Episode 534: Seeking Shelter From the Storm!
A couple of days have passed since showing their Pokémon to a class of kindergarteners of Penelope's, and so they continued on their way. As they kept going, they kept their eyes open for any signs of Team Shadow, or anyone or thing from the Brotherhood of Darkness just in case.
"Sora, Naminé and I will have to meet up with you another time, so until then, watch your back," Riku said.
"You do the same thing, Riku," Sora said. With that said, Riku, Naminé, Eevee, and Azurill left the group.
"You think Riku's gonna be fine?" Clemont asked.
"He'll be fine. He did that for as long as I've known him," Sora said. The group continued on, and then they made another stop twenty minutes later. "Man, I need to rest my feet."
"Me too. I'm getting blisters that are big enough to feed a Digimon family of four," Veemon said.
"Just hope nothing happens while we're resting," Sora said. Just then, thunder crashes.
"I think you just spoke too soon," Karen said. Lightning flashes, and then it started to rain.
"Not rain!" Gabumon exclaimed.
"I'm getting soaked!" Hawkmon also exclaimed.
"Me too!" Biyomon added.
"We gotta find a place to stay for the night!" Clemont suggested.
"No argument from me!" Sora said.
Sora, Kairi, Karen, Ventus, Terra, Aqua, Clemont, Bonnie, Pikachu, Angel, Meowth, Dedenne, Blossom, Sparky, Thor, Eclair, and the Digimon all rushed through the rain as it kicks up. Strong winds started to blow hard, making everyone run through the storm, desperately trying to find shelter.
"I'm getting soaked!" Kairi said.
"I don't do well with rain water!" Gatomon said.
The group started to say some rain related things as they found an old mansion in the middle of the forest.
"Guys, look! A mansion!" Ventus said.
"Hurry, over to that house!" Sora said.
"Dedenne, stay still!" Bonnie said.
The group made it to the mansion. Gabumon wanted to take his fur coat off, but couldn't.
"What a storm," Sora said.
"It came up so suddenly," Clemont said.
"I don't mind the rain, but it's too much for my liking," Palmon said.
"I could use a swim if I didn't have to worry about catching a cold," Gomamon said.
"I hate thunder," Bonnie said as lightning crashes again, scaring Bonnie. She leapt backwards to the door. She noticed the door was slightly opened.
"I wonder if someone is home," Karen said.
"Me too, because we do need to stay out of the rain," Kairi said.
"Guys, the door's opened," Bonnie said, going in. "Yay!"
"Bonnie, you can't just barge right in!" Clemont said to his sister.
"Hello, is anybody home? Can we stay here until it stops raining? Please?" Bonnie asked.
"Denne, ne!" Dedenne said. Sora knocked on the door.
"Hello, is anyone home?" Sora asked. He listened, but there was no answer from inside. "Doesn't look like anyone lives here."
From the shadows upstairs, a small figure appeared and saw the group. The small figure wore a green pendent around its neck.
"I wouldn't call this the first time this happened," Kairi said.
"You mean with us coming into an old mansion and with nobody home, but some Ghost Type Pokémon, then you hit the nail on the head, Kairi," Sora said.
"You mean like when you came across a Haunter the first time, and then you came into a house inhabited by Litwick?" Karen asked.
"There was also a house that is home to a family of Shuppet," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"That happened before?" Clemont asked in surprise.
"Yeah. And if there's a Ghost Type Pokémon living in here, then we could be in for a rough night," Sora said.
"I would call it a regular hangout for Ghost Type Pokémon, because this place is giving me the willies," Tentomon said. Clemont looked at the insect Digimon.
"Me too," Armadillomon said.
"We had to pick a house that has to be haunted," Meowth groaned.
"Better than getting wet in the rain," Bonnie said.
"Yeah, it is," Ventus agreed.
"Chu," Sparky said.
"Denne," Dedenne said.
"Maybe it's creepy in here because there's no light in here," Clemont said.
"This could use some light anyway," Aqua said.
"Not a bad idea," Terra agreed.
