##Chapter 42: The Hidden Poison Attribute of the Ghosts  

Swalot, a pure Poison-type Pokémon, is known for its unique and terrifying ability to swallow practically anything in a single bite. This ability alone makes it a dangerous opponent, but it is made even more deadly due to its capacity to secrete highly toxic body fluids from the pores of its body. These toxic secretions can melt through many substances, making Swalot one of the more dangerous Poison-type Pokémon out there. 

When Kane saw that Melissa had actually brought him not just any Poison-type Pokémon but a Swalot, it was a pleasant and unexpected surprise. He hadn't anticipated receiving something of this caliber. Originally, he had only planned to activate the dormant poison core within gastly, but now, with the presence of the Swalot, he saw an opportunity to push the ghost's poison attribute to an even higher level than he originally thought possible. 

In his past life, Kane had once trained a gastly to utilize its Poison-type abilities fully. However, that was a long time ago, before he had become a gym trainer. Back then, he realized that although gastly possessed both Ghost and Poison attributes, it heavily favored its Ghost-type abilities. Even after he excavated all the latent Poison-type capabilities from the Pokémon, it still paled in comparison to Pokémon like his Drapion or other highly specialized Poison-types. Nevertheless, it was still more than enough for most battles. For now, this training would suffice.

After nodding in thought, Kane began to give orders. "You two, use Poison Gas on that gastly," he commanded, his voice steady and decisive.

The two Swalot, gentle in nature and somewhat slow in their movements, obediently complied with Kane's command. Despite their gentle demeanor, the potency of the poison these Pokémon could produce was unquestionably among the best of all Poison-type Pokémon. Thick, dark gray clouds of poisonous gas began to seep from their pores, quickly engulfing the gastly entirely. Although gastly's body was mostly composed of gaseous substances itself, the introduction of this highly toxic gas into its system would trigger a significant change, one that was essential for its evolution into a true Poison-type fighter.

"Gastly, absorb all of the poisonous gases.you two, continue using Poison Gas," Kane ordered, his gaze fixed on the scene before him.

The potent poison emitted by the Swalot was overwhelming. The ghost type Pokémon gastly, though capable of enduring much due to its unique body composition, struggled to withstand the toxic fumes. It flinched as it absorbed more and more of the toxic gas, a sign that the process was far from easy. But Kane knew this was necessary. The transformation he was aiming for required suffering, and this baptism by poison was the only way forward. As gastly continued to absorb the gas, it exhaled its own combination of internal gas and newly absorbed toxins, expelling some of it back into the air, creating a cycle of constant exposure and endurance.

This grueling process continued for quite some time. At midday, Kane handed five hundred of the one thousand poke dollars he had with him to Ryuki, who quickly set off to buy food for the two swalot. A task like that would normally be dull for someone else, but Ryuki, sensing a profit, eagerly accepted the responsibility and went off faster than usual.

Swalot's were notorious for having voracious appetites, and the amount of food they required to stay healthy and strong was far more than that of an average Pokémon. Kane prepared two large piles of Pokémon food, just enough to keep them fed for the day. This was precisely why, in his past life, he had never chosen to train a Swalot himself—he simply couldn't afford to feed one, let alone two. The cost was too high, and the resources needed to maintain one were far more than most trainers could handle.

Once Ryuki returned with the food, the process of poison gas baptism resumed, stretching into the afternoon hours. Eventually, Kane noticed a change in the gas surrounding gastly's body. Portions of the gas had started to turn a dark gray color, a clear indicator that the transformation was beginning to take hold.

"Good, finally some progress. Gastly, keep it up. Don't stop, and you two, continue releasing the Poison Gas," Kane said, his voice filled with a rare hint of satisfaction.

The gastly endured this for several more hours, and by the time evening arrived, its entire body had been enveloped by the dark gray, poisonous gas. The first phase of the transformation was now complete, but there was still more work to be done.

Kane allowed the Swalot's to finish eating the rest of their food, knowing it might very well be their last meal. Afterward, he allowed his gastly to enter Burning Tower and absorb some of the tower's lingering life energy, giving it some much-needed recovery time. Once both the gastly and the Swalot's had recovered their strength, Kane initiated the second step of the process.

"Swalot's use Toxic on gastly," Kane instructed.

The gastly floated in the air, its face turned toward the sky. The two Swalot's responded immediately, spraying thick streams of purple Toxic liquid onto the gastly's face. The toxic liquid seeped into gastly's body through its gaseous form. Even though gastly's body was ethereal, the venom penetrated deeply, stimulating the dormant poison core that lay hidden within it.

This part of the process continued late into the night, and even as the hours passed, Kane did not tire. His eyes remained sharp, watching closely for any significant changes in the gastly's composition. He knew that the next stage of the transformation was the most crucial.

As the moon rose higher in the sky, the Swalot's began to run out of Toxic sludge. Their supply of poison was dwindling, and the gastly had absorbed nearly all of the toxin they had to offer. By now, gastly's poison core had been activated, but it still needed one final push to bring out its full potential.

Kane's voice dropped to a low, cold sneer. "Swalot, swallow gastly entirely," he commanded.

The Swalot, still docile and unaware of the impending danger, obeyed without hesitation. One of the Swalot opened its mouth wide and swallowed gastly whole.

Without missing a beat, Kane summoned Ditto, commanding it to transform into a copy of the Swalot. He stood at a safe distance, fully aware that the next phase could drive the Swalot into a frenzied, uncontrollable state.

"Gastly, destroy the poison sac of Swalot and absorb its innate toxin," Kane ordered, his tone cold and unwavering.

