Pokémon: I have no choice but to do this old thing?

"Come back soon~"

"I can't take it anymore~"

"I want to put you into a Poké Ball~"

Zhang Jianying's off-key singing startled several supersonic bats resting on the cave wall, causing them to flutter down.

He was completely oblivious to this, and instead continued to express his reluctance to part with Gastly through his singing, even improvising a rap:

"Listen up, Gastly over there! My Poké Ball is itching for a bite!"

"Follow me and you'll live the high life, I guarantee you'll be overjoyed!"

"What Dream Demon? That's all irrelevant. I'm your true love~"

"Waaah..."

The Turtwig couldn't stand the ear-piercing noise any longer. It covered its head with its two paws, wishing it could learn the "Abyssal Thrust" move that didn't exist in its TM1000 and use it on its trainer to make the trainer feel its pain.

(Note: Targets hit by this move will suffer excruciating pain and will be unable to use sound-based moves for two turns...)

Finally, unable to bear it any longer, it transformed into a red light and voluntarily returned to its Poké Ball, adhering to the principle of "out of sight, out of mind."

Only Kirlia remained floating beside the trainer, listening to the ridiculous song, and chuckled indulgently.

Helplessly, she used her psychic powers to catch a Zubat that had fallen in fright, gently placing it back on the rock wall, her crimson eyes filled with tenderness as she looked at her trainer.

When Zhang Jianying sang "I am your true love," it finally couldn't help but laugh and used its superpowers to create several twinkling heart-shaped lights, which swayed gently to the rhythm of the song.

"How is it?"

As the song ended, Zhang Jianying looked triumphantly at Kirlia, "Do you think Gastly will be so moved by this that it'll throw itself into your arms?"

Kirlia tilted its head slightly, and a chuckled response came through telepathy: "If I were Gastly, I might have been scared and run even further away."

"Hey, you just don't understand art."

Zhang Jianying feigned sadness, saying, "This is a call from the bottom of my heart!"

On the other side of the forest.

At this moment, Gastly, carrying its "precious gift," is darting swiftly through the shadows of the forest with immense excitement and anticipation.

It was going to see the Dream Fairy it had long admired! It imagined the look of surprise and delight in the Dream Fairy's eyes when she saw this rare delicacy; perhaps she would agree to play a prank with it! Thinking this, it let out a strange laugh, hehehe…

Gastly finally found Misdreavus absorbing moonlight energy beside an ancient stone tablet bathed in moonlight.

The dreamlike purple-pink halo surrounded the demigod, its posture elegant and charming.

Gastly nervously tidied its gaseous body, trying to make the purple mist look more fluffy and stylish. It even temporarily conjured a crooked little flower out of the mist and pinned it to its "ear".

It took a deep breath, trying to make its gaseous body appear more rounded, and then, carrying the energy cube, it carefully floated over.

"Hehe~ Hehehe~ (Miss Dream Demon~ Look what good stuff I brought you~)"

It presented the energy cube to the Dream Demon with mist, its gaseous body trying to make what it thought was the friendliest expression, though the effect was only to make its face look like a crumpled rag.

Disturbed by its voice, Misdreavus turned its head somewhat unhappily. When it saw that it was Gastly, its cute brows furrowed slightly, and the red beads on its neck gleamed with a hint of displeasure.

The Misdreavus's gaze swept over the two boxes of Power Cubes without any sign of interest or lingering. Instead, it passed directly over Gastly and drifted to the back.

There, a cursed doll with a cold aura and sharp eyes stood silently in the shadows, blending into the darkness.

The dream demon circled the cursed doll affectionately, radiating a pleasant aura.

The cursed doll's button-like eyes glanced indifferently at Gastly without any reaction, then returned to normal.

The Misdreavus looked at the Cursed Doll's expression as if it were explaining something. Then it turned back to the Gastly, who was frozen in place, gently shook its head, and conveyed a clear, detached message: "I don't need these. Please don't bother me anymore."

Having said that, it and the Cursed Doll silently disappeared into the deeper shadows, leaving Gastly alone to bathe in the cold moonlight.

Gastly was completely stunned.

Its misty tentacles, still holding the energy cube, drooped limply. Why? It had clearly found such a special gift... so why was Miss Dream Fairy still unwilling to play with it, to join in its pranks? Looking at the energy cube, which still exuded an alluring aroma, it suddenly felt that this gift, which it treasured so dearly, had become utterly tasteless at this moment.

An inexplicable sadness enveloped Gastly.

Its round little body seemed to become heavy, and then it shrank a whole size as if deflating, even floating seemed a bit difficult.

The young Gastly didn't understand love; it was just lonely and simply wanted to play and play pranks with the beautiful Misdreavus. But now...

"Ugh..." (So frustrating...)

