While it wasn't official Ranger business, Josh had received a RangerNet bulletin of a haunted mansion on the outskirts of Slateport City. With Ranger work being so slow, he took on the unofficial ticket to enter the mansion and begin exorcising the spirits within. And what better Pokémon for Josh to do it with than Twilight, his Illumina Absol? Mounting up, he took the back roads to get to the mansion, many heads tilting toward the brightly-glowing dark-type.

The creaky double-door closed behind Josh, a Kadabra quick to guide him and his Absol through the manor. It reminded him of he day he toured a haunted mansion with Elinor Anderson last October. There were a lot of similar rooms, too, the main foyer and pool hall bearing a striking resemblance to the one he had traversed before.

His past experience paid off in spades, the Banette's laughing, stretching shadows, and other nonsense not even causing the courageous rider to flinch. The bright light coming from Twilight's horn helped diminish the effectiveness of the jumpscares the ghost-types tried to spring on the Gym Leader, as well. With the brightest horn-blade NIGHT SLASH the manor's ghostly residents had ever seen, they backed off, prompting the Kadabra to present Josh with the base's flag.

Shalin clutched her shiny Espeon mount's fur tightly as the psychic Pokémon stepped through the manor's doors. She was in the mansion on a dare from Josh Devlin after losing a Step Step Revolution match at Slateport's Round One. Why did she agree to come here, after all? She did not like ghost Pokémon at all. Especially not Josh's Dragapult. The Kadabra butler seemed friendly enough, accompanying Shalin through the main foyer and to a pool hall, the sound and sight of a rack of pool balls being broken by a white cue ball moving seemingly on its own making Shalin's skin tingle.

Shalin shrieked at the loud noise, Starr rearing high after she made a sudden, subconscious motion the Espeon would have interpreted as an abrupt turn if she didn't communicate with her rider mentally. Nonetheless, she bolted out of the room and tried to ALLY SWITCH with a trash can just outside, but the Kadabra blocked the teleport, making sure she took the base's flag with her first. The scared-stiff rider snatched the pole before commanding her Espeon to get far from the haunted house as quickly as possible.

It was El's first secret base, in this little flagventure! The outside didn't look like much, given the location - having been set up inside of a warehouse. But the inside was all the more impressive by contrast - being that of a haunted manor, instead! Stepping through the door alongside their alakazam Bibidi, it was like they had been transported somewhere else completely. Dusty furniture, creaky candeliers, moth-chewed rugs... After some brief conversing between Bibidi and the kadabra, it did not take long for the premise of this little setup to be conveyed to the duo.

"What do you think, Bibidi?" El questioned, smiling over to her. "This sounds like a ton of fun!" When was the last time, they got to go out and go through a haunted house type attraction?

Bibidi, in response, brushed against El's mind with a hue of fond amusement. These secret bases were much less dangerous than diving into distortions, and provided them with excitement all the same. She was plenty content to let El have their fun, wandering through a haunted house...

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... And the scares - safe to say - were a blast. Even if the effects were sometimes a little too realistic for comfort, El was able to laugh any anxieties or nervousness off as they explored through the base, Bibidi at their back. "We'll need to bring Behemoth through here sometime - see what he thinks of haunted houses!" They mused to her, grinning warmly.

Bibidi, busy wiping some fake blood off her shoulder pad, simply smiled in response - a hue of agreement over the connection they shared. This had certainly been a fun experience for the both of them - and with the 'ghostly family' put to rest, the two had a flag under their belt now.

Where to next, she wondered..?