Hello and blessings to you all. Welcome back to another chapter! This chapter is much longer than usual as it was originally two chapters. I didn't really want to divide another story into two parts so soon, so I opted to just combine it and give you all a longer chapter. Frankly, this chapter is my least favorite that I've written so far. I didn't ever feel like the story developed how I wanted it to and I tried rewriting it a few times but in the end decided the best course was to push forward. Anyway I hope some of you are able to enjoy it more than I do.
It was a dark night in Eastern Kanto. Deep in the forest near a certain town, two figures skulked through the shadows.
"I can't believe they made us put back on these disgusting black uniforms." A blonde girl complained as she fidgeted with her black uniform with a red R on it.
"It's those damn kid's fault. If they hadn't ruined our plan in Mt. Moon we'd be at Petrel's side right now in Vermillion City instead of running errands for that quack doctor." A green haired man sneered.
"Oh, Petrel has had it out for us from the very start." Cassidy huffed, "I'll never understand why he loves that tramp Jessie and her idiot partner."
"Maybe that's the reason, he just loves idiots."
"Hmmf maybe so. Anyway, where did Namba say we'd find the package?" Cassidy asked.
"Should be up here." Butch responded, "Although I still don't understand why it couldn't just be delivered to Lavender Town."
"Oh the doctor's just a paranoid quack. Honestly I'm glad we were given this assignment. I was going crazy being stuck in that stuffy tower all day."
"Well luckily Namba said that once he has this piece of equipment his work will start going much quicker." Butch responded.
"That's what he said last time." Cassidy moaned. "Oh! There it is."
The girl pointed to a brown package hidden under a tree. They walked over to it but before they could reach an object came soaring across the dark sky and banged Butch on the side of the head.
"What was that?" The crook sneered as he rubbed his head.
"Maro! Maro!" A voice grunted.
The two Rocket members flashed their flashlights in the direction of the noise to see a small brown pokemon with a skull over its head.
"A Marowak?" Cassidy said in confusion, "What's it bothering us for?"
"Oh who cares? Get lost, you runt!" Butch shouted.
As he did this a similar pokemon but much smaller poked its head out from behind the Marowak.
"A cubone? That must be it's baby." Cassidy observed.
"It thinks we're invading its territory." Butch sneered
"Ugh whatever. Let's just slowly get the package and then get out of here." Cassidy offered.
"Screw that. I'm tired of sneaking and running." Butch hissed as he released his Primeape. The Marowak motioned for her child to hide behind a tree as it stepped forward and picked up its bone.
"Primeape, use cross chop!"
The ape pokemon charge ahead at the ground type. Marowak tried to counter this with bone rush but the ape pokemon was too strong and smashed through it.
"Now thrash!" Butch shouted. With Marowak on the ground Primeape glowed yellow as it smashed the ground type on all sides.
"Again!" Butch shouted, "Again!"
This continued on and on until Primeape could barely move.
"Alright you've had your fun. Feel better?" Cassidy asked as she stepped forward with the package under her arm.
"I think so" Butch began before he was clunked across the head with a bone. Marowak had slowly risen to her feet.
"Oh, you want more?" Butch sneered. He didn't have Primeape attack though. Instead he went forward himself, kicking the weak pokemon to the ground. He stomped hard on the pokemon, then again, and again. Blood went everywhere as Butch howled with laughter.
"Enough!" Cassidy hissed, "We've been away long enough. We need to go back"
"Very well." Butch said as he looked down at the caved in head beneath him, one last satisfied smirk on his face.
As the Rocket agents disappeared a small pokemon peaked its head out from behind the tree. Slowly the Cubone walked toward its mother, poking her a few times with its own club as it tried to wake her. Seeing no response the pokemon crashed to the ground before giving a gut wrenching wail.
"I don't ever want to leave the city again!" Misty cried as she collapsed onto her bed at pokemon center.
Serena smiled at her friend as she set her bag down on the bed next to Misty's, "We're only spending one night here you know"
"Ugh don't remind me." Misty grumbled, "I don't know why Ash is in such a rush to get to Vermillion City. We're going to have to hangout there for a while for your showcase anyway."
"You know Ash, all he can think about is getting that next badge. He has to be getting restless with how long it's been since his last gym battle." Serena responded.
In truth Serena was also anxious to get to Vermillion City, being stationary for a bit would give her the time necessary to practice for her performance. Meeting Giselle had been the wakeup she needed to be motivated for the showcase. There was no way she'd lose to that girl! The honey blonde trainer had been training with Misty every morning before the group traveled. Beyond her skills as a trainer improving, Serena was finally getting an idea of what her pokemon could do in the showcase.
"Well I guess it can't be helped." Misty complained, "How about you take a shower. I want to be lazy and lay here for a minute."
After the girls showered and changed into a fresh pair of clothes they headed down to meet their friends in the lobby. Unsurprisingly, the boys had taken much less time to shower and were already waiting for them when they arrived.
"Are we all ready?" Brock called out enthusiastically.
"Hooray" Misty cheered sarcastically.
The gang had arrived in Lavender Town a little past noon that day. After a month on the road, Ash and Misty were very much looking forward to spending the rest of the day lounging around the pokemon center before heading out the next morning. Unfortunately their plans were dashed when Brock demanded they do a little sightseeing.
"What's with this fog?" Misty complained as the group walked around the town.
"Lavender town is famous for its fog. I read somewhere that it's foggy here about 200 days a year." Brock responded as he led the group.
