Happy Halloween! I hope everyone's been enjoying their Halloweekend, Halloween day/night, all that fun stuff! And eating some good candy, of course.

Since it is Halloween, that calls for the annual Halloween one shot! And this year, I decided to do something a little different, something that is always very requested: older Aiden, Michelle, and Elizabeth!

Aiden and Michelle: 13 and a half years old

Elizabeth: 8 years old


More Tricks than Treats

Elizabeth, who was sitting at the kitchen table trying to do homework, jumped when a large box was dropped in front of her. It had been courtesy of her older brother, and the girl was none too pleased about it.

"Aiden!" She hissed, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Ready to go trick or treating?" Aiden asked, ignoring the fact his sister was obviously annoyed.

"Aren't you kinda old for that?" Elizabeth scoffed as she glanced back down at her notebook.

Aiden scowled at the comment. "You're never too old to go trick or treating!"

"Yeah, that's what Daddy always says, but he's definitely too old," Elizabeth sighed, shaking her head.

"If he's too old, how come people still give him candy?" Aiden challenged.

"Easy: because he's the Pokémon Master," Elizabeth replied, shrugging her shoulders as she quickly looked up at her brother. "You can't have the Pokémon Master come to your house and then not give him candy. But it's still embarrassing."

"You know what's embarrassing?" Aiden asked before snatching Elizabeth's notebook off the table. "Doing homework on Halloween."

"Hey!" Elizabeth cried, jumping up. "Give that back!"

"Lizzie, don't turn into a nerd like Michelle," Aiden practically pleaded. "I'd like to have at least one sister who's kind of cool."

Elizabeth blinked. "You think I'm cool?"

"I said kind of," Aiden corrected.

"I'm almost finished anyway," Elizabeth reasoned with him, holding her hand out. "Just give it back so I can do the last question."

"Do you like doing homework?" Aiden pressed, not willing to give the notebook back so easily.

"No," Elizabeth quickly refuted, scrunching up her nose. "Who likes doing homework?"

"Michelle," Aiden answered shortly, handing the notebook back to Elizabeth. "That's why she's a nerd."

Elizabeth thought it over for a moment before agreeing, "Yeah, that's kind of nerdy."

Aiden pumped a fist before idly commenting, "I knew you were pretty cool!"

"Well one of us has to be," Elizabeth chirped, sitting back down.

Aiden snickered before slowing down to think. "Wait…you mean between you and Michelle, right?"

"No, I meant you too," Elizabeth giggled, causing Aiden's sour look to return.

"Okay, who's ready to go trick or treating?"

Elizabeth sighed as her father came running into the kitchen, obviously overflowing with excitement.

"I already asked Elizabeth, but she's being weird and doing homework," Aiden scoffed.

"You're doing homework on Halloween?" Ash asked his youngest child, raising an eyebrow. "What kind of teacher gives out homework on Halloween?"

"Pi," Pikachu agreed from his trainer's shoulder.

"It's just a little bit!" Elizabeth whined. "And no, I don't like homework! So don't ask!"

"Okay, I won't," Ash chuckled, ruffling the girl's hair. He suddenly noticed the box on the table and walked up to it, slowly sifting through its contents. Pikachu jumped onto the table and stood on his hind legs in order to get his own peek inside. "What's this stuff?"

"It's for trick or treating," Aiden cheerfully replied.

"Why do you need all of this for trick or treating?" Ash questioned.

"For the trick part, duh!" Aiden laughed.

Ash's eyes widened. "Your mother didn't see this box, did she?"

"No, why?"

"Good," Ash sighed out of relief. "She hates the trick part. Probably because I'm always tricking her, whether it's Halloween or not. That's why she's not so big on Halloween. At least not the tricks. She's always loved taking you guys trick or treating! But…for the treat part."

"You guys talk too much," Elizabeth noted, finally flipping her notebook closed.

"That's real funny coming from you," Aiden lightly teased. "You love to talk!"

"Yeah, but I say interesting stuff," Elizabeth calmly argued, standing up and pushing her chair away. "I'm going to put on my costume!"

