Cole released all his Pokémon, then summoned Xatu and Togekiss, introducing the couple to everyone.
Xatu had a rational personality. Having already agreed to follow Cole, it was prepared to get along with him and his Pokémon. Though slightly distant toward everyone, it remained polite and friendly, earning a warm welcome from the group.
As for Togekiss, it appeared aloof and showed little interest in socializing. Fortunately, with its husband's persuasion, its behavior wasn't too impolite.
"Now that everyone's acquainted, let's eat!"
Hearing Cole's words, both Xatu and Togekiss were stunned.
Eat again? They had already filled themselves with Pecha Berries in the Reverse World before coming out.
They now lived in the attic of the small building beneath the Pecha Berry tree, where they could eat as many delicious berries as they wanted.
Cole distributed plates to each Pokémon, then took out Pokéblocks and allocated food according to their appetites.
Togekiss stared at the crystal-clear food on the plate before it, swallowing involuntarily. It heard the other Pokémon devouring their food and thought: That looks really delicious.
Burp~~~
Unfortunately, it had eaten too many Pecha Berries and couldn't help letting out a full belch.
Xatu was in better shape since it hadn't eaten as much as Togekiss. Seeing other Pokémon enjoying their food, it picked up one piece and put it in its mouth, instantly amazed by the delicious flavor.
This was much tastier than eating berries directly!
"Kiss~ Kiss~" — How is it? How is it? Is it good?
Togekiss asked quietly, its tone full of curiosity and eagerness.
"Xatu~ Xatu!" — It's delicious, really delicious!
Xatu replied with amazement.
"Kiss~ Kiss~" — Is it really that good?
Togekiss looked doubtful.
"Xatu~ Xatu~" — When have I ever lied to you?
Togekiss thought about it — indeed, her husband had never lied to her. So these little blocks were really that delicious?
Just then, Cole asked with confusion, "Togekiss, what's wrong? Don't you like it?"
Hearing this, Togekiss stared at the Pokéblocks on its plate for a few seconds, then picked one up and ate it.
The moment the Pokéblock entered its mouth, Togekiss finally understood why everyone was eating so happily — these little blocks were incredibly delicious.
But before it could savor the taste, its stomach suddenly began to hurt.
"Kiss~ Kiss~"
Togekiss clutched its stomach and rolled on the ground.
"Xatu~" — Honey, what's wrong?
Xatu immediately rushed over in concern.
"Togekiss, what's wrong? Where does it hurt?" Cole asked anxiously.
But Togekiss was too embarrassed to admit it had overeaten, so it just moaned in pain, clutching its stomach without explanation.
"Wait here, I'll go get Nurse Joy." Cole said, then ran out of the training room.
Soon, Nurse Joy hurriedly arrived with her medical kit and Cole.
After examining Togekiss, she smiled and said, "Nothing serious, just overeating. I'll get you some digestive tablets for it, and it'll feel better soon."
Cole: ...
Are you an idiot? Eating more when you're already full!
Nurse Joy gently stroked Togekiss's wing and said, "You should eat in moderation. Overeating isn't good — be more careful next time."
Togekiss buried its head under its wings in embarrassment, not making a sound.
Cole followed Nurse Joy to get the digestive tablets. After giving them to Togekiss, it quickly began feeling better.
Seeing it lying motionless on the ground, still hiding its head under its wings, he said, "Togekiss, let me give you a massage. It'll make you feel even better."
When Togekiss didn't respond, Cole took the silence as agreement. He sat beside it and began massaging with his Special Ability technique.
His massage skills had improved significantly since his exchange with Daisy. As he located Togekiss's acupressure points and gently pressed with hands imbued with Special Ability energy, Togekiss felt its soul ascend to heaven — as if floating on soft clouds, drifting away to parts unknown.
"Ki~ss~"
When it came back to its senses, it had already let out a blush-inducing moan.
Before long, Togekiss had completely melted under Cole's skillful hands, leaving Xatu staring in bewilderment.
