Upon hearing Misty's scream, Natsui and the others spun around quickly and also saw the supposed ghost.
The shape of this ghost was identical to that of the woman in the portrait. It floated in the air with a transparent, blurry body, and slid slowly until it hovered before them.
"I've missed you so much."
The soft words came from the ghost's mouth. Natsui felt nothing in particular, but Brock beside him was completely captivated by her beauty, utterly fascinated.
Brock said, enraptured, "I've missed you too…"
Looking at Natsui and Brock, the ghost whispered, "I've been waiting for your return."
In time with her voice, a strange gust of wind suddenly blew, and in the next instant Natsui's and Brock's bodies were swept up by the wind beyond their control, and they began to float toward her.
The suction was incredibly strong. Natsui instinctively reached out, trying to grab something, but there was nothing nearby to use for support. And just as he drew closer and closer, slender hands suddenly gripped him.
That person, of course, was Misty.
Seeing Natsui floating in midair, she no longer cared about being afraid of any ghost.
"Hey, you! Where do you think you're taking them?"
Misty clung tightly to one of Natsui's hands, pulling back with all her strength. Although she was just a girl and not very strong, no matter how the strange gust blew, she refused to let go.
Natsui knew that this ghost was actually a Gastly, and with Misty's help he bought a moment to react, shouting to his two Pokémon, "Charmander, use Ember! Jolteon, use Thunderbolt!"
A flash of fire and a bolt of electricity shot at the ghost almost simultaneously.
Hit by the attack, the ghost could no longer control the strange gust of wind. As it dodged, the suction vanished and Natsui and Brock inevitably fell from the air.
Misty, by instinct, stepped forward to try to catch Natsui, but ended up crushed beneath his body. As for Brock, he wasn't so lucky and crashed to the ground with a heavy thud.
Fortunately, the fall caused Brock to regain consciousness temporarily.
"What happened?" he asked, looking around in confusion. In fact, ever since he arrived at Cape Maiden, his mind had been in a haze, as if a ghost had clouded his judgment.
Meanwhile, the ghost, seeing her plans foiled, changed her tone and snarled, "You meddlesome intruders, stay out of my way!"
At her words, a group of skeletons suddenly appeared and whistled as they flew overhead.
"Ah! What is all this?" Seeing the terrifying scene, Misty couldn't help burrowing into Natsui's arms.
Natsui stood and, seeing that everyone seemed to have lost their fighting spirit, shouted, "Don't be afraid, it's only a Pokémon!"
Saying that, he pulled out his Pokédex and aimed it at the ghost.
Pokédex: "Beep. Gastly, the Gas Pokémon. Ghost/Poison type. Born from toxic gases, it's an expert in Hypnosis and loves playing pranks. It typically hides its true form and can pass through any solid object, including walls."
"Gastly?!"
Upon hearing it was just a Pokémon, Ash and Misty stared in amazement.
"Heh heh, since you've uncovered me, what can I do about it!"
The woman suddenly smiled, and her body began to change, first transforming into the old lady with the purple cloak, and finally into a black orb surrounded by purple mist.
"Sometimes I'm a beautiful legendary maiden, other times a mysterious fortune‑teller! But my true identity is… Gastly!!"
This black orb was both Gastly's body and its face, on which, aside from a pair of sharp eyes, there was only a large mouth showing two short fangs!
"So it really is a Pokémon?!" Ash exclaimed excitedly. "Awesome! Then let's battle with Pokémon! Pikachu, go!"
"Pika, pika!"
"You want to battle?" Gastly sneered mockingly. "I'm in a hurry right now—let me finish you all off in one go!"
As it spoke, a series of waves emanated from Gastly's body and headed toward the group.
Natsui recognized the move at once: "Watch out! It's Hypnosis!"
Before they could react, the beams of Hypnosis passed through them all. Immediately, they felt a heavy drowsiness wash over them, their eyelids growing heavier and heavier until they collapsed one by one.
"That was too easy," Gastly murmured to itself, looking around at the three humans and their Pokémon fast asleep. "Alright, now for the important part!"
The strange gust of wind blew again, enveloping Brock's body. But when Gastly fixed its gaze on Natsui, it suddenly spotted a flash of blue light at his waist—and a Pokémon appeared by his side.
With her green hair and maiden‑like body, it was Kirlia!
"Oh? You came out of your Poké Ball on your own. What's this? Want to help your Trainer?" Gastly said, sizing up Kirlia, then shook its head. "Too bad. You Psychic‑types are at a disadvantage against my Ghost‑type. You don't stand a chance—everything you do will be in vain!"
Kirlia knew the type matchup was against her, so she didn't plan to attack directly. Instead, she used her psychic power to open all of Natsui's Poké Balls.
In an instant, several blue lights flashed, and all the Pokémon, including Zapdos, were released.
Gastly's gaze swept over Kirlia, Zapdos, Ivysaur, and Squirtle, lingering for a long moment on the leaping Magikarp, then it laughed, "Four against one? I didn't expect this Trainer to have a Zapdos—impressive!"
Zapdos lifted its head proudly, partly out of disdain for Gastly and partly because those words struck a chord.
Gastly, perhaps intimidated by Zapdos's presence, felt the situation had become a bit complicated.
After hesitating for a moment, it said, "Forget it. Even though you're just one Trainer and my energy's a bit low, since you all protect your Trainer so fiercely, I'll leave you be and take only this one."
With that, it seized Brock and departed without looking back.
When Natsui woke up, he found himself lying on the ground. In front of him was Kirlia's worried face.
"How did you get out?" she asked.
Stroking his hair, Natsui sat up and saw Ash and Misty, along with Charmander, Jolteon, and Pikachu, sleeping soundly around him—but there was no sign of Brock.
And on the other side, he saw his other Pokémon, including Zapdos.
Even Zapdos had come out?!
Seeing this, Natsui paused for a moment and realized what had happened.
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