章節 48: Two Months of Progress
Evolution was the result of accumulated energy overflowing and the mutual influence of body mutations reshaping each other.
There was no doubt that Gastly had reached the level of evolution, even surpassed it, because the accumulated energy of evolution was different due to varying potentials.
However, Gastly's potential should have a limit, and now it had exceeded the level of evolution by more than a small margin.
In the past few days, one could faintly sense the energy fluctuations overflowing from Gastly's body, and the power of its moves had greatly increased due to this accumulated energy.
So now there was probably only one reason!
It was the body. Gastly's body had been forcibly altered by Cain, and the poison core had been activated by external force. It was probably because of these changes that the body couldn't complete the reshaping process.
In Cain's previous life, when he raised Gastly, such a situation did not occur. So, he didn't think much about it when he did the same in this life. What was the reason?
Cain carefully recalled the differences between his previous life and this life when raising Gastly.
Poison!
It was still poison!
In his previous life, Cain dealt with Poison-type Pokémon every day, and Gastly was no exception. Even during battle training, the opponents were all Poison-types, so Gastly's evolution went smoothly without any hiccups.
Did it need stimulation from Poison-type Pokémon?
Cain came to this conclusion, but where will he get new Poison type Pokemon, since he had already fooled Fantina once, it wouldn't work again. Moreover, his actions were restricted at the Ecruteak Gym, making it a difficult problem.
At this point, Cain really had no way to obtain more Poison-type Pokémon. He could only take one step at a time, and the only thing he could do now was to pick challengers with Poison-type Pokémon at Ecruteak Gym.
Because Poison-type Pokémon were not favored by some people, he barely encountered any in the following days. The only Beedrill he met could only use the move Poison Sting, which had no effect on Gastly.
Time flew by, and Fantina had been here for a month, while Cain had been at Ecruteak Gym for nearly two months. The stone pavilion and bronze cauldron in the Crestmont Tomb blocked Cain's path to continue exploring, and no good solution had been found for Gastly's evolution. Aside from these two issues, the rest of the solo training life went relatively smoothly.
Raikou's Duskull evolved into Dusclops, and Fantina's Drifloon also evolved into Drifblim. Originally, Morty had planned to wait for Cain's Gastly to evolve into Haunter before challenging the fourth floor of the Brass Tower, but seeing Gastly's delayed evolution, they had no choice but resume the challenges.
Now, with enough confidence to challenge the fourth floor, they had gone through more than half a month of special training, battling, learning, and exchanging ideas with different trainers.
The strength of Gastly, Spiritomb, Drifblim, and Dusclops improved rapidly.
Although Gastly hadn't evolved yet, its strength was on par with Morty's Spiritomb. Drifblim and Dusclops, despite being evolved forms, were no match for Gastly, which left Fantina and Raikou feeling bitter.
With full confidence in their abilities, half a month later, Morty brought the three of them back to the fourth floor of the Brass Tower.
As soon as they entered the battlefield, Haunter's army took the initiative and surrounded the four challenging Pokémon.
"Night Shade," Cain commanded.
As the five Haunter's Shadow Punche were launched, a layer of black phantoms rose around Gastly, the punches only struck the Night Shade's periphery, causing no harm to the concealed Gastly.
"Hmph, Dark Pulse."
Cain could almost imagine what would happen next. A terrifying malicious field spread out from Gastly, instantly assaulting the surrounding five Haunter. Their souls were gripped tightly, their faces distorted in pain as they let out agonizing screams.
Two of the Haunters were intimidated by the terrifying dark aura and entered a cowering state. Gastly didn't care about the other three Haunters reorganizing their attacks, and threw two oval-shaped Shadow Balls, taking out two of the Haunters.
Seeing that two Haunter had lost their fighting ability, Gengar prepared to come down and provide support. Morty's Spiritomb used Snarl's double damage to keep the five Haunter under control, and it looked like they would all be defeated soon.
Unable to focus on both sides, Gengar launched a Shadow Ball at Spiritomb.
Morty knew that they must seize this critical moment and defeat the five Haunters; otherwise, they would fall into a completely passive state if given a chance to breathe.
