Pokémon : Ocasia

Inside Rastor Safari Zone

After the group of four successfully captured both a Vulpix and an Alolan Vulpix, they continued their search for a Pokémon suitable for Lorelia—who, for some reason, seemed to be unusually popular with the two Vulpix.

"Cute…" she murmured under her breath, her tone calm—but anyone watching could see her hands trembling. She was clearly under attack… by the lethal level of fluffiness cradled in her arms!

Lorelia was currently holding both Vulpix and looked like she might suffer a heart attack from sheer cuteness.

She had originally planned to capture one for herself, but after witnessing those three bullies, the desire had faded. Instead, she resolved to search for another adorable Pokémon—or maybe stumble upon a different pack of Vulpix elsewhere.

If Her Majesty Lavinia and Knight Commander Ingrid hadn't already claimed the two Vulpix she was holding, she would have tried to take them both for herself.

The Safari Zone only allowed one capture per entry? She was willing to pay any price!

But even if she had earned the favor of both Pokémon and desperately wished to bring them out, it wouldn't matter—Arthur remained immovable. With Rosaria as his sponsor, he had little need for anything else—unless she somehow ran out of money and could no longer fund his research, which seemed highly unlikely.

After wandering for a while—passing all kinds of Pokémon, monsters, and strange creatures—they eventually arrived at a mansion shrouded in shadow. It radiated an eerie energy that made their skin crawl.

Arthur had casually called it a "Haunted House", but that barely did it justice. It was, in truth, a full-blown mansion.

"This place feels… ominous," Gadeon said, pausing his training session with his newly-captured Mankey. His eyes were fixed on the mansion ahead, his expression unusually solemn—yet clearly intrigued. "It reminds me of those Cursed Lands, but the Death energy here is purer. It feels more… suited to the living than the dead. Almost peaceful."

Ocasia's Ghost-types weren't actual ghosts—Arthur still hadn't figured out how to make one. That's why their "intangibility" wasn't true phasing but rather a clever manipulation of space that let them hide their bodies in an alternate space. So, despite their eerie appearances and ghost-like behavior, they were still, in many ways, like regular Pokémon.

However, the reason this place exuded Death energy was because of Ghost-type moves. Although Arthur hadn't yet discovered how to create a true ghost, his research into souls was quite advanced—after all, every one of his Pokémon had been born from a newborn soul drawn from the Spirit Realm.

Thanks to that, he had developed a working understanding of how to affect something as abstract as the soul. He designed Ghost-type moves based on this principle—techniques that could interact with the soul directly.

It might sound sinister, even dangerous, but these soul-based attacks were actually quite pure in nature. They were rooted in the essence of newborn souls—unblemished and untarnished. When properly trained, these moves could even be used to soothe or repair damaged souls.

In fact, with this knowledge, Arthur could potentially capture mature, wandering souls in the Spirit Realm and reshape them into true Ghost-type Pokémon with real intangibility. But that would be a fundamentally different process than giving a newborn soul a new body.

Newborn souls were fated to inhabit animals or sentient beings, destined to begin new lives. Arthur merely offered them a vessel—a body—to be born into. But mature souls were a different story. They retained scattered memories, feelings, and fragments of thought. They had lived, and they had suffered.

Using them to create Pokémon would be no different from experimenting on—or altering—sentient beings. And that was a line Arthur refused to cross. No matter how tempting, he would never do something so inherently cruel.

Because of this foundation, the "Death energy" radiating from Ocasia's Ghost-type Pokémon was, in truth, Soul Energy. It was unnervingly pure—giving off an air of eerie serenity rather than malevolent dread.

When offensive Ghost-type moves were used, they didn't necessarily harm the soul. In most cases, they simply induced a state of rest—soothing the soul into stillness rather than tearing it apart. Of course, if a Ghost-type Pokémon intended to do harm, it could push the move beyond its natural purpose to directly injure the soul. But that required malice or conscious effort—it wasn't instinctive.

Still, even when harmless, such moves disturbed the soul. And when the soul was disturbed, the body would react. A being might feel fear without knowing why, a chill down the spine, a weariness that felt like injury. If the effect lingered long enough, it could trick the body into shutting down—fainting not from damage, but from the illusion of it.

While the four humans wore solemn expressions, the Pokémon accompanying them reacted more visibly to the eerie presence. Each of them carried a newborn soul, artificially placed within their current forms—so they could feel the strange energy in a way the others couldn't. It made them shiver, unsettling something deep within them… something they couldn't quite name.

It was familiar, somehow—but that familiarity only made it more unnerving.

"Will there be a cute ghost inside?" Lorelia asked, her voice dreamy with curiosity. She looked every bit the witch she resembled—but with eyes drooping in perpetual sleepiness.

