Pokemon: Best Wishes - Jewel of the Seven Pokemon!

[zdbz_sn]

A/N: This is an idea I sat on for over a year before finally getting it written up this past October. Basically, the goal was to make something that could believably have been a real BW episode, with inspiration drawn from Fright Night (1985), the Bram Stoker book Jewel of the Seven Stars, and the career of Sir Christopher Lee.

Cues were also taken from the OI season, M02, and Takeshi Shudo's novelizations when it comes to Ash and Misty's relationship, but this is not a fic primarily concerned with shipping.

“Joy!” Cilan cried. “Exquisite! Rapture!”

“Does he have to celebrate out loud?” Iris asked dryly. Ash had the feeling she was talking to herself, so he didn’t bother to answer. He was pretty excited himself – the detour back to Virbank City wasn’t something he’d been crazy about at first, but when Cilan told them that they could get into one of the real, working film studios, Ash was all for it. The studio was even one Ash had heard about growing up in Kanto – Worldwide Pictures, one of the biggest movie companies in the world, with a backlot tour that showed off all sorts of famous sets and live shows! Ash could still remember the big, glossy magazine his mom had shown him, loaded with photos of the tour. The linked up tram cars, the Little Kalos set, the robot Sharpedo; it had all been there.

It wasn’t here now. As soon as they’d arrived, a nervous-looking kid in glasses was out by the gate, explaining to a disappointed crowd that the trams were down for repairs, and that the usual guided tour wouldn’t be possible.

“B-b-but don’t worry!” she stammered. “T-to make up f-f-for it, w-we’re offering one d-d-day only w-walking tours! As long as you follow the y-yellow lines on the ground…”

“WALKING TOURS!?” Cilan threw himself at the attendant. “Do you mean to tell me that we can freely roam one of the most storied film studios in history!?”

“Y-yes – well, you can’t go just anywhere, but – ” But that was all Cilan had needed. He whisked Ash and Iris along into line, nearly tore the pack off Ash’s back looking for the money for tickets, and now led their way through the backlot of Worldwide Pictures on an absolutely beautiful day. It was cool but not cold, the sun was bright, the studio lot was full of excited fans following the yellow lines in small groups, and every now and again, they caught a glimpse of a costumed actor or camera crane being rushed inside one of the huge stages. Cilan kept up a running commentary on everything they passed. Ash found he understood about half of it.

“Do you see it, Ash?” said Cilan, throwing an arm around Ash as he pointed to a long tan building with a curved blue roof and open doors. “That is Stage 28. It was the first soundstage built here, nearly a hundred years ago!”

“Wow…it’s that old?” asked Ash. Movies weren’t something he usually thought about as having been around for that long. I don’t think I’ve even seen any movies older than my mom…

“Ash, Worldwide Pictures is the oldest of the major film companies in Unova!” said Cilan. “It was an innovator of the early days of cinema, the first to relocate to Virbank City from the east, and during the Golden Age of Virbank, it was the studio for mystery, thriller, and horror pictures.”

“Really? Awesome!” It had been forever since Ash had seen a horror movie. The last one was back in Sinnoh, the really weird Alto Marian one with all the bright colors that Dawn thought was so –

A loud scream came from inside Stage 28, sending shivers down Ash’s spine and a frizz through Pikachu’s tail. “Ah,” said Cilan. “It seems such a film is under production as we speak!”

“You think?” asked Ash. Even with the doors open, it was hard to see anything inside the stage, and other than the scream, Ash couldn’t hear anything but a general busy murmur. And when the scream came again, it didn’t sound like something from a horror movie. It sounded excited.

At a third scream, Pikachu perked up. His left ear twitched, and he started to sniff the air. “Hmmm? What’s up, Pikachu?” Ash asked. Pikachu hopped off his shoulder and scampered inside Stage 28. The yellow lines on the ground marked the stage as OK to enter, so Ash didn’t think twice about following.

When his eyes adjusted from the bright sun outside, he saw a massive set, an old-fashioned opera house with balconies, painted backdrops, gold decoration on red walls, and a huge brass chandelier. There was a film crew up on the opera stage, huddled around the camera as someone quietly went over the script. The bigger crowd was in the seats, as a well-dressed man talked about the set – how it was almost as old as the soundstage itself, that it was originally made for some old movie based on an even older Kalosene book (Le fantôme de la tour Lumiose, or something like that – Ash couldn’t really understand it) and all the films it had been used in.

Pikachu sat on the armrest of one of the chairs in the row nearest to the stage doors, still sniffing. Ash wanted to help him find whatever it was he was looking for, but Ash couldn’t smell anything strange. He couldn’t really see anybody that well either; except for the guide, everyone had their backs to the door.

“…And three years later,” the guide was saying, “this set was used for the theatre scene in Blasko – The Un-dead.”

A member of the crowd jumped up. “OOH! That one’s my favorite!”

It was the same voice that had screamed earlier. Ash was right – it was excited. And it was familiar. With a happy cry of “Pikachupi!” Pikachu leapt from chair to chair until he reached the figure – a tall, scrawny girl in a sleeveless yellow hoodie, short shorts, and ginger hair pulled into a side ponytail.

“Pikachu!” she cried out as the Pokémon hopped into her arms and nestled into her neck. “Wha – where did you come from? Does this mean – oh, hi Ash!”

Ash gave a weak wave in reply. His head felt so dizzy that he couldn’t think of what else to do. Who would think he’d run into somebody from home in a giant movie studio in Unova – much less Misty?

POKEMON: BEST WISHES! “JEWEL OF THE SEVEN POKEMON!”

It really is a small world, thought Iris. They’d run into friends and rivals from Unova all through their journey; now, apparently, they were running into Ash’s friends from his home in Kanto. His best friend, even.

Iris wasn’t sure what to make of her yet. Pikachu obviously loved this girl; he hadn’t left her arms since she and Ash had come out of that old stage. Ash was lit up like the city lights too. He and his friend were chattering back and forth so much, Iris and Cilan still hadn’t had a chance to even give their names. They were somehow on the subject of how creaky the floorboards were in Ash’s room back home, when his mother would fix them, and how Misty was over there so much more often than Ash these days that maybe it should be considered her room (“Is not!” Ash insisted. “Is too!” Misty claimed.)

“So – you’re Misty, huh?” said Iris once they finally took a breath. “We’ve heard a lot about you.” You and five other people, she thought, but Misty’s name was the one that came up the most whenever Ash talked about his other traveling pals, her and some guy named Brock.

“That’s me!” Misty winked and struck a pose. “The world’s greatest beauty, and Water-type leader of the Cerulean City Gym!” Pikachu gave a happy cry of approval, one Iris couldn’t find it in her to match.

“‘World’s greatest beauty,’ huh?” she muttered. There’s a lot you could say about a claim like that… Axew’s snort told Iris that he agreed with her.

“And I know you two,” said Misty, with another wink. “You’re Iris, obviously – the future Dragon Master.”

“Oh – Ash said that?” Iris looked over at her friend, who shot her a cheeky grin. Iris covered her surprise with a pose of her own. “Well, at least he’s telling his friends back home the truth.”

Misty chuckled and turned to Cilan. “And that must make you –”

“Cilan, at your service!” he spun around and bowed. “Fellow Gym Leader, Pokémon Connoisseur, Film Connoisseur –”

“Annoying Connoisseur,” Iris cut in, and took some pleasure in watching Cilan deflate. Ash and Misty chuckled, then turned back to each other. “It’s great to see you again, Misty,” said Ash, for the third time since he’d brought her out. “But how’d you end up in Unova anyway?”

“There was a raffle in Cerulean City for a free trip to Worldwide Studios,” said Misty. “I wouldn’t have entered normally, but they made all my favorite monster movies. Blasko – the Undead, Creature from Heart Lake, Bride of the Sableye –”

Iris slapped a hand to her forehead. Great – another Film Connoisseur… “So you won?” she said, hoping to make a long story short.

A frown flickered across Misty’s face for the first time, but she nodded. “My sisters complained, of course, but I’m overdue for a vacation, and they agreed – eventually – to do their fair share and watch the Gym for a few days.”

“Sisters?” Iris asked.

“Misty’s three older sisters,” Ash explained. “They’re the –”

“They’re the internationally renowned water ballet act known as the Water Flowers of Cerulean City,” said Cilan, instantly recovered. “A popular attraction, though I’m afraid my brothers and I considered them a somewhat shallow taste when they last toured through Unova.”

“Shallow, huh?” Misty raised an eyebrow. “Well, those are my sisters you’re talking about…and you’re right.” She laughed, and so did everyone else. “But forget about them – we’re here, at Worldwide Studios, and there’s so much to see before the autograph signing!”

“Autograph signing?” Iris, Ash, and Cilan all asked together, Pikachu and Axew chirping along.

“You didn’t know?” Misty seemed blown away by the thought. “Later this afternoon, on the set of his new movie, Bela Christopher is signing photos!”

“BELA CHRISTOPHER IS HERE!?” Even by Cilan’s standards, it was a ridiculous scream. He looked ready to faint, and Misty looked ready to jump the soundstage behind her.

“Who’s Bela Christopher?” asked Ash, and Iris was with him. She loved her some movies – even if she wasn’t a Connoisseur of them – and she’d never heard the name in her life.

“WHO’S BELA CHRISTOPHER!?” Misty and Cilan cried together. They looked to each other, as if they couldn’t believe the question, then rounded on Ash so quickly he took a step back. “Ash,” Misty sighed, “he’s only the greatest living star of horror and fantasy films around!”

“He’s a renowned Galarian actor and war veteran going into his fifth decade as a performer!” said Cilan.

“When Chisel Studios in Galar started remaking all the great monster movies, Bela Christopher played all of them,” said Misty. “He’s played Blasko the Vampire more times than anyone!”

“He also gave a fine turn as the great Galarian detective, Mycroft Abode!” said Cilan.

“He has a Bisharp that he uses in all his movies – it was great as the witch’s familiar in Pokémon Horror Center –”

“He’s an operatically trained singer whose albums cover everything from the great Alto Marian operas to heavy metal –”

“He just came back to horror films after a ten-year break with Reversal Mountain –”

“And he’s set to portray the evil wizard Saul of the Rainbow in the long-awaited adaptation of –”

“OK, OK, we get it!” Ash cried. He looked as exhausted as Iris felt. Was “he’s famous” not enough of an answer for these people?

“But that’s still hours away,” said Misty, instantly back into giddy mode. “And I haven’t even made it to the Little Kalos village yet. C’mon, Ash –” she set Pikachu up on her shoulder and linked arms with Ash – “I’ve still got so much to tell you! And you still haven’t told me what happened to that Victini you ran in to…” She led Ash down the studio road, heedless of his sputtering.

“Looks like we’ve picked up another kid,” Iris sighed, shaking her head. “Right?” She looked to Cilan; he still seemed worked into a frenzy. “Er – Cilan?”

“…How could I not have known Bela Christopher would be here signing autographs!?” He threw his hands to the sky and dropped to his knees. “The finest of all the Mycroft Abodes in cinema, and the only man to have played Mycroft’s brother too! There’s no time to lose – we must find out where that set is!” He sprang back up and took Iris by the hand.

“Shouldn’t we just follow Ash and MistyyyyIIIIEEE!” Iris screamed, led against all instinct down the studio street – in the opposite direction from their friends.

***

“Oof! How are you gonna get all this home to Cerulean City anyway?” Ash huffed.

“Don’t be silly, Ash.” Misty gave a dismissive wave of her hand before tossing another box onto the stack. “It’s only a few souvenirs.” That said souvenirs were piled tall enough that Misty couldn’t see Ash’s face anymore didn’t mean anything – that was all packaging. She’d make it fit her luggage when the time came.

“Now let’s see,” she said, taking a lick of her ice cream cone before offering Pikachu one in turn. “We’ve seen the Little Kalos village – I can’t believe how detailed that church façade was, it’s so convincing! – the live werecanroc make-up demonstration, the clock tower set, the Lure Hotel –”

“And we’ve been in every shop along the way,” Ash grunted. “C’mon, Misty – give me a break!”

“Relax, Ash,” Misty giggled. “We’re in the line for the autographs.” She was a little disappointed in how short the line was – they weren’t exactly first at the door, but she and Ash were pretty close for showing up just a few minutes before the set opened. The last classic horror convention Misty had attended in Kanto had a similarly slight turnout. It’s the same everywhere, thought Misty sadly. People just don’t appreciate the beauty in these things. It was Tentacool and Tentacruel all over again.

As soon as he heard they were in line, Ash dumped all the boxes off to the side, and made a big show of stretching and lurching over, as if in pain. Misty rolled her eyes. What a baby – they couldn’t have been that heavy. While he was bent forward, she gave him a thump to the back of the head. He whipped up and glared at her. She glared back. And, in a few seconds, they both broke down laughing.

“It’s great having you here, Misty,” said Ash, still chuckling. “It’s just like being back home.”

“Not exactly the same – Brock isn’t here.” The last word Misty had from Brock, he was settling in nicely at his school and looking into apprenticeships in Johto. “To tell you the truth, Ash, I was a little worried about you when I heard Brock wasn’t with you anymore.”

“Ah, c’mon.” Ash brushed his thumb across the bottom of his nose. “I can take care of myself. And besides, Iris and Cilan are with me here, and they’re great. Just wait ‘til you have some of Cilan’s cooking! Brock’s is still great, but –”

“I don’t know if I’ll have the time, Ash,” Misty said softly. “My trip’s only for the weekend, and just to see the studio. I have to go home tomorrow night.”

“Oh.” It was amazing how much of an open book Ash Ketchum could be. He almost literally deflated before Misty’s eyes. “That’s too bad…I miss hanging out with ya, Misty.”

Misty had long ago gotten over her doubts about Ash’s friendship. The chance of anything more set aside, she felt secure, knowing he was her best friend and she was his, and they could stay that way without a lot of words about it. That didn’t mean it wasn’t still nice to hear them now and again. “I miss you too, Ash,” she said. “I miss traveling. It’s great, being a Gym Leader – but I’d like to get back on the road sometimes.” Back home, the Cerulean Gym was in the middle of a top-to-bottom renovation, all on Misty’s initiative and design. It was tough work, consuming work – rewarding work. But not enough to stop Misty from taking Azurill up to the roof some nights to gaze out onto the bay, and the silvery horizon line in the moonlight.

And if traveling with Ash specifically had another appeal that she still hadn’t mentioned – well, what he didn’t know couldn’t hurt him. Or us.

“Well…at least we’ve got the weekend,” said Ash, perking back up. “And we’ve gotta have a Pokémon battle, at least!”

