Olga led everyone outside of the trees, and she could see a series of buildings made out of stone, but many others were made of wood. There were even some hut-like structures. She smiled and looked back and said, "Look, guys! We're here! Welcome to my home of Esterfall City!"
It took a long time, but at long last, our heroes have arrived in Esterfall City!
"This is Esterfall City?" said Ash. It's smaller than I thought it would be."
"That's 'cause this this is a place built by the ancient Ralians centuries ago," said Olga. "We built this place to remain in harmony with this land."
"We?" said Serena.
"That's right," said Olga. "My family is actually descended from the ancient Ralians."
"Whoa, that's so cool!" said Ash.
"Yeah," said Olga. "My grandmother is actually like a village elder around here."
"What?" said Vernon. "I thought you said your grandmother was Gym Leader."
"She is," said Olga. "Gym Leader is a position that comes with being village leader. Come on, guys! Why don't we go meet her right now?"
The group made their way into the Gym building. It was a big place, but it was pitch-black. "Uh, how are we supposed to get around in here?" said Vernon.
"Relax, this is part of the Gym's Test," said Olga. She suddenly saw a bright light coming towards them. "And here's a friend to show us the way."
The light got close enough to reveal it was a Lampent. "Hi, Lampent," said Olga. "Can you show us the way to Grandmother?"
Lampent nodded and began leading the group down some halls, like a maze, lighting the way. Eventually, they found their way into a small room, were a tall, elderly woman was sitting. She was facing away from them, so Olga called out to her. "Grandmother! It's me, Olga!"
"Shhh!" said the old woman. "I'm a little busy."
"Grr, Grandma!" said Olga. She tried walking in front of her, but her grandmother's eyes were closed.
"What is she doing?" said Ash.
"Looks like she's trying to meditate," said Olga.
"Do you children mind?" said Olga's grandmother. "I am trying to speak with the spirits."
"Speak with the spirits?" said Ash. "What are you talking about?"
Olga's grandmother, however didn't respond. She just sat there with her eyes closed.
"Sorry, guys," said Olga. "Um, this is my grandmother, Mona. The leader of Esterfall City and its Gym."
"Okay," said Ash. "But seriously, what is she doing?"
"Well, around here in Esterfall City," explained Olga, "we're able to commune with the spirits of the forest nearby."
"A forest?" said Serena.
"Yeah," said Olga. "Grandmother told me about how spiritual beings penetrate the physical world around us. And nearby this city is Forest Tombs, where we bury the deceased. But that forest was a place that spiritual beings built, becoming physical features of the land. But the spirits like to communicate with us by taking the forms of Pokémon, but mostly by infiltrating our dreams." She looked back at her grandmother and said, "Looks like right now, Grandmother is trying to meditate and enter a dreamlike state to communicate with the spirits."
"Oh really?" said Ash.
Suddenly, Mona's eyes burst open. "What's wrong, Grandmother?" said Olga.
"There is something going wrong in the Forest Tombs," said Mona, as she rose from the ground.
Who's that Pokémon?
It claims an entire mountain as its own territory. It mercilessly beats up anything that violates its environment. This Pokémon vigilantly patrols its territory.
Later, everyone was sitting around at a table, with Mona sitting at the front. "Last night, I had a mysterious dream," said Mona, "where the spirits were trying to warn me about something. I saw a vision of a group of people confronting our city, trying to tear it down, but I couldn't quite understand what it all meant. But when I was meditating just now, the spirits informed me that something wrong is happening in the Forest Tombs."
"Really?" said Ash. "Just what do you think it could be?"
"I have no idea," said Mona. "But I believe these visions must have something to do with one another. You see, the Forest Tombs are filled with Ghost Type Pokémon with whom the people of this people have lived in harmony with. However, if anything happens in the Forest Tombs that may disrupt the balance between the physical and spiritual worlds, the Ghost Types might go berserk."
"Oh, boy," said Vernon. "So what are you going to do?"
"I have to go into the Forest Tombs," said Mona. "I need to investigate for something wrong."
"We can go with you, Grandmother," said Olga.
"No, you children should stay here," said Mona.
"Come on, you can't go by yourself," said Olga. "We can help you."
"Olga is right," said Serena. "You can't just go in there alone."
Mona looked at them, and she sighed and said, "Okay, fine. But you all need to stick with me and do exactly as I say at all times. Understand?"
"Yes, ma'am!" said Olga.
