Kanto region…

Once upon a time, Monty Near Hawkins, or "the Hiker", as he preferred to call himself, would have found town festivals rather boring, compared to the challenge of conquering new mountains. However, when his little traveling companion felt curiosity about one of them, they ended up staying to check it out.

Apparently, a Kalosian coming to town wanted to bring something from his homeland, called the Gourgeist Festival. It involved putting up decorations with a ghostly pumpkin-like Pokémon, and having everyone, children and adults, exchanging sweets and wear Pokémon costumes. Even some Pokémon had dressed up like others, and it was funny to see things like a Pikachu with a Psyduck bill, a Pidgeotto wearing a Spearow-masked mantle, or even some small Pokémon trying to look like their more evolved forms, such as a Squirtle wearing a custom-made Blastoise shell and mask.

He didn't mind wearing that Rhyperior costume too much. After all, everybody else wore a costume, so nobody would make fun of him. Plus, the little girl walking next to him was happy to dress like a Starmie, complete with the gem. She was happily tasting her cotton candy with one hand, and holding her Krabby with the other, occasionally giving him some too.

"You liked that?" he asked.

She nodded. As she couldn't speak out loud, they agreed she'd only reply with nods or head shakes while they were in public, just to cover appearances. He'd grown fond of her and the last thing he wanted was for somebody to set their sights on her because she was… one of them.

"Well, we've almost tried every single candy in this festival," the man said. "How about we try some games? Maybe we can win some nice prizes."

The game stands included practically anything one could expect in a festival like that one. From the typical ones, such as the hammer and bell to test your strength, and darts and hoops to test your aim, to others a bit more elaborate, such as fishing a Goldeen out of a pond without pulling out a Magikarp before the net broke. He took a couple of tries before finding the right timing, but he felt very satisfied when he did.

After passing through a guzzling soda stand (where you had to chug down eight soda bottles within a time limit) they arrived to the last game stand. One that looked… particularly weird, since it had the looks of a house of horrors or something like that, especially with the Haunter face and open mouth for entrance, framed by the floating hands.

"Come on in, come on in! Dare to enter Doctor Norstein Bekkler's Tent of Horrors! Take the chance to win fabulous prizes, or to suffer the scares of your life if your minds can't fathom what awaits you inside!"

The announcer of the stand looked like the mad scientist who tried to revive corpses, whatever his name was. He was wearing the lab coat, black leather gloves and boots, and possibly the only thing he was missing was a hunched assistant named Igor.

"You, the Rhyperior man! Are you brave enough to try it?"

The Hiker glanced at Mizu, asking her what she thought. He wasn't going to drag her inside in case it turned out too scary for her, and for some reason he felt there was something behind the game and the guy running it.

However, she just shrugged and nodded, so he approached the mad scientist, Dr. Whatever-His-Name-Was.

"How much?"

"Ten bucks for level one, twenty for level two, and forty for level three. Depending on your performance, it's the prize you'll earn. Anything can happen!"

The Hiker checked his wallet. He had more than enough to try the three levels, but he had no idea what would happen in there. Maybe it was some kind of courage test, and the key was not to get scared. If that was the case… well, lucky for him it was very hard to scare him.

"You're on." He grabbed a ten bill and handed it to the guy. "Let's check what this show's all about."

With those words, the Hiker and Mizu entered the strange tent. Admittedly, the man was a bit nervous, but it was just a game stand in a town festival. There couldn't be any sinister purpose behind it, right?

…

Once they left the town and the festival behind, the Hiker checked a little on the souvenirs they brought along. Aside from a sizable amount of candy, they had earned some toys and plush dolls. Even though Mizu didn't have a clue as to how to use half of them, the little girl seemed to at least appreciate his efforts to win them for her.

"Aw, I don't know how I missed that last one," the Hiker said. "I'm starting to believe the last level was rigged."

"'Rigged'? What does that mean?"

"That guy must have cheated. He made it impossible to win, that's the only explanation," the man replied, frowning slightly.

The mysterious tent's games turned out to be rather interesting, to say the least. The first level featured three identical Tyrogue that somehow managed to speak in human language, all of them wearing fighting armor. They identified themselves as Biggs, Wedge and Piett, and then mixed amongst each other for him to identify one of them. Just a matter of observation and a bit of luck, and he managed to succeed on the third try.

The second level summoned a Ditto to transform into him, and for a minute, he had to mimic his doppelganger's moves without fail. Somewhat annoying, especially when he made some rather ridiculous faces, but not that hard to achieve.

