A/N: To Pokemon fan: Thank you! I've had this idea for about 2 years now, since watching that Scooby Doo movie that I mentioned. It really was the inspiration. And I just love Halloween. Thanks so much for the review!

And thank you to C'sMelody, who I keep on screwing over by giving her no time to edit these! There's no one I'd rather screw over, girl! Oh, wait...that doesn't sound like a compliment...

Double Double Toil and Trouble

Well, folks, we were left with quite the cliffhanger last time, weren't we? Last we knew, Misty was nothing short of hopping mad and Ash had just discovered the nefarious Team Rocket in the home of a still-mysterious Umbreon named Kitsume. And poor Brock was left as the sane one. Hey, wait! If Brock is the sane one, then what am I?

"I'm getting that crown back!"

"Hold on!"

Ash stopped in midair as Jessie and James suddenly shifted to standing, before they realized that they were standing square on top of their Pokémon. They then took a single step off and cleared their throats before sinister music began in the background as if from nowhere.

"Prepare yourself, twerp, for double, double, toil and trouble!" Jessie began.

"And make it double as fire burn and cauldron bubble!" James continued.

"To protect Halloweenia from devastation!"

"To find our way out of this mysterious nation!"

"To denounce the evils of ghosts and goblins!"

"To extend our reach up out of a coffin!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth, dat's right!"

"Wobbuffett!"

After pleasantly sitting through the motto, Ash steeled himself for Battle. "Then let's fight! Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

"Victreebel, use Vine Whip!"

"Arbok, Poison Sting Attack!"

"Oh, yeah? Two can play at that game! Cyndaquil, go!"

An all-out Battle began in Kitsume's house, but against all odds, Kitsume couldn't have been more thrilled. She strapped on her vacuum and sucked up every Attack as quickly as it was called, leaving the Battle at a complete standstill.

"Razor Leaf!"

"Ember!"

"Acid!"

"Agility!"

Sweat began dripping down Ash's brow as not a single Attack made contact. He was hoping that Pikachu's speed would get him to land an Attack before it was sucked up, but somehow even a blast of electricity was able to be bottled up and contained for posterity.

He quickly was growing frustrated. "Try a Quick Attack!"

But, as Pikachu ran into the fray, even he began to feel the effects of the strong vacuum and had to scramble back to the sidelines just to avoid being sucked up.

Ash grunted. This was going nowhere. "Pikachu." Ash's expression hardened as Pikachu turned back to look at him. "Thunderbolt on that Umbreon!"

Kitsume, for her part, hardly looked disturbed. She simply smirked and before Pikachu's cheeks could let off so much as a crackle of electricity, she said, "I don't think so."

And the whole world changed.

"Whoa!" Team Rocket intoned, their voices wavering like they were struggling to keep their balance atop a surf board.

Suddenly, the cabin as a whole disappeared, and Ash, Pikachu, and Team Rocket found themselves standing in a swirling world of black, purple, red and pink, with no floor or ceiling to ground them. They were floating in space as all of the objects of the room swirled around them, like gravity had simply given up.

Kitsume, however, was the biggest surprise of all. Her body was now leaner and bipedal, her snout had lengthened and sharpened and she had grown a long mane of pointed red hair. Ash looked at her, completely taken aback.

"What's that?"

Ash couldn't help but—even in the confusion—pull out his Pokédex and aim it towards the…whatever it was that had just manifested before them.

"Zoroark, the illusion fox Pokémon and the evolved form of Zorua. Each has the ability to fool a large group of people simultaneously through the use of illusion."

"Oops, there goes my secret," Kitsume said, though her smile was anything but rueful.

In her new form, Kitsume quickly scurried about the strange space and gathered all of her now-floating objects into her arms. Then, with nothing more than a blink, Kitsume created a break in the illusion, a window where the one in the house had been. She made as if to take off out of it before, in a split second, darting across the room and grabbing Jessie's sack as well.

"Bring more Pokémon if you want the bag back! If you can find me! Haha!"

Not a moment later, she was out the window, leaving Ash and everyone else with nothing but a gust of wind and the echoes of Kitsume's cackling laughter.

But Ash wasn't about to stand for that. "Not so fast!" he shouted.

In a moment, Ash leapt out of the window, Pikachu and Cyndaquil on his heels as they chased Kitsume outside.

