Hey Everyone! Two chapters, two weeks in a row! And they said I was unreliable.

I mean, I am. But still . . . rude.

I don't have too much to say about the chapter up here, but I wanted to say "thank you" to everyone who's checked out my channel on YouTube! It's been pretty fun playing Pokémon Green Version with a (very small) audience. Feel free to check out my streams. I normally shoot to air daily sometime between 7 and 9 PM, eastern, but all the streams are recorded as well if you just want something to put on in the background. I'm actually about to jump back on to stream some more since the wife and kids are out of the house. You can find me under the user and channel name "Chiqui's Boy."

Anyway, this chapter is dedicated to Author Of Purpose, who reached out to me on Reddit and asked for my permission to have this story professionally print and bound once complete for their personal use. That was a super sweet request, and something I think I'll do for myself as well, once we're done.

Alright, go ahead! Read and REVIEW PLEASE!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or any of its affiliated companies including, but not limited to, 4Kids, The Pokémon Company, Game Freaks, or Cartoon Network. The characters written within this story are solely based upon the fictional characters created by these companies, and the story is not meant to, nor will it, receive any monetary funding.

Characters' Ages:

Ash: 18

Misty: 19

After some last minute, expensive ticket changes, Ash, Misty, and Pikachu landed in Hearthome City rather than Sunyshore as originally expected. They debated staying the night, but with Ash's tight schedule in jeopardy both agreed it was better to hit the road immediately. As a result, by the time they arrived at their destination it was already late into the night.

"This place seems dead," Misty noted as they got out of the rental vehicle.

"Pika."

Ash had to agree. The small village's main road was completely silent, and all the buildings were dark. Only the lamps alongside the dirt road were lighted.

"Guess things haven't changed. It was pretty small when I was last here years ago, too."

"Where should we go?"

"Ummm, I think this way."

Misty huffed. "You had us drive all this way and you're not sure? I thought you said you would remember once we got here?"

"I mean, I think I do. It's been like four years though, to be fair."

"Well, to be fair, if you're really expecting to be a Pokémon Master, I'd expect you to not overlook a little detail like not finishing your Pokédex!"

"Very productive, Mist! I appreciate the helpful feedback. This is definitely going to help us find her. Way to be useful - "

"Do you even know what her house looks like?"

Ash sighed dejectedly. "No. Like I said, I don't even know what her name was – I just remember she was a crazy old lady who knew a lot about Spiritomb. But I'm pretty sure I was on this street when I first met her."

"You said the town had just been wrecked by a Spiritomb, right?"

"Yeah, it was kind of a mess."

Misty leaned against the car for a moment. "Well, this place is pretty small. And we're both tired after flying and driving all day. I bet if we go to the local motel, they'll know who we're looking for."

"I guess it couldn't hurt." Ash's stomach rumbled. "Maybe they'll have some food too."

"Pikachu!"

She rolled her eyes. "Let's focus on the bigger problem first, shall we?"

"Well, where do you think a motel is?" Up and down the dirt street not a single "Vacancy" sign—or even a "No Vacancy" sign, for that matter—could be seen.

Misty scrolled through her phone. "To be honest, I don't know. Nothing's showing up here."

They finally decided to leave the car and wander until they found someone to ask.

"It looks like there are lights on up ahead." Like most of the local architecture, the building was constructed in the old style, atop a foundation of grey bricks. Through a sliding door of rice paper, a faint glow could be seen.

"I feel bad knocking on a stranger's door this late, but it's starting to seem like our only option."

After they knocked, some rustling could be heard behind the door. When it opened, no one was there.

"What? How could that have happened?"

"Creepy."

"Down here you simpletons!" To their shock, a very old, very short woman was standing directly in front of them. "And you must be simpletons, to be wandering around these streets at night bothering the locals like this."

"It's her!"

"Her? Really?"

"Yeah!"

What are the odds?

"Ma'am, I'm sorry to interrupt your sleep, but - "

"I wasn't sleeping! Didn't you see the candlelight?" She pointed to a dying wax candle on a small table behind her. "I was trying to do some work on my book."

"Oh! I'm sorry to interrupt that, then. But we really needed to talk with you."

"Well come inside then, will you? I'm getting a chill!"

"It's like 80 degrees," Misty whispered to a snickering Ash as they took off their shoes and followed the woman inside. She turned on a small lamp, which revealed a modest living room with a chabudai in the center.

"Do you want tea?"

"Do you have any food?"

"Ash!"

The old woman snorted. "I guess it'd be rude to deny a guest or their Pokémon." She got to work boiling a pot of tea and preparing a plate of tea snacks.

As she did, Misty leaned over. "She doesn't seem to remember you."

"Like I said, it's been a while. Still, I'm kinda surprised. It was a pretty big deal the last time I was here."

