Master Craftsman of the Elven World

Chapter 317 The Fog Door to the Stranger's House
As soon as he got off the plane, he was attacked by nightmare energy, and Guangtai frowned slightly.

Looking at Fenglu and Wanlong, they don't seem to have been affected much, perhaps because that part of the nightmare energy is too weak.

The rich volcanic atmosphere was overwhelming, and the strangely styled buildings, accompanied by wonderful music, echoed in this small mountain town. As soon as I got off the plane, I immediately saw those unique "volcanic pottery"!
Mountain Road Town, a small town connected to rugged mountain roads, is proud of its pottery and porcelain made from volcanic clay.

Volcanic clay, something that only appears in the game's background, is obtained by the town of Mountain Road from Reversal Mountain, also known as the Rejuvenation Mountain Range. They fire it into exquisite ceramic crafts, which has made them famous throughout the world.

Although it is a rural area, it is very popular. Even though it is difficult to get in and out, many people come here on foot for tourism.

"Huh, where is everyone?"

In the past, Shanlu Town lacked supplies, so supplies were transported from outside the town via Fenglu. Therefore, once a plane arrived at the airport, there would always be many people there to welcome it.

Moreover, the people of Shanlu Town are familiar with Fenglu, but they didn't see anyone today, except for those who work at the airport.
"It's gone!" Feng Lu ran quickly to the vicinity of the plane. She had just seen staff members there, but they disappeared as soon as she turned her head!

"Wow! A paranormal phenomenon?" Wanlong seemed quite excited. Although she had already been to the spirit world, to be honest, normal paranormal phenomena were more exciting than those in the spirit world.

"It's not a paranormal phenomenon. I just collapsed from exhaustion."

Guangtai found the people at the back of the plane; they were lying on the ground, seemingly asleep.

"It seems something has happened in Shanlu Town."

When they arrived in town, Fenglu saw many listless people.

"Oh, it's Fenglu," someone greeted Fenglu, but nodded weakly.

Feng Lu: "What's wrong with everyone?"

"We've all suddenly started having nightmares these past few days. We haven't been sleeping well."

The passersby looked somewhat serious and nervously in a certain direction.

"Nightmare? Caused by Pokémon?" Wanlong wanted to collect some useful material for her novel, but she didn't expect to find it as soon as she landed.

Feng Lu had a guess in her mind. She noticed that the direction the passersby were looking was the location of the Strangers' House.

So he immediately said to Guangtai and Wanlong:

"Let's go to the home of the most famous pottery master first," Feng Lu thought carefully for a moment, "It should be in that direction!"

"I'll take you there!"

Fenglu, who frequently travels to Shanlu Town, has become familiar with the town's residents. Volcanic pottery is also an important source of income for Shanlu Town, and it is necessary to rely on Fenglu's plane to export and sell it. Under Fenglu's guidance, Guangtai and Wanlong arrived in front of a mud-brick house.

The houses here are also made of volcanic clay. Each household has an external wooden shed with oak barrels for storing supplies underneath. The mud-brick roofs have large chimneys, some of which are still emitting smoke. From the outside, the houses look like giant furnaces.

Ash never visited Pathfinder in the anime, and Pathfinder has a small population in the game. It is said to be famous for its volcanic pottery, but no corresponding TM Master appears there.

"Grandma Wind, I'm here to play!"

Feng Lu cheerfully greeted the old woman in front of the house and introduced her to Guang Tai and Wan Long: "This is Grandma Feng, the pottery master from Shanlu Town!"

"Hello!" Guangtai and Wanlong greeted the kind and gentle old woman in front of them, while Fenglu gave a brief introduction to the two of them.

“Craftsmen and novelists from outside? That’s quite rare!” Granny Feng was somewhat surprised. “Mountain Road Town is just a village. In my opinion, there’s not much good material to draw from here.”

"But if you came for the handicrafts, then you've come to the right place. By the way, don't say anything, just accept this."

Granny Feng took two white talismans out of her pocket and handed them to Guangtai and Wanlong.

"Huh? This is a spell symbol?" Wanlong exclaimed in surprise, "I can feel a strong ghostly power emanating from it!"

Guangtai chuckled.

Oh, it's this old lady!

I thought the master craftsman was a stranger, but it turned out to be an acquaintance. Isn't this the old lady handing out summoning charms at the Pokémon Center?