From its perspective, the human hadn't done anything special to Togekiss, so why was it making such sounds?
Seeing Xatu staring blankly at him, Cole smiled and asked, "Would you like to try too?"
Without waiting for an answer, he pulled Xatu down in front of him and began caressing and pressing all over its body.
Oh my, pervert!
Tinkatuff, the only Pokémon with the shyness of a human girl, covered its eyes with both hands, but couldn't help peeking through its fingers.
"Xa~tu~"
Now Xatu finally understood why its wife had reacted that way earlier.
Finally, the couple returned to the Reverse World in a daze.
Lying in their little nest in the attic of the small building that Cole had specially prepared for them, both of them thought: Following this human doesn't seem so bad.
After giving the couple their "special treatment", Cole did the same for his other Pokémon. Today was also the day to help them unlock their hidden energy circuits.
Especially for Pidove — today was the day it would light up the last bit of its hidden energy circuit, which meant it could evolve today.
Among all of his main Pokémon, Pidove had the simplest hidden energy circuits, so illuminating them took much less time than for the others.
The process went smoothly. After finishing, Cole removed the Everstone from Pidove.
"Coo Coo Coo!!!"
Pidove called out excitedly, and the next second, its body radiated with a sacred light — the light of evolution!
Bathed in this glow, its size began to increase. Before long, it had grown from a tiny ball to the size of an ostrich.
"Coo Coo Coo!"
With a joyful cry, the evolution light surrounding Pidove suddenly burst open, and a brand new Pokémon appeared before Cole — Tranquill!
Compared to its previous form, Tranquill not only grew larger but also gained more robust wings, razor-sharp claws, and a more gallant appearance, no longer having the chubby and cute look it had before.
"Congratulations, Tranquill!" Cole stroked the feathers on its neck.
"Coo Coo Coo~~"
Tranquill affectionately rubbed its neck against his palm, expressing its gratitude for his care and training all this time.
✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲
After taking care of his Pokémon, Cole returned to his room from the training area. Just as he lay down, an eerie voice sounded in his ear.
"Hey, kid~~~"
Cole was startled, jumping up from the bed in an instant, then turned on the light.
"Why are you so excited?"
The one who suddenly appeared in his room was none other than Gastly, who had just parted ways with him earlier that day.
"What do you think? You could scare someone to death like this!" Cole said angrily.
"Tch~ Humans are so timid." Gastly said with a sneer.
"What do you want from me? It's the middle of the night, don't tell me you just want to chat!" Cole said irritably, his heart still pounding from the fright.
"Well... I'd like to ask for your help." Gastly said somewhat sheepishly.
"No help, goodbye, I'm going to sleep." With that, Cole lay back down on the bed, pulled the covers over himself, and closed his eyes.
"Hey, hey, hey~ Don't sleep yet!" Gastly floated over to him, extended its long tongue, licked his face, and activated its Lick attack.
Cole: (﹌Д﹋) Ugh…
An electric current ran through his body, instantly leaving him paralyzed.
"Are... you... sick... or... something?!" Cole glared at it, forcing each word through gritted teeth.
"Haha..." Gastly laughed awkwardly, "Sorry, I got impatient."
After quite a while, Cole finally recovered from the paralysis and roared, "Is this how you ask someone for help?"
"Oh come on, what do you want me to do? I apologize." Gastly's tone was finally less arrogant than before.
Cole turned his head away, refusing to look at it, "I have no obligation to help you."
"Fine, fine, I knew you humans wouldn't help without getting something in return." Gastly's body contorted, and a pair of tattered gloves with a round stone embedded in them fell onto the bed.
The gloves looked like an ancient artifact. The stone emitted a rainbow-colored glow with a spiral pattern of the same colors in its center.
"Is this a Key Stone?" Cole looked at the stone in surprise.
Gastly clicked its tongue in amazement, "I didn't expect a little brat like you to be so knowledgeable. Not many people know what this is."
"How did you get this?" Cole asked curiously.
