The next morning, Karl, Hadley, and Kevin woke up from their slumber.

They had spent the night at the beach. The plot of sand intertwined with the seemingly endless ocean.

Flora, Blowtorch, and Koopa had awakened as well. When their vision returned, they saw the vast body of water. They had no idea there was such big water! All the water Flora could drink! She hopped toward the ocean, and dove in, gulping mouthfuls... but she then jumped out. Yuck! The Bulbasaur spat out the seawater, because it tasted terrible. Her seed couldn't grow with this. No wonder no plants grew around here. Better stick to water from lakes and rivers next time. That tasted better.

Koopa ran as fast as he could, and popped into his shell, skidding through the sand. The sand that the Squitle skidded through struck the trainers. And then Koopa splashed into the sea. When he felt water around him, he pushed out his head, tail, and limbs, and swam through the vast sea. He had never seen such amazing sights before!

As the turtle pushed and pulled his arms and legs through, he discovered many different plants and creatures – coral reefs, seaweed, stupid-looking, stone-faced fish, and beautiful goldfish with loosely moving fins... and sharp horns on their foreheads. Clever.

---

"Do you have any last words to say, Mr. Oak?" Darkao questioned Robert.

"Tell my children and parents that I love them," Robert said in a breaking voice as his battered body was pushed into the river and swept away.

---

Before he knew it, an atrocious eel with blue scales, a fierce face, and sharp teeth came swimming right at Koopa! Koopa gasped in surprise. It was going to eat him! He swam into a small cave. The Gyarados rammed its head into the cave, but Koopa searched for a way out. Ah, there it was! He paddled out through a hole in the top of the rocky obstacle, and back to shallow water.

Whew! He didn't want to go through that again. The ocean had its wonders, but also its dangers. This must have been what it was like for Squirtle in wildlife. There didn't seem to be any end to the ocean.

What he had found lying in the ocean was a human body lying face up. Koopa had a nasty idea who he was. He swam back to the beach.

---

Karl and Hadley took note of their surroundings in the Pokemon Fan Club. There was a desk nearly filled with people and Pokemon. Pokemon were welcome! That sounded fair for them. They took seats with their Pokemon.

An elderly man with a Rapidash noticed them. "Why, hello there! You rookie trainers have got some young Pokemon, who look ready to see the world!"

Karl showed the man Blowtorch. "Here's my Charmander, Blowtorch. Careful, though, he kind of has a nasty habit of burning things.

"Don't worry, everything here is fireproof."

Hadley showed Flora. "This is Flora, a Bulbasaur. She tried ocean water, but it tasted too salty for her." The crowd laughed. Flora felt embarrassed. At least she knew that seawater wasn't drinkable.

They had never seen so many people before. There were different kinds of Pokemon as well. Seel, Pikachu, and Rapidash. Were there many more Pokemon that they were unaware of?

---

"Koopa, what is it?" Kevin questioned quickly.

Squirtle and pointed at the sea, where a body was visible.

"All right, I'll go see who that is." He dove into the sea, the only one of the bunch who could, and dog-paddled toward the body. "Oh, man... Dad... I'll pull you out, just wait." Kevin grabbed his father, and pulled him back to the beach. "Dad, what happened? Come on!"

Robert's vision was blurry, but he could see his son standing at him. "Oh..."

"Come on, get up!"

"I... don't think I can, Kevin..."

"Yeah, you can, get on your feet." He helped his father onto his feet, but after he let go, Robert fell back into the sand. "My gosh, what did they do to you?"
"They... beat me... I don't think I'm going to be around much longer, so I'll tell you this... Kevin, do you remember the way to Celadon City? That's where Daisy is."

Kevin sniffled. "I think so... but aren't you going to help me?"

"I'll be helping you in your heart... even when I'm not there in person. Pay close attention... please, don't give any of your Pokemon to Team Rocket, whatever happens! Don't take that step..."

"Dad? Dad!" No response. Oh, man, Team Rocket tortured him. He sank into deep depression.

---

Kevin trudged around the harbor, and bumped into someone. He looked over, and saw a fierce-looking man in his late thirties. "Hey! What's going on here?" questioned the man. "What's your problem? You look fine!"

"Now, Lt. Surge, he's obviously had a bad day today," an older man with graying hair in glasses told him. "I'm sure he needs counseling to get himself back together."

"Sure thing, Ben Pyrolic!"

"Now, what's wrong?" Ben asked Kevin.

