Sinnoh region, Eterna City…

Eterna City, an old city that shows fading and almost-forgotten vestiges of ancient history. A Gym is indispensable in any town that has many people coming and going. This city is no exception. The Rad Rickshaw Cycle Shop is located here. There is also a big building with a slightly sinister atmosphere. Plus, at the city square, there are three statues of ancient Legendary Pokémon very prominently and reverently displayed.

However, focusing on the local Gym, that day the leader was extremely frenetic. Gardenia was a young woman of slim figure and average height, orange hair and matching eyes. She had already two successful years as the local Gym Leader, specialized in Grass-type Pokémon (which as a matter of fact, some said she liked a bit too much, since whenever she ran into a new specimen she had never met, she couldn't resist to have them use their attacks on her), and she was always glad to take on any challengers coming in. But not that day. After the last challenger that afternoon had left, she had a more pressing matter to attend.

"Cheryl… for Arceus' sake, I really hope you didn't get into something dangerous."

As she packed up her stuff, she stopped to see a photograph, which showed her along with another girl who looked a couple years older than her. The young woman was quite tall, and had long and vast green hair, tied in a braid hanging over her right shoulder, and matching clothes, hinting at a particular affinity for said color. The two had been close friends for years, and Gardenia knew that Cheryl had an affinity for something else than the color green: finding rare treasures. It was in her blood, after all, her grandfather had been a famous treasure hunter, but she sometimes got so much into it, she wouldn't pay attention to her surroundings, frequently getting herself into trouble or even lost, although most of the time, she wouldn't take more than a couple days to find her way back home.

That meant that, after one week of not seeing her after her latest incursion in the Eterna Forest, not having any news whatsoever, it was reason enough to become worried. Her backpack full of supplies to be around that place for several days if needed, Gardenia rushed to the entrance, carrying a notice to place on the door and let everyone know the Gym would be closed until she returned. Better hurry before another challenger came up to distract her from leaving.

Which was exactly what awaited her as she exited the Gym, for as soon as she stepped outside the door, she bumped into someone.

"Oof!" Gardenia fell on her butt after colliding with that person. She was in such a hurry she didn't even say who it was.

"Hey, watch were you're going!" It was a male voice.

Gardenia opened her eyes and looked up to see a boy seemingly in his middle-to-late teens. He had dark blue hair backwards, wore an orange jacket with a black long-sleeved undershirt, dark gray pants and brown leather boots. Upon standing up, she noticed he was a good head and a half taller than her, more or less the same height as Cheryl. The boy had his arms folded, and had a bit of an air of arrogance around him, though at the time it seemed more because he was annoyed at her for having bumped on him.

"Sorry, are you here to challenge for a Gym Badge?" Gardenia asked as politely as she could. She was not in the mood to get into a fight right now.

"Yeah, is there a problem with that?"

"Actually, there is," Gardenia replied. "I'm sorry, but I'm about to close the Gym now, and it'll have to stay like that for a few days."

"Whoah, hold on a second, what does that mean?" the young man asked. "I came here to get my fifth badge and I'm not leaving without it."

"I'll be glad to take your challenge when I come back, but right now, that's not possible." The Gym Leader pointed her thumb at her backpack. "Can't you see I'm about to take a short leave?"

"And where are you going?" the challenger asked.

Gardenia sighed in resignation. It was best to tell him the truth up front, and every second she wasted could be one in which her friend's life could be at risk out there. She took a deep breath to talk without interruptions.

"Look, let me go straight to the point," she finally said. "My friend went into the Eterna Forest, and she's been missing for several days. I can't wait anymore, I'm worried that something could have happened to her. So if you don't mind, please step aside and let me go find her."

Saying this, she shut the Gym's doors and placed the lock, hanging the notice on the entrance, which said in big letters:

*Gym closed until further notice. We apologize to the challengers for the inconveniences caused.

Sincerely, Gardenia, Eterna Gym Leader.*

But, when she was about to run off, the boy stopped her, grabbing her arm.

"What are you doing? Let go of me!"

"You're gonna get inside that forest to find your friend?" he asked. "All by yourself?"

"Is there a problem with that?" She replied in the same tone as he previously had.

"Hey, if you're so worried, let me go with you," the boy said. "Plus, if I can't challenge you until you've found your friend, might as well help you find her. The two of us can work faster, can't we?"

Gardenia pondered on it. She was in too much of a hurry to go search for Cheryl. While she didn't dislike the offer of help, she knew perfectly how to take care of herself, it wasn't like she needed someone to watch her back all the time. Plus, she had entered that forest thousands of times and she knew it like the palm of her hand. More importantly, she had to hurry.

"Do what you want," she said before running off.

The boy took this as an affirmative response, although he rolled his eyes at Gardenia being in such a rush. Luckily for him, he had just returned from the Pokémon Center and his team was rested and ready to face anything. He rushed after the leader, both of them running towards the West exit of the city, which led to the path towards the forest.

Later…

At first, Gardenia tried to lose sight of him within the thickness of the forest. But the challenger seemed pretty serious about his offer of helping her, if only because he wanted to challenge her gym faster. He didn't stop yelling at her to wait for him and walk together, if they were going to find her missing friend. Finally, after an hour or so of playing hide and seek and chasing around, Gardenia finally let him catch up, resigning herself to accept his help.

At the moment, it was getting dark, so they decided to stop and they would resume the search in full the next morning. The challenger (whose name, he told her later, was Sho), had let out his Pokémon so they could have dinner around the campfire. Gardenia found interesting that his team seemed to be entirely of Electric-types: Jolteon, Magneton, Luxray, a male Raichu and a female Pikachu. The latter two, after finishing dinner, decided to rest together cuddling very close to each other. Meanwhile, Jolteon and Luxray kept on eating their rations slowly, and next to them were the two Pokémon Gardenia had brought along for protection: Cherrim and Roserade. Gardenia looked at the "couple" of electric mice sleeping peacefully to digest their dinner, while their owner roasted marshmallows in the fire. He had also pulled out a capsule from his backpack, the egg inside having the light yellow and black markings of a Pichu.

"You love Electric-types a lot, don't you?" she asked.

"Is it that obvious?" he deadpanned.

"Nothing against that, of course. I adore Grass-types myself." Gardenia smiled. "Those two seem rather close, if they sleep together like that."

"I left them with a breeder for a while. They took some time, but they eventually… managed to click, if you get my drift."

"Oh, so it means that…" Gardenia pointed at the egg, and when Sho nodded she couldn't help but smile. No wonder they were so close.

"One of my dreams was having all members of the Pikachu evolutionary family." Sho explained. "When this little baby hatches, I'll finally succeed. Though the capsule's temporizer estimates there's still a couple weeks before that."

"If that's the case, you might still have one missing for your collection," said Gardenia.

