Hello Fanfiction Readers! How's it going? In this chapter, Ash, Iris, and Cilan arrive in Nacrene City! However, all is not well in Nacrene City as a dark energy emanates from the Nacrene City Museum. First, the Dragon Skull is stolen and now something is moving about in the museum. What is it? Read and see. Although, you most likely know what it is.
Disclaimer: The Disclaimer is a lie I say! A lie!
Pokémon Black and White
Chapter Fourteen
Normal Point of View
"We've finally in Nacrene City!" Ash said.
"Look at all those cool buildings!" Iris commented.
"They're actually unused warehouses," Cilan stated. "which the city leases to artists. And because of that, Nacrene City is known as the City of Art!"
"Wow!" Iris observed. "There's beautiful art everywhere you look!"
"The city is also admired for its style," Cilan continued. "so it's the City of Admiration too!"
"Well, as far as I'm concerned, you can call it what you want, but I cam to Nacrene City for one reason." Ash said. "A gym battle!"
"The city's museum just happens to be the site of the Nacrene Gym." Cilan said.
"Yeah?" Ash inquired. "How awesome is it to have a gym inside a museum? Reminds me of how your gym is in a restaurant."
"Indeed!" Cilan said.
"Let's go there now!" Ash exclaimed enthusiastically, pumping a fist in the air.
As they went on their way there, Ash couldn't help but notice out of the corner of his eye how there seemed to be someone with orange hair walking around. Very familiar orange hair.
No way. Ash though to himself. She's running the gym all the way in Kanto, she can't be here. Can she?
When they got to the front of the museum, Ash decided to brush it off as nothing.
"I think it's closed!" Iris said.
"I wanna challenge the Nacrene Gym right now!" Ash shouted, cupping his hands like a megaphone. "Is anybody here?"
Ash then knocked on the front door. "Uh, hello?" Trying to open the door himself, he sighed when he noticed it wouldn't work.
"Two posters..." Cilan commented.
"Secret Artifacts Exhibit?" Iris wondered aloud.
"Dragon Skull Stolen! Now Back in Nacrene City Museum Custody?" Ash said.
"And looking at the dates of this first poster, it's today." Cilan commented. "But it doesn't make any sense that it would be closed."
"Uh, excuse me!" Ash said, knocking on the door again and said something when he saw that the doors weren't changing. "Nothing."
Just then though, a scream was heard.
"What was that?" Iris wondered aloud.
"Whatever it was, we have to help them!" Ash said.
"Right!" Iris and Cilan agreed.
After a moment's pause, someone burst through the door.
"Sir, are you all right?" Cilan asked as Ash and Iris helped him up.
"In there!" The man shouted, pointing to inside the museum. "It's horrible!"
"Is something wrong with the hallway?" Iris asked.
"No, it's fine!" The man replied. "The Dome Fossil was chasing me!"
"Whoa, a Dome Fossil?" Ash inquired.
"It was chasing you?" Iris asked.
"But...I don't see a thing." Cilan said.
"It's there, all right." The man said insistently.
"Well, I believe you." Ash said. "Hey, let's check it out."
'The Dome Fossil is right over there." Cilan commented after then ran in.
"But how?" The man wondered aloud. "It was just chasing after me a minute ago."
"Fill us in, please." Cilan asked. "And don't leave out any details."
"Uh...sure." The man replied hesitatingly.
The teens and the man then proceeded to go outside and sit at a table as he explained.
"We were behind in preparations for the Secret Artifacts Exhibit." The man began. "So when the artifacts finally arrived last night, after a hectic day in its own right, the workers and I were rushing to put together the displays. By the time we had finished, it was very late."
"I was alone, doing a final check of the artifacts, when suddenly..." The man continued. "The lights turned off suddenly. As I made my way toward the light switch, I heard them."
"Heard who?" Iris asked.
