February 26th, Thursday.

Hearthome City.

Professor Oak once mentioned in his essays—

This was a city that embodied loss and memory, a place steeped in ancient relics.

The very air of Hearthome City seemed to carry weight, as industries slowly shifted to neighboring areas. Its most iconic structures were the Hearthome Museum and a traditional herbal pharmacy.

Erika grew up in this city, and eventually became the Gym Leader of Hearthome.

Her favorite activity was exploring haunted houses in the forest… despite being terrified of ghosts.

But the scarier it was, the more she craved that thrill.

Sunlight trickled through the towering evergreens, casting sparse rays into the woods.

A chestnut-haired girl in a crop top and shorts—sporting a bit of a tomboyish vibe—stood nervously before a Western-style mansion.

Rustling sounds echoed all around.

Gulp.

Erika swallowed hard and reached out a trembling hand, trying to push open the thorn-covered mansion door…

“Nope, I just can’t do it after all!!”

She suddenly screamed, startling a flock of Starly into flight.

“Gengarr…”

A faint whisper came from behind her.

Erika froze on the spot, sweating bullets, knees trembling.

She felt a hand poke her in the back, sending a chill down her spine.

Turning around with great effort—

She saw a grinning ghostly face, tongue out, eyes bulging.

“!!!” Erika fell over in a panic, bracing her elbows, clamping her legs tight, face pale as snow.

“Gengarr! (￣▽￣)／” Gengar pulled her up and casually greeted her.

“G-Gengar?” Erika still hadn’t recovered, mumbling to herself.

“Gengarr!” Gengar hopped in place and flashed a peace sign next to his eye.

Erika gulped and shifted her gaze slightly.

In front of her stood a dazzlingly handsome young man, elegant and otherworldly.

If the Pokémon world had an official beauty ranking, he’d definitely place in the top three.

A man so stunning, he transcended gender norms and practically glowed.

“Don’t scare people like that, Gengar.”

Lu Ye shook his head and apologized, “Sorry for startling you.”

Erika stood there stunned for a while before frantically waving her hands.

“No, not at all, Mr. Lu! I should’ve come to greet you earlier!”

“You know who I am?” Lu Ye asked, surprised.

“Huh? I’m Erika! I joined the group chat too!” Erika was on the verge of tears.

“Ohh, that’s you!”

Lu Ye slapped his forehead in realization.

“Glad you still remembered.” Erika let out a sigh of relief and smiled warmly.

“Alright, let’s walk and talk.”

Lu Ye nodded thoughtfully, still confused.

When did Erika join the group chat again?

The woods were silent, with faint snickers from Misdreavus echoing in the background.

Erika glanced back at the creepy mansion, shivering slightly.

“They say… a ghost lives in that place…”

She whispered, “I’ve wanted to explore it since I was a kid.”

“But to this day… I still haven’t dared go inside.” Erika lowered her head, disappointed.

Lu Ye let out a casual “oh,” stepping on a dry twig. Crack!

“Eek—what was that?!” Erika’s voice jumped.

“It’s… a ghost…”

Lu Ye’s expression darkened, his voice low, black mist curling behind him.

Erika’s eyes rolled back—about to faint.

Lu Ye quickly signaled Gengar to turn off the special effects.

“Sorry! I went too far!”

At the same time, Lu Ye instinctively unleashed some Aura.

Crap Σ(っ°Д°;)っ That was a misclick!

“Mm…”

Erika vaguely felt a warm energy flow through her, like getting a full-body massage. Her cheeks turned red as she opened her eyes and quickly waved her hands.

“It’s okay… I overreacted.”

Lu Ye exchanged glances with Gengar.

This girl seemed to have a mysterious connection with ghosts—and had a strange “Akarin” vibe.

In the Pokémon world, the supernatural side of Ghost-types was always… unsettling.

Like Gastly in the Ghost Girl’s Ravine, or the Nine-Tails in the Old Chateau…

Given that, Erika’s faint presence suddenly made sense.

