Canalave City lay along the coast.
After autumn arrived, the sea breeze always carried a faint chill.
Rain fell like threads, weaving a net across the sky and enveloping the city.
Droplets splashed against the ground, scattering crystalline beads of water that bloomed like flowers.
Amid the soft patter of rain, a figure holding an umbrella slowly stepped from beneath the streetlights into a narrow alley.
The yellowish light outside the alley traced out a blurred boundary between light and darkness.
“Ko-gee—”
A cheerful cry came from beneath the umbrella.
“Yes, yes, I know.
You comprehended the Poison-type move Smog, opening the door to Poison-type moves.
And I still don’t know who it was that, as a Poison-type Pokémon, couldn’t even control its own poison.”
Nathan Hale’s helpless voice followed.
He had figured it out by now.
Every time Gastly used a Poison-type move, it seemed to be specifically aimed at him.
The first time, it had only caused mild poisoning.
This time, he’d been poisoned outright!
If he hadn’t had the foresight to prepare an Antidote after the previous incident, relying solely on Gastly to detoxify him would have been rather unreliable.
And the price of a single Antidote…
Nathan Hale’s heart bled.
Still, considering that Gastly had comprehended Smog, he could reluctantly accept the cost of one Antidote.
If I get poisoned a few more times like this, will I end up developing the same physique as Ash?
Nathan Hale silently mocked himself.
“Ko-gee!
(Hands on hips)”
Gastly floated in front of him.
Its expression was utterly serious.
Just give me another ten minutes—no, half an hour!
I’ll definitely be able to neutralize it!
The corner of Nathan Hale’s mouth twitched.
“Half an hour?
This time it’s actual poison.
In half an hour, you could be looking for a new Trainer.”
“Ko-gee~~ (I believe in you.)”
“I want to believe in myself too…”
His voice gradually trailed off.
Click!
A faint, slightly abrupt sound came from somewhere in the alley.
Gastly seemed to notice it too.
Two large eyes peeked out from beneath the umbrella.
Behind them, a shadow briefly flickered through the alley.
Nathan Hale exchanged a glance with Gastly.
Neither said another word.
They simply maintained their pace and continued forward.
But as they approached a corner, Nathan Hale suddenly quickened his steps.
In the blink of an eye, he disappeared into the dim alley.
“Hmm?”
After they vanished, a figure wearing a black raincoat appeared at the other end of the alley.
The person seemed slightly surprised.
Was I discovered?
His footsteps quickened as he hurried toward the direction in which Nathan Hale had disappeared.
Click!
When the man reached the corner, his foot seemed to step on something, producing another faint crack.
But in a rainy night like this, such a tiny sound was insignificant.
Especially when one’s attention was completely occupied by something else.
“Hello.”
Before the man could look around for Nathan Hale’s whereabouts, a voice devoid of emotion sounded beside his ear.
The man jolted in surprise and instinctively turned toward the source.
What greeted him was a horrifying, grinning ghost face.
Especially those enormous white eyes, within which strange and mysterious rings were slowly spinning.
Hypnosis!
“Ko-gee—”
Gastly’s voice gradually became hazy in the man’s ears, drifting farther and farther away.
The man’s eyelids grew incredibly heavy.
His body gradually stopped obeying him.
His sturdy body became weak and powerless, while a deep drowsiness overwhelmed him.
All he wanted was to have a good, long sleep.
Then another gentle voice, as soothing as a spring breeze, drifted into his ears.
It sounded like a kindly older brother next door, making him unconsciously relax.
“…You’re very sleepy.
You’re lying on a soft, comfortable bed.
Relax your eyelids.
Slowly…”
Before long, the man stood completely motionless.
His eyes were closed, his breathing steady.
It seemed he had fallen asleep standing up.
“Ko-gee?”
Gastly tentatively waved a misty hand in front of the man’s face.
There was no reaction.
Nathan Hale also emerged from behind Gastly at this moment, staring at the man with a solemn expression.
With Gastly’s Hypnosis assisting him, the hypnosis had gone much more smoothly than expected.
Normally, hypnotizing someone was a rather complicated process.
The most important prerequisite was that the subject had to trust the hypnotist sufficiently.
A strong relationship of trust needed to be established.
The subject also needed to be completely relaxed and have no defenses up.
But thanks to Gastly’s Hypnosis, all those prerequisites had been largely skipped.
An ordinary human had a hard time resisting the power of a Pokémon.
“Who are you?”
