"There's a ghost!!"
Ash was still screaming and running away, dashing back and forth on the second floor of the Pokémon Tower. Soon, he had run a long distance.
Dang! Why can't I even find the stairs to the first floor?
Seeing that he was getting farther away from the third-floor stairs, Cubone, which was twisted by him at the waist, struggled for a while and finally broke free from Ash's grip. The petite figure did a front flip in the air and landed on the ground, aiming its big bone club at Ash once more.
"Cubone!"
Cubone jumped up, taking advantage of the moment when Ash raised his right leg while running, to hit him again.
Jump up and smash the knee.
"KANG!"
A loud bang like steel echoed, followed by the sudden, inexplicable sound of a spring.
"Duang~!"
Ash's thigh shot out uncontrollably again, and he accidentally kicked Cubone out of mid-air. The little Pokémon flew backward several meters, colliding with a large tombstone before it could barely stop.
"Cubone..."
This attack successfully calmed Ash down. He bent down and rubbed his knee.
Why is it that every time I get hit on the knee, my legs kick out on their own?
Rheumatism?
He hurried forward and hugged the Cubone, who had been kicked by him and couldn't fight anymore. Recalling what had happened just a moment ago, he finally came to a bold conclusion.
"The Gary I saw earlier... could he be from the mortal world?"
When he had touched Brother Red before, his hand went straight through him. But this time, Gary was solid and could make contact.
Thinking this through, he finally slapped his own forehead:
"He's not dead?"
That's right! Ash and little Blue imagined Gary having a god-like presence, on par with Brother Red How could he die so easily!?
He suddenly felt relieved that his close friend had been found.
On the other hand, a slight feeling of regret also arose.
"He's not dead? That's a pity."
But either way, he had to turn back.
Whether Gary was human or a ghost wasn't the main concern for now. Brother Red's soul was still up there. Besides, why should I be running? With Gengar's ridiculous paper fan, even if Gary was a real ghost, he'd be freed soon enough.
At the entrance of the stairs leading to the third floor of the Pokémon Tower, a holy golden light was still flickering, rising straight from the head of a hedgehog-headed boy, connecting to the ceiling above.
The shadow of the hedgehog-headed boy, a few years older than Ash, had disappeared into the golden light. He was probably ascending to the next level of the afterlife.
Ash snuck up behind Gengar and grabbed its lower back with both hands.
Not to mention, it felt so soft and fluffy, just like jelly.
"Gengar?"
"Shhh, just stay quiet," Ash whispered.
While Gengar was distracted, Ash grabbed the paper fan from its hand. Immediately, a strange sensation of power spread from the contact point of his palm to his brain, making him feel like giving up everything and just lying down to sleep, like a Magikarp floating aimlessly.
It was a serene feeling, as though his soul had been purified.
He shuddered immediately, focusing on controlling his thoughts. There's definitely something odd about this paper fan.
But seeing Gary still staring at the golden light above his head, Ash suddenly showed a mischievous smile and approached quietly.
One meter away...
Suddenly, he pounced like a roaring tiger, lifted the paper fan, and smacked Gary hard on the head.
"Bang!"
A crisp sound, with outstanding results.
Direct hit!
Ash had always wanted to do this.
The solid slap made Gary tremble. He snapped awake, clutching his head, and looked at Ash in confusion.
"Hey, Ash... what happened to me just now?"
Ash waved his hand nonchalantly, hiding his accomplishment.
"You were possessed by a ghost just now. This is my spirit-repelling paper fan. It helped you drive away the ghost. No need to thank me."
"Ghost...?"
Gary scratched his head. He remembered being attacked by a Gengar, and then Big Brother Green seemed to have... ascended?!
Suddenly, panic overwhelmed him, and he shouted internally, "Hey, hey, Big Brother Green, are you still there?"
After a long while, there was no response.
It's over... Big Brother Green really got liberated?!
Gary was confused. I never expected that Big Brother Green, who seemed invincible, would get ambushed here?
Was it all over in this rundown place?! Was it that Gengar's doing?!
Gary's eyes sharpened as he focused on the big purple Pokémon behind Ash.
"Wait a minute, let me ask you something first!" Ash quickly stood between Gary and the Gengar, changing the subject:
"You were up there just now. Did you see Brother Red's shadow?"
Hearing this, Gary was momentarily stunned, then subconsciously replied:
"Has Brother Red been saved too?"
He had been feeling down, but when he heard this news, he suddenly felt more balanced. If everyone was saved, then it wasn't just his big brother.
"As for whether I saw him or not, I think I did catch a glimpse of a shadow just now."
Gary remembered that Big Brother Green had mentioned that Ash, Blue, and Brother Red looked over 90% alike, the only difference being age. But the shadow he had seen looked very different from Ash, apart from the fact they both wore red and white baseball caps.
The two exchanged glances and quickly concluded that neither of the two big bosses had been fully liberated yet. They were probably still chatting up there on the next floor.
Putting aside their old rivalry, Ash and Gary wordlessly headed up to the third floor of the Pokémon Tower together.
As they climbed the stairs, Gary suddenly asked,
"By the way, Ash, if Brother Red really gets liberated, don't you get to inherit his estate?"
Hearing this, Ash felt as startled as a Gigantamax Farfetch'd, thinking How did he see through my little thought so quickly?
No!
This guy must be testing me.
Blushing, Ash righteously declared:
"Hmph! I really misjudged you. The grass on someone's grave hasn't even started growing, and you're already thinking about inheriting their estate? That's disgusting!"
Gary was immediately taken aback by Ash's righteous tone and scratched his head, embarrassed.
"Haha, I just coveted Brother Green's Pidgeot—it's so convenient! I don't care about the rest of it. Of course, if I could inherit it, I wouldn't say no."
Ash scoffed.
"You 'don't care'? You've even been eyeing someone else's inheritance! That attitude isn't right!"
Though Ash was also envious of the Pidgeot, he already had his own. As long as he wasn't foolish enough to release it, it would reach the same heights someday.
Gary quickly defended himself:
"I'd release it to honor Big Brother Green's*spirit!"
"I'll release it when we reach the Pokémon Center."
"I'll release mine as soon as we leave the Pokémon Tower."
"Don't mess with me. I'm not someone to provoke."
"Are you scared? That's all? If you don't believe me, I'll release Pidgeot right now!"
"Fine! Then I'll toss out Pidgeot's Poké Ball too!"
In the blink of an eye, the two had unknowingly divvied up the inheritance of *Red and Green*.
The third floor of the Pokémon Tower.
*Brother Red* was still standing there, dazed.
Perhaps it was because they weren't normal souls, nor humans from this world, so even though the Fan of Salvation had knocked him out of Ash's body, there was nowhere for him to go.
He had returned to the state his soul had been in when he first came into this world.
"Whoosh."
Soon, another shadow floated up through the floor, coming to a stop in front of Brother Red.
"...."
"...."
When two legendary figures from another world met in their true forms for the first time, this was the scene.
The two greenish shadows stared at each other, and for a moment, everything fell into awkward silence. Then suddenly, they spoke in unison:
"Haha, you've been saved too?"
"Haha, you got saved as well?"
Red:"...."
Green: "...."
And once again, the scene fell into awkward silence.
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(End of the chapter)
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