Chapter Four: Fear is a Ghastly Thing
"Scabbers, tackle!"
The Rattata sat there, on its hind legs staring at the Diglet, which popped up from the ground moments earlier. Ronald Weasley had a determined look on his face.
"Come on then, tackle." He repeated himself.
Scabbers seemed to shrug as the Diglet went back underground. Ron went from determined to furious.
"For crying out loud Scabbers, that's the fifth capture you've screwed up!" He shouted loudly enough for all of Windward Forest to hear him. "Oddish doesn't have a problem listening but he doesn't have that many good attacks yet. Can't you do anything besides eat?"
Scabbers just curled up and listened, completely indifferent to Ron's anger. Harry stepped in to keep Ron from doing his pokemon bodily harm.
"Take it easy Ron, he's not used to taking orders from another trainer yet." He reminded his friend. "Remember he was abandoned by his old trainer. You have to give him time."
"We've been in this forest for two days," Ron said, still fuming. "Do you think maybe two days is enough time?"
"Maybe your approach is all wrong." Harry suggested. "When I started out with Pikachu, I offered him a cookie to get him to trust me."
Pikachu nodded in agreement.
"Scabbers all ready eats more than my brothers and I combined. Return." Ron held out the shiny green pokeball that Scabbers came in, as a beam of energy summoned the Rattata back. "Windward Falls shouldn't be too far from here."
Harry turned on the Map-reader on his Firebolt to check their location. The map showed a full color image of the path they were on, and told him that they were on the right path. Though they had lost site of the river the day before, a digital display of water flowing could be seen, with a four mile indicator showing the distance between them.
"There's a cavern up ahead." He told Ron. "Perhaps we should stop there to rest up."
Having no real argument not to, and still upset over Scabbers' fowl up, Ron agreed and they trudged on.
After two days in the forest Harry and Ron were making excellent progress towards Windward Falls. So far they managed to avoid any new clashes with larger groups of Pokemon, and aside from Scabbers' and Oddish's slow uptake, things were going relatively well.
Noctowl was actually a lot easier to deal with now that he was Harry's pokemon, possibly having gained more respect during their showdown back at the Burrow. That was a good start as far as Harry was concerned, and he was happy enough taking his time with catching new pokemon.
There was a cool breeze as the centuries-old trees provided a nice shade on the forest floor. Harry kept his pokeballs in his backpack and wore his jacket tied around his waste, and Ron wore the thin long sleeved sweatshirt that his brother George gave him.
Pikachu rode on Harry's back comfortably, preferring walking to life inside the pokeball. The Pokedex all ready indicated that most pokemon hate the confinement, and in any case, Pikachu had become more than just a regular pokemon to Harry.
As they neared the cave, Harry and Ron heard someone arguing.
"I'm not going in there. Just forget it."
"You'd leave you're pokemon in there to get hurt?"
"Then you go in and get it!"
"Uh, uh, no way. Not after what I've heard about this cave."
At the mouth of the cave, a boy sat on a rock, while the second boy paced back and forth glancing sideways at the cave and looking away with a shudder. The boy who was pacing had short sandy hair and wore a green vest and black jeans. The boy sitting down was dark skinned with short hair and much taller than the first one.
"Hello," Harry greeted as they came closer.
"Hi," The dark skinned boy responded.
"Is everything all right?" Ron asked, looking from the cave to the sandy-haired boy who stopped pacing.
"Oh, he lost his Mareep," The dark-skinned boy said, jerking his thumb towards the cave. "And now he won't go in there to find it."
"Well how big is it?" Harry asked.
"I don't know, cause I'm not going in there," the boy snapped, his voice breaking up somewhat.
"I'm Dean by the way," The dark skinned boy introduced himself, trying to be polite. "This is Seamus."
"I'm Harry, and this is Ron. How did your Mareep get lost in there anyway?"
"We were taking a walk in the woods," Seamus explained, as though he were confessing to his mother about a broken window. "Mareep was at my side getting a little exercise when we passed through here and something ran into the cave. Mareep got it into her thick head to run in there and chase it, and well, she's been in there for nearly an hour."
Ron and Harry exchanged knowing glances. Still, they were confused as to why Seamus was afraid to go in to the cave.
"I take it you've never been this far," Dean said. "Hundreds of years ago, a trainer passed through here. Went by the name of Nicholas Porpington, and they say he traveled in there without a torch and of course, tripped and broke his neck. When they found the body they said they could hear all kinds of strange noises in there, like ghosts and monsters, but it was probably just the wind. Anyway, genius here thinks the stories are true."
"I'm afraid of ghosts, all right," Seamus snapped again. Harry could tell Seamus was equally as ashamed of this fear as he was of losing his pokemon. "I love Mareep, but I'm afraid to go in there. Why do you have to be so mean about it?"
