27. Saffron City

Waking up early in the morning, Paul looked at Haunter in front of him, wearing an apron and holding bread and milk, with a speechless expression on his face.

"Let's just say, do you know how to cook?" Paul looked at Haunter humming a ditty and eating, somewhat dumbfounded.

"Of course, your uncle has lived for thousands of years after all, so you pick things up just watching." Haunter arrogantly grabbed two pieces of Pokémon Food the size of broad beans and threw them in the air like a juggler, having a great time playing.

"Haha~ Not bad." Paul simply ate his breakfast, put on his bag, and left the place he was staying.

Sitting on the first boat to Saffron City without stress, Paul found a comfortable seat and dozed off.

On Ash's desk, who was still asleep, a note was clearly visible.

: Ash, I'm going ahead. I will get the Saffron City badge before you. Gary and I are waiting for you up front, let's compare our skills~!

Ignoring the mental journey of Ash waking up later and inevitably taking a shortcut to catch up.

In the evening, Paul successfully reached the brightly lit Saffron City.

Entering Saffron City proper, there was some light white mist hanging in the evening air.

"Hehehehehe~" A silver bell-like laughter came, and a little girl with long green hair wearing a foreign cap and a Lolita dress patted a ball and appeared in front of Paul.

"Be careful, kid!" Haunter floated beside Paul.

"This thing gives me a bad feeling." Haunter stared at the little girl, his two ghostly claws clenched into fists nervously.

"It seems that the Gym Leader of Saffron City can't wait to play with me?" With a light smile on his lips, Paul shrugged and looked at the little girl.

The little girl froze for a moment. * Why isn't this person afraid of her? * Then she turned around and trotted away from Paul.

"Do you want to chase?" Haunter looked at Paul.

"No need." Paul shook his head, "We'll see her again."

Sabrina, the psychic, is the recognized Gym Leader in Saffron City. Although she is a bit self willed and socially fearful, everything she does is within the allowable range of the Pokémon League.

Although there are often trainers who fail the challenge and are turned into dolls by her to be played with half to death, they are all let go in the end.

Later, Ash was robbed by Team Rocket in Saffron City, and it was Sabrina who helped Ash get his things back and sent Ash to a safe place with Teleport.

In other words, in Saffron City, no crime can escape Sabrina's powerful psychic perception. She guarded Saffron City in her own way and fulfilled her duties perfectly.

Therefore, regarding Sabrina, the league's attitude is to let her be; she is just a little girl with outstanding ability and a little willfulness.

Because her powerful psychic abilities far surpassed her relatives and friends, Sabrina was feared by everyone since she was a child. This also formed her eccentric character of being withdrawn and socially anxious. The desire to make friends is so strong that she turns people into dolls to keep by her side. It is nothing more than a little girl's distorted longing for friendship.

After understanding this, Paul felt that the Saffron Gym was not that scary. If it really didn't work, if he couldn't beat her, at worst, he'd put on a comedy routine for Sabrina.

* That's right, although I'm a trainer, it doesn't prevent me from becoming a joker! ! *

Putting Haunter back into his shadow, Paul officially stepped into Saffron City with easy steps.

This is the Ghost type training method Paul thought of. As a ghost that can travel between shadows and the real world, how could its latent abilities not be used well? So except for eating and making trouble, Haunter stayed in Paul's shadow for the rest of the time.

As one of the best big cities in the Kanto region, Saffron City at night is truly a bit like a city that never sleeps.

Finding a comfortable hotel at random, Paul planned to rest for the night and go to challenge the gym the next day.

"Hehehe~"

The little girl's crisp laughter. It had to be said, it was quite scary suddenly appearing in his ear.

Paul looked at the little girl standing quietly in his room, goosebumps rising all over his body.

"Don't be scary, okay~" Paul shook off his goosebumps with a wry smile. "You are not a bad person. As long as you appear in front of me normally, I will be happy to see you."

The little girl froze for a moment, then raised a small hand and pointed at Paul.

"Eh? Now, wait a minute. I'll put on some clothes." Paul was in a hurry.

"Be careful!!" Haunter's voice came from the shadow. Paul's vision went dark, and he lost consciousness.

