The mist churned violently.
Low, sorrowful wails and piercing, bone-chilling shrieks echoed through the hall, transforming the entire space into something straight out of a nightmare.
Oh, wait.
This was a nightmare realm.
Never mind, then.
The eerie wind howled, flickering lights cast unsettling shadows, and ghostly figures flickered in and out of sight within the fog. Even Blue—who had insisted earlier that she wasn’t afraid of ghosts—looked a little nervous.
Surprisingly, Eevee was bolder than August had expected. Its head was still peeking out, rather than completely burrowing into his jacket.
Maybe Gardevoir’s presence was giving it some courage?
As for August, there wasn’t even a trace of fear on his face.
Fear came from uncertainty. But now that Gardevoir had locked onto the positions of every single Haunter in the room using its psychic field—and with their telepathic link, that meant August could see them too—there was nothing to be afraid of.
What concerned him more was how to handle these ghosts when they inevitably swarmed without letting anyone—himself included—get hurt.
But…
Something was off.
The expected attack never came.
August had been standing there for quite a while now, yet all these ghosts did was shriek and wail. Not only had none of them attacked, but they had actually moved farther away from him.
“…”
Can you guys cut the theatrics and just fight already? I’ve got places to be.
He glanced at the Gengar Agatha had assigned as their guide, silently asking for an explanation.
The Gengar only shrugged, looking just as confused.
Though, if anything, it did look a little embarrassed on behalf of its fellow Ghost-types.
Since even Agatha’s Gengar had no idea what was going on, August decided he wasn’t going to waste any more time playing along.
Without hesitation, he unleashed his [Pressure].
An invisible force radiated outward from him, instantly sweeping through the entire hall.
The effect was immediate.
The once-deafening wails and screams vanished.
Replaced instead by… panicked cries of distress.
Weaker Ghost-types—mostly Gastly and Haunter—were forced out of their invisibility, their translucent forms trembling under the oppressive energy.
Wide-eyed and clearly startled, they looked at August with nothing but fear.
“…?”
August blinked in confusion.
Why the hell are YOU guys scared? You’re the ghosts here!
Something wasn’t right.
As a former Pokémon Ranger, he had encountered countless enraged Pokémon before. Truly berserk Pokémon didn’t act like this.
This… didn’t match his expectations of how Ghost-types should behave at all.
He gave Gardevoir a subtle signal.
Understanding instantly, Gardevoir reached out with its psychic power and dragged a nearby Haunter toward them.
The Haunter squirmed in terror, but struggling against Gardevoir was pointless.
Seeing one of their own captured, the surrounding Ghost-types grew restless—some even considered launching an attack.
But one cold glare from Gardevoir sent them all scurrying back.
August got straight to the point.
“What happened in Pokémon Tower?”
The captured Haunter, feeling the sheer pressure radiating from August, gulped nervously and dared not hide the truth.
“Ghaa… Ghaa…”
As Haunter stammered out an explanation, the pieces began to fall into place.
Apparently, these ghosts were the original inhabitants of Pokémon Tower.
They had always enjoyed playing harmless pranks on visitors, but they had never actually attacked humans.
Then, about half a month ago, a group of humans had broken into the top floor and opened a gateway to the Ghost World.
That was when things spiraled out of control.
A flood of powerful Ghost-types had emerged, and these weaker residents had been forced down to the first floor.
“…I see.”
August crossed his arms, his expression unreadable.
“So what about the humans that were attacked?”
Haunter hesitated.
Seeing this, August narrowed his eyes. “Talk.”
“Ghaa—!”
The Haunter quickly shook its hands and hurriedly explained.
“…So you’re saying those humans weren’t attacked, but controlled by something? And they were trying to force their way into the Ghost World?” August raised an eyebrow. “And you guys stopped them by knocking them out?”
Haunter nodded vigorously.
August studied the ghost for a moment, then let out a soft chuckle.
“Well, would you look at that? Heroes of justice.”
“Ghaa~!”
Puffed up with pride, Haunter patted its chest smugly, emphasizing that it and the others had always coexisted peacefully with humans.
They were nothing like those wild ghosts from the Ghost World.
“…Yeah, no kidding.”
Most Ghost-types wouldn’t be this cowardly.
At this point, August was fairly certain they were telling the truth.
With a slight nod, he signaled Gardevoir to release Haunter.
Seeing their companion freed, the other ghosts seemed to relax slightly, their fear toward August easing a little.
“Ghaa!”
A particularly round Gengar waddled forward, waving its stubby arms.
It was strongly discouraging August from going any further.
It also insisted that a Dusknoir would eventually show up to handle the problem.
“…Dusknoir, huh?” August murmured.
That made sense.
Dusknoir were known as the Spirit Messengers—Ghost Pokémon that could freely travel between the living world and the Ghost World.
If something had gone wrong here, a Dusknoir should have arrived by now to deal with it.
But… it had been half a month, and the Ghost World’s influence still lingered.
That meant no Dusknoir had shown up.
Which meant something had gone very, very wrong.
Rather than being dissuaded, August’s resolve only strengthened.
“Which means,” he said, smiling at Gengar, “I definitely need to go upstairs and check it out.”
Gengar panicked and immediately turned to Agatha’s Gengar for support—surely this fellow Gengar would help talk some sense into this reckless human?
…Only for Agatha’s Gengar to completely ignore it.
Gengar deflated.
August patted its head reassuringly. “Relax. I’m not like those other trainers.”
As a small token of gratitude for their warning, he pulled out a box of Pokéblocks and set it down for them.
While the ghosts remained uneasy, they ultimately watched in silence as August, Blue, and Gardevoir turned toward the mist-shrouded staircase.
Not long after they left, a lone Gastly slipped through a crack in the window and entered the hall.
“Ghaa?”
It floated over to its fellow ghosts, curiously observing them as they munched on the Pokéblocks.
Grabbing a Haunter, it asked about the humans who had just entered the tower.
The Haunter, momentarily distracted, turned toward the staircase—its expression momentarily blank.
Gastly followed its gaze.
The entrance to the upper floors was shrouded in dense, swirling mist.
It hesitated.
But only for a moment.
Then, with a flick of its wispy tail, Gastly made up its mind—
And silently slipped into the fog after them.
None of the other ghosts noticed its departure.
Not even the Haunter it had spoken to.
Once Gastly was gone, the Haunter simply blinked in confusion, shook off the strange daze, and returned to happily munching on its Pokéblock, having completely forgotten about the conversation.
—
T/N: OOHH idk but i got goosebumps from the Gastly… (was a tie vote between soyo and title master so flipped a coin soyo won)
This is a fan translation of 人在实教，一之濑你会后悔的 by 作者：白良. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!
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