Chapter 18

The twinkling lights of the city of Saffron reflected up at Ash like starlight reflecting off the ground's surface from his position up on the cliff. It was here that he had stood only just days before, looking down at the city ignorant to the terror of what obstacle opposed him before he could get the Marsh Badge. But now, he looked down with a bit more confidence than when he had left for Lavender Town, as Haunter now floated beside him. The Gas Pokémon looked down curiously at the big city.

"We made it, Haunter. And this time, I know we're going to win," the Pallet Town native said with a fist raised. "Right, Brock?" Ash turned his head to the side, looking for his traveling companion that was usually at his left, but the Pokémon Breeder wasn't there. In fact, the entire time from Lavender Town to here, he hadn't really seen a whole lot of Brock. A frown curling his mouth, he turned around and saw Brock some distance away. He had his hands up in protest, but his eyes weren't on Ash.

"Uh, if you say so..." he murmured, looking at Haunter.

"What's the matter?"

"I think maybe I'm allergic to ghosts... Kinda feel sorta dizzy."

"You're not scared, are 'ya?" Ash questioned with a hand on his hip as Haunter floated down beside the boy. "Haunter isn't bad. And he's actually kind of... cute." The Gas Pokémon took this compliment happily, and rubbed against Ash's shoulder.

"Haunt... haunt..."

"Cute... right."

"Maybe you just need to bond with Haunter," Ash suggested. Haunter grinned widely and disappeared from view, only to reappear in front of Brock and give a chuckle. Before Brock could jump back or cry out in protest, Haunter extended its long tongue and dragged it up Brock's entire face. Ash gasped as Brock's body seized up and began to shiver as though bugs were crawling on it.

"I think we've... bonded enough..." Brock moaned before falling over on his side.

"Haunter! You paralyzed him!" Ash scolded. Haunter quickly deflated and looked dejected before disappearing, and reappearing seconds later with tears streaming out of its eyes behind its floating hands. Instantly, Ash regretted raising his voice to the Ghost-type Pokémon and waved it off. "Hey, Haunter... it's really not that big a deal."

Instantly, Haunter stopped crying, and when it turned around, it was wearing its trademark grin and cackled as if the whole thing was a joke. "Haunter..." Ash began, and pointed out towards the city. Hearing the seriousness of the boy's voice, Haunter donned a look of wonder on its face and floated closer to its friend. "In Saffron City, there's a Trainer named Sabrina who uses Psychic Pokémon. Ghost Pokémon are strong against Psychic Pokémon, right? Will you help me defeat her?" Haunter disappeared from view for just a moment, and then reappeared with a wide grin on its face.

"Haunt haunt haunt haunt haunt," the Pokémon nodded, and Ash whipped around back towards the city while pumping his fist.

"Yes! That Marsh Badge is as good as mine!"

o 0 o

Spending the night in the woods instead of wanting to traverse the city with Haunter at their side, they opted to head towards Saffron City at the first light of morning. Haunter wasn't officially caught by Ash, as it refused to go into a Poké Ball when Ash offered it, dramatically crying when he asked it to go in. But halfway through Ash and Brock's conversation around the fire, Haunter melted into the thin air, and not reappearing as it normally did moments later. It didn't return until some time later, and the group finally went to sleep in anticipation for the Gym battle the next day.

Heading toward the Saffron Gym the next morning, it felt as though the cold morning dew had seeped into his bones, and each step, it was like there was ice in his joints, telling him not to go. But soon enough, they ended up in front of the parachute-shaped marble structure. Even looking at the front doors brought Ash's eyebrows together, and the cold grip of fear wrapped its fingers around his lungs. That Sabrina sure showed us up last time, he thought to himself as he stared with a disgruntled look. Images of his and Wartortle's last battle with her flashed through his head. She made Wartortle and me look like a joke. But looking over at Haunter floating beside him, his lips drew upward and he clutched his fist determinedly. "But this time the joke's on her!" But as he looked past Haunter, he saw that there wasn't anyone beside him, and his head whipped back and forth. "Hey, Brock?"

