Chapter 0787: Substitute Teacher Gengar(Two-in-One)

Finding the missing Stufful would take a chance to get in touch with Aether Paradise.

Early the next morning, Natsume prepared to head for Trainer School, ready to begin his first class of the term.

Cynthia had already gotten up, wearing a stately, elegant black coat. She swept golden hair from her ear to reveal a fair and delicate neck.

“You’re up early today,” Natsume remarked, raising his gaze and sipping coffee.

The table was set with a variety of Alolan cuisine: Berry salad, sunny-side-up eggs, hotcakes, and ginger soda.

Cynthia sat down gracefully, knife and fork in hand, eyes drifting indecisively over the plates as she hesitated,

“I’m heading to the ancient war ruins to do some mythology research… Let Togepi come with me.”

“Togepi doo-ee~ヾ(≧▽≦*)o” Togepi sat in a child’s chair, waving its tiny hands and feet, agreeing on Natsume’s behalf.

Natsume understood; with Togepi’s luck blessing her, the probability of good research results was higher.

Sunlight poured in through floor-to-ceiling windows, dazzling over the marble balcony. Outside, the waters of Kala'e Bay glittered, palms waving in the breeze.

Natsume stepped out the door, squinting into the Alolan sunlight, stretching with a smile.

“Let’s go, Gengar, it’s time for school!”

The purple fat one stood on the ground and waved its little hand.

“Gengar! (￣▽￣)／” (Alola!)

……

Trainer School, treehouse tutorial building, morning class.

“Today’s Pokémon quiz…”

Professor Kukui, with one hand in his white lab coat pocket and the other holding a pointer, tapped the blackboard:

“Of the four Guardian deities—yellow, pink, green, and blue—which one is Melemele Island’s Guardian deity?”

Lillie, in a white dress and draping long hair, answered a bit nervously,

“It’s Tapu Koko, the Island Symbol color is yellow.”

“That’s right,” Professor Kukui smiled. “A basic question, but Lillie’s response was very quick.”

In front of him sat five wooden desks, seating Lillie, Lana, Mallow, Sophocles, and Kiawe.

Of these, Lillie had the best fundamental knowledge.

Kiawe excelled in battle class, Mallow in breeding class, Lana in wild practice, and Sophocles in science and invention.

The five students had completely different hair colors: red, blue, yellow, green, gold…like a squad of superheroes.

“Next up is Natsume-sensei’s course.”

Professor Kukui put both hands in his pockets, leaning on the podium with a smile, “Get ready, this is the course of a Legendary Trainer!”

“Yes!” the students replied in hopeful unison.

Professor Kukui waved a hand, turned to the doorway, spotted a shadow in the hall, and smiled, “Alola~ Natsume-sensei.”

“Alola~” Natsume nodded gently, smiling, “Am I teaching the breeding class and battle class this afternoon?”

“That’s right, and on the schedule is a Principal’s ‘Regional Forms Differences’ course too.”

Professor Kukui laughed, “I heard he’s prepared a surprise, and invited us both to sit in.”

“See you then.”

The two exchanged farewells, and Natsume entered the classroom, surveying the upright Lillie and the others.

The class was built inside a treehouse, sunlight streaming through the tree windows, warm and comfortable.

Natsume gave a small cough with a clenched fist and smiled, “Alola~, everyone.”

The tension vanished; Mallow was energetic, Lillie a little shy, Lana smiled lightly, and Sophocles and Kiawe both responded loudly,

“Alola!”

Pokémon basics were taught by Professor Kukui; Natsume-sensei handled advanced courses on battle and command.

“For the first class, let’s talk theory.”

Natsume, holding a set square, tapped the blackboard, on which he wrote in big white letters:

【Protect Not-Protecing Protect】

Natsume: “Pokémon battle, at its core, is rock-paper-scissors. If you can read your opponent's command, you’re halfway to victory…”

Honestly, these classes are just right for Ash and Gold.

Those two are adept at brute force, but weak on metagame; their only hope is quick reflexes.

Once they finish “Natsume-sensei’s Black-hearted Mini Class,” Ash should be well on his way to becoming Alola’s first league Champion.

Lillie diligently took notes in her notebook. Though she’d never battled, perhaps these notes would help her brother someday...

Mallow propped her chin with her pencil, imagining what berries might work best for the afternoon breeding class.

Kiawe felt he’d discovered a new world in Pokémon battling, his excitement bubbling over.

“Next class will be about specific training content,” Natsume said, hands in his pockets. “There’ll be a new teacher for that.”

“There’s another new teacher?” Everyone was surprised.

Natsume took a Poké Ball from his pocket and tossed it casually. Gengar landed on the floor, waving to the class,

“Gengar~!”