Team Rocket, wary of being left behind, ran to follow Ash, but just as they made it to the window, it winked out of existence altogether. Then, to their horror, they were trapped in the swirling illusion, now with no way out.

"Team Rocket's left behind again!"

"Okay, the king doesn't have the crown. The king has never not had the crown! Not since I've been alive. So I don't know how long he can be without it. And how long can a Fairy help him? And a baby? Not long, I guess…but then how long has the crown been missing? Oh my GOSH how much time do we have left? I can feel my life slipping away from me. This is the end, I know it! Goodbye, cruel world! So should I help these kids with my final minutes or…"

After Misty's outburst, Brock had managed to pull her back from running around a mysterious castle with the threat of attacking a reigning king still on her tongue. Since then, Misty had calmed somewhat, but Litty…

"But I was supposed to just have fun by following these kids, and now my life is in danger? UGH!"

…had gone around the bend.

Litty, while monologuing, was pacing in a very small circle, around which Broomba was sweeping. Not that Litty left much of a mess, but it seemed to…soothe Broomba? Brock and Misty didn't know—it didn't have a face!

It was even worse than having to identify Staryu's emotions.

"Litty!" Misty cried out, her desperation finally coming to a head. "Help us find Togepi!"

Suddenly, Litty snapped out of it and turned to face Misty. "Right. You're right. The king will be fine. We should just help the Fairy."

Brock and Misty nodded, smiles finally gracing their faces in resounding relief.

"But we will not be fine if we go challenge the King, just the three of us. This problem is bigger than either of you can imagine."

Misty's eyes widened in worry. "Then what should we do?"

Litty looked resolved. "We go to the library."

"Is that where Blair and Lassie are?" Brock asked.

"No. But backup is."

Litty seemed to know the castle surprisingly well, and they made it to the library in no time once Litty requested Brock carry him the rest of the way. Apparently, no matter how well you know a castle, it's all for naught if your legs are the size of a seeded grape.

The library was a large room, dimly lit with racks upon racks of books. And there were books heaped everywhere. Open on the floor, scattered to the wind, every which way. This perked Broomba up immediately, who then went after every book on the floor, despite not having hands with which to pick them up. Broomba just kinda of…scooted them around. But it seemed to be enjoying it!

…Once again, that would be if one could tell if Broomba enjoyed anything.

As for the rest of the figures in the room, there were some Zubat hanging from the open beams on the ceiling, a skeleton sleeping—at least, Brock and Misty hoped it was sleeping—on a settee, and a Litten all curled up by a fireplace in what was clearly a reading nook.

And there were dozens of Chandelure floating about, providing most if not all of the light in the room.

"Uh, shouldn't that be a fire hazard?" Brock asked, pointing to some of the closer Chandelure, floating about autonomously.

"Nope," Litty chirped, hopping out of Brock's hands. "This is our residence! Besides, our natural fire doesn't tend to burn paper so much as it burns souls."

Brock and Misty took an enthusiastic step back away as Litty glanced about.

"Okay, fam!" he called, putting a hand to his little mouth. "We've got a real problem on our hands!"

Suddenly, Brock and Misty found themselves surrounded by all the Chandelure in the room. They gulped nervously at their expressionless faces. Their eyes were just so wide…and…soulless.

"Let's go see the king!"

At those words, Misty, at least, finally got her fire back. "And save Togepi!"

The going was dark. And Kitsume was dark; her body fading entirely into the shrouds of the forest that she had led them into. A break in the trees led to the moonlight casting enough light to occasionally catch sight of her red hair, but aside from that, it was hope more than knowledge that fueled his footsteps.

Eventually, Cyndaquil got in front, setting its back ablaze to add a little extra light to the night. "Thanks, Cyndaquil," Ash huffed as they continued zigzagging through the trees.

Pikachu too ran in front of Ash, as Pokémon tended to have better vision in the dark than humans did. Hence why Kitsume seemed to so effortlessly weave between the trees without having to worry about tripping over a root or, let's face it, running straight into one of the trees, like Ash did.

Then, suddenly, there was a clearing in the woods. It was still dark with the cover of trees, and eerily silent, but it was a whole circle of open space. And Kitsume entered it, only to completely disappear from sight a moment later. Ash, Pikachu, and Cyndaquil ran into the center and looked around, but to no avail. All that was near was darkness.

