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"Good grief! It's huge!"

A group of sailors gathered around Dhelmise. Without its earlier imposing presence, Dhelmise grew somewhat nervous from being surrounded. It couldn't be helped—Pokémon that usually lived in the deep sea tended to be socially anxious, and being watched by so many people left it flustered.

"Move along, move along! Can't you see he's uncomfortable?"

Uncle Sam promptly stopped the sailors from crowding around it. His reaction had been much the same at first; after all, he had heard about Dhelmise before, but this was his first time seeing one in person.

"Put him back in his ball first. He's too big, and there's no room for him on our little boat."

Uncle Sam turned to Blake. Dhelmise might have been floating, but it still took up far too much space sideways. Their small boat certainly did not have room for an anchor that large.

"Roger that, Captain!"

Blake grinned and gave a salute, then took out a Dusk Ball and recalled the Dhelmise, which had long wanted to escape. After checking that there were no further problems, the group hurried aboard and left before the tide went out.

"Say, Uncle Sam, what was this wreck originally used for?"

Thinking of what he had found in the safe, Blake grew curious about the ship's identity. If it had been an ordinary vessel, even if it had sunk, someone could have come back for its belongings. Yet what he had found was quite valuable.

"This ship? A smuggling vessel. Otherwise, why would it have gotten stuck in a place like this? And the cargo it smuggled was Pokémon. After they were caught back then, everyone on board was arrested. The captain was flung out of the cabin during the accident and apparently died on the spot. The others were all captured, the smuggled Pokémon were taken away by Officer Jenny and the International Police, and some dangerous items were destroyed. The ship was just left here."

Uncle Sam spoke without much concern. It was hardly a secret; plenty of people had known about it back then. Blake was simply too young to know.

"I see."

Blake nodded. That explained it. No wonder there had been such a good item in the captain's cabin and nobody had taken it—it probably had not come from any legitimate source. It might even have been stolen goods. Still, that did not matter. Keeping it with him meant it could finally serve a purpose. But where had those people found that Spell Tag? Judging from its condition, it was not a modern product. It had probably been excavated from some ruin. No, when I get back, I need to call Dad and ask him about it.

Blake became so lost in thought that he did not snap out of it until they were nearly at the shore, prompted by Haunter.

"What are you thinking about? You're completely out of it. Hurry home and get some rest."

Uncle Sam patted Blake on the shoulder.

"Okay, Uncle Sam. I'm heading back first. I'll come see you again in a couple of days."

Blake's mind was filled with questions about the Spell Tag, so he did not exchange any more pleasantries. He jumped off the boat, mounted his bicycle, and sped all the way home.

Bang!

After closing the door, Blake immediately called his father. Unfortunately, his luck seemed poor. His father had probably entered another ruin, so the call did not go through.

"Seriously, whenever it matters, I can never reach him. Mom too. Sigh."

Blake sighed helplessly. Being unable to contact them was actually normal. His father and mother often disappeared into mountains and caves for months at a time while searching for ruins, and there was usually no signal in mountainous areas. Most phones in the Pokémon world did not rely on satellite signals, after all—there was a heavyweight figure sitting in the atmosphere.

"Forget it. I'll take a shower first. Oh, right."

Blake took out Dhelmise's Poké Ball and released him.

"This is our home. Let Haunter show you around first. Tonight, I'll clean out my aquarium for you, and you can rest there afterward."

Blake spoke to Dhelmise.

"Rrrumble—"

Dhelmise swayed his body to show that he understood. He liked this place very much, because many areas gave off fluctuations of Ghost-type energy. Some were not even inferior to the wreck where he had lived. And Blake seemed to be saying that he could still soak in water here.

"Haunter, I'll leave him to you."

Blake said to Haunter.

"Heh heh! o(￣▽￣)d"

Haunter had recently become especially fond of using his hands. One hand gave a thumbs-up, while the other made an OK sign.

Trusting Haunter completely, Blake rushed straight into the bathroom. He had not noticed it before, but after coming home, he could smell the rotten stench left on him from rolling around inside the wreck. He needed to rinse off quickly.

While Blake began washing his clothes and taking a bath, Haunter led the enormous Dhelmise around the house. Perhaps Blake's father had anticipated this situation long ago, because every floor had been built with high ceilings and wide doorways, leaving enough room for Dhelmise to move around. Still, he needed to be careful. Dhelmise was simply far too large compared to most Pokémon.

"Heh heh! ヽ(•ω•ゞ)"

Haunter first led Dhelmise to Blake's room and pointed at the bed and desk. However, Dhelmise noticed the incubator on top of the cabinet. Inside rested a Pokémon Egg mottled in dark green and light green.

"Rrrumble? [・_・?]"

Dhelmise was curious about the Pokémon Egg. He felt that it probably was not Haunter's egg.

"Heh heh ヽ(ー_ー)ノ"

Haunter indicated that it really was not his egg. The egg had been in this home even before he had, and even before Blake. Yet for some reason, it had never hatched, even after more than ten years.

"Rrrumble (˘•ω•˘)"

Dhelmise was astonished. To him, a Pokémon Egg that had not hatched in over ten years was unimaginable. In the wild, if a Pokémon Egg went beyond its hatching time, it was usually abandoned by its parents, and most abandoned eggs did not survive.

"Heh heh! (´･･)ﾉ(._.`)"

Gastly patted Dhelmise's body, indicating that his boss's family had special abilities and could sense that the egg was still alive. That was why they had kept it all this time. The one caring for it had merely changed from his boss's father to his boss.

"Rrrumble."

Dhelmise nodded in understanding, and his approval of Blake rose another level. The two Pokémon then visited other rooms, including one containing an enormous aquarium. This would clearly be Dhelmise's future home. Originally, the room had been meant for Blake's mother Louise's Pokémon. Louise had quite a few Water-type Pokémon, so when the house was built, they had deliberately left an entire large room empty and installed a huge aquarium. It was even connected to a seawater valve, allowing seawater to circulate. However, after Louise and James left and took all their Pokémon with them, it had remained unused until now.

For Dhelmise, though, this place could not have been more suitable. He did not like moving when he was in water anyway, and most of the time he simply lay there like a decoration. Even if Louise returned, he would not affect the other Water-type Pokémon.

"Looks like you two are getting along well."

Blake walked out of the bathroom, wiping off water as he spoke.

"Heh heh!"

"Rrrumble!"