Apart of the massive crowd were two lone Pokemon that had been taking off with snacks and stolen goods galore! A Yamask and a Litwick would both remained busy trying to pull their bag of stashed goods away from the crowd before they had gotten caught up with the group of Voltorbs. The two of them tried desperately to move the bundle of goods that was far too heavy for the two of them, before taking cover behind Robin. The Yamask coiled around her head frantically while the Litwick hid behind her shoe. Outnumbered and outgunned, everything seemed lost of the pair! That was, until a familiar shape would come forth!

A shrill cry came from behind the group of Voltorbs as suddenly, a ghastly silhouette rose into the air behind them. Its form came cloaked in a blanket of twirling shadows and darkness. Two red eyes gazed forth at the Voltorb group from above. Atop it was a humanoid shape with their eyes whitened out and a sinister smile on their face. They let out a terrifying laugh that a woman of heightened fashion may give, cackling through the air. "Ahahahaha!~" The Gengar's hands came together as a whirling orb of energy grew from nothing around it. Just as fast as it would come into being, the attack fired at the trio of Voltorbs, crashing into the ground with incredible force. The shadow was ever present, slowly diving back to the ground as its form stepped forward.

The dust settled just in time to reveal a child rising on the back of the Gengar, who was more than happy to eye the three Voltorbs that had narrowly avoided such an attack. Ashley, meanwhile, focused on the Ranger who was nearby, then waved over to her. "Gen gengar!" she cheerfully said. Behind her was a Honedge resting comfortably on the girl's back alongside a Shuppet which bobbed up and down beside her. The Yamask and Litwick perked up at her arrival, rushing over to her side as quickly as possible. The Voltorbs began to spark again while the group of Pokemon and their apparent owner would ready themselves for a fight. "Gengar!~" Ashley said, grinning ear to ear as she clung onto the back of her Gengar, looking over to RObin. "Gar Gengar?"

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"Gen...gar?" The Honedge and Shuppet shot a look at one another. How could somebody see the esteem leader of the Spooky Squad and think that they were a Zorua! Ashley herself would look at Robin incredulously at her claim. She wasn't a Zorua that was taking the form of something! She was a Gengar, duh! Her blonde hair splattered all over the frayed, old timey gothic dress she wore. Out from the oversized sleeves was a small hand the rose into the air, as if to pull down the heavens themself! A young finger was pointed at RObin, its owner bearing a confused expression. "Gengar." It fell onto her chest for a moment. "Gen." then moved to make the horns above her head that were totally present. "Gar."

Anyway, back to the action! The Voltorbs were all recovered from that last major attack that had been thrown at the two, and boy were they pretty peeved off! The strange lady had been pretty skilled in getting one of them away from their location before it went off. Just not in time to avoid the Discharge. The large Gengar stepped forward to shield the two of them from the brunt of it, while Ashley hopped off of its body as to not receive the same shock. "Gengar!" she cried out at her Pokémon as it would clutch up and grit her teeth. Unfortunately for her, she had hopped off right in the vicinity of another Voltorb who was halfway into beginning to charge up its explosion. Litwick came to the rescue with a well timed CONFUSE RAY to cancel its charge up and roll onto its back with swirly eyes. She noticed this and laughed in mockery, reaching to push it away before getting zapped with some of the leftover electricity.

The lone Voltorn would see its allies being taken care of and disabled, then would begin to summon as much electricity as it could around itself. The static electricity in the air had become charged while the Pokemon in front of them was ready to go full on nuclear! "Gengar!" Ashley called out to Robin. "Gargen Gengar!"

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With the final Voltorb taken care of, the threat to the small location in the city was saved. Ashley and her Spooky Squad had all let out a triumphant cheer. "Gengar!~" The Litwick's flames burst into open flames for a second before diminishing back into a simple wick. The Yamask chirped happily alongside everyone else. The Gengar that had once been carrying her trainer would have its paralysis ended as the Gengar threw Ashley into the air and caught her with a hug. Ashley cackled madly the entire way, nuzzling her head against the Pokémon. The great big dysfunctional family enjoyed their moment of glory just before the older girl walked towards the group as Ashley walked forward to meet her. The other ghost-types hovered behind her, with the Honedge still resting on her back and the Shuppet bobbing up and down beside her.

