Chapter Twenty-Six: Spectre and Agatha

Silver blinked at Ash curiously from the edge of his bed. "Agatha wants to meet with you again tomorrow?"

"Yeah," he muttered with some annoyance, releasing Espeon and Arctus to settle in their temporary room. "She wouldn't tell me why, but I'm going. Spectre trusts her and she might be able to help him somehow."

"She's scary," Luna pointed out, shivering at the thought of Agatha. "Of all the Elite Four members we could've run into, why did it have to be the spooky one?"

Ash sighed. "She's actually not that bad, just…I guess she takes some getting used to. The ghosts at her home were pretty relaxed, all things considered."

"So not like her Gengar, then?" Luna asked a bit sarcastically.

"I don't think that Gengar was actually a member of her team," he replied, frowning. "I think it just decided to tag along with her when she came up the mountain. Her other ghosts seemed way too controlled to be freelancing like it did. Remember how angry her white Gengar was when it found the other one?"

Silver winced. "Yeah, I don't envy Gengar that."

"So what should we do while you're with Agatha?" Luna queried, lifting a hand to pet Cinder's fur. The Torracat made a rumbling purr in response to the touch.

Ash shrugged. "Train, maybe. You could try going into the Tower to search for ghost Pokemon if you want, or check out the wilderness around Lavender Town. The eastern part of Kanto is home to stronger Pokemon than the western side. Your teams have been growing well, so this could be a good time to find another member to join you."

Silver nodded absently. "Mm. How long will you be with her?"

"I don't know. She didn't even tell me what we'll be doing. It might be just a few minutes or the whole day."

Luna frowned. "What is it with you and getting dragged into stuff with such big shots? First Lysandre and that Steven guy, now Agatha? You've barely been a trainer for half a year. What have you gotten yourself into, Ash?"

"Agatha was just luck because Spectre knew her before I caught him," Ash replied, kneeling on the floor to pull out a can of Pokemon food for his companions. "She's less interested in me and more in him. She was snapping at me to not screw up training Spectre."

"Okay that I can buy," Luna accepted for a moment. "But why was she suspicious of us being up on the mountain? It seemed like she was looking for someone or something in that deserted camp we found. Now that I think about it, you weren't too surprised to see it, either."

Ash paused and glanced at her over his shoulder, barely restraining a grimace from seeing the slightly suspicious gleam in his cousin's eyes. "What are you getting at?"

"Did you know we were going to find something on the mountain?" She questioned him. "Is that why we took the road instead of the Rock Tunnel? What were you looking for?"

Silver only glanced awkwardly between the two feuding family members. Luna evidently didn't like Ash keeping her in the dark, but they were both as stubborn as they came and he wasn't willing to divulge his secrets so easily.

"I brought us up there because I heard some rumors on the road that there might've been a rare Pokemon nesting up on the mountain," Ash told her eventually, turning back to his task. "I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I figured it was worth checking out."

"Why all the secrecy then? If it was just a rare Pokemon, you would have told us, Ash," Luna snapped, her eyes narrowing. "You're hiding something from us."

"What do you want me to say?" He shot back, growing irritated. "They were just rumors. I didn't know if we'd find something or not and in the end, we didn't discover much of anything."

"Except a member of the Elite Four looking into the same, vague rumor," she said sarcastically. "She thought we were poachers or thieves at first. Why would she think that? I know the pass isn't used very often, but normal travelers shouldn't be too unusual, should they?"

"Look, I didn't know anything for certain," Ash growled. "I decided to investigate things for myself, okay? I don't like poachers anymore than you do, but they were just rumors and I didn't want to freak you out on the off-chance no one was there."

"But someone was there! We found that camp!"

"And they were gone when we arrived!" He snapped bitterly. "Chances are they got the Pokemon they were looking for and left with it before I could stop them. Even Agatha showed up too late to find out what was going on. For all I know, the reason the mountain was completely absent of Pokemon was because they took them all!"

