"Then it's settled!" Carver extended his palm and said to Gastly: "From now on, I'm your trainer."
"Gastly!"
Gastly cooperatively pressed its head against his palm.
Human and Pokémon made their pact.
Even after returning to the shed, Gastly still couldn't quite believe it.
It floated in midair in a daze, recalling what had just happened.
Seeing Gastly spacing out there, Chansey couldn't help but worry.
It approached and asked: "Lucky?" (What's wrong with you?)
Only then did Gastly come to its senses. It hurriedly said to Chansey and the group of Pokémon around: "Gastly!" (Can someone hit me to see if this is all a dream!)
Hearing this, the Pokémon led by Chansey were instantly dumbfounded.
"Bulba..." Bulbasaur even broke out in a cold sweat.
It had never heard such a request before.
Chansey couldn't bring itself to do it, and Ralts and Ditto certainly couldn't either.
Gastly finally turned its gaze to Bulbasaur and said: "Gastly!"
"Bulba..." Bulbasaur was sweating profusely.
"Gastly gastly!"
Finally, Bulbasaur couldn't withstand Gastly's request and used Vine Whip, striking Gastly with a "smack."
"Gastly!"
Gastly cried out in pain.
But what followed was unprecedented excitement and joy.
"Gastly!"
Great, this wasn't a dream! This really happened—it was now a Pokémon with a trainer too!
Seeing this scene, Chansey and the other Pokémon couldn't help but look at each other.
Only then did Gastly look at them and explain what had happened: "Gastly gastly~!"
From today on, it was no longer alone, because Carver was there!
"Bulba..."
"Lucky..."
Hearing this, the Pokémon showed various expressions.
Some confused, some bewildered, some curious.
But mostly, they were happy for Gastly.
Chansey knew Gastly's situation—it had been a very lonely Pokémon before.
Chansey's face showed a smile as it said happily: "Lucky~"
Someone would play with Gastly now, so it wouldn't be lonely anymore.
Moreover, Chansey could sense that Carver was actually a very good and kind person.
If it was Carver, he could definitely take good care of this child, right?
Chansey sincerely felt happy for Gastly.
The next day, after receiving two customers who came to the breeding house to learn moves, Jenny's call came in.
"Carver, I've already inquired about the situation. To become a forest ranger for Autumn Leaf Forest, you need to come to town to handle it personally. By the way, it's quite inconvenient for you to come over—do you need me to pick you up?"
Jenny's voice came through the phone.
"No need to trouble yourself, Jenny. I'll have Bewear bring me over," Carver said.
"Alright, I understand. I'll wait for you here."
After hanging up, Carver told the Pokémon in the breeding house about this matter, then locked the doors and windows and headed to Autumn Leaf Town with Bewear.
As soon as they entered town, they saw Jenny waiting at the entrance.
"Jenny!" Carver got down from Bewear.
Jenny nodded, turned to lead the way while saying: "I've already asked clearly. The forest ranger position for Autumn Leaf Forest has been vacant. If you want it, you can take the position anytime."
"Are there strength requirements?" Carver asked.
"There are some requirements, but it's mainly about your ability to care for Pokémon, since a forest ranger's main duties are treating wild Pokémon in the forest and preventing poachers," Jenny answered.
"I see..." Carver nodded. "I understand."
Actually, the main thing was that Autumn Leaf Forest bordered the town. If anything happened, nearby police forces could arrive quickly.
In this situation, most poachers wouldn't choose to commit crimes in such places.
Instead, they'd go to more remote, uninhabited areas.
After all, the Pokémon world was vast and sparsely populated, with many places humans hadn't set foot. Although those places were designated as nature reserves, few were actually willing to become forest rangers in such locations.
For example, the most famous nature reserve near Autumn Leaf Town was the "Farnes Region."
That place had unique terrain and complex, diverse environments, housing many Pokémon, including some rare Pokémon rarely seen in the outside world.
Compared to there, Autumn Leaf Forest was hardly worth mentioning.
Soon, they arrived at Autumn Leaf Town's Forestry Bureau.
This building wasn't large. After the staff verified Carver's identity and simply tested his abilities, they handed him the forest ranger credentials.
Along with it came a batch of forest ranger supplies.
Food, various medicines, Pokémon healing items. "From now on, the Forestry Bureau will send someone to deliver these supplies to you every month," the bureau staff said. "We're counting on you to look after Autumn Leaf Forest."
"I understand." Carver nodded. Since he chose to become a forest ranger, he would definitely fulfill his ranger duties.
The two left the Forestry Bureau, and Carver thanked Jenny.
"Thank you so much this time, Jenny."
"You've said thank you too many times already." Jenny smiled slightly and said: "Go back quickly! If anything happens, call me again!"
Carver nodded with a smile. Under Jenny's gaze, he left Autumn Leaf Town with Bewear and returned to the breeding house.
The first step as a forest ranger: establishing contact with the forest!
Building a complete forest mutual aid system was impossible without Pokémon support.
But among the wild Pokémon living in this forest, Carver only knew two.
One was the Zigzagoon that Bewear had brought back to the breeding house, and the other was Swellow who always freeloaded.
However, the former hadn't come to the breeding house since giving him an ancient gold coin, and the latter had been missing recently, no longer coming to freeload.
The intelligence about Latias and Latios showed no new developments.
This made Carver somewhat doubt whether Latias and Latios would actually come to the breeding house to eat apple pie.
Recalling that Swellow's image, Carver couldn't help but worry.
Had it encountered Pokémon hunters?
Or maybe it ran into Team Aqua or Team Magma members?
Or perhaps Swellow was caught by a passing trainer with a Poké Ball?
Looking at the azure sky, Carver was full of concern.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the Hoenn region, high above the cloud-shrouded skies.
Swellow spread its wings, freely weaving through the cloud layers.
Two Pokémon, one red and one blue, followed on its left and right sides respectively.
"Swellow?" (Are we almost at that place you mentioned where we can eat apple pie for free?)
The red Pokémon couldn't help but ask.