"The pottery from our Shanlu Town is infused with soul and spirit. Although it may sound strange, it is a technique passed down from ancient times."

Grandma Feng chuckled, “In the ancient history of Shanlu Town, pottery and soul are inseparable. The ancients used pottery to carry life and entrust their souls. The so-called pottery and ceramics are treasures created by the fusion of earth, water, air and fire.”

"Therefore, drawing talismans is also a part of our traditional culture. Outsiders can't understand the function of talismans, but this thing can enhance the power of Ghost Pokémon's moves in battle. Hmm, although it's called a talisman, where should I carry a cursed talisman? It really can't be carried around all the time."

"Grandma Feng, don't answer your own question! Really!" Feng Lu said helplessly, explaining to Guang Tai and Wan Long, "Grandma was a very powerful Ghost-type trainer when she was young!"

Do all old ladies like to play with ghosts? Guangtai couldn't help but think of another ghostly old lady.

Actually, it's not just Elite Four member Akiko; Elite Four member Fusobana's grandmother is also a Ghost expert, and there are two old ladies at the top of the Lost Tower in the Sinnoh region.

Lightmoy: "Are you a psychic?"

Grandma Wind: "...Spiritual communication? It's just a special ability. The people here have been born here and will die here in the end. This mountain town is a gathering place for the souls of many ancestors."

"You can sense it if you go to the cemetery in the mountains."

Feng Lu suddenly became excited: "Grandma! I have something important to tell you! Before, at the Tower of Heaven." She told Grandma Feng about seeing the spirit world, and the latter was greatly surprised. Then she stared intently at the "foreign craftsman" in front of her.

"So you're a psychic?!"

“When I was young and traveling around the world, I was often mistaken for a psychic, but I had never met a real psychic. It is said that such beings exist in faraway places. I never thought I would meet one today.”

"A psychic who can enter the spirit world... that's unbelievable!"

Lightmoss: "I came here at the request of a Pokémon, and also to help a lost soul. One of the jobs of a psychic is to appease the souls of the dead and guide them to the spirit world."

"And I want to learn the pottery-making techniques used here."

Guangtai revealed her purpose, and Granny Feng slightly opened her squinted eyes: "Sending away a soul. The girl from the House of Strangers?"

"I never expected that even a psychic from a faraway place would come."

Granny Feng's expression turned somewhat disappointed: "Recently, more people have been having nightmares. Although it hasn't caused any harm to anyone, some people are talking privately that it's the ghost of that girl causing trouble."

"It is well known that this place has a tragic history, and people tend to keep their distance from it."

Grandma Wind: "Long ago, there was a happy family. The girl's parents were Pokémon scholars, and the lovely girl had a Cardi as her playmate. They would often use Teleport to travel to the outside world."

"But one day, the girl fell into a strange nightmare, and the tragedy began from that moment. Her parents sought out panaceas and cures, but nothing could cure her illness. They then began investigating the Pokémon connected to her dreams."

"It is said that the man and woman eventually found a way to break the nightmare, but the girl had already passed away, and the dark dream would not end. The endless dark dream was ultimately not enough. This place had long been turned into a living haunted house by the girl's resentment, and her parents died of grief and self-blame."

"She died from a nightmare, and her soul has never found peace."

“That’s why I’m here,” Guangtai replied. “Let’s not delay, let’s set off now.”

“I will go with you.” Granny Feng put down her tools. “For many years, she has lingered here, waiting for a visitor who can save her. Spirit medium from the outside world, let me see what you are capable of.”

Strangers' House is on the edge of Mountain Road. After passing through grass and roads, you encounter some cyclists riding in the mountains, and then the lonely mud-brick building becomes your final destination.

"I can feel it. The power of the ghost is rising."

Although Wanlong is not a psychic, as one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the ghost attribute, he is very sensitive to spiritual power.

Feng Lu sensed something glowing. She took out a wooden Crescent Feather from her pocket. This replica was emitting a soft light!

"Oh, Wind and Dew, is that a Crescent Moon Feather?!"

Granny Feng was astonished, while Feng Lu nodded with a smile: "Yes! It's an item given by Mr. Guangtai, who said it has the same power as the real Crescent Feather!"

"But I didn't expect it to actually glow! Is this the power to dispel nightmares?" Feng Lu poked the wooden crescent feather.

