Link Evolution—this was a newly emerging method of evolution.
It utilized the special magnetic fields generated during the increasingly popular trade communication to stimulate Pokémon, thereby achieving the goal of evolution.
However, before the concept of link evolution existed, wild Pokémon like Alakazam, Gengar, and Machamp, which now require link evolution, still existed in the wild.
So, how did they evolve into their final forms?
At this moment, Mewtwo provided Ace with the answer.
For a wild Haunter to evolve into its final form, Gengar, it had to devour a Clefable and absorb all of Clefable's power. Only then could it evolve into Gengar.
Thinking about it, it made sense. Gastly and Haunter are essentially gaseous Pokémon, but upon evolving into Gengar, they gain a physical form. The most obvious difference between the two is that Gengar has weight.
And Gengar's weight is roughly the same as a normal Clefable's.
One method relies on a special magnetic field to evolve into its final form, while the other involves devouring another Pokémon and absorbing all of its power to become one's own strength. Comparing the two instantly reveals which is stronger and weaker.
"Haunter has reached its bottleneck. It has mastered all the abilities it can, and during daily training, Haunter has slacked off many times using its almost gaseous body. Now, it really needs to evolve to gain some physical form and keep up with physical training, otherwise, its fragile little body will basically be knocked out with a single touch," Ace thought silently, then nodded. "Let's try it. Have Haunter devour a Clefable and see if it can evolve."
Ace used a pen to make a note in the evolution method section, circling the second method.
Both the Haunter and Gengar training manuals mentioned this evolution method, and now Mewtwo had confirmed it.
Compared to link evolution, Ace preferred this more bloody and savage method of evolution.
Wild Clefable are rare, but they might appear in remote mountains on moonlit nights.
Ace flipped through the Pokédex gifted by Professor Oak and found this information.
At this moment, after flying for more than a day, he finally arrived at Mt. Moon in the evening of the second day.
Leaving Chansey and the others to guard their temporary camp, Ace only carried Aerodactyl, Crobat, Haunter, and Mewtwo with him.
"Crobat, Aerodactyl, you two search from the air. Try your best to find any traces of Clefairy or Clefable. As soon as you have any news, try to come back and inform me. I'll rush over immediately."
Ace said to Crobat and Aerodactyl, watching the two flying Pokémon take off to search for signs of Clefable or Clefairy from above. Meanwhile, Ace released Haunter and began searching with it.
As night gradually fell, Haunter grew more excited.
Ghost-type Pokémon are generally nocturnal; their spirits are better at night than during the day, like Ace's Haunter.
Haunter continuously circled Ace. Before coming here, Haunter knew that this trip was for its evolution.
Haunter was very excited, after all, back at the abandoned power plant, it was just an anomaly among the Gastly. Now, its strength far surpassed what it was back then.
Even against the Gengar from its old large family, Haunter was confident it could defeat them within ten moves now.
This was its progress, and it also made Haunter very grateful to Ace for bringing it out of that forgotten corner.
Without Ace bringing it out, it would probably be difficult for it to even evolve into a Haunter now.
Suddenly, Haunter stopped its meaningless circling and lifted its head, sniffing around as if it had smelled something delicious.
"Haunter, what's wrong?" Ace asked, looking at Haunter.
Haunter immediately made a gesture towards Ace. This gesture meant it smelled food.
"Glutton, let's go. I'll let you eat some first."
Ace knew very well what Haunter's "food" meant. He didn't stop Haunter but allowed it to lead the way, quickly walking up the mountain.
Haunter flew faster and faster, finally stopping before a crack in the mountain.
Ace quickly followed, approached the crack, and peered inside, discovering a valley-like terrain within the fissure.
And at the edge of the valley, there were some mounds piled up with stones and dirt, which seemed to be the burial grounds of some deceased Pokémon.
"Quickly, finish it."
Ace said to Haunter. Haunter immediately grinned, then directly slipped through a narrow crack and rushed into the valley.
It floated over the grave mounds and began to devour the scattered soul fragments.
"Owooo!"
Just as Ace was watching Haunter absorb contentedly, a familiar howl came from the sky.
Ace abruptly looked up and saw Aerodactyl flying towards him.
And it wasn't just Aerodactyl; Crobat was also flying with Aerodactyl, heading in his direction.
Just as Ace wondered, a Clefable nearby was frantically flapping its small wings behind its back, hopping and scurrying towards Ace, trying to escape!
"Haunter, stop eating! Target is in position!"
At Ace's shout, Haunter immediately abandoned the soul fragments. With a flash, it burst out of the crack and positioned itself in front of Ace.
"Mean Look!"
A black light shot from Haunter's eyes, landing directly on Clefable.
The escaping Clefable stiffened all over, its running body stopping. It looked at Haunter in terror.
Haunter gathered its hands, and a Shadow Ball shot out, smashing directly into Clefable.
With a scream, Clefable was instantly blasted away by the Shadow Ball. After landing, its body rapidly shrank, and then it launched a barrage of Double Slap attacks towards Haunter.
Haunter froze, looking at Clefable in disbelief.
A Normal-type attack hitting a Ghost-type?
Is this guy brainless?
However, Haunter was clearly overthinking. When it came to type advantages, unless it was a wild Pokémon with extremely rich battle experience, wild Pokémon generally wouldn't know what type advantages were.
As for Haunter and its companions, during their daily training, Ace naturally mentioned information about type advantages, so even without Ace's command, they would self-evaluate and take the most correct action.
Clefable's Double Slap attacks passed directly through Haunter's body.
Haunter, meanwhile, looked at Clefable with a sinister grin, grabbing Clefable's arms with its sharp claws.
"Hypnosis!"
Eye to eye, an eerie fluctuation instantly sent Clefable into a deep sleep, collapsing to the ground like a puddle of mud.
"Finish it, then devour it," Ace gave Haunter the final command. Haunter nodded, finished off Clefable, then opened its mouth wide and swallowed Clefable whole!