Yeah, I know I already kinda made a Halloween Special in the One-shot series, but honestly, I want a one-shot between Ash and a Hex Maniac, and no one seems to be doing it for whatever reason. You know what they say, you want something done, gotta do it yourself. And also, Ash is 17 in this and the Maniac is the same age.
Ash was running through the pouring rain, Pikachu on his shoulder, both trying to cover themselves as much as possible in a futile attempt. He had made it to the patio of a nearby house and finally got cover to get out of the downpour, but shivering like mad. He leaned against the wall while rubbing his arm as his Pokemon rubbed against him as best as he could for warmth.
"Man, I knew I should've gotten an umbrella." The boy says as his Pokemon cries in his language. He looked at the door, then grabbed the knob, trying to turn it. "Locked." He scoffed. "Welp, hopefully, someone's here if that's the case."
He stood up, then knocked once, but before he could knock again, the door clicked which made him and his Pokemon jump. Then the door slowly opened a crack, the hinges letting out a loud squeak. Peaking through the crack was what looked like the face of a girl who seemed close to his age, with long lavender hair, a purple hairband, and lilac eyes.
The stare she was giving was kinda off-putting, making the boy and his Pokemon feel uneasy. They stared at each other, the only sound being the pouring rain and the only bit of light being from inside the house that was partially blocked by the girl.
After what felt like forever, she slowly creaked the door opened some more until it was open all the way. Still staring at the two with that creepy stare.
"You should come inside. You could catch a cold." She says in a quiet, almost whispering tone before turning herself to let him in.
Ash looked at Pikachu and then back at the girl. "Right." He says as he stood up straight, then hesitantly, walked inside. "Thank you." He says as she closes the door behind him. He then looked around, finding a most empty house apart from some furniture, a chandelier, and paintings. "Huh, looks bigger from the inside than it does outside."
"Thank you." The girl says in the same, practically whispering tone.
He turned to her and had the same uncomfortable look as he sees her smiling at him creepily. It seemed she had a habit of looking creepy, whether intentional or not. However, Ash didn't want to judge her just for looks, and he wanted to break the silence by saying something.
"Uh, my name is Ash, and this is Pikachu." He says before holding his hand out. "Nice to meet you."
She now started staring at his hand for about a minute, before reaching out with both hands and taking hold of it. However, rather than a handshake like he had expected, she then started rubbing it. It made him feel a little weird and he stared at his Pokemon before looking back at the girl. She stopped rubbing his hand and looked up at him.
"My name is Elli." She states.
He waited for a bit, hoping she had more to say. But after another moment of eerie silence, she let go of his hand and he pulled back, cringing a bit.
"So, uh… I'm uh…" He says, trying to think of something, but to no avail. "I-is there any service here by any chance?" He then asked as he took out his Pokegear. "I was traveling with my friends and we kinda got split up. I just wanna call and make sure they're okay."
After he said that, the girl's creepy smile remained. "Sorry, the storm cut it off."
"It's fine, no pressure." Ash says as Pikachu says the same in his language. "So, is there anyone else here?" He then asked while looking around.
"Yes, the others just arrived actually."
"Uh…" The boy looked around. "Where?"
"GAR!"
He and Pikachu scream as they jumped forward falling facefirst onto the ground before turning and backing up fast before looking at the culprit of their scare, that being a Gengar who was laughing hysterically. Said Pokemon fell on its back while squirming, still laughing.
Ash slowly turned and looked up at Elli, seeing her smile down at him, however, it wasn't a creepy one as much as it was more of an amused one. He looked more unamused by that, though was mentally relieved to see her not making a creepy face. He stood up while Pikachu climbed onto his shoulder and turned to her.
"Very funny." He says before turning back to the Gengar. "So, take it that you're a Ghost Type Trainer."
"Indeed I am." Elli tells him as she walked around and got in front of him. "And he's not the only one." She then says while extending one arm to the side of her.
Then as if on cue, the lights on the chandelier suddenly went out, causing the room to turn dark, scaring the boy and his Pokemon and causing them to freeze up. Then the chandelier suddenly released a blue light that barely lit up the room and began to float down, revealing blue flame atop it as it hovered around the room.
