Chapter 50: The Spiritual Realm

This time, Hu Yang had come with the intention of using his appraisal skills to find hidden treasures among these stalls. However, after wandering for quite some time, he failed to come across anything of value. With no other choice, he decided to return to the school, planning to visit again when he had more time.

When he arrived back at school, the staff from the department store were unloading his purchases from the truck with the help of Strongarm.

“All the items you ordered are here,” said a staff member wearing a hat.

Hu Yang glanced over the delivery and, after confirming everything was in order, carried the items back to his room. He first replaced the bedroom light with the Charizard chandelier that Yaya liked, then spread the carpet preferred by Toxic Rose beside the desk—so that while he read, the Pokémon could tumble and play nearby.

Next, he arranged the sleeping nests in sequence on an empty spot on the floor:

Ancient Moonbird—Toxic Rose—Gengar’s Spirit Orb—Yaya

Finally, he placed the plush toys they had chosen into the nests, so they could cuddle them as they slept.

Hu Yang couldn’t sleep with Toxic Rose and Yaya. If he accidentally touched the spikes on Toxic Rose’s head while asleep, he would be poisoned. He might even meet the same fate as Wu Dalang, succumbing in his sleep. As for Yaya, its teeth were so sharp that a careless move could pierce his skin, causing severe bleeding. There was nothing he could do about it.

Therefore, Hu Yang could only hug and pet them while awake, carefully avoiding teeth and poison. He considered himself quite lucky compared to others. Trainers who had caught Magcargo couldn’t touch them at all, for a single touch would cause burns. In the anime, Magcargo and Regice were the only Pokémon that humans absolutely couldn’t touch.

However, he could sleep next to Ancient Moonbird, and if Gengar were revived, he could sleep with it as well. Especially in summer, the bodies of Ghost-type Pokémon naturally emitted a cooling effect, making it comfortable to sleep beside them.

Hu Yang studied Gengar intently.

Sensing this strange gaze, Gengar turned and asked, “…What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking about how to revive you,” Hu Yang replied.

The warning Lijia had just given him about staying away from the forest had barely been in his mind for six hours before he tossed it aside.

Under cover of night, Hu Yang, accompanied by the indomitable Ancient Moonbird and several other Pokémon, quietly slipped into Orangegrove Forest.

Guided by Gengar, they soon reached the spot where they had previously fought the Litwick.

“Can you break through that Gengar’s illusion?” Hu Yang asked.

Gengar shook its head, an uncommon seriousness showing on its face. “It’s stronger than me.”

Hu Yang frowned in thought, recalling the first encounter with the boss Gengar. Though he didn’t know the full extent of its power, he was certain it could sense everything happening in the forest and possessed a special teleportation ability akin to Psychic-type Pokémon.

Finding the manor on his own was nearly impossible. Besides, based on Phoebe’s experience, that Gengar would never open the manor to humans.

There was only one way.

“Mr. Gengar, I have a way to solve the problem with the Ghost-types in the manor once and for all. Can we meet?” Hu Yang began shouting into the forest. “Gengar-sama, Lord Gengar, can you hear me?”

Gengar: “…”

Ancient Moonbird: “Caw?”

Did it work?

In the very next moment, Hu Yang felt as though his soul was being pulled from his body—his vision blurred. But the sensation quickly faded. When he turned around, a dilapidated, eerie manor loomed behind him, and there stood the colossal boss Gengar.

The boss Gengar’s eyes glowed blood-red. Although its appearance hadn’t changed since their last meeting, Hu Yang sensed its aura had diminished somewhat.

“What method?” it asked, its gaze fixed on Hu Yang, communicating telepathically.

“Send them to the Spirit Realm,” Hu Yang replied.

The Spirit Realm was the final destination for human souls and Ghost-type Pokémon. In the lore, Dusknoir served as the gatekeeper, absorbing lost souls into its elastic body and carrying them to the Spirit Realm.

Fearing Gengar might not understand, Hu Yang added, “Dusknoir can open the entrance to the Spirit Realm.”

Although he said this, Hu Yang knew not all Dusknoir possessed this ability.

The boss Gengar seemed familiar with Dusknoir and immediately pointed out the issue.

“I can find someone to help,” Hu Yang said. “You’ve probably seen her before.”

He referred to Phoebe, the Ghost-type Elite Four. Phoebe wanted to resolve the manor incident, but because she hadn’t made her intentions clear, she had been turned away. The boss Gengar wanted to send these Ghost-types to the Spirit Realm but was unable to leave. Hu Yang’s only aim was to learn about his own Gengar’s condition, so he didn’t mind acting as an intermediary, introducing Gengar to Phoebe.

At this, the boss Gengar recalled the girl who had recently wandered the forest.

“What do you want?” it asked calmly.

“I just want to know my Gengar’s current state. Has it already died?” Hu Yang replied, turning his gaze to Gengar.

The boss Gengar glanced at Gengar and said, “It isn’t dead. What’s here is only its ‘spirit.’”

Hu Yang was taken aback. “Spirit?”

“Ghost-type Pokémon don’t have the tangible bodies that regular Pokémon do. Their forms are made of two parts: ‘spirit’ and ‘body.’ In human terms, soul and body. If the soul leaves the body, it cannot interact with the real world; if the body is separated from the soul, it cannot pass through ordinary matter. As long as its soul is brought near its body, it can return to normal,” the boss Gengar explained.

Unlike humans, however, Ghost-types could freely merge and shift between these two states. Thus, if they wished, they could pass through walls or let themselves be touched and seen by people.

Hu Yang and Gengar exchanged looks.

“So, what’s drawing you to the ruins…is your body?!”

The boss Gengar’s explanation filled Hu Yang with unexpected joy.

“I…I’m not sure…” Gengar muttered, suddenly realizing there was something it couldn’t remember.

Hu Yang was elated. This problem had been bothering him for some time; even on the way back from Furnace Town, he had been pondering how to find Ho-Oh and pluck its feathers.

Now, the next step was to recover Gengar’s body.

But before that, he needed to inform Phoebe about what had happened here.