Chapter 177: Gastly

Arriving at the location marked by the red dot, Julian looked at his Dowsing Machine, then scanned the area, his usually calm expression turning a bit bewildered.

What was going on?

The Dowsing Machine indicated the treasure was just ten centimeters away and hovering, meaning it was supposedly right in front of him.

But…

He looked at the empty space before him and then back at the Dowsing Machine. The massive red dot hadn't budged.

Julian shook the Dowsing Machine and even tapped it a few times.

"Is this thing broken?" he muttered.

System: Not broken

"You're popping up again"

He grumbled, rolling his eyes.

The system rarely spoke, only issuing missions. It only seemed to "appear" when he was complaining about it.

Julian trusted the system. If the Dowsing Machine wasn't broken, then the treasure must indeed be right in front of him. But why couldn't he see it?

"A Gengar can go invisible…"

Given that the treasure had been moving, Julian had suspected it might be carried by a Pokémon.

Now, standing at its location without seeing anything just ten centimeters away, the most likely scenario was that an invisible Pokémon—probably a Gengar—was carrying it, making the treasure invisible too.

"However..."

Glancing over at Lucario and Metagross beside him, who were shaking their heads, Julian dismissed his speculation.

Even if a Pokémon could turn invisible, it couldn't hide its Aura. Lucario hadn't sensed any Aura in the area, and Metagross had scanned several times with its psychic powers, finding nothing.

Julian waved his hand in front of him at the spot ten centimeters away. His hand passed right through—nothing there.

He was truly baffled.

"It moved again!!"

The red dot on his Dowsing Machine shifted once more, only this time, it wasn't moving away but getting closer—now only about a centimeter from his face.

Julian instinctively took a step back, his face darkening.

'What the heck? Sure, I know I'm handsome, but if this thing thinks it can take advantage of me, see if I don't kill it'

"Come out already!"

He shouted, swatting at the air in front of him, channeling a bit of Aura into his hand in his frustration.

Then—smack.

To his surprise, he actually hit something solid.

And suddenly, a white figure materialized in front of him.

Julian jolted at the sudden appearance, and Lucario instantly stepped protectively in front of him.

Metagross and Dragonite took flanking positions, glaring at the white figure.

Gastly, the now-visible culprit, looked pitifully at them. It had no ill intentions; it was simply curious why this human could detect it, and now it had been slapped!

His three Pokémon were even staring it down fiercely, and it was on the verge of tears.

"A white Gastly?"

Julian's mouth opened slightly as he stared at the odd-looking Pokémon, then back at his Dowsing Machine.

The red dot was indeed marking Gastly.

Then a realization dawned on him, Julian activated his Probing Eyes to inspect the Gastly.

Pokémon: Gastly (Ghost/Poison)

Level: 22

Potential: Purple

Ability: Levitate

Held Item: None

Gender: Male

Moves: Confuse Ray, Lick, Hypnosis, Mean Look, Imprison, Payback, Curse,

TMs: None

Genetic Moves: Skill Swap, Dark Pulse, Disable, Perish Song, Poltergeist, Will-O-Wisp

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A purple-tier Gastly, bearing the qualifications to be a future champion—and it was white!

"So it was you all along"

Julian finally understood. The red dot taking up a third of the Dowsing Machine's screen wasn't marking a treasure—it was marking this Gastly.

For the first time, Julian realized that his Dowsing Machine could also detect high-quality Pokémon. He'd encountered Cyan-tier Pokémon in other secret realms before, yet the Dowsing Machine hadn't registered them.

Now it seemed clear: the device didn't ignore them; rather, Cyan-tier Pokémon simply didn't meet its standard.

Dowsing Machine: My standards are quite high when it comes to living things, thank you very much. Proud.jpg

It seemed likely that only Blue or Purple-tier Pokémon were worthy of appearing on its radar.

"You're mine now"

Julian said, looking at the white Gastly with an intense, possessive expression. This guy was absolutely the Ultimate treasure of this advanced secret realm—if not officially, then certainly on par with one.

Gastly, sensing Julian's intense gaze, felt a jolt of fear. Something was definitely wrong with this human, and it needed to get away.

Although Julian couldn't detect Gastly's Aura before, once Gastly revealed itself, he could feel its presence clearly. Noticing something unusual about its Aura, Julian immediately called out;

"Metagross, Scary Face!"

Just as Gastly was about to slip back into invisibility, a huge, intimidating face appeared before it. Even though it was a Ghost-type, Gastly was startled so badly that it forgot to hide. The passive invisibility it relied on was instantly disrupted.

"Use Confusion."

Metagross, knowing that it was about to gain a new companion, applied just the right amount of force with Confusion, enough to knock Gastly out without harm.

Julian tossed a Poké Ball. After a few shakes, the white Gastly was captured without any resistance.

Using psychic power, he lifted the Poké Ball in front of him, grinning. He'd been in this realm for less than ten days, and he'd already captured a purple-tier Pokémon.

Such Pokémon were almost unheard of in advanced-level secret realms; they usually only appeared in the highest Top-tier realms.

After all, advanced-level secret realms maxed out at Elite-level Pokémon, which was Cyan-tier potential. It's rare enough to encounter a Blue-tier Pokémon, so how could a Purple-tier one possibly appear?

This Gastly was practically a one-in-a-billion miracle, an instance of a potential leap in quality—and to top it off, it was a shiny.

Julian released Gastly from its Poké Ball.

The newly captured Gastly appeared, looking a bit downcast. It understood that it had been caught by this human, and so, even if it wasn't thrilled, it didn't try to leave.

Of course, if it had tried, Julian wouldn't have just let it go.

Letting a purple-tier Pokémon walk away? Not a chance—he wasn't that foolish.

"Here, take this"

Julian said, offering Gastly a Toxic Orb he had obtained previously.

Gastly was startled once again. This human was giving it something valuable right from the start.

It wasn't exactly sure what the strange, ominous orb was, but it could feel a deep, instinctual pull toward it.

Well…how could it refuse?

Shyly, Gastly took the Toxic Orb, giving it a little lick. Its face lit up in bliss.

"Here, have some Energy Cubes too"

Julian said, offering top-grade Ghost-type energy cubes.

Gastly's mind told it to refuse, but its body was already reaching out and taking a cube.

As soon as the cube touched its tongue, Gastly's eyes lit up.

Gastly: A ghost never submits…unless there's free food and lodging.

*****

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