The path down Mt.
Pyre was as quiet as ever.
Along the way, Roy cheerfully waved at a pale-faced man with dry, cracked lips.
“Morning!”
The man merely glanced at him, gave a small nod, and silently continued his work.
His name was Fujihashi.
He wasn’t a Ghost-type Trainer.
At least…
He hadn’t started out as one.
He had once been an inspector working for the Pokémon League.
Everything changed during a raid on a Pokémon poaching syndicate.
To escape capture, the criminals released more than a dozen Forretress at once.
Then they all used Self-Destruct.
Roy could easily imagine the terrifying scene.
One explosion was already devastating.
A dozen detonating simultaneously…
It was nothing short of a battlefield.
At the critical moment, Fujihashi’s Houndoom stepped in front of him.
It used Protect, creating a shimmering barrier of light.
But the Pokémon knew…
The barrier alone wouldn’t survive.
Without hesitation, Houndoom leaped outside the shield.
It turned its back to its Trainer…
And used its own body to absorb the overwhelming force of the explosions.
The barrier shattered.
Houndoom didn’t survive.
Fujihashi did.
Although…
The entire right side of his face had been horribly scarred.
Houndoom’s judgment had been correct.
Had it remained inside the barrier, both Trainer and Pokémon would have died in the chain of explosions.
That single night aged Fujihashi by decades.
He was only twenty-two years old.
Yet he looked well over forty.
Later, he heard rumors that Ghost-type Trainers could communicate with spirits.
Clinging to the hope of seeing Houndoom one last time…
He abandoned everything and came to Mt.
Pyre to study Ghost-type Pokémon.
A tragic story.
Even Roy couldn’t help feeling a little sympathy.
Still…
He secretly hoped Fujihashi wouldn’t suddenly collapse and die on the mountain one day.
Not because Roy was especially kindhearted.
It was simply because burying people was troublesome.
Mt.
Pyre only accepted deceased Pokémon.
Human funerals weren’t part of the job.
If Fujihashi died here, Roy would have to drag the body all the way down the mountain, dig a grave himself, bury him, pat down the dirt…
A huge hassle.
Besides…
Judging by the man’s appearance…
He probably couldn’t even afford the burial fee.
Troublesome.
Very troublesome.
As he walked, Roy counted today’s earnings.
“One hundred Pokédollars for Phoebe’s snacks.”
“Two hundred for Grandpa’s pipe tobacco.”
“Grandma needs more yarn.”
“She says she’s knitting a hat for Gengar.”
Roy scratched his head.
“I still don’t understand why a ghost needs a hat.”
“One thousand for two Poké Balls.”
“That leaves seven hundred to save.”
“My future wife isn’t going to marry herself.”
His imagination immediately began running wild.
If Phoebe and her grandparents existed in this world…
Then surely…
Cynthia.
Lorelei.
Elesa.
They had to exist too.
Come to think of it…
They should all be around his age.
Now the real question was…
Who should he pursue first?
Roy thought for exactly three seconds.
“Lorelei first.”
“Then Elesa.”
“After that…”
“Hehehe…”
Just imagining it filled him with happiness.
He couldn’t help humming an old tune.
“Today is a wonderful day…”
“Everything I wish for will come true…”
His cheerful singing echoed eerily through the silent cemetery.
Visitors who had come to mourn instinctively moved aside as soon as they saw him.
Roy didn’t mind.
Ghost-type Trainers had always been treated as strange outsiders.
After living here for over two years…
He had long since gotten used to it.
Halfway down the mountain…
Someone blocked the narrow trail.
A woman dressed in black robes stood silently in the middle of the path.
Her eyes looked unfocused.
She held a crimson crystal ball in both hands.
Her name was Honoka.
She was one of the mysterious Hex Maniacs who wandered Mt.
Pyre.
Roy remembered her surprisingly well.
Not because she was important.
But because, among thousands of background NPCs throughout the Pokémon games…
Hex Maniac had somehow become one of the franchise’s most unexpectedly famous side characters.
Ever since realizing that…
Roy always felt a little awkward looking directly at her.
Fortunately…
Honoka wasn’t much of a talker.
After noticing Roy approaching from the mountain, she quietly stepped to one side.
Without saying a word.
Roy nodded politely before walking past.
Only after he disappeared down the trail…
Did Honoka slowly return to the exact spot where he’d been standing.
Closing her eyes…
She inhaled deeply.
Greedily absorbing the faint trace of Ghost Force lingering in the air.