Luna's eyes lost their anger, but she was obviously still frustrated. "You could have told us."

"I didn't want to worry you two," Ash shook his head, taking a deep breath to quell some of his own upset. He rubbed his forehead stressfully and blinked when Arctus breathed cool air onto his face. The little cub made a soft sound, obviously worried about his trainer. Ash managed a smile and ruffled the ice type's fluffy ears gently. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything, but I really didn't want you two to have to think about it. You're both still new to traveling and I want you to enjoy yourselves, but I can't just ignore things like that, okay?"

"I suppose I can understand that," Luna muttered quietly. "Could you just do us a favor and not keep us in the dark like that?"

"I'll try," he allowed, stopping her before she put words to the new frown forming on her face. "There are things I just don't like talking about, but I'll tell you if something like this happens again, okay?"

The frown didn't completely go away, but Luna eventually nodded. "That's fine, I guess."

Ash inclined his head and then stood up, feeling restless after arguing with his cousin. "I'm going to do some training. Do either of you want to join me?"

Silver hummed a quiet refusal. "I'm going to do some reading and try to work out a training plan for Drilbur. He's about ready to start working for real and I want to research his move pool a bit. What about you, Luna?"

"I might just go to sleep," she admitted. "My Pokemon are all pretty tired and I don't think I could focus much right now, anyways."

"That's fine," Ash told her, trying to end their conversation on a positive note. He hated arguing with her—she was the closest thing he'd ever get to a sister. "Taking a night off now and then helps a lot. You never want to burn yourself out."

"Mm," she accepted the olive branch and stretched her arms over her head before retreating to her bed. "Thanks, Ash. Good luck training."

/

Ash looked up at Pokemon Tower with some wariness. He remembered all too well what happened the last time he was here—it was less about the Rockets (though the thought of them sent a pulse of familiar rage through his veins) and more about Spiritomb's fury. He knew that in this tower, ghost Pokemon thrived with their mysterious powers and overwhelming force, more so than ever thanks to his recent encounter with Agatha.

And within the tower, the Ghost Master of the Elite Four awaited him.

Spectre floated up to Ash's side and tapped his forehead, which he returned with a brief smile. "Ready?"

Spectre made a hollow sound and led the way inside. Taking a deep breath, Ash followed him.

He trusted Spectre to lead him to Agatha. Ash trailed after the Duskull as they climbed the tower, wary, but not afraid. With the Rockets gone, they actually saw several ghosts in the area—Gastly primarily, but Ash glimpsed a Haunter and a few smaller ghosts he thought might've been Misdreavus. They watched the trainer and Duskull progress with curiosity, but kept their distance. He was grateful for that, even if part of him was just as curious about them.

Spectre didn't hesitate during this ascent or show any signs of fear. Spiritomb's influence was no longer prevalent and thus he felt no apprehension. He seemed so comfortable in the tower, which Ash supposed he was. After all, Spectre had lived here for the better part of sixty years.

It was still so odd to think that his ghostly companion was almost as old as Agatha or Professor Oak. Spectre was as eager to prank people as any of his younger Pokemon, but perhaps he hadn't really started to mature until he met Ash. Ghosts were still a mystery to him, even if Agatha had offered some much-needed insight into the matter.

Ash wasn't able to consider that line of thought for very long, however. They reached the top floor of the tower quickly—he dryly reflected that the lack of Rockets must have had something to do with that.

As he expected, Agatha waited for him in the back of the large room, where Spiritomb had once rested before Arianna woke it up.

The Phantom Elder grinned at him nastily and Ash glimpsed the fanged maw of a Gengar smiling in tandem from her shadow. "So the boy's spine held strong. I suppose I might be just a bit impressed by that. The fury of a Spiritomb is not something to be forgotten."

Ash blinked, but then realized she'd probably learned about that from Spectre. He frowned then. "Speaking of which, whatever happened to that Spiritomb? Cynthia caught it, but did she bring it back?"

