Eric didn't linger in the Pokémon Tower. He had gotten what he came for, and more than he'd expected. The book, the device, the map… and an unsettling feeling about the deal he had just made.
He decided to spend the night in Lavender Town. The woods could wait until morning.
He rented a room in town and once there, he opened the leather-bound book Alka had given him.
What he found in the book was more than he expected.
Page after page of meticulous notes, all focused on the Gastly line and Ghost type energy. The information in the book was so vast, that he spent hours on it and was nowhere close to being done.
He now had a clear roadmap to train Gastly all the way to the peak of the Advanced Level without hitting a wall.
After reading the book, his system also updated its database, and added another category to the status screen.
Pokémon: Gastly
Gender: Male
Level: 22
Type: Ghost/Poison
Ability: Levitate
Held Item: None
Potential: Deep Blue
Energy Grade:
Ghost type - Grade 2 (Peak)
Poison type - Grade 1 (Peak)
Fire type - Grade 0 (mid)
Moves: Lick(B++), Hypnosis(B+++), Confuse Ray(B+++), Astonish(B++), Disable(B+++), Clear smog(B+++), Toxic(B+++), Ghost Ball(I), Hex(B+++), Protect(B+++), Will-O-Wisp(B++)
A new section titled Energy Grades appeared, with a detailed explanation:
Grade 0 - Basic
Grade 1 - Condensed
Grade 2 - Refined
Grade 3 - Excellent
Grade 4 - Superior
Grade 5 - Supreme
Grade 6 - Transcended
Grade 7 - Pseudo Divine
Grade 8 - Divine
Grade 9 - ???
[Note: Deep scan required to assess a wild Pokémon's energy grade. Cannot be done without capture.]
Eric studied the information carefully.
This was in line with what he learned from Maverick. A Pokemon could slowly raise their energy grades with training, but was limited by their core. Once they hit the limit, they need to improve their potential to advance further.
A Pokémon with Green potential could never exceed Grade 4. And Grade 4 was the bare minimum to reach King class (levels 60–69). Ideally, a King-class Pokémon would be at Grade 5, the blue potential territory.
Of course, this is only a measure of the quality/density of the energy inside a Pokemon. It doesn't take into account capacity and control.
If two Pokémon each use 100 units of energy, the one with higher energy quality will be stronger. But if the other Pokémon can draw on, say, 200 units of the same quality, then sheer quantity can overcome the quality gap.
Capacity, Density/Quality, and control. Each of them was important for a Pokémon's power.
Gastly's current cap for his core was Grade 5. He can reach that grade with other types of energy as well, but it would be very difficult, as the core doesn't naturally align to them.
----
The moment Eric stepped foot into the Lavender Woods, he was hit by a wave of ghostly energy, that crashed into him like a violent tide.
His skin prickled. His heart hammered against his ribs. A cold chill ran down his spine, and for a moment, irrational fear overtook his mind.
Eric forced himself to calm down. Gastly also, absorbed the excess Ghost type energy around Eric, making it bearable for him.
Then Eric looked around his surroundings. It did not look normal.
The trees were tall, and grew too close to one another. Their bark was black like charcoal, and their branches turned and twisted into shapes that were hard to look at.
This would make a perfect set for a horror movie, Eric thought humourously.
He released Fearow and Poliwag from their Poké Balls.
"Stay close. Watch for ambushes."
Fearow perched on a low branch, eyes scanning. Poliwag hopped on Eric's left shoulder, ready to fight.
Pokémon: Fearow
Gender: Female
Level: 22
Type: Norma/Flying
Ability: keen eye
Held Item: None
Potential: Green
Energy Grade:
Flying type - Grade 1 (Peak)
Normal type - Grade 1 (medium)
Pokémon: Poliwag
Gender: Male
Level: 20
Type: Water
Ability: Swift Swim
Held Item: None
Potential: Deep Green
Energy Grade:
Water - Grade 1 (Peak)
---
They hadn't even traveled a few hundred meters when the shadows came alive.
A horde of Ghost-types erupted from the underground: Gastly, Shuppet, Duskull.
Their forms flickered in and out of visibility, eyes gleaming with hunger or mischief.
Eric counted at least twenty of them, levels ranging from 18 to 25.
Eric had wanted to avoid making Gastly fight to delay his evolution, but this horde was a bit much for just Fearow and Poliwag.
"Fearow, Aerial Ace. Poliwag, Muddy Water. Gastly, help them out when they need it."
Gastly materialized beside Eric, only launching Ghost Balls when Fearow or Poliwag were being overwhelmed.
The battle was fierce but controlled.
Fearow tore through the horde with Aerial Ace, her newly evolved strength making short work of the weaker ghosts. Poliwag's Muddy Water splashed across multiple targets, sending them reeling.
In this manner, they slowly advanced into the woods, following the map he got from Alka.
The deeper into the woods he went, the deeper the ghost type energy. Gastly was getting stronger without even actively training.
As they went further in Eric heard a loud screech. It sounded like a woman.
It came from a little further ahead, past a group of black trees, and the shout seemed desperate.
'Not my problem', Eric thought immediately. He wasn't the saviour type. Life had taught him that humans didn't deserve saving, and you should prioritise yourself.
But did he want to live the same way again? Didn't he agree to not judge based on his past experience and give everyone a chance?
Conflicted, Eric carefully had Fearow take him to the top of a tree. He then looked down from there, removing the leaves in front of his eyes, to observe the situation.
From there, he saw a young woman with black hair and a Pink trainer's cap, backed against a fallen log. Her clothes looked damaged, and her arms and legs were bleeding. Beside her, an Eevee and a Misdreavus stood protectively, both injured, both trembling.
Opposite them, two massive Pokémon loomed.
Arbok: Lvl 33
Weezing: Lvl 35
Both were at the intermediate level, far stronger than anything Eric had fought directly. But both were also wounded. Cuts and burns all over their bodies.
The woman stepped forward, putting herself between her Pokémon and the predators.
"Eevee… Misdreavus…" Her voice shook, but her stance didn't break. "Get out of here. I'll hold them off."
Looking at this, Eric sighed. He couldn't abanon her after seeing her protecting her Pokemon with her life.
Eric chose to observe for now. He had no obligation towards helping this woman. He had no idea who she is or what kind of person she is. Taking on 2 intermediate Pokemon just to help her, didn't seem logical to Eric.
Yet, he didn't leave. For some reason he didn't know, he didn't move and kept observing.
"Eevee, misdreavus! "
The woman slowly got up and moved in front of them and the Arbok and weezing.
"Eevee… Misdreavus…" Her voice shook, but her eyes showed resolve. "Get out of here. I'll hold them off."
Looking at this scene, Eric sighed, seemingly making his decision in whether he would interfere or not...
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