With the Gastly's mind made up, Vance wished it well and hoped it would come off.
The Gastly took a few lingering looks about the place, looked once more at the statue, sighed, and slowly faded from where it stood.
She was free of it; now it would go and seek its own release, and its own meaning — beginning with the strange power that had troubled it so long.
"Maiden's Peak. When Ash comes here in a few years, there's no telling what sort of interesting story will play out."
Vance said it mildly, as though turning something over, with the scene in front of him.
"Though what comes afterwards won't necessarily play out the way it did in the anime. There will be new stories."
After standing where he was a while Vance went back into the room. The people around still had no idea what had happened, and were each about their own business.
Only a few Psychic-types and Ghost-types, and Pokémon with a strong sense for such things, dimly felt something.
None of which altered the fact that Vance had gone up to Elite-Four-class.
Vance opened his hand, and a vast mass of psychic power took shape in it, giving off dreadful ripples.
"Elite-Four-class. Going hand to hand with an Elite-Four-class Pokémon isn't out of the question now, apart from my body being the weaker — though that's where humans fall short anyway."
Vance said it with a small laugh. He had one more card in his hand.
If some strong enemy came at him, beat Gyarados and the rest, and came to stand in front of him, and he let loose Elite-Four-class psychic power all at once — he wondered what the look on the man's face would be.
The Trainer stronger than his Pokémon: that combination would leave most people dazed.
Or else, while the Pokémon were hard at it, Pokémon fighting Pokémon and Trainer fighting Trainer.
A man with an ordinary body against a Psychic of Elite-Four-class strength: dead in an instant.
"Hiss-heh—"
The Haunter looked at the smile on Vance's face and shook its head. There was no knowing which poor devil was going to run into its Trainer.
Indoors, Zoroark and the Kirlia were sitting in front of the television watching a drama.
They had fallen in love with the novel thing at first sight.
The Sandslash had found itself a place to lie and was resting.
There was no telling what tomorrow would bring; it had to keep its strength up to meet it.
Slaking lay on the soft sofa with a book on "the art of war" over its face, and had been at it a long while.
Beside it was Blaziken, holding a comic it had got from somewhere and thoroughly absorbed in it.
Zweilous was at Vance's feet. Black Two was sleepy and snoring away fast asleep, while Black One watched the view outside, its eyes dark, its face grave, with no telling what was in its mind.
Gyarados and one or two others, being what they were for size, stayed in their Poké Balls and did not come out.
As for Vance breaking through to Elite-Four-class, the Pokémon took it all quite calmly.
The new members had no notion of what an Elite-Four-class Psychic was; they only knew it was very strong.
Gyarados and the others were used to it. From the very start their Trainer had been the one carrying them along, as Gyarados and Slaking knew better than anybody.
The two of them had felt it at first hand.
Their Trainer being ahead of them was something they had grown used to. Had it not always been so?
Calm as they were, they were glad of their Trainer's breakthrough, just as Vance was glad of every step forward they took.
With that, the business at Maiden's Peak was at an end for the time being. The appointment with the Gastly was a year off, which left time enough.
The next day Vance took the road again, training as he went and making for the place where the Indigo League Conference was to be held.
On the way it was chiefly the Sandslash and the others who were put through it.
.....................
With two days to go before the Conference opened, Vance reached his destination: the vast competition grounds built up on the Indigo Plateau.
A great city had risen around the grounds, and it was thick with people coming and going, Trainers pouring in by the crowd for this year's Indigo League Conference.
And people from other trades came with them.
The news trade, needing a story of the moment.
The traders, with their stock ready, meaning to sell it at the Conference and make a packet.
The young Trainers, full of fire, hoping to shine on that stage for all they were worth.
From education, from entertainment, people came in numbers.
The Conference was a great occasion for the Kanto region, and there was something in it for everybody.
Naturally Team Rocket had people there too, keeping out of sight; as to what they meant to do, that nobody knew.
"Indigo League Conference, here I come."
Travel-stained, Vance came into the city.
There was nothing strange about the state of him; passers-by even gave him admiring looks. These days Trainers like him were common enough that nobody thought twice about it.
Some went a good deal further, and there had been far wilder behaviour than his.
A shout like Vance's counted as perfectly ordinary.
People showed him goodwill and even stood aside for him; Trainers entered for the Conference were treated with a certain favour.
Taxi drivers going by would stop and ask whether he wanted a ride; during this period the rides were free.
Along the roadside there were volunteer posts to help Trainers — directions, finding people, information and the rest of it.
"Hiss-heh—"
"Ssh-ssh—"
The Haunter and the Sandslash both looked worn to a thread as they walked along beside Vance.
Heaven knew how the pair of them had got through these ten days and more. Still, it had told.
The Pokémon on the team had all come on.
The strongest of them was still Gyarados, at level 60 now; then Zweilous at 59, with Slaking close behind at 58; Aerodactyl and Blaziken at 55, Onix at 47, Zoroark at 37, Sandslash at 36, Haunter at 34, and the Kirlia at 32.
Even Vance, now an Elite-Four-class Psychic, had had those ten days and more to settle, and had made his strength firm, until he could bring out Elite-Four-class power exactly as it ought to be brought out.
Everybody was coming on. It was a thriving sight, full of vigour, and the vigour was holding.
Going by the map, Vance came to the villa he had booked. A whole quarter of the place was given over to well-appointed villas for the service of Trainers come to take part in the Conference.
There were hotels too, only they were somewhat cramped — yes, somewhat cramped. On his own it would have done well enough; add the Pokémon and it was cramped.
So Vance had used his standing as a "League-Certified Trainer" to book this villa instead.
Give the Pokémon as good a place to live as possible before the competition — that was what a great many Trainers chose to do.