"Let's go, we should head back."
"Yeah, yeah!"
Ash called Misty and Brock to return to their lodgings, as it was getting late. Anything that needed discussing could wait until they returned.
As for deciding if Gastly should be swapped with someone in the team, Ash hadn't made any choices, essentially defaulting to sending Gastly back.
The reason for sending Gastly back was similar to Butterfree; the Pokemon he has now are all in their rapid growth phase, whereas Gastly is pretty much already formed, so keeping him by his side wouldn't be easy for improvement.
It's better to let him stay at the backyard for a while and later swap him back.
On one hand, it allows Gastly to get used to modern life, on the other hand, it can let Gastly hone its battle skills, especially with some special training under Professor Oak.
It was apparent that since Gastly hadn't battled for a long time, it was a bit rusty in many aspects, although it had some peculiar abilities, its battle prowess was like a rusted blade.
In a little while, they'll have to battle at the Saffron Gym, and that gym is not known for going easy, as far as his counterparts in the parallel world have said, the Gym Leader's Pokemon are at least Elite Level and above.
Even an Elite Advanced level Gastly is said to have just a sixty percent chance of winning, so you can imagine how terrifying that Gym is.
Thus, Ash needs to make some preparations to increase his chances of victory.
After sending Gastly back, Ash and the others returned to their lodgings. Upon returning, Misty couldn't help but ask Ash, "Ash, just how strong are you?! You can take on Elite level Pokemon?! And after taking a direct Shadow Ball attack, how come you're completely unharmed? Is your body made of steel?"
As Misty spoke, she touched Ash's unscathed belly. You'd think with such a strong physique, being trained to the utmost, he'd have abs, but Ash's stomach… can't say there are no abs, but they didn't really show.
Can such a body be considered trained to the extreme?
To this, Ash chuckled and said, "Because I used Aura Power to block that last attack. As for the body, it's still in training, but as for Aura Power usage, I'm already quite strong. With Aura Power's enhancement... battling with Champion Level Pokemon shouldn't be a problem."
Ash's rather conservative answer left Misty and Brock both wide-eyed, mouths agape, in extreme shock!
And Ash was also in shock looking at Brock because for the first time... he saw Brock open his eyes!
Golly, a medical miracle indeed!
It can be said that Ash's shocking feat made it impossible for Brock to maintain his squinting eyes.
But even when opened wide, they weren't that much larger, just barely better than the squinted eyes.
After some chatting, as it got late, Misty and Brock turned off the lights to sleep, while Ash continued to dive into the ocean of knowledge.
...
The next day, Ash arrived at the Pokemon Center at Maiden Gorge and explained Gastly's situation to Professor Oak.
When he heard that Gastly had survived for thousands of years, Professor Oak's jaw dropped in shock!
Typically, Ghost Type Pokemon don't have short lifespans, but reaching two thousand years is unheard of!
Ash encountered another odd one, eh!
"I say, Ash... what kind of Pokemon are you encountering on your journey? You have all Three Starters, a shiny Ralts, a Riolu from a near-death Poke Egg, and now a Gastly that's survived for thousands of years—it's like all the world's rare Pokemon are flocking around you, right?"
Hearing this, Ash had a slightly embarrassed expression. Compared to other new Trainers, no, compared to Trainers worldwide, his luck does seem extraordinarily good.
If Professor Oak knew he even encountered Ho-Oh, he'd probably go completely nuts.
But if you were to say his biggest opportunity, it would actually be the chat group he received before getting his Starter Pokemon. Without the help from the many experts in the chat group, who knows what he would be like now?
At the very least, he wouldn't have grown so quickly.
"Ahem, anyway, I'll leave Gastly to you, Professor Oak. I'm still preparing to take him to challenge the Saffron Gym."
"The Saffron Gym Challenge? Didn't I tell you not to go there? You don't think taking a Ghost Type Pokemon can counter a Psychic Type and then challenge the Saffron Gym, do you? Although Gastly is Ghost Type, it also has a Poison Type, which is countered by Psychic Types, so its attribute doesn't really give it an advantage."
"And besides attributes, the most important thing is level! Do you know the level of the Gym Leader's Pokemon at Saffron Gym? Elite Level! That's not something a fresh-out Trainer can just confront!"
Professor Oak advised painstakingly, afraid that Ash might be rash enough to challenge Saffron Gym.
The Gym Leader at Saffron doesn't go easy like other leaders, and it's said that there are inhumane penalties for losing challenges, so if there's any way, it's best not to go to that Gym.
Kanto has more than just eight Gyms, why insist on going to the Saffron Gym!
"With Gastly, there's no problem. Right, Gastly?" Ash waved to the Gastly that had already appeared behind Professor Oak.
"Heh, no worries. As long as that guy isn't a freak like you, I'll take care of him!" Gastly grinned confidently.
Being an old monster that's lived for a millennium, he does have some confidence in himself. With his strength, not saying he's dominant worldwide, but the Pokemon he can't beat should be very few, at most around five percent.
Although the old man says the Gym Ash wants to challenge also has Elite Level Pokemon, at the same level, Gastly isn't afraid, right!
It's just that he ran into a monster like Ash, that's why he was defeated, so he says, as long as the opponent isn't a freak like Ash, he can handle them!
Professor Oak listened, somewhat doubts running through his mind as he looked at Gastly. Living long doesn't mean being strong—Wartortle is said to live up to thousands of years, but no one's seen an outstandingly powerful Wartortle.
This Gastly, although it lived long, how strong it truly is he hasn't thoroughly examined. Mainly because now he just woke up and released Gastly, when Ash called him, he didn't have the time to research Gastly.
"Anyway, Professor Oak, rest assured, I won't lose! Even if I do, I'll just try again—it's not like there's no future after losing, right."
"…Alright then, no matter how much I say, you'll probably still go, so just be careful." Professor Oak sighed lightly after a moment of silence, not continuing to persuade Ash.
Though before Ash set off on his journey, he gave Professor Oak a rather unreliable feeling, but a month later, Ash has become more and more like the Ash he remembers, so Professor Oak chose to believe in Ash's words.
If he says he can win... maybe he really can win.
If a Trainer who's been out for less than two months managed to defeat the Saffron Gym, he doesn't dare imagine how sensational the news will be.
"If there's nothing else, I'll hang up now."
"Okay."
After hanging up, the three went out to eat breakfast, then started walking around the town. It was still early, so many places weren't open yet, far from as bustling as it was last afternoon and night.
Last night, Brock had been put under Hypnosis, so he wasn't familiar with any of the town's stalls. So, they took him around the town, also picking up some supplies for camping in the wild.
It's worth mentioning that Kirlia also came out of the Pokeball. Although now she couldn't perch on Ash's shoulder like Ralts, she could follow him around.
However, her time in the Pokeball has increased, because, compared to sitting on Ash's shoulder, following behind Ash is a bit more inconvenient.