Chapter 64

Among Ghost-type Pokémon, the most evil was undoubtedly Gengar. It wrapped every human or Pokémon that came near it into a mummy.

Some Gengar that had survived for a long time even contained more than one mummy that had turned into a dried corpse.

Next was Aegislash, which liked sucking human souls dry.

After that came Chandelure.

Seeing so many Litwick, Qing Wu knew that these Ghost-type Pokémon had already taken his group for prey.

The levels of these Litwick were not very high, averaging just over Level 20.

Qing Wu silently had Golbat, Kecleon, and Magmar form a triangle, preparing to deal with the Litwick's attack.

"Everyone, pay attention. These Litwick definitely have a leader, but it's hiding in the dark." Qing Wu swept his gaze around, but did not see any sign of Chandelure, so he could only remind everyone to stay alert.

Wherever Ghost-type Pokémon gathered in large numbers, Dark Stones would inevitably form. So it was not strange for Chandelure to appear here.

While Qing Wu was not paying attention, a white Pokémon appeared behind him and let out several sinister cackles. It then turned invisible and slipped into Qing Wu's backpack.

Qing Wu did not notice that a Pokémon had snuck into his backpack.

"Golbat, use Bite! Kecleon, use Rock Slide! Magmar, Flamethrower!"

Because Litwick had the Flash Fire Ability, Qing Wu saw that some Litwick were knocked back by Magmar's Flamethrower, while others absorbed the flames Magmar released as if nothing had happened.

"Come out, Squirtle. Use Water Gun!" Most of the Litwick were driven back by the combined attacks of Magmar, Kecleon, and Golbat.

The remaining few Litwick were then honorably eliminated under the nourishment of Squirtle's Water Gun.

"That's strange. Why haven't I seen the leader of these Litwick?" The Litwick hurriedly turned invisible and vanished from the spot, leaving Qing Wu scratching his head.

These Litwick had been driven back far too quickly. Victory had come so suddenly.

After driving away the Litwick, Qing Wu saw all kinds of other Ghost-type Pokémon.

There were Regigigas embedded in the rock walls, Sableye that appeared and disappeared unpredictably, and Froslass that quietly followed behind him before unleashing a freezing attack.

There were Mismagius emitting sinister laughter and Misdreavus absorbing nightmare energy.

But Qing Wu saw even more of the Gastly line, scurrying around causing trouble and playing pranks. Still, there was one thing Qing Wu had deeply experienced.

There really were many Pokémon Eggs here. He could find one every few steps.

However, after using the system to check their Potential, he abandoned them all.

Most of these Pokémon Eggs had Red Potential. Even the occasional Pokémon Egg with Orange Potential failed to catch Qing Wu's eye.

Qing Wu spent the entire day searching, but still failed to find the Gastly rumored to be capable of releasing white flames.

"Looks like this Gastly probably hasn't been born yet." Qing Wu left the second level of Ghost Mountain regretfully.

There was not much time left. The gathering would take place in just one day, and Qing Wu had to seize this opportunity to become the undisputed champion of this trial.

When Qing Wu left the cave, he discovered that the real trouble lay ahead.

The entire Ghost Mountain was shrouded in mist, and Qing Wu saw countless dark figures moving within it.

The Ghost-type Pokémon were controlling the corpses of dead Pokémon and holding a hunting carnival.

"No wonder I felt that all the Pokémon on the second level of Ghost Mountain were so weak. It turns out the stronger Pokémon had all come to the first level." Qing Wu saw a dark figure catch the scent of a living being and rapidly crawl toward him.

It was an Arbok, but a huge hole had been pierced through its chest, exposing stark white bones.

Both of Arbok's eyes had long since fallen out, and much of its body showed signs of decay.

With his naked eyes, Qing Wu could clearly see countless fat white maggots wriggling across Arbok's body.

This was a unique hunting activity of Ghost-type Pokémon.

They possessed the bodies of Pokémon that had long since died and used them to hunt the Pokémon that had mistakenly entered Ghost Mountain.

"Magmar, use Flamethrower!" Qing Wu gave Magmar the order without hesitation.

Since things had come to this, he would simply carve out a path through the carnage. After being reborn, Qing Wu no longer had any reservations.

"Golbat, Kecleon, go in together!" Magmar's Flamethrower blasted into Arbok's corpse.

