Disclaimer: I do not own anything, I make no money or profit from this.
Chapter 33: The Ghost of Maiden's Peak
[Route 11]
The 3 trainers continue their journey, heading to Lavender Town before going back to Saffron City. They were currently in a small town called Maiden's Peak taking a rest stop. As if fortune favored them, a week-long festival was also being held. Since it was a nice day, they decided to take a break and check it out.
"So what's this festival all about?" Ronnie Anne asked her companions. It wasn't anything jaw dropping, but still fun. There were food stands, game stands, and vendors selling souvenirs. Few people were dressed up in kimonos or yukatas. It was a mix of people attending, from single people, to couples, and families.
"I don't know," Lynn replied nonchalantly, looking around. "Honestly, I never found out the reasons for these festivals. That was more of Linc's thing, I just enjoyed coming to these."
"It's a Summer End Festival," Clyde said. "I asked some of the people that were in line behind us to get food. They also told me about something interesting." Both girls looked at him curiously.
"There's supposedly an urban legend about this place" he started to explain. "At least 2000 years ago, there was this beautiful woman who was in a relationship with a man, but he was suddenly shipped off to fight across the ocean. He promised to return to her, and she promised to wait for him. On a cliff peak not too far from here, she would stand there. Day after day she would wait there for the man to return. However it never did, and her body supposedly turned to stone and she died."
"Legend goes, if you go there at night during the festival…" he continued to explain. "You can see the ghost of the maiden, still standing there waiting for him to return. Not only that, there have been reports of men going missing around the same time as this festival. This has been going on for years, but none of them have been found."
"Whoa, that is spooky," Ronnie Anne commented with a small smile.
"I'm surprised Lucy didn't ask me to come here as well?" Lynn said to herself.
"I don't think it's in any books" Clyde replied to her self asked question. "It seems like it's something that is something limited to this area. The locals refuse to believe the two things are connected."
"Maybe we should see if this is true," the athletic Loud said to herself.
"Yeah, it sounds fun," the younger girl agreed.
"We can be like Specter Hunter from ARGGH!" Clyde said with excitement.
"You'll need protection if you plan to look for the ghost of the Maiden" someone said from behind them. They look to see a short mysterious old woman. She wore a purple robe and had messy long white hair. She also carried a walking stick that was as big as her. "Fortunately you're in luck" she started to say with a large smile. "I can sell you special talismans to protect you. If you do so now, I will give you a special deal. Buy one talisman, get another for free. This is a limited time offer."
The group looked at each other, before they all gave the woman a deadpan look. "No thanks" they all said together, before walking away. She started to shout something, but they ignored her.
"Another con-artist" Lynn said, with her 2 students nodding.
"First it was that guy selling Magikarp, now it's that old woman," Clyde added.
"How many people fall for that stuff?" Ronnie Anne asked the others.
"Who knows?" their mentor replied. "People obviously fall for it, otherwise they wouldn't be doing it. Now let's see what else this place has going on."
Both teens agreed and went to see more events going on. They watched a parade elsewhere, checked out more vendors, and got their spots for camping that night. Before going back to their camp, they went to the spot where the ghost is supposed to appear. They saw the stone maiden and even a portrait painting of the maiden at a shrine near the peak.
"So that's the maiden" Ronnie Anne commented looking at the portrait.
"She's gorgeous," Clyde said with a blush.
"So that's the ghost," Lynn said, taking a picture of it for Lucy.
"So here you are," a familiar voice said from behind them. They looked to it, to find the mysterious old woman again. "I've been looking for you. I've come to urge you to purchase my talismans. You'll need the proper protection if you plan to go up against the paranormal."
"Still not interested" Ronnie Anne growled at the short woman.
"C'mon you two, let's get out of here" Lynn said as she started to leave. Her students followed her, not listening to the shouts of the old woman.
They continued their sightseeing and walked around. They did run into the old woman a couple more times, but just walked away from her. Soon night came and they got ready to go see if they could find the ghost.
"So what are the odds we actually find anything?" The younger female trainer asked.
