All afternoon, Gastly had been lig every inch of Arbok with its big tongue.

  Sure, it was teically using the move "Lick," but Natsume couldn't help but suspect that Gastly was just craving Arbok's venom.

  Paralysis Effect Triggered!

  Arbok stiffened and colpsed to the ground, its venom gnds visibly shrinking.

  Natsume's expression turrange. He wao stop Gastly several times but hesitated.

  Well... it’s not good to interrupt someone in the middle of something.

  Oher side, Nanami, the elite Poison-type Trainer, looked utterly baffled.

  Sure, Gastly had a quadruple resistao Poison, but there was no way Arbok should be this thhly dominated!

  Who’s the elite Trainer here?!

  "Hey, you!" Nanami gritted her teeth. "What kind of family do you e from?!"

  "Anyone who breed a Gastly like this doesn’t o e to a Battle Club!"

  Natsume sighed. "I wish I knew how I bred it too."

  This doesn’t make sense. How is Gastly overp Arbok? Did something g somewhere?

  Seeing Natsume’s sincere expression, Nanami couldn’t stay mad. She sighed and recalled Arbok.

  "ime, don’t e to this club," she said wearily.

  Natsume blinked. "Why not?"

  "Didn’t you see my Arbok? It’s practically drained dry!"

  Arbok was severely weakened, and its toxins wouldn’t recover anytime soon.

  Feeling guilty, Natsume left the training ground, muttering to himself:

  "Who knew Koga’s trainihods were as dirty as his strategies..."

  "Tsk tsk, I guess the Poison-type Elite Four isn’t someoo get too close to!"

  After the afternoon session, Gastly hadn’t fully mastered Toxic yet, but its adaptability to Poison-type moves had improved signifitly.

  Arbok’s venom would also enhance Gastly’s future Toxic power.

  Even though Natsume had just been an observer, he felt he’d pyed an indispensable role.

  Am I... a training genius or something? Natsume wondered.

  "Gastly!"

  Gng at Gastly, Natsume noticed something was off.

  Having absorbed Arbok’s venom, Gastly’s mist had turned a dark green, with small bubbles occasionally rising to the surface.

  As Gastly levitated, the sound of sloshing liquid came from is body.

  A few drops of venom dripped to the ground, sizzling and corroding small holes into the stone pavement.

  Gastly grinned sheepishly.

  Natsume’s face paled. "Let’s go to the Pokémoer!"

  "Gastly?"

  Befastly could react, it was recalled into its Poké Ball in a fsh of red light.

  The Pokémoer wasn’t far from the training ground.

  Natsume rushed into the lobby, handed Gastly’s Poké Ball to the nurse, and bowed deeply.

  "Please take care of it!"

  The nurse smiled and nodded. "Don’t worry. The check-up will take about half an hour. Just wait here."

  Natsume sat on a bench, feeling a chill run down his spine.

  Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he nervously bit his fingernails.

  Half an hour ter, the emergen’s red light turned green.

  The doctor, looking serious, removed his mask and addressed Natsume as he hurried over.

  "In cases like this..."

  "Doctor, is it serious?!"

  "Well, in this situation..."

  "Doctor, just tell me!"

  The dred at Natsume.

  "Gastly just overate! I’ll prescribe some digestive tablets!"

  "Huh?"

  A glossy-faced Gastly floated out of the emergen, surrounded by smiling nurses.

  "Gastly!"

  Gastly shot Natsume an annoyed look.

  Why’d you seo the emergen for no reason?!

  Natsume breathed a sigh of relief but gred back.

  "You nearly scared me to death!"

  Gastly’s dark green hue had improved after resting, but its body still had a faint bluish tint.

  The doctor expined, "Gastly just had a minor adverse rea from abs another Pokémon’s toxins. It’s nothing serious."

  "Besides, yastly has quite the appetite!"

  The doctor poked Gastly pyfully, then suddenly stiffened and colpsed.

  "Doc, are you okay?!"

  "Ahaha, just a little joke. I used to be a Trainer in my younger days..."

  "Doc, you’re foaming at the mouth..."

  "It’s fine, really! Hahaha!"

  In the end, the doctor, with trembling hands, wrote up Gastly’s medical report.

  Natsume couldn’t help but feel a renewed respect for the medical staff of the Touran Region.

  Gastly’s adverse rea wouldn’t st long—at most, a day.

  Koga’s 【Toxiuscript】 had doted this phenomenon and provided expnations.

  Still, Natsume had panicked, fearing something might g.

  As the su, Natsume trudged dowreet, exhausted, with a fused Gastly floating beside him.

  "Don’t push yourself too hard from now on," Natsume said, unusually serious.

  "To me, whether it’s training moves or being a Trainer, nothing is more important than you!"

  "Gastly..."

  Gastly’s mood seemed down as it floated quietly beside Natsume.

  At first, Natsume hadn’t wao be a Trainer for his own reasons.

  He was worried about his safety and wasting his money.

  But after spending time with Gastly, he’d started w more about Gastly getting hurt.

  Sihe Worldline Shift, Natsume had been p this question:

  Do Pokémon truly accept training and willingly battle? Or are they forced to risk their lives by their Trainers?

  Natsume wasn’t against the profession of being a Trainer.

  But personally, he felt no attra to being a Champion or a Trainer.

  He just wao quietly enjoy this world where humans and Pokémon lived together.

  "Alright," Natsume smiled. "Don’t look so glum."

  He reached into Gastly’s bck mist and forcibly pulled its mouth into a smile.

  His fiingled with numbness as he gri Gastly.

  "Smile for me."

  "Gastly~!!"

  Tears flew from Gastly’s eyes, but it desperately stretched its mouth into a grin.

  What did Gastly want most?

  To repay Natsume.

  To see the world’s highest peaks with Natsume.

  Even if it meaing hurt, Gastly would fulfill Natsume’s wishes.

  Though Natsume never seemed to have time, Gastly knew his Trainer’s greatest wish was to bee a Trainer.

  Otherwise, why would Natsume keep pying strategy-based games?

  This had to be Natsume’s way of w toward his dream!

  I’ll do my best too!

  As the sun dipped below the horizon, the silhouettes of a man and his Gastly stretched long across the road.

  Natsume muttered under his breath, "I really don’t want to be a Trainer..."

  Gastly, eyes shining with determination, floated proudly in the middle of the path.

  "Gastly!" (I’ll make sure my Trainer bees a Trainer!)

  ?? Join My Patreon and Unlock Exclusive Pokémon tent! ??

  Are you a fan of the Pokémon series? Bee a member today and enjoy amazing bes!

  ?? Membership: Pokémon Series - Gold Champion Unlock access to 14 Chapters in advanjoy daily updates with 2 neters every day!

  ?? Membership: Pokémon Series - Ptinum Legend Unlock access to 44 Chapters in advanjoy daily updates with 5 neters every day!Join now and immerse yourself in the exg world of Pokémon like never before! Your support means the world to me!

  ??patreon./PokemonStoryWeaver