It was late in the evening, and the sun was already setting on Lavender Town. The sleepy hamlet was particularly quiet tonight though, as it had been for the last few nights. For after dark, the spirits of departed Pokemon were haunting the town, giving the residents no restful slumber, afflicting them with nightmares. Those who stayed outside of their homes after dark would be terrorized by the ghosts. And lately, even children safe in their beds were being haunted by these malevolent spirits.
The reason why was obvious of course, to the superstitious folk of the town. The renovation of Pokemon Tower from a final resting place for Pokemon into a radio station had to be the source of their woes. Their beloved departed Pokemon were being dishonored, moved and shoved into mass graves south of town, where the Ghost-type Pokemon had been coming from. A few more nights of this catastrophe, and the radio station would be facing an angry mob on their hands, demanding they be shut down.
It was perfect timing, however, for the raven-haired youth on the outskirts of town to visit. A thin young man dressed in a black jacket with a Murkrow perched on his shoulder, he adjusted a headset he was wearing and activated the talk function.
"Melissa, I've made it to the town." The young man said with a crisp voice. "Where's my contact?" He asked.
Thousands of miles away, and very early in the morning, a young woman looked over her briefing for the mission. It was 5:13 AM Kalos time, and she stifled a yawn into her microphone before responding. "I've already negotiated terms and payment with the officials at Pokemon Tower." She said. "So no need to head there." She explained. "You might want to stop by the Pokemon House though on the south end of town." She added, scrolling through a dossier on her laptop. "There's a Mr. Fuji there who can give you more information on the situation. Apparently his Pokemon orphanage has been the only place untouched by the hauntings."
"Good to know," The young man responded professionally. "I'll see what he has to say, but if my suspicions are correct I think I know what's going on here anyways."
"That there's a powerful Ghost-type Pokemon in the graveyard leading the others to haunt the town?" She asked, having heard it from him before. "It's a great story by the way. I was able to milk another 25,000 out of the Pokemon Tower once they had the mental image of a vengeful Gengar attacking them from beyond the grave."
The boy sighed into his headset. "I wish you hadn't said that," he complained. "This has nothing to do with vengeful spirits." He claimed scientifically. "That's nothing but superstition."
"I don't care what it is." Melissa countered. "Clients pay more when they're scared or desperate, and right now the management at Pokemon Tower is both." She said coldly. "Get briefed by Mr. Fuji, then take care of the town's ghost problem. You pull this job off, and there'll be more work for you." She added sweetly.
"Great." The boy said sarcastically. "I get to bust my hump clearing out ghosts while you sit back in Lumiose cafes sipping lattes and getting paid."
Melissa looked at her complimentary instant coffee the Pokemon Center gave her. Well, Blake didn't have to know about her current fiscal situation, did he?
"Please." She responded. "My services are highly valued. You won't get a fifth of the work on your own you'll get with me," she told him. "Now stop complaining and get to work," she told him.
Melissa looked over her file on Blake. Blake Cain was his name. A year younger than her, at fourteen years old, and brand new to this line of work. Born in Goldenrod General Hospital, raised in Ecruteak City. He got his trainer's license at age eleven, and his first and only gym badge from the Ecruteak City Gym about two weeks prior. He had only four registered Pokemon, and three were unevolved.
Melissa sighed. She was working with a total novice right now, something she never would have imagined doing a year ago. But that was the price she paid for going freelance. She had found him online a week ago, freshly registered as a Pokemon Hunter, selling himself as a Ghost-type specialist. Whether he actually knew what he was talking about or he was just a kid with an overinflated ego after earning a single gym badge, she didn't know yet. She hoped it was the former though. This was the first job that made it this far in a while, it'd be a shame if he couldn't finish what he started.
Her workspace took up an entire table in the lobby of the Pokemon Center, with her laptop, various papers and files strewn about, and other devices all connected together. Her Pokegear was linked in to her laptop, giving her a mobile connection to Blake, while her Pokedex was connected wirelessly. Last but not least was her Porygon2, sitting on the table next to her, obediently analyzing data and boosting processing power all at once. It was a set-up most Pokemon Hunters would kill to have as support. And she had set this all up ad hoc.
