The hilly path led down into a flat woodlands as the group left Cream Town behind. They'd long passed the trees damaged by the formerly fussy Gyarados and everyone was healing well after the ordeal. With better directions from the natives, Ash and Dawn were well on their way to their destination: Celadon City. Surely they had to be getting close to it by now, right?
"I hope Ivan's directions were right. We should be there by now," Ash whined, his hands stuffed in his pockets. According to the old man's directions to use the sun as their orientation guide, they should be going the right way. Kanto's forests and routes always seemed to bring confusion, though.
On top of that, a nice, warm meal and a bed would really be appreciated. "I have a gym battle to win," the teen sulked. "And, three more after that before it's time to enter the League!" They had the time, sure, but he was getting impatient!
"We should invest in an updated map," Dawn said flatly, not too bothered. Things had a way of working themselves out. "I could get out Togekiss," she reminded as the fairy type was still in her party from the Vermillion visit. If they really needed to reorient themselves, they could. "Though… You just want to practice," she teased. "You could always just find a place with a lot of battlers and go challenge everyone." Her contests, on the other hand, had to be attended to on time.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Ash could just do that. "Still, I wanna see how strong the rest of the gym leaders are. If I'm going to get through the League, I need to be able to beat them all!" Surge had been the one of the strongest last time, but even Misty had been beefing herself up. How would the others be now that they weren't holding back at all?!
Empoleon toddled behind Dawn, a bit intrigued by the idea of going around fighting everyone they saw. "Empo?" he inquired, craning what little neck he had around his partner's shoulder.
That was when a distinct flash went off.
The entire party turned to look, curious.
A young man about Ash's age was standing there behind them, a bit dirtied. Brown, curly hair, scruff, and a camera around his neck stood out. He'd likely come from the woods beside the path. "Sorry! It's rare to see an Empoleon around here. I won't see any where I'm headed for sure! Hope you don't mind me… Oh, hey!" he trailed off, recognizing Ash. He then frowned, looking at Dawn. "Uh… Misty, you sure changed a lot…"
"Hey, Snap!" Ash greeted. He stammered after, though. "That's... Not Misty…" The two girls didn't even look remotely alike, did they? Ash glanced over at Dawn, considering it. No; aside from the fact that Dawn was shorter than Misty and now him with his height gain, she had a different style all around.
"She's got a water type and she's hanging out with you," Todd countered. Was that leftover sass from the way Ash had treated him all those years ago or was he really that oblivious?
Deciding to diffuse the situation that would likely arise since Dawn didn't like not being recognized, Ash ignored his... Interesting observation to introduce her. "This is Dawn! She's a coordinator from Twinleaf Town in the Sinnoh region! She's traveling with me through Kanto!"
"Nice to meet you," Dawn said, trying to be nice. "I have to ask… Why did you think we looked alike?" There was nothing wrong with looking like Misty, but Dawn recalled Misty being a lot more muscular than Dawn was. Though, Dawn considered perhaps she was okay with not looking like Misty fashion-wise.
"Oh, I just don't remember people very well!" Todd chipperly confessed. "I only remember Ash thanks to his Pikachu." On that note, Todd quickly lifted his camera up, snapping a picture of the electric type in hopes of a candid shot.
"Pikaa…" Pikachu rubbed the back of his head after the flash, shuddering a bit at the suddenness. Sure, he'd gotten less camera-shy over the years, but the candid shot still gave him the jitters.
Satisfied that he'd gotten his shot, Snap grinned. "What're you guys doing out here, anyway? You looking for the haunted house?"
"Uh… Haunted house?" Ash's head tilted, as did Pikachu's. "I haven't heard about anything like that."
"Oh, yeah! There've been some rumors about an abandoned home around here, and there are supposed to be plenty of ghost Pokémon… They've even said some of them look unusual compared to ordinary ghost types! But, they'll chase you out before you know it."
"Unusual looking Pokémon, huh? Sounds pretty cool! Lemme guess, you wanna get pictures?"
"You've got it! If I can get good shots of those Pokémon in that perfect setting, it'll be a hit!" Though, popularity was only a bonus. Great photography was a goal in itself!
