Ash and Misty arrived at the intersection of the stairs leading to the second floor.
Looking up, Misty couldn't help but shudder when she felt the eerie and spooky aura coming from above, as if it could devour her at any time.
Ghost Pokémon aren't scary, but there are real ghosts in them!
Farfetch'd!
It seemed like this was none of her business at first! Misty slapped her head and discovered the blind spot.
"By the way, Brock is not safe alone anywhere. If he's trapped in the Nofap forum forever and can't come back, I might have to help him collect his body. As for the rest, you can do it on your own. 886."
Without waiting for Ash to react, she trotted back to the gate to chat with the old witch.
Ash: "..."
Tsk, is this what a woman is like? How ridiculous.
He shook his head, sneered, and turned to Cubone and Pikachu, saying:
"Let's go. No matter what demons and monsters there are, as long as we have righteousness and the three energies focused on our heads, we will be invulnerable to gods and demons!"
"Cubone!"
Cubone banged the stairs with its big bone club, looking a little impatient, because the smell on the stairs was becoming more and more familiar to it.
After a while, Ash noticed something off. Where was the cute "Pika Pika" sound? He quickly turned his head and saw Pikachu in the most conspicuous place: sleeping soundly within the green barrier that symbolized safety, snoring comfortably.
Electric mice are also afraid of ghosts.
Ash: "..."
Damn! The rat started scratching again! Helplessly, he grabbed Cubone with one hand, took a deep breath, and climbed the stairs alone. A fat Gengar loomed behind him.
"Geng Geng Geng~~"
On the second floor of the Pokémon Tower, although it was indoors, the fog suddenly became thick and dense. All that could be seen were rows of solemn gray-white tombstones and a green light in the center area.
It seemed the green barrier was on every level, providing a resting place for passers-by.
Soon, a truly eerie whistling sound came to Ash's ears, indicating they had entered an area where wild Pokémon might appear.
"Four..."
"...laugh..."
After walking a few steps, Ash heard the sound of giggling getting louder. He looked up suddenly and found that two wild Pokémon had appeared in front of him without him noticing.
One had a pitch-black round head with a ferocious expression, as if its entire body was made of gas. Purple mist floated around its head as it wandered back and forth in the air.
The other Pokémon seemed to have its outer gas shrunk into a fixed shape. It still had a spiky head, but it now had two purple claws in front of it.
"Beep. Gastly, a ghost Pokémon, looks like a boiled egg. Its origin is unknown. It is said to be a new form that was born when Metapod's shell was blown up by someone."
"Beep. Haunter, a ghost Pokémon, is the evolved form of Gastly. Its fingers and tongue are very flexible, and it can swallow a Clefairy in one gulp."
The Pokédex made two consecutive announcements.
"Is this a ghost Pokémon?" Ash's eyes narrowed. He had heard of the Gengar lineage before but didn't expect the evolution of this line to be so drastic.
How could two skinny and malnourished Pokémon become so plump later on? Ash couldn't help but mourn for the two Pokémon in front of him.
The Gastly and Haunter both showed ferocious eyes, as if they were about to attack. In the past, they might have played pranks on humans, but when they sensed that humans might destroy their living environment by tearing down the Pokémon Tower, their playful intentions had been replaced by hatred.
Black light gathered in the eyes of the two Pokémon, as if they were about to release Night Shade.
Kill the humans and protect our beautiful second dimension!
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
Before the Dark Shade could make a move, two crisp slapping sounds were heard in succession.
No one was visible, but a paper fan appeared, smacking the two ghost Pokémon on the head with concussive force. Their gaseous bodies deflated, and the dark energy in their eyes exploded.
"Boom!!"
Gastly and Haunter fell to the ground at the same time, their semi-gaseous bodies dented, looking pitiful and seriously injured.
"Geng Geng Geng!!"
Half a second later, Ash's Gengar slowly revealed itself, raised a fat finger, and pointed at the two ghosts. It began moving in a weird, mocking way, as if to mercilessly taunt them.
That's it?
"Hey, that paper fan..."
Ash noticed that Gengar had a paper fan with the words "Demons, Go Away" written on it. It looked familiar.
Wait, isn't this the magic weapon the old witch had? The one that could knock Red out with a single blow?
Red: "..."
The pressure was on him again.
Gengar floated forward, and seeing it was its evolved form, the two ghost Pokémon stopped their aggression.
"Geng Geng Geng? (Hey, is there a female Gengar here?)"
Cubone still seemed unable to understand Gengar's words, confused about what the gluttonous Gengar meant.
"Hiss."
"Ha ha."
Haunter and Gastly quickly nodded. This Pokémon tower was mostly populated by Gastly and Haunter, with a few Rattata. The only other Pokémon was their real boss, a Gengar.
The kind that could eat ten Clefairy in one sitting! Definitely what Gengar meant by a "gluttonous Gengar."
"Geng gen gen!!"
Satisfied with their answer, Gengar waved them off, signaling the ghosts to leave him to his quest for true love.
The two ghosts understood and quickly floated into the thick fog, disappearing within a few seconds.
"Gengar!"
Gengar floated back to Ash, indicating the female Gengar was upstairs. Let's go.
Ash was deep in thought when Gengar suddenly raised the paper fan, preparing to prank Ash with a friendly smack.
Danger!!
An unprecedented sense of crisis surrounded Ash, nearly suffocating him! Ash quickly realized that this fan was dangerous even if used by someone else.
Is Gengar serious? Is he about to knock out his own trainer?!
"Swoosh!"
Ash, fueled by adrenaline, dodged the attack at the last second, narrowly avoiding the fatal blow.
"Phew..."
Just standing up, he felt as if all his strength had been drained, sweat pouring down his back.
Even Red in his soul breathed a sigh of relief.
At that moment, he almost felt like death was imminent.
"Where's Gengar?" Ash was confused, looking around but not seeing the fat Pokémon.
Suddenly, a mischievous laugh came from above. Ash swallowed nervously, and a bad feeling crept in.
When you're targeted by an evil spirit behind you, if you don't turn around, the spirit won't attack.
But the itch to look was too strong. Finally, Ash turned.
A Gengar was right in his face, blood-red eyes wide open and cruel, revealing a row of pure white teeth. And in its fat little hand...
"Smack!"
A crisp sound rang out. Even Arceus couldn't have dodged. Ash was hit in the face by the paper fan, leaving a terrible red mark.
A strange feeling of salvation washed over him. His mind became dizzy, dazed. Ash seemed to see a beam of bright golden light.
In the golden light, a translucent young man wearing a peaked cap was slowly rising. His body was a translucent shadow, his expression peaceful and holy. He looked very much like what Ash imagined Red to look like. Above him, a heaven filled with holy sounds awaited.
That day, Red was finally saved by Ash's Pokémon.