Pokémon: My Parallel World Daughters Revealed

The video continued playing.

Inside Bill’s Lighthouse...

Bill escorted Raina to the entrance.

”You’ve already decided on your next destination?”

”I have.”

Raina adjusted the backpack on her shoulders.

”I’m going to Lavender Town!”

Bill nodded.

”Have a safe journey. Give your parents my regards.”

”Mm-hmm. Thank you, Bill.”

After saying goodbye to Bill, Raina set off on the next stage of her journey.

Eevee was still lying on top of her head.

”Eevee?”

”Lavender Town has Pokémon Tower~ Dad told me that there are lots of Ghost-type Pokémon inside. Going there will help me train my courage!”

Eevee’s ears twitched.

”Eevee, Eevee, Eevee.”

”What do you mean, ’You’re only refusing to return to Cerulean City because you don’t want your mother to think you can’t handle being away from home’?”

Raina puffed out her cheeks.

”I already told you, that isn’t it! This is strategic route planning!”

Eevee covered its eyes with one paw, clearly indicating, Whatever you say.

Raina marched forward indignantly.

She made it exactly three steps.

Then she stopped and looked around.

”Which direction was Lavender Town again...?”

Eevee sighed and pointed its tail to the left.

”Thank you!”

[Regular-Seat Chat Group]

”Eevee finally learned how to point in the correct direction! Raina isn’t the only one growing!”

”Eevee: This Trainer is impossible to carry, but I still have to carry her.”

”So is the next section going to focus on Ghost types?”

”I only want to know whether Raina is afraid of ghosts. If she is, this trip to Lavender Town will be extremely entertaining.”

”Person above, are you a demon? Although I was thinking the same thing.”

”+1.”

”+10,086.”

[VIP Chat Group]

[Acerola]: Ghost-type Pokémon?! Welcome to Lavender Town~~

[Ash]: Ghost types! I once encountered a Gastly family in Pokémon Tower that loved playing jokes!

[Brock]: That Haunter certainly enjoyed joking around, although its idea of humor was rather frightening.

[Gary]: I found it quite boring. Those so-called frightening tricks were nothing more than cheap illusions.

[Ash]: That’s because you’ve never had a tongue suddenly emerge from a wall and lick you!

[Gary]: ...That wouldn’t happen to a normal person, would it?

[Fantina]: Young people still do not understand the charm of Ghost types~

[Phoebe]: Ghost-type Pokémon possess a special connection to the soul. Communicating with them brings an entirely different experience.

[Agatha]: Hehehe. Everything you said is true, but I think Raina’s greatest concern shouldn’t be understanding Ghost types. It should be avoiding crying when they frighten her.

[Misty]: ...I’m suddenly a little worried.

[Daisy]: Worried about what? That your daughter is afraid of ghosts?

[Misty]: I don’t have a daughter! No, wait, I do have a daughter... Aaaah, that isn’t the point! What if they frighten her until she cries?!

[Violet]: Then she’ll cry. It’s perfectly normal for a ten-year-old child to cry after being frightened.

[Lily]: And then it’ll be recorded and broadcast across every region.

[Misty]: ...

[Misty]: Raina! Don’t go to Lavender Town!

[Professor Oak]: It’s already too late. The footage has begun.

The video continued.

Lavender Town.

A thin layer of mist covered the entire town, and the buildings lining the streets were all dark gray.

There were few people outside. Occasionally, a hurried Trainer would pass through the streets.

Raina stood at the town’s entrance with Eevee lying atop her head, its tail puffed into an enormous ball of fur.

”Eevee, Eevee, Eevee, Eevee!”

”Don’t be afraid! Ghost-type Pokémon only look a little unusual! They aren’t actual ghosts!”

Eevee frantically slapped her forehead with one paw.

”Eevee, Eevee!”

”You’re saying there’s a Gastly floating over there? That isn’t a Gastly. That’s...”

Before Raina could finish, her entire body froze.

A Gastly emerged from the streetlamp behind her. Its black-and-purple gaseous body floated in midair as it opened its mouth in a friendly smile.

Raina slowly turned her head.

Gastly slowly lowered its own.

The girl and Ghost Pokémon stared at each other for three seconds.

”Aaaaaah!”

Raina immediately turned and fled.

Eevee clung tightly to her hair as the girl and Pokémon shot into the streets of Lavender Town like a gust of wind.

Gastly remained floating in place, tilting its head in confusion.

”Gastly?”

Was my smile too frightening?

[Regular-Seat Chat Group]

”Hahahahaha! She ran! She actually ran!”

”She claims she isn’t afraid, but her body is remarkably honest!”

”Eevee’s puffed-up tail is far too adorable! It looks like an exploding ball of fur!”

