I caught a Pokémon

Xia You withdrew her gaze from her and once again focused her thoughts on the battlefield.

In fact, judging from the current trend, it is quite obvious that the ghost girl will succeed as she said in just a little while.

Perhaps anticipating this, the ghost girl's silvery laughter rang out once again amidst the purple mist.

Although he didn't say anything, the smugness of his impending victory was clearly audible in his laughter, full of mockery and pleasure.

"Looks like I've really been underestimated." Seeing this, Xia You gave a self-deprecating laugh, then seemed to whisper, "So, what do you think?"

This action left Yami, who was standing to the side and had no idea what was going on, completely bewildered.

Why did he suddenly start talking to himself while playing?

Before she could even wonder, just as Xia You finished speaking, an incredibly terrifying aura suddenly erupted from beneath Xia You's feet!

Amidst a series of eerie 'hehehe' laughs, a wave-like purple energy burst forth, instantly engulfing the entire room!

Wherever this energy reached, all the tentacles and the giant hand vanished. Even the laughter of the ghostly girl in the purple mist stopped abruptly, as if someone had grabbed her throat!

The next second, the culprit behind all this—Gengar—emerged from Xia You's shadow and floated upwards beside him, letting out a hearty laugh.

"Of course I'll just watch with a smile, seeing who's so overconfident as to dare cause you trouble! Hehehehe!!!"

That's right, Gengar has once again made a dazzling appearance at this crucial moment!

As one of Xia You's trump cards, it remains one of Xia You's most trusted Pokémon!

As long as it's there, no matter how dangerous the situation, Xia You believes it can lead her out of the predicament, let alone a small situation like the one in front of her!

Seeing Gengar come to the rescue, May couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Only Mimi looked at this Pokémon that could speak human language with disbelief on her face, not understanding where it came from!

But in any case, the current crisis seems to have been resolved...

Just as Yami was thinking this, the situation suddenly changed again.

The purple mist that had just dissipated suddenly gathered again, and the ghostly girl reappeared before them.

However, compared to before, the ghost girl's face was even paler, and it was clear that she was truly enraged, as even her hair was flying wildly.

"Nobody can stop me!!!"

With a furious shout, her appearance suddenly changed drastically, transforming from a gothic lolita into a humanoid monster with white hair, red eyes, sharp teeth, and a face that shimmered with strange purple light!

Although she is still in human form, the ghost girl is now clearly much more eerie and terrifying!

"I'm going to eat you!!"

With a roar, she lunged at Xia You. At the same time, an even stronger and colder aura filled the room, sending chills down everyone's spine!

"So this is your true power."

Seeing this, Xia You clicked her tongue in amazement.

Compared to ordinary ghosts, the ghost girl in front of them was obviously more dangerous, more advanced, and possessed greater power, which also indicated that she must have been in this mansion for a long time.

But no matter how strong she is, she can't possibly be stronger than her old Gengar!

Gengar still had a playful look on its face when facing the Ghost Girl's second form. Only when the Ghost Girl was halfway there did it calmly use its power to stop her.

A purple energy emanated from Gengar's hand and formed a barrier in the center of the room.

The ghost girl thought that with her powerful abilities, she could easily break through this barrier, just like dozens or hundreds of times before when she toyed with other humans and Pokémon in the mansion. Even if they resisted desperately, they would eventually be defeated by her.

But to her surprise, the moment she made contact with the barrier, it wasn't that the barrier was shattered; instead, she herself was bounced back as if she had hit a solid wall!

Even this bullet caused her a slight injury.

"Hehehehe!" Gengar mocked without restraint, completely disregarding the human ghost. He simply turned to Xia You and asked, "What do you want to do with her? Capture her? Or just eliminate her?"

Xia You naturally believed that Gengar had such an ability, but as for eliminating this ghost girl, that was not the case.

Shaking his head, Xia You said, "Let's arrest her first. At least we need to know why she came into being and why she attacked us. We need to know the cause and effect."

"understand!"

Gengar snapped its fingers, and several more purple barriers formed around the ghost girl, threatening to surround her.

"Stop looking down on me!!"

Seeing such a trick, the ghost girl naturally wouldn't sit idly by or give up easily. With her white hair flying, her aura suddenly exploded, and she crashed into the barrier in front of her once again!

However, no matter how many times she tries, the outcome is always the same.

Even though the ghost girl used all her strength, just like before, the moment she hit the barrier, she not only failed to break through the blockade, but also felt a sharp pain from the energy contained within it because Gengar had also injected even stronger energy, and let out a miserable cry before flying backward again!

The hunters have now become the prey.

It's not that the Ghost Girl wasn't powerful; it's just that she encountered an opponent like Gengar!

