Chapter 48: Ghoststone and Gyarados

“What do you mean by that?” Xia You was taken aback.

“I mean I want to evolve—of course, anytime and anywhere!”

As Gengar finished speaking, its body was suddenly enveloped in a radiant light. When the light faded, a brand-new form of Pokémon appeared before Xia You’s eyes.

Xia You was utterly astonished.

Without any warning, it had evolved into Haunter!?

Compared to its previous form, Haunter’s round body had transformed—its surrounding purple mist vanished, and three spike-like protrusions had appeared on each side. Even more striking were the two claws floating in midair, detached from its body!

Xia You pulled out the Pokédex.

Pokédex: “Beep. Haunter, the Gas Pokémon. Ghost and Poison type. The evolved form of Gastly. Usually inhabits haunted houses and graveyards. Stronger than Gastly, it lurks in the shadows to hunt prey. If its gaseous tongue licks you, even your soul will be taken.”

“Hey, you just evolved out of nowhere? How did you do that?”

Xia You asked instinctively, but upon reflection, Gastly’s evolution was unexpected yet reasonable.

After all, before meeting him, Gastly had presumably lived for many years and, by all logic, should have evolved into Haunter long ago. The only reason it hadn’t might be simply because it didn’t want to.

“What’s the big deal?” Haunter’s claws repeatedly opened and closed as it familiarized itself with its new abilities, speaking nonchalantly, “I can even evolve into a third form now!”

“Stop, stop!” Xia You hastily interrupted. “Evolving too quickly isn’t necessarily a good thing. You should take some time to get used to this new body first.”

Then Xia You turned his gaze to Magikarp.

“But back to the problem we had earlier—though I’m glad you evolved, the issue remains unsolved. Hey, Haunter, try communicating with Magikarp!”

“Communicate with it!?”

Haunter looked bewildered but then flew over Magikarp, staring at it intently with eyes wide open, mouth moving slightly. After a while, it silently returned.

“No luck. Its mind seems completely blank; I have no idea what it’s thinking!”

Seeing Xia You frown silently, Haunter offered an analysis, “But since you say it’s about to evolve yet stuck at the threshold, it’s probably lacking experience or stimulation. I think if it battles, it should evolve soon enough.”

Experience? Stimulation?

Xia You’s eyes suddenly lit up, as if struck by an inspiration.

Noticing Xia You’s intention, Haunter was surprised. “You really want it to battle? But this guy only knows Splash; it can’t deal any damage. If it faces other Pokémon, it’ll just get beaten up!”

“That’s not a problem for me!” Xia You clearly had a plan. He looked at his team of Pokémon and instructed, “Spread out and see if there are any wild Pokémon nearby!”

They were currently beside a river bend along the road, with a small forest not far off.

The Pokémon scattered and soon Kirlia found a Bug-type Pokémon sleeping on a tree trunk—a Weedle.

It gave a soft call. When Xia You arrived and saw the Pokémon, he nodded approvingly.

“Weedle? Good. Everyone, surround it tightly; don’t let it escape!”

Though puzzled, the Pokémon obediently moved to surround the Weedle, cutting off all its escape routes.

Once everything was ready, Xia You commanded Charmander, “Use Ember!”

Charmander tiptoed forward, took a deep breath, and aimed a spark at the sleeping Weedle, instantly engulfing it in flames.

Fire is strong against Bug—highly effective!

“Heh heh, Magikarp, now let me help you!”

Seeing Weedle almost incapacitated, Xia You picked up Magikarp and approached the Weedle, raising Magikarp high above his head.

“Go! Magikarp! Show it our combo move—Dumb Fish Slam!”

With a forceful downward slam, Magikarp’s bony, scaled body crashed heavily onto Weedle.

A dull thud echoed as the two Pokémon collided.

When Weedle still remained conscious, Xia You raised an eyebrow.

“Huh? It’s still up? Tough little guy! But no matter, Magikarp, let’s try again!”

He lifted Magikarp high once more and slammed it down hard.

This time, Weedle couldn’t endure any longer and fainted completely. Just as Xia You hoped, Magikarp’s body was suddenly enveloped in a brilliant white light!

Excellent! Mission accomplished!

With a roar that pierced the clouds, a massive Gyarados appeared before Xia You.

It measured about six to seven meters long, with a blue back and pale yellow belly. It bore a three-pronged horn on its head and two long whiskers. Its gaping mouth revealed sharp teeth, and its eyes seemed perpetually filled with rage.

Pokédex: “Beep. Gyarados, the Atrocious Pokémon. Water and Flying type, evolved from Magikarp. Extremely aggressive by nature, its scales are as hard as steel, and its teeth can crush rocks. When enraged, it can burn anything to ashes, even through storms and hurricanes. It is a ferociously violent Pokémon.”

Though Gyarados’s evolution seemed somewhat clumsy, it was undeniably a qualitative leap.

Perhaps due to its nature, upon evolving, its first instinct wasn’t to familiarize itself with its new body but to launch indiscriminate attacks around it!

“Hey, does this guy’s head have a problem?” Haunter flew into the sky, dodging Gyarados’s wild rams, and muttered in disbelief, “Did you hurt it with that slam earlier?”

“Fool, what nonsense are you talking?” Xia You quickly backed away, out of Gyarados’s attack range. “Didn’t you hear the Pokédex? Its nature is just this violent!”

“What do we do now?” Haunter asked. “Just wait for it to calm down?”

“Of course not! I went through all that trouble to get it to evolve. How can I just ignore it now?” Xia You waved his hand and ordered, “Alright, everyone, stop standing around. Let this unruly beast taste your strength! It dares attack its own Trainer and teammates—it’s time to teach it a lesson and show it who’s boss here!”