Insert
[Name]
- I -
Chapter III
**********
Standing before the
“Well, looks like I’m off to a great start…” I
muttered as I thought about what to do next. They were probably watching me
right now, judging from that feeling you always get when you’re being stalked. “Hello?
Anyone there?” I tried, knowing I wouldn’t get an answer. I knew what I was doing
was pretty stupid, I didn’t know where to go. The windows might as well not
have been there, seeing as they were so filthy they blocked any and all light
anyway, meaning I couldn’t even see much either. Suddenly an idea came to mind,
and I started looking for my Pokéballs. If I was going to be in here, it was a
nice opportunity to get to know my own Pokémon.
“Right, here goes nothing.” I said to the air as I
took out one of the balls and pressed the release button. It shot open and a
beam of red energy burst out of it, heading towards the floor before starting
to take shape. As the features became more clear I recognized it as a
Charmeleon, the red fire breathing dinosaur look-alike. It was my starter.
Blaze, if I wasn’t mistaken. His tail flame spread a comforting warmth in the
chilly atmosphere and my visibility got a lot better as it brightened the room.
“Hey Blaze, how are you bud?” I asked the creature.
At the mentioning of his name, the Charmeleon’s head
perked up and he turned around. As his eyes met mine I saw a spark of
recognition in them, and he quickly raised his paw, thumb sticking up. “Char!” From the thumb signal, I guessed
that meant ‘good’ and smiled. It looked like things wouldn’t be as bad as I’d
feared. Blaze seemed to recognize me, meaning the others would too. They
wouldn’t have any problems accepting me, but I might have a few while getting
used to their personalities.
“What do you say we go do some ghost hunting?” I asked
again. The Charmeleon tilted his head, as if asking what I meant by it. “This
place, building, it’s haunted. There should be some Ghost-types hanging around
in here. I’m guessing Gastly mostly, with the odd Haunter or two.” I clarified,
and Blaze nodded in understanding. And gave me another thumb’s up. No, things
wouldn’t be bad at all.
**********
I opened another door, and was surprised to find the
lights on behind this one. Blaze and I carefully made our way in. We had
already searched two floors, finding nothing but empty dark corners, spider
webs, and layer upon layer of dust. So far no trace of any ghosts. This room
was like most of the others. Dirty windows, high ceiling, and long but not too
wide. But this one had more, like light, and a large table. It must’ve been the
dining room. Been, because it was as dusty as the others, and if there had been
food on those platters, it had either been eaten by vermin or rotted away. “Hey,
anyone in here? Gastly? Haunter maybe?” I tried, but got no reply.
“Man, this isn’t going to work. If they don’t show
themselves to us, and we have no way of making them visible, how the hell am I
supposed to catch one?” I said in despair. Blaze looked glum for a second, then
suddenly ran to the table in the centre, where he grabbed the edges of the
tablecloth. I didn’t quite get it at first, but after he made a tugging motion
I got the idea and ran to the other side. “On three?” Blaze nodded at my
question, and I firmly gripped the cloth. “Three!” I yelled, and pulled as fast
as I could. Blaze pulled on his end at the same time, and the cloth jumped up
at the sudden tension, launching dust everywhere. The moment it flew up, I
heard coughing noises from the ceiling, and when I looked up it was just in
time to see three shapes appear, covered in dust. Two ball-shaped Gastly, and
one Haunter.
“Blaze, get ready!” On my command, the Charmeleon took
up position in front of me. The ghosts stopped coughing and glared in our
direction, sending shivers down my back. They were serious. The Haunter yelled
something, and the other two quickly dashed down in front of us. Then suddenly
the door behind us slammed shut, and I heard it lock itself clearly. Trapped.
Taking use of our short distraction, the Haunter fired a Nightshade attack at
Blaze, who tried to dodge at the last moment, but got clipped in the leg. He
cried out in shock as he grasped his knee, then looked up angrily before
unleashing a Ember at the smirking ghost. Haunter simply faded out and
reappeared at ground level, still wearing the smirk. I found myself growling at
the display, and tried to calm myself before doing anything rash.