As tears formed in the boy's eyes, Pikachu jumped down from Harry's backpack and ran up the Seamus, patting him sympathetically on the lower calf. (which was as close to Seamus' back as he could get) Dean could see that he hurt his best friend's feelings, and tried to make up for it. "Look, it's not your fault mate. If I had a pokemon that could light the place up I'd go in and get it myself."
Harry thought for a second, and looked at the cave. True, ghosts were the last things he wanted to run into, aside from the other things that could be in there. But he did have the flashlight on his Firebolt and the least he could do was offer some help.
"We'll go in," He volunteered.
Ron looked shocked. "What, are you mental!? Didn't you hear what Dean said?"
"Of course I did. But I'm not about to let the poor thing get hurt." Harry said, adamantly. "You don't have to go in with me, but it would be safer since you're carrying all the food and medical supplies."
Ron slapped his forehead, knowing he'd have to go in. "I hope that pokegear of yours has a long lasting flashlight."
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Dean asked, obviously agreeing with Ron. "Nicholas didn't get very far before he tripped."
"They didn't have pokegears or flashlights back then." Harry reminded him. "He might have gotten farther with one. You two wait out here, Ron and I will see what we can find."
"Thank you so much." Seamus shook Harry's hand. "I wish you the best of luck."
"We're gonna need it," Ron mumbled as they ventured in.
* * *
Harry found that when he set the flashlight to its highest setting, it simply glared off the sides of the cave and didn't show them much. The lowest setting was too dim, but third setting gave them a clear view of the structure of the cave.
Slowly and carefully the boys and Pikachu made their way towards the back of the cave. Ron complained in short frightened whispers, but it was clear he didn't like being here. Harry normally would have gone alone, but he too was afraid, only he didn't want to admit it.
"Look over there," He said, pointing to a long, deep pit at the end. "I'm guessing that's where Nicholas Porpington fell."
"Great. Well, I don't see Mareep. I'll just take Pikachu with me and-" Ron tried to turn and leave when Harry yanked him back. "You know, there are some challenges that need to be turned down in life."
"Are you gonna need to change your knickers when we get out of the cave?" Harry teased, shining the flashlight along the mouth of the pit. "It looks like there's a ledge spiraling downwards. I'll go first."
Harry tentatively placed one foot on the ledge, testing it for stability. After pressing on it a few more times to see that it was solid, he placed the second foot on the ledge, keeping a hand on the cave wall timidly. When he flashed the light on the ledge, it appeared wide enough to walk down safely.
"It's safe so far. Pikachu, stay between me and Ron."
With the flashlight leading the way, and Ron hugging the wall for comfort, they slowly made their way into the pit. In a cave so natural it seemed odd that it was so easy to walk along the ledge, and Harry wondered whether or not it was man made.
"How far down is it?" Ron wondered, the fear in his voice mounting.
"I don't know," Harry answered. "Obviously it's far enough down to kill who ever fell the entire length."
The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them and he winced. Ron was mortified, but he stayed behind Harry and Pikachu. A loud moaning sound came from behind them, and they stopped to look back.
"What was that?!" Ron shouted, his voice echoing against the walls.
"Seamus? Dean?" Harry called back. By now when he flashed the light upwards, he could just barely make out the light from the outside. "Probably just the wind."
"Unless the wind suddenly has a bad stomach ache, I don't think so."
"For crying out loud, this is getting us no where." Harry called out Noctowl. "Noctowl, can you go down and see if there's a Mareep at the bottom?"
"Noctowl." Noctowl nodded and fluttered down to the bottom of the cave. Harry waited and listened while the pokemon searched. Just when he was getting worried something might have happened, Noctowl returned and beckoned them to follow him to the bottom.
It didn't take them long to get to the bottom of the pit, and a vast underground cave opened up around them. Harry swept the light around him and saw towering stalagmites grew from the ground and stalactites of all shapes and sizes hung overhead. Noctowl remained pearched on one of the smaller stalagmites.
"Mareep?" Ron called, eager to get out of there as soon as possible. "Your trainer sent us down, it's okay to come out."
"Ahhhhhhhh!" Something screamed. Pikachu and the boys jumped a few feet as their hearts nearly stopped beating.
"All right, if you two are down here, this isn't funny." Harry shouted, hoping it was actually Dean and Seamus playing a cruel prank.
"H-H-Harry." Ron stammered, beads of sweat soaking his head as he and Pikachu clung to each other. "Look."
