Jackson stepped through the sliding doors of the Pokémon Centre. Immediately, the wind caught him. He clutched his safari hat and grit his teeth as he pushed through the torrent of air. From beneath the brim of his hat, he squinted his eyes, feeling his way through the street. There was hardly any light in this creepy town and no lanterns to guide his way. Only the dim light that crept through the faint mist allowed him to see. The light had a pastel, orange hue. A hue that only got stronger and warmer the higher Jackson looked. Along the top of the high canyon walls, the billowing plumes of fog looked like fluffy waterfalls of orange juice. Still, the rising sun was nowhere to be seen. The patch of sky above was shades of orange, yellow and white but none of that light reached the town. If he hadn't looked up, Jackson may as well have assumed it was still nighttime.

"Damn ghost town," Jackson muttered to himself.

He huddled, crossing his arms over his chest as he pressed on towards the Pokémon Tower. No matter how cold or dark or creepy it was he had to go back in. There was no way he could let Green be right. A powerful gust of wind barrelled towards him, his teeth chattered as it blew right through him. He grunted and lowered his head, charging through the wind. He ran, pounding his feet against the paved street, slick with last night's rain.

"A minute spent complaining is a minute you're not stronger" His father's words rang in his head. Somehow, he ran even faster.

He was so distracted by beating the wind that he crashed headfirst into the metal-wire gate of the fence surrounding the Pokémon Tower.

"Ow!" He kicked the gate and shoved it open, "stupid gate."

Trudging forward, he stomped along the gravel path, crunching and mashing it with his boots. Before him, the tower loomed. It was so cool, all old and broken like a horror movie. Around him, along the way to the front door were all the old stuff the radio people had left behind. He scoffed at it.

"Imagine being scared of a Pokémon."

Jackson placed his hand on the stone door leading into the tower and hesitated. He grasped his pokéball belt and went over his plan one more time.

Beedrill was a bust, no matter how hard he hit the Gastlies they'd just disappear after. So clearly bug-type energy wasn't the answer. Physical attacks could also be an issue. If it was that'd be an issue, his team was practically all physical attackers.

He popped open the fifth container of his belt and picked out Magnemite's ball. If a thunderbolt from Magnetite had the same effect as Beedrill's Twineedle, then at the very least he'd know it wasn't a physical issue.

"There's gotta to be some way of damaging Gastlies. How else would Red and Blue be able to use them?"

Jackson gave a nod at that assessment and grinned. He released Magnemite from his ball.

"Magnemite!" they buzzed, twirling their dual magnets.

Magnemite zipped around Jackson's head in rapid circles, buzzing and sparking with gleeful chatter.

"Alright! You ready to catch a ghost?!" Jackson cried, pumping his fists.

Magnemite froze in place and slowly turned towards the tower, as if only just noticing it.

"Magnemite?" they asked, hovering back slowly behind Jackson.

Their magnets drooped. Jackson marched forwards anyway and heaved open the thick, slab of purple stone. A puff of purple incense hit him in the face. His eyes watered but he kept marching forward, with cheeks puffed out and his mouth shut firmly. Magnemite hovered behind him, lagging by a few feet. Jackson furrowed his brow and waved him on, making a muffled grunt at them through his closed mouth.

"Mite…" They groaned and begrudgingly zipped up to Jackson's side.

As Jackson climbed the staircase, his puffed cheeks began to turn red, then purple, then blue, then dark blue until he finally gasped for air. He inhaled, choked, coughed and gasped again. The incense burned his lungs but still, he never stopped climbing. Once on the first floor, Jackson got right to work. He made his way down the rows of headstones stomping his feet and clapping his hands together.

"Gastly! Gastly! Gastly!" He yelled at the top of his lungs.

He wasn't sure why but this is what Gastlies appear, lots of noise and the occasional bad word.

"You smell Gastly!" He giggled as he said it.

Magnemite helped too, buzzing loudly and making warbling beeping sounds. Eventually, it worked and the purple mist began to swirl above Jackson.

"Yes!" He ran back a few paces and pointed at it, "zap it when it appears!"

The mist became an orb, the core became grey and formed another smaller black core the size of a basketball. Large slanted eyes and a wide pink mouth popped on the black core. It screamed, wailing and crying as it began to swoop back and forth through the air.

"Hurry zap it!" Jackson yelled over the screaming.

Magnemite's eye was wide and their magnets were trembling. Jackson groaned and tugged at the sides of his hat.

"Stop being so scared! Zap it!"

Magnemite glanced at him and then back at the Gastly, not making a move. The Gastly locked its eyes onto Magnemite's. It hollered and flew at him.

