Constantly pulling Pichu into dreams and then using nightmares to guide it in learning moves—this wasn't an easy task for Haunter either.
At first, it hadn't paid much attention to the strain. But when it saw Pichu finally unleash Thunder Punch in a real battle, the tightly wound string in its mind suddenly snapped the moment it relaxed.
Hunger hit instantly.
Driven by that overwhelming hunger, Haunter had a sudden thought.
It had worked so hard—all because of Pichu. And Pichu's trainer was that human called "Chen Mo." Going to him to collect a bit of tuition fee—that wasn't unreasonable, right?
So it acted on the idea.
But Haunter quickly discovered a problem.
This human named Chen Mo… the nightmares he had were far too terrifying. Haunter couldn't understand why an ordinary human would dream of such horrifying things.
With only a slight nudge, even Haunter itself had nearly lost control of the nightmare.
Helpless and starving, Haunter shifted its attention to the other humans and Pokémon at the campsite.
And thus, the collective nightmare incident broke out.
"Sigh."
Ah Hui let out a soft sigh.
So they had merely been collateral damage.
Still, after learning the truth, he quickly came to terms with it.
Having a dream devoured occasionally by Haunter didn't really affect normal people much—at worst, they'd just feel a bit low on energy for a day.
"Ko-jie… ko-jie…"
Haunter lowered its head slightly, its face full of guilt. It clasped its hands in front of its chest, its two purple-black claws lightly touching each other.
"Haunter says it's really sorry. It promises this won't happen again."
"It's fine."
Ah Hui waved his hand—but then suddenly realized something.
"Brother Mo, how can you suddenly understand Haunter now?"
"Mm. I can grasp the general meaning. Usually, as long as both sides have built enough rapport and don't reject each other, after spending some time together, it becomes easy to understand what the other is trying to express. Plus, Haunter is very expressive when it talks—lots of facial expressions and gestures. I started getting used to its way of speaking back in Lavender Town."
Although the Gastly line all loved pulling pranks, perhaps because of influences from anime and various fanworks in his previous life, Chen Mo had always held a natural fondness for Haunter. That was also an important reason why he could understand it so quickly.
Glancing at Haunter beside him, Chen Mo hesitated briefly before making a bold decision.
While Haunter wasn't paying attention, Chen Mo gently placed his palm on top of its head.
Hmm… it had substance. Not as hard as expected—rather, it felt a bit soft.
The sudden touch startled Haunter. It instinctively tried to dodge, but then a thought crossed its mind, and it stopped.
In Pichu's dream memories, Haunter had often seen this human holding Pichu and gently rubbing its head.
It had been curious.
Why did Pichu always look so comfortable when that happened?
After a brief internal struggle, Haunter ultimately gave up on escaping and allowed Chen Mo's hand to continue rubbing its head.
It couldn't even remember how many years it had been since it had such close contact with a human. Whenever humans saw its true form, they either screamed and ran away immediately or pulled out a red-and-white ball, shouting about battling and capturing it.
This kind of experience—
was a first.
It wouldn't say it enjoyed it as much as Pichu did, but it didn't dislike it either. After all, in its eyes, this human was a very good—very special—human.
"Haunter, thank you for everything you've done for Pichu. I'm truly grateful."
The young man's voice came from above, just as gentle as it had sounded in the dreams.
Haunter felt it couldn't let things continue like this.
It had to do something.
The next second—
A ghostly face suddenly popped up less than ten centimeters in front of Chen Mo's eyes.
An ordinary person might have been startled by such a sudden move, but Chen Mo wasn't. Instead, it felt like a scene straight out of an anime.
Haunter pulling a funny face—
was rather comical and cute.
Their eyes met.
"Ko-jie… ko-jie…"
After a few seconds, when Haunter sensed no fear whatsoever from Chen Mo, it immediately found the situation boring and turned away in disappointment.
Just then, Chen Mo's voice sounded again from behind it.
"Haunter, since you've already left Lavender Town and come all the way here, have you ever thought about traveling with us for a while?"
"Not hiding in the shadows—but walking alongside us. Eating together. Laughing together."
"It's the kind of life I long for. I just don't know if you'd be willing."
Ah Hui knew the moment he heard those words.
Brother Mo had fallen for this Haunter.
Both Ah Hui and the livestream audience were hooked, curious whether Haunter would accept Chen Mo's invitation.
Seconds ticked by.
With its back turned, Haunter seemed to be locked in intense inner conflict.
Finally—
It began to slowly turn around.
The movement was sluggish.
But once again, human and Pokémon stood face to face.
Just as everyone's nerves tightened to the breaking point, Haunter suddenly lifted its head, pulled down its eyelids with its purple-black claws, stuck out its tongue, and made another goofy face.
"Ko-jie ko-jie!"
Idiot!
Cackling after successfully pulling off its prank, Haunter immediately prepared to slip away.
The scene left Ah Hui feeling disappointed.
Just as he thought Haunter was about to vanish like that, a calm voice suddenly rang out.
"Sigh. I was originally planning to tell Pichu who it really has to thank for learning Thunder Punch. But since you don't want to travel with us, Haunter, I guess there's no need to bring that up anymore."
It was Chen Mo.
The moment those words fell, Haunter's burrowing motion froze on the spot.
Ah Hui stared at Chen Mo in disbelief.
Who are you? If you were really Brother Mo, how could you say something that sounds almost like threatening a Pokémon?
But to Chen Mo, sometimes special Pokémon required special methods.
Not to mention, the feedback from his Insight Eye showed Haunter's favorability was already pushing past seventy percent. In this situation, with Chen Mo himself already quite fond of Haunter—
Let it go?
Absolutely not.
Haunter wasn't like Pidgeotto, burdened with a flock and survival priorities.
Chen Mo didn't want a single moment of hesitation to turn into lifelong regret.
So when it was time to be decisive, he would be decisive—even if it meant using a small trick.
And besides—
Holding Pichu hostage to command Haunter?
That was perfectly reasonable, wasn't it?
Watching Haunter slowly turn back around, its imposing aura completely deflated, Chen Mo chuckled.
Come here, you.
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