Here's another chapter of Sylvia time! In this one, she begins exploring the haunted mountain! What secrets will she uncover there? Will she be able to make it out safely? A nice, fun jaunt on the mountain, just a casual hike, what could go wrong?

KedharS: Really? Those two? Seriously?

Aquahaze675: If you ask me, they really aren't THAT nice together. If you ask me.

Pokemonking0924: Interesting.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Well, hopefully it'll be interesting. But then again, Sylvia's just starting out with her new lifestyle, so it might end up being boring and predictable.

Rus0804: Sylvia might appear to be a force of nature, but I guarantee she's human. Even Ryoko, who pretty much IS a force of nature, is still human. Sylvia might be stranger than most, but she's still human. As for what direction that takes her as a character? I guess we'll have to see.

Sonic07: I don't know, Sango's gotten really into fishing lately.

Guest: I really don't have that much time.

Thunder Fire: She changed her name, fled the region, and the Draconid aren't exactly the most technologically-accepting people. Trying to keep the existence of your people secret from the world at large makes trying to find someone rather difficult.

JoshGamerV: Sylvia does lots of good! You just don't want to root for her when she does it because she's such a… Sylvia.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 551

The atmosphere on the haunted mountain was quite eerie. That was Sylvia's first thought as she strolled down the long winding path, through the dark fog. It didn't help that tonight was a new moon, or that there wasn't a single star in the sky. The choking darkness pushing in on all sides just served to remind her that yes, this place was the home of Ghost type pokemon, and if she wasn't careful, one could pop out from the shadows and take her, and she would never be seen or heard from again.

It was a thought that sent shivers down Sylvia's spine. She felt herself licking her lips in anticipation. Normally, "Murasaki Kanou" would be frightened. While the girl carried herself with an air of antipathy, she really would have been scared of something like this.

Sylvia Driscoll, though? For Sylvia Driscoll, a haunted mountain oozing spirits wasn't something to be afraid of, it was something to be excited about! She walked and hummed to herself, twirling a flashlight between her fingers. She didn't even care that her outfit was totally unsuited for walking around on a mountain, she was just enjoying the adventure.

"Looking back, it was such a waste that my parents never took me camping," Sylvia sighed, taking in a deep breath of the fresh mountain air. Well, fresh in a manner of speaking, of course. It still smelled of ghosts. Sylvia had an odd bit of identity issue with her parents. While technically her parents were those of Murasaki Kanou, she still felt an affinity towards them. She still considered them her own parents, in a way. It was one of the few concessions she made to her past. Apparently cutting those ties was proving to be a lot more difficult than she had expected.

Hmm, perhaps I should have called them to let them know I'm alive, Sylvia considered. That idea remained in her head for all of two seconds before it was quickly dismissed. It was their fault that Murasaki Kanou had ended up on that bridge in the first place, after all.

Well, they'll figure it out eventually. Sylvia had more important problems to worry about. The greatest of which being where was she going to find those flowers? This was a large mountain, after all, the night flowers could be anywhere.

Right now, Sylvia's plan was less a plan and more of a guideline. She was just gonna walk the path up the side of the mountain, checking the locations where the flowers would grow. Not the best plan, but she wasn't particularly bothered. Even though she was on a bit of a time crunch, she was enjoying the experience of searching a little too much to be worried about the fact that she had no idea where to start the search.

How odd, I wonder why I'm even working so hard on something like this, Sylvia wondered, stroking her chin. Sylvia was the kind of girl who only did the things that she liked doing. And she wasn't exactly all that injured in helping out some random Nincada.

So why was she? She couldn't explain it.

And that was exactly what was exciting her so much! She wasn't following some dumb plan or doing what anyone expected or wanted to do, she wasn't living her life in some boring and predictable way the way Murasaki Kanou had been. This was living an exciting life because that's what she wanted to do! She was burning with anticipation! She wanted to see what this path forward had in store, and the fact that she was walking in the darkness right now, not able to see what was in front of her, in more ways than literally, it just couldn't be helped!

Now, I wonder where those flowers are… Sylvia shone her light out, scanning it across the field until she saw some movement out of the corner of her eye. Oh?

Sylvia shot the flashlight back, trying to see if she could see what was moving around.

"Helloooooo?" She called out, taking a tentative step closer to the growing wilderness on the sides of the path. "Anyone here?"

A rustling sound came from the bushes and she shot her flashlight over towards the bit of movement she spotted. A shaky smile spread across her face and she licked her lips, the pounding of her heart in her chest spurring her forward.