"What do you mean?" Sho stared at her in confusion. He'd soon have all three evolutions, what did she mean he was still missing one?

"Don't you know? A friend of mine went on a little vacation to Alola, and he told me many species of Pokémon we know have developed very different to ours. I was dying to see the local Grass-types, but in a video he sent me, there was a variant of Raichu, very different from the ones we have around here."

"I don't believe you." Sho squinted his eyes and frowned slightly.

"Really? In video it appears using its tail like a surfboard, you should see that."

Sho just let out a sarcastic chuckle, clearly he wasn't buying that tale. Once he finished roasting his marshmallow, he pulled it out of the fire to eat it. Gardenia just stared at the forest for a bit. For that rocky start they had, actually Sho didn't seem that bad. He insisted in helping her find her friend, and chased her around until she finally agreed. Gardenia sighed upon thinking about Cheryl, still wondering about what could have happened to her and hoping that she was alright.

"Worried about your friend?" Sho suddenly asked, pulling her back from her thoughts.

"A little." Gardenia admitted. "It's not the first time she gets lost, but she never took this long to return home."

"What's she like?"

"Why the interest?" Gardenia replied.

"Just… curious. And it's not like we have something else to talk to kill time, have we?"

Gardenia had to admit the Electric-types trainer had a point there. "Cheryl comes from a family of treasure hunters. She's a nice girl, but sometimes she can be a little clueless to her surroundings. It wouldn't be the first time she gets lost thinking she found something good, and if I know her, she won't stop until she finds it."

"That sounds like a bad combination," said Sho. Which actually meant 'a sure recipe for getting into trouble'.

"I know. I just hope nothing bad has happened to her."

Sho wanted to say something else, but he felt that simply saying 'don't worry, we'll find her' would sound too cliché at the time. Actually, he himself wasn't even sure why he offered Gardenia his help to find her friend. Partly, it was true that he was in a bit of a hurry to get that badge, but it also had to do with his 'personal sense of justice', which wouldn't let him turn his back to someone who could use his help.

Once they finished their marshmallows, Sho pulled out from his backpack another bag to keep roasting them. He accidentally pulled out a can of Full Restore. The trainer knew it was the last one; those were quite expensive and he had it reserved for an emergency. The rest were potions, burn heals, antidotes and other medicines in smaller amounts. The Full Restore was kept just in case one of his Pokémon was seriously injured or even in danger of dying if they were in the middle of nowhere.

It was getting late, so Gardenia decided to turn in for the night. Pulling out her sleeping bag, she jumped into it, while Sho told her he'd stay awake a little longer on guard, just to be sure. With a little sigh, the Gym Leader let herself drift into sleep, mentally praying for, wherever her friend was, she was safe and sound.

The next day…

Sho and Gardenia spent the whole morning exploring the forest, trying to find any clue to Cheryl's whereabouts. The Gym Leader occasionally climbed up the trees to watch the perimeter, while the challenger walked around on ground level to check out the places less obvious to the naked eye. Every hour or so they met up at a certain spot, and if they found something they'd call out for the other.

"Cheryl! Cheryl, please answer if you can hear me!"

"Hey, Gardenia!" Sho cried out from down below. "I think I found something!"

Upon hearing his voice, she climbed down, and jumped off the tree once she was close enough to the ground. Sho had come back bringing in her hands what seemed like an explorer bag, green and brown. On the zipper it had a small Chansey keychain doll, which Gardenia immediately recognized.

"That's Cheryl's bag alright. I gave her that doll for her birthday. Where did you find it?"

"In front of a gate over there." Sho pointed behind himself. "I think I saw a mansion or something on the other side."

With the mention of the word 'mansion', Gardenia's irises contracted themselves, and the color of her face vanished in an instant. No, for Arceus, please let it not be that she had gone in there, not in that place. Anywhere but there.

"Let's go check it out, she might be in there," said Sho.

"Wait!" Gardenia stopped him. "I… I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Why not? If this bag was at the entrance, your friend must be inside that place."

"Y-yea… but… don't you know what kind of place is that?" Gardenia asked. Sho just shrugged, evidently he had no idea what she was talking about. "That place is called the Old Chateau. They say it's full of ghosts."

"Ghosts? You mean Ghost-type Pokémon? What's wrong with that?"

"No! I mean ghosts, like REAL ghosts!" the leader explained. "They say the place is haunted, and many who have entered never came back out."

"Yeah, sure," he replied. "You're not gonna tell me you're afraid of getting inside, are you? I admit it looks kind of creepy, but… look, who's to say your friend didn't get hurt and she can't get out herself? Are you gonna leave her in there?"

Gardenia wanted to protest, but she couldn't refute that. What Sho said was definitely plausible, and if he found Cheryl's bag in the entrance, everything pointed that she would be in there. It was a dilemma: Gardenia trembled at the thought of getting inside that place, but… if Cheryl was in there and something happened to her, she'd never forgive herself. She couldn't chicken out right now, plus it wasn't like she'd be alone. She had her Pokémon, and Sho had his own. Surely they could handle anything in that place, right?

"Let's get inside," she said, forcing herself to cross that gate.

Gym Leader and challenger soon walked through the front yard, with Gardenia trembling and looking around nervously. Sho managed to hide it better, but in the inside he had the strange sensation of being watched, and admittedly he didn't like that one bit. Case in point, it just got creepier when the entrance door opened itself just as soon as he touched it with his fingertips. He didn't even push it, it was more like someone opened it from inside.

With this, they both walked in. It certainly had seen better days: the whole place was old, abandoned and in ruins, full of dust and webs everywhere, even the smell of abandonment was in the air. The entrance hall had to sets of stairs, one on each side, leading to the second floor. In between these, there was a lone door. Assuming they'd have to start somewhere, Sho walked towards this door and entered it, followed by Gardenia.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" the boy called out.

"Cheryl?" Gardenia added herself.

The two had reached some sort of dining hall, which a very long time ago must have been all fancy and elegant. A long banquet table was in front of them, full of chairs around. The tablecloth was ragged and full of holes, maybe it had served as a snack for dozens of Bug Pokémon who entered that place, and the wood from the chairs seemed rotten over time. Towards the left side there was another door, flanked by a statue. Nothing abnormal with it… except that they had the feeling that its eyes looked through them somehow. Gardenia had a chill down her spine and involuntarily hugged herself, praying silently that Sho wouldn't think of getting in there. Too bad, that was exactly what he did.

The door led to the kitchen, and it was in a state similar or worse than the dining hall. Nobody had been in that place for years, and the stench definitely was not the best welcome.

"Ack, how nasty. I don't think Cheryl could be here," Gardenia said.

"I agree." Sho admitted. He couldn't think of a reason someone would get in that stinky place.

