Chapter 21:  Ghost of a Chance (Part A) by Michael Keens/ Exodus  

We arrived in Lavender Town at early evening the next day, the town had an 
eerie effect to it, people moped around and the lights were dim.  
�Gee, this place is creepy.  What do you say we get our Pok�mon healed and 
challenge the Gym Leader right away?� asked Emily in a cool yet nervous tone.  
�Good idea.� I simply agreed.  
We had heard about this place, known for the haunting that occurred in the 
tower where people let their Pok�mon rest for good.  
The Gym here was on the map that I received from the Cerulean Sisters, I 
couldn�t help but remember my first kiss with Emily.  
I shook my head and got back to the task at hand.  
Looking out the window of the Pok�mon Centre, I saw the Gym, it had the designs 
of evil spirits wandering around, it didn�t take a genius to figure out that 
this Gym housed the elusive Ghost Pok�mon.  
There were rumours and speculation about these Pok�mon and no one really knew 
what their weaknesses were exactly.  
It�d just be an extra challenge for us.  
I decided to pick out Twinkill, Psychot, Inferno, Flutter, Digda and 
Shockwave.  
Emily did some quick switching too and joined me in mid-operation.  
�There you go Tetsubo.� said Blossom from the other side.  
�Thank you Blossom.�  
�Ahem.�  
�Oh yeah, Blossom, I�d like to introduce you to my best friend and travelling 
companion, Emily.�  
�I�m so happy for you Tetsubo, you two make such a cute-�  
I switched off hoping she�d get the message, Emily simply smiled but didn�t 
speak of it.  
We went to the Gym together for moral support, the doors were locked, Emily 
knocked on them slowly but firmly, a hollow clang occurred when she did.  
The door slowly creaked open.  
�You knocked?...� said an old sinister voice.  
�Yes, we�re here for a Gym Battle.� spoke Emily.  
�You too?� he asked me.  
�Of course.� I replied.  
�I shall only battle one.�  
�Wha?! That�s not fair! What sort of Gym Leader are you?!� I shouted.  
�I�m not.�  
�So what are you doing here?� I asked beyond annoyed.  
�He must be one of those fans that hangs around Gyms all day waiting to ambush 
and battle trainers before they can fight the Gym Leaders.� guessed Emily.  
�Sort of...� said the man stepping out, he wore small glasses, a strange 
vampire-like purple cloak and he had dark blue hair in a similar style to me, 
except his looked a little more menacing.  
�But no, I�m in charge of the Gym at the moment and I�m tired of it, my 
mistress has been away from some time, if you can bring her back, I�m sure 
she�ll let you battle her.�  
�Okay then, you got any idea where she is? I�ll go anywhere.�  
He appeared to smile sadistically, then he pointed behind me, I turned myself 
around and my mouth dropped.  
He was only pointing to the tall spooky tower on the hill.  
�The Tower?...�  
�Yes, that�s where she went before she disappeared.�  
�Emily, you�d better fight the battle, I�ll go fetch the Gym Leader.�  
�You sure?...�  
�Yeah...�  
�Well, could you do me a favour?�  
�Huh?�  
She handed me a Pok�ball.  
�I really want a Cubone, if you see one, could you catch it for me?�  
�Uh... sure.�  
�Good luck Tet��  
She hurried inside and the doors shut with the same loud clang.  
I couldn�t help but feel just a little exploited, I had to do these things 
alone as well.  
I shrugged my shoulders and headed towards the hill.  

I arrived at the place known to the world as the Ghost Tower.  
I hesitated at the door, �This would be much easier if I had some company...�  
�CHAR!� screamed Inferno as he came out of his Pok�ball after I dropped it 
deliberately.  
�Inferno, I don�t know what�s inside here but you�ll protect me, won�t you?�  
�Char...� he said shrugging his shoulders as if to say �Only if its a 
challenge.�  
I sighed and pushed the door open...  
The first thing I saw were the graves, there were a great deal of them, well 
this was the prime location for the resting place of Pok�mon, and they were 
around since... before I was in this world.  
Some people prayed for their Pok�mon silently and I thought it best not to 
disturb them.  
Suddenly a man ran down the stairs screaming �Evil! Evil!!!�  
The mourners turned their gaze to him, then went back to praying.  
Would I ever be here, mourning for my Pok�mon? I hoped that would not be for a 
very very long time.  
I ascended the stairs and couldn�t help but feel the gaze of the mourners on 
me, I ignored it and continued.  

