Chapter 27 - Pumpkaboo Night

Olga stirred in her bed, her hand reaching out to the empty space beside her. As her fingers grazed the cold, yet soft pillow by her side, she opened her eyes and blinked, momentarily disoriented. She wasn't sure if she should have expected to see anything but emptiness. Slowly, her gaze trailed off to the wrinkles in the covers and the half-closed bedroom door, and she let out a groan.

Without thinking, Olga pushed the pillow away before rolling over the other side of the bed to face the window. The weak light outside stubbornly crept in, and as she faced it, her head throbbed and her stomach began to riot.

The woman groaned again and pulled the duvet over her head, trying to block out the light and go back to sleep. As she shut her eyes, however, a low squeaking sound from the door-hinges caught her attention. She hesitated for a moment, but as she felt icy drops fall down on her, she knew exactly who had come in.

"Vanillite," she groaned, for the third time in a row, while emerging from the covers to face her frowning ice-type. Vanillite said nothing, but kept a judgmental look as he landed on the bedside clock. "Shit!" she exclaimed, jumping out of bed.

Olga straightened herself up and walked over to her wardrobe, her body feeling as though it had been hit by a truck. Frustrated, she did the one thing she could.

She groaned.

—*—*—

"The year, 1927. The place, the great Elysium Hotel in Castelia city, where the rich and the powerful had once gone to hide their debauchery and depravity… But out of all the rooms in the lavish hotel, one stood out: Room 99…" Olga heard Celeste say in a dramatic voice, when she left her room. For a moment, the woman massaged her still throbbing head and considered if she was having some sort of nightmare.

Olga shot one pleading look at her pokémon as she descended the stairs, but Vanillite was unaffected. He didn't have to say a word for her to know what he was thinking, but the pokémon didn't miss the opportunity. He muttered a curt "lite," that could be translated to I told you so, before mercifully settling in his trainer's throbbing head, offering some much-needed relief.

"You don't have to throw it on my face," Olga muttered in response to her partner as she entered the living room. The cold emanating from the pokémon's body really helped her headache. Now she only needed something for her stomach.

She did not expect to have visitors early in the morning, yet her spartan living room was filled with people. And not just any people, but teenagers.

When had her life turned into this?

For a moment, Olga stood by the stairs, observing her visitors. Delia, the girl that had impressed her like few people had, was picking up dirty dishes from the coffee table and carrying them towards the kitchen. The other boy that hung out with the girls, whatever his name was, was there too. Googly eyed and with his munna clutched to his chest, he was sitting at the arms of a sofa where Rey was lounging. Her son's pokémon were there too, as usual. His larvesta and capsakid were curled by the sofa while his eevee was having some sort of hissing contest with Celeste's eevee.

Completing the scene, of course, was Celeste. Like always, the girl was on the floor in a pile with her pokémon and a few others. A hoothoot was perched on her head, while a lunatone was napping beside her slowpoke. Her vulpix was sitting diligently by her, hanging to every word her trainer said.

"… and the screams that wailed through the lavish corridors were not of this word. No… not even ghost pokémon could have made those. Dr Ermi had no more doubts. The Elysium was haunted by the dead." Celeste continued her story, whispering the last words. The boy with the munna squirmed and squeaked as she kept going.

"It's just a story, Luan," Delia said, emerging from the kitchen, drying her hands with a kitchen towel. "Celeste is probably making that up."

"I'm not!" the girl protested loudly, making Olga's head pound harder. "You can look it up. Dr Ermi was this Kallosian guy who had a meowstic called Coco. And the Elysium Hotel was super famous before it was destroyed in a mysterious fire."

Olga groaned, finally alerting the kids to her presence. "Did you come to my house before eight in the morning so you could tell horror stories to your friends?" she asked as she made her way to the kitchen.

"It's Halloween!" Celeste said excitedly, making the hoothoot in her head fly as she jumped up. As Olga disappeared into the kitchen, she could hear whatever-his-name-was wail and complain about some menace.

