After the old Gastly slowly walked out of the complex, labyrinth-like cave, the Gastly they met along the way no longer looked at Aoki with cold eyes. Instead, there was a sense of intimacy, even from the Slowpoke. They all seemed to have a good feeling toward him.
He reached a new cave entrance, and the old Gastly stopped, seeing a lot of Gastly gathered inside.
Aoki gave him a strange look. Shouldn't he be taken out of the cave now? Why did they come to a new place?
He didn't think Murkrow would attack them, as there was no need for that now. He believed Murkrow knew that it would only lead to mutual loss.
Before Aoki could ask, the old Gastly spoke to himself, "I told you before that if you helped us, we would reward you."
He floated in first, motioning for Aoki to follow.
After they entered, the Gastly in the cave looked at them with curious eyes and gradually surrounded them.
Aoki observed the Gastly's actions and frowned. Although he didn't know what the old Gastly wanted to do, he felt uncomfortable being treated like an animal.
"Here are all our clan members who are willing to go with you. You can choose one of them to be your Pokémon," the old Gastly finally explained what the reward was.
Aoki felt speechless. This was the reward for completing the task? Choosing a Gastly?
For the old Gastly, allowing Aoki to take a Gastly was a win-win situation.
When the old Gastly was younger, he had reached the human world and had been a companion to a person. But back then, the living environment for humans was harsh, and due to various crises, the person died unexpectedly. The old Gastly returned to his birthplace.
Having been to the human world, the old Gastly still had some knowledge of humans.
Back then, humans and Pokémon helped each other and gradually survived the harsh environment.
Wild Pokémon, after receiving help from humans, would grow at an accelerated rate, much faster than if left in the wild.
The old Gastly knew that despite living here all this time, without external care, there was no special growth. Even evolving into a Haunter was difficult, let alone into Gengar.
The idea of sending a Gastly after a human had always been a dream of the old Gastly, especially after seeing a Gengar occupying the area where they lived.
Then Aoki came, and the old Gastly developed a better impression of him. Thus, he decided to let Aoki choose a Gastly as his Pokémon.
The Gastly waiting here were curious when they saw Aoki. They had heard many stories from the old Gastly about the human world and were excited to see a human for the first time.
The Gastly here were relatively young and had grown up hearing stories from the old Gastly, so they were more curious about the human world. Their curiosity only grew after seeing a human.
Aoki's thoughts were complicated. He hadn't really thought about choosing a Gastly as his Pokémon.
These Pokémon were playful, like those from Team Rocket in his past life.
Although they were just Gastly and didn't look great, that didn't stop Aoki from feeling excited about the possibility of a Haunter or even Gengar, the final evolution of the old Gastly.
Gengar was known for its high Special Attack and Speed, which suited Aoki's battle strategies.
Moreover, Gengar, being both Ghost- and Poison-type, had a lot of versatility in battle. With the right commands, it could easily turn the tide of a fight.
The most important point was that Gengar was a special evolved Pokémon. Once it evolved, it became a powerhouse, capable of delivering devastating special attacks.
Currently, Aoki's safety was mostly ensured by his Slowpoke, but in certain places in the human world, carrying Pokémon outside wasn't allowed. In such cases, Aoki might not even have time to throw a Pokéball during a surprise attack.
But if he had a Gastly like Gengar, it could hide in his shadow and protect him at all times, allowing him to handle unexpected situations.
When the old Gastly mentioned letting Aoki choose a Gastly, some of them were actually in the middle of Aoki's thoughts.
As soon as he entered the cave, he had felt some emotions and considered capturing a strong Gastly as his Pokémon.
However, as more and more Gastly emerged, he gradually reconsidered. Capturing one might be difficult, and taming a Gastly could prove troublesome.
The Gastly captured this way could also be harder to control.
Aoki hadn't expected the old Gastly's offer to match his needs so perfectly. Deciding quickly, Aoki chose to take a Gastly from the group, assuming it met his standards.
Of course, if he couldn't find one that met his criteria, he would rather not waste resources training a Pokémon.
Aoki was following an elite strategy, and his standards for Pokémon were high.
Given his limited resources, he preferred to train fewer Pokémon, but those he trained would have to be capable.
Though he felt like he was taking advantage of the Gastly, they seemed pleased. This was the first time Aoki had felt somewhat embarrassed by his interaction with Pokémon since his rebirth. The most update n0vels are published on N()velFire.net
He nodded at the old Gastly, who looked at him curiously.
For others, choosing from hundreds of Gastly would be difficult, but for Aoki, with his system, it was just a matter of scanning.
As his eyes passed over the Gastly, corresponding data maps appeared in front of him.
Previously, he had only encountered Pokémon with red qualifications, occasionally some orange ones, and very rarely a pale yellow one. But now, there were several yellow-rated Pokémon, which were slightly better than the old Gastly's qualifications.
Aoki's brow furrowed. If all the Gastly here had similar qualifications, there was no need for Aoki to capture one; it would be a waste of resources.
Seeing Aoki frown, the old Gastly asked, "What's wrong? Didn't you find one you like?"
Among all the Gastly, Aoki didn't seem impressed, though he was a bit surprised. While not all of them had the qualifications he desired, almost half did.