Chapter 5: A Visit in the Night

As the hours continued to get later and later into the night, Ash became more restless. The boy kept tossing and turning, unable to succumb to the allure of sleep no matter how hard he tried.

With a tired groan, the young boy slowly at up, two fingers pinching his temple in a exhausted motion.

"Of all times I have to get insomnia…" Ash spoke quietly, mindful to keep his voice below a whisper to avoid waking up the other occupants of the room.

Ash looked around and felt a pang of jealousy in his heart as he laid eyes on a peacefully sleeping Clemont on the other side of the small room and an equally blissful Pikachu lying flat on his stomach on his bed. The electric mouse seemed to be having a particularly good dream, as evidenced by the silly smile on his face as well as the occasional delighted noises he made.

"What I wouldn't give to be able to sleep like that now," Ash mumbled after a sigh.

Having already given up on the idea of getting a good night's rest, albeit with much reluctance, the boy then got out of his bed, being extra careful with his movements to keep from rousing his Pokemon partner.

After pulling the blanket up and draping it over his soundly asleep Pikachu, who was currently licking his fingers in his sleep – much to the boy's amusement - Ash put on his day clothes and walked outside, hoping that a good walk in tranquility of nature coupled with the fresh, uncontaminated air of the hours of darkness would be able to help him relax.

"It's cold," Ash mumbled to himself, wrapping both arms around his body as he felt a sudden gust of chilly air brush against his skin.

Once his body had finally adapted to the sudden change of temperature and his shaking had subsided, Ash began walking and allowed his gaze to wander toward the bright moon high above.

To him, everything in this city at night was a charming, like a picture of uncontaminated beauty and of perfection itself. The moon shed its soft, gentle and dim rays of light down on the earthly soil above. The heavenly light helped chase away some of the brooding darkness of the night and tenderly illuminate the nearby flora. The subtle contrast created by those dim beams of light in conjunction with the gloomy, cold veil of darkness effectively came together and painted a picture filled of indescribable splendor and flawlessness.

Ash was, by no means, an individual who possessed a good artistic sense like some of his past and current travelling companions, but to him, the picture of untainted nature that he was witnessing at that very moment was undeniably and breathtakingly mesmerizing.

"What a night!" the young boy whispered softly as another gust of mildly chilly air washed across his body. "If only Pikachu could see this."

After walking around the empty area surrounding the Pokemon Center for an undetermined amount of time, Ash finally sat down on a bench close by.

Ash turned his gaze to the divine moon above once more, quietly basking in the tender light shining directly down on where he was sitting.

In the midst of the tranquil clearing, the softly blowing winds, to Ash, sounded very much like a lullaby, putting his insomniac mind at peace.

"This is nice…" he muttered, and the rest that came out shortly afterward was reduced to incoherent mumblings as the lone boy began to relax in his seat, his eyes growing heavier and heavier.

The tender song of nature continued to play in his ears, and before Ash knew, he had fallen already asleep.

A veil of complete silence descended.

…

…Tap…Tap…

Ash was suddenly jolted awake when he heard a faint sound of footsteps faraway, echoing with perfect clarity and cutting through the stillness of the night.

…Tap…Tap…Tap…

Ash, still trying to open his heavy eyelids fully, heard those sounds again. They must have come from the same direction as the initial one, but only this time, they were closer – much closer.

…Tap…Tap…Tap…Tap.

The footsteps stopped, and at that moment, Ash suddenly had a sinking feeling in his stomach which alerted him to the belief that something was wrong – dreadfully wrong. No longer could he pick up the soft gusts of wind blowing through his hair or sweeping against the flowers within the area.

It was like the cold nighttime air had vanished altogether, replaced by muffed murmurings and whispers of entities unknown.

Popping his eyes open with a start and all sleepiness completely forgotten in one moment of wariness, Ash then lifted his head up and studied his surroundings.

The moon was still shining high above, and the street was still completely void of pedestrians. All things as far as his eyes could see were still heavily under the enchantment by the deep spell of sleep as they should be.

And yet, something felt different.

"What happened to the air?" Ash asked himself as he sat up in his bench. "Why is it suddenly freezing like this?"

…Tap...Tap.

The sounds of footsteps were heard coming from directly behind him, and in that one single second, a sense of dread unlike none Ash had ever felt before bubbled and bloomed in his stomach.

He did not turn around, but he definitely could feel it – the presence of someone or something standing right behind him, close enough to reach out and possibly touch him. That thought alone was enough to send another wave of chills running up and down his spine.

