Ch.139 Some Are Happy, Some Are Worried

"Who are you calling your kid?" 

A wild Fushiguro Megumi appeared, his face twisted in displeasure. 

Although his face is usually "grumpy," this time it was especially so, clearly showing that he was in an exceptionally bad mood. 

Even so, he didn't forget to greet his seniors and elders with a "good morning," as he was the youngest and least experienced at Jujutsu High. 

"What's wrong? Why the long face so early in the morning? Did your Pokémon run away like Yuuta's?" 

The minefield dancer, Zenin Maki, hadn't changed a bit. 

"It didn't run away, but—it's just not what I expected. Come out and say hello to everyone." 

As he spoke, Fushiguro's shadow extended forward, but nothing emerged. 

Fushiguro leaned over, peering into the shadow. 

"Hey, weren't you super lively this morning? Why—huh? Where'd it go?" 

At the same time, a comical giggle suddenly rang out right next to Maki's ear. 

Maki instinctively swung a punch but hit nothing. 

She turned her head and saw a face—dark, with no eyebrows or nose, only eyes and a mouth, both curved upward, looking quite ridiculous. 

Since Maki missed, the face laughed even harder. 

This infuriated Maki, and she swung both fists, but still hit nothing, feeling no impact at all. 

"What's going on?" 

Cursed spirits are usually invisible and intangible to ordinary people, but not untouchable. This was the first time Maki had encountered something she could see but not touch. 

She quickly calmed down and sought Akira's help. 

"Ah, it's a Gastly. That explains it. Its body is made of gas. Can you hit air?" 

Gastly, the Gas Pokémon, born from toxic gas, can freely pass through objects. Its type is Ghost/Poison. 

"There's a Pokémon like this?" 

Maki's mood took a nosedive. She hated situations where she could only "take hits" but not fight back, and Gastly's abilities were undoubtedly more troublesome than a cursed spirit. 

"Don't you think it fits little Megumi's 'Shadow Technique' perfectly? Its personality is a lot like mine too. What a steal." 

Gojo used his technique, "Blue," to pull Gastly back. 

Even though it deformed during the process, Gastly wasn't angry and laughed along with Gojo. Their laughter was eerie and infectious, making Fushiguro's mood even worse. He blurted out: 

"If you like it so much, why don't you take care of it?" 

"I don't mind." 

Gojo let the Voltorb on his head slide down to his shoulders, one on each side—one with a serious face and the other with a smiling face, surprisingly matching. 

"But Megumi, you chose the egg yourself, and you hatched it yourself. Giving up on it now is no different from those who impulsively buy pets and then impulsively abandon them." 

"Gastly!" Gastly floated in front of Fushiguro, its always-smiling face turning into a crying face, as if saying—Master, are you abandoning me? 

"I was wrong, I'm sorry." Fushiguro quickly apologized. He had spoken out of frustration. 

It was because Gastly's personality was so similar to Gojo's, and because his hope of using a Pokémon to wake his sister had been dashed. He didn't know what kind of Pokémon could wake his sleeping sister, but he was sure it wouldn't be a mischievous ghost like this. 

Seeing this, Akira couldn't help but touch his nose, feeling a pang of guilt. 

He had done similar things in the games. 

To get the "perfect" Pokémon, players could catch hundreds or even thousands of Pokémon, just to find the "best" one. 

They would also exploit poor Ditto, forcing it to breed endlessly, completely disregarding its feelings—this little guy, jokingly called the "Harem King" by many players, did it really want to be the "Harem King"? 

In the end, players got the Pokémon they wanted, but who cared about the "imperfect" ones that were discarded along the way? 

That's why players are called the "Fourth Calamity." If you put a player's perspective into the real Pokémon world, it would probably be worse than Goh's actions. 

Thinking about this, Akira felt incredibly grateful—grateful that he hadn't been transported to the Pokémon world, and grateful that he hadn't awakened the system from the start. Otherwise, with the system's help, he might have ended up chasing the so-called "perfect" Pokémon, neglecting the most important aspects of bonding with Pokémon: sincerity and connection. 

With this in mind, Akira walked over to Fushiguro, first patting Gastly's head with a hand infused with cursed energy, then saying to Fushiguro: "Pokémon are incredibly sensitive to human emotions. As long as you treat them with sincerity, they will definitely respond to you." 

"I understand." Fushiguro nodded, then said to Gastly, "Let's get along well from now on, Gastly." 

"Gastly!" Gastly beamed with joy, sticking out its tongue to lick Fushiguro's face. 

Fushiguro instantly froze: "I-I'm numb…" 

"I forgot to mention, Gastly is poisonous. It can temporarily paralyze living beings." 

"Y-You c-could've s-said that s-sooner…" 

Fushiguro's voice trembled, causing everyone to burst into laughter. Gastly and Gojo laughed especially loudly, and even the naturally fierce-looking Voltorb's expression softened. 

Truly the king of mischief, the original Ghost-type that even brought the undefeated Psychic Gym Leader Sabrina to her knees. 

But Gastly's strengths aren't limited to mischief. As the original Ghost-type, its combat abilities are equally impressive. Very few Pokémon have both Mega Evolution and Gigantamax forms, and even Gardevoir doesn't have that privilege. 

Akira believed that a fully grown Gastly would become Fushiguro's greatest ally. 

Don't forget, while Gastly is a Gas Pokémon, its final evolution, Gengar, is a Shadow Pokémon. 

The only problem is that evolving Gastly into Gengar requires trading. How would that work in this cursed world? Would they have to crawl through a fiber-optic cable? 

Though it's an unreliable idea, they might as well try it once Gastly evolves into Haunter. After all, Gastly's personality wouldn't mind such a ridiculous plan. 

By the time Akira snapped out of his thoughts, Gojo had already left Fushiguro and Gengar behind to play with Hayami's Alolan Vulpix and Inumaki Toge's Growlithe, only to receive the same treatment Ash got in the Sun and Moon series. 

First, the shy Vulpix hit him with a "Powder Snow," then the enthusiastic Growlithe gave him a taste of "Ember." 

The sensation of ice and fire… only Gojo could withstand it. 

Meanwhile, Maki started counting on her fingers: "Serperior, Voltorb, Growlithe, Vulpix, Larvitar, Gastly—that just leaves Shoko's, Akira's, and mine." 

"As for Shoko, I've seen hers. It's a pink cow, and it suits her perfectly," Gojo blurted out without thinking. 

"Did you forget that Shoko just kicked you earlier?" Fushiguro sighed in exasperation. 

Akira immediately understood—Miltank. 

The Milk Cow Pokémon, not only produces delicious and nutritious milk but is also tough, supportive, and versatile. It really does suit Shoko, both in compatibility and certain… physical traits. 

Gojo-sensei, you really know your stuff. 

But saying that in front of Shoko—tsk tsk, it's only thanks to "Infinity" that this guy hasn't been killed a thousand times over for his personality.