The pair returned to the entrance hall, this time deciding to go upstairs. On the stair landing there was a huge portrait, showing a man of advanced age. Upon looking into his eyes, it felt as if they glared at them, following them wherever they went, and Gardenia had to force herself not to look back. The Gym Leader had seen enough horror movies to know that in a (potentially) haunted mansion, it was a bad idea to split up, so she made sure not to let Sho out of her sight. The boy seemed calmer, but his eyes remained in constant alert. He was simply better at hiding the creeps that place gave him.

"Hmm?" Suddenly he stopped, when the lights in the corridor began flickering.

"W-what… what's going on?" Gardenia started shaking.

"There's electricity?" Sho asked. "Well, I think that proves there must be someone in this place."

Gardenia didn't dare say whether that was good or bad, so she kept moving forward. The lights kept flickering, and they made them feel at unease. The Leader tried (futilely) to calm herself saying that perhaps it was Cheryl, but the place's atmosphere didn't help at all.

Shortly after, something echoed at the other side of the hallway, and Gardenia could almost swear it sounded like giggles. The giggles of a child. Gardenia once again felt a chill creeping down her spine, but somehow managed to hold back the urge to scream. However, she was left paralyzed, and slowly she turned her head to look above her shoulder, but she didn't see anything. At the same time, Sho kept walking forward and turned around a corner, leaving her behind.

"Sho, wait! Don't leave me here!" Gardenia shouted, running after him. But upon turning around the corner, she had no idea of what was expecting her. "Sho?"

A long and darkened hallway. Completely empty, no doors, no windows… and no Sho in sight either. Where was he? Not even if he ran he could have gotten that far. And looking to the other side, he wasn't there either.

"Sho? Sho, this isn't funny, where are you?" Gardenia began calling out for him. And then, she heard that strange giggling again.

The Eterna Gym Leader remained stiff, once again having that chill, but this time it came upwards. Her muscles didn't answer, and whoever or whatever was producing that giggle was coming in closer towards her. When she could almost sense it was only a few feet away, she slowly turned around to see over her shoulder. Whatever it was, there was no escape.

A little girl. But definitely not a normal girl. She looked around eight to ten years old, had long hair as black as the night, and her skin was so pale it almost fused with the dress she was wearing. In her hands she carried a Buneary plush doll, whose eyes looked like they had been ripped out. Those purple eye bags and lips as red as blood made her look even creepier.

Not to mention that, when she looked towards her feet, Gardenia noticed something else: the girl was not projecting a shadow on the floor.

"W-w-who… who a-are… you?" She managed to stutter.

"Shall we play?" The girl seemingly didn't hear what she said.

"What?" Gardenia flinched.

Whatever this girl wanted to 'play', her instincts where shouting her out loud that she would not like that game. But she didn't get why she couldn't simply turn around to run like hell away from there, if that was what every brain cell was shouting her to do.

"Let's… play… together."

The girl emitted a blue aura and began levitating. Gardenia's eyes followed her as she raised above. If she thought she couldn't get any more scared, she was proved wrong: the girl's face transfigured into a demonic vision, eyes as big as plates and turning blood red, her hair turned white and began waving around in all directions, and long and sharp teeth and a snake-like tongue protruded from her mouth.

Gardenia's scream echoed even outside of the Chateau. Unfortunately, there was nobody to hear it and come to her aid. She was on her own.

A few minutes earlier…

Sho didn't realize when he had left Gardenia behind. Just as he turned around a corner, she suddenly wasn't behind him anymore.

"Gardenia!" He called out for her. "Gardenia, stop fooling around, where are you?"

She couldn't have just vanished like that. Upon turning around a corner, he ran into a dead end, and just five seconds before, Gardenia had been right behind him. So when he turned around to pull back where he came from, she couldn't have just poofed and vanished like that. But that was exactly what had just happened, like the earth had swallowed her whole or something.

Maybe she was right, and this place was really haunted? He didn't believe in ghosts or that kind of things, but… he was starting to question those beliefs. He didn't feel at ease thinking he had entered this place to find a missing person, and now he had lost a second one. Neither did he want to become the next one to disappear.

Hearing some steps echoing at the other side of the hallway, he ran off in that direction, assuming that it would be Gardenia, but as he approached, he was proved wrong. First off, the silhouette was much taller, and definitely male. An older man, dressed in a suit like a butler.

"Well, well, young one, you look like someone who has lost his way," he said in an extremely calm and courteous tone. As in creepy calm and courteous.

"Who are you?" Sho asked.

"I'm but a humble worker in this chateau," said the man-butler, whatever he was. "I believe you were the one who entered this building uninvited, yes?"

"I'm looking for someone," Sho replied. "Wait, you said you work here? Wasn't this place abandoned?"

"That's what everyone seems to think," the man replied. "Did you say you were looking for someone? Is that someone a young lady with long green hair?"

Sho was about to say yes, but the fact that this butler or whatever he was knew Cheryl's physical description (from what Gardenia told him) did not make him feel any more at ease. Something was off. Something was off with this man, he could feel it in his bones.

"If you were so kind to follow me, I'll gladly lead you to her." The man respectfully bowed and turned around to walk through the hallway.

Sho didn't know what to do. Even though his instincts told him it was a BAD idea, he decided to follow the butler, but at a safe distance in case he tried something, and having his Pokéballs in the ready to call his friends if needed. He wasn't liking this, not one bit.

A couple minutes later, he heard a scream in the distance, and he recognized it as Gardenia's voice. Deciding to forget about the butler for now, he turned around and ran off in that direction: if Gardenia was in trouble, he had to help her.

Of course, he wasn't expecting that, upon turning around a corner, the butler would appear in front of him.

"What the…? How…?"

"It is a bit rude of you to leave without a warning, young man," he said. "I'd advise you to accompany me… or otherwise you might get lost."

Sho was too shocked to say or do anything, so he just stood there. How the hell did that man get in front of him, if just a few seconds ago he was at the other side of the hallway? But that was nothing compared to what came next: as the man walked away, he began sinking in the floor, in some sort of burbling purple fluid, like acid or something, until he vanished completely. It actually produced steam, like it was actually boiling.

"W… what the heck is going on?"

He couldn't un-see that anymore, and he only regained his common sense after the fluid began taking on a more definite shape, raising up and forming a head and a pair of floating disembodied hands. It kinda looked like a Haunter, but much larger and of course WAY creepier, with bright red eyes and long sharp teeth. It was then that his leg muscles finally responded again and he could turn around to run in the opposite direction. He didn't dare look back, but he could almost feel that, whatever that thing was, it would catch up to him at a moment's notice. He never thought he'd end up this way as a victim of the specter in a bad horror movie…

"ROTOM!"

