Chapter 381: Level 100 Gengar (Two-in-One)
Old Ghost felt it, then said joyfully: "It’s mine! This is definitely mine!"
"Really? That’s great!" Rio’s face lit up with joy.
"Gengar, go touch it—let’s try Mega Evolution!"
"No problem."
Old Ghost flew toward the Mega Stone. The moment it touched the pitch-black stone, Rio revealed the Key Stone on his chest.
"Begin your Mega Evolution, Gengar!"
As he spoke, the Key Stone blazed with brilliant light, resonating with the Mega Stone Old Ghost was touching. The Mega Stone also burst into light, enveloping Gengar’s body, and it began to change.
Its body color shifted from lavender to white. A yellow, eye-like pattern—resembling a "third eye"—appeared at the center of its forehead. Its lower body became hidden within a dimensional space.
"Gengar~" The newly evolved Old Ghost let out a roar, and an immense aura radiated outward from it. Above Geosenge Town, the sky shifted from bright and clear to dark and overcast. Ghost-type Pokémon within a twenty-kilometer radius felt the change and inexplicably stirred with excitement. The two small Gengar that had led Rio there immediately prostrated themselves.
Outside the ruin, the Kanto trainer’s expression shifted. He looked at his recently recovered Banette’s fearful reaction and the sudden change in the sky. "What’s happening? Did that person just take the Mega Stone inside?" He remembered the trainer he had dismissed.
"Banette, let’s go check it out!" He immediately ran back into the ruin with his Banette. Moments later, they saw the two Alakazam that had defeated his Banette lying on the ground.
"Those Alakazam were defeated by that guy?!" The Kanto trainer couldn’t believe it—someone had easily beaten the opponent he couldn’t even scratch.
At the deepest part of the ruin, Rio was beaming at the Mega Evolved Gengar. In his sight, Gengar’s level information had changed.
[Pokémon: Gengar (Shiny)
[Level: 100 (90 + 10)
[Talent: Legendary]
[Friendship: 144]
[Ability 1: Shadow Tag]
[Ability 2: Pressure]
[Gender: Male]
[Moves: Hypnosis (140%), Confuse Ray (140%), Mean Look (140%), Reflect Type (140%), Payback (140%), Spite (140%), Skill Swap (140%), Curse (140%), Night Shade (140%), Dark Pulse - Enhanced (140%), Shadow Ball (140%), Destiny Bond (140%), Roar of Time (10%)...]
[Description: A Pokémon that has traveled through time... ]
"Impressive, Old Ghost—you’re now higher level than Giratina. You’re the highest-level Pokémon I have." Rio smiled.
"Of course! I feel like the strongest Ghost-type now. Giratina would be nothing but a punching bag against me." Old Ghost said smugly.
Rio’s smile widened at its arrogance. "Level 100—I wonder if that’s the maximum. If not, what level would Arceus be?" He muttered.
Logically, level 100 should be the maximum, the pinnacle of strength. But if Old Ghost fought Arceus right now, Rio honestly still didn’t think it would win. After all, that was the creator god. But if even a level 100 Gengar got beaten by Arceus, then the level cap must be higher than 100—or at the very least, Arceus’s level shouldn’t be 100.
Just then, Zygarde’s core cell, Z1, poked its head out of Rio’s bag, staring in shock at the pressure emanating from the Mega Evolved Old Ghost. It felt as though this Gengar was nearly as strong as its complete form—maybe even evenly matched. But how was that possible? It was Kalos’s guardian, the true strongest in the region. How could a Gengar compare? It must have been mistaken.
"Rio, hurry up and find me a legendary to fight! I want to beat one up and show them what it means for an ordinary Pokémon to rival—no, to surpass—a god!" Old Ghost’s voice echoed in Rio’s mind.
Rio looked at Old Ghost’s arrogant face and sighed. He glanced at Z1, who was still in shock. If he wanted to give Old Ghost a legendary to fight right now, he could only use Z1. If he pushed it hard enough, even if it couldn’t reach its complete form, it could still enter its 10% or 50% Forme. But even in 50% Forme, Zygarde would probably only be on par with Entei—Old Ghost could one-shot it.
"Alright—next, we’ll find you a legendary to beat up. Like Xerneas or Yveltal." Rio said.
Hearing this, Z1’s eyes widened in alarm.
"Excellent! You really do love Old Ghost. Worth the century I’ve waited for you." Old Ghost was thrilled, and its friendship rose by another point.
"Rrrrr~" Z1 suddenly called out urgently.
"What’s up, Z1?" Rio raised an eyebrow.
"It says you promised to take it where it wants to go." Old Ghost translated. Z1 nodded frantically.
"But I also said that after finding Gengar’s Mega Stone, if I had nothing else to do, I’d take you. But now Old Ghost wants to test its strength against a legendary—as its trainer, shouldn’t I grant that small wish?" Rio said.
"Kalos has three powerful legends: Xerneas, Yveltal, and Zygarde. Who should I pick? If I pick you, that means taking you to your destination. Is that what you want?"
Z1 stared at Rio, speechless. Finally, it called out again.
"Rrrrr~"
"This little guy says if we go after Yveltal, we’ll probably get petrified—it’s telling us not to throw our lives away." Old Ghost’s translation came out annoyed. "Little one, don’t underestimate me! I can beat your Yveltal senseless, got that?"
