Having regained his senses Primeape plopped down on the ground, panting heavily, staring at the fist marks on the tree. Was this his own power?
Is this the Rage Fist that Roy was talking about?
What happened to me just now?
As if he had lost his mind, he actually tried to attack Roy.
Primeape quickly stood up and apologized to Roy. Roy didn't take what had just happened seriously. Instead, he checked Primeape's body and was relieved to see that Primeape was alright.
They then asked the Primeape how it felt.
"Extremely popular!"
Litwick tells Roy that Primeape feels like he's being controlled by Rage and is mistaking Roy for Headband Guy.
No wonder Primeape was so Rage.
But even using Rage Fist once is so difficult for Infernal, and that's with its own help. It seems unlikely that Primeape will be able to use Rage Fist 20 times.
"Primeape, do you want to become stronger?"
"Extremely popular!"
For Primeape, there's only one answer to this question: to think. Primeape already answered Roy's question back at the Pokémon Center.
He wanted to climb to that highest position with Roy.
"But if the price of becoming stronger is a Ghost type Pokémon, appearing in a completely new form, would you be willing?"
The Primeape was stunned for a moment. It had never heard of the possibility of further evolution within its own species and had always believed that this was its final form.
"Extremely popular!"
Litwick relayed Primeape's question to Roy.
It's normal that Primeape doesn't know about it. Annihilape is currently in an undiscovered form, since no one would likely associate the violent and easily angered Primeape with the uncommon Ghost type.
Just as Roy was about to explain to Primeape, a rustling sound came from outside the fence at the back of the mountain, as if someone was coming. Litwick immediately became alert.
By the moonlight, Roy spotted several tall figures walking towards them, their Ghost Power coalescing in their hands.
"Machamp, Machamp."
The newcomers were a Machamp of Machamp Construction Crew. They were about to finish work, but they heard a commotion coming from the back of the mountain, so they came to check it out.
The Ghost Power in Roy's hand dissipated, and after Roy indicated that he was alright, the two Machamp left the back mountain.
After losing sight of Machamp, Roy was about to explain to Primeape, but instead met Primeape's trusting gaze.
Knowing Roy wouldn't lie to him, Primeape asked again:
"If I become Ghost type Pokémon, can I stay with Roy, Litwick, Duskull, and Misdreavus forever?"
"Can he communicate with Roy now?"
The first thing Primeape thought of wasn't whether becoming a Ghost type Pokémon was equivalent to death, because compared to death, it was more afraid of losing Roy.
If I had never seen the light, I could have endured the darkness.
Since joining Roy's group, Roy has never treated him unfairly, and Roy doesn't mind his past experiences or his defeat in the very first round of the Pokémon Contest.
When Roy heard the Misdreavus's translation, he was taken aback. He didn't know, or rather, he hadn't thought about this question since coming to this world.
Do Ghost type Pokémon age?
However, judging from the fact that the High-level Elite Four member Gengar on Mt. Pyre still looks like a child, it seems it really doesn't age... right?
But being able to communicate directly with oneself is absolutely certain.
After receiving Roy's affirmative answer, Primeape clenched its fists and made its own decision: it too would become a Ghost type Pokémon.
He wants to become stronger!
He wants to be with Roy forever!
He also wanted to be able to communicate with Roy on his own, instead of relying on the Litwick and their translators.
Seeing the determined look on Primeape's face, Roy explained to it the principle behind evolving after using Rage Fist Primeape times.
Was it 20 times that punch just now?
The Primeape looked at the fist marks it had made on the tree, then at its own fist. It had evolved into the Ghost type Pokémon Roy had mentioned after using Rage Fist 20 times.
But now I can barely last even one time. Is it really possible to use Primeape 20 times?
Because of his past experience of being abandoned, Primeape cherishes his current life very much; he doesn't even want to close his eyes and go to sleep at night.
Sometimes I have Nightmares in the middle of the night, dreaming that Roy doesn't want me anymore, and I have to get up and look at Roy sleeping soundly before I can fall asleep again.
