Next, Gastly told Ash and the others nothing more than the so-called story of the maiden's ghost haunting the place. However, Ash knew perfectly well that all of this was just Gastly's doing to keep the legend of Maiden's Peak alive.
Under Ash's amused, spectator-like gaze, Gastly brought out a pile of paper talismans and said, "If you don't want any trouble, use my talismans. But I'll have to charge you for them."
"I'll take however many talismans you have. Let me know, do you take card or cash?"
Upon seeing Ash pull out a black card, Gastly felt an overwhelming aura of pure wealth hit him right in the face.
"Thank you for your patronage!"
Subsequently, Ash's group of four, along with Team Rocket's Meowth and Jessie, began sticking the talismans all over the shrine. Because Ash had bought so many, they practically covered the entire shrine with them, and Brock and James ended up completely plastered, looking like mummies.
At night, Ash and the others hid inside the shrine, keeping an eye on Brock and James while waiting for the so-called maiden's ghost to appear.
"Will it actually show up?" Misty checked the time, feeling a bit worried that they had been scammed. Elesa also looked at her watch and said, "It's almost midnight. If it's a ghost, it should be appearing right about now."
Ash, who was currently standing protectively in front of Elesa, Misty, and Yellow, commanded, "Charmeleon, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, watch our rear. Chansey, Meowth, Growlithe, keep an eye on our right. Pikachu, Kirlia, watch the center. Team Rocket, you guys cover our left. This way, we can prevent any sneak attacks."
"Twerp, could you not be so scary?"
"Yeah, you're putting a lot of pressure on us..." Just as they were speaking, a fierce wind began to howl. The flickering candlelight was quickly extinguished, leaving only Charmeleon's tail to provide light for everyone. Then, the pale, grayish ghost of the maiden finally appeared.
"I want to see you so badly... I really want to see you."
Seeing this, Ash immediately roared, "It's here! Hit it with the super strong lights!"
Following Ash's shout, everyone pulled out their flashlights and frantically shined them directly at the ghost. The ghost, clearly uncomfortable from the intense light, grabbed hold of Brock and James and tried to flee.
"Don't even think about it! Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip! Drag them back!"
"Bulba!"
Bulbasaur's Vine Whip yanked Brock and James right back. Then, Ash looked at the ghost and said, "That's enough playing around, don't you think? I believe it's time you revealed your true identity." As he spoke, Ash pointed his Pokédex at the ghost, and the device instantly chimed: "Gastly, the Gas Pokémon..."
Seeing that it had been fully exposed, Gastly stopped hiding and directly revealed its true form.
"So you guessed it. That's right! Sometimes a fortune teller, sometimes an old woman, sometimes the maiden's ghost... I am Gastly!"
Looking at Gastly in its true form, Ash turned to Team Rocket and said, "Team Rocket, it's time for your revenge. I'll leave the rest to you!"
Team Rocket, who had been fully planning to sit back and watch Ash fight, froze. Jessie pointed at herself and asked, "Us?"
"Exactly! Can't you see my hands are full?" Ash said, glancing down at his arms. Indeed, he couldn't spare a hand right now, because Elesa, Misty, and Yellow had hidden in his embrace after being spooked by the earlier scare, and Ash was very considerately protecting them.
"Uh, fine. Meowth, get in there!"
"What? Me?!"
"Who else? Get in there!" With a swift kick from Jessie, Meowth was sent flying straight toward Gastly. Gastly chuckled and said, "A Meowth, eh? Since you're a cat, I'll use a dog!"
Gastly immediately transformed into an Arcanine.
"Mommy!"
Seeing the Arcanine waiting for him with its mouth wide open, Meowth instantly bolted back. Seeing Meowth being so useless, Jessie had no choice but to throw her Poké Ball and command, "Ekans, use Wrap!"
"To deal with an Ekans, I'll use a Zangoose!"
With a single X-Scissor from the Gastly-turned-Zangoose, Ekans was instantly knocked out cold.
"Koffing, use Poison Gas!"
"Koffing!"
Koffing spewed out a massive cloud of gas, but was immediately smacked away by the Zangoose—which was now wearing a gas mask.
"I'll be borrowing your gas. Charmeleon, use Flamethrower straight at it!"
"Char!"
The crimson flames sparked a massive explosion upon contacting the gas. However, Gastly remained completely unharmed.
"Just as I thought. You won't be that easy to deal with. Pikachu, get read—"
Seeing Ash's Pikachu beginning to charge up its power, Gastly hastily interrupted, "Wait, wait, wait! I just wanted to play around with you guys a bit, there's no need to take it so seriously..."
Ash found Gastly's sudden shift in attitude strange, but he held back from ordering an attack. Instead, holding Elesa and the others tightly, he asked, "What exactly is your goal? You can tell us now, right?"
