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In the middle of the autumn-coloured forest a man was standing in front of a cave, his blue eyes taking in the dark entrance surrounded by the moss-covered rocks. In one hand he held a suitcase, the fingers of his other hand were brushing the small moustache adorning his upper lip. He was wearing a white lab coat over his clothes, all buttoned up. On the nametag it said ‘E. Hellington’.
Mr. Hellington sighed, checked his watch and looked around. A Mienfoo was standing next to him, looking at a berry bush growing close to the entrance. A chilly wind ripped some red and yellow leaves from the branches and gently placed them on the forest floor with their already fallen brothers and sisters. The same wind blew orange-coloured clouds through the sky, a clear sign the sun was already setting.
“I guess he isn’t coming,” he muttered and he sighed again, shuddering slightly when the cold wind pulled playfully on his clothes. “I suppose I’ll start the investigation myself, he’ll show up when he does.” At least he wasn’t alone, the Mienfoo was willing to go into the dark cave with him. Something he hadn’t been looking forward to, but professor Maple wanted it investigated. Professor Maple, the strict and middle-aged head of the research facility, never took ‘no’ for an answer. It didn’t matter how he felt about such places and it didn’t matter the day was coming to an end. She had ordered it to be investigated and she had meant now. That woman ruled over the research facility with an iron fist. She’d be able to face a Gyarados and have it cower, that was something mr. Hellington knew for sure. Once more he looked at the entrance of the cave, as he thought about the layout of the cave, the possible inhabitants and the task ahead.
This cave was nothing special, some commonly found Pokémon lived here and the layout of it was quite simple: one long path descending into the underground darkness and ending in a circular room. It was believed to have been formed by a giant Onix in the past, with the circular room as its resting place, but so far there had been no evidence to either support or refute the theory. It wasn’t an elaborate network of corridors and only few Pokémon lived there, all of them as harmless as a wild Pokémon could be. All this made the cave nothing special at all. At least, that was the case until recently. Strange voices had been reported. Voices uttering warnings and threats, demanding people to leave. And mr. Hellington was supposed to investigate this with a fellow researcher, but the other seemed to be running late. It was annoying, but not a surprise at all.
After retrieving a flashlight from the briefcase, mr. Hellington and his Mienfoo entered the cave. The light from the flashlight travelled across the walls as he looked around. Three Zubat, disturbed in their sleep, dropped from the ceiling and flew away, two Gligar quickly followed their example. Mr. Hellington cringed when they flew right over his head, making angry noises for being disturbed like that. He did not like dark caves like this. At all. Nor was he much of a fan of these bat-like Pokémon. At least they weren’t Ghost types and he hoped it wasn’t one of those causing trouble here. He could go without meeting them, he had never liked those Pokémon. Like that Haunter owned by professor Maple, it startled him every time that creature floated up to him from behind. Or through the wall. It was merciless in battle and on anyone it found napping, having quite a fondness for his move Dream Eater. He shuddered, he really didn’t want to think about that Pokémon now, not now he had entered the dark cave.
“Who dares trespassing in my realm?”
The questioned echoed between the walls and mr. Hellington almost dropped his flashlight. With a shaking hand he shone around with it, trying to figure out where the voice had come from. The Mienfoo was looking around as well, her pose showing she was ready to fight.
“W-who askes?” mr. Hellington stuttered.
“I am the guardian of this cave, mortal. Your trespassing angers me.”
“I-I-I’m sorry, but...”
“I will go easy on you if you will fulfil one request .”
“What’s that?” mr. Hellington whispered, his heart was pounding and small droplets of sweat had formed on his forehead.
“Buy a hamburger for that stunning colleague of yours.”
Mr. Hellington’s jaw dropped, but he abruptly closed his mouth again and he rubbed his face. “Andy!” he exclaimed, with a clearly annoyed undertone in his voice.
From behind the rocks a man appeared, grinning broadly. His blond hair was tied together in a loose ponytail behind his head. He too was wearing a white lab coat, but his was unbuttoned, revealing a dark-green t-shirt underneath it.
“Eric, you should have seen the look on your face,” Andy said, still with a grin on his face.
“That was not funny, Andy!”
“I think it was.” Andy bent down to pet the Mienfoo on the head. “Right, Dawn?”
The Mienfoo gave him a strict look and Andy chuckled, it seemed he was the only one who had found it funny, but that didn’t matter.
