Pokémon: I have no choice but to do this old thing?

The clamor of the celebratory cup has been carefully preserved in memory.

On the morning of the second day, as dawn broke, Zhang Jianying, along with Kirlia and Turtwig, embarked on their journey to Ogre Magi City, the location of their first gym.

Stepping outside the city limits of Zhuqing, a crisp, cool air, unlike the warm atmosphere within the city, rushed towards him. Zhang Jianying couldn't help but take a deep breath, white breath swirling in front of his eyes.

The snow on both sides of the road has not completely melted, stubbornly retaining traces of winter in the shadowy corners.

But on the sunny slopes, tender green grass shoots have already eagerly pushed their way out of the soil, adding touches of spring to the vast landscape.

"Time flies!"

Looking at the scene of winter turning into spring, Zhang Jianying said with a touch of emotion, "Do you remember, little ones, when we first met, the surroundings were all white?"

He lowered his head and looked at his companion.

Kirlia sensed his thoughts, gently took his hand, and a warm echo came through her telepathy: "Yes, back then, A-Jian was still very confused. But now, we've come so far together."

"Woo~"

The tortoise raised its head and let out a short but firm cry. It still remembered that in that frozen forest, it was the trainer and the big sister who gave it warm care and direction as it walked alone.

The grass turtle rubbed its head against Zhang Jianying's leg, its shell still glistening with morning dew.

Their chosen route required traversing the famous Basilica Forest diagonally, where the changing seasons became even more pronounced upon entering the woods. This is the territory first conquered by spring.

The towering trees have sprouted new green shoots on their branches, and sunlight filters through the still sparse leaves, casting soft dappled patterns of light.

Snow is almost nonexistent here; only thick, damp fallen leaves cover the ground, making it soft and spongy underfoot.

The air was filled with the scent of revitalized earth and the fresh aroma of sprouting plants.

The Grass-type Turtle became exceptionally active as soon as it entered the forest. It was a darling blessed by the forest, and the moist soil and burgeoning Grass-type energy allowed it to thrive in this environment.

It ran merrily through the forest clearing, the leaves overhead sensing the sunlight and vitality, swaying joyfully.

Several budding shrimp and cherry blossom turtles were attracted by its scent and timidly peeked out from the grass, curiously watching the mischievous grass sapling turtle.

The young grass turtle, though still young, displayed a composure and solemnity beyond its years. It moved lightly, gently touching the closed flower buds with the leaves on its head, as if offering a silent greeting and conveying blessings from another forest.

It was, after all, a Pokémon born from the blessing of the forest guardians, and in its short life, its most important mission was to fulfill the duty of protecting the forest. It wasn't until it was enlightened by the elder Venusaur that it decided to leave its familiar place and spread the forest's blessings to lands that needed them more.

Zhang Jianying didn't urge it on, but instead slowed down with Qirulian, enjoying the vibrant tranquility.

Looking at the Turtwig that seemed to have grown up in an instant, Kirlia smiled gently. It withdrew its gaze and slowly floated to a newly blooming flower, carefully using its psychic powers to lift the petals and feel the faint fluctuations contained within them.

Several Butterfly butterflies were attracted by the superpower fluctuations emanating from its body and danced around it, their scales scattering unintentionally and shimmering in the sunlight.

The journey progressed slowly in this silent and beautiful atmosphere.

However, this tranquility was soon shattered by an uninvited guest. A round, purple cloud of gas silently appeared behind Kirlia, coalescing into a comical grimace.

The gas spewed out its scarlet mouth in an exaggerated manner and stuck out a tongue that looked very elastic, attempting to intimidate Kirullian.

He looked at the purple ball and already imagined the "duangduang" sound effect.

Kirlia didn't even turn its head; a faint psychic aura emanated from its body, and an invisible barrier effortlessly deflected the ghostly face, as if brushing away a mere speck of dust. It continued its focused study of the blue flower, as if nothing had happened.