What could it be? She wondered, taking another step forward. Perhaps it would be a helpful pokemon. Perhaps it was some crazy person living on the mountain, driven insane by the ghosts who dwelled there. Perhaps it would be some wild, destructive pokemon that would attack her and try to eat her, or take over her body.

She wasn't sure, and that's what made her heart race.

She kept the light shining on the bush as she got closer, reaching out a hand towards the brush. She was careful not to ruin her skirt as she stepped into the tall grass, this dress had been quite expensive! But her curiosity was more important at the moment.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you… probably," Sylvia cooed. She bush began to rustle even more, and a shadowy figure emerged, flying right for her!

"Oh?" Murasaki Kanou would have screamed. But Sylvia? What did Sylvia Driscoll have to fear from ghosts? She had already died once, she was practically a ghost herself. She had never felt more affinity for ghosts than she did at this very moment. So as the tiny shadow lunged at her, head tilted down and horn pointed squarely at her, she didn't even flinch. She just stared at it with a smile.

The pokemon stopped short of piercing her with its horn. She continued to smile.

"Shuppet?" The pokemon peeked at her, righting itself. It was quite an oddly shaped pokemon, it looked like a fluttering dark cloth wrapped around a round ball for the pokemon's head, with a short horn sticking out of the top. The pokemon's big round eyes blinked, confused about why the girl wasn't reacting with fear and running away like all the other humans she had tried to scare before. The way she was staring at her…

"So you're a Shuppet, are you? Aren't you just the most adorable thing in the world?" Sylvia cooed, reaching out to the Shuppet.

"Shuppet!" The Shuppet snarled, gnashing her teeth angrily at the human. She wasn't adorable! She was scary! Terrifying, really! She'd been scaring humans who wandered here for years! And she wasn't about to let this one get away!

The Shuppet's eyes began to glow bright blue, and she opened her mouth. An eerie light began to glow in front of her, a small orb that moved in a shaky erratic pattern towards the human. This was one of her specialties, confuse ray! She would disorient the human, make her afraid and unsure of where she was, and then scare her off with a screech, or maybe some will-o-wisps! She was wearing those pretty clothes that humans just hated to ruin, so the threat of some ghost fire would be perfect to chase her off!

"Oh! Is that a confuse ray? Shuppet don't develop those naturally!" Sylvia marveled, leaning in close to study the odd move. While looking up herbs, Sylvia had spent some of her downtime studying Professor Lunark's extensive work on Ghost type pokemon. A Ghost type specialist, the professor had amassed quite a collection of writings on the topic, and was considered an expert in the field, comparable to gym leaders like Morty from Johto, Fantina from Sinnoh, and Alister from Galar. The only people who might be more knowledgeable were trainers in the Elite 4, like Agatha from Kanto, Phoebe from Hoenn, or Shauntal from Unova. And Sylvia had memorized all of it, so she knew what sorts of moves a Shuppet should and shouldn't know. It must have inherited the move from one of its parents!

She was so interested in this Shuppet's confuse ray that the actual intention of the move was completely lost on her.

Shuppet's mouth dropped open in shock. Not only had the attack been absolutely ineffective against the human, but she had actually smiling! Like she was happy to see it, or something! It didn't make any sense! This wasn't how humans were supposed to react! Shuppet and the other Ghost type pokemon who made their home on this mountain lived here because of the ominous atmosphere, perfect for driving away those pesky humans! And now, one of those humans was just coming into their home and acting like the creepy fog, howling wails, and bone-chilling, rip-your-spirit-from-your-body ominous winds were nothing?!

Shuppet would not tolerate this insult!

Burning with anger, Shuppet turned and flew off into the forest, vowing to terrify this girl if it was the last thing she did!

"Wait, hey! I wanted to ask…" Sylvia's words were futile, however, the Shuppet having departed before she could even ask her question. "…Well, that was rude! Running off without saying anything!"

Sylvia pouted and crossed her arms, before shrugging and continuing to walk up the mountain. Maybe she would find some ghost pokemon more willing to lend a hand!

If that was what she thought, she would find herself in for a surprise. The only thing that the ghosts of Mt. Specter hated more than a human was a human who found scary things to be interesting and exciting, rather than scary.

"I suppose you're all wondering why I called you here tonight…" the Shuppet ominously whispered in pokemon speak.

Five ghost pokemon gathered in a clearing of ominously shaped trees, their leafless branches reaching towards the center, twisted like arms in worship.

