Another day passed.
Nothing happened.
The lingering absence of Team Rocket made Kashiwagi hesitant to even leave Meteor Village. He was the one who blew the whistle, and the villagers had been incredibly respectful by taking it seriously—patrolling where they needed to, keeping watch where they should.
If he just packed up and left now because no one showed up, it would be a bit hard to justify.
So, he remained in the village.
The Dragon Elder seemed more than happy with this arrangement, telling him to stay at peace without any burden. The People of the Meteor were always helpful to one another; providing a place to stay for a few days was a trivial matter.
"The rent money is going to waste, though."
Kashiwagi thought of the house in Fallarbor Town. He had paid about a week's worth of rent... luckily, he hadn't left anything important there. "Forget it. Let's start the simulation."
Curled up on the sofa, he looked at the simulator.
Nowadays, he could shorten the seven-day cooldown to five days. Following the "Double Blue" simulation of the Verdanturf musician, the time for a Blue Talent run had arrived again.
The three common simulations in the interim had contributed a 7-level increase for Pokémon under Lv.50. This was mainly because one lucky participant made it to the Top 16, though the other two weren't as impressive—one failed the preliminaries, and the other hit the Top 64.
Regarding moves, the three simulations contributed Flamethrower, Captivate, and Taunt.
He decisively gave Flamethrower to Aggron. Compared to the more naturally gifted Hydreigon, Aggron was much slower at learning new moves. Hydreigon, conversely, could pick up Flamethrower—and even Fire Blast—just by watching Aggron.
Taunt was set aside. He hadn't decided between Aggron or Hydreigon yet, though it would likely go to the latter.
Captivate, after a discussion with Mawile, was reserved for the Shiny Feebas.
It would be a nice "graduation gift" for when she finally conquered Dragon's Gate Falls.
Mawile didn't really need it; she relied on her dance to win and didn't need external charms—at least for now, while she was playing the role of a "support" for the team.
But once Kashiwagi obtained a Key Stone, she would become a pure powerhouse of destruction.
Using Captivate would be a waste of time and energy; better to use Baton Pass and get out.
"Let's go. New simulation."
Having organized his spoils, he tapped the void.
[Select your starting region ▽]
He had already cycled through the regions of the first six generations. Next was a very special region—Alola.
Why was it special? Because in the anime, the first Pokémon League wasn't established until Professor Kukui spearheaded it after Ash arrived. In other words, unless the simulator could see the future, there would be no League Conference.
How would rewards be calculated without a League? Kashiwagi was curious.
He clicked the gender icon. Since the musician had been male, it was the female's turn. Speaking of Alola female NPCs... Bikini Sisters? Or maybe an Island Queen?
Without the constraints of a League, anything felt possible. Please don't be a Team Skull Grunt or an Aether Foundation employee, he prayed.
He clicked the Pokémon tab.
"Huh? Rowlet?"
Kashiwagi was pleasantly surprised. Starter Pokémon weren't common in the simulator. While they didn't guarantee the final result, they proved the subject was a "legitimate" trainer. Good omen!
He checked the talents.
Fixed Talent:
☆ The Three Holy Words: (Stand up! Hang in there! Dodge it!)
Selectable Talents:
Hot-blooded Youth (Always has a positive mindset)
Face Reflects the Heart (More attractive to Pokémon)
Frail and Sickly (Health status is not optimistic)
Kind-hearted (Enjoys helping others)
A Rowlet starter with the "Three Holy Words"?
If he hadn't chosen a female character, Kashiwagi would have sworn this was a simulation of Ash Ketchum. He truly hoped it was. After all, Ash won the Alola Championship! Surely the game wouldn't throw a "Parallel World Ash-ko" at him, right?
What a shame.
Kashiwagi sighed softly and selected Kind-hearted and... Hot-blooded Youth.
"Face Reflects the Heart" was good, but "Hot-blooded Youth" was a perfect match for a Starter and the "Three Holy Words," wasn't it? Even though he'd been burned by this talent before, he was willing to give it another chance.
It didn't necessarily mean a "brainless youth"—the description clearly said "Always has a positive mindset." That was a vital element.
He clicked Start. The familiar light screen expanded.
...
[Simulation Start]
The graphics remained the same simple pixel style, unchanged even for the seventh generation.
The background was a pitch-black night. A massive architectural complex made of cake-like houses grew around a giant tree, situated by the seaside. Although the exterior was abstract, the oval track and surrounding structures made it clear: this was the Pokémon School on Melemele Island.
It was also the school Ash attended in the anime.
The camera zoomed in.
In a school corridor, a pixel sprite of a girl in a student uniform walked forward somewhat timidly, holding a flashlight and looking rather terrified.
[At age eleven, you bet with your classmates that you would uncover the truth behind the 'school ghost' sightings. In reality, you are very uncomfortable, mostly because your partner Rowlet has gone missing again.]
"Classic," Kashiwagi thought.
Here was the protagonist.
But where was the "Hot-blooded" part? This looked more like a "Scaredy-cat girl."
Kashiwagi watched her move, thinking that even if there were no "monsters," a stray Ghost-type Pokémon would probably scare her half to death.