He almost yelped upon hearing another voice, and before he notice a small, light bulb-like thingy with two lightning bolts protruding from its body, floated from the opposite direction. It charged against the specter, creating a huge blast of electric energy everywhere, forcing Sho to cover up and not to get caught and electrified. Peeking through the corner, the trainer saw the small Rotom managed to fight against the ghost, creating an Electroweb to hold it back.

"Rotom, roto, roto, rotom!" Sho didn't understand Pokémon speech, but he had the feeling that Rotom was telling him to run away, and something along the lines of 'I'll deal with the attacker!' or similar.

"Thank you!" he said and ran back through the hallway. He had to find Gardenia and get the hell out of that place. The scream he heard didn't sound too far away, she probably was close…

WHAMP!

"Ouch!" He crashed into someone. How convenient.

"Sho? I finally found you! Where the hell did you go?" It was Gardenia.

"Me? You were the one who disappeared without warning!" he snapped back. "Unless…"

"Don't tell me," she said. "Did you find the ghost of a demonic psycho little girl?"

"Not a girl, it was some guy who looked like this place's butler," he answered. "It turned into a gigantic Haunter and chased me around, but… a Rotom saved me."

"A Rotom?" Gardenia asked.

What was that Pokémon doing in that place? Well, if there were REAL ghosts in that place, maybe he wanted to be closer to his kin? They could still hear the noises of a fight and electric attacks. The two stared in that direction until a creepy shriek echoed across the hallway and then, everything was silence again.

"So the rumors were true," said Gardenia. "This place IS haunted after all."

"I hate to admit it, but you're right." Sho nodded in agreement. "What are we gonna do now?"

Gardenia once again was torn between wanting to get out of there, and keep searching around the Chateau to make sure Cheryl was still alive. She didn't want to abandon her friend, but now that she had first-hand proof that the Chateau was haunted with REAL ghosts… she really didn't want to stay in that place any longer.

"Rotom!"

From an electric socket, the Rotom who had saved Sho a minute ago emerged. Gardenia got behind him almost instinctively, but a Ghost-type was definitely less scary than an actual ghost.

"Rotom, ro, roto-roto!" he said shaking around, and they just tilted their heads in confusion.

Frustrated at the fact they didn't understand what he tried to say, once again he got into the electric socket, and used his energy to flicker a couple times before traveling across the cables. Sho was almost ready to follow him, but Gardenia's hand got a hold of his arm.

"Where do you think you're going?!" the Gym Leader yelled.

"We have to follow him, I think he's trying to tell us something," the trainer replied.

"Tell us something?! Are you out of your mind?!" Gardenia shouted again. "Don't lose sight of what we came to do here, let's find Cheryl and get the hell out of here! I can't stand it, I hate ghosts!

"Look, I'm freaked out at this place too, but for all we know, that Rotom could be trying to help us; I mean, he did save me before." Sho argued back. "In any case, until we don't see the last inch of the chateau, we can't be certain that she won't be here."

"But…!" Gardenia tried to protest, but Sho had a point. If Cheryl was somewhere in the chateau, they couldn't leave until they found her, but… that place was so creepy, she didn't want to stay there anymore. But her friend… she couldn't leave her. If something happened to Cheryl, it would be on her shoulders.

"I'll go see, whether you like it or not," he said letting go of her and running towards the hallway in the same direction as Rotom.

"Wait, don't leave me here!"

Grudgingly, but with less desire to stay over there alone and at the mercy of those evil spirits haunting the building, Gardenia ran after Sho. At the end of the hallway, they saw the flickering light representing Rotom. Did he stop to wait for them? Just as soon as they got close enough he moved again, barely fast enough so they wouldn't lose sight of him. They kept turning around the hallways, until they reached a closed door. Sho didn't seem that much tired, but Gardenia stopped to breathe heavily afterwards. With this, Rotom's light vanished, going into the other side of the wall. This only meant one thing: they had to get in there.

"It's closed." Sho observed as he grabbed the doorknob. There was only one alternative.

The trainer began kicking the door as hard as he could, until he broke the lock and forced it open. The other side was too dark, and they had to walk downstairs carefully. It was a rather ample room, and full of shelves and objects covered in cloths. It looked like a storage room, which clearly had not been open for… years, at least.

"Where are you?" Sho called out.

The trainer and the Gym Leader walked carefully, in case it could be a trap. The place was way too dark, so Sho was almost ready to pull out his flashlight, but that was not necessary: one of the electric sockets sparked, and a few seconds later Rotom emerged, giving them some light.

"Rotom, rotom!" He urgently called them. They both approached (Gardenia still a bit hesitant), and it was then they noticed something that was leaning against the wall. Nothing could have prepared them for what they saw.

"Sho… that's…"

Gardenia shakily pointed at that lied on the floor. Sho wasn't trembling, but his whole face tensed up, and for a few good seconds he didn't blink or breathe at all. As much as he would have wanted to look away from that vision in front of him, he couldn't.

Remains. The remains of a human body, there was no mistaking. The kindest way to describe its status was to say that it was, literally, in the bones. The clothing was all ragged and discolored, as bad as the body itself. And if it was there to give them a clue on how much had it been lying in that dark place, next to it there was an electronic device.

A Pokédex. Second generation model, specifically. If the estimation was correct, that implied at least eight or nine years. Sho picked it up: it was completely inert, rusted and damaged by time in its vital components, completely out of power to work. And in that instant, Rotom (literally) bolted into the Pokédex, causing it to light up. Gardenia began screaming, but Sho managed to keep calm: he remembered Rotom's ability to possess electrical appliances. The Pokédex produced out a small pointy tip from the upper part, and eyes and mouth appearing on the screen.

"Get away, get away!" Gardenia yelled, hiding behind Sho.

"Calm down, I mean you –zzt– no harm." That voice sounded electronic and very similar to… Rotom? It seemed to have some echo, but the tone was unmistakable.

"You… you can talk?" Gardenia asked.

"Only when I'm –zzt– inside this device" He was now a… 'Rotom Dex' of sorts. He could talk, although static appeared every now and then, interrupting his speech. "How fortunate –zzt– that my trainer had it. It's damaged –zzt–, although the voice circuit still works; I can use it to –zzt– communicate. I apologize, I had –zzt– to bring you guys here so we could understand each other."

"Well, that at least solves a problem," Sho said. "So, by your trainer, you mean…"

He glanced in the direction of the corpse's remains. If this Rotom belonged to whomever that trainer was, he had to be inside that place for several years. Finally Gardenia had calmed down enough, although she still hid a little behind Sho.

"What happened to him?" Gardenia asked.

"My trainer… his name –zzt– was Grand Greedwell. He heard rumors about some –zzt– fabulous treasure in this chateau, and he wanted to –zzt– come here for it. I tried to convince him otherwise, but…"

"He clearly didn't listen." Sho completed. "Gardenia, your friend Cheryl, didn't you say she was a treasure hunter?"

