Hoshino wrapped Gengar in his clothes, mounted his Cyclizar, and started on his way home.
Before long, the rain finally weakened.
Riding Pokémon in the rain was indeed very inconvenient; even with his riding talent, he couldn't avoid getting his clothes splashed with water, and he also had to hold an umbrella.
That's how he was ambushed and crashed in the morning.
The journey back was uneventful, and his luck was quite good; returning to Kabukicho, it was rare that he wasn't chased by the Meowth.
When these guys were short-handed, they really wouldn't chase him directly.
In a sense, after a month and a half, they had gotten familiar with each other.
…
Rain didn't have much impact on business in Kabukicho; most of them were wild Pokémon, long accustomed to getting wet in the rain.
On the way back, Hoshino also discovered that Gengar's problem was not small; besides making two sounds, it seemed to be able to do nothing else, like a sound effect toy.
"You can't even move, can you?"
"Gengar…"
"As expected… it's a bit troublesome, but I have the All-Rounder Boss Slowking here; he can definitely help you solve it."
Hoshino hadn't expected this little guy to be like this; no wonder it stayed in the claw machine and wouldn't come out.
After all, if it couldn't move, it felt safer in there.
The Izakaya was doing good business today; in this rainy weather, many Pokémon came out to drink, and some regular customers like Machoke and Gurdurr were also there.
Hoshino smiled and greeted them.
"Alola~"
"Machoke~"
For such a long time, he had also started from the Izakaya, helping some Pokémon solve their troubles.
Of course, he did gain some friendship talents, but they were basically life skills, such as increasing the speed of concrete pouring or something… ensuring he could find work at a construction site if he had no other means of making a living.
But the effect was still too poor, because he was studying and working part-time, so he didn't have much time to build good relationships with some Pokémon, but now that he had saved enough money, it was time to start.
Seeing him suddenly appear, Slowking, who was talking to a customer, glanced at him and called out helplessly, "Are you getting beaten up every day when you go out? Hurry up and pay the rent, lest you can't come back one day."
"I won't pay until the last day; without a sense of urgency, there's no motivation to earn money, and now I inexplicably feel like I'm about to evolve into a Super Alolan!"
"You're already one if you're still so lively.
So, you're here to eat again?
This is a bar, can't you go to Nai-chan's place for food?"
"It takes a few minutes to walk there; it's more convenient to just stay downstairs."
Saying that, Hoshino walked to the bar and sat down, then placed Gengar on it, and continued, "Here, help me take a look at this."
"What's so special about a doll… Hmm?"
Slowking hadn't finished speaking when he instantly noticed something unusual.
He picked up Gengar, and his silly expression turned to surprise, saying, "This is the real deal.
Did a dead human soul turn into a Pokémon?
It's quite rare, though not unheard of."
"Huh?"
"Generally, Ghost-type and Psychic-type Pokémon are more likely to have this happen, but there are exceptions, for example, there are cases of civil engineers who fainted from exhaustion after pouring concrete all night and woke up as a Conkeldurr."
"That's too terrifying!
Even after turning into a Pokémon, they still have to continue pouring concrete; the fate of civil engineering brothers…"
Hoshino subconsciously complained, but quickly realized this wasn't the main point and quickly continued to ask, "You said Gengar was a human soul?"
"Yes."
Slowking squeezed the doll and continued, "I can't tell the age of the soul before death, but it's been dead for a long time, and its memories are long gone.
It probably vaguely attached itself to this doll and developed new consciousness.
Look, there's even a production date on this tag."
"That's its birthday!"
Hoshino snatched Gengar back and subconsciously glanced at the tag on its tail.
Its birthday was exactly one week before Halloween, which meant this Gengar wasn't even a month old yet?
It's a baby!
"Gengar?"
Gengar didn't understand what these guys were saying, and its expression was now full of confusion and curiosity.
Hoshino also noticed the change in its expression; it was no longer just that eternally unchanging smiling face.
"Is it adapting to its body?"
"It should be.
The soul has merged into the doll, but it hasn't fully adapted to the new body yet."
Slowking truly lived up to his self-proclaimed All-Rounder title; he really understood these things.
Hoshino held Gengar in his arms; with its pink body and little skirt, it looked cuter and cuter the more he looked at it.
He would take it back and wash it later.
"Then don't rush; just adapt slowly.
By the way, do dolls eat…?"
As soon as Hoshino raised the question, a panel suddenly appeared in front of him, popping up a reward effect, catching him off guard.
