The evening breeze swept through the dark clouds overhead, carrying fine threads of rain that trickled down from the eaves. Small puddles formed in the narrow alleyway, reflecting the gray-white night sky above.
A puff of steam accompanied by a sizzling sound drifted from a small window, adding a touch of life and warmth to the cold night.
Jinghe lived in an old residential building not far from the university—perhaps a fifteen-minute walk at most. After returning home, he had taken a brief rest before preparing himself a simple but reasonably tasty dinner.
The sofa was somewhat worn but still soft and clean, perfectly adequate for someone to sink into lazily. Wrapping himself in a blanket, he pulled over his old secondhand laptop and began browsing the internet.
While he knew Pokemon inside and out as a devoted fan, his knowledge of the Pokemon world itself was quite limited. For instance, he learned that modern Pokeballs were invented in Alliance Year 1925 by Dr. Nishino Mori from Celadon University.
A thousand years ago, a massive meteorite had struck the Hoenn region, eventually forming what was now Sootopolis City. That event also marked the first time humans in Hoenn had witnessed the legendary ancient Pokemon, Rayquaza.
More recently, just a few years back, the Greater Mauville Holdings Corporation had gone bankrupt due to the termination of the New Mauville Project. Sea Mauville was subsequently shut down, and the project's former director, Wattson, had stepped down from his Elite Four position to become the Gym Leader of Mauville City.
"Greater Mauville Holdings Corporation... I recall Dr. Solance's father, Solance Raizo, was also part of that company, wasn't he?"
Beyond this, he also researched current League policies regarding trainers—how to become a registered League trainer, what benefits that entailed, and what responsibilities came with the position.
He then looked into the prospects for researchers, including those with independent research facilities and even doctorate holders.
The summary was clear: ordinary researchers received similar treatment to regular trainers, but researchers with independent facilities and doctorate holders enjoyed benefits far beyond what typical trainers could expect.
"It's really gotten cold tonight..."
Halfway through his browsing, Jinghe felt an unusual chill in the air that seemed excessive for the season. He pulled the blanket tighter around himself.
At the same time, he suddenly felt a wave of drowsiness wash over him. After a long yawn, he set his laptop aside on the nearby table and fell asleep without even bothering to move to his bed.
Once he was asleep, the atmosphere in the room took on an eerie quality. The fluorescent ceiling light began flickering erratically with buzzing sounds. Despite the absence of any wind, the curtains by the window and the potted plants began to sway mysteriously.
Bang!
Suddenly, the light went out completely. All movement seemed to cease, returning to absolute stillness.
"Kou jie..."
Then came an abrupt voice echoing through the small room, giving it an otherworldly quality.
Countless black threads began converging from all directions, eventually coalescing into a dark, gas-like spherical mass. It possessed a pair of bulging white eyes that were mostly white space, along with a wide grinning mouth revealing two sharp fangs, all accompanied by a faint sweet fragrance.
The creature gazed sinisterly at the sleeping Jinghe on the sofa and let out a sinister chuckle.
If Jinghe had been awake at that moment, he would have immediately recognized this strange being as the Ghost-type Pokemon known as Gastly.
Buzz—
Gastly's eyes glowed red as a peculiar energy suddenly emanated from its body, spreading toward the sleeping Jinghe. The peaceful expression on Jinghe's face gradually gave way to a furrowed brow.
"This is... a dream?"
For some reason, Jinghe's instincts told him he was dreaming.
The dark, oppressive sky seemed to hang just meters above his head, surrounded by dilapidated, low buildings that clearly didn't belong to the modern era. Everywhere he looked, there were overgrown weeds and haphazardly stacked stone piles.
What made Jinghe's blood run cold, however, was the seemingly endless plain in front of these buildings, dotted with countless small mounds about half a person's height.
Graves.
Jinghe finally understood what it meant for "burial grounds to spread like stars across the sky, with tombs and monuments stretching like mountain ranges."
Woo—
Suddenly, a low, haunting sound of unknown origin began to drift through the air, accompanied by a bone-chilling wind that made him shiver involuntarily.
This was the first time he had ever experienced a dream with such vivid sensations.
"Pop!"
Without warning, one of the mounds directly in front of Jinghe burst open, and a pale hand shot out from within.
Immediately after, as if that sound had triggered some mechanism, all the other mounds began to shift and loosen. Hands, branches, and even heads began breaking through the surface.