As the group walked around Lavender Town it quickly became apparent how different it was from the other cities they'd visited so far. Although far larger than Pallet Town, Lavender Town was small compared to the cities of Kanto, maybe about a quarter the size of Cerulean City. The town also had a very traditional feel to it. Many of the homes the group passed were in the traditional minka style of feudal Kanto as opposed to the modern style of houses that they'd seen so far. While the three previous cities they had visited were lined with skyscrapers and busy downtown areas Lavender had none of those things. The people seemed to take a much more relaxed way of life here. There was only one true notable spot in the town. A single large tower that sat at the edge of the town.
"Here we are: The Pokemon Tower!" Brock said as he gestured towards the tower.
"A pokemon tower? Sounds awesome!" Ash said enthusiastically, "Will there be any battles there?"
"Of course not! Do you seriously not know what The Pokemon Tower is?" Misty scolded.
The raven haired teen sweat dropped and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"Have no fear, Ash. I'll fill you in on the history." Brock said as the group got closer to the tower. "As you all know nearly 100 years ago this world was plagued by The Great War. All the regions of the world took sides in a bloody five year war. Kanto of course chose the losing side but that's a tale for another day. During the war one of the most precious resources was undoubtedly pokemon. Even with the creation of modern weapons like tanks and planes nothing could match the destructive power or overall usefulness that pokemon brought to battle. Alongside men many pokemon were injured in battle. Kanto needed a place to heal pokemon so that they could reenter the war as soon as possible. It was Lavender Town that was finally chosen as the main base of pokemon recovery and over the course of five years thousands of injured pokemon came to this town to heal. Of course with so many gravely injured pokemon coming many did not ever leave. Lavender Town soon found itself as the final resting place for those pokemon that didn't recover. The people of the town didn't know what to do with all these dead bodies though. They began building a graveyard but that wasn't enough. Eventually something more elaborate was created, a large building that could house all the cremated ashes of past pokemon and thus The Pokemon Tower was born. Today it stands as a reminder of all the pokemon who died fighting for the people of Kanto."
"So, you want us to go look at pokemon ashes?" Ash asked quizzically.
"It's not just that, it's the history, the architecture!" Brock replied as he desperately tried to make his point.
"I'm going to side with Ash on this one, it sounds like a bummer." Misty said
"Serena?" Brock asked hopefully.
"You know I love sightseeing, Brock. But this is a bit… morbid." Serena responded with a sweat drop.
"Fine, well let's just stop by for a minute." Brock grumbled.
Unfortunately they weren't even given that as upon trying to open the front doors they were revealed to be locked shut. A large sign next the door read, "Pokemon Tower temporarily closed until completion of investigation."
"Investigation?" Serena asked, "What investigation?"
"You didn't hear?" A very familiar voice asked from behind the group, "The tower closed because of the ghost."
The group turned around to see a rather tall boy with spiky brown hair leaning against a light pull with an arrogant smirk across his face, "Long time no see Serena, Ashy boy."
"Gary?" Serena exclaimed.
"Ashy boy?" Misty giggled.
"Shut up" Ash growled at the red head, "What are you doing here Gary?"
"Oh come on Ashy, is that anyway to say hello? I know your mother taught you better manners than that." The teen taunted as he gave Serena a quick hug, "Good to see you both. I didn't think I'd run into you here.
"Where are you other, uh, traveling companions?" Serena asked.
"The girls are checked into some fancy spa on the edge of town." Gary explained, "The cars in the shop with engine problems so we're stuck here for a couple of days."
"Sounds like driving around in a car isn't as great a travel method as you thought." Ash taunted.
"Maybe" Gary said with an arrogant smirk, "But I have caught six pokemon already. And I have these." He opened a case to reveal 4 badges.
"You have four badges?" Ash exclaimed.
"That's right Ashy boy. So how many do you have?"
By the look on his face Ash got the idea that Gary already knew the answer to that.
"It doesn't matter. I'll have 8 by the time of the Kanto league." Ash growled.
"That's why I love ya Ashy boy. You always stay optimistic, even when in failure." Gary smirked.
Ash growled again, "Well how about we battle right now. We can really see who's further ahead!"
"Eh, not interested." Gary responded with a dismissive wave, "I don't want to injure your pokemon. Besides, I'm going to meet some old friends of gramps."
"A friend of Prof. Oak?" Serena asked with a hint of intrigue.
Gary smiled back, "That's right, you're all free to join if you want."
The group then joined Gary and began walking down the street. Gary introduced himself to Misty and reacquainted himself to Brock as Ash sulked behind everyone.
"So I heard you're doing showcases, Serena. That's incredible!" Gary exclaimed.
"Thanks! My first one is in Vermillion City in about a month. Honestly I'm a little nervous." Serena replied.
"You'll do great, you've always had a flair for creativity. Just remember to stay confident."
"Thanks Gary." Serena said with a smile, "So have you heard from Leaf recently?"
Gary frowned for the first time at this, "Only a little. I don't know what that girl's deal is. I got a hold of her once but as soon as she saw the girls she got all moody and hung up."
Serena giggled to herself, apparently Ash was the only dense trainer from Pallet Town.
"So what have you been doing since our gym battle?" Asked Brock.
"Well I went through Cerulean City and got the gym badge there. Then went straight south to Apple City. Got the badge there before heading on south to Silver Town where I battled their gym leader. I was going to head for Saffron to challenge that gym but gramps told me I should stop by Lavender Town to talk to his friend. Seems like a waste of time to me but you know, no reason to argue with gramps."
"So who is this man?" Misty asked.
"Mr. Fuji is his name. Apparently he was some brilliant scientist a long time ago but gave that life up to run a pokemon orphanage in town." Gary responded.
"A pokemon orphanage? I don't think I've ever heard of that." Serena said thoughtfully.
"Me neither." Gary replied, "I'm pretty sure that's the place up ahead though."
