The entire floor of the Lavender Tower and subsequently the graveyard was in ruins. The tombstones were engulfed in flames, and the Ghastly population was captured and transported to the Rocket bases somewhere on the planet. There were no traces of Haunter either, however few they were initially. The graveyard looked completely alien now, not a single thing reminiscent of how it was a couple of hours ago.

Just like the SS. Anne, before the attack and after the devastation had been wrought on it by Team Rocket.

However, the entire battle had resulted in a pyrrhic victory at best, on both sides. Executive Butch had come in with an army of grunts, each having a single Umbreon at command. He had with him, his precious Magmortar, several Houndoom, and that powerful Dusclops. Sure, he had accomplished his mission—the Ghastly were captured and transported instantaneously to the Team Rocket Base, but the cost had been paid by his entire army.

Not a single grunt, nor any of the Umbreons were left alive. The Houndoom had their entrails expelled out, yelping in pain at the corner. His Magmortar had suffered several injuries and would in all probability, need a lot of treatment before he would be of any actual use in the future. The only one still active was the Dusclops, who was currently, locked in a shadow-ball battle against the three ghosts of the Gastly-line.

Butch stared in horror, as he felt himself surrounded. He had lost, horribly so while the brat's pokémon were still up and battling. And then there were the ghosts to be considered, and the overly powerful shadow-energy flaring the middle of them, formed as a result of colliding otherworldly energies.

Wait.

An idea germinated in his mind. It would not be without cost, but he had lost a lot. What did a single pokémon even matter now? He could always get more. Besides, if done right, it would surely kill the kid, as well as the ghosts. If he were lucky, that powerful; Scizor and Charmeleon would be affected as well.

Yes, revenge did taste good. Butch grinned.

He plucked out a single remaining Pokeball from his waist. This, he reminded himself, was a pokémon he had meant to use as a quick exit. Never in his mind had he even suspected that he would need to use it so soon.

The Pokeball released red light, condensing into an Abra, as the psi pokémon looked up at its owner.

"Get ready to teleport." Butch barked, holding on to the somewhat frail arm of the little psychic. One more attack and he would recall Magmortar, escaping before the flames from Hell consumed everything in this place.

"Magmortar," he ordered, as the fire-breathing behemoth managed to stand, ready to fire at his command. "Use fire blast on that shadow ball collision."

....

Fire Blast. A rather powerful fire-type move, in which the caster creates a concentrated mesh of scorching flames, before propelling them toward the victim, who is then scorched in an all-consuming blaze. When used by someone like Magmortar, who had some of the highest stats in all fire types in the world, it was a fatal weapon of destruction. Considering that ghostly energy was a good conductor of fire, an accurate example being the infamous will-o-wisp itself, the addition of such an attack on the colliding shadow-balls could only mean one thing.

Destruction.

Austin widened his eyes, as he noticed the spitfire pokémon send out the fire attack towards the colliding ghostly energies before his attention turned towards Scizor and Charmeleon, who were taken by surprise, and were barely a couple of feet away from the impending disaster. For a moment, he forgot that he didn't have Scizor's steel exterior or Charmeleon's nigh impenetrable hide. For a moment, he everything as his body acted out on its own.

Austin forgot all of it, as he leaped towards them, his lungs pained as he yelled out while his mind flashed to the time when Raticate jumped towards him to save his body.

"NO…."

Austin's eyes shifted to a crimson red, and chains around a crimson sphere loosened as a wave of aura escaped out shocking Austin but the aura seemed to converge into a barrier that engulfed everyone.

Maybe the aura turned into a construct out of his survival instincts or maybe it is his subconscious desire to protect his pokemon.

' I am not letting anyone die even if it kills me!'

And then the world exploded in light and fire.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

[ Lavender Tower - Sealed Room ]

The white dismembered hand suddenly moved as the ancient Pokeball opened while a wail of a thousand souls resonated through the entire Lavender Town.

Malice in an ethereal form seeped out of the walls of the lavender tower in the form of floating howling faces.

Sending chills down the only residents in Lavender Town, Agatha and the twin sisters' spines, whose eyes widened in shock and fear.

" N...no, it can't be."

" We were too late."

Grady and Brady's hands shook with fear as they looked at Agatha.

What do we do now ?!

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

[ A few minutes ago ]

Austin stood his ground to ground, the shockwaves coming out from the colliding shadow-balls pushing him back but Scizor was there to help him. He ignored the pain that he was feeling all over his body, ignoring the putrid smell of burnt corpses, after all, he needed to save his pokémon and his family.

That was when it happened.

Pure, unadulterated energy coalesced all around the shadow-balls, containing them inside themselves. It was awe-inspiring- a contraption of pure energy created to contain ghostly energy, a juxtaposition if there ever was one.

And then the fire blast hit the energy shields, and the entire thing exploded out in a mixture of light and fire.

( ~ Sleech ~ )

Austin felt his heart stop as he saw a shadowy tendril a few feet away from his heart stopped by his accidental aura barrier.

If there wasn't a barrier between him and the shadowy tendril then he would be on the ground with a hole where his heart used to be.

" Grrrrr "

Hearing the choking sound, Austin turned to see Butch having a tendril impaled into his stomach while another shadowy tendril paraded the head of an Abra like a trophy.

" Kekekekeeke ! "

Hearing the sound of laughter, Austin felt his hair stand up as ghostly energy swirled into a being he never expected to encounter in his pokemon journey.

A white Pokémon with a gaseous body having a round head flanked by three large, spiked protrusions on either side. It has triangular eyes with small pupils and a mouth with a long, blue tongue. The gases composing its head curve into its mouth to form several pointed teeth. Disembodied hands with three clawed fingers each float in front of its body. Its body tapers into a jagged tail.

A weird symbol decorated its pale white skin that looked like a cross with a row of vertical lines forming over a horizontal line at its four heads.

( Author Note: The symbol on Haunter's body is the Slavic Symbol of Slavery, the Hands of God )

With a body size of 30ft, the alpha shiny Haunters' eyes glowed red as his claws gripped Butch's body tighter and tighter.

( ~ Pop ~ )

Austin took a step back as he saw the giant white Haunter pop a human body like bubble wrap but one thought remained in the transmigrator's head.

Was this Black Fog?