//------------------------------//
// Ch 1: Grim Grinning Ghost-Types 
// Story: A New World, An Old Haunt 
// by Professor Frogenshtein 
//------------------------------//

"Hey boss, the refrigerator's running again."

I sighed from my place on the couch. "Well then go and catch him, Lucius," I replied, not looking up from the ornate shield I was polishing, "and tell him that joke stopped being funny 2 months ago!"

"No it didn't!" a high-pitched synthetic-sounding voice echoed as a large orange refrigerator floated in through a tall doorway, "That joke will NEVER stop being funny!"

You're probably confused right now. Let me introduce myself: my name is Dante Amaranth, and I've dedicated my life to becoming the world's greatest ghost-type pokémon trainer and researcher. My team and I were staying at the "old abandoned mansion headquarters" I had commissioned with the money I'd saved over the course of the past year. (You'd be surprised at how many research grants I've gotten; not many scientists were willing to work with specters that haunt and torment the living, for some reason.) We were taking a well-deserved holiday to celebrate the fact that we finally finished building our old abandoned mansion headquarters. The place had everything: cobwebs, peeling wallpaper, fake dry rot...

Oh but you're still wondering about the fridge, aren't you? That's Tesla; it's a rotom, and our team's resident electronics expert. Like many ghost types, Tesla fancies itself to be a comedian. I must admit, he isn't that bad at it.

"Alright, alright," I chuckled, holding out my hand, "it is pretty funny. Pass me a soda would you?" A shadow passed through the fridge and a cold soda was pressed into my grip. "Thanks, Lucius." I popped the cap and kicked back a swig of fizzy refreshment, a sigh escaping my lips as I lowered the bottle.

"Any time, boss." Lucius, a gengar, was my right-hand 'mon; he'd been my starter way back at the start of my journey when he was just a gastly, and he'd always called me 'boss' from the time I'd first met him.

"Sire?" I turned my head to look at the sword sitting next to me on the couch. "Not to bother you, but..." A gleaming purple eye near the hilt motioned to the cloth I was holding. "Oh," I said, "sorry D." I went back to polishing the gleaming gold surface of the shield. "No trouble at all, Sire- ah, you missed a spot... There, you got it."

When I'd first met the aegislash next to me, he was a honedge who had refused a nickname until he fully evolved. After 3 weeks of training and 2 more weeks looking for a dusk stone, I christened him Sir Durendal, Knight of the Vorpal Order, or D for short.

"You're such a neat freak, D," I commented, rubbing off a stubborn bit of tarnish. "All due respect, Sire," he replied, looking back at me, "a knight prides himself on the gleam of his blade and shield as you pride yourself on the outlandishness of your crowns."

I readjusted my dark purple top hat self-consciously; so I have a penchant for eccentric haberdashery, it's not a problem. I can stop any time I want to.

I just don't want to.

"Let's see what's on TV," I said, eager to change the subject. I grabbed the remote and pressed the button, turning on the big screen. As the news station played its introduction, I reflected on how out-of-place the 30" plasma screen was in the otherwise decrepit-looking building.

"Reports indicate that the suspect escaped capture; suspect was confirmed to be repeat offender Gene-" a burst of static obscured the sound for a moment- "most infamous for his failed attempt to 'marry' his gardevoir last-" the sound cut off again, this time because I'd hit the mute button on the remote as I frowned.

"The extent of human ignorance disgusts me," came a voice from behind me, "interfering with the sacred bond between lovers." I turned, coming face to torso-face with a dusknoir. "Present company excluded, of course." I rolled my eyes, not out of disagreement, but because I knew the specter behind me was only here because he wanted something. "What is it, Thanos?"

Thanos was a member of the extended team; the team used more for research than for battle. Thanos was quite adept at combat, make no mistake, but he was much more useful outside of the field for one major fact.

"Have you seen Legion? I've found something of theirs." Thanos held out a wisp of ethereal smoke; it quivered from what looked to be burn marks, and an otherworldly whimpering emanated from it. I sighed, pointing towards the ceiling. "They were in the attic last time I saw them." The door suddenly burst open as 2 forms tumbled through; a chandelier with purple flames instead of candles was struggling against a mass of purple and green that seemed to be spewing from a cracked stone.

"THIEF! SHE HAS STOLEN IT FROM US! SHE MUST RETURN IT OR SUFFER!"

"I don't have your stupid soul, get off me!"

"Chandler! Legion! Stop it!" Both ghosts froze in place, hovering almost comically still in midair. "Legion," I started, "Thanos has found your missing soul." I motioned to the wisp in the dusknoir's hand; the purple aura hovered over, the cracked stone following.

As a spiritomb, Legion was the combined consciousness of 108 souls bound to a keystone; if any of them go missing, the rest tend to freak out. Thanos had the important job of stitching them back together when this happened, and it happened a fair deal more than I'd like.

I turned to the purple fire ghost with a stern look on my face. "Chandler," I admonished, crossing my arms, "What have I told you about eating souls, young lady?"

Chandler the chandelure (original name, I know) had been given to me by a fellow ghost enthusiast when she was just an egg, and had seen me as her father ever since she hatched just 6 months ago. She grew quickly, and so did her appetite.

Chandler turned a deeper purple I knew to be a blush. "You said to always ask nicely first, and only when uncle Thanos is there to put them back when I'm done," She said timidly. I nodded my head, still looking stern. "That's right. Now I believe you have something to say to Legion."

Chandler looked back to where Thanos has just finished returning the lost soul to Legion. "I'm sorry, Legion," she said, and Legion looked back at her. "We forgive this time," they spoke, 108 voices in unison, "but do not let it happen again, lest we subject you to the torment of a hundred lifetimes."

"Good enough, I guess," I shrugged a little wearily, "now go gather everyone else up, it's time for bed." I was met with a chorus of groans.

"Do we HAVE to, dad?"

"Yeah, come on boss, it's only 8:30."

"I'm still feeling pretty charged up, myself."

"Please, Sire, I've yet to dust my scabbard."

"We do not require sleep, master!"

"I was hoping I could finish reading that book, myself..."

"Now guys," I started, turning off the TV as I stood up, "we all need to be good and rested when we go to those ruins tomorrow; no one will join us if we don't make a good first impression." I placed my hat on the hat stand as I passed by, wiping off a bit of dust.
In all my travels from Kanto to Kalos, I had gotten 1 of every ghost-type to join me in my journey. All, that is, except for one; I had yet to find a yamask that wanted to join me in my quest to explore the mysteries of ghost pokémon. It was for that reason we were headed out to the recently uncovered sector of ruins near Unova's desert resort, hoping to find - if you'll pardon the pun - a kindred spirit.

As my team and I all headed off to sleep, we were unaware that our journey tomorrow would bring us to places we had never imagined- none of which were the ruins of Unova.



Rest now my children, for when you awake a whole new world shall be your home.