"I… hm. Are you sure you really want to go there?"
Dawn's hesitance earned a head tilt from Ash. "What's up? … You thinkin' of that Mismagius…?" The forced dreamworld they'd entered into with Brock thanks to that particular ghost back in Sinnoh had certainly been eerie, but Ash had seen worse. He probably shouldn't tell her that, though. "Hey, it'll be fine. We're plenty tough, right?"
Dawn blinked, suddenly remembering the ghost he was talking about and blanched a bit. "I hadn't thought of that… I was just worried they'd all act like Haunter. I'm through with pranksters for a while, what with Jigglypuff…" Still, if Ash wanted to go escort a friend while checking out a haunted house… "It'll be fine. No need to worry!"
Upon hearing about the Haunter, Todd looked to Ash. "It's yours, I assume? Why not get a shot of 'em? With the wild ones, maybe?" With that, the duo had just unofficially sealed the deal to being Todd Snap's escorts during his ventures in photographing ghosts.
"I do!" Ash confirmed. "Hah, sure! If he sticks around long enough." He knew all too well of the specter's tendency to appear and disappear, especially when called upon.
"Alright," the photographer agreed. "Well, come on, it's not far from here! It should be early afternoon when we get there. The lighting through the windows will be bright but not as intense as high noon!"
Following after Todd with Empoleon trailing her, Dawn leaned towards Ash. "He's a little eccentric," she whispered.
"Kanto's pretty colorful," Ash concurred as they walked along, shuffling with Todd as he headed towards his ghost-type paradise.
The group stopped just before the cast iron fence marking the front yard of the abandoned house. Four stories tall and elaborately constructed, it was a delicate preservation of traditional colonial designs with a few reserved, modern updates. It was someone's dream house, once, though it now laid forlorn without maintenance or cleaning. Yet, a for-sale sign laid on the ground, crisped ever so slightly.
Seeming to not be phased by the house's ominous appearance, Todd began making small talk as he unlatched the gate. "How are you doing on your goal, Ash?" He snapped a few shots of the yard for his personal collection of photos.
"I made it to the semi-finals of my last League," the trainer answered, following Todd. Long neglected grass was trampled under Ash's feet. It'd grown so high and so wild that it almost hid the gravel path winding down to the house. "This year, though, I'm definitely winning the Indigo Conference!"
"We're both making strides to our goal, then," Todd concluded. "I got a slot to do coverage. They only let the best do that, you know. So, good luck to you. Gimme some good shots, huh?"
Cracking a grin at the photographer, Ash minded his feet as he almost stumbled. "I wonder who'd let this place get so run down," Ash wondered. Pokémon Tower never looked all too inviting, but this place didn't seem as old as the tower by far. As Ash opened the door and walked in, he found it was much darker than the tower, too.
"It used to belong to this old woman. She came from a rich family. She just up and moved out, said she couldn't stand being here by herself," Todd explained.
Scant daylight filtered in through gauzy draped windows and dusty air filtered the daylight further, giving the whole entry way a twilight feel. For the most part, the furniture remained where it had been. However, several pieces such as a coffee table and a book shelf were overturned and slightly charred. Something had happened.
"Kinda creepy in here," Ash mused, walking across what was probably once a nice rug. "I can hardly see a thing." He felt around the wall and found a switch that didn't work, much to his disappointment.
While Ash searched in vain for a light source and Todd carried on taking pictures, Dawn couldn't help but coo over the chandelier that had been left behind in the dining room. Having found a small entry way off the side of the living room, the coordinator looked over the table. Long rotten flowers remained behind, dry and neglected.
Empoleon swiped around the room, removing cobwebs as he went.
Meanwhile, Ash let out a gagging sound. He'd found the kitchen and something definitely was left to fester. Trying to quickly walk on, the trainer at first though perhaps he'd run the poor electric mouse in his shoulder into a cabinet when he heard a squeak.
However, a struggle under his shoe prompted Ash to look down - barely saving his ankle from a Bite attack from a disturbed Rattata. It quickly fled, squeaking all the way. Many other squeaks could be heard and as Ash kept walking along in the kitchen, he found the origin of the rotting smell.
