Jack breathed a sigh of relief. "Finally, we're there."

"That was a surprisingly short distance…" Razgriz stated, seeing how it had taken them less than a day to walk between the two towns.

"Yeah, back home it took several days to get between towns," Nova agreed as she looked at the town ahead. There was something… off about it that she couldn't quite place.

Jack noticed it too, but he decided it was probably nothing. "Well, it was a mile or two longer than I'd have liked…"

Jack kept walking, heading towards the town. The two Pokémon followed behind Jack as they approached Lavender Town. It was eerily quiet and there didn't seem to be much of any activity in the town. There weren't even the calls of Noctowl to be heard.

Jack felt a bit of a chill run down his back. "Hey, uhh… do you guys feel like we're being watched…?"

Razgriz was silent for several seconds as he thought how to replay. He glanced around at the surroundings as if expecting to see someone or something, but nothing was there.

"I don't know…" He replied before turning his eyes back towards the town.

Jack furrowed his brow and kept walking, but he kept his eyes open and scanned the corners of his vision. As they approached town, he suddenly caught a glimpse of movement in the trees. He immediately turned and sent out an auric probe to see who, or what, was there. He then blinked in surprise.

"Nothing… it was nothing," he said, shaking his head.

"I haven't sensed anything either," Razgriz agreed, though hesitantly.

Jack sighed. "It's been a long night, our eyes are probably tired and the shadows are playing tricks on them. Let's just get to town."

He set off walking again, although at a quickened pace. Nova and Razgriz eagerly matched his faster pace, yet this only seemed to make the sense that they were being watched increase. By the time they arrived at the edge of the town, they were practically jogging.

At that pace it didn't take long before they finally made it to the Pokémon Center. Jack held back a sigh of relief, as he didn't want the others to know exactly how unnerved he was. He quickly headed inside, trying not to seem too eager.

Once inside the Pokémon Center, Jack talked to Nurse Joy and got a room for the night. Unfortunately, the center only had one vacant room left so they'd have to share.

"So… I'll take the sleeping bag," Jack said as they headed up to their room.

"You might as well take the bed," Razgriz replied with a shrug.

"Yeah, we are used to rougher conditions," Nova agreed.

"Alright, if you're sure," Jack sighed, but honestly he didn't mind. He didn't want to admit it, but he was looking forward to the feeling of security provided by a proper bed and warm blanket.

When they got to the room, Jack unlocked it and headed inside; quickly climbing into bed and tucking himself in.

"Forgot to get us some blankets, I will be right back," Nova said before turning around and heading back to where Nurse Joy was. Razgriz looked around the room. It was small yet functional. There would be just enough room for them to lie out on the carpeted floor.

A few minutes later, Nova returned with some blankets for her and Razgriz. The two of them laid out the blankets so that there was one on the floor and one that would cover them.

Jack yawned. "Well… goodnight."

"Goodnight," Nova said as she lay down on the floor. Razgriz joined her a few seconds later and he pulled up the blanket over the two of them. Nova proceeded to cuddle up against Razgriz as she closed her eyes. Razgriz wrapped an arm around Nova before he too closed his eyes. A few minutes later, all three of them were asleep.


Jack was surrounded by shadows. They whispered to him. Clawed at him. Pulled him down into the inky blackness to become one of them.

Honestly, he was underwhelmed.

The shadows seemed to sense it and screeched at him, congealing into a massive beast with red eyes; the rest of it being so black it looked like a hole in reality.

Jack stared it down and blinked, remaining decidedly unimpressed. For one of his nightmares, this was almost pitifully dull and unimaginative. It didn't even feel real, not if he really concentrated on the details around him.

The shadows tried one more time, this time twisting and shifting into the shapes of his friends; but with eyes as jet black at the beast had been. They changed from form to form, taking the shape of everyone he loved, from Maylene and Nicholas to his own Pokémon . They mocked him with his friends' voices. They called him weak, and asked why he hadn't protected them. Why had he let them rot in Team Rocket's clutches for so long?

For the first time since this ordeal had begun, Jack felt panic and fear rising up in his throat. He pleaded with his friends, trying to explain that he'd done all he could to rescue them and that he was coming now. He was so close.

His friends didn't let up. Even Wendy and Lucy lashed out at him. They were by far the cruelest, and their words fell like hammer blows on Jack's mind; weighing him down until he started to despair of his friends ever forgiving him.

But deep down, one corner of his heart knew it was a lie. Not one of his friends would ever think any of those horrible things about him, much less dirty their mouths with the words. Least of all Wendy and Lucy.

