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The waves calmly crashed into the the night as the statue of Maiden's Peak overlooked the vast ocean. "I'm waiting for you, my love." a voice whispered, met only by nature as the island breeze carried it...
Since last time, our heroes have been traveling the ferry from Porta Vista to continue their pokemon journey. Serena, a young new trainer, has decided to join Brock and Ash along the way.
"It's so pretty!" Serena said, spotting an island as she removed her hair from her eyes against the sailing winds.
"Eeeeee" Serena's Eevee echoed the excitement.
"That must be Maiden's Peak!" Ash added.
"Ah. It woulden't matter to me if I never saw land again." Brock moaned.
Serena, without taking her hands off of the ship's rails, looked over at Brock, who stood on the other side of Ash. "What's the matter, Brock? Aren't you looking forward to a nice place to sleep and good food?" she asked.
"Not really. Summer is over, and that means no more bikinis! Not to mention I still don't have a girlfriend!"
Serena gave Brock a funny look. "You'll get used to that." Ash responded with a laugh.
"We would like to welcome all passengers from Porta Vista to the Maiden's Peak annual summer's end festival! a voice announced through a PA system as the passengers of the ferry arrived to the island.
"Sounds like a lot of fun! Look at all of the rides and games!" Serena noted as she observed the attractions the island had to offer.
"Sure does!" Ash agreed.
"PIKA!"
"EEEEEEEEEE"
Pikachu and Eevee joined in on the excitement.
Brock moped behind the gang as they stepped out on the docks, before abruptly stopping in his tracks upon noticing something on the beach. "That girl.. Who is that beautiful girl?" Brock mumbled as he stared in awe at a beautiful woman with long hair and wearing a white dress as she gazed longingly into the ocean.
Pikachu noticed Brock and tried to figure out what caught his attention. The electric mouse honed in on the beach, only to see a brief image of a pokemon that quickly vanished. Pikachu shook its head and continued on.
The gang enjoyed the festivities of Maiden's Peak event, for the most part. Ash and Serena played some games and even won some prizes; Pikachu and Eevee both ran around playing tag. Brock, however, could only think about the girl he saw when he first stepped foot on the island.
"Hey, Brocko. Why don't you have some cotton candy?" Ash offered. Serena nodded in agreement as she happily indulged herself with her own.
Brock shook his head. "All I want to do is talk to that girl." Brock said, almost as if he were in a trance.
Ash and Serena both looked at each other in confusion.
Suddenly, someone poked Brock on the shoulder. He eagerly turned around, hoping it was the woman he set his sights on earlier. To the contrary, it was a short, elderly woman in a purple robe who walked with a staff.
"AAHHH!" Brock shouted.
"Stay away from that young, beautiful woman you speak of, or you will meet a cruel fate!" the elderly woman warned.
"The girl on the beach! I have to meet her!" Brock declared.
Ash put his hands on his hips with a baffled expression as he tried to figure out what was going on. Serena, also looking perplexed, seemed to focus intently on the elderly woman as she walked away and dissapeared into the large crowd.
Later that evening, the group joined a gathering of people near a shack who were gathered to view some sort of presentation about the island's history and background on Maiden's Rock.
"Around 2,000 years ago, the Maiden watched her lover set sail to fight a great war," a man proclaimed to the crowd as he unveiled a portrait of this Maiden. "She waited and waited, but he never returned. The legends claim that the very Maiden's Rock we see today is the body of the Maiden, who turned to stone as she stayed in that spot for all those years."
"That's her! That's the beautiful woman I saw on the beach!" Brock insisted. He stood up and confronted the man giving the presentation, "Where is Maiden's Rock?" he asked.
"Maiden's Rock is just over that hill, "The bewildered man said as he pointed to the direction of Maiden's Rock. Brock, without hesitating, headed that way. Ash and Serena looked at each other, reluctantly following Brock.
