Chapter 5

Japanese Names:

Matsuba = Morty

Disclaimer: We. Do not. Own pokemon. Pokemon belongs to Nintendo, Game Freak, and Satoshi Tajiri. This is a fanfic written for entertainment and for the sake of the story. Game characters' personality are loosely based off their game counterparts and OCs and plot belongs to us. We also don't own Super Sentai. The cover picture also does not belong to us and is drawn by Nintendo's Ken Sugimori.

Sacred Heart Village

"What was that stupid pose?" A bloodvein nearly popped from the side of Green's head. "What were you thinking?" The gym leader shook the boy's shoulders violently. For once since their first meeting, the teenage boy was silent and had to think before he spoke. Keigo was staring blankly at the green eyed trainer as he continued to say, "He could have taken you away, and hurt you!"

"No," the young teen said quietly. "I don't think she would."

When she dropped him, he automatically plopped to the floor. His legs were too numb from being dragged around when he was taken hostage. Keigo and the two trainers were now back at Toshiyuki's house sitting at the kitchen counter. Yukiko forgot to go grocery shopping, so the three were eating ham and cheese sandwiches instead. Toshiyuki himself was somewhere in the house looking for something.

"She?" Red's eyes widened slightly.

The trainer looked at Keigo thoughtfully; his expression was difficult to read. His Pikachu peeked over at Keigo as he nibbled on a Rabuta Berry. Earlier, the Kanto champion sliced the big green fruit into smaller manageable pieces for his pokemon. The electric pokemon was cheerfully popping the small pieces into its mouth.

"That's Satsuki..." he spoke in a whisper. "I looked at her in the eye. No one has hazel eyes around here and knows the forest that well." Keigo saw the questioning look from the two men and said, "She had us walk backwards without tripping." The wild pokemon around the area didn't respond to her presence. She was familiar to them.

"So, that was basically our missing girl?" Green said, still angry. "Then why did she take you as a hostage? Why did she run from us and the villagers? Why did she come back only to take that Mystic Water?" He angrily bit into the sandwich. The meal was basic, but it was like heaven since they haven't eaten for a while.

"I don't know!" he cried out, unable to answer any of the questions the gym leader bombarded him with. "I don't know why she came back and then ran away. I don't know why she grabbed that item. Hell, I didn't even know that she was still alive!"

"Let him breath," the Kanto champion signaled Green with his hand to stop. "He can barely even walk." Green shot an impatient look at his former rival.

"She came here when my sister had to be gone," Keigo said miserably. "If it was her and Mirei, then maybe they could have figured out why she ran off again."

"You don't know her?" Green's eyes averted back to the teen.

"She used to sneak out a lot into the forest to play with the ghost pokemon," he said with a shaky voice. "Once in awhile, she would take me with her. That's why the Gengar don't attack me when I'm around. If it really is her, then the adults won't be able to catch her. Zoroark won't try to cast an illusion on her."

As a small child, Keigo used to follow his sister around, who was often dragged into random adventures in the forest by Satsuki. He remembered his first time meeting a ghost pokemon when it jumped on his back. It didn't end too well since that pokemon was heavier than the average pokemon. Whenever he was feeling down, Satsuki would lightly knock at his bedroom window in the middle of the night, asking if he wanted to go play. She was also the one who got him into that cool superhero show. Keigo was always invited to play with them because they needed more characters.

"Ok, so we know that she took the Mystic Water... but for what?" Green pondered out loud. Sometime when Green wasn't looking, Red had already finished his meal and was now clearing the table. Keigo finished half of his sandwich, not that he could blame him. The kid had a very brief reunion with a friend and it wasn't even a good one.

"Does it look familiar to you?" Red asked Keigo. "Mystic Water?" Mystic Water was a small orbed gem that powered up water moves. Did she have any water pokemon? The champion didn't recall her using any pokemon when they encountered her. Keigo shook his head.

