'So you are aware of the opinions I had of you, and yet you dared to step foot in here once again.'

A feminine voice that I did not recognise rang loudly in my mind and I knew that I wasn't the only one who heard it. The pokemon around us were immediately on alert and the doctor had a slight frown on his face as well as he immediately stood up and spoke out loud to seemingly nobody in particular.

"I'm just here to pay Mindy a visit, Lin. Our granddaughter wishes to meet her, surely you wouldn't deny that one simple request?"

'I will not, which was why I allowed your filthy presence to linger here for as long as you did. I had no idea what that child saw in you. I saw her off as a cheery girl and you brought her back to me in an urn, it was only on her account that I did not rip you apart with my claws,' that voice audibly snarled before it mellowed out. 'Granddaughter of Mindy, what is your name?'

"Velda Vera," I replied to our empty surroundings, trying to spot where that unknown pokemon might be but I couldn't spot anything no matter how hard I tried.

'So you are also a descendent of the wishmaker's protectors, how interesting,' the voice mused. 'I can sense the blood of the Geists flowing in your veins and that would make you a descendant of the Geists as well. You can call me Lin. If you are in the vicinity and are in need of assistance, call on me and I will be there. You wish to learn more about our family's history and the tragedy that befell on us, yes?'

I looked towards the doctor– I guess I should get used to calling him my grandpa now– who simply encouraged me with a reassuring nod.

"Yes."

'Very well. In that case I would be a better candidate to take over the explanation instead of your inept grandfather. Take two steps forward.'

I did as instructed and everything around me suddenly warped and changed, causing me to gasp in shock but I also immediately recognised what this was.

"Secret Power?"

'Indeed,' the voice answered and I suddenly found myself at an unknown place. We are still in a cavern and it's very dimly lit, but there were torches lining the walls that were burning with fire. My pokemon were still with me but the doctor, his blissey, Anna's hitmonlee and Mika's meganium, they were all nowhere to be seen.

'This conversation is not for outsiders and hence I had left them out of it,' the voice spoke. 'You should see a path ahead of you. Walk along it and you shall find me.'

I spotted the path that Lin spoke of and walked ahead with my pokemon accompanying me. The air in here wasn't stale like I had imagined despite being so deep underground. I soon reached the end of the path and it extended into a much more spacious and brightly lit cavern. Vegetation bloomed in abundance and there's an unknown source of light from above that made it seem as if there's a sun in here. There are fresh water bodies with magikarps and feebas swimming in them and at the very far end I spotted a very traditional looking oriental house.

It's a very beautiful place to build a home in.

'Beautiful, isn't it? This was where I grew up alongside my master,' Lin's voice could be heard once again. 'Alas, a human's life is tragically short and he could only keep me company for so long. I miss him, and the times that we spent together shall burn in my mind for eternity.'

"Are you nearby?" I asked, looking around and turning my head from side to side to see if I could spot Lin.

'I have always been just a few steps away from you, child,' Lin chuckled. 'Now that there's better lighting and I am able to take a better look, you do look a lot like Mindy when she was younger.'

"Is that so? I looked a lot like my mother, so I guess that means that my mother looked a lot like grandma as well?"

'That means that neither you nor your mother looked anything like your pathetic grandfather. Good,' Lin replied and I'm not too sure how else I'm supposed to reply to that. Lin definitely did not like grandpa and understandably so after I had a vague understanding about their history with each other. From my short interactions with Lin I could already tell that she tolerated his presence at the cemetery for as long as she did because of my presence and also on my grandma's account.

'If you wish to find me, you can just turn to your left,' Lin spoke and I did that, just in time for a moist snout to playfully nudge me in the chest that left me stumbling back in surprise. A ninetales looked at me with mirth in its eyes for having successfully pranked me and I finally learned what kind of pokemon Lin really is.

A ninetales, one that has lived for over two centuries.

'Your pokemon still has a long way to go if they were unable to sense my presence until I chose to reveal myself,' Lin playfully teased as it walked closer and gently nudged me with her head and I ran my hands lightly over her shiny coat. The only other ninetales I had seen was the one that Jayce had in his possession. He had raised his ninetales very well, but I am also very certain that his ninetales do not possess the kind of capabilities that Lin so freely displayed in our interactions. Telepathy, the ability to weave illusions and hide from everyone's senses; those are definitely not abilities that Jayce's ninetales possess.

