Dhelmise Cultivation Guide and Dreepy (Part 1)

After washing up, Blake took out all kinds of cleaning tools and began scrubbing the aquarium. Because of his mom's whole collection of Water-type Pokémon, the aquarium here was enormous. Blake even had to stand inside it to rinse it out, while Haunter floated in to help, panting as he used a mop to wipe down the tempered glass.

"Hrrrummm—"

Dhelmise floated in front of the aquarium, feeling a little embarrassed. After all, he could not really help with anything.

"Don't feel bad. These are things a Trainer should do. And since you've joined this family, I naturally have to take responsibility for you. If you can't even live comfortably here, then I'd be failing at my job."

"Gastly, Gastly."

Haunter echoed Blake's words from the side. He had always been waiting for companions. Blake might not have planned to become some incredibly powerful Pokémon Trainer, but he treated every Pokémon seriously. After all, when you came across creatures who would repay even a little kindness a thousandfold, where else could you find something like that, even if you searched with a lantern?

Fortunately, this world's advanced technology made the work simple and quick. That ordinary-looking mop could absorb every last drop of dirty water. Its water absorption was simply unbelievable.

"Great. Next, we just need to check whether the water valve has rusted. The door over there is convenient enough—you should be able to open it with your flexible seaweed. If you really can't, call me or Haunter for help."

After finishing up, Blake smiled at Dhelmise.

"Hrrrummm!"

Dhelmise was happy as well. He felt that choosing to come here had been absolutely right. The atmosphere here was truly wonderful, especially compared to the lonely seabed where he had once lived by himself.

"I'll go to the storage room later and find a few gems to put in there. They can help improve your strength, too."

As Blake spoke, he headed toward his room. Haunter had hung up his little bag for him, and the good things they had found this time were still inside. He would not put those items in the storage room just yet. If his dad found his call and called him back, he would have to go looking for them again.

Blake entered his room, took the backpack down from the clothes rack, and began removing its contents one by one. First came the enormous diamond. A diamond this large was valuable, but in the world of Pokémon, items without special abilities were usually worth less. To say nothing else, a giant nugget the size of a child's fist only cost forty thousand. That was pure gold! Without special energy, it was nothing more than ordinary clutter.

However, because this diamond had been stored with that special Spell Tag for too long, it had absorbed Ghost-type energy. It could be considered an artificially formed Ghost Gem.

"Clang."

Blake casually tossed the diamond onto the cabinet without giving it another glance. But as he lowered his head to continue rummaging through the bag, the egg that had lain dormant for more than ten years suddenly gave a slight shake. Unfortunately, Blake did not see it.

But Blake was not the only one in the room. Haunter, who had followed him in, was staring at his own trophy, so naturally, he caught sight of the egg from the corner of his eye.

"Gastly? Σ(⊙▽⊙"a"

Haunter cried out in surprise, then rubbed his eyes and looked carefully. The egg did not seem to have moved. It was as if he had imagined it all.

"Gastly? [・_・?]"

Had he really seen it wrong? Just as Haunter was feeling puzzled, Blake pulled out the little box containing the Spell Tag.

"Who exactly made this thing?"

Blake opened the box as he spoke. Immediately, the Ghost-type energy that had previously been sealed away poured out, dropping the temperature of the entire room by several degrees. There was no need for air conditioning in summer now. Unfortunately, ordinary people could not endure this stuff. Prolonged exposure to Ghost-type energy was harmful to the human body. Only Blake's family could handle it because of their special abilities.

"Crack—"

"Gastly! Σ(⊙▽⊙"a"

Haunter was certain this time. He had definitely not seen wrong—the egg had moved just now. Not only that, it had even bumped against the incubator when it shook.

"What's wrong, Haunter?"

Blake had not been paying attention to that side, but when he heard Haunter's repeated cries of alarm, he curiously looked up. Then he froze on the spot as well.

"Crack!"

The Pokémon Egg shook again, this time with even greater force. The sound of it striking the incubator was now loud enough that it could not possibly be ignored.

"When did that happen?"

Blake turned to Haunter.

"Gastly (.•ω•)σ"

Haunter pointed at the diamond, then at the Spell Tag in Blake's hand.

"This thing caused it? Could it be that this egg was lacking Ghost-type energy all along? That shouldn't be possible. The incubator's energy supply has never been cut off. Unless... it's about quality, not quantity?"

Blake uncertainly picked up the Spell Tag and brought it closer to the incubator.

"Crackcrack!"

The egg immediately shook even more violently. A faint crack appeared on the shell that had shown no movement for more than ten years. If Blake had not practically memorized every pattern on the egg, he might not have noticed it at all.

"This is... it's hatching!"

Seeing the crack in the egg, Blake was instantly thrilled. He immediately activated his special ability, and his eyes turned purple. He could clearly see that the Ghost-type energy in the Spell Tag was being drawn toward the egg and rapidly pouring into it.

"So it really was because of this Spell Tag?"

Blake looked at the Spell Tag in his hand in surprise once more, but he did not hesitate. He hurried forward and pressed the Spell Tag directly against the incubator.

"Crack, crack!"

The sound of eggshell breaking rang out clearly. It was obvious that the creature inside was doing everything it could to break free from the shell, pushing toward the Spell Tag. But perhaps because it had waited so many years, the shell had become unexpectedly hard, and it was cracking noticeably more slowly.

"Hrrrummm?"

Dhelmise floated over as well. He sensed what was happening here. He had actually wanted to come earlier, since he had spent quite some time near the Spell Tag and was familiar with its aura. But he had been reluctant to leave that beautiful glass house—the aquarium—so he had delayed for a while. He had not expected to witness this the moment he arrived.

"Today really is a lucky day. I never thought I'd gain two companions in one day!"

Blake said as he watched the eggshell crack faster and faster. He had gotten Gastly at the age of nine, and in the five years since then, he had not caught a single other Pokémon. Yet today, he was gaining two Pokémon all at once!

"Gastly! ヽ(ﾟ∀ﾟ)ﾒ(ﾟ∀ﾟ)ﾉ"

Haunter flew back and forth through the air, moving so fast that afterimages appeared behind him. Ever since Blake's parents had begun spending long periods away from home, he had barely had any friends. Or rather, those from before had been more like seniors. The only one who could count as a friend was that dull-witted Chewtle. He had never expected to gain two new friends today! This was great!

"Dreepy—!"

Accompanied by a somewhat shrill yet drifting cry, the new Pokémon broke free from its prison and saw this world for the first time.