"Yeah, let me know how it turns out!" Brock cried, holding up a sign that said 'GO ASH GO!' hastily painted on it in blue paint.

"Stop goofing around!" Ash snapped after stumbling in surprise. "Aren't you even coming in with me?!"

"Last time she wanted to play with us and wanted to play catch," Brock reminded him and a horrified look on his face. "And she almost bowled a strike."

"Now that I've got Haunter, that won't happen again," Ash told him confidently, jabbing his thumb to the floating Ghost and Poison Pokémon.

"I wouldn't be too sure, Ash," the Pokémon Breeder murmured, still holding up the sign. "What if Haunter's the one who is controlling you."

A chill passed down Ash's spine for a split second, but Ash simply laughed off Brock's comment and grinned at the Gas Pokémon. "Me and Haunter are pals!" The Ghost Pokémon agreed with him by laughing and disappeared and reappearing at his other shoulder for a moment before disappearing again. It reappeared in front of Brock and gave a haunting laugh, but this didn't seem to change Brock's mind at all.

"I-it's pretty confident..!"

"You've got nothing to worry about," Ash further reassured. "With Haunter on my side, I'm guaranteed to win that Badge! Now, wish me luck!"

"Good luck," Brock chanted, and Ash spun around and pulled Poké Balls from his belt before tossing them into the air. As the balls burst open one by one, Ash called their names.

"Charmander!"

"Chaaarrr!"

"Wartortle!"

"Waaaartortle!"

"Bulbasaur!"

"Bulbasauuurrr!"

The three Pokémon appeared with a flash one by one and landed at their Trainer's feet as Ash pointed at the Gym in front of them. "Are you all ready to face Sabrina?" The three Pokémon all cried out with determination at the same time, and Haunter's laugh at Ash's shoulder soon followed.

Remembering the Gym well, Ash walked right in through the front doors, and this time made his way straight to the arena inside, ignoring the rooms with the people focusing on spoons behind the closed doors. Inside, the lights were already on as if she had been expecting company, and Sabrina was siting at her throne on top of the platform on the other side of the stadium. The little girl in the white dress was sitting in her lap, and the torches on either side of them were burning bright. True to her cold nature, Sabrina's face didn't change in the slightest when Ash pushed open the door.

Ash stepped forth onto the challenger's side of the arena with Haunter floating silently beside him while Brock and the rest of his Pokémon stood off to the side but not far away enough from the exit in case they needed to run away suddenly. "Sabrina, I've come back here to your Gym to demand a rematch!"

"Another battle?" the little girl in Sabrina's lap questioned with a never-wavering smile the only thing that could be seen on her face, as the shadow from her sunhat covered up to her nose. In her little clutches, she had a Poké Ball sitting in her lap, already enlarged to a softball size. "Even after my Kadabra beat up your Wartortle during the last match? You don't have a chance."

"This time you won't have it so easy!" Ash replied back with a smirk.

"If you lose, you'll have to play with me again!" the little girl said in a sing-song voice as Sabrina clutched her close and floated off the throne. As both girls landed on the Gym Trainer's side of the arena, the stadium's lights flashed on up above.

"Go, Kadabra..." Sabrina stated, speaking up herself for the first time. The little girl held up the Poké Ball in her grip, and the red and white orb hovered into the air before throwing itself through the air. The ball burst open, and Sabrina's Kadabra appeared in a flash of light from inside the ball.

"Kadabra!" the Psi Pokémon cried as it landed on the stadium floor.

"And I choose as my Pokémon, Haunter!" Ash declared, giving a thumbs up before pointing out ahead. "Go, Haunter!"

"So, you captured a Ghost Pokémon, did you?" Sabrina's cold blue eyes barely flashed, but they twitched slightly showing the faintest bit of emotion from her only weakness being uncovered. Silence fell over the Gym as Ash stood with his finger pointing outward, frozen like a statue and waiting for Haunter to appear in front of him. "Where is it?" Sabrina asked, and her Kadabra looked back and forth, trying to see if there was an oncoming sneak attack coming its way.