He looked around him at the shadows, and they suddenly seemed like pretty poor imitations of his friends. Once again, like all illusions, it was easy to see the imperfections once he knew to look. Someone, or something, was playing with his mind, and it was using the faces and voices of his friends to do it.

Jack gritted his teeth. It was unforgivable.

"Get out."

The shadows froze and stared at him for a moment. He glared back, anger bubbling up inside him like lava.

"I said GET OUT!"


Jack sat up in bed, panting heavily and opening his eyes. He wiped a cold sweat from his brow and looked around to make sure he hadn't woken Nova or Razgriz. That was when he noticed a low glow filling the room. Razgriz was sweating in his sleep, his face distorted with a mix of emotions though it was clear that whatever dream he was having was not a pleasant one. That wasn't the worrying part though, Jack could see that there was a grey, smokey aura surrounding Razgriz. Not only that but his body appeared to be slightly translucent, and was flickering as if it wasn't actually there.

Jack blinked and stared at him in shock for a moment, debating whether or not to wake him up. After a moment he decided that Nova had a better chance of knowing what was going on, so he got out of bed and shook her shoulder urgently.

"Hey, Nova, wake up!" he whispered in her ear.

"Whaa…" Nova mumbled as she rolled onto her back before slowly opening her eyes. She saw Jack standing over her, a slightly panicked look on his face. "Is everything alright?"

Jack opened his mouth, then closed it and just pointed to Razgriz. She turned her head to the side and her eyes snapped open. Nova sat up as she saw Razgriz's body fade slightly was it was surrounded by the grey aura.

"That's…. I haven't seen that before," Nova replied, her voice cracking a little.

Jack glanced at her, then back to Razgriz, then he came to an executive decision. He grabbed Razgriz's shoulder and shook him. "Hey, Razgriz, wake up!"

The grey mist surrounding Razgriz faded away and his body returned to normal. There was still a pained look on his face before his eyes snapped open and he jerked up to a sitting position, his breathing heavy. A few tears leaked from his eyes as he closed them again.

Jack glanced back at Nova, then stood up again and took a deep breath. "So… I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you both had nightmares too…?"

"I didn't have one," Nova said, shaking her head.

"Not a nightmare…" Razgriz muttered as he opened his eyes and took a deep breath.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Nova didn't have one… well, that settles it. Someone doesn't want us to be here. Someone with… unsettling psychic abilities."

"What makes you say that?" Nova asked as she sat down next to Razgriz and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Jack ran his hand through his hair thoughtfully. "Because I just finished chasing them out of my mind… and it seems like Razgriz had a similar experience. But you, a Dark type, would be immune to any but the most powerful psychic interference."

"I didn't have anyone messing this my mind," Razgriz countered, sitting up a bit straighter as he looked over at Jack. "I… I don't know what I saw. I had a similar dream in the past, but this one was different. This one… this one was death…. misery… pain…"

Jack furrowed his brow. "I see… well in that case, someone wants me to leave and obviously doesn't even want to bother trying to mess with either of your minds; because I definitely had a nightmare, and it was definitely caused by someone."

"What did you see?" Nova asked.

His expression darkened. "I… I'd rather not talk about it. Suffice it to say they hit me where it hurt…"

"I saw a city, a massive one. Except it was completely deserted, covered in dust and smoke. The aura that flowed through it told a story of untold destruction and death. The thing is I have never seen this city before. Only once before in a previous dream, but it was full of life and activity then," Razgriz said as he shook his head, trying to make sense of it.

Jack blinked, then crossed his arms. "That sounds disturbingly like some dreams I've been having… well, used to have… Nova, you remember right? The dreams I told you about?"

"Vaguely…" Nova stated, crossing her arms over her chest.

Jack sighed. "Well, either way I don't think I ever glowed and went see-through…"

"See-through?" Razgriz said, looking over at Jack. "I know I have glowed purple in the past, but not gone see-through."

Jack blinked and glanced at Nova as if to say 'do you want to explain this one?'

"Well… you weren't glowing purple, it was grey," Nova explained.

"That's different…" Razgriz replied before looking over at Jack. "You know that Alpha made me this way right? Hybridized me with an Absol."

Jack blinked. "I… was not aware of that, no. Although I did notice you weren't a normal Lucario. I know, my powers of deduction are astounding."

