[Gen: Masaka! I was only joking earlier—don't tell me Ash actually knows my ancestor?!]
[Ilene: Of course. Everything has its reasons.]
[Ilene: Ash, if you ever have time, please come to Orudoran. I have a staff passed down from Sir Aaron—I think you may need it.]
[Ash: Sure! After I beat that show-off Gary in the Silver Conference, I'll head over!]
[Gary: Don't get cocky! So what if you've got Aura powers? Grandpa, teach me!]
[Professor Oak: cough cough …grandpa doesn't know either.]
[Bea: Excellent! I'm already on a flight to Kanto—I've decided I want to apprentice under Ash!]
[Bruno: What the—wait, you can do that?!]
[Lance: Bruno, don't hesitate. That's the Aura we're talking about! Don't you want to learn? Go find Ash!]
Lance's words were like a devil's whisper, making Bruno's heart pound.
As a Fighting-type Elite Four, how could he not crave the power of Aura?
[Lance: Auuuraa…]
[Bruno: Fine! I'll take him as my master!!!]
[Ash: Uh… Mr. Bruno, I don't even know how to teach it yet. Coming here won't help…]
[Lorelei: Haha, Bruno, you got played by Lance. He just wants to see you embarrass yourself.]
[Lance: Don't accuse me with your petty mind!]
[Lorelei: Can you swear you weren't?]
[Diantha: Wow, Lorelei and Lance's relationship seems close. Why don't you two just get together?]
Diantha was just stirring the pot as usual.
On the Orange Islands' beaches, the mere thought of Lance calling her "baby" made her shudder.
Gross! No way!
She'd rather like Ash than him.
At least Ash was genuinely charming to girls.
…No. She mustn't.
If she went after Ash, she'd feel guilty!
Scene in the broadcast—
Though it had its bumps, the Gengar problem was temporarily resolved, and peace returned to the lab.
"This is the so-called legendary giant from Unova's ruins—Golett's evolution, Golurk."
Ash placed Golurk's Poké Ball before Professor Cerise.
Still not fully recovered from his earlier shock, the professor was hit by yet another.
He vaguely remembered asking Ash and Chloe to just collect some data on the legendary giant.
But Ash had brought back the giant itself?!
How was he supposed to process this?
Seeing his conflicted expression, Ash thought he didn't believe him.
So he pulled him out into the backyard.
The yard was built for Chloe when she became a trainer—similar to Oak's ranch, a safe haven for Pokémon.
There, Ash tossed out the Poké Ball—
and in a flash, a towering figure five meters tall loomed over them.
"Its name is Golurk. It was created in ancient times to protect Pokémon and humans."
Hearing Ash's calm introduction, Sakuragi had no choice but to accept it.
Golurk's sheer presence left no room for doubt.
His throat went dry.
Today, Ash had shocked him more times than he could count.
After leaving Golurk in Sakuragi's care, Ash returned to the lab.
But something was wrong.
Ever since the Gengar incident, Ash felt… unlucky.
He tripped on the stairs.
Stepped into Dugtrio's burrow hole.
Dumped a whole jar of cheese on his pasta.
Even felt like the air around him was colder.
Chloe grew worried.
"Ash, are you okay?"
"I'm fine!" Even while stumbling, Ash flashed her a thumbs-up smile.
"Actually… There's a local legend in Vermilion City. If you come into contact with a Gengar, you might catch its bad luck. They say Gengar curses its trainers, and maybe your battle infected you with that curse."
Chloe's voice trembled with concern.
"Don't say that," Ash cut her off, uncharacteristically serious.
"Gengar's kind. It never wanted to hurt anyone. Ghost-types are misunderstood because of how they look. People blame their own misfortune on them, and call it a curse."
"As trainers, we must never see Pokémon with prejudice, Chloe. Remember that."
His words grew firm.
"So-called curses are just baseless fears. And even if they're real—then I'll break them myself!"
[Morty: Exactly! Ghost-types suffer discrimination just because of their looks. Especially Gengar—just because of its red eyes, people call it cursed!]
[Fantina: Ghost-types are adorable, not monsters!]
[Allister: I only had the courage to become a trainer thanks to Mimikyu. Ghost-types are angels!]
[Sabrina: I love Haunter.]
Ghost-type leaders jumped at the chance to defend their partners.
Sure, Ghosts often appeared in cemeteries and haunted houses—of course people feared them.
And yes, some were born from the souls of the dead.
But that didn't make them evil.
Even Sabrina vouched for Haunter—did Ghosts really seem so terrifying anymore?
[Ash: Every Pokémon is a partner. None should be hated for what they are.]
[Paul: Only the strong have the right to choose. Don't blame weakness on your Pokémon.]