"I told everyone not to mention anything!" Gardenia protested. "I knew that if someone said the words 'treasure' and 'chateau' in the same statement, she'd come here to find it!"

"Is she really that greedy?" Sho asked, arching an eyebrow.

"It's not so much greed." Gardenia admitted. "She's just… curious, sometimes too much for her own good, which is why she gets into so much trouble."

"Well, how does that saying go? Curiosity killed the Meowth, isn't it?"

"Do you have to say it that way?!" The leader placed her arms akimbo.

"Sorry." Sho apologized. "Listen, Rotom, did you see a girl with green hair entering this place?"

"Green hair? Actually –zzt–, yes, she came in about four days ago."

"Really?! Where is she?! Is she alright?!" Gardenia quickly had her hopes high.

"She's still alive, but –zzt– I can't guarantee she'll hold out much longer."

"What do you mean?" Gardenia asked.

"Those ghosts… want to absorb the girl's life force. They –zzt– lure their victims in here, and use them to keep their –zzt– existence in the world of the living."

After Rotom's explanations, Sho and Gardenia stared at each other. Then they glanced at the skeleton lying in front of them, and they shivered at the thought of imagining Cheryl could end up the same way, or that they themselves could. An even bigger reason to leave that place ASAP.

"Tell me where's Cheryl." Gardenia begged. "We need to get her out of here."

"The girl is at a library –zzt– in the basement," Rotom said. Gardenia mentally scolded herself for not thinking of going there in the first place. "There's still time, we can save –zzt– her if we destroy that… thing that keeps –zzt– the ghosts anchored to this world."

"What thing?" Sho didn't get it.

"It's like a… large shinning stone. It's –zzt– in the backyard, and it's vulnerable to Pokémon –zzt– attacks, but I can't destroy it by myself."

"Say no more." Sho became determined. "We'll do anything we can to help you."

Gardenia wanted to protest again, but if it was the only way to save Cheryl, then so be it. At least knowing that she was still alive was a relief. With this in mind, she let out her Pokémon, and Sho followed suit with his own. They'd have to be ready for anything.

"Rotom… what do we have to do?" Gardenia asked.

"Those ghosts are still lurking around, but –zzt– we can keep them at bay with our attacks." Rotom explained. "Maybe someone will –zzt– have to distract them while the other helps me –zzt– destroy that thing keeping the ghosts around the living."

"Got it, show me where it is." Sho immediately volunteered. "Gardenia, you go find your friend while…"

"No." Gardenia interrupted him. "You go find her. If there's something causing all of this, I'll take care of it."

A part of Gardenia wanted to make sure personally that Cheryl was safe and sound, plus she still didn't like Ghost-type Pokémon very much. But the other part prompted the Eterna Gym Leader to face the main threat by herself to save her friend. Sho looked at her numbers. Gardenia's Pokémon definitely looked strong and in good shape, but he wasn't sure they could handle everything themselves. He had five of his own, maybe some backup wouldn't hurt.

"Magneton, Luxray, you guys go with Gardenia and help her as much as you can," he said to them. "The rest of you, come with me. We're gonna shut down this haunted house for good."

All of the present Pokémon nodded. Magneton and Luxray walked along towards the Gym Leader, who couldn't help but smile. It was encouraging to know that the boy was willing to give her a little more of additional firepower in case. With this in mind, they both left the room guided by Rotom (still inside the Pokédex) back to the foyer. Rotom told Sho where he had to go to find the door leading to the basement, and he left with Pikachu, Raichu and Jolteon in tow. Rotom exited the device (which was pocketed by Gardenia) and floating around, he guided Gardenia, Roserade, Cherrim, Magneton and Luxray in the opposite direction, heading to the source of these damned specters.

Minutes later…

Sho had finally gone down the stairs leading to the basement. Even though he was terrified of being in that place, knowing his Pokémon were there to watch his back helped him get a little more at ease. Even so, if he could find Cheryl and get her out of there before the ghosts showed up, he'd do so. Not like he wanted to abandon Gardenia to her fate, but obviously he had to give a little more of priority to Cheryl if her life was at stake.

'I'm not scared, I'm not scared, I'm not scared…'

That was just a lie, but he had to convince himself it was true if he wanted to get out of that. At least he wasn't saying it out loud, but that didn't mean he wasn't terrified. Of course, he wouldn't let that stop him.

With so little illumination around, he pulled out his flashlight to check out the room. After walking around for a bit, he saw a large couch, and someone resting on it. Someone with green hair.

"Is that…?" He quickly approached to check it out. The girl had long hair tied in a braid, and long green dress and brown leather boots. She lied unconscious with her arms wide open over the back of the couch, and seeing her up close, he saw she was extremely pale. "Hey… wake up, please."

She was still breathing, but she didn't wake up. Sho tried to give her some gentle palms on her face, and then talked to her ear, but nothing worked.

"Well, guess I'll have to get you out of here the old-fashioned way."

"Don't bother… she won't wake up…"

Sho turned around upon seeing that unknown voice. The voice of a little girl… it didn't take a genius to deduce it had to be the ghost girl Gardenia had encountered. "Where are you? Show yourself!"

"How rude. Please don't rush me, here I am."

Suddenly, the room was illuminated. The light seemed to come from nowhere, and everywhere at once, as it didn't came of a bulb, candle or something like that. The place just got creepier and creepier by the minute, but Sho told himself he wouldn't let himself be intimidated.

"What do you mean?" he asked, struggling to control his voice. "What did you do to her?"

"She's enjoying a sweet dream. Do not worry, she's having a great time, I can assure you," the girl replied.

"Let her go," Sho demanded. "Whatever you're doing, stop it now and let her go home."

"Oh, but we've just started playing. Don't you want to join us?"

"Enough of this madness." Sho decided to skip the niceties altogether. "ATTACK!"

Said and done, his three Pokémon launched their Thunderbolts simultaneously. A brief alarmed glance crossed the ghost girl's face, and she floated aside to dodge, but Sho didn't waste the chance and ordered his partners to keep up their assault. The girl then took on her demonic face, briefly shocking Sho, but he quickly regained his composure and tried to grab something to defend himself and fight alongside his Pokémon. Surprisingly, Cheryl didn't even budge at all the ruckus from the fighting.

The best he could do to control his fear was to hide it behind some feigned anger, and buy time for Gardenia. If this ghost girl wanted to play… then they'd play, but the rough way.

