Ashen Oak Chapter 16, a pokémon fanfic

"Mmnn…" A soft moan slipped out as Gina slowly stirred awake. Her eyelids felt heavy and there was a fog in her head that only slowly cleared when she managed to finally open her eyes to see that she had fallen asleep within the shade of a tree in one of the small fields around Pallet Town.

Specifically, it was one where the grass was relatively short and there was a small stream nearby. The water softly burbled as it flowed downstream, occasionally rippling and breaking as Magikarp drifted closer to the surface with their mouths opening and closing in search of food. The wind softly whistled as it rattled the leaves of the nearby trees and Pidgey that were perched on the branches caught the breeze to sail off into the clear, blue sky.

"When did I get here?" Gina murmured, rubbing her tiny hands against her eyes to clear her vision before she leaned past the bank of the stream to catch the reflection of her seven-year-old face in the clear water. There was something odd about it, but when she tried to remember why it felt like the fog that clouded her mind started getting deeper. "Weird…"

"Gina!" a girl's voice called out. It sounded familiar, but not familiar at the same time… somehow. "Gina, where are you!?"

Getting onto her feet, Gina turned her attention to the path behind the trees and spotted the source of the voice. There was a girl who looked her age with long green hair that spilled out from her white sunhat that was adorned with a pink ribbon. Her white dress that had pink accents billowed as the wind picked up, and she was forced to brace her hat with one hand as her other arm clutched an Abra-shaped Poké Doll tight against her chest.

"Who's that?" Gina wondered. She felt like she had seen her before, but her mind seemed to sink deeper into the nebulous mist when she tried to remember. Then she brought her palm to her forehead as she suddenly recalled it all and wondered how it was that she could have forgotten. "Right, it's Sabrina."

That was right. It was Sabrina, a quiet girl who lived on the outskirts of the town and didn't have friends. One day, while she was heading to the stream to go fishing, Gina spotted her sitting alone on her swing and looking lonely. Gina took pity on her and asked if she wanted to come along—now they were friends.

"I'm over here," Gina said as she emerged from her resting spot. "What do you want?"

"There you are!" Sabrina's expression brightened as she came over. "I came looking for you since you promised that you'd play with me today, remember?"

Gina scratched her head as she tried to remember when she did that. But the more she tried the deeper the haze in her head seemed to get. Still, it bothered her enough that she'd forgotten a promise to a friend, so she began to sift through the fog until Sabrina grabbed her.

"It's fine if you forgot," Sabrina said, albeit somewhat hastily. "Now that I found you, we can go back. I've already set up the dollhouse and tea set, and we have the rest of the day to ourselves since Mommy and Daddy are at work."

Dolls? Tea? Gina's tiny brows wrinkled at that. That didn't seem like something she would do, even if it was out of pity for the girl. She'd never been into collecting dolls or stuff like that. It was why she never made nice with the other girls in town….

Something clicked in her head. All at once her feet stopped moving and refused to go further. Sabrina, who had been leading her back to the town, was forced to stop as well.

She turned and looked back at Gina, asking, "What's wrong?"

Gina asked bluntly. "Are we really friends?"

"Of course we are," Sabrina said. "We became best friends after you invited me along with you to go fishing a while ago since I was lonely. Remember?"

She could remember. Despite the fog in her head, that memory of her sitting there on the tree swing in front of her home and looking lonely was clear. But… why would she suddenly become best friends with someone just because they looked lonely or invite them to come with her because of pity?

"Sabrina, that's enough."

Both girls turned sharply at the sound of a stern, male voice that came from behind them and saw an adult man standing there. He looked middle-aged but wore a professional suit, including the pants and shoes. They were completely out of place as he stood there with his arms crossed, wearing an almost pitying look on his face.

All at once, Sabrina's tone changed. The childish nature of her voice became cold and monotone. "How did you get here?"

"A difference of experience," he stated, crossing his arms. "Your talent leaned so much on the external expressions of your power that, after the accident, we focused solely on refining it so that you didn't hurt anyone else. And in doing so the subtler expressions that required more time and experience were shelved. With the direction you decided to take your life in, I had hoped that it would never be used for something like this."

"You might have snuck in here, but you can't take my first friend away from me," Sabrina said coldly as she dropped her doll and extended her free hand towards him. His body tensed as a cerulean shroud of psychic energy covered his form before she thrust her hand downwards and he fell onto the ground. "You aren't strong enough."

