Not Being a Trainer This Time

Chapter 570: Chapter 321: Is It a Ghost?!

Naoki put away the Poke Ball containing Slugma, preparing to interact with it after descending the mountain.

But when he turned his head, he immediately saw Helian’s shocked expression.

Naoki: ”?”

Helian couldn’t help but ask, ”Do all trainers in the Paldea Region capture Pokémon like this? But if so, will the captured Pokémon listen to your commands?”

”...Not exactly.” Naoki thought carefully, then explained, ”I don’t need to command Pokémon to battle. The reason I captured Slugma is because I like this Pokémon and want to take it home with me to live together and get to know it slowly.”

A collector-type Trainer? Helian probably understood as he had seen such Trainers before.

They are not very good at battling with Pokémon, and their purpose for traveling is just to capture cute Pokémon they’ve never seen before and send them home to live with them.

However, that method of capturing is still too...

Helian, for a moment, didn’t know what language to use to describe that feeling.

Having Pokémon capture other Pokémon, such a thing was unheard of.

Seeing his expression, Naoki chuckled and said, ”If you have the chance, you can try this method too.”

”Most Pokémon have simple and honest natures. If you give them some food or let them feel your love, there’s a good chance they’ll choose you as a partner.”

”Of course, this method is only suitable for small and gentle-natured Pokémon like Slugma and Eevee. If it were Garchomp or Tyranitar, it might not work. In those cases, you have to prove your strength to them.”

Helian listened attentively, feeling as if something had clicked in his mind.

”Got it!” Helian said.

Naoki smiled slightly, turned around, and prepared to leave.

After a month of training in Infernal Pass, Helian also planned to head to Mossui Town to gather some supplies, so the two of them rushed down the mountain together.

Once they left the bounds of Infernal Pass, the surrounding temperature immediately returned to normal.

Naoki took a deep breath and pulled a bottle of water from his backpack to replenish his fluids.

Helian also put on his clothes.

As they passed the place where the timid Pokémon was discovered earlier, Naoki felt curious and asked Helian about it.

”By the way, Helian, have you seen any Pokémon unique to Kitakami around here?”

”Do you mean Sinistea and its evolved form, Sinistcha?”

Sinistcha? That name sounds like an evolution of Sinistea...

Naoki pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, ”Besides these two?”

”There don’t seem to be any,” Helian recalled, ”but there are many Pokémon here that you don’t find in the Sinnoh Region. I’ve seen Mimikyu, Cramorant, Carbink... huh? Did you see some strange Pokémon?”

Naoki nodded: ”In the area up ahead, I saw a Pokémon I’d never seen before.”

Hearing this, Helian looked in the direction he was pointing, and when he saw the scene ahead, his face showed a shocked expression.

”What? You went in there?”

Naoki was puzzled, ”What do you mean?”

Helian: ”That’s Oni’s Maw, which is very famous in Kitakami! The terrain there is very treacherous, named for the protruding stones that look like a demon’s teeth. One misstep and you could fall into a cliff.”

”For this reason, the locals have listed it as an extremely dangerous area and have forbidden others from going in.”

Naoki was stunned: ”Is it really that serious?”

”Besides that reason, there’s another very important one. It’s said that the ghost that killed the Loyal Three is hiding somewhere in Oni’s Maw. Once intruders encounter it, their lives will be taken away by it!”

Helian trembled: ”A ghost wearing a mask or something like that—it’s terrifying! I fear these rural folk tales the most!”

Naoki: ”...”

A ghost with a mask...

Images he had seen earlier flashed through Naoki’s mind.

That green Pokémon seemed to have a mask in its hand too.

A sudden, unbelievable guess popped into Naoki’s mind—could it be the legendary ghost?!

But that’s impossible. That Pokémon was obviously very timid. It wasn’t capable of taking someone’s life; it ran away in fright the moment it saw him.

Or could the ghost be someone else entirely?

Just then, a cold wind howled from the direction of Oni’s Maw, reverberating through the valley like the wailing of wronged ghosts.

Helian’s hair stood on end, feeling a chill down his spine, and he quickly said, ”Let’s get out of here quickly!”

Naoki was at a loss for words but still took the two Pokémon down the mountain, back to Mossui Town.

Unknowingly, it was already four o’clock in the evening.

Naoki bid farewell to Helian and then returned to the community center.

Tomorrow, he needed to visit Apple Hill with the village head to tour the Apple Garden, so after dinner, Naoki returned to his room.

He released Slugma from the Poke Ball and, along with Pawmo, looked at the Slugma, feeding it Berries and snacks.

To this unfamiliar human, Slugma didn’t seem scared at all. On the contrary, it appeared to be in a cheerful mood, slowly munching on the Berries.