It's Aggron!
The group trudged deep into the forest. There were tall trees on all sides, so tall they blotted out most of the light. Thus, the forest was bathed in eerie darkness. Mona was leading the way, but had RotomDex floating in front of her, using its flashlight.
"It's a little spooky around here," said Vernon.
"I know," said Mona. "Just stay close to me. And if you see any Ghost-Types, just stay away from them."
Suddenly, Ash noticed something. It was a big stone formation, and curious, he and Pikachu slipped away to go check it out.
However, Olga saw him do this and followed after him. "What are you doing?"
"Relax, I just wanna check this out," said Ash. He looked at the stone formation, but he couldn't see anything, so he looked down at Pikachu and said, "Can you give us some light here, buddy?"
Pikachu nodded and lit up its cheeks. The light allowed Ash and Olga to see something carved in the stone: "Mia and Marcus, Gone But Not Forgotten. May They Live On In The Spirit World."
"Huh? Is this some sort of grave?" said Ash.
"Yeah," said Olga. "And it belongs to my parents."
"What?" said Ash. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Olga, I-"
"It's alright," said Olga. "It was a long time ago."
"What happened to them?" said Ash.
"It was a nasty accident," said Olga. Looking the stone up and down, she said, "You know, my grandmother said that the spirits can create formations like this in the land. She said they were the ones who'd create proper headstones like this when we bury our lost ones."
"Really? Whoa," said Ash, looking at the stone in awe.
"You know, when they were alive," said Olga, "all I wanted to do was make them proud. I just want to make my whole family proud. Grandmother and I are each other's only family, but even so, I'm gonna make her proud too. I'm going to follow in her footsteps, be just like her."
Suddenly, Ash saw some purple mist floating behind the stone. Out of the mist came a Gastly and a Haunter. They looked at Ash and Olga with angry eyes, and let out some angry growls.
"Oh, boy, Olga, we got company!" said Ash, backing up from the stone.
Olga saw the ghosts and said, "Oh boy! Leave them to me, Ash!" She threw her PokéBall and out came Froslass. "Froslass, use Ice Shard!" Froslass gathered some ice shards between its hand and threw them at the Haunter.
"Great! Now use Shadow Ball!" Froslass created a small orb of purple energy before throwing it at the Gastly.
"Whoa! Nice job, Olga!" said Ash.
Suddenly, though, the purple mist returned, and out of it came every Ghost Type you could think of: Drifblims, Yamasks, Misdreavus, you name it. And they all looked at Olga with furious eyes.
"Kids, what are you doing!?" came Mona's voice. Ash and Olga turned to see Mona running over to them with the others. Mona threw a PokéBall and out came a strange Pokémon. It looked like a mirror, but it had a spooky looking face behind its glass.
"Reflectre!" said Mona. "Use Teleport!"
The Pokémon emitted a bright white light, and just like that, all the humans and their Pokémon were gone.
The group arrived in a separate part of the forest with a flash of light. "Whew, that was close," said Mona.
"Man, what kind of Pokémon is this?" said Ash.
RotomDex scanned Mona's Pokémon and said, "Reflectre. The Mirror Pokémon. A Normal and Ghost Type. Reflectre comes to be when a spirit possesses a mirror. However, if the glass on the mirror is broken, the spirit's energy pours out, resulting in a nasty curse. Does not evolve."
"Olga, just what were you thinking!?" said Mona as she and Olga recalled their Pokémon.
"What are you talking about?" said Olga. "I was just trying to protect Ash."
"I told before, Olga, we must never engage in a fight with the spirits of the forest!" said Mona. "They are the forest's protectors, which means if we do anything to attack them, they will try to eliminate us!"
"But-"
"I told everyone, when you see a Ghost Type, you need to just walk away. Those ghosts were just trying to give you a warning, but you didn't listen!"
"I was only trying to help," said Olga.
"You can help by listening to me for a change!" said Mona.
Olga looked down, refusing to look her grandmother in the eye. Suddenly, though, she ran off.
"Olga? Olga! Where are you going!?" said Serena.
"Get back here!" said Mona. "It's not safe to run off alone!"
The entire group ran off after her, but unbeknownst to them, they were being watched. The silhouette of a man peeked from behind a tree, before suddenly, he pulled out a device and said into, "Hey, Zento, we got company in here."
The group was desperately searching the forest, but they couldn't find any sign of Olga anywhere. "Grr, where could that child have gotten to?" said Mona. "I don't believe this, how could she run off like that?"