"Now, there should be a light switch around here somewhere," Clemont said, searching for the light switch. "This looks like it still works. Now, where is it?" He searched for it as thoroughly as he could. The lights suddenly came on much to everyone's delight.
"Nice," Sora said.
"Pika," Pikachu said.
"Thanks for turning on the lights, Clemont," Kairi said.
"Uh, that wasn't me," Clemont said.
"Huh?!" Sora gasped, putting his hands on his cheeks.
"That was weird," Bonnie said.
"Denne," Dedenne said.
"If you didn't do it, then who did?" Meowth asked. "What if this place is haunted?!"
"This we don't need!" Patamon said.
"It's probably just the motion detectors automatically activating," Clemont said.
"Yeah, or it could be a Pokémon like Sora said it was," Karen said.
"Whatever's in here, we should step right out," Terra suggested.
"Okay, let's do-" Sora said as the door slams shut, "-that." He tried to open the door, but it won't open. "The door's locked!"
"It was just wide open, guys!" Bonnie said.
"Uh, the door must have automatically shut after being left opened for too long," Clemont said.
"So, what do we do?" Agumon asked.
"There's gotta be another exit somewhere in this old house," Wormmon said.
"Wormmon's right. There should be a backdoor, so we should focus on finding it before whatever is in here finds us," Sora said.
"What if we find the Pokémon that lives in here?" Hawkmon asked.
"We'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it," Sora said. With that said, the group started to search for the exit.
Meanwhile outside the mansion into the forest, two figures were running through the rain. One of them is a man who wore a grass skirt, and a white cap. The other is a green, anthropomorphic frog, wearing a white shirt, blue shorts, a yellow vest. They were rushing through the rain.
"We sure picked one heck of a time to foraging for berries and fruit; especially when a storm hits!" The frog exclaimed.
"Well, we were picked to gather some food, Frogger," the man said.
"Well Higgins, I guess you're not the master of good timing," Frogger said.
They kept on running until the mansion was right in their sights.
"Frogger, look! A house!" Higgins said.
"Good, someone might live there!" Frogger said. They reached the house, and then to the backdoor. Frogger knocked on the door. "Hello, isn't anybody home? Please, let us in!"
"I don't think anyone is home," Higgins said. A window opened up. "A window's open! We can climb in."
"Wouldn't that be breaking an entering?" Frogger asked.
"We can explain ourselves afterwards. Besides, Tina will kill me if I catch a cold," Higgins said.
"Fair point," Frogger said, hopping right inside. Higgins followed the anthromorphic frog inside. They didn't know that the little figure was watching them from the inside. Frogger and Higgins looked around the room. They saw that the furniture all have sheets covering them. "It doesn't look like anyone lives here."
"And how long was that?" Higgins asked. The window closed behind him. Higgins saw the window closed. "Huh? What just happened?"
"Thanks for shutting that window. It was getting cold in here," Frogger said.
"I didn't close it," Higgins said. The lights came right on. "Well, thanks for turning on the lights."
"I didn't do that," Frogger said. "This place must be automated."
"This old house?" Higgins asked.
"I don't know about you, but I think this place is giving me the creeps," Frogger said.
"This house is probably crawling with them, so let's get out of here," Higgins said. He tried to open the window. "What the?! The window's locked!"
"Maybe you locked it when you shut it, and forgot," Frogger guessed.
"I told you, it wasn't me who shut it, and I didn't lock it either," Higgins said.
In another room, lightning crashes as everyone screamed, except for Ventus and Bonnie. They were looking at a portrait of an elderly woman.
"It's okay, guys," Ventus said.
"It's just a painting," Bonnie added. Clemont chuckled nervously.
"You're right, it's a portrait," Clemont said.
"How silly of us to jump like Joltik over a painting," Meowth said.
"Yeah, silly," Gatomon said.
"Really, silly," Gabumon said.
"Well, your fur almost fell off," Veemon said.
"I hope not, because I need it," Gabumon said.
"So, who is she?" Biyomon asked.
"I'm guessing that has to be the owner of the house," Sora guessed.
"That was a good guess, Sora. I mean, it makes sense for her to be the owner," Kairi said.
