Episode 429: A Night in the Nacrene City Museum!
A little while after catching a Cottonee, Sora, Kairi, Ventus, Terra, Aqua, Cilan, Iris, Pikachu, Angel, Meowth, and Axew were almost near Nacrene City when they heard a commotion.
"I'm telling you to get off my property and don't come back!" A elderly woman shouted.
"Not until we have liberated every egg in this place," a femine voice spoke.
"You guys thinking what I'm thinking?" Sora asked.
"I was thinking of a ingredient of a very awful recipe," Cilan said.
"And I think I have an idea what kind of ingredient it might be," Terra said.
Everyone agreed when they came across what looks like a daycare; both for kids and Pokémon. The teacher, old woman, and children were being confronted by a couple of Team Plasma grunts.
"There's our ingredient," Sora said.
"We will kindly ask you to step aside," the second Team Plasma grunt said.
"And let you make a mess of the place and take all the eggs under our care! I don't think so!" The old woman said.
"Go away!" One boy said.
"Yeah, go away!" All the other kids added.
"We will take the eggs by force," the first Team Plasma grunt said.
"I should listen to the kids if I were you," Sora said. The Team Plasma grunts turned and saw the group. "Especially if it's a couple of Team Plasma creeps like you!" The Team Plasma grunts recognized Sora.
"You! We saw you in Acummula Town!" The first Team Plasma grunt said.
"You dared to speak out against Ghetsis!" The second Team Plasma grunt said.
"Because Ghetsis is wrong! And you guys are in trouble for coming around when you're not wanted," Sora said.
"Unless you want to be beaten bad, then you should turn back now!" Ventus said.
"We do not take kindly to threats; especially from the likes of you," the first Team Plasma grunt said. The grunts took out two Pokéballs each.
"Go! Scolipede! Cofagrigus!" The Team Plasma grunts shouted. Two Scolipede and Cofagrigus came out to battle. Sora and Kairi took out a Pokéball each.
"Go! Golett!" Sora called out.
"Go! Purrloin!" Kairi called out.
Sora and Kairi turned to Pikachu and Angel.
"Pikachu, you go in!" Sora said.
"You too, Angel!" Kairi said.
"Chu!" Pikachu said.
"Vee!" Angel said.
Pikachu and Angel joins Golett and Purrloin to battle the Team Plasma Grunts.
"Scolipede! Use Poison Tail!" The first Team Plasma grunt ordered.
"Cofagrigus! Use Shadow Ball!" The second Team Plasma grunt ordered.
"Pikachu, Golett! Dodge! Use Thunderbolt and Shadow Punch!" Sora ordered.
"Angel! Use Swift on the Scolipede! Purrloin! Use Night Slash!" Kairi ordered.
Pikachu and Golett avoids the Cofagrigus's Shadow Balls as Pikachu sends out Thunderbolt as Golett unleashed Shadow Punch and lands a hit onto one of the Cofagrigus. Angel unleashed Swift and the stars lands a hit onto the Scolipede. Purrloin slashes at one of the Scolipede.
"We'll finish you off! Scolipede! Use Sludge Bomb!" The first Team Plasma grunt ordered. The Scolipede unleashed Sludge Bomb at the smaller Pokémon, but the sludge is stopped and sent back at the megapede Pokémon. "What the?!"
"Again?" Sora asked.
It turns out to be Yamask again. The spirit Pokémon then, unleashed Shadow Ball and struck one of the Cofagrigus. Yamask unleashed another Shadow Ball and did the same thing on the second Cofagrigus.
"Can someone tell me what is going on?" Iris asked.
"As if I have the answers," Ventus said.
"Cofagrigus! Unleash Shadow Ball!" The second Team Plasma grunt ordered. The two Cofagrigus unleashed Shadow Ball right at the opposing. Pokémon.
"Thunderbolt!" Sora ordered. Pikachu unleashed Thunderbolt and it blocks the Shadow Balls. "That was great, Pikachu!"
