Hearing the voice, Owen and Jean spun around instantly.
Jiang Li had followed them in. He glanced at Magnemite and said, "I mentioned this before."
"The Spirit Realm possesses its own unique radio waves. The yellow antenna atop my Dusknoir's head can receive these signals."
Dusknoir flashed a terrifying smile at Owen and Jean. This Pokémon was classified as extremely dangerous due to its ability to suck wandering souls into its elastic body and ferry them to the other side.
In fact, most Ghost-types were dangerous—much like the spirits of ancient folklore, they could drain the life energy of living beings.
Without proper training methods, restraints, or a strong emotional bond, a rookie trainer choosing a Ghost-type was practically a death wish.
However, Jiang Li's Dusknoir was even more special than most, capable of bringing humans physically into the Spirit Realm.
At that moment, Magnemite suddenly felt a wave of relief. In less than a minute, it had already adapted to the interference of the Spirit Realm's waves.
"Oh? It adapted quite quickly," Jiang Li noted, surprised.
"Mag... Mag-neee..." Magnemite let out a lingering cry of annoyance. You're just like Dusknoir—couldn't you have given me a heads-up? Like trainer, like Pokémon.
"As long as you're okay..." Owen sighed with relief, seeing that Magnemite still had the energy to complain.
The Spirit Realm was a landscape of darkness and desolation. To Owen and the others, it looked like an abandoned, overgrown field. The bare, jagged branches of distant trees looked like swaying ghostly silhouettes in the gloom.
Poof! Poof! Poof!
Suddenly, the group jumped. Before they could even start moving, they seemed to have run into trouble. The ground nearby began to crack without warning, emitting an orange glow...
Wow, a golden miracle... yeah, right. This definitely wasn't a trio of Dugtrio popping up.
A second later, several Jack-o'-lantern-like creatures emerged from the earth—pumpkins with monster-like faces carved into them, their interiors lit by eerie ghostly flames.
Poof... poof... poof...
Within seconds, a dozen Pumpkaboo of varying sizes appeared, letting out chilling giggles.
"Vee!!" Eevee barked angrily. Stop trying to be scary! It was nearly tempted to launch a few Shadow Balls and pop their heads like balloons.
"Scatter. There are no wandering souls here for you to guide," Jiang Li said calmly. The group of Pumpkaboo immediately hopped away in all directions.
"We have Pumpkaboo in our country?" Owen said, surprised. In his memory, the Pokémon in Asia were mostly species from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh. Pumpkaboo were usually more common in Europe.
Jean was also surprised—it seemed the Spirit Realm didn't care much for geographical boundaries.
"From here on, it's your free-activity time," Jiang Li announced. "I don't know how other Professional Trainers are handling their rookies... but here, I suggest you both start training immediately."
"Besides the special radio waves, every corner of the Spirit Realm is saturated with Spiritual Power. This is your first time encountering this energy, so you should see significant gains."
He looked at Owen. "Let Eevee practice its Shadow Ball here. It will yield twice the results with half the effort and provide new insights."
As for Jean, he didn't need to remind her; she already knew how to make the most of this day. For a rookie, the first contact with the Spirit Realm was always the most effective.
While Spiritual Power acts like a "nutrient" that provides diminishing returns as a Pokémon grows, it was perfect for them now.
Furthermore, while a day or two was fine, a normal human body couldn't handle prolonged exposure to this environment.
"Understood," Owen nodded. This suited him perfectly. Rather than sightseeing in "Hell," he'd much rather stay put and train. He figured Eevee and Magnemite had had enough scares for one day.
Spiritual Power is a tonic for Ghost-types, possessing properties very close to pure Ghost energy.
Rumor has it that a special material exists in the Spirit Realm that feels and looks like cloth.
This material can absorb Spiritual Power with incredible efficiency, eventually becoming a concentrated energy mass known as a Reaper Cloth—the catalyst for Dusclops to evolve into Dusknoir.
"Stop playing and focus..." Owen said helplessly as he watched Eevee poke at Spirit Realm rocks and twigs. "No matter how much you mess with those, you aren't going to evolve into a Ghost-type."
"Focus on mastering Shadow Ball."
Since a Ghost Master like Jiang Li said this place was good for Shadow Ball practice, Owen hoped Eevee could find a new breakthrough by the end of the day.
"Vee??..." Eevee asked if it could take a souvenir back—maybe a rock or some dirt. After all, after today, it could officially say it had been to Hell and back.
While Eevee practiced, Magnemite wasn't idle. It was busy sensing the Spirit Realm's radio waves.
What was the difference between these and normal waves? Magnemite didn't quite know, but it realized that its Psychic power was being stimulated far more than its electrical components.
Hummmm~~
By midday, Magnemite's mental energy felt as if it were being provoked by the spiritual waves. Finally, after reaching a limit, its Psychic power underwent a transformation.
The last time something similar happened was in the gravity room at Imperial Capital University, where it learned Light Screen and Reflect.
This time, influenced by the Spirit Realm, Magnemite discovered it could influence gravity fields using a combination of mental energy and electromagnetic waves!
Flash!!
Magnemite fixed its gaze on the spot where Eevee was standing. Instantly, a field of Strong Gravity generated.
Though Eevee reacted, it couldn't help but stumble, nearly faceplanting. It whipped its head around to glare at the innocent-looking Magnemite.
"Excellent Psychic talent," Jiang Li noted silently from the shadows. It seemed Eevee wasn't the biggest winner of this trip—Magnemite was.
"Is that... Gravity??"
"Magnemite, well done!" Owen was overjoyed.
Gravity was a god-tier move. As a status move, it could be trained to have offensive weight, pinning opponents to the ground. But even more importantly... Owen looked at Eevee with a devious glint in his eye. It could be used as a "weight" for Eevee's special training.
"Vee?? VEE-VEE-VEE!!" Eevee realized exactly what Owen was thinking and protested loudly.
Owen has secured a powerful new training tool in Gravity, but the "Spirit Realm Day Trip" is coming to an end. How will the rivalry between Owen and Jean develop now that they've shared this "hellish" experience?
The single relevant follow-up question: Will Jean attempt to challenge Owen to a rematch now that she's also benefited from the Spirit Realm's energy, or will their next encounter be purely professional?
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