"Magnemite!" Magnemite sobbed and shut his eye.

His round, metal body glowed yellow and a bolt of lightning cracked through the air. It struck Gastly, making a spherical grey veil pulse around him. The zap stopped Gastly in its tracks and it hovered in the air. Its face spasmed. Jackson readied a pokéball.

"Again! Hit it again!" He yelled.

Magnemite opened their eye part way and fired a much thicker bolt. This time the grey veil shimmered violently and small cracks formed in it. The Gastly shook itself back and forth with an awkward, uneven pattern. Jackson raised the pokéball above his head.

"Again!"

Magnemite opened their eye fully.

"Mite!" He yelled and blasted. The air split between the two pokémon and the walls rattled. Jackson could feel the heat in the air.

The veil shattered like glass as the bolt passed through, hitting the Gastly. At least it would have if Gastly hadn't disappeared in a puff, again. Jackson lowered the ball and sighed. His sigh became a groan and the groan a yell. He threw the ball at the ground and it broke in two, separating at the hinge.

"Stupid!" He yelled at nothing in particular.

Magnemite hovered over to him gingerly and nuzzled him. Jackson scowled but when Magnemite shimmered a faint yellow he laughed.

"Stop! That tickles!" He swatted at Magnemite feebly.

Magnemite buzzed a laugh and persisted. Jackson squealed and ran away, laughing hysterically. Magnemite gave chase and quickly caught him, bringing Jackson to the ground. Jackson squirmed and kicked, laughing uncontrollably. He pulled out Magnemite's pokéball and waved it in the air.

"Stooop! I'm gonna pee! I'll put you back I swear!"

Magnemite made a taunting beep and pulled back. Jackson got to his feet, grinning ear to ear.

"Okay, well we know it's not a physical issue now," He began searching his belt and Magnemite followed his fingers curiously.

"Normal, no that won't work. Poison, Flying, Water, Ground, Fairy." He looked back up at Magnemite, "and Steel."

He furrowed his brow, clutched his chin and stared down at his feet. Something felt off. Electricity and Bug didn't share any attributes, they are completely removed from one another. So why would Ghost have an immunity to both? He didn't get much longer to ponder the puzzle as a voice interrupted him.

"That won't work." It said behind him.

Jackson whipped around, wide-eyed. No one was there.

"Who's there?!" He shouted.

A sigh responded.

"Down here, child."

Jackson looked down to find a Channeler crouched at a headstone right before his feet. She had a basket full of red and black flowers slung around her elbow. She plucked the two flowers before the headstone, wilted and pale, and replaced them with fresh ones. Jackson recoiled away.

"Don't sneak up on people! That's creepy!" He cried.

The Channeler rose, standing a head taller than him. She stared at him with hollow, grey eyes and a hardened face.

"I've been here the whole time, you almost ran into me."

Jackson huffed and turned his nose up at her.

"You shouldn't be hiding in the smoke then, that's your fault!"

The Channeler opened her mouth to respond but he cut her off.

"Why are you here anyway? Who's running the Pokémon Centre?" He narrowed his eyes at her.

She cocked her head at him. Her bangs swept to the side.

"You can tell us apart?" She asked.

Jackson wrinkled his nose at her.

"Duh you look totally different," he pointed in her face, "your cheekbones are way higher, plus your voice is deeper than the other Channelers who were here yesterday"

A smile crossed her face. She leaned forward and looked him up and down.

"Fascinating," She whispered.

Jackson recoiled, stumbling back away from her.

"Get away! I won't let you possess me!" He held out Magnemite's pokéball, "I'm a powerful trainer! I'd destroy you!"

The Channeler raised a robed hand to her mouth and giggled, closing her hollow eyes.

"Yet you have been bested by a Gastly, no? If you cannot wrangle a ghost why could you beat a ghost tamer?" She cocked her head again, opening her eyes, they seemed brighter than before.

Jackson pointed to himself with his thumb and smirked.

"Because I'm the best there ever was! I'm gonna beat the Elite Four and best Red as the youngest ever champion!" He puffed out his chest.

The Channeler gave a small bow.

"Oh forgive me future champion, how could I be so foolish?" She giggled.

Jackson beamed at her.

"I'll forgive you, only if you help me catch a Gastly though," It was nice to finally get the respect he deserved.

The Channeler raised her head, a strand of hair with large grey beads in it hung over her face. She swept it away and it disappeared into her thick mass of black hair.

"Are you sure you want to child?" She asked in a hushed voice, taking a step towards him, "Ghost taming is an art, a craft you must hone with lots of hard work."