Gastly circled around aimlessly, unsure how to dispel this unfamiliar emotion.

In the past, when it felt lonely or bored, it would go and play pranks on Pokémon or humans who occasionally appeared in the forest. Seeing them get scared would make it happy.

Yes! It's a prank!

The thought instinctively popped into its head. It needed to do something to forget the current discomfort.

The first thing that came to its mind was the human trainer who always showed interest in it, the always calm Kirlia, and the Turtwig that would jump up and down in anger.

I feel so happy and lively when I'm with them; I've never felt this depressed before...

So, almost without thinking, just following instinct, I wanted to get close to something that could make me forget my sadness.

Gastly, swaying and exuding a gloomy aura, once again followed the scent of Zhang Jianying and his group...

On the other side, when Zhang Jianying and his group finally emerged from the long, rocky mountain tunnel and were once again bathed in the warm glow of the setting sun, their view suddenly opened up.

In the distance, the iconic mine of Black Gold City, constantly spewing white steam, is clearly visible, and the sounds of human civilization echo in the silent valley.

Between them and the city lies a lake that has not yet fully thawed—Xinqi Lake.

Most of the surface of Xinqi Lake is still covered with a thin layer of ice, which, under the afterglow of the setting sun, looks like a huge piece of amber embedded in the earth.

Near the shore, the ice has melted, revealing clear lake water that gently laps against the ice edges.

Let's camp by the lake tonight.

Zhang Jianying made his decision. He pitched his tent on a sheltered slope and lit a campfire.

Kirlian gathered dry firewood and gently roasted the skewered berries over the fire, releasing a sweet aroma.

Although the tortoise still looked unhappy, it quietly gave up the warmest spot to its trainer, only managing to huddle at the edge of the campfire. But when Zhang Jianying spoke, the leaves on its head still swayed gently in response.

The turtle looked curiously at the half-frozen, half-water lake before it. This was the first lake it had seen that was so vast since it met its trainer in the frozen forest, and its eyes were full of curiosity.

As night fell, the campfire crackled and popped.

Zhang Jianying held both the Turtwig and Kirlia close to his side, watching the lights of Black Gold City on the other side of the lake shine like stars.

"From snowfields to forests, then to mines and lakes..." he said softly, "This world is truly vast, and being able to explore it with you is the greatest fortune of my life."

Kirlia gently rested her head on his shoulder, their usual telepathic connection remaining silent, yet their actions conveyed a warmth that spoke louder than words. Turtwig also lay quietly beside him, purring contentedly, enjoying this peaceful and tender moment.

Just then, Gastly silently arrived near the camp. It had come looking for some fun out of frustration, and had even come up with several pranks in mind: such as changing the color of the campfire with a strange light, or hypnotizing them to sleep and then suddenly appearing next to them to scare them awake.

But when it peeked out of the shadows with its round body and saw the heartwarming scene by the campfire, its mischievous actions suddenly stopped.

The leaping firelight cast a warm glow on the faces of the trainer and the two Pokémon. They nestled together, their shadows stretching long behind them, silently intertwining in the snow.

Gastly watched the two Pokémon sharing roasted berries by the campfire and suddenly remembered that it had always wandered alone in the shadows.

It tentatively drifted forward a short distance, but when it felt the warmth of the campfire, it panicked and shrank back into the darkness. It repeated this several times before finally choosing a distance where it could feel the warmth without disturbing them.

An atmosphere of "peace" enveloped the small camp, an atmosphere that Gastly had never experienced before.

It tilted its gaseous head, its two large, semi-circular eyes staring unblinkingly. For some reason, looking at this scene, the gloomy feeling in its heart seemed to... lessen a little.

It subconsciously gathered energy and transformed it into a claw, wanting to break the silence as usual. But the mist swirled between the claws for a long time before slowly dissipating.

"Heh..." (Never mind...)

It muttered to itself softly.

Although it didn't quite understand why, it just didn't want to disrupt the scene before it.

It simply retreated silently into the shadows, watching the warm campfire from afar, and the figures huddled together.

This looks pretty good...

At least, it's much better than a ghost sitting in the cold moonlight.

Zhang Jianying glanced in the direction where Gastly was hiding, a slight smile playing on his lips.

The emotion Kirlia just conveyed to Gastly through telepathy was no longer the excitement of preparing a prank, but a more complex emotion, tinged with sadness and tranquility.

"Looks like... the little guy seems a bit frustrated." He chuckled to himself. He quietly pushed a perfectly roasted berry further into the shade...

The harsh winter has receded, and the footsteps of spring are just around the corner.

And a small, innocent purple spherical figure, which had just experienced its first "heartbreak" but still maintained its kind nature, seemed to have found a home it was unaware of at this moment.