"What're you being this year, pumpkin?" Ash asked sweetly.

Elizabeth beamed at the inquiry. "The White Swanna!"

Aiden, however, was not impressed. "Uh…all Swanna are white."

"The White Swanna is from Swanna Lake," Elizabeth droned.

Aiden still wasn't getting it. "And that's…?"

"A super famous ballet!" Elizabeth practically shrieked before rolling her eyes. "You really don't know anything, do you?"

"Elizabeth, that isn't nice," Ash warned his daughter.

"But it's true," Elizabeth murmured, fluttering her eyelashes at him.

"Nice try, but no matter how cute you are, that still wasn't nice," Ash stood his ground. "Say you're sorry."

"Fine," Elizabeth huffed, turning towards her brother. "I'm sorry." She then turned back towards her father. "Can I go put on my costume now?"

Ash smirked and nodded. "Yeah, go ahead."

Elizabeth smiled and called, "Pikachu! Wanna help me get ready?"

The mouse poked his head out from inside the box, now sporting some fake cobweb around his ears. Elizabeth giggled at the sight and held her arms out for the electric type, who quickly jumped into her waiting embrace. Elizabeth spun around on her toes and made a run for the stairs, disappearing from the sight of her father and brother rather quickly.

"So who do you plan on tricking?" Ash asked, turning back towards the box and plucking out a rubber Zubat.

"Whoever I can," Aiden nonchalantly replied. "I figure whichever poor sucker walks into whatever trap I set probably deserves it."

"You know, if your mom didn't hate tricks so much, I'd say you sound just like her," Ash snickered.

"Why does Aiden sound like me?"

Ash and Aiden both gasped; Ash chucking the rubber Zubat back in the box as Aiden grabbed it and hastily threw it underneath the kitchen table. Misty suddenly appeared in the doorway, her eyebrow slightly raised. She seemed happy, however, which implied that she hadn't seen the box or heard any of Ash and Aiden's prior conversation.

"No real reason," Ash chuckled. "Just makes me think of you."

"Aw, that's sweet," Misty giggled. She looked her son up and down, and frowned when she realized something was missing. "Aiden, where's your costume?"

"I'm already in it!" Aiden declared. "I'm going as myself!"

Misty rolled her eyes. "Don't be one of those kids, Aiden. If you're going to go trick or treating without a costume, then maybe you shouldn't be going."

"But Dad never dresses up and he goes!" Aiden cried. "And people have no problem giving him candy!"

"That's because he's the Pokémon Master," Misty sighed. "You can't have the Pokémon Master come to your house and not give him candy. Doesn't make it any less embarrassing, though."

Aiden twisted his mouth and rolled his eyes up to the ceiling, trying to figure out why that answer sounded so familiar.

"Hey, it's not embarrassing!" Ash retorted. "I just really like Halloween, that's all! Besides, you should be grateful. I always share my candy with you."

Misty smirked and shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, good point."

"Okay, I'm ready!"

Aiden, Ash, and Misty looked towards the stairs, and found Elizabeth scurrying down them with Pikachu at her feet. When she reached the doorway and became fully visible, so did her costume: a white leotard and tutu adorned by feathers and rhinestones, with white feathers also wrapped around her upper arms and placed across her back. She had tied her dark red hair up into a bun, decorated with a sparkly tiara and white feathers clipped onto the sides of her head.

"Oh, sweetie, you look so beautiful!" Misty fussed, clasping her hands together.

"Yeah, that's an awesome costume!" Ash agreed. "I bet everyone will think you're the real White Swanna!"

"Thanks!" Elizabeth giggled. "Wait until you see Michelle!"

Misty blinked. "Michelle?"

"Mmhm!"

"I didn't think Michelle was coming with us," Misty admitted. "She said she wasn't interested."

"Yeah, but I didn't want her to stay here without us!" Elizabeth chirped. "So I convinced her to come!"

"No she didn't. She made me."

Elizabeth laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her neck as Michelle slowly descended the stairs, looking and sounding less than pleased. She was dressed almost identically to Elizabeth, except her costume was black instead of white.

