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Becoming a Human's Pokémon... The condition Ash proposed was somewhat beyond Gastly's expectation, yet it seemed reasonable.
A Gastly that had lived for a thousand years and could speak, if it became his Pokémon, would definitely provide immense help!
In fact, Gastly also knew how rare its existence was. Even if Ghost-type Pokémon lived longer, those who lived for a thousand years were very few.
Throughout these thousand years, he hadn't focused much on improving his strength, but he had learned many flashy skills, and also how to speak human language. So, after a thousand years, his strength was only at the Elite Level.
Gastly carefully considered Ash's proposal, and finally, under the gazes of Ash and the ghostly maiden, slowly nodded his gaseous body.
"I agree, young man. Your character is quite good. If you hadn't said that you would purify her even if you won, I would never have agreed to your condition. Your words successfully earned my favor and gave me a general understanding of your character. That way, even if I lose and become your Pokémon, it won't be too unbearable."
Gastly explained this way. He agreed to Ash's condition not only because of the maiden, but also because of the character Ash displayed.
To say that he would help purify her soul regardless of winning or losing, this alone was enough to show his character.
Misty behind Ash and Brock beside him felt a bit confused. They were already starting a battle to capture a Pokémon? So what exactly were the conditions they were discussing?
Purify the ghostly maiden's soul? Although Ash mentioned a ghostly maiden there, they couldn't see her at all!
"Do you want to see her, the maiden's appearance?" Ash asked Brock and Misty.
Although Misty was a bit scared, her curiosity still overcame her fear. She nodded to Ash, a determined expression on her face.
Brock, on the other hand, wasn't as scared; he was more curious.
"Wait a moment, Gastly." Ash waved his hand apologetically to Gastly, then placed his palm on Misty's shoulder.
The next second, a blue light lit up on Ash, then slowly transferred to Misty. Misty felt a warm current flow from her shoulder into her body.
Instantly, her whole body felt light, and her previously cold body also warmed up instantly.
This power... is it Aura?
As the Aura flowed into Misty's body, Misty finally saw the maiden Ash had spoken of.
Although her body was slightly transparent, her fair skin was still visible. The dress she wore swayed in the wind, and her expression was somewhat pitiful.
Misty, who was initially afraid of ghosts, instantly lost all fear after seeing the maiden's appearance!
"So beautiful! Are all ghosts that beautiful? If so, ghosts don't seem so scary anymore."
"Heh, this is her original form before she became a vengeful spirit or a vengeful spirit . If her condition really deteriorated, she would scare you, little girl, into wetting your pants." Gastly said with a grin, a hint of surprise in his eyes.
He only knew a little about this Aura, but he never thought it had so many functions.
It could even allow a little girl with no abilities to see a ghostly maiden; it was truly remarkable.
Afterward, Ash also let Brock see the ghostly maiden's appearance. Brock was instantly captivated. This was the maiden he had seen when he was hypnotized!
Even without the influence of hypnosis, he might have been drawn here by the maiden. One could only say that James was indeed quite wronged, but Brock's arrival here was definitely not accidental... After showing the maiden's appearance to the two, Ash stepped out from between them: "Both of you, move further away. The scope of the battle might be a bit large later."
An Elite Level battle could potentially flatten this entire area!
The destructive power of an Elite is truly terrifying. If Trainers above Elite Level have official battles in an arena, barriers even need to be set up to prevent the audience from being affected.
So, it was naturally better for Misty and Brock to go as far away as possible.
"Wait, Ash, do you have a Pokémon that can handle this Gastly? Its level is at least Gym level or higher!" Misty said with some concern.
Just now, they were so engrossed in being shocked by Ash's ability and his astonishing statement about catching Gastly that they forgot Gastly's level was simply not something Ash could challenge right now.
Ash's Pikachu is currently Elite Level Mid-tier, having gained one small level since leaving Vermilion City Gym.
The speed of improvement is indeed fast, but compared to Gastly, they are not on the same level at all.