In fact, it was clear from the battle with Umbreon that even though Umbreon's Dark-type moves are somewhat effective against Ghost energy, it is still no match for this ghost girl.

If Xia You's Pokémon are like this, then other trainers are even more so.

This is why so many trainers are trapped in the mansion, yet only a few manage to escape after realizing something is wrong.

But no matter how powerful she was before, she had no choice but to surrender in front of Gengar today!

At this moment, after suffering several losses, the ghost girl clearly realized that this Gengar was not easy to deal with, and she had already decided to retreat and wanted to find an opportunity to leave.

But when she wanted to leave, Gengar wasn't about to let her go.

Her intentions were naturally seen through by Gengar.

Amidst Gengar's eerie laughter, the barrier enveloping the ghost girl shrank continuously, quickly trapping her inside. However, at that moment, a large amount of purple mist surged into the room again, instantly enveloping the barriers and the ghost girl within them. The barriers, which had been impossible to break from the inside, shattered under the encroachment of the purple mist. By the time the purple mist disappeared, the ghost girl had vanished without a trace!

Gengar's eyes lit up, and instead of getting angry, it laughed.

"So you've been hiding all this time just for this moment! Heh heh, you've got some skills, managing to escape from me. This is really interesting! Now even I'm getting excited!"

As it spoke, it tried to chase after the animal, but before it could make a move, Xia You waved her hand to stop it.

In fact, Xia You could see clearly that the purple mist just now must have been cast by the ghost butler, and it was he who rescued the ghost girl at the critical moment.

Of course, this was not unexpected for him.

After all, he already knew before he came that there were two ghosts in this mansion, and he had been holding Gardevoir's Poké Ball the whole time, just to be on guard against this ghost butler and avoid being attacked from both sides.

Moreover, it's obvious that the ghost butler wouldn't ignore the ghost girl being trapped, so it was inevitable that he would take action.

However, this was still the opponent's home ground, where they had the advantage of space. The place was filled with the aura of ghosts, making it difficult to distinguish them. In addition, the ghosts' ability to pass through walls made their movements unpredictable. Moreover, this ghost butler did not launch an attack; he was merely hiding in the shadows, which is why his arrival was not detected beforehand.

Even so, it will not have any impact on the final outcome of this matter.

It just takes a little more effort.

Once Gengar pushes out sideways, no matter how they run, they can't escape it.

This is why Xia You remained calm and composed when the ghost girl fled.

"Don't rush, take it slow." With this in mind, he instructed Gengar, "This is their lair. No matter how they run, they can't escape. We'll find them sooner or later. But everything has its reason. This mansion can harbor ghosts, so there must be a reason and cause. Besides, we're just here for lodging. We didn't want to cause trouble. We were forced to deal with them after they made their move. Most importantly, these ghosts haven't posed any danger to the lost trainers who are seeking shelter. They're not inherently bad, so we can't harm them indiscriminately. Therefore, your methods should be moderate!"

"That's why I say you're shrewd, why are you so complicated?" Gengar shook his head first, then shrugged indifferently, "I understand, just watch me!"

As soon as the words were spoken, it floated directly out of the room.

After it left, Xia You turned to look at Xiao Yao and Ya Mi.

Just as he was about to say something, another unexpected event occurred.

In the blink of an eye, as the purple energy slowly faded, a new change appeared in the room they were in!

The once bright, clean and tidy room has become riddled with holes. The white paint on the walls has fallen off and been replaced by a lot of mold. Cobwebs are hanging in the corners, the wooden beams are broken, the window frames and glass are gone, and the floor smells of decay. It has become a completely dilapidated room!

It's like... a haunted house.

Even the bed they had been lying on had been turned into shattered wooden planks!

Moreover, through the broken windows, you can see that the rest of the mansion is the same!

Xiaoyao and Yami were both startled by this sudden change. They looked at everything in shock and confusion, completely bewildered as to what had happened.

"Xia... Brother Xia You..." Xiao Yao asked nervously, "What's going on?"

“There’s nothing strange about it.” Xia You shook her head. “Or rather, this is actually the true appearance of this mansion, and everything we just saw was just an illusion created by those two ghosts to mislead us!”

Xiaoyao was shocked and murmured, "What about everything we just saw, and all that food?!"

"It's all fake!" Xia You laughed. "That's why I asked you before, after eating so much, if you still feel hungry!"

"Ugh!" Xiaoyao's little fist punched Xia You's chest again. "Since you already knew, why didn't you tell us beforehand?"

"Isn't it because you're all terrified of ghosts that I can't bear to keep you on edge?" Xia You grabbed her flailing little hands, shrugged with a smile, and added, "Besides, your acting is terrible. If I told you beforehand, the ghost butler would definitely have noticed, which would have alerted them. Of course, most importantly, I want to see what these two ghosts will do in the end!"