"I heard footsteps coming toward me from behind!" The man exclaimed. "Things were starting to get a bit scary...when suddenly I heard a cry! I then saw what I thought as a ghost. Scared out of my wits, I went to bring the workers back with me, and we searched the whole museum, but we didn't find anything out of the ordinary."
"I assume that after that you closed the museum." Cilan presumed.
"Right, so, since our patrons' safety comes first, we decided to postpone the exhibit." The man replied. "After the workers left, I decided to stay and search the museum, one last time when the Dome Fossil appeared."
"Oh my! And that's when we ran into you." Cilan commented.
"I'll tell you, weird things can happen." Ash said.
"A curse." Iris added. "It's gotta be!"
"A curse?" Ash asked. "I was thinking it might be a Ghost-type Pokémon."
"There's no doubt in my mind that an angry spirit of some sort has put a terrible curse on this museum and that's that!" Iris declared, ignoring Ash's comment.
"You think it's a curse?" The man asked.
"You see?" Iris said, Axew shivering then going into Iris' hair. "Even Axew knows it's true. And bad things will happen if we don't do something now."
"Don't overreact." Cilan interjected. "There's a rational explanation for this. As Ash said it could a Ghost-type Pokémon. It's simply a misunderstanding, that's all."
"A misunderstanding?" Iris exclaimed with a tone of incredulity.
"I'm sure science has the key." Cilan said. "Scientific perspective is what we need."
"Yeah?" Iris retorted, getting up from her chair. "Then figure it out from a scientific perspective!"
"I'll do just that." Cilan replied without a trace of smugness. "This is turning into a recipe I like!"
"But...what are you saying?" The man inquired, puzzled.
"I'm saying I'll find out why a spirit would cast a curse on your museum." Iris replied. "I guarantee it!"
"And I'll find out what's really going on with science." Cilan said. "The scientific method is the smart way to go."
"Hold it right there! I wanna know about my gym battle!" Ash interjected, putting his hands on the table before calming down a bit. "And I'll find the Ghost-type Pokémon in the museum and see if I can get it to leave."
"There's no time for that now." Iris said.
"Thanks." The man said. "And anyway, Lenora's not here. And you can't battle without her!"
"Lenora?" Ash inquired.
"Ah! Where are my manners." The man said getting up. "I haven't yet introduced myself. My name's Hawes, and I'm cocurator of the museum, you see. And when I referred to Lenora, I meant my wife. She's also the Nacrene Gym Leader."
"Yeah, well, that's awesome." Ash said. "My name is Ash Ketchum and I'm from Pallet Town in the Kanto region and this is my partner, Pikachu."
"Pika, Pikachu!" ("Hi, nice to meet you!")
"My name's Iris."
"And I'm Cilan, a Pokémon Connoisseur." Cilan said, getting up from his seat. "May we have a look around the museum, if you don't mind?"
"Yes, of course." Hawes replied.
"I'd be happy to give you a quick tour." Hawes suggested once they were inside. "So if you would all follow me..."
"It's thought that Kabuto, the Shellfish Pokémon, were living on our beaches as far back as three hundred million years ago." Hawes said.
"Whoa." Ash commented. "That's a long time ago!"
"Wow, isn't that a Dragonite?" Iris asked excitedly as they were motioned to a skeleton.
"This is quite impressive. It's the skeletal model of a Dragonite. It just so happens that it's the largest Dragonite skeletal model in the world!" Hawes said, before taking a more serious tone. "Earlier, a group of people know as Team Plasma came in and stole the Dragonite's head."
"That's awful!" Iris exclaimed.
"Thieves." Ash said, clenching his fists.
"A truly sudden recipe for a bitter tasting dish." Cilan added.
"But luckily," Hawes said, his voice changing to normal. "Burgh, Lenora, and this fiery Pokémon Trainer were able to retrieve it."
Fiery Pokémon Trainer? Ash thought. Could it be?
The teens were then motioned to another display.
"Now take a look at this." Hawes said in front of a black rock. "A most amazing rock. It's a meteorite!"
"Meteorite?" Ash wondered aloud. "A rock that fell from space?"
