Alone at Last
For the first time since beginning his journey,
Elior was alone.
No Mira.
No conversations on the road.
No friendly competitions.
Only himself and his Pokémon.
As the gates of
Nowhere City
closed behind him, Elior looked toward
Nowhere Gym.
His goal remained unchanged.
Defeat Morrigan.
Earn the Ghost Badge.
The next morning, Elior arrived at an abandoned graveyard outside the city.
A place where Ghost Pokémon naturally gathered.
Waiting for him was an unexpected figure.
Morrigan.
"...You're late."
Elior blinked.
"...Why are you here?"
Morrigan crossed her arms.
"Because your current training won't be enough."
Elior frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Morrigan pointed toward
Eclipse Lunashade.
"Your Pokémon is strong."
"Your Lucario is strong."
"But strength wasn't the reason you lost."
Silence.
Elior knew she was right.
Morrigan summoned her ace.
Soulmourne
appeared in a swirl of ghostly mist.
The atmosphere immediately changed.
"Ghost Pokémon don't attack the body."
"They attack the heart."
Suddenly—
Soulmourne's eyes glowed.
The world around Elior vanished.
Darkness.
Nothing but darkness.
Elior found himself standing alone.
No Pokémon.
No friends.
No partner.
Only silence.
Then voices appeared.
"You'll never catch up."
"You'll lose again."
"You're not strong enough."
The voices echoed endlessly.
Outside the illusion,
Lucario and Lunashade watched nervously.
Minutes passed.
Then—
Elior smiled.
Inside the illusion.
"Maybe I'll lose again."
"Maybe I'm still weak."
"But I'll keep moving forward."
CRACK!
The darkness shattered.
The illusion collapsed instantly.
Morrigan's Surprise
Soulmourne slowly lowered its gaze.
Morrigan stared silently.
Then—
For the first time—
She nodded approvingly.
"Good."
The training continued until sunset.
Lucario improved its aura control.
Mystveil refined its psychic abilities.
Lunashade learned to maintain its Abyss energy longer than before.
The team was growing stronger.
Elsewhere...
Deep within a hidden base of
The Eclipse Rebellion,
Zeff
stood before a massive sealed door.
The mysterious object recovered from Gravetower rested on a stone altar.
The room trembled slightly.
The "First Key" had already been obtained.
And now...
The search for the second key had begun.
Back in Nowhere City—
Night had fallen.
Elior stood atop a hill overlooking the city.
Beside him stood
Eclipse Lunashade and Lucario.
The lights of Nowhere City glowed below.
Elior clenched his fist.
"I'm getting closer."
"Just wait, Morrigan."
"The rematch is coming."
And far in the distance...
A ghostly bell echoed through the night.
TO BE CONTINUED...