Taiichi turned to Ayame and Mizuki, uncertain of this strange old man and his equally strange request. "I don't see the harm in listening. What do you gals' thing?"

"This is your journey, not mine."

Mizuki turned from Ayame, "I don't mind. I kinda hope it doesn't involve the house behind him though."

"Unfortunately it does my dear," tapping his cane against the ground three times before continuing, "A tragic tale of a very interesting man that once lived in this town." The man lowered his head slightly as his hat obscured his face to them, "Long ago, two friends worked very hard together on an island not far from here. It was through this work that one of the friends found love. The two lovers moved here, to the very house you now stand before. The lovers conceived a beautiful daughter and they both cared for her with all of their being. But as fate would have it, disaster struck. The child died at a young age, no more than five or six years old if I recall correctly. The man was a brilliant geneticist, and he sealed himself away from the rest of the world as he attempted to bring his daughter back. This ambition regrettably drove his wife away and soon enough the man cut all ties to his former colleagues, including his best friend. He eventually fell to a point where no one had spoken or seen him for months. Eventually after about a year's time had passed, a strange vehicle arrived as people in black uniforms came and took the man away. Not long after, another group came back and took several pieces of equipment from his home before setting it ablaze. The fires were quickly put out, though their intension seemed to have been to distract the residence so no one had record of where this mystery group went. Even after that day, this building has been left standing as a reminder of the man, whose love for his child led him to fight against the impossible, only to disappear himself."

"Is there supposed to be a moral to this tale?" Ayame almost hissed with disdain.

The man's cane was quickly raised to Ayame, pointing at her face, "For you, it is to not let that shrill tongue of yours get the better of you."

Taiichi stepped between the cane and Ayame before she could respond, "I think what she meant to say was why tell the tale at all and why does the town continue to have this burnt building…uh…stand?" seeing as the decrepit place had little left in it to keep it up.

The man lowered the cane back to the ground, "Three years to the day. Today marks the third anniversary of that man's departure. And I do believe that the man's best friend should be obligated to visit and pay his respects on such an anniversary."

"You're the friend, aren't you?"

The strange man smiled, tipping his hat to Taiichi, "That's correct."

"Then why not state that from the beginning."

The man tilted his head slightly to Ayame as a smile broke out, "Let's just say I have a weakness for riddles and quizzes." The man stood up from his seat, looking back to the building, "I wish I could have done more for him, but sometimes things were never meant to be."

The man was rather quick as he left the area and disappeared into a passing group of pedestrians, but Mizuki soon noticed something shining on the ground underneath the chair. "Hey mister you dropped your…Gym Badge?" Mizuki held the Badge up to get a better look at it. The Badge was red as it was shaped like a flame with a small pink diamond in the center. "I wonder if he's a Gym Leader."

"Maybe, or he could be collecting Gym Badges himself." Mizuki gave Taiichi a rather cynical look after he said that. "Alright, I guess he probably is a Gym Leader." Mizuki handed him the Badge, "Well the next time I see him I'll win this Badge properly."

Ayame snatched the Badge to examine it, looking around to ensure the old man was indeed gone, "Why bother? A Badge is a Badge. The Pokémon League officials only check to make sure the Badges are legitimate or not, not if you actually won them yourself."

Taiichi shook his head, "No, a true trainer earns their Badges. He might have dropped it on purpose, he might not. I'll just have to ask when we see him again. Hmm…I think he gave us a clue as to where he went. He said something about an island."

"There's the Sevii Islands, but I don't think they have any Gyms, as far as I know. Maybe Cinnabar, it does have the famous Pokémon Lab my parents have worked at a few times. I never really got to explore the island myself, partly due to the active volcano."

Taiichi smiled, "We'll find out when we get there." He took back the Badge and placed it into one of his jean pockets instead of his Badge case, his way of saying to himself that he hasn't actually won it yet. He then turned back to the Pokémon Tower, "Before we leave the town, I want to pay respect to the Pokémon Tower and those buried there."

Ayame turned to look at the imposing tower that loomed over the town. "That would be a good idea. It would be wise not to forget about the deceased."

Mizuki looked to Ayame, "For once, I think we're in agreement."

Inside the tower there were a few people who were also paying their respects to a number of grave markers as well as a number of channelers at work. "I wonder why Lavender Town has so many channelers here."