"Stole the words right out of my mouth," Razgriz deadpanned, rolling his eyes and smirking up at Jack. "Anyways, when they hybridized me with an Absol, it didn't just turn me white. I also have sometimes had visions of disasters before they happen. That is when I have glowed purple."

"I see…" Jack replied, running a hand through his hair. "So… what you're saying is that you see the future?"

"Not exactly…. Just near disasters…" Razgriz answered.

Jack hummed thoughtfully. "But you've never gone see-through before, so this must be something special… maybe something worse…" He furrowed his brow slightly.

"It's worse. Much worse than anything I have seen before. That much I could feel. However, I have no clue where this city is. It's unlike any city I've ever seen before," Razgriz said, as he rubbed his rubbed his forehead with a paw.

Jack sighed. "We're not getting anywhere by just sitting here talking… and I doubt any of us are too eager to go back to sleep. Except maybe Nova, who seems to have gotten off easy…"

"Guess I am lucky," Nova said as she shrugged in response. "So, if we aren't going to sleep, what are we going to do."

Jack glanced out the window. "How about go beat up some ghosts…?"

"That is oddly specific for…" Razgriz looked over at a clock. "Three in the morning."

Jack yawned widely. "Well… when I chased out whoever was messing with my mind, I got a distinct impression of where they were retreating to. It was right over there," he said, pointing out the window at one of the most recognizable landmarks in Kanto, single-handedly responsible for putting Lavender Town on the map.

The Pokémon tower.

Razgriz and Nova looked out the window at the tower. Neither of them knew anything about it though it was a very large structure for the size of the town they were in. Jack saw their confusion and handed them a pamphlet for tourists.

"It's called the Pokémon tower," he explained so they didn't have to read. "Apparently it's haunted by the souls of hundreds of Pokémon who were murdered… by Team Rocket…"

"Ah, and you think some of them haunted your dreams?" Nova asked as she turned to look back out the window.

Jack nodded. "Yeah. Maybe because I was thinking about Team Rocket so much… I don't know. Still, it's as good a place as any to start looking for answers. And who knows, maybe someone there will know where to find Team Rocket."

"I guess any sort of lead to finding your friends is better than none," Razgriz muttered before turning towards the door. "Shall we get going then?"

Jack nodded, getting up. "No point in wasting time. Who needs sleep anyway?"

Razgriz shrugged, he had operated off of less sleep before. While it was early, they had still gotten several hours of sleep. Nova got behind Razgriz before taking a breath and applying an illusion around the two of them. While they were unlikely to see anyone, it wouldn't hurt to be careful.

Jack led them out of the Pokémon center, then outside towards the massive structure. Jack had to admit, it struck a rather imposing figure in the night with the dim moonlight filtering down through the clouds behind it. In fact, it was downright eerie how the shadows seemed to writhe and shift across the ground as they approached the tower.

Jack gritted his teeth. It was the same sensation he'd felt on their way into town. He was thoroughly unnerved, and he was now sure it was the ghosts' doing. They knew he was coming for them, or maybe it was just the natural… or rather, supernatural result of merely being in close proximity to ghosts. Either way, he refused to turn back now.

Nova and Razgriz found themselves glancing around unconsciously as they moved closer to the tower. Nova reached out and grabbed Razgriz's paw for reassurance. Razgriz turned towards Nova, giving her a small smile as they followed Jack to the tower.

When they got to the tower, Jack couldn't help hesitating a moment in front of the massive door. It was set into the wall a little, casting an ominous shadow over the entrance. Jack shook those thoughts forcibly out of his head, and knocked on the door.

There was no answer.

Jack sighed. "Of course. Why did I even bother…"

He then pushed the doors in, causing them to swing open soundlessly. A wave of cold air rolled out of the doorway at them, causing Jack to shudder slightly.

"That's… chilling," Nova said as she felt the rush of cool air through her fur.

Jack snorted. "Then let's heat things up a little…"

He held out his hand, as a small flame appeared in his palm. He blinked in surprise and then scowled at it, as he'd been trying to make something slightly bigger. Still, it was enough to provide some light at least. He sighed, then took a deep breath and headed inside.

Razgriz and Nova decided to follow Jack's example and held out their paws in front of them. They focused some aura into their paw and a few seconds later each was glowing with aura. As they stepped inside the tower, it was impossible not to look around in awe at its construction. They momentarily forgot that the tower was supposedly full of haunting ghosts.

"I guess the ghosts aren't the only reason this tower is famous…" Jack commented.

"Yeah…" Nova muttered as she looked around.

