“Aunt Anna’s cooking really is amazing.”
Blake picked up a piece of fish, tasted it, and immediately praised it without hesitation.
“If you like it, eat more.
These fish aren’t worth much anyway.”
The moment Anna heard Blake’s compliment, her face lit up with joy.
She began enthusiastically adding food to his bowl, and before long, Blake realized his bowl had turned into a bottomless treasure pot.
No matter how quickly he ate, the instant he paused, the bowl would be filled again.
It was practically some kind of cursed rule from a horror story.
“I really…
burp!
I really can’t eat anymore…
burp!”
Blake collapsed onto the sofa with his stomach bulging.
At this point, he had to cover his mouth every time he burped, terrified that one careless mistake would send the food in his stomach right back out.
“If you couldn’t eat anymore, you should’ve stopped.
Who told you to force yourself?”
Nessa looked at Blake’s current state with amusement and reached out to poke his cheek.
“It was Aunt Anna’s kindness.
It’d feel wrong to refuse.
Oh, thanks!”
“Chewtle.”
Blake accepted the cup of tea Chewtle carried over and thanked him.
Chewtle, pleased by the praise, blushed and smiled.
“Gastly~~ (￣~￣) chew!”
Gastly floated over as well.
His expression did not look too good either, and his body had visibly swollen by a full size.
Clearly, Anna had stuffed him full of food too.
“You two should both drink some tea and digest a little.
Honestly, if you keep eating like that, you’re going to make yourselves sick.”
Nessa looked at the almost identical boy-and-ghost pair and helplessly pressed a hand to her forehead.
She had been laughing at others just now, but in the end, her childhood friend was no less troublesome.
“Burp!
I’m actually fine, burp!”
“Burp!
Gastly~~ ￣『￣”
Blake and Gastly both tried to prove they were all right, but the fact that they could barely move made their words deeply unconvincing.
“Hahahahaha!
A man should eat plenty!
Blake, you really are a little too thin.
You can’t go around looking like a beanpole forever.”
Uncle Sam walked over and laughed when he saw Blake lying there, too full to move.
“I’m thin by nature, Uncle Sam.
There’s nothing I can do about it.
But did you need something?
During dinner, you looked like you wanted to say something several times.”
Blake struggled to sit up straight and looked at Uncle Sam as he asked.
“It’s not exactly a huge problem.
It’s just…
how do I put this?
You know Rat Reef, right?”
Sam looked a little troubled as he spoke.
Did something happen there?”
Blake immediately sat up straighter.
What was going on today?
Two people had brought up Rat Reef now.
“Well, you know that grounded cargo ship there, right?
We converted that ship into a temporary shelter.
If any boats run aground nearby, the supplies inside the wreck can help the people there call for rescue.
It was a pretty good setup at first.
There are some wild Pokémon around, but nothing ever really went wrong.”
Sam carefully chose his words before continuing.
“But recently, someone reported that the place has started feeling off.
People were attacked inside the wreck.
No one was killed or badly hurt, but they were definitely attacked.
On top of that, the wild Pokémon in the wreck that usually get along well with us were attacked too.”
“Did you report it to the League?” Nessa asked curiously.
After all, that wreck had been there for a long time and could almost be considered half a landmark of Rat Reef.
“We did, but we don’t know what’ll come of it.
The League’s been too busy to spare people lately.”
Uncle Sam sounded rather frustrated.
Galar was currently undergoing reforms, and every area needed manpower.
For a small matter like this, it would be difficult to send someone over in the short term.
“So the Pokémon causing trouble is a Ghost-type, right?”
Blake rubbed his chin as he spoke.
“Yeah.
You know how it is.
If it were any other Pokémon, we could’ve handled it ourselves.
But Ghost-type Pokémon are too strange, and it’s pitch dark inside the wreck.
Once we were attacked, we didn’t dare go any deeper.”
Uncle Sam looked a little embarrassed as he said this.
Everyone knew that Ghost-type Pokémon might not be the strongest type, but they were definitely among the strangest.
Unlike Dragon types, whose strength was direct and overwhelming, Ghost types and Psychic types specialized in unpredictability.
Even if a Ghost- or Psychic-type Pokémon was not especially strong, they were still not something ordinary people could provoke lightly.
After all, your Pokémon might not be afraid of them, but that did not mean you, the human Trainer, could endure being targeted.
“All right, I understand.
Ms.
Hathaway actually came to see me today too, and she mentioned the wreck.”
As Blake spoke, he took out the map Hathaway had given him earlier that day.
He understood now.
Hathaway had not simply come by because she had nothing better to do, and that map was not really a reward either.
Most likely, the League had assigned the matter to Hathaway, and Hathaway had come to ask Blake for help.
After all, his family specialized in handling Ghost-type Pokémon and possible human ghost incidents.
“I see.
Then that works out perfectly.
Here’s what we’ll do.
You get ready first.
Once the scenic area opening is over, I’ll take you there by boat.
We’ll make sure to get back before the Great Catch Festival, since we won’t be able to go out to sea for a while after that.”
Uncle Sam immediately brightened up.
“I’m going too!”
Nessa rushed over and shouted.
“You should ask Ms. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
Hathaway whether she agrees first.
You still have training, don’t you?”
Blake shrugged.
“Ms.
Hathaway will definitely agree.
I don’t care!
Take me with you!
Take me with you!
Take me with you!”
Nessa grabbed Blake by the collar and shook him wildly, making the world spin around him.
“Stop shaking me!
I’m going to throw up!
I’m seriously going to throw up!”
Blake cried out, his head wobbling from side to side.
“All right, all right, stop messing around.
We’ll talk about it when the time comes.
I’ll also bring a few capable hands to help you out.
You can just focus on dealing with that Ghost-type Pokémon.”
Seeing Blake’s complexion getting worse and worse, Uncle Sam stepped in to stop them for the sake of his family’s fabric sofa.
“No problem.
But Uncle Sam, did you see what kind of Pokémon it was?
I’d like to prepare in advance if I can.
You know I only have Gastly.”
Blake finally managed to suppress the urge to vomit and asked.
“That, I really don’t know.
It was too dark in there, so we couldn’t see clearly.
But it was big.
No, really big.
The shadow was almost touching the ceiling.”
Uncle Sam thought carefully before answering.
“A very large Ghost-type Pokémon that lives near the sea?
That narrows it down quite a bit.
Let me think…
let me think.”
Blake began to ponder.
Ghost-type Pokémon that lived in water or near the shore were not especially common.
Although the wreck was not truly underwater, most Ghost-type Pokémon preferred abandoned houses, caves, and places like that.
A wreck sitting above the surface meant it was probably a Pokémon that did not need to remain in the water constantly, so something like Basculegion could be ruled out.
And if it was also very large, then one Pokémon that fit the situation extremely well appeared in Blake’s mind.
“Good.
I’ve got a rough idea!
Let’s find time to go next week.”
A lightbulb practically appeared above Blake’s head as he spoke with sudden excitement.
If it really was what he thought it was, then that Pokémon was rather rare.
“You guessed what it is?”
Nessa and Uncle Sam asked at the same time.
“I’ve got a rough guess, but I can’t guarantee it.
Still, I’d say I’m probably close.
As for what exactly it is, let me keep that a secret for now.
Just in case I end up embarrassing myself later.
Hehehe.”
Blake smiled and scratched his head.