"Well, if I may, ma'am," said Vernon, "you kind of scared her off."
"Scared her off?" said Mona. "When I find her, I'll give her something to be scared of."
"Ms. Mona, please," said Ash. "Don't be too hard on her. I was the one who was sticking his nose where it didn't belong."
"Pika pika," Pikachu nodded.
"It still wouldn't have happened if she would just listen to me for once," said Mona.
"Ms. Mona, please, she's trying her best," said RotomDex. "You just need to be patient with her."
Mona sighed and said, "I just don't understand why she's always doing things like this. She's always getting herself into trouble, it seems. Trying to act like she knows better than I do."
"Look, she wants to make you proud," said Ash. "She told me able how she wants to follow in your footsteps, and be just like you. I guess she just gets overeager."
"Still, yelling at her won't make her want to listen more," said Serena. "You gotta try to help her, and be more gentle when you do."
Mona sighed, as she thought about this. Was she too hard on Olga? She just wanted her to stop getting into trouble, but was Olga really just trying to make her proud?
Suddenly, though, she heard something. She could hear a bunch of people talking, but it seemed to be pretty far away. "Kids, I think I hear something. Come on."
The group peered through the foliage and gasped when they saw a group of men digging around a giant rock formation. But of course, they weren't just any men. They were wearing top hats and black suits. They were Team Shade grunts.
"Team Shade?!" said Ash. "Just what are they doing here?"
"What are they think they're doing digging up that formation?" said Mona. "That thing is scared!"
"What do you mean?" said Serena.
Before Mona could answer, they suddenly heard a voice. "Well, well, what do we have here?" The group turned around to see a tall man with long silver hair, who had an earpiece and a gray suit. "I'm afraid you folks are trespassing in our work."
"Trespassing?" said Mona. "You're the ones who are trespassing!"
Suddenly, the group saw a bunch of Team Shade grunts surrounding them. "We're going to have to ask you to leave," said the silver-haired man.
"Just who do you think you are?" said Mona.
"The name's Zento. I'm one of Team Shade's greatest admins. And I'm afraid we can't let you inferfere with our mission here."
"Mission? What're you talking about?" said Ash before he looked at the rock formation. "Just what are you guys trying to dig up over there."
"We have no need to explain ourselves to you, pest," said Zento. He pulled out a PokéBall and threw it, and out came a Pokémon that looked like a Dunsparce, but it had a much longer body, larger wings, and it was coiled like a serpent.
"Who's that Pokémon?" said Ash.
RotomDex scanned it and said, "Dunserpent. The Land Snake Pokémon. A Normal and Bug Type. This Pokémon is constantly digging underground to avoid being seen, but if it is seen, it will fight fiercely with the drill on its tail. Evolves from Dunsparce when traded while holding a King's Rock."
All the other grunts threw out their own Pokémon, Stunkys, Zubats, Primeapes, and Gothitas. The group growled as they readied their own PokéBalls, but suddenly, Dunserpent wrapped its long body around Mona.
"Now, now," said Zento. "You kids wouldn't want anything bad to happen the old lady, would you? You can't, so why don't you just drop your PokéBalls?"
The kids all growled, but suddenly, Mona was able to reach one of the PokéBalls on her belt. Unfortunately, Zento caught her and tried grabbing her belt to rip it off her, but Mona was able to get the PokéBall out to be opened.
Reflectre came out and landed beside the kids. "Reflectre, get them out of here now!"
"Huh? Ms. Mona!" said Vernon.
"Now!" said Mona. Despite seeing its Trainer in trouble, Reflectre did as it was told and Teleported everyone away. Zento growled as he saw them disappear, but looked back at Mona. "Enough. We need toget back to work. If thise kids come back, i bet the old woman will come in handy."
Olga was sitting by herself, alone in the forest, laying against a tree. Her eyes were closed, and she kept thinking about her grandmother's words.
"Fros?" Olga opened her eyes to see Froslass, having freed itself from its PokéBall, now floating in front of her.
"Grandmother's right, Froslass," said Olga. "I can never do anything right. I have no idea what I'm doing."
Suddenly, she heard a coo. She looked up and was surprised to see three silhouette in the sky. Tgey flew down and revealed themselves to be Humflora, Lunoth, and Umbat. The three Pokémon cheered when they saw her, as their Trainers then came in.
