Part 12: The Duke of Lavender

        ‘Toto, use water gun!’, I commanded. Toto exhaled a strong gush of water towards Gary’s Charmeleon.

‘Dodge it’, Gary said cooly and confident.

Charmeleon used its tail to spring itself off the ground and into the air, avoiding Toto’s attack with ease. ‘Good! Now use smokescreen!’

In mid-air Charmeleon took a deep breath and blew out a thick haze of smoke. I covered my nose and mouth with my t-shirt and coughed heavily. I couldn’t see anything in the dense smoke. I could faintly hear Toto’s cries of panic.

‘Ahugh! Ahugh! Hang in there- Ahugh! Toto!’, I spluttered, choking on the polluted air.

‘Charmeleon, scope out Toto and use dragon rage!’, Gary ordered sounding more confident than ever.

I tried to issue a warning to Toto but all I could urge was a fit of coughs. After a moment the intensity of smoke began to ease and I started to regulate my breathing. I could soon make out Toto but Charmeleon was almost upon him. The fire lizard let loose a fearsome blue shock wave at Toto and the the Totodile went soaring backwards on impact. Toto had taken a hard hit and struggled to his feet with the a lot of effort.

‘That’s it Toto! Keep fighting! You’re strong and I know you can do this!’, I encouraged my little warrior pokemon, my friend. He nodded back at me and hopped back near the centre of the field, ready for battle.

‘Hm, what do you know. The baby starter has spirit! But lets see how it deals with a slash attack!’. Charmeleon whet his claws and advanced quickly towards Toto.

‘Toto, wait for my command!’, I said with a gesturing grin towards Gary.

‘Huh?’, Gary looked momentarily confused before he realised that I was up to something, ‘No! Charmeleon! Wait!’

But it was too late!

‘Toto, now!’, I screamed as Charmeleon’s reckless arm bore down on the waiting Totodile. Toto suddenly sprung into the air and-

CHOMP!

Toto’s jaw now had a firm grip on Charmeleon’s arm as the fire lizard writhed and roared in pain. It shook its arm in desperation like the many before but could not break free from the Totodile’s grasp.

‘Awesome job, Toto! Now use water gun!’, I ordered, brimming with confidence. It was a strategy that Toto and I had perfected in battle and it was certainly working now. With a deep breath Toto released a powerhouse of water scoring a direct hit on the helpless Charmeleon. Charmeleon tumbled back in pain from the super effective water attack. It sat up on the ground, still conscious, but just about. The flame on the end of its tail had shrunk by a considerable amount and looked fragile.

‘Hm, I must say that that strategy was quite a surprise and you’re not quite the pushover trainer that I expected, ‘ Gary openly admitted.

‘Hehe, thanks!’. I couldn’t help but smile with his words. It was about time I got shown some respect.

His eyes narrowed, ‘But the party starts now!’

‘Wha-’

Without warning the flame on Charmeleon’s tail burst from a small flicker to an enormous entity of fire. I stared speechless as the fire lizard slowly rose to its hind legs and roared with vengeance, blowing ferocious bouts of fire to the heavens. It was angry and it meant business!

‘Charmeleon is strong as he is, but when his ability blaze kicks in... well... how about you see for yourself. Charmeleon, fire fang!’, Gary yelled.

 Toto didn’t even have a chance to move, mesmerised by Chameleon’s new found strength. Charmeleon surged forward and dug his fire baring fangs into Toto. The Totodile screamed as he was briefly engulfed by flames before collapsing on the spot, fainted.

‘Toto is unable to battle! This round goes to Charmeleon’, Salvadore declared clearly.

Charmeleon blew another burst of flames into the sky out of victory.

‘One more pokemon left? C’mon, at least give me something worth battling!’, beckoned Gary.

I returned Toto to his pokeball, thanking him dearly. We were SO close. I reached for my last pokemon. ‘It’s up to you now, buddy! Go! Peeks!’, I threw my last pokeball with hope more than anything. It looked like an dim outcome but we had to give it a shot.

