With his victory at the Fillydelphia City Gym and second Equestria League badge in hand, Flash Sentry and his friends once again find themselves on the road. This time, their destination was the Baltimare Gym. But to get there, they must first reach and cross the Equestria Region landmark known as the Ghastly Gorge.
Currently, Flash and his friends were on the open road, only to enter a thick forest whose canopy blocked almost all the sun. Twilight was currently leading the group, using her journal to navigate as both Spike and Doc were a few paces behind her while Flash and Springer brought up the rear. Unfortunately, said trainer wasn't paying too much attention as he was currently almost drooling at the sight up his badge case, it now showing the Gear and Swarm Badge side by side. "Man...they're so awesome! I can't look away from them!"
"Ri?" Springer raised an eyebrow at his partner's actions, slightly off out from Flash's creepy stare. The Riolu soon vowed that if his trainer called those trinkets his 'precious', he was gonna walk away.
At the same time, Twilight was busy double checking that they were on the right track. "Okay. This doesn't look like it'll be a hard trip to the gorge."
"How long's it gonna take us?" Spike asked.
"Well that depends," Twilight replied before stopping and turning towards them while showing the journal. "This forest is pretty thick, so we'll need to be careful not to stray from the path. Then once we're out of the forest, there'll be a large lake between us and the gorge."
"So we have to go around it?"
Twilight shook her head. "Nope. This lake is actually a famous fishing spot. It has boats that takes trainers out to fish and has four docks, one for four corners of the lake, which we can boat across."
"Fishing?" Flash piped in. "And we can catch the Pokémon we hook?"
Twilight nodded at this. "That's right."
Doc chose this moment to speak up. "If I remember correctly, the Baltimare City Gym Leader is an expert in Rock-Type Pokémon. You already have three Pokémon who are strong against that type, but catching a fourth might really help."
"Awesome! Let's get to that lake right now!" Flash cheered, "How long is it gonna take?"
"It'll take about two days to get out of this forest. Then another day's walk to the lake."
"Three days?!" Flash moaned as he stared at the map, only to point at it a second later. "Wait a minute, your route has us doing a giant U-turn. Why are we doing that?!" He looked back up at Twilight with a frown, "We'd probably save a day's walk if we cut through the forest."
Twilight shook her head again. "I don't think that's a good idea. This path was forged for a reason, and if we stray off it, who knows what could happen."
"Oh, come on!" Flash exclaimed as he pointed at the woods around them. "What's the worst that could happen?! We just walk in a straight line and eventually, we'll hit the other path. And who knows, wooded areas like this might be filled with some cool forest Pokémon to catch! Its a Win-win!"
Doc turned to Twilight. "He makes a good point you know."
Twilight let out a low hiss, only for her brother to nudge her, "Come on Twilight, where's your sense of adventure?"
"Terr!" Peewee added in agreement.
"It's getting its butt kicked by my sense of common." Twilight replied before sighing. "But, it looks like I'm outvoted. Alright, we'll go off the path." She then turned her glare towards Flash, "but you don't get to complain about the amount of times I get to say I told you so if we get lost."
Flash shined a huge smirk, "We won't because you're not gonna get to say it."
Several hours later...
"I told you so," Twilight said for the twelfth time.
"We heard you the first eleven times."
"I said you couldn't complain Flash," Twilight replied as they continued to trek through the thick, now sun-blocking forest. "You just had to take a shortcut, didn't you?"
"Hey! It isn't my fault we're lost!"
"YES IT IS!" His three companions and two Pokémon barked back.
Flash let out a low, long hiss, "Okay okay...so maybe some of the blame can be put on me."
"One hundred percent of the blame is on you," Doc told him.
Flash glared back at the group, "Can I remind you that you all agreed to take the shortcut with me! You could have said no, and I would've gone with it!"
"I did say no," Twilight growled as she got up into his face.
"Obviously not enough," Flash replied as he brought his face closer to hers.
