The group stepped onto Route 31, the dirt path washed in moonlight. Fireflies drifted lazily through the tall grass, and the air felt… heavier than during the day.
Lyra hugged herself slightly and glanced around. "If Ghost Pokémon are this useful… why don't more trainers use them?"
Sabrina answered without opening her eyes. "Because most people can't actually see them. Not properly."
Lyra blinked. "What do you mean can't see them?"
"Ghost-types don't always exist fully in the physical layer," Sabrina continued calmly. "Most people only notice temperature drops, distorted shadows, or sounds. To see them consistently, you need psychic sensitivity, spiritual awareness… or a bond strong enough to anchor them."
Bugsy walked past them, hands in his pockets. "And then there's the stigma."
Whitney tilted her head. "Stigma?"
"People think Ghost-types bring bad luck," Bugsy said. "Curses, possession, deaths following trainers around. Some regions still ban Ghost Pokémon from beginner routes."
Erika frowned. "That's… unfair. They're still living beings."
"They're also Pokémon that can kill you by accident," Bugsy replied bluntly. "Most families don't want their kids anywhere near them."
Lyra swallowed. "So… we're doing this anyway?"
Ethan smirked slightly, eyes scanning the foggy grass ahead. "Yeah."
Sabrina glanced at him sideways. "Of course you would."
Noibat shifted on Ethan's head, ears twitching sharply. He let out a low, warning chirp.
Ethan stopped. "We're not alone."
The temperature dropped.
A ripple passed through the grass—not from movement, but like something phasing through it. A faint purple haze began to coil near an old tree, shadows stretching unnaturally long.
Bugsy pushed his glasses up. "That'll be it."
Lyra leaned closer to Ethan. "Why does it feel like it's staring at us?"
Ethan's grip tightened on his Poké Ball. "Because it probably is."
Ethan glanced around, keeping his breathing steady.
I wonder if this will work…
He focused inward and let the pressure rise.
Dragon Force stirred.
His vision shifted—colors draining, shadows sharpening—as his eyes flared a deep, luminous purple. The night peeled back, and suddenly the world had layers.
There.
A faint, drifting violet trail curled through the air, like smoke caught in slow motion. It didn't touch the ground, didn't bend the grass—yet it was there, undeniably real.
Ethan followed it carefully, step by step.
Behind him, Erika froze.
Her eyes lit up with a soft blue glow, aura spreading outward like ripples in water. She inhaled sharply. "You see it?"
Ethan nodded once, slow and certain.
"It's circling us," he muttered. "Curious… but cautious."
Whitney shivered. "Okay, I officially don't like that."
Sabrina opened her eyes at last, her psychic field blooming faintly around her. "It's testing boundaries. Seeing who can perceive it."
Bugsy crouched slightly, excitement flickering across his face. "That's classic Gastly behavior."
The purple mist ahead thickened.
Then the trail snapped toward them.
The air dropped several degrees in an instant, frost creeping along the edges of nearby leaves. A distorted laugh echoed—too close, too many directions at once.
Noibat hissed, wings spreading.
From the swirling haze, a shape began to form.
Two glowing eyes.
A jagged grin.
Ethan raised his Poké Ball, heart steady despite the pressure in the air.
"Alright," he said quietly. "Let's do this properly."
Something shifted.
Not in front of him—not behind—but to the right, where the purple haze thinned unnaturally.
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
He flipped open his Pokédex on instinct, the screen lighting his face in pale blue.
[Pokédex Entry Registered
Name: Noibat
Type: Dragon / Flying
Gender: Male
Shiny: ✓
Ability: Frisk
Hidden Ability (Unlocked): Infiltrator
Nature: Timid
Known Moves:
– Absorb
– Supersonic
– Wing Attack
– Dragon Rush]
Ethan snapped the Dex shut.
The thing moving wasn't solid.
It was a compressed sphere of gas, darker than the night around it, rippling like a held breath—exactly where Gastly liked to hide when it thought no one could see it.
"A decoy," Ethan muttered.
He didn't raise his voice.
Didn't hesitate.
"Noibat," he said calmly, eyes still glowing violet. "Dragon Rush. To the right."
Noibat screeched—not in fear, but in sharp, eager challenge.
Purple energy flared around the small dragon as he vanished in a blur, smashing through the mist with a violent crack—
The gas ball exploded outward, shrieking as it lost cohesion.