‘Charmeleon, are you ok to continue?’, Gary asked somewhat concerned. Charmeleon nodded back at Gary and then faced us, eyes blazing.

Peeks jumped out with static crackling across his cheeks. He was up for the battle. I quickly analysed the situation. We had to take Charmeleon out quickly before it got a chance to use another of its pumped up fire attacks. Luckily, speed was where Peeks dominated.

‘Peeks, quick attack!’, I commanded. Peeks took off, quicker than lightning.

‘Fire fang!’

Charmeleon opened his flaming jaws as the yellow blur surged full force into him. The fire lizard was sent bundling over on impact and fainted.

Gary gave a small gasp, ‘No way! Charmeleon, return!’. His face stiffened but he thanked his pokemon for a great performance all the same. He must have underestimated my Pikachu or overestimated his Charmeleon. Either way, there was now a chance. A glimmer of hope... or so I thought until I saw Peeks. He made his way over to our side of the field and turned around for battle but then-

-KAA!-

Peeks fell to his knees, screaming in pain as flames flickered across his body. Peeks had been burned!

‘Hm... interesting..’, said Gary, pondering for a moment before he grabbed another pokeball and tossed it, ‘Go! Eevee!’.

I momentarily took my attention of Peeks to check my Dex:

Eevee, the evolutionary pokemon. Eevee’s rare and irregular genetic make up allows it to adapt to its environmental conditions through evolution.

I had to admit that that was pretty cool. But then I quickly turned my focus to Peeks.

‘Hey buddy, are you ok to go on?’, I asked gingerly. Peeks nodded back, willing to fight to the last. My mind was set on victory, but something didn’t feel quite right.

‘Eevee, use quick attack!’

‘Peeks, match it with your own quick attack!’

The two pokemon collided, matching each other for strength and speed. Both pokemon shared the pain equally.

‘Keep using quick attack and don’t let up!’, demanded Gary.

‘Match it!’, I screamed, determined to keep going. I was so focused on the battle that I didn’t even notice the odd, concerned looks that Salvadore was giving me. The two blitzing pokemon collided several times before Peeks cried out once more, falling to his knees. But once again the Pikachu struggled to his feet. I stared at Peeks, concerned

‘Hm, this one’s a fighter. Eevee, we have to give this everything!’, Gary routed for his pokemon. Eevee nodded understandingly and was just about to launch another quick attack when something deep down inside of me over threw my victory driven mind.

‘Wait!’, I yelled staring at Gary and then glancing at my suffering Pikachu, ‘I forfeit!’. A large lump formed in my throat as I uttered words of defeat.

‘Robin has forfeited the match. Victory goes to Gary from Pallet Town’, Salvadore announced quickly.

I ran over to Peeks and picked him up, cradling him softly in my arms. ‘I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked you to continue like that’, I apologised. Peeks gave me a weak smile and then winced in pain.

Salvadore rushed over to us and gently took the peak-eared Pikachu for treatment. Salvadore was no doctor but he knew enough to keep Peeks in a stable condition.

Gary congratulated his Eevee on its victory and withdrew it. ‘Thanks for the battle. I admire the trust and understanding you share with your pokemon’.

I nodded and was about to compliment him on the battle when he spoke again, this time more sternly, ‘But if you want to become a better trainer you will have to catch a lot more pokemon. Anyways, I better get going to Saffron. See ya around... I guess...’

‘Wait! Are you challenging Emmett?’, I asked, almost worried.

He chuckled to himself before answering me, ‘Emmett hasn’t been beaten in two years for a reason and although I want to challenge myself I also know the extent of my abilities. That’s another thing you must know when striving to become a pokemon master!’

I looked at him puzzled.

‘I may or may not challenge him once I gain more experience, but for now, I’m going there to learn about the town’s history and maybe find some psychic pokemon. Salvadore, Aly... Robin, I’ll see you around sometime’, he said nodding at each of us individually before turning the other way and walking down the path from which we came.