"Sabrina, you have to understand that what you're doing won't work," he said softly despite what she was doing, in the kind of tone Gina's own grandfather would have when he was telling her she had done something wrong. "Even I can tell you've tried so many times now, but the mind isn't so malleable that you can just insert new memories without the discrepancy becoming noticeable and the psyche attempting to reassert itself. Especially not in a mind that was already guarded during your Gym Battle. You need to release this trainer's consciousness before everything you've worked towards comes undone."

"Gym Battle? Trainer?" Gina muttered under her breath as she listened to them. The discrepancy of how he referred to her, and her own muddled memories led to her delving into the fog to try and reclaim them. Then, past the deep and colorless fog…

She remembered.

All at once, she recalled the journey to Saffron City Gym. The release of Butterfree and the spiraling depression Ash seemed to fall into. Then she remembered calling out to him and faintly hearing a little girl's voice saying that she wanted… she wanted him to play with them as well.

The world fractured like glass. Her childish reflection was replaced with her true age and form. Not a little girl, but a trainer who would overthrow the reigning champion and was not scared of some… thing that looked like a little girl.

Gina grabbed the monster by the collar and lifted her up, demanding, "What did you do to Ash!?"

"You managed to reassert yourself within my mindscape?" The thing that looked like a little girl said, curiosity lacing her voice as she craned her head slowly and released her psychic grasp on the man. Then some realization struck her, leaving her lips to curl into an uncanny smile. "I see. Now I really want you to be my friend."

"This way!" shouted the man as he got back to his feet. "Quickly! I'll help you get back to your body and friends!"

Gina tossed the little monster aside and ran towards the man as he did the same. However, before their outstretched hands could reach, the thing raised one hand and a cerulean veil shrouded Gina and lifted her into the air. She couldn't move or speak and was left helpless as she levitated above his reach.

The little monster then turned to the man and said, "Father, you're with that boy now, aren't you?"

"Sabrina, you—" His voice cut off as the child extended her other hand towards him once more and telekinetically grabbed hold of him. "Nnrgh!"

"Tell Ash that I challenge him to a Gym Battle," she demanded. "If he wins, I will release her and surrender the Marsh Badge. But if he loses, he will become one of my friends and play with us here as well."

Her demands stated the little monster lazily flicked the hand extended towards him. The man instantly vanished, popping out of existence as though he'd never been there. And with the intruder gone, she could turn her attention back to Gina who was still floating in the air.

"Ash will be with us soon," she promised with a smile, even as her purple eyes grew luminous again as she stared into Gina's gaze. "But until then, why don't we start over and try to become friends again?"

Gina felt the fog closing in on her mind again. It was covering her memories behind the nebulous fog. No matter how hard she tried to cling to the images they faded away into the fog and she felt it even her consciousness sinking into it, until…

Forget.

"You sure slept for a long time," a familiar voice called out, leaving Gina to look over to see that her friend, Ash, was standing next to her. "Did you stay up late watching television or something?"

"Of course not," Gina said, rising to her feet. Even though she didn't remember exactly what it was she was doing that left her so tired to fall asleep, she knew it wasn't something as silly as watching television like he would. It was then she noticed that he wasn't alone, as there was a girl with long green hair with him. "Who's this?"

"Her name is Sabrina," Ash said. "Her parents just moved to Pallet Town, and Mom asked me to be friends with her. You don't mind if she joins us fishing today, do you?"

"Of course you'd invite someone else without telling me," Gina said, followed by a sigh. That was the kind of person he was in the end, friendly to a fault. But she didn't exactly dislike that about him. "Fine, she can tag along. But she's borrowing your fishing rod."

The little girl smiled brightly while clutching her Abra-like Poké Doll as she followed behind the pair…

[-oOo-]

With a startled jerk as his self-awareness returned in full, Ash Ketchum shot up and his eyes snapped open. He expected to find himself in the hive of the steel and chrome that was the Gym, face-to-face with the little girl… thing that had done something to Gina. Instead, he found himself within the nestled, simple comforts of a room within the Pokémon Center that was meant for trainers who took the Gym Challenge and needed a place to temporarily stay.