"Uh, Haunter?" Ash asked, his finger drooping along with his confidence as he looked around. Panic began to flutter in his chest as he waved his hands around in the air, hoping to hit Haunter in its gaseous form. Maybe it was just invisible and was going to pop out at one point! "Hey, Haunter! Where'd you go? Will Haunter please report to the floor!?" But despite jumping around and calling out, the Ghost and Poison Pokémon did not reappear as it normally did.

"Looks like the Ghost Pokémon got spooked..." Brock muttered with his hands on his hips and an eyebrow cocked. Ash's Pokémon at his feet looked on with worry for their Trainer.

"Wartor..." Wartortle murmured, its ears falling slightly.

"Haunter..." Ash moaned with tears running down his face, and his shoulders slumped.

"Enough stalling," Sabrina demanded, and though she spoke with hardly any emotion at all, her words impacted them as if she had yelled. "Send out your Pokémon at once. Or you'll all go back to the toy box." Both Brock and Ash stiffened with fright.

"Great! Back where we started!" Brock spat quietly at Ash. The Pokémon Trainer flinched back, but then looked down at the three Pokémon at Brock's feet.

"Wartortle! You-" He called for Wartortle out of habit, but cut himself off when Wartortle stiffened.

"War?!" it whined, and quickly stepped backwards until its back was pressed against the wall and it shook its head.

"Wartortle!" Ash frowned, but then looked at his other Pokémon. "Charmander, Bulbasaur!" His other two Pokémon mimicked his starter Pokémon's movements, stepping backwards and pressing their backs against the Gym's wall. "You... won't help me?" Suddenly, Ash felt a pressure pressing down on him. It wasn't a lot, but it was as if gravity had increased only slightly, making it slightly hard to breathe as chills ran down his back.

"Well, are you ready yet?" he heard Sabrina say, and it sounded almost as if she were whispering in his ear. He whipped around to see that she was still on the other side of the arena, and sent a nervous grin in her direction.

"Uh, yeah, just a sec," he said, but what he saw he did not like. Sabrina's eyes were glowing orange, and her hair that was normally straight and down to her lower back was rising into the air.

"The battle will begin now." Ash reeled back in horror, and seeing no other option, he raised both of his hands and crossed them in front of him.

"I quit!" he said, and stumbled off towards the doors of the stadium where he had entered from moments earlier.

"Quit?!" The sudden surrender took Sabrina off-guard, and her hair fell back down and her eyes stopped glowing as she watched him run through the automatic double doors.

"Run for it!" Ash screamed, and he heard a clattering as the rest of his party soon followed suit.

"Hurry!" Brock yelled, the last one to leave the Gym arena. Their footsteps echoing down the empty marble highway, Ash cried out when he saw a silver gate coming down over the front door automatically.

"The exit!" he cried, and attempted to pick up speed, but he was too far away, and the bottom of the gate crashed to the floor, successfully locking them in.

"We're trapped!" Brock exclaimed, still running down the hallway some distance behind Ash and his Pokémon. Hearing his voice, Ash turned around just in time to see the little girl appearing out of the thin air behind Brock, floating calmly along with his pace. The girl giggled, and her eyes flashed a bright white light. Suddenly, Brock froze in place, and started to cry out as if he were in pain. His body began to glow white as well, giving Ash the image of a Pokémon evolving, but instead of growing, he began to shrink.

"Hey, Brock!" Ash cried out, but as the glow faded, the new Brock fell lightly to the ground without hardly a sound, and the Pallet Town native's mouth dropped when he looked upon his friend's new form. "He's a doll!" The girl's giggle brought his eyes back up, and he saw the little girl floating down to eye level, her eyes continuing to glow white.

"Now I'm going to turn all of you into dolls!" Ash's three Pokémon panicked and ducked behind their Trainer's legs, and Ash felt helpless as he raised his hands forward.

