"Rattata's Grave."
By chance, Red noticed the gravestone in front of them.
A black-and-white photo was embedded in the stone—a Rattata wearing a cheerful smile.
The dust on the grave clearly showed the passage of many years. There was no way this tomb had been erected by Green or that "flea-like kid." It could only be described as a cruel coincidence of fate.
Green… also had a Rattata.
In a daze, Red's memories drifted back to the digital world.
It had been aboard the S.S. Anne.
Back then, Green wasn't the calm, restrained man he was now. If one had to describe his personality at the time, he was at least ten times more obnoxious than that flea-like kid.
On the deck, Green had approached him familiarly—boastfully issuing a challenge—then just as familiarly lost, thrown out some harsh words, and stormed off. Everything had played out exactly like a scripted game event.
But Green had a strange Rattata back then.
Its speed was abnormal—blindingly fast, like a phantom. Even Red's Pikachu had been completely suppressed.
After their exhausting battle, both Trainers' Pokémon were nearly unable to continue fighting—even Red's, despite his victory.
And then—
Team Rocket appeared.
Just like on this world's S.S. Anne.
Chaos erupted across the ship. The panicking crowd separated Red and Green completely.
Red barely made it to the medical room to heal his Pokémon.
But Green never appeared again.
The next time they met—
Was in Lavender Town.
At Pokémon Tower.
A place where dead Pokémon were laid to rest.
"Red… did one of your Pokémon die?"
"That was a stupid question. Pikachu's clearly still alive."
"Heh… then come on. At the very least, I'll make sure none of them can fight anymore."
At the time, Red hadn't understood what those words meant.
But from that day onward, he never saw that Rattata again.
And from that day onward, Green changed.
He still challenged Red—but he became quiet, sharp, always observing everything around him.
In terms of situational awareness and battlefield control, even Red had to admit inferiority.
Red had experienced death before.
But never at the very start of his journey.
He could imagine the grief Green had endured.
As Red's ghost seemed about to speak, Green's ghost simply scoffed coldly.
"Tch. That was a long time ago. I don't need your sympathy."
"…"
"Cough."
"Um… are we interrupting something?"
Two very poorly timed voices cut in.
It was Ash and Gary, who had just arrived on the third floor.
Seeing that neither legendary figure had dissipated into nothingness, both of them breathed a sigh of relief—
Though the atmosphere felt… strange.
Red and Green both immediately locked onto the paper exorcism fan in Ash's hand.
They shuddered violently.
Their gaseous bodies nearly lost cohesion.
Psyduck it—what in the world is that thing?!
Seeing this, Ash quickly stuffed the fan straight into Gengar's body.
Gengar, after all, was a Pokémon connected to another dimension—its purple-black form bridged two planes of existence.
In other words, it was a Pokémon with built-in extra-dimensional storage.
Once the fan was gone, the oppressive pressure vanished.
Red and Green immediately regained their awe-inspiring presence—standing with hands clasped behind their backs, like towering mountains or endless seas.
"So… how do we get back?" Ash asked.
He reached out, trying to pinch Red's cheek—
His fingers passed straight through.
"…You really don't look like me at all."
Green and Gary looked nearly identical, as though carved from the same mold—Green just carried a more mature, composed air.
Gary, meanwhile, didn't even glance at Green. He was used to that handsome face—he stared at it in the mirror every day for half an hour.
Instead, Gary turned to Red and curiously reached out.
"This guy's really Ash's counterpart?"
"Is he actually male?"
He reached toward Red's lower half.
Straight through.
Red: "?"
At that moment, Red genuinely felt the urge to become a vengeful spirit and haunt Gary for the rest of his life.
"Red," Ash said hesitantly,
"since you're basically gaseous right now… what if I take a really deep breath and try to inhale you back into my body?"
To be clear—
he wasn't trying to eat Red.
After a brief pause, Red agreed.
This half-human, half-ghost state was unpleasant. Returning to Ash's body—watching a lower-spec version of himself grow—was honestly kind of interesting.
Besides, in these short days, Red had already sensed it.
This boy named Ash… was anything but ordinary.
Just like how Red had once been the absolute protagonist of the game world—
Perhaps Ash was the protagonist of this world.
Someday, Ash might even come into contact with divine beings.
That could be extremely useful for Red's future plans—reconstructing a body, transferring his soul.
Just as Ash puffed out his cheeks and prepared to inhale—
Green suddenly blushed and interrupted.
"Cough. Red… I've never asked you for anything in my life."
Red: "?"
"Could we… maybe switch hosts?"
Red: "."
Green had already realized it.
If he stayed with Gary any longer, he would eventually be played to death.
But Red rejected the idea instantly.
Eventually?
It was inevitable.
This lifetime—no chance.
Gary: "???"
Why switch?!
What part of him was inferior to that reckless Ash?!
Ash then unleashed his terrifying lung capacity.
If measured, it would easily exceed 10,000 cc—enough to make professional athletes bow in shame.
Red's ghost was sucked in like dust into a vacuum cleaner, his form collapsing into a soft, misty mass and disappearing straight into Ash's mouth.
"Burp~"
After fully inhaling him, Ash suddenly burped—spitting out one of Red's arms.
The scene instantly turned horrifying.
Ash hurriedly centered himself and sucked the arm back in.
The moment his internal energy stabilized, Red reappeared safely within Ash's soul.
Feeling that familiar presence, Ash placed a hand over his chest and smiled softly.
"Welcome back, Red."
"…Mm."
Seeing this succeed, Gary eagerly followed suit.
Ignoring Green's darkened expression, he took a deep breath and inhaled.
Unfortunately, Gary's lung capacity—dulled by years of roaming around—was nowhere near Ash's.
He choked mid-breath.
What he managed to pull in was—
Green's arm.
Then a leg.
Then another leg.
The scene became increasingly disturbing.
Even Ash couldn't stand it anymore.
"…Uh, Green… want to come over to my side instead?"
Green: "."
Damn it.
Why didn't you say that earlier?!
Too late.
The kidney-deficient Gary finally sucked in the rest of Green's body, finishing with his head.
Hands on his hips, he panted heavily, his lower back aching.
"That's it? I don't feel any different at all. That's kind of disappointing."
He'd expected something cooler—like commanding ghosts in battle.
But just as that thought crossed his mind—
Green's translucent form suddenly phased out through Gary's back.
Everyone: "?"
Gary's eyes lit up.
A bold idea formed.
He walked forward.
Sure enough, the two merged again.
Ash tried the same thing—and Red's spirit popped out at will, then merged back in when Ash focused again.
So the exorcism fan had actually done something useful.
It granted them the ability to separate and re-fuse soul and body at will.
Ash was about to share this discovery—
When he noticed Gary had completely lost control.
Gary bounced around like a flea, repeatedly popping Green in and out.
"I popped out!"
"I went back in!"
"Oops—out again! How's that, Green?"
Green: "."
…Damn it.
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