The blinding, chaotic white light of evolution expanded, illuminating every shadowy crevice of the chamber.
Inside the cocoon of energy, the floating, jagged form of Haunter began to shift. The disconnected hands fused seamlessly into a newly formed, bipedal body. Short legs materialized, and the spikes on its back sharpened into aggressive ridges.
The white light slowly faded, revealing Gengar, who was grinning widely.
Its deep purple body seemed to actively absorb the little light remaining in the room. The moment it opened its eyes and flashed its trademark, sinister grin, an absolute, suffocating wave of genuine Grade 5 Ghost-type energy washed over the chamber.
It wasn't Quasi-Grade 5 anymore. The bottleneck had been completely obliterated. This was the pure, unadulterated energy density that most attain when they reach King class.
The air became chilly. The purplish energy in the chamber felt like it was alive - much more than before when it was at the Quasi-Grade 5 level.
It felt so alive that it made Eric wonder if it would cause the birth of Ghost Pokémon when Gengar reached an even higher Grade.
"Geeeeeen-garrrr!"
Its voice was deeper, richer, and packed with a terrifying, reverberating resonance that made the ground tremble.
Eric felt the sheer magnitude of the power upgrade. His system flashed rapidly in his vision, compiling the new data.
---
Pokémon: Gengar
Gender: Male
Level: 42
Type: Ghost/Poison
Ability: Levitate
Held Item: None (Fragment fully integrated)
Potential: Light Gold
Energy Grade:
Ghost type - Grade 5 (Initial)
Poison type - Grade 3 (Peak)
Fire type - Grade 2 (Peak)
Moves: Lick (B+++), Hypnosis (I+), Confuse Ray (I+), Astonish (I), Disable (I+), Clear Smog (I+), Toxic (I+), Ghost Ball (I++), Hex (I++), Protect (I+), Will-O-Wisp (I+), Shadow Ball (I+++), Flamethrower (B+++), Sludge Wave (I)
---
Level 42. He had jumped two full levels simply from the massive influx of energy provided by the void.
But Eric's analytical eyes narrowed slightly at one specific detail.
'Light Gold? It only increased by a single tier?'
Given the density of the energy Gengar absorbed, Eric had half-expected his potential to shoot straight up to Gold, or even Deep Gold level.
His question was answered by the system, which functioned like a powerful AI and could quickly look up its vast database and give an answer.
[The structural requirements for core potential increase exponentially at higher tiers. The gap between minor levels within the Gold tier (Light Gold -> Mid Gold -> Deep Gold) is astronomically vast. Upgrading a core by a single minor level in the Gold tier requires the same amount of pure essence necessary to jump a full tier (e.g., from Blue to Purple) in lower rankings. The gap in potential is similarly immense.]*
Eric took a quiet breath, nodding slowly.
It made sense. The higher you climbed the mountain, the steeper the cliff face became. Achieving Light Gold was already very impressive all things considered. One had to remember that Gengar started with a Deep Blue potential.
"Milo..." Milotic shifted uneasily, her beautiful scales bristling against the sheer, oppressive gravity of Gengar's aura.
Gabite stepped forward, letting out a low, challenging growl. Its instincts were screaming. The ghost in front of it was no longer the opponent it had defeated a few hours earlier.
Cynthia stood behind her Pokémon, her grey eyes reflecting the glow of Gengar's aura.
Her inner battle maniac was acting up.
"Eric," Cynthia said. Her voice was soft, but it carried an undeniable, razor-sharp edge.
Eric turned to look at her.
"Let's battle outside," Cynthia said, a fierce, competitive smile pulling at her lips. "Right now."
Eric looked at her. It seems like Cynthia was an even more unrestrained battle maniac in her younger years than in the future. Her future self could at least restrain herself better than this, as far as Eric knew. Not that he was complaining - this was perfect to test out Gengar's new abilities.
"Let's go," Eric agreed.
---
Ten minutes later, the two prodigies stood on opposite sides of a vast, desolate clearing just some distance away from the ruins. The trees formed a natural coliseum.
From the Advanced level onwards, the gap between each level was so much that it couldn't be treated as the same level. Because the stat growth scaled so drastically, it was categorized into three distinct tiers:
Tier 1 Advanced: Levels 40 - 43
Tier 2 Advanced: Levels 44 - 46
Tier 3 Advanced: Levels 47 - 49
Gengar, at Level 42, was sitting in Tier 1.
Gabite, at Level 47, had just breached Tier 3.
It was a massive gap. Under normal circumstances, Gengar shouldn't stand a chance.
But Gengar's Ghost-type energy had reached Grade 5. It was time to see the difference.
"Don't hold back, Gengar," Eric commanded quietly. "Shadow Domain."
