Early the next morning.
Victor opened his eyes and saw Gengar holding his phone, staring straight at him.
It nearly scared him to death—waking up to a pair of crimson eyes fixed on him.
"What's wrong?" Victor calmed down, yawned, and asked.
"Gengar..."
Gengar handed him the phone, indicating that it wouldn't turn on.
Thinking it had broken the device, Gengar hung its head low.
Even without the status window, Victor could feel that Gengar's guilt was genuine this time. He checked the phone and saw that the battery had simply died.
"Is that all? I thought it was something serious. The battery just died, it's not broken," Victor said with a smile, reaching out to pull the corners of Gengar's mouth up into a grin.
"Gengar?" Gengar asked quizzically, its mouth still being held in a smile.
Victor plugged the charging cable into the phone and gestured for Gengar to look.
Seeing the phone light up and turn on again, Gengar's face broke into a happy grin.
"Alright, go on and play," Victor said, giving its mouth another gentle tug before heading into the bathroom to wash up.
Stepping out of the bedroom, Victor looked at the large, empty house and sighed.
His plan for the day was to clean the house himself, figure out what other daily necessities he needed to buy, and plan how to best utilize the empty land out back. Then he could find a company to handle the renovations.
He also needed facilities for the Breeding House, like Pokémon Egg incubators, and he might even need to purchase some Pokémon Eggs.
After all was said and done, he figured there wouldn't be much left of the money in his pocket.
"It's a long and difficult road ahead."
Victor shook his head, then went to check the other rooms. He decided to convert all of them into guest rooms. He might make some friends in the future, and this way, they would have a place to stay when they visited.
The first floor would be redesigned as a reception area for guests. He'd modify the walls to install some shelves for items, but he wouldn't change too much to save space while keeping it aesthetically pleasing.
With a rough plan in mind, Victor walked around a bit more, then picked up a broom and started cleaning the rooms.
Yesterday, the Machoke had only cleared out the broken furniture. There were still some good but currently useless pieces that Victor planned to get rid of, which he had to do himself.
"If only I had some help," Victor mumbled.
After cleaning for a good while, he had only finished one room and was already panting with exhaustion.
Looking at the three remaining rooms, Victor shook his head and prepared to continue working.
Just then, Gengar phased up through the floor.
"Gengar~"
It grinned at Victor and offered him a few berries.
Victor looked; they were just common Oran Berries. He still had some in his bag that he hadn't taken out yet.
"Did you go find these for me?" Victor asked, taking the berries and looking at Gengar.
Gengar nodded and urged Victor to eat them quickly.
Victor looked at the Gengar before him and glanced at its status window.
[Gengar]
[Type: Ghost, Poison]
[Gender: Male]
[Ability: Cursed Body]
[Known Moves: Mean Look, Shadow Punch, Shadow Ball, Confuse Ray, Psychic, Lick, Will-O-Wisp, Hypnosis, Hex, Destiny Bond, Phantom Force.]
[Mood: Happy, Joyful]
[Status: Slightly blissful, Mischievous]
[Friendship: 80 (I really want to play with him)]
[Introduction: Why didn't he eat this morning? Whatever, I'll go find something for him to eat. I really want to play with him. I'll scare him a little later.]
Seeing that Gengar had gone to find berries because he had skipped breakfast, Victor felt a warmth spread through his chest.
He wasn't used to eating breakfast, but he'd have to start now, especially with Gengar around.
However, noticing that Gengar's mischievous intentions were still present, Victor took a bite of a berry and said aloud, "Sigh, I really wish I could play with Gengar."
"Gengar!! (*ﾟﾛﾟ)!!"
Seeing Gengar's shocked expression, Victor smiled inwardly and continued, "But what a shame, I still have so much work to do."
"Gengar..."
As Gengar's head drooped again, Victor added, "However, if Gengar were willing to help me with some work, I could finish sooner. And if I finish sooner, I can play with Gengar sooner. I just don't know if Gengar would be willing to help me, sigh."
Victor lowered his head and sighed dramatically.
Hearing this, Gengar flew over and snatched the broom from Victor's hands.
"Gengar!"
It puffed out its chest and patted it, as if to say, "Leave it to me!"
Seeing Gengar's determined look, a cunning glint flashed in Victor's eyes. He began to direct Gengar's work.
For heavy objects, Gengar used Psychic to move them out of the house. It then swept the rooms and finished by mopping the floors.
Watching the flustered and busy Gengar, Victor chewed on an Oran Berry and remarked, "If only Gengar knew Shadow Clone. It could make lots of Gengars, and many Gengars could finish the work really fast."
Hearing this, Gengar turned its head, its crimson eyes staring intently at Victor.
Then, Gengar fell into deep thought.
"Gengar—•᷄ࡇ•᷅"
Seeing Gengar's constipated expression, Victor was just about to comfort it when another Gengar appeared right next to the first one.
Poof~
Another Gengar appeared.
Poof~
And another.
Having created three clones, the original Gengar wiped the cold sweat from its forehead and fanned itself with its short, stubby hands.
Victor stared at the scene, then glanced at Gengar's status window, which now listed Shadow Clone among its moves.
He forgot to even chew the Oran Berry in his mouth...
"Is... this for real?" Victor muttered to himself.
After fanning itself for a moment, Gengar looked at the three copies of itself, floated up happily, and began directing its clones, each to their own task.
The work rate shot up instantly.
Victor, meanwhile, provided emotional support from the sidelines.
By the end of the morning, the entire house was more or less clean. The exhausted Gengar dispelled its clones and sat on the floor, its small tail swaying back and forth behind it.
Victor took out two bottles of Moomoo Milk, walked over, and handed one to Gengar.
"Here, drink up."
"Gengar~ (´▽｀)—"
Gengar happily took the Moomoo Milk and chugged it all down in one go.
Afterward, Victor had Gengar take down the precarious chandelier from the ceiling. He then took it to the backyard to survey the area.
He took out a pen and noted down all the things he needed to buy.
Pushing away the affectionate Gengar's face as it tried to nuzzle him, Victor took out another bottle of Moomoo Milk and gave it to him. Then he took out the stethoscope he had received and hung it around Gengar's neck for it to play with.
"Let's go, Gengar. We'll go eat, then buy some groceries to bring back. Next time, we can cook our own meals."
Victor pushed the stethoscope off his head, capped his pen, and said to Gengar.
"Gengar. (＾￢＾)"
Gengar followed behind Victor. They locked the door and started walking towards Twinleaf Town.
The sound of their playful banter filled the air.
"Stop trying to use that stethoscope on my head! My butt is off-limits too!"
"If you do that again, I'm taking it back!"
"Gengar—"
"No! How about I trade you something else for it?"
"Gengar!!!"
"Agh, stop licking me!"