Trainer's Gambit

Early Sunday morning, Natsume ran into the landlord, who was out collecting rent in the hallway.

"Natsume, did you hear any strange noises last night?"

"Huh? I went to bed early last night. What kind of noises?"

"I'm not sure... Many people in the neighborhood have been saying weird things are happening. The hallway lights won't turn on no matter what."

"Our elevator only goes to B1, but several tenants have claimed to see a button for B2..."

"Don't worry, Misaki-neesan. It's probably just a burnt-out bulb. I'll check it out later," Natsume said with a smile.

Misaki-neesan sighed in relief and said softly, "I made fish head soup today. I'll have Mr. Mime bring some over later."

Natsume nodded and walked halfway down the hallway before it hit him. His expression turned strange.

"Fish head soup... It's not Magikarp, is it?!"

The old six-story building had a freight elevator, and short circuits were common. Natsume went to the first floor to check the electrical panel and replaced a bulb.

"Strange, the bulb seems fine."

Natsume scratched his head and, almost as if compelled, stepped into the elevator.

The dim freight elevator was damp, and the sublet ads on the walls were covered in mold.

Below the "B1" button, there was a faint, barely legible button labeled "B2."

Natsume rubbed his eyes, but only the "B1" button remained.

"Am I seeing ghosts in broad daylight?" Natsume gulped.

"System, what's the usual way to handle this?"

[Recommended skills: Holy Light Lv1 requires 2000 BP Points, Punishment Lv1 requires 3000 BP Points, Great Power Heavenly Dragon Lv1 requires 5000 BP Points.]

"You even have Punishment and Great Power Heavenly Dragon!?"

"Never mind, now's not the time to complain about that—can you recommend something I can actually afford?"

[Recommended skill: Spirit Vision Lv1 requires 500 BP Points.]

[Would you like to spend 500 BP Points to unlock the skill "Spirit Vision Lv1"?]

"Hurry up, hurry up!"

[Remaining BP Points: 260.]

[Spirit Vision Lv1: Enhances vision, with a small chance to detect spectral entities. (Your eyesight is extraordinary, but beware—seeing too much isn't always a good thing…)]

Before Natsume could think further, he cautiously looked around, a drop of cold sweat rolling down his forehead.

"There's... nothing here?"

The empty freight elevator was filled with a cold, musty breeze. A flickering incandescent bulb creaked overhead.

An elderly security guard yawned outside the elevator.

"Young man, you've been standing in there for a while... You're not relieving yourself in there, are you?"

Natsume left the elevator with a strange expression.

"Old man, are there any urban legends or ghost stories around here?"

"Of course! My granddaughter told me about them," the old man said enthusiastically. "There's one called the Slit-Mouthed Woman, who's actually a Pokémon called Mawile."

"And then there's the Cat-Faced Old Lady—guess what? It's a Zoroark!"

"Old man, hold on," Natsume said, his expression growing stranger. "Your granddaughter sure knows a lot!"

"Of course! She's an elite Trainer!" the old man boasted.

"I know you, kid. You're the tenant on the sixth floor. I hardly ever see you leave your apartment."

"You're so young. Instead of becoming a Trainer and making something of yourself, you're holed up here as a small-time streamer. What's the point?"

"Thanks for the advice," Natsume said, quickly retreating.

On his way to Pokémon Sleep, Natsume reflected on what had just happened.

"It's probably not a supernatural event. It's just a Ghost-type Pokémon... That makes sense."

Natsume was a firm materialist.

As the saying goes, "A wise man doesn't speak of Machamp and ghosts"—after all, a Fighting-type like Machamp would struggle against Ghost-types.

"I'll ask the landlady to hire some elite Trainers to deal with it. That should solve the problem."

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Natsume opened an app to search for nearby restaurants.

"For lunch, there's a kaiseki place... Slowpoke tail sashimi for 3888 PokéCoins? No thanks!"

"Guess I'll go buy some Poké Balls first," Natsume muttered. "There are a few Pokémon Day Cares nearby. I'll check them out later."

In the System Shop, a standard Poké Ball cost 200 BP, which was quite expensive.

In comparison, a Poké Ball in the real world cost 500 PokéCoins, which was much more affordable.

At Pokémon Sleep, Natsume spent 2500 PokéCoins to buy five Poké Balls, leaving him with 17,000 PokéCoins.

However, at the Pokémon Day Care, Natsume didn't find any Starter Pokémon that caught his eye.

"Eevee and Growlithe are very popular Pokémon," the clerk said apologetically. "Even if you pre-order, it'll take six months."

"That's fine. I was just asking."

Similar to luxury pets in his previous life, an Eevee cost 30,000 PokéCoins, while a Growlithe cost nearly 50,000.

Natsume was feeling the pinch.

Pokémon eggs for Weedle and Wurmple were much cheaper, costing only a few hundred PokéCoins each, though their potential was a gamble.

Bird Pokémon like Pidgey and Taillow also had eggs for sale, priced around 2000 PokéCoins.

But Natsume figured it would be more cost-effective to catch a Pokémon in the wild rather than buy a common one.

"If you plan to catch Pokémon yourself, please be careful," the clerk said, sweating. "There have been a lot of injury reports in recent years."

With his plan to pet an Eevee dashed, Natsume reluctantly returned home.

As the sun set, a dusky haze filled the air, and a flock of Spearow flew overhead, their harsh cries echoing.

"Spearow—!"

As he stepped into the elevator, a drop of cold sweat suddenly rolled down his forehead.

"Oh no."

His vision blurred, and the world seemed to shift, as if someone had inverted the colors.

To describe it, it was like the bizarre color shifts in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure—

The elevator buttons were now covered in eerie green handprints.

The incandescent bulb above swung wildly, emitting a screeching creak. The filament flickered violently before finally fizzling out.

In the dead silence, the stench of decay filled the air, and a cold, damp breeze licked Natsume's neck like a crimson tongue.

Natsume shuddered.

The elevator doors closed automatically and descended to B2, slowly opening.

["Spirit Vision Lv1"判定—Critical Success!]

Natsume's vision was now bathed in a fluorescent green glow, giving him a clear view like an eagle's eye.

By now, Natsume had calmed down. He looked up expressionlessly.

A pair of bulging white eyes, a grin stretching to the ears, a crimson tongue—a Gastly floated close, staring at Natsume. They locked eyes for a full minute.

"Click—"

A flash of white light suddenly lit up the space.

Natsume looked down, his hands trembling as he sent a message to his live stream followers.

"[Image]"

"Ran into a ghost late at night. What do I do? Online help, urgent!"