Doc then stepped between them. "Now come on, let's not get into a fight. Let's be civilized and-"
"NO!" They both screamed, immediately pushing him away as they started to yell at each other. It was here that Spike, Doc and the others stared at the teenagers, surprised how quickly both of their faces turned red in pure anger.
"How long do you think this'll take Doc?"
"I don't know Spike."
Twenty minutes later...
"Yup...still going."
Thirty minutes later....
"Now this is embarrassing." Doc commented as he pulled out his pocket watch. "Hmm....and we're running out of day time."
"Here's hoping they stop soon."
Even more time later, so much so that it was determined that stating how much time has passed really didn't matter...
Spike's face was now red, pure anger gracing his face as well. As Doc and the Pokémon saw this, they covered their ears as Spike took a deep breath and-
"ENOUGH!" he screeched, making the teenagers hop in place before glancing at him. "STOP FIGHTING ALREADY! WE NEED TO GET OUT OF THIS PLACE, SO STOP IT!!!"
Flash and Twilight gave each other a look, both blinking before letting out sighs, "I uh...I guess you're right."
"We need to find a way out of here," Twilight added as she pulled out her journal. "The sun's gonna be setting any minute, and I do not wanna be in here after dark."
"Yeah...." Flash muttered, only for a bulb to go off in his head. "Wait a minute...I know what to do!" He pulled out a Pokeball. "Skyler, come on out!" He tossed the ball into the air, causing to release the Chickling.
"Chick?" the bird chirped as it hopped onto his shoulder.
Flash turned and gave him a small smile "Skyler, fly up and see if you can see which way leads to the exit of the forest."
"Chickling!" Skyler nodded before taking to the sky, soon trying to go past the roof of trees. After a small struggle, he popped out of the forest, only to not see a way out. However, as he did this, he did notice a large circular treeless area in the distance. He then turned and saw a barrage on incoming dark clouds. "CHICK!"
The bird soon bolted down, quickly hovering in front of his trainer, "So what did ya see?" Flash asked, only to get a flurry of quick chirps in reply. "Whoa whoa whoa, slow down. I can't make out what you're saying." Chickling frowned at his trainer, but before he could try again, a loud rumble of thunder crashed overhead. "Oh...you were trying to tell us a storm is coming."
"Chick..." Skyler sighed before hearing another crash of thunder.
"We need to get the tents up before its starts raining," Doc commented, only to feel a few drops hit his noggin. "Uh-oh."
"Too late!" Twilight yelped as she quickly stuffed her journal in her backpack. "We'll be soaked before we get them up!"
"So what do we do?!" Spike asked as a downpour started to tap their heads.
"Run and find shelter! NOW!" Flash yelled, the group soon running through the forest as fast as their legs could carry them. And as they ran, they could feel the mud starting to form, causing them to grimace at the worse conditions soon embracing them.
But as they ran, Skyler remembered the clearing, causing him to flap his wings and fly in front of them. "Chick chick!"
"What's he doing?" Twilight asked as she hopped over another log.
"I think he wants us to follow him." Doc commented as they all watched the bird fly ahead, only to see a clearing just barely in the distance. "What is...is that what I think it is?"
"It is!" Flash replied as the ran through the clearing, only to come to a stop. Standing before them was a giant mansion, a quite old one, and by the looks of things, abandoned. It was about four stories tall and had several large towers coming out of the roof. The walls were painted dark blue, though time seemed to have caused it to fade. "Come on!" Flash rushed towards the front door, soon banging on the wooden frame. reaching it with the others and banging hard. "Hello?! Is anyone in there?! We need help! Can we please come inside?!"
"Now what?!" Spike asked.
Doc stepped in front of them. "Allow me." He pulled out his hand torch and pointed it at the lock, the blue light shining on it until he pulled out a metal pin and started picking the lock. One minute later, a click could be heard. "Eureka."
The door then let out a loud creak as it opened, allowing everyone to look inside. The place was pitch black, even when Doc pointed his flashlight into it. "That's kinda creepy," Spike said as he hid behind Twilight, Peewee doing the same as he tried to curl up and hide in the boy's hood.
Flash and his Pokémon were the first to step in, ready for anything that might jump out at them. "Springer, can you see if can pick up an aura other than ours?"
