Capítulo 22: ### Chapter 22: March with the Ghosts
As the Ditto used *Lick* to wrap its tongue around Machop's eyes, Machop's fighting moves became ineffective against Ghost-type Pokémon. Once again, Thunderstorm found himself trapped in a dilemma, immobilized by Kane, standing there helplessly, and his fear intensified even more.
"Get them out of here," Kane ordered coldly.
At this point, Kane didn't need to say much to Thunderstorm. The fact that Thunderstorm still dared to challenge him showed that Kane's strength had not yet fully intimidated him.
The Ditto, already transformed gastly, whipped its long tongue like a lash, flinging Machop backward into Thunderstorm. Both were sent crashing down the stairs.
Kane calmly picked up the Pokéball containing the ghost and began descending the tower. The gastly Pokémon, having already experienced defeat at his hands, didn't dare to come out and trouble him again. Thus, his descent went much smoother than his ascent.
After Kane reached the first floor, he checked the time—it was only 2 PM, but leaving wasn't permitted until later. He sat down on the dusty ground. For someone like him, who had spent years surviving in the wild, the dust in this tower was a minor inconvenience. He was used to much worse.
Both Kane and Ditto had consumed a lot of energy. He took out food from his bag. He munched on two buns, while Ditto, in its natural form, had liquid MooMoo milk.
As for the Gastly, there's a saying: *Ghost-type Pokémon lick their victims to paralyze them and then drain their life energy. Some even enter dreams to terrify people to death before consuming their dreams.*
In ancient times, Pokémon lived in the wild, preying on each other for survival. However, in modern society, many researchers and breeders have developed various Pokémon foods, such as Pokéblocks and berries. These foods are much more palatable than their original diets, and those Pokémon who have adapted to living among humans have abandoned their old ways of feeding on each other and now primarily consume man-made foods.
Kane released the gastly, still weak, and applied some healing potions to its wounds.
"This will restore your energy," Kane said, placing an Oran Berry in front of it.
The gastly hesitantly took a small bite, chewed, and immediately spat out the berry with a pained expression.
"Not a fan of Oran Berries, huh? Try some MooMoo milk."
But the gastly wouldn't drink it either.
"You're just too picky, that's why you're so weak," Kane scolded before recalling it back into the Pokéball.
*Picky eaters don't survive in the wild.* Kane thought to himself. *When life is at stake, even bitter wild herbs are better than nothing. It's the same for Pokémon as it is for humans.*
It seemed that after leaving this place, Kane would have to find specialized food that suited the gastly's taste. If not for Chiyama covering food and lodging expenses, this would turn into yet another financial burden.
As Kane pondered the situation, he heard startled cries coming from the west entrance of the tower.
Kane approached and saw two of the teenagers who had made it to the semifinals earlier, flailing their arms in the air, making awkward gestures of desperation.
These two had teamed up from the start, but now they were trapped. A swarm of Gastly and Haunter circled around them, terrorizing them with illusions.
Kane shook his head. These two had been trapped by gastly's tricks since morning. *How pathetic, * he thought. *How bad can your mental fortitude be to stay in the same illusion all day?*
Not wanting to waste time on them, Kane turned to leave but then had a thought. *That Thunderstorm kid tried to pick a fight with me earlier. Now that I've caught a gastly, I'm in a better position to win tomorrow. Maybe I'll help these two catch a gastly one of them will win second place and eliminate thunderstorm or at least make it harder for him to win. Thunderstorm doesn't stand a chance against me unless he catches a gastly too. And if he doesn't? Well, that's his problem, not mine. *
Kane chuckled to himself and called out to Ditto.
"Ditto, transform into Machop and use Foresight."
The Ditto expertly transformed into Machop and shot out a concentrated beam from its eyes. The surrounding Gastly and Haunter were forced out of their illusions, revealing themselves.
The two teenagers stood there, dazed, still unsure of what was happening.
Without giving them a second glance, Kane commanded Ditto, still in Machop form, to use *Karate Chop*. With a swift strike, two of the gastly were knocked out of the air.
"If you don't want to be eliminated, you'd better catch one now," Kane said before turning and walking toward the east entrance.
The teenagers finally realized that Kane had helped them. They quickly threw their Pokéballs to catch the two weakened gastly.
What Kane didn't know, however, was that this seemingly small action had just sealed their fate...
---
The bell rang at 5 PM.
Kane and the other three walked out of the Bell Tower one by one. Chiyama was already waiting for them outside.
Seeing all four emerge in good spirits, Chiyama nodded with satisfaction.
"Alright, let's see how you all did. Have you each caught a ghost-type Pokémon?"
The four trainers nodded.
"Great. Release the Pokémon you've captured so I can inspect them," Chiyama instructed.
The trainers released their ghost - type Pokémon.
"These two Gastly are still very young," Chiyama said to the two teenagers. "But being able to catch anything at all in there is impressive. Keep up the good work."
Turning to Thunderstorm, Chiyama said, "Ah, a Duskull! That's quite a catch."
Kane wasn't surprised. Despite having been bested earlier, Thunderstorm had shown some real skill. His capture of a Duskull was proof of that.
Kane sighed inwardly, regretting his decision to help those two trainers. *That was unnecessary, * he thought.
Finally, Chiyama examined Kane's ghost.
"This Gastly looks quite weak," Chiyama remarked. "It's definitely a newcomer to the tower."
Kane remained silent, but he knew that this Gastly had potential, especially with its ability to use *Curse*. It wasn't about its current strength but about what it could become in the future.
Chiyama, however, was pleased that all four trainers had succeeded in capturing a ghost-type Pokémon. As the Gym Leader of Ecruteak City, it was a matter of pride for him to foster promising trainers.
"Alright," Chiyama announced, "the fourth round of the competition will be held tomorrow morning at 9 AM. It's getting late now, so go home and rest."
As the day's events drew to a close, Kane couldn't shake the feeling that he had made a foolish decision earlier. Still, it wasn't worth worrying about.
People need to move forward. There's no time for regrets.
After dinner, Kane and Ditto headed to a store that specialized in Pokémon food.
"I need food for a Gastly," Kane said to the clerk.
"You've come to the right place," the clerk replied, his enthusiasm palpable. "This city is known for its expertise in raising ghost-type Pokémon. We've got five different grades of food designed specifically for Gastly and Haunter..."
The clerk started his sales pitch, but Kane quickly cut him off.
"Let me try some samples first."
The salesman, clearly a little annoyed, nonetheless complied, handing over samples of each grade of food.
Kane released the Gastly and allowed it to try each one. Unfortunately, after tasting all five, Gastly grimaced and spat them all out.
The clerk's face turned a mixture of blue and red, embarrassed that his highly praised food had failed so miserably.
Kane sighed. *This Gastly is such a picky eater, * he thought. *It seems finding the right food for it will be more difficult than I expected. *
Just then, a commotion erupted outside the store, and the Gastly darted out...
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