After she set out the snacks and poured the tea, the old woman took a seat on a tatami and folded her hands. Pikachu climbed onto the table and started helping himself. "So what can I do for two young troublemakers like yourselves?"

"We're not troublemakers, ma'am. You see, I was here a long time ago; four years, in fact."

"Four years?" The woman scoffed. "Do you know how short a time four years is to someone my age? It may as well have been yesterday!"

"Well then you might remember me! Remember the trainer who sealed Spiritomb back in the Stone Tower?"

The woman's eyes went wide for a moment. "You mean the trainer who unleased Spiritomb on our town, and then fixed his mistake?"

"Er, yes."

"So you are a troublemaker."

"Not on purpose!"

She looked at him sternly for a moment before relaxing into a small smirk. "So it's you! I honestly didn't expect I'd ever meet our town's newest legend again in my lifetime."

Ash smiled. "I'm actually back to ask you about what happened that night."

"Ask away! I'm an expert on anything related to our small village. That includes Spiritomb."

"Well . . . would it be possible to catch it?"

At this the old woman almost spit out her tea mid-sip. "Okay, you really are a troublemaker. Why in the world would you ever want to catch a Pokémon as mean and nasty as Spiritomb? Do you remember what it did to our fair village?"

Ash nodded vigorously. "Of course I do! That's why I came here first: I knew you were the expert. I didn't want to just go out and break the tower again like I did last time. I wanted to do this safely so that the village stayed safe."

"Hmmm."

"If I was a real troublemaker, wouldn't I have just gone out and knocked over the tower again without any warning?"

"You may have a point." With a grunt she got up and shuffled over to a bookcase against the wall. With another grunt she pulled a voluminous book off the top shelf and brought it back to the table.

"This here is my life's work. A history of our small village: from its original founding by the Pearl Clan all the way back in the days of Hisui, to the modern age."

Ash whistled as his fingers ran along the leather binding. "This is huge."

"Of course it is! Did you not hear what I just said?"

"Sorry."

"Anyway," she huffed, turning to Misty, "if you want to go after that Spiritomb, it would be worthwhile to learn of its history. Why don't you take this book and do some research? Then come back to me and let me know if you still want to go after it."

Her voice lowered. "Let me warn you: that's no ordinary Pokémon."

After some lighter discussion—she was surprised to realize Ash was the Sinnoh Champion ("I've never really followed sports")—she allowed the two trainers to spend the night on the floor of her living room.

After breakfast the next morning, the pair opened the book and began studying.

That afternoon, at lunch, neither was very hungry.

"Ma'am, are you sure what you wrote is correct?"

"Are you questioning my integrity?" the old woman scolded as she poured a cup of miso soup.

Misty blushed. "No ma'am. It's just . . . well, that was a terrifying story."

"And the pokédex doesn't have anything like that in its archives," Ash added. "Professor Rowan is famous for his research; I would think if this was true he'd know something about it."

"Just because someone has a piece of paper, that doesn't mean they know everything." She snorted as she sat down. "There are some things in this world that can't be boiled down to mere academic study."

"But . . . all those people. Do you really think they're trapped in Spiritomb?"

"They are Spiritomb."

"The pokédex says that it's a myth Spiritomb is created by evil spirits."

"You had a run-in with Spiritomb before. Do you really think that's a myth?"

"I mean—well, it was very angry, I'll admit that."

"But then, how are there other Spiritomb out there?" Misty questioned. "Cynthia used one in her battle against Ash!"

The old woman shrugged. "History is filled with atrocities. It wouldn't surprise me that this has happened more than once in Sinnoh's history."

Misty shuddered as she replayed the scene laid out in the book. "I just don't want to think that one of those massacres is what we're trying to capture in a pokéball."

"Like I said, it's no ordinary Pokémon. If you want to break it out of the tower again, you need to have a plan."

At this Ash smiled. "That's not a problem. Pikachu and I were able to handle Spiritomb years ago—we're both much stronger now than we were then—Ow!" The old woman smacked him and his Pokémon on the back of the head.

"Chu!"

"That kind of foolish pride is the very thing that will get us all killed!"

"But I was the chosen one, remember?" Ash asked, rubbing the back of his head. "What's changed?"

"Just because you were the chosen one doesn't mean you still are! You were meant to return Spiritomb to its resting place just like the champion of old. There's no prophecy about the champion coming back and letting the spirit of the tower out for a Pokémon battle," she spat.

Misty gave the woman a smile and bowed slightly in respect. "I'm sorry for Ash's attitude."

"Attitude?!"

"Please forgive him. The problem is Spiritomb are, thankfully, very rare and hard to find. We're running a bit behind schedule, and if this doesn't work out we don't know where else we could go to find one."

"You could try one of the old villages founded by the Diamond Clan. I heard they were savages back in the day – plenty of atrocities probably built up on that dirt."

"Even if we could, that would take too much time. And if we found one, it would probably be just as dangerous for the people living near it as the Spiritomb living near your village."