"Riolu!" Springer barked as he nodded and closed his eyes. He then flared his aura, sending a pulse into the house, soon scanning the whole house. A second or two later, Springer opened his eyes and looked up at Flash before shaking his head.
"Nothing here. Good, that means we can relax." Flash turned to the others. "All clear, you can come on in." The others did so and started looking around, only to still see the pitch black rooms.
"Can't see...." Twilight mumbled before nudging Doc, "Doc, bring out Tockwork."
"Good idea," Doc pulled out his Pokeball. "Tockwork, come out and use Flash." The ball opened and released the mechanized Pokémon.
"Tock," it called out before the clock face illuminated. Doing so caused the entire room to be bathed in light, allowing them to look around. The place was covered in dust and tarps covered all of the furniture. In the center of the room was a large stairway, complete with tarps all over it as well.
"Amazing," Doc said as they stepped into the main room. "It looks like no one's been here in years."
"To think this place as just been sitting here and people just walk passed it without even realizing it." Flash added as he glanced around, "Not too shabby though."
"Tch. They probably don't find it because they're not stupid enough to go off the main path," Twilight hissed.
Flash shot her a dirty glare. "Can we not do this please?!"
"So...are we gonna spend the night here?" Spike chimed in.
Flash turned towards him. "Unless you'd rather take your chances out in the rain."
Another thunder clap followed this question, causing Spike to shiver in response. "Yeah...I'll take the creepy manor."
Twilight then spotted a light switch on the nearby wall and flicked it. The lights flickered on and off for a few seconds, only to soon fill the entire mansion in light. "Well, that's the lights sorted out. Strange the lights are working in a remote place like this, but I'm not complaining." She turned to her companions, "Now what?"
Doc rubbed his chin in thought, "Well since we're alone here, let's see if we can find anything we can use to dry our clothes off and keep warm. Then I suggest we go to bed and wait until morning."
"Sounds good to me. Let's meet back up here in an hour." Flash added as they all nodded and headed off in different directions. Flash, Springer and Skyler headed up the stairs, while Doc and Tockwork with to the left and Twilight, Spike and Peewee entered a door on the right.
And as they did this, three pairs of eyes stared at them, which had been there since the start.
Flash, Springer and Skyler arrived on the second floor, only to step into a hallway filled with doors. "Of course, there's a ton of rooms. Let's check every single one of them guys."
His Pokémon nodded as they started opening doors. Springer opened his first, finding himself in a bathroom. The only problem was that said bathroom was upside down, with the toilet, sink and bath hanging from the ceiling. "Ri?"
Skyler was next, landing on a door handle and trying to twist the knob and push the frame open. But as he tried, he found it to be useless. After a full minute, he then switched directions, pulling the door, only to find that there was no room. Instead, the door revealed....a brick wall. "Chick?!" He asked before chirping at the wall in rage at his wasted efforts. "Chick chick chick, Chickling!"
Flash's doors all ended up leading to bedrooms, all of them nothing out of the ordinary. Bored at the repeating sights, he opened the final door of the corridor, only to find a nursery. "Huh. That's not creepy." he sarcastically commented to himself as he walked inside, his Pokémon soon following. Inside was a bunch of old toys, like a rocking Ponyta, a bunch of stuffed Pokémon dolls and several music boxes. Flash even saw an old moldy Teddiursa doll on a chair. "Dang. This place is old. How long has it been since someone's been here?"
"Chick?" Skyler landed on a nearby dresser and started tapping a music box with his beak.
"Wonder if that still works?" Flash asked as he moved over the lifted the lid. As soon as he did, the room was filled with the sound of a child's lullaby. The three smiled at the tune before Flash shut the box. "Not bad. Guess it still works."
He then closed the lid and glanced at his Pokémon. "Come on, let's go see if the others found anything." His Pokémon nodded in response. But as he turned to leave, the room was suddenly filled with music again. "What the-" he turned and saw that the music box was open again. He soon closed it again, "I could've swore I closed this."
