Pokemon: Remix Hearts

by Seanzilla1988

During an expedition for a Grimoir, the girls of Team Remix Heart are caught up in a strange wormhole and end up in a world filled with creatures known as Pokemon. Will they find a way home, or will they be stuck here? (Contains elements from the Pokemon games, manga, and anime. Set after the end of the Blazblue Remix Heart manga)

22. Chapter 22

GammaTron: *playing Ultra Moon* Okay...Was not expecting new Totem Pokemon…

SZ: It's a new game GT. A lot of things will end up changing, and ultra Sun and Moon are just the case…*looks at a pic of Zeraora* one day...one day I will obtain you…

GT: *Nods* But in the meantime, welcome to another chapter of Remix Hearts, everyone!

SZ:Eeyup. As always, I am Seanzilla115, and he is Gammatron, and we're here to bring ya the next part of this here 3 parter.

GT: Very scary.

SZ: Oh yeah, especially considering today's chapter...so let's get things started. You guys know who we own and don't own, so GT? Start us off?"

GT: Okay. Le…*hears something* Huh? *looks around* What was that? *hears it again* What is that?

SZ: What's wh…*hears a growling sound from behind*...there's something really bad behind me, isn't there?

GT: *looks* Oh no…

Totem Mimikyu: Mimikyu~ *jumps up at us...underside first with arms held out*

GT: GAH! Who let it use its Z-Move?!

SZ: Don't know, but RUN!

Totem Mimikyu: *tackles us both, engulfing us in its costume*

Both: GYAAAAAAAAAAA!

---

Entry 21: Hello. My name is Tsubaki Yayoi. As of this entry, we had arrived at Saffron City late last night...however, we-mainly I and Luca-sensed something highly wrong with the city. It was made clear when we noticed how strange Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy were acting. That and how Brock acted around both of them in how he didn't try to flirt with either. He's never turned down trying to do that to either in the time we've known him. Then again, ever since we encountered that little girl that nearly caused Ash to fall off a cliff it's been rather strange. The next day, we had arrived at Sabrina's Gym, or rather...Sabrina's temple, because that's honestly what it felt like. There were even people who were dedicated to mastering their psychokinetic abilities. They even performed the spoon bending technique...something of which I know irks Makoto quite a bit. Ahem. Anyways, when one of the people there led us to where Sabrina was...we had no idea of what was about to happen next. First off, that little girl we saw before? She was there as well, sitting in the lap of who we assumed was Sabrina. Second...that battle Ash had between her Abra and his Eevee...I...I shouldn't' even call it a battle.

Abra completely avoided every single attack Eevee tried...and then evolved into Kadabra in the middle of the battle. It only got worse from there as not only Kadabra used Disable to negate all of Eevee's moves, but he used Psychic and began to brutally slam him into the ground and ceiling. Ash had to forfeit and catch Eevee when Kadabra released him. We were lucky to have a Full Restore that La gave us back during the Tentacruel incident, but...we weren't expecting what Sabrina had planned. On the terms of Ash losing, we were to become Sabrina's friends and play with her...while it doesn't sound as bad, trust me...it was. She-by which I mean the little girl- used her psychic powers to shrink us and transport us into a large toy city, intent on keeping us as her playthings.

We were barely saved by another psychic we thought was a normal jogger, teleporting us to an actual park at our normal sizes. From there, we found out we weren't the only ones that were recently saved by him...and soon encountered that silver-white haired woman from the Lighthouse and S.S Anne Incidents, her eye covered in bandages. It seems she was the only one able to escape as Sabrina had captured the rest of her team...That...that's honestly scary. To think someone as dangerous as her could easily had been defeated like that...we also found out that Sabrina has a strong psychic hold over the entire city, and that the moment we stepped in...Sabrina knew all of our plans, including Ash's strategies to deal with Psychic Pokemon.

It's a bit unnerving, really. To know that any plan we make is already known by the opponent? But Ash? He…*sighs a bit* He's a determinator. Even when the jogger and that woman told us repeatedly that he wouldn't win, he just wouldn't give in. However, we did learn of a way he could possibly win, obtain a Dark or Ghost Pokemon from the Pokemon Tower in Lavender Town...which from how those two told us, was a very dangerous idea due to an ancient evil Pokemon known as the Black Fog living there.

Even with that, Ash was still determined to catch a Dark or Ghost-Type from there. So we decided to head on out, but now we have that woman accompanying us. I know Luca says she's safe to trust for now, but still...best we keep a close eye on her just in case.

---

"...The fog's coming in…" Ash noted as the group walked down a dirt path through the woods, "That's not good."

"It means we're getting closer to Lavender Town," Aoiro stated, "Stay close together. It's easy to get separated in the fog."

"M-maybe it's an omen," Misty spoke up nervously, "Maybe we shouldn't catch a Ghost Pokemon."

"Agreed! This is a very bad omen!" Makoto agreed, the Fuzzy Trio peeking out of her tail, shivering and the two squirrel Pokemon hugging the Eevee of the trio.

"It's too late to turn back now," Tsubaki spoke, Luca resting on her shoulder, "We've already made it this far, so we can't turn back…"

"She's correct…" Kajun nodded, "I fear of what'll happen if Sabrina is left unchecked...if left alone for too long, she could possibly use her psychic powers to take control of the nearby cities, Cerulean and Celadon included."

"?!" Misty's eyes widened at that.

"...The fog's getting thicker," Brock noted as he looked around, the area getting a bit more difficult to see through, "Everyone hold hands so we don't get separated."

"G-good idea!" Noel nodded as she instantly hugged Makoto's tail, Yuki and Nymph hopping right in.

"R-" Mai began before she noticed Brock reach out to Piakchu's tail, "...uh, Brock, I don't think th-"

"CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

*BZZZZZZZZZZRT!*

"Ugh…" Brock groaned, twitching a bit on the dirt path as electricity sparked off him a bit.

"Brock, please be careful next time," Misty begged, "You nearly scared the living daylights out of me."

"Well...you sure scared me when you screamed, Misty…" Ash laughed ominously, his back turned towards the group.

"...Wh...what?" Misty paled as she cautiously backed away from Ash.

"I'm feeling...I'm feeling like…" Ash began before he turned around, wearing a skeleton face, "LIKE A GHOST MYSELF!"

Mai blinked twice, 'Huh...No pressure on my chest...no shivering or shaking…' she looked over to see Makoto hugging a tree branch above, Noel holding tight to her tail with her eyes a solid white and stiff as a board, 'That explains it.'

"...Heh heh heh...sorry guys. I was just testing you," Ash chuckled as he took the mask off, "If we're gonna be facing Ghost Pokemon, we're gonna need to be well prepared and deal with Fear. That's the o-"

*THWACK! SMACK! BAM! SMACK! SMACK! THWAP! THWACK! SMACK!*

"Pi…" Pikachu sweatdropped as Ash twitched on the ground, multiple smoking bumps growing out of his head as one eye was replaced with a swirl.

"DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!" Misty snapped, a large mallet in her hands as a very irked Kajun tapped a paper fan with the kanji for 'idiot' on it in her hand.

'Where'd she get the mallet?!' Mai mentally exclaimed.

"Thank you in advance for the fan," Kajun stated to Aoiro, her eyes trained on Ash.

"Of course," Aoiro nodded a bit, 'Ugh...you won't believe how many times Karai used to pull that stunt on me when we were children…'

"Well, he is ten," Mai snickered.

"That still doesn't...ugh…" Kajun sighed a bit as she handed the fan back to Aoiro, "Let's just get to Lavender Town before the fog gets too thick for us to see through."

"Agreed…" Tsubaki slowly nodded as Brock tried to get Makoto and Noel down from the tree.

---

"Hahaha! This plan went off swimmingly!" Jessie laughed as she, James and Meowth stood in the middle of an empty room, "Not only did we get that old fart, but we're in the perfect spot to catch rare Pokemon!"

"Dat's right! Some primo ghosties and Dark-types live in dis town jest ripe for da takin'!" Meowth agreed.

"And we don't have to worry about that old man going anywhere. He's safely locked up in one of the rooms," James added before pausing to think, "Though...I don't get it."

"Huh?" the two looked at James.

"That old man...he doesn't look all that special, but the boss wanted us to retrieve him," James noted.

"Eh. I'm sure we'll figure it out sooner or later," Meowth shrugged.

"That's right. For now let's…" Jessie began before she spotted something outside the window, "...Wait a minute."

"Something up?" James asked as they approached the window, noticing some familiar faces standing outside the tower, "Gh?! Th-the twerps?"

"What are they…?" Jessie began before blinking a bit, "...Actually this is beneficial to us. Not only do we have the old fart secured, but we can snatch the Twerps' rare Pokemon too. It'll be like..."

"Ugh….g-guys…?" Meowth spoke, paling significantly as he looked at the group ,"L...L...look who's wit' them…"

"Hmm?" Jessie and James blinked as they looked down...only to pale when they noticed Aoiro standing amongst the group, "GH?!"

"Wh-wh-why is she with them?!" James exclaimed.

"I-I don't know!" Jessie freaked, "Y...you don't think she betrayed us, do you?!"

"I was thinkin' dat it'd be Karai first, not her!" Meowth argued.

"Oh man, oh man...I can't take this!" James freaked as he began to run...only to end up dropping through the floor, "Gah ha!"

"James?!" Jessie gasped as she and Meowth ran over to the newly formed hole, "Are you alright?"

"Ow…" James groaned, laying face first on the floor below them.

"Yeah, he's fine," Meowth sweatdropped.

"Ugh...maybe this place wasn't a good idea," Jessie muttered, unaware of a nearby closet opening up, "Old places like this are dangerous."

"Gha~"

"Hmm? What's dat?" Meowth blinked as he turned...only to tense up when he saw a Ghastly floating out of the closet, yawning a bit, "Gh?!"

"Oh now what, Meowth?" Jessie frowned as the Cat Scratch Pokemon nervously pointed behind her, prompting her to look, "...Nothing's there."

"B...but...I saw a Ghastly…" Meowth whimpered as Jessie turned back towards him, only...her head was that of a Ghastly, "GAH! GET AWAY!-!-!"

*SCRATCH!*

"?!" Jessie's eyes were wide with claw marks on her face.

"...Oh Sweet Arceus. What have I done?" Meowth paled.

"You...YOU MANGY ALLEY CAT! YOU RUINED MY BEAUTIFUL FACE!" Jessie roared in anger as she pulled a large metal mallet out.

"GAH!" Meowth freaked as he started running, Jessie hot on his trail.

"GET BACK HERE, FLEABAG!"

Once the two were out of sight, Ghastly reappeared within the room, snickering at the sight.

---

"P...please tell me you heard that," Misty gulped as the group stood outside the tower, "It sounds really horrible in there."

"Yeah. Maybe they have some kind of torture chamber in there," Brock added.

"..." Aoiro gave Brock a look, "You're aware that this is a graveyard for Pokemon, correct?"

"Huh?" Ash blinked twice.

"Lavender Town has another name…'The place where Pokemon go to die,'" Aoiro explained as she looked at the tower, "When a Pokemon has passed on or is near the end of its life cycle, their Trainer would take them to here to lay them to rest."

"That explains why there's an abundance of Ghost-Type Pokemon here then," Kajun noted.

"Exactly," Aoiro nodded before her good eye narrowed, "But sometimes...the Pokemon that have passed on would a nasty grudge, whether it was from being abused by their Trainer, or if the Pokemon had an evil heart."

"...a….and the Black Fog lives here...r-right?" Noel nervously asked, still hiding behind Makoto.

"It's rumored to live here, yes," Aoiro replied, "As long as we don't encounter it, we'll be fine."

"AHH!" a trio of screams went off from inside the tower.

"...Did those sound familiar to any of you?" Mai asked.

"Yeah...they did sound familiar…" Ash admitted, holding his chin in thought a bit, "...Someone should go look."

"Great idea, Ash. You go first then!" Misty exclaimed.

"Huh?" Ash blinked before Misty and Brock pushed him towards the entrance, "H-hey!"

"You've gotta be kidding me," Mai facepalmed, "You two are Gym Leaders, for goodness sake. Shouldn't you two be leading us in?"

"Does the Ghost Maiden incident ring any bells?" Brock and Misty hissed.

"The what?" Aoiro raised a brow.

"You don't want to know..." Makoto nervously answered.

"Luca, please come out and keep Foresight active," Tsubaki shook her head, sending out her Starter.

"Rio," Luca nodded before his eyes started to glow.

"Let's go," Tsubaki said, the others nodding as they slowly walked through the entrance.

"H...Hello? Anyone home?" Ash nervously asked before the doors slammed shut behind the group, "?!"

"Ahh!" Misty yelped as she ran behind Mai, "It's pitch black in here! Do something!"

"I got it. Ch-"

"Serenade, Flash," Aoiro ordered, sending out her Meowstic.