The wisp of gas—a Gastly—froze. Its eyes were filled with disbelief.

This was the first time it had been so completely ignored by Pokémon.

As a Ghost-type Pokémon, Gastly is naturally inclined to play pranks. It was originally just bored, but at this moment it felt a strange sense of frustration and annoyance.

Gastly, defiant, circled Kirlia once, accompanied by a villainous "hehehe" laugh, conjuring up the most terrifying face it could imagine.

This time, Kirlia finally glanced at it, but there was no fear in its crimson eyes. There was only a faint hint of helplessness, like "You're so noisy."

It waved its hand gently, and a soft psychic force pushed Gastly a distance away.

After being repeatedly ignored and pushed away, Gastly's "self-esteem" was thoroughly shattered. It angrily rolled around on the spot, its gaseous body trembling violently.

It glared resentfully at Kirlia's elegant back, then glanced at the human trainer beside it who looked like he was trying hard to suppress a laugh and seemed easy to bully.

A stubborn thought surged through Gastly's mind—it had to get its revenge! Because it was the most feared creature by Pokémon and humans in the Eternal Forest!

Looking at the Gastly that had been elusive and was now seemingly going crazy, Zhang Jianying stroked his chin, a thought suddenly popping into his head. "It seems like capturing a Gastly wouldn't be bad, after all, this guy looks really lively. Hmm... perfect for giving that increasingly lazy turtle a boost lately, always giving up."

On the other side, the Turtwig, which had finally managed to put on a "calm and reliable" demeanor in front of the unfamiliar Pokémon, suddenly shivered.

The grass turtle shook its leaves, looking around suspiciously: "Could it be that the stress of learning new skills lately has caused it to hallucinate? I have a feeling that some inexplicable being wants to harm the turtle."

However, Zhang Jianying didn't notice the Turtwig's reaction. His mind was completely occupied with the idea of ​​catching this goofy Gastly...

It was the Gastly that accompanied him through the game, but ultimately failed to evolve into Gengar due to various issues.

It exists in his imagination, like Doraemon's pocket, a shadow that seems capable of holding countless gadgets.

All of this made him fall in love with this Gastly:

"If we could tame it, wouldn't it be wonderful to just throw all our belongings into its shadow?"

"Besides, Gengar is both dirty and strong, not to mention its chubby purple appearance—it's definitely a childhood memory!"

Zhang Jianying slapped his thigh in anger, watching Gastly leave in a huff, filled with anticipation, and prayed, "Gastly, you absolutely have to come back and play another prank..."

Gastly, who hadn't gone far, became even angrier upon hearing the whispered prayer! Its entire spherical body grew two sizes larger.

"Just you wait, once I tell Miss Dream Demon, I'll come and scare you to death!"

From that moment on, the Gastly silently followed Zhang Jianying and his group.

Knowing Zhang Jianying's thoughts, Kirlia, with her keen senses, had already noticed this persistent "little tail," but seeing that it didn't take any further action, she let it go.

After passing through the vibrant Hundred Generations Forest, the landscape began to change abruptly. They arrived at the entrance to the Rocky Mountain Tunnel. It was as if, in a single step, they had stepped from the warm spring sunshine into another world of solidity and ruggedness.

There are two seasons inside and outside the tunnel. The cold, dry air replaces the moist warmth of the forest, and the rock walls are covered with hardy, dark moss.

The tunnel was dimly lit, with only a few luminous minerals providing a faint glow. The sound of dripping water from deep underground and the dull thuds of rock Pokémon rolling in the shadows could be clearly heard.

"It feels much colder here than outside," Zhang Jianying tightened his collar, put the uncomfortable Turtwig into its Poké Ball, and left Kirlia to accompany him outside.

Kirlia was surrounded by a faint blue aura, using her superpowers to dispel the surrounding chill and illuminate Zhang Jianying's path.

It curiously sensed the energy fluctuations within the tunnel, so different from those in the forest—a calm and profound power.

