Treading on Thin Ice All Day (BONUS)

For 300 powerstones.

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After (being) dealt with by Johan, Haunter watched him dispel the paralysis and poison effects on himself before following Cynthia outside.

He didn't want to leave her alone to buy ice cream; she might take all night to decide. Besides, she didn't have any money on her, and the last thing he needed was Cynthia showing up tomorrow for "compensation" in the form of a combined assault from Garchomp and Lucario.

Finding Cynthia wasn't hard at all.

Not only could Haunter phase through walls, but Vulpix had already memorized her scent. After rounding two corners, they came upon the busy street.

While Kanaz City's night market couldn't compete with the one in Saffron City, it was definitely something unique. Under neon lights that turned night to day, its winding paths stretched for several kilometers, a testament to Kanaz City's bustling charm.

Sure enough, just ahead at an ice cream cart, Cynthia was bent over, thoughtfully selecting flavors.

It was already fall, and it looked like she was the only one brave enough to still be at the ice cream cart. The vendor's awkward expression made it clear she'd been there for a while.

As Johan drew closer, he overheard her murmuring, "Vanilla with cream… maybe strawberry-mint… and chocolate…"

Of course.

But Cynthia's calm manner reassured him that she had likely let the earlier incident go.

"Ka-kah~~"

Before Johan could say anything, Haunter's eyes lit up at the sight of the ice cream cart, and it immediately plastered itself against it, startling the vendor.

Johan chuckled as he pulled Haunter back and said, "Boss, can we get four strawberry-mint chocolate parfaits?"

"Right away!"

The vendor, relieved, hurried to prepare the order.

Cynthia glanced at Johan.

"Tsk." Johan smacked his lips and looked toward the night sky. "Nice night, huh? The moon's looking round. Don't you think so?"

"Ka-kah?"

Haunter put a hand above its eyes, scanning the sky left and right.

Where was the moon?

Johan's cheek twitched.

Cynthia covered her mouth, laughing softly. She reached over and took Vulpix from Johan's arms.

"Young man, here's your ice cream."

Thankfully, the vendor had saved him from any further awkwardness.

"Thanks." Johan nodded as he took the ice cream and handed one to Cynthia, while Haunter, watching eagerly, also got one, along with Vulpix.

"Thank you." Cynthia took a delicate lick of hers.

Eating ice cream in fall felt a bit chilly, and as soon as she took a bite, her eyes squeezed shut.

Haunter, on the other hand, took a big lick with its oversized tongue.

"Ka-Kah? Σ(дlll)"

Haunter stared, stunned, at the empty wrapper in its hand.

Where did my ice cream go?!

It looked helplessly at Johan.

Johan sighed and went back to buy it another one.

Finally, they strolled into the lively night market together.

"You know," Johan said, "there's really no need to struggle over flavor choices. Just buy everything on the menu."

After all, Garchomp had sent word through Haunter that they might, just might, be able to "cure" Cynthia's extreme indecisiveness.

"Hmm." Cynthia nodded thoughtfully. "That's what I used to do."

"You used to?"

Johan blinked.

"When I couldn't decide on clothes, I'd just buy the whole store. But then I found… taking my time to choose felt better."

The whole store?

"Never mind, then."

Johan knew he couldn't "cure" this condition.

Rich people's troubles… he just couldn't relate. Maybe Steven and Cynthia would get along with each other.

After a while, they bought some snacks and Johan walked Cynthia back to her hotel.

At the entrance, he was about to leave when Cynthia turned to him and asked, "Aren't you coming up?"

Johan glanced at the pitch-black night sky.

"I don't think that'd be… appropriate."

Five minutes later:

"Goodnight."

Click!

Standing in the hallway, Johan held Vulpix in one arm and an "TM Shadow Ball" in his hand.

"Ka-kah~~"

Haunter was grinning mischievously.

Want me to open the door for you?

Johan's brow furrowed.

Would you like Garchomp's scythe to be even sharper?

"All that just for this?"

He waved the TM in his hand.

For this thing, he'd nearly missed out on "Fivefold Farewell."

"Ka-kah!"

Haunter nodded enthusiastically.

It's worth at least hundreds of thousands!

Johan was momentarily speechless. He wasn't sure whether this was good or bad.

Because the TM Shadow Ball did cost that much.

It was just that… the way he'd acquired it…

When he finally left the hotel doors, Johan let out a long sigh.

"I was truly walking on thin ice today…"

Thankfully, the whole incident seemed to be behind them.

What he didn't know was how many small companies using the name "Cynthia" to drive web traffic were about to go bankrupt.

Back home, Johan lay sprawled on the couch, too drained to make energy cubes.

Mainly because he'd planned to restock on berries today, but Cynthia's unexpected arrival had derailed those plans.

"But all in all, not a bad day."

He'd earned a million from Cynthia for "treating" Spiritomb, won a Dragon Fang from Clair, and Haunter got its hands on a "TM Shadow Ball."

Adding it all up, he'd probably raked in over two million today!

"Raising these two troublemakers is no easy task…"

Johan looked over at Haunter and Vulpix.

Haunter was focusing intently on learning the TM for Shadow Ball.

For it, offensive moves were a bit limited. Besides Hex, it didn't have many powerful moves, so it had to rely on chip damage strategies.

But with a Pokémon like Clair's Dragonair, with its Shed Skin ability, Haunter's options were limited.

Once it learned Shadow Ball, it would gain a much-needed boost.

"Ka-kah Ka-kah—"

Haunter looked at the TM intently, nodding as if understanding it more and more.

Occasionally, it even split off a Substitute, seemingly testing something that left Johan with an ominous feeling.

Are you actually planning to use Substitute to execute moves?

The league would definitely ban that tactic, right?

But watching Haunter fail time and again, he could tell this was no easy feat.

Meanwhile…

Vulpix continued its "snowman mission" on the ground.

After the battle with Dragonair, Vulpix seemed even more enthusiastic, having realized that snowmen could be useful in actual combat.

This discovery had reignited its passion for snow sculpting.

And actually, the snowmen weren't just for fun.

Johan had encouraged Vulpix to start sculpting with its psychic powers.

Not only could it create them faster, but it also improved its control over its psychic abilities.

While the two were getting a bit "crooked" in terms of how they trained, Johan couldn't deny their effort, which he found comforting.

After resting a bit, Johan got up to take a shower.

Passing by his cabinet, he noticed something.

Was the Pokémon egg… moving a little?

It dawned on him that…

His third "little one" might be ready to "hatch" any day now.