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Ghost-Trainer
By : Almister
Category: Pokemon > General
Views: 3126 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, I make no money from this story.
Chapter List
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                So, you ready to do this?

                "Yeah, it should be just like in school, when I was staying below the radar."

                How did you do that anyways? I never understood how you always knew what was going on without anyone realizing it. I figured it had something to do with ghosts.

                "Don't be silly, I can't speak Pokemon, so they wouldn't make good spies. The trick is to act oblivious."

                Oblivious?

                "Pretend you're a Slowpoke. Ignore any and all subtext. Do stuff that annoys them, but don't give any indication that you know it annoys them. Just keep upbeat about everything and eventually they write you off as harmless. After that they're comfortable talking around you because they don't think you even understand what they're saying."

                Seriously? I never would have guessed.

                "Anyways, how's that Ghastly you caught? Will he be ready to fight if we need him?"

                Nox? Yeah, he's pretty strong, and quiet too, unlike some of our Pokemon. He's got a real knack for Hypnosis too.

                "Yeah? Well I can see how that will be useful. Anyways, it's the afternoon now, so I'll take a quick look around town, and then hit the Pokemon Center. That's where they'll likely hang out. More than likely they'll approach me, if they don't... Well either way, you take the night to scout things out."

                Right, right. But if we don't find anything we can reasonably do to help the situation, we're leaving. Got that? Discretion is key.

                "Tell that to your Pokemon. For ghosts they're kind of flashy."

                We've been working on it.

O~O~O~O~O

                White Forest was a quiet town. It always had been, as one of the smallest towns in Unova, home to less than fifty people as permanent residents. Today, however, the quiet seemed to be the eerie, unnatural sort, that left a tense atmosphere in its wake. The road in to the main street was dirt, and it wove between grand fields of tall grass and wildflowers, towards a series of old wooden buildings. In the distance, between massive ancient-looking trees, Atticus could spy the occasional house.

                The main street held everything the locals and passing trainers could need. A small general store advertized fair prices on camping gear. A market place and butcher provided fresh, local food. There was a hardware store, a post office, and even an cinema, advertising a movie from five years ago.

                Atticus trudged along the path in silence, ignoring the atmosphere and the odd looks shot at him from the windows. It felt like being in an old western movie. He imagined he could hear the sound of spurs clicking against the ground as he walked, and resisted the urge to bring his hands to his hips around the empty Pokeballs.

                Eventually he stepped into the general store, moving to the back to grab a cold soda from a fridge. He spotted several kids around his age loitering about, pretending to read magazines or chat with each other while eyeing him up. Remaining oblivious, he strode over to the counter to pay.

                "Just passing through?" The cashier, a worn out looking old man, asked.

                "Yep, that's the plan. 'Course, it'd be cool to pick up a few Pokemon while I'm here." Atticus said, sipping his soda.

                "Ah, a trainer then. You should move along quickly, no need to stick around a little town like this right?"

                "I suppose not. I'll probably catch what I can tomorrow morning, and be on my way around lunch time." The boy shrugged, ignoring the curious looks from the other kids.

                "What are you looking to catch?" One of them, a girl with brown hair in several ponytails, asked.

                "Oh all sorts of things. I hear they've got all sorts of little baby Pokemon around here that'll grow into big old powerhouses." Atticus shrugged. "Right now I could use a bit of anything to round out my team."

                "What are you carrying right now?" A boy, a few years younger than himself, asked, peering at Atticus's belt curiously.

                "Pretty much anything I could catch on route 14. I'm just starting out, and I'm from a Podunk little village like this one, only with less Pokemon." Atticus shrugged again, technically not lying about his team.

                "You should probably box them then, and start with a well balanced team from 'round here." The boy said, which was actually sound advice.

                "Good idea. Even a Togepi would be a welcome addition to my team. Raise it up to a Togekiss and give it Thunderwave and Air Cutter, that'll piss off more than a few trainers." He laughed, surprised when a few of the kids laughed along, genuinely understanding what he was talking about.

                "You know a lot about Pokemon." The girl from before commented, giving him a suspicious look.