"Oh? Scared to see them again?" Agatha's smile became a bit more gleeful.

He glared at her. "The Rockets were the ones who made it angry. Spiritomb…scared me, but it wasn't being aggressive for no reason. I don't blame it for that."

"Perhaps I underestimated your chosen partner, Spectre," Agatha chuckled, directing that to the ghost at Ash's side more so than him. Before the boy could find it in himself to be confused or annoyed, her smile became less acerbic and more genuine. "You chose well."

She rapped her cane against the floor and her white Gengar emerged from her shadow, along with a myriad of ghosts from the floor and walls around her. Ash's eyes widened at the sight of Agatha's entire team—all of them ghosts of immense power.

Aside from her legendary Gengar, Mismagius, and Froslass, he saw the Chandelure from Agatha's home float through the ceiling and hover above its master. Yamask was also present, but it wasn't one of Agatha's main team and floated close to the elder.

Amongst the gathering of shades was a doll-like creature with a permeant grin upon its zippered face—a Banette, which held its distinct, floppy arms out with false laziness. Ash was more than aware that the small claws on the ends of those arms were more deadly than he could imagine.

He had seen this Banette in one of Agatha's televised matches, where it had shredded three members of a challenger's team before finally going down to a Houndoom—and it still managed to poison the dark type with Toxic before it fell. Ash knew Banette was one of Agatha's most common opening Pokemon and it was an absolute menace to deal with.

The next ghost was a Dusknoir, and this one Ash observed most closely. This was what Spectre would one day become—a true ghost, wielding pure, distortional energy with contemptuous ease. Dusknoir's single orange eye glowed more warmly than the rest of Agatha's ghosts and it seemed as aged as her Gengar, but with a kinder wisdom to it than the pale shade.

The remaining two members of Agatha's team were Pokemon Ash had never seen before. One was a tiny thing and he wondered if it was a younger ghost that was new to her group, but he wasn't sure. It's small, red body was surrounded by what looked like bolts of blue lightning and the bright blue eyes gleamed with mischief. While it was by far the smallest member of her team (even smaller than Yamask) he couldn't help but be wary of it. The creature looked far too innocent and it seemed to know that if the grin on its face told him anything.

The last ghost looked like a floating anchor, if that made any sense. What appeared to be a ship's wheel was attached to it, where he thought the creature's eyes stared back at him. A substance similar to seaweed covered the anchor, but closer inspection made him think the odd, flowing material might've just been a part of its body. It was too ethereal to be actual seaweed, but it was unlike anything he'd seen before.

"Finished with your inspection?" Agatha interrupted his thoughts with a slight smirk. She inclined her head to the two Pokemon he'd shown such confusion over.

"This is Rotom. I met him when I last traveled to Sinnoh," she gestured to the small creature still sparking with electricity and grinned. "Don't let his size fool you. He's capable of going even against some of Lance's dragons."

Rotom cackled and spun around in a bolt of plasma faster than Ash could keep up with, evidently pleased with that particular bit of praise. He wasn't sure whether to be shocked or not—on one hand, it was no secret that Agatha was the closest to Lance's level amongst the Elite Four, and in their televised battles she always managed to bring down a few of his Pokemon, even if she or any of the other Elite Four never could outright defeat him. On the other, he was stunned that something so small and unassuming as Rotom could actually take down some of the Champion's legendarily powerful dragons.

Agatha rolled her eyes at Rotom's eager attitude and gestured to the floating anchor. "This is Dhelmise. I was vacationing in Alola when I found him. He's the quietest amongst my ghosts, but he's no less powerful for it. Lorelei knows that better than any of the other members of the Elite Four—he's defeated her Lapras every time. She's always rather irritated when I send him out. It's quite amusing for me."

