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    The carts were infested with a few pokémon, mostly bugs, but other than that, I didn't feel anything odd…We tried finding the dining area as it would be the perfect place to set up the game. The seats were covered in vintage red leather that had started to peel off, and you could tell that they didn't bother cleaning at the last second as there were mugs, plates (some shattered to the floor already), coffee stains and bones off some cooked Magikarp still left. Jake looked like he was about to vomit as this odd yellow bug Pokémon was gathering berries onto a dusty table.

    "Ew! Collerah!" he shouted, trying to cover his mouth. "Sam, get the repellent!"

    "Got that loud and clear!" He started spritzing the can around these pokémon. They had this blank stare in their eyes which also made my skin crawl.

    "Just what the heck are those anyways?" I asked, squeamish.

    "Collerah. They're gross and sticky and make me want to run back to that cliff again!" Jacob said, hugging himself. He'd better not have a bug problem…

    A single fluffy, white Pokémon with fuzzy green legs fell between me and Pikachu. It was so soft, rubbing itself between our cheeks, and some debris fell from it and onto my nose! I sneezed and it hopped off, siding onto Miley.

    "Aw! It's a little Fuwai, pregzah! Eh, do any of you guys mind catching one for me?"

    "Wait, you said Fuwai!" Jacob said. Unexpectedly, he petted it a little. "Oh, this means they weren't kidding!" It hopped onto his shoulders next. "They say they only pop up where the deceased are!"

    "Did somebody mention Fuwai?" Sam asked, quickly pulling out his Dex. "Quick, get a hold of it! That's at least fifty points!"

    He ran towards it, shoving his Dex in front of it as it hopped right off Jake's shoulder and back onto Miley's, only to jump right out a broken window! "Getzoot, you guys scared it!" she said, running after it as it rode into the wind.

    "Miley, watch your mouth!" Sam scolded!

    "Yeah, Miles, you better pipe it down. Don't want Ashy over here learnin' the wrong words, ey?" Jacob said, leaning his arm onto my shoulder.

    "A-Ashy?" I asked. Freaking Ashy?

    "Yeah, Ashy! Your name's too short anyways, so we always gotta add an extra "y" at the end, just in case. Is there something wrong with that?"

    "No, nothing. I just haven't been called that in ages!"

    "Well, some say that the past isn't through with you…" Yeah, like I had anything worth hiding…Jacob walked away as he tried choosing the perfect table. "Anyways, let's get this game going! Sam, you mind cleaning this for me?"

    "Sure thing!" He pulled out some cleaning supplies; he had to be a major germaphobe to have all that shoved into his backpack…

    I walked around as the guys started setting the game up, taking some pictures of the pokémon hanging about. I even got one of the Collerah Jake freaked over about so much! I let a tiny one crawl across my finger and I gotta say, it wasn't that disgusting of Pokémon, just sticky! Like honey, and I wondered if it was honey? Pikachu was curious enough to lick the residue off my finger and it seemed sweet enough for pokémon to try out. "Pika!" he chirped in delight. Now, I wondered if humans could eat it? Then maybe Jake wouldn't be freaking out so much…

    Jacob looked back at me while Sam tried putting some tall red candles up around the table. His face scrunched in an incredibly disgusted position as he figured out what I was up to. "Ew…Ash, how could you get near that thing?" he said from a distance.

    "Why? What's so bad about it anyways?"

    "They eat meat and whatever they can find, Ash. They could ransack our food supply if they wanted to–mind spraying some more repellent for me?" Sam asked as he lit the candles. "I do not want them to disturb our game."

    "Sure thing!" He tossed the can at me. Exterminator Ash, to the rescue! I felt bad for spritzing them, but I guess there was a reason as to why their residue tasted sweet. Soon the whole cart was empty.

    I checked back with the others as the sun simmered its last glimmers through the window, with stars poking through instead. Despite clearing the pests away, the cart was still in an abhorrent mess and now I was starting to think that the real horror came from the awful state the train was in. Looney made sure to float as far from the walls and surfaces as possible. His trainer kept tapping his foot, almost rhythmically, unsure if he was regretting all this.

    "So, how'd this place end up like this?" I asked him.

