There seems to be something wrong with these Pokémon

In the dark corridor, there was the sound of scattered footsteps.

The silver-gray-haired boy poked his head out from the end of the corridor, looking confused.

With one hand he held the flashlight that no longer emitted light, and with the other hand he repeatedly rubbed the brooch on his chest, calling out something in a low voice.

"Ditto, Ditto..."

However, the glittering jewel brooch still did not give any response, like a real dead object.

All the Poké Balls carried around the waist also became toys, and no matter how hard they were pressed, the Pokémon would not be released.

Even the pocket watch given by the Kato couple seemed to be stuck and the hour hand stopped.

Sakura and Izumi were nowhere to be seen, and it seemed that he was the only one left in the tower. He could only hear his own echo when he called out loudly.

All I could see was endless darkness, and every time I lifted my feet and put them down, a sound echoed in my ears.

But the strange thing is that in this atmosphere that should have been terrifying, Shuoya Ye did not feel the slightest bit of fear.

Maybe it was because the atmosphere of life here was too rich, maybe it was because the sharp sight that was always on the back had disappeared, or maybe it was the excitement of getting the truth.

Yes, at this moment Shuo Gu Ye was walking in the circular corridor on the second floor, and not far in front of him was the staircase leading to the first floor.

As they had discussed before, the murals on the sixth to second floors all narrate funeral stories from Gastly's perspective, which is less sad.

Whether it was Gastly who was laughing heartily, or the spirit whose fear was gradually fading away, they seemed to have let go of everything they cherished in their lifetime, and just smiled as they watched the younger generations worry about their deaths.

Squeak, squeak——

The old staircase still made noises, and just turning the corner would bring you to the first floor.

Shuo Gu Ye couldn't help but hold his breath and walked down step by step.

Suddenly, his body trembled violently, his pupils dilated unconsciously, and he stopped.

"bright...?!"

----

In a small wooden house, a handsome young man had his eyes closed and his soft hair sunk into the sunken sofa.

There are dim but still bright old electric lights here, and even modern products such as dining tables and televisions.

Although the TV is an older, larger type, this small room is small but fully equipped.

On the hardwood bed on the other side, two purple Pokémon were staring at each other, motionless.

Among them, Ditto was the first to give up, and blinked his tiny eyes to moisten his dry eyeballs. But Gengar, who was sitting opposite him, jumped up as if he had won an incredible game victory, and somersaulted several times in the air, his scarlet eyes full of joy.

However, Ditto seemed very dissatisfied with the result. He pouted and sat down again, patting the hard bed to signal Gengar to continue the game and not to be happy too soon.

Gengar didn't care about Ditto's almost cheating behavior at all, and landed happily as Ditto wished, and stared at Ditto with his red eyes wide open again.

Ditto was not to be outdone. It faced Gengar with its small, beady eyes without blinking, determined to decide the outcome of this round.

Just when Ditto was about to avenge himself, the trainer who was kidnapped by Gengar and sat beside him and slept for a long time finally began to mutter.

So Ditto ignored the provocative look of Gengar who had won again, and ran to the trainer's shoulder, staring at him eagerly, waiting for the trainer to wake up completely.

Gengar, who had consolidated his undefeated myth, was still happily somersaulting in the air, not noticing the boy's suddenly opened eyes or Ditto's surprised cry.

----

so many people.

Yes, the entire first floor was packed with people.

Although they were wearing clothes from different eras, they turned around almost at the same time and smiled gently when Xiao Ye stepped here.

The bright chandeliers dispelled the darkness, and the people crowded here were all laughing, joking, and chatting.

If Xiao Ye hadn't passed through one of them's body without any hindrance, he would probably have thought that everyone here was alive.

All the spirits seemed to just greet the newcomer symbolically and then paid no more attention to him, still busy with their own affairs.

But if you look closely, you can find that the movements of most spirits are always repeated at a few key points, just like a program code that is set up with a loop.

So Shuoya Ye walked through the crowded crowd, bumped into the man with a plate in his hand and passed through his body.

The man who was penetrated dissipated for a moment like a bubble that was poked, and then condensed again. He did not show any anger or offense, but looked back with curiosity at the boy who was walking freely.

Shuo Gu Ye's eyes were confused. The area of ​​the first floor he saw seemed to have been expanded hundreds of times. Even though he had been walking for dozens of minutes, he still hadn't reached the end.

He could only rely on his original vague memory to find the location of the mural, but saw a woman blocking the way, also staring at the mural in silence.

"Geng Gui, I've made up my mind."

Although the woman did not open her mouth, her voice entered his mind.

