Who Wouldn't Be Dazed by This? (BONUS)

"Ka-kah~ Ka-kah~"

Gengar stared at the luscious, glistening berries hanging from the trees, unable to stop the tears of regret streaming down its face.

It truly regretted everything.

All this time, it had been satisfied pilfering the tasty sunflower seeds from the academy's Sunflora. It never realized that this garden was home to such a bounty of enticing berries.

Look at that red, plump Grepa Berry—doesn't it look just like a delicious roasted Skwovet—no, a juicy barbecue skewer?

Johan waved his hand in front of Gengar's face.

"Ka-Ka?"

"Didn't sleep well last night? Why are your eyes so bloodshot?" Johan asked casually.

"Ka-kah!"

Gengar quickly slurped back its drool, shaking its hands to deny everything.

But the more it denied, the more suspicious Johan became. He shot Gengar a pointed look.

Fortunately, Erika's Venusaur interrupted by lowering two berries with its vines, drawing Johan's attention away.

Gengar sighed in relief.

That was close.

But the mention of last night's battle suddenly reminded Gengar of something—it was starving.

It deflated instantly, slumping down onto the ground at a visible speed.

"Ka-kah... (-д-)"

Johan noticed Gengar's wilted state and, having a good idea of what it had been up to the night before, said, "Rest if you need to. I'll get you something to eat later."

"Ka-kah~~"

Gengar obediently nodded, shuffling over to lean against a nearby tree.

Watching this, Erika couldn't help but laugh. "Your Gengar is so well-behaved."

While carefully placing berries into the basket, Johan glanced at Gengar, who was now gnawing on its fingers.

"Yeah, pretty obedient," he said with a slight grin.

With the Pokémon from the Breeding House helping out, the work went faster than expected. In no time, they had harvested over half of the berries on the trees.

Gengar, meanwhile, fiddled with its sunglasses, the reflective surface showing Johan's sharply defined features.

It suddenly felt guilty for slacking off while everyone else was working so hard. With a groan, it pushed itself to its feet.

"Ka-kah?"

Sniff sniff—

Gengar's nose twitched as it caught a scent, perking up instantly. It quickly darted toward a patch of grass, all signs of its earlier fatigue gone.

Pushing aside the blades of grass, it found a large, green leek swaying gently in the breeze.

Gengar narrowed its eyes, staring at the leek for a long moment. Its nose twitched again, and images of leek lamb skewers, leek pancakes, leek-stuffed dumplings, and roasted duck with leeks filled its mind.

Its eyes lit up with a gleam, and it suddenly opened its mouth wide, chomping down with a loud "chomp!"

For a brief moment, there was silence.

A second or two passed.

The Farfetch'd digging in the dirt nearby froze mid-scratch and turned its head, bewildered, toward one of its wings.

"Quack?"

A wicked-looking Gengar was staring back at it, chewing nonchalantly on its prized leek.

Farfetch'd: "..."

For a moment, it couldn't process what was happening. Then, as the pain from its wing registered, its eyes shot wide open, and it let out an ear-piercing screech.

"QUACK!!"

Johan: "..."

He looked at Gengar, who was grinning sheepishly, hands on his hips but at a loss for words.

"You're a Ghost-type Pokémon. Why are you picking on a Normal-type...?"

"Time to eat!"

The Breeding House caretaker arrived just in time, pushing a cart loaded with food for both Pokémon and their trainers.

Johan let out a sigh of relief. If they'd waited much longer, Farfetch'd might have really ended up roasted.

Farfetch'd: Σ(дlll)

Gengar smacked its lips, apparently impressed with the leek's flavor.

This caught the attention of Vulpix, Tinkatuff, and Dratini, who approached curiously.

"Ka-kah...(￣￢￣)"

Noticing Johan's sharp gaze, Gengar quickly wiped its mouth and focused its attention on the energy cubes the caretaker had brought over.

Its eyes lit up.

Johan also noticed something unusual about the energy cubes. Picking one up from Gengar's bowl, he studied it.

"These energy cubes..."

"You're familiar with energy cube crafting, Johan?"

"Just a bit," Johan replied modestly.

The caretaker's energy cubes didn't appear particularly high-grade at first glance, but Johan noticed they contained some special additives.

