Pokémon: Above the Top-Chapter 221: Hypnosis Pendulum

The moment the ghost was annihilated, Gengar, Florges, and Arbok: all of whom had been under control, immediately regained consciousness.

They remembered everything that had just happened, and their eyes were filled with regret and frustration.

"Char~"

The most devastated of them all was Arbok.

The deep bond between him and Mark, built through countless trials, was difficult for outsiders to understand. And now, Arbok had nearly taken Mark's life.

Seeing Mark still being treated, Arbok stood frozen, not daring to even approach.

Florges instinctively used Grassy Terrain, creating a safe space amidst the darkness of Mt. Pyre.

"Gengar~"

Gengar, filled with shame, ran over to Sato. He had always prided himself on having a spiritual strength rivaling that of Psychic-types, yet he had still been hypnotized without a trace.

"Go back and train properly."

Gengar immediately nodded seriously. Sato's response made him feel a bit better, he didn't need comfort; a loss was a loss. He just had to work harder.

The Viridian Power was truly absurd. Mark had at least a few broken ribs, but after awakening, he was completely fine.

"Arbok!" As soon as Mark woke up, he didn't even thank Joseph first. Instead, he called out to Arbok, who was stunned at the side.

"Char～" Arbok shook his head, unwilling to approach, afraid of hurting Mark again.

Mark said nothing and walked straight toward it, shocking Arbok into retreating repeatedly; even threatening Mark to keep him away.

"Oh? You're acting tough with me now!" Mark strode forward, grabbed Arbok's head, and shook it wildly, ignoring its grimacing resistance.

"It's okay."

Mark suddenly hugged Arbok and patted his back (or at least pretended to), "I saw what happened just now, it wasn't your fault."

"Char～" Arbok struggled slightly, but didn't dare use too much force, afraid of hurting Mark again now that he'd just recovered.

"If you leave me, I'd really be all alone."

Arbok froze, then stopped struggling, resting his head on Mark's shoulder. It knew better than anyone how important it was to Mark.

But the more important something is... the more pressure it brings.

"You're not going anywhere. After all this, I think you're ready to officially catch Lapras."

Sato suddenly spoke. Both Arbok and Mark were stunned, and then, thinking about it carefully... it actually kind of made sense.

"Sato, are you a demon?"

Joseph muttered. Such a touching moment, ruined by him just like that.

Wasn't Mark basically at death's door just now?

And this whole thing happened right after getting Lapras's Poké Ball... When you thought about it that way, Mark really had no argument!

"R-Really?"

"Yeah, I'll take care of the Lapras issue for you once we're out."

Sato nodded at Mark. He couldn't be sure whether this incident counted as the so-called bad luck that Mark always talked about.

But what he was thinking was, some things can't be solved just by avoiding them. Why not take the initiative?

If he could take control of the risks brought by that misfortune, then catching Pokémon would become possible for Mark.

Joseph wanted to say something but stopped. After what had just happened, he chose to stay silent.

"Arbok, what do you think?"

"Char!" Arbok nodded frantically.

He liked being the spoiled one, but what had just happened had genuinely scared him. If someone else could help carry the burden, he'd gladly accept it.

Just like Sato, if things go bad, everyone fights together. Who's afraid of some pitiful ghost then?

"Alright!" Mark nodded seriously. Even though he felt like something was still a little off, he didn't want to give up on this opportunity.

"By the way, Joseph, do you remember anything you saw in the dream?"

"You were hypnotized too?"

"Yeah, I woke up a bit earlier than you and saw a ghost of a Hypno..." Sato quickly explained what had happened earlier.

"So you only saw three memory fragments before waking up? I saw seven..." Joseph smiled bitterly. Every one of those memories was filled with deep emotions, which was why he had been so lost in them.

"Then why was I the only one who stayed awake?" Mark asked weakly. He was still pretty scared of ghosts.

New novel chapt𝒆rs are published on ƒгeewebnovёl.com.

"Did you look closely at those gravestones when we first came up?"

"...Not really."

"And you, Joseph?"

"I looked at them one by one. I read a lot."

"That explains it. I only glanced at three, and I passed out." Sato confirmed his theory.

Joseph froze. That meant the ghost must've been too weakened by Sato's attacks to maintain the hypnosis, which was why he had no more dreams to experience and simply woke up.

How awkward...

"You two rest for a bit. I'll check if there's anything else nearby."

Sato spoke as he turned and began searching with Gengar. The fact that not a single Pokémon could be found on the second level of Mt. Pyre was definitely abnormal.

"Gengar~"

Very quickly, Gengar made a new discovery. In one corner, there was a pile of many storage backpacks --some new, some old-- adding up to a total of six. This clearly meant that at least six people had already died here.

Sato didn't hesitate, he opened each of the six backpacks one by one, ignoring the typical supplies that every Trainer carried. The only things of value were a few Pokémon items, which he pocketed.

"Gengaaar!"

"Found something else?" Sato turned his gaze toward what Gengar was holding.

"Hypnosis Pendulum?" Sato was startled. The bone-white pendulum was the same item the ghostly Hypno had used. He hadn't expected it to be a physical object!

"Can you use it?"

"Geng~"

Gengar hesitated., they had just been tormented by this very thing; It was only handing it over because it thought it might fetch some money. After all, there were so many mouths to feed at home.

"Power isn't inherently good or bad, it depends on who wields it. If it can make us stronger, keep it for yourself."

Gengar nodded. As a Pokémon capable of using Hypnosis, he could clearly feel the strange energy within the pendulum. It would definitely amplify the effects of hypnosis.

After discovering the passage to the third level of Mt. Pyre, Sato made the decision to turn back for now.

"Are... are we going up again?" Mark asked hesitantly. Right now, all he wanted was to go home and sleep.

"Let's leave first."

Sato thought it over and decided to retreat for now. Mt. Pyre clearly wasn't a place they could explore in just a day or two. Besides, both Joseph and Mark were truly exhausted.

No rush, step by step.

They retraced their path back to the first floor and found the entrance they had come through. Once the three stepped outside, they were surprised to find that all the surrounding mist had dissipated.

The full shape of Mt. Pyre gradually revealed itself.

From the outside, the mountain was covered in lush vegetation and didn't appear ominous at all. There must've been plenty of wild Pokémon living there too.

And this exit was only a few hundred meters from the nearest land; much closer than the route they had taken to get here.

Looking out, they could see buildings and homes in the distance, clear signs of human habitation.

"Let's go rest over there."

"Yeah!"