“You’ve got it!” Misty flashed him a grin and pumped a fist. “Just you wait, Ash Ketchum – you’re gonna get blown away!”

“Oh yeah?” Ash titled the brim of his hat back. “You haven’t seen my – ”

“Ash! Misty!” Ash’s friend Cilan was running towards them in a manic rush, with a flustered Iris and her Axew in tow behind. He barely skidded to a halt in time to avoid crashing into them (but couldn’t stop Iris from falling face-first onto the street.) “Have we missed it?”

“Nope!” Misty said brightly. “Three minutes to go!”

“I told you we should’ve just followed them,” Iris grumbled as she picked herself up. Axew shot Cilan a dirty look before disappearing into his Trainer’s hair.

“So what’s this movie they’re making here?” Ash asked. He was on his toes, craning for a look at the still-closed stage doors.

“Jewel of the Seven Pokémon,” said Misty. “From the author of Blasko – The Un-dead. It’s the first time it’s ever been made into a movie!” Positive that Ash – and probably Iris – had no idea what the book was about, Misty started to explain. “It’s based on old legends about Yamask and Cofagrigus – that they were originally from a long-lost region far to the south. The hero is engaged, see, and his fiancée’s father is a famous professor who goes to that lost region and brings back seven Cofagrigus. They all keep together, circling around this giant ruby – ” Misty started to circle Ash, her hands held out and her fingers wiggling – “and the professor and his daughter figure out that the ruby belonged to an ancient princess that the Cofagrigus used to serve.

“They think the soul of the princess is trapped inside the jewel, see –” she placed her hands over Ash’s heart – “and even though the hero warns them it’s a bad idea, they set up this special ceremony under the right star on the right night of the year to enhance the power of the Cofagrigus and free the princess! And it works, but the princess possesses the fiancée, and she and the Cofagrigus start to tear the mansion apart! The hero and his Absol have to do – well, they don’t have a choice – but in the final scene, all the Cofagrigus are gone, the ruby and the professor vanish, and the hero’s left holding his fiancée’s body in his arms. It’s – ah!” Misty clasped a hand to her cheek. “It’s so romantic.”

“Romantic?” Ash frowned. “It sounds like everyone dies.”

“That’s a typical ending for the Gothic Romance genre, Ash,” said Cilan. Misty felt she didn’t need to taste his cooking to approve of Cilan as a good influence.

Not that Ash seemed to get it. “It still doesn’t sound romantic to me,” he said, crossing his arms. “Do they get together as ghosts?”

“No…”

“Then how’s the love stuff supposed to work?”

“You just don’t have the maturity and sophistication to understand, Ash,” Misty said, her nose turned up. “All the best love stories end in tragedy.” Well, all the best ones in fiction, anyway. Real life’s a different story…

“What, so if you got a boyfriend, you’d want him to die?” said Ash. His eyebrow was up, and there was a taunt in his voice.

“Oh, don’t spoil it!” Misty snapped. “I love that book, and it’ll be a great movie!”

“Sure, sure. Just don’t expect me to go with you.”

“Fine then – I’ll just take Pikachu!” Misty gave Ash’s starter a poke to the tummy, and he cooed happily.

“She couldn’t take either of them,” Misty heard Iris mutter to Cilan; she ignored her.

“And after we see the movie,” she told Ash, “I’ll use Pikachu against you in our Pokémon battle!” Just to play along, Pikachu nuzzled her face with his whole body, and wrapped his tail behind her head. Ash might’ve gotten whiny over that in the old days, but he just grinned, turned his cap back, and drew out a Poké Ball.

“Oh yeah?” he said, his voice suddenly much huskier than Misty remembered. “Well, let’s see you two traitors beat – THIS!”

The ball flew out, a bright light flashed, and there before Misty was a small Pokémon, barely taller than Pikachu, with a white face, an aqua body, a seashell perfectly positioned on its chest…

“…It’s so CUTE!” Misty swooped down to gather the Water-type in her arms. “Ash, how could you not tell me you had an Oshawott! Oh, it’s just the sweetest, most adorable little thing ever!” One look told Misty the love was mutual; Ash’s Oshawott had hearts in its eyes, and he threw his little paws around Misty’s neck.

“Well, Ash,” Misty giggled. “I guess that’s two of your Pokémon that like me best.”

“Aww…Oshawott!” Ash whined. Misty, both Ash’s Pokémon, Cilan, and Iris all laughed.

“Ah!” Cilan pointed toward the stage. “The doors open!” The large red doors slid to either side, still revealing nothing as the stage remained in shadow. A young man, dressed just like the guide from Stage 28, stepped out of the dark. His glasses were thick, his expression forlorn.

“Attention – attention, everyone!” he called to the slim crowd. “The production of Jewel of the Seven Pokémon has been indefinitely suspended, and the scheduled autograph signing is canceled.”

 

[zdbz_sn]

Ash wasn’t an expert on filmmaking, but he knew enough to realize how weird it was for a major studio to shut down a movie indefinitely. It had to mean big trouble – something like a fired star, a lost Pokémon, or the set caught on fire. That might be cool to see, if that was what shut down Jewel of the Seven Pokémon – a totally destroyed set. A firefighting squad might have even turned up. Ash could find out what Water-types they used for firefighting in Unova.

Whatever had shut the film down, though, it didn’t look like they’d get to find out. The guy who made the announcement wouldn’t answer any questions, but kept insisting that there was “nothing to see here,” and that what was left of the crowd should go check out the rest of Worldwide Pictures.

Of course, all that was left of the crowd anymore was Ash and his friends.

“But you haven’t explained why the autograph signing should be canceled as well!” Cilan was right in the guy’s face, slapping the back of his right hand into the left’s palm over and over. Iris stood behind him, pulling faces.

The studio worker sighed and massaged his temple. “Mr. Christopher was only here –”

“Sir Bela would be the correct address, given his title.”

“Fine – Sir Bela was only here to work on the film. When it was called off, he had to leave on personal business.”

“On that short a notice? This is a most unpalatable taste, sir!”

Meanwhile, Misty was hitting her head against a streetlight pole over and over. “It’s not fair!” she moaned. “I entered that stupid raffle, I had so many fights with my sisters to get them to watch the Gym, I flew all the way out here – and it’s never been made into a movie before! No one ever gives that book any credit, and people were at least gonna get to see the story, and now it’s…it’s all over.” She sighed and slumped down to the ground, her legs sprawled out to either side. Pikachu “cha’d” in sympathy and patted Misty’s head; Oshawott sniffed, worked tears into his eyes, and gave Misty a big hug.

What a ham, thought Ash. Misty too, for that matter; it was just a movie, after all. But even if she was overdoing it, Ash could see she really was upset, and that this wasn’t the time to kid her about it.

“It’s OK, Misty,” he said, kneeling down to put a hand on her shoulder. “They said it was suspended, not called off. Maybe they just need a break. You could still get your movie.”

“…You might be right…” Misty mumbled, in that way she had whenever she didn’t want to admit Ash had a good point. He chose to ignore that.

“Sure I am! Now, c’mon.” He pulled Misty up onto her feet. “We don’t need to stay around here feeling left out all day. You’ve got a whole weekend to fill, and on the way here I think I saw the studio where they draw the cartoons for Emolga the Wonder…ah…”

The alley between the soundstage they were in front of and its neighbor was a long one, and it wasn’t easy to make out what was at the other end. But Ash could definitely see something; tall, shiny, red. And on its head…I know what that is. It’s one of those…whaddya call it…

The figure looked around twice and hurried past the alley, just as Misty’s hand waved in front of Ash’s face. “Hello – earth to Ash. What’s wrong?”

Ash grabbed her hand and gently pulled it down, never looking away from the alley. “I think – I think I just saw a Bisharp. In a beret.”

***

Cilan still wasn’t satisfied over the canceled autograph signing. Short of any dire emergencies or criminal activity, a simple explanation wasn’t asking for much. But the studio attendant clearly wasn’t going to volunteer any information, which made Ash’s sighting of a suspicious Bisharp seem a much better use of time.

“You’re sure you saw it pass this way, Ash?” Cilan asked. They’d cleared the studio alley to reach the other side of the stages, but there was no sign that anyone had passed by, much less a Pokémon in Kalosene headwear.

“Positive,” Ash insisted. “It was here, looked around, and ran off.”

“It was probably just one of the Pokémon that work in the studio,” suggested Misty. It was a reasonable inference; crew members regularly made use of their Pokémon in filmmaking, and a Pokémon busy with production tasks would want to keep out of the way of tourists.

“Maybe,” said Ash. “It looked awful sneaky, though. And where’d it go, anyway?”

“Try looking around, Ash,” said Misty, a note of impatience in her tone. “There’s nothing around here but soundstages.”

“Yeah, but what about the doors?”

“What do you mean, what about the doors?”

“He has a point,” said Cilan. “The soundstages on this side of the street –” he motioned to his left, where the Jewel soundstage was – “have no doors facing the road, while the stages on this side –” he motioned to his right – “have the large loading doors facing the road. Those couldn’t have opened and closed in the time it took us to pass through the alley.” Ash leaned in toward Misty and gave a proud “hah!” Misty shifted Oshawott into her left arm so she could push Ash back by the face.

“There are smaller entrances on either side of the stage, of course,” Cilan went on. “But we should have been in time to see anyone rounding the corner. Hmm…” He put a finger to his chin and started tapping as he paced in the road. A part of him felt rather silly for dwelling on the matter. Misty’s notion of a Pokémon crew member was still the most likely explanation; certainly, there was no evidence to the contrary. It would be just as well that they spent the rest of their time at Worldwide Pictures seeing the rest of the lot –

“Um – Cilan?” Iris gulped. She raised a trembling hand and pointed behind him. “If you want answers, maybe that creepy guy has them…” Cilan turned around, and felt the tremors come on himself – though certainly not on account of anything “creepy.”

The tall, thin frame. The deep-set red eyes. The snowy hair and beard, with wisps of black left around the mouth. The cane with the silver Zacian head top. Sweet Arceus! It is the man himself!

The man gave a slight smile and nod, and then said, in a deep and projecting voice, “Hello. I –”

“YOU’RE BELA CHRISTOPHER!” Cilan and Misty shouted together, but Cilan made it to him first. “Sir Bela, it’s a pleasure – an honor! – to meet you in person! May I say that I consider yours to be the greatest portrayal of Mycroft Abode ever put to screen! And your yet-unmatched feat of portraying his brother as well is – OOF!” Misty gave him a hard shove and took his place before Sir Bela.

“I love your movies!” she squealed. “I watch Blasko Has Risen From the Grave every October! And just this year I finally saw Count Blasko – the one you made in Alto Mare – and I – HEY!” This was no time for etiquette; Cilan shoved Misty aside and reclaimed his pride of place.

“Your musical albums are quite the eclectic taste!” he said. “A conceptual heavy metal album narrating the entire life of King AZ is certainly unusual, but I found it to be – OW!” Oshawott – still in Misty’s arms – beaned Cilan with his shell, and Misty moved back in.

“But you were just as good as the hero in The Sableye Rides Out!” she said. “Is it true you have a whole library on the occult like you had in that movie?”

If she weren’t behaving as such a ruffian, thought Cilan, Ash’s friend would be quite charming right now. But these indignities could not go unanswered, and Cilan’s questions about Sir Bela’s world record for cinematic swordfights demanded answers. He sprang up, elbowed Misty aside, and talked right over her. But Misty just pushed back and spoke up in turn, until Ash’s voice cut through: “Calm down, guys!”

“Yeah – no wonder this guy canceled his autograph signing!” added Iris.

The reality of their situation – shoulder to shoulder, jockeying for position, all in front of Sir Bela Christopher – made Cilan’s stomach drop. He stepped back from Misty and gave a tug to his bow tie; she chuckled sheepishly and raised Oshawott and Pikachu up to hide her face.

Sir Bela only seemed a little shocked by their behavior, however. He gave another nod and tipped his cane. “I appreciate your enthusiasm for my work,” he said. “And I am sorry to have canceled that signing. But with the film we’re making being suspended you see – and now my Bisharp has gone missing.”

“Your Bisharp?” said Ash. “Does it wear a beret?”

“Sometimes, yes. Have you seen him?”

“Yeah, right around here.” Ash waved toward the alley. “We were just trying to figure out where it went.”

“What is going on with that movie, anyway?” asked Iris. It was slightly irksome to Cilan that the two least interested of their party were asking the most pertinent questions, but that was the key point he wanted answers to himself.

Sir Bela sighed and leaned on his cane. “Terrible business – simply terrible,” he said, shaking his head. “The studio would never want it publicized, of course.”

Ash, Iris, and Misty all moaned, and Cilan slumped forward a little. “Well,” he said, “I suppose I understand their position –”

“It began almost as soon as we started shooting,” Sir Bela went on, as if he hadn’t even mentioned the studio. “Never seen anything like it before. Nothing at all. Didn’t have an inkling of trouble on the way from Galar. And there was all sorts of worry that I’d find some, believe me. I was asked to carry the jewel here.”

“The jewel?” Ash cocked his head to one side, Iris to the other.

“Do you mean the ruby from Jewel of the Seven Pokémon?” asked Misty.

“Surely that would normally be a prop made for the production,” said Cilan.

Sir Bela nodded. “Ordinarily. But the producers insisted – insisted! – on authenticity. A real ruby, from a real southern archeological site. They got it on loan from one of our museums. Completely authentic – though, of course, the writing on the setting of the piece they loaned indicates it was made for a prince, not a princess.” He gave a small shrug. “That’s a producer for you.

“We brought this jewel – Bisharp and I – to the producers, and filming got underway. We began with the scenes – do you know the novel?”

“Yes!” Cilan and Misty said together. “No!” Ash and Iris said together, at the same time. Cilan was more than a little pleased that Sir Bela heeded him and Misty.

“We began with the scenes in the cave below the mansion. That was the first set prepared, you see. It all went very well. Bisharp did wonderfully – he’s always done wonderfully, for all the years I’ve had him – as did the Cofagrigus. They were brought in from the south too, you know. No idea from where. Well, we broke for lunch, and we came back, we had to get the first shot with the jewel. And as soon as it was placed onto its mark, all of the Cofagrigus reacted very – very strongly. We got the shots, but it was extraordinary behavior. And, as the days went by, it spread to all the other Pokémon on the cast and crew – even to my Bisharp.”

“What sort of ‘extraordinary behavior,’ Sir Bela?” Cilan asked.

