Chapter 15: Teacher Lu, Your House Is on Fire!
Two days later, at night, in his rental apartment, Lu Ye's expression was serious as he nodded at Gastly. Gastly, equally serious, stared intently at the energy block in front of it. A dark, eerie red, it shone with a translucent amber glow, like fresh blood.
This was Lu Ye's second 10 Consecutive Draws, yielding a rare purple item—an energy block made from Dragonfruit.
[Remaining BP Points: 270]
[Dragonfruit: Contains spice that stimulates the Pokémon's nerves, boosting its Special Attack to a certain extent. (Rumor has it they call this a "dragonfruit" in some parallel universe? And it's sweet?)]
Dragonfruit, a rare berry that can enhance Pokémon attributes, was quite scarce on the market. And Lu Ye's second 10 Consecutive Draws had yielded the following items:
[Ten-Draw List: Moomoo Milk x3, Orange Block x3, Beginner Fishing Rod Set x1, Dragonfruit x2, Dive Ball x1]
Since he hadn't planned on catching any Water-type Pokémon, Lu Ye put the Dive Ball and the fishing rod set aside for now. The main prizes were the 2 bright red Dragonfruits. After working at full power to turn them into energy blocks, Lu Ye's neighbors nearly called the cops, thinking a murder had occurred next door.
The first attempt had failed, and he only managed to make 5 Dragonfruit Blocks on his second try. But the quality of these 5 Dragonfruit Blocks was high, a testament to Lu Ye's "Pokéblock Crafting Lv3" skills.
"Give it a try," Lu Ye said seriously. "If it works, I'm going to start selling these at the market!"
"Gengarrr!"
Gastly nodded, sticking out a trembling tongue and hovering it over the Dragonfruit Block for 5 seconds.
"…Are you gonna eat it or not?"
A cold sweat dripped down Gastly's face, falling onto its stiff tongue with a soft "plop." Taking a deep breath, Gastly quickly swept the Dragonfruit Block into its mouth, chewing with reckless abandon.
Three seconds later, Lu Ye asked eagerly, "How does it feel?"
Gastly's dark face turned visibly red, its bloodshot eyes widening.
"Whoooosh—!!"
With a heavy exhale, Gastly spat out a dark purple flame that howled from its mouth! Lu Ye instinctively dodged to the side. The pitch-black flame exploded against the wall with a "boom," clinging to it as it continued to burn, turning the entire wall charred black!
Silence fell over the room. Gastly blinked innocently, trying to play it cool. A bead of cold sweat trickled down Lu Ye's forehead.
"The power of that Will-O-Wisp—it's almost on par with Flamethrower!"
Will-O-Wisp usually burned with a dim blue phosphorescence and wasn't very powerful. But after eating a Dragonfruit Block, this Will-O-Wisp nearly burned a hole through the wall! Lu Ye couldn't tell if Gastly was exceptionally gifted or if the Dragonfruit Block's effect was just that intense.
Breaking into a cold sweat, Lu Ye was even more determined not to become a Trainer.
After calming down, Lu Ye put his hands on his hips and stared at the scorched wall with a complex expression. Next to him, Gastly floated with a dejected look.
"This isn't really your fault," Lu Ye sighed. "Looks like I'll need to keep working on the recipe."
"Hiss-hiss~~"
"What? You actually thought it tasted pretty good?"
"Gengarrr!"
Lu Ye rubbed his chin thoughtfully. The quality of the Dragonfruit Blocks was definitely good. What had happened just now wasn't a side effect—it was just that the effect was too powerful.
"But with an effect this strong, I can't sell it!"
If another fire breaks out, where am I supposed to defend myself? Scratching his head, Lu Ye sighed, "Fine, the remaining 4 Dragonfruit Blocks are yours!"
Gastly chuckled happily, carefully storing the remaining 4 translucent red blocks in a glass jar in the cabinet. Lu Ye laughed. "I'm not going to take them from you, so why hide them so well?"
Gastly shot Lu Ye a look. "Screech!" (You never know!)
That dismissive glance stung Lu Ye deeply. Gritting his teeth, Lu Ye said, "Just you wait!"
He pulled out a Fire Stone that glowed with a faint red light. Although its energy wasn't as potent as a Flame Stone, it was still a rare treat for Gastly.
Gastly's mouth stretched wide, its crimson tongue poking out as it eyed the Fire Stone hungrily.
"Gulp—"
Unable to hold back, Gastly swallowed its saliva, giving Lu Ye a pitiful look.
From Gastly's perspective: I'm so cute—how can you resist?
From Lu Ye's perspective: A creepy Gastly staring at him with bloodshot eyes, drooling nonstop.
