Sunday morning.
Johan woke up naturally, sothing that took him by surprise but left him feeling relieved.
Gastly, the little troublemaker, must've known he had a tough day yesterday, so it graciously let him sleep in for a change.
"Ka-kah!"
However, just as he was starting to enjoy the peace, a ghostly face suddenly dropped down from the ceiling, tongue out, and before Johan could react, it gave him a big, sloppy lick across the face.
Too careless...
Wiping off the drool, Johan skillfully pulled out a Cheri Berry from his bag and popped it into his mouth, the familiar spiciness burning his taste buds.
"You know," Johan grumbled, "with the amount of Cheri Berries I eat every morning thanks to you, I'm sure when I'm old, my stomach will be ruined—and it'll be all your fault."
Gastly laughed mischievously.
"Ka-kah ka-kah~~ Don't worry, when you're old, I'll still be around. I'll feed them to you!"
Johan shook his head with a smile. After getting up, he quickly washed up and began making breakfast.
Gastly, anwhile, was glued to the TM learning machine, continuing its training even through breakfast. As it ate, its gaseous body expanded and contracted rhythmically, fully engrossed in the learning process.
Johan glanced at Gastly's Pokédex entry to check its progress.
[Gastly]
Type: Ghost/Poison
Ability: Levitate
Held Item: Toxic Orb
Moves: Confuse Ray, Lick, Hypnosis, an Look, Spite, Scary Face, Curse, Will-O-Wisp, Haze, Toxic, Hex
Mood: Happy, Focused (I'm studying hard!)
Condition: Excellent (Full of energy, but it'd be even better with a whiff of gas!)
Friendship Level: 100 (You are its best companion. It's even willing to hug a Muk for you.)
Hmm... this little guy.
Johan noticed that while Gastly had already learned both Toxic and Hex, the move nas were grayed out, indicating that Gastly had yet to fully master them.
On the other hand, Hypnosis and Will-O-Wisp were bright and vivid, showing they were well-practiced. But what left Johan speechless was that the brightest move of all... was Lick!
However, this also helped Johan realize another useful feature of his "special ability": it let him gauge how well Gastly had mastered its moves.
Gastly turned its gaze toward Johan.
"Finished eating? If so, we've got a task for today."
Johan prepared to change his clothes.
"Ka-kah?"
"Toxic is manageable, but for Hex, you'll need actual targets to get better at it."
Upon hearing this, Gastly's eyes welled up with waves of emotion as it gazed at Johan, tears of "joy" streaming down its face.
"Ka-kah!"
You're finally going to let have fun!?
Johan's expression darkened.
"If you want to change Trainers, just say so!"
They spent the early part of the day at the university, where Johan had Gastly perform so basic training.
By the ti the evening rolled around, Johan had rented a cab and brought Gastly to a restaurant called "Blastoise's Tail."
It was a popular chain, started by a famous chef nad Jimmy, a skilled Water-type Trainer from Kalos who was on track to beco the Water-type Elite Four mber in the future.
As soon as they entered, Johan and Gastly were greeted by the unmistakable atmosphere of Water-types. Statues, murals, and plushies of Squirtle, Blastoise, Swampert, and Dewgong decorated the place, giving it an oceanic the.
It wasn't overly fancy, but it was refined.
"Ka-kah?"
Gastly floated closer to Johan and whispered nervously.
Did you win the lottery? Are we really eating here?
Johan smiled without explaining and chose a seat in a quiet corner.
A waiter wearing a Squirtle-thed uniform soon ca over with nus, enthusiastically pointing out, "Sir, today's chef special is Slowpoke Tail Sauté."
"Ka-kah?!"
Gastly, who had been flipping through the nu with its mouth watering, nearly choked.
Wait... you're serving Pokémon?! This is way too intense!
"Stop drooling. You'll corrode the floor," Johan reminded.
Slurp!
Terrified, Gastly quickly retracted its tongue. It couldn't afford to pay for the damage.
Gastly imdiately tried to claim that those were tears of joy, not drool.
Johan, anwhile, calmly looked through the nu. For Gastly's sake, he explained, "The head chef here goes by the nickna 'Slowpoke,' that's all."
Gastly paused in confusion for a while before muttering a single word.
"Cool!"
In this world, so people did eat Pokémon—Farfetch'd, for example, ca with its own garnish, and it was hunted to near extinction. Now, it was a protected species by law.
As for Slowpoke Tails, since they could regenerate, many people still coveted them, and there were frequent reports of Slowpoke tail theft.
Johan was personally against the idea of eating Pokémon, though he was relieved that it remained a rare and extre behavior in society. Most of the dishes served in restaurants were just for show.
