Night fell, blanketing Maiden’s Peak in shadows. This was the environment Ghost-type Pokémon loved most, and the perfect time for the Millennium Gastly to cause mischief.

“Brother, where are you going so late?” Ash asked, seeing Red about to leave the Pokémon Center.

“It’s children’s bedtime now. Don’t interfere too much with adult activities,” Red said, poking Ash’s forehead with two fingers and urging him to go to bed.

“What do you mean? You were only born a few minutes before me…” Ash mumbled as Red walked away.

Red arrived at the Maiden’s Shrine alone. After quietly enjoying the night sea breeze, he calmly looked at the stone statue of the Maiden. “Since you know I’m coming, why bother with the theatrics?”

On his way here, Red had encountered a series of strange occurrences. A skull would appear out of nowhere above his head; withered trees in the forest would transform into terrifying tree spirits. But none of it scared Red, because he knew it was just an illusion created by the Millennium Gastly.

“Hahaha, it can’t be helped that I’ve been discovered!” the Millennium Gastly emerged from the Maiden Rock statue. “Sometimes I’m the legendary Maiden’s Ghost, sometimes I’m a mysterious fortune teller, and then sometimes, I’m a yellow-faced, withered old woman, but my true identity is… Gastly!”

“Oh? Not only does it have a thousand years of experience, but it’s also a Shiny Pokémon,” Red said in surprise. He hadn’t clearly observed it before, but now, up close, he found that the Millennium Gastly was actually a light purple—the mark of a Shiny.

“I’m very curious how you found me. I didn’t feel you use Psychic,” the Millennium Gastly asked, confused as to how it was discovered.

“My Pokédex has been constantly alerting me to Pokémon sightings,” Red said lightly, taking out the device and scanning the ancient ghost. “Gastly, a Gas Pokémon. It is almost impossible to see. If unknowingly surrounded by Koffing, it will lose consciousness.”

“So what is your purpose in coming here alone? I don’t think you’re so leisurely that you’d specifically come to expose the truth about the Maiden’s Ghost to everyone,” the Millennium Gastly said warily, cautiously retreating a few meters.

Red didn’t speak. He looked up at the Gastly’s position and threw a Poké Ball he had at the ready.

As the white light dissipated, the massive body of the Blood-Red Gyarados appeared. It let out a fierce roar, and the Millennium Gastly was subjected to Intimidate, weakening its own attack power.

“Do you think sending out a mutated Gyarados can defeat me? That’s ridiculous!” the Millennium Gastly scoffed. Under the confused gazes of Red and the Gyarados, it turned into a puff of smoke, then transformed into a black and red Gyarados twice the size of Red’s own. “How about it? Are you scared?” it said smugly, completely oblivious to the disdain in their eyes.

“If you only have such an unsightly illusion, then I’ll have to reconsider whether to catch you,” Red said, shaking his head. The Gastly’s Hypnosis could only scare ordinary Pokémon.

BANG!

The Blood-Red Gyarados used Aqua Tail to send the illusion flying into a tree stump, reverting it to its original form.

“Damn it, you’re forcing my hand!” the Millennium Gastly raged, its eyes emitting a Confuse Ray.

“Use Bite,” Red commanded.

The Blood-Red Gyarados let out a roar, its skin shifting from pale yellow to jet black. Its aura changed as it transformed into its ‘Evil Dragon Form’.

“How is this possible?! This hateful aura?” the Millennium Gastly exclaimed in horror, detecting the Dark-type energy, which countered its own.

“Bite!”

Red paid no mind to the Gastly’s terrified gaze. Opening its gaping maw, a dark aura enveloped the Gyarados’s mouth, and it fiercely bit down on the unprepared ghost.

“Damn it!” Unwilling to be defeated so easily, the Gastly used Shadow Sneak, hitting the Gyarados’s eyes. This only served to trigger its Outrage. The Gyarados’s eyes turned red, and it increased the force of its attack.

“Please stop! Mr. Gastly has been doing this to help me!”

The real spirit of the Maiden emerged from the stone statue, her pleading gaze directed at the indifferent Red.

“An earthbound spirit? I didn’t expect it to be so pure already,” Red said cautiously. An earthbound spirit is a soul that, having not fulfilled its wish during life, is unwilling to move on and clings to the human world, confined to a certain area.

“I mean you no harm!” the Maiden’s Ghost said in a panic, seeing Red release his Dragon Scale Charizard. She quickly stated her intention was only to beg Red to spare the Millennium Gastly.

‘What? Can’t even beat such a small fry?’ Charizard looked at the Gyarados in confusion.

‘How is that possible!’ the Gyarados retorted disdainfully, knocking the Millennium Gastly to the ground with a Dark Pulse. ‘This is just the master’s plan to make this earthbound spirit appear!’

“What? Your plan from the beginning was…?!” As a Pokémon, the Millennium Gastly understood their language. Hearing that Red’s target was the Maiden’s Ghost, it stubbornly floated in front of her, attempting to block any attack.

“Haven’t you noticed that you’ve been doing evil?” Red said coldly. “This spirit was almost able to move on, but every time, due to your interference in the festival, some travelers became aware of the Maiden’s Ghost’s existence. This has caused her soul, which should have dissipated, to thicken once again!”

Red never understood what the Maiden’s Ghost was clinging to. Even if she waited for her beloved’s reincarnation, what then? He would have a new life of his own. For her to appear would only interfere.

“But she’s always been so persistent…” the Millennium Gastly tried to explain.

‘Shut up!’ the Gyarados roared, the force of its voice almost causing the Maiden’s soul to dissipate. ‘Now, listen to my master speak!’

“You can see that her soul won’t last much longer. If it weren’t for your annual offerings of attention, she would have vanished long ago,” Red said disdainfully. “If she could reincarnate sooner, she might meet her beloved from her previous life at some point. You are merely interfering with her original destiny.”

The Millennium Gastly was still arguing, but the Maiden’s Ghost stepped forward to stop it. She turned to Red. “Powerful young man, I understand what you are saying, but my soul has lingered in the human world for so long it has already lost the chance for reincarnation. I just want to witness the arrival of my beloved’s reincarnation so that I can let go of my obsession!”

“That’s hard to say,” Red said lightly. An astonishing power—a fusion of his Inner Focus, Aura, and the Power of Viridian—erupted from his body. The resulting life force stunned the Millennium Gastly.

‘Nothing can stump my master!’ Charizard thought, looking at Red with determined eyes. It had sworn to always follow him and help him become the most powerful trainer in the world.

“Ho-Oh has the ability to revive the deceased. I believe this Rainbow Wing can help you,” Red said, taking the feather Ho-Oh had given him from his pocket. He believed its life force could help the Maiden’s Ghost reincarnate.

“If it’s Ho-Oh’s power, it might actually succeed!” the Millennium Gastly said excitedly. It had witnessed Ho-Oh reviving the Legendary Beasts.

The Maiden’s Ghost was still struggling. “You can give up now,” the Gastly said softly. “I believe that by fate’s arrangement, you will meet again in the future.” This was a rare opportunity, and it didn’t want the Maiden to miss it.

“Thank you, Mr. Gastly.” After a complex internal struggle, the Maiden’s Ghost realized she should let go. She believed Red’s words; a young man recognized by Ho-Oh must have a special destiny. She hoped his good fortune would help her meet her beloved in a new life.

Finally, under the witness of Red and his three Pokémon, the Maiden’s Ghost emitted a golden light and slowly ascended, her soul finally free.

***

(End of Chapter)

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