Chapter 48: Haunter and Gyarados

Chapter 48: Haunter and Gyarados

"What do you mean by that?" Xia You was stunned.

"I mean that if I want to evolve, I can do it anytime, anywhere!!"

As Haunter spoke, its body was suddenly enveloped in a burst of light. When the light faded, a Pokémon in a brand-new form appeared before Xia You's eyes.

Xia You was utterly astonished.

Without any warning at all, it had actually evolved into Haunter!?

Compared to its previous form, Haunter's round body had undergone a transformation. Not only had the surrounding purple mist vanished, but three spiked protrusions had also appeared on both its left and right sides. It even had a pair of claws floating in mid-air that were not physically attached to its body!

Xia You pulled out the Pokédex.

Pokédex: "Beep. Haunter, the Gas Pokémon. Ghost and Poison type. The evolved form of Gastly. It usually lives in haunted houses and graveyards. Haunter is stronger than Gastly and hides in the shadows to hunt prey. If it licks you with its gaseous tongue, even your soul can be snatched away."

"Hey, you just evolve whenever you feel like it? How did you do that?"

Xia You spoke instinctively, but upon closer reflection, while Gastly's evolution was unexpected, it also made sense.

After all, no one knew how many years Gastly had lived before meeting him. Logically, it should have evolved into Haunter long ago; the only reason it hadn't evolved for so long was likely simply because it didn't want to.

"What's all the fuss about?" Haunter's claws continuously opened and clenched. While getting used to this new function, it spoke indifferently, "I can even continue evolving into my third form right now!"

"Stop, stop, stop!" Xia You hurriedly intervened. "Evolving too fast isn't a good thing. You should focus on adapting to this new body first."

At this moment, Xia You turned his gaze toward Magikarp.

"But speaking of which, although I'm happy you can evolve, our previous problem still hasn't been solved. Hey, Haunter, hurry up and try to see if you can communicate with Magikarp!"

"Let me communicate with it!?"

Haunter looked bewildered at first, then flew above Magikarp, staring eye-to-eye with it. Its mouth moved slightly, and after a long silence, it flew back silently.

"It's no use. It seems like this guy's head is completely empty; I have no idea what it's thinking!"

Seeing Xia You frowning in silence, it helped analyze: "But since you said it's about to evolve but is stuck at the threshold, it must be lacking some experience or stimulation! I think as long as it goes through a battle, it should be able to complete its evolution very quickly."

Experience? Stimulation?

Xia You's eyes suddenly lit up, as if he had been inspired.

Sensing Xia You's intention, Haunter said in surprise, "No way? You really want it to fight? This guy only knows Splash; it deals zero damage. Even against other Pokémon, it'll just be a punching bag!"

"That won't be a problem for me!" Xia You clearly had a plan. He looked at his team and commanded, "Everyone, spread out and see if there are any wild Pokémon nearby!"

They were currently at a river bend by the roadside, and not far away was a small forest.

As the Pokémon searched around, Kirlia quickly discovered a Bug-type Pokémon sleeping on a tree trunk in the forest—a Caterpie.

It let out a soft cry. When Xia You arrived and saw the Pokémon, he nodded with satisfaction.

"A Caterpie? Good. Everyone, keep an eye on it. Don't let it escape!"

Despite being confused, the Pokémon obediently moved around the area, surrounding the Caterpie and cutting off all its escape routes.

Seeing that everything was prepared, Xia You said to Charmander, "Use Ember!"

Charmander crept forward, took a deep breath, and spat a spark at the sleeping Caterpie, instantly enveloping it.

Fire is super effective against Bug!

"Hehe, Magikarp, next, let me help you!"

Seeing that the Caterpie had almost lost its ability to fight, Xia You picked up Magikarp, walked in front of the Caterpie, and held Magikarp high above his head.

"Go! Magikarp! Let it witness our combo move! Magikarp Slam!!"

With Xia You slamming downward with force, in the next second, Magikarp's body, covered in scales and bone-like structures, crashed heavily onto the Caterpie.

With a *thud*, the two Pokémon collided, producing a dull sound.

Seeing that the Caterpie still hadn't lost consciousness, Xia You raised an eyebrow.

"Huh? It's still not down? How resilient! But it's okay, Magikarp! Let's do it again!"

With that, he raised Magikarp high once more and slammed it down heavily!

This time, the Caterpie could no longer endure and completely passed out. And just as Xia You had hoped, Magikarp's body was suddenly enveloped in a white light!

Excellent! A great success!

With a dragon's roar that pierced the clouds, a massive Gyarados appeared before Xia You's eyes.

It was about six to seven meters long, with a blue back and a pale yellow belly. In addition to its three-pronged dragon horn, it had two long whiskers and a wide, gaping maw. Its eyes seemed to be perpetually filled with rage.

Pokédex: "Beep. Gyarados, the Atrocious Pokémon. Water and Flying type. Evolves from Magikarp. It is extremely violent in temperament and possesses steel-like scales. Its teeth can crush rocks. Once it goes on a rampage, it can burn everything to ashes even in a storm. It is a very ferocious Pokémon."

Although this evolution of Gyarados still looked a bit silly, it was nonetheless a qualitative leap.

However, perhaps due to its nature, the first thing it did upon completing its evolution was not to familiarize itself with its new body, but to launch indiscriminate attacks on its surroundings!

"Hey, hey, there's something wrong with this guy's head!" Haunter flew into the sky to avoid Gyarados's wild collisions, clicking its tongue at Xia You. "Could it be that you broke its brain with that slam just now?"

"Idiot, what are you talking about!" Xia You also hurriedly retreated out of Gyarados's attack range. "Didn't you hear the Pokédex just now? Its personality is just that violent!"

"So what do we do now?" Haunter asked. "Wait for it to stop on its own?"

"Of course not! We went through so much trouble to make it evolve; how can we just leave it alone now!" Xia You waved his hand and commanded, "Alright, everyone, don't just stand there! Let this disobedient one taste your strength! Since it dares to attack its Trainer and companions, it's time to teach it a lesson and let it understand who the boss is around here!"

(End of Chapter)