While resting in the middle of the tunnel, Gastly, which had been following them for a long time, finally couldn't hold back and reappeared.

Gastly's two large, semi-circular eyes rippled as it attempted to use hypnosis to lock onto Kirlia and trap it in a dream, but Kirlia easily evaded it with Teleport.

"It's finally here!"

Zhang Jianying noticed something was wrong and, seeing the Gastly jumping up and down angrily not far away, clenched his fist excitedly.

This time, he took a serious look at Gastly, and the data-driven vision clearly displayed Gastly's information.

Gastly

Gender: Male

[Attributes: Ghost + Poison]

【Characteristic: Levitation】

[Age: 6 months]

[Status: Frustrated, Excited, Unwilling to Give Up]

[Skills: Strange Light, Black Gaze, Resentment, Curse, Hypnosis, Licking, Misfortune Never Comes Alone]

[Inherited Skills: Song of Destruction, Immobilization, Mist]

"Perfect timing!"

Zhang Jianying also let out the same cackling laugh, which sounded quite eerie in the tunnel's echo. The laugh even made Gastly glance at him curiously.

"I was just wondering how to bring it up, and now that you've come to me of your own accord..."

"Kirlian, don't let it get away! Use Psychic!"

A flash of blue light appeared in Kirlia's eyes, and its powerful psychic energy surrounded Gastly without attacking.

Gastly, true to its defiant nature as described in the data analysis, struggled fiercely within the cage formed by its psychic powers, managing to forcefully break free despite the type-advantage damage.

Its two large, semi-circular eyes were bloodshot with excitement, and it exhaled a cloud of purple smoke—"Turbid Mist"—at Kirulian.

Zhang Jianying immediately instructed Qirulian to use her mental powers to counteract it.

The beam of light formed from psychic energy, though partially corroded by the murky fog, still struck Gastly's spherical body, illuminating a corner of the tunnel with its blue glow.

"Extremely effective!"

Gastly cried out in pain, its gaseous form thinning, clearly indicating it had suffered a severe injury.

Zhang Jianying took the opportunity to throw out a Poké Ball.

The Poké Ball flew in an arc and struck Gastly on the head, turning Gastly into a beam of red light and absorbing it into the ball.

His first real battle to catch a Pokémon made him nervous, and even Kirlia was looking at the Poké Ball with anticipation.

The Poké Ball shook a few times, and just as the red light was about to go out, Gastly inside the ball flashed with purple light and, with a tenacious willpower, broke free with a "bang"!

It weakly stuck out its tongue, made a provocative face at Zhang Jianying, and quickly disappeared into the shadows of the rock wall...

"Oh no, that doesn't make sense. It shouldn't have had the strength to break free."

Zhang Jianying scratched his hair in frustration, put away the empty Poké Ball, and shook his head regretfully.

She continued to pray, "Gastrap, Gastrap, you must come back and get your revenge!" Kirlia watched the unreliable trainer from the side, a hint of helplessness flashing in her crimson eyes.

Let's compose ourselves and continue our journey.

The Gastly appeared again later in the journey.

As they were setting up camp and preparing for their meal, Gastly suddenly darted out of the shadows and appeared in front of the Torterra, attempting to frighten it.

However, the grass-fed tortoise, who was munching on tree fruits after its meal, tied it to the spot with a grass knot it had just learned.

The turtle stood angrily in front of the food, clearly very unhappy that this guy was disturbing its meal.

Gastly didn't mind Torterra's behavior. Instead, it looked at Torterra with a provocative expression, conjured a finger out of mist, and beckoned it.

He then gave the grass-sprout turtle a sly grin, "You look like you're easy to bully. Let's start by getting our revenge on you! Hehehe."

Grass Turtle: (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻

"Woo~"

The grass turtle let out an angry low growl and ripped open the food box with one paw. Its head turned red at a visible speed, and several prominent blue veins appeared on its forehead.

