The next morning, the trio arrived early at the dock, ready to board a boat to Gorge Town.
However, instead of a boat, what greeted them was a fainting Horsea.
The poor thing was listless, barely able to stay afloat. Misty immediately sent out Starmie to rescue it, then rushed the Horsea to the Pokémon Center. Because of that, they missed the morning boat, but once Horsea had been treated and recovered its strength, none of them felt it was a waste.
After all, there would be another boat in the afternoon.
Once Horsea had fully recovered, it began babbling urgently the moment it saw Misty.
Misty frowned, clearly flustered. Though she adored Water-type Pokémon, she couldn't actually understand what they were saying.
Her eyes darted to Ash. Of the three of them, only he could understand.
But the moment Ash listened to what Horsea was saying, his expression darkened, his brows knitting into a tight frown.
"Ash, what's wrong? What did it say?" Misty asked, impatience slipping into her tone.
Ash exhaled slowly. "Horsea said that someone in this city is building a construction project out at sea. But that construction site is right on top of the Tentacool colony. They've destroyed the Tentacool's nesting grounds. If this keeps up, there'll be a full-on war between the Tentacool and the city."
"What?!" Misty's eyes widened in shock, and then blazed with fury. "Who would do something so horrible? Tentacool are so cute! How could anyone bully them like that?!"
The boys immediately inched away.
Her hair seemed to bristle like an angry Gyarados's fins. Even the air around her felt dangerous.
Ash and Brock exchanged wary glances, wiping imaginary sweat from their foreheads as they took a few cautious steps back. If they said the wrong thing now, they might become collateral damage.
'Still… Tentacool are cute?'
Ash pictured the jellyfish Pokémon's face, then shivered slightly. He liked Pokémon, sure, but he wasn't about to pretend that was adorable.
After venting for a while, Misty finally forced herself to calm down and think.
Whoever had the money to build a water amusement park over a Tentacool nest had to be powerful. But how were they supposed to deal with someone like that?
"Uh… how about we report it?" Ash suggested carefully, raising his hand like a student answering a teacher.
"Good idea! Let's report it!" Misty grabbed his hand before he could react and dragged him toward the police station.
When they arrived at the station and saw Officer Jenny, Brock's eyes immediately lit up.
Even so, he managed to restrain himself long enough to help Ash and Misty explain everything they'd learned from Horsea.
Ordinarily, Jenny wouldn't have taken such a vague report seriously. The site in question wasn't close to the resort, and confirming whether it was truly a Tentacool nest would require divers, equipment, and a lot of manpower. Without solid proof, she couldn't simply mobilize a team.
But the moment Ash showed his three Gym Badges and the Pokédex issued by Professor Oak, Jenny's attitude changed instantly. She ordered an immediate investigation.
Once again, Oak's name worked wonders.
Just like during the St. Anne incident, his reputation saved them from red tape. Without it, by the time they gathered proof, the Tentacool might already have attacked.
Under Jenny's direction, the investigation quickly confirmed the truth. The amusement-park project was indeed being built directly over the Tentacool colony.
Jenny led her officers straight to the site and confronted the developer, a woman named Granny.
At first, Granny tried to brush them off, claiming she had permits and connections. But when Jenny released her Growlithe, flashed the League's enforcement credentials, and had a dozen officers surround the site, Granny's defiance crumbled instantly.
No matter how rich she was, in this world, crossing the Jenny and Joy families was practically a death wish.
By the end of the day, Granny's water-park hotel project was completely shut down, her permits revoked, and she was slapped with a heavy fine.
Ash and his friends even received a small reward from the League for reporting the situation in time and preventing what could've been a large-scale Tentacool attack on the harbor.
It wasn't as big as their bounty from the Team Rocket case, but it was still a nice boost to their travel funds.
After the brief interlude, Misty ended up catching the Horsea.
She'd always liked Horsea, its gentle eyes and graceful fins. If that woman, Granny, hadn't enraged the Tentacool colony, Misty might have even tried to catch one of them too. But with the Tentacool still angry, catching one would be asking for trouble.
In the end, she was happy with Horsea. When Ash checked it, he found its potential surprisingly high, it seemed Misty had lucked out this time.
By the time everything settled down, it was already afternoon. The trio rushed to the dock and barely managed to catch the last boat.
The sun was already sinking when they arrived at Gorge. The small coastal town there was bustling with preparation, colorful banners fluttered, and music echoed faintly from the streets. A festival was set to begin the next day.
Since travel was routine but celebrations were rare, Ash and his friends decided to stay for two nights. The townspeople mentioned a bonfire party scheduled for tomorrow evening, and Ash, who had never attended such an event, was instantly curious.
After registering at a cozy little guesthouse, the three went into town to explore the pre-festival attractions.
Colorful stalls lined the streets, snack vendors calling out to customers, shooting games, and goldfish scooping booths lit by hanging paper lanterns. The festive air was infectious.
Ash and Misty had a blast, laughing as they tried everything. Pikachu and Ralts were equally happy, darting around between stalls.
None of them noticed, however, that one person had quietly disappeared.
