Hey! Sorry for updating late again, but the week's usual busy schedule got even more full due to Halloween. Man, I really should have done the Lavender Town chapter after Viridian City. Didn't really think about that one.

In fact, I'm going to just halt the Kanto trip arc for just a moment. It's been taking away from what HOPL is supposed to be and it feels wrong to post HOPL's 40th chapter during Halloween and not have it be Halloween-related.

So without further ado, here's chapter 40 of House of Pokémon Legends!

Chapter 40: House of Spooked Legends

"Oh, what do you know about Halloween?" Nate scoffs at Ruby, who frowns and forcefully takes the flashlight away from him.

It's October 31st, which means it's time for the House's annual Halloween party. It's my first one, so I don't really know what to expect.

The living room was decorated so the sofa are gone and replaced by a circle of bean bags. This is where most of us are seated, with May's Rock Star Pikachu standing in the middle and holding a Light Ball so it's just light enough to see each other. Kris wanted to use her Ampharos, but everyone else agreed it was just too big.

Those who are old enough (i.e, everyone in the House but the Unova2 and Kalos Legends) can instead stay in the kitchen, where Diamond is serving everyone drinks.

Currently, the Kanto, Johto and Unova1 Legends are the only ones there (apart from Diamond) and everyone else is in the living room telling spooky stories from their region.

"I know a lot." Ruby speaks with the flashlight under his chin, despite the fact that May's Pikachu waddled over to him and rose her Light Ball towards him.

"Apart from the usual parties and stuff in Mauville City, what we did in Hoenn when Halloween came along was sneak into the abandoned ship in Route 108. People said that actual ghosts roamed the dead ship because they had nowhere else to go. They died slowly and horribly, the Hoenn seawater filling their lungs and making them gasp, only to let in even more water. It was also said that the reason that they died was the fact that the workers in the ship were forced to stay because they didn't work hard enough. The bosses worked their employees so hard they were too tired to run when the ship started sinking. "

Nate rolls his eyes.

"Oooooh! Tired worker ghosts! So spooky!"

"Well we didn't really need any spooky stories, we already had enough with the impending doom of Groudon and Kyogre. If I wasn't there, I'm sure they would've consumed the whole world."

Nate shakes his head in response.

"Big deal. We all have Legendaries to deal with. White Kyurem would have done the same."

May scoffs.

"No, I don't think you understand the gravity of their power. It wouldn't have just been Hoenn, it would have been the entire world. Imagine the whole world in a constant drought, or in a constant deluge. Groudon's beams flying across the sky, or Kyogre's typhoons creating entire tornadoes of water. What do you even have in Unova that's creepier than the abandoned ship anyway?"

Nate now looks away and mutters,

"The Strange House."

"What's that?"

"The Strange House at the base of Reversal Mountain. Rosa and I found it after beating the League." He explains.

"We thought it was just an abandoned mansion at first, but then we soon realized that all the old furniture in it constantly shook without a reason. They even rearranged when we traveled between floors. The wooden floor creaked even when we didn't move, and footsteps would occasionally sound from afar. Creeped out but determined to find out the truth, we delved even deeper into the house and found some books in the downstairs library. They mentioned Cresselia, Darkrai, Drowzee and Hypno. When we went back up, we caught a glimpse of a young woman roaming the house. The strange thing was, she was floating. She made no sounds, only slid her feet across the floor and didn't look back. We chased her, but she just cried out stuff and disappeared."

"I recognized her from the bridge."

Rosa says and leans on Nate's shoulder, remembering vividly.

"I was walking along the Marvelous Bridge once, picking up feathers to improve my Pokémon. Near the end, I saw a young woman in a yellow blouse standing on the edge of the bridge. She was completely silent and completely immobile. I got close to her, but she disappeared there, too. When we met her in the house, she said,

'An everlasting dark dream...
An endless dream of darkness...
Dad, Mom, Abra...Where are you...?'

when we first saw her, and said

'In the dark dream...
I heard my dad's voice...
Forget about the Lunar Wing...
Please stay here with me...'

the second time.

When we got to the middle room in the upper floor, we found the Lunar Wing and picked it up. The girl finally appeared in front of us and said her final words:

'Oh...
The Lunar Wing...
I can't take it now...
But it'll be OK...
Please return the wing to the Pokémon...
I was waiting on the bridge so I could return it myself...'"

