AJ was in no mood for yet another fight. He was tired, and not looking forward to any more conflict tonight. His hand lowered to Jaws' Pokéball as he took a step towards the door. The red eye greeting him through the glass window did not even blink, instead it just glared back wrathfully.

"Ugh. What's that thing? It's creepy..." Melody backed up several steps, wrinkling her nose in dismay.

"It's probably just a ghost-type Pokémon." Eeveen stepped forward and pushed the door open. "Pokémon don't bother me. Not even ghost-types." Eeveen walked into the entryway of the hotel. "Come on guys. We should just ignore it."

"Ignore it?!" Melody shook her head, clearly upset with the suggestion, "How about this: we go somewhere else!" Melody crossed her arms and scowled at Eeveen. "I am not going in there! Period!"

"Relax, will you!" Eeveen shook his head. "AJ, c'mere. Show that scaredy-cat there's nothing to worry about."

AJ bit his lip. He wasn't so sure about this. This was the only hotel in a small town like Aspertia though. Still, he was liking Melody's idea much better the more he thought about it. That taunting look Eeveen was giving him though... AJ shook his head and sighed. Maybe he was over thinking it. It was just a Pokémon, right? AJ followed Eeveen into the lobby, moving slowly in the dim light. The lobby seemed ordinary enough and that realization calmed him somewhat. It had to be much later than he thought; the reception desk was unattended. AJ looked back to Melody, casting a wary glance towards that sinister eye. Maybe he could see what it actually was...

It was gone.

There was no sign of that creepy eye or its owner anywhere. The Pokémon was gone. AJ shook his head and sighed in relief. How could he have been so unnerved by that, anyway? Maybe it belonged to the receptionist or something. He chuckled in relief and turned back to Melody. "Hey, Melly, it's gone. Come on in, I'm sleepy..."

Melody seemed unconvinced. "Oh, really?" She paused several moments, sighing when neither AJ nor Eeveen budged at her protest. AJ felt bad for her. He couldn't blame her for not wanting to stay here. He didn't want to stay in this creepy hotel either, for Mew's sake! He forced a smile, just as well to comfort his own nerves as to convince her.

Melody reluctantly walked into the lobby, drawing out Ivory's Pokéball. "You two seriously owe me. This place is gonna give me nightmares!"

"What, you scared of the dark?" Eeveen shrugged, "Don't worry about it. I got us rooms right next to each other. If you get spooked just-"

"Shut up!" Melody snapped, stamping a foot defiantly, "It's not like that! It's...ugh. Forget it, you weirdo! Where's the damn rooms at?!"

AJ scowled at Eeveen. He didn't appreciate Eeveen's attitude one bit, and he was going to let him know it in no small way. "Dammit, Eeveen! Why're you being so smug, huh?!" AJ scolded, waving a hand at Eeveen irritably, "Don't taunt Melly! She's had a rough time, so cut her some slack!"

Eeveen's head sunk and he kicked at the carpet. He resembled a whipped Houndour, and AJ felt a little bad seeing his hapless reaction. "I...I didn't mean it like that. Sorry. Don't get so mad, guys..." Eeveen held out three keys. "Um, here's the keys. Take your pick..."

Melody quickly snatched a key from Eeveen, still unrelenting in her glaring. "You're kind of a jerk. Now, good night!" At that last sentence, she stormed off down the hallway in a rage.

"This is why I don't get humans..." Eeveen sighed, extending his hand to AJ next. "Key?"

He took the key marked "314" and shrugged. "Let's both of us go get some sleep. I bet we'll all be in a better mood tomorrow."

Eeveen nodded. "Yeah. I'll be in...room...um..." He looked down at the one remaining key in his hand. "What room is this key to, anyway? I can't read this thing..."

AJ took the key from Eeveen and examined it. It was not any different from his own key and its tag said "313". "Follow me, Eeveen. It's gonna be right by my room."

