POKEMON : STARTING WITH FLASH METAGROSS

Chapter 74: It's You It Misses

In the painting, the maid and the cowgirl were laughing together, while the shiny Rotom hovered nearby, squinting happily at them.

But something was off—the maid's face remained vivid and detailed, capturing every expression. In contrast, the cowgirl's face had faded with time, becoming a blurry shadow.

Oddly enough, the shiny Rotom in the painting also seemed untouched by time, standing out with its brilliant hue.

Rax's mind raced.

In the earlier illusion, the maid had been staring out the window.

But Rotom?

It had been looking at the maid.

"So…" Rax whispered, piecing it together.

He started shouting into the empty room. "Hey! Are you still here? Hey! Can you hear me?"

His voice echoed through the dilapidated Forest Mansion, loud and grating in the stillness.

Finally, the ghost maid reappeared, unable to endure his shouting any longer.

"Ah!" Rax yelped as she materialized in front of him.

Skiploom's gentle breeze steadied him as it chirped softly, "Fa~ Fa~."

Neither Skiploom, Marowak, nor Metang could see the ghost maid. They hovered near Rax, scanning the room with concern.

Rax swallowed nervously but forced himself to stay calm. He was here to solve this.

"Let me ask you something," Rax said, his voice trembling. "Why do you think Rotom went to such great lengths to bring you back?"

The ghost maid stared at him, her pupil-less red eyes narrowing, as though questioning his intelligence.

Sensing her rising impatience, Rax blurted out, "You think it resurrected you to keep you here with it, don't you? That must be it!"

Her anger flared instantly. The air grew heavy with ghost energy, and the room seemed to darken as she prepared to attack.

The tension became palpable—so much so that Skiploom, Marowak, and Metang all sensed the presence of the ghost maid.

The three Pokémon reacted instantly: Skiploom used Tailwind, Marowak brandished its bone for Bonemerang, and Metang activated Protect.

"Wait! Stop!" Rax shouted, speaking so quickly he barely had time to breathe.

"You're wrong! Look at the painting in the room! Rotom didn't bring you back for the cowgirl—it brought you back because of you!

"The one it truly misses and loves is you!"

His final words echoed, and the ghost maid froze. The menacing ghost energy dissipated, collapsing in on itself. A moment later, she disappeared.

---

"Come on, follow me!" Rax said, beckoning his Pokémon as he rushed back to the room with the painting.

There, the ghost maid floated before the painting, staring at it silently, oblivious to Rax's presence.

She opened her mouth, speaking softly to the painting.

Though Rax couldn't hear her words, the shiny Rotom in the painting seemed to react. Slowly, it floated out of the artwork, its rose-red body glowing faintly.

Rax gasped. The shiny Rotom was weak—its iconic Z-shaped currents barely visible.

The ghost maid's expression shifted as she gestured frantically, speaking to Rotom.

Rotom responded with a solemn nod, then a shake of its head. Its sad eyes softened, and a small smile spread across its face.

Rax watched as the ghost maid calmed. She reached out, offering the ghost-type energy crystal she had taken earlier to Rotom.

"Hey! That's mine!" Rax protested. "You can't just give it away!"

Neither paid him any attention.

Rotom hesitated, then turned to look at Rax with a kind smile before addressing the ghost maid.

The maid's eyes widened in realization, and she nodded, opening her arms to Rotom.

For the first time in years, the Z-shaped electricity around Rotom sparked brightly. It dove into the ghost maid's embrace, merging with her and the energy crystal in a brilliant flash of dark purple light.

---

When the light faded, both Rotom and the ghost maid were gone.

In their place floated a top-tier ghost energy crystal, shimmering with a deep, pure purple hue.

The crystal hovered toward Rax, who reached out instinctively to catch it.

As his fingers closed around the crystal, two voices echoed in his mind.

"Thank you."

"Rotom…"

Rax smiled faintly, feeling a sense of closure. The crystal now pulsed gently in his hand, a gift from the pair—a thank-you for helping them find peace.

Examining the crystal, Rax's eyes widened.

"A top-tier ghost energy crystal?!" he exclaimed. "This is worth so much more than my old one! This could even be used by a Pokémon at the quasi-king level!"

He grinned. "This was totally worth it. I have to catch a ghost-type Pokémon now to use this properly!"

Then he shivered, remembering the ghost maid and Rotom's eerie story.

"Or… maybe not. I should think about it first."

Pocketing the crystal, Rax glanced around the now-empty room.

"Alright," he said to his team. "There are more rooms in this mansion. Let's see what else we can find!"

With renewed excitement, Rax and his Pokémon began exploring the Forest Mansion, eager to uncover its remaining secrets.