Eric shook his head, his heart was still pounding but he was glad the voice had turned out to be not dangerous. “Have you found anything while you were here?” he asked Andy, more then willing to focus on the job. It would keep him occupied.
“I haven’t got in any further,” Andy said with a shrug. “I was waiting for you. All I can say is that I haven’t been eaten yet, so whatever is here, it doesn’t eat humans. Or at least not handsome ones like me.”
Ignoring that last remark, Eric aimed his flashlight in the darkness ahead, although the small light hardly penetrated the dark. “I guess we have to go in further then,” he muttered, much against his will.
The two researchers walked further into the cave, following the slightly downward path leading deeper into the cave. There were Pokémon living in the cave, but that was nothing new. Besides the Zubat and Gligar living here, they noticed a large Ariados sitting in a web on the ceiling.
“Don’t they usually live in forests?” Eric whispered to Andy. Besides bat-like Pokémon and Ghost-types, he wasn’t much of a fan of those spider-like Pokémon either.
Andy nodded as he inspected the web with his flashlight. “Yes, but it’s not the first one I have seen in a cave. Some apparently like a dark place like this, plus it will be warmer inside this cave in the winter.” After a moment of investigating, Andy shrugged and turned his attention back to the dark path ahead. “But I doubt that this Ariados is what caused those mysterious voices people have claimed to have heard. Let’s go.”
Reluctantly Eric followed Andy deeper into the cave, even if he knew Andy was right. There was no way he would go back to Maple without results from this investigation, that woman could be more frightening then a Gengar performing Mean Look or an Ariados performing Scary Face when she was angry. Either there was something here and they would find it, or they would reach the end of the cave without finding anything. Before they could make either conclusion, they couldn’t leave this place.
There was the sound of water dripping in a pool and the cries of bat-like Pokémon in the distance. The only other sound came from their feet, the steps echoing against the walls. Besides the light coming from the flashlights it was dark around them. Eric glanced aside to Andy, who was walking around with confidence in his steps, something he was unable to master at this point.
“Aren’t you calling any of your Pokémon?” Eric asked.
“No,” Andy replied thoughtfully. “None of them enjoy walking in caves like this.”
“What are you thinking about?”
“It’s awfully quiet here.”
Eric shone around with his flashlight. It was true, before there had been Pokémon around. Now the only evidence of Pokémon living in the cave were the distant cries coming from behind them. A chill ran through his spine. What could be causing that, why weren’t there any Pokémon here?
“Get out.”
Eric stopped dead in his tracks when he heard the eerie voice. It seemed to have come from everywhere. He noticed Andy had stopped as well and was looking at him.
“Did...you hear that as well?” Eric whispered to Andy.
Without a reply Andy turned his head back to the path ahead and shone his flashlight into the darkness.
“Get out!”
“Oh stop it, Andy!” Eric spat. “It wasn’t funny the first time and it’s certainly not funny now!”
Again Andy turned his head, so he could look at his colleague. “You’re wrong,” he stated calmly. “Twice.”
“How so?” Eric asked, still clearly annoyed.
“Well, first of all, the first time, that was hilarious.”
Eric grumbled something under his breath, he didn’t seem to agree with Andy.
“Secondly,” Andy continued. “That wasn’t me.”
Eric stared at Andy and swallowed heavily. “It wasn’t?”
“No.”
“A-and you did hear it as well, right?”
“Yes.”
“What do you think it was?”
Andy shrugged. “There really is only one way to find out.” As he spoke his words, he waved his hand with the flashlight in the direction that lead deeper in the cave, so that it was obvious what he meant to say.
Even though he wanted to turn around and leave, as the voice had instructed, Eric nodded and started walking again. As he walked, he thought about the reasons he had had to become a researcher. Going inside some dark cave with a voice telling you to go away was definitely not one of them.
The two researchers and the Mienfoo continued their path and they spotted a faint flickering light coming from somewhere around the corner up ahead. They briefly looked at each other before as they walked. As far as they knew this cave was supposed to be dark, there were no sources of light. This could very well be part of the voices that had been heard.
Once they reached the corner, Andy curiously peeked around it.
“And?” Eric whispered as softly as he could master without being inaudible.
“It’s quite amazing,” Andy whispered back. “There is a group of five Chandelure, four with purple flames and one with orange flames. They’re doing some kind of dance near the ceiling.”
