Misty glanced at Kazuki with an awkward expression, furrowing her brow in thought.
What was going on?
Did she wear it wrong when she left the house?
That couldn't be! She had admired her figure in the mirror before stepping out!
Ugh! Her underwear felt off somehow!
Darn it, why didn't she notice earlier?!
And now that she was holding onto Kazuki's arm, she couldn't even adjust it!
Where's the nearest bathroom?
Quick—change the topic! She couldn't let Kazuki notice, that'd be way too embarrassing!
"Uh... Kazuki, didn't you say you were going to show me your psychic powers?"
"Why haven't you shown me anything yet?"
Kazuki saw the flush blooming on Misty's face and instantly knew his psychic manipulation had worked.
"I already did."
"You did?" Misty looked around in confusion. Her focus had been entirely on her panties just now—she hadn't seen Kazuki use any powers at all.
"What moved? I didn't see anything!"
With a devilish grin, Kazuki leaned close and whispered in her ear, "You should know very well what moved. That was my psychic power at work."
Misty's face exploded into a deep red, the blush spreading all the way to her ears. She hunched her shoulders and stammered, "You... You're shameless, Kazuki! That's not a psychic power!"
"I… I'm going to the bathroom! Wait here! Don't you dare leave!"
She bolted toward the nearest public restroom, fixed her underwear, and stormed out, still fuming. As she neared Kazuki, she leapt onto his back.
"You jerk! You're carrying me to the next food store as punishment! Bad! You're so bad!"
"Hahaha, I was just checking if the food at the last place was worth shaking for—" Kazuki's hand started to shift mischievously.
"Ahhh! Don't you dare squeeze!" Misty yelped, biting down lightly on Kazuki's shoulder—not hard enough to hurt, just enough to stop him.
As the saying goes, girls love a little mischief in their man, and despite her embarrassment, Misty found herself liking him even more.
Still, in public, she was easily flustered.
So the two lovers kept up their playful squabble on their way to the next shop.
Even wealthy girls like Misty enjoyed comparing options while shopping.
She had been at it all afternoon and still hadn't decided.
And she planned to keep shopping the next day too.
Kazuki, on the other hand, was getting ready to challenge the Saffron Gym.
He used the upcoming battle with Sabrina as an excuse—after all, in the original script, Misty got turned into a doll.
So Kazuki told Misty to continue picking out Pokémon food while he went to challenge the Gym alone.
"You really don't want me to go with you?" Misty asked. Despite the teasing and bickering, she was genuinely worried.
"If you came with me, I wouldn't be able to unleash my charm to seduce Sabrina, now would I?" Kazuki joked to lighten the mood.
"Pfft, like you could seduce anyone. You're only a treasure because I say so! No other woman's gonna want you!"
Talking about love always brought Misty back to her playful self.
"Alright, go ahead. But if you can't win, get out of there quickly! Psychic powers are no joke!"
"And if you actually fall for that Sabrina woman, at least be polite to her! Don't embarrass me!"
"She's a real psychic, y'know. If she beats you up, I'll be laughing!"
Kazuki chuckled and nodded. "Don't worry, I'll have her totally under control."
Misty gave his chest a light smack. "You! Getting that Badge is what matters—don't just drool over her looks!"
"Anyway, I'm off—still have ten more stores to visit today!"
"Ten more?!" Kazuki was stunned. "You ever think of just custom-ordering food instead? Might cost a bit more, but still…"
"I have thought of that. If these ten shops don't satisfy me, I'll go to the Pokémon Center tonight and ask Nurse Joy to help us get something custom-made!"
"If I end up staying over at the Center, I'll text you. Don't worry and focus on the Gym!"
"Remember: Badge first, beauty second!"
Misty shouted the last part while running off—ready for another day of shopping.
"She really is the Muscle Girl. Two full days of shopping and she's still full of energy."
Shaking his head with a smile, Kazuki headed toward the Saffron Gym.
Near the Gym, he spotted even more Trainers walking around with spoons in their hands.
"You're here to challenge the Saffron Gym too?"
A green-clad jogger with a hat appeared behind Kazuki.
Turning to look at the man, Kazuki gave him a once-over. He looked… a lot like Sabrina's dad.
Out of respect for a potential future father-in-law, Kazuki replied politely.
"Yes, sir. Did you have something to tell me?"
"Tell you something? Ha!" The man gave Kazuki a once-over. "You're clearly not from around here."
"Listen—there's no way you're going to beat Sabrina."
"Pika!"
Although Kazuki wasn't planning on using Pikachu for this battle, Pikachu puffed up the moment it heard someone looking down on them.
"Oh? That Pikachu of yours looks well-trained!"
"Maybe if this were just a regular Pokémon battle… but the Saffron Gym is far from normal."
Kazuki's eyes narrowed. This guy really was Sabrina's father!
He had Gastly and Haunter ready for the fight—so winning the battle part should be fine.
But there was still the task of making Sabrina laugh and bringing her back to normal.
In the original script, Haunter helped her laugh, but would that still work here?
Better to get more information out of the old man.
"Ahem—so, Uncle, sounds like you know Sabrina pretty well. Could you give me a few tips?"
The man shook his head. "Even if I did, someone like you couldn't possibly defeat her."
"For your own safety, train more before challenging the Saffron Gym."
He turned to leave, but Kazuki wasn't letting go of a lead that easily. He quickly stepped forward and grabbed the man's arm.