"Yes, ma'am," Serenade complied before holding up a paw, forming a sphere of light above it, "Will there be anything else?"

"Not yet, but be on standby just in case," Aoiro answered before noticing the others looking at her, "...What? Is...something wrong?"

"Was...your Meowstic talking just now?" Misty blinked.

"I learned Telepathy in order to better assist my mistress," Serenade informed, "I had a good teacher in learning it."

"...Was it Meowth by any chance?" Makoto asked in a deadpanned tone.

"No. He knows how to speak the human tongue, I project my thoughts to others to translate," the Meowstic gave a deadpan expression.

"Oh...then wh-" Makoto began before some strange laughing was heard, "?!"

"Wh-where are those voices coming from?" Mai asked as the group huddled up.

---

"(Ahahahahaha! This is the best comedy ever!)" a plump, dark-purple Pokemon with red eyes laughed.

"(Oh oh oh! I love this part! Wait for it...wait for it...)" A purple ghost-like Pokemon with just a pair of detached hands held up one to its ear.

*SMACK!*

"(AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!)" the purple ghost laughed hysterically, his eyes bugging out and his tongue sticking out as the two were watching a comedy show on a small TV.

"(WAHAHAHAHAHA! I just love these guys!)" the other cackled.

"(Hey, Haunter, Gengar~)" a voice spoke as a Ghastly phased in through the wall, "(Did I miss anything good?)"

"(You just missed the best part, Ghastly!)"

"(Ahh...shame. Oh by the way, I have great news. There's some trainers here in our tower, and you know what that means~)" Ghastly grinned.

"(SCARE-A-PALOOZA!)" Haunter whooped.

"(How many Trainers are there?)" Gengar asked as he jumped onto his feet.

"(Aside from the two with a Meowth, there's nine in total,)" Ghastly answered.

"(Which means there's eleven people for us to scare,)" Gengar grinned.

"(Yes! Let's-wait. Only eleven?)"

"(Yeah. Eleven.)"

"(...Straws.)"

"(Again with the straws...)" Gengar sighed, "(This always happens when there isn't enough to divide by three...)" he shot his hand into Ghastly's mouth and pulled out three identical straws, "(Shortest straw only gets to pick three instead of four.)"

"(Got it)" Haunter nodded as he and Ghastly grabbed one straw each, the latter using his tongue.

"(Okay. one...two….three!)" Gengar shouted as Ghastly and Haunter pulled their straws back, "(Who got the shortest straw?)"

"(Not me)," Ghaslty replied.

"(DAGNABBIT!)" Haunter shouted, holding up a tiny stub of a straw.

"(Tough luck, buddy)," Gengar snickered, "(But, hey, you get first pick as a consolation prize. Ghastly, care to show us the scare candidates?)"

"(Gladly)," Ghastly nodded, turning to a nearby wall as his eyes began to shine a bit, the lights on the wall showing separate images of Team Rocket, and Ash's group.

"(...Why's the one human dressed like an oddly colored Pachirisu?)"

Gengar slapped the back of Haunter's head, causing his eyes to literally pop out of his face, "(We don't ask questions, we scare for laughs. Okay, Haunter! First picks are yours!)"

"(Sweet!)"

---

"This is kind of strange," Brock noted as they looked around, "The outside looks completely terrifying, but inside…"

"It looks like people have been taking care of the graves here," Misty noted, seeing that none of the gravestones were covered in anything.

"D…do you think the Ghost Pokemon have been taking care of it?" Noel asked.

"There is a person who takes care of this place," Aoiro noted.

"Mistress?" Serenade questioned, keeping the others from hearing her Telepathy.

'Considering the situation, we'll have to inform them, Serenade,' Aoiro thought before speaking aloud, "A man by the name of Fuji runs a home for the children of the deceased Pokemon near here and often comes here to take care of the graves."

"I see," Kajun noted.

"How did you know that?" Makoto asked.

"Team Rocket tends to keep track of everything in Kanto," Aoiro replied, "From the biggest events to even a recent birth, Team Rocket makes note of it for future use."

"...How long have you been keeping an eye on Sabrina?" Tsubaki asked.

"...For quite a while. We had heard rumors about strange things happening in Saffron, so I gathered a team to try and investigate it and…" Aoiro paused as she held a hand up to her bandaged eye, "You see the results."

"Yeah," Misty shuddered.

"It will recover, but...that scar will still be there," Aoiro stated.

"...Did one of her Pokemon do that to you?" Noel asked, a bit of concern in her voice.

"..." Aoiro looked at Noel, "...yes."

"...H-h-how did it happen?"

"..."

---

(Flashback)

"Tile/lade!" Evergreen and Lancelot cried out as they were sent crashing into the wall, the two covered in harsh bruises with blood dripping a bit from some cuts.

"Wh….what the hell...what the hell is she…?" Karai whispered, a look of pure horror on her face as she, Aoiro, and some Rocket Grunts stood across from Sabrina and a strange Pokemon resembling a pure-white orangutan wearing a cape of purple fur and a fan made of leaves and more purple fur, "Th..the reports never mentioned she was this strong!"

"Do you surrender now?" Sabrina asked in her normal cold tone, her eyes glowing an ominous red.

"..."

"...So be it. Oranguru, Psyshock...no mercy."

"Oran," the orangutan-like Pokemon nodded.

Oranguru moved its fan-holding arm across its chest. The 'blades' of the fan began to glow a soft dark-pink. It swung the fan and sent out a 'blade' of psychic energy at them.

"?!" Aoiro tensed as she saw the psychic 'blade' aimed straight at her Pokemon, prompting her to run towards them.

"What are you…?"! Karai began.

*SLASH!*

(Flashback end)

---

=Oranguru, the Sage Pokemon. This solitary Pokémon spends its time deep in the forest, meditating high up in the trees. While it is not normally active, it will provide food to hungry Pokémon and give medicine to injured ones. It has even been known to use human tools or items, including Poké Balls. This can make them difficult Pokémon for Trainers to handle. Ancient people actually thought Oranguru were people, and called them the "people of the forests."= Dexter informed.

"Yeesh, that sounds like a hard Pokemon to work with," Ash noted.

"It is normally, but to someone like Sabrina, it wouldn't stand a chance mentally," Aoiro explained.

"That's terrible! How could anyone do that to others?" Noel gasped.

'...Just like her,' Aoiro thought, "...Someone who's completely blocked out their emo…" Aoiro began before tensing a bit, "...We're not alone."

"Huh? What a-" Misty began before an eerie sound was heard, "?!"

"Please tell me that wasn't an eerie sound…" Makoto whimpered.

"(Seriously. Can't. Breathe...)" Terra choked out, being hugged tightly by Makoto.

"Should I be concerned with how fast you sent him out like that?" Serenade focused on Mai.

'Every time she's scared, she always goes for me and gropes me…' Mai mentally explained with a sigh, 'And it's not just me. She does it to Tsubaki sometimes, too!'

"...Should I warn my mistress just in case?"

'...We may be enemies with Team Rocket, but no one deserved a Makoto Fear-Grope if they're not durable enough for it. So yeah.'

"Noted."

"Pi?" Pikachu's ears twitched, the Electric Mouse noticing something heading towards the group, "Pika?!"

"What's wrong, Pikachu?" Ash asked before a low growl was heard from ahead, "..."

"...Please tell me that was your stomach, Ashton," Kajun lightly begged.

"...No…."

"...That's what I was afraid of…" Kajun sighed in acceptance.

"TYRANT!"

"?!" the group-minus Aoiro and Serenade-tensed as they saw a large, transparent T-rex like Pokemon charging towards them, its eyes a pure white.

"Tyrantrum!" Kajun gasped, "But those are extinct! That shouldn't even be possible!"

'Best she doesn't know about that rumored cave filled with ancient Pokemon then…' Aoiro thought.

"Hold on. Maybe it's just a Ghost Pokemon trying t-" Tsubaki began.

"RUN!-!-!-!" Makoto screamed as she ran, grabbing Misty and Mai as she bolted out of there.

"Darn it, Makoto!" Mai yelped.

"Wait. I think it could be a-" Tsubaki began before Noel ran off screaming, inadvertently dragging Brock and Kajun with her, "...Ugh. What else can go wr-"

*CREEEEEAAAAAAK*

"...That was the floorboard, wasn't it?"

"Uh-huh," Ash gulped.

"This is the normal for you all, isn't it?"

"Yes…" Tsubaki sighed before she and Luca fell through the floor, "AHH!"

"Tsubaki!" Ash gasped.

"TYRANT!"

"...Serenade, Teleport." Aoiro sighed.

"Yes, ma'am," Serenade complied before she, Ash, and Pikachu vanished.

"(...Aw man…)"the Tyrantrum frowned before disappearing in a poof of smoke, Ghastly, Haunter, and Gengar taking its place,"(These guys are smart…)"

"(I think it was just the red-haired one and the one with an eyepatch that figured it out. The others were too frightened and I think that kid was gonna pull out one of those spheres that we see people with)," Haunter noted.

"(I think they call them 'Pokey Balls,')" Gengar replied, "(Welp, I better go look for the ones that teleported off. They were two of my pics.)"

"(What about the others?)"

"(I'll be looking for the other two, too. You guys look for your targets together considering one of Haunter's ran off with one of yours.)"

"(Speaking of that one, Haunter...were you aware that the tail was real?)"

"(A human with a real tail and not one of those fake ones that they take off before coming inside? ...Huh. Heh-heh! I'mma gonna see how it reacts when I scare her!)"

"(Then let's go, men! The night is still young, so let's hurry before they run out!)" Gengar declared.

"(Agr-wait. But the door is locked.)" Ghastly chimed in.

"(...did you lock it again, Haunter?)"

"(No. Ghastly?)"

"(No. I didn't do that. ...What day is it?)"

"(Monday.)"

"(...Did anyone see the nice elder today?)"

"(No…Oh Giratina, please tell me no one messed with that.)"

"(Ghastly, go check on that this instant! Haunter, get to the nice elder's abode and see if he's there! I've gotta find those guys in case that was messed with and fast!)" Gengar ordered.

"(AYE AYE!)"Ghastly and Haunter exclaimed, a bit of fear in their voices as they flew off.

'I pray to Lord Giratina that it wasn't messed with. For if it was...may Arceus have mercy upon us all…' Gengar thought as he flew off, passing through a wall.

A toppled grave glowed before turning into Zorua, "(What was that about?)"

---

"Whoa!" Ash yelped as he nearly fell over as they appeared on a floor above where they had been.

"(Ugh...I hate Teleport…)" Pikachu groaned, putting a paw over his mouth after speaking before swallowing the bile that formed in his mouth.

"Apologies…" Serenade stated.

"Why'd you take us out of there?" Ash asked.

"Everyone was panicking and separated. By leaving the area, we'd be given the chance to regroup our thoughts and figure out the location of the others," Aoiro replied as calm as ever.

"Oh...I see."

"No matter the situation, a Trainer must be completely calm and collected, especially against powerful or unknown Pokemon," Aoiro explained, "Panicking over everything will just cause you to perform multiple mistakes and even highly dangerous ones." she looked around, "We may need your Eevee to help repel the Ghost-Types here considering that their moves cannot…"

"Um...I kinda sent him back to Professor Oak when we stopped by the Pokemon Center in the town before coming here," Ash spoke.

"What?"

"Nurse Joy suggested it after checking on my Pokemon due to his head injury from Sabrina's Gym," Ash explained, "So I sent him to Professor Oak and Krabby was sent to me."

"...I see," Aoiro noted.

"Sound logic to put a Pokemon's injuries into thought over necessity for a Nurse Joy," Serenade nodded, "Though we are now at a disadvantage should we encounter one that tries to attack since we have no Normal-Types to absorb the Ghost-type attacks."

'Darn…' Aoiro thought, biting her thumb a bit in frustration, 'And I had to leave Taka back at HQ.' her eye widened just slightly, 'Oh drat! In my haste to obtain even the slightest advantage for this boy to defeat Sabrina, I forgot to contact father!'

"...Something wrong?" Ash asked, noticing the worried look on Aoiro's face.

"My last contact with Team Rocket was broken before I could fully explain the situation and due to the haste of coming here, I forgot to contact them to explain the developing situation. If those three are here, there is a fair chance that they will come to the conclusion that I have betrayed Team Rocket."

"Eh? What h-" Ash began.

"Ugh…"

'...There is no way that was coincidence…' Aoiro thought before noticing a nearby hole in the floor, hearing a trio of groans from it, 'What is with this child and the timing that seems to happen around him?'

Serenade walked up to the hole and peeked down, "...It's them. I can tell by the long red hair with the idiot poking out of it."

"(Which one's the idiot?)" Pikachu joked.

"(...I like you,)" Serenade gave a small, amused smile at him, "(Shame we're on opposite sides.)"

