Author's Note: This is based on the Gastly in my story, The Maiden – I guess. She's from a place called Aristel Forest, but this mini-story wouldn't fit into The Maiden, and it might not be accurate to that character. If anyone besides my reviewers for The Maiden reads this story then you've GOT TO read The Maiden! Er...please?

There are strange happenings in Aristel Forest. There have always been.

I doubt you've heard of them, unless you live in one of the tiny villages that lay nearby these woods. You probably come from Saffron or something – some place everyone knows about. You've probably never heard of Aristel.

Me? No, I don't come from a village – but I know more of the story than anyone else. I come from the very heart of that forest, and you see, the tale of Aristel is my own.

The village people love rumors. I watch them, from the shadows. I've seen. They'll take a story and turn it into so many things you can't even tell if it's the same story anymore. To each is a separate tale – about happens when someone goes missing.

Heheh...Sorry to disappoint you, but this is no horror story. It is always the work of the Three Shadows: the three clans of Gastly, Haunter, and Gengar. And it is, as I regret to say, this is the group I was born into. The First Shadow, the Gastly Clan.

But the Clans are only poltergeists. They like to toy with humans, taking their things and then returning them to odd places.

That was a little funny, I guess, because people would think they had lost whatever it was – and then would find their missing sock in the freezer or something like that. They start to wonder – why the heck would they put that there and not even remember doing it? Fine, it was more than just a little funny. It was hilarious!

But when the Clans started leading people deep into the forest – that's when the stories started. To them the tricks were all a big joke, but villagers would return babbling like lunatics, and humans were scared half to death.

Even when they found out it was just the work of a bunch of Pok'emon, it got even worse. The people never realized they meant no harm, assumed all of them – all of us – to be evil. The Clans, my kind, had to escape it.

If you check a Pok'edex it might tell you that Gastly hate sunlight. That's true. But what it won't tell you is why.

For me, for my Clan – it's because it's not in the light that you will see us for what we truly are.

But you never know what hides in the dark of night. I may come across you if you walk through my forest, though you will not recognize me. If you're not like the humans I've met, trust me. You may befriend me, and if you're not like the others – you won't care what I am. Then maybe I'll come out into the sunlight.

Author's Note: I hope it's not like: "And the moral of the story is...", teaching little kids how stereotypes are bad and you shouldn't judge people. But I wrote it, so I might as well post it. Just PLEASE, if you don't like it, think of the moral and DON'T JUDGE ME ON JUST ONE SUCKY STORY!!

But if you do like it: Oh. Thanks. I knew it was good all along.