"Pika pika Pikachu!"
"Piplup piplup Piplup!"
"Pika pika!"
"Piplup piplup!"
"Pi…?"
Today, Pikachu and Piplup were walking ahead of the trio. As they strolled along, the two little guys were singing together.
And surprisingly, their performance had rhythm!
Especially with Pikachu singing a line and Piplup following up with another, all while swinging their arms and legs side to side in rhythm as they walked—this was the legendary seawalk strut in action.
But as their duet carried on, Piplup's stomach suddenly let out a loud growl...
That instantly turned Piplup's face beet red.
"Ahaha? What's this? I thought you and Pikachu were full of energy, singing like that. Turns out you were just hungry all along!" Dawn gave her partner a helpless look.
"Haha, being hungry is a good thing! There's a stream up ahead—we can take a break there and get lunch ready!" Ash pointed to a nearby brook, and the girls nodded in agreement.
Soon, they got busy preparing lunch.
As always, mealtime was full of laughter and noise.
After eating, Ash glanced toward a certain direction.
Those three—Team Rocket—had been awfully quiet for a while. He didn't expect them to finally catch up around now.
That's right. Jessie, James, and Meowth were lurking not far from them, sneaking about as usual.
Ash didn't bother with them. Honestly, having those three pop out every now and then during the journey made things more fun.
"Alright, let's move out!"
Fed, rested, and ready, the group resumed their journey.
Elsewhere...
"There's a Pokémon Summer Academy at Professor Rowan's research facility on Mt. Coronet. Jessie, are you really planning to attend that?" James asked skeptically, not seeing the point.
"Of course! If we don't keep learning, how are we supposed to grow stronger? I don't care if it's Professor Rowan or Professor Pineapple—if they're hosting a lecture, we might as well go learn something! We keep losing every time—we clearly need to improve our skills!"
"Woboo!"
Wobbuffet popped out to salute in agreement with Jessie's declaration.
"Well, when you put it that way... Meowth and I could pick up some part-time jobs nearby and earn a bit of pocket change…"
James lit up with excitement, forgetting that he was actually the heir to a world-class fortune. If his parents knew he was thrilled about earning spare change from odd jobs, who knows what they'd think?
The trio made up their minds and rushed off at full speed—intent on reaching the lecture area before Ash and the others, assuming they were heading there too.
Evening.
"Well, well, I didn't expect you all to come. Especially you, Ash. I'm currently holding a Pokémon lecture in this Summer Academy mainly for new or aspiring Trainers. If you're interested, maybe you could even give them a few tips."
That was Professor Rowan.
Indeed, the group had run into the professor by chance as they were traveling.
And he had promptly invited them to join the event.
"Oh, and Dawn," he continued, "maybe you can share your experience with Pokémon Contests. Help the younger ones understand what it really takes to achieve success as a Trainer."
Dawn blushed slightly.
She was still learning herself, after all.
"Professor Rowan, how far along is the lecture now?" Ash suddenly asked.
In the original timeline, this very lecture coincided with the appearance of the gateway to the Ghost World (World of Spirits).
Ash was intrigued—did the Ghost World really exist?
While he agreed to help Professor Rowan, he also quietly pulled Dawn and Anabel aside.
"Gengar, scan the area. See if you sense any unusual energy. Darkrai, I'll be counting on you to come with us."
If the Spirit World really was involved…
Ash couldn't afford to be careless.
Any mishap here could lead to disaster.
But with a Dark-type Pokémon like Darkrai by their side, they should be fully prepared.
As they moved, Ash explained the legend of the Ghost World to Dawn and Anabel.
Both girls immediately got the creeps...
"Uhh… Ash? Maybe we should just not go looking for trouble? This is giving me major bad vibes…" Dawn muttered.
"I'm with her," Anabel said. "But with Darkrai here… maybe it's safe if we just watch from a distance…"
The chill creeping down their spines was real.
Especially with evening already falling and the surrounding forest growing dark and eerie.
"Piplup piplup…"
Piplup scoffed at Dawn's skittish reaction, clearly not buying into the ghost stories.
Which only made Dawn grind her teeth in frustration.
"Don't worry," Ash reassured them. "We're just taking a quick look. And we've got Darkrai with us."
He patted the this mythical Pokémon's shoulder.
"Hmm… I can feel it. In the direction Gengar went earlier—there's definitely some kind of unusual power there," Darkrai said, turning to gaze toward the mountain peak.
Ash made his decision.
They would follow Darkrai up the mountain.
—
At the summit...
A young Trainer stood there.
It was Conway—yes, the same Conway who had once competed alongside Dawn in the Hearthome City Tag Battle Competition.
He had joined the Pokémon lecture hosted by Professor Rowan.
But now… something was very wrong with him.
"Heeheehee… come on… come… come play with me…"
Standing in front of Conway was a young girl with short hair and an eerie, pale complexion.
Her sandals scraped the ground as she moved. Though her hair was short, it was enough to cast a shadow over her eyes, completely hiding them.
Her voice was chilling, the kind of thing that would make most people's skin crawl.
But Conway didn't seem to notice anything wrong.
His eyes were glassy and vacant, as though his mind had been clouded by something sinister and unclean.
The ghost girl kept walking, leading Conway step by step.
Ahead of them was a cliff.
But the girl didn't stop.
"Come on… come play with me… heehee…"
Her bare feet moved forward—
And she walked right off the cliff.
Suspended in midair, as if standing on nothing.
Conway followed her.
One foot stepped into the void.
He was just about to fall—
When a dark hand grabbed him!
Pulling him back from the edge of death!
It was a Dusknoir!
"Hwoooaah!!"
The Dusknoir held Conway with one arm while glaring fiercely at the girl, letting out a thunderous growl.
The ghost girl trembled at the sight of the Ghost Pokémon.
And then… her body began to float.
Light as air, she slowly vanished into the darkness...
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T/N:
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