"Pika," Pikachu said. He raised his arms and he unleashed an attack that was way more powerful than Thunderbolt. Sora knew exactly what it was. "Whoa, that was Thunder! You just learned to use Thunder!"
"Pika!" Pikachu said.
"Okay, Thunder!" Sora ordered. Pikachu unleashed Thunder and lands a hit onto the Scolipede and Cofagrigus. All four were knocked out. The Team Plasma grunts glared at the couple.
"We won't forget this outrage!" The first Team Plasma grunt vowed. They call back their fallen Pokémon and retreated.
"And don't come back!" Sora called after them.
"Thank you very much for helping us out when you did," the young woman said.
"You were brave taken on those two hoodlums like that. I reckon those were the Team Plasma that's everybody talking," the old woman said.
"Yeah. Those guys are nothing but trouble," Sora said.
"We're just glad they didn't hurt you," Kairi said.
"We simply don't know how to thank you," the young woman said. "Anyway, my name is Daniela. I'm the teacher here in the kindergarten. And this is my grandmother."
"Nice to meet ya! The name's Karena," the old woman introduced.
"My name's Sora and this is my girlfriend Kairi. Pikachu and Angel you already met," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"Vee," Angel said.
"I'm Ventus, but everyone calls me Ven," Ventus said.
"I'm Terra."
"I'm Aqua."
"I'm Cilan."
"And I'm Iris."
"Axew."
"And I'm Meowth."
"A talking Meowth? How is that possible?" Daniela asked.
"Don't ask us, we don't even know. Anyway, when did those guys show up?" Sora asked.
"They showed up a little a little while before you did," Daniela said.
"They demanded that we hand them all of our eggs, so they threatened to destroy the school if we didn't comply with them," Karena said.
"They have to be bigger cowards than I thought when they're attacking kids," Terra said.
"We just can't thank you enough," Daniela said.
"Excuse me," one little boy said. Sora bent down.
"What's up?" Sora asked.
"Can we pet Pikachu and Eevee?" The little biy asked.
"I'm sure we wouldn't want to disrupt your class some more," Sora said.
"It's quite okay. It's just we don't get to see Pikachu very often. And Eevee are considered to be rare in Unova," Daniela said.
"Okay, kids. You pet Pikachu, but you'll have to be gentle. Because Pikachu will shock you if you're not careful," Sora said. "In fact, we have some other Pokémon for you kids to check out." Sora has let out his Tranquil, Oshawott, Dwebble, and Pansear. Kairi has let out Petilil, Deerling, Patrat, and her own Tranquil. The kids has taken a shine to the Pokémon they had brought. The kids were having fun with the Pokémon right up to the end of the day.
"We cannot thank you enough for what you have done for us," Daniela said.
"We just did what anyone would do," Sora said.
"I thought I should maybe give you both a little reward for what you did for us," Karena said, taking out one egg for the each of them. Sora's egg is white with a light blue top as Kairi's egg is pink with purple flowers all around. Sora has sent over Pansear as Kairi sent over Petilil.
"Thank you," Kairi said.
"We promise to take good care of the eggs, and make them the strongest Pokémon they can be," Sora said.
"I know you will," Karena said.
With that said, the group waved goodbye to the daycare center as they continued on towards Nacrene City.
A few hours later, Yamask has made a stop to rest. Two workers were unaware of Yamask's prescence placed the spirit Pokémon along with some old artifacts. Yamask sleeps through the ride.
A day later, they had finally arrived to Nacrene City. They looked around and saw how colorful looked.
"Look at all those buildings," Iris said.
"Those are actually unused warehouses, which the city leases to artists," Cilan said. "Because of that, Nacrene City is known as the City of Art."
"There's beautiful art everywhere you look," Aqua said.
"The city is known for its style. So, it's the city of admiration, too," Cilan said.
"You sure know a lot, Cilan," Terra said, impressed.
"Just where's the Gym located, Cilan?" Sora asked.