Is that due to the difference of specialisation between the two ninetales, or is the kind of power Lin possess only obtainable as a ninetales age? They are creatures that are said to be able to live for over nine thousand years and according to the myths surrounding them, the older they get, the more mystical their powers become. However, nobody had ever managed to verify those claims because ninetales who had really managed to stay alive for that long would not easily show themselves to others. Nobody knows how a ninetales' power would change as they age because they tend to mysteriously disappear after their trainer had passed away from old age.

"You are so beautiful," I cannot help but marvel as I ran my fingers through her fur coat and Lin proudly puffed her chest out in pride.

'Of course, you would be hard pressed to find another ninetales like I am,' Lin accepted my praise before gesturing for me to follow after her. 'I'm sure we have a lot to talk about but it wouldn't do for you to stand here forever. Follow me.'

She led us into the traditional house that was somehow kept spick and span with everything very neatly arranged and preserved. The layout of the house made it seem as if I had travelled a few centuries back into the past. Things started to move around on their own accord, which startled me and my pokemon a little when it suddenly happened. A traditional looking teapot was levitated and poured me a cup of tea which then floated and softly landed on the table where Lin instructed me to sit.

Telekinesis, and on a level on par with the most skilled psychics I had seen.

'Make yourself comfortable, make yourself at home and in a manner of speaking, this is also your home because you are a descendent of the Geists,' Lin made herself comfortable as she sat herself down on a luxurious looking seat lined with cushions

'That man was telling you about the tragedy that happened two centuries ago, wasn't he? It's a part of our history that we do not like to talk about, but have to accept and face nonetheless,' Lin spoke. 'The Disaster of Hoenn, he is a vile man who came from a land far far away from here and eventually fought under the banner of the Otomo Shogunate. He goes by the name of Roland Kray. Part of our duties as the members of the ancient Geist family is to ensure that he never regains his freedom.'

"And he's truly immortal?"

'In every sense of that word,' Lin affirmed with a heavy sigh. 'My master was the then leader of the Geist family and I was only three decades old when the tragedy happened. I was involved with the resistance and bore witness to everything that happened. It was brutal, seeing how members of my master's family whom he swore to protect were being torn apart one by one while that vile man laughed maniacally. Sometimes I could still hear his laughter in my nightmares.'

"If he could break through his confinement once, he could do it twice, but… but the Geists are no longer around this time. If he breaks free again…"

'That is the problem that we now face,' Lin admitted with a troubled look on her face. 'Before Roland broke free two centuries ago we had already known that the breaking of the seal was inevitable. We made heavy preparations, took every precaution we could think of, but when that day came it still took everything we had to suppress him and seal him back. The power he wielded was beyond our wildest imaginations and his immortality left us with no effective options to end him for good. Ever since the family had fallen into ruin this problem had been left into the hands of the Hoenn League. I don't know what kind of contingencies they have prepared but if they could not be relied upon, then it's up to me to stop Roland. I would not allow the sacrifice of my master and the family to be wasted.'

"I can help bring this matter to the attention of the current champion, if that helps."

'That would be a nice reminder, just in case they had forgotten that Hoenn still has a walking disaster biding his time to make his escape right at the bowels of Mt Pyre. Roland nearly broke free again around sixty years ago and at that time we had help from the other ancient families, but even with our best efforts and numerous preparations, we still suffered heavy losses. In fact, every participating family had suffered losses and I'm sure they are still feeling the effects today. Afterwards, the Geist family no longer had enough people to uphold their duties nor do we have enough power to protect ourselves from our enemies with how few of us were left. Our family was thus declared extinct, but not before the last leader of the Geist scattered our remaining members across Hoenn and hid them under different names in his last ditch effort to protect them from our enemies.'

"What kind of enemies were they?"

'The Geist family had to deal with many hostile factions for the Hoenn League beneath the public's notice, so such a measure was necessary, even if it meant that the descendents of these scattered descendents would never learn of their true heritage. Your grandmother was born at such a time, she was one of the last in her generation to learn of her true heritage before she was sent far away from here. Your useless grandpa told you that she was a distant relative of the Geists, didn't he? He couldn't be more wrong.'

