The cool, crisp air of Lavender Town clung to my skin as we stepped out of the Pokémon Center. The sun had long since dipped below the horizon, leaving the fog-drenched streets dim and lifeless. Erin walked beside me, calm as ever. Her hand rested on my arm, but it wasn't from fear. She just liked being close.
"You sure you want to come?" I asked, my voice low and steady, cutting through the silence. "That place is… creepy."
She nodded, her expression unreadable as usual. Erin's calm demeanor could unnerve a wild Tauros. Nothing rattled her.
Shadow lay sprawled across my head, his electric blue sparks flickering gently, casting faint light around us. He always looked like he was thinking about something, those glowing red eyes of his, as if the world around him wasn't worth the trouble.
We reached the Pokémon Tower. It loomed ahead, draped in mist, an ancient monolith surrounded by a sea of gravestones barely visible through the fog. Shadows danced across the carved images of Gengar, Haunter, and other ghost Pokémon that adorned the towering doors. They seemed to mock us, daring us to step inside.
I placed a hand on the cold stone, pushing against it. The doors didn't budge. Typical.
"There's a bell." Erin's calm voice brought my attention to the small, rusted bell hanging by the side of the entrance. I rang it, but nothing happened. I was about to turn away when the doors groaned open on their own, as if they'd been waiting for us all along. I glanced at Erin, but she stood unfazed, her grip still firm on my arm.
I took out two flashlights, handing one to her. We flicked them on, beams cutting through the darkness ahead as we stepped inside.
The hallway stretched into the gloom, its walls lined with cracked, broken furniture. Dust swirled in the air, illuminated by our lights. Portraits of dead Pokémon stared back at us, their hollow eyes tracking our movements as if they were waiting for something. The air was thick with the smell of decay and rot. Every step felt heavier than the last.
Erin clung a little tighter as we approached a series of holes in the ground. Shadow's tail flicked, his voice calm but distant as he spoke. "There are ghosts here. And ghost Pokémon. But they fear me. They won't attack directly."
I snorted. "Of course, they do." I glanced at Erin, who swept her flashlight around as if the room didn't feel like death itself had just brushed past us. She didn't even flinch. I sighed. Nothing got to her, not even this.
We pushed further inside, the hallway opening up into a dining room of sorts. The table before us was littered with rotting food, furniture hovering lazily in the air as if the place had forgotten time moved on without it. Chairs creaked as they spun slowly, one leg hanging on by a thread, threatening to snap. We detoured, climbing the staircase to the upper floors, the boards groaning beneath our weight.
By the time we hit the fifth floor, the tension had drained out of me. No ghost Pokémon. No weird attacks. Nothing. I shot a glance at Shadow, perched on my head, his tiny frame casting a long, dark silhouette against the cracked walls. "I should've left you behind, Shadow. Because of you, none of these ghost Pokémon are coming out to fight."
Erin blinked, turning her calm gaze toward me. "But why?"
Shadow flicked his ear, his red eyes glowing softly. "I am special."
That caught both me and Erin off guard. We stared at him, dumbfounded.
He chuckled softly, then went quiet, his ears perking up as the air shifted around us. "There's one coming."
Before I could ask what he meant, a Gengar materialized in front of us. It was larger than usual, its form flickering in and out like a shadow torn from reality. It looked directly at Shadow and… bowed.
Erin's grip on my arm tightened, and I felt her stiffen slightly, though her face remained calm.
Shadow leaped off my head, landing gracefully on the floor, his sparks crackling as he approached the Gengar. "I'm Dark and Electric," he said, his voice cool as ever. "I am Shadow itself. And this Gengar? He's got mastery over shadows too. That's why he bows."
I narrowed my eyes. "So what's he here for? A battle?"
Gengar muttered something in his ghostly tongue, a deep, hollow sound that echoed through the room. Erin hugged my arm tighter, her flashlight aimed directly at the Pokémon, though she didn't move an inch.
Shadow's eyes narrowed slightly. "He wants to join you."
I blinked, processing the words. Join me? I reached into my sling bag, fingers brushing against a spare Pokéball. "Just like that?"
"Just like that," Shadow replied, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. I threw the Pokéball without a second thought. It hit Gengar, drawing him inside with a flash of light, the ball trembling briefly before it clicked shut. Done.
I walked over, picking it up with a smirk. "Didn't think that'd be so easy."
Shadow hopped back onto my head, his tone lazy. "You're lucky. If it wasn't him, you might've had to spend more time wandering around this place."
I nodded, clipping Gengar's ball to my belt. Erin released her grip slightly and glanced around the room with that same calm expression. "Let's go back now," she said, her tone as steady as always. "It was fun, like a haunted house tour."
Shadow and I stared at her, both dumbfounded. Fun? That's not exactly how I'd describe wandering through a ghost-infested tower.
We made our way back down, the silence of the tower only broken by our footsteps and the occasional creak of the decaying structure. Outside, the fog still lingered, thick and heavy, swallowing the world around us. As soon as we left, I felt the weight of Gengar's Pokéball vanish as it teleported back to Professor Oak for safekeeping.
"Let's rest," I said, my voice calmer now. "I'll swap out Venusaur for Gengar when we get to the Pokémon Center. I'll need him for training."
Erin just nodded, her hand back on my arm as we walked, Shadow sleeping soundly on my head.
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