"Hey, take it easy! Please, wait!" As he had just about given up hope, a series of white lines appeared in front of him, and they soon came together in a human shape, before fading into the bearded man who had saved them from Sabrina's toy box once before. "Hey, where'd you come from?" Ash asked as the man looked at him through the corner of his blue eyes, acting as a barrier between him and Sabrina's little girl.

"Sometimes you've got to retreat to win," the man told him, and looked forward. "Teleportation." A strange tingling sensation covered Ash's skin, as if bugs were crawling on his body, and in the blink of an eye, Ash was hovering outside in the middle of the air, surrounded by his Pokémon. But once reality hit him, gravity soon came next, and he let out a cry and he clattered to the ground.

"Wartor War..." Wartortle murmured, scratching the side of its face and looking relieved.

"Hey Wartortle, I'm glad you're safe, but would you please get off my back?" Ash asked, looking up. He himself was pig-piled on top of his other two Pokémon uncomfortably.

"Will you all please get off mine?" the man asked from down below, and Ash looked down to see the man's hat had been knocked off, revealing a full head of navy hair that was slicked back, and a face of annoyance looking up to him as he was sandwiched between the cement of the walkway they had been teleported to and Bulbasaur's body.

They all clamored off, and as Ash and the mysterious man sat down on a bench, his Pokémon played in the grassy fields behind them. While Bulbasaur opted to nap in the sunlight of the morning sun, Charmander ran and giggled happily as Wartortle chased it. But while they were enjoying themselves, Ash couldn't feel the slightest bit of happiness after the events that had just unfolded.

"Sabrina's the meanest Trainer I ever met!" he said with a sigh.

"She wasn't... always such a mischievous girl." The psychic man hesitated when saying this, and let the brim of his hat cast a shadow over his eyes.

"You mean you knew Sabrina before she changed?" Ash questioned. The man perked up, and realizing he had said too much, he brushed it off with a nervous look and a wave of his hand.

"Well I've... I've heard stories!" he stumbled, and then donned a serious look on his face and looked forward, resting his elbows on his knees and his chin on his balled fists. "Though she was very young, Sabrina became completely obsessed with her psychic training. She didn't want to make friends – all she wanted was to be left alone to develop her powers!" He lowered his hands and closed his eyes. "Her parents tried to help, but Sabrina used her psychic powers to drive them away." He fished into his pocket and pulled out a photograph, looking at it longingly.

"The conflict caused Sabrina to split into two girls: the strong Pokémon Trainer who is always causing trouble, and the lonely little girl who desperately desires to make friends." He handed the photograph over to Ash, and the boy took it. It featured the little girl in the sundress that Sabrina constantly held with two young adults, a man and a woman. All three were laughing with delight, and it was hard to believe that this little girl was the cold-hearted Gym Leader that Ash had challenged twice. "That doll that Sabrina always holds represents her true self, before her training; before she rejected her own heart." Ash's dark eyes lit up upon his words – the little girl that Sabrina held constantly wasn't a real person, but a doll that was brought to life with psychic powers.

"Sabrina had this picture of her family in her room," Ash said, his eyebrows furrowed as he looked upon it. "If you have the same picture, then that must mean that you're..." The man flinched back slightly, but then the corners of his mouth twitched into a smile. "...then that must mean you're a photographer!" The man fell out of his seat, and when he pulled himself back up, Ash's smile faded when the bearded man looked angrily at him.

"Don't you see?! Don't you get it?!"

"Get what?"

"Never mind..." he answered, deflating instantly. But this was all a subplot that Ash didn't really care for, and he only had one thing on his mind right now.

"Sabrina turned Brock into a doll," Ash muttered sadly, and the man let out a sigh and sat back down beside the Pokémon Trainer.

"There's nothing we can do about that..." Ash gasped, and the man gave him a puckered frown. "The only way to rescue your friends is to defeat Sabrina! Isn't that why you traveled to Lavender Town to get a Ghost Pokémon?"

"But Haunter's disappeared someplace!"