"If this mission falls through," she thought to herself. "I'll fly to Kanto and wring his neck myself."
Blake for his part had just made it to the Pokemon House. The door was unlocked, which surprised him slightly as he walked into the building. An elderly man heard his footsteps and greeted him.
"You're a young fool to be out here this late," he said berating him kindly. "Or you must be new to town. No one goes out at night anymore since the ghosts of Pokemon Tower have haunted the town."
"I don't buy that story." Blake responded to him somewhat curtly. "Sorry, let me introduce myself. The name is Blake Cain. I'm here to solve your ghost problem." He said.
"A Pokemon Hunter, are you?" He asked. "I'm afraid this problem can't be solved so simply as a wild Pokemon on the loose." Mr. Fuji explained. "The only way to calm these angry spirits is to return the remains of our lost Pokemon to Pokemon Tower."
"Thaf might be the case if Ghost-type Pokemon were the spirits of deceased Pokemon. But if that were the case, you would have been dealing with these hauntings years ago." Blake countered. "When the renovations for Pokemon Tower first began. The question then isn't why, but why now?" He said.
"My theory," he continued. "Is that something has changed in the ecosystem of the graveyard to drive the ghosts out at night. Specifically, I suspect a powerful Ghost-type is responsible."
Mr. Fuji was dismayed by his callous dismissal of the dead at first, but the scientist within him agreed with his conclusion, even if he didn't agree with all the evidence. "You may be right." He said. "Testimony from the victims confirms that while multiple ghosts were involved in each attack, that a dark, shadowy figure was present at each incident." He said. "My suspicion has been that this shadowy figure is a Gengar. But it makes sense that there might be just one of them, they're rare in the wild." He added.
That matched Blake's expectations perfectly. The Shadow Pokemon would be a natural leader for the Gastly and Haunter that naturally spawned in Lavender Town and would likely make them aggressive enough to go after the townsfolk. The only thing he couldn't explain yet was where this Gengar came from. Their unusual evolution requirements made them a rarity in the wild, but not unheard of. Blake had a theory working in his head about that too.
"Thanks for the advice, sir." He said, stepping towards the door.
"Its after dark," Mr Fuji warned him. "You'll be attacked for sure if you go out!" He said.
"I'm not worried," Blake said, reaching into his pack and retrieving an odd pair of binoculars. He attached it to his face and adjusted the scope, then threw down a Poke Ball, releasing a dark blue Pokemon with red plumage. "I am, after all, a specialist," he said.
Melissa had been listening in the conversation boredly the whole time, and was eager to have the opportunity to discuss things with her partner again. "So, you confirmed your theory then?" She asked him. "What's your plan now?"
Blake looked around through the Silph Scope, frowning. "I'm using my Silph Scope to track spectral activity here…" he started. "But this place is a hotbed for ghost activity. I can't tell anything."
Melissa thought to herself for a moment. "Can you connect your Silph Scope to your Pokegear?" She asked suddenly.
"Huh?" Blake responded. "I suppose, they have the same universal connector, but it's not like you can do anything from your end, can you?"
"Watch and learn," Melissa said proudly. She started entering in a backdoor through the security system on the Pokegear. "Just let me jailbreak your Pokegear…" She said. "And… there." She said. She was using the Pokegear's radio function to stream data from his Silph Scope over the phone line to her. A brilliant, simple solution. Her laptop displayed the same readout Blake was getting: a thick purple haze.
"Now then," She said, shutting off her speaker on her headset. "Porygon2," She said. "Can you filter out all spectral signatures over two weeks old? Before the haunting events started." She clarified. The Pokemon obliged, and the screen cleared up significantly.
"Blake, can you turn around slowly, take a full view of the area?" Blake grunted affirmatively and began to look around. Melissa pulled up a map of Lavender Town and mapped the spectral activity to the map. Soon she had a spectrograph of the entire town. She noticed several hotspots of ghost activity in the town.
