When all the invited Trainers had gathered in the clearing behind the ancient shrine, an indescribable change quietly took place.
It was as if an invisible membrane had been popped.
The surrounding buildings, which had looked brand new and lively under the festival lights, began to "age" at a visible rate.
It wasn't true decay, but rather like a painting losing its color. The vibrant hues swiftly dimmed and peeled away, revealing the mottled wood and the genuine moss on the stone steps that had accumulated over the years.
The clamor of human voices vanished abruptly, like a tape being cut, leaving only the whimpering of the night wind blowing through ancient eaves and the somber echo of waves crashing against the shore in the distance.
In reality, this temple festival, which had been unreasonably lively, was populated by many extras created by Gastly's illusion techniques.
There was no helping it; this wasn't exactly a densely populated metropolis.
The journey here was quite troublesome as well.
Take Ash and his group, for example; they had to come by cruise ship.
The Pokémon world itself was still relatively vast and sparsely populated.
However, this was not the most eye-catching change.
What was even more heart-palpitating were the "young girls" who had originally been surrounding them in the courtyard, laughing prettily and pointing fingers.
Their figures began to distort and shake violently, like reflections in water disturbed by a thrown stone, becoming blurry and unstable.
Colors melted, forms collapsed, and finally, amidst ripples of subtle energy that sounded like sighs, they revealed their true forms—
A massive horde of Ghost-type Pokémon of various shapes and sizes!!!!
The most numerous were clumps of drifting, grinning Gastly.
They emitted "Gya-gya" snickering sounds, gathering and dispersing in the air.
Quite a few Duskull, looking as if they were wearing small white clown hats, silently sized up everyone with their single red eyes, bringing an invisible pressure.
There were also round, blank-faced Drifloon, floating leisurely like balloons.
Mixed among them were some rarer figures:
Yamask, wearing clay masks and appearing melancholic and mysterious.
Phantump, looking like they had just walked out of an ancient forest.
And Pumpkaboo, with their pumpkin mouths grinning, their expressions either comical or eerie.
There were even a few Shuppet, resembling black cloths, and several Misdreavus, whose hair danced like living things as they let out crisp laughter.
Ash's gaze sharply caught sight of a Litwick in the corner.
A spectral blue flame flickered atop its head. That flame seemed capable of attracting one's soul, carrying an aura that was both innocent and dangerous.
...That one should be the most dangerous among all the Ghost-type Pokémon present.
Whether it was Shuppet or Misdreavus, they mainly relied on absorbing negative emotions like human fear and jealousy to grow.
Pumpkaboo, Drifloon, Duskull, and Yamask were even more harmless... aside from liking to wander around, they preferred to be autistic loners.
A bit more troublesome were the Phantump. They dwell in forests where humans don't approach and wander around looking for friends. They use eerie cries that sound like human children screaming to lure adults deep into the forest, causing them to lose their way and become their companions.
As for Gastly?
Actually, most Gastly are extremely harmful-less.
Under normal circumstances, a Gastly's food is Poison Gas, toxic fumes, and the like; they don't even necessarily need human negative emotions.
But Litwick is different.
Litwick lives by literally sucking the life force out of people and Pokémon.
The burning candlelight on its head keeps its body slightly warm.
Its flame is usually extinguished, but as long as it absorbs the life force of a person or a Pokémon, the flame will shine brightly.
The younger the soul absorbed, the more vigorously and eerily the candlelight on its head will burn.
It will take the hands of lost children and lead them to the Spirit World.
...Aside from the notoriety of Ghost-type Pokémon being a false reputation scared up by the pranks of Misdreavus, Shuppet, Gastly, and their ilk,
There are also those like the Litwick and Chandelure line... which are genuine evil spirits.
It was worth noting that this group of Ghost-type Pokémon seemed to consist mainly of unevolved forms.
No powerful final evolved forms like Gengar, Chandelure, or Dusknoir were seen.
This sudden "manifestation" made the Trainers, who had originally been expectant, subconsciously tense up.
The instinctive wariness humans feel when facing the unknown and non-human forms quietly bred, and a silence mixed with excitement and unease permeated the air.
These Ghost-type Pokémon didn't care what the humans thought.
They began to circle around this group of Trainers, emitting various strange calls and screeches.
The strange "Gya-gya" laughter of Gastly.
The crisp, bell-like laughter of Misdreavus.
The hissing sound of Drifloon, like leaking air.
And the low whimpers of Yamask...
All kinds of ghostly wails and cries wove together into an eerie "Nocturne."
...Even knowing that this group of Ghost-type Pokémon was harmless, it still felt extremely terrifying.
To be a Ghost-type Pokémon Trainer, one truly needed rock-hard psychological resilience.
"Relax," Brock's deep and calm voice sounded from the side.
At some point, he had already taken his stand beside Ash and Misty, arms crossed over his chest, his gaze steadily observing the surroundings. "During this process, that Thousand-Year Gastly usually won't come out to preside over things."
Brock explained, "It all depends on these little guys' own interests and affinity."
"They will observe and choose on their own, or simply play around out of curiosity."
"Sometimes, a specific one will be particularly interested in a certain Trainer and be willing to follow them to see the outside world."
"But more often than not, they might wander around for a long time without a single one making a decision."
"This is all very normal. You don't need to force it, and you can't force it."
"Anyway, we mainly came here to participate in the temple festival; this is just an unexpected bonus," Brock said to everyone.
Ghost-type Pokémon and Psychic-type Pokémon are the most troublesome types.
Their autonomy is simply too strong.
It is said that if some Pokémon Trainers lack sufficient strength but still insist on capturing Ghost-type and Psychic-type Pokémon...
...These Trainers who lack self-awareness will instead be manipulated by the Pokémon.
The most typical example is—Malamar.
Malamar is a dual-type Psychic and Dark Pokémon.
According to the Pokémon League's research data... many major events in history were related to Malamar.
Like some kind of evil villain in the Pokémon faction?
Anyway, it can be understood that way.
Brock's words were like a calming pill, allowing the surrounding Trainers, who were clearly a bit tense, to relax their posture slightly.
Misty also took a deep breath, trying hard to suppress the creeping sensation in her heart. She curiously sized up a Misdreavus that had floated in front of her, tilting its "head" as if observing her.
Honestly speaking, among these Ghost-type Pokémon, Misdreavus had the highest good looks; it actually looked quite cute.
Ash, on the other hand, felt a Gastly fly past almost sticking to his cheek, leaving behind a cold chill and a burst of prankish "Gya-gya" laughter.
Pikachu on his shoulder let out a vigilant "Pika," electricity flickering slightly on its cheeks—a subconscious reaction.
The selection and the being selected quietly began in this shrine filled with faint mist.
_____
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