NOVEL WEB Chapter 127: Gengar
Angie's side.
After closing the store at 10 p.m., Angie didn't head home right away. Instead, after having Meowstic escort Espurr and Ralts back first, he took Drizzile and Haunter with him to visit a wholesale market for some research.
Previously, Angie mentioned that he had plans for Delphox and Greninja's jobs. That wasn't just lip service—he had truly thought it through.
He intended to open two small shops for the Pokémon on Nebel Plateau: one selling various snacks and toys, and another selling everyday essentials for Pokémon.
The managers of these two shops would be Delphox and Greninja, respectively.
The idea came to Angie after Professor Sada and Professor Turo helped him upgrade Robert 1.0.
Now transformed into Robert 2.0, and with the assistance of Metagross, it had gained intelligence and powerful computing abilities. With this, Angie could use Robert 2.0 to handle payroll for the Pokémon.
The system would accurately track how much salary Pokémon earned monthly and how much they spent daily, providing real-time feedback.
Angie had also asked Kimia to enlist royal scientists to develop a card system similar to the campus cards he remembered from his previous life. The system was currently in development.
For the technology in the Pokémon world, this wasn't a difficult feat. Once completed, Angie could issue each Pokémon a salary card, and Robert 2.0 could deposit their monthly earnings directly onto these cards.
The Pokémon could then use their salary cards to shop at the two stores (the snack shop and the daily goods store) using a card swipe system.
This was Angie's first visit to a wholesale market in the Pokémon world. With a small notebook in hand, he meticulously recorded the prices of goods at various shops, intending to compare and choose a reliable supplier for his two stores.
Drizzile and Haunter, also visiting the market for the first time, followed behind Angie, curiously observing all the new and intriguing sights.
"Step right up and take a look! It's Magikarp with perfect condition! Buy one, and I guarantee it will evolve into a Gyarados!"
Hearing the pitch, Drizzile craned its neck to look. Inside a large fish tank stood a group of bright red Magikarp, swimming energetically. They looked so lively—almost too lively to be ordinary Magikarp.
Haunter floated closer to Drizzile's ear and whispered softly.
"Haunter~ Haunter~."
Those aren't Magikarp.
Of course Haunter knew what Magikarp looked like.
"Drizzile?"
Not Magikarp?
Drizzile froze, dumbfounded. If they weren't Magikarp, then what were they?
Angie chuckled and said to Drizzile, "Those are disguised Basculin."
Realizing the truth, Drizzile spat disdainfully in the merchant's direction: what a shady businessman!
Angie simply smiled and shook his head, choosing not to expose the merchant. He led his two companions onward.
"Top-quality evolution stones here! You won't find a better deal anywhere else!" Another energetic hawker called out.
Intrigued, Angie walked over—after all, many of his Pokémon needed evolution stones to evolve.
For example, Skitty needed a Moon Stone to evolve into Delcatty. Capsakid needed a Fire Stone to evolve into Scovillain. Minccino required a Shiny Stone to evolve into Cinccino.
After Oddish evolved into Gloom, if they didn't want to become Vileplume, they would require a Sun Stone to evolve into Bellossom.
Additionally, Litwick needed a Dusk Stone to evolve into Chandelure after becoming Lampent.
Entering the evolution stone shop, Angie was immediately greeted by the enthusiastic shopkeeper.
"What kind of evolution stone are you looking for, handsome guy? We've got it all here, top-notch quality guaranteed!"
Angie replied, "I'd like to browse first."
The shopkeeper nodded quickly. "Of course, of course! Take your time, handsome guy, look around as much as you like."
Angie walked over to the shelves and picked up a Fire Stone. The stone was pure and radiant, clearly of excellent quality.
So he asked, "How much is one of these evolution stones, shopkeeper?"
The shopkeeper smiled and said, "You have great taste, handsome! This top-quality Fire Stone is just 60,000 Poké Dollar in our store!"
Hearing this, Angie frowned. It wasn't that it was too expensive—it was too cheap. He knew the market rates well. A Fire Stone this pure couldn't be priced below 80,000; in cases of urgent need, it could sell for as high as 100,000.
Yet here it was, only 60,000. Something wasn't right.
Angie tightened his grip on the Fire Stone and activated his Aura powers. All things possess Aura, even stones. Aura provides the truest feedback.
