Chapter Thirty-Four: The Battle with Haunter

“Magikarp, use Splash and Tackle!” Zhao Fang issued his command, glancing at the door nearby.

Although he knew Tackle would be useless, Magikarp still obeyed its trainer’s order. It unleashed Splash, slapping its tail against the floor, leaping up, and crashing toward Gastly. Yet it had no effect; Magikarp simply passed right through Gastly’s body.

Gastly cackled louder, its mouth looking even more sinister and horrifying, but it didn’t hurry to attack Magikarp or Zhao Fang. Instead, it maintained an indifferent attitude toward them.

Zhao Fang understood—Gastly was toying with its prey, much like big cats play with creatures far weaker than themselves, tormenting them slowly before delivering the fatal bite.

Though Zhao Fang grasped Gastly’s attitude, he didn’t feel anger; on the contrary, he felt a bit relieved. As long as Gastly didn’t immediately strike, there remained a chance for his plan to succeed.

“Magikarp! Keep using Tackle!” Despite his relief, Zhao Fang deliberately acted anxious, issuing chaotic commands like a desperate, reckless trainer.

Gastly laughed even louder, never ceasing its sinister mirth as Magikarp repeatedly turned and crashed against it. Zhao Fang could see clearly: Magikarp always aimed for Gastly’s head.

He couldn’t help feeling speechless—at such a moment, Magikarp was still fixated on hitting the head.

With each fruitless collision, Gastly devised new amusement. It floated into the wall, leaving just its head exposed. Magikarp, relentless, began ramming the wall again and again, injuring itself, while Gastly laughed ever more wildly.

Meanwhile, Zhao Fang used the distraction to slowly edge his way across the floor.

“Magikarp, seize the chance; give this fiend one last Tackle!” Hearing Zhao Fang’s command, Magikarp, battered and bruised, charged once more, meeting Gastly’s mocking gaze head-on. But before Magikarp could crash into the wall, it was swept into its Poké Ball by a flash of light.

Gastly stared blankly, then looked up to see the door closed. The Magikarp and human that had just been locked in combat with it were gone.

Gastly was stunned for a moment, then let out a furious, humiliated screech. It charged at the door, gathering a dark purple aura in its hands, but before it could approach, it halted, fixing the door with a venomous glare for a long time before gradually dissolving into the air.

“It seems the gamble paid off.” Zhao Fang sat down on the dust-covered floor, breathing a long sigh. Gastly hadn’t entered, which meant Zhao Fang’s theory was correct.

He’d wondered, after opening the door, why this room was covered in dust while outside it was spotless.

At first, Zhao Fang thought he’d entered someone else’s house, and that the owner had simply sealed this room, leaving it unswept. But after encountering Gastly and battling so fiercely, he began to suspect this was indeed the old manor. Why, then, was the place haunted by ghost Pokémon so clean everywhere except this one dusty room?

A bold guess occurred to him: for some unknown reason, these ghost Pokémon couldn’t enter this place.

So he sent out Magikarp, commanding it to Tackle repeatedly, lulling Gastly into carelessness. Otherwise, if Gastly had used Mean Look, things would have been much more troublesome. Luckily, Gastly was indeed careless, allowing Zhao Fang to escape.

Once he confirmed Gastly hadn’t entered, Zhao Fang relaxed his hand from the emergency button.

“Thank you for your hard work, Magikarp.” He released Magikarp and Dragapult, gently stroking Magikarp’s battered body, then sprayed healing medicine on its wounds—mostly bruises from ramming the wall.

Magikarp remained silent, hopping quietly, yet Zhao Fang felt its movements were becoming more forceful.

“Dragapult, you worked hard too. That move just now must have been Night Shade.” Zhao Fang hugged Dragapult, spraying healing medicine on it as well.

After the battle, Zhao Fang realized the skill Gastly used to badly injure Dragapult was probably Night Shade—though in the games it only deals damage based on level, it seemed different in reality.

“Dragapult…” Dragapult called softly, weakly.

Zhao Fang sighed. There wasn’t much else he could do now except let Dragapult rest and recover. Once both Magikarp and Dragapult had healed, he could consider his next steps.

But he was troubled by a practical problem: he and Dragapult, along with Magikarp, had been teleported here, but their tent and Pokémon food were still outside. His backpack contained only healing medicine and antidotes—insufficient to last for long. Would he have to press the emergency button already?

“Dragapult, do you think there might be a secret passage or something in this room?” Zhao Fang asked, watching Dragapult’s wounds slowly heal.

“Dragapult?” Dragapult lifted its head, sounding puzzled.

“I mean, besides the door, is there anywhere else to get out?” Zhao Fang clarified.

Dragapult looked toward the window, but Zhao Fang shook his head. He had already checked the window—outside was nothing but endless darkness. He couldn’t see anything, nor did he know what floor he was on. If it was the third or fourth floor, jumping would surely break bones.

Such reckless risk was best avoided.

Seeing Zhao Fang shake his head, Dragapult floated up, drifting around the room. Zhao Fang hugged Magikarp, quietly watching, knowing Dragapult understood his intent.

“Dragapult!” Dragapult emerged from the dressing table, calling excitedly.

Zhao Fang was surprised but came over. Dragapult had burrowed into the carpet beneath the dressing table, poking out just its head.

“Here?” Zhao Fang reached out to touch.

The carpet was dusty, but he felt a seam. Though it seemed whole, it was actually separated from the rest. Lifting the carpet, Zhao Fang discovered a trapdoor.

He paused, then shook his head.

He decided to wait until Magikarp and Dragapult had recovered before exploring below. If he encountered more ghost Pokémon, he’d press the emergency button without hesitation. If not, perhaps there would be a way to escape the manor hidden down there.