Just to be safe- slight tw towards the end, attempted assault.
Chapter 36
Leaf was nine the first time she saw Agatha Blackwell. The elderly Elite Four member had been making a rare appearance on TV. Leaf couldn't remember what it was for. All she remembered was that a chill had crawled down her spine, as if someone was tracing it with an icicle.
That sensation was even stronger now that Agatha, the Ghost Whisperer, was standing across from her. Agatha couldn't have been older than Professor Oak––her graying hair still had a blonde tint––but there was something eerily ancient about her, like she'd stepped out of a Victorian era photo. She wore a long-sleeved purple dress that went down to her feet and had a white lace collar. Tied around her waist was an apron. She held an intricately carved mahogany cane.
"Agatha's ghost Pokemon are horrifically terrifying in toughness."
Her outfit, however, wasn't what had Leaf on edge. It was the way Agatha was studying her. Her narrowed eyes and slight smirk were sinister, like she knew what Leaf's weaknesses were already and couldn't wait to exploit them.
"She sends all her challengers screaming for their mothers."
Agatha had a crooked nose. Put together, her features made Leaf think, witch.
"Trainers may send out their Pokemon now. May the best one win!"
Somehow, Agatha was also faster than Leaf. Her first Pokemon materialized on the battlefield: a giant purple cobra with a face-like pattern on its hood. The pattern was mostly black, except for the part that resembled eyes, which were red and yellow. Its long, forked tongue flicked out. Arbok. The last time Leaf had seen an Arbok was in Team Rocket's hideout. It wasn't a ghost-type, just poison, but it suited Agatha perfectly.
Leaf tossed a PokeBall and Ninetales appeared before her. The fox recovered much sooner than Leaf had expected. No complaints from her, of course. She just hoped that Ninetales was strong enough to put up a good fight.
"Earthquake." Agatha's voice was like nails on a chalkboard.
"Jump!"
The Arbok slammed its tail down and the battlefield began to shake, though not as violently as when Bruno's Steelix did it. Ninetales leaped just in time. The part she stood on a second ago tore apart. But she had to come down and when she did, the battlefield was still shaking. She fell on her side and when she tried to get up, fell onto her other. The battlefield became still.
"Sludge Bomb."
"Flamethrower!"
Fire collided with purple sludge and exploded. The smell made Leaf gag. A thick cloud of smoke formed between Ninetales and the Arbok. Ninetales leaned forward, watching and listening carefully for the cobra. Leaf did the same, even though it was unlikely she would notice something the fox wouldn't.
The smoke began to clear. Leaf couldn't find the Arbok on the other side. All she saw was rubble from the Earthquake and…a hole?
Suddenly, Ninetales jumped. A split second later, the Arbok burst from the ground beneath her. Ninetales fired a Flamethrower down and the Arbok screamed as its face burned. It must've spat out sludge because there was another explosion. Before Leaf's vision filled with smoke, she saw Ninetales thrown high into the air.
Leaf narrowed her eyes, strained her ears. She thought she heard a scuffle, but she couldn't tell who was making the sound. She would have to wait for the smoke to clear.
When it did, Leaf winced.
Ninetales was lying on her back, squirming. Her hind legs kicked the air while her forelegs tried desperately to remove the Arbok's tail from her throat. She clawed any part of the Arbok's tail she could reach, but the Arbok only tightened its grip.
"Bite."
The Arbok opened its mouth wide, revealing sharp fangs.
The scene looked bad. Ninetales was the Arbok's prey. But Leaf had seen a near duplicate of it a year ago, when Vulpix fought a Team Rocket grunt's Ekans.
"Will-O-Wisp!"
The Arbok's fangs latched onto Ninetales' head. Ninetales howled in pain, blue flames trickling out of her mouth. They landed on the Arbok's tail and the Arbok immediately released Ninetales, hissing.
"Flamethrower!"
The Arbok dodged the stream of fire. Leaf saw the scorch marks on its tail, knew that the cobra was hurting from its burns. And yet it slithered around the battlefield, avoiding Ninetales' redirection attempts. Elite Four Pokemon really are elite.