"I can work hard!" Jackson insisted.

"Ghosts are frightening, not for the frail of heart I'm afraid."

"I'm not! I'm not! I'm the braverest ever!" He insisted.

The Channeler grinned.

"Well then, you are perfect for ghost taming!"

She placed her basket down on the floor and slid a long, grey fan from her sleeve. Small silver bells hung along with the wooden handle, tingling softly as she moved it. Jackson hopped from foot to foot.

"You said I was wrong, wrong about what?" He asked.

He pulled out his notepad from the pocket of his khaki shorts. She reached out and in a flash, snatched it away from him.

"Hey! That's mine!" Jackson protested.

"You will not need it," Her voice was stern now, "or that, remove it and return that!" She pointed to his belt with the fan and then Magnemite.

Jackson scowled.

"But-"

"No buts!" She whacked him with the fan.

Jackson shouted but another whack changed his attitude. Grumbling, Jackson returned Magnemite and undid his belt. He placed it on the ground beside him, handling it like it was made of glass. It took a moment for him to let go, he stared at it, sighed and stood back up. The fan came to meet him, slapping the top of his hat as he stood.

"Sit, legs crossed, back straight!" The Channeler commanded.

All around them the mist pulsed. The bells jingled. Jackson gulped and quickly did as he was told. The Channeler sat across from him, sitting as stiff as stone. She unfolded the fan into a half-circle. The grey paper was ornamented with black, painted runes. With a flick, the fan was flat on her lap facing him. The runes pulsed grey.

"What's your name anyway?" Jackson asked.

She frowned and cocked her head.

"You do not know? How sad. You have lots to learn child."

Jackson opened his mouth to respond but she whipped up her hand and covered it.

"Esprit, that is what you will call me," she whispered.

With wide eyes, Jackson nodded and Esprit moved her hand away.

"Now…" Her eyes pulsed grey, "Jackson, the way you are trying to capture a Gastly is all wrong! You can not beat it into submission, you can not reason with it nor can you befriend it."

Jackson frowned.

"That can't be true, how else can you convince them you're strong enough for them to join?"

The fan snapped shut and cracked against his cheek.

"Listen and you will learn." She folded the fan back out onto her lap.

Jackson's cheek burned hot but he didn't raise his hand to clutch it. He instead clenched his jaw and stared her down. He wasn't going to let her win.

"While strength, wisdom and friendship may sway the souls of mortals they are nothing to the dead. A ghost has already lived their life, why would they want to spend their afterlife making your dreams come true when theirs are out of reach?"

Jackson furrowed his brow. He huffed.

"I guess that makes sense…"

He shook his head.

"But some do, they must. How else are there ghost type trainers? What gives?"

Esprit nodded and began waving the fan back and forth, the bells chimed softly and the runes flickered grey.

"Well observed child, but consider this. Why do you think there are only seven Ghost Masters in the world? While the other types have hundreds?"

Jackson grinned, he knew this answer.

"Cause, training ghosts is hard!" He beamed at her.

Esprit tittered and gave the fan a sharp wave, making Jackson flinch.

"That is but one piece of the puzzle," She prodded Jackson's forehead.

Her finger felt as hard as steel.

"Open your eyes to the truth, there is more to the world than hard work."

Jackson jumped to his feet.

"That's not true! Hard work can get you anything!" He shouted.

Esprit swept the back of his knees with her hand, making them buckle. Jackson fell onto this back with a thud. In a flash, he was back on his feet.

"That's what the Elite Four is all about! If you work hard anyone can be Champion!"

Again, his legs were swept and he was on his back. He clenched his teeth and growled.

"Stop it!"

"If every man, woman and child worked at pokémon training could they all become Champion?" Esprit asked, closing her eyes as she fluttered her fan.

Jackson sat up and scrunched his face up.

"Yes!"

"No, there will always be one better than the rest. They will be Champion and the rest will be weak."

This crazy lady wasn't making any sense.

"They wouldn't be weak, they'd all be strong! The champion would just be strongest of the strong!"

"But still weak, no? A Raticate may be strong amongst Rattata but is nothing when a boulder falls on its head and a Rattata is a god amongst Caterpie, yes?"

Jackson sat up and kneaded his head with his palms.

"What does this have to do with ghosts?" He sighed.

"Everything."

The mist around them began to swirl.

"To speak the language of the dead is not something you can simply learn, Jackson of Pewter City. Only those with a strong soul," she prodded his chest, "and a willing mind," she poked his forehead, "can win the heart of a ghost."

Jackson grinned and sat forward.

