"Hey, did you hear? Lately there have been rumors about a ghost in Pokémon Tower!"
On the middle floors of Pokémon Tower, three Team Rocket members were guarding the stairway. Their words and behavior were full of arrogance, as if no one would ever dare break into Pokémon Tower.
"Hey! Don't say that—I'm terrified of ghost stories!" one of them said nervously, his face already stiff with fear.
"Hmph! What ghost rumors? It's nothing more than the Ghost-type Pokémon living in Pokémon Tower!" another sneered. He believed the rumors were just fabrications spread by the residents of Lavender Town to scare them into leaving so people could come pay their respects in peace.
"By the way, has Captain gotten any information out of that old geezer yet?" Member A asked.
"It's pretty funny, actually. The old geezer started cursing us the moment he arrived, ranting about how we torture to death Pokémon and all that nonsense. Annoying as hell. Turns out Captain recognized him—he used to be a researcher who worked for Team Rocket!" Member B explained.
This time, Team Rocket had come to Lavender Town not only to capture wild Pokémon for sale on the black market, but also to search for a former researcher who had once served them and then mysteriously disappeared.
"Too bad we didn't catch that Cubone. We could've sold it for a good price on the black market!" Member C said regretfully, though the trembling at the corner of his mouth betrayed the sinister pleasure he had taken in killing Marowak.
"Don't even get me started. How did you mess up and kill Marowak? Sure, adult Pokémon don't sell for much, but at least we'd get something. You were too careless!" Member A complained. They had planned to beat it half to death and drag it to the black market, but after Member C got his thigh bitten by Marowak, he'd ruthlessly killed it in anger.
"Enough talk. I don't know why, but I've got a bad feeling something big is going to happen tonight," Member B said cautiously.
"You're not actually scared of some ghost rumor, are you?!" Member A mocked. Amid their laughter, the three of them finally began guarding the stairway more seriously.
...
"Gravestones everywhere… what a miserable sight…"
Red arrived on the first floor of Pokémon Tower. Before him stood rows upon rows of gravestones for departed Pokémon. Each one recorded the Pokémon's life story and the name of its former Trainer.
"Cubone!"
Seeing a shadow gradually approaching, the Cubone in Red's arms became alert. It clenched its teeth, gripped its bone club tightly, and prepared to attack at any moment.
"I'm not a ghost!"
A woman walked toward Red, speaking to calm both him and Cubone.
Noticing Red's puzzled gaze, she explained, "No matter what, I wanted to visit my Nidoran, so I snuck into Pokémon Tower late at night!"
"There are ghosts here, and Team Rocket is patrolling. You should leave as soon as possible."
"Even though you're just a child, you seem surprisingly mature. You're here to visit your Pokémon too, aren't you? What a thoughtful Trainer. The ghosts only appear on the upper-middle floors, so you'll be fine," the woman said.
"There isn't any Pokémon here I came to visit. I'm here for personal reasons."
Seeing that Red didn't intend to elaborate, the woman was about to ask more, but when she turned her head, Red had already vanished, as if he had never been there at all.
"That Cubone in the boy's arms… could it be…" she murmured, seemingly realizing something.
Moments later, Red arrived at the middle floors. With the help of his Aura abilities, he sensed the positions of the three Team Rocket members ahead. Just as he was about to step forward, a blurry purple-black figure suddenly entered his sight.
'Leave this place! Get out of here!'
The figure was the ghost rumored throughout Lavender Town. Yet neither Red nor his Pokémon showed the slightest panic. The Cubone in his arms seemed to sense something—it leapt down and ran toward the ghost without regard for danger.
'Mom!'
"It's Marowak's soul…" Red released his psychic power along with his Aura abilities, seeing clearly that the ghost was the lingering spirit of Marowak, not yet dispersed after death.
"Unable to ascend because of attachment? A mother's love…"
Thousand-Year Gengar, hiding within Red's shadow, floated out and looked at Marowak with a complicated expression.