"Ash!" Drawn to the voice, Ash looked to see Misty rise from a chair as Pikachu hopped off her lap and then scurried across the floor before bounding onto the mattress and into his lap. He felt a sense of relief washing over him that they were safe, his hand reflexively coming up to brush Pikachu's head. "Thank goodness. He said that he managed to stop your mind from being pulled away, but we were worried that you wouldn't wake up."

Her words rekindled the memory of what transpired. The forceful, unrelenting tug on his mind that felt like it was splitting his skull to scoop out his brain. Then he remembered Gina. The look on her face as she called out to him. "Where is she?"

"In the room we were assigned," Misty said, looking over to her keycard that was next to his hat on a nightstand. Since the Pokémon Center here was larger, they had two beds per room rather than four, so the girls had decided to room together further down the hallway while the guys had this room. "Brock is with her, but she hasn't woken up yet."

Ash got out of bed, picking up his hat off the nearby nightstand with the card before he went out into the hallway. He hurried down the corridor of doors with white walls and oval lights spaced between them until he arrived at the girl's room. Then he slotted the keycard into the door and went through.

When he opened the door, he found Gina lying on the bed with Abra right there next to her. The Psi Pokémon had glistening streamlets running from his closed eyelids, showing it had been crying for some time now. And the referee from before was there as well, sitting in a chair set at the edge of the bed with his hands touching the sides of her head and his eyes glowing with the same hue of psychic energy that Sabrina had.

Ash didn't know what was going on, but he didn't like the look of it. Those same eyes left tension threading his body as he reflexively moved to stop the man. That was when a firm hand reached out and grabbed him from the side.

It was Brock. "Ash, he's trying to help. Don't interrupt him."

"What's going on?" he asked as the tension slowly bled out of his body when Misty and Pikachu came into the room after catching up to them. If it was something that could harm her, he was sure Brock would have stopped him. "What's he doing to her?"

"He's trying to free Gina's mind," Brock began as he released his hold on Ash now that he calmed down. "When whatever happened with Sabrina took place, he teleported us out first and then came back for you two. Once he had made sure your mind was still intact, he started trying to undo the hold that Sabrina has on Gina."

"And how long has it been since then?"

"It's been hours since then," Misty answered. "We didn't know what to do, so when he pleaded with us to give him some time to fix what happened—"

"Argh!" Before Misty could say anything more, the referee was abruptly knocked out of his seat. Or rather thrown considering how he was launched away from Gina and hit the wall on the opposite side of the room with a loud crash.

"A-Abbb…" Abra fidgeted, startled by the sudden motion. It was more of a surprise that he didn't teleport on reflex. "Abraaaa."

"Are you okay?" Brock asked as he checked on the man, who was struggling to get back to his feet as crimson blood ran from his nose. "What happened?"

"I was forced out," he said, covering his face to avoid the blood dripping onto the floor until Misty handed him a handkerchief. He accepted it before leaning against the wall and pressing it against his nose to stem the bleeding. "I almost managed to pull her back, but I'm afraid it didn't work. And getting in a second time through that method likely won't work."

Ash frowned. "What does that mean?"

"It means… we have little time." He reached down and picked up the chair before taking a seat in it. "Sabrina's shadow has taken hold of her. And in trying to grant her own deep-seated desires, she's attempting to rewrite the young lady's memories."

"She's tampering with Gina's memories?" Misty's voice became soft with worry as she processed that. Memories were the sum of one's life experiences. The foundation of what made a person who they were could be traced back to them.

He nodded and began to explain to them what had transpired. Sabrina's shadow, her subconscious mind, had taken over her conscious mind. Everyone had parts about themselves that they kept locked away knowingly or unknowingly, but it influenced their ego on a subconscious level to an extent. However, because psychic abilities come from their minds, they could influence the outside world.

Or, in an extreme case, take on a life of their own and be made manifest. That Shadow had taken hold of her and now had a grip on Gina's mind. And she would only release it if the demands were met—which would endanger Ash himself.

Brock's expression grew tighter as he seemingly mulled over the man's words. "So that little girl we saw was…?"

"That would be how her Shadow's chooses to represent itself," he answered. "Most likely due to how strenuous her current lifestyle is and a desire to return to a carefree childhood. Sabrina suppressed all thoughts of companionship, friendship, and camaraderie for the sake of becoming a symbol to other psychics. But humans are social creatures by their very nature—it's a psychological need. All of it kept building up beneath the surface until this happened."

