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I might as well head to Lavender Town and see what's going on. If I don't show up on time, Team Rocket's internal discipline is no joke. I can't afford to defy orders just yet.
Feng Che quickly packed his gear and set off. Lavender Town, located in the northeast of the Kanto region, is famous for being a Pokémon cemetery. All funeral rites and mourning activities take place in the town's landmark, the Pokémon Tower.
It is also a town under heavy surveillance by the League because it houses a rift to the Spirit World. This rift is the reason Lavender Town is teeming with Ghost-types; under its influence, humans or Pokémon who pass away here are highly susceptible to becoming new ghosts.
Feng Che had no intention of catching a standard Ghost-type here. Currently, the only Ghost-type on his wish list was Decidueye.
Nine days later, a travel-worn Feng Che arrived at the outskirts of Lavender Town.
The moment he laid eyes on the town, he knew something was wrong. Team Rocket grunts were everywhere, behaving as if the entire population had been rounded up and detained.
Kanto is vast, and Lavender Town's population is small, Feng Che mused. Rocket must have moved with lightning speed to seize the town before the League even noticed.
"Who goes there?" a grunt shouted, snapping his rifle toward the forest. The guards were on high alert, clearly fearing a League counter-raid.
"Elite Member Feng Che, reporting for duty."
Feng Che emerged from the shadows wearing his signature smiling-face mask and a black cloak. He presented his Rocket ID. A grunt ran a scanner over the badge, and upon receiving the "Verified" signal, he stepped aside.
As he walked through the streets, Feng Che confirmed his suspicion: the residents were indeed under house arrest. Rocket controlled every corner. Feng Che lowered his hood and removed his mask, revealing his sharp, handsome features.
"Yo, Feng Che!"
A ninja-clad figure with a white snake draped over his shoulders called out. It was Snake Pillar, one of the seven high-ranking ninjas under Koga. Beside him was Insect Pillar, the man who had tried to sabotage Feng Che on Death Island. Insect Pillar offered a sheepish, awkward smile; he knew Feng Che was now Sabrina's favorite, and he had no desire to be turned into a doll.
"This is Feng Che," Snake Pillar introduced him to the other grunts. "Lady Sabrina holds him in very high regard. Meet the rest of our unit: Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Lightning, and Insect. We are Master Koga's Seven Pillars."
After the formalities, Feng Che pulled Snake Pillar aside. "What's the actual mission? Why are we occupying a graveyard?"
"I'm not entirely sure," Snake Pillar whispered cautiously. "Orders from the top. We're just told to hold the perimeter. Master Koga is here, and Lady Sabrina is expected to arrive shortly. Our main priority is to keep the League out."
Strange. I don't remember any major Rocket event in Lavender Town around this time in the original lore, Feng Che thought, rubbing his chin. He only recalled Blue's disappearance and Red's eventual infiltration.
The sky over Lavender Town was eternal twilight. Thick, unnatural clouds blotted out the sun, moon, and stars. It was a perfect ecosystem for Ghost Pokémon.
"Have you heard? Master Koga is planning to open the Gate to the Spirit World.""The Spirit World? Why? Does he want to farm the ghosts behind it?""The records say the town's ancestors spent centuries sealing that rift. If it opens, the town will never see light again."
Feng Che used his psychic powers to eavesdrop on the thoughts of the Pokémon and grunts nearby. Ghost-types seem to have a natural resistance to my Heart Voice, he noted. This is the second time I've felt the limitations of my ability.
Ping!
His communicator buzzed. It was a direct message from Sabrina.
Sabrina:Come to the 7th floor of the Pokémon Tower. All Elite-level members and above are required for a briefing.Sabrina:I've already sensed you entering the town. Don't dawdle. And be careful—the tower's ghosts are restless.
Terrifying, Feng Che thought. She sensed me the second I stepped into town. Her psychic range is monstrous.
The Pokémon Tower loomed in the center of town, its upper reaches vanishing into the black clouds. Feng Che cleared multiple security checkpoints before entering the ground floor.
The air inside was bone-chilling. Rows of tombstones lined the hall. Fledgling Gastly let out high-pitched, sinister giggles that echoed off the cold stone walls.
Suddenly, two dark shapes blocked the path. Feng Che squinted: one was the rotting corpse of a Psyduck, the other a half-decayed Lickitung. They were dripping with putrid slime, reeking of death.
Ghost-types are possessing the corpses to create puppets, Feng Che realized, his stomach turning.
"Go, Alolan Vulpix! Show them what you can do!"
In a place like this, Ice-type moves were perfect for stopping "corpse-puppets" in their tracks. A thick purple mist began to swirl on the first floor. More corpses began to crawl out from under the graves—a scene straight out of a horror movie.
"Vulpix, Powder Snow!"
The freezing wind swept through the hall, frosting the possessed corpses and slowing their mechanical movements. The hidden Gastly hissed in annoyance, their laughter turning into frustrated shrieks.
Suddenly, a swarm of undead Beedrill, Butterfree, and Pidgeotto burst from the rafters, diving at Feng Che.
They're trying to swarm me with aerial puppets so I can't see, Feng Che thought, a cold smirk playing on his lips. They want to see if the Alchemist can handle the dark. Months ago, this might have worked. Not today.
"Vulpix, Blizzard!"
The snowy fox opened its mouth. A silver necklace with a hexagonal pendant—a Never-Melt Ice fragment—glowed around its neck. A violent storm of snow erupted, instantly plunging the temperature of the first floor to sub-zero.
The flying puppets were flash-frozen mid-air, falling like heavy hailstones and shattering upon impact with the floor. The Gastly responsible were caught in the ice blocks as well, their white eyes wide with shock behind the frost.
"If this is the 'Rocket Initiation,' it's too simple," Feng Che scoffed. He scooped up his Vulpix and headed for the stairs.
He cleared the second and third floors with ease. On the fourth floor, however, he hit a wall.
A three-headed Weezing blocked the passage, leaking thick toxic gas from every pore. It was a rare mutation, its central head flanked by two smaller twin heads.
Pokémon: Weezing (Triple-headed) Potential: Green Level: 36
This belongs to Koga. He's testing anyone trying to reach the top. Which means by the sixth floor, I'll likely face his Arbok.
"Go, Litten!"
The 7th Floor (Penthouse)
Sabrina, dressed in her red tunic, stood by the balcony. Her long black hair was like silk, and her eyes, clear as black jewels, stared into the distance. She closed her eyes, sensing every movement within the tower.
"Sabrina, your subordinate is getting quite efficient," Koga said, his eyes flashing with intrigue as he watched the psychic feedback. "He just used an Alolan Vulpix to freeze an entire floor of ghosts. Now he's challenging my Weezing with a Litten."
Sabrina didn't turn around. She merely tapped her arm with a slender finger. "You're the one who insisted on this test. If he ruins your 'security' layout, don't come crying to me."
She opened her eyes and gave Koga a sideways glance, her expression unreadable.
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