As it passed one of the paintings the eyes on it suddenly started blinking before a haunter popped out. It passed a skull mask the two swore wasn't there before it floated up and a Duskull materialized the rest of its body. It passed by a pumpkin that floated up and was revealed to be a Pumpkaboo. A Misdreavus came out of the darkness, and finally, the chandelier revealed itself to be a Chandelure as they all floated around their trainer.
"Well, what do you think?" Elli says as she holds her arms out, giving him a wide creepy smile. "How does this make you feel?"
They all gave off a creepy vibe, looking as fearful as possible. Ash stared at the Pokemon eyes widened in fear at the sight of them… which soon started to turn into excitement.
"SO COOL!" He then says, cheerfully.
"Huh?" Elli seemed caught off guard as the ghost-types all looked surprised as well.
"All these different ghost-type Pokemon in one place-" Ash says before going over to Gengar and Haunter. "I haven't a Gengar or a Haunter in a while." He says as the two Pokemon look at each other, eyebrows raised. "Woah, a Duskull, Midreaveus, Pumpkaboo-" He says while going over to said Pokemon who looked confused. "And a Chandelure too." He then looked at said Pokemon who rubbed the back of its head.
"You're…" Elli says, catching his attention. "You're not afraid?"
"Why would I be? I've never seen such an awesome combination of Ghost Pokemon like this." Some of the ghost-types were flattered by the compliments.
Hearing that Elli's mouth was agape. "You think, they're awesome."
"Yeah, I do. I always love seeing new Pokemon whenever I travel around." He says. "You must be a strong trainer."
"Uh… well. I guess you could say that." She says while looking away with a light blush on her face.
"What do you mean? You don't do Pokemon Battles?"
"No… I mean yes…" Elli thinks before speaking. "Well, sometimes I do. I don't do it very often, but sometimes when a trainer comes around and they wanna battle, when I feel like it I just do it." She explained.
"Oh, I see. Well, it's still pretty cool how many you have."
"U-um… t-thank you." She says, thinking to herself again.
(Elli P.O.V.)
This boy… why isn't he afraid of my Pokemon? Anyone who would see how I introduced them, they'd run for the hills like cowards, but him… what is up with him? And… what is this feeling in my chest? Well, maybe he's just hiding it, that's it. Perhaps…
"So, you like battles, huh?" I asked him as he looked at me.
"Yeah, I live for it. I'm gonna become the world's greatest Pokemon Master!" He tells me while that Pikachu of his chimes in glee.
That's kinda amusing to have such a childish dream. Honestly, I don't get what's up with this boy. I guess I'll humor him for now, not like I'm getting much since he's not showing fear.
(Reader's P.O.V.)
Elli motioned for Ash to follow as her ghost Pokemon flew off to who knows where. Then began to walk off down a random hall, opening a door before going in. The boy and his Pikachu looked excited and ran to catch up with her, running where she went and found that it was some kind of battlefield room which made their eyes sparkle even more.
"Woah!" Ash says.
"Doesn't take much to impress you, huh?" Elli asked.
"I get that a lot." He then turned to face her. "So, ready?"
As soon as he said that, the room went dark and blue light came from the cracks in the floor below them, which made the boy and his Pokemon jump a bit. Then blue flames started forming in the air, creating an even more creepy atmosphere that began to send chills down their spines. The girl smiled a bit from seeing fear finally show on the boy's face.
"Depends…" She says as Haunter flew down in front of the boy and then flew across the field behind her before she gave him a terrifying smile. "Are you ready?"
Ash did feel a bit intimidated, even gulping a bit, however, cracked a smile before taking a Pokeball from his belt and holding it at her. "You bet!"
(Timeskip Elli P.O.V.)
I had to recall Chandelure after that mouse he sent out defeated him. As I cover his Pokeball, I look at that boy, watching him recall the mouse back to his shoulder. I'm only down to one Pokemon left and he's still got three. He's a strong trainer, I'll give him that. Though, I have one thing left that'd help.
"Guess I underestimated you, Ash." I say loud enough for him to hear as Gengar appeared behind me. "But don't think we're done here."
"You're not bad yourself. I'm loving this." He says back, still smiling.
That look was starting to get on my nerves. He's beaten me down to my last and he's still acting like a happy-go-lucky idiot. I'm not about to lose… not without wiping that smile off of his face.
"You haven't seen anything yet." I turned back to face him, then held my hand out as Gengar flew onto the battlefield.