"Nice night, isn't it?" asked a sudden voice, soft, quiet and barely above the level of a whisper. However, against the eerie silence of the atmosphere at the time, it was easily heard, loud and awfully clear.

In an instant, Ash shot out of his bench and, on instinct, swiftly moved a few steps forward to create some sort of distance between himself and the one standing close by. Only then did he turn around.

A glowing pair of amber eyes stared directly into Ash's own, shining ominously and brightly in stark contrast with the monochromic background.

Ash, with eyes wide open and mouth agape, could not find it in himself to even utter anything at that instant, and he felt his entire being go numb at the sudden appearance of the lone individual before him. There, directly underneath the pale, almost ghostly moonlight stood a figure clad in a dark-colored pair of jeans and a midnight-black hoodie that shrouded most of his face.

The only features that stood out against the thick shadow cast by the drawn hood were those amber orbs and a large, sinister grin, which fully showed the rows of sharp, shark-like teeth that the enigmatic character possessed.

"…Nightwalker…" Ash muttered out the name of the figure before him once he had calmed down from the sudden surprise, his expression now serious and wary.

At the sound of his name, the hooded creature's grin grew larger. Quickly, Ash reached for one of his Pokeballs, only to realize with horror that he had left all of them behind in his room.

"Missing something?" the Nightwalker stepped forward, his body phasing through the wooden bench that Ash had fallen asleep on, and approached the defenseless trainer. "Perhaps I can be of assistance."

As soon as those words left his mouth, Ash felt another presence behind him, and he turned around. His eyes immediately grew wide, and the young trainer looked like he had somehow completely lost all control of his body. Ash could not will his limbs to move as he looked at the newly arrived Dusknoir a little behind.

Or to be more specific, the tiny bundle that said Dusknoir was holding in its fisted hand.

"Pikachu!" Ash shouted at the top of his lungs as he made an instinctual move to dash forward. However, his legs did not move as commanded, and his entire body felt numb all over – paralyzed. He looked down, and saw that both Banette and Gengar were holding tightly onto his legs, their pointy digits on their appendages painfully digging through his skin.

"Let go of him!" Ash demanded, struggling helplessly against the hold of the two ghosts while at the same time looking at the limp form of his beloved partner, whose face was contorted in agony as he continued to stay asleep.

The quiet, pain-filled moans Pikachu elicited broke the helpless trainer's heart even more, and yet he could only stand still and do nothing.

"This is exactly what will happen if you try to defy me," said the Nightwalker in the same bone-chilling tone all of the sudden, his mouth suddenly an inch away from Ash's ear. Without even turning around, Ash could feel his cold and malicious grin, taunting him even further as he whispered his threat.

Ash's eyes then grew larger as he watched Dusknoir forcefully tightened its grasp around Pikachu, forcing the smaller creature to wake up and loudly cry out as an intense and unbearable wave of pain hit him. Pikachu's cries were loud and filled with utter agony, echoing far and wide. The bone-chilling silence of the night only served to amplify those painful noises tenfold, assaulting Ash's ears and subsequently numbing all of his senses altogether.

With each cry that reached his ear, the desperate trainer felt an equally excruciating stab in his heart, and before long, his control over his own emotions crumbled.

"Pikachu!" Ash shouted as he struggled even more against his captors, but as expected, his attempts were useless. The claw-like digits restraining him only dug deeper into his legs.

The yellow mouse continued to cry in the merciless Dusknoir's hold. The pressure quickly proved to be too much, and tears escaped Pikachu's eyes.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt, save yourself!" Ash pleaded with his partner. Unfortunately, his command was not registered.

The hold only grew stronger, and so did Pikachu's anguished and terrified cries.

"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded once again, and would continue to give out the same order again and again for a long, unspecified period of time, screaming and screaming repeatedly in complete helplessness until his voice went hoarse.

After an unknown amount of time had passed, Pikachu stopped struggling and went limp completely in Dusknoir's fist.

Ash stopped moving almost immediately at that sight. The boy's mouth was open, yet no more words or commands came out. Instead, only the shaky, broken whispers of the still Pokemon's name were produced.

"Like I said," the Nightwalker whispered into his ear once more, but this time, Ash could only vaguely hear what was being spoken, "This will happen if you try to defy me. This is not a threat but a promise, so if you want to avoid this scenario, leave this city immediately."

As soon as the last word left the figure's mouth, the ground disappeared underneath his feet, and Ash fell into a bottomless pit of eternal darkness. Before the mouth closed up completely, the young dejected trainer looked up and saw the figure of the Nightwalker looking down on him.