"I'm not eating this today! Let's have a one-on-one fight, and I'll show you why the flowers are so red."

Battle is imminent.

Zhang Jianying and Kirlia stared speechlessly at the small theater over there, then thought for a moment. They said to the two Pokémon staring at each other, "How about this? I won't command Turtwig, but if you lose, you'll have to be captured by me. How about that?"

Gastly transformed into a black shadow and appeared in front of Zhang Jianying with a "whoosh," making a face in an attempt to frighten him.

But it was completely unaware that its expression was not terrifying at all, but rather surprisingly comical.

Zhang Jianying, suppressing a laugh, looked at Gastly and said, "No backing out, okay? A bet's a bet, I won't give orders. You two have a one-on-one fight. If you lose, you join us. If you win, I'll give you an extra box of Power Cubes. How about it?"

Gastly put away its ghostly expression and rolled its big eyes around. Then, its round body bounced up and down, as if agreeing to the agreement.

It conjured a finger from the mist and tapped it on Zhang Jianying's backpack, then conjured another finger, signifying "I want two boxes." It was overjoyed; even its large, semi-circular eyes turned into hearts.

"That goofy little turtle over there doesn't look very strong. It was eating so deliciously just now, those cube-shaped foods I've never seen before, they smelled so good. If I brought that to Miss Misdreavus, she'd definitely look at me in a new light, hehe..."

Gastly, lost in its beautiful fantasy, didn't notice the increasingly strange expressions on the faces of the three opposite it.

Zhang Jianying and the others were looking at the Gastly with strange expressions, its eyes sparkling with hearts. For some reason, it not only had an expression of being immersed in a beautiful fantasy, but even the mist on its round body seemed to have a reddish tinge.

Zhang Jianying turned to look at Kirlia, who blinked, suppressing a laugh, indicating that they would talk later.

The grass turtle finally couldn't hold back any longer and growled, "Are you going to fight me or not? If not, I'm going back to eat."

The sound shattered Gastly's bubble of fantasy, and it looked at Turtwig with a serious expression; it had to win.

We can't let Miss Dream Fairy down! A raging fire seemed to erupt behind it, startling Turtwig.

After the mini-theater ended.

Turtwig and Gastly set up their battle stances in the forest clearing, with Zhang Jianying acting as the referee in the middle. With a command, the battle officially began.

Gastly, with its speed, four times resistance to Grass-type moves, and immunity to Ground-type moves, dodges Torterra's Seed Bomb by weaving around the field.

It also occasionally releases a purple "mist" skill in an attempt to poison the grass turtle.

The grass turtle had never encountered such a cunning opponent.

Its much larger size compared to its kind endows it with excellent endurance and strength, but also makes it lose the ability to move quickly.

Although its ability to recover from the grassy terrain and its innate stamina allowed it to remain invincible for a short period.

However, Turtwig is ultimately at a disadvantage in terms of type and hasn't learned many moves yet, making it unable to counter this high-speed Gastly harasser.

Although the grass turtle was at a disadvantage, it seemed to have returned to the state it had when it lived alone in the forest, with a determined and calm look in its eyes.

It used its shell to withstand the attack from the murky fog, and in the tiny gap when Gastly tried to hypnotize it, it successfully used Curse twice to boost its strength.

Next, as long as you can lure Gastly close, Gastly's small size will definitely not be able to withstand a bite that deals super-damage.

The battle situation gradually became intense.

Gastly's Misty Mist triggered the poison effect, and Gastly cackled as it gathered the energy for the "Misfortunes Never Come Alone" move, preparing to end the battle.

The Turtwig watched Gastly's movements and its heart tightened. Now's the time!

Gastly, its entire body brimming with Ghost-type energy, flickered and merged into the shadows before suddenly appearing behind Torterra.

Just as Gastly was about to unleash a move on Turtwig.

The Turtwig suddenly twisted its body swiftly, its teeth gleaming with a deep black light, and bit down on Gastly before it could react!

