"Eterna City News Report: Yesterday, a sudden Pokémon rampage occurred at the famous scenic location, the Mausoleum of the First Emperor. The situation has now been completely resolved…"
"The swift response of Impermanence Gym Leader An Ming and internationally renowned scholar Professor Oak in the early stages of the incident deserves high praise, buying valuable time for the later arrival of Champion Cynthia…"
"Of course, aside from the police officers and Trainers who fought on the front lines, the mysterious strategist who predicted the crisis in advance and deployed the defenses behind the scenes also deserves tremendous credit…"
"…"
On the television, the anchor delivered the morning news with crisp clarity.
On the split screen, the footage replayed again and again—Champion Cynthia riding Mega Garchomp, descending from the sky like a war goddess and crashing into the battlefield.
Why does my head feel so pointy…
Rei Akagi's consciousness slowly gathered amid the sound of the broadcast.
Morning sunlight slipped through the curtains, slightly blinding. He frowned and slowly opened his heavy eyelids.
…What is this lump of gray-purple sludge?
A blank pair of eyes.
A wide, grinning mouth.
And a drool-covered tongue.
(┳Д┳)
"Gengaaaar! (Father Emperor!)"
"Don't say that—!"
Rei Akagi was a moment too slow.
Lick.
He took the hit full-on.
And apparently, he was lucky enough to trigger the paralysis effect.
Tiny electric currents ran through his aching body.
For a moment, life felt bleak.
"Gengar has been waiting for you to wake up."
A cool voice with a hint of amusement came from beside the bed.
Feeling utterly lifeless, Rei Akagi rubbed the Gengar that was still happily rubbing its face against his.
He forced himself to sit up.
Only then did he notice Cynthia, sitting beside the bed and calmly peeling an apple.
The apple was peeled perfectly—smooth and round.
Under Rei Akagi's slightly hopeful gaze…
Cynthia elegantly lifted the apple to her own mouth and took a bite.
Rei Akagi: "..."
Noticing his instantly shattered expression from the corner of her eye, Cynthia's lips curled into a mischievous smile.
"The doctor said your coma was caused by both physical and mental exhaustion. You'll need time to rest and recover."
She swallowed the bite of apple before asking casually:
"How do you feel now?"
"Uh… my head feels pointy—ah, I mean…"
Rei Akagi rubbed the corner of his numb mouth and answered honestly.
"My whole body's sore. And a bit numb."
He stretched his stiff neck and looked down at the chubby Gengar wriggling around in his arms.
He had always been confident in his recovery ability.
He'd survived worse injuries before. What was a little Aura exhaustion?
Give him ten days or half a month lying around and he'd be back to normal…
Well.
Back to being a perfectly healthy salted fish.
Compared to himself, he was more worried about the unexpectedly evolved big guy in his arms.
Normally, Haunter evolves into Gengar through trading, but—
With a thought, Rei Akagi used Appraisal.
Pokémon: Gengar (Shiny)
Type: Ghost / Poison
Category: Shadow Pokémon
Gender: Male
Ability: Cursed Body
(When hit by an attack, it may disable the opponent's move.)
Known Moves:
Shadow Punch, Thunder Punch, Fire Punch, Ice Punch, Hex, Sucker Punch, Nasty Plot, Will-O-Wisp, Trick, Trick Room, Night Shade…
Held Item:
Ghost Plate (Legendary Item!)
Mood: Worried
Current Status: Healthy
System Notification Reminder:Legendary Potential!
Rei Akagi stared at the panel.
Then froze.
…?
Wait.
Is that correct?
Where did you learn all those moves?!
Was he unconscious for a day?
This looked more like he'd been unconscious for a year!
A sudden image flashed through Rei Akagi's mind—
Gastly sitting there holding the Pokédex, obsessively playing Pokémon games.
That team of six Gengar it used in the game…
Seemed to practice all kinds of moves every single day.
…Don't tell me you learned them from the game?!
This wasn't a surprise.
This was a horror story.
And on top of that—
Inside Gengar's shadow was the Ghost Plate stabilizing the alternate dimension, plus an entire army of Ghost Pokémon living inside it.
Didn't that mean—
If this guy waved his hand…
He could summon an army of ghost soldiers at any time?!
Holy crap.
He'd really become the Emperor of the Underworld!
Rei Akagi swallowed nervously.
Only after confirming Gengar's status was healthy did he remember to appraise himself.
Contract Holder: Rei Akagi
Special Ability:
Power of Aura
(A composite ability combining telepathy, combat amplification, and calming/healing effects.)
Skills:
Martial Arts Lv.5
Cooking Lv.3
Programming Lv.3
Pokéblock Crafting Lv.1
Assets:
3112.1 Battle Points
(Direct rewards from the Mausoleum Incident have been calculated. Ongoing impact expected to total 4120.5 BP.)
Level Explanation:
Lv1 – Basic understanding
Lv2 – Practical usage
Lv3 – Skilled mastery
Lv4 – Master-level expert
Lv5 – Human limit
Evaluation:
Super Sinnoh Human
Current Status: Healthy
System Notification Reminder:
Even the doctor says you're perfectly healthy.
Just as he finished reading the panel, the system notification appeared again.
System Notification Reminder:
Crisis mission completed. Reward: 300 Battle Points. Pokéblock Crafting Lv.3 acquired.
Rei Akagi didn't even have time to react.
A massive flood of knowledge burst into his mind like a dam collapsing, smashing through his mental defenses and forcibly downloading itself.
His brain trembled.
Power!
Pure power!
But seriously, Xiao-A…
Could you at least give a warning before dumping rewards into my brain?!
Rei Akagi almost drooled.
A vein popped on his forehead as he prepared to criticize the system internally—
"If you don't mind."
Cynthia's clear voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.
With a swift motion of the fruit knife, she sliced the apple she'd bitten into earlier cleanly in half.
Then she handed the untouched half to Rei Akagi.
Rei Akagi snapped out of his thoughts and accepted it with a smile.
"Of course I don't mind. Being able to eat an apple peeled by Miss Cynthia herself is a once-in-three-lifetimes honor!"
For the sake of the apple, Xiao-A…
You're lucky this time.
Knock knock.
A polite knock sounded.
Professor Oak pushed the door open.
Seeing Rei Akagi sitting up, his face immediately broke into a warm smile as he walked quickly to the bedside.
"Oh! Rei Akagi, you're awake. Having drive is great for young people, but don't push yourself that hard."
His tone was caring before turning serious.
"The Pokémon League asked me to formally express their appreciation to both of you for your contributions in this incident. Thank you very much for everything you've done. The official commendation paperwork is currently being processed and should reach you soon."
"That's too kind!"
Rei Akagi tried his best to maintain composure, but the corners of his mouth kept creeping upward.
Unexpected windfall!
A huge one!
"This is simply the responsibility of a Champion."
Cynthia nodded slightly, her tone calm as always.
"Additionally, there's another matter."
Professor Oak's expression grew serious.
"Besides expressing thanks, the League has asked me to gather detailed information from both of you regarding the mysterious organization behind the Mausoleum incident. I apologize for disturbing you during recovery, but the official report needs to be recorded as soon as possible."
"Of course, of course."
Rei Akagi instantly caught the hint in Professor Oak's words.
He straightened his back with a righteous expression while tightening his grip around the restless Gengar pillow in his arms.
This was exactly the moment he had been waiting for when he asked Professor Oak to contact the League.
Saving the world?
That sort of thing should be left to the Pokémon League.
He just hadn't expected them to move this quickly.
"Regarding that organization…"
Rei Akagi sat upright and began speaking with absolute seriousness—
While completely making things up.
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