"You two have matching costumes, that's adorable!" Misty squealed, her eyes sparkling. "I have to take pictures!"

"No, please don't," Michelle groaned, slumping her shoulders. There was no getting out of it, however, as Misty had already gotten a hold of her phone. Aiden snickered, earning a vicious glare from his twin sister.

"Michelle, you shouldn't be embarrassed," Ash assured his older daughter with a smile. "You look really pretty! And you're doing something nice for your little sister."

"Yeah!" Elizabeth agreed, grabbing her sister's hand. "That's why you're my favorite, Shelly!"

Michelle perked up at the title, while Aiden stopped snickering. "Really? Your favorite?"

Elizabeth grinned and nodded her head.

"Well, I guess I can live with being dressed like this for a little while," Michelle conceded, finally offering her mother a noticeable smile.

"Aw, that's my girls!" Misty giggled, snapping another picture of the two.

As she lowered her phone, Elizabeth glanced over at Aiden, and shot him her own sneaky smile. "Aiden, what're you dressing up as?"

"Nothing," Aiden scoffed, obviously still annoyed by Elizabeth's declaration that Michelle was her favorite sibling. "I may not be too old for trick or treating, but I'm definitely too old to be dressing up."

"That doesn't make any sense," Michelle muttered, narrowing her eyes.

Elizabeth, however, simply bent her lips into a frown. "You can't go out without a costume!"

"Sure I can," Aiden replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"Aiden, it is going to look a bit silly when both Michelle and Elizabeth are dressed up," Misty reasoned with her son.

"And Pikachu," Michelle added, pointing towards the mouse. He was wearing a pointy, witch-like hat that flopped over on one side.

"He's the evil sorcerer who turns me into a Swanna," Elizabeth giggled.

"Pi-ka!" Pikachu playfully growled, trying to stress his role.

"Nah, I'll be fine," Aiden refuted, waving a hand to shake off the idea.

Michelle and Elizabeth exchanged glances before looking towards their father, both of them frowning. Ash's breath caught as soon as he saw them, and he slowly turned his attention onto Aiden. "Buddy, come on. It's only for a few hours. Why don't you just join in on the fun?"

"Because it's not fun," Aiden deadpanned.

Ash sighed. He knew he didn't have a choice. Stepping forward, he leaned over to be closer to his son's ear and whispered, "Aiden, if you do this for your sisters, I'll help you pull off one of the greatest tricks ever."

Aiden raised an eyebrow, seemingly interested in the proposition. "Really?"

"Yeah," Ash assured him. "And all you have to do is wear a costume for a little while. Deal?"

Aiden thought about it for a moment before breaking out into a toothy grin. "Deal!"

"Yay!" Elizabeth cheered. "I have the perfect costume for you, Aiden!"

"Great!" Aiden cheered. "Bring it on!"

XXX

"I should've never agreed to this."

Michelle slapped a hand over her mouth to try and muffle her laughter, while Elizabeth circled her brother with a look of admiration.

"Why? You look so good!" Elizabeth squeaked. "I bet you could even find a girlfriend dressed like that!"

Aiden's face actually managed to turn redder. Since Elizabeth was fully committed to the Swanna Lake theme, she had given Aiden a prince costume, complete with a jeweled crown and a bright red jacket trimmed in gold.

"Aiden's already got a girlfriend," Michelle teased. "But we could send her some pictures…"

"I do not have a girlfriend!" Aiden bit, his hands balling up into fists at his sides. "And you're not sending pictures to anybody!"

The sound of a camera snapping went off, and Aiden whipped around with fury in his eyes. Misty's phone was back in her hands, but as soon as she saw Aiden was now facing her, she grinned sheepishly and lowered the phone.

"Sorry, I just can't help myself!" Misty giggled. "You look so handsome! Your grandmother is going to love this!"

"Which one?" Aiden grumbled.

"Um…both of them," Misty replied, realizing that was actually the correct response.

"Let's just get this over with," Aiden grumbled.