The third one, however, was a completely different story. The game consisted of keeping at bay a small squad of Raticate for a limited time, before they dogpiled on him. Simple enough on paper, if it wasn't for the catch: the game would take a "hostage", in this case being Mizu's Krabby, to hang over a bubbling cauldron. If he didn't want the crab to get a bath, he'd have to turn a handle to raise the rope, but the problem was that it was at the other side of the room. By the time he got to it, the rats jumped on him and disabled him, and the small crab fell to his 'doom'.

At the time, Mizu was summoning some water with her powers to wash the sticky cover off the Krabby's skin. The liquid in the cauldron turned out to be nothing more than maple syrup, so there wasn't any real danger. The girl couldn't help but suck her fingers every once in a while, since she seemed to like the taste judging by her face. She latter chugged down some water bottles to replenish herself, which for some reason she preferred over other drinks like juice or soda.

"Oh well, at least it wasn't too bad," the Hiker said, resting on a rock. "That festival was fun and all, but if they meant to be scary on that house of horrors, they could've tried harder. Those things aren't scary in the least."

"I think they were scary. Especially those Electric-types."

"Aw, come on, those were nothing. I know of things a lot more terrifying."

"Really? Like what?"

"Like those pirates who took your family, remember? And even those turned out to be little more than a joke."

Mizu's eyebrows arched slightly, and a second later she was forced to nod. She took a bite of her marshmallow and then drank half another bottle, before giving her Krabby the other half when he asked for it.

The Hiker glanced around, and something inside him made him smile for some reason. "You know, between the festival's general atmosphere, and being right now in front of a campfire… this brings me back memories."

"Memories of what?"

The Hiker contemplated the fire with a nostalgic glance. "Sometimes when I went to hiking camps, I'd gather with my friends to tell some horror stories around the campfire. It's been a while since I last did that."

"Horror stories? Why would you do that?"

"It's a nice way to spend the time. And believe it or not… sometimes getting a little scared can be fun, too."

The Hiker smiled in a way that made the little girl genuinely curious. Obviously, having been raised away from human civilization, she probably didn't get why someone would want to get scared in the first place. For a moment, he was unsure whether he should do it, but given that, Electric-types aside, Mizu wasn't that easily scared, she probably could take a little tale.

"Would you like to hear one of my horror tales? I've got plenty to share."

"Well… why not? Let's see if it's as scary as you say."

The Hiker nodded, and then spoke with the deepest voice he could muster. "Prepare yourself, little one. What I'm about to tell you… is one terrific story…"

…

About thirty something years ago, a boy and his father went to climb the snowy mountains west of Kanto, very near to the ridge that separates Johto and Kanto. The father warned his son to avoid walking too far away, as he could easily get lost, and those mountains were rife with very dangerous creatures.

Some rumors told of a ghostly creature who appeared and disappeared in especially snowy days. Her skin was so pale it could easily blend in with snow itself, and her eyes were like ice crystals capable of freezing her victims solid with a single glare. Some even said she was the spirit of a woman who got lost in the mountains, and now wandered around aimlessly.

Despite the warnings, the kid decided to venture in the mountains by himself. He feared nothing, or so he said, and he wanted to find out if the rumors about the creature were true.

Thus, he went to look for her for hours and hours, but didn't find her, so he decided to go back before it got dark.

Unfortunately, he realized the blizzard had erased his footprints, and now he couldn't remember which way he came from. To make it worse, the weather was turning harsher and harsher, preventing him from seeing clearly and causing him to grow weaker by the minute.

And right when he thought things couldn't get any worse, he tripped with a strange snow mount, which then let out a shrieking cry, echoing across the whole mountain.

An abominable creature rose from the ground and raised its huge arms, ready to crush the boy. He then ran for his life in the middle of the snow, somehow managing to keep his distance. After a while, the creature broke chase, and the boy barely felt relief for a moment… until he turned to the other side.

He then saw her: the infamous specter from the mountain. Just as she had been described: pale as snow and with that gelid glare that chilled him to the bone in a heartbeat. Extending her arms, the ghost approached slowly, and the boy, too weak from running away from the abominable creature from before, felt his strength fading away. He couldn't do anything but slump on the snow, embracing his fate…

…

The Hiker ended his tale adopting a solemn expression, as if the protagonist had suffered some dramatically tragic death. There was silence for a moment, until Mizu broke it off with a question.

"So… what happened to him?"

"Hmm?"

"What happened to the boy? He… died or what?"

"Well… when he woke up he was back resting on his bed, under five blankets and with a hot towel on his forehead," the Hiker replied. Mizu tilted her head in confusion, and the man couldn't help but laugh at the fact she didn't catch the message. "Sorry, didn't you get it? That boy was me."