"Hey… where's Brock?" Ash suddenly realized, clutching the Squirtle plush he'd just won from a shooting game.
He'd been so absorbed in playing that he hadn't noticed Brock was gone.
Misty glanced around and shrugged. "He probably wandered off on his own."
"Let's go find him anyway."
Closing his eyes, Ash focused and spread his Aura outward. He had a record of Brock's Aura signature, if Brock was anywhere within fifty miles, Ash would sense him.
And this town wasn't anywhere near that wide.
Moments later, he opened his eyes and pointed ahead. "He's that way. But… there's something else. A powerful Aura, right near him."
Misty frowned. "A powerful Aura?"
"Yeah. And I don't like how it feels." Ash's voice grew serious. He slipped the Squirtle doll into his spatial backpack, grabbed Misty's hand, and ran in the direction of the disturbance.
Misty froze for a heartbeat at the warmth of his hand, her face suddenly pink. She'd gotten used to Ash grabbing her hand during emergencies, but that didn't stop her heart from skipping every time.
Was this a good thing or a bad thing? She wasn't sure.
They ran until they reached the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea. A stone statue of a maiden stood there, her gaze turned eternally toward the waves. The wind here was strangely cold, biting through the summer air and sending a chill down their spines.
"This place… what is it?" Misty whispered. "Ash, why'd you bring me here?"
"Because Brock's here," Ash said simply.
"What? Is he crazy? There's a festival in town and he's standing around in a creepy place like this?" Misty muttered, hiding half behind Ash as the wind howled past.
Ash didn't answer. His gaze locked on the cliff edge, where Brock stood, unmoving.
And next to him was a familiar figure with blue hair.
"James… from Team Rocket?" Ash's eyes narrowed.
Misty gasped. "What?! They're here too? What are they doing here of all places?"
Before Ash could respond, the sound of running footsteps echoed from behind them.
"Hey! You little brats! What did you do to James?!" Jessie's sharp voice cut through the night.
Ash and Misty spun around to see Jessie and Meowth rushing toward them.
"Who did anything to him?!" Misty shot back. "You're the ones who always cause trouble! I should be asking what you did to Brock!"
"Tch, James! Snap out of it!" Jessie barked, ignoring Misty.
At her shout, James, who had been staring blankly over the cliff, turned his head slightly. His eyes were dull and lifeless. His lips trembled as if trying to form words;
Save me.
Ash's stomach dropped.
"Pikachu!" he barked. "Thunderbolt, aim over there!"
"Pika? Pika..chu!!"
Although Pikachu was confused, it didn't hesitate. Electricity crackled over its body, then burst outward in a blazing flash.
Golden lightning ripped through the dark sky, illuminating the cliffside like daylight. Thunder roared, but the bolt stopped midair, blocked by something unseen!
A ripple of force spread through the air, dispersing the light.
On the cliff edge, the dazed Brock and James suddenly snapped awake. They stumbled backward, cold sweat on their faces and terror still lingering in their eyes.
Just moments ago, their minds had been clear, yet their bodies moved on their own, drawn step by step toward the cliff as if by invisible strings. They could feel their souls being tugged free.
And just before losing all control, they'd seen it, a translucent maiden's spirit, drifting in the air before them.
She was beautiful. Too beautiful. The kind of beauty that made their hearts and minds freeze completely. If Ash and Jessie had arrived a few seconds later, both of them would've taken that fatal step off the cliff.
Now that the spell had broken, they scrambled back to the safety of their respective groups, Brock with Ash and Misty, and James with Jessie and Meowth.
Misty looked past them, toward where Pikachu's Thunderbolt had struck. A chill ran down her spine.
From the darkness, faint purple mist began to gather.
The haze thickened, swirling into shape, purplish-black gas coiling like smoke, faintly glowing in the night, its eyes gleaming like twin embers.
A Ghost-type Pokémon.
"Gastly…" Ash muttered.
The culprit that had hypnotized Brock and James. And now that he could sense it clearly, he realized, this was the powerful Aura he'd felt earlier.
In Ash's mind, his Aura sight filled with information:
Species: Gastly
Type: Ghost / Poison
Gender: Male
Level: Elite Four (High)
Ability: Levitate
Moves: Confuse Ray, Lick, Hypnosis, Grudge, Curse, Hex… (Hundreds more detected)
Stats:
HP – S
Attack – B
Defense – B
Special Attack – A
Special Defense – B
Speed – A
Ash's eyes widened.
An Elite-Four-level Gastly? With every stat at max potential? That shouldn't even be possible for a wild Pokémon!
What was going on with this Gastly? Was it really wild… or was someone controlling it?
And why had it targeted Brock and James?
Before Ash could piece together an answer, a voice echoed across the cliff, smooth, almost amused.
"Well, well. I didn't expect this. Today's youth truly are remarkable."
"In this remote corner of the world, I've stumbled upon a human who can wield Aura… and such a powerful Aura at that."
Everyone froze.
The voice came from the sky, from the Gastly itself.
Its glowing eyes narrowed as it spoke again, in perfect human language.