"Come on, Uncle, don't underestimate me!"
"Give me some info and I'll beat Sabrina—maybe even bring her back to normal!"
At the mention of "bring her back to normal," the man's expression twisted slightly.
He tried to pull away, only to realize Kazuki's grip was incredibly strong.
Reassessing him, the man sighed.
"Alright, young man. You've got guts—so I'll tell you."
They sat on a bench nearby. The man removed his hat and began to speak about Sabrina's past.
"She threw herself into psychic training with a passion."
"She didn't make friends, only focused on honing her powers."
"Her parents tried to stop her, but she drove them away with psychic powers. She even turned her mother into a doll."
"From that point on… she became two people."
"One was the proud Sabrina who refused to lose."
"The other… the lonely girl craving friends."
"But after her powers grew too strong, no one dared to get close to her anymore."
"Eventually, she became the cold, isolated person you see now."
He pulled out an old photo of Sabrina as a child.
"The doll she always holds—was modeled after her own image before she started training."
"I see…" Kazuki nodded, now fully understanding.
So just like the Gastly trio, Sabrina was deeply lonely.
She yearned for companionship but drowned herself in psychic training, which ultimately made her different—isolated.
"Alright, Sabrina's dad. I've got the full picture. Leave bringing her back to me."
Kazuki stood and patted the old man's shoulder.
"Thanks, but… wait, I never said I was her father!"
"Come on, old man, you knew too much about her. Anyone with a brain can tell."
"Anyway, I'm off to see your daughter now!"
The man sighed, supporting himself on his knees. "This kid… he might actually pull it off."
"In that case, I…"
"Huh? Where'd he go?"
Looking up mid-sentence, the man saw Kazuki already at the Gym doors.
"Wow! He moves fast!"
"Such a smart, enthusiastic young man—I'd better keep an eye on him, just in case!"
And so, the old man quietly followed after.
Inside the Saffron Gym, a palace-like duel arena stood at the center.
Sabrina sat high in the Gym Leader's seat, clutching her doll.
Dark green hair, blunt bangs, crimson outfit, black stockings—up close, she was a stunning beauty.
But no one dared admire her for long.
Sabrina's face showed no emotion—like a statue.
The doll in her arms bore a smile, but it was so unsettling that it sent shivers down anyone's spine.
Suddenly, Sabrina opened her eyes, glowing red.
She looked straight through the duel arena doors toward Kazuki's direction.
With a cryptic tone, she muttered, "He's here."
Moments later, Kazuki pushed the door open.
"You're here."
"I'm here?" Kazuki looked up at the Queen on the throne. She stirred a primitive urge for connection in him.
But beautiful flowers often came with thorns.
He hadn't forgotten how dangerous Sabrina's psychic powers were.
"Judging by your words, seems like you've had your eye on me for a while."
"Watched me around town, in the shops, even with Misty…"
Kazuki chuckled. Classic yandere behavior—lonely hearts always loved to stalk.
Wait, if she had been tailing him, his Aura Power would've detected her…
She must have used some other trick.
"Well, if you've been keeping tabs on me, you know why I'm here."
Kazuki took out the Poké Balls for Gastly and Haunter.
At that moment, Sabrina floated down from her throne to the challenger's side.
Her doll raised its head, eyes glowing red, and its pale cloth lips began to move.
"This is a battle you absolutely cannot walk away from."
"If you lose, you stay here and become my friend."
Sounded like a kind offer—but Kazuki, who knew the original script, understood what "friend" really meant.
It meant becoming one of Sabrina's dolls.
Kazuki smiled. "Friendship shouldn't be tied to winning or losing. No matter what happens, we can still be friends."
His strategy to win her over had already begun.
Sabrina twitched slightly, her icy face betraying no emotion.
"You're too naive. Friendship isn't that simple."
"Let's begin. Abra!"
The doll tossed out a Poké Ball.
A sleepy-looking Pokémon emerged.
Kazuki eyed the dozing Abra. While it didn't look strong now, Sabrina could use her powers to trigger an instant evolution—turning it into Kadabra on the spot.
Which meant… this was effectively a proxy battle.
Still within the rules, though—evolution during combat was allowed.
Kazuki responded by sending out both Gastly and Haunter.
"Oh? I thought you'd be using your Pikachu."
"Didn't expect you to have Ghost-types!"
"They do counter Psychic-types, sure…"
"But that's just a type advantage."
"Ordinary Ghost Pokémon can't beat me."
Sabrina's eyes gleamed red. The Abra opened its eyes—and with a flash of white light, evolved into Kadabra right there.
She wasn't playing around anymore. No more warmups—this was her full power.
"Let's go then!"
"We battle one-on-one here," she said as Kazuki released both Ghost-types.
"Don't worry, Gym Leader. I follow the rules. Haunter's just here to watch. Gastly, you're up!"
"Gaaastly!"
Gastly floated into position.
Sabrina shook her head. "Looks like you're new to training Ghost-types."
"Didn't you know Haunter is stronger than Gastly?"
"Oh? Is that so? Thanks for the tip, Sabrina. I'll keep that in mind next time."
Kazuki's lighthearted tone confused her.
After all, psychic powers weren't mind-reading—she couldn't fully grasp his thoughts.
As she studied Kazuki, she suddenly realized—Haunter had vanished from his side…