Well, this sure is one of the most surreal Episodes. This arc will probably rival the last in the confusion rating, but this will also clear up some details about Flame's past. Que fun, and mass confusion.

Arc Eleven: Ghostly Nightmares

Episode 130: Optical Delusions

After I had finished being crushed in one of Blacky's hugs, Fervo stepped out into the lobby. He'd been sent in to have an antidote poured on his wounds, although Moron seemed to be the most injured as he followed the Treecko outside. His head and neck were covered in small bandages, a result of Fervo's temper.

"Dickhead," Fervo grumbled as he walked over, the red marks on his face nearly all gone. The only one left was the one on his left cheek, giving him a Pikachu like look.

Anyway, Fervo was telling Blacky about most of the stuff that had happened in the tunnels (we had all decided to leave out Hypno's return and Mew, for obvious reasons) and I caught a strange glow coming from the massive tower that lay on the over side of the small road. It looked like a flickering fire; apart from that it was bright blue.

"What the hell is that?" I asked, getting up and heading towards the door in order to get a better look.

"No one is sure," Blacky said as he stepped up beside me, "it's been showing up every hour since I arrived, although it had apparently been around for weeks. But never this frequently, according to a local who came in earlier."

"Well, it's probably just some lost soul," Fervo added as he came up and looked, just in time to see the light vanish, "after all, I heard someone talking to Moron about how that tower is actually a shrine to deceased Pokémon."

"So we've got ghosts?" I muttered, "Bloody brilliant. Well, we have Blacky. We can handle any idiot that tries a stunt like they did in Vermillion."

"What stunt?" Blacky asked, getting a confused look from me, "I can't remember anything in Vermillion, untill I woke up with a lot of bandages on my head."

"Seriously?" I replied, "Nothing at all?" A shake of the head in reply, "I got friggen impaled to a bloody wall, and you don't remember!"

I was so close to punching Blacky right there and then, but I managed to control myself and spun around to smack Squirt right between the eyes instead.

"Ow," he muttered as Fervo helped him up, "did you really have to do that?"

"I don't hit kits," I replied, trying to control my anger, "but Pokémon with the mental age of kits is fair game."

"Did I do something wrong?" Blacky whimpered ears flat as he looked up at me. I could see tears building in his black eyes and the sight managed to calm me down.

"No," I said, managing a smile, "I'm just a little irritable."

"Its uncle Flame's weekly hissy fit," Squirt muttered, so Fervo smacked him this time.

"What?" He said loudly as I stared at him, "I wanted a turn. You and Tate already had yours."

I turned back to the tower, and noticed that the blue light had returned again.

"What are you?" I muttered, too quiet for anyone to make out, "and why do I want to follow?"

"Yo' Flame?" Came someone's voice, it seemed so far away, "are you just going to stare at that tower? The light's gone."

"What?" I muttered as I snapped back to reality, glancing at Squirt, "sorry."

"You kinda zoned out, I've finished a conversation already and you didn't even move," the turtle said, smirking.

"It was with Scyther," Fervo interrupted, "that hardly counts as a conversation."

"It still counts," Squirt said, turning to scowl at the Treecko and starting a small argument.

I was watching with some amusement untill a strange chilling feeling came over me, I spun around and glared back up at the tower. Some force was beckoning me there, I was sure of it. And it wanted me to come alone.

'It is a trap, you dimwit,' my brain tried to tell me, while my body was too busy trying to figure out what the chilling feeling that rippled through me was. If it removed that bizarre feeling, I would walk into any trap even if I saw it coming.

So, when night fell, I snuck out of the Center and headed towards the tower. The town was deserted, the grass waving in the night breeze. I was still knackered from all of the battles that day, but I still pressed onwards. Something wanted me in that tower and, for once, I was going to oblige. Although, I was still arguing in my head that following a feeling was a stupid thing to do.

'You are bloody crazy if you go in there,' my inner voice complained, 'let's turn back. Maybe we can go have a look tomorrow, when it is light.'

"The answer may have gone by tomorrow," I replied as I started the climb up the tower wall, untill I could slip into the second floor window, "it is now or never."

I flared up my tail flame, as there was no other light in the massive room. When I took around, I took a step back at the masses of gravestones and murals. There must have been a thousand.

"No wonder this place is so damn tall," I muttered, feeling a little sick at showing up in that place, "maybe I really should come back tomorrow."

'What is the matter, chicken?' That chill seemed to say as it surged through me again, forcing me to move onwards.

As I headed up the stairs, my sense of unease grew. I felt like I was defiling these graves by sneaking in at such a stupid time. Plus, the mention of ghosts still rang around in my head. The memory of the last ghost, the Gengar in Vermillion, still scared me half to death. And, if there was another one here, I'd have no back up. The number of graves seemed to dwindle as I went up through the floors, but so did the odds of me escaping if I had to flee. I paused at the entrance to the tenth staircase, knowing that the light had come from the floor above.

After several minutes of mental debating, I stepped up onto the first step before stopping again. A deep breath, then a second step. Eventually, I made it to the top of the staircase.

"There's nothing here," I muttered, breathing a sigh of relief, "thank-"

"Step forward, bringer of light," a strange voice echoed, interrupting my sentence.

"Meep," was the only word that sprang to mind, but I managed to resist the urge to turn and flee.

"Step forward, bringer of light," the voice replied, slightly more urgent.

So, I took a step forward. And my vision exploded in white light. The chilling feeling came back with a vengeance and forced me to my knees. Then it all turned black, the last thing I remember was my inner voice giving a small chuckle and calling me a moron.

I remember feeling long grass ruffling my nose when I woke up. I opened my eyes and found myself in a small clearing, which bordered a great view of the surrounding lands as the clearing was half of the way up a mountain. My eyes widened as I recognized the view, having seen it a hundred times before. The clearing from my childhood.

"I'm home? How?"

"Ryuu! Stop chasing those moths!" Came a yell from behind me, one that caused me to spin around instantly. There were two Charmander in the clearing, the largest was the one who had shouted and was the one who had a tail flame. While the youngest was busy chasing bugs with a childish giggle, and was too small to have gotten his tail flame.

"Nina? And me?" I muttered, "how can I be here and chasing moths over there, at the same time? And was my laugh really that irritating?"