Chapter 163: Giovanni's Invitation
Chapter 163: Giovanni’s Invitation
"Hmm, not bad, absolutely identical."
Jing He looked at the plate of fried rice and the dark, unrecognizable dish in front of him, rubbing his chin in approval.
Gengar glanced at the plate made by Jing He on the left and the one made by Nia on the right.
Which one?
Jing He gave Gengar a sidelong glance.
If they’re not the same, you can eat both.
Gengar: Σ(дlll)
"Gengar, Gengar~~"
Absolutely identical! Absolutely!
Jing He was speechless.
Even with the same ingredients and the same steps, when it came to Nia, the dish turned out completely different.
He had even told Nia that making fried rice was the hardest, testing the cook's skills and control over the heat, among other things.
"Identical?"
Nia looked doubtful, turning to Haunter for confirmation.
"Haunter, Haunter!"
Haunter, sweating profusely, nodded vigorously, insisting they were the same.
"Fine, then let’s divide it."
Nia reluctantly accepted this "reality."
"Wait a moment," Jing He quickly interjected. "We just ate. Let’s rest for a bit."
"Didn’t you promise to help Gengar and Vulpix train their psychic abilities?"
Nia shot him a glare, unamused.
"Look at you, so eager."
No, is that really the right phrase to use here?
Fortunately, the Pokemon, eager to escape the dark cooking, didn’t pay much attention to this. They all heaved a sigh of relief when Nia said, "Let’s go."
Leaving the cooking area, they arrived at the training zone.
Nia floated into the air, propping her chin on her hand and gesturing toward Gengar.
"Let’s start with Gengar. Show me your strongest ‘Shadow Ball.’”
"Gengar?"
Gengar looked at Jing He, who nodded, indicating for Gengar to follow Nia’s instructions. He wasn’t familiar with psychic abilities.
"Gengar!"
The purple, pudgy Pokemon nodded, chuckled, and began to gather dark energy in his claws. He then started to rub his claws together in front of his chest.
A “Shadow Ball” appeared and began to expand rapidly.
"Haunter?"
Haunter, standing beside Nia, watched the growing “Shadow Ball” with increasing seriousness.
Even Nia’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Indeed.
During the hurried battle earlier, Gengar hadn’t been able to form his largest “Shadow Ball.”
But now, it was almost there.
Gengar held a massive, round black ball in his hands, grinning menacingly.
To be honest, it was the first time Jing He had seen Gengar unleash a “Shadow Ball” without holding back.
It was significantly larger than when he used it in battle.
"That’s not right," Nia muttered.
Jing He nodded in agreement.
"Hmm?"
"Gengar, that’s enough," Nia said.
"Gengar?"
Gengar, who had been grinning menacingly while holding the “Shadow Ball,” froze. He looked up at the enormous “Shadow Ball” and swallowed hard.
Oh no, I made it too big.
How am I supposed to absorb this?
After a struggle and with the help of a few other Pokemon, they finally managed to dispel Gengar’s “Shadow Ball.”
Nia then took out a deep purple incense burner. With a flicker in her eyes, a wisp of white smoke drifted from the burner.
Strange Incense?
[Strange Incense: Increases the power of Psychic-type moves when carried by a Pokemon]
"This incense is a special blend, passed down through generations of psychic users in my family. It can greatly help Pokemon with great potential but who haven’t awakened their psychic abilities, or even psychic users themselves."
She held the incense burner, allowing the fragrance to spread.
Gengar closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Seeing Gengar’s state, Nia smiled.
"It should help Gengar awaken his psychic abilities. With Haunter’s guidance, he might even have a chance to learn ‘Psychic.’”
Before Jing He could respond, she added:
"The incense burner is yours, but the incense inside is specially made. It costs 100,000 League Coins per stick."
Jing He’s face remained serious.
He knew the price Nia had set was fair, if not a bit low. If it were on the market, it would likely be more expensive.
This was something recognized by one of the strongest psychic users in the entire Pokemon world.
Looking at the entire Pokemon world, perhaps only Caitlin from the Unova region could rival Nia in terms of psychic abilities.
After a moment’s thought, he held up a finger.
"One stick for one favor."
"Deal!"
Nia nodded decisively, beaming.
Both were satisfied with the outcome.
Gengar took the Strange Incense and inhaled deeply.
"Gengar~~"
He was ready!
Next, Nia took out about a dozen silver spoons and tossed them to Ice Vulpix.
"Vulpix?"
Ice Vulpix, reacting almost instinctively, her eyes glowing with a faint psychic light, caught the spoons.
Nia looked surprised.
"In terms of psychic talent, Vulpix seems to be even more gifted than Gengar."
This was in line with Jing He’s expectations.
After all, Little Vulpix’s psychic abilities had awakened naturally and had already shown great power even without proper training.
She had also been practicing meditation for some time, though not the “Meditate” move. The “Mind Seeds” hadn’t been for nothing.
Thus, under Nia’s guidance, Little Vulpix began to learn a new way to train her psychic abilities.
