Trainer's Gambit

Two days later, night, Rented Apartment.

Natsume looked serious as he nodded at Gastly.

Gastly, equally serious, stared intently at the Pokéblock in front of it.

The Pokéblock was a dark, eerie red, shimmering with a translucent amber glow, resembling the color of blood.

This was the Pokéblock made from the "Petaya Berry," a purple item Natsume had obtained from his second 10x gacha.

[Remaining BP Points: 270]

[Petaya Berry: Stimulates nerves with spicy elements, moderately enhancing a Pokémon's Special Attack ability.]

As a rare berry that could boost Pokémon abilities, the Petaya Berry was quite scarce on the market.

From his second 10x gacha, Natsume had also obtained the following items:

[10x Gacha List: Moomoo Milk 3, Oran Berry 3, Beginner Fishing Rod Set 1, Petaya Berry 2, Dive Ball 1]

Natsume had no immediate plans to catch a Water-type Pokémon, so the Dive Ball and Beginner Fishing Rod Set were set aside for now.

The main prizes were the two bright red Petaya Berries.

After Natsume went all out and turned the Petaya Berries into Pokéblocks, his neighbor thought a murder had taken place next door and nearly called the police.

The first attempt failed, and the second only yielded five Petaya Berry Blocks.

But the quality of these five Petaya Berry Blocks was exceptionally high, showcasing Natsume's "Pokéblock Crafting Lv3" skills.

"Try it," Natsume said seriously. "If it works, I'll start selling these at a stall!"

"Gastly!"

Gastly nodded, its trembling tongue hovering over the Petaya Berry Block for a solid five seconds.

"...Just eat it already!"

A drop of cold sweat slid down Gastly's face, landing with a plop on its stiff tongue.

Taking a deep breath, Gastly quickly wrapped its tongue around the Petaya Berry Block and began chewing as if preparing for a heroic sacrifice.

Three seconds later.

"How do you feel?" Natsume asked eagerly.

Gastly's dark face visibly turned red.

It struggled to open its mouth wide, its large eyes bloodshot.

"Whoosh—!!"

As Gastly exhaled, a dark purple flame shot out of its mouth!

Natsume dodged to the side just in time.

The black flame exploded against the wall with a bang, clinging to it and burning relentlessly, turning the entire wall charred black!

In the silence that followed.

Gastly widened its innocent eyes, trying to play cute.

A drop of sweat rolled down Natsume's forehead.

"How is the power of this Will-O-Wisp almost on par with Flamethrower?!"

Will-O-Wisp was usually a faint blue flame with relatively low power.

But after consuming the Petaya Berry Block, this Will-O-Wisp had nearly burned through the wall!

Natsume couldn't tell if Gastly was naturally talented or if the Petaya Berry Block's effect was just that overpowering.

Sweating profusely, Natsume reaffirmed his decision not to become a Trainer.

After calming down, Natsume placed his hands on his hips, looking at the scorched wall with a complicated expression.

Beside him floated a dejected Gastly.

"It's not entirely your fault," Natsume sighed. "Looks like we'll need to keep experimenting with the recipe."

"Gastly~~"

"Huh? You said it actually tasted pretty good?"

"Gastly!"

Natsume rubbed his chin, deep in thought.

The quality of the Petaya Berry Block was definitely not the issue. What had just happened wasn't a side effect but rather the result of the effect being too strong.

"But if the effect is too strong, I can't sell these!"

If I cause a few more fires, who's going to believe me?

Natsume scratched his head and sighed, "Fine, the remaining four Petaya Berry Blocks are yours!"

Gastly grinned, carefully placing the four translucent red blocks into a glass jar and stashing it in the cupboard.

Natsume chuckled, "I'm not going to steal them from you. Why hide them so deep?"

Gastly glanced at Natsume, "Gastly!" (You never know!)

That look of disdain cut deep.

Natsume gritted his teeth, "Just you wait!"

In his hand appeared a Fire Gem, glowing with a red light.

Though its energy wasn't as potent as a Fire Stone, for Gastly, this was still a rare delicacy!

Gastly immediately opened its mouth wide, its crimson tongue hanging out, staring eagerly at the Fire Gem.

"Gulp—"

Unable to resist, Gastly swallowed hard, looking pitifully at Natsume.

From Gastly's perspective.

I'm so cute, how can you resist me?

From Natsume's perspective.

A sinister Gastly was glaring at him, eyes bloodshot, drooling non-stop.

Shivering, Natsume reluctantly tossed the Fire Gem to Gastly.