"Totally unfair... Team Rocket... it's all their fault that he's dead."

"Who's dead?" the old man asked him.

"My dad." Kevin said in a breaking voice.

When Ben heard this, he understood. "I see... well, it's not your fault, or your father's. Now, pay attention to old Ben. If it's anyone's fault, blame it on Team Rocket. You didn't do anything wrong."

"They've still got my sister, Daisy. What will I do? I miss my dad so much."

"Then, you'll always miss him, but he'll be with you as long as you remember him in your mind. You'll never really be apart, since you'll still be a part of him."

This was enough to remind him that they were on a mission, and because his father was now dead, there wasn't much time. Daisy may be next! "Thank you. I gotta get to Celadon City."

Surge then jumped in. "Well, why didn't you say so? I'll take you through Silence Bridge!"
Kevin then cried out, "That's great! I'll get Karl and Hadley!"

---

"Team Rocket killed your dad?" Karl and Hadley shouted in bewilderment.

"Yeah! We've got to save Daisy now, before it's too late." Nothing was going to keep Kevin down. He would miss his father, but mourning may take place after they save Daisy, or fail in their quest.

"It's going to be a bumpy ride, so you pints should buckle up!"

The three were in the back of Surge's Hummer, being thrown around, but safe in their seat belts. Surge was one reckless driver, almost falling into the water. "I told ya it was bumpy!"

"I bet this never happened during the War of 2192," Karl murmured to himself.

"Hey! I was in that war!" Surge shouted. "It's no picnic. I only lived to tell about it because my Pokemon saved my life!"

After many bumps, they made it through.

"Thanks for the ride, Surge! You're a big help," Karl thanked Surge.

"No problem!" Surge drove off.

Kevin, after being thrown around, felt like a crash test dummy.

---

---

Lavender Town was, expectedly, deserted, but some chill began to fill Karl and Hadley's bodies. Thunder boomed in the sky, and lightning struck. "Whoa!" they yelled out in surprise. Rain had begun to fall. This wouldn't be a good time to use Blowtorch, because of the rain, or use Koopa, because of the lightning.

Karl looked down at the ground. The grass seemed extremely unhealthy, even for a spooky town like this. He then remembered the earthquake and how the leaves on trees were already falling despite not being autumn. Whatever was causing those was likely to be causing the grass to die off. It was the darnedest thing he had ever found out about.

Another flash of lightning emerged. Hadley then yelled to the boys, "Guys, we'd better find shelter soon! Let's try Mr. Fuji's house!"
They ran into the porch of a house, where the covering above them protected them from the rain.

Hadley pulled out a flashlight, and looked at the map. "All right, now that we've just entered Lavender Town, we should be right... here." She pointed to a position on the town map. "That's Mr. Fuji's house. We're here!"

Karl then knocked on the door. "Hello? Anyone in there?" he asked. No response. He opened the door anyway, and entered the house for shelter

---.

The house was dimly lit with candles. An old, balding man called out, "Why, hello there! Travelers looking for shelter?"

"Yes," replied Hadley. "It sure is dark out."

"Yes, in this side to Kanto, it usually gets very dark during thunderstorms at night." Fuji then took a look out of the window. "Only this night seems unusual."

"That's no surprise," blurted Karl. "It's fall already, and yesterday we got into an earthquake that destroyed Cerulean City! And by the way, our Pokemon would be glad to see you."

The three called out their respective Pokemon, and Hadley then called out Birdo.

"Why, they look like they've had a rough life." Mr. Fuji recognized how they had toiled through hardship and abusive treatment. "I think they've ended up as science experiments."

"Well, they're Team Rocket's, actually," interjected Kevin. "I found them in the mail a few days ago, and Team Rocket wants them back. What do we do? They've killed my dad, and now my sister's caught up in it!"

"Team Rocket... I knew it." Fuji immediately found out where these Pokemon were from. They were the property of Team Rocket.

"What about Birdo? He's just a lonely Pidgey we found, and he can't fly."

Fuji took a look at Birdo. The Pidgey was wondering why this old man was staring at him strangely. "Now, this Pidgey seems to be too afraid to learn. But that's okay. I'll help him be brave."

Kevin had an idea. "Why don't we teach Birdo to fly with the Fly HM? That's the easiest way. Only problem is it's not available to the average trainer."

"Ah, that's one problem – it's in the testing period," said Mr. Fuji. "Well, that probably doesn't matter – Birdo can learn how to fly naturally. Now, let me tell you a story about Pokemon Tower."
"We haven't been there," interrupted Karl, "And we don't have any desire to go there. Creeps us out."

