"So? If you enjoyed that story, then not far ahead there's a village—you could visit the legendary Maiden Rock."Gastly chuckled mischievously as it spoke.
"I'll make the trip if I get the chance. But, Gastly, compared to the Maiden Rock, I'm far more interested in you. Would you consider traveling with me?" Yozora asked, extending the invitation.
"No, I cannot."
Gastly shook its head, still smiling. "I'm afraid not. I already have a duty to fulfill. I don't have the time to simply roam the world at leisure…"
"Duty? What do you mean by that?" Yozora pressed.
Back in his previous life, as a die-hard fan who had watched every episode of the anime and beaten every game, Yozora had read more than a few Pokémon fanfics. In those stories, "duty" was always portrayed as something lofty and mysterious. Yet to the very end, Yozora never truly understood what it really meant.
"The so-called duty… is actually a mission."
"And a mission means doing what you're meant to do, willingly and without hesitation."
"Every person has a mission, but ordinary people aren't aware of it. Only when one reaches a certain level of maturity or understanding does one naturally begin to carry out their mission."Gastly's voice was soft, almost warm.
Yozora's heart trembled at the words.
So, duty was a mission. And a mission was willingly carrying out one's responsibility. If it was unwilling, forced, or resentful, then it was no mission at all.
It was a truth that carried the same weight as the saying: with great power comes great responsibility.
Yozora could faintly grasp the meaning, but he also understood well that he was still far from reaching such a transcendent state.
Right now, his heart was consumed with a single goal: to become the world's greatest Pokémon Trainer. He had little room in his mind for such lofty ideals.
But maybe…
Yozora guessed that one day—when he truly stood as World Champion—perhaps then he would discover his own mission.
"So, Gastly, what about you? What is your mission—your duty?" Yozora asked again.
This Gastly was no ordinary Pokémon. It was a being of godlike strength, yet approachable and willing to converse. Such an opportunity was rare, and Yozora wasn't about to waste it.
"Me?"
Gastly paused, then conjured a ghostly human hand, stroking its chin in mock contemplation. "My duty is to spread certain stories throughout the human world—tales of sorrow, beauty, or warning."
Gastly continued, "It may seem meaningless, a thankless task. But if neither you nor I nor anyone else does it, then someday… humans will lose their history."
Once again, Yozora's heart quivered. Gastly's words deepened his understanding even further.
"Everyone has their own mission, strange and varied as they may be."
"When I was younger, I traveled the world and met a peculiar fellow named Darkrai. It plagued people with nightmares, making them break into cold sweats in their sleep. At first, I thought it was twisted, cruel, and utterly pointless…"
"But one day, I realized—those who suffered those nightmares began reflecting deeply upon themselves. And in that moment, I respected it."
Hearing this, Yozora too felt a surge of respect for Darkrai.
Of course, he knew that the Darkrai Gastly had once encountered was no ordinary Darkrai. It was surely one of godlike stature, far beyond the common ones.
For although Darkrai was a Mythical Pokémon, there wasn't only one in existence.
Some Darkrai merely used their nightmare powers to frighten humans for mischief's sake. But others—more mature and wise—used nightmares to warn, to awaken, to guide.
Just like humans—some were good, some were bad, some childish, others profound. Even Legendary Pokémon were not exempt from such divides.
That night, Yozora conversed with Gastly until dawn, deepening his perspective of the world.
When morning came, Gastly quietly drifted away. Who knew when they might meet again?
A week later, while camping, dawn had barely broken when Ponyta neighed sharply.
Yozora and Jun rushed over and saw that the Pokémon Egg at last began to glow—the telltale sign of hatching.
"Brother Yozora, this is a Magikarp egg! It should hatch better in the water!" Jun suggested eagerly.
"Mm, good idea."
Yozora smiled, patting her head, before carefully lifting the egg from Ponyta's warmth. He carried it to the riverside and gently placed it upon the water.
The egg floated on the surface, glowing and flashing with a mystical radiance.
Even Psyduck and Machop, startled awake, came running to the riverbank, eyes wide with excitement as they watched the miracle unfold.
Half a minute later, the egg burst into a dazzling light, so bright that Yozora, Jun, Psyduck, and Machop all squinted, shielding their eyes.
When the light faded, the egg was gone—replaced by a palm-sized, adorably clumsy Magikarp.
But this was no ordinary Magikarp. Its scales gleamed a radiant, metallic gold.
"Wah! A golden Magikarp! That's so rare! I've only ever seen red ones before—never this color!" Jun exclaimed, eyes wide with wonder.
Even Yozora was stunned.
He hadn't expected that such a casual hatching would produce a Shiny Pokémon…
Wasn't this luck a little too outrageous?
"But maybe… it's precisely because it's Shiny that it carries the potential of an Elite Four-level Pokémon!" Yozora's heart raced.
He remembered that Captain Edson's Gyarados was only at Commander strength, with Lord-tier potential.
In Yozora's view, a Pokémon's offspring had little to do with inherited potential—it was mainly determined by strength.
So, for a Commander-tier Pokémon to produce an Elite-tier descendant… wasn't that the definition of ancestral blessings?
"In other words, it's not just inherited. This little one is a born prodigy!" Yozora smiled inwardly, pulling up the system to check its stats.
Worth noting, even Pokémon Eggs could be captured. Long before it hatched, Yozora had already secured it in a Research Ball.
[Pokémon]: Magikarp
[Type]: Water
[Ability 1]: Rattled (Speed rises when startled)
[Ability 2]: None
[Ability 3]: None
[Level]: Infant—unable to battle
[Potential]: Elite Four-tier
[Moves]: Splash, Tackle, Bounce, Hydro Pump
[Description]: A gifted Magikarp, born with powerful genes and inherited moves.
(End of Chapter)