"Is it a human intruder?" The curious Jellicent asked.

"Fufu, so you failed to scare off a human?" The Mismagius giggled, laughing at Shuppet's predicament. Shuppet glared at her.

"Easy now, Mismagius." The wise words of Dusknoir, the oldest and most powerful of the Ghost types on the mountain said, stroking his chin. "There's no need to tease our companion."

"Yeah!" Shuppet said triumphantly, sticking her tongue out at her. Mismagius scowled, and rolled her eyes.

"It's not that hard to scare humans," Mismagius snorted. "They're cowards. Even when they come in groups. How many were there? Five? Six?"

Shuppet looked away sheepishly. "…One."

That little admission sent Mismagius into a fit of squealing laugher, and Jellicent joined in. Even Dusknoir had to suppress a chuckle. The only one not laughing was the Golett, the small pokemon quiet as always.

"One human?! You couldn't scare one human?!" Mismagius said through peals of laughter. "Humans are easiest to scare when they're alone, you know!"

Shuppet glanced down and blushed, annoyed. "This-this human is different! She's… she's strange!"

"I'll handle her," Mismagius said snootily. "No human can resist when I'm on the job! Just show me where she is!"

"In due time," Dusknoir agreed. "However, you'll need to wait in line, it seems."

He pointed a finger at the Golett, who had risen from where they sat and was walking towards the edge of the clearing without uttering a word.

"Oooh!" Mismagius cooed. "This should be interesting!"

As Sylvia walked up the mountain, she entered a large clearing of dirt and stones, the forest having receded slightly to make room for a large cliff. Boulders stood precariously above, threatening to drop with just the slightest nudge. Then the ground began to shake.

"Oh?" Sylvia looked around, and the shaking began to get stronger and stronger. The trees whipped about and shook, the ground rumbling loudly like an unearthly groan, the moans of the forest promising dangerous things if she advanced. The boulders were rattling above so loudly that one wrong step could cause a landslide. "Oh!"

"There we go!" Shuppet cackled, the ghosts watching Sylvia tremble from the cover of the trees. This was no-doubt going to get her! If she dared move forward, she would buried in rubble, and would no-doubt join the other ghosts on the mountain. Not that Golett would ever do that, of course! The ghosts didn't want to hurt the humans, just give them a little fright and scare them off so that they could have their mountain to themselves.

What they failed to take into consideration was the fact that Sylvia didn't exactly have a great deal of care for her own safety. She was far more interested in finding the night flower and uncovering the secrets of this exciting place. Dodging falling boulders? That sounded like quite the thrill! Something she'd never have encountered as boring Murasaki Kanou.

So, without a care in the world, she skipped through the gorge, not caring one way or another if the rocks fell on her head.

The ghosts stared in stunned silence at the crazy human, humming in defiance of the terrifying deathtrap she had no way of knowing was a bluff.

"Well that's… something," Jellicent said.

"I told you, she's weird," Shuppet groaned. "It's gonna take a lot more than that to scare her!"

Golett said nothing, lowering their arms in defeat. The ground stopped shaking. They would have to try another plan to scare this human off.

Shuppet turned to Mismagius, reinvigorated by what she had just seen. "Well, Mismagius? You wanted to go next, right?"

"W-well, I said that, but perhaps it's a better idea to give some others a shot," Mismagius deflected the taunt, feeling a little out of her league.

"Well, I'll go next then!" Jellicent chirped, her pink body bouncing up and down excitedly. "I know just what to do!"

Sylvia passed through the gorge and the forest began to close in on her again, and as it did she noticed something different about the weather. Maybe it was because she was getting closer to the top of the mountain, but the humidity was starting to increase, almost like-

Just as she realized it was getting damp, the dark clouds unseen in the night sky opened up, and a torrent of rain came falling down upon her.

"Whoa!" Sylvia said, raising her arms to shield herself from the downpour. "Yikes!"

"That's your big move?" Shuppet asked. "Rain?"

"Humans hate to be wet!" Jellicent protested. "And besides, now we can really turn her away…"

As the rain continued to pour, a chilling wind blew down the mountain, and with the ghostly fog came the moans and howls of countless spirits, each one threatening to do horrid things to the girl unless she turned back. If the freezing wind mixed with the pouring rain did not turn her away physically, then the ominously moaning fog and the spectral chill of the spirits would certainly frighten her off on a spiritual level!