As he made his way down the hallway, he couldn't help but notice how dimly-lit this place was. The light was kind of gloomy, and he noted that several of the hall-lights were completely dark. The black-brown walls seemed to suck up the light here, and the grimy, gray carpet was so threadbare that he felt the concrete base-floor beneath his shoes. AJ couldn't help but shiver a little. Was it just his imagination playing tricks on him, or did this place seem kind of drafty all of a sudden? He pulled his jacket closer to him and cast a glance at Eeveen, but he seemed oblivious to the ominous atmosphere. Lucky devil. AJ sorely wished he had Eeveen's blissfully absentminded attitude right now...

"Well, here's Room 314." AJ noted, sighing in dismay at the worn door. If its peeling, grimy paint and dirty-looking doorknob was any hint, the room behind those doors would be equally disappointing. Great. He certainly wasn't looking forward to this stay at all.

He walked over to the next door down the hall, searching for Room 313. That next one was marked "Room 316", so he went across the hallway instead. It had to be there. Room 314, Room 312, Room 310...maybe he was wrong? It had to be around somewhere... He walked back across the hallway, searching the doors again. Room 311, Room 315, Room 317...

Something wasn't quite right here. Where was Room 313? "Um, Eeveen?"

"Hm?" Eeveen looked up at AJ. He was petting Lunaria, obviously not paying AJ's search any attention. "Did ya find my room?"

"Well...that's the weird part." AJ scratched his head, puzzled at the situation, "I see Room 315, Room 314, Room 312, and Room 311, but not Room 313."

"Huh? Why not?" Eeveen stood back up, scooping up Solaris as Lunaria jumped and took up a spot on his shoulders. "I thought you knew what you were doing here. You know I can't read!"

"Don't blame me! Room 313 doesn't look like it exists. Maybe the owner's superstitious or something."

"Weird. Why would my room not exist? That makes no sense..."

"Looks like we have no choice but to share a room. Its right here." AJ slid his room key into the lock, opening the door with a noisy groan.

The room was even more depressing than the hallway. The walls and carpet were identical to the hallway. Two barely-made double-beds with only one threadbare blanket each, stood on opposite sides of the room. Between the two beds, a rather wobbly-looking pine table sat. A very dusty Parat-shaped lamp sat on the tabletop, an jarringly-cute (and rather pitiful) attempt at decorating this place. In spite of this being a ground-level room, there was not a single window or light in here. Clearly, there was not a single attempt to make this room inviting, save that pathetic lamp.

AJ sighed dejectedly. What a dismal letdown. He stepped into the room, looking the lamp over. He found the switch and flipped it. The Patrat's ears were the light-bulbs, and AJ was temporarily blinded by the sudden brightness of the unshaded bulbs. He stumbled back a few steps, tripped, and landed flat on his back, hitting the floor painfully. AJ groaned and blinked, pulling himself to his feet in a daze. The lamp did surprisingly little to brighten the room. Now that AJ's eyes weren't watering anymore, he could see that the room was still just as gloomy with the light as without. Swell. Just what he needed. AJ grumbled to himself, pulling the door shut behind him as he ambled over to the left-most bed. AJ flopped down on the bed, recoiling at the stiff, creaky mattress and musty-smelling sheets. AJ shook his head, cursing under his breath. He was more than a little cranky by now. AJ decided he better try to sleep anyway. It had to be well-past midnight already; he could hear the nighttime buzzing and screeching of the Venipedes and Karrablast outside. AJ grabbed his pillow furiously and jammed his face under it. This was not going to be a good night, and he fumed quietly from under his pillow as he struggled to shut out the increasingly distracting noises all around him. He had no idea how long he laid there, trying desperately to ignore the racket, but he finally sat back up to turn out that annoyingly bright light. Having shut off the lamp, AJ finally fell back, falling asleep before he even hit his pillow.

AJ was still half-asleep when he felt his shoulder being shaken. AJ pulled away and rolled onto his back. Was it morning already? He was still so tired from last night. "Just a bit longer, Eeveen," AJ mumbled, settling back down into the bed.

