Instructor Ai and N
"Jie!"
Feeling its new body and the energy flowing through its limbs and bones like a tsunami, Haunter, who had completed a period of transformation, revealed a delighted smile.
"Jie..."
It lowered its head and looked at its own hands that had been created by its evolution.
This pair of ghost hands was its future weapon.
With this pair of hands, its fighting style could be enriched, and some of its moves could be released more quickly and powerfully.
"Jie~"
Haunter looked wistfully at Gurdurr, who had quietly retrieved the steel bars from his hand while he was evolving.
Gurdurr and Boldore, who were extremely high in rank and carried Evolite, were undoubtedly two strong enemies.
Before they evolved, Gastly and Larvitar were still lacking in hard power...
It's not like they don't have a chance to win.
However, in that case, winning would have required some maneuvering - Gastly and Larvitar would have needed to work well together, and Aisha as a trainer would have needed to make some crucial decisions.
Now there's no need...
Haunter, can you crush these two Pokémon with hard power?
Absolutely!
Easily!
This body, which is the result of Haunter's efforts and Guidance's heart and soul, has an unimaginably strong power.
This time, Larvitar can be used only as a pendant.
"Jei!"
Haunter clenched his fist.
Gurdurr, Boldore, you're going to lose!
"As expected of a Pokémon of Instructor Ai's, it's really amazing how it unfolded."
Finally recovering from the surprise of the different-colored Haunter, Emmet revealed a smile and said, "Congratulations to Instructor Ai for acquiring such a powerful Haunter."
"But..."
Ingo took over the conversation at this time, his tone was filled with a sense of wariness and unwillingness to show weakness.
"Our battle isn't over yet."
"Uh-huh."
Aisha smiled.
At this moment, the three of them gave the order to attack together.
"Gurdurr use Fire Punch on Haunter!"
"Boldore, Stone Edge, target Haunter as well!"
Apparently, the evolved Haunter has become the target of Ingo and Emmet.
"Shadow Ball."
"Ja..."
Haunter dodged Gurdurr's Fire Punch, and then, a high-speed spinning Shadow Ball coalesced between its ghostly hands and shot towards Boldore's Stone Edge.
"Boom!"
In a flash, debris flew.
Smoke filled the air.
"Lar!"
Aisha's command rang in Larvitar's head.
The little guy smashed Boldore's head with brute force.
"Boldore, Protect!"
Terrified, Ingo hurriedly gave the order to defend.
Aisha's silent command maneuver was really hard to guard against, especially in a doubles match where there were so many factors on the field.
"Ka!"
Boldore defended against Larvitar's brute force.
However, Haunter appeared on top of it at some point and struck it in the back with an accurate Bane shot.
The burns became a boost to Bane's strength.
"Gurdurr, Rock Slide!"
Gurdurr returned on Emmet's command, and Larvitar countered its attack with a Rock Slide of the same magnitude.
"Haunter, Shadow Ball!"
Haunter laughed and threw out a Shadow Ball, finally destroying Boldore, whose stamina was already on its last legs.
"Ka..."
Boldore hangs up his mosquito eyes.
Ingo is out first.
"Huh?"
A cold sweat broke out on Gurdurr's forehead.
"Uh..."
Emmet didn't know what to say for a moment.
Originally, in terms of hard power, his side should have had a considerable advantage.
But Gastly, after evolving into Haunter, completely turned the situation around by himself.
"It's worthy of Ai's guidance... The power of a Pokémon is simply incalculable."
Looking at the young man across from him, who had been smiling lightly all along, Emmet also sighed in his heart at his strength.
With such cultivation techniques, even compared to the 'cultivator', I'm afraid he's not far behind.
"Instructor Ai, you're very good."
Emmet straightened his hat and said, "However, my Gurdurr and I aren't softies either!"
"Uh-huh!"
Hearing the trainer's words, Gurdurr, who was slightly embarrassed by Boldore's defeat, also gripped his steel and gave Haunter and Larvitar a determined look.
Come on, fight!
I won't stop until the end.
"Jie!"
"Lar!"
Haunter and Larvitar looked at each other when they saw its expression, and they unanimously showed a kind expression.
"Good."
Aisha smiled brightly from behind as well.
"In that case, Haunter, Larvitar, use Shadow Ball and Earthquake at full power!"
"Gurdurr, Rock Slide!"
Aisha and Emmet shouted out the command to attack together.
Because of Haunter's presence, the moves that Emmet commanded Gurdurr to use at the end of the day were still not his original moves.
This was the helplessness of a Fighting Pokémon against a Ghost Pokémon.
"Uhh!"
