“The journey of the Eight Masters Tournament has officially begun, and I'm afraid this will directly extend to 100 chapters. It will take some time before a new world appears, as I still need to think about it.”
The three people who came out of the Pokémon Center walked towards the indicator on the map. Originally, the three had planned to reach the station in one day, but because Lin Jingnan participated in several Pokémon battles, they had to spend the night in a remote small town.
“Sorry, I couldn’t hold back…”
“It’s fine. When I first embarked on my journey, I was the same, accepting all battle requests.”
“How can you even say that? Why didn’t you just summon Yveltal to take us there?”
“I want to see the scenery, and so do my child and Little Princess.”
Gui Ling held Diancie’s small hand with his left hand and Xiao Ka’s hand with his right. Lin Jingnan didn’t mind at all and felt nothing, but Ruo Xi, who was standing beside him, crossed her arms in anger and looked at Gui Ling with a dark expression.
“What? Are you jealous?”
“I’m not jealous at all. Let’s hurry and find a place to stay, or we’ll have to camp.”
“I live in the forest. You two go if you want, or you can stay in the forest with me.”
“No way, I didn’t bring a sleeping bag.”
“You didn’t bring one either? I think a haystack isn’t bad. How about you…”
“Get lost! Are you a Champion or a savage?”
…………
“Hello, we are travelers from out of town. It’s getting late, may we stay here for the night?”
Lin Jingnan walked to a wooden house and knocked politely. After a few seconds, a very old and magnetic voice slowly came from inside the door.
“Passcode.”
“Huh? What passcode?”
(Silence)…………
“Don’t be like that, Old Woman, or we’ll have to stay in the wild. We can pay whatever it costs!”
Originally, faint footsteps could be heard inside the wooden house, but they suddenly stopped when Lin Jingnan mentioned staying in the wild.
“It seems she won’t be hosting us. You two should just stay in the woods with me.”
“No way, please? Oh, I give up. Do you have some obsession with the woods?”
“Oh, come on, let’s go, let’s go.”
“Wait.”
Just then, the old voice came from inside the wooden house again.
“What’s wrong, Old Woman?”
“You… stay away from the window. Let me see what you look like.”
Although the three were a bit confused, they obediently did as they were told and stood about ten paces from the window.
The previously sealed window of the wooden house was unlatched, but through the somewhat dirty glass, only one eye could be seen constantly scrutinizing the three.
“Bring out your Pokémon.”
Lin Jingnan was the first to summon her Sylveon and Milotic, followed by Ruo Zhe’s Urshifu and Togekiss, and Gui Ling’s Gengar and Banette.
…………
After nearly 10 seconds, there was still no sound, but the figure on the glass had clearly disappeared.
“Sigh, let’s go. It’s not impossible to make do for a night.”
Ruo Zhe had already compromised and was about to walk towards the courtyard gate when he heard the sealed wooden door open.
“Come in.”
An Old Woman with a face full of wrinkles and a pointed nose, leaning on a cane, sternly beckoned the three into the house.
“It feels a bit like… the old witch Grandma used to talk about?”
Lin Jingnan muttered to herself, then was the first to enter the wooden house. Although Ruo Zhe always had a bad feeling about the place, he was still dragged in by Gui Ling.
“If you’re going in and then you’re unhappy, why didn’t you say so earlier?”
“You’re overthinking it. I just feel like there’s something… strange… about this place.”
…………
“Thank you, Old Woman.”
Lin Jingnan was the first to bow, but the Old Woman didn’t look directly at Lin Jingnan and walked into the living room on her own.
“It’s best not to go into that forest at night. After tonight, you should leave quickly.”
“Is there something going on in this place?”
Lin Jingnan shook her head, looking at the bickering Gui Ling and Ruo Xi. She also felt a strange peculiarity about the place, so she thought of trying to get some information from the Old Woman.
“Don’t go into that forest.”
“What happened?”
“If you don’t want to die, don’t go. As for what’s there, I can’t tell you.”
“Is there any danger?”
“Yes, people have died there.”
“Pokémon?”
“Not Pokémon, ghosts.”
“Ghosts? Ghost-type Pokémon?”
“? Huh? What was that? Lin Jingnan, did you call me?!”
“Sigh… these two burdens… It’s nothing! I didn’t call you!”
“Oh! Hey, wait? Why are you stealing my food?!”
After sighing, Lin Jingnan smiled apologetically at the Old Woman.
“My two friends are a bit noisy. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Just don’t attract that thing, or I can’t guarantee I won’t kick you out.”
“The thing you mentioned, have you never suspected it to be a Ghost-type Pokémon?”
The Old Woman chuckled and looked at Lin Jingnan with an extremely strange smile.
“You’re a Trainer, aren’t you? I see you have two Pokémon.”
“Yes, I’m a Trainer who just embarked on a journey.”
“Hmm, then do you know who I am?”
“You are?”
“I am Ba'er Lingze. There are not many people left in this world who remember my name.”
“I really haven’t heard of it…”
“No matter. You just need to know that I was once a Ghost-type Heavenly King.”
“You were a Ghost-type Heavenly King?!”
The Old Woman looked troubled and slowly twisted a nearby candle.
The next second, the burning flame disappeared into the wall, revealing a shelf of old books.
“Here are the records of all Ghost-type Pokémon in the entire world, and even my observation data. You can take a look.”
Lin Jingnan pulled out a few books and flipped through them casually, only to be surprised to find that every book had great research value. The information about Ghost-type Pokémon recorded inside was even more complete and comprehensive than a Rotom Phone.
“There’s even… Giratina?! Although there are only a few strokes, this is information I’ve never seen before!”
“So that thing is definitely not a Ghost-type Pokémon, do you understand?”
When mentioning “that thing,” the Old Woman clearly showed a hint of fear, and Lin Jingnan caught this subtle movement.
What kind of thing could make a Ghost-type Heavenly King so afraid?
At the same time, in the room where Gui Ling and Ruo Zhe were bickering, several photos hung on the wall, showing the Old Woman and many Ghost-type Pokémon together.
Gengar, Dragapult, Spiritomb, Gourgeist, Mismagius, Froslass, Chandelure…
“Where are your Pokémon?”
“You don’t want to know… If you don’t want to die because of it, don’t go into that forest.”
“They… couldn’t be?”
The Old Woman seemed to stop breathing when she heard this, then let out a heavy sigh.
“So, don’t go…”
Preview: “Unknown dangers are quietly lurking in the forest: deceased family members, dead Pokémon, and even beings not of this world!?
“That guy is very eerie…”
…
“No injuries on the body, but the heart was dug out?!”
…
“As long as you are willing to believe in his existence, he will definitely be there.”
………
“But…”
…………
“I…”
………………
“So, how will you come to know the unknown?”
Thanks to Lin Jingnan’s reference — the inspiration from “Xiao Qian.” The Pokémon appearing this time were submitted by my friends. The new Pokémon appearing next time will be selected from everyone’s submissions.
Thank you for your support! The next chapter will be even more exciting!