Chapter Five: The Haunted House

Ira dialed the phone as her Pokemon watched. “Hello, Dave?” she asked. “Yeah, this is Ira. Can I speak to Mom, please? Thanks.” Pause. “Hi, Mom, I need a helicopter. ...Yes, a helicopter. A large one. And a pilot. ...That’s what’s so great about being rich. ...No, I’m not. ...Yes, I know you saw the gym battle broadcast. ...Listen, Mom, all I need is to order a helicopter, not to be flattered by Mom stuff. ...Whatever. I call it flattery. Now, please, Mom- ...Thank you.” Ira hung up the phone and sighed.

“Dactyl?” Taglio asked.

“Mom’s going to order us a helicopter,” said Ira.

“Dact.”

“Let’s go beat the crap out of a trainer while we’re waiting.”

“Aerodactyl!”



After an easy victory over an unexperienced trainer with a Slowpoke, Ira returned to the the Pokemon Center to heal her Pokemon. They were surprised to see Officer Jenny ride in on her motorcycle.

Ira knew Officer Jenny a bit too well. She and her old friend, Becky, from Goldenrod City had gotten in a bit of trouble once when they dropped balloons filled with paint on top of an old woman’s car. They had gotten in a little bit of trouble with Officer Jenny and their parents, but decided that really it turned out to be quite worth it to see the look on the woman’s face as the saw the paint dripping down her car. They had some fond memories together, though Ira had hardly seen Becky at all since she became a Pokemon trainer.

Officer Jenny stopped her motorcycle by Ira. Ira smiled sheepishly. “Hi, Officer Jenny,” she said.

Officer Jenny seemed to serious for her mind to be taken off her job. “Ira, I’m searching for two vandals right now,” Officer Jenny said. “Have you seen a boy and a girl, about your age, both redheaded? They were caught robbing a Pokemart. One was throwing stones at the window to cause a diversion while the other ran in and stole a few valuable vitamins.”

“No. I’ll keep my eyes open. Can’t be too hard to find redheads in Maghony Town, can it?”

Officer Jenny didn’t get the joke. “If you see them, please call me. Oh, and by the way, Ira,” she said with a smile, “great job with that gym battle.”

“Dactyl, dactyl!” exclaimed Taglio as Officer Jenny left.

“Two redheaded kids... glad I have black hair, I was afraid she’d suspect something.”

“Dact.”

“What do you say we stir things up a little bit in this overly quiet town while we’re waiting for our helicopter, Taglio? We’ll find those kids in no time.”

“Aerodactyl!” Taglio lowered his neck and Ira climbed on his back. He beat his wings to overpower the air, and soon they soared above Maghony Town. “Aieruu!” called Taglio loudly, in hopes for the whole town to hear him.

“Two kids... red hair... no one. You know,” said Ira, “there’s an old Team Rocket hideout that’s not yet wrecked down in the Haunted House. What do you say we go take a look?”

“Tyl.”

“It’s not really haunted, Taglio. We’ll keep Algol around to keep us safe. The place is over there,” directed Ira, pointing to the building that the villagers had dubbed haunted.

Taglio sighed. “Aerodactyl,” he agreed.

Taglio swooped down to the doorstep of the Haunted House, and Ira got off. They looked at each other, and Ira began to walk up the pathway. Why am I doing this, she wondered. Of course they aren’t here. Probably. Then again, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe they are here. Either way, it might turn out to be an... ...experience...

Passersby stopped to glance at her as she walked up to the door, as if she had come from another world. “That house is haunted!” a little boy yelled from the street.

“I don’t believe in possessive spirits,” Ira yelled back. I’m getting off the main point, she realized. Oh, well. This is going to be quite interested. The people on the street watched, speechless, as she put her hand on the unlocked door, which opened without resistance.

Inside was an ominous room with cobwebs all around them, one with a scary looking Ariados on it and several with Spinirak resting on them. “Tyl,” whimpered Taglio.

“Taglio, return,” said Ira, and the Aerodactyl disappeared in a flash of red light. “I choose Algol!” she summoned, and the Umbreon emerged from his Pokeball.

Algol sniffed the air, then walked a few steps into the Haunted House. “Bre, Umbreon,” he said excitedly, and moved towards the stairs. Then he bent his head and sniffed the ground. “Bre!” he exclaimed suddenly, and rushed to Ira. “Umb, on breon, bre,” he said do her, and nudged her leg with his head.

“What? What are you trying to tell me?” asked Ira.

“Breon bre,” repeated Algol, and this time nudged her shoe and pulled her shoelace.

“I still don’t understand you,” Ira replied. How does one species of Pokemon automatically understand other Pokemon if they speak entirely different languages? It was a mystery yet to be solved.

Algol put all his weight back on two legs and tried to walk forward, managing a few steps before falling. “Breon,” he insisted.

Ira finally got it. “Humans?” she asked.

“Umbreon!” replied Algol.

“Where? Down there!”

“Bre,” responded Algol. “Bre, bre.” He walked to the staircase again, and Ira followed, wondering what they would find in the darkness.