Chapter 5: When the Sun Shines Bright
Chapter 5: When the Sun Shines Bright
"So, it was you who caused Dr. Solance to have nightmares and not sleep well every night?"
A faintly yellow desk lamp cast an indistinct shadow on the wall. Jing He sat at his desk, fiddling with a strange, dark, and uneven rock.
Though he wasn't an expert in rocks or fossils, he could tell that this rock seemed to have some age to it.
It was most likely the "nice rock" Dr. Solance had mentioned finding.
What Dr. Solance didn't know was that this rock contained a Gastly that had been sleeping inside.
"Kya~~"
Gastly seemed to be in a great mood, nodding its head and happily circling around Jing He, occasionally making silly faces.
"So, you could be a Pokemon from decades, centuries, or even millennia ago?"
"Kya?"
That long?
Gastly didn't understand.
After all, it had been sleeping the entire time. If it hadn't been dug up by Dr. Solance, it might still be sleeping.
And it had no memory of why it was sleeping inside the rock or what it had been like before it fell asleep. That's why it had never eaten instant noodles and was so curious about everything in the room.
"You have amnesia?"
In this aspect, Jing He had a bit of expertise.
He pulled the folded blanket from the sofa and draped it over himself.
For some reason, he felt a bit cold.
It was probably because of the presence of Gastly, a Ghost-type Pokemon, in the room.
"Wait a minute!"
Jing He suddenly realized something, his expression becoming a bit strange, or rather, stiff.
He slowly raised his head, as if in slow motion, and wiped his already dry cheek.
"Doesn't that mean you haven't brushed your teeth for a thousand years?"
"Kya"
Gastly: (ˊo oˋ)
Jing He: "."
The next second, a slight purple hue appeared on his face.
"Kya!"
Gastly let out a startled cry, looking at him in surprise.
Jing He clearly noticed something was wrong with him, smacking his lips and muttering, "So, I'm poisoned, huh?"
Poisonous saliva?
Gastly, although a Ghost-type Pokemon, was also a Poison-type. It was a dual-type Pokemon.
He hadn't expected that just one lick would cause poisoning, especially since Gastly, at this stage, didn't have many Poison-type moves.
"It seems you have quite a talent for Poison-type moves," Jing He's lips were slightly pale.
"Kya kya! Kya kya!"
Gastly circled around him quickly, looking very anxious and at a loss.
What should I do! What should I do!
"Don't panic."
Jing He, surprisingly calm, said, "Since it's your poison, you should be able to control it. Try to withdraw it."
"Kya?"
Withdraw it?
How?
I don't know!
Will he die? He will die, right!
Die?
Jing He, although not a super new trainer, could feel that his body was just uncomfortable, not to the point of dying. If Gastly couldn't control the poison, he could always go to a Pokemon Center for treatment.
So he remained calm.
"Think about the feeling you had when you licked me," Jing He said again.
"Kya"
Perhaps because of Jing He's calm demeanor, his lack of resentment, and his tone, Gastly gradually calmed down.
"Good, stay calm, and you can—"
"Slurp—"
Before Jing He could finish his sentence, a bright red tongue licked him again.
"Pretty, pretty good..."
Wiping the saliva, Jing He forced a smile, almost as if reassuring himself.
But he quickly realized that the uncomfortable feeling had lessened significantly.
His eyes brightened.
Under Gastly's hopeful and anxious gaze, he nodded affirmatively, "It's working."
"Kya!!"
Gastly let out an excited cry.
It then narrowed its eyes, smacking its lips, and slowly approached Jing He again, letting out a "Kya kya kya" laugh.
"You've had enough! Don't, don't wipe your saliva on my clothes, you jerk!"
A few minutes later.
Jing He, shirtless, sat on a small stool on the balcony, a basin in front of him, rubbing vigorously with a look of exasperation.
Gastly hovered beside him, looking like a child who had just made a mistake.
"Kya."
It apologized sincerely, both for getting too excited and for accidentally poisoning Jing He.
Jing He stopped rubbing, raised his hand covered in white foam, and patted the black mist around Gastly, smiling.
"It's okay, we'll be friends, partners—"
Friends? Partners?
Gastly looked at him, its large white eyes sparkling like stars.
"—family." Jing He finished the last word.
"Kya" Gastly murmured, savoring the words.
‘Should I take in a Gastly?’
Jing He watched the black mist of the Gastly writhing violently and thought to himself.