Mr. Fuji's orphanage was actually just a home on the end of a small town center. It was a small brown home with a gated front yard, a furnished front porch, and large white fencing around the back. As the group walked to the front door Serena was almost certain they were about to barge into someone's living room. To her surprise though, when they entered they actually found a standard waiting room. The walls were painted white, there were chairs and a tv in the front, and a vacant receptionist's desk in the back. In the corner of the room stood a small group of people.
"Please Mr. Fuji, there must be something we can do." A women cried.
"You know what the tower means to this town. We need to get it back open again." Another villager added in.
In the center of the group was an old man sitting down. He had a bald head and noticeable white eyelashes. He seemed to be deep in thought when he looked up and noticed the gang walking in. He gave them a soft smile before turning to the group of adults.
"I'm sorry friends but I must step away for one moment." He said as he slowly got to his feet. The adults didn't seem happy but no one argues as he walked away.
"You must be Gary. Your grandfather told me you might be stopping by." Mr. Fuji said.
"That's right these are some friends of mine." Gary said as he motioned to the group.
"I thank you all for stopping by." Mr. Fuji said gratefully, "I apologize but unfortunately I'm entertaining some other guests with an important matter. Reina! Can you come out here?"
A younger girl, maybe 14, with brown hair and pigtails popped out of the back.
"Are you all finished, Mr. Fuji?" She asked.
"Unfortunately not my dear." Mr Fuji replied, "Would you mind taking these kids to the back and show them around for a bit? I'll be done soon."
Reina smiled and nodded at the old man before motioning for the group to follow her. In the back room was a decent sized stable filled with pokemon. There was a wide variety of pokemon in the stables. The group saw a Growlithe, an Oddish, a Mankey, and even a Ponyta.
"This is where we keep all the pokemon." Reina explained.
"So, what exactly is this place?" Ash asked, finally snapping out of his sulking about Gary.
"This is a pokemon orphanage. We get baby pokemon from all over the area that were left without their mothers and raise them until they can be released back into the wild." Reina explained.
"Why do they get abandoned?" Misty asked.
Reina smiled sadly, "All sorts of reasons unfortunately. Some of their parents passed away. Others just didn't want them anymore. And of course some have parents who were captured by trainers."
"That's terrible!" Serena exclaimed.
"It's how things go." Reina replied sadly, "Trainers don't mean to separate mother and child of course. But they see a wild pokemon and catch it. The wild pokemon adjusts to being captured pretty quickly and the baby is forgotten. It's not all bad though. As long as they are here we take care of them and they are almost all able to get back into the wild."
"What about this one, Reina?" Misty asked, "This one doesn't seem like a baby."
Sitting in the stable was a small yellow duck grasping the sides of its head.
"That one's a… special case." Reina said with a sweat drop, "He was brought here as a baby but hasn't really developed as we expected. Psyducks are all a little off, but this one is especially so. It spends almost the entire day standing there like that. Mr. Fuji believes its headaches are actually far more severe than the normal Psyduck."
"That terrible." Serena said as she looked at the pokemon with pity.
The pokemon didn't seem to notice her though as it just continued to stare at Misty with a blank expression.
"Ok, let's move on." Misty said awkwardly as she quickly escaped the pokemon's gaze.
"So do you work here, Reina?" Ash asked.
"Oh no, unfortunately not." Reina giggled, "I'm still in school. I first started volunteering here about a year ago for a school project. I just fell in love with the place and have been assisting Mr. Fuji every weekend. I've also been able to help more while we're still on summer vacation."
Ash walked slowly down the stables looking intently at each pokemon. In truth he wouldn't mind taking a couple with him but didn't dare ask as it didn't seem like the spirit of the place. Besides he knew baby pokemon were much tougher to raise and wasn't sure he was ready for that responsibility.
Finally, he reached the final stall. Instead of another smiling pokemon he saw a Cubone staring blankly at the side of the stable.
"Reina, what's with this one?" He asked as he absentmindedly went to pet it.
"No, don't!" Reina started but unfortunately it was too late. The Cubone burst to life and roughly slammed its club down on the trainer's hand. Ash wailed in pain as Gary burst out laughing.
"Nice one Ashy boy." He taunted.
Gary had seemed mostly disinterested in the tuor and once he stopped laughing he went back to leaning against the wall, appearing to zone out.
"I'm so sorry about that." Reina said as she bowed repeatedly at the boy.
"I probably shouldn't have tried to touch a pokemon I don't know." Ash replied as he rubbed his hand, "Still, what's the deal with it?"
Reina looked sadly at it, "Mr. Fuji found that Cubone about a week ago. Its mother was killed in a very violent manner. Based on the corpse and its interactions with humans, we think a person might have killed its mother."
"That terrible!" Serena cried as Ash and Misty looked down in disgust.
"Why are people so evil?" Misty spat.
"There are plenty of bad people out there." Brock said as he stuck his hand in Cubone's stable.
"Please watchout!" Reina warned but the tanned trainer didn't heed her warning. Instead he opened his palm facing Cubone about 3 feet away from the pokemon. The ground type eyed him carefully as the trainer moved his hand closer and closer. Finally he was touching the Cubone who almost seemed to pur as the breeder petted it.
"Incredible" Reina said as she watched, "Cubone won't let any human get near it besides Mr. Fuji. Even I tried and failed!"
"Well, I am a pokemon breeder. So this is sort of my thing." Brock responded sheepishly.
"There's a lot of pokemon breeders out there, but not many could bond with that Cubone." Said an elderly voice from behind the group. Standing there was the smiling face of Mr. Fuji. The man walked over and knelt down in front of the small pokemon who greeted him warmly.
"Gary" The old man said to Ash's rival, "It's great to see you. You were just a baby the last time we met. And who are your other friends?"
The group went down the line again introducing themselves.