[Obtained the Friendship of Doll Gengar: Pink, Super Awesome (When holding an item or attacking with body contact, damage is greatly increased, but ranged attack damage will be reduced, only for Doll Gengar)]
"???"
Seeing this reward that seemed to pop up with a delay, Hoshino was instantly dumbfounded.
It was truly too unexpected, and this talent…
"Pokémon exclusive?"
He hadn't expected that besides the special friendship talents obtained due to different identities and statuses, he could even obtain exclusive friendship talents through special Pokémon!
And what the hell was this effect, a melee Gengar?
Why would it be the opposite?
Could it be that it was going to cosplay Saitama?
And what did "holding an item" mean?
Hoshino didn't understand; this touched upon his blind spots of knowledge again.
He clearly called himself a Pokémon expert, so why couldn't he understand these things?
However, with friendship, he could check information, which was…
[Pokémon: Gengar (Doll)]
[Type: Ghost-type + Fairy-type]
[Height/Weight: 0.31 m / 1.6 kg]
[Abilities: Levitate (Can float in the air) / Fluffy (Takes half damage from contact moves, but takes double damage from Fire-type moves)]
[Move: Shadow Punch]
[Status: Doll (A lost soul entered the doll's body, and at this time, an incredible thing happened; they actually merged into one and truly became a Pokémon, isn't it amazing?), Not yet adapted (Because the body's predecessor was just a doll, it cannot skillfully control it after merging, so it is difficult to move)]
"What are two abilities!
Are you Calyrex, one for a ghost and one for a doll, and this type…"
Hoshino was truly stunned.
This child… might become a One-Punch Ghost!
However, talents can only be equipped and used after capture, which means that to make Gengar one-punch KO people, he still has to become its Trainer!
"Gengar?"
Gengar wasn't sure why this guy's gaze had changed when looking at him, but it somehow felt like something was about to happen…
Hoshino gently placed it on the bar, then asked with a serious expression, "Gengar-chan, do you want to be my Pokémon?
Just like Cyclizar."
"Gengar?"
Gengar glanced at the Cyclizar, who was again patting Slowpoke's tail, then didn't think too much and responded happily, "Gengar~"
Having received consent, Hoshino took out a Poké Ball he had bought long ago, then put Gengar inside.
Watching the red and white ball in his hand shake, he smiled and said softly, "Don't worry, it's okay if you don't understand anything; we will take good care of you!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the Poké Ball emitted the sound of successful capture.
Just as he was about to be happy, he suddenly noticed that Ceruledge was, at some unknown point, standing not far away, looking coldly in their direction, as if it had an opinion.
"I wasn't bullying Pokémon!"
Hoshino instinctively panicked.
One could say that in the almost two months he had been in this world, the only thing he feared was Ceruledge; it was pure fear.
"…"
Ceruledge didn't speak, but Slowking seemed to understand its meaning and said, "It can help Gengar quickly adapt to its body.
Among Ghost-type Pokémon, their adaptability with spiritual power is very strong."
"Is that so…?"
Hoshino was a little surprised, then released Gengar.
Judging by its expression, the little guy didn't seem to like the feeling of being inside a Poké Ball.
"Gengar?"
Gengar looked at the suddenly approaching Ceruledge, froze for a moment, and its expression instantly turned fearful.
However, as a surge of spiritual power came, its hands finally seemed to be able to move, as did other parts of its body, and its eyes could blink…
"Gengar!"
Waving its still not-so-skilled body, Gengar instantly became excited.
It could finally move, and at the same time, some kind of power seemed to surge, as if one punch could defeat ten Magikarp!
Seeing this, Hoshino, who had just equipped the talent, shouted gratefully to the other party, "Thanks~"
"…"
Ceruledge ignored him and turned to leave directly, but Hoshino was already used to its aloofness, then continued to look at Gengar: "Since you can move, let's try out your body's mobility first!"
"Gengar!"
Gengar also wanted to move its body to get used to it quickly, and Hoshino also wanted to see the effect of its punches, whether they were truly powerful, so he began to look for a target.
Cyclizar was out; Shadow Punch wouldn't hit it.
As for the other Pokémon around, it seemed none of them could be hit.
It looked like he would have to do it himself.
"It's a baby, and a doll.
Its damage is probably soft right now.
Let's see if it can knock me back with full power…"
Hoshino thought so, and Gengar did as he confirmed, then jumped up and swung a punch fiercely, and then a figure flew backward…
Boom—
Looking at the certain person who had crashed through the door and was lying on the street in the rain, twitching, Slowking shouted, "Hey! I still have business to do; don't hang around at my doorstep!
I'm putting the repair cost on your tab!"
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