Chapter Ninety-Six: Truly Worthy of a Ninja

"Gengar... I've caught it!" Amu picked up the Poké Ball, looking triumphant. The people around him were speechless, and turned their expectant gazes toward the other Gengars—could it be that Gengars here were so easily subdued?

But it was clear that such good fortune wouldn't repeat itself...

The other Gengars cackled eerily, then melted into the shadows and vanished.

"Tch, a mediocre Gengar matched with a mediocre trainer..." Clefairy muttered, grumbling to itself.

Of course, it was the very Clefairy Amu had first encountered! After all, there wasn't another Clefairy around picking its nose.

Junsha, the short-haired officer, looked suspiciously at Clefairy, wondering if it might be a Rocket agent in disguise, and even tried using her "Junsha sense" to probe it...

Clefairy, feeling the subtle connection, smoothed the curls atop its head and said, "Hey, girl, how about a date with yours truly?"

Junsha: ...

It was unmistakably a Pokémon, just... well.

"Want to join us on our journey?" Amu invited directly.

"No, go find some other naive Clefairy!" Clefairy replied impatiently.

Junsha and the other league trainers looked astonished—a Clefairy so adept at telepathy was a rare sight!

"I think you and the apothecary would make a good pair," Amu said, trying to negotiate.

"Oh? Any other reasons?" Clefairy tested him with a challenging tone.

"Well... you know, each person can only catch two Pokémon on Mt. Moon per year. You and Gengar are the highest level, and a belly drum attack-type Clefairy can be unexpectedly effective. Plus, as a support, Clefairy’s abilities are quite versatile..."

"Idiot! Who told you to say all that? Are you evaluating me?" Clefairy grew more annoyed, unable to bear it any longer.

Just then, Amu exclaimed, "I see an opening," and hurled a Poké Ball...

Of course, Clefairy swatted it back with a wave: "What opening? Are you even a trainer? You think catching Pokémon is about exploiting openings?"

"When it comes to capturing Pokémon, it's all about..." Amu said, releasing Gengar, "Battles! Go, Gengar!"

"Heh heh, foolish Clefairy, let me show you my power!"

"Hilarious! Who was just clinging to me for dear life, huh? Clefairy, clefairy..."

Though both were clearly exhausted, as soon as they squared off, their fighting spirits flared.

After a bout of feeble, chicken-like pecking at each other, they collapsed simultaneously, wheezing.

Amu recalled Gengar with a beam of light, then tossed a Poké Ball at Clefairy—this time, after a few shakes, it flashed with the telltale sign of a successful capture!

Junsha and the league trainers could only gape, beyond words...

Of course, Amu suspected Clefairy had allowed itself to be caught not because of him, but for the sake of its old friend Gengar.

Amu pondered—this Clefairy hadn't evolved in thirty years, likely waiting for Gengar to return.

With both "slots" used up, Amu didn't linger, and declined Junsha's offer to stay for treatment—his poisoning had been cured, though the aftereffects lingered. Even if he saw a doctor, the advice would be "drink hot water and rest," and his minor wounds were nothing more than scrapes.

So, Amu took the still somewhat conflicted Misty by the hand and left Mt. Moon.

Along the way, Misty remained silent, until, two hours later, as they rode a Rhyhorn through the forest, she couldn't help but ask, "The gym leader Koga we saw earlier... was he really a Rocket executive?"

"Maybe. The world of adults is complicated, just like me... I may seem like an outstanding trainer, but I'm also an expert-level apothecary!" Amu replied, feigning seriousness.

Misty rolled her eyes. "You haven't even earned your expert certificate yet... and I'm an adult too!"

As for Koga and Janine, Amu sorted through the details in his mind.

If he guessed right, it was an internal conflict within Team Rocket, triggered by Giovanni's bid for the Kanto League championship, causing serious divisions and even hints of rebellion.

Sachi, the operative from this mission, was clearly an opponent of Giovanni, and the absent Marzishi likely worked with Sachi.

Koga seemed to have sensed something amiss and was working to root out unstable elements within the organization!

However, during his investigation, he also alerted his unsuspecting daughter, Janine...

Gastly—now Amu's Gengar—had followed Koga and discovered the "bad guys," but Koga wasn't part of their group; he was investigating them, too.

Koga, upon noticing Gastly tailing him, managed to shake it off, and Gastly, by coincidence, then spotted Janine following her father—mistaking her for Koga due to its difficulty distinguishing human faces!

Before arriving at Mt. Moon, Koga had likely spotted his daughter, and decided to use her as bait to lure out the mastermind.

But without Amu's accidental intervention forcing Sachi's hand, Koga's plan might have failed.

Amu even suspected that his own smooth progress was thanks to small groups of Rocket scouts and messengers being quietly dealt with by Koga—to help him draw out the real leader.

Without Amu, Koga might have just dealt with the minor operatives, and Sachi would have stayed hidden...

"Speaking of which... truly worthy of a ninja," Amu marveled.

Imagine using his own daughter as bait!

Misty, recovering her composure, chimed in, "Of course! Koga's Fuchsia Gym... it's probably the most authentic ninja-style gym in Kanto nowadays."

Yes, ninja training counts as a branch of Pokémon mastery, typically specializing in Fighting and Poison types, focusing on speed, and favoring tricky moves like "Switcheroo" and other peculiar techniques.

"But if you want to talk about the roots of ninja history, you need to look at Saffron City, our next destination! Only now, with Sabrina as the gym leader... Oh! Could Sabrina be...?" Misty, mentioning her idol Sabrina, suddenly recalled Amu saying earlier that the Rocket agents had mentioned both Sabrina and Koga together!

"Who knows," Amu shrugged.

Unlike Koga, who had no scandals in the anime, Sabrina was cast as the "female villain."

As for what Misty was getting at, Amu knew well...

Eight hundred years ago, Kanto was divided into several nations—five major ones: around Pewter City's rocky northwest, the sandy west near Silver Mountain and the Indigo Plateau, mountainous, coastal Cerulean in the northeast, the fertile east centered on Saffron City, and the southeastern Orange Archipelago across the sea.

Numerous ninja factions flourished, and though most have vanished, some traditions endure.

Since the League era, ninja culture has thrived in Fuchsia and Saffron.

Just five years ago, Saffron was dominated by Fighting-type gyms...

Then five years ago, Sabrina opened a Psychic-type gym in Saffron.

For centuries, Saffron was known as the home of ninjas; now, when people mention Saffron, most think first of the "Psychic Queen."

Saffron City, southeast of Mt. Moon, was the next stop for Amu and Misty...