"We don't have Halloween here," Olga said, annoyed Celeste was following her. The woman opened the fridge and took a few tomatoes and a single tamato berry and sloppily threw them in a blender.

"It's October 31 and you literally have an event where people dress up," Celeste insisted. Why did everything have to be a discussion with this girl?

"Pumpkaboo Night, not Halloween," Olga simply said, but Celeste's stare made her elaborate. "Centuries ago, when humans and pokémon weren't as friendly, people on the island would dress up and carve pumpkins as pumpkaboo to ward off evil ghost types."

"You basically described Halloween…" Celeste muttered, but Olga decided to turn her blender on before the girl could continue. She already had one headache, she didn't need another. "I am here to train," Celeste finally yelled, somehow louder than the appliance.

Olga turned to Celeste, raising an eyebrow. "You know you're supposed to take a day off so your pokémon can recover, right?"

Celeste grinned. "Powder is fine, and we're taking the afternoon off to make a costume. But Mia and Lori are strong… I need to figure something out if I want to win."

Olga sighed and poured herself a glass of her juice. Celeste grimaced at the sight, getting a snort out of her teacher. "Tomato and tamato berry juice is a miracle cure for a hangover, kid," Olga said, trying to chug it down. She didn't hide her disgust as she finished. "Are you battling any of them tomorrow?"

Celeste shook her head. "No, I'm matched against the boy with the swinub."

"Well, we better train for that. Remember what I told you?" Olga asked. Celeste nodded, and they said together, "Stay in the moment."

"I'll go warm up," Celeste sheepishly said, gesturing for her vulpix to follow her along. Olga raised her eyebrows and sighed before deciding she needed one more shot of juice.

—*—*—

"You are warming up to her," Lori told Olga as they walked around Articuno Plaza. "Also, Celeste and her vulpix seemed destroyed when I saw them earlier. You were never that hard on me."

Olga didn't even bother answering, she just picked up her pace. They were already running late, and she hated to be late. But Lorelei just wouldn't let the subject go.

"Delia's also been helping you out a lot lately. That is new for you. I have never seen you let anyone touch even a cup in your kitchen before," she said, while matching Olga's pace. "But she was making something that smelled amazing earlier."

With a groan, Olga came to a halt at the entrance of the town hall, a wide building that seemed out of place in the plaza with its western-inspired architecture. "Lorelei," she said through her teeth. "Shouldn't you be focused on the meeting you insisted I arranged?"

Lori waved her hands nonchalantly as she made her way inside. "I just think it's a nice change for you, that is all. Better than spending your days either by yourself or tending to your son's latest whims."

Olga rolled her eyes as she followed behind. "Celeste wants to train to beat you, and you are making an excellent case for me to push her even harder."

"Hi, we have a meeting with Mayor White," Lorelei told the receptionist, a middle-aged blonde named Linda, who got somewhat flustered when she saw the visitors. "As for Celeste, you will need to push her a lot harder if you want her to beat me," she finished, turning back to her friend with an amused smile.

"S-sorry," Linda said, avoiding eye contact with Olga. "You were running late, and Mayor White is very busy… He is in another meeting, and because of the festivities…"

Olga groaned, interrupting the receptionist, who kept herself in an awkward silence while still refusing eye contact. Although Olga was more than happy to avoid any type of contact with Linda, she felt the need to get this over as soon as possible. As her eyes trailed down to the other woman's very familiar neck, she saw a small red mark which gave her a horrible idea.

This day was only getting worse.

"Linda," Olga started, attempting a smile that surely came out twisted. "Earlier today you left…" she stopped herself, pretending to measure her next words. "It will be lovely to have some time with you to actually chat. Legendries know we didn't do a lot of that last night." She stopped once more to watch the woman's face grow red. "Unless, of course, the Mayor is suddenly free to meet us."

Olga felt her stomach revolting again. At least Vanillite was in his ball and not here to judge her.

Noticing Olga's gaze, Linda quickly raised the collar of her shirt to hide the red mark and, with her eyes fixed on the table, she pointed to the lift in the corner and muttered. "Mayor's office is on the fourth floor."