One of the channelers overheard Taiichi's comment, walking over to him after finishing her prayers to one of the tombstones. "If you must know, then the tower has recently suffered from an unnatural string of spiritual unrest to the area. We have yet to determine the source, but we do know it comes from within the tower itself."

Mizuki paused to look back toward the burnt house outside, "Could it have something to do with the anniversary of the family tragedy."

"Family tragedy? Do you perhaps speak of the Fuji house? The ninth anniversary of Dr. Fuji's disappearance was over a month ago and his daughter's death a few weeks before that. There is nothing special about today when it comes to that house." The channeler turned back to the others when she heard a familiar chant, "If you'll excuse me, I have extra duties to attend to since several of our sisters have gone missing."

The channeler left to join the others before Taiichi could inquire about her last statement. Ayame was her usual callous self, already starting to head toward the exit, "I believe we have overstayed our welcome."

Mizuki was the first to look back to her, giving a rather smug smile, "Don't tell me Miss Calm-and-Collective here is afraid of a few ghost stories?"

Ayame was unfazed, stopping as she gazed straight back at Mizuki, "I do not suffer from phasmophobia. We have given our prayers and there is nothing else left for us here in this small town."

Taiichi looked to the channelers hard at work, that's when he spotted one of them going up the stairs as the others were too focused on their chant to notice her. "At the very least we should investigate what's going on with the channelers. And she might be our best lead. It would make things go faster if we had your help in sneaking around."

Ayame groaned rather distastefully, hateful of the truth behind his word and her desire to depart from this town as quickly as possible. "Very well. But both of you must adhere to my every order. Understood?"

Mizuki threw her hands in the air, "Fine, as long as they make sense."

An elderly couple was attempting to climb the Pokémon Tower when a group of channelers suddenly blocked their path on the third floor. "Leave."

"You don't belong…"

"You don't belong here…"

The elderly woman grabbed a hold of one of the channeler's hands, "Please. We promised our beloved Tangela that we would visit every week. We just wish to see him once again."

"We apologies for the inconvenience, but there is evil that has to be cleansed from the tower. We do not wish to get any innocents involved…"

The distraction caused by those two proved rather insightful, even more so than what Ayame had anticipated. "These channelers are possessed."

"Let me guess, you can see their souls?" wiggling her fingers to mock Ayame for ESP or whatever.

"No. But I can see the Ghost Pokémon who are manipulating them." As soon as Ayame pointed, the wisp of a Gastly became more visible until it revealed itself. "Now you need to keep them distracted long enough for us to find…"

"Wait, why do I have to stay behind?"

Ayame didn't even bother to explain, continuing where she left off, "To find the source of the possessions. It could be a malcontent spirit, or it could be something more physical or someone who has caused such a disturbance. And in order to get up there with the least amount of trouble you need to lure them to the center of the tower. You'll be surrounded, but you're the only one of us with a full team of six and all of them are more than capable of taking on Ghost Pokémon."

Taiichi grabbed Mizuki's shoulder, "It's alright Mizu, if you don't want to do it, I'll volunteer and…"

"No! I mean, no, it's alright. I'll do it. I…I just don't think fighting in this fog will help. With any luck I won't have to rely on everyone…" Mizuki did not want Taiichi to be put into a dangerous situation like when he had to save her when they were younger, but she didn't want to leave his side either. Though as much as she didn't want to admit it, Ayame was right, she had a good team ready to fight. "Just try to finish it as quickly as possible."

With Ayame's help, Taiichi and Mizuki were able to sneak up another two floors before Mizuki was forced to draw some attention. With Kirlia and Purrloin at her sides, Mizuki started to yell, "HEY! I AM COMING UP THE TOWER NOW AND NOTHING IS STOPPING ME!" There was a dead silence in response as she looked down to her Pokémon, "Think that got anyone's attention?"

Purrloin stood up on her hind legs as she shrugged her shoulders thinking it to be a waste of time. Kirlia however was on fully alert, her eyes darting from place to place, "Kir…" Purrloin took that as a sign that they were going to get busy really soon. Like a queue from a director they heard a pained filled moan as the tower itself felt like it was shaking from it. Purrloin quickly fell to all four paws just to brace herself as Kirlia used her psychic abilities to maintain her balance.