"What if she's a ghost, and she's extremely angry at us for coming inside without permission?" Karen asked.
"Pi?" Blossom asked.
Everyone all shivered at the thought. Over to Frogger and Higgins, they shook as they heard the scream from somewhere in the house.
"Did you hear that?" Higgins asked.
"Maybe, it's a ghost," Frogger said. "And it won't be haunting us for long!" Frogger grabbed a stool and tried to break the window, but the glass didn't shatter, and it looked like a force field. "Huh?"
"We're trapped inside?!" Higgins exclaimed. Frogger kept trying.
From a stairway, the banging sounds can be heard as the group were climbing the stairs.
"What's that?" Gomamon asked.
"It sounds like something's banging against something else," Aqua said.
"Or maybe it's an old grandfather clock, ticking away, and nothing more," Clemont said.
"No clock I have ever heard," Terra said.
"Or maybe it's the sound of a stake being pounded to ward off vampires," Karen said.
"No, it cannot be true," Hawkmon said.
"If it is, I'll be wearing a garlic necklace," Armadillomon said.
"That might be useful if you haven't eaten all of the garlic, Armadillomon," Palmon said.
"And not to mention, gave you bad breath for a week," Wormmon said.
"And I can still smell it," Gomamon said.
"Don't judge me, I was hungry," Armadillomon said. "And I like garlic."
"Well, that explains where all that garlic went, and what that smell was," Ventus said.
"It was a nasty smell, Armadillomon," Bonnie added.
Back to Frogger and Higgins, they screamed when they saw the portrait of the elderly woman.
"It's just a painting," Frogger said. "It sure was a surprise, huh?"
"I think the eyes just moved," Higgins said.
Sora, Kairi, Karen, Ventus, Terra, Aqua, Clemont, Bonnie, Pikachu, Angel, Meowth, Dedenne, Blossom, Sparky, Thor, Eclair, and the Digimon heard the screams from another hallway. Agumon jumped into Terra's arms.
"What was that now?!" Agumon asked.
"Okay, I know someone is in here with us," Terra said.
"Oh no, this house is just drafty, so it makes it sound like someone is screaming," Clemont said.
"Clemont, that's enough!" Aqua stepped in. "Terra's right, someone is in here with us. And they're probably going through what we're going through now."
Over to Frogger and Higgins, they wondered through the hallway.
"We should find the front door before the ghost finds us," Higgins said.
"No argument from me," Frogger said.
They stopped when they saw the little figure in the shadows. It was using its telepathic power to bounce a ball.
"What's that?" Higgins asked.
"I don't know, and I don't think I wanna know," Frogger said.
The small figure turned around with glowing blue eyes. It sends the ball towards them.
"A GHOST!" Frogger and Higgins exclaimed in fright.
They both screamed, and their screams are heard down the hall.
"Another scream," Kairi said.
"What now, Sora?" Karen asked.
"I think we should help out whoever it is before we get out of here," Sora said.
"I had a feeling you were going to say that, Sora," Terra said.
"I see something," Wormmon said. The small figure float close to the floor. It turns to see the group.
"Esp," the small figure said. The whole group flinched, but Bonnie just looked at it, not afraid of the little creature.
"Hey!" Bonnie said, going after it. Ventus and Sparky went with her and Dedenne.
"Wait, Bonnie!" Clemont called out to his sister.
"Ven, come back!" Sora called out to his cousin.
They chased after the little creature as the older kids came to a dead end.
"Where's Bonnie?" Clemont asked.
"And where's Ven?" Aqua asked.
"I don't see them anywhere!" Kairi said. Sora was starting to get really nervous.
"Man, this isn't happening, this isn't happening! Both of my aunt and uncle are going to kill me," Sora said.
"Not if we find them first, Sora," Karen assured her brother.
"She's right, Sora. We can't give up that easily," Kairi said.
"Right," Sora said, calming down.
"Ven, Bonnie where did you go?" Agumon called out.
In another room, Frogger and Higgins were hiding and they were shaking out of their wits.
