Once again, it was that kind of winter, when snow threatened to fall at any moment but hadn't yet begun.
Aven set off alone with his Pokémon, heading toward the frontline fortress.
Luxray ran swiftly beneath him, its paws striking the frozen ground in rhythmic bursts of light. With its astonishing speed, they would reach the front line in half a day.
"Lil, lil~"
Sitting in front of Aven, Petilil's small figure was bundled in a white coat identical to his own.
The little one looked down at the white coat it wore, then turned to look at Aven's matching outfit. Its round, jade-colored eyes narrowed slightly, as if in determination.
It already knew why they were going — that cursed gray mist had appeared once more. Yet, it was confident it could handle it this time.
"Lass~"
Floating gracefully beside Aven, Froslass followed silently, her expression somewhat complicated.
Unbidden, she recalled the day she had met Lord Aven one year ago. If he hadn't rescued her then, she would probably have died in pain long ago. It was Aven who had given her new life — and the power she now possessed!
Now, returning to the front lines once more, her goal was to help other Pokémon free themselves from the corruption of the gray mist — to let them, too, become themselves again, just as she had.
"Kir~lia~"
Kirlia sat behind Aven, its small head resting gently against his back.
Like Petilil, it too wore a white coat. The thick, padded fabric radiated a gentle warmth that seeped through its small body.
Raising its head slightly, Kirlia glanced sideways at Froslass. Through its emotional perception, it could feel the complicated, restless emotions of its companions — the mixture of fear, sorrow, and resolve.
After a moment's thought, Kirlia released a faint, soft-pink wave of psychic energy, a Heal Pulse to calm the turbulence in everyone's hearts.
"Thanks, Kirlia," Aven said, glancing back with a smile.
"Next, I'll need you to keep using Teleport. Things have gotten too urgent to delay both the Ghost World rift and the gray mist have appeared simultaneously."
Because of that, he hadn't waited to depart with the main force. Instead, he had taken only his Pokémon and set off immediately. With the convenience of carrying his partners in Poké Balls, his mobility far surpassed anyone else's.
Hearing Aven's words, Kirlia nodded, and its body glowed with blue light. The radiance quickly enveloped Aven and the others.
In the blink of an eye, they vanished from where they stood — reappearing on an open plain. Luxray immediately resumed its run, its four paws blurring with renewed speed.
"Lil! Lil!"
Sitting at the front, Petilil gathered streams of healing life energy and continuously injected them into Luxray's body.
"Meow~!"
Luxray let out a low, deep growl. Sparks crackled beneath its feet, and its speed suddenly surged once more.
Meanwhile, in the Abyssal Forest, gray mist had already spread across most of the region.
Outside the forest, in Brambleford Village, Berrin and the order of knights stood guard around the Pokémon breeding grounds.
Everyone wore grim expressions as they stared toward the distant forest, where the gray haze hung ominously over the treetops. The rate of its expansion far exceeded anyone's expectations.
In just two days, it had covered nearly half the forest. At this rate, in only a few more days, it would once again engulf the entire Abyssal Forest and perhaps even spread toward human lands.
"Lord Berrin, more ghostly Pokémon have appeared!" A patrolling knight reported breathlessly.
These ghostly creatures were like cats that had smelled fish — drawn irresistibly toward any living beings. The vitality radiating from humans and their Pokémon alike was like a beacon to them, calling them forth from the mist.
This made them an even greater threat than the gray mist itself. Even before the haze reached human settlements, the ghosts would already drift across the borderlands.
And unlike the mindless beasts of other types, ghost Pokémon were far more sensitive to life energy — making it nearly impossible to hide from them.
At that moment, every noble in the region silently praised Earl Aven's foresight. If he hadn't ordered the early evacuation of all Pokémon from the forest, the coming beast tide would have been far more catastrophic.
"Understood. Knights — prepare to engage!" Berrin commanded, his voice weary but firm.
Then he turned to the scribe beside him. "How's the evacuation of Brambleford Village's residents progressing?"
Originally, he had planned to hold their ground and defend the territory, but the situation had grown far too complicated. Even he wasn't confident he could protect so many civilians.
"Lord Berrin, are we truly not moving the people to the front-line fortress?" the scribe asked hesitantly.
"No. The fortress may not be the safest option."
"These corrupted ghost Pokémon are drawn to the life force of humans. Moving a massive group will only make us a bigger target!"
Berrin shook his head grimly. The timing of this gray mist outbreak couldn't have been worse. Most territories hadn't even finished preparations for defense yet.
Just then—
"WOOO—!"
A piercing horn echoed through the air — urgent and sharp.
