Chapter no.190 The Ritual of the Dead

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The sound of the bell echoed through the empty halls of Lavender Tower. The bell's toll was eerie, a reminder of the somber nature of the tower, and its emptiness only added to the sense of foreboding.

Suddenly, a claw reached out and touched Austin's shoulder from behind. The boy let out a startled cry as he turned to see what had touched him, only to be confronted by an owl-like Pokemon with bright red eyes. It hopped around on a single leg, its gaze fixed on Austin and Pikachu.

" No, No, Bad Hootie. Don't scare the child," a pair of synchronized voices called out. Austin turned to see two elderly women dressed in regalias with some part of it resembling a duskull. They walked toward him in perfect sync, their movements almost mechanical.

"Come play with us," they said in unison.

Austin's mind went blank for a second, not sure how to react to the eerie scene before him. The elderly women were dressed in robes that were tattered and faded, adorned with symbols that were not immediately recognizable. Their hair was gray and wispy, and their faces were etched with lines that spoke of a life long-lived.

"Child, what are you doing at this place?" one of them asked.

"Grady, don't be so insensitive. What would a child be doing at Lavender Tower?!" the other scolded.

"Brady, don't lecture me. The child could have been lost."

"Huff, you old hag. Can't you see that pokemon casket in his hands?"

"Of course, I can see you old shank."

"Uh...excuse me?" Austin said, trying to make sense of the strange conversation.

The elderly women gazed at him imperiously. "Yes?"

"Uh...do you work at this tower?" he asked tentatively.

"No, sonny, we are prostitutes hired for the ghosts," one of the elderly women said before the duo broke out cackling at their joke.

They coughed a few times before saying in unison, "Sonny, this place hasn't been in use for a long time. Why do you want to bury your Pokemon here?"

Austin looked down at the casket, unsure how to answer their question. Why had he come to Lavender Tower? Had he subconsciously associated it with the idea of Pokemon death? Or was it simply because he didn't know any other Pokemon graveyard?

Seeing the silent Austin, Brady spoke up, "Sonny, do you want to bury your Pokemon here?"

Austin subconsciously nodded as he tightened his grip on Raticate's casket.

"Then do you want us to arrange a Ritual of the Dead, or have you arranged a ritual for your Pokemon?"

Grady asked curiously as Hoothoot landed on her head.

Austin meanwhile froze as he looked at the elderly duo.

Wait; what ?!

The Ritual of the Dead ?!

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Ghost-types are, in general, one of the queerest pokémon in the world. Their very existence is something that is shrouded in mystery and befuddles even the greatest of scientists in the world. For one, ghost pokémon are, strangely enough, highly effective against their kind, something that they share with the dragon type and no one else. Even then, the former is much more puzzling than the latter.

For one thing, dragons are super effective against dragons not because they are dragons, but because the others aren't. By their sheer nature, a dragon is mostly capable of using electric, flying, fire, and water-based moves with an efficiency that borders the types themselves. Further, dragons also find it significantly easier to master moves of the other types like psychic, ghost, dark, ground, and the like. In fact, with the exception of the Fairy type, a dragon can, in due course, be able to give a tough fight and even win against a particular type, limiting itself to moves of said type. There is a reason after all, why the dragon type is considered the most powerful type among pokémon, and why a majority of the Legendaries are draconic.

Bottom line. A dragon can use water-based attacks against a fire type like it can use dark-based attacks against a psychic type, or flying-based attacks against a normal type. The point is- because of the sheer versatility of the draconic kind, only a dragon can be super-effective against another, and no one else.

From that vantage point, the situation of ghosts is… remarkably complex. For one, a ghost-type doesn't boast of the sheer versatility of the draconic beings, nor is it immensely powerful against the other types. Dark types can, in eight chances out of ten, beat the crap out of the ghosts, and with the aid of certain… techniques like miracle eye and foresight, even the other types can offer powerful resistance against these… complicated creatures. However, it is seen ghosts are immensely vulnerable to attacks of their type, the reason for which, is quite a matter of speculation.

Compared to what most laymen like to believe, a ghost-pokémon isn't necessarily dead. Of course, the ghost-type does have a lot of… linkages with the realms of spirits and the dead, but that is solely because of their nature as other dimensional beings. Not only that, a ghost is like… an invasive shadow, an impossibility of sorts, an equation with infinite solutions and none of them being the right ones.

Most psychic types tend to refer to the ghost type as the otherworldly ones, the ones who tamper with the real world by merely existing in it.And that was what Team Rocket was hoping to capture, as the team of grunts and the lead executive ventured into the absolute blackness of the top of the Lavender Tower.

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The top of Lavender Tower was shrouded in an eerie, suffocating fog, so dense that not even a ray of sunlight could penetrate through it. It was the perfect place for ghosts to hide, to linger, and to haunt.

The graveyard was vast and endless, filled with tombstones and mausoleums that seemed to go on forever. The air was thick with the scent of decay, and the only sound that could be heard was the faint rustling of leaves that had long since fallen from the trees that stood sentinel over the dead.

A group of Team Rocket grunts, along with their leader, Executive Butch, made their way through the graveyard, their footsteps crunching on the dry, brittle leaves that littered the ground. They were dressed in their signature black uniforms, their boots caked with mud and dirt, and their faces hidden behind dark masks.

Butch was different from the others. He wore a Sliph Scope strapped to his head, a device that allowed him to see through the thick fog that surrounded them. It emitted a soft, green glow that illuminated his face, giving him an almost otherworldly appearance. He scanned the area with a sense of urgency, his eyes darting from one tombstone to another.

"Give it to me now!" Butch barked at one of the grunts who was carrying a small briefcase. The grunt quickly obliged, pulling out a small, silver device and handing it over to the Executive.

Butch attached the device to the Sliph Scope, and the fog began to dissipate before his eyes. The tombstones and mausoleums came into view, and he could see the details etched into them. He scanned the area, looking for something specific.

"Over there," he pointed at a tombstone that glowed with an ethereal purple light. "That's the one."

The grunts watched with baited breath as Butch approached the tombstone. He raised his hand, and with a mighty blow, smashed the device against it. The sound was deafening, and the tombstone shattered into a million pieces.

Suddenly, the ground beneath them shook, and a deafening crash resounded through the area. The grunts took a step back, their eyes wide with fear as they watched their Executive destroy the tombstone. The noise echoed through the graveyard, bouncing off the walls of the mausoleums and the trees.

As the slamming sounds ebbed, a Marowak hidden inside a burrow opened her eyes.

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[ Omake Paragraph ]

In the pokemon world, it was not the railroads that linked faraway lands, for they are too rare and expensive to truly connect the world. Nor was it roads or waterways or airplanes, for the first two are cluttered with trainers and pokemon which block movement, and the latter is only a pale imitator. The true engine of unity from Sinnoh to the Orange Islands is not any invention of man, but a pokemon that flies at twice the speed of sound and is large enough to carry a rider.

Pidgeot do not fly at full speed while carrying humans because the riders would be blown off by the air they displace. Nonetheless, they remain a remarkably fast method of intercity transport, bringing trainers from Pallet to Lavender in a matter of minutes and allowing them to enjoy the view while their hair is tossed around by a strong breeze.

Recent times have seen the hidden machine Fly developed from Pidgeot DNA, allowing other pokemon to be used in its traditional role, and modern airships can travel nearly as fast as a Pidgeot safely can with a trainer. Nonetheless, Pidgeot remains the most popular among the ferries of the skies.