I'm BAAAAACK! :D Anyway, I'm liking the hits I seem to be getting on chapters lately, but the bad part about that is that I don't know if you guys really read them or just skim. And, as usual, I can't know unless you leave reviews! *ahem* sorry… Anyway, I'd just like to request that all of you guys out there who read but don't leave reviews, please leave one with some constructive criticism. Do I need to make chapters longer? Shorter? What about character interaction and battle scenes? I need - no - WANT to make this an enjoyable reading experience for you all! But, to do that, I need your help, so, please, read and review. Without further ado, let's torture some characters :D
Disclaimer:I DO NOT own the Pokémon franchise in any way; Pokémon belongs to Nintendo, Game Freak, and Satoshi Tajiri. Please support the official release. And now for the usual snippet about something I DO own: 112$. $42.70 of which went towards my Pokémon SoulSilver Version. HELLZ YEAH!
Oh, on a side note, Grey's team will be based on my current SoulSilver team. No spoilers, of course, but there will be roster changes. Also, my laptop is still broken and, to add to my suffering, my cell phone fell into the *EFF!*ing toilet -_- You can imagine my joy. Point is, I'm using Bartholomew, our desktop, to write this and other chapters until my laptop gets back from the shop. Don't let me down now, Barty…
Chapter 9: We're Staying the Night! Pokémon Ghost Motel!
"Okay… We are completely and utterly lost. Nice job, Blue Boy," Grey muttered acidly at Jameson.
"Char-man-der," Soul growled, crossing his tiny orange arms and swinging his flaming tail.
Although Grey was being petulant about it, he was right. They were lost in ways nobody should ever be. The reason: Rachel decided to be courteous and friendly by allowing Jameson to navigate for them despite the boy's protests. James knew full well that he was directionally challenged and was a fully qualified killer with a map in hand. The reason they were lost now was because Jameson was actually holding the map upside down and backwards, which is how they ended up in the center of a four-way intersection in a dark, creepy wood.
"Well, I asked not to be made navigator," James said meekly. "We're probably a week away from Mélange Town now." He sadly handed the map back to Rachel and promptly settled himself on the ground, head in his hands.
"I told you not to let him have the map!" Grey seethed.
"Oh, you drama queen," Rachel sighed. "We aren't that lost. We're just….uhm…" She shiftily looked around the surrounding area. Seeing nothing but darkness for miles, she felt both her credibility slip as well as her little brother's smug stare digging into her back.
"We're just what, sis?" Grey said with a patronizing coo. "Because I'd sure like to know." Rachel started to grasp at straws until she found the proverbial thinnest. Turning to Grey with a huge smile on her face, she said,
"We're on an adventure!" The silence that followed was almost permeable. June, Rosewood, and even Soul stared at the older female incredulously. Somewhere in the distance, a Kricketot's chirping broke the awkward silence.
"You've GOT to be kidding me," Grey said after about a minute of silence.
"No, no!" Rachel said nervously, waving the thought away with her hand like a bad thought. "I'm serious, guys. This can be fun!"
"What's so fun about being stuck out in the woods with the only light being a small Charmander's tail flame?" Jameson groaned. Turning to Soul, he muttered a hasty, "No offense."
"Char," Soul grunted. He trotted over to Grey and climbed the boy's leg until finding a resting place upon the his shoulder. "Charmander?" he asked Grey, pointing one claw straight ahead.
"You want to go that way? I guess it's better than nothing," Grey shrugged. He adjusted his bag on the shoulder Soul wasn't riding and started forward into the dark.
"You're not honestly going to take a Charmander's directions over mine, are you?" Rachel called after him incredulously. Grey only grunted and threw a hand over his shoulder noncommittally.
"Think of it this way, sis," Grey said, the smirk in his voice evident, "Soul here may have almost gotten me trampled by a Venusaur, be he never once got me lost." Rachel's jaw dropped indignantly. She tried to form a sentence but couldn't find the words and ended up looking like a Magikarp out of water.
"I'm going with him," June said tiredly, getting up to follow Grey. "I don't like being in this place; there might be some less than friendly Pokémon around."
"Fuuur-ret," Rosewood nodded. Rachel gulped audibly.
"Less than friendly? You mean like…G-G-Gastly?" she stuttered. When June didn't answer, panic gripped her like a star pitcher grips a ball. "Are there Gastly around here or not!"
"You didn't know?" James asked, following Juniper's suit. "I thought you of all people would."
"What are you talking about?" Rachel screamed, obviously frightened.
"Well, for one thing, don't do that. The Gastly will find you easier; they like it when you scream," James said. Even though his statement was innocuous, it only served to make Rachel shrink visibly with fear. James raised his eyebrow at her before continuing,
"I own a Ghost-type, so I sort of know how they think. At night, they like to come out and play and tease any travelers or Pokémon that are unlucky enough to bump into them." Rachel let out a tiny peep of fear and her shivers intensified.
"But they're mostly harmless!" James said hurriedly. "Well… Except for Gengar…and Banette." Rachel screamed and gripped her head tightly in an attempt to oust any and all thoughts of the malevolent spirits. Realizing his mistake, James could only watch without any way to calm the girl down. How he hated being so socially inept; it really screwed him over at times like this.
"Dude, just leave her there!" Grey called over his shoulder. "If she doesn't want to become a midnight snack for the ghosts, she'll follow soon."
"Grey!" James shouted in disbelief. "She's your sister, man!"
"She's also a Pokémon Ranger and a big girl now," Grey laughed. "Better hurry up, sis," he sang, "or else the Gengar's gonna get you." That was all the motivation Rachel needed. In a second, she was up and off like a shot and biting her lip to muffle screams as best she could.
