20demayo Chapter 90: The Cursed Symbol of the Year! A deal is made with Gastly: the capture battle!
Chapter 90: The Cursed Symbol of the Year! A deal is made with Gastly: the capture battle!
Chapter 90 The Millennium Curse Symbol! A deal is made with Gastly: the capture battle!
Pokémon that can talk have appeared before; there's one right here, and that's Team Rocket's Meowth.
But aside from Meowth, Gastly was the second Pokémon Ash and his friends encountered that could speak.
Moreover, it always says something surprising; this Gastly actually knows that Ash possesses Aura power.
Putting aside how Gastly detected Ash's Aura power, the fact that it knew about Aura power is already astonishing, considering that even Misty and Brock didn't know what Aura power was at the beginning.
"Is this the culprit who hypnotized Xiaogang?" Xiaoxia asked weakly, hiding behind Xiaozhi.
Misty was already incredibly surprised to hear Gastly speak, let alone that it knew Ash possessed Aura.
Adding to the strange look Xiao Gang just had, this Gastly just seems incredibly weird no matter how you look at it.
"That's right, it's him. I sensed his presence with my Aura just now, and there's a power connecting him to Brock and Kojiro. He must have used a skill like Hypnosis." Ash nodded confidently.
Hypnosis is not only about putting people to sleep; there is also a more advanced technique that can make a sleeping person obey commands.
This Gastly clearly possesses that kind of skill, which is why it was able to control James and Brock.
"After I arrived here, I vaguely heard a beautiful woman calling me. Was that Gastly's doing?" Xiao Gang said with a slightly gloomy expression.
Her displeased expression wasn't just because she had almost fallen off a cliff, but also because she had been tricked. The beautiful older sister was actually an imposter—how utterly despicable!
"Me too, me too! When I saw that girl, I was completely captivated. I was wondering why it was so strange, and it turns out it was you who was behind it!" Kojiro nodded vigorously in agreement.
"Puff, I only did that to make the legends of this region last longer, I didn't really intend for you to jump off the cliff," Gastly explained calmly, while keeping its eyes fixed on Ash.
"Young man, let's compromise. You go back to your place, and I won't cause any more trouble, okay?"
In an instant, everyone's eyes were on Ash. They hadn't expected that this seemingly all-powerful Gastly would be willing to communicate with Ash on an equal footing, and even seemed to be admitting defeat.
Given Gastly's abilities, its respectful attitude towards Ash suggests it's either a polite Gastly or something else entirely, which is a valid point.
Either Ash's power surpassed Gastly's imagination, which is why Gastly appeared so respectful.
Now that the idea that the latter is more likely has appeared in everyone's minds, they can't help but show strange expressions. A human being, who makes the seemingly powerful Gastly afraid and choose to make peace and retreat with him, is that in the river?
"You did that to my friend, and you're just going to let it go like that?" Ash didn't agree with Gastly's suggestion, but instead asked back.
"Hey, your friend is all right, isn't he? Here, I'll give you some compensation. How about this?" Gastly said, opening its mouth wide and spitting out something that looked like a talisman.
"This is a spell charm, what you humans often call a portable item. But it's different from the spell charms in your human world. I've nurtured this thing within my body for a thousand years!"
"A normal spell charm can amplify ghost-type damage by 20%, but this one—it amplifies it by 35%! In your human world, that would be an extremely rare treasure. Using this as compensation isn't a bad deal, is it?"
Upon hearing this, Xiaogang and Xiaoxia both showed extremely shocked expressions, while Musashi and the others on the side did not react much.
Because they simply don't understand how precious this thing really is.
Is a 35% increase a lot?
"Ash, take this. You can't buy this with money outside. Even Elite Four champions would go crazy for it, especially trainers who use Ghost-type Pokémon," Brock whispered in Ash's ear.
Let Ash take the opportunity to collect the item.
If he can get this item on this trip, even if he was a little frightened just now, it will definitely be "worth every penny". He can get this kind of item in exchange for a little fright. He will do as much of this deal as possible!
