Pokemon: With Title System

Chapter 135 – Consecutive Evolutions and the Rainbow Gym

After supper, some Pokémon relaxed on the carpet while others headed to the training area to work on their skills.

Asahi sat on the couch, playing with two purple Ghost Z-Crystals and a uniquely shaped bracelet in his hands.

In the end, he chose the one item he could actually use right now.

The remaining Reaper Cloth and Malicious Armor were items used to evolve Duskull into Dusknoir and Charcadet into Ceruledge, respectively.

For the former, if he had wanted a Dusknoir, he would have captured one at the Pokémon Tower earlier.

As for the latter, while Ceruledge was undeniably cool, traveling all the way to Paldea to catch a Charcadet felt like too much trouble.

Since none of these items were unique, Asahi simply opted for the most immediately useful Z-Crystal.

Gastly floated beside him, staring curiously at the Z-Crystal in his hand.

It could sense a special ghostly energy contained within the crystal.

"Want it? Here you go."

Asahi tossed one of the Ghost Z-Crystals to Gastly.

Gastly instinctively caught it with its tongue, eyes wide with surprise.

It still remembered Asahi confiscating its Spell Tag earlier—why was he suddenly being so generous now?

Seeing Gastly's puzzled expression, Asahi smiled. "I took your Spell Tag because of regulations. But this Z-Crystal? That's a gift from me. There's a difference."

Gastly tilted its head, feeling a bit confused.

But ultimately, it accepted that this was a gift from Asahi.

Happily swallowing the Z-Crystal, any lingering resentment from losing its Spell Tag disappeared. It cheerfully floated around Asahi in circles.

Asahi opened Gastly's status panel.

[Pokémon: Gastly]

[Type: Ghost, Poison]

[Ability: Levitate]

[Friendship: Friendly]

[Level: 37]

[Moves: Hypnosis, Dark Pulse, Shadow Ball…]

[Held Item: Ghost Z]

"Hm?"

Asahi was surprised by Gastly's level. He knew it wasn't low, but he hadn't expected it to be 37.

Still…

"You're already level 37, so why haven't you evolved yet?"

"Gaaass?"

Gastly looked confused. It had no idea what Asahi meant by "level 37."

But it did understand the second part.

"Gaaass~!"

Listening to Gastly's response, Asahi's expression turned odd. "You're saying you didn't evolve so that enemies would underestimate you, and when they try to attack, you can scare them by revealing your true strength?"

So it was deliberately playing weak to catch opponents off guard?

"Gaaass!" Gastly nodded proudly.

It had used this trick to frighten many enemies before.

"…But did you ever consider that if you had evolved into Haunter, your speed would have increased, and maybe you wouldn't have been caught by me?"

Asahi's words made Gastly freeze.

Wait… that was possible?

Gastly thought hard.

That… actually made sense?

Instantly, its mood deflated. No longer suppressing its evolution, its body began to glow.

A few seconds later…

A dejected-looking Haunter appeared before Asahi.

Seeing Haunter's sulky expression, Asahi chuckled.

Handing it an energy cube, he reassured it, "Don't be so down. Staying with me at least means you won't have to worry about Dusknoir dragging you back to the Spirit World."

"That's a lot safer than wandering around on your own."

Haunter thought about it and realized he had a point.

Despite becoming Asahi's Pokémon, it no longer had to fear being taken away by a Dusknoir. It had seen firsthand what had happened at the Pokémon Tower—if not for Asahi, it would have been dragged into the Spirit World.

With that in mind, Haunter's mood quickly lifted.

Just then, Green walked by with Jigglypuff, heading to her room for the night. Asahi called out, "Green, help me with something!"

"Hm?"

Green looked at him, puzzled.

What could he possibly need this late at night?

Asahi recalled Haunter into its Poké Ball and handed it to Green. "Help me with a trade evolution."

He planned to evolve Haunter straight into Gengar.

