Pokémon Simulator: Stealing Opportunities from the Destiny Child

A shiny Gastly?

Ethan instinctively turned toward the direction indicated by the system's prompt.

However, all he could see was a hanging painting on the wall.

He walked closer to take a look.

The background of the painting resembled a courtyard.

Upon comparing it to the backyard of the villa, the similarity was at least 90%.

The painting depicted a family portrait of an adult man, an adult woman, and a little girl.

Despite the thick layer of dust covering the surrounding furniture, the photograph remained inexplicably clean.

What should have been a bright and happy family photo appeared strange and eerie because of the Gastly floating in the picture.

As Ethan stared at the Gastly in the photograph, a data panel suddenly appeared before him.

『Pokémon: Shiny Gastly』

『Gender: Female』

『Level: 18』

『Type: Ghost + Poison』

『Ability: Levitate (immune to Ground-type moves)』

『Held Item: None』

『Base Stats: HP 30 | Attack 35 | Defense 30 | Special Attack 100 | Special Defense 35 | Speed 80』

『Total Base Stat: 310』

『Individual Values (IVs): HP 31/31 | Attack 27/31 | Defense 30/31 | Special Attack 31/31 | Special Defense 31/31 | Speed 31/31』

『IV Grade: 181/186 (Gold)』

『Potential: Master-level』

『Skills: Perish Song (inherited), Psywave (inherited), Spite (inherited), Confuse Ray, Lick, Hypnosis, Mean Look, Payback, Curse, Night Shade』

『Evaluation: This Gastly fears loneliness. Having lived in this gloomy villa since birth, it yearns for the outside world but has never shown itself to anyone. Even when playing harmless pranks, it scares away anyone who enters the villa.』

While Ethan and Oddish were focused on the photograph, Gastly suddenly blinked.

Oddish froze for a moment, thinking she had imagined it.

When she blinked again, a pale blue Gastly, larger than the one in the picture, appeared right in front of her, sticking out its tongue.

"Waaah!!"

Oddish let out a terrified scream and burst into tears.

Even though she was a level 30 advanced Pokémon, at heart, Oddish was still just a child.

Faced with the unknown and being frightened like this, it was only natural for her to be scared.

Her fear, in turn, became Gastly's favorite food, making it laugh heartily.

Ghost-type Pokémon loved playing pranks, as they could absorb the negative emotions of people and Pokémon to replenish their energy and boost their mood.

Ethan gently comforted Oddish in his arms, which caused the shiny Gastly to pause, a hint of envy flashing in its eyes.

Having lived in this dark space for so long, Gastly had grown bored and could only find brief joy by scaring visitors.

But that joy never lasted long. Once the visitors left, all that remained was endless emptiness.

It deeply envied Pokémon who had companions and trainers to stay with them.

Upon seeing Gastly's data, Ethan had only one thought—he must catch this Gastly.

A 4V individual with master-level potential, possessing three inherited moves, including the rare Perish Song.

With such qualifications, this Gastly would stand out even among the Pokémon of champions or the so-called chosen ones.

There was no way Ethan would leave such a rare Pokémon for Colton!

This little one is afraid of being lonely, huh?

Ethan pondered the evaluation as he looked at Gastly.

Meanwhile, Oddish, who had cried for a while, suddenly realized she was being held in her trainer's arms. She snuggled into Ethan's arm and smiled faintly.

Ethan, unaware of Oddish's small gesture, took out a Pokéball and placed it in front of Gastly.

"Gastly, come with me."

"I came here specifically to meet you."

"If you become my Pokémon, you won't have to be alone anymore."

"You'll have friends, and I'll show you the world beyond this villa."

As he spoke, Ethan took out some energy cubes specially made for Ghost-type Pokémon.

Wild Pokémon were often simple and inexperienced.

Even though Gastly had lived here for several months, it had only fed on the fear of humans, never tasting anything as delicious as energy cubes.

Carefully, Gastly took the cube from Ethan's hand and ate it. Its little eyes instantly sparkled like stars, and the gas surrounding it expanded slightly.

The shiny Gastly was initially hesitant, but the delicious food swayed it.

Under Ethan's expectant gaze, it finally floated into the Pokéball.