Mission 4: Spooky Night in Pokemon Manor! (part 1)
"Morning, you guys..." Ash smiled as he brought breakfast to Pikachu, Eevee, and Treecko. "Where's Torchic and Mudkip?"
"Last I checked, they were upstairs watching movies and reading Eevee's Ichigo Mew mysteries..." Treecko began. "I'm not sure if they're still doing that, though."
"So THAT's where my latest collection went!" Eevee smiled. "I've been wanting to read my new Ichigo Mew collection for a week now, but you guys have been reading it before I can read it!" With that, she reached for a few colored pencils and started on drawing the distinctive long pink hair of Ichigo Mew.
"Maybe the rest of us want to read it too!" Pikachu protested, but was cut off by the phone. "Ash, telephone!"
"I got it..." Ash hurried into his office and began: "Good morning, Pokemon Rescue Force...hi, Misty!...mm-hmm...aww...oh...we'll be glad to help!...okay, we'll meet you there...see ya!" A few moments later, the alarm began to ring, sending the Rescue Force scrambling into the entryway. Torchic and Mudkip slid down the rescue pole and followed Pikachu aboard Swellow.
"Why did the alarm have to go off in the middle of 'The Aristomeowths'? Mudkip complained. "They were getting ready to sing 'Everybody Wants to Be a Meowth'! I like that song!"
"You'll get to hear it later, okay?" Ash assured Mudkip as Swellow took off into the sunshine.
Several hours later...
"Of all the times it had to rain, why did it decide to rain now?" Swellow complained as he soared through a raging storm.
"Yeah..we're getting wet!" Pikachu complained as he looked for something to shield him from the rain.
"Good thing I still remember most of the magic Rukario taught me!" Ash smiled as he formed a greenish light in his hands. "Shining light, protect from all directions! Shield!". At this, a shield made of green light appeared around the Rescue Force, shielding them from the rain.
"Now I can read without my Ichigo Mew book getting wet!" Eevee joyfully cried as she fished the book from her bag and started to read: "The beast bared its flickering fangs, and reared up to its full height, but Ichigo Mew was not afraid..."
"Heads up!" Swellow called as he veered out of the way of a low tree branch.
Eevee obediently ducked under the branch, then resumed reading. "The young detectives stood their ground, daring the Shadow Entei to do its worst."
At this, a flash of lightning lit up the sky, scaring Pikachu! "Uh, Eevee..." he started, but was cut off by having to duck under another branch.
"Not now, this is the good part!" Eevee hissed.
"But it's storming out, and I don't know how much longer the shield's going to last." Pikachu protested as he huddled close to Ash for warmth.
"Storm? What storm?" Eevee asked, but was cut off by a deafening thunderclap!
"THAT storm!" Torchic yelled. "You've been reading this whole time, haven't you?"
"Uh guys?" Swellow interrupted, silencing the escalating argument. "I'm afraid we're going to have to find a place to stop and rest until the worst of this storm blows over."
"Good idea..." Ash smiled. "Any sign of a place to rest?"
"Well..." Swellow glanced around for a moment, surveying the lights of Cerulean City in the distance, and the spires of a majestic mansion a little closer to him. "Cerulean City's too far away, so how would stopping at this mansion sound?"
"That's fine." Ash replied, remembering to duck as Swellow flew inside a cracked window. About that same time, the shield began to flicker as the Force climbed off of Swellow and onto the silk carpet.
Eevee glanced around the mansion for a moment, admiring its exquisite decor. "This house is great!" she announced.
"Oh?" Pikachu was interested.
"It looks just like the mansion in the mystery I was reading earlier, 'The Case of the Swelling Dwelling'" Eevee replied. At the second, an eerie howl pierced the air, scaring everyone!
"Oh no! What if that was the Shadow Entei in Eevee's story?" Torchic gasped.
"Don't be silly, you guys...there's no such thing." Ash assured his team. Another howl rang through the hallway, making Torchic shudder in fear. "Or...is there?" he stammered, obviously scared. Just then, the door at the end of the hallway began to thump, as if someone--or someTHING--was trying to break down the door.
