The Ghost Mountain

Among Ghost-type Pokémon, the most malevolent is Aegislash, which bandages any humans or Pokémon that come near it into mummies.

Inside some of the longer-surviving Aegislash, there is more than one mummified corpse.

Next is Aegislash, which enjoys consuming human souls.

Following that is Chandelure.

Qing Wu saw so many Litwick and knew that these Ghost-type Pokémon considered him and his group as prey.

These Litwick were not very high level, averaging just over level 20.

Qing Wu silently had Golbat, Aggron, and Magmar arrange themselves in a triangular formation, preparing to deal with the Litwick's attack.

"Everyone be careful, these Litwick definitely have a leader, it's just hiding in the dark," Qing Wu scanned the area, not seeing any sign of Chandelure, so he could only remind everyone to be vigilant.

Where Ghost-type Pokémon congregate, Dark Stones are bound to form, so the appearance of Chandelure is not surprising.

While Qing Wu wasn't paying attention, a small white Pokémon appeared behind him, let out a few cackles, and then vanished into Qing Wu's backpack.

Qing Wu was completely unaware that a Pokémon had snuck into his backpack.

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

Because Litwick have the Flash Fire ability, Qing Wu saw that in Magmar's Flamethrower, some Litwick were repelled, while others seemed unaffected, absorbing Magmar's flames as if nothing happened.

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

The few remaining Litwick were gloriously retired under the nourishment of Squirtle's Water Gun.

"That's strange, why didn't I see the Litwick leader at all?" The Litwick vanished from their spot in a panic, and Qing Wu scratched his head.

These Litwick retreated too quickly, victory came so suddenly.

After repelling the Litwick, Qing Wu saw various other Ghost-type Pokémon.

There was Regigigas embedded in the rock wall, the elusive Sableye, and Froslass, which quietly followed behind him and delivered an icy strike.

Mismagius, with its eerie grin, and Mismagius, absorbing nightmare energy.

However, Qing Wu saw more of the Gastly family, causing mischief and pranks everywhere. But there was one thing Qing Wu deeply understood.

There were indeed many Pokémon Eggs here; one could be encountered every few steps.

But Qing Wu had abandoned them after using his system to detect their potential.

Most of these Pokémon Eggs were Red Potential, and even the occasional Orange Potential Pokémon Egg didn't catch his eye.

Qing Wu spent a whole day but couldn't find the Gastly that was said to be able to emit white flames.

"It seems this Gastly hasn't been born yet," Qing Wu said regretfully as he walked out of the second level of Ghost Mountain.

Time was running out; there was only one day left until the assembly. Qing Wu had to seize this opportunity to become the supreme king of this trial.

When Qing Wu walked out of the cave, he discovered that the real trouble was yet to come.

The entire Ghost Mountain was shrouded in mist, and Qing Wu saw countless black shadows moving within the fog.

These were Ghost-type Pokémon manipulating the corpses of deceased Pokémon, engaging in a hunting spree.

"No wonder I felt the Pokémon on the second level of Ghost Mountain were so weak earlier; it turns out the stronger ones all came to the first level," Qing Wu saw a black shadow smell the scent of the living and quickly crawl over.

It was an Arbok, but its chest was pierced with a large hole, revealing white bones.

The Arbok's eyes had long since fallen out, and there were many signs of decay on its body.

Qing Wu could visibly see countless plump white maggots wriggling on the Arbok's body.

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

By possessing the bodies of long-dead Pokémon, they hunted various Pokémon that accidentally wandered into Ghost Mountain.

"Magmar, use Flamethrower!" Qing Wu unceremoniously gave the order to Magmar.

Since that was the case, he would carve a bloody path. After his rebirth, Qing Wu had no more reservations.

"Golbat, Aggron, attack together!" Magmar's Flamethrower struck the Arbok's corpse.

The Arbok's corpse struggled and turned into charcoal. A Haunter emerged from the Arbok's body, spinning its eyes, and fell to the ground.

Magmar's Flamethrower was like poking a hornet's nest; countless black shadows rushed towards Qing Wu.

There were Shellducks so rotten they were unrecognizable, and Dodrios with one head missing.

More were Arbok and Grimer, common Pokémon of Team Rocket.

However, the Grimer corpses were not as easy to Self-Destruct as they were in life.

Golbat flapped its wings, and countless huge Wind Blades surged out, easily slicing these corpses in half.

After all, once a Pokémon died, its cells stopped being active, and its defense was not as strong as when it was alive.

"Let's go!" Seeing more and more black shadows gathering, Qing Wu recalled Aggron and Magmar, grabbed Golbat's leg, and flew into the sky.

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

Because the Fearow's corpse had rotted, its flesh and blood flew everywhere when it used Drill Peck, scattering like petals from a celestial maiden, almost making Qing Wu vomit.

Qing Wu dodged slightly, narrowly avoiding the power of the Fearow's Drill Peck.

However, Qing Wu was unlucky, completely covered in the rotten slime from the Golbat corpses.

Only the sharp beak of the Golbat remained, with scraps of flesh and feathers still clinging to the bones. A cackling laughter echoed from the Golbat, as if mocking Qing Wu's current state.

"Golbat, use Whirlwind to blast a path!" Qing Wu was furious. Disgusted by this, even the usually calm and collected Qing Wu was burning with rage.

Golbat was also splattered with some slime and was equally enraged. In its eyes, this was a blatant act of provocation.

Golbat spread its powerful, giant wings, and countless massive wind pillars instantly formed.

The corpses of flying-type Pokémon that attempted suicide attacks were all swept into the wind pillars, their bodies quickly disintegrating into several pieces within the storm.

Following this, several Gastly with spinning eyes fell into the whirlwind.

"Why are the Ghost-type Pokémon here so weak?" Qing Wu frowned as he looked at the system scanning the Pokémon's potential.

He didn't know this was a place Team Rocket specifically used to cultivate Ghost-type Pokémon.

Any Ghost-type Pokémon with good potential had long been taken by Team Rocket's higher-ups.

Even the ones with decent potential that slipped through the cracks were captured and taken away by powerful testers who happened to pass by.

"What a shame, I still haven't found that Gastly with special abilities," Qing Wu guessed that Gastly must have mutated.

Its Poison attribute had changed to Fire, an extremely rare phenomenon in the entire Pokémon world.

After all, using certain training methods could overcome type disadvantages.

For example, training an Aggron or a Tyranitar to learn Surf, or training flying-type Pokémon to withstand attacks from electric-type Pokémon, like Ash's Swellow.

But to change a Pokémon's attribute, the chance might be one in tens of millions.

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

Forced to change their attributes and appearance due to adapting to the climate, this was the result of tens of thousands of years of breeding, where dormant genes became dominant.

With the pursuit of flying-type Pokémon corpses gone, Qing Wu and Golbat finally broke out of Ghost Mountain. Looking at the scorching sun outside, Qing Wu now needed to find a place to wash off the filth.

Inside the Team Rocket testing base.

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

"You did very well, Lian Ji. Although you sacrificed some Pokémon, as long as I become the number one tester, with Madam Athena's support, we can have as many Pokémon as we want."

"Qing Wu, you never expected to enter Ghost Mountain like this, did you? That place is a gathering spot for ferocious Ghost-type Pokémon!" Lan Ling was very satisfied with having tricked Qing Wu this time.

"It is my honor, leader. I wish you great success and victory in this trial competition," Lian Ji said smugly with her head bowed.