”Gastly: ??? I was only saying hello!”

”Gastly has started questioning its own smile.”

”Lavender Town residents: Another Trainer afraid of ghosts. That makes three this month.”

”I’m from Lavender Town. I can confirm that this happens regularly.”

[VIP Chat Group]

[Acerola]: Gastly are very friendly~ It probably smiled too happily and accidentally frightened her~

[Agatha]: That Gastly most likely only wanted to greet her. Raina’s reaction left it completely confused.

[Phoebe]: Gastly: I don’t understand. I merely smiled.

[Fantina]: Ghost-type smiles do require some time to become accustomed to~ The first time I met Mismagius, its laughter startled me too~

[Misty]: ...That child looked so impressive during the Vermilion Gym battle, but now...

[Daisy]: She’s still adorable. The contrast makes her even cuter.

[Misty]: What’s adorable about this?! The entire world just heard her scream!

[Violet]: Exactly. That’s why we’re all laughing.

[Misty]: You three!

The video continued.

Raina sprinted until she reached a quiet alley. Only then did she stop, placing both hands on her knees as she gasped for breath.

Eevee slid from the top of her head and landed on her shoulder, panting just as heavily.

”It... It didn’t follow us, did it...?”

Eevee glanced behind them.

After confirming that Gastly had not followed them, it collapsed across Raina’s shoulder. Its tail was still completely puffed up.

Raina leaned against the wall and slid to the ground. She removed her water bottle from her backpack and took a long drink.

”I understand now.”

Her expression became solemn.

”No matter what kind of Ghost-type Pokémon I see next, I have to remain calm.”

At that moment, a pair of purple feet appeared before her.

That was correct.

A pair of purple feet floating above the ground.

Raina slowly raised her head.

A Gengar stood before her, its round purple body almost completely blocking the entrance to the alley.

It opened its enormous mouth and revealed a smile three times brighter than Gastly’s. One of its chubby hands was even holding a bag of Berries that were a local Lavender Town specialty.

The color drained from Raina’s face at a visibly measurable speed.

”Aaaaaah!”

Another scream.

Another whirlwind-like escape.

Gengar remained in place. It lowered its head to look at the bag of Berries in its hand, then glanced in the direction where Raina had disappeared.

Its expression changed from confusion to deep hurt.

”Gengar...”

I only wanted to give her some local Berries...

[Regular-Seat Chat Group]

”Gengar: I kindly tried to give you Berries! Why did you run?!”

”Gengar looks so hurt! Hahahahaha!”

”It was even carrying local specialty Berries! What a welcoming Gengar!”

”Raina: No! I don’t want them! You’re being far too friendly for me to endure!”

”I’m rolling across the floor laughing!”

[VIP Chat Group]

[Acerola]: That Gengar is so adorable! It even brought local Berries!

[Agatha]: Hehehe. Gengar are very friendly. People who don’t understand them often assume that they’re deliberately trying to frighten others.

[Phoebe]: In truth, many Ghost-type Pokémon enjoy approaching humans.

[Fantina]: Ghost Pokémon merely have rather unusual ways of showing affection~ People meeting them for the first time frequently misunderstand~

[Ash]: So Raina is only running because she doesn’t realize they’re trying to be friendly?

[Misty]: She would run even if she knew! You took several steps backward the first time you saw a Gengar too!

[Brock]: Honestly, the Ghost-type Pokémon in Lavender Town seem much friendlier than they used to be. They once limited themselves to practical jokes, but now they’ve started giving visitors local gifts?

[Acerola]: Perhaps it’s because so many Trainers visit them now~ The Pokémon in Lavender Town have grown very fond of Trainers~

[Professor Kukui]: We see something similar in Alola. When Pokémon regularly interact with friendly humans, they learn to behave more warmly toward people. Their methods of expressing that friendliness may simply be rather... unusual.

[Professor Oak]: Indeed. Gengar living in towns are naturally less aggressive than those in the wild. Gengar living near human settlements may even initiate interactions with people.

[Agatha]: The problem is that they smile far too brightly when interacting, which frightens many people away.

[Phoebe]: In other words, this probably isn’t the first person they’ve scared away today.

[Professor Sycamore]: To be precise, a Gengar’s smile may imitate the human expression of happiness. They believe that smiling is friendly, so they put an extraordinary amount of effort into it.

[Diantha]: ”Putting an extraordinary amount of effort into smiling”... That sounds so adorable...

[Wallace]: So Raina wasn’t frightened away by a prank. She was frightened away by...

[Steven]: By what they considered a ”smile.”

[Cynthia]: This is probably a cultural difference between humans and Ghost-type Pokémon.