Chapter 84: The Return Voyage and Pirates

Back then, when Gengar first came to this island, it was still only a little Gastly.

While fighting other Ghost-type Pokémon for the energy spilling from the plate, it was badly hurt and collapsed in the grass, unable to move.

At that moment, a human girl came with crushed medicinal herbs and fruit to restore its strength, and saved it.

Because of that, Gengar had never wanted to harm humans the way other Ghost-type Pokémon did.

Hearing this, Poplar could not help but feel a little moved.

Yet the long-gone past was no longer worth dwelling on. What mattered was the present.

Before leaving the town, Poplar looked at the townspeople gathered around the ruins of the temple and could not help saying to the mayor, “If there ever is a chance, let them go out and see the wider world.”

The mayor froze. By the time he came to himself, the boy before him had already walked a good distance away.

...

The White Dewgong was docked at the opposite end of the island.

Poplar was in no hurry to return. Instead, he followed the path they had taken on the way here and began gathering rare berries across the island.

As for how he got down the mountain this time...

That question would have to be answered by Gengar.

Poplar’s body was only eleven years old, and he stood just 147 centimeters tall, not even as tall as Gengar.

According to the Pokédex, Gengar stood at 1.5 meters.

But this Gengar of his, perhaps because it had grown up nourished by the Ghost Plate, had reached a height of 1.6 meters and looked a full size larger than he was.

Besides, Gengar could float. There was no problem at all with riding on its back while it drifted through the air.

The berry-gathering trip went exceptionally smoothly, and Poplar even entertained the thought of digging up the whole tree with its soil and taking it back.

After thinking it over, though, he gave up on the idea.

After all, that berry tree had fed many wild Pokémon.

Even in the games there was a reminder to plant a berry after picking one. In reality, he could not simply drain a resource dry.

So he left alone the ordinary Oran Berries that restored stamina and the Pecha Berries that cured poison.

He only picked the rare berries that sharpened the eyes, strengthened the mind, and benefited the body.

For example, the berry that increased physical strength and made Pokémon sturdier.

Or the berry that improved a Pokémon’s spirit and made it look more beautiful.

This harvest was an abundant one.

Looking at the pile of berries in his backpack, Poplar found an open patch of ground and released all of his Pokémon.

He fed the strength-boosting berry to Axew, the beauty-improving berry to Roserade, the speed-raising berry to Magikarp, and the Special Attack-boosting berry to Gengar.

As for the foolish Cramorant...

Poplar fed it the berry that was supposed to make Pokémon smarter.

He could only hope it would become a little more intelligent because of it.

Once preparations were finished, the group set off again, and by nightfall they had finally returned to the White Dewgong.

“What happened on the island?”

Several hours earlier, the old sailor had seen a violet mist rise above the island and had asked the question with some unease.

Poplar: “...”

He turned around and saw that the other crew members also seemed eager for an answer, so he said, “Just an ordinary Pokémon battle.”

The old sailor did not believe him, but seeing that Poplar did not wish to say more, he did not press the matter.

The White Dewgong set sail for home.

In the dining room, Gengar began devouring the food prepared by the kitchen in huge mouthfuls.

Axew stared in dumbfounded disbelief.

How could that purple thing eat more than it did?

Poplar sat to the side, checking Gengar’s information.

Species: Gengar, male

Type: Ghost, Poison

Ability: Cursed Body

Base Stats: 520

Known Moves: Hypnosis, Grudge, Mean Look, Nightmare Shade, Confuse Ray, Pursuit, Shadow Ball, Dream Eater, Dark Pulse, Destined Bond, Nightmare, Psyshock

Current Mood: Satisfied, Delighted

Physical Condition: Perfect

Special Ability: Grudge Form

A special form transformed through the power of the Ghost Plate. In this form, Gengar’s personality changes, and all of its abilities become much stronger.

Friendship: 100

Grudge Form...

Was it something like Ash’s Greninja?

A special power born from intense emotion?

To be honest, Poplar had not expected the Ghost Plate to be here.

In the games, the plates only increased the power of Pokémon’s moves.

But judging from the Life Orb forged from four plates in the movie, the plates clearly had uses far beyond that.

An image rose in Poplar’s mind: Arceus colliding with a meteor from beyond the heavens a thousand years ago.

That feeling was rather fascinating.

Events that existed in games and anime had truly happened in this world.

If only he could witness them with his own eyes.

It was a pity he had not seen the famous scene of Arceus crashing into the meteor.

Still, it was not much of a regret, because it was still early. Later on, he would have the chance to see all kinds of famous scenes unfold.

And for now, the thing nearest to him was probably the three guardians of Hoenn.

...

After dealing with Gengar’s matter, Poplar began to think about his next plans.

Once he returned to Hoenn, he would first go and obtain the Knuckle Badge, then stop by Slateport City to have a Key Stone bracelet made.

After that, he would return to Petalburg City to pick up Ralts. Then he would make one more trip to Meteor Falls to stock up on goods, sell them to Steven, and only then could he officially begin his gym badge journey.

Still, he could not be a gold miner forever.

A person’s passion for any one thing would always wear thin over time.

Steven liked collecting stones, but sooner or later that interest would reach saturation and his demand for them would decrease.

At that point, things would no longer be the same as they were now.

But soon after, Poplar felt that thinking about all that now was far too early.

What mattered most at the moment was getting the Knuckle Badge from Dewford Gym.

Just then, a cry of alarm suddenly rang out from outside.

“Bad news, pirates are here! Everyone, get ready at once!”

Hearing this, Poplar was not the least bit surprised. On the contrary, he felt as though they had been overdue.

He left the room, passed through the corridor, and stepped onto the deck.

It was a clear, bright day. The sky was blue, the water was clear, and even the sea breeze had grown especially mild.

Standing on the deck, he could clearly see three pirate ships closing in from the rear, left, and right.

The pirates’ ships had been specially modified and moved much faster than the cruise ships used for leisure at sea.

Thus, in no time at all, they had brought the White Dewgong to a halt in these waters.

Ropes hooked over the gunwales and firmly lashed the ships together.

As the distance closed, pirates wearing black headscarves emblazoned with skulls leaped one after another onto the deck.

They released their Pokémon from their Poké Balls.

One Cloyster, one Crawdaunt, one Poliwhirl, and one Honchkrow after another surrounded the White Dewgong’s sailors.

Then, a tall, burly man with a rough face, an eyepatch, and a huge cigar clenched in his teeth strode out from the ship.

He planted one foot on the rail and said with brazen arrogance, “From this moment on, everything of value you have on you belongs to me!”