"I thought you were excited to go trick or treating!" Elizabeth cried.

"Yeah, just to get candy," Aiden scoffed, holding his pillowcase out for emphasis. "I didn't think I'd be all dressed up like this! Now it's just humiliating."

"You know, you used to love wearing a costume," Misty sighed as she reminisced. "Your favorite was when you dressed up like your father."

"Heh, that was my favorite too," Ash chuckled at the memory.

"Yeah, well, I'm a little too old for costumes now," Aiden refuted, his cheeks turning pink.

"But you're not too old to go trick or treating?" Michelle questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"No, I'm not!" Aiden groaned. "Come on. We're wasting precious time!"

And with that, the boy stomped off, still annoyed by the whole situation. Michelle and Elizabeth simply giggled at their brother's misery, which caught their mother's attention.

"You two really had to aggravate your brother like that, huh?" She questioned.

"It's not our fault Aiden gets bothered so easily," Michelle nonchalantly replied. "Want to catch up with him, Lizzie? Before he takes every piece of candy from every single house."

"Yeah!" Elizabeth chirped. "Let's go!"

The two girls ran off in the same direction as their brother, managing to catch up with him quite easily. Misty wasn't concerned about staying too close; Aiden and Michelle were older and experienced Pokémon trainers used to traveling on their own at this point, after all. She knew Elizabeth was in good hands with them. But she started to head that way as well, albeit much more slowly. Ash walked alongside her, Pikachu having hopped up on his shoulder in the meantime.

"They sure are funny," Ash chuckled, casting a glance over at his wife.

"They get it from their parents," Misty teased with a smirk.

"Hey, that's a nice compliment!" Ash crowed.

"I can give those every once in a while," Misty confirmed. "Anyway, I think this is really nice: not having to chase after the kids from house-to-house. They're all old enough now that we can give them some space!"

"I kind of miss the chasing," Ash admitted.

"You would," Misty sighed, though she was still smiling.

"I just think it was really nice of Aiden and Michelle to come home so they could be here for Elizabeth on Halloween," Ash continued, watching as the kids ran up to their first house and rang the bell. "Although they might be regretting it at this point."

"Aiden more so than Michelle," Misty snickered. "He's a tough boy, but it's never easy when Michelle and Elizabeth team up. And the older they get, the more they seem to do it."

"You're telling me," Ash muttered. "I always fall for their little tricks!"

"You mean like before?" Misty questioned, raising an eyebrow. "The whole reason Aiden had to wear a costume?"

"Yeah, but it's fine, I convinced him," Ash replied, his eyes widening when he realized he'd said a bit too much.

"Convinced him?" Misty repeated, sounding cautiously curious. "How?"

"It was no big deal," Ash refuted, trying his best not to get flustered. Misty couldn't know about his promise to help Aiden pull off a wild trick! "Just with some…candy. I told him I'd share my candy with him."

Misty didn't seem convinced, but she dropped the conversation, which was enough to ease Ash's mind.

"Man, that house was great!"

Ash and Misty both turned their heads to see their son and daughters walking back towards them, although Aiden was the one who seemed particularly pleased.

"They had full-sized candy bars," Aiden continued, holding one up for emphasis.

"The rich always have the best Halloween candy," Ash sighed knowingly.

"Ash!" Misty hissed.

"What?" Ash innocently asked. "It's true."

"I even got an extra one just for you, Dad!" Aiden added, handing another bar over to his father.

"Yes!" Ash cheered, accepting the candy. "Thanks, champ!"

"We're gonna head to the next house," Michelle announced, nodding her head to the side.

"Yeah, I bet there are more full-size candy bars all down this street!" Elizabeth cheered, pointing in the same direction Michelle had just nodded towards.

"Mmm, I might have to join this time…" Ash mused, rubbing his chin.

Misty smirked and rolled her eyes. "You're ridiculous."

"Misty, anybody at any age can appreciate free, full-sized candy bars," Ash reasoned with her.

"Of course, my mistake," Misty droned. "Go ahead. I'll take up the rear."