"I've traveled the world." Gastly said proudly, "What kind of treasure haven't I seen?"
"Really?" Cole looked unconvinced, "Why don't you show me a couple more things so this country bumpkin can broaden his horizons?"
'You little rascal!' Gastly gave him a meaningful smile.
"Ahem, ahem..." Feeling uncomfortable under its gaze, Cole could only cover his embarrassment with coughing.
"Will you help me or not? If you do, this Key Stone is yours!" Gastly said.
Cole was indeed interested in the Key Stone, "Tell me, what help do you need?"
"You can teleport, right? I want you to take me somewhere." Gastly said.
Cole looked at it in surprise, "There's a place even you can't go?"
Weren't Ghost-type Pokémon supposed to be able to go anywhere? Especially a high-level one like this.
"It's because you humans are so cunning." Gastly said angrily, "Installing alarm systems that even Ghost-type Pokémon trigger when they get close!"
After bringing Lapras to Cinnabar, Gastly began investigating the whereabouts of its kind.
Gastly was fortunate enough to meet a Kingler at the dock who provided some leads. Following this information, it tracked the Lapras to a villa complex.
Nearby Pokémon confirmed they had seen people transporting a group of Lapras into the villa.
However, when Gastly attempted to enter and investigate, alarms suddenly triggered. Fearing this might alert the people and endanger the Lapras group, it had to retreat.
It tried approaching from several different locations, but the alarms consistently triggered whenever it neared certain areas of the villa.
Luckily, when the people couldn't find Gastly, they dismissed the alarms as triggered by random wild Pokémon. Had the Lapras group been moved elsewhere as a result, all Gastly's efforts would have been wasted.
With no alternatives left, Gastly had to seek help from Cole, a human.
"Alright, I'll help you with this, but you have to give me the Key Stone first." Cole said.
"You kid really..." Gastly replied with irritation, "Fine, fine, here you go!"
It used its Psychic Power to toss the tattered gloves into Cole's arms.
Cole put the gloves away and asked, "When do we leave?"
"Right now, of course!" Gastly said.
"Now?"
"That's right, on this dark night... kekeke..." Gastly let out a creepy snicker.
"Fine then." Cole said resignedly.
It looked like tonight would be a sleepless night!
And so, he followed Gastly and flew out from the balcony of his room.
✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲
The villa Gastly mentioned belonged to Vince, the wealthiest man in Cinnabar. He reportedly owned the largest Pokémon safari park on the island, home to many rare Pokémon.
Cole now suspected that the rare Pokémon in this tycoon's safari park were all obtained through illegal means.
Under Gastly's guidance, he quickly reached Vince's villa. Despite the late hour, the entire property was brightly lit, with numerous bodyguards patrolling the grounds, each accompanied by Pokémon.
"Teleport me behind those bodyguards." Gastly instructed, "If we follow them, we won't trigger the alarm system!"
Cole looked at it skeptically, "But won't the bodyguards notice us?"
"Don't worry about that. Watch me!"
With that, Gastly flew onto his shoulder, and both of them gradually faded until they became completely invisible.
"You can do this too?" Cole exclaimed in surprise.
"Hmph~ I've lived so long, there are more things I can do than you can imagine!" Gastly said proudly.
Cole felt it was showing off.
Teleport activated, and in the next second, they appeared behind a team of bodyguards.
At that moment, the Houndoom beside one of the bodyguards seemed to notice something and began barking in their direction.
The Houndoom's trainer quickly asked, "What's wrong, Houndoom? Did you find something?"
However, right then, Houndoom suddenly fell silent and obediently turned away.
"What the heck, don't bark for no reason!" Seeing that nothing happened, the trainer scolded it in frustration.
Seeing this, Cole silently gave Gastly a thumbs-up.
As it turned out, Houndoom had indeed detected them through scent, but what kind of being was Gastly? It was a master of hypnosis!
How could a mere Houndoom act up in its presence?
✲✲✲
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