Kangaskhan had just endured a fierce battle, and naturally couldn't withstand a high-level Blizzard from Swinub. Tetsuya captured it with ease.
20,000 Pokédollars in the bag!
This was a lucky pickup. With Kangaskhan's Poké Ball in hand, Tetsuya calmly returned to the Pokémon Center.
After dinner at the Pokémon Center, he went outside to the open area to continue Haunter's training.
Ditto, still transformed into Rapidash, was doing short-distance runs to train its back-balance control.
Haunter was continuing its rotation training of Shadow Ball, Sludge Bomb, and Dark Pulse. Although this training had already been going on for two days, there was still no obvious improvement.
Without long-term, repeated practice, it was impossible for a Pokémon to become strong; and the same went for Trainers.
What troubled Tetsuya most was Haunter's psychic power training. This kind of training became stronger the longer it was practiced. But Haunter's training had only just begun. At this rate, it might take ten years before it could use Confusion with ease, and another ten years to use Psychic. Which meant by the time Haunter could actually launch psychic attacks that met his standards, Tetsuya would be thirty.
Tetsuya shook his head. That timeline was simply too long.
Psychic-type Pokémon were born with psychic power, Haunter couldn't compare. Tetsuya knew of a few non-Psychic Pokémon that possessed strong psychic abilities, but those were monsters that had lived for hundreds of years.
In the Orange Islands, there was a Gastly and a Haunter who were once the Pokémon of an Orange League Champion centuries ago.
The Champion had been a ship captain whose vessel sank in a tsunami, taking his life. These two Pokémon continued their psychic training for centuries, to the point where they could lift the sunken ship from the sea using psychic power, and even fly.
That kind of power was awe-inspiring. But after several hundred years… Tetsuya would probably just be a pile of bones by then.
There was also a Ninetales[1]¹, deep in Mt. Mortar. Its Trainer had a resemblance to Brock. The Ninetales had been training its psychic power for centuries, driven by longing for its long-lost Trainer.
Mt. Mortar was just ahead. Tetsuya decided he would visit that Ninetales. Maybe he could learn some "psychic training techniques" from it.
In his past life, he had also wanted to take advantage of that Ninetales. It was one of the most powerful known Pokémon in Johto. But the power gap had been too big; he couldn't even get close to the ancient mansion it guarded.
Eventually, that Ninetales became the Pokémon of Brock, the top Breeder in the Kanto Region. Tetsuya had lost all chance.
Now, with Pryce's Swinub in his possession, if he didn't go to meet that Ninetales, he knew he'd regret it later.
---◓⃙---
The next day, Tetsuya left the Pokémon Center and headed into the deep mountains of Mt. Mortar.
He rode Ditto in Rapidash form until the terrain became impassable, then continued on foot.
The mountain paths of Mt. Mortar were wide and fenced on both sides, so they weren't particularly dangerous. However, the deeper mountain areas had yet to be developed by the League. Those zones were extremely dangerous, which was why almost no one ever entered.
In the deep forest, day and night became indistinguishable. Towering trees blocked out the sun, and the area was teeming with Dark-type Pokémon. Arbok would dart out suddenly, Ariados laid web traps, Houndoom and Houndour hunted for food, and flocks of Zubat swarmed together. One wrong move, and any of these could easily take your life.
But Tetsuya had come fully prepared. Haunter hid within his shadow, staying alert to the changes in the surrounding environment. The most crucial element, however, was Swinub.
Tetsuya held Swinub in his arms. Swinub's body trembled, radiating a cold aura all around. Pokémon of this level gave off a distinct presence, one that most wild Pokémon instinctively avoided.
So, as Tetsuya moved through the deep forest, no wild Pokémon dared to provoke him.
Relying on memories from his previous life, Tetsuya followed a specific direction. At least he wasn't completely clueless.
Ash and Brock had been led to the Ninetales by the Ninetales itself, so they'd reached the mansion effortlessly. In contrast, Tetsuya had spent half a month searching Mt. Mortar during his past life before finally finding it.
After walking for nearly a full day, he reached an abandoned mountain path.
This was the one.
Tetsuya let out a breath of relief. The mansion was directly south from this mountain road.
Although it was already dusk, seeing hope at last gave him the motivation to push forward in one final burst.
He had dinner on the spot. Ditto and Swinub both regained their stamina, he might need their help again tonight.
Haunter would have to feed itself as usual; there wasn't much Tetsuya could do about that. But he had an idea. "Haunter, tonight we'll encounter a Ninetales that's lived for hundreds of years. Its tails are said to contain mysterious powers that allow it to live for a thousand years. To survive that long, it must possess immense vitality… I believe its life energy is something you'll enjoy."
Haunter looked excited.
"Ditto, transform into Rapidash. We'll need to speed up along this mountain road."
As soon as Tetsuya finished speaking, Ditto transformed successfully. Tetsuya mounted, and Rapidash charged south.
They took one more break along the way to recover stamina. It wasn't until around 2 a.m. that they reached the old, abandoned mansion.
At this hour, Ninetales was most likely asleep. Otherwise, Tetsuya would be standing before a dazzling mansion rather than this ruined one.
If it was resting, all the better. The first thing he needed to do was destroy the Poké Ball. As long as that Poké Ball existed, he couldn't capture this Ninetales.
If a Pokémon that powerful could be made his own, his strength would leap forward in a massive way. He'd be twenty years ahead in his progress, instantly elevated to elite status.
The decision was made…
Ditto transformed once again into a wrist guard and returned to his right arm. Haunter hovered closely beside him. Swinub's Poké Ball was already in his grasp.
With everything ready, Tetsuya quietly approached the mansion.
The Poké Ball should be inside the study. He'd have to approach via the corridor. He still didn't know which room Ninetales was resting in, so he couldn't risk alerting it just yet.
Fortunately, the moonlight tonight was bright. Otherwise, using a flashlight would only increase the risk of being discovered.
Thankfully, he still remembered the layout here. If not, having to search room by room would waste precious time, and more importantly, alert Ninetales. Facing that Ninetales during the day would be a disaster; its Ability would be fully active in daylight, making it far harder to defeat.
Tetsuya crept silently toward the study.
•.
•.
¹. Anime episode "Just Waiting On a Friend".
[1] Anime episode "Just Waiting On a Friend".