Chapter 29:

Spooky Scary Pokémon

Location: Lentimas Town Pokémon Center

"He left already?" I asked Bianca that morning.

"Yep," she said. "He wanted to get a run up on Team Plasma, so left for Reversal Mountain immediately after an early breakfast. He needs to calm down I tell ya."

I agreed, but each to their own. "So, why don't we spend the day here?" I asked. "Might as well get some training done before going through Reversal Mountain!"

"Nice idea!" Bianca said. "How about we check out the Strange House on the foot of the Mountain? It's been abandoned for years!"

Now I'm not much of a Halloween person so exploring abandoned houses has never really been my forte, but I was on a journey, so I decided why not.

"We might find some Ghost Types!" I said.

Location: Reversal Mountain (Outer)

Reversal Mountain stood tall above us. But we didn't feel menaced; we would be trekking through it tomorrow.

"Reversal Mountain is a dormant volcano," Bianca said.

Now I am a LOVER of geology, so I was in my comfort zone. Well, not really next to a volcano but you get what I mean. A dormant volcano means that it hasn't erupted in a long time, but it could potentially erupt at some point in the future. Thankfully, Scientists have read into Reversal Mountain and have conducted that it won't erupt for a long time. I hope it doesn't. A volcano in the Kanto region erupted many years ago and destroyed the surrounding town near completely. I can't help but worry for the nice and hard-working citizens of Lentimas Town; none of them deserve to have their home destroyed in a volcanic disaster.

I was too busy looking at the Mountain that I didn't even realise that I had walked into the tall grass and came across a purple Pokémon with claws on its hands and tail.

Skorupi (スコルピ)

201

Poison/Bug Type

Scorpion Pokémon

2'07" (0.8 m)

26.5 lbs (12 kg)

It lives in arid regions and can go without food for a year while waiting for prey.

"Minccino, I choose you!" I shouted. Upon entry, Minccino started yelling. Skorupi covered its ears in pain.

"Its Echoed Voice!" Bianca yelled. "It might not be strong now, but when used in succession, it gets even more powerful!"

Skorupi bit down on Minccino with its Poison Fang move. Unfortunately, Minccino became badly poisoned.

"No!" I shouted. "One more Echoed Voice!" Minccino shouted even louder; even my ears were ringing. Skorupi fainted.

"Nice!" said Bianca. "Here, give Minccino this." Bianca handed me a pink fruit. "This is a Pecha Berry. It heals the poison status condition."

I gave the berry to Minccino. It ate it happily (after dusting it off of course) and it was much better. After that, we continued our trek.

We came to the Strange House. It was like the other buildings of Lentimas Town, but much bigger. It would probably qualify as a mansion.

"This is it," Bianca said. "And we're not alone."

At the door were two people. A Backpacker and a Psychic.

"Hi," I said.

"Huh?" the Backpacker asked. "Oh, hey. Are you here to explore to?"

I nodded. "My name is Rosa, I'm a Trainer with six Badges. This is my friend Bianca, a researcher."

"I'm Boone," said the Backpacker. "Numel is my partner!" Boone sent out a yellow Pokémon with green spots on its back.

Numel (ドンメル)

204

Fire/Ground Type

Numb Pokémon

2'04" (0.7 m)

52.9 lbs (24 kg)

The magma in its body can reach 2,200 degrees F (1204 ֯C). Its hump gets smaller when it uses Fire Type moves.

"I'm his sister Lynette," said the Psychic. "My partner is Drifloon!" Lynette sent out a floating purple Pokémon with a yellow cross for its mouth.

Drifloon (フワンテ)

208

Ghost/Flying Type

Balloon Pokémon

1'04" (0.4 m)

2.6 lbs (1.2 kg)

These Pokémon are called the "Signpost for Wandering Spirits." Children holding them sometimes vanish.

"There's been some mysterious goings on in this house," Boone explained. "We are going to find out what."

"Count us in!" I said.

Bianca was a bit nervous. "Strange goings on? On second though, nah. I'll pass."

"It'll be fun!" I insisted. "Come on! Let's go in!"

Location: Strange House

"Okay I regret this," I said about five steps after walking in.

The house was abandoned. It was three floors tall and had worn furniture.

"Let's continue on," Lynette said. "Look, there is an entrance up there. But its… blocked?"

She was right. The entrance to the upstairs was blocked off by tables.

"The only stairs that look accessible are to the basement," said Bianca. "And I'm not sure we should go down there."

So, we did.

When we went down a floor, we found ourselves in a library.

"Interesting," I said. "Do you think they have any of Shauntal's works?" I went to a bookshelf and picked up a book. The cover was too rotted away to read, so I opened it up. "There is a Pokémon called Cresselia in the far Sinnoh region. Its wings shine like the crescent moon and keep nightmares away."

Boone picked up another book, which also had a cover that was too ruined to comprehend.

"There is a Pokémon called Darkrai in the far Sinnoh region. To protect itself, it drives people and Pokémon away with terrible nightmares."

