[New fanfic is UP!!]
[Marvel: I Come From Dragon Ball]
The moment they got off the plane, nightmare energy attacked. Hikaru frowned slightly.
He glanced at Skyla and Shauntal—they seemed unaffected. Perhaps the nightmare energy was simply too weak here.
A thick volcanic breath filled the air. Strange-style buildings and curious music echoed in this mountain town. Immediately after landing, Hikaru spotted the distinctive volcanic pottery!
Lacunosa Town—a settlement connected to rugged mountain paths, famed for its pottery and porcelain made from volcanic clay.
Volcanic clay existed only in the game's background lore, sourced from Reversal Mountain—the mountain range known as the Revival Range. It was crafted into exquisite ceramic works that became renowned worldwide.
Though just a village, its popularity was high. Even with difficult access, many still hiked here to visit.
"Huh? Where is everyone?"
Normally, because Lacunosa Town had insufficient supplies, Skyla regularly brought in goods from outside. So whenever her plane landed, many townsfolk came to greet her.
But today, no one was there—aside from the airport staff.
"They're gone!" Skyla exclaimed, hurrying back to the plane. The staff she had seen just moments ago had suddenly vanished!
"Waaah~! A paranormal event?!" Shauntal's eyes lit with excitement. Though she had visited the Spirit World before, ordinary supernatural happenings were even more thrilling!
"Not paranormal… just collapsed."
Hikaru found the airport workers lying on the ground, as if asleep.
"Looks like something's happening in Lacunosa Town."
Once in town, Skyla saw many weary, listless people.
"Oh, Skyla," someone greeted weakly, only able to nod.
"What's going on with everyone?" Skyla asked.
"These past few days… everyone's been trapped in nightmares. None of us are sleeping well."
The townsfolk's expressions turned tense, glancing nervously in one direction.
"Nightmares? Caused by a Pokémon?" Shauntal perked up, eager to gather novel material. To think, right after landing, she stumbled upon inspiration!
Skyla already suspected, for the direction they glanced toward was the Stranger's House.
She quickly told Hikaru and Shauntal:
"Let's visit the town's most famous pottery master first—it should be that way!"
"I'll guide you!"
Skyla, well-acquainted with the townsfolk after many trips here, led them to a mud-brick house.
The homes were built from volcanic clay, with wooden sheds outside holding oak barrels for storage. Wide chimneys crowned their rooftops, some still trailing smoke. From the outside, they looked like giant furnaces.
In the anime, Ash never visited Lacunosa Town, and in the games the population was tiny. Though famed for volcanic pottery, no skill master was ever featured.
"Grandma Fū! I've come to visit!"
Skyla cheerfully waved to an old woman in front of the house, introducing her: "This is the pottery master of Lacunosa Town—Grandma Fū!"
"Hello!" Hikaru and Shauntal greeted the kindly old woman, while Skyla explained who they were.
"Visitors from outside? A craftsman and a novelist? Rare indeed!" Grandma Fū chuckled. "This is just a village—hardly material for inspiration. But if you've come for the pottery, then you've chosen the right place. Ah, but before anything else, take these."
She handed Hikaru and Shauntal two white charms.
"Huh? These are talismans?" Shauntal exclaimed. "They're brimming with Ghost-type energy!"
Hikaru smiled knowingly.
So it was this old woman!
He had thought the pottery master would be a stranger—but she was a familiar face, the same elder who handed out talismans at Pokémon Centers.
"Our pottery is infused with spirit and soul. It may sound odd, but it's an ancient tradition," Grandma Fū explained. "In Lacunosa's old history, pottery and souls were inseparable. Vessels carried life and housed spirits. Clay, water, air, and fire—all merge to create these treasures.
"That's why drawing talismanic symbols is part of our culture. Outsiders may not understand, but in battle these charms empower Ghost-type moves. Hmmm… though as a protective charm, should one wear it close? Maybe not… perhaps better not to carry at all…"
"Grandma! Don't start mumbling again!" Skyla sighed, then explained to the others: "She was once a powerful Ghost-type Trainer!"