A huge, fat Raticate sat upon the kitchen island, eating something that looked like a bunch of long discarded bread. Upon seeing Ash, though, the huge normal type also fled.
"I wonder what the problem is?" Ash inquired, a bit hurt they were so frightened of him. He knew some wild Pokémon ran away from trainers, but it wasn't like he was hurting for a battle right now. Maybe he'd really frightened that Rattata?
"Pika!" the mouse gasped, eyes wide and little claws sinking into Ash's shoulder.
"Hey, what's the problem?!" Ash turned around quickly, catching a glimpse of shadowy grandeur, something brilliantly dark and immaterial…
But when he focused upon it, it was gone.
Pikachu remained tense, fur bristled and faint crackles of electricity pouring off his cheeks.
"... weird," Ash muttered, not entirely willing to ignore the hairs rising on the back of his neck but unsure of what he could do about it now.
Besides, there were more pressing matters.
"Whoo-hooo-oh!"
Running into the next room, Ash saw Todd looking between his camera and the hallway leading to the backyard. The man looked paler than usual, a grin that was somewhere between panicked and excited plastered onto his face.
"It was there," he whispered so faintly Ash could barely hear. "I knew I saw right."
Stepping closer, Ash's eyes bulged at the image Todd had captured. A malevolent form with a vague outline leered from around the corner, eyes red as embers and chasm-like mouth gaping. Had that been the thing stalking him in the kitchen?
A crash was heard in a different part of the house followed by a distinctly feminine yelp.
"Shit," Ash grunted, quickly coming to his own conclusions. "Dawn!"
The trainer raced to where he heard the sound. The photographer quickly followed after. However, upon reaching the room, they found Dawn scolding Empoleon who was retorting very angrily.
"What happened?" Ash asked.
"Empoleon took a chunk out of the wall!" Dawn pointed at a part of the doorway. Indeed, there was a deep cut in it. Empoleon must have used Metal Claw.
"Empo!" the water type argued back.
"That's definitely not gonna help property values," Todd dryly noted before raising his camera. He could label this photo something like Terror or the like. This was surely someone's aesthetic - old homes with violent damage.
Ash paused. "Empoleon, did you see something?"
The big steel/water type's eyes nearly sparkled. At least Ash believed him! He nodded adamantly.
"... Heh. I guess you spooked 'em off."
Just as quickly, Empoleon frowned.
"Well, whatever the case, I don't think we'll get any more good shots here. Let's head upstairs." Todd led the way out of the dining room and towards the staircase.
Recalling what had happened below, Ash headed up first. Next up were Dawn and Empoleon. Finally, Todd walked up, too. The wooden stairs had another luxurious, heavy carpet on them. The old owner must have really left in a hurry to not bring all these nice things with her.
And, it was biting Dawn in the behind.
"Ah!" The coordinator slipped, falling forward faster than she or anyone else could catch her. She landed hard, chin hitting the stairs and clacking her teeth together while her shins and knees slammed down, too.
"Pikaka!"
Quickly turning around, Ash helped her up while Empoleon fretted. "You alright?"
"No need to worry," the coordinator said, not even believing it herself. "Ugh, thank goodness that carpet's thick. I might have busted my chin if it wasn't there."
"You're certainly an unlucky one," Todd noted.
Embarrassed and now miffed, Dawn merely walked ahead. Ash let out a sigh and shared a look with Pikachu before they followed. Empoleon did likewise, as did Todd.
The second floor was beautiful. Or, it had been, once upon a time. A dusty black piano and a faded gold harp made up the center of the expansive floor. A balcony laid beyond dirty double Kalos-style doors. Tarnished portraits and spaces where paintings had once been marked the area as a forgotten place of exquisite taste.
Dawn paused, looking at the lace trimmed table and the single, lonely violin that laid upon it. "Dang," she muttered. "She really didn't wanna stay here, did she? I'm surprised no one's even come back to try and sell this stuff!"