"Well thank you all for coming. It's always great to have visitors here."
"You had a lot of visitors when we came in." Misty noted.
Mr. Fuji gave a sad smile, "Yes, unfortunately they were less interested in my orphanage."
"Do they still want you to go?" Reina asked nervously.
Mr. Fuji nodded, "Unfortunately, it appears that I won't have much of a choice. The townsfolk are getting nervous for answers."
"Answers about what?" Ash asked.
"The ghost of the Pokemon Tower." Reina responded.
"Ghost?" The group gasped.
"Gary, didn't you mention something about that?" Serena asked.
"Oh, it's not a real ghost. They don't exist." Gary replied dismissively.
"Mr. Fuji doesn't think it is either." Reina added, "But some of the townspeople are convinced it is."
"Well what's going on?" Misty asked.
"A few weeks back a strange creature began attacking people in the upper floors of the pokemon tower." The girl explained, "It's gotten so bad that they've had to close the tower while the authorities try to figure out what's going on. The most popular theory is that it's the spirit of a diseased pokemon."
"Gary's right, there's no way it's a real ghost." Misty said.
"Could be a ghost type pokemon." Brock said thoughtfully.
"It could be but that would be… unusual." Mr. Fuji replied, "The Pokemon Tower is known for having a large number of ghost pokemon living in it. They actually had to pass a law a few years back that barred trainers from catching pokemon there. That being said, ghost pokemon are mischievous but rarely aggressive."
"The town hired a professional trainer to take a look last week and he didn't think it was a ghost pokemon either. In fact he said it didn't act like a pokemon at all. Also it speaks like a human and is impervious to all types of pokemon attacks."
"What does it say?" Serena asked.
"Leave now" Reina said, causing the honey blonde trainer to shutter.
"What have the police said?" Brock asked.
"Unfortunately very little." Mr. Fuji said as he continued to pet Cubone. "What's most interesting is that whenever a larger number of people enter the tower the being is gone. It only seems to appear to individuals and small groups."
"So what did those people want from you?" Misty asked.
Mr. Fuji sighed, "In another life I was a rather well known pokemon scientist. The community wishes that I enter the tower to investigate the entity. They hope I can finally give some answers on what it is and, most importantly, how to get rid of it."
"You can't go!" Reina begged, "It's way too dangerous."
"The Pokemon Tower is a vital part of the community. There needs to be a resolution to this mystery."
"But what if it attacks you? You don't own any pokemon!" Reina protested.
"I could go with you." A voice said. The group wheeled around to see Gary still leaning on a stable. Ash had almost forgotten the teen was there.
"Gary, I couldn-" Mr. Fuji began but was cut off.
"Come on, you need protection and my pokemon are up to the task. And I'm sure the ghost will still come out for two people." The boy responded.
"I will not allow someone who's so young to put himself in harm's way." Mr. Fuji said calmly.
"My gramps told me to come here. Maybe this was why. I could help out." Gary argued. Ash looked up as his rival in surprise. He had never really seen the boy act selflessly before.
"Your grandfather sent you here to see the work I do. Nothing more." Mr. Fuji responded firmly, ending the conversation.
After spending a little more time with Mr. Fuji and Reina the group headed out.
"Thank you so much for visiting!" Reina waved.
"Thank you for having us!" Serena called as the other waved.
"You all are welcome back anytime." Mr. Fuji said with a smile, "And Gary please tell your grandfather I said hello."
"Yea sure." Gary responded dismissively. When they were a bit further away he rolled his eyes, "I should've known gramps would waste my time."
"It wasn't a waste of time!" Ash scolded, "It was really cool seeing all the young pokemon."
Gary laughed, "I know you don't mind wasting your time, Ashy boy. But I'm trying to be a pokemon master, I don't like taking any time off, especially to visit a glorified petting zoo. Too bad that Fuji wouldn't let me go to the pokemon tower with him. I really wanted the chance to battle that ghost could've been a great training opportunity."
"So you only wanted to go with him to battle?" Misty asked.
"And I thought you were being selfless." Ash growled.
Gary laughed, "Oh don't get me wrong, I wanted to help the old man out. For gramps you know? But honestly who cares if you can't go into some stuffy tower."
"It's an important historic site for the people." Brock said a bit sternly.
"Yea whatever." Gary scoffer.
As the group reached an intersection Gary turned a different direction than the rest of the group.
"Are you not staying in the pokemon center, Gary?" Serena asked.
"No, I'm staying at the spa with the girls. We like a little more luxury."
"Well, good to see. Make sure to call Leaf sometime."
"Yea, yea." Gary responded, "Anyway, great to see you all, good luck on your showcase, Serena. And Ashy boy, smell ya later."
As the boy sauntered off Misty mumbled, "I'm not a big fan of your friend, Ash."
Ash growled, "I can't wait to wipe that smirk off his face one day."
The next day, much to Serena's relief, the group ended up sleeping in. Serena had been getting up every morning to train with Misty so it was a much appreciated change of pace. The group sat together and had breakfast before heading out on the road once again. Ash made sure to get multiple helpings as the group knew they had a lot of traveling in the forest in front of them. After some last minute preparations, they were heading out of town.
"I really hope the town gets The Pokemon Tower back." Misty said absentmindedly.
"It sure is a strange situation." Brock responded.
"I'm surprised you didn't try to check it out, Ash." Misty added.
Ash shrugged, "I am curious but I don't really know what we can do. It's not like we're ghost exorcists or anything."
"Please tell me you don't really think it's a ghost." Misty deadpanned.
"Well if it's not a ghost or ghost pokemon tell me what it is." Ash shot back
"Guys! Guys wait up!" A familiar voice called from behind the group. The four turned around to see Reina rushing towards them.