    I put Jake back to some slight ease, as he answered, "Oh, you want to know what happened to this place? Eh, why not."

    Sam finally set the table properly, complete with intricate sigils painted on with a deep crimson ink. A deck of at least two-hundred cards, faced down with an art piece on the back, cross-hatched in black and white, laid in the center of the circle with two red dotted dice displayed on top. There was a rich, spicy aroma, almost like cinnamon, coming from the candles that I hadn't noticed until now.

    "Hey, what are the candles made of?" I asked as we took our seats. Jacob sat next to Pikachu and me while Sam sat across, next to Miley. Looney drifted besides Jake's seat, making sure to not get near those candles.

    "Schlomirre trees and Chesto berries, straight out of Northern Blawsth. They say it attracts the pokémon to our world." Sam answered.

    "Woah…" My nose started to burn slightly, like the flames on said candles…

    "Anyways, Ash! You said you wanted to learn how'd this place end up like this?" Jacob asked with enthusiasm.

    "Yeah!"

    "Alright, so, story goes that a couple of years ago, this train was just taking its average trip from Whabick to Yujoh City, all the way up in Northern Blawsth. Y'know, the usual. Then out of nowhere, the train stopped running–they wondered why? They checked everything, the wheels seemed good…at least until they found some tattered fabric stuck between them, just underneath the caboose. And guess what happened? They built a completely different railway, just a little more against the path back to Mahtverin and never bothered touching this train again!"

    "No way…" My stomach dropped.

    "It's alright, Ash! They didn't bother pulling the skeleton out until a few months ago–it's like they all decided to forget about it until now. Seems fishy, ey?"

    "Yeah…"

    "They took it back to Sam's school–"

    "And it's the only reason why I'll never bother visiting the West Wing. Ever." He crossed his arms firm with that statement.

    Jacob continued his explanation. "And they say that the guy's spirit, and all the chaos that came from discovering his body, makes all these new pokémon want to enter our world. Anyways, let's find out if it's all crud or not!" Woah, Freaky McDeaky...

    Sam grabbed the dice and started shaking them in his hands. "Ash, I'm assuming you never played this game before, ey?"

    "Yeah, mind giving an explanation?"

    "Certainly! You see these dice?" He rolled them onto the table, two dots and three added to five. "You just take out the exact number you just rolled," He provided an example as he took some cards from the center, having them still faced down, placing them towards him. "And keep on going until you get to your last cards. If your final roll ever goes over the amount left, you just take the remaining ones into the deck you've already collected for yourself, reshuffle them and pull out the number you already rolled."

    He passed the dice to Miley as he kept explaining. "These cards are divided into four suits: spades, hearts, stars and clovers. Traditionally, the last one you pull will either tell your fortune or what you must seek. Hearts typically mean to seek love or passion, clovers will tell you to seek knowledge, stars will guarantee riches and there is only one spade card."

    "Why?" I asked.

    Miley's roll added two six dotted sides to each other. "Dang! I got it good!" She took her fair share of cards and tossed the dice to Jake. She turned to me. "Anyways, Ash, you never want to get the spade card! Only bad things come from spades."

    Jake stopped his roll to interrupt her. "Not really, it's like an Absol. Y'know what Absol are, right, Ash?"

    "Yeah!"

    "Well…" He started rolling the dice again. "Think of it as a major warning instead." One dot and two. He pulled out three cards, "Anyways, your turn!"

    Seemed simple enough. I got a six by four! I rolled it back to Sam as he mentioned, "And one more thing: You don't ever flip any of the cards over to check their sign, unless it's the last one. Whatever the suit is will have the opposite effect on you."

    "But what if it's the spade card?" I asked, a bit morbidly curious about it.

    "Well, it's simply not worth it. Anyways…" He passed the dice to the right. It was Jacob's turn, then Miley's, then mine. Only then I felt it, the aura of the cart wasn't pleasant in the slightest. Either that or I was freaking out too much.

    Other than that, the game went smoothly until Miley got to the last set of cards. Her dice went over the value of the cards left, which were about three over two and she had to shuffle her deck. She pulled out the three cards and got a clover. How fitting. "Aw man! No heart? Shoot! Not even a star?"