"She always had it with her," the middle school student said. "She had it before I could remember." It was always hanging around her neck before she was taken away one day. It was late at night when it happened. He was still asleep and dreaming of something that was irrelevant when he was awoken with cries and shrieks of his sister and friends.

"Back to the beginning," Green sighed. So much for that clue, he thought.

"Why did she come back?" Keigo asked the two trainers' question. He didn't look at anyone in particular. Why was she dressed like that? She was wearing a lot of black in July. Where were her pokemon? Did she still have them with her? The frantic look in her eyes when she saw two of Kanto's stronger trainers told Keigo that she was anything but happy to meet him again.

"Did she left something here?" Red questioned.

"I thought she came back to take Mystic Water," Green rubbed his chin in thought. "Did it belong to her parents?"

"No. All she has left of them is a single family portrait," the teen answered mechanically. "It's too big for her to carry around easily." It was a photograph taken from a studio in Goldenrod City. The photograph had Satsuki with her parents; she was only a toddler when it was taken. The portrait was always the first thing to be seen upon entering the house.

"Did she ever tell you where the Mystic Water came from?" The gym leader interrogated. Red was quietly taken in the new information with no comments or visible reaction to it all. He was in deep thought.

"The only thing I remember her telling me is that her best friend gave it to her many years ago. The person moved away after her mom died."

"How did her parents die?" Red dared to ask.

"Her father died in a car accident," Yukiko answered for her son, walking through the front door. The red haired woman came in with a tray of drinks and refreshments. "She was only three years old and also was injured in the incident. She watched her father pass on in the hospital. Her mother died from an infection with complications from stress a year later."

The business woman kept a cool complexion as she handed the boys the drinks. Red had the slight impression that this wasn't the first time she had told that story. A story that she had known by heart and could recite in her sleep without batting an eye. It was sad to see someone be so casual about it. Saying just the facts. Her voice was stiff and tense when she explained the death of the teenage girls' parents.

"Satsuki developed a fear for white rooms and refuses to go to hospitals." The woman recited, "Things always had to be messed up or she would get increasingly tense and break down. She can't stand perfection. I think it scares her." She one day came home with her first sight being the decorative plate she bought those years ago...shattered at the child's feet.

"You know her parents?" Red said in a low tone.

"My husband and I were very close to them. It was tragic to see Satsuki go home alone every night." She set the tray down on the kitchen counter and sat down. "When I moved to Sacred Heart after our marriage, Mitsuki was my first friend in Johto. She offered a tour around the village and helped me learn to adjust to living here. When I was pregnant, her husband Kazuma made sure I went to my routine checkups because my husband always had work." Her words were starting to blend together and lower in volume. Red and Green had to lean slightly over to catch her words.

The woman remembered Mitsuki (1), whose name matched her. It was like she was the personification of March. Green hair, dark hazel eyes with hints of brown and green in them. She was always calm and refreshing to see, like spring itself. Mitsuki always seemed happy and had a bright smile on her face when she greeted her new friend. She even helped her find a job in Goldenrod City when Yukiko had recently graduated from college.

Although it was obvious that Yukiko didn't want to think about it, she reluctantly gave them more details. When she talked, Red noticed that she wasn't looking at them. Her clear blue eyes have gone hazy. She looked past them as if they weren't there at all.

"This must be very hard for you," Green said sympathetically.

"There's no need for you to be sad for me," she replied firmly. It was hard to tell what she was thinking from just her expression. "You want to know what happened when she disappeared, don't you?" It was clear that she didn't need any encouraging words or coaxing to tell them the truth. It was as if she went through the same interrogation on repeats. Today was simply another day of answering the same set of questions. Her tone was boredom and indifference.

"Yes, please." Green couldn't believe his ears. Keigo was silent the whole time, still finishing his lunch. His Flareon was sitting beside its trainer with a concern look. The fire canine was always trotting behind its trainer with extreme loyalty.