With a sigh, as Olga walked toward the lift, she grumbled a low, "Thought so."

When the doors closed, however, Lori was staring at her. "So, Linda, huh?"

"Don't pry."

Lori simply smiled. "I'm just happy you are allowing people into your life for once. Be it kids or…" she looked at the floor display, timing her words perfectly with the door. "Or Linda."

Before Olga could groan, Lori swiftly left the lift and moved towards the Mayor's office, taking the half-opened door as an invitation. "Good afternoon, sir. I hope we are not interrupting. We have a meeting scheduled."

—*—*—

Mayor White was a round, short man who no one would think of as a leader, but he had somehow kept the position for years. Olga suspected there was something more to his success, but as long as their town remained in order, she saw no reason to complain. As they entered the unassuming office, she couldn't help but glance over the one wall adorned with photographs of important visitors. It was the only feature of the room that caught anyone's eye, and even there wasn't particularly impressive.

When the Mayor realised that the two women were unceremoniously walking into his office, he let out a loud squeak, causing the person he was speaking with to burst out laughing. It took Olga a few seconds to recognise the visitor as Mia, and a few more to notice someone else impatiently tapping his fingers in a dark corner of the room.

"No need to be jumpy, Mr White," Mia said, wiping a tear from her eye. She was still grinning as she stood up to greet the newcomers. "Olga is a dear friend of mine, and since I watched Lorelei's battle yesterday, I've become a fan."

Olga simply bobbed her head at the woman as she approached, making sure to keep her distance. Whatever had she done wrong to make Mia get the notion that they were any type of friends? Let alone the dear variation.

"Nice to meet you, Mia." Lorelei shook the woman's hand. "Your battle yesterday was also impressive. I hope we face one another in the next rounds."

"T-they are your friends?" the Mayor asked, while also nervously glancing back at the boy in the corner, who looked very impatient, but Mia only grinned and winked.

"Yes!" she said, as she wrapped one arm around Olga's shoulder, eliciting a groan from her. "I'm hoping to convince the Ice Boutique to join our Razzo family, too. Anyway, I don't want to keep you any longer. I should get going."

Olga winced at the mere notion of being controlled by a huge Kantonian corporation, but no one seemed to notice. In fact, the Mayor appeared lost in his own delusion. "Just imagine all the connections between Razzo and our local entrepreneurs," he said, practically squealing with joy. "Olga, you must make that happen! Mia, do you think your boss could visit us sometime?" The Mayor giggled as he glanced at his wall of photos. "President Razzo will surely have a prominent place on my wall. That would be wonderful."

As the Mayor continued on his tangent, Mia laughed and encouraged him. Somehow, Olga was sure no big name corporate tycoon would ever step on their island, but people like Mia knew all too well how to stroke people's egos. And Mayor White? He was the easiest target in town.

Finally, after painful minutes of empty flattery, Mia motioned towards the door to leave, which prompted Lorelei to turn to the person in the corner. "Aren't you taking your bodyguard with you?"

"Huh?" Mia tilted her head in confusion. "Oh, him? He is not with me. I think he has been waiting for you two."

As Mia left, Olga raised her eyebrows and looked at the Mayor with her arms crossed. She wished her vanillite was out. He always helped by reinforcing how displeased and impatient she was.

"Please don't give me this look, Olga. You were late and I'm taking every opportunity I can to foster a relationship with Razzo. Having them on our island is already bringing great things." The Mayor took a tissue from his pocket to wipe the sweat on his forehead. "Anyway, let me introduce you to our new ranger, Ryder."

"Ranger?" Olga asked, as she watched Lorelei curiously approach the young man in the corner. He indeed looked the part, with the red vest and utility belt. Still, this ranger was a boy, not even in his twenties yet.

"Have we met before?" Lorelei asked, frowning. She seemed to gaze deeply into the boy's brown eyes. "Ryder… that seems like a familiar name."

The boy shrugged. "I don't think we did, but it's a common name, I suppose."