Hikaru thought of another ghostly old woman… not only Agatha of the Elite Four, but also Phoebe's grandmother was a Ghost expert, and the Lost Tower in Sinnoh also had two elderly women at its summit.
"Are you a medium?" Hikaru asked.
"...Medium? Just a special gift," Grandma Fū said. "We are born here, live here, and die here. This mountain village is thick with ancestral spirits. You can feel it in the mountain graveyards."
Skyla grew excited. "Grandma! I must tell you something important! Back at the Celestial Tower…" She recounted her encounter with the Spirit World.
Grandma Fū was shocked, her gaze fixing on Hikaru.
"So you're a true medium?!
"When I was young, traveling beyond, I was often mistaken for one. But I never met a genuine medium. They say such people exist in distant lands… never thought I'd see one today.
"To enter the Spirit World… incredible!"
Hikaru nodded. "I was asked by a Pokémon to help guide a lost soul. One of a medium's tasks is to calm the dead and lead them to the Spirit World.
"And—I want to learn Lacunosa's pottery craft."
Grandma Fū's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Sending souls… Ah. The girl from the Stranger's House?"
She sighed. "So even mediums from afar have come… Lately, more and more people have been plagued by nightmares. No harm has been done, but whispers spread—that girl's spirit haunts us."
She began recounting:
"Long ago, it was a happy family. The girl's parents were Pokémon scholars, and she had an Abra as her companion. Together they would Teleport to the outside world.
"But one day, the girl fell into a strange nightmare. The tragedy began.
"Her parents tried Full Restores, Full Heals—but no medicine could cure her. They began studying dream-related Pokémon.
"They supposedly found a cure… but too late. The girl died first, lost forever in endless darkness. Her home became a haunted house of resentment. Her grieving parents soon died of sorrow."
"She died from a nightmare, her soul never finding peace."
"That's why I'm here," Hikaru said firmly. "Let's go at once."
"I'll come too," Grandma Fū said, setting down her tools. "She's lingered long, waiting for someone to save her. Show me, medium from afar, what you can do."
The Stranger's House stood on the town's edge. Past the grass and roads, they met bikers riding mountain paths before arriving at a solitary mud-brick building.
"I feel it… the Ghost energy is rising."
Shauntal, though no medium, was sensitive as a Ghost-type Elite Four member.
Skyla noticed something glowing—she pulled out the wooden Lunar Wing replica. It was glowing faintly!
"Is that… a Lunar Wing?!"
Grandma Fū gasped.
Skyla smiled. "Yes! Hikaru gave me this. He said it carries the same power as the real thing!"
"I didn't expect it to shine! This is the power to dispel nightmares?" She poked the glowing wing curiously.
"The house is saturated with fear and sorrow," Hikaru said. The Spirit World's echoes twisted the place into a Ghost-type haven.
"Emotions here mingle into unknown energy. But within it is a faint light—the warmth of life shielding the girl's soul, giving her rare moments of peaceful sleep."
Hikaru pushed open the door. Furniture trembled and moved on its own, heightening the haunted atmosphere.
Skyla grew quiet, nostalgic, while Shauntal grew excited.
The spookier, the better! No ghosts meant no inspiration!
Skyla sighed. "As expected of Shauntal—completely fearless."
Shauntal laughed. "This is the soul of a young girl—surely harmless if the shopkeeper has already met her!"
Hikaru scanned the room. "…But the Ghost Pokémon here don't seem too welcoming."
"Then I'll handle it."
He refrained from using light powers—those frightened Ghost-types. Instead, he unleashed his mastery as a medium!
Shu-shu-shu!
The hiding Ghost Pokémon were forced into view—Litwick, Shuppet, Banette, Gastly!
"Wah!!!"
The Ghost Pokémon were shocked.
When the human entered, the house's ghostly aura called his name!
"Stand at attention! Report!"
Hikaru's command, backed by his overwhelming spirit power, made the wild Ghost-types fall in line instantly.