And if that didn't say something about Dhelmise's strength, Ash didn't know what did. Lorelei's Lapras was a monster that had brought down Lance's dragons many times before. For Dhelmise to defeat Lapras consistently without ever losing to it meant the creature either had an innate type advantage—he wondered if it was a grass type due to the seaweed-like tendrils, but couldn't be sure—or could outright bring the powerful ice type down on its own power. Whatever the case, he knew better than to underestimate the ghost.

"Regarding Spiritomb," Agatha went on, fixing him in place with her stern eyes. "They made the decision to remain with Cynthia. They took a shine to one another shortly after she captured them and I believe they made the right decision."

Ash nodded, smiling a bit despite himself. He was happy for Spiritomb, even if the ghost had terrified him the last time he met it. With that aside, he moved on. "So what did you want from me?"

"Blunt, aren't you? I like that," she grinned. "Now that I've ensured you won't be completely incompetent in training Spectre, I believe I owe you some thanks for assisting Cynthia in clearing my town of Rockets. I was rather furious when I found out they'd infiltrated my home—I have not been gentle with the latest batch of thieving scum we've captured."

Rotom giggled maniacally and Ash fought a grimace. He was sure she meant that, and he was also sure her ghosts took far too much pleasure with the Rockets. Not that he blamed them at all.

"We're going to travel for a moment," Agatha said suddenly, her grin widening. "Spectre will help you."

Ash frowned. "Travel where? How?"

"Just relax and do not be afraid."

The next second Spectre was in his shadow and then it felt like he'd been pulled down by the overwhelming force of gravity. He didn't even have time to gasp or cry out as he fell into a shadow and was pulled through a distortion in time and space for a split second. Ash's eyes were wide, but he saw nothing in that instant but writhing darkness, then a pair of gleaming red eyes and the screech of some primordial, ancient thing that found displeasure in his presence—

Before the second passed, he emerged from the abyss and collapsed to solid ground, gasping for breath. Spectre floated in front of him and tapped his forehead, humming worriedly. Ash looked up at him, just trying to calm down for a moment, but managed to return the gesture to reassure his friend that he was alright.

What was that?

"I see you survived."

Ash whipped his gaze past Spectre to see Agatha still standing before him with her ghosts. She seemed rather amused. "Shadow travel. It's not easy the first few times, but you'll get used to it. Just don't do it often. The guardian isn't fond of people crossing into its realm."

"Guardian?" He echoed shakily, recalling the furious creature that had screamed at his momentary presence in the abyss.

"A matter for another time. You are not ready to learn of it," Agatha dismissed, rapping her cane. "Just know that until Spectre grows more accustomed to shadow travel, you should not push your luck with it. The guardian is not gentle with trespassers and it will catch you if you remain in the Distortion Realm for too long. Even I dare not remain there for longer than a few moments, but it's convenient if you need to make a quick getaway."

"I'll remember that," Ash agreed, managing to stand up and look around. Then he blinked and realized where they were.

They'd left the inside of the tower and emerged on the flat roof of the building. Wind buffeted him and Ash almost lost his hat as a particularly strong gust blew into him, but he threw his hand up to stop it from flying off.

"What are we doing here?" Ash demanded.

"Battling," she told him simply, causing him to jolt to attention. "I owe you a favor for protecting my town and the ghosts. Seeing as you've attracted the attention of some rather important people and learned a thing or two most trainers your age are blissfully unaware of, I think you can handle this much."

She rapped her cane again and all of her ghosts save Gengar moved away, floating around the edges of the tower in a circle. "This will be one on one. Weiss will fight Spectre. Are you prepared for that?"

Ash frowned suspiciously. There was something more to this, he was sure. Agatha had to know that Spectre couldn't hope to contest the cornerstone of her team, so what was she getting at? "I suppose I am. Spectre?"

Spectre eyed the pale Gengar cautiously and nodded. Ash returned the nod and clenched his fists, glaring at the white shade as it hovered over the roof to meet Spectre. The Duskull floated just in front of Ash and waited for the superior ghost.

"Spectre," he said quietly. The ghost hummed to acknowledge him. "You know this Gengar better than I do. It's probably the strongest ghost in the Kanto region. We might not be able to win, but give it everything you have. Don't hold back."

