Pokémon, Ash's art style is off!

However, the Ghost-type Pokémon that was expected to roam around has yet to appear.

Aside from their movements, the tower was unusually quiet.

"Strange," Brock muttered in a low voice after walking several floors, "There should be quite a few Ghost-type Pokémon living in the Pokémon Tower, especially at night... How come we haven't encountered a single one?"

"Could it be that they've all taken a break?"

Xiaoxia guessed, her tone less fear and more doubt.

"Pikachu?"

Pikachu also turned its little head.

Xiao Zhi scratched his head.

"Did they all hide because they knew we were coming?"

Just as the three of them were whispering and wondering if they were just having a lucky night.

A sudden change has occurred!

A thick, milky white mist suddenly surged down from above the stairs and quickly spread out.

Not only did it obscure their vision, but even the firelight from the Charmeleon's tail became hazy and indistinct.

"here we go again?!"

Xiaoxia felt her hair stand on end.

Upon discovering that its fire was being suppressed, Charizard's expression hardened, and it took a deep breath.

He silently visualized the appearance of Young Kylas in his mind.

A raging fire—ignited!

With a whoosh!

The flames on its tail flared up, illuminating a radius of three or four meters and pushing back the thick fog somewhat.

Almost simultaneously, that familiar, teeth-grinding rustling sound came from the depths of the fog, growing louder and louder, piercing straight into our eardrums.

Xiaoxia originally wanted to shield Xiaozhi in front of her.

But the next second, she suddenly froze—

That rustling sound... why does it sound so familiar?

Isn't this the same commotion that Ash caused when he guided that Gastly?

Sure enough, the fog suddenly churned violently, and a hideous, twisted ghost face tore through the white fog and pounced in front of the three of them!

Its gaping maw stretched almost to its ears, its jagged teeth gleaming coldly, and its dark eye sockets seemed to swell with viscous malice—it looked as if it were crawling out of the depths of hell to devour people alive!

Even without Ash saying anything, Charmeleon was about to make a move.

But this time, Xiaoxia had mustered a lot of courage.

The same tricks don't work on her!

Holding down the Charmander, she resolutely took a step forward.

Following Ash's example, he stretched out his index finger and poked at the terrifying ghost face.

stamp--

The expected effect of popping a balloon did not occur.

The grotesque face remained hovering just inches away, even winking at her and spreading an even more terrifying smile.

Xiaoxia's heart skipped a beat, but she forced herself to remain calm and poked a few more times with greater force.

"Hmph! You're quite the actress!" She tried hard to keep her voice from trembling. "You've improved quite a bit!"

She simply grabbed the grotesque face and ripped it off forcefully—

"Show me your true form!"

The ghost face was torn off.

But beneath the grimace is not Gastly's smooth, round purple sphere.

Instead, it was a purple head with sharp, angular features.

Withered, sharp claws.

Eyes rolled back in disdain.

And that huge mouth with an unbelievable wide grin, revealing a few sharp teeth.

Xiaoxia: "...?!"

Isn't it Gastly?!

Why does it have sharp edges and claws?!

The real ghostly face grinned menacingly, and a long, icy tongue licked her face with lightning speed.

"Ughhhhhh!!!"

The cool touch, combined with a tingling and numb sensation.

All the courage and reasoning they had accumulated vanished in an instant in the face of the sharp, angular, and visceral terror.

A cold, numbing sensation exploded from my spine, rushing straight to the top of my head, as if my blood was flowing backward instantly.

Xiaoxia's eyes widened suddenly, her pupils contracted, then the whites of her eyes rolled back, and her body went limp and she fell backward.

grimace:"?!"

It clearly didn't expect this outcome either.

Seeing that Xiaoxia was about to fall to the ground, it instinctively stretched out two hands with sharp claws that suddenly appeared from the mist and caught Xiaoxia.

The fog that had been present dissipated slightly.

It reveals its true form.

It was a purple, ghost-like Pokémon.

It has a pair of hands that are separate from the body.

Three fingers hovered in front of the body like wandering ghosts.

It has triangular white eyes, black pupils, and several sharp purple teeth in its mouth.

It is the evolved form of Gastly, Haunter.

It looked at Xiaoxia, who had fainted from fright, and then at what was behind it, its eyes filled with pure bewilderment and... a trace of helplessness.

"Silicon hiss...tap?"

That was terrifying!

Is it... really that ugly? So ugly it could scare someone to death?

It clearly just wanted to... say hello and try out a new way of making an entrance, right?

At that moment, another small wisp of purple mist drifted out from behind it.

It was the same Gastly that had led the way earlier; it excitedly circled around Misty, flicking its tongue wildly.

"Haaah! Haaah haaah!"

Look!

It says this newly developed trick works!

This effect is amazing!

They scared me so much that I just got over it!

Gastly: "..."

It's good, but isn't it a little...too good?

"Don't just stand there, help her to the side first, don't let her lie on the ground."

Ash's voice brought Gastly back to its senses.

It quickly and carefully helped Xiaoxia to a relatively clean, dust-free corner, and let her sit against the wall.

It moved very carefully, afraid of causing any more trouble.

Xiao Gang squatted down and checked on Xiao Xia's condition.

"He's alright, he's still breathing. It seems he's just been too shocked and has fainted temporarily."

The fog has mostly dissipated by now.

Ash, Brock, and two Ghost-type Pokémon stared at each other blankly.

Gastly seemed to realize it had gone too far, scratched its head somewhat embarrassedly, and floated down a little, showing a hint of guilt.

"You...know each other?"

Xiao Gang looked at Gastly and Haunter, who seemed to know each other well, and asked.

"Haaah!"

Gastly nodded.

Xiao Zhi, on the other hand, was more concerned with how to wake Xiao Xia up.

He patted Xiaoxia's cheek.

"Hey! Xia? Xia? Wake up!"

no response.

"Is there any way to wake her up quickly? It's not good for her to just lie there like this."

Gastly scratched its head.

It can put you to sleep, but the way it wakes you up...

It's like a dream, but it hasn't been ordered yet.

Suddenly, it had a flash of inspiration and pointed its finger at the flute in Xiao Zhi's arms.