Larry swallowed hard. There was no clear way to deal with it—not even the database could provide an estimate of its full power. He let out a bitter chuckle. "Great... just great," he muttered under his breath, his usually composed expression now tinged with helplessness.
Sure, it was exciting that his ability could analyze creatures from the Dark Continent, but the bigger issue remained—how were they supposed to survive this? He hadn’t been in this world for long, and he was already facing one of the deadliest threats in existence. ‘Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows anymore.’
As the misty figure of "Ai" moved forward, flanked by the grotesque red and green emotion monsters, Larry made up his mind. He turned to Gardevoir, his voice steady despite the rising tension. “Prepare to teleport us out of here.”
Gardevoir nodded silently. Larry wasn’t particularly attached to the treasure lying around. In this world, strength was everything. Wealth would come naturally with power. The true prize of this expedition? Gengar.
‘Wait—where was Gengar?’ A familiar, mischievous chuckle echoed beside him. Larry blinked in surprise. Gengar had materialized from his shadow without him even realizing it, standing in front of him with a grin, confidently patting its chest. “Geng...Gengar!”
Larry raised an eyebrow. “What, you think you can handle this?”
Gengar nodded vigorously, flashing a toothy grin as if it had been waiting for this moment. Larry’s eyes widened. ‘Hold on... does that mean you can absorb the death aura and counter “Ai’s” influence?’
Gengar gave an exaggerated thumbs-up before cracking its knuckles. Larry was momentarily speechless. ‘So that’s why those negative emotions earlier disappeared so fast... Gengar absorbed them?’ A spark of hope lit up in Larry’s chest.
“Alright,” he said, his lips curling into a smirk. “Show me what you got.”
Gengar’s wide, eerie grin stretched even further as it devoured the swirling remnants of "Ai" without wasting a single bit. A thick cloud of eerie gas poured into its gaping mouth, and with a deep gulp, it swallowed everything whole. Instantly, Larry noticed the experience bar in his mind ticking forward—Gengar had leveled up significantly, while Gardevoir also gained some progress, though to a lesser extent.
This was exactly why Larry was surprised when Gengar explained its ability earlier. It could absorb deathly thoughts and mist-like entities like "Ai" and convert them into experience points to level up. This unique mechanic seemed to be a special upgrade feature of Pokémon within his Nen ability.
As for why Gengar’s attacks were so effective against "Ai," Larry had a theory—perhaps "Ai" was classified as a ghost-like entity, making it naturally weak to Gengar's ghost-type moves. “Burp~” Gengar let out a loud burp, patted its belly with satisfaction, and bounced around gleefully. It was clear the meal had left it in high spirits.
Meanwhile, the two remaining men—Neguro and the bespectacled man—stood frozen in shock. They had clearly underestimated Larry. A moment ago, they thought he was just a support-type with no offensive abilities. But now, after witnessing his Pokémon in action, they realized how wrong they were. Their previous assumptions felt laughable—like they had been staring at the world from inside a well, unaware of its vastness.
With the remnants of deathly aura fading away, the hip-hop man, once inflated with rage, now looked like a deflated balloon. His body shrank rapidly back to its normal size before collapsing to the ground, kicking up a cloud of rotten dust.
Larry sighed and rubbed his forehead. Everything had happened so fast—it almost felt... boring. He had prepared for a long and grueling battle, yet Gengar had ended it effortlessly. He had to admit, though, a big part of this easy victory came down to Gengar’s unique abilities countering "Ai" perfectly. If it had been any other Pokémon, things could have been very different. The terrifying nature of "Ai" wasn't in its direct strength but in its insidious ability to mess with people's minds and emotions, spawning emotional monsters to attack.
People feared "Ai" for good reason. Even an experienced Nen user could fall victim if they didn’t have the right tools to fight it. If it weren’t for Gengar, Larry would have had to resort to his original plan—teleporting away. But this victory sparked another thought in Larry’s mind. Could it be that the Pokémon he bred were influenced by the environment he was in at the time?
The eerie, abandoned ruins—steeped in despair and negativity—had given birth to Gengar, a ghost-type Pokémon that perfectly suited the surroundings. Moreover, "Ai" was also known as a gaseous lifeform, aligning perfectly with Gengar’s composition as a gas-based entity. It was like fate had orchestrated their encounter.
After confirming with Gengar that there were no more "Ai" lurking around, Larry couldn’t help but feel a little regret. If there had been just one more, Gengar might have reached A-rank instantly. With the danger dealt with, it was time for the next phase—collecting the loot. "Alright, let's get to work," Larry muttered.
Under his command, Gengar began swallowing piles of treasures scattered around the cave. Unlike the earlier battle, Gengar showed no interest in the loot unless Larry specifically ordered it. Although some of the items were damaged from the fight, the remaining treasures still amounted to an impressive haul. As the one who saved everyone, Larry had no qualms about claiming everything.
The bespectacled man seemed to understand this and, while a hint of regret flickered in his eyes, he was mostly grateful. Neguro, on the other hand, was practically radiating jealousy and resentment. In his eyes, he had done so much and felt entitled to a portion of the treasure. Watching Larry claim it all left him simmering with bitterness.
However, what Neguro didn’t realize was that Gardevoir, being a Psychic-type Pokémon, could sense emotions with ease. Every flicker of jealousy and hatred was silently transmitted to Larry. After Gengar swallowed the last of the loot, Larry turned his gaze to Neguro. A fake smile tugged at his lips, but his eyes were cold. "Jealous of me, huh? Envious of my strength? Angry that I took what you thought should’ve been yours?" Larry’s voice was light, almost teasing, but it cut deep.
Neguro stiffened, his face betraying his inner turmoil. “W-What?” he stammered, his shock evident.
"Heh, the great actor, still putting on a show?"
Gengar grinned mischievously. Three colorful will-o’-the-wisps floated toward Neguro, clinging to him like parasites. The flames erupted in an instant, engulfing Neguro’s body in ghostly fire. His screams echoed through the cave but were short-lived. Soon, nothing was left—no trace of Neguro remained, as if he had never existed.