Ash, Dawn, and Verity were traveling again. This time, they were deep in Eterna Forest, chilling by a river. They had to get to Eterna City eventually, but right now they were making pretty good time.
So they decided to set up over here next to a river. Ash would make lunch later, but right now he was gonna fish to see if he could get anything interesting. At least, that's what he told them. In reality, he was going after a Buizel.
And he knew it was in the area since he'd been looking at the online League forums, and there had been rumors of a powerful Buizel living in the river. So Ash wanted it, and he was gonna sit right here until he got it.
Meanwhile, around him, he let out his Pokémon so they could play, even introducing the three newcomers to them: Snorunt, Ninjask, and Elekid. The only real thing of note in that was that Elekid joined the trio of Ralts, Riolu, and Chimchar, and currently they were playing cards with leaves that they wore the symbols on. Meanwhile, Pikachu and Vee were just chilling next to him.
Meanwhile, Dawn was playing with Pachirisu and Buneary to try and get them to get along since they were constantly at each other's throats. But Ash did her a picture of Pikachu. She was confused at first, but when she showed it to them, they immediately stopped fighting and started trying to do whatever they could to impress Dawn so that she would give it to them.
Needless to say, Pikachu felt betrayed and went off to go dig a hole to bury himself in, and Vee laughed at his misery.
Verity, meanwhile, since they were next to a river, got the chance to let her Lapras out. She really couldn't keep her out a lot, but yeah, she still had her Lapras. As she scratched Lapras behind the ears, she looked over at Ash.
"So...where did you even get those other three again?" she asked, gesturing over to Snorunt, Ninjask, and Elekid.
"Caught them when you guys weren't around," Ash said, which technically wasn't a lie. He did get two of them in Hoenn, just not the complete truth either.
But at this point, Verity knew better than to try to push, so she went back to brushing Lapras' shell.
"By the way, put any thought into what your next Pokémon is gonna be?" Ash asked as he didn't even look over at her, "You're gonna let Dawn beat you."
"Ehh...I haven't...really thought about it," Verity said, scratching her cheek.
"Well, maybe get some coverage. The next gym is a Grass one, so if you go in with two Water types, that's gonna suck," Ash pointed out.
"I-well, they both know [Ice Beam]," Verity said defensively, like that did anything.
"Yeah, okay, one move with coverage. You're still gonna get your teeth kicked in if you don't get something else," Ash pointed out.
Verity frowned, looking down at her two Poké Balls, "Well, I guess I could try to find another Pokémon."
Ash finally slowly turned and looked at her with a blank look, "Could?"
Verity sighed, "Okay, okay. I'll look for another Pokémon."
Dawn raised a finger, "Maybe you should get a Fire type."
Verity blinked, "A Fire type?"
"Yeah! Grass is weak to Fire, right?"
Ash immediately started laughing.
Dawn looked at him, "What?"
Verity looked confused too, "What's so funny?"
Ash shook his head, still laughing, "Okay, okay, what Fire type?"
Dawn thought for a second, "Uh…"
Ash raised a hand, "Seriously, name one."
"Chimchar."
"Got one."
Dawn frowned, "Ponyta."
"Okay."
Verity looked at Ash, "And…?"
Ash pointed toward himself, "Exactly."
Dawn blinked, "Wait."
Ash grinned, "Aren't there, like, three native Fire types in Sinnoh?"
Verity slowly counted on her fingers, "Chimchar, Ponyta…"
"And Magby," Ash added.
Dawn's face fell, "…That's actually not a lot."
"Nope."
"But there are more than that."
"Only if you're willing to go hunting for Pokémon that aren't native to Sinnoh."
Verity tilted her head, "What about Houndour? I saw some reports that there were some found at Route 214."
"Technically not native to Sinnoh. Those got imported because the League realized that Sinnoh has nothing to work with, and it would look bad if their Elite Four either had to use non-native Pokémon or non-Fire types," Ash pointed out.
"Yeah...that would look pretty bad," Verity muttered.
Dawn crossed her arms, "Okay, so maybe Fire isn't the easiest option."
Ash shrugged, "I mean, it's still an option. Just not exactly the easiest one."
Verity sighed, "So what am I supposed to catch?"
