Chapter 96: Ghost
Later that day, having not found Arthur, Bella and Luna ended up watching Justin's matches for the entire day.
Speaking honestly, from their professional-level perspective, Justin still exhibited quite a few flaws at his current stage.
For example, while his Pidgeotto possessed remarkable agility, it still lacked a higher-power decisive move on the offensive end. Defensively, it also hadn't learned a sustainability skill like "Roost" capable of restoring its own injuries.
If he were to truly compete on the professional circuit, Justin's current shortcomings still seemed somewhat numerous.
But that, after all, was the standard required at the professional level.
Placed within the current youth training camp, Justin was already thoroughly dominating the competition.
Throughout the day, his battle record was entirely composed of victories, making him seem like a merciless crusher of weaker opponents, a veritable reaping machine.
Currently, among the trainees of the same batch, only he and Flora maintained perfect win records. The two had not yet faced each other. Based solely on the number of matches played, Justin's ranking even pressed ahead of Flora's.
This ranking simply shattered the eyeglasses of numerous onlookers.
One must remember that Flora had placed first in the initial assessment test half a year ago, while Justin at that time was ranked outside the top twenty, placing second to last among all the students in their batch!
Afterward, even Luna commented, "This kid's Pidgeotto is indeed quite good. As long as it evolves and shores up its weaknesses in strong offense and sustainability, graduating in a couple of years won't be difficult for him."
This was genuine approval coming from a professional player.
Instantly, the bystanders and fans following the two professional players felt their hearts turn sour with envy.
The autograph on their shirts suddenly lost its appeal...
Simultaneously, following Justin's forceful ascent to the top of the ranking tournament, the idle gossip about Arthur within the training camp was thoroughly silenced by him.
Any student who had spoken ill of Arthur before a match inevitably faced Justin's merciless onslaught on stage; after the match, nine out of ten of those opponents' Pokémon had to be carried off.
After this, who would still dare to run their mouth irresponsibly?
This development also incidentally caused the trainees of this batch to develop a sense of mysterious awe towards this Bro Arthur who hadn't even shown his face at the ranking tournament.
Especially after the news spread that two players from the main professional team had come specifically looking for Arthur that day, everyone's various associations and speculations ran wild.
Those privy to the inside story knew that Bella was merely a fan of Arthur's appearance, just a hopeless case of shota-complex.
But in the eyes of those unaware of the inside story, the directions for interpretation were far too numerous.
Thus, in just a short few days, public opinion within the training camp underwent a major reversal.
From initially many people being envious of Arthur, now more people regarded him with awe, even admiration.
One had to say, this world truly is wondrous.
So, at this very moment, where exactly was Arthur, the unexpected recipient of the admiration and reverence of so many students?
In fact, he had just gotten off a high-speed train.
After a long journey of over eight hours, he had now arrived in an ancient city located in the southwestern inland region of the Kubfu Alliance.
Lavender Town.
A city renowned for its historical sites, status as a major tourist destination, numerous supernatural anecdotes, and its abundance of Ghost-type Pokémon.
Arthur had come here, of course, not for tourism.
Speaking of history, he himself could arguably be called a living segment of history; making a special trip to visit historical sites clearly wasn't his hobby.
He had actually come specifically to acquire a Pokémon.
A very particular type of Ghost-type Pokémon.
This type of Pokémon was rarely seen in other regions. Common Pokémon free-range centers typically wouldn't stock this kind. Hence, he could only travel thousands of miles, making a dedicated trip to this ancient city famous for its Ghost-type Pokémon.
Acquiring such a Pokémon was naturally also in preparation for his upcoming task of tracking the movements of the Stitched Shadow Army.
He was a very pragmatic person. He respected the mission, never underestimated it, and certainly wouldn't neglect pre-mission preparations due to some hollow sense of pride.
A truly outstanding combatant, even if immensely powerful, would never rashly embark on an unprepared mission, because that would be joking with the lives of oneself and one's partners!
Not to mention, he was now nowhere near as strong as he was two hundred years ago.
To go after a worldwide terrorist organization, his current strength was still slightly insufficient.
But this was an opportunity he truly didn't want to let slip by.
His previous exposure of the incident within the Crescent Bay Reserve had caused the Stitched Shadow Army's framing plan to completely fail. This directly resulted in the Kubfu Alliance's fury not being directed at the reserve Pokémon, but instead pouring entirely onto the Stitched Shadow Army.
As one of the world's seven major Alliances, and the hegemon of the East Continent with comprehensive strength solidly ranked in the top three, the Kubfu Alliance's wrath was not something easily withstood.
Previously, the Stitched Shadow Army rarely conducted operations directly targeting a behemoth like Kubfu. This time, they had truly tried to steal a chicken only to lose the rice used as bait—attempting to tie up a Fearow, they ended up knocking on Ho-Oh's head instead (provoked someone far too powerful).
Now, the Alliance had already initiated multiple plans along the border simultaneously, preparing to properly deal with the Stitched Shadow Army forces near the alliance's boundary line, fiercely flexing its muscles to remind certain people just who calls the shots on the East Continent.
Arthur hoped to hitch a ride on this operation.
Otherwise, once the Alliance struck like a fierce wind sweeping away fallen leaves, clearing out all Stitched Shadow Army forces around the border, it would be much harder for him to inquire about this organization's news later on.
For this, he absolutely had to supplement his combat power as quickly as possible to gain a certain degree of self-preservation capability.
This requirement led him to pass over numerous conventional Pokémon choices.
The most suitable period for capturing most ordinary Pokémon is during their youth. However, young Pokémon generally possess immature combat capabilities. Just like Little Lapras—even if inheriting excellent genes, possessing outstanding talent and potential—their various abilities still require a period of development to grow to the species' average level.
But Arthur's biggest constraint now was that he couldn't afford to wait.
He needed rapid results!
He needed to quickly supplement his combat power to be able to catch up with the Alliance's current operation.
Otherwise, by the time he spent several months slowly training a new Pokémon, the situation at the border would likely be long over. If he wanted to find the Stitched Shadow Army then, he'd probably have to cross the ocean and search within the Western Alliance on the other side of the Pacific...
This, he could not accept!
Thus, this time, he turned his attention towards the relatively niche category of Ghost-type Pokémon within the human world.
Historically, very few people kept this type of Pokémon. Besides the persecution stemming from urban legends about curses, supernatural occurrences, and nightmares, the more significant reason lies in the fact that the habits of Ghost-type Pokémon are often naturally different from those of normal living creatures.
Just like the Gengar Arthur had raised two hundred years ago.
They don't need to eat like normal creatures; eating for them is more for simple recreation and enjoyment rather than a necessity for survival.
Similarly, they do not need to excrete waste.
They can turn into a gaseous state to pass through walls and objects, and can even hide within shadows to act as close-protection bodyguards.
What is most feared is their innate talent to absorb life energy from normal living beings. When the gap in strength and willpower is immense, they can even devour the souls of the living!
These are all reasons why Ghost-type Pokémon are often disliked and feared by people.
Even in this famous 'ghost city,' Lavender City, there were actually many people who disliked, or even detested, Ghost-type Pokémon.
Coincidentally, the very first passerby Arthur asked just outside the high-speed rail station seemed to be one such person.
"Uh, excuse me, I'd like to ask which free-range centers in this city sell Ghost-type Pokémon?"
"Ghosts?! Those ghostly things! How would I know where they are! People who like ghosts are all perverts! Hurry up and get away from me!"
"Uh..."
Having just arrived in this city, Arthur's progress didn't seem to be off to a smooth start...
(End of Chapter)
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