"It's gonna get us!" Pikachu screamed. At this, everyone hurried to find a place to hide: Ash and Swellow ducked into a closet, Treecko, Torchic, and Eevee dove into the toe of a suit of armor, and Mudkip dragged Pikachu into a bucket of water lying in a corner.
Ash winced as he heard the door burst open, followed by panicked Growlithe barks, then the door slamming shut again. "Okay, so it wasn't a Shadow Entei after all..." he assured Swellow. With that, he peeked outside. Treecko opened the toe he, Torchic, and Eevee had been hiding in, and Mudkip and Pikachu surfaced from the water, Pikachu gasping for breath.
"Okay, guys..." Ash began. "The coast is--" but he was suddenly cut off by the door thumping again. "--not clear!" he almost screamed as he ducked back into the closet. Treecko closed up the armor toe again, and Pikachu held his breath again as he and Mudkip dove underwater.
Ash winced as he heard the door burst open again, followed by various yelling, screaming, pushing, shoving, and crashing of things being knocked over. When all the noise had quieted, he peeked out. "Okay guys...now the coast is clear."
"About time..." Pikachu grumbled as he dried himself off.
"Perfect timing too..." Swellow started as the Force climed aboard him again. "The rain's calmed down a bit."
"Psst...over here." said a voice.
Ash glanced at the floor and saw the Growlithe from earlier nuzzling his legs. "Well...how can I help, little guy?" he asked as he invited the Growlithe aboard Swellow.
"We've got to get out of here...the master of the house doesn't like Pokemon coming in the house." the Growlithe explained as Swellow took off into the rain again.
"Then what were you doing there?" Treecko was curious.
"Looking for something very important to my master and I." the Growlithe explained. "Misty and her Rescue Force team are helping us find it..."
"Well, we were on our way to help Misty and her team." Ash explained, "but the storm sidetracked us...know where she is?"
"She's staying with my master in that house over there..." the Growlithe replied, pointing out a house in the distance. Swellow nodded, and flew off towards the house, only pausing to circle in for a landing before the front stoop. Ash climbed off of Swellow, calmly approached the stoop and knocked.
"Well, who could that be..." a familiar voice asked as Misty peeked ouside. "Ash, you made it!" she smiled. "Come on in and dry off." she smiled as a Silver haired girl made a spot for Ash at the dinner table, where she and Misty were about to have dinner. "Ame and I were about to have dinner when you arrived." she explained.
"Please, help yourself..." the silver haired giel smiled as she set a plate piled high with meat, rice, and mushrooms before Ash. "I made enough for all of us to at least have seconds." She then turned to the Growlithe. "Did you find it, Kasen?" The Growlithe just hung his head, dejected. "No? Don't worry, Kasen...once we find Grandpa's will, Pokemon Manor will be ours."
"Let my team leader fill you in on the mission." Misty explained as she invited a Togetic next to her.
"All right, Ash...here's the deal." Togetic began. "The silver haired girl that served you...that's Ame; one of Misty's closest friends...her grandfather was a renowned explorer that built Pokemon Manor--the mansion you see in the distance--as a summer home."
"Go on..." Ash beckoned in between bites.
"Ame was only 14 when her grandfather passed on, but in his will, he bequeathed the manor to her, and that she would become its mistress when she turned 18." Togetic continued. "The day before Ame's 18th birthday, Team Rocket appeared and claimed they had the rights to the mansion. It was decided that if Ame can't find the will in 30 days, the house goes to Team Rocket."
"If only I could get back inside and find the will..." Kasen mused as he joined Ash, Misty, Ame, and Togetic at the table. "But those two Rockets that occupy the house and their Meowth are always there."
"Why don't we scare them away so we can come in?" Eevee suggested.
"Scare them?" Misty was curious.
"Yeah! It worked for Ichigo Mew and her friends in 'The Case of the Ghost Next Door'" Eevee explained, thumbing her mystery book to the appropriate page for Misty and Togetic to see.
Ash smiled. "Eevee, you're a genius!" He motioned for the two teams to come closer as the combined teams began discussing their plans...
To Be Continued...