"Olga!" Ash said. "We finally found you!"
"It's terrible, Olga!" said Serena. "Your grandma, she's been captured!"
"What? Captured?!" said Olga. "By who?"
"Team Shade," said Vernon. "A bunch of people obsessed with hurting Pokémon. We found tgem trying to dig for something beneath a rock formation, but they caught us and took your grandma captive!"
"What? No way!" Olga stood up before she suddenly punched the tree in anger.
"It's okay, Olga," said Ash. "We can-"
"No, it's not okay," said Olga. "It's all my fault. Maybe if i just listened to Grandmother, if I hadn't run off, maybe-"
"Hey, come on," said Vernon. "This is not your fault, okay? We're gonna save her, and then we'll send Team Shade packing!"
Olga didn't look at him, but then she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked over to see Froslass, who said, "Fros, Froslass! Froslass!"
Looking into her Pokémon's eyes, she understood. "You're right. Moping like this won't save Grandmother." Taking a deep breath, she looked at the others and said, "We gotta save her. No matter what!"
"That's the spirit, Olga!" Ash said.
However, suddenly, the group saw something. It was the purple mist. It had returned, and it was hovering over their heads. "Oh, boy, more ghosts?" said Serena.
Olga looked at the mist, but she couldn't see any ghosts. It was like the mist was just... watching them. She wondered why, but then, she remembered something her grandmother told her.
"Guys, the spirits in the forest, they're upset because they believe the forest is under threat."
"Huh?" said RotomDex. "What do you mean?"
"These Team Shade guys, they upset the balance. You say they're digging up something under a rock formation? It must be some sort of gravesite."
"Oh, I see," said Vernon. "They know something's wrong, they just don't know what."
Seeing the mist, Olga noticed some eyes coming out of it. Slowly, she had an idea. "Hold on, guys, I'm gonna try something."
"What? Try what?" said Serena.
Olga sat back on the ground and closed her eyes. "It's a meditation my grandmother taught me. I can use it to communicate with the spirits."
"What do you mean?" said Ash.
"It's like putting myself in a dream, like my grandmother did before. They can talk to me in my dreams." Olga kept her eyes closed, and she breathed slowly.
Mona was stuck wrapped up by Dunserpent, as she watched the Team Shade grunts continue to dig. Just being forced to watch it made her blood boil.
"Don't you all see what you're doing?" said Mona. "You people have upset the balance between the living and the dead in this forest."
"What are you babbling about?" said Zento.
"That rock formation, it's a gravesite created by the spirits. By digging it up, you've upset them."
"You mean the Ghost Type Pokémon?" said Zento. "Please! Those creatures will harm and attack and curse anyone who crosses their paths. They don't need some excuse."
"You say you protect people from Pokémon, but you're causing a lot trouble yourselves right now."
"Please, you'd say anything to defend those creatures," said Zento. "I'd burn this whole forest down if it were up to me, just to get rid of those ghosts, but our boss just wants one little thing."
"And just what is it?" said Mona.
Suddenly, a grunt called out, "Zento! We found it!"
Zento walked over to the grunts, and grinned when he saw it: a pile of Key Stones buried in the grave.
"We found it!" he said. "Come on, fellas. Let's take it and go."
"But what about the old lady?" said a grunt.
Zento looked at Mona and said, "She's no further threat to us. Once we're out of here, we can let her go."
Suddenly, though, a swirling purple mist appeared. Through, Team Shade saw dozens of Ghost Type Pokémon appear before them.
"Well, well, well," said Mona. "Do you believe me now?"
"We're not afraid," said Zento. He sent out a Scizor while all the other grunts sent out their own Pokémon.
"You should be," came a voice. Everyone looked over to see Olga and the others showing up. "You guys made a mistake coming here. You wanna threaten this forest? You gotta deal with the spirits."
The Ghost Type Pokémon began battling with the grunts, while Zento found himself battling Olga and Ash, who had Froslass and Pikachu out front.
"Pikachu, use Iron Tail!" Ash said.
"Pika ka!" Pikachu jumped up and brought a metal tail down on Scizor.
"Block it with Metal Claw!" said Zento. Scizor turned its claws silver and blocked the attack.
"Not so fast!" said Olga. "Shadow Ball!" Froslass created a purple sphere in between its hands and launched it, knocking Scizor back.