"We wouldn't have someone as knowledgeable about Spiritomb to help guide us, either," Ash chimed.

At this the old woman blushed slightly. "Well, I s'pose you're right about that. Very few know as much about the spirit of the tower as I do."

"And if we unleashed one in another town, without your guidance, it's much more likely someone could get hurt."

Ash leaned in. "Wouldn't it be better for your village to get rid of Spiritomb anyway rather than just sealing it away? Last time I unleashed it was completely by accident. What if another accident happened in the future?"

"Alright, alright. You both make good points."

So it was decided. The woman explained that Spiritomb was unlikely to appear during the day, even if its tower was destroyed. The teens instead went out to a nearby field and trained the rest of the afternoon with Ash's Master team.

"You know, at some point you're gonna have to let me in on your little secret," Misty reminded as she returned a very exhausted Starmie to its pokéball.

"Huh?"

"We keep training the same five Pokémon over and over."

"Uh, yeah. This is my team for the match."

She put her hands on her hips. "Don't play dumb with me—though, of course, you've had plenty of practice. I can assume you won't be facing Red one team member short. So who's this mysterious sixth Pokémon?"

To her surprise, Ash's face broke into a smug grin as he approached her. "You'll just have to wait and see." He kissed the top of her head, and she felt her cheeks blush at the condescension.

"Ash Ketchum! This is not the time for surprises! If you have a trick up your sleeve, we need to practice it so Red is surprised—not me!"

He shrugged nonchalantly as he started back toward the house. "Why can't I surprise the both of you?"

"Because whoever this mystery Pokémon is, they're gonna need training."

"Don't worry, we're practicing."

"Training alone isn't as effective as it is with a partner."

"This Pokémon's a little . . . difficult." Ash unconsciously grabbed his shoulder for a moment. "I think adding another person to the mix would only complicate things. The only other person who knows is Oak."

"Well then why can't I at least know?"

"Because that would spoil the surprise!" He gave her a little wink as she pouted. "I promise, I think this'll be worth the wait."

"It better."

Just as the sun was dipping below the horizon, the two made it back to the small house. They were both drenched in sweat. As Misty chugged a bottle of water the old woman smirked.

"And where were you two all afternoon?"

"Just preparing for my big battle."

Her face dropped. "Oh. Nevermind."

Beckoning them in, she unfolded a large sheet of paper on the table they had been eating at earlier.

"As you can see, I've drawn the village's layout, relative to the tower's location. The goal has to be to contain any battle within this half mile radius. Any closer and we risk devastation."

Ash rubbed his chin as he looked at the marked paper. "So all this," he gestured from the upper right corner down to the lower right, "is all trees, correct?"

"That's right."

"I remember the forest around here being pretty dense. Spiritomb's a ghost, but if it's as evil as you say, it probably won't try to run that way. It'll want to head to town, this way," he pointed to the western portion of the map, "right?"

"If the last time is anything to go by."

"Then we'll have Misty block off this pathway with her Pokémon. But if me and Pikachu manage to take him down he might try for the forest." He took out his pokédex and pushed a few buttons. A pokéball teleported on the table. "I just swapped out one of my Pokémon for Alakazam. His Barrier and Light Screen should be strong enough to keep Spiritomb from running that way."

He pulled a Dusk Ball off his belt. "Normally I like to go with the old fashioned pokéball, but since we're trying to do this quickly I bought this special."

Though she didn't say anything, Misty was impressed. Ash's development into a thoughtful, almost wise, strategist never ceased to amaze her.

"Is everyone good with the plan?"

The women nodded.

Grabbing his baseball cap, he got up and headed for the door.

"Then let's go!"

Author's Notes: I'll admit, part of the reason these two chapters exist is purely due to nostalgia. I remember when I first started this story back in high school, I had originally planned to write out Ash capturing every Pokémon. However, after a few months I started to realize how untenable that plan was given the amount of story I wanted to tell outside of his Pokémon-catching exploits. As a result, it's been quite a while since I went in-depth covering one of his adventures in capturing a new Pokémon, and I wanted to write one more chapter (or two, technically) like this since it was so fun back then. Spiritomb also felt like a cool Pokémon to cover, since the lore around it is so creepy.

At the same time, though, I didn't want this to be pure filler. As always, before writing this chapter I asked myself if this installment progressed the plot, and it does. You may not see how exactly, yet, but I promise it's there.

It was also fun writing this chapter because I had to go back and watch an old episode of the Diamond and Pearl anime for research purposes. If you want to get the background context on the old lady, the town, and the Spiritomb from this chapter, check out episode 56 of the Diamond and Pearl series entitled "The Keystone Pops!"

Alright, that's all I have for now. I won't promise a chapter next week, since work has been pretty hectic, but the goal is to have chapter 82 ("The Keystone Stops!") out in two weeks: February 26.