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

In the early morning, before the morning mist had completely dissipated, Zhang Jianying and his group arrived at Dr. Yamanashi's Research Institute, located on the outskirts of Masa Town.

The pure white building appears simple yet technologically advanced in the morning light.

Professor Yamanashi was already waiting at the door. This scholar, famous in the Sinnoh region for his research on Pokémon evolution, was still wearing his meticulous white coat and had a serious expression.

"They're here."

Professor Yamanashi adjusted his glasses, his gaze sweeping over Zhang Jianying's team, lingering briefly on Gardevoir and Bagon. "Your team has grown quite well. What about Haunter?"

"Hehehe~"

Gastly emerged halfway out of the shadow behind Zhang Jianying, unusually refraining from making a face, and instead looked expectantly at Professor Yamanashi.

"Yes, you're in great shape and have a high level of energy."

Dr. Yamanashi turned and walked into the research institute. "The communication switching equipment is ready. Follow me."

After passing through a bright corridor, the group arrived at a room filled with various display screens and instruments.

At the center, a sleek communication exchange platform is flashing a blue standby light.

"Step up there."

Professor Yamanashi gestured to Gastly while rapidly typing on the control panel, "This evolution will consume a lot of energy. Your Gastly... has it been absorbing a lot of Ghost-type energy lately?"

Zhang Jianying nodded: "It frequently traveled to and from the spirit world recently."

He paused, too embarrassed to mention that Gui Gui had been binge eating lately, "and was making a special effort to conserve energy."

"I can feel it."

Dr. Yamanashi stared at the fluctuating data on the screen. "The energy readings are abnormally high, almost twice the average for a Gastly of this type. Evolution will proceed smoothly."

Gastly had already floated to the center of the platform. It glanced back at Zhang Jianying, its eyes gleaming with anticipation.

"Are you ready?" Zhang Jianying asked.

"Heh!" Gastly nodded vigorously.

"Start." Dr. Yamanashi pressed the start button.

hum-

The exchange platform burst forth with a dazzling white light, completely enveloping Gastly.

In the light, Gastly's outline began to distort and change.

The light of evolution usually lasts for a few seconds, but this time, the light was unusually long-lasting and intense, as if a massive amount of energy was churning and reorganizing within it.

"Energy output is stable, but the total amount is staggering."

Dr. Yamanashi stared intently at the screen, his expression serious.

Zhang Jianying clenched his fists involuntarily.

Gardevoir gently placed its hand on his arm, sending a soothing wave of energy. The dragon quieted down, its crimson pupils fixed intently on the ball of light.

Finally, after nearly ten seconds of intense light, the light of evolution began to recede.

However, when the light faded, the figure that appeared on the platform plunged the entire room into an awkward silence.

The first thing that catches the eye is the circle.

It is perfectly round.

Round and chubby, like a deep purple balloon that's been inflated too much.

The relatively "slender" triangular body of Gastly is gone, replaced by a behemoth that is estimated to be over two meters tall and almost the same width.

The iconic scarlet eyes are still there, but set in that huge, round face, they look somewhat comical.

His wide mouth was stretched open, revealing a familiar silly smile.

Its short limbs extend from the sides of its round body, trying to make the famous gestures.

The evolved fat Gengar tried to float like before, but its body only wobbled less than half a meter off the ground before it clearly began to struggle, like an overloaded hot air balloon about to fall.

"Woohoo!"

Baby Dragon couldn't resist any longer, hugging the Everstone and rolling around on the ground, roaring, "Roar!"

Gardevoir covered its mouth with its hand, its shoulders trembling slightly.

Zhang Jianying opened his mouth wide, but couldn't say a word.

Dr. Yamanashi, an evolutionary authority known for his seriousness and rigidity, now displayed an unusual crack in his expression.

His glasses slipped down slightly, and his fingers hovered above the control panel, remaining motionless for a long time.

The only sounds in the entire research institute were the regular beeping of various instruments and the gasping of the fat Gengar as it tried to float for the second time, as if it were holding its breath.

"interesting."

After a long while, Dr. Yamanashi finally regained his composure.

He adjusted his glasses, strode to the control panel, and his fingers danced almost in a blur as he retrieved various data.

"It is 2.18 meters long and weighs nearly 100 kilograms, more than twice the weight of other Gengar.

Dr. Yamanashi's tone returned to calm, but his speech was much faster than usual. "The energy core is unusually large and stable, and the Ghost attribute purity is extremely high. It seems that the excessive accumulation of energy in the early stage caused a quantitative change in the direction of energy reshaping the body during evolution."

