Chapter 8--Hydra Point
Willow proudly stowed her second badge inside her backpack. Now that she had finally reached Cerulean City and defeated Misty, perhaps she should see the sites. Remembering the lighthouse at Hydra Point, Willow decided to visit it.
She set off up the road. All of her Pokemon except Mew3 had decided to walk for now. Willow looked around as she traveled. There was the river she and her Pokemon had fallen into further upstream! After a few minutes, they reached a crossroad. "Hmm...which way do we go, everyone?"
Katsu popped out of Willow's backpack. West, of course!
"I don't know, Katsu. Are you sure?"
Have I ever steered you wrong?
"Well...all right..." Willow smiled. Today, she and her Pokemon were perfectly safe. They weren't going to fall into anything, or get lost, or get into trouble. Just a peaceful walk...
Three hours later, Willow realized that not getting lost might be too much to hope for. Wherever they were, it was not Cerulean Cape. "We should have gone east at the crossroad! This road isn't even paved. It looks really old...Katsu, I thought you said you knew where you were going!"
Mew3 looked injured. Of course I do! Just keep walking, I'm sure you'll find it.
With no other options, Willow and her Pokemon continued on. The path was overgrown, and there weren't any signs of habitation. After about a half-hours walk, it started to rain heavily. "Uh-oh...let's try to find some shelter. We have to hurry; I think the storm is getting worse! Katsu, you got us into this. Which way do we go now?"
Go north. There's some shelter up ahead, I think.
"Okay, but you better be right this time!" They continued walking. Willow was beginning to get tired. She had been walking all day! "Katsu, I think I see some light up ahead! What is it?"
It must be Cerulean Cape. See, I told you we'd get there!
Willow dashed forward. She and her Pokemon stood panting beside a tall lighthouse. Next to it was a keeper's cottage. "Let's go inside. I don't think anyone would mind us taking shelter from the rain."
Slowly, they walked inside. "Katsu, are you sure this is Cerulean Cape? It looks very old..." As she said that, the floor creaked, and then collapsed! Willow and her Pokemon fell through.
Willow coughed. "Are you all right, everyone? Whatever we landed on, it broke our fall. Katsu, this can't be Cerulean Cape! It's too old and dilapidated! Where are we?"
Suddenly, a deep, sepulchral voice echoed around her. It seemed to come from everywhere at once! You're right. This isn't Cerulean Cape. You have wandered far, Reve. Alas, you will never wander again. I will make sure of that.
"What? Who are you? And why do you want us not to leave?"
I have waited so long for you to return...you promised, Reve! You promised you would come back, and you never did! You weren't going to, ever! Well, I shall make you keep your promise, Reve! You will be sorry that you lied to me!
"Wait a minute! I'm not Reve! I have no idea who you are! Who are you, and what are you talking about?"
You can't fool me, Reve. I know you. You promised to return, but you never did. Now you will never leave! I have grown strong in your absence. Behold!
Suddenly, the floor above her was covered by something. Willow couldn't see a thing, but a strong wind was blowing. She was knocked backwards.
HAHAHAHA! See how YOU like it, Reve!
With that, the voice was gone. "Are you all right, everyone? We have to get out of here somehow. I wonder where we are."
Mew3 floated next to her, looking sheepish. I guess this isn't Cerulean Cape...but whatever that voice was, it wasn't human. It must be a Pokemon or something.
"I agree with you there, but who could Reve be? And why does this creature want her not to leave this place? Well, we'll need some light if we're going to get anywhere. Rafael, use your electricity to light up the room until I can find my flashlight! I hope it wasn't damaged..."
Willow quickly dug her battery-operated lantern flashlight out of her backpack. "I'm sure glad I brought this along! Thanks, Rafael. We must be in some sort of cellar. Let's see what we can find. Everyone, look around!"
Willow and her Pokemon investigated the room. Willow opened the draws of an old desk and sneezed as a cloud of dust blossomed from the dilapidated relic. "Achoo! Smokey, use your gust attack and clean this place up a bit!" Willow's Butterfree soon had the room cleared. Looking back at the desk, Willow saw an old journal. "Look at this, everyone! I wonder what it says..."
May 14th
Today, Papa set out for the mainland to get some supplies. While he's gone, it's my job to take care of the lighthouse. The light must always be kept burning at Hydra Point. Sailors don't often pass by, but the coastline is rocky, and we have a great responsibility in keeping them safe. For generations, our family has done so.
Reve
"Reve! This must be her journal! Maybe it will tell us something about that voice..."
May 18th
Papa still hasn't returned. I fear the worst. I keep the lamp burning all the same, but I do not think he will ever come back...