She usually kept her wide-brimmed witch hat tilted low, hiding most of her face and revealing only her half-lidded eyes. But now, as she tilted her head up to gaze at the Haunted House, her face was fully visible. Her long purple hair was tied in a loose bun, framing a pale, heart-shaped face. Slender and willowy, she moved like someone drifting through a dream—half-present in the world around her.

"Pokémon are cute in general. Cute ghosts aren't impossible," Lavinia replied with a gentle smile, stepping toward the eerie mansion's towering double doors—each easily the height of two people.

If this were anywhere else, Lavinia would have used her mana perception to scan the interior first. And if she'd sensed anything remotely suspicious, she'd have leveled the place with magic before taking a single step inside. But this was the Safari Zone. And having heard about Ghost-type Pokémon from her daughter Rosaria, she felt no sense of danger.

Without hesitation, she reached for the door handle.

Gadeon was the same—carefree and unconcerned.

Ingrid, however, took a defensive stance. Ever vigilant, he stood ready to unleash protective magic at the first sign of threat—his eyes scanning every shadow to shield his King and Queen.

The grand doors creaked open into a dim foyer. Dust hung in the air like mist, and the scent of old wood and quiet decay was thick and cloying. A cracked chandelier dangled from the ceiling, its cobwebbed crystals dull and lifeless. Torn rugs lay strewn across the floor, and a grand staircase—rotten and half-swallowed by shadow—rose before them like the spine of some sleeping beast.

The mansion was, in fact, a collaborative creation between Arthur and Pascal—the head of the Dreamlit Construction Company. Arthur, drawing inspiration from his memories of Earth, had provided Pascal with extensive references and design feedback. Pascal had been surprised—this was the first time anyone had asked him to build a house that was intentionally half-ruined. But with the pay as generous as it was, he didn't ask questions.

That said, the way Pascal hounded Arthur for daily payments—like a greedy ghost haunting his wallet—even before construction was finished, made the actual Haunted House feel less creepy in comparison.

For now, though the atmosphere was perfect, only a few Gastly drifted about—making the place feel repetitive and underwhelming.

It was like visiting a haunted house where the only scare was the same sheet-covered ghost popping out from behind every corner. Predictable. Bland. A little lazy.

At that moment, the four of them finally saw the Pokémon inhabiting the mansion.

They were floating black spheres, shrouded in purple gas, with wide, mischievous eyes and sharp, toothy grins. Their ghostly forms flickered like smoke—constantly shifting and fading at the edges. Some stuck out long tongues, adding to their eerie, unsettling appearance.

"They're ugly... not cute at all..." Lorelia murmured, barely above a whisper. Her sleepy eyes drifted down to the two Vulpix curled in her arms.

At her words, the nearby Gastly froze mid-bob. A heavy silence fell over the foyer like a blanket of fog. Their wide eyes—once filled with playful mischief—drooped with disappointment. The misty gas around them dimmed, pulsing with quiet gloom. One by one, they began to drift away, their forms scattering like smoke in the breeze.

"Relia, you hurt their feelings," Lavinia said softly, concealing a smile behind her hand.

Lorelia blinked in horror, suddenly wide awake. "No—no! Wait! I didn't mean it like that!" she gasped, scrambling to her feet and nearly dropping one of the Vulpix in her panic. "You're cute—very cute!"

She rushed forward a few steps, reaching out to one of the last Gastly as it floated sorrowfully toward the shadows. "You're... you're uniquely cute! In a spooky, floaty, mysterious kind of way! I love your big round eyes—they're like little haunted moons! And your grin! It's so cheeky and charming, like you're always up to something adorable. And the gas—it's... fluffy! Like spooky cloud!"

A beat of silence.

Then Gadeon burst out laughing, and Lavinia and Ingrid followed, trying—and failing—to hold it in.

Blushing furiously, Lorelia—still juggling two giggling Vulpix in her arms—conjured a hand of mana to tug down the brim of her witch hat, hiding her glowing red face beneath its shadow.

In mid-air, the lone Gastly came to a halt—hovering in silence before slowly turning back to look at her. Its eyes, once drooping with sadness, lit up with mischief once again. Then, with a playful swirl of mist, it let out a joyful, echoing laugh. "Gast~ Gast~ Gast~!"

"Even your laugh is ugly—wait, no! I didn't mean it like that!" Lorelia blurted, panicking again as she scrambled to explain herself.

This time, however, the Gastly didn't seem offended. It floated around her in slow circles, its purple gas swirling playfully, eyes gleaming with mischief as it continued to laugh—completely unfazed and clearly entertained.

Lorelia's face burned an even deeper shade of red.

Yet somewhere in the midst of her flustered panic, her opinion of Gastly quietly flipped.