Rosa sighs.

"After a while, we figured out what happened. The ghost girl was a girl that used to play with her Abra around the Marvelous Bridge before Black and Hilda's adventure. For whatever reason, a Darkrai attacked her and put her to an eternal sleep. One of her parents went looking for a Lunar Wing in the bridge to save her, but they didn't make it in time. Darkrai had already consumed her soul by using Dream Eater and killing her in her sleep, trapping her forever in his eternal nightmare. Once she was trapped, Darkrai beckoned the girl to stay with him by appearing to her as her father, telling her to forget about the Lunar Wing and stay with him. The parents left, but her ghost stayed because she wanted to return the Lunar Wing to Cresselia. We did it for her, finally putting her spirit to rest."

She finishes the story, instilling silence upon the room.

Dawn nods.

"And I thought the Old Chateau was creepy."

Everyone knows the Old Chateau. It's probably the most famous 'creepy place' apart from Lavender Town because it's so blatant with its hauntings. Other places might be spooky, but they're not as direct. Old Chateau literally had multiple ghosts floating around, Gengar who'd possess portraits to look at you and a hidden story that's just as horrible as the Strange House.

"Well you two are awfully quiet." Dawn looks at Serena and me.

"Don't you have a story in Kalos to tell?"

Serena and I share glances.

"Well, yes and no." She explains.

"There is a Scary House in Route 14, but it's not at all like yours. It's just an old small house with an old man in it that tells stories for change."

The others frown.

"It goes like this:

'It was a dark and stormy night many years ago. Lost, I arrived at this house and went inside. The lights would not turn on, so I fearfully looked around the house. Eventually, I made my way into the kitchen. There was no sign of anyone being there... I found the fridge, and when I opened it, a faint light leaked out. I could finally make out my surroundings. And I saw the faint outline of a man huddling in the corner of the room. I tried to tell him that I was lost and I was hoping he'd let me stay until morning, but when I approached him... The man suddenly screamed,

'Stay back!' I apologized and continued to plead my case.

'Please, can't you help me?'

'I'm not talking to you!' he shouted. I looked at the man in surprise. When I did this, the man asked me...

'Can't you see them? Behind you!'

'A horde of faceless men!'"

Their frowns still aren't gone.

"That's not very spooky." Nate frowns.

Serena shrugs.

"We thought so too. In any case, that's not really the scary thing in Kalos. Calem could tell you about that."

I sigh and prepare myself.

"A while after our encounter with the old man, we revisited Lumiose to update our looks. When I was done, Serena told me she still couldn't decide on what to wear and told me to wait. Instead of doing so, I left and visited all the buildings I hadn't gone to before. There was one building with almost nobody in it. Curious, I went in and got on the elevator. Once I got out on the second floor, the lights suddenly blinked and I stopped. The lights went out and reappeared again. It happened one more time and I suddenly felt a cold breeze on my back. Paralyzed by fear, I stood still and watched as a Ghost Girl floated around and then past me. She stopped without looking at me and said,

'No, you're not the one...'

She then disappeared and I never saw her again. I told Serena about it but she didn't believe me. I went there multiple times afterwards, but I never re-encountered the ghost."

Nate nods.

"Yeah, that's spooky. You're in."

He passes me the plate of Halloween candies.

What is this, The Midnight Society?

"You don't think the others have stories like that?" May points at the 'adults', who are currently laughing with cups in their hands in the living room. Red's hat is backwards. Uh-oh.

"Nah," Nate shakes his head.

"We know way too much about Red and Leaf. Black and Hilda don't really have anything after our story and I don't remember anything really scary about Johto. Maybe Kris' time in the Distortion World. "

Dawn nods.

"Diamond and I have a ton of scary stuff, but you probably already know it. Old Chateau, Giratina, Arceus, there's not much to say that hasn't been said already."

We all nod in agreement and take another bite of our candy. Pikachu nods as well and nibbles on a PokéPuff.

I think we can all come together in our fear. Ruby and Nate hate each other, but there they are, nodding and sharing stories of the abandoned ship and the Strange House.

I can't wait to be friends with them.

Yay! Done in time! Now I can go out with my friends and enjoy the spoopy night!

Laters!