In his previous life.
He saw it on the News.
That the strongest Gym Leader in the Kanto League, Giovanni, had eliminated the Shadow Team.
Not long after, Catherine left without a word, leaving behind a letter saying she was setting off for revenge. The next time he heard from her, she was already the Gym Leader of Hearthome Gym -instead of Fantina-.
During that time, Tetsuya had visited her once at Hearthome Gym. The next time he went, she had already resigned from the position.
Until the day he was "re-born", there had been no more news of Catherine.
Tetsuya had always felt that, despite having saved Catherine's life, it was she who had helped him far more in return.
As for his feelings toward Catherine… having lived such a long life, even he couldn't define what kind of feeling it was. Perhaps they were just two unfortunate souls keeping each other warm.
Now, standing before the gravestone of Matsuba III, Tetsuya opened this long-buried memory.
His feelings for Catherine were indeed complicated. After so many years, love had long since faded away. What remained was simply gratitude from the past.
He now had a general understanding of Matsuba III's life. No wonder this part of history was never made public. He was, after all, a mighty figure of his time. The only unknown now was how it ended.
Tetsuya turned his gaze to the gravestone on the right.
It bore only a few words: [Burial Site of Matsuba IV,] and beneath it was a wooden box inscribed with [Memoir of Matsuba IV].
He opened the wooden box. Inside was a thick "book", apparently written by Matsuba IV himself.
Tetsuya began flipping through it slowly. One must approach the belongings of the deceased with reverence; otherwise, he might suffer the same fate as the burned tome just now.
"Volume One" recorded some events from Matsuba III's life, as well as the life of Matsuba IV. As expected, he was a "great hero" who had sacrificed kin for the greater good.
Tetsuya scoffed internally.
Matsuba III's conspiracy had been discovered early on by his son, Matsuba IV. But unlike his father, Matsuba IV was a man of benevolence and righteousness. He had left home at a young age to travel and train across various regions, solely to strengthen himself in order to stop his father.
Matsuba IV was exceptionally gifted, and his strength grew quickly. Eventually, in the Unova Region, he discovered an ancient tome called "Ghostly Flame", a bane to souls, and the perfect counter to Ghost-type Pokémon composed solely of Ghost energy. Using this countermeasure combined with his great strength, Matsuba IV dispelled all existing Shadow Contracts.
In the end, Matsuba IV, representing justice, challenged his own father. Matsuba III was defeated. The grand plan he had worked on for years was destroyed by his own son. Humiliated, he took his own life.
Only the Mega Gengar left behind by his ancestors remained, and Matsuba IV recalled it, this very one here. Afterwards, Matsuba IV used [Ghostly Flame] to annihilate all the Haunter that fed on vitality.
After Matsuba III's death…
Matsuba IV used his authority to erase all records of his father's life from the historical texts, along with this chapter between father and son.
Then he began expanding and sealing off the mausoleum.
So this mausoleum had been expanded later.
"Volume Two" focused on the expansion and sealing of the mausoleum.
The main mausoleum had been built by Matsuba I. The Pokémon guarding it were all arranged by Matsuba IV, intended to deal with tomb raiders and descendants who lacked respect for their ancestors.
All the Pokémon within the mausoleum were Ghost-types and could come and go freely. Only those who had conducted rituals in the ritual vessel for more than three years would not be attacked. The ancestral tomes were located beneath Matsuba I's gravestone, and anyone who wished to read them needed to approach with reverence.
If someone carelessly took items from the mausoleum, or tried to take the ancient tome without performing the kneeling ceremony before Matsuba I's coffin, the Froslass inside would emerge and destroy the tome.
Seeing this, Tetsuya couldn't help but exhale deeply. 'Matsuba IV really thought of everything… If I had entered the mausoleum alone and obtained the tome, I would've immediately left with it to study, knowing my personality.
Hn. There's no way I would've performed any kneeling ceremony at Matsuba I's coffin. In that case, wouldn't the tome have been destroyed before I could read a single word?'
It seems this was fate in this lifetime. Unfortunately, the training method for Gengar in [Distorted Space] was still missing. Hopefully, it would be recorded in Matsuba IV's memoir.
He now had to finish reading the memoir inside the mausoleum. Outside, Raine and his grandfather were eyeing him like predators, and inside, the Mega Gengar remained a ticking time bomb. Only by reading it all would he have peace of mind.
This final level of the expansion was designed to prevent his own Family from using the ancestral tomes to commit evil. Many of the ancestral texts contained methods that could bring harm to the world. Thus, the Mega Gengar was ordered to guard this final chamber. If a destined person arrived, they could find the method to help "clean house" in Volume Three.
"[Methods that bring harm to the world]…" For Matsuba to use such words, they must have been truly wicked, and the training methods likely beyond cruel. Otherwise, how could there have been only one Mega Gengar across four generations of Matsuba?
From the way this Mega Gengar drained vitality and left corpses behind, its malevolence was clear.
In his previous life, when training his [Badly Poison Ariados] and [Badly Poison Drapion], Tetsuya had only damaged a few Poison-type Pokémon's glands. But for Koga to raise such a Mega Gengar just to counter him… it must have involved countless horrific deeds!
However, Koga's Mega Gengar could only Mega Evolve with a Key Stone. It clearly wasn't trained to this one's level; its power paled in comparison.
'Koga…
The tome on Gengar in [Distorted Space] has been destroyed. I may not have obtained it… but now neither can you! Let's see how you compete with me in this lifetime.'
"Volume Four" was titled [Ghostly Flame].
Seeing the title, Tetsuya was deeply curious. What exactly was this "Ghostly Flame"? A bane to souls? Everything in this world has a soul. Does that mean it counters everything?
Tetsuya shook his head and let out a cold scoff.
He opened Volume Four. It read: [In the Unova Region, I came upon an ancient tome titled "Ghostly Flame." After much deliberation, I decided not to keep it in Ecruteak City. Instead, I built a secluded residence deep in the mountains between Castelia City and Nimbasa City, where I placed both the tome and a Flame Seed of "Ghostly Flame".
A destined person can find the mountain residence in Unova. As long as they possess the "Ghostly Flame Crystal" inside the wooden box, they will receive what they are meant to receive. Otherwise, it will be extremely dangerous… Remember this well!]
Tetsuya checked the wooden box… sure enough, there was a crystal shaped like a seed.
At this point, Tetsuya had seen the most important thing. Though the ancestral tome had been destroyed, according to Matsuba IV's notes, there was no way he could train a Mega Gengar of this level without sufficient strength. In his previous life, Koga, even with the title of Elite Four, had only raised a half-finished one.
Yet this [Ghostly Flame] seemed even more valuable than the ancestral tome of Matsuba himself.
Only the final page of Matsuba IV's memoir remained…