"Gotcha." He then says as he took out a Pokeball and threw it out. "Greninja, I choose you!"
Out from it emerged the tall, ninja-like Pokemon. Is that all he's got? A frog ninja? Well, maybe it was smart considering that thing's typing. But I'm not gonna back down.
"Interesting…" I said before pulling out something that seemed to catch this boy's curiosity. "Let's see how long you'll last."
Then I revealed the thing I kept hidden. "A keystone?"
"Good job, genius."
(Reader P.O.V.)
Without another word, Elli held the keystone up and it started to glow before dark beams enveloped Gengar. He began to shift and change before dark purple light shined brightly, blinding Ash and his Pokemon for a second before they opened their eyes and saw that her Pokemon had now taken on a new form.
Mega Gengar. The boy was still eager to battle, but once again, he had a bit of a shiver going up his spine.
"Still think you'll last?" Elli asks.
Ash didn't back down. "I haven't lost just yet! I've got my abilities." And with that, Greninja was suddenly enveloped by a tube of spirling water.
Then he began to glow while in the spiral and began to morph. The girl's face looked unchanged as she watched the spiral dissipate, and his new form take place.
"Well… that's something." She says as she stood back. "However, I will make sure you fall here."
(Timeskip)
Now standing on what was basically a destroyed battlefield, the two Pokemon struggled to stay standing. Greninja fell to one knee as Ash did the same. Gengar stood for another moment, before reverting back to normal form, then to the shock of Elli, collapsing to the ground.
As the boy and his Pokemon saw that they won, he then smiled again and pumped his fist in the air. "We did it!" He cheered along with his Pokemon.
"G-Gengar… Mega…" Elli says while falling to her knees, still in shock. "Lost?"
As if on cue, the room suddenly lit up, revealing the blue flames that floated around the field were actually several Lampent. They all dispersed after seeing who won and vanished.
Then Greninja began to glow, reverting to normal form as he fell onto his hands. Ash got up, recovering a bit before he made his way to his Pokemon, comforting him while giving him words of encouragement that the girl didn't listen to.
She just went up to her own Pokemon and knelt down to him. Gengar looked up at her, feeling as though he disappointed her before she petted him for comfort.
"It's okay. It wasn't your fault." She says before pulling him into a hug.
After returning Greninja, the boy saw how she cared about her Pokemon which made him glad to see. He stood up and made his way to her as she was returning him to a Dusk Ball that she cradled. Then something in the corner of her sight caught her attention. She looked up, seeing him hold his hand out to her.
"Good job." He says as she looks back up at him, puzzled.
"Y-you're not gonna brag or anything."
"No, I don't need to. I just wanted to have a nice fun Pokemon battle." He tells her as she still didn't seem to catch on. "You were amazing."
Then he gave her his trademark smile. However this time, rather than being annoyed, she blushed at the sight. She looked away while covering her face with her hair before taking his hand and having him help her to her feet.
"You okay?" He asked, concerned by her reaction.
"I'm fine." She says while still covering her face the best she could.
"Hey, losing a battle isn't so bad." Ash says before giving her a thumbs up. "You gave it your all and as long as you're having fun and have faith in your Pokemon, that's all that matters."
She moved her hair a bit to look at him fully again, blush still on her face. "I-I see."
Then growling came from Ash's stomach. That caught their attention before the boy laughed, embarrassed.
"Sorry, that battle kinda built up an appetite." He says.
Elli stared for a moment before cracking a smile and giggle. Hearing that, the boy and his Pokemon looked up in awe. Seeing them stare, she quickly hid her face again.
Later, the trainers were in the living room of the house, sitting in front of the fireplace with all their Pokemon outside of their Pokeballs and conversing with each other while eating their Pokemon food. Elli arrived while holding a tray of food and set it down on the table in front of the couch which Ash was on.
"Here you go." She then hands him a plate of curry.
"Thank you." He says while taking a bite as she sat next to him with her plate. "Oh, this is so good."
"Thanks. Do you cook?"
"Hmm? While I have learned to cook for myself when being on my own."
"I'd love to try something you make."
"I'd be happy to treat you to some."
Elli giggled again. Though there was something she was starting to realize now that she was getting a good look at the trainer. He was fairly attractive, and his kindness was really getting to her. Ash turned behind him and saw a few Ghost Type Pokemon floating about. Some went in and out of the room while others stayed to look at them.