They were all Ghost-type Pokemon! Dusclops, Banette, Cofagrigus, Haunter, Sableye...
This spectacle, combined with the environment and atmosphere, was certainly enough to terrify most people.
"Kou jie—"
From behind a bare, withered tree in the corner, Gastly watched Jinghe, who stood motionless with an expressionless face, and laughed triumphantly.
This trick had scared Solance so badly that he hadn't dared to sleep for several days.
Gastly had developed a strong interest in Jinghe, who had managed to put Solance to sleep without using any techniques, moves, or energy.
Gastly extended its long tongue, covered in crimson taste buds, and licked its lips, smacking them twice in anticipation.
This human's dreams, and the fear within them, should taste quite delicious, shouldn't they?
However, the next moment, Gastly froze in place.
It noticed that while Jinghe maintained his stoic expression, the fear in his eyes had only lasted for the initial period before being replaced by contemplation.
"So many Ghost-type Pokemon..."
To be honest, Jinghe had indeed been startled at first. While the Ghost-type Pokemon he'd seen in games often looked decent or even cute, encountering them in reality was an entirely different matter.
The bone-deep chill that hit him made his hair stand on end.
But after the initial shock, he quickly regained his composure. On one hand, he could sense this was a dream, and if it was just a dream, what was there to fear?
On the other hand, after seeing so many Ghost-type Pokemon, he had subconsciously formed a thought:
"...Why isn't Giratina here?"
Giratina?
"Kou jie?"
Gastly could hear Jinghe's muttering and looked bewildered for a moment. It shook its head vigorously like a rattle drum.
An illusion—yes, it must be an illusion.
Gastly decided that those Ghost-type Pokemon simply didn't look fierce or terrifying enough.
"Kou jie."
It would have to handle this personally.
Licking its lips, it took a deep breath, and its body began to swell visibly.
Meanwhile, Jinghe observed the "terrifying" Ghost-type Pokemon while gently rubbing his chin in thought.
"Is this really a dream? It feels so real..."
Everything before his eyes, including all the sensations from his five senses—smell, touch, and hearing—felt incredibly authentic.
"Since this is a dream, then... let me test something."
Jinghe began to recall something from his memory.
At the same time, in those dark, oppressive clouds above, a silhouette slowly began to take shape.
It was massive in size, dragon-like in appearance, with a gray and white body. Golden half-rings circled from its back around its neck, accompanied by two ghostly large wings with claw-like red structures at the tips, and six thick, powerful legs ending in claws.
"Kou jie!"
The confident Gastly swished its long tongue as it floated toward Jinghe, emitting low, threatening sounds.
However, just as it reached Jinghe, it suddenly looked up sharply.
The next second, its expression froze completely.
"Kou, kou jie, jie..."
"Gastly?" It was then that Jinghe also noticed Gastly's presence and followed its gaze upward.
There, he saw an enormous creature standing proudly among the clouds.
"Giratina?"
Jinghe paused in surprise. It had actually manifested? This confirmed it was indeed a dream.
"ROAAAAR—!!"
A long roar descended like a hurricane, scattering the surrounding Ghost-type Pokemon like foam. Even the large Gastly rapidly shrank under this cry, its black gaseous form seeming to be blown away entirely.
"Kou jie!!"
Gastly jolted awake with a start.
Crack—
Suddenly, the scene before Jinghe developed a massive crack like a shattered mirror. The crack spread like a spider web before completely shattering.
In a distant world, a massive dragon-type Pokemon that had been concentrating intently while pressed against a glass surface, secretly "observing" something, suddenly raised its head.
"Roar?"
It blinked its crimson, fearsome eyes with a puzzled expression.
Remote login?
It closed its eyes and carefully sensed the area, but finding it seemed to be an illusion, it shook its head and returned to peering through—ahem, monitoring—the glass surface once more.
"Mmm..."
On the sofa, the sleeping Jinghe slowly awakened, rubbing his temples as he felt his head somewhat foggy.
As his vision gradually cleared, he discovered that not far from him, a Gastly was floating motionless with a blank expression, its eyes filled with terror.
"Gastly?"
Perhaps hearing his voice, Gastly gradually came back to its senses.
Human and ghost stared at each other from less than a meter apart.
A few seconds later:
"Kou jie!!!"
Gastly reacted like a startled cat, crying out in alarm. It rapidly retreated as if Jinghe were some terrifying specter instead.