Chapter 71: The Awakening of Haunter

"That's right, you've broken through. I keep my word. Now, could you use your psychic powers to restore the damage here as much as possible?" Ash patted Mewtwo on the shoulder, while the nearby Gastly was inwardly shaken. It just had the feeling that this Mewtwo guy seemed several times stronger than before! Mewtwo nodded. It had been a long time since it felt the sensation of growing stronger. This trainer... seemed to be something special. Using its psychic powers, Mewtwo restored the area that had been destroyed during the battle. Then, with a single Teleport, it brought them back to Maiden's Peak. At the Maiden statue on the cliff, Gastly begrudgingly transferred a portion of its power to Ash's Haunter. Since they were the same species, the power transfer from the millennia-old Gastly directly shattered the limits of Haunter's mutated condition! Haunter, infused with this energy, immediately began to level up. Level 49! Level 50! Evolution initiated! The power granted by the ancient Gastly caused Haunter to evolve on the spot! "Fantastic! Haunter—no, Gengar—your condition has finally been resolved!" Ash exclaimed, turning his gaze to his newly evolved Pokémon. [Pokémon]: Gengar[Classification]: Shadow Pokémon [Type]: Ghost/Poison [Ability]: Cursed Body [Mutated Trait]: Spirit Hands (Possesses certain spiritual abilities) [Status]: Trait Activated [Potential]: Purple [Level]: 50 (Ace Trainer) [Moves]: Shadow Punch, Hypnosis, Dream Eater, Lick, Mean Look, Confuse Ray, Sucker Punch, Payback, Shadow Ball, Dark Pulse... As expected, its trait had been activated. Gengar's level increased by two, and its potential rose from blue to purple! Apart from Mewtwo, Gengar became Ash's second Pokémon with purple potential. Considering Gengar's unique ability to influence human souls, Ash felt it was no surprise. The Pokémon world was indeed full of wonders—even non-legendary Pokémon could possess extraordinary powers. His first purple-potential Pokémon had been Pikachu. But soon, that order would change... With Haunter evolved into Gengar, the system delivered another notification: "Ding! Congratulations, host. Defeating your first Tier-2 deity and resolving Haunter's condition has earned you the following rewards:" System space upgraded to 10 cubic meters! Poke Coins: 100,000! Potential Boost Cards ×6! The highlight was undoubtedly the Potential Boost Cards! "Why six?" Ash speculated. It seemed tied to the full-battle format, where six Pokémon were used. Curious, he quickly checked the system shop. "What? There's no option to buy more Potential Boost Cards?" "Pika?" Pikachu noticed Ash's unusual reaction. "Oh, it's nothing. Let's go, Pikachu. Time to find Misty and May." Unable to figure it out for now, Ash immediately used one of the Potential Boost Cards on Pikachu. Through his insight ability, he could see Pikachu's potential rise from purple to gold! White → Green → Red → Blue → Purple → Gold → Black. Purple was already considered legendary-tier potential. With Pikachu at gold-level now, it could grow stronger and level up even faster. "Pika?" Pikachu tilted its head in confusion, scratching its head adorably with its tiny paw. It had just felt a warm current flow through its body—had it grown stronger? After returning Mewtwo to its Master Ball, Ash and Pikachu made their way back to the Maiden's Peak port city. He had plans to shop and stock up, as his expanded 10-cubic-meter system space could hold plenty of supplies. "Hey, Misty, May, we're back!" Ash called out. "Pika-pika!" Pikachu joined in enthusiastically. Finally spotting Misty and May among the bustling festival crowd, Ash's Pokégear suddenly rang. It was a gift from Elesa after their last interaction—a Pokégear that allowed him to check maps, search data, and contact others. Seeing Ash and Pikachu return safely, Misty and May immediately approached with smiles, clearly relieved. Standing on either side of Ash, the two girls watched curiously as he answered the call. "Hello?" "Ash, great news!" Elesa's voice came through. "Let me guess—those two Pokémon songs I gave you are gaining popularity, right?" Ash asked with a knowing smile. His heart warmed. Professor Oak was still finalizing the 18th type discovery paper, but the songs he had given Elesa could now bring significant revenue from the Pokémon Alliance. "That's right! Both songs have exploded in popularity across the Unova region. I'm now working to expand into Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Kalos. Soon, they'll be hits everywhere! "I've already sent the first batch of Alliance currency to your account. I've also delivered the finished versions of the songs—sung by yours truly. Check your inbox! Gotta go, a challenger is waiting. Bye-bye!" True to Elesa's style, the call ended quickly. She didn't need money but valued the increased exposure these songs could bring to her gym across multiple regions. As for the revenue after covering production costs, Elesa gave the rest entirely to Ash. Hanging up the call, Ash noticed Misty and May watching him intently. He took a deep breath. "Misty, May, I..." Before he could finish, May interjected, "Ash, were those the songs you mentioned? We haven't heard the finished versions yet!" "Yeah, Ash! Send them to us—we want to listen!" Misty chimed in. Relieved they weren't jealous, Ash smiled and handed each girl a gift—a brand-new Pokégear. Each device cost a hefty 10,000 Poke Coins but came with numerous useful functions. "I'm sending the songs to you both now. You'll also find my contact info saved in the Pokégear. Feel free to play around with it." Overjoyed with their gifts, Misty and May exchanged glances before pulling out their own presents for Ash—items they'd picked up at the festival just for him.