Gurdurr almost threw out his steel bar, calling out a large rock, and smashing it into Larvitar and Haunter in front of him.
"Jie~"
Haunter, with the fastest speed in the room, snapped a high-speed spinning Shadow Ball onto Gurdurr's chest in advance.
"Lar!"
Earthquake's violent energy was concentrated on the battlefield, and Larvitar poured Earthquake's power into Gurdurr, who was already in a state of exhaustion.
"Uh..."
After taking two powerful moves head-on, Gurdurr finally weakened and fell to the ground with mosquito eyes.
"Ha~"
Shaking his head, Emmet withdrew Gurdurr.
"As expected of Instructor Ai, I'm still defeated."
"..."
Ingo didn't want to say anything.
He lost to Aisha for the third time today, even from singles to doubles.
He had mixed feelings.
"Thank you for your guidance, captains."
Ai also smiled as he retrieved Haunter and Larvitar - Haunter, who had just completed its evolution, was still full of vigor, but Larvitar, who had fought twenty-one consecutive battles, was obviously a bit worn out.
A Pseudo-Legendary Pokémon in its pre-evolved form was really lacking in stamina.
"Battle Subway is rightly recognized as the most famous battle facility in the Unova region, both the level of trainers and the quality of Pokémon are all top-notch."
"You're too kind, Instructor Ai."
Emmet and Ingo also revealed happy expressions as they listened to Aisha's words.
There was no one who didn't like being complimented, especially from a strong person.
There are not many people who can be praised by Instructor Ai.
"I don't know what else Instructor Ai has planned?"
"Don't worry."
Seeing that Ingo and Emmet were worried that they would continue to rampage within the Battle Subway, Aisha was amused and explained, saying, "It's getting late today, so I'm not going to continue to challenge the Battle Subway, so I'm going to take my leave after this train arrives."
"Oh... I'm sorry to hear that, but I was hoping to see more of Instructor Ai's strength."
"..."
Emmet exchanged a few pleasantries, but Ingo was still reluctant to speak.
His intuition told him that Aisha wouldn't let go of this free experience packets so easily.
As expected, after hearing Emmet's polite words, Instructor Ai, who had a step to take, opened his mouth with a smile on his face, and said, "It's nothing, I said I have eight Pokémon that need to be exercised, and I'm only halfway through now."
Emmet: "Uh?"
The white captain's expression changed.
"So, continue tomorrow."
Aisha smiled a harmless smile, and spoke words that would make the entire Battle Subway staff tremble.
...
On the streets of Nimbasa City, a green-haired young man wearing a cap followed the flow of people and stopped in front of the Pokémon Center.
"..."
He remained silent, his eyes were deep as he looked at the people around him.
Those people were either ordinary people with Pokémon or trainers.
Their faces were filled with bright smiles.
Their Pokémon were also enjoying a peaceful and happy life, without a single complaint.
"..."
The green-haired youth remained silent and lowered his eyes.
It was only now that he really saw the relationship between humans and Pokémon clearly.
Because of his origins, N had held a wrong perspective on the relationship between humans and Pokémon for a long time.
"Hmm."
The green-haired youth recalled images from his childhood.
The young man was sitting in a windowless room with a dull atmosphere.
His expression was dead.
He was tired of playing with blocks, and the squeaky toy trains were just annoying at that time.
N's only companions were the Pokémon.
Pokémon that had been abandoned and abused by humans.
N accepted them with tenderness.
He cherished these hard-earned companions.
As they got along, N felt the pain of the disabled Pokémon.
As a result, he became disgusted with humans and hated them.
N hated those who forcibly took Pokémon with their Pokéballs, and hated those who disregarded Pokémon's will and fulfilled their own desires.
He became the king of Team Plasma.
Relying on Team Plasma, N also wished to create a real world where Pokémon could be happy.
He harbored a beautiful vision.
To create a world... such a seemingly grandiose goal was only possible because Pokémon took up the entirety of N's life.
This vision was finally shattered when his adoptive father revealed his true nature.
The man who had taught him to become a king was the very person he hated.
Ghetsis used Pokémon as tools.
He went even further, using the powers of the Pokémon without any regard for their feelings.
He was only a tool for Ghetsis.
But it was he who gave his existence meaning...
N had been living under Ghetsis's lies and use since the beginning.
"..."
Closing his eyes, the image of Ghetsis cursing himself as a monster appeared in front of N's eyes.
After that incident, N finally realized the true nature of Ghetsis and Team Plasma, and left the organization, wandering around the Unova region alone.
In the past two years, N's worldview has been greatly affected.
Without Ghetsis' guidance and compulsion, he was able to realize the relationship between humans and Pokémon.
N heard the voices of more and more Pokémon who loved their trainers.
