Ash's Story (Part 5: Modern Sinnoh)

Chapter 33: Symbols in the Fog

Lost Tower rose out of the road like a memory that had learned how to stand upright.

The fog around it was thick enough to hide the lower stones, and the path toward the entrance felt colder than the route behind us. I had been to places where departed Pokémon were remembered before, but this tower carried its grief quietly.

Dawn held Piplup closer as we stopped near the entrance. "It feels like Pokémon Tower and Mt. Pyre mixed together."

"Yeah," I said softly. "A place where people come when they don't want their partners forgotten."

Lillie looked up at the tower with careful respect. "Then we should walk gently."

Tox adjusted his bag while Audino stayed close to his side. Even Croagunk stopped making his usual dry little comments, as if the tower itself had asked everyone to lower their voices.

Murkrow perched on a broken stone rail and shook his wings. The fog curled around him, thick and stubborn, until I nodded.

"Murkrow, use Defog," I said.

Murkrow cried out and beat his wings. A clearing wind swept through the entrance, pushing the fog back in rolling sheets. The path appeared piece by piece, revealing old stone steps, flickering candles, and small offerings left beside worn markers.

Inside, the air smelled of dust, flowers, and old rain. We moved quietly, even when wild Gastly drifted between the stones. Nobody wanted to turn the tower into a battlefield unless we had to.

A little girl near the first floor knelt beside a marker with her mother. She held a ribbon that had probably belonged to a Pokémon's collar, and she looked at us when Pikachu passed.

Pikachu gave her a soft smile, then lowered his head toward the marker without touching anything. The girl smiled back through wet eyes, and the tower felt a little less frightening after that.

Shinx walked close to my leg. The fog made its whiskers twitch, and sparks jumped from its fur whenever a shadow moved too quickly.

"Stay close," I whispered. "We are visitors here."

Shinx gave a nervous chirp, but it did not hide behind me.

A Haunter appeared near the second floor, grinning as it split into copies in the remaining fog. Shinx stepped forward, sparks flickering nervously from its fur.

"Careful," Lillie warned. "The fog is throwing off the shadows."

Haunter vanished and reappeared beside Dawn. Piplup cried out, but Shinx darted between them and released a burst of electricity that forced Haunter back.

"Good job, Shinx!" I called.

Shinx did not relax. The tower's fog thickened again, and more Ghost types drifted through the walls, disturbed by our movement. Their attacks were not cruel, but they were confused and defensive, protecting the resting place in the only way they understood.

Mismagius drifted from my side and sang one low note. The sound rippled through the hallway like a soft bell, and a few Gastly paused instead of attacking.

Mismagius's meaning brushed against me in a whisper. "They are not angry. They are startled."

"Then we calm them," I said.

One Shadow Ball curved toward Daniel and Gothita. Shinx saw it first. It leapt through the fog, claws scraping stone, and blocked the attack with a crackling barrier of electricity.

The impact threw Shinx backward.

"Shinx!" I shouted, running toward it.

Shinx staggered up before I reached it. Its fur stood on end, and the electricity in its claws glowed brighter than I had ever seen. The fear was still there, but it was no longer scattering its power.