Of course, what he feared even more than any of that was what if he woke up to find it was all a dream?
Seeing that Primeape was still hesitant, Roy gently placed his hand on Primeape's head and encouraged it:
"Primeape, don't lose confidence in yourself! You can do it! Let's try again in a bit!"
"Candle!"
"Dream!"
Misdreavus and Litwick cheered them on, while Duskull floated over to Primeape and Primeape it with its body.
Everyone...
Primeape looked at Roy and Misdreavus who were cheering him on, its desire to evolve grew even stronger.
After about an hour, once Primeape had recovered its strength, Roy once again imbued it with the Ghost Power of the Primeape.
This time, Primeape tried hard to control the Rage that came from his bloodline while keeping himself calm, but suppressing that Rage was not as easy as he had imagined.
The veins on Primeape's head bulged, and the shallow scars on his face looked even more ferocious; he was about to lose his mind again.
However, having learned from its previous experience, Primeape unleashed a punch imbued with purple Ghost Power, striking the large tree in front of it before completely losing its mind.
It worked!
Since Primeape wasn't attacked before unleashing its move, the power remained at 50, but the impact and depth of the attack were not as great as when Primeape went out of control earlier.
Roy walked into the big tree and observed the fist imprint this time, and found that the Ghost type aura covering this fist was not as strong as the previous one.
Of course, this can't be blamed on Primeape. It's probably because he didn't provide enough Ghost Power. He discovered that his Ghost Power was being rapidly depleted when he was providing Ghost Power to Primeape.
But right now, his Popularity Points isn't enough to upgrade the level of his Ghost Power.
"Dream!"
The Misdreavus floated to Roy's side.
You mean the Ghost Soul Slate?
Following the Misdreavus's suggestion, Roy took out half of the Plate from the space.
Since Giratina removed the bewitching power from the Plate, claiming they were Arceus's whetstone, Roy has never taken out the Ghost Soul Slate again.
"Dream."
With Misdreavus's soft call, purple energy appeared in the Plate and flowed into Primeape's body following Misdreavus's command.
This scene left Roy speechless; how could the Misdreavus freely control the energy within the Plate?
But thinking about it, it makes sense. The Misdreavus appeared right next to the Plate, so there must be some kind of connection between them.
Unlike Roy's Ghost Power, the Plate emanates the purest Ghost-type energy, and it is an inexhaustible source of energy.
This time, Primeape's fur stood on end, and it exuded a Black Aura.
Its eyes turned blood red again, and the purple energy provided by the Plate continued to gather on Primeape's fist. Before it completely lost its mind, Primeape unleashed a second Rage Fist.
Roy finally saw Primeape unleash a full Rage Fist, and he discovered that his Ghost Power could be consumed by Ghost type Pokémon to replenish their energy.
The energy of the Plate seems to be directly applied to the Pokémon.
After using his second Rage Fist, Primeape was completely exhausted and collapsed to the ground.
Roy quickly pulled Primeape into his arms and fed it the Pokéblock he had just bought from Nurse Joy. Primeape 'Primeape expression improved.
"Extremely popular!"
"Yes! Primeape, you did it! You just successfully used Rage Fist twice in a row."
The Primeape heard the answer it wanted and closed its eyes contentedly.
This action startled Roy, who quickly checked Primeape's body, but all he heard was Primeape snoring.
Roy then realized that Primeape was too tired and had fallen asleep.
Roy watched the Primeape drift off to sleep in his arms, his feelings a mix of emotions.
It seems that for Annihilape, it will have to wait until Primeape can fully control Rage Fist.
Or rather, when you have complete control over your emotions.
It was his own Primeape that was in question. If it were any other Primeape, it probably wouldn't even be able to throw the first punch before it was killed by the rage in its bloodline.
No, even a normal Primeape probably couldn't tolerate the Ghost-type energy attached to its body.
Roy also understood why there hadn't been a single Annihilape left.
"Let's go home."
Roy carried Primeape on his back and returned to his temporary cabin, placing Primeape on the small bed next to his large bed.