Hello, Fanfiction! This is mostly a test...practice...thing. I decided to publish it just cuz, so yeah.
...I was half asleep when I wrote this. It probably won't make sense. Critiques are not appreciated on this.
"Is...t-this is the Old Chateau, r-right?"
Sophie sat on the stump of a fallen tree, her Electabuzz sitting next to her. Both were pale and shaking, beads of sweat covering their faces. Beside them sat Sophie's best friend, Melissa, who held her Infernape's pokeball in her hands.
"Yeah. She should be here any moment."
Sophie looked down. She admired her friend's courage.
She was waiting for a girl Melissa met in Snowpoint City, while Sophie was heading to Sunnyshore City to challenge Volkner. She smiled weakly; this was where she found her favorite Pokemon, Electabuzz, curled up in a patch of grass in the rain, weak from starvation and shivering from the cold raindrops. The two bonded instantly; Electabuzz became the star of her team after only 2 and a half weeks.
"A-are you sure she d-didn't chicken out?" Sophie questioned, looking up sadly. Melissa shot her a threatening glare.
"Of course! She's probably just a bit...lost. This forest isn't exactly tiny."
Nodding doubtfully, Sophie looked back down. Although he wasn't any less frightened, Electabuzz patted her back in a poor effort to cheer up his trainer. Behind the two, Melissa tapped her feet with her short, chubby arms crossed over her chest.
"Hold on, there she is!" Melissa suddenly yelped, breaking the peaceful silence of the forest. Sophie jumped to her feet.
Surely enough, the sillhouette of a young trainer stepped through the fog. She looked tiny, with her fragile-looking frame and short legs. Sophie was surprised that the wind didn't snap her in half on her way there.
Finally, the young girl found her way to the duo, about to fall over. She held onto a nearby tree to keep her balance. Melissa frowned.
"Well then," she started, pointing at the girl. "This is Luna. Sophie, meet Luna. Luna, meet Sophie. Now, can we go in alrea-"
She was cut off as the oversized, red door of the Old Chateau swung open, almost flapping in the wind. All three girls quickly jumped to their feet except for Melissa, who continued watching with an odd smirk pressed on her face.
Sophie and Luna both glanced at each other, then back at Melissa. They knew they were thinking the same thoughts. Woah, she's seriously brave.
Behind Luna, 5 Pokemon stepped wearily up to her. Sophie watched, shock.
"L-look out!"
Luna laughed, then picked up one of the Pokemon, a Glameow, and patted its head. She explained to Sophie about how she thought that keeping a Pokemon in a Pokeball is cruel and useless.
"I would never, ever, EVER buy one of those Pokemon death machines," Luna finished, all of her Pokemon now sitting on her lap. Sophie looked up from the twig she started playing with 5 minutes into her speech.
"Okay, let's go, NOW." Melissa hissed through clenched teeth. Luna and Sophie both nodded quickly.
The inside of the Old Chateau is a lot creepier than Sophie expected. It was full of musky, still air that choked her lungs. With every step everybody took, they were suffocated by large clouds of dust. The floorboards were covered in cracks and holes, with clumps of mold here and there. To both sides, there were long, curling stairways with a moth-eaten red carpet with golden edges. The rails had white paint that was peeling, revealing the wood beneath.
The moment they stepped inside, Sophie realized that the old building was hidden in the shadows of the trees that filled the Eterna Forest. Not a ray of moonlight peeked through the broken windows, even though there wasn't a cloud in the sky.
"Electabuzz, flash!" Sophie ordered. Electabuzz's two horns quickly erupted in electricity. They worked exactly like lightbulbs. Melissa's odd smirk grew.
"Okay, here's the deal. I'll be out in the bedrooms upstairs. Sophie, you go to the study. I heard there's a lot of cool things in there. Luna, you go in the kitchen. They say there's a ghost in there." Luna and Sophie both nodded nervously. As Luna cautiously walked towards the doorway to the kitchen, Sophie and Melissa walked up the creaking stairway - well, actually, only Sophie walked. Melissa carelessly skipped upstairs and into the next hallway.
Luna
Luna walked into the kitchen with all 5 of her Pokemon beside her, sniffing around at the dusty stools and tables. While Luna sat down to examine her surroundings, her Buneary hopped over to the fridge and opened it. She almost instantly wrinkled her nose and threw the door shut. It was loaded with lumpy, mold-coated fruits and meat! The smell was unbearable.
Meanwhile, her Umbreon didn't know that he was supposed to stay in the kitchen. Following Sophie and Melissa's trail, he slowly walked up the stairs and into one of the bedrooms. Suddenly, he looked up and nearly screamed in surprise. Standing over him was Melissa, scowling at him with narrowed eyes.
With the fur on his back rising, Umbreon cowered and quickly slipped away to another corner in the room. The floor didn't even make a single sound before collapsing, sending Umbreon back downstairs. The weak floor cracked there, too, and once again, Umbreon tumbled down into the cellar. He landed on his head and was knocked out. Melissa peeked over the edge an laughed wickedly.