“Refusing to take direction. Acting as though they didn’t hear their Trainers. Leaving the set for hours at a time. It all came to a head this week. One by one, they’ve all vanished. The Cofagrigus first – all seven of them, together, gone this Monday – and then the rest. Bisharp was the last. I can’t make any sense of it at all. And not just the Pokémon – the film equipment has been vanishing too.”

“Hmm…” Cilan bent his head and put a hand to his chin. Abnormal behavior after the introduction of the jewel…begun by the Cofagrigus, who lead the way in vanishing…and pilfered film equipment to cap it all. With no clear trigger. Of course, the odd behavior coinciding with the introduction of the jewel in a horror film about said jewel offered a useful signpost on the affair, but it couldn’t possibly be the cause.

He was vaguely aware of Ash, Iris, and Misty musing aloud about the situation. The only words he heard clearly were Misty’s: “It’s a mystery, all right.”

“‘All right’ indeed,” said Cilan. “And that’s why –” he spun around, produced his cap and magnifying glass, and struck a pose – “it’s detective time!”

“I beg your pardon?” said Sir Bela. Cilan adjusted his hat and knelt before him.

“Sir Bela,” he said somberly. “I, Detective Cilan, Pokémon and Film Connoisseur, will solve the mystery of your wayward production and return your Bisharp to you!”

“He’ll even throw in a headache at no extra charge,” Iris deadpanned; Cilan didn’t even dignify the comment with a sour look.

“Is he really a detective?” Cilan heard Misty whisper.

“Cilan’s a lot of things,” Ash replied, with a light chuckle. “But count me in to help! Whaddya say, Misty – wanna get in on another adventure?”

“You bet!” She stepped up and clapped a hand on Cilan’s shoulder. “You don’t think I’d pass up a chance to help Bela Christopher, would you?”

“If we must, we must,” Iris sighed, her feigned indifference undermined by her smile and Axew’s happy cry. Cilan grinned himself, nodded approvingly, and turned back to a rather stunned-looking Sir Bela. “Well, sir – where would Mycroft Abode suggest we begin?”

“Young man,” Sir Bela said sternly. “I am not the characters that I portray in the cinema.” Cilan winced and stepped back. I’ve overdone it again, haven’t I? He had heard that Sir Bela could be rather sensitive about people ascribing his roles to his personal life. This meeting was going nothing at all like Cilan had hoped –

Sir Bela’s red eyes shone, and his moustache gave a friendly sort of twitch. “But I’m sure the production will appreciate your help,” he said. “Shall we visit the set?”

 

[zdbz_sn]

The drawing room set was perfect. Everything Misty had ever imagined while reading Jewel of the Seven Pokémon was here. The dark aquamarine walls with white molding and filigree, the silver-plated gaslights, the deep crimson velvet of the chairs and sofa, a fireplace so big it could fit a Blastoise; even the prop for the professor’s custom phonograph had the Aerodactyl teeth lining two sides. And with all the light and sound equipment gone, there was hardly anything that gave away this was a set; except for one camera in the corner, it seemed so real.

It all would have looked even more beautiful under the proper lighting, of course, instead of the harsh florescent work lights, but Misty loved it all the same. The one costume left on set – the heroine’s dressing gown, with colors and patterns inspired by Milotic – was so wonderful that the only way Misty could keep herself from trying it on was to link arms with Ash and make him look at everything too.

“We’re here to help save this movie, y’know,” he muttered; apparently, the fineness and shimmer of the gown’s silk didn’t mean anything to him. “And Cilan’s doing his interviews right now.”

“I’m listening!” Misty hissed. Was it so hard to believe a girl could multi-task? “Besides, that director’s not gonna have anything useful to say anyway.”

Will Hampton wasn’t what Misty expected of a film director. He was a short, spindly man, with black curly hair, black scraggly beard, black baggy suit, black-rimmed blue shades, and a sickly pallor. A real weirdo – that’s what he was. He also didn’t same capable of forming a complete sentence.

“But you really have no idea where the Cofagrigus were brought from?” Cilan asked him.

“Nah,” said Hampton. His hands never stopped moving when he talked. “The producers…from what their…I think they…wasn’t important.”

Cilan looked stumped by that answer, and Misty couldn’t make any sense of it either. But Hampton apparently knew what he was doing with movies; Sir Bela called him his favorite director. “Knows exactly what he wants,” he’d said, and he could somehow make out what exactly that was; he was the only one nodding along.

“Hmm…” Cilan started to pace, his magnifying glass held to his chin. “And you had no signs of trouble from them until the jewel appeared on set? They weren’t hostile to direction, in other words?”

Hampton shook his head. “Nah. They were…did the thing…yeah.”

“And what about Bisharp?” Cilan asked Sir Bela. “Was there any sign he might be under a definite influence – Hypnosis, perhaps, or Psychic? Or even an indication he might have had a problem with the production?”

“No, but it’s funny you should say that,” said Sir Bela. “Because Bisharp is quite attentive to my feelings on our films. And he has heard me, many times, say about the Blasko series – well, they made far too many of them, of course. And they did not use Hunter’s lines, they did not portray Hunter’s character, and –”

“Who’s Hunter?” asked Ash.

“Saul Hunter, Ash,” Misty groaned. “The author of Blasko – The Un-dead and Jewel of the Seven Pokémon.” Honestly, why did she have to go and like such an uncultured boy? It was exasperating.

Sir Bela went on without any mind to the interruption. “I do seem to recall saying to Bisharp on the plane that having a prince’s jewel instead of a princess’s worried me, that it was a sign of another poor script from Hunter’s work. All in jest, of course. Naturally, I’d already read the script – it’s superb. Superb. And given over to one of the great directors of our age.” He swept a hand to indicate Hampton, who giggled nervously and tugged at his hair. Misty shared a skeptical look with Ash.

“And you said that to Bisharp too?” asked Cilan.

“Of course.”

“Do you remember your exact words?”

“…I do, and now that you mention it – I never did say explicitly that I was joking on the plane. And between takes on the first day of filming, I may have said ‘I’ve never seen a director like this.’ Meant as a compliment, of course, but…”

“Are we getting somewhere with this?” Iris moaned. She was hanging upside-down from an empty line set by her legs, rocking impatiently. What a kid, Misty thought. Of course, from what Ash had said about Iris, Misty guessed she was thinking the same thing. What was it that made some people their age act so much more mature than they really were? And they never realize it, either…

“I think I know where you’re going with this, Cilan,” Misty said, drawing herself up tall. “Bisharp got the wrong idea from what Sir Bela said, and thought he wasn’t happy with this movie. And that’s why he’s disappeared – he didn’t want to be in a film he thought his Trainer didn’t like!”

“You think so?” said Ash, sounding impressed.

“Pika?” concurred Pikachu, still on Misty’s shoulder.

“Osha!” Oshawott, still in Misty’s right arm, clapped approvingly and nuzzled her shoulder with his cheeks.

Cilan, however, shook his head. “That doesn’t explain what’s happened here.”

“Huh? Why not?” Misty frowned. What else could he have been driving at, with those questions?

“Elementary, my dear Misty.” It was a standard line of the Mycroft Abode character; Misty suspected Cilan had been itching for an excuse to say it. “The unusual behavior started with the Cofagrigus, not Bisharp. And any misgivings Bisharp may have had about the production shouldn’t have mattered to the other Pokémon in the cast and crew. They may have made him more susceptible to whatever’s causing this mystery, but they don’t explain it.”

“Hmm…he’s right,” said Ash. Misty tightened her grip on his arm until he winced. “Whose side are you on anyway?” she hissed.

“That wouldn’t account for the missing equipment either,” said Cilan.

“Or the missing producers,” added Sir Bela. “They left for the front office after informing us about the suspension. I expected them back by now.”

“Well, that’s…I bet they…executives…lunch meeting…all day.” Hampton shrugged.

“…Yes. Er – are there any Pokémon left at all?” Cilan asked. “If so, they could have some insight. Ash’s Pikachu could question them and report – Ash is quite gifted at divining what Pikachu means.”

“Hey – yeah!” Ash said, with a snap of his fingers. It did seem like a good idea – not that Misty was about to admit it, after hers was shot down like that.

“There are no Pokémon left that were directly involved in the production, I’m afraid,” said Sir Bela. “None that I’m aware of, anyway. But I do have two more on me – they never took to filmmaking, but they travel with Bisharp and me and know him well. They haven’t been out since we’ve arrived here, but they may know something about his state of mind.” He reached into his jacket and drew out a Dusk Ball and a Luxury Ball. The Dusk Ball went out first, flashing as it opened to reveal –

“SHEDINJA!” Pikachu and Oshawott went flying. Iris and Cilan winced at the scream. Misty sprang onto Ash’s back, wrapped her arms and legs around him, and pulled and twisted until he was a complete shield between her and that horrible buggy ghost.

“Is there something wrong?” Sir Bela asked.

“Misty’s got – ack! – problems with Bug-types,” Ash wheezed. Pikachu moaned in agreement; he and Oshawott had landed in a pile on one of the chairs. Misty was about to apologize when the Shedinja floated closer. She tightened her grip and buried her head into Ash’s shoulder instead.

“Really now,” Cilan said crossly. “There’s no time for this. We have a mystery to solve, and there’s no need to be upset by a friendly Pokémon that means us no harm and –”

POP! Misty dared a look up to see what came out of the Luxury Ball. It wasn’t another bug, thankfully; it was actually kind of cute. A feline Pokémon, with a violet and cream coat and sleepy green eyes –

“PURRLOIN!” she heard Cilan shriek, and felt more than saw his mad dash for cover behind the sofa.

***

This movie can’t be worth it, Iris thought. She ran her hands down her face and bit back a groan as the clock made one tick closer to a full hour since they’d come into this set. The time would be easier to take if anything were actually happening, but…

The first hang-up was that this Bela Christopher guy’s Purrloin was really offended by Cilan freaking out around it, and it took forever to convince it to help out. Then Purrloin and Shedinja had to go in the corner with Ash and Pikachu, a “safe” distance from Cilan and Misty. Cilan would shout his questions across the set, Pikachu would give them to the Pokémon, they would answer, and Ash would try and figure out from Pikachu what the answers were before shouting them back to Cilan. A process that had told them nothing so far, because Shedinja and Purrloin didn’t seem to know anything about why Bisharp would disappear. Not that we need it anyway, Iris thought. My sixth sense is going off like crazy in this place, but of course the Detective Connoisseur wouldn’t trust that…

Meanwhile, Iris was stuck with creepy Christopher and his fan club. The director just sat in his chair doodling, but Misty and Cilan were gathered around Mr. Christopher as he told story after story after story. Apparently, he remembered every second of his long film career, and had no problem talking about all of it.

“…I had no idea what it was going to look like. Had no idea! And of course, the effects were very primitive in those days. We had Scorbunnies casting Flamethrower at odd angles to create the animation of the shadows…”

They just went on and on, and he never let any interruptions get in the way. And Cilan and Misty were eating it all up! Sure, Cilan gave Ash a new question every few minutes, and Misty gushed over Oshawott now and then, but for the most part, they were completely under the guy’s spell.

“…nearly severed my finger clean off. It’s still bent out – you see, here. But that was the first sword fight I had in a film. There were many, many more. I think the most difficult one was…”

It was a weird combination of boring stories and creepy storyteller. Iris liked scary movies, but a guy who was in them all the time sent out bad vibes. And those eyes…Cilan told her once that red eyes were “fetching,” but to Iris, they were nothing but bad news.

“…and he finally said to me, ‘you’re too tall to ever be an actor.’ A ridiculous thing to say to somebody. Of course, this was near the end of the war, when I was stationed in Azure Bay. I’d been seconded to the Dragon Squad as a liaison, and –”

“‘Dragon Squad?’” Iris inched closer to Mr. Christopher’s chair. “What ‘Dragon Squad?’”

It was Cilan who answered. “It’s a famous unit of the Galar Air Force, Iris. They ride Dragon-types instead of planes and serve as a special attack squadron.”

“And you…you were in that?” Iris asked Mr. Christopher. And these two were asking you about movies!?

“Well, I was an officer in the GAF. I was attached to the Dragon Squad from time to time –”

“Axew! Axew!”

“Huh? What is it, Axew?” Iris asked. Axew’s head and arms were poking out of her hair. He pointed up towards the catwalks above them. With the work lights on, it was hard to make much out, but Iris saw it too – a big, boxy shadow in the light of a doorway.

“What is it?” Misty asked, but Iris didn’t answer. Instead she ran over to the fly system, shimmied up one of the ropes, jumped onto a high line rail, and swung herself up onto the catwalk. Axew gave a little cheer, and Iris gave him a little pat on the head. Now about that shadow…

Shadows seemed to be all that was up here. The work lights were all hung below the catwalks, so only a little of their light came up from below. Everything was painted or plated black. But the doorway Iris and Axew saw was filled with a low blue glow. Inside the room, a small square closet, was light after light after light – all turned off, along with microphones and boom poles and cables.

“Hey, guys!” Iris called over her shoulder. “I found the missing film equipment! It’s all – um, Axew? Do you hear that too?” Axew nodded and slunk down into Iris’s hair. It was a faint, muffled whirring sound, hard to place. There was something mechanical to it, and it seemed to be coming from more than one spot. It’s like it’s in the walls or something. I wonder if –

The boxy shadow reappeared on the wall; a few seconds later, its source materialized. Its four arms spread wide, its red eyes lit up below the mask on its forehead, and its gold and jade body took on a horrible shine in the blue light.

“AUGH! I found a Cofagrigus too!” Iris yelled. “And I don’t think it’s friendly!” As if to confirm that, the Cofagrigus reached out with two of its hands, blue and violet flames surround the long fingers. From the set below, Iris heard a crash, a shout, and a menacing cry of “Cofa!”

And there’s supposed to be seven of these things…great. Battling them would be much easier with help, if only she could get away. “Axew, Dragon Rage!” Her Pokémon popped out of her hair just long enough to fire the blast, which struck the Cofagrigus right between the eyes. As soon as it reeled back, Iris dashed for the exit. She jumped over the catwalk railing, grabbed at the closest rope, and slid all the way down to the set, just in time to see Purrloin, Shedinja, and Pikachu chasing another Cofagrigus out the open side door to the stage. Ash was sprawled out on the ground with his head and shoulders on Misty’s knees, inches away from the ruins of the sofa; it looked as though it had been flung at the ground, and Misty had pulled Ash out of the way. Mr. Christopher was leaning heavily on his cane, with Cilan at his elbow for support. And the director was still doodling, as if nothing had happened at all.

“Iris, what’s going on up there?” asked Cilan.

“It’s a Cofagrigus!” Iris pointed up toward the catwalk. “There! It’s – it just passed through the walls! I don’t know where it’s going, but it was guarding a closet with all the film equipment that’s gone missing.”

