Unown A could not figure it out no matter how much it thought about it, so it simply gave up trying.
It watched as Haunter greedily stuffed more perfect-quality Pokéblocks into its stomach. After checking with psychic power and confirming there was nothing wrong, it stopped paying attention.
At the end of the day, Haunter was a Ghost-type Pokémon. It was not going to eat itself to death, so if it wanted to eat, then let it eat…
Shiro thought the same way. He glanced at Haunter's status panel.
[Name: Haunter
Type: Ghost/Poison
Level: 50 (Gym)
Ability: Levitate
Held Item: Wide Lens
Moves: Taunt, Shadow Punch, Hypnosis, Confuse Ray, Lick, Mean Look, Payback, Spite, Curse, Hex, Night Shade, Sucker Punch, Dark Pulse, Shadow Ball, Protect…
Status: About to Break Through
Mood: Gluttonous]
About to break through?
Shiro thought he was seeing things, so he carefully checked again with psychic power.
"Hauuun!"
Haunter suddenly narrowed its eyes and groaned before stretching lazily.
[Level: 51 (Elite)]
[Status: Just Broke Through]
"..."
It broke through just like that?
Shiro grabbed Haunter's large round face and became speechless for a moment.
Even Corviknight had not broken through yet, but Haunter had somehow eaten its way into Elite-level first.
Haunter grinned and stuck out its bright red tongue.
"Haun, haunter~" (More Pokéblocks~)
Hearing that, Shiro pulled out several more boxes of Ghost-type Pokéblocks from his bag and watched helplessly as Haunter opened its mouth and dumped everything inside.
The way Haunter ate looked like a starving wolf reincarnated.
Unown A shook itself while muttering, 'That guy really has ridiculous luck…'
* * *
"This kid really does have good luck."
At Oak Research Institute in Pallet Town, Oak rested his chin on one hand while mumbling to himself.
Not far away, Red had casually pointed at one Charmander and somehow picked the most talented one in the entire breeding garden.
And within such a short amount of time, the Charmander had already acknowledged the boy in the red cap.
This was the leader among dozens of Charmander, the most arrogant and rebellious one in the group!
How was that reasonable?
Oak racked his brain but still could not understand why Red could simply say a few words, stretch out his hand, and successfully win over Pokémon.
Could it be that Shiro had secretly given this kid some kind of item?
Like a research device that could quickly earn a Pokémon's trust...
The more Oak thought about it, the more absurd it sounded.
Shiro was talented, sure, but how could he silently invent such a ridiculous device?
How could he suddenly surpass Oak in the field of research?
It made more sense to just call it good luck!
"Professor Oak! I've already caught Charmander!"
Red ran over excitedly while holding a Poké Ball. Sweat still covered his face.
The Charmander breeding garden they were in resembled volcanic terrain and was extremely hot.
"Ahem!" Oak pretended to cough, then nodded expressionlessly. "This was only the simplest first test... Since you've passed, continue following me."
"Alright! Professor, please give me even more tests like this!"
Red looked full of energy, almost as if he had activated Blaze himself. His eyes practically seemed to burn with fire.
Oak's heart jumped. He unconsciously took two steps backward before quickly turning around and walking ahead with his hands behind his back, leaving the Fire-type breeding garden.
From an angle Red could not see, Oak quietly clenched his fists.
That damned brat!
Wasn't he just lucky enough to be favored by Shiro and lucky enough to catch Charmander?
Yet he was already acting this smug...
'Shiro! I, Samuel Oak, will definitely prove it! This kid is nowhere near as outstanding as what you described in your letter!'
* * *
"Achoo!"
At the port of Sandgem Town, Shiro could not help sneezing the moment he stepped off the ship.
'Who's praising me?'
He rubbed his nose and felt like it had to be someone he knew.
They must have been praising him passionately in their heart. Otherwise, there was no way he would sneeze that hard.
"Shiro, did you catch a cold?" Carolina looked at him with concern as she came to receive him.
Shiro waved his hands. "No, no. It was probably... just a feather blown over by the sea breeze brushing against me."
"Really?" Carolina still looked doubtful. She pulled him closer for a careful look before saying, "You should be careful, Shiro. In Sinnoh's legends..."
"Legends?" Shiro's attention was instantly drawn in.
Carolina deliberately paused for a few seconds to build suspense before calmly placing both hands in her pockets.
"In the legends, if a traveler from afar suddenly sneezes after arriving in Sinnoh, it's a sign of approaching misfortune..."
"Professor Carolina, don't be too superstitious." Shiro waved dismissively.
Things called legends were usually related to Pokémon anyway.
Take the most famous disaster Pokémon, Absol, for example. It was originally just skilled at predicting disasters, but every time it tried warning humans, it could not explain itself properly.
That caused many people to mistakenly believe Absol itself brought disaster.
As for Sinnoh legends related to catastrophe, they were most likely connected to the lake guardians or the creation trio.
After all, Shiro already had one of the lake guardians beside him. Coming to Sinnoh felt almost like returning home.
'The summoning is becoming stronger and stronger.' Mesprit suddenly spoke. 'I need to return to Lake Verity…'
Shiro's expression tightened slightly. He hurriedly comforted it in his mind. 'Tomorrow. We'll leave tomorrow! Let's rest one final night today.'
After hearing that, Mesprit said nothing.
Shiro knew that silence meant agreement, and he quietly relaxed a little.
Even bodyguards eventually reached their expiration date...
"Shiro, Shiro?" Carolina patted his shoulder twice.
His body jolted slightly as he snapped back to reality and apologized, "Sorry, Professor. I got distracted."
"It's alright. Jumping thoughts are a sign of genius researchers." She smiled understandingly before shaking her head slightly. "But you look like you've thought of something unpleasant. Your expression looks pretty bad."
"...Really?" Shiro touched his face.
"If you run into any trouble, you can ask me for help."
As she spoke, Carolina quickly followed after the large group from the Rowan Research Institute along the beach.
Soon enough, the group returned to the research institute once more.
Shiro stood at the dirt road near the end of the shore with his back facing the town while looking up toward the clear blue sky.
"Help..."
Carolina might have only been speaking politely.
Shiro watched the passenger ship gradually sail farther away across the sea while flocks of seabirds circled above it, following behind in hopes of food.
A lone Wingull remained in midair like a white glider. It struggled with all its strength but still could not chase after the ship against the wind.
The sea breeze carried several white feathers rushing through the air. The feathers spun across the dirt road before scattering into Sandgem Town and disappearing.
One feather brushed lightly across Shiro's face. He rubbed his nose again but did not feel anything unusual afterward.
**
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