"This house is filled with terror and sorrow."

Lightmoss sensed the power emanating from the Stranger's House; the hollow echoes of the spirit world lingered here, distorting the surrounding atmosphere into an environment favored by ghost Pokémon.

"A mixture of various emotions created an unknown energy."

Within that terrifying and unknown energy, there was a faint glimmer of light. The passion of life on the fantasy bridge protected the girl's soul, preventing her from being corrupted by the surrounding unknown energy. Perhaps this was the only time in countless years that the girl's soul had received a good night's sleep.

Guangtai was the first to push open the door to the Strangers' House. The furniture inside swayed gently, moving on its own, adding to the eerie atmosphere. Fenglu and Wanlong reacted differently; Fenglu remained silent, a hint of nostalgia in her expression, while Wanlong became excited!

The more haunted a place is, the more I want to go; otherwise, I won't get any inspiration!
Feng Lu sighed helplessly, "As expected of Miss Wanlong, she's not afraid at all."

Wanlong laughed heartily: "The ghost sleeping here is a lovely young girl! Since the shopkeeper has already seen the ghost, she certainly doesn't mean any harm, does she!"

Lightmoss looked around: "...However, the ghost Pokémon here don't seem to welcome us very much."

"Of course, that's fine."

When facing Ghost Pokémon, try to avoid using the power of sunlight, as these Pokémon are afraid of light.

Therefore, Lightmoss unleashed its master-level psychic power!

Swish swish!
The ghostly Pokémon that were creating the haunted house atmosphere were suddenly brought out of hiding!

Candlelight, Cursed Doll, Shadowdoll, Gastly!
"Huh!!!"

The ghost Pokémon were startled!

Good heavens! A monster from the spirit world has escaped!

When the human in front of us walked into the house, the ghostly energy of the entire Strangers' House cheered for his name!

"Don't move! Line up and count off!"

Lightmoss commands these wild Ghost Pokémon, and the powerful spiritual energy emanating from the Master-level summoning is like a storm of souls. In addition, the summoning profession is given by the Yokai Tablet, so the wild Ghost Pokémon have no way to resist!
Yes, sir!
Clap clap clap clap! These mischievous wild ghost Pokémon lined up in a row!
Formation infantry, with ghost-like attributes!

".ah?"

Grandma Wind stared wide-eyed. These wild ghost Pokémon never obeyed anyone's commands, so why were they kneeling down like this this time?
Are psychics from other places really that powerful?
"So the furniture movement was caused by a ghost Pokémon."

Feng Lu patted a sofa that had stopped moving and breathed a sigh of relief, but the sofa started shaking again and began to move around the room!

Feng Lu was surprised, her expression slightly frightened, but she still managed to remain calm: "It moved again! Is it the power of a young girl?"

Lightmoss: "It's the power of the spirit world, but don't worry, it seems that no evil spirits are controlling them. It's just a supernatural phenomenon caused by the influence of spiritual power."

The moss called out to the tree that connected to it in its heart.

[The "United Connection (Strangers' Home)" event has occurred.]

[Description: The soul of a departed girl sleeps peacefully in this sorrowful and terrifying home, which has become a playground for ghostly Pokémon. Occasionally, backpackers and psychics come here to explore. However, various sorrowful emotions converge into terrifying energy, creating an eerie atmosphere that connects the place to the spirit world, where the energy of nightmares lingers.]

An unusual space exists within the Stranger's House; something seems to be hidden in the world behind it.

[Dispel the nightmarish power here, find its source, and help the girl's soul!]

Hidden in the cracks of dreams?
I'm very familiar with this job.

I've encountered many Pokémon that have emerged from the Dream Rift, including even one like Latios.

"It's a nightmare world!"

Deoxys sent out a telepathic message; it had been trapped in the Nightmare World for countless years and was most familiar with this power!
"Nightmare world," Guangtai recalled in her heart.

Yes, it's a world of nightmares.

Yellow Crystal's voice rang out:

In the Almia region, the Pokémon guarding the last crystal gem is Darkrai, the gatekeeper of the Nightmare World.

You might think that the nightmare world is just a painful dream, at most a long sleep for people in the real world, but that's not actually the case.

[The Nightmare World is an independent spacetime. If Darkrai wanted to, it could pull humans and Pokémon from reality into the Nightmare World, trapping them there forever.]