Jack looked around for the stairs and started heading towards them. "Come on. I have a feeling that whatever's in here is waiting at the top…"

Nova and Razgriz looked at each other before following behind Jack as he started up the stairs towards the top of the tower. Jack led the way, his little flame lighting up the staircase ahead of him. As they climbed up the tower however, the feeling of being watched got stronger until all three could feel chills running down their spines.

Nova shivered a bit even though her thick fur kept her plenty warm. It was a strange, unfamiliar sensation that she wished would go away. Jack on the other hand couldn't shake the feeling that he'd had this same looming sense of dread before at some point, but he couldn't remember when.

As they crossed the next floor of the tower to get to the stairs, a cold draft suddenly blew down from higher in the tower. Jack's little flame flickered and went out with a dull 'whuf', leaving him standing right on the edge of the circle of light cast by Nova and Razgriz's aura lights.

Jack shuddered as a wave of pure terror washed over him, and he unconsciously took a couple steps back to get closer to their only remaining sources of light. Nova was a bit startled when Jack backed up. For some reason she had the urge to turn and run but managed to stand still. Razgriz could sense the emotions around him and the fear was obvious. It was rubbing off on him as well. He wished nothing more than to leave the tower and to do so as quickly as possible.

Jack glanced back at his companions and realized that at this rate they'd be jumping out of their skins at every creak of the floorboards. It seemed desperate times called for desperate measures. He gritted his teeth and tried to steel his nerves. "If those ghosts think they can scare us off this easily, they've got another think coming…"

He clenched his fists and tried to focus on when the ghosts tried to use his friends' voices against him. Like before, it made him furious; and he kept stoking the flames of his anger higher, trying to force the oppressive fear out of his mind.

Nova and Razgriz would soon feel heat radiating off Jack's body as he fanned his rage up into a raging bonfire. He then held up his hand and summoned another flame, much larger and brighter than the last. The two Pokémon glanced at each other. While Razgriz was familiar with using his anger at some points, it was not something he liked to do. Jack clearly didn't have such reservations.

"Come on," Jack said, glancing back at Nova and Razgriz. "Let's go show those ghosts who's boss."

He then started forging onwards with a new sense of purpose, which was as much for Nova and Razgriz's sake as his own. The two of them followed behind Jack, though they were still quite nervous. Jack was as well, but he refused to let it show. He kept stoking his anger higher, but that blind panic was always there damping it down and trying to snuff it out completely. It was an interesting feeling, to actually want to be angry for once but unable to quite manage it.

With Jack blazing the trail, the three of them pressed onward. Jack's bright flame cast some eerie shadows, especially as the higher floors were littered with tombstones which almost seemed to crowd in around them. Still, the warmth was a comforting buffer against the chills and shivers, and they made good progress up through the tower.

As they climbed higher through the tower, they would be assaulted by wave after ever stronger wave of fear. There was almost a rhythm to it, the tempo steadily increasing as they went higher, until eventually they were faced with the stairway to the top floor. It loomed, black and menacing like a gaping maw ready to swallow them up. Jack's light wavered again but he gave one last push and, despite the fear reaching almost paralyzing levels by now, he climbed up the last set of stairs. Nova and Razgriz continued to follow behind Jack. Their own fear reaching critical levels as they forced themselves forward.

Then, the lights came on. Just like that, the fear faded away before vanishing completely like mist in the morning sun. Jack blinked and put out his light as the three of them saw a man in a uniform standing by the light switch.

"What are you folks doing here at this time of night…?" the man asked with a yawn.

Jack froze like a deer in the headlights. "Uhh… we thought… we thought there were…"

"Ghosts?" the man asked dryly.

Jack hesitated, then nodded. "Yes. They were giving me nightmares, and…"

The man sighed. "Yeah, they tend to do that. I'm sorry about all this, I try to keep them occupied but sometimes they like to play practical jokes."

Jack blinked. "Practical jokes…?"

"Yep," the man replied, before glancing over his shoulder. "Alright, come on out all of you. I know you're there."

A moment later, the shadows all around them started to rise up and float around before solidifying into some rather familiar shapes. A large swarm of Ghastly, Haunter, and Gengar; most of which looked somewhat nervous. Jack supposed that made sense, considering they probably knew exactly who they'd been messing with after being inside his head.

"There," the man continued. "I give you the ghosts of Pokémon Tower, and the biggest bunch of troublemakers in Kanto."