Ash finally looked over at her, "Something that can handle Grass types."
"I know that much."
"Something with decent coverage."
"Yeah."
"Something that you actually like."
Verity stared at him, "…You're not gonna tell me, are you?"
"Nope."
"Why?"
"Because then you're just copying my answer."
Verity narrowed her eyes, "You literally just told me I need another Pokémon."
"Yeah."
"And now you're refusing to help me pick one?"
"Yep."
"That's so stupid!"
"Sucks to suck. Maybe you shouldn't have procrastinated until I got here to start," Ash said with no mercy.
Verity puffed out her cheeks, "I didn't procrastinate."
"You absolutely did."
"I was thinking about it!"
"For how long?"
Verity paused, "…A while."
"Surreeee, and when you admitted that you were waiting for me, I'm sure you were making lots of plans, weren't you?"
"I will—" Verity was about to yell something, but then they heard the sounds of rustling in the bushes. Dawn and Verity slowly turned.
"What is that? Do you think it's a Pokémon?" Dawn whispered.
"I don't know, but at this point I'm so fed up that I'll take whatever I can get," Verity said as she pulled out a Poké Ball and slowly approached the rustling.
Verity slowly approached the bushes, Poké Ball in hand, while Dawn followed a few steps behind her.
Ash, meanwhile, didn't even bother looking up from his fishing rod, "I wouldn't," he said casually.
Verity stopped for half a second, "Wouldn't what?"
"Wouldn't do that."
"What?"
Ash shrugged, still staring at the river, "Nothing."
Verity frowned, "You're being weird."
"Am I?"
"Yes."
"Probably."
Verity sighed and shook her head before turning her attention back to the bushes, "Whatever. I'm getting whatever's in there."
Dawn watched her nervously, "Be careful."
"I will." Verity slowly stepped closer.
The bushes rustled again. She raised the Poké Ball.
"Alright...come on out."
She reached toward the bushes, but then she heard a voice.
"Hey!"
"AH!" Verity jumped as a girl suddenly stepped out from behind the bushes. It was Zoey.
Zoey barely had time to react before Verity instinctively threw the Poké Ball in her hand, and it bonked her on the head. Zoey stumbled backward, completely stunned, before falling straight onto her butt.
There was a moment of absolute silence. Verity stood frozen, her arm still extended from the throw. Zoey sat on the ground, blinking rapidly.
They both slowly looked at each other.
"…"
"…"
Verity's face slowly went pale, "…Oh."
Zoey rubbed her forehead, "…Ow."
Nearby, Dawn had both hands over her mouth, desperately trying to hold back a snort.
Verity slowly turned toward her, "Dawn."
Dawn immediately looked away.
"Don't."
Dawn's shoulders shook harder.
"Dawn!"
"I-I'm sorry!" Dawn managed to say, her voice cracking as she tried not to laugh.
Zoey looked between the two of them, still sitting on the ground, "…Did you just throw a Poké Ball at me?"
Verity's face turned bright red, "I thought you were a Pokémon!"
Zoey stared at her, "You thought I was a Pokémon?"
"I didn't know you were gonna come out of the bushes!"
"You were literally talking to me before you threw it!"
"I wasn't expecting a person!"
Dawn finally couldn't hold it anymore and let out a small snort.
Verity whipped around, "DON'T LAUGH!"
That only made Dawn laugh harder.
Meanwhile, Ash was still sitting beside the river, casually holding his fishing rod, "Told you."
Verity's head snapped toward him, "YOU KNEW IT WAS A PERSON?!"
Ash shrugged, "Yep."
"AND YOU DIDN'T STOP ME?!"
"I told you I wouldn't."
"You said 'I wouldn't'!"
"Yeah."
"That doesn't count!"
"Skill issue," Ash said.
Verity stared at him in disbelief, "You are the worst!"
"Thanks." Ash gave her a thumbs up.
Zoey slowly got back onto her feet, still rubbing her forehead, and Dawn finally wiped the tears from her eyes as she went over.
"Hey, Zoey. I didn't think I'd see you. Sorry that Verity kinda hit you on the head."
"It was an accident!" Verity said defensively, still embarrassed.
Zoey rubbed the spot on her forehead again, "I know. I figured that much."