"Stupid animal," she snorted, stepping away. Blood was spilling out of a gash on his side. She didn't care that Umbreon may or may not be alive.
Sophie
Alone in the study, Electabuzz and Sophie sat on chairs with torn-up blue cushions and rusted metal legs. Sophie was reading from a notebook found on the ground.
"Something should...I can't read that...ake...that's also unreadable...off with th...some more scribbles...motor...I give up. It looks like a 3 year old wrote this." She put down the book in the spot it was found - you could tell because it was the one clean area anywhere in the building. She sighed.
"This is boring. There's no interesting books here. Melissa lied," Sophie whined, hanging her head. Electabuzz rolled his eyes.
"Melissa's probably having more fun than us. She probably just wanted someone to go in with her cuz she's a whimp. Dumb Melissa. She can't be trusted."
Luna
Glameow looked up from the dust bunny she was batting around under the table. She flicked her curly tail and looked up.
"Meow?" She got up to her paws and flicked her tail again. The Pachirisu that sat beside her also looked up and tilted her head.
They exchanged a few words in Pokespeak, then nodded and walked upstairs. Suddenly, Buneary stopped.
"Bun?" She flattened her ears. Glameow looked up at her, concerned. The two slowly walked on all fours into the bedroom where Umbreon had fallen.
Inside, Melissa was waiting for them. Her smirk grew into a wide smile that stretched from ear to ear. She got to her feet and slowly advanced towards Glameow and Buneary. Her dark eyes flashed in the dim light of the room.
"Come...here..." she murmured, reaching for one of the Pokemon. Glameow flattened her ears and unsheathed her claws to attack. That second, Melissa lunged at her and grabbed her by the leg. Glameow was about to wail loudly before Melissa silenced her with her other hand.
Grinning wildly, Melissa threw Glameow into the broken floor. Glameow's legs flailed wildly, trying to grasp something to pull herself up with, but her efforts were in vain. Glameow tumbled into the blackness.
Crying out, Buneary hopped over to the hole, trying to see her friend. She didn't even care what happened to herself. She just wanted to make sure Glameow was okay.
Silently, Melissa swung her leg around and kicked her in the back. Buneary flew into the abyss. Her screams weren't heard by anybody but Melissa.
Back to Luna
Luna dozed off into an uneasy sleep, resting her head on the table. Her Buizel climbed up onto the stool that she sat on and nudged her arm with his nose. She only slightly stirred before turning her head the other way.
Bored, Buizel spun around and decided to follow his fellow Pokemon. He uneasily walked up the stairs, through the hall, and into Melissa's room. Melissa didn't notice him, oddly enough. She stared at a painting, as if she was in a trance. Curious, Buizel turned his head to see exactly what she was staring so intently at.
There wasn't exactly anything odd about the painting, although it was a bit unsettling. It just looked like a purple glob with two scarlet-colored dots on it. Suddenly, he noticed that the two dots were...glowing? His eyes widening, Buizel turned around to leave when he noticed the giant gap in the floor. Cautiously, he peeked in. What he saw would haunt him for life.
Umbreon was laying on the ground, his sides barely rising and falling. Glameow scratched at the wall, wailing loudly, her leg bent at an odd angle, while Buneary was crumpled on the ground, sobbing and wailing her heart out. Buizel screeched loudly and tugged on Melissa's pant leg. She snapped out of her trance and narrowed her eyes at Buizel.
"You stupid monster, I was in an importa-" She cut herself off angrily. She gritted her teeth and jumped to her feet.
"Go AWAY!" She screamed, pushing Buizel into the hole. Buizel landed right on top of Buneary, who cried out loudly. Buizel got back up to his feet, while Buneary continued sitting on the cement floor, crying loudly.
Ignoring her, Buizel looked back upstairs to see Melissa staring back, smiling even wider than before.
He realized that there was no escape.
Sophie
Sophie looked up from the book she was reading, Machinery Mysteries. It was really boring, anyways. Electabuzz, who was napping, was awoken and looked up, too.
"...did you hear that?" Sophie whispered. Her voice was flat. To her dismay, Electabuzz nodded slowly. At least I'm not going crazy.
The two got up to their feet and whiped the dust off of them, then walked down the hall, trying their hardest to not make a sound. The task was difficult, seeing that the entire building seemed like it would collapse in on itself at any second, but they managed to successfuly pull it off.
"Now, which room was she in..."
Melissa
Melissa grinned wildly as another creature fell into her trap. It was brilliant; Luna and Sophie were ridiculously gullible. Interesting things in this house? The only reason why she was here was because of him. Of course, she had to sacrifice two friends, but it would all be worth it.
Chuckling to herself, Melissa sat back down and stared at his painting. It was the only way to communicate with him without the others noticing. She was a genious.