Harry pointed the light to where Ron was pointing and a few feet from the ledge, directly below the entrance of the cave, and face down was a fully decayed lifeless skeleton. It was wearing clothing that had been torn to shreds over the years by animals, but could clearly be identified as not of this century. A sword rested at its side, still sheathed in its leather bound casing.
"I guess that's Nicholas." Harry decided.
"Harry…" Ron squeaked, unable to contain the fear. "I think I may need that change of knickers."
Harry was about to go back to the surface and tell Seamus to get his own damn pokemon, but that's when someone placed a cold hand on his shoulder. Whipping around he nearly wet himself as he saw a pale, transparent man standing in front of him. The man was tall with a short mustache and goatee, and he wore the same clothing as the skeleton, only in better repair, with a white frilly collar around his neck.
"Ah, it's the first time in years that I've had visitors." The ghost spoke in a thick accent. "At least, visitors of the human variety."
Another ghost appeared beside the man, only this one resembled a round black ball with huge white eyes and fang like teeth, and a shimmering gray tail followed behind.
"I'd like to introduce you to Ghastly. He's been at my side ever since I fell down here over six hundred years ago."
"Y-y-you're Nicholas aren't you?" Ron asked, slowly overcoming his fear but being wary of the ghost Pokemon that floated nearby.
"Sir Nicholas de Mimsy Porpington to be precise." The man answered, holding out his hand in friendship. When the boys refused he withdrew understandingly. "Well then, I'm sure you boys aren't down here for a social visit, so might I ask what brings you to my humble abode?"
"A boy lost his Mareep down here." Harry said. "Have you seen it?"
"Mareep? Is that a new sort of Pokemon? You know when I was around there hadn't been a full compilation of them like you have now with pokedex's. I do so enjoy seeing the devices whenever a person can tolerate my presence long enough to show them to me."
Harry turned the Firebolt's nighttime screen on, so he could see the display without straining. The buttons all lit up with various neon colors as well. Quickly he scrolled through the list of currently known Pokemon until the sheep-like Electric-Type Pokemon popped up, and showed it to Sir Nicholas.
"Ah yes, I believe this is what chased Ghastly in here a few hours ago. Ghastly was careful to lead it to the bottom of the pit so it wouldn't hurt itself, but then it ran off that way for some reason." Sir Nicholas pointed towards a smaller tunnel.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me." Ron said, exasperated. "Tell me that doesn't lead anywhere in particular."
"Only to the underground river." Sir Nicholas explained. "The Windward River branches through here. You can hear it when you get closer. Ghastly can show you the way if you'd like."
"Thank you," Harry said as Ghastly disappeared briefly, and then reappeared next to Pikachu.
"Pika!" Pikachu screeched, jumping back into Ron's arms. Ghastly laughed as if this were the funniest thing in the world, then he did the same Teleporting trick and appeared next to Noctowl.
"Noctoowl!" Noctowl crowed, disturbed by Ghastly's presence. Harry called him back as Sir Nicholas wished them good luck.
* * *
Pikachu and Ron were thoroughly frightened of Ghastly, though Harry didn't seem to mind it. Ghastly lead the way while Harry lit the way for the creatures that couldn't see in the dark.
"I think I hear the river," He said. "Listen."
After a few seconds Ron said, "The only thing I can hear is my rapid heartbeat. Seamus owes us big."
"Pika." Pikachu nodded in agreement.
Harry didn't say anything because in truth, he was feeling just as frightened as they were. Though Ghastly was actually quite friendly, it didn't help matters to know that it was the ghost of a Pokemon trainer training a ghost-type Pokemon.
The river got louder as they neared the end of the tunnel. Howling wind indicated another opening in the cave where the water ran through.
"Mareep!" A desperate voice echoed against the walls of the cave. Harry shone the flashlight where Ghastly flew, and closer to the other side of the river, clinging to a slippery rock, was the yellowish sheep-like pokemon with the short black tail. "Mareeeep."
"It's all right," Harry called. "Seamus sent us down."
Mareep nodded as if it understood, but something about Ghastly angered it so that it sent thunderbolts flying. The boys jumped back to avoid being electrocuted.
"Ghastly, get away from her. She doesn't like you for some reason."
Ghastly returned to Harry's side as the boys tried to figure out what to do.
"That current looks pretty fast," Ron pointed out. "I don't think we'd be able to wade across."
"Mareep might not like Noctowl flying it over," Harry added. The situation seemed pretty hopeless.
"Pika…" Pikachu tugged on Harry's pant leg. "Not now Pikachu. What about rope? We have some in our packs for hanging our clothes to dry, could that work?"
"It's worth a shot."
"Ghaaastly." Ghastly jumped in Harry's face now.