"The Gym is actually the city's museum," Cilan said.
"Maybe we could check the museum," Sora said.
"Why have a look at the museum, Sora?" Meowth asked.
"I thought maybe Team Plasma might be looking for some ancient power that people can't, or should I say, shouldn't control. And also, prevent them from getting their hands on it, whatever it is," Sora said.
"Huh? What do you mean by can't and shouldn't?" Iris asked.
"Just a bad feeling I had. You do remember us telling you about Team Magma, Team Aqua, and Team Galactic destroying the world, right?" Sora asked.
"If memory serves, Team Magma were trying to make the world one big spit of land while Team Aqua were trying to do the same, but instead of land, make it one huge ocean," Cilan said.
"And you also said that Team Galactic were trying to desrtoy the word and then plan to remake it however they wanted it. You think Team Plasma are going for the same thing?" Iris asked.
"In our experience, yes," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"But Team Plasma aren't the only peope we should be worrying about. There's also Miror B and those other people we should be worried about," Kairi said.
"Eevee," Angel agreed.
"I agree. They might show up again," Cilan said.
"Hey, are we going to talk about the end of the world, or head for the Gym?" Meowth asked.
"Meowth's right. We shouldn't let something liek this ruin a good time," Terra agreed.
They all arrived to the Gym and discovered that it was closed.
"I think it's closed," Iris said.
"And what gave that away?" Meowth asked.
"Pika, Pika," Pikachu said.
"Maybe they're doing some cleaning inside, maybe?" Sora asked.
"It seems rather odd," Cilan said. He noticed a poster and approached it. Terra and Aqua noticed as well.
"It looks like there's a secret artifacts exhibit on display," Aqua said.
"And looking at the date, it's supposed to be opened today," Cilan said.
"You were right, Cilan, it is odd. If it's supposed to be opened today, then why is it closed now?" Terra asked.
"That's a good question," Aqua said. Ventus knocked on the door.
"Anyone home?" Ventus asked. A scream is heard from inside, making the group flinch.
Inside, the curator is running towards the front doors with a Kabuto fossil chasing him.
"Stay away!" The curator cried. He bumped into the door hard. "That hurts." He turned and saw the fossil floating towards him. He pushes the doors open.
"Sir, are you okay?" Kairi asked.
"In there! It's horrible!" The curator exclaimed, pointing inside.
"What's horrible?" Sora asked. He and the rest all looked inside and saw nothing. "I don't see anything."
"Is something wrong with the hallway?" Iris asked.
"No, it's fine! The Dome Fossil was chasing me!" The curoator exclaimed.
"A Dome Fossil?" Kairi asked.
"Not one of us sees a thing," Ventus said.
"It's there alright," the curator said.
"We did come here to look into it, so let's do that," Sora said.
Everyone agreed as they went to the Dome Fossil inside, and it was just sitting right in place.
"The Dome Fossil is right here," Cilan said.
"How? It was just chasing me just a minute ago," the curator said.
"How about you fill us in on what's going on," Meowth said,
"And please, don't leave out any details,' Cilan said.
"Uh, sure," the curator said. He led them outside as he filled the group in on the situation. "We're behind on prepareations with the secret artifacts exhibit. When the artifacts arrived last night, the workers were rushing to finish the displays. By the time we have finshed, it was very late. I was alone, doing the final check on the artifacts when suddenly, the lights were going on and off; until the lights went completely out. As I made my way towards the light switch, I heard them. Footsteps started to come towards me from behind. And then, it started to get scary. And then suddenly, I heard a cry. 'Is someone there,' I shouted at the cry. I added, 'Answer me,' but again no reply came. I then, saw what looks like a ball of shadow. Scared out of my wits, I called to bring the workers back to me and we searched the whole museum, but we didn't find anything out of the ordinary. Since we valued the safety of the patrons before our own, we decided to postpone the exhibit. After the workers left, I decided to stay and search the museum one last time. And that's when the Dome Fossil started chasing after me."
