Creeeak!
The front door, old and warped from years of neglect, let out a sharp, piercing groan as Fuyuki pushed it open.
A wave of stale, rotting air hit him the moment he stepped inside.
The interior was pitch dark. Fuyuki pulled a flashlight from his bag and swept it around, just barely illuminating the room.
Click!
A flash of white light burst from the Poke Ball at his waist. Squirtle had let itself out, worried that its Trainer might be scared, and now stood beside him.
"Squirtle?" Fuyuki looked down at the little turtle.
"Squirtle squirtle!"
But Squirtle couldn't help glancing around at the eerie surroundings. Its imagination conjured up images of terrifying ghosts lurching out of the darkness to snatch it away.
It grabbed the hem of Fuyuki's pants with its little hands.
Fuyuki: "..."
It was clearly terrified too, and yet it still insisted on coming out to keep him company?
Fuyuki patted Squirtle on the head and comforted it instead. "Don't be scared, Squirtle. Father and I are both right here."
"Squirtle squirtle!"
The ground floor was a living room. He could make out a sofa, an old television set, a dining table, a baby crib. Scattered across the dust-covered floor were some building blocks.
Looking at those toys, images surfaced in Fuyuki's mind.
His father from this life, Matsuda, holding these very toys up, making faces to get him to laugh. His mother, Yumiko, smiling gently nearby as she cooked dinner for her husband and child.
Back then, the family had also kept a Meowth.
His human parents in this life had been gentle, loving people. They had adored him.
Fuyuki's thoughts drifted back to the incident from all those years ago. Perhaps because his soul was that of an adult, his memories from that time remained unusually vivid, even now.
But back then, he had been far too small. There had been nothing he could do to protect them.
The thought that those gentle parents were gone made something twist painfully inside his chest.
"Father, I remember now..."
Entei said nothing. It simply stood guard over its child, a silent, steady presence at his side.
"Squir..."
Squirtle could feel the sadness radiating from its Trainer. Its little face crumpled with worry.
All of a sudden, a cold draft swept through the room. Then, from somewhere close, came an eerie, cackling laugh.
"Gas heh!"
"Who's there?!"
Entei's brow furrowed, its voice cracking like a whip through the darkness.
A wave of crushing pressure erupted from its body, rippling outward along with a blast of scorching heat.
In an instant, a small Pokemon that looked like a ball of purple mist was slammed to the floor by the sheer force of Entei's presence.
Fuyuki turned to look.
The Pokemon seemed frozen stiff with fear, paralyzed in place, staring at them with wide, terrified eyes.
That was... a Gastly?
What was a Gastly doing here?
Fuyuki pulled up what he knew about the species.
Gastly, the Gas Pokemon. According to some accounts, it was born when the lingering resentment of the dead inhabited gas emanating from graveyards.
Others said it was a new life created when a departed soul fused with toxic gas. They only appeared in old, abandoned buildings where no one lived.
At first, Fuyuki didn't think much of it. But then he recalled what Officer Jenny had just told him.
The family that lived here had kept a Meowth.
The Meowth had never left. It stayed in the house, waiting for its owners to return. But they never did.
After learning of their deaths, it stopped eating. And one day, it simply disappeared.
At that point, the Meowth had probably given up on living altogether.
Could this Gastly be... the reincarnation of that Meowth's soul? The thought struck Fuyuki out of nowhere.
He called out to the Gastly. "Meowth?"
"Gaaas...?"
The frightened Gastly looked over, confused.
Meowth? Was the human calling it? Gastly didn't know. As far as it was concerned, it was just a Gastly.
As expected... Fuyuki sighed. Even if this Gastly had been born from the departed Meowth's soul, it wouldn't have any of its old memories.
It wasn't Meowth anymore. It was an entirely new Pokemon.
"How long have you been living here?" Fuyuki asked.
Gastly didn't want to answer at first, but one look at the terrifying giant beside the boy and it answered, trembling all over.
"Gaaas..."
"Since as far back as you can remember?" Fuyuki asked.
"Gaaas..." Gastly nodded. But then it seemed to realize something, and its eyes flew wide open. "Gas!!"
This human... could understand what it was saying!!!
"Have you been living here all alone?" Fuyuki glanced at the stunned Gastly and asked again.
"Gaaas..." Gastly bobbed its head, dazed.
"I see. So you've been on your own all this time..." Fuyuki said. "Then how about you come with us? I'll take you out of here. We can go have fun together. What do you say?"
"Gas?!" Gastly's eyes lit up at once.
Have fun together? This human wanted to play with it?
It had lived alone in this place for as long as it could remember. People were afraid of it. Nobody ever wanted to come near.
Gastly was lonely. Deeply, achingly lonely. It spent its days drifting by the window of the dark room, staring out at the world beyond.
And now, someone was offering to take it along.
Gastly could barely believe it.
"Gas?" it asked again. Really? He really wanted to play with it?
"Yeah." Fuyuki nodded.
"Gas!" Gastly bobbed its head frantically. It was in! Absolutely!
From now on, someone was willing to be its friend!
"Father, I want to catch it," Fuyuki said to Entei.
"Mm." Entei had no objections. It thought the little Gastly was rather pitiful too.
Having it around to keep Fuyuki company and play with him was a fine thing.
In Entei's eyes, whether it was Squirtle or Gastly, they were simply playmates for its child. Peers his own age.
"All right, Gastly, hop in here!" Fuyuki held out a Poke Ball.
"Gas!"
Gastly happily dove into the Poke Ball. It wobbled twice, then went still.
Capture successful.
Fuyuki let out a slow breath. He opened his mouth to say something, but a violent explosion in the distance cut him short.
He turned toward the window. In the heart of Viridian City, a massive blast had sent fire and smoke roaring skyward, lighting up the dark night.
"Squirtle squirtle?" Squirtle couldn't help looking toward the window.
Ash was in Viridian City right now too... Watching the explosion, Fuyuki immediately recalled the events from the anime.
The Team Rocket trio had stormed the Pokemon Center to steal Ash's Pikachu. During the fight, Pikachu's electrical overload triggered a chain reaction in the Center's equipment, setting off a huge explosion.
It had been three years since he last saw Ash. Since he was here anyway, he might as well go over and say hello.
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You can read up to chapter 110 on patreon.com/NiaXD.