About a week later, the gang was sitting in the stands. They had stopped at Rikishii Town to take a break from traveling, and since they were here, Ash went ahead and signed up for the Sumo Conference.
How? The answer was obvious, Lord Snorlax. I mean, seriously, Snorlax had just been eating and sleeping, and it had been getting ridiculously strong. And with the reward being a 'year's supply of food', Snorlax was more than ready to curb-stomp some Pokémon.
Right now, Ash was sitting back as a random Blastoise charged at Snorlax, trying to push it out of the ring. It didn't work. Snorlax just picked it up and threw it in a German suplex, sending it flying out of the ring.
Ash was casually eating a bag of chips, not taking this seriously at all. He glanced over at the stands where everyone was sitting. "What, did you think this would be hard?"
"No, but I expected it to at least be something. This is just embarrassing," Misty mumbled.
"But it's also nice to see how far we've come or at least how far Ash has come. At least we can still keep up with him," Brock admitted. Sure, there was a time when he and Misty had been stronger than Ash, but he had probably passed them around the time they got to the S.S. Anne after Surge helped him train.
"Well, we might as well enjoy the show. It'll be nice to have something easy for once," Ash said, putting his arms behind his head. That seemed to demoralize the other competitors, realizing a literal child wasn't even taking them seriously.
"Um, so, Ash," Yellow scratched her cheek, holding Chuchu and Pikachu on her lap. "Why did you even want to participate if you knew you could win so easily?"
"I mean, why does anyone do anything? I was bored. Sparring with these two gets boring eventually," Ash said, gesturing with his thumb toward Misty and Brock.
"Oh, I'm sorry we can't be more entertaining for you," Misty said, rolling her eyes.
Ash smirked. "Well, since you apologized, I suppose I'll forgive you. Just be sure to get better, and maybe win more than once every five losses~"
"I swear I will hit you with a stick in your sleep," Misty deadpanned.
"Is that a threat or a promise~?" Ash teased with a wink. Meanwhile, in the background, another random Pokémon went flying across the stadium, courtesy of Snorlax.
"Looks like I gotta get back to it. Alright, hey Brock, see if there's a good restaurant around here so we can get lunch. I don't feel like cooking today," Ash said, pushing himself off the wall and walking back to the field.
"He's impossible…" Misty mumbled.
"I'm more surprised you're surprised about this," Brock said, pulling out his phone and scrolling through it. "And honestly, I'm surprised you didn't just hit him. Usually, you'd have tried to smack him over the head by now."
Misty felt like she had just been punched in the face by that call-out. She wanted to argue, but now that she thought about it, when was the last time she had tried to hit Ash? Brock? Yeah, she had smacked him last week. But Ash? She couldn't remember.
She huffed and slouched in her seat as Snorlax continued dominating the Sumo fight.
—
{Meanwhile}
Ash, Sayoko, and Helena were riding in a car, with Sayoko at the wheel. Ash sat in the front seat while Helena lounged in the back, watching the two.
"So, where are we going?" Helena asked. Sayoko hadn't really said much beyond the initial plan.
Now that they were far from civilization, Sayoko let out a sigh, finally relaxing. "Well, the location we're heading to isn't some fancy ruin or ancient temple—thank Arceus for that. No, we're headed to a ghost town."
"A ghost town?" Ash raised an eyebrow.
Sayoko nodded. "It was abandoned years ago. No one's exactly sure why, but travelers passing through report strange things, distorted voices, shadows moving when no one's there. That sort of creepy stuff."
"Huh… I've never heard of it," Helena mused. "How about you, D?"
"Got nothing," Ash said, crossing his arms and leaning back in his seat.
Sayoko flipped her hair. "That's because it's a little off the map. When the League started expanding and founding new towns, people started leaving. That's why I have a running theory that the Masked Man is an old head—someone clinging to the past."
Helena shook her head. "Great. That's not ominous at all."
"Scared?" Sayoko teased.
"Scared? Nah." Helena flashed a creepy grin. "The occult is my specialty~"
Sayoko smirked at Helena's eerie enthusiasm. "Well then, you'll love this place. It's a perfect setting for a horror story."
Ash remained silent, gazing out the window as the scenery shifted from dense forest to barren, cracked roads. The buildings ahead were lifeless, their wooden frames worn down by time. Some had collapsed entirely, while others stood barely intact, their windows hollow and dark.
As they entered the town, Sayoko slowed the car to a crawl, the tires crunching over loose gravel and broken glass.
"Welcome to… whatever's left of this place," she muttered.
Helena leaned forward, resting her chin on the front seat. "Woah, this place reeks of the occult. I love it!"
Sayoko parked near what might have once been the town square. A crumbling fountain stood at its center, dry and covered in ivy. The wind howled through the empty streets, rattling loose shutters and making rusted street signs sway.
"Alright, now let's find what we're looking for, or at least figure out if it's even here, then we're out," she said, a small glint in her eye beneath her bangs.