"And that's when we ran into you," Cilan said.
"Weird things can happen," Ventus said.
"What could it be?" Meowth asked.
"A curse," Iris said. The group all looked at her.
"A curse?" Terra asked.
"It's gotta be a curse," Iris said.
"Really?" Meowth asked.
"There's no doubt in my mind that an angry spirit of some sort has put a terrible curse on this museum, and that's that!" Iris proclaimed.
"You think it's a curse?" The curator asked. Axew shivered and hid in her hair.
"See? Even Axew knows it's true," Iris said. "And bad things will happen if we don't do something now!"
"Don't over react. There's a rational explanation to all this. It's simply a misunderstanding, that's all," Cilan said.
"A misunderstanding?" Iris asked.
"I'm sure science is the key. Scientific perspective is what we need," Cilan said.
"Yeah? Then, figure it out from a scientific perspective!" Iris dared him.
"I'll do just that. Huh, this is turning into a recipe I like," Cilan said.
"Um, what are you saying?" The curator asked.
"I'm saying I'll find out why a spirit would cast a curse on your museum!" Iris said. "I'll guarantee it!"
"And I'll find out what's really going on with science! Scientific method is the smart way to go," Cilan said.
"You think we should say something about this?" Ventus asked.
"I don't think so, Ven. Besides, I can't have a Gym battle with this going on," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu agreed.
"Lenora's not here anyway. You can't battle without her either," the curator said.
"Lenora?" Sora asked.
"Do you know her?" Kairi asked.
"Yes I do. Lenora is my wife. Also, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Hawes. I'm the co-curator here. Lenora is the Gym Leader of the Nacrene City Gym," Hawes introduced.
"My name's Sora, and this is my girlfriend Kairi, and my cousin Ventus, but we call him Ven," Sora introduced.
"Hello," Kairi greeted. "This little Eevee is Angel."
"Nice to meet you," Ventus said.
"I'm Terra."
"My name's Aqua."
"I'm Cilan."
"And my name's Iris."
"May we have a look around the museum, if you don't mind?" Cilan asked.
"Yes, of course," Hawes said. He leads the group inside the museum. "I'll be happy to give you a quick tour. So, if you will all follow me." He led them to the Dome Fossil."
"Here we have the Dome Fossil," Hawes said.
"The fossil of Kabuto," Sora said.
"That's correct. It was long thought that Kabuto, the Shellfish Pokémon were living on our beaches from over 300 million years ago," Hawes said. He led the group of what looks like the skeleton of Dragonite.
"Isn't that a Dragonite?" Iris asked. Axew popped out of her hair.
"That's right. It's the skeletal modle of a Dragonite. It just happens to be the largest Dragonite skeletal modle in the world," Hawes said.
"It's even bigger than your Dragonite, Sora." Ventus said.
"You have a Dragonite, Sora?! You also caught yourself an Axew! What other Dragon Types do have? I would like to know," Iris pleaded.
"Sora also has a Salamence, a Kommo-o, a Flygon, a Latios, a Garchomp, a Dragapult, a Druddigon, a Dracozolt, a Dracovish, and a Turtonator, a Naganadel, and an Alolan Exeggutor," Ventus said. "Kairi also has an Altaria, a Latias, a Drampa, a Kingdra, a Flapple, and an Appletun."
"Wow! I would love to see them!" Iris said.
"Uh, don't we have a tour to continue?" Aqua reminded the future Dragon Master.
"Right," Iris said.
"And here is something interesting," Hawes said, showing the group the Meteonite. "This is a metoerite," Hawes said.
"Hey, ain't that rock Mr. Macho Macho Man had before we handed it off to Professor Juniper?" Meowth asked.
"It does look like it," Cilan said.
"Have you come across this before?" Hawes asked.
"Yeah. We saw it in the Relic Castle in the Desert Resort. Some guys were looking for it. We weren't exactly sure what they would want with it," Sora said.
"And the one guy Meowth mentioned before calls himself Miror B; he was leading those guys in the Relic Castle," Kairi added.
