Larry’s mouth fell slightly open. He hadn’t expected to get one of his all-time favorite Pokémon so soon. ‘Gardevoir and Gengar... If I had to rank Pokémon in my mind, these two would definitely be at the top.’ Who wouldn’t love a mischievous ghost that could phase through walls and scare people for fun?

  Larry’s mind raced with ideas. Gengar wasn’t just a powerhouse with impressive special attack capabilities—it was also a master of debuffs and mind games. Unlike Gardevoir, who funed as a le turret, Gengar specialized in status effects. The possibilities were endless.

  In the real world, unlike in games, there were ris limiting an oppoo just oive status dition. Gardevoir could telepengar directly into enemy ranks, where it could unleash a relentless barrage of moves like Will-O-Wisp, Curse, fuse Ray, and Hypnosis.

  ‘Stack them all up... and just let them rot.’ Larry smirked at the thought. Chasing Gengar would be futile, and fighting it would be even worse. Unless an oppo had a very specific ter, they’d be forced to endure Gengar’s endless harassment until they dropped. And that was just its bat potential.

  Gengar could also serve as a walking ste unit, swallowing items into its own void-like body. Larry realized that with Gengar at his side, he wouldn’t o carry supplies anymore. Everything he needed would be safely tucked away in Gengar’s intangible form. Another brilliant use? Stealth. By lurking in Larry's shadow, Gengar could provide him with stant prote, staying hidden until the moment it was needed. Even if Larry wasn’t paying attention, Gengar could rea its own to shield him from harm.

  With Gardevoir providing instant escapes and Gengar c him from the shadows, Larry’s survival potential had just skyrocketed. Of course, there was one downside—Gengar’s current strength. At B- level, it wasn’t weak, but pared to the threats they were fag, it o be strood thing I pnned ahead.’ Larry activated his coath without hesitation. He had been prepared for this moment.A tdown timer appeared in his mind. One-minute enha process starting… As the tdown hit zero, Gengar's power shot up by aire tier, putting it on par with Gardevoir.

  ***Species: GengarType: Ghost, PoisonAbility: Cursed BodyStrength Rank: BKnown Moves: Shadow Ball, Dark Pulse, Sludge Bomb...Description: Gengar possesses a mischievous yet ing nature, exploitiive emotions to weaken enemy resolve while phasing through objects for surprise attacks. Gengar's mastery of psychological warfare makes it a formidable disruptor, wearing down foes with illusions and status-inflig eiques.***

  Larry grinned. With both Pokémon now at A-level strength, his bat capability had taken a massive leap forward. Just as Larry was basking in the excitement of his newly acquired Gengar, an eerie ge swept across the battlefield.

  Without warning, streams of invisible gas seeped out from the altar, slithering across the cavern like phantom pythons, creeping toward everyone present. Uhe oppressive death aura that filled the ruins, this strange energy carried an even more uling, otherworldly presence. Even Gardevoir’s Misty Terrain, which had been shielding the group from the death aura, couldn’t fully block out this invasive force.

  The hip-hop guy, already teetering on the edge of exhaustio out a furious roar and tinued pounding the swarming iide with relentless blows. His movements, however, had bee erratic—his eyes clouded, void of crity. It was as if he had been thrown into a halluation, trapped in a violent daze. Meanwhile, No. 1 and No. 2, who were already drained of their energy, had somehow stumbled their way toward the altar. In an instant, their bodies withered, transf into grotesque, mummified husks. Where they oood, two monstrous figures emerged—ohe reen. Their forms were bizarre and abstract, exuding a chaotic, violent aura that made the air around them heavy with malice.

  The battlefield had turned into a nightmare. Of those present, only Neguro and the gsses man mao retain some sembnce of rationality. Even Larry could feel the sinister force pressing down on his mind, stirring up inexplicable waves of ive emotions—anger, destru, despair. It rimal urge to obliterate everything in sight. But just as quickly as it came, the feeling dissipated, vanishing without a trace.

  Across the battlefield, Neguro and the gsses man locked eyes. There was no longer any trace of hostility between them, only fusion and shared dread. They both uood the same thing—this was no longer a battle for treasure. It was a fight for survival.

  Larry, standing to the side, his mind rag, quickly assessed the situation. His instincts told him that everything was ected to the altar. He had to dig deeper, to uhe truth behind this ued turn of events. And then it hit him. ‘I’ve seen this before.’ Memories from his previous world fshed through his mind. He had read about something simir in the Hunter x Hunter manga. The pieces began to fall into pce.

  A long-fotten horror, dormah the altar, had finally awakehe bck mist seeping from its depths was far more sihan the lingerih aura that filled the ruins. Its deep purple hue twisted and writhed, taking on a vague humanoid form that sent a chill down Larry’s spine. His heart pounded in his chest. ‘This is… a creature from the Dark ti.’ One of the Five Great Camities—ay far beyond human uanding.Desire-Depe anism – Gas Lifeform "Ai."

  Larry's fists ched involuntarily, cold sweat f on his palms. His mind raced back to the harrowing ats detailed in the Hunter Encyclopedia, which spoke of the Dark ti’s Three-Star Tears—a legendary mineral believed to hold boundless energy and the potential to revolutionize humanity. But wherever it was found, the mist-like horror known as "Ai" lurked nearby, an unavoidable harbinger of madness aru.

  "Ai" possessed a terrifying ability to seep into the minds of those who entered it, feeding on their ambitions and slowly ing their thoughts until they spiraled into irreversible insanity. No amount of preparation could shield against its intangible grasp. He recalled the doomed expedition of the Republiingbo, one of the V5 nations, which had sought to harhe legendary object with the aid of the Hunter Association.

  Despite their meticulous pnning and vast resources, the mission had ended in disaster—nearly the entire expedition force was lost, ed by the malevolent mist. Only three broken survivors returheir minds shattered beynition.

  Everything clicked in Larry's head. A long time ago, humans must have discovered the altar where “Ai” resided. Desperate for power, they struck a deal. The altar provided them with unimagirength, transf their emotions into tangible, monstrous forms.

  Now, before their very eyes, those emotion-born monsters had been revived. Larry’s earlier suspis were finally firmed. The bck void on the murals wasn’t an artistic flourish—it was an actual representation of the dark mist that surrouhe altar, the same disaster that now loomed before them.He g his ability, his mind rag. Could it identify something this dangerous?

  ***Name: Desire-Depe anism – Gas Lifeform “Ai.”Strength: UndefinableAbility: Ai" infiltrates the minds of living beings by feeding on their desires, amplifying them to the point of obsession and madness. It maniputes victims through the spiritual realm, twisting their emotions and bending their will to its own.***