<Comet?>

❝Yes?❞

<I thought we're headed to the raid event?>

❝Well, uh, yesn't.❞ he had a sheepish smile, but then waved one of his hands, ❝Okay no, we're taking a detour. So there was apparently another event going on before the raid, which involved going into this "corruption zone" or something. Buncha players reported losing their Pokemon or losing their minds. Apparently the horror they generate in there is first grade stuff.❞

<Okay..? And we're doing that because?>

❝Correction: I'm doing it with whatever Pokemon we can capture from here. I'm not risking my starter to a dice roll.❞

<Oh! Thank you, I'm glad you think so..?>

Comet nodded once. They had just arrived at the settlement, and he knew that there were tutorials to complete, but the majority of players were prepping for the raid, so to look for newbies now seemed like a waste of time. He would just have to complete them after the fact. It would be odd that he wouldn't have the exact capture tool that the game wanted, but thankfully he could still buy Poke Balls of other types that he could use.

<I still don't get why you have to go in there, though.>

❝Something related to a requirement. I'd rather try to clear this now before the circumstances change. Anyway, don't worry about it, you're just here to beat up a Pokemon for me to catch.❞

❝Does that count as a Flying type move?❞

<I guess? I hit it with my paw.>

❝I mean...I'm asking because Tackle and Normal moves don't work on Ghost types, so...❞ maybe he was thinking too hard about traditional Pokemon physics. Pumpkaboo wasn't even a pure Ghost type, so maybe it was the Grass part of it that made it physical enough to smack with a rabbit's paw. Actually, that one attack made it start to tear up before it wailed, though it showed no signs of attacking.

<D-do we really have to..?>

Comet pursed his lips. ❝Okay fine! Ugh,❞ he covered his face with his hand before immediately switching to a cheery and "friendly" voice, holding his hands together like a salesman, ❝Oh dear, it's okay, we won't hit you anymore, alright? We're just looking for a new friend, promise! We just thought that we had to battle because that's the rules of the game, yeah?❞

The wild Pokemon only continued to cry, which was really getting on Comet's nerves. So he approached the Pumpkaboo and decided, well if Kimchi wasn't going to do it--

Slap!

<C-Comet!>