Jameson sighed to himself. He already didn't like Grey because of his arrogance, but to act in such a way to his big sister? That was low in James' book.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOORED!
Shut the 'ell up, Gengar!
But, Banette - !
I said, 'shut up'! Arceus, don't you 'ave anythin' better to do than whine all day? You're getting on all our nerves!
Do we even have nerves? Froslass asked as she floated by.
Hell if I know, a Gastly answered.
There came a consensus of agreement in the form of various Pokémon calls from the other Ghost types in the raggedy old house. Gastly and Shuppet of all sizes along with a Haunter, Gengar, Banette, and Froslass inhabited the old house and tried to find ways to entertain themselves as the days went by. Their favorite hobby so far, as Gengar like to put it, was scaring the ever-loving sh*t out of any humans or Pokémon that were unlucky enough to come around. Really, it was the only thing keeping the minute amount of sanity that his species possessed intact.
But I'm BORED, Gengar insisted. It's been weeks since the last couple of Trainers came through here and, it was fun, but now I need more mental stimulation!
Does our type even have a brain? asked one of the Gastly.
'Ell if I know, Banette shrugged. And, Gengar, just be patient, okay? We'll find some fun soon.
How do you know? Gengar whined. Banette ground her nonexistent teeth.
I JUST DO, YA GASBAG! she roared, Shadow Punching the fully evolved Gas Pokémon in the back of the head. It was going to be one long, long, night, she reasoned.
The group plugged along through the murky darkness. A chilly wind blew by, raising goosebumps on everyone's arms and thoroughly affecting Grey and his sister the worst due to their aversion to cold. Juniper, Grey, and Soul were on point while, at the rear, James was getting all blood flow to his arm cut off by Rachel's deadly, fear-fueled vicegrip. Atop Rachel's head sat Vulpix, utterly embarrassed by her owner's behavior. It was just darkness, for Arceus' sake, and she utterly could not wrap her head around why some humans were so afraid of it.
Humans, she muttered dryly. One minute, they're normal. The next, they take your mind and throw it in a blender.
Tell me about it, Soul agreed.
"Hey," Grey said defensively, "it's not as if Pokémon are the easiest to understand either, buddy."
"Explain to me again exactly how it is you can understand what they're saying," James inquired, his curiosity getting the better of him once more. Grey heaved a sigh of annoyance; oh, how he despised repetition.
"I can get Soul the best because he and I have been together the longest. It's a mutual understanding. Other Pokémon…. I don't know, really. Maybe it's just a learned trait from the first thing I said," he explained vaguely.
"Okay…" James said slowly. "So what you're saying is, it's because of Soul that you understand other Pokémon. How?"
"I said I don't know. I never really thought about it past that," Grey said. "Now can we change the subject? Like what in the world is a crumbling old mansion doing in the middle of a deserted road?" Grey asked, pointing at the building with a suspiciously raised eyebrow. The other three travelers stared at Grey skeptically before looking at where he was pointing and finding that there was indeed a dilapidated old mansion situated in the exact center of the road.
"If that doesn't scream 'creepy', I have no clue what does," Jameson muttered, finally retrieving his arm and rubbing it to get the blood flowing again.
"D-D-Do you think it's…?" Rachel stuttered fearfully, frozen where she stood by her paralyzing fear.
"It's what?" June asked obliviously.
"Do you think that is…" Rachel struggled again.
"For the love of… Just say it!" Grey said impatiently.
"Haunted! There, I said it!" Rachel screamed. Grey immediately doubled over with laughter and even June had to suppress a giggle. Jameson was the only one to show any sympathy for Rachel by not making fun of her fear and instead patting her arm reassuringly.
"Of course not, Rachel. Ghosts are just a myth," he said soothingly.
"Of course it's haunted!" Grey said between laughs. "A house like that's bound to be swarming with Ghost-types! Man, and I'm the dense one? Ha, right!"
"I'd have to agree, Rachel," June said logically. "Ghost-types are proven to have a penchant for dark, scary places." Rachel let out a pathetic-sounding whimper in response and crouched down to hug her knees. Vulpix mewled sadly and nuzzled against her owner's leg in an attempt to calm her down.
Grey finally stopped laughing in order to catch his breath and looked over at the house and said,
"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm gonna spend the night there. It's kind of cold out tonight with this wind and I don't really like cold."
"Are you sure that's such a good idea?" Jameson asked warily. "I mean, whatever Pokémon in there are bound to know Dream Eater and have probably been waiting since heaven-knows-how-long for someone to walk into that house."
"I cannot believe you guys are being so paranoid about this," Grey scoffed. "They're just Pokémon and I have Soul, Lucy, and Maverick to protect me if anything happens."
"But, Grey -" Rachel began.
"But nothing, sis. It's getting cold and I need to get out of the cold before I freeze to death. Goodnight, guys," Grey said with a note of finality as he hoisted his bag over his shoulder and walked confidently towards the mansion with Soul faithfully behind him as always.
"Why is he so headstrong?" Jameson growled, his narrowed eyes throwing daggers into Grey's retreating back. "Does he not realize that it's going to get him and the rest of us hurt?"
"He takes after Dad," Rachel sighed in defeat. She almost laughed at the irony in her statement. If Grey didn't take after their dad, then they'd never be here in the first place. She dismissed the thought with a shake of her head and hugged herself tighter. "I'll sleep out here tonight. Anything but going in there."
