Chapter Eighty-three: True Form

Huff... huff...

When Amu groggily awoke, he found Misty leaning against the wall, wrapped in a quilt and holding Psyduck, fast asleep...

The morning sun was already streaming into the room. Amu yawned, then quietly got up, careful not to disturb Misty, and prepared to fetch his toiletries.

Still half-asleep, Amu shuffled over to the closet.

He didn't bother knocking, nor was he particularly wary of any ghosts; he simply opened the closet door as usual!

A head rolled out and faced Amu, speaking in a chilling voice, "Guest, do you need anything..."

Just as "Moonfire's" head began its sinister greeting, a Poké Ball dropped from the shelf above, landing right on its... no, its forehead!

In the next instant, Moonfire's voice was abruptly cut off, and the entire "head" was sucked into the Poké Ball.

This was the little "trap" Amu had set up three hours earlier, after Misty had woken him.

Though it only lasted a moment, the Poké Ball immediately sparked and exploded, ejecting a "Haunter" with a bang, and Amu was now fully alert!

As Haunter emerged, it found Amu watching it with shining eyes. An involuntary shiver ran over its nonexistent scalp, and it tried to turn and phase through the wall to escape.

But Amu was quick to react, and behind him appeared the ominous coffin eyes of a Dusknoir.

Haunter's form melted into the wall behind the closet, but Dusknoir's four shadowy hands swiftly followed, reaching inside!

The next moment, Haunter, whose form was little more than a face, was pulled back bit by bit, dragged by its own face.

A tug-of-war ensued; Haunter's spectral hands gripped the wall tight, resisting the pull.

From this struggle, it was clear that their strength was roughly matched...

Haunter was speechless—it had hoped to startle this guy while he was still half-asleep, maybe teach him a lesson for being so cocky, but who would have guessed there'd be a trap waiting?

Meanwhile, the commotion roused Misty, who blinked awake. Seeing Dusknoir and Exeggutor, she jumped in surprise and asked, "Ah! What's happening?"

"It's nothing—I finally caught the troublemaker haunting the inn!" Amu replied happily.

After all, Haunter—and the entire "Gengar family"—were among the most powerful and versatile Ghost-type Pokémon.

"I'm not just a prankster, Haunter! Take my... Shadow Ball!" Unable to escape, Haunter was pulled out and hurled a condensed sphere of ghostly energy at Dusknoir.

But upon emerging, it realized there was an Exeggutor outside as well!

Amu showed no mercy, launching a two-on-one assault: while Dusknoir blocked the Shadow Ball, Exeggutor stomped, its heads swaying, warping the space around them with Psychic energy...

Trick Room activated!

"Hey! Is this how you expect to earn my respect, Haunter?" Haunter protested angrily.

Wild Pokémon rarely respect trainers who fight them two-on-one.

Amu pretended not to hear its telepathic complaint.

Pokémon capable of telepathy are most commonly Psychic-types, followed by Ghost-types.

Amu wasn't worried about the whole "respect" issue—Haunter, and the Gengar family, were so human-like in their thought processes that they could be won over by other means; brute force wasn't the most effective approach, quite the opposite of more impulsive Pokémon!

This was why Amu hadn't preemptively "dosed up"—he couldn't be sure if a Ghost-type would be caught.

Exeggutor was far from Haunter's equal, and even Dusknoir had little advantage.

Though Ditto transformed into Dusknoir boasted a base stat seventy points higher than Haunter, in battle the physical attack and defense stats were practically irrelevant; ignoring those two, Haunter was slightly superior in the other four stats...

With Trick Room active, Haunter lost its speed advantage and was now thoroughly outmatched by Dusknoir!

Just then...

A hurried, shuffling set of footsteps approached. Before Misty could intervene, the inn's elderly proprietress burst in, demanding, "What are you making all this racket for?"

The next instant, the old woman seemed startled, her cane dropping, as she cried out, "Ah! A ghost!"

"Don't be afraid, ma'am—it's just a Ghost-type..." Misty, seeing Haunter, was no longer frightened.

But just then, Haunter seized the opportunity; as the old woman trembled in fear, its gaseous body shot forward, hands wreathed in purple smoke, encircling her as if taking a hostage.

"Stay back, Haunter!" Haunter telepathically warned Amu.

"Hey! What are you—" Misty glared, indignant at Haunter for kidnapping the old lady.

Dusknoir—or rather, Ditto in Dusknoir form—paused, wary that Haunter might use the old woman as a shield.

But Amu spoke up: "Coffin, ignore it. This innkeeper is in cahoots with Haunter."

At his words, Dusknoir—ever straightforward—accepted it at face value and began gathering energy for a Shadow Ball...

"Wait, wait, stop! What are you doing? Don't you have any sense, Haunter?" Haunter begged for mercy.

"I have no idea who this Haunter is!" The old woman still tried to protest.

Amu pursed his lips and said, "I thought something was off about you last night... Normally, if we tell you we saw a strange woman's head, wouldn't you first explain that 'there are no other guests besides you'? Why was your first response to explain 'there are no other staff'? No one told you Moonfire was a staff member, did they?"

Misty, now concerned, glanced warily toward the adjacent room, asking, "Are there any other Ghost-type Pokémon here? Did you harm Akane?"

Indeed, with all this commotion, Akane hadn't appeared.

"Ah! Dammit, Haunter!" Haunter was alarmed by this and immediately phased through the wall toward Akane's room.

Ditto, still in Dusknoir form, followed through the wall, while Amu and Misty ran down the corridor and opened the door to find...

Inside, apart from Haunter and Dusknoir, there was only a futon left by Akane, arranged to look as if someone were sleeping.

Clearly, she was practicing her Substitute move again!

"Did she... not pay for the tatami last night?" Amu asked the elderly woman as she approached.

Misty shot him a look; she believed Akane hadn't left just because of that.

Haunter was fuming: "It's your fault! That crafty one got away, Haunter!"

"Crafty?" Misty looked at Haunter in confusion.

Haunter shook with exaggerated frustration—despite lacking a chest or feet, it somehow managed the posture—making it clear its original intention had been to keep an eye on Akane.

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Note 1: "The XX family" refers to a Pokémon and all its evolutionary or devolved forms; for example, the "Gengar family" includes Gastly, Haunter, and Gengar—not a literal family.