"The ghost is after us, I just know it," Higgins said.
"Oh, that ghost definitely doesn't want us to get out of here," Frogger said. "I never thought I'd go out like this. I always thought I would be eaten by alligators or run down by passing cars, but never done in by a ghost."
The group made it back to the main hall.
"Ven, Bonnie, where are you?" Terra called out.
"Sora, remember what you said about being in old houses inhabited by Pokémon?" Clemont asked.
"Yeah," Sora answered.
"I'm starting to think you were right about a Pokémon being here. It has to be a Psychic Type or a Ghost Type Pokémon living in this house," Clemont said.
"That makes sense. That would explain how the doors shut and the lights came on their own," Karen said.
"And what we saw was a Pokémon," Kairi said.
"Eevee," Angel said.
"And that could be why Ven and Bonnie went after it," Aqua said.
"To think we were scared of a little Pokémon the whole time," Meowth said.
"Pika, Pika, Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"No, I was not more scared than the rest of you!" Meowth argued.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"Hey, don't you gimmie that!" Meowth said.
"Pika!" Thor said, stepping in.
"Good of you to take charge, Thor," Terra said. "Why did that Pokémon lock the doors and windows?"
"I'm guessing that Pokémon locked the doors and windows because it doesn't want us to leave just yet," Clemont said.
"And that's a good guess, Clemont, but why?" Sora asked.
"I don't know," Clemont said, stroking his chin.
Over to Ventus, Bonnie, Sparky, and Dedenne, the little creature was bouncing the ball with its telepathy.
"There it is," Ventus said. "We found you."
"What's your name? Who are you?" Bonnie asked. The little creature stepped out of the shadows, revealing itself to being an Espurr.
"Hey, it's an Espurr," Ventus said.
"Pika," Sparky said.
"It was just the whole time, wasn't it?" Ventus asked.
"It's not a ghost?" Bonnie asked. "Do you live here?" Espurr uses its telepathy to float the ball their way. Bonnie took the ball in her hand. She threw the ball back to Espurr, and it caught the ball. It sends the ball to Ventus and he caught it. He threw it right back. Espurr catches the ball with its psychic powers and threw it to Bonnie. She threw it right back as she laughed. Ventus laughed right along with her. Espurr threw it right to Sparky, and he threw it back to Espurr. Dedenne waved his little arms. Espurr the threw the ball high to Dedenne. He caught the ball, but he fell forward. Bonnie leapt to catch him. Ventus dove to catch her, but Espurr uses its psychic powers to catch them. Espurr uses Psychic to place them back on their feet. "Hey, how did we do that?"
"We didn't, but Espurr did. Espurr used its psychic powers to keep us from falling," Ventus said.
"Espurr, purr, purr, purr," Espurr nodded.
"Thanks!" Bonnie said.
"Denne, ne!" Dedenne said.
"You were the one who turned on the lights, and then locked all the doors, and all the windows, right?" Ventus asked.
"Espurr, purr, purr!" Espurr said.
"Why did you do that?" Bonnie asked.
Espurr led the youngest bunch to another room, using its psychic powers to open the door. They saw it was a playroom. It was filled all sorts of toys.
"I got ya, it was because you wanted someone to play with you," Ventus said.
"Chu," Sparky said.
Espurr led them to the mini-slide and slid down it. Bonnie followed Dedenne, and they both went down. Ventus and Sparky did the same thing. Espurr and Dedenne rode on a wooden Ponyta with Bonnie rocking it.
"Ride the Ponyta, ride the Ponyta!" Bonnie chanted much to the little Pokémon's delight.
In the hallway, creaking sounds can be heard.
"You guys hear that?" Patamon asked.
"I heard it," Meowth said.
"It's gotta be Bonnie and Ven," Clemont said.
"We should keep going," Sora said. They went into a room, and saw two figures in bedsheets. "Hey, who are you?"
"A ghost!" Frogger and Higgins exclaimed in fright. Higgins took out a stone axe and threw it. Sora ducked his head down as Agumon rushed him.
"Agumon, get off of him!" Sora said.
