Chapter 70. Summer Festival
Ash threw the Poké Ball, and Gastly was contained inside.
The Poké Ball flashed and was transmitted back to Professor Oak's Laboratory.
"Natsume, I didn't defeat it, so this isn't good, right?" Ash said, a little worried.
Natsume had told him that if one's own strength didn't match, or if one wasn't acknowledged by a Pokémon, the Pokémon could slip away at any time.
All the more so for a Ghost type that could vanish without a sound.
"Let's do this," Natsume said, taking a small white box from his pocket.
He stuffed thirty sticks of Spicy Paste into the box, handed it to Ash, and instructed, "Head into town later and swap Gastly back. From time to time, give it two sticks. If you run out, come to me for more."
"Ah—" Ash stared blankly at the flat rectangular box in his hand, a little dazed.
Would this really work?
"Let's go, Brock." After the commotion, Misty called Brock to head out.
"No, I'm going to keep vigil here!" Brock gazed fervently at the Waiting Wife Rock.
"Me too!" With Gastly gone, James recovered as well, and he sat down resolutely behind Brock.
Clearly, he too had seen a gorgeous big sister with purple hair who looked exactly like the Waiting Wife Rock.
"I will keep vigil here until daybreak!" Brock pressed his palms together in a look of utter sanctity.
"Don't you think this Waiting Wife Rock looks a lot like James?" Natsume suddenly spoke up.
Everyone froze, looked at the rock, then looked at James.
"Yeah, it really does, meow!" Meowth and Jessie had somehow climbed back up again.
"This'll make it look even more alike." Natsume produced a long purple wig from who-knew-where and fitted it on top of James's head.
"Where do you get all these props…" Misty was at a loss for words.
She always felt Natsume had a bottomless bag of tricks.
"Yeah, yeah, with a little makeup it'll be a perfect match!" Jessie said, whipping out her cosmetics bag and going to town on James's face.
Very soon, a pretty "woman" with purple hair appeared, an eight-tenths likeness of the Waiting Wife Rock.
"Click!" Natsume snapped a commemorative photo.
"Suddenly I don't feel like keeping vigil anymore." Brock got to his feet.
James: "…"
After Natsume's little stunt, the two of them lost the mood and had to accept the fact that the purple-haired lady was also Gastly in disguise.
That night, Natsume sent the photo of cross-dressing James to Ryujiro.
Brock beside him was mosaicked out, but Ryujiro still recognized that it was a man.
Unfilial son! Outrageous!
Ryujiro flew into a rage and immediately transferred Natsume 1,000,000,000 Pokédollars, asking him to design another script for James.
In Ryujiro's view, Natsume's previous script had been quite the success.
Because James had actually taken the initiative to call him and ask things like whether his parents were dead yet and whether the family assets were still there.
James actually cared about the family fortune.
Natsume was simply a miracle doctor!
"Mr. Natsume, you must save my James and set him back on the right path!"
Looking at the messages and the transfer on his phone, Natsume rubbed his nose.
He had only sent it on a whim.
But now, it seemed the photo of James in women's clothing had unexpected economic value.
The group returned to the inn and rested for the night.
The next day, Ash used Butterfree to trade Gastly back.
"Gastly, if you think I'm not fit to be your Trainer—"
"Goodbye." Before Ash finished, Gastly vanished into thin air.
Ash: "…"
After a moment, Gastly reappeared, and behind it stood a red-eyed Gengar.
"Heh-heh." Gastly smiled at Gengar, indicating it had just been joking.
"Actually, the reason I can't be your Pokémon is that I have my difficulties."
Seeing that it couldn't just leave, Gastly decided to reason with him and win him over with emotion.
"Every year at Obon, I have to appear here to prank people for my master—the person who was the original for that Waiting Wife Rock—"
"Boo-hoo, otherwise, if I leave, my master will gradually be forgotten. I won't let that happen!"
As Gastly spoke, it squeezed out a few tears.