At the same time, the shadow of a Gengar appeared above the woman's head, curiously pulling her long hair and playing with it wantonly.

The woman didn't seem to care about the playful Gengar and continued talking to herself.

"Tomorrow will be the seventh day since my death. I hope you can tell him. Don't wait for me to come home. Just assume that Evely has changed her mind and left with another man, escaping from this cramped town."

The hair that Geng Gui was pulling suddenly fell down, covering the woman's drooping face.

"Yes, but I can only have his past."

Evely's heart was filled with bitterness. She wanted to cry, she wanted to shed tears, she wanted to vent the love and grievances in her heart.

But ghosts have no tears, and her voice is therefore cold and scary.

"It just so happens that I had a big fight with him not long ago because of this matter. A woman who is angry can do anything. It is not uncommon for her to cheat on her husband, right?"

A purple mass suddenly squeezed into Evely's sight. It was saying something helplessly, as if trying to persuade the woman to change her mind.

"Geng Gui, thank you for still being willing to help me and help the townspeople of Lavender Town to fulfill our unfulfilled wishes." Evely shook her head gently and hugged Gengar, whose eyes drooped sadly, in her arms.

"I always heard my grandmother say that death is not scary, because Ziyuan Town is a magical place. On the seventh day after a person's death, her relatives can always see her return to their side, whether in the rice fields, on the streets, or in the houses. The deceased will always find the people they care about most as promised and say their final, formal goodbye to them."

"I now understand that the so-called resurrection of the dead is just a bunch of ghost-type Pokémon like you imitating the faces of ghosts through the wishes of ghosts, communicating with relatives in dreams, and satisfying the last wishes of both parties."

"You've persisted for hundreds of years. Are you tired?"

Gengar threw himself into the woman's arms and shook his head heavily.

"Haha, there's no need to hide anything from me. After all, I can't tell anyone in my current form. Let's just be honest with each other."

"You have devoted yourself to humanity for hundreds of years, but humans have not appreciated your kindness. For a little visible benefit, they have abandoned your living environment, spread rumors that the tower is haunted, cut off all stories about you, and even deliberately ignored the festival that was created to commemorate your dedication."

"How stupid! If it were me, I would definitely ignore this group of greedy humans, or I would directly tell them all my achievements over the years in their dreams and make them regret and reflect."

[No, this is the rule set by our ancestors.]

This strange voice suddenly rushed into Shuoya Ye's ears, causing his head to explode.

Gengar...can talk?!

Although he had seen talking Pokémon before, such as the Meowth from Team Rocket, which was a good example.

But every time he saw a Pokémon break through the shackles of language and speak a language unique to humans, he would still be shocked.

[Although humans have violated the traditions and rules set by their ancestors, we cannot forget our roots.] Gengar raised his head, poked the woman's face and said, [Humans have helped us a lot in the past. Not only did they build a home for us, they also cared about our food and drink from time to time, and even took us out to play during festivals. We will never forget these favors.]

"But humans have forgotten." The more Evely listened, the more she wanted to cry. She couldn't help but curse in her heart those mayors who deliberately concealed the contributions of these Pokémon.

Even the other souls around showed expressions of shame and anger, feeling sorry for these kind ghost-type Pokémon.

They have also received help from ghost-type Pokémon within seven days of their death, allowing them to convey their final thoughts to their loved ones.

But now they can only watch as the humans outside gradually forget about these ghost-type Pokémon, and are unwilling to even do the most basic face-saving work, leaving this ancient tower to fall into disrepair.

[Food will not last forever, and festivals have disappeared, but we still have the "home" built for us by humans.] Gengar left the woman's arms lightly, floating in the air and circling around the huge floor again and again, [This tower is a symbol of the bond between human ancestors and our ancestors, and it will never disappear.]

----

"Geng Gui..."

As soon as Shuoya Ye opened his eyes, he saw the purple Pokémon flying in the air and couldn't help but say, "How stupid."

Gengar, who was happily flying, suddenly stopped, looked back at the boy with eyes wide open in disbelief, his big eyes full of confusion.

Gengar: Are you okay? You wake up and start scolding Pokémon?!

Ditto, who was almost in front of the trainer but was still ignored, frowned in dissatisfaction and felt sour in his heart.

I was so close to you, but the first thing you saw was another cutie!

It was not until this time that Sakuya Ye, who saw Ditto turning his head angrily, finally came to his senses and looked around.

This was not the first floor lobby where he had just been.

So just now...was it a dream?

He tilted his head slightly and rubbed Ditto's cheek, looking at Gengar, who had his eyes raised high and looked like he was about to explode with anger.

So, this Gengar is not the same Gengar as before.

He recognized the wrong Pokémon.