Todd was busy snapping away photos of the porcelain plate cabinets. Dishes too ornate to ever be eaten on were displayed. Some of the pieces were missing. Was that what the white shatters were on the floor? He took pictures of those too. "It's a waste for them, but it makes great material for me."
Ash cocked his head, blocking at one of the harp cords before grinning. He ran both hands along it, making a miserable but merry noise.
He flinched when a plate flew past his head, crashing into the glass balcony doors and cracking them as the plate shattered.
"Hey!" he roared, whirling. "If you didn't like my playing, you could have just said so!"
"It wasn't me!" Dawn clarified.
Todd shook his head.
"... If it wasn't you guys, then… Who?"
As if to answer Ash's question, the table that Dawn had been standing by lifted into the air. Everyone's eyes widened.
"Ah!" the coordinator screamed, her and her starter quickly running away from the floating object and towards Ash.
No good; it was thrown all the same. Thankfully, Ash rushed forward, managing to catch it before it hurt anyone. He let out a grunt, a painful tingle going down his arms from the shock of catching the sudden weight.
If they were waiting on relief, it wasn't coming.
Todd fell over then, a clock having clocked him on his noggin. He groaned painfully, rubbing the back of his head.
With that, the onslaught began. The chaise lounge which had so picturesquely been situated under a portrait of what was once a vibrant garden was abruptly thrown, covering up the stairs and crushing the rails. Then, all the porcelain plate cabinets opened.
"Empo!" the Pokémon snarled.
Likewise, Pikachu bristled. "Chu…"
Todd scrambled over as the plates were thrown, hiding behind the wall of defense Pikachu and Empoleon were putting up. While Pikachu used Thunderbolt on the majority, any of the ones that got past the electric attacks were broken with a Metal Claw.
"We've gotta get out of here!" Ash yelled. "We can't keep this up."
True enough, the plates ran out. Then, the cabinet itself was thrown. Empoleon sliced it in half, one half harmlessly flying past the group and the other requiring Ash to catch it before it hurt anyone.
"We've gotta go upstairs!" Dawn noted, seeing it as their only escape route. "Empoleon, return!" With their main cover missing, Ash barely had time to snag Pikachu before the four of them all sprinted upstairs.
Ash checked over Pikachu once they reached the next floor. "You did good, buddy. Thank you."
"Empoleon can have as many poffins as he wants after this," Dawn muttered.
"I only got a few shots," Todd complained.
Ash whirled. "We almost all got crushed!" he snarled. "You're worried about some -!"
"Be quiet!" Dawn suddenly snapped.
And, for once, everyone was. There were two beeping noises, very much so out of sync. After a moment, the two trainers realized it was their PokéDexes. In almost perfect coordination, they looked to each other before reaching into their bags and pulling them out.
In unison, the PokéDexes began chattering: "Horde encountered! Extremely rare outside of the Kalos region, though not unheard of, some trainers seek these out to cut down on training time. Pokémon species encountered: undefined. Pokémon has not engaged. Please equip a Silph Scope to engage the undefined Pokémon."
"... Silph Scope! That means…!"
When they all looked up with Ash, the brood waited. A massive collection different purples, blues, grays, and blacks with splashes of red mixed throughout looked down upon them. Then, a duo Shuppet's eyes glowed and an\ gale came through the room. As a purple haze obscured the group, the last thing they saw was the horde descend.
"Gaaaas!" Ash heard as he was knocked onto his side, a Sucker Punch sending Pikachu flying from his shoulder.
"Pikachu!" the trainer cried.
The little electric type chattered angrily, looking around and moving to and fro. He shot blindly into the purple wall of supernatural fog the Ominous Wind had brought in. The Thunderbolt missed its mark.
Ash grunted, trying to focus in with his abilities, but there were just too many auras here. They all felt like they were merging into one another. "Darn it!"
"Ah!" Dawn whimpered, a Pursuit knocking her into a wall.
Todd nearly dropped his camera when something Screeched beside him. "Can someone do something about this?!" he demanded.
"Absol, go!" Dawn answered, hoping her dark type could help some. When the Disaster Pokémon materialized, Dawn wasted no time. "Night Slash!"