"Well, I go there regularly to pay respects to deceased Pokemon. But one recent death was a Marowak. Team Rocket's surely done it. They won't stop at anything to achieve their goals. I've tried to put its spirit to rest, but none of the Pokemon here seem willing to do so."

Ghosts, thought Flora. Are there indeed such things as ghosts, despite denials by scientists? Do spirits power our bodies? She seemed rather unnerved.

Koopa remembered Robert dying. Did his spirit leave this world? Is that what happens when living things die? Do all living organisms have spirits? He also remembered how he entered the ocean for the first time. Did the coral reefs have spirits as well?

Blowtorch then looked down at his flaming tail. His source of life. It kept his spirit in his body. He had to guard that flame with his life. The flame was his life.

"Would you like to come to the tower with me right now?" asked Fuji.

---

Fuji and the kids entered the Pokemon Tower. Blowtorch used his flaming tail to light the place. A cold chill overwhelmed Karl's body.

That same chill. Blowtorch made little difference in heating him up.

Death. Spirits. Sadness.

These were in Karl's mind right away.

Kevin could remember how his father passed away. "Oh, man, I'm flashing back..." He flashed back to when he found his father in the sea.

"Kevin, come on! Snap out of it!" Hadley shook Kevin's body, causing him to snap back to the tower.

"Oh, sorry, I just dozed off for a bit." Kevin regained his senses.

As they went upstairs, a flash of lightning illuminated the tower.

"Boo!" Kevin shouted at Karl, who screamed in shock. Kevin laughed. "You're so gullible!"

"Stop it!" said Karl, annoyed.

Suddenly, a spooky screech filled the whole tower. "It's not me," insisted Kevin. "It's that."

Kevin pointed at a Haunter, who seemed to ignore them.

---

After a few floors, Karl found himself unable to move freely. Before he knew it, he levitated toward the ceiling. "Help me down!" Hadley, Kevin, and Fuji looked up in surprise. Hadley couldn't believe this. Did gravity begin to reverse itself? He then involuntarily flew toward the wall, smacking into it and falling to the floor with a "Thud".

"Be gone... intruders!" cried out a voice. Once Karl got up on his feet, he saw a possessed girl lifting her hand out.

"That's Sabrina. She looks cursed! Anybody got a vacuum cleaner?" At this point, Kevin levitated involuntarily. "Hey! Pull me down!"

Hadley then pulled at Kevin's foot, but just as she was about to pull, he fell down. "Oomph!" As she got onto her feet, she called out Birdo. The Pidgey clutched Hadley's shoulder in fear. Hadley seemed to rise. Birdo squawked in excitement. "Hey! This isn't possible – get me down!"

Sabrina then loosened her grip, and Hadley was thrown aside. Birdo lost his grip, and fell to the ground, flapping his wings in fright and trying to stay in the air. Sabrina then telekinetically grabbed the bird, causing him to rise to the air.

Birdo couldn't believe this. Was he flying? He stopped flapping his wings to make sure. No, Sabrina was holding him. Birdo took a deep breath, and rapidly fluttered his wings. Sabrina rushed her grip and let go when the Pidgey took a dive toward the floor. But he quickly flew back up.

As Hadley fell back down, Kevin reached for her as she fell toward him. "Thank you," she said, dazed.

"You're welcome, dream girl." Kevin and Hadley locked eyes with each other. "I was worried about you..."

Fuji was amazed at what Birdo had done! He was flying! And right into Sabrina!

Birdo took a swan dive onto Sabrina's head, causing her to fall to the ground. At that point, Blowtorch, Flora, and Koopa all came together as a dog pile to pin Sabrina to the ground as Birdo pecked her head, hopefully to get the "spirit" cursing her out.

After ten seconds, a wave of draining energy flew out of Sabrina's ears. The psychic regained her senses. "Wha- what happened? The last thing I remembered was the ghost of Marowak "

Sabrina got back onto her feet, and saw the four Pokemon that lifted the curse. "You saved me, didn't you?"

The four looked together in bewilderment.

"Yeah, we did," enthused Kevin. "We've done it."

Karl then saw the reforming cloud. "We're done yet – look!" The energy had formed into a cloud that resembled a Marowak.

"Go away... go away!" bellowed the ghost.

"Let me handle this," said Sabrina bravely. "Go, Alakazaam!"