In the painting, the maid and the cowgirl smiled and chatted happily, while the shiny Rotom floated beside them, squinting as it looked at the two of them.
But something felt off.
While the maid's face remained detailed, expressive in every smile and frown, the cowgirl's features had already been blurred and worn away by time.
And the shiny Rotom, too, remained completely untouched by decay.
Haruki remembered now.
Back in the "illusion", the maid had been looking out the window.
But Rotom… had been looking at the maid!
So...
"Hey, are you still here? Heeey!"
"Can you hear me? Are you there…?"
Haruki couldn't say for sure he had found a solution, but he kept calling out, again and again.
Inside the empty Old Chateau, Haruki's voice echoed: loud and irritating.
Finally, the ghost maid couldn't take it anymore and suddenly popped up inches from Haruki's face.
"YAAAAH!"
Haruki yelped loudly and was immediately caught by Skiploom's gentle Tailwind.
"Skip~"
Neither Skiploom, Marowak, nor Metang could see the ghost maid. All they could do was remain on high alert, scanning their surroundings.
Haruki swallowed hard, resisting the urge to curse.
He was here to solve a problem!
"Let me ask you, do you really think Rotom went to all that trouble to bring you back just to keep you here with it?"
The ghost maid glared with her blood-red eyes and tilted her head, as if wondering what kind of idiot he was.
Seeing her irritation grow, Haruki didn't dare stall. He blurted his response in a rapid-fire barrage.
"You must've thought Rotom 'revived' you so you could keep waiting with it for the cowgirl, right? That's what you thought, isn't it?"
The ghost maid's irritation turned into fury; this was the very root of her anguish.
And now, the man who had seen her story offered no sympathy, no help.
He just kept questioning her.
Wasn't that the truth!
Her overwhelming rage took form, thick Ghost-type energy condensed in the air. She was about to show this man what it meant to make her angry!
In that moment, not just Metang, but Skiploom and Marowak also sensed the ghost maid's presence in front of Haruki.
Instantly, all three Pokémon rushed to shield Haruki.
Focus Energy-Confusion-Protect.
All three moves activated at once, and all eyes locked onto the ghost maid.
With battle imminent, Haruki rushed to speak even faster, his mouth barely keeping up.
"No, it's not that! Go look at the oil painting in the room, Rotom didn't bring you back for the cowgirl… It was for you! The one it truly longed for, the one it couldn't let go of… WAS YOU!"
That last sentence was nearly a shout. Haruki was terrified she might lash out before listening.
Fortunately, his words finally worked.
The ghost energy froze midair, clawing violently, but never moving closer.
A moment later, the energy shattered. The ghost maid vanished in an instant.
"Relax, follow me."
Haruki waved his hand and led the three Pokémon back into that same room.
Sure enough, the ghost maid now floated in front of the oil painting, staring blankly, completely ignoring Haruki's arrival.
Then, she opened her mouth and appeared to say something to the painting.
Haruki couldn't hear it, but the painting seemed to respond.
No… it wasn't the painting that heard it.
It was the shiny Rotom inside the painting!
The Rotom the ghost maid had spent countless years searching for… had never left her side.
It had been hiding inside the painting all along, watching the ghost maid recount everything that had happened.
Again and again to each visitor.
Listening to the same misunderstandings, again and again.
Purple-red Ghost energy rippled in the air as the rose-colored Rotom slowly emerged from the painting.
Rotom looked sorrowful, quietly gazing at the ghost maid.
But Haruki, watching from the side, noticed something else: this shiny Rotom was extremely weak. The signature Z-shaped electricity around its body had faded so much it was barely visible.
The ghost maid saw Rotom appear and began speaking frantically, waving her hands with excitement.
Rotom responded with a few nods, then shook its head.
Despite the sadness in its eyes, it wore a peaceful smile.
This grudge… was finally over.
Though from now on, there might not be another chance.
Having said all she wanted to say, the ghost maid also calmed down. She looked at the nearly faded Rotom and handed over a Ghost-type Energy Crystal.
Haruki's eyes bulged… wasn't that his Energy Crystal?! How could she give it away without asking the owner first?!
What, ghosts don't care about manners?
But Rotom, that considerate ghost, shook its head.
The shiny Rotom turned to Haruki and gave him a kind smile. Then it turned back to the ghost maid and said something.
The ghost maid flinched, then nodded in understanding, even opening her arms toward Rotom.
In that moment, the Z-shaped electricity around Rotom seemed to pulse with new life.
It dove into the ghost maid's embrace without hesitation, as if it had been waiting all these years for this moment.
Together with the Energy Crystal, the three fused completely into one.
The next instant, violet light burst forth, making it impossible for Haruki and his three Pokémon to see ahead.
When the light faded, a gem-like Energy Crystal, pure purple in color, hovered gently in the air.
Rotom and the ghost maid were gone.
As Haruki's eyes adjusted to the change, the crystal slowly floated toward him. He instinctively reached out to catch it.
In the next moment, two voices echoed in his mind.
"Thank you!"
"Roto~om!"
Then, the crystal gently settled. Nothing else happened.
But Haruki could feel it… this was their gift of thanks.
A top-tier Ghost-type Energy Crystal!
Low corresponded to Veteran rank, Mid to Elite, High to Gym Leader… but top-tier resources were equivalent to Quasi-Elite Four!
Haruki hadn't expected that his original Mid-grade crystal, after fusing with the ghost maid and Rotom, would transform directly into top-tier quality.
This was a massive win!
If he didn't catch a Ghost-type Pokémon after this, he'd feel like this entire encounter was wasted.
Though… thinking about possibly being revived as a ghost...
Haruki shivered from head to toe.
Maybe… he should think twice.
After carefully storing the Top-tier Energy Crystal, Haruki looked around the now-empty room one more time.
This time, it was truly empty.
But the Old Chateau still had plenty of rooms he hadn't explored yet. Should he… take a look?
Haruki was itching with curiosity. Now that the ghost maid and Rotom were truly "gone," there probably weren't any more Ghost-type Pokémon around, right?
Without another thought, Haruki rolled up his sleeves and, with his three Pokémon, launched into a full-scale exploration of the Old Chateau.
And it turned out there really was something left to discover.