"There's a lot of Ghost Pokemon in this place." He says.
"This place serves as a home for all. I've practically lived with them for most of my life." The girl explained. "Misdreavus was my first Pokemon." She says while gesturing to the aforementioned Pokemon eating next to Pikachu.
"That's pretty cool. Are they all your Pokemon?"
"I guess you could say that. Though I don't know if it counts since I don't keep them in Pokeballs. They mostly just wander freely around the house."
"So this place is like a daycare then?"
"Again, I wouldn't call it that. This place is open to all Ghost Type Pokémon. They come, they go, and some decide to stay if they want. The most enjoyment we get is out of scaring people."
Ash then looked to the side and saw some Ghost Pokémon giving him some creepy stares that sent a bit of a chill up his spine. "I can see that." He says as while finishing his food. "Still, it's pretty cool that you're friends with this many Pokémon."
"You've been saying that a lot already." Elli tells him whilst looking away.
"It's true though. I can only imagine what you could do if you went traveling to become champion." He says while smiling at her again which caused her to smile a bit herself.
"T-thank you, but I don't see myself in that kind of light." She explained.
"If not you could open a Ghost Type Gym."
"I don't know about that either. I'm not that kind of trainer."
"Suit yourself."
"Besides, I'm not looking forward to most trainers that I might come by."
Pikachu jumped up onto the couch with his trainer. "What do you mean by that?" Ash asked, curiously.
"Many trainers that happen to challenge me aren't the most behaved." She started to explain. "I say many, but I've only met very few. Some of which acted like sore losers whenever they couldn't beat me, and those who could gloat about it, and mock me for it."
"Sounds like people who don't deserve to be trainers." Ash says in response.
"Pikachu." Pikachu spoke up.
"I honestly thought you were one at first. I hope you don't hold that against me."
"Not at all. I can assure you that I'm not like those guys, I'm not gonna mock you by any means."
"That makes me glad to hear."
To that, he smiled at her again which made her heart flutter.
"Um, would you like to… stay for the night?" Elli asked while still hiding a blush. "The storm might go on for all night."
"That's nice of you, but I don't want to trouble you with-" Ash was saying before the muffled sound of lightning spooked both him and all his Pokemon as the girl and her own Pokemon remained unfazed. "A-actually, maybe that's not a bad idea." He says with a scared laugh as Pikachu nods.
Then there were some chuckles coming from the Ghost Type Pokemon as the boy's team glared at them. Even Pikachu glared a bit as Misdreavus floated over and used her head to pat his head condescendingly.
(Later)
"And here is the guest room." Elli says while opening a door to a room that looked, well, like a bedroom.
"Again, this place is a lot bigger than it looks from the outside." Ash says while setting his bag down as Pikachu jumped onto the bed.
"Hope you don't mind. I haven't had the time to clean up since, well, I haven't exactly had any reason to use this room."
"It's fine. Nothing to worry about."
"It kinda makes me wish you would stay a little longer." Elli then says as the boy gave her a look. "You know, because you're the most company I've had in a while."
"Got it. I guess it's understandable." He then sat on the bed. "I know how you feel though. I wish I could see some of my other friends too."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Well, I've traveled to a few regions and made some friends along the way. I sometimes miss traveling with them."
"I see." Elli then made her way over to the bed and sat next to him. "How many regions?"
"Um, about…" Ash then used his fingers to count. "I think five so far."
"You really went through that much trouble?"
"It's no trouble at all. After all, you're looking at a future Pokemon Master."
"Pika, Pika!" Pikachu bounced up with a smile.
"As you've said." Elli tells him.
Then she looked out the window, watching the raindrops land and run down it as the crackling of thunder echoed through the night. The boy was busy comforting his Pikachu as she looked back at him, then looked down.
"Hey, if it's not any trouble-" She says gaining the duo's attention. "Would it, be okay if I came with you?" She asked as the boy seemed surprised.
"Don't you have to take care of the Pokemon here?"
"They're plenty capable of taking care of themselves, besides, Chandelure is more than capable of watching over them as well. I don't plan on leaving here forever, I do wish to come back eventually."
"Well, I'd be happy to have you join me." He then says as she was taken aback, then looked at him in awe.
"Really?"