"Let's get to the point," Olga said, tapping her feet on the floor. "We are here to talk about protecting the caves against poachers. Like I told you, White, Lorelei noticed an increased…"

"Yes, yes." The Mayor waved his hands as he interrupted Olga and walked over to the boy. With his chest puffed, he placed a hand on Ryder's shoulder. "I was pro-active, like you keep saying I should be during the town meetings. I called the ranger association, and they sent this fine young man over to protect our town from poachers."

Lorelei frowned. "They sent one single ranger?"

Meanwhile, Ryder shook the Mayor's hand away, his expression revealing nothing but disgust and contempt towards the man. Still, he maintained a professional posture as he approached the two women.

Ryder crossed his arms as he spoke. "I've been here for a few days to assess the situation before the Kanto Ranger's Association can send more people." His tone was professional, but his words felt rehearsed. Despite his attempt to project a competent image, Olga remained unimpressed.

"However," Ryder continued, "the caves have proven to be difficult to navigate. Without a guide, I'm afraid my job will take much longer."

Lorelei nodded at the boy, but it was Olga who spoke. "That is why we don't call outsiders to help with this sort of thing, White." She crossed her arms. "I was hoping you would make a task force with the local police and trainers, not call a kid to solve our problems."

The Mayor wiped his forehead once more and, while folding his tissue, looked over at Olga and Lorelei. "Are any of you volunteering to stay around for long enough to help?"

Olga bit her lip and Lorelei looked away before saying, "Having rangers here might be good…"

Of course Lorelei was not stopping her journey. Olga had shops all over the Sevii Islands and was now expanding to Kanto. She would be around even less from now on. Still, this was their home, and she didn't like the idea of an outsider getting to know their caves.

The boy spoke in a professional tone. "We can help," he said, before directing his attention to Lorelei. "The KRA frequently deals with poachers, and I gather you called us in response to an incident with the lapras that migrate to the Icefall Caves. Were you the one who reported it?"

Lorelei nodded. "Some of them were missing, but the… the situation is unusual and the police weren't helpful at all. That is why I asked Olga to set this meeting with the Mayor."

Ryder maintained his professional tone as he focused his gaze on Olga and Lorelei. "Perhaps you could show me where the herd is? If they were attacked by poachers, there may be signs of psychological stress or injuries, which would be important for my report to the KRA." He stopped for a moment, lost in thought, but Olga noticed a glint in his eye as he continued. "I also understand that they are the rarest pokémon in the cave system surrounding the island. It's crucial that we locate their nest and prioritise their protection."

Olga and Lorelei exchanged a brief look of worry.

"Unless… Is there something else in the caves I should be aware of?" the boy asked, frowning.

"Not even the lapras stay too long here," Olga answered dryly, keeping her voice as even as she could. "They will be out in a few weeks, then we are back to only finding the odd swinub around."

"Well, it appears we've all got much to consider," the Mayor interrupted, his disinterest clear. He shifted back to Ryder's side and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder again, causing the young ranger to grimace in disgust. "Lorelei, you wouldn't mind finally sharing the location of the lapras' nest, would you?"

Olga didn't need to even glance at Lorelei to know she would absolutely mind sharing this information. For years, the girl had kept that place a secret from almost everyone on the island and she couldn't possibly be comfortable revealing it to a stranger. Still, the ranger had a point… It would be hard to protect something without knowing its whereabouts.

"Tell you what," Lori said, after a long pause. "I'm busy with a tournament for the next few days. After… after the festival is over, I can take you there."

Lorelei was stalling for time to decide, Olga noted, while also noticing the ranger's slight scowl at her response. Still, he appeared committed to look professional and would not press anymore. Instead, Ryder simply shook the Mayor's hand off his shoulder and bobbed his head at Lorelei, resigning himself to wait.

"I'll keep surveying the area however I can in the meantime," he said before leaving, without wasting time with goodbyes, which Olga appreciated.

