Chapter 35: Challenging Gastly

Recalling all his Pokémon except for Kirlia, Xia You gently roused Misty and Ash.

Ash stretched his arms wide, apparently having slept quite well. "Is it dawn already?"

Misty rubbed her eyes, still looking dazed and sleepy. "I think I had a dream just now. I dreamt that we were attacked by ghosts."

Xia You gave a wry smile. "That wasn't a dream; it was real. And Brock has disappeared."

"What!?" Ash and Misty were shocked, instantly wide awake. "Was he kidnapped?"

Recalling the plot from the anime, Xia You nodded. "I don't think he's in any mortal danger, but regardless, we need to find him as soon as possible."

They approached the wooden shack standing before them and stepped inside cautiously, only to find it completely empty. A damp, musty smell of decay filled the air, and there was no telling how many years it had been standing.

Their footsteps creaked eerily against the floorboards. Misty peeked out from behind Xia You, eyeing her surroundings with fear.

"Huh? Is Brock not here?"

Xia You thought for a moment, then said to them, "Let's go back to the Maiden Shrine!"

By the time they re-entered the town of Maiden's Peak, it was already midnight.

The night sky was dotted with stars, and the hustle and bustle of the day had ceased. The entire town was exceptionally quiet, and the cold air seeped through their clothes, making them shiver.

The festival-goers had long since dispersed, leaving behind a trail of trash that would be cleaned up at daybreak.

They reached the Maiden Shrine and pushed open the door, only to find Brock lying on the floor, unconscious.

Aside from him, there was still no sign of Gastly.

In truth, Xia You understood that given Gastly's elusive nature, actually finding it would be extremely difficult.

"Brock, wake up!"

Ash shook Brock vigorously. After a long while, Brock finally stirred and regained consciousness, though he was still muttering weakly: "I want to see her so badly..."

Xia You hurried to crouch down and check his condition.

"Dark circles under his eyes, disheveled clothes, listless spirit... he's noticeably thinner than before. It seems too much of his vitality and energy have been drained!"

Compared to a naive kid like Ash, Misty, being a girl, was more mature. Although she didn't fully understand the nuances of the situation, she grasped the gist of it.

Her face flushed red. "Did Gastly do this?"

"No," Xia You shook his head. "I think it was the real ghost who drained his energy, and Gastly was merely her accomplice."

"A real ghost?" Misty asked in surprise. "Are you saying that woman actually exists?"

Xia You confirmed, "Of course. Otherwise, Gastly wouldn't have brought Brock to a place like this."

Misty asked again, "Then why would she do such a thing?"

Xia You pondered and speculated, "Having existed for two thousand years, even a ghost needs energy to sustain its existence. That's probably why she drains the energy of men during the summer festival every year."

Seeing that Misty was about to ask more, Xia You quickly interjected, "Alright, that's enough questions. Let's get Brock to the Pokémon Center quickly."

At the Pokémon Center.

After Nurse Joy’s diagnosis confirmed that Brock was indeed just suffering from extreme exhaustion, everyone felt relieved.

However, no matter how much they asked about what had happened, Brock remained blank-faced, seemingly having no memory of anything that occurred after being taken by Gastly.

After putting him to bed in the dormitory and entrusting Ash to take good care of him, Xia You left the Pokémon Center alone.

Although that Gastly was incredibly tricky, Xia You had made up his mind to capture it.

As a wild Gastly that had lived for who knows how many years, its abilities were naturally formidable. Most importantly, just like Team Rocket's Meowth, it could speak human language!

Based on that alone, if he could capture it, communicating with his own Pokémon in the future would be much more convenient, no longer relying solely on intuition and guesswork.

But where would Gastly be now?

It was two in the morning, and the night was at its deepest.

Xia You looked around, finally deciding to trust his intuition and try his luck at the Maiden's Rock on the seaside cliff.

Following the mountain path out of town, he soon arrived at his destination. However, just as before, there was nothing there but the crashing waves and the salty sea breeze.

"Gastly, are you here!?"

Xia You shouted, but his voice carried far into the distance without a single response.

"Is it really not here?" Xia You walked up to the Maiden's Rock and muttered to himself, "In that case, it wouldn't matter if I destroyed this rock, would it?"

"Hey, hey!" A voice suddenly came from behind him. "I can't just pretend I didn't hear that!"

Xia You smiled and turned around to see Gastly.

"Gastly, let's battle!"

"Oh?" Gastly said seriously. "Are you trying to capture me?"

Xia You took a Poké Ball from his waist and enlarged it in his hand. "Of course. I’m aiming for the Indigo League and looking for partners, and your abilities would certainly be a great help to me!"

As he spoke, Xia You threw the Poké Ball. After a flash of red light, what appeared before Gastly was not a legendary bird, but a Jolteon with its fur standing on end!

"What is this, a Jolteon!" Gastly’s tone was somewhat surprised, but more than that, it sounded relieved.

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

Gastly said, "I thought you were going to bring out that Zapdos to deal with me. Honestly, if I really had to face that legendary Pokémon, even I wouldn't have much of a chance."

Xia You chuckled.

Do you think I didn't want to? But would I tell you that I can't even command it yet!?

"Don't worry, even if Jolteon fails, I won't use Zapdos to deal with you!" Xia You crossed his arms and feigned a casual air. "Alright, enough talk, let's begin the battle! Jolteon, use Thunder Shock!"

Sparks of electricity crackled across Jolteon's body, instantly converging into a bolt of lightning that flew toward Gastly.

Seeing Jolteon launch its attack, Gastly suddenly condensed a ball of black energy that collided with the lightning.

It was the Ghost-type move, Shadow Ball!

However, the power of the Thunder Shock was clearly inferior to the Shadow Ball. The Shadow Ball pierced through the electricity and continued flying toward Jolteon.

Xia You shouted, "Jolteon, dodge it quickly! Then use Pin Missile!"

Relying on its incredible speed, Jolteon easily dodged the Shadow Ball. It leaped to the side, its fur turning into needle-like spikes, and fired them at Gastly in wave after wave!