He then turned again, only for the music to go off again. "What the heck?! What is-"
"Chick?/Ri?" Springer and Skyler asked themselves as they all turned to the box, Flash closing it again. They then all stared at the box, waiting to see if it opened again, but it remained perfectly still. Two or three minutes later, they all shrugged and turned away, only for music to start again.
"Oh, come on!" Flash yelled as he grabbed the box, flipped it over and pulled out the bottom. It was here he remembered his grandmother having a music box like this, remembering her fixing it one day by tweaking the gears on the bottom of the device. However, this time Flash decided to just remove the gears altogether, soon flipping it back and opening the lid, only to hear nothing. "HA! Try making music now!"
But as those words came out of this mouth, music blared through the room, causing the trio to hop in place. They then stared at the music box, only to see its lid was still closed. "Uhhh….what's going on."
CREAK!
That was the sound of the rocking Ponyta, which was now swaying back and forth, causing them all to turn and stare at it. "Please tell me one of you two knocked that over." Flash answer was a shake of two heads. "I'm not liking this."
At that moment, Springer saw the toy Teddiursa was on the floor, staring at them. Springer blinked at this, remembering it being on a chair before. "Ri?" He pulled on Flash's leg to get his attention, causing the trainer to look down.
"Its just a toy bud," Flash picked it up and looked it over. He then turned to look at the other stuffed toys in the room, all of which were actually staring at him. Blinking at the sight, Flash slowly put the Teddiursa on the floor before he and his Pokémon crept back towards the door. As they did this, they could swear they saw the toys turning their heads to follow them.
But as they stepped out of the room, the music blared again, causing Flash to yell, "AAAAHHHH!!!" as he and his Pokémon rushed down the hall in pure panic. And as they did this, a pair of eyes followed them from above.
A few minutes ago...
Twilight, Spike and Peewee had been looking through two to three rooms, all with nothing but tarps. Sighing at the boring sight, they opened another door, only for Twilight to gasp, "Oh...my....Arceus." It was library, which made Twilight squeal in delight as she rushed inside and spun around, pure joy on her face as he eyes started to count all the books, soon reaching a hundred in mere seconds.
"Oh great," Spike moaned as he and Peewee stepped inside. "Looks like we'll be spending the next few weeks here."
"That's a great-no....that's a brilliant idea!" Twilight exclaimed as started grabbing books, soon making a whole pile on just one arm. Before she knew it, she had placed a whole stack of books on a nearby table and began to get her second spree. But as she got that second stack, she turned and saw the previous pile on the table was now gone. "What the....SPIKE!"
"What?" Spike asked from across the room.
"That's not funny!" Twilight screeched as she slammed her fist on the table. "Where are my books I just selected?!"
"I didn't touch them," Spike told her as he placed his hand over his heart. "I swear."
"Terra!" Peewee mimicked the boy.
Twilight glared at them for a moment before putting her books on the table. She then bent down, now looking under the table for the books. But as she did this, Spike and Peewee went slack-jawed as they watched her second pile suddenly ascend from the table. They watched as the books went to the ceiling, causing them to see the first pile of books as well.
Twilight then stood back up and saw her second stack now missing, "What in the-SPIKE!" She turned to her brother, only to get no response. Seeing this, she ran up to her brother, her hair looking like it was about to catch on fire in anger, "Unless you two want to be grounded for a lifetime, tell me where my books are!"
Spike and Peewee still didn't respond. They hadn't even heard her as they just stared at the ceiling, only for Spike's finger to slowly point at the ceiling. "What are you two-"
"Books." Spike said in a low, monotone voice.
"Huh?" Twilight looked up, only to gasp, "What in the name of-AAAAHHHH!!" Before she could react, both piles fell on top of her, causing her curl up as she felt the dusty old novels knock her noggin. "Augh!"
"Twilight!" Spike cried out as he tried to help her, only to see something worse. Every book in the library was now flying, all of them floating above their heads. "Uh-oh..."
Twilight looked back up and saw them, knowing what was coming next. "RUN!!!" She rushed towards the door, Spike and Peewee on her heel as the books started charging at them. And as they did this, a pair of eyes just stared at them.