"I'll go make sure Grey will be okay," June sighed. Finally, Jameson was the only one left with the decision to either go into the mansion or stay outside. He shifted his bag uncomfortably under Rachel's saddening gaze until his conscience got the better of him. He heaved a sigh and sat back down in resignation.
"Thank you," Rachel said with a small smile. She stretched out her legs now, feeling more comfortable with a companion around.
"No prob." Jameson wordlessly released Sniper and Shishi from their Poké Balls in twin flashes of light. The Mantis Pokémon looked around in the darkness confusedly; he was only sent out during the day, so the night sounds that reached his ears were a new phenomenon for him. Jameson's Duskull did quite the opposite; his kind thrived in the dark and he quickly felt at home.
"Guys, could you stand guard tonight?" James asked while he suppressed a yawn and blinked sleepily. His Pokémon nodded an affirmative and took to opposite sides of James and Rachel to stand guard.
"Thanks, guys," James smiled.
"Vulpix, you want to go help them?" Rachel asked. Vulpix looked at her owner with half-lidded eyes, clearly unwilling to get up and stay awake all night, but she obliged nonetheless. She got up, stretched, and padded her way over to Sniper and sat by his leg. "Thanks, girl. I'll make this up to you tomorrow, okay?"
"Vul vul," the Fire-type yawned.
Oi. Oi, Gengar, come over 'ere, Banette urged as she surveyed two humans, a Charmander, and a Furret foolishly waltz into their haunted abode. A devilish grin broke across Banette's yellow zipper of a mouth at the prospect of finally having some decent entertainment. Gengar floated over and didn't even need an explanation. One look at his targets and he immediately knew what Banette was thinking.
Party time? he asked evilly.
Party time, Banette confirmed. She flew over to the other Ghost-types congregating in the dining hall and cleared her throat loudly. Banette immediately commanded the attention of all her fellow Pokémon and said,
Ladies 'n gents, we've got ourselves a couple o' 'umans out there. What say you we give 'em a proper welcome? There was a unanimous agreement among the ghosts, all of whom thought it'd be a welcome change of pace to the way things had been going for them as of late.
Good, Gengar said maliciously. His mood completely changed at the prospect of some fun. Here's what we do. Y'all Gastly go over and lay down the basic stuff. Take Froslass with you for dramatic effect and Banette and I will plan everything else. Got it?
Yes, sir! the Gastly group chorused before phasing through the walls to carry out the task set unto them.
"Alright," Grey said. He surveyed the foyer lazily, looking for a place to set down his bag and get to sleep. Nothing fancy; maybe a couch or a recliner he could nap in. "See anywhere you'd like to sleep?"
"Furret," Rosewood muttered disgustedly. She could feel the dust in the mansion's air clinging to her pristine fur and shuddered at the thought of being dirty. Being in a place that was in such shambles made her skin crawl. It was dark and musty with dust particles taking up most of the airspace; paintings of past owners with mold growing on them hung on walls where the wallpaper was peeling off in great patches; broken chairs and desks were strewn everywhere without care as far as one could see, which really wasn't that far at all. It was like Rosewood was living something out of one of her nightmares.
"Ret, ret, Furret," she whined, pointing towards the exit.
"Rosewood, I can't leave you all alone out there," June said adamantly. "You can go back in your ball if you want to." Rosewood shook her head eagerly at the suggestion and pushed the button on the Poké Ball that was clipped to Juniper's belt herself. She became engulfed in red light before getting absorbed back into her red and white sanctuary.
"She's a real neat freak, huh?" Grey laughed.
"You've got no clue," Juniper giggled. She took tentative steps forward, carefully surveying the mansion with a critical eye. The old, maggot eaten floors were riddled with holes and creaked with age as she walked. Juniper kept her pen and clipboard close, just waiting for a Ghost-type Pokémon to come bursting out of the walls so she could study it. Grey and Soul, however, were just looking for a place to turn in for the night, preferably a warm one. The dynamic duo wandered into the living room, where they found a large and comfortable looking couch. Grey ran up to it and jumped right in, finding it to be to his liking.
"Now that's what I'm talking about," he sighed contentedly.
"Char-man-der," Soul agreed as he sank into the plush upholstery. The fire lizard curled up into a tight ball so that his tail flame touched the tip of his nose and let out a long yawn.
"Hey!" June cried suddenly, shocking Grey awake while Soul was completely unaffected.
"Wh-what?" Grey stuttered.
"Why's Soul not burning the couch?" she shouted excitedly, pointing an accusatory finger at the Pokémon. "Maybe it's because this stuff is flameproof? Or maybe Pokémon-generated flames can't… No, that's not it," she said quickly.
"June, you're doing it again," Grey deadpanned. "How're you going to get any sleep?"
"Sleep? Ha! Who can sleep with such a fascinating event going on right in front of their eyes?" Juniper declared enthusiastically. She put her face right up to Soul's flame and tore off a small corner of her paper before placing it directly above Soul's flame. The Charmander snorted and turned up the heat, his fire consuming the paper in an instant.
"Oooh!" June cried. "Can he maybe…?"
"Maybe what?" Grey questioned slowly. "Control his fire?"
"Yes! Exactly! How'd you know?" Juniper asked feverishly.
"Because I trained him from a baby," Grey laughed. "I don't know if it's the same for all Charmander, but Soul can make it so that he won't burn something if he doesn't want to."
"That is incredible! Where are my notes on Ponyta? It's been proven that they can do the same thing; maybe ALL Fire-types can! Thanks, Grey!" Juniper exclaimed, pulling out her pen and scrawling faster than the wind.
"Um, no problem?" Grey wracked his brains to try and figure out what'd just happened. With June, that task proved a difficult one. Now if only he could ignore the cold in the room, he'd be able to think better.