    "It's just a game, Miley. If anything, take it as a sign to be a little more careful next time, ey?" Sam cautioned.

    "Yeah, Miley," Jacob chimed in. "Besides, we're not looking for luck, we're looking for pokémon!"

    She grumbled some sort of Blawsthian curse or whatever and stuck with her card. "Now, we just take all the cards from ascending order and shuffle again." Sam said, reshuffling everything.

    Now there were just three of us playing the game. Rolling the dice, I kept thinking about the spade card, and what it meant if I got it? "Hey, guys, what would you do if you got the spade card?" I asked.

    "Cry." Sam said after his turn, grabbing some cards and passing the dice. We all laughed at that one! "Seriously, I wouldn't sleep if I got that card."

    "As for me," Jacob rolled his dice, "I wouldn't worry too much over it. I already had enough bad things happen in my life, so this wouldn't mean much to me. Besides, they said the really powerful one hides under the spade card!" 

    "Powerful one?" I continued asking. The dice fell back onto me again.

    "Yeah, you'll never know what pokémon you'll get if you play it! They say some are way stronger than others."

    "Hm…"

    "But I mean, it's just a game. There's still a chance that this is all complete drifloony or whatever."

    I rolled my dice and noticed how very few cards are left again. It was Sam's turn again. He hit an exact six.

    He pulled out the heart. "Ah sweet baby! Tati, here I come, whoo!" he cheered, falling back onto his seat with the card in his hand.

    The others started cheering for him. "I guess luck falls onto the best of us!" Miley clapped.

    "Praise the cards, man!" Jacob congratulated him. Drifloon seemed nonchalant about the whole thing...

    "Alright, you two, that's a little too much. Let's settle down..." Sam asked politely.

    As the room got quiet again, Jacob looked back at me. "Whew. Well, I guess it just means the two of us now."

    That spade card, would that be my gateway to the Pokémon that kept showing up in the reports? Who, me? Unlucky? Well, considering that damn leg incident and anything that happened since then, might as well be…The only thing that was even remotely lucky about me now was that I made it through Blawsth in one piece.

    "Pika-pi?" Pikachu nudged my arm. It was my turn again.

    "You alright, Ash?" Jake asked. "You seem so distracted right now." I didn't even notice it, there were only seven cards left. I rolled three. I passed the dice back to him. Two. "Aw, dang it!"

    He returned the dice to me. One. Jacob rolled again…Five. He shuffled the cards and got the star, looking absolutely dumbfounded!

    "Huh?" he asked.

    "It means look at the bright side, Jake!" I reassured him. "Good things are coming your way, right?"

    "Well, if that's how you put it…But I was hoping I'd get that Pokémon…" He reclined back, taking the card with a blank look on his face. He turned to Looney, who seemed to have drifted a little farther than usual. "Hey, man, don't have any adventures without me!" Looney tilted his floating head at him slightly. "Look, if you're getting bored, it's alright. We still got one guy to go, ey, Ash!" He nudged his arm towards my shoulder.

    "Yeah!" They were all staring at me. I reached for the cards and started reshuffling them. "..." Aw crap, and I managed to unshuffle them as they fell all over the place! "Shoot!"

    "Don't worry! Just pick up the cards, you'll be fine." Sam reassured me. "And you know what? Let me shuffle them for you, in case if you don't want to struggle with them–"

    "Nah, I'm fine…" Some of those cards just had to fall underneath another table! "Excuse me!" I slided over Jacob to go pick it up. I swore, Looney was slightly trembling when I looked back. "What's up with him?"

    "Well, it's pretty breezy out and I won't lie, I'd be much comfier in a blanket!" Jacob explained. "We better get this game done quick! I'm not used to mountain weather."

    "Same! Sammy, you think you can whip up some nice cocoa for us?" Miley asked, yawning.

    "Doubt it. Don't you think it's a little too late for that? I'll be sure to make some tomorrow though!" They all stared back at me again as I sat down.

    "…" I started reshuffling the cards properly this time. "Well, I guess it's all up to me…" I picked up the dice, and never have I felt more scared yet secured in winning until now. Within my palms, I was sweating up a storm! I really wanted to cut the game off but who knew what would happen to me if I did that. The whole thing felt too real, like I was stepping into another world. To me, the room was too silent…I tried asking the first thing that came off my mind. "So um, guys, what ice cream flavor do you like?"