"Rrrrr~"
"Oh, you’re asking for it! Just wait until I find Xerneas and Yveltal—I’ll show you exactly how I beat them down!" Old Ghost was getting riled up.
"Alright, alright—enough arguing. We’ll see when the time comes. In the meantime, I’ll escort you to your destination after I find Xerneas and Yveltal." Rio looked at Z1 in his bag.
Z1 looked at Rio, then at the irritated Old Ghost, and said nothing—it simply ducked back into the bag, silently agreeing.
"Alright, revert from Mega Evolution." Rio called out. Old Ghost complied, reverting from its white form back to lavender, holding the pitch-black Mega Stone.
"Hand it over—I’ll get a Mega Stone holder made for you in Geosenge Town." Rio said.
"Make me a big belt! I’ll wear it around my waist." Old Ghost handed over the stone.
Rio took it, raising an eyebrow at the request. "A belt around your waist?" He looked at Old Ghost. "Uh... Old Ghost, do you even have a waist? Isn’t it just mouth, then legs and butt? Where’s the waist?"
Old Ghost blinked, looking down at its lower half. After a few seconds, it became indignant. "None of your business! I said a belt, so a belt it is! My body, my rules! What, you don’t agree? I’ve got plenty of waist—more than any other part besides my head and legs!"
"Fine, fine—belt it is. Whatever you say." Rio waved, laughing, and recalled Old Ghost into its Luxury Ball, then turned to leave.
As he stepped out of the cave, he saw the Kanto trainer from earlier with his Banette. The trainer stared at him in shock.
"You took the Mega Stone?" He asked tentatively.
"Obviously." Rio shrugged.
"Which Pokémon’s Mega Stone is it?" The trainer pressed.
"Gengar’s." Rio said bluntly.
The trainer seemed relieved at the answer. Seeing that, Rio understood—he wasn’t looking for Gengar’s Mega Stone.
"What Pokémon do you have?" Rio asked.
"My Pokémon?" The trainer was confused but answered honestly: "I have Ninetales, Blastoise, Banette, Jolteon, Beedrill, Flygon..."
Before he could finish listing them, Rio pulled out a yellow-brown Mega Stone from his bag. "Here—this Beedrill Mega Stone is yours." He tossed it over.
"Mine?" The trainer caught it in shock, staring at the Mega Stone in his hand, then at Rio as he walked away. "Why?!"
"No reason—I just like you. If I had to give one, it’s because we’re both trainers from Kanto, and I really enjoyed what you said to that Galar trainer yesterday." Rio waved without looking back, leaving the trainer staring blankly at his retreating figure.
Half an hour later, Rio returned to Geosenge Town. He found a merchant specializing in Mega Stone settings—as the place with the most Mega Stones, Geosenge Town had plenty of related services. By the next day, Rio had the holder for Gengar’s Mega Stone ready—a very long belt.
"Old Ghost, try it on." Rio released Gengar and handed over the belt.
Old Ghost took it and struggled to put it on. Watching its effort, Rio almost burst out laughing. It was essentially treating its lower body as a waist, with the belt sitting right below its big white teeth.
"What are you laughing at? Is it funny?" Old Ghost’s voice echoed, clearly annoyed.
"I’m not laughing—don’t misunderstand." Rio pressed his lips together and shook his head. As a professional actor, how could he laugh? No matter how funny something was, he wouldn’t laugh—unless he absolutely couldn’t help it.
"So, how do I look?" Old Ghost, having managed to create a "waist" through sheer willpower, asked.
"Great—fantastic. I was wrong yesterday. It really does suit your waist." Rio lied and gave a thumbs-up.
"Right? I thought so too. See? I do have a waist. Look—it’s around my waist now. Isn’t it awesome?" Old Ghost was delighted.
"Awesome! It’s beyond awesome!" Rio didn’t hold back his praise. "If there’s a list of the coolest Pokémon in the world, you’d definitely be on it."
[Gengar’s friendship has increased]
[Friendship: 146 (-30 → 146) ]
Rio’s eyes lit up. "Old Ghost, if you’ve ever felt lonely—let me tell you, there’s only one reason. You’re too cool. So cool you have no friends. So cool you make other Pokémon feel inferior."
[Gengar’s friendship has increased]
[Friendship: 147 (-30 → 147) ]
"You really know how to talk, Rio. You hit the nail on the head—I’ve always felt that way." Old Ghost cackled happily, thrilled by Rio’s flattery.
"Flattery? I’m just telling the truth." Rio said.
Just then, Mewtwo’s voice echoed in his mind, telling him to stop—they were sick of hearing it and were about to come out and duel Old Ghost. Rio finally stopped.
After getting Old Ghost’s Mega Stone holder ready, Rio prepared to head to Orus Forest—because if he remembered correctly, Xerneas and Yveltal, the embodiments of life and death, were there. To find them, that’s where he needed to go.
After packing up, he released Charizard and flew toward Orus Forest. But barely out of Geosenge Town, he spotted something surprising near the entrance of a ruin—a Pokémon with a body refracting light, encrusted with diamonds.
"Carbink?" Rio raised an eyebrow, then patted Charizard’s neck. "Charizard, head down there!"
Charizard obeyed and descended. By the time Rio landed, the Carbink was gone.
"Did it go in there?" Rio looked at the cave entrance. Legend said that underground in Kalos lived a group of Pokémon with diamond-encrusted bodies—Carbink.