At night, this was the environment most beloved by Ghost-type Pokémon, and also the best time for the thousand-year Gastly to come out and stir up trouble.
"Ash, what are you going out so late for?" Ash saw Red preparing to leave the Pokémon Center and ran up to ask.
"It's a child's bedtime now. Don't interfere too much in adult affairs!" Red tapped Ash's forehead with two fingers, urging him to hurry off to sleep.
"What the heck, you were only born a few minutes earlier than me…" Ash muttered.
...
Red arrived alone. After silently enjoying the sea breeze brushing past in the night, he calmly looked toward Maiden's Rock.
"Since you already know I'm coming, why keep playing tricks over there?"
On the way to Maiden's Rock, Red frequently encountered strange incidents. At times, skulls appeared out of thin air above his head; at others, withered trees in the forest transformed into horrifying tree spirits with ghastly faces. Yet none of it frightened Red, because he knew clearly that these were nothing more than illusions cast by the thousand-year Gastly.
"Hahaha, since I've been found out, there's nothing I can do!" The thousand-year Gastly floated up from Maiden's Rock.
"Sometimes I'm the legendary Ghost of Maiden's Peak. Sometimes I'm a mysterious fortune-teller. And sometimes I'm a sallow old woman. But my true form is… Gastly!"
"Oh? Not only do you have a thousand years of experience, you're also a shiny Pokémon!" Red said in surprise. He hadn't observed the thousand-year Gastly carefully before, but at close range he now saw that its gas was a pale purple—clearly a shiny Pokémon. Ordinary Gastly were mostly deep purple gas, while this one was pale lavender.
"I'm curious how you discovered me. I didn't sense you using psychic powers at all?" the thousand-year Gastly asked in confusion. It had hidden itself so carefully, yet Red still found it.
"My Pokédex has been alerting me that a Pokémon is nearby this whole time," Red replied calmly, taking out his Pokédex and scanning the thousand-year Gastly's data.
"Gastly, the Gas Pokémon. Almost invisible. If surrounded by its gas unintentionally, one may lose consciousness."
"So why did you come here alone? I don't believe you'd leisurely come just to expose the truth of the Ghost of Maiden's Peak!" the thousand-year Gastly said warily, retreating several meters.
...
Red said nothing. He simply looked up at the thousand-year Gastly and threw the Poké Ball he had already prepared.
As the white light faded, a massive crimson Gyarados appeared before the thousand-year Gastly. The red Gyarados let out a fierce roar, intimidating it and lowering its Attack.
"You think sending out a mutant Gyarados is enough to defeat me? How laughable!" the thousand-year Gastly sneered. Under Red and the red Gyarados' puzzled gazes, it turned into smoke and then transformed into a black-and-red Gyarados twice as tall as the crimson one.
"Well? Scared now?" it boasted, failing to notice the contempt in Red and the red Gyarados' eyes.
"If this pathetic illusion is all you have, I'll have to reconsider whether I should even capture you," Red said, shaking his head. This kind of hypnosis could only scare ordinary Pokémon. While Red was satisfied that it could cast hypnosis silently, that alone was far from enough.
Bang—
The crimson Gyarados used Aqua Tail, smashing the thousand-year Gastly into a tree stump. The black-and-red Gyarados illusion vanished, returning to its original form.
"Damn it, you're forcing my hand!" the thousand-year Gastly shouted angrily, releasing a strange light from its eyes, intending to confuse the crimson Gyarados.
"Ice Beam!" Red commanded.
The crimson Gyarados opened its mouth and fired Ice Beam. It collided with the strange light, and the clash triggered an explosion that turned into thick fog.
The thousand-year Gastly let out a sinister laugh, turned into a shadow, and blended into the mist. Seizing the moment while the crimson Gyarados was distracted, it transformed into a terrifying phantom and used Night Shade to deal damage.
"Gyarados, no need to test it anymore!" Red said.
Upon hearing the command, the crimson Gyarados roared. Its pale-yellow skin gradually turned jet black, and its aura changed drastically—it had transformed into its 'Dark Dragon form.'
"How is this possible?! That hateful aura?" the thousand-year Gastly cried in terror. It sensed the Dark-type energy that countered it.
"Crunch!"
Red ignored its horrified gaze and directly ordered Crunch.