"Yeah, I'm sure my friends would be happy to have one more person joining us. I'm sure they'd like to meet you once they get to know them." He says while still holding his charming smile.
Another skip of a heartbeat and Elli was staring at him for a bit before opening her mouth to say something and then closing it. She looked away, using her hair as cover, and quickly attempted to swallow the lump in her throat as a smile crept onto her face.
"I-I'm glad to hear." She says before standing up. "See you in the morning." She then says before making her way out of the room.
"Alright, see you tomorrow." Ash says while waving as she turned off the light and closed the door. Then the distant crackling of thunder was heard as Pikachu ducked under the covers. "Hope the others are doing fine. Hopefully not outside right now." He says as he gets up and starts to change into his clothes.
Meanwhile, Elli was in her room, back to the door while spacing out. She let herself slide down to the floor while holding her hand to her chest. She took a deep breath, and let it out, then began to think to herself. Her Misdreavus floated next to her, curious.
"What is going on with me? W-why am I feeling like this?" She says as Misdreavus looked around the room, trying to find who she was talking to before getting patted on the head. "I'm talking to myself." She then let her hand fall to her side and looked up.
She didn't know why she felt the way she did, but every he smiled at her, she couldn't help but feel flustered. Sure she wasn't the social type and the majority of trainers she encountered had gotten on her nerves, but there was just something about Ash that made him seem different from all the rest. His kindness, the fact that he wasn't fearful of her, and that charm he seemed to give out whenever he talked.
Maybe it was the fact that he made her feel as though she wasn't alone. No, the Pokemon were always there for her. Maybe it was love at first sight? She was about to deny it at first since it was no more than a cliche. But then she thought about it. It would make sense more than she thought. He was someone who treated her with kindness when others would run away and didn't mock her even after beating her.
"Misdreavus." She then says, getting the attention of her Pokemon. "Have you ever wondered what it'd be like out there?" She asks, to which the ghost type had a concerned look on her face. "I know, but… maybe it won't be so bad. Hopefully. Maybe we could at least see it." She says while petting her. "Especially if it's with… 'him'." She sighed. "Well, I should get ready for tomorrow."
(Timeskip)
The morning came and the rain had thankfully cleared up. Most of the ghost Pokemon had gone to sleep, being nocturnal, while the few who were awake were either Elli's team that was coming with her and the ones that she was currently saying her byes to. She was done patting the head of a Shuppet before turning to Chandelure.
"Please, do your best to take care of them, will you." She says as the Pokemon nods with a sad look. "Don't be sad." She says while rubbing its head. "I promise I'll be back. I'm just gonna travel with him, then I'll be on my way back here."
The Pokemon still looked sad, but nodded, understanding. Then Ash came by with his gear fully on, just placing his cap on his head as Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder.
"Hey, Elli, are you ready?" He asked as he turned to her.
"Yes, I am." She says before turning around and walking over to him.
And so, they left the house, stepping out into the now bright and sunny day. The boy and his Pikachu inhaled and exhaled slowly as they basked in the rays off light that shined down on them, however the girl was trying to cover her eyes and block out the sun which caught the boy's attention.
"Hey, is something wrong?" He asked after walking over to her.
"No, just… it's so bright out here." She explains.
"You don't go out very often do you?"
"Only really just to get supplies and some groceries, nothing more."
"It's okay. You just need time to get used to it eventually."
Elli lifted her hand a bit and saw the boy's smiling face again which caused her to look away, hiding her own smile. "I guess it's not a big deal."
"Alright, now let's see here." Ash says as he looked around.
"If you're wondering, the closest town is just that way." Elli says as she pointed to a dirt path.
"Good to know. Come on, let's get going!" The boy says as he made his way over.
The girl followed as they started to make their down the path, walking side by side. As they walked, she started taking a few glances at him every once and a while.
Elli didn't care that it was so soon. To her, Ash was a once in a lifetime chance for her. His kindness, his smile, she didn't think she'd find anyone like him ever again. She wanted to be with him and she wanted him to want her the same way.
He was the one thing she wanted now.
She wanted him to be hers…
And she will make sure he is hers…
No matter what the cost…
To be continued…
Okay, this is a one-shot for now, but I will write a lemon chapter and make it a separate story. It's late over here now, and I'm gonna get some rest. Until next time… PEACE OUT, dudes!