"Get underground."
The Arbok slid into one of the holes it had dug.
"Flamethrower the tunnel!"
Ninetales ran up to the hole, leaned over it, and opened her mouth.
"Sludge Bomb."
Another explosion. This time, Ninetales didn't get lost in the smoke. She landed at Leaf's feet, gasping. Leaf suddenly felt a strong urge to touch the fox, soothe her. She crossed her arms.
The smoke cleared. The Arbok wasn't anywhere in sight. It was definitely still underground.
Leaf glanced at the hole the Arbok had come out earlier. It was much closer to Ninetales than the first one. She looked back at the fox. Ninetales was getting up now. She returned Leaf's gaze and nodded slightly. She knew exactly what Leaf was thinking.
Ninetales rushed over to the hole.
"Arbok, get out!"
Ninetales took a deep breath and fire blasted out of her mouth into the hole. The force of the fire nearly made Leaf jump. Ninetales' Flamethrower had never been so powerful before.
The Arbok's head poked out of the other hole, but it wasn't fast enough. Before it could completely get out, fire shot out of the same hole, consuming the Arbok, reaching for the sky. The heat made Leaf's skin prickle.
Ninetales stopped, panting, and the air suddenly felt cool. The Arbok was lying on the battlefield, its entire body covered in scorch marks; it must've managed to escape the Flamethrower. It lifted its head.
How? "Flame––"
The Arbok suddenly flinched and let out a sharp hiss. It glared at its tail, glared at Ninetales. Its head dropped onto the ground with a thud.
The referee raised a flag. "Arbok is unable to battle!"
Ninetales looked back at Leaf, her ruby eyes shining and tails wagging. Leaf smiled at the fox, happy that she'd earned a true win and not a tie. But the happiness was gone once Agatha's second Pokemon appeared.
For such a creepy trainer, this Pokemon was oddly cute.
It was a small, dark bluish-green ghost. It floated in the air. It had flowing "hair" with lilac tips and its body resembled a ruffled dress. Around its neck were round red gems, with the center being the biggest. It had huge red eyes with yellow sclera. It gave Ninetales a small, playful smile.
Misdreavus. Leaf heard somewhere that it was from Johto. It looked cute, but wild Misdreavus apparently liked to sneak up on people and yank at their hair. She hoped Agatha's Misdreavus couldn't do much more than that.
"Flamethrow––"
"Double Team."
In a flash, Ninetales was surrounded by bluish-green blobs. It took Leaf a second to register that these blobs were all clones of the Misdreavus. When she did, her jaw dropped. Gengar knew Double Team and the most clones it could create at once was ten. Leaf couldn't count the number of Misdreavus on the battlefield. They were everywhere.
Ninetales glanced at all the little ghosts, baffled. Once she regained herself, she fired a Flamethrower where the real Misdreavus was before. The fire slammed into the ghost and it evaporated instantly. The other Misdreavus' giggled. They sounded just like little girls. Leaf didn't find the ghost so cute anymore.
"Fire Spin!"
Flames began to whip around Ninetales' paws. More and more flames appeared, spinning upwards, until Ninetales was enveloped in a fire twister. Once the twister was formed, the flames shot out, evaporating all the clones around it.
The Fire Spin died down. The battlefield was cleared of all clones and Leaf didn't see the Misdreavus anywhere. Ninetales stood alone. She paced in a circle, ears and nose twitching.
"Shadow Ball."
Leaf spotted the Misdreavus before Ninetales did. The ghost hovered out of the hole the Arbok had burst out from. Ninetales, who was in front of the hole, whirled around. She yelped when a shadowy mass slammed into her face, knocking her down.
"Flamethrower!" Leaf cried.
But Ninetales didn't get up. Leaf didn't even see her stir. All she saw was a bundle of golden fur. Leaf's heart sank.
The referee raised a flag. "Ninetales is unable to battle!"