"Then you must find Haunter first," the man replied, and crossed his arms. "Without it, you'll never be able to defeat Sabrina and her Psychic Pokémon."

"I guess not..." Ash murmured, and let out a depressed breath of air.

o 0 o

Parting ways with the psychic man, Ash knew the only way to save Brock was to look for and find Haunter to help him battle against Sabrina. Unfortunately, while he realized he was going to have to search the largest and busiest city in the Kanto region, it didn't dawn on him just how big the city was until he was actually walking through it.

Huge, giant office buildings lined the winding streets of Saffron, reaching the sky with windows that reflected the sun. Cars and people rushed by without even a glance in Ash's direction as they went about their day going from point A to point B. He also didn't try to call out for Haunter, as his calls would have just been drowned out by the bellowing trucks and banging construction that seemed to be going on at every corner.

But the Pokémon Trainer, though not in familiar territory at all, didn't give up hope, and was twisting his head back and forth. His Wartortle was trotting beside him as an extra pair of eyes to look out for the Gas Pokémon. "Wartortle, where do you think Haunter could be?" The question was rhetorical, of course, since Wartortle knew the city even less than Ash did, and silently, Ash wished that the old man that helped them escape Sabrina's clutches not once but twice could help once more and find Haunter.

"Wartor Wartor..." his Pokémon replied with its voice filled with nerves. They had searched for most of the afternoon, but trying to find Haunter in this concrete jungle was like trying to find an invisible needle in a haystack.

After some time, they heard a man yell loudly, and they followed it to see a construction worker jumping back in fright. Just in front of him was Haunter, attempting to make the man laugh with a series of rude gestures with its hands and mouth. "Haunter!" Ash cried, and ran up to it. "There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"Haunt haunt haunter!" the Ghost-type Pokémon chanted as it heard Ash's voice, and smiled at the familiar faces that approached.

"Is this your Haunter, kid?!" the construction worker exclaimed, now angry more than he was scared. "I have a job to do; learn to control your Pokémon better!"

"S-sorry about that, sir!" Ash apologized nervously, and he gestured for Haunter to follow him and Wartortle away from the man. "Well, I'm glad we finally found you. Now, let's get back to Sabrina's Gym!" Haunter frowned, and scratched its head with a pointed finger in thought. It seemed to not like that idea very much. "But you promised you'd help me battle Sabrina! I can't beat her Psychic Pokémon without you!"

"Haunt haunt haunt..." Haunter now crossed his floating hands, closing its eyes as if it were trying to solve a complicated math equation.

"Please, you can't let her make a fool out of me!" This brought Haunter to a decision, and it balled up one hand into a fist and brought it down onto its other palm, and it laughed in agreement. "Oh, gee, thanks, Haunter! Thank you!" Ash thanked, clapping his hands together and holding them above his head whilst bowing his head. "Just help me save Brock and you'll never have to help me out again!" Haunter grinned wide and nodded its head. It was finally time for the real battle to begin.

o 0 o

Finding his way back to the Gym for the third time was a lot easier than originally trying to find Haunter, and like before, Ash, Wartortle and Haunter walked through the front doors with confidence. The silver gate had been lifted, and there wasn't a single soul in sight. Even when Ash walked into the battle arena, the throne between the two lit torches was empty. "Sabrina!" Ash called. His voice echoed throughout the Gym, and he waited at the challenger's box until finally, Sabrina appeared.

Her cold blue eyes were locked directly on him as she entered through a room off to the side of the arena. The doll wearing the sundress was in Sabrina's arms as always, holding a Poké Ball in its palms, and floating beside her was the doll version of Brock. They were mocking him. Sabrina stepped onto the Gym Leader's side of the arena, but Brock's doll continued backwards and eventually landed on the throne Sabrina normally sat in, sitting upward as if he were watching the match.

"Have you returned for more humiliation?" Sabrina asked, her voice void of any emotion. "Haven't you realized that you'll never defeat me?"

"Brock is my friend, and I can't leave him behind – not even if you're gonna turn me and all my Pokémon into dolls!" Ash retorted, and Wartortle gave a cry to back its Trainer up.