"Mini?" Though Dratini didn't understand what motherly love meant, it was moved by Cubone's emotions and found tears streaming down its own face.
'Leave this place. They're here. You mustn't go near them!'
Seeing Red about to advance recklessly, Marowak hurried to block him, trying to protect him from Team Rocket.
"Even after being cruelly killed by humans, you still warn passersby to leave… Marowak, your soul is truly noble!"
Red pressed down his cap, his face dark. Flames of fury filled his eyes—not only sorrow for Marowak's fate, but indignation for the injustice done to her soul.
Cubone had already recognized the ghost before it as its dead mother. It wanted nothing more than to throw itself into her embrace. But Marowak was now only a spirit. Cubone broke down in tears, grieving the unfairness of her fate.
"Shut up! I thought someone important had barged in. Turns out it's just some brat!" Member A snapped irritably. When he saw Dratini, he trembled with excitement. "A shiny Dratini! We've struck gold!"
"Cubone!"
Seeing the Team Rocket members who had killed its mother, Cubone rushed forward to attack, ignoring the danger.
'It's too dangerous! Leave now—you're no match for them!' Marowak pleaded, hoping Red would take her child and flee.
"It's a ghost!" Member A shouted in terror, only now noticing Marowak. The temptation of the shiny Dratini had drawn all his attention.
"The ghost appeared?!"
The other two rushed over. Panic flashed in their eyes at the sight of Marowak, but the lure of Dratini and Cubone kept them from turning tail and running.
"Come out!" ×3
Three Poké Balls were thrown at once. Koffing, Raticate, and Arbok appeared before Red. All three were fairly average in strength—no match for him.
"Finish them," Red said disdainfully, sending Dratini from around his neck and Cubone into battle.
'It's too dangerous! Leave now!' Marowak tried to block Red again, unwilling to see her child hurt.
"Don't worry, Marowak! Your child isn't as weak as you think! And besides…" Red slowly lowered his cap. His left eye gradually turned crimson.
"I'll avenge you!"
Aura Resonance!
The Team Rocket members and their three Pokémon were immediately affected by the negative effects of Aura Resonance. In their vision, Red radiated a terrifying pressure. It forced them to gasp desperately for air, yet no matter how deeply they breathed, the "boulder" crushing them did not lighten.
Furious, Red no longer restrained his anger. The full brunt of Aura Resonance tortured the three men's minds. Yet he remained clear-headed—he had no intention of harming the Pokémon, only making them temporarily struggle to breathe.
"Scum like you—even if the League arrests you, it won't matter!" Killing intent shone in Red's left eye. The fusion of pressure and bloodlust made even Thousand-Year Gengar shudder. It was the first time it had seen Red this enraged.
"Fight. This is your final chapter," Red said calmly.
"Don't look down on me!" Member C roared. He stabbed a dagger into his own thigh, using the pain to clear his head, then charged at Red with the blade.
"Bonemerang!" Red ordered.
Stimulated by Aura Resonance, Cubone's small body erupted with astonishing presence. Gripping its bone club, it smashed repeatedly into Member C's thigh, shattering the bone and bending it grotesquely.
Though only Beedrill could perfectly synchronize with Red's Aura Resonance, even his independent release of it was enough to awaken part of a Pokémon's battle instincts.
"Ahhh—my leg! You damn thing!" Member C screamed, clutching his bleeding thigh as he trembled. But Cubone showed no intention of stopping. Endless killing intent filled its eyes, and the blood-soaked bone club became an instrument of death in the man's sight.
Red and Thousand-Year Gengar made no move to stop Cubone. If it could not personally avenge its mother, its heart might never fully heal. Meanwhile, Marowak, unwilling to see her child stained with blood, tried to intervene—but under Thousand-Year Gengar's obstruction, she could only stand there and watch helplessly.
(My child, I won't be able to watch you grow up anymore. I hope this boy will guide you, help you grow, and give you warmth…)