Pokémon Simulator: Stealing Opportunities from the Destiny Child

Successfully capturing Gastly allowed Ethan to breathe a sigh of relief.

After all, in Colton's destiny, the shiny Gastly only chose to follow him after accidentally eating an energy cube he provided.

So, Ethan used the same method to capture Gastly.

When Gastly was released from its Pokéball, it glanced around nostalgically, preparing to say farewell to the villa it had lived in for months.

According to the simulation, the shiny Gastly knew the location of the Sun Stone.

Ethan took out the family photo and asked Gastly for clues regarding the Sun Stone.

Upon seeing the stone in the picture that resembled the sun, Gastly stared at it for a few seconds before suddenly showing a look of realization.

It turned and floated forward.

Ethan and Oddish exchanged a glance and followed.

They arrived at the locked room from earlier.

Gastly, with its ghostly body, easily passed through the wall and entered the room.

A few moments later, a note slipped out from under the door.

Ethan picked it up and found a crudely drawn map.

The marked location was Misty Mountain, but the map was too rough for him to identify the exact spot.

Gastly chuckled mischievously and lifted its chin proudly.

"Can you understand this map?" Ethan asked in surprise.

Gastly nodded without hesitation.

"Alright! Lead the way!"

Ethan didn't doubt it, as Gastly had also guided Colton to the perfect-quality Sun Stone in the simulation timeline. The only difference was timing.

Ethan hadn't forgotten that the outskirts of Misty Mountain were experiencing frequent beast tides lately.

Thinking about it carefully, it was most likely caused by Cassandra and the Blackthorn Hunt stirring up trouble in the mountain, angering the local Pokémon.

Remembering how he had been caught up in the chaos during his first simulation, Ethan couldn't help but feel a trace of resentment.

Leaving the villa, he first stopped by a shop to prepare equipment for cave exploration.

Only then did he head toward Misty Mountain.

The forest at the foot of Misty Mountain was home to many Bug-, Grass-, Normal-, and Flying-type Pokémon.

Since most of these Pokémon were below level 10, the area was considered a relatively safe place for rookie trainers to practice in the wild.

Ethan, having experienced countless battles in his previous life, was neither excited nor nervous.

But for Oddish, it was her first real battle.

Facing a Pidgey that was more than 20 levels below her, she hesitated and seemed a bit timid.

Ethan guessed it was probably because Pidgey was her natural predator.

If not for her skill enhancement and level boost from the simulation, even against this level 10 Pidgey, Oddish would likely have turned and fled.

But in reality, there were no "what-ifs."

"Oddish, use Razor Leaf," Ethan said, crossing his arms as he stood behind her.

Oddish took a deep breath, suppressing her fear.

She gathered Grass-type energy and launched dozens of leaves at the Pidgey in the sky.

The initially smug Pidgey was startled and quickly flapped its wings to dodge.

Ethan frowned.

"Did you forget how I taught you before?"

"Your attacks are too straightforward."

"No matter how powerful a move is, if it can't hit the target, it's meaningless."

"Use Razor Leaf to force the opponent into a vulnerable position, then strike with a finishing move."

"Try again."

Frightened by Ethan's stern tone, Oddish no longer dared to be distracted.

Recalling her hundreds of days of training in Razor Leaf during the simulation, she adjusted her approach.

This time, the leaves formed a fan shape, sweeping toward Pidgey relentlessly.

Pidgey tried to dodge left and right, but eventually, it couldn't escape the continuous assault of Razor Leaf. One leaf struck its wing, causing it to plummet from the sky.

These Razor Leaf attacks had reduced power in favor of increased speed and range. Combined with Pidgey's type resistance, the attack didn't knock it out completely, but it was barely hanging on.

"Aim at its landing point and use Energy Ball," Ethan instructed.

Oddish focused intently on the falling Pidgey and released a perfectly timed Energy Ball.

The attack hit Pidgey squarely as its eyes widened in shock.

With a sharp cry, Pidgey crashed to the ground, its eyes spinning—it had lost its ability to fight.

Oddish cheered and jumped up with excitement at her first victory.

Although Ethan thought there was no need to celebrate defeating a level 10 Pidgey with a 20-level advantage and a type mismatch, he still gave her a casual word of encouragement.

"Let's go find our next target."

Ethan led Oddish and Gastly deeper into the forest.

According to Cassandra's simulation data, she would steal a treasure from the Dragonfang Hunting Group tomorrow and be hunted down.

That meant the day after tomorrow would be when she was at her weakest.

Ethan had to find the perfect-quality Sun Stone before then and evolve Oddish into a Bellossom.