"Let's go!" Elizabeth shouted, taking a running start. Michelle followed suit, but Ash and Aiden followed behind at a slower pace.

"So, what's this 'greatest trick ever' you promised to help me with?" Aiden asked, dropping his voice low so Misty wouldn't overhear him.

Ash quickly glanced from side-to-side before replying, "It's one that I used to pull all the time as a kid. Did you bring that rubber Zubat with you?"

"Yeah, it's in my pillowcase," Aiden confirmed.

"And the invisible string and powder bomb?"

Aiden furrowed his brow "I have all of it. I just don't get what it's for."

"Well, I'll show you," Ash chuckled slyly. "But first we have to find a good spot to hide out and pull it off from."

"Which would be fine if we weren't surrounded by everyone else," Aiden grumbled, nodding towards his sisters and mother. "How are we supposed to get away from them?"

Ash smirked at his son's inquiry. "You've still got a lot to learn about pulling off high quality tricks, champ. Watch."

He backtracked until he was back at pace with Misty, who seemed confused by his sudden move.

"May I help you?" She teased.

"Aiden and I just overheard some kids talking about a house up ahead that's giving out giant bags of candy," Ash smoothly replied. "You okay with us going over to check it out?"

"Yeah, you don't have to ask me for permission," Misty snickered. "You are an adult, you know."

"I do, but I like to check with you first," Ash purred, winking at her.

"Aw, aren't you the sweetest?" Misty crooned, giving him a quick kiss on the lips.

"Hey! Quit making out! There's too many kids around!"

Misty raised an eyebrow and turned her head to shoot her youngest daughter, the source of that protest, an icy look. "Kids like you?"

"Yeah," Elizabeth coolly confirmed.

Misty sighed and refocused on Ash. "You and Aiden head over to that other house. I'll stay with the girls. And try not to lose patience with our precious youngest daughter."

"I have faith in you," Ash chuckled, patting his wife's shoulder before calling to Aiden, "come on, champ! Let's go check out that house!"

Aiden robotically nodded his head and followed after his father. The two hurried along the sidewalk, moving at a brisk but even pace. For a moment, Aiden thought his father really was taking him to a house, but that was settled as soon as Ash motioned towards a large oak tree standing at the corner.

"A tree?" Aiden questioned.

"Chu?" Pikachu added.

"This one is perfect," Ash muttered, nodding his head. "Alright, let's hide behind the trunk. Make sure no one sees us!"

Aiden looked around before slinking after his father, squaring up his shoulders to make himself as slim as possible. It wasn't all that hard, considering Aiden was already a relatively thin and average heighted boy, but he didn't want to get caught before he and his dad could pull off this "really cool" prank.

"Now what?" Aiden asked, keeping his voice low.

"Take the invisible string and tie it around the rubber Zubat," Ash instructed. "Then we'll throw it over one of the branches. But don't hang it low enough so anyone can see it. Keep it hidden in the leaves."

Aiden grabbed the string and looped it around the middle of the Zubat, tying it good and tight so the fake Pokémon wouldn't slip out. Once he was sure it was secure, he tossed it over the lowest tree limb, but made sure to keep his arms rigid so it wouldn't slide down too low and make itself visible.

"Great," Ash complimented his son. "Now all we have to do is wait for someone to come by. Once they get close enough to the tree, I'll throw the powder bomb to confuse them, and then you can lower the rubber Zubat so that's the first thing they see once the smoke clears."

"Can I swing it around so it looks like it's flying?" Aiden breathed excitedly.

"Of course, that's the best way to do it!" Ash chuckled.

Aiden grinned and peered slyly around the tree. "Oh! Some people are coming!"

"Great!" Ash cheered. "Oh, wait…they're not really little kids, are they? I may like playing tricks, but I'm not a jerk."

"Nah, they're bigger kids," Aiden refuted.

"That's okay, they probably won't get too scared," Ash decided. "Are they close enough for me to throw the powder bomb?"

"Almost…almost…now!"