It's actually… kind of cute, she thought, a little stunned by the realization.

With stiff, awkward movements, she gently set both Vulpix down. They trotted back toward Lavinia and Ingrid, still chortling like they'd just witnessed the funniest thing in the world.

Lorelia turned back to the floating Gastly, nervously crossing her fingers together in front of her chest. "U-uhm… do you want t-to… be my Pokémon?"

"Gast!" Gastly's eyes curved into cheerful crescents as it instantly agreed. This human was weird—and amusing. Life with her promised to be anything but boring.

Ingrid, ever practical and always on the lookout for strong Pokémon, pulled up his Pokédex and scanned the Gastly.

He nodded in approval. Level 5. Moves: Lick, Confuse Ray, Hypnosis… and surprisingly, an Egg Move—Haze. That gave it potential to eventually learn Ice-type moves. Not bad at all.

As for it being a ghost? While they normally distrusted the undead from the Cursed Lands, this was a Pokémon—playful, harmless, and clearly sentient. The Death energy around it was clean and pure, nothing like the twisted aura of true undead. They had no prejudice against it.

Besides, who would dare criticize one of Her Majesty's close aides for having a Ghost-type companion? Anyone foolish enough to try would be inviting a very short life.

Arthur, meanwhile, still had no idea who this group of four really were. But when he saw the Gastly being accepted by them, he felt quietly pleased. Even if progress was slow, he hoped that public perception of Ghost-type Pokémon could gradually become positive—piece by piece, separating them from the horrors of the Cursed Lands.

If he ever found out who this group actually was, he'd be ecstatic. They were the perfect ambassadors to promote Ghost-type Pokémon!

As Lorelia pulled out a Poké Ball, ready to capture Gastly, something small and fast zipped past them.

In her half-lidded eyes, it was like time slowed.

A tiny Ghost Pokémon floated by—its body teardrop-shaped, a dark bluish-green hue shimmering like moonlight. Around its neck was a glowing red bead-like collar, and its big, curious eyes sparkled with playful mischief. Wisps of ghostly hair trailed behind it, swaying in the eerie air like a spell in motion.

It looked like... a tiny witch.

A Witch-type Pokémon?! And it's very, very, very, VERY CUTE?! Lorelia's eyes lit up like stars. Without a second thought, she completely forgot about Gastly and turned, eyes gleaming with sincerity.

"Cute witch, please be my Pokémon!"

Gastly froze mid-air, completely stunned.

Lavinia, Gadeon, and other Pokémon all stared, equally stunned—until Ingrid suddenly exclaimed, "This Pokémon's level is 20!?"

The Level 20 Misdreavus blinked, confused. It had just come by to play with its Gastly friends—what was going on?

Misdreavus locked eyes with Lorelia—and immediately shivered under the weight of her intense, sparkling stare, full of affection. It cast a quick, bewildered glance at the nearby Gastly… then bolted, fleeing in a swirl of ghostly mist!

"No! Come back! Don't go!" Lorelia cried, her voice echoing through the Haunted House as she chased after it, arms outstretched in desperation.

--- 

"I told you to come back before the Safari Zone opened…" Arthur muttered, pressing a hand to his forehead as he watched the monitor, where his own Misdreavus was now being chased around the Haunted House by a teary-eyed witch in full panic mode.

He'd scanned the building earlier and hadn't seen any trace of it, so he'd assumed it had already left and was just playing near his house. But apparently, it had used its intangibility to hide inside the walls—no wonder he didn't see it anywhere.

Sighing, Arthur made a mental note to have a "lovely" talk with it later.

For now, he simply watched as the group exited the Haunted House, with a very dejected Lorelia trailing behind—head low, steps heavy, still sniffling over Misdreavus that got away.

---

Back at the entrance booth, Roland wore a bemused expression as he watched the antics of Lorelia and her Gastly.

"Please... I'm sorry—I was foolish to chase after other Pokémon when you, the cutest one, were right here all along... please forgive me, Gastly!" Lorelia clasped her hands over her chest, her voice full of earnest apology.

"Gast!" Gastly huffed, turning its face away with a pout.

"Please! You are the cutest! That witch-like Pokémon wasn't cute at all..."

"Gast!"

"Please! Even though that Pokémon perfectly suited my taste, you are better!"

"Gast! Gast!"

"I'm sorry~"

"Gast!"

The two volleyed back and forth, while the others watched on with quiet amusement.

Roland glanced at Ingrid, who seemed to be the group's leader, and asked, "Are you sure that Gastly actually agreed to become her Pokémon?"

"Uh… I'm pretty sure… yes…" Ingrid answered stiffly, clearly a bit helpless. While he'd been interested in capturing that level 20 Ghost-type himself, he certainly wouldn't have behaved as disgracefully as Lorelia—forgetting her own newly bonded partner just to chase after other Pokémon.

