Chapter 36: Training with Toxic Agents
Early on a weekend morning, Gastly greeted Lu Ye, who was still enjoying his sleep-in, with a friendly Lick.
[Paralysis effect triggered!]
Lu Ye shivered, reaching out with trembling hands for a Cheri Berry on his bedside table. Popping it into his mouth, he chewed expressionlessly, then nodded at Gastly.
"Thanks for the wake-up call."
"Gengarrrr!"
Lu Ye had told Gastly before that practicing Toxic must only happen under his supervision. Eager to comply, Gastly had woken him up at the crack of dawn and was now zipping excitedly around the room.
Yawning, Lu Ye began his morning routine, brushing his teeth and washing up. He muttered, "Stayed up late playing games with that rich lady last night, and now I've got to train Gastly today. Is this what a Trainer's life is like? How utterly hilarious."
But since he'd already promised Gastly, Lu Ye found himself surprisingly motivated to train. He opened his system's Pokédex, revealing Gastly's current moves:
[Gastly: Ghost + Poison Type
Ability: Levitate
Moves: Confuse Ray, Lick, Hypnosis, Curse, Night Shade, Will-O-Wisp, Mean Look, Protect, Substitute]
Gastly had already learned most of the moves it could before evolving. Once it mastered Toxic, its Substitute-Protect-Toxic strategy would be fully formed. Given Gastly's limited early offensive capabilities, learning Toxic was crucial to its success.
"Let's go. Bring the Poison Orb; we're heading to a dedicated training facility!" Lu Ye yawned again.
"Gengarrr!"
With his Bilibili earnings and last night's side gigs, Lu Ye had roughly 60,000 yuan in his account. This gave him the confidence to train at a professional facility, where the hourly rate was a steep 1,000 yuan. However, the center offered both expert trainers and safety measures, including medical teams, which made the cost worth it.
Lu Ye chose a venue called "Bull Arena," a Pokémon battle club. He paid 3,000 yuan to rent a small training area, forgoing membership since he doubted he'd visit often. At his request, the club assigned an elite-level Poison Trainer named Xia Quan to assist him.
Xia Quan was tall and thin, with sharp eyebrows and a piercing gaze. "You're the one training a Poison Pokémon?" Xia Quan gave him a once-over. "It's rare to see someone choosing Gastly as their starter."
Ghost and Poison types were niche picks, and Gastly's long development cycle made it an uncommon starter choice. However, Gengar's strength in the Poison category had earned Xia Quan's favor.
Lu Ye nodded. "I want to train it to use Toxic, so I'll be relying on your help."
"How do you want me to assist?" Xia Quan crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow. "Battling, or move-feeding?"
Pondering Xia Quan's question, Lu Ye recalled the insights from Koga's Toxic Insights. Unlike other types, Poison Pokémon could theoretically absorb toxins to strengthen themselves, thanks to their immunity to poisoning. The more toxins they absorbed, the more potent their own poison became—like an insidious wildfire spreading unchecked.
This concept, proposed in Toxic Insights, documented numerous toxin combinations. Without Koga's guidance, letting Poison Pokémon experiment with toxic absorption recklessly could result in unnecessary suffering.
"This isn't just Toxic; it's more like a forbidden art," Lu Ye murmured.
The Poison Orb enhanced Gastly's natural toxins. When mixed with other Pokémon's poisons, its Toxic would become significantly stronger. This was precisely why Lu Ye had sought a specialized training facility and a skilled Poison Trainer.
He smiled. "Let's go with move-feeding. Poison moves would be best."
Xia Quan nodded, tossing out a Poké Ball. From it emerged an enormous Arbok, its patterned hood flaring menacingly.
"Arbok may not have poison in its pre-evolution, but as soon as it evolves, it can bring down a Tauros in 3 seconds," Xia Quan remarked.
Staring at the intimidating cobra, Lu Ye hesitated. "Let's start with Poison Sting for now."
Turning to Gastly, he reminded, "Use the method Koga taught us. And don't overdo it!"
Confident in its quadruple Poison resistance, Gastly grinned widely and nodded.
Xia Quan commanded, "Arbok, Poison Sting!"
"Hsss—"
Arbok straightened its heavily patterned body, flicking its tongue before unleashing a shimmering needle shot from its fangs. As expected of an elite trainer, Xia Quan's Arbok delivered an exceptionally swift attack.
Gastly reacted just as quickly. Using Protect, it formed a faint misty shield that slowed the needles' approach. Then it opened its mouth and began chomping down on the poison-tipped needles like candy, crunching audibly.
Xia Quan's expression twisted in disbelief.
"This… is a training method?"
Even with quadruple resistance, she had never seen anyone have their Pokémon eat the poison needles! As Gastly absorbed the toxins, the dark mist surrounding it grew denser and more saturated with venom.
"Gengarrr!" Gastly grinned triumphantly.
Relieved that Gastly was unharmed, Lu Ye smiled at Xia Quan. "Let's continue."
Still stunned, Xia Quan hesitated before commanding, "Arbok, Acid!"
A corrosive liquid spewed toward Gastly. Its strong acidic properties were enough to lower Special Defense and posed a genuine threat to Gastly. Xia Quan frowned but watched in disbelief as Gastly grabbed its Poison Orb and launched itself straight into the acidic smoke.
"Ssshhh—"
To Xia Quan's shock, Gastly waded through the acid like it was soaking in a hot spring, even swaying its body playfully.
"Gengaaa~!"
The acid had corroded the Poison Orb's casing, revealing its potent contents. Gastly eagerly licked the exposed toxins, its long red tongue darting back and forth over the orb.
"Slurp—"
The horrifying scene left Xia Quan completely stunned. Even as an elite Poison Trainer, she had never witnessed such a bizarre sight.
"What… kind of training method is this?" she stammered. "This is insane!"
Lu Ye was just as baffled.
"Is Koga's method really this overpowered?"
But considering Koga's status as a Poison-type Elite Four and the depth of Toxic Insights, it made sense. Combined with Gastly's quadruple resistance to Poison, it had a natural advantage in Poison-type matchups.
Scratching his head, Lu Ye mumbled, "This is literally my first training session… How did I break the game already?"