Elsewhere…

Gardenia ran along with her two Pokémon and Sho's Luxray and Magneton, with Rotom floating in front of them. So far they'd been lucky enough not to run into that demonic ghost girl, but the house itself seemed to have taken it up to attack them: chandeliers falling from the ceiling, objects flying off from their place to try and crash against her and her Pokémon (forcing Cherrim to use Protect to shield them), and even the paintings seemed to still follow them with their glare wherever they went. At least they weren't of the "realistic style", and any flying object, Rotom alerted them to dodge or attack it (Roserade had already shattered four flower vases using Magical Leaf, and Luxray destroyed a wooden table with Fire Fang).

"Roto, roto!" Rotom cried out, gesturing to the right passageway.

Gardenia and the other Pokémon turned around and kept moving forward. However, at the other side, a thick purple mist began appearing, causing them to stop. It began taking shape and materializing again, until it took on the form of a man in a butler suit, still keeping the creepily calm demeanor. The girl clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, but despite being scared out of her wits she refused to step back a single inch.

"Well, well, are you lost, young lady?" he asked. Gardenia immediately knew this was the butler Sho encountered before. Well, he couldn't be any worse than the demon girl, could he?

"No, we know exactly where we're going." Gardenia refused to let herself get intimidated anymore. "We're in a bit of a hurry, so if you don't mind…"

"Actually, I do mind," the butler replied. "I can't let you ruin the little miss's games. I'm sure she will appreciate that I get her a new playmate…"

"Sorry, but I don't feel like playing right now." Gardenia steeled herself. "Attack!"

Not wasting any time, all of the Pokémon (Rotom included) fired off their attacks against the butler: Roserade and Cherrim fired off Energy Balls, while Magneton and Luxray launched Thunderbolts. The butler vanished in mist, reappearing on the other side.

"Rude children must be punished." His voice turned deeper and more spectral, opening his eyes to reveal a pair of red irises.

Immediately, every object in sight began flying towards them: paintings, books, furniture, practically anything that wasn't nailed down. Gardenia's Pokémon began using Magical Leaf and Energy Ball, while Magneton used some Thunderbolt blasts to repel whatever he could and keep it away from Gardenia. Rotom and Luxray rushed in to attack the ghost butler head on, with the former launching an Electroweb to restrain him, and the latter jumped with his right forepaw engulfed in a dark energy for a Night Slash.

"Aarrrghhh!" The butler cried out in pain after receiving the attack.

It was as if a costume was ripped apart after receiving that attack: the butler vanished and took on the form of a "traditional ghost", like a monstrous Haunter, although the scream evidenced that he did feel the attack, that it hurt him. Alright, that meant they could actually damage him. Gardenia and the Pokémon attempted to keep running forward, but the ghost broke free and extended one of his disembodied hands, grabbing her by the foot and after tripping her, began dragging her towards him. Luxray jumped in with Night Slash right on the hand to make him let go of Gardenia. With the other hand, the ghost swatted him against the wall, but he quickly got back on his feet.

"Rawr!" Luxray roared, charging with his jaws engulfed in flames.

The ghost dodged the Fire Fang by floating backwards, but Rotom once again fired an Electroweb to restrain him, and Magneton followed suit with a Thunderbolt at the same time. While it seemed that they had it under control, Gardenia knew they couldn't waste any time. They needed to find that stone that kept the ghosts anchored to the world of the living and get rid of it, at any cost.

"Rawr, rawr!" Luxray growled, turning to Gardenia.

"Magna, magna!" Magneton added at once.

Gardenia didn't understand Pokémon speech, but she was certain that they meant: 'You go ahead, we'll hold him off'.

"You guys…"

"RAWR!" The lynx roared furiously, urging her to hurry up. Gardenia clenched her fists and nodded.

"We're counting on you guys!" the leader shouted, and immediately stood up and ran after the floating Rotom, with Cherrim and Roserade following.

"YOU SHALL NOT ESCAPE!" The ghost screamed, trying to chase after them, only to be stopped by another Night Slash from Luxray, right in the face. "How persistent. I guess I have to deal with you pests first."

Luxray and Magneton had no intention whatsoever of letting the ghost get through them. They'll have to hold him off to allow Gardenia and the others to do their job. Until then, they'd just have to hold off and not let themselves get beaten.

Rotom floated all the way across they hallway, until they reached a lone door in the back end of the Chateau. First they tried to open it, and seeing that it wouldn't budge, Gardenia simply grabbed a nearby chair and smashed one of the windows to get out, finding herself in the chateau's backyard. Looking up, he noticed that the sky was much darker than it should, as in, no way to see the stars or the moon. Maybe it had something to do with the place being haunted and all.

"ROTO! ROTOM!" They were already in the right place, so Rotom pointed where the source of all the trouble was.

Gardenia finally saw the stone with her own eyes. It was hidden by a lot of weed accumulated over the years, clearly due to the lack of a gardener in that place. She'd love to take care of that, were it not for the ghosts lurking around. But that didn't matter. What mattered was to smash it to pieces.

"Cherrim, Roserade, Energy Ball at full power!"

Both of them began charging up the green energy spheres, making them bigger than normal. They hit the stone, but when the smoke of the explosions cleared, there was some sort of barrier around it. Not letting herself be discouraged, Gardenia commanded Cherrim to use Sunny Day and Solar Beam, but the result was the same: the barrier surrounding the stone prevented it from so much suffering a scratch.

"Tom, roto, roto, roto, rotom!"

Rotom suddenly flew into Gardenia's pocket where she had kept the Pokédex (she had kept in in case they need to communicate). The girl pulled it out, it was already possessed.

"You can't destroy it –zzt– that way," he said. "You need my help."

"Alright, but I don't see how your attacks can make much of a difference, no offense," Gardenia replied.

"I didn't mean that way. Since I'm part Ghost-type –zzt–, I can become intangible to enter that stone and weaken –zzt– the barrier from the inside. That way, you –zzt– can destroy it from the outside using your attacks."

"Wait… but if we do that… won't you get hurt too?" Gardenia expressed concern at that.

"It's the only way, if we want to –zzt– save your friend. That's why I told you, I –zzt– can't do this alone. I need you to help me."

Gardenia was debating on if she should do as he said, since she had the feeling that Rotom was highly unlikely to get unscathed of something that. It wasn't like she liked Ghost-type Pokémon very much, but neither did she want to do such cruelty to him. Yet, it seemed the only way to save Cheryl… and there was no guarantee that Luxray and Magneton could hold off the other ghost forever. After weighing her options, she made her decision.

"Do what you must," she said in resignation.

"Leave it to me."

Having said this, he left the Pokédex, and went to dive into the stone, making the barrier to flicker as he passed through. Once inside, he started using his electric power to weaken it.

"Rotom, rotom!"

Gardenia clenched her fists, she really didn't want to do that. It looked like an impossible decision, but…

"Roserade, Cherrim, Petal Blizzard and Solar Beam, full power!"