“The one down here just jumped us,” said Ash, with a slight tremor to his voice. “There was this sound – whhhrrrr – all over, and then – boo! – and – crash!”

“So you heard that noise too.” At least it had gone; the only sound left in the room was the director’s pen scratching on paper. Strange noises before ghost attacks…strange behavior and disappearances with no explanation…yep, my sixth sense doesn’t lie about things like this. Iris put a hand to her chin. “Well, you know what I think?”

Cilan scowled. “Iris, please. This is no time for superstitious –”

“I think there’s a curse going on here!” cried Misty. She stood up so fast that she knocked Ash off to the side.

“You what!?” Cilan and Iris gasped together – Cilan in horror, Iris in delight.

“Think about it,” said Misty. “This only started when those Cofagrigus saw that authentic jewel. Jewel of the Seven Pokémon was based on real legends; maybe jewels from that ancient civilization really can hold lost souls, and the one in the jewel Sir Bela brought is possessing the Cofagrigus and the other Pokémon on the set!”

“Exactly what I was thinking!” Iris hopped over to stand side by side with Misty. “I’ve had a premonition of something like this ever since we came in here! You know –” she leaned in closer to Misty – “you might just be alright, kid.”

“Well, I’m surprised at you, Misty,” Cilan tutted. “Any supernatural occurrence has a scientific explanation, and this is no exception. Surely you recall The Houndoom of Harkershire, where the haunted moor turns out to be just a thief and his Pokémon?” He nudged Mr. Christopher with his elbow and winked at him; it must have been another of his movies.

Misty scowled and put her hands on her hips. “Well, what about The Night Train to Snowpoint, when all the clues turned out to be wrong, and it really was a ghost channeling the Froslass?” She advanced on Cilan; Iris stayed back and slapped a hand over her face. Not another one of these…

“But you recall Mark of the Golbat, where the supernatural events were a tool of the investigation to wrest a confession from the murderer?” said Cilan, not backing down.

“And Kiss of the Golbat has the vampires use a ‘rational’ explanation to fool the heroes until it’s too late! I wish you could have played the head vampire in that film, Sir Bela…”

“Bah! You’re forgetting Galar after Midnight, where –”

“ENOUGH!” Iris shouted. “No more movie talk! We have two Cofagrigus to worry about, and one of them might still be in here!”

Pikachu and Mr. Christopher’s Pokémon came back over from the door. Pikachu hopped onto Ash’s knee and gave a few chirps and gestures. “The other one went to the stage next door,” Ash reported.

“The cave sets are in that stage,” said Mr. Christopher.

“Then it looks like we need to split up,” Iris declared. It was about time someone took charge. “Half of us will stay in here to try and find that Cofagrigus, and the other half will go next door. And I’m going with Ash and Mr. Christopher.”

“What?” Cilan and Misty looked like they’d both been slapped, but they were just going to have to deal with it.

“I told you,” Iris said, “I’m done with the movie talk! And I’m sure you’re driving Ash and this poor old guy nuts.”

“Now, really!” Mr. Christopher snapped.

“I don’t care, Iris…” Ash started; Iris silenced him with a wave. She linked arms with him, then with Mr. Christopher, and marched toward the side door.

“We’ll take the cave,” she said over Cilan and Misty’s sputtering. “You two and the director check out the rest of this place.” Of course, Iris was the one who had seen the Cofagrigus in this set, but she just wanted to get out for a while. It was hard to do, though, when her companions were resisting.

“I really must protest –”

“Iris, our Pokémon!” Ash dragged his feet so that Pikachu could catch up and jump onto his shoulder, and Mr. Christopher recalled his two Pokémon. But when Ash drew out Oshawott’s ball, the Water-type shook his head frantically and waddled over to Misty, latching onto her leg as hearts lit up his eyes again.

“…Fine,” Ash sighed. “But if she needs you to battle, you’d better do it.”

“Wait, what’s that supposed to mean?” said Misty.

“You’ll find out,” Iris snapped. “Now meet us outside in an hour!” She pushed her two partners ahead and started shoving them from the back to get them to the door faster.

“Young lady,” grumbled Mr. Christopher. “I do not need shielding from fan inquiries.”

“You don’t need to be nice about it, sir,” said Iris. “It’s got to be annoying, all those silly movie questions. Now – about that Dragon Squad…”

 

[zdbz_sn]

The drawing room wasn’t the only set in the soundstage, though it was the largest. All the sets related to the mansion of Jewel of the Seven Pokémon were housed here; the bedrooms, the attic, the kitchens. The production design on all of them was delectable, and under other circumstances, Cilan would have loved to pour over them in detail. At the moment, however, the only thing he was looking out for was any sign of a Cofagrigus, and none was forthcoming.

We really should look into more Pokédexes for our little group, Cilan thought, not for the first time. Not that he needed the encyclopedia’s entry on Cofagrigus to tell him anything, but its scan function might be helpful in detecting their presence. Left to what the naked eye could perceive, all he could discern from the corner of the bedroom set he was inspecting was that the art department deserved commendations for their choice in authentic period bedspreads. Cilan was sure Misty wasn’t having any better luck rummaging through the cabinets behind him. She was really quite good at ratiocination, considering that Oshawott never left her arms and kept trying to claim her attention through hugs, cuddling, and tricks with his shell.

She wasn’t much better than Ash and Iris for patience, though. “Why don’t we just go outside and wait for Ash?” he heard her groan. Cilan didn’t even look up from under the bed, but raised a hand and waved off the notion.

“A detective must make a thorough examination of a crime scene,” he said. “The smallest detail may lead to a critical deduction. Leave no stone unturned, and no tool unused.” He held his magnifying glass to a strange mark on the bedpost; a bit of glue residue, as it turned out.

“Well, I’ve already deduced what tools we’ll need,” said Misty.

“Oh?” Cilan sat up. And what might – where on earth did those come from!?” His partner was standing in the middle of the room, beaming, with a gold talisman around her neck, a ceremonial teapot in one hand, and Oshawott holding what appeared to be a scroll of papyrus in the other.

“They’re to ward off the spirit of the jewel,” Misty explained. “Here’s tana leaf tea, a talisman from the lost civilization Cofagrigus are supposed to come from, and the Scroll of Life! That one’s just a prop, but all the hieroglyphics on it are authentic.”

It took a lot for Cilan to choke down all the retorts such superstition deserved. She’s more helpful than Mr. Hampton, he reminded himself. The director had – as best as Cilan could understand him – volunteered to serve as a look-out from the drawing room set, then promptly slapped on a pair of headphones and started head-banging to his music.

“I think we can move on now,” he finally said, beckoning for Misty to follow as he moved behind the set. On an initial glance, the only thing back here was the generator for the sound stage, but it was the one place they hadn’t looked yet.

“You know,” Misty said as they walked, “you wouldn’t be so skeptical if you saw some of the things I have.”

“I suppose that’s a stronger argument than Iris’s ‘sixth sense,’” Cilan replied. “But I repeat – any supernatural event has a scientific explanation, and given the facts we do have, that explanation is likely to be misdeeds by the seven Cofagrigus. It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve encountered mischievous Ghost-types.”

“So what’s your scientific explanation for them?” Misty asked, her voice dripping with a sour smugness. Cilan tripped at the question, only just managing to keep on his feet. It was a common comeback to supernatural skepticism, and Cilan despised it – an utterly fallacious, tasteless statement. Of course there was a scientific explanation for Ghost-types! They were a type of Pokémon, after all. Yes, a very simple explanation would suffice for them. And as soon as I think of what it is, I shall return to that subject, Cilan vowed, and kept on walking.

“You traveled with Ash through two regions, didn’t you?” he asked, just to make conversation.

“Three regions,” said Misty. “Actually, I only stopped because I needed to take over the Gym for my sisters.”

“Oh?”

“Mm-hmm. It all worked out for the best, but the day we found out, I was so upset that – ”

There was an unpleasant zap sound, a harsh flare from the work lights, and then black, a total and encompassing black thanks to the soundstage’s lack of windows. “Ah – t-the generator must have b-blown a f-f-fuse,” Cilan stammered, embarrassed by how weak his voice sounded. There was a good reason for the cut-out, surely. Of course, they were quite close to the generator when the lights failed, and there was no sign of anything wrong with it…

“W-Well, w-we were already in the d-d-dark about the case.” Misty’s voice was somewhere between a stutter and a giggle. Oshawott was whimpering, and Cilan felt them brush against his left. “D-don’t worry,” said Misty, her voice strengthening a little. “I’ve got this. Go, my steady!” The flash of a Poké Ball went off. It wasn’t long enough for Cilan to get a good look at the Pokémon, but he could tell it was massive. He hoped it didn’t damage any of the sets.

“Flamethrower, Gyarados!” Misty commanded. “We need some light!” The Pokémon gave a low, agreeable grunt, and a steady stream of flame appeared high above them. It was just enough to illuminate themselves, the generator on the wall, and Gyarados itself.

“What an incredible taste,” Cilan whispered. Even under the circumstances, he couldn’t help but admire Misty’s Pokémon. “We don’t see many Gyarados in Unova. And to have taught it Flamethrower!”

“Not bad, huh?” Misty winked. “But just wait until you see this – Misty calls Starmie!”

“Hyah!” The Mysterious Pokémon seemed to know what its Trainer wanted as soon as it appeared. It took a position, lit up its jewel, and shot a Thunderbolt into the generator. A moment later, the work lights were back up. Misty stood proud with her Pokémon on either side (and Oshawott pouting in her arms.) Gyarados was smiling as well as it could, and even without a face, Starmie gave of the unmistakable taste of pleasure at a well-done Attack. Exquisite! thought Cilan. He wasn’t a stranger to type specialists or to unorthodox move sets, but Misty had achieved something unique with her Water-types. “I have a brother who would fall head over heels for you,” he told her.

Misty laughed and ran a hand through her ponytail. “Of course, the world’s greatest beauty is flattered –”

“Osha?” Oshawott squeaked. He looked up at Misty with big, watery eyes and trembling lip. Misty smiled down at him, pulled him into a tight hug, and nuzzled his face with her cheek. “But you’ll just have to tell your brother I’m taken,” she giggled.

“I see,” Cilan laughed. “But Pikachu is quite taken with you too.”

“It’s a price to pay for being cute.” Misty winked, then gave a small, rather staged shudder. “Even one of Ash’s Bug Pokémon liked me.”

A third one of Ash’s, is it? Cilan tapped his chin with his magnifying glass. While it was a common claim that Pokémon could reflect the feelings of their Trainers, that wasn’t universally true, or a surefire insight into anything. But it was impossible not to notice a certain playful dynamic between Ash and this oldest friend of his. Ash and Iris had their banter and bickering, of course, but not in degree or in kind. This is Ash I’m thinking of, Cilan reminded himself. But perhaps…even if it’s only on her end…

“Misty,” he said. “If you don’t mind my asking – when you call Ash your ‘best friend,’ does that really mean ‘boyfriend?’”

It was a miracle that Oshawott and the supposed curse repellents didn’t go flying. Misty shivered, spun around on one foot, and then went stiff as a board, a furious blush across her cheeks and nose. “W-W-What g-gave you th-that idea!?” she shrieked.

Take your pick. Cilan grinned and tilted his cap to the side. “Well, well…what a curious flavor this is!”

“I – I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Misty insisted. Her blush grew even stronger. “It’s ridiculous, to think that I’d ever…do you hear that?”

“Really, Misty, you’ll have to better than that to avoid your –”

“No, really!” she hissed. “Listen!”

She was right; the whirring sound was back. Above them, to either side around them; even right in front of them, where the generator and a solid wall stood, it seemed to come in all directions except below. And the last time the sound came, there soon followed –

“COFA!” Misty’s tools did scatter that time, as she scurried away from the Cofagrigus emerging from the wall. Cofagrigus plural – there were now three of them. Each had a Will-O-Wisp prepared in one set of hands, while the other reached out with unfriendly fingers.

Misty looked over at Cilan and grinned. “If you battle the way you talk, we’ll be here all day,” she joked. It was quite the change from her nerves when the blackout first came, but Cilan could understand; actually having a foe to face made it easier to feel brave. He gave her a wink back and drew a Poké Ball.

“You forget – you’re not the only Gym Leader here,” he said. “Go forth, my precious Stunfisk!”

“Right!” Misty pumped a fist. “And us too! Gyarados, Starmie, use –”

“Oshawott!” Ash’s Pokémon jumped down from Misty’s arms and ran up in front of the Cofagrigus, paws on his hips and head held high. He spared a moment to look back and wave at Misty, then moved into a battle position. Misty and her Pokémon looked baffled; Cilan shared an incredulous look with Stunfisk.

“Osha!” Oshawott hurled a Razor Shell at the Cofagrigus on his right. He shot Water Gun at the one on his left. And he charged with Tackle at the one right in front of him. The right Cofagrigus dodged the Razor Shell, the left took the Water Gun with little issue, and the center Cofagrigus, being a Ghost-type, felt nothing from the Tackle. Oshawott bounced right off it and landed on his back. He sat up, blinked twice, and took a long look at the Cofagrigus – all of them slowly advancing, Will-O-Wisp still in their hands – before recovering his shell and retreating behind Misty’s leg.

“So that’s what Ash meant,” Misty sighed. “It’s OK, Oshawott. We’ll take care of this. Waterfall, Starmie! And Gyarados, Crunch that one on the left!”

“Mud Bomb, Stunfisk!” Cilan ordered. “Blind them all!”

All three Pokémon moved to carry out their Attacks. Starmie spun to the left, Gyarados reared up as high as he could in the stage, and Stunfisk flattened himself down to the ground. But before any Attacks were let loose, the Cofagrigus on both ends burst open. Out from their bodies emerged two human figures with slick hair, crooked glasses, and business suits barely visible underneath reams of bandages.

“Who are they?” said Misty.

“They must be the missing producers Sir Bela mentioned,” said Cilan. “Anyone who gets too close to a Cofagrigus…”

“…Gets turned into a mummy!” The mummies before them said nothing, but ambled slowly from the bodies of the Cofagrigus. As soon as they cleared the lids, the Pokémon closed back up, and their red eyes lit up. A faint blue light surrounded the mummies, and they lifted off the ground, floating in between the Cofagrigus and Cilan and Misty’s Pokémon. They were being used as shields.

