John stood before the towering Bell Tower, its nine-story silhouette cutting against the evening sky like a dark sentinel. The streets around him bustled with festival-goers, but the tower's entrance remained sealed, forbidden paper talismans plastered across its ancient doors.
Yet as John approached with determination, a familiar interface flickered before his eyes.
[Challenge the Bell Tower (Nine Floors)?]
[Note: Due to special dungeon mechanics, rewards disappear after completing corresponding scenarios. Each floor's rewards can only be claimed once.]
[(Floors 1-7 rewards already claimed)]
John smirked. His previous progress remained intact, the seven floors he'd already conquered were checked off, waiting for him to continue where he'd left off.
The world shimmered, light streaming around him as reality bent. When his vision cleared, he stood inside the Bell Tower's entrance hall.
Before John could take in his surroundings, Gengar burst from its Pokeball, materializing beside him with an eager grin stretching across its ghostly face. The Pokemon looked positively thrilled to be here, which made sense, this place had been its prison for God knows how long before John had freed it. Coming back must have felt cathartic.
"Go ahead, explore if you want," John said, waving his hand dismissively. Gengar didn't need to be told twice, phasing through a nearby wall with a delighted cackle. John rarely came to the Bell Tower anymore, so letting Gengar stretch its metaphorical legs seemed fair.
Snap.
John clicked his fingers once.
Gardevoir responded instantly, its psychic energy wrapping around them both. Space folded, twisted, and deposited them directly on the seventh floor, the last level John had cleared during his previous visit. He could feel the boundary above him, an invisible wall created by the dungeon's rules. Even with Gardevoir's Teleport, he couldn't skip ahead. He'd have to earn his way to the eighth floor properly.
John paused at the stairway leading upward, memories flickering through his mind. He remembered his first attempt at this exact spot, young, inexperienced, barely holding his own against gym-level opponents. The moment his foot had touched that eighth-floor step, a wave of bone-chilling cold had crashed into him like a physical blow, stopping him dead in his tracks.
Now?
John ascended the stairs without hesitation, his boots clicking steadily against ancient stone. When he crossed the threshold onto the eighth floor, that same cold washed over him, but it felt different. Manageable. Like stepping from a warm room into autumn air rather than plunging into arctic water.
"Looks like getting stronger doesn't just apply to my Pokemon," John murmured, a slight smile tugging at his lips. "I've changed too."
The eighth floor stretched before him, a vast chamber with a vaulted ceiling. Floating in the center of the space was the source of that supernatural chill, a Chandelure, its appearance straight out of Gothic horror. The Ghost and Fire-type hung suspended in midair, purple flames burning in its glass chambers with an eerie, eternal quality.
What made it particularly unsettling was the contradiction it represented. As a Fire and Ghost-type, Chandelure should have radiated heat. Instead, cold emanated from its crystalline body in waves, not ordinary cold, but a spiritual chill that targeted the soul itself, seeping into places no jacket could protect.
That's what John had felt the first time. That soul-deep freeze that had turned him back.
"I felt weak then," John said quietly, studying the sealed Pokemon. "But now? Now I think I'm ready."
Several monks emerged from the shadows at the room's edges, their robes rustling softly as they approached. Their eyes widened as they took in John's presence, particularly the aura of psychic energy that clung to him like morning mist.
"Your spiritual power..." one elder monk breathed, staring at John in undisguised shock. "It's... incredibly strong!"
The other monks exchanged startled glances. This young man, barely in his twenties by the look of him, possessed spiritual energy that surpassed their own, and they'd spent nearly a century in meditation and training. It defied comprehension.
"So," John said, gesturing toward the floating Chandelure, "can I try to capture it now?"
The monks looked at each other, a silent conversation passing between them through decades of familiarity. Finally, they nodded in unison.
"You may attempt it," the head monk said, stepping forward. His weathered face bore deep lines of concern. "We will break the seal momentarily. When we do, Chandelure will awaken. You must be prepared."
Another monk added urgently, "Do not rely on brute force alone. If you feel yourself losing control, if you cannot subdue it, tell us immediately. We will reseal it before anyone gets hurt."
"Got it." John flashed a thumbs-up, the gesture feeling almost absurdly casual given the circumstances.
"Gengar!" John called out.
Purple light coalesced beside him, and Gengar materialized, its grin somehow even wider than usual. The ghostly Pokemon rubbed its stubby hands together eagerly, practically vibrating with anticipation.
One second later, Gengar's shadow exploded outward like living darkness. Two massive, muscular arms erupted from beneath Chandelure, one on each side. The shadow limbs seized the chandelier Pokemon's black iron body with crushing force, slamming it down against the stone floor.
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
Chandelure thrashed wildly, its metal body ringing against the floor like a gong. But no matter how frantically it struggled, those shadow arms held firm, the grip absolute and inescapable. The supernatural bindings actually began to dent Chandelure's iron frame as it fought harder, warping the metal with pure constrictive pressure.
John watched in silence, arms crossed.
A Level 80 Chandelure, no matter how dangerous to ordinary trainers, stood no chance whatsoever against a Level 97 Gengar equipped with the Platinum Orb. This was Gengar in its prime, a Pokemon that had dominated this tower for centuries before John freed it.
[Defeated Chandelure LV80, Gengar gained 31,257 experience points]