June 15th
Papa is surely dead by now. I must keep the lamp burning even so, or the sailors will be injured. What will happen if the lamp burns out? I dare not think...
June 30th
A strange thing happened today. I thought I saw a ship sailing down past, but when I looked again, there was only an old piece of driftwood. It had these markings on it: S.S. Specter. Perhaps it came from a ship of some sort.
July 7th
Strange goings on. There was no wind today, yet all my papers were blown off the table. What could be happening? The light burns still burns, but soon I may leave this place. Ships never pass by. Waiting is pointless. There is no use in clinging to false hope.
September 13th
I have not been able to reach this journal for many weeks. Strange things are happening all around. The ghost ship has returned. The plank has been taken. As I went back into the lighthouse, something was following me. I turned around, and there it was...a ghost. It looked almost like Gengar, but far larger, and far more dangerous. I thought it would kill me, but instead, it did as I told it. I know not why, but it is good. Now all of the ghost Pokemon obey me alone. I am no longer Reve, the lighthouse keeper's daughter; call me the Ghost Tamer!
October 12th
I must not let the light go out. Specter, the chief ghost, has revealed to me that as long as the light is kept burning, no ghost will be able to leave here without my permission. The light is the source of my power, somehow. I must grow strong enough to absorb the light unto myself, so that I am as it is. Then I will truly be a tamer of ghosts, and a master of spirits. None will be able to defeat me. I will be the master of ghost Pokemon!
January 17th
This may be my last chance to write. I am becoming like the ghosts...I tried to absorb the lantern's power. I have discovered that it is a lantern of the Spirit World. My father kept it a secret from me, but the reason this lighthouse must be protected is to keep the ghosts from attacking the nearby town. I thought that if I absorbed its power, I would be able to master the ghost Pokemon. Since my experiment, however, I have been unable to leave the lighthouse. The light of the Spirit World has trapped me, as it did the ghosts. I must find a way to leave.
March 29th
I will leave tomorrow. I have found a way to leave, for a time. One of the ghosts must agree to mind the light of the Spirit Lantern, and I am free. I have chosen Specter, the most loyal of the ghost Pokemon. Someday, I will return, and I will leave this place to the ghosts, taking Specter with me. I will return as soon as I can.
"The journal just ends...Reve must not have returned. But she promised to...she wouldn't have broken a promise to her Pokemon like that! The voice we heard must be Specter. He must think that Reve abandoned him! If only we knew what had happened to Reve..."
"Bulba. Bulbasaur. Saur bulbasaur!" "Huh? You know something about ghosts, Lunus?"
He says that, since someone must be connected to the lantern, Reve might return if Specter was freed, or the lantern destroyed.
"But, this journal is dated almost fifty years ago! Reve could be dead by now for all we know!"
No. She was becoming like the ghosts. That means that, in absorbing the lantern's power, she prolonged her life-span indefinitely. In fact, if I know anything about ghosts and ghost Pokemon, they can be tied to a particular dimension or place only by connection with a physical object. So even if Reve didn't know it, she could come back here whenever she wanted. In fact, since Specter was able to attack us, he can't be tied to the lantern...I don't see how she could ever have left...
Willow gasped. "Maybe she didn't! Maybe she's still here! Only she's not a day older, or dead...and the ghosts can't find her, because..."
The lantern! That's it! Reve tied herself to the lantern, so she couldn't leave this place. She couldn't undo the tie, either. She didn't know that she was becoming a ghost. That's the only "power" the lantern gave her. She must be trapped inside it!
"Trapped inside a lantern? Are you sure?"
"Pika. Pika pi. Pi pikachu!"
He says that his old trainer loved ghost Pokemon. He didn't know enough about electric types to use Rafael properly, so he never trained him very well. But, he did learn this: ghosts are invulnerable to normal-type moves because they aren't tied to the physical world. If they ARE, then they're trapped. Haven't you ever heard of Poe-lanterns? Ghosts get stuck in them. Reve must be trapped too! If we could free her, then...
"Free butterfree. Free!"
"What's that, Smokey?" Are you trying to tell me that we could get out of the basement somehow?"
"Free!"
"You could carry us? Oh, wow! Thanks, Smokey! Lunus, you could help with your vine whip! And Katsu, you could fly up there too, right? Then let's get started! Come on!"
Willow and her Pokemon started trying to move the heavy, flat thing that had been placed on the hole in the ceiling. With help from all her Pokemon, they finally did. Smokey lifted Lunus out, then he used his vine whip to rescue everyone else.
Willow had pocketed Reve's journal already, and looked around eagerly. Unfortunately, all she saw was a dusty old house. In a whisper, she said, "Everyone, you'd better return now. Those ghosts could hurt you. Katsu and Lunus, I'll need your help."