"You?"

"Hahahahaha, yeah. My father was really mad at me for going off on my own that day. I still have no clue what was that thing I saw that day, but… I'm almost sure it was just a Pokémon. I've never seen any other like that since then, so I'd really like to know what it was."

Mizu didn't say anything else, but she seemed satisfied with his response. The girl kept quiet as they continued to roast some marshmallows on the fire, until she finally decided to talk again.

"You know, my parents once told me a story of a mysterious creature, too."

"Oh, really?" The Hiker sounded interested. "How about you tell me about it?"

…

The sea isn't all bright and sunny. That's just the part closer to the surface, the one all humans know. The 'Sea Heroes' like me and Pokémon like my family really know how the ocean isn't all like that. The more you go down, the darker it gets. It becomes big and scary and you can't see or feel anything. Not many Pokémon like to go down there, it's scary and cold. Some Pokémon say the tastiest food is hidden there, and some have tried to go there. Not that many returned.

We don't like darkness. We want light, to be able to see and know what happens around us. So, we try to avoid dwelling into the darkness if we can avoid it. But those that returned say that, they say, there are little bits of light. Safe spots Pokémon are driven towards. The perfect place to rest up. After all, when you can see what's around you, you have nothing to fear, right?

But that's not a good light. That's a strange light, luring you further in. Many Pokémon have thought this was a reprieve to the darkness, a safe place.

I don't know if it was. We only know what happens in the depths by the few Pokémon that didn't follow it.

They tried to stop their friends, for sure. But they were stubborn, thinking they would find something no one ever did. They wanted to sate their curiosity, and maybe they did. Or maybe the bits and pieces of Pokémon scales and fins that sometimes float out of the depths are just a result of some won fight.

All that's known is the screams and lightning that sometimes blinds Pokémon looking for the secret of the depths. Even those that survived it were never able to see anything again.

My parents tried to discover what was happening down there once, when they were younger and less mature. They never told me what they found, and just warned me from ever getting close to it again, telling me what I just told you about. They scolded me and Kooky for days when we just played with some Pokémon where the sea got a bit darker.

I don't know what's down there in the depths, but the sea has never been a bad place for me or my family, even with people like those poachers. We were happy, and only rarely fought with bad Pokémon. But I'll never forget all of them, the electricity throughout my body, the... the scary faces. And that was when I could see them.

I don't know if that's what it's like in the depths. Maybe it's not even the same Pokémon I've met. Maybe it's just someone that wants a friend, or something else I don't know about.

The only thing I know is that no one has ever returned from the depths. At least, not the same as they entered them...

…

Mizu ended her story with a shiver, and the Hiker himself was left speechless. He wasn't sure if it was because she told the story telepathically and somehow that made it feel scarier or more real, but he could somewhat sympathize with her. If anything, it probably made her fear of Electric-types even more justified, if there was some of them like that creature living in the depths.

"Oh please, is that the best you can come up with?" a voice said out loud.

The Hiker immediately rose to attention, and grabbed a nearby stick out of reflex. "Who's there?!"

The bushels behind Mizu rustled, and out came a figure from the shadows. As it approached the fire, the newly arrived raised his hands peacefully. "Easy, Mr. Hiker, it's just little old me."

"Hey… you're the guy from the festival. Dr. Whatever-Your-Name-Was?" the Hiker asked, lowering the stick, though still keeping it in hand just in case. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, the festival's over, so I'm just on my way to the next one," the guy said. "You gotta make your living somehow, don't you?"

"Oh yeah? Like rigging your stand so people can't win on the final level?" the Hiker inquired.

Dr. Whatever-Was-His-Name seemed genuinely offended by that statement. "I'll have you know, the game was perfectly winnable. It's not my fault you didn't get the trick behind it."

"What do you mean?" the Hiker asked. There was a trick behind the game?

"You know, you could have won if you had turned the handle when the rope was halfway down instead of waiting until the little crab over there was almost ready for his dip," the mad doctor said. "Then again, I can't make it that obvious, otherwise it'd be bad for my business. But seriously, I didn't expect that you'd ruin the script so badly."

"What?" The Hiker arched an eyebrow. What did the guy meant by 'script'?

The Doctor sighed and shook his head. "You see, I'm a bit of an interactive storyteller. That game was meant to be a heroic stage play of sorts, one where you were supposed to be the hero. Sure, I wasn't expecting you'd see it on the first try, but you could have at least tried to use your head, couldn't you?"

The Hiker wanted to retort something, but in the end he couldn't do so. If he couldn't spot the trick behind the game, then it was his own fault. Meanwhile, the Doctor walked closer and took a seat on the fallen log next to Mizu.

