บท 48: ##Chapter 48 :The Fourth floor

Kane's focus on Gastly's evolution stemmed from a fundamental understanding of how pokemon evolution works: through the interaction between accumulated energy and the reshaping of the Pokémon's body. Gastly had long since reached a level that should have triggered its evolution, maybe even gone beyond that point. Yet, the transformation hadn't occurred. The energy Gastly accumulated was undeniably present—Kane could feel it leaking through Gastly's form. Once controlled, this power had now become volatile, enhancing Gastly's abilities. It was clear that this Pokémon had the potential to evolve, perhaps even surpass typical evolutionary stages, but something was holding it back.

After deep consideration, Kane realized that Gastly's potential or strength wasn't the issue. Guastly had more than enough of both. Instead, the problem was rooted in something deeper—Gasyly's very body. Kane recalled how Gastly's form had been altered—not through a natural process, but through Kane's own intervention. By awakening the poisonous core within Gastly artificially, Kane had disrupted the normal flow of evolution. Now, Gasyly's body, affected by this interference, struggled to transform in the usual way. Energy alone wasn't the solution anymore.

In his previous life, Kane had cultivated Ghost-type Pokémon without encountering this issue. Back then, everything had been smoother. He hadn't tampered with Gadtly's poison core, and the environment he was in was rich with Poison-type Pokémon, which made Gastly's evolution smooth and natural. The circumstances now were different.

"Poison," Kane thought, narrowing his eyes. Poison was the key.

In his past life, he had been surrounded by Poison-type Pokémon constantly. Not only Gastly, but all his training was done alongside Poison-type pokemon. The synergy and influence of working with them had allowed Gastly to evolve naturally. It had been so simple back then. But now, in this life, things were more complicated.

Kane pondered. Perhaps Gastly needed more exposure to Poison-type Pokémon to stimulate its evolution. This idea seemed plausible, but Kane immediately encountered a problem. He had already used Melissa once to borrow her Swalot's help, and he couldn't ask her for another favor. Moreover, Kane was confined within Ecruteak Gym, making it difficult to encounter new Poison-type Pokémon.

Kane was stuck. He couldn't easily access the Poison-type Pokémon he needed. His only option was to wait and face challengers at the gym who might bring Poison-type Pokémon into battle. However, Poison-types weren't common, and those that did appear were useless. A massive Beedrill with only a weak Poison Sting attack couldn't do anything for Gastly. The battles were pointless, and Kane's frustration grew as weeks passed.

Nearly a month had passed since Melissa's arrival at the gym, and Kane had been at Ecruteak Gym for almost two months. His explorations of the stone pavilion and bronze cauldron in Chiyama's tomb were halted, and Gastly's evolution remained unresolved. Despite these setbacks, the rest of his training went smoothly.

Thunderstorm's Duskull had evolved into Dusclops, and Melissa's Drifloon had evolved into Drifblim. Both had made great strides, which reassured Kane about his own Pokémon's strength.

Initially, Komatsu had planned to wait for Gastly's evolution into Haunter before continuing their ascent up Bell Tower. However, with no evolution in sight, he decided to proceed with their plans anyway.

Confidence was high. After months of specialized training and many battles, their Pokémon had all grown stronger. Despite not evolving, Gastly remained a powerhouse, rivalling Komatsu's Spiritomb in power. Melissa's Drifblim and Thunderstorm's Dusclops, despite their evolutions, still couldn't match Gastly, much to their frustration. Both Melissa and Thunderstorm were determined to close the gap, but their efforts hadn't succeeded yet.

After half a month of preparation, Komatsu led Kane, Melissa, and Thunderstorm back to Bell Tower's fourth floor for another challenge. The eerie atmosphere grew more intense as they reached the battlefield, where they were soon surrounded by the Haunter Legion—a formidable group of Haunters that wasted no time in launching an attack.

"Gastly use Night Shade!" Kane ordered with sharp focus.

As the Haunters struck with their Shadow Punches, a dark, protective aura formed around Gastly. The ghostly fists collided with the barrier, but none could break through the defensive shield surrounding Kane's cunning Gastly.

A smirk tugged at Kane's lips. "Now, use Dark Pulse!"

