Challenging Gastly

Recalling all his Pokémon except Kirlia, Xia You gently woke Misty and Ash.

Ash stretched lazily, looking as though he had slept fairly well. "Is it morning already?"

Misty rubbed her eyes too, still half asleep. "I think I just had a dream about us being attacked by a ghost."

Xia You gave a wry smile. "That wasn't a dream. It really happened, and Brock has disappeared too."

"What!?" Misty and Ash cried in shock, instantly wide awake. "Was he taken away?"

Thinking back to the relevant events in the anime, Xia You nodded. "But I don't think his life should be in any danger. Still, we'd better find him as soon as possible."

They looked at the wooden cabin before them and cautiously stepped inside, only to find it empty. There was nothing but a damp, rotten, musty smell, and no telling how many years the building had stood there.

The floorboards creaked eerily beneath their feet. Misty peeked out from behind Xia You, looking around in fear.

"Huh? Brock isn't here?"

Xia You thought carefully, then said to the two of them, "Come on. Let's go back to the Maiden Shrine!"

By the time they entered Maiden's Peak Town again, it was midnight.

Stars dotted the night sky. The day's bustle had died away, leaving the entire town unusually quiet. The chilly air pierced their clothes, making them shiver.

The festivalgoers had long since dispersed, leaving litter scattered everywhere to be cleaned up at daybreak.

They reached the Maiden Shrine and opened the door, only to find Brock lying unconscious on the floor.

Apart from him, there was still no sign of Gastly.

Xia You understood that, given Gastly's elusive movements, actually tracking it down would be extremely difficult.

"Brock, wake up!"

Ash shook Brock hard. Only after a long while did Brock weakly stir awake, and even then, he was still murmuring, "I really want to see her..."

Xia You hurriedly crouched down to check his condition.

"Dark circles, disheveled clothes, listlessness... He's noticeably thinner and weaker than before, too. Too much of his stamina and vitality must have been drained!"

Compared with an innocent kid like Ash, Misty was more mature. As a girl, although she didn't understand such matters, she did have some vague idea.

Her face flushed as she asked, "Did Gastly do this?"

"No." Xia You shook his head. "I think a real ghost drained his energy. Gastly was only her accomplice."

"A real ghost?" Misty asked in surprise. "You mean that woman actually exists?"

"Of course," Xia You said firmly. "Otherwise, Gastly wouldn't have brought Brock to a place like this."

Misty asked again, "Then why would she do that?"

Xia You thought for a moment, then ventured a guess. "After all, she's existed for two thousand years. Even a ghost needs energy to sustain herself. That's probably why she drains men's energy like this at every Summer Festival."

Seeing that Misty was about to ask more questions, Xia You quickly said, "All right, no more questions. We'd better get Brock back to the Pokémon Center."

At the Pokémon Center.

Only after Nurse Joy examined Brock and confirmed that he really was just exhausted did everyone relax.

But no matter how they questioned him about what had just happened, Brock only looked bewildered. He seemed to have no memory at all of what happened after Gastly took him away.

After settling him into a bed in the dormitory and asking Ash to take good care of him, Xia You left the Pokémon Center alone.

Though Gastly was extremely troublesome, Xia You had made up his mind to catch it.

As a wild Gastly that had lived for who knew how many years, it was naturally very capable. More importantly, just like Team Rocket's Meowth, it could speak human language!

That alone meant that catching it would make communicating with his Pokémon much easier in the future. He would no longer have to rely solely on intuition and guesswork to understand them.

But where would Gastly be now?

At two in the morning, the night was at its darkest.

Xia You looked around, then decided to trust his instincts and try his luck at Maiden Rock on the seaside cliff first.

Following the mountain path out of town, he soon reached his destination. But just as before, there was nothing there except the waves and the salty sea breeze.

"Gastly, are you here!?"

Xia You shouted, but though his voice carried far, there was no response.

"Really not here?" Walking up to Maiden Rock, Xia You muttered to himself, "Then I suppose it wouldn't matter if I destroyed this rock now, would it?"

"Hey, hey!" A voice suddenly came from behind him. "I can't pretend I didn't hear that!"

Smiling, Xia You turned around. Sure enough, it was Gastly.

"Gastly, let's settle this with a battle!"

"Oh?" Gastly grew serious. "Are you trying to catch me?"

Xia You took a Poké Ball from his waist and enlarged it in his hand. "Of course. I'm looking for partners as I work toward the Indigo Conference, and your abilities would be a tremendous help!"

With that, Xia You threw the Poké Ball. After a flash of red light, what appeared before Gastly was an Eevee with fur bristling all over its body!

"What, it's a Jolteon!" Though Gastly sounded a little surprised, there was even more relief in its voice.

Xia You asked, "What? Are you surprised to see Jolteon?"

Gastly said, "I thought you'd send out that Zapdos to deal with me. Honestly, even I wouldn't have much chance against a Legendary Pokémon like that."

Xia You chuckled.

You think I don't want to?

But would I really tell you I can't command it yet!?

"Don't worry. Even if Jolteon loses, I won't use Zapdos against you!" Xia You folded his arms, putting on a nonchalant air. "All right, enough chatter. Let's get this battle started! Jolteon, use Thunder Shock!"

Threads of electricity flickered over Jolteon's body, then gathered into a bolt that shot toward Gastly.

Seeing Jolteon attack, Gastly suddenly formed a ball of black energy beside itself, sending it into the incoming bolt.

It was the Ghost-type move, Shadow Ball!

Thunder Shock was clearly weaker than Shadow Ball. The Shadow Ball pierced through the electric attack and continued flying toward Jolteon.

Xia You shouted, "Jolteon, dodge it! Then use Pin Missile!"

With its incredible speed, Jolteon easily evaded the Shadow Ball. It leaped aside, and its fur shot toward Gastly like steel needles, wave after wave!