Episode Fourteen
Last time, our trio decided to have a day of relaxation at the beach just outside Vermillion City. For the most part, the day went well until a Tentacruel appeared out of nowhere and started attacking. Thankfully, Amanda's Clefairy was able to subdue it with its Sing attack, allowing her to capture the Tentacruel. The trio are now headed toward their next destination.
Amanda, Mark, and Michelle were all walking through the forest that would lead them toward Saffron City. For the most part, things were calm, but then the sky suddenly became foggy and dark.
"That's weird. It's not supposed to get dark like this during the day." Said Michelle.
"And there's no sign of any storm either." Said Mark.
"This is all very strange." Said Amanda.
"Maybe a Pokemon made the sky like this." Said Michelle. At that moment, a Pokemon shaped like a black sphere with a shadowy tail tapped Michelle on the shoulder.
"Cut that out, Eevee." Michelle said.
"Eevee." Eevee squealed, which meant 'It wasn't me.' The trio kept walking, but the same Pokemon tapped Michelle's shoulder again.
"I thought I said to knock it off." Michelle said, a bit more stern this time.
"Eevee!" Eevee squealed, which meant 'I already said I'm not the one doing that.'
"Well if you're not doing it, then who is?" asked Michelle. She quickly turned around and found herself facing the Pokemon.
"Ah!" she screamed loudly.
"What's wrong, Michelle?" Mark asked.
"It's a ghost!" Michelle cried. Mark looked around, but didn't see anything, as the Pokemon had cleverly disappeared.
"There's no ghost around here." Said Mark. "You're probably just imagining things."
"No, Mark, it's true, I saw a ghost a second ago." Said Michelle.
"Sure you did, Michelle." Said Mark, and they kept walking. A short while later, however, Amanda felt her own shoulder being tapped.
"Was that you, Pikachu?" she asked. Pikachu shook his head.
"Pikachu." He said, which meant 'Look behind you.' Amanda turned around and saw the exact same Pokemon that Michelle had seen.
"See, I told you." Said Michelle.
"What is that, anyway?" Mark wondered.
"Let's find out." Said Amanda, and she took her Pokedex out.
"Gastly, a gas Pokemon. It produces a sweet but faint smell. The toxic gas surrounding the main body can induce fainting and suffocation, and it is capable of enshrouding an enemy of any size."
"I remember reading once that ghosts only come out at night." Said Mark.
"It's the middle of the day, though." Said Michelle. "So why is it out here now?"
"I think the Gastly may have made the forest look like this to make us think it was nighttime, giving it the chance to come out." Said Amanda.
"That's absolutely right." Said Mark.
"Listen Gastly, I think you're a cool Pokemon and all, but you shouldn't be playing tricks on people like that." Said Amanda. "Furthermore, you scared one of my friends. How would you feel if the situation were reversed and one of us snuck up from behind you and scared you? I don't think you'd like that, would you?" Gastly shook its head.
"I didn't think so." Said Amanda. "So, here's what's going to happen. You're going to apologize to my friend right now, and let's hope that she'll be willing to forgive you." Gastly was hesitant at first, but after taking a deep breath, he said "Gastly gas.", which meant 'I'm sorry I scared you. Friends?'
"I don't know." Said Michelle.
"Come on, Michelle." Said Mark. "I think Gastly means it with his apology. What do you say?"
"Well, as long as he promises not to do it again, I'll accept." Michelle said.
"Gastly." Gastly said, which meant 'I promise.'
"Now that we have that settled, let's continue on and see where the path takes us." Said Amanda. The three of them continued walking along, with Gastly following close behind. After an hour and a half, they arrived at a place that had a dark and scary theme to it.
"Where are we?" Michelle asked.
"It's definitely not Saffron City, that's for sure." Said Amanda.
"Guys, I think we're in Lavender Town." Said Mark. "I can tell because of how creepy and dark the sky is here."
"Then that means the Pokemon Tower should be here, right?" asked Michelle.
"That's right." Said Mark.
"Pikachu." Pikachu said, which meant 'This place scares me.'
"You're not alone, Pikachu." Said Amanda. "It kind of scares me a bit too."
