Chapter 0294: The Poisoned Leek

Thursday, December 17th.

Last night, Koga had delivered two handwritten manuals under the stars.

Gengar had already stashed them happily in its pocket dimension.

Whenever needed—

Just reach into its stomach, rummage around, and pull them out.

"Won't stomach acid damage them?" Natsume couldn't help but complain.

"Gengar!" Gengar produced a perfectly intact bag of cucumber chips.

Rip! It tore them open and offered some to Natsume.

Gengar: (￣～￣) munch

"...Never mind."

Natsume took a couple and handed them to the bouncing Togepi.

"Doo-ee~(o˘◡˘o)" The little one stuffed them into its cheeks.

Morning light filtered in.

Arcanine jogged around the yard.

Squirtle, wearing sunglasses, watered the flowerbeds with a Squirtle-shaped watering can—

Looking every bit like a bald yakuza tending his garden.

"Sirfetch'd...(´□`)"

The bushy-browed duck napped atop its shield.

Too tired... No training today~

Natsume ruffled its smooth feathers, grinning. "Don't worry! I've got the TM for Poison Jab ready!"

Last night's manuals covered [Sludge Bomb] and [Poison Jab].

Filled with Koga's handwritten notes and insights.

According to Koga, training Sludge Bomb would cost 4 million Pokémon Coins.

Poison Jab was cheaper but still required expensive venom extracts.

Since Gengar was getting 4 million Pokémon Coins worth of training, Natsume wouldn't play favorites.

Patting Sirfetch'd's head, he said, "Don't let me down!"

As Natsume always said—

Trainers and Pokémon must support each other.

And Poison Jab was his way of responding to Sirfetch'd's efforts.

"Sirfetch'd..."

Sirfetch'd stared blankly.

Weren't we supposed to be slackers together?!

I've been betrayed!

...

Chat Group

Green: "Toxic Orb? I've got some!"

Natsume-sensei: "Sell me two, then."

Green: "Deal! (✧ω✧)"

Yellow: "Poison-type training? Be careful!"

Gold: "Relax! Natsume-sensei's a training pro!"

Steven: "If you need Poison Gems, I can spare a couple."

Mr. Steven's collection... At least epic quality!

Natsume-sensei: "Thank you, Steven! (ᗒᗨᗕ)"

Sabrina: "@Natsume-sensei, training at Saffron Gym this afternoon?"

No Gengar for a whole day... Irritating.

Natsume hesitated.

For Psychic moves, Gengar can auto-train.

But Poison moves? Better supervise.

Just as he decided to bring Gengar and Sirfetch'd—

Erika: "Grass and Poison go hand-in-hand. My Celadon Gym's better for this~"

Janine: ?

I'm the Poison-type Leader here...

Sabrina: This woman...

Imagining Sabrina's annoyed expression,

Erika smirked behind her sleeve.

"Anger ages the skin, you know~"

Round one: Erika's victory!

Natsume: "I'll go to Saffron Gym."

Mostly because it's closer...

Erika: "Eh!?"

Sabrina: Hmph.

Technically, I'm still Gengar's boss...

Round two: Sabrina's win!

...

Afternoon.

December's chill hung in the air.

Natsume bundled up in a brown trench coat.

Sylveon trotted beside him, its ribbon wrapped warmly around his arm.

"Sylveon~"

It blinked its azure eyes.

"Cold?"

Natsume crouched, scooping Sylveon into his coat.

"Sylveon!" It peeked out adorably.

"You're heavy."

He chuckled. "Stop squirming, or I'll drop you!"

"Sylveon! (╬ Ò﹏Ó)"

The Toxic Orbs ordered from Green had been delivered to Saffron Gym.

Perfect for Gengar and Sirfetch'd's training.

Inside the grand gym—

Gengar floated in casually. "Gengar(～￣▽￣)～"

A chorus of voices greeted it: "Coach Gengar!"

Sabrina waited, expression cool.

"Training grounds are there. Help yourself."

She gestured to the Toxic Orbs. "Your order."

Natsume had seen Toxic Orbs before—

Back in Tokyo, from Devon Corporation.

Gengar's mouth stretched into a grin as it levitated toward one.

"Gengar! (*⊙~⊙)"

Its long red tongue lashed out, licking the orb eagerly.

Sabrina blinked. "That's a... training method?"

"Koga's techniques."

Natsume shrugged.

Makes sense for a Poison-type Elite Four, she mused.

[Sludge Bomb] had a 30% poison chance—

Gengar's graduation move for Poison-types.

Slurp... prprpr~

Natsume's mood was complicated.

Fifth training session this year...

"You've been working hard lately!"

The training prodigy nodded approvingly.

Sabrina crouched, fascinated.

"You can eat Poison-types too?"

"Gengar!" Obviously!

"What about playing cards?"

"Gengar?" ...Maybe?

"Bowling balls?!"

"Gengar! Σ(°△°|||)︴"

With Gengar's quadruple Poison resistance and Sabrina supervising—

Natsume turned to Sirfetch'd.

"Your turn." He smiled.

"Sirfetch'd!"

Sigh...

It gripped its leek, eyes sharpening.

But... how do I train this?!

For a slacker, this was too hard.

"For Poison Jab..."

Natsume pondered. "First, venom infusion."

Pokémon like Toxicroak secreted poison through their hands.

Others, like Conkeldurr, poisoned their weapons.

Since Sirfetch'd wouldn't directly handle venom, coating its leek would suffice.

Once mastered, it could use the move without venom.

"Take it step by step."

Natsume reassured, "It's fine if you don't get it."

Honestly, not learning would be better.

The effort alone matters.

Sirfetch'd frowned, feeling pressure.

If I don't know how...

Just copy someone else!

It eyed its venom-coated leek, then glanced at Gengar—

Who was licking its Toxic Orb: prprpr~

...Ah.

Sirfetch'd extended its duck tongue and licked the leek's tip.

Prprpr~

"Sirfetch'd!? w(°Д°)w"

[Poisoned!]

Darkness swallowed its vision.

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