‘Gary, the next time we battle I promise you I will give it everything!’, I called after my new rival. He waved his hand behind in an ambiguous gesture and continued on his journey. I watched him as he walked into the distance and eventually... out of sight. I had finally met my match.

* * *

It was the following afternoon by the time we reached the outskirts of Lavender Town. It was vastly smaller than Saffron but greatly made up for it by the warm reception of the citizens and expanding shopping outlets.

Among the buildings of offices and designer shops stood a tall building, a gym. I stared at it for a brief moment before remembering our purpose and priority for coming to Lavender Town. I had to catch a ghost pokemon before I even considered challenging another gym. I made a promise to help Sabrina and I was going to keep my word!

The indigenous population showed their friendliness when a kind old man gave us directions to the local pokemon centre and recommended places to visit. It was a nice change from the suspicious stares of the Saffron City locals. I was relieved to hand my pokemon over to Nurse Joy for a proper treatment. Salvadore did a good job of soothing Peeks’ burns but he still needed professional attention.

I gave my pokemon over to the welcoming Nurse Joy, who in turn passed them to her assistant Chansey. I then turned around to my friends and smiled. They both smiled back, delighted with the kind hospitality and welcoming presence that Lavender Town offered.

Suddenly, Aly’s stomach made a rumbling noise and she looked at us with an embarrassed smile. ‘Umm... I guess we should get something to eat?’, she giggled as her cheeks went bright red.

Salvadore and I laughed.

‘Yeah, we didn’t have a big breakfast this morning. I think I saw a nice Italian Restaurant just two blocks from here. Unless you guys want something different?’, suggested Salvadore.

‘I remember that place. Sounds good to me!’, I said without hesitation.

‘I will literally eat anything!’, Aly said as her stomach started to make noises, pleading for food.

The three of us laughed again and and smiled in agreement.

Italian food it was!

As we were leaving the pokemon centre a thought entered my mind and I told Aly and Salvadore to walk on; I would follow them in a few minutes.

They shrugged and nodded indifferently and continued out the door. I turned back and walked over to Nurse Joy who was taking a phone call. I stood and waited, observing the pokemon centre until she was finished with her call. There were only a handful of people in the spacious room. Two people were occupying the video phones which reminded me that I should probably call Prof. Oak... after food. I presumed that the others were waiting for their pokemon to be treated as they lounged on the comfy seats.

‘Are you ok? We are still tending your pokemon. They should be fine in a few hours though’, said the nurse, quickly snatching my attention.

 I looked at her for a moment, startled. I then smiled, ‘Oh no, there’s no rush. Please take your time. I was wondering if it was ok if I asked you something?’

‘Oh, sure! What would you like to know?’. Her voice was soft, like all the other Nurse Joys in Kanto.

‘Well... umm... I heard that there are are- or were ghost pokemon that used to live in this town. I was wondering where I could find them?’, I asked hesitantly. I was not even sure if “live” was the correct word to use but I think I got my point across, given the change of the nurse’s facial expression. Her eyes turned from a look warmth to a more anxious stare.

‘Ghost pokemon you say?’, she said with a hint of doubt, ‘To be honest, ever since the old tower was knocked down and replaced by a radio station there haven’t been many sightings of ghosts here in a long time’.

‘Oh...’, I said bowing my head in disappointment.

‘But...’

I looked up with hope.

‘There is an old mansion on the northern outskirts of Lavender, on Dreary Lane, that has been abandoned for many years’, she continued, still unsure if she should be telling me this. ‘Some locals believe that Hollow Manor is haunted and claim that strange sounds can be heard, coming from the house at night. After all, ghost pokemon do love the dark. If there are any ghost pokemon left in Lavender then my bet is that they have made that mansion their home’.

‘Thank you so much!’, I beamed at her. I was just about to turn away and catch up with the others when she called me back.

‘Wait!’

I turned back at her once more.