Leaf returned Ninetales. Fainting twice in three days. That couldn't be good for the fox. But wasn't that what the league challenge was all about? Pushing yourself to the extreme? Somewhere in Leaf's heart, there was concern over Ninetales' health, whether she'd been hurt more in this battle than the last. That concern was hard to reach with Agatha staring at her like a hawk.
The Ghost Whisperer truly was creepy. Leaf couldn't bring herself to meet her cold gaze. Whenever she tried, her skin immediately flared with goosebumps. Did Agatha always have that effect? Or was it a result of wielding ghosts? Had her Pokemon made her more ghost-like? Whatever it was, Leaf knew only one of her Pokemon could go toe-to-toe with Agatha.
Gengar cackled when it saw the Misdreavus, who giggled shrilly in return.
"You have a ghost, too?" Agatha sounded vaguely amused. "This'll be fun."
As if on cue, the Misdreavus blinked out of sight, simply vanished. Gengar wasn't cackling anymore. It grew very still, trying to locate its invisible opponent. Leaf imagined that Gengar would have an easier time detecting the Misdreavus than her other Pokemon would, but she hadn't faced enough ghost Pokemon to say for sure.
Gengar faded away. The battle was officially beginning.
"Double Team."
"Shadow Sludge!" Leaf called out. It was jarring knowing the Misdreavus had multiplied when the battlefield looked empty. She didn't know where Gengar and the Misdreavus were, but she figured Gengar could take out a bunch of clones by firing sludge everywhere.
"Psychic."
In a blink, Leaf saw purple on the battlefield. Gengar let out an ear-splitting shriek as the Misdreavus, still invisible, swung it onto the ground.
At least Leaf was prepared for this. "Torment!"
Somehow, through all its pain, Gengar cackled. Its cackle grew louder, more obnoxious. It echoed in the stadium. Gengar sounded as if it had lost its mind. Maybe it had.
Then, Gengar was thrown. It flipped in the air so that it landed on its feet. It skidded back for a bit and when it stopped, the Misdreavus was visible and shooting daggers at Gengar. Its high-pitched giggle sounded closer to a scream.
"Double Team."
"Twin Shadow Punch!"
Gengar stuck out two clenched fists, shadows shooting out of them. They barreled through the clones just as they were materializing.
"Shadow Ball."
"Left!" Leaf shouted.
The real Misdreavus hovered out of the same hole as earlier, on Gengar's left. Gengar leaped away just in time to avoid the Shadow Ball.
"Thunderbolt."
Leaf was too startled to react when lightning shot from the Misdreavus at Gengar, who leaped again, a hair away from getting electrified. Archer's Weezing flashed through her mind. How were these Pokemon learning moves so far from their typing?
"Shadow Ball."
Leaf snapped out of her daze. "Shadow Ball!"
For a second, the battlefield was dark when the Shadow Balls collided and burst.
Leaf clenched her fists. How was she supposed to beat the little ghost? Thanks to Torment, the Misdreavus couldn't use the same attack twice in a row. That was helpful, maybe, but Gengar was on the defensive and it couldn't win that way.
The Misdreavus sank back underground and an idea suddenly came to Leaf.
"Double Team and then Shadow Sludge into the holes!"
A second Gengar appeared. The real Gengar ran towards the hole the Misdreavus had emerged from while its clone went to the other hole. They dumped shadowy sludge down the holes.
"Thunderbolt!"
The ground shook when something beneath it exploded.
"Keep going!"
"Shadow Ball!"
Leaf heard a high-pitched giggle that was closer to a cry. Then, an explosion. The Gengars sent a continuous stream of sludge and the sounds underground would alternate between explosions and the Misdreavus' cry of pain. Leaf couldn't see what was happening, but she imagined the Misdreavus could only block from both sides with Thunderbolt. Thank god for Torment.
"Perish Song."
High-pitched giggling. It sounded like wailing, moaning, singing. Leaf heard the Misdreavus' pain, grief, and above all, vengeance. Gengar's fists dropped to its side. Its clone evaporated.