“Why does it have to be ghosts...” Eric muttered and he took in a deep breath, before he too peeked around the corner. And just as Andy had said, five Chandelure were floating in a circle near the ceiling, slowly moving up and down while moving clockwise in the circle. The mysterious dance was really quite breathtaking. He noticed Andy took a small video camera from his pocket to film the dance and Eric knew that if Andy hadn’t done it, he would have. Documenting was an important part of being a researcher after all.
Suddenly the eerie voice spoke again, it came from everywhere and nowhere. “I said get out! Leave this place!”
Eric swallowed heavily, the demanding voice did sound serious. “It’s not the Chandelure, I think,” he whispered to Andy, “they haven’t changed their dance or given us any attention.”
“I think you’re right,” Andy responded, whispering as well, and he pointed to a flickering light further down the path. “And we have some light over there, whoever is responsible for the voices must be in the room. Let’s go.”
“He’s asking us to leave.”
“Yes, but I want to know what it is.” Andy showed a smile and winked. “This could be the discovery of the lifetime. Or an elaborate prank. Or the most gruesome death in the history of mankind.” Andy noticed how Eric turned pale after the last remark and couldn’t help but smile, which in turn lead to an annoyed expression on Eric’s face. “Come on,” Andy continued, giving his colleague a comforting, but firm pat on the back. “We’re close to discovering who is talking to us.”
Eric nodded and followed Andy, he could have done without that last remark, it almost seemed as if Andy wasn’t taking this seriously. And maybe Andy was right, maybe it wasn’t as bad as it seemed. As he walked beneath them, Eric looked at the Chandelure, who where continuing the dance without even the slightest recognition of their presence, as if they didn’t care two Humans and one Mienfoo were walking down there. Nor had they responded to the voice. Either the Chandelure ignored the voice or they didn’t hear it.
It made Eric wonder if he was perhaps imagining it, but Andy had claimed to hear the voice as well, surely they couldn’t be both imagining it.
As they leaved the Chandelure behind, the darkness wrapped around them once more, only the light from their flashlight pierced through it. As they walked towards the flickering light ahead, they heard the ominous voice two more times, demanding they had to leave or face the consequences of their foolish decision. At that point Eric had wanted to turn around and leave, but he had decided to stay with Andy instead. Neither researcher talked and as they approached the light, they walked slower and more silent. Andy moved towards the wall and Eric quickly followed his example. They would approach the circular room from the side, trying to stay out of sight of whoever was in there.
Once there was enough light coming from the room to see where they could place their feet, they put their flashlights away. And once they were close enough, they looked inside.
Torches hanging on the rocky surface provided the circular room with light. In the middle of the room was an Alakazam sitting with crossed legs and closed eyes. The hands holding spoons were resting on his knees. The Alakazam was sitting completely motionless, as if it was a statue.
“I said,” the voice suddenly sounded again, as the Alakazam slowly opened his eyes. “Get out!”
The second the final word was spoken, the eyes of the Alakazam turned red.
“Dawn!” Eric said and the Mienfoo didn’t waste a second. She spread her arms wide open and yellow stars were starting to form, but before she could put her hands together and fire the stars at the Alakazam, the three of them were surrounded by a red light and they found themselves unable to move.
“Confusion,” Andy groaned. And quite a tight one as well.
Before he could say another word, they were slammed into the wall and released. All three dropped to the ground.
With a hand on his back and a painful expression on his face, Andy got back up on his feet and looked at the Alakazam. “Well, that was uncalled for, we mean you no harm.”
“Leave,” the voice of the Alakazam sounded, although his mouth was closed, and his eyes were fixed on Andy.
“And what if I don’t want to?” Andy asked.
Again the eyes of the Alakazam lit up with a red light and again the two researchers and the Mienfoo were surrounded by a similar red light. Without a word or even a second glance, the Alakazam used his confusion to throw them out of the room.
Eric was the first to land roughly on the ground and almost immediately after he had hit the ground, Andy fell on top of him. The Mienfoo landed a feet away and rolled into the wall.
“Well, that didn’t go as planned,” Andy muttered.
“You think?!” Eric asked, followed by a moment of silence. “Wait, did I just hear you use the word ‘planned’? Since when do you plan things?”
That remark made Andy laugh and when he was standing on his feet again, he extended a hand to help his colleague up. “As surprising as it may sound, I do think things through.”
“So what you said in that room...”
“No, that was just provoking,” Andy interrupted him.
Eric grabbed Andy’s arm and drew him near. “Didn’t you even consider that could be dangerous?” he hissed.
“Of course I did!” Andy said, slowly taking Eric’s wrist to take the hand off his arm.