"Reina?" Brock asked, "What are you doing here?"
Now that the group got a closer look at her they noticed she was crying.
"Please, I need your help?" Reina begged, "Mr. Fuji, he went to the Pokemon Tower last night. He was trying to help the town, but now he's missing."
There was little conversation that followed Reina's proclamation. The group rushed to The Pokemon Tower without sparing a thought of what they could do about the situation. As the group approached the aging building, they noticed it was now barricaded by police officers. Media members and pedestrians alike were gathering behind the barricade to watch the proceeding.
"This Is Lavender Town Eevee news." Said a pretty woman into a camera, "We can now confirm that late last night, the owner of the pokemon orphanage and longtime servant in the Lavender community, Mizuki Fuji, entered the pokemon tower and has seemed to disappear. The beloved man and former renowned scientist was entering the building, at the behest of community members, in hopes of discovering the truth behind the infamous ghost of The Pokemon Tower that has been haunting the grounds. A volunteer at his orphanage reported his failure to return this morning to the authorities. The Lavender Town police launched a full sweep of the building but found no evidence of Mr. Fuji anywhere, save for a cane that has been identified as an item Mr. Fuji uses quite often. The ghost has terrorized visitors of the famed landmark for a number of weeks now but this is the first disappearance since the mystery began. For now police have barricaded the building as it appears no one is quite sure what the next step is in this escalating crisis."
The four travelers rushed behind the camera as they approached the barricade with Reina hot on their trail. Ash gave little regard to the barricade as he led the charge, swiftly vaulting over it and charging to the entrance.
"Wait right there!" A voice rang out as two officers restrained Ash. A large bald man in his early 50's charged towards the raven haired teen as the others quickly joined their friend.
"Who are you and what makes you think you can come into my crime scene?" The man barked.
"I'm going in there to find Mr. Fuji!" Ash shouted back as he struggled in the arms of the two police officers holding him back.
"Commissioner Evans, these are friends of mine. They want to help." Pleaded Reina.
"Sir, myself and the girl next me are former gym leaders. We'd like an opportunity to investigate." Offered Brock.
"I don't care who you are! I'm not letting another soul enter this tower. Not until we get orders from above." The police commissioner fired back, "Now I'm going to ask you kids to kindly leave."
Ash growled as he shook free from the grasp of the officers. With one last glare he marched off with his friends behind him.
The group returned to the pokemon orphanage to regroup. Reina brought them some tea as they discussed the tower.
"So Mr. Fuji was in The Pokemon Tower but now the police can't find him? That doesn't make anysense." Misty said thoughtfully.
"Maybe whatever attacked him took him from the tower." Serena offered.
Misty shook her head, "I don't think it's likely. The report said his cane was found on one of the top floors. I don't really get the point of dragging him all the way downstairs to take him away. What would be the purpose?"
"Maybe it really is some kind of ghost." Ash offered tepidly. The boy flinched though under Misty's glare.
"I don't think Mr. Fuji was taken from the tower either." Brock added. The tanned haired boy had Cubone sitting in his lap. The orphaned pokemon had run to him as soon as the gang arrived.
"I did a little reading on the internet about the pokemon tower last night before bed, the whole situation fascinates me. The tower was built about 100 years ago but took almost five years to completely develop."
"How does that help us?" Misty scoffed.
"Well what's truly interesting is all the stories about hidden passages up there." Brock said.
"Hidden passages?" Asked Serena.
"I've heard about them too." Reina chimed in, "The stories go that the mayor back then was very… eccentric. Apparently he liked the growing stories about the tower being haunted on account of all the ghost pokemon and ordered dozens of secret rooms and passages to be built in the upper floor. Plenty of enthusiasts have come through since then trying to find the passages as a sort of game. Apparently a few have been found since then."
"So you think whatever took Mr. Fuji is hiding him in one of these passages?" Misty asked.
"But any passage that's been discovered over the past 100 years has been tracked by the police just in case of a situation like this." Riena interjected, "So how could this person or thing find a passage that no one else has."
"Simple" Brock responded, "Cognitive bias."
The group looked at the older teen in confusion so he continued, "Cognitive Bias is when we accept something as true so we subconsciously disregard all evidence to the contrary."
"I'm not really sure what you're getting at." Ash replied sheepishly.
"It's simple. Everyone was so sure that the ghost couldn't be a pokemon that they completely ignored the only inhabitants of the tower." Brock explained.
"But the ghost pokemon can't be the ghost." Reina interjected, "They can't speak like humans or be impervious to all attacks."
"You're correct. The ghost can't be a pokemon. But what if they're still involved?" Brock replied. "What if the ghost pokemon are helping this ghost?"
"Like showing all the passages." Misty breathed as Brock nodded.
"We need to tell the police right away!" Serena exclaimed.
"Why? So they can do nothing again?" Ash spat without looking at the group.
"Ash, I know you aren't happy about the police not letting us in but they're just doing their jobs. They need to keep people safe." Serene responded firmly. This was a soft subject for her since her stepfather was in law enforcement.
"Mr. Fuji isn't safe." Ash replied darkly.
"Ash is right: the police won't help." Brock added calmly.
Serena looked over at the tan skinned boy in shock. He was usually always there to side with her on these matters. Even Ash seemed a little surprised Brock backed him.
"How can you say that, Brock?" Serena sputtered.
"The police rarely see the ghost because it only comes out in small groups." The tan teen explained, "And after Mr. Fuji I doubt they'll be sending small groups again."
"Brock is right." Misty responded thoughtfully, "Remember what the commissioner said? They're waiting on orders from above. Probably an expert to investigate."
"That's probably the best person to handle this." Serena responded.
"But that could take days." Ash reminded her, "And Mr. Fuji might not have that time."