After the shaking stopped several figures could be seen in the fog, their shadows looming over them as they got closer. Mizuki called out Mawile and Wartortle now as more shadows started to come and get closer. "This is just like being a Ghost Eraser. There is a semi-logical explanation for everything here." A channeler emerged from the fog as she started to attack. Wartortle grabbed her, holding back when suddenly a Gastly became visible. "Now it's really like being a Ghost Eraser. Kirlia, Confusion!"

The blast of psychic energy blew the Gastly away, freeing the possessed channeler as she fell into Wartortle's hands. Wartortle fell back to Mizuki, carefully bringing the unconscious channeler with him. Purrloin heard another coming through, using Shadow Claw to force the ghosts into a retreat. Mawile started to use Attract to lure some of the ghosts out of hiding and their possessed vessels so the team could attack without worrying about hurting the channelers.

With Mizuki's distraction underway, Taiichi and Ayame found the path almost cleared. There were still two channelers blocking the stairs to the top floor. Ayame used the fog to her advantage, disappearing as she usually does though Taiichi was able to see her vanish into the murky mist. As suddenly as she disappeared, Ayame knocked both channelers out with swift strikes to the back of their necks, quickly calling forth one of her Pokémon to deal with the Gastly duo in control of them.

With the two ghosts in full retreat Taiichi moved up to see Ayame's Pokémon. "A Pawniard? I wasn't expecting to see any other Unova Pokémon outside of Snivy or Mizuki's Pokémon."

The Pawniard was sharpening its blades against one another before Ayame called it back to its Poké Ball. "The Pawniard was…a gift from…my mentor." Not willing to answer any other questions Ayame continued through the maze of tombstones to the final flight of stairs.

When Ayame took her first step on the stairs something grabbed a hold of her, lifting her into the air. Be gone…Intruders… the voice echoed in their minds as Ayame attempted to fight back, though with no foe to actually hit her punches were made useless until she was thrown aside like a ragdoll, hitting one of the tombstones and rendering her unconscious.

"Ayame!" A ghostly form blocked Taiichi's path, preventing him from helping Ayame. "You want to play like that, we can play!" Taiichi called forth all three of his Pokémon, uncertain as to what this gaseous figure was, though in form it vaguely resembled a Haunter without hands or a mouth. "Team, we're going to pull some of our attacks so we don't break any headstones or hit Ayame," pointing out her unconscious form.

Before the battle could begin, one of Ayame's Pokémon released themselves from containment. "Shedinja!" The Ghost-Bug Pokémon suddenly had light blue flames surround it before it launched the flames at the specter and encircled it, forcing it to ground level where the mystery behind it was revealed.

"MARO!" The spirit was an enraged Marowak as it quickly extinguished the flames with its bone club and readied for a fight, the cloud that once was its mysterious form was gone too.

"Now we have a target. Mudkip let's start this off with Tackle!"

Mudkip quickly rushed at the Marowak, pushing off one of the tombstones to give himself extra speed in his attack. As he was about to make contact however he went through Marowak as though it wasn't there. "Kip?" Marowak quickly grabbed the confused Mudkip in midflight by his tail and threw him toward Ayame. Shedinja stopped him, using its Wonder Guard ability to catch him before crashing into any of the tombstones.

"Char?" Charmander was completely confused and slightly spooked by the event, though it seemed Snivy had her own suspicions. Snivy started lashing out at the Marowak with Vine Whip. Though Marowak blocked the vines with its bone club it proved her point.

Taiichi smiled after seeing Snivy's thought come to bear fruit, "So we have to treat it like a Ghost-Type too. Snivy, Leaf Tornado. Charmander, time to throw a few sparks around."

Snivy's vines were quickly pulled back before she launched her Leaf Tornado to encompass Marowak. Marowak wasn't going to take the barrage of attacks lightly, bashing the Leaf Tornado apart with a strong Headbutt and using the bone club to stop Charmander's Ember. Leave this place!

There was an invisible wave of energy that seemed to emanate from Marowak that everyone felt, bracing as the force quietly subsided. "Mudkip, Charmander, Snivy, time for some musical chairs." The trio nodded, "Ready? Let's do this!" Mudkip rushed over spraying Marowak to get its attention as Snivy and Charmander ran behind it. Marowak saw through this and avoided the water as it prepared to attack Charmander. "Keep running, Charmander! Don't stop!" Charmander closed his eyes, expecting to receive a lump on his head, but after a few moments he opened his eyes to see Snivy holding Marowak's club as Mudkip started spraying water again. Snivy released the club once she and Charmander were with Shedinja and Ayame as Mudkip was now with Taiichi. Taiichi quickly grabbed for the Mystic Water necklace Misty gave him and put it around Mudkip's neck, "Time we put this Marowak's spirit to rest."