Across from it, Ash was moved.
"In that case, you should stay—Ah!"
A big lump rose on Ash's head.
"A level-22 Gastly being the Pokémon of a Waiting Wife Rock's several-thousand-year-old original—are you actually stupid or what!" Misty withdrew her smoking fist.
"So you were lying to me?" Ash rubbed his head and looked at Gastly.
"Gen-gah!"
Behind him, the red-eyed Gengar gave a bark, and Gastly trembled like chaff.
"Forget it, here, have one of these!" Ash said, taking out a stick of Spicy Paste, lighting it, handing one to Gengar first, then another to Gastly.
"Sss—hah!"
Gengar took a practiced draw.
Beside it, Gastly copied.
"Whatever this is, my convictions won't waver!"
"Sss—hah!"
Wait, no!
"Sss—hah!"
Hold on!
"Sss—hah!"
What is this!
After a while, Gastly signed the "Spicy Paste Agreement" with Ash, taking the first step toward improving relations between them.
Natsume yawned, bored out of his mind as he watched.
In truth, a Ghost Pokémon's level had nothing to do with its age.
This Gastly had indeed lived for a very, very long time.
From its reactions, it did have some connection to that Waiting Wife Rock, but not much.
At this moment, Natsume also discovered that this Spicy Paste had an irresistible allure for Pokémon like Gastly.
Other Poison types were obsessed too, but nowhere near to this degree.
A special attack on Ghost + Poison?
Natsume didn't know.
He kept his head down, fiddling with the Great Ball in his hands.
Very soon, evening arrived.
The Summer Festival officially began!
"Charmeleon tail-seared apples!"
"Snorlax takoyaki!"
On the hillside, in front of the Waiting Wife Rock, Brock looked up at the moon.
He didn't go to the festival.
He came straight here, staring blankly at the sky, who knew what he was thinking.
Down at the festival, countless vendors hawked their goods, many incorporating their own Pokémon's specialties to attract customers.
"Psyduck Headache Roasted Brain! Simmered with Confusion for three hours!"
One stall owner had a struggling Psyduck tied to his head.
"Snorlax oozy wheel cakes—he's stuffed himself already!"
Another stall owner had simply built his booth on Snorlax's belly, shouting with all his might.
"Mr. Mime cotton candy—Barrier—be sure to walk far away before you tear it, meow!"
At one corner of the festival, Ash excitedly opened the Mr. Mime cotton candy he had just bought.
"Huh? Why is there only a stick?" Ash realized too late.
Just as he was about to find the vendor for an explanation, Misty's voice came from behind.
"Hey, Ash, let's go join the Bon Odori!"
For once, Misty didn't tie up her hair.
Her orange hair was left loose, draping to her shoulders.
She wore a light-yellow kimono embroidered with wave patterns, a hairpin slipped in at a slant, loosely set.
Misty straightened her collar.
Her geta stepped through lantern shadows of the festival.
She lifted her chin, gave a little hum, and smiled at the stupefied Ash.
"Well? Are you dumbfounded by my beauty?" Misty said proudly.
"Oh, so you really are a girl?"
Thump!
Due to certain irresistible forces, Ash grew two centimeters taller.
Not far away, Natsume was plotting out the circuitry of a Great Ball.
He looked up just in time to see this scene and couldn't help shaking his head.
Sigh.
Ash is way too straight.
In the future, Delia Ketchum is going to have her hands full.
Unlike me—sharp as a tack!
Behind Natsume stood Honora.
She wore a moon-white kimono with a dark underkimono, a green-jade hairpin slanted and pinned up.
Head lowered, cheeks flushed, like light snow pressing on plum petals.
Her fingertips curled and hid in her sleeves.
After a long moment, she mustered her courage and spoke.
"Mr. Natsume, shall we… shall we go to the dance?"
"No time."
Natsume was working up a head of steam.
Sparks flew from the file in his hand.
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