Just as blindly as Pikachu, Absol fired off into the purple haze. A Psywave was returned, thankfully in vain. Still, the dark type was clearly perturbed that her attack had missed. She tensed, using Detect to see where the closest move was coming and barely dodged a Duskull's Shadow Sneak.
"Night Slash!" Dawn commanded again.
Without haste, the Absol twirled her massive black horn, knocking out the Duskull.
"...It's weak, then," Dawn realized. "I wonder if they all are. If only we could see them."
Absol seemed to agree, pensively staring at the wall of purple around them as if she were willing it away. Then, after a moment, suddenly, she leaped forward, twisting her head. An invisible zephyr ripped through the supernatural fog, knocking a few of the little swarming ghosts back and exposing the rest.
Dawn's PokéDex, from where she had dropped it when she had been attacked, went off. "Perish Song was forgotten. Razor Wind was learned."
Dawn blinked before smiling, getting up to hug Absol. "Thank you!"
"No time to celebrate!" Todd warned as he quickly snapped some shots of the exposed ghosts. There were so many! "Ash, maybe your Haunter can help…?"
"Uh, as much as I love the big guy, he's… not quite reliable enough to trust. I'm scared he'd think this was a game," Ash confessed. "Don't worry, though! Now that Pikachu and I can see 'em, it's a shoe in!"
"Right! Absol, you pitch in, too!"
With that, the battle turned around. Absol and Pikachu began picking them off left and right. Ash noticed what Dawn noticed earlier. It wasn't obvious at first given Pikachu's extreme strength, but when even Absol was able to take them down in one blow, it was telling.
Soon, the few that were left gathered together, desperate evident in their eyes. The remaining Gastly, Shuppet, and Duskull began synchronizing, readying what could be a devastating Night Shade.
"Detect!" Dawn called out.
Absol stepped forward, ready to figure out a way to deflect it… But, she couldn't think of any. While she and Pikachu might be able to pick off some of them, the rest would fire. She and the electric type might survive the attack, but what would that do their human friends?
She had to do something, though. Frustration coursed through her before she closed her eyes, listening to the warped sounds of the group Night Shade powering up.
Then she opened her eyes. Though none of the humans or Pikachu could see it, the look on Absol's face was too much for the little ghosts. They gave up their attack, fleeing through the ceiling to the fourth floor.
Absol let out a sigh. She'd bluffed and it had worked. It was just a Leer. She hadn't used that move since she was young, but apparently all young Pokémon were really psyched out by it.
"Good job, Absol!" Dawn praised, running up and hugging her dark type. "Good, girl!"
The dark type remained stoic, seemingly indifferent to the praise. A low purr, however, betrayed her.
Ash likewise picked up Pikachu, grinning at the electric type.
"We gotta go upstairs," Todd concluded. He looked to the others. "Pokémon aren't that aggressive without a reason."
Ash and Dawn calmed, looking between each other. Then, they looked to Todd and nodded.
The fourth floor was different from the third. While a massive, group bedding area had been arranged there, it was all storage here. Abandoned boxes and strewn about toys marked the area. It was quiet and cold.
A shriek echoed through the room, nearly making the group fall back down the stairs. Angry red orbs and terrible fangs towered over the trio and their Pokémon, making their hearts pound from what turned out to be a Mean Look attack. A sickly blue ghoul hovered, casting a purple holographic eye upon the group.
"Ah… A Gengar!" Ash gawked, a hand held to his chest. Not looking to show that his heart was pounding from the sudden scare, he stood his ground in the wake of the aggressive ghoul. Something about it seemed out of the ordinary, though. A few sparkles fell from its unusual form, and its shadowy body seemed discolored. "It looks like a shiny, too."
"Gengar, please! We don't want to fight!" Snap rushed to explain, moving aside to attempt a better angle. That Gengar was plenty scary enough for his photoshoot. "I just need to get some better a-agh!" The young photographer yelped, his attempt to circle the Pokémon halted by a rough, psychic tug.
"Hey, that's Mean Look!" Ash closed a hand, his teeth grit. "That means we've gotta fight if we wanna get out of here… Alright. Time to show your stuff. Haunter, I choose you!"
