Music Video: 「Old Chateau」by Zame

The chill did not bother her as much as the ravenous eyes of six trainers and Pokémon alike, all in standstill as if enraptured by her presence, till the first eldritch shriek came through and a Haunter's tongue, fizzling with a violet gas, slid to her feet. Bile raced up her throat and she resisted the urge to puke. It was one thing to see the tongue encased, another to have it presented before her without glass or bars to create a distance.

"What do we have here?" A goth girl stroked the edge of her knife and strode towards Mindy to pick up and dangle the Haunter's tongue in her face before dropping it onto Mindy's nose, the slimy, putrid, and burning sensation causing the latter to scowl. Mindy clenched her fists as the goth girl walked around her twice and stopped in front of her, a muddy boot coming down on Mindy's shoe as the voice came on again like a wave of malice. "Mindfucky."

The punks chortled. Their hair were side-shaved and dyed in all sorts of flamboyant colours Mindy figured they must have gotten hold of some psychedelic drug when they asked for a sickly shade of green or sludge-like purple. Of the five watching their leader threatening Mindy, two were male and the others female. The males had a Luxio and a Skuntank respectively while two of the females had a Toxicroak, leaving the last one with a Cryogonal. Mindy averted her gaze from their menacing stares to the Gabite behind the goth girl and frowned.

She had but a Murkrow with her now, one so reluctant to help, and she wasn't much of a trainer either. Besides, she couldn't possibly enlist the help of the Lake Guardians, not when they were already doing a lot for her, showing her compassion and treating her with empathy that was bereft in her life.

"She can't talk, Sasha!" One of the males tossed his knife in the air and caught it by the handle between his index and middle fingers.

What came after was a bunch of juvenile shit Mindy wished her ears were too blocked to hear. After all, what to do when you chance upon an infamous character? You bully the daylights out of them. Nothing baffled her anymore.

"We should go easy on her. I say, two on two. The boys can go first," a girl said.

At this point, it was assured their attention was fully transferred to Mindy and the Haunter, along with the rest of the inhabitants, fled into the rooms. Only one Haunter remained to watch the battles to come. Thankfully, the boy nearest to it didn't care about its tongue, but went ahead with the new plan to wreck the heck out of their new prey.

"Scar, get into shape!"

"Skank, you're up against one toxic bitch!"

Mindy glanced at the Lake Guardians who had been observers for a while now and nodded stiffly. On her phone she typed is telepathy possible with murkrow

"No," Uxie whispered, "unfortunately not."

She instantly regretted nabbing a Dark-type, an untamed one at that. She supposed her only option was to let it go wild. Releasing the Murkrow from its Poké Ball, she prayed it would be no less hazardous of en existence than it was in Eterna Forest.

The Murkrow blinked at her and yawned before spreading its wings out and sliding a cursory glance at the Luxio and Skuntank, as if to question her knowledge of the basics of Pokémon.

i can't speak so you do you

The Murkrow squinted at her text and cawed laughingly. "I don't want to listen to you, Mindfucky."

Mindy froze. Sure, Murkrow were rumoured to mimic human speech and other sounds, though it didn't have to be this way. She figured as well from Murkrow's voice the Pokémon was male.

so you will battle?

"For me, not you."

do you have a name? recently released?

With the text came a new train of thought that the Murkrow was around humans frequently to have learnt human speech, and the fact that he was solitary rather than seen in a flock suggested his propensity for trouble.

A malicious glint surfaced in the Murkrow's eye. "I was never captured, dimwit. But call me Rasu."

"Are we done dilly-dallying there, slut?" Sasha yodeled at them, earning a paralysing glare from Rasu. "Get on with it, boys."

They were barely distinguishable, Mindy now realised, as were the girls, if not for them being mirror images of each other from ear studs to tattoos to which side of their hair was shaved.

"Scar, Thunder Fang!"

"Acid Spray, Skank!"

