Ash threw the Pokéball, capturing Gastly. The ball glowed, then was transmitted back to Professor Oak's lab.
"Natsume, I didn't actually defeat it… isn't this bad?" Ash asked nervously.
Natsume had told him before: if a trainer wasn't strong enough, or if the Pokémon didn't truly acknowledge them, it could slip away at any time. Especially a Ghost-type, which could vanish without a trace.
"Here." Natsume pulled a small white box from his pocket.
He stuffed thirty spicy sludge inside, handed it to Ash, and instructed:
"When you get to town, trade Gastly back to yourself. Every now and then, give it a couple of these. If you run out, come to me for more."
"Huh…" Ash stared blankly at the flat, rectangular box in his hands.
Was this really going to work?
"Let's go, Brock." After all the chaos, Misty called for Brock to leave.
"No, I'm staying here to watch over her!" Brock declared passionately, gazing at the Maiden's Rock figure.
"Me too!" With Gastly gone, James returned to normal. He sat down firmly behind Brock, his eyes fixed on the same rock.
Clearly, he too saw the figure of a beautiful, purple-haired woman in it.
"I'll stay here and guard her until dawn!" Brock clasped his hands together with solemn devotion.
"Don't you all think that rock looks an awful lot like James?" Natsume suddenly spoke up.
Everyone froze, glancing at the rock, then back at James.
"Yeah, meow, it really does, meow!" Meowth said, with Jessie nodding in agreement as the two scrambled back up.
"This will make it even more convincing." Natsume somehow produced a long purple wig and plopped it on James' head.
"Where do you even get all these props…" Misty muttered helplessly. Natsume really was like a walking bag of tricks.
"Right, right! Add some makeup and it'll be perfect!" Jessie pulled out her makeup kit and went to work on James' face.
Before long, a *beautiful woman* with purple hair appeared—almost identical to the image in the rock.
*Click!* Natsume snapped a photo.
"…I suddenly don't feel like guarding anymore," Brock said, standing up.
James: "…"
With that prank, both Brock and James lost their solemn mood, resigning themselves to the truth that the purple-haired woman was just another illusion of Gengar.
That night, Natsume sent the photo of cross-dressed James to Wilfred.
Though Brock was blurred out, Wilfred still recognized it was a man.
*Rebellious child! Utter disgrace!*
Furious, Wilfred immediately wired Natsume ten billion pokedollars, begging him to write another *script* for James.
To Wilfred, Natsume's last plan had been a huge success—James had even called home to ask whether his parents were dead and if the family fortune was still intact.
James, caring about the family assets? To Wilfred, Natsume was nothing short of a miracle worker.
**Mr. Natsume, you must save my James! Bring him back to the right path!**
Looking at the message and the massive transfer on his phone, Natsume rubbed his nose.
What he had sent on a whim had turned out to be unexpectedly profitable.
The group returned to their inn for the night.
The next morning, Ash used Butterfree to trade Gastly back to himself.
"Gastly, if you think I'm unworthy of being your trainer…"
"Goodbye." Before Ash could finish, Gastly vanished into thin air.
Ash: "…"
Moments later, Gastly reappeared, with a red-eyed Gengar floating behind it.
*Heh heh.* Gastly smiled at Gengar, showing it had just been joking.
"Actually, the reason I can't be your Pokémon… is because I have no choice." Gastly began, trying to appeal to Ash with reason and emotion.
"Every year during the Ghost Festival, I must appear here to play tricks in memory of my master—the one the Maiden's Rock was modeled after."
"Boo-hoo… If I leave, my master will be forgotten by people. I won't let that happen!"
Gastly even squeezed out a few tears.
Ash was deeply moved.
"In that case, you should stay—ow!" A huge bump swelled on Ash's head.
"You really believed a Level 22 Gastly could be the Pokémon behind a thousand-year-old Ghost of Maiden's Peak? Are you stupid or what?!"
Misty pulled back her smoking fist.
"So you were lying to me?" Ash rubbed his head and looked at Gastly.
*Gengaa!*
Behind him, the red-eyed Gengar growled, making Gastly shiver uncontrollably.
"Forget it, here—have one of these!" Ash lit a spicy sludge, handing one first to Gengar, then another to Gastly.
*Hiss—ha!* Gengar inhaled skillfully.
Beside it, Gastly copied.
"No matter what this is, my beliefs won't change!"
*Hiss—ha!*
Wait!
*Hiss—ha!*
Hold on!
*Hiss—ha!*
What is this stuff?!
Before long, Gastly signed a **Spicy Sludge Pact** with Ash, marking the first step in improving their relationship.
Natsume yawned, watching the scene with boredom.
In truth, a Ghost Pokémon's level had nothing to do with its age.
This Gastly had indeed lived for a long, long time. From its reactions, it did have some connection to the Ghost of Maiden's Peak—but not much.
What Natsume did notice was that spicy sludge had an irresistible pull on Ghost-types like Gastly.
Other Poison-types were fond of them too, but not nearly to this extreme.
A targeted weakness against Ghost/Poison?
Natsume wasn't sure. He kept tinkering with the Ultra Ball in his hand.
Soon, evening came.
The summer festival officially began!
"Charmeleon's roasted apples with its flame!"
On the hillside before the Maiden's Rock, Brock gazed up at the moon.
He hadn't gone to the festival, but came straight here instead, staring blankly at the sky, lost in thought.
At the festival, countless stalls called out for customers, each fusing their own Pokémon's traits into their food to attract buyers.
"Psyduck's migraine-roasted brains! Stewed with Confusion for three hours!" cried one vendor, with a struggling Psyduck tied to his head.
"Snorlax cream-filled pancakes! Even he's full!" another vendor shouted, his stall built right on Snorlax's belly.
"Mr. Mime cotton candy! Break through the invisible wall to eat, meow!"
In one corner, Ash eagerly opened his Mr. Mime cotton candy.
"Huh? Just a stick?" Ash blinked, realizing too late.
As he turned to argue with the vendor, Misty's voice called from behind.
"Hey, Ash, let's go join the festival dance together!"
Misty, for once without her usual ponytail, let her orange hair fall loose to her shoulders.
She wore a light yellow kimono patterned with ocean waves, her hairpin slanted and slightly loose.
Straightening her collar, her wooden clogs clicking against the lantern-lit path, she lifted her chin with a small hum and smiled at the dazed Ash.
"Well? Am I beautiful enough to stun you?" Misty asked proudly.
"Oh, so you really are a girl after all?"
*Wham!* For reasons beyond his control, Ash suddenly grew two centimeters taller.
Not far away, Natsume, busy refining the wiring of his Ultra Ball, happened to look up and caught the scene. He shook his head.
*Sigh… Ash is way too dense. Aunt Delia's going to have her hands full in the future.*
Not like him—sharp and quick in all things!
Behind Natsume stood Giselle.
She wore a pale moon-white kimono with a dark sash, her hair tied with a jade pin.
Her head lowered, cheeks faintly red like snow pressing against plum petals, her fingers curled inside her sleeves.
After a long silence, she finally gathered her courage and spoke softly:
"Mr. Natsume… w-would you go to the dance with me?"
"No time."
Natsume worked feverishly, sparks flying from the file in his hand.
You can read more (around 80+ free chapters) of Natsume's adventure ad-free at [https ://ravenarchives .com/book/pokemon-who-let-him-leave-pallet-town]. Bulk uploads is a mess here, so updates here might be irregular.