“Keep your voice down,” Eric urged in a whispering tone.
Andy watched Eric for a moment, before he turned his attention to the place they had unwillingly left, or at least that he had unwillingly left. He brought his hand to his face, placing the index finger on his cheek, his thumb under his chin and curling the middle finger over his lip. With his other hand he took his elbow and he was looking straight at the room they had been thrown out, seemingly deep in thought. The Mienfoo came walking towards them, looking at her trainer first and then at Andy.
“Andy, let’s go,” Eric said, touching his colleague’s shoulder to get his attention.
“You’re right, let’s go,” Andy said and he grabbed Eric’s arm, dragging him in the direction of the circular room.
“That is not what I meant!” Eric said as he pulled his arm back. “He wants us to leave. We should.”
“I want to find out why he wants us to leave. That’s what we should do. That Alakazam is not native to this cave and it has no right telling us to leave!” As he began walking, Andy looked at Eric over his shoulder. “You might want to return your Mienfoo to her Pokéball though, she is at quite a disadvantage. If things will get dangerous, I’ll ask my Noctowl to join us. He stands a better chance then your Mienfoo. And most of my other Pokémon for that matter,”
Eric watched Andy go and then turned to the Mienfoo. “He does have a good point Dawn. If his confusion is already this strong, I don’t want to know how much stronger his other psychic attacks are.” A smile formed when he noticed the look Dawn gave him. “I will call for your help when things get dangerous. I promise.” After that promise, Dawn nodded and Eric returned her to her Pokéball. He then quickly followed Andy, that fool would need his help. Why Andy thought going in that room again was a good idea, that was a mystery to Eric. If it was up to him, he’d leave, just as the Alakazam suggested. Still, he had to admit he too was curious as to why that Alakazam had come to this cave.
In a few steps Andy was standing in the room again and he looked at the Alakazam in the centre of it. A blue glow surrounded the Alakazam and his moustache was quivering as if it was moved by wind. Slowly the Alakazam opened his eyes and looked straight at Andy.
“Mr. Alakazam,” Andy began. “You may tell me to leave a thousand times, you may throw me out of this room in equal amounts, but I will keep coming back until you tell me why we have to leave. Ask Eric what a nuisance I can be!”
“You’ve got that right,” Eric muttered. “Stubborn, a nuisance, it’s a miracle professor Maple hasn’t fired you yet.”
“Well, I am extremely talented and good-looking after all,” Andy said to Eric with a wink, meaning every single word of that sentence, before turning his attention back to the Alakazam. “So spare yourself the trouble,” he continued, “and just tell me what I want to know. What are you doing here? Why are you telling people to leave?”
After the final question of Andy a silence came over the room. The Alakazam looked at Andy, Andy looked at the Alakazam and Eric looked from Andy to the Alakazam and back at Andy. For a moment no-one spoke. The only sound in the room was the soft crackling from the fire in the torches.
“Humans have given this night several names,” the voice of the Alakazam suddenly sounded, even though his mouth didn’t move. Both researcher quickly deducted he was talking to them through telepathy. “All Hallows Eve, Samhain, to name two examples. Whatever the reasons Humans have to celebrate this night, for Pokémon it has been an important night since the beginning of time. Tonight any lingering souls will be guided to the afterlife or they will be reincarnated as Ghosts. Most souls find their own way to the afterlife, but some can’t leave for whatever reason and linger, waiting for this night, waiting for guidance or waiting without knowing what they’re waiting for. Tonight their empty existence will end and they will either go on or go back as a Ghost.”
“That can’t be right,” Eric whispered to Andy.
“I’m not so sure about that,” Andy whispered back, “ever been to Lavender Town?”
Eric gave Andy a sceptical look. “What about Lavender Town?”
“Well, there is a tower there, the Lavender Tower, which is basically a large gravesite for Pokémon. And locals have been claiming for decades, if not longer, that the Ghosts that appear in Lavender Tower are the spirits of deceased Pokémon. I’ve always found it hard to believe and just thought that it was a place that attracts Ghost types for some reason, but if this Alakazam is speaking the truth, those citizens might be as well.” Andy opened his arms enthusiastically. “This is why I became a researcher, for things like this, to discover things we didn’t know yet about the world of Pokémon.” He pointed at the Alakazam. “Let me witness this. I won’t do anything, just stand in a corner and watch you do whatever you do... what is your part in it anyway?”