Xiaoxia whispered from the side, "If you don't have a good grasp of this, Xiaozhi, you can think of this thing as worth hundreds of millions."
Ash: !!!
Xiao Zhi really didn't have any concept of that. Who understands what it means to say something is hard to find and causes a frenzy of demand?
But if you say it's worth hundreds of millions, that's a different story. Now I understand, so this thing is really that precious!
With hundreds of millions of dollars, as long as he doesn't spend extravagantly, it's enough for him to travel for a lifetime!
"Hey! Are you discriminating against us? Some of our people were also frightened, and you only compensate the kid but not us? Isn't that going too far?" Musashi's sharp voice rang out, her face showing displeasure.
Speaking of victims, they have one on their side too!
That talisman may look ugly, but judging from Gastly's description, it should be a rare treasure. Why give it only to Ash and not to the others? Is this discrimination?!
Gastly glanced at Musashi and the others, and sneered, "Compensation is only given when the strength is equal. If the strength is unequal, well, you might as well just go to sleep!"
Musashi and others: ##
How dare they look down on us!
"Kojiro, go! Let him see how powerful we are!" Musashi said, releasing Arbok. Kojiro, following Musashi's instructions, released a gas bomb.
The two simultaneously commanded their Pokémon to rush forward and attack Gastly. Gastly immediately condensed a jet-black energy ball in front of it and then blasted it out, hitting the two Pokémon that were charging straight at it.
The two elves returned just as quickly as they arrived, perhaps even twice as fast!
"Bang!!"
The gas bomb and Arbok struck Musashi and the others, blasting them into the sky and turning them into stars in the night.
"Tch, you think you can get compensation from me with this little bit of strength? Go dream on!" Gastly said disdainfully, then looked at Ash again.
"So, young man, what do you think? You can keep this. I'll be going now if there's nothing else." Gastly's attitude towards Ash was completely different from how it treated James and the others.
This left Xiaoxia and Xiaogang quite puzzled.
They knew Ash was indeed very strong, but only relative to humans. Judging from his simple attack just now, this Gastly was at least a Gym Leader level Pokémon, especially considering he mentioned that the spell charm in his hand had been nurtured for a thousand years.
That means he has lived for at least a thousand years!
Gastly, a Pokémon of Gym Leader level or higher, is actually afraid of Ash? Is Ash really that good?
Ash didn't speak after hearing Gastly's words. He had already closed his eyes, and no one knew what he was thinking.
Gui Dun paused, his expression turning somewhat displeased. He had already yielded enough, yet this young man had completely ignored him. Even though the power emanating from the young man made him feel uneasy, he wasn't easily intimidated!
He only chose to compensate Xiaozhi with something so that they would leave quickly, because he didn't want to cause any trouble. If a fight really broke out, would he be afraid of Xiaozhi?
A few seconds later, Ash opened his eyes, and the look in his eyes showed that he had made a decision.
"Gastly, you're hypnotizing people here to make them remember the legend of Maiden's Gorge, isn't it because of that girl?"
As Ash spoke, he looked at the girl statue to the side.
Gastly's expression changed drastically upon hearing this: "You can see her?"
"Since you know about the power of waveguides, you should know about their effects. Even if she exists here in this form, it proves that life has not completely dissipated. If life has not dissipated, then there is still waveguide, so I can naturally see her."
Xiao Zhi tried to explain, but his explanation left Xiao Gang and Xiao Xia completely confused.
What kind of riddle is this?
"Ash, what are you talking about? Who can you see? Is there anything there?" Misty looked at the place Ash was looking in, but there was nothing there, so Ash couldn't have seen anything.
"Really? I saw it very clearly. It was a girl wearing a white dress, and she looked quite pretty," Xiaozhi said calmly.
From his perspective, he could see a girl in a white dress floating in the void. This girl must be what people commonly refer to as a ghost!