Opening the journal, she looked at a plan of the lighthouse. "Hmm...we should be able to find a stairway to the top floor over...there!" And so began the harrowing climb to the lighthouse's summit.
They had reached a landing when suddenly, a ghostly figure appeared! Trying to escape, Reve? I think not! With that, Willow was shoved backwards! HAHAHAHA! You'll never get out, Reve! Uh-oh...I think that fall may kill you. Bye-bye, Reve! Or maybe you'll just come back as a ghost! HAHAHAHA!
Specter disappeared again. Willow screamed. Suddenly, her fall stopped! It was Lunus! He pulled Willow back to the landing with his vines. "Thanks, Lunus! I thought I was a goner for sure. Specter must be insane! He could have killed me..."
Shivering, Willow and her Pokemon continued climbing. They continued climbing. They had to reach the top and save Reve!
Willow and her Pokemon continued climbing until they reached a dead end. "This is impossible! The tower has to keep going up. We know that it's taller than this!"
It's just an illusion, Willow. The ghosts have made it look like there's a wall here, but really there isn't.
"So why can't I just walk through it? Look!" Willow slapped the wall, and the sound of the impact echoed eerily. "See? How can it not be real?"
That's just it, Willow. Your senses tell you that it's real, so your mind can't comprehend that it isn't. As long as you believe it's real, you won't go through.
"Okay, so I believe it's an illusion. I still can't get by it!"
That's because your physical perceptions are stronger than your mental perceptions.
"Huh? Oh, I get it! You mean that my senses are lying to me, so I can't convince my body that it's not true! Well, there's only one way to find out which one's right...wish me luck!"
Willow shut her eyes and whispered, "It's only an illusion. The tower keeps climbing because it's a lighthouse. It's only an illusion." She repeated this several times before throwing herself against the wall. When she didn't feel a sudden stop, she opened her eyes. It was the light of the Spirit World!
Her Pokemon drifted through the wall behind her. Our sense are sharper than yours, Mew3 told her smugly, we knew it wasn't real with our bodies AND our minds!
Willow smiled and rolled her eyes. "And who was it that thought this was Cerulean Cape again? Now come on. We have to open the lantern, or break it or something. I know! Lunus, use Body Slam!"
Lunus hit the fragile-looking lantern, but nothing happened! "It's very strong. Everyone will have to work together on this! Let's do it!"
Willow released all of her Pokemon, and they got to work bashing the lantern. They were concentrating so hard on that, they didn't see Specter sneaking up behind them.
WHAT? YOU CANNOT BREAK THE SPIRIT LANTURN! GET HER!
Willow shrieked as she was lifted off her feet by an army of ghosts! Moving slowly backwards, they dangled Willow over the edge of the lighthouse!
Still trying to hurt us, Reve? Then I'm afraid that you must die. Now!
Willow's Pokemon screamed with her, but they weren't strong enough to stop the ghosts. Willow began to fall. She closed her eyes--and felt herself stop falling!
"Stop this at once! Ghosts, bring her up here!"
Willow was set on her feet beside the smashed lantern. Her Pokemon immediately rushed over to make sure she was unharmed. Looking up, Willow saw a bizarre spectacle.
A monstrous ghost floated beside a thin, weary-looking child. Or perhaps not a child; it was impossible to guess her age. She seemed young, yet as old as the hills. She seemed to be made of light, or perhaps of shadows cast only by darkness.
Specter turned uncertainly. Reve? How can this be? You left years ago...
"I have been here all along. You were never tied to the Spirit Lantern, Specter. You could have left at any time, but you didn't, because you were waiting for me. I couldn't return because I was trapped. Thank you for waiting, Specter..."
Reve turned to Willow and her Pokemon. "Thank you for helping me to escape. I learned, while I was trapped, that it was not the lantern that gave me my powers; instead, it was I that kept the lantern from banishing the ghosts. Now that I am free, I am reunited with my Pokemon...I am grateful to you, Willow."
"Then...you're not a ghost?"
"Yet another thing learned while was trapped: my mother was of the Shadow League. I am one of her people. Specter and I belong there; we were never happy here. Now that I am free, we may return together, with all of the ghosts...Willow, we must leave now, but I have not forgotten my manners. Take this in thanks...for all of us..."
Reve stretched out a ghostly hand. Willow felt a cold, hard object condense in her palm.
"You and I, we were alike once. Both uncertain of the past. Both ready to determine our own futures. Go well, Willow...have faith in yourself..."
With that, Reve and the ghosts faded into nothingness. Willow looked at the object in her hand. It was a strange symbol, wrought in metal, and covered in mysterious designs. Mew3 prodded a question into her mind. "I think it means...hope..."