It wasn't the first alarm that day, but this one sounded faster, more desperate — a signal of extreme danger!
"All knights, with me to the front!" Berrin roared, mounting his Pokémon and rushing toward the battlefield.
At the forest's edge, black fog churned and condensed, forming countless drifting shapes — Gastly. Their ghostly energy surged and crackled, launching waves of eerie attacks.
"So many… ghost Pokémon!" Berrin's pupils contracted sharply.
Nearly a hundred Gastly had gathered — more than all previous incidents combined!
"Arroooh!"
The Pokémon from the breeding zone fought desperately under the command of their Mightyena leader. But this time, their numbers didn't grant them an advantage — the enemy was overwhelming, and the defenders were gradually being pushed back.
Fortunately, the knights arrived just in time to stabilize the front line. Still, the tide of ghostly monsters refused to falter.
Driven mad by the gray mist, the corrupted beasts fought with no sense of self-preservation. The battle fell into a brutal stalemate.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions echoed as Pokémon fell one after another.
A Gastly swooped down after defeating a Mightyena, phasing straight into its fallen body.
Instantly, the Mightyena's fur lost its color — its life energy rapidly fading.
For ghost Pokémon, absorbing life energy was instinct. And the gray mist amplified that ability even further.
"Mightyena!" Berrin shouted in fury and panic.
Watching the Pokémon convulse helplessly, he clenched his fists. The ghost had already merged inside — and he had no means of driving it out!
"Get out of him!"
Suddenly, a sharp voice cut through the chaos.
Berrin's vision blurred for a moment — a white figure appeared on the field.
Beside the newcomer floated a Kirlia, also wearing a white coat. Its body shone with azure light.
Psychic power surged outward, wrapping around the fallen Mightyena. The blue glow pulsed and pulled and in seconds, the Gastly was wrenched out of the Mightyena's body!
"Kir~!" Kirlia cried softly, unleashing Psychic.
The psychic force condensed into a solid wave, slamming into Gastly with an audible crack. With a burst of ghostly smoke, the Gastly dropped limply to the ground.
"Now for this—go, Poké Ball!"
Aven's eyes flashed as he hurled the ball.
The Poké Ball struck Gastly, opening with a bright light that drew the spirit inside. It fell to the ground, rocking violently as Gastly struggled within.
Bip-bip-bip—
The Poké Ball trembled, then burst open with a pop — Gastly burst free again!
"Hm? Capture failed?"
"But… since the ball managed to absorb it even once, that means it can be captured!"
"The gray mist must still be giving it enough strength to resist but this doesn't mean they're impossible to subdue!"
Aven's eyes sharpened. "Kirlia, once more!"
Kirlia's psychic light flared again, striking Gastly and sending it sprawling.
Aven enlarged another Poké Ball and threw it swiftly — this time, Gastly was drawn inside once again.
The ball twitched once… twice… then stilled. The red light faded.
Capture successful.
"Success," Aven exhaled slowly. "Even tainted by the gray mist, a Pokémon is still… a Pokémon."
The greatest problem with gray-mist-corrupted Pokémon was that they never stopped attacking unless their life energy was extinguished. No matter how much pain or damage they suffered, they fought on, endlessly.
Even sleep-inducing moves were useless on them.
That was part of why Aven had come — to test whether Poké Balls could contain them.
Now that he knew it was possible, he finally had another method to deal with these corrupted Pokémon and, more importantly, to study them.
"Kir~"
Kirlia let out a tired sigh of relief. With a soft flick of psychic power, the captured Poké Ball floated neatly into Aven's hand.
"Earl Aven!"
Berrin ran over, joy and disbelief on his face.
"You arrived just in time! I thought that Mightyena was lost!"
Aven nodded calmly. "We'll talk later."
His gaze shifted toward the battlefield, where Petilil was spreading a rich, fragrant mist — Aromatherapy.
The soothing scent drifted through the field, enveloping all the wounded Pokémon.
One by one, green lights shimmered on their bodies, closing wounds and mending injuries.
Thanks to the infusion of life energy within the fragrance, the healing effect was real and powerful — Pokémon that had fallen moments ago were standing again, ready to fight.
At the same time, the healing aroma reached even the Gastly floating midair. For a brief instant, their eerie movements halted, their eyes flickering with confusion.
According to Aven's previous research, the gray mist was a fusion of chaos energy and ghost-type death energy.
By using Aromatherapy, which could dispel confusion he had found a way to temporarily suppress that corruption within them.
(End of Chapter)
TN: Sorry for the short chapter, its almost 1 am, I had to cut it short.