Rasu stood his ground as the Luxio charged towards him with electricity crackling about its bared fangs and the Skuntank swished its hair back to unleash a dozen purple blobs his way.

Sasha flipped her hair and chuckled. "Hey, Mindfucky, your Murkrow's a sitting Ducklett! Seems like you've already los-"

A whipping gale formed up in the lobby. So dark and heavy it was that every soul felt they were soon to be enslaved by some unseen force greater than them, greater than what their imaginations were capable of concocting. A ear-splitting screech followed, piercing through the wind like a lance who found its target, rattling both Scar and Skank. But Rasu remained at his spot, staring at his opponents who just regained composure and carried on their attacks, albeit Scar and Skank were moving like skewed lines, Scar's Thunder Fang and Skank's Acid Spray attacks closing in on each other.

Two shrieks echoed in the unrelenting gale.

"No!" Both punks clenched their fists as acid dripped from the Luxio's fur, painting it purple, a putrid scent rising into the air while the Skuntank's body crackled with wild electricity.

The others were just as stunned with their gaping mouths. That was no ordinary Tailwind or Screech. Neither was the stealthily encroaching Gust, a famously rookie move, used in such a twisted manner to bring two allies to mutual destruction. Besides, both Pokémon were hardly lightweight.

"Don't let that Murkrow get to you, Skank! Flamethrower!"

"Scar, Wild Charge!"

Mindy had to give it to them, for these were steadier moves that balanced speed with power, unlike the earlier ones. Seeing as Rasu managed to cope with his circumstances, she was confident victory was secured. Then again, you can't fool someone twice, can you?

The same tactic didn't work this time and Rasu was forced to Protect himself at the final moment, earning a scowl from the Luxio who suffered from self-affliction.

"Flamethrower once more, Skank!"

"Thunder Fang again, Scar!"

Rasu lowered his eyelids and both Pokémon halted in their tracks, stopped by a sudden choke. Shadows rose from their feet like smoke. He raised his wing and slashed at the air, blade-like. Blood dripped from both Pokémon. Their trainers knelt in tears as their Pokemon's fangs lay bloodied on the beige tiles of Old Chateau's lobby. Mindy squirmed at the sight. No Pokémon had ever used Torment and Air Cutter this viciously.

The extraction of fangs fazed Scar and Skank. They looked at each other, then at Rasu. The battle resumed on their own accord. However, their anger got the better of them, leaving them battered by a mere Murkrow less than half their size.

The two girls were next in line, responding in anger equal to their brethren and their Pokémon's.

"Revenge time, Toxi!"

"Cryo, crystallise that Murkrow!"

So marked the entrances of their Toxicroak and Cryogonal, with a malicious aura and immediate attacks of Revenge and Freeze-Dry. Too immediate for Rasu's liking, for the latter barely escaped their reach, resulting in his feet frozen to the floor with sturdy ice, resigned to the fate of a sitting Ducklett as Sasha prophesied.

Rasu glanced at Mindy who showed her a line of text: you got this. Rasu was her only hope left, the anteambulo in her path to redemption. This they both knew. While the Lake Trio continued to observe Mindy's new trial with grave silence, they also understood all the unfairness she must grapple with.

"Poison Jab, Toxi!"

"Make sure to Freeze-Dry him completely, Cryo!"

Rasu frowned. Why were these Pokémon so committed to wreck him? Why were their trainers so excited to see this witch hunt through? First were fire and electricity, then poison and ice. Burn, paralyse, poison, freeze. It's like they were going through the list of status conditions. If this was their style, then Rasu would go with their flow.

Poison Jab came first, then Freeze-Dry. He took both blows gladly with a glint in his eye.

Mindy hissed. They were playing dirty for sure. How could they let Rasu bear two status conditions at once? It was illegal. It was immoral.