"Ahh!" Harry jumped back startled and tripped on a rock, falling on his back. When he looked up he saw what Pikachu had been pointing to. Colonies of Zubats made their nests on the tunnel's ceiling, and until now were mostly asleep. But several of them were awake now, no doubt from Harry's light and from the echoes of human voices.
Ron had just enough time to duck as the Zubats flooded the cave, screeching as they flew in all directions. Pikachu huttled beneath a rock and tried to thundershock the Zubats, only to get Ron and Harry in the process.
"We can't use electricity in here..." Harry reminded him, half burned. He batted Zubats away and tried to get closer to the river. "Mareep! Are you still there?"
"Mareeep!" Mareep cried. A loud splash followed and Harry dug into his pack.
"Ghastly, are you still with me?"
"Ghaaastly." Ghastly used his confusion attack to clear out most of the Zubats.
"Take this rope and bring it to Mareep," Harry commanded, placing the rope in the pokemon's teeth when it became solid. "Hurry."
Ghastly fought its way through the remaining zubats. Most weren't willing to challenge him, and those that were got paralyzed and fell into the water. The current carried Mareep towards the mouth of the cave where a massive waterfall poured, and Ghastly dove fast. Mareep leapt up and bit down on the rope.
"Ghastly, Ghaastly," Ghastly called back.
"Pull!" Harry shouted.
Ron, Harry, and Pikachu tugged hard on the rope, grateful it didn't break. When Mareep was close enough to the bank, Harry jumped into the river and helped it the rest of the way.
"What is it with you and the Windward River?" Ron asked, exhausted.
"Luck I guess, thanks for the help Ghastly."
* * *
Surprisingly, when they found the way back to the main cave, Seamus and Dean were talking with Sir Nicholas. When Mareep saw her trainer she ran into him and started licking his face.
"Mareep, you're all right," Seamus said, throwing his arms around his pokemon.
"Good show boys," Sir Nicholas praised them.
"I don't get it," Ron said, as Seamus cuddled Mareep. "I thought you were afraid to come in here."
"When I saw the Zubats flutter out of the cave I was concerned that you might need help." Sir Nicholas explained. "I can't go down that tunnel, something about this cave has been keeping me here, but I can appear at the mouth of the cave ever so often. So I called to your friends and asked them to come down."
"Seamus was afraid at first," Dean went on. "But he was feeling guilty about sending you down there after Mareep and not having the courage to go down himself, so we followed Sir. Nicholas down."
"Well, you were a little late to help," Harry said, shaking Dean's hand. "But thanks for your concern."
"But why did Mareep want to chase my Ghastly?" Sir. Nicholas asked, casting a glance at his pokemon. "Ghastly would never hurt anyone terribly."
"Pika, pi pi, pikachu?" Pikachu asked Mareep.
"Mar, mar, mareep, mar mar." Mareep responded, nudging Seamus.
Using the Firebolt's pokemon translator, Harry explained, "Mareep knows that Seamus is afraid of ghosts. And so she wanted to chase Ghastly away because she wanted him to know she was protecting him."
"Oh, Mareep." Seamus hugged Mareep again. "That's very sweet of you, but I don't want you to ever run off like that again. I'd don't know what I'd do if I lost you."
Mareep nodded and licked Seamus' face again before he called her back to her pokeball.
"Well, I guess its time for us to go." Harry said to Sir. Nicholas. "I wish there was something we could do, but I promise we'll stop by to visit once in a while."
Ron elbowed him. "What's this 'we' business Potter?"
"Actually there is one small thing you could do for me," Sir. Nicholas said, gesturing to Ghastly. "A pokemon doesn't deserve to be holed up inside a cave, watching as its master is unable to train it. You seem to do very well with pokemon and I was wondering, would you take him on your journey?"
Harry was touched and overwhelmed. "I'd be honored. What do you think Ghastly?"
Ghastly smiled and licked Harry's cheek in approval…which unfortunately lead to Harry being temporarily paralyzed. He hit the ground with an odd look on his face, and with his eye twitching said, "I think he likes the idea."
The boys traded Pokegear numbers, to keep in touch along the way. Then, Ron and Harry said their last good-byes to Seamus, Dean and Sir. Nicholas.
"You know what the beauty part of all this is?" Harry asked as they neared the edge of the forest at last.
"You mean aside from you getting another pokemon, Seamus overcoming his fear of ghosts, and us once again getting mobbed by angry flying pokemon?" Ron answered, still annoyed from the whole ordeal. "No, I don't know what the beauty part is."
"Well, it's that we were right about Windward Falls not being too far away."
As Harry and Ron overlooked the massive waterfall that pored from the mouth of the cave and fed the rivers and lakes of Windward Falls, Ron took in the sentiment for about ten seconds.