Even with a hat, it's not enough!
How can a Gym level Pokémon be challenged by an Elite Level one? Not to mention, Gym level was just their lowest guess; this Gastly might be even stronger.
Ash paused at the words, then said to Gastly: "Gastly, your level should already be Elite Level High-tier, right? My strongest Pokémon is only Elite Level. If you don't mind, how about two against one?"
Brock & Misty: ???
"No, wait, Ash, what did you say? Elite Level High-tier? Are you mistaken?!" Brock said, somewhat flustered.
Ash shook his head: "Although my knowledge is not as good as yours, my perception through Aura and the observation of these eyes cannot be wrong. Gastly's level is already Elite Level High-tier."
"Elite Level? What the heck are you fighting?! Just surrender!" Misty said exasperatedly.
Against a Gym level Pokémon, there might be a 0.1% chance for Pikachu to burst with power while holding a Light Ball.
But fighting an Elite?
Even if your Pikachu self-destructs, it won't win!
"Hehe, suit yourself. You can even send all seven Pokémon at once. As long as you defeat me, I'll become your Pokémon." Gastly chuckled, not caring about Ash's suggestion of two against one.
Although there was the barrier of a Poké Ball, Gastly, with his special sensory abilities, could sense that the strongest Pokémon Ash had was only the Electric-type mouse beside him. The rest of his Pokémon, even if tied together, wouldn't pose any threat to him.
And while that Electric-type mouse gave him a strange feeling, it still couldn't defeat him. This was one of the reasons Gastly readily agreed to Ash's terms.
Your Pokémon, even tied together, can't beat me. How will you catch me?
If you can't beat me, then you have nothing to say, right?
Ash nodded at the words, then looked at the Ralts on his shoulder: "Ralts, you're starting first."
"Ralts? Ralts Ralts!!" Ralts pointed at herself with her small finger, momentarily still finding it hard to believe.
She was starting such an important battle?
But since it was Ash's command, of course, she had to go!
Ralts floated directly from Ash's shoulder to the ground, then excitedly shouted towards Gastly.
"What is Ash thinking? Ralts hasn't even evolved into Kirlia. Sending her to battle an Elite Level Gastly... Ash usually wouldn't do something like this. He dotes on Ralts the most."
Misty couldn't understand Ash's actions.
Ralts was like a little princess in the team. Although her training was equally rigorous and she was diligent in battles, Ash generally wouldn't send her into difficult fights.
For battles that required fighting above their level, Ash usually sent out Pokémon like Pikachu, Charmander, etc. Ralts's role in the team was temporarily to be cute... Yet now, facing an Elite Level Gastly, Ash chose to send her? What did this mean? Did he want Ralts to suffer a bit? What was the point of that!
"Sending a little girl to lead the charge? Young man, I won't hold back. Don't blame me if she gets hurt in some way." Gastly said with a smirk.
"Don't worry, you can't hurt her. Ralts, use Discern!" Ash said with a confident smile, then gave the command.
Discern allows Ghost-type Pokémon to reveal their true form, making Fighting-type and Normal-type moves able to hit Ghost-type Pokémon.
Ralts usually couldn't learn Discern, but this Ralts of his... knew quite a few moves.
The number of moves she learned in her initial form was already countless, including many moves that the seniors in the group said Ralts couldn't possibly learn, yet his Ralts could use them smoothly.
This was the unique aspect of this Ralts.
A flash of light appeared in Ralts's eyes, her hair moved without wind, and an inexplicable power covered Gastly's body, making Gastly's somewhat ethereal body solidify.
"Discern? So what if you make me solid? Do you still plan to use Normal-type and Fighting-type moves against me? Don't dream about it~" Gastly's voice was relaxed and carefree. It was clear he was very relaxed right now, not even thinking of attacking.
Although Ash had spoken harshly, saying he couldn't hurt Ralts, in reality, this was clearly impossible. With just a slight move, Ralts would fall.