Serena sighed as she looked down, "So what, we just charge in and try to get a ghost pokemon to take us to Mr. Fuji? Sorry, but that sounds like a poor plan."
"You're right that won't be an option." Replied Brock, "But we know that something took Mr. Fuji. We find out what it is and go from there."
Misty smirked at the boy, "So we improvise? I've got to say Brock that normally isn't your style."
Brock looked around at the orphanage, "Look at all the pokemon here, they need Mr. Fuji. I don't want to do this, but I can't stomach just walking away. So are you guys in?"
"I am!" Ash exclaimed and Misty nodded.
"I'll go too!" said Reina.
"No you won't." Replied Brock, "You're underage and have no pokemon."
"You can wait here with Serena." Ash said.
"What are you talking about?" The honey blonde girl questioned.
Ash turned to his childhood friend, "I know you don't like this stuff, Serena. You don't have to go if you aren't up to it."
"I'm going." The girl responded firmly. She could tell Ash was going to protest and said, "I don't like this but I'm not letting you all go alone. I've been working hard with Misty and am ready to fight alongside you all."
Ash wanted to protest but Serena's blue eyes stopped him. There was a fire in those eyes that was something he'd never seen before. Were her eyes always so pretty? He cut himself off from that thought. "Where did that come from?" He asked himself before shaking the thought away. They had business to attend to.
The group agreed to wait until midnight to make their move. The plan was to sneak in in case any police were around. It was decided that Ash would confront the ghost. Brock hoped that the raven haired boy's unusual battle tactics would throw whatever the ghost was off its game. While that happened Brock and Misty would observe to try and see what was really going on. Serena would back up the group.
That night the group made their way to The Pokemon Tower. As they had suspected, there was a small force of police stationed outside the building. The officers didn't seem particularly vigilant as they lounged in their squad cars. The gang was able to sneak right past them to the entrance. The door to the entrance was locked but Reina had revealed that Mr. Fuji kept a couple of keys to the building at his orphanage. When they finally entered, they took out flashlights they had all purchased earlier in the day. The main floor was nothing that interesting. An abandoned receptionist desk and some displays that told the story of the Pokemon Tower. The second floor is where things got interesting. Lined across the floor were hundreds of miniature tombstones, each with unique designs. Some were as plane as gray crosses while others gave intricate designs and had writing on them.
"Here lies Whiskers, the greatest companion one could ever ask for." Read one.
"Rest easy, by beloved Venasaur." Marked another.
Serena wasn't entirely sure what to make of the place. Going in she'd been aware of what its purpose was. But now actually walking through it, seeing all the graves, it was a little more than she expected.
The group continued traveling higher and higher in the building. It was at about the 6th floor that Serena began to notice a strange fog appearing. By the 15th there was close to zero visibility.
"They really built this tower high." Misty grumbled.
"A lot of pokemon died in the war.." Brock explained sadly.
"How many floors are there?" Ash asked, exhausted.
"20, so we're almost there." Brock replied.
"Looks like this dumb ghost won't be coming ou-EEP!" Misty shrieked as she jumped behind Ash. Floating there in front of them was the ghost. It floated about 7 feet off the ground and was a mass of black and purple that seemed to spin almost like how one might envision a black hole. The entire room around them seemed to grow darked as the fog somehow blackened. Suddenly a face emerged from the center of the ghost. It looked almost human as it boomed, "LEAVE NOW!"
Ash was the first to step forward. Staring at the strange entity he swiftly pulled a pokeball off his belt.
"Bulbasuar, I choose you!" The boy exclaimed.
Emerging in front of the group was his recently captured grass type. The green pokemon entered a defensive stance as it stared down the ghost. This was its first true battle while being a pokemon of Ash's. And it certainly was a unique one as this opponent was nothing like anything it had seen before.
"Bulbasaur use razor leaf!" Ash ordered.
The pokemon grunted as sharp leaves were launched from its sides like throwing stars towards the opponent. The being merely floated there though as the grass attack went right through it.
"GET OUT!" It shrieked again.
This time though it attacked, launching what appeared to be a simultaneous attack of both dark and poison. Bulbasaur sidestepped the attacks before desperately firing more razor leaves.
"Try to grab it with a vine whip!" Ash ordered.
The grass type extended vines from the side of its plant and went to constrict its opponent. The attack went right through though as if the vines were hugging air.
"GET OUT!" The ghost called out another time.
Again two attacks flew forward, this time one of them struck Bulbasaur in the front leg as the pokemon attempted to jump out of the way. Ash squinted at where the attacks were coming from. It seemed like they were further from the ghost than they had been before, almost emerging from the fog.
"Bulbasaur, use razor leaf and vine whip. Aim it everywhere!"
Bulbasaur nodded before getting to work, it was unlike anything the group had seen. The pokemon fired razor leaves off in every direction with reckless abandon. While it did so it simultaneously swung its vine whip around without any control. Serena even had to step out of the way at one point to avoid getting slapped. Suddenly yelp and a crash was heard from behind the group.
"What was that?" Misty questioned.
"I see. Zubat, blow the fog away!" Brock ordered. His small bat burst from its pokeball and began flapping its wings aggressively. As it did the dark fog dispersed and near the back of the room were four figures in very familiar uniforms.
"AWW that hurts!" A male voice howled as he pulled the sharp leaf out his shoulder.
"Oh get over it." A woman hissed.
"Team Rocket!" Misty called out.
The figures looked up, seeming to realize for the first time they were visible.
"You kids!" The women hissed.
"It's those two from Mt. Moon!" Serena exclaimed, "Cassidy and Boch!"
"It's Butch!" The man howled in anger.
"Who cares!" Ash hollered, "What are you clowns doing here?"