"I want to find out a bit more about the Pokemon Tower." Said Mark.
"I think Professor Oak should have some insight on that." Said Michelle. They made their way over to the Pokemon Center and dialed the Professor's number. Oak was in the process of studying new types of evolutions when he heard his video phone go off.
"That must be Amanda and her friends." He said and answered the call.
"Hi there, Professor." Said Amanda.
"Hello, Amanda." Said Oak. "I hope you and your friends are doing well."
"We're doing great." Said Michelle.
"How's my Tentacruel doing?" Amanda asked.
"Your Tentacruel is just fine." Said Oak. "It's actually swimming around in the little lake outside right now."
"That's good to hear." Said Amanda.
"Professor, we wanted to ask you about the Pokemon Tower." Said Mark.
"Pokémon Tower? That must mean the three of you are in Lavender Town."
"That's right." Said Michelle.
"The Pokémon Tower is a special place." Said Oak. "Trainers often visit the place to pay respects to Pokémon that have passed away."
"I thought only people could die." Said Michelle.
"No, believe it or not, Pokemon can die too, just like humans." Said Professor Oak. "It doesn't happen terribly often, but when it does, it's often a special moment."
"Eevee?" Eevee squealed, which meant 'I'm a bit confused.'
"You're not the only one who's confused, Eevee." Said Michelle.
"There's also three ghost type Pokemon that reside in the tower." Said Oak. "Gastly, Haunter, and Gengar."
"I think we already saw Gastly when we were coming here." Said Amanda. As if on cue, Gastly suddenly appeared from behind Amanda.
"Ah, so you found one of them already." Said Oak. "This actually leads into the favor I want to ask the three of you."
"Sure thing, Professor." Said Amanda. "What do you want us to do?"
"It's actually more of something that Mr. Fuji wants." Said Oak.
"Who's Mr. Fuji?" asked Michelle.
"He's in charge of the tower as well as the caretaker for Gastly, Haunter and Gengar." Said Oak. "He called me right before the three of you arrived and told me that the ghost Pokemon have been feeling a bit lonely because there haven't been any trainers visiting the tower lately. He wants you to find them and be their friend."
"That shouldn't be a problem, Professor." Said Amanda. "After all, I do like to make friends with a lot of Pokemon."
"Then I can trust you and your friends with this request?" Oak said.
"You can count on us for anything, Professor." Said Michelle.
"Good. Now get over there and find the ghost Pokemon." Said Oak, and he ended the call.
"You heard him, guys." Said Amanda. They were about to head out when Nurse Joy stopped them.
"If you're going to head to the tower, then I suggest that you take these with you." She said and handed them each a flashlight.
"What are these for?" asked Michelle.
"Those will help you see inside there." Said Joy.
"But if we have these on, the ghost Pokemon will disappear." Said Mark. "We don't want to do that. We want to capture some of them."
"Good luck. Ghost Pokemon are pretty tough to capture." Said Joy. The trio left the center and made their way to the tower. Upon arriving there, they saw just how tall and scary it was.
"Well, this is it." Said Amanda. "Let's find some ghosts."
"Hold on a minute." Said Michelle. "It's still daylight out. Ghosts only appear at night."
"Michelle does have a point." Said Mark. "If we try to go in there right now, chances are that we won't find anything."
"What'll we do until then?" asked Amanda.
"We'll just have to wait until nightfall." Said Mark. So they sat down on the ground and waited.
"I hope those ghosts will be friendly." Said Amanda.
"We'll just have to wait and see." Said Michelle. After an hour had passed, a fierce looking boy approached the trio.
"What are you all doing sitting around like that for?" he asked.
"We're looking to catch a ghost Pokemon, but it's not quite dark enough yet." Said Michelle. The boy broke out in laughter.
"What's so funny?" asked Amanda.
"Nobody has ever been able to catch a ghost Pokemon." Said the boy. "People have tried, only to get spooked and chicken out."
"Well, we're not going to let those ghosts get the best of us." Said Amanda.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu exclaimed, which meant 'That's right!'
"You're wasting your time." Said the boy. "All those ghosts like to do is outsmart people. They'll just do the same thing to you."
"Oh no they won't!" Mark argued.
