As soon as Edgar laid eyes on Shiro, he instinctively glanced at Allister. Based on what he had learned earlier, the old man could already piece together that Shiro was most likely the one who had taken the Sword and Shield.
"Sigh..." he let out a helpless chuckle, looking at Shiro's beaming face. "What's wrong, kid? Having trouble training your Gastly again?"
"Hehe, grandpa Edgar, you're sharp as always. It's about Pokémon training. Just need a bit of your time," Shiro said with a smile, raising his hand to invite the old man to talk somewhere more private.
Edgar was momentarily puzzled. Had he misunderstood the boy? After all, how could someone come looking for him right after he had been talking about the thief? That would be way too cautious, wouldn't it?
"Alright," Edgar agreed, following Shiro to an empty battlefield nearby. Allister kept his eyes on the two as they walked away.
Once they came to a stop, Shiro didn't waste any time. He pulled out a Poké Ball from his pocket and showed it to the old man.
"Hmm... an Elite-level Sableye? Yeah, I've heard about it—you caught it in the ruins, didn't you?" Edgar remarked, peering through the semi-transparent surface of the Poké Ball. He had already heard Allister mention this Pokémon while they were flying over in the Flying Taxi. The only issue was that this Sableye seemed rather disobedient.
Wild Pokémon not listening was very normal, especially when they weren't captured through a proper battle. Without a direct clash of strength, it was hard to build the basic idea of following a strong trainer in their minds. That's why, at first, wild Pokémon needed to be disciplined strictly, using overwhelming strength to establish authority.
After living together for some time, once the wild Pokémon realized that life with a trainer was better, it would start following commands. Then with some training, even if no real bond was formed, at least it would develop muscle memory and instinct to obey orders.
But that process could be troublesome. That was why most trainers preferred using brainwashed Pokémon modified by technology, or young Pokémon that were easier to bond with and more accepting of new things.
In the end, it still depended on the specific Pokémon. If, by some chance, a legendary Pokémon happened to like you and stubbornly insisted on following you around, listening to everything you said, there wasn't much you could do about it either.
Unfortunately, the Sableye in Shiro's hand clearly wasn't one of those cases.
The moment it saw a person through the ball's surface, it reacted as if it had seen its mortal enemy. Roaring and thrashing inside, it desperately tried to break free, though it was powerless from within the ball.
"So, what is it? You want me to help you tame it?" Edgar asked, stroking the short silver stubble on his chin as he fell into thought.
Shiro only smiled and shook his head. Without saying a word, he shoved the Poké Ball into the old man's hand. He knew Edgar probably wasn't yet aware that he had taken the Sword and Shield, but just in case, it was better to buy some goodwill first.
"Hey, hey, hey..." Edgar pushed Shiro's hand away and gave him a surprised look. "What's this supposed to mean? Giving me the Poké Ball? I'm too old to be accepting stuff like this."
Even as he spoke, Edgar already understood what the boy was getting at. Seeing that Shiro was still stubbornly trying to hand him the ball, he waved his hand and said, "You little brat, listen to me. I don't want to hear anything, I don't know anything, I don't understand anything, and I'm not clear about anything... get it? Don't drag me into this."
Hearing that, Shiro's smile grew even wider. He knew now that the old man wouldn't report anything. Still, he wasn't particularly fond of keeping the Sableye, as it wouldn't be of much use to him. And once a gift was given, there was no taking it back.
"Look, I'm not really specialized in ghost types. My team's a mess, and among the Elite-level trainers I know, there's only you and Granny Shae. And Granny... well, she's not that easy to get along with. I might still need your help later. Plus, Allister might need this too, right?" Shiro explained.
Edgar gave him a long look, then glanced over at Allister not far away. He realized the boy didn't want to leave things unsettled. With a sigh, he said, "You really are a slippery one, huh, kid? But I'm not going to just take your stuff for free."
He rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a dark purple stone, swirling with black smoke-like patterns inside.
"Take this in exchange. Fair enough, right?"
Before Shiro could respond, Edgar snatched the Poké Ball from his hand and shoved the stone into his palm.
"It's an advanced-quality Dusk Stone. Your Gastly doesn't need it for evolution, but absorbing it will still help strengthen its typing and growth."
After speaking, Edgar waved his hand, shooing him away. "Go on now. If you run into any problems later, come find me. Don't stir up trouble when there's none."
With that, the deal was done. Shiro, who had been slightly tense, finally relaxed. He casually glanced over the stone in his hand, then stuffed it into his pocket and turned to leave.
Edgar's gaze lingered on Shiro's retreating back for a long time. He sighed helplessly. He hadn't expected the kid to be so cautious at such a young age. But perhaps that was a good thing. Now that they had exchanged resources and everything was clear between them, there would be no need for suspicion or distance later.
...
Meanwhile, Shiro quickly crossed the garden and returned to the building's first floor, then took the elevator back up to his bedroom.
"Dusk Stone..."
He pulled out the Evolution Stone and placed it next to the perfect-quality Fire Stone he had bought before. Comparing the two, he noticed that the Dusk Stone wasn't as pure or crystal-clear.
'This old man really is particular.' Feeling at ease again, Shiro released his three Pokémon.
After putting away the Fire Stone, he handed the Dusk Stone to Gastly.
"Gass?"
Gastly floated around the stone, clearly intrigued. The stone was full of ghost energy, and it was very attractive to the Pokémon. However, without hands, Gastly wasn't sure how to pick it up.
In a moment of panic, it stopped floating, opened its mouth wide, and swallowed the Dusk Stone.
Suddenly, a bright white light flashed. Under the surprised gazes of Corvisquire and Growlithe, Gastly's body began to grow larger, and a pair of ghostly hands appeared.
The Ghost-type successfully evolved into Haunter, and in its newly formed hands, it still held the Evolution Stone.
Shiro wasn't surprised. Although it looked like Gastly had evolved because of the Dusk Stone, the truth was it had already reached the required level a while ago. After all the battles and training back in Stow-on-Side, it had been on the verge of evolving.
The ghosty energy inside the Dusk Stone just gave it the perfect trigger. The stone itself remained completely intact.
Looking at Haunter's updated data, Shiro saw:
[Name: Haunter
Type: Ghost/Poison
Level: 28 (Intermediate)
Ability: Levitate
Held Item: None]
After evolving successfully, Haunter had also gained three levels. It looked like it would soon advance to the next stage and reach Advanced-level.
Shiro's plan for Haunter's next evolution was the same as with Corvisquire. He would wait until it hit the peak of Advanced-level. If it couldn't achieve that naturally, he would use evolution to push it straight into the next stage.
Once a Pokémon reached Gym-level, its physical capabilities and mastery over its typing would increase dramatically, enabling it to easily defeat multiple Advanced-level opponents at once.
That was also why, in the wild, a single Gym-level Pokémon could feel overwhelmingly oppressive to normal trainers.
**
**
**
Thank you for reading! If you'd like access to extra chapters and want to support my work, you can visit my P@treon:
P@treon/SilverShark769
Vote with Power Stones for Bonus Chapters!
Your support means a lot, thank you!