"Hard to say," the Loud girl replied. "I've been here for a few years and I still don't fully understand this world. This legend could be something or nothing."
"Yeah, we can't use our world's logic here" Clyde said adding to the conversation. "We could find any-" he stopped suddenly.
His 2 companions looked at him wondering why he suddenly stopped talking. They saw him looking to the side, looking in the same direction they saw what he was looking at. It was 2 young men walking in the same direction. Only they had a dazed expression.
"Hey, are you guys okay?" Lynn said to them. They didn't look at her, as if they didn't hear her. "Let's hold back you two," she said, stopping and stopping her students. "Something's not right, we're going to follow these guys quietly." The younger teens nodded and followed her lead.
None of them said anything as they followed the odd men. Soon the men made it to their destination, which was the stone maiden. The trio trainers hid behind some trees to watch them. Soon a glowing white light appeared out of nowhere, taking the form of the maiden.
"So the legend is true" Ronnie Anne whispered in awe.
"And the missing men are connected" Clyde whispered in surprise.
"Let me get a video for Lucy, then we'll help them" Lynn whispered to them, pulling out her phone. She started recording, when she gained a confused expression. She looked between the ghost and her phone, before putting it away. "Guys, go and tackle those guys and I'll cover you" she said to her students seriously. They looked at her confused, but saw her serious expression. Both nodded and did what they were told.
Both younger trainers ran and tackled the men, bringing them back to their senses. Lynn meanwhile stood protective in front of them, with a pokeball ready. "You guys need to run now!" Lynn shouted at the 2 men. They were confused, but got up and ran away upon seeing the ghost. "Now what are you doing?!" She angrily shouted at the specter.
"Lynn, what's going on?" Ronnie Anne asked, coming to stand beside her. Clyde joined her just as confused, looking between the ghost and the Loud girl.
"That's not a ghost, that's a Pokemon!" Lynn said glaring at the maiden. This shocked both younger trainers and they looked at the maiden in disbelief.
"So you figured it out," the maiden said. "Sometimes I'm the ghost of the Maiden…" smoke swirled as she changed into the old woman. "...And sometimes I'm the mysterious old woman. But no matter what form…" smoke swirled around her again, revealing its true form. "...I'll always be Ghastly" its voice was deep and male.
"So it was a Ghastly this whole time" Clyde said quietly. He couldn't believe this was the secret behind the legend.
"Is that Pokemon speaking English?!" Ronnie Anne shouted dumbfounded. She never heard one speak like that without one of Lisa's headbands.
"Yeah, some Pokemon can do that," Lynn replied to her student, not taking her eyes off the Pokemon. "Pokemon that can fall into one of two categories. First one is, they are strong enough to master our language. The second is, they practice enough to learn the language." She then narrowed her eyes at the Gas Pokemon. "So which one are you?" She asked.
"That's my secret," Ghastly said with a chuckle. "You stopped my fun, so now you're going to be my playthings."
"Your fun?" Clyde asked worryingly.
"Yes, it's something I do every year," he replied joyfully. "I see how many men I can get to walk off the cliff." He then started to laugh happily. Clyde looked horrified, while Ronnie Anne and Lynn glared at him.
"You killed the missing men?!" Ronnie Anne shouted in fury at the Ghost Pokemon.
"Oh yes, the most I got was 8 in one year" he replied joyfully. Laughing as if what he just said was normal.
Lynn gritted her teeth, she couldn't stand how this Ghastly talked about killing people so casually. Just when she was about to throw her pokeball, her 2 students beat her to it.
"Come out Nidorina!" The Mexican American trainer shouted. "Use Poison Tail on Ghastly!"
"Let's go Gloom!" the African American trainer shouted. "Use Razor Leaf on Ghastly!"
"Ha, child's play" Ghastly said confidently. He easily dodged both attacks, before countering Nightshade. The attack hit and knocked out both Pokemon instantly. "Did you really think such weak Pokemon would hurt me?" He then started laughing again.