“That’s no fair!” Misty growled. “Let them go and fight us yourselves!” The Cofagrigus all gave nasty snickers that stood the hair up on the back of Cilan’s neck. They threw their fire-filled hands forward, and their Will-O-Wisps combined and formed a spinning ring of fire around Cilan, Misty, and Oshawott. The flames were so large and so fast that there was no hope of jumping or dodging through or around them, but that wasn’t much of an obstacle. Even if Misty weren’t at his side with Water Pokémon, Cilan had his Stunfisk. All he had to do was call out for Water Gun, and –

The Cofagrigus on the left moved first. Keeping its mummy between itself and Misty’s Pokémon, it rushed Stunfisk with Energy Ball. Just one hit left Stunfisk down for the count. The second Cofagrigus moved on Starmie, with Ominous Wind. The Mysterious Pokémon was thrown into the back of the bedroom set. Its jewel didn’t go out, but it was clearly damaged. The one Cofagrigus without a mummy flew right up to Gyarados’s face, performed Astonish, and circled around as the Atrocious Pokémon flinched.

“It’s headed for the drawing room set!” Misty shouted. “Mr. Hampton! Oshawott, you need to put these flames out!” Ash’s Pokémon was still holding on to her leg, with his head turned into it. On Misty’s words, however, he slowly let go, waddled out, and used his Water Gun on the Will-O-Wisp. Besides dousing the fire, it created a thick, humid mist that engulfed the remaining Cofagrigus and their mummies. Misty scooped Oshawott up and led the retreat. She recalled Starmie as she ran; Cilan did the same with Stunfisk. A roar and a tremor in the ground told him that Gyarados was close behind them.

They found Mr. Hampton right where they’d left him, in his director’s chair with terrible posture while listening to music. His sketchpad and pen were back out, and he was drawing in large, sweeping motions as if keeping tempo with the music in his headphones.

“Mr. Hampton!” Misty cried, waving her arms to try and claim his attention. “The Cofagrigus are here!” The director looked up, gave a quick wave of his own, and turned back to his drawing.

The Cofagrigus materialized directly above him. Its body opened wide, slammed down upon Mr. Hampton, and snapped shut, spitting the chair, headphones, and sketchpad out. The Coffin Pokémon rattled about violently, fell to the floor, and rolled around the set. Cilan had never seen, nor knew no one who had, a Cofagrigus mummify a person; it hadn’t occurred to him that they could resist from the inside. He started towards the shaking casket. If Mr. Hampton can hold out long enough, and if we can reach him…

The lid swung open again, and Mr. Hampton lurched out, covered from head to foot in black, rotting bandages. The glow of Psychic surrounded him, and he was raised up before Gyarados could make a move. The other two Cofagrigus, and their mummy shields, appeared from the sides, circling around Cilan and Misty to line up with the other, but they kept spread out enough to prevent an easy flanking. It was a difficult and bitter taste they presented, and Cilan couldn’t see a ready way to sweeten the situation.

“Could Gyarados make it past the mummies?” he whispered.

“I don’t know,” Misty muttered back. “He would never mean to hurt them, but there’s so little space here, and they’re so fast.” Gyarados gave out a low, frustrated growl. The Cofagrigus laughed again, floated up above them with their mummy shields, and began to form Shadow Balls in their four hands each. With them up in the air, the view of the far wall was clear, and Cilan saw the controls for the loading door.

“Recall Gyarados,” he urged Misty.

“What!?” she hissed.

“For now,” he said. “We need to get out into the open. Recall Gyarados and have Oshawott distract them.” He jerked his head in the direction of the controls, as subtly as he could. Misty’s eyes flicked over that way. She bit her lip, but she nodded, and slowly bent down to pick up a trembling Oshawott and whisper into his ear. He shivered, but when he looked up into Misty’s eyes, he took a breath and nodded himself.

“On my signal,” Cilan whispered. “Three…two…one…”

The middle Cofagrigus swept down toward them, dipping just below his mummy shield. Misty held Oshawott up high, and he fired a Hydro Pump that caught the bottom of the Cofagrigus’s body. Oshawott leapt up and spun around, his Attack drenching mummy and Pokémon. No damage was done, but the distraction was just what they needed. Misty recalled Gyarados to his ball, and Cilan made a dash for the controls.

***

I know we get lost all the time, but how did we get lost on a movie set!?

Ash had been asking himself that for the past fifteen minutes, and he still didn’t have an answer. There were so many twists, turns, drops, and slopes in the cave set that it was hard to understand why the film wasn’t just using a real cave. Mr. Christopher said it was built in a stage with a big water tank, where lots of famous musicals had been shot, and it was drained now so that the cave sets could go downhill and underground. That was pretty cool. And unlike the other stage, all the movie lights were still around for the cave, and they were on, so the set really was a dark, spooky cavern with shafts of pale light and a few red lamps rigged up by the characters in the film. But that just made it harder to get around in the set.

Another thing that didn’t help was that, instead of helping Ash and Pikachu find the right way around, Iris kept trying to get Mr. Christopher to talk about that Dragon Squad from the war he was in. “Did they have Druddigons?” she asked, hovering at his elbow. “What about Noivern? You said you were stationed in Kalos – there had to be Noiverns, right? Did you ride any Noiverns?”

“There were, and I did,” said Mr. Christopher. After everything he’d been asked throughout the day, he was finally starting to sound impatient. “But I’ve told you, young lady, that I was not a member of the Dragon Squad, only attached to them at times throughout the war.”

Iris frowned and put her hands on her hips. “What’s the difference?” she asked.

Mr. Christopher banged the bottom of his cane on the floor. “It means I didn’t have the eyesight to be a proper dragon rider,” he snapped. “I served as an intelligence officer for the GAF, and as I’m gifted in languages and connections all over the world, particularly in Kalos, I was seconded to units like the Dragon Squad to assist with –”

“Wait – intelligence officer?” Ash spun around. “I know what that means – that’s spy stuff, right?” Those were some of Ash’s favorite movies – the big action films with gadgets, secret agents, and crazy Pokémon battles. He’d met a few people who were into that kind of work in his travels, but it was always amazing to hear more about it. “Did you go on any secret missions?” he asked Mr. Christopher. “Did you use your Dark Pokémon to steal messages and sneak around enemy lines?”

“Did you fly any Dragon Pokémon on your secret missions?” Iris asked. Axew was sticking out of her hair, eyes wide, and Ash could feel Pikachu’s toes curling with excitement on his shoulder.

Mr. Christopher let out a long sigh, looked both ways, and leaned down. “Can you keep a secret?” he whispered.

“Yes!” Ash and Iris hissed back. They were both on their toes, and Ash balled up his hands into fists. Mr. Christopher raised up one hand, his index finger held high.

“So can I,” he said simply. Iris slapped a hand over her face and fell over, and Ash fell right beside her. “Now may we please get on with this – this – is that whirring sound back again?”

“Huh?” Ash pushed himself back onto his feet. “Yeah…yeah, it is.” It wasn’t the same as in the other stage, though. The noise was still muffled, but it was definitely coming from just one direction, straight ahead. “C’mon, Pikachu,” Ash whispered. “Let’s check it out.” They tiptoed down the path. The gaps in the plaster rocks that let in “moonlight” disappeared the further they went; everything they could see was from the red glow of the lamps. The path ended in a solid wall of rock, but Ash could just make out, about seven feet above his head, an opening rimmed in red light. The whirring sound was strongest just below it, and Ash could hear another sound – a soft, steady chant of “cofa, cofa, cofa.”

That’s gotta be it, thought Ash. I could get the drop on them if I could figure out how to get up there. Let’s see…Snivy has Vine Whip. She could pull us up, but I don’t see anything she could grab onto to pull herself up. But maybe – “OW! Iris, what are you doing!?”

“Shh! You want them to hear us? Now hold still.” Iris pushed down hard on the back of Ash’s head, put a foot on his back, and pushed herself up until she was standing on his shoulders. Pikachu snapped at being knocked aside, and Ash bit down hard on his tongue to keep from shouting. His knees started to shake, and he put a hand on the rock wall to keep himself steady.

“This isn’t fair,” he hissed. “I want to see too!”

“Quiet!” Iris tapped the side of his face with her foot. “There’s three of them. The Cofagrigus – they’re all together, circling around something. I can’t see what.”

“It must be the jewel.” Mr. Christopher came up beside them. Even at his height, he couldn’t quite see into the opening, but he released Shedinja, who floated up to be level with Iris’s head. “That part of the set is where the ceremony is conducted in the story. There should be an opening in the top, with a light to represent the star that awakens the sprit inside the jewel.”

“I see it,” Iris reported. “And it’s not just the lamps making that light – the thing they’re circling is glowing red too.”

“Are there any signs of Bisharp?” asked Mr. Christopher. “Or any other Pokémon?”

Is there any sign of a way up? Ash wanted to shout. I can’t hold on much longer…

“No…and I can’t see anything that would be making that sound – HEY!” Ash couldn’t keep steady. He stumbled forward, fell on his face, and winced as Iris landed on his back. “Ash!” she snapped, poking between his shoulders. “I was trying to see what’s going on!”

“Well, I’m not a ladder!” Ash hissed back. “Or a chair, so get off!”

“You are such a kid!”

“I am not!”

“You are too!”

“Quiet!” Mr. Christopher’s voice was quiet, but that somehow made its anger even clearer. Ash bit down his next comeback, and Iris rolled off him. Mr. Christopher gave them a cool look, then pointed to the opening with his cane. “Shedinja, I want you to slip inside there and have a good look around. Stay invisible and keep to the shadows. See if you can find where that sound is coming from, but most of all, look out for any sign of Bisharp.”

“Shedinja.” The Shed Pokémon gave a nod with its entire body, then vanished. Ash shook his head and sat upright, Pikachu claiming a spot in his lap. I guess this counts as spy stuff, he thought, as he scratched Pikachu’s head. It would’ve been nice to be able to see what Shedinja was up to, but it was still cool. I wonder if Mr. Christopher had Shedinja in that war he keeps talking about? He said it wasn’t an actor Pokémon. That probably wouldn’t matter to Misty, though; she’d still be scared of it.

Ash wondered how Misty’s search with Cilan was going. She knew more about all this stuff, and Cilan was…well, Cilan. If they didn’t have the whole mystery solved by the time everyone met up outside, then they’d at least have a clue or two. If they don’t get caught up in all their movie talk, anyway. I’ll probably have to go see this movie with one of them, if it ever gets finished. Ash still couldn’t get over that ending Misty told him. How was it supposed to be romantic if, at the end, the heroine ended up –

It came up from the floor, without a sound. The Cofagrigus threw its four arms out, seized Iris, and threw her into its open body before she could even scream.

“Hey!” Ash sprang to his feet and caught the lid of the Cofagrigus before it closed completely. “Give back my friend!” Pikachu cried out and grabbed the lid as well, from the base. Together they pulled as hard as they could, but the body was straining against them, heavy as a rock, and slick in Ash’s grip. He could hear Iris banging and kicking on the inside. “Don’t worry, Iris!” Ash grunted. “We’ve got ya…”

“HERE!” Mr. Christopher moved fast for an old guy. He spun his cane around and swung the silver Zacian head so that it caught between the lid and the body. He pulled back on the stick like a lever, and the Cofagrigus started to open up –

“COFA!”

Three loud cries all sounded together, and something small and hard flew from the cave opening into Mr. Christopher’s chest. It was Shedinja, out cold. The three Cofagrigus who had been circling the jewel floated in from the opening, each with a Shadow Ball ready. The one on the left hurled the Attack at Ash, catching him low in the stomach. It was like winter air made into a solid ball, with all the cold soaking inside him. He fell and rolled back until he hit the side wall. Pikachu was small enough that the Shadow Ball struck his entire body, and he slammed right above Ash. Mr. Christopher managed to dodge the last one, but he had to let go of the cane, which did take the Attack and spun through the air until it struck Ash on top of his head.

The Cofagrigus they’d tried to open slammed all the way shut. Its three fellow Coffin Pokémon circled around it, facing outward, with another set of Shadow Balls ready. Ash could see the middle Cofagrigus thrashing around, and he could hear Iris’s muffled yelling. But he could still hear the whirring sound too, an awful mechanical whish-whish-whish-whish, and it was spreading to fill the whole set…

The three guard Cofagrigus floated up and out, and the one in the center swung open. Iris stumbled out, her arms outstretched and her half-shut eyes rolled back in her head. There were bandages wrapped around her from head to toe. Axew was sticking out of her hair; he was wrapped up too, with the same rolled eyes.

“Iris!” Ash moved towards her, but a hand took him firmly by the elbow and pulled him back.

“We have to get outside!” barked Mr. Christopher, as he recalled Shedinja. “We need light and space to fight them!” Ash didn’t want to run, or leave his friend, but he couldn’t argue either. He scooped up Pikachu, gave Mr. Christopher his cane, and followed him down the path.

The Cofagrigus and the Iris-mummy were following – Ash could hear their awful laughter, and Iris’s moaning – but he didn’t look back. Now that they were being chased, Mr. Christopher seemed to know the way around the cave set. They went left, right, left again, up, down, around an arc and through a tunnel. A Shadow Ball went past Ash’s shoulder and just missed Mr. Christopher. A nasty howling sound came with a sudden breeze that nearly took Ash’s hat off – Ominous Wind, it had to be. The set lights started to flicker on and off. “I don’t even want to see this movie,” Ash muttered. “How’d I end up in it!?”

Another left, another right, another right again, and up a sloping path. There were more Shadow Balls, and a spit of blue flame that nearly caught Pikachu’s tail; one of these Cofagrigus knew Will-O-Wisp. The laughing and moaning were getting closer, the whirring sound louder. They couldn’t make it – they weren’t going to make it –

“A-ha!” the sunlight hit Ash like a slap in the face, but Mr. Christopher took his arm again and pulled him through the side door. They spun around to face the stage (a little too quickly; Ash felt dizzy) but instead of following them outside, the Cofagrigus just laughed again and pulled the door shut.

“Hey, what are they up to!?” Ash yelled. “Give back Iris, you creeps! We’ve got to save my friend, Mr. Christopher!”

“Let’s find your other friends first,” he said. His hand was gripping his cane tightly, and his breathing was heavy; all that running must have taken a lot out of him. “They should be out here by now.”

Ash looked all around. “I don’t see them. You don’t think –”

“CRUNCH, GYARADOS!”

They came from around the far end of the stage, down the alleyway. Ash slumped down onto one knee, and Pikachu had to push his jaw shut. He couldn’t help it, though; seeing three Cofagrigus, with mummies floating around them, making a quick retreat from a snarling, slithering Gyarados with Misty, Cilan, and Oshawott on its back, was just too weird.

 

[zdbz_sn]

There was something strange about how these Cofagrigus were fighting; they weren’t. Even with three mummies to use as shields, they weren’t attacking or even trying to position themselves to battle. They weren’t even laughing anymore. All they did was run.

