The Oran berries tasted like nothing he had eaten before.
Sweet, but not sugary. Filling in a way that hit immediately, like his body knew exactly what to do with it. He ate four in total, and felt the dull ache in his ribs reduce almost instantly. Not gone, but quieter.
Eric stared at a half-eaten berry in his hand.
This world is genuinely something else.
He pocketed the rest, gave Gastly a look that meant let's move, and they went back to the tree they'd been using. The Oran berry tree was a resource and resources attracted Pokémon, and he didn't need another Rattata situation while he was trying to think.
They've been in the forest for about an hour, give or take. Still on the outskirts.
Some of the gang members had definitely run this direction too to avoid the police. They probably went further into the forest, but Eric couldn't be sure when they'd return. He had Gastly keep a lookout, but this forest was dangerous for the time being.
And that wasn't even the real problem.
The real problem was time. Wild areas after dark weren't like the anime, where you set up a tent and had a nice moment by a fire. After dark, the things that came out were things that a level five Gastly, and a teenager with a stick couldn't handle. He needed to be out before the light went.
Getting to a city was the move. He was still registered as a citizen under the previous body's name, and he wouldn't need to hide once he's there. Nobody would care what an orphan was up to. So he didn't have to worry about the police by then.
The problem was Gastly.
He couldn't afford to get caught with a Pokémon by the police before reaching town. After that is fine.
"Gastly," he said. "Can you hide in my shadow?"
Gastly looked at him. Then looked at the ground. Then sank into it, smooth and silent, and Eric's shadow shifted slightly and went still.
Eric stared at it.
"...Okay. Come back out."
Gastly rose back up, looking faintly pleased with itself.
"Can you take the bag in with you?"
Gastly took the bag. Sank down. Gone.
Eric stood in the forest with nothing on him and genuinely had to take a second.
I am so lucky he's a Ghost type.
His brain immediately offered a counterpoint: the League would have ways to detect hidden Pokémon. Psychic types, Ghost types, some kind of scanner. He shouldn't assume this made him invisible.
But not every officer would bother with a beat-up kid who looked like he had nothing worth taking. That was just probability. Most people, even police, followed the path of least resistance.
He told his brain to stop spiraling and got back to work.
"Same drill as before," he said. "But thirty second intervals instead of one minute. Push it."
Gastly worked.
Fifty-two Clear Smogs over the next half hour. Halfway through, the exhaustion started showing, not obviously, but Eric was watching closely and he caught it. He called a two minute break, gave Gastly an Oran berry, and they continued.
In the end, they reduced the casting time to about 2 seconds.
Going from 2.3s to 2s in half an hour. Not bad.
The area where they'd been training smelled like corroded rock and bad air from all the Clear Smog. They then moved about twenty meters to a cleaner spot, set five markers, and changed the exercise.
"Rapid fire. Hit all five. No intervals. Go until you can't hold the two-second speed anymore."
Eight consecutive shots before Gastly's efficiency reduced.
They did this three times. Then Eric started throwing rocks, with varying speed and angles, and made Gastly practice hitting moving targets while maintaining the casting speed. Then speed drills. Then dodging, with the rule that phasing through them wasn't allowed. Gastly had to move and dodge them.
Four hours.
The improvement was massive. Not only could he cast clear smog in just 1.8 seconds now, his speed, control and stamina also showed marginal improvements. He can consecutively use Clear smog 12 times now without losing speed.
The rocks were corroding faster too. The gas was getting denser, more potent.
Perhaps Gastly's potential played a role in his rapid improvement. Eric didn't have another Pokemon to compare so he couldn't say for sure.
Eric had bet everything on this partnership and it was already paying back.
---
The 2 then went and gathered as many Oran Berries as they could before heading out.
Eric checked the area first. Clear, or so it looked.
The blue screen appeared before he even finished looking.
Pokemon: Rattata
Gender: Male
level: 6
Type: Normal
Potential: Grey
Moves: Tackle, tail whip, growl
"Gastly. Go. You know what to do."
Gastly was already gone, silent, undetectable.
Rattata had no idea till it was already hit by the Clear smog from the side. It screamed, then spinned around, launching itself towards Gastly. But it just passed through him.
"Kekeke." Gastly laughed.
Eric watched from a distance. Gastly was enjoying this. He smiled and noted it down in his mind.
The Rattata then used Tail Whip. White sparks formed on its tail, then a strange little pulse rippled towards Gastly. Even Eric felt it slightly from twenty meters away.
The pulse had a strange effect on Gastly, making him lose concentration a little. It wasn't much, but it did something.
'Interesting. So that's how it worked.'
Eric thought.
It didn't affect the fight much as Gastly eventually took Rattata down. But Eric now had an idea on how moves like Tail Whip functioned in real life.
It wasn't just the Pokemon wagging its tail and acting cute.
Eric walked over, collected the Oran berries, and didn't look at the Rattata. Grey potential. Nothing there for him.
He looked at Gastly instead, who was basically vibrating.
The blue screen was already showing it.
Level 6.
He then walked towards Gastly and looked at him meaningfully,
"This is only our first step."
"Gas!"
Gastly looked back at him with those steady eyes.
Nothing more needed saying. They both knew.
Eric turned toward the tree line where the forest thinned out. They were at the exit.
"Let's move before it gets dark."