Gastly acted immediately, unleashing a wave of dark energy from its core that spread outwards. The Haunters were caught off guard, their bodies convulsing as the sinister energy overwhelmed them. The sight of their twisted, agonized expressions brought a twisted sense of satisfaction to Kane.

Two of the Haunters crumbled under the pressure, retreating as the oppressive energy took its toll. Without hesitation,Gastly retaliated with Shadow Balls, swiftly taking down the weakened Haunter's.

Sensing the battle shifting, Gengar descended from its vantage point to aid its Haunter allies.

Gengar saw that two haunters had already lost their fighting ability and was ready to come down to support them. Meanwhile, Komatsu's SpiritBomb, using its powerful Snarl, was controlling the remaining five Haunters and was on the verge of finishing them off.

Faced with this situation, Gengar realized he couldn't attend to both sides at once and hurled a Shadow Ball directly at Komatsu's SpiritBomb.

Komatsu knew that this was a critical moment—he had to take down the five Haunter's in one swoop. If he gave them any chance to recover, the battle would turn against him. Without hesitation, SpiritBomb took the full force of Gengar's Shadow Ball to ensure it could eliminate the Haunter's.

Gengar, undeterred, immediately launched another Shadow Ball at SpiritBomb, determined to rescue the Haunter's.

"Gastly, Confuse Ray," Kane commanded.

Kane understood that while SpiritBomb had high resistance, it couldn't withstand three of Gengar's Shadow Balls. The only way to defeat the Haunter's quickly was for him to act. Since speed was the priority, Kane opted for Confuse Ray, a faster and more reliable move compared to Hypnosis.

Tiny orbs of light, resembling small electric sparks, swirled around the three Haunter's. As the orbs lights struck the Haunter's, they eroded their consciousness, throwing them into disarray. Their Shadow Punches collided with one another, creating such confusion that it became impossible to tell whose attack belonged to which Haunter.

Gengar's second Shadow Ball was unleashed, but it was intercepted mid-flight by Gastly's own Shadow Ball.

Seeing the other Haunters now fighting among themselves, Gengar shifted its attention to Gastly.

Three rapid Shadow Balls from Gengar shattered Gastly's Night Shade barrier, but in response, two Shadow Balls from Gastly managed to strike Gengar directly.

Kane's training had paid off—Gastly's Shadow Ball were both quick and powerful, but there was still a noticeable gap between it and the experienced Gengar.

Now, Gastly stood fully exposed before Gengar, whose sinister grin widened. Gengar began forming an enormous Shadow Ball, filled with malevolent energy. This time, Gengar planned to finish Gastly with a single devastating blow.

Kane squinted at Gengar. It was almost laughable—what good was such a powerful attack if it couldn't land on it's target?

"Gastly, retreat," Kane commanded, identifying the perfect opportunity.

With a swift movement, Gastly dodged Gengar's looming Shadow Ball. Despite being charged with immense energy, the Shadow Ball's speed was slower than ordinary shadow balls, giving Gastly the chance to evade it.

The trajectory of Gengar's Shadow Ball aligned perfectly with the position of two of the Haunter's that were surrounding Komatsu's SpiritBomb.

With a deafening explosion, Gengar's Shadow Ball struck the SpiritBomb, obliterating them.

Seeing the result of his attack, Gengar's anger flared.

Thunderstorm, who had been struggling with the Haunters due to their speed, couldn't help but feel relieved. The remaining Haunters were swiftly being eliminated by thunderstorm and Melissa, and the burden on him lessened as the battle progressed.

Meanwhile, Komatsu had finished his task as well, with SpiritBomb taking out the last of the five Haunter's.

"Gastly, Embargo!"

Just as Gengar was about to unleash another attack, Gastly's Embargo hit it directly, leaving Gengar momentarily stunned.

"Spiritbomb use snarl," Komatsu ordered.

SpiritBomb immediately followed up with a loud, resounding Snarl. The sound waves carried a dark, evil energy that swept through the battlefield, hitting Gengar once again, causing it to feel weak and disoriented.

The additional effect of Snarl took place as it dealt damage to the Gengar and lowered it's special attack by one stage.