"So she's directly related to the main family?"

'She was from the direct line of the main family, the ability that she inherited was proof of her lineage,' Lin revealed. 'If the family hadn't been in decline she would have been a strong contender who could very possibly lead the family as its leader. I have no idea why Mindy told your useless grandpa that she's from a distant branch but no matter, there is no need for him to know the truth.'

Lin then turned to face me.

'You have inherited a ghost-inclined ability too, haven't you? Mindy has the ability to lay curses onto others, what does your ability do?'

"I could communicate with ghosts and most of them are very willing to befriend me, that's really the extent of what I could do," I told Lin and hesitated a little before elaborating a little further. "I've also… experienced Devouring once, and now I possess a few more ghost-inclined abilities that I involuntarily absorbed. It's been giving me some problems."

'That's a very tricky situation you found yourself in.'

"You couldn't have said it better," I sighed before something came to mind. "I've been to Mt Pyre once before, and there were two mysterious orbs that I came across which supposedly held the power to control both groudon and kyogre. Was guarding those orbs part of the Geist family's duties as well?"

'Ah, you are referring to the Red and Blue orbs, I presume,' Lin perked her head up at the mention of those relics. 'As your useless grandfather would have already told you, there were two big factions within our family. The faction which my master belonged to was the faction specialising in fire types. Our main duty is to keep a constant surveillance on the seal imprisoning the walking disaster, Roland. Other duties that the fire faction uphold were the conduct of rituals to ease restless souls so they may pass on peacefully to the afterlife, or cleanse the sins which they had committed so that they may have a chance to be reborn again with a fresh slate. They make up the bulk of our family's strength and firepower, notable figures which were part of this faction were heroes like Barnett Geist, the Protector of Lilycove who cleansed the land of sins with his flames and also his sister, Amber Geist, the woman who used her wits to assist Shozo Oshin to clinch many victories during the warring era that cemented the Shozo Shogunate's position as one of the strongest factions during the warring era.'

"So the other faction, the faction specialising in ghost types, were the ones guarding the orbs?"

'Correct,' Lin affirmed. 'The ghost faction specialises in the creation of seals or objects that are able to subdue, tame, control, and even create evil spirits and ghosts. The wards that protect Mt Pyre were their handiwork, and objects like Cleanse Tag were creations that originally were crafted by the hands of the Geist Family of Mt Pyre before we allowed that knowledge to be spread across Hoenn. The orbs were left in the care of the ghosts who had sworn fealty to the Geist family through many generations. I had not checked on them for quite a long while but if they had allowed you entry into the altar where the orbs were kept, either you had done something to warrant their trust, or the wards that protected the altar had recognised your blood and allowed you entry into a space that you would otherwise be unable to enter. Either way, that's proof that you are indeed a descendent of the Geists.'

"Wait, t-that doesn't make sense. Agatha was there too," I quickly stopped Lin from carrying on, who became surprisingly chatty when we were alone. I quickly filled Lin in on what had happened during my first trip to Mt Pyre, how we stumbled across the orbs, who Agatha was and what eventually happened to the orbs after the Invasion of Lilycove.

'Well…' Lin trailed off in thought. 'In that case I supposed that the wards had not been working as intended after so long, which is within the realms of reason since there's nobody left to check on them to see if they were still in working condition. But the ghosts are still present, and the fact that they allowed Agatha entry, and subsequently allowed your current champion to take those orbs away meant that they had earned their trust.'

"Since we were on this topic, would you know why Team Aqua knew of the orbs' location?" I asked a question that I had been wondering about ever since the Lilycove Invasion but had no answers to.

'We had several traitors in our family in our long line of history. This Team Aqua and Team Magma and their twisted ideologies that you spoke of, they lined up quite perfectly with several traitorous figures from my memory. I would assume that these two teams were either the descendents of these traitors, or believers of their twisted ideologies.'

"And that's why they had a vague idea where the orbs were kept," I hummed in thought.

'Well since we were talking about those two shiny marbles and the ghosts watching over them, I'm now in the mood to pay those cranky ghosts a visit,' Lin stood up from her seat and shook her body before walking over to me. 'Come, it's time I introduce you to the leader of the ghosts in this area. You said that your banette originally came from Mt Pyre, yes? Maybe that was fate's way of guiding you back home to us.'

