I do not own Pokemon.

My first Pokemon fic so be nice! No flames! Rating for later chapters.

The Lady Of The Night
Chapter One

Mid-Night

"Ash…" Sighed May. "Why don't you just admit that you're stupid and that we're lost?" They had been wondering around in the forest for nearly three hours and had definitely been lost for at least two. The air had turned icy and heavy black rain clouds covered the sky like a thick blanket. It was a sure sign of rain, the only part of Pikachu showing, was his head peeking out from the inside of Ash's jacket.

"We aren't lost!" retorted Ash. "And even if we were it wouldn't be my fault." This was true and they all new it, but it was still nice to have someone to blame when they were all exhausted, hungry and lost. Just then, there was a low rumble of thunder and the rain began to pour.

"Juuuust great." Grumbled Max.

"Well…..look on the bright side!" Said Ash as cheerfully as he could. "We haven't seen or head anything of team rocket in…..Nearly a week. That's a new record!"

"Yeah, but that also means that they're bound to show up any second now." Muttered Max but he could see that now wasn't a great time to say something like that.

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After another half an hour of running in the poring rain, thunder and lightning, they finally arrived at a pokemon centre about ten miles outside of the nearest town.

"Isn't this a bit of an odd place for a pokemon centre?" asked Ash as they all hurried inside.

"Who cares?" Asked Brock. "If you want to run ahead to the next town then you can!" Ash decided not to and ran inside instead.

The group were surprised to find the waiting room absolutely full of pokemon trainers. Every seat was occupied and there was still at least twenty trainers standing around, some chatting amongst themselves, some sitting in silence. One or two looked nothing short of petrified and a couple were hugging injured, recovering pokemon to their chests.

Ash tried very hard not to look too closely at the pokemon, but could tell from the way May gasped and the way Pikachu hid his face in his owners jacket that it was very, very bad. Just then, Nurse Joy came over to them.

"Are you lot ok?" She asked it in a way that sounded like she was asking it to someone who had just been in a terrible accident.

"Err….yes" replied Ash. "We were just wondering if we could stay here for tonight."

"Well I'm afraid all our rooms are full up." Sighed the nurse. "But you're welcome to stay herein the waiting room until the storm passes and you can make it into town. It's really not safe to be out around here late at night around here, especially for pokemon trainers….." She trailed off looking sadly around at those who were sat around.

"W-What's that supposed to mean?" Asked Ash, earning a slap to the back of his head from Brock.

"Don't be so rude Ash!" He snapped blushing. Nurse Joy didn't seem to notice.

"For about four years now, people have been reporting mysteriously being attacked by a young lady dressed in dark clothes. At first something goes missing from their belongings, and then that night, she appears. It's like she comes out of no where. She uses dark and psychic pokemon to totally overwhelm young trainers, hurting both the pokemon and their trainers. She takes anything of any value and then disappears again before the trainers can even stand. Some say she's beautiful, others say she's not human at all but part of the night. She's been given the name 'Lady Of The Night'…..She's ruthless and has to be stopped." Ash tried to take this all in. It seemed incredibly odd for a pokemon trainer to be so brutal. May waited for Joy to leave before speaking what was on everyone's mind.

"That sounds like something a team rocket member would do….I mean someone a lot more experienced than Jesse or James." Ash knew that what she was saying might be true. Max took a tiny step closer to his sister. It was barely noticeable but it was enough to show he was scared.

Ash slowly approached a young boy with short blonde hair. The boy's jeans and shirt were ripped in several places and his face was cut across his cheek.

"Excuse me…" The boy jumped at the voice and flinched as Brock put a hand on his shoulder.

"We won't hurt you…we just wanted to know…..what happened to you?" The boy looked so scared that at first they thought he wouldn't answer. Then, he slowly raised his eyes.

"I-It w-was her…..Th-The lady of the Night…Sh-She came o-out o-of n-nowhere j-just like e-everyone s-says….h-her p-pokemon……th-they've g-got c-creepy p-powers…." Ash and Brock exchanged the same worried, slightly confused glances. The boy managed to calm down just enough to stop stuttering.

"She'd already beaten me….I turned around to go and suddenly I was blasted into a tree….next thing I knew, I woke up here….." The boy looked down again and they could all tell that the convocation was over. As they sat down in one of the only empty spots of floor, Max moved even closer to his sister.

"No need to be afraid Max." Said Ash. "I'm not afraid of anything and neither should you."

"What about Aerodactyl? Aren't you afraid of that pokemon?" Brock joked.

"No! I just don't like it…..at all."

"Why would Ash be scared of Aerodactyl?" Asked May, Confused.

"Because one tried to eat him." Explained Brock.

"You never told us this!" May leaned forward to look at Ash. They spent the rest of the evening talking about different adventures they had been on before May and Max came along. They never even imagined that they were being watched by someone else, standing in the pouring rain on the hill outside the pokemon centre….someone smirking with an evil plan….grinning in anticipation……

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Ash awoke suddenly, as though someone had thrown icy water over him. At first there was silence in which he barely breathed. Then he heard it. A quiet, but clear tapping. Looking around, the young trainer could see that everyone was asleep….even Pikachu. I must be imagining things…he'd only just thought this, when the tapping was heard again.

There was a flash of lighting and Ash saw her. She was standing against the window, one hand and her forehead resting on the glass, her head bent and hooded. Even once the lightning faded Ash could still make out her outline, and even through the idea terrified him, he found himself rising to his feet and walking slowly foreword. The closer he got, the less he feared the girl. Now he could see that she was wearing a leather skirt that finished just at her knee and looked like she'd made it her self, the edges were jagged and torn a bit along with a long sleeved black blouse. She was also wearing a long black cloak with a hood that did up across her chest. The inside of it was blood red.

Ash moved closer still and as he did so, the girl slowly reached out and un-did the window, sliding it open. Ash stopped walking as he reached it and looked up at the girl who appeared to be about nineteen. Slowly, steadily, she reached out and took Ash's hand in her own, lifting the boys hand, gradually pulling him closer, being careful to not let him notice.

Ash could feel the rain hammering against his arm but didn't make any movement to break free….he might not have pulled away at all had it not been for the wind. Just at the crucial moment, a gust of wind blew the girls hood back, revealing her face and what Ash saw made him scream.

End Chapter

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