In the dead of night, as Cynthia finished reviewing her lessons and turned off the light, the last glow in the entire house vanished as well.
In the darkness, a ruby-red gem swayed slightly and suddenly flashed with a glint of light. After waiting for a long time, the predator finally began to move…
It had already observed the place once before. Beneath the Inoue tree by the front door, there were surveillance cameras, but near the Fujimoto vine tree at the back door, there was no monitoring equipment at all.
Although the back door could only be opened from the inside, going in from there led straight to the kitchen!
Because dinner had been cooked earlier, someone had habitually left the kitchen window cracked open for ventilation, without fastening the latch.
And that became the intruder's route in. Even with a protective mesh, it was completely unable to stop it!
Bathed in moonlight, a large cat Pokémon with perfectly sculpted curves silently emerged from beneath the vine tree.
It extended its crimson, barbed tongue and licked its lips. The ruby on its forehead gleamed crystal-clear under the moonlight—making it unmistakable that this was a Persian!
It lightly crouched on the kitchen window, using its whiskers to sense the airflow through the narrow gap…
Inside the kitchen: "???"
After confirming that there were no living creatures on the first floor, Persian revealed a cold smile.
It gently pressed its paw pad, and a sharp claw slid out, gleaming with a chilling edge.
Then it began using its claws to pry at the screws of the protective mesh. The smooth, practiced motion made it obvious this wasn't its first time.
Moments later, one screw was loosened. It caught it with its tail to keep it from falling and making noise.
It then moved on to the other screws. Soon, all of them had been removed, though the mesh itself didn't fall right away due to years of being fixed in place.
Next came the final step. Persian placed all the screws nearby, freed its tail and forepaws, and slowly dismantled the entire protective mesh!
Success! This was the work of a true hunter—silent from start to finish!
Persian was naturally adept at hunting in the night. Even in a pitch-black kitchen, it could see everything clearly.
Clack—
The window opened. This time, a sound was unavoidable, but its range was at most five meters.
With a ceiling in between, the prey upstairs couldn't possibly notice. Everything was calculated perfectly!
"Persian (Here's Johnny~)"
It crouched on the window with an eerie grin, then kicked off with its hind legs and slipped inside the kitchen like a shadow.
Persian's control over its muscles was flawless; it made no sound as it moved. Yet this perfect hunter had no idea—
From the moment it tested the airflow at the window, it had already been targeted by another hunter!
The Spiritomb on top of the pickle jar: "..."
Hidden within the keystone, it silently watched the foolish cat step by step approach.
Persian was a Normal-type Pokémon. Its whiskers couldn't detect Ghost-type Pokémon, and it would never dream of encountering one here.
Just as it was about to pass through the kitchen and head upstairs via the staircase, a sudden—
Duang~
—rang out beside it, making its fur instantly stand on end.
"!!!"
Despite the fright, Persian stayed calm and didn't move rashly.
After confirming there was no follow-up noise, it turned toward the source of the sound and found that a stone had fallen onto the floor.
By scent, it recognized it as a pickling stone. Its face filled with disdain, but it still reached out and placed it back atop the pickle jar.
But the moment it turned around—
Duang~
"!!!"
Persian's fur bristled again.
After realizing the sound still came from the same place, it forcibly restrained itself from smashing the stone to pieces with a swipe. Instead, it put the keystone back once more, carefully checking that it was stable before turning around and continuing forward…
Duang~
"!!!"
This time, Persian snapped. It spun around, scooped up the keystone, and hurled it out the kitchen window into the backyard.
There was no way you were still coming in to scare it now!
After that, it continued onward. As it passed the pickle jar, it subconsciously glanced over, and only after confirming the stone was gone did it finally breathe a sigh of relief.
But just as it reached the staircase and turned its body to go upstairs, it suddenly glanced back—
—and saw that stone right behind it!
As if it had followed all the way over. But how could a lifeless stone possibly move?
Spiritomb was an ultra-rare Pokémon in the Al Region—so rare it was almost impossible to encounter, to the point that its very existence was still questioned by some.
Strictly speaking, the only record of it was in a first-generation handwritten Pokédex preserved in the Jubilife Galaxy History Museum, which documented a single appearance in the Mist Ruins. Other than that, there were no records at all.
That was why Cynthia had never noticed anything strange about the keystone sitting on the pickle jar for so long. Who would ever think that such a bizarre-looking rock was actually a Pokémon?
Persian was terrified half to death by Spiritomb. In the pitch-black environment, its fear was amplified several times over…
Seeing that the stone didn't move, Persian made a decision. It immediately picked it up again and flipped out through the window.
In the backyard, it quickly dug a pit, buried Spiritomb inside, and filled it back up with soil.
Then it picked up a few ordinary stones and placed them on top.
That should do it—no way you're getting out now!
After finishing all that, Persian returned to the kitchen. But just as it crouched on the window, preparing to climb back in, it suddenly noticed a faint light inside the kitchen!
Its heart jolted. It immediately turned back to look at the freshly buried spot. Only after confirming that none of the stones had moved did it finally relax.
Then it pressed against the window and began observing in secret.
Through its observation and the airflow sensed by its whiskers, it confirmed that the light came from the refrigerator. Someone had opened it just a crack—and crawled inside!
Persian didn't act rashly. Soon, it saw a small blue wing stretch out from the refrigerator gap!
"Persian~"
The prime target had appeared!
Persian's body reacted instantly. This was what a true hunter was—never giving prey any chance to respond!
But just as it closed in, the refrigerator door suddenly burst open from the inside—
Snorlax-level strength!
Persian didn't even have time to react. The refrigerator door sent it flying, rolling twice across the floor before slamming into the wall and passing out on the spot…
"Rowlet!"
Rowlet was furious. There was absolutely nothing to eat in the fridge! No midnight snack when it was hungry!
Where on earth had Lumiere hidden all the snacks he was forced to buy after Rowlet tore open packaging at the store earlier today?!
With no way to find them, it could only stew in anger and fly back upstairs to sleep…
No one knew how much time passed before the unconscious Persian suddenly jolted awake. It sprang up instantly, alert to its surroundings.
After confirming it was still night and no one was around, it finally relaxed a little.
It couldn't remember anything from before it blacked out—only that it had returned after burying the stone in the yard, and then… nothing.
Right! The stone!
Persian hurried to place its forepaws on the window and peek into the backyard. After confirming that the stones on top hadn't moved, it finally let out a sigh of relief.
Then it resumed its hunt—the human, Eevee!
And that prime target it had seen earlier at the front door—Rowlet!
Not a single one could be spared!
However, just as it was about to continue, its front paw seemed to kick something hard. It lowered its head to look.
"..."
"..."
After a brief silence, the temperature plummeted. One hundred and eight purple spirits suddenly appeared, floating throughout the kitchen, as shadowy figures seemed to emerge from within them…
The next morning, Lumiere yawned as he walked into the kitchen to make breakfast, casually opening the window for ventilation.
Seeing the dug-up patch of grass in the backyard through the mesh, a hint of confusion flashed across his face.
"Did a Diglett do this?"
He paused for a moment, then quickly dismissed it. Turning back as usual, he greeted the motionless Spiritomb on top of the pickle jar.
"Yo, Angelo~"
Spiritomb: "..."