Chapter 34: Gastly

Chapter 34: Gastly

Hearing Misty's scream, Xia You and the others hurriedly turned around, only to see the so-called ghost.

The shape of this ghost was identical to the woman in the portrait. She floated in the air, her body transparent and blurred, drifting slowly toward them.

"I miss you so much."

The soft words drifted from the ghost's mouth. Xia You hadn't felt much yet, but Brock, standing beside him, was instantly captivated by her beautiful appearance, completely infatuated.

"I miss you too..." Brock said dizzily.

Looking at Xia You and Brock, the ghost said softly, "I have been waiting for you to return."

As she spoke, a strange wind suddenly gusted. In the next second, Xia You and Brock's bodies were uncontrollably swept up by the wind, drifting toward her.

The suction was incredibly strong. Xia You instinctively reached out, trying to grab something, but there was nothing nearby to brace himself against. Just as he was being pulled closer, a pair of delicate hands suddenly grabbed him.

This person was, of course, Misty.

Seeing Xia You being swept away, she could no longer afford to be afraid of any ghost.

"You! Just where are you trying to take them!"

Misty gripped one of Xia You's hands tightly, pulling back with all her might. Although she was just a girl and lacked great strength, she refused to let go no matter how hard the strange wind blew.

Xia You knew that this ghost was actually a Gastly in disguise. With Misty's help, he gained enough time to buffer the pull. He shouted loudly to his two Pokémon: "Charmander, use Ember! Manectric, use Thunder Shock!"

A burst of flame and a bolt of electricity flew toward the ghost almost simultaneously.

Under attack, the ghost could no longer control the strange wind. While dodging, the suction dissipated, causing Xia You and Brock to fall from mid-air.

Misty instinctively stepped forward to catch Xia You, but she was immediately pinned beneath him. As for Brock, he wasn't so lucky; he crashed heavily onto the ground.

Fortunately, the fall served to momentarily snap Brock back to his senses.

"What happened?" He looked around blankly. In truth, ever since arriving at Maiden's Gorge, his mind had been in a daze, as if his soul had been bewitched.

On the other side, seeing her interference, the ghost's tone shifted. She said fiercely, "You annoying pests, stay out of my way!!"

As she spoke, a group of skeletons suddenly appeared, whistling as they flew over everyone's heads.

"Ah! What on earth are those?" Seeing this terrifying sight, Misty couldn't help but hide her body in Xia You's arms.

Xia You stood up. Seeing that everyone seemed to have lost their fighting spirit, he shouted, "Don't be afraid, everyone! It's just a Pokémon!"

As he spoke, he pulled out his Pokédex and aimed it at the ghost.

Pokédex: *Beep. Gastly, the Gas Pokémon. A Ghost/Poison type. Born from poisonous gas, it is skilled at using Hypnosis and loves playing pranks. It usually keeps its form hidden and can pass through any solid object, including walls.*

"Gastly!?"

Hearing that it was merely a Pokémon, Ash and Misty looked at it in surprise.

"Hehe, since you've found me out, there's no helping it!"

The woman suddenly grinned. Her body began to transform, first turning into the old woman in the purple cloak, and finally into a "black balloon" surrounded by purple mist.

"Sometimes I am the legendary beautiful woman, sometimes I am the mysterious fortune teller! But my true face is actually—Gastly!!"

This black balloon was both Gastly's body and its face. Aside from a pair of sharp eyes, it had only a large mouth revealing two short fangs!

"It really is a Pokémon!?" Ash said excitedly. "Alright! Then let's battle with Pokémon! Pikachu, go!"

"Pika, Pikachu!"

"You want to battle?" Gastly grinned. "I'm in quite a hurry right now. Let me finish you all off in one go!"

As it spoke, ripples of energy surged out from Gastly's body, sweeping toward the group.

Xia You recognized the move instantly: "Oh no! It's Hypnosis!"

Before anyone could react, they were all pierced by the light of the Hypnosis. Immediately, a powerful drowsiness washed over them. Their eyelids grew heavy, and they collapsed to the ground one after another.

"That was easy," Gastly said, looking around. Seeing that the three humans and their Pokémon had all fallen into a deep sleep, it said smugly, "Alright, now it's time for business!"

The strange wind blew again, enveloping Brock's body. But as Gastly turned its gaze toward Xia You, it suddenly saw a blue light flash at his waist, and a Pokémon appeared by his side.

With green hair and a body resembling a young girl, it was Kirlia!

"Oh? You actually came out of your Poké Ball on your own? What is it? Do you want to help your Trainer?" Gastly sized up Kirlia, then shook its head. "But unfortunately, you Psychic-type Pokémon are countered by my Ghost-type. You certainly won't be a match for me. Everything you do is in vain!"

Kirlia naturally knew that its type was at a disadvantage. Therefore, it did not intend to attack directly. Instead, it used Confusion to force open all of Xia You's Poké Balls.

Instantly, blue lights flashed one after another, releasing all the Pokémon, including Zapdos.

Gastly's gaze swept across Kirlia, Zapdos, Ivysaur, and Squirtle, before lingering for a long time on the hopping Magikarp. It laughed, "Four against one? To think this Trainer even possesses a Zapdos. Truly not simple!"

Zapdos raised its head proudly, expressing both disdain for Gastly and a reaction to its words hitting a certain nerve.

In contrast, Gastly seemed somewhat intimidated by Zapdos's aura, feeling that things were becoming truly troublesome.

After a moment of hesitation, it said, "Fine. Although I'm only one and my energy is a bit low, since you all protect your Trainer so much, I'll let him go and just take this one."

With that, it took Brock and left the area without looking back.

When Xia You woke up, he found himself lying on the ground. Before his eyes was Kirlia's face, filled with worry.

"Why did you come out?"

Rubbing its hair, Xia You sat up and found that Ash, Misty, Charmander, Manectric, and Pikachu were all lying around, sleeping soundly. However, Brock was nowhere to be seen.

On the other side, he saw his other Pokémon, including Zapdos.

Even Zapdos had come out!?

Seeing this, Xia You thought for a moment and immediately understood what had happened.