Ash quickly threw his arm back and tossed the small ball of packed white powder. It evidently hit the sidewalk and burst, causing his and Aiden's victims to shriek loudly. Aiden lowered the Zubat and watched intently as the powder began to clear. Once it did, he could see the rubber Pokémon was perfectly positioned only inches away from the kids, which caused them to scream even louder and grab onto one another out of fear.

"That was so cool!" Aiden laughed wildly.

"Told you it was a good one!" Ash crowed, laughing just as much as his son.

"Michelle! Elizabeth! Are you both ok-ZUBAT!"

Ash and Aiden quickly stopped laughing. Pikachu, who hadn't been laughing in the first place, suddenly looked very nervous.

"Pi-ka…"

"Um…that didn't sound good…" Aiden stammered.

Ash groaned and jumped up, stepping out from behind the tree. Indeed, Michelle and Elizabeth were cowering together, Misty not far behind them.

"Guys, it's alright!" Ash assured them, making lowering motions with his hands. "It's not a real Zubat!"

"What?!" Misty squealed, throwing her arms down. "How do you know…wait a second, did you just come out from behind that tree?!"

"Uh…yeah…" Ash sheepishly admitted.

"Daddy, you pulled a trick on us?!" Elizabeth yelled.

"I didn't realize it was you guys!" Ash cried.

"You shouldn't be pulling tricks on anybody!" Misty stormed. "You're a grown man, Ash!"

"I can still like tricks…" Ash murmured, poking his fingers together.

"You are impossible," Misty growled. "You told me that you and Aiden were going ahead to another house! You totally lied to me! And where is he?"

"Um…he's uh-"

"He's still behind the tree, isn't he?" Michelle deadpanned.

Before Ash could answer, Elizabeth stomped forward and smacked the rubber Zubat out of her way, peering around the tree trunk.

"You're a jerk!" Elizabeth screamed.

"Yeah, he's behind the tree," Michelle sighed.

"Aiden, get out from behind there!" Misty ordered.

Aiden quickly reappeared, his eyes set wide and his face pale. Misty, however, immediately turned her attention back onto Ash.

"You are such a bad influence," she sighed.

"Come on, Mist, we were just having a little fun!" Ash cried.

"It's not fun to scare people," Elizabeth argued.

"Elizabeth, you scare people all the time," Aiden reminded his younger sister.

"Yeah, but not like that," Elizabeth scoffed. "That fake Zubat is creepy!"

"Did you do this because Elizabeth made you dress up?" Michelle questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Kind of, yeah," Aiden admitted. He saw no point in lying. "Lizzie may think this dumb group costume thing is fun, but I happen to think pulling tricks is fun."

"So you did this for revenge," Michelle concluded.

"Revenge is such an ugly word," Aiden sighed, shaking his head.

"Alright, how about we just drop this?" Ash decided. "Aiden got to have his fun, and it really wasn't that bad. Now we can keep on trick or treating…without the trick part."

"We can drop this for now," Misty corrected. "You two aren't off the hook for this little stunt."

"Misty…"

"Do you want to get any more candy this Halloween, Ash?"

The Pokémon Master grimaced and let out a short puff of air. "Yes."

Elizabeth giggled at the interaction, while Pikachu rolled his beady black eyes and Aiden and Michelle silently furrowed their brows.

"Then pick up the pace," Misty commanded. "And I'll deal with you and Aiden when we get home."

"Alright kids, you heard your mother," Ash announced, clapping his hands together. "Let's go!"

He ran ahead of the rest of the family, leaving them behind in a bewildered state.

"Dad really does love Halloween," Michelle noted.

"Just for the candy and the tricking, though," Elizabeth added.

"Well yeah, those are the best parts," Aiden stressed.

"Not the tricking," Misty patiently reminded her son.

"I think it is!" Aiden cried.

"Do you want more candy, Aiden?"

The boy grumbled and tightened his hands into fists at his sides. "Yeah, yeah, I'm going."


I hope you all enjoyed this year's Halloween installment!

I'll see everyone again tomorrow for the start of Pokeshipping Week!