Pikachu shrugged.

"...It's too dark down there," Ash whispered before pulling out a PokeBall, "Charmander, use Flamethrower."

"Char!" Charmander beamed as he popped out of his ball before inhaling and then breathing fire down into the hole, "CHAR~!"

"GAH~!" Team Rocket's screams echoed from the hole.

"Gah! Who did that!?" Jessie demanded, unaware her hair was on fire as she looked up, "Ugh..It's that stuck up brat and the traitor! When I get a hold of them, I'm going to personally make their Pokemon my slaves!"

"She is aware her hair is on fire, right?" Serenade asked her Trainer.

"Give her a moment…" Aoiro whispered before they heard Jessie screaming as the fire down the hole began to move around erratically, "...And there it is."

---

"Scary ghosts scary…" Makoto whimpered, her back against the door as she shook while her tail stood straight up.

"Why'd she have to go and grab us…?" Misty sighed a bit.

"We were too close," Mai shook her head before looking around, "Still...This place is interesting. I've never really been to a graveyard before."

"Neither have I, and I don't plan on revisiting anytime soon," Misty shuddered.

"Same…" Makoto gulped, "L-let's j-"

"CUBONE!"

"RUN THE HECK AWAY!" Makoto freaked, about to reach for the door before a bone smacked her right on the forehead, "OW!".

"Wh-what the…?!" Mai began as the bone flew back to a small Pokemon standing on an old ragged bed.

"It's a Cubone," Misty gasped.

"Cubone…" Cubone growled a bit, its blue eyes narrowed through the skull it was wearing over its head; its body an ash brown in color and reminded Mai and Makoto of a tiny dinosuar's body with longer arms.

"Why...is it wearing a skull on its head…?" Makoto groaned, rubbing the spot the bone hit her on.

"What I wouldn't give for Ash's Pokedex right now…" Mai sighed.

"M….maybe it wandered in here from outside…" Misty guessed.

"Then why did it attack m-" Makoto began before her ears twitched, "Eh?" she then looked over at a small closet, "...Someone's in there."

Mai nodded and moved to the closet, Cubone keeping its eyes on the bluenette. Moving to the side of the cabinet, she motioned for the two girls to be ready for anything. She slowly reached for the handle, carefully turning it before pulling the door open, revealing an old man bound and gagged inside.

"Oh my goodness!" Misty gasped.

Minutes later, the three girls helped the elderly man out of the closet. Now in full view, the elder had a bald head with only two bushy grey eyebrows and a pair of wire glasses on his face. His nose was a bit long while he sported a small bush of grey hair on his chin. He wore a blue button shirt and brown slacks with black slipper-like shoes on his feet.

"Thank you so much for getting me out of there," the elder thanked.

'It's no problem sir," Mai nodded a bit, "But...why were you in the closet to begin with?"

"...Ugh. It's because of those three," the elder sighed, "Honestly...they were so rude." he frowned as he looked over at Cubone, who was still on the bed, "And those 'R' symbols on their clothes terrified Cubone."

"Those three?" Makoto repeated.

"R symbols?" Mai added.

"...Not them again," Misty sighed with a facepalm.

"Them?" the elder repeated.

"Team Rocket."

"?!" Cubone tensed as he jumped off the bed and ran behind the elder.

The elder frowned, "So they really are members of that organization."

"You know about Team Rocket, sir?" Mai asked.

"Yes. I run an orphanage for Pokemon in town," the elder explained, "Many of them...were orphaned by Team Rocket killing their families for horns, bones, furs, almost everything."

"Wh-What?" Misty gasped.

"...Then Cubone…" Mai began.

"He saw his mother die protecting him…"

"Oh Arceus…" Misty whispered.

"Oh, poor little guy…" Makoto whispered, her ears drooping in sadness.

"Cubone often throws his club at anyone that gets near him, but he doesn't with me so I often bring him along when I come to clean the graves and give my respects to those who've long since passed," the elder explained as Cubone moved closer to him, peeking out to stare at the three girls.

"...And just as you were leaving, you know who jumped you and kidnapped you," Mai guessed.

"Correct…" the elder sighed, "...I just pray they didn't mess with it."

"It?" the three repeated.

"The seal keeping the Black Fog asleep."

"?!" the trio's eyes widened.

---

"Mmm...ow…" Tsubaki groaned, her eyes slowly opening to see Luca looking at her in worry.

"Lo-o-ri?"

"I'm...fine, Luca…" Tsubaki assured as she stood up, coughing a bit from the dust as she looked around the room, "Must be on the lower level…"

"Ri," Luca nodded.

"...Keep an eye out for anything suspicious," Tsubaki advised as the two carefully walked through the room, passing by a sheathed sword on the wall, unaware the 'gem' on the hilt following them.

"Rio…"

"...Maybe Sorin c-" Tsubaki began.

"Hone…"

"?!" Tsubaki tensed as she and Luca turned around, only to see...nothing, "...What was that?"

"Rio-lu," Luca moved closer, Foresight active in his eyes as Sorin popped out of his ball.

"Ruff!"

"Sorin? What are you…?" Tsubaki began as Sorin began to sniff about, heading towards the wall before pointing at the sheathed sword on the wall, "...a sword?"

"Rockruff!"

"...Luca?"

"Ri…" Luca nodded as he ran over to Sorin and looked at the sword with Foresight, "?! Riolu!"

"...It's possessed by a ghost, isn't it?" Tsubaki cautiously asked.

"Hone…" the voice spoke once more, the 'gem' on the sword narrowing before it flew right off the wall, the dust and rust on it disappearing from it, "Edge!"

"Ri/Yipe!" the two Pokemon yelped as they avoided the slash from the blade.

"?!" Tsubaki tensed as the sword floated before the three, letting them get a better look at it.

The possessed blade appeared to be from the medieval times. It was a silver sword with a blue gem that appeared to be its eye engraved on its hilt. Attached to the pommel was a long, dark blue cloth with a swirl design in lighter blue at its four-split end. 'Held' by the split end was a dark brown sheath with intricate engravings on it.

"...Is...is this a Pokemon as well…?" Tsubaki whispered.

"Honedge…" the sword whispered as it stood...er...hovered ready.

'If it is, then it's angry at us,' Tsubaki thought, "Luca, get ready to fight."

"Riolu," Luca shifted into an opening stance.

"Sorin, stand ready just in case."

"Ruff!"

"Edge…"

---

"Pl...please tell me it's gone…" Noel shivered, hiding behind Brock and Kajun as she held Nymph and Yuki tight.

"I think it's gone," Brock replied, "But...it's strange."

"What do you mean?"

"That was a Tyrantrum, a Rock/Dragon-Type from the Jurassic Era," Brock explained to Noel, "They've been extinct for millions of years now."

"...Th...then it was a ghost…" Noel whimpered.

"...We're dealing with a Ghastly again," Kajun realized.

"...Not again~~" Noel whined, waterfall tears going down her cheeks as Yuki and Nymph whined along with her.

"There, there," Brock comforted, "We're more than ready for another one again, you three." he sent out Zubat, "But for now, let's try to get back to the others. Zubat, use your echolocation to try to find everyone."

"Zu," Zubat agreed as he flew ahead.

"Excellent idea, Brock," Kajun noted as she let out Hikari and Koko, "Be prepared to use your best attacks in case we run into any Ghost-types, you two."

"Ralts/Espe," the two nodded.

"Mmmm…" Noel, Yuki, and Nymph whimpered.

"Just stay close to us, Noel," Brock assured, "We'll protect you."

"O-okay," Noel nodded as she stayed close to the two, "D...do you think the others are okay?"

"Knowing our friends, I'm sure they'll be okay," Kajun replied, "Knowing Ashton's luck, he's probably found a Pokemon in here at the moment."

---

"We have yet to see a single Pokemon in here since that Tyrantrum," Serenade noted, "You'd think we'd see more Ghost Pokemon here…"

"Yeah. It's weird," Ash nodded before looking over at the trailing behind trio, covered in soot, "Maybe they scared them off?"

"I doubt it," Aoiro stated, "They're not exactly the best members of Team Rocket if I'll be honest."

"HEY!" Jessie, James, and Meowth snapped.

"Outside of a few occasions where they did something right, such as obtaining a large chunk of Moon Stone and the Beedrill they captured from Viridian Forest, they're mostly failures," Serenade added.

"You…!" Jessie growled before blinking a bit, "Wait. Why exactly are we following the twerp and this traitor?!"

"Because one, I am not a traitor and say that again and Serenade will show her displeasure at the accusation," Aoiro informed as Serenade took over the trio's left arms to slap themselves across the face, "And two, you are the three who were assigned to the task here in Lavender Town and know the current situation best at this moment in time. In fact...James, tell me everything."

"Why me?!"

"Because out of the three of you, you are not an egomaniac or jealous of our leader's Persian."

"HEY!" Jessie and Meowth snapped, slapping the air before Serenade took over their arms and slapped them once more.

"Speak or I'll do what the old man version of Crobatman did to that member of the Prankerz in that one cartoon to get information," Serenade warned, keeping her telepathy focused on just James and Aoiro.

"?!" James tensed at that, "We managed to get the old man as instructed, but got scared off by a Ghastly. We attempted to run, but the doors were locked."

"Locked?" Aoiro repeated.

"Y-yes, locked, ma'am!" James nodded.

"That's weird. They weren't locked before when we came in here," Ash spoke.

"Pika…" Pikachu nodded in agreement.

"...You don't think it was that Ghastly, do ya?" Meowth asked with a gulp.

"I doubt it. Ghastly and its evolutions, Haunter and Gengar, are known to scare humans just for pranks, but never to harm…" Aoiro answered before she noticed something in James' pocket, "...What's that you got in there?"

"Hmm? Oh this?" James began as he pulled out what looked like a rock, "It's just a piece of rock I found while Jessie was throttling Meowth. It was part of a bigger rock, so I figured I'd take a piece to carve into a charm later."

"?!" Aoiro tensed at that, her eye starting to narrow as she growled, "You idiot…"

"Huh?" James blinked twice before the front of his shirt was pulled down by Serenade's Psychic to make him look her in the eyes.

"WHY DID YOU TAKE SOMETHING FROM A GRAVE IN A KNOWN HAUNTED STRUCTURE?!" Serenade snapped.

"I-it didn't look like a grave! It looked more like a carving of a giant Ghost Pokemon!" James yelped.

"...Giant...Ghost…" Aoiro whispered, "...Child, I apologize for the language."

"Huh?"

"James…"

"Eh?" James blinked twice as Pikachu used his tail to cover Ash's ears.

"You ARCEUS DAMN IDIOT!" Aoiro roared, her eye slit as she grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt, "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU'VE JUST FUCKING DONE?!"

"EEEK! NO, MA'AM, NO!" James squealed in fear.

"WHY'RE YOU FREAKING ABOUT?! IT WAS JUST A STUPID ROCK!" Jessie snapped before tensing when Aoiro turned her glare towards her.

"That's no rock...that's the seal meant to keep the Black Fog sleeping!" Aoiro growled.

"The what?" Jessie blinked while James and Meowth paled significantly.

"Th….the Black Mist….th….THAT Black Fog?" Meowth whispered in fear.

"The same Black Fog known for eating the souls of both Human and Pokemon alike?" James added in equal fear.

"Say what?" Jessie looked at the two.

"You may want to keep his ears covered for a bit longer," Serenade advised Pikachu.

"(Got it)."

"You were given one damn...no...one FUCKING JOB TO DO, AND YET LOOK WHAT HAPPENS!" Aoiro snapped, her calm expression replaced with one of pure anger, "YOU ENDED UP RELEASING A FUCKING ARCEUS DAMN DEMON CAPABLE OF EATING THE SOULS OF EVERYONE IN HERE AND, IF IT GETS OUT, WILL CONSUME ALL THE SOULS IN THE ENTIRE KANTO AND JOHTO REGIONS!"

"...W...well….M-maybe this wouldn't have happened if you and the twerps didn't arrive here!" Jessie argued.

"...Are you insinuating this is my fault?" Aoiro dangerously frowned as she focused her glare on Jessie.

"Pikachu, what are they saying?" Ash asked.

"Pika-pi~~~~~" Pikachu sobbed into his paws.

"...Bad stuff if you're crying, huh?"

"Are you a natural attractor for dangerous situations?" Serenade asked Ash.

"...Well…"

"That's what I thought…"

"Ugh...Here's what's going to happen," Aoiro began as she held a finger up, "One; you're going to give me your communicator so I can try and contact our leader and tell him the situation." she held up another finger, "Two; until I return, you are to look after this child and no. You may NOT steal his Pokemon while I'm away...in fact, Serenade will be watching over you three just in case." She held up one more finger, "And three; we find his friends and Mr. Fuji, head to the seal before the Black Mist finds us, and restore it."

