Chapter 807: Energy Imbalance, Revisiting an Old Place
The aquarium was empty and eerie.
In the past, there used to be quite a few marine creatures and Pokémon here, but now, naturally, there was nothing.
Looking at the dim hallway.
Skitty completely lost her mood to play; she was frightened half to death and hurriedly urged everyone to run away.
Continuing on their journey.
Heading northeast.
Their purpose for coming to the Kalos region was to find Team Flare and AZ.
The exact location was uncertain, but Team Flare's base was under the Prism Tower in Lumiose City, the center of the Kalos region. This piece of information was confirmed.
Therefore.
They only needed to head to Lumiose City.
Once there, relying on their perception abilities, finding Team Flare's location wouldn't be difficult.
However.
Along this route.
They had to pass through another medium-to-small-sized town.
Moreover.
Kazuya discovered a very serious problem.
And that was, the ecological balance of the Kalos continent had completely collapsed!
The corrupted Zygarde no longer maintained Kalos's balance, and it was unknown what Xerneas and Yveltal were up to.
Therefore.
Dark vines, the physical manifestation of negative energy, had spread across almost the entire Kalos land.
Furthermore.
These negative energy vines couldn't be seen by just anyone.
In the anime, Zygarde mentioned that only Ash's Greninja, who was just like It, could see the vines formed by this negative energy.
And because of that.
Zygarde sought Greninja's help, recruiting him to be a lumberjack.
The situation was the same for Kazuya's group of seven Pokémon.
Currently, only Kazuya alone could clearly see those dark vines writhing wildly like tentacles.
Lucario and Mewtwo could sense them slightly, but not clearly, and they couldn't see any vines at all.
Regarding this matter.
Kazuya had no solution.
So he could only force himself to temporarily ignore these dark vines.
A month later.
Camphrier Town.
"Feeling nostalgic?"
Setting foot here again, Kazuya turned to look at Cofagrigus beside him.
Compared to him.
Cofagrigus's feelings were definitely much more complex.
After all, he and Nia were once trapped here for twenty years.
This was the place where Nia "died" twice.
"Did Kazuya and Cofagrigus meet here?"
Skitty looked at the two Pokémon curiously, then turned to look at the castle on the hill in the distance. "Is that the legendary haunted castle?"
She had heard Meowscarada tell the story of Camphrier Town.
So she was the only one present, besides Kazuya and Cofagrigus, who knew the story.
"The haunting was an incident from over three hundred years ago,"
Kazuya said with a light chuckle.
"Was it really haunted?"
Dragonite opened her mouth in surprise, glancing at Shabboneau Castle with some fear.
She thought Skitty was just joking.
"Let's go, to Shabboneau Castle. No problem, right, Cofagrigus? Revisiting an old place, you definitely wouldn't want to miss that spot."
Kazuya led everyone toward the ancient castle ahead.
Shabboneau Castle in League Calendar Year 237.
This place had become a tourist attraction in Camphrier Town. After a round of renovations, at least on the outside, it looked luxurious and grand. How could one find any trace of the haunted ancient castle it once was?
"Mm."
Cofagrigus nodded, staring blankly at a certain window on the top floor of Shabboneau Castle for a while.
Entering the ancient castle.
The interior was actually quite clean.
It seemed the mayor of Camphrier Town had sent people to clean the environment inside.
However, those broken fences, shattered holes, and half-open doors remained unrepaired.
"It has a bit of a haunted house vibe now."
A look of interest appeared in Scizor's eyes as he scanned those dark corners.
"It really is a 'haunted' house."
Lucario twitched his ears.
He raised a hand, an Aura Sphere already forming on his palm.
Right at this moment.
Several pairs of crimson eyes emerged from the dark corners.
"Hiss——!!"
Skitty was so scared her fur stood on end, and she turned and lunged straight into Kazuya's arms.
Dragonite, who was already somewhat immersed in the eerie atmosphere, was startled by the sudden sound Skitty made. Flapping her two small wings, she stumbled and hid behind Kazuya.
Mm.
She couldn't hide at all.
How could Kazuya's current 1.5-meter stature hide a four-meter-tall Dragonite?
What a classic case of burying one's head in the sand.
