Chapter 26: Gastly's Strange Fetish! It Can Devour Dead Nen! (5/5, Data Request)

Luo Ge felt that as long as a Pokémon appeared, it would eventually be successfully captured.

They seemed to naturally have a certain affinity for him, and the so-called "capture" was merely a symbolic process.

Moreover, when Pokémon appeared, only he and his existing Pokémon could see them; even other Nen users could not.

Only after a successful capture would they fully take shape.

Luo Ge placed the antique bottle on the wooden table, wanting to see what it intended to do.

He saw Gastly happily approach, and then, toward the bottle of unknown age...

... it stuck out its tongue.

It was licking the bottle with its tongue.

Luo Ge:...

Do you want to lick them just for the sake of these antiques?

What kind of fetish is this?

Seeing Gastly with a smiling face, licking the bottle as if it were a lollipop, Luo Ge couldn't quite figure it out.

The Nidorino beside it covered its eyes with those large ears, as if seeing something eye-searing.

Luo Ge suddenly felt that Nidorino's love for eating was nothing special; here was someone far more exaggerated.

What's so good about this bottle? It's merely historical, and might even be burial goods from some dead person, likely tainted with some unpleasant aura.

Wait?

Luo Ge suddenly thought of something, so he urged his Nen to flow toward his eyes, covering them with a layer of Nen.

This is one of the basic techniques of 【Nen】, called 【Concentration】.

Simply put, it involves covering the eyes with Nen to perceive the Nen of other things, a technique extremely common in battles.

The reason Luo Ge is using 【Concentration】 now is because he suspects this antique bottle harbors a Dead Nen.

Dead Nen is the Nen of the dead.

It generally forms after a person dies when their will is too strong, such as when they desire revenge or cannot accept dying like this.

Alternatively, if someone loved a certain object greatly while alive, over years and years, that object would become stained with a trace of Nen.

By a stroke of luck, this Nen might turn into Dead Nen, which typically appears in ruins, tombs, and similar places.

It is quite normal for burial goods to be tainted with Dead Nen.

As expected, after using 【Concentration】, Luo Ge clearly saw a thick patch of black gas on the bottle.

That was clearly Dead Nen.

And with every lick Gastly took, the Dead Nen on the bottle faded slightly, as if a few more licks would consume it all.

Luo Ge now confirmed that Gastly did not have a special fetish; it was licking the bottle simply to eat the Dead Nen on it.

It can actually eat Dead Nen?

Keep in mind that in the Hunter World, Dead Nen is extremely difficult to deal with; only a few people possess the ability to cleanse it.

These people are also known as 【Nen Exorcists】.

In the original work, only three 【Nen Exorcists】 appeared, making their numbers very scarce.

Anyone possessing the ability to exorcise Nen could easily become a honored guest of various factions; no one would refuse them.

Then, with this Gastly, couldn't he also play the role of a rare Nen Exorcist?

A flash of joy crossed Luo Ge's eyes. While Gastly was eating happily, he took out the 【Luxury Ball】 he had just obtained and tempted it, saying:

"Gastly, do you like eating these things?"

"As long as you are willing to follow me, you can eat as much as you want from now on~"

Luo Ge didn't worry at all about whether there was enough Dead Nen; in the Hunter World, Dead Nen was the one thing that was never in short supply.

Countless ruins existed across the six continents, but only a small fraction could be explored.

Was it because others were unwilling to explore them?

No, it was because they lacked the ability.

Ruins generally harbor vast amounts of Dead Nen, and it is precisely these ruins that form barriers, keeping many people out.

So Luo Ge was not boasting; as long as Gastly was willing, there would be endless Dead Nen to eat.

"Hehe?"

Gastly's licking action paused, its large tongue hanging out, its eyes rolling around as if pondering something.

Luo Ge was thinking whether he should take out a few more antiques to further tempt Gastly.

But then Gastly actively touched the Luxury Ball.

The Luxury Ball opened, Gastly turned into a beam of red light and was drawn inside, and the ball closed again.

"Ding-dong!"

After a simple shake or two, a crisp sound rang out, and the Luxury Ball stopped shaking.

This also signified—capture successful!

"It was captured that quickly?"

Luo Ge murmured, equally surprised by the simplicity; indeed, his guess was correct.

Luo Ge gently picked up Gastly's Luxury Ball, feeling a sensation reminiscent of watching the Pokémon anime as a child.

Back then, he was still young, and what he looked forward to most every day was watching Pokémon in front of the TV.

As Ash encountered more Pokémon and built bonds with increasingly more of them, he would also fantasize in his heart about having such experiences himself.

He never expected these things wouldn't happen in the Pokémon World, but instead, he had accomplished them in the Hunter World.

Inside, besides a surge of excitement, came a feeling of realization, as if a dream had come true.

When he captured Nidoran back then, it was much the same feeling.

"Woo-hoo~"

The Nidoking beside him also let out a low cry, its eyes curving upward as it congratulated Luo Ge and welcomed the new companion.

After a brief moment of joy, Luo Ge put away the antique bottle and prepared to leave this place.

After all, he had secretly infiltrated here to kill Black, and if anyone found out later, it would be troublesome.

Next, he would meet up with Maki and Shiodi, and together they would leave Meteor Street to see a new world!