"Odd," Sylvia said, ignoring the cold and the rain. She tapped her finger to her lips in contemplation. "Fog this dense and thick shouldn't be able to exist at the same time as a downpour this heavy, not at this atmospheric composition… how strange! This mountain is definitely odd, I can't wait to see what else is in store!"

Sylvia walked forward, ignoring the rain and wind and fog, once again stunning the other ghosts.

"…I already tried that," Shuppet sighed. "Like I said, this human doesn't-"

"That's it!" Mismagius growled. Her pride was ignored now, she was angry! This human was making a mockery of everything that they stood for! She was going to scare her if it was the last thing that she did!

Sylvia broke into a large clearing, filled with dark flowers. She looked around, surprised. Were these the night flowers?!

…No, they weren't. They were just ordinary flowers. As Sylvia stood back up, a mournful howl echoed through the clearing, and she froze in place. Literally. She felt a piercing gaze upon her, and she was unable to move.

"My mean look will keep her from moving…" Mismagius cackled, her eyes glowing as she bragged to the other ghosts.

"Well, we're trying to get her to leave though," Shuppet reminded her. Mismagius rolled her eyes.

"Obviously. That's just the opener! Now that she can't move…"

Mystical fire began to dance before Sylvia's eyes, her jaw dropping.

"No way!" She gasped. "Holy-! Or, unholy I guess!"

"Miiiiiiiisss!" Mismagius groaned, the flames dancing around. The wind began to intensify and the spectral form of Mismagius appeared in the wake of the flickering fire.

"Are you a ghost?" Sylvia asked eagerly. "Hi there! I was wondering if you could help me!"

Mismagius scowled, taken aback momentarily. She glared, giant rubies appearing in the air around her, the gems shining with ethereal light. They danced around Sylvia and drew closer to her, the fire flying right towards her. Sylvia couldn't even move to dodge!

But she didn't flinch, the flames shooting out and rolling around her, Mismagius taking care not to actually hurt the girl. It didn't seem like Sylvia was even worried about them hurting her! The flames swirled in a tornado around the immobilized girl, shining with countless colors as they drew closer, before suddenly snuffing out, bathing the clearing in darkness.

It was silent. TOO silent. Sylvia blinked in the darkness, still trying to move. The lights had forced her eyes to need to readjust to the night. She was still trying to move, but she couldn't.

Then, all of a sudden, her arm could move! The moment she had control of her body again, a loud howl pierced the air and Mismagius appeared in front of her, glowing brightly, a terrifying look on her face.

"MISMAGIUS!" The pokemon shrieked at the top of her lungs, Sylvia staring at her in stunned silence.

Perfect! Mismagius laughed to herself. The human hadn't run away screaming like Mismagius had expected, but clearly that was because she had been so terrified that she couldn't even move! Mismagius had scared her so badly she'd lost-

"Hi there!" Sylvia greeted with a big smile. "So you're a Mismagius? I'm Sylvia Driscoll! Hey, I'm looking for a special flower that supposedly grows on this mountain, and I was wondering if you- hey, wait, where are you going?"

Stunned by the fact that her best efforts had been stymied by the human, Mismagius turned and fled, her face hot with shame. All of her boasting, and the human had smiled at her?! She couldn't take such an insult!

"That… that's just not normal," Jellicent said, shaking her head.

"Indeed," Golett said, the first words they had uttered all night. To speak now meant the situation was truly dire.

"I told you!" Shuppet wailed. "This girl isn't like the other humans! It's like she's not afraid of anything! How are we supposed to frighten her away?"

"This is unbelievable," Mismagius said, returning to the others. Her pride was in tatters and she hung her head in shame, not bearing to look up from under the brim of her hat-shaped head.

"Gosh, these ghosts are so rude!" Sylvia pouted. "I'm just trying to get some help!"

"We have to do something," Shuppet said, peeking back at the girl. As much as she hated to admit it, this human was almost admirable in her refusal to be frightened. But that just made the Shuppet want to scare her even more. "We can't let this human continue like this without being frightened! Our pride as Ghost types is on the line!"

"…Indeed," Dusknoir said, narrowing his eye. His body began to ooze an ominous aura that caused the other Ghost types to pull away, a little frightened of him themselves! He rumbled, floating closer to the girl, "I'll handle this myself."

Just a fun little jaunt on the mountain! Sylvia's got spunk the ghosts have got to give her that! Will she be able to make it off this mountain intact? …Well, the answer to that one is pretty frigging obvious, isn't it?