Chapter 162: The Gastly's Message
The Gastly trembled under Giovanni's predatory gaze. It frantically tried to dissolve into a shadow and escape.
"Bite," Giovanni ordered, having long anticipated the move.
Persian lunged, its mouth glowing with dark energy. It sank its fangs into the Gastly's half-corporeal form. The ghost shrieked as Persian thrashed it back and forth, a truly pathetic sight.
Giovanni casually tossed a Poké Ball. It struck the Gastly, and a beam of red light pulled the creature inside— but to his surprise, after shaking a few times, the ball broke open.
"An interesting little creature," Giovanni remarked. It was the first time this had happened to him. Inconveniently for the Gastly, he had plenty of Poké Balls. He waved his hand again. "Continue."
Under the Gastly's terrified gaze, Persian pounced again, its fangs tearing into the ghostly form. The creature screamed. When Giovanni threw the next Poké Ball, there were no further issues— it was captured.
But the words about a thousand-year contract echoed in the Gastly's mind like a waking nightmare. It could use Dream Eater... how had someone else become its nightmare?
Giovanni locked the Poké Ball and turned to his tired Pokémon. "Rest. We will deal with this tomorrow."
The next morning, a ray of sunlight pierced the cave, awakening Giovanni and his Pokémon. He climbed out of his sleeping bag, his body feeling a bit sticky from the days without a proper wash.
He prepared a breakfast of berries, honey, and Pokémon food. "Eat first," he told them. As they ate, he set aside a single portion for his new captive.
He opened the Poké Ball. The Gastly, confined all night, was finally released. It looked at Giovanni with resentment, but the bright sunlight at the cave's entrance made it fearful. It was not that Ghost-types could not move during the day, but they disliked the light, preferring the shadows.
"Afraid of the sun?" Giovanni said with disdain. "Useless."
The comment fanned the flames of the Gastly's resentment. Its eyes grew cold, and it shot directly toward Giovanni— but when it saw the mocking look on his face, a sudden panic seized it.
"Assurance," Giovanni said, his voice a cold smile.
Swish.
A golden figure appeared behind the Gastly. In its widening eyes, Beedrill's impossibly sharp stinger, glowing with a dark, malevolent energy, pierced straight through its core.
The Gastly let out a piercing shriek, a massive hole torn through its soul-body. Pinned to the ground, it trembled with an all-consuming fear.
"Still trying to attack me?" Giovanni's lips curved upward. "You truly never learn."
The Gastly frantically shook its incorporeal form, begging for mercy. "Gasi..."
Giovanni waved his hand. Beedrill lifted its stinger, hovering haughtily in the air, poised to strike again at any moment. The Gastly didn't dare to move. It was truly intimidated now.
This Beedrill wasn't any ordinary Pokémon.
That Persian wasn't any ordinary Pokémon.
And this boy... this boy was a devil. This several-hundred-year-old ghost had never encountered a being as terrifying as Giovanni. It felt as if it had stumbled into a demon's lair. These creatures were just like that other old ghost.
Giovanni picked up a bone and poked at the Gastly's ethereal body. It passed right through. He smiled playfully. "What are you thinking about, little creature?"
The Gastly gave a fawning, spectral smile and shook its "head," trying to convey that it was thinking of nothing at all.
Giovanni recalled hearing of a thousand-year-old Gastly in Kanto that was capable of speech. Based on the feedback from his own power, this Gastly's energy, while thin, was exceptionally pure. It would take hundreds of years of purification to achieve such a state.
Coupled with its refined Hypnosis and intelligent demeanor, its age was clearly not small.
"You are quite adaptable," he said, his eyes narrowing. "But I will tell you this: I am never afraid of betrayal. Do you know why?"
The Gastly shook its head.
Giovanni smiled, revealing a row of stark white teeth that were both dazzling and deeply unsettling. "Because those who betray me only get one chance. If I do not die, they will. Do you understand what I mean?"
The Gastly felt as if his gaze were about to tear it into a thousand pieces. It would not dare, it whispered in extreme fear. At least, not for now.
"You do not seem young," Giovanni continued, stroking his chin. "Even if you have been secretly eating souls, your power should not be this weak."
At his words, a clear look of resentment flashed in the Gastly's eyes, but it was instantly replaced by fear. Giovanni's gaze was sharp. He noticed the abnormality instantly.
"You are my Pokémon now," he said, his voice taking on a hard, protective edge. "And there is one more thing I have not told you: no one is allowed to bully my people."
The Gastly paused. It took a deep, shuddering look at Giovanni, then at Beedrill and the others, and finally, it shook its head. "Gasi..."
As if afraid Giovanni would not understand, it used Hypnosis to project an image.
A giant, demon-god-like entity appeared, worshipped by savage humans. Black threads extended from its massive claws, controlling the humans and their Pokémon like puppets.
Numbly, they offered countless corpses to this dark god. Many ghost-like Pokémon, similar to the Gastly, appeared, only to be devoured or controlled, forced to offer up the souls they had gathered.
Among them was one special existence—the Gastly itself. Every time it devoured a soul and offered it to the demon god, the creature would tear off a piece of its soul-body with its sharp claws and consume it.
Over time, the humans and their Pokémon dwindled, but the Gastly remained, forever busy, forever suffering the agony of having pieces of its very being stripped away.
This was the reason for its low level. This was the source of its fear.