Chapter 178: Gastly's Absolute Invisibility
If the system could show numbers, Gastly would probably have "Friendship +10 +15 +37" floating above its head right now.
Julian, though, kept a bit of distance. With Gastly being ninety-five percent gas, getting too close could cause gas poisoning.
The remaining five percent, as rumors say, might even be composed of souls from people poisoned by its gas.
Since Gastly was a gas Pokémon, a strong enough wind could blow it away.
"Gastly, use Invisibility," Julian suddenly said.
Gastly hesitated, unsure why Julian wanted it to go invisible, but it obeyed anyway.
Julian wasn't concerned; it was perfectly normal for a freshly caught Pokémon, one not yet used to following commands, to hesitate.
As Gastly turned invisible, Julian noticed its Aura had disappeared entirely.
He glanced over at Metagross, who shook its head—just as before, Gastly was completely untraceable in its invisible state.
Now that Gastly had been caught, even the Dowsing Machine couldn't detect it.
If he hadn't known Gastly was standing right in front of him, Julian would've thought it had left the area entirely.
"Alright, stop being invisible," Julian said.
In the next moment, Gastly reappeared, making a silly face, hoping to startle Julian, but Julian's expression didn't change. Internally, though, he almost lost his composure.
Julian: That was a close one
Taking a deep breath, Julian asked, "Gastly, is your invisibility a bit different from other Gastly's?"
Gastly looked at him, puzzled by the question.
What did he mean? All Gastlys' invisibility worked the same, didn't it?
For ghost-types like Gastly, Haunter, and Gengar, invisibility was a passive skill, shared by many other ghost-types too. This made ghost-type Pokémon a common pick for assassins around the world.
But there were limitations to invisibility.
Many methods could reveal a hidden Pokémon;
Lucario's Aura, Metagross's Psychic power, and Growlithe's sense of smell, etc.. among others.
Yet this Gastly's invisibility was different—neither Aura nor psychic power could detect it. Julian guessed even Growlithe's scent-tracking wouldn't work on it.
Looking at this shiny, white Gastly, Julian thought, 'Maybe this is a unique trait due it being shiny'.
Shiny Pokémon were often rejected by their own species because of their different coloring, but they usually possessed talents that surpassed others of their kind.
Take Julian's Metagross, for instance—its defensive stats were double those of a typical Metagross. That was the advantage of being a shiny.
The unique trait of this shiny, white Gastly appeared to be "absolute invisibility."
Julian came up with the term "absolute invisibility" on the spot; it fit Gastly's ability perfectly.
Once invisible, unless someone knew there was a Gastly around, even if a psychic Pokémon or a Lucario was nearby, they wouldn't be able to detect it.
A Gastly with absolute invisibility and a purple-grade potential—this Mf***er was a natural-born assassin.
It could sneak up behind you and take your heart, lungs, or kidneys before you even knew what happened.
Thinking about it, Julian felt a rush of relief. If this Gastly had any malicious intent before, it could've easily attacked him, turned his brain into dessert, and he wouldn't have even noticed.
Thanks to this absolute invisibility, Gastly had survived so well in the Shadowed Forest without being bullied by other Pokémon or caught by humans.
Wild shiny Pokémon were often cast out of their groups, which greatly raised their chances of dying. Very few actually survived alone.
Though this Gastly seemed to live well, it had surely been through many hardships.
"From now on, we're partners," Thinking of this, Julian said with a smile.
Gastly blinked in surprise. Pokémon were sensitive to emotions, especially ghost-types.
Feeling the sincerity in Julian's words, Gastly remembered its own lonely life, cast out by its kind and relying on its invisibility to survive one dangerous day after another.
To have a "partner" was something it had always dreamed of, and now...
Gastly pulled a playful face, and this time Julian reacted with a scared expression. Laughing, Gastly floated over and gave him a lick.
Julian thought it was just a friendly lick, but a moment later, a wave of paralysis crept over him.
Bas**d, it turned out to be—Lick.
The move Lick only had about 20 % chance of paralysis, but for someone with Julian's luck, it was practically guaranteed.
With shaky hands, he managed to retrieve a Cheri Berry from his system space, forcing it down to finally shake off the paralysis.
Seeing Julian in such a embarrassed state, Gastly laughed even harder, tears welling up from laughing so much.
Julian: So much for that Mega Pallet Town Physique, It can't even resist a little paralysis, What a rubbish Physique.
Mega Pallet Town physique: (〝▼皿▼)
After capturing such an excellent Pokémon, Julian couldn't be happier—this trip to the advanced-level secret realm was definitely worth it.
He didn't return Gastly to its Poké Ball, letting it float beside him instead, so they could start building trust.
The Shadowed Forest had only just begun to reveal its secrets. There was no way this exploration would end so soon.
The Dowsing Machine showed several red dots up ahead, and having Gastly, who knew the forest inside-out, was like having the best guide around.
Some treasures were guarded by Pokémon, but instead of using Gastly's "absolute invisibility" to steal them, Julian sent out Growlithe and Lairon to continue leveling up.
Of course, Gastly joined the leveling-up team too.
Currently, Gastly was at level 22. It would evolve into Haunter at level 25, and afterward, with a trade or a linking cord, Haunter could be evolved into the versatile powerhouse, Gengar.
This evolution path didn't have any level restrictions.
Julian also found a top-grade Dusk Stone, one of the rarest evolution stones and that too of top-grade.
Without hesitation, he tossed it over to Gastly.
The energy within the Dusk Stone could be absorbed by Gastly to boost its ghost-type affinity, just as the Toxic Orb strengthened its poison-type affinity.
In official matches, a Pokémon could only hold one item. But outside of matches, Gastly could hold a hundred items if it wanted—no limit on benefits here.
After spending about three days in the Shadowed Forest, Julian finally decided to head out.
The dark, gloomy environment was hardly fit for humans, nor was it suitable for Pokémon like Metagross or Dragonite. Only darkness-loving Pokémon thrived there.
Any longer, and Julian feared he'd end up with a case of depression.
*****
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