She only had herself to blame for making Gastly upset!

In truth, Gastly wasn't really angry. It actually found Lorelia far more entertaining than most humans.

Where else could it find a Trainer so delightfully amusing to follow—and laugh at?

Lorelia was perfect!

If it hadn't already recognized Lorelia as its Trainer, it wouldn't have followed her here in the first place.

Right now, it was only pretending to be angry—clearly enjoying every exaggerated apology Lorelia threw its way.

Roland glanced one last time at the apologizing Lorelia and her pouting Gastly, then sighed and turned back to business. "All right, let's leave her for last. The three of you—please show me your Pokémon."

"Mankey, show him who's the strongest!" Gadeon called out as he released Mankey from its Poké Ball. He caught it in his arms, and the little monkey puffed itself up, spreading its arms wide in an attempt to intimidate Roland.

Roland didn't even flinch. His Farfetch'd, however, had already scrambled into a corner, trembling.

Lavinia and Ingrid followed suit, releasing their Alolan Vulpix and Kantonian Vulpix, respectively. Each held their Pokémon gently in their arms, presenting them to Roland.

Roland's eyes widened as he laid eyes on the Alolan Vulpix. For a moment, a trace of envy flickered across his face before he quickly masked it with a professional smile.

"Madam, you must be quite the charming person," he said, nodding. "You managed to win over this Vulpix. Even our Boss, Arthur, failed to do so... I gave it a shot myself, and it treated me colder than it did him..."

Lavinia smiled softly, stroking the cool, silky fur of her Alolan Vulpix. "I suppose it's my fortune."

Roland then turned to the Kantonian Vulpix in Ingrid's arms, his eyes twinkling as he said with a teasing smile, "Two Vulpix of different colors... how perfect for a lovely couple."

Both Vulpix blushed furiously.

Ingrid turned ghostly pale. His expression contorted in horror as he waved both hands in frantic denial. "No, no! I'm not—Gad is her husband!" He pointed at Gadeon in a panic.

Roland blinked, then coughed awkwardly into his fist to hide his embarrassment. He turned to Gadeon and gave a quick, apologetic bow. "My apologies for the misunderstanding…"

"It's okay. I don't mind," Gadeon said calmly, wearing a serene smile.

Ingrid, however, felt a cold sweat trail down his spine.

A calm Gadeon... is the scariest Gadeon!

Awkwardness thick in the air, Roland quickly changed the subject. "Ahem—right. Do you three accept these Trainers as your own?"

All three Pokémon nodded without hesitation.

Smiling as if nothing had happened, Roland pulled out a thick ledger and flipped through its pages, methodically crossing out Mankey, Alolan Vulpix, and Vulpix.

Arthur had instructed him to keep track manually—every capture needed to be logged so the Pokémon population in the Safari Zone could be monitored. Once the numbers dipped too low, Arthur would replenish the Zone with new Pokémon Eggs.

For now, Roland was handling both the entrance and exit duties, since traffic was still manageable with just Rastor's villagers visiting. But in the future? No way he could handle the workload alone.

And as for why Arthur was still relying on handwritten ledger instead of crafting a device like a Pokédex for convenience—it was because he couldn't create such technology accurately without drinking a Memora Potion. And currently, Virelyra had strictly banned him from so much as looking at one.

Roland cleared his throat and glanced toward the last in line. "Ahem... it's your turn now, uh... miss."

Lorelia approached the front desk with slumped shoulders, dragging her feet while Gastly floated beside her, still wearing a theatrical pout.

If not for the emotional mess the two were in, Roland would've already congratulated the witch-like woman on being the first person to catch a Ghost-type Pokémon. But now? He wasn't even sure she had truly captured it.

Looking back and forth between the odd pair, he asked hesitantly, "Uh... Gastly, do you accept this person as your Trainer?"

Gastly had entered her Poké Ball willingly the first time—but ever since then, it had kept up this sulky act, floating beside her with exaggerated pouting and dramatic sighs. At this point, Lorelia honestly felt like her chances of keeping Gastly as her Pokémon were slipping away...

She deeply regretted letting her impulses take over and chasing after that cute witch-like Ghost-type…

To her surprise—and everyone else's—Gastly gave a small, dramatic nod. Then, with a flourish of purple mist, it dove into Lorelia's Poké Ball again, as if to prove it wasn't lying.

Roland blinked, glanced down at the Poké Ball in her hand that had clearly captured Gastly without any resistance, then back up at Lorelia's face. A wry smile crept onto his lips as he silently crossed off one Gastly from the ledger.

"Well then... congratulations. You're officially the first person to capture a Ghost-type Pokémon—Gastly!"