‘Actually, it might not be a bad idea.’
His smile widened, a rare glint of mischief flashing in his eyes as he flicked his finger.
Plop—
White foam immediately splattered onto Gastly’s face, finally snapping it out of its trance.
“Gahs!”
It let out a strange cry and lunged at Jing He.
“Stop! Stop, stop, stop! We’re going to fall!”
Thud!!
Despite Gastly’s lightness, the slippery tiles combined with the foam made it impossible to stop the momentum. In the end, both Jing He and the Pokemon tumbled to the ground.
The nearby basin was knocked over, and white foam scattered everywhere.
At that moment, the first rays of dawn pierced the night sky, spreading like ink on rice paper, bringing joy.
The sparkling foam reflected the two smiling faces.
Yawning and rubbing his eyes, Jing He, with dark circles under his eyes, returned to the Pokemon Psychology Counseling Room at the school—cough, to work.
Dr. Solance was nowhere to be seen, and the blanket was neatly folded on the side.
It wasn’t a wise choice to take a nap as soon as he arrived, even though the counseling room was rarely visited and school hadn’t started yet. If someone saw him, it might leave a bad impression.
It would be better to take a nap at noon and claim it was an oversleep. He had plenty of experience with this.
The coffee grinder hummed, and Jing He prepared to brew himself a cup of coffee.
At that moment, Gastly floated out from his clothes.
“Gahs?”
It curiously watched the Golem coffee grinder.
Jing He smiled and asked, “Would you like a cup?”
“Gahs, gahs!”
After a brief hesitation, Gastly nodded vigorously.
Soon, two cups of rich espresso were placed on the desk.
Jing He turned on his computer and took a small sip, the bitter taste stimulating his taste buds, followed by a lingering sweetness that invigorated him.
Gastly, however, stared at the dark liquid in front of it, hesitating. It sniffed the cup, circled around it a few times, but couldn’t bring itself to take a sip.
It looked at Jing He.
“Gahs?”
Can you really drink this?
It smells okay, but it looks so unreliable.
Jing He didn’t answer, just took another sip to demonstrate.
Seeing this, Gastly finally mustered the courage, extending its long tongue to cautiously lap at the liquid.
Thinking of the instant noodles from last night.
But the next second.
“Gahs!!”
The taste of the coffee seemed to electrify Gastly’s entire body, making it shiver and tremble.
It looked at Jing He in shock, as if he had seen a ghost.
How can you drink something so bitter?
Jing He laughed, “Don’t like it? Your reaction is so strong; it seems you’re not a fan of bitter things.”
Gastly’s mist fluctuated as it frantically tried to wipe its tongue, as if trying to get rid of the bitter taste.
Its voice trembled.
“Gahs—”
I don’t want this tongue anymore!
Jing He was amused and teased, “If you drink it a few more times, you’ll get used to it.”
Gastly wasn’t falling for that again, shaking its head vigorously.
It avoided the coffee like it was its natural enemy.
Jing He shook his head and stopped teasing it. He opened a file on his computer, created a simple table, and said to Gastly, who was gradually calming down:
“Gastly, let me know about your abilities. What moves do you know?”
To properly train a Pokemon, understanding its capabilities was the first step, followed by more detailed planning.
“Gahs”
As long as it didn’t have to drink coffee, anything was negotiable.
The black mist around its body fluctuated.
At that moment, the sound of high heels tapping rhythmically on the floor came from the corridor, growing louder.
Jing He and Gastly exchanged a glance, and he returned it to its Poke Ball.
Soon, a knock came at the door.
“Jing He, have you seen Dr. Solance?”
A tall, beautiful woman with long black hair entered the room. She was Professor Ayako, the Pokemon breeding instructor.
“Uh, no, I haven’t,” Jing He replied honestly.
“That’s strange. I saw him in the cafeteria earlier, and now he’s gone again.” Ayako pouted.
“What’s the matter?” Jing He rubbed his temples and asked.
“Isn’t today the day for new students to register? We had agreed that Dr. Solance would help, but now he’s disappeared. Every teacher has already been assigned tasks, and I don’t know where to find a replacement.”
New student registration day?
Today?
Jing He was taken aback.
No wonder there seemed to be more cars at the school gates this morning.
Suddenly, he had a bad feeling.
Sure enough, he looked up to see Ayako’s eyes bright with hope.
“Jing He, can you help out and take his place?”
(End of Chapter)
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