Meanwhile, some unwanted guests had entered the tower.  
�Ah know dese Pok�mon are rare, but whut �bout dat crazy man?� asked Cletus.  
�I thought you of all people would understand what he was on about.� said 
Cassie.  
�Shut up Missy.� replied Cletus.  
�Why don�t you both shut up!� shouted Claus.  
It was only the Elite Rockets again.  
�The turquoise kid went in here, the tower that's known for the elusive Ghost 
Pok�mon.�  
�So aside from the rare Pok�mon, we could use this as a chance to swipe his.� 
added Cassie.  
�Let�s go.� ordered Claus.  

I sped up, the laughing was getting to me, lots of voices were laughing at me 
and it didn�t feel good.  
It was as if they were telling me, that I wouldn�t amount to anything, no 
wonder the other guy ran out, I was willing to believe in spirits, but it 
didn�t seem to believe in me, so to speak.  
�Inferno, let�s pick up the pace, again.�  
Inferno wasn�t scared, he was ready for a good fight, but was he prepared for 
anything else?  
A chair suddenly flung itself at us, we ran forward and the table flung past us 
and smashed against the wall.  
�Run, Inferno, run!�  
�CHAR!�  
He shook his head and breathed flames, engulfing an invisible enemy.  
�Gha ha ha ha has!� laughed a spooky voice, not particularly hurt by the 
flames.  

�Gastly, the Gas Pok�mon.  It appears to be totally made of gas.  It cloaks its 
target and puts it to sleep without it even noticing. �  

�A Ghost-type Pok�mon...  Why are you trying to hurt me? I mean you no harm, 
I�m just trying to find the Gym Leader!�  
He looked mad at me and a chair flew by, narrowly missing my face.  
�Inferno!�  
�Char... CHAR!!!�  
Inferno breathed heavy flames on the Gastly, when they cleared, the Gastly was 
gone.  
�Well, I guess we showed him.� I said continuing up the final staircase.  
An unseen force pushed me back, I tumbled down all of the stairs and blacked 
out...  

�Ghost Pok�mon! We�re here ta kidnap-�  
�Cletus, you fool, do you really think they�ll come out if you tell them what 
we�re doing?!� interrupted Cassie.  
�Dey might do, if dey�re stupid Pok�mon.�  
�Keep quiet, we are going to sneak up on Turquoise and swipe those Pok�mon! 
Nothing can stop us this time.� said Claus confidently.  
The Gastly rose from the floor menacingly.  
�Gas...�  
�There�s one! Get it Knockout!� shouted Claus releasing his Hitmonchan.  
�Monchan!�  
�Knockout, Comet Punch!�  
�Monchan!�  
He lunged forward extending his fist, and went right through.  
�What?! Knockout! Do it right!�  
�Hitmon!�  
He punched right through again and hit Cletus hard.  
�Ooh...� said Cassie, �That�s gonna hurt in the morning.�  
�Knockout, use Fire Punch!�  
The Gastly flew around the room dodging the flame-fisted Knockout, it looked 
like this would actually connect, he flew into the area where the two remaining 
conscious Elites were.  
�No, no, no!� shouted Cassie, the inevitable happened and her hair caught on 
fire.  
�Claus! You idiot!� she screamed running around frantically.  
�Knockout! Thunderpunch!�  
It wasn�t long before... 
�Yaaaagghhh!!!�  
He fell down shocked and the Gastly disappeared, Cassie was still running 
around alight.  
�I HATE Ghost Pok�mon!!!...�  

