The spirit world really was a mysterious place.
Gary's curiosity was piqued, so he decided to capture the Lampent at the abandoned villa.
At the Pokémon Center.
"Gary, the Gengar you requested has been teleported over."
"Got it."
Gary picked up the Poké Ball, gave it a quick wave in front of the screen, and hung up.
He had come to the Pokémon Center to hand his two injured Pokémon over to Nurse Joy for treatment. While he was there, he used the teleporter to contact Professor Oak's Laboratory and had his lively Gengar sent over.
The Litwick and Lampent in the abandoned villa didn't look particularly strong, but there was one very strange thing about that villa—it was connected to the spirit world.
The spirit world was an extraordinarily mysterious place. It had only ever appeared in events tied to the Unova and Sinnoh regions, and had never been seen anywhere else. That was exactly why Gary knew he had to approach it carefully.
Before heading out, though, Gary had something else to take care of first.
"System, redeem Toxic from the Poison-type Self-Selected Permanent Move Tutor."
Gary chose Toxic. It badly poisoned the target, and when a Pokémon used it, it almost never missed.
Best of all, nearly every Pokémon could learn it—only a small handful couldn't—and teaching it doubled as a way to raise friendship.
[Ding! Move redemption successful.]
With the move redeemed, Gary released Gengar, Eevee, and Togekiss and taught Toxic to each of them.
After that, he waited in the Pokémon Center lobby until his two injured Pokémon had recovered, then returned to his room to rest.
As dusk approached—it was nearly five o'clock—a beautiful figure suddenly appeared in the previously quiet room beside Gary.
Eevee: "Vee! (^▽^)"
The moment Eevee saw the newcomer, it bounded over excitedly. The figure caught Eevee and gently rubbed its head with her palm.
"You're here, Sabrina!" Gary looked at the girl in front of him. Every stray thought emptied out of his mind, leaving nothing but longing.
The visitor was Sabrina. They hadn't seen each other since parting at the Sevii Islands three years ago.
For this meeting, Sabrina had dressed up with special care—delicate makeup, a purple-and-pink cheongsam, black stockings. She looked stunning.
Gary stood up and walked toward her.
Sabrina simply watched him approach.
"I missed—"
Before Gary could finish, he found that his mouth wouldn't move. Sabrina had bound him with Confusion.
"No cheesy lines. Just kiss me."
The words slipped into his mind. The instant the Confusion released its hold, Gary didn't hesitate—he pulled Sabrina into his arms and kissed her deeply. Three years of pent-up longing poured out of them both at once.
"Vee!"
Eevee took one look at the scene and tactfully slipped into the bathroom to wait.
A thousand words omitted here...
The next day.
Gary woke up to find Sabrina standing in front of the mirror, tidying herself up.
He looked at her elegant figure and cool, composed face. It was hard to believe this was the same person he'd spent the night tangled up with. He'd never imagined Sabrina had a side like that.
"You're awake?"
Sabrina noticed through the mirror that Gary was up.
"Yeah. It's about time—let's go get something to eat," Gary said.
They had originally planned to have dinner last night, but one thing led to another and they ended up working hard all night, forgetting to eat entirely. Now his stomach was growling. Just thinking about food made his mouth water.
"I can't. I've been filming lately—I have to get back to set soon," Sabrina said.
"What are you shooting?"
"A new drama called The Magic Gate of Esperland," Sabrina explained.
Ever since Psychic Girl became a hit, every role Sabrina took had been tied to Psychic themes in one way or another.
"Another psychic drama, huh." Gary had more or less stopped following Sabrina's shows over the past few years. Her acting had improved, but her roles had barely changed.
"What? Do you have a problem with it?" Sabrina teleported right to Gary's side, looking like she genuinely wanted to hear his opinion.
"I don't have a problem with it. I just think your roles are too one-note—they're all psychic-related. It won't help you grow as an actress," Gary said.
Sabrina thought about it for a moment. "If not those dramas, then what—you want me to do romance dramas?"
Gary: "...!"
"Romance dramas aren't even that popular. Why not just quit acting altogether?" Gary said.
He had assumed Sabrina was only doing some light youth idol dramas, but she was a major celebrity now. Plenty of directors had probably invited her to star in romances.
For a young actress at her level of fame, offers for romance dramas were all but guaranteed.
Gary could respect acting as a career, but he couldn't accept his girlfriend starring in a romance.
"No, I genuinely enjoy acting. But don't worry—I won't take those kinds of roles," Sabrina said.
Since she'd made her position clear, Gary didn't press her to give up her career, and the two of them moved on to other topics.
After breakfast, Sabrina left.
Gary then flew toward Nimbasa City on Togekiss.
Nimbasa City sat in the middle of the Unova region. It had a huge population—the third-largest of any city in the world—and was highly developed. Unlike the tense, high-pressure working atmosphere of Castelia City, Nimbasa was known as an entertainment city, and the people who lived there were very laid-back.
Since Gary's goal was to capture Lampent, he had to follow Ash's travel route.
That meant leaving from the northern exit of Castelia City toward Nimbasa. Flying north along the route, he would eventually find the abandoned villa.
"Vee."
It didn't take long to spot the villa perched on the hill. From the outside, it looked remarkably well-kept—which Gary knew was the work of the Litwick and Lampent, who had been maintaining the disguise since they were young.
Ghost-type Pokémon were masters of illusion by nature—even Gary's own Gengar could do it. They would drape an illusion over an abandoned house to deliberately lure in Pokémon and humans, then absorb their life energy once they got close.
That was why you had to be careful around Ghost-types in the wild. Most of them fed on emotions, but Litwick and Lampent fed on life energy itself, which made them extremely dangerous.
"Togekiss, let's land," Gary said.
"Kiss!"
Togekiss touched down in front of the villa.
Gary hopped off its back, walked up to the building, and looked around. He couldn't spot any Litwick, but he was certain the Litwick and Lampent were inside—otherwise, there'd be no way for the illusion to hold.