"Kitsume?" Ash called out in frustration. "Come out here!"

"Pika!"

"Quil!"

Softly, they began to hear a whisper from the trees. It grew into a laugh before evolving into an all out cackling, sounding like it was coming from all directions—from the very trees themselves.

Then, Kitsume appeared from out of the woodwork, her head lowered and her eyes sinister. "So you really want to show me some moves, huh?"

"No, we want to get that bag back!" Ash declared.

The bag, however, was nowhere in sight. Kitsume must have stashed it somewhere in the woods.

Kitsume was undeterred. "I think you'll change your mind."

Suddenly, all around in the woods, red eyes began to glow, one by one until nearly twenty sets of eyes were staring at them. Slowly, they came closer until bodies came to form in the darkness. It was a whole pack of Zoroark.

Kitsume smiled, eyeing her family members. "I think you'll want to release all of your Pokémon to battle us."

Ash grit his teeth. "I guess we don't have a choice."

He reached for his 'Belt and grabbed his remaining four PokéBalls, enlarging them all at once. In a blinding burst of light, out came Totodile, Phanpy, Noctowl, and Bayleef, who promptly ran over to Ash to nuzzle him, pushing Pikachu out of the way as she did so.

"Hi, Bayleef," Ash said awkwardly. "Sorry, but we kind of have big problems right now."

Bayleef turned back to the pack of Zoroark, and immediately cowered, like all of the rest of the Pokémon were doing. The Zoroark wore mirrored menacing smiles, each like a perfect shadow of the one next to it and made not a single sound. Like they weren't even breathing.

Kitsume opened her arms, barring her chest to steal Ash's focus back. "Battle us for it."

Ash narrowed his eyes, turning his hat around and widening his stance. He could do this. He would do this.

"Fine, I will! Cyndaquil! Use Flamethrower!"

Cyndaquil let the flame on its back grow as it created a ball of fire in its mouth. Kitsume was nearly salivating in anticipation, her vacuum at the ready.

"Cynda…quil!"

The Flamethrower lit up the dark woods, blinding everyone for a moment. Nevertheless, Kitsume managed to suck up the Attack, leaving it flickering in a little glass bottle like a harmless candle.

"Is that all you've got?"

"Not even close!" Ash shouted. "Noctowl, use Confusion on that side and Bayleef, use Razor Leaf on the others!"

Noctowl and Bayleef stood back to back, each taking on half of the circle. However, Kitsume ran around swiftly, her footsteps light and soundless as she stole both Attacks from out of the air.

Ash wasn't used to having to handle so many Pokémon in a Battle. Never had he even seen a Battle with so many moving parts. But it was clear he'd have to figure it out sooner rather than later. The problem was that darn vacuum! If only he could destroy it somehow…

"Okay, Totodile, Water Gun! And Bayleef, use another Razor Leaf!"

Totodile immediately began spraying in the direction of half of the Zoroark and Bayleef took on the other half. But Kitsume, as predicted, ran around as fast as she could with that vacuum. Ash looked to Pikachu who was as ready and determined as he.

"Pikachu, you aim a Thunderbolt right at that vacuum. Then we'll be able to fight this Battle fair and square!"

"Pika!"

Pikachu charged his cheeks, readying to attack while Kitsume was distracted. It was hard to aim while Kitsume darted around, but as fast as she was, Pikachu knew he was faster. With a battle cry, Pikachu unleashed a Thunderbolt into the air and watched it jut out in jagged angles on its way to Kitsume's back. But, to everyone's horror, it only made it about half way across the clearing before fizzling out. Everyone gasped.

"What's wrong, Pikachu?" Ash asked worriedly.

Pikachu looked confused, if not a little scared. "Pika pi!"

"No!" Kitsume bemoaned. "It's already losing its Electric Typing. It won't be long now before it can't use its Attacks at all."

Ash and Pikachu looked to each other in terror. It was almost too late.

"It's okay, buddy," Ash said, trying to be encouraging as that worry settled on both their chests. "We'll just have to try something else.

Luckily, at just that moment, a spark of inspiration hit Ash. He turned back to Pikachu with fresh hope. They weren't out of the game yet!

"Pikachu, Quick Attack!"