"Shut up Harry. Just shut up."
"Scabbers, tackle!"
The Rattata sat there, on its hind legs staring at the Diglet, which popped up from the ground moments earlier. Ronald Weasley had a determined look on his face.
"Come on then, tackle." He repeated himself.
Scabbers seemed to shrug as the Diglet went back underground. Ron went from determined to furious.
"For crying out loud Scabbers, that's the fifth capture you've screwed up!" He shouted loudly enough for all of Windward Forest to hear him. "Oddish doesn't have a problem listening but he doesn't have that many good attacks yet. Can't you do anything besides eat?"
Scabbers just curled up and listened, completely indifferent to Ron's anger. Harry stepped in to keep Ron from doing his pokemon bodily harm.
"Take it easy Ron, he's not used to taking orders from another trainer yet." He reminded his friend. "Remember he was abandoned by his old trainer. You have to give him time."
"We've been in this forest for two days," Ron said, still fuming. "Do you think maybe two days is enough time?"
"Maybe your approach is all wrong." Harry suggested. "When I started out with Pikachu, I offered him a cookie to get him to trust me."
Pikachu nodded in agreement.
"Scabbers all ready eats more than my brothers and I combined. Return." Ron held out the shiny green pokeball that Scabbers came in, as a beam of energy summoned the Rattata back. "Windward Falls shouldn't be too far from here."
Harry turned on the Map-reader on his Firebolt to check their location. The map showed a full color image of the path they were on, and told him that they were on the right path. Though they had lost site of the river the day before, a digital display of water flowing could be seen, with a four mile indicator showing the distance between them.
"There's a cavern up ahead." He told Ron. "Perhaps we should stop there to rest up."
Having no real argument not to, and still upset over Scabbers' fowl up, Ron agreed and they trudged on.
After two days in the forest Harry and Ron were making excellent progress towards Windward Falls. So far they managed to avoid any new clashes with larger groups of Pokemon, and aside from Scabbers' and Oddish's slow uptake, things were going relatively well.
Noctowl was actually a lot easier to deal with now that he was Harry's pokemon, possibly having gained more respect during their showdown back at the Burrow. That was a good start as far as Harry was concerned, and he was happy enough taking his time with catching new pokemon.
There was a cool breeze as the centuries-old trees provided a nice shade on the forest floor. Harry kept his pokeballs in his backpack and wore his jacket tied around his waste, and Ron wore the thin long sleeved sweatshirt that his brother George gave him.
Pikachu rode on Harry's back comfortably, preferring walking to life inside the pokeball. The Pokedex all ready indicated that most pokemon hate the confinement, and in any case, Pikachu had become more than just a regular pokemon to Harry.
As they neared the cave, Harry and Ron heard someone arguing.
"I'm not going in there. Just forget it."
"You'd leave you're pokemon in there to get hurt?"
"Then you go in and get it!"
"Uh, uh, no way. Not after what I've heard about this cave."
At the mouth of the cave, a boy sat on a rock, while the second boy paced back and forth glancing sideways at the cave and looking away with a shudder. The boy who was pacing had short sandy hair and wore a green vest and black jeans. The boy sitting down was dark skinned with short hair and much taller than the first one.
"Hello," Harry greeted as they came closer.
"Hi," The dark skinned boy responded.
"Is everything all right?" Ron asked, looking from the cave to the sandy-haired boy who stopped pacing.
"Oh, he lost his Mareep," The dark-skinned boy said, jerking his thumb towards the cave. "And now he won't go in there to find it."
"Well how big is it?" Harry asked.
"I don't know, cause I'm not going in there," the boy snapped, his voice breaking up somewhat.
"I'm Dean by the way," The dark skinned boy introduced himself, trying to be polite. "This is Seamus."
"I'm Harry, and this is Ron. How did your Mareep get lost in there anyway?"
"We were taking a walk in the woods," Seamus explained, as though he were confessing to his mother about a broken window. "Mareep was at my side getting a little exercise when we passed through here and something ran into the cave. Mareep got it into her thick head to run in there and chase it, and well, she's been in there for nearly an hour."
Ron and Harry exchanged knowing glances. Still, they were confused as to why Seamus was afraid to go in to the cave.
"I take it you've never been this far," Dean said. "Hundreds of years ago, a trainer passed through here. Went by the name of Nicholas Porpington, and they say he traveled in there without a torch and of course, tripped and broke his neck. When they found the body they said they could hear all kinds of strange noises in there, like ghosts and monsters, but it was probably just the wind. Anyway, genius here thinks the stories are true."
"I'm afraid of ghosts, all right," Seamus snapped again. Harry could tell Seamus was equally as ashamed of this fear as he was of losing his pokemon. "I love Mareep, but I'm afraid to go in there. Why do you have to be so mean about it?"
