Chapter 147: What? There’s a ghost? Where?!

"…Hey, Amil, don't you feel like there's something strange about the atmosphere in the lab today?"

On New Island, a scientist quietly nudged his friend in the ribs and whispered with a hint of nervousness.

"You mean the rumors about the lab being haunted?" Amil naturally understood what his friend was referring to. After all, he worked in the lab himself and was quite familiar with the circulating rumors.

Earlier that morning, when they showed up to work after getting a decent night's rest, they found the two Team Rocket members who had been on guard duty at the main entrance lying unconscious on the ground.

When they were finally awakened, both men started screaming hysterically like madmen, shouting about ghosts with expressions of sheer terror on their faces. It didn't look like they were acting.

However, their claims didn't gain any recognition or acceptance from the head of the lab.

"Haunted? Ghosts? What ghosts? I think these guys must've just seen a Ghost-type Pokémon. How could there be ghosts in this world? I'd sooner believe there's a white-colored Snorlax than believe in ghosts!"

The head of the research lab had scolded the two guards harshly before taking them back inside to continue their research, clearly dismissing their claims.

At present, the most significant project on New Island was the humanoid artificial Pokémon curled up inside a nutrient tank. Everyone's research revolved around that single Pokémon.

"What are you two whispering about?"

A cold voice suddenly interrupted. Amil and his friend both jumped, nearly dropping the experimental vial and the gun-shaped equipment they were holding.

"Director—we were just… discussing whether manual injection or using the injection gun is more efficient…"

Amil laughed awkwardly as he turned around, only to see the expressionless face of Director Aoki staring at them.

In their hands was a device that resembled a firearm, though it wasn't an actual weapon—it was simply a specialized tool used in the lab.

"Hmph. As scientific researchers, how could you believe in such superstitious nonsense? Even if you did see a ghost, you should be excited. After all, it'd be an unprecedented experimental subject,"

Director Aoki lectured them with a cold tone.

Amil and his friend could only nod and agree obediently—after all, they didn't want to get scolded any further.

Only after Director Aoki walked away did the two of them finally exhale in relief. They didn't dare continue the conversation about the so-called haunting and simply went back to focusing on their work.

Meanwhile, Aoki made his way to the restroom, clutching his stomach in discomfort.

As he pushed open the door and sat down on the toilet, the lights in the restroom suddenly went out.

Since there was no natural lighting design in the lab's internal facilities, the restroom was immediately plunged into pitch darkness. Aoki frowned.

"Looks like I'll need to speak to the logistics department about replacing the restroom lights,"

he muttered to himself. He didn't think too much of it—several explanations popped into his head instantly: maybe the bulb burned out, maybe it was a wiring issue, or maybe the filament inside the bulb broke.

In the dark, Aoki pulled out his smartphone. Just as he did, he heard the faint sound of water droplets falling onto the floor somewhere in the empty restroom.

Drip.

The sound echoed sharply in the absolute stillness of the bathroom, making it seem all the more eerie.

"When human vision is limited, the other senses tend to become more sensitive,"

Aoki reminded himself with a theoretical tidbit. He finished his business, wiped up, flushed the toilet, and opened the stall door, using his phone's flashlight to illuminate the way as he stepped out.

The restroom remained eerily silent. Only the flushing water continued to gurgle in the background, its echoes bouncing off the tiled walls. For some reason, Aoki felt a faint sense of unease creep into his chest.

His footsteps quickened just a little.

The flashlight from his phone finally reached the restroom exit, and the light from outside came into view. Aoki subconsciously let out a breath of relief.

Then—pa—a soft sound echoed behind him.

Aoki's body froze.

He slowly turned his head back. Was someone else using the restroom?

But as he turned around, he was once again faced with complete darkness. There were no other sources of light, no other voices—just the steady dripping of water.

And then, in the next moment, Aoki's pupils shrank.

He noticed that in the same stall he had just come out of, a pale white hand had slowly reached out, clutching the edge of the door frame.

That hand was unnaturally pale, almost as if it had no blood circulation at all.

Aoki narrowed his eyes. Of course he was aware of the morning's incident—could someone be trying to play a prank?

With that thought, his expression turned icy as he marched toward the stall. He was going to find out who dared pull such a stunt in his lab!

But just as he took two steps forward, a head slowly emerged from the darkness of the stall.

It was a woman's head. Her hair hung low, shrouding parts of her face, and her lips curled into a bizarre, unnatural smile. Aoki noticed that her eyes were almost entirely white, with only a pinpoint of black in the center that could be identified as a pupil.

That face was just as pale as her hand, deathly and bloodless—like a corpse's.

"Hmph. Tricks and illusions,"

Aoki sneered coldly and reached for the Poké Ball at his waist.

In the next moment, a bright red Gyarados materialized inside the restroom, its roar shaking the walls.

"Gyarados! Use Hydro Pump!"

Aoki barked the command with icy calm.

If that thing was truly a Ghost-type Pokémon, then normal-type moves like Hyper Beam would be ineffective. That's why he had chosen Hydro Pump—an elemental attack that still worked on Ghost-types.

Under the powerful force of Gyarados's Hydro Pump, the restroom was obliterated.

Quite literally—it exploded.

Afterward, cleanup and restroom repairs were immediately added to New Island Research Lab's schedule.

As for the woman who had peeked her head out of the stall? She had vanished completely—without a trace.

Aoki felt a bit disappointed. Truly unfortunate.

Why couldn't he have captured that thing?

If he had managed to capture that ghost and conduct proper research, maybe he could've won this year's Pokémon League Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement.

…

[What is the meaning of Life?: Why is it that when I try to scare others, not only are they not afraid—they even dare to fight back with their Pokémon?]

Looking at the message Mewtwo had sent to his phone, Edward fell silent for a while.

He didn't know exactly what Mewtwo had experienced, but he could pretty much guess.

"…And this is precisely why I insist that horror films must be set in a world without Pokémon,"

Edward muttered to himself as he massaged the bridge of his nose.

Ghosts and monsters—those things were terrifying in his previous life because they were unresolvable. If there was a solution, it wouldn't be a horror film anymore. It'd become something else.

That's why movies like Ju-On (The Grudge) were so much more frightening. Kayako was unsolvable. There was no way to defeat her. All you could do was despair and wait for death.

But in the Pokémon world, that approach simply wouldn't work.

Everyone knows how to deal with Ghost-types. There's nothing mysterious or unknowable about them. There are counters and strategies. That knowledge strips away the fear.

Therefore, Edward had to base his horror films in settings where Pokémon don't exist.

Otherwise, the whole plot could easily get derailed into something like "a Pokémon punches out a ghost."

"Still… maybe next time I could try incorporating Lovecraftian elements. Let the Pokémon themselves experience existential despair,"

Edward mused to himself, his eyes lighting up slightly at the thought.

(End of Chapter)