Now that the gang had found Feraligatr and Krokorok, they're about to catch the ghost and reveal who the culprit is.
Chapter 6
After exiting the hidden passage through the painting, Pikachu found some rope in the closet. "We'll use this to capture the ghost by the feet, and when we catch that ghost, we catch the culprit behind the costume," he said.
"That's a great idea," Bulbasaur said with a smile. "I'll go hang it up."
"And who's gonna be the bait?" Squirtle asked. He then noticed Bulbasaur smirking at him. "What?"
"You could be the perfect choice for the bait," said Bulbasaur.
Squirtle's pupils shrank. "M-m-m-me?" he shivered. "But, but, but I'm scared of ghosts."
"But Squirtle, if you could help us catch the phoney ghost, you'd be the bravest Pokémon," Charmander said. "Think about it."
"But what if I get caught? Then we'll never catch the ghost!" Squirtle protested.
"Maybe, but it's the only way to catch the ghost," said Pikachu. "Come on, you're our best friend, and friends stick together. Right?"
Squirtle started to consider what Pikachu had said, and he smiled. "Okay, I'll try to be brave," he said.
"That's the spirit!" Ampharos said. "I'm relying on you kids."
"But what about you?" Pikachu asked.
"I had my fun helping you guys find clues. I'll go see if the others came back with help. Good luck!" And with that, she left for the hall.
"She does have a point," said Charmander. "I'm thankful she helped us find clues."
"Yeah," said Bulbasaur.
Eventually, it was time to catch the so-called ghost. The group hid behind various objects as Squirtle stood by the lasso.
"Don't worry, Squirtle, we're right by you," said Charmander.
"Okay..." Squirtle said nervously.
The group waited and waited for the ghost to appear. Eventually, the candles were blown out by the wind, and the group immediately saw the ghost from earlier showing up from the shadow.
"Yooouuu haave trespassed myyyy castleee," the ghost wailed. "Noooww you'll be trapped in here...forrreeeverrrr!"
"Get ready, guys!" Pikachu whispered.
Squirtle screamed and ran as the ghost went after him.
"Now!" Pikachu cried, and Bulbasaur pulled the rope to catch the ghost's leg, lifting it off the ground and hanging it upside-down. "Yes! We did it!"
"Great plan, Pikachu!" Charmander smiled. "You were awesome!"
"Yeah," said Bulbasaur, "but where's Squirtle?"
The group heard rattling sounds, and they approach it. Charmander opened the chest to find Squirtle shivering.
"Is, is, is it gone?" Squirtle said.
"We caught it," said Charmander. "Thanks for your help."
"I helped?" Squirtle asked. And then he blushed. "Aw, shucks."
Pikachu's plan was a success, and the group brought the tied up ghosts in the dining room, where they find the others from before, with a Machoke and an Arcanine. Pikachu told them everything.
"So you see, this ghost is no ghost at all," Pikachu concluded. "Now it's time we reveal who the culprit is." He tore the sheet, and the culprit was none other than a Meowth.
"A Meowth!" Squirtle gasped.
"Meowth?!" Feraligatr added. "But why?"
Meowth glared at the group. "Because you guys kicked me out of the castle just because I'm not good at being a housekeeper. I wanted to scare you all out so that the castle will be back in my possession!"
"So you played haunted castle on us and kidnapped me and Feraligatr," Krokorok said, crossing his arms in disappointment.
"Admit it, Meowth," said Pikachu. "You learned it from the book 'How to Scare', which you left your paw print on from the red paint you used on a sheet to camouflage the closet, where you hid the projector that played the Dusknoir hologram. That's why you wanted to scare us out, isn't it?"
"It's true, and it would've work too if it weren't for you and your stupid friends!" Meowth snapped.
"I heard more than enough," said Machoke, picking up Meowth. "Meowth, I think you earned yourself a punishment, namely a spanking."
Meowth gasped. "No, not the spanking! Anything but that!"
Meowth squirmed as he was taken out of the castle for his punishment, as Pikachu and the gang laughed.
"Serves him right for haunting this castle," Bulbasaur laughed.
"You said it," said Charmander. "Even that Dusknoir was a joke."
Squirtle remembered something. "Wait a minute. Bulbasaur and I did see the real Dusknoir."
Pikachu fell confused. "What are you talking about?"
Bulbasaur then realized the incident from earlier. "Oh, yeah," he said. "The hologram one would never use Psychic attack." Then he got scared. "What if that means...?"
The gang heard evil laughter and turned to see the real Dusknoir, as he was using Psychic to make the skeletons rattle.
"Get out..." Dusknoir cackled.
The gang screamed and ran out of the castle, and they ran down the forest and toward the rising sun.
"I knew that castle is haunted all along!" Squirtle cried. "I wanna go back to the beach!"
And there you have it. That's the end of the story. I should've finished this on Halloween, but better late than never. Happy belated Halloween.