A few minutes ago again...
Doc and Tockwork opened another door, only to find a large dinning room. In the center of the room was a table that looked like it could seat a hundred, all the seating areas already prepared with plates and cutlery. Doc picked up one of the plates and cleaned the dust off it, seeing it was pure silver. "Well, at least we'll have someplace to eat."
"Tock," Doc turned to his partner and saw he had opened another door, this one leading to a kitchen.
"And a place to cook," Doc smirked as they stepped into it. The place was like the rest of the building, old and covered in dust. "Not exactly sanitary," he commented as he began searching the cupboards, eventually finding one filled with cans. Picking one up, he removed the dust and saw it was filled with beans. "Hmmm...the date's actually still good. Here's hoping this is still edible."
At the same time, Tockwork removed a nearby sheet, revealing an old metal stove. "Tock?"
Doc looked over and blinked at the sight. "Wow, haven't seen something like this in ages." He put on his glasses and pulled out his torch. "Wonder if it still works?"
No sooner had he said that, the stove somehow lit up. The two stepped back in surprise. "Did you touch anything?" He asked Tockwork, who shook its whole body in response. "Must be faulty." But as soon as he said that, the fire from the stove burst into a pillar of flames, causing the two to hop back. "Very faulty!" Then the sound of clattering could be heard, causing them to turn and see several cans rolling on the ground. "Now that's strange. I don't think I could have made them fall out."
But then, the cans began to roll along the ground in random directions, causing the doctor to grimace at the sight. "I think we should leave now Tockwork." he said as they left the kitchen and back into the dining room. But as they did, they saw that the table was now empty, the plates, cutlery and chairs all now vanished. "What the-"
"TOCK!" Tockwork pointed upwards, causing Doc to look up before his eyes went wide. The plates, cutlery and chairs were all floating in the air, only for them to start zipping around the room.
"Whoa!" Doc yelped as he ducked under a flying plate. He then saw a barrage of chairs, forks and knives now pointing at him, causing him to yell, "Let's get out of here!" He and Tockwork rushed towards the door, Doc batting away a few pieces of killer dinner wear as they did this.
And as they left, they also failed to notice the pair of eyes staring down at them.
The Present...
Back in the foyer, screams filled the room as Flash, Springer, Skyler, Twilight, Spike, Peewee, Doc and Tockwork rushed in at same time. The three groups met at the base of the stairs, all panting after running and screaming. And as they yelled, Twilight looked at the two other groups, "Wha...what did you all find?"
"Creepy music," Flash panted out.
"Killer books," Spike replied hysterically.
"Killer dinner wear," Doc finished.
"What's going on?!" Twilight asked before turning to Flash. "I thought Springer didn't detect anybody in here!"
"He didn't," Flash replied as he stopped panting. "Springer's never failed me when it comes to aura scans."
"But if he didn't detect any auras..." Spike spoke up before shaking. "What if there's something in here without an aura?! Like...g-g-ghosts!"
"Don't be silly," Twilight told him as she waved her hand.
"There's no such things as ghosts," Doc finished, only for the lights to suddenly go out.
"AAAHHH!" Spike cried as they were plunged into darkness.
"Calm down," Twilight replied as she pulled him into a hug. "Its okay, its okay. The power probably finally gave out."
"Or something cut it!" Spike whimpered as he tried to tighten the hug.
"Relax. We'll be fine as long as we don't panic." Flash said next, only for a clap of thunder to sound out. A scream followed as Spike kept hugging her sister. "Or not..."
"Tockwork, use Flash again." The clockwork Pokémon nodded before using Flash once again. And as the room was once again bathed in light, the humans and Pokémon all went wide-eyed.
"AAAAAHHHHH!" They all screamed as they saw the once empty foyer was now filled with books, dinner wear and stuffed toys.
"This isn't real...this can't be real!" Twilight shivered as she stared at the sight. That is, till an echoy wail blared out.
"That sounds pretty real," Spike added.