"...And if we say no?" Jessie asked, James and Meowth shooting a 'Why~~~~?!' expression at her.

"...Serenade, you may do your threat on James to her," Aoiro ordered.

"Oh goody," Serenade grinned before using Psychic to throw Jessie to away from them as she pulled out a collapsible cane from Aoiro's pack, "Now this is how you interrogate."

---

"You get the feeling that a tiny cat is doing unspeakable things to an old lady?" Mai suddenly asked.

"Where did that come from?" Makoto asked as the three girls stayed near the elderly man as they made their way upstairs.

"I don't know...just...random question I guess," Mai shrugged.

"Please keep it down," the elder advised softly, "If the seal was disturbed by those three, we might attract its attention."

"G-good idea," Misty nervously nodded, "Just hope we find the others before it does…"

"Bone…" Cubone mumbled on the elder's back.

"Pachi…" Berry spoke up, poking her head out of Makoto's tail to look at Cubone.

"...Cu," Cubone scoffed as he looked away.

"Chipa…" Berry's puffed her cheeks out.

"I apologize about Cubone's behavior. He...doesn't play with with the other Pokemon," the elder explained.

"...Maybe he's trying to appear tough before them then," Mai guessed.

*BONK!*

"Ow!" Mai yelped a bit.

"Bone…" Cubone growled a bit in annoyance at her.

"Easy now, Cubone. It was just a guess on her end," the elder advised.

"...Bone…" Cubone huffed.

"Shrew!" Cubone looked down at the frowning Sandshrew in training restraints, "Shrew-sandshrew-sand!"

"...Bone…"

"Sandshrew-sand-san."

"?!" Cubone's eyes widened before jumping off the elder and swung his club at Terra, who caught the club, "Bone! Cubone-cu!"

"Shrew," Terra shook his head.

"What are they talking about that's got Cubone so mad?" Misty pondered.

"Dunno…" Makoto shrugged a bit.

"Bone-bone-cubone-cubone-one!"

"Sandshrew…" Terra sighed with his eyes closed before snapping them open into a starn glare, "Sand-sand-shrew-sand!"

"?!" Cubone tensed up as tears welled up in his eyes, "B-Bone~!"

"Oh! Cubone!" the elder gasped as the tiny Pokemon ran off.

"I'll go after him," Mai offered as she ran after Cubone, "You just hurry to that seal thing to check on it!"

"Got it!" Makoto shouted, "Just be careful, Mai!"

"Don't worry. I will!"

---

"Honedge!" the sword shouted it attempted to slash Luca once more.

"Ruff!" the blade avoided Sorin's fire-engulfed fangs.

"That's new," Tsubaki noted, "...I may need to borrow Ash's Pokedex to see what moves you have, Sorin."

"Ruff!" Sorin barked before yelping, narrowly dodging an overhead slash from the sword.

"This is tougher than I thought…" Tsubaki whispered, "...Maybe..Luca, use Double Team to confuse it! Sorin, when there's an opening, go for the attack!"

"Ri/Ruff!"

The blade 'looked' at the two before Luca started running around it. His body glowed before a multitude of him were now moving around the blade. The sword tensed up as it was quickly circled around by the group of Riolu, trying to focus on one at a time. The moment the blade's 'back' was towards him, Sorin crouched down before lunging at the blade, flames erupting from his fangs.

"Fire Fang?" Tsubaki gasped as Sorin chomped on the blade, causing an explosion.

"Hone?!" the sword groaned out in pain as it was sent crashing into a wall, bouncing off it before it fell flat on the floor.

"...If this really is a Pokemon…" Tsubaki whispered, reaching for a Pokeball on her waist, "Then...PokeBall, go!"

With that, Tsubaki threw the red and white sphere. It sailed through the air before bouncing off the blade. It opened up and the blade and its scabbard turned into a red light that was sucked into the ball. It snapped shut and landed on the floor before it started to shake. Tsubaki stood tense as Sorin and Luca stood by her side, preparing just in case it escaped. It gave a few me shakes until…the light turned off and a soft 'click' went off.

"Phew…" Tsubaki sighed in relief as Sorin panted happily while Luca nodded, "It is…." She then blinked a bit in realization, 'Wait...I just officially caught my first wild Pokemon...heh heh. How exciting. H..ahem! No no..need to stay focused.'

Sorin let out a confused bark. Luca just patted Sorin's head, earning him a big lick to the face from Sorin.

"...Question is…" Tsubaki whispered to herself as she walked over and picked the PokeBall up, "What Pokemon are you...and what to name you for that matter?"

Sorin sniffed the floor before sniffing the air and barked, "Ruff!"

"Hmm?" Tsubaki blinked as she looked over at her Rockruff, "Did you find something, Sorin?"

"Ruff!" Sorin nodded before running off.

"Ah! Sorin, wait!" Tsubaki yelped as she and Luca ran after the Puppy Pokemon.

---

"W-Was that screaming just now?" Noel gulped, moving closer to Kajun and Brock.

"I think it was…" Brock whispered, his hand reaching for one of his Pokemon.

"Koko, sense anything?" Kajun asked, sending out her Espeon.

"Esp," Koko shook her head.

"R-Ralts…" Hikari whimpered, hugging Koko.

"What's wrong with Hikari?" Noel gulped.

"Ralts are the Feeling Pokemon," Brock explained, "They're known for being able to sense the emotions of others."

"...Wh-which means she's feeling what I'm feeling...r-right?" Noel asked.

"Either you or someone else," Brock replied, "Maybe Makoto?"

"Hikari, are you feeling what Makoto's feeling now?" Kajun asked.

"R-Ralts…" Hikari nodded.

"She must be close by then," Kajun noted, "Let's hurry."

"Gen~gar~"

"?!" the trio of humans froze.

"Wh….what was that?" Noel squeaked out.

"My guess...a Genga-"

"GENGAR~~~!"

The trio yelped as they turned to see Gengar emerging from the floor, his body slumped over. Noel screamed and ran off.

"Ah! Noel!" Brock shouted as he and Zubat went off after her.

"Oh not again," Kajun sighed as she and her Pokemon followed.

"(I found some n…)" Gengar lifted his head up to see no one, "(...I could've sworn three of them were here...did I scare them off already?)"

---

"It should be right here," the elder informed as he, Misty, and Makoto turned around a corner.

"Whoa…" Misty gasped as the three stood before a large shrine shaped like an oversized Haunter.

"Is...is that…?" Makoto nervously asked.

"Yes...This is where the Black Fog lays sleeping…" the elder nodded as he approached the shrine.

"Th...then why aren't there any seals on it for extra measures?"

"There is. It was years ago when it still threatened this land," the elder explained, "It would use its powers to rip the souls out of those that wouldn't worship it and devour them. The days were filled with fear and horror for those who lived here until one day...A Legendary Pokemon appeared."

"A Legendary Pokemon?" Misty repeated.

"Yes. The legendary Zygarde," the elder replied, "No one knows what attracted Zygarde all the way to the Kanto Region from the Kalos Region, but in one mighty blow, it sealed the Black Fog within stone and made a keystone to keep it sealed away."

"...Oh, I hope those three didn't mess with it…" Makoto whispered, hugging her own tail in fear as she shook.

"No! It's gone!" the elder gasped.

"...What?" Makoto meeped.

"The keystone that keeps the Black Fog sealed away is gone!" the elder backed away from the shrine, "If it's kept away from here for too long, the Black Fog will awaken and slowly regain its powers…"

*THUD*

"Makoto!" Misty gasped.

"We need to find the keystone before it's too late," the elder informed.

"Mmm~~~" Makoto whined, the squirrel girl completely white as her eyes were blank with fear, 'Where is everyone when you need them?'

---

"Oh man...Where is that little guy?" Mai pondered as she looked around, "Terra, what did you say to him that made him run off like that?"

"Shrew…" Terra shrugged.

"I really should've kept a handkerchief on hand in case Cubone started crying," Mai sighed, "Cubone! Cubone, where are you?! Please answer!"

"Shrew…" Terra called out before they walked around a tombstone and right into Haunter.

"(OH FINALLY!)" Haunter exclaimed.

"Gah!" Mai yelped, jumping back.

"(You have to get your Trainer outta here!)" Haunter informed quickly, wildly gesturing, "(That big scary menace is starting to break out!)"

"(Scary menace? What Big Scary menace?)" Terra asked.

"(THE BLACK FOG! HE'S GONNA WAKE UP SOON AND TRY AND EAT EVERYONE HERE!)"

"?! Shrew?!" Terra jumped back, his foot landing on a step going upstairs behind him.

"GET OUT!"

"?!" the three froze.

"...W-Was that you?" Mai asked.

"Haunter-haunt-haunt," Haunter shook his head quickly, sweating.

"(Was it the Black Mist?)"

"(No…)" Haunter gulped before yelping and tackled the two over just in time to avoid a spinning wheel of shadows that shattered a few gravestones before returning to a demonic shadowed figure, "(It's her…)"

"(H...her…?)" Terra slowly repeated.

"(The one who died protecting her hatchling!)"

"LEAVE THIS PLACE!" the distorted voice shrieked as it sent another shadow wheel at them.

"Gah!" Mai grabbed Terra and barely rolled out of the way, "Why is it that whenever we go into a tower, there's always something trying to kill us?!"

"(This has happened to you before?!)" Terra exclaimed.

"(What do you think I'm trying to do here, huh?!)" Haunter snapped at the shadowed figure before screaming as more shadow wheels were thrown at him.

"...I think we better go find the others fast…" Mai whispered, "But...Cubone...wait." She looked over at Haunter, "Please tell me you saw a Cubone around here."

"(A cu...OF COURSE!)" Haunter exclaimed before turning to Terra, "(Try to keep her distracted and I'll go find the little tyke!)" he zipped off before Terra could reply.

"Hey! Wa…" Mai began before the demonic shadowed figure slammed a club of shadows before her.

"GET OUT! LEAVE THIS PLACE!"

"Gh…!" Mai sweated a bit, "T-Terra! We're gonna have to battle it!"

"Sandshrew…" Terra groaned before jumping between Mai and the figure.

---

"And we have men and women in over eighty-nine percent of key businesses in the Kanto Region and have recently started entering the Johto region!" Jessie informed.

"Anything else?" Serenade loomed over her.

"I believed in the Boogey man until I was sixteen!"

"Anything else?"

"...I was the one who ate those bacon pancakes in the fridge and blamed Meowth!"

"WHAT?!" Meowth screamed.

"Okay, you've had your fun," Aoiro sighed as she picked up Serenade while Pikachu let his tail stop covering Ash's eyes and ears.

"Why'd you do that, Pikachu?" Ash asked in annoyance.

"Pikapi…" Pikachu sighed.

"Now can we get on and find the shrine this stone belongs to?" Aoiro frowned, "Or do I need to let Serenade resume it on you and Meowth next, James?"

"R-Right! Yes, ma'am!" James saluted.

"Charmander, stay in the lead," Ash ordered.

"Char!" Charmander nodded as he walked in front to light their path.

"When we're out of here, you will hand me your communicator so I can contact our leader," Aoiro whispered harshly to the trio.

"Y-yes, ma'am!" the three nodded.

"What's with the blanket?" Serenade asked.

"Charmander char-mander man-char."

"It can't be that useful," Serenade scoffed before the ground under Meowth gave in.

"Me-yeow!" Meowth yelped before the end of a twisted blanket wrapped around his arm and pulled him away from the hole, "Whoa!"

Charmander cracked his blanket and it let go of Meowth, "Charmander?"

"...I stand corrected."

"I̶͝ ͝͞ri̵̢s̢e͏.͢.́.̛͜"

"Gah!" James jumped into Jessie's arms, "What was that?!"

"I don't know," Ash replied before a cracking noise made them turn to see a stone monument start to break, "Wh…" the monument crumbled, "?!"

Rasping out a choked breath of air was what appeared to be a Charmander. However...its skin was rotting away, exposing decaying organs and bones beneath. Its eyes were caved in while it was missing its lower jaw and its tail flame was no longer there. The sound of stone breaking began to echo as more monuments began to break, exposing more Pokemon in the same state as the Charmander.

"The seal's gotten weak enough for it to do this?" Aoiro began to sweat.

"ZOMBIES~~~!" Meowth and Serenade screamed, hugging one another with wide, frightened eyes.

"Wh...what's going on…?" Ash nervously asked as he began to back away.

"The Black Fog…" Aoiro spoke, "The seal's power is starting to weaken, enough for it to summon its undead horde."

"C-c-c-ch-ch-charmander…" Charmander whimpered.

"Pika…" Pikachu shivered, hugging onto the side of Ash's head with wide, frightful eyes.

"...James, I swear if we get out of this alive…" Jessie began before she began to strangle James, "I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!"

The zombies screeched as they came upon them.

---

"What was that?" Brock asked as the trio paused at a set of stairs.