"Porygon2," She commanded. "Cross-reference the locations of known haunting events on the map." The screen flashed, and several points of interest appeared on the screen, all overlapping with hot spots of ghost activity. She wasn't done yet though. "Check these signatures against the spectorgrams in my Pokedex. Analyze for Pokemon species."
Three Pokemon signatures showed up. Gastly, Haunter, and Gengar. Melissa smiled.
"You were right, Blake," She said, impressed by his knowledge of ghost activity. He may not have been the amateur he seemed. "It is a Gengar."
"Great," Blake said. "Can you tell me where it is?"
"I'll do you one better," Melissa responded with a smile. "I'll show you." She sent the data back downstream. Blake's Silph Scope flashed, then displayed only the Gengar's spectral signature. And with it, his trail.
"Neat." Blake said.
"Neat?" Melissa responded, infuriated. "Neat!? There are research teams at Silph that couldn't do half the things I just did with a month of time on the problem!" She exclaimed. "I just bridged two devices never meant to be connected, sent data across a mobile line thousands of miles away, performed analysis most research universities couldn't pull off, and sent it back downstream in a matter of ten minutes! Do you have any idea…"
"Yeah, I get it," Blake said dismissively, making a mental note not to wound her ego. It was a nice trick, but he had a job to do now. He started following the trail.
Melissa stewed in her chair in the Pokemon Center. Her talents were being wasted on this kid. She was an expert in operations like these, and he was a novice. For all he knew, this was par for the course for most mission operators. It was the price she paid though.
Blake for his part was pursuing the trail of the Gengar, when he started to notice Ghost-type Pokemon approaching him through the Silph Scope. Certainly, they saw him as nothing but a lost traveller to assault. He smiled though, beckoning them to come. A lone Haunter strayed too close to him, and suddenly flinched, as if injured, and floated back away. Blake's smile grew into a smirk.
His Sneasel by his side mewled in laughter at the ghost's inability to approach him, and held up a slip of paper in her hand. A gift from Morty after defeating him in a gym battle. A Cleanse Tag, a charm that would drive off any weaker ghosts.
Slowly, more ghosts began to arrive, forming a ten-meter circle around Blake and his Pokemon. The trail grew stronger as Blake approached the area around Pokemon Tower. He suddenly heard a shriek pierce through the silent night. His eyes widened, and he picked up the pace.
"Someone's in trouble," he told Melissa. "I've got to hurry!"
Fortunately, he only had to turn the corner to find the Pokemon responsible. Hunched over a body on the ground was a thick, shadowy creature, whose face bore a wide grin: the Gengar responsible for these attacks. It looked up at Blake, surprised to see a human actually approach him.
Blake stepped forward slowly, putting it within the ten-meter range of the Cleanse Tag. Its companions, a few Gastly and Haunter, shuddered and left, but it showed no reaction. "I've found it." Blake told Melissa, streaming what he saw to her.
Melissa immediately got to work analyzing the Pokemon's spectrogram with her Pokedex. Its spectral signature was intense, as if it was exuding pure power. Her Porygon2 glowed slightly, analyzing the data in parallel. After a few moments, it displayed a readout of the Pokemon's estimated stats and level.
Melissa did a double-take. "Porygon2. Are you sure that's not an error?" She asked.
A message appeared on her screen. "Porygon do not make errors." It read.
Melissa thought through the possibilities. Either the data was corrupted, the Silph Scope was malfunctioning, or the Pokemon really was that strong.
"Blake, look out," She warned him. "That Pokemon is incredibly strong."
She heard nothing but static on the other end. "Blake? Blake?" she asked.
A dark cloud covered the alleyway where Blake and the Gengar were at a standoff. Blake heard the connection he had to Melissa cut out. Something was blocking the signal. His Silph Scope still worked though, and he could see the Gengar clear as day through the fog. He smirked, and made the first move, twitching his hand. The Gengar rushed towards him, smirking sinisterly himself.
"Beat up!" Blake commanded his Sneasel, opening his jacket and releasing his other three Pokemon. A Murkrow, Umbreon, and Scyther all rushed out of their Poke Balls, all four of them charging in against the Gengar: a super effective surprise attack that would surely send the ghost reeling.
