Chapter 16
"So what did you want to do here again Sam?" Tony inquired.
"Catch a Ghost-Pokémon…" Samantha determined.
"G-G-Ghosts?" Kat shivered.
"Oh don't you worry Kat. You have nothing to be afraid of. You have Tony to protect you!" Samantha laughed.
That earned her another shove from Kat. Samantha laughed wildly as Pokémon Tower came into sight…
"I don't believe this!" Samantha literally screamed.
"Pokémon Tower CLOSED!
Radio Tower soon to come!
--WKPR: Kanto Pokémon Radio"
Samantha felt as though her luck just kept getting worse and worse…why does the tower have to be closed when SHE comes into town? Samantha felt extremely discouraged. Until lo and behold, her guardian angel fluttered its wings…
"Excuse me young miss, are here to capture a Ghost-Pokémon?" a voice called from behind her.
Samantha, Kat, and Tony turned around in unison to find an older gentleman, with a broad smile on his face. His grayish beard down to his chest, made him look wiser than he already was.
"Why yes…we are sir," Samantha said with hesitant eagerness, "do you know where I can find them?"
"Well I'm afraid you're out of luck…since this Radio Tower is being built, all of the Ghost-Pokémon have gone away. From what I hear, you can only find them in a place far off in Johto called Sprout Tower" the man said sadly.
"Oh this just plain su—er…stinks!" Samantha said pounding her fist against the old creaky door, "I really wanted to capture on Mister…"
"Fuji. My name is Mr. Fuji young lady. I run the Pokémon Volunteer House across the street. We take care of sick and abandoned Pokémon. I also happen to have the duty of preserving the graves and memorials of departed Pokémon." Mr. Fuji stated.
"Excuse me Mr. Fuji, if they are building this Radio Tower, then what will happen to all the memorials and graves inside the tower?" Kat asked.
"Well you see that building over there? It goes five levels beneath the Earth's crust. We have put all of the graves down there. It will be a new place to remember the dear Pokémon who have passed on."
"Wow that's really something, huh Blaze?" Tony asked his Growlithe patting him on the head.
"Growlithe!" Blazed barked in agreement.
"Say…you kids are Pokémon trainers I'll only assume. Well are you?" Mr. Fuji asked in a less friendly, and more serious voice.
"Yes…we all are!" Kat answered.
"Well there is only one slight problem we have with this Radio Tower being built…" Mr. Fuji stated with concern.
"What is that sir?" Samantha asked.
Mr. Fuji averted his gaze from the three young trainers, and his head titled back. Samantha could not help but follow his eyes. They both gazed to the very peak of Pokémon Tower. Mr. Fuji never took his eyes off the very top. All of the sudden, bright pink light shone out the windows. The light flashed on and off. The lights were followed by horrible, shrieking.
"You see, all of the Gastly, Haunter, and Gengar all agreed to leave on their own will. However, there is one ghost who refuses to leave…" Fuji said with his head bowed low, "If we don't get that poor Pokémon out of there, they'll demolish the Radio Tower…no matter what resides within it."
"Why can't you just scare it away?" Samantha asked, eyes still fixed on the peak of the tower.
"That's why I want you kids to help me out. Perhaps you can ascend the tower, and see about capturing it…it's the safest way to get the Pokémon out of there. I mean, you did come here to capture a Ghost-Pokémon did you not?" Mr. Fuji asked.
Samantha finally looked down. She looked at Tony, and nodded her head.
"We'll give it our best shot Mr. Fuji!" Tony said rubbing Kat's back with one hand.
Pokémon Tower had been declared condemned by the Lavender Town Safety Bureau. Very good reason enough to let Julie and Lianne use their FLASH. Mr. Fuji was kind enough to let Samantha borrow his HM 05, which enable Lianne to master the technique.
Getting to the top of the tower would have been difficult if it had not been for Bobby and Cubone. The stairs were all rotted, which made it hard for any human to ascend them without placing their lives in danger. Bobby used his strong vines as a rail to hoist himself up one by one up the old creaky steps. He'd then send a vine down to Cubone. Cubone would used a very small EARTHQUAKE attack to test the step's durability. If a step was safe, Samantha, Kat, and Tony would one by one use them. If the step began to rattle, they would skip it.
As they got closer to the top, the screeching got louder and louder. After about 2 hours of meticulous climbing, the trio of trainers and their Pokémon had reached the top.
The doors that lead to the main chamber at the peak, were double-bolted shut…which was no problem for Tony…
"Blaze, FLAMETHROWER!"
Blaze accurately hit the locks with great precision. Within seconds, the locks and bolts were nothing more than a pile of metallic goop on the floor.
Samantha drew a deep breath, and pushed the heavy doors open…