The purple specter cackled upon his release, only thrown off when he spotted his opponent. Grinning, he spat out his tongue comically at his evolved counterpart. "Hau-Hau-Hau!"
"Gen! Gen, Gengar!" The ghost spat, a notable grimace on her features. Where Haunter expected to find mutual amusement, he was greeted with disgust… Maybe even fear?
"Haunter…" His face fell… Quite literally, even. Disappointed eyes and a frown cascaded from his gaseous form, hanging cartoonishly in the air below.
"Sorry to break it to ya, Haunter, but this isn't the time for fun! We've gotta battle this Gengar if we wanna make it out alive! You ready?" Ash warned. Admittedly, at any other time, he would've laughed.
"Ha-" He would have been, had a sneak attack not struck him just then. A shadow of a fist slammed into his face, squishing in the barely material form that Haunter took.
"Shadow Punch…! That was a dirty trick." Ash frowned. "Fight back with Shadow Ball!"
The purple ghoul's concave face popped back into place, Haunter's mouth coughing out what was left of the spectral hand in disgust. A mischievous grin followed the call, both disembodied hands conjuring a black, crackling ball of energy. A swing of the extremities launched it forward.
In a panic, Gengar ducked under the Shadow Ball, missing it by mere inches. Ignoring the explosion behind her in a frenzy, she pointed both clawed hands towards Haunter, firing off a barrage of purple energy rings. This time, she used Dark Pulse.
Explosions laced with dark energy pummeled Haunter, landing a super-effective hit.
Guarding his view with both arms, Ash held his hopes high. Surely, after all that time with Sabrina, he wouldn't go down that easily, right? "Don't give in, Haunter. Lick attack, now!"
Haunter's long, cartoonish tongue shot outward, greeting Gengar with a rather unpleasant, numbing slap of the appendage. If her coloration didn't make it moot, she likely would have gone blue in the face.
Ash and company weren't out of the woods yet, though. A spectral hand reached for Haunter's retreating tongue, grabbing it before it could make its way to the second-stage ghost type.
"Delcatty got your tongue, huh…" Ash trailed off.
"This really isn't the time for jokes, you know!" Dawn reminded, suffering from a mixture of fear and second-hand embarrassment. "You might want to get serious before Haunter ends up in trouble!"
"Yeah, you're right. Try 'n get out of there, Haunter!"
Unfortunately, the opposite happened. Gengar yanked on the tongue, pulling the jovial ghost in closer. A second transparent fist shot out of its influence, knocking Haunter with an unforgiving punch to the face.
"That's gotta hurt… Fight back Will-o-Wisp!"
Tangled in his own tongue, Haunter quickly unraveled, floating hands spinning all the while. Blue sparks danced on each of the claws before bursting into a full-fledged flame, which was promptly united and tossed at Gengar.
Gengar let out a groaning roar upon having the fire pass through her amorphous form. She flexed her spiny quilled hide, throwing off another Dark Pulse towards her enemy.
Haunter had grown wise to her ways and faded out of the way, reappearing after the attack had passed. "Hau-hau! Hau hau hau hau!"
Grit fangs were bared in the opposite of a grin. Gengar's red orbs darted, desperation growing Her gaze soon landed upon the crowd behind Haunter, a sinister plot brewing in the ghost's mind.
Both stubby, pale blue hands were outstretched, recoiling with the explosive release of a Dark Pulse barrage. Dark rings swept across the room, unhinging from their designated launch to pummel the group.
Only having mere moments to register the threat, the group collectively shouted, eyes comparable to saucers. Able to do little in the moment of panic, the three humans could only think to huddle together.
Finding himself to not be the target of Gengar's assault, Haunter fretted, zipping in towards the group. His hanging claws gripped onto Ash's arm, sending a chill up the trainer's spine.
"Haunter!?" Ash gawked in the brief moment he could. Haunter had saved him and Pikachu before. Maybe he could…?
Ash, Dawn, Snap, Pikachu, and Empoleon were all expecting a great deal of pain… And they found none. They felt nothing, even. eyes that had been shut tight slowly parted, greeted with a bone-chilling sight. Their bodies were a faint blue - nearly transparent.