And as those words left his mouth, three figures flew into the room and levitated around the group. They looked like the traditional ghost costumes kids dressed up as, a trio of floating sheets with a pair of eye holes in them. The three looked down at them before unleashing that strange wailing sound, causing them all to shiver.
"What are those things?!" Spike screamed.
"I don't know!" Twilight replied.
"Maybe they're Pokémon?!" Flash guessed as he pulled out his Pokedex, only for the screen to show a large question mark. "Nothing."
"That proves it!" Spike screamed again, clutching his sister with a death-grip. "The Pokedex would know if they were Pokémon, if they're not...THEN THEY MUST BE REAL GHOSTS!"
"That...can't be true," Doc gulped.
One of the ghosts then flew down at them, barely missing them before it flew back up.
"Ahhh! Use Aura Sphere!" Flash yelled as he pointed at the ghost.
"RIOLU!" Springer leapt up and fired the sphere of energy, only for the specter to float around the attack. The blast missed and damaged the wall, making the entire mansion shake before eventually stabilizing.
The three ghosts turned towards the damaged wall, inspecting it for damage before turning back to the group and glaring at them. "I think you made them mad," Twilight told Flash.
"Yeah...I got that already Twilight."
The phantoms then flew close to each other, soon sucking in their 'mouths' before once again unleashing the powerful wailing noise, this one now blasting the full room. The trainers and Pokémon all fell to their knees, covering their ears in pain. All but Skyler, who just blinked at the sight.
"AHHHH!" Flash cried out.
"It's too loud!" Spike screamed.
"Please, make it stop!" Twilight moaned.
"They're not listening!" Doc yelled as he gripped his ears more and more.
"Ri/Terra/Work!" The three affected Pokémon cried, all in too much pain from the sound.
Skyler saw his friends all wallowing pain before turning to three apparitions, "CHICK!" Before the ghosts could react, Skyler leapt into the air and used Quick Attack, hitting the one in the center at full speed.
"WAIL!" It cried as slammed into the wall, causing the other two ghosts to stop their assault and move over to check on it.
With the wailing over, the others were able to quickly recover. "Is everyone okay?" Doc asked.
"I think so..."
"My ears are still ringing," Spike said as he rubbed them. "But other than that, I'm good."
"Thanks to Skyler," Flash said as the Chickling flew down and landed on his arm. "Way to go bud."
"Chick!"
"Guys...." Twilight pointed towards the ghosts. "I think they're about to wail again!"
Flash saw this and pointed at the trio, "Oh no you don't! Skyler, use Gust!"
"Chickling!" Skyler took to the air and beat his wings, blast all three with a barrage of wind. Before they knew it, the bed sheets flew off their body, revealing their forms. Under the sheets were a trio of identical Pokémon, whose bodies were a mixture of black and gray, along with its head, which had large completely white eyes and a small line for a mouth. It had black hair, which was styled so that it hid the right side of its face. Its body was a short gray tail with a pair of stubby arms that had a black cloak covering it.
The three Pokémon then saw that their disguises were gone, causing them yell, "Ghouwail!"
"What are those things?!" Spike yelped as hugged Twilight again. "More g-g-ghosts?!"
Twilight shook her head, "No. They're Ghouwail."
"Ghouwail?" Flash asked as he tried to scan them again with his Pokedex, only for it to let out a ding.
Name: Ghouwail
Category: Wailing Pokémon
Type: Ghost
Info: When threatened, this Pokémon can release a high power sonic wail. Long exposure to this sound can cause severe hearing damage to anyone within a hundred feet of the attack.
"Ghouwail..." the three glared down at them before taking a deep breath, "GHOUWAIL!" Sound waves shot of their mouths, echoing around the room to increase their power. Once again, everyone but Skyler cried out as they covered their ears.
"That's Ghostly Wail!" Doc screamed as he fell to his knees. "Good grief that thing's powerful!"
"Skyler!" Flash called out. "Steel Wing!"
"Chick!" Skyler shot at the Ghouwail with a shining wing. But as the bird made his way to the Wailing Pokémon, the ghost just phased through a nearby wall, evading the attack with ease.