As tears formed in the boy's eyes, Pikachu jumped down from Harry's backpack and ran up the Seamus, patting him sympathetically on the lower calf. (which was as close to Seamus' back as he could get) Dean could see that he hurt his best friend's feelings, and tried to make up for it. "Look, it's not your fault mate. If I had a pokemon that could light the place up I'd go in and get it myself."
Harry thought for a second, and looked at the cave. True, ghosts were the last things he wanted to run into, aside from the other things that could be in there. But he did have the flashlight on his Firebolt and the least he could do was offer some help.
"We'll go in," He volunteered.
Ron looked shocked. "What, are you mental!? Didn't you hear what Dean said?"
"Of course I did. But I'm not about to let the poor thing get hurt." Harry said, adamantly. "You don't have to go in with me, but it would be safer since you're carrying all the food and medical supplies."
Ron slapped his forehead, knowing he'd have to go in. "I hope that pokegear of yours has a long lasting flashlight."
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Dean asked, obviously agreeing with Ron. "Nicholas didn't get very far before he tripped."
"They didn't have pokegears or flashlights back then." Harry reminded him. "He might have gotten farther with one. You two wait out here, Ron and I will see what we can find."
"Thank you so much." Seamus shook Harry's hand. "I wish you the best of luck."
"We're gonna need it," Ron mumbled as they ventured in.
* * *
Harry found that when he set the flashlight to its highest setting, it simply glared off the sides of the cave and didn't show them much. The lowest setting was too dim, but third setting gave them a clear view of the structure of the cave.
Slowly and carefully the boys and Pikachu made their way towards the back of the cave. Ron complained in short frightened whispers, but it was clear he didn't like being here. Harry normally would have gone alone, but he too was afraid, only he didn't want to admit it.
"Look over there," He said, pointing to a long, deep pit at the end. "I'm guessing that's where Nicholas Porpington fell."
"Great. Well, I don't see Mareep. I'll just take Pikachu with me and-" Ron tried to turn and leave when Harry yanked him back. "You know, there are some challenges that need to be turned down in life."
"Are you gonna need to change your knickers when we get out of the cave?" Harry teased, shining the flashlight along the mouth of the pit. "It looks like there's a ledge spiraling downwards. I'll go first."
Harry tentatively placed one foot on the ledge, testing it for stability. After pressing on it a few more times to see that it was solid, he placed the second foot on the ledge, keeping a hand on the cave wall timidly. When he flashed the light on the ledge, it appeared wide enough to walk down safely.
"It's safe so far. Pikachu, stay between me and Ron."
With the flashlight leading the way, and Ron hugging the wall for comfort, they slowly made their way into the pit. In a cave so natural it seemed odd that it was so easy to walk along the ledge, and Harry wondered whether or not it was man made.
"How far down is it?" Ron wondered, the fear in his voice mounting.
"I don't know," Harry answered. "Obviously it's far enough down to kill who ever fell the entire length."
The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them and he winced. Ron was mortified, but he stayed behind Harry and Pikachu. A loud moaning sound came from behind them, and they stopped to look back.
"What was that?!" Ron shouted, his voice echoing against the walls.
"Seamus? Dean?" Harry called back. By now when he flashed the light upwards, he could just barely make out the light from the outside. "Probably just the wind."
"Unless the wind suddenly has a bad stomach ache, I don't think so."
"For crying out loud, this is getting us no where." Harry called out Noctowl. "Noctowl, can you go down and see if there's a Mareep at the bottom?"
"Noctowl." Noctowl nodded and fluttered down to the bottom of the cave. Harry waited and listened while the pokemon searched. Just when he was getting worried something might have happened, Noctowl returned and beckoned them to follow him to the bottom.
It didn't take them long to get to the bottom of the pit, and a vast underground cave opened up around them. Harry swept the light around him and saw towering stalagmites grew from the ground and stalactites of all shapes and sizes hung overhead. Noctowl remained pearched on one of the smaller stalagmites.
"Mareep?" Ron called, eager to get out of there as soon as possible. "Your trainer sent us down, it's okay to come out."
"Ahhhhhhhh!" Something screamed. Pikachu and the boys jumped a few feet as their hearts nearly stopped beating.
"All right, if you two are down here, this isn't funny." Harry shouted, hoping it was actually Dean and Seamus playing a cruel prank.
"H-H-Harry." Ron stammered, beads of sweat soaking his head as he and Pikachu clung to each other. "Look."