                "Well, I don't know much about a lot of things, but Pokemon stuff always seemed to come easy. Mom always said I could list Flying-types by flight speed, but can't multiply single digit numbers without a calculator." Atticus joked, getting a few more laughs from the group.

                "C'mon, we're all headed to the Center for dinner. You should join us." The girl invited, a look suggesting it wasn't an invitation he could refuse.

                "Sure thing, I was getting a bit peckish myself." He nodded, deliberately missing the undertones. Somewhere in the background he heard Emily giggle. 'Oblivious' indeed.

O~O~O~O~O

                The Pokemon Center was noticeably crowded for such a small town. Including the three kids he walked in with there were at least fourteen trainers in the cafeteria, eating dinner or watching the news. Atticus made a beeline for the food, ignoring the looks of exasperation from his escorts, and flopped down at a random table to eat dinner.

                Emily giggled even harder at the bemused stares from the people occupying the table before him.

                "We're coming to you from Goldenrod Hospital where Gym Leader Whitney has reportedly woken up. As you may know, Whitney, the leader of a Normal-type gym Johto, was attacked a week ago by members of the Purist movement for her continued denouncement of their actions. Whitney is expected to make a full recovery over the next few days, and has stated that she plans to resume her duties as a Gym Leader. She has stated that she plans on banning any and all trainers that display the Purist's symbol from competing in her Gym, much like Gym Leaders Sabrina and Morty already have. Several trainers that serve under Whitney remain in critical condition, the police have no suspects at the moment."

                "Hey, Whitney's a Normal-trainer right? How come she was attacked?" Atticus asked out loud, scratching his head absently while staring at the TV.

                "Don't you listen?" The girl from earlier sat down next to him with a thud. "She's the closest representation we've got within the league, and she still shuts us down publicly. She obviously sympathizes with those freaks."

                "Heh, at least Norman is stayin' neutral. Can't risk having his precious little daughter caught up in all this... Unpleasantness." The boy from earlier said, flopping down into an empty seat.

                Atticus pretended to be staring off into space, while mentally counting to ten. 'No suspects? Seriously? What are the police even doing these days? There's been dozens of disappearances around here from what I've heard, and the most I get as a warning is 'you shouldn't stick around long?'

                "What's all this Purist stuff about anyways? I know Gym battles are a big deal and all, but that seems like a lot to go through just to get a badge." He said, once more digging into his food.

                "Are you nuts? They didn't do that to Whitney for a badge!" The girl looked like she was about to pull her hair out. It always was kind of fun doing this sort of thing. "You really don't know anything about Purists? What about Aura, or Empaths, or Mediums?"

                "Mediums?" He asked, getting a couple of nods from the others at the table. "They're alright, I usually prefer them smaller though, and I know some guys like them large."

                The collective facevault was priceless, and he had to work hard to not snicker and blow his cover. One of the guys at the table, a big guy who hadn't spoken a word so far gave a booming laugh and held his hand out for a hi-five. Atticus merely held his on hand out and shook it. "Atticus, how do ya do?"

                A low rumbling chuckle emerged from the boy as he shook his head and the hand. "James. Nice to meet you. The girl is Jill, and the boy is Tommy."

                "Ugh, haven't you ever met anyone who could do weird things? Things no human should be able to do?" Jill seemed really bent on persuading him.

                "Sure I have. There was this girl in my class growing up..." He trailed off, waiting for them all to lean in to hear. "She could put her leg behind her head, while standing up! It was crazy!"

                The collective groan was music to his ears. "Right well... The gist of it is, Psychic, Dark, Fighting and Ghost type Pokemon have special powers right? Well, there are some people out there who, one way or another, have similar powers."

                "Wow, you mean like, being able to turn invisible, and sneak into the girls locker room?" Atticus asked, sounding enthusiastic. It got the predictable tic from the girl, and laughs from the guys.

                "Not those kinds of powers! It happens with other types of Pokemon too. Humans get too close to their Pokemon, and then they start to change, slowly becoming less human." She explained, as if she was telling a Ghost story. He almost expected to hear a thunderclap in the background.