    "Mint." Sam responded.

    "Rocky road!" Miley answered.

    "Same, that's the best flavor out there," Jake agreed.

    "Oh man, really? That so happens to be my favorite flavor too!" I chuckled slightly.

    And of course he caught on! "Hope you're not trying to delay the game, Ash, there's only so many cards left–it ends here!"

    "Um, no I'm not! I'm not scared–I just wondered if we can all get ice cream tomorrow! Y'know, after we get to Mahtverin?"

    "Mahtverin?" Sam asked. Shoot! I never mentioned to them the whole situation…

    "I really want to see that school of your's, especially that skeleton!"

    "Come on, Sam, let's show him around! And besides, now that you mentioned it, I haven't had ice cream from that parlor in a good while…" Jake thought about it. "Oh yeah, we should totally go for some tomorrow!"

    "Alright then, it's only best that you see the school for yourself, Ash! We were planning on visiting it tomorrow anyway." Sam said as he scratched his chin.

    "Awesome!" I shouted.

    "Now, can you roll your dice already?" Jake asked.

    "Oh, right!" I hated this. I rolled the dice, six over two. I shuffled my deck and to no one's surprise, I pulled out the spade card. This cursed card, with its odd illustration in the middle of an eyeless creature with a wide grin, looking like some messed up clown, and traditional Blawsth emblems decorated the exterior. Why couldn't I have gotten something pretty like the charming bunny face on the heart? Or how about the wise butterfly with wings on the clover? I quickly became jealous of Jacob's card; I couldn't really make out the picture, but it looked like a dragon with four wings, and it looked cool! This card in my hands; I swore it was evil...but I guess it didn't matter much, I'd won.

    I took a deep breath. "Well…Screw my luck!" I smiled, laughing almost.

    "Ash, is Pikachu alright?" Sam pointed out.

    I looked over to see him frozen in place. "Huh? Pikachu, what's the matter?" His stance was stiff, only snapping out of it once he heard my voice.

    Jake chuckled slightly. "Woah, I guess this place really is haunted! Drifloon, you see anything?" He shook his head, he looked pretty confused though. "Well, that settles it." the trainer crossed his arms, sure in his argument.

    I started laughing. "It's just a card–there's nothing there! Come on," I let Pikachu rest on my shoulder. "We can all go to sleep soon. Isn't there a sleeper cart around here?"

    "Well, that depends if there's mold on those sheets or not." Jacob took the cards back into the box and wiped the sigles off the table. He patted my back as I yawned. "Come on, let's go!"

    Miley blew out all the candles as she used her Dex's internal flashlight. "Time for some siesta and resta!"

    We went down a few carts over as the kriketoon played their songs for us outdoors. The collerah and other bug Pokémon sneaked their way back into the dining room again as we shut the door. The sleeper cart seemed to have had little to no plants growing, just some dirty footsteps near a rug, but that was about it. Sam opened one of the rooms. "Hm, well, would you look at that! Come on Miley, it's safe here!"

    "Oh, wow!" She peeked over. "Pure white sheets and everything!" She looked back at us. "Hope your room's as clean as ours!" They set their stuff down as they got their toothbrushes and other hygiene products; Miley made a headstart and ran towards the bathroom down the hall before Sam.

    "Well, let's check in!" Jacob opened the door to our room and thankfully, the only thing worth worrying about was some dust layering the sheets. The people who previously slept were kind enough to do their beds already.

    I let Pikachu rest on the bottom bunk as Jake already stole the top one. "Sleep tight, buddy," I said, brushing his fur lightly. I quickly got my toothbrush and cup out of my bag as I beat Jake to the bathroom, and I couldn't believe it–even the freaking bathroom was good! Wiping the dust off the mirror, it had a clear reflection! The plumbing also worked with ease. Leaning against the doorway, Jacob looked above my head and into the mirror while he waited for me to finish, then he looked down at me.

    "Say, how old are you anyways?" he asked with his arms crossed.

    "About the same age as you guys, why?" I finished brushing my teeth.

    "And you're that small? You look like a middle schooler with that height."