“I have been granted the power to guide the lingering souls.” There was a pause and then the Alakazam nodded once. “You may stay.”
“Fantastic!” Andy said, rubbing his hands. Not that he would have left if the Alakazam had told him to leave, he wouldn’t want to miss this for the world.
“Have you found a corner to stand in yet?” Eric asked with an amused smile on his face, a smile that grew when he could see Andy look around in the circular room and come to the conclusion that his choice of words had been rather poor in this case. However, the smile immediately disappeared when one of the Chandelure hovered into the room, just inches away from him. He was just starting to wonder why that Chandelure was here when the other four floated in as well, the one with orange flames closed the line. They formed their circle and danced their slow dance like they had done before, moving up and down while moving in the circle clockwise.
The Alakazam didn’t pay any attention to them, he closed his eyes again.
For a couple of minutes nothing seemed to happen, the Alakazam was just sitting there, surrounded by the blue glow. The only indication that something was happening, was the moving moustache, but that didn’t move more then what any breeze could accomplish.
Slowly the Alakazam opened his eyes. “It is done,” he announced.
Andy blinked his eyes in surprise. “What, that was it?”
“Ala,” the Alakazam said, using his own voice now, and he nodded with his head.
“Well, that was a bit anticlimactic,” Andy sighed.
“Do you require a bigger spectacle?”
Andy waved his hand in a dismissive motion. “No, no, that’s fine. It was a surprise, that’s all. I did expect something more, but if it works, it works.” He paused, looking around. “And the souls...”
“They have found their resting place.”
“And were these Chandelure part of it?” Andy asked, since they were new to the cave as well.
“No. I require no assistance. They merely wanted to dance here now.” There was a pause in which the Alakazam looked at the Chandelure. “They do however join me every year, no matter where I am. They enjoy witnessing the event.” The Alakazam slowly turned his attention back to Andy. “I choose a new place every year, the location does not matter.”
“Ah.” Andy looked at Eric and Eric shrugged. “And why did you tell people to leave?”
“In the past humans have interfered. They tried to capture me or otherwise interrupted me.” The Alakazam sent a meaningful look in Andy’s direction. “Usually telling people to leave is sufficient.”
“Ah yes,” Andy said with a confident smile. “That doesn’t work on awesome people like myself.” He ignored the exasperated sigh that came from his colleague.
Again a silence filled the room, but the silence was soon broken by Eric. “I’m not buying it,” he said. “Nothing happened to prove that Alakazam has been speaking the truth.”
At that moment a Misdreavus came floating into the room, through the wall. It looked around and continued it’s path, leaving the room through another wall.
Both Andy and Eric were looking at the place the Misdreavus had left through, and then Andy looked at his colleague with an elevated eyebrow.
“A coincidence,” Eric muttered, “Ghost types have always existed, there is no evidence that what the Alakazam had said really took place.”
Andy shrugged at that remark. “I’m willing to believe it happened. It will require more research though. Sifting through legends and lore’s of the Pokémon world. I know what I’m going to do the next couple of weeks.” Andy raised his arms to stretch both his arms and his back. “But first the most important thing of all. I’m in dire need of a decent cup of coffee. And after that a hamburger. I’m starving!” He brought to fingers to the side of his head as a casual greeting. “It was nice meeting you, Alakazam, maybe we’ll see each other again.”
And with that, Andy turned around and walked away. After a final glance at the Alakazam, Eric also turned and left, quickly following Andy. He didn’t feel much for staying there by himself.
The Alakazam watched the two Humans walk away, a small smile forming on his lips.
“That’s it? You’re hungry so you’re leaving? What about investigating this?” Eric said to Andy as soon as he was walking next to him again.
“But I’m really hungry,” Andy retorted. “That Alakazam had already explained what he did and why he told us to leave. There is nothing more to find out here. The next thing we need to do is hit the books. And I’m going to make phone call to Mr. Fuji, I’m sure he’ll have something to say about the matter.”
“You can’t possibly believe,” Eric began, but stopped when he noticed a Gastly floating around. If he had to guess it seemed... happy. “I... thought there weren’t any Ghost-types native to this cave.”
“That’s true,” Andy replied cheerfully, “no-one has ever reported Ghost-types before. And we’ve seen two already this evening. So...”
Eric’s mouth twitched slightly and he quickly started walking again. “Let’s go,” he muttered. “I really don’t like these Ghost-types.”
Andy followed his colleague, with his hands casually tucked in his pockets and a smile on his face.