Of course…
Roy knew absolutely nothing about that.
He only had one lingering suspicion.
Why does she always block the path until I get close…
Then move aside at the last second?
Ghost-type Trainers really did have some bizarre habits.
Unlike the games, however…
They weren’t statues standing in one place all day waiting to challenge passing Trainers.
Most preferred avoiding people altogether.
Especially Ghost specialists.
Thankfully…
Pokémon themselves never judged Roy.
Eventually…
He reached the foot of Mt.
Pyre.
Stopping beneath a familiar tree, Roy looked up with a grin.
“Hey!”
“Rayquaza!”
“Still haven’t evolved yet?”
High above him, a familiar Caterpie poked its head over a branch.
This was the same Caterpie that had saved Roy’s life two and a half years ago by trapping that wild Spearow with String Shot.
For obvious reasons…
Roy had nicknamed it Rayquaza.
“Caterpie!”
The little Bug-type happily lowered itself on a silk thread.
“Sii!
Sii!”
Roy laughed.
“Same rules as always.”
“If you can trap Litwick with String Shot…”
“I’ll buy you some Berries.”
Caterpie’s eyes lit up immediately.
Today…
It was going to eat ten Berries!
It swore it.
Litwick hopped down from Roy’s shoulder.
This had become part of their daily routine.
Roy raised one hand.
“Ready…”
“Go!”
The instant the command fell…
Caterpie fired a stream of sticky silk.
Litwick floated gracefully through the air, weaving around every String Shot without using a single move.
That was the rule.
No attacks.
No defensive moves.
Only pure dodging.
It was the exact philosophy behind Ash Ketchum’s favorite battle command.
“Dodge it!”
Litwick twisted its tiny candle body from side to side.
Every strand of silk missed by the narrowest margin.
As if that weren’t enough…
The mischievous little Ghost even paused occasionally to stick out its tongue at Caterpie.
Complete provocation.
Caterpie became furious.
Forget the Berries.
Today it was fighting for its pride.
Unfortunately…
The angrier it became…
The worse its aim grew.
Its String Shot started flying everywhere except toward Litwick.
Watching the training session, Roy nodded with satisfaction.
His plans for Litwick had always been clear.
Once it eventually evolved into Chandelure, it would become his primary special attacker.
Chandelure already possessed an incredible base 145 Special Attack.
And if the future truly followed the path Roy remembered…
Mega Evolution would eventually become a reality.
If Chandelure ever gained a Mega Evolution…
Its destructive power would become absolutely terrifying.
A true mobile artillery platform.
At the end of the session…
Not a single strand of silk had touched Litwick.
The little Ghost proudly floated circles around Roy.
Caterpie, meanwhile…
Looked completely devastated.
Roy gently rubbed the Bug Pokémon’s head.
“Don’t look so depressed.”
“When I come back later…”
“I’ll bring you your favorite Oran Berry.”
The promise worked instantly.
Caterpie’s mood recovered in seconds.
It happily wriggled back and forth, waving Roy goodbye.
Sometimes…
The happiness of a Caterpie was wonderfully simple.
One Berry.
That was enough to make its entire day.
Leaving Mt.
Pyre behind, Roy followed the only road leading toward the nearby town.
Because of the mountain’s eerie reputation…
Very few people lived there.
Most of its residents were elderly locals who had spent their entire lives in the area.
The settlement barely fell under anyone’s jurisdiction.
A few small street gangs existed…
But they were nothing more than local troublemakers.
None of them dared cause problems near Mt.
Pyre.
They didn’t even need Roy to deal with them.
The Ghost-type Pokémon living around the mountain were always eager for fresh prey.
The lucky ones merely had their fear drained.
The unlucky ones…
Lost a portion of their life force.
Some never even realized why they had suddenly collapsed.
Before long…
Roy stopped in front of a familiar building.
“We’re here.”
“Time to buy your Poké Balls.”
“Lit!”
“Dus!”
The building looked almost identical to the Pokémon Marts from the games.
A giant blue Poké Ball logo hung above the entrance.
This was the only official League facility within a hundred kilometers of Mt.
Pyre.
The Pokémon League Mart.
Inside, Trainers could purchase almost everything they needed.
Poké Balls.
Pokémon food.
Training equipment.
Perfumes.
Medicine.
Healing supplies.
Because the surrounding population was so small…
There was no Pokémon Center.
No League Police Station.
And none of the League’s specialized service offices.
Everything the nearby residents needed…
Started here.