Wait… Cold?
Grey went into the mansion in order to avoid the cold and it proved to be warmer inside. Maybe a window was open? Grey tested the air by letting out a long breath out and watched as it became visible in the cold air. Something was definitely up.
"June, is it cold in here or is it just me?" he inquired. He looked around to see that the Professor-in-training was nowhere to be found, most likely having wandered off to do more research. It was just him and Soul in the room, and the temperature was beginning to drop faster. " June?… I think I'm getting goosebumps."
"Char…" Soul expressed obvious irritation at the temperature change. It had been perfect before and now the infernal cold had been let in again.
"So it isn't just me," Grey deduced.
Of course not, silly boy. You shouldn't have wandered in heeeere~ a disembodied voice sang in his head.
"Who's there?" Grey asked, bolting up and placing a hand on Lucy's Poké Ball. He knew full well that there was a Pokémon in the room, otherwise he would never have heard the voice in his head of all places. Either way, Grey was scared and his brain tried to rationalize the situation by blaming his sister for the voice. "Rachel, I swear, if this is a joke -"
Rachel? Who's Rachel? the voice laughed. There is no Rachel here. Soul shifted uncomfortably in the couch and let out a low, threatening growl. His instincts told him that there was going to be a fight and, normally, it'd be something he'd look forward to. But this kind of fight was the kind where Grey might get hurt and Soul would not stand for that.
"Then who is here?" Grey asked, narrowing his eyes.
Instantly, out of the floor came a white figure with arms growing out of the sides of its head and a small body with what seemed to be a red sash tied around its midsection. The room seemed to get even darker as menacing yellow and ice blue eyes glowed in a particularly potent Leer accompanied by a Powder Snow that blew around the Froslass for an even more spine-chilling effect.
We are! Froslass screeched, throwing her hands forward and causing her Powder Snow to fly into Grey and Soul with Psychic. Grey stood rooted to the spot, covering his eyes with his arm as his jacket's hood whipped about in the powerful miniature blizzard. Soul stood steadfast next to his Trainer and made his flame grow in anger.
"You think this scares us?" he shouted confidently over the howling wind. "It'll take a lot more than that to -"
Another Ghost Pokémon burst out of the ground in front of Grey, her amber eyes shining demonically, mouth wide open in use of an earsplitting cry of
"Ba-NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETTE!" The Marionette Pokémon's Screech attack made Grey's blood run colder than ice and he screamed a fear-fuelled and fear-inducing scream of his own. With Soul's falsetto in the background, it made for beautiful music and entertainment for the female ghost duo.
Grey wasted absolutely no time picking Soul up and blazing out of the room as fast as he could force himself to go.
Both Froslass and Banette broke out in raucous laughter at Grey's reaction; the two of them hadn't seen such a reaction in such a long time that they'd nearly forgotten how good it felt to illicit one of that magnitude.
How far d'you think 'e'll run? Banette guffawed.
Halfway to the next town if we're lucky! Froslass shouted with laughter. I wonder how Haunter's doing, she thought aloud as her laughter died down. Banette smirked. She had a pretty good idea of how the Gas Pokémon was fairing.
Juniper found herself in the mansion's equally dilapidated kitchen. Nearly everything in the fridge was about ten years past it's date of expiration and, man, did it reek to high heaven. June stifled a cough and hastily closed the refrigerator door too continue looking around. So far she'd found goose egg in the Ghost-type department, which really disappointed her. Ghost-types were known to be some of the most unusual Pokémon to have ever been studied and she wanted to experience that for herself. How many girls her age got to study this rare type of Pokémon in their natural habitat? If there was going to be a list for this, Juniper wanted to be the first name at the very top of it. She puffed out her cheeks in annoyance and huffed, annoyed.
"Come on," she said, bemoaning her luck. "I have got to be the only person who can walk into a house like this and not find any Ghost-types. And Grey said this place is swarming with them."
Just then, Juniper heard a scream that sounded a lot like it belonged to her headstrong, bespectacled friend. She turned around in confusion, wondering what could've frightened the normally bold Grey so thoroughly. Her face lit up as a thought entered her head.
"Maybe it was a Ghost-type! Hang on, Grey; I will be there soon!" she declared, running back towards the door that lead back to the living room. As soon as she was a step away from the door, it slammed closed and she crashed into it face first. Juniper fell back on her bottom and rubbed her nose gingerly.
"Owowowow…" she whined. "What was that for?"
"Gaaaaaastly…" came a moan from behind her. Her steel-colored eyes grew to the size of apples and she whirled around to come face to face with the infamous Gas Pokémon.
"Oh, wow!" Juniper exclaimed, grabbing her pen and clipboard from the floor and getting in close to the Gastly. Instantly, her lungs were bombarded with residual poison gas flowing off the ghost. She immediately pulled back, admonishing herself for forgetting that Gastly are part-Poisons.
"That was unpleasant," June coughed. "But, nonetheless, now I can -"
"Gassssst…ly!"
"Gastly…"
"GAAAAStly…!"
Three more Gastly materialized out of the floor and began to circle around Juniper like they were playing Ring around the Rosie. More and more of their species started showing up through the ceiling, door, wall, floor, and refrigerator to form a wall of Gastly, all moaning and wailing in different pitches. Being as naïve as she was, Juniper thought the Gastly weren't trying to box her in like they were obviously doing and were instead only playing with her.
"One at a time, you guys; I can only write so fast," she muttered, not looking up from her clipboard as she scrawled. One of the Gastly reached out and snatched the clipboard from her. "Hey, I need that!" she yelled.