"She went home that day in a rush, like she knew something was going to happen. It was shortly after our previous visitor had came into the village." He was just an ordinary man. His face looked like it was briefly shaven the night before and he wore a big vest over a shirt with trousers. A typical traveler. "Satsuki would go out to play with those troublesome ghost pokemon, so she was always the one to bring back anyone who got caught in their ridiculous pranks." They watched the woman shake her head as if remembering all the unfortunate travellers that would be dragged in by the child, shaking within their nightmares.

"You said that the ghost pokemon weren't always that bad," Green said.

She shrugged, "It's more like they came up with more sadistic ideas when she started playing with them. Like father, like daughter... They were always harsh on the travelers. The village hasn't been hidden that long for nothing."

"Is this really the former capital?" The gym leader thought of the rural village, whose buildings were built to fit small families of threes and fours.

The village took up less room than the total area of the forest itself. In school, they always had to read about the same war that occurred 150 years ago. Although the textbooks always recited the high casualties and the damage it caused to Johto and the other regions, the books were always vague on the cause of the war. The only thing the historical books would agree on was that the burning of a tower in Ecruteak City ended the war with Ho-Oh leaving and the revival of three pokemon.

"The capital took a toll when the war ended," Yukiko explained. "Many residents wanted to move out to avoid carrying the title of the city that caused the war. The rest of the city stayed behind because it was their home. They soon found that keeping extra buildings was pointless and torn down, most of them to be replaced by smaller buildings."

"Can you describe the night that Satsuki was last seen?" Red asked, wanting to avoid the history lesson.

"Pika?" Pikachu hopped off the counter to talk to Flareon, who was still sitting besides Keigo. You okay?

"Flare...eon..." I couldn't stop her, the fire type looked down.

"Pika, pika." Things will be alright, Pikachu tried to comfort it.

"Like I said earlier, she rushed home, as if there was something very important she had to attend to." The young girl's face had a determined look as if she was on a mission of some kind. "And that was the last I saw of her. That night though... I heard my daughter's screams somewhere deep in the forest. I ran out there as fast as I could with my pokemon already out, but when I got there, I found her and Mirei covered in burns, dark bruises and deep cuts. They were both crying, and stuck to some odd sticky substance."

It was blood. Blood mixed with something else. Chiharu was found embedded by silk, tough as steel. It was the silk of a Spinarak? Or was it an Ariados? Her daughter was found with her whole body and mouth sealed shut with a look of horror in her eyes. They had to take her to the hospital to help her out. She was in the hospital for days before being released. Mirei was somewhere a few meters away from her with the same shell shocked look in her eyes. Her pokeballs were left on the ground, half of them were broken and malfunctioned with sparks flying.

"As horrible as it may sound, personally, I believe Satsuki attacked them. It would be easy for that girl to get some of the wild pokemon to help her fight, she was always off somewhere in that forest. Those two just won't believe it," she had a sad look on her pale face.

"Would a child really do that?" Shock was all Green felt. "How old was she?"

"Satsuki was ten at the time. Chiharu and Mirei were eleven. They keep blaming the visitor, but he was still in the village after the incident! He was in the inn all night, there was no way he could have taken her far away in a single night."

"He might have an accomplice with him," Red said. "He has pokemon too."

"Anyone who came in or out would have been attacked by Zoroark, like you two were." She muttered bitterly.

"Does Satsuki have any pokemon? Any that would make her more easy to identify?" The gym leader urged her to go on.

"I don't know who she had with her then... Keigo?" She looked at her son, who was still moping in the background.

"...she had an Eevee, a Scyther, and a Vulpix," he answered reluctantly. Despite his mother's beliefs, he truly believe that Satsuki was not the culprit. Him being ditched in the hostage situation and unharmed was proof to him that she did not want to hurt anyone. If Satsuki wanted to harm anyone, it should have been him when his pokemon were the weakest.

"An Eevee? That's quite rare." Green noted.

"This Glaceon was the mother of many litters," Yukiko petted the ice pokemon that was sitting patiently beside her the whole time. "One of the litters had three Eevees, given to my daughter and her friends, including Satsuki."