Hearing this, Green let out a sigh of relief—so that was all. She had thought…

Seeing Green's inexplicably flushed face, Asahi was confused.

Did a simple trade evolution warrant blushing?

"You're not thinking of something weird, are you…?"

Realizing her expression was off, Green quickly pulled Asahi over to the trade machine in the corner of the living room and placed Haunter's Poké Ball onto it.

Asahi did the same.

They pressed the buttons simultaneously, and the Poké Balls blurred out of sight. When they reappeared, Asahi's Ultra Ball had become a standard Poké Ball.

Meanwhile, Green's side now held Haunter's Poké Ball.

Without opening it, they pressed the button again to trade back.

As soon as Asahi received the Poké Ball, it began glowing.

A grinning Gengar floated into the air.

Having just undergone two consecutive evolutions, Gengar curiously examined its new body, raising its arms and looking around. It seemed slightly unaccustomed to its new form after transforming from a small Gastly into a plump Gengar.

Reaching into its belly, it pulled out the Z-Crystal Asahi had given it and sighed in relief upon confirming it was still there.

Watching Gengar, Asahi smiled.

It seemed even livelier than before.

"Looking forward to working together, Gengar!"

"Gaaass~!"

Gengar grinned and held out its hand for a high five.

Just as Asahi was about to meet its hand, Gengar smirked mischievously, trying to vanish at the last second to make him miss.

But Asahi had already seen through it.

Using Aura, he halted Gengar's movement just enough to land the high five.

Slap!

Foiled, Gengar sulked and retreated into its Poké Ball.

Asahi didn't mind its little antics.

After bidding Green goodnight, he picked up the sleeping Eevee from the couch and returned to his room.

---

The next morning, Asahi and Green left Saffron City after a brief rest.

Rainbow City

After a month, Asahi returned to Rainbow City, feeling as if ages had passed.

The city remained unchanged from his last visit.

The only difference was the absence of the Game Corner and Team Rocket's base.

To be honest, Asahi still had some nostalgia for the Celadon Game Corner. Even though he no longer lacked money, that place had provided him with his first pot of gold.

He and Green made their way to the Celadon Gym.

To Asahi's surprise, Erika was already waiting at the entrance.

"Commissioner Asahi, Miss Green, welcome!"

Dressed in a traditional kimono, Erika greeted Asahi with impeccable etiquette.

"It seems like Gym Leader Erika already knew I was coming?" Asahi asked curiously.

"One of my employees happened to spot you on the way here and took it upon themselves to inform me. I hope you won't hold it against them, Commissioner Asahi," Erika explained.

Asahi believed that part—Erika's family was an influential one in Celadon City. Aside from the botanical garden and perfume shop she personally managed, their business interests covered nearly every aspect of Celadon. It wasn't surprising that one of their employees had encountered him.

But whether it was really just a "coincidence" was another matter.

After all, an ordinary employee probably wouldn't recognize him. More likely, the Celadon Gym had specifically instructed its staff to keep an eye out for him.

However, Asahi didn't call her out on it.

Feigning ignorance, he followed Erika into the Celadon Gym, which resembled a botanical garden.

Upon entering, Asahi immediately noticed the various Grass-type Pokémon inhabiting the place.

Oddish, Bellsprout… All the common Grass-types of Kanto could be seen here.

Noticing Asahi's gaze on the Pokémon, Erika explained, "These Pokémon were all wild ones that I rescued. Since they didn't want to leave, I let them stay here."

As she spoke, the Grass-type Pokémon gathered around her, circling her affectionately.

"It seems like Miss Erika is quite beloved by these Pokémon," Green remarked.

"Sometimes it can be a bit troublesome, though. They always cling to me and won't let go!" Erika chuckled.

But just as she was speaking, the Pokémon merely lingered in front of her for a moment before rushing over to Asahi instead, surrounding him instead.

Seeing Asahi being swarmed, Erika smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, Commissioner Asahi, I hope they're not bothering you."