"Maro-Wak!" Marowak used the bone club to block the water until it could jump and throw the bone for a Bonemerang attack aimed directly at Taiichi.

Snivy's vines attempted to reach out to stop the bone but Mudkip jumped into the air and used his tail to bat the bone away. "Thanks!"

Mudkip nodded to Snivy as she responded with a nod of her own. "Sni. Snivy-Sni." She and Charmander were now checking to make sure Ayame was alright and to move her away from the battle as Shedinja used its Wonder Guard ability to protect them from any stray attacks from Mudkip or Marowak.

Marowak was becoming more aggressive now, throwing more bones that it was summoning from thin air and occasionally charging at Mudkip to use Headbutt. Mudkip managed to hold off Marowak's attacks, using his tail to bat away the bones that were flung at them as his Water Gun discouraged Marowak from closing the gap between them too quickly. Suddenly Marowak unleashed another powerful shockwave, this time succeeding in tossing Taiichi back. Taiichi knocked his head against one of the tombstones and was out too. "Mud?" Mudkip jumped over to him, slapping his face to get him to wake up. "Mudkip!"

Snivy jumping in, catching Marowak by surprise as she entangled it within a Leaf Tornado. "Snivy!" She was furious now as she kept an eye on Taiichi. Charmander helped out too, turning the Leaf Tornado into a fiery vortex.

Marowak was in obvious pain as it rushed out of the fires trying to strike out at Taiichi once more. Mudkip intervene, spraying the burning Marowak with water, rapidly cooling it and causing the skull cap to gain a few cracks and the bone club in its hand to snap in two.

Marowak collapsed on the floor, exhausted as it tried to continue the battle. Shedinja however would not allow it. The halo floating above it started to glow brightly before it was sent flying to the Marowak, growing large enough to restrain its arms. Marowak attempted to break free of the halo but nothing it tried worked.

Suddenly from behind some of the tombstones a Cubone rushed out crying, trying to help free the Marowak. The sight of the Cubone seemed to have a calming effect on Marowak as it fell to its knees, coddling the crying Cubone as best as it could with its arms restrained. Not long after Marowak started to calm down did one of the walls start collapsing to a strange world of darkness and shadow as over a dozen different Ghost-type Pokémon flew out; Misdreavus, Shuppet, Duskull, Lampent, Gastly and Haunter. They didn't float too far from the portal as a lone Dusknoir was the last to come through it.

Charmander remained by Ayame's side, slightly uncertain what to expect now. Snivy on the other hand was ready for a fight, rushing over to defend Taiichi if she had to. Dusknoir was uninterested in either human, floating down to Marowak as the Gripper Pokémon cast a shadow over the halo that bound Marowak and the halo disappeared. It didn't say a word, though its intensions were obvious. Marowak hugged the Cubone one last time before willingly following Dusknoir.

Cubone tried to follow, but Snivy picked it up, stopping its advance. Marowak thankfully nodded to Snivy before continuing through the portal. Like a signal that their play time was done, the other ghost Pokémon that had emerged before Dusknoir now joined back in the portal as the bricks reappeared to seal it up. Cubone bit Snivy's vine, forcing her to let go as it tried to run into the portal after Marowak. But the Cubone was too late as the last brick fell back into place and stopped it.

Cubone started pounding its fists and bone club against the wall now trying to reach Marowak once again. Charmander joined Snivy and Mudkip as they checked on Taiichi trying to get him back up. Shedinja just floated around Ayame, unable to do anything but wait for her to get back up on her own accord.

A/N: I've decided to snoop around and listen to the rumor mill that is Youtube regarding news about Pokémon X and Y. I have to say, I'm not thrilled about the possibility of a new type everyone keeps calling 'Fairy'. I mean it'd be great to see a new type(or two) being introduced, but I really don't think 'Fairy' should be the name. May be it's false information by the supposed leaker or it might just be a placeholder name, who knows, I just hope answer will come soon so everyone can stop guessing or misleading people.