"If you want to be a doll too, I'll be glad to play with you," the doll in Sabrina's arms spoke up. "It'll be a one-on-one battle – Sabrina's Pokémon will be..." Once again, the doll raised its arms and the Poké Ball in its grip floated into the air before being thrown out by telekinesis. The ball burst open, and for the second time in front of him, Kadabra appeared in front of its Trainer.

"Kadabra!"

"And for my Pokémon, I choose Haunter!" Ash declared, pointing forward as he had before.

"Haunter?" Sabrina parroted quietly.

"Well? Where is your Pokémon?" her doll continued. Ash looked to his side, and Haunter was no longer floating there. In a repeat of what had happened earlier that morning, panic soon settled in his chest, and he whipped his head back and forth.

"Oh no, not again!" Ash screamed, and let out a cry while Wartortle sighed beside its Trainer.

"Why don't you forfeit?" the psychic Gym Leader suggested.

"That way I'll have new dolls to play with!" The doll's words caused his anxiety to erupt like a volcano, and he cried out in desperation.

"Haunter! HAUNTER! You promised me!" he cried as tears rolled down his cheeks and he bounced all around the arena as if he would suddenly bump into the Ghost Pokémon. "Where'd you go? Please, stop hiding! Haunter! HAUNTER!"

"This time, you won't escape..." Sabrina murmured as shadows fell over her eyes from her bangs, and the doll in her arms floated upward with a giggle.

"My new dolly!"

"Dolly?" Ash repeated whist flinching back, but he accepted his fate and melted to the floor, head lowering as he waited for the inevitable transformation.

But a new voice grabbed Ash's attention. "Wartor!" When Ash whipped his head up, Wartortle was standing in front of its Trainer with its arms held out protectively.

"Wartortle! You don't stand a chance against Kadabra!" the dark-haired boy protested as he stood up. "You'll get beat up again; come back!"

"War, Wartor!" the Turtle Pokémon argued, turning back to its Trainer and waving an arm.

"You don't want Sabrina to make me a doll?" Ash translated, and Wartortle nodded before turning back.

"War!"

"You want to fight for me?"

"Wartor!" Another nod, but this brought tears to Ash's brown eyes again, but this time with happiness.

"Thank you, Wartortle. You're a real pal..." he said, his voice wavering as the Water-type walked out and stood across from Kadabra. The Psychic Pokémon stood a whole foot over Ash's starter, and he knew how scared Wartortle was, but the Pokémon looked up at its opponent while masking all of it to protect its Trainer. "Wartortle, BubbleBeam!"

"War tor..." Wartortle took in a deep breath and when it opened its mouth again, a stream of bubbles came blasting out at Kadabra.

"Kadabra, Teleport," Sabrina commanded. Kadabra's body glowed white, and just as the bubbles threatened to hit it, it disappeared. As the bubbles hit the stadium floor, Kadabra appeared off to the side. Adjusting quickly, Wartortle fired another BubbleBeam at Kadabra, and it teleported away to another location. The cycle continued until Sabrina called for her next attack. "Kadabra, Psybeam." As a BubbleBeam attack struck the arena, Kadabra reappeared directly in front of Wartortle, making the blue Water-type jump up in shock as the Psi Pokémon glared down at it.

"Ka...da...bra..." the Psychic-type chanted, and its eyes began to glow red for just a moment before rainbow-colored circles of light came out and expanded from both of its eyes. They passed through Wartortle, and Ash's Pokémon teetered in place before rolling backwards with spirals in its eyes from confusion.

"Try to hang on, Wartortle!" Ash encouraged as the Pokémon stopped near his feet. "Come back at Kadabra with a Water Gun!" Wartortle forced itself onto its feet and took in another deep breath. This time, what came out wasn't a stream of bubbles, but a blast of water from the back of its throat. The stream shot out at Kadabra, but the Psychic Pokémon simply stood in place and was hit by the attack where it was taken off its feet and knocked backwards. The sight of Kadabra being hit brought a smile to Ash's face. They were gonna do it! "That's it!"