"Make it last! That thing cost tens of thousands of Pokémon Coins!"

To be fair, even the Pokémon of Elite Trainers didn't eat as well as Natsume's Gastly.

It had only been half a month since the Worldline shift.

In that time, Gastly had consumed 'Moomoo Milk,' 'Carbos,' 'Petaya Berry Blocks'...

And now, with the Fire Gem, it was living a pseudo-legendary lifestyle!

Gastly held the Fire Gem in its mouth, watching Natsume's retreating figure with wavy eyes.

Tears welled up in its eyes. After wandering the city for so long, Gastly once again felt the warmth of home.

"Gastly!"

"Whoa, don't suddenly pounce on me! Your Black Mist is toxic! Stop..."

Natsume didn't like keeping Gastly in a Poké Ball.

For one, Ash Ketchum's Pikachu had left a deep impression on him.

Secondly, Poké Balls somewhat restricted a Pokémon's freedom, making them feel cold and impersonal.

Of course, compared to the harsh competition in the wild, many Pokémon preferred staying in Poké Balls.

So generally, Natsume didn't interfere with Gastly's choices.

The next day, Natsume headed to campus for class, while Gastly watched him leave from the door crack.

"You're not coming with me?" Natsume asked, surprised.

"Gastly!"

"Alright, stay safe at home."

Natsume looked uneasy, "Just don't set anything on fire again!"

After the last incident, Natsume's assets had taken a hit, leaving him with only about 4,000 Pokémon Coins.

If he didn't start making some money soon, he'd be broke!

Gastly looked slightly embarrassed but nodded vigorously under Natsume's suspicious gaze.

Once Natsume was gone, Gastly sighed in relief and pulled out the Fire Gem from the cupboard.

Placing it on the floor, Gastly flipped open the [Breeding Guide] to the 'Will-O-Wisp' page and nodded slowly.

The preliminary rounds I signed up for are probably tomorrow.

Trainer has his own things to do. I can't take up his time.

I need to train hard and make the most of this!

Gastly absorbed the Fire Gem's energy, the surging fire element infusing its Black Mist, turning it a deep red.

Around Gastly, three clusters of cold black flames slowly emerged.

[Corrosion], [Adhesion], [Burning]—these were the basic abilities of Will-O-Wisp as mentioned by Blue Oak in the [Breeding Guide].

Different Trainers had different builds, like adding [Toxic] to Will-O-Wisp or enhancing its power.

But now, the raging fire element forced the three clusters of black flames to reach extreme temperatures.

The thick black mist became viscous as Gastly swallowed another Petaya Berry Block.

The surrounding temperature skyrocketed, and with a bang, the Fire Gem shattered into pieces!

The three Will-O-Wisps merged in that moment, and amidst the chaos and repulsion, a pillar of fire shot up!

Will-O-Wisp: Explosion!

That night.

Natsume returned to his rented apartment with his backpack, only to find the street filled with sirens.

Firefighters were on ladders, directing a Blastoise to help with the fire.

A crowd of onlookers had gathered. Natsume asked the security guard curiously, "Old man, whose house is on fire?"

The old man gave Natsume a complicated look, "Sixth floor. Yours."

Natsume: ???

Thanks to Gastly's control, the fire wasn't severe, and the neighbors had called the fire department in time.

After a round of scolding, Natsume was fined and had to pay 1,000 Pokémon Coins in compensation.

The two of them, Natsume and Gastly, slunk back home, the walls still bearing the scorch marks.

"I'm lucky Misaki-neesan didn't kick me out!" Natsume muttered.

Glancing at Gastly, he noticed it was curled up, trembling in guilt.

Natsume sighed, comforting it, "This time it's my fault. I shouldn't have left you alone at home."

"Gastly..."

"It's alright," Natsume patted the downcast Gastly. "Don't cry."

"Let's clean up, and I'll treat you to a late-night snack, okay?"

"Gastly!?(;′Д｀?)"

...

[Natsume-sensei: My house is on fire (video)]

[Gold: That's one powerful Flamethrower!]

[Blue Oak: Judging by the duration, it should be Will-O-Wisp.]

[Group member 'Gold' has been muted by admin for two hours]

[Private chat with 'Red']

[Gold: I just joined the group! Why was I muted?!]

[Red: ...You really need to be more careful!]

[Gold: Then why wasn't Blue Oak muted???]

[Red: ...]

Looking at the darkened avatar.

Gold, wearing goggles and looking defiant, slammed his pool cue on the table, gritting his teeth.

"Even if it's just a game..."

"I'm going to beat Natsume-sensei!"