"Geng…!"
Inside the vacuum cleaner, Gengar was still struggling.
Its two red eyes blinked rapidly, but perhaps due to some kind of natural restraint imposed by household appliances, no matter how violently it thrashed about, the vacuum cleaner itself didn't budge an inch.
Honestly, it was sheer luck—there just happened to be a vacuum cleaner in this room, and Ash had grabbed it on instinct.
With the situation finally under control, everyone let out a long sigh of relief.
It was bizarre.
But somehow… completely reasonable.
"So, Ash," Brock asked, unable to help himself, "what are you going to do now?"
"…"
Ash frowned slightly.
After that battle, it was obvious—this Gengar harbored deep hostility toward humans.
If he captured it directly, it might end up like Squirtle once did, turning around and biting its trainer later on.
His expression softened, and he deliberately lowered his voice, making it as gentle as possible.
"Gengar… can you tell me why you hate humans so much?"
"Geng-geng-geng-geng!!!"
Trapped tightly by the vacuum, Gengar could only contort its eyes wildly, as if desperately trying to convey something.
"Geng-geng-geng-geng!!!"
Its expression shifted again and again—
From playful joy,
to confusion,
to deep disappointment,
and finally into pure resentment, the blood-red in its eyes growing even darker.
"I see… I understand now."
Ash nodded slowly.
Thanks to his unique bond with Pokémon, he could barely grasp what Gengar was trying to express.
Turning to the others, he began translating:
"This Gengar used to love eating. It was very happy."
"Then it gradually got fatter… and became confused."
"After that, other Gengar mocked its body, and it became extremely depressed."
"So it hid in this house, venting its resentment."
Ash explained point by point.
The sequence perfectly matched the changes in Gengar's expressions, so no one questioned it.
Gengar: "?"
Goh, however, suddenly noticed a flaw.
"Wait—that doesn't make sense! Humans didn't do anything wrong! Why does it hate humans so much?!"
"Maybe," Ash said hesitantly, "the one who mocked its body… was a human?"
As he spoke, he suddenly picked up Pikachu and placed it right in front of Gengar.
"Look! My Pikachu's body shape isn't great either, but I never make fun of it!
At least not to its face! No one should be looked down on just because they're fat—at least I wouldn't do that!"
Pikachu: "?"
Gengar: "?"
Brock and Misty scratched their heads in unison.
No matter how they thought about it, it seemed far more likely that Gengar had been abandoned by a human here.
Still… Ash's explanation somehow sounded convincing.
As for body shape?
A Gengar that isn't fat might as well be exorcised—don't disgrace the species.
In the end, Gengar still didn't accept Ash.
It even tried to punch him in the head.
The moment it got out, its first goal was clearly to smash Ash's skull.
Because of that, Ash had no choice but to remove the vacuum's back casing and stuff the entire unit into a Poké Ball.
After all, he couldn't just leave Gengar here to keep causing trouble.
If nothing else, one day it really would get exorcised.
Strangely enough, with the vacuum still restraining it, the Poké Ball didn't even shake—
Capture successful.
"No matter what… it's captured!"
A powerful new Pokémon had joined his team, instantly lifting Ash's spirits.
Even though it would take a long time to truly bond with Gengar, just having it was enough to make him happy.
Ash immediately pulled out his Pokédex to check whether the achievement
[A Teacher for a Day, a Father for Life] had unlocked.
It hadn't.
He glanced at Goh and casually asked:
"So… I did teach you how to catch Pokémon, right?"
Goh hesitated, his face turning red before he finally nodded.
"…Th-thank you."
The process had been strange, sure—but he had been taught.
Still… did Ash really need to keep bringing it up?
The moment Goh nodded, the Pokédex chimed.
"Beep. Congratulations, Trainer Ash.
New achievement unlocked: [A Teacher for a Day, a Father for Life].
You have established the following relationship with Goh:"
"Master–Disciple: remaining duration — 1 day."
"Father–Son: lifetime binding."
Goh: "???"
Sensing Goh was about to ask something dangerous, Ash smoothly pulled out the Pokédex, switched to communication mode, and sent a message to Professor Cerise.
Waving his hand dismissively, he turned his back.
"Oh, I've got Professor Cerise on the line.
Goh, if you've got questions, let's talk about them next time."
Goh: "…"
"Thank you so much, Ash," Professor Cerise's cheerful voice came through.
"As a reward, I've already placed three tickets under the flowerpot by the entrance. Just take them when you leave."
Cerise was extremely satisfied with their report.
While he didn't dislike Gengar, he couldn't afford to let a wild Pokémon stir up trouble and attract the Vermilion City news media.
Besides, those tickets were something he'd planned to give them anyway—
whether the incident was resolved or not.
After all, the lab was about to open to the public, and he'd be far too busy to enjoy any luxury cruise.
Better to pass the favor on to Professor Oak's juniors.
"Oh, right," Cerise added casually,
"the lab's not damaged too badly… is it?"
Ash glanced around the room.
Scratches from Razor Leaf.
Scorch marks from Fire Punch.
Withered flooring from Leech Seed.
Several massive craters punched into the ground.
All things considered—
"Pretty much no damage," Ash replied with a smile.
"Good, good," Cerise laughed.
The matter was finally settled.
With the tickets in hand, the group said goodbye to Goh outside the Cerise Laboratory.
As for Goh wanting to argue about that achievement, Ash brushed it off with a casual "next time."
Left behind, Goh could only seethe as he watched the three walk away.
"Hmph… next time we meet, I'll definitely surpass you!"
As evening approached, Brock and Misty decided to shop for ingredients.
They planned to cook a big meal that night—to celebrate becoming "high society" together in two days.
Ash, feeling exhausted, decided to return to the Pokémon Center and wait.
He really needed a rest.
Inside the Pokémon Center, Ash relaxed completely and dropped onto a public bench without thinking.
Clang!
The moment he leaned back, a sharp pain exploded at the back of his head—
as if his skull had collided with a solid steel ball.
Ash yelped, jumping up and turning around.
It turned out the bench was back-to-back with another seat.
Someone was sitting on the other side.
And that person… hadn't reacted at all.
Ash hurried around to look.
It was a girl.
Under a white Poké Ball–themed sunhat, strands of brown hair fell down.
A blue tank top, a red skirt—pure energetic-girl fashion.
"Blue?!"
Ash blurted out.
Wasn't this the girl he'd met at Mt. Moon just days ago?
The one who'd stormed off after being messed with by Green, vowing to throw him into the sea to feed Sharpedo?
How was her head harder than steel?!
Blue took a long moment to react.
Still slouched like a dead Magikarp, she leaned her head back at an impossible angle—more than 120 degrees—before finally noticing Ash.
"Oh… hey. You're from Pallet Town, right?"
She looked completely drained, her face dull and lifeless.
"…What happened to you?" Ash asked, baffled.
Wait—
hadn't she looked like this last time too?
What a walking disaster.
Then Ash noticed something odd on her chest.
Pinned there was a huge badge, completely disproportionate to her slim frame.
Four bold characters were scrawled across it:
"KING OF TREE-CUTTING."
Ash: "?"
Blue suddenly shivered violently, hugging herself as if freezing.
"…You know," she muttered,
"This city… has completely drained me dry."
Ash: "?"
(Two chapters today.)
(Final day of tribulation—please bookmark and recommend!)
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