Gastly was caught off guard by the sudden attack.

But then it remembered its purpose, its eyes burning with fierce fire, and gritted its teeth as it hurled its prepared attack at the grass turtle. At the same time, it twisted its body with all its might, and the part of its body that was attacked instantly turned into mist, barely avoiding the full power of the "bite".

Even so, this act of sacrificing a pawn to save the king still caused him considerable harm.

"Bang!" The collision of skills kicked up black smoke.

Kirlia used her telekinesis to gently blow away the black mist that was obscuring her vision.

The two Pokémon, teetering on the brink of collapse, still stared at each other defiantly. In the end, Torterra, unable to withstand the drain of its strength caused by the poison, rolled its eyes in a look of resentment.

Gastly on the other side wasn't much better off. With its last bit of strength, it condensed two fingers and waved at Zhang Jianying.

It means don't forget the two boxes of Power Cubes! Then he rolled his eyes with a satisfied look.

Zhang Jianying and Kirlia were both amused and exasperated as they treated the two Pokémon.

While waiting for them to recover their strength, Kirlia also relayed the emotions she had sensed from Gastly to the trainer. Zhang Jianying nodded knowingly, then sighed with a heavy heart.

Is this the power of "love"...?

A moment later, the two Pokémon slowly woke up, and the first thing they did upon waking was to stare at each other with an air of mutual disdain.

Zhang Jianying chimed in, "Alright, alright, stop glaring at each other, aren't you tired?"

"A bet is a bet, here's your reward for being the winner."

Gastly's two large, semi-circular eyes lit up instantly. It eagerly used its mist to swirl up the Energy Cube, carefully examined it, and after confirming that it was intact and of high quality, its gaseous body, which had just shrunk, excitedly expanded.

"Hehehe!" (So, do you dare to provoke me again next time?!)

Gastly proudly waved its "trophy" at the newly-asleep Turtwig, then without lingering, it flickered and disappeared into the shadows without a trace.

Only a series of strange, impatient laughs lingered in the air, gradually fading into the distance.

The Turtwig stared in the direction Gastly had disappeared, then scratched the ground with its claws in frustration.

For the first time, it so desperately wanted to become stronger, not just to protect the forest, but for a new goal.

In order to personally beat up that sleazy and disgusting guy!

"Alright, Turtle, don't be upset. You did a fantastic job! Even with such a disadvantageous attribute, you still tried your best to find opportunities and almost turned the tide!"

Zhang Jianying patted the grass turtle's shell and gave it a thumbs up. "Next time I'll teach you a trick that will definitely help you win! Trust me, you won't regret it."

The sullen tortoise was still feeling down, but upon hearing the trainer's words, its fighting spirit was ignited for the first time, and the leaves on its head stood up with determination!

The Turtwig looked in the direction Gastly had disappeared and let out a determined growl. Then it suddenly heard its trainer say, "You need to work harder on your skills training. Try to learn the remaining skills in the next few days. I think Grass Slide and Crunch would be perfect for you."

Grass Turtle: Σ（ﾟдﾟlll）

The fighting spirit in the eyes of the grass turtle was extinguished instantly, and the entire turtle turned grayish-white at a visible speed.

It let out a mournful cry and lay helplessly on the ground, as if it had already foreseen the dark and hopeless training career to come.

"I really don't want to use my brain!"

Its wailing echoed through the forest, mingling with Zhang Jianying's triumphant laughter and Kirullian's elegant chuckle.

Looking at the goofy Turtwig, Zhang Jianying sighed, "Let's see who says I'm the most useless trainer in history now. Although I didn't manage to catch Gastly, at least I've ignited Turtwig's fighting spirit, haven't I? I'm truly a genius."

Kirlia rolled her eyes helplessly and gently pressed down on Turtwig, who was trying to challenge its trainer to a real-life battle.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, our Gastly is speeding through the forest, embarking on a journey to deliver a gift to its "goddess"...