Nathan Hale’s expression remained solemn, but his voice was still gentle and calm.
“D-Dahui…”
The man’s answer came in a faint, murmuring voice, fragmented and weak, but still barely audible.
“Who sent you?”
“G-Group Leader Jinhe…”
Jinhe?
Nathan Hale felt as though he’d heard that name somewhere before.
“Why are you looking for me?”
The man fell silent.
“Ko-gee—”
Seeing that the man wasn’t answering, Gastly moved to act.
Nathan Hale stopped it with a glance.
Then he asked again,
“Who are you people?”
“…Da…
Da Zi Jin…”
The man answered once more.
Da Zi Jin?
Da Zi Jin Holdings!
Nathan Hale suddenly understood.
At the same time, he remembered who this “Jinhe” was.
Jinhe.
A former engineer with Da Zi Jin Holdings.
He had appeared on television before, promoting the company’s Sea Mauville and New Mauville projects, as well as the redevelopment of Mauville City.
Da Zi Jin Holdings had once been on par with Steven’s Devon Corporation.
It had been one of Devon’s strongest competitors.
Its industries had once spread throughout the Hoenn region.
However, for various reasons, the company eventually declared bankruptcy, and most of its assets were subsequently absorbed by Devon Corporation.
It was later revealed that Jinhe wasn’t merely an engineer for Da Zi Jin Holdings.
He had also been responsible for the company’s intelligence operations and had even sent corporate spies to infiltrate Devon Corporation.
“Were you also the ones who broke into Dr.
Solas’s home?”
Nathan Hale continued questioning him, while inwardly breathing a slight sigh of relief.
He had thought they were some enormous organization like Team Aqua or Team Magma.
It turned out they were merely a group of disgruntled remnants of Da Zi Jin Holdings.
“Yes.”
“What were you looking for?”
“S-Stones…”
Stones again?
Nathan Hale frowned.
Shouldn’t they have been looking for documents or something?
After all, Dr.
Solas’s father, Solas Raizo, had also once been a member of Da Zi Jin Holdings.
Nathan Hale had obtained the information he wanted.
“Ko-gee?”
Gastly licked its lips, a crimson gleam flashing through its eyes.
Should I finish him off?
Nathan Hale’s expression darkened.
Did it really think Officer Jenny was useless?
And killing him would only make things more troublesome, wouldn’t it?
Now that he knew their target and their purpose, many things would be much easier to handle.
He ignored Gastly’s suggestion.
After carefully choosing his words, he slowly said,
“You found Nathan Hale and infiltrated Nathan Hale’s home, but you didn’t find what you were looking for…”
After saying this, he stared at the man.
“Repeat that three times.”
“…I found Nathan Hale.
I confirmed that there was no…”
The man began murmuring the words repeatedly.
Meanwhile, Nathan Hale crouched down and picked up all the broken plastic fragments scattered on the ground.
He had deliberately left them there beforehand.
Now that he knew someone had been following him, there was no way he wouldn’t take some precautions.
The faint cracking sound at the mouth of the alley had been deliberate as well.
In a dark, cramped, and somewhat dirty alley like this, nobody would normally pay attention to things lying on the ground.
Yet they could serve as a useful warning mechanism.
The reason Nathan Hale didn’t take the main roads was that there weren’t any truly major roads between the university and his home in the first place.
He actually felt more comfortable navigating these narrow, chaotic alleys.
At the very least, he knew the terrain far better than outsiders did.
And alleys were also much more advantageous for a Pokémon like Gastly.
“Let’s go.”
After finishing, Nathan Hale opened his umbrella and quickly left.
“Ko-gee—”
Gastly hurried after him.
However, not long after Nathan Hale disappeared into the depths of the alley, Gastly emerged from a wall again.
It looked at Dahui, who still appeared to be asleep, and gave an eerie chuckle.
Not so easy.
“Ko-gee~~”
I’ll give you a nightmare that’ll keep you awake for three days!
No one knew how much time had passed.
The man suddenly jolted awake.
His eyes were bloodshot, veins prominent across them.
His body trembled slightly, and his lips had gone pale.
How did I end up here?
The terror in his eyes lingered for a long time, but his thoughts gradually returned to normal.
Right.
That teacher from Rustboro Pokémon University!
The moment this thought surfaced, he suddenly seemed to remember something else.
“That stone isn’t on this person either.
I need to hurry and tell Group Leader Jinhe.
Now the only one left is that young master of Devon…”