Evolution! Weavile

"You summoned that thing because you want us all to fall to our deaths?" Xiao Ran said, exasperated. Not summoning large Pokémon inside tall buildings was common knowledge taught in middle school. Their enormous bodies could collapse most buildings. It was far too dangerous.

"But... who wants to kill us?" Shen Yue raised her head, still looking at the ghosts with a trace of fear, though summoning Charmander seemed to have reassured her considerably.

"I don't know, but anyone who could set this up here must have a good grasp of our movements," Xiao Ran said grimly.

"Heh~ heh~ heh~" Popplio's level was still too low for Sing to have much effect. The Gastly at the front were already lunging at them again with sinister grins.

"Charmander, Ember!" The Charmander guarding Shen Yue spat out a burst of flame, driving back the approaching Gastly.

"They chose the haunted house because they don't dare kill us openly. We should be safe as long as we get out!" Jiang Cheng said quickly. Taking Shen Yue's hand, he turned to run toward the entrance, but he had to stop after a single step.

In the glow of Charmander's tail, they saw a Pokémon with gray hands, a single red eye, and a body wrapped in paper float in through the doorway. Ghost-type Pokémon could often pass easily through obstacles, but the sight of this one sent a jolt through them.

"Dusclops! They even brought out an Elite Class Pokémon to kill us!" Xiao Ran sucked in a cold breath. He had rarely seen this Pokémon, but he had heard plenty about it. Their textbooks included introductions to certain unusual Pokémon.

Dusclops was Duskull's evolved form. Evolving a Duskull into a Dusclops was extremely difficult, much like a Magikarp making the leap to Gyarados. Once it evolved, however, it possessed at least Elite Class strength. Using an Elite Class Pokémon to kill four rookie Pokémon Trainers was an extravagant move, whoever was behind it.

"Oooo~~~~" Dusclops let out a soft cry. The sight of Xiao Ran and the other three seemed to excite it, but its happy call subjected them all to immense pressure. This came not only from its formidable strength, but also from its Ability.

"Pressure!" Xiao Ran said softly. He already knew something about Dusclops's Ability.

"Keep your fear under control. Don't forget, there must be people in Nancheng secretly protecting us. As long as we make some noise, we can be rescued," Xiao Ran reassured them.

Dusclops's Ability was Pressure. In the games from his previous life, it merely made opponents expend extra PP. In this real world, however, the crushing weight of its immense mental power was torment for everyone. Those with weak wills might even fall to their knees under it.

Fortunately, with the son of Nancheng's richest man and some of its rare young awakened individuals among them, the government had already arranged covert protection. There had been nothing their protectors could do during the incident in the Secret Realm, since they could not follow them inside. Here in the bustling city, however, even the slightest disturbance could easily be detected.

"Sneasel~~~" Unlike the other Pokémon, which were too overwhelmed by the mental pressure to fight, Sneasel—the oldest and strongest among them—pushed through it and rushed to the front, letting out a threatening cry at Dusclops.

"Oooo~~~~" Dusclops murmured as it looked at Sneasel, seemingly mocking its overconfidence.

"Sneasel, Icy Wind!" Seeing Sneasel advance, Ye Ling straightened and took the initiative, launching an attack on Dusclops.

Icy Wind was an Ice-type move. Its freezing chill could hinder an enemy's movements to a certain extent. Dusclops was already slow, and slowing it further would make it difficult for it to catch Sneasel.

"Oooo~~~~" Dusclops's cry sent chills down their spines as its lengthening shadow crept toward them.

"Get out of the way! That's Shadow Sneak!" Xiao Ran warned when he saw the shadow stretching toward them, pulling the others hurriedly backward. This Ghost-type move used a shadow to circle behind an enemy and launch a surprise attack. In a heated battle, no one paid attention to changes in a shadow, and by the time danger struck, it was too late.

The shadow spread swiftly. Before Xiao Ran could even finish speaking, it had already reached them. He only managed to pull Ye Ling and Jiang Cheng aside. Just as the shadow was about to hit Shen Yue, Charmander suddenly slammed into her, knocking her clear, then fired a blast of Dragon Breath at Dusclops.

"Raaah!" Even with Dragon Breath, Charmander's level was far too low to inflict more than negligible damage on Dusclops. It took the Shadow Sneak in Shen Yue's place, and several claw wounds deep enough to expose bone opened across its back. Blood poured out as it roared in agony, immediately losing the ability to battle.

"Charmander!" Seeing the Charmander that had taken the hit for her, Shen Yue was heartbroken. She scrambled up from the floor, rushed over, and gathered it into her arms, trying to cover its bleeding wounds.

