Chapter 131: Climbing the Tower
The atmosphere on the second floor was distinctly different from the first.
The normal lights had already gone out, leaving only the emergency lights providing a faint glow, which significantly limited visibility.
In the dim lighting, they could only see a radius of about four to five meters around them. Beyond that, everything was shrouded in darkness, with only rows of gravestones barely visible in the distance.
Seeing this, Green instinctively released her Chansey, intending for it to protect her.
However, before Chansey could even take action, it was so startled by the eerie surroundings that it clung tightly to Green's clothes, too afraid to move.
Green: "....."
At this moment, she finally understood Asahi's frustration.
Chansey, you're a Normal-type Pokémon! Why are you afraid of ghosts?!
Green tried several times to pry her arm free from Chansey's grip, but to no avail. Left with no other choice, she recalled Chansey into its Poké Ball and instead sent out her Wartortle.
Compared to Chansey, Wartortle was noticeably braver.
Standing in front of Green, Wartortle remained on high alert, scanning the surroundings for any potential threats.
"No need to look. There are no enemies on the second floor," Asahi said.
With both his Aura sensing and Gardevoir's psychic scan, he found no trace of any hostile presence on this floor, making him suspect whether the Gengar and Haunter from below had misled him.
Where were these supposedly powerful enemies?
Hearing this, Green was momentarily stunned. She quickly put on her scanning goggles to check the area herself, but just like Asahi had said—there wasn't a single Ghost-type Pokémon in sight.
However...
"The Ghost-type energy on this floor is much more active than on the first floor," Green said, looking at the data displayed on her scanner glasses.
Even though there wasn't a single Ghost-type Pokémon in sight, the energy levels were stronger. No matter how she looked at it, it seemed strange.
"Maybe it's because we're getting closer to the portal to the Ghost World," Asahi speculated. "Let's keep moving."
They continued upward, following the path between the gravestones.
Just as Asahi was about to step onto the stairs, his Aura suddenly sensed a powerful wave of hostility.
Without thinking, he grabbed Green's arm and pulled her behind Gardevoir. The next moment, a claw made entirely of ghostly energy slashed through the space right in front of him, leaving three deep gouges in the ground.
Green, caught off guard by Asahi's sudden pull, gasped in shock.
If Asahi hadn't reacted in time, her fate would have been too grim to imagine.
She instinctively shone her flashlight toward the staircase, revealing their attacker.
"That's... a Trevenant?"
It took Green a moment to recognize it.
Trevenant were commonly found in the Kalos region, but they were quite rare in Kanto. More importantly, they typically lived in forests—what was one doing here?
Could the Ghost World portal be bringing in Pokémon from other regions?
As Green pondered this, Gardevoir had already launched an attack.
A powerful surge of psychic energy descended upon Trevenant, distorting the air around it.
The Trevenant let out a furious howl and slashed forward with Shadow Claw.
Shadow Claw vs. Psychic
On paper, Shadow Claw had the advantage due to type effectiveness. However, Gardevoir's sheer psychic power was overwhelming—it crushed Shadow Claw outright and slammed into Trevenant.
Crack!
The Trevenant screeched in pain, its single red eye burning with fury. But under Gardevoir's control, it was completely immobilized.
Gardevoir remained unfazed by its anger.
With a simple flick of its hand, Trevenant was sent flying, crashing into the wall like a pinned specimen.
Asahi approached, attempting to communicate with it.
But Trevenant showed no intention of responding. It was fixated on attacking him, even resisting when Asahi tried to calm it with the Viridian Aura.
This was the first time his Viridian Aura had failed.
Even against the Unown in the past, his aura had worked.
"Is this because of the Ghost World? Or because of Team Rocket, who opened the portal?"
Lost in thought, Asahi signaled to Gardevoir.
With another blast of psychic energy, Trevenant was finished off.
He and Green continued their ascent.
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Third Floor
"Gardevoir, use Psychic!"
A Cofagrigus let out a shriek as it was struck, collapsing onto the already cracked and broken stone floor.
A group of Yamask scattered in fear, but Gardevoir swiftly took them down one by one.
---
Fourth Floor
Here, Asahi encountered a horde of Pumpkaboo, led by a Gourgeist of an unusually large size.
They were singing a strange, eerie melody, trying to lure Asahi closer.
But Asahi saw through their trick. Without hesitation, he released his Salamence, who bathed the room in flames.
Weak to fire, the Pumpkaboo fled in panic.
After Gardevoir swiftly defeated Gourgeist, the rest were easily dealt with.
---
Fifth Floor
Asahi and Green were surrounded by a group of Litwick, led by a Chandelure.
They attempted to encircle the two and drain their life force.
But, once again, Gardevoir made short work of them.
---
After clearing four floors of Ghost-type Pokémon, even Gardevoir was starting to show signs of fatigue.
Standing on the now-empty sixth floor, Asahi placed a hand on Gardevoir's shoulder, using his Viridian Aura to restore its stamina while surveying the fallen Pokémon around them.
"Green, did you notice something odd?" he suddenly asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Normally, wild Pokémon observe and test their opponents before attacking."
"But these Pokémon attacked us on sight—like they had some deep hatred for us."
And there was another pattern.
Every single one of these Pokémon had refused to communicate when he used his Viridian Aura.
Green nodded. She had noticed it too.
"Maybe it's because they came from the Ghost World?" she suggested.
"Maybe. But I feel like that's not the whole story," Asahi replied.
Either way, speculation wasn't as useful as firsthand confirmation.
The Pokémon Tower had seven floors in total.
According to Agatha, Team Rocket had triggered an unknown phenomenon on the seventh floor, causing the portal to the Ghost World to open.
If they were going to find answers, it had to be there.
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