"Ash, did Officer Jenny send you a message?" Misty asked.
"Granny Jin's luxury restaurant in Blue Lagoon City was blown up by the Granny Jin from Pidgeon Harbor."
"Apparently the one from Pidgeon Harbor was tricked by her cousin in Blue Lagoon. She deliberately got her to destroy the Tentacool habitat and build that Paradise Resort."
"Now the two old ladies are fighting and reporting each other to Officer Jenny."
Misty leaned against the railing, occasionally teasing the Horsea in her arms.
"The conflict between those two dragged Pokémon into it…" Brock sighed. Thankfully the situation hadn't caused even greater damage.
"At least things ended peacefully," Ash replied.
"Too bad Team Rocket escaped again," Misty said with frustration. The ones responsible for causing the Tentacool to mutate into Tentacruel had gotten away once more.
After resolving the Giant Tentacruel incident, Ash and his friends boarded a ship bound for Maiden's Peak Harbor.
As soon as they disembarked, they heard an announcement over the loudspeaker: Maiden's Peak was preparing for its summer festival, attracting many tourists.
Ash carefully observed the surroundings, searching for any clues about the thousand-year-old Gastly.
He walked around with Brock and Misty for quite a while, but they didn't encounter the beautiful woman disguised by Gastly—or the old woman who usually appeared nearby.
After wandering for some time, they eventually ran into a familiar sight.
Team Rocket.
The trio—Jessie, James, and Meowth—were chatting amicably with Officer Jenny.
"Officer Jenny, those two aren't—mmph!"
Misty tried to expose Team Rocket, but before she could finish, Jessie quickly covered her mouth.
"It's nothing! We're just joking around!" Jessie said.
James grabbed Brock's hand and shook it vigorously, forcing a stiff smile.
"Brats, don't go around saying nonsense, meow," Meowth warned, glancing at Ash. They had only just escaped here and already ran into Officer Jenny. Luckily, she didn't recognize them.
"You're friends, right?" Officer Jenny asked. The trainers seemed quite friendly—Pikachu and Meowth were even shaking hands.
"You're all tourists, I assume. If you need anything, feel free to call me anytime," Officer Jenny said before continuing her patrol.
Seeing both sides about to clash again, Ash suggested, "Let go. There's a festival going on—don't cause trouble."
"Hmph!"
All four of them let go at the same time, snorting as they glared at each other.
Meowth had it worse.
Once Officer Jenny left, Pikachu secretly zapped him.
"Pika!"
Meowth wanted to fight back—but after thinking about it, even ten of him probably couldn't beat Pikachu. So he endured the humiliation and wrote it down in his little notebook.
"Ash, why didn't you tell Officer Jenny about Team Rocket?" Misty asked.
James was already being targeted by the thousand-year-old Gastly. Besides, without a wanted poster showing Team Rocket's faces, reporting them wouldn't do much good.
Ash leaned close and whispered the explanation into Misty's ear.
Soon after, they discovered that the Treasure Exhibition Ceremony at the Maiden Shrine had already ended.
So they decided to visit Maiden's Peak Rock instead.
Brock and James stared at the rock with fanatical eyes.
They had clearly fallen under Gastly's illusion. The Pokémon had transformed into a beautiful ghostly girl, making both Brock and James completely enamored.
"Did those two lose their minds?" Misty asked in confusion.
"Let's head back for now. We'll come back tonight and take a look," Ash said.
Ash returned to the Pokémon Center to prepare.
That thousand-year-old Gastly was no ordinary Pokémon. Not only could it speak human language, it was intelligent, capable of independent thought, and far stronger than the Ghost-type Pokémon that appeared later in the story.
Ash needed to adjust his team.
At the very least, he had to bring his strongest Pokémon—and leave an empty slot for Gastly.
He sent Pidgeot and Charmander back to Professor Oak's Laboratory, and had Gyarados transferred over instead.
Pokémon: Gyarados — Lv. 38
Gyarados's level was surprisingly high—only three levels below Pikachu. It seemed it had been training diligently at Professor Oak's lab.
Perhaps it often battled the Pokémon Gary sent back.
Ash still had five basic Rare Candies. He gave one to Gyarados, bringing it close to the Gym Leader–level threshold.
Then he gave one each to the Pokémon remaining on the team.
Ash's current lineup:
Pikachu — Lv. 41
Squirtle — Lv. 35
Butterfree — Lv. 34
Gyarados — Lv. 39
Bulbasaur — Lv. 35
Overall, the team's strength looked pretty solid.
The only strange thing was that Bulbasaur and Squirtle showed no signs of evolving, even though starters at this level were usually close to their final forms.
Maybe Pokémon with greater potential had stricter evolution requirements.
That was Ash's guess.
Night fell.
Ash felt the time was right, so he called Misty and headed back to Maiden's Peak Rock to find Brock.
But when they arrived, neither Brock nor James was there.
Ash and Misty went to the Maiden Shrine instead—and found Brock along with Team Rocket.
Jessie and Meowth were sleeping peacefully, while Brock and James were talking to a faint figure ahead of them.
As they spoke, they began walking away with it.
"Pikachu, wake them up with a shock," Ash said.
That beautiful phantom was actually the thousand-year-old Gastly. If Brock woke up first, he could help deal with it.
"Nice one, brat," Team Rocket said.
Pikachu's electric shock snapped Brock and James back to their senses.
Jessie immediately fired a firework cannon at the phantom—but the blast passed straight through it.
However, Jessie's bravado lasted less than three seconds.
The phantom summoned terrifying ghostly shadows that scared her badly.
"That phantom is Gastly," Ash said.
Ash couldn't move very well—Misty was clutching his arm tightly while Team Rocket grabbed onto his legs.
"Gastly?"
Everyone looked at the phantom with doubt. It hardly looked like Gastly at all.
"Hahaha! I didn't expect a human to see through me," the phantom laughed.
The beautiful woman's form faded, revealing Gastly's true appearance.
"It can talk like Meowth!"
"So it was you pretending to be a ghost to scare us!"
Jessie and James immediately sent out their Pokémon.
Just like in the original events, Gastly used Hypnosis and turned into the natural enemies of Ekans and Koffing, scaring Ekans straight back into its Poké Ball. Koffing quickly followed.
"Brat, this one's up to you," Team Rocket said, leaving the problem to Ash.
Ash checked its strength.
Pokémon: Gastly — Lv. 55
It had already reached Gym Leader–level strength.
Even Ash's highest-level Pokémon, Pikachu, was 14 levels lower.
This wasn't going to be an easy battle.
How was he supposed to catch Gastly?
Ash released Gyarados, Butterfree, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur.
Five against one.
"I won't call you unfair," Gastly laughed.
"Five against one just makes it more fun."
For some reason, that line sounded strangely familiar…
Gastly suddenly transformed into five enormous Pokémon.
Gyarados now faced an even larger Gyarados.
Butterfree faced the same situation.
But Squirtle and Bulbasaur were less fortunate.
"Squirtle?"
"Bulba?"
They were facing their own evolutions—Blastoise and Venusaur.
And then, unbelievably, the two illusions seemed to fuse together.
The result…
A bizarre fusion Pokémon appeared:
"Venustoise."
PS: I've been releasing chapters daily . Honestly, it hurts seeing almost no support on Patreon after all that work.If you're enjoying the fic, even a little, supporting me would mean a lot. It helps a student stay independent .
complete fic (all chapters ) are already up on Patreon → patreon.com/Chakraflow789
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