Gudong! The sound of buttocks landing woke Paul up with real pain.

"It hurts, it hurts!" Clutching his butt, Paul looked at the pure white Gothic style gymnasium in front of him with a mixture of annoyance and amusement. It must be the Saffron Gym.

* Wait? * Paul looked up at the glare of the sun in the sky. * It's daytime?! *

* What's the situation? I was teleported by Sabrina's doll at night, why did I land in the daytime? *

"Ouch~" Haunter's big head came out from Paul's shadow and retched onto the grass beside the road.

"Uh... what's going on, Haunter?" Paul looked suspiciously at Haunter, who seemed to be hungover.

"Saffron City's Trainer Sabrina, what the heck! You sand sculpture, you fell into the cracks of time and space all night! I'm so dizzy!!!" Haunter opened his mouth wide, his tongue lolling out.

"That's amazing, Sabrina." Paul smiled wryly and put his hands on his hips. * Was she afraid I would run away? Directly using combined skills like Trick Room and Teleport to travel infinite time and space? *

Needless to say, this was probably the most perfunctory sleep Paul had ever had.

"Even so, I have to find a place to eat." Touching his stomach, Paul curled his lips, feeling even hungrier after the teleportation.

"Young man, are you here to challenge the Saffron Gym?"

At this moment, a bearded man wearing a yellow peaked cap and a green sports suit ran up. He looked like a morning jogger.

However, Paul curled his lips. * Uncle Flint, same old routine, can we stop making trouble? *

"That's right, I'm here to challenge the gym, Miss Sabrina's father."

Thump! The uncle slipped and fell on the spot.

"Ahem ~ how do you know!" the uncle asked in surprise.

"Well, I met an uncle named Flint in Pewter City, and I feel you're very similar." Paul spread his hands and looked at the uncle with contempt.

The uncle blushed. "That, Flint?"

"A certain bastard who irresponsibly left his son in the gymnasium to take the lead and fend for himself," Paul complained with a smirk.

"Ahem~" The bearded uncle blushed deeply. Every word wasn't about him, yet he felt like every word slapped him right in the face.

"No matter what, I advise you to avoid the Saffron Gym." After speaking, the uncle ran away without looking back.

"Tch, the old man is very bad." Paul curled his lips, took out a piece of chocolate from his bag, and put it in his mouth. He calmly walked into the gate of the Saffron Gym.

"Haunter, I'll leave it to you later." Paul tilted his head while eating chocolate and said to Haunter.

The other Pokémon were too vulnerable to psychic powers; only Haunter, a thousand year old ghost, could reassure Paul.

Haunter replied, "Ugh~ I'll try my best."

Paul eyed Haunter doubtfully, always feeling like the ghost was about to trick him.

Walking through the corridor, Paul curiously saw people in white research uniforms researching psychic abilities in the rooms on both sides. It seemed that in Saffron City, learning psychic powers was a trend.

"What are you here for?"

While Paul was looking around curiously, a long haired young man in a white coat and a mask came up.

"I'm here to challenge Sabrina, but can I also watch you play tricks?" Paul spread his hands.

"Hmph, what do you know? Watch it!" The young man took out a spoon and put it in front of Paul.

"Heh~!!!" With his face flushed and his whole body roaring vigorously, finally~ the spoon in the young man's hand bent slightly~

Paul stared, baffled by the pointless display. * So? Are you straining? *

"No!!" The young man said angrily, "I have psychic powers!"

"Oh~ okay, I understand." Paul nodded helplessly. "So like you, who have been holding back for a long time as if you are about to have diarrhea, what is the difference between bending the spoon slightly and just messing around?"

Youth: ... * what he said seems to make sense. * .

"So you, with your arrogant face, are just trying to play tricks? Please take me to the Gym Leader." Paul shook his head.

The young man nodded helplessly. "Okay~"

Following the youth, Paul came to the arena of the Saffron Gym. It was called an arena, but it was decorated like a temple.

"Miss Sabrina, this person wants to challenge. But I think Miss Sabrina is the strongest, so I don't care about him at all." The long haired masked man half kneeled self righteously and said what he thought was clever.

