Chapter Ninety-Six: The Ghost Train

“Champion of the Paldea region,” Suyi said after hanging up. Curiosity stirred at once in his heart. What kind of Pokémon would there be in a region unknown to him?

This exhibition match was bound to be interesting.

Suyi checked the time on his phone. It was afternoon, nearly evening.

“Let’s take the Corviknight taxi to Wyndon,” he said.

Yet when Suyi arrived at the Corviknight station, he was told that far too many people were traveling to Wyndon by taxi that day. There were no taxis left, and many of the Corviknight needed to rest.

“Nothing for it, sir. With the excitement from the Gym Challenge still lingering, and now an exhibition match between two regions announced as well, Wyndon is sure to become a great gathering place. You’d better take the train instead,” the staff member said apologetically.

Suyi had no choice. Then the Rotom Phone drifted over, opened his phone, and showed him the latest news.

“Wyndon is even more bustling now, Rotom.”

The news showed Wyndon in full uproar. On the electronic billboards along the pedestrian street, advertisements for Rotom Phones scrolled endlessly. In the parks and battle arenas, many Trainers had joined the atmosphere, eagerly engaging in Pokémon battles. The shopping district was crowded beyond measure, traffic flowing like a river, people surging like a tide.

“Rose is really making a killing,” Suyi said.

In Galar, many industries belonged to Chairman Rose’s Macro Cosmos group, including construction, aviation, railways, energy, the internet, daily life, banking, and much more, touching every aspect of people’s lives.

In other words, the huge profits brought by this wave of excitement would all fall into Macro Cosmos’s hands.

“Truly a chairman who rose from a miner to the head of the region’s greatest conglomerate,” Suyi could not help but admire.

As for Chairman Rose, although his later actions caused no small amount of upheaval, it could not be denied that he had made an enormous contribution to Galar’s prosperity.

“In that case, I’ll just take the train to Wyndon,” Suyi said, opening the map and walking toward the station.

...

After swiping in at the station with the Rotom Phone, Suyi waited on the platform under the dusk sky for the train to arrive.

“The Rotom Phone really is convenient. It’ll definitely become widespread before long,” Suyi said in admiration.

Once a Rotom Phone was linked to an ID card, it could handle travel, shopping, registration, and all manner of other tasks. It was truly a single device for all one’s needs.

“Hmph, I am impressive, aren’t I?” the Rotom Phone said smugly.

Since it was dusk, there were not many people on the platform. Suyi waited idly for the train, while the Rotom Phone beside him busied itself scrolling through the news. After going to the world of Monster Hunter, it had gone without internet and had not kept up with the latest reports.

“Hm? A Pokémon, Rotom!” The Rotom Phone suddenly turned and saw several strangely shaped Pokémon entering the tunnel beside the platform.

“Pokémon?” Suyi followed its gaze and saw a few figures slipping into the dark mouth of the tunnel.

“Looks like there’s someone there, meow,” Luca said. Looking more closely, Suyi found that one of the figures seemed to be a human being.

“Hey! Kid, don’t go into the tunnel!” Suyi shouted toward the not-so-tall human silhouette.

“Suyi, could that be the railway ghost from the urban legends, Rotom?!” The Rotom Phone trembled anxiously.

“What ghost? It should be a Ghost-type Pokémon, shouldn’t it? Are you really that afraid of ghosts, Rotom? Aren’t you a Ghost-type Pokémon yourself?” Suyi said, speechless. Back in the Vale of Malice, it had been terrified out of its wits by the Odogaron lurking in the miasma.

“Then tell me, won’t that person be in danger, Rotom? Don’t Ghost-type Pokémon drain life force and drag humans off to the underworld or something, Rotom?” the Rotom Phone said fearfully.

“Probably just some child from a nearby family. Still, if I see it, I can’t ignore it. Going into that tunnel is too dangerous,” Suyi said, and ran off.

“Wait for me, Rotom!” The Rotom Phone stared at the pitch-black tunnel and, steeling itself, hurried after him.

Not far away, a少女 in training clothes entered the station and happened to see Suyi’s figure as he chased into the tunnel.

“Suyi? What is he doing there?” said Bea in confusion, and then she, too, followed inside.

...

Once inside the tunnel, the light was swallowed whole. Suyi had the Rotom Phone turn on its flashlight as he made his way along the edge of the tunnel.

“Why is there fog in here, too?” Suyi asked in confusion.

The farther they went, the more mist gathered around them, growing thicker and thicker.

“Hey! Is anyone there?” Suyi shouted, but his voice gave no echo inside the tunnel.

“This is a little off, Rotom,” the Rotom Phone said, its floating form trembling.

“There are footprints here, meow.” Luca pointed at the ground, at the prints pressed into the dust.

“They’re human footprints. Not very large. It should be a child. Perfect, let’s see how the Scoutflies work in this world,” Suyi said, taking out the jar of Scoutflies he usually stored in his item pouch when he was in the Pokémon world.

Buzz!

The Scoutflies attached themselves to the footprints, then fluttered away toward somewhere ahead.

“Looks like it worked,” Suyi said, following the Scoutflies into the thick fog.

The Rotom Phone lit the way with its flashlight.

Suyi said helplessly, “Rotom, could you stop shaking? The flashlight beam is wobbling so much I can’t even see the path.”

“Then why don’t you hold me,” the Rotom Phone said nervously.

“Sigh.”

Suyi picked up the Rotom Phone and aimed the light ahead. There, in the beam, a brown shape darted swiftly back into the darkness, and Suyi caught a glimpse of a blue ribbon.

“It’s a ghost, Rotom!” the Rotom Phone cried.

“The ghost didn’t scare me. You did,” Suyi muttered through gritted teeth, rubbing his ear.

Buzz!

The Scoutflies continued forward, and Suyi hurried after them. What was strange was that the thick fog gradually began to thin.

Then, before his eyes, an astonishing sight appeared: a train stood on the tracks, its lights still on.

Suyi looked through the window, but there was no one inside.

“Uh, Rotom Phone,” Suyi said softly, “is it possible that the urban legends are all true?”

“Rotom?” When there was no reply, Suyi lifted the phone and saw that it had already closed its eyes and was pretending to be dead.

“You’re hopeless! The disgrace of the Ghost type!” Suyi said disdainfully, though he was starting to feel a little flustered himself.

An empty train and no passengers. Wasn’t that exactly how a horror film began?

“Suyi, meow! The Scoutflies have gone into the carriage, meow!” Luca called from the open train door. He seemed not the least bit frightened by the scene.

“If it really is a ghost train, then wouldn’t that child be in danger?” Suyi took a deep breath and stepped into the carriage.

“It shouldn’t actually be a ghost, should it? Could it be a prank by a Ghost-type Pokémon?” As Suyi entered the carriage, he murmured to himself.