As for her meditation technique, Nia noted that while it was different from what she taught, it was very suitable for Ice Vulpix. Nia called it the “Dream Meditation Technique.”
Gengar followed Hypno for the awakening and training of their psychic abilities, primarily focusing on learning the move "Psychic."
However, seeing Gengar sneakily hugging Hypno made Jing He suspect something was amiss.
Despite this, the brotherly camaraderie between Gengar and Hypno was quite amusing.
Jing He, on the other hand, was leading Kowai and Minidragon through their daily basic training.
Narcisse, after teaching the little Vulpix and ensuring it was in the right state, took out her phone to watch a movie.
What Jing He didn't expect was that Narcisse's movie reviews were rather harsh. She would criticize the scenes, the actors, and even the entire plot, making it hard for Jing He to hold back his comments.
"You could try acting in a movie. With your skills, it shouldn't be a problem."
"Me?"
Narcisse was taken aback for a moment.
Then her eyes lit up as if she had discovered a new world.
"That's a good point!"
Seeing Narcisse's eagerness, Jing He remembered that after leaving Team Rocket, she had indeed become a notable star, even making it to the Pokemon Hollywood in Unova.
But she quickly shook her head.
"Forget it. Some movies are just bad from the start, and even someone as talented as Miss Kalune couldn't save them."
That was true.
Some movies in the Pokemon world were so bad that Jing He didn't know how to critique them.
"However," Jing He rubbed his chin, "there might be a way to improve the scripts."
"What?"
Narcisse didn't quite catch what he was mumbling.
"Never mind."
In Kanto, outside the Vermilion Gym.
Giovanni, unusually, was not in his office dealing with paperwork. Instead, he was wearing a shirt with rolled-up sleeves, standing in front of a vast forest, listening intently to something.
His eyes closed, he seemed to be in tune with the forest's breath and the earth's heartbeat.
When he heard footsteps, Giovanni slowly opened his eyes.
"Boss."
Madame Boss's cautious voice echoed.
Looking at the imposing figure, Madame Boss felt a pang of sympathy.
As Giovanni's secretary, she knew many secrets that other Team Rocket members, even the executives, did not.
For example, Giovanni would often come to this forest to meditate in silence.
At first, Madame Boss thought it was just a unique way for Giovanni to relax.
But over time, she realized that Giovanni seemed to be recalling something.
The first time she noticed this, she felt a strange sense of empathy for the man in front of her.
Later, on Jing He's advice, she started learning how to cook and make pastries, partly for this reason.
"Here." Giovanni said calmly.
"Boss, Teacher Jing He has arrived in Saffron City and met with Officer Narcisse."
Madame Boss reported, showing Giovanni a tablet with a photo of Narcisse and Jing He cooking together.
Seeing the photo, Giovanni's face softened with a smile.
He put on the suit Madame Boss handed him and walked toward the Vermilion Gym.
"Arrange a meeting, Madame Boss. I want to see my personal advisor."
Madame Boss was taken aback.
"Boss, you want to meet Teacher Jing He?"
Giovanni paused, turning his head slightly, and smiled.
"Why? As the leader of the Vermilion Gym, can't I meet my personal advisor?"
"N-no, it's not that."
Madame Boss shook her head and quickly said, "I'll arrange it right away!"
She wanted to ask what Mewtwo would do if it sensed Jing He's presence in Vermilion City, but she realized that if she could think of it, Giovanni certainly could.
Moreover, Mewtwo had been unusually quiet lately, almost like a statue.
Apart from the occasional strong psychic pulse that made Cubone faint and some cryptic messages like "meaning is meaning" and "Gastly Gastly" appearing on the lab's computers, there had been no other anomalies.
With this in mind, Madame Boss took out her phone to make the arrangements.
In Vermilion City.
Under a special psychic pulse, several figures appeared out of thin air.
"I can only bring you this far."
Narcisse, floating in the air, said to Jing He.
Jing He's face was pale, his lips tightly pressed together.
He swore he would never experience a psychic user's "Teleport" again.
If it weren't for the urgency and the novelty, he wouldn't have let Narcisse bring him.
The sensation was more intense than a roller coaster, and the dizziness and disorientation lingered.
Seeing Jing He's state, Narcisse couldn't help but smile.
"Remember your promise."
With that, she turned and disappeared with Hypno.
"Gengar."
Gengar floated out of Jing He's shadow, gently patting his back.
After a while, Jing He finally recovered.
He took out his phone and sighed deeply at Madame Boss's message.
"What must come, will come."
【Landed Bird】: Teacher Jing He, Mr. Giovanni would like to invite you to the Vermilion Gym for a chat.
'But if Mewtwo is in Vermilion City, I might be more useful than Giovanni,' Jing He thought.
This was a form of insurance.
"Gengar?"
Gengar blinked.
"Are we going to challenge the Gym?"
Jing He smiled.
"No, I 'lost' something valuable and need to report it to the Vermilion Police Station first."
(End of Chapter)
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