The people around were still chatting and laughing as if they hadn't noticed the doll or heard it speak, as if only Silas could see and hear it.
Cold sweat instantly drenched his back.
"I'm an atheist… an atheist…"
He silently repeated in his heart.
But the next second, in the blink of an eye, the doll vanished.
His expression shifted dramatically. He was clearly shaken.
A wild Ghost-type Pokémon playing tricks?
Impossible. This was Saffron City, home to the Psychic-type Gym essentially the headquarters for all Psychics in the Kanto region. What kind of wild Ghost-type Pokémon would dare play such a prank so boldly?
Everyone knew Psychic and Ghost types had terrible synergy.
In fact, the repulsion between wild Pokémon of these two types was even greater than with Dark types.
Even though Dark types were considered the natural nemesis of Psychic types, Psychic-type Pokémon, with their ability to sense inner emotions, found Ghost types far more unpleasant.
After all, wild Ghost-type Pokémon feed off human negative emotions not just evil intent.
Most Trainers actively avoid having both types in their team simultaneously.
Even though bred Ghost-types no longer feed on negative emotions and are far less off-putting than their wild counterparts, there's still tension. They just don't get along.
It's not like a Seviper and a Zangoose situation, where they fight on sight and absolutely cannot coexist, but it's still hard to build a good relationship.
There are only a few rare cases where both types get along in the same team, and even fewer where they're actually close.
At the end of the day, Pokémon are individuals with independent Will nothing is set in stone.
But of course, most people never have to worry about this.
Because both types of Pokémon are incredibly hard to obtain.
Ghost-types live extremely long lives and are very intelligent. In the wild, they either lie low to grow stronger, or they're old monsters who've lived for centuries.
There may be many of them in the wild, but capturing one is no easy task.
They're the very definition of bullying the weak and avoiding the strong—if things start to go south, they vanish without a trace.
Psychic-types are even harder to catch. The moment they sense any ill intent from a human, they flee.
Their numbers are also relatively few, and the ones that are more numerous usually live in groups. And no Trainer wants to risk walking into a Psychic-type colony.
Take Ralts, for example. Its parents are usually either both Gardevoir, or a Gardevoir and a Gallade. The term "Psychic Queen" and "noble Psychic Warrior" isn't just for show.
So if it wasn't a wild Pokémon, was it a trained one?
Also impossible. That kind of act would be considered outright provocation. No one would do that without serious grudges and Silas didn't think he'd made any real enemies.
So, as much as he didn't want to believe it, when he matched everything to his memories from his previous life, he could only come to one conclusion:
The doll just now… was Sabrina.
He rubbed his forehead in frustration. Getting noticed by Sabrina was definitely bad news.
No matter what the rumors said, the Psychic Queen's temper was never described as "good."
But why would she notice him?
Silas couldn't figure it out no matter how much he thought.
Forget it. If Sabrina really wanted to make a move on him, with his current strength, all he could do was lie flat and accept it.
The bottom line was that he was still too weak.
Silas felt extremely frustrated but there was nothing he could do about it.
He kept watching the rest of the story unfold.
After Sabrina defeated the Martial Arts Dojo's leader, the Psychic-type Gym officially became Saffron City's one and only Gym. The once-glorious Fighting Dojo quickly declined over the years.
But to be fair, the Dojo Master was still quite tenacious. Even though the dojo's operation was now extremely poor, he still held on.
Recently, however, there were rumors that the Dojo Master had suddenly disappeared. Some people claimed they saw him in contact with individuals wearing clothing marked with a large "R."
But the Fighting Dojo and the Pokémon League quickly issued joint statements to refute the rumors, saying the Dojo Master had gone off to travel and train. Before leaving, he had passed the title of master to the student of his close friend Chuck—the one known as the Karate King, Kiyo.
No one really objected to that.
First, the Fighting Dojo was no longer an official Gym, so the strength of its leader wasn't under much scrutiny.
Second, Chuck's fame as a Fighting-type master was immense, and his students were all powerful. Kiyo wasn't some no-name rookie either.
Meanwhile, after Sabrina took over the Psychic Gym, the previous Gym Leader—her father, gradually disappeared from the public eye.
But thanks to Sabrina's continuous development of the Psychic Gym, Saffron City's status within the Psychic community rose higher and higher. Few people still paid attention to her Father anymore.
Silas scratched his head. That meant if he wanted to challenge Saffron City's Gym, he had only one option?
Ordinarily, that wouldn't be a problem. After all, he'd only be battling the Gym's staff members.
But the earlier scene with the doll left a shadow in his heart.
He was afraid something might go wrong.
Maybe… he should challenge a different Gym instead?