"Indeed, that means it came from space when it entered the atmosphere." Cilan replied.
"Yes! And which also means it should possess some sort of cosmic energy as well." Hawes said.
"Cosmic energy, fascinating!" Cilan said.
"That sounds amazing!" Ash commented before mentally chiding himself. Unless it involves Deoxys. Those times usually end with a crisis.
"This is our Secret Artifacts Exhibit's main attraction!" Hawes said as they continued to another part of the museum.
"Wow!" Ash exclaimed, running over to two suits of armor. "So cool!"
"These suits of armor were once worn in the Unova region." Hawes said.
"Simply captivating!" Cilan noted.
"Suits of armor." Iris said, more to herself than anyone else.
"Check that out!" Ash said as his eye caught something.
"Pika!" ("Yeah!")
"The artifacts on display here were found in a ruin, and researchers have said Cofagrigus is known to appear in these types of ruins." Hawes said.
"Cofagrigus?" Ash asked.
"Yes, it's this Pokémon's name." Cilan replied. "Is this a real specimen?"
"No." Hawes replied, walking up to the model. "It's a replica."
"It's certainly well done." Cilan commented.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Ash asked as Iris made a sound of thoughtfulness.
"It's about the curse." Iris replied. "This has something to do with it."
"Really?" Ash asked. "I still think it's just a Ghost-type Pokémon."
"Why do you think so?" Cilan asked, turning the question to Iris.
"It's my sixth sense." Iris replied, clenching her fists. "That's how I know!"
"Which means you have no evidence, so it's only a hunch." Cilan said, earning a face-fault from Iris.
Ash then went to investigate something that looked like a mask.
"Hey, Hawes, what's this?" Ash asked.
"Now that's a Yamask mask." Hawes replied, Iris and Cilan close behind. "Yamask frequently appear in ruins."
"Intriguing." Cilan commented.
"Hey, what a weird Pokémon!" Ash observed.
"Though the mask is a replica." Hawes said.
"I've got a bad feeling about this." Iris said. "Something..."
"Could it be that this mask is not a replica?" Ash wondered, but then he noticed that Hawes, Iris, and Cilan were walking away. "Hey! Wait for me!"
"Our library is filled with additional artifact information." Hawes said after Ash caught up. "Visitors are encouraged to study as much as they like."
"Now this is what I call full service!" Cilan noted.
"And so, this is the end of our tour." Hawes said. "Now tell me. Did you find anything strange?"
"Well...everything seems to be quite normal, as far as I can tell." Cilan replied.
"Something definitely doesn't feel right to me, but I can't put my finger on what it is!" Iris said.
"I did noticed how there seemed to be something odd about the Yamask mask." Ash added. "I know one thing though for sure, I need to eat."
"Will you stop?" Iris shouted in Ash's face.
"It was a joke!" Ash replied with a sweat-drop, scratching his neck.
"Uh Hawes, sir, would it be okay if we slept here in the museum tonight?" Cilan asked.
"Huh? Sleep in the museum?" Hawes inquired.
"Right. That would allow us to keep an eye out for any paranormal activities that occur." Cilan replied.
"Oh, yeah!" Iris said. "There's no doubt angry spirits are definitely more active at night."
"And Ghost-type Pokémon." Ash murmured.
"It'd be a great way to find out what's causing the curse." Iris said.
"Well, you all may be kids, but you're sure courageous." Hawes said. "I'm quite impressed."
"Oh this is nothing!" Ash said bashfully, scratching his neck. "I've done more courageous things then sleeping in a museum at night."
"Really?" Iris asked. "Actually, he's the only kid."
"Now what does that mean?" Ash inquired suspiciously while the other two present just laughed.
XXXXXXX
"I just can't wait to see what kind of Pokémon hatches." Ash said after night had fallen, rubbing the container of his egg before hugging it. He then proceeded to put the egg back in his backpack.
"You sure you'll be all right here?" Hawes asked.