Jack glanced back at Nova and Razgriz, blushing a little as he was feeling more than a little silly for being so afraid of a bunch of Ghost-type Pokémon. Razgriz scowled at the floating Ghost-types while Nova looked mostly annoyed that these Pokémon were the source of their troubles.

Jack furrowed his brow. These Ghost-types couldn't have caused everything the three of them went through… could they? There must be another explanation, but he was still feeling pretty shook up and his thoughts wouldn't stay still long enough for him to organise them.

He turned back to the strange man. "So, who are you anyway? Why are you here?"

The man pointed to the name-tag on his chest. "Name's Mike. I'm the night guard here. Heck of a job, let me tell you, but once you get to know these guys they're not so bad." He tried to pet one of the ghosts, but it floated out of reach. He chuckled and looked back at Jack. "Anyway, they should leave you alone now that you know they're here. You should probably head back to the Pokémon Center and try to get some sleep."

Jack hesitated a moment, then sighed. "Yeah… I guess so. Sorry for bothering you." He turned to leave, then paused as he remembered something. "Actually, do you mind if I ask you something?"

Mike blinked. "Sure, fire away."

Jack furrowed his brow. "Well, the main reason we came to Lavender Town was because we heard the Pokémon Tower had some connection to Team Rocket. Is that true?"

The night guard sighed. "Yes, but it's not a pleasant tale. The stories say… although this was before I moved to Lavender… they say that all the Pokémon buried here were killed by Team Rocket over the years that they controlled Lavender Town. The stories don't say whether those Pokémon belonged to Team Rocket's enemies… or their own agents."

Jack felt the temperature in the room drop several degrees, although this time it was probably his fault. His blood had turned to ice in his veins, and he swore he saw his breath steam in front of him.

"I… I see…" he managed to reply. "I don't suppose… you can give us any more recent news on Team Rocket's activities, can you?"

Mike looked at Jack for a moment, then sighed. "I can't tell you much I'm afraid. If Team Rocket has been moving at all lately, it's been in the shadows. Although… I did hear some rumours that Rocket agents had been spotted near Mt. Moon."

Jack nodded. "Thank you. That's more information than I expected to get, honestly. We'll get out of your way now."

He once again turned to walk back down the stairs, but the night guard called to him one last time. When Jack looked, Mike had an almost apologetic look on his face. "Hey, kid… don't do anything stupid, okay?"

Jack could see that Mike knew exactly what he was about to do. "I promise."

He then started heading back down through the tower again, only glancing behind him to make sure Nova and Razgriz were following him. Razgriz paused and glanced at the night guard one final time. There was something off about him but he couldn't quite place it. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes before following Jack. He wasn't in the mood to pester some random human just because something seemed off. For starters than man was surrounded by Ghost Pokémon all night, something was bound to be off about him.

The three of them headed back to the Pokémon Center, and proceeded to get as good a night's sleep as they could. They'd be doing a lot more walking in the morning.


Mike sighed, looking up at the Ghost Pokémon around him. They quickly dispersed, getting as far away from Mike as they could now that their guests were gone.

The night guard turned around and headed into a small room labeled 'STAFF ONLY'. Of course, since he was the only one who dared come up this high in the tower, he was the only one who ever set foot in this room. Inside was a large, very complicated machine set to 'off'.

"You sure do cause me a lot of trouble," he commented to the machine, although he didn't expect it to answer him. "But it looks like the boss's paranoia has finally paid off. That kid definitely looked like trouble…"

He sighed again, closing and locking the door before resuming his rounds of the tower with a resigned expression, still muttering to no one in particular. "Those Pokémon of his were strange, but they seemed pretty powerful. Well, they must've been to resist the machine. Honestly, he might be the first person to come through here who'd actually stand a chance against the boss… maybe against the whole gang… but I guess that's why the boss put me here. That, and to keep me where I couldn't cause too much trouble for him..."

"I kinda hope the kid makes it through Mt. Moon… for both our sakes…"


Jack: Cue obligatory groveling.

Osean: *Obligatory groveling about college and work*

Razgriz: you two are horrible… Wasn't this supposed to be the spooky Halloween update chapter?

Nova: I believe it was.

Me: Yeah, but then… well, Halloween happened. And then it was back to college again...

Razgriz: Christmas break?

Osean: I had jaw surgery.

Nova: fair enough.

Jack: New Year's?

Osean: Jaw… Surgery…

Me: Trust me, it wasn't pretty. I've seen rottweilers that drooled less, and had better table manners.

Osean: *insert clip about 'roast me' from No Evil outtakes*

Jack: It's a fair cop.