After Tetsuya finished assigning the tasks, Swinub climbed onto the bed and went to sleep first.
Piloswine shook its body, and the temperature in the room began to drop. Tetsuya could not help but shiver. With everything prepared, he lay down fully clothed as well.
Such a night was destined to be restless. Tetsuya remained in a half-asleep, half-awake state…
Until the alarm clock rang.
He checked the time. It was already two o'clock.
Had he been overly suspicious? Could it be that so many years of "social experience" had caused him to become overly paranoid?
After the alarm rang, Swinub also woke up.
"Piloswine, you rest. Swinub will take over here."
After Tetsuya finished preparing things and was about to rest, he suddenly felt a chilling eerie wind sweep in. Even Piloswine and Swinub sensed that something was wrong and became vigilant.
He watched as the door was blown open by the eerie wind, leaving a small gap…
The extreme temperature difference between inside and outside caused a… Gengar to feel brief discomfort and reveal its form.
Without needing Tetsuya to say anything, Swinub immediately fired an Ice Beam. Gengar, not understanding what was happening, was frozen in ice.
Tetsuya got down from the bed and let out a cold smile as he looked at Gengar's stiff expression inside the block of ice.
"Hmm…" How should he deal with this Gengar?
Tetsuya felt somewhat troubled. This Gengar undoubtedly belonged to Antel. It seemed he had come to steal Golett's Poké Ball.
Antel must be waiting somewhere now for Gengar's success. Since he dared to do this, he was certainly a habitual offender, relying on this method to scam money.
He naturally knew Golett's potential, which was why he had let it learn so many tutor moves and used them as selling points. In short, Golett was merely a tool for him to make money. And Golett was surely still loyal to Antel as its Trainer, acting as his accomplice. That could be seen from how it had tried so hard to "perform" on the stage.
If he wanted Golett to acknowledge him, he would have to expose Antel's true nature.
Right now, he could completely call the police. Judging from Antel's familiarity on the stage, he was certainly not the first person Antel had targeted. As long as the Jenny took action, they would surely be able to arrest him nearby.
That way, his money could be recovered. However, Golett would then fall into Officer Jenny's hands. That outcome was absolutely not what he wanted!
Gengar would definitely not be Antel's first move, but Gengar's fate was already predictable. After all, he understood such people all too well.
Killing this Gengar now would require no effort at all. But if he killed it here, its value would cease to exist.
'Just in case…' Tetsuya threw out a Poké Ball, but as expected, there was no way to catch it. It was a Pokémon with a Trainer.
Now that Gengar was frozen, it was probably time to begin the first step of brainwashing Golett.
Afterward, Tetsuya took out a Poké Ball and sent out Golett.
As expected, Golett did not even glance at Tetsuya. However, when it saw Gengar on the ground, its expression suddenly changed!
"Heh~ You recognize this Gengar, don't you? Your accomplice, right?"
As soon as Tetsuya spoke, Golett immediately assumed a battle stance. Its fists clenched tightly, and two balls of fire wrapped around them. Fire Punch was ready.
"Hn. Icy Wind, show it what you're capable of."
Tetsuya gave the command. Swinub shook its body, and the air currents inside the room surged violently. Even the windows were blown open by Icy Wind. Golett had no ability to resist and was directly swept into the corner of the wall.
"Tch." It was only a paper Incineroar.
From Golett's performance just now, Tetsuya had already completely grasped its strength. Swinub had only casually used Icy Wind, and indoors it was not even one tenth of its normal power. Yet the moment this Golett touched Icy Wind, it had already been blown away.
Antel's purpose was now obvious.
This Golett had not experienced any systematic training at all. It had merely practiced those tutor moves for show. Those moves were purely flashy when used and could be said to have almost no real power.
Looking at it this way, this Golett was entirely a tool Antel used to scam money. That made things much easier.
At this moment, Golett had already fallen into the corner, at a loss for what to do.
Tetsuya walked step by step toward Golett, and Golett grew increasingly flustered.
"You should know that you are now my Pokémon. Your Trainer has already sold you. Your Trainer must have told you that he would come back to take you again, right?"
The terrified expression on Golett's face confirmed Tetsuya's guess. Antel's plan was now completely clear.
"You are nothing more than a tool Antel uses for fraud. If I hand you over to the police, you will be treated as his accomplice. You will forever be under the control of the police and be sent everywhere to serve as forced labor in League construction projects…"
Tetsuya spoke vividly, and Golett imagined such scenes in its mind. Its fearful expression deepened.
The League also had a set of measures for dealing with Pokémon belonging to criminals. Pokémon themselves were not guilty, but they generally had loyalty to their Trainers. These Pokémon would undergo brainwashing by the League's "reconditioning" teams.
Those with highest-level would be distributed to Trainers who had made contributions to the League. Those with low-level would be assigned to various construction projects as labor. If they remained stubborn, they would be directly executed.
At this moment, Golett's heart was already filled with fear. It was the perfect time to press the advantage.
"Hmph. Antel is already doomed! If you want to accompany him to prison and suffer, then go ahead. If you want to avoid that fate… submit to me! Only I can elevate you to a truly powerful level."
After Tetsuya finished speaking, he threw out Golett's Poké Ball and had Swinub destroy it with Ice Beam.
Golett was equivalent to being released from the restraints of that Poké Ball. He could be certain that Antel had tampered with it. The simplest and most direct method was to destroy it.
Although the Poké Ball was now broken, Tetsuya still kept it. He still needed it to lure the Ekans out of its hole.
Afterward, Tetsuya took out one of his own Poké Balls and struck the dazed Golett with it. In its confused state, Golett was captured again.
This was only the first step, to let Golett "break free" from the restraints of Antel's Poké Ball.
Next, Antel would certainly make another move. After all, this Golett was one of his money-making tool. It was impossible that sending only one Gengar to steal the Poké Ball would be the end of it.
What Tetsuya needed to do now was to turn the tables. With Gengar's capacity, it would certainly be impossible to break Swinub's ice, but now he needed to give it a hand.
The greatest use of this Gengar to him was to let Golett see Antel's true face.
Tetsuya released Golett and said, "So, Golett. Do you want to know Gengar's fate? Do you want to know your former Trainer's true face? In a moment, we will quietly follow your good buddy Gengar~"