Spiritomb endured the Shadow Ball.
Having scored a hit, Gengar naturally wanted to rescue the five Gastly, so it launched another Shadow Ball at Spiritomb.
"Gastly, Confuse Ray."
Cain was well aware that, while Spiritomb had strong resistance, it couldn't withstand Gengar's three Shadow Balls. The only way to break free from Gastly's encirclement as soon as possible was for him to act.
Cain needed speed, so he abandoned the time-consuming Hypnosis in favor of the faster and more convenient Confuse Ray.
Like small electric balls, the light points enveloped the three Haunter, and the consciousness-eroding light balls smashed into their bodies, causing instant confusion. The Haunter's Shadow Punches began to twist and hit each other, making it impossible for onlookers to tell which hand belonged to which Haunter.
Gengar's second Shadow Ball was launched, but it was intercepted by Gastly's Shadow Ball.
Seeing the other three Haunter attacking each other, Gengar immediately focused on Gastly.
Three consecutive Shadow Balls broke through Gastly's protective Night Shade shield, but Gastly's two Shadow Balls landed squarely on Gengar.
Although Cain's training of Gastly was quite successful, with both the speed and power of its Shadow Balls being considerable, Gastly was still somewhat inferior to Gengar.
Gastly was now genuinely exposed in front of Gengar.
Gengar revealed a wicked grin, the resentful Shadow Ball growing larger and larger, preparing to finish Gastly off with one strike.
Cain glanced at Gengar and
"Gastly, move back."
Cain had found the right position.
With a "swoosh," Gengar's Shadow Ball was thrown towards Gastly, even though the gathered energy of Shadow Ball was powerful, its speed was much slower.
Without Cain's additional guidance, Gastly naturally dodged the Shadow Ball.
Gastly's position, Gengar's position, and the positions of the two Haunters surrounding Dusclops were all in a straight line.
With a loud "bang," Gengar's Shadow Ball struck the two Haunter surrounding Dusclops.
The reality before him made Gengar even more furious.
For Raikou, this was a godsend. Dusclops had excellent defenses and attacks but was too slow, making it difficult to deal with the fast and elusive Haunter. They had only defeated one Haunter up to this point, but Cain had just taken out two, so Raikou was no longer at a disadvantage in the battle.
At this time, Morty had also completed his task, as all five Haunter were defeated by Spiritomb.
"Gastly, use Embargo."
Gengar, who was preparing to attack, was startled and froze on the spot due to Gastly's sudden outburst.
"Snarl."
Just in that moment, Morty reacted quickly. Spiritomb's Snarl immediately followed, and the frightened Gengar was once again swept up by the terrifying wave of sound infused with malicious intent. Gengar felt a tingling sensation all over its body and trembled.
This was the additional effect of Snarl. Experiencing such discomfort naturally made it impossible to use its full power. Gengar's Special Attack had been reduced.
Gengar's anger had reached its peak, and it was preparing to use Dark Pulse, which could attack both opponents at once.
"Sucker Punch," Morty shouted at Spiritomb.
As the son of a Gym Leader and a future figure in the city, Morty's observation of the battle was excellent.
Sucker Punch was a double-edged sword, its success depended on the trainer's skill.
If the opponent was using an offensive move, they would reveal a weakness in their actions. At this time, Sucker Punch would strike the opponent's weak spot with great speed, often interrupting their attack and disrupting their rhythm.
However, if the opponent was not using an offensive move, they would generally defend their whole body, and Sucker Punch would not find an opening.
Gastly could have learned this move, but Cain didn't let it. Because this move was not suitable for Gastly, which was a Special Attacker with poor defense.
Sucker Punch was a close-range physical attack, and Gastly could not unleash its power with this move. Moreover, could Gastly get close? That would be like walking into a tiger's den. Once close, Gastly could easily be caught by the opponent, and the outcome for Gastly would be a quick defeat.
In a true expert showdown, every move was made with the next step in mind, and the weaknesses were protected while making a move, leaving no opportunity for a surprise attack. Thus, such ultimate moves wouldn't appear in advanced battles.