"Like I said, I don't know much, but if the Masked Man wants these things, they must be important. So keep an eye out for anything weird."
Helena grinned. "Define weird."
Ash stepped out of the car first, scanning the abandoned streets. "We should split up and look for signs of Pokémon activity."
Sayoko raised an eyebrow. "Splitting up in a haunted town? You have seen horror movies before, right?"
Helena hopped out, stretching her arms. "I mean, technically, ghosts aren't real," she said as Stephen peeked his head out of her shadow. She promptly kicked him back in. "At least, not the human kind. But Ghost-type Pokémon? That's a different story."
Sayoko shrugged. "True, but still, I think we should stick together. Even if there are Ghost Pokémon, this town is falling apart. Besides, I don't want to deal with any horror movie clichés today."
Ash, Sayoko, and Helena moved cautiously through the abandoned town, their footsteps echoing against the cracked pavement. The sky overhead was dull, a grayish overcast casting an oppressive atmosphere over the ruined streets.
"Alright, so where do we even start?" Helena asked, adjusting her grip on the egg she carried.
Sayoko looked around, placing a hand on her hip. "If we're looking for Pokémon, we should check the buildings—see if anything's been disturbed recently. I doubt anything is just sitting in the open waiting for us."
Helena clapped her hands. "Oh, wait! Let me try something I've been working on!"
Sayoko and Ash exchanged raised eyebrows before shrugging. Helena quickly ran up, shoved her egg into Ash's hands, then rummaged through her bag. Before she could pull anything out, Stephen emerged from her shadow and opened his mouth, revealing a spell tag inside.
"Oh, thanks, Stephen," she said, taking it and placing it on the ground. She took a deep breath, then clapped her hands together. Ever since arriving in Johto, she had read up on Morty and discovered that he was a Hex Maniac like her. So she was trying to copy his clairvoyance thing, and now was the perfect time to test it.
Placing a hand to her forehead, she rubbed her temples. "Hmmmmm..." she murmured, concentrating.
Sayoko and Ash watched in silence, debating when to tell her to stop. But then, suddenly, an energy shift rippled through the air. Wisps of unseen force began swirling around Helena, collecting near her eyes.
Both Sayoko and Ash could see it, Ash through his Aura and Sayoko through her own eye ability. Of course, neither knew that the other could also see it, so they kept quiet.
Helena's eyes snapped open, glowing faintly. She glanced around in awe. "Whoa... it worked! I didn't think it would!" she said, hopping slightly as she clasped her hands together in celebration.
Sayoko raised an eyebrow. She had seen the change, especially now that she realized Helena had a special ability like she did. Still, she kept her expression neutral; she was good at keeping her poker face, "So, you gonna fill us in on what exactly worked?"
"Err... it's kinda hard to explain, I guess," Helena admitted, scratching her head. When she glanced at her companions, though, she noticed something strange. They, also had some weird energy surrounding them, Sayoko's seemed concentrated around her eye, and Ash… his lower face had an odd presence around it.
Before she could say anything, Ash cut in. "If it's a long story, just give us the short version. Did you figure anything out?" He handed her egg back.
Snapping out of her daze, Helena looked around before pointing at a building. "That one is giving me a good feeling."
"Just a feeling?" Sayoko raised an eyebrow.
"Hey, the occult is my specialty, and weird energy is part of that. Besides, it won't hurt to check, right?" Helena said proudly.
"Ugh, fine," Sayoko huffed, flipping her hair. "Let's get this over with."
The three entered the building cautiously. Dust coated every surface, and shelves lined with rusted cans and shattered glass. Helena trailed her fingers over the countertop, leaving a streak through the dust.
"This place is ancient," she murmured, eyes gleaming.
As they ventured further inside, a soft click echoed from the back of the store.
Ash stopped in his tracks, eyes snapping toward the sound. "Did you hear that?"
Sayoko sighed. "Yeah, and I really hope it's not some feral Raticate or something."
Helena smirked. "Oh, c'mon, where's your sense of adventure?"
"I think it got blown off with the rest of my cheek," Ash deadpanned, stepping past her and peering beyond a set of overturned shelves. A dim glow flickered in the darkness.
Then, in the corner of the room, something shifted. A pair of glowing, unblinking eyes stared back at him. Ash remained still—he recognized the shape immediately.
Helena stepped beside him, suddenly feeling uneasy. "What is it?"
Before Ash could answer, the room warped.
The walls stretched and twisted unnaturally, the shelves bending at impossible angles. The floor beneath them rippled like water, distorting their reflections in ways that didn't match their actual movements.
"Uh… okay," Sayoko muttered, taking a slow step back. "I know I said this was weird, but this is a whole new level of weird."
Helena's eerie grin widened as she rubbed her hands together. "Now we're talking."
Ash kept his footing, his expression unreadable as the world around them shifted. Sayoko, on the other hand, tensed, her fingers twitching toward a concealed Pokéball at her side. Helena, ever the thrill-seeker, was practically vibrating with excitement.