"Flareon?" Red looked at the fire pokemon that was lying next to Glaceon.

"He was the last one a few years ago," the business woman said. "The rest of his litter died after their birth. Tina can no longer get pregnant because of that."

"You said your daughter was looking for her?" The catcher, Green thought. What did she do for those five years?

"You see, my daughter isn't here right now," she sighed. "She and Mirei always run off at odd times. They ditch class at the beginning of every trimester and try to look for Satsuki. How Chiharu still keeps her grades up is a mystery."

"What do they do?" Red asked.

Yukiko paused for a moment before saying, "Mirei is always dragging her to the nearest gym. She is always training her pokemon. Chiharu usually follows her and I would have to go find and drag them back. They normally don't get too far because I know the locals."

"Yet they escaped this time," Green finished for her.

She groaned, "There are only so many times they can run away. I think they need to learn it first hand that they won't find her. I'm letting them go." She was clearly stressed by the idea of her daughter being away from home. "I should have let her go years ago, all mothers of pokemon trainers do. I'm a spoiled parent." Yukiko gave a tired laugh.

"All parents have a hard time letting their child go off on their own," Red said after a pause, remembering how his mom reacted when he wanted to set off on his own journey.

It was Blue's parents who convinced her in the end that her son would be safe with his pokemon to help. Hearing praises about him from Professor Ookido was a bonus.

"I don't know," she let out a sigh. "I sometimes wonder how Kazuma and Mitsuki would react to their daughter wanting to run off into the world. I wish I could have asked before they passed away."

"Does Satsuki remember her parents?" Green felt like he was asking a foolish question. He was walking on eggshells now.

"She should, but considering how old she was, it is likely that she doesn't remember details."

"No," Red said quietly. "Children remember more than you think." Green looked at his friend questionably, but Red turned away.

"Where are you two heading to?" She looked up at them.

"We were trying to find a shortcut into Ecruteak," Green admitted with a nervous laugh.

"That was stupid and foolish of you," she responded with a hard glare. "Are you sure you will find what you're looking for without killing yourselves?" The gym leader only continued to laugh, finding her question too close to home.

"We didn't mean to get ourselves into trouble ma'am," Red replied politely. Green just stared at the Kanto champion, who was seemingly getting chattier since they have woken up. What kind of nightmare did he have..? he asked himself. He also noticed that Red only seemed to be talkative to people other than himself. Red's normally narrowed eyes have widened so that it was obvious that his eye color was red.

"Keigo will lead you out," Yukiko decided to leave them alone. "The ghost pokemon and Zoroark won't attack you if you have a 'guide' with you." She stood up as a sign to excuse them.

"A guide?"

"Didn't you listen to my father-in-law when you woke up?" She raised her eyebrow, "Only villagers are resistant to them. And the guides purposely familiarizes themselves to the ghost pokemon and Zoroark so they would not be attacked."

"R-right..." Green didn't want to further embarrass himself by admitting that he wasn't paying attention to over half of what Toshiyuki rambled earlier.

Ecruteak City

Ecruteak City's famous maple trees were green at the moment when they arrived to the historical city. All of the houses shared a traditional architectural design where the low red rooftops were painted below the calm blue skies. At the back of the city were a couple of shrines for different deities with flowerbeds of assorted colors decorated at the front. Small statues of different pokemon stood at the small pond near the shrines with their stony fangs baring out. The most notable shrine was home to the Bell Tower, a tall structure standing over the rainbow colored town where...

"Isn't that the Burned Tower?" Chiharu said. The tower stood crooked and charcoaled beside the beautifully remodeled Bell Tower.

"Yeah," Mirei looked down at her boots. She looked up at it, finding it hard to believe that a building so destructured is still standing.

"Guess the Pokemon Center is over there," she pointed at the modern looking building near the city's entrance, except it had a dull red colored roof.

"I guess," the brown haired girl said dully.

