Outside the window, the moon hung alone in the sky.
Shrouded beneath a mass of dark clouds, the faint light it gave off looked as if it were barely clinging to life.
A young boy stood in the corridor.
Wind slipped through the broken window, making the old, neglected hinges creak like the mournful cry of a crow.
Torn white curtains fluttered in the breeze, and together with the groaning hinges, they looked almost like hands reaching out in pain toward some distant place.
The boy stepped forward, his light, carefree footsteps completely at odds with the eerie scene around him, as if he were in the middle of a pleasant outing instead.
“AAAAAAAHHHH!!!”
Suddenly, with a shriek that sounded somewhere between a scream and a sob, a white ghostly figure rushed out from the far end of the corridor and charged straight at the boy.
And the boy…
did not dodge.
“AAAAAAAHHHH!!!”
In the blink of an eye, the white ghost appeared right in front of him.
Its body was tall and gaunt, its arms thin but unnaturally long, with one extra joint compared to a human’s, making the whole thing look deeply unsettling.
Its left arm was clearly broken, the snapped bone piercing through pale skin, while its stomach was swollen and distended like the belly of someone who had drowned.
Its face was hideously pale, and from its torn, gaping mouth came wave after wave of miserable howls.
It was not especially fast, but the pressure it gave off was suffocating.
No one who saw those large hands and razor-sharp nails would doubt that they could tear through flesh.
“AAAAAAAHHHH!!!”
The ghost rushed up to the boy and raised both hands high, looking as though it would rip him apart in the next instant.
Yet the boy simply stood there without moving, almost as if he had been scared stiff, quietly staring at the ghost.
“AAAAAAAHHHH!!!” the ghost continued screaming.
Jiiiii…
The boy kept staring at it.
“AAAA…” The ghost was still trying to scream, but its voice had grown much weaker than before.
Jiii…
The boy continued observing it.
“AAAA—cough, cough!”
The ghost still seemed determined to keep screaming, but apparently it had gone a little too hard just now.
Its voice cracked as if its throat had gone hoarse, and the sudden coughing sound made the boy break into a grin.
“Hah!
Not bad!
This character is a lot scarier than the last one.”
The boy suddenly began reviewing the ghost’s performance.
“Gaaastly, heeheeheehee!
(￣▽￣)~*”
This time, the ghost spoke as well, though the sound it made was not human speech, but a different kind of cry.
“All right, what time is it now?”
The boy looked at the ghost’s utterly hateful grin and reminded it helplessly.
“Gastly.”
With a wave of the ghost’s hand, a clock appeared.
The hour and minute hands on the clock face pointed to six-fifty.
“It’s already that late?
Time to wake up then.”
The boy smiled and snapped his fingers.
In the next moment, everything around him vanished—the ghost, the corridor, the moonlight, all of it.
The boy sat up in bed.
“Another new day!”
He stretched, got out of bed, and pulled open the curtains.
Looking at the scenery outside the window, he smiled.
“Gastly!
Gastly, Gastly!
ヾ(✿゚▽゚)ノ”
A voice exactly like the one from the dream rang out.
A black sphere wrapped in purple gas floated over, its large eyes curved with laughter.
It opened its huge mouth, and its pink tongue immediately licked the boy right across the face.
“Hahahaha, morning, Gastly.
You really improved this time!
Compared to all those bizarre monsters you came up with before, something that looks almost human but still has obvious differences is way scarier.
If I hadn’t known it was you, I probably would’ve been frightened too.”
The boy wiped his face, casually ignoring the saliva on it, and smiled as he patted Gastly on the…
‘head’.
“Heeheeheehee!
(๑´ᄇ`๑)”
Gastly was clearly delighted by the praise and flew around the room while giggling.
“All right, all right, don’t get too excited.
Get ready.
After breakfast, we’re going to the shop.
The scenic area officially opens tomorrow, so our store has to start business too.
We’ll head over today and tidy things up again.”
The boy said it with a smile.
“Gastly!
￣『￣”
Gastly immediately stopped flying around and floated in front of the boy.