This is also the most common situation when people get along with Pokémon.
People like Pokémon.
Pokémon like people.
This is how the world of people and Pokémon was built.
This world is not black and white.
There are bad people who bully Pokémon.
But most people love Pokémon with all their heart.
"For that reason, I have to keep going..." N straightened his cap.
"In order to find that answer, I won't stop!"
With a determined look in his eyes, N didn't stop walking.
Before he knew it, he had already reached the Battle Subway - his destination.
Originally, he had arrived in Nimbasa City by coincidence.
However, after arriving in Nimbasa City, he heard that a famous trainer had also come to the city, so he thought of exchanging ideas.
That person was currently challenging the two captains in the subway.
"Uh..."
Leaning against the door of the Battle Subway, N raised his head and looked at the large screen installed on top of a building in the distance.
During this period of time, he had gradually learned to use some electronic devices.
Naturally, cell phones were the foundation.
After getting in touch with cell phones and the internet, N, whose focus was on understanding the relationship between people and Pokémon, naturally paid attention to the information of the Trainer Module.
It was only natural that he learned about "Instructor Ai"...
That boy, when he fights, he seems to be a ruthless flag-bearer.
He was very graceful.
Pokémon became perfect weapons in his hands.
He realized the potential of Pokémon.
Even a Pokémon that used to be just a pet in everyone's eyes became a reliable member of the team under his control, and he was able to influence the outcome of a battle.
A lot of people regarded Instructor Ai as a god.
They said that he was a master tactician.
Instructor Ai opened the era of Pokémon tactics.
N had mixed feelings.
He also watched Aisha's tactics video.
He had to say, the quality was high.
N recognized Aisha's strength as a trainer.
He was no match for him.
However, he always felt that Aisha treated Pokémon as a bunch of data, as a tool for battle.
N couldn't accept this kind of teacher.
The problem was... during the live broadcast, Aisha's love and care for his Pokémon was not a lie.
He repeatedly jumped over N's bottom line.
It's like a love-hate relationship.
Such a complicated man.
It's really puzzling to N.
How does he treat Pokémon?
What kind of person is he?
Is Pokémon a tool or a partner to him?
N couldn't figure it out...
That's why N was ready to meet Instructor Ai offline.
He wanted to know what that boy was thinking...
"Okay, I know you're good, let's find a place to eat first."
A gentle voice reached N's ears.
He looked up.
A slender young man walked out from behind the door of the Gear Station, and he was accompanied by a shiny Haunter with a bright smile.
Haunter?
A kid I've never seen before.
I think it's a new Pokémon that was acquired when there was no live broadcast?
"Aisha..."
Softly pronouncing his name, N focused on the black-haired boy.
Though he didn't know what Aisha was thinking.
However, Haunter's heartfelt words had actually reached his heart - that Pokémon was happy, it loved its trainer, and was willing to fight for its trainer, and would never give up even if it had to suffer a lot, and was willing to give up everything it had.
Even though they hadn't known each other for a long time...
"Ah."
N was speechless for a moment.
Such pure feelings, pure Pokémon love and trust for people, appeared in a pair of Pokémon and trainers who had only known each other for a short time.
"Huh?"
At this time, Aisha also realized the line of sight that was staring at him.
"Who..."
After scanning the neighborhood in confusion, he saw the young man with green hair.
The slender figure of the handsome green-haired man with melancholy eyes was too much for him to handle.
"Uh?"
Instructor Ai didn't know how to look at him.
Of course he knew this man.
N.
He is said to be the offspring of a human and a Pokémon.
His green hair resembles the configuration of Gardevoir, but some of the information points of Tropius, which is very puzzling.
Who gave birth with Tropius?
N's biological father or mother is really something.
"Mr. Aisha."
Finally, after meeting Aisha's eyes, N took the initiative to step forward.
"Let me introduce myself, I'm N, a person who's traveling in the Unova region."
"Hello..."
Aisha didn't avoid it, but his tone was a bit puzzled.
He wondered what N was planning to do with himself?
It wasn't supposed to be a fan offline real anchor...
"I wonder if Mr. Aisha has the time to talk to me." N got right to the point.
"Of course."
After a few moments of contemplation, Aisha revealed a polite smile.
Although he didn't know what N was selling.
However, he was also interested in this brave man who could ride a dragon.
Even if N was up to no good, he wasn't afraid.
N's highest level is just one of the Black and White Dragons... It's not like he doesn't have his own Dragon type First-level Legendary Pokémon.
"But..."
"What?"
N froze.
"Let's just find a restaurant to talk."
Aisha looked to Haunter, saying, "After all, my Pokémon is hungry."