Chapter 92: The Ghostly Ghost!

The former Super Value Supermarket site is located near Route 14 in the Alola region, not far from the ruins of Capu Village.

It was affected by the attack that destroyed Capu Village, carried out by Capu·Moomoo, forcing the supermarket to relocate; now only a ruined wasteland remains.

Especially under the cover of night, the old supermarket site is nearly indistinguishable from a horror film set; according to Mordan, it once became a popular spot for explorers and ghost enthusiasts.

But after one day, everything changed.

Luo Mu stood outside the pitch-black ruins of the Super Value Supermarket, gazing at the building like a black hole that seemed capable of swallowing everything, lost in thought: “Thirty-plus reports of ghostly phenomena? Though somewhat chilling, they’re most likely caused by wild Ghost-type Pokémon.”

Luo Mu cheerfully adjusted the cheap baseball cap he’d taken from the department store; Mimikyu, matching his gesture, held a paper-rolled pipe in its mouth and perched on his shoulder in a pose: “Kukui, you stay outside. I’ll handle this case as the detective. Are you cold?”

Luo Mu looked helplessly at Kukui, curled up in the cold night, his tone laced with concern.

Kukui shivered: “I’m fine. I’ll find a spot to light a fire soon. But really, you don’t need my help over there?”

“I’ve seen your undergarments—nothing to be scared of. Just pretend you didn’t hear that. I’ve got Mimikyu with me. Don’t you know how strong it is after fighting it?”

“We’ll solve this tonight. Then we still have five days to interact with Capu·Moomoo.”

With that, Luo Mu released his keen-nosed Cattiva, shouldered Mimikyu, and marched straight into the ruins of the Super Value Supermarket.

After another brief, sharp sneeze, Kukui zipped up his white lab coat and stared anxiously into the supermarket interior, murmuring: “Strange. The night shouldn’t be this cold this season—cold enough to send chills down your spine. Is Luo Mu really okay?”

“And… is it just my imagination, or has he become noticeably more proactive about everything?”

Kukui’s muttering went unanswered. Beneath the night, the ruins of the Super Value Supermarket resembled a monstrous beast’s gaping maw, ready to devour anyone who approached.

Cattiva continuously sniffed the ground for any dangerous scents; Luo Mu’s footsteps echoed loudly in the silent night.

“Hmm. It’s definitely in bad shape.”

Luo Mu carefully avoided the debris on the ground—stepping on a crumbling stone that concealed a steel nail would be embarrassing indeed.

He poked Mimikyu (Detective.ver), who was sensing the surroundings: “How’s it going?”

A shadowy claw extended from beneath Mimikyu’s doll form and held up five fingers.

Luo Mu nodded: “Fifty percent spectral energy? Then there’s almost certainly a wild Ghost-type Pokémon wandering nearby.”

Thinking it pointless to wander aimlessly through the supermarket, he asked internally: “Any good items nearby? Point me the way.”

【Head to the warehouse deep inside the supermarket】

“A warehouse? That makes sense!”

Luo Mu glanced around, quickly spotting the warehouse’s location on a faded overhead sign, then called to Cattiva and headed straight for it.

He knew his emotions had been unusually heightened lately, but he wasn’t as resistant to this feeling as he’d imagined.

Though he wouldn’t be embarking on the journey his system craved, Luo Mu felt his attitude had become far more proactive—just like now.

Before, he’d mostly waited for danger to come to him. Now, he intended to find the creature pretending to be a ghost inside this ruined supermarket!

Two minutes later, Luo Mu stood before a sealed door, one hand on his hip, curiosity on his face: “This is the warehouse? What if a Gastly or a Misdreavus jumps out when I open it?”

The warehouse sat at the very back of the supermarket, surrounded by walls, with only a single, dilapidated door standing alone.

As his hand neared the doorknob, Luo Mu’s peripheral vision caught a flicker of pale light beside a shelf to his right. He smirked and pointed: “There—Shadow Ambush!”

Cattiva also sensed something amiss and barked loudly toward the shelf.

Mimikyu leapt off Luo Mu’s shoulder with a snap, its doll-like form extending a long, pitch-black shadow that looked more like a ghost—within a blink, it reached the shelf and dragged out the “watchers” hiding there.

As expected, several Gastly, Haunter, and Misdreavus were pulled out by Mimikyu’s shadow attack, staring at it in panic.

In their eyes, Mimikyu was a Ghost-type far stronger than they could ever hope to be. After a moment’s hesitation, the Ghost-type Pokémon, their faces showing human-like concern, chose to flee.

With such a powerful Ghost-type elder protecting him, that human should be fine, right?

From Luo Mu’s perspective, the wild Ghost-type Pokémon had been dragged out by Mimikyu and fled in panic—clearly, these were the creatures that had frightened the tourists and explorers.

Luo Mu waited in place for over ten minutes, confirming the Ghost-types wouldn’t return, then scratched his head in surprise: “That was it? Already solved?”

He’d expected at least a battle with those Ghost-type Pokémon—perfect for Cattiva’s practical training.

After a moment’s thought, Luo Mu turned his head toward the dilapidated warehouse door behind him. Since he’d come this far, even if there was probably nothing inside, he might as well take a look before leaving.

Without delay, the old wooden door creaked open—and the warehouse’s true interior came into view.

Seeing the inside, Luo Mu froze.

“Huh?”

From the outside, the blank walls made him assume the warehouse was large—but how could this space, barely bigger than a regular bathroom, be it?

The room’s walls were even more decayed than the exterior, cracked and unpainted.

Several frameless pictures hung on the walls, eerie in appearance, leaving Luo Mu deeply puzzled.

Where was the slightest trace of a warehouse here?

Cattiva sniffed for a long time with its eyes closed, found nothing, and sat quietly at Luo Mu’s feet.

When Luo Mu’s gaze fell into the corner, the familiar Pikachu doll sitting there startled him—he turned to look at Mimikyu on his shoulder, confirming it was still there.

Then where did the Pikachu doll in the corner come from?

As Luo Mu puzzled over this, the doll in the corner moved.

It slowly crawled toward Luo Mu. He sensed the doll was watching him—and inexplicably, he understood its intent, just as he had communicated with Ho-Oh.

The doll’s message was—Can you look under my skirt?

(End of Chapter)