He turned around and said seriously to Zhang Jianying, who was still in a daze, "This is a very valuable evolutionary mutation. Although its appearance is, well, quite striking, judging from the data, its total energy and attribute strength far exceed those of a normal Gengar. This is of great research value."

The fat Gengar finally gave up its arduous attempt to float and landed on solid ground with a "thump".

It looked down at its round belly, then reached out its short paws to touch it. The smile on its face changed from silly to a curious and satisfied expression.

"Hehe!!!"

It let out an arrogant laugh, clearly quite pleased with its new, "robust" form. Its voice was even much deeper than before.

The subsequent adaptation process was full of drama.

The fat Gengar first wobbled around the room a few steps, like a toddler learning to walk, but soon it got used to the feeling of being on solid ground.

It puffed out its round chest, trying to strike a pose of holding its head high, although because it was so round, it looked more like it was showing off its belly.

Baby Dragon continued to mock without any politeness, gesturing the shape of a circle with its claws and letting out a strange "roaring" laugh.

Upon hearing this, the fat Gengar glared at the baby dragon with its scarlet eyes, curled its lips, and gave a disdainful look that said, "What do you know?"

It took a deep breath and proudly raised its non-existent chin.

It walked to a full-length mirror in the research institute and carefully examined its reflection.

When it first saw its enormous size, it was indeed stunned for a moment—this great lord did not expect to become so fat!

But at this moment, looking at the "majestic and powerful" and energetic figure in the mirror, it became more and more satisfied.

That size, that weight, that presence! It's undeniably powerful! Can an ordinary Gengar have this kind of aura?

"It smells so good!"

It nodded in satisfaction, then began to try making various expressions in front of the mirror.

Zhang Jianying found it amusing, walked over, and curiously poked Gengar's bouncy purple belly.

The feel was unexpected; it wasn't as soft as it looked. Instead, it had a solid, energetic feel, like thick, airy rubber.

The chubby Gengar, tickled by the poke, twisted its body and let out a "ga-ga" laugh. Its short arms waved wildly, trying to swat away the trainer's hand, but the length was a bit too short.

Zhang Jianying then went around to its back and touched the sharp spikes on its back that looked soft but were actually quite elastic. A thought suddenly popped into his head.

"Hey, big guy,"

Zhang Jianying patted Gengar's back. "Can you still carry me and fly? Like when Gastly was young, but you were too small back then, so you could only drag me along."

Upon hearing this, the fat Gengar's scarlet eyes suddenly lit up!

That's right! It's time to show off my power!

Although floating is still a bit difficult, that's a matter of finesse in control!

Taking off while carrying a load is a piece of cake for me, given my current energy reserves.

It suddenly turned around, squeaking excitedly, and waved its short arms forcefully, making a bold gesture as if it would take care of me.

It crouched down slightly, gesturing for Zhang Jianying to come up.

Under the slightly worried gaze of Baby Dragon, Zhang Jianying climbed onto Gengar's broad back, which resembled a small platform, and sat quite steadily among the soft spikes.

"Ready?"

Zhang Jianying grabbed a small bump on Gengar's shoulder.

"Genga!"

Gengar gave a no-questions-asked gesture without turning its head.

It focused its mind, and a dense blue superpower light enveloped itself and Zhang Jianying, firmly fixing him to its back.

Then--

"Gonnaise! Let's go!"

Activate your mental and physical strength to the fullest extent!

Zhang Jianying felt a powerful upward force, and his vision rose rapidly!

Fat Gengar was like a powerfully launched deep purple cannonball, carrying him into the sky and instantly bursting out of the open skylight of the research institute, soaring straight into the clouds!

"Wuhu—!"

The wind howled as he looked down at the earth, and Zhang Jianying initially shouted excitedly.

But soon, he realized something was wrong.

The fat Gengar charged forward with tremendous force, flying straight towards a grove of trees in the distance without slowing down!

"Wait! Ghost! Turn! To the left! To the left!"

Zhang Jianying hurriedly called out.

Fat Gengar: "Genga?"

It tried to twist its body, but its enormous size and unskilled energy manipulation made it like a car that had lost its way.

It tried to change direction crookedly, but only drew an irregular arc in the air. Instead of turning left, it crashed straighter into the thickest tree in the forest!

"Not that way! Slow down! Stop!" Zhang Jianying's face stiffened.