Clyde and Ronnie Anne gritted their teeth in frustration. They were about to release another Pokemon, when Lynn held out her hands to stop them. "No, you two aren't ready yet" she told them, still looking at Ghastly. "This guy is on a level you're not on yet. Let me handle this, as your teacher. Let's do this Infernape!" She shouted, releasing the Fire/Fighting Pokemon. "Use Flare Blitz!" Infernape covered himself in flames and charged towards its opponent.
"Ha, this will be-" Ghastly started saying, before getting hit by the Flame Pokemon. "What?! That can't be possible?!" He shouted in confusion. He then fired a Nightshade at Infernape, only for him to easily dodge it.
"Now hit it with Flamethrower!" Lynn orders. Her Pokemon then released a stream of fire from his mouth. Ghastly attempted to push it back with Nightshade, but it was weaker and he took a hit.
"Okay, I'm done playing around!" Ghastly shouted in rage. He hasn't been this hurt in a long time, and it was frustrating him to no end. He then used Psychic and lifted Infernape up, smacking him into the ground.
"Try hitting him with a Fire Blast" Lynn shouted annoyed. Infernape managed to let out the powerful attack, but it missed and was enough to break Ghastly's concentration and free him. "Let's end this with a Zen Headbutt!" His head glowed pink as he jumped at his opponent.
"Oh no!" Ghastly said, worried. He tried to avoid the attack, but Infernape was just too fast. Hitting him dead center, caused him to fall to the ground. "No…I can't lose…" was all he said before passing out.
"Now to make sure you never do this again," Lynn said, annoyed. She then pulled a green and black pokeball from her pocket. "I've been saving this for a special Pokemon, I guess you're going to be it." She then threw the Dusk Ball at the passed out Ghastly. It hit him, sucked him up, and started to shake. After shaking a few times, it stops and a green light flashes once. Then the Dusk Ball glowed and flashed away. Lynn let out an exhausted sigh, thanked Infernape and recalled him to his pokeball.
"That was amazing Lynn!" Clyde cheered from her side.
"Yeah, but where did Ghastly go?" Ronnie Anne asked her, confused, pointing to the spot Ghastly was.
"He got sent to Professor Juniper in Unova, since I already have six Pokemon," Lynn said tiredly. "I really hope he doesn't cause problems for her. Well we came here for a ghost, and got a ghost Pokemon. I did not see this happening tonight."
"How did you know that it was a Pokemon instead of the ghost of the maiden?" Clyde asked curiously. Ronnie Anne nodded in agreement, wanting to know as well.
"This is how" she said, pulling out her phone. She showed them the video she recorded, and instead of the maiden it was Ghastly in her place. "I'm guessing he had an illusion on this place to trick people. However the illusion doesn't work on electronic devices. So thanks to that, I was able to see his true form."
"I must thank you as well," a feminine voice said to them. They looked around and saw the real spirit of the Maiden. "That Ghastly had been sealing me inside the stone version of myself. I could only watch as he led more young men to their deaths. But now that he's gone, I can finally join my beloved. Thank you" she said with a bow.
"It's the real ghost of the Maiden!!" Clyde said nervously and excitedly.
"I don't believe it!!" Ronnie said in awe.
"O-Oh it's no problem" Lynn replied with a nervous smile. "I'm glad I was able to help." She then got an idea. "Hey, is it alright if I get a picture with you? My little sister loves ghosts and spooky stuff. She'd be really happy if I get a picture of an actual ghost." Ronnie Anne and Clyde were stunned their teacher asked this, while the maiden only giggled.
"Of course, I'd be happy too," she replied with a smile. Lynn gave Ronnie Anne her phone to take the picture. She did and the Maiden could be seen in it. "Thank you again, now I'm going to see my beloved." With that, she faded away.
"Man, so she really was here" Clyde said, amazed at what they just experienced.
"Yeah, trap in stone by that Ghastly" Ronnie Anne added annoyed.
"Well that certainly was an adventure," Lynn said, stretching with a grin. "Let's get back to the camp and hit the hay. We can tell the police about all this tomorrow morning, I'm exhausted." Both her students agreed and they made their way back to get some rest.