"Froslass, would you like to come with me?" Edward asked as he looked at the Pokémon before him. Upon hearing his question, Froslass revealed a hint of curiosity in her expression. She floated over to Edward, studied his face for a moment—then shook her head and silently drifted back to a dark corner of the room, remaining quiet and still.
Edward's lips twitched slightly.
Could this Froslass be… a face snob?
He'd heard of some Pokémon being obsessed with appearances—selective about their trainers based on looks. In short, if a trainer wasn't attractive enough by the Pokémon's standards, they wouldn't be accepted. While this was rare, it wasn't unheard of, and it could be quite a headache, especially since Pokémon aesthetics didn't always align with human beauty standards.
So, it was hard to say how these "face-snob Pokémon" judged someone's looks, but Edward had a feeling he simply didn't meet Froslass's standards.
Adopting a Pokémon wasn't easy. Aside from meeting the League's official requirements, the Pokémon also had to accept the adopter. After all, Pokémon weren't just pets—they were highly intelligent. If they didn't like someone, even a successful adoption wouldn't amount to much. It might even cause further problems.
So, if a Pokémon refused to be adopted, even the most qualified candidate would still be rejected—unless the Pokémon in question disliked everyone equally. In such rare cases, the League might arrange a special adoption.
"Looks like this little one isn't interested," Headmistress Lillian said helplessly as she looked at Froslass.
Edward didn't mind too much. He had simply wanted to try adopting her. Since Froslass wasn't willing, there was no point in forcing it. Different Pokémon had different criteria for choosing their future trainers, and Edward wasn't the type to take it personally.
"Maybe it's just not meant to be," he said, standing up. Since Froslass had declined, he wasn't going to insist. His interest had been piqued only because Boss Gengar mentioned that she had a apex aura. While it wasn't certain whether she had apex lineage, with the help of fear candy, she had great potential.
But since she didn't want to go with him, there was no point dwelling on it.
Just as Edward was about to leave, he suddenly felt a tug at the hem of his clothes. Turning around, he saw the shiny Duskull had floated over and was gently grabbing his clothes with a wisp of ghost energy. Its eerie, glowing eyes stared straight at him—not in a frightening way, but with an uncanny stillness.
Duskull, as a species, wasn't particularly scary-looking—especially when compared to other Ghost-types. It resembled a floating skull face, and its design was relatively tame.
"What is it?" Edward asked with a smile.
He remembered that Duskull's final evolution was Dusknoir, a Pokémon shrouded in eerie legends. It was said to have the power to ferry the souls of the dead into the spirit realm.
That so-called "spirit realm" was essentially the Pokémon world's version of the underworld—where the souls of humans and Pokémon went after death to rest. Dusknoir, as a unique Ghost-type, could guide those souls to their final resting place. That was why people often felt a deep chill in its presence—a fear born from the very concept of mortality.
It was like waking up in the middle of the night to find grim reapers standing at your bedside—you couldn't help but wonder if your time had come.
Edward had felt a bit unsettled when he first saw Duskull, but by now he'd gotten used to it. After all, Duskull wasn't Dusknoir—yet. It was still just a Ghost-type Pokémon.
"Kyu!" Q let out a loud, threatening cry.
Duskull reflexively shrank back in fear, but its glowing eyes remained fixed on Edward.
Edward scratched his head.
"You want to come with me?" he asked, slightly unsure.
To his surprise, Duskull nodded.
That caught Edward off guard, but as he looked at the Ghost-type in front of him, he felt rather pleased.
Shiny, Ghost-type… Even though Dusknoir didn't hold any massive advantage over other Ghost Pokémon in terms of raw strength, Edward had fear candy. So the usual power limitations weren't really a concern.
With Duskull's agreement, Edward officially brought the little one with him. As for how to raise it, Edward already had a plan—or rather, he didn't need anything fancy: just standard training and some candy would do the trick.
"Edward, you'll still need to complete the adoption paperwork later," Headmistress Lillian reminded him. It wasn't that she didn't trust him—after all, Edward was someone special. But adoptions through League-run orphanages had formal procedures, and even Edward wasn't exempt.
Of course, no one would really make a fuss if he skipped them, but it was better to avoid trouble if possible.
Edward nodded. He was already planning to hand the paperwork over to Zoroark. That girl knew her way around procedures like this.
With Duskull now in his care, Edward's belt carried four Poké Balls. This would give him more flexibility in facing future threats—though Edward hoped not to run into any.
"I wonder how things are going with Mewtwo…" he muttered with a yawn.
That was what worried him most at the moment.
According to Mewtwo, Team Rocket hadn't made a move against it in a while. After one probing attempt, they even seemed to have withdrawn their surveillance.
Still, Edward had advised Mewtwo to keep its guard up. Who knew if Team Rocket was secretly still watching?
Mewtwo agreed, of course.
Although it could use its psychic powers to scan its surroundings, doing so could easily alert the enemy. After all, Team Rocket already knew Mewtwo had escaped, and they'd likely deduced that its type was Psychic.
So for now, it had to avoid using its powers to avoid detection. Mewtwo could only monitor short distances without giving away its location.
(End of Chapter)