Pokémon, but cultural invasion.

Quanshu turned around and glanced at the security captain and the team members who had been following him all the way.

"It's getting late, let's call it a day. Everyone must be tired, so let's go home and get some rest."

After hearing his words, the security guards exchanged glances, their unspoken understanding evident in each other's eyes.

Is it over after just two laps? Isn't that a bit too relaxed?

The security captain forced a smile and asked, "Mr. Izumi... has the source of the anomaly not been found?"

"correct."

Izumi pointed to the lit lamps: "It's usually pitch black, but tonight it's brightly lit. A group of people are walking around in the museum. Ghost-type Pokémon aren't stupid; they must all be hiding."

"There's no point in continuing the search; we might as well go home and get some sleep."

"Ok."

The security captain nodded helplessly. He knew his men would have objections, but he was willing to trust the young trainer who had been entrusted by the gym leader.

"What are you still standing there for? Go home after get off work."

With one shout, the security guards who were still standing there all left.

The lights gradually went out.

"Oh, by the way, tell the museum's cleaning staff that they don't need to come to work tomorrow morning; I'll be coming here."

Quanshu watched as the captain locked the gate and said, "Also, tomorrow night at the museum, just do it as usual. The same number of people patrolling as usual, everything as before."

Although the captain was puzzled, he still agreed.

"it is good."

Before leaving, Izumi glanced at the museum lobby through the glass; it was pitch black.

I'm not sure if it's just my imagination, but it feels like there are several pairs of eyes watching from the shadows.

"The stage is set up, and we're just waiting for the performers to come on stage."

Chapter 30 is now my turn to play.

The next day.

Before the news of the museum being haunted spread, the flow of visitors was not affected in any way.

As the sun set, all the lights inside the venue were turned off.

It wasn't until late at night that two beams of white light from flashlights illuminated the corridor.

"Taro, is it really okay for us to wander around in this haunted museum like this?"

Two uniformed security guards, carrying flashlights, cautiously advanced through the empty, dimly lit first-floor lobby.

They practically huddled together with their Pokémon.

Even though the Pokémon used by the security guards have some fighting ability, they are no match for the unknown number of Ghost-type Pokémon.

"Sakata, we must trust the trainers the gym leader found."

"...Do you even believe what you're saying? He just walked around twice yesterday and left, and today he won't let the cleaning staff clean it. Look, the floor isn't even clean anymore."

Sakata tilted the flashlight slightly downwards, and fine powder scattered on the marble floor tiles reflected light through the gaps.

"Okay, well, this is just for peace of mind..."

Taro's voice stopped abruptly, and his expression suddenly became tense.

Did you hear anything just now?

Don't scare me!

Sakata's expression changed as well, because he had indeed just heard a sound like bones creaking.

The two slowly turned around, flashlights in hand.

The scythe-shaped helmet pieced together from white fossils was nowhere to be seen on the display stand in the center of the hall.

They've seen it countless times while working, so they're absolutely certain they won't forget it.

"dong dong dong~"

In the deserted museum, the sound of a heavy object running and its feet hitting the ground echoed.

Heavy footsteps sounded behind me, growing ever closer.

The two were so frightened that they fled with all their might.

It wasn't just the sickle-shaped helmet that disappeared; the fossil pterosaur hanging from the ceiling had also broken free of its restraints at some point.

It flapped its pure white bone wings and soared in the low sky, as if reminiscing about its past life.

"Help!"

"Chop!!"

Seeing its trainer crying and screaming in terror, Arbok panicked as well.

Despite its formidable fighting strength, Arbok completely lost its will to fight upon seeing its trainer fleeing in panic.

Panic is contagious.

From a storage room on the first floor, several shrill laughs, deliberately suppressed, could be heard.

Quanshu had been here during the day; the room contained some of the artifacts to be exhibited at the exhibition.

At that moment, the lid of a wooden box was lifted, and dark stones emitting a purplish-black light fell to the ground.

"Mmm~"

The dream demon, holding a dark stone in its arms, laughed so hard it almost fell over.

The Candle Spirit swayed its body, the flickering flames above its head a testament to its joy.

"Click!"

The grieving doll sat on the wooden box, its wave-like hem swaying incessantly, equally delighted.

After a while, the heavy footsteps echoing in the museum stopped.

A gas-shaped Gastly flew through the wall, panting and exhausted, but with a satisfied smile on its face.

As soon as it landed, it grabbed the Dark Stone and began absorbing it, much like a human drinking a sports drink after strenuous exercise.