"AJ? AJ? Come on, get up!" AJ groaned and crammed his pillow over his ears. Surely another hour wouldn't kill him! Just then, he felt a second pillow hit him in the face. "Wake up AJ! This is no time to be like that!"

AJ shot to a sitting pose, momentarily disoriented. "Eeveen..." AJ was very angry at being woken up like that. He shot a fearsome glare at Eeveen, who was holding the pillow back for another hit. "I swear if you do that one more time, I'll kick your pyscho Eevee ass!"

Eeveen simply dropped the pillow and shrugged. "Well, you're awake, right?"

AJ just stared, folding his arms and scowling at his companion. Sometimes, that ditz could be such a pain! "Seriously? That's what you've got?! Not cool, Eeveen!"

"AJ, this is important! Get mad later! Come look at this!" Eeveen rushed over to the nightstand and turned on the lamp.

What the lamp revealed left AJ wondering just how hard Eeveen hit him.

The room was nothing like the one he had fallen asleep in. It was painted a garish, pasty pink color, and the carpet was plush and blue. The beds resembled children's beds and they were painted a playful shade of green. Even that rickety table looked totally different: it was the same green as the beds and built in a chunky style suited for kids. There was a pile of six stuffed Pokémon dolls posed neatly in front of the table too: a Pikachu, a Clefairy, a Riolu, a Magby, an Elekid, and a Ralts. It would have been quite a cute lineup in any other situation. The only sign that this was even remotely related to the hotel room, was that Patrat-lamp. Except this one was clean and new and a lampshade sat over its lightbulb-ears.

AJ forgot his anger in his sheer bewilderment. "Eeveen? What happened to the room?"

"I know! Freaky, huh?"

AJ shook his head. Freaky was one way of putting it. He knew he didn't fall asleep in some weird kids' playroom. He was sure of that. "Eeveen, this could be bad. Let's go find Melody."

If Eeveen had looked any more shocked, his Eevee ears would have shot straight up. "Oh! I can't believe I forgot about her! Yeah, let's go." AJ got up from the bed, following Eeveen to the door. Eeveen opened the door to the hallway, revealing a scene that made no sense. The rooms down this hallway all had the same number above the doors.

Room 313.

"Whoa." Eeveen froze in the doorway. "I don't remember this stuff."

AJ swallowed hard. "Me neither." AJ nudged Eeveen's back. "C'mon, move. One of these doors has to be the right one here."

"Uh..." Eeveen back-stepped away. "Y-you first."

AJ shook his head and pushed past Eeveen. Sure, he wasn't feeling all that confident either, but he was determined not to let it stop him from figuring this mess out. He decided to try the room straight across the hall first. That used to be Room 315 last night: Melody's room, if he remembered right. AJ raised his fist up, preparing to knock at the door. Before his hand even touched that green door, a blood-curdling scream pierced his ears and caused him to leap away in startled shock. His thoughts darkened at the notion that it was Melody.

"M-M-Melly!?" AJ grabbed the doorknob and turned it hard. It was locked, of course. "Melody! S-say something! Hey!" AJ rattled the doorknob to no avail. It was shut tight. "I'll break it open if you don't-!" The doorknob twisted in his hand, and the door yanked itself open. Melody was standing there, looking like she was still half-asleep. Her head was down and she didn't seem terribly happy.

AJ sighed in relief. "Melly! Thank Mew you're okay! I was worried when...you..." Melody looked up at him, and what AJ saw made his voice freeze up. Melody's eyes were glowing red and there was a rather somber expression on her face. She was floating a few inches off the floor, and she resembled a marionette whose strings were being pulled.

"Melly!?" AJ blinked and shook his head. "Wait...you can't be...Melody...?"

"Melody" just stared at him, unblinking and unresponsive. Then suddenly, Melody seemed to strain, scrunching her face and muttering out a few chilling words.

"Get...out...of...my...HOUSE!"