"Of course." Ash replied. "We sleep just like this all the time."
"But what if we start to hear voices?" Hawes inquired. "And things start to move on their own?"
"Then that'll be our cue to spring into action!" Iris replied determinedly, clenching her fist.
"And then we'll have the chance to solve this mystery, smooth as silk!" Cilan added.
"Sounds good to me!" Hawes said, convinced.
Team Rocket's Point of View
"It's time." Meowth said.
"The agent from headquarters." James said. "I wonder how he's planning on contacting us this evening?"
"Right." Jessie said.
"Like this." Pierce said behind the three other Team Rockets.
"It's Pierce!" Jessie commented.
"When did you..." Meowth began.
"We had no idea you were even here." James said.
"I have your mission from headquarters." Pierce said.
"Tell us." James said.
"First, have you finished investigating the city museum?" Pierce asked.
"It's all been taken care of." Jessie replied, arms out to her sides.
"Excellent." Pierce said. "As for your next assignment? Headquarters wants you to switch out the meteorite in the exhibit."
"The meteorite?" James asked.
"Correct." Pierce replied. "Using the decoy meteorite you received several days ago. However, you should know that the real meteorite is and is not your true target."
"What does that mean?" Meowth inquired.
"We don't like beating around the bush." Jessie added, crossing her arms.
"I insist you tell use what our true target is." James said.
Ash's Point of View
What's this place? I thought to myself.
Before me looked to be a hidden building in the middle of a desert. Two lines of people in front of each other were staring at each other intently.
They do not look friendly.
I wonder what their talking about.
Just then though, my vision was obscured as sand was blown all around. As it departed, I saw a dark stone, bigger than the meteorite in the museum.
Waves of energy then started to emit from the meteorite. The result of it being that the room it was in seemed to be falling apart.
Well, this does not look safe. I commented before the image changed again, this time of a dully shining stone of darkness.
What is that? And why do I feel a sense of being inexplicably drawn to it?
Before I could glean any answers, the image then changed again to display a lake. A nice peaceful lake. A familiarly relaxing lake.
I sure seem to be having a lot of weird dreams ever since I entered the Unova region.
Before analyzing could happen, I felt the threads of wakefulness wrapping around me.
Normal Point of View
"Iris?" Ash asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as Iris was already up and looking like she was about to wake him up. "What is it?"
"What's wrong?" Cilan inquired, being woken up from Ash waking up.
"I'm feeling a weird chill." Iris replied.
"Weird chill? Ash asked, then felt a shiver go down his spine. "Yeah, I'm feeling it too now that you've mentioned it."
"Yeah, as if something's closing in on us." Iris said.
"Another unscientific explanation." Cilan interjected.
"What if it's a Ghost-type Pokémon?" Ash asked.
"Well, that's a scientific explanation." Cilan admitted, finding the ground interesting.
"Hey, what's going on?" Ash wondered aloud as a dark cloud literally befell them.
"You're up?" Hawes asked groggily. "Is something wrong?"
Hawes then jumped up in response to his surroundings.
"That fog!" Hawes exclaimed. "What in the world could it be?"
"I'm telling you, that angry spirit's about to do something bad!" Iris said.
"While I doubt the Ghost-type is going to curse us, I do admit that it will do something bad." Ash said.
"Of course not!" Cilan interjected. "The air conditioning must've broken down."
Iris face-faulted at that while Ash merely sweat-dropped.
"Hear that?" Ash asked as he and Iris recovered. "It sounds like...armor clanking?"
"A ghost!" Hawes exclaimed in fear, falling and landing on his butt.
"All right!" Iris said. "What's the "scientific explanation," Cilan?"
"Easy!" Cilan replied. "It's the "poltergeist phenomenon, which refers to things that move, but due to the vibrations of ultra low-frequency sound waves. "
"I think you're both wrong." Ash interjected. "It's a Ghost-type Pokémon."
The suit of armor then glowed faintly purple for a moment after drawing its sword.
