After Matsuba left, he temporarily handed management of the Gym over to Tetsuya.
Yesterday, Ryuto had made a complete fool of himself during the Gym evaluation, and today he still looked downcast. Since Ryuto was at the Gym and a challenger had shown up, Tetsuya didn't have a chance to go to Matsuba Cemetery during the day, and Raine naturally didn't dare act rashly either.
Not until night fell.
It was a cloudy night, with no starlight whatsoever. The sky was shrouded in layers of shadowy mist.
Tetsuya was in the dormitory practicing [Shadow Dagger] with Ditto when suddenly there was a knock at the door.
"Who is it?"
Tetsuya paused his movement and asked.
"It's me, Raine. Are we going to Matsuba Cemetery tonight?"
'Oh… he actually came to me directly?'
Tetsuya's intuition told him this wasn't as simple as it looked. Might as well test him a little.
"I'm a bit tired today. Let's go tomorrow."
Raine paused for a few seconds outside the door and said, "I think I've found a clue about the Ghost World portal. Time waits for no one, we should at least go check it out tonight!"
'Heh!
You…?
You found a clue to the Ghost World portal?'
At this point, Tetsuya was certain that Raine was up to something. But with Pryce's Swinub in his possession, he had nothing to fear.
'Let's see what ploy you're trying to pull.'
"Alright, I'll go now."
After speaking, Tetsuya wrapped Ditto around his right wrist, recalled Gastly, re-hid Swinub's Poké Ball, threw on a jacket, grabbed a flashlight, and stepped outside.
Raine was standing right outside the door.
"Let's go."
Tetsuya said as he turned on the flashlight and started walking toward Matsuba Cemetery, with Raine close behind.
Along the way, the two of them didn't say a word. The air was so quiet it was eerie.
They passed the Brass Tower, walked along the cobblestone path, and finally reached the gates of Matsuba Cemetery.
There was nothing unusual in front of the bronze gate. Looking into the garden, there was only darkness.
Tetsuya and Raine pushed open the bronze gate together.
Suddenly, countless beams of intense light burst forth from the darkness, so bright they made it impossible to keep one's eyes open. Tetsuya instinctively shielded his eyes and cursed inwardly; he had truly been set up by that emo-kid Raine.
With his other hand, he quickly reached into his coat. He wasn't sure what the enemy situation was yet, so he couldn't act too hastily.
Once the light faded, Tetsuya realized he was surrounded by a dozen Haunter and Misdreavus.
At the same time, more than ten people appeared before him.
'Display of power? Hn.'
Raine walked over to them.
Tetsuya let out a sneer. "Tehaha…" 'Let's see if any of you can really make it past the mausoleum.' Right now, Tetsuya was taking a gamble.
Because with just his own strength, exploring the mausoleum would be far too dangerous, nearly certain death.
Rather than risk his life venturing in alone, it was better to temporarily go along with them. At least right now, he had a "nuclear weapon" in his pocket.
Leading the group was a man in his sixties with white hair and a corpse-like face. Beside him stood a sturdy man in his thirties. The others varied in height, build, and age, ranging from their twenties to their fifties.
Raine walked up and bowed to the old man at the front. "Ojiisan, this is Tetsuya. He's cunning and full of schemes! How should we deal with him?"
Raine's grandfather let out two cold laughs and said, "Just a brat. How many tricks could he possibly have? Take his Pokémon! Raine, you're in charge of watching him."
Raine hesitated after hearing that. He was still somewhat afraid of Tetsuya, but he didn't dare go against his grandfather's orders.
"…What are you standing around for!?" Raine's grandfather barked.
Helpless, Raine had no choice but to walk over to Tetsuya. His hand trembled slightly as he reached out and glanced at Tetsuya.
Tetsuya gave Raine a strange look and let out a sneer.
Raine shuddered involuntarily, swallowed hard, gritted his teeth, and reached into Tetsuya's pocket, pulling out Gastly's Poké Ball. Naturally, the Ditto on Tetsuya's wrist couldn't escape Raine's notice either. He reached for the wristband.
"Leave, Ditto."
Tetsuya said this as a precaution, worried that Ditto might act impulsively to protect its Trainer.
With no resistance from Ditto, Raine easily removed the wristband and put it away together with Gastly's Poké Ball.
Of course, Raine still didn't feel completely at ease. After all, he'd suffered too many losses at Tetsuya's hands.
"Come out, Machoke. Help me keep an eye on him. If he moves… k-knock him out!"
Raine's Machop had recently evolved into Machoke, a muscular Fighting-type Pokémon. One hit would definitely be enough to render Tetsuya unconscious.
"What did you do to Ryuto?" Tetsuya asked casually.
Raine snorted, still somewhat fearful. "Don't… don't bother hoping for that coward. He got hit with Hypnosis, he won't wake up for at least a day and a night."
"Heh, seems like you've been planning this for quite some time. Never would've guessed~"
Tetsuya's mocking tone made Raine uncomfortable.
"Everyone, you may recall your Pokémon," Raine's grandfather said to the dozen people behind him.
With their Trainers' commands, the Misdreavus and Haunter surrounding Tetsuya all returned to their sides.
Now, the only ones keeping their eyes on Tetsuya were Raine and Machoke.
Led by Raine's grandfather, the group headed toward the stone pavilion at the center of the cemetery.
"Otousan, where exactly is the Ghost World portal?" asked the middle-aged man next to the old corpse-faced leader, Raine's father.
Tetsuya was also curious about the portal's location. Logically, if they didn't know where it was, they wouldn't have mobilized such a big group and gathered at Ecruteak Gym.
Raine's grandfather turned to an elderly man of similar age beside him. "Takakura, I'll leave it to you."
A short, lean old man stepped forward and murmured, "…My ancestors helped Matsuba IV build the seal that closed the Ghost World portal. So it's likely that I'm the only one left in the world who knows how to open it."
The little old man started bragging nonstop, as if flaunting his contribution. Raine's grandfather could only offer a polite smile in return.
By now, Tetsuya had mostly figured out who these people were. They were all disgraced members of the Matsuba branch Family. Dreaming of stealing the inheritance of their ancestors to make it big and change their fate.
"These people… your grandfather gathered them, didn't he?"
Tetsuya and Raine were now at the very back of the group, practically ignored by the others.
The only reason Tetsuya was even here was that he knows about the plan and Raine hadn't trusted a simple Hypnosis to deal with him like they had with Ryuto. So he had lured him here personally.
Anyone who hadn't met Tetsuya before would never believe a seven-year-old could be a threat, so no one paid attention to the small Magikarp.
Raine glanced at Tetsuya and said, "So what if he did!? These people are all from the Matsuba branch Family. If we work together and get our hands on the ancestral tome… w-we'll be able to make something of ourselves!"
Tetsuya couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.