"But why Gina?" Ash demanded. Psychology, Shadows, Psychics, all of those were just things that were going over his head. Maybe he could figure it out with enough time but right now his focus and only concern was his friend laying on the other bed having her memories tampered with.

"It was most likely because she was a peer around the same age," he confessed. "Even so, to peer into one's mind is already an invasion of privacy. To change one's memories was among the greatest of violations. Even if it wasn't a conscious choice…"

"The fact remains that, conscious of her actions or not, she's crossed the line with a challenger unprompted," Brock finished for him. "Even if all those previous complaints were false, in a single act she's pretty much ruined the reputation of Psychics as the foremost figure in Kanto."

He didn't deny it. "I should have caught onto it sooner to prevent this from happening. I should have realized how severe of a toll being the Gym Leader was on my little girl and how hard she was pushing herself."

My little girl? Ash registered. Then things clicked into place. "You're her father?"

"Some father I am," he said. "A failure who spent years as a psychologist unable to see the cracks forming. Now everything she's been working towards is on the verge of being undone, all while she's a prisoner in her own mind."

The atmosphere grew heavy as they watched the father cry over his daughter's circumstances. Shadow or not, Sabrina had attacked Gina and was trying to rewrite her memories. It may not be by choice, but that didn't change the fact that she was doing it—she needed to be stopped before it was too late.

"…I'll go beat her in a Gym Battle then," Ash decided. "You said the Shadow would release her I win, so I'll go do that."

"Ash, you can't," Misty said. "If you lose then you'll end up just like Gina. The situation will only worsen then."

"But the longer we take, the longer Gina will be at risk," Ash pointed out. "What other choice do we have?"

"Agatha of the Elite Four," Brock said promptly, before turning his attention towards Sabrina's father. "Ghost Pokémon are a counter to Psychic Pokémon and she's the foremost trainer in Kanto when it comes to them. She'd be able to do something about it, right?"

"Ghost Pokémon aren't immune to psychic abilities, but they can undermine them," the man said. "In fact, by their very nature, one of them could slip into Sabrina's mind and free both her and the young lady. That's why I attempted to contact Agatha before attempting to rescue the young lady myself, but I was only able to leave a message. We can only hope that she responds soon."

"I'll just go catch a Ghost Pokémon and do it myself rather than sit here and wait," Ash said, fishing through his pocket for his Pokédex. The most common sightings were in a place called Lavender Town, which wasn't too far from here. "Lavender Town. Got it. Come on, Pikachu!"

"It'll take you until morning to reach there from here by foot," Sabrina's father said as the Electric Mouse Pokémon climbed onto its trainer's shoulder. "I can teleport you and your pokémon part of the way there. It's the least I can do for the moment to correct my daughter's action."

Ash nodded. He then took a final look at Gina's unconscious form. It only strengthened his resolve as the man set a hand on his other shoulder.

Then the three of them were gone.

[-oOo-]

As the sun had begun to fade and the amber light from its rays passed through dusty windows of a dilapidated manor, the shadows it cast stirred. The unbroken darkness bulged until what pulled away from it was a blob that undulated until it slowly took shape into the form of a Haunter.

"Hauuuu…" The Gas Pokémon let out a soft yawn as he scratched what would be the base of its neck if he had flesh. Then he floated around his home for his companions, Gastly and Gengar. They had called this place their home long before they had taken their current form, back when they had been…

Well, he couldn't really remember as he passed through the aged stone walls and into the room filled with toys that were caked with dust. Time had robbed him of the finer details of his life before he became a Haunter. Same with the others. Even so, as he peered down at one of the riding horses in particular there was one memory thread that lingered beyond the fog of ages…

"I want to see the world and make new memories with you someday."

The face of the one who owned that voice had become blurred, but the promise lingered as Haunter drifted out of the room and throughout the rest of the tower. There were still no signs of Gastly and Gengar, so he could only assume they already set out into town to have a bit of harmless fun capped off with light dream eating. He moved to join them and passed through the walls of the manor, only to stop partway when he spotted an approaching young man with a yellow pokémon next to him.