In his hazy and clouded vision, he could not make out whether the ghost user was shooting him a gleeful, maniacal grin…

Or a saddened, heartfelt scowl...

Seconds later, everything went dark.

…

"ASH! Wake up!"

"Pika Pi!"

Suddenly, the young boy's eyes shot open and he immediately sat up with a start, panting heavily and completely drenched in cold sweats.

Quickly, Ash moved his wide, haunted eyes around to survey the area he was currently in, and was met with the sight of a very concerned and worried Clemont looking at him. He then looked to his side, and widened his eyes the moment they laid on his Pikachu – up and moving.

"Clemont? Pikachu?" he asked in a whispery tone, seemingly unable to believe what he was seeing.

"Yes," the blonde boy quickly answered, "It's me, Ash. It's me. Now come on, I need you to breathe with me, slow breathes…That's it. Take slow and steady breathes, that's right. Just keep going like that."

Ash followed the other boy's instruction, and he managed to calm down immensely. With Clemont's aid, his breathing soon returned to normal, and his posture relaxed somewhat.

"Ash?" Clemont asked again, the concern he held for his friend's wellbeing was clearly conveyed in his voice.

"Pika pi?" cried Pikachu, worried.

"Pikachu?" Ash asked, his eyes studying the electric mouse next to him, who looked like he had just experienced the biggest scare of his entire life. The mouse's face was scrunched up, and his he looked close to tears as he approached his trainer and best friend.

"I…I'm okay now…" Ash stammered out when he saw Pikachu climb onto his lap and looked at him straight in the eye. With a forced smile, he collected the yellow mouse into his chest and ran his hand through his fur, "Thanks for worrying about me," Ash added softly as he held the Pokemon closer.

"Ash?" Clemont asked after a while, and Ash looked up. "Are you alright? You were shouting a lot in your sleep. Did you have a nightmare or something?"

Ash grew silent and looked down at Pikachu once again. The mouse returned his stare.

"…Yeah, just a nightmare…" Ash said at last, patting Pikachu on the head and offering a small smile of assurance to calm down Clemont.

The other boy did not seem convinced, but he did not press, either.

"Clemont, could you please leave us alone for a while?"

The addressed boy was slightly surprised by the sudden request, but like before, he did not pry. With an understanding nod, he stood up and went out to change and get ready for the new day.

"And Clemont," Ash called again, catching his attention, "Please don't tell the girls about this."

The blonde boy lingered, silently looking at his friend for a while longer before nodding again.

"…I understand," he replied, much to Ash's relief.

After that, Clemont left the room, leaving only Ash and his first Pokemon partner inside. Immediately, the dark-haired boy tightened his hold around Pikachu and once again drew him into his chest. The electric mouse only stayed silent the entire time, and let out small, quiet sounds to soothe his trainer at best he could.

The two best friends would remain so for quite a long time.

And as a result, neither spotted the strange movements in the shadow cast on the open window by the bright, warm sunlight nearby.

Underneath the shade just outside the Pokemon Center, a small figure casually dressed in a pair of dark jogging jersey bottoms and a drawn up hooded sweatshirt stood in silence, completely obscured from view.

"…Good job, Gengar," he spoke quietly as his eyes studied the open window on the second floor, and as if on cue, the named ghost emerged from the shadow with its perpetual grin plastered on its face. "That was one hell of a Nightmare indeed," he spoke again before tearing his gaze away from the building.

"Now then, let us hope that the message is enough to chase those meddlesome outsiders away…I don't need any more sudden interference or surprises," he whispered with his head down and left the scene shortly afterward, with Gengar faithfully following his footsteps in his shadow.

Back inside the Pokemon Center, Ash was still holding Pikachu close to his heart, but the boy had managed to calm down considerably since waking up.

"This will happen if you try to defy me," the Nightwalker's warning from his nightmare relayed itself again in his head along with the horrible sight of Pikachu going limp in Dusknoir's ruthless grasp.

Tightening his embrace around the mouse and pressing his face closer against his chest, Ash suddenly put on an extremely rare expression of unconcealed anger, one not many knew he was even capable of making.

"…Nightwalker…I don't care if you threaten me, but when you involve my friends in your threat…" Ash thought crossly, his scowl growing more pronounced as the nightmare, which - Ash was most certain - was not a natural occurrence, replayed itself in his head once more.

"It gets personal!" Ash, unbeknownst to Pikachu, muttered.