Dawn smiled awkwardly, "Still, sorry about that. We weren't expecting anyone to come out of the bushes."
Zoey sighed, then looked toward the bushes behind her, "Honestly, I wasn't expecting to run into you guys either."
Dawn tilted her head, "What were you doing back there?"
"I was trying to get through the forest," Zoey explained, brushing some leaves off her clothes, "I was heading toward Eterna City, but then I heard a bunch of voices coming from over here."
Verity blinked, "So you just walked toward the voices?"
"Pretty much."
Dawn pointed at herself, "And you thought you heard me?"
"Yeah." Zoey nodded, "I could've sworn I heard your voice, so I figured I'd come closer and see if it was actually you."
Dawn smiled, "Well, you found me."
"Yeah, eventually." Zoey glanced at Verity, "I just didn't expect to get hit in the head with a Poké Ball."
Verity immediately looked away, "I said I was sorry."
Zoey smiled slightly, "It's fine."
Ash finally looked over from the river, still holding his fishing rod, "See? Crisis avoided."
Verity glared at him, "You are still not getting away with that."
Ash shrugged, "What did I do?"
"You knew someone was in the bushes!"
"I knew it wasn't a Pokémon."
"That's worse!"
Dawn giggled, "You really could've stopped her."
"I did."
Verity pointed at him, "You said, 'I wouldn't.' That's not stopping me!"
Ash shrugged again, "I figured you'd figure it out."
"You're terrible!"
"Thank you."
Zoey looked between them, slightly confused, "Are you two always like this?"
Dawn answered immediately, "Yep, but it's fun to watch them," she said shamelessly.
"Well, you're free to join us. I was gonna start cooking soon. Since Verity hit you, I figured it's only nice, as the responsible one here, to compensate you," Ash said.
Zoey blinked, then smiled, "Sure. I wouldn't mind taking a break, and lun—" She stopped and thought about it, "Actually, is this lunch?"
"That's...actually a good point," she said, looking up, "What time is it?"
You see, Eterna Forest has so many trees that it actually blocks out most of the sunlight, so it's hard to tell the difference between day and night. So they couldn't actually tell what time it was.
Dawn looked around, "Uh…"
Zoey tilted her head, "I have no idea."
Dawn looked at her watch, only to realize it wasn't giving her a useful answer either, "Wait, what time did we even leave Floaroma?"
"I dunno," Verity said.
Zoey looked equally confused, "I've been in the forest for a while, so I lost track too."
Dawn frowned, "Well, if we don't know what time it is…"
Verity suddenly looked toward the trail, "How far are we from Eterna City?"
Ash reeled his fishing line in slightly, "Far enough that we're probably not making it there before dark."
Verity stared at him, "Probably?"
"Yeah."
"So we're not making it to town tonight?"
Ash shrugged, "Maybe."
"Ah, great. Then if that's the case, where are we gonna stay tonight?" Verity muttered, already thinking about which spot would be more comfortable to set up her tent.
Ash then casually pointed off to the side, "We could go to that conveniently placed Chateau."
All three girls turned their heads.
"…What?"
There, through a gap between the trees, stood a large Chateau. It was an elegant building with dark wooden walls, tall windows, and a large entrance, and most of all, there were lights coming through the windows.
Dawn's eyes widened, "Whoa!"
Zoey immediately smiled, "That's beautiful!"
Dawn practically bounced on her feet, "Do you think they let travelers stay there?!"
Zoey nodded, "Maybe! It looks like some kind of old estate."
Verity, however, didn't move. She slowly looked from the manor to Ash, then back to the manor, then back to Ash.
"…Ash."
"Hmm?" Ash hummed quietly.
"That wasn't there before."
Ash blinked innocently, "What wasn't?"
"The giant freaking mansion!"
Dawn looked at her, "Verity, it's a manor."
"I know what it is!"
"Then what's the problem?"
Verity pointed toward it, "It wasn't there!"
Zoey tilted her head, "Are you sure?"
"Yes!"
Dawn looked at the manor again, "Maybe we just didn't notice it."
"We've been sitting here for hours!"
"You don't know that," Ash said.
Verity slowly turned toward him, "…What?"