[Gary: Exactly. That guy Paul's right—don't hate Pokémon just because of your own failure. What you hate might be someone else's partner!]
The chat debate shifted—
from "Do Ghosts spread bad luck?"
to "Pokémon should never be hated."
Ghosts were Ghosts. They couldn't change that.
And as Ash said, if there's really a curse—then just break it.
Scene in the broadcast—
Ash didn't let the misfortune bother him. But Chloe suggested a walk to clear his mind.
When he stepped out of the lab, Gengar peeked out from his shadow.
Ash's words earlier had struck it.
Ghosts were used to being hated—but this boy didn't hate them.
Maybe he was… a good person.
But this was still its chosen home with its trainer. It didn't want to leave.
Still, Gengar was petty—it wouldn't let Ash off so easily.
It dove back into his shadow.
But the confident smile on Ash's face said: "Got you."
Ash wasn't dumb.
He knew who was behind his string of bad luck.
Leaving the lab was part of the plan—to give Gengar space to vent, and maybe follow him out.
And indeed, it did.
As they walked through Vermilion's bustling streets, Ash's misfortune vanished.
They shopped nonstop—sweets, food, drinks.
Watching them happily, Gengar fumed in the shadows.
Unbelievable! I didn't come here to watch a date!
Just as it was about to leave—Ash bumped into a blond punk.
The ice cream in Ash's hand was crushed against the guy's chest.
Sticky, painful, and furious, the blond nearly cursed—
but seeing Ash was just a fifteen-year-old boy, he swallowed his words.
"Tch, what a crappy day," he muttered.
His girlfriend in the green hat teased, "Still cursed, maybe?"
"Don't start. Three years ago, I was so unlucky—couldn't win battles, couldn't catch anything, tripped down stairs. All thanks to that cursed Gengar. But after I ditched it, my life turned around!"
"You mean the one you abandoned at that mansion?"
"Yeah! Dumped it at the hillside estate—now it's haunted. Some poor sap even moved in recently. I wonder how long he'll last—Gengar's a freak, haha!"
He laughed proudly, like it was an achievement.
Ash froze.
Fists clenched tight.
So this was Gengar's old trainer.
The one who abandoned it—
and even bragged about it?!
This scum doesn't deserve to be called a trainer.
"Gengar!"
With a roar, Gengar erupted from Ash's shadow, dark energy swirling in its hands.
Two Shadow Balls gleamed with killing intent.
The blond and his girlfriend froze, their throats tight.
[Diantha: Unbelievable! He blamed his failures on a Pokémon and then abandoned it? What trash!]
[Sabrina: …Can I just kill him?]
Everyone went silent.
Sabrina—the psychic prodigy of Saffron—was deadly serious.
And everyone knew… when she said "kill," she meant it.
[Ash: Don't be impulsive. Think of Haunter—it wouldn't want this either.]
[Lance: Sabrina, please stay calm! Trust the League—we'll never let this happen again.]
[Morty: Ghost Pokémon lives matter too! No more type discrimination!]
[Lance: I'll see to it personally. This will never happen in Kanto again!]
Cold sweat dripped down Lance's back.
This was Sabrina—the same girl who once sealed off Saffron City with her psychic powers.
If not for Haunter, who knew what would've happened.
[Cynthia: Lance, make sure this is handled. In Sinnoh, we'd never allow such prejudice.
Ash, if you're worried, I personally welcome you to join Sinnoh.]
There it was again—Cynthia's not-so-subtle recruitment pitch.
Serena shivered.
Her rival was terrifying.
Champion Diantha, you'd better step up!
[Sabrina: Fine. For Ash and Haunter's sake, I'll let it slide this time.]
[Lance: Thank goodness!]
Back in Saffron, for the first time, Sabrina's icy face softened into a faint smile.
"This is my small way of repaying you."
Scene in the broadcast—
But Gengar was far from calm.
Three years.
Three years it had waited faithfully for its trainer to return.
And now it heard the truth—
that all its devotion was nothing but a cruel joke.
The warmth it once cherished shattered into rage.
The memories were only one-sided.
Its eyes glowed scarlet.
It hurled the Shadow Ball at its ex-trainer.
The blond panicked.
Why was Gengar here?! Was it back for revenge?!
See—Ghost-types were evil after all!
He screamed:
"Don't come any closer!!"
Too late.
The Shadow Ball blazed toward him, fast and deadly.
Chloe covered her eyes in fear.
His girlfriend ran without looking back.
For the first time, the blond truly felt death's grip.
But then—
to everyone's shock—
Ash threw himself in front of him.
The Shadow Ball exploded against his chest.
The blast wave rippled outward, dust clouding the streets.
"ASH!! Are you okay?!" Chloe's voice broke with terror.
This was reckless—beyond reckless.
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