"I-I don't know…" Noel whimpered.

"Ruff!"

"EEEEEEEEEK!" Noel squealed as she jumped into Brock's arms, shivering like a leaf with wide, blank eyes.

"Sorin, slow down...I...I…" Tsubaki began as she came up the stairs, panting a bit with Luca resting on her shoulder.

"Tsubaki?" Kajun asked.

"Kajun? Brock? Noel?" Tsubaki blinked twice.

"T-t-t-t-Tsubaki…?" Noel whimpered before tackling her, crying, "Uwaaaaaaaa~! Tsubaki~~!"

"Noel, calm down. Calm down...it's okay…" Tsubaki quietly assured, "I'm just glad I found you all when I did…"

"Are you okay?" Brock asked.

"I am," Tsubaki nodded, "I encountered a sword-like Pokemon around where I fell, and caught it with Sorin and Luca's help."

"A sword-like Pokemon?" Brock repeated.

"Correct."

"Hmm…" Kajun pulled out her Pokemon Notebook, "Can you find it in here?"

"I think so," Tsubaki replied, leafing through the pages before showing one, "This one."

"Hmm...That's a Honedge, the Sword Pokemon. They're Steel/Ghost-types and are said to be spirits that inhabit swords," Kajun explained, "You didn't try to grab its hilt, did you?"

"No."

"Good. Because it would drain your life force if you did," Kajun replied.

"...N-noted…" Tsubaki gulped a bit at that before calming herself, 'A Sword Pokemon...I might have a good name for him then…'

"...Oh! You didn't happen to run into Ash and the others on there way here, did you?" Brock asked.

"No. I…" Tsubaki began.

"GHASTLY!"

*THUD*

Riolu eyes flashed with Foresight as an Aura Sphere was aimed right at the now-startled Ghastly with Zubat behind it, fangs glowing with a dark energy and flames flickering from Sorin's fangs.

"(You have five seconds to speak or we'll fire)," Luca stated.

"(I...I came to warn you all! You need to get your trainers out of here now!)"

"(Wh….wh….why….?)" Yuki nervously asked, poking her head out from underneath Noel with Nymph.

"(The Black Fog...he's about to awake…)"

*thud*

"(And down goes the Eevee and Vulpix)," Luca sighed.

"Į̵̢͢ ̸҉̧͠a̢̡͠w̸̛͞͞à̛͝k̵̸e͜҉̵͝͠n͞҉͞.͏̛̀҉͟.̶̸̛̕.̵͏̨"

"Ru-lick them, Luca?"

"?!" the three awake humans looked at Sorin.

"No, Sorin. Don't lick them. Noel would throttle you," Luca sighed before seeing the three staring at him, "...What?"

"THIS IS SERIOUS! You have got to get them out of here! Through a window or something!" Ghastly shouted, "That Black Fog is waking up!"

"Th...They're talking…" Brock gawked.

"Why should we believe you?" Luca questioned.

"My brothers and I may be pranksters trying to liven up a gloomy place, but we take the Black Fog completely seriously!" Ghastly informed.

"I'm unsure if Lady Kajun would be glad or not if she could understand us at this moment in time," Koko sighed, "It would be good since it would mean we'd be able to tell them of this danger Ash has dragged us into, but bad at the same time if she went into Science M-and she can understand us right now, can't she?"

"...You...can talk…" Kajun whispered before writing in a new notebook, "Is this a phenomenon caused by this Black Fog…?"

"...Kajun, no…" Tsubaki frowned.

"But they're talking~" Kajun whined.

"Well...If this isn't a sign that this thing can bend reality to its will even in its awakening state, then I am unsure what will prove it," everyone looked at Zubat, "...What?"

"You're a girl?!" everyone exclaimed.

"Is...that so hard to believe?"

---

"Okay! We just gotta find the keystone, right?" Makoto asked.

"Yes," the elder nodded, "More than likely, the three who captured me may have it."

"Any description of them?" Makoto asked.

"A woman with long red hair, a man with short blue hair, and a Meowth who can speak in human language."

"...Why is it always them?" Misty slumped by Makoto's tail.

"There, there, Misty," Berry noted as she patted her head.

"At least Kajun isn't screaming into pots around us," Cherry added before seeing the two humans and one Beastkin looking at them, "...What? ...Do I have chestnut in my teeth again?"

"Y...you're talking…" Makoto whispered.

"Well duh."

"And...we can understand you," Misty added.

"Well y-wait what?"

"The seal's that weak already?" the elder gasped, "We have to hurry! It's not much longer before it awakes!"

"We can still take him...er..her..er..it!" Booster shouted, "Big s-"

"Booster, there's a time and place to act excited and cocky...this isn't one of them," Berry whispered to the Eevee.

"...What's cocky?"

"Right, right. Freak out later, find the keystone now," Makoto shook her shock off, "So come on! Let's hurry and find those three stooges!"

"Right!" the Fluffy Trio cheered.

"Mistew, do you have anything I can smell to find them pwease?" Booster asked.

'A speech impediment combined with something so cute and fluffy like Booster...If Noel were here, we'd have no chance of getting her to let go of Booster,' Makoto thought.

"The one with blue hair did drop this when they left me in that closet," the elder replied as he took out a bottle cap.

Booster sniffed it before turning around and pointing with her paw, "That way!"

"We can only hope your friends are doing okay," the elder noted as they went off in the direction Booster pointed towards.

---

"We are not doing okay!" James screamed as the five humans and their released Pokemon kept ahead of the zombies chasing them.

"Charmander, use Flamethrower!" Ash called.

"Charma-t, Ash!" Charmander replied as he spun around and released a blast of flames at the zombies, burning away several in the front of the hoard, "That didn't do much, Ash! What now?!"

"WHEN DID YA LEARN HOW TA TALK HUMAN?!" Meowth shouted in shock.

"Eh? I'm not…" Charmander began before tensing up, "...I am!"

"Tch...Is the seal that weak already…?" Aoiro whispered.

"Who cares?! Run away!" Pikachu screamed as he pointed back at the hoard.

"Right!" Ash yelped as they ran around a corner only to skid to a halt at seeing a zombie Zorua, "Aw come on!"

The zombie rasped before dashing around them in time to run into the hoard. The zombie Zorua rasped and moaned while pointing to the other path. The lead zombie groaned before the hoard ran in that direction. Once they were gone, the zombie Zorua snickered before changing into a normal Zorua.

"No brains is the best prank," Zorua snickered.

"...Did...that Zorua just save us?" Pikachu blinked.

"Of course. All in a day's work for the Phantom Prankster...Speaking of pranks…" Zorua began with a smirk before the trio scooped him into a hug.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" the Team Rocket Trio spoke quickly.

"Can't...breathe...you morons…" Zorua gasped out.

"Should we help him before the idiots hug him to death?" Serenade asked, "...Huh...Man, I haven't used my real voice in years."

"Years?!" Pikachu gawked at that.

"When you learn telepathy, you rarely use your real voice now and again," Serenade stated before making a cane and tapped it on the floor, making the trio stand at attention.

"Okay, now can someone please explain to me why the dead are walking?" Zorua asked once he got his breath back.

"...It's the Black Fog," Aoiro explained, "The seal is starting to weaken further, enough to where space is starting to be warped…"

"No idea who that is or what it is or whatever, but...wait. Did you just understand me?"

"Blame the weakening seal," Pikachu replied.

"Your human voice sounds like a girl," Zorua snickered.

"HEY!" Pikachu snapped.

"Sorry, sorry," Zorua chuckled a bit, "Anyways, if you're looking for your friends, they're most likely gonna meet in the main hall. One group of which is trying to find something called a keystone."

"That's this," Serenade informed as Aoiro held up the stone.

"Ahh...heh. For a moment there, I thought it was the keystone for Spiritomb."

"Spirit-what?" Pikachu and Charmander blinked twice.

"We can talk later. Getting this to where the Black Fog is sealed comes first," Aoiro ordered.

"Right," Ash nodded, "But wait. What about the others?"

"We go to the main hall and find that group," Aoiro replied, "They most likely know the fastest route to the Black Fog's tomb."

"Ahh…Then let's hurry!"

---

"Ahh!" Mai yelped as she and Terra barely dodged another shadow wheel.

"I am getting sick and tired of all these wheels!" Terra snapped.

"You said it," Mai agreed, the two long since choosing to ignore Terra's sudden talent of speech, "Try a Rock Throw."

"You got it!" Terra nodded before lifting up a chunk of what had once been a statue of a large dog and threw it at the demonic shadowed figure only for it to disperse into smoke and reform once the rock was thrown through it, "YOU ARE A CHEATER!"

"GET OUT! LEAVE THIS PLACE!"

"WILL YOU BE MORE CREATIVE IN YOUR WORDS!?" Terra fumed.

"Try Poison Sting!"

"Right!" Terra saluted before releasing a barrage of poison needles from his mouth...only for the figure to disperse into smoke once again, "HAX! FLIPPIN' HAX!"

"Mm...What else haven't we tried…" Mai muttered to herself, "...Uh….Rollout?"

"You got it!" Terra curled up into a ball and shot off at the shadowed figure...only to miss when it dispersed into smoke and crashed through a wall, "...RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!" he shot out of the wall, carrying a pillar, "I HAVE ENOUGH OF YOU AND THE SMOKE TRICK!"

"What the...?!"

"EAT SOME STRENGTH-POWERED PILLAR!" Terra roared.

He swung the pillar and finally smacked the shadowed figure, sending it crashing through a few more tombstones before crashing into the stairs.

"...Did...you just learn Strength, Terra?" Mai slowly blinked.

"Anger is a good motivator," Terra noted, "That and constant lifting of everyone in our group as training." he turned to the stairs, "NOW PREPARE TO BE PUMMELED WITHOUT END, YOU HACKING FREAK OF A GHOST!"

"Get...out….keep...child...safe…"

"OH NOW YOU SPEAK SOMETHING ELSE!"

"Terra, wait!" Mai grabbed the Sandshrew's shoulder, "Child? Do you mean...Cubone?"

"Those humans...wanted...to harm my child...had to...protect him...keep child...safe…" The demonic figure's form twitched and twisted before settling on what appeared to be a much larger Cubone except for its skull helmet becoming its actual head.

"MAMA!"

"I found him!" Haunter called as he phased through the floor while Cubone ran up the other stairs, past Mai and Terra, and hugged the ghost.

"M...Mama…" Cubone sniffled.

"My child...I...I am sorry…" the ghost whispered as she returned the hug, "I wanted...to keep you safe…"

"...Why'd the kid have to come here…?" Terra grumbled under his breath and he put the pillar down, "Now I can't justify beating her up with a pillar anymore."

"Trust me. Even from beyond the grave, there's nothing scarier than a mother trying to protect her child," Haunter commented.

"At least she's calmed down," Mai sighed in relief as Cubone's mother gently ran a paw over Cubone's head.

"Mama…" Cubone sniffled.

His mother looked at Mai and Terra for a few moments before looking at Cubone, "Stay...with them…"

"Eh? Stay?" Cubone blinked a bit, slowly looking over at Mai and Terra, "St...stay with them?"

"Keep...you safe…" Cubone's mother nodded as she began to fade.

"M...mama?"

"Open...heart...I...will always...watch over you...my child."

"M-Mama!" Cubone gasped as his mother faded away, her bone club clattering onto the floor, "...Mama…"

"Her spirit became at peace," Haunter blinked twice, "...And you say you smacked her with a pillar?"

"Uh-huh."

"...We need more pillars in here for angry spirits," Haunter deadpanned before screaming, "GAH! We have no time for this! Hurry! Hurry! We need to go check the Black Fog's seal!"

"...AHH! I WAS SO MAD, I FORGOT ABOUT THAT!" Terra freaked, "WE NEED TO GO!"

"...Mama…"

"Cubone?" Mai said as she saw Cubone pick up his mother's club.

"..." Cubone sniffled.

"..." Mai picked up Cubone, "Come on, little guy. I'll keep you safe until we get you back to that old guy."

"...O...Okay…"

---

"Ugh! This place is like a maze!" Makoto complained as her group turned a corner, stopping in the same area as before, "I mean, we passed that freakin' statue like five times now!"

"This is bad. Its power is getting stronger," the elder frowned, "It's creating paths to make it impossible to leave."

"Ahh~! I just want this night to end~!" Makoto whined, "I just want to find our friends and get out of here! Is that…?!"

"Found you!"

"EEK!" Makoto screamed as Gengar erupted from the ground.

"You gotta get out of…"

"We already know that the Black Fog is breaking free," the elder interrupted.

"Eh?! Seriously, Old Man?!" Gengar gawked before pausing and then glomping him, "OLD MAN! YOU'RE HERE! SAVE US~!"

"We need to find the keystone,' the elder explained.