The Duskull's eye gleamed in agreement as they prepared for the inevitable arrival of Agatha's Gengar. But as Gengar reached the halfway point across the tower, it stopped and waited. Ash blinked in confusion.

Agatha rapped her cane and even across the tower, Ash could see the grin on her face. "You could use extra practical experience, boy. Allow us to educate you. This is what I mean when I call myself one of the 'Elite Four'."

Weiss's fearsome visage twisted up into a wide, toothy grin, and then the Gengar stuck out it's tongue. Ash blinked at the sight of a small, spherical gem rolling along the ghost's pink muscle and—

Wait.

Agatha's grin matched her Gengar's as she brushed her thumb over the top of her cane and he was only just now realizing there was a glint to the handle that couldn't have been wood.

Energy surged from her cane in bolts of iridescent lightning, flying to the gem on Weiss's tongue and embedded itself into the stone. It glowed with unbelievable power, almost shaking with the force of it before triggering something within the Gengar to change.

Weiss's body glowed with that same, iridescent energy as he cackled, his laugh echoing through the air and reverberating in every cell of Ash's body. He was transforming—evolving, into something he couldn't even recognize. Something far beyond anything he'd ever encountered.

Shadows reached up around his changing body and seemed to connect to Weiss, their color twisting to white as the Gengar assumed control of the darkness. His very form seemed to become one with shadow as a single, golden orb opened up on the ghost's forehead just above and between his natural eyes. Wisps of shadow spiked up along the Gengar's body and head, roiling with power.

The iridescent light coalesced along that golden eye and exploded away, (briefly taking the form of a double helix) revealing Weiss to Ash's eyes.

The Gengar's body was pure, snowy white now, as were the shadows around him. His arms and legs seemed to have melded with the darkness so that he was an extension of them now, wielding all their terrible power for himself. The red eyes had changed to a deep gray, with only the black irises standing out against the dark shade. Weiss's grin was more malevolent now, radiating his glee and terrible power.

And what power. Ash couldn't stop shaking just from the proximity to Weiss. The Gengar exceeded absolutely everything he'd ever met—even Professor Oak's Charizard didn't hold a candle to this—this monster. He could scarcely breathe even at this distance.

They were going to fight this?

Agatha sneered at his obvious shock. "I'm almost impressed you've retained consciousness. Weiss isn't willing to restrain his power after Mega Evolving."

So it was a Mega Evolution, Ash thought to himself, but nothing more. He was struggling just trying to compose himself in the face of this beast. Weiss was capable of ripping his entire team apart without so much as blinking, he just knew it.

"Spectre," he managed, gasping under the pressure. The little ghost had recoiled from Weiss, but refused to back down. "Are you sure?"

Spectre made a hollow noise and he could hear the fear, but he could also hear the determination. He would not run from Weiss. He refused to. Ash nodded tightly. "I don't know what to tell you now. We've never…We'll just do what we can."

The little ghost agreed with him. That was all they could do, but they would not turn away.

Agatha rapped her cane and smiled. "Brave of you. Weiss."

The Gengar laughed, his terrible power causing Ash's body to almost collapse as he dove into the Distortion Realm and lunged at Spectre, who matched the action. Ash felt his stomach drop as the huge, white shadow crashed against the tiny black shadow of his friend.

Black and white lightning roared from the battle as the ghosts grappled with one another and the force of the distortional impact made Ash fall. Before he could hit the ground, a pair of cold, ethereal hands caught him and helped him stand back up. He glanced over his shoulder to see Froslass behind him, her eyes amused, but gentle.

Ash managed a grateful nod and looked back to the battle. Spectre and Weiss were clashing in the Distortion Realm—it was the only place where their fight would be close to even. Explosions of energy roared up from their dark world, followed by baleful shrieks and ethereal screams as the ghosts attacked one another viciously. Some of the shadowy lightning surged twenty meters into the air, though those bolts obviously belonged to Weiss thanks to their white coloration.