                "Those kinds of people, they're using their powers to take over, becoming Gym Leaders and Champions, taking over the government. They're infiltrating all walks of life, pretending to be normal humans to catch us off guard. They're spreading, reproducing and trying to convince normal people that they are harmless. But they aren't harmless! Normal people are meant to rule the world, not half-breeds and freaks."

                Atticus waited patiently through her rant, blinking at appropriate times, and staring at her the rest of it. "So uh... How do you tell if someone isn't normal?"

                "It can be tricky, they've started to hide, now that they know we're on to them. But you can usually figure it out if you look close enough. See, Half-breeds aren't really people, they're just really smart animals that look like people. They always slip up eventually. Usually when a new trainer passes through here we invite them to sit with us and throw a big bash, showing off our own 'special talents', trying to out-do one another. Eventually the new trainer tries to show us up, and we find out if they're not what they say they are." Tommy said, whispering as if everyone in the room didn't know.

                "Ohhhhhh.... Hey wait, what about me?" Atticus asked.

                "Please... As if you could possibly hide anything from us." The girl scoffed, and the rest of the table laughed.

                "Yeah, what if he's part Whiscash, and has to roll in the mud every few hours?" Tommy joked.

                "Or part Politoed, and he's covered in a thin layer of slime." James added, a big booming laugh following after.

                "Oooooo I see dead people! Oooooo!" Atticus said, waving his hands towards the girl.

                "Knock it off guys, you see my point. Honestly he might be part Slowpoke, being a trainer and not knowing there's a revolution going on." She scoffed, leaning back in her chair.

                "So you guys are like, Team Lava or something?" Atticus asked, once they'd all settled down.

                "It's 'Magma', and those losers failed because they relied on a Pokemon to fulfill their goals. We're saving the human race from being wiped out with our own hands." Jill said.

                "Ah... but... don't you use Pokemon?"

                "Well... Yeah, but we do it differently. We don't become 'friends' with our Pokemon." Jill said.

                "Yeah, we don't 'bond' with them, the way those Pokemon fuckers do." Tommy snorted.

                "We Master them, rather than Train them. We make them far stronger that way than any of those pansies that treat them like people."

                "Ah, maybe my team could use a program like that. They have trouble fighting Pidoves." That got a few chuckles from the group.

                "We're having a meeting tomorrow night, sort of an initiation for new members. You're welcome to join if you're still around." James suggested.

                "What's all this about inviting strangers to meetings?" A new guy had appeared, causing everyone at the table to immediately shut up.

                "Hey there, I'm Atticus." He said, smiling widely at the man. He was about eighteen, well built and dressed in a trench coat, black toque, and fingerless gloves. Everything about him said he wouldn't put up with the 'idiot' routine. 'All the better to sell it. If I was acting I'd know when to quit.'

                "Ben. I'm the boss around here. What have I told you about talking to people I haven't screened?" He said, glaring at those at the table, who all looked down in shame.

                "But boss! He's harmless, I mean the kid didn't even know what the Purist movement was until we drilled it into his head. There's no way he's one of those Half-breeds, he'd be dead by now if he was." Jill said, shutting up after getting a hard glare from the man.

                Ben turned, making eye contact with a girl behind him. She seemed to wither under his gaze and shake her head softly. The mood immediately shifted, and those at the table let out a collective breath. "Sorry 'bout that. Just making sure and all, ya know?"

                "Ah, not really?" Atticus replied, getting small chuckles from the group as the older boy sat down.

                "Sit." The man ordered, and the girl knelt to the ground at his side. "The Half-breeds. They're a tricky bunch, and they know how to hide in plain sight. So I figure, what better way to find them than with one of their own. As... Disgusting as Miko here is, her abilities make it really easy to find others like her. We keep her on a very short leash, don't worry."

                "Whoa, has she got like X-ray vision?" He asked, bending over to look at the girl. She looked up at him and locked eyes, mouthing the words 'Help me', before looking back down at the ground. The group gave a small chuckle.

                "She's an empath. She can sense feelings. Not a full blown mind-reading spoon-bender, but she can pick up on those that are scared of us. That's usually the first warning sign that things aren't what they appear." Ben explained.