"Keystone? Oh! That keystone!" Gengar realized before giving a loud whistle.

"You whistled?"

"EEK!" Makoto and Misty hugged each other with wide eyes.

"Do you know where the Keystone is?"

"Yes. I found it with another group," Ghastly replied, "They appear to be trying to reach the main lobby."

"Oh! That's whewe we wewe heading, mistew!" Booster beamed.

"...You are just the most precious thing I've ever seen," Ghastly stated with wide eyes.

"Thank ewe," Booster smiled.

"GHASTLY!" Gengar slapped Ghastly, "Focus! We need to lead these gals and the old man to the keystone!"

"Oh! Right!" Ghastly realized, "Follow me! I know this maze like the back of my non-existent hand!"

"Hurry now," the elder advised.

'Why did it have to be a Ghastly~?!' the two girls cried mentally.

---

"It looks like we're back in the main lobby," Brock noted.

"I didn't realize we were that close," Tsubaki said as they looked around a bit, "Luca, can you sense the others nearby?"

"I think so," Luca replied, "Mainly abject terror."

"I-I just hope they're okay," Noel whispered.

"Y-yeah…" Yuki nodded, shaking as she curled up in Noel's arms with Nymph.

"W-Why did we co-co-c-come here, Meema Noel…?" Nymph whimpered.

"I...it's okay….th...there's nothing to be afraid of a-" Noel began.

"Ahh!" Mai screamed as she dropped before the quartet, startling Noel as she clung to Tsubaki with Yuki and Nymph clinging to Luca.

"Geronimo!" Terra cheered as he jumped down, landing beside Mai, "And we're safe!"

"Speak for yourself…" Mai groaned.

"Is it over…?" Cubone gulped, poking out of the back of Mai's aviator jacket.

"MAI!" Noel exclaimed before hugging her with her two land-based Pokemon on her shoulders, "UWAAAAAA~!"

"Mai?!" Kajun and Tsubaki blinked in surprise.

"Where...how…?" Brock began.

"Blame him…" Mai deadpanned as Haunter phased through the ceiling.

"Sorry!"

"A Hau…" Brock began before the wall beside them exploded.

"I told you Zap Cannon would work!" Pikachu gloated.

"...Yeah, I still can't take you seriously with that girl voice of yours," Zorua snickered.

"Oh, come on!" Pikachu snapped.

"Calm down, you two…" Serenade advised, "We still need t-"

"Pikachu?"

"Eh?" Pikachu blinked as he looked to see the other group looking at them, "Guys?"

"...Kajun, Pikachu's a boy, right?" Mai asked.

"Yes. If he was a female, the end of his tail would resemble a heart," Kajun replied.

"Ah," Mai nodded.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Terra collapsed, kicking his legs in the air in laughter, "Nice voice there, Pikachu! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"My revenge will be swift and merciless…" Pikachu's eye twitched.

"Looks like we're almost back together," Ash noted.

"Just great...You find one Twerp, you get a ton," Jessie muttered.

"...Of course it'd be you three who caused this," Kajun facepalmed.

"You three are very stressful, you know that yes?" Koko noted with a frown.

"Hey! Things were going smoothly before you twerps showed up!" Jessie argued.

"No, no they weren't," Aoiro deadpanned.

"Well blame James for taking that keything as a souvenir!"

"I thought it was just a normal rock!" James yelped.

"Well we're gonna die because of you!" Meowth snapped.

"FOCUS!" Haunter, Brock, Tsubaki, Serenade, and Mai barked.

"Eep!" the Rocket Trio yelped.

"Thank you…" Aoiro sighed.

"Okay, we have the keystone so that's good," Haunter nodded, "So now all we need to do is get back to where it needs to be put back."

"While avoiding zombies," Ash noted.

"...Pardon?" Haunter looked at Ash.

"We encountered some zombies not too long ago."

"...Z….z….Zombies…." Noel whispered before she fainted on the spot.

"...Any hatchlings in the group, please cover your ears!"

"Uhn!" Yuki and Nymph quickly nodded as they did so while Aoiro quickly covered Ash's ear..

"Thank you," Haunter nodded before inhaling deeply, "ZOMBIES! WHY IS IT ALWAYS ZOMBIES?! I HATE ZOMBIES, DAMMIT! THEY'RE NOT ORIGINAL AT ALL! THEY'RE TOO ARCEUSDAMNED OVERUSED!" he panted before motioning, "Okay, we're good."

"...Wow…" Terra blinked.

"Sorry...it's just one of my...er, our pet peeves, like someone not knowing the difference between being scared and startled."

"Dere's a difference?" Meowth raised a brow.

"There is a HUGE and very IMPORTANT difference!"

"C-Can we leave…?" Nymph whimpered before the entrance doors slammed open, "Eek!"

"Right this way, right this way. First floor. Main lobby, reception desk, and incense for graves," Ghastly informed as he escorted the others behind him and Gengar, "Please watch your step."

"Even the exit's not an exit…" Noel slumped.

"You three!" the elder barked as he glared at Team Rocket, "Do you have any idea what you've caused?"

"We do now!" the Rocket Trio exclaimed in fright.

"Blame James for taking it!" Jessie and Meowth exclaimed.

"Just back the bus over me why don't you!?" James snapped at his teammates.

"It doesn't matter now! What matters is fixing this!" Ash said.

"The boy's right," the elder nodded, "Ghastly, Haunter, Gengar, can you get us back to the Black Fog's seal?"

"Of course!" Gengar nodded, "Everyone's to the women's bathroom!"

*WHAM*

"We're so sorry for him," Haunter apologized as Ghastly changed back from the mallet held by Haunter.

"Indeed. It's this way," Ghastly informed as he turned into an arrow pointing to the hallway to the right.

"Then wet's go! Off to the shwine!" Booster declared.

"..."

"My Booster, Noellie," Makoto hid Booster in her tail and moved away from Noel.

---

The group ran up the stairs before skidding to a halt. The room where Black Fog had been sealed had distorted into a massive hallway with the path broken apart and floating all over with the shrine on the other end of it, cracks starting to form on it.

"T̴͘͠H̵̛́Í̶̡̧S̶̨͢ ̸̶̧̀͟W̸͘͟͝͠I̶͞͞L͏̷̛L͏͘͡ ͢N҉̛͡҉̛O̵͡T́͟ ̛͞H̕͝҉͝Ò҉Ĺ́͏D̴҉̡҉́ ͜͡͞M͏̴̷͠͝E̶͟͞ ̶͟͠Ą̷̕͡Ń̡Y̢̧͟҉́ ̛̛̀L̕͏O̵͟N҉̸̴́̀G͞Ę̶̀Ŕ̷̢́.̨͏.̸́͢͜.̶҉̡͝҉"

"We need to hurry!" Brock called.

"Pidgeotto, come out!" Ash called.

"What do you need, Ash?" Pidgeotto asked once she formed.

"We need to hurry and get the keystone over to that...that…" Ash began before he felt something...something...dark.

A burst of dark energy erupted off the shrine as zombified Flying-type Pokemon began to form in the air, "I̸͘͢͏͠ ҉͢W͞I̛͘͜͢͝L҉̵L̸̸͢͞ ҉͞N̸̶̢̨O̶̴͜҉T̸̴̢͘ ͟͜B̢͘҉͏Ę̴̷͠ ̷̧̛Ś̶̷͜E̡҉À͟͠Ļ̧͜͡Ę͝D̕͢ ̸̸̴̡̢A̧̛͟҉G̶̡A̵̴I̶N̕!̨͘͜ ͜͢D̡҉҉̴I̶͞E̸̕͏!̵̛́͘"

"AHH!"

"Serenade, Shadow Ball!" Aoiro ordered.

"Yes, mistress!" Serenade complied as she began to fire spheres of darkness at the flying zombies.

Ash grabbed the keystone before Pidgeotto grabbed him and flew off towards the shrine, Pikachu on her back. Booster and Nymph began to fire their own Shadow Balls at the zombies as Terra released a barrage of Poison Sting on them.

"We have to get there before it breaks!" Ash called.

"Easier said than done!" Pidgeotto grunted as she dodged a zombie version of herself before a blast of flames incinerated it.

"I am so glad you're burning them to ashes," Berry sighed in relief before firing a thundershock at the zombies.

"Why?" Charmander asked as he used his blanket as a whip to break the head off a zombie eagle-like Pokemon before burning the rest away.

"Because while zombies are annoying, flaming zombies are a pain," Berry replied.

"She has a point," Cherry agreed.

"WILL YOU TWO START ZAPPING THESE GUYS?!" Terra barked before Zubat rammed into one that nearly got him, "Thanks!"

"No problem," Zubat replied before her wings glowed with wind that she used to smack a zombie Zubat away.

"...Now's a good time for you to help us out…" Tsubaki whispered, looking at the Pokeball with Honedge in it, "Izayoi, let's go!"

"Izayoi?" Makoto repeated before the Honedge formed, "When did you get a Pokemon that's a sword?!"

"Not too long ago."

"What can I do for you, milady?" Honedge/Izayoi asked.

"Help fend off these undead that are trying to stop us from getting the keystone back in place," Tsubaki ordered.

"A fool doth took the Keystone keeping the Black Mist in place?" Izayoi questioned, "Very well. Have at thee, servants of the Black Fog!"

"Sc...scared…" Yuki whimpered.

"S-same here…" Nymph nodded before firing another Shadow Ball, "B-But I'm scared of Big Brother Ash not being here anymore more."

"?! N...no more..big..brother…" Yuki whispered before gaining a serious expression, "No...I...I won't let it happen, I...I won't let those monsters hurt my family…!" she inhaled deeply before firing a sweeping Ice Beam, freezing many of the undead in the air.

"N-Nice job, Yuki!" Noel smiled.

"Th-thank you, Meema!"

"Take THIS!" Pikachu roared as he fired a Zap Cannon at the undead, tearing apart a path through them.

"There's the shrine!" Ash called.

"Ý̡̢͢O̷̵̢͞͡U̡͠͏ ̵͞͝҉W̶̢Í͠L̵͜Ĺ͠ ̨̧̛͠͠N̶̴̡̧͡O҉̴͢҉̀T̨́͞ ̷̶͡͠͠S̷̢͝Ȩ̛̕͘Ą̧L̸̀ ̴̨͡M̀Ȩ̶̧̛͢ ̶̨̢̀A̶̡̧̧͘G͏̷̢̡A҉̛͟͝I̢͠N̸̕͞!̧̢͘͜" Black Fog screeched within its stone seal as more cracks formed on it while the remaining undead turned and focused directly on Pidgeotto.

"Come on, Ashton! Hurry!" Kajun called out as Koko and Hikari used Psychic and Confusion to keep the zombies at bay, "...Where do you three think you're going?"

"Gh?!" Team Rocket tensed, the three stuck in a sneaking pose.

"I am taking notes on your cowardice right now," Aoiro informed before a pillar soared through the air, crashing into a group of undead.

"WHOO! I LOVE ME MY STRENGTH!" Terra whooped, "SUCK IT, UNDEAD FLYERS!"

"...Well, that happened," Misty blinked as Starmie was blasting the zombies away with Hydro Pump.

"Eh heh heh...well anger is a good motivator when learning moves," Mai sheepishly chuckled.

Ash let go of Pidgeotto's leg and grunted as he landed before the shrine. He got up before Pikachu landed on his head, making him nearly fall over. He got back up before tendrils of darkness grabbed him and Pikachu around their necks and began to squeeze tightly.

"I̡̡͡ ̵͏R̛̛Ę̧̀͢F̵́͜U̕͘͘͜͡S̵̸̀͏̷E͡͞ ̶̡̛͢T̶̸̷͟O̡͝͝ ̶̵̷́͝B̶̢͠E̷̶̛̕͢ ̕͟͠S͏̶É̵̕A͢͏̡͟͢L̷̵̕͜͟É̵̛̕͘D͏̶̴ ̴̧̛͝O̸҉̡̧͡N͡͏̨C̛͢E̛͜͠ ̵̀͏̀M̵͢͝O͡͏Ŕ̢̧́͢Ȩ̴̀̕͟!̴̢͏̷̡ ̷͜͝Ý͠͠Ò̵̢͡͠Ư̶ ҉́Ẃ͘Į̵̧͠͠L̶͢L̶̴̶̶̡ ̵͟K̸N͟͢͏͞Ǫ͘Ẃ̢͟͠ ̷͟A̡̛҉ ̵̴̡͠G͡͡O͜D̶̴̀́͜'̵̀͠S̸̀͢͠ ̵̶̢W̵͜͜͠Ŕ͡A̶͟T̴̵̴͟͝H̶̕͢͜͡ ̷̡̀͜͠F̷̢͞O̷҉͞͡R̴̵̨ ́͘͟Ţ̵͢͢R̵̨̛͜Y̸̛͘͢͞I͝Ǹ̨̕͘͞G̶̕͜͟͢ ̶̴̨̕͘T́͏̵̕O̸͞͏̶͞ ͢͞S̴̵͜͠ȨA͏̵͝͝L̵͜͞ ҉M̶̡͢͞Ȩ͜͟͝͡ ҉̡̡͟A̴͟͜͝W̧̡͠A͘Y҉̵̧̕!̢"

"Ashton!" Kajun gasped.