"The basement is a library, and it has a huge collection of books!"

Wanlong discovered the situation in the basement. Although the furniture was still moving around, without the ghost Pokémon causing trouble, the furniture wouldn't be blocking any spot.

Feng Lu: "The other rooms are all very dilapidated. Just how long has this place been abandoned?"

Suddenly, she sensed a strange life force, just like in the Tower of Heaven. In these special places, Fenglu was very sensitive to life, and the pilot had excellent eyesight; nothing could escape her gaze!

"There's something nearby!"

Feng Lu walked up to the second floor. Originally, the girl's spirit should have appeared here, but because the girl was now in a quiet sleep, no spirit blocked the way on the second floor. Instead, strange black mist appeared at the door of the room on the second floor.

What she had just seen was this black mist.

The fog blocked the wind and dew from entering the room, and it was very viscous. When the wind and dew approached, it suddenly spread out like a wave, trying to pull the wind and dew directly in!
The crescent moon feather emitted light at this moment, blocking the further attack of the black mist.

"Cursed Doll, attack!"

A doll that looked like a black rag suddenly appeared in front of Feng Lu, and with its eyes tightly closed, it slapped the surging black mist!
A surprise attack allows you to strike first. Failure occurs if the opponent's attack is not an offensive move!

The surging black mist was shattered and returned to the gate. The cursed doll patted its chest, seemingly relieved as if it had survived a disaster!
Suddenly I was ordered to attack or something? Hey, why am I suddenly moving?!
The cursed doll turned its head 180 degrees, looking at the human who walked up the steps with great confusion.

You think I'll just obey your orders? How embarrassing would that be!

Besides, that energy was really dangerous!

The cursed doll grumbled and complained, just then Feng Lu squatted down and patted it: "Thank you! I would have been in danger just now if it weren't for you."

"Hmm!" The cursed doll blinked, its face slightly flushed.

Well, it's nothing! No need to thank me!

The cursed doll turned its back, looking somewhat embarrassed.

Living in this ghostly house year after year, and never hearing a word of praise from anyone—is this the feeling of being moved?
"Candlelight Spirit, flash."

"Hey~" The Candle Spirit blinked, then gave a timid but mischievous grin, and the candlelight above its head suddenly became bright and radiant.

However, at this moment, the quick-thinking Candle Spirit tried to absorb the surrounding life force, but was threatened by Lightmoss: "Don't take this opportunity to absorb everyone's life force, or I'll seal you away!"

"Whoosh!" Wax gushed from the head of the Candlelight Spirit.

This master psychic is so strict! It's just a little bit of stolen life energy!

"Here, take this." Lightmoss projected a Venus Radish from Device C and handed it to Candlelight Spirit, who was somewhat puzzled; these human foods were completely useless to it.
Huh?! Wait a minute!
Candlelight Spirit suddenly sensed that the radish contained a strong life energy!
What... what's going on?!
The Candlelight Spirit hugged the radish, turning it over and over in disbelief, and suddenly became very happy!
Although I don't know what this is, it contains so much life energy!

Okay! This one's mine, I'm not absorbing your life energy anymore!

papapapa Candlelight Spirit hugs the carrot and licks it vigorously!

Having received the benefits, the Candle Spirit began to work diligently, and the flames on its head shone brighter and brighter. At this time, the black mist seemed to be dispelled a little.

Although it was considered that the tragedy at the Stranger's House was caused by a nightmare triggered by Darkrai, which was then materialized by a Dreameater or a Dreameater, most Darkrai would consider the impact of their power on their surroundings and would therefore actively seek out a secluded place to hide, rather than lingering in the area that caused the impact.

Stepping through the fog gate and encountering Darkrai, who is hiding in another world, feels like challenging a boss; you always feel like some kind of exciting background music will start at any moment.

As if the sound of a heartbeat could be heard, Lightmoss used the Star Drumbeat.

This extraterrestrial ability allows one to be immune to aura contamination and then use divine energy!

The negative emotions of darkness, pain, and sorrow in the fog receded like the tide.

Did that unknown Darkrai not leave?

The Darkrai that traveled across distant times and spaces.

But things are not that simple.

The retreating fog gate suddenly surged, revealing a pitch-black abyss within the building, right beneath everyone's feet.

(End of this chapter)