"A… Are we dead!?" Snap fretted, head darting left and right. Soon enough, he found his camera securely around his neck. "Phew… I still have my camera, at least!"
A bead of sweat dripped down forehead, an incredulous look plastered on her face. "Nice priorities… But, uh, are we dead?! I don't wanna die yet! What's going on?!"
The original duo looked about as well, panicking only momentarily before finding solace in the lack of lifeless bodies on the floor. "I think Haunter helped us out. I can't feel a thing! He musta made us… Intangerine?"
"Intangible," Dawn deadpanned.
"Right!" Ash smiled upon the ghost type, reaching to pat him on the head, for what it was worth. "Thanks a lot, Haunter! That was a close one. Now, let's finish this!"
"Haw-Haw!" Haunter chortled, lowering the group to the ground before releasing their forms. Turning back towards Gengar, the Pokémon now seemed unusually serious. Any hint of a smile had disappeared, a grimace greeting Gengar. There was rarely a time where he took anything seriously. Threatening his friends, however, hadn't earned a laugh.
If Gengars could sweat, this one would probably be sweating bullets. Cowering back from its secondary stage counterpart, the Pokémon let out an unholy shriek, staging a last resort.
Pain seemed to overcome the Pokémon, a shuddering form distorting before unleashing what looked to be a flurry of spirits that surrounded and consumed Haunter.
"Hau?" The ghost looked about, feeling nothing initially. That hadn't been so bad…
A cry of pain followed, a red, sickly aura surrounding the ghost type as he felt his vitality drain.
"What kind of move is that?" Ash pondered, pulling out his Pokédex.
"Curse: A move that ordinarily increases attack and defense at the expense of speed. When used by ghost types, health is exchanged for a curse that slowly drains a victim's energy."
"That's no good… It must really be desperate. Haunter, Giga Drain!"
The dimly lit attic was assaulted with a neon green glow, first surrounding Haunter before ensnaring Gengar.
The move was ineffective in terms of typing since grass type attacks were disadvantaged against poison Pokémon, but it was potent nonetheless. What was left of Gengar's fading vitality was stolen, rejuvenating Haunter in the process.
Exhausted, the Gengar began to descend, thoroughly weakened. The battle had taken its toll.
"Alright, we've got this, now! Haunter-"
"Gen! Gengar!" the ghost cried, both arms outstretched. Her expression was poignant, bitter tears threatening to spill out of her raging red eyes. The fury was taken out of her. As she wailed her own name, it was evident only desperation and sorrow were left. "Gen!" she begged.
The entire party was taken back. Even Todd stopped his picture taking. Haunter hovered before his distant kin, moved to silence.
Breathing evenly, Ash decided to try and decipher what she was saying. However, as soon as his tapped into his aura abilities to read her mind, he was overwhelmed with sadness and the passionate love of a mother. "Oh," Ash muttered, his own eyes flooding with color and silvery tears. "Oh, man."
"Ash, what's wrong?" Dawn inquired. While he was no stoic, to see Ash get moved this much… Something had to be up.
"She's just trying to protect her kids," he explained. "She… She says she's trying too hard to protect them. She doesn't want them to get taken away." Gulping to swallow the lump in his throat and shaking his head to clear his eyes, the teen walked forward past Haunter and kneeled before the trembling, frightened Gengar.
Though she flinched away from his hand at first, she eventually stilled, barely touchable body alive with supernatural energy under his gentle hand. "Hey, we aren't gonna take your kids," the trainer assured.
"Gen?" she asked, not entirely believing him.
"No. We didn't even know you were here. Our friend came to take pictures of the haunted house."
Relieved, Gengar stood up, wiping her face of tears. She smiled and apologized. "Gen…! Gengar, Gengar!"
"But… I gotta ask. Why are you and your kids hiding here? You're a strong Pokémon! You guys could go wherever! Or, stay with a trainer to make sure you're extra safe!"
The Gengar's face fell and she adamantly shook her head. "Gen Gen Gen Gen Gar!"