Ash shrugged, "We don't know what time it is, remember?"
"That doesn't explain the mansion!"
Dawn was already walking toward the manor, "Come on! We can figure that out later!"
Verity stared at her, "You're just going to walk toward the mysterious manor that apparently wasn't there five minutes ago?"
Dawn looked back at her, "Yes."
"Why?"
"Because it's a mansion!"
Verity opened her mouth, then closed it.
Zoey nodded, "Honestly, I agree with Dawn."
"You too?!"
Zoey smiled, "I mean, if it's abandoned, we could probably at least find somewhere dry to sleep."
"That's exactly what I'm worried about!"
Ash walked past Verity, patting her on the shoulder as he went, "Don't worry. If something creepy happens, I'll just throw you at it."
Verity's jaw dropped, "That's not reassuring!"
"Worked on the Ghost Pokémon."
"THAT WAS DIFFERENT!"
Dawn giggled as she continued toward the manor, "Come on, Verity!"
Verity sighed and reluctantly followed, "I swear, if this place turns out to be haunted…"
Ash smiled, "Then we'll have a sleepover with ghosts."
"I don't want a sleepover with ghosts!"
"Wow, I will not take this Ghost-type slander," Ash said, looking offended.
Then, from Ash's shadow, Haunter poked her head out and gave her version of a pout.
Ash patted her, "Look at what you did. You hurt Haunter's very delicate feelings."
"Wh-yo-since when do you even have a Haunter?"
"I've had one this whole time. You just never cared to notice. Look at how hurt she is." Ash pointed, and Haunter gave a very exaggerated crying expression.
Verity stared at her, "…She's not actually crying."
Ash gasped, "How dare you question her emotional integrity."
Haunter nodded sadly, putting a hand over her heart.
"She's been through so much," Ash continued dramatically.
"She literally just came out of your shadow!"
"Exactly. She has to live in my shadow. Do you know how hard that is?" Haunter nodded even harder.
Verity stared at them both, "You two are ridiculous."
Dawn giggled, "I think she's doing a pretty good job."
Ash pointed at Dawn, "See? Someone understands."
Haunter immediately floated over to Dawn and hugged her.
"Aww," Dawn said, petting her head.
Verity crossed her arms, "Traitors."
Ash smiled, "Anyway, while we're all getting distracted, maybe we should actually check out the manor."
Dawn nodded, "Yeah! Maybe there's someone inside who can tell us if we can stay there."
Verity looked toward the manor again, still suspicious, "You really think that's a good idea?"
"Probably not," Ash said.
Verity blinked, "Then why are you agreeing?"
"Because it's funny."
"That is not a reason!"
Dawn giggled, "Come on, Verity. We should at least check it out."
Verity sighed, "Fine."
Ash held up one finger, "Give me a sec."
Dawn stopped, "What?"
Ash turned back to the water, then immediately pulled back on the rod he was holding. In one pull, something came flying out of the water: the Buizel Ash was looking for.
The orange Pokémon came flying through the air, still attached to Ash's fishing line. It twisted around midair, clearly ready to fight whoever had dared drag it out of the river.
Buizel landed on the ground, shaking itself off before glaring at Ash. But unfortunately for Buizel, it had landed directly in the middle of the little leaf-card game that Ralts, Riolu, Chimchar, and Elekid had been playing.
There was a long silence. The four Pokémon slowly looked down at the scattered leaves, then they slowly looked up at Buizel.
Buizel blinked, "…Bui?"
Riolu's eye twitched, Chimchar's tail flame flickered, Elekid clenched its fists, and Ralts slowly stood up.
Elekid immediately jumped in after him, throwing a punch that sent Buizel rolling across the grass. Riolu charged next, smacking Buizel with a quick combination of punches while Ralts joined in from the side, using its Psychic to yank Buizel back whenever it tried to escape.
Buizel desperately tried to fight back, splashing water everywhere with its tail and firing off a few quick attacks, but it had walked directly into the worst possible group of Pokémon it could have disturbed.
Ash watched the whole thing while casually rolling up his fishing line, "Well, that's one way to make a first impression."
Dawn stared in shock, "They're actually beating it up!"
Verity looked equally stunned, "Shouldn't you stop them?!"