Without any sign of movement or concern for his surroundings, Brock sat calmly on Maiden's Peak as he stared deeply at the Maiden's Rock. As if he were entranced by its beauty, Brock romanticized over the thought of meeting the Maiden in real life.
"No matter how long you look at it, a rock's a rock, Brock," Ash said, trying to convince his friend to snap out of it.
"Ash is right! Let's go back to the festival!" Serena pleaded. Serena's Eevee and Ash's Pikachu concurred with their trainers.
"You two go on ahead, I want to stay here for awhile." Brock responded in a dismissive tone. Ash and Serena looked at each other with mutual disappointment. "You know where we're staying, right?" Serena asked.
"The Pokemon Center in town; yeah, I know." he responded. Ash grabbed his bag, but he looked back at Brock, hesitating to leave.
"I'll be fine." Brock insisted. With that, Ash and Serena left Brock to stare at the rock in the loneliness of the moonlit night.
Later that night at the pokemon center, Ash and Serena tried to enjoy some coffee even though Brock worried both of them. The clock struck midnight, signifying the beginning of curfew for all of the trainer staying at the center for the night.
"I'm going to go get him," Ash said as he stood up and grabbed his backpack.
"Not so fast! If you're staying here, you are not allowed to leave!" Nurse Joy insisted.
"Sorry, I'm not leaving Brock!" Ash shot back as he exited the center, followed by Serena.
"It seems your friend is under the influence of the Maiden's spirit; just like I had anticipated." the old woman from earlier said; she stood just outside of the pokemon center entrance. Ash and Serena both came to a halting stop.
"How do we snap him out of it!?" Ash responded.
"Hmm..." the old lady pondered. "There's nothing you can do. You may as well let the spirit do what it will."
"No way! We're gonna fight!" Ash spat as he continued on towards the rock. Serena followed, quietly looking back at the old woman with a skeptical expression as she walked.
Upon arriving to the rock, Brock was literally floating in the air, still entranced by the Maiden, who now took form in a spiritual embodiment of herself.
"Brock!" Ash exclaimed.
"The spirit of the Maiden!" Serena shouted in fear. "What if she lures in hopeless men like Brock and carries them off into another dimension!?" Serena hypothesized in a spooked tone.
Ash looked at her with wide eyes. "No way!" he exclaimed.
Suddenly, a horde of transparent skulls formed near Ash and Serena, they eerily laughed as they flew around the duo, scarring them both, along with Pikachu and Eevee. "What kind of pokemon are these?" Ash asked as he panicked and grabbed his pokedex, scouting every direction, trying to explain the phenomena. Serena held onto his arm, trying not to look at the weird skulls.
"It's no good! Dexter isn't coming up with anything!" Ash said. Then, he aimed his pokedex over at the spirit of the maiden.
Gastly, the ghost pokemon. It is usually invisible. Gastly specializes in Hypnosis. the pokedex read.
"It's a ghost pokemon!" Serena proclaimed.
"Correct. I am also the spirit of the lonely maiden. Or the old lady who warns tourists. But ultimately, I will always be GASTLY!" the ghost pokemon said.
"IT CAN TALK?" Ash and Serena asked in unison.
"Give us back Brock!" Ash demanded.
"I'm afraid I can't do that!" Gastly responded.
"Then I'll just have to fight! Pikachu: Thunderbolt!" Ash exclaimed. Pikachu dashed towards Gastly.
"This mouse could use a mouse trap!" Gastly said as it created a large mouse trap from thin air that chased Pikachu behind Ash's legs. "Eevee: Quick Attack!" Serena commanded, not realizing the attack would have no effect. Eevee coward down none the less, as Gastly fiercely hovered above them as the spooky darkness of the night seemed to get even darker as a cloud appeared to cover the moon.
"Charmander: Ember!" Ash said as he called out his fire-type. Charmander tried to attack, but Gastly created a large fire-extinguisher that scared it off. Ash snarled as he recalled Charmander. "Bulbasaur: I choose you!"