"We got demoted thanks to you four!" The blonde shot back, "Now we've been stuck working in this tower."
"So you all are the cause of the ghost?" Brock questioned.
Cassidy smirked as she held up a remote at the ceiling and pressed a button. Slowly the "ghost" faded away.
"It was a hologram!" Misty realized, "They must have installed some kind of projector on the ceiling."
"Smart girl" Cassidy taunted.
"I can't believe someone figured it out two nights in a row." Butch snarled.
"So you took Mr. Fuji. Where is he?" Ash shouted.
Cassidy grinned evilly, "Oh he's our honored guest. But don't worry about that. You kids will be with him shortly."
With that a Grimer and a black bird floated forward.
"That's Murkrow, a Johto pokemon." Ash explained.
"They must be the ones causing all those attacks." Misty added.
Butch sat up and released his Primeape, "It's been a while since I've gotten a real battle."
"Not counting that Marowak you slaughtered." Cassidy added.
"Wait! You killed a Marowak around here?" Brock asked.
"Yea the stupid thing was getting in our way." Butch responded flippantly.
Brock growled, "You're going to pay for what you've done."
Butch smile widened before he turned to his partner, "Go warn the old coot just in case. We'll take care of this."
Cassidy nodded before rushing up the stairs.
Brock recalled his Zubat and released Geodude, "You guys go ahead. I'll handle this scum."
"Brock, there's three of them." Misty warned.
"I'll be fine." Brock said as he stared down his opponents with his squinted eyes.
"Go Clefairy!" Serena shouted. Her pink pokemon burst forth and landed next to Geodude, "I'll back up Brock. You guys get going."
"Serena we shouldn't spli-" Ash began
"Don't worry" The honey blonde said as she smiled at her crush, "I've got this."
It took Ash a second to process what she'd said. Finally he smiled and nodded back, "Of course you do. Good luck."
Ash and Misty then rushed ahead past the Team Rocket goons. Primeape tried to intercept them but Geodude smashed into it with a tackle.
On the next floor there were a few more rocket grunts with pokemon ready. They were nothing though as Pikachu and Bulbasaur cut them down with ease.
They went up another couple floors until finally they were at the top. As the two walked in they saw a large machine with some kind of wheel on the top spinning. As the two walked over Misty examined it closely, "It looks almost like its absorbing something." She guessed.
The two's heads jumped to attention as clapping was heard from the corner of the room. Slowly a balding man with pale red hair and a large mustache stepped out of the corner in a lab coat.
"Yes, very impressive." He cheered, "And you were able to see through my ghost. Only Mizuki was able to do that."
"What's going on here? And where's Mr. Fuji?" Ash asked.
The scientist smiled evilly as he pressed a number of tiles on the wall. When he stopped the door slid away revealing a Haunter floating next to a tied up Mr. Fuji.
"You don't know how long it took me to find a new trap door. I couldn't find anything until my new friend Haunter helped me out. The name is Dr. Namba, a pleasure to meet you"
"So you did use a ghost pokemon to find a hidden passage!" Misty shouted.
Namba smiled widely, "My goodness, you even figured that out. You kids impress me. No wonder you gave lovely Cassidy and her compatriot such a tough time."
At that Cassidy stepped out of the shadows as well with her Raticate.
"I'm afraid I don't have time to tell you the entire story but let's just say there's something we needed up here and to make our work go faster I whipped up that little ghost trick to keep people away. Unfortunately it worked a little too well and the whole town went into a panic. Not something I had planned." Namba said, "Although on the bright side, it did bring me back in contact with my old friend, Mr. Fuji."
"We're not going to let you get away with this." Misty growled.
"Oh I think you will." Dr. Namba taunted as he snapped his fingers. The Haunter flew over and floated next to Raticate. "Now show me what you kids are made of!"
"Clefairy, use disarming voice!" Serena shouted. Her partner took a deep breath before screaming and releasing a powerful burst of pink energy that struck Murkrow. The black bird grunted in pain as it tumbled to the ground.
"Brock let me take on Primeape. Geodude is weak to fighting types." Serena begged.
"I'm taking this guy down." Brock spat as Geodude grabbed chunks of the floor to form rock throws. Primeape made no attempt to dodge as it smashed through the attack. Meanwhile the Grimer launched poisonous acid at the rock type.
Serena knew that Brock wouldn't budge so she decided to finish off Murkrow quickly to give him support.
"Use wing attack!" The grunt shouted. His Murkrow glided forward towards Clefairy with its wing glowing bright white.
"Stop it with disarming voice then use pound!" Serena shouted.
Her fairy type followed instructions and launched another fairy attack. Serena hadn't thought about fairy type being super effective to dark but now that she remembered she was glad she chose Clefairy. Murkrow stumbled once more but the fairy type gave it no chance to recover. It rushed forward and gave one last punch that knocked the flying type out cold. Serena prepared to help Brock but she heard a smash against the ground. It appeared Geodude had knocked out Grimer but in the process had taken a super effective direct shot from Primeape.
"Hah! That was a hoot. Now let's see if your little fairy is any better." Butch taunted.
"You're a monster." Brock spat, "I won't let you win!"
Serena looked on in shock, she'd never seen Brock so angry. Or so passionate. Geodude seemed to notice too. Slowly it bagan to get back up.
"Finish that rock off with one last cross chop." Butch sneered.
It didn't get the chance though. Suddenly Geodude erupted in a white light, growing larger with much longer arms.
"What?" Serena questioned.
"He's evolving." Brock said in awe. When it was over Geodude was now a Graveler. It had lost its ability to float but in return was much larger.
