Pokemon: The Gameboy Effect-Chapter 183: The Unevolvable Haunter

(A/N: Sorry for the radio silence these past few days, I've been pretty busy. To make up for the wait, here's a bonus Chapter! Enjoy!

John booked a trrade exchange for Haunter on Tuesday morning.

After class, he took his Haunter to the exchange room, where a teacher was already waiting.

"Ah, John! Are you here for a trade evolution?" The teacher, Mr. Qin, was in charge of the exchange process and also happened to be John's Pokedex instructor.

John was something of a prodigy—he was the only freshman to have earned a Junior Breeder Qualification Certificate. Teachers held him in high regard, not to mention he was under the mentorship of Principal Badman, making him stand out even more.

"Yeah, I've got a Haunter. Thanks, Mr. Qin," John said, handing over the Pokeball.

Mr. Qin examined it curiously. "A custom Pokeball? Fancy."

"Thanks, sir," John replied. In reality, it wasn't custom—it was a Premier Ball, which didn't exist in the real world. Most people mistook it for a customized Pokeball. Functionally, it was no different from a standard one, but John just liked how it looked.

Mr. Qin placed the Pokeball into the exchange machine. The setup was straightforward—two identical platforms with a groove for holding Pokeballs, connected by a series of tubes that facilitated the trade. Above, a chimney-like pipe linked the two platforms.

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With the press of a button, the Pokeball disappeared into the machine, traveling through the tubes before reappearing on the other platform. Mr. Qin retrieved it and handed it back to John. "Alright, evolution should be complete. Go ahead and check."

John released the Pokémon in a flash of silver light, expecting to see a Gengar—but instead, Haunter floated before him, unchanged.

Before he could react, Haunter lunged forward with Lick.

John barely had time to react. Knowing that a hit would likely paralyze him, he hastily tossed another Pokeball. "Slakoth, take the hit!"

Slakoth appeared, looking sleepy as ever. The attack landed, but the lazy Pokémon barely reacted, simply rolling over and continuing its nap. John, meanwhile, let out a relieved sigh.

After recalling both Pokémon, he turned to Mr. Qin with a puzzled expression. "Why didn't it evolve?"

Mr. Qin was equally confused. "Hmm... let's try again. Did your Haunter have any held items? Sometimes those interfere with evolution."

John thought for a moment before releasing Haunter again. He took the Gastly Barrier it had been holding and set it aside. "Okay, let's try now."

Mr. Qin repeated the exchange process, but when John released the Pokémon again, Haunter still remained unchanged.

This time, Haunter was quicker—dodging Slakoth's appearance and landing a Lick on John directly.

His body went numb immediately. "Ugh... this again..."

Mr. Qin scratched his head. "Maybe the machine is malfunctioning?"

They tested two other exchange machines, but the result was the same—Haunter stubbornly refused to evolve.

"This might be an issue with your Haunter itself," Mr. Qin concluded. "It could be something related to its breeding or past experiences. I suggest asking Principal Badman—he has a Gengar, so he might know more."

John frowned but nodded. "Alright... thanks for your help, Mr. Qin."

He recalled Haunter and left the exchange room, his mind racing.

Haunter's evolution had been stuck at level 60 back at the Bell Tower, and he had assumed it was just a lack of access to an exchange machine. But now, it was clear that something else was going on.

His gut told him it had something to do with the "Imprison" or "Ancient" in Haunter's name suffix. But what exactly was causing the problem?

With no immediate solution, he decided to consult Scarlett, one of the most knowledgeable trainers he knew.

Dialing Scarlett's number, all he got was a busy signal. The girl was always swamped.

"John? What are you doing here?" A familiar voice called out.

He turned to see Daisy approaching.

"Just came from the exchange room. Tried evolving my Pokémon, but it didn't work," John explained.

"Wait, really? You're saying a trade evolution failed?"

"Yeah."

"Weird... Anyway, you should head to the principal's office. I was actually going to call you—Professor Scarlett recommended you for the upcoming Breeder Winter Camp. Principal Badman wants to talk to you about it."

"Breeder camp? What's that?" John asked, unfamiliar with the term.

"It's an event run by the National Breeders Association. They invite promising Junior and Intermediate Breeders from across the country for intensive training. If you perform well, you can rank up as a Breeder at the end of the program."

John's eyes lit up. "Wait, so this could fast-track me to Intermediate Breeder status?"

"Exactly. Didn't you say you wanted to rank up as soon as possible? Well, here's your chance!"

John processed the information, then grinned. "Alright. Let's go meet the principal."