“Gengar is teacher?!” Their faces went into comic exaggeration; chaos filled the room.

Natsume arched a brow.

As if! My Gengar not only reads, it writes its own notebooks!

“Gengar, show them some blackboard work!” Natsume said.

“Gengar~” Gengar turned its back, showing its small purple spike, getting on tiptoe to reach the board, scribbling away.

《Gengar’s Mini Training Class》

Lecturer: Gengar.

“Gengar! (≧▽≦)” Gengar turned to display the blackboard.

Lillie and the class stood dumbfounded, taking a while to process.

A Pokémon… can teach others how to train Pokémon?!

Teacher Gengar, you’re a real Trainer!

Natsume was pleased with their faces, nodding with satisfaction.

That’s just how stunned I was back then...

Gengar’s self-discipline is exceptional—not only can it train Pokémon by itself, it even signed up solo for the Baby Cup!

“What are you waiting for, take notes!”

Natsume looked at the confused students, then at Lillie, back straight and writing furiously in her notebook.

Natsume thought: “Lillie, plus five points!”

......

At lunch, the students enjoyed packed meals from home.

Mallow’s parents owned a restaurant in Hau'oli City; Kiawe’s family ran a ranch on Akala Island.

Lana’s parents were fishermen. Sophocles’s parents were engineers. Lillie’s parents were founders of the Aether Foundation.

Kiawe was the eldest, Lana and Sophocles the youngest.

Still, Lana sometimes showed surprising guts and calm, likely from having two younger sisters at home.

Responding to Samson Oak’s invitation, Natsume and Professor Kukui came to the classroom at lunch.

“This is how regional forms appear—in Pokémon eggs!”

Samson Oak stood with a pair of Pokémon eggs, one white and one red, smiling broadly, “They’re the same species, but the eggshells are completely different colors—one from Alola, one from Kanto. Who wants to take on the hatching duty? It’ll be your practical assignment for next time!”

“What beautiful Pokémon eggs~” Mallow leaned in to look.

“I want to see too~” Sophocles squeezed over.

Professor Kukui noticed Lillie hesitating to approach and whispered to Natsume:

“Even Pokémon eggs—Lillie doesn’t dare touch them.”

“Give this task to Lillie,” Natsume smiled. “Hatching life with her own hands—maybe a miracle will happen.”

Professor Kukui nodded; with great solemnity, he said, “Lillie, I entrust this mission to you—Research Institute’s Assistant!”

Lillie shrank back half a step, murmured, “But…”

“Gengar!” Teacher Gengar popped up, grinning at Lillie from behind.

“Ah!” Lillie shivered, turning to Gengar’s great grin and giving a nervous, forced smile. “Teacher Gengar…”

Natsume was mildly surprised.

Gengar’s intuition was keen—the ghost didn’t touch Lillie, but kept a gentle distance, putting effort into a “friendly” expression.

But if this were Sabrina, Gengar would have brought out a bomb and left them both covered in ash.

Right now, though, Gengar was simply encouraging Lillie to reach out to the Pokémon egg.

“Give it a try, Lillie!” Mallow’s eyes glowed.

“Right,” Lana added lightly, “You can do it, Lillie.”

With everyone’s encouragement, Lillie approached the white Pokémon egg, reached out, and touched the cool eggshell, freezing up.

But she summoned her courage and pressed her palm against the shell, exhaling and raising a small smile.

“That’s just the first step,” Professor Kukui warned, arms folded. “You need to pick it up, too.”

“You’re celebrating a little too soon, Lillie,” Natsume complained mercilessly.

Lillie stood stunned for a moment, then—after a struggle—lifted the white Pokémon egg in a pillow.

Professor Kukui didn’t rush her, just smiled with arms on his hips, “It’s already hard enough for her…”

“Hatching is just the beginning,” Natsume remarked softly.

Lillie would handle hatching the white egg, while Samson Oak took care of the red one.

Leaving, Samson Oak mentioned the topic of a transfer student:

“Ash from Pallet Town, apparently Champion of the Lumiose Conference… He’ll be coming to School for more training. Considering ages, your class is the best fit.”

“How old is Ash exactly?” Natsume asked curiously.

“Uh… About Kiawe’s age, fourteen or fifteen or so.”

Natsume nodded lightly—seven leagues in five years, that tracked.

Alola-style Ash was more childlike than his XY incarnation, fitting tonally with the younger Alola world.

Given Ash is still young, maybe Alola really is his “promised land.”

Ash had mentioned this in the Chat Group earlier—partly to follow in Natsume-sensei’s footsteps.

Also, Red, Blue Oak, Green, and Yellow were coming to Alola for vacation—like a squad of war gods, instantly boosting Alola’s battle power.