"And just to show that I'm not fooling around, let's have a little match." Said the boy.
"You're on!" cried Amanda.
"I'll even make this a little interesting." Said the boy. "I'll use just one Pokémon against three of yours."
"Three Pokémon at once against one is a little bit excessive, don't you think?" asked Michelle.
"I don't think you're understanding this right." Said the boy. "It's just one for me and one from all three of you."
"Okay, now that makes more sense." Said Mark.
"I have to warn you, though, the Pokemon that I'm using is pretty strong." Said the boy. He threw his ball and out popped a Fearow. It gave a loud screech, which startled the trio.
"Not only does it look strong, it's also pretty intimidating." Said Mark.
"This Fearow doesn't mess around." Said the boy. "So, which one of you wants to go first?" Amanda gulped nervously but stepped forward.
"I will." She said. "My Pokémon will be Pikachu." The electric mouse ran onto the field ready for action.
"Your electric attacks are super strong against flying types, so this should be a piece of cake."
"Underestimating my Fearow's abilities already, I see." Said the boy. "That mistake will cost you dearly. Fearow, use Drill Peck now!" The big bird flew right toward Pikachu with its sharp beak aimed at its body. However, Pikachu was able to jump to the right and dodge the powerful attack.
"Nice going, Pikachu!" cried Amanda. "Use Thunderbolt!" Pikachu launched its attack, but Fearow flew out of the way to avoid it.
"I told you my Fearow was strong." Said the boy. "Take Down attack!" Fearow spread its wings out and charged at Pikachu so fast that he couldn't react and got hit by the attack.
"Come on, Pikachu, get up!" Amanda cried. Thankfully, Pikachu was able to get back on its feet and stared down at the Fearow.
"I admire your Pikachu's determination." Said the boy. "Too bad it's not going to last much longer. Swift attack!" Fearow shot rainbow-colored stars out of its mouth, but thankfully, the attack didn't do too much damage.
"Try a Quick Attack!" Amanda called. Pikachu raced at Fearow with full speed, but just as it jumped up, the Fearow dodged again.
"No way!" Amanda cried out.
"You ready to give up now?" the boy asked.
"Absolutely not." Said Amanda. "Try another Thunderbolt!" Pikachu unleashed another line of yellow energy, but Fearow used Agility to avoid anything Pikachu tried to send its way.
"This isn't looking good for Pikachu." Said Mark.
"Okay Fearow, time to wrap this up with Hyper Beam." Said the boy. Fearow opened its beak, and a big bright yellow beam came out and hit Pikachu so hard that it fainted upon impact.
"Pikachu." Pikachu said sadly, which meant 'I'm sorry, Amanda.'
"That's okay, buddy. You did your best." Said Amanda.
"That's one of you down." Said the boy. "Who wants to go next?"
"I guess I'll do it." Said Michelle. "Let's do it, Eevee!" Eevee hopped off Michelle's shoulder and looked at Fearow with anger in its eyes.
"Fearow can't attack us right away after that Hyper Beam." Said Michelle. "Eevee, Swift attack now!" Eevee shot the yellow stars at Fearow, who had no choice but to take the hit.
"That's it Eevee." Said Michelle. "Now go for Quick Attack." Eevee ran at Fearow quickly, but Fearow was too quick and moved away to avoid the attack.
"What gives with this thing?" asked Michelle.
"That Fearow has to be at a high level if it's as strong as its trainer says." Said Mark.
"Very good observation skills." Said the boy. "Too bad those skills won't help you. Fearow, Fury Attack!" Fearow used its beak to bombard Eevee with multiple shots.
"Oh no!" Michelle cried.
"Now, go for Sky Attack!" the boy commanded. Fearow started to glow a bright color but didn't do anything.
"An attack like that takes two turns to pull off." Said Michelle. "Eevee, tackle it." Eevee ran hard at Fearow and landed the hit, but it didn't do much damage. Then, with Fearow's glow having disappeared, it used its full speed to strike Eevee and make it faint. Michelle picked up her partner and put Eevee at the side.
"Good try, Eevee." Said Michelle.
"Looks like I'm the last one up." Said Mark and he threw one of his Poke Balls. "Charmander, go!" The small fire lizard instantly appeared.
