I personally think this story is cliché, but a friend said it sounded interesting, so I'll see what the unwashed…er, clean-shaven masses think.
Pokémon doesn't belong to me, the characters do. This disclaimer is also mine.
Share and Enjoy. Comments of all shades are welcome; hate, flames, love… just no text chat.
30 years ago…
I looked down at Oshawott. "Well, buddy. We're almost there!" I pointed across the water. "Castel Town! Home sweet home. Once we say our goodbyes, our journey can begin in earnest."
"Osha? Wott osh oshawott?" His nose wrinkled as he shut his nostrils (you knew otters could do that right?).
I smiled. "You smell it too, eh? Won't be Castel Town much longer. Soo it'll be Castelia City, or so they say. Lots of construction going on."
Oshawott looked at the murky water in disgust. I returned him to his Pokéball. "Alright little guy. In you go."
I made my way to the boathouse. It was empty. "What? Closed?" I frowned. "Why would they be closed? The ferry's always running… huh?"
The bushes rustled behind me. I approached cautiously. "Hello?"
"Veniiiii…"
"What?"
"…pede!"
"Aah!"
They dragged me into the woods, tied with String Shot. Half an hour later they stopped and left me tied to a tree, ignoring my calls for help. Acting as though I wasn't there…
Xavier von Castel? the strange voice asked. Could it be? Had someone finally come to rescue-
I'm afraid not, child.
I lifted my head to see him, and was surprised to find that it was no longer difficult to do. The past few days I'd been stung, poisoned, and bitten, all while suffering from thirst and hunger. The String Shot was too strong to break.
The figure was tall, and wore a black hooded robe. Two red eyes glowed from the hood, and bone-white scythe-like hands stuck out from the sleeves. It was… a black Kabutops?
A Kabutops? Here? I paused. Something was wrong with my voice.
Castel? I am afraid your time has come.
What? That's… that's impossible.
I am sorry.
I stood and turned to look down at… myself.
I screamed.
5 years ago…
The leaves did not rustle, and the twigs did not break underfoot, but I knew I was being followed. He'd chased me for twenty-five years.
You cannot run from eternity, Castel.
His hollow voice rattled in my ethereal skull. Twenty-five years he'd chased me, but now I was getting tired. Can ghosts get tired? Apparently.
The fog thickened. He was getting closer. I panicked and dived through a rock, hoping against hope that somehow it would hide me.
The rock felt… strange. Empowering. Vigor flowed back into me. Was this… yes! A Dusk Stone! You don't think that it-
I abandoned my musings as Bones drew near. That was his name. Bones. The Death of Humanity.
I sensed a strange feeling from him. Uncertainty?
Where did you go, spirit? Why do you hide from me? You were good in life. Surely you don't wish to put off your eternal reward. Do you not know what awaits in the afterlife for one such as you? He paused.
Of course I know what awaits for me. But there are things left undone, and I'm the only one who knows to do it.
Bones hesitated. I… I have lost him. He lingered a moment longer, and then his presence was gone.
I waited a few minutes before leaving the stone. I immediately knew why Bones had lost track of me. I wasn't a transparent blue anymore, or even human-shaped. Somehow I had taken the shape of a Ghastly. Bones was the Death of Humans, so he wouldn't take notice of a Pokémon, especially not a Ghost-type.
I took the opportunity to take note of my surroundings. This… this was Pinwheel Woods. This was where I… where I died.
I found my body easily. It was almost as if I was being drawn to it. And if the past twenty-five years hadn't been a whirlwind of terror, the sight would have made me scream.
I was nothing more than a skeleton, still leaning against the tree. The String Shot had long since rotted away. My pants were in tatters, and my shirt was gone altogether. There was a bird's nest in my ribcage.
Something glinted next to my body. It was… a rusty Pokéball. Oshawott.
Maybe I never got to go on my journey with you, but I'd rather die again than leave him trapped in that metal prison.
I floated towards my skeleton, with every intention of saving my friend… and stopped, about ten yards from my body.
I could go no further.
Now…
And now you know… the rest of the story. What a tortuous experience! I can't leave the forest, I can't return to my body, and there's some instinct telling me that these boundaries only remain in place for as long as I have business left undone. Namely, saving Oshawott. Which I can't do because I can't get near my body. I've tried to get help, oh yes, I have. The prospective saviors always either run away when I scare them by accident, or they try to catch me since Ghastly are very rare in Unova. They can't of course, since I'm not a Ghastly.
I must say it's really quite maddening. Literally! Look at me now, talking to no one. I mean really, I should probably stop.
"Alright, which road should we take?"
Eh? What's that?
"Does it matter?"
"If we take to long way around, there's a chance to catch Pokémon. Lots of Pokémon only appear in these woods. On the other hand, if we take the ridge, we'll get there much faster."