"Oddish, odd?" Are they always like this? Chiharu's Oddish asked as it looked at the two trainers who were still avoiding each other's eye contact.

After their very brief breakfast of berries and bread, the girls rushed through route 36 blindly, each of them doing their own thing. Mirei battled every pokemon along the way to train her team and Chiharu was busy catching any pokemon she ran into. The grass pokemon had a little bit of training from its trainer when it was clear that she wasn't in the mood for catching pokemon.

"Pidgey..." They're only like this when they fight... Mirei's Pidgeotto flew over the plant pokemon. He was too familiar with his trainer's personality, who could stubbornly spend weeks ignoring what the other person was saying. "Pijoh, pidgeotto." It will take awhile until my trainer listens. The osprey like pokemon puffed out its feathers with a sigh.

"Gol, bat, bat, golbat." Chiharu is pretty bad too, the big blue bat pokemon reminded the bird. "Golbat, golbat." She can be stubborn too.

"Eevees? Well there is an uncommon sight to see in a historical place such as here," a man called out from behind. The two trainers and their pokemon whipped around to see a tall young man wearing a long sleeved black shirt and a purple bandana across his forehead.

"They are from the same litter," Chiharu replied, cautiously eyeing him.

"Is that so? I hope you don't decide to evolve it at night," he chuckled freely. "Fighting against a dark type would be a huge disadvantage."

"What does that have to do with you?" Mirei asked, clearly annoyed with the stranger for telling her what she shouldn't evolve her Eevee into.

"I guess my face isn't familiar to everyone," the stranger smiled.

His blue eyes contrasted with his sun kissed hair. Not that Chiharu would have admitted, but the man was rather handsome. He appeared to be in his late twenties. The man looked harmless enough, but experience has taught her that judging was a dangerous habit, especially by appearances.

"I'm Matsuba, the gym leader of this city. I'm guessing you're here as tourists?" Ecruteak City's economy was very much based off of tourism or politics, although there was always the occasional trainer who came for gym battles.

Mirei's ears perked up the moment Matsuba announced that he's a gym leader. She eyed him curiously, wondering why he seemed normal - if his good looks could be called normal - compared to all the other gym leaders they've seen.

"I guess you could say that," the blue haired girl said cooly.

"You're the gym leader?" The other girl asked as she was playing with her side ponytail. Her Eevee scrutinized the gym leader with an odd look in its eyes.

The blond haired gym leader examined the two different trainers with a keen eye. Their temperaments were so different. The blue haired girl kept a reserved personal, carefully choosing her words and body language while the other girl was indifferent to everything until he mentioned his status. Mirei's interest had suddenly shifted to the gym leader where she looked like she was trying hard not to bounce up and down from excitement.

"Yes," he nodded. "You're a challenger?" He grinned when Mirei nodded, "Come to my gym if you're interesting in battling my pokemon." The gym leader adjusted his dusky colored scarf, "I'll be waiting for you." The blond gym leader turned to smile at the trainers before he left, leaving the girls speechless.

"...Matsuba." Chiharu repeated his name.

"We're going to fight him." Mirei said.

"But the Pokemon Cen-"

"We're going." There was no point in arguing with her. The brunette wasn't looking at Chiharu when she said it. "I'm using Kazama."

The catcher raised her eyebrow. Her Alakazam? A nagging voice in the back of her head sent her a bunch of warning signs. The psychic pokemon was one of the first few pokemon Mirei caught. As an Abra, he was a gentle pokemon that was a bit of a coward. Kazama was then traded to another trainer a few years later as a Kadabra for evolution, however...

"Don't do it," Chiharu glared at the battler. "Use your other pokemon." Kazama was a psychic pokemon. The catcher knew what sort of pokemon Matsuba used; Mirei would have a disadvantage. Mirei didn't respond to her warning.

Ecruteak Gym

"Ah, a challenger," an old woman's voice greeted the two trainers. The dim candle lights lit up the dark foggy room, making it nearly impossible to see beyond where one was standing. The voice belonged to an old woman whose white hair was tied into a tight bun. "My name is Yoneko, medium of this gym. State your name."

