"I really don't get it—how could there suddenly be such a huge mansion here? But wow… it looks so run-down!"
Bonnie was curiously inspecting the place.
"This sort of thing is pretty common. Some people like living deep in the forest. Alright, let's knock and see if anyone's home…"
Clemont, ever polite, was just about to knock when Bonnie went straight for the door and pushed it open. Turns out, it was already… slightly ajar.
The four of them stepped inside.
"Hello? Is anyone here? It suddenly started raining, so… could we trouble you to let us hide from the rain for a bit?"
"Hello? Is anyone here?"
Bonnie shouted loudly, but no one responded.
"Pika?"
Pikachu's ears twitched—it was looking toward something in the darkness.
On the second floor, in the shadows of the staircase, a dark figure stood silently.
It was pitch black in the mansion—the kind of darkness where you can't see your own hand in front of your face.
"Pi…"
Pikachu was just about to call out when Ash quickly covered its mouth.
"Shhh… Pikachu. Don't expose it."
Ash whispered quietly.
Of course he couldn't give it away now—where was the fun in that?
"Ash, what are you whispering about?"
Serena had caught part of his murmuring.
BANG!
The front door suddenly slammed shut—without any warning at all.
"Who… closed the door?"
Clemont felt a chill crawl up his spine.
He was sure no one had touched it, yet there it was—completely shut.
"Not me… wasn't it you, Clemont?"
Serena was starting to get spooked too—only Bonnie seemed unfazed, her usual fearless self.
"Oh, I get it! Haha! Don't be fooled just because this place is old—the renovations must be super advanced! This must be a voice-activated door, so—"
Right as Clemont was talking, the lights in the hall flickered on.
"Haha… see? This must be… voice-activated lighting too. Yep… totally voice-activated…"
But his voice grew less and less confident.
KRA-BOOM!
A deafening thunderclap exploded outside!
The lights in the hall began to flicker wildly, flashing on and off.
On the far wall hung a massive portrait—an old woman in a purple robe, staring out of the frame as though her eyes followed the four of them wherever they went.
"Ash… I think we shouldn't stay here. This place… might have something… unclean in it…"
Serena's voice trembled slightly, but the presence of Ash beside her gave her some courage.
Unfortunately, the mention of "unclean things" made Clemont shiver uncontrollably.
"Ah… I shouldn't have said that…"
Realizing her slip, Serena quickly covered her mouth.
"Mew… meowww…"
Suddenly, an eerie sound echoed from somewhere unknown.
"Ah… that's so creepy! Could it be… this mansion is a ghost's home? We walked right in… and now—"
Serena didn't get to finish—because this time even Bonnie gave a small shudder, joining Clemont in looking uneasy.
"Argh! What am I saying today?!"
Serena clamped both hands over her mouth again.
"No way. You have to stick to science! This is just an old house, so of course there are drafts. That sound was definitely just the wind slipping through the cracks—yep, totally the wind. Haha…"
Clemont tried to sound convinced, but his voice betrayed him.
Soon, the group moved out of the main hall, wanting to see if anyone actually lived here.
Serena instinctively stayed close to Ash.
Ash, smiling slightly, reached out and took her hand. The soft, delicate warmth in his grasp was… perfect.
Serena tugged once, but when she couldn't pull away, she flushed red and let him keep holding it. Somehow, with Ash beside her, no danger felt too scary anymore.
Once they left the hall, the rest of the mansion was pitch black.
As they rounded a corner—Clemont's scalp went cold.
In the middle of the hallway, a glowing ball floated—bouncing up and down by itself without anyone touching it.
"Ah! Look there—there's a shadow!"
Bonnie pointed toward a blurry figure lurking in the darkness.
The shadow froze for a moment—then, as though startled, sent the glowing ball slowly drifting toward them.
At the same time, the shadow began to move.
Bonnie's curiosity was far greater than her fear—without hesitation, she chased after it.
"Bonnie, don't run off!"
Clemont's fear spiked, but his worry for his sister was stronger. Gritting his teeth, he ran after her.
Ash and Serena followed, hand in hand, with Pikachu trotting close behind, muttering to itself:
"Pika, pika pi…"
Pikachu's thoughts: When did Ash's mischievous streak get this bad? He clearly knows this is the work of a Psychic Pokémon, but he's not telling anyone. What a troublemaker… but okay, I admit—it's kinda fun. Pika pika!
Finally, in one of the rooms, they found the truth.
All of this… had been caused by a single Espurr.
Espurr, realizing it had been discovered, tilted its head with a playful smile and began meowing softly.
Clemont scratched his head in frustration—his translation device had been broken for a while now.
"This Espurr says… the owner of this house was an old woman. One time, when Espurr was starving, it fainted near the mansion. The old woman found it, fed it Pokémon food, and cared for it every day—playing with it, keeping it company. Espurr was so happy… Every so often, it would come back to play with her.
The necklace it's wearing now—that's the old woman's most precious belonging. She gave it to Espurr, telling it to take good care of it.
But… a few years ago, when Espurr came back, the old woman wasn't here anymore.
It's been waiting… and waiting… but she's never returned.
Espurr wants to know—where did the old woman go? Why won't she come back? Does she… not like Espurr anymore? Does she not want to play with it?"
Ash acted as the translator this time.
Even though he had already known about this, hearing it from Espurr's own voice still brought a heaviness to his heart.
As for Serena, Bonnie, and Clemont—they couldn't help it. They burst into tears.
They didn't need to hear anything else to understand… the old woman was most likely… gone.
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T/N:
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