
He somehow felt like this would eventually result in stomach problems.
“I’ll return the favor.” Gray looked at Cynthia and spoke seriously.
“Mhm.” Cynthia nodded and gently patted Gastly’s head.
After suppressing the sudden urge to immediately book a flight to Galar’s Wild Area and spend several weeks scavenging valuable items to repay the debt, Gray picked up the old notebook lying beside the velvet box.
Opening the cover, he saw several bold and powerful words written across the first page.
[From Gastly to Gengar] Author: Agatha Gray stared blankly.
This…
Professor Oak…
You really…
I’m actually moved to tears.
Everyone knew that Professor Oak and Agatha, the current Ghost-type Elite Four member of Kanto, were longtime rivals.
The two shared an extremely complicated history that could not be explained in a few words.
For Professor Oak to lower his pride and ask Agatha for one of her personal training journals on behalf of a younger generation member…
That alone showed how highly he valued Gray.
Even his own grandson Blue probably did not receive treatment like this.
Professor Oak, don’t worry.
From now on, you’re basically my real grandfather.
Blue is my little brother.
I can’t promise much else, but I can definitely take care of you in your old age!
After carefully storing away both the Toxic Orb and the notebook, Gray finally turned the conversation toward serious matters.
“Based on some fragmented intelligence I’ve gathered, a group of people will be gathering at the Funtump Theme Park this afternoon.” He lowered his voice.
“This could be a good entry point.” “I plan to meet their leader personally and see whether I can extract useful information about some of the more hidden organizations operating locally.” Cynthia rested her cheek on her hand.
She listened quietly while watching Gray explain his plans.
After a moment of thought, she suddenly asked: “Then what exactly would you like me to do?” The question instantly caught Gray off guard.
Cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
Oh no.
He had completely forgotten about that.
In his original plan, there had been no role assigned to Cynthia at all.
After all, with Cynthia’s fame and strength, there was no way she could participate in undercover information gathering.
The moment Cynthia appeared, any criminal boss who recognized her as the Champion would immediately panic.
The entire operation would be ruined before it even started.
Fortunately, it was not a major problem.
At worst, he could treat it as giving Cynthia some well-deserved free time.
Everyone liked slacking off occasionally.
Surely even Cynthia would enjoy a little relaxation.
“This kind of small matter can be left to me.
How could I trouble Miss Cynthia to personally handle something like this?
You can take the opportunity to do things you enjoy.
Maybe go shopping or…” Halfway through his sentence, Gray’s voice abruptly stopped.
Because across the table, Cynthia had narrowed her beautiful golden eyes.
A perfectly gentle smile rested upon her lips.
A flawless smile.
A terrifying smile.
She simply looked at him.
Smiling.
At that exact moment, a chill he had only experienced when standing on the edge of life and death shot straight up his spine and into his skull.
Every alarm bell inside Gray’s head exploded simultaneously.
His survival instincts immediately reached maximum output.
Without even a moment’s hesitation, he changed his words at lightspeed.
“I absolutely do need Miss Cynthia’s tremendous assistance!” “I am deeply concerned that unexpected circumstances may arise during the intelligence-gathering process!” “I require your powerful tactical support and overwhelming deterrence capabilities to ensure the success of the operation!” “Really?” Cynthia continued smiling.
The corner of her lips remained slightly raised.
Her voice carried a faint trace of amusement.
“Is that truly the case, Mr.
Gray?” (End of Chapter)