Chapter 1,110: The Eerie Villa and the Two Adventurers' Quest
“Cheng Cheng, hurry up! We must reach the next place where we can stay before night falls. I really don’t want to camp out again.”
“But the map says there’s no Pokémon Center nearby.”
“Then let’s see if anyone lives around here and borrow their house for the night.”
At that moment, Cheng Cheng and Muzi were on their way to Feiyun City. The sun had already set, and darkness was creeping in. If they delayed any longer, they might not be able to see the path ahead.
Originally, Cheng Cheng had planned to camp out here, but Muzi wanted to find a proper place to rest. So, the two hurried on, searching for somewhere to stay.
“Come on, hurry up! Let’s move faster.”
Muzi ran ahead while Cheng Cheng followed behind. Muzi’s stamina was far superior, and Cheng Cheng simply couldn’t keep up with her pace.
“Wow, Cheng Cheng, look!” Muzi suddenly stopped, sounding excited.
Cheng Cheng caught up and saw what she pointed to. It was a large villa, an elegant mansion—he had no idea who built such a beautiful house here.
“Cheng Cheng, let’s go check it out quickly and ask if we can stay here for the night.”
Muzi dashed toward the villa as soon as she finished speaking. Cheng Cheng felt something was off about the house, though he couldn’t quite pinpoint what. Still, he had no choice but to follow her.
“Hello? Is anyone home?” Muzi knocked on the door.
The door swung open immediately.
Cheng Cheng was wary when the door suddenly opened like that. He released his psychic powers and sensed that something was wrong. But Muzi had already stepped inside, so Cheng Cheng reluctantly followed.
Inside, the villa was very dark. Only two dim lamps hung on opposite walls, barely lighting the space. Most things remained shrouded in shadows.
“Hello? Is anyone here?” Muzi called out, but no response came. It seemed the house was uninhabited.
“Cheng Cheng, why don’t we stay here tonight?”
Cheng Cheng said nothing and instead sent out his Gardevoir.
“Gardevoir, use Flash.”
“Gardevoir!”
Gardevoir’s flash illuminated the entire room. It was a large hall with minimal furnishings—just two sofas and a coffee table. Nearby were some cupboards holding several candles.
“Muzi, bring out your Charmeleon and light all those candles.”
“Got it! Charmeleon, come out!”
“Charmeleon, thanks for your help.”
With the flame on Charmeleon’s tail, they lit all the candles. Gardevoir stopped its Flash.
“This place is so beautiful,” Muzi said.
Though simple, the furnishings were exquisite. The sofas had a thin layer of dust, indicating no one had lived here for some time. Several valuable paintings adorned the walls.
“All right, Cheng Cheng, let’s check upstairs for rooms—maybe we can find somewhere to sleep.”
Muzi dashed upstairs, and Cheng Cheng followed.
As Cheng Cheng was about to ascend, suddenly a chair flew toward him. He ducked just in time to avoid being hit. The chair swung at him again.
“Cheng Cheng, are you okay?”
Cheng Cheng didn’t answer and dodged the flying chair.
The chair kept attacking, so Cheng Cheng tried to control it with his psychic powers. But after a short time, it broke free and continued its assault.
“Gardevoir!”
Gardevoir fired a Shadow Ball that shattered the chair.
“Cheng Cheng, are you okay?”
Muzi rushed over to check on him.
“I’m fine. There’s something strange here—I sensed a fluctuation of psychic energy.”
“What could it be?”
“Probably some kind of Pokémon. Let’s just be cautious.”
Suddenly, the paintings and some candles flew toward Cheng Cheng. Gardevoir used Protect, creating a barrier around them. The objects slammed against it and were repelled.
“Gardevoir, use Telekinesis.”
“Gardevoir!”
Gardevoir telekinetically grasped all the objects. Cheng Cheng sensed another force contesting control with Gardevoir, but in the end, Gardevoir prevailed. The opposing power relinquished control, and Gardevoir took command.
“Put everything back where it belongs.”
Gardevoir returned all the items to their places. The strange energy vanished as if it had never existed.
“Cheng Cheng, what do you think that was?”
“Probably a Pokémon using illusions or psychic powers to manipulate things here. But I still can’t be sure what exactly it is.”