                "Freaky..." Atticus said, still staring at the girl. The other kids just nodded along.

                "Anyways, we're supposed to be keeping a low profile. Some idiots about a week ago attacked a local girl, a Pokemon fucker that Miko picked out a few months ago. We weren't going to go after her 'till she left on her own, to keep the town off our backs, but they jumped the gun and she ran for the hills. That's why we have this whole initiation thing now, to try and judge who we let in on our group." Ben explained.

                "Ah, sounds cool. Do all Purists have to do it?" Atticus asked.

                "Only the ones who are actually in on the revolution, rather than just supporting from the sidelines. I'm in charge of the White Forest operation, which isn't really much at this point in time. Just general recruiting while thinning out the number of Half-breed trainers on the road." Ben said.

                "So if I go through the initiation I have to stay here?"

                "Nah, you just get an ID tag, so that you can join up with other groups along the road. It looks exactly like the necklaces you see everywhere, except there's a small barcode along the back, see? We can scan it, and look up info on you." Tommy said, showing his to Atticus.

                "That's really clever."

                "You would think so." Jill scoffed. "Are we really going to let this Slowpoke join? I'm not even sure he knows which end of the Pokedex to point at a Pokemon."

                "Every able bodied normal gets a chance Jill. There's enough work to go around. The first phase of the initiation is tomorrow night, we'll pick you up out front of the Pokemon center at eight." Ben said, standing back up. "There's one other newbie who will be taking it, so I've got to prepare. Tommy, be a gentleman and escort our 'pet' home."

                Tommy rose from his seat, leveling his best glare down at Miko who stood and followed. The group shuffled off out the door, leaving Atticus alone at his table.

                I'm going to follow Miko, you go up to the room and check for bugs.

                'Check for bugs? Seriously? What kind of operation does she think these kids are running?', with a sigh, Atticus rose from his seat and wandered over to the front desk to reserve a room. Deciding he wasn't tired, he opted instead to walk around the village again. He had them all believing he was some sort of idiot, wandering wasn't that weird was it?

                The police station was at the far end of the main street of the village. It was a small building, with only one officer present and a holding cell in the back, probably more than enough to serve the town in the past. On the front window of the building several dozen missing persons forms were posted, giving pictures and information on a large number of people.

                There was a trend, barely noticeable but certainly present. Almost all of them were trainers, around his age and passing through the area. There was a slight preference towards females, only by about a 10% margin though. A good number of them had teams focused around Psychic, Fighting, Ghost, or Dark types. Less commonly there were several that had type based teams of other types, like Water or Fire.

                A few had a single Pokemon that was either alone, or noticeably stronger than others in the group, almost all of them opposite gender from their trainer. And at least three pairs of trainers went missing at the same time, all of similar gender.

                Rubbing his nose he glanced over at the opposite window, where a wanted poster hung. "Reward for information leading to the arrest of 'Nevermore'."

                "You have anything?" A stern voice called from the doorway. A young woman stood there in a police officer's uniform.

                "You aren't wearing a Purist badge, why do you care about this guy?"

                The officer seemed to bristle at the comment. "He's a murderer. He's killed at least fifteen people in the last few months."

                "Look around, see that wall? There are people this town who've killed more, in total. You don't really seem to care. Maybe because they aren't 'normal', like the kind Nevermore kills."

                "Are you saying I'm biased? That I look the other way because I want those kids to die?" She seemed genuinely offended by the suggestion. "I'm doing the best I can, but those kids go missing, and nobody finds the bodies. We don't even know for sure they're dead."

                "Then you don't use your eyes and ears. There are kids sitting in the Pokemon Center, laughing and joking about killing them. Acting like those kids are less than human, and they deserve it! And you sit here looking for information on the only guy who's actually doing something! Those kids, they're just recruiting right now. That body count that's amassed on your watch is because they are bored. There's a revolution coming, and the death total is going to soar. At least Nevermore is looking out for the innocent."

                "Nevermore is a vigilante, a sociopath, and a murderer." The officer argued, regaining her composure.