Mirei straighten up her back and announced, "My name is Mirei, pokemon trainer. I challenge you to a battle!" She took out a red capsule from her backpack, "I'll start with Sora. Come out!" Red light briefly shone the dark room as Pidgeotto flew out of its pokeball.

"Ah, a Pidgeotto," the sage woman cried. "Then I choose Gastly!" A giant ball of gas came out of the pokeball. It had big goofy eyes with a grin on its face.

"Pid, geotto!" Pidgeotto cried, Ha, a ghost type? This will be fun! The bird pokemon hovered in the cold air as it waited for his trainer's command.

"Gastly, Confuse Ray!" The medium pointed at the flying type pokemon.

"G-gastly!" Don't be so arrogant! The ghost pokemon floated towards Pidgeotto with its eyes bulged out and a dark aura. A glowing ball of light flew out and encircled the bird pokemon. The effect was almost instantaneous. Pidgeotto started flying on one side of its wing and sloppily landed down on its claws at the floor, barely standing up straight.

"Sora?" The brunette trainer's eyes widened at the sudden disappearance of the pokemon's confidence.

"Pidgey, Pidgey, Pidgeoo, tooo!" Pidgeotto sang out loud. His shrieks made the medium trainer cover her ears. Woo, this room is dark! Someone needs to turn on the suuun! The bird pokemon danced around the room with its wings spread out.

Gastly sweatdropped and said, "Gastly, gas, gastly." It's always the same stuff. Clearly, this wasn't the first time its opponents were affected like this.

"Sora, snap out of it!" His trainer called out him name, "Try to use Twister on the pokemon!" She pointed at the ball of gas still hovering over Pidgeotto. "Sora!"

"Pidgey, Pidgey, Pidgeo!" Happy, happy, I'm a happy bird! Pidgeotto flew up to the ceiling to do an air somersault. "Pidgey, pidgey! Pidgeottoo!" I can stay happy like this allll day! He crashed into the ceiling and fell down to the floor with one wing pointing out. Pidgeotto was hurt from its confusion.

"Use Curse," the medium said calmly. Mirei and Chiharu watched in horror as the ghost pokemon took out a pin and pierced itself with pain on its face. It was a move they weren't too familiar with as they have never seen any of the ghost pokemon back home use it.

"Gastly," Ouch, that hurts. Gastly flinched at its lost of health.

"I'm switching out," Mirei announced. "Sora, return!" The catching capsule shortly shot a red beam of light to retrieve the bird pokemon back. "Kazama, go!" Alakazam came out. The human like pokemon came out of its pokeball. His long mustache has grown and he had acquired a new spoon since his evolution.

"Alakazam," the psychic type yawned. It's too early to fight, it stretched its limbs and glared at Gastly. "Alakazam?" I have to fight this weak thing? He scoffed.

"Gastly, gastly, gastly?" Isn't it stupid to fight against ghosts with psychics? The ball of gas looked at Alakazam curiously.

"I'm surprised you chose a psychic type to counter my Gastly," the old woman voiced the same opinion as her pokemon. "I'll give you points for guts."

Not many trainers would risk using pokemon that were weak against ghosts. It was hard for her to determine if the trainer was brave or if she was stupid. "Gastly, use Hypnosis!" The ghost pokemon closed its eyes and reopened them. Its eyes were wide and staring hypnotically at the psychic type.

"Close your eyes!" Alakazam's trainer commanded.

"Alakazam, kazam, ala, kazam?" What's the point of making me wake up to fight when I have to close them anyway? He glared at his trainer but looked closed his eyes anyway as Gastly approached him very closely where their faces were inches apart.

"Gastly, gas, gastly!" Aw, that's no fun! The gas pokemon cried.

"Psychic!" Alakazam moved its arms in circular motions with its spoons. Gastly was flung across the room and slid down to the floor.

