Evolution: Haunter!

"Oowu?"

Alolan Vulpix, Johan, and several students around them were all staring at Gastly, now engulfed in bright light.

"Ka-kah"

Even Gastly itself seemed a bit bewildered.

Within the shining glow, Gastly's form began to shift. Two arms gradually extended from its sides.

The gaseous mist surrounding its body started to solidify, forming an eerie, spiky face on either side.

Its once round, white eyes elongated into triangular slits, giving it a more sinister appearance. Black pupils now flickered with ghostly blue flames, and its previously small fangs turned into sharp, menacing ones.

As the light faded, Gastly's transformed shape fully emerged.

No longer Gastly… but now, Haunter!

"Ka-kah—"

Haunter looked at its newly formed hands, moving them about, fascinated by its own changes. Its voice had also grown deeper and more resonant than before.

"Haunter," Johan called out with a grin.

"Ka-kah?"

Haunter paused for a moment before realizing that Johan was addressing it. The newly evolved Pokémon happily narrowed its eyes and, sticking out its now larger tongue, darted toward Johan to give him a big, wet lick.

Johan's expression instantly shifted as he hurriedly shouted, "Wait! This outfit is expensive! The saliva… the saliva—!"

Slurp—

"Tsss— that paralysis is even stronger!"

He quickly bit into a Cheri Berry, its intense spiciness clearing the numbing sensation.

Johan shot a half-annoyed look at Haunter, who snickered mischievously. He had every reason to suspect Haunter was paying him back for his earlier comment about the knight armor not suiting it.

To be fair, Haunter's "Lick" was evidently much more potent post-evolution. Johan, who had started getting used to Gastly's Lick after repeated practice, now found himself starting from scratch—actually, worse than before.

"But regardless, congratulations on evolving, Haunter." Despite his playful resentment, Johan couldn't hide his genuine joy.

The feeling of seeing a Pokémon evolve after all the time and effort put in together was profoundly rewarding.

The transformation might have been triggered by an unexpected reason, but the evolution itself was undeniably a culmination of all their hard work.

"Ka-kah!"

Haunter blinked playfully, gesturing with its new hands.

(｀∀´)ノ

No biggie, piece of cake!

It then winked at Alolan Vulpix, who was watching it with wide eyes.

Haunter's eyes started glistening with tears, and it dramatically sniffled.

"Ka-kah~~"

It's been so hard, so very hard!

Finally, I can pet Vulpix too!

You have no idea how torturous it was to watch Johan pet Vulpix while I couldn't even touch it…

"Oowu~~"

Alolan Vulpix's eyes glowed faintly with psychic energy.

"Ka-kah~~"

Haunter quickly waved its hands in surrender. Kidding! Just kidding! Don't take it so seriously!

As its gaze drifted toward the suit of knight's armor hanging on the wall, Johan couldn't help but twitch slightly.

So this really was about that armor…

A few minutes later.

Alolan Vulpix was dressed in a stylish navy-blue Christmas outfit, with the help of some female students who tied six light blue ribbons around its tails.

"Wow! So cute! Can I pet it?"

"My heart, I can't take it!"

"I'm dead! This is too much!"

The crowd that had initially gathered to watch Haunter's evolution was now swooning over the newly dressed Vulpix.

"It really does look great," Johan said, his eyes brightening with admiration.

"Oowu~~o(////▽////)q"

It's… it's not that great…

Bang, bang—

Suddenly, from the direction of the shop's fitting room, a figure clad in deep purple armor, with a helmet that emitted a faint glow, came stomping out.

When Johan saw this knightly figure emerge, he paused, muttering under his breath:

"Dark Inferno Knight?"

It wasn't an exact match, but… there really was some resemblance.

But the thing was… Haunter having arms made sense; it had claws, after all. But what was going on with those legs?

Curious, Johan approached and gently kicked the armored legs.

Clank, clank—

Empty?!

So the leg armor is just hanging there?

"Haunter?"

But something felt off to Johan.

Normally, Haunter should be smugly showing off and flaunting by now, right?

"Ka-kah"

I… I'm stuck… Help…

Johan sighed deeply.

I knew that big head of yours wouldn't fit inside a suit of armor!

In the end, Johan continued strolling around the festival grounds with Vulpix, now in its new Christmas outfit, and Haunter, floating in midair wearing only half a suit of armor.

Having hands had clearly made things easier for Haunter. It held an oversized ice cream in one hand, while the other hand held a spoon.

To be clear, the spoon was for Vulpix; Haunter preferred to chomp directly.

Before long, half the massive ice cream was gone.

The festival had plenty of attractions.

There were haunted houses, food stalls, pop-up shops, battle arenas, and more.

Haunter had wanted to explore the haunted house, but Johan quickly pulled it away, fearing that Haunter might accidentally scare the staff and ruin the experience for everyone else.

As they wandered, they eventually reached the battle zone.

This area was just as lively and decorated as the rest of the festival, attracting students and teachers alike who were passionate about Pokémon battles.

The festival's battle zone featured a variety of formats.

There were traditional 1v1s, 3v3 arena matches, double battles, tower challenges, and even special events.

Unlike other areas that were student-organized, the battle zone was managed by the Academy itself to prevent any potential issues.

For added safety, the Academy even brought in Nurse Joy from the Pokémon Center.

After all, Rustboro Academy was the largest Pokémon Academy in Hoenn, so they had enough clout to pull a few strings.

And since it was Academy-sponsored, there were naturally prizes to motivate participants.

"Good evening, Nurse Joy."

Having met her before, Johan greeted Nurse Joy at the medical station.

"Professor Johan." Nurse Joy's eyes lit up, and she covered her mouth with a chuckle, "You look very handsome tonight."

"Thank you."

"Ka-kah!" Haunter saluted with its new claws, waving to Nurse Joy and her Chansey.

"Haunter? Did it evolve?" Nurse Joy observed.

Johan felt a bit awkward.

At least she didn't ask how it evolved… That would be too embarrassing to explain.

"Oowu~~"

The timid Vulpix also gave Nurse Joy a soft greeting, showing its progress.

"Aww, Vulpix, you're so adorable!"

"Lukky~~"

"Are you planning to participate in the tournament, Professor Johan? I heard the prizes this year are quite good," Nurse Joy asked.

"Prizes…"

"Professor Johan!"

Just then, Steven, dressed in his signature suit, approached them with a bright smile.

"I was looking for you earlier, but I just knew I'd find you here."

What do you mean 'just knew'? Johan thought.

"Haunter? Your Gastly evolved?" Steven noticed Haunter's armor, chuckling as he continued, "When did this happen?"

While speaking, he also greeted Haunter and Vulpix warmly.

Johan sighed inwardly.

Ahem, let's change the topic. "Steven, did you enter the tournament yet?"

"No, not yet." Steven shook his head, smiling. "But I know the Academy put a lot of effort into this. The final prize for the tower challenge is a set of Elemental Gems."

"Ka-kah?"

Hearing this, Haunter's eyes gleamed with interest.

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