"Dang it! They're fast..."
"If that's the case, I doubt they're that strong," Twilight added as she adjusted her glasses at the sight.
Spike turned to her in confusion. "Were we listening to two different sonic attacks?! They seemed pretty strong to me!"
Doc shook his head at this. "Maybe in mass, but alone they shouldn't be that powerful."
"So we just gotta knock'em out one at a time. Got it!" The humans stood back to back as Springer, Skyler, Peewee and Tockwork readied themselves to attack the Pokémon. But as they waited, nothing changed. It was as if the ghost Pokémon were no longer there. Flash blinked at this as he said, "Hmmm...did they leave?"
"Wail!" One of the Ghouwail screeched as it shot out of a wall in front of Twilight.
"Ember!" Twilight cried out, Peewee unleashing a burst of tiny fireballs on command. The Ghouwail easily saw this coming, quickly phasing into the floor before the flames reached him. "Ahh!!! It went through the floor!"
"Gear Grind!" Doc yelled as he pointed at another ghost, Tockwork throwing its gears at the Wailing Pokémon a second later. But before the gears could strike, it phased through another wall, dodging the soon wall-embedded gears.
"This is nuts," Flash commented as he glanced around. "They keep moving..."
"Riolu..." Springer growled as tried to lock an aura, only to find nothing on the Ghost-types. "Ri riolu!"
"Don't bother Springer." Twilight said as she glanced at the Aura Pokémon. "Fighting type moves don't work on Ghost-Types."
"Ri...." Springer moaned, slumping over in dejection.
Flash looked down at his partner and sighed. "Don't be sad bud. Just keep a lookout to help me, alright?"
Springer nodded at this. "Ri!"
Flash shined him a small grin before glancing up at Skyler, who had perched on his head. "Looks like its up to you."
"Chickling!" Skyler exclaimed, nodding as well. And as he cheered, another clap of thunder illuminated the room as the third and final Ghouwail shot out of the ceiling. "Chick!" Skyler cried as he shot straight up, increasing his speed with Quick Attack. "CHICKLING!"
BAM!
That was the sound of the bird striking the Ghouwail, slamming it into the wall.
"YES!" Flash cheered, pumping his fists into the air.
"He got it!" Spike added, him and Peewee cheering as well.
However, Twilight and Doc were just gaping at the sight as Twilight muttered, "How did he....how did he hit him with a Normal-Type move?!"
A click went off in Doc's brain. "Scrappy..." Doc whispered, Twilight hopping in place at his words.
"What?!" Flash asked as he turned to the two.
"Its an ability," Twilight replied as she stared at Skyler. "It allows the user to hit Ghost-Types with Normal and Fighting-Type attacks. Skyler must have it."
Flash's eyes went wide before looking back at his Chickling. "So Skyler's got a major advantage over Ghost-Types?"
"And because he's a Normal-Type, Ghost moves have zero effect on him," Doc added.
"Awesome!" Spike cheered. "Skyler's a literal ghost buster!"
Flash shined a huge smirk, "You hear that Skyler?! You're our best bet for beating Ghost-Types!"
"Chickling!" Skyler replied happily before turning back to the downed Ghouwail, its two friends now floating up from the floor.
"Wail?" One of them asked the downed one, soon helping it up.
"Ger..." it replied as it floated back into the air, followed by the others. The three Ghouwail then stared down Skyler, all three pointing at the bird, only for a sphere of black and purple energy to appear in front of them.
"That's Shadow Ball!" Twilight yelled as she pointed at them.
"GHOUWAIL!" They cried as they fired them at Skyler.
"Quick Attack!" Flash countered, Skyler shooting at the ghosts like a bullet. But as it raced towards the trio, the three Shadow Balls all flew towards the bird, only to phase right through him.
"Chickling!" Skyler roared as he struck all three, his attack smacking them into the air.
"Use Gust!" Skyler then beat his wings, summoning a whirlwind that quickly caught all three, blasting them all into the ceiling with a single strike of wind.
