Inside the Pokémon Center, Zhu Jianyuan and Su Bai looked at each other.
Zhu Jianyuan frowned unhappily.
"As expected, that guy brought a bodyguard with him after all. And he even refused to let Haicheng send someone along. People from Kyoto really do throw their weight around!"
"He probably didn't bring that bodyguard into the city with him."
Zhu Jianyuan's irritation wasn't entirely because Rock had brought a bodyguard.
In fact, having someone accompany Rock actually saved him a lot of worry.
The real reason he was annoyed…
Was because that bodyguard had insulted Haunter!
In front of Zhu Jianyuan, not even a single bad word about a Pokémon was acceptable.
And Haunter had only just emerged from the Pokédex.
It was still practically a baby!
Su Bai rubbed his chin, his expression somewhat strange.
"A bodyguard…?"
"Have you ever seen a bodyguard treat the person they're protecting with such disrespect?"
"And besides…"
"Are Ghost-type Pokémon really that timid?"
Haunter was a Ghost-type Pokémon that naturally appeared and disappeared without warning.
How could it possibly be frightened by an ordinary bodyguard?
Even if that bodyguard were hiding somewhere extremely well, Haunter should have been curious rather than scared.
And there was something else that bothered Su Bai.
That so-called "Shadow."
A guy this irritable…
A guy who had even tried to change Rock's decision…
Was he really nothing more than a bodyguard?
"Interesting…"
Su Bai chuckled.
He patted Charizard on the head and said,
"City Lord Zhu, looks like I'll have to make a trip outside."
"I want to see what this guy who keeps saying Pokémon are inferior to contracted beasts…"
"Actually looks like."
….......
The outskirts of Haicheng.
Rock was enthusiastically battling a Rattata with Haunter.
The large rat-like Rattata bared its teeth at Haunter before suddenly charging forward like a bolt of lightning.
It imagined its sharp front teeth sinking into the balloon-like Pokémon and bursting it open.
But the scene it expected never happened.
Instead, its entire body somehow passed straight through Haunter!
Rattata landed on the ground and stared blankly at Haunter, who was clutching its belly and laughing at it.
The little rat was completely dumbfounded.
"Hahaha! So this is what a Ghost type is like?"
"That's kind of cheating!"
Rock burst out laughing as he watched Haunter make faces at Rattata.
The next moment, he pointed a finger.
Haunter suddenly drifted toward the stunned Rattata like a ghost.
It opened its enormous mouth…
And bit down hard!
"CRUNCH!"
Rattata was bitten squarely.
It let out a miserable squeal.
Haunter had used Bite!
Without any special effect activating, Bite itself was nowhere near as terrifying as the sheer shock of having an attack suddenly pass through you and then hit you from an impossible angle.
Rattata's huge tail shot straight into the air.
Without hesitation, it turned around and fled into the distance.
Watching Rattata disappear farther and farther away, Rock smiled and gently rubbed Haunter's little head.
"Looks like Ghost types are really convenient to level up in the early stages…"
"You did great, Haunter."
A stream of mental energy flowed through their mental connection.
Rock's pure mental power was practically a tonic for Haunter.
The moment it felt that energy entering its body, Haunter immediately began chirping happily.
"Fui! Fui!"
"Looks like I'm really suited to raising Ghost-type Pokémon."
Rock proudly patted Haunter's head.
His talent was simply too strong.
His mental power was also exceptionally powerful.
But because he didn't have any contracted death beasts, all that excess mental power sometimes built up inside him until it became uncomfortable.
Haunter liked consuming his mental power, and doing so also helped it grow stronger.
Although the conversion rate wasn't particularly high, for Rock, it was still a very good thing.
Ever since leaving Haicheng, Haunter had been practically unstoppable.
Especially since Rock deliberately sought out Normal-type Pokémon to bully.
Up until now, Haunter hadn't lost a single battle.
"This is ridiculous…"
"A little rat like that could be crushed with a single finger."
"Meaningless. Completely meaningless!"
"Rock, you're becoming more and more childish!"
"Instead of wasting your mental power on something like that, you might as well give it to me!"
"When are you finally going to understand?"
"These little things called Pokémon are completely useless…"
That dry, hoarse voice emerged from Rock's shadow once again.
The entity Rock called "Shadow" seemed extremely displeased with the way he was wasting his mental power.
"Fui! Fui!!"
This time, Haunter didn't panic like it had before.
Instead, it bared its teeth and stared warily at Rock's shadow.
As a Ghost-type Pokémon, Haunter was naturally quite brave!
The previous time, it had only been frightened because the shadow had suddenly spoken without warning.
"Haunter's getting braver too."
Rock completely ignored Shadow's words.
Instead, he encouraged Haunter.
Then he turned toward his own shadow and spoke in an utterly indifferent tone.
"If you keep being so ungrateful, how about I cut off your food supply for a few days?"
"Don't forget."
"You're alive because you feed on my mental power!"
"…"
Rock's shadow fell silent.
Clearly, his threat had been extremely effective.
….....
"He should be somewhere around here…"
High above the outskirts of Haicheng, Su Bai held the tablet in one hand while riding Charizard through the clouds.
"This guy's route is pretty strange."
Su Bai stared thoughtfully at the trail left by the small dot on the tablet.
For a Ghost-type Pokémon, leveling up in the early stages certainly had its advantages.
After all, there weren't many Pokémon capable of countering Ghost and Poison types.
Under normal circumstances, if Rock's only goal was to level up, he should have taken advantage of that and farmed more Rattata or similar Pokémon.
But the route displayed on the tablet…
Was almost a straight line.
"So this guy really did come here with a purpose…"
Su Bai sighed quietly.
He patted Charizard's head and pointed in a certain direction.
"This way."
"We're about to find him."
"I just hope…"
"This guy doesn't disappoint me."
Su Bai didn't actually have that bad an impression of Rock.
Although the squinty-eyed man clearly had plenty of secrets, Su Bai could tell that his affection for Pokémon was genuine.
And the future he had envisioned for Contract Masters had also made Su Bai somewhat interested.
From a certain perspective, Contract Masters were truly pitiful.
If Pokémon could save them…
Then it would absolutely be a good thing.
…...
"Haunter, that's enough."
"Come back. Don't chase it anymore. That Pokémon is pretty pitiful."
Rock smiled as he called Haunter back after it had beaten an Ekans into a frantic retreat.
While treating Haunter with a Potion, he once again transferred a stream of mental power to it.
"Fui!"
Haunter proudly struck a pose, showing its Trainer just how strong it was.
Then it happily licked Rock's face.
All along the way, it had been practically unstoppable!
Especially after that annoying shadow had stopped talking.
Everything had felt so much better!
But the very next second…
That voice Haunter hated suddenly emerged from the shadow once again.
This time, however, Rock didn't stop it.
"Hehehe…"
"Found it…"
"Found it…"
"There…"
"That direction…"
"A dense concentration of refined death energy…"
Rock slowly raised his head and looked into the distance.
Beyond the dense jungle stood a towering structure made entirely of steel.
It was crooked and twisted, leaning ominously against the sky.