So-called ghosts can be considered the soul within the human body. Even in the form of a soul, there is a waveguide. In other words, as long as you are a living being, whether you are a ghost, a human, an elf, or a plant, you possess a waveguide.
As long as there is a waveguide, Xiaozhi can observe it.
This is why Xiaoxia and the others can't see this ghost. "I do know about Aura, but I only know that Aura is powerful in battle. I didn't know that Aura has so many applications. It seems that the wonder of this power is beyond my imagination." After the initial surprise, Gastly's expression returned to calm.
Seeing the girl did surprise Xiao Zhi, but that was all. It wouldn't hurt him to see her. On the contrary, seeing the girl would encourage Xiao Zhi to spread the legend of Girl's Gorge in the town.
As long as someone believes in the girl's existence, she can continue to live in this form.
"If left unchecked, she'll become a ghost like you, a new Gastly with no memories and no past," Ash said again, making a startling statement.
Gastly finally snapped: "You even know about this? Kid, who are you anyway?!"
Not to mention Gastly, even Misty and Brock looked at Ash with strange eyes. When did Ash know so much? Unbeknownst to them, Ash had already surpassed them?
"I just happened to know." Xiao Zhi waved his hand. Although he tried his best to put on a calm expression, the slight upturn of his lips showed that he was quite pleased with himself.
Actually, this information was provided by the experts in the group!
At first, he was startled when he saw the girl's ghost, which was obviously a spirit. However, Xiaoxia and Xiaogang next to him did not react at all, which is why Xiaozhi found it strange.
Can't they see the ghost?
He went back to the group and asked, only to find out that the reason he could see ghosts was because he had the power of wave guidance.
The effects of Aura are virtually limitless. Even though the chat group provided an explanation when they gave him Aura, it couldn't fully explain the wonders of Aura. Ash had to figure out many of its effects on his own.
Today's effect is a brand new version that Xiaozhi has just explored.
Afterwards, Xiao Zhi recounted what happened to the experts in the group and asked them for advice on whether to accept the compensation and run away immediately, or whether there was any other room for maneuver.
Just then, the knowledgeable champion Ash came up with an idea—to capture Gastly!
Ash's original plan was to go to Celadon City first, and then to Saffron City. After all, the Saffron City Gym is known as one of the top gyms in Kanto, and it's the kind that doesn't hold back at all. If Ash goes there now, he's just asking for trouble!
Even if you defeat the Rainbow Gym before going to the Goldenrod Gym, your chances of winning are almost zero.
But if you can capture this Gastly, your chances of winning are at least 60%!
Yes, even if you use a high-level Gastly of the Elite Four level to challenge them, the chance of winning is only a little over 60%. That's the terrifying strength of the Goldenrod Gym.
As for how Ash caught the Champion-level Gastly—Ash has already explained the method—it remains to be seen whether Ash's eloquence and Gastly's determination are as they suspect.
"Gastly, the reason you're so fixated on staying here is because of this girl, isn't it?" Ash asked again.
"That's right, just as you said. If left unchecked, she will eventually become like me. That's why I keep spreading the legends about her. As long as people still remember her and she hasn't been forgotten, she can avoid becoming a ghost like me."
Gastly stopped hiding its identity and bluntly told Ash that Ghost-type Pokémon like Gastly were basically evolved from the remnants of human souls.
The ghost of Maiden Gorge has existed in the world for a long time. Even though he tries his best to make his presence known every year, he still cannot control the gradual deterioration of the girl's soul.
But what can he do? This is all he can do.
"What if I could purify her?" Ash asked, surprising everyone.
Gastly: !!!
"Can you bring her back to the Pure Land of Bliss?"
"With waveguide power, it should be possible."
"What are the conditions?"
"If I lose the battle, I will purify her soul. If I win and she becomes my Pokémon, I will still purify her soul." After talking for so long, Ash finally managed to steer Gastly to this topic.
Now it depends on whether Gastly accepts this condition.