**********
“He’s been in there for an hour already. How hard can
it be? And how long can it take?” Rose complained after checking her watch.
Haunter seemed offended at her implication that Ghost-types were an easy catch
and pretty much demanded an apology. “Oh shut up, we’re going in after him. I’m
tired of sitting here doing nothing.” With that, she stood up from the fence
next to the door and went to push them open. Before she got that far, the doors
unlocked and swerved open with a loud creak.
“… Eh, did that thing just open by itself?” Rose asked
as she looked around for anyone inside. Haunter shrugged at the question.
“Right, whatever, let’s go.” She said before walking into the hall. Haunter
followed while shaking its head. As soon as both of them were inside the doors
slammed shut and made a locking noise. Rose gulped at the sound and turned to
Haunter. “I just imagined that… right? Tell me you didn’t hear that…”
“Haunter,
haunt…” It replied in an obvious ‘I told you so’ manner.
Suddenly, Haunter looked around and fixated on a spot several meters from the
door. “Haunt, haunt haunter.” It said
as it pointed towards the door. Rose looked at the creature in confusion, when
suddenly a large shape appeared at the spot Haunter was now frowning at. The
shape was circular and roughly the size of a human torso. Around it was a deep
purple aura, and the ball itself adorned two eyes and a mouth. It was a Gastly,
and it was laughing insanely.
“Oh, so you’re the one that’s been messing with the
door! Don’t think that’ll keep me in, Haunter is a great lock picker too you
know.” Rose said, her slight fear evaporated. Gastly just laughed again. It
looked like it was having the time of its life, which was probably true since
this building rarely got any visitors. Haunter didn’t seem to find it funny,
but Rose didn’t care much and decided to keep going. Rick clearly wasn’t here.
**********
‘Right,
what to use against these things again? Nothing physical. That leaves Ember.
Crap!’ I thought as my mind raced through the options. My
hand clasped around another Pokéball, and I threw it forward to call out my
Butterfree. It was three on one, after all. I felt like evening things out a
bit. “Blaze, Ember at the Haunter! Caesar, Confusion on the Gastlies!” My
Pokémon complied at once, starting the first real battle I ever had. Blaze’s
Ember missed by a hair as Haunter dashed sideways while charging another
Nightshade. Confusion hit one Gastly, making it cry out in pain, but the other
had already disappeared. Trusting both my Pokémon would dodge if fired upon, I
scanned the ‘battlefield’ for the missing Gastly, seeing it appear behind
Caesar, my Butterfree. “Caesar, behind! Fly up!” Caesar shot upwards without
question, making the Gastly’s tongue miss completely. Blaze jumped back to
dodge the Nightshade, which then went on to hit the attacking Gastly that was
now exposed. The ghost was definitely not amused and gave the Haunter a
scolding that needed no translation. Both of them were now distracted.
“Same again, target those two!” Sweat started to
trickle down my back as the fight heated up – literally. Blaze’s Ember didn’t
miss its mark this time, and the Haunter got badly scorched as it attempted to
block some damage by holding up its hands. The Gastly grunted in pain as a blue
aura got a hold of it. Just as I thought I was winning, I realized I forgot the
second Gastly, and scanned the room again. I couldn’t find it anywhere, so I
just assumed it ran. Haunter looked enraged, but also vanished after Blaze ceased
his attack. Knowing the other Gastly would too if Caesar let up, I quickly took
out an empty ball and tested my aim. I wasn’t exactly blessed when it came to
throwing, but I actually hit the still Ghost.
The ball sucked up the Gastly in a flash of red, and
fell to the floor. I knew this wasn’t like the game, but I found myself
counting the times it rocked back and forth. Just as I thought it was in the
bag, the ball split open and released its captive. Gastly threw some verbal
abuse at us before disappearing. “… Ugh, just my luck.” I sighed as I walked up
and picked up the very empty Pokéball. Suddenly the sound of laughter reached
my ears as a third Gastly rose up through the floor. Once it noticed us, it
stopped. Its eyes went from me, to the ball in my hand, to the scorch marks all
over the room, and then back to me. “Gast?”