"You think you can stop us with weak little attacks like that?" said Zento. Suddenly, though, he felt something being ripped from his belt. He turned his head to see RotomDex holding Mona's belt of PokéBalls.
"You won't be needing these anymore!" said RotomDex as he flew away.
"Hey!" said Zento. He was about to follow, but then he heard Scizor cry out, and turned his head to see his Pokémon getting zapped by Pikachu's Thunderbolt.
Meanwhile, Vernon and Serena found Mona, and they released Braixen and Jelloater.
"Jelloater, use Poison Jab!"
"Braixen, use Flamethrower!"
The two Pokémon did as they were told, hurting Dunserpent and helping Mona free herself. RotomDex then flew over and tossed her her PokéBalls.
"You'll probably need these!"
"Thank you so much!" said Mona. Suddenly, Reflectre was back and landed in front of her. Mona grinned and said, "Nice to have you back, my friend. Use Dark Pulse!" Reflectre unleashed its attack, blasting Dunserpent back.
Meanwhile, Zento was locked in battle with Ash and Olga. Everytime the kids managed to score a hit, though, it seemed Scizor would not only take it but hit back twice as hard. Suddenly, though, he heard a grunt call out.
"Zento, sir, we have to retreat! There's too many of them!"
Zento looked back at the grunts, surrounded by Ghost Types. However, he also saw the grunts had managed to gather many if the Key Stones.
"Yes, you're right. We have enough. Let's go while we can." The grunts nodded and they sent out some Abras, who all used Teleport to get all the Team Shade members out of the forest.
"They're gone?" said Ash.
"Grandmother, just what were they doing here?" said Olga.
Mona walked over to the gravesite and said, "They were after a bunch of Key Stones in this grave. Though I don't know what it was for." Looking into the grave, she saw that there were still many left. "Though luckliy, they didn't get all of them."
Ash, Serena, and Vernon all looked at each other concerned. Just what could Team Shade want with those things?
Olga looked up at the ghost Pokémon. "Forgive me, spirits. I wish I could've saved those Stones."
"Olga," said Mona, placing a hand on her granddaughter's shoulder. "It's not your fault. You did everything you could."
"Yeah, well, maybe I hadn't run off before, maybe we could've stopped this whole thing."
"It's alright, Olga," said Mona. "Maybe you wouldn't have run off if I hadn't been yelling at you."
"No, you were right to yell," said Olga. "I should have listened to you. These spirits, I should've respected them."
Looking up at ghosts, Mona said, "Looks like you have, Olga. It seems you remembered what I taught you about communicating with them. And you asked for their help in saving me and the forest. I'd say you did very well, Olga. Very well, indeed."
Hearing this, Olga looked at her grandmother and smiled. "Thanks, grandmother."
Suddenly, a Haunter floated down to them. It offered Olga something shiny. Olga gasped when she saw it.
"A Key Stone?"
"Must be one if the ones Team Shade didn't get," said Mona. "I think they're giving it to you as a thanks for saving the forest."
Olga slowly took the stone and said, "I-I don't know what to say..."
The Haunter just chuckled as it and the other ghosts disappeared.
Later, everyone was back at the Gym building, where Mona stood before everyone else. "So, Ash, I understand you came to my city for a Gym Battle?"
"Er, yes, ma'am," said Ash.
"Well, if it's alright with you, I have a little idea in mind," Mona said. She turned to Olga and suddenly placed the Gym Leader's necklace around her granddaughter's neck.
"Huh? Grandmother, are you-" said Olga.
"I am indeed," said Mona. "You've been hoping to succeed me as Gym Leader, so I think now's the perfect time to test your abilities. I would like you yo face Ash as his Gym Test."
Ash gasped to himself, but then grinned and said, "Yeah, Olga! This'll be awesome! I'd love to battle you!"
Olga looked at both Ash and Mona surprised, but then put in a determined face and said, "Okay, then. I'm ready! Let's do it!"
Somewhere in a dark room, Zento was talking with a mysterious woman on a video phone.
"We couldn't get as many as you wanted, boss," said Zento, "but I think we have enough."
"Very good," said the boss. "Our master plan is finally coming to fruition."
Whatever could be going on here, now? Stay tuned, as the journey continues!
TO BE CONTINUED...
Yes, Olga was always meant to be the Ghost-Type Gym Leader. Her name is meant to sound like a shortening of poltergeist.
And again, thanks for all the offers to art for me, but please undersrand that I don't feel comfortable giving money to people I don't know over the internet.