Understandable—feeding so many Pokémon meant relying on cost-effective options. Only someone like Steven could afford to feed his Pokémon top-tier cubes every day.

However, these cubes' unique ingredients seemed designed to accelerate Pokémon recovery—a feature Johan's own recipes lacked.

After all, his crafting techniques were adapted from Wallace's methods, which prioritized a Pokémon's aesthetics over other attributes.

Not that there was anything wrong with Wallace's approach, but Johan had tailored the recipes to emphasize taste. This left his Pokémon not only confident in their appearance but also utterly addicted to his energy cubes.

The caretaker and Johan exchanged insights, and she quickly realized his expertise far exceeded her expectations.

Such depth of knowledge couldn't come from blindly following a recipe; it reflected a deep understanding of energy cube crafting.

If Gengar knew what the caretaker was thinking, it would have scoffed.

Seriously? Who else's trainer fights them for snacks every day? Johan's mastery was literally earned bite by bite!

Erika, meanwhile, was stunned.

"Could Johan also be a top-tier Pokémon breeder?"

As far as she knew, Johan was already an exceptional Pokémon psychologist, recognized by both Professor Elm and Professor Oak.

He was also a skilled trainer with strategic insights on par with a master tactician.

And now, he was proving himself to be a gifted breeder as well?

Erika silently vowed, I must persuade him to join us at our university.

After lunch, the caretaker approached Johan, tapping her cane against the ground.

"Johan, up for some post-lunch exercise?"

"Huh?"

Johan blinked in confusion but quickly understood when he noticed her gaze on Dratini, who was still finishing its meal.

"Let's do it!"

"Flygon," the caretaker called out in a surprisingly strong voice.

Whoosh—

A gust of wind swept through as a Flygon descended, landing gracefully beside her.

"Good boy," she said, patting its head affectionately.

Flygon purred, nuzzling her hand.

"Dratini," Johan called.

"Drii...?"

Dratini turned to him, only for Johan to notice that its head was stuck in its food bowl.

Johan: "..."

Tinkatuff and Gengar quickly rushed to free it.

"Drii?"

Still chewing on an energy cube, Dratini looked utterly bewildered.

"Are you full?" Johan asked.

Dratini nodded.

"Then let's have a friendly sparring match with Flygon."

Dratini glanced at Flygon, then back at Johan.

"Drii...?"

Me?

Johan crouched beside it, gently patting its smooth head.

"Don't worry. It's just for fun—no need to win. If it hurts, we'll stop."

Reassured, Dratini took a deep breath and nodded solemnly.

It slithered forward, only to trip and fall flat on its face.

While everyone else chuckled at the sight, Johan's heart sank.

Is your bad luck meter full again?

Dratini vs. Flygon!

Though the caretaker didn't give commands, Flygon's instincts made it a formidable opponent.

At her signal, the battle began!

Flygon flapped its wings, summoning a sandstorm, then unleashed a searing burst of purple flames.

Dragon Breath!

Johan quickly assessed Flygon's strength through his Pokédex—it was an exceptionally well-trained Pokémon.

"Dratini, dodge with Extreme Speed, then use Water Pulse!"

"Drii—!"

Though initially tense, Dratini calmed upon hearing Johan's steady voice.

White energy surged through its body as it darted away with incredible speed, narrowly avoiding Flygon's Dragon Breath.

Taking a deep breath, Dratini unleashed a powerful jet of water.

The torrent struck Flygon square in the face, forcing it back.

The caretaker blinked in surprise.

"Water Pulse is such a difficult move to master... And such precision, too?"

Flygon roared in frustration, its body shrouded in purple energy as it charged forward.

Dragon Rush!

"Dratini, stay focused!"

Johan's words snapped Dratini out of its daze. It inhaled deeply, gathering its energy—

And launched another Water Pulse, blasting Flygon mid-charge!

Flygon skidded to a halt, panting as it eyed Dratini with disbelief.

Was this sheer luck? Or divine intervention?

Three consecutive direct hits with Water

Pulse.

Even Johan couldn't hide his astonishment.

Is this the power of a Water Pulse-luck combo?

No one watching could remain unfazed.

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Powerstones?

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