    Okay Mr. 5'11". "And I wouldn't have it any other way." I rinsed the foam off and spat it into the sink.

    "Heh, why?" he chuckled.

    I thought about it a little more, maybe it wouldn't be all that bad to expose myself, just a little bit. Considering the fact that we probably weren't even supposed to be in this train, or in this area for that matter, it probably wouldn't hurt to say one thing after another. Besides, Jake seemed like the type of guy who wouldn't mind a little lie…

    "..." I grabbed a towel and wiped my mouth off to look back at him, into the eye, and smiled. "If I'm being honest, the only reason why I came here was because my foot was broken. Can you imagine how much time has flown by since then? No traveling, or new Pokémon, no fun for days to come!"

    "Sounds like a world of hurt, considering the fact that you travel pretty often. I'd probably get sick to death, why?"

    "Jake, imagine getting old. It's like that but every one of your bones are getting ready to crumble and you're always forgetting about everything. Then you turn into a grumpy old man who never wants to have fun!" I'd seen a few old folks back in Pallet Town, some wished they still had my vigor, reminiscing about their own trainer days…Others had scorned me about about the leg incident and warned me to not mess my life up so early, otherwise I wouldn't be any different like every other person who dared to set foot out of that town and try to win it big. Oak in particular…he was not impressed by the endeavors that lead to this mess happening in the first place…

    Adults in general, they all seemed a little grumpy to me. I stood firm by my judgment! "Well, newsflash, Ash! It's going to happen someday." Jake scratched the back of his neck. "Well, that is if death takes you first, then I guess you wouldn't have to suffer…"

    "Yeah, yeah–I know, I know…" I started leaning against the deep green marble countertop. "It's just that…I've been itching for an adventure ever since I recovered, but nope! My Mom told me not for another two months…I'm still so bummed out about it Jake, I thought she'd get over it already…"

    "Already?"

    You know what? I couldn't pin it down, but in the back of my mind, I felt eyes watching me. Eyes that knew all, saw all. Every mistake, regret, accident, it knew everything about me. I slipped my tongue already, and I just felt so relieved by it–might as well spill my guts one by one, like I just ate a horrible meal. "I never told you this, but did you know that Professor Oak bought two plane tickets for me and Pikachu? He wanted me to go to Mahtverin so I could investigate a Pokémon around here. My Mom tried canceling the plans right on the spot; I wouldn't be here without those tickets, so I took ‘em when nobody was looking.

    Now, imagine if I didn't take ‘em? Imagine how boring everything would be–I'm so sick of it!"

    "Ash–" Jake said with a slightly shaky voice.

    I did not care. "Jake, it was going to be for two months–two whole freaking months! I already did my time! I just, I just couldn't stand it! Do you ever feel like your life's being taken right before your eyes?" I shouted…I said too much. I couldn't believe I said all of that…Or even did it all that in the first place…

    Jacob stepped inside and grabbed my shoulders, shaking them slightly to get my attention, talking down to me. "Yes, I know what you mean. Now, chill, man! You're scaring me…" his voice cracked.

    He stood back. The room was silent. "I'm sorry…" I said, cowardly.

    Jake sighed, and I swore he wanted to say something back, as his mouth trembled, but he covered it, gulped, and shook his head slightly. He made sure that his bangs covered whatever expression he was hiding–what was up with that? He started walking back to our beds, looking behind again. "Say, Ash, let's call it a night, ey?"

    "Sure–" I almost tripped over a bump on the doorframe, at least Jacob grabbed my arm before I fell.

    "Careful now, you'll look like a bigger idiot if you break it again."

    "Gee, thanks."

    He sighed again.

    We headed back to our room. I looked at Pikachu who slept like a baby Mareep, just by the side of the pillow. If he was awake, back to when I was done brushing my teeth, he would have shocked me before I had the chance to run my mouth off again! Then maybe Jacob wouldn't know just about everything relating to me.

    "Hey, Jake?" I asked, crossing my arms and legs as I laid to bed. "Promise to not tell anyone anything I just said a while ago. I just–I just don't know what went wrong with me back there!"

    "Don't worry, Ash, your secret's safe with me. It's just up to you if you want to be honest or not…" He paused for a second, but put his index finger against the switch above his bed. "‘Night Ashy!"

