Although things in Saffron City had temporarily settled, August still stayed for another two days.
One reason was that the equipment he had “borrowed”—or rather, extorted—from Silph Co. needed to be set up at his estate, and he had to oversee the process. Additionally, Bill had come all the way from Cerulean City’s research lab to build a new laboratory using the estate’s more advanced facilities.
The other reason was, of course, Sabrina.
“I don’t have any left. Seriously, I’m completely out.”
Faced with yet another visit from Sabrina in search of his [Mystica Pokéblocks], August refused her without hesitation.
And he wasn’t lying—he genuinely had no more left.
There were still some ingredients remaining, but those were strictly reserved for his little Lugia’s meals. No way was he giving them to Sabrina.
Still, seeing how desperate she was for them, August couldn’t help but wonder:
Could my special Pokéblocks really be enhancing psychic abilities? Maybe I should let Gardevoir try a couple next time…
Yes, purely for training purposes. Absolutely nothing else.
Sabrina, on the other hand, felt a mix of disappointment and relief.
On one hand, she wouldn’t get to take a shortcut to improving her powers.
On the other hand… she also wouldn’t have to experience that humiliating sensation ever again.
Maybe this was a blessing in disguise?
With that thought, Sabrina prepared to leave.
Just as she turned to go, August suddenly spoke. “Oh, by the way—go easy on Gary, would you? For my sake.”
He had finally remembered Gary.
A little adversity was good for growth, but at this rate, Gary might actually start questioning his entire existence.
Sabrina tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled. “Since you asked…”
“The next time he challenges me, I’ll give him a badge.”
“But,” she added, a competitive glint in her eyes, “once I’ve caught Articuno, I want a battle with you.”
Before August could respond, she released her Alakazam. With a shimmer of psychic energy, her figure blurred and vanished.
Watching her disappear, August raised an eyebrow.
Sabrina actually thinks she can challenge me?
Looks like he hadn’t properly asserted his authority yet. Next time they battled, he’d have to thoroughly remind her who was in charge.
—
Lavender Town was perpetually shrouded in mist, with only rare glimpses of clear skies throughout the year.
The presence of Pokémon Tower, combined with the fog’s natural sound-dampening effect, gave the town an eerie silence.
August and Blue had just arrived on the outskirts.
As they looked over the quiet, misty town, Blue pulled up a forum thread on urban legends about Lavender Town.
“Let’s see what the number one ghost story is…” she murmured.
“Apparently, some trainers have encountered strange townspeople here. They’ll say, ‘There’s a white hand on your shoulder.’ But when the trainer turns to look… and then looks back—those people vanish without a trace.”
“So far, over a hundred trainers have reported experiencing this phenomenon.”
At these words, Eevee, who had been resting on August’s shoulder, instantly tensed up. Its little body stiffened, and its tiny paws clutched onto August’s clothes like its life depended on it.
Blue’s expression briefly flashed with mischief.
Then, in an exaggeratedly frightened voice, she pointed behind Eevee and gasped, “A white hand—!”
PFFT!
Before she even finished her sentence, Eevee exploded into a ball of fluffed-up fur and dove straight into August’s clothes. Only two trembling ears peeked out from the collar.
Curled up in a quivering ball, Eevee was clearly terrified.
August, amused by the scene, sighed.
“Come on, don’t scare Eevee. It’s already nervous enough.”
He gently stroked Eevee’s head, soothing it with soft words.
Feeling August’s comforting touch, Eevee cautiously peeked its head out from his collar, its eyes darting around nervously.
After a few moments, it seemed to confirm that no ghostly hands were lurking nearby. It let out a tiny sigh of relief and waved its paws at Blue in protest.
“Vee!”
“Okay, okay, I was wrong! Here, have some candy.”
Blue stuck out her tongue playfully before offering up a piece of candy in surrender. Only then did Eevee begrudgingly accept her apology.
“But my new scanner really can detect ghosts, you know,” Blue said, pulling out a device that looked like a pair of VR goggles. “Eevee, do you wanna take a look?”
It was a piece of equipment she had worked on before, but after it got damaged in battle, she had taken the opportunity to upgrade it using Silph Co.’s tech—along with some pointers from Bill.
Eevee took one look at the device, then promptly covered its ears and shook its head.
Nope. Not happening.
August, on the other hand, was curious to try it out.
But—
“The sun’s setting. Lance sent me Agatha’s location, so let’s head into town first,” he said.
Even though he wasn’t afraid of ghosts, wandering around Lavender Town at night just didn’t seem like a great idea.
But just as he finished speaking—
His [Aura] flared with an instinctual warning.
Acting on reflex, August unleashed a pulse of [Aura] in counterattack.
Blue and Eevee watched as a shadowy figure suddenly let out a startled cry and materialized from the mist—only to flee in panic, disappearing back into the fog.
Eevee’s eyes went wide.
There was actually a ghost?!
“Vee!”
Clutching onto August, Eevee frantically signaled that it wanted to go back into its Poké Ball. It absolutely did not want to stay outside anymore.
Blue, meanwhile, was also surprised—but she had managed to catch a glimpse of the figure.
“That was… a Gastly?”
Although it had only been for a split second, the floating black body and surrounding dark purple mist were unmistakable.
“Yeah, that was definitely a Gastly… Guess Lavender Town really lives up to its reputation. You can run into Ghost-types just by walking down the road.”
August was a little disappointed. If that Gastly hadn’t bolted so fast, he would have liked to talk to it—maybe even ask where he could find a strong Gengar.
After August and Blue continued on their way, the mist behind them swirled slightly—
And a moment later, the very same Gastly cautiously emerged from the fog.
It watched August’s retreating figure and let out a very human-like sigh of relief.
That human was scary!
It had only wanted to play a harmless little prank—but instead of scaring August, it had ended up getting itself scared senseless!
But… that strange blue energy that had flared up from August intrigued it.
In all its years of haunting Lavender Town, this was the first time it had ever encountered a human like that.
After hesitating for a moment, Gastly made up its mind.
Slowly, carefully, it drifted after August and Blue, following them into town.
Not long after, the mist where August had stood before rippled once again—before gradually returning to silence.
—
This is a fan translation of 人在实教，一之濑你会后悔的 by 作者：白良. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!
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