"No, my Gastly!" The white haired woman cried. She walked over to where her pokemon was to recall it. "You did a good job, you deserve a nice rest." She turned to Mirei, "Don't think the next one will be that easy," she smirked.

"Tell that to me after I defeat you!" Mirei had a determined look.

"Alakazam," Kazama complained. I still have to fight? It gave Mirei a bored look. "Kazam," How troublesome. It turned away from his trainer with a stubborn attitude.

"Your pokemon doesn't seem to acknowledge you," the medium noted. "Are you sure you can take on Matsuba yourself?" She chuckled. That comment caused an outburst. "Gastly, fight this trainer!" She sent out her second pokemon, who was nearly identical to the first one. This Gastly was calmer and floated by its trainer.

"Kazama listens to me!" Mirei claimed, "He's just not a morning person!"

"Alakazam, alakazam, kazam." That stupid Pidgeotto should fight instead, the psychic pokemon talked over his trainer. "Alakazam, alakazam, kazam, zam." He was singing about how happy he was and flying like a crippled Pidgey.

"You mean because he's always sleeping?" Chiharu remarked with a tired face. She was sitting on the stony floor with her Eevee still sleeping on her lap. The other Eevee was using Mirei's bag as a pillow to take a nap. Just as she predicted, Kazama was very reluctantly listening to Mirei's commands. Something told her that Kazama was only listening to her because there was the possibility of him getting knocked out by ghost pokemon more than out of loyalty.

"I wasn't talking to you!" Mirei snapped back at the bored trainer. She took out two pokeballs, "Kazama, go back to sleep! Sora, come back!"

"Kazam." Gladly, Alakazam closed its eyes and returned to its pokeball. The other pokeball sent Pidgeotto flying out with a confounded look.

"Pidgeo?" Did I really say all those stupid stuff? The bird pokemon seemed to have heard what Alakazam was ranting about a few seconds ago. Pidgeotto appeared to have recovered from its confusion while Alakazam was fighting for him. "Pidgeotto, geotto!" It looked at new Gastly furiously, I will beat you up for having me make a fool of myself! It puffed its wings to make itself appear bigger than it actually was.

"Gastly, gastly!" But I'm not the Gastly that confused you! The ghost pokemon cried frantically to the angry bird. It nervously hovered away from Pidgeotto, who was sending it murderous looks.

"Gastly, Confuse Ray!" The medium cackled.

"Gastly!" The ball of gas flew at the bird with tears in its eyes. I'm sorry for this! It sent a bright glowing light and hurled it towards Pidgeotto. The bird had swirls in its eyes as it flopped over the gym again.

"Use a Full Heal," Chiharu stood up and looked at the confused bird, who was blurting out a very colorful choice of words. "I don't think Sora can make it." She took out the yellow bottle from her bag and handed to Mirei. "Ghost pokemon can't hit him, but I wouldn't risk it." She said all of this in a quiet tone.

Better to be safe than never, I guess, the battler thought as she ran over to her Pidgeotto to heal it. "You feeling better now?" She stroked the bird pokemon's head feathers as the bird pokemon cooed. Once the brunette was certain that Pidgeotto was back to normal, she announced, "Sora use Gust!"

"Pidgeo!" This is for making me confused! Pidgeotto torpedoed itself to Gastly and knocked it out.

"Gastly!" I'm sorry for confusing you! It cried as it fainted. Its trainer shook her head and returned the gas pokemon back to its capsule.

"Haunter use Sucker Punch that Pidgeotto!" The old woman took out her last pokeball. Her pokemon was a giant shadowy figure with floating claws separated from its body. It wore a wide grin and laughed at Pidgeotto.

"Ha, ha, ha, haunter!"Ha, ha, ha, ha, haha! It flew across the room and sent a punch to the pokemon's side.

"Pidgeotto?" What's so funny? It grunted at the sudden attack. Were all ghost pokemon this weird? The bird pokemon thought of the weird ghost pokemon back in the forest. They all enjoyed playing pranks and it was hard to hold a decent conversation with them without having one of them break into laughter. Like this one.

