The "brat" was still just a kid. Once Yamato actually saw those strange and eerie Ghost-type Pokémon, the fear eventually caught up to him.
Worn down by the constant screaming of Chanel and Yamato, Sato decided to wrap this up quickly. A village filled with this many Ghost-types at night clearly wasn't normal.
As for Gengar, also a Ghost-type, it had already located the source of the problem during its earlier scouting.
"Arbok, Glare!"
"Char!"
Mark sent out his long-forgotten Arbok, who hadn't seen battle in ages. After all, its Trainer was the type to abandon the old for the new. Ever since Lucario became the favorite, Arbok had been sidelined.
Arbok was just as suited to "nighttime operations", so Mark brought it out. Even just using Glare was enough to scare the "little ghosts" into fleeing in panic.
With Gengar leading the way and Arbok crawling ahead and glaring as it went, scaring off stragglers, the four of them actually advanced pretty quickly.
"Gengar, Shadow Ball."
Dozens of Shadow Balls burst, quickly blasting away a large group of Shuppet up ahead.
"Boss~ The number of Ghost-types has suddenly jumped, and they're getting stronger too!"
Mark said excitedly while commanding Arbok to keep glaring down the ghosts.
"That just means we're getting close. But don't expect too much, it's just a small village," Sato said, seeing right through Mark's thoughts.
Aside from catching Pokémon, Mark had no other "dreams" in life. But based on what they'd seen so far, none of these were remotely dangerous.
No danger = no catch.
"U-Um… we're already almost outside the village. M-Maybe we should turn b-back?" Chanel clutched Yamato's hand tightly, the two of them nervously followd Sato and Mark.
"We're almost there. Once we capture the culprit, your village will be safe at night. Didn't Yamato say he'd protect us on the way back?" Sato deliberately pretended not to see their pale faces and replied seriously.
"I-I… WAAAH!" Yamato froze, not knowing what to say, and finally broke down crying. Seeing that, Sato felt secretly satisfied.
Still, a brat only needed to be scared a little… not traumatized.
"Don't worry. Your ojisan, Mark, is super strong! Just sit back and watch him show off," Sato said confidently, naturally easing the siblings' anxiety.
"Of course, leave it to me- wait- OJISAN? I'm aniki, not ojisan!"
Mark caught himself mid-sentence and immediately gave Sato a resentful look.
By then, Sato had already followed Gengar several steps ahead, and the siblings had instinctively followed too.
Only Mark was left behind, pouting silently and stewing in his frustration.
---
(o｀ε´o)
---
The group of four continued on. The siblings were still scared, of course, but after realizing these Ghost-types weren't that strong, Sato and Mark completely relaxed, treating it as just another training session.
Before long, they arrived at the heart of the Ghost gathering. The sudden appearance of four living humans clearly disrupted the tranquility of the place.
However, once Gengar released its Ace level hak- aura… all the surrounding Pokémon instantly retreated and kept their distance.
Chanel and Yamato were no longer screaming in fear like before. After witnessing Gengar's dominance with their own eyes, they had calmed down quite a bit.
"Gengen~"
Gengar suddenly turned to Sato and mumbled something, then sped up its hopping, heading straight for the center of the Pokémon gathering.
Curiosity flashed in Sato's eyes. There was no time to explain anything to the others, he quickly followed after it.
"Hey hey hey, wait for us!"
----
They soon followed Gengar to the central area, where a small pile of stones came into view.
A strange dark-purple wind continuously blew from within the stone pile, and when it hit Gengar, the Pokémon showed a deeply contented expression.
"Boss, you sure this wind isn't dangerous? Gengar looks… weird," Mark said. It had been a long time since he'd seen Gengar smile that creepily. He had gotten used to its solemn "sage" vibe.
"It should be fine. This weird 'wind' contains pure Ghost-type energy, it's actually beneficial for Gengar and the others."
Sato shook his head, then looked around at the wild Ghost-type Pokémon. They hovered nearby, afraid to come closer but full of longing.
"This must be why they're all gathered here."
"Oh, so should we destroy it?" Mark blinked. If he couldn't catch any Pokémon, solving the village's problem was a decent consolation.
"Gen! Gengen!"
Before Sato could answer, Gengar was already shaking its head. This place was a rare "sanctuary" for Ghost-types.
Moreover, the wild Pokémon hadn't actually harmed anyone. As long as the villagers stayed indoors at night, no one had been attacked.
After all, if staying near this "stone pile" made them stronger, why would they bother with ordinary humans?
"Heh~ I was just kidding. Gengar-aniki, what do you think we should do?" Mark instantly backed down and grinned at Gengar.
"Gen…"
Even Gengar looked conflicted. Places like this appeared randomly and couldn't be moved.
Judging from the number of Ghost-types surrounding the area, the phenomenon hadn't existed for long.
But over time, those Ghost would definitely grow stronger, and more would gather. At that point, even daytime safety in the village might no longer be guaranteed.
And besides, Ghost inherently symbolized "death." If their numbers got too large, they'd inevitably start to influence the villagers on a subconscious level.
It all came down to "aura". Just like how Dragon-type specialists tended to be aggressive and dominant, Grass-type ones were gentle, and Fire-type users often had fiery tempers...
Asking the entire village to relocate? That definitely wasn't a decision Sato could make alone. And the villagers would never listen to some outsider kid who looked like he hadn't even hit puberty.
Moving a whole village would need a solid reason. Making room for wild Pokémon? No one would accept that.
If word got out about this "Pokémon Sanctuary", it would only bring attention from all directions, dooming the innocent Ghost-type Pokémon instead.
He had thought this would be a simple issue. Maybe some Ghost-type Boss had claimed this place as its territory. In that case, they could just beat it or catch it.
But now, they'd stumbled onto a rare Pokémon sanctuary.
Sato figured Mark's luck was just too ridiculous. So good, it came with side effects.
Yeah… this was all Mark's fault!
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150 Power Stones = Extra Chapo