Misty wasn’t complaining, of course. “Another Water Gun, Gyarados!” she ordered. They may have been out in the open, but she still didn’t want to risk any Attacks that might hurt the producers or Mr. Hampton. But if the force of the water can bring them down to the ground, and Gyarados can close in on the Cofagrigus with Crunch…

“MISTY!” Ash was at the end of the alley, waving his hands above his head. Pikachu did the same at his side, and Sir Bela was leaning on his cane next to them. Iris was nowhere in sight.

“Ash!” Misty shouted. “Watch out for the –”

It was too late. As soon as they saw three new targets, the Cofagrigus moved in. The mummies swung around to cover their backs as they dove. Ash and Pikachu leapt off to the side, but Sir Bela didn’t seem prepared to leap anywhere – or run, or walk. He did reach inside his jacket, and just as the Cofagrigus reached him –

“OW! Cilan, that hurt!” He was sitting behind Misty on Gyarados’s back; at the sight of Purrloin, he’d grabbed her by the waist.

“Pardon my instinct,” he squeaked.

Misty rolled her eyes and twisted free from his arms. Up ahead, Purrloin took advantage of the Cofagrigus’s exposed fronts to land Night Slash on two of them, though it didn’t seem to do much damage. Ash and Pikachu joined in the fight too, with a Thunderbolt. It struck the Cofagrigus closest to them; the Coffin Pokémon flinched and stopped mid-air, but recovered its bearings almost immediately.

“Their Defense is higher than I’d hoped,” Cilan muttered. The Cofagrigus pulled the mummies in closer to them, so that they were stuck to their backs. “And they’ve just doubled it.”

“But Purrloin and Pikachu can still battle them from the front,” Misty whispered. “If they can get everyone free, then Gyarados can still finish them off.” I just hope they think to do that.

Pikachu seemed to have the right idea; he was using Agility to try and circle around his opponent, though the Cofagrigus kept turning to keep his front to Pikachu. Purrloin, on the other hand, kept striking at the two surrounding him. He was fast enough to land his Night Slashes, but the Cofagrigus kept turning their backs to him, so that he had to twist around to send the Attacks off to the side. One of those Night Slashes struck the Cofagrigus Pikachu was chasing, right in the back. The mummy – Mr. Hampton, Misty could tell from the black bandages – slid off and rolled onto the ground.

“Now’s our chance, Gyarados!” Misty patted the side of his head and pointed straight ahead. “Crunch!” But as Gyarados reared and roared, Ash twisted his hat back and ordered Pikachu to use Electro Ball.

“Pi Pikachupi!” The sparking ball appeared on his tail, and Pikachu did a perfect flip to hurl it. The Cofagrigus dropped down, and even opened its body up so that it could get lower to the ground, directly over Mr. Hampton. The Electro Ball spun towards Gyarados, and Misty just managed to steer him out of its path with a quick tug to the horns.

“They’re getting away!” she heard Sir Bela shout. When she turned Gyarados around, the Cofagrigus were already well ahead of them. The one had Mr. Hampton on its back again. Purrloin and Pikachu were on their heels, but the side door to the neighboring stage blew open, and an Ominous Wind knocked them back without stopping the Cofagrigus. They flew inside the stage and pulled the door shut behind them.

“NO! Ash, what were you thinking!?” Misty snapped. She jumped down from Gyarados’s back and marched over to take Ash by the collar. “We were waiting for one of the mummies to get loose so we could use Crunch on the Cofagrigus!”

“Well, how was I supposed to know that!?” Ash snapped back, smacking Misty’s hand away. “I was trying to free them too!”

“Crunch is a Dark Attack, Ash – it’s better against Ghost Pokémon than Electro Ball!”

“I didn’t know he knew Crunch either!”

“Oh yeah?” Misty growled, stepping in closer.

“Yeah!” Ash barked, stepping in himself.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah!”

“Oh yeah? Well…well…did Pikachu say my name when he used Electro Ball?” Pokémon vocabulary was limited, of course, but Misty couldn’t remember any other time that Pikachu used “Pikachupi” except when he was greeting her.

“Uh…yeah. I guess so.” They were almost nose-to-nose, with the brim of Ash’s hat smashed against Misty’s forehead. Ash stepped back and brushed a finger across the bottom of his nose. “It kinda fits, doesn’t it? A fast, nasty, punchy attack.”

Misty grabbed his collar again. “What’s that supposed to mean!?”

“ENOUGH!” Sir Bela barked. “If you two are quite done behaving like an old married couple –”

“WHAT!?” Ash and Misty sprang apart; he was blushing, and Misty was sure she was too.

Sir Bela either didn’t see that or ignored it. “We now have four persons mummified by those Cofagrigus,” he said. “And still no sign of the missing Pokémon.”

“Did you say four?” Cilan asked. He tried to jump down from Gyarados too, but couldn’t quite manage it; he slipped getting his second leg over and landed on his side. Oshawott came tumbling after him, landing on Cilan’s head.

“They got Iris, Cilan!” said Ash. “Axew too! That noise came back – whir-whir-whir! – and then it came up – COFA! – and then – clamp!”

“Did they use her as a shield, to keep your Pokémon from attacking?” Cilan asked. He flipped onto his feet and hurried over. Oshawott jumped from his arms into Misty’s.

Ash shook his head. “No. She and Axew helped them chase us out here.”

“Why wouldn’t they do that with Iris?” Misty wondered. It was strange that the Cofagrigus would’ve chased Ash and Sir Bela out of the stage, too; Misty and Cilan’s Cofagrigus only went out the loading doors when she let Gyarados back out.

“And why have they taken all their mummies and held up in the cave sets?” Cilan pulled his magnifying glass out and tapped his chin with it. “It’s possible they mean to bait us, but for what purpose?”

“They’ve got that jewel,” said Ash. “The one Mr. Christopher brought from Galar. Before she got mummified, Iris said they were circling around it and chanting.”

“A-ha!” Misty snapped her fingers and turned her nose up. “So it is a curse!” She shouldn’t have felt so proud about that – there were four people mummified by Pokémon possessed by an ancient jewel, and one of them was Ash’s friend. And who knows how we’ll get them un-mummified? I’ve never seen that in a movie…

Cilan shook his head. “Nonsense. There’s a perfectly rational explanation for these things.”

Misty’s eyes narrowed. Stubborn skeptic…spend a few days in Saffron City and see if you still think everything’s got a “rational explanation.” “Are you ever going to tell us what that is?” she asked dryly.

“Gladly.” Cilan adjusted his tie and cleared his throat. “You’ve heard of method acting, I suppose – trying to emotionally inhabit a character. Some Pokémon actors use this technique, just as people do. If seven method-trained Cofagrigus – some of whom clearly know Psychic – came together on the set of a horror film that required them to be possessed by a lost spirit, they could fall into a kind of mass hypnosis, and really believe that they were serving the soul of a princess and compelled to protect her jewel and mummify intruders. Several of the mansion servants meet such a fate in the novel, I believe.”

“Mass hypnosis, huh?” said Ash. He sounded impressed. Sir Bela looked up thoughtfully, and Pikachu and even Oshawott both gave agreeable hums; they were all buying it.

“That’s crazy!” Misty snapped. “You don’t know that those Cofagrigus are method actors! And that jewel belonged to a prince – Sir Bela said so himself!”

“But the Cofagrigus may not know that,” Cilan said calmly. “And as you haven’t seen the jewel, you can’t know it has a curse – an extraordinary claim. Whereas deducing that the Cofagrigus are method-trained is –”

“You haven’t seen the jewel either, Mycroft,” Misty sneered. “Why don’t you try having an open mind?”

“I’m happy to have an open mind, but not so open that my reason falls out.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean!? Are you saying that I’m not being – MMPH!” Misty jerked her head, but Ash kept his hand fixed over her mouth and turned her away from Cilan.

“What do you think, Mr. Christopher?” he asked Sir Bela. Misty got free from his hand by giving him a hard shot to the gut with her elbow.

“I think,” Sir Bela said slowly, “that we won’t know anything until we go back into the cave set and get a good look at that jewel. Now, we can’t go in there unguarded and unprepared, and I don’t think Purrloin can manage seven Cofagrigus on his own.” Purrloin, who had been rubbing against his Trainer’s legs, looked up and growled at that.

“H-H-How unf-fortunate,” Cilan stuttered, with a step away from Purrloin.

“It’ll be too cramped in there for Gyarados, Misty,” Ash said, nodding towards Misty’s Atrocious Pokémon. “But I’ve got a Krookodile.”

“My Crustle knows Feint Attack,” Cilan offered. He and Ash both released their Pokémon at the same time. Misty had never seen either kind before. Krookodile was cute with his sunglasses, but Misty clung on to Ash’s arm at the sight of Crustle, whose name seemed too fitting.

Sir Bela looked them over and nodded curtly. “Very good,” he said. “But do any of you have a Pokémon that can use Psychic? It would be terribly useful to get those people away from the Cofagrigus. We might even use it to steal the jewel too.”

Cilan shook his head and crossed his arms. Ash shook his head too, but he looked at Misty and grinned. Cilan, Sir Bela, and all the Pokémon followed his lead, and Misty took a step back from all their stares. Why? she asked, slamming her palm to her forehead. Why did I have to get caught up in a mess that needs him?

***

“Psyduck, don’t wander off!” Misty hissed. “We need to stay together!”

“Psy.”

“Not so loud, Psyduck! We don’t want to get caught!”

“Duck?”

Some things never change. Ash rolled his eyes and shook his head. Luckily, Misty was in front, so she couldn’t see him. They were all in a row, walking hand in hand, while Pikachu led the way back to the opening they’d found earlier. Oshawott and Krookodile walked alongside him, and neither of them seemed to know what to make of Misty’s Psyduck. Oshawott especially seemed not to like him; he kept shooting Psyduck dirty looks, shoved him when he started going the wrong way, and refused to catch him when Psyduck tripped on plaster rock. Pikachu told Oshawott off for that, but it didn’t improve his attitude any. Not that Psyduck’s even noticed, the dope. Ash remembered Tracey saying once that Psyduck was really Misty’s favorite Pokémon; he didn’t see how Oshawott could’ve gotten that idea, but he was sure that was the problem.

“Psyduck can actually battle now, right?” Ash whispered, tugging Misty slightly back towards him.

“Yes,” she replied. “He’s really good, actually. But he still can’t do Psychic without a headache.”

“What!?”

“Quiet!” Mr. Christopher hissed. He was at the rear of the line, with Crustle and Purrloin right behind him. It was still amazing, how much scarier he sounded with a whisper than a shout.

“What!?” Ash repeated, more softly. “Then how are we supposed to use his Psychic?”

“I’ve got a plan – don’t worry.” It was hard not to, when Misty sounded so unsure, but she shut up and picked up the pace after the Pokémon, so Ash shut up too.

There whirring sound was still going, though only from the direction of the opening into the ceremony set. The “cofa, cofa, cofa” chanting was louder than before, with a nasty echo that couldn’t have come from the cave set. The red light was brighter too, and it pulsed every time the Cofagrigus spoke.

“In – in there?” said Misty.

Ash nodded and gulped. “In there.”

“Well…age before beauty!” She let go of Ash’s hand, reached back, and pushed Cilan out in front; Ash helped her push. Cilan glared at them from over his shoulder, but he straightened out his vest, stood up tall, and walked up to the wall, Crustle scurrying after him. When they reached it, Cilan had Crustle quietly build a few steps with Rock Slide to give everyone a view inside. Ash and Cilan helped Mr. Christopher up, and they set Pikachu, Psyduck, Crustle, and Purrloin on the ledge so they could see too. Misty held Oshawott in her arms; he refused to be put down.

The ceremony set was a big circle, made like a hollow chamber of a cave with the big pointy rocks sticking up and down – Ash couldn’t remember what to call them. In the middle was a sort of shrine, a golden arc with a fastening on it that held a giant glowing ruby set in a gold ring. A few red lamps scattered around the outer rim of the set gave even more red light. Up at the top of the set, a section had been cut away, and a thin ray of pale gray light came down from there onto the jewel. All seven Cofagrigus drifted around the shrine in a slow-moving circle, and the four mummies stood a few feet back, making sort of a square around the circle. They all stared straight ahead through their bandages, with blank eyes rolled straight up. Three Hoothoot were hanging from the top of the set, their eyes wide open and glowing blue.

“Those Hoothoot belong to the cinematographer,” whispered Mr. Christopher. “She’s a Johtovo - they help her to hang the lights.”

“They’re not mummies,” Ash pointed out. The Hoothoot weren’t wrapped up, and as creepy as their glowing eyes were, they weren’t anything like what happened to Iris and the others.

“But there’s something wrong with them,” said Misty. “Maybe they’re possessed by the soul of the prince in the jewel!”

“Or they’re using Hypnosis,” said Cilan.

“Why would the Hoothoot be using Hypnosis?” Misty asked. “And on who?”

“Excellent questions, Misty.”

“…Well!?” she demanded. Cilan didn’t answer, but bowed his head in thought. Misty looked ready to keep arguing, but Ash slapped her lightly on the arm. He wasn’t sure which of them was right about the Cofagrigus, but he didn’t want to hear them argue about it anymore. It didn’t really matter to Ash what the reason for all these things was anyway, as long as they could free the people and find the Pokémon.

It was fascinating, though, watching the Cofagrigus. Seeing all the strange things Pokémon could do was always amazing. And even in the set of a horror film, with red lights and mummies everywhere, Ash didn’t feel afraid. Maybe it was having a horror movie star and ex-intelligence officer with him. Maybe it was being in another adventure with Misty – there was something about being with her or Brock that made everything seem OK, in a way Ash couldn’t explain even to himself.

Or maybe it’s all that red light. Ash couldn’t get a good look at the jewel, with the Cofagrigus moving around it, but there was something about the pulsing of its glow, in and out, light and dark, over and over and over again…

“Ash!” Misty shook him by the shoulder. “Are you ready?”

“Uh…yeah. Yeah! Ready for what?”

Misty dropped her head onto the ledge, Cilan shook his head, and Mr. Christopher glared at him. “This Psyduck is about to steal that jewel for us,” he said. “As soon as we have it in our hands, we must attack at once, to win time to escape. Are you ready?

“Um – sure. Ya got that, Krookodile?”

“Krook!” He adjusted his sunglasses and slipped into a battle pose. Pikachu and Crustle did the same, Purrloin crouched low as if he were going to pounce, and Oshawott wiggled his eyebrows at Misty before jumping down and puffing his chest out. She giggled softly and scratched his head before turning to Psyduck.

