"Teacher Luke, you've finally met your match!"
"Uh…"
"So cute. I want to sleep with it."
"Hey! The person upstairs, have some shame!"
The usually silent group chat instantly came alive, filling with laughter.
Just then, another message appeared.
[Fighter: …Why don't you try throwing a Poké Ball?]
[Teacher Luke: Are you sure it won't get angry if I do that?]
[Fighter: …]
Red went offline again.
Luke slowly lowered his phone before glaring back at Gastly.
"What are you looking at?"
"Keh-heh?"
His phone buzzed again.
This time, it was from a somewhat familiar username.
[Yellow: Judging from its expression… I think it really likes you.]
Luke stared at the ID for a long moment but couldn't remember where he'd seen it before.
[Teacher Luke: You call this 'liking'? It's obviously after my body!]
He immediately uploaded another video.
[Teacher Luke: (Video)]
The video showed Gastly happily floating around a handsome young man with sharp features, enthusiastically licking his face.
Luke wiped away the sticky saliva and shouted,
"Quit licking me! Smile for the camera!"
Gastly tilted its head before happily floating directly in front of the lens.
Its enormous white eyes completely filled the screen.
Kanto Region — Viridian City
Inside the Viridian Gym…
Red couldn't help smiling as he watched the video.
"Hey."
"Training starts now."
A handsome young man with neatly combed brown hair sat atop an enormous Rhyperior with his arms crossed.
He wore a pendant around his neck and looked thoroughly unimpressed.
"What are you looking at?"
"You're grinning like an idiot."
"It's a streamer I started watching recently."
Red smiled as he held up his phone.
"I think he's planning to raise this Gastly into a Gengar."
Blue jumped down from Rhyperior's shoulder.
Hands in his pockets, he glanced casually at the video before giving a slight nod.
"This Gastly has excellent potential."
Red looked up in surprise.
Professor Oak had once described Blue's greatest talent with a single word—
Nurturing.
If even Blue said the Gastly had potential…
Then it almost certainly did.
Blue shrugged.
"Isn't he just a gaming streamer?"
"Why not watch the Masters Tournament instead?"
Red shook his head.
"Even though it's just a game, his battle awareness is better than most Master-ranked Trainers."
"Besides…"
He smiled.
"Silph Co.'s virtual projection technology is already being applied to games."
"Maybe online Pokémon battles won't just be games forever."
Blue smirked.
"Even if that happens…"
"I still won't lose to you."
Red coughed awkwardly.
"…Let's train instead."
His phone suddenly vibrated.
Red glanced down before smiling.
"He really caught the Gastly."
Blue folded his arms.
"Add me to that group."
"…Huh?"
"I'm bored."
"…I thought you hated livestreams."
"It's noisy."
"So stop talking and invite me already."
"…Got it."
"But why are you suddenly so aggressive?"
Blue clicked his tongue.
"…Want to fight?"
"You know Trainers can be attacked directly too."
"Pikachu!"
"Quick Attack!"
"Rhyperior."
"Earthquake."
"…Wait! Not me!"
[New Notification]
[Your friend "Blue" has joined the group chat.]
When encountering a ghost late at night, there were generally three options.
A. Pretend you didn't see it and calmly walk out of the elevator.
B. Strike up a conversation and casually discuss how modern Ghost-type Pokémon designs lacked originality.
C. As long as you're brave enough…
…even ghosts get maternity leave.
Luke chose Option D.
"You evil spirit!"
"How dare you wreak havoc here!"
"Great Heavenly Dragon!"
"World-Honored Kṣitigarbha!"
"Take this—"
He hurled a Poké Ball.
Since Gastly was, scientifically speaking, still a Pokémon…
It naturally obeyed Pokémon physics.
The red-and-white Poké Ball burst open with a flash of crimson light.
Gastly transformed into a beam of light and disappeared inside.
Shake.
Shake.
Shake.
Click.
"…"
Luke stared at the Poké Ball lying quietly on the floor.
Then he let out a long sigh of relief.
"…Keeping a Gastly as a pet doesn't sound too bad."
He hesitated.
"…Gengar is pretty cute…"
"…Right?"
Anime Gengar?
Absolutely adorable.
A real-life Gengar?
Open the Poké Ball…
A cloud of darkness slowly emerged.
Two enormous white eyes opened.
Its mouth stretched impossibly wide, revealing rows of sharp teeth.
Behind Luke, Gastly floated happily in the air.
"Keh-heh! Keh-heh!"
Luke looked up.
Gastly narrowed its eyes into happy crescents.
Its long crimson tongue slowly stretched toward him.
Gastly:
(⊙﹏⊙)
Slurp.
Luke silently wiped the drool from his face.
"…Yeah."
"…Pretty cute."
[Congratulations! Achievement Unlocked: "I Choose You!"]
[Description: Catch your first Pokémon.]
[Reward: 500 BP]
[Current BP: 720]
If you ignored the fact that Gastly was a floating cloud of poisonous gas…
Its giant eyes were actually fairly adorable.
Luke's plan to lure an Eevee had failed.
Still…
Owning a Gastly wasn't bad.
At the very least, he could use it to scare people during late-night streams.
…Just kidding.
Actually…
He had a much better career path.
Maybe he should become a horror game streamer instead.
"Keh-heh!"
Gastly happily floated around as the elevator lights finally returned to normal.
As the elevator slowly climbed upward, Luke recalled Gastly into its Poké Ball and fell into thought.
"If it evolves into Gengar…"
"It'll be pretty strong."
"…Wait."
"Why would I need combat strength?"
"At worst…"
"It can be the mascot for my livestream."
His phone vibrated again.
[New Notification]
[Administrator "Fighter" invited "Blue" to the group chat.]
Luke blinked.
"…Blue?"
He stared at the profile picture.
"Wait…"
"Could this really be the Kanto Champion…"
"The Breeder Blue?"
"Holy crap."
"It really is him."
In less than a year after becoming Viridian Gym Leader, Blue had assembled an elite team whose average level exceeded seventy.
Luke had always believed that grinding levels against wild Pokémon was impressive enough.
Compared to Blue…
That was nothing.
This man was terrifying.
After Luke uploaded the Gastly video, the discussion in the group immediately shifted toward raising Ghost-types.
"Is Teacher Luke planning to train a Poison-focused Gengar?"
"No, Ghost-type specialization is stronger."
"Why?"
"…"
Suddenly—
[Group Member "Blue" uploaded a file.]
[Gastly Training Guide.txt]
The group instantly exploded.
"Holy crap! That's Blue's breeding guide!"
"Even Blue watches Teacher Luke's streams?!"
"Now that's professionalism!"
After uploading the file…
Blue disappeared without another word.
Luke looked at Gastly Training Guide.txt with an unusually complicated expression.
There was no doubt.
A training guide personally written by The Breeder, Blue, would be one of the most authoritative references in the entire Pokémon world.
After struggling with himself for a long moment…
Luke sighed.
"…I really never wanted to become a Trainer."
Then…
He clicked Gastly Training Guide.txt.