Then she understood. When the Cryogonal's ice crystals bled purple, when the Toxicroak's crimson claws turned pale blue, and their bodies soon turning to shades and hues of purple and blue, she laughed. It was Psycho Shift used in quick succession. By way of psychic suggestion, Rasu transferred his status ailments to his foes.

Just like that, they dug their graves. Rasu cawed and ruffled his feathers before closing in on the Toxicroak and Plucking its claws out and arranging them in a circle around the fangs of their brethren, then slicing ice shards out of Cryogonal's body with Steel Wing.

Low moans joined in celebration of the punks' downfall. The Ghost-types of Old Chateau re-emerged one by one and gathered round the lobby, on the stairs, before and behind the Sandshrew statues, anywhere, everywhere. The punks shuddered. So this was the might of one Mindfucky who truly fucked their minds like a Kunekune would upon contact, the might of "a bitch and her witch", a title worthy of Sasha's attention.

She was up next. She was the last one. She had a Gabite who wouldn't back down easily. Dragons didn't know much about graves. Dragons were all about the heart. That's why Gabite were often passionate in guarding their dungeons, their treasure troves. They put their hearts in anything and everything. And with the persistence of heart came the persistence of life, of triumph.

A smirk rested on her face as she sent her Gabite out on the battlefield. Mindy made a mental note that this would be the toughest opponent yet, not to mention that Rasu would be reaching a state of lethargy anytime soon. Murkrow were said to sneak into a Gabite's dungeon to steal jewels, but this scenario was different. This was a direct confrontation with a mortal enemy, a rival hoarder of all things shiny.

Uxie, bearer of Knowledge, chose this moment to speak at last. "Mindy, this won't bode well for us. You need to back down. The probability is too low."

Mindy eyed Uxie, then the Gastly and Haunter, some of them tongueless and breathless.

i must redeem myself

The trade screwed her up. Gaspar came from the Old Chateau and it seemed like fate that she was here now, trying to right her wrongs and Gaspar's. Right now, her only way of redemption was to regain the trust of the Ghost-types here. What other option did she have?

Rasu steeled his gaze at the Gabite and his broom-like tail bristled, his witch-hat hair twitched. Defeating Gabite would be winning the hearts of all Pokémon in the Old Chateau and Eterna Forest, and perhaps everywhere else, by word of mouth. This was his end goal, why he readily chose to battle, to get to the final boss. Medicine made from a Gabite's scales was deeply believed to heal even incurable illnesses, which was a different game of value altogether. If dragons were all about the heart, then Rasu would take that heart alongside the scale of the Gabite.

"Show them what you're made of, Gabite!" Sasha pointed at Rasu. "Rock Tomb."

Gabite's eyes glowed red as rocks materialised and fell onto the continuously shifting Rasu who did his best to dodge them, though each time the rocks hit the floor, the Old Chateau trembled and shards burst away to scratch at the Murkrow's wings.

"Not so confident now, huh? Slash the witch."

Gabite's wing-like appendages shone an eerie white before smashing Rasu on his back, forcing him to the ground. Rasu squirmed out of reach and Pecked Gabite's foot before another Slash could hit him.

"Why don't I give you the chance to attack, you poor witch?" Sasha bent the edge of her blade and tched. "Mindfucky, you should say something. Don't you have any last words for your Pokémon?"

Mindy seethed as the girl threw the knife at her, cutting off a braid.

"Oh, right, you can't talk," Sasha added.

Mindy grabbed the knife by the hilt. She didn't care about her hair. Sasha better not hurt Rasu. Now that this punk made contact with and hurt her, Mindy was sure to ignore the heat rising inside her. A hoarse scream ripped her throat, prompting an outcry from Rasu who looked skyward, the tiny hole in the chandelier above that led to the darkening sky attracting his attention.

Rasu thought about the hole, a portal to darkness encircled by the white candles dripping with wax. However much the light, there will still be darkness. The first time he raided a Gabite's cave under the Cycling Road, he was attracted to the light of the shiny objects in its nest. However much the light, there will still be darkness. He was the darkness, unwavering, relentless.