Or so Blake expected. The Shadow Pokemon was knocked back by the surprise attack, certainly, but it immediately regained its stance, its smile growing only broader. It vanished deeper into the cloud. Blake could see it moving with his Silph Scope though, and ordered his Pokemon to continue their assault. "Pursuit!" he commanded, and his Sneasel, Murkrow and Scyther rushed into the fog to nail the retreating Pokemon.
The Gengar expected that though. It laid in wait with a Sucker Punch, socking Blake's Scyther underneath the jaw, sending the Pokemon flying back unconscious. The Murkrow and Sneasel nailed their dual attack together, but the Gengar spun and tossed them back, knocking them away. Blake could see the Gengar perfectly, but his Pokemon couldn't, giving it an unparalleled advantage in this fight. He'd have to take away the terrain advantage from the Gengar.
"Murkrow, Whirlwind," he ordered. The Pokemon flapped its wings, and a galeforce wind blew the cloud back. And that was when everything fell apart. Everything seemed to move in slow motion.
First was the voice that suddenly blasted into his ear. "Blake!" Melissa shouted, the connection reestablished. "Get out of there! That Pokemon's a match even for Champions!"
Then he saw the Gengar point at his Murkrow, black lightning streaming off of his fingertip. A wicked, bluish-black Thunderbolt, with power that pulsed through the atmosphere. It arced to Murkrow, striking the bird Pokemon and consuming it in lightning, knocking it out instantly.
Finally, he felt his heart suddenly skip a beat. "No, not now," Blake thought, clutching his chest as his legs shook. This defied all his models. Gengar couldn't learn Thunderbolt; not in the wild at least. But the Gengar continued its assault that defied logic, generating a orange-blue sphere in its arms, throwing its Focus Blast at the Umbreon for a second instant knock-out, ignoring Umbreon's impressive defenses. As if that wasn't enough, it split into multiple shadowy copies, performing a Double Team, each generating a Shadow Ball to fire at the last remaining Pokemon.
The dark cloud consumed the battlefield again, and Blake suddenly felt an inkling of fear. This wasn't like battling ghosts before in the wild. It wasn't even like Morty's Gengar. This was a whole different level of power. More than that, it was ignoring the rules of Pokemon. It had used five different moves already in this battle, when no Pokemon could learn more than four. It was using moves it had no way of knowing. And it could not seem to be stopped even by super effective attacks.
His Sneasel managed to dodge the barrage of Shadow Balls with careful maneuvering, managing to hold its own against the Pokemon for a while. Blake hesitated to order an attack though, fearful of another trick up Gengar's sleeve. That's when he realized. The Pokemon was toying with him. His heart skipped another beat.
The Gengar seemed to have enough fun volleying Shadow Balls at Sneasel, and returned to a single form, It then landed next to the Sneasel and performed a powerful backhanded slap at Sneasel's hand, sending the Cleanse Tag she was holding flying.
"Knock Off…" Blake breathed, realizing the Pokemon had performed a sixth unique move now. The Haunter and Gastly that had been lying in wait outside the circle of protection the Cleanse Tag granted now rushed in, swirling in a ghostly malestrom towards him. Sneasel was overwhelmed by the attacks of the multitude of Pokemon and was knocked out herself, leaving Blake with no Pokemon, and no options. He felt faint.
Melissa meanwhile would not give up on her partner yet. While Blake was fighting for his life, she was busy trying to get a view on the events going on since the connection broke again. Pokemon Tower had a satellite radio service too now, which meant there was a satellite in geosynchronous orbit with Lavender Town. She'd had Porygon2 hack into it, and directed its camera over his last known location. All she could see was the dark cloud though. She was furious at herself. She shouldn't have thrown the boy into this situation. And now there was a very real chance she was going to get this guy she barely met killed. Her heart pounded. This was just like that one time…
Blake's knees shook as the Gengar approached him, landing on the ground and taking step after step. It was all over now. Gengar's smile seemed to stretch to fill his vision. Fear clouded his vision. Was this how it was going to end? Killed on his first mission?
