Chapter 169: I Have a Friend...

Chapter 169: I Have a Friend...

When Arthur noticed Specter's Poké Ball vibrating, he guessed the fellow was definitely hiding something from him.

This guy had been with him since he was a little Gastly stealing offerings of fruit. How could Arthur not see through his little schemes?

Once he gripped it tightly, Specter couldn't get out no matter how much he shook.

Arthur didn't know if a Pokémon that could break out of its Poké Ball on its own was strong, but he knew that trainers who allowed their Pokémon to do so were definitely subpar.

At least, after he tightened his grip on the Poké Ball, unless the Pokémon inside could somehow blast it open from within, it couldn't hope to escape his palm!

After hastily bidding farewell to Suicune, who had come to help, Arthur forcibly took Specter to the city's Pokémon hospital, not even having time to change his clothes.

At this moment, he was still unaware that he had gone viral online yet again!

Many people had taken photos at the Pokémon Center, and the news of Suicune appearing in the human world after leaving the conservation area had swept across the entire internet within ten minutes!

Her ethereal transformed image, in particular, had rapidly dominated online spaces, forcefully occupying major forums and message boards.

During this time, many people also inquired who the person beside Suicune was.

Subsequently, the experts from the "Fishing" sub-forum on Qiandu Tieba were the first to identify Arthur.

By the time their analysis post came out, the Pokémon Center director who had seen Arthur's ID had only just made the connection to Arthur's "Son of Suicune" identity.

So, it seemed the experts from the "Fishing" board, aside from never actually succeeding in their "fishing" (trolling/baiting), were exceptionally skilled in everything else…

Following this, Arthur's Starbo account was immediately bombarded. Countless private messages instantly overwhelmed his inbox.

Yet, just as this wave of popularity was reaching a boiling point, with countless people eagerly waiting for the drama to unfold, his agent, Eleanor Vance, found that she couldn't contact Arthur once again…

"That rotten kid!!"

Eleanor Vance, still hounded by company calls even after work hours, was currently clutching her phone, looking at a series of unanswered outgoing calls, grinding her teeth in anger.

Such huge publicity, such a golden opportunity!

And this rascal had gone off the grid again!

It was so infuriating!

However, Arthur was completely unconcerned about any of this at the moment.

He was currently at the Pokémon hospital, supervising Specter with a stern gaze as it obediently underwent a full-body check-up.

After it was over, a female doctor in her forties, with a director-level position, called him into her office. Her very first sentence was:

"This Gengar of yours… was it really wild before?"

"Er, about that…"

Arthur stammered, momentarily at a loss for words.

People are always like that; they can lie to anyone, but they can never bring themselves to lie to a doctor.

"Well… actually, I have a friend who..."

"Alright, you don't need to say anymore!"

The female doctor cut him off decisively.

"Of the people who come here, nine out of ten 'have a friend.' I get it! Let's skip that part. I'll be direct.

This Gengar of yours is in extremely poor physical condition, and it has consumed a large quantity of Soul Orbs in the past!

I don't care why you—or rather, your friend—fed him such dangerous things before. In any case, from today onwards, he absolutely must not consume any more Soul Orbs, and he must undergo dedicated recuperation! This will be a long-term process."

Soul Orbs were a potent supplement for Ghost-type Pokémon. Small amounts could be used as life-saving elixirs.

However, long-term, large-scale consumption was definitely more harmful than beneficial, and could even cause Ghost-type Pokémon to develop severe dependency.

Specter had been unsupervised before; Mismagius couldn't control him at all. He had pushed himself too hard on the battlefield too many times in the past, and when severely injured, he would consume Soul Orbs to forcibly recover and fight again.

Over time, his physical condition worsened, making him even more reliant on Soul Orbs to sustain himself, gradually falling into a vicious cycle.

Fortunately, with Specter's century of combat experience, his willpower was absolutely strong enough that drug addiction didn't affect him.

But even so, his body had become extremely compromised by now.

Arthur hadn't noticed this when he had just found him again.

It wasn't until the check-up at the Pokémon Center registration that all of this was exposed.

At this moment, Specter still wanted to say something, but Arthur directly and firmly pressed down on his head, fixing him with an exceptionally "amiable" (read: menacing) gaze.

"You shut up! Just obediently listen to the doctor!"

The female doctor then continued, "I recommend a minor detoxification surgery for him first, followed by recuperative treatment with medication. Remember, during the recovery period, he absolutely must not engage in high-intensity battles!

Don't think that just because Ghost-type Pokémon are long-lived, you can be reckless. Compared to biological Pokémon, the external signs of a Ghost-type Pokémon's deteriorating health are not obvious. Sometimes, even if they look fine on the outside, they could just dissipate and perish within a couple of days!"

Arthur pressed Specter's head down, making him bow, and said at the same time, "Okay, thank you, doctor."

Afterward, he decisively completed the admission procedures for Specter and scheduled the surgery.

Walking down the hospital corridor to submit the documents, Mismagius accompanied Arthur, softly consoling him.

"Don't be angry anymore. Specter didn't mean to hide it from you."

"I know…" Arthur sighed. "He was just afraid he wouldn't be able to help me after coming back, that's why he kept quiet, right?"

Compared to humans, Pokémon's thoughts were relatively simple. Arthur had already guessed Specter's reason for hiding it without much effort.

Mismagius floated beside him, nodding.

This made Arthur smile helplessly.

"That idiot, always trying to act tough when he doesn't need to. It's peacetime now. I don't need to be on the battlefield every day like before. Where would there be so many dangers that require him to bail me out?"

Hearing Arthur say this, Mismagius suddenly chuckled for some reason.

"Master, did you know? That's not what Specter says about it."

"What did he say about me?" Arthur asked.

"Specter says you're a restless person, always finding ways to court disaster. Without him, you definitely wouldn't manage."

"He's talking non—"

Arthur wanted to righteously deny it.

But then he thought about his past exploits and suddenly lost some of his confidence.

He never thought he'd be roasted by his own Pokémon one day.

The crucial part was that it was hard to refute.

Damn…

In the end, Arthur could only forcibly change his tune: "Why is he putting so much thought—into that? He should be more concerned about himself."

Mismagius, following beside him, snickered to herself upon hearing this.

She found this kind of interaction quite nice.

Previously, she had accompanied Specter in running a terrorist organization, where more than half the members were human supremacists. This had led Mismagius to constantly witness human arrogance, stubbornness, and vileness.

Pokémon were often treated by them as tools that could be discarded at any time.

This had once made Mismagius unable to understand: why on earth would Specter be so obsessed with a human for so many years!

Yes, for a long time, Specter's obsession had seemed like madness to Mismagius.

Until she followed Specter and also met Arthur.

Seeing Arthur forcibly hold down Specter's head in the hospital today, forcing him to listen to the doctor and obediently accept treatment, not allowing him to ruin his own body anymore.

And then, hearing this human and ghost duo complain about and tease each other, yet both deeply caring for the other.

Mismagius suddenly seemed to understand something about Specter's long-held obsession.

Perhaps, this was what they called a bond.

(End of Chapter)

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