Kitsume faltered as Pikachu came charging at her. "What? No! I can't do anything with that!"

Ash laughed hardily. "I know! Now, Bayleef, hold her back with Vine Whip!"

Kitsume was busy trying to dodge Pikachu, who was flashing in and out of visibility as he kept up his Quick Attack. She didn't even notice when Bayleef's Vine Whip came out of the darkness and grabbed at her legs. They continued pulling backwards and before she knew it, she was face down on the ground.

"Great! Now, Phanpy, use a Take Down Attack on that vacuum!"

Phanpy, eager to be used, cried out happily and began barreling towards Kitsume, or rather, her vacuum. She smashed right into it, but it held strong.

Still, Kitsume was scared. So she let out a scream, and that was enough for the world to morph around her.

The other Zoroark began shifting, moving around so quickly and so stealthily that Ash couldn't tell where one ended and one began anymore. But one thing was clear; they were fast approaching. "Phanpy, keep using Take Down. Everyone else, attack the other Zoroark!"

Suddenly, the clearing was flying with Pokémon, each trying to outrun and out-hit one another. But without any more Special Attacks lighting up the night, Ash couldn't see much more than the dim light of the coals burning on Cyndaquil's back. There were just too many Zoroark, and soon it looked like his Pokémon were lost in a cloud of them. All he could do was try his best to call out Attacks that could possibly help.

"Pikachu, confuse them with Agility! Noctowl, blow them back with Gust from above. No, don't hit the others! Keep at it Phanpy!"

Eventually, it was all he could do to keep from getting hit himself. Pokémon were flying all over the clearing, and he was standing right in the middle. He didn't even know if Bayleef had a hold on Kitsume anymore, or if Phanpy was having any luck with the vacuum. There were Pokémon cries and grunts and smashes of bodies impacting all around him, but he could hardly distinguish one from another. It was just a flurry of battle.

It knocked the wind out of him entirely when suddenly Pikachu's body went flying limply through the air, colliding with his gut. Ash gasped and wheezed, but recovered as quickly as he could to see after his friend. Pikachu looked up at him with sleepy eyes, giving a dull, "Chaa."

"I'm sorry, Pikachu. You're too weak to Battle right now."

"Pi ka," Pikachu said stubbornly, shaking his head.

"Leave it to everyone else. It'll be fine."

But it wasn't fine.

Ash's eyes were beginning to adjust better to the light, since there weren't any more fiery or electrical Attacks to light up the night and ruin his corneas. And what he saw was unsettling.

His Pokémon were wearing thin. Noctowl was flying above to avoid getting hit, but hardly landing any Attacks. And it just got worse from there. Phanpy was reliably still going at Kitsume's vacuum, but the Take Down Attacks were beginning to take their toll. Meanwhile, Kitsume wasn't sitting motionless. She was firing various Special Attacks that Ash couldn't recognize at Bayleef, who was standing there and taking them like a champion. But though she was still holding strong with her Vine Whip, she was looking battered and Ash didn't know how much longer she could take it.

Ash grit his teeth as he looked at the scene. Pikachu crawled onto his shoulder and the two of them looked around helplessly. Their friends couldn't hold on much longer. And it almost seemed like the Zoroark had doubled in numbers, far from slowing down.

In that moment, Ash realized that he had to admit defeat. He couldn't do this to his Pokémon any longer. He reached for Totodile's PokéBall, about to call him back when, suddenly, his savior arrived.

"Disable!"

All at once, a pink glow pierced the dark forest, shooting straight towards Kitsume, dodging all of Ash's Pokémon. Ash looked to the source of the pink light and saw, in fanciful illumination, an old friend.

"Mantar!" Ash cried in relief.

As the Attack made contact with Kitsume, freezing her to the ground, suddenly the other Zoroark dissolved into little particles before vanishing into thin air.

"They were just an illusion," Ash murmured.

"Finish the job, Ash," Mantar said bluntly, his spoons pointed out towards Kitsume, whose face was stuck in an irritated frown.

"Right!" Ash looked to his Pokémon, who were scooping themselves off of the ground, brushing off their battered states. With a moment to catch their breaths, they all looked much better. "Cyndaquil, use Flamethrower on the vacuum, then, Totodile, cool it off with a Water Gun. Then you should be able to break it with one good Tackle Attack, Phanpy!"