His face hardened. No. It wasn't over yet. As the Gengar came near, he suddenly burst into a sprint, charging straight through the ghost, which phased right through him. Gastly and Haunter got in his way, but he ignored them. He had one last trick up his sleeve.
The Gengar turned around, furious, and charged up a Shadow Punch to deal to Blake, a blow that would surely break a few bones if it landed. And Shadow Punch never missed. Blake ignored the Gengar though as it moved towards him. There was something more important he was looking for.
He found it. The Cleanse Tag, lying next to his unconscious Sneasel. He picked it up and turned around, beckoning the Gengar to come at him. "I can take it!" He shouted through his fear, preparing his last stand.
The Gengar came at him. Blake took the Cleanse Tag in his hand and slammed it into the Gengar's face. While the Gengar was far faster and stronger, its arms were short, and Blake hit first. The Cleanse Tag attached to the Gengar, and suddenly shone with a bright light, streams of energy peeling off of it.
The Gengar flinched, sliding backwards in midair. The purifying energy of the Cleanse Tag was incredibly painful to it, and it struggled to get it off. The rest of the ghosts fled, scared off by the fact that their boss was in pain.
Blake knew that now was his only chance. The Cleanse Tag started to dissolve, unable to cast out such a powerful shadow. He reached for a Dusk Ball from his jacket, pulled it out, and threw it at the Gengar. There was a metallic clink as the ball clicked shut, then dropped to the ground. It shook once, and then stopped. A critical capture.
Melissa saw the bright light streaming out of the dark cloud even from space, and watched as the cloud began to fade away. "Blake?" She asked tentatively, wondering if the boy was okay. "Blake, are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Blake lied, his knees still shaking. His heart was pounding like a drum, but missing an occasional beat. He dropped to the ground, gasping for breath. He was suddenly more fearful than ever. He just survived that encounter… and now he was close to death again. Slowly though, his heart calmed down, and its rhythm became more steady. He was alright.
"Good." Melissa said, sighing in relief internally. "Did you catch the Pokemon?" She asked.
There was a pause. Blake picked up the Dusk Ball and examined it for a moment. "Yes." he said flatly.
Melissa was bewildered. How on earth did that newbie pull it off? Was he really some expert ghost hunter? And was that Gengar as powerful as her data led her to believe? She wanted answers. And she couldn't get them from two continents away. She smiled to herself. It had been a while since she'd done any field work.
"Congratulations then," She said in an overly sweet voice. "You've passed my test." she commended him, as if she'd given this speech a dozen times before. "You are now officially a Pokemon Hunter in the employ of Melissa Bertile." She announced. "And I've got your next mission lined up already. There's a Mismagius in Blackthorn City in Johto that needs to be dealt with. Show the Gengar to the staff at Pokemon Tower so I can collect payment, then meet me in the Blackthorn City Pokemon Center in 36 hours." She told him.
Blake was left stunned on the other end of the line. Officially employed? A thirty-six hour time limit to get to Blackthorn? He'd have to go to Saffron City, take the Magnet Train to Goldenrod, then trek halfway across the region once over to make it to Blackthorn. Going up from New Bark Town was no option, the cliffs were too steep. He'd have to go through Ecruteak City, Mt. Mortar and the Ice Path to make it to Blackthorn. "How do you expect me to get there in that amount of time?"
"Figure it out!" She told him. She closed the line, shut her laptop, collected her scattered papers and returned her Porygon2 to its Poke Ball. She checked her phone for the next outbound flight to Goldenrod City. There was one this afternoon. She'd just have to collect her things, cash her payment for this job, and she'd fly to Blackthorn by tomorrow morning.
Blake picked himself up. Well, he'd have to get going soon. But first he needed to stop by Pokemon Center, and then Pokemon Tower. The radio station had a 24-hour broadcast, so it was still open despite the time of night.
He headed into the building, dusting himself off as he moved to the front desk. The secretary there asked him for his name.