"Any idea idea what makes this rock so special, Hawes?" Terra asked.
"It is said that this metoerite has fell into our atmosphere many centuries ago. It broke apart into smaller pieces when it was burning upon entry. The largest piece has fell into what we now call the Desert Resort. The people in anicent times believed it was a gift from the gods. It is said that it possesses cosmic energy as well," Hawes said. Meowth whistled.
"Cosmic energy? Fascinating," Cilan said.
"Those mooks must have known that before we did," Meowth said.
"Well, it's a good thing we didn't let them get a hold of it," Sora said.
"Pika," Pikachu said.
"Eevee," Angel said.
"And this is our secret artifacts main attraction," Hawes said.
Sora and Kairi approached the suits of armor.
"Amazing," Sora said. Kairi began to fantasize about her boyfriend in a suit of armor.
"These suits of armor were once worn by knights of the Unova region," Hawes said.
"Simply captivating," Cilan said.
"Suits of armor, huh," Iris said, stroking her chin. Sora and Kairi remembered Hawes mentioning footsteps, so they wondered if it's somehow connected to the museum's problems. Ventus was eyeing the artifacts.
"Look at this," Ventus said.
"The artifacts you see has recently been found in an ancient ruin. Researchers says that Cofagrigus are known to appear in these types of ruins," Hawes said.
"That's not a real Cofagrigus, is it?" Sora asked.
"No," Hawes said, stepping up to the display and opens the Cofagrigus, and sees it's a fake. "This one is a replica."
"It's certainly well-done," Cilan said.
"And a good thing that's not a real one," Sora said, remembering his encounter with real Yamask and Cofagrigus in the Relic Castle. Sora then looks right at Iris. "Something on your mind, Iris?"
"I was just thinking about the curse. This has something to do with it," Iris said.
"Why do you think so?" Cilan asked.
"It's my sixth sense, that's how I know," Iris said.
"Which means, you have no evidence, so it's only a hunch," Cilan said. Iris puffed her cheeks. Ventus noticed a Yamask mask on dsiplay.
"Guys, look at this," Ventus said. The group walked over to the mask on display.
"Is that what I think it is?" Terra asked.
"If you're thinking of a Yamask mask, then you would be right," Hawes said.
"Sora, didn't you catch a Yamask before?" Ventus asked.
"I did, but those were Yamask you could see in Galar. And that Yamask became a Runegrigus; a Ground Type and a Ghost Type," Sora said.
"Like its evolved form, Cofagrigus, Yamask are frequently seen in ruins," Hawes said.
"Much like Baltoy and Claydol," Ventus said.
"That's exactly right, Ven," Kairi said.
"The mask is a replica," Hawes said.
"I got a bad feeling about this," Iris said. "Something..."
Hawes leads the group into the museum's library.
"And here is the museum's library. Vistors are encouraged to study as much as they please," Hawes said.
"Now, this is what I call full service," Cilan said.
"And this is the end of our tour. Now, tell me. Did you find anything strange?" Hawes asked.
"Well, everything seems normal from far as I can tell," Cilan said.
"Something definitely ddin't feel right to me, but I can't put my finger on it," Iris said.
"I do know one thing. Whatever is in here with us, it's going to make its move again," Sora said.
"Hawes, if it's not too much trouble, we would like to ask if it would be okay to spend the night in here," Terra said.
"Huh? Sleep in the museum?" Hawes asked.
"I see where you're going with it, Terra. It will help us keep an eye out for any paranormal activities that occur," Cilan said.
"And it's a known fact that angry spirits are active only at night. It will be a great way to find out what's causing the curse," Iris said.
"You seem to be a bunch of kids, but you're pretty courageous. I'm quite impressed," Hawes said.
"Well, most of us has some experince in these sort of things," Sora said.
Night has come as they all set up sleeping bags to sleep in and see what's going on in the museum. Sora and Kairi set their eggs down next to each other.