"Recover," Sabrina simply said. And Ash's mouth hung open as Kadabra's body instantly dried with a moan from the Psychic-type. Even Wartortle's eyes widened in horror.

"Wartor?!"

"It's impossible to win," the Gym Leader stated bluntly while her doll giggled beside her. The giggle was suddenly cut off when a purple figure appeared at Sabrina's shoulder, and Ash instantly recognized it.

"Haunter?!"

"Haunter!" the Pokémon said, looking up Sabrina up and down from different angles as if sizing her up. Sabrina watched with curiosity while her doll floated beside her and wore a frown on its face. Haunter finally finished looking, and pulled back before giving a cackle of delight.

"Two against one's not fair!" Sabrina's doll whined, and at that moment, the older man in the jogging uniform teleported beside Ash, an amused look on his face as one of his hands rested on his hip.

"It is just playing around on its own," he told the pair. "Haunter is not battling against you; so it isn't against the rules." As with the other times that it had tried to make people laugh, Haunter stared at Sabrina and started to stretch and contort its body like a reflection in a funhouse mirror. Sabrina only looked at the Gas Pokémon in confusion, blinking and unsure of how to respond as Haunter reached its tongue up over its face, and when it lowered it, its eyes were gone. Unrolling its tongue, Haunter's eyes were bouncing around on the muscle. Once again, Sabrina blinked in response.

For Haunter's next act, it reached into its mouth, and after digging around for a bit like it was a rucksack, it pulled out a bomb with the fuse already lit. A red skull and crossbones was marked on the front of it, and Ash and the man gasped at the sight of it. Even Sabrina's mouth opened slightly in shock, but before any of them could do anything, the bomb exploded in a cloud of smoke. Thankfully, when the dust had cleared, neither of them were hurt, but Sabrina's hair was messed up, and both her and Haunter were covered in soot. Haunter was cackling with delight, and Ash was holding his breath, waiting on the end of his seat to see how angry Sabrina was going to be.

But, much to his surprise, he saw the corners of her lips slowly curl upward. He wasn't the only one caught off-guard by it, as the man beside him gasped as well.

"She smiled!" he said breathlessly. Slowly, Sabrina's eyes closed, and she soon began to chuckle. This chuckle soon turned into laughter, and this laughter soon became uncontrollable. Delighted that it had finally made someone laugh, Haunter laughed alongside the Psychic-type Gym Leader.

"Is that Sabrina... laughing?" It was almost impossible to see, and much like the photograph that he had seen, if he weren't here witnessing it, then he wouldn't have believed it.

"Ever since she started her telekinetic training as a little girl, I've never seen Sabrina laugh like this," the man stated, tears rolling down from his eyes. "I've never seen her so happy in her entire life!"

"But, if you've known Sabrina ever since she was a little girl, does that mean..."

"So you've figured it out, eh?"

"You must have taken her baby pictures, too!" The response threw the man's feet out from under him, and he let out a cry before jumping up into the air.

"JUST HOW DENSE CAN A PERSON BE?!" Clearing his throat from the outburst, he brushed it off and smiled as he looked back at Sabrina. "But I'm glad you came back. That Haunter has helped Sabrina rediscover the human part of her heart!"

"What d'ya mean?!" Ash exclaimed, clutching his fists angrily. "Haunter was supposed to beat the Psychic Pokémon, and instead it's making friends with Sabrina! I'm gonna be a doll!" But instead, the man snickered and pointed out onto the arena.

"Look over there." Ash followed the man's finger, and out on the arena, he saw Kadabra was also doubled over, clutching its stomach with both hands and rolling around on its back.

"I don't get it. It looks like Kadabra's in pain...?"

"It's not in any pain! Kadabra and Sabrina are joined telepathically," the man explained. "Kadabra is rolling with laughter, just like Sabrina." The situation sunk in finally, and Ash's jaw just about hit the floor from the turn of events.