"Jie!"

"Jie Jie!"

The other two Gastlys in the queue actually started arguing over the scary order in which they were lined up.

They refused to give way to each other, glaring fiercely at one another.

The dream demon acted as a peacemaker, calming the two hot-tempered problem children with a soft "mmm~mmm~".

Just then, a faint, sharp noise suddenly came from the wooden box under the vengeful shadow doll's bottom.

It sounded like sharp fingernails scraping against rough wooden planks.

The Ghost-type Pokémon present were all taken aback, their smiles vanished, and their arguments ceased.

"What?"

They all felt a sense of unease and fear, as if by unspoken agreement.

"Kak..."

Of course, the most frightening of all is the Shadow Doll, because the sound comes from under its bottom.

Without any hesitation, the Shadow Doll floated to the Dream Demon's side and, together with its companions, nervously watched the wooden box.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the lid of the wooden box slid open slowly from the side.

"Mmm mmm!"

"Crunch, crunch!"

"Jie Jie!"

The ghosts, who had been laughing and joking, suddenly panicked. They were both curious and afraid of what was inside the wooden box.

Their instinctive fear made them want to stay away, but their strong curiosity prevented them from taking a step.

The lid of the box slowly slid open, and all the ghostly sprites assumed that the contents would only come out after the lid was fully opened.

But the lid slid halfway down.

"Whoa!!"

A figure suddenly darted out from inside, letting out a strange roar, and pounced on them.

This was tantamount to a fatal blow to the ghosts who were completely focused and unprepared.

Humans are powerless against a sudden, grotesque attack, and ghosts are no exception. For a moment, they forget to run away and stand frozen in place, terrified.

The next second, brown stones pierced through the wooden planks, hitting each ghost with pinpoint accuracy.

The stones seemed to possess a terrifying power; the ghosts that were struck by them all fell to the ground, unable to even float anymore.

"You guys had a lot of fun just now."

Izumi stepped onto the edge of the wooden crate, leaned down to look at the Ghost-type Pokémon wriggling on the ground, and gave a friendly smile: "Now it's my turn to play."

The Ghost-type Pokémon, now unable to fly, trembled with fear, and Misdreavus even shed a few tears.

Only the vengeful shadow doll glared at him fiercely.

"Steaming buns, aren't you using the utensils?"

Quanshu looked up at the wall where the light and shadow were changing and said in surprise, "There are still some that have slipped through the net."

These ghosts were very loyal; after discovering that their friends had all been wiped out, the dream demon and candle spirit who were scaring people outside immediately rushed back.

So two more zones appeared on the ground that were wriggling.

“You guys are so kind and righteous, which makes it easy for me to take you all in one go.”

Quanshu stroked his chin thoughtfully, thinking that the culprits behind the ghost incidents must all be here.

Yesterday he had Saltstone leave behind cleansing salt in every corner of the museum.

Just like humans clean up trash, Ghost-type Pokémon hate this powder and will never let it appear around their gathering places.

Following the clues, we found this storage room, along with various shapes of dark stones used for exhibition. It would be a shame not to ambush Quanshu.

However, things went more smoothly than he had imagined, because the ghosts were too weak in combat.

Shooting them down will limit their flight ability, but it won't interfere with their attack execution.

However, not a single ghost managed to unleash an attack.

Seeing that some of the ghosts were trying so hard to suppress their anger but couldn't manage to scare anyone, Quanshu couldn't help but laugh out loud.

These ghosts are probably still in their nascent stage, unable to even use their techniques.

No wonder they hide in the museum, using the power of the Dark Stone to frighten ordinary people.

The Ghost-type Pokémon, now captured by humans and unsure of what fate awaited them, were all filled with despair.

"Let me think about how to deal with you."

To them, the way Quanshu talked to himself and pondered was no different from that of a demon.

Generally speaking, wild Pokémon that cause trouble in the city should be dealt with by Officer Jenny.

The process is nothing more than ideological education followed by release into the wild, or temporary placement in a breeding house or research institute.

These ghosts are too weak to frighten people outside the museum environment and the Dark Stone.

For these creatures that feed on human emotions, failing to frighten people means they will go hungry.

Without a minimum guarantee of food, their early years will be quite difficult.

Izumi originally intended to give it directly to Officer Jenny, but he changed his mind after hearing the commotion of the fossil pterosaurs flying around.

"Hey, do you guys want to work for my company?"

"I'm serious."