"It's fine." Asahi crouched down and patted a nearby Bulbasaur.

"Bulba~!"

Bulbasaur let out a contented cry, its expression full of comfort.

Erika was visibly surprised. This particular Bulbasaur had been abandoned by a previous trainer and was usually very wary of strangers. Yet, it had taken an immediate liking to Asahi?

Noticing Erika's puzzled expression, Asahi offered an explanation. "It might have something to do with my special ability."

His Viridian Aura had never failed when it came to connecting with wild Pokémon.

Erika wanted to ask more about his ability, but she felt it would be too forward, so she held back.

After feeding the Pokémon some Pokéblocks, Asahi finally bid them farewell.

Under Erika's guidance, Asahi toured the entire Celadon Gym.

Among all the gyms he had evaluated, Celadon Gym was probably second in size only to Sabrina's Saffron Gym.

As he walked, he took notes in his notebook.

Erika was curious about what he was writing, but since she was the one being evaluated, she felt it would be improper to ask.

Green, however, had a clear view of his notes.

[Excessive indoor plants obstructing emergency exits, insufficient fire safety measures—potential safety hazard. Recommend rectification.]

Green's expression turned peculiar.

She glanced at Erika, leading the way ahead, and wondered what her reaction would be if she knew she was already on Asahi's list of necessary corrections—before the challenge had even begun.

The final stop on the tour was the gym's battle arena.

A referee was already waiting on the sidelines, indicating that Erika had prepared well in advance.

"Looks like Miss Erika was ready for this," Asahi noted.

Even having a referee set up in advance—this level of preparation was beyond thorough.

Erika understood the implication but didn't deny it. "Surge's arrest and Cerulean Gym's failure in the evaluation were a wake-up call for all Kanto gyms."

"For such an important evaluation, of course, I would be well-prepared."

She spoke with a confident smile, clearly believing she would pass without issue.

"Oh? Then I'll look forward to it." Asahi responded with a smirk.

"The gym evaluation will be a 3v3 battle. As per usual, I'll be the one to send out my Pokémon first."

With that, he snapped his fingers.

To Erika's surprise, a pair of crimson eyes suddenly opened in Asahi's shadow.

A mischievous Gengar emerged, floating into the air with a grin.

Wait… wasn't his usual evaluation Pokémon supposed to be Swampert?

Asahi smiled. "Since I'm evaluating a Grass-type gym, Swampert might not be the best choice. This is my newly caught Gengar—I'll be using it for this challenge."

"Gaaass~!"

Hearing Asahi introduce it, Gengar crossed its arms proudly.

Seeing that things weren't as she had anticipated, Erika's expression turned serious.

"Commissioner Asahi, please be careful."

She took a bow and picked up a bow and arrow from beside her.

Fixing a Poké Ball onto the arrowhead, she nocked the arrow, took aim, and released it.

Whoosh!

The arrow shot into the arena.

Bang!

A burst of white light flashed as a Victreebel appeared in midair.

Its massive leaves shielded its gaping maw, and its eyes were filled with battle intent.

Even before landing, Victreebel launched an attack.

With a flick of its vine-like appendages, it sent a Razor Leaf flying toward Gengar.

Watching Erika's seamless execution, Green couldn't help but admire her.

[No wonder she assisted Lance in taking down Team Rocket's base…]

Just this one maneuver demonstrated her skill level.

That said, her opponent was Asahi. And Green had even more confidence in Asahi.

As the Razor Leaf approached, Asahi casually waved his hand.

"Gengar, Shadow Claw."

Though it was newly captured, Gengar recognized Asahi's strength. After their bonding last night, it followed his commands without hesitation.

Swish!

Gengar extended a ghostly arm composed of spectral energy, blocking the incoming Razor Leaf.

All of the airborne leaves were stopped by Shadow Claw.

And then, despite being battered by the Razor Leaf, Gengar swung its tattered Shadow Claw back toward Victreebel!

---

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