"A Pokémon that causes nightmares?" Bianca said, hair on end. "That's creepy."

But things were about to get creepier. "Ha ha, very funny," I said. "Who's pulling that chair on a string?"

I pointed to a chair that seemed to be moving by itself.

"Not me," everyone said in unison.

We all decided we'd had enough for today. But when we turned to leave, our entrance was blocked by a stack of books that wasn't there before.

"We have to keep going," I said.

We got out of the library and found ourselves near a staircase. Unfortunately, our way out was blocked.

"What if Darkrai gets us?" Bianca thought.

We walked to the stairs but came across to Pokémon whilst we were at it.

Gothorita (ゴチミル)

137

Psychic Type

Manipulate Pokémon

2'04" (0.7 m)

39.7 lbs (18 kg)

According to many old tales, it creates friends for itself by controlling sleeping children on starry nights.

Gothita -Lv 32- Gothorita

Duosion (ダブラン)

140

Psychic Type

Mitosis Pokémon

2'00" (0.6 m)

17.6 lbs (8 kg)

When their divided brains think the same thoughts, their psychic power in maximized.

Solosis -Lv 32- Duosion

"Go Drifloon!" shouted Evelyn.

"I choose Servine!" I shouted. "Leaf Blade!" Servine's tail turned green, and it swiped Gothorita.

"Drifloon, Shadow Ball!" Drifloon created a black ball. It then fired it at Duosion for a Super Effective shot.

Both Gothorita and Duosion came back with a Psyshock attack. They hit both Pokémon.

"One more Leaf Blade!" I yelled as Servine swiped Duosion, knocking it out.

"And Drifloon, one more Shadow Ball!" Drifloon fired a Shadow Ball at Gothorita, dealing the final blow.

"Your Drifloon is really strong!" I said.

"Yep!" Evelyn said. "And so is Servine. And it's about to get stronger."

"What?" I said, looking at Servine. At long last… Servine was starting to evolve! It started glowing brightly and got bigger and bigger. And at long last, it was a Serperior.

Serperior (ジャローダ)

003

Grass Type

Regal Pokémon

10'10" (3.3 m)

138.9 lbs (63 kg)

It only gives its all against strong opponents who are not fazed by the glare from Serperior's noble eyes.

Snivy -Lv 17- Servine -Lv 36- Serperior

"I can't believe it!" I said. "My first Pokémon have evolved into its final form!" I hugged Serperior joyfully.

"Can we celebrate AFTER we've came out of this creepy place?" Bianca said.

We walked upstairs. I didn't care how spooky things were; my partner had reached its strongest form.

"I can't believe it," I said. "I really can't!"

"I don't know what to believe anymore," Bianca said.

"Don't be so rude," I said. "You were the one who gave me Snivy in the first place."

"That's not what she's talking about," Boone said. He pointed his shaking finger across my shoulder. I didn't want to turn around, but deep down I had no choice.

It was a girl.

"Hello," I said. "What are you doing here? This isn't a playground."

"Mama?" she asked. "Papa? Abra?" She floated away.

"Wait!" I said, just as some furniture blocked the way.

"Not now!" Boone said. "Numel, use Earth Power!"

"Don't!" I said. "This place will come crumbling down." I took a run up, and jumped over the furniture. "I'll find out what's up." I looked over the banister. To my surprise, everything wasn't blocked. "I'll meet you all back at Lentimas Town. Get out of here."

Bianca nodded. "Good luck."

I heard them walk downstairs as I found a room which I went in.

In the room there was just a green carpet. In the middle of the green carpet was… a feather. I walked over to it and picked it up. "What's this?" I thought.

"That's mine."

Behind me was the girl. "It's you," I said.

"That's mine. Give it me."

I didn't know what was going on, so I needed to talk to her. "What's the magic word?" I asked.

"I was waiting on the bridge so I could return it…" she said.

"Bridge? Wait…" I looked through Hilbert's Journal. "You mean Marvelous Bridge right?"

The girl gave a small nod. "I… wanted to return it. Give it to me."

I had enough already. So, I gave it to her. But when I did, it dropped through her body.

"Oh. I guess I can't. Could you do it when you get a chance?" she said.

"Only if you let me out," I said.

The girl walked me out. I could see all the furniture now moved.

"Return it… on Marvelous Bridge. To Cresselia…" Those were her final words before she faded away…

Location: Lentimas Town

I met my friends back at Lentimas, just like we agreed.

"That's enough spooky shenanigans today," I said. "That girl. She got caught up in one of Darkrai's nightmares. She wants to return this." I got out the Lunar Wing. "I'll do it at some point."

"Good," Bianca said. "But tomorrow, it's through Reversal Mountain!"

"That's more like it!" I said.

This day was a nightmare. Well, aside from the fact that my partner is now at its strongest form! And tomorrow, the rest of my team will get even stronger. It's Reversal Mountain time.