"Squirtle: let's go!" Serena said as she summoned her water-type. Bulbasaur and Squirtle stared down Gastly. "I see. But what will you do with this!? Venasaur and Blastoise! Or better yet? Venastoise!" Gastly said as it conjured up a image of the two fully evolved pokemon fusing together. This made Bulbasaur and Squirtle flee the battle almost instantly.
"That's it. It's just too strong!" Ash spat as he clinched his fists.
"Brock. No.." Serena said desperately as she watched her new friend float in the air, still admiring Maiden's Rock. Just then, a blue pulsating attack that took the form of a dragon's head pelted Gastly like a powerful hail storm. The ghost pokemon was well beyond taken aback by the attack. Ash and Serena both jerked back to trace the source of the attack.
"LEAF?!" Ash exclaimed as his rival stood just a few feet behind he and Serena.
Without warning, Leaf hurled a pokeball over to Gastly. The ball opened up, captured the ghost-type inside, and shook slowly. Everyone watched closely in anticipation.
The light from the pokeball turned off, and the ball stopped shaking.
"You... You caught it?" Serena uttered in disbelief.
Brock, who was previously suspended in the air due to Gastly's powers, fell towards the violent waves crashing up against the shores of the island. Leaf had her Dragonair retrieve him before he could hit the water and safely bring him back up.
"Leaf, how did you..." Ash asked, trying to piece together what just happened.
"I talked to one of the locals earlier. They told me that they believed a ghost-pokemon was behind all of this stuff, but they couldn't prove it. Turns out they were right," Leaf replied as she picked up her pokeball containing Gastly.
"I knew there was something off about the old woman, I just couldn't put my finger on it!" Serena noted aloud.
Leaf closed her eyes and nodded, "I think this Gastly wanted to maintain the tradition of this island by keeping the maiden's story alive. It's exceptionally powerful, so maybe I can put that to good use."
"Leaf. I can't say thanks enough for helping Brock." Ash said in a rare moment of kindness to his rival.
"I also didn't like seeing this Gastly toy with emotions like that. The maiden should be respected."
"What do you mean, Leaf?" Serena inquired. Leaf briefly glanced over at Ash then turned her back to leave, "I know what it's like to long for something that will never happen." she said quietly as she walked away.
Serena looked over at Ash and then back at Leaf, trying to figure out what that was all about. Ash was relatively unresponsive, seeming to be more focused on Brock.
The next night, everyone gathered around a fire outside and enjoyed the closing ceremonies of Maiden's Peak, many people danced, while some simply enjoyed the scenery.
"Leaf's getting stronger. We have to keep getting stronger, too!" Ash told Pikacu with a clinched fist as he overlooked the ceremonies.
"Hey, Ash," Serena said as she snapped Ash out of his deep thoughts. She wore a beautiful red kimono as her looks invited all of Ash's attention, despite having his mind on training.
"Serena..." Ash uttered in awe with a slight blush across his face.
"Want to dance?" she nervously asked.
Ash smiled and nodded as the two made their way closer to the fire where everyone else danced the night, and the Maiden's Peak ceremonies away. Pikachu and Eevee also danced together next to their trainers.
Brock stared longingly at Maiden's Rock, with the sight still barely being in view of the festival.
"Sorry about what happened." a voice said, breaking his trance.
"Oh, hi Leaf." Brock responded.
"You know, living in this world can be weird," she said as she stood next to him, gazing into the night sky.
"What do you mean?"
"Sometimes I think we almost lose ourselves when we pay so much attention to whatever we do with our pokemon. It's like we forget about each other... I don't know.."
Brock was unsure how to respond to this brand new side of Leaf he was not aware of, especially considering he hardly knew her to begin with. "Yeah. Hey? So what did you mean when you saved me about -"
"Let's dance." Leaf said, cutting him off. After a few seconds of hesitating, Brock smiled and the two enjoyed a dance.
As the final night on the island concluded, many new adventures back on the Kanto region await our heroes as the journey continues...