“Not bad.
Your speed has improved, and your stamina is also above average.”
Inside the training hall, Nathan Hale looked at the various statistics displayed by the equipment on the wall after Gastly’s training and nodded in satisfaction.
“So there really is a reason Pokémon need Energy Cubes as part of their growth.
With a sufficient supply of Energy Cubes, Gastly’s growth rate has increased accordingly.”
In Nathan Hale’s eyes, Gastly’s original condition had been rated as “Good.” He had never been able to figure out what was wrong, but with continued training and a steady supply of Energy Cubes, its condition hadn’t reached “Excellent,” yet it had recovered to “Very Good.”
This proved that there really wasn’t anything wrong with Gastly.
It might simply have been asleep for too long, preventing its condition from recovering all at once.
After reaching this conclusion, Nathan Hale secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
“Ko-gee?”
Gastly floated over to Nathan Hale after finishing a round of basic training, curiously asking how things were.
“How was it?”
“Not bad.”
Nathan Hale didn’t hide the truth.
The results of the training were indeed better than expected, and perhaps because of the extra incentive of food, Gastly had been training even more seriously than before.
“Ko-gee!”
Gastly chuckled smugly, apparently quite satisfied with its condition as well.
“Next comes move training.
Let’s continue strengthening your ‘Hypnosis.'”
Nathan Hale took off his jacket and walked with Gastly to the center of the training field.
As a Pokémon psychologist, there was one area where he absolutely had more authority than Gastly:
Hypnosis.
They had already been training it for several days, and the results were quite good.
The people they’d seen spitting foam at the mouth, trembling, and unconscious during the alley battle the previous night had all fallen victim to Gastly’s Hypnosis.
Normally, the move “Hypnosis” used by Pokémon was meant to put an opponent to sleep, giving one’s side more time to act—whether to launch a fierce attack, stack additional debuffs, apply buffs to themselves, switch Pokémon, and so on.
But in Nathan Hale’s opinion, this kind of Hypnosis was still far too “one-dimensional.”
Who said Hypnosis had to be a restrictive move?
Why couldn’t it inflict damage as well?
Psychological damage was still damage.
Other Pokémon used Hypnosis simply to make their opponents fall asleep as quickly as possible.
Gastly’s Hypnosis, on the other hand, aimed to keep its targets in a hypnotized state for as long as possible.
And in terms of the mind, that brief period could feel far longer than one might imagine, causing considerably greater psychological trauma.
It could even induce things resembling psychological trauma, fear, and stress responses.
Moreover, this approach fit Gastly’s mischievous and frightening personality perfectly.
So Gastly trained very diligently.
Even though it couldn’t understand some of the professional terminology Nathan Hale used.
That didn’t matter.
When it came to Hypnosis, Nathan Hale could teach it hands-on.
“Come on.
Use Hypnosis on me.”
Nathan Hale relaxed his entire body and spoke to Gastly.
“Ko-gee~~”
Gastly didn’t hesitate either.
After so many attempts, it had already confirmed that its Hypnosis couldn’t actually harm Nathan Hale.
Nathan Hale could even recognize almost immediately that he was inside a dream.
In fact, when hypnotizing Nathan Hale, the one who needed to be careful wasn’t Nathan Hale.
It was Gastly itself.
A few seconds later.
Nathan Hale opened his eyes, a thoughtful look appearing on his face.
“You’ve improved, but it’s not enough.
Try mine again.
Remember: the unknown is what makes fear truly frightening.
Once every fear becomes reality, there will always be something capable of adapting to it…”
Having Pokémon psychologists compete with their own Pokémon in Hypnosis was probably something unique in the entire Pokémon world.
Sinnoh Region, Sandgem Town.
Professor Rowan’s laboratory.
An elderly man with a serious expression, a neatly groomed gray-white head of hair, and a prominent mustache stood in the courtyard observing several Combee.
He wore a spotless shirt beneath a blue vest, with a tie around his neck, and looked meticulous in every respect.
He seemed to be investigating the conditions under which Combee evolved into Vespiquen.
Just then, a beautiful figure hurried past behind him.
Her dazzling golden hair flowed like sunlight cascading down a waterfall.
A black trench coat accentuated her graceful figure, while bright eyes and delicate features adorned her exquisite face.