The fat Gengar panicked and tried desperately to stop, but the inertia combined with its clumsy energy output made its flight path even more chaotic.

The tree rapidly magnified in view!

It looked like a tragic scene of "humans and ghosts crashing into trees" was about to unfold.

"Gardevoir, help me!!!"

Zhang Jianying's exclamation echoed through the forest.

A blue light flashed from the direction of the research institute below!

Instant teleportation

However, Gardevoir did not appear next to Zhang Jianying, but in front of that big tree.

It shook its head helplessly, and a powerful surge of psychic energy erupted. Instead of blocking it head-on, it cleverly created a sloping, flexible psychic energy buffer in front of the tree.

At the same time, Gardevoir commands Gengar to merge into the shadow.

Just before crashing into the tree, Gengar almost reflexively executed the command. Its body instantly became ethereal, like a drop of water merging into a sponge, and suddenly disappeared into the long shadow it had left behind as it flew.

Physical collisions were avoided.

but…

"Wait! I haven't gotten off the bus yet!"

Gengar merged into the shadow and disappeared, and the Psychic power that had been attached to its back naturally dissipated.

Driven by inertia, Zhang Jianying flew like a cannonball toward the psychic buffer slope hastily constructed by Gardevoir!

Pfft!

The psychic slope effectively mitigated most of the impact. Zhang Jianying bounced a few times on the flexible psychic force before finally rolling onto the soft grass beside him. He was dizzy, but miraculously unharmed.

Not far away, the fat Gengar cautiously peeked out from the shadows, looking at the somewhat disheveled trainer, then at Gardevoir who breathed a sigh of relief and looked helpless, and at the Pokémon that had come from the research institute to watch the commotion and witnessed the whole thing, and was now pointing at it with its paw and laughing so hard it was doubled over.

An embarrassed expression appeared on the fat Gengar's round face. It scratched its head sheepishly with its short paws and let out a guilty cry.

Its big eyes rolled around. Hmm, agile flight is the primary goal right now.

After this minor incident, they spent another half a day at the research institute.

Professor Yamanashi then took the fat Gengar to do more tests on its balance and energy micromanagement, which proved that it indeed had great potential, but its current control was worrying.

"A lot of targeted training is needed."

Dr. Yamanashi reiterated, "However, it has a strong desire to learn and plenty of mental energy, so it will progress quickly if the methods are appropriate."

By evening, the fat Gengar was able to hover relatively steadily at low altitudes and fly slowly in a straight line. Turns were still abrupt, but at least it wouldn't crash straight into walls.

While the fat Gengar continued practicing in the adaptation room, Professor Yamanashi and Zhang Jianying talked in the rest area.

"Where are we going next?"

The doctor asked, handing over a cup of hot tea.

Zhang Jianying took the teacup and looked out the window.

Gardevoir stood quietly beside her, watching a blue flower swaying in the breeze.

A thought struck him, and he reached out to gently stroke Gardevoir's sky-blue hair.

Gardevoir felt his touch, turned around, and looked at him with a gentle smile and a hint of barely perceptible expectation in her eyes.

"Getting ready to go to Jiayuan City."

Zhang Jianying smiled and said, "Challenge the Jiayuan Dojo and collect the third badge."

He paused, then looked at Gardevoir: "Also, Gardevoir has always been very interested in Contests. Homestead City is one of the major venues for Contests in the Sinnoh region. If the opportunity arises, I'd like to let her give it a try."

"A grand competition?"

Professor Yamanashi nodded. "The path of a Pokémon Coordinator is different from that of a traditional Trainer, but it can still unlock the charm and potential of Pokémon. Gardevoir has an outstanding temperament and extremely precise control over energy and moves, so it might be a good fit."

"Just trying."

Looking at the bright light flashing in Gardevoir's eyes, Zhang Jianying said, "No matter the outcome, it will be a valuable experience."

The door to the lounge was pushed open again, and Gengar floated in, carefully squeezing in with a smug expression on its face.

"Haha! I feel like I'm getting better and better!"

"very good."

Zhang Jianying smiled and patted its big head that had come closer. "Well then, let's get ready to head to Home City. You've evolved, so let's challenge the Ghost-type Gym."

As the sun set, Zhang Jianying led his revitalized team out of the research institute.

The fat Gengar struggled to maintain a stable hover, drifting to one side of the group.

The dragon occasionally cast a teasing glance, while Gardevoir held its trainer's hand and walked briskly.

"Let's go."

He told his companions, his voice filled with anticipation, "Our target: Jiayuan City!"