    "‘Night." There wasn't a single hint of noise in the room once the lights went off. I felt like a massive hole had been torn into me…

    I swore I had such an awful nightmare as I slept, but I could barely remember it! Man…who invited Darkrai to Blawsth! All I remembered was a massive spotlight shining over me, heating me up as my eyes burned, forced to keep staring at it indefinitely–not this crap again! I also remembered it ending at some point, then I vomited some black spew onto the floor like it was Tentacruel ink or something and I felt like I was falling forever, deep into the ocean after I tried laying my head backwards. It was all a mess, and my mind was way too fuzzy to comprehend it all, at least until I felt a slap against my face!

    "Ash, wake up, man!" Jacob kept tugging my arm.

    "Wha-hwah?" I felt dizzy, like my mind was melting…I was laying across the carpet, but it was hard to tell with the state my head was in.

    Jake kept staring at my arm. "Say, when did you get a tattoo?"

    "A–What now?" My eyes were wide awake as I pulled my arm back. "Ah!" I screamed. "Mom's gonna kill me!" There were weird sigils or something across the lower part of my arm…Actually, the more I looked at it, it looked like a name.

    "Oh my gosh, it's real, everything is real!" The punk let go of my arm and buried his face into his hands.

    "Well, it was your idea!" I got up and threw my pillow at him.

    "Well, maybe you shouldn't have come!" He threw it back against my head. 

I    grabbed it and threw it back against the bed. "I had to! This was my break, I had to investigate it! Where is it?" I started looking around and noticed something: Pikachu wasn't in the room with us. "Shoot! Where's Pikachu?"

    "Ah! It took him!"

    "Jacob, calm down! He probably went after the Pokémon without me. If we find Pikachu, we'll find the Pokémon."

    "And that's what I'm worried about!" And he wanted the spade card? I took a deep sigh.

    "Come on." We walked by Sam's and Miley's door and I knocked it, hoping it'd cut the snoring.

    "Eh? Denhaz mi nuto–" Miley answered, half asleep. She looked down. "Oh! It's you. What's up?"

    "We need to look for Pikachu!"

    She quivered. "Wait, what happened? Did he get kidnapped!"

Gosh, I hoped not. "I think he went to look for the Pokémon."

    "Which–Oh…Oh no, no, no! Jacob, this is all your fault, you and that stupid spade card! " she said, looking at him. She went back inside, yelling, "Sammy! Pikachu's missing."

    He stopped snoring. "Hwah, what?" He got up and out, "Do you have any idea where he could have gone?"

    "No, we have to search the train." I answered.

    "Alright, I guess one of you two should stick with one of us since you don't have a Pokémon." Jacob suggested.

    Hm, that's right, I was empty handed at the moment… "Alright, I'll stick with you then. We'll check that way while you check the other," I said, pointing towards the descending door on the left.

    "Sounds like a good plan. Come on!" We ran as we shouted Pikachu's name, leaving no door unchecked. We went back and forth and stopped by the dining cart, with no clue in sight.

    I sat down by the already dusted chair and sighed. "You know what, I'll go look outside."

    "Huh? All alone?" Jake asked.

    "Hey, I need some time alone. It doesn't hurt to look at the stars at this hour, does it? I'll be fine."

    "..." He crossed his arms and seriously thought about it. "All right, if you insist. I'll wait back at the sleeper cart. Make sure to come back here in one piece!"

    "Oh, don't worry! I'll make sure of it!"

    "Good luck then. You'll need it." He went off.

    I opened the door and hopped off the stairs, "Pikachu!" I screamed. I sat there and waited; there was a lovely sky tonight. I got on the roof again, realizing that I should have brought the Dex with me. It was a picture perfect morning.

    The stars still shone as the sun was getting ready to rise again, and the moon was barely waning. I thought about my other adventures and I wished I learnt how to find my way with the stars while traveling, then I'd never get lost. I sat down as the wind blew and the Fuwai from yesterday landed on my shoulder again. "Hey, have you seen Pikachu?" I asked it.

    "Fu-wai!" it chirped, crawling across my arm as it rode the wind again.