When I came to, a skull was looking over me.  
�Cubone...� I said.  
It saw me wake and jumped back.  
�I�ve got to capture it for Emily.  Inferno, I choose you.�  
Sure, it might have the type advantage, but switching might come off as me not 
trusting Inferno to do this and I wanted Inferno to feel wanted.  
�Inferno, Flamethrower!�  
�Cubone! Bonebonebonebonebonebonebone!� it said spinning its bone staff and 
repelling the flames.  
�Growl attack!�  
�Charrrr...� growled Inferno.  
�Cuuuu...� it growled back.  
�Inferno, give it a Leer.�  
�Char...�  
Its eyes glowed and scared the Cubone half to death.  
�Scratch attack!�  
�Char Char!� it yelled clawing the skull.  
�Slash!�  
It dived forward and swiped, the Cubone fell.  
�Pok�ball!� I said throwing the ball, it picked itself up and batted the ball 
back to me.  
�Its still not weak enough, either that or it really doesn�t want to go with 
me, Cubone, I�m not out to capture you for myself, I�m a real nice trainer 
really, this Charmander is just a little tough.�  
Inferno stood proud at the comment.  
�I�m only catching you for a friend, she�s real nice and cares for her Pok�mon, 
loads.�  
It appeared to think about this, I observed it while it did anxiously, a 
mistake on my part.  
A huge net fell on top of me, too heavy to lift off.  
�Inferno! Flamethrower!�  
A blast of water from a certain Seadra hit Inferno and splashed on his tail, he 
fell down weakened.  
�Inferno!�  
�Hahahahahah!�  

�We strike during day or night!�  
�We attack, with all our might!�  
�Don�t mess with us, or we shall fight!�  
�We�re pretty good at our rhyme.�  
�The masterminds, of crime.�  
�We always succeed, every time.�  
�Cletus!�  
�Cassie!�  
�Claus!�  
�If y�all got valuables, yuh�d better block it!�  
�We put Pok�mon in our pocket!�  
�We�re the best, so don�t knock it!�  
�We are... Elite Rocket!�  

I saw them now, Cassie�s hair was singed, Cletus had a mark on his face and 
Claus looked positively shocked.  
�What happened to you guys?� I asked.  
�That's none of your concern! Hand over your Pok�mon!� shouted Claus.  
�No, I won�t! I�ve come too far to just give up my companions to sleaze like 
you!�  
�Oh, and what have you accomplished exactly?� asked Cassie sarcastically.  
�Intermediate knowledge of all Pok�mon, two Gym Badges and friends that care 
about me.  What exactly can you accomplish? A few thefts? What does it get you? 
Absolutely nothing.�  
�He�s got a point.� said Cletus.  
They ignored him and drew their Pok�balls.  
�Snakebite.�  
�Panther.�  
�And Knockout.�  
�Ch�arbok!�  
�Reeeoowwlll!!!�  
�Monchan!�  
�Rough him up a little and then we�ll take his Pok�mon.� said Claus.  
I shivered.  
�Cubone!� screamed the little Pok�mon, it was willing to fight for me, but why? 
That little speech?  
�Ch�ar!� screamed Snakebite lunging forward, the bone was sent flying into the 
snake Pok�mon sending it back and crushing Cassie�s Seadra.  
�Reeeoowwlll!!!� screamed the Persian leaping forward.  
�Slash that bone collector!� screamed Cassie.  
�Rrreeooowwlll!!!�  
Cubone blocked it with its bone, but lost its grip on it and was now 
defenseless.  
�Cubone!� I shouted with concern.  
�Rrreeeooowwlll!!!�  
�Gastly!� shouted the ghost with fierceness in its voice.  
The Persian backed away.  
I wondered about Gastly, the barrier could have been his, but what was he 
protecting?...  Of course...  
�Gastly, I�m not here to harm the Gym Leader, I just wanted an Official Pok�mon 
Battle, these people are the sort that might harm her and the Pok�mon.  Help 
me...�  
�... Gastly.�  
�Cubone!�  
I had these two on my side now.  
�Reeowwwlll!!!� growled the Persian approaching us.  

