The Haunter of Pokémon Tower

By evening, the group finally reached Lavender Town.

Compared with Saffron City, this town was noticeably quieter.

Most of the buildings lining the streets were low, and some old houses retained their traditional wooden decorations. In the distance, a tall tower stood at the edge of town, casting a long shadow in the setting sun.

"Is that Pokémon Tower?"

Ash lifted his head, his eyes lighting up.

"It looks so tall!"

Brock flipped through the travel guide he carried.

"That's right. Pokémon Tower is one of Lavender Town's most famous buildings."

Shiraishi Ritsu also stopped to study it closely.

The tower's outer walls were already somewhat worn, some windows were shut tight, and several weathered patches were visible near the top floor.

The whole building had an ancient air about it.

"Partner, this one's pretty good."

"Smeargle!"

Smeargle had already taken out his drawing board.

He quickly sketched the tower's outline, then noted several architectural details beside it.

Shiraishi Ritsu stood beside him, offering suggestions now and then.

"Lower the angle a little more, and the tower will look taller."

"And here, you can stretch the windows a little. It'll make the image feel more imposing."

"Smeargle!"

Smeargle nodded repeatedly, his brush moving rapidly.

Ash watched with some curiosity.

"Mr. Masuda, you really do draw wherever you go."

"Of course!"

Shiraishi Ritsu smiled as he spoke.

"It's not every day we come out to gather reference material. We can't let the trip go to waste."

Misty, however, wasn't in the mood to admire the architecture.

She stared at Pokémon Tower in the distance, feeling more uncomfortable the longer she looked.

"Hey, haven't you noticed how quiet this town is?"

Brock looked around.

"It's usually pretty quiet here, and it's almost dark now."

"But..."

Misty pointed at Pokémon Tower.

"Are there really Ghost Pokémon in there?"

"There probably are."

Ash answered excitedly.

"Isn't that what we came to find?"

"Could you stop making it sound so casual?"

Misty stamped her feet in anger.

"Ghost Pokémon suddenly pop out and scare people!"

Shiraishi Ritsu couldn't help laughing when he heard that.

"Misty, Ghost Pokémon actually have all sorts of different personalities. They don't necessarily all like scaring people."

"Really?"

"Of course."

Shiraishi Ritsu thought for a moment.

"Some might even really enjoy playing jokes on people."

Misty's expression immediately grew worse.

"Playing jokes?"

She swallowed.

"Mr. Masuda, by playing jokes, you don't mean suddenly coming out of a wall, do you?"

"Uh..."

Shiraishi Ritsu rubbed his nose.

"It's not impossible."

"Isn't that still terrifying?"

Beside her, Ash laughed so hard he couldn't straighten up.

"Hahaha! Misty, you're such a scaredy-cat!"

"Ash! Stop laughing!"

Seeing that the two were about to argue again, Brock hurriedly intervened. "All right, let's find somewhere to rest first. If we're really going in, we need to prepare beforehand."

But Ash clearly couldn't wait any longer.

"It's not completely dark yet. Let's go look around outside the tower first!"

Misty wanted to object, but seeing that Shiraishi Ritsu and Smeargle looked just as curious, she eventually followed reluctantly.

Outside Pokémon Tower.

The closer they got to the building, the quieter their surroundings seemed.

The stone steps at the tower's entrance were somewhat worn, and several old lamps stood beside the door.

Wind blew from the end of the street, bringing a low howl.

Smeargle stopped before the stone steps, carefully studying the upper part of the tower.

"Smeargle?"

He faintly heard something.

Ash pricked up his ears too.

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

Misty asked nervously.

"It sounded like someone laughing."

Ash tilted his head.

The moment he finished speaking, a strange sound came from inside the tower.

"Heh heh..."

It wasn't loud, but it kept echoing through the empty stairwell.

Misty went rigid.

"Wh-who was laughing just now?"

Brock frowned.

"It's probably a Pokémon inside the tower."

"Then let's go in!"

Ash immediately perked up.

Holding Pikachu, he headed eagerly toward the entrance.

"Ash, wait!"

Misty hurried after him.

Standing before the stone steps and gazing at the rather eerie Pokémon Tower, Shiraishi Ritsu suddenly remembered the Original Series anime he had watched in his previous life.

Those Ghost Pokémon seemed particularly fond of pranks.

Especially Haunter.

That fellow had been a genuine master of comedy in the anime, spending all day thinking about how to make others laugh.

At that thought, Shiraishi Ritsu couldn't help smiling.

But as he smiled, he remembered those pranks in the anime that left people unsure whether to laugh or cry.

They seemed to have gone pretty far at times.

"Partner."

"Smeargle?"

"Once we're inside, don't go running off."

Shiraishi Ritsu cautioned him seriously.

"Especially if you meet Ghost Pokémon like Gastly or Haunter. It's best to see what they want to do first."

"Smeargle!"

Smeargle nodded confidently.

He already couldn't wait to see what real Ghost Pokémon looked like.

Seeing this, Shiraishi Ritsu could only shake his head helplessly.

"All right, looks like you're much braver than I am."

With that, he followed the others with Smeargle.

The tower's main doors slowly opened.

A cool breeze blew out from within.

Shiraishi Ritsu had only just stepped inside when he heard a faint laugh overhead.

"Heh..."

He instinctively raised his head.

There was nothing on the dim ceiling.

"Strange..."

Shiraishi Ritsu rubbed his chin.

"Why do I feel like someone was watching us just now?"

Smeargle also looked overhead curiously.

But before he could take a closer look, Ash called from ahead, urging them on.

"Mr. Masuda! Come on!"

"Coming!"

Shiraishi Ritsu hurried after him.

But he had no idea.

Just after he left the entrance, a patch of shadow near the ceiling suddenly stirred.

A purple Ghost Pokémon was hanging upside down there.

It had pointed ears, a wide mouth, and two large floating hands detached from its body.

It was Haunter.

At that moment, Haunter was watching the humans who had just entered with great interest.

Especially the boy wearing a cap, with Pikachu standing on his shoulder.

He looks kind of goofy.

He should be fun.

Haunter stretched its wide mouth into a grin and was just about to go give him a scare.

But just then, it suddenly noticed something else.

Half a manga volume stuck out of a side pocket on Shiraishi Ritsu's backpack.

On the cover, a boy in a red cap stood with Pokémon.

Several Pokémon of different appearances were drawn beside him as well.

Haunter blinked.

"Haunter?"

Its gaze fell on the manga's cover, suddenly becoming especially curious.

What's that?

Why are there so many Pokémon drawn on it?

Haunter floated a little closer, extended one large hand, and quietly touched the corner of the book sticking out of the backpack.

Then, as though it had discovered a particularly interesting toy, its grin grew wider and wider.

Rather than scaring the boy in the cap, it now seemed more interested in finding out just what was drawn inside this thing called "Pokémon Adventures."