Chapter 82: Entering the Spirit Realm

In truth, there was absolutely no need for Chen Ou to get involved in this matter at all... There was no real danger here. In this entire town, only Chen Ou and Dr. Fuji remained. And Dr. Fuji was hardly a frail old man incapable of defending himself. The real turmoil was happening in the spirit realm; the material world was merely feeling its aftershocks.

Even if he ignored it, in a few days, once the contest for the throne of the Ghost King concluded, everything would settle down. Besides, Granny Kikuko would probably arrive by noon tomorrow to handle the situation. With Granny Kikuko’s strength, resolving this would be nothing more than a trivial matter.

What’s more, Chen Ou was utterly terrified of Granny Kikuko...

So, by every measure, there was absolutely no need for Chen Ou to stay.

“So what on earth possessed me to come all the way here?”

Chen Ou stared at the dark, round portal before him, utterly bewildered.

He gave himself a slap on the face, as punishment for once again meddling in things that weren’t his concern.

Then, without another thought, he happily trotted right in...

He might as well be courting death...

“Life is for living, exploration is endless—this is the true spirit of a researcher!”

A look of unwavering resolve appeared on Chen Ou’s face, as if he truly believed those words.

In reality, it was merely his habitual recklessness at work...

And so, after sensing a ripple of spatial distortion, Chen Ou found himself transported into the spirit realm...

The scene before him could hardly be described as tense... ‘United’ might be a better word.

Had you ever seen dozens of Gastly huddled tightly together to form a massive ball? Chen Ou certainly hadn’t, until now.

The spirit realm was bleak. The surroundings were dim but not completely dark; everything was easily visible, yet there seemed to be no source of light at all. There were no plants, only jagged, grotesque rocks.

Each twisted, bizarre stone gave off a sinister and terrifying impression.

Of course they were terrifying—those stones were once people, or Pokémon, who had wandered into the spirit realm...

After being drained of their life force by ghost-type Pokémon, their bodies became suffused with spectral energy, slowly petrifying until they became the stones now scattered around.

Pity flickered in Chen Ou’s eyes, but beyond that, he felt little else.

Few spirit realm Pokémon could be called innocent. Most had blood on their hands—human or Pokémon alike. Fierce, unruly, and voracious for life force, ghost-types from the spirit realm were seldom captured. Most trainers preferred to catch those wandering in the real world, precisely because of these traits. While not every spirit realm Pokémon was like this, perhaps ninety percent were, with another nine percent being even more ferocious. Only the remaining one percent might be considered gentle.

Thus, for most trainers and Pokémon, entering the spirit realm was fraught with peril.

Yet Chen Ou was untroubled for himself, and he withdrew his gaze from the stones. Mourning a stranger, long dead, served no purpose.

Scanning his surroundings, he saw nothing but that strange group of Gastly. No other ghost-type Pokémon were in sight. So, Chen Ou called out Rotom.

“Rotom! Rotom! Come out and scan for energy concentrations!”

Rotom trembled as it emerged from the backpack. Chen Ou glanced at its screen by chance, then froze—before bursting into unrestrained laughter.

“‘Impervious to evil, no ghost dares approach?’ Hahaha, Rotom, are you trying to kill me with laughter?”

He was nearly rolling on the ground.

“What’s so funny! Aren’t you afraid of ghosts too?!”

Rotom had no intention of self-reflection, instead retorting indignantly.

Tears streamed down Chen Ou’s face from laughter, but hearing Rotom’s words, he wiped his eyes and replied, “First, I’m not afraid of ghosts. I’m only afraid of Granny Kikuko.”

That was true. No matter how frightened someone was of ghosts, after being forced to watch twenty minutes of X-rated horror films every few days—fully immersive, in 3D—for years on end, even the most fearful would grow numb. So really, it was only Granny Kikuko’s creative torments that frightened him... Compared to her horror movies, these ghosts were nothing...

“Second, so what if I am afraid of ghosts... Rotom, you’re a ghost-type Pokémon yourself! You being scared of ghosts... Hahahaha.”

Rotom: ...

So what if I’m an electric ghost? Can’t electric ghosts be afraid of ghosts? Who made that rule? Step forward! Who said ghost-types can’t be afraid of ghosts? Huh! Can’t an electric ghost just be more sensitive?

Watching Chen Ou struggle to suppress his laughter, Rotom could only swallow its frustration... because, well, it really was embarrassing for a ghost-type...

Rotom ignored Chen Ou and floated off to the side. Chen Ou, realizing Rotom was leading the way, composed himself and hurried after him.

It must be said, Rotom was truly useful. Yet, Chen Ou was mistaken—this time, Rotom wasn’t relying on energy readings to find their way, but rather the instinct of a ghost-type Pokémon. With the contest for the Ghost King raging nearby, every ghost-type Pokémon could sense it. The weak would flee; the strong would enter the fray.

Rotom clearly wasn’t strong enough, but with Chen Ou behind him—someone who could pummel three at once—he had nothing to fear.

With a powerhouse at your back, even a ghost can swagger!

Chen Ou and Rotom journeyed a considerable distance through the spirit realm, yet along the way, Chen Ou saw no other ghost-types.

“Rotom, why aren’t there any other Pokémon nearby?”

He couldn’t resist asking. For Chen Ou, it was sheer torture. He’d entered to study the lives of spirit realm Pokémon, but at this rate, seeing even one more ghost besides Rotom seemed unlikely...

“Did you think just any Pokémon would dare join the contest for the Ghost King?” Rotom retorted unhappily. “All the nearby Pokémon have fled. The birth of a Ghost King requires the consumption of vast numbers of ghost-types. Of those who enter the contest, only one survives.”

Chen Ou tugged at the corner of his mouth. “How would you know? You were born in the material world, right?”

As far as Chen Ou knew, the brutal contest for the Ghost King only occurred in the spirit realm. A Rotom born in the material world shouldn’t know about it.

“My database. Professor Oak wrote a paper on this topic, with Granny Kikuko as the second author.”

Rotom calmly revealed his cheat...

Chen Ou: ...