Harry pointed the light to where Ron was pointing and a few feet from the ledge, directly below the entrance of the cave, and face down was a fully decayed lifeless skeleton. It was wearing clothing that had been torn to shreds over the years by animals, but could clearly be identified as not of this century. A sword rested at its side, still sheathed in its leather bound casing.
"I guess that's Nicholas." Harry decided.
"Harry…" Ron squeaked, unable to contain the fear. "I think I may need that change of knickers."
Harry was about to go back to the surface and tell Seamus to get his own damn pokemon, but that's when someone placed a cold hand on his shoulder. Whipping around he nearly wet himself as he saw a pale, transparent man standing in front of him. The man was tall with a short mustache and goatee, and he wore the same clothing as the skeleton, only in better repair, with a white frilly collar around his neck.
"Ah, it's the first time in years that I've had visitors." The ghost spoke in a thick accent. "At least, visitors of the human variety."
Another ghost appeared beside the man, only this one resembled a round black ball with huge white eyes and fang like teeth, and a shimmering gray tail followed behind.
"I'd like to introduce you to Ghastly. He's been at my side ever since I fell down here over six hundred years ago."
"Y-y-you're Nicholas aren't you?" Ron asked, slowly overcoming his fear but being wary of the ghost Pokemon that floated nearby.
"Sir Nicholas de Mimsy Porpington to be precise." The man answered, holding out his hand in friendship. When the boys refused he withdrew understandingly. "Well then, I'm sure you boys aren't down here for a social visit, so might I ask what brings you to my humble abode?"
"A boy lost his Mareep down here." Harry said. "Have you seen it?"
"Mareep? Is that a new sort of Pokemon? You know when I was around there hadn't been a full compilation of them like you have now with pokedex's. I do so enjoy seeing the devices whenever a person can tolerate my presence long enough to show them to me."
Harry turned the Firebolt's nighttime screen on, so he could see the display without straining. The buttons all lit up with various neon colors as well. Quickly he scrolled through the list of currently known Pokemon until the sheep-like Electric-Type Pokemon popped up, and showed it to Sir Nicholas.
"Ah yes, I believe this is what chased Ghastly in here a few hours ago. Ghastly was careful to lead it to the bottom of the pit so it wouldn't hurt itself, but then it ran off that way for some reason." Sir Nicholas pointed towards a smaller tunnel.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me." Ron said, exasperated. "Tell me that doesn't lead anywhere in particular."
"Only to the underground river." Sir Nicholas explained. "The Windward River branches through here. You can hear it when you get closer. Ghastly can show you the way if you'd like."
"Thank you," Harry said as Ghastly disappeared briefly, and then reappeared next to Pikachu.
"Pika!" Pikachu screeched, jumping back into Ron's arms. Ghastly laughed as if this were the funniest thing in the world, then he did the same Teleporting trick and appeared next to Noctowl.
"Noctoowl!" Noctowl crowed, disturbed by Ghastly's presence. Harry called him back as Sir Nicholas wished them good luck.
* * *
Pikachu and Ron were thoroughly frightened of Ghastly, though Harry didn't seem to mind it. Ghastly lead the way while Harry lit the way for the creatures that couldn't see in the dark.
"I think I hear the river," He said. "Listen."
After a few seconds Ron said, "The only thing I can hear is my rapid heartbeat. Seamus owes us big."
"Pika." Pikachu nodded in agreement.
Harry didn't say anything because in truth, he was feeling just as frightened as they were. Though Ghastly was actually quite friendly, it didn't help matters to know that it was the ghost of a Pokemon trainer training a ghost-type Pokemon.
The river got louder as they neared the end of the tunnel. Howling wind indicated another opening in the cave where the water ran through.
"Mareep!" A desperate voice echoed against the walls of the cave. Harry shone the flashlight where Ghastly flew, and closer to the other side of the river, clinging to a slippery rock, was the yellowish sheep-like pokemon with the short black tail. "Mareeeep."
"It's all right," Harry called. "Seamus sent us down."
Mareep nodded as if it understood, but something about Ghastly angered it so that it sent thunderbolts flying. The boys jumped back to avoid being electrocuted.
"Ghastly, get away from her. She doesn't like you for some reason."
Ghastly returned to Harry's side as the boys tried to figure out what to do.
"That current looks pretty fast," Ron pointed out. "I don't think we'd be able to wade across."
"Mareep might not like Noctowl flying it over," Harry added. The situation seemed pretty hopeless.
"Pika…" Pikachu tugged on Harry's pant leg. "Not now Pikachu. What about rope? We have some in our packs for hanging our clothes to dry, could that work?"
"It's worth a shot."
"Ghaaastly." Ghastly jumped in Harry's face now.