"Gah!" Ash gasped out as he tried to free himself and Pikachu from the dark tendrils.

"T́͠҉Ḩ̵̕͟E҉̧̨R̴̡E̕͞͝͠ ̴̡̀͏Ẁ̷I̧̨͜͠L̶͢L̵̨͝ ̧̢͘͟B́͝͝E͏̸͠҉̧ ̷͟͠N̶͟Ơ͞ ̵͢͠͝A̵͜͝F̵̴̢̀͟T̸̕̕͟È͞R͢҉̀ĻI̶͜F̧͘͝È̡͢ ̷́͟F́̕͟͝͡O̶̕Ŗ̷̨̀͢ ̴̵̨͝A̴̡̡͜͝Ņ͜͠͝Y̢̨̢ ̴̷̢O̷҉F̀͘͠ ̵͜͡Y̛̕͞Ó̕U̴̡͡!͜"

"P-Pikachu…!" Ash gasped out, darkness starting to creep into his eyesight.

As the two nearly passed out from the strangulation, a light began to shine from an inside pocket of Ash's jacket. The air was pierced by the agonized wails of something as the tentacles began to shrivel and evaporate into dust.

"T̛H̛͢I̶͘͘͏̨S̶͘ ́͝C҉͡͝À̢͜Ņ̴N͡͏̵͜͝Ǫ̶̢̛T҉̸͜͟͟ ̴҉҉̧B̷̛͠͡Ȩ͟͟͏͢!̸̸́͟͏ ̵́́͘͜A̴̕.̧̛̀̕.̛͜.̧À̛̀͝͡ ̨͠҉R̵̕͟Ą̵̵͡͞Į̡͜N̨҉͢͏̸B҉͏͜Ǫ̵͏̵͢Ẃ̸͏ ͢͠͡͝W̴̧͢I̢̕N̵̨̕G̴͟͢͜ ̨͠H̷̡̛͘҉Ę̷͘͘R̴҉̴Ȩ͟͞?̴̷̴́!̶̶̸̀̀ ̨̢I͢͜͜M̷̴P͞͏҉͜͜O͡͡͝ŞS̴̡͡͞Ì̷̷̛͜B̷́Ļ̴̷Ę̴͢͢͞!̨̀̀̕"

Ash coughed, breathing in deeply as the light in his jacket faded. Opening his eyes, he saw the keystone that had been dropped when he was grabbed. Looking at the shaking shrine as the Black Fog tried to force itself out frantically, he saw a slot in it the exact shape of the keystone. Ash grit his teeth and grabbed the stone.

"Take THIS!" Ash roared as he charged up to the shrine and slammed the stone into the slot.

"N̨͟N̶̢͘͟N̸̸̷̡͠Ǹ͞N̵̡͡N̷̛͠O͘O͡҉̶̷̢Ó͘͜Ǫ̡҉̡͟Ó̷̷̴͡O̸̢̡͟O̸҉͘Ǫ̴̧̕O̸Ò̶͏͝O̸̸̧͢O̸͞O̢̨͘O̵͡O̧̨Ǫ̸̕͞Ơ̢̕̕͜O̢̡͜͝Ơ͝҉͠Ò̡́͢O̧͟͢O͏̨̡̡͞Ó̴͟͡O̸͝O͘͜҉͜O̢͢O̶͏͡͠O̡Ó̶̶̡̧O̸̡͢҉O̴̢͟͝O͞҉͜͏Ơ̢͢͠O̶̶̧͡҉O҉̷̕͘O̢̨͘͜Ò̢Ǫ̶̡O̧͡҉!̨͘̕͞͝-̵̨!̵͘͞-̨͘͝!̶̴̸͡͝-̢̨!̴̨͡-͘!̴̛͠͠" Black Fog screeched as a brilliant white light erupted from the keystone and engulfed the area.

---

Makoto groaned as sunlight hit her closed eyes, "Ow…" she started to get up and opened her eyes, "Wh...What happened…? Last thing I recall was…" her eyes widened, "The Black Fog!" she got up and looked around, seeing that they were in a normal room of the tower, the Black Fog's shrine in its place with the Keystone in its slot, "...Phew…thank Arceus..."

"Chipapa…" Berry agreed before slumping, "Chi…"

"Aw...I was kinda hoping you'd get to keep that," Makoto pouted before shrugging and she scooped her three Tail-inhabiting Pokemon into a hug, "But I can get over it. I'm just glad it's over."

"Emol/Pachi/vui…"

"Ow…" Ash groaned, making Makoto look over to see him getting up right before the shrine, Pikachu standing by him.

"Oh! Ash!"

"Huh...M-Makoto…?" Ash groaned before Makoto pulled him into a hug, his oxygen once more cut off.

"That was insane! You flew all the way over there just to seal it up?! That was both awesome and terrifying!" Makoto exclaimed as Tsubaki woke up.

"Did we do it…?" Tsubaki groaned before seeing what was going on, "Makoto, let him go!" Tsubaki barked, "He's turning blue!"

"Hm?" Makoto paused to look down at Ash to see the top of his hat and his face shoved into her chest, "Oh…" she let him go and Ash fell over, gasping for air, "Sorry."

"Pi/Pa/E…" the three electric rodents facepalmed with sighs as the others started waking up.

"It...it's fine…" Ash coughed, "Is...is it gone?"

"It's sealed once more," the elder replied, giving a sigh of relief.

"Oh...oh thank Arceus…" Noel sighed, "It's all over."

"Indeed," Kajun agreed.

"C-Can we please get out of this tower before something else happens?" Misty pleaded.

"Please let's. I've had enough of spooky ghost for one day," Makoto added.

"...But...I never caught my Ghost Pokemon for Sabrina's Gym." Ash commented.

"Gengar?" Gengar pondered.

"You're trying to fight Sabrina?" the elder asked.

"Yeah, otherwise I can't compete in the Pokemon League."

"Hmm...Going against Sabrina will be difficult," the elder noted, "We've heard rumors of how powerful her psychic abilities are."

A hand tapped Ash's shoulder.

"Hm?" Ash turned around to see a row of fangs and glowing red eyes.

"GAR!"

"BWAH!" Ash yelped, falling over and causing a Dusk Ball Kajun had given him from the SS Anne fell out.

Gengar snickered as he shifted back to his normal appearance before tapping the ball. It opened before he turned into red energy and was sucked into it. It shook just once before clicking.

"Huh? Why did Gengar do that?" Makoto asked.

"It may not look like it, but Gengar used to have a Trainer but due to an illness his Trainer contracted, he had to release Gengar here," the elder explained, "I'm guessing that Gengar misses travelling and considering that stunt you pulled on stopping the Black Mist, he wants to come along."

"Eh? R-really?" Ash blinked.

The elder nodded, "Come along now. We should let the souls here have a chance to rest once more."

"Right!" everyone agreed.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu beamed before something caught his eye, "Pi?" looking at the base of the shrine, a clear marble laid before it with a purple and dark-blue 'leaf' inside of it, "Cha?"

"Pikachu, come on!" Ash called.

"Pika Pikapi!" Pikachu nodded before picking up the marble and following after them.

"...I just realized something. Where's Team Rocket and that woman?" Mai asked, noticing the trio and silver-white haired woman missing.

"...That's...a good question," Kajun admitted before brushing the question off, "I'm sure they ran or that woman is dealing with them."

---

"Now...communicator," Aoiro ordered, glaring at the trio as their faces were covered in claw marks and bruises.

"Jessie for all that is evil, please give it to her…" James begged, his own face having more claw marks than his teammates.

"F-Fine…" Jessie groaned as she pulled out their communicator.

"Thank you," Aoiro nodded as she quickly dialed a number.

=Report=

"White Truth reporting."

=?! Status report=

"I was almost captured by Sabrina had it not been for a rogue psychic living in Saffron City," Aoiro informed, "Due to extenuating circumstances, I am now in Lavender Town with a Trainer that has proven to have beaten the odds multiple times in encounters I have made with him before and from reports given by Team Rocket Members Jessie, James, and Meowth."

=I see...anything else to report?=

"Yes. The mission to capture Mr. Fuji can be considered a failure due to the mentioned trio almost unleashing the Black Fog once more from its seal," Aoiro informed, making the three tense, "And due to Mr. Fuji seeing their faces, he will most likely contact the authorities and be placed into hiding."

=...Those three better not report for a while=

"Yes, sir," Aoiro agreed.

=What is the status of Black Ideal?=

"She was among those kidnapped by Sabrina, but once I regain my team, I will report back to you."

=Please do=

"Yes, sir," Aoiro replied.

=One last order=

"Sir?"

=Be careful when you return to Saffron City. We are currently performing an occupation operation=

"?! Sir, permission to be blunt?"

=I am well aware of the situation, which is why I am deploying Agent M2 with me=

"?!" Aoiro's eyes widened.

=Agent M2 is currently handling with preventing Sabrina's interference on our current operation=

"...U...understood, but...Agent M2, sir?"

=Sabrina has overstepped the line=

"...Yes, sir," Aoiro nodded, "White Truth out..."

"...W...well…?" Meowth cautiously asked, "Wh-what did da boss have t' say?"

"You three are advised to not contact the boss for a few weeks due to almost releasing Black Fog," Aoiro informed, "Furthermore, he has barred you from using the motto for three months."

"WHAT?!" the trio exclaimed.

"Had it not been for Ash Ketchum's stunt, the Black Mist would have been unleashed and thousands of souls lost, including Team Rocket personnel," Aoiro frowned, "You're lucky that he has not ordered you three to go back to basic training under Karai."

"GH?!"

"So it is either that or you three not being able to contact HQ for several weeks and no motto for three months."

"...yes ma'am…"

"Good. Now leave or Serenade will interrogate you three."

"Oh, this is going to be enjoyable," Serenade smirked, holding up a stone-made cane.

"YES, MA'AM!" the trio screamed as they ran.

Once they were gone, Aoiro sighed, "Father is willingly utilizing Agent M2…"

"Your last transmission to him must have worried him a lot," Serenade noted.

"...Can't say I blame him really…" Aoiro sighed before her eyes widened, "Oh no…"

"Mistress?"

"That child...he's most likely going back to Saffron as we speak."

"...I'll start searching for his thoughts so I can teleport to his general area…" Serenade sighed.

"Please do."

---

"So you and volunteers take care of all these Pokemon?" Tsubaki pondered as she looked at the various Pokemon all over the inside of a moderate-sized home, eating food from bowls or on plates for some of the more humanoid Pokemon.

"Yes," Mr. Fuji, the elder, replied, "Ever since I came here, I've taken care of Pokemon that were abandoned or orphaned."

"Wow…" Ash awed.

"I owe you a great deal, young man," Mr. Fuji spoke, earning Ash's attention, "Because of you, the Black Fog was not able to escape its seal. I also owe a great deal to the three young ladies who helped me when I was trapped by those three rapscallions, especially the blue-haired one."

"Huh? Why me?" Mai asked.

"Because of the little one you're holding," Fuji chuckled as Mai looked down at Cubone, held in her arms as he ate a piece of food, "Aside from me, Cubone has never let anyone hold him. And yet...you seem to be helping open his heart to others."

"Oh...well, I guess you can say our group has that effect on people and Pokemon," Mai said with a small smile.

"Well, considering how just a few hours around you has opened him up to others…" Fuji pulled out a Great Ball, "Would you like to keep him with you?"

"Huh? M-Me?" Mai asked in surprise.

"Yes," Fuji nodded as he handed her the Great Ball, "I have a feeling you'll be a wonderful trainer for young Cubone."

"...Cubone?" Mai spoke, earning the small Pokemon's attention, "Do...you want to come with me?"

"...Cu," Cubone nodded.

"Cool. Hmm...how about...Noble?"

"Noble?" Makoto repeated.

"Yeah. Any Pokemon that protects a nice old man like Mr. Fuji in a scary place like that tower is noble, after all," Mai replied.

"Bone," Cubone nodded.

"I see...very fitting name," The elder smiled a bit before looking at Misty, "I see you use a lot of Water-type Pokemon."

"Uh-huh. It's my goal to be a Water Pokemon expert," Misty replied.

"A good goal," Mr. Fuji smiled before walking over to a desk and pulled out a box from it, "You'll need some special Pokeballs then." he handed the box over to Misty, "Inside are twenty Lure Balls, twenty Dive Balls, and twenty Net Balls. Use them to help reach your goal. Trainers sometime leave behind balls like these and they just tend to end up bunched up together in storage, so I hope you can do well with them."

