A GHOST OF A CHANCE

By Suz/Friezaess

Jessie, James and Meowth stood nervously before the mysterious, stone tower. They had followed Ash and his companions to this area in one of their attempts to capture Pikachu, and though they would have normally gone into the tower where it was assumed he had went, something about it gave them a bad feeling. It certainly was a spooky looking place, and it made things even worse that it was night time. There was certainly an eerie vibe surrounding the area.

"Dey must have gone in dere!" Meowth said, pointing to the tower.

"What makes you say that?" Jessie asked.

"Well, seeing da twerp was just around here, and the fact that he wanted to capture a ghost Pokemon, dis looks like da place he'd go." He explained. Jessie gulped- the feel of this place was enough to scare even her. The fact of the matter was that Ash had indeed been to the tower, and he had considered entering it. But when his friends refused to go inside with him, the young trainer had abandoned his plan, and set out to look for ghost pokemon in a less spooky place.

"I don't like this place!" James whimpered. "I don't wanna go in!"

"Oh, quit your whining!" Jessie snapped back, trying to mask her own fears. "It's just a stupid old tower."

"If you're so confident why don't YOU go in, Jess?" Meowth questioned. Jessie fidgeted.

"Uh, I think I'll stay out here and keep watch." She replied. The cat rolled his eyes.

"Wuss."

"I am not!" She yelled, whacking the pokemon upside the head with her fan. Whilst he recovered from the blow, Jessie turned her attention to her other partner in crime.

"James, you go in." She told him.

"No way! That place is scary!" He replied, backing away. "I'm not going in alone."

"Oh for God's sake, be a man!" Jessie retorted. "Besides, we'll be right outside. If anything happens, we're bound to hear your screaming and we'll come to help."

"For some reason, that doesn't sound very comforting." He replied.

"Do it for da team, Jimmy!" Meowth added, having regained his composure. "Remember, if we capture dat Pikachu we get two weeks paid vacation!"

"But… but what if the ghosts get me?"

"Dere's no such thing as ghosts! Besides, you've got Weezing and Victreebell to protect ya!"

James put a hand on his pokeballs. It gave him a little more confidence knowing that his pokemon would be able to help him out if he got into any real danger.

"Oh… well… just promise that if I'm not back soon, you'll come in and get me." He said. Jessie and Meowth nodded. James sighed confidently, and turned towards the tower looming in front of him. Summoning up all his courage, the young rocket walked up to the structure and opened the door. It was pitch black. He pulled out a small torch, then proceeded inside. The door closed behind him, which caused him to jump in fright. Looking around, James saw that no one else was in the room.

"The twerp must be somewhere else in here." He thought, spotting some stairs that led to the floor below. He made his way over to them, and slowly descended into the dark depths of the tower.

"You think he'll be okay in there, Meowth?" Jessie asked her companion, as they sat on the ground waiting for James.

" 'Course he will!" Meowth said. "Except for Pikachu, dere's nuttin' in dere dat can hurt him."

"Ouch!" James cried as he tripped and fell down the stairs, landing flat on his face at the bottom. As he got up and dusted himself off, the sound of far away laughter penetrated the room. He gulped.

"Is that you, Pikachu?" He asked feebly. The laughter faded. Cautiously, he ventured further into the room he was currently in. All of a sudden, an overhanging chandelier flickered on of its own accord. James jumped, and backed into a corner. In front of him was a dinner table, covered with a clean white tablecloth and set with expensive looking cutlery. He clenched and unclenched his fists, wondering if he should just get out if there.

However, before he could make another move, the cutlery began floating up in the air before him. He shrieked, and instinctively reached for his pokeballs.

"Weezing, go!" He cried, as the said pokemon appeared in a flash of red light. It then proceeded to retreat to James' side, cowering. "Big help you are." He sighed, returning it to the pokeball. Just as he was reaching for Victreebell, three ghostly forms appeared in front of him- a Ghastly, a Haunter and a Gengar. The Rocket felt his heart skip a beat. All he could do was stand there, paralysed with fear. The ghost pokemon laughed, and floated towards him. After a few seconds, James managed to make a dash for the staircase leading back upstairs, figuring that not even two weeks payed vacation was worth this. But before he reached it, the over hanging chandelier came crashing down on top of him, and he was knocked unconscious. The three pokemon drifted over to him, and the Haunter put his hands on the boy's head. As he did, he pulled James' spirit out of his body.

"Wh-what's going on?" He asked in his ghostly form. Looking down, James saw that he was floating above his body with the ghost pokemon. "Oh my God, am I dead?" The Gengar shook its head, and it, along with its companions, started dancing happily around the confused James.

"Gen, gen gengar!" It said gleefully, meaning 'you're one of us now!'