“I remember that Phoebe, the Hoenn Ghost-type Elite Four, was supposedly a spirit medium…”

Lu Ye looked to the sky, thinking how the Pokémon world was such a bizarre mix.

Supernatural, black-tech, ancient ruins, and asteroid-level cataclysms.

Wonder if Ash’s plot armor could let him punch a meteor into dust…

“That’s too ridiculous,” Lu Ye coughed.

“Huh? What?” Erika looked up.

“Nothing… That mansion’s kinda cursed. Best not to mess with it.”

“You’ve heard of the mansion too, Mr. Lu?!” Erika’s voice was full of surprise.

Lu Ye shrugged.

In the Diamond and Pearl games, that mansion had a legit haunting event.

Aside from Rotom being the usual suspect—

There just might really be a little girl in red inside…

Ash would deal with the haunted mansion later. With his immortal-level endurance, it’d be a piece of cake.

“This thing goes deeper than it looks.”

Lu Ye said seriously, “Anyway, I need to head to the Hearthome Museum… Don’t go picking a death flag.”

“Okay…” Erika sighed regretfully.

Their figures slowly faded from view, leaving behind the forest.

Behind the mossy, vine-wrapped windows of the creepy mansion, a pair of blinking eyes watched them go.

The little girl stared at their backs, expression strange.

Thank Arceus they finally left…

Aura powers, the Rainbow Wing… and that terrifyingly strong Gengar.

If they’d come inside—

Nope. That would’ve actually been fatal!

The girl wiped her sweaty forehead.

She exchanged glances with Rotom behind her, then both figures slowly vanished.

Yeah… best lay low for a while.

…

Light streamed through the exit.

Beyond the towering evergreens stood the ancient city of Hearthome.

Lu Ye thought of tonight’s meeting with Cynthia and nodded with satisfaction.

Good—no unexpected events along the way!

“This for me?” Erika looked at the Coke Gengar handed her.

“Gengarr! [](￣▽￣)*”

“Thanks!”

Erika gasped, “Gengar can store items in its pocket? That’s amazing!”

“Gengarr~︿(￣︶￣)︿”

She smiled brightly.

It felt like… ghosts weren’t all that scary—some were even kinda cute!

Lu Ye glanced at Gengar, stunned for a second.

Gengar… why are you so good at this?!

“Oh right.”

Erika suddenly remembered something.

“I heard Mr. Lu plans to challenge the Sinnoh League.”

“If that’s the case…”

She pulled a beautifully carved emerald-green badge from her shorts pocket and handed it to Gengar.

“This Forest Badge—Mr. Lu will definitely need it!”

Up ahead, Lu Ye suddenly saw a system notification pop up.

【Forest Badge: A symbol of Hearthome Gym’s rustic vitality. Said to be made of genuine jade. (Still worth a decent price if sold to a mineral nut.)】

Lu Ye: ???

Is Sinnoh just loaded or what? Y’all make badges out of gemstones?

Wait, that’s not the point—

Lu Ye slapped his forehead.

How did I trigger a badge event?

Classic bugged flag?

He turned around to see Erika handing a jade-colored USB drive to Gengar.

“This pairs with the Forest Badge—it’s the Grass move ‘Grass Knot,’ my personal favorite!”

“Gengarr! (≧∀≦)♪” Gengar grinned.

What a generous gift—Master’s gonna love this!

Lu Ye was speechless for a long moment, suddenly feeling heavy.

He never imagined that disaster would still find him…

Ducklett may not be a Grass-type, but he loved Grass moves.

Technically, he couldn’t learn Grass Knot—

But the image of him tripping someone mid-fight with a spring onion felt too real.

Worse yet, Lu Ye might need to buy things like Leaf Stones and Miracle Seeds again.

He wiped his face and silently pulled out a notebook.

February 26th, Thursday…

“Whose grudge was I supposed to remember today?”

Lu Ye looked up at the sky, picturing the low-presence Erika.

Forget it… Even if I did remember, I’d probably forget again in a few days.

Need to pick a target that really stands out.

Lu Ye paused in thought—then wrote with a flourish.

Gold, this grudge—Mr. Lu shall remember it!

…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read