    "See ‘ya…" I looked at the sky again as I got up, and something dripped onto my nose. Rain? But there wasn't a single cloud, just that long blade floating over my head!

    Right in front of me, no! I was met with that creepy, eyeless grin again, and ink was dripping from all over. More fell onto my face as I stood there, silent. Its long white fingers bended so unnaturally, and I was getting ready to scream!

    Whatever it was covered my mouth before I could open it and dragged me from the roof and all the way down to the rails in world record timing. Now it was completely coated in ink, and it all dripped away to reveal a face underneath? He had long white hair, a black hood and a white scarf with black zigzags on it. He looked slightly older than me. Speaking of his face, I could only start shaking more violently as those cold, dead black eyes kept staring at me!

    I screamed under his palm as he spoke. "Shivat, amanni, mi en ten to evokren, shi amanni. Shin…" I did not understand a single thing he just said!

    He lifted a single eyebrow as he uncovered my mouth. "Who are you!" I cried out hysterically.

    "'Name's Toshinmac, but you can call me Shinji for short. And you, my friend, have summoned me, or at least I hope you're my friend…" I could only feel the intense storm brewing behind his eyes as he said that. I decided to pay close attention to whatever detail he planned on revealing. "I know that you may have summoned me under the guise that I am to be your ally, a powerful Pokémon, but that is under the cost of one thing," He pulled out a single star card from his pocket, with the full dragon illustration being displayed in front of me. "You have to help me fight Arhemigku once he has also awakened. You only have a limited amount of time though as Pokémon like me will have to go back soon…"

    "And what happens if I don't?"

    He squinted his eyes as he furrowed his brows, like he was about to smack me across the face. "You can say goodbye to anything rich in this world, it will all be tattered and everyone will live impoverished, greedy lives. I will never forgive you for it, and I'll drag you down with me too…" he growled.

    Okay, only safe questions then! The way his eyes stared under that mess of hair in front of his face was not helping! "So…You're a Pokémon, huh?"

    "That's right." We stared in silence.

    "All right, I'll help you, just as long as you help me find my Pika–"

    "Pikachu! That fuzzy little thing! He's so cute, cute, cute! Ah, mi pregihazala! And he's yours? You're so lucky!" he cheered. What was even going on anymore? "Yes, I know where he is, amanni! He's sleeping like a little Burmy, just right around the bushes! Just-a follow mi!"

    What an odd Pokémon…And there he was, Pikachu was laying under the bush with a Caterpie that squirmed off once I approached them. "Pikachu, rise and shine!" I rubbed his forehead.

    "Pi-ka? Pi-Pika-pi!" He jumped into my arms.

    "Oh, a Pokémon's reunion with an earnest trainer, I live for these moments!" Toshinmac smiled.

    Pikachu waved back at him. "Pi!"

    "So, I'm assuming you two already met?" I asked.

    "Oh, yes! He was a feisty little fellow though, but we got it all sorted through, right, Pikachu?"

    "Pi-pi!"

    He put his hand over his scarf. "Oh, and I never even bothered to learn his trainer's name! What is it?"

    "Um, Ash–"

    "Good to know you, Ash!" He shook my hand at an instant. His fingers were so…cold. "That means I should have no problems with you! Whew!"

    "Super…Anyways, I'm heading back. I got some–" I sighed. "...More friends for you to meet…"

    "Great! The more the merrier!" Well, wasn't he unusually chipper? Just a second ago, I swore he wanted to kill me!

We walked back to the sleeper cart in silence. Jacob was already there. "Oh, you're back, and with Pikachu!" He petted him and looked at the newly acquired Pokémon… "Who's that?"

    "Toshinmac, was it?" I asked.

    Jacob's face went pale as I said that. "T–t–t–To! "

    Toshinmac walked up to Jake and shook his hand. "Nice to meet you!"

    He screamed and ran backwards, dropping down against the wall. "No way, no way, no freaking way!" He cowered slightly.

    "Jake, calm down, he's no ghost!" I tried my hardest to explain.

    "Well, technically, I am…" Jake screamed again as Toshinmac mentioned that. The entity looked down at me. "It seems that my reputation has yet to be cleared…" He sighed. He went up to Jacob and kneeled down. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm here to help you all–"

    "Yeah, right! I knew we shouldn't have played that stupid game!" For once, he looked up at me. "Ash! Don't trust this man, if you can even call it a man..."

