Gastly

Time flew by, and before long, half a month had passed.

Across the boundless sea, Winged Gull streaked through the sky.

In the distance, a small island made of reefs gradually came into view. Countless seagulls flew above it.

Luo Sa had found the island while flying one day, following a flock of seagulls.

The island wasn't marked on any nautical chart. It was a completely uninhabited island.

Aside from the seagulls, there were no other living creatures on it—not even a trace of vegetation.

After briefly exploring the island, Luo Sa named it Seagull Island and made it his Secret Base.

Chuu!

At Luo Sa's cry, the seagulls on the island grew restless. One after another, they instinctively flew away from him, putting as much distance between them as they could.

Luo Sa landed on the island with satisfaction, then found an opening among the reefs and dove inside.

The opening was extremely small, just barely wide enough for Luo Sa in his Winged Gull form to squeeze through.

He followed the passage deeper in, and a few minutes later, a huge cavern appeared before him.

The scattered feathers showed that this had once been the seagulls' nest. Now, Luo Sa had taken it over.

Only after arriving here did Luo Sa finally breathe a sigh of relief.

At Marine Headquarters, he always felt as though a dark cloud hung over his head, often leaving him short of breath.

Only here could he completely relax.

His identity was simply too sensitive. If it were discovered, he would almost certainly be doomed.

"Phew!"

He took a deep breath, and his whole body suddenly crackled like a handful of beans popping.

Then he began to grow taller, and the pink liquid that had formed his face started to peel away.

A moment later, Luo Sa had returned to his original form.

Luo Sa felt completely at ease. As expected, no one liked living like a rat.

"My time out here is limited. I'd better hurry!"

Taking a light breath, Luo Sa began inspecting the Transformation Energy within him.

His Transformation Energy had already reached 310 points!

"It's been half a month since I came back from Monster Island, but my Transformation Energy has only gone from 308 to 310."

Thinking about how slowly his Transformation Energy was growing, Luo Sa sighed inwardly.

He had been prepared for this, but the pace was still slower than he'd expected.

After returning, it had taken him five days to raise his energy from 308 to 309. Then it took another ten days to go from 309 to 310.

At this rate—one point every ten days—it would take him 1,000 days, or three years, to reach the maximum of 400!

Three years to reach 400. Who knew how long it would take him to transform into a Divine Beast!

Luo Sa sighed again. Then the Pokémon he was about to transform into came to mind, and his mood immediately improved.

Because the Pokémon he was about to transform into was one of his all-time favorites!

"I choose you!"

A gleam flashed in Luo Sa's eyes. Transformation Energy surged through his body, and a ball of white light instantly enveloped him!

In the dark cavern, the white light illuminated everything. It was brilliant, yet gentle on the eyes.

Gradually, the light faded. Amid a series of eerie laughs, a round creature wreathed in black mist appeared in the cavern.

The creature looked a little like a ghost. Its spherical face had a wide mouth and two eyes. It was the gaseous Pokémon, Gastly!

Gastly was born from poisonous gas. Its thin, gas-like body could slip into anywhere!

As Luo Sa recalled what he knew about Gastly, a smile spread across his face.

With Gastly's Ability to pass through any object, he had a better chance of staying alive.

Even if his identity was exposed, as long as he wasn't caught right away, he had a good chance of using Gastly to escape danger!

Gastly also had two types: Ghost and Poison. Its Ghost Attribute made it immune to Normal-type and Fighting-type attacks.

That made Luo Sa think of the Logia Devil Fruit, said to be invincible in the first half of the Grand Line.

"I wonder what will be different after I transform into Gastly?"

After calming himself a little, Luo Sa began to study Gastly's abilities.

The moment Luo Sa focused, he sensed several kinds of energy within Gastly.

The two strongest were naturally the Ghost and Poison types, its innate types.

Besides those, two other kinds of energy were also very strong, not much weaker than its two innate types.

After carefully sensing them, Luo Sa knew the two types had to be Psychic type and Dark type!

The other types were much weaker.

After sensing the energy within him, Luo Sa examined the moves he now knew.

Information about Gastly's two basic moves, Hypnosis and Lick, surfaced in his mind.

One could put an opponent to sleep, while the other could paralyze them. Both were extremely useful control moves.

Wanting to test Gastly's abilities, he moved and charged straight at a wall.

Gastly's figure then eerily merged into the wall and disappeared.

Once inside the wall, Luo Sa's vision instantly went dark. He didn't panic, simply remaining where he was.

At once, he felt a strange pressure from the wall pressing into his body, though it was very slight.

"Hmm? This pressure!"

Luo Sa narrowed his eyes, then controlled his body and burrowed underground.

Just as he expected, the farther down he went, the stronger the pressure became. When he was a hundred meters below the surface, he found it difficult to move.

Back on the surface, Luo Sa's form flickered, and he turned back into a human.

"Hmm?"

"Just as I thought!"

"Every time I transform, the Pokémon's genes fuse with my body, making it stronger!"

Feeling the changes in his body, Luo Sa's heart blazed with excitement.

He began listing all the Pokémon he'd set his sights on.

If he had enough Transformation Energy, he would transform into every one of them and gain even greater strength!

"In that case, this trip has been a complete success!"

Satisfied, Luo Sa turned into Winged Gull again and slowly made his way out through the passage.

Then he blended in with the seagulls, soared into the sky, and headed toward Marine Headquarters.

After flying for a while, Luo Sa returned to Marine Headquarters. Looking down from high above, he saw the New Recruit Camp brightly lit in the distance.

With his extraordinary eyesight, he could see a group of workers laboring away there.

That was the New Recruit Camp's training ground. The workers were building the arena for tomorrow's Ranking Tournament finals.

The Elite Camp Assessment was an important annual event for the entire Navy.

On that day, the Elite Camp Assessment grounds would be opened to all the people.

The Navy wanted to seize this rare opportunity to show the people who trusted and supported them just how strong the Navy was, and to strengthen their faith in it!

"The second stage of the Elite Camp Assessment—the Ranking Tournament? This should be interesting!"

Luo Sa felt a surge of excitement. As long as he took first place in the Ranking Tournament, he would be able to enter Elite Camp and learn the powerful Marine Six Styles and Haki!

He believed that his strength would improve by leaps and bounds in Elite Camp. This would be a major turning point for him.

Even if it cost him his life, he would claim first place!