"Haunt haunt." The clipboard was handed back to her and she smiled at the Gastly. Only, when she opened her eyes, she did not see a Gastly before her. The Gastly were all still spinning in formation, creating their ghostly wall. Standing before her was a Haunter, its tongue lolling out of its mouth and a perverted grin on its face. Shocked into silence, Juniper looked down to see Haunter's floating hands dangerously close to her chest. She let out a high pitched scream and, with total disregard to the Gastly wall, ran right through it while swinging her clipboard around like a baseball bat. As her screams faded and moved towards the center of the house, Haunter and his Gastly crew burst out laughing.
The girls are always the easiest, boys, remember that, he chuckled. Now, let us give chase.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!"
"CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!"
Grey's scream ripped through the night air like the claws of an enraged Ursaring and violently roused James and Rachel from their sleep. Vulpix was also awoken, but she was able to keep her composure unlike her human partner. Sniper immediately snapped to attention, blades at the ready, while Shishi readied a Shadow Ball next to him.
"James?" Rachel asked fearfully.
"Yeah?"
"Please, please, please tell me that we didn't just hear Grey and his Charmander screaming like something was attempting to eat their souls," Rachel said, her voice rising in both pitch and speed as she spoke.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAaaa…" came Juniper's embarrassed shriek.
"Would you feel better if I replaced Soul and Grey with Juniper?" James asked in his best attempt at calming humor. He sighed, knowing what he was going to say next would not sit well with the Pokémon Ranger. "You know we have to go in there after them, right?"
Rachel shook her head furiously. "No way," she said. "Grey and June went in there on their own, so they can get out on their own!"
"Come on; quit being such a little baby!" James yelled, fed up with this sibling rivalry Rachel and Grey had going. "You're a Pokémon Ranger! You were trained to take on much worse than this and, furthermore, he's your brother!" Rachel let her head down in shame. James grabbed his backpack and motioned for his Pokémon to follow him into the mansion.
"If you won't help him, then I guess I'll have to." Rachel watched as Jameson was engulfed by the darkness that that old house seemed to radiate and sighed heavily. Some 'fearless' Ranger she was. Not even willing to take on her fears for her own brother.
"Okay," Grey panted. "We just heard June scream, so she must've seen that Banette and Froslass, too. We gotta get out of here, Soul."
Don't think so, Gengar said, his evil grin evident in the voice that filled Grey's head.
"Soul, tell me you didn't hear that," Grey sighed.
"Charmander," Unfortunately, Soul growled with increasing anger. From behind them, Gengar phased through the wall, a Shadow Ball attack forming in his hands. The other Pokémon may've gotten their kicks from torturing their targets, but her preferred to battle. The Gas Pokémon launched the attack with glee, laughing as it exploded at Grey and Soul's feet just as they turned around, sending dust, dirt, and splinters up into the musty air.
Oh! Strike one, human and Charmander! he laughed, rolling around in the air. The sound of a Poké Ball opening was heard, followed by an explosion of silver light.
"Lucy, Aqua Jet!"
"Bui~!" Lucy grunted as she rocketed out of the dust in her water sheath and slammed into Gengar's stomach. Gengar was sent reeling and straightened himself out. A crazy grin broke across the Ghost-type's ever-smiling face and he formed another Shadow Ball.
"Gen, Gengar?" So, you want to fight? he questioned, staring down Grey and his two Pokémon. They stared back with equal animosity. Good; I've been waiting a long time for a battle. Shadow Ball!
Lucy, Soul, and Grey all jumped out of the way of the incoming attack, the two Pokémon awaiting an order from their Trainer.
"Okay, Maverick's too big to use in a place like this, so these two are my first line of defense," Grey analyzed. "Gengar's a Ghost-type and they're only weak to their own type and Dark-type attacks. Soul knows mostly Fire-attacks, so… Lucy! Pursuit! Soul, Dragon Rage!"
Soul's eyes flashed for a split second before he launched the crackling orb of dragon energy at Gengar. Lucy followed his lead, covering herself in a black aura and flinging herself into Gengar's face. Soul's attack connected and exploded, scattering Gengar's poisonous gas and mixing it with the air, prompting Grey to cover his mouth and nose with his arm. Lucy hit a second later, causing double the damage due to Gengar's type disadvantage. Gengar only grinned and laughed, clearly able to keep going despite the assault. He made a pained hacking sound as if he were preparing a snot wad before cannoning out a glowing purple blob of poison.
The Sludge Bomb attack nearly hit Soul but instead impacted the maggot-eaten hardwood floors before proceeding to eat through it like acid. A small splash of the sludge made its way onto Lucy's fur and ate through that, touching her skin and burning it. Lucy's upper lip curled in a snarl and she fired off a Water Gun. Gengar did a midair flip and dodged before hacking up another Sludge Bomb, this one aimed at Grey.
Grey's hazel eyes widened for a split second before sharpening as his previous Pokémon Ranger training took hold of him. He leapt backwards and watched as the Sludge Bomb repeated the actions of the previous one before his instincts told him to look up. Gengar had just launched a Shadow Ball attack towards him just as he'd landed. Grey jumped up and grabbed onto a hole in the ceiling, pulling his body up with him so that he stuck to the ceiling like a Spinarak.