Silence. After a moment, the Misdreavus floated out of the hole closer to Agatha, its eyes and lips drooped downwards. It drifted towards its stone-faced trainer, let out a faint giggle. And then, like a feather, fell slowly.
The referee raised a flag. "Misdreavus is unable to battle!"
Not long ago, Leaf had been worried about beating the Misdreavus. They'd done it. They beat the Misdreavus. But Leaf's stomach had turned upside-down.
Perish Song. Leaf didn't know how much longer Gengar had, but she knew it would not be conscious by the end of the next match. And this next match was going to be the toughest.
"Shadow Ball in sludge form…that's clever," Agatha croaked. "You've trained your Gengar well. I'm sure you know why I'd appreciate that."
Leaf swallowed. "I do." She hoped her voice didn't shake just now.
Agatha sent out her third and last Pokemon: a roundish, dark purple thing with spikes on its back, pointy ears, red eyes, and a wide, sinister grin. Gengar tensed when it saw its reflection.
Leaf did too. Agatha's Gengar was one of the most infamous Pokemon in the world. All ghost Pokemon were frightening on some level. As much as Leaf loved Gengar, there were times when she was creeped out by it. But the root of its antics wasn't malice, it was mischievousness. She couldn't say the same about Agatha's Gengar. There were several accounts of people shivering uncontrollably when they were in the ghost's vicinity because supposedly, it was stealing their heat.
Leaf did feel goosebumps on her arms, but she couldn't tell if it was Agatha's Gengar stealing her heat or her nerves.
Agatha's Gengar cackled. It was a deep sound that reverberated around the stadium. When the cackle faded, so did Agatha's Gengar. Gengar followed suit.
Leaf didn't want to wait for Agatha to make a move. "Twin Shadow Punch!"
"Torment."
Leaf flinched when she heard loud, obnoxious cackling. She should've seen that coming.
"Sludge Bomb."
"Torment!"
As Gengar's cackle sliced the air, Leaf realized Agatha had definitely predicted that. She of all people would know how useless Sludge Bomb was against Gengar.
"Shadow Ball."
"Shadow Ball!"
"Psychic."
Gengar was visible again, floating in the air, screeching. "Torment!"
"Shadow Ball."
With a cackle, Gengar freed itself from Psychic. Its feet had barely touched the ground when it was knocked back by an invisible force. It shrieked in agony.
"Twin Punch!" Leaf called out, not bothering to include Shadow.
Two shadow fists flew across the battlefield. They faded, having made contact with nothing. Leaf couldn't tell if Agatha's Gengar had dodged the attack or if Gengar just didn't know its location.
"Double Team."
It had to be the former, right? Otherwise Agatha wouldn't feel the need to confuse Gengar with clones, right?
"Shadow Sludge!"
Gengar spun around as it spat out black sludge. Leaf didn't think Agatha's Gengar was hit, but at least all the clones were definitely gone.
"Mega Shadow Punch."
Agatha's Gengar materialized right behind Gengar. Its raised fist was enveloped in a shadowy mass the size of its face.
Panic seized Leaf. "GEN––"
Gengar whirled around and darkness exploded everywhere. The scale of it startled Leaf. When the darkness vanished, Gengar was on the other side of the battlefield, lying on its back. Leaf closed her eyes for a second. She began to detach Gengar's PokeBall from her belt.
Her hands froze when she heard a groan. Leaf's gaze darted towards the battlefield. Gengar was getting back up. Its arms were at its sides now, but she saw them move away from its face.
Gengar blocked the Mega Shadow Punch. Gengar blocked the Mega Shadow Punch. Leaf couldn't help but grin. It must've used Twin Shadow Punch to defend itself. At the moment, she couldn't think of another possible explanation.
Leaf's grin fell. She didn't quite know how Gengar survived the attack. But what she did know was that Gengar's time was running out. They were extremely lucky the Perish Song hadn't taken Gengar out just yet. The end had to be coming soon. They needed to make a decisive move now.
"Shadow Ball."