‘If you are trying to catch a ghost pokemon then please be careful! Although they usually play harmless tricks on people they sometimes don’t know when to stop and their pranks can become dangerous! Keep safe’. Her last two words were more soft, yet sincere.

I nodded back at her reassuringly. I had a first hand experience of just how dangerous ghost pokemon can be. I walked out of the pokemon centre determined... and somewhat scared.

* * *

        We ate our meals contently. Salvadore ate his spaghetti meatballs rather elegantly without spilling a drop of sauce on his clothed. Aly carefully ate her lasagne, although it was clear that she wanted to devour it, but it was piping hot. I tucked into my large all meat pizza. After a few slices I told the others about Hollow Manor in the northern outskirts of the town. They seemed weary of the idea, still scarred from the happenings in Saffron Gym, but eventually agreed to it nonetheless.

I then told them that we were going to the mansion after I collected my pokemon... that night!

* * *

        ‘I cannot believe you are dragging us out to this place at this unholy hour!’, mumbled Aly as we walked quietly through the lamp lit town. Lavender was eerily quiet at night, compared to its vibrant daytime buzz.

        ‘Hey, we made a promise to stand by each other’, Salvadore reminded the young dragon tamer as he cradled the pokemon egg in his arms.

        ‘I swear! If another freakin’ ghost attacks me you are sooo dead!’, she scowled.

        ‘Not as dead as the ghost pokemon’, I winked back at her jokingly.

She shot me a glare that could shatter glass. I should probably chose my puns more carefully. We walked on through the urban silence...

After a while the sprawling town houses and apartments became less frequent and more aged. We crossed a cobbled street and went down a narrow alley, before turning left onto a lonely lane. There were only a couple of of houses either side of the street. All of of them shared a victorian styled structure, tarnished with aging cracks and decay. We stood anxiously in the centre of Dreary Lane. The houses crowded around us, crumbling, like mere pawns before their ghostly lord, Hollow Manor who towered on his hill at the end of the lane.

The mansion was guarded by tall rusty gates with sharp barbs twisting around the tips. The mansion itself looked dark and dead.

I glanced over at Salvadore whose face looked pale and concerned.

‘Salvadore, is there something wrong?’, I asked the breeder curiously.

‘I thought this house was abandoned?’, his said with an edginess in his voice.

‘Umm.. it is...’

‘Then why is there smoke coming from the chimney?’, he choked on his words.

We all looked up to the top of Hollow Manor where a light smoke wafted out of the crooked chimney, protruding from the fragmented roof.

I could feel my heart beat faster. Maybe there were squatters in the house, I tried to convince myself, but there were no lights and I knew deep down that whatever occupied Hollow Manor was not human... or at least not alive...

I shook my head remembering my promise to Sabrina. I cleared my throat and turned back to my weary friends, ‘Lets get this done and over with!’.

We walked over to the rusty gates which looked firmly closed. I reached out to them with a shaky hand when they suddenly swung open by themselves. We all shrieked and jumped backwards. A strong, mysterious breeze picked up and ruffled through our hair. It was almost as if the creaking mansion was beckoning us to enter.

Steadying our breathing we reluctantly stepped inside the foreboding gates and up the winding path which lead to Hollow Manor. Another sight which startled us was the taunting front door which swayed back and forth, unlocked and open.

There was a presence about the manor that sent shivers through my bones. After a lot of hesitation I stepped towards the door and slid it open, revealing a dilapidated interior. Salvadore followed right behind me, cradling the pokemon egg. Aly edged across the porch and stood at the entrance, shaking with fear.

We turned back to her and gestured to her to come in, giving her some false reassurance. Suddenly, the slated stone beneath her feet swung down and she went sliding down the trap chute, letting out an ear piercing scream as she fell.

We ran to the trap door but the stone flipped back up, sealing the trap slide. I kneeled down and smacked the stone floor in a desperate attempt to open it, but it would not budge.