Dolly voiced her agreement with a happy shriek while flying loops around us. The space around us warped once again and this time, I found myself in a dark and dreary cavern that I visited once before.

The mural that depicted the ancient battle between groudon and kyogre stood before me once again. The orbs I remembered that used to be placed there had disappeared. This place must be the altar that Lin was referring to.

'Ren!' I heard Lin broadcasting her thoughts out loud. 'Come out, lazy old ghost! I found one of our lost descendents!'

I felt them before I saw them. Thick mist started to suddenly flood into the cavern and I could feel the arrival of a large number of ghosts swirling around us even if I couldn't spot them with my eyes. Dolly and Wacky made a visible appearance and stood by my side and while we did not sense any hostile intentions, having so many unknown ghosts suddenly swirling around us like that had made us a little uneasy. We could sense that they were not just numerous in numbers, but powerful individually as well.

'Parlour tricks,' I heard Lin scoffed and the thick mist was suddenly dispersed with a flick of her tail. A huge dusknoir that wasn't there previously now stood in front of us, its lone red eye boring straight into my skull.

'Don't you dare scare her away, Ren,' Lin put herself in between us and began to chastise the ancient ghost that had obviously been here for many many years. 'It's a miracle that a lost descendant of ours managed to return to us, you could at least try and leave a good impression on her.'

'I think I've seen her before,' dusknoir replied in a hollow voice that came out as a low howl, but I could somehow understand what he was saying. It had to be my ability at work.

'She did say that she had been here once before. She was in the company of a ghost master.'

'Ah, I think I know who you might be referring to,' Ren the dusknoir slowly nodded his head. 'It's been a long time, Lin. Is that lost descendent of ours the only reason that brought you here? I know you do not like my domain.'

'Then what are you waiting for? Go and introduce yourself to her!'

'I am incapable of telepathy like you do.'

"Um, actually, I am able to understand what ghosts are saying," I politely cut into their conversation and I could see that Ren was visibly surprised.

'Am I hearing things in my old age? She's saying that she can understand what I said.'

"Yes, I can," I answered and Ren's lone red eye visibly widened for a split second before returning back to its usual state. The dusknoir floated closer before circling around me to get a better look.

'She reminds me of that boisterous little girl before the family disbanded. What's her name again…?'

'You mean Mindy.'

'Ah, yes, Mindy. It felt like it's been awhile since I last saw her. Where is she now?'

'Mindy's been dead for quite some time. This girl is her granddaughter.'

'Mindy what?' Ren turned around to face Lin in shock. 'How is Mindy already dead? It felt like it was only yesterday when she was here running around playing games with us!'

'It's been several decades since then, Ren. You had lost track of time.'

'That sweet girl, how…' Ren looked visibly saddened at the news and after some thought, I hesitantly reached out a hand to try and comfort it with a pat. My hand passed through its incorporeal body, which I partially expected to happen, but it did distract Ren from his mourning.

'What's your name, child? I am a little forgetful, but I will do my best to remember your name.'

"My name is Velda Vera, but you can call me Vel," I introduced myself and Dolly and Wacky followed suit.

'Vel, I see. Hmm, that banette, you were once from here, weren't you?' Ren questioned and Dolly answered with a happy cheer. 'Ah, welcome home, welcome home. That said, the name Vera does ring a bell…'

'It's one of the six families of similar status as the Geists. The wishmaker's protectors, remember?'

'Ah, yes, yes. How could I forget?' Ren slapped his hand on his forehead at Lin's reminder while Lin simply released an exasperated sigh before pressing on with another question.

'The orbs, you gave them away?'

'Yes, I did. I allowed the champion to take them away after I made him swear a psychic oath. The orbs are no longer safe here at Mt Pyre even with me around, not after what I knew happened to Lilycove recently.'

'It must be what Vel referred to as the Lilycove Invasion that took place a few years ago,' Lin nodded her head. 'After hearing what Vel had to say, I have reasons to believe that the Team Aqua and Team Magma that she was talking about, its founders are likely the traitors that fled the family about a century ago.'