"Anyhow, I couldn't help but overhear you and your little friend here exchanging your horror stories. I must say, I'm not very impressed."

The Hiker titled his head in confusion, until he realized something about the guy's words: he had said stories. As in, did he hear Mizu's tale too? Did he know she was…?

"Rest easy, I'm not gonna blab about the little girl's… condition to anyone," the Doctor said, preemptively raising his hands as if he had read his thoughts. "She's not the first of her kind I've met in my journeys, but I've got nothing against them. Don't be afraid to talk to me too, kid."

"I'm not 'Kid', I'm Mizu," she replied, her face pouting.

"Sorry. But anyway, I was wondering if you'd allow me to share a tale of my own. Like I said, I'm a storyteller, and sometimes I like to spread my own tales as well as learn new ones. What do you say?"

The Hiker and Mizu exchanged glances with one another. It was a weird turn of events, being there by the campfire and sharing their stories, and then all of a sudden this stranger showed up, wanting to tell one of his own. The Hiker finally shrugged and figured there would be no harm in letting him do so.

"Well, go ahead. This might be interesting and all."

The Doctor smirked as he leaned forward and intertwined his fingers together. "Be ready. This isn't your average horror tale, I assure you."

…

Once upon a time, before any of you was born, there was a foolish noble who thought to be smarter than all of its peers, and wanted to prove even smarter than all the others. And being a noble, what better way was there to do that than to fool poor saps in giving them money for nothing? That's what greedy rich guys are good at, isn't it?

But to prove smarter and rip off others, the noble needed an actual plan. Fortunately, being a bored and rich guy, he had all the time he needed to think of nasty plots alongside his friends.

You see, since he was stuffy and rich, the guy owned a lot of houses. As people like to live in houses rather than be homeless, he decided to sell them off to people that needed it. But of course, one couldn't allow these stupid, dirty people to ruin the precious rich houses, that's just bad form. So, the plan was to scare the poor saps out of the house after some half-hearted claims that the place was haunted, giving them no grounds to call out the people but too desperate to be picky. The perfect plan for selfish people, as you may guess.

But alas, the man had a problem. How could he and his friends simulate a haunted house? Nobody was that knowledgeable of how scaring people worked, and nobody wanted to bother trying to waste time learning or setting up the trap. They wanted to win without lifting a single finger, just like they never did all of their life. Quite the dilemma, as you might imagine.

But the noble and his colleagues had nothing to fear, for a savior came their way. A raggedy, short man that promised to do the job for them for just a few scant coins per service. He overheard their boasts, he claimed, and he thought to have the winning formula for their plan.

The man was dirty and poor like all those stupid fools, but he promised to do the job for them, and so the noble and his helpers agreed. They didn't care what their new worker did so long as it got the job done. The man was fine by that, so long as the noble and his friends abided by their word. They assumed he was a trainer of some Ghost-types or other creepy stuff.

And the man, for how skeevy he looked, held up to his part of the bargain. People who needed homes came in droves to buy the seemingly cheap houses the noble and his friends sold, with just a token warning of the spirits haunted it. They didn't care if the men and women stipulating their contracts were driven by bravery, cheapness of desperation so long as the pleasant sound of gold coins filled their pockets. That was the only thing that mattered.

And oh, how did they get scared! The poor, foolish buyers always left not even one night later, about fifty shades of pale more than they entered, vowing to never again set foot in the house where monsters dwelled.

The house gained infamy, and with infamy came the bravest and the foolish people willing to shell money to solve the mystery, including some Pokémon expert that thought themselves able to accuse a Pokémon for what was happening. Some people almost caught on to the scam, but they all stopped saying anything the moment they tried to investigate. It was the perfect plan, and the nobles reaped all the profits from it.

And that's how the noble and his colleagues lived happily ever after and richer than ever... if this was a fairy tale about opportunism. But real life is often funnier and more complicated than that.

For you see, that could've been the end of it, if the nobles didn't forget to account for one small thing. The raggedy man, their little helper, eventually came knocking to ask for his compensation. He scared away almost one hundred people without fail, all without any suspicion, so you'd think the guy probably deserved some form of payment.

But there was a small problem: he was old, he was smelly, and he was poor. Why would the high and mighty nobles want to share profits with someone like him? Even if he dared say anything, nobody would believe him, and the nobles had gained enough money from the scam to not really need it ever again. They had won, and they were keeping the prize.

So, they did the only good thing they could think of, and slammed the door in his face. The man's reply was simple and understated: "You're the next ones."

