Beneath the stone tablet was a hidden manuscript.
And since the inscription had stated there were no more Pokémon blocking the path, it could be considered safe now.
Even so, Tetsuya still felt a vague sense of unease.
Only three of the five Pokémon guarding the mausoleum under Matsuba IV had appeared. The remaining two couldn't possibly be just for show…
Everything went smoothly. The group successfully moved the stone tablet, revealing a secret compartment underneath, inside which sat a wooden box.
On it was written: [A manuscript on Ghost-type Pokémon breeding passed down from our ancestors. If any descendants are fortunate enough to obtain it, they must use it with righteous intent. No harm or evil shall be done. Whoever obtains this book must show reverence to their ancestors.]
None of them cared in the slightest about these extra words…
Raine's grandfather opened the wooden box, and sure enough, inside was a thick manuscript.
The old man couldn't wait to open it. After surviving countless dangers to reach this point, if the manuscript turned out to be worthless, it would all have been for nothing.
As Raine's grandfather flipped through the pages, everyone naturally crowded around. There was no room left for Tetsuya.
Yet all that came from the reading was a series of disappointed sighs.
"Nothing special in here at all…"
"Yeah… was this whole trip for nothing!?"
Raine's grandfather's expression was growing darker and more uncertain. Clearly, he hadn't found what he was looking for, and cold sweat was already beading on his forehead.
After half an hour, the four bystanders couldn't sit still any longer and moved away. That was when Raine and Tetsuya took their place.
Raine's grandfather didn't care in the least that Tetsuya and Raine were peeking. He had already made up his mind, only three people would walk out of this mausoleum. The three of them -grandfather, son, and grandson- possessed absolute power!
And with Tetsuya holding Pryce's Swinub, killing the others would be as easy as squashing ants. He just had to finish exploring the mausoleum.
Heh heh!
Still, Raine's grandfather was steady and cautious. He wouldn't rest until he'd read every last page.
Most of the thick manuscript had already been flipped through. Only a few pages remained.
Sweat was now dripping from Raine's grandfather onto the manuscript.
"[Shadow Contract]…"
All three of them lit up.
The Gastly line, referred to here as Shadow Pokémon, could form a "Shadow Contract" with a human body and hide within its shadow.
The method for forming a Shadow Contract was as follows.
Every year at noon on the summer solstice, when the sun's rays are at their peak, the person must stand under the blazing sun. At that moment, their shadow will shrink to a single round spot beneath their feet. The Gastly must be held above the person's head. As sunlight is the Ghost-type's greatest nemesis, the intense sunlight will force Gastly to travel down the length of the body and settle in the human shadow.
Once the contract is formed, the Gastly becomes the person's shadow… a part of their body. It will never appear where sunlight is present, and in dark places it cannot stray more than a hundred steps away.
There are two types of contracts: active and passive.
[An active contract is formed when a Trainer bonds with their own Pokémon. The Trainer and the Pokémon complement each other. After forming the Shadow Contract, Gastly can evolve and grow stronger as usual. It will sense danger and act as a deadly weapon to strike down opponents.
Once the Shadow Contract is formed, Gastly becomes part of the Trainer's body, and their mental energies become linked.
However, a Gastly that hides in the shadows cannot consume "regular" -Ghost-type- food. It must feed on vitality. The Trainer will then be responsible for finding vitality for Gastly to feed on.
Of course, they must also train it and help it evolve. The stronger the Gastly becomes, the more powerful the Trainer's "hidden" weapon will be.
A passive contract, on the other hand, is when an outsider forcibly binds a Gastly to another person. In such cases, Gastly will not obey the contractor's commands and will never fight for them. It's merely a method of control.
When there was no external supply of vitality, it would begin feeding on the host's own life force. Once the host's vitality was drained, death would follow, and Gastly would then be set free.
If a contracted Gastly couldn't feed on vitality, it would die, and the contract would be automatically nullified.]
After reading this section, Tetsuya nodded. This part was useful. He needed to form an active contract with his own Gastly. Life in the wilderness was full of dangers, he could be killed by wild Pokémon even while sleeping. But if he had Gastly, it could sense danger in advance, giving him an added layer of protection.
And since his mental energy would be linked with Gastly's, once its mental power grew stronger, wouldn't his own grow stronger too? Even if he couldn't use psychic energy to attack like a Psychic-type, at the very least, he could protect himself.
In battles to the death in the wilderness, enemies would try every means to attack the Trainer, not the Pokémon. That was why he constantly trained his own physical conditioning. But no matter how much he trained, his body could never compare to a Pokémon's. It could never be completely safe. At that moment, his shadow would become his bodyguard, fully capable of defending him from surprise attacks.
Carrying this hidden weapon in the form of a shadow made him a living threat. As long as the enemy entered Gastly's attack range…
'Teheh!'
They would never expect that even his own shadow could bring them death.
In fact, many Trainers in the wilderness overly obsessed over training their Pokémon's power, while ignoring their own physical condition. They might raise incredibly strong Pokémon, but still die from a sneak attack. All their hard work would end up benefiting someone else.
From what he knew, the longest-reigning Champion in the Kanto League in his previous life was none other than Ash Ketchum. He wasn't just naturally gifted… he had incredible physical resilience!
In a televised interview, he had personally stated that his body had been constantly "trained" by his Pikachu's… Thunderbolt, and had developed a resistance that no ordinary person could achieve!
Ash's statement caused quite a stir at the time. Many found it hard to believe. But that's exactly why he became a Champion while others could only admire him from their TV screens. Most so-called "success formulas" were nothing more than nonsense.
After finishing the section, Tetsuya committed the method to memory.
But Raine's grandfather let out a sigh. "The method… is fine, but… sigh… where can we even find a Gastly that feeds on vitality!?"
Tetsuya's Gastly was currently in Raine's possession. Its habit of feeding on vitality had shown itself many times during their challenge in the Brass Tower. Raine hadn't thought much of it back then. Only now did he realize how useful that "trait" truly was…
He held Tetsuya's Gastly's Poké Ball and was just about to say something. But then he stopped, quietly placing the Poké Ball back where it was.
Secret thoughts churned in his mind.
Tetsuya noticed it all. 'This gaki's definitely got sinister intentions.'
Raine's grandfather shook his head and continued flipping the pages.
[~Training method for Gastly in Distorted Space.~]
Tetsuya's eyes widened. Wasn't this the exact method Koga had used against him in his previous life?
'Let me read this to the end… Koga, you old scumbag… This life, I'll make sure we settle that debt in full!'
Just as Raine's grandfather was about to turn the page…
The voices of the four others echoed through the tomb. "The tablet already said there's no more danger. Let's see what treasures might be inside that coffin."
"I agree. There was a huge Dusk Stone in Matsuba II's coffin. Matsuba I's has got to be even better!"
The four quickly reached a consensus.
They immediately began working together to push open the coffin lid.
Tetsuya saw this and remembered the words on the wooden box.
He shouted at the top of his lungs, "Stoooooop!"