It gave him a strange salute with its tongue, then began drooling, clearly unable to wait for breakfast.
“Okay, give me a moment to wash up.”
As the boy spoke, he took off his pajamas and walked into the bathroom, turning on the radio along the way.
“Good morning!
Morning, everyone!
You’re listening to Hulbury Radio!
As always, I’ll be keeping you company today—your neighbor, your friend, me, Owen Hale!
What a refreshing morning this is!
The sea breeze is gentle, the sky is clear, and it’s perfect weather to head out to sea.
I’m sure everyone in town already knows what’s coming.
That’s right, that’s right!
Tomorrow is the grand opening of Hulbury’s seaside scenic area!
We have our Chairman Rose to thank for that.
His far-sighted vision has brought Hulbury a new lease on life.
But for now, let’s listen to a song perfect for a day like this!
This morning’s first track begins right here…”
The voice coming from the radio belonged to a new program that had recently started in Hulbury.
In the past, the town’s radio station had only broadcast reports on the fishing boats at the docks.
However, that voice and that way of speaking always gave Blake a strange sense of déjà vu, as if he had wandered into a town where every single person was a Stand user.
In that case, should he introduce himself that way too?
“My name is Blake.
I’m fourteen years old.
I live in the southern district of Hulbury in the Galar region.
I’m currently single and live alone.
I don’t smoke or drink.
I go to bed at eleven o’clock sharp every night and make sure to get eight hours of sleep.
Before bed, I always drink a glass of Moomoo Milk, then spend twenty minutes talking about horror stories with Gastly.
Once I’m in bed, I fall asleep immediately, and I wake up the next day like a baby, without carrying over any fatigue or stress.
The doctor says I’m very healthy!”
Thinking that, Blake, who was in the middle of showering, could not help laughing to himself.
Although he did enjoy a peaceful and pleasant life, he was not a murderer, he did not have a Stand, and all he had was a Gastly!
He also had no obsession with hands.
If he really had to say what he preferred, he liked legs more.
That’s right.
Blake was a transmigrator.
In his previous life, he had worked overtime until he literally died from overwork.
What he never expected was to be reborn into the world of Pokémon.
And honestly, was that not pretty good?
In his previous life, he had not even known where his parents were.
He had grown up depending on his grandfather, just the two of them supporting each other.
After finally graduating from university and finding a job, he had wanted to take care of the old man, but his grandfather had not managed to hold on until then.
Blake had been left completely alone, struggling his way through life, only to die suddenly after working overtime for an entire month straight.
Then, somehow, he had transmigrated over into this world—a world almost everyone who knew about it longed for.
A world that might have its dangers, but was still warm enough to touch the heart.
…
He turned off the shower, dried himself, changed into a casual outfit, and walked into the kitchen.
Oil went into the frying pan, followed by four sunny-side-up eggs with runny yolks and two sausages.
In the toaster, several slices of soft toast were warming up.
Meanwhile, Gastly brought in the Moomoo Milk that the milkman had delivered to the door.
With a ding, the toast popped up.
Blake spread his favorite Pecha Berry jam on some slices and Gastly’s favorite Cheri Berry jam on the others, and just like that, a delicious breakfast was ready.
Even so, Blake still could not understand whether eating something that spicy so early in the morning was really a good idea.
Then again, maybe it was not a problem for Pokémon.
“Gastly!
(.•؎•.)”
Looking at the breakfast on the dining table and smelling the spicy scent of the Cheri Berry jam, Gastly cried out excitedly.
Even so, it stubbornly waited until Blake picked up his own breakfast before opening its huge mouth and happily digging into the food.
“Eat slowly.
No one’s going to steal it from you.”
Seeing Gastly’s face become shiny with oil as it ate, Blake shook his head helplessly and began eating his own portion as well.
Before long, breakfast was over.
While Blake was washing the dishes, he heard a rapid burst of doorbell rings.
Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong!
“Coming!”
Blake smiled.
He knew exactly who would come looking for him at this hour!