Oh, how rare. They hadn't had visitors in so long. And since the others were out having their own fun, there was no sense in him not getting the chance to have his own. Haunter slipped back through the wall and drifted through the floor into the foyer, where he blended into the surrounding darkness to obscure himself from sight.

That was when the doors to the manor opened with a groan that echoed throughout the chamber from the hinges that hadn't seen use in decades or longer. The early evening breeze rolled into the foyer and scattered the topmost layer of dust near the entrance to where it rolled over the furniture that was old and disheveled. The trainer and his pokémon then entered inside.

"It's darker here than I expected," said the trainer as he waved his arm to try to clear the air around them before looking down to the pokémon by his side. "Pikachu, can you tell if there's a Ghost Pokémon around here?"

Said Pikachu raised his tail into the air for a moment while his head went back and forth, skimming through the darkness with sight and smell. Though it was for naught as the Electric Mouse eventually stood on his hindlegs to shake his head, "Pika."

"We have to head further in then," the trainer decided. "Come on."

As the two entered further into the manor, Haunter mused on the fact that they had come to find one of them. Probably to capture one of them like the last one had tried… however long ago that was. Time held little meaning to them beyond when the sun was rising and when it was falling.

Still, Haunter remembered that battle had been fun. But it had also nearly wrecked one of the playrooms when the trainer attacked them trying to get away. That hadn't been any fun and they almost lost some of the toys they had—which was something that they had an attachment to for the memories they held.

Tapping his clawed finger against his head for a moment in thought, Haunter mused on how he could have his entertainment without risking that. The smart thing to do would probably be to just leave and come back later since guests rarely stayed overnight. Then he decided that he was overthinking things and could just make things easier by moving them outside.

Smiling at how genius his idea was, Haunter circled through the wall into the floor. He waited until the two passed overhead before he popped out of the ground and grabbed the trainer with his claws. Then he proceeded to pull him out of the manor as fast as he could.

"Hey, what's going on!?" shouted the young man as the Electric Mouse Pokémon called out his name. Ash, as he was known, took a moment to process what was happening as he drifted over the cobblestone path lined with lanterns that hadn't been lit in ages. Then he began to struggle. "Let me go!"

Haunter obliged, going intangible to allow the trainer to slip from his grip and thus fall onto the ground. He landed on his butt and was left rolling around for a moment in pain at the sudden drop, which earned a laugh out of Haunter. "Haw-Haw-Haw!"

That was when there was a blur as a white streak shot from the entrance to the garden courtyard and tried to strike him. The keyword being that it 'tried'. With his form still intangible, the attack sailed through like thin air and did nothing to him.

The Electric Mouse Pokémon skidded to a stop next to his trainer, tendrils of electricity sparking from his cheeks as he bristled at the Gas Pokémon. "Piii…"

The presence of his partner spurred Ash to get back onto his feet before staring at Haunter and declaring his intention. "Haunter, we're here to capture you!"

Haunter welcomed the challenge with a gesture of his claw. "Haunt."

"Come out, Charmander!" Ash called before tossing a ball out. Light spilled from the container and what emerged was an orange-colored lizard with a tail that had a flame dancing on the edge like the wick of a candle. "Ember!"

The flames on Charmander's tail roared to life with vigor, writhing on the end of it before he spun around and whipped it. The larger flame was launched towards Haunter, the glare of its light illuminating the encroaching darkness. "Char!"

However, the Gas Pokémon eluded the attempt at striking him by levitating upwards and leaving the large Ember skirt underneath where he'd been. It slammed into one of the unused lamp posts and scorched the steel as it broke apart. Haunter then stuck his tongue out as though to mock him for the miss.

Letting out a low growl, Charmander repeated the attack twice more and launched another pair of fire spouts towards Haunter. The ghost dipped low, letting the first sail over his head and into the air where it eventually broke apart into motes of flames, and then darted to the side as the second whizzed by and slammed into the ground where it left the cobblestone smoldering.

"Try Flamethrower!" Ash ordered as Charmander began to bristle with frustration. Charmander's tail flame swelled as he drew in a deep breath. Then he exhaled and sent a gout of fire rushing towards Haunter. The Gas Pokémon was engulfed by the intense flames and vanished as Charmander poured on the heat—

Tap. Tap.

