When it was Red's turn to battle, the atmosphere changed instantly.
His battles always carried a strange artistic quality—turning decay into brilliance.
No matter what move the opponent used, he could always find the most unexpected solution to counter it, ending the fight in the most effortless way possible.
Every command seemed precisely calculated, yet still carried an easy, carefree style.
The effect of this visual spectacle was immediate.
Within just a few minutes after Red stepped onto the field, the livestream's viewer count surged by more than 200,000.
And the gifts?
Rei Akagi was practically grinning from ear to ear.
With three Rainbow Badges now obtained, the trio left the flower-filled Gym.
Outside on the street, Rei Akagi stylishly pulled out a Bicycle.
"Alright, let's head back to Lavender Town—"
He deliberately dragged out the sentence, completely ignoring Blue's miserable groaning in the voice channel.
"With a little visit to that ghost friend in Pokémon Tower."
They sped back on their bikes to the gloomy town.
Without stopping, the three of them rushed straight toward the top of Pokémon Tower.
Stepping onto the fifth floor again—
The white mist still lingered.
The twisted black silhouette from before once again condensed out of the fog, accompanied by a hoarse roar.
"Intruders! Leave this place!!!"
With their previous experience, the trio easily dodged the shadow's charge.
"Now!"
Rei Akagi shouted.
All three opened their bags at the same time and equipped the strange device—the Silph Scope.
The lenses emitted a faint glow.
The fog in their vision seemed to be analyzed and reconstructed.
At last, the creature's true form appeared.
Inside a white skull mask, hollow eyes suddenly opened.
Its body was covered in yellowish scales, shaped like a small dinosaur.
Clutched tightly in its hand—
was a massive bone club radiating a chilling aura.
Marowak Lv.38
Ability: ?(A wandering spirit that refuses to fade…)
"Marowak?!"
Red cried out in shock.
He had never expected that the so-called ghost was actually a Pokémon.
"What… what's going on here?!"
"Why is the ability just a question mark?"
Blue's fear instantly vanished the moment the ghost's true identity was revealed.
In its place came pure curiosity and excitement.
"Who cares! If it's a Pokémon, then we deal with it like a Pokémon!"
She controlled Blueand quickly threw a Poké Ball at the revealed Marowak.
But the Poké Ball passed straight through the ghostly body.
It landed on the ground beneath a gravestone with a hollow clack.
Blue:
"…."
She instantly went silent.
Her character slid behind Rei, using him as a shield and only peeking half her head out.
"Whatever! If it's a Pokémon, then let's battle!"
Red's battle instincts always came before thinking.
Without hesitation, he sent out Charizard.
"Charizard—Brick Break!"
Charizard roared as it appeared.
Fighting-type energy gathered around its claws as it lunged toward Marowak with tremendous force.
But the result was obvious.
The powerful strike passed through Marowak like it was an illusion.
The attack smashed into the gravestone behind it instead, shattering stone everywhere.
"Intruders! Leave this place!!!"
Marowak continued repeating the same warning.
It didn't use any actual moves.
Instead, the surrounding black mist formed a strange repelling force, constantly pushing the three away.
"Teacher Salted Fish! This won't work!"
After trying several attacks without success, Red immediately gave up thinking and turned to Rei Akagi for help.
Rei Akagi said nothing.
Instead, he controlled Rei to use the Pokédex and dial a number.
Moments later—
Footsteps echoed from the staircase leading upward.
An elderly man with a kind face slowly arrived.
"Mr. Fuji: So… it's you, Marowak."
The ghostly body trembled when it heard the old man's voice.
The burning determination in its hollow eyes flickered with confusion.
But soon the mist gathered again as it attempted to drive everyone away.
"Intruders! Leave this place!!!"
"Mr. Fuji: Stop! Look carefully—see who this is!"
As he called out—
A small figure timidly peeked out from beside his leg.
It was the Cubone from the Pokémon Rescue House.
Cubone saw the familiar yet distant figure within the fog.
Its small body trembled violently.
Its tiny hands gripping the bone loosened… then tightened again.
Finally—
As if making a tremendous decision—
it let out a sob and rushed straight into the mist toward Marowak.
When Mr. Fuji mentioned "your child,"
Marowak froze completely.
It stood there motionless, watching the small figure with the paper bag over its head charge toward it.
Cubone passed straight through the ghostly body and fell forward.
The little Pokémon froze.
Unwilling to believe it, it turned back and stretched out its trembling hands again and again, trying to touch Marowak.
Every time—
its hands passed through empty air.
At last, it seemed to understand.
Cubone stood there silently.
Tears filled the large eyes beneath the paper bag.
But stubbornly—
not a single tear fell.
"Intruders… leave this place…"
For some reason, Marowak's broken voice now carried a trace of gentleness.
It simply stood there.
Watching Cubone.
Mr. Fuji slowly stepped beside Rei and the others.
His calm voice carried deep sorrow.
"Mr. Fuji: Not long ago, a group of Team Rocket thugs attacked Pokémon Tower."
"Mr. Fuji: Marowak… died protecting its child—Cubone."
"Mr. Fuji: Later, Team Rocket was trapped on the tower's top floor. Since then, anyone trying to climb deeper into the tower would mysteriously faint and wake up outside."
"Mr. Fuji: People believed an invisible ghost haunted the tower… but it was actually Marowak's lingering spirit."
"Mr. Fuji: Even after death, it stayed behind—trapping its enemies here while protecting the tower from any new threats."
"So that's what happened…"
Blue whispered softly, her voice filled with sadness.
"A wandering spirit… that turned out to be a guardian…"
For a brief moment, the livestream chat fell silent.
Then it exploded.
"Don't use Pokémon to stab my heart like this!!! Teacher Salted Fish, you monster!!!"
"I used to complain about this ghost because I couldn't reach the top of the tower… I'm sorry… I was wrong…"
"You're right, but Pokémon is a brand-new open-world adventure game independently developed by Teacher Salted Fish. You never know what will happen next."
"I always wondered why that Cubone wore a paper bag over its head…"
"My eyes are leaking…"
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