“OK, Psyduck,” she said. “Remember – you need to get that jewel first and fly it over here. Then get all our friends strapped as mummies while the others distract the Cofagrigus. Understand?”

“Psy.” Ash hoped that meant yes.

“Alright…Psyduck, Headache!”

“Headache?” Ash, Cilan, and Mr. Christopher all said together.

Psyduck gave a dutiful nod, walked over to the nearest wall, and whacked his head against it. The blow pushed him back, and he staggered around on one foot for a second, but nothing happened.

“Try again, Psyduck,” said Misty. “Harder this time!”

He did, with the same result. He tried a third time, and hit his head hard enough to chip away some of the paint and expose the white plaster underneath, but his eyes still didn’t light up with Psychic.

“Oh no,” Misty sighed. “The plaster’s not hard enough.”

Ash groaned, Mr. Christopher sighed and shut his eyes, and Cilan muttered “I might have known.” The Pokémon all looked disappointed too. All except Oshawott. He puffed his chest out even more and stuck his tongue out at Psyduck.

“Oshawott,” he sneered. “Osha, osha, oshawott.”

“Psy?” Psyduck looked up at Misty, who shook her head and smiled at him.

“It’s not your fault, Psyduck,” she said, patting her Pokémon on the head. Ash had to choke down a laugh when he saw Oshawott’s reaction; face red, paws balled up and trembling. There was almost steam coming out of his ears. Before anyone could stop him, Oshawott ripped his shell off his chest and beaned Psyduck in the head.

“PSY!” The duck lost his balance again. He teetered on one foot, flailed his arms, but couldn’t catch himself. He went over the side of the opening – the side leading in to the shrine set. He bounced against plaster rocks all the way down, before landing on his head.

The chanting stopped. The light from the jewel went steady. And every one of the Hoothoot and Cofagrigus was looking at them.

Mr. Christopher moved first. He ordered Purrloin to attack with Shadow Ball, and the Devious Pokémon hurled five of them into the ground in front of the Cofagrigus. Plaster rocks turned to chalky dust, which spread through the whole shrine set and back towards them. It stung Ash’s eyes and throat, but he didn’t turn away. The red light threw shadows of everyone against the dust, and they were moving in.

“Krookodile, Stone Edge!” Ash cried. It was no good trying to use Bite or Crunch until the dust settled, but they could still throw some barriers between themselves and the Cofagrigus. Krookodile pulled himself up onto the ledge and roared. Ash saw the shafts of real rock shoot up from the ground, and the shadows of the Cofagrigus scatter. Crustle used Rock Blast to catch them as they moved. When the Hoothoot took off from their perches, Pikachu brought one of them down with Thunderbolt. And Oshawott backed up until he was directly in front of Misty, and spread his arms wide.

“Psyduck!” Misty nudged Oshawott to the side as she leaned over the ledge. “Are you OK? Psyduck!”

“They’re getting closer!” Cilan yelled. They were slowing down either. And even with the Cofagrigus off-guard and moving around, there was no clear way to get the jewel.

“Prepare for battle!” Mr. Christopher barked. “Dark and Ghost Attacks, everyone!” The Cofagrigus were almost on them. The dust was starting to settle, and the red of the Coffin Pokémon’s eyes was shining through what was left…

“PSY!”

Bright blue light engulfed every one of the Cofagrigus, the two Hoothoot still in the air, and the mummies that had yet to move. They all flew back across the set as if tossed, landing in a heap together. Psyduck floated in the air, in the middle of a glowing blue orb.

“Wow…guess you weren’t kidding about him being a good battler now,” Ash whispered to Misty. She gave a half-cough, half-laugh in reply. Oshawott slumped to his feet and pouted; Misty slipped a hand around him without looking away from the shrine.

“Good job, Psyduck!” she called to her Pokémon. “Now get that jewel!” The Cofagrigus were starting to stir, but another wave of Psychic put them back down. Psyduck spread his wings and bowed his head, and the blue light spread around the jewel in the shrine. It lifted straight up into the air, hovered there for a minute, and then shot at them faster than a diving Swellow.

“Head’s up, Ash!” Cilan yelled. Ash threw his hands up and braced himself. It didn’t keep him from tumbling back off the steps and rolling down the path once the jewel hit him.

With the red glow, Ash expected it to be warm or even hot, but it was cool to the touch. It was about the size of a shrunken down Poké Ball and slightly sharp around the edges. Even away from the shrine, the Cofagrigus, and the shaft of gray light, the ruby was still glowing. The gold setting it was in was made for a bigger finger than Ash’s, and had funny writing and pictures done in tiny detail all around it.

No…not funny…I can read it. Ash had never seen anything like it before, but he could read it. There is never perfect rest…Thou shall rise again…It was what the pictures meant. But what Ash saw – what he heard in his head, as the cave set and the jewel and even the red glow gave way to bright, piercing blue – was a language he’d never heard before.

“Ash? Ash? Do you got it? Ash, we need to go! Ash!”

Misty’s voice sounded a million miles away. But who is Misty? And who was this Ash? That was a fine way to address a prince…

 

[zdbz_sn]

“Ash? Ash? Do you got it? Ash, we need to go! Ash!”

Misty looked around for a stray bit of plaster to chuck at his head. She really couldn’t understand that boy sometimes. While everyone else fighting for their lives against an ancient curse and seven Ghost Pokémon, he was just sitting there, staring at the jewel causing all the trouble! Why couldn’t he just pay attention?

“MISTY!” She jumped at Sir Bela’s voice. “Fetch the mummies! The mummies!”

Shoot! Look what you made me do now, Ash! Misty turned back towards the shrine set. The Cofagrigus were engaged in battle with Purrloin, Crustle, Krookodile, and Pikachu, the two Hoothoot still conscious fluttered around overhead, and the mummies were still in a heap at the far end of the set. Psyduck’s Psychic was still up, but the blue orb around him was shrinking.

“Keep it up, Psyduck!” Misty urged. “Get the mummies! They’re our friends, Psyduck – get the mummies and bring them over here! No, don’t get back on the ground! Headache again, Psyduck – Headache!”

It was no good. Once Psyduck had spent himself on Psychic, Misty knew she couldn’t hope for any more out of him for a good while. The dopey duck’s glow vanished altogether, his eyes went spacey again, and he slipped down onto his rear, with his head tilted to one side. When a Hoothoot dived at him, Pikachu knocked it away with Tackle, and stayed at Psyduck’s side, primed for attack.

“Thanks, Pikachu!” said Misty. But what do we do about the mummies now? We can’t just leave them here and run off with the jewel.

The jewel…

“Ash, bring that ring up here!” Misty called over her shoulder, never taking her eyes off the battle. “We’ve got to break the curse!”

“No – target the Hoothoot!” Cilan yelled, ordering Crustle to use Feint Attack on one of them.

“The Hoothoot!?” Misty glared at Cilan. What on earth was he thinking?

Cilan looked ready to explain, but Sir Bela cut him off. “Do both, if you must, but hurry!” he snapped. “Purrloin, another Night Slash!”

“As you say, sir,” Cilan said, somehow managing to bow while lying on his stomach on the ledge. “Keep after them, Crustle!”

Misty saw no point in arguing. She urged Pikachu to use Thunderbolt while still covering Psyduck, then motioned impatiently behind her. “You heard him, Ash! Hurry up and get that thing up heeeeAAAUGH!”

She was yanked back hard by the leg. Oshawott slipped from her fingers, and she was pulled up into a pair of thin but strong arms that clutched her tight. Misty kicked and twisted, until she realized that they were well above the floor of the set, just hovering in mid-air. By instinct, she gripped onto her captor’s shoulders, and looked up at his face.

“…Ash?”

There were no bandages wrapped around him, but his eyes were small, beady, and gazed straight ahead without any expression at all. She tried to push herself free, but Ash curled his arms to roll her into his chest and tighten his hold around her waist and legs. His head dropped so that his eyes, still set high, looked into hers. A sudden focus came to those eyes, as if Misty was the only thing in the world that they saw. Ash pulled Misty in even closer and started to slowly drift backwards, never breaking their connecting gaze.

This is the part where my sisters start giving me lip. Misty could even hear Daisy’s voice. “You love to act so tough, but whenever the chicks in these flicks swoon over the monsters, you go totally mushy.” Misty always fought her on that, even more so because Daisy was right. And Misty indulged in more than her fair share of romantic fantasies over the years, though she rarely put Ash into them – she knew him well enough to know he wasn’t the type, not without a lot of coaxing.

Well, he’s been coaxed. And, as she might have guessed, Misty felt completely off her guard in Ash’s arms. But why does it have to be now!?

Ash leaned in, so close that they were almost nose-to-nose, and started chanting softly in a language Misty didn’t know, and Ash certainly didn’t. Misty had heard it, though – in all sorts of mummy movies, she’d heard it. The sound drowned out everything else, from the battle behind them to that constant whirring noise. All Misty’s nerves and tension melted away. And as Ash kept gazing into her eyes, a blue glow started to fill her vision…

“OSHA!”

A cold blast of water struck them from behind. Ash didn’t let go of Misty, but he flew up and back. The blue glow vanished. Misty shook her head and turned toward the shrine set.

Sir Bela’s Purrloin was hemmed in against a stalagmite by two of the Cofagrigus, who used Infestation whenever he tried to dodge around them. Krookodile was on the back of another Cofagrigus, who flew all around trying to shake him off. Crustle was surrounded by the mummies, and refused to attack any of them. Pikachu, Psyduck, and Oshawott were back-to-back-to-back, facing out and fighting off three of the Cofagrigus as best they could (at least, Pikachu and Oshawott were; Psyduck just stared.) Overhead, the Hoothoot circled. And Sir Bela and Cilan were down in the set, with Sir Bela struggling to pull Cilan out of a half-open Cofagrigus.

“Cilan!” Misty tried to swing her legs free, but Ash held her tight. “Ash, do something! Snap out of it!” But he just started chanting again. Misty couldn’t get out of his arms, but she turned away from his eyes.

“Misty, you need to take out the Hoothoot!” Cilan shouted. Sir Bela’s grip was slipping; only Cilan’s head and arm were still outside the casket. “Their Hypnosis is behind all of this! It must be! Take them out and –”

SLAM! The Cofagrigus flew up as it closed, with Sir Bela falling back. It rattled for a few minutes, then sprang back open. Cilan, in clean and precisely-wrapped bandages, took one step out, then fell flat on his face from the drop. Crustle tried to reach his Trainer, but Iris and Mr. Hampton shooed him back.

“No! Ash, please – shake it off!” Misty slapped him across the face; she didn’t know what else to try. But he kept glaring at her, with that same chant coming out of his mouth. And Cilan wants me to fight the Hoothoot? Maybe they were being driven to use Hypnosis, but why would they do it without a curse or a possession? And why was only Ash affected, and only since he touched the jewel?

Misty slipped her hand along her thigh until she found Ash’s hand. She could feel something cool on one of his fingers. She grabbed it and tugged as hard as she could. Ash twisted back, his other arm slipping from Misty’s waist. She pushed off his chest with her other hand and got her legs free, keeping a firm grip on the ring. She started to fall, but didn’t try to stop it. If she could make it down to the ground and pull the jewel off…

Ash’s hand with the ring closed around hers and yanked her back up. He took her in a Bewear hug this time, so that her arms were pinned against his chest. Misty felt her face heat up; she was sure she was blushing and hated it. What was worse, she couldn’t turn away now. Ash’s eyes were locked back on hers, his chanting went low and breathy as he leaned in, and the blue glow began to creep back into her vision…

“OSHAWOTT!”

“PIKACHU!”

The Razor Shell wedged between them and split them apart, Ash floating up while Misty fell. She twisted and rolled as she hit the ground, and came up unhurt by the steps Crustle had made up into the opening. She looked up just in time to see the Thunderbolt strike Ash. He cried out, but when the Attack finished, his eyes still looked straight ahead, and he stayed in the air.

“Thanks, guys!” Misty called as she crawled through the opening into the shrine set. “That was just in time!” Maybe a little too early, really…he might have been leaning in to – oh, snap out of it, Misty! She ran over to where Psyduck, Pikachu and Oshawott had made their stand. Purrloin used a well-timed Night Slash to knock one of his Cofagrigus back and scampered over to join them. Krookodile was finally thrown off by his Cofagrigus and landed nearby. Crustle remained hemmed in by the mummies, with Cilan now among them. In spite of herself, Misty wished she could get him free and over to their side.

I wish a lot of things right now, she thought. That her friends were free, that the jewel was smashed, that they weren’t in this creepy film set anymore, and that she hadn’t left all her safeguards against curses back in the other soundstage. Even with all the Pokémon around her, Misty felt exposed and vulnerable without them. The seven Cofagrigus came together in an arching line and began to slowly advance upon them, cackling in a high laugh that made Misty shudder. The two conscious Hoothoot latched onto the stalactites above the mummies, who were closing in on a whimpering Crustle. Purrloin’s hair stood on end, Krookodile tensed up, Pikachu grabbed onto Misty’s leg, Oshawott jumped into her arms, and even Psyduck seemed to know something was wrong.

“HALT!” Misty had forgotten about Sir Bela, but he sprang up onto his feet pretty quickly for such an old man. He gripped the handle of his cane with one hand so tight that his knuckles went white, but his other hand held up a talisman – the same kind that Misty had dropped earlier. The Cofagrigus and the mummies all turned to look at him, and froze at the sight of the talisman.

“Sir Bela!” she cried. “How…?”

“A prop for today’s scenes before shooting was called off,” he said impatiently. “Now get those Hoothoot, and the jewel off your boyfriend!”

“But he’s not –” Misty began, but Sir Bela cut her off with a sharp wave. He held the talisman higher, and began chanting in the same language Ash was using, in a booming voice that filled the soundstage. The Cofagrigus dropped down until the base of each of their coffins hit the ground, and they stretched their hands out in the direction of the talisman. The mummies got to their knees, and Crustle took the chance to scurry over to Misty’s side. She flinched a little when he touched her leg, but she shook her head and slapped her cheek lightly. This was no time to get squeamish about bugs.

“OK, everyone – you heard him!” she said. “Pikachu, ground those Hoothoot with Thunderbolt! Oshawott, you help with – do you know any Ice Attacks?”

“Osha,” he said sadly.

“Well… help him anyway! The rest of you, go over to Sir Bela and be ready to help in in case those Cofagrigus get loose! And Psyduck…you just stay with me until you’re ready to try Headache again. Ready – GO!”

