(A/N: Bonus Chapter! Thank you for your continued support! And don’t hesitate to leave a comment or powerstone if you like the story!)
After John received the message from Principal Badman, he quickly wrapped up his affairs at the ranch.
He listened to Emerald’s report on the Ranch’s monthly earnings, restocked his Pokéblock supplies, and checked on his newer Pokemon team members. John felt completely confident leaving the ranch in Emerald’s capable hands, so it didn’t take long before he set off for Riverstone University with his Pokemon.
Mew chose not to accompany him on this trip. Although the legendary Pokemon could freely travel between the Sanctuary and the ranch, it preferred spending most of its time at the Tree of Beginning. When Mew did visit the ranch, it was primarily to engage in intense gaming sessions with Togepi.
At least now, even when John traveled with Wobbuffet, Togepi would have company during their absence.
The only inconvenience was that John could no longer access the Sanctuary for training whenever he wished, he’d need to coordinate with Mew’s schedule. But thinking about the Graves family members who could only enter the realm for one month per year, John realized he was being rather greedy with his complaints.
"Good morning, John!"
"OH MY GAWWWD!!! HAVE MY BABY JOHN!!!!"
Walking across Riverstone’s main campus, John was greeted by students at every turn. Many approached him for autographs or group photos, their enthusiasm was genuine, if mostly manageable. Well, mostly. He shuddered as he remembered one particularly overzealous female student who had tried to tackle him to the ground. Fortunately, he’d grown used to dodging surprise attacks, thanks to his most mischievous Pokémon constantly pulling pranks on him.
John didn’t mind the attention today. There was no urgent schedule, and the initial celebrity frenzy had settled into manageable admiration. The students were excited but respectful, which John found perfectly acceptable.
He made his way slowly toward the principal’s office.
"Principal," John called as he entered.
Principal Badman stood at his desk practicing calligraphy, brush moving in steady, practiced strokes.
"Ah, you’ve arrived? Have a seat and let me finish this piece first," Principal Badman said without looking up from his work.
John settled onto the nearby sofa, checking his phone while waiting patiently.
"Has your Haunter evolved yet?" Principal Badman asked casually, continuing his careful brushwork.
"Not yet," John replied.
"What? Still can’t break through that charm ring? Or have you decided against letting it evolve?"
"Actually, I’ve been so focused on aura training lately that I completely forgot about Haunter’s evolution," John admitted honestly. With his current Elite-level strength, he was confident he could handle a Gengar of similar power, assuming that’s what his Haunter would become once freed from its restraints.
Between exploring Pokemon lairs and intensive Aura training, Haunter’s situation had simply slipped his mind.
"Then evolve Haunter first, then return to see me," Principal Badman instructed. "I have something excellent to give you afterward."
"Something excellent?" John remembered the last "gift" his mentor had provided, the legendary Soothe Bell! Even that hadn’t been described as merely "good."
Whatever Principal Badman considered "excellent" had to be even more remarkable than the Soothe Bell.
"I’ll evolve Haunter right now!" John jumped up from his seat immediately.
As soon as he left the principal’s office, John released Gardevoir from her Pokeball.
"Teleport us to Riverstone Harbor," he requested.
In an instant, they appeared at the seaside villa on Trial Island No. 7, the same residence he’d used previously. The building stood empty but well-maintained, ready for occupancy with just a bit of cleaning.
John released Haunter from its Pokeball.
"Haunter~" The Ghost Pokemon materialized with its signature mischievous grin, immediately attempting to surprise John with a Lick attack.
This time, John was ready and dodged smoothly.
"Cut it out! No pranks today, we have serious business!" John said firmly.
"Haunter?" Haunter tilted its ethereal head curiously.
"Your evolution," John announced, already retrieving his collection of Ghost-type Pokemon items.
He’d consulted with Senior Damian previously and learned that Haunter couldn’t evolve due to the charm rings binding its body. These rings suppressed its power and violent tendencies, keeping it docile. The solution was to feed Haunter large quantities of Ghost-type items simultaneously, allowing its own energy to shatter the restraints from within.
For this purpose, Damian had provided a secret treasure: the Melting Haunted Gem.
[Melting Haunted Gem: Increases Ghost-type move power by 70%. When dealing damage to Pokemon of lower levels, ignores and reduces their Special Defense by 2 stages. When dealing damage to higher-level Pokemon, ignores and reduces their Special Defense by 1 stage. Rechargeable and reusable.]
John had also deliberately collected Ghost-type items over time, accumulating both treasure-level and secret treasure-level materials. Since he had no other Ghost Pokemon, all these resources could go toward Haunter’s breakthrough.
He’d prepared three secret treasure-level Ghost items, all obtained from major monthly dungeon raids:
[Armored Reaper Cloth: Evolution item for specific Pokemon. Increases Special Defense by 20% and Ghost-type resistance by 20%.]
[Evil Dusk Stone: Evolution item for specific Pokemon. Increases Ghost and Dark-type move power by 10%, with shrinking effects for Ghost and Dark moves.]
[Penetrating Spell Tag: Increases Ghost-type move power by 40% and ignores 50% of defensive move effects.]
The Armored Reaper Cloth and Evil Dusk Stone were primarily evolution stones, but since they could trigger Ghost Pokemon evolution, they also qualified as Ghost-type enhancement items.
Damian had confirmed they would work for Haunter’s breakthrough.
Combined with the Haunted Gem from Damian and a secret treasure John had acquired for Haunter long ago:
[Purifying Spell Tag: Increases Ghost-type move power by 40% and deals an additional 50% damage to Ghost-type Pokemon.]
The evolution would require five Ghost-type secret treasures total, plus numerous treasure-level supplementary items.
This should provide more than enough power for Haunter to shatter its restraints.
"Open your mouth," John instructed.
Haunter obediently opened its gaping maw.
John carefully placed the Armored Reaper Cloth, Evil Dusk Stone, Penetrating Spell Tag, and Melting Haunted Gem into its mouth, followed by twenty to thirty treasure-level Ghost-type Pokemon items.
Haunter dutifully closed its mouth and swallowed everything. Despite appearing to have no stomach, just a floating mouth and gaseous body, it somehow managed to digest whatever it consumed.
Almost immediately, John could see flame-like Ghost-type energy beginning to emanate from Haunter’s ethereal form.
There was a sharp crack like breaking chains.
The golden charm rings around Haunter’s arms snapped in half, and instantly its body became enveloped in writhing darkness. A pair of eyes glowing scarlet red became visible within the shadowy mass, promising that something far more powerful was about to emerge.