After that, there was not much else to discuss with the Mayor. Olga tried insisting a local task force to protect the caves would still be beneficial, but Mayor White didn't budge. He seemed to be overly proud of himself for having got a ranger and didn't want to linger on any other topic.

It wasn't long before they both left. Lorelei was quiet and lost in thought. So much that she didn't even comment when Linda, the receptionist, awkwardly asked Olga if she was going to watch the fireworks at night.

"We will keep doing what we can. There is no point in dwelling in things that are out of our hands," Olga finally told the younger woman once they left the town hall. "Focus on your goal, and train hard," she continued with a frown. "That is how you help the lapras."

Long before there was Celeste, Olga had met a sickly little girl with a lapras she couldn't control. She would never say it out loud, but she was proud of the woman that girl was becoming. Still, if anyone asked, she'd always say that Lorelei was going places.

—*—*—

The sun was setting when Olga made her way to her booth at the festival. She spotted Rey standing alone behind the counter, staring at himself in a mirror and fussing with the headpiece he was wearing. It had two pink antennae curving upwards, resembling the eyebrows of a milotic, and just beneath them, flowing ribbons elegantly cascaded down to the sides.

"Hello mother." Rey's greeting was polite, but his eyes remained fixed on his costume as Olga lit the lanterns on the side of the booth. The festival was in full swing, and the air was thick with the aroma of fried food and the sound of a pop song about zombies from her youth.

"Just so you know." The boy shot a quick glance at his mother. "Your lackey is out with her not-boyfriend distributing samples of her pumpkin ice cream."

"Rey…" the mother groaned. By her side, Vanillite mimicked her frustration.

The boy shrugged as he finally directed his attention to his mother, causing the long pink ribbons on his headpiece to float gracefully by his side as he turned. "Sorry. You em-ploy-ee, is out there giving away ice cream for free. Did you agree to this?"

"It's a new flavour. She is testing it," Olga answered, making her way behind the counter and shifting places with her son. "Why are you dressed like this, anyway?"

He smirked. "Milotic are known as the most beautiful pokémon, mother. I think it's fitting."

"Showing off to your fans again?" Olga arched an eyebrow, eliciting a smooth laugh from Rey.

"If you must know, I've been invited to several parties tonight." He grinned with pride and puffed out his chest. Olga couldn't help but think of him as a little prinplup playing dress up. "I'll try to make it to all of them, but I'll only stay at the one where DJ Jiggly Jams is playing. Who knows, he might even do a feature on me for his show."

"Right…" Olga said, monotonously. "Wild idea here. You could stick around and watch the fireworks with Celeste, Delia and that other boy?"

"Why in the world would I do that?" Rey scoffed.

"Making friends might be better than gathering fans?" Olga shrugged. "Besides, if you acted… nicer, I'm sure Celeste would become your friend."

"I've given her the opportunity to be more than that," the boy muttered. "I'm not interested anymore."

Olga massaged her temples, glad the hangover from the morning was gone. "You know that girl would try to befriend a door if she could, right?"

"Yes, and it's incredibly annoying. She has no standards," Rey concluded, looking around and spotting none other than the girl in question. Celeste, followed by her ever-present eevee, made her way to the booth. As she stopped, the boy looked her up and down before shaking his head. "I'm out of here."

Celeste walked towards Olga, refusing to acknowledge Rey. She was dressed in a long white kimono with a red ribbon tying it up. Clearly, the Galarian girl had little experience walking in a kimono, but this didn't seem to deter her. On her head was a white hood of sorts, pulled down to her nose, with two large eye holes. Long white strips of cloth hung from the sides of the hood, widening and turning bluer as they fell down to her waist. Finally, on top of the hood were two large bobbles that imitated crystals. With a proud grin that contrasted with Rey's in every aspect, the girl opened her mouth, naively expecting a comment or compliment.

"I'm a froslass," she said, still excited despite Olga's silence.

"I noticed," the woman replied, flapping through the registry to check the day's sales. Celeste was sort of endearing, but there was no way she would admit to that. The kid needed someone to be hard on her, not to be pampered with compliments.