Sure enough, based on the feedback from the Fire Stone, Angie quickly noticed the issue.
If the stone were normal, its transmitted Aura would be complete and steady. However, the Aura from this Fire Stone was thin and fragmented—clearly not normal.
Angie stared at the Fire Stone for a while before putting it back on the shelf.
The shopkeeper asked, "What's the matter, handsome guy? Don't you want such a fine Fire Stone?"
Angie asked, "Are all the evolution stones priced the same here?"
The shopkeeper smiled. "Of course! The quality is about the same, so naturally, the price is the same."
Hearing this, Angie quickly touched several evolution stones on the shelf. He found that the Aura feedback from these stones was all similar—just as abnormal.
However, when his hand landed on a Shiny Stone, Angie stopped. The Aura feedback from this stone was normal.
Noticing Angie pick up the Shiny Stone, the shopkeeper's expression shifted slightly. Then, he heard Angie say, "I'll take this Shiny Stone."
The shopkeeper forced a smile and said, "Ah… Alright." Inwardly, he cursed Angie bitterly.
He had mixed only a handful of genuine evolution stones among the defective ones in the store. How did this guy get so lucky as to pick one of the good ones?
The truth was, most of the evolution stones sold in this shop were problematic. The shopkeeper had a relative working as a miner in an evolution stone quarry. Together, they secretly smuggled out broken shards of evolution stones. Using a special synthetic technique, they mixed the shards with other materials to create what appeared to be complete evolution stones for sale.
Because their costs were low, they priced the stones well below market value. Even so, they were making a huge profit.
These synthetic stones could still help Pokémon evolve. As long as there were enough evolution stone fragments, the evolution would succeed.
The problem was, in order to cut costs further, the shopkeeper reduced the amount of actual stone fragments used, increasing the proportion of other materials.
So far, all Pokémon that had used these stones managed to evolve. However, it was uncertain whether the stones might cause long-term side effects for the Pokémon.
And by the time any side effects became apparent, the buyers would have a hard time proving it was due to these evolution stones.
The shop's synthetic technique was so advanced that not only Angie but other customers as well couldn't tell the difference by sight alone.
Angie paid for the Shiny Stone and left with his two apprentices, all while the shopkeeper maintained his stiff smile.
Not long after leaving the store, Angie called the relevant authorities to report the shop. He also made sure to identify himself. On the other end of the line, they assured him the report would be taken seriously and that a thorough investigation would follow.
After hanging up, Drizzile looked at Angie curiously.
"Drizzile~ Drizzile~"
Master, was there something wrong with that shop?
Haunter also gazed at Angie with confusion.
Angie shook his head and replied, "I'm not entirely sure, but it felt something off with that shop."
He then shared his observations with Drizzile and Haunter.
After hearing it all, Drizzile became indignant and filled with righteous fury.
"Drizzile~ Drizzile~"
There's definitely something wrong! Master can't be mistaken—what a swindler!
"Haunter~ Haunter~"
Haunter chimed in, its expression equally furious as it echoed its senior brother's sentiment.
Angie chuckled and patted its head. "Whether there's a problem or not, we'll know once the authorities complete their inspection. If there is, they won't allow that shop to stay in business."
Hearing this, both Drizzile and Haunter felt a little less indignant.
"Haunter~ Haunter~"
At this point, Haunter suddenly asked why Angie didn't report the previous shop that tried to pass off Barboach as Magikarp.
Angie smiled and replied, "Because it's a different matter altogether."
Haunter looked puzzled—deceit was deceit. What's the difference?
Without explaining further, Angie continued leading his two disciples around the wholesale market to conduct further evaluations.
After thorough consideration, Angie finally settled on two shops to serve as his suppliers. He then called his assistant, Jeremy, introduced the two stores to him, and handed over a list, instructing Jeremy to make regular shipments to Nebel Plateau according to the specified items.
After bidding farewell to Jeremy, Angie headed home with his two disciples.
As they passed by the Pokémon Center on their way, an idea struck Angie. Turning to Haunter, he asked, "Haunter, would you like to evolve?"
Haunter was stunned.
"Haunter?"
Evolve?
Angie nodded. "That's right—to evolve into Gengar!"
Haunter's face lit up with excitement.
"Haunter?"
Is that possible?
Most Pokémon follow their instincts when it comes to evolution. If they are capable of evolving, they naturally desire to do so.
