Natsuhiko's expression changed.
Someone else in the room?
Soon, he saw in the empty corner a black sphere slowly emerging from the wall, surrounded by swirling purple mist.
Two sly eyes fell on the MooMoo Milk in front of Abra, unable to resist sticking its tongue out for a lick.
"Gastly?"
Seeing this Pokémon, Natsuhiko was momentarily stunned.
"Gengar!"
Hearing Natsuhiko's voice, Gastly reacted to the temptations of MooMoo Milk and Abra's invitation, and floated out of the wall involuntarily.
Then, slightly flustered, it retreated toward the wall.
"Beedrill, stop it!" Natsuhiko said in a deep voice.
The Gastly, a Ghost-type and Poison-type Gas Pokémon, can go anywhere it wishes.
Moreover, Gastly is not a common Pokémon, Ghost-type Pokémon, like Psychic-type Pokémon, have their own unique characteristics.
Natsuhiko did not deny that he had an impulse to capture Gastly the moment he saw it.
"Beedrill!"
Beedrill instantly understood and spat out a sheet of Power Grid, wrapping toward Gastly.
One major characteristic of Ghost-type Pokémon is their immunity to General Type and Fighting Type attacks, immune to techniques of two attributes, which is unique among all Pokémon attributes.
"Gengar!"
Gastly let out a strange cry before quickly vanishing into the wall, causing Beedrill's Power Grid to miss.
"Escaped? Abra, can you still locate it?"
Natsuhiko looked at Abra, who was holding the MooMoo Milk and sipping it slowly, its body not much larger than the bottle, drinking it wasn't very fast; unconsciously, it had finished a whole bottle?
Previously, it was Abra who discovered Gastly, otherwise he wouldn't have imagined a Ghost-type Pokémon lurking in the house.
"Burp~~" Abra gave a satisfied burp, wiped its mouth a bit contentedly, tilted its head in confusion, and raised its little hand, "Abra—"
Natsuhiko narrowed his eyes.
Indeed, Abra, just newly born, had already shown its talent far surpassing normal Psychic-type Pokémon, though whether this was a good thing or not...?
While pondering, his hands didn't stop moving, he gathered the two Pokémon outside the yard, and picked up Abra.
"Beedrill, let's go!"
"Beedrill!"
He left the house directly, following Abra's guidance, chasing in Gastly's direction.
If the Gastly is unowned by a Trainer, Natsuhiko wouldn't mind capturing it—though raising three Pokémon with his current resources was a bit challenging, the convenience Ghost-type Pokémon offer trainers is substantial.
But if this Gastly had a Trainer, then its appearance here was intriguing.
Whatever the outcome, pursuing it to find out was a necessity.
Otherwise, having just rented the house, if someone was targeting him, it would cause Natsuhiko sleepless nights.
After chasing for a while.
Abra informed Natsuhiko that Gastly had entered a building, and when he looked up, he was stunned to find it was a bar.
The neon letters of "Challenger Bar" were particularly prominent in the dark environment.
Outside a heavy metal door stood two arms-crossed, muscular men.
A bar in such a remote place?
After a slight hesitation, Natsuhiko gathered Beedrill and walked toward the entrance.
The two burly men sized him up but didn't stop him from pushing open the door; as it opened, the din and clinking glasses inside made their Adam's apple move uncontrollably.
This time was peak hour for the bar—despite its remote location, business seemed unaffected.
Upon opening the door, even before entering, Natsuhiko felt the rush of heat, smelled the rich scent of various liquors, and heard nothing but noise.
The lively scene contrasted sharply with the quiet outside.
Natsuhiko's arrival drew little attention as people continued enjoying their wine-soaked revelry.
Hidden in his clothes, Abra pointed to a private room within the bar.
After doing so, it opened its mouth slightly, and let out a small yawn.
Seeming tired.
Natsuhiko didn't recklessly charge toward the room, instead heading to the bar counter, where a bartender in black-and-white attire was skillfully wiping crystal glasses.
Lightly tapped the smooth tabletop.
Tap tap....
"A beer, please."
A hand with a large, obscure ruby on one finger pushed a full beer glass toward him.
"50."
Quite expensive.
Natsuhiko took a small sip; the malt's bitterness quickly spread in his mouth. He pulled out a fifty Union currency note from his pocket and placed it on the counter.
The small Abra tucked in his clothes seemed to scent something, its nose twitched, tail flicked unconsciously.
"Looking for someone?" The bartender pocketed the money and glancing meaningfully at him.
"Hmm?" Natsuhiko frowned at him.
"No need to be tense; new faces attract more attention, you've been glancing intentionally or unintentionally at room number one since entering, surely looking for someone."
The bartender chuckled, seemingly confident in his observation skills.
"But I'd advise you, those in room number one aren't ordinary, best not to harbor unwise plans."
Natsuhiko took another sip from his glass, indifferent to the bartender's advice.
"Of course, if you're a Trainer, you might get something unexpected." The bartender suddenly added.
"What do you mean?"
Before the bartender could answer, Natsuhiko's peripheral vision caught room number one's door slowly opening.
The bartender shrugged, "Look, they're welcoming you."
Natsuhiko watched the door open slightly without further change, pondered briefly, and placed his glass on the counter heading over.
Before leaving, he remarked.
"Nice ring."
At his words, the bartender was momentarily stunned, looked down at the ring on his finger, using a cloth to wipe it, revealing a concealed dazzling shine as the cover of dust was removed.
Chuckled heartily, flicked his golden hair, and slowly said, "Pretty observant."
As Natsuhiko's figure faded into the room, he hummed an unknown tune and continued wiping glasses.
Meanwhile.
Natsuhiko entered room number one with a hint of caution.
Under dim lighting, he saw an elderly man with graying hair sunken into a sofa, sipping with a tender smile, as Gastly happily swirled around him.
Noticing the newcomer, the old man nodded apologetically.
"Pardon me, this child seems to have sensed something earlier and left suddenly. If it disturbed you, I apologize on its behalf."
Gastly mischievously stuck its tongue out at Natsuhiko.
So, was it the commotion from Abra's birth that caught Gastly's attention?
Seems like a reasonable explanation.
"I didn't know it had a Trainer."
Given such sincere apologies, Natsuhiko couldn't pursue the matter.
Especially since he couldn't fathom the elderly man.
From today on, he'd need to be mindful of these elusive Ghost-type Pokémon.
Luckily, Abra had hatched—even lacking combat ability, its showcased psychic abilities should make detecting hidden Ghost-type Pokémon manageable.
"Trainer, huh?" The old man chuckled, shaking his head.
As Natsuhiko was about to leave, the old man stopped him, "As an apology, would the young man be interested in a gathering?"
"Gathering?" Natsuhiko paused.
"Yes, a gathering, a very interesting gathering..." The old man hinted deeply.