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After Chris received the message from Professor Vladimir, he quickly took care of his remaining responsibilities at home. He listened carefully to Wanda's detailed earnings report for Green Valley Ranch, ensuring he understood the financial status and operational efficiency of their Pokémon breeding facility.

He also restocked their Pokéblock supplies and made arrangements for the care of newly arrived Pokémon that had joined their ranch family. Chris felt genuinely relieved knowing he could entrust Green Valley Ranch to Wanda's capable management. Her dedication and expertise gave him the confidence to handle important matters elsewhere without worrying about the ranch's daily operations.

With everything properly organized, it didn't take long before Chris gathered his Pokémon team and departed for Dragon University to meet with his former professor.

Mew chose not to accompany Chris on this particular journey. Although the legendary Pokémon possessed the remarkable ability to travel freely between the Bird Secret Realm and Green Valley Ranch through dimensional portals, it preferred spending most of its time in the sacred forest surrounding the Tree of Beginning.

Additionally, when Mew did appear at Green Valley Ranch, it was primarily to engage in gaming sessions with Togepi. The two had developed quite a friendship over their shared love of video games, and their competitive matches had become a regular source of entertainment.

Now, even when Chris left home with Wobbuffet accompanying him, Togepi would still have Mew as a companion for games and company. This arrangement worked perfectly for everyone involved.

The only inconvenience Chris faced was that he could no longer transport his Pokémon into the Waveguide Secret Realm for training whenever he pleased. However, when he considered the members of other families who were only permitted to enter the Aura Secret Realm for one month each year, Chris realized he was being somewhat greedy with his expectations. He had been incredibly fortunate to have any access at all to such a sacred training ground.

"Chris, senior!"

"Good morning, Chris senior!"

As Chris walked along the main pathway through Dragon University's campus, students passing by greeted him enthusiastically. Many approached him directly, requesting autographs or hoping to take group photos with the accomplished trainer who had become something of a local celebrity.

Chris didn't mind the attention today. He wasn't in any particular hurry, and the enthusiasm surrounding his recent achievements had settled into a more manageable level. The students around him displayed genuine excitement and respect rather than the overwhelming fanaticism he had sometimes encountered before.

Chris found their admiration quite acceptable and even endearing. He took time to acknowledge their greetings and fulfill reasonable requests as he made his way across campus.

Eventually, he arrived at the principal's office and knocked politely before entering.

"Professor," Chris announced his presence respectfully.

Vladimir stood at his desk, completely absorbed in practicing traditional calligraphy with careful, deliberate brush strokes. The elegant characters flowed across the paper with practiced precision.

"Ah, you've arrived? Please sit down and wait while I finish this piece," Vladimir said without lifting his head from his work, maintaining his concentration on the delicate art form.

Chris settled comfortably into the leather sofa nearby, pulling out his phone to browse messages and check updates while waiting patiently for his mentor to complete the calligraphy session.

"Has your Haunter evolved yet?" Vladimir asked casually while continuing to write, his voice maintaining a conversational tone despite his focus on the brush work.

"Not yet," Chris replied honestly.

"What's the situation? Are you still unable to break through the spell ring's suppression? Or have you decided not to let it evolve after all?" Vladimir's questions showed his genuine interest in Chris's Pokémon development.

"No, I've just been so busy with intensive training recently that I completely forgot to help it evolve," Chris admitted truthfully. He now possessed Elite-level strength and felt ready to challenge Elite trainers at any time. Defeating a Gengar that might have Elite-level power wouldn't present an overwhelming difficulty for his current team.

He had been so focused on either training in Pokémon lairs or practicing his Aura abilities that Haunter's evolution had simply slipped his mind entirely.

"Then evolve your Haunter first, and come back to see me afterward. I have something special to give you," Vladimir said with a hint of mysterious satisfaction in his voice.

"Something special?" Chris's curiosity was immediately piqued as he remembered the last "special gift" his professor had given him.

The legendary Soothe Bell had been an incredible treasure that Vladimir had presented without making a big announcement about its significance. If Vladimir was calling something a special gift this time, it must be even more valuable than the Soothe Bell.

"Then I'll go evolve Haunter right now!" Chris jumped up from his seat with sudden energy and determination.