"Graveler, rollout!" Brock ordered. Primeape tried to attack but the large rock was too quick. It spun at great speed into the fighting type and drilled it into the wall. The rock type didn't stop there though. It continued to spin, faster and faster, into its opponent until finally the monkey collapsed unconscious.
"Impossible" Butch cried as he fell to his knees.
Slowly, Brock walked over to him, "You're going to jail you scum."
"Electabuzz, use flash again!" A shout came from the stairs. Suddenly there was a bright light that blinded everyone in the room.
"Let's go Buff." Cassidy could be heard as Butch argued his name. Brock felt himself thrown to the ground as he struggled to see.
"Serena, Brock, are you guys ok?" Came the voice of Ash. Slowly the two trainers regained their vision to see Ash rushing by.
"What happened?" Serena asked wearily.
"Me and Misty beat Cassidy and that scientist when suddenly he had an Electabuzz use flash to blind us and escape." Ash explained as he rushed towards the stairs. Unfortunately it appeared the three rocket agents were nowhere to be found.
"What about Mr. Fuji?" Brock asked.
Ash and Misty smiled as they turned back towards the stairs. Walking towards the group was a weary but safe Mr. Fuji.
It was now an hour after the incident. The police were clearing out the tower of Rocket grunts as the commissioner stood next to the gang and Mr. Fuji.
"I can't believe those goons found a hiding space we weren't aware of. They were mere feet from us the whole time we were searching." The commissioner grumbled.
"But what did Team Rocket want in the Pokemon Tower?" Serena asked.
"Ectoplasm," Mr. Fuji said wearily.
"What?" The group said in unison.
"It's a type of energy that ghost pokemon exude. It's the reason that wherever there are lots of ghost pokemon everything looks dark, and for a lack of a better term, spooky. The top of Pokemon Tower has the highest concentration of ectoplasm anywhere in the region."
"But why would they want that?" Ash wondered.
"That I can't say." Mr. Fuji said darkly.
"I can't say I condone you kids rushing the tower like that. Heck I'd be within my right to arrest you four." The commissioner said, "But instead I'll just thank you for getting to the bottom of this all."
"You could have just started with thank you." Misty grumbled as the commissioner walked off.
"I'd like you kids to return with me to the orphanage." Mr. Fuji said to the four, "You can spend the night there."
When the group arrived Reina rushed over and hugged Mr. Fuji.
"You should be back home by now, my dear." Mr. Fuji said warmly to the girl.
"I had to wait up to make sure you were ok. I was so worried." Reina cried.
Cubone also rushed forward, ignoring Mr. Fuji entirely though and hugging Brock.
"Looks like Cubone has a new favorite. You should take him with you, Brock." Mr. Fuji said.
"Ar-are you sure?" Brock sputtered in surprise.
Mr. Fuji nodded, "I think it would be for the best. Cubone needs the love of someone after his mother was taken from him."
Smiling warmly Brock opened a pokeball for the small ground type and absorbed it in.
"Mr. Fuji" Misty asked, "How did you know that Dr. Namba?"
Mr. Fuji sighed sadly, "Because once upon a time I was working for Team Rocket."
"What?" The group said in shock.
Mr. Fuji frowned as he looked out the window, "It was about 20 years ago. At the time I was a researcher at Cinnabar University in the field of Pokemon DNA. I was young, dumb, and so very arrogant. I believed I could unlock all the secrets of DNA and create the perfect pokemon. In secret, I performed many horrific experiments on pokemon. The university knew of course what I was doing but they were happy to look the other way as long as it benefited them. Eventually though my work was put at risk of being exposed and the university shut it down to protect themselves. That's when Team Rocket appeared. Another renowned scientist at Cinnabar University had already been working in secret with Team Rocket and offered to allow me to join. They offered to give us all we needed to continue our research and create the perfect pokemon. Namba was one of the scientists that worked with us."
Mr. Fuji stood up and walked to the window. Looking out sadly he continued.
"I helped them for months, losing myself entirely in my research. We never were able to complete our research and my partner became increasingly desperate. The atrocities we committed were… frankly they were beyond anything I could imagine. I became so sick of what was happening I couldn't even look at myself in the mirror anymore. I saw myself as a monster and planned to even end my life."
"What happened?" Serena squeaked in shock.
Mr. Fuji smiled at her, "I was saved by an old friend. Samuel Oak, of course. The man traveled all the way to the island to check on me. He stayed with me through the darkest of time and gave me a new outlook on life. After I recovered, I severed all ties with Team Rocket and gave up my career in science. I knew I could never fully make amends for what I'd done so the best thing I could do with my life was help others. I ended up moving back to my hometown and opened this orphanage."
"Team Rocket really is the worst." Misty growled.
Mr. Fuji nodded, "They feed on the worst instincts of man. You kids would be wise to stay far away from them."
The next day Ash, Serena, Misty, and Brock stood facing Mr. Fuji and Reina.
"Do you all really have to go?" Asked Reina.
"I'm afraid so." Serena said apologetically.
"Well if you all are ever in the area please feel free to visit." Mr. Fuji said.
"And take care of Cubone!" Reina added.
"It's a promise." Brock said with a smile.
With one last wave the group was off. What they didn't notice though is as they left a small yellow figure looked out from the orphanage at the group, "Psy?" it squawked.
On the other side of Lavender Town a mysterious man sat at a coffee shop. He had dark hair covered by a blue hat with points almost like spikes at the back of it. His attire consisted of a blue blazer with a black undershirt. He also wore a gold necklace with a very peculiar design. As he sipped on coffee he spoke to himself, "So ectoplasm was their goal… What are you up to, Team Rocket?"
And that's a wrap! As I said really rough chapter but it just happens sometimes. I can promise you all the next few chapters are some of my favorites that I've written. In the meantime thank you all again for continuing to read!