    "Jacob! Relax." I whined. "He's going to leave some day anyways."

    "Yeah, after dragging you down with him!"

    Well, he wasn't all that wrong… "This is the Pokémon you wanted. Aren't you at least a bit glad that I managed to bring him to this world?"

    "…"

    "Your friend has every right to be worried," Toshinmac said under his scarf. "The world fails to see my true intentions, and thus will succumb to lies that fit their beliefs. I'll like to disprove that." He looked at Jacob again. "You remind me of a young man I once met, he was just like you! And he said he wouldn't have any kids!" he chuckled.

    Jacob's eyes widened. "I don't freaking believe it…"

    Toshinmac smiled under that scarf. "How did that guitar gig go anyway for him?" He lifted a brow.

    "…You know what, you're alright. You're alright with me, Toshinmac." Jake still shivered when he said that name, but at least they properly shook hands.

    "Oh, please, call me Shinji! So, how is Mr. Meyer doing? He's gotta have trophies with that song–"

    "..." Jake lowered his face.

    "Hm, I guess I shouldn't ask about it. Oh well…" He shrugged then got up.

    Jake scratched his neck. "So, what are you here for anyways?"

    "To defeat Arhemigku before he sends this world into a total catastrophe!" He looked down the hallway, and Miley was peeping through her door. She quickly hid back inside. "Ah, more friends?" Shinji decided to enter.

    Of course, there was a scream, coming from Miley. "Get away from me!"

    We ran by the door, and Miley was holding an old wooden cane at Shinji. "Miley, calm down, he's with me." I said.

    Sam sat by his bed with Noctowl, unsure with what to make of all this. He stood up. "Sorry, Mr. Toshinmac, for all this inconvenience…I know how to make it up to you–how about some pancakes! I'll even throw some hot cocoa while I'm at it."

    "Well, I don't eat much, other than berries, but thanks anyways! I have the trainer to rely on for energy."

    "Huh?" I asked. Since when?

    Shinji turned around. "Our life energies are in sync: in exchange for having me in your world, I have to rely on your energy!" What. He walked up to me. "Let me explain: you'll get tired when I battle. Sorry, it comes with the job! But you have at least…" He grabbed my arm, "Eight months? That's a little more than usual, you're very healthy!" So, that was a Deadline? A Deadline to defeat Arhemigku that was! Shoot. He let go of my arm, "Anyways, I'm here on a mission! I'll explain it to all of you once you finish eating, but please, for the time being, make yourselves comfortable!"

    "Well, alright then. Let's get going, guys!" Sam announced as he went through the door, followed by his Noctowl flying across the room. As we kept walking, I made a careful observation, and I put my finger over the Deadline. The ink, it was embedded thick, right under my skin! I felt dizzy again.

    "Hey, Ash, we got some bandages back there if you'd like!" Miley offered.

    "Uh, thanks." She ran to go fetch them for me, and even if I couldn't read it, I never wanted to see that date again. After covering it up, we gathered around the dining table in a few carts over while Sam tried to clean the kitchen.

    "Ah, you know, I remember back when this train was still in operation! Shame to see the state of it now, oh well…At least it made a nice home for the pokémon!" Shinji recollected, resting his arms behind his neck.

    I pulled out my Dex and tried scanning him, but it didn't register as anything other than a missing element. The Dex didn't recognize him as either a human or Pokémon. Just what the heck was he?

    "Shinji, do you mind turning into that thing again?" I asked.

    "Oh, I haven't shown your friends my real form! Don't scream when you see me…" Instantly getting enveloped by ink, that thing appeared again. The Dex was finally letting me register him as a Pokémon, now this would be a great report, not just for Sam, but also for me.

    Of course the others scrunched their faces, with Jacob probably carrying less trust on the Pokémon now. Who'd blame them, as Toshinmac carried a scythe on his back wherever he goes. "Alright, that's good, you can change back now!" I commanded.

    "Sorry!" he said, letting the last bit of ink dry off him.

    "Freaky McDeaky, dude." Jacob said, still tense. This was going to be a long one…

▶TO BE CONTINUED