There were plenty of official Gyms. It wasn't like he had to get the Saffron badge.
In fact, most Trainers avoided the Saffron Gym because of how difficult it was.
Silas only insisted on challenging these Gyms because of some lingering wish from his previous life.
Changing to another Gym wasn't a big deal. He never even planned to challenge the Viridian Gym in the first place.
Just as Silas was lost in thought, he suddenly noticed the surroundings had gone quiet again.
Feeling a sense of dread, he looked up only to find that everyone around him had silently turned to look at him. Their eyes all glowed with that unmistakable Psychic blue light.
"Come to the Saffron Gym."
Everyone spoke the same sentence in unison.
Their voices echoed in Silas's ears.
He looked at the scene in front of him and felt a chill down his spine it was like he was surrounded by zombies, and he was the only normal human.
Then, the blue glow in their eyes disappeared, and everything returned to normal.
Inside the Pokémon Center, the people were happily chatting as if nothing had ever happened.
"...*..."
A series of jumbled, censored curses flashed through Silas's mind.
In his imagination, a tiny version of himself was furiously punching a Sabrina-shaped doll.
Inside the Saffron Gym.
Sabrina, with her bluish-green long hair, wore a slightly cropped red tank top and white pants. A belt with six Luxury Balls hung around her waist.
Her eyes faintly glowed blue, and a flicker of something ominous passed through them.
"Hmph~"
In the empty Gym battlefield, a voice echoed faintly in the air.
Back at the Pokémon Center, Silas didn't notice anything unusual at first, but quickly snapped out of his mental rant.
Based on what just happened… could Sabrina actually sense his thoughts?
Damn it!
He suddenly realized something was off.
His expression shifted rapidly, and he forcibly calmed his thoughts.
He began recalling everything he'd studied before.
Then let out a quiet sigh of relief—
The worst-case scenario hadn't happened.
Psychics could only sense general emotional changes things like confusion or anger.
However, due to the generally high intelligence of Psychic-types and those who train them, they could often deduce a person's thoughts based on context. This could make them seem like mind readers—just like what Sabrina had demonstrated earlier.
But if you were thinking of something specific—like Zero, for example and worried that she might notice, the emotion she could sense would only be "anxiety" or "deep thinking." She could guess he was worried, but couldn't know what he was worried about.
In other words, she might infer he was nervous about meeting her and trying to weigh his options but she couldn't conclude he had a secret like Zero.
That was a small blessing.
Silas subconsciously relaxed a little.
But… didn't he just mentally stab a voodoo doll of her a moment ago?
Silas pretended to remain calm.
It's fine. Minor detail.
This time, the bitter smile on his lips was real.
Right now, it seemed like he had no choice but to head to the Psychic Gym.
As for running away?
Didn't he just witness what happened?
Silas felt that the entire Saffron City might as well be Sabrina's personal backyard.
In that kind of situation, where exactly could he run?
Ding-dong~
A notification chime rang from his wristwatch.
Hearing that particular sound, Silas's mouth twitched slightly again.
Opening the device, he saw the message:
"Dear Trainer Silas Alaric,
Your scheduled battle at the Saffron Psychic Gym will begin promptly at 11:15 a.m.
Please ensure you arrive on time.
Battle rules as follows: 1. The challenger..."
He sighed.
Ever since becoming an officially registered Trainer with a Pokédex, even these notices felt fancier.
"Dear Trainer," huh? How elegant.
Then Silas checked the time it was now 10:40 a.m.
Should he be thanking them for leaving him so much time?
Wait a minute he never even booked a Gym battle!
They went ahead and arranged even this for him?
Silas's mood was seriously sour now very sour.
This kind of situation made him feel like he was just a puppet on strings.
Standing up, he checked on his Pokémon, put aside the introduction pamphlet, and walked out of the Pokémon Center.
11:00 a.m. sharp.
Silas arrived in front of the Saffron Gym.
He didn't even bother admiring the exterior like he usually did he pushed open the doors without hesitation.
Inside, it was eerily quiet.
Only the red paint on the walls began to twist and distort, forming arrow-shaped signs to guide him forward.
Silas, inwardly marveling at the power of Psychic users, wore a gloomy expression as he followed the arrows, turning left and right, until he stepped into an enormous battlefield.
At the far end of the arena, on a high platform, Sabrina sat on a massive chair.
Beside her was an Alakazam with closed eyes.
Silas narrowed his eyes.
He was just about to speak when—
"Nice to meet you. I look forward to our battle, Silas."
A soft, ghostly female voice floated across the long distance.
It was gentle… but echoed clearly.
Silas's words caught in his throat.
No, this was completely different from what he imagined.
....
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