"Start with Flamethrower." Mark ordered. Charmander shot a line of fire right at Fearow, which used Agility to dodge the flames. This caused Charmander to be a bit more aggressive and fire off its attack as hard as possible. Fearow got a bit too cocky and got hit by the flames, causing it to get burned.
"No!" the boy cried.
"That's it, Charmander!" Mark cried. "We've got this won for sure."
"Not so fast." Said the boy. "Fearow, use Recover." All the burns and previous damage disappeared instantly making Fearow look like nothing had happened to it at all. Mark was in disbelief.
"You have got to be kidding me." He said. Charmander couldn't believe it either.
"Now then, time for Bide." Said the boy. Fearow closed its eyes and focused hard.
"Skull Bash." Mark ordered. Charmander lowered its head and hit Fearow hard with it. Although the damage was major, it wasn't enough to knock Fearow out.
"Unleash the Bide power now!" the boy called. Fearow struck back with a similar attack to what Charmander had used, only it did double the damage, which knocked Charmander out. Mark just shook his head.
"Charmander, return." He Said. Charmander disappeared back into the ball in a blaze of red light.
"And that's a hat trick." Said the boy. "Well, it looks like none of you were able to bear my Fearow. Hopefully, the phrase get good means something to the three of you." The boy recalled his Fearow and went on his way. Pikachu shook its head angrily.
"Pikachu!" he exclaimed, which meant 'I don't like that boy.'
"Neither do I, Pikachu." Said Amanda. "His attitude is just as bad as Gary Oak, maybe a bit worse."
"He's just a bragger who'll get what's coming to him when he least expects it." Said Michelle.
"Eevee?" Eevee squealed, which meant 'He's gone now, though, right?'
"Yes, he's gone." Said Michelle. "I don't think we'll have to worry about him again."
"I sure hope not." Said Mark. They sat down again and continued to wait for night to fall. A few hours later, the sun started to set.
"I guess it's time." Said Amanda. "Are you ready to see some ghosts, Pikachu?"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu cried, which meant 'Let's do this!' They made their way inside the tower and saw how dark it was inside.
"I can't see a thing." Said Michelle.
"I guess it's a good thing Nurse Joy gave us those flashlights then." Said Mark. They turned the flashlights on and everyone felt relieved.
"That's much better." Said Michelle. They started navigating the first floor of the tower but didn't find anything.
"I thought the ghosts would be here for sure." Said Amanda.
"Ghosts can appear anywhere at any time." Said Mark. "Come on, let's keep looking." They went up to the second floor and continued exploring. All three of them walked slowly to make sure nothing came up to them unexpectedly. Sure enough, they found nothing on the second floor, so they went up to the third floor. They had only gone a little way when Pikachu felt his shoulder being tapped.
"Pika?" he wondered, which meant 'What's that?' He turned around and saw a familiar face looking at him.
"Hey, I know you. You're the Gastly we saw earlier." Said Michelle. Gastly brought out two more Pokemon, neither of which the trio had seen before.
"I bet these two are Gastly's evolved forms." Said Mark.
"I think so too, but the Pokedex would know for sure." Said Amanda. She took out her device and pointed it at the two additional Pokemon.
"Haunter, a gas Pokemon and the evolved form of Gastly. Haunter likes to hide in dark places and is afraid of light. If a human or Pokémon gets close to Haunter, it will stalk the victim while floating. Haunter also has the ability to float through walls. Gengar, the Shadow Pokemon. Gengar has the ability to hide perfectly in the shadow of any object, granting it incredible stealth. It can also create illusions and possess people."
"It's nice to meet you, Haunter and Gengar." Said Mark, and he shook their hands.
"You mean you're not afraid of those guys?" Michelle asked.
"Of course not." Said Mark. "I think these two Pokémon are pretty neat."
"Listen, guys, we were told that we're supposed to be friends with you." Said Amanda. "We'll be more than happy to do that, but there's a couple of rules you have to abide by."
"Number one, no scaring us." Said Michelle. "And number two, no playing any pranks. Are we agreed on that?"
"Haunter haunt." Said Haunter, which meant 'We promise.'