As soon as he left the principal's office, Chris released Gardevoir from its Poké Ball. Using Teleport, Gardevoir transported him instantly to Dragon Harbor, then continued with another Teleport to bring him to the seaside villa on Trial Island Number 7, where he had lived during his previous studies.

The villa remained unoccupied and available for his use. If he decided to stay overnight at the university, this would be a perfect place to rest, though it would need some cleaning after sitting empty for so long.

Chris took out another Poké Ball and released Haunter from its containment.

"Haunter~" The Ghost-type Pokémon emerged with its characteristic mischievous "Lick" attack aimed directly at Chris's face.

This time, however, Chris was prepared and dodged the playful assault skillfully.

"Stop fooling around! I have serious business to discuss with you today!" Chris said with firm authority, though his tone remained friendly.

"Haunter? (What kind of business?)" Haunter tilted its head curiously, floating in the air with obvious interest.

"I'm going to help you evolve," Chris announced as he began sorting through his collection of Ghost-type Pokémon items.

He had previously consulted with Senior Roy about this exact situation, learning that Haunter couldn't evolve because of the spell rings binding its arms. These magical restraints served to suppress its power and block its more violent tendencies from manifesting.[The Roy here is the spell ring master.]

The solution required breaking the spell rings by having Haunter consume a large quantity of Ghost-type Pokémon items simultaneously, allowing it to use its own internal power to shatter the magical bindings from within.

For this specific purpose, Senior Roy had provided him with a secret treasure-level item called the "Spectral Gem."

Melting Spectral Gem: When using Ghost-type moves, increase the power of attacks by 70%. When dealing damage to a Pokémon of lower level, ignore and reduce their Special Defense by 2 levels. When dealing damage to a Pokémon of higher level, ignore and reduce their Special Defense by 1 level. This item can be recharged and reused multiple times.

Chris had been deliberately collecting Ghost-type Pokémon items for months, gathering both treasure-level and secret treasure-level materials. Since he didn't have any other Ghost-type Pokémon on his team, all these resources could be dedicated to Haunter's evolution.

He had managed to acquire three secret treasure-level Ghost-type items, all obtained from major dungeon expeditions that occurred once monthly.

Armored Reaper Cloth: Can evolve specific Pokémon, increases Special Defense attribute by 20%, and provides 20% resistance to Ghost-type attacks.

Cursed Dusk Stone: Can evolve specific Pokémon, increases the power of Ghost-type and Dark-type moves by 10%, and provides a shrinking effect for Ghost-type and Dark-type moves.

Piercing Spell Tag: Increases the power of Ghost-type moves by 40% and ignores 50% of the effects from defensive moves.

Although the Armored Reaper Cloth and Cursed Dusk Stone were primarily evolution items, they also counted as Ghost-type refinement materials because they could facilitate evolution in Ghost-type Pokémon.

Chris had confirmed with Senior Roy that these items could safely be consumed by Haunter for this purpose.

In addition to the three new items and the Spectral Gem from Senior Roy, Chris also had a secret treasure that he had previously given to Haunter but never fully utilized.

Purifying Spell Tag: Increases the power of Ghost-type moves by 40% and causes an additional 50% damage specifically to Ghost-type Pokémon.

Evolving Haunter into Gengar would require a total of five Ghost-type secret treasures, plus numerous supporting items of lower grades.

This collection should provide more than enough power for Haunter to break through the spell rings constraining its body.

"Open your mouth," Chris instructed Haunter with gentle firmness.

Haunter obediently opened its large mouth, trusting its trainer completely.

Chris carefully placed the Armored Reaper Cloth, Cursed Dusk Stone, Piercing Spell Tag, and Melting Spectral Gem into Haunter's mouth one by one. He also added twenty to thirty treasure-level Ghost-type Pokémon items to provide additional energy for the transformation.

"Consume them all!"

Haunter obediently closed its mouth and swallowed the entire collection of items! Although it appeared to have no visible stomach, somehow possessing only a mouth, Chris couldn't understand exactly how it processed and digested what it consumed.

However, Chris could immediately see the results as flame-like Ghost-type energy began flowing and emanating from Haunter's body in visible waves.

Suddenly, there was a loud "crack" sound like breaking chains echoing through the villa.

The golden spell rings encircling Haunter's two arms fractured down the middle and shattered completely. In an instant, its entire body became enveloped in a mass of swirling darkness, and a pair of eyes glowing with intense scarlet light became visible within the shadowy transformation!