Suddenly it was engulfed by flames after Blaze decided to torch it. I didn’t
waste a second and tossed the Pokéball right at it. Again, it engulfed the
creature, and again it dropped to the floor. But it hardly rocked at all, as if
it didn’t even want to come back out. Soon, the blinking stopped. Gastly was
caught.
“Wow…” I said as it started to sink in. I really
hadn’t expected it to be that easy, not after the other one escaped. “Alright!”
I cheered, grinning from ear to ear. Caesar and Blaze joined in with their own
cries, but it wasn’t over just yet. The door flew open, and I quickly turned to
it. In the doorway floated a Haunter, but I felt my anxiety leave at the person
standing behind it. Rose had followed me in.
“There you are! I’ve been looking all over the place
for you!” She said as she stomped into the room. The floor creaked with every
step.
“But I did it. Look.” I said, still grinning, as I
held up the now occupied ball while walking towards her. The floor creaked with
every step.
“Yeah, but you still took…” She trailed off as the
creaking got louder, and looked down. I stopped walking immediately, but it was
too late. With a loud crack the floor gave way under us, and we plunged down a
level, into a pitch dark room. Whatever it was I landed on really didn’t give
in much, so the landing wasn’t exactly soft. Groaning as we picked ourselves up
from the floor, I looked up and saw my Pokémon staring down at us. Blaze leapt
down after making sure he wouldn’t land on either of us, and somewhat lighted
the room. As Caesar floated down, I took in the surroundings. It was covered in
thick layers of grey dust, and I noticed several objects that were covered with
sheets. Probably chairs and cabinets. There was one door, on the other side of
the room. “You okay?” Rose asked.
“Yeah… you?”
“I guess so…” That was good, we could all still walk.
No broken bones or anything like that. I started towards the door, but you
guessed it, it locked itself. ‘Not
again…’ I almost cursed under my breath, it was starting to get a bit
repetitive. And annoying. But this time, locking doors wasn’t all that
happened. Suddenly the sheets flew off the furniture, throwing dust all over
the place and launching us into an all-out coughing fit. It felt like a strong
gust of wind picked up just then, even with no windows or anything else, and
the sheets started to fly circles around us, picking up speed quickly. The
noise soon got deafeningly loud. “What’s going on?!”
“I think they might be pissed I caught one of them!” I
yelled out over the howling wind. Rose’s Haunter suddenly appeared in front of
us, eyes aglow, and the wind died down. As it happened, loads of Gastly and a
few Haunter started to appear all around us. “Crap… we’re in trouble.”
As if it was the starting sign, the ghosts started to
attack. It was twenty of them, versus three of ours. How I loved the odds.
Blaze dodged some attacks and countered with Ember. He hit one, but in return
got hit three times from other directions. Caesar used his speed to dodge
everything thrown at him, but he was so busy dodging he couldn’t get an attack
in himself. Rose’s Haunter seemed to have disappeared, and I was getting pretty
worried. But then I noticed it popping up all over the field, punching several
of the ghosts in quick succession. Just as I thought we might be winning, a new
Pokémon appeared. It stood as tall as a human, with a very dark purple colour
and a menacing grin plastered on its face. Gengar. The demonic looking Pokémon
made quick work of Blaze by using Shadow Ball and firing it right into the
Charmeleon’s face.
“Relax, it’s not that bad, watch.” Rose said smiling
as I gritted my teeth at the display of power while recalling my fallen starter.
“Haunter, use Hypnosis!” Haunter’s eyes started to glow at hearing the command,
and I could’ve sworn I saw strange waves coming from them, but it was very
unclear. Several of the ghosts fell asleep, but there was still a fair share
left. And the Gengar.