“Wow, this is so thrilling! A haunted house adventure! Cheng Cheng, why don’t we find that Pokémon?”
“All right.”
Cheng Cheng thought it over and agreed. If they didn’t find it, they might not get a good night’s sleep.
“It seems it’s no longer on the first floor. Let’s check the second floor.”
They ascended to the second floor, which had two corridors—one on the left and one on the right. They chose the left. The corridor was lined with individual rooms, each with its own connecting hallway. The layout was complex, like a maze.
“Wow, it’s like a labyrinth,” Muzi said, curious and fascinated.
Cheng Cheng continuously scanned the surroundings with his psychic powers. Suddenly, he detected something not far away.
He ran ahead, taking a few steps forward, turned left, then right, getting closer to the source.
But as he approached, the presence vanished, and his powers could no longer detect it.
Looking around, Cheng Cheng realized Muzi was no longer nearby.
“Muzi? Can you hear me? Where are you?”
On the other side, Muzi searched for Cheng Cheng and heard his voice.
“I’m here! Cheng Cheng, where did you go?”
Though they could hear each other, the echo made it impossible to determine their locations.
Cheng Cheng released his psychic power but found its range greatly diminished, as if something was blocking it. His Gardevoir was not with him either, so he sent out another Pokémon.
“Come out, Chimecho.”
“Chimecho, can you sense where Gardevoir and Muzi are?”
“Chiiing!”
Chimecho flew up and sent out its ringing sound.
“Chiiing chiiing chiiing!”
The sound echoed throughout the second floor, reverberating through the space.
“Chiiing!”
Chimecho seemed to have located Muzi and Gardevoir. It moved forward, with Cheng Cheng following closely. Soon, a Pokémon ran toward him.
“Gardevoir, are you all right?”
“Gardevoir!”
“All right, now let’s find Muzi.”
Cheng Cheng and Chimecho pressed on, searching for Muzi. Earlier, Cheng Cheng could still detect a faint trace of her presence, but now it had completely disappeared.
“Chimecho, let’s speed up.”
Cheng Cheng quickened his pace. He realized they had traveled quite far, beyond the villa’s usual boundaries. Could he be running in circles?
After a while, Chimecho stopped, indicating Muzi had been here but was no longer present.
“Muzi, Muzi, can you hear me?”
Cheng Cheng called out but received no reply. This was bad—Muzi was truly missing.
“Gardevoir, can you sense where Muzi is now?”
Gardevoir closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them and drifted slightly to the right, stopping in front of a wall.
“Gardevoir, are you saying Muzi is behind this wall?”
“Gardevoir!”
Gardevoir nodded.
Cheng Cheng walked over and knocked on the wall. It sounded hollow.
“Gardevoir, Shadow Ball.”
Gardevoir’s Shadow Ball shattered the wall. Cheng Cheng stepped inside and found another space beyond. There, Muzi and Charmeleon were together, surrounded by several other Pokémon.
“Muzi, are you okay?”
“Cheng Cheng, you found me! I found the Pokémon here.”
Cheng Cheng looked at the Pokémon surrounding her—four Litwick.
“Muzi, how did you get here?”
“Oh, after you left, I saw a white silhouette. I ran toward it and found this Litwick. They led me through that wall, and now we’re here. I didn’t expect so many Litwick to be here.”
“Something’s not right. Let’s get out of here first.”
Cheng Cheng tried to help Muzi up to leave, but he noticed her face looked pale, almost ghostly.
“Muzi, how do you feel?”
“I’m fine, just a little tired. I’ll just rest for a bit.”
“Wait, Muzi, something’s wrong with you.”
What was happening? Cheng Cheng recalled the Litwick information from his system—they could absorb a person’s life force. No wonder Muzi looked like this.
“Gardevoir, Shadow Ball.”
They dared to drain Muzi’s energy—unforgivable. Cheng Cheng immediately launched an attack.
“Gardevoir!”
Gardevoir’s Shadow Ball shot toward the Litwick, but they all dodged.
Suddenly, Cheng Cheng sensed two powerful auras approaching.
They had appeared.
Before him stood two Pokémon: a Lampent and a Chandelure.
Cheng Cheng checked their data—they were strong, especially Chandelure. Both looked angry.
Looking at the weakened Muzi, Cheng Cheng knew this would be troublesome indeed.