‘ALY!’, I shouted to her fading screams. Eventually there was silence. No wind. No screams. No sound.

‘Robin, that stone didn’t fall by accident. There’s someone... or something controlling the house and it knows we’re here. That trap must lead to some chamber inside the house. Our best chance of finding her is by going inside and facing whatever it is that lives here’.

I exhaled deeply smacking the floor in anger and then stood up. Without uttering a word I walked through the door, right pass Salvadore. All fear was gone. Screw the ghost pokemon. Aly was our main concern now!

The inner hall was damp and dusty. Mould grew on the corners of the grey walls. The only light came from the moon which shone dimly through the cobwebbed windows. A chandelier hung loosely from the high ceiling supported by rotting wooden beams.  An old wooden staircase stood before us, leading to the upper rooms of the manor. There were several doors around the hall, all of different designs and sizes, all closed.

‘I think it’s best if we stick together’, I said quietly.

Salvadore nodded, ‘Agreed. I think we should start with this floor considering that the trap door lead underground’. The breeder sounded as nervous as I did, constantly looking behind him as if to ensure himself that something was not going to snatch him from the shadows.

We didn’t hesitate to go around to each door, but the first four we tried were either locked or were not going to open. Salvadore was about to reach for the next door handle when a small light beamed from behind us. We spun around to see light emitting from the door directly behind us which we had previously tried to open but failed.

We looked at each other nervously and then edged to the eerily bright door. I reached for the doorknob and turned it with ease, slowly opening the door. Only mere minutes before hand the door would not even budge. I was starting to doubt myself and began to shiver out of uncertainty in what lay beyond.

We stood at the entrance of the main dining room, lit by small, well polished lamps, dangling from the ceiling. The room eerily, yet also pleasantly contrasted the rest of the mansion. Tapestries showing medieval stories lined the bright yellow walls. There was a long, furnished oak table centering the room, filled with mounts of various meat, baked potatoes and tropical fruit. We stared in disbelief.

‘Look, there’s a letter!’, I said surprised as I advanced towards the table almost hypnotically.

‘Robin, hold on a sec! This could be a trap!’, warned Salvadore.

But I ignored him and picked up the letter. The back of the letter was sealed with a red wax. The letters “S.D” were imprinted on the seal. I etched open the envelope and took out the note inside. It read:

Time to play...

Suddenly, all the food and silver cutlery rose off the table, controlled by an invisible phenomenon. I stepped back in horror as tea spoons tapped the table in a rhythmic beat. A bowl of oranges painted the wall with their juices. We ducked and dodge flying plates and knives. A chair slid across the floor, knocking me off my feet. I struggled to my knees, covering my head and frantically crawling back towards the door.

Salvadore and I leaped through the exit which slammed shut behind us, followed by a ghoulish, inhuman laugh. The gloomy hall went dark again as the lights from the dining room flickered off.

It took our eyes a minute or two to adjust to the dim moonlight. We slowly got to our feet and stood back to back, breathing heavily.

‘Who are you!? And what have you done with Aly!?’, I roared at the unknown force.

‘Yeah, show yourself!’, spat Salvadore.

Suddenly, we heard a creak from above and jumped to opposite sides of the hall, narrowly avoiding the crashing chandelier. I got to my feet once again, rubbing my bruised elbow.

‘Robin, the egg!’, screamed Salvadore. I looked up in confusion, just in time to see the pokemon egg soar into my cushioning stomach. The force of the egg knocked me backwards and left me sitting on my backside, winded.

I struggled to catch my breath as a swirl of dust rose in front of us. I stared, horrified as giant white eyes and a snickering fanged mouth emerged from the dust. It was a pokemon! It’s human like facial features were enclosed in a ball of purple gas.

-Gha-ha-hastly!-

It laughed at my frightened gaze. I reached for my Dex to see what we were actually dealing with:

Gastly, the gas pokemon. Gastly’s body is made almost entirely of poison gases. It can pass through most surfaces with ease and enjoys playing tricks on the unaware pokemon or human.

