Fifth Floor.
The density of fog hadn't increased, but the number of gravestones had reached a suffocating level, covering nearly every inch of the ground.
Before they even began exploring, something extremely conspicuous caught everyone's attention.
At the center of the fog-covered floor stood a pure black silhouette, its outline blurry and indistinct.
It stood completely still, as if fused into the surrounding silence.
Blue immediately understood what was going on.
Here we go again!
It must be a Gastly or Haunter disguised as something!
You could practically see the outline of those signature big eyes!
Trying to scare me? No chance!
Determined to completely wash away the earlier "coward" accusation and prove her "bravery" to Salted Fish Teacher, Blue decided to strike first.
She controlled her character and summoned Ditto, marching boldly toward the shadow at the center with heroic determination.
Rei Akagi stared in disbelief.
When did this girl become so brave?
Back then, she would instinctively clutch his sleeve whenever she saw even a Pidgeot.
"Wait! Blue! Don't go over there!"
Suddenly realizing something, he shouted a warning.
But it was already too late.
"AAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
A soul-piercing scream exploded from Blue's microphone!
Blue's character had barely stepped into the fog around the central area before she sprinted back at ten times the speed she had rushed forward.
She slammed straight into Rei, who had been standing still.
Thud!
Rei was knocked flat onto his back by the human cannonball.
Before anyone could recover from the sudden collision—
The thick white fog filling the fifth floor suddenly vanished, as if sucked away by an invisible giant hand.
Their vision cleared instantly.
But what replaced the fog was something even worse.
A deeper, thicker darkness—so dense it seemed capable of swallowing light itself.
Within that suffocating darkness, a gigantic ghostly face slowly rose from the ground.
It was formed from writhing black mist.
The face was shattered and grotesque, with no fixed features—only twisting voids of pain.
A broken, distorted voice echoed through the chamber.
"Lea…ve… this… place…"
"A ghost!!!"
Red's eyes widened at the terrifying scene.
But there was no fear in them.
Only overwhelming excitement.
Battling a ghost!
That was something almost impossible to encounter!
Without hesitation, he threw a Poké Ball.
"Pikachu! Quick Attack to disrupt it! Charizard! Trap it with Fire Spin!"
The commands rang out.
Pikachu shot forward like a streak of golden lightning—
But something was clearly wrong.
It staggered like it was drunk.
Then—
BANG!
It slammed straight into an innocent gravestone.
Stars spun above its head, indicating confusion.
As for Charizard—
The massive dragon stood frozen in place.
A frightened growl rumbled from its throat.
Its wings trembled slightly.
Even the flame on its tail dimmed.
"Charizard is too frightened to move!"
The ghostly face formed from dark mist drifted toward them with overwhelming pressure.
Its massive mouth stretched wider and wider, swallowing everything before it.
The game screen suddenly went black.
But the voice still echoed.
"Intruders! Leave this place!!!"
…
When the screen lit up again, the four of them were standing outside Pokémon Tower.
As if the horrifying scene from before had been nothing more than a fleeting nightmare.
"WHAT THE HELL! My closet just moved! I'm not watching anymore!"
"Can we get some normal gameplay please?! This is way too cursed! Even watching the stream with mental preparation still scared me!"
"My Holy Sword!!!"
"Is the story event over? Let's leave! My heart can't take it!"
"Tch, bunch of cowards… wait, who spilled water on my pants while I wasn't looking?"
The chat exploded with activity.
Inside the tower earlier, there had been barely any messages.
Now the comments flooded the screen.
"Alright, snap out of it. Time to head to the next city."
Rei Akagi spoke, waking Red—who still looked distracted—and Blue, who was clearly shaken.
"Huh? We're leaving already? What about the ghost in the tower?"
Red sounded unwilling to let it go, his eyes still fixed on the towering Pokémon Tower.
"I want to battle it…"
Blue, on the other hand, let out a long sigh of relief.
Her voice instantly returned to its usual lively tone.
"Go go go! Ghosts are a small case anyway—let's hurry to the next city!"
"With that ghost there, we can't reach the tower's top for now. We'll have to come back later."
While explaining, Rei Akagi guided Rei toward the road nearby.
Red reluctantly nodded and followed.
Then, under Blue's puzzled gaze—
The two of them each threw a metal cube onto the ground.
The cubes rapidly unfolded, transformed, and assembled.
In the blink of an eye, they became two sleek bicycles.
The two players swung onto their bikes.
Brilliant particles instantly covered their bodies.
Transformation!
"What is that?! That's so cool!!!"
Blue gasped.
She immediately circled around the bikes, examining them from every angle.
"Hehe, pretty awesome, right~"
Red sounded smug.
"Hmph."
Rei Akagi tried to suppress his smile but failed.
Clearly—
Transformation mechanics didn't just appeal to guys.
They appealed to girls too.
"So where's mine?! Where's my bike?!"
Blue's next question plunged the previously relaxed atmosphere into silence.
"…You didn't get the Bicycle Voucher?"
Red asked.
"A voucher? Where do you get that?"
Blue replied blankly.
"It's in Vermilion City…"
Rei Akagi answered.
"Ah! I was too busy shopping!"
Blue groaned in frustration.
"…Sigh."
Rei Akagi sighed and tapped the touchscreen on his bicycle.
The bike's structure expanded.
The frame extended and reshaped itself.
Within seconds—
It transformed into a tandem bicycle.
"Hop on."
"Yay! Coming!"
Blue's frustration vanished instantly.
Her eyes sparkled as she jumped onto the back seat.
The same dazzling particle stream wrapped around her, forming a fitted cycling armor suit.
"It can transform too?!"
Red exclaimed in surprise.
He realized he still hadn't explored nearly enough of this game.
The three of them rode off together, leaving gloomy Lavender Town behind.
The familiar peaceful overworld music began playing.
It felt as if sunlight had washed over the game world, restoring warmth and calm.
They entered Route 8.
Thanks to the bicycle's incredible speed, the trainers waiting along the roadside couldn't even catch a glimpse of their tail lights—let alone trigger battles.
Just as they were about to reach the entrance to the next area—
Red suddenly slammed on the brakes.
Standing ahead of them was a freckled girl.
Despite the freckles, she looked quite cute.
But that wasn't why Red stopped.
What really caught his attention was the small stall set up in front of her.
It was filled with rare battle items that were normally difficult to obtain.
"There are battle items for sale here?!"
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