So he was waiting for Ralts to attack. He might as well let this little one hit him once before retaliating, otherwise, it would be too much bullying.
Yet Ash actually had Ralts use Discern. What use was that to him?
Forget Fighting-type and Normal-type; even if Ash had a Pokémon that countered him, it wouldn't be his opponent.
So Discern was actually completely useless... Just as Gastly was thinking this, Ash waved to Ralts: "Alright, Ralts, come back. You've completed your mission."
"Ralts?" Ralts tilted her small head in confusion. She just used one move and her mission was over?
However, she did as her Trainer said, so she bounced back to Ash's side. Just as she was about to jump onto Ash's shoulder, Ash picked her up and placed her on Pikachu.
"Pikachu, take Ralts and go a little further away."
"Pikachu?!" Are you going to perform that now?!
"What do you mean 'perform'! It should be considered a long-awaited personal exercise." Ash rolled his eyes, somewhat displeased.
"Pikachu, Pikachu~~" Then we'll go watch your performance from the side.
Pikachu, carrying Ralts on his back, ran towards where Misty and Brock were. Don't let Pikachu's small size fool you; carrying Ralts didn't make him wobble at all, it was easy and carefree.
Misty and Brock were a bit confused when they saw Pikachu and Ralts return. They understood less and less what Ash wanted to do.
First, he used Discern, then he had Pikachu retreat. Did Ash have some other Pokémon that could deal with Gastly?
And it had to be a Pokémon that required using Discern to solidify Gastly first.
Suddenly, Misty remembered something and looked at Ash with an extremely strange expression.
No way... It couldn't be what she was thinking, could it?
"Young man, what Pokémon are you going to send out next? Why don't you send them all at once? No need to waste time." Gastly conjured a pair of hands and made a yawning gesture.
He wasn't sure why Ash had Ralts use one move and then leave, but he understood why Ash said he couldn't hurt Ralts. How could he hurt her if she was already off the field?
However, dragging this on was also troublesome. Besides Pikachu and Ralts, Ash still had five other Pokémon. He didn't know what tactics Ash intended to use, so he simply let Ash unleash all his methods.
In the face of absolute strength, any tactics are in vain.
Ash twisted his neck, rotated his wrists, and slowly walked forward.
"Don't worry, no need to fight so many. I said two against one, and it's two against one. Ralts is off the field, and next up is... Ash from Pallet Town. Please enlighten me."
Ash clenched his fist, and a powerful Aura erupted from his body. A brilliant blue light covered him, his light blue jacket fluttered in the wind, and waves of shockwaves rushed outwards from Ash, stirring up gusts of sand and stones.
The Trainer is warming up, the Trainer is entering the battle!
Gastly: ... Gastly: ???
"Wait, wait! One of the two you mentioned is you? Two against one means two Pokémon against one, right?!"
"I never said I'd use Pokémon to go two against one with you." Ash grinned, his white teeth seemingly reflecting a dazzling light in the dark night.
Hearing this, Gastly's face darkened—though it was already dark.
To be honest, he really hadn't considered the possibility of Ash entering the field. Isn't a Trainer entering a battle a joke?!
Pokémon battles, when did it become a human's turn to interfere?
However, the main reason humans couldn't interfere in Pokémon battles was because their frail bodies simply couldn't get involved. Even an Ordinary-level Pokémon was enough to give a human expert a hard time. How could they compete on the same stage as Pokémon?
But if it was Ash, that would be another matter... Why did Gastly surrender so quickly when he first saw Ash, and even offered compensation? Besides being in the wrong, it was more because of the faint, subtle dangerous Aura emanating from Ash.
He didn't want to cause any further trouble that might affect the ghostly maiden, so he chose to surrender quickly.
Yet now, they were still facing off!
Thinking of this, Gastly's head ached terribly. Ash's unexpected move made his own situation, which was originally destined not to become his Pokémon, precarious!