‘What have you done with Aly!?’, I glared back at the gas pokemon. The Gastly merely chuckled once again and without warning spun around and dived towards Salvadore. The breeder screamed as the Gastly swirled in the air before entering his mouth!

Salvadore grabbed his throat as if he was choking and he stood up, twitching in convulsions. He stopped suddenly and flicked his head up. His eyes glowed an ominous red like he had been possessed. He began to speak, but the words did not sound like they were his voice. Instead he spoke in a cold, hoarse voice, smiling wryly.

‘Welcome to my humble abode. My name is Sir Duke. What game would you like to play next?’

‘Game? GAME!?’, I screamed back at the ghost, ‘You could have killed us!!! And where is Aly!!!’, I was losing the plot.

The possessed Salvadore’s smile fell to a frown. ‘I apologise. I just wanted to play. It is not too often that I get visitors. And your friend is fine, just playing... If you don’t want to play then why did you come?’

I was concerned at what the Gastly meant when it said that Aly was “playing”?

‘I came here in search of a ghost pokemon to help me defeat a gym leader. I’m not leaving here without one AND my friends!’, I shouted sounding a lot more confident, spurred on by my anger.

‘Fine, you and your friends may go if you wish. Just like my brothers...’, Salvadore’s face sighed.

‘There’s something you don’t seem to understand, Sir Duke. I need a ghost pokemon and you are the only one I see around here!’, I stared into his surprised red eyes and grabbed a pokeball for my belt.

‘A battle? This could be fun...’

Salvadore opened his mouth and the Gastly swirled out. Salvadore collapsed and coughed, gasping her air. He then rested his head on the creaking floor boards.

‘Go, Peeks!’, I yelled as I threw my pokeball. ‘Quick attack!’, I commanded promptly trying to surprise the ghost. Peeks dashed out of the pokeball and surged at lightning speed towards the Gastly.

Sir Duke chuckled as he became transparent and Peeks went right through him, crashing into the far wall.

I smacked my face out of my own stupidity. Quick attack was a normal type move. Of course it would not effect a ghost type like Gastly. ‘Peeks, are you ok?’, I cried out to my disorientated Pikachu. Peeks jumped up to his feet let out a battle cry. Electricity crackled across his cheeks. ‘Alright! Use Thunderbolt!’

Peeks let out a strike of electricity but Sir Duke disappeared and reappeared beside the electric attack still laughing. It then swooped towards the unexpecting Peeks and licked him square in the face. Peeks swayed on the spot, left dizzy from the phantom’s attack.

‘Peeks!’, I gasped, ‘Try and snap out of it!’

Peeks steadied himself and shook his head, trying to focus, as the menacing Gastly continued to laugh.

‘Peeks! Use thunderbolt on the whole room!’, I ordered recklessly.

Sir Duke stopped laughing.

Peeks crouched over.

-PIKA!-PIKA!-PIKA!-CCCCCHHHHUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!-

A phenomenal burst burst of electricity lit up the entire hall. Wave after wave of incredible power emitted from the small electric mouse. I could feel Peeks power pulsing through my body. I collapsed to my knees in pain, but fought the urge to wince. I gritted my teeth and watched on as my Pikachu continued the onslaught of electricity. Even the fallen chandelier was alight!.

Then, I saw what I had hoped for. Sir Duke could only avoid so many attacks but now he was in evident pain, screaming in mid air, illuminated by the relentless thunderbolt.

After a moment Peeks eased his attack and caught his breath, panting heavily.

Sir Duke floated motionless in the air before dropping to the ground. The gas around his body sizzled and smoke to started to rise from his body. The Gastly was conscious, but only just!

Seizing the opportunity I grabbed a free pokeball from my belt and threw with all my might, now standing feebly on my legs. The pokeball opened in mid air and and the red beam sucked the defeated Sir Duke inside.

I stared at the pokeball as it twitched...

Once...

Twice...

Three times...

To be continued...