"Are sound waves doing that, too?" Iris asked.
"It's possible that someone is manipulating its arms with strings." Cilan replied.
"Ugh, you people aren't even listening to what I'm saying." Ash muttered under his breath as he covered his face with his palm before recovering. "Wow, that's kind of a stretch!"
As the suit of armor came at them, Ash sprung into action.
"Pikachu!" Ash shouted. "Quick Attack, now!"
Pikachu then rammed into the suit of armor, sending it scattering.
"All right!" Iris exclaimed.
"I wouldn't be so quick to jump to conclusions." Cilan said.
The suit of armor then put itself back together.
"That's curious." Cilan said.
"No, that's a curse!" Iris exclaimed, clenching her fists.
"No it's a Ghost-type Pokémon." Ash muttered again, his hand going down his face in exasperation before giving Pikachu a command. "'Kay, Pikachu, use Volt Tackle!"
"Is that a ghostly aura?" Hawes pondered aloud as Pikachu slammed into the suit of armor, scattering it again, something emerging from the suit of armor.
"It's just an electrical discharge and nothing more." Cilan said. "People often mistake phenomena like that for ghosts."
Ash face-faulted at that, quickly recovering as the "ghostly aura" hovered around him.
"Man, that thing's hot!" Ash commented.
The "ghostly aura" then proceeded to chase Hawes around.
"Oshawott!" Ash shouted as the Sea Otter Pokémon emerged. "Water Gun, let's go!"
The Water Gun then hit its target after which the helmet of the suit of armor levitated.
"All right." Iris said. "Explain!"
"A change in the magnetic field is reacting with the metal in the armor causing it to float." Cilan replied, earning a sweat-drop from Ash and a slight scowl from Iris.
Hawes then screamed as he was chased by the helmet.
"Pikachu, Iron Tail, let's go!" Ash said. Pikachu's tail then glowed silver as he hit it against the helmet.
"Thanks." Hawes said as the helmet clattered to the ground. "I needed that!"
"You know, that angry spirit, it looks to me like it's after Hawes, you know?" Iris said.
"After m-me?" Hawes said, stuttering slightly. "I don't think I've done anything that would cause someone to get so mad."
I would say something, but I'm probably just going to get ignored. Ash thought to himself, his thoughts interrupted when water started to fall from indoors.
"Rain?" Ash asked.
"There's something wrong with the sprinklers, that's all!" Cilan said.
I will admit this, you can sure be persistent. Iris thought to herself as she half-glared, half-stared, at Cilan.
"It stopped." Ash commented.
Their attention was then refocused as they started to hear a sound. A sound like...crying.
"Those are the very same sounds I heard last night!" Hawes said.
"It sounds like crying." Iris commented. "That spirit must be so sad!"
"No, no!" Cilan said. "That crying is actually low-frequency sound waves, which are causing something to squeak."
Ash sighed at that, Pikachu mimicking the action.
"Whatever!" Ash exclaimed. "Let's go check out where it's coming from. Oshawott, return!"
As they looked around the main exhibit of the Secret Artifacts Exhibits, Ash took note of something.
"There's your crying!" Ash observed.
"But...why would that mask be sad?" Iris asked.
"My guess...is that it's actually a Yamask." Ash said, more to himself than anyone else.
"What appear to be tears are in reality condensation and nothing more." Cilan said.
The mask in the display case then came off its place and slammed against the glass pane.
"The angry spirit is in that mask!" Iris exclaimed.
"Wrong! It's merely attracted to something, like the positive and negative poles of a magnet." Cilan said.
Their attention was then diverted when they heard footsteps behind them.
"All right, are you the angry spirit?" Iris asked. "Tell us!"
"Stop!" Cilan exclaimed. "It's simply a change in the magnetic field!"
"Do you really believe that Cilan?" Ash asked.
"No, I don't even believe me anymore." Cilan replied.
The Dragonite Fossil then caused them to disperse as it proceeded to pound on the glass pane.