Ash's stomach churned. "What a jerk!"
"What'd she say?" Todd asked as he and Dawn walked over. He was tempted to take a picture of the mother looking so sincere, but somehow he didn't feel right doing that.
"She used to be the favorite Pokémon of this… sleaze ball. He thought he was the coolest thing. He liked her best because she was shiny. But, he kept getting her to have eggs. Gengar was okay with it until he began giving her children away when he ran out of space to keep them because they weren't shiny!" Ash slammed his fist down onto the ground. "It's so sick! But, she came here when she had a shiny baby hatch. She said he didn't obsess so much over her, so they ran away… Her and all of her children that she could find. Now she's been living here, adopting any little lost ghosts and taking care of them."
"Oh my," Dawn gasped, putting her hands over her heart. "What a good mother…! She fought so hard against Haunter! Your kids really love you, too, huh? They were doing their best to protect this place, too!"
The Gengar nodded, a proud smile on her face. Her children were strong despite being so young! "Gen-gen!" she chuckled. Still, there was the matter of the pictures. She didn't really want anyone thinking there were ghost Pokémon here, just real ghosts - the bad kind. "Gengar…?"
"... I'll talk to him," Ash assured.
Standing up, Ash looked to the photographer. "Hey, Todd, do you have to have pictures of ghost Pokémon or just ghosts? Because, Gengar is scared people will want to come here to catch Pokémon if they know there's any here."
"Hm… I suppose. But, I'll need more scary pictures. Gengar, do you think you and your kids could help me set up more photos that don't show you? You guys were able to turn invisible earlier… When you threw plates at us."
Noting Todd's bitter tone, Gengar let out a nervous laugh. She then nodded. "Gen!" In exchange for their continued safety and seclusion, Gengar could totally help Todd out! "Geeeeengaaaaar!" she called out.
Suddenly, fading in from the roof, dozens upon dozens of little first stage ghosts filtered in. There must have been nearly a hundred! Among them, floating beside the Gengar was a little Gastly in the same off-color as the mother. There was the shiny child.
"Well, let's head down stairs, then!" Todd cheered. "We've got pictures to take!"
The little specters let out a round of rowdy agreement.
With Todd's camera memory maxed, the trainer stood on the porch of the haunted house while the mother Gengar and several of her children saw them off.
"Bye! It was nice to meet you!" Ash greeted. Haunter had been returned during the shoot as he'd been unable to resist not sticking to the script of what the photos were supposed to be like, but Pikachu did wave with Ash at the mother.
"Take care!" Dawn called, Empoleon waving alongside her. Absol merely blinked and nodded her head in respect before tapping her forehead against the Pokéball Dawn had out for her and returning herself.
"Thanks for being such good models for me!" Todd gratefully said.
The ghosts waved as well before fading out of sight. What might have been a sudden breeze came through, slamming the door shut and letting the ghosts have their peace again.
"Well, it's on to Celadon City for us. You were headed there, right, Todd?" Ash inquired.
"Yeah," he agreed. "I'll turn in my portfolio there in a few days, but I wanna take pictures of the contest, too. Newspapers and magazines are always looking for good shots of contest Pokémon."
"Contests, huh?" Dawn nearly purred. "So there's one coming up in Celadon City, too!" So she had a way to win her third ribbon! "Well, if you're looking for pretty Pokémon and their pretty partners, I am your girl!" Posing with Empoleon, Dawn did really look every bit the coordinating master she aspired to be.
However, Todd seemed uninterested. "I prefer taking pictures of Pokémon, to be honest."
"Huh? B-But, they'll be doing the appeals and battles with me!" Dawn insisted.
Ash let out a sigh. Oh boy; Dawn was going be denied her spotlight and Todd was going to be annoyed. "How far is it from here to Celadon City, anyway?" he asked. Maybe he could trick them into running. They couldn't argue if they were both out of breath.
"About three hours," Todd answered.
"That's plenty of time to change your mind," Dawn cockily stated.
Ash groaned. He couldn't make them run for three hours. "Uh… Maybe let's find a new topic." Artists, he internally bemoaned, always at each other's throats.
