Now that this was over, Eric went back to his hotel suite.
He sat at his desk, his phone connected to a holographic projector, displaying the vast amount of data he had compiled from Alka's leather-bound notebook and Bill's main database.
Hovering just over his shoulder, peering curiously at the glowing text, was Haunter, who seemed to be bored.
"Alright," Eric muttered, tapping the desk. "Let's talk about your evolution."
"Haunt?" Haunter tilted his head, his red eyes blinking in anticipation.
According to the data, Haunter's evolution into Gengar wasn't bound by a strict level requirement. Instead, it was triggered by reaching a critical mass of accumulated Ghost-type energy. Typically, for a well-trained Haunter, this natural accumulation culminated somewhere in the early stages of the Advanced level.
Haunter already had an incredible, near Grade 5 energy density. All he needed now was to increase the quantity of the ghost-type energy inside him. For a ghost/poison type, the Gastly line seemed to have a huge Ghost-type bias.
However, letting the evolution happen naturally in a standard environment would be a monumental waste.
As Maverick had explained back in the Butterfree territory, evolution was the absolute best, and sometimes only, window to significantly alter a Pokémon's core and upgrade its potential. To maximize the mutation, Haunter needed to be put in a high-density, incredibly pure Ghost-type energy field at the exact moment his core reshaped into a Gengar.
Eric swiped his finger across the projection, pulling up a map of the Pokémon world.
Alka's book had explicitly highlighted three supreme locations that naturally produced the exact kind of energy resonance required for the Gastly line's optimal evolution.
The first was Lavender Woods in Kanto.
'I've already been there, and I don't feel like running into any more psychos right now,' Eric thought, immediately crossing it off the list.
The second was Mount Pyre, an island off the coast of the Hoenn region, known for its dense spiritual energy.
The third was deep within Eterna Forest in the Sinnoh region.
Eric tapped his chin, weighing the options. Both Hoenn and Sinnoh were vastly different from Kanto, offering new ecosystems, new resources, and new challenges.
If all factors were equal, Eric leaned toward Sinnoh.
In his past life, Sinnoh had always been one of his favorite regions in the games and the anime. The deep mythology, the rugged terrain, and the unique Pokémon native to the area appealed to him. More importantly, his mindset had shifted. He wasn't just surviving anymore; he wanted to actually enjoy his second life. Exploring a region he genuinely liked, taking in the sights in person while achieving his training goals, sounded like the perfect plan.
"We're going to Sinnoh," Eric decided, looking up at Haunter. "Eterna Forest. That's where you'll become a Gengar."
"Kekeke!" Haunter laughed, doing a mid-air flip in sheer excitement.
"But," Eric continued, his eyes darkening just a fraction, the easy-going atmosphere in the room cooling instantly. "There is something we need to take care of in Kanto first. Something we have put off for a long time."
Haunter stopped spinning. He floated down to Eric's eye level, the playful mischief vanishing from his expression, replaced by a cold, familiar malice.
He knew exactly what Eric was talking about.
It was the very reason they had met in the first place.
---
Redwood Town hadn't changed.
It was still the same grimy, lawless frontier town, overshadowed by the sprawling canopy of Redwood Forest. In the area Eric was in, the air smelled of cheap booze, damp earth, and the underlying tension of gang violence.
Eric walked through the winding alleys of the Black Market, the collar of his jacket turned up.
He didn't draw attention to himself, his footsteps silent as he navigated the crowded, dimly lit bazaar. He passed by Robert's appraisal stall without stopping, keeping his presence entirely concealed.
His eyes were locked onto a pair of thugs walking a few dozen meters ahead of him.
They wore dark green jackets with the unmistakable, coiled snake insignia printed on their backs.
The Arbok Gang.
These were the people who routinely kidnapped orphans and rookie trainers to use as expendable labor and living training dummies for their Pokémon. They were the ones who had captured the original owner of Eric's body, ultimately leading to his miserable death in a dirty alleyway. They were the ones who had forcibly trapped a young Gastly, holding him captive against his will.
Before, Eric had to desperately sneak around just to survive the fallout of a League Police raid on one of their minor outposts. Back then, the mere thought of facing the gang head-on was suicide.
But things were different now.
Eric had done his homework. The Arbok Gang was a major player in Redwood, but in the grand scheme of Kanto, they were small fries. Their leader was an early-stage Advanced-level trainer.
A month ago, an Advanced-level trainer would have been an insurmountable mountain. But after clashing with the likes of Team Rocket's Captains, the Ancient Kingdom's Vanguard, and Kanto's greatest prodigies, the leader of a backwater street gang was nothing more than a minor speedbump.
Eric was leaving for Sinnoh, and he wasn't going to be back for a long time.
He had no intention of leaving his past unresolved.
He stopped briefly at a shadowed vendor's stall and got a black face mask.
The vendor nodded silently, sliding the smooth, featureless black mask across the table.
Eric slipped the mask over his face as he walked, adjusting the hood of his jacket to completely obscure his identity. It was good to be safe.
He fell into step, seamlessly tailing the two Arbok grunts as they navigated the outskirts of the Black Market.
They eventually left the bustling bazaar behind, entering a dilapidated, abandoned industrial sector on the edge of town. The grunts approached a massive, rusted warehouse flanked by high chain-link fences. Two more uniformed thugs stood guard at the rusted metal doors, smoking cheap cigarettes.
This was it. The main hideout.
Eric stopped in the shadow of a decaying brick wall, observing the warehouse. He could feel the dense, hostile auras of dozens of Poison-type Pokémon lingering inside.
He didn't feel a shred of fear. Only a cold, absolute certainty.
"Haunter," Eric whispered.
The shadow at his feet elongated, wrapping around his boots like a living thing. Haunter's glowing red eyes materialized in the darkness, staring at the warehouse with pure, unadulterated hatred.
"Let's clean house."
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