"Yeah, get off of me!" Higgins said. He pushed the dinosaur Digimon off of him. "You didn't have to go nuts on me!"
"Who are you?" Sora asked.
"I'm Master Higgins, and that's Frogger. We got in here to get out of the storm outside," Higgins said.
"How did you two get in here?" Terra asked.
"We got in through the back. We tried to go in through the backdoor, but that was locked, so we climbed in through the windows, but it shut and we got locked inside," Frogger explained.
"So much for going through the back for the exit," Veemon said.
"But what are you doing here?" Higgins asked.
"Getting out of the storm, and we came in through the front," Meowth said.
"That's what we were looking for," Frogger said.
"What's with the bedsheets? You trying to scare us off from here?" Kairi asked.
"Oh, these. They're supposed to keep us warm, because we're cold," Frogger said.
"And we were soaked," Higgins added. A thud is heard.
"What was that?" Frogger asked.
"Something just went bump in the night," Meowth said.
"It's gotta be Ven and Bonnie," Aqua said.
Back in the playroom, the wooden Ponyta fell over with Espurr and Dedenne levitating in the air.
"Sorry, it fell over," Bonnie apologized. Espurr uses its psychic powers to lift the wooden Ponyta, and place it back upwards.
"Now that's what I call a quick fix," Ventus said.
"Purr, purr, Espurr," Espurr said.
"Denne, ne, ne, ne, ne," Dedenne said, pointing at the pendant.
"Espurr?" Espurr asked.
"That's a pretty pendant," Bonnie said. Espurr jumped off the wooden Ponyta, and walked towards the door.
"Where are you going?" Ventus asked.
"Espurr, Espurr," Espurr said. Ventus, Bonnie, Sparky, and Dedenne followed the restraint Pokémon to a room they were in earlier.
"We've seen that painting before," Bonnie said. Espurr floats up to the painting and points to the pendant on the painting.
"Espurr, Espurr, Espurr, Espurr," Espurr said, pointing to the pendant on the painting, and the one it's wearing.
"It's the same pendant, isn't it?" Ventus asked.
"It is," Bonnie said. "But why?"
"Purr, purr, Espurr, purr," Espurr said.
"We can't understand what you're saying, Espurr," Ventus said. "Would be easier if Meowth were here, he could tell us what you're saying."
Outside, Sora, Kairi, Karen, Terra, Aqua, Clemont, Pikachu, Angel, Meowth, Blossom, Thor, Eclair, the Digimon, Frogger, and Higgins could hear them.
"It's Ven," Sora said.
"And Bonnie has to be with him," Clemont said.
"Better head in that room to see," Tentomon said.
The group went into the room, and saw Ventus, Bonnie, Sparky, and Dedenne with Espurr.
"Ven!" Sora, Kairi, Karen, Terra, and Aqua said.
"Bonnie!" Clemont also said.
The youngest members of the group turned to see the older kids.
"Sora, Terra, Aqua, Kairi, Karen," Ventus said.
"Clemont!" Bonnie said.
"We were so worried about the both of you," Biyomon said.
"You should never ever run off like that," Clemont scolded his sister.
"That goes to you, too, Ven," Sora said. "We thought something bad happened to you."
"We're sorry, Sora," Ventus apologized.
"We were only playing with that Pokémon up there," Bonnie said, pointing to Espurr.
"An Espurr," Kairi said.
"I knew it, it was a Pokémon after all," Sora said.
"Pika, Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"Espurr, Espurr, purr, purr, Esp, Espurr, Espurr, Espurr," Espurr said.
"Meowth, you can understand what Espurr is saying, you should translate for us," Karen said.
"I sure can. Espurr is saying she wants to return the pendant to the lady in the painting," Meowth translated.
"Is that what it's all about?" Frogger asked.
"Espurr, Espurr, Esp, Espurr, purr," Espurr said.
"She said she took really good care of Espurr," Meowth translated. "She even fed her, and played with her. That ball was one of the toys she gave her. They used to play together all the time. So that pendant was a gift she got from her hubby. So, she gave Espurr the pendant to hold on to it for her. Then one day, she came back to return her pendant, but was just gone."