'You are referring to the lunatics who tried to awaken the Lord of the Land and Lord of the Sea to expand the land and sea? I thought they were dead,' Ren inquired with clear confusion colouring his voice.

'Apparently not dead enough if their ideologies had survived the test of time,' Lin scoffed. 'Vel told me that their believers were being held prisoners last she heard, but I don't feel safe if we don't personally verify their deaths. Some secrets can only remain as secrets if they are brought to the grave.'

"You guys are going to do a prison break? Can we… not do that?" I tried dissuading the two ancient pokemon because if they decided to infiltrate a prison and it was somehow linked back to me, I have no idea how I am going to explain myself.

'Oh don't worry, it will just be a short little trip.'

"T-That's not what I'm worried about…"

'We won't leave any traces behind, if that's what you are worried about.'

"Yes, I mean, no. Uh, what I'm trying to say is that–"

Our conversation was cut short as we heard disturbances outside right at that moment. We turned around to face the exit and a figure soon came into view.

"Anna?"

Anna looked just as surprised to see me here but that look on her face was quickly replaced with an emotionless one. Her hitmonlee came flying overhead at the next second, its leg kicking right at Lin just as I felt myself being pulled away and into Anna's protective embrace with her trying to shield me with her body.

"Foresight!"

Ren had bodily blocked Lin from harm using his huge palm but hitmonlee wasn't done. It casted Foresight and quickly followed up with another kick and this time, Ren answered in kind with a Shadow Punch.

The shadows in the dark cavern bloomed. The air screeched as ghosts of all kinds began to show themselves. I knew something must be done before things escalated to the point of no return.

"W-Wait! Stop!" I quickly shouted and Dolly immediately tried breaking up the fight after understanding what I intended to convey. Fortunately, both sides ceased their fight, although it looked like they were ready to throw themselves back into action at the slightest hint of movement.

"A-Anna, they wouldn't harm me, please tell hitmonlee to step back," I quickly told Anna, who sported a dubious look on her face but signalled her hitmonlee to return to our side nevertheless. Ren simply crossed his arms over his chest, looking pretty much unbothered at the sudden ambush but I could tell that it's because he was confident in his strength.

He is after all, a ghost who had lived for far too long. By my estimation he would have lived as long as, or even longer than Lin did.

"You worried us when hitmonlee and meganium came back telling us that you had suddenly disappeared."

"I'm sorry, it wasn't my intention," I quickly apologised but Anna simply patted me on the back to assure me that everything's okay.

'The wards must have really stopped working if an outsider was able to visit the altar,' Lin mused and judging from Anna's reaction, she must have also heard Lin's telepathy.

'It no longer matters, the altar's purpose has been fulfilled the moment the orbs were taken away,' Ren shook his head before looking back right at me. 'It seems that we had held you here for too long, little Vel, and it wouldn't be right for us to make your loved ones worry. It's time for you to go back. You may no longer bear the name of the Geist but remember, you are always welcomed here whenever, wherever.'

"I will be back soon," I promised. There are so many things that I wanted to say and ask with everything that had been revealed to me today, but I know that it's also time to go. If even Anna had made her way into the depths of Mt Pyre to search for me, grandpa and Mika must also be worried sick.

'We will hold you to your promise,' Lin said and the space around us warped again. We were being transported back right outside at the foot of Mt Pyre. I took another look at the mountain before allowing Anna to lead me back to where we came from.

I still have questions, but I will have to come back another day to get the answers I need.

Character and pokemon list:

Velda Vera, Age: 14, Female, Pokemon Trainer

Pokemon on hand:

1) Rapidash (Flamel), male

2) Swampert (Bigblue), male

3) Banette (Dolly), female

4) Flygon (Snap), male

5) Absol (Kelsa), female

6) Charizard (Toothless), male

7) Cradily (Lily), female

8) Espeon (Rena), female

9) Pachirisu (Fuzzy), male

10) Tyranitar (Kratos), male

11) Clefairy (Joy), female

12) Nidoqueen (Ness), female

13) Pangoro (Hulk), male

14) Porygon-Z (Jarvis), genderless

15) Scizor (Archer), male

16) Lapras (Chill), female

17) Gengar (Wacky), male