"You sure you'll be alright here?" Hawes asked.
"Like we said, we're used to adventure," Sora said.
"What if we hear voices and things begin to move on their own?" Hawes asked, making Meowth flinch.
"Uh, yeah, what if we do hear voices and things move on their own?" Meowth asked.
"Then, that'll be our cue to spring into action," Iris said.
"Then, we'll have the chance to solve this mystery; smooth as silk," Cilan said. Hawes smiled, feeling better.
"Sounds good to me," Hawes beamed.
"Now, let's get some sleep," Aqua suggested.
"Right," everyone all agreed as the lights go out and they fell right to sleep. Hawes was woken up by Sora's snoring. He fell right back to sleep since he saw it was Sora snoring. He wondered how the others weren't bothered by the snoring. A couple of hours later, Iris shook Sora up.
"Sora, wake up," Iris said. She's shaking Sora up.
"No school," Sora said in his sleeplessness.
"Wake up," Iris repeated. Sora finally woke up.
"Iris, what's up?" Sora asked.
"I just felt a massive chill just now. And it's not natural," Iris said.
"Come to think of it, it is a little chillier than usual," Sora said.
"It feels like something is closing in on us," Iris said.
"Just another unscientific explaination," Cilan said, waking up. Suddenly a black mist suddenly appears from out of nowhere.
"What the?" Sora asked.
"Pika?" Pikachu asked, waking up.
"Sora, go back to sleep," Kairi said. She saw the black mist as well. "What's going on?" Ventus, Terra Aqua, Angel, and Meowth also wake up. Hawes woke up and adjusted his glasses.
"Hey, you're up. What's wrong?" Hawes asked. He saw the fog. "That fog! What in the world could it be?"
"I'm telling you, that angry spirit is about to do something bad," Iris said.
"Of course not. The air conditioning must have broken down," Cilan said.
The mist was getting thicker and thicker as footsteps are suddenly heard.
"Anybody hear that?" Ventus asked.
"It's getting closer," Terra said.
They saw it was one of the suits of armor were walking, making Hawes scream.
"A ghost!" Hawes exclaimed.
"Alright. What's the scientific explanation, Cilan?" Iris asked.
"Easy. It's the poltergeist phenomenon. It refers to the things that move. But due to the vibrations of ultra low frequency soundwaves," Cilan said. The armor draws the sword.
"Are soundwaves doig that, too?" Meowth asked.
"It's possible that someone is manipulating its arms with string," Cilan said.
"That's bit of a stretch," Kairi said. The armor starts charging at them.
"Pikachu! Quick Attack!" Sora ordered. Pikachu dashed right at the armor, making it come apart. "That takes care of that." He spoke too soon when the armor starts to put itself back together. "Maybe not."
"That's curious," Cilan said.
"No, it's a curse!" Iris said.
"Pikachu! Quick Attack again!" Sora ordered. Pikachu charged right at the armor, making it come apart again. A ball of shadow comes from nowhere. It heads right towards Hawes. Kairi took out a Pokéball and opened it.
"Patrat! Use Super Fang!" Kairi ordered. Patrat heads right towards the ball of shadow and it hits him. Patrat didn't feel a thing. "Huh?"
"My thoughts exactly," Sora said. The helmet started to float up in the air.
"Explain," Iris dared the Pokémon Connoisseur.
"A change in the magnetic field is reacting to the metal in the armor, that is causing it to float," Cilan said. The helmet started to chase after Hawes.
"Iron Tail!" Sora ordered. Pikachu swings at the helmet.
"Thanks, I needed that," Hawes said.
"Is it me, or does that angry spirit seems to be after Hawes?" Kairi asked.
"You know something, that does make sense," Terra said.
"But why me? I don't think I ever did anything to ever make anyone angry," Hawes said. Just then, a cry is heard in the museum. "That's the crying I heard."
"That spirit sounds like its sad," Iris said.
"No, no. That crying is acrtually low-frequency soundwaves that's causing something to squeak," Cilan said.
