Pokémon: Above the Top-Chapter 277: Mysterious Space

After Mega Evolution, the Elite level Gengar's strength instantly rose to Mid Pseudo-Elite Four level. Its stats surged dramatically, especially Speed and Special Attack.

Facing Dusknoir's Shadow Punch, Mega Gengar easily countered with a delayed strike. The Shadow Ball shattered the incoming attack, continued forward a short distance, and then exploded violently.

The blast's shockwave injured several nearby Ghost-type Pokémon. It was as if a Combee's nest had been kicked.

The seven Pokémon silently agreed: their top priority was to take down this intruder, Gengar, the strongest among them.

"Gengar, Hypnosis!"

"Gengar~"

Mega Gengar once again brought out the Hypnosis Pendulum. Blood-red hypnotic waves surged forth faster and stronger than before, instantly sweeping across all seven Pokémon present.

As the red light faded, only a Banette with the Insomnia ability remained standing. The other six Pokémon had all collapsed, snoring on the floor.

"Ban... nette?"

The lone Banette looked around in a panic. Only now did it realize just how terrifying this strange-looking Gengar truly was.

"Shadow Ball!"

An enormous Shadow Ball flew forth. Banette tried to dodge, tried to escape, tried to flee and never return... forget the prize; it just wanted to survive!

Boom!

The Shadow Ball struck Banette square in the back. One hit KO!

"Gengar, Nightmare!"

To ensure none of these Pokémon would interrupt them anytime soon, Sato had Gengar add a final layer of insurance.

"Gar!"

Finished, Gengar cheerfully ran beneath a painting, staring at it with excitement.

Sato followed and looked at the painting from Gengar's perspective.

It depicted a beautiful young woman seated in a chair. Her eyes were gazing toward the upper right corner of the canvas, filled with sorrow.

Sato frowned. He felt stuck... was there something in the painting? He couldn't see anything unusual.

"Gengar, do you know what to do next?"

Gengar had reverted from Mega Evolution back to its original form.

Upon hearing Sato's question, it jumped to the front of the painting, seemingly hesitating.

The objective was right in front of them.

Sato didn't rush. He quietly waited for Gengar to act on its own.

But nearly ten minutes passed, and Gengar continued staring at the painting without moving. Sato's frown deepened.

"Is something wrong? You can't retrieve it?"

"Gengar~" Gengar shook its head. As if it had finally made up its mind, it slowly approached the painted woman.

Then something astonishing happened.

Gengar slipped directly into the painting and froze in the upper right corner, exactly where the woman's gaze had been directed.

Only now did Sato notice that the painting felt unexpectedly complete with Gengar inside, as if something had always been missing from that corner.

Just as Sato was entranced, the entire painting burst into blinding white light. Sato instinctively shut his eyes and quickly stepped back.

But suddenly, he felt his body floating, uncontrollably pulled by some invisible force toward an unknown place.

Whoosh!

The blinding light vanished. When Sato opened his eyes again, he found himself in the middle of a dense crowd.

At that moment, a stranger suddenly walked toward Sato. It was as if he couldn't see Sato; he headed straight for him and bumped into him.

Sato didn't have time to think. He instinctively moved to avoid the incoming man.

But as he shifted sideways, another stranger came from the side and collided with him. With no space to dodge, Sato reached out his hands to push the person away.

The man ran into Sato... and passed right through him!

"...Huh!"

Startled, Sato instinctively reached out his right hand to touch a nearby little girl.

His hand grasped at nothing!

Sato's pupils widened slightly. He forced himself to calm down and examine his surroundings.

Looking past the crowd, Sato saw a boundless ocean. He looked up, several Wingull were circling the mast above, letting out crisp cries.

At this moment, he was standing on the deck of a giant ship.

"Hurry, hurry! Miss Makie is out on deck for fresh air today. If we don't take a look now, we'll miss our chance!"

"Is it really that Miss Makie? She actually came out?"

"Is there anyone else on this ship they'd dare call Miss Makie? Enough nonsense, I'm going first!"

"Wait for me!"

Sato pressed his lips together as he listened to the commotion around him, all while trying to find Gengar.

"The Poké Ball won't open either," Sato muttered.

He knew he had entered a special space. It wasn't surprising that the Poké Ball couldn't be accessed.

Still, maybe he could find Gengar somewhere in this place. Without a Pokémon by his side, Sato felt a lingering unease.

"She's here! She's here!"

Visit freewebnoveℓ.com for the best novel reading exp𝒆rience.

"Don't block me! Let me see!"

The crowd on the deck suddenly grew restless and surged toward one side of the ship.

Sato was drawn in too. The upside of being intangible was that he could move up close without interference.

"It's her!"

When Sato finally saw who was at the center of the crowd, his eyes narrowed. This Miss Makie was the very same girl from the painting.

Floating beside her was a lively and affectionate Misdreavus, rubbing against her from time to time.

"So this is a Misdreavus, huh? Doesn't look that scary to me."

"You don't get it. That Misdreavus was tamed by the beautiful Miss Makie. Otherwise, any of us would be dead by now."

"I... I..." The first speaker stumbled, unable to respond. The second, clearly proud, looked at Makie with even more admiration.

"It's just a useless Misdreavus with no battle power. And people are still worshipping her?" a dark, brooding voice sneered. Even Sato couldn't help but glance over.

The speaker was a young man, flanked by a burly Charmeleon.

As soon as the crowd saw him, they backed away three full meters, dispersing even farther.

Makie turned to look at him. Her cold eyes met his gloomy ones, but she said nothing.

"Not impressed? Misdreavus is trash. What can it even do besides go invisible?"

Makie furrowed her brow slightly but didn't bother to respond. Holding the indignant Misdreavus, she walked straight into the cabin.

No matter how the young man taunted her from behind, Makie ignored him entirely, she only walked faster.

Sato looked at the ignored man, then ultimately decided to follow Makie.

Right now, his top priority was finding a way back, not watching drama unfold.

He passed through the first and second levels and followed the stairs downward. After walking for some time, Sato realized, this was the Ghost Ship from earlier, just untouched by time.