Although he couldn't see exactly what was happening, Ash could tell that Weiss was quickly getting the upper hand. White shadows were enveloping black and although Spectre struggled and fought them off, he couldn't completely banish them. Weiss was far, far too powerful for Spectre to outright defeat, but Ash was helpless to command him from this realm.

Spectre seemed to grab Weiss and drag him away from the center of the conflict, shoving the Gengar towards the edge of the tower. But it only lasted a moment, because Weiss quickly regained control and darted around in the shadows, dragging Spectre behind him. Ash had the feeling that Weiss was just toying with his friend.

A strike of black shadows separated them, tearing Spectre away from Weiss. Spectre seemed to back off and try a different angle of attack, but Weiss intercepted the assault and another, ghostly laugh echoed from the distortion realm.

At this point, something changed.

Spectre's black shadows coalesced into a whirlpool at the point of impact with Weiss, flaying off the white void around him as his form swelled with power. Weiss was undeterred however, and continued to try and grasp his foe with those ethereal claws as Spectre's vortex grew in size and speed.

Eventually, the black hole Spectre was generating seemed to finally cause Weiss's patience to snap and the pale shade back off with an echoing hiss, as though irritated. Ash watched as in an instant, the white shadow twisted into a shape not unlike a spear, then hurled itself into Spectre's void with blinding speed.

The impact was strong enough to unleash a shockwave from the distortion world that almost hurled Agatha's ghosts away, but Froslass and Dusknoir saw to it that neither Ash nor the elder actually fell. As he struggled to regain his senses, Ash spotted the two ghosts finally emerge from their dark world.

Weiss had apparently decided enough was enough, scowling as he dragged Spectre's form out of the Distortion Realm and hurled him back into the corporeal plane. In the blink of an eye, the supreme Gengar had Spectre pinned beneath one of his great white claws and hissed at him, demanding submission.

But it was not Spectre the Duskull trapped beneath Weiss's terrible power.

Ash froze in surprise as a pair of ethereal black hands clenched into fists and then saw fit to drive themselves into Weiss's face, but if anything that only served to annoy the Gengar further. He shrieked angrily at the large body pinned below him, the lone red eye defiant despite its powerlessness.

Unused to his new body, the trapped Dusclops could only strike uselessly at Weiss with his new, corporeal hands and launch Shadow Balls from his eye, but Weiss had had enough of the fight and chose that moment to open his maw and screech, unleashing a surge of ghostly power that struck Spectre down for his defiance. Ash threw his arms over his face in defense as darkness surged through the air, but Froslass ensured none of it struck him.

As the shadows faded, he lowered his arms and blinked at the result of Weiss's attack. Spectre lay motionless on the ground, obviously unconscious from the Gengar's unbelievable power. Weiss sneered at his defeated foe and cackled, but let the Dusclops up and slid across his white shadows to Agatha's side.

Agatha rapped her cane. "It seems we've reached the end."

Ash could say nothing, speechless as Weiss laughed one more time before his body glowed faintly and dispelled the Mega Evolution, turning him back into the familiar shape of a standard Gengar.

The Phantom Elder chuckled as she looked at Ash. "I told you Spectre was close to evolving. Nothing quite pushes a ghost to their limits than a tussle in the Distortion Realm. I suggest you recall him. He's not terribly hurt, but Weiss is not known for being gentle. Resting for the remainder of the day will see him fully restored."

Ash did as she said and lifted the pokeball to recall his newly evolved friend. He held the capture device up to whisper softly to the exhausted ghost within. "You were amazing, buddy. Rest up. You earned it."

"That he did," Ash jumped as Agatha appeared beside him, quicker than anyone her age should have been capable of. Weiss only cackled as he realized how she'd done it, but Agatha ignored her partner in favor of the boy before them. "You've trained him well. Few ghosts are capable of evading Weiss in the Distortion Realm for so long a time, and fewer still that are not fully evolved. There is still room for him to improve, but you've done better than I expected in the time Spectre's been in your care."