—or so they thought until Haunter reappeared from the ground behind Charmander to tap on his shoulder with one of its clawed hands. The other was balled into a fist and drawn back as nebulous, shadowy energy wreathed it. The moment Charmander looked back in surprise and cut the flames, revealing nothing more than blackened stones that were glowing hot from the remaining heat, Haunter swung its fist and promptly decked him in the face.

A pained screeched slipped out of Charmander's maw as he was sent flying by the hit, his orange body rocketing backward before hitting the searing hot cobblestone. His body slid before gradually coming to a stop atop the charred earth that crackled as it began to cool. He made a valiant effort to get back up but ultimately collapsed before he could and fainted.

The ghost clapped its claws together in applause as though to praise it for the attempt despite being outmatched. "Haun-Hau."

"We're not done yet!" Ash said as he returned the defeated Lizard Pokémon back into its ball and then pulled out another. In the place of the Lizard Pokémon was now the Seed Pokémon, its eyes fixed on Haunter while it was tensed and ready for battle. "Bulbasaur, Leech Seed!"

The Gas Pokémon recognized the threat as it angled the opening of its bulb towards him and then phased through the tree next to him. He managed to slip beneath the surface and back out of the other end as the seed hit the trunk and then viciously sprouted. The roots hastily dug into the bark and entangled what it could, narrowly missing Haunter who watched as the tree began to wilt as the attack sapped its energy—

"Hold it down with Vine Whip!"

—that was when a pair of sinuous vines entwined him. He had been distracted and now he was tethered to the Seed Pokémon by the vines that sprouted from the small buds at the base of his massive bulb. Spotting there was another seed getting ready to be launched, Haunter met its focused gaze with his own and smiled as his eyes grew a luminous shade of violet.

The hue was reflected in Bulbasaur's eyes as it began to sway on its feet. The confusion took hold as it went slack-jawed and groaned while the vines went slack as it stumbled around, releasing Haunter. Then the prepared Leech Seed was fired off wantonly towards the trainer.

"Haw! Haw! Haw!" Haunter broke out laughing again in amusement as only a snaking bolt of electricity from the Electric Mouse Pokémon incinerating the seed before it found the wrong target saved him. Confuse Ray was always fun to use!

"Snap out of it Bulbasaur!" Ash shouted before it could do anything worse. It seemed to do the trick as the Seed Pokémon shook its head rapidly and blinked away the hue in its eyes, regaining clarity of mind. And it was mad from the way it snarled at Haunter afterward. "Razor Leaf!"

A flurry of razor-sharp leaves burst from Bulbasaur's back and shot into the air, slowly drifting down after their ejection before the Seed Pokémon stomped its legs. Then they all suddenly went rigid and started flying towards the Gas Pokémon like whirling saws. The slicing leaves slammed against Haunter like papercuts, barely doing anything as they nicked his gaseous body.

But then the Gas Pokémon spotted the vines as they came rushing towards him once more to trap him again. Fool him once, shame on him. The second time he ensnared the vines with his clawed digits before they could do the same to him and then jerked them as hard as he could the moment they went taut. The Seed Pokémon was jerked forward towards Haunter as he reared back for another Shadow Punch.

"SAUR!" Bulbasaur cried out as the ghastly haymaker blow struck true, spiking it straight down into the ground hard enough that it actually bounced up from the impact. The Seed Pokémon attempted to stand back up and managed to get back on its feet, snarling.

"Hau, Hau." Haunter applauded its durability sincerely for being able to withstand his blow when the other one hadn't. Then he promptly smacked it a second time with Shadow Punch, rocketing the Seed Pokémon back towards its trainer and into unconsciousness.

"Squirtle, you've got this!" Ash said defiantly as he recalled Bulbasaur into its ball and then pulled out another. Once more it burst open, but this time what emerged was the Tiny Turtle Pokémon, standing on its hindlegs and with its paws curled into fists as it met the gaze of the Gas Pokémon. "Watch out for its Confuse Ray!"

Squirtle responded to the advice by promptly reaching into its shell and slipping on a pair of Dark Glasses. Haunter attempted to use Confuse Ray, only for him to feel it refuse to connect. Then Squirtle smirked before taking the initiative and rushing forward.

Ghostly energy shrouded Haunter's right fist as he welcomed his opponent approaching him and launched one of his fists towards it. Squirtle dipped low enough to fall onto all fours so it went over his head and sailed behind him, giving the illusion that he'd missed. However, his attack never missed because it was a part of him, and so it veered around to strike him from the back as Haunter readied his left fist to strike at the same time—

"Squirtle, Withdraw!"