"Ghouwail…." they all moaned, slowly floating back down.
"Finish this now Skyler! Steel Wing!"
"CHICK!" Skyler shot at the trio, his wings glowing. Before they knew it, he shot past the trio in one fell slash.
"GHOUWAIL!" They all cried as they slumped over, all falling down with swirls in their eyes.
"Yes! Great work bud!"
"Chick!" He chirped happily.
With the battle over, the group gathered around the three. When they finally regained consciousness, they saw the group encircling them with frowns on their faces. "Ghouwail!" They all cried out as they clung to one another.
"Not so scary now, are we?" Spike darkly chuckled as he glared at him. "Don't try and play innocent with us. You tried to kill us!"
"Ghouwail! Ghou ghouwail!" They cried, shaking their heads in fear.
The sight alone made Twilight blink, a frown soon following. "Hang on guys. I don't think they were trying to really hurt us."
"Tell that to my eardrums," Flash growled.
"Or to the stab and burn wounds I almost got," Doc added.
Twilight just shook her head kneeling down with a kind looking frown, "Were you actually trying to hurt us?" The three Ghost Pokémon shook their heads in response. "Were you...were just trying to scare us off?" This time, she got a nod, "I see." She looked up at the others. "I think they just wanted us to leave."
"Why?" Flash asked.
"Ghost Pokémon usually have two personalities, aggressive or shy. Most shy Ghost Pokémon hide away in places like this to be alone. I think us being here upset them, so they tried to scare us off. That must have been why the door was locked and why they did all those scary things. They wanted us to leave them in peace."
The others looked at each other before Flash shrugged, "Alright, I guess you got a point." He then turned to the Ghouwail. "But you didn't have to try and scare us. We don't even really wanna be here. We only came because of the storm."
Twilight gave them a kind smile, "Listen you three. I promise that as soon as the storm passes, we'll leave you three in peace." The three Ghouwail blinked at them, the trio still shaking, "In fact, we won't even wander around the house. We'll just stay in the foyer and leave as soon as the rain stops. So please, just let us stay this one night."
"Please," Spike added.
"We promise we won't do anything to upset you," Doc finished.
The other Pokémon all promised as well. The Ghouwail trio all looked at one another, soon turning back to the others and nodding. Everyone sighed in relief as Twilight said, "Thank you! And to make it up for intruding, we'll treat you to a great Pokémon feast."
Flash nodded in agreement, "Yeah! No Pokémon, dead or alive, can say no to Doc's cooking."
The Ghouwail all liked the sound of this. "Ghouwail ghouwail!"
And so, the rest of the night remained spook free. Doc treated the Ghost-Types to Pokémon food designed especially for them before everyone went to bed, the Ghouwail actually offering them the chance to sleep in the many bedrooms of the mansion.
The next morning...
As the clouds finally broke from the storm, the sun began to raise, bathing the mansion in glorious sunlight. It was here that the doors of the mansion opened, soon showing Flash and his friends, "Looks like the storm's finally over."
"That's good." Twilight added with a long sigh. "I'd hate to have to walk through the forest while it was still raining."
"Well, we don't have to worry about that," Doc assured her with a pat on the shoulder.
Spike then turned to the three Ghouwail. "I guess this is it."
The three nodded in unison. "Wail!"
"Sorry again about everything that happened."
"We promise we won't tell anyone about this place," Twilight assured them. "I doubt anyone will find this place again for a while." She turned to throw a knowing smirk at Flash. "Most people have the sense to stay on the path."
Flash rolled his eyes. "In my defense, if I hadn't taken us off the path, we would have been stuck in tents during the rain. A little bit of frights is a small price to pay for not catching colds."
"Excuses excuses," Twilight muttered back before everyone started laughing. They then made their way back into the forest, soon turning back to wave at their new friends. The trio waved back before returning home, ready to stay in their run down piece of heaven.
An unexpected detour lead to our heroes spending the night in a literal haunted house. One can only wonder what other strange and wondrous things they will see as they journey around the Equestria Region. As for what else they'll encounter, you'll have to stay tuned to find out