Upon hearing Kane's command, the Gastly began to attack inside the poison sac of Swalot. At that moment, the Swalot realized that its life was in grave danger. In a panic, it lunged toward Kane, desperate for survival. However, its poison sac had already been destroyed by the Gastly, leaving it vulnerable. Standing in its path was the Ditto, now transformed into a copy of the Swalot, its small red eyes focused intently on Kane.

Kane calmly observed the scene, fully aware that its poison sac had ruptured. Without its poison, the Swalot posed no significant threat anymore. He commanded firmly, "Open your mouth and let Gastly out."

But the Swalot, now driven by a crazed desire for revenge, was not about to comply with Kane's instructions. It was desperate to devour the entity that had caused its suffering. Ignoring Kane, it collided with the Ditto, its frustration manifesting in a wild attempt to crush Kane by leaping into the air and using its full weight to attack.

Kane remained composed, even as the massive creature bore down on him. With a cold smirk, he uttered, "Seeking death, are you? Gastly, use Shadow Ball."

In an instant, Gastly fired a powerful Shadow Ball that collided with the Devourer's bloated belly. The explosion sent Gastly soaring out from inside the Swalot, which collapsed to the ground with a loud "bang." Its lifeless form lay still, completely dead. The Gastly, now fully emerged, had a face that had entirely turned into a deep, poisonous purple, indicating its transformation.

Witnessing the demise of its companion, the remaining Gastly panicked, its instincts taking over as it attempted to flee in a frenzy. But Kane merely let out a quiet, mocking laugh.

"You think you can escape you slow fuck? sadly i can't kill you yet he taunted, showing no concern for the fleeing Pokémon.

"Gastly chase after it and use Hypnosis."

The speed of the Swalot was no match for Gastly's agility. In no time, Gastly had closed the gap and appeared directly in front of the terrified Swalot. Hypnotic waves began to flow out of Gastly, each wave chipping away at the consciousness of the Swalot, which struggled to stay awake, but it was futile.

As soon after it fell into a deep slumber, powerless.

Kane gave another command, "Ditto, pry its mouth open."

With ease, the Ditto followed Kane's orders, forcing the Devourer's jaws apart. Gastly swiftly entered the creature's body once again, and, just like before, it went straight for the poison sac, destroying it and absorbing the creature's natal toxins. Having completed its task, Gastly emerged from the Devourer's mouth, unscathed and strengthened.

Kane stood over the now-useless Swalot and remarked, "I told you; I wouldn't let you die."

He then casually took out a Pokéball and recalled the now-living but weakened Swalot. After all, one Swalot had already died; if he let both perish, explaining the situation to Melissa would become difficult. Though this remaining Swalot had lost its poison sac and could no longer use its poison abilities, it was no longer of any real value. However, these details no longer concerned Kane.

Satisfied with Gastly's progress, Kane examined it closely. The Gastly's face now shimmered with a poisonous purple hue, its dark gray gas swirling around it. Its poison core had been fully activated by absorbing the toxins from both swalot's, a process that had resulted in an almost perfect transformation.

By this time, dawn was approaching. The entire process had taken a full day and night.

Kane returned Gastly and the Ditto to their Pokéballs, heading back to his dorm room. There, he took a long, hot shower to clean off the grime from the day and night of work. After a brief nap, Kane rose and made his way to the training ground.

When he arrived, he saw that the three members of Komatsu and the others were already deep into their training session. Walking up to Melissa, Kane handed her one of the Pokéballs, stating flatly, "Here's your swalot."

Melissa looked at the ball, a frown forming on her face. "Why is there only one? I distinctly remember lending you two swalot," she questioned suspiciously.

Kane shrugged, his tone casual as he explained, "The other one refused to cooperate with the training last night, so I had to discipline it. Unfortunately, it attacked me in retaliation, and gastly was forced to kill it."

"You're lying!" Melissa snapped back, her voice shaking with disbelief.

"If you don't believe me, go see for yourself," Kane replied, his expression unbothered. "The body is behind Burned Tower."

"You...you...you have to come with me to check!" Melissa stammered, clearly unsure of what to think. In truth, she had only recently acquired the two Swalot from the black market and had never even laid eyes on them before. Her demand for Kane to accompany her was more about suppressing his arrogance than genuine concern for the Pokémon.

Kane sneered at her, "Heh, accompany you? I haven't even held you accountable for nearly getting me killed!"

His harsh words startled Melissa, causing her to take several steps back, tears welling up in her eyes. She bit her lower lip in frustration, her body trembling slightly.

At this point, Komatsu, sensing the escalating tension, quickly stepped in to comfort her. "Don't worry, Melissa, I'll go with you when we're done here. Kane didn't do this on purpose. If he had, why would he have only killed one of them? Besides, Pokémon bought from the black market often aren't fully obedient."

Hearing this, Melissa took a deep breath and managed to hold back her tears. "I didn't want this to happen either," she muttered before angrily throwing the remaining Swalot's Pokéball out of the gym.

Despite losing its ability to use poison, the Swalot still retained some general skills, and whoever found it could consider themselves lucky to have it.

"It's fine. I've got a TM to work on," Kane said dismissively, waving a hand before turning to leave.

Once Kane had left, Melissa couldn't hold back any longer and burst into tears.

Chiyama, observing from a distance, dismissed the scene as just another childish quarrel. He chose not to intervene, figuring it was best to let them resolve it on their own.

However, Thunderstorm, with furrowed brows, sensed something deeper was at play. He knew that things were not as simple as Kain said they were.