—only for Ash to call out a warning. The response was instant as Squirtle bounced off the ground and tucked itself into its shell that shone with power from Withdraw. The left and right fists met it from both ends.

"Hauuuu…." The Gas Pokémon let out a pained groan as he retracted both of his hands that were throbbing from the impact against the hard shell. Then he was suddenly slammed into by a stream of water as Squirtle stuck its limbs from within the shell and braced itself before launching a powerful Water Gun. It hit him like a sledgehammer as he crashed into a tree and felt the aged trunk creak and splinter before the water petered out.

"Again, Squirtle!" Ash shouted, to which Squirtle reared back and then fired another Water Gun at his prone form. However, Haunter sunk beneath the ground before it could land, leaving the powerful stream of water to slam into the aged tree and caused the crack from before to completely fall apart, leaving it to crash onto the sodden earth. "It's going to surface again from below. Keep your guard up!"

It was solid advice. Perhaps too solid, as when a shadow emerged from the corner of its vision, Squirtle immediately spouted a Water Gun that slammed into what were Haunter's detached hands. The distraction only lasted a moment, but that was all he needed for the Gas Pokémon's main body to pop up behind it and then brandished his other weapon—his tongue.

The massive tongue was laced with saliva that left the skin breaking out into goosebumps as a sickening chill threaded the muscles beneath the surface. It was an involuntary reaction, meaning try as it might, Squirtle couldn't stop the trembling that accosted its body as Haunter's two claws shrouded themselves in a ghostly veil before returning from where they'd been knocked away. Then he laid into the Tiny Turtle Pokémon with blow after blow.

"Squirt! Squirtle! Squirrr! Tle!" said pokémon cried out as it took the hits that followed. One punch. Two punches. Three punches. Four. Unable to fight back with the paralysis taking root deep beneath its skin, Haunter made a show of comedically winding up before his fifth punch only for it to sail through empty space as Squirtle's body vanished in a flash of red.

"That was dirty!" Ash complained as he finished returning the Tiny Turtle Pokémon back into its ball. "Squirtle couldn't fight back, so why'd you keep hitting him?"

To which Haunter shrugged—after all, battles weren't meant to be clean. They were meant to fun and exhilarating as they pushed the living to the limit. Or in his case, coaxing the dead closer to the realm of life. Besides, he would have stopped once it was unconscious. "Haunter. Haunt-Haun."

"Why you… Go, Pidgeotto!" Ash tossed the ball high into the air, only for it to bounce back into his grasp as in the sky there was now a predatory avian whose wings fluttered fiercely as it glared down at the Gas Pokémon. "Keep your distance and use Gust!"

The Bird Pokémon took to the skies before beating its wings with mighty flaps that riled the wind to its beck and call. They lanced out, bludgeons of solid wind slamming into Haunter hard enough that his gaseous body nearly dissipated as he slammed into the solid ground. He shifted his density into the ethereal and sank beneath the surface before it could do so again.

"Hau…." Haunter groaned as he took a moment to compose himself beneath the earth while the Bird Pokémon was fluttering in the sky, waiting for him to resurface. Between this and the other two, it had been a while since he'd gotten worked over this good. If he had a heart, it would be racing from how exciting things were getting. But he knew he'd need a good feast before the night ended to make up for all the effort he was exerting.

Snapping his claws together, the Gas Pokémon smiled to himself before shooting out of the ground to bait out Pidgeotto's next attack. Sure enough, the moment it spotted him it stopped sailing through the air and fixed its gaze before churning the air once more. That was when Haunter's eyes flashed, but not with the bewitching shade of Confuse Ray.

It was the slumbering-inducing hue of Hypnosis.

"Pi…pid…" The Bird Pokémon's wingbeats slowed to a crawl as its eyes grew heavy, its body gradually losing height until its eyes fell shut. Then it began to plummet from the sky down to the earth, with the only thing catching it being Haunter's claws before he brought towards his main body.

Then he used Dream Eater. The deep shade of red wreathed its body as Pidegotto's vitality was stolen in the sweet surrender of sleep, seeping deep within the cavernous maw of Haunter as his aches and pains began to mend while he supped upon it succulently. "Hau, Haunt~"

"Cut that out!" Ash shouted before recalling his pokémon into its ball. Then he looked down to the Electric Mouse Pokémon by his side. "Pikachu, it's all up to you now!"