Obeying their trainer, both Grass-types began preparing their attacks. As they charged up power, Gardenia felt tempted to tell them to hold out for a bit, in case there was another way, but there was no time. She simply looked away, while Rotom cried at them to hurry up. A massive petal storm and a powerful solar energy beam were fired off against the accursed stone. Rotom braced for the inevitable, he could finally avenge his former trainer…

*BOOOOOMMM!*

After that huge explosion, Gardenia and her Pokémon were blown backwards due to the blast. At the same time, the specter that used to look like a butler had Luxray and Magneton against the ropes, despite the fact they had fought bravely. But they were reaching their limit, and they were about to receive the coup de grace…

"What the…? No… no… NO!" His placed his hands on the head. "THIS CANNOT BE! THIS CANNOT BE HAPPENING! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Unexplainably, the Haunter-shaped mass began violently swirling around, shrieking and seizing, to Magneton and Luxray's shock, and then without warning, he was sucked into a spiraling vortex to disappear in a "poof" of purple smoke, not leaving behind any other trace of having been there at all. The whole hallway remained silent.

Meanwhile, at the backyard, Gardenia recovered from the explosion, and went to check out the result of the attack. The stone had been shattered to pieces and was no longer glowing. Roserade and Cherrim had been blown away by the explosion, but they didn't seem to be seriously injured. As for Rotom…

The Gym Leader looked around everywhere. Her eyes widened upon noticing him on the ground, still moving, barely alive. A real miracle if she ever saw one. Gathering up strength, she picked him up in her arms. She couldn't leave him there, not after everything he did to help them. Just this once, a bit of tolerance was needed. Now there was only one more thing left to do.

A few minutes earlier…

At the basement library, Sho and his Pokémon kept on battling fiercely against the ghost girl. She floated everywhere, and had begun using the strands of her hair as tentacles to attack him. Sho had seen himself in the need to grab anything he could find to fight back, even needing to be saved by an Iron Tail from Raichu twice, when a tentacle got a hold of him. These dissolved upon being severed, but the hair grew back at an alarming speed. At the time, Sho was defending himself using a light stand as a club, but the tentacles grabbed a hold of it, and broke it in half. Jolteon fired off a barrage of Pin Missile, but the demon girl grabbed him and threw him at a bookshelf. Pikachu was unconscious, cradled in the arms of her trainer, and in one last desperate charge, Raichu threw himself with a Volt Tackle to try and stop her. He did, only for ten seconds or so, but he couldn't do anything else.

"The game was fun… but it's over now. It's time to…"

Suddenly, a shocked expression crossed the girl's face. So much that her 'demonic mode' vanished, and she remained stiff. Sho was holding tightly his Pikachu and closing his eyes he braced for the worst. It took him a couple of seconds to open them up again. Upon doing so, he noticed the girl was 'back to normal', kneeling on the floor and holding on to her eyeless Buneary doll.

"No… no… I can't go… I DON'T WANT TO GO! I WANT TO STAY, I WANT TO KEEP PLAYING! NO PLEASE, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The ghost girl began twisting and seizing around, before being absorbed by a spiraling vortex as if a vacuum was dragging her. The horrific shriek she let out still drilled in the trainer's ears, even after the room was left again in complete silence and darkness once she vanished without a trace, except for that Buneary plushy, which remained motionless on the floor. First thing, Sho carefully stood up and returned all of his Pokémon. Second, he grabbed a piece of the broken light stand, using it to tap the doll, just to be sure it wouldn't come back to life or something. After a while, it didn't happen, so he sighed in relief and went back to the couch. It was incredible that she had slept like a baby through all that ruckus (and still did). She was still alive, but too pale.

"Ugh… she's heavy…" he said when he tried to carry her, so he finally gave up and decided not to. Instead, carefully he held her below the armpits to drag her upstairs. If they were going to get her out of that place to take her back to the city, he'd need Gardenia's help. She owed him big time for this, no doubt.

"Sho! Sho, where are you?" He heard her calling out when he got out of the basement.

"Here!" he replied. "I've got Cheryl!"

Just as he said those word, the steps of the Gym Leader sped up and less than a minute later, she approached through the central hallway. Surprisingly, she was carrying Rotom in her arms, but as soon as she spotted Sho and Cheryl, she ran off in their direction.

"Cheryl! Cheryl! Cheryl, please talk to me!" The leader began gently palming her in the face trying to wake her up, using all her strength to restrain from slapping her.

"She's still alive, don't worry," said Sho. He then noticed Rotom in her arms, and saw he was in a very bad condition. "What happened to Rotom?"

"He helped us destroy that accursed stone, but the cost was high to him," Gardenia replied. "I don't like Ghost-types very much, but after he helped us… I couldn't leave him like this."

"Hold on, I have a Full Restore in my backpack, maybe…"

Leaving Cheryl carefully on the floor for a moment, Sho began looking through his backpack, until he found the Full Restore can. Gardenia placed Rotom in front of him, while Sho shook the can before spraying the medicine on him. He had kept it for an emergency, and this definitely counted as such. Hopefully, this would be enough…

"Ro… roto… rotom?"

"Hey. You alright?" Sho asked.

"Roto. Rotom!" The Electric-Ghost Pokémon happily nodded. Whatever that was, he felt better than ever.

"Alright, good to see you're feeling better now," said Gardenia. "Now, as for Cheryl, you hold her by the armpits, I'll grab her ankles."

"Roto, rotom!" Rotom suddenly exclaimed. Gardenia and Sho stared at him puzzled.

"What's the matter?" Sho asked. "The ghosts are gone for good, you're free to leave."

"Sho… I think he's trying to say that he has nowhere else to go now." Gardenia suggested. "I mean, the poor guy lost his trainer, so…"

"Oh…" Sho finally understood. Poor Rotom had been trapped in that horrible place for years. Surely he must have felt very lonely, and scared.

"You like Electric-types, don't you? I think it's a fair deal." The Leader insisted. "Look at him, just imagine how much he's had to deal with those horrors. He needs a partner for some support, don't you agree?

Sho stared at the Electric-Ghost type. It was true: he'd love to add Rotom to his team, it would be one of the most versatile Pokémon for his arsenal. And well, considering that his previous owner was dead and his Pokéball most likely had been destroyed, that made him a free agent. Still… it didn't feel quite right to claim Rotom for himself like that. Not without asking him for his say on the matter.

"Rotom… look, it's not like I'd like to replace your previous trainer or something but, would you like to come with me?" he asked. "I won't push you if you don't want to."

"Rotom, roto, to, rotom!" The Electric-Ghost Pokémon didn't waste any time in nodding happily. As long as he could leave that horrible place, he'd be more than happy to tag along. Smirking, Sho took the single empty Pokéball he brought along, but before he could activate it, Rotom went ahead and taped the button himself. He was immediately absorbed and a second later, the *PING* sound indicated he had let himself to get captured with no resistance.