Suddenly, the camera panned out. Near a staircase the student was about to pass, two white, swaying shadows crouched—looking exactly like ghosts.
Huh? Real ghosts?
Kashiwagi's eyes widened, but the narration immediately popped up.
[What you don't know is that your classmates have already dressed up as ghosts and are waiting for you around the corner.]
So it was just a prank.
The student continued her stumbling walk, swinging the flashlight around the corridor. The rapid flashing of light and shadow made it doubtful she could see anything at all.
Finally, after a long crawl, she reached the corner.
The two "ghosts" pounced, wriggling eerily. Bursting white speech bubbles appeared over their heads.
The student stood frozen as if paralyzed with fear.
Just as Kashiwagi thought she might faint or worse, a bubble appeared over her head—a yellow emoji with heart eyes and an expression of pure excitement.
Kashiwagi: "?"
The two "ghosts": "!"
The two white figures immediately turned and bolted, with the student chasing them like a maniac.
[You successfully discovered 'real ghosts.' You chase them down in a frenzy of excitement, thinking your disguise successfully lured them out. You intend to capture one alive to prove to your classmates that ghosts really exist.]
"So it was an act!"
The "granny-walking" and the erratic flashlight-waving were all a ruse to lower the "ghosts'" guard!
Kashiwagi watched as the fake ghosts fled and the girl pursued them through the cake-shaped building. In desperation, the two fakes split up.
[You see the ghosts split up. After a moment's hesitation, you choose the bigger one—partly because it's slower, and you aren't exactly fast yourself.]
The chase continued, but the emoji in her bubble changed from excitement to distress. Her stamina was bottoming out.
Finally, she stopped, gasping for air. The fake ghost ahead also stopped, clearly exhausted, likely drenched in sweat under that sheet.
[You stare at the ghost within arm's reach, deeply regretting your lack of stamina and wishing Rowlet were by your side.]
The girl took another step forward. Terrified, the fake ghost found a second wind and vanished into the night. She took a few symbolic steps before stopping.
[You watch the ghost disappear with immense regret. You wish you had brought a camera to film it, but your preparations were insufficient. Still, actually 'finding' a ghost has left you incredibly hyped.]
In the bottom right of the screen, the two pranksters could be seen fleeing the school in terror.
The girl rested for a bit, then continued searching for more ghosts. This time, no matter how much she loitered or feigned weakness, nothing appeared.
Watching her wander the dark school without a flashlight, Kashiwagi felt a sudden sense of foreboding.
It was soon validated.
The girl stopped at a classroom door. The camera moved inside: sitting at a desk was a pale, white shadow, clutching a ragged Pikachu doll.
Crap! A real ghost!
Kashiwagi jumped. The pranksters were long gone!
In the simulation, the girl's reaction was once again joy over fear. she ran into the classroom with a reckless bravery that bordered on suicidal.
[You see the ghost appear and approach it with excitement. However, the other party doesn't seem to appreciate your presence. Instead of running, it screams and lunges at you.]
The white shadow transformed into a massive, terrifying specter. Even in pixels, its face was distorted. The girl stood her ground and calmly pulled a "ball" from her pocket and threw it.
BOOM!
A burst of fire erupted between them. Both the ghost and Kashiwagi were stunned. Before the specter could recover from the flash and heat, another ball flew its way.
BOOM!
Another explosion!
The specter was genuinely terrified now. Like the fake ghosts before it, it turned and bolted toward the window, not forgetting to grab the ragged Pikachu doll.
"Wait, what? A demolition expert?!" Kashiwagi shouted. "Where's the security? Someone's blowing up the school!"
He was floored. On top of her insane courage, this girl actually had the "firepower" to back it up. But a real ghost is different from a fake one—this one could phase through walls and fly.
The girl reached the window. Seeing the ghost about to fly away, the bubble over her head shattered, replaced by three large words:
"ROWLET!!!"
[Seeing your 'Farfetch'd' about to fly away, you call out for your partner.]
The moment her voice rang out, a "meteor" streaked from a corner, crashing violently into the fleeing ghost.
Smack!
The ghost was sent spiraling down. As the "meteor" revealed its true form, it was indeed Rowlet.
Seeing the ghost hit, the girl prepared to jump straight out of the second-story window.
Fortunately, Rowlet flew over just in time, grabbing her hand. With its doll-sized body, it flapped its wings for dear life, managing to decelerate her fall significantly.
The girl tumbled once and landed smoothly.
"Another... reckless brawler..." Kashiwagi marveled. First a Miniskirt Girl, now this schoolgirl—did the student group have some kind of buff?
[You rush to the fallen ghost, but when you see its true form, you are quite surprised.]
The student approached the "ghost." As the white gas dissipated, the form of a Mimikyu was revealed.
It dragged its tattered Pikachu doll, looking quite intimidated by the girl. A cowering emoji kept popping up over its head.
"I'd be scared too," Kashiwagi muttered, sympathizing with the Mimikyu.
He hadn't expected this to be another "fake ghost"—even if, technically, it was a real one.