"Pansage, quick!" Cilan said. "Use Bullet Seed!"
The Grass Monkey Pokémon then proceeded to unleash a furious barrage of energized seeds at the Dragonite Fossil, causing it to lose its eerie glow and have its pieces be scattered.
"It sounded like some sort of cry!" Ash commented.
"It could've been the voice of the angry spirit!" Iris said.
"What about the mask?" Cilan asked. "Is it all right?"
"I'll go check on it!" Hawes replied.
After Hawes opened the glass pane, the mask emerged and made a run for Cilan.
"Cilan, look out!" Iris shouted, a tone of worry in her voice.
Ash however, was quicker and pushed Cilan out of the way. This caused the Yamask mask to land on Ash.
"Ash!" Cilan said.
"It's stuck!" Iris commented as she and Cilan tried to take the mask off of Ash who was trying to do the same.
"Won't come off!" Cilan added.
Ash then pushed them off of him and just stood there silently.
"Ash, are you okay?" Cilan inquired.
"Snap out of it!" Iris said.
"And now..." A voice said from Ash. A very distinct voice that did not sound like Ash. "I shall punish you!"
Ash then unleashed two balls of fire and launched them at Iris and Cilan, who promptly dodged them.
"What's wrong with you?" Cilan asked. "Ash?"
"It's obvious that Ash's been taken over by the angry spirit!" Iris replied.
"Taken over?" Cilan inquired. "But, how come?"
"I think it's because Ash kept saying it was a Ghost-type Pokémon." Iris said. "And perhaps it thought that Ash would be the ideal person to take over."
"Oh man..." Cilan said. "What a fascinating recipe."
"Spirit, listen to me!" Iris exclaimed. "You've got to talk to us now! Please tell us why you're so angry!"
"You locked it away!" The voice said.
"Locked it away?" Iris inquired.
"The mask is precious to me!" The voice said.
Before the voice could say anymore, Ash then sat on the ground.
"Well, that's peculiar." Cilan commented. "I wonder what's going on in there."
Ash's Point of View
Where am I? I wondered as I was surrounded by fog.
I then changed my attention to a mask in front of me.
"Yamask?" Ash asked.
"What are you doing here?" Yamask inquired.
"Why are you causing so much trouble?" I said. "And this is my mind after all."
"Well, it's a bit foggy in here. Must be your intelligence." Yamask commented, which caused Ash to face-fault in response.
"I'll ask again, why are you causing so much trouble?" I inquired, ignoring Yamask's comment.
I then noticed how it was pointing to its mask.
"Something to do with your mask?" I said.
"Yes, it was locked away." Yamask replied. "And I intend to get it back."
"Don't worry about it Yamask." I said. "I'll help you."
"Hmm." Yamask said thoughtfully.
"Really, I can help." I said insistently.
"I don't know..." Yamask said hesitatingly.
This Yamask seems a bit conflicted.
"Don't worry, I'll be sure to help you." I said then added something. "Any chance though that you could get off my face though?"
Normal Point of View
"That Yamask mask is the real deal, all right." A voice said.
"Hi, dear!" Hawes said. "You couldn't have picked a better time to come home!"
""Hi, dear?"" Iris inquired. "You must be Lenora!"
"That's right!" Lenora said. "So tell me, Hawes, where did you get that mask, anyway?"
"The mask?" Hawes pondered thoughtfully. "Let me see...Last night, when we were loading in the artifacts, I found the mask on the ground. I had ordered only a replica of Cofagrigus, so I assumed they sent this Yamask mask as a kind of thank-you gift, but a replica as well."
"You know better than that!" Lenora said, a chastising tone in her voice.
"Well, I should have!" Hawes admitted.
Just then, the Yamask reassembled the Dragonite Fossil.
"Now stop that!" Lenora shouted. "That's more than enough punishment!"
Yamask then began to make it go to its original spot, but Lenora construed that as something else.
"If that's the way you want it, go, Watchog!" Lenora exclaimed.