Krookodile scooped Crustle up as he and Purrloin went around either side of the Cofagrigus line to join Sir Bela. Pikachu leapt up towards the Hoothoot, Oshawott following. The Hoothoot took wing in opposite directions, so Pikachu twisted to the left and Oshawott to the right. Pikachu’s Thunderbolt missed, but Oshawott’s Hydro Pump hit his Hoothoot right between the wings. When it started to turn around to counter, Oshawott tossed out Razor Shell, caught the Hoothoot in the head, and brought it unconscious to the ground.

“Way to go, Oshawott!” Misty cheered. He fell down into her arms, his eyes lit up like stars. “The last one’s all yours, Pikachu! Finish it off and we’ll –”

A blur of blue and white swept in from the opening in the set and snatched the talisman from Sir Bela’s hands. It was Ash, the jewel still glowing on his finger, the chant still coming from his lips. He tossed the talisman out of the set.

The Cofagrigus shot back into the air like they were fired from a cannon. They swooped down on Sir Bela, Krookodile and Purrloin just barely managing to force the tide back with Night Slash and Dragon Claw. The mummies rushed to gather up the two unconscious Hoothoot, while the third latched on to Ash’s shoulder. He put a hand up to steady it and drifted down right in front of Misty. There was no way to get to the Hoothoot without risking hurting Ash.

Just like the end of Jewel of the Seven Pokémon. Ash’s point about the ending suddenly made a lot more sense.

It’s not that bad yet, Misty told herself. All she had to do was knock that Hoothoot loose. And get that ring away from Ash, somehow. Then they just needed to break the jewel inside it. Which we can’t do – not with anything here. After that, the curse would be gone! I think – I don’t know.

The mummies had joined the Cofagrigus, which stopped Purrloin and Krookodile’s attacks. Sir Bela was pushing them all back with his cane, but he wasn’t going to last much longer. The Cofagrigus were chanting again, in the same tempo as Ash. The jewel on his finger, and the lamps around the set, all began to pulse their red light. Oshawott and Pikachu looked up at Misty, their faces scared and uncertain. I’m with you two, she wanted to say.

“Well…we don’t have a choice,” she said softly. “Pikachu, he’s held up to your shocks before – try Thunder!” Pikachu’s tail bristled, but he nodded gravely and moved into position.

“SHARP!”

The work lights to the soundstage flicked on while the lamps cut out. Hoothoot’s eyes stopped glowing, and Ash’s shut as he swayed on his feet. The mummies started to sway too, and held their heads as their bandages fell away. Sir Bela was about to fall over; one of the Cofagrigus pushed him back onto his feet and patted his head. The whirring sound stopped with a sharp cut. And a section of the cave wall to Misty’s right swung open to reveal a camera on a dolly driven by a Bisharp in a beret.

 

[zdbz_sn]

“Ash? Ash?”

“Mwuh…huh?” Ash gave his head a firm shake and opened his eyes. He was on the ground in the shrine set. Misty was holding him up, with Pikachu, Oshawott, Krookodile, and Psyduck at her side. All four of them gave relieved gasps and smiles as Ash sat up on his own.

Looking around, he saw a set full of Pokémon – not just the Cofagrigus and Hoothoot from before, but Emolgas, Conkeldurrs, and Pansears. Everyone seemed friendly, even the Cofagrigus, and the Emolgas and Conkeldurrs had lights and sound equipment with them. The producers, Mr. Hampton, Cilan, and Iris were all free of their bandages and seemed back to normal. The producers and Mr. Hampton were huddled together. Ash couldn’t hear what they were saying, but the producers seemed really agitated, while Mr. Hampton just stood with his hands in his pocket, nodding along. Iris and Axew were looking around in plain confusion. Cilan had his head bowed in thought. He was standing near Mr. Christopher, who was arguing with a Bisharp in a beret who was sitting on a dolly with a giant camera.

“…Appalling! Simply appalling!” Mr. Christopher was booming. “You gave no idea – no idea! – what was going on! We all might have been seriously hurt, or we might have hurt the Cofagrigus, or the Hoothoot! What on earth has gotten into you, Bisharp?”

“…What’s going on?” Ash asked. What else could he say?

“It was all a movie, Ash,” Misty whispered. “Sir Bela’s Bisharp was making a movie with the Cofagrigus and the other Pokémon from the film crew. Cilan was right.” She obviously didn’t want to admit that last part; her pout was almost cute.

“But what about…” Ash looked down at his hand, where the ring was loosely around his finger. The last thing I remember was catching it…

“There was no curse,” Misty said, still clearly upset at being wrong. “The Hoothoot used Hypnosis to make you think you were possessed by an ancient prince. They did the same with the ‘mummies’ too.”

“But how did they…Misty, are you blushing?”

“What? N-No!” She gave him a hard shove. “W-We’ve just been worried about you – we didn’t know what was going on until Bisharp called ‘cut!’”

“But why’d he do that now?” Ash asked, choosing to ignore the shove. “And how’d the Hoothoot use Hypnosis on the mummies when they were in the Cofagrigus?”

Misty nodded toward Bisharp and his Trainer. “Sir Bela’s trying to figure that out.”

It didn’t look like that to Ash. Mr. Christopher was still going, while Bisharp just leaned on the camera and let him go. Ash recalled Krookodile, set Pikachu on his shoulder, stood up, and walked over to them, with Misty following with Oshawott and Psyduck. “So this is your Bisharp, huh?” he said.

Mr. Christopher jumped a little; he must not have heard Ash come up. “So you’ve recovered, have you?” he said, once he calmed down. Cilan looked up and smiled at Ash, and Iris came over to join them. “Well, let’s see if you and your Pikachu can make heads or tails of this whole affair.”

“Yeah…Misty said you were making your own movie, Bisharp?” Ash asked.

“And what was the big idea not telling us about it?” Iris demanded, hands on her hips. “If you want someone in a movie, you have to ask, y’know!”

“Pika.” Pikachu hopped onto the camera. “Pika pikachu pi pika cha pika.”

“Sharp,” Bisharp replied. “Sharp bisharp sparp.”

“Pi pika?” Pikachu pulled a scary face.

“Sharp sharp.” Bisharp gave a firm shake of his head.

“I think…I think he thought it wouldn’t be as scary if we knew we were in a movie,” Ash said. Pikachu and Bisharp both nodded.

“No kidding,” Iris grumbled.

“But why did Bisharp and these other Pokémon want to make a movie at all?” Misty asked. “And why did they shut down Jewel of the Seven Pokémon?”

“Pika pika?” said Pikachu. “Pikachupi pi pikachu, pi Pikapi pi cha kachu Pikachu pika pika?”

“Bisharp. Sharp –” Bisharp pointed at Mr. Christopher – “bisharp sharp –” at the ring still on Ash’s finger – “sharp Bisharp sharp sharp –” and at the producers and Mr. Hampton, still off in their own huddle.

“Pikachu?” Pikachu gave a thumbs down.

“Bisharp.” Bisharp nodded.

“Hmmm…” Ash put a hand to his chin. That was a lot to make sense of. “It sounds like…Bisharp didn’t think Mr. Christopher would like Jewel of the Seven Pokémon?” The Pokémon nodded again.

“But of course!” Cilan whipped out his detective hat and magnifying glass again. “Bisharp misunderstood Sir Bela’s joke about the jewel and remarks about the director, and concluded that his Trainer would be unhappy with the production! And, knowing Sir Bela’s attitude towards earlier films that they’d been in, Bisharp took it upon himself to direct a more effectively frightening tale that used elements of Jewel of the Seven Pokémon, and enlisted his fellow Pokémon in both the production of their film and the sabotage of Jewel! The Hoothoot must have been hidden throughout the sets, and combined their Hypnosis with Cofagrigus’s natural abilities to make us think we were mummies, and they combined their powers to make Ash think he was possessed by a prince! Just as I suspected!”

“Just as you suspected!?” Misty snapped. “Bisharp misunderstanding about the movie was my idea!”

“And it is a logical explanation for supernatural events,” Cilan said, with a smug grin and a tug on his tie. Misty looked ready to sock him or slap him or tug at his ear, but Oshawott beat her to it and beaned him with his shell.

“Is this true, Bisharp?” Mr. Christopher asked, more softly than before. Bisharp turned to his Trainer and nodded. He patted the camera and flipped around one of the monitors around. It showed what the lens was pointed at, a few of the Cofagrigus chatting. Bisharp punched a few of the buttons on the side, and the monitor changed to show a series of thumbnails. The first was of Iris and Axew confronting a Cofagrigus by all the missing lights.

“They must have had hidden cameras in the walls,” Misty said. “That’s where the whirring noise was coming from!”

“But that noise would have come from film cameras,” said Cilan, rubbing the lump on his head. “These must be the logs of the video assist uploaded to the studio network.”

Bisharp scrolled through a few more thumbnails. There was one of Cilan and Misty with Gyarados, one of Ash, Iris, and Mr. Christopher, and one with…

“Is that me ‘n – Misty!?” Ash reeled back from the camera. His body felt cold, but his face felt hot. “I don’t want that in a movie! I couldn’t show Mom that!”

Misty, who had been looking anywhere but at Ash, finally met his eyes. Her cheeks and nose were beet red. “That – that’s why you don’t want it in a movie?” she asked. There was something funny in her voice, but Ash couldn’t place it. He also didn’t know how to answer her. Should there be another reason?

It was a huge relief when Mr. Christopher started talking again. “This is impressive footage, Bisharp. But I’m afraid Iris is right – you can’t make a film with unknowing, unwilling actors. And you misunderstood me about the film. I’m quite happy with the script. Quite happy indeed. And our director is superb.” He swept a hand in Mr. Hampton’s direction. From the look on Bisharp’s face, Ash guessed he was just as skeptical about that claim as everyone else, but he didn’t say anything.

“This is impressive footage,” Mr. Christopher said again. “I believe it’s a first, you know – to have a Pokémon director. Would you like to try your hand at a film, Bisharp?”

“Bisharp!” The Sword Blade Pokémon said brightly, adjusting his beret.

“Then how about this, dear fellow,” said Mr. Christopher. “When we get back to Galar, I’m owed a favor by Chisel Studios – more than a few favors. And I have the rights to another book I’ve wanted to see made into a film. Let’s see if we can’t make that happen. And you’ll be the director!”

“Sharp!” Bisharp gave a jaunty salute, then hugged his trainer. Mr. Christopher hugged him back (Ash found it a relief to know he did something that emotional.)

“A film directed by a Pokémon?” Cilan said. “You’re right, Sir Bela – it’s never been done in the history of motion pictures! Such a unique taste! I can’t wait to see it!”

“I can’t want to watch you get thrown out of the screening,” Iris sighed.

A movie made by Pokémon, huh? Ash cupped his hands behind his head and leaned back. It did sound like a great idea. The footage Bisharp got from those hidden cameras was pretty exciting, especially the fight with Gyarados. I wonder what kind of book Mr. Christopher has the rights to? Something scary, probably. But maybe it’s more action-scary, like that battle stuff they shot! And since it’s in Galar, maybe they’ll have a –

Unconsciously, his eyes flicked over to Misty. Oshawott was snuggling against her cheek again, and while she was scratching under his chin, her eyes were down at the ground. She’s being awful quiet…this is some news from one of her favorite movie stars, after all. Then again, the movie she was so excited to see almost got cancelled, and with how short her trip was, she wasn’t going to get to see any of it get made.

“Hey – Misty?” he said softly. “I hope this didn’t ruin your trip. The movie and not getting an autograph and all.”

“But of course you’ll have an autograph, dear,” said Mr. Christopher. “Anyone of you is welcome to – you’re sure you want me to sign your magnifying glass, Cilan?”

“Absolutely! I only I had my scrapbook of Mycroft Abode posters, clippings, and illustrations from back home!”

“I only wish we could go home,” Iris groaned, pinching her temple.

Misty chuckled and nudged Ash with her free hand. “No Ash,” she said. “My trip wasn’t ruined. I got to see you again, make some new friends – some very good friends.” She tickled Oshawott’s belly, and he squealed with delight. “And it’s not a day with you without an adventure. You…you sure know how to take a lady for a ride, Ash Ketchum.”

“A ride?” Ash looked at Pikachu, who shrugged. Oshawott was too busy making eyes at Misty to even notice his Trainer. But Psyduck was snickering like crazy. What was going through that duck’s mind – or Misty’s – Ash hadn’t a clue.

THE END

“We just can’t catch a break, can we?” Iris sighed as her line came back empty. “Not a bite this whole day.”

“Try one of my lures,” Ash said, waving to his bag without looking down. “Y’know, it’s too bad you guys didn’t get to see Misty fish. She’s awesome.” It was too bad that Cilan and Iris didn’t get to see much of Misty at all after that day at Worldwide Pictures. After Mr. Christopher gave them their autographs, Misty needed to go back to her hotel, and except for lunch the next day, there wasn’t any chance to see her again. It had been about two weeks since then. Misty had sent a postcard to the next Pokémon Center at their stop. The picture was a poster from some old movie of Mr. Christopher’s called The Houndoom of Harkershire; it was pinned to Cilan’s backpack.

“You know, Ash,” Cilan said, also not looking away from the water. “There was a question I asked Misty that I never got a proper answer to. When you and she call each other ‘best friends,’ does that really mean –”

“Ash, is this a Misty lure?”

That drew Ash away from the water. Iris was holding up the fishing lure Misty had sent him back when he was challenging the Battle Frontier. Ash snatched it from her and held it as far away as he could.

“Don’t touch that!” he snapped. “It’s a present!”

“Aha!” Cilan snapped. “Your shared taste and Misty’s obfuscations were telling enough, but this confirms it – she is your girlfriend!”

“WHAAA!?” Ash dropped his fishing pole into the river, and nearly dropped Misty’s lure – Pikachu had to run to the end of his arm and grab it. “You’re crazy!” Ash screamed. I thought I was done hearing that after the Orange Islands!

“Girlfriend?” Iris looked shocked, amused, and a little bit disgusted. “A kid like you, with a girlfriend? What’s wrong with Misty?”

“Whaddya mean, what’s wrong with Misty!?”

“Sticking up from your girlfriend – how gallant!” Cilan looked even more amused than Iris. They were both leaning in towards him with matching grins, and Ash felt like his face was on fire.

“I don’t know what you two are talking about, and I don’t wanna hear it! C’mon, Pikachu!” He shifted his Pokémon back onto his shoulder, dodged around Cilan and Iris, and tore down the path. His backpack and fishing pole were behind him at camp, and he wasn’t sure which direction he was going, but he didn’t care. He just wanted a dark, quiet place to disappear for a while.

Maybe the next town has a movie theater…