"My goal? To be honest, my goal is quite simple: to keep the legend of the maiden's ghost circulating forever. But right now, I've stumbled upon something far more interesting."
"Huh? What is it?"
"Your name is Ash, right? Don't tell me you haven't been hearing it? The maiden's call to you?" Gastly looked at Ash, its eyes filled with deep nostalgia.
"What do you mean by that?" Ash had a faint suspicion, but he still couldn't be entirely sure.
"You should pretty much understand by now, right? Is Ash really your true name? It seems God has completely wiped your memories, Sir Aaron!"
Hearing Gastly say this, Elesa immediately protested. She stepped forward to argue with Gastly, "What are you talking about? Are you saying Ash is a dead man?"
"Of course not, little lady. My meaning is quite clear: Ash is the Aura Guardian from a thousand years ago, Sir Aaron."
"Are you certain? Couldn't Sir Aaron be Ash's past life?" Misty thought reincarnation was far more likely. After all, there was no way Ash could be a thousand-year-old monster. However, Gastly shook its head and said, "No, no, no. A reincarnated person couldn't possibly possess the exact same Aura. Furthermore, I am a Ghost-type Pokémon; I can see people's souls. I've only just realized it now, but Ash is the very same Sir Aaron from a thousand years ago. That explains everything. Oh, forget it! Let me just show you the scenes I saw with my own eyes!"
As Gastly's smoke spread out, various scenes began to materialize. Everyone watched the journey of the hero named Aaron and Lucario as they set off to stop a war.
'Lord Aaron, it seems someone is following us.'
"Oh? It's fine, it harbors no ill will. It's just hungry. I don't know if this will do, but I've left some incense for you. Go ahead and eat."
After Aaron burned three sticks of incense, he left with Lucario. An impatient Gastly then appeared and eagerly began devouring the fragrant smoke.
After eating its fill, Gastly secretly tailed Aaron and Lucario, witnessing their battles along the way, as well as the ultimate fate of the hero Aaron.
Aaron sealed Lucario inside his staff's jewel while he wasn't looking, then smiled at Mew and said, "I'm sorry, but if Lucario stays out here, his Aura will be completely drained. So, it's time to end this. This senseless war... The power of Aura dwells within me. Take all of my Aura, my life! And let it put a complete end to this pointless war!"
Following that, Aaron's Aura was entirely absorbed by the Tree of Beginning. On his deathbed, leaning against a tree trunk, Aaron looked toward Gastly.
"Ah, it's you. I'm really sorry I can't prepare any food for you this time. But the world should become a much better place after this, right? I just hope Lady Rin won't keep waiting for me... Oh right, I don't even have the strength left to let Lucario out. But when he finally emerges, the world of that era will surely bring him comfort, won't it? After all, our sacrifices were worth it..."
"Gastly..."
"Don't be sad for me. I should be the one thanking you. Thank you for witnessing my adventures with Lucario. Being able to adventure with Lucario was truly amazing..."
Right at that moment, someone appeared. Looking at it, Aaron couldn't help but chuckle. "What the... so you were here all along. If I'd known, I wouldn't have gone to such lengths."
Arceus looked at Aaron and couldn't help but ask, "Why did you go to such extremes?"
"Why? Because I deeply love this world. Isn't it only natural to give your all for love?"
"I see. These feelings of yours have reached the Tree of Beginning as well. The war is over. I had intended to no longer interfere with this world, but you have changed my mind. You win this time. Thank you. Thank you for loving this world so deeply. Now, go back. Return to the side of those who care for you. As for that girl, do not worry; you two will meet again. Consider that a part of my token of gratitude."
Then, accompanied by a blinding flash of light, everything vanished. Gastly said, "And those are my memories."
However, right at that moment, another flash of radiance glimmered, and subsequent scenes appeared in the smoke. It showed what happened with Arceus and Aaron afterward.
The hero named Aaron gradually shrank in size. Subsequently, Ash appeared before everyone's eyes. Immediately after, with his eyes closed, Ash was sent right back to the side of Meowth and Pikachu.
When Ash opened his eyes, he merely looked around in confusion.
"What's wrong, Boss?"
"I don't know. I just had this strange feeling, like I was gone for a while?"
"Pika-pi?"
"Never mind, forget it. The Magikarp still need their calcium supplements. Let's go."
"Are we eating fish today, Boss?"
"Depends. If I manage to catch one."
"Pika-pi!"
"I know, I know. Tomato lasagna, right? The ingredients are all prepped, don't worry."
Just like that, Ash, Meowth, and Pikachu walked further and further away, while Arceus watched them from a distance.
"Your story hasn't ended; it's only just begun, Ash."
.
.
.
.
You can read advance chapters and view R-18 images of the characters on pat reon page.
pat reon.com/GreenBlue17
100 Power Stones for 1 extra chapter.
10 New reviews for 1 extra chapter.