Beside her followed a Pokémon resembling a shark, but walking upright on two legs.
“Cynthia?”
The old man noticed her and called out in surprise.
It was rare for him to see Cynthia in such a hurry.
Normally, Cynthia was always leisurely, as if everything were under control.
She was the sort of girl who could spend an entire hour deciding which ice cream to buy.
“Professor Rowan.”
The girl stopped and hurriedly bowed.
“Sorry, Professor.
I didn’t notice you were…”
Professor Rowan waved his hand, indicating that he didn’t mind.
“I remember you had a match today, didn’t you?”
“It already ended,” Cynthia explained.
Hmm?
Professor Rowan lowered his eyes and checked his watch.
11:33 a.m.
The match had started at exactly eleven.
Even accounting for the half-hour journey and all the miscellaneous time spent entering and leaving the venue, the entire match could only have lasted…
Two minutes?
One minute?
A 3v3 battle?
Professor Rowan glanced at the Gible beside Cynthia and secretly shook his head.
No.
It was probably 1v3.
“What are you carrying?”
Only then did Professor Rowan notice that Gible was carrying a basket.
Inside were dozens of crystal-clear Rawst Berries.
“Well, it’s like this…”
Cynthia then briefly explained how she had consulted an online Pokémon psychologist named “Quiet Mind” that morning about treating Feebas’s inferiority complex.
“Oh?”
Professor Rowan looked surprised.
As a Pokémon Professor from the Sinnoh region, he’d never heard of anyone being able to cure a Feebas’s inferiority complex.
A Feebas that wasn’t insecure…
Was that even still a Feebas?
Out of curiosity, Professor Rowan followed Cynthia to a small pond in the backyard.
The crystal-clear pond was full of active Pokémon—Piplup, Bidoof, Shellos, Poliwag, Marill…
But in one corner of the pond, a Feebas sat all alone, looking rather dull and listless.
Perhaps noticing Cynthia’s arrival, a faint glimmer finally appeared in its eyes.
But when it saw Professor Rowan accompanying Cynthia, it quickly lowered its head again.
This Feebas had been caught by Cynthia when she first ventured out on her own as a child.
She had subsequently made it her Pokémon.
At the time, her Gible had still been a small Gible.
Over the years, quite a few people had advised Cynthia to give up on raising Feebas.
But Cynthia had remained determined.
She had repeatedly searched for ways to “treat” Feebas’s inferiority complex.
Unfortunately, Feebas’s inferiority complex was practically incurable, and no one had been able to help her.
So after receiving a method from “Quiet Mind” this time, she had been eager to try it.
Her opponent in today’s match had simply suffered for it.
“Don’t be afraid.”
Cynthia’s eyes softened as she slowly crouched down and took out a Rawst Berry.
“Try this.”
“Bo-bo…”
Only after Cynthia gently reassured it did Feebas finally poke its head above the water.
It blew two little bubbles before cautiously taking a small bite of the Rawst Berry.
A strong bitter taste instantly filled its mouth, causing its body to tremble slightly.
“It might be a little bitter, but just try to…”
Cynthia hurriedly began comforting it.
But before she could finish, her eyes suddenly lit up.
Feebas had actually revealed an expression of satisfaction.
The usually timid Pokémon even took another bite of the bitter Rawst Berry.
It works?
Cynthia turned to Professor Rowan questioningly.
Professor Rowan, meanwhile, had fallen into deep thought.
When he noticed Cynthia looking at him, he said:
“For now…
we can’t determine whether this can actually ‘treat’ Feebas’s inferiority complex.
But we can confirm that Feebas doesn’t reject Rawst Berries.
In fact, it seems to like them quite a lot.”
“And…
it seems a little more active?”
As an authority on Pokémon evolution, Professor Rowan’s words were naturally cautious.
But even he was quite surprised.
Could Rawst Berries really have some effect on a Pokémon’s inferiority complex?
Or was it…
He couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
But once Feebas finished eating the entire Rawst Berry, its increased activity was plainly visible.
For Cynthia, that change alone was already more than enough.
It also dispelled the faint doubts and reservations she had previously harbored.
“By the way.” Professor Rowan suddenly asked, “What was the name of that person you mentioned?”
“‘Quiet Mind.’ He also published a paper a few days ago that received a comment from Professor Oak.”