"Yes, sir!"
Clap clap clap!
The wild Ghosts formed ranks like soldiers!
"…What?"
Grandma Fū gaped. These Pokémon never obeyed anyone—yet here they lined up obediently. Was an outside medium truly this powerful?!
"So the moving furniture was just them playing tricks."
Skyla tapped a sofa, relieved. But the sofa shook again, running around the room!
Skyla startled, forcing composure. "It moved again! The girl's power?"
"No, just Spirit World energy. Don't worry—no evil spirit here. Just phenomena."
Hikaru summoned the Connection Tree.
[Unova Connection (Stranger's House) established!]
[Description: The departed girl's soul slumbers here in sadness. Ghost Pokémon play here, and backpackers and psychics sometimes explore. But grief and terror condense into ghostly energy, linking it to the Spirit World. Nightmare energy lingers.]
[An abnormal space exists here—something lies hidden in the Stranger's House's back world.]
[Dispel the nightmare energy, find the source, and aid the girl's soul!]
Hidden in dream rifts? He knew this well.
He had encountered many such Pokémon—like Latios itself.
["It's the Nightmare World!"]
Deoxys sent its telepathic voice. It had once been trapped in the Nightmare World for untold years, making it most familiar with such power.
"The Nightmare World…" Hikaru recalled.
[Yes. The Nightmare World.]
The Yellow Crystal spoke:
[In Almia, the guardian of the last Crystal Shard was the Nightmare World's gatekeeper—Darkrai.]
[You might think the Nightmare World is only painful dreams, where victims never wake. But it's more. It is a separate space-time. Darkrai can drag humans and Pokémon into it, trapping them forever.]
"Downstairs is a library, full of books!"
Shauntal had found the basement. Furniture still shifted, but no longer blocked paths without Ghost interference.
Skyla inspected the upper floors. "The rooms are all ruined… how long has this place been abandoned?"
She sensed a familiar life wave—just like at Celestial Tower. As a pilot, her sharp eyes spotted a strange black mist at a doorway upstairs.
The mist blocked her way, thick and pulsing. As she neared, it surged to engulf her—only to be repelled by the Lunar Wing's glow.
"Banette, Sucker Punch!"
A ragged doll-like Pokémon appeared, slamming the mist with a surprise attack!
The mist shattered and recoiled to the door. Banette patted its chest, relieved. Wait, why did I just attack? Who ordered me?!
It looked bewildered at the human on the stairs. If I obey humans, where's my pride?
Besides, that energy was terrifying!
Still, when Skyla crouched to pat it, saying, "Thank you! You saved me," Banette blushed.
N-no big deal! it muttered, embarrassed. Nobody's ever thanked me before… is this what it feels like to be moved?
"Litwick, Illuminate!"
"Hi-no~" Litwick's flame flared brightly. But as it tried to sneakily drain life, Hikaru snapped: "Don't even think of stealing energy, or I'll seal you!"
"Eep!" Litwick panicked, dripping wax. So strict! It was just a little snack!
Hikaru tossed it a Star Carrot from the C-device. Litwick was puzzled—human food? Worthless? But… wait—!
It sensed intense life energy within. Hugging the carrot, Litwick squealed in delight. So much life! Amazing!
Happy now, it worked harder, its flame blazing bright, driving back some of the black mist.
Perhaps the tragedy here was caused by Darkrai's nightmare, solidified through a Munna or Musharna. But most Darkrai hid far away to avoid harming others, not staying to torment.
Yet stepping through this fog gate felt like facing a boss. Hikaru half-expected dramatic battle music.
His heartbeat thundered as he invoked Star Pulse. Alien-born power shielded him from the aura. Then—Sacred Breath!
The darkness, sorrow, and pain within the mist retreated like a tide.
But the Darkrai had not left.
It was the same Darkrai from the distribution event—drawn here across time and space.
And the trial wasn't over.
The fog surged back, the gate roaring wide—black abyss opening beneath their feet.
(End of Chapter)
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