Gengar was just about having the time of his life as he lobbed more and more Shadow Balls at the human who just kept on flipping, ducking, and rolling away from each and every one of them. Gengar had never heard of humans possessing such agility and found it most interesting to test the limits of this particular one's skills. He suddenly felt a stinging pain in his side as he was caught off guard by one of the Charmander's Metal Claw swipes. His gassy composition started to mist; a sign that he was taking a bit too much damage and needed to end this quickly. Gengar concentrated on his fist, channeling his Ghost-type energy into it and throwing a punch at the human. A shadowy replica of his fist shot out and nailed the human square in the stomach in mid-flip, throwing him clear across the room and into an empty china cabinet. Gengar laughed, only to be silenced by a brutal Water Gun to the face by Buizel followed by an enraged Ember attack from Charmander that ignited the flammable gasses in his body. Gengar felt his body heat up as it became tangible.
Grey dug himself out of the wreckage of the china cabinet, ignoring his bruises and wrenching a two-by-four from the dented framework. He ran at Gengar and jumped at the last second, slamming the wooden pole into the ghost Pokémon's face and sending it straight through the floor. The dazed Gengar pulled itself back up from the basement just in time to receive an Ember-Pursuit combo and fall into unconsciousness.
"Sorry I had to do that, Gengar, but you were asking for it," Grey said, wiping his mouth free of dust. "So, guys, a good amount of experience, right?"
"Charmander!" Soul flexed his tiny muscles and grinned, his tail flame flaring in size once, twice, three times. Lucy nodded and gave a small smile of her own.
"Good, now let's go find June and get the heck out of here," Grey suggested. Soul and Lucy nodded, completely on board with the idea.
Juniper was currently holed up in the mansion's library, huddled in a corner with her Grovyle, Sylva, out as protection. The Wood Gecko Pokémon stood sentinel over her Trainer, daring any Ghost-types to come out and attempt to cause Juniper harm. June had also noticed that the mansion had taken a nosedive in the temperature department because her and Sylva's breaths rose in a silver mist.
A Shuppet suddenly burst through the wall and put itself in close quarters with Juniper's face. The girl shrieked and covered her face with her hair out of fear. The Shuppet laughed a raspy, scratchy laugh before it was effectively knocked out by Sylva's Leaf Blade attack.
"Thanks, Sylva," Juniper whimpered.
"Gro," the Grass-type nodded.
"June?" came Jameson's voice. June snapped to attention.
"June, you're in here, right?"
"Yes!" she called back. "In the library!" James's footsteps were heard getting closer and closer before June herself threw open the door. The boy in blue bumped into the klutzy girl, backed up apologetically and gestured out the door. Sniper and Shishi moved to the side.
"We should get out of here. I think I heard Grey a ways back battling another Pokémon."
"Grovyle?" Sylva inquired.
"Is he alright?" June asked concernedly. James nodded.
"Of course; I heard that Gengar go down like a sack of bricks," he smiled. His face quickly changed to one of thought as he said, "But, I think… I heard him hit something with a weapon. Like a board or something. Can you even do that to Ghost-types?"
"Remind me to research that later," June whined. "I just want out of here, now!"
"Right, just let me -" Jameson began.
"Scy! Scyther!" Sniper called, taking a battle stance as the horde of Gastly and one Haunter wailed and moaned and floated their way towards their new favorite toy. The girl in question fearfully hid herself behind Jameson and pointed at the head Haunter.
"That one! Knock it out!" she ordered.
"I was just about to," James said with a small smile. He adjusted his stance to mirror that of a seasoned general, his eyes taking on a calm, alert look. Crossing his arms in front of him, Jameson's order came steady and confident. "Shishi, Shadow Ball and spread it out. Sniper, X-Scissor on Haunter."
The order was heard and executed without fail. Shishi conjured up a large Shadow Ball in between his tiny hands and with a great sound of effort, lobbed the ghostly projectile at Haunter. Haunter dodged the attack and watched as his Duskull opponent used Shadow Sneak to appear behind his previously launched attack and strike it with force unbecoming of a Duskull's size. The blow resulted in the Shadow Ball breaking apart into multiple miniature variations of the attack which carpet-bombed his Gastly subordinates. When the smoke from his subordinates' bodies cleared, Haunter saw that all of them were completely unconscious.
Haunter turned back around only to receive a painful X-Scissor attack to the face. Haunter angrily retaliated with a double Shadow Punch which was expertly cut down by Sniper and deftly blocked by Shishi's use of a Will-O-Wisp shield.
"Throw it," James ordered his Duskull simply. Shishi nodded and flung his Will-O-Wisp attack at Haunter. The otherworldly blue flames formed a ring around their target before converging in the center and badly burning the evolved form of Gastly. Haunter wailed in pain, eyes glued shut, so he didn't see Sniper come from behind and land a devastating Pursuit attack which put Haunter out of commission.
Juniper absentmindedly stared as James congratulated and thanked his partners. She played the battle back in her head and noted James's seemingly expert coordination of his Pokémon. It was so foreign compared to the way she'd seen Grey battle, even with the Almian boy's slight change in style. It was like James was on a totally different level, and with only two Pokémon.
"June, let's go," James called from down the hall. In her thought, Juniper had not followed James and his Pokémon down the hall. She started running forward, Sylva faithfully beside her, when she felt something cold and clammy grab onto her ankle. She let out a frightened 'eep!' and turned around to see Haunter, battered and bruised, but still tenacious enough to attempt to keep going and even grin that perverted grin of his.
"Okay, that's it!" Juniper huffed. "Sylva, Energy Ball!" Sylva gave an almost unnoticeable nod and kicked Haunter's hand away while simultaneously forming a crackling ball of nature's energy between her hands. She lobbed the ball at Haunter, causing his gaseous body to deconsolidate before he finally drifted off for real.
"Since when did she learn Energy Ball?" James chuckled.