"Whatever! Let's go see where's it's coming from," Sora said. The group went to the exhibit and looked around. Sora listened carefully for the crying. He looked at the Yamask mask and saw tears streaming from the eyes. "Are those tears?"
"What appears to be tears are compensation, nothing more," Cilan said. The mask starts to float, but it couldn't get out of the display case.
"The angry spirit is in that mask!" Iris exclaimed.
"No, no. It's merely attracted to something like a positive and negative poles of a magnet," Cilan said. The mask then is placed back in place as the skeletal Dragonite was now moving.
"Are you the angry spirit?" Iris asked. "Tell us now-" Cilan interuppted her.
"Stop! It's simply the change in the magnetic field!" Cilan said.
"Cilan, give it up," Aqua said.
"She's right, because I don't even believe you anymore," Terra added. The skeletal Dragonite lunges at the group, making them scatter. Cilan took out Pansage's Pokéball and threw it.
"Pansage! Bullet Seed!" Cilan ordered. Pansage came out and unleashed Bullet Seed. It struck the figure from behind. It was a Yamask, only without the mask. It briefly shook off its invisibility and fell to the groound, before becoming invisible again. Sora got a good look at the figure.
"So, that's it," Sora said. The skeletal Dragonite fell apart.
"So, that's what?" Cilan asked.
"I got a good look at the spirit, and I know I saw it before," Sora said.
"What about the mask?" Meowth asked.
"I'll go check on it!" Hawes said. As soon as he opened it, the mask floats and graps onto Cilan's face. He tried to get it off him.
"Cilan!" Sora cried. He tried to help out, but it couldn't come off. "No good, it won't come off!" Cilan stepped back.
"And now," the possessed Connoisseur said. He holds up his hands and it came out as Shadow Ball. "You shall be punsished!" He hurls it right at them.
"What's going on with him?" Ventus asked.
"That Yamask has taken him over, that's what!" Sora stated. Iris looked right at him.
"What? Yamask? No, it's a spirit! I know it is! And it took over Cilan because he denied it was real in the first place!" Iris said.
"Trust me. It is a Yamask. I know, because I got a good look at it. It was a Yamask, but it didn't have its mask!" Sora said. "Yamask, let Cilan go! You're doing this because you want your mask back, don't you?"
"You locked it away! You locked my precious mask from me! I was trying to get it out, but you denied my mask!" Yamask said, through Cilan's body.
"He's right, because that Yamask mask is the real deal," a woman's voice spoke. The voice belonged to a tall dark-skinned woman with curly cyan hair and blue eyes. She wore a striped headband, with a white shirt with a white ribbon on her neck, as well as orange flats, teal pants and a khaki apron with orange pockets. She also worea red lipstick on.
"Hi, dear. Your timing couldn't be any better," Hawes said.
"Dear? That means you're Lenora, aren't you?" Aqua asked.
"That's right. Tell me, Hawes, where did you get that mask?" Lenora asked.
"Huh? The mask? Thinking about it now, last night while the workers were unloading the artifacts off their truck, I found a mask laying on the ground. I didn't remember ordering it, so I assumed they sent the Yamask mask as a thank you gift, so I mistook it for a replica," Haws said.
"You know better than that," Lenora said.
"I should have," Hawes said, scratching the back of his head. The Yamask mask started to use Psychic to make the skeletal Dragonite move again.
"Now, stop that! That's quite enough! Lenora said.
"Get out!" Yamask said. The skeletal Dragonite moves forward.
"If that's how you want it," Lenora said, taking out a Pokéball and threw it, "Go! Watchog!" Her Watchog came on out and waited for its trainer's trainer's instructions. "Use Flash!" Watchog's stripes starts glowing and unleashed Flash, making everyone shield their eyes. "Now, Yamask, come out and show yourself." The mask gets off of Cilan and floated up.
"You okay, Cilan?" Kairi asked.
"What happened?" Cilan asked.