The Gabite was awash with light again, a royal purple the shade of its skin, light that floated to its gradually opening mouth. While its front was bright, the same can't be said of its behind. The genesis of its Dragon Pulse was gradual, was greedy, for it sought to amass the maximum power it could wield in that shock wave. Light. More light. And more. And more.

The interior of the Old Chateau dazzled Rasu and the Ghost-types. He was the only remnant of Darkness inside; the outside was full of ethereal inkiness. What connected them was the hole piercing through the chandelier's rod, through the ceiling, the roof. The Gabite's light gave off a smoky breath, sending a wave of coughs across the humans. Rasu fixed his gaze at the Cave Pokémon who glared back at him.

"Yes, Mindy, I got this," he muttered at the end of his Nasty Plot.

However much the light, there will still be darkness. This was the first assurance. The second assurance manifested as the Gabite's self-assurance in the power of its to-be Dragon Pulse, which was also sure to put a strain on it. The third assurance was Rasu's Peck, a hard one that caused but a slight wound on Gabite's sole thanks to its Rough Skin. But all this was enough.

Shadowy drops sprayed all over the Old Chateau's interior from the hole, the chandelier acting also as a sprinkler for darkness. Out of panic, Gabite groaned and its feet gave way. The Dragon Pulse slipped out of control and hit the chandelier, extinguishing the flames while the frame rocked. The strain from persevering with the Dragon Pulse hurt Gabite, but it was quick to rely on its sensory organs to figure out its surroundings, on guard for Rasu.

Light returned.

Then came the wing shoving Gabite off balance, like dame-oshi, an illegal shove of an opponent who was already defeated, fitting for a Pokémon deemed as the bearer of ill fortune, for misfortune would toy with its victim in the same manner. Gabite fainted.

"Impossible," Sasha breathed.

Mindy gave Rasu a thumbs up. Combining Night Shade and Assurance like this was astounding, even moreso when Rasu rubbed salt in Gabite's wound by deliberately using Assurance on it.

Sasha hugged Gabite and glared at Mindy. "Your witch cheated!"

"You lost," said the Lake Trio in unison. "Leave and never come back. Or else."

"Or what?" snarled the boy with the Luxio.

"Should we remind them what we're capable of?" Mesprit nudged Azelf and shook zir head when the punks dashed out of the Old Chateau once the cold realisation hit them.

Mindy nodded at them as Rasu swiped a gleaming stone that fell out of Sasha's bag.

we're done here

The Gastly and Haunter thanked them as she left, and she supposed she fulfilled the blood contract. Nevertheless, she must be assured.

With Rasu perched on her shoulder, out of his reluctance to be in the Poké Ball, claiming it was a cold world in there, she and the Lake Trio returned to Galaxy Mall.

"It's not there anymore," Azelf mumbled as they took in the mirrors stretching from ceiling to floor where the café had been.

Mindy recalled the Rotom's words as she squinted at her reflection. She needed a new updo now that she was left with one braid. No, she would retie her hair to get her two braids back.

But what did Rotom mean by "my friends will return"? Clearly, the Gastly and Haunter still grieved for their friends. Did the Rotom have any other friends? Perhaps Charon, though he was still imprisoned.

"We should move on," Uxie told her. "You're left with one last Trade, Mindy."

no we find Rotom

"For every piece we obtain, there is a piece we forgo, if only we look."

so we look for Rotom

"We forgo Rotom."

you said to look

"We've looked. What we're doing now is looking." Uxie glanced at zir companions before looking at Mindy again. "I speak on behalf of us. You obtain your redemption, you forgo your past, look at it for a while if you have to, and move on."

"Do not type anything," Mesprit interjected and used zir psychic powers to freeze her fingers. "You must think rationally. Do you want to die? If you value your life, think."

