Chapter Eighty-Seven: Pursuit

In the Moonview Mountains, Amu and Misty alternated between riding the armored Rhyhorn and recalling it to climb the steep slopes on foot. After all, “Moonview Mountain” was not just the name of a single peak but a term for the surrounding range—a territory greater in size than the combined urban areas of the seven major cities, with a landscape so intricate that it defied simple notions of ascent and descent.

Guided by Amu’s sense of direction and Haunter’s local knowledge, the two humans and one ghost steadily closed in on Anzu's location. Amu could discern only the general direction and distance, while Haunter, familiar with the terrain, pointed out shortcuts.

Though more than thirty years had passed, the Moonview Mountains themselves had changed little.

“The direction’s shifted again! She’s veering east now… almost as if she’s circling around something,” Amu remarked, unable to make sense of Anzu’s movements.

“Maybe… she’s trying to send us a message? Try mapping out her route, see if she’s spelling something!” Misty suggested, her mind running wild.

Perhaps her time spent around Conan had broadened her perspective.

Yet—

“Of course, Haunter…” Haunter seemed to have realized something and added, “Let’s head back to that mountain stream we just passed, but don’t cross it, Haunter!”

“Go back?” Amu was still processing this.

Even if Anzu had changed direction, their overall pursuit was correct—why retreat?

“She should already be inside Moonview Mountain. There’s an entrance near that stream; let’s go in there, Haunter!” Haunter explained.

Only then did Amu understand: there must be a hidden “underground space” beneath the Moonview Mountains.

Anzu had already entered “inside,” which explained her bizarre path, as if she were circling some invisible obstacle.

If she was navigating the complex terrain underground, everything suddenly made sense.

In this world, many places contained vast subterranean spaces, most of them carved out over generations by burrowing Pokémon like Diglett, creating their own unique ecosystems.

Most of these were “semi-natural,” with the burrowers simply hollowing out whatever earth they could dig.

Stable underground caves usually had a thick rocky shell; you couldn’t just dig into them from anywhere.

The largest underground ecosystem was undoubtedly the Sinnoh Underground—hundreds upon hundreds of interconnected chambers linked by tunnels.

Besides natural factors, the Sinnoh League had also artificially expanded and ventilated these underground areas.

Thus, the entire Sinnoh region possessed a unified subterranean network.

Kanto’s underground spaces, while not as numerous or vast, still included the largest Diglett Cave in the east, which stretched all the way from Cerulean City to Saffron City.

Beneath Moonview Mountain lay another such underground zone, but its entrances were well hidden and its range confined within the mountain, so few knew of it.

Before long, guided by Haunter, Amu and Misty arrived at the foot of a giant tree.

“This is the one. Climb up a bit and look for a hollow—there should be an opening, Haunter,” Haunter instructed.

Fortunately, neither Amu nor Misty was overweight, or squeezing through would have been difficult indeed!

“Whoa…”

As Misty scrambled through the hollow, she slipped, knocking Amu—who had gone first—down as well. The two slid helplessly down a steep tunnel!

“Ow…”

It didn’t hurt much, but after that, everything went black.

Who knew how long it was before they finally awoke?

“Ow, my head…” Misty groaned, clutching her forehead.

Amu felt a dull ache as well—though it didn’t feel like an impact injury. In fact, it was a strangely familiar sensation, almost as if…

“You’re finally awake! You’ve been out for over two hours, Haunter!” Haunter sounded anxious.

“What just happened to us…” Amu eyed Haunter suspiciously.

“You both fell down, but thankfully I reacted quickly,” Haunter said, pride in his voice.

Amu thought, “I knew it,” and forced a smile. “And what exactly did you do?”

“I immediately expanded my ghostly aura and dispersed myself to catch you, Haunter!” Haunter declared, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Amu: …

Just as I thought!

No wonder this sensation felt so much like that time I was poisoned by gas!

“If you’d used just a bit more force, we might not have woken up tomorrow at all!” Amu rolled his eyes.

Fortunately, Misty was resilient—people born in the world of Pokémon could withstand such trials. Even if hypoxia set in from the ghostly vapors, time would resolve it. Amu’s own Ghost-type talents and enhanced constitution left him no weaker than an average person here—death wasn’t a real risk…

Shaking off the last bit of dizziness, Amu cooked up some instant noodles. After a quick meal and a few moments to clear their heads, the two set out again.

With Haunter leading the way, they navigated the labyrinthine tunnels, drawing ever closer to where Anzu waited.

Amu had worried that their emergency lanterns wouldn’t last—he hadn’t known there’d be caves beneath the Moonview Mountains.

But—

Haunter simply lit their path with Will-o’-Wisp—it looked as though Amu’s own shadow was aflame.

Though the ghostly blue light was a little unsettling, at least they could see, and Misty could follow along without trouble.

Along the way, they encountered plenty of Pokémon typical of Kanto’s underground—Zubat, Diglett, Geodude, Onix.

But the families Amu cared most about—Clefable and Gengar—were nowhere to be found.

“Usually you’d see those idiot Clefairy and idiot Gastly around here, but today... they’re probably all at the Moonview Plaza, Haunter,” Haunter explained.

“Moonview Plaza?” Amu echoed.

“Yeah, where the Moon Stone is, Haunter! Every year those idiot Clefairy gather there, hoping to evolve today!” Haunter elaborated.

Now, Haunter wasn’t guiding them by the locked-on signal anymore, but leading them straight to the Moonview Plaza—the “bad guys” must have the same target.

“Clefairy can use the power of the Moon Stone to evolve, and that giant ‘Moon Stone’ must work just as well… What about you, Haunter? How do you evolve?” Amu wondered aloud.

“It’s not the same as your so-called ‘Moon Stone’—that’s a more fundamental power. Its effect on those idiot Clefairy isn’t just evolution, Haunter…” Haunter began, but Amu suddenly raised a hand for silence.

Amu pressed a finger to the frame of his glasses, as though listening intently.

“We’re much closer now… I can hear voices!” Amu said, abandoning the previous thread of conversation.

The tracker did have an eavesdropping function, but transmitting sound required much closer proximity—only now, with the gap closed, could they finally hear...