Gengar veered to the side. In doing so, it lost its balance and landed on its face.
Leaf suddenly knew what to do.
"Mega Shadow Punch."
Agatha's Gengar calmly approached it.
When Leaf had learned what exactly this move did, she didn't like it. It felt desperate to her. It was desperate.
Agatha's Gengar raised its fist. Darkness enveloped it.
Until now, Leaf had never used it. She never needed to. She did now.
"Destiny Bond!"
Agatha's Gengar brought down its shadow fist and Leaf's vision went black.
Three Island had multiple landmarks and Leaf's favorite was Berry Forest. Berry Forest was just as much of a maze as Viridian Forest, but it was better because Leaf could pick a wide variety of colorful berries to treat her Pokemon with. It was fun learning everyone's tastes. Venusaur liked the sweet, pink pechaberry. Fearow preferred the sour, orange razzberry. Golduck was fond of the juicy, blue oranberry. Ninetales loved the spicy, red cheriberry. Dragonair enjoyed the tangy, yellow sitrusberry.
Leaf had been picking oranberries, wondering what Haunter would like if it could eat, when the man approached her. "Hi there," he said. "What's your name?"
Leaf looked up at him. He looked to be in his thirties. There was nothing special about his appearance, but for some reason, Leaf felt cold and stiff.
"Shy, huh?" Leaf realized why she was uncomfortable. His grin was just slightly too wide. "Don't be afraid. I just want to get to know you a little bit."
What happened next was a blur. Leaf had started to run, but the man grabbed her arm and threw her down. With her free arm, Leaf fumbled at her PokeBalls, not caring who she sent out, as long as they were sent out immediately.
She had never been more relieved to hear Haunter's cackle. Upon noticing the ghost, the man backed away, raising his hands. That might've been good enough for Leaf, but it wasn't for Haunter. Darkness swirled around the man. He screamed and Leaf found herself cold again. She knew Night Shade showed the target their greatest fear. But the man was on his knees, ripping his hair out. His scream and eyes were animalistic. Whatever Haunter was showing him, it was worse than death. When Haunter finished, he rolled onto his back, gaze hollow.
Haunter turned to Leaf and before she could say anything, it glowed. Its body widened, lowered itself onto the ground. When the light disappeared, Leaf was looking into the eyes of Agatha Blackwell's ace Pokemon.
The darkness was gone. Her and Agatha's Gengar were lying on their backs.
The referee raised a flag. "Both Gengars are unable to battle! The winner of this match is Leaf Green of Pallet Town!"
"Congratulations," Agatha said. Forgetting how intimidated she was by the Ghost Whisperer, Leaf looked at her. She was smirking. "I wish you the best of luck for the remainder of your challenge."
It took Leaf a moment to register that Destiny Bond worked. It took down Agatha's Gengar when hers fainted. "Thank––"
"What're you looking at me like that for? Be happy you won." Agatha returned her Gengar and began to leave.
Right. Leaf returned Gengar.
It was Gengar who broke the silence. It cackled and Leaf knew it was asking if she was OK.
Leaf held back tears. "Y-Yes, I'm OK. Thank you, Gengar. Thank you so, so much. If you weren't made of gas, I'd hug you."
Gengar cackled. Leaf smiled and pulled out the Pokedex.
Gengar, the Shadow Pokemon. Under a full moon, this Pokémon likes to mimic the shadows of people and laugh at their fright.
Leaf chuckled. She could easily picture Gengar doing that. With the ghost by her side, she began to make her way out of Berry Forest. When she passed the man, she glanced at him. He was still a shell of a person. It was a pitiful sight, but she couldn't quite bring herself to feel bad for him.
I actually hadn't planned on showing Haunter's evolution. My original idea was that it happened during training, but then this scene just came to me as I was writing. In the games, Haunter evolves through trade and it's one of those mechanics that doesn't make sense to me in a real-world setting. So I decided to have Haunter traumatize a bad guy *thumbs up*
Thanks for reading. Please do let me know your thoughts on these battles (and the story in general) so far!