"You were possessed by a Yamask, that's all," Sora said. This confuses Cilan.
"What? A Yamask?" Cilan asked.
Yamask became visible again. Iris was especially surprised when she saw it was a Yamask.
"You were right, Sora, it was a Yamask," Iris said.
"Yamask must have been hiding in the artifacts. That's how it ended up here," Lenora said. "And then, it accidentally dropped its mask. You thought it was a replica and made the mistake of putting it in a display case. And when Yamask saw it locked in a cage, it assumed that you have stolen it."
"Yamask," Yamask said. Yamask saw Sora and it floated right towards him. Yamask beamed.
"Uh, do I know you?" Sora asked.
"Yamask, Yamask, Yamask, Yamask!" Yamask said.
"Translation, Meowth?" Iris asked.
"Yamask was saying that he saw him in the Relic Castle, and he was impressed by how strong he and the other Pokémon were, so he was following us," Meowth translated.
"But what were you doing with the exhibit?" Sora asked.
"Yam, Yam, Yamask, Yamask," Yamask said, feeling embarrassed.
"Yamask said that he got sleepy, so he fell asleep; so he didn't think about it, until he woke up and saw his mask gone," Meowth translated.
"Man, I knew something was up. Yamask was using Psychic to move the Dome Fossil, the armor, and the fake skeleton. That black fog was Haze, and those balls of shadows we saw was really Shadow Ball," Sora said. Hawes stepped up to Yamask.
"I apologize that my mistake has caused you so much grief. I am sorry. I beg you to forgive me," Hawes said.
"I apologize as well. Please forgive us," Lenora said. Yamask smiled.
"Ya, Ya," Yamask said.
"Yamask just said that it's okay," Meowth translated.
"That's good to know," Iris said.
"Wonderful. Thank you," Lenora said. Yamask turned to Sora.
"Yamask, Yamask, mask, mask, Yamask, Yam," Yamask said.
"Yamask just said that he challenges you into a battle. He want to see if you have what it takes to train him," Meowth translated.
"If that's what you want, then I accept your challenge," Sora said.
"Mask, Yamask, mask," Yamask said.
"But his opponent will be Pikachu," Meowth translated.
"If that's what you want then," Sora said. Yamask started up by unleashing Shadow Ball.
"Dodge with Quick Attack!" Sora ordered. Pikachu dodges with Quick Attack. Yamask kept firing Shadow Ball. Yamask then uses Haze to cloud his presence. "Listen for Yamask, Pikachu. Yamask is using Haze to hide." Pikachu shuts his eyes and listened for Yamask. He could hear him breathing. "Thunderbolt!" Pikachu unleashed Thunderbolt and it lands a hit onto the spirit Pokémon. "Thunderbolt again!" Pikachu unleashed another Thunderbolt, but Yamask blocks with Psychic, so he sends it back at the mouse Pokémon. Pikachu took a bad hit from his own attack.
"Yamask used Psychic to block Thunderbolt," Iris said.
"Yamask unleashed Shadow Ball right at Pikachu.
"Dodge and use Thunder!" Sora ordered. Pikachu avoids Shadow Ball and lands a hit with Thunder, landing a much powerful hit. Pikachu's Thunder came too fast for Yamask to block with Psychic, so he was down for the count, so Sora took out a Pokéball and threw it. Yamask flows inside, making the Pokéball wobble around and around. Stars swirls around the Pokéball to confirm the catch. Sora's Pokémon Box goes off asking him if he wants to keep Yamask with him. He chose to keep Yamask in exchange for Tranquil. Lenora was impressed by Sora's skills and resolve.
"That was impressive, young man. And your name would be?" Lenora asked.
"I'm Sora, and I'm challenging you into a Gym battle," Sora said.
"Of course. After seeing how well you abttled, I'm looking forward in seeing you in action on the battlefield," Lenora said.
Now that the mystery of the haunted museum has been solved, Sora has challenged Lenora into a Gym battle. We shall see if Sora can defeat her.