Yellow smilingly said, “The founders of the Battle Tree, Senior Red and Green, will act as gatekeepers… So next month, we’ll all be in Alola.”

Low emotional intelligence: I don’t want to fight Red.

High emotional intelligence, Natsume replied, “I’ll make sure Ash is ready to challenge Red.”

So, does that mean Brock and Misty are out, with Red and Green making a return!?

Natsume shook his head slightly.

Ash attending school in Alola—he wouldn’t treat him any differently, as all students must be equally taught.

Besides, Ash would find plenty of chances in Alola—letting him grow naturally was best.

That afternoon—

Natsume pedaled his bike for a spin through the forest behind the school.

Sylveon was following Tapu Koko, drawing on the island’s aura with good results.

First, her fur had grown even more snow-white, coated in a silver radiance that made Natsume want to scoop her up and breathe her in.

Second, the “light-based” island aura strengthened Sylveon’s “light” moves.

Attacks like Dazzling Gleam, Light Screen, Hyper Beam… Combined with island aura, their effects were noticeably greater.

Even a single island’s aura had a dramatic effect.

No wonder Ultra Beasts were always invading Alola, drawn by the power of this “Ultimate Aura.”

In the tree hollow deep in the woods, Natsume checked on the Trio while Bewear was out.

He found they’d turned the cave into a secret base, always well-fed and sunbathing every day.

“After a lifetime of blasting off, they finally get to enjoy life in Alola,” Natsume sighed.

The afternoon was practical battle class.

Kiawe and his partner Turtonator teamed up to perform Firium Z “Inferno Overdrive.”

“Z, Flamethrower!!” Kiawe yelled.

Turtonator’s shell was layered in scales, those plates made of explosives, its body bright red, nostrils spewing Poison Gas and flames that detonated on contact.

Now, Turtonator’s shell glowed with red aura, eyes wide, a massive blast of fire pouring from nostrils and mouth, blazing straight for Natsume-sensei!

“Sirfetch’d—”

Natsume said calmly, “Detect!”

“Sirfetch’d!Σ(っ °Д °;)っ”

Sirfetch’d gave Natsume a glimpse, then focused ahead, facing the surging fireball.

Wielding his leek and shield, Sirfetch’d swept his sword in a split-second arc, spinning to face away from the flames.

A blade of light cleaved the giant fireball in two; just like a fissioning sun being bisected, for a moment it seemed frozen, then BOOM—an explosion erupted, black smoke billowing behind Sirfetch’d!

Rumble!

Smoke curled up, shaking the stand of palm trees.

Kiawe and Turtonator gaped in shock—their faces shifted into over-the-top comic style: Σ(っ °Д °;)っ

“It was blocked—no, completely sliced apart!” Lana exclaimed.

“Aren’t Z-Moves supposed to bypass Protect?” Sophocles wondered aloud.

“True, even if the opponent is under Protect, Z-Moves deal some damage—like Max Moves.”

Natsume nodded. “But that one didn’t hit... You can think of it as the ‘all smoke, no injury’ rule.”

“In other words—once black smoke hits the field, quickly command your Pokémon to pursue; don’t assume it’s safe!” Natsume pronounced.

“I don’t get it.” Mallow stared blankly.

“But it seems like Natsume-sensei really enjoys battling Kiawe…” Lana murmured.

From the corner of his eye, Natsume glanced at Sirfetch'd turning around.

He called it a miss, but it had landed.

Sirfetch’d eyed him, cool and calm, but the down’s tail feathers on his behind were charred and smoking.

“Sirfetch’d… (′︿‵)”

I never want to be a teacher again, duck~

“Also, the center of Turtonator’s shell is its weak spot.”

Natsume said, “Kiawe, remember that—it’ll help you.”

Kiawe nodded earnestly. “Yes!”

“Natsume-sensei, what will you teach in breeding later?” Mallow asked, arms behind her back.

“Berry quality and selection…” Natsume answered calmly.

“You’re good at that too?!”

“Compared to battling, this is my real specialty.” Natsume was serious.

When classes ended at sunset, Natsume and Professor Kukui walked down the sloping road.

“Tomorrow is wild practice class.”

Professor Kukui smiled, “We’ll visit Akala Island nearby—if we’re lucky, maybe we’ll run into the island guardians.”

“Not likely for me…”

Natsume quipped, then asked, “Alola’s beaches, are there lots of dangerous Pokémon?”

“Absolutely,” Professor Kukui said gravely. “Ghost-type Palossand, the poisonous Pyukumuku… It’s essential to train students in field identification.”

“Then tomorrow, I’ll take them—let’s all hit the beach together.”

Natsume smiled, “We’ll record it on Rotom Pokédex…”

“And do a full survey of Alola Beach Pokémon!”