Ash shrugged, "Nah."
"Ash!"
"They're almost done."
"How do you know that?!"
"Experience."
Buizel was sent flying one final time, bounced off the ground, and landed flat on its back.
"Bui…" It went limp.
The four Pokémon stood around it, breathing heavily. Then, once they were finally satisfied, they walked over the unconscious Pokémon to go and find some new leaves to make cards out of.
Ash stood up, casually slung the fishing rod over his shoulder, and walked over, "Well, that was convenient."
Dawn stared at him, "That's your response?!"
Ash reached into his bag and pulled out a Poké Ball, "Yep."
Verity pointed at the unconscious Buizel, "You're seriously catching it after your Pokémon just beat it unconscious?!"
Ash shrugged, "Makes my job easier."
He tossed the Poké Ball, and the ball hit Buizel, opened, and absorbed it in a flash of red light. It landed on the ground and then clicked shut.
Ash walked over and picked it up, "Got it."
Dawn blinked, "…That's it?"
Ash nodded, "That's it. Aight, let's go," Ash said with a smile on his face.
"Yay, let's go!" Dawn immediately got excited again, dragging along Verity.
As they got closer, they saw the warm lights of the manor get brighter until they were right in front of the door. Dawn was about to knock, but before she did, the door slowly opened.
Verity stopped, "…Why are the doors open?"
Ash looked at them, "Convenience?"
"That isn't an answer."
"By definition, yes it is."
"I meant it's not the answer I want to hear," Verity muttered.
Zoey walked up to the entrance and peered inside, "Hello?"
Her voice echoed through the building.
Dawn stepped beside her, "Maybe no one's here."
Verity immediately grabbed Dawn's shoulder, "Then we should leave."
"But what if there is someone?"
"Then that's even more reason to leave!"
Ash walked past them and pushed the door open, much to Verity's dread. When he did, they saw the inside. The manor looked like a well-kept manor with paintings along the wall and a second floor, but standing at the top of the steps was a man wearing a suit.
He slowly started walking down the steps and made his way to the door, "Yes, may I help you?"
"Ah, sorry for disturbing you. We were just leaving," Verity tried to get back, but Ash and Dawn stopped her with one hand each.
"Hello, sir. We were travelers and were too far from town and don't know what time it is. We were wondering if we could stay here for the night?" Ash immediately said.
The old man looked at him, then up to Dawn and Zoey, who both gave a single nod. His face was unreadable for a moment, then he nodded.
"I see. Well, I sympathize with you all. Why don't you stay here for tonight?"
The old man stepped aside, gesturing for them to enter.
"Thank you," Ash said as he walked inside, with Dawn and Zoey following right behind him.
Verity, however, was still standing at the doorway.
Ash looked back, "You coming?"
Verity stared into the manor. Everything about this place was bothering her. The fact that it had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, the open door, the fact that they had found it deep in the middle of Eterna Forest, and now there was apparently a perfectly normal-looking old man living inside it.
"…Do we have to?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because you said you wanted somewhere comfortable to sleep."
Verity frowned, "I could've slept in my tent."
Ash pointed toward the dark forest behind them, "You could also sleep in there."
Verity looked back at the forest. She immediately stepped inside, "Yeah, no."
Dawn giggled as she walked past her, "See? Not so bad."
Verity muttered under her breath, "It's still weird."
The old man closed the door behind them. The sound echoed through the entrance hall.
Verity immediately looked back, "…Why did that sound so loud?"
Zoey glanced around the room, "It's probably just because of how big the room is."
"Probably," Verity muttered.
Then the old man bowed slightly, "I just made dinner. Why don't you all join us?"
"Oh, food? Now that's something I can get behind!" Verity's expression immediately brightened.
Zoey laughed, "Okay, sir, lead the way."
He bowed and started walking, and Dawn, Verity, and Zoey started following. Meanwhile, Ash stayed in the back. Once they were further ahead, his smile slowly fell and he frowned, narrowing his eyes. Acting oblivious like that was annoying, but he sensed this from a mile away.
And he knew what was going on, "So that's how you want to play, huh…" he muttered under his breath. Then a big toothy smile appeared on his face, "Good. Then let the game begin."