I caught a Pokémon

Xia You thought for a moment and guessed, "After all, it has existed for two thousand years. Even a ghost needs energy to maintain its existence. That's why it absorbs men's energy like this every year during the summer festival."

Seeing that Xiaoxia was about to ask something else, Xia You quickly said, "Okay, stop asking. Let's hurry up and take Xiaogang back to the Pokémon Center."

Inside the Pokémon Center.

After Miss Joey's diagnosis confirmed that Xiao Gang was simply overworked, everyone was relieved.

However, no matter how much everyone asked, Xiao Gang remained completely bewildered about what had just happened, seemingly having no recollection of what happened after being captured by Gastly.

After placing him on the bed in the dormitory and instructing Xiaozhi to take good care of him, Xia You left the Pokémon Center alone.

Despite the Gastly being quite troublesome, Xia You was determined to capture it.

As a wild Gastly that has lived for countless years, its abilities are naturally very powerful. What's even more remarkable is that, like Meowth from Team Rocket, it can also speak human language!

Based on this alone, once you capture it, it will be much easier to communicate with your Pokémon in the future, and you won't just have to rely on intuition and guesswork to communicate with them.

But where is Gastly now?

It was two in the morning, and the night was still deep.

Xia You looked around and finally decided to rely on her intuition and try her luck at the Maiden Rock on the cliff by the sea.

Following the mountain road, we left the town and soon arrived at our destination. However, just like before, there was nothing here except for the waves and the salty sea breeze in the air.

Gastly, are you here!?

Xia You shouted loudly, but his voice carried far without a response.

"Is it really not here?" Xia You muttered to herself as she walked up to the Maiden Rock. "Then it wouldn't matter if I destroyed this rock now, right?"

"Hey! Hey!" A voice suddenly came from behind him, "I can't pretend I didn't hear you anymore!"

Xia You smiled and turned around to see Gastly.

"Gastly, let's have a final battle!"

"Oh?" Gastly said seriously, "Do you want to capture me?"

Xia You took out a Poké Ball from her waist and enlarged it in her hand: "Of course, I'm looking for partners with the Indigo League in mind, and your abilities will definitely be a great help to me!"

As she spoke, Xia You threw the Poké Ball in her hand, and after a flash of red light, what appeared in front of Gastly was an Eevee with its fur standing on end!

"What? It's Jolteon!" Gastly's tone was a mix of surprise and relief.

Xia You asked, "What? Are you surprised to see Jolteon?"

Gastly said, "I thought you were going to release that Zapdos to deal with me. To be honest, even I wouldn't stand a chance against a legendary Pokémon."

Xia You chuckled.

Do you think I don't want to?

But would I tell you that I can't control it right now?!

"Don't worry, even if Jolteon fails, I won't use Zapdos against you!" Xia You said with his arms crossed, feigning nonchalance. "Alright, enough chit-chat, let's start the battle! Jolteon, use Thunder!"

Strands of electricity flickered across Jolteon's body, then coalesced into a bolt of lightning that flew toward Gastly.

Upon seeing Jolteon launch its attack, Gastly suddenly conjured a black energy ball around itself, which collided with the bolt of lightning.

It's the Ghost-type move Shadow Ball!

However, the power of the electric shock was clearly not as great as the shadow ball. The shadow ball passed through the electric shock and continued to fly towards Jolteon.

Xia You shouted, "Rayleigh, get out of the way! Then use Pin Missile!"

With its incredible speed, Jolteon easily dodged the Shadow Ball attack. It jumped to the side, and its fur, like steel needles, shot wave after wave towards Gastly!

Chapter 36 The So-Called Draw and Voluntariness

Faced with the howling attack, the strange wind blew again, scattering all the flying needles.

Xia You asked curiously, "What kind of move is that?"

"Hehehe~" Gastly said smugly, "Over the long years, I have learned more than just human language. I have many other abilities like that!"

As it spoke, as if showing off, it actually transformed itself into a Jolteon!

"I mean..." Xia You couldn't help but complain, "You're being unfairly strong!? And isn't transformation a Ditto's ability? Why can you do it too?"

Gastly glanced at Kirlia, perhaps because of its previous act of saving its master, which gave it a greater sense of certainty towards Xia You.

It canceled its transformation and said, "Actually, this is just hypnosis. However, my hypnosis no longer needs to put people to sleep to affect the real world!"

Xia You frowned.

Is it really that powerful?!

Feeling the wind brush against my cheek, the sensation was so real and clear; it didn't seem like something hypnosis could achieve.

However, this Gastly is extraordinary and cannot be judged by ordinary standards.

"Rayle, use Thunder Fang!"

Electric current crackled between Jolteon's sharp teeth as it lunged at Gastly at incredible speed.

However, just as Jolteon's attack was about to touch Gastly, Gastly's body seemed to be blown away by the wind and disappeared!

"Jie Jie!"

When Gastly reappeared, it had unknowingly come to Jolteon's side, and playfully stuck out its long tongue to give Jolteon a big lick.

Rayquaza shivered violently and tried to jump away, but it was paralyzed and unable to move.

"Ah, the smell of electricity."

Gastly laughed and condensed another Shadow Ball, which it hit Jolteon.

Struck by this blow, Rayquaza collapsed to the ground unconscious.

Instant kill?

Is the level difference too great...?

Xia You recalled Jolteon and looked down at Kirlia.

"It's your turn to go on stage."

Kirlia nodded and walked up to Gastly.

"Are you trying to wear me down with a series of attacks?" Gastly said. "But I think you know that Psychic-type Pokémon can't beat me."

"Of course I know that." Xia You took out the remaining Poké Balls from her lower back and threw them all onto the field. "So I didn't plan to let it fight alone. Let's all go together!"

Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander all appeared and stood together with Kirlia.

"What? So it was a gang fight." Gastly scoffed, but his tone didn't seem to care at all.

"There's nothing we can do about it," Xia You said with a smile. "The battle with Jolteon just now made me truly realize your strength. If I had used conventional methods, how could I possibly have subdued you!"

Hearing Xia You's words, Gastly was silent for a moment before asking, "Why are you so obsessed with catching powerful Pokémon? Is participating in the Pokémon League really that important to you?"

"Well, how should I put it?" Xia You thought for a moment, "Life is full of joys and sorrows. The Pokémon League may not be everything in life, but it is both a dream and a part of what I pursue. Don't you have any goals you want to pursue?"

"Dream? Goal?" Gastly murmured.

As a Pokémon that loves to play pranks, it has lived for so many years, and its daily pleasure is to tease others and make itself happy. It has never thought about such illusory questions.

Seeing Gui Si deep in thought, Xia You's eyes lit up.

There's a flaw!

"Kirullian, use Magic Leaf!"

At Xia You's command, the green-glowing magic leaf swept towards Gastly.

"Hey, attacking at this time is so despicable!"

Gastly hurriedly dodged the attack, but before it could finish speaking, a water jet shot out from the side.

"That's not despicable, that's decisive!" Xia You shouted. "Little Fire Dragon, use Spark!"

The water gun grazed Gastly's body, and just as it regained its footing, a shower of sparks came flying towards it.

"What's the difference!?" Gastly's body disappeared, and when it reappeared, it was caught off guard and attacked by Razor Leaf again.

Being hit by the attacks one after another left Gastly somewhat disheveled, but it also made it determined to no longer hold back.

Rings of light emanated from Gastly's body, enveloping all the Pokémon present.

Xia You's heart sank. He had no way to deal with this move for the time being, so he could only grit his teeth and shout, "Little Fire Dragon, use Smoke Screen!"

A large cloud of black smoke spewed from the little fire dragon's mouth, instantly filling a large area of ​​the field.

"Trying to use smoke to impair my vision and reduce the success rate of hypnosis?" Gastly chuckled. "The idea is good, but it's still too naive!"

As it spoke, Gastly focused its attention, and in the next second, the light wave became faster and denser at a speed visible to the naked eye, transforming from a targeted attack into an area-of-effect attack. In just a short moment, all of Xia You's Pokémon fell asleep.

At this point, Xia You was truly at a loss.

Gastly slowly floated upwards, looking at the thick black smoke below, and launched its final attack.

Puffs of pink gas flew out from Xia You's Pokémon bodies and entered Gastly's body. As Gastly's eyes suddenly widened, the Pokémon all collapsed as if they had been subjected to a mental attack.

Dream Eater, activate!

Dream Eater is a psychic-type attack that eats dreams to attack, dealing significant damage while restoring half of the damage taken to the opponent.

As the darkness slowly dissipated, Xia You looked at the Pokémon lying on the ground, completely unable to battle, and sighed deeply.

This Gastly is far stronger than its kind. Even when facing Zapdos, Xia You had never felt as powerless as he did today.

Xia You recalled them one by one with Poké Balls, and said dejectedly, "I lost."

Gastly slowly flew to Xia You's side and carefully examined him.

"No, you haven't lost yet."

Its gaze fell on the Poké Ball containing Zapdos, and it laughed, "Don't you still have a legendary Pokémon? So how can this be called a loss! Besides, I've also expended a lot of energy. Since you don't plan to send Zapdos to battle me, let's call this a draw."

"Huh?" Xia You was taken aback, not expecting Gastly to say such a thing.

Gastly continued, "Your qualities are very much to my liking. Although I don't have any dreams yet, I do want to leave here and travel around. Winning the Pokémon Tournament and becoming the champion is indeed a good choice."

Xia You looked at it, a surge of joy welling up inside her: "What do you mean by this?"

Gastly grinned its mouth wide.

"That means I've accepted you. Now, take out your Poké Ball. I'm willing to be your Pokémon and help you achieve your dreams!"

Chapter 37 Helping the Beautiful

Xia You took out a Poké Ball and slowly extended it toward Gastly.

Gastly didn't hesitate. It touched the switch on the Poké Ball, flashed red light, and burrowed into the Poké Ball.

The Poké Ball wobbled slightly, then came to a complete stop with a soft 'pop'.

They actually succeeded in taming it!?

Before Xia You could even feel happy, the Poké Ball she had just successfully captured suddenly opened, and Gastly flew out on its own.

"I really can't stand the environment inside, it's so dark and cramped." Gastly swayed its body and complained, "I'm used to being free, I still prefer to be outside without any constraints."

"Then you shouldn't go into the Poké Ball," Xia You said nonchalantly. "Actually, I don't like traveling alone either. Having Pokémon by my side is the best thing ever."

Gastly nodded and floated back to the girl rock.

"The summer festival has ended this year, but your legend will probably continue to be passed down in the future."

A woman's ghostly figure emerged from Maiden Rock; it was actually a real female ghost!

The ghost said softly, "Thank you, Gastly."

“Not at all, don’t be so polite,” Gastly chuckled. “I’m just trying to revive this legend that’s been gradually forgotten.”

The ghost clasped his hands together: "For so long, I have been in this place, waiting for the day I can reunite with him. No matter how long it takes, I will continue to wait."

Gastly stepped aside, allowing Ghost to see Xia You, and said, "You must have heard what happened just now. From now on, I'm going on a trip. Maybe I'll meet your lover somewhere, and then I'll definitely convey your feelings to him!"

"Thank you so much!"

The woman ghost's tone became more cheerful as she spoke, then drifted away and disappeared onto the Maiden Rock.