Arbok's corpse struggled before turning into charcoal. A Haunter spun its eyes as it crawled out of the corpse, then collapsed onto the ground.

Magmar's Flamethrower had been like poking a hornet's nest. Countless dark figures rushed toward Qing Wu.

There was a Psyduck so rotten that its shape was no longer recognizable, and a Dodrio with one of its heads missing.

There were even more Arbok and Grimer, common Pokémon of Team Rocket.

However, a Grimer that had already become a corpse could not self-destruct as easily as it had when alive.

Golbat flapped its wings, and countless enormous Wind Blades surged out from them, effortlessly slicing the corpses in two.

After all, once a Pokémon died, the activity of its cells stopped, and its defensive power was no longer as strong as it had been in life.

"Go!" Seeing more and more dark figures gathering, Qing Wu recalled Kecleon and Magmar, grabbed Golbat by the leg, and soared into the sky.

"Damn it, there are Flying-type Pokémon here too!" A Fearow suddenly charged out of the mist and used Drill Run against Qing Wu.

Because Fearow's corpse had already rotted, flesh flew everywhere when it used Drill Run. The flesh scattered through the air like falling flowers, nearly making Qing Wu vomit.

Qing Wu tilted his body slightly and barely dodged the force of Fearow's Drill Run.

However, Qing Wu suffered for it. His entire body was covered in the foul mucus from Fearow's rotting corpse.

Fearow had been reduced to nothing but a pointed beak, with scraps of flesh and feathers still hanging from its white bones. Sinister cackling came from its body, as if it were mocking Qing Wu's current appearance.

"Golbat, use Hurricane and carve out a path!" Qing Wu was furious. After being disgusted like this, even usually calm and composed Qing Wu was burning with rage.

Some of the mucus had splashed onto Golbat as well, and it was equally enraged. To it, this was nothing short of a blatant provocation.

Golbat spread its powerful wings, and countless enormous pillars of wind instantly took shape.

The corpses of several Flying-type Pokémon trying to launch suicide attacks were swept into the pillars of wind. Their bodies rapidly broke apart into pieces within the Hurricane.

Several Gastly then fell from the Hurricane, their eyes spinning in circles.

"Why is the Potential of all the Ghost-type Pokémon here so poor?" Qing Wu frowned as he looked at the system's scans of the Pokémon's Potential.

He did not know that this was a place where Team Rocket specifically cultivated Ghost-type Pokémon.

The Ghost-type Pokémon with good Potential had long since been selected by Team Rocket's higher-ups.

Even the better ones that slipped through the net had been captured and taken away by powerful Trial Participants who passed through.

"What a pity. I still couldn't find that Gastly with the special ability." Qing Wu guessed that the Gastly had undergone a mutation.

Its Poison-type had mutated into Fire-type, an extremely rare phenomenon in the entire Pokémon World.

After all, some training methods could overcome the fear caused by type disadvantages.

For example, training Aggron or Rhyhorn to learn Surf, or training Flying-type Pokémon to withstand attacks from Electric-type Pokémon, like Ash's Taillow.

But changing a Pokémon's type entirely might have odds of only one in tens of millions.

Unless it was like Pokémon living in different regions, such as Galar Region Meowth, Alola Region Meowth, and ordinary Meowth.

Forced to change their types and appearances to adapt to the climate, they had gone through tens of thousands of years of reproduction before their recessive genes became dominant.

After the pursuit by the Flying-type Pokémon corpses subsided, Qing Wu and Golbat finally rushed out of Ghost Mountain. Looking at the scorching sun outside, Qing Wu now had to find somewhere to wash the filth from his body.

At the Team Rocket Trial Base.

Lan Ling looked at the pink-haired girl kneeling on one knee before her.

"You did very well, Lian Ji. Although we sacrificed a Pokémon, as long as you help me take first place among the Trial Participants, with Lady Athena's support, we can have as many of these Pokémon as we want."

"Qing Wu, you never imagined that you would enter Ghost Mountain this way, did you? That is a gathering place for vicious Ghost-type Pokémon." Lan Ling was extremely pleased with how she had tricked Qing Wu.

"It was my honor, Leader. I wish you a swift victory and success, Leader, and hope you take first place in this trial competition." Lian Ji lowered her head and spoke smugly.