The glowing eyes remained motionless, but the distortion intensified. Shapes in the dust began forming patterns, letters, symbols, flashing in and out of existence before settling into recognizable forms.
"Okay, now I know I didn't imagine that," Sayoko muttered, her usual playfulness gone.
Helena's excitement faded slightly as she squinted at the flickering symbols. "Those… those look like letters," she whispered, stepping forward cautiously.
Before she could get closer, the warped space pushed back against her. A pulse of energy rippled through the air, causing the shadows in the room to twist unnaturally. The egg in her arms trembled slightly, as if reacting to whatever was happening.
Ash's sharp eyes caught something, the wall was moving, shifting unnaturally toward Sayoko and Helena. His instincts kicked in. "Dang it!"
He sprinted forward, shoving Sayoko aside and yanking Helena back just as the wall lashed out. It struck him across the cheek, sending him tumbling to the ground next to Helena.
Sayoko scrambled to her feet, ready to scold Ash, until she realized he had taken the hit meant for her. The words died in her throat. But before she could react further, a shimmering barrier materialized between them, cutting her off from Ash and Helena.
On the other side, Helena quickly helped Ash up, but before either of them could speak, the floor beneath them vanished.
They plunged into the darkness below.
"No!" Sayoko shouted, her fists slamming against the barrier, but it didn't budge. Gritting her teeth, she reached for a Pokéball, only to freeze as another wall slid open, revealing a stairway leading downward.
Her eyes narrowed. A game... she realized. The Unown were toying with them.
If she wanted Ash and Helena back, she'd have to play along.
Sayoko took a deep breath, steeling herself before breaking into a sprint down the stairs.
"Fine. Give me your best shot, you overgrown preschool doodle," she growled as she disappeared into the depths below.
—
As Ash and Helena plummeted, Ash quickly assessed the situation. The floor had simply vanished beneath them, leaving smooth walls with nothing to grip—no way to use Muk to save them.
Thinking fast, he whistled.
From his shadow, Gengar emerged, inflating like a balloon beneath them. He grinned mischievously. "Jie jie!"
Ash let out a breath. "Thanks, bud."
Helena peeled her face off Gengar's head, blinking. "Oh yeah, I forgot you had a Gengar. Why didn't you use him before?"
"Why would I reveal all my secrets?" Ash countered.
Helena crossed her arms. "Okay, fair point…"
Gengar floated them gently to the ground. The space they had fallen into was… wrong. The walls didn't meet at proper angles, shifting subtly like a dream that refused to solidify. The air shimmered, uncertain of what it wanted to be. The floor looked like stone, but as Ash shifted his weight, it felt smooth, almost like glass. Dim, flickering lights hung in the air, pulsing in a strange rhythm, while unfamiliar symbols flickered across the walls.
"Okay…" Helena murmured, adjusting her grip on the egg. "I've seen some weird stuff, but this? This takes the cake."
"I thought you liked this kind of thing," Ash said, stepping forward and scanning the room.
"I do, but this is different. I'm used to Ghost Pokémon trying to scare me—" She suddenly snapped, pointing at her shadow. "Do not start with me, Stephen!"
Stephen froze mid-prank, retreating slightly with an exaggerated pout.
Ash, meanwhile, watched as Gengar attempted to phase through the wall—only to bounce off with a disgruntled expression. Ash sighed, leaning back against the strange surface.
"Well, that's that. Looks like we're stuck here for a bit," he said. "Guess we wait for Sayoko to find us or for the Unown to make their next move."
Helena plopped down beside him, surprisingly unbothered. "You're pretty calm about this."
"What's panicking gonna do?" Ash asked, closing his eyes. "Besides, I could say the same about you."
"That's true, I guess…" Helena muttered, idly patting her egg.
A comfortable silence settled between them. Then, after a pause, Helena finally voiced what had been weighing on her.
"Are you mad at us?"
Ash cracked an eye open. "Us?"
Helena hesitated, her voice dropping to almost a whisper. "Me, Jay, Domino, and Enid… Are you mad at us?"
Ash didn't answer immediately, his expression unreadable as he thought.
Before he could respond, the egg in Helena's arms shuddered.
Both of them blinked in surprise.
"Now?" Helena said, eyes wide as the egg trembled violently in her arms.
She quickly removed it from the incubator, holding it close. Stephen floated nearer, peering at his soon-to-be sibling with barely contained excitement. More pranks. More chaos. He would teach them everything, like a good big brother.
The egg cracked and shivered, then finally broke apart.
Nestled within the fragments was a tiny, gray Pokémon, little more than a floating scrap of cloth with glowing eyes, a Shuppet
The newborn Shuppet blinked up at Helena, tilting its head. "…Pet?"
Helena's face softened. "Aww, you're adorable." She cradled it gently. "Don't worry, I'll take care of you from now on. Let's be friends."
She pressed a Pokéball to the tiny Ghost-type. It was absorbed in a flash of light, One shake, Two shakes, Three. Ding
A smile spread across Helena's face.
"Welcome to the team."
----
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