Across the arena, as Haunter continued to make Sabrina laugh, the doll floating beside her looked between the pair, and its eyes landed on Sabrina with tears in her eyes, and it gave the faintest hint of a smile before disappearing completely. The Poké Ball it held in its hand clattered to the ground, but this went unnoticed by Sabrina, who was still focused completely on Haunter. With the doll gone, a bright light shimmered at Sabrina's throne, and the Brock doll grew larger and larger until finally, the Pokémon Breeder stood at his normal size, looking down at his hands with relief.

"Brock!" Ash exclaimed with a wide smile.

"Since Kadabra is no longer able to battle, I officially declare Wartortle the winner!" But what the man beside him said wasn't anything important to Ash. Rushing past Kadabra, he and Brock met and shook each other's hands.

"Brock! I'm glad you're okay!"

"Thanks! I thought I was going to be a doll forever," he responded.

"And we have that man to thank once again!" Ash added, and turned back to thank him, but the man was no longer where Ash had been. Instead of was approaching Sabrina, and much to the boy's surprise, he wrapped his arms around the young woman, who reciprocated the hug.

"My little girl..."

"Dad..." Sabrina said with a smile. Though her face was covered in soot, her eyes were bright and clear as if she had woken up from a long slumber. "Is it really you?"

"It's me, Sabrina. I missed you so much."

"Wow! So that man was Sabrina's father all along!" Ash said in amazement. Seconds later, the door that Sabrina had walked out before the match opened, and this time, a brunette woman with her long hair pulled back into a ponytail walked out. Instantly, Ash recognized her as Sabrina's mother from the photo that was in her toy box. Looking at the Gym Leader and her father embracing seemed to bring a tear to her eye, and she rushed up to them and embraced them as well.

o 0 o

"Goodbye!" Ash called, waving a free hand back at the Gym as he looked back at the four waving back at him.

"Thanks for everything!" Sabrina's father thanked.

"Have a good journey!" his wife added. Between them, with a wide smile on her face, Sabrina was waving silently as well. And behind her, Haunter floated and waved one of its disembodied hands, having deciding to stay with Sabrina who appreciated its humor.

"Take care of yourselves!" Ash concluded, and the pair lowered their hands and trekked further into Saffron City. It was at this moment that Ash pulled up his other hand, and looked down proudly at the round, golden Badge between his thumb and index finger. "I finally got a Marsh Badge!"

"And that Marsh Badge puts you one step further along the road to the Pokémon League!" Brock added with his fingers wrapped around the black straps of his backpack.

"Yeah..." the Pokémon Trainer started, but it was met with a frown. "But do you really think I deserve to get this Marsh Badge?" He mulled on this for a bit before giving a slight chuckle. "Maybe I'll use humor to win my next Gym Badge!"

"Keep it up and you'll be known as the funniest Pokémon Master of all time!" The pair laughed and headed toward the heart of the city as Ash added his newest Badge to his collection pinned to the inside of his jacket.

"Okay, so where's the next closest Gym?" the dark-haired Trainer questioned.

"I think that'll be in Celadon City," Brock answered, and Ash instantly smiled in excitement.

"Look out, Celadon City! Ash Ketchum is coming to town!"

Ash:

Party:

Wartortle (Poké Ball)

Moves: Tackle, Dig, Water Gun, BubbleBeam

Pidgey (Poké Ball)

Moves: Gust, Sand-Attack, Whirlwind, Wing Attack

Bulbasaur (Poké Ball)

Moves: Tackle, Vine Whip

Charmander (Poké Ball)

Moves: Flamethrower, Leer

Krabby (Poké Ball)

Moves: ViceGrip

Badges:

Boulder Badge

Cascade Badge

Thunder Badge

Marsh Badge

Brock:

Party:

Onix (Poké Ball)

Moves: Tackle, Bind, Dig

Geodude (Poké Ball)

Moves: Seismic Toss, Tackle

Zubat (Poké Ball)

Moves: Whirlwind, Supersonic