"Gengar?" Gengar asked, which meant 'Are we allowed to pick you up and take you for rides through the air?'
"No, you absolutely cannot do that." Said Amanda. "We're just here to have some friendly fun." Gengar understood and led the three friends as well as Gastly and Haunter down a secret corridor.
"Where are you bringing us?" Michelle asked.
"Haunter." Haunter said with a smile, which meant 'It's a surprise.' They soon arrived at a room with an oddly shaped handle. Mark opened the door and was amazed at what he saw.
"I think this might be where Gastly, Haunter and Gengar hang out." He said, and he was right as there were lots of toys to play with.
"Look at this place." Said Michelle. In addition to the toys, there was also a small merry go round, a teeter totter and a swing set.
"There's even a section in here for video games." Said Mark. He immediately hopped onto the Super Nintendo that was hooked up, while Michelle and Amanda went on the swings with the ghost Pokemon pushing them.
"This is fun!" Amanda cried. Haunter and Gengar were very gentle with the girls and didn't push them too hard. Next, they went on the merry go round, and they made sure not to spin too fast, as they would've gotten dizzy otherwise. Meanwhile, Mark was showing Gastly the video game he was playing.
"This is Mario Kart." Mark explained. "The idea is to cross the finish line before your opponent in each race." They tried a two player game, and Mark had no problems. Gastly, however, couldn't get a handle on the controls. Mark just laughed.
"You're going backwards." He said and tried to show Gastly how to go the right direction. However, the ghost type just didn't understand.
"At least I tried." Mark said, shrugging his shoulders. Amanda and Michelle were still spinning on the merry go round, and after an hour later, everyone's stomachs growled.
"I think it's time we had some dinner." Said Michelle.
"What'll we do in terms of eating, though?" asked Amanda. Fortunately, the ghost Pokemon were incredibly good cooks and made the three of them some sausage with potatoes.
"This looks yummy." Said Mark. They took a bite and smiled at the three Pokemon.
"Good job, guys." They all said. After dinner, they all settled in to watch a movie and then went to sleep in the room. The next morning, the trio got ready to leave the tower when they noticed something missing.
"Where are Gastly, Haunter and Gengar?" asked Mark.
"They probably disappeared." Said Amanda. "After all, it is daytime again." The three of them sighed and made their way out of the tower.
"It would've been nice to be able to thank them for the great night we had last night." Said Michelle.
"We could very well see them again." Said Mark. At that exact moment, the three ghost types suddenly appeared behind them, which made them turn around.
"We were just wondering where you guys were." Said Michelle.
"Listen, we wanted to thank you for letting us stay over last night." Said Amanda. "My friends and I had a really wonderful time."
"Haunter haunt." Said Haunter, which meant 'You're welcome.'
"Gastly." Gastly said, which meant 'Hang on a moment.' The three ghost Pokemon consulted together.
"What could they be talking about?" wondered Michelle.
"Beats me." Said Amanda. The three ghost Pokemon finished their conversation and faced the three friends again.
"Gastly, gas." Said Gastly, which meant 'The three of us would like to accompany you on your journey.'
"That's great." Said Amanda.
"All that's left to decide then is which of us gets which Pokemon." Said Mark.
"That's a good point." Said Michelle.
"How about if I take Haunter." Said Amanda.
"I'll take Gastly, then." Said Mark.
"That'll obviously leave me with Gengar." Said Michelle. All three of them took out Poke Balls, and the ghost types happily jumped into them.
"Looks like we all have a new friend now." Said Mark.
"I know Haunter will definitely be a big help for my next gym battle." Said Amanda. The three of them smiled and headed onward down the path.
TO BE CONTINUED
Amanda's Party: Pikachu, Pidgeotto, Squirtle, Dratini, Clefairy, Nidoran Male
Michelle's Party: Eevee, Electabuzz, Doduo, Poliwag, Ponyta, Nidoran Female
Mark's Party: Bulbasaur, Charmander, Diglett, Gastly
Amanda's Spare Pokemon at Oak's Lab: Rattata, Spearow, Magikarp, Butterfree, Zubat, Abra, Tentacruel, Haunter
Michelle's Spare Pokemon in Storage: Gengar