Angie smiled and reassured him, "Of course, it's possible. Since we're passing by the Pokémon Center, if you'd like to evolve, we can do it right now."
"Haunter~ Haunter~"
I'm going to evolve! I'm going to evolve!
Overjoyed, Haunter began flying around Angie's head in circles, its enthusiasm drawing the attention of passersby. Embarrassed by the stares, Haunter quickly turned red.
Angie had long noticed that his third disciple was easily flustered.
However, the looks from the passersby were all friendly, so Haunter quickly regained its composure.
"Alright then, let's go!"
With that, Angie led his two disciples into the Pokémon Center.
Nurse Joy looked surprised to see Angie and asked, "Your Highness, what brings you here today? Is there something I can help you with?"
Angie gestured toward Haunter. "My Haunter would like to evolve. Is that possible here?"
Hearing this, Nurse Joy's face lit up with delight. "Your Highness, you've come at the perfect time! There's actually another Trainer here whose Spritzee also needs to evolve via trade!"
Just like Haunter evolving into Gengar, Spritzee requires a trade to evolve into Aromatisse, though Spritzee also needs to hold a Sachet during the process.
Technically, Pokémon can evolve through a trade with an empty Poké Ball, but since two Pokémon needing trade evolution happened to be present, combining the processes was much more efficient.
Nurse Joy called out, "Miss Aria, there's another Trainer here who needs a trade evolution. Would you like to do it together?"
"Coming!"
A girl with long pink hair hurried over with her Spritzee in tow.
Nurse Joy smiled and introduced her to Angie. "This is Miss Aria, a Trainer passing through our Azoth Kingdom. Her Spritzee also needs to evolve."
"Hello," Angie greeted the girl named Aria with a nod.
Then Nurse Joy introduced Angie to Aria. "This is His Highness, Angie, from our Azoth Kingdom. It's rare to meet him! His Highness's Haunter is the one evolving!"
Aria gasped in surprise, then winked playfully at Angie. "Looking forward to working together!"
Nurse Joy said, "If there are no issues, let's get started."
Angie and Aria both nodded, then returned their Haunter and Spritzee to their Poké Balls. Under Nurse Joy's guidance, they walked over to the communication exchange machine.
In fact, Haunter hadn't even had a Poké Ball before arriving at the Pokémon Center. Angie had prepared one on the spot after Haunter agreed to evolve.
Angie and Aria placed their Poké Balls on either side of the machine, and the communication exchange began.
Once the exchange was complete, Angie and Aria swapped positions because Angie's machine now held Spritzee, while Aria's contained Haunter.
Angie took out the Poké Ball containing Haunter and opened it. The moment Haunter emerged, its entire body began to emit a bright bluish-white glow.
The same thing was happening on Aria's side.
The evolution had begun.
"Drizzile~ Drizzile~"
Drizzile clapped excitedly, thrilled to see its junior sister in the process of evolving.
Within the glow of evolution, Haunter's body grew larger. Not only did it gain hands, but it also sprouted feet, and its form became rounder and fuller.
As the light faded, a brand-new Pokémon appeared before Angie and Drizzile. It was Haunter's evolved form—Gengar!
"Gengar~ Gengar~"
Now fully evolved, Gengar twisted its body, curiously examining its new form.
Angie stepped forward and congratulated it. "Gengar, congratulations on successfully evolving!"
Unlike most Gengar, Angie's third disciple was slightly different. While regular Gengar were dark purple, his was a shade closer to gray.
It was a Shiny Gengar.
"Gengar~ Gengar~"
Hearing Angie's congratulations, Gengar gleefully threw itself at him, wrapping him in a big hug. It then lifted Angie into the air and spun him around, making Angie so dizzy his head was spinning.
"Alright, alright! Gengar, if you keep spinning me like this, I won't be able to stand straight in a bit!" Angie said helplessly.
"Gengar~"
Hearing this, Gengar finally put Angie down with a cheerful grin, though two red patches appeared on its face.
It was blushing again!
"Drizzile~ Drizzile~"
Its senior brother, Drizzile, gave Gengar a thumbs-up, offering its own congratulations. Like Angie, it also received a big hug from Gengar.
Watching the scene, Angie sighed with emotion. "I never thought you'd evolve to your final form before either of your senior brothers."