The Gate of the Tomb Palace

The Bug-catching kid was sent away.

The setting sun was like blood, and the twilight was vast.

"Let's go."

Cain waved his hand and called out.

Raikou was a little confused, "Where are we going?"

"The Bell Tower."

Raikou couldn't help but swallow, "Now? Are you going to find the location of the Tomb Palace at night? Isn't that a bit…"

Cain kept walking forward, not caring about Raikou, because even if he was scared, he would definitely follow.

The Bell Tower pointed straight at the lonely mountain, and the tower's shadow and the mountain's shadow covered the entire area, rarely seeing sunlight, the gloomy atmosphere was overwhelming.

Toward the lonely mountain, there was a path paved with bluestone and shaded by trees. Moss covered the bluestone, showing that this place was rarely visited by people.

At the foot of the lone mountain, there was a cemetery built with sharp stones. It was summertime, and the surface was covered with green vines.

In front of the gate, there was a stone tablet with the four characters " Crestmont Cemetery" written on it.

The cemetery gate was made of ancient bronze, and it was covered with verdigris, showing the vicissitudes of time.

The gate was not locked. Cain and Raikou had to work together to push open one of the bronze doors, making a "creaking" sound.

Such a desolate and ruined cemetery was hidden and secluded. If it weren't for the "Crestmont Family Chronicle", they would never have known that there was such a place within the Ecruteak Gym.

Entering the cemetery, what came into view were rows of tombs, which made their hearts jump into their throats.

The sky had completely darkened, and a thin mist enveloped the cemetery. The oppressive atmosphere made it hard for Cain and Raikou to breathe.

The two turned on their flashlights and began to look at the words on each tombstone.

Their goal was clear, to find the tombstones of the first, third, and fourth generations.

As they checked one row after another, Cain and Raikou's breaths were suppressed to the lowest level. Although there were no ghosts, this kind of place was simply a paradise for Ghost-type Pokémon. It would be very troublesome if they were alarmed.

After looking at all the tombstones, the innermost tomb was that of the fifth generation of Crestmont. The tombs of the first to the fourth generations were nowhere to be found.

What was going on? Could it be that not all tombs were here?

Cain was lost in thought.

...

"Hey, what are you two doing here?"

The sudden sound of talking startled Cain and Raikou.

Cain was already prepared to have Ditto transform into a dagger.

Upon turning around:

"Leo?"

"How did you come back?"

Leo was holding a large bag of paper money, incense, candles, and other items for the ghost festival.

He said helplessly, "I originally planned to come back tomorrow, but Master said today is the Ghost Festival, so I had to come to the cemetery to burn some offerings for our ancestors. I was afraid the ancestors would blame me, so I hurried back."

As he spoke, Leo kept murmuring, "Ancestors, don't blame me, don't blame me..."

Under Leo's guidance, they arrived at the center of the cemetery, where there was a stone pavilion. The pavilion was empty, except for a large bronze cauldron that occupied the entire space.

Leo placed all the offerings in the cauldron, lit them, and then began to kneel and pray.

After completing a series of rituals, Leo asked, "How did you end up in a place like this?"

Raikou didn't know how to answer.

"We saw a Ghost-type Pokémon and chased it here."

Cain blurted out. While Leo was praying, Cain had already anticipated that he would ask this question and had prepared a response.

"Yes, yes, that's right. But after we got here, it disappeared. It's a pity."

Raikou quickly followed up, relieving the awkwardness just now.

"You two are really bold. This place is full of gloom, even Master only comes here once or twice a year. Let's go, let's go."

Under Leo's urging, Cain and Raikou had no choice but to leave.

Back at the dorm, Cain sent Gastly and Ditto to train on their own.

By now, "Embargo" had been used by Gastly thousands of times, and its use was second nature. However, the power and momentum were still somewhat lacking, and the "Embargo" effect didn't last very long.

Alone in the dorm, Cain fell into deep thought.

A tomb.

In the entire cemetery, only graves were visible, but there was no tomb.

According to the "Family Chronicles," Crestmont the First had built a tomb for himself near the Bell Tower, in its shadowy direction. The direction should be correct.

Why wasn't there even a single monument on the surface?

There were also no tombs for the second, third, or fourth generations.

It was a headache, a real headache.

Although there was some direction to the matter, it was just the first question. The tomb palace's door couldn't be found, making it somewhat discouraging.

It was oppressive, a kind of inexplicable oppression.

Cain arrived in the courtyard, where Gastly was using "Embargo" on Ditto.

"That's enough, Ditto transform into a punching bag."

Gengar stepped aside.

Transforming into a punching bag had become a habit for Ditto, providing daily training for Cain to practice striking. However, Cain's current strength was limited, and Ditto could now completely absorb the force.

Nevertheless, this exercise was an essential part of daily morning training, while "Flying Dagger" was practiced at night. Ditto was quite puzzled about why this training session was happening again tonight.

But fear was the primary feeling Ditto had towards its master, Cain. It had to execute orders quickly, or else it would be punished.

Cain was feeling somewhat oppressed and agitated, so practicing "Flying Dagger" in this state would be a waste of time. "Flying Dagger" required focus, uniting his thoughts with Ditto's.

Therefore, he needed to vent.

Cain struck the punching bag that Ditto had transformed into, over and over again.

He mumbled continuously, "Bell Tower, tomb palace, a thousand mountains in one life..."

After an hour of hitting, he was already drenched in sweat. When sweat flowed into his eyes, he just wiped it away without taking any breaks.

Cain's actions caught the attention of Raikou inside the house.

Walking to Cain's side, Raikou said, "I never thought you would have a difficult time too."

Although Raikou had no ideas at the moment, and it would greatly benefit itself if Cain had a breakthrough, seeing Cain venting helplessly brought a sense of genuine excitement.

It was as if Raikou finally saw Cain's embarrassment.

Why would they be so happy even when it didn't benefit him at all? What kind of mentality was that?

Jealousy, or more precisely, "envy of talent," because Cain had always outperformed him.

Cain ignored him and cast a sideways glance.

Following suit, Raikou also wiped the smile off his face and kept his distance, training his Duskull in the art of persistent attacks.

"Gastly, use Embargo on Duskull," Cain instructed, seeing Raikou bring out his Duskull, which was the perfect training partner for Gastly.

In the dark night, Gastly swooshed closer to Duskull and let out a roar that froze Duskull in its tracks.

"Cain, what's the deal with your Gastly?" Raikou asked.

...

Seeing that Cain didn't bother to reply, Raikou felt frustrated with nowhere to vent his anger.

"Duskull, teach this annoying Gastly a lesson for me."

Gastly and Duskull engaged in a fierce battle. One had high Special Attack and speed, while the other had astounding defenses. They fought back and forth, making it difficult to determine a winner.

It wasn't until everyone were completely exhausted that Cain recalled Gastly.

After taking a bath, Cain quickly fell asleep due to extreme fatigue.