The crimson Gyarados opened its blood-red maw, black energy swirling around its jaws, and bit down on the thousand-year Gastly before it could react.
"Damn it!"
Unwilling to lose like this, the thousand-year Gastly launched a Shadow Ball at the crimson Gyarados' eye. But in doing so, it touched the Gyarados' reverse scale. The crimson Gyarados' eyes turned scarlet as it intensified its bite.
"Please stop! Mr. Gastly has only been doing this to help me!"
The true Ghost of Maiden's Peak emerged from the stone statue at Maiden's Rock, pleading as she looked at the cold-faced Red.
"An earthbound spirit? I didn't expect it to have become this pure," Red said cautiously.
An earthbound spirit was a soul that, unable to complete its wish in life and unwilling to ascend after death, clung stubbornly to the mortal world. Most were bound to a certain area, hence the name.
"I have no ill intentions!" the Ghost of Maiden's Peak said fearfully. Seeing Red release Charizard, she hurried to explain that she had only appeared to beg him to spare the thousand-year Gastly.
"Can't even handle this small fry?" Charizard glanced at the crimson Gyarados in confusion.
"Of course I can!" The crimson Gyarados disdainfully knocked the thousand-year Gastly to the ground with Dark Pulse, then explained, "This was Master's plan—to force the earthbound spirit before us to reveal herself!"
"What? So that was your plan from the start?!"
As a Pokémon, the thousand-year Gastly could understand Charizard and the crimson Gyarados. Hearing that Red's true target was the Ghost of Maiden's Peak, it forced itself to float in front of her, trying to shield her from Red's assault.
"Haven't you realized you've been doing harm all along?" Red said coldly. "She was close to ascending. But every year, because of your interference during the Summer Festival, some travelers learn of her existence, strengthening her soul again instead of letting it fade!"
Red never understood what she clung to. Even if she met her beloved's reincarnation, so what? The one who had already been reborn would have a new life. Revealing herself would only interfere with it.
"But she's always been so persistent…" the thousand-year Gastly tried to argue.
"Enough noise!" The crimson Gyarados roared, nearly dispersing the maiden's soul. "Listen to my Master!"
"You can see her soul won't last much longer. If not for what you've given her each year, she would've already dissipated!" Red said disdainfully. "If she reincarnates sooner, perhaps she'll meet her beloved again someday. Right now, you're only interfering with her destiny!"
The thousand-year Gastly tried to argue further, but the Ghost of Maiden's Peak stopped him and turned to Red.
"Powerful young man, I understand what you're saying. But my soul has wandered too long. I've already lost the chance to reincarnate. I only wish to witness my beloved's reincarnation. Only then can I let go of my obsession."
"That's not certain," Red said calmly.
An astonishing surge of psychic power, Aura abilities, and Power of Viridian erupted from him. The fusion of these three forces created overwhelming life energy, freezing the thousand-year Gastly in place as it prepared to flee with the Ghost of Maiden's Peak.
"There's nothing my Master can't overcome!" Charizard declared firmly, standing by Red's side. Long ago, it had sworn to follow Red and help him become the strongest Pokémon Trainer in the world.
"Ho-Oh possesses the power to revive the dead. I believe this Rainbow Wing can help you succeed."
Red took out the Rainbow Wing gifted by Ho-Oh, trusting its life force would allow the Ghost of Maiden's Peak to reincarnate successfully.
"If it's Ho-Oh's power, then it might truly work!" the thousand-year Gastly said excitedly. It had once witnessed Ho-Oh revive the Legendary Beasts.
The Ghost of Maiden's Peak struggled internally over whether to finally let go.
"You can let go. I believe fate will bring you together again someday," the thousand-year Gastly said gently, persuading her not to miss this rare opportunity.
"Thank you, Mr. Gastly!"
After a long inner struggle, and under the watchful eyes of Charizard and the crimson Gyarados, the Ghost of Maiden's Peak understood it was time to release her obsession. After a thousand years of waiting without success, perhaps rebirth truly held hope.
She believed Red's words, for this young man had been acknowledged by Ho-Oh. It was said that those who encountered Ho-Oh would obtain eternal happiness. She wished to borrow that blessing, hoping to meet her beloved once more.
Finally, under the witness of Red and his three Pokémon, the Ghost of Maiden's Peak radiated golden light and slowly ascended to the heavens.