"I taught her as a Treecko," June replied with a glare over her shoulder at the Haunter. "Didn't really seem right to use it until now. Now, I have a reason." Sylva, James, and Sniper all gave Juniper a confused look. Shishi just looked on ahead with a bored look in his solitary eye and a melancholy sigh to match.
"What'd it do that made you use such a strong move on it?" James asked, voicing the trio's shared thought. Juniper looked back at them over her shoulder, a dangerous glint in her eyes that Jameson could never have expected from her; her, the good natured, slightly klutzy, incredibly eccentric girl of the group.
"Don't…ask…" she ordered threateningly. Shivers ran up the trio's spines at the tone of her voice. "Now, come on. Let's go find Grey and get out of here," June said, threatening tone taking a backseat to a sunny one in an instant.
"She can be scary when she wants to," James noted under his breath.
The sound of breaking dishes dominated the air in the dining room as Froslass's psychic assault persisted. The Snow Land Pokémon was finding unprecedented amusement in using this unusually agile human and his two Pokémon pets as target practice. Grey ducked as a large serving dish whizzed overhead and crashed into the wall, exploding into thousands of tiny pieces.
"Soul, if we ever manage to find a deserted old mansion that's bound to be crawling with ghost Pokémon again, remind me never to suggest sleeping in it. Can you do that for me, buddy?" Grey asked as he dove out of the way of a Psychically thrown barrage of ancient dishes aimed at his head.
"Char!" Soul grunted as he took flaming potshots at the flying projectiles, blasting them clear out of the air, while Lucy busied herself with Froslass. Soul inwardly congratulated himself and Grey for having improved his aim this far while Lucy launched a Water Gun attack only to have it frozen on the spot by Froslass's Powder Snow. The frozen stream fell to the ground and promptly shattered like one of the dishes.
"Well, what in the hell do we do now?" Grey asked the air through gritted teeth. Finding himself with no time to think, he applied his tried and true method of doing what first came to mind.
"Lucy, Soul, combo attack. She can't focus on you both," he reasoned. Froslass's laughing was cut short.
Uh-oh, looks like the fun's about to end. Too bad, and everybody was enjoying themselves so well, too, she sighed.
"You're damn right the fun's over. Soul! Metal Claw!" Grey called, throwing his arm out in Froslass's direction. The little fire lizard flung himself at the dual Ice and Ghost type with gusto, claws glowing silver and arm pulled back. He swiped, but Froslass was able to dodge at the last second by puling her lower body up and floating horizontally above Soul. Froslass put on a smug smirk, but her celebration was cut short by Lucy's well-timed Aqua Jet hitting her right under the chin.
Froslass quickly fell towards the ground and she prepared to phase through it, only to be blasted from out of nowhere by Soul's Ember attack. Grey took this chance to dash forward, grudgingly thanking the Ranger Academy for putting him through all that physical training, and scooped up his two Pokémon as he went. Froslass struggled back up and was met with both Gengar and Banette floating above her.
They're gettin' away! Banette cried in despair.
Ah, let them, Gengar grumbled as he rubbed his face in pain. The spot where Grey had brained him with the two-by-four was actually a dent in the ghost's visage by now. Do you see what that one wearing the red jacket did to my face? My beautiful face…
Oh, shut up about yer face, man! We've got ta get our playthings back or we'll be bored for the rest of our lives! Do ye know how 'ow long that is in ghost years? FOREVER! Banette raved before she desperately charging out the dining room door and after Grey.
She's insane, Gengar pointed out. Froslass said nothing and instead floated back to the dining hall.
Jameson, June, and their Pokémon heard heavy footsteps running towards them and immediately tensed up and stopped in their tracks. They stared into the inky blackness of the mansion to see a bright light making its way towards them and their faces lit up in recognition.
"That's Soul's flame," James breathed thankfully. "Grey, down here!"
"James, that you?" Grey called. "Keep running toward the exit. I think one of them's still following me!" They didn't need to be told twice; they took off like shots at the prospect at another one of those psychotic ghosts toying with them again.
They ran as a group, not even bothering to call their Pokémon back into their balls, only focusing on getting out of the mansion before possibly being entrapped in it forever. Grey skidded and made a left into the living room with his companions behind him. He stopped for a moment and hastily looked around until he found the corridor that he'd come through; the corridor that was their ticket out of the crazy ghost-house.
"This way," he shouted, only waiting long enough for his friends to catch up before they sprinted towards the door as one. Soul's tiny legs didn't let him keep up with his friends, so he leapt into the air and latched into Grey's hood, flapping like a rag doll in the wind as his Trainer ran.
The group heard Banette shriek behind them and by the sound of it, she sounded too close for comfort. Shishi spun around, now flying backwards, to see his fellow Ghost-type's blazing yellow eyes light up in the darkness. He turned back around and nodded at his Trainer who instantly understood the message and began to run faster.
"They're closing in!" he relayed to his comrades. "Run faster!" With the moonlight streaming in through the front door in sight, the group put on one last burst of speed and finally left the house, cool night air slapping them in the face. Rachel was sitting right where James had left her with Vulpix at her side, looking happy to see her brother and friends in unharmed aside from Grey's bruises.
Grey held his side and stooped over to catch his breath, making a mental note to revisit some of his old training. Soul released his hood and breathed a sigh of relief as he slumped against Grey's leg. Lucy did the same.
"Are you guys alright?" Rachel asked. "And how'd you get that bruise on your head, Grey?"
"Gengar are sadistic little punks," came her brother's snappish reply. "Sorry, didn't mean to growl. I'm just a bit fed up with Ghost-types at the moment. No offense, Shishi."
"Dus-kull," the sagely Pokémon said dismissively.