The room was then engulfed in a blinding yellow light as Watchog emerged.
"Yamask, why don't you come out and show yourself?" Lenora asked.
"Yamask?" Iris inquired. "No way!"
"I told you it wasn't a curse." Cilan said as the Yamask mask took itself off of Ash. "Ash! Thank goodness! You okay?"
"I'm fine." Ash replied. "I was just having a little conversation with Yamask."
Ash then, upon noticed the two Pokémon, brought out his Pokédex.
"Watchog, the Lookout Pokémon, and the evolved form of Patrat. Watchog's body contains luminescent compounds, which allow its eyes and stripes to glow." The Pokédex uttered.
"Yamask, the Spirit Pokémon. Yamask is a Ghost-type Pokémon that wanders the ruins of ancient civilizations." The Pokédex uttered.
"Of course!" Lenora said. "Yamask must have been hiding in the artifacts. That's how it ended up here!"
"But then it accidentally dropped its mask." Lenora continued.
"Ya!" ("Yes!") The Spirit Pokémon said.
"You thought the mask was a replica and you made the mistake of putting it in that display case," Lenora added. "but when Yamask saw it locked in the case, it assumed you had stolon it!"
"So Yamask got mad and did this." Iris commented.
"I get it!" Ash added.
"Of course." Cilan said, crossing his arms. "Yamask used Psychic to move the skeleton model, the suits of armor, and the fossil, too. The fog was Haze."
"The rain was Rain Dance," Ash added. "And the ghostly aura was Will-O-Wisp!"
"See?" Iris asked. "I've been telling you it the work of an angry spirit all along, haven't I?"
"Well...not exactly." Cilan interjected. "You thought it was a curse."
"Come on!" Iris exclaimed, turning to Cilan. "My guess was better than yours!"
"Actually, I was the only one who assumed it was a Ghost-type Pokémon." Ash said. "And now look at who is acting like a little kid."
Iris face-faulted at that while Cilan merely sweat-dropped.
"Yamask, I truly regret my mistake caused you so much grief." Hawes said, running over to his wife. "I'm sorry, I beg you to forgive me."
"I apologize, too." Lenore added. "Forgive us."
"Yamask yamask. Yamask." ("Don't worry about it. Thanks.")
"I know it's just a hunch, but I really think Yamask just forgave you!" Iris observed.
"You think so?" Hawes asked.
"Wonderful!" Lenora said. "Thank you."
"Yamask!" ("No problem!")
"Awesome!" Ash said. "Turns out Yamask is actually a cool Pokémon!"
"True! And with an air of real mystery." Cilan added.
Those presents then walked outside the museum as the sun was rising.
"Leaving so soon?" Lenora asked, directing the question to Yamask.
"Ya!" ("Yep!")
"Well, you're welcome to visit us anytime!" Hawes said.
"Ya, Yamask!" ("Yes, I'll remember that!")
Before it left though, Yamask's gaze lingered on Ash before the Spirit Pokémon departed to the sky.
"Bye, take care!" Ash shouted, holding his hands like a megaphone.
"Bye-bye, Yamask!" Iris said, waving.
After Yamask left, Iris was stretching.
"What a beautiful moring!" Iris commented.
"Right!" Cilan said. "Such delicious morning air."
"Perfect for a gym battle!" Ash said.
"I see." Lenora interjected. "Does that mean that you came here to challenge my gym?"
"Yeah!" Ash exclaimed. "I'm Ash from Pallet Town. And you're right, I'd love to challenge you to a gym battle!"
"Of course." Lenora said. "I'm always curious about challengers' battle styles. I'm looking forward to seeing yours."
"All right!" Ash said.
Author's Notes: As the chapters are written, Ash and Misty running into each other gets ever closer. And for those of you wondering how that Yamask could speak in English, it is quite simple actually. In fact, it showed that Yamask used Ash's vocal cords to speak. Just thought I might bring that up since some of you might wonder about it. Well, until the next chapter, farewell!