Jujutsu Kaisen: I Have A Gardevoir

"What? Gar-chan acted? Is the other party really that stubborn?"

"I see, just an individual, do you have a photo? Send it to me."

"I know who those two are. Good job. As for the others..."

"Hmph, they're smart enough to know."

"What did they say?"

"Got it. Still holding onto their pride, but afraid I'd really fall out with them. I know whose doing this is."

"It's nothing major for now, but we can't let our guard down completely."

"Yeah, I'll probably return in the next few days."

"Let me fulfill a promise I made recently, and wait for your sister's special training to be done."

"It's too noisy, let's leave it at that. We'll talk more when I'm back in Tokyo."

After saying this, Akira ignored Maki's yelling on the phone, calmly putting the phone back into his pocket.

The call was from Gardevoir, but Maki was the one talking, mainly because she was worried Gardevoir might have trouble expressing herself in human language.

In reality, that worry was unnecessary. Gardevoir contacted Akira at least twice a day.

Voice, video, and even text.

That's right, text.

Gardevoir could read.

Many Pokémon are no less capable of learning than humans, and Psychic-types are among the most skilled in that regard.

If they wish, learning to speak, write, and even understand technology is not impossible.

Throughout Gardevoir's eight-year life, battling and training were just a small part of it; most of her time, apart from being by her trainer's side, was spent in contact with human education methods.

Perhaps due to her humanoid appearance, or perhaps because Akira was relatively self-sufficient, Hayami's motherly care ended up focused on Gardevoir.

From object identification to babbling—though that part got stuck, as Pokémon learning human language is incredibly difficult, even harder than learning ultimate moves. Akira also didn't insist that Ralts learn to speak human language.

However, Hayami didn't give up. For the sake of communication, she began teaching Ralts how to read.

This time, Ralts showed surprising talent and learned quickly.

By the time they left Shikoku, Ralts had already mastered three written languages: Japanese, English, and Chinese—the latter, of course, taught by Akira because his little "Loli" was very interested in it.

Apart from literacy, Ralts also learned various housekeeping skills like cooking and washing, as well as hobbies such as flower arranging and tea ceremony. Of course, modern tools like phones and computers were not left out.

Regarding the level of her skill, let me give an example: when Akira didn't feel like doing homework, it was Ralts who did it for him.

There wasn't much to complain about school.

In the modern world, even in remote rural areas like Shikoku, compulsory education is mandatory. Skipping school? Dream on!

Of all the Pokémon Akira owned, only Gardevoir could fully blend into human society without hindrance. Even the appearance difference could be concealed after learning "Psybeam" to apply an illusion.

Without that level of foundation, Akira wouldn't have dared let Gardevoir be so far away while still granting her absolute trust and the right to make decisions.

Even if she decided that those "visitors" deserved to die, even if it would trigger retaliation from the Kamo family or the conservatives, Akira was ready to bear the consequences alone.

In the end, Gardevoir did not disappoint him.

Both missions—to protect Hayami and discern the visitors' intentions—were executed flawlessly.

For those without ill intentions, they responded courteously.

For those who dared to bear ill will, or were scheming something sinister, there was no mercy.

The two people targeted by Gardevoir were classic scoundrels.

When you are in power, they will flatter you; once you fall, they can't wait to trample you, never allowing you to rise again.

They had targeted Hayami and Akira years ago, so it was obvious why they had been sent to Tokyo now.

Though orders had quickly changed strategies from above, the malicious nature in their hearts had not diminished, and Gardevoir sensed it, promptly breaking their arms and legs and tossing them out of the Tokyo campus.

The methods came from her dear friend, the cursed spirit Rika. For such "innocent and kind" girls as Rika and Gardevoir, this was the most extreme method they'd use.

For someone like Akira, who was a strategist (in the first tone), this level was far from enough.

He specifically called the assistant supervisor, Kiyotaka Ijichi, asking for help in checking when and how these "visitors" would be leaving Tokyo.

Although curious about what Akira intended to do, Ijichi still complied.

First, even if he refused, Akira could just ask Gojo Satoru, and the result would be the same.

Second, Akira was the only one in the entire school who understood his pain as a corporate slave; deep down, Ijichi inclined towards helping him.

However, according to Shoko Ieiri, who had also experienced some years in the workplace, Ijichi's life was pretty much over.