"Really?! Thank you so much."

"It's no trouble," Mr. Fuji smiled before looking at Ash and Makoto, "Now for you two...I may have something that will help you in the long run."

"Huh?" the two blinked as Mr. Fuji walked back to his desk and pulled out a rectangular box.

"To tell you the truth, I have amnesia," Mr. Fuji explained, "Ever since I woke up outside of Lavender Town, all I could remember is that my name is Fuji and I care deeply for Pokemon." he placed the box down, "All I had with me were the clothes on my back and these."

He opened the box and the two gasped. Nestled inside were two tiny multicolored marbles with a leaf-shaped DNA strand inside of them along with a larger clear marbles with a black and blue 'leaf' inside of it.

"A Mega Stone and two Key Stones," Kajun realized as she looked over their shoulders.

"Ah, so you know what these are, eh?" Fuji chuckled before reaching into his pocket and pulling out Makoto's strangely-colored Leaf Stone, "While I noticed you did have one with you, none of you seemed to have carried a Key Stone."

"Huh? When did you get that?" Makoto gawked.

"You dropped it when you hugged the young lass over there when Gengar showed up," Fuji replied, motioning to Misty.

"Oh…"

"You mean to tell me that we've been carrying a Mega Stone ever since Pewter City?" Tsubaki questioned.

"We did just think it was a Leaf Stone that was in a different color," Misty noted.

"That is true…" Kajun nodded a bit.

"I have a good feeling you'll be able to use these to their full potential," Fuji smiled as he gave Makoto one Key Stone and Ash the other and the Mega Stone.

"Why us?" Ash asked.

"From the bit of time I was around all of you, I could tell that you have great bonds with your Pokemon, something meant to unlock the full powers of these stones," Fuji explained with a gentle smile, "So long as your bonds are strong, I am sure you'll always be able to use Mega Evolution."

"...Our bonds, huh…?" Makoto whispered, looking at her Key Stone.

---

"You're sure you want to go with me, Gengar?" Ash asked.

"Gengar-gen," Gengar nodded with a chuckle.

"Sweet! With your help, I know we can beat Sabrina, rescue those she's captured, and get my fourth Gym Badge," Ash beamed.

"Well, let's get go…" Makoto began before Aoiro teleported before them with Serenade, "Ack! Don't do that!"

"Apologies," Aoiro replied.

"I tried looking for you first," Serenade pointed at Ash, "But your top thoughts were the same as several people in this town. Same with nearly all of you. In fact, the only one that I could find based on the top thoughts of your noggins was her…" she pointed at Noel, "Because she has a Feebas and keeps thinking of when it becomes a Milotic and equating it to bigger b…"

"AH!" Noel yelped, blushing, "W-We need to hurry to Saffron City!"

"...About that, w-" Aoiro began.

"Ahh! You're right!" Ash exclaimed, "Come on, guys! Let's go!"

"Hey! Wait a second!" Makoto shouted before running after the two, "What were you thinking with the Milotic, Noel?"

"N-nothing!"

"Oh, it was something~!"

"Please don't add fuel to her fire!" Noel pleaded.

"I will find out, Noellie!"

"Oh, Makoto…" Tsubaki facepalmed, "Misty, c-"

"Trade me your Feebas, Noel!" Misty shouted as she ran after her, earning a facefault from Tsubaki.

"We better hurry or we'll lose them," Brock sighed before he and Mai ran after them, the latter helping Tsubaki up to follow after them.

"...There's something happening in Saffron," Kajun noted as she and Aorio began to follow the others, "You know something, don't you?"

"...Sabrina...overstepped a certain boundary…" Aoiro sighed, "I've been ordered to stay cautious around Saffron due to certain...complications I won't go into…"

Kajun nodded, 'What have we gotten into now?'

'(...Last time I deal with haunted towers...the better,)' Zorua thought, disguised as a Pidgey as he sat on a branch.

---

On a familiar ledge outside of Saffron City, a boy around twelve years of age looked out at the city. The morning sun reflected off a feather-shaped circular pin on his red and white hat while he gazed out at the city. A Pikachu with the end of its tail shaped like a heart climbed onto his shoulder as a large orange dragon-like Pokemon three times his size walked up to beside him, a powerful flame burning on the end of its tail. The boy reached up to pat the dragon's lowered head while scratching the chin of the Pikachu, earning a sigh of glee from the electric mouse. Moments later, the dragon took flight towards the city.

---

Kajun's Pokemon Study

The curtains rose up once more, revealing Kajun in her lab coat once more with Hikari and Koko on the table as usual.

"Greetings once again. I am Kajun Faycott, and welcome once more to Pokemon Study," Kajun greeted, "Apologies for not being here last time. Some...complications happened. Also...I think Kokonoe won't be taking my place for quite a while…."

"Espeon?" Koko raised a brow.

"Not you, but someone with a similar name," Kajun explained before clearing her throat, "Now then, Let us explain the Pokemon of today's chapter, and they're the evolutions of Ghastly, a Pokemon we've talked about before," The screen showed an image of Haunter and Gengar, "Haunter and Gengar."

"Gengar!" the trio jumped as Gengar came out of Kajun's shadow before laughing at their expressions.

"Of course you'd do that…" Kajun sighed, "Just for that, you're going last."

Gengar opened his mouth and pulled out a sign that read 'Worth it' before eating it in one bite.

"Let's start with Haunter, the Gas Pokemon...the Gas Pokemon?" Kajun blinked.

The three looked at Gengar, who shrugged. He hadn't been a Haunter for less than a few minutes before being traded back and forth to be a Gengar. Kajun cleared her throat.

"W-Well...We'll figure that out later," Kajun informed as the screen showed the scare-loving Haunter from the tower and then a scary looking one licking someone, "While many Haunter raised by Trainers or have spent time in areas populated by humans are often more pranksters and enjoy scaring others for a good laugh, many Haunter in the wild and some with cruel Trainers are the complete opposite." the screen changed to show a sinister-looking Haunter in a cave and then a graveyard, "Haunter tend to live in dark caves or graveyards, more often than not the same places where they were 'born' as Ghastly, which are rumored to be made of 95 percent gas and five percent the souls of those that died inhaling said gas."

*Pffffffrt*

Kajun ignored a snickering Gengar holding a whoopie cushion while a blushing Koko glared at the ghost, "When first discovered by humans, they believed Haunter to be from another dimension due to the fact that it was capable of passing through solid walls." the screen changed to a Haunter sticking its tongue out under a microscope, showing it was made of gas, "Oh, here's where it gets its classification. Apparently, a Haunter's tongue is made of solidified gas…" she blinked a few times, "Said gas is apparently highly toxic to humans and, should one be licked, would begin to shake uncontrollably."

Koko and Hikari looked at Gengar with wide eyes. Gengar shrugged once more since that was news to him as well.

"So please be advised when you go out at night without light and there's a dangerous feral Haunter on the loose. If it licks you, it's said that it drains your life force until you die," Kajun warned, "But a benevolent Haunter will more likely just trip you or put a cold hand on your shoulder to make you shiver."

"Gengar?"

"Yes. Now let's move on to the final form of Ghastly...Gengar."

"Gengar~!" Gengar posed like a bodybuilder.

"Gengar are known as the Shadow Pokemon. This is due to the fact that Gengar have the ability to hide in the shadows of any object. This gives it amazing stealth capabilities." the screen showed a Gengar hiding in Noel's shadow under a full moon before poking out and spooking her, "Under a full moon, this Pokémon likes to mimic the shadows of people and laugh at their fright."

"Gen-gengar-gar…" Gengar wrote down notes on the simulation before it changed to show a Gengar with a thermometer in its mouth, showing 5 degrees Celsius.

"Though this ability is good, the fact that Gengar are heatsinks makes this a tell that you have a Gengar in your shadow," Kajun informed, "They make everything ten degrees Fahrenheit cooler." the screen showed a malicious Gengar sending spheres of wispy shadows into people, "Gengar are very mischievous, and at times, malicious. It enjoys playing practical jokes and casting curses, such as pretending to be one's shadow, then behaving erratically. When the quarry notices, the Gengar takes delight in its victim's terror." the screen changed to show a Gengar using a shadow to enter the house of a sleeping human...with a knife in hand, "It's said that Gengar were once human and, in trying to make a companion, will kill other humans. Should you feel yourself attacked by a sudden chill, it is evidence of an approaching Gengar. There is no escaping it. Give up. Even your home isn't safe. Gengar will lurk in whatever dark corner of a room it can find and wait for its chance to catch its prey."

"GEN?! GENGAR-GEN-GE-GAR!" Gengar shook his head rapidly.

"However…" Gengar stopped his denials to look at Kajun as the screen showed a simulation of a Gengar helping catch Ash from a fall, "Gengar has been known to be loyal to a Trainer who treats it well."

"Phew...Gengar…" Gengar sighed in relief before tapping his cheek and adopted a wily grin, 'Imply that I kill humans, will ya?' he sunk into the shadows.

"As for how Gengar fare in battle, they have a particularly high Special Attack, and use a plethora of Ghost Type moves such as Shadow Ball and Night Shade," Kajun explained as the screen showed Gengar using such moves, "They're also capable of using other Special attack moves, such as Sludge Bomb, Energy Ball, Psychic, Dazzling Gleam, and Focus Blast." she showed a Gengar holding a purple orb using Shadow Ball, followed by a wave of sludge, a blast of energy shaped like a fist or foot, and then either an icy wind, a taunting motion, or making a double of itself, "A good skillset for a Gengar would have it hold a Life Orb and have Shadow Ball and Sludge Wave for STAB, Focus Blast for dealing with Dark-types, and a decision between Taunt, Icy Wind, or Substitute in the last slot. Though if you replace the Life Orb with a Ghostium Z, then I'd suggest going with Will-O-Wisp or Taunt in that last slot. The best Ability for a Gengar would be Levitate while it should be a Timid Nature with EV Training focused on Special Attack, Speed, and Special Defense."

"Espeon?" Koko looked over at Hikari.

"Ralts…" Hikari shrugged since this was a new thing for her as well.

"Ah. My apologies if you were startled by that last bit," Kajun apologized, "It's something new I'm trying out, giving a strategy for people playing the games who own a Gengar or want one for their teams." she bowed, "Well, that's all the time we have today. Come in next time as we…"

"Aaaaaaaarrrr~"

The three looked to their left to see a massive shadowy figure looking at them with glowing yellow eyes. The three screamed before running off. The lights above the shadowed figure turned on, revealing Pidgeotto with Pikachu and Emolga on her back, their cheeks sparking to give the yellow 'eyes' with Gengar holding onto her legs, cackling. The curtains fell as he still cackled.

---

GT: Well...That was spooky.

SZ: Indeed, and a MAJOR change up from the original episode this chapter was based on.

GT: Eeyup. Instead of just following Ash like Haunter did, Gengar went and got himself caught on purpose. Guess when you show a Gengar you've got balls to take on a wakening eldritch abomination such as the Black Fog, it wants to be your Pokemon.

SZ: So very true.

GT: And now we have some new Pokemon for Tsubaki and Mai, too.

SZ: Mm hmm. A Honedge for Tsubaki, and a Cubone for Mai.

GT: And it seems things are going down in Saffron City now. So next time, it's the finale of the three-parter and…*sees something on the 3DS* ...SZ? Apparently in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, you can have Lillie as your partner at the Battle Tree with a Ribombee and Comfey as her team.

SZ: EH?! REALLY?!

GT: Yep. You just need to beat the Post Game and talk to her at the Aether Foundation.

SZ: Ahh...sweet! Now I really want to get Ultra Sun!

GT: True. But for now...Read and review as we work on Part 3 of the Sabrina Trilogy!

SZ: Eeyup. So until next time, I am Seanzilla115, he is Gammatron, and we will see you all next time!

---

Ash Ketchum: Pikachu [Starter], Pidgeotto, Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle(At Prof. Oak's ranch), Krabby(At Prof. Oak's ranch), Eevee(At Prof. Oak's ranch), Gengar

Misty: Goldeen, Staryu, Horsea, Starmie [Starter]

Brock: Geodude, Onix [Starter], Zubat

Makoto Nanaya: Berry(Pachirisu) [Starter], Needles(Beedrill), Cherry(Emolga), Booster(Eevee)

Noel Vermillion: Yuki(Alolan Vulpix) [Starter], Nymph(Eevee), Umi(Feebas)

Tsubaki Yayoi: Luka(Riolu) [Starter], Astrea(Eevee), Sorin(Rockruff), Izayoi(Honedge)

Mai Natsume: Terra(Sandshrew) [Starter], Aqua(Buizel), Celsius(Eevee), Noble(Cubone)

Kajun Faycott: Hikari(Ralts) [Starter], Koko(Espeon)