"Thank you," he replied, managing a nod at Weiss as the Gengar grinned nastily in his direction. "I didn't know Gengar could Mega Evolve."

"Few ghosts can," she admitted. "Gengar and Banette are amongst those species that are capable of Mega Evolution. Dusknoir's line is not one of them to my knowledge, but who knows what science might discover in time?"

Speaking of discoveries, Ash decided to ask Agatha something that had been on his mind since the day before. "Just before you found us on the mountain, my team and I were investigating a cave in the cliffside."

"I know," she replied, raising an eyebrow. "My ghosts inspected it and informed me of the battle that must have occurred within."

"I found something," Ash told her, shifting his bag to open it up and pull out the case containing the tiny shell fragment he'd discovered amidst the ruined nest. "I don't know what it is, but…"

He offered it to Agatha and she took it delicately, inspecting the black and gold fragment with a curious look. Her face twisted into a frown as she stared at the shell in silence for almost a minute before glancing at Dusknoir, who floated forward to see for himself.

"Bring this to Fuji," she ordered the ghost. Dusknoir dipped his head and carefully blanketed the tiny fragment in darkness before sinking into the Distortion Realm and flying off. Agatha turned back to Ash. "I don't recognize it from any Pokemon egg I've seen before. Fuji was once a renowned scientist, so perhaps he can shed some light on the matter. Let's get some tea and then we'll intrude upon his residence."

"He won't mind?" Ash asked. He didn't want to be rude to the old man who had introduced him to Spectre, even if his curiosity was burning.

"Have you met Samuel before?" She asked with a sneer. "The old fool couldn't pull himself away from a new discovery if his lab was burning down around him. Fuji is no different. Now come, I need a drink."

"How am I going to—" Was all he got out before Weiss snatched him and Agatha up with a gleeful look and dragged them into the Distortion World for a quick trip to her home.

The guardian was no more thrilled to see them than before if the indignant shrieking told him anything, and Ash concluded that Agatha took far too much glee in scaring him.

/

A cup of tea and an hour later, Ash and Agatha found themselves seated at a table in Fuji's home. The old man had been happy to see Ash again, but he was obviously absorbed in the eggshell that Dusknoir had delivered to him. Ash had taken a few minutes in between to run to the Pokemon Center and deliver Spectre to Nurse Joy, who was currently healing the Dusclops while they met with Fuji. It was a good thing Lavender Town was so small.

Fuji was currently leaning over the table and peering at the egg fragment through a microscope, his brow furrowed deeply in concentration. A small journal lay open on the table to his right, which he absently wrote notes into as he observed the object of interest.

Ash blinked as a small weight suddenly hopped into his lap and he found himself staring at a Vulpix, which must have been one of the young Pokemon in Fuji's care. He smiled at the little fire type gently and reached up to scratch the underside of its chin. The Vulpix cooed at the touch and leaned closer to him, curling up to make itself comfortable.

"You make a convenient babysitter, don't you?" Agatha chuckled at him somewhat mockingly. Ash rolled his eyes at her acerbic tone. He was getting much too used to her ways, he reflected.

Fuji finally pulled away from his microscope and rubbed his eyes, still frowning in thought. "You said you found this in the mountains?"

"Yeah," Ash confirmed, nodding. "The cave was really well hidden. I don't think we'd have found it if Silver's Golbat didn't pick up on it with his echolocation."

"The nest was intact?" Fuji queried. At Ash's nod, he asked another question. "Describe it for me."

Ash did so, trying to recall as much of the abandoned nest as he could. Fuji scribbled some notes into his journal, intent on recording all he could. Agatha added a few other details she'd learned from her ghosts, but most of the information regarding the nest itself came from Ash. Eventually, Fuji ran out of questions and looked at the eggshell with a frustrated expression.