"It'll be okay. Let me take a look!" Xiao Ran hurried over and took the critically injured Charmander from Shen Yue. Power of the Moon flowed through his palm, slowly healing the wounds on its back. Unfortunately, he had only intended to go shopping today and had not brought any Potions.

"Sneasel, use Metal Claw!" Ye Ling seemed entirely unaffected and continued calmly issuing commands to her Pokémon.

"Sneasel!" At the front, Sneasel let out an angry cry. It had not expected its opponent to bypass it and attack its companions behind it. A cold gleam flashed across its claws, which shone with a metallic luster as it slashed at Dusclops.

Metal Claw was a Steel-type move capable of inflicting considerable damage. The lingering Steel-type energy would also temporarily sharpen Sneasel's claws.

"Oooo~~~~" The usually reliable Metal Claw barely left any scratches on Dusclops. Sneasel was stunned. It had never expected the move that always served it so well to fail.

"Sneasel~~~" A trace of bewilderment appeared in Sneasel's eyes. Suddenly, it felt as though there was nothing it could do against the creature before it.

"Sneasel, use Taunt, then keep using Metal Claw!" Ye Ling continued issuing commands, seemingly undiscouraged by the failure of the previous attack.

"Heh~ heh~ heh~" Just as Ye Ling was preparing to continue their counterattack, the entire room stirred again. The low-level Pokémon that had been trembling in the corners seemed to have received instructions. They flew out once more and lunged at Xiao Ran and the others.

"Everyone, gather close! Popplio, Whirlpool!" Xiao Ran shouted, then had Popplio use Whirlpool around them.

"Aooo~~~" Popplio let out a howl, and large quantities of moisture began gathering. Soon, everyone could clearly feel the dampness in the air, but this amount of moisture was still insufficient to create a Whirlpool out of thin air.

"Magnemite, Thunder Shock! Drive it back!" Jiang Cheng did not remain idle either, having Magnemite repeatedly use Thunder Shock to repel the ordinary Pokémon that had already approached.

"Feebas, help out too. Summon a Whirlpool around us." Without stopping the Power of the Moon flowing from one hand, Xiao Ran patted his waist with the other. An ocher-colored Feebas appeared, flopping continually on its side on the floor. With its arrival, however, the moisture in the air began gathering much faster.

The greatest difference between Normal Class and Entry Class Pokémon lay in their control of energy. Entry Class Pokémon could easily use energy to unleash all kinds of moves because they had already mastered its control, summoning seawater on dry ground or firing flames on a Water-type battlefield...

Whirlpool was a move that could be used on land. It primarily used Spirit Power circuits to control water elements and create actual water, then employed fluctuations in energy to turn that self-created water into a Whirlpool. This method was of little use to high-level Pokémon, but it was different for low-level Pokémon. It was their greatest means of using high-level moves while still at a low level.

With the two Water-type Pokémon working together, moisture gathered rapidly. Before long, a pool formed on the floor, then began slowly rotating and rising under Popplio's control...

"Leave these ordinary Pokémon to us. Have Sneasel be careful. The people protecting us should be noticing something wrong by now," Xiao Ran reassured them as he watched Sneasel struggle against Dusclops. Yet he knew that such a meticulously arranged assassination would naturally have accounted for their protectors. Even if the attackers could not defeat them, they only needed to hold them off. With an Elite Class Dusclops here, none of the four would survive.

Thud! As soon as Xiao Ran finished speaking, he saw Sneasel carelessly take a punch from Dusclops. Not only was it sent hurtling backward, but Dusclops deliberately knocked it into Ye Ling. Both trainer and Pokémon fell to the floor.

"Lingling!" Xiao Ran cried out in alarm, and the Power of the Moon in his hand faltered for an instant.

"Sneasel!!!" Sneasel, also badly injured, struggled to rise and let out a frustrated cry as it looked at its Pokémon Trainer. It felt deeply guilty. Not only had it failed to defeat the enemy before it, but it had also hurt its own Pokémon Trainer. It could not protect any of them.

"Oooo~~~~" Having knocked aside the little creature that kept blocking its path, Dusclops let out a cheerful cry and continued slowly toward Xiao Ran and the others, as though it were looking at meat on a chopping board, waiting for it to savor.

"Sneasel~~~" Its defiant cry echoed through the room. Dazzling white light illuminated the darkness, and every Ghost-type Pokémon involuntarily took a step back, staring in astonishment at the black figure lying in front of Ye Ling.

"This is... evolution..." Ye Ling watched the strange change before her, her eyes filled with delighted surprise.