"Ahh!" Harry jumped back startled and tripped on a rock, falling on his back. When he looked up he saw what Pikachu had been pointing to. Colonies of Zubats made their nests on the tunnel's ceiling, and until now were mostly asleep. But several of them were awake now, no doubt from Harry's light and from the echoes of human voices.
Ron had just enough time to duck as the Zubats flooded the cave, screeching as they flew in all directions. Pikachu huttled beneath a rock and tried to thundershock the Zubats, only to get Ron and Harry in the process.
"We can't use electricity in here..." Harry reminded him, half burned. He batted Zubats away and tried to get closer to the river. "Mareep! Are you still there?"
"Mareeep!" Mareep cried. A loud splash followed and Harry dug into his pack.
"Ghastly, are you still with me?"
"Ghaaastly." Ghastly used his confusion attack to clear out most of the Zubats.
"Take this rope and bring it to Mareep," Harry commanded, placing the rope in the pokemon's teeth when it became solid. "Hurry."
Ghastly fought its way through the remaining zubats. Most weren't willing to challenge him, and those that were got paralyzed and fell into the water. The current carried Mareep towards the mouth of the cave where a massive waterfall poured, and Ghastly dove fast. Mareep leapt up and bit down on the rope.
"Ghastly, Ghaastly," Ghastly called back.
"Pull!" Harry shouted.
Ron, Harry, and Pikachu tugged hard on the rope, grateful it didn't break. When Mareep was close enough to the bank, Harry jumped into the river and helped it the rest of the way.
"What is it with you and the Windward River?" Ron asked, exhausted.
"Luck I guess, thanks for the help Ghastly."
* * *
Surprisingly, when they found the way back to the main cave, Seamus and Dean were talking with Sir Nicholas. When Mareep saw her trainer she ran into him and started licking his face.
"Mareep, you're all right," Seamus said, throwing his arms around his pokemon.
"Good show boys," Sir Nicholas praised them.
"I don't get it," Ron said, as Seamus cuddled Mareep. "I thought you were afraid to come in here."
"When I saw the Zubats flutter out of the cave I was concerned that you might need help." Sir Nicholas explained. "I can't go down that tunnel, something about this cave has been keeping me here, but I can appear at the mouth of the cave ever so often. So I called to your friends and asked them to come down."
"Seamus was afraid at first," Dean went on. "But he was feeling guilty about sending you down there after Mareep and not having the courage to go down himself, so we followed Sir. Nicholas down."
"Well, you were a little late to help," Harry said, shaking Dean's hand. "But thanks for your concern."
"But why did Mareep want to chase my Ghastly?" Sir. Nicholas asked, casting a glance at his pokemon. "Ghastly would never hurt anyone terribly."
"Pika, pi pi, pikachu?" Pikachu asked Mareep.
"Mar, mar, mareep, mar mar." Mareep responded, nudging Seamus.
Using the Firebolt's pokemon translator, Harry explained, "Mareep knows that Seamus is afraid of ghosts. And so she wanted to chase Ghastly away because she wanted him to know she was protecting him."
"Oh, Mareep." Seamus hugged Mareep again. "That's very sweet of you, but I don't want you to ever run off like that again. I'd don't know what I'd do if I lost you."
Mareep nodded and licked Seamus' face again before he called her back to her pokeball.
"Well, I guess its time for us to go." Harry said to Sir. Nicholas. "I wish there was something we could do, but I promise we'll stop by to visit once in a while."
Ron elbowed him. "What's this 'we' business Potter?"
"Actually there is one small thing you could do for me," Sir. Nicholas said, gesturing to Ghastly. "A pokemon doesn't deserve to be holed up inside a cave, watching as its master is unable to train it. You seem to do very well with pokemon and I was wondering, would you take him on your journey?"
Harry was touched and overwhelmed. "I'd be honored. What do you think Ghastly?"
Ghastly smiled and licked Harry's cheek in approval…which unfortunately lead to Harry being temporarily paralyzed. He hit the ground with an odd look on his face, and with his eye twitching said, "I think he likes the idea."
The boys traded Pokegear numbers, to keep in touch along the way. Then, Ron and Harry said their last good-byes to Seamus, Dean and Sir. Nicholas.
"You know what the beauty part of all this is?" Harry asked as they neared the edge of the forest at last.
"You mean aside from you getting another pokemon, Seamus overcoming his fear of ghosts, and us once again getting mobbed by angry flying pokemon?" Ron answered, still annoyed from the whole ordeal. "No, I don't know what the beauty part is."
"Well, it's that we were right about Windward Falls not being too far away."
As Harry and Ron overlooked the massive waterfall that pored from the mouth of the cave and fed the rivers and lakes of Windward Falls, Ron took in the sentiment for about ten seconds.
"Shut up Harry. Just shut up."