With Gojo playing the "good cop" and Akira playing the "bad cop," the dual approach meant that Ijichi would likely be living in their shadow for the rest of his life.

Once their movements were clear, Akira would fulfill the promise he made to his mother.

"If I said they'll fall into endless nightmares, then they will spend their lives in nightmares. Establishing the image of someone who retaliates at the slightest grievance will reduce a lot of trouble in the future."

Just as he was saying this, a dull gunshot rang from below.

A cyan flash cut through the darkness, followed by a Swablu crashing into the darkness, its beak madly pecking.

Seeing this scene, Akira chuckled, "Seems like things are going well."

However, just as he said this, a roar similar to the one over the phone came from below: "Akira, you jerk! How dare you leave me alone in the middle of a bunch of cursed spirits!"

"But you're not alone, I left Swablu with you," Akira leaped down from above.

"Swablu's a bird, not a person," Zenin Mai said confidently.

"Swabluu..." Swablu nodded in agreement, emboldening her.

"You're getting all smug," Akira felt both angry and amused, flicking Swablu on the head, then turning to Mai.

"And you too, don't tell me you haven't felt any changes in your body."

"But all that came from my hard work," Mai turned her head unhappily.

"If you want to beat your sister in battle, you have to endure hardships."

"Hmph."

Following Akira over the past few days, Mai had endured quite a lot. Not only did she have to practice "Projection Sorcery"—no, "Constructed Technique"—and continuously create bullets during the day, but she also had to exorcise cursed spirits at night, doing volunteer work, not considered a mission. There was no stopping until they were utterly exhausted.

This was the special training regimen Akira designed specifically for her.

One part was to train the precision and adaptability of the technique, while the other part trained her physical endurance, stamina, cursed energy, and compatibility with cursed techniques—in short, an extreme training regimen.

This kind of training had been passed down in the jujutsu world for a long time, and both Tokyo and Kyoto schools had masters of it, such as Todo Aoi and Zenin Maki.

But Mai was different. Her personality meant she would never push herself to this extent.

So, she needed someone to push her.

Unfortunately, back at home, she wasn't given much attention, and her teacher, Utahime, wasn't a crazy guy like Gojo Satoru, who would go hard on his students.

Until she met Akira, who didn't understand the concept of sparing girls, and Mai simply couldn't put up a front against him.

Whenever Akira got stern and yelled, she'd cave. She could only obediently follow through while cursing him in her heart, as pitiful as a child.

She couldn't deny her improvements, but growth was one thing, and fatigue was another.

I went through all this pain, so can't I at least vent a bit?

Akira didn't mind. Since he'd promised to help train her, he wouldn't give up halfway. Besides, Akira wasn't without gain.

Swablu's level had risen rapidly during this process—faster than if Akira himself or Pangoro or Darkrai were protecting it.

Because they were too strong, bringing a weaker Pokémon for training would make things harder—what if they accidentally overdid it and killed the opponent? Or what if they held back too much, going beyond Swablu's capacity to handle?

With Mai, there was no such worry. She was weak, just like Swablu, and fighting less powerful opponents allowed them to have evenly matched battles, maximizing experience gain.

Of course, if they really ran into trouble, it didn't matter—Pangoro, Darkrai, or Akira were always nearby, ready to clear the field.

Skillfully cleaning up the battlefield, he waited for Darkrai to consume the remaining scraps—every little bit counts, and Darkrai wouldn't let any opportunity to grow slip by.

Akira asked, "How many projection bullets do you have left?"

"Two more rounds, if we do it again, I won't be able to hold on." Mai blinked her eyes, no longer angry, playing pitiful instead.

"Don't worry, we're done for tonight. Extreme training is most effective without overdoing it."

Pushing close to the limit can unleash potential, but crossing the limit often comes at the cost of injury. Akira had learned this the hard way, though fortunately, his "Super Human Body" was strong enough.

"Then I'll go collect the curtain." Mai finally sighed in relief.

Being a ranged specialist who only infused objects with cursed energy (or so she claimed), setting up a curtain naturally fell to her.

She'd gotten quite good at it over time.

Tonight, she herself had set up the curtain, had been thrown into the midst of cursed spirits, and had to take it down afterward.

As the twilight-colored curtain was put away, a sudden tension washed over Akira. He flashed in front of Mai, his hand on the hilt of his "Sword of Reason," and called out:

"Who is it? Come out!"