The night lit up further when Cyndaquil readied itself for another Flamethrower Attack as Bayleef reined in her veins, to avoid them getting scorched in the process. As the tongue of flame ignited the vacuum on Kitsume's back, Ash turned to Noctowl.

"Noctowl, scan the forest; find that sack!"

Noctowl gave off a soft coo and flew off into the trees, her night vision rendering her perfect for the job.

Then it was Totodile's turn. The Water Gun Attack hit the vacuum with a sizzle, letting off some steam into the air. It also hardened the vacuum, leaving it solid, but brittle.

"Do your thing, Phanpy!"

With one last heave of energy, Phanpy ran for the vacuum and smashed into it. Upon impact, the vacuum shattered into a million pieces before being lost to the darkness.

Mantar took that moment to release his hold on Kitsume, putting his spoons down. The second she had her body back to herself, she let out an ear-splitting screech that echoed through the night.

"What did you do?!" she screamed to Ash, quickly running up to his face.

Pikachu quickly began sparking his cheeks and growling deep in the back of his throat. He was not about to let another Pokémon attack Ash.

"Oh, pipe down, pipsqueak. We both know you can't do anything anymore."

She reared back in an attempt to lunge towards the both of them, but before Ash could so much as shield his eyes, Mantar had her frozen again, holding a spoon out towards her as he walked over to Ash.

"Perhaps we should leave her here for a while," he said.

Ash nodded, taking a deep breath. "Maybe."

At just that moment, Noctowl came flapping back into the clearing, hooting victoriously. Hanging from her talons was Team Rocket's sack, which she dropped right beside Ash. Ash quickly opened it up, and was relieved to see that the crown was indeed sitting in it, right on top of a pile of candy.

"Ooh, candy!" Ash exclaimed.

"Pi pikachu!" Pikachu concurred with eyes wide and glistening in excitement.

Mantar smacked himself on the forehead. "You've got to be kidding me."

Ash somehow tore himself away from looking at the candy and turned to Mantar. "How are you even here? Aren't you supposed to be guarding the gate?"

"I used Substitute and left a dummy there. So I'll be summoned if I'm needed. But I could see that you needed help here."

"See?"

Mantar pointed to his brain. "See."

"Oh." After understanding dawned, Ash went back to the bag and picked up the crown. It was even more beautiful than the projection that Mantar had created showed. Even in the nearly non-existent light of the forest, it gleamed, seemingly with its own inner light. It seemed that the jewels in it were not jewels at all, but rather just colored spires on the crown. They just appeared gem-like because of their incandescence.

It was so mesmerizing that Ash couldn't help but just stare at it for a few moments. It was only after Mantar cleared his throat that Ash pulled out of his reverie.

"I guess we should take care of this," Ash said, gesturing to the crown.

"Yes, we have to get it to the king right away," Mantar urgently reminded him. "It's already getting to be too late."

"How are we gonna get there?"

"Teleportation," Mantar stated. "Return your companions."

Ash returned his Pokémon one by one to their 'Balls, promising to reward them all later for their hard work. Perhaps with candy.

"What now?"

"Stand away from the Zoroark and prepare yourself."

Confused, Ash followed Mantar's instructions, circling around behind Kitsume. In a moment, Mantar released his hold on her and she continued her lunge, but only reached air. And by the time she turned around, Ash, Mantar, and Pikachu were gone.

Kitsume growled. "The good guys always win."

Mantar to the rescue! More than that, Ash finally found the crown. Now he just needs to deliver it to the king so that they can get Togepi back and still find a portal so that they can all make it home…Oh, no. How are they supposed to do all that in only one more installment? Find out next time in the Lost in Halloweenia finale!

A/N: Uuuuugh. I wanted to post this days ago. But it nearly killed me. I just could not nail down this last scene, fam. I meant to finish writing it yesterday, but me and my friend Becca had to go on an emergency cheese fries run and then talk about a web comic about a gay hockey player who just wants to make pies. So...shout out to Becca! Real serious stuff. But I pounded this out for you and hopefully it's good enough. Remember, next chapter is the last one, and it's coming out on Halloween day! So, see you on Monday!

Oh, and obviously this chapter's title comes from Macbeth. I love my Shakespeare!