"Hmm…"
I floated to the edge of the treeline. There were two young trainers, a boy and a girl. A Tepig and a Snivy sat on their shoulders, respectively.
I reached out with my mind and laid a suggestion in the girl's mind. I would never outright possess someone.
"Let's go through the forest."
The boy looked at her. "You sure?"
"I should catch some new Pokémon. I need to balance out my team. Tepig won't have a problem with Burgh, but my Snivy won't stand a chance." Snivy looked slightly insulted. Tepig snickered.
"Alright. Let's get going."
I smiled to myself and retreated deeper into the woods. It's been a while since anyone came through the forest path. Perhaps I can use these children.
"Tyler, Something's off."
"What do you mean, Kate?"
"We haven't seen any Pokémon at all!"
Tyler stopped and looked around. The woods were eerily quiet. "Is it getting dark?"
Indeed it was. The treetops were smothering any sunlight that made it through, and a thick fog was rolling in.
"Okay, now I'm getting scared."
"Snivy…"
OoooOOOoooOOoOoOOOooooo…
Tyler jumped. "Kate? Did you hear that?"
"Heeeelp meeeee… OOOoooOOooo…"
The two froze as two eyes glowed from the shadows, then vanishing just as quickly.
Two bushes were pulled aside, revealing a side path.
The Trainers glanced at each other.
"Tepig!" The small Fire-type jumped from the boy's shoulder and ran down the path.
"Tepig! Wait!"
The group followed the path to its end, where it circled a gnarled old willow tree. It looked as though there were the remains of an old rope around it.
Tepig snorted and trotted around the tree. His Trainer followed, then froze.
"Kate. Don't scream."
There was (you guessed it) a skeleton leaning against the tree. Kate started breathing heavier, but remained calm.
"Help? It looks like he's already beyond any help we could give him!"
"Pokéball…"
"What?"
The leaves parted enough to let a single sunbeam shine on the little clearing.
"This?" Kate picked up the glinting sphere. "It's just a rusty Pokéball… oop!"
She pressed the button and an Oshawott burst out in a flash of light.
The little otter blinked, clearly confused. "Osha?" It looked around.
"Kate, I think it's looking for its… Trainer."
Kate's eyes filled with tears. She leaned down. "Oshawott?" The otter Pokémon focused on her. "I don't know how to tell you this, but, you're Trainer… he's…" she couldn't finish, simply pointing to the corpse.
Oshawott stared at the bones blankly. "Osha…?" It turned to her with a completely unreadable face. It looked back at the skeleton. "Osh…?"
It broke down in tears.
The other two Pokémon tried to comfort it, but it simply pushed them away.
Tyler couldn't watch. He stood and turned away, catching a glimpse of a Ghastly, watching the scene with a forlorn look on its face. Tyler frowned.
I watched hopelessly. How I wished I could reveal myself, to talk with my friend again. But I still could not get any closer. I allowed the sun to filter through the leaves some more.
"That's you, isn't it?"
I started, turning to see the boy looking at me.
"That's your body, right?"
I locked eyes with him. I could do nothing to respond. My voice wouldn't work. Being a ghost is very complicated. There's all kinds of rules in place to uphold the mystique.
I turned back to watch as my partner mourned for me. How miserable. The boy wandered back to his friends.
Oshawott hadn't stopped crying, but it wasn't bawling anymore.
Tyler leaned down next to Kate. "Hey, little guy."
Oshawott didn't respond. Tyler and Kate shared a look.
"You know," the girl said carefully, "I know that it can't replace your Trainer."
"But if you want to come with us, you're welcome."
The Water-type looked up at them. "Oshawott?"
Snivy patted his back. Tepig winked at him.
Oshawott looked at his Trainer again, then bowed his head. He stood and hugged the girl's leg. "Oshawott."
As Tyler and Kate left the forest, the humans turned to see a Ghastly watching them.
"Thank you…" The ghost vanished into the shadows.
Were I alive I would have cried. At least now Oshawott will get to go on that journey, though I'd give everything to go with him. Sadly, I have nothing left to give.
Now… what should I do…
I returned to my body. There was nothing else I could do. I felt my form dissolve and spread throughout my bones, and for a moment I felt at peace.
A few moments later, my eye sockets began glowing.
You LOST him? We do not lose our targets!
Grim, I do not understand it either.
Oh you don't, do you?
You have no reason to talk either, insect. Your record is in shambles compared to mine!
STOP. The two Deaths froze as their superior approached. The cloaked Dusknoir drifted between them and held up an hourglass. Behold.
The Scyther and Kabutops observed the glass.
Bones, your quarry that escaped you… what was his name?
Er… Xavier von Castel. Why do you wish to know, Reaper?
Reaper rotated the hourglass so that the nameplate was visible: Xavier von Castel.
The sand was flowing again.