Luna
Finally, Luna woke up from her slumber. She blinked, her vision foggy. For a few seconds, she had no idea where on Earth she was, but then she remembered. The Old Chateau...I hate this place. She yawned, stretched her arms, and got up to her feet.
"Glameow?" she called, waiting for her favorite Pokemon to arrive. She didn't.
"Um...Buizel?"
By now, she was getting worried.
"Buneary? Umbreon?"
The only Pokemon she could find was Pachirisu, who snored loudly on a chair. Luna picked her up and patted her soft, white fur. Pachirisu twitched a little.
"The others must have ran off. Let's find them!"
And with that, Luna dashed up the stairs and into the second hall.
Sophie
Sophie and Electabuzz were in a bedroom two rooms away from Melissa. Suddenly, Sophie noticed something odd.
"Hey, something that isn't old!" She snatched up a blue marbled notebook that was on the bed. She opened it up to the first page.
"Um..." It literally had Melissa's name written all over it. Every page was "MELISSA" in blue crayon, with doodles of Gengar every few pages. Electabuzz took one look at it and completely freaked out, his horns sparking. He shuffled off of the bed.
"Wha...? Let's put this down and go find Melissa."
Luna
Luna slipped through the shadows with her Pachirisu, who was now sneaking by her. Finally, they hit a room with an open door.
Cautiously, Luna and Pachirisu peeked inside. Melissa sat there, staring awkwardly at the painting.
"Really?" Melissa murmured, her voice almost silent. Luna took a step back, then walked into the room. Pachirisu hesitated before following her trainer.
"Hey, Melissa! I-"
Melissa turned her head towards Luna. Her face was incredibly strange. Her eyes showed no emotion, and her mouth was flat. She looked like a zombie, with tangled up hair and almost black, sunken eyes. Luna screamed loudly.
"NO."
Melissa's voice was inhumanly deep. She got up to her feet and grabbed Luna's arm. A weak smile danced on her lips.
"GET.
WITH.
THEM."
Luna struggled to escape. Tears and sweat were running down her face, soaking everything. Melissa laughed.
"YOU DO NOT BELONG HERE."
Melissa flung one of her best friends to her death with another loud laugh. Pachirisu squealed loudly and tried to escape, but Melissa literally jumped on her, crushing the Pokemon. Pachirisu was limp as she surrendered, accepting her fate.
Without a second thought, Melissa chucked Pachirisu against the wall. She slid down and into the pit.
Sophie and Electabuzz ran in just in time to see it happen. Sophie also screamed, but not in fear. She was furious that her best friend would hurt an innocent Pokemon!
"NO."
Melissa tried to grab Electabuzz, who struggled to break free. Melissa's grip tightened, causing Electabuzz to cry out. Before he could react, he was thrown with all of the others. Melissa didn't notice that he clung onto the side.
"GET."
Melissa turned to Sophie.
"WITH."
She silently grabbed her leg.
"THEM."
She dragged her towards the pit.
"YOU."
Melissa let go.
"DON'T."
Sophie was enveloped partially in the blackness, but her hand grasped onto the solid edge.
"BELONG."
Silence pounded on her ears for several moments. It was painful.
"HEEEEEEEE-"
Suddenly, Melissa fell backwards, her eyes closing. She looked like a rag doll that somebody threw away.
Sophie was so shocked that she almost let go of the ledge she was holding on to. Leaving Melissa's body was a Gengar, who laughed wickedly in her face. Melissa recovered quickly, getting back to her feet.
"Gengaaaaa!" Gengar cried, flying over to the ledge. He hovered over the pit for a few moments before reaching down to pry off Sophie's fingers.
There was a low sound coming from the hall. Gengar looked up, and for the first time since anybody ever spotted it, it stopped smiling.
...
Gengar flew away, giving Sophie and Electabuzz a chance to scramble back onto solid ground.
The buzzing got closer and closer until a lawnmower burst into the room.
...
Wait, what?
Sophie did a double-take. There was definitely a lawnmower in the room. It had a face.
The lawnmower suddenly died, and an orange orb flew out, surrounded by blue energy.
"Roootom!" the orb taunted, passing through Gengar. Gengar backed off, his red eyes widening.
There was a sudden jolt of blue electricity. Gengar screeched loudly before tumbling into his own trap. Rotom turned to Melissa, who was still dizzy, and passed through her. Shocked and confused, Melissa stumbled back and met the same fate as Gengar.
"Jeez, Luna, too bad about Umbreon," Sophie murmured, looking out at Pastoria's great marsh. Luna nodded slowly.
"Yeah, thank Arceus he lived, though. Nurse Joy said that it's a miracle."
Sophie grinned at her new friend and grabbed a Pokeball from her belt. She chucked it at the ground. There was a red flash.
"And it's all thanks to him."
Cheering softly, Rotom greeted his trainer.