Kanto Region, Viridian City.
A secret base hidden underground.
A middle-aged man with a cold gaze and stern expression walked toward his seat.
Behind him stood a large number of researchers in white lab coats, along with rows of subordinates standing with their hands clasped behind their backs like soldiers.
Normally, whenever these people looked at the middle-aged man, their eyes would inevitably fill with fervent admiration and worship.
Today, however, beneath that fervor and reverence was also a trace of something rather strange.
Simply because…
The middle-aged man was wearing an apron over his black suit.
The sort of apron normally worn by a housewife.
It looked so completely out of place against both his demeanor and the surroundings.
The man himself, however, didn’t seem to care in the slightest.
He hooked a hand around his collar, rolled his neck, and loosened the neckline slightly.
Then, as casually as could be, he untied the apron and tossed it aside.
Revealing a bright red “R” over the left side of his chest.
As the man sat down at the table, a familiar, lazy cry came from beside the chair.
“Meow—”
Meowth, which had been lying beside the chair, immediately leaned against him when it saw its master.
The man’s hand naturally settled on Meowth’s head and gently stroked its fur, earning a comfortable purr in response.
Once seated, the man swept his gaze over the dozens of researchers in white coats before speaking in an indifferent tone.
“Talk.”
One word was enough to make the entire room fall deathly silent.
The researchers exchanged nervous glances as beads of sweat slowly rolled down their foreheads.
The man said nothing else.
He simply stroked Meowth while silently watching them.
Sometimes, the pressure created by silence was even more terrifying than words.
And the sense of danger radiating from Meowth was equally intense.
It looked docile enough, but its cold eyes sent chills down the spine.
It was as if, with the slightest gesture from the man, it would pounce like a tiger.
Under the enormous pressure, the lead researcher finally wiped his forehead and stepped forward.
“B-Boss, all of its indicators are normal.
In fact, its thought processes are even more active than before, but they’re also much more orderly…”
“Hm?”
The middle-aged man narrowed his eyes slightly and leaned forward.
“Continue.”
The lead researcher took a deep breath.
In the end, he gritted his teeth and said,
“In other words…
this time’s cooking…”
As he spoke, he cautiously glanced at the man sitting in the darkness.
The man who, with nothing more than a stomp of his foot, could make the entire underworld of both Kanto and Johto tremble.
To be honest, if someone had told him before this that the man before him would actually try cooking something himself, he would never have believed it.
Even if he’d witnessed what had happened that day…
Cough.
He continued.
“…greatly stabilized its previously chaotic thoughts and emotions.
It has been extremely beneficial.”
“Is that so?”
The middle-aged man withdrew his gaze and slowly leaned back into his chair.
“In that case, let it handle the newly discovered island.”
“Yes, Boss!”
Three days later.
Rustboro Pokémon University.
Training Room.
“Take a break.”
Nathan Hale spoke to Gastly.
“Ko-gee~~”
Gastly let out a huge sigh of relief.
It glanced at the floor, which was littered with rubber balls, then quickly floated back to Nathan Hale’s side and put on a pitiful expression.
It circled him repeatedly.
From Gastly’s perspective:
I’ve been such a good boy.
Doesn’t that mean I deserve a reward?
()
From Nathan Hale’s perspective:
Hm.
Looks like I underestimated Gastly’s stamina.
I can increase the training volume next time.
Gastly had spent almost the entire morning doing an exercise called Dodgeball.
The training itself was simple enough: dodge the rubber balls fired from machines.
It sounded easy.
But there wasn’t just one ball launcher in the training room.
Timing, direction, angle—all of these were things Gastly had to take into account.
After an entire morning, it was completely exhausted.
Fortunately, Gastly was naturally a Pokémon known for its speed, and it had performed exceptionally well during the exercise.
Nathan Hale took out the food he’d prepared beforehand.
Two deep-purple, translucent Pokéblocks, each giving off a faint, sweet aroma.
Gastly’s eyes immediately lit up.
“Ko-gee!!”
“Wait!
Don’t pounce on me!
Your gas is poisonous!
Don’t—”
One minute later.
“Ko-gee, ko-gee~~”
Gastly happily gnawed on the two Pokéblocks in its arms.
Looking at Nathan Hale, whose hair was slightly disheveled as he straightened his clothes, it revealed a sly smile.
Got him!
|·’-‘)
As for Gastly’s mischievous antics and tendency to play pranks, Nathan Hale was gradually getting used to them.
He finally let out a long breath that he’d been holding for quite some time.
For Pokémon, ordinary food is enough to meet their basic daily nutritional needs.
But once battle and training are involved, only highly concentrated energy-rich food like Pokéblocks can provide enough nourishment.
That was why, immediately after his first day of training Gastly, Nathan Hale had spent a considerable amount of money buying Pokéblocks.
The ones Gastly was eating now were intermediate-grade Pokéblocks specially suited to Ghost-type Pokémon.
Each one cost fifty PokéDollars.
They were anything but cheap.
With Nathan Hale’s salary, it wasn’t exactly unbearable.
After all, he was a professor at one of the most prestigious Pokémon universities in Hoenn, so his benefits and salary were quite good.
But the problem was…
Gastly might look small and weightless, but the little rascal had a much bigger appetite than he’d expected!
Still, there was no denying that after supplementing its diet with Pokéblocks, Gastly’s training efficiency had improved considerably.
It made Nathan Hale realize once again just how much money being a Pokémon Trainer required.
“Ko-gee?”
Gastly was still eating when it noticed Nathan Hale staring at his phone and occasionally furrowing his brows.
It cautiously floated closer.
When it saw the screen filled with dense lines of text, its head immediately started to hurt.
Compared with reading, Gastly much preferred pictures and videos.
But as Nathan Hale continued scrolling, Gastly suddenly spotted something it liked.
Pictures.
And not just any pictures.
Pokéblocks!
“Ko-gee?”
Nathan Hale had long since gotten used to Gastly suddenly appearing behind him.
Without looking up from the screen, he explained,
“It’s a guide on how to make Pokéblocks.”
His school had actually taught some of this when he was a student.
However, his major had been Pokémon psychology, and he hadn’t owned a Pokémon at the time, so he hadn’t studied the subject very deeply.
But now that he had Gastly, and considering how expensive Pokéblocks were, he’d begun thinking about learning how to make them himself.
There was no harm in giving it a try.
When Gastly heard that Nathan Hale was willing to learn how to make Pokéblocks for its sake, its eyes practically turned into wavy lines.
It was so touched it could have cried.
“Ko-gee!”
“Damn it!
Again?!”
Nathan Hale straightened his clothes as he walked out of the training room.
Gastly didn’t like staying inside its Poké Ball.
Perhaps it was a lingering psychological effect from the first time Nathan Hale had caught it.
Nathan Hale didn’t force the issue.
After all, having a portable air conditioner with him wasn’t half bad.
Gastly’s training is going smoothly.
But training is one thing, and battling is another.
A Pokémon’s mentality can be completely different in those two environments, especially when it finds itself in genuine danger.
So it would be best to find Gastly some opportunities for real battles.
Nathan Hale walked out of the training facility.
The sky was gray and overcast, as though rain could begin at any moment.
But he had barely taken two steps when someone called out in surprise.
“Professor Nathan Hale?”
He turned toward the voice.
To his surprise, it was Roxanne and Steven.