"There is a reason why Rotom is avoiding us. Avoiding you." Azelf sighed. "Rotom doesn't want you to be distracted by it. It knows that if you focus too much on it, you will reach your grave. That's why your blood contract only spoke of the Old Chateau."

you should be encouraging me to hone my willpower

"Willpower in the right things," said Azelf.

"Why don't we ask Rasu?" Mesprit steered the conversation to the new member of their party.

Rasu preened himself for a few seconds before pausing to take in the weight of four pairs of eyes on him. "I sense your anxiety. You think she will die."

i will die if i find Rotom?

Mindy felt an unknown force tug at her face and her lips gradually took form again. An exalted breath later, she spoke.

"I don't know what you're hiding from me, but I don't like your mind games. It's my redemption and I will do it as I want it!"

"And we're here to take care of you so you don't stray from your path to redemption." Uxie began to move towards the exit and the others followed naturally.

As they passed by store after store, mannequins and Pokémon mascots smiling and posing at them, Mindy questioned if the Lake Guardians were doing just the same: acting as if things were fine, as if they were fine being passive, and if, like these mannequins and mascots were separated from her by a glass, there was a thick glass of secrets between the Lake Guardians and her, keeping her away. Who was acting here? Who was put on display?

When they exited the mall, she halted in her tracks. "Why me?"

"We're not going to have that conversation," Uxie said sternly.

"I'm not this lucky, Uxie." Mindy put her hands in her pockets, but she could not suppress her frustration, so they were out in the open again, making frantic gestures in the air. "Don't expect me to believe you willingly chose to give me my redemption arc without expecting something else in return. Don't expect me to believe that I was lucky enough to catch Rasu on my final try! And don't you dare expect me to believe you when you're keeping me in the dark! Not when you keep telling me again and again about how I'm going to die!"

"Mindy-"

"Don't placate me, Mesprit." Mindy kicked a streetlight and it flickered, her shadow there and gone and there again. "If you three really care about me, then tell me, why do you think I'm going to die?"

Azelf stepped in, judging Rasu's delight at the commotion they were creating.

"Your heart will be the death of you. You must remember to use your head. You know it's wrong for us to tell you the future. It's best left untouched like the past. But you must trust us."

Mindy wrapped a hand around the streetlight. "How do I know you aren't going to screw me over like some elaborate prank? Haven't I gone through enough?" She punched the streetlight. "I faced my past with Gaspar because I had to. I did what I had to do to stop innocent Haunter from suffering. And you're saying the past is best left untouched? And you want me to trust you when you're not being honest with me?"

Rasu flapped his wings and sat atop the streetlight, looking down at the quartet with a morose gaze. "And are you honest with yourself?"

"Not you too," Mindy howled. "I'm very honest with myself, thank you very much."

Rasu cocked his head sideways. "I would listen to them. They know the future. Your future."

Mindy let go of the streetlight and walked in the direction of the mysterious statue overlooking Eterna City. "I will find that old man."

"You don't need someone else to tell you what you already know," Uxie muttered. "But I suppose we shan't stop you."

"Good." Mindy crossed her arms. "Then I'll find Rotom after that."

"We will have to stop you on that."

"No," said Mindy as she crossed the street to the house at the edge of the city. "I don't need your pity. You don't have to feel guilty if I die. It's my choice anyway."

Mindy knocked on the door as the Lake Guardians and Rasu watched her. They watched her enter, watched her shadow disappear.

"Are you going to apologise for forcing me to be in that Poké Ball?" Rasu spat.

The trio said they were sorry.

"And will you apologise to her?"

"The truth will hurt her, Rasu. An apology can't fix that." Uxie looked at the moon. "Go to her. She needs you more than she needs us."

"We'll watch over you two from a distance," Azelf said.

"Take care," said Mesprit.

Rasu chirruped, resigned to his fate. Before he joined Mindy in the house at the edge of Eterna, he left them with a question:

"What do you value?"