"Pi-Pika!" With a nod in understanding, Pikachu darted forward towards Haunter with his cheeks crackling as tendrils of electricity began to spark outwards. With a battle cry, the Electric Mouse cut loose with a bolt of woven lightning that shot across the ever-shrinking distance.

Haunter dodged the electricity before wreathing his claws in shrouds of power before launching them forward toward his foe. "Hau-Hau!"

The Electric Mouse pivoted on his hindlegs and immediately took off with all his speed towards the nearest withering tree, its gnarled and twisted trunk serving as a perch as he clung with his paws while the shadow-wreathed claws closed in. Then pale light burst from his feet and shot him forward like a rocket, leaving him to slip through the Shadow Punch as it smashed into the trunk and shoot past Haunter faster than he could react.

It was then Pikachu let loose, the air filling with the scent of ozone as he unleashed Thunderbolt with all of his might. "CHUUU!"

Haunter felt the force of electricity as the current surged into him. The mingling of pain and heat threading his gaseous form to the point he felt like he was on the verge of coming apart at the seams. It was such a rush that the Gas Pokémon nearly lost consciousness from the impact alone.

"Now, you're mine!" It was the opening of a lifetime and Ash didn't hesitate to take advantage of it as he threw the Poké Ball. The red-and-white sphere flew across the distance with the speed of a fastball, perfectly centered to hit the mark…

And then two dark blurs sped through the air.

The sound of metal being struck and deflected rang out as the capturing device was sent sailing away. At the same time, a pained and surprised cry came out as the Electric Mouse Pokémon was knocked away from Haunter, landing with a thud on the ground closer to Ash.

Haunter fought down the invigorating trembles coursing through him to see the ones responsible standing at his defense—Gastly and Gengar. The two had returned, likely due to the light from the flames and lightning. And, having come upon their friend being attacked, they naturally threw their lot in to fend off his capture.

Ash grimaced as Pikachu scrambled to get back onto his feet. The odds were against them. Every one of them could tell that at a glance. Yet, he still wouldn't back down. "We can't leave just yet. We have to do this! Pikachu!"

Falling onto all fours, Pikachu's cheeks sparked as he prepared to face-off against the other two as well. Gengar responded to that by bringing his hands together and pulling in the shadows until they started to form a sphere that was steadily growing more and more powerful. Gastly, meanwhile, began to shed even more gas from his core with the intention of blanketing the Electric Mouse Pokémon with it.

However, before it could escalate further, Haunter floated in the middle and held his claws outwards so that they crossed the distance and came to a stop in front of everyone. He then shook his head and called for everyone to calm down. "Hau. Hau."

Gengar allowed the coalescing shadows that were forming an orb to dissipate. Gastly's vapors began to thin out. Pikachu's electric pouches stopped sparking. Then Haunter floated over towards Ash before using the tip of his claws to inscribe one word on the ground.

"Why…?" Ash murmured before catching the gist of it. Haunter was asking why he wanted him so much that he'd been willing to face off against the other two as well when he was down to his last pokémon rather than run away. He felt his throat tighten as he gave the Gas Pokémon the truth. "…I need your help to save my best friend."

Haunter tilted his head in confusion. It wasn't the answer he was expecting. "Haunt?"

Ash gave him the full details as best he understood. His friend had been fighting a powerful trainer who was a psychic and now she was trapped within a dream she wouldn't wake up from. They needed a Ghost Pokémon that could help them free her, so he came to capture one.

Then he pleaded his case. "I know it's asking a lot, but I need your help. Please."

Haunter made a show of scratching his chin, if he had one, before floating back over to Gastly and Gengar. The two had been listening in as well, so they huddled together and discussed it amongst themselves in hushed whispers. Then he floated back over to Ash.

"You'll help us?" Ash asked and received a nod before Haunter scratched another word on the ground. "You think it'll be fun."

"Haunt-Haunt!" It had been a long time since he had that kind of fun, and he seemed like a good kid. Helping him out as payback for that bit of fun was the least that he could do. That in mind, he offered his claw for a shake.

Ash accepted. "Thanks, Haunter!"