"Blake Cain," he introduced himself. "I'm here about the bounty for the ghosts attacking the town?" He said.
"Yes. Your employer mentioned something about a vengeful spirit of the dead Pokemon of the tower?" She said, shuddering. "Scary stuff."
Blake rolled his eyes. Employer? He thought they were partners. And there was that nonsense about vengeful spirits again. "I've captured the Pokemon. You won't be bothered by the ghosts of this town anymore."
"Can you show me the Poke Ball?" She asked. Blake handed over the Dusk Ball.
The woman looked it over, and placed it on her PC. She confirmed that it had indeed been captured in Lavender Town that night, then handed the Poke Ball back to him.
"Can I see the Pokemon?" She asked nervously. Blake nodded, releasing the Gengar out.
The Gengar stretched its body out lazily, floating ominously in midair. It looked at Blake with a sneer, and opened its mouth.
"I hope you don't expect me to be your bitch, bitch." It swore.
Blake's heart skipped another beat. "It talks?" He said, astonished.
"He talks?" Gengar mimicked.
"What are you talking about?" The secretary asked him.
"Yeah, what are you talking about, kid? Pokemon don't talk," Gengar agreed.
Blake's brain was melting. "Am I the only one who can hear you?" He asked.
"Hear what?" The secretary repeated.
The Gengar cackled. "Maybe you're just crazy?" He suggested.
Blake shook it off, "Whatever. Can you forward the payment then?" He asked the secretary. "There should be two accounts. 30% to her, the rest to me."
She furrowed her brow at the computer screen. "I only see one account here…" She told him.
"What, no way!" Blake exclaimed. "She said she set me up an account for me!"
"Hah, you got played," Gengar commented.
"Would you shut up?" Blake said, exasperated.
"Excuse me?" The woman behind the counter replied.
"Not you!" Blake apologized. He reached for his Pokegear and dialed Melissa's number.
"Yes?" Melissa responded sweetly, with an hidden edge in her voice. She didn't expect to be interrupted.
"You set me up!" Blake accused her. "You told me you set up an account for me!"
He heard her sigh on the other side of the phone. "I did. You did read the contract you signed, right?" She asked him.
Blake paused. It was long, and he skimmed it. "...yes…" he said slowly.
"Then you'll remember that you waived your cut from the first job you did for me in lieu of a down payment." She reminded him sweetly.
Blake's face twisted. "You never mentioned that when we were negotiating terms!" He complained.
"So? Read what you sign more carefully." She corrected him. "Besides," She said. "A down payment is standard for these kinds of services, and you couldn't afford mine. I took the risk on this job. You're a complete novice. What if you'd failed, or gotten yourself killed? Then I'd have organized this entire mission for nothing. And I've already lined up your next job. Unless you'd like to quit," she asked him.
He was cornered. "Fine…" he said. "I'll see you in Blackthorn."
"Ciao~" She replied.
Blake put the phone away, wishing he had something to punch, returned Gengar to his Poke Ball and walked out of the Pokemon Tower.
"Sucks to be you," A voice laughed. Blake turned around and found Gengar floating behind him.
"What're you doing out of your Poke Ball?" Blake questioned him.
"What're you doing out of yours?" Gengar sneered, not explaining anything.
"Why can't anyone else hear you?" Blake asked him.
"Beats me, but it's hilarious." Gengar shrugged.
"Why can I hear you then?"
"Not because you're special or anything…" Gengar reassured him. "You're utterly ordinary. Me though? I'm one of a kind." He bragged.
"You're going in the PC Box for all eternity." Blake threatened.
"I don't think so," Gengar countered.
"Why not?"
"Because if you try it, I'll hit you with a Thunder Punch and put you into cardiac arrest. That a good enough reason?" He threatened back.
Blake shuddered. Did his Pokemon know?
"This town's gotten boring..." Gengar bemused. "So you're going to entertain me. I seem to have found myself a most curious master…" Gengar said to himself, his smile still wide. He returned himself to his Dusk Ball. Blake pulled it out and looked it over. "...asshole," he heard the Poke Ball say.
What had Blake gotten himself into?