"Incredible." Sho smiled.

"Yeah, and very moving." Gardenia added. "Now, let's get this over with. Help me with Cheryl and let's get out of this haunted house."

Sho didn't need anything else, he too wanted to get out of there. Holding Cheryl by her armpits while Gardenia did the same by the ankles, they immediately went to the exit, happy to finally leave the Old Chateau behind, along with those ghosts, who hopefully had left never to return again. Time to go back to town.

Eterna General Hospital, the following morning…

Being the local Gym Leader had its perks: Gardenia was allowed to enter the hospital with the patient in tow and no waiting line, and they immediately took Cheryl for attention (once Gardenia promised to pay the bills). At the moment, Cheryl was resting on a stretcher, and had an IV bag strapped to her arm. Her face had regained her color, and Gardenia had not separated from her all the while she had been there, once she was allowed in. Fortunately, outside being a tad dehydrated and not having eaten for several days, she was quite healthy. She couldn't imagine how were those ghosts planning to kill her, and Gardenia wasn't quite sure she'd like to know.

"Hmm… ah… what… where…?" Slowly, Cheryl opened her eyes, and turned around to see her friend. "Gardenia?"

"Cheryl! Thank Arceus!" Gardenia quickly hugged her tightly.

"Ow… Gardenia, you're hurting me…"

"Deal with it!" the Gym leader replied, shedding tears mixed of rage and joy. "What were you thinking, getting inside THAT place, by yourself?! Do you have any idea of how worried I've been these past days?!"

"I… I'm sorry, I just…"

"Cheryl, I don't care what your grandpa might have said." Gardenia interrupted her. "There's no treasure worth placing your life in danger like that."

"But I just…"

"Well, so you finally woke up." Gardenia turned around to see Sho coming along with a tray full of food. "The doctors told me you might want something to eat, so I brought this for you."

Right then, Cheryl's stomach growled loudly, giving the response for her. The green-haired girl just blushed slightly, so Sho placed the tray before her so she could eat.

"Thank you." She grabbed the fork and knife. "Sorry for asking, but who are you?"

"The name's Sho," he said. "I had come to challenge the Eterna Gym, but your friend here was going out to find you just as I came in."

"And good thing he came along," said Gardenia. "Without his help, maybe I wouldn't have found you… or even gotten into that place for starters. And I don't want to go back there, EVER."

"Me neither. I had enough of ghosts for a lifetime." Sho sounded less scared than Gardenia, but he didn't like the experience himself.

"Speaking of, Cheryl, what in the world were you doing in that place?" Gardenia added. "We've just seen firsthand the rumors were true: the chateau was haunted."

"It didn't seem like that when I arrived," said Cheryl, eating some steak. "Plus, I had gotten lost, and the place looked so good and welcoming… and I could swear I ate a whole feast. But then, those ghosts appeared and when I came to… I was running around a flower field, happy and without any worries in the world. Until I woke up, I could almost swear I was in heaven.

"A little bit more and you might as well have been." Gardenia shook her head. Cheryl was a little too innocent at times, but for her to fall for that… those ghosts must have set quite a trap.

"At least they're not gonna haunt anyone else ever again," said Sho. "I swear, I'll never watch a horror movie in my life ever again. I've already lived one."

Gardenia nodded in agreement. It was the most terrific experience they ever had, and not just because of the thought that it almost cost them both their lives, as well as Cheryl's.

Eterna Gym, a couple days later…

Despite being in a hurry at first, Sho decided to wait for a bit and give Cheryl time to recover, since Gardenia wanted to stay with her until she was finally released from the hospital. Of course, after everything that happened in the chateau, it would be too hard, if not impossible, for any of them to get any sleep, the following nights they could barely shut the eyes. The three agreed not to tell anything of what happened, after all, who'd believe their story, especially now that the ghosts were gone for good?

"I. Can't. Believe it."

To kill time while Gardenia prepared to take his challenge, Sho was watching a plasma TV, specifically showing the video the Gym Leader had spoken about, from her friend who visited Alola. Just as she had said, there was a Raichu, looking different to his own, specifically the color and shape of the ears, riding over the waves using its own tail as a surfboard. The best part, it seemed to be enjoying it.

"Yeah, believe it now." Cheryl was next to him. "So what do you think?"

"As soon as I can visit Alola, I'm definitely getting one of those," said Sho, watching the video with an appreciative eye.

"Rai, rai." His Raichu seemed enthusiastic at having one of those as a friend and partner. Maybe he could even ask them to surf like that. Right then, one of the Eterna Gym aides appeared through the grand door.

"Challenger Sho? Sorry for the wait, the Leader is ready to take your battle now."

"Thanks." The boy nodded and then turned towards Cheryl. "Well, I guess it's time."

"Good luck on your challenge," the green-haired girl said. "And once again, I'm in your debt for having helped Gardenia rescue me."

"Hey, just try not to get into that kind of predicament again, and the debt is paid," said Sho, waving it off with his hand. "Plus, I only helped Gardenia find you to challenge her faster, that's all."

Cheryl let out a sigh. Was it so hard for him to accept some gratitude? However, part of her decided to follow his advice. He and Gardenia wouldn't have gone through those troubles if if wasn't for her and her obsession with treasures, having ventured into the forest by herself. After Sho went towards the battle arena, Cheryl walked through the spectators door, deciding to stay and watch the battle. They were standing on opposite sides, and the aide who called Sho before was acting as referee.

"This is going to be an official battle between the Eterna Gym Leader, Gardenia, and Sho, the challenger. Each of you can use up to three Pokémon and the battle will end when all of the Pokémon of either side are unable to battle. In addition, only the challenger is allowed to substitute his Pokémon."

"Listen, Sho, you might have helped me save Cheryl and I'm grateful for that. But as the Gym Leader, I can't make things easy for you." Gardenia declared. "If you want the Forest Badge, you have to earn it as it's due."

"I wouldn't expect it any other way," the boy replied, hitting his palm with his fist, and grabbing his first Pokéball. "Luxray, go!"

"Cherrim, go!"

Both Pokémon simultaneously appeared on the field, the aide raised her hands to get the battle underway. Gardenia and Cherrim opened up with Sunny Day, having Cherrim changing from Overcast to Sunshine form. Sho decided to deliver the first strike, taking advantage of the weather to call for a Fire Fang, to which Gardenia and Cherrim countered with Protect. The electric lynx crashed into the barrier, wasting his attack and tumbling backwards, and Gardenia had Cherrim launch and Energy Ball. The resulting explosion disoriented Luxray, but he quickly regained his composure and launched a Thunderbolt, landing a solid hit.

They might have been friends in facing the horrors of the Old Chateau, but now they were opponents, and they'd face each other fairly as such.

FIN.