"Gengaaaar!"
Gengar slammed his hands into the ground.
The shadow didn't just spread slowly this time, it exploded. The pitch-black domain rushed outward, covering a terrifying 30-meter radius. The sheer, physical weight of the Grade 5 energy caused the very ground to crack and splinter as it was saturated with the ghostly aura.
"Gabite, seize the field! Sandstorm!" Cynthia yelled, her arm sweeping forward.
Gabite roared, summoning its localized Intermediate-level Sandstorm. The heavy, swirling vortex of jagged rocks and dust enveloped the dragon, triggering its Sand Veil.
But this time, the dynamic was different.
The Grade 5 Shadow Domain was so dense that the swirling sand couldn't properly cover the ground. The bottom half of Gabite's dust storm was literally being swallowed by the pitch-black floor, compromising its perfect camouflage.
"I can see its tracks," Eric noted, spotting the subtle disruptions in the shadows where Gabite's feet touched the earth. "Shadow Ball!"
As Gengar created the Shadow Ball, the dark purple energy contained in the sphere was so impossibly dense that it visibly warped the light around it. The difference between now and before was massive.
The projectile tore through the air, tearing through the sandstorm and heading straight for Gabite.
"Dodge and Dragon Rush!" Cynthia commanded frantically, realizing the Sand Veil had been compromised.
Gabite narrowly sidestepped the projectile, wrapping itself in a shroud of blue and red draconian energy, launching forward. The stray Shadow Ball moved past Gabite and struck a massive oak tree in the background, causing a massive explosion that caused the massive oak tree to break in two and fall on the battlefield.
Cynthia's eyes widened. The destructiveness was apocalyptic.
But Gabite dodged the falling tree and closed the distance, slamming into Gengar.
"Protect!"
Gengar shrouded himself in a Protect barrier that completely blocked the attack this time, with no visible cracks.
"Hex."
Gengar dropped the barrier and opened his eyes wide, grinning. A blinding, agonizing flash of dark purple energy erupted point-blank into Gabite's face, amplifying the pain of the physical collision.
Gabite shrieked, stumbling backward.
"Finish it, Shadow Ball!"
Gengar launched a powerful Shadow Ball directly at Gabite's face, causing a massive explosion.
"Gabite!" Cynthia shouted in worry, the force of the blast was too much.
As the smoke settled, Gabite was still standing, though severely wounded. Eric was a bit surprised at its resilience.
"Dragon Pulse!"
"Shadow Ball!"
A shockwave of dragon and ghost energy swept over the clearing as both attacks clashed, causing an explosion.
The smoke lingered for several tense seconds, but when the dust cleared, the clearing was a ruined crater.
Gabite lay flat on its back, its eyes swirling, completely unconscious.
Standing a few feet away, panting heavily, was Gengar. He looked exhausted, but his trademark, sinister grin was plastered firmly on his face.
He was still standing.
"Gabite..." Cynthia whispered, rushing forward and kneeling by her fallen partner. She pulled out a Full Restore, gently spraying it over the dragon's battered scales before recalling it into its Poké Ball.
"You fought brilliantly," she murmured to the sphere.
She stood up, wiping a streak of dirt from her cheek, and looked across the crater at Eric and Gengar.
Her chest heaved with the exertion and lingering excitement from the spar. But instead of looking defeated, a brilliant, thoroughly satisfied smile broke across her face.
"That... was exhilarating," Cynthia laughed softly, her passion for battle completely fulfilled. "The difference in energy density is terrifying. I couldn't break his guard with conventional strikes. You won, Eric."
Eric walked forward, handing Gengar a high-grade energy block, which the ghost happily devoured.
"It was a difficult fight," Eric admitted, perfectly sincere. "Gengar barely held on at the end."
Eric looked at the Poké Ball in Cynthia's hand.
'Gabite hasn't evolved yet,' Eric thought, his analytical mind already mapping out future variables.
Pseudo-Legendaries were notorious for being late bloomers. They only truly unlocked their catastrophic potential and broken stat distributions when they reached their final, third-stage evolution.
Once Gabite became a Garchomp, the game would change entirely. The sheer base stat total, combined with its high potential, would multiply its combat capabilities exponentially.
'If that Gabite had been a Garchomp today... even with Grade 5 energy, Gengar would have lost,' Eric realized.
He looked at Cynthia, seeing the gears turning behind her grey eyes. She was undoubtedly already strategizing how to counter the Shadow Domain in their next bout.
"We'll battle again," Cynthia said as she looked him in the eye as if saying, 'I won't lose again.'
"Looking forward to it," Eric smirked.
With their adrenaline settled and their Pokémon healed, the two prodigies turned away from the ruined clearing and left the shadowy depths of Eterna Forest behind them.