"That explains a whole lot," Sora said.
"Pika," Pikachu said.
"She was waiting for the lady to come back for all this time," Kairi said. "She wanted to give that pendant back to her."
"She must liked you a lot if she let you wear that pretty pendant like she did," Bonnie said.
"Denne," Dedenne said.
"Espurr, Espurr, purr, Espurr," Espurr said.
"Now, Espurr wants to find out where the old lady went off to," Meowth translated.
"I'm afraid we don't know, Espurr," Sora said.
"But if it would help, we could help find out," Kairi said.
"Purr, Espurr," Espurr said.
Just then, the storm stopped and a car pulled up on the driveway. A woman stepped out and walked inside. She went up the stairs.
"I wonder if that woman lived here all by herself," Clemont said.
"Are you talking about grandma Lacey?" The woman asked. Everyone turned to see her.
"Grandma Lacey?" Sora asked.
"That's her in that painting. That's my grandmother," the woman said.
"Does that mean you own this place?" Karen asked.
"That's right. My name's Elise. So, who might you be?" Elise asked.
"I'm Sora, and this is my twin sister Karen, and my cousin Ventus," Sora introduced.
"I'm Kairi."
"I'm Terra."
"My name's Aqua."
"I'm Clemont, and this is my sister Bonnie."
"I'm Agumon."
"Gabumon."
"I'm Biyomon."
"I'm Tentomon."
"I'm Palmon."
"Gomamon."
"Patamon."
"Gatomon."
"Veemon."
"Wormmon."
"Hawkmon."
"I'm Armadillomon."
"Higgins."
"And I'm Frogger."
"And I just wanna say we're all sorry for trespassing here, it's just we thought nobody lived here, and we needed shelter from the rain," Sora said.
"It's no problem. You did what you had to, just to get out of that awful storm," Elise said. She looked at the Espurr, and saw she's wearing the pendant. "Where did you get that pendant?"
"Your grandma gave her that pendant," Kairi said.
"So, this Espurr knew my grandmother back then. She used to play with me when I came for a visit," Elise said. "I'm going to guess she did the same thing with you." She smiled.
"Espurr, Espurr," Espurr said.
"Where is your grandma now, Elise?" Ventus asked.
"Is she living somewhere else now?" Frogger asked. Elise gave a sad expression on her face.
"No. I'm afraid she passed away," Elise said. Espurr was saddened by the news. She had no idea she was dead.
"We're sorry to hear that," Terra said. Espurr levitated the pendant to Elise. She took it and looked right at her.
"Espurr, purr, Espurr, Espurr," Espurr said.
"Espurr was waiting for your grandmother to come back, just so she could give it back to her," Kairi said.
"Thank you. I am grateful," Elise said. "This place was scheduled to be torn down, because it's in pretty bad shape. The reason I came by was to see how bad it was. But after all of this, meeting all of you, I have changed my mind. Instead, I'm going to renovate this place."
"Purr," Espurr said.
"Don't worry, grandma Lacey's portrait will stay exactly where it is. And once it's all finished, I'm going to move in. And you know what? I'll be thrilled if you come and play," Elise said. Espurr beamed. "Do you wanna come to the cemetery grandma Lacey is right now? You can tell her all about the pendant, and say goodbye."
"Espurr," Espurr said.
A few minutes later, everyone all stepped outside as Elise and Espurr went into the car.
"I'm sure you'll take good care of Espurr," Sora said.
"Of course," Elise replied. "I think Espurr and I will make good friends."
"Take care, Espurr," Bonnie said.
"Don't forget about us, and we won't forget about you," Ventus said.
"Espurr," Espurr said.
Elise drove off with the group waving goodbye. Espurr sat in the passenger's seat, holding a purple flower.
"You know, Espurr, I think you should hold on to the pendant instead of me. I'm sure that's what grandma Lacey would want," Elise said. Espurr levitates the pendant around her neck. "It suits you well. And that's a pretty flower."
Two hearts are connected by one woman, and they demonstrated the bond between Pokémon and human beings being as strong as ever.