"It's cool because today is Halloween and this is an ice festival," Celeste insisted, proving once more to be the bane of Olga's existence. "So I'm—"

"An ice ghost." Olga rolled her eyes. "It's pretty clear what you are going for. Also, not Halloween."

Olga heard the eevee snort, and she was sure Celeste was pouting, but she would not make this into yet another discussion.

"Do you need me to do anything this evening?" she asked, slumping her shoulders.

"Learn to walk in a kimono and don't break a leg before your battle tomorrow," Olga answered, before looking up at Celeste. "Enjoy the night. If you meet Delia, tell her she also has the rest of the evening off."

The young trainer grinned, but before she left, she stopped herself and turned back to Olga with a hint of worry in her expression. "What about you? I can stay here so you can spend some time with your friends, too."

Olga snorted. "I'm here every year, kid. Go have fun and someday tell other Galarians about this place."

"You might need to start selling that hangover juice if I do." Celeste chuckled before releasing her slowpoke and vulpix. "Pat, there is a fishing game that I absolutely want to win," she said before lifting her slowpoke up and walking away, even more awkwardly than before.

—*—*—

"It is almost time for the fireworks," Olga told Vanillite as she watched the plaza empty and people, dressed in all kinds of costumes, leave for the beach where they could watch the display. It had been so long since Olga had last dressed up, but this year she felt like she was missing out.

"Lite," the pokémon said. He was not frowning for once.

"They are not rubbing off on me," Olga answered tiredly. "I know you also agree I can help the girls out."

Vanillite let out a flurry of snow in response, which annoyed Olga. Before she could complain, however, Delia approached the booth. She was wearing a yellow outfit, pikachu ears, and had bright red circles painted on her cheeks. The boy with her had huge red glasses that resembled the eyes of the hoothoot perched on his head.

"You are going to miss the fireworks if you don't hurry," Olga said, maintaining the unenthusiastic look on her face.

"Celeste is saving our places." Delia smiled. "Also, I wanted to let you know the pumpkin ice cream was a success."

"And Cee told us you looked miserable and alone here, and convinced us we should drag you to watch the fireworks with us," the boy finished, tilting his head. The hoothoot didn't seem to like it, as she pecked him immediately. "Lorelei also mentioned your date might be around—."

Before he could finish, Delia kicked him discreetly. "Ignore him," she said with a smile. Olga chuckled and crossed her arms, but the girl continued. "If we help you close up, we can still make it on time for the fireworks."

Without asking for permission, Delia made her way around the counter and put the lock around the freezer on the back. For a moment Olga looked at Vanillite, exasperated, but her pokémon floated up and down, apparently agreeing to this. She was not being given a choice.

With the boy—Luan's help, it barely took ten minutes for them to close the booth and make their way to the beach where Celeste had her pokémon guarding the space she was saving. Her eevee was hissing at people, her vulpix had made a barrier of ice and her slowpoke was scaring people away with yawns.

"You made it just in time," she yelled, awkwardly waving her arms around. She still seemed committed to the froslass look, even though she still couldn't move well.

I'm just happy you are allowing people into your life for once.

Olga remembered Lorelei's words from earlier as she watched the sky flare up with fireworks shaped like snowflakes and pokémon. Even Vanillite twirled as one firework took its shape.

As another firework lit up the beach, she watched the three teenagers in front of her. As usual, Olga crossed her arms and tried to look unimpressed as she gazed up at the sky. But this time, since no one was watching, she did something different.

She smiled.

A/N: So maybe the chapter is slightly fillery, but I needed it to advance the plot on the poaching side of things. Anyway, I thought it was fun to write things from Olga's perspective and do some character development for her, and there will be no more fillers now until this ""arc"" on four island is done.

And that story Celeste was telling in the beginning, I kind of plotted it and even outlined the chapters :D. I don't have time right now, but at some point in the future I might be publishing a side story about Dr Jean-Luc Ermi and Coco investigating the Elysium Hotel in Castelia city in 1927.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Next time:

The Snowflake Cup: Gifted