"Sora, use Gust on Haunter!" Pidgeotto flapped its wings to create gusts of wind at the ghost pokemon. Haunter hovered away from the gust, but Pidgeotto was already there and sent another set of currents to hit it in the face.

"Hauunter!" It cried, That hurts!

"Finish it with Twister!" Pidgeotto sent out a tornado that hit the pokemon. Although the ghost pokemon tipped over from the force of the wind, it was still hovering above Pidgeotto with a sly grin.

"Haunter, haunter!" Looks like I'm still standing. It laughed, "Ha, ha, haunter!" I'm no weak Gastly! It bounced up and down in the air at the annoyed bird.

"Use Night Shade!" The old woman commanded the ghost. The purple pokemon shot a streak of dark energy at the bird, but it went straight through Pidgeotto without any reactions. Pidgeotto was now smirking.

"Pidgeo?" Now who's standing? The bird said arrogantly.

"You forgot that ghost moves are ineffective on normal type!" Mirei grinned. "I thought you were a ghost specialist?"

For once, she was grateful that her village was surrounded by ghost pokemon. Living and playing with them had taught her many things, like their type weaknesses. The medium lowly growled at the smirking trainer and pokemon. Her Haunter was looking like it was going to faint soon. There wasn't much time left.

"Gust!" Another current was made and flew towards Haunter. The ghost pokemon's eyes grew wide eyed as the bird pokemon crashed into it with its wing to the floor. The gym shook from the intensity of the attack. The fog moved slowly to reveal Haunter on the ground with its eyes closed.

"Haunter!" The medium cried. Her pokemon fainted.

"I win!" Mirei cried. The old woman grumbled as she called back Haunter and handed a few dollar bills to the winning trainer.

"You won, but that Alakazam." The medium brought up the topic again. She paused and said, "Don't think that pokemon will listen to you when you use it against Matsuba. Matsuba's pokemon are nothing to laugh at." She leered at the back of the room where the gym leader must have stood to wait for upcoming trainers.

"I'll defeat Matsuba," Mirei ignored her warning. "He has to listen to me. I never did anything to him."

"How foolish, this young generation is," the woman sighed. "I can feel the tension between you and your pokemon. He won't listen to you until you learn to understand his feelings." She turned back to see that the trainer was already walking away from her with the other girl, who was quiet throughout the battle. The medium stood up to pick up her stuff and walk out of the gym. She needed to head to the Pokemon Center to heal her friends.

The blonde gym leader stood patiently on his stage, awaiting the incoming challenger. His scarf fluttered ominously from the icy breeze that flowed through the gym, created via air conditioner. His ghost pokemon were sitting in their pokeballs with bored looks. The echos of the gym doors opening excited them when they realized that it wasn't the gym trainers. Their pokeballs rolled and shook from anticipation.

"It's alright, guys." He comforted them with a pat on their pokeballs. "They'll be here soon." The ghost trainer smiled fondly at his pokemon. Although the pokeballs were solid colored, he could tell that they were all grinning inside with their paws against the capsules.

"Why don't we battle now?" The voice from earlier said. Her sudden voice made the gym leader look up with a wide eerie smile.

"Welcome to my stage."

Extra Notes:

Mitsuki (1) = Mitsuki can be written with the kanji "third moon", as in March. Satsuki follows the same scheme where her name can be written with the kanji for "fifth moon", May.

Author Notes: What a dialogue heavy chapter. One learns much about another's past. So why did Satsuki return for her Mystic Water? And is Yukiko's beliefs right, or was Satsuki really a victim in that incident? Question of the chapter: Who is your favorite gym leader of all time and why? Reviews are appreciated. Come back and read the next chapter next time!

"RainSonata": Somehow, I like the idea of creepy Matsuba. It fits him, considering that he's a ghost trainer. Maybe he's only creepy in battle?

"LunarAbyss": Maybe, maybe not. Most people are not what they seem to be.