Pokémon: Gengar (Ghost/Poison)
Level: 50
Potential: Purple
Ability: Cursed Body
Item: Toxic Orb
Gender: Male
Moves: Confuse Ray, Lick, Hypnosis, Mean Look, Imprison, Payback, Curse, Hex, Night Shade
TMs: Screech, Spite, Venoshock, Sludge Bomb, Sleep Talk, Protect, Fire Punch, Shadow Ball, Thunderbolt
Egg Moves: Skill Swap, Dark Pulse, Disable, Perish Song, Poltergeist, Will-O-Wisp
Note: Ghost-type moves get a 30% power boost.
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After consuming the Odd keystone, Gengar's stats underwent significant changes. Its level jumped from 38 to 50, and its Ghost-type moves received a notable boost.
Looking at the comical, chubby Pokémon in front of him, Julian asked, "Have you finished absorbing the Odd keystone?"
Gengar shook its head. Reaching into its stomach with one arm, it pulled out the keystone, which had noticeably shrunk in size.
Gengar seemed reluctant to let it go, thinking Julian wanted to take it back. Its sulky expression was almost tearful—after all, now that it realized how valuable the keystone was. The changes in its strength and form were undoubtedly due to it.
"I'm not taking it. It's yours."
Julian said angrily, helpless at Gengar's overreaction.
Gengar's playful nature had been evident since it was a Gastly and Haunter, but its evolution into Gengar seemed to have amplified its mischievous streak.
Delighted, Gengar quickly stuffed the Odd keystone back into its stomach.
Its belly, which served as its own personal storage space, could hold many items—essentially functioning like a backpack. However, the more items stored, the slower Gengar could move.
The white Gengar's appearance was undeniably striking, perfectly matching Julian's aesthetic preferences.
He patted Gengar's round belly, its soft texture reminding him of Dragonite's plump stomach.
Recalling Alakazam into its Poké Ball, Julian then turned to Gengar, ready to do the same. However, Gengar merged into Julian's shadow, disappearing from sight.
Gengar could hide in shadows, a signature trait of its species. Normally, this would cause the surrounding temperature to drop due to the Ghost-type's presence.
However, Julian's Gengar had an exceptional ability: absolute invisibility. It neither absorbed heat nor left traces, making it undetectable.
Julian's eyes lit up as he gazed at his shadow.
A Gengar hiding there was the perfect tool for ambush.
While other trainers' Gengar could also hide in shadows, they lacked this unique invisibility and would inevitably give themselves away by lowering the surrounding temperature.
"Metagross, Let's go"
Julian rode on Metagross, heading to find Luis and the Survey team. He figured they wouldn't have gone far yet.
Celebi was still asleep in his backpack. Using his Probing Eyes, Julian had checked its condition—it had overexerted its psychic energy saving Dragonite, and now needed rest to recover.
When it would wake up was uncertain, as it depended on how quickly its psychic energy replenished.
By mid-afternoon the next day, Julian finally caught up with Luis and the Survey team.
These people moved faster than he'd expected.
"Brother Walker!"
Luis called out as Julian and Metagross landed in front of their group. "Where did you and Celebi go? Was the battle sounds we heard yesterday you fighting some Pokémon?"
The battle with Spiritomb had taken place in the central region of the White Mountain Range. The fight had been so intense that even Luis and the others, who were in the middle section, had heard the noise.
They'd even seen the sky above that area turn pitch black. Such an eerie scene inevitably made them connect the dots between the chaos and Julian with Celebi.
"Yeah."
Julian nodded lightly, offering no further explanation.
However, Luis was clearly not satisfied. His curiosity burned, especially since the incident involved Celebi, a mythical Pokémon.
"Don't ask. Even if you do, I won't tell you."
Julian said, glancing at him.
His words effectively killed both Shen's and Dalton's curiosity too.
"Student Julian, where is Celebi now?"
Professor Allen asked, noticing that Celebi wasn't with Julian.
"I helped it with something, and now it's gone back," Julian replied casually.
There was no way he'd tell them Celebi was sound asleep in his backpack.
"Boss Walker, why didn't you catch it?"
Dalton asked, a hint of regret in his tone. Mythical Pokémon were incredibly rare and hard to come by. Celebi seemed to have a good relationship with Julian, making his chances of capturing it the highest.
"What would I even do with it? It never shuts up," Julian said rather disgusted.
If he actually captured Celebi, it might annoy him to the point of shaving years off his life.
"Alright, let's go."
Julian said, cutting off their curiosity with a wave of his hand.
Under his lead, the group spent more than half a month traversing the White Mountain Range. Along the way, they encountered several wild Pokémon, but they were all dealt with swiftly.
After parting ways with the Survey team, Julian, Luis, Shen, and Dalton returned to the university without delay.
Back at Villa No. 1, Julian was lying lazily on a recliner in the backyard. Ever since the Hundred Schools League had begun, he'd been busy nonstop. This brief rest at home was his only real downtime in a long while.
Next to Julian's recliner were some snacks, while beside him was another recliner occupied by Gengar. Sporting a pair of sunglasses, it was soaking up the afternoon sun with a bottle of chilled soda by its side.
Despite being a junior on the team, Gengar didn't show even a hint of humility. This carefree attitude was something even Metagross had never dared to display.
Speaking of Metagross, it was fast asleep in one corner of the yard. Dragonite and Melmetal were lying beside it, with Celebi on Dragonite's stomach.
Nearly 20 days had passed, yet Celebi showed no signs of waking up.
Julian had placed it on Dragonite's belly, letting it bask in the sun. Being a Grass-type Pokémon, a little sunshine was bound to do it some good.
Meanwhile, the newest addition to the team, Gabite, was busy seeking Lucario's advice on fighting techniques. As the team's rookie, Gabite's fighting spirit was off the charts.
Over the past few weeks, it had challenged every Pokémon on Julian's team, only to lose each and every match. Its rank on the team's power scale was firmly at the bottom.
This dealt a heavy blow to Gabite's pride, so it trained diligently every day to close the gap.
Dragonite had mentioned that eating more Pokéblocks could help boost strength, and Gabite had taken this advice to heart. It now ate far beyond its usual limit—one and a half boxes daily instead of just one.
Steelix watched the hard-working Gabite with an amused grin. Meanwhile, Growlithe used his body as a slide.
Its uneven, rocky surface seemed like a terrible choice for a slide, but Growlithe didn't seem to mind. It enthusiastically slid down again and again, unconcerned about the potential toll on its backside.
Aggron, with its towering frame resembling a small mountain, cast a long shadow as the sun shifted in the sky.
Gengar grinned mischievously, vanishing into the kitchen. It was on a mission to sneak a taste of the meal Slowking was preparing.
*****
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