"Hehehehe~" The puppet of the little girl with long green hair appeared, and with a wave of her little hand, the young man was instantly teleported away by blue psychic energy.

Paul shook his head. "It's true, a cheap person gets what they deserve."

"Hehehe~" the little doll continued to smile happily.

Paul pulled Haunter out from his shadow and stepped forward. "Sabrina, come out. Don't you want to play with me? Don't use dolls to put me off."

Haunter gave Paul a blank look. "If you didn't put me in front of you when you said that, I'd respect you for being a man."

"Aren't you a master who has lived for thousands of years? Of course you are the one to do this." Paul curled his lips and pushed Haunter in front of him.

"Okay~ Then I will appear on the stage in person." Sabrina stood up from her seat while floating.

"Are you finally here?" Although the doll loved to smile, Sabrina had a cold face. The little red dress with knee high boots looked professional.

"Boy, this little girl, hiss~ she's not bad." Haunter turned his head, looked at Paul, and winked wildly.

"If you are defeated later, you will know the horror of Sabrina." Paul looked at the old perverted Haunter in front of him with a headache.

Sabrina came to the position of the Gym Leader on the field and stood still. "It's okay. If you lose, you will be my friend and play with me."

"Okay~ If you lose, you can be this kid's wife!" Haunter said happily.

"Get lost! When did I agree!!!" Paul went crazy. * Who wants a woman who can read minds to be his wife? Isn't the cute and lovely Cynthia sweet? Cute is justice! *

"Hmph~ Then you have to win." The Poké Ball in Sabrina's arms floated up automatically. "Go, Abra."

"One on one. You must never go back on your word~" Sabrina's voice drifted past.

"Get ready for battle, Haunter!" Paul gritted his teeth and ordered.

"Leave it to me, kid!" Haunter floated onto the battlefield with a smirk.

Abra * (-,-),,, *

* It actually fell asleep? * Paul was merciless.

"Haunter, Dream Eater!!"

"Come on!" Haunter waved his two ghost claws, and light red energy was pulled out of Abra's body and injected into Haunter. The cool guy flicked his big tongue wildly.

Sabrina's eyes narrowed, and blue light exploded in her eyes. Abra opened its eyes immediately, and the same blue light erupted.

Sting~ The white light of evolution emerged, and Abra performed a trick for Paul on the spot: evolution, as long as you have a hand.

"Kadabra!" After evolving, Kadabra stared at Haunter.

"Oh, he dares to look at me?" Haunter was not happy.

"Haunter, use Shadow Ball!" Paul continued to attack.

"Look at me, eat this!" Haunter, using both hands, shot out two Shadow Balls full of dark energy.

"Kadabra, use your psychic power!" Sabrina's long hair fluttered, and her psychic energy spewed out more and more intensely.

"Oh? Is this girl reckless?" Haunter paused, looking at Sabrina with dissatisfaction. * How can a trainer interfere like that?! *

"Haunter, focus on the game! Break free and use Shadow Punch!"

"Teleport!" Sabrina also reacted instantly.

It's just that Haunter's eight punches were wildly thrown, thump, thud, and the sound of fist hitting flesh was endless.

Haunter disappeared in place with a flicker, then appeared in front of Kadabra with a smile, delivering two hammers to its eye sockets.

"Can't avoid it?" Sabrina frowned.

"That's right, Shadow Punch is a skill that is sure to hit!" Paul smiled lightly.

"Nice one, Haunter."

"That's right ~ Don't you know who I am, sir?" As Haunter spoke, he hammered Kadabra twice more. "Boy, are you ready?"

Looking at Kadabra again~ it had been punched so many times by the outstanding Shadow Punch. Now its eyes had rolled back.

As soon as Haunter let go, Kadabra fell to the ground.

"Hmph, street punk boy~" Haunter clapped his hands and circled Sabrina in a chattering manner.

"Are you scared? Have you lost? Kneel down and sing 'Conquer' now?"

Seeing that Haunter was out of shape, Paul carefully looked at Sabrina.

The little girl lost before she could react, and Haunter had already started playing tricks.

