Mt.
Pyre served much the same purpose as Pokémon Tower in the Kanto region, Lost Tower in Sinnoh, and the Celestial Tower in Unova.
They were sacred places where the souls of departed Pokémon found their final resting place.
Naturally, locations overflowing with spiritual energy also attracted countless Ghost-type Pokémon.
When Roy had first arrived at Mt.
Pyre, he was startled almost every day by Ghost-types suddenly appearing right in front of his face.
But after living among them for years, he gradually realized something.
Ghost-type Pokémon weren’t mindless monsters.
They had emotions.
Thoughts.
Personalities.
Most of the time, they didn’t scare people out of malice.
They simply fed on the energy produced by fear.
It was their natural instinct.
That was why Ghost-types loved frightening both humans and Pokémon, and why so many people feared them in return.
Of course, not every Ghost-type relied on fear or life force to survive.
The Ghost Pokémon living around Mt.
Pyre could naturally absorb the dense Ghost Force that permeated the mountain.
Take Roy’s Litwick, for example.
Normally, Litwick sustained the flame atop its head by absorbing traces of life force, spiritual energy, and fear from humans and Pokémon.
But ever since Roy began feeding it purified Ghost Force every day…
Its flame burned brighter than ever.
Because of this…
Quite a few Ghost-type Pokémon around Mt.
Pyre wanted to follow Roy as well.
To them…
A human capable of producing pure Ghost Force was like an irresistible walking buffet.
Unfortunately…
Roy had to turn every one of them down.
His daily Ghost Force production was only enough to support Litwick and Duskull.
If he tried feeding any more Pokémon…
He ended up feeling completely drained.
Fatigued.
Dizzy.
Unable to sleep.
Absolutely…
Definitely…
Not because of kidney problems.
There also seemed to be an unspoken rule among Ghost-type Pokémon.
If fear energy was available…
They preferred feeding on it instead of directly draining life force or souls.
After all…
Fear was renewable.
Scare someone a little.
Absorb the energy.
Wait for the next victim.
Repeat.
Life force, on the other hand…
Once it was gone…
The victim was usually gone too.
That delicate balance allowed Ghost-type Pokémon and humans to coexist.
Otherwise…
Human experts would have hunted them to extinction long ago.
When viewed from that perspective…
Ghost-types were actually much safer than many wild Pokémon that attacked on sight.
That didn’t stop the rumors, though.
Stories about Ghost-type Pokémon secretly draining their Trainers’ life force had spread for generations.
And to be fair…
Those stories weren’t entirely false.
Because of rumors like those, Ghost-types remained one of the rarest specialties among Trainers.
Mysterious.
Unpredictable.
As frightening as wandering spirits in the dead of night.
Even so…
Nobody questioned their strength.
Ever since the very first generation, Ghost-types had possessed two natural immunities.
They were completely immune to Normal-type and Fighting-type attacks.
Of course…
Every strength came with a weakness.
Ghost-types lacked truly devastating offensive moves for much of history.
That didn’t change until much later.
Powerful signature techniques like Astral Barrage and Shadow Sneak, along with the arrival of incredible Ghost Pokémon like Flutter Mane, pushed the Ghost type back to the top of the competitive world.
“Alright.”
“Time to get to work.”
Unlike the games, where Mt.
Pyre consisted of only six floors…
The real Mt.
Pyre had ten.
Each floor was lined with countless gravestones arranged in neat rows.
Roy’s daily responsibility was simple.
Clean every gravestone.
The job had been assigned to him by Phoebe’s grandparents.
Interestingly…
Roy discovered that every time he worked around the graves, his own Ghost Force slowly became stronger.
Not long ago, his growing power had awakened its first unique ability.
Telepathy.
It resembled Phoebe’s future gift of communicating with spirits.
It also shared similarities with the telepathic abilities possessed by Psychic-type Trainers.
Except Roy’s version had one important limitation.
He could only understand the thoughts of Ghost-type Pokémon.
The ability came with obvious advantages.
Imagine shouting one command during battle…
“Use Flamethrower!”
But secretly transmitting another through telepathy.
“Hydro Pump.”
An opponent who relied on reading verbal commands would never see it coming.
It was the Pokémon equivalent of naming your sword…
“Please Spare Me.”
The drawbacks, however…
Were equally real.
Last year, a mischievous Gastly had developed the habit of floating into Roy’s bedroom every single night.
Then it would sing.
Very loudly.
For weeks, Roy didn’t enjoy a single peaceful night’s sleep.
Thankfully…
Phoebe eventually caught that Gastly.
It had since evolved into the Haunter that electrocuted Roy with Lick earlier that morning.
“Waaaah…”
“Waaaah…”
Soft sobbing drifted from somewhere nearby.
Roy didn’t even bother looking up.
He continued polishing another gravestone.
It wasn’t because he lacked compassion.
He was simply used to it.
Every day…
Trainers arrived at Mt.
Pyre carrying the remains of lifelong companions.
Some came to mourn.
Others came to bury partners who had shared their entire journeys.
For Roy…
This also happened to be the best time to earn extra money.
It sounded heartless.
Making money from funerals.
And technically…
That was exactly what he was doing.
Still…
Someone had to perform the work.
Besides maintaining the cemetery, Roy also worked as Mt.
Pyre’s unofficial burial specialist.
Because he specialized in Ghost-types…
Most visitors treated him the same way people back on Earth treated fortune tellers or ghost mediums.
With cautious respect.
And just a little fear.
Yet whenever it came time to bury a beloved Pokémon…
They always sought him out.
The reason was surprisingly simple.
Compared to the other Ghost-type Trainers living on Mt.
Pyre…
Roy looked the most normal.
Most Ghost specialists wore permanently gloomy expressions, making them seem like they hadn’t slept in weeks.
Roy, on the other hand…
Actually smiled.
For every burial he performed, Roy charged 1,000 Pokédollars.
Fair price.
No hidden fees.
Just honest payment for honest labor.
He had even suggested a few new business ideas to Phoebe’s grandparents.
“If we’re trying to attract more visitors…”
“How about four Ghost Pokémon carrying the coffin?”
“Or better yet…”
“Let’s have a squad of Gengar serve as the pallbearers.”
“It’ll become the most famous funeral service in Hoenn!”
Unfortunately…
His proposal was rejected immediately.
Mt.
Pyre existed to honor the dead.
Not to turn funerals into elaborate performances.
As a result…
The matching black suits Roy had specially prepared for himself and Haunter never saw the light of day.
By the time he finished polishing the final gravestone on the eighth floor…
Today’s work was finally complete.
Roy looked down at the 2,000 Pokédollars he’d just earned helping another Trainer dig a grave.
A satisfied smile spread across his face.
For some reason…
Even the mountain breeze smelled sweeter when his wallet was a little heavier.