With a shiver, Lu Ye gave in and tossed the Fire Stone to Gastly.
"Eat it sparingly; that cost thousands!"
To be fair, even elite Trainers' Pokémon didn't usually get meals as lavish as Lu Ye's Gastly did. It had only been half a month since the timeline shift. And Gastly had already tasted Moomoo Milk, Speed Booster, Dragonfruit Block... Now adding the Fire Stone to the mix, it was living a quasi-legendary lifestyle!
With the Fire Stone in its mouth, Gastly looked dazedly at Lu Ye's retreating figure, its eyes turning wavy with emotion. Tears welled up as the long-stray Gastly once again felt the warmth of a home.
"Gengarrr!"
"Wha—don't just leap on me like that! That black smoke is toxic! Don't—"
Lu Ye didn't like keeping Gastly in a Poké Ball. Firstly, Ash's Pikachu had made quite an impression on him. Secondly, Poké Balls restricted Pokémon freedom somewhat, giving off a cold feeling. Of course, compared to the harsh environment of the wild, many Pokémon actually preferred the Poké Ball. So, generally, Lu Ye didn't interfere with Gastly's choice.
The next day, Lu Ye was heading to campus, and Gastly was peeking out from the doorway to see him off.
"Aren't you coming with me?" Lu Ye asked in surprise.
"Gengarrr! Gengarrr!"
"Alright, stay safe at home."
Lu Ye's expression turned strange. "And try not to set anything on fire again!"
After burning the wall last time, Lu Ye's balance dropped by 500, leaving him with barely 4,000. If he didn't find some easy money soon, he'd be in serious trouble!
Gastly's face showed a flash of guilt, and it nodded frantically under Lu Ye's scrutinizing gaze.
As Lu Ye left, Gastly let out a sigh of relief and took out the Fire Stone from the cabinet. Placing it on the floor, Gastly flipped the Nurturing Guide to the "Will-O-Wisp" page and nodded slowly.
The qualifying rounds for that competition should be tomorrow. Its master had his own work to do, so Gastly couldn't take up his time. It had to train hard and prepare on its own!
Drawing on the Fire Stone's energy, a surge of fiery power flooded the black smoke surrounding Gastly, turning it a deep red. 3 cold black flames slowly emerged around Gastly.
[Corrosion] [Attachment] [Scorch]—these were the basic Will-O-Wisp traits that Green mentioned in the Nurturing Guide. Different Trainers used different strategies; some added [Toxic] to Will-O-Wisp, others enhanced its [Splash] effect.
At that moment, the raging fire elements around it caused the 3 black flames to burn at intense temperatures. The dark mist thickened as Gastly gulped down another Dragonfruit Block. The temperature rose rapidly, and with a "boom," the Fire Stone shattered into pieces! The 3 Will-O-Wisps fused, bursting into an inferno of clashing flames!
Will-O-Wisp: Explosion!
That night, returning to his rental with his backpack, Lu Ye noticed sirens blaring on the street. Firefighters on a ladder were directing a Blastoise to spray water at a building on fire. A crowd had gathered, and Lu Ye curiously asked the security guard, "Which apartment is on fire, sir?"
The guard looked at him with a complicated expression. "Sixth floor. Yours."
Lu Ye: ???
Under Gastly's control, the fire hadn't gotten too bad, and a neighbor had called for help in time. After receiving a lecture, Lu Ye was fined and had to pay 1,000 each for damages.
A dejected Lu Ye and Gastly returned to the apartment, where scorch marks still covered the walls.
"Good thing Sister Liu didn't throw me out!" Lu Ye muttered.
He glanced at Gastly, who was curled up and trembling in shame. Lu Ye sighed. "This one's on me. I shouldn't have left you alone."
"Hiss…"
"It's alright." Lu Ye patted the downcast Gastly. "Don't cry."
"Let's clean up, and later I'll take you out for a late-night snack, okay?"
"Gengarrr!" ヘ(;´Д｀ヘ)
[Teacher Lu: My house caught on fire (video)]
[Gold: Impressive Flamethrower power!]
[Green: Judging by the duration, it's probably Will-O-Wisp.]
[Member "Gold" has been muted by the admin for 2 hours.]
[Private chat with "Red"]
[Gold: I just joined the group, and I'm already banned!]
[Red: …Try to be more careful!]
[Gold: Then why didn't Green get banned???]
[Red: …]
Staring at the dimmed avatar, with a fierce expression and a pair of goggles on, Gold slammed his pool cue on the table with a "bang," clenching his teeth.
"Even if it's just a game…"
"I'm going to beat Teacher Lu!"