Kazuya reached out and rubbed the kitten's head in his arms, then turned to look at Cofagrigus behind him, saying: "None of you attack. Let Cofagrigus handle this; this is his territory, after all."
His words.
Made Scizor and Lucario freeze for a moment before they took a half-step back.
"Hmph, you know me quite well."
Cofagrigus let out a snort of laughter.
Then, the four pitch-black arms on his body suddenly elongated, grabbing towards the dim corners around them.
The next moment.
The four arms pulled out four Pokémon respectively.
They were:
Gengar, Mismagius, Banette, and Sableye.
All Ghost-type Pokémon.
However.
This small Camphrier Town had already produced a fierce ghost like Cofagrigus; it was difficult for it to nourish a second great ghost.
So these four Ghost-type Pokémon, who had taken over the nest, weren't particularly strong—only at the Elite Four level. They weren't a match for Cofagrigus at all.
"These magical beasts actually know how to form an alliance."
Dragonite observed the Ghost-type Pokémon while hiding behind Kazuya.
She noticed.
Between those four Ghost-type Pokémon.
They actually coordinated in battle, clearly possessing some thinking ability.
"This situation often occurs with Psychic-type and Ghost-type Pokémon. The groups that band together in the wild are mostly composed of these two major types."
The knowledgeable Lucario spoke up, then lowered his head to analyze it himself. "The former is likely because of their strong mental power and high intelligence, so they can retain a bit of wisdom even after corruption. The latter is probably because they are more accustomed to the 'corrupted' state, so they can retain some thinking ability even when corrupted."
What he said made sense.
Psychic-type Pokémon didn't need much explanation.
Ghost-type Pokémon were mostly formed from resentment or other negative emotions. Originally, their negative emotions were very intense, so the impact of corruption on them was relatively small.
Cofagrigus didn't finish this battle quickly.
It took about three minutes.
On one hand, he had the intention of tormenting these four Pokémon a bit.
On the other hand, Cofagrigus was somewhat distracted.
"Alright, there are only these four magical beasts in the castle. Everyone can relax a bit. We'll be staying here for the next three days."
Kazuya perceived the area, then pressed his hands down and turned to look at Cofagrigus. "Is that alright with you, Cofagrigus?"
He wasn't entirely sure about Cofagrigus's feelings towards Shabboneau Castle.
So he had to ask.
To take Cofagrigus's feelings into consideration.
A trace of hesitation flashed through Cofagrigus's eyes, then he nodded.
"..."
Kazuya stared at Cofagrigus for a few seconds, then turned and led everyone upstairs.
On the way, he pointed to a hole in the ceiling and said: "If I remember correctly, this is the crater left from when we fought that Gatekeeper of the Spirit World, Dusknoir."
Hearing this, everyone.
Hurriedly asked what happened.
Listening to these stories Kazuya had personally experienced over three hundred years ago was incredibly interesting.
After all, those were legends that truly happened, not stories fabricated by human imagination.
Cofagrigus wasn't very interested in these things.
He went alone to a bedroom on the fourth floor.
Pushing open the door.
Looking at the still somewhat familiar environment inside.
Cofagrigus breathed a sigh of relief, while simultaneously letting out a sigh.
It was this small room.
That trapped him and Nia for twenty years.
Nia had once died of a severe illness in this room, and after becoming a "ghost," he had wanted to end his own existence countless times.
After all, for a teenage boy, being trapped in such a place for twenty years was simply a torture worse than death.
However.
The obsession to say a few last words to his father, to let him no longer worry.
Still kept the boy pushing forward and surviving.
Cofagrigus stood in a daze in the middle of the bedroom, staring quietly at the window ahead, as if seeing a certain young boy standing there, gazing blankly at the wonderful world outside.
"Returning here, it's quite emotional, isn't it? Thinking of Nia?"
A voice sounded from behind.
Cofagrigus turned his head and saw Kazuya walking in alone.
The other Pokémon seemed to have run off elsewhere. A haunted house exploration was still quite interesting for those children.
"You still remember his name."
Cofagrigus turned around, walked to the desk, and wiped away a shallow layer of dust.
"Mm, after all, he was an important family member to you. Remembering his name is just basic courtesy."
Kazuya pursed his lips.
"...Do you yearn for death?"
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