They then took him by the hand, and led him up through the floorboards to the room at the very top of the tower. All around them were toys, and in one spot, there was even a merry-go-round. The Haunter grabbed a ball, and threw it to James, who instinctively caught it. The pokemon clapped its hands in delight.

"What are you doing?" He asked it, only to be answered by it dancing around him. He tossed the ball aside, and it was caught by the Gengar, who proceeded to throw it back to him. Ghastly appeared behind him, and led him over to the merry-go-round, which mysteriously started up once he had sat down on one of its old, plastic horses. The three ghost pokemon danced about happily, trying to convey their message. James started to understand their intentions.

"You… you want me to play with you?" He asked. They all nodded in agreement. He half smiled in relief.

Jessie fiddled with a few stray strands of her hair. James sure was taking his time. What if something had happened to him? What if ghosts really had done something to him?

'No,' she thought, 'there's no such thing as ghosts.'

"I wish dat guy would hurry up." Meowth said, mirroring her thoughts.

"Yeah." She replied. "You don't think something's happened to him, do you?"

"Nah," he said, looking around every now and then just in case someone - or something - crept up behind them, "he'll probably be out in a while."

After the merry-go-round had stopped James floated off, and turned to face the playful pokemon.

"Listen, I should probably be on my way now." He told them. Their faces fell, and their happy laughing was replaced with sombre sighs of disappointment. "I have to!" James said in response. "My friends are out there waiting for me and they'll be getting worried!" The three ghostly creatures looked at him sadly. James couldn't help but feel a little sorry for them. "Well… maybe just five more minutes." With those words, Gengar, Haunter and Ghastly returned to their happy selves, and once again took James by the hand and led him upwards. This time, they went up through the actual roof of the tower, and sailed through the night sky. James smiled brightly, getting a thrill from soaring through the stars. When he looked down, he saw Jessie and Meowth sitting in wait on the ground below. Deciding to make the most of the situation, he flew down to them, followed by his three new friends.

Jessie felt another presence near her. She stood up and looked around, but could see no one.

"What is it?" Meowth asked her.

"I don't know." She replied. Little did she know that the presence she felt was really that of her best friend. Knowing he was unseen in his ghost form, James gently scooped her up in his arms, and glided up off the ground. Jessie screamed and kicked her legs about, whilst Meowth looked on in fear.

"Help, get me down from here!" She screamed, as James proceeded to take her up into the sky with him. He smiled, and soared up above the clouds, where the full moon cast its rays upon the pair. He looked Jessie over. She looked so beautiful in this light. He had been in love with her for so long, and though he knew what he was about to do might shock her, he just could not resist the temptation. James closed his eyes, and lowered his face to Jessie's. He then pressed his lips against hers, silencing her frightened cries. He kissed her passionately, and her fear subsided. Jessie didn't know what was going on, but all of a sudden, she felt safe and happy, despite the fact that she was far above the Earth. She closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling immensely. After a while, James broke away and stared down at the one he loved. She was smiling, and her eyes were sparkling. He smiled back at her, and out of the corner of his eye, noticed Gengar, Haunter and Ghastly cheering him on. He winked at them, and then proceeded to fly back down to Earth, gently placing the woman in his arms back on solid ground. Meowth immediately ran over to her.

"Yikes Jess, are you okay?" He asked frantically.

"I'm fine." She replied, still smiling. James looked her over one last time before turning to the pokemon he was with.

"Well, I really should get going now." He told them. Again, they had a very disappointed reaction. James thought for a moment.

"You know what you guys should do? You should get out more often. I bet there'd be heaps of people willing to play with you once you taught them not to be afraid like you did me."

The three ghostly creatures huddled together for a moment, discussing the idea amongst themselves. Eventually, they turned back to James, and nodded in agreement. He grinned.

"Can you guys, uh, put me back in my body?" He asked. The three nodded, and took him back into the tower, down to the floor where his physical form was still trapped underneath the chandelier. Considerately, they pulled it out from under the lighting device, then guided James' spirit back down into his body. He opened his eyes, and got up off the floor.

"Thanks guys." He said, though the three pokemon could no longer be seen. Then, he started making his way out of the tower.

"I'm going in!" Jessie declared, walking up to the door of the tower.

"Meowth, fill me in on da details!" The cat pokemon whimpered, deciding that he was better off outside.

"Coward." She muttered back. Just as she reached for the door's handle, it opened, causing her to fall backwards in fright.

"Whoops, did I scare you?" James asked innocently, standing in the doorway. Jessie shot him a glare, which turned into a half-smile. She was still feeling good for her supernatural experience.

"Glad to see you finally came to join us." She said, getting up.

"The twerps and their Pikachu weren't in there." He told her.

"Oh well, better luck next time." She replied, as the two walked away from the tower, followed by Meowth. " Geez James, you'd never believe what happened to me while you were gone!"

James shrugged. "Try me!"

THE END