Jujutsu Kaisen: I Have A Gardevoir

"I refuse!"

Akira didn't even need to think.

"It doesn't have to be your main Pokémon, even a weaker one is fine. That bird will do. Since it's a trade I'm proposing, I can offer more in return. How about three of my grade one cursed spirits of your choice?"

To be honest, it wasn't a bad offer.

Right now, Swablu was just a novice—although Pokémon had significant growth potential, Suguru Geto didn't know that. And besides, cursed spirits could grow too.

But Akira still shook his head. "I refuse. It's not a matter of the price; it's a matter of principle—Hey, Swablu, would you be willing to go with him?"

"Swablu!"

Swablu shook its head vigorously like a rattle drum, then kept rubbing its cottony wings against Akira's face.

When Suguru Geto focused on it, Swablu got scared, worried that its trainer might abandon it. Hearing how decisively Akira refused, it felt a wave of relief and joy.

"If you don't want to, then no one can force you."

Akira's voice was soft, yet it held an unbreakable determination.

Trading Pokémon between trainers wasn't uncommon.

In the games, it was for convenience of collection, and some Pokémon even had to evolve through (communication) trading.

But in reality, trading carried a different kind of sentiment.

Trading Pokémon was simple—both sides just needed to exchange Poké Balls containing the Pokémon.

But Pokémon weren't lifeless objects; they were intelligent beings. If they were traded simply because of a trainer's decision, what would they think? If a Pokémon changed trainers just because the Poké Ball did, then who was really their master—the trainer or the Poké Ball?

Because of this, Akira always felt opposed to the idea of trading. He truly considered his Pokémon as family and partners.

To avoid making them sad, he even gave up the best opportunities to acquire new Mimicries.

Suguru Geto's title of "Pokémon Master" wasn't just a joke; he had been collecting cursed spirits for years, accumulating an astonishing number of them.

Without that foundation, there was no way Suguru Geto could have risen to the status of special grade jujutsu sorcerer at the same time as Satoru Gojo.

Though it was impossible to show every cursed spirit he collected, and even if they were shown, not all of them would necessarily contain Pokémon Mimicries—only a few did. But regardless, the probability and efficiency of obtaining Mimicries through him were much higher than usual.

Some might wonder: Swablu just hatched a few days ago; how deep could the bond be? Trading one for several—how could that be a loss?

But let's not forget, besides Swablu, Akira also had Pangoro and Darkrai with him. What would they think if Akira agreed to trade?

Some things needed to be cut off at the root.

Seeing Akira's firm stance, Suguru Geto sighed. "That's a real pity. I was sincerely offering. Since you won't agree, I'll have to switch tactics—become my comrade and join me."

"Huh?" Mai was stunned.

Hiding behind Akira, she thought Suguru Geto had lost his patience and was about to make a move. She was panicking, but then he said something completely unexpected.

Wasn't the usual process to try to recruit someone first and then discuss trades if that failed?

Were all special grade sorcerers this eccentric?

"Miss over there, you can come along too if you'd like. As long as you're a sorcerer, you are welcome," Suguru Geto added.

"You all question the current world, don't you? The world where jujutsu sorcerers operate in the shadows to maintain the facade of ordinary society. Jujutsu sorcerers are clearly the strong ones, yet we are expected to follow rules set by weaklings who cannot even see curses. Doesn't that seem contradictory to you? How lamentable! Humanity, the pinnacle of creation, has ceased evolving—how absurd! Humans should reassess their strategy, don't you agree?"

"Uh~~~," Mai still looked baffled, and exhaled weakly. "Sorry, I don't understand what you're talking about."

Suguru Geto's impassioned expression crumbled.

His grand ideals, his noble goals… and they were all for naught, like pearls before swine? Akira couldn't help but chuckle a little. If Mai could change that line to "Who the heck even understands you," it would have been perfect, but alas, it couldn't be helped.

Even so, it was entertaining enough: "Don't talk about things that have no bearing. Give me something practical. The times have changed—you can't convince people just by spewing passionate slogans anymore."

"I'm not just spewing slogans. I'm serious."

That statement dealt a blow to Suguru Geto as well—he nearly blurted it out. Then, taking a deep breath, he steadied his emotions.

"Since you want something practical, I'll ask you a practical question: do you think cursed spirits can be eradicated?"

"Impossible," Mai answered immediately.

"Why impossible?"

"Because cursed spirits are byproducts of humanity. As long as people have negative emotions, curses cannot be eradicated." Although she didn't understand why Suguru Geto was asking such an obvious question, Mai still answered.

"So why is it that jujutsu sorcerers don't produce cursed spirits?"

"Because jujutsu sorcerers can control the flow of 'cursed energy,' formed by negative emotions, preventing its leakage." This was common knowledge among sorcerers.

"You seem to understand well—the way to eradicate cursed spirits." Suguru Geto smiled.

"Are you suggesting that everyone on Earth should learn to wield cursed energy? That's impossible!"

"Why not?"

"The source of cursed energy is still a mystery. Let alone ordinary people possessing cursed energy."

"Why must ordinary people possess cursed energy? As long as those weaklings—those unevolved monkeys—are eliminated, a world consisting solely of jujutsu sorcerers will create a curse-free world."

Suguru Geto lifted his head at a forty-five-degree angle, as if envisioning a beautiful tomorrow.

Mai, on the other hand, was terrified, her face turning pale. "You—you want to kill all ordinary people? Are you insane?"

"On the contrary, I am quite rational, very rational. This is the most suitable solution I could come up with. Creating something is much harder than destroying something. Don't you think so?"

"Indeed." Akira nodded seriously, as if in agreement.

"You—don't tell me you…" Mai was shocked.

Suguru Geto rejoiced. "Oh oh oh, I knew you would understand."

Akira waved his hand dismissively. "No, I agree that creating is harder than destroying, but as for your idea, I still don't understand. Since you've asked me so many questions, let me ask you some—how many people, on average, do you and your comrades kill each day?"

"Never really counted—I'm not sure. Under the right circumstances, maybe tens of thousands." One dared to ask, and the other dared to answer.

"If I remember correctly, the number of people born each day…" Akira deliberately pulled out his phone and searched. "Got it—approximately 365,000 people are born globally each day, according to the latest U.S. Census data. With your level of efficiency, eradicating ordinary people?"