A distorted howl echoed through Route 31 as the real Gastly was forced fully into view, its form unraveling under the impact.
Bugsy's eyes lit up. "Direct hit! He flushed it out!"
Sabrina smiled faintly. "Infiltrator… it ignored the misdirection."
The Gastly recoiled, eyes blazing with anger now instead of curiosity.
Erika tightened her grip on her Poké Ball. "It's done playing."
Ethan rolled his shoulder once, steady.
"Good," he said. "Neither am I."
Gastly's eyes flared, glowing an eerie blue.
The air rippled.
"Hypnosis—!"
Ethan's pupils shrank. "Move—now!"
Noibat twisted midair, wings snapping hard to the side. The hypnotic waves skimmed past him—but the earlier Dragon Rush recoil caught up all at once. His body lagged, flight wobbling just enough to be dangerous.
"Damn…" Ethan hissed.
Noibat dipped, barely stabilizing.
Ethan didn't panic.
"Supersonic!"
Noibat screeched, the sound tearing through the night like shattered glass.
Gastly shrieked as the sonic waves slammed into it, its gaseous form distorting violently. Its eyes spun, body flickering in and out of focus as it drifted backward, unable to hold itself together.
Ethan exhaled slowly.
Good, he thought. It's confused.
Whitney peeked from behind a tree. "That thing fights dirty…"
Sabrina's gaze stayed locked on Gastly. "Ghost-types always do."
Ethan clenched his Poké Ball, eyes never leaving the floating specter.
"Stay sharp, Noibat," he said quietly. "It's not done yet."
The Gastly twitched—laughing now, broken and uneven.
Gastly spun wildly in the air, its body swelling and shrinking as the confusion tore at it.
It let out a distorted wail—
—and slammed into itself.
The impact rippled through its gaseous form, chunks of shadow dispersing before snapping back together. The specter staggered, flickering, clearly hurt… but its eyes burned brighter instead of dimming.
It laughed.
Not playful.
Not scared.
Defiant.
Ethan's grip tightened around the Poké Ball. "It's still standing…"
"Of course it is," Sabrina said calmly. "Ghost-types don't know when to quit."
Gastly suddenly stopped spinning.
Its smile stretched too wide.
The shadows beneath it peeled away from the ground, forming a pitch-black silhouette that lunged forward.
"Night Shade!"
Ethan's breath caught. "Noibat—!"
The attack passed straight through Noibat's body.
No impact.
No resistance.
Just cold.
Noibat screeched as the darkness ripped through him, his body seizing midair before he crashed hard into the grass, wings trembling.
Whitney gasped. "That ignored everything!"
Ethan already knew.
Fixed damage…
No defense check.
Noibat struggled, trying to rise—but his movements were slow now, breath uneven.
Ethan didn't shout.
Didn't rush.
He watched Gastly carefully.
The way it drifted lower. The way its form pulsed, unstable from confusion and self-inflicted damage. The way it lingered after attacking—just a second too long.
There.
"Hold," Ethan whispered.
Gastly swayed again, clutching its head as confusion surged back.
Ethan moved.
He stepped forward and threw low, not hard—clean, smooth, timed perfectly with Gastly's downward dip.
The Poké Ball struck the shadow beneath Gastly, light bursting outward as the ghost was dragged inside.
Tick.
Tick.
Gastly thrashed, the ball shaking violently.
Tick.
A burst of shadow leaked out—
—and snapped back in.
Click.
The ball stilled.
Silence fell over Route 31.
Ethan let out a slow breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.
"…Got you."
Noibat lifted his head weakly, eyes locking onto the Poké Ball.
Ethan knelt beside him, placing a hand on his neck. "You did great. We'll rest after this."
Sabrina nodded, approval clear in her eyes. "Textbook timing. No wasted force."
Bugsy whistled softly. "Yeah… that was clean."
The Poké Ball gave one final, quiet pulse.
A Ghost-type had joined the team.
Ethan rolled the Poké Ball once in his palm, feeling the faint pulse of life inside.
Lyra glanced over at him. "So… wanna nickname him?"
Ethan shook his head without hesitation. "No. I don't like giving my Pokémon nicknames."
Bugsy blinked. "Huh? Why not?"
Before Ethan could answer, Whitney chimed in, smiling. "Ethan thinks it's like forcing a new identity on them."
Kitsu shrugged as she walked backward for a step, hands behind her head. "I still have no idea how my brother even came up with that."