The nobles didn't really think much of that. They had enough people hating them, so one more raggedy idiot was nothing for their daily routine. Or at least, that was what the nobles thought.

They expected nothing to come and hitting them, and so they wasted all their hard stolen money to party all night long, feasting in everyone else's face and enjoying the seeming happy ending. After all, they just proved to be smarter than everyone else, and they would suffer no repercussions for their actions.

I almost feel bad for them, you know. They went to sleep all proud of themselves, happy, safe. They sure didn't expect to wake up in the middle of the night, the walls cracking and footsteps heard all over the manor. What could it have been? Thieves? Some servant looking for a midnight snack? Simply a play of their drunken imagination?

The nobles ultimately decided to look into it. They stepped into the darkness, only the light of the lanterns leading their way. And in the darkness, they saw eyes. Red, bloodshot eyes carrying a hungry stare all pointed at them, purple fur and sharp ivory fangs trained on them.

They screamed, their lanterns shattering on the ground, the unending pack of Rattata crawled all over their bodies. The nobles tries to scream and swim through the waves and waves of Pokémon, only for their fangs to sink in their flesh, dragging them down in further darkness.

The nobles still tried to fight back anyway, to toss the Rattata away, to escape from the house. One of them even managed to reach the door, and even to almost open it. The Spinarak crawling on his arms and overflowing from the door put a stop to that.

Any other escape attempt was just as ill-fated. The nobles and the poor servants of the house were at the complete mercy of the horde of Pokémon that invaded their house. Their screams echoed in the countryside all around them, but no one had the interest or the courage to know what went on.

The morning after, there was no trace left of anyone, the house completely abandoned much like the ones they reaped profit out of. It's been like that since the night where everything ended, nature slowly claiming the once proud manor, now fallen just like its owners.

But I'd suggest against trying to buy out the house or visiting it. For you see, some people claim that, if you were to visit it at just the right time, you'd see a raggedy man visiting the house, like a king in his own domain... and he's not gonna take kindly out of anyone stealing his hard earned prize...

…

The doctor finished his tale with a creepy grin. The Hiker and Mizu remained motionless all the while, partly out of curiosity, partly out of being scared themselves. They had no idea why, but somehow the way the guy told his story made it sound really terrifying. They couldn't see it, but their faces had actually lost quite a bit of color after the tale.

The mad doctor remained still for a while, first looking at the Hiker, then at the little girl, and then his demeanor softened. "Don't worry. Those nobles didn't die or got seriously harmed. Just scared out of their wits, never to try a deal like that ever again."

"How'd you know?" the Hiker asked.

"I'm the one telling the story, am I not?" The man just shrugged, and then he stood up. "Well, I think it's time for me to go now. Pleasure in sharing my tale with you guys. Maybe we'll meet again in a different festival."

The guy then turned around and walked away the same way he came from. Mizu and the Hiker remained still for a while, and then glanced at each other. Neither of them said a word, but they both had the same question in their heads.

"Mr. Hiker… you don't think…"

"I don't know," the Hiker answered before she finished. "They say all stories usually have a sliver of reality in them. But… no, he can't be the old man from that story, can he?"

There was no way. He said the story had happened before either of them had been born, and by his appearance there was no way he was older than the Hiker. Maybe he just heard the story from somebody else, maybe it happened to a friend of a friend, or maybe he was just that good to make them up himself.

A terrifying storyteller if he ever saw one.

"Shall we turn in for the night?"

…

Once he was out of sight and made sure there was nobody around, he shed his mad doctor disguise, revealing his true form, horrifyingly Gastly form. Norstein Bekkler, he needed to come up with a better name next time. And maybe a different disguise too, he was running out of motifs for different festivals. Old hags, mad scientists… maybe next time he could be a vampire or something like that.

"Hopefully I didn't scare those two too much," Gastly muttered, as he summoned his cash register to check his earnings. "One, two, three, four, five, six… six hundred and fifty in just one night. Not bad, I need to add this festival to my future yearly stops if it comes again."

The cash register poofed out of existence and then a small schedule book and pen appeared. He wrote down his earnings as well as note at the bottom of the page: "Revisit Gourgeist Festival. Add Kalos to future destinations".

"Now what's next? Oh what a coincidence. I'm due for a visit to my summer manor."

While he was sure his friends over there would keep an eye on the house, every once in a while he liked to stop by. Just in case a descendant of those idiotic nobles was brave and/or foolish enough to try and take back the house.

And if it ever happened, decades of storytelling had given him a wider array of ways to scare people out of their wits. They'd end up just like their ancestors, running for the hills.

FIN.