Chapter 941 In-Depth

After Gengar left, Xia You released Gardevoir to take over its guard duties.

Although Psychic-type Pokémon, like Squirtle and Froakie, have no effective advantage against Ghost Girl and Ghost Butler, Gardevoir's powerful Psychic abilities and strength allow it to deal effective damage to Ghosts, unlike other types of Pokémon which are weak and powerless, enabling it to fight effectively.

That's enough.

Just like Gengar, Gardevoir can also suppress two human ghosts, preventing them from causing much trouble.

Once Gardevoir had fully appeared, Xia You turned to Yao and Yami and instructed them, "You two stay here and hide. I'm going to explore the other rooms to see if I can find any clues about the causes of the ghosts' formation."

"Huh?" Xiaoyao's expression changed upon hearing this. "Are we just going to be left here? Brother Xiayou, I'm a little scared..."

"There's nothing to be afraid of, right? You already know their true identities and fought with that ghost girl just now, didn't you?" Xia You comforted her. "Besides, don't worry, they've already been driven away and won't bother you for a while. Moreover, her target is me, and Gengar is also chasing them. There won't be any problems!"

Even though Xia You said that, and even wanted to leave some Pokémon to protect them, the two of them had the same idea and did not want to stay in the room. Instead, they believed that being by Xia You's side was the safest and most reassuring place for them!

This made Xia You shake her head with amusement.

It's not surprising that Xiaoyao has such thoughts, after all, she's been traveling with her all the way and has long regarded her as a reliable partner. But this Yami, she's only known her for such a short time, less than four or five hours, how come she's already so clingy?

What about your self-esteem as a trainer?

Where is your courage as a trainer?

It's unbelievable that just two human ghosts could turn her into this.

Well, while these two human ghosts are indeed difficult to deal with, their poor performance is still somewhat unacceptable.

However, seeing their insistence, Xia You did not refuse: "Alright, since you want to come, then keep coming."

His original intention was to leave the two of them there so he could handle the matter in peace, but since they were unwilling, he didn't force them. Instead, the three of them walked out of the room together.

Actually, this is good. It allows them to be taken care of and eliminates any worries they might have.

The outside of the room looked equally terrifying.

The corridors and other areas, and indeed the entire mansion, were just like the room they had just been in. Gone was the bright light; they were now dilapidated and broken. Some of the floorboards were so damaged that they would crumble at the slightest step. This made them walk very carefully, afraid that they might slip and fall through the floors to the ground below.

The cool night wind whistled in through the leaky window, hitting Xiaoyao and Yami and raising goosebumps on their arms.

Of course, it's not just the cold; it could also be due to nervousness.

After all, no one knew whether the two ghosts would suddenly rush out from the corner, which made them highly vigilant, a stark contrast to Xia You, who was walking at the front with a relaxed expression.

Using flashlights, the three walked past several empty guest rooms.

It wasn't until we passed the fourth room from the left that, as the flashlight beam swept across, we noticed something unusual in a painting hanging on the wall.

The painting depicts a middle-aged woman dressed as a maid. She is unremarkable in appearance and did not initially attract anyone's attention. However, just as the group walked past the painting, the woman's eyes suddenly turned and stared at them!

Including the huge portrait in the corridor before, this is the second portrait with moving eyes.

However, compared to the first painting, because this happened under the flashlights of the three people, the movement of the eyes in this painting was naturally noticed immediately by Xia You and the others.

This made the two women's hearts skip a beat. They subconsciously stopped in their tracks and focused all their flashlights on the portrait.

"What was that just now...?"

Xiaoyao's expression changed, and her voice trembled slightly. It was clear that even after so much time had passed and she had already fought the ghost, she still hadn't been able to adjust her emotions.

Yami quickly hid behind Xia You, only daring to peek out with half her head: "It feels like... those eyes have come alive, are they watching us?"

Of the three, Xia You was the boldest and most fearless. When he saw the strange painting, he raised his eyebrows, then walked up to it and examined it closely.

Strangely enough, the painting returned to normal at this moment, looking like an ordinary painting. Even the maid in the painting lost her strangeness and became unremarkable.

"Huh?" With Xia You taking the lead, Xiao Yao became a little bolder. Seeing this, she asked in confusion, "The eyes in the painting did move just now, right? Why aren't they moving now? Did we see it wrong?"

Yami asked cautiously, "Could it be because of the lighting?"

"Impossible." Xia You immediately denied it. "You two shouldn't have such illusions now. This is where ghosts live. Everything that looks abnormal is affected by the power of ghosts. It's just a matter of how strong the influence is and whether it poses a threat to us. So I guess there should be some ghost power hidden in this painting."