"That's alright," Rachel said. "At any rate, can we please get away from this house now -" Rachel's question was cut down by Banette's shrieking as she rocketed out of the house with a determined, angry look.
"Baaaa!" she yelled, pointing at Grey and Juniper furiously "Banette! Banette! Nette!"
"Grey, what's it saying?" Juniper asked as Sylva took a protective stance in front of her.
"Something about…toys? 'I won't…leave…toys…'" he struggled to decipher Banette's speech. "'I won't let my toys leave', she's saying."
Since when the hell were we her toys? Lucy shouted in disbelief.
Yeah! Soul agreed.
"Sniper, go teach her a lesson. Use -"
"No," Rachel said, newfound steel in her words. She defiantly walked forward, Vulpix a bit ahead of her, and stared down Banette. "If you want to start something, start it with me, you stupid ghost!" Banette readied a Dark Pulse in her hands in response. Nothing was going to stand in the way of her and her fun.
Despite the overwhelming fear coursing through her at that very second, Rachel was somehow able to keep her knees from knocking and gave Vulpix one simple order:
"Use Flamethrower." Vulpix raised her head, opened her mouth and formed a raging fireball inside of it. When it became too big to contain, Vulpix threw her head forward, releasing a torrent of flames that crashed into and fully enveloped Banette and forced her back into the house. The Marionette Pokémon's screeches of pain decreased in volume the further Vulpix's flames pushed her back until they were completely inaudible.
Vulpix stemmed the flow of her flames and turned her back to the house, all six tails swishing cheekily. A small smirk formed on her mouth when she saw Soul's shocked face. He'd never seen Vulpix use Flamethrower before and, damn, was it powerful. Needless to say, he was impressed and so was Grey.
"Nice one!" James cried.
"Scy ther." That looked like it hurt, Sniper noticed with wide eyes.
"Rachel, that was amazing! When did Vulpix learn to do that?" Juniper asked, inquisitive light gracing her eyes once more.
"Sis, that was so totally awesome!" Grey cheered. "I take back most of the stuff I said about you being a wimp. Anyone who can get her Vulpix to do that's okay in my book!"
"Thanks, little brother," Rachel smiled. She even dismissed the 'most' part in his compliment and took it as it came. "Now, please… Let's get out of here." The decision was unanimous; the group gathered their things and went back the way they came, leaving the house behind to stew in its own dust.
"Dusk… Duskull dusk dusk." Kids… What are you going to do? Shishi muttered under his breath, only furthering his old man moniker.
So, how'd it go? Gengar asked, stifling his snickers with one hand.
I take it they reacted well, Froslass said sarcastically. She was not as considerate as Gengar and promptly burst out laughing when she finished talking.
Banette was completely covered from head to foot in burns after that Flamethrower and all she wanted to do now was get to sleep and forget this night ever happened. She made a silent vow to herself; she'd find those humans again and, by Arceus, she'd make them pay for her humiliation.
But for now, she'd settle for some Burn Heal.
Okay, so I FINALLY got myself a new laptop and let me tell you that it works perfectly. I liked writing this chapter, especially the parts that I intended to be funny. But, now that this is behind us, I can finally start working on the next chapter before Mélange Town. I might work in a few new captures for everyone as well. The one I have in mind for Jameson is most interesting.
Lesson 278 of traveling with Pokémon: Never, I repeat, NEVER walk into a house that's clearly haunted by Ghost-types. Unless you want to catch one… Other than that, STAY AWAY!
Expect some character development from Rachel and Grey coming soon.
I'm still accepting OCs for those of you who're interested. Leave your OC in a review or send a PM. However, don't expect to have your OC automatically put into the story like Jameson was. He was submitted at the right place and at the right time in the story. Plus, I liked his personality and that of his Pokémon.
That's all for now. Stay tuned for more and please leave a review!
CHAPTER PREVIEW
Grey: Man, am I glad that that's over. Now we can focus on getting to the next town and training, right, Soul?
Soul:Charmander!
Grey: That's what I like to hear!
James: Aren't you forgetting something, Grey? Like the episode preview?
Grey: Oh, that! Sorry, getting right on it.
James: sigh You need a new route for that one-track mind of yours.
Grey: Listen, buddy -
Juniper: Guys, quit fighting! Let's just get this done, alright?
Grey: Alright, June… Anyway, on the next episode, the four of us reach the second to last area before the next town and the next Gym Battle: Mélange Forest. This place is crawling with Bug-types, even a few rare ones like Combee and Pinsir. We also meet a honey-maker with a Vespiqueen and he has a slight problem to deal with.
Rachel: Slight? Look at all those Beedrill and Ursaring after his honey! And he worked so hard to make it, too.
James: All the more reason to help him, right? We can't let him get mauled.
Grey: But what about the next badge?
Rachel: It's our duty as Pokémon Rangers to help anyone in need, Grey. Did you learn anything at all?
Grey: I am NOT a Pokémon Ranger! And, fine, but just because this guy's in need of help. After that, it's full speed ahead!
Rachel: Fine; whatever floats your boat. …Hey, Grey, can I ask you a favor?
Grey: Hm?
Rachel: Well, I want to try my hand at -
James: Oops! We're out of time guys. They're just going to have to wait until next time to see what lies ahead.
Grey: Man, that was cheesy.
Juniper: I'd like to see you come up with better, Grey. giggles
James: She got you with that one.
Grey: Shut up and tell them the chapter title.
All: Next time on Challenger!: The Honey-Maker's Dilemma. Enter: Rogue Heracross.
James: Sniper, wait! Don't steal that honey!
Sniper: Scy!