"Finally!"

"How do you do that?" He asked.

Esprit waved her fan up above her head and began shimmying it back and forth. The bells chimed, ringing with a high-pitch drone. The mist swirled harder, whipping and spitting around their heads. It cleared between them, forming a sphere of clear air around them. The mist darkened, turning grey and black. Howls, screams and taunting laughter screamed around them. Esprit opened her eyes. They shone grey, pulsing rapidly.

"You bind your soul with theirs!" Her voice boomed from every direction at once, drowning out the howling as she spoke.

Jackson's eyes widened and his mouth twisted in a wide-open grin. Esprit placed her palm on his forehead.

"Are you ready child?" She boomed.

Jackson clenched his fists.

"Yeah!"

Esprit laughed.

"No, you are not."

She shoved his forehead and Jackson's head snapped back. Grey flames erupted from his eyes and mouth. The howling picked up, becoming deafening. The world as he knew it melted away, transforming into something…

Something indescribable.

Esprit was gone. The air was gone. The floor was gone. His body was gone. His mind was gone. Only the howling remained. A million voices screaming, crying, shouting, cursing and every other imaginable emotion all thundering down on him at once. Visions of love. Of loss. Of victory. And defeat all flashed before him. Through it all, something pierced through the confusion. His father's voice.

"Weak ... Stronger!"

Whatever Jackson had become, it squirmed. He latched onto the voice and ran to it. At least, it felt like running. Attached to the voice, he found a thought, then a memory. A Weedle jabbing his hand with its head horn. The memory led to another, Beedrill cracking Onix's head with an explosion of light-green light. That memory, lead to more and more of victory and of defeat. Abby's face flashed before him and then was replaced by his mother's. It looked almost alien, it had been that long. Suddenly the face rippled away and was replaced by another. A pair of large, sharp eyes gazed at him with a mouth, wide and smirking. It screamed at him.

"You won't win!" His own voice boomed around him and then began to scream back, rattling the whole world around him.

The face screamed louder so he did too until the word shattered and he was snapped back to reality. The face still loomed above him, a black orb now surrounded by a veil of purple and grey mist. No longer did It smirk. Its eyes were wide and its mouth hung open ever so slightly.

"Gastly…" It whispered.

Jackson's eyes felt hot, unbearably hot. He strained to move, his whole body felt like it was made of stone. When he finally managed to lower his head and stare straight ahead, he saw Esprit gawking at him.

"Impossible…" She choked on her word.

Trembling, she raised her hand and slid her thumb across his forehead. The heat in his eyes disappeared with a flash and the weight of his body snapped away. Gastly still remained.

"W-What was that?" He stammered, feeling his face, it was back.

Esprit snapped shut her fan, still gawking at him.

"Years… you have done what takes years on your first attempt," She stammered and raised her fan, pointing at Gastly.

"You have tamed a Ghost."

A silence fell over them as Jackson processed her words. He smiled, the smile turned into a grin and the grin into manic laughter.

"HA! Told you I could!" He yelled and jumped to his feet.

He whipped around and faced Gastly.

"You ready to become Champion Gastly?" He cried.

Gastly stared blankly at him, eyes wide. Jackson shrugged and picked up his belt. He plucked a pokéball from a small leather pouch sown on.

"Yeah you're ready," He tossed the ball into the air and it flew towards Gastly.

It hit him, making a veil of grey light shimmer around him. The ball opened, the beam fired and Gastly was dematerialised with a gleam of red light. The pokéball fell to the ground, rocked three times and clicked. Jackson scooped up the ball and placed it in the final, sixth container of his belt. He spun around and smirked at Esprit. She was back on her feet, her face and neck flushed. Her eyes blinked rapidly and she lunged at him, grasping him by both shoulders. His smirk didn't disappear.

"You're wrong, I'm right! You're wrong, I'm right! You're wrong, I'm right!" He sang tauntingly.

"Child, you have an amazing gift. A natural talent, unlike anything I've ever seen before! Allow me to mentor you, there is much about Ghosts for you to learn." She fell to her knees and bowed her head.

Jackson scowled and pulled away.

"I'm not naturally talented! I worked hard!"

Esprit raised her head, her eyes darting back and forth. Unable to rest upon a single location.

"Y-You have trained in the craft before?" She asked.

Jackson took a small step back and his face flushed.

"Well, no…" He admitted.

"It can't be true."

"Please child, do not waste your gift. Let me help you," Esprit begged, lowering her head again.

Jackson chewed his lip.

"Y-yeah okay- I mean! As future Champion, I'll allow you to teach me!