Of course, a Pokémon that excels in close combat and has agile movements should definitely learn this move. It wasn't about relying on this move to attack the opponent's weaknesses, but rather incorporating it into their bloodline, as was the case with Caint's former Ariados.
Since they had trained using the surprise attack from the start, over time, they developed a unique vision for spotting weaknesses. When an opponent revealed a vulnerability, they would quickly seize the opportunity and attack their soft spots, making it easier to control the opponent.
The timing Morty chose to attack was perfect.
Spiritomb charged forward with a powerful Dark-type energy, aiming for the armpit area of Gengar. Gengar, caught off guard by Spiritomb's counterattack, felt the pain of being pierced through its tender spot and the malicious energy was forcibly interrupted.
Gengar closed its eyes in pain, waiting for the pain to ease slightly before slowly opening its eyes.
What it saw was a series of Shadow Balls coming at it.
Cain had already prepared, as a series of Shadow Balls struck Gengar, resulting in continuous collision and explosion sounds.
"There's no need to worry about him anymore."
Cain knew Gengar couldn't withstand such an attack and told Morty to help Raikou and Fantina finish their battles quickly.
On their side, they had three confused Haunters, which were quickly dealt with.
In fact, with Raikou and Fantina's current strength, defeating the five Haunter was only a matter of time. However, the battle had already dragged on for a long time, and they naturally wanted to succeed as soon as possible.
"We finally made it," Fantina sighed in relief.
"I can't take it anymore. I need to go back and rest. I feel exhausted," Morty said, waving his hand as he headed downstairs.
The tension that had persisted for half a month finally eased a little.
At this moment, all Cain wanted was to take a break, retrieve Gastly, and have dinner.
He had planned to continue the "Flying Dagger" special training with Ditto today, but Ditto hadn't returned.
Had today's special training with the Ghost Pokémon at the Brass Tower not ended yet, or had they simply forgotten the time due to being too engrossed?
Cain placed five bottles of milk on the table, and then went to sleep, finally having the chance to get a good night's rest.
...
The next morning, when Cain woke up, the five bottles of milk were still on the table, and there was no sign of Ditto.
Cain had a bad feeling in his heart.
He went to the Brass Tower alone.
With Gastly, Cain searched the Brass Tower from top to bottom, spending the entire morning searching every corner of the tower, but he couldn't find any trace of Ditto.
"Did it betray me?"
The thought crossed Cain's mind, causing a slight unease.
He had trained with Ditto for more than two months, and the "Flying Dagger" had finally reached a distance of nine meters. If Ditto had betrayed him, they would have to start over from scratch.
Moreover, Ditto's talent and transformation abilities were quite good.
Cain was somewhat influenced by the disappearance of Ditto. After all, the hard work of training for such a long time was in vain.
"Hmph, fleeing out of fear of training, such a Pokémon is useless to keep around."
Cain snorted coldly and didn't think about it any further, heading downstairs. He always kept a certain distance from Pokémon.
In the wild, many situations were life-and-death struggles. You couldn't guarantee that your Pokémon would always be safe. It could be said that in battles in the wild, Pokémon might die, which was an unavoidable situation.
So, at this time, trainers needed to stay rational to better deal with the upcoming situations. If they lost their minds because their Pokémon died, they might push themselves into the abyss as well.
Cain's first Pokémon in his previous life was a Spinarak given by Dazao, which evolved into an Ariados under his nurturing and showed good abilities.
However, during a hunting mission, Ariados died while protecting him from a Hyper Beam attack launched by a Salamance.
Until now, Cain could still clearly remember Ariados' eyes, full of expectation that he could survive before it died. At that time, Cain was like a madman, even trying to kill the Salamance barehanded. If it weren't for a companion who saved him, he might have died that time.
After that, Cain never developed the same feelings for any other Pokémon as he had for that Ariados. Since then, Cain saw Pokémon more as tools to achieve his goals.
As for that Salamance, many years later, Cain returned to the old place and caught it. However, he didn't sell it. Instead, he burned it for three days and reduced it to ashes.
Ari...a...dos...
The sealed memories suddenly burst like a flash flood, uncontrollable.
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