�Gastly�s attacks:  Lick, Confuse Ray, Night Shade, Hypnosis and Dream Eater.�  

I had to check the Pok�dex since Ghost Pok�mon were quite rare and not really 
documented in Pok�mon Tech.  
�Confuse Ray Gastly!�  
He smiled at me then shot two beams from its eyes, hitting the Persian in the 
same place.  
Eyes glowing, he turned on the Elites and pounced on Queendra.  
�Knockout! Ice Punch!�  
Gastly was hit by the fast attack.  
�Fire Punch!�  
�Cu-Bone!�  
Cubone dived in from the side in gunfight style and hurled its bone, hitting 
the Hitmonchan between the eyes.  
Cassie was too busy separating her Pok�mon.  
�Chemical!� shouted Claus.  
�MUK!�  
�Cutter!� screamed Cletus.  
�Scyther!�  
Cubone threw its bone again but it went straight through the Muk and came back 
to Cubone, the poison searing its hand a little.  
�Bone!�  
�Um, Gastly, why not try your Hypnosis?�  
�Gastly!!!�  
Chemical sunk down into a blob rising and falling occasionally, totally under 
Gastly�s spell.  
�Scy!!!�  
�Night Shade!� I shouted.  
The lights flickered for a moment, turning back to the ghost, I saw purple 
waves flying forward and knocking the two Pok�mon back, the Muk splattering on 
the Elites, but Cutter wasn�t done and flew forward for a Slash attack.  
�Another Confuse Ray Gastly!�  
�Gah ha has!!!�  
�Scy...�  
He turned to the Elites looking very menacing.  
�Ah nuts.� said Cassie before one swipe forced the Elites out the window, the 
Scyther dived forward to finish the job, and fell down to the bottom.  
�Dey can�t beat us Elites wit� our own Pok�mon!� screamed Cletus.  
�Yeah!� agreed Cassie.  
�Lets go back up there and teach those ghosts a lesson!� shouted Claus.  
Gastly floated through the wall and approached them.  
�You�re gonna get it n-�  
�GGGAAASSSSS!!!� screamed Gastly in the most monstrous voice I�d ever heard and 
changing its face into a totally demonic expression, the Elites screamed and 
ran away.  
�Gah ha ha-�  
And then Gastly evolved.  
�Haunter Haunter...�  

�Haunter, the Ghost Pok�mon.  Haunter�s are known for their paralysing Lick 
attack, its hands are detached from its body so it likes to play tricks on 
people.�  

The two Pok�mon helped me and Inferno shortly after, I recalled Inferno into 
his ball and turned to the others.  
�Thanks you two, you�re really nice Pok�mon.  Now, if you could just release 
that barrier, I�d like to talk to the Gym Leader...�  

The Haunter disabled the barrier and I reached the top floor.  
Up ahead, I saw an old lady with spiky grey hair in purple clothing holding a 
cane, with a ring of Ghost Pok�mon rotating around her, it looked like 
trouble.  
I sprinted forward and skidded to a halt seeing what it was.  
Each of the ghosts were holding hands and playfully circling around the old 
lady.  
�Yes?�  
�Are you the Gym Leader? I went through a lot to get to you so could I please 
have a match?�  
�Yes, of course, come along Gengar.  That�s enough playtime with your old 
friends, time to work.�  
My mouth dropped a little, and here I was thinking the ghosts were doing 
something horrible to her.  
She descended the stairs and I followed, then noticed that two others were 
following me.  
�... So what's it gonna be guys? You wanna come with?�  
�Haunter.�  
�Cubone!�  
�I�m okay with you Haunter, but Cubone, my best friend is a real cool trainer 
and person and she really wants to train a Cubone, will you at least meet 
her?�  
�Cubone...� it replied in an okay tone.  
Finally it was time to get myself another badge...  

End of Chapter 21A  

Back to Chapter 20B
Chapter 21B
Back to Story List #21 - #40
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