                "At least he's trying to help the innocent. What have you done lately? You're paid to protect those kids for Arceus' sake. He does it for free, and he does a better job. The revolution is coming, I just... know that it is. Like the spirit world is banging its knives and forks on the dining room table. People are going to die, the only question is, how many, and from which side?"

                "Those kids in the Pokemon center are all talk. I've investigated the rumors." The officer said, scoffing at the odd boy's prediction.

                "Tell that to them." Atticus said, gesturing to the wall of faces as he turned to leave.

                "Hey, wait!" The officer called, losing the boy as he entered an alleyways.

O~O~O~O~O

                There you are! I've been looking for you.

                "I've just been wandering around town. It's a lot to take in you know? This thing is way bigger than I ever than I imagined. They're organized, strong enough to take down Gym Leaders, and they span the entire world. You heard them, those kids think that what they're doing is fine, because the people they rape, torture and murder aren't really 'people'. That sort of thinking lead to... I don't even want to think about it. And worst of all is nobody seems to be taking it seriously." Atticus said, slumping against the wall.

                "I know you don't want to kill anyone. I agree with you, that we should avoid just indiscriminately killing any Purist we come across, or we'd be no better than them. I'd rather not leave a trail of bodies across Unova like Poe is. Still... this is just how it starts. I can already picture it, they start with Psychics, Aura users, Mediums. The rest of the world sits back because there are so few of them. Or join in because they fear them too. Once they're all gone, the target changes, suddenly it's Fire types, or Water types and their trainers. Next the Grass types have to go, they're causing all of the trouble. Soon only 'normal' people remain, all treating their Pokemon like mindless beasts. Eliminating any sort of self expression from people and Pokemon. 'Till we may as well just all be Dittos."

                What do we do then? How do we stop something like this?

                "We do what we've been doing. We travel, we catch Pokemon, we train them to be strong. We do what we can for those along the way, both helping people like us, and meddling in Purist plans when we can. When the storm finally hits, and the civil war begins, we'll be ready to fight for the right side."

                You're right. That is where it's heading isn't it? A civil war... There isn't any one region that's entirely black or white. I wish we could stop it before it even began, but we don't even know who's pulling the strings. This is actually worse than some megalomaniac trying to control a legendary Pokemon isn't it?

                "Anyways. What did you find out about our lovely Empath?"

                They're keeping her locked inside of her own house. I don't know where her family is but... she's the only one living there. There's only one guard with her, but she hasn't tried to escape. Are we really going to help her? She's been selling trainers out to be killed by these people.

                "She hasn't sold me out yet, at least I don't think she has. We'll go talk to her, and find out what's up... We'll see if she's worth saving."

O~O~O~O~O

                The house they were keeping her in was a solitary cabin at the edge of the woods, guarded, just as Emily said, by a single boy. Atticus approached from the forest, skirting along the edge from well out of sight of the guard.

                Alright super spy? How are we going to pull this off?

                "Come now, we're both the infiltration experts here, I'm sure you have a few ideas."

                Oh, I do. I just want to know how you'd do it.

                "Easiest way then. Send Nox over to hypnotize him, and 'suggest' that he ignore any actions taken by the next person he sees for the remainder of the night."

                Hmm, clever, I like it. Hear that Nox? Go get him! The little ball of gas floated out into the open, coming down in front of the guard. A soft murmuring could be heard on the wind as the Ghost gradually faded into view, staring at the human for a few moments. Taking a deep breath, Atticus steeled his nerves and stepped out into view, breathing a sigh of relief as the boy continued to look straight ahead.

                Emboldened by their success, Atticus marched right up to the door and opened it, stepping inside of the small cabin and shutting the door behind him. The guard didn't even flinch at the noise.

                "Hello? Is anyone in here?" The Medium called, hearing movement from upstairs.

                "Come in." A soft voice carried from upstairs.

                "Miko?" Atticus asked, pushing open the door to her bedroom. It was pink, much like the kimono she dressed in, and there were various Psychic type Pokemon plushies littering the floor. The girl nodded, still looking down at the floor.