Now furious, Gengar summoned all its strength to launch a Dark Pulse attack. Just as it was gathering energy, Komatsu saw his chance.

"Use sucker punch SpiritBomb!" Komatsu shouted, directing SpiritBomb.

Komatsu, the son of a Gym Leader, demonstrated his sharp tactical instincts. He saw the opening Gengar left while preparing its attack and instructed SpiritBomb to strike.

Sucker punch was a move that required impeccable timing and precision. It was most effective when the opponent was vulnerable while using a special move. In this moment, SpiritBomb, with a burst of physical energy, charged directly at Gengar, targeting the weak point under its arm.

The attack landed cleanly, causing Gengar intense pain and interrupting its Dark Pulse.

As Gengar writhed in agony, its focus broken, Kane seized the moment. He had already prepared a volley of Shadow Balls, and now he launched them in rapid succession at Gengar.

Each Shadow Ball hit Gengar with explosive force, one after another, leaving it battered and dazed.

"Leave him to me," Kane ordered calmly, gesturing to Komatsu to assist Thunderstorm and Melissa in wrapping up their battles as he ordered Gastly to deliver the finishing blow to the Gengar.

The remaining Haunters were quickly dispatched, and the battle, which had dragged on longer than expected, was finally coming to a close.

"It's finally over," Melissa sighed in relief.

"I need to rest," Komatsu said, his fatigue evident as he waved a hand and started making his way back downstairs.

For the first time in two weeks, the tension that had hung over them like a cloud began to lift. The trials in of Bell Tower had been relentless, and now they could finally catch their breath.

Kane recalled Gastly to his Pokéball, ready to relax for the evening.

Initially, Kane had planned to continue his specialized "Sword Throw" training with Ditto that night, but Ditto had yet to return.

Could Ditto still be training with ghost type Pokémon in Burned Tower? Was it so engrossed in it's training session that it forgot the time?

Kane put out five bottles of Moo Moo milk on the table for Ditto and went to bed early, hoping to get a rare full night's sleep.

---

The next morning, Kane awoke to find the five bottles of Moo Moo milk untouched on the table, and there was still no sign of Ditto.

A sense of unease crept into Kane's mind.

Without hesitation, he set out for Burned Tower alone.

With Gastly at his side, Kane searched every corner of the tower from top to bottom, spending the entire morning flipping the tower upside down. But Ditto was nowhere to be found.

"Did it betray me?"

The thought hit Kane like a cold wave, sending a chill through him.

After spending over two months training with Ditto and finally honing the "Sword Throw" technique to perfection at nine meters, the thought of starting over from scratch with another ditto was unbearable. Worse still, Ditto's incredible talent and transformation abilities had made it a critical part of his team.

Kane clenched his fists, feeling a mix of frustration and disbelief.

"Hmph, if you ran away because you were afraid of the training, then you were just a waste anyway," Kane muttered coldly, trying to shake off the disappointment.

"Maybe it's dead " Kane couldn't help but wonder as he quickly pushed those thoughts away

However, as he made his way down the tower, Kane couldn't help but feel the sting of loss.

In the wild, Pokémon often faced life-threatening challenges, and there was no guarantee they would all survive. Death was a very real possibility during battle. Yet Kane had always remained rational, knowing that his survival depended on keeping his emotions in check. If he lost control after a Pokémon's death, he'd be next to fall.

In his previous life, Tatsuo had given him his first Pokémon, a Spinarak. Under his care, it had evolved into a powerful Ariados. But during a mission, Ariados had sacrificed itself to protect him from a Hydro Pump unleashed by a Gyarados.

The memory of Ariados's final moments—the look in its eyes, hoping for Kane's survival—still haunted him. Kane had been devastated back then, consumed by a desire for revenge against that Gyarados. It had taken his companions to pull him back from the brink of madness.

After that, Kane had sworn never to let his emotions cloud his judgment over any Pokémon again.Since then he treated his pokemon as tools for his survival and success, and nothing more.

Years later, Kane returned to the site of that fateful battle and captured the same Gyarados. Rather than selling it, he burned it for three whole days before shattering its bones to dust.

Ariados…

The memories Kane had long buried now flooded back into his mind, overwhelming him with a mix of rage and sorrow