“Caesar, give them some Sleep Powder!” I ordered,
trying to do my share. The Butterfree nodded and flew up to the ceiling,
shaking blue powder from his wings and onto the battlefield. Gengar saw it
coming and evaded everything, as did one of the Haunters and four Gastlies. The
others fell asleep and dropped through the floor. Gengar’s grin had turned
upside down, and it was growling lowly before it addressed its friends in a
string of ‘gen’s and ‘gar’s that made no sense to me. Rose and I waited for
what was to follow. The five ghosts nodded at their leader and encircled us. It
was pretty easy to predict what would come next, and sure enough, they all
started to charge Nightshade attacks a moment later. I wasted no time. “Oh I’ve
had it! Caesar, Whirlwind! Blow them all out of the building!”
“What?! Are you crazy? Creating a twister inside?!” Rose asked incredulously. I
just smirked at what this would cause. Seeing how I wouldn’t budge, Rose turned
back to Haunter and quickly yelled an order as Caesar’s wings got up to speed.
“Quick, Protect!”
The resulting chaos was pretty much exactly what I was
expecting to happen. Every dust particle in this room, and the one we fell from
above us, got airborne, transforming the place into a grey blur. Anything that
wasn’t bolted down sort of got airborne, actually. Save us, with Haunter’s
greenish aura blocking out just enough to stay standing. And ‘anything’
included Caesar’s Sleep Powder, which was still on the floor. When Haunter started
to show signs of waning, I decided it was enough and yelled to Caesar to quit
the attack. As the dust settled, I noticed some shapes on the floor, either
knocked out or asleep. But I only counted five. The sixth was floating in the
air not too far away, panting, but otherwise unharmed. Gengar wasn’t through
yet.
“You’re joking…” I groaned as the Pokémon regained its
mad grin. Rose’s Haunter wasn’t in a good shape either. Protect had done a
number on it. Caesar was pretty much passed out from exhaustion too. Gengar
laughed before charging a Shadow Ball between its paws, or hands, whatever, and
seemed to be waiting for something. “Oh, right. You want your friend back,
huh.” I said, defeated. So I took out the ball and placed it on the ground in
front of me. I supposed we had a good run while it lasted, we took out twenty
or so Ghost types with just three of us, that had to count for something,
right? Gastly’s ball opened shortly after I put it down, and the ball shaped
ghost took form between us. Gengar said something to it, probably telling it to
move away from us, but Gastly stayed where it was. Then it turned to me, and I
could see doubt in its eyes. Gengar’s eyes narrowed and out came another string
of ‘gen’s and ‘gar’s, a bit more fiercely this time. Gastly turned back to the
large ghost and paused for a moment before starting its own line of ‘gast’s and
‘gastly’s. By now Rose and I were stumped at the exchange, and I had no idea
what was going on. Gengar looked shocked for a moment, but it soon turned to a
sad look and what seemed to be a desperate plea. Gastly shook its head and
promptly went back to the Pokéball on the floor and hit the button. I let out a
surprised “Huh?” before I even realized it as the ghost got sucked back in.
“But…”
“No ‘buts’ bud, he wants to go with you. Congrats.”
Rose said as she smiled at me. She probably thought I’d done something good,
but what confused me was that I had done absolutely nothing. Actually, Blaze
had torched the poor thing before I tossed a ball at it, so why it would want
to come with me was beyond me. Gengar seemed to have come to terms with
Gastly’s decision and pointed us to the door, which unlocked itself. Of course,
we didn’t waste any time going outside. There I was left to ponder the ghost’s
motive…
**********
- II -
Author’s Note
Woo, a 3400
plus one! Yeah, uhm, this’ll probably be the biggest chapter for the time
being. It sort of got out of hand once I started throwing in one thing after
the other. I never meant it to be that much longer than the last two. … That
said, I can’t deny the fact that I like it. :) The next update will likely take a little while longer than the last few. Or actually 'a lot longer' is more likely. Sorry in advance.
Chapter four:
Strengthened by their victory in the Tower the two travellers set off along the
coast to
**********
- III -
Legal Gibberish
I do not
in any way own Pokémon or any of its copyrights and rights of other merchandise
related to it. All characters and places in this story are entirely fictional
and taken from or based on various aspects of the Pokémon universe. Any form of
copying and/or misuse of this story by others will be reported. Please respect
the imagination and effort made by others. Stealing is bad, don’t do it.
WeirdDutchGuy