Here, he popped his eyeballs out for fun, and on the other side, he turned into an explosive gift box and presented himself to Sabrina, winking non stop.

Sabrina stared blankly at Haunter, and gradually, a look appeared in her eyes.

Haunter looked left and right, found that Sabrina was ignoring him, and finally thought of a trick. He laughed bitterly.

He stretched out his sinful big tongue, "I lick~"

Wow~ Sabrina, whose face was covered with saliva, looked at Haunter, covered her small mouth, and finally couldn't help it. She burst out laughing.

"Hahahaha~ This guy is so funny, hahaha." Sabrina, who had opened up a new world, couldn't stop laughing. Haunter even made all kinds of funny faces tirelessly, making Sabrina laugh continuously. Finally, she simply squatted on the ground, clutching her stomach and laughing wildly.

Haunter got tired of playing and went back to Paul. "This girl is so funny, she understands our ghostly humor!"

Paul nodded in agreement. "I have to say that the funny talent of your Gastly line has already been imprinted in your genes."

Haunter cocked his tongue amusedly to show off his cuteness. "Hey hee hee hee, is that so?"

Seeing that Sabrina seemed to have calmed down a bit, Paul stepped forward in a relaxed manner. "According to the agreement, please give me the badge."

"Hahaha~ um~ I'll give you a badge. What about the agreement with Haunter? Do you need me to fulfill it?" Sabrina smiled and looked at Paul, blinking her big Kaziran eyes.

"Ahem~" Paul blushed. "Don't pay attention to that old pervert talking nonsense."

Sabrina covered her mouth and smiled lightly. "You seem to have a little expectation in your heart? Really don't want it?"

Paul blushed harder, flustered. "Well~ If you can, just make friends. The rest is really useless!!"

"Hahahaha~ You are so cute." Sabrina leaned forward and back with laughter and took out a golden badge for Paul, pinning it on his chest.

"Thank you, I am very happy today." Sabrina narrowed her eyes and said softly.

It had to be said that Sabrina, who got out of her emotional knot, was simply two different women. This gentle and lovely appearance was really lovable.

Touching Haunter's big head, Sabrina sent Paul out of the Saffron Gym all the way. The staff along the way stared at him with a sweet smile.

After walking out of the gate, Sabrina stayed at the entrance.

"I'm going to challenge gyms to collect badges. See you next time." Paul smiled gently and looked at Sabrina.

Sabrina nodded. "You are welcome to come back and play with me, and Haunter."

Paul nodded, ready to turn and leave.

"Paul!" Sabrina's voice stopped Paul.

"Hmm, what's the matter?" Paul looked at Sabrina.

"We~ are friends, right?" Sabrina asked with some hesitation and fear.

Paul froze for a moment, then nodded accordingly. "Of course!"

"Goodbye, Paul~ This is a farewell as a friend."

Paul just felt his body stiffen. * What the heck! ? This girl won't go back on her word, will she? *

Before Paul could move, a fragrant and soft embrace pressed into his arms.

Maintaining the state of being controlled by psychic powers, Paul only felt a cool sensation on his cheek, and then he appeared on the exit road of Saffron City.

"Haunter~ Let's come back and see her when we have a chance." Paul touched his cheek and said unnaturally.

Haunter came out of the shadow with a smirk. "Jiehehehe~ I think that's okay."

"Stop laughing, hey!" The blushing Paul kicked Haunter flying ten meters away.

Haunter covered his face. "Woooooooo~" Tears shot down.

Paul watched Haunter's antics with a deadpan expression, thoroughly unimpressed. * Who told you to laugh at me? Besides, you flew too far, you don't even pretend a little bit. *

Haunter replied, "Jiehahahaha, as expected of my trainer, he actually saw through my fake cry skill. Jiehahaha~"

"You bastard~" Paul smiled and shook his head, facing the sun and proceeding to the next city.

In the Saffron Gym, Sabrina's father and Sabrina were standing together happily.

"I didn't expect that kid to be able to untie your knot. It's really great."

Sabrina's face turned red. "Next time, let's entertain my friends at home."

Seeing Sabrina with a smile on her face, the old father nodded in relief.