Not only was she super cool, but a ghost-type lover as well?! They had really hit the jackpot! The offer to join her in her adventures was pretty cool by itself, and there was definitely more chances to see about finding a place haunted manor to call home! SHe looked back at everybody for a moment, eager to begin all of their adventures across the world with their new friend and her Sinistea before grinning. "Gengar!" The littlest Gengar that wasn't a Gengar was as happy as a Spinarak in a webbed up hole! She presented herself to the Ranger and was ready to be caught!

She was oblivious to the most obvious reason as to why it wouldn't have worked in the first place, but the Gengar behind her would begin to take on a troubled expression.

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Ashley jumped for joy at Robin's agreement to have her join her for adventures! There was a lot of Hoenn to explore, so there was no doubt that the lot of them would be able to have! What kinds of fun would their new friend like to do first? Maybe pranking some of the locals in Driftveil or stealing some delicious donuts from the bakery around the corner? There fun was limitless and seeing the empty pokeball only caused Ashley to giggle so gleefully while she awaited the tap to send her into the ball where she'd be hers!

TAP!

Ashley felt the cold hard bit of the Pokeball press against her head, only to be met with that red light emanating from the center alongside a shrill rejection noise. She blinked in confusion and watched the other girl try it against herself and then her Sinistea. The joy that had previously gotten her so excited was now all but dried up. Her eyes went to the red light while her entire being felt it being torn right out of her body. She reached for the Pokeball again and pressed it against her head. Another red light and rejection. Ashley tried again and again. Now five times later, and she stared at the Pokeball in horror. "G-Gen...gar?" Tears began to well up in the corners of her eyes while Robin had began to prod her for questions. She didn't react immediately, and it was only really due in fact to the thoughts that had continued to swirl around her noggin. Why didn't the Pokeball accept her? She was a Gengar, she was supposed to be caught by trainers! If it had rejected her so many times, was she not really a Gengar? The Shuppet moved to her trainer's side and brushed against her in some vain attempt to help cheer her up, but Ashley didn't budge.

Bitter, salty droplets fell to the ground as the child bit her bottom lip in a vain attempt to keep herself from bursting into tears. The empty Pokeball in her hand was dropped as she inhaled one moment before the waterworks started in full. She sobbed at the realization of what she actually was. "Geeeeengaaaaaaaar!" she heaved, the pain in her chest making her wonder if she was going to just suddenly have her heart burst from her chest. After a few moments of heavy crying, Ashley had paused her crying enough to then catch her breath some. She stared up at Robin with confused, vulnerable eyes as she sniffed to clear the mucus from her nostrils.

"Ge-Gengar..." she apologized with eyes closed and full of emotain turmoil. If she wasn't a Pokemon, then what was she? SOme kind of weird Pokemon mutant thingy

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Ashley trembled in place as her eyes scaled up the form that was Robin while she was trying to rationalize everything in her head. Nothing had been sensible in her teeny tiny mind. She was a Pokémon, damn it! Why wouldn't the Pokeball let her go inside?! Her annoyed and angry voice had managed to subside for the moment. Her hysterics had no doubt played a part in this development. The fabric of her sleeve had grown more damp as it mopped up the tears falling from her eyes. It wasn't until she saw the flash from her camera that Ashley snapped back into the situation at hand.

She had to leave. Go back to their hidey hole and just never come back!

"Gengar..." The blonde child took off in a dead sprint away from Robin. Her feet smacked the ground to a fast, steady beat while leaving her ghost pals in the dust. The actual Gengar looked over towards Robin again before hovering after her owner. The rest of the Spooky Squad followed in suit. The Shuppet bounces along after the leader of the group as did the Honedge. But the final remaining ghost-types, the Litwick and the Yamask, would each thank Robin in their own way. The Liwick's flames poofed out a plume of smoke in the shape of a heart, while the Yamask spun around Robin once to show its appreciation for her help. The two then bounded after Ashley and the rest of their friends.

She looked behind her again at the shrinking image of Robin until her form was a dot in the distance and swallowed by the buildings around them. Once far enough from people, Ashley threw herself into the nearest place hidden from public view and allowed herself to break down again. She didn't know what she even was. All those years, wanting to be the best Gengar ever, just like Eleanor, only to have this bombshell dropped on her. "G-Gengar..." she said through a voice filled with hurt.

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