They laughed together, the tension from the battle finally fading as the lights of the Poké Center came into view.
Inside, the night nurse glanced up in mild surprise as Ethan placed the Poké Ball on the counter.
"Gastly," Ethan said. "Heal, please."
The machine hummed.
Red light flashed.
The ball clicked open.
Gastly emerged in a swirl of purple mist—and immediately drifted upside down, peering at everyone with a crooked grin.
It floated straight toward Bugsy.
Bugsy stiffened. "Uh—hi?"
Gastly leaned in close… then suddenly puffed out a cloud of smoke shaped like a pair of fake fangs right in Bugsy's face.
Bugsy yelped and stumbled back. "HEY—!"
Gastly burst into silent laughter, spinning in the air like a child who'd just pulled a perfect prank.
Whitney giggled. "Oh my Arceus, it's a menace."
Gastly drifted toward Ethan next.
For a moment, its grin sharpened—dark, predatory, the same expression it had worn in the forest.
Then Ethan met its gaze.
Calm.
Unflinching.
No fear. No command.
Just… acknowledgment.
Gastly paused.
The sharp grin softened into something playful instead. It floated lower, bumping lightly into Ethan's shoulder like it was testing him.
Ethan raised an eyebrow. "So you only act scary when you want to."
Gastly nodded.
Actually nodded.
Sabrina's eyes widened slightly. "That's… unusual."
Erika smiled knowingly. "It likes him."
Gastly suddenly vanished—
—and reappeared behind Lyra, tapping her shoulder with a shadowy tendril.
Lyra squeaked. "Don't do that!"
Gastly laughed again, then zipped back to Ethan's side, hovering there protectively, eyes narrowing when another trainer walked a little too close.
Malicious to strangers.
Playful with friends.
Ethan exhaled, amused. "Huh. I thought you'd be harder to handle."
Gastly grinned wider, puffing up proudly.
Maybe this one didn't need control at all.
Just trust.
Ethan then opened his Pokèdex.
[Pokédex Entry Registered
Name: Gastly
Type: Ghost/Poison.
Shiny: X
Ability: Levitate.
Hidden Ability (Locked): Shadow Tag
Known Moves:
– Shadow Ball
– Sludge Bomb
– Night Shade
– Will-O-Wisp ]
Ethan froze.
So did everyone else.
The glow of the Pokédex screen felt… heavier than it should have.
No wild Pokémon should know moves like that.
Shadow Ball.
Sludge Bomb.
Night Shade.
Will-O-Wisp.
That wasn't a random kit. That was a trained moveset.
Ethan slowly lowered the Pokédex. "This Gastly wasn't wild."
Lyra blinked. "What do you mean?"
Bugsy leaned over to look at the screen, then frowned. "Yeah… no way. Night Shade alone is weird for a wild one, but Shadow Ball?"
Sabrina's expression sharpened, psychic senses brushing faintly against the Gastly. "It has battle discipline. Not polished—but practiced."
Whitney hugged herself a little. "So… someone abandoned it?"
"Released," Ethan corrected quietly. "Pokémon that are abandoned act different. This one still expects battles."
The Gastly, floating beside him, went still.
Its playful grin faded.
The mist around its body thickened, darkening just a bit.
Ethan glanced down at it. "You were trained. Then let go."
Gastly didn't deny it.
Instead, it turned away, drifting a few feet off, mist curling inward like it was folding its arms.
Kitsu clicked her tongue. "Wow. That's messed up."
Bugsy adjusted his glasses. "Either the trainer couldn't control it… or didn't want to deal with a Ghost-type."
Sabrina looked away. "That happens more often than people admit."
There was a brief silence.
Then Gastly suddenly snapped back into motion, zipping in front of Ethan and puffing up dramatically, flashing a grin that was half-defiant, half-challenging.
Almost like it was saying: So what?
Ethan stared at it for a second… then smirked.
"Well," he said, calm and steady, "their loss."
Gastly blinked.
Then it spun happily, mist flaring like smoke from a bonfire.
Whitney laughed softly. "Yeah, I think it likes that answer."
Ethan clipped the Pokédex back onto his belt. "You don't need to prove anything. If you want to fight, we fight. If you don't, we don't."
Gastly floated closer again, this time hovering at shoulder height, eyes bright.
Bugsy crossed his arms. "You're weird, you know that?"
Ethan shrugged. "So are Ghost-types."
To be continued
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