                "I guess... you were expecting me?" He asked, trying to not to spook the girl.

                "I... I hoped perhaps you'd be able... to help her." She whispered.

                "Help who?" Atticus asked, moving to sit down next to the girl.

                "Selene. They took her away from me. They said they'd give her back if I caught enough trainers for them."

                "But it's never enough is it?" Atticus asked, causing the girl to start to cry.

                He always felt awful around crying girls, never really knowing what to do in situations like that. Emily wasn't really one to cry a lot growing up. Usually when she did it was because she'd hurt herself, and he'd just patch her up and she'd stop. Emotional pain was something far removed from what he was used to dealing with. Luckily Miko's empathic abilities seemed to kick in, and she stopped sobbing, mumbling an apology.

                "Who is Selene? Where did they take her? Maybe I can get her back?" he suggested.

                "Selene is... She's my... Kirlia." Miko mumbled, looking away with a bush.

                "Ah... you two are... close?" The Medium suggested, getting an embarrassed nod from the girl. "An empath who loves a Pokemon. It's a miracle they haven't killed you yet. Alright, I'll have my friends scour the town for your Kirlia, and we'll bust her out."

                "They'll know something is wrong, if you disappear suddenly." Miko cautioned. "I can't help you out until I know she's safe... I'm sorry but..."

                "I understand. They've got you on a tight leash, like they said. I'll just keep playing along, until Selene is safe, then we can make our great escape. Can you pack a bag? I'll take it with me now, so that we can pick it up on the run." Atticus asked, helping the girl get up and start packing. Pointing out the things she may need.

                "The initiation... tomorrow night." She said, drawing his attention away from the task. "It'll likely be something minor, they don't have an 'undesirable' for the real one."

                "You mean they... They make you kill someone to get into the club?" Atticus asked, suddenly fighting the urge to vomit.

                "If there's more than one initiate they take turns torturing the victim. The one who does the best job gets to make the kill... They don't... They don't rape the 'Half-breeds' or Pokemon F-... Lovers... Ben says it's because they're unclean. But they will with gay trainers they find. They act like it 'fixes' them."

                "That's... Thank you... for telling me this. I need to know what I'm getting into, or I may lose my cool when I find out first hand." Atticus said, trying to control the sudden surge of anger and revulsion.

                "Jill is the worst. The rest of them do it out of warped devotion to their cause, or righteous fury. She's just sadistic. I can feel the emotions that come off her when she's torturing or... or violating people. I know what I've done is unforgivable... I should have just let them kill me instead of offering up others in sacrifice."

                "Miko!" Atticus barked, cutting off the girl's rambling. "Shut up! You're still alive, they aren't. There isn't anything that will change that now. If you want to make amends, then get up, move on, and make a difference down the road. They were finding victims before they started using you, there's no way of knowing how many they'd have found without your help. All you need to know is that it's those monsters who did the killing."

                "Now. We're going to find Selene. You know she's alive right?" Atticus said, trying to fill himself with confidence.

                "I can still feel our bond." Miko said. "It's the only thing that keeps me going most days, and they know it."

                "We'll find her and bust her out of wherever they're holding her. Then I'm going to do... something... about Ben and his gang. Then we're going to get the hell out of this town, and keep moving forward. Are you with me?"

                "I'm with you. I'm sick of being their pet."

                "Good. Just keep up the act for another day, I'll let you know when she's safe by saying 'The Moon is Full'. After that, all hell's going to break lose, so if we get separated, head for route 13. Your bags will be waiting for us."

                "Right. Thank you, for believing in me. I'm not even sure if I deserve this chance." Miko said, looking at the ground again. "If it was just my life I wouldn't have held on so long."

                "But when there's love involved, we all make crazy decisions. I can't tell you that those dead trainers would understand, or their families. But I do. People do great and terrible things for love. I'm not the right person to judge."

                Atticus left the cabin well after the sun had gone down, and rejoined his ghostly companions in the woods. "Right. We have a plan. Now we just need to find a way to pull it off."
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Ghost-Trainer	By : Almister Category: Pokemon > General Views: 3126 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, I make no money from this story.

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