Chapter 64: The Ilex Forest, Capturing Shiny Haunter
Ryan recalled training with Caterpie in Viridian Forest, never daring to provoke Beedrill back then, and suddenly felt how quickly time had passed.
Thinking back to his former self, he felt a certain nostalgic humility. He had thought himself so weak, but in reality, he was just seeing the world from a limited perspective. The trainer who once didn't dare provoke a swarm of Beedrill was now unfazed by entire colonies, yet he understood his own limitations even more than before.
"Charizard, Heat Wave! Dragonite, Twister! Gyarados, Hydro Pump! Tyranitar, Rock Slide! Pheromosa, Silver Wind!" Ryan commanded all his Pokémon at once, coordinating a devastating assault on the Beedrill swarm.
Looking back at the cowering group of Ledyba and Ledian, Ryan said, "Stop just watching—fight back! This is your home. Shouldn't you be protecting your own territory?"
The Ledyba and Ledian whispered among themselves, none willing to step forward. Ryan sighed, feeling disappointed. This group had already given up on themselves.
He silently made his decision, driving the Beedrill swarm into retreat. Then he called for his Pokémon to stop. Ryan looked at the remaining Beedrill and said, "Is there a leader? I need to speak with them."
The swarm buzzed for a while before a particularly robust Beedrill flew forward, chittering at Ryan—probably demanding to know why he was attacking them.
"This is Ledyba and Ledian territory. You're the invaders here, so my attack was justified," Ryan explained. "There are seven large fruit trees in this grove. I'm having two of them relocated. Of the remaining five, your species can have two each. The last tree will be decided by battle between your groups. The losing side gives up their claim, and the winner gets exclusive access for one year. You can battle again next year for rights. What do you say?"
The Beedrill discussed among themselves and quickly agreed. The Ledyba and Ledian were in an uproar. Too cowardly and timid to argue with the Beedrill directly, they instead complained to Ryan about not keeping his promise to help them reclaim all the trees.
Ryan ignored their protests and contacted his ranch staff to come collect the two large trees. With their sweet sap, his ranch would likely attract many Bug-type Pokémon to settle there—a real bonus for Ryan.
He pulled two signal beacons from his backpack, attached them to the marked trees, then stopped interfering with the conflict between the two groups. He hoped the Ledyba and Ledian would learn to be less cowardly. One's home must always be defended by oneself.
With two new Pokémon entries recorded in his Pokédex, Ryan was ready to continue his journey. However, he spent considerable time wandering the forest before finding areas where Heracross and Pinsir lived. After capturing a few specimens of each, he left the forest satisfied.
Later, passing through the Ruins of Alph, Ryan bought some beautiful crystal accessories. He'd give them to Lillie back in Alola after completing the Silver Conference. Thinking he should get something for her classmates too, he decided to buy more. He chose matching pendant sets for Lillie and himself, which cost quite a bit.
A few days later, Ryan arrived at the Ilex Forest, a location he remembered from his research. He wasn't rushing into the forest just yet. Without Mewtwo's psychic abilities, he had no way of detecting the mischievous Ghost-type Pokémon hidden within. Charizard and the others wouldn't be able to sense their presence either. He decided to visit the shrine keeper and rent a Noctowl, which would be more convenient.
He found the shrine keeper's hut and asked about rental prices, which left him speechless. The old man's rates were truly outrageous. After some negotiation, Ryan rented a Noctowl and headed into the forest.
Shortly after entering the forest, Noctowl began hooting, then pecked at Ryan's shoulder. Using its Keen Eye ability, its eyes glowed red, illuminating the area ahead. Several Gastly and Haunter materialized before Ryan.
Ryan nodded approvingly. Specialization really did matter—Noctowl was quite effective against Ghost-type Pokémon. Hearing the commotion, Cosmog curiously peeked out of Ryan's backpack, took in the scene, and giggled softly.
"Tyranitar, use Dark Pulse to handle them," Ryan commanded.
Tyranitar unleashed a wave of dark energy from its mouth, overwhelming the Gastly and Haunter. Ryan captured them with several Ultra Balls and teleported them back to his ranch.
This Ilex Forest was indeed teeming with Ghost-type Pokémon, and he encountered many along the way. Ryan didn't hesitate to defeat any that blocked his path, then teleported them back to his ranch for study.
"Tyranitar, don't let it escape! Block it with Stone Edge!" Ryan shouted.
Finally, Ryan encountered a truly rare Pokémon—a Shiny Haunter. Gengar-line shinies are incredibly difficult to spot, as regular forms are purple-black while shinies are blue-gray. Combined with the dim lighting of the Ilex Forest, detection was nearly impossible.
Even with Ryan's trained eye, he only noticed something was off when the Haunter stuck out its tongue—the color was wrong. Only after closer inspection did he realize it was a Shiny Pokémon.
Sharp stone pillars blocked Haunter's escape route, but the Ghost-type playfully stuck out its tongue, phased through the rocks incorporeally, and fled in the opposite direction.
"Not so fast! Tyranitar, block its path with Stealth Rock!" Ryan called out.
Tyranitar raised its arms and released a burst of energy that created invisible barriers around Haunter, trapping it in place. The Haunter was startled and struggled frantically to escape.
"It's useless. You're completely surrounded. You can't escape unless you defeat my Tyranitar!" Ryan declared. "I'm going to catch you! Tyranitar, Dark Pulse!"
Tyranitar opened its mouth and fired a concentrated wave of darkness at Haunter, who hurriedly launched a Shadow Ball in response. The attacks collided, but Dark Pulse overpowered the Shadow Ball and struck Haunter directly, knocking it unconscious.
Ryan pulled out an Ultra Ball and captured it. Having made good money from his system rewards, he'd upgraded all his active Pokémon to Ultra Balls, keeping regular Poké Balls for specimens being sent to the ranch.
"Come out, Haunter." Ryan released his new capture, bought a Max Potion from the system shop, and fully healed it.
Pokémon: Haunter (Shiny)
Level: 39
Gender: Male
Height: 1.6m
Weight: 0.1kg
Ability: Levitate
Moves: Ice Punch (Egg Move), Shadow Punch, Hypnosis, Lick, Spite
Its stats were impressive, but Ryan knew Haunter's evolution into Gengar required trading. He asked the system if there was an alternative.
"Ding. Trade evolution occurs when a Pokémon is exchanged, generating a special electromagnetic field in the trading process that stimulates evolution. The system can simulate that field for merely 10 system points," the system explained.
"Evolve it. There aren't any moves exclusive to Haunter that Gengar can't learn, so evolving would be more beneficial," Ryan decided.
He recalled Haunter and spent 10 system points. A moment later, a strange energy wave enveloped the Ultra Ball. Cosmog also sensed this power and looked around curiously, wondering where it was coming from.
The energy dissipated, and Ryan released the Ultra Ball again. A short, stocky Gengar appeared before him, its blue-gray coloration marking it clearly as a shiny specimen.
"Welcome to the team, Gengar," Ryan said with satisfaction.
(End of Chapter)
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