For instance, they served dishes like Farfetch'd Wraps, Tauros Steaks, and Mareep Skewers, but these nas were more for show than anything else.
Johan decided to wait a bit before ordering.
"Ka-kah~~"
Gastly, anwhile, was ready to devour an entire Tauros.
"Rember, we're here for a task."
A task?
Here?
"This place doubles as a battle restaurant," Johan explained.
In this world, battle restaurants were quite common. They attracted custors by offering Pokémon battles as entertainnt, with a special bonus: winners could enjoy their als for free, up to a certain limit.
Johan had researched the place beforehand, and today's matchups were perfect for Gastly.
Upon hearing this, Gastly's expression lit up.
"Ka-kah!"
I see!
Gastly had thought Johan would take it to one of those battle clubs instead.
But then Gastly's eyes narrowed suspiciously, sizing Johan up.
Today, Johan was dressed in casual clothes, wearing a cap and mask.
"Ka-kah?"
So, what's with the disguise today?
Johan remained unfazed. "I'm a university professor, rember? What if a student sees ? It wouldn't be a good look."
"Ka-kah?"
Gastly's suspicion only grew.
Are you sure that's the reason?
As the restaurant began filling up with custors, the battle portion of the evening started.
Johan, using the alias "Fivefold," registered for a battle with Gastly after a quick scan.
"And next up, we have Fivefold versus Yusuke!" the announcer called as the two Trainers stepped into the arena.
Johan's opponent was a teenage boy, no older than fifteen or sixteen, and he was using a Plusle.
As the two Trainers squared off, the custors started to cheer, and Yusuke and his Plusle both looked eager to fight.
Gastly, too, was full of excitent, while Johan remained calm and composed.
"Begin!"
The announcer's voice signaled the start.
Yusuke took the initiative. "Plusle, Quick Attack!"
Before Johan could even speak, Gastly cackled and sank into the floor with a "poof," leaving the golden sparks dancing on Plusle's cheeks to fizzle out.
"Where'd it go?" Yusuke and Plusle both seed confused.
"Gastly, Scary Face."
"Ka-kah!"
Suddenly, Gastly appeared behind Plusle, a massive ghostly face looming over it. The poor Plusle's fur bristled in terror, and it imdiately flinched.
"Gastly, Hex."
"Ka-kah!"
Gastly's dark aura flared, its eyes glowing ominously as it prepared the attack.
But midway through, Gastly faltered, like a balloon that had suddenly lost air.
The attack failed.
anwhile, Yusuke snapped his Plusle back into action.
"No rush," Johan said gently. "Start with Confuse Ray, then follow up with Hex."
This ti, the move succeeded.
Though the battle didn't go as smoothly as Johan had hoped, it wasn't particularly difficult.
Afterward, Johan and Gastly continued to face off against a few other challengers—a man in his forties with a Gulpin, a woman in her thirties with a Masquerain, and so on.
Gradually, however, the once-noisy restaurant grew quieter and quieter until it was eerily silent.
About half an hour later...
A sweating waiter nervously approached Johan, practically trembling as he asked him to step aside.
"Um... Mr. Fivefold, the restaurant has decided to make an exception and offer you a free al today. We were wondering... maybe you and your Gastly could... take a little break?"
Gastly peeked out from behind Johan, its little ghostly eyes looking sowhat forlorn.
Now I know why Johan dressed up so much.
"Alright," Johan agreed
quickly, not wanting to get thrown out. "Can you pack the al to-go for ?"
The waiter heaved a huge sigh of relief. "Thank you, thank you! We'll even throw in two free desserts."
Once Johan and Gastly left, the restaurant finally began to return to its usual bustling atmosphere.
"Who was that guy? He's... really sothing."
"Sothing? His tactics were downright dirty! But man, he was strong."
"I think the announcer said his na was... Fivefold?"
And so, the Trainer known as "Fivefold" and his Gastly beca sothing of a nightmare for battle restaurants around Canalave City, whispered about as if they were a legend.
But that's a story for another ti.
Back at ho, Johan couldn't help but chuckle at Gastly's still-wounded expression.
"Alright, alright. I'll give you my dessert too. Consider it a reward, okay?"
Gastly brightened up imdiately, grinning ear to ear.
"Ka-kah!"
In fact, it even asked, So where are we going tomorrow?
Johan sighed. He definitely didn't want to get banned from every restaurant in town. What if they finally sent soone powerful his way?
Before he could respond, his phone suddenly buzzed.
A ssage popped up.
[Who Am I]: I've got it! I can be Gastly, or I can be wtwo! I'm , but I can be anything!
Huh?
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