"I'll be frank, I can't outright identify what this is," he told them reluctantly. "I've seen many Pokemon eggs in my day, but this one isn't immediately familiar to me. Perhaps if we had more pieces, I could identify it, but with just this piece all I can do is provide you with some educated guesses."

"First, this shell is old—ten years at least, perhaps more. The coloration is extremely faded and the pores in the membrane have become blocked up with particles. It also holds none of the natural energy signatures fresh eggs give off, which are dependent on the type of Pokemon they hold. Hatched eggshells usually retain a faint radiation of that energy for at least a few years. Pokemon eggs are made to be durable if nothing else. That it doesn't retain any of that means the egg's inhabitant broke free of its confines quite some time ago."

Agatha's thumb stroked the wood of her cane thoughtfully. "So if we assume the hatchling was born years ago, that would mean we'd be looking for a Pokemon known for extensive parental care. Dragons are the most likely candidates. While I doubt a Dragonite would nest in such a place, the possibility of a foreign dragon nesting there is not out of the question."

Fuji nodded in agreement. "Dragons are known for traveling great distances to find an ideal place to nest. There aren't many that would go out of their way to create such a large nest, but species such as Salamence, Garchomp, and Hydreigon are certainly amongst those that would do so. That being said, I'm not so sure this egg belongs to them. It's hard to tell with the coloration having faded so much, but I'm not reminded of their kind when I look at it."

"So we still don't know anything about it," Agatha sighed, grimacing somewhat. "How vexing."

"There are other possibilities," Fuji suggested, looking hesitant. "From the size of the nest and its remote location, it's not impossible that…well…"

"Speak up," Agatha snapped, a little annoyed by the lack of answers. "We're not getting any younger."

"That we aren't," Fuji snorted, amused. He shrugged. "Well, unlikely as it is, I suppose the shell could belong to one of the legendary birds."

Ash blinked. "They're extinct, though."

"Thank you for that statement of the blindingly obvious," Agatha said dryly. She rapped her cane on the floor, her mouth twisted in annoyance. "The possibility does exist, however."

"But no one has seen the birds for…" Ash trailed off as the Phantom Elder shot him a mild glare.

"There are many places yet to be discovered, young man," she pointed out. "While no one has seen the birds in decades—myself included—the chance that some small pockets of them have survived in parts unknown always remains. I'd rather think there are still some hiding out there than assume they're all dead and gone, wouldn't you?"

"Of course, the chances are extremely slim," she went on, looking grim. "But we don't have answers right now save the knowledge that we're looking for a powerful, rare species with an extensive nesting cycle. The birds do rank amongst those species, even if they are thought to be extinct. Regardless of that possibility, I'll be inspecting the cave again myself soon. You may have missed something."

Ash nodded, allowing that without complaint. He hadn't been in the cavern for long and Agatha's ghosts may be able to find things he missed.

"This doesn't leave the room," Agatha told Ash and Fuji flatly. "I'll inform Oak and Lance of this, but don't tell anyone else of the cave. I don't want anyone else discovering it. All we have right now is a number of guesses and I will grow rather irritated if I find out hunters have ransacked the cavern even further."

Both of them nodded, agreeing with her. Agatha stood up then with a grunt and made her way for the door. "This is where we part, Ash. Make sure you're more of a challenge to my team next time, will you?"

He unwillingly scowled at the mention of his sound defeat and glared at the elder, who sneered back at him mockingly. "I'll be more than a challenge for you next time."

"We shall see," she snickered, echoed by a Gengar's laugh. "For now, I suggest you head to Saffron. Sabrina mentioned she might be seeing you soon. Be a dear and don't disappoint her."

Ash frowned at the mention of Sabrina until he remembered the psychic could see into the future. Given her mysterious ways, it was little surprise to him that she and Agatha might be in contact, especially since they both worked for the League.

"Goodbye, boy," Agatha said in farewell. "Do not slack off in training Spectre."

He clenched his fists and nodded. "I won't."