Tale 102: The Possessed Sister (Ash)

(real tale: "Folktales from Japan" episode 20, story 2)

"In a certain village lived a boy, his parents, and his sister." Ash begins. "One night, the sister woke up and snuck out of the house while everyone else was asleep. Her brother got up and followed her out of concern."

"I would too if one of the kids got up in the middle of the night." Brock muses.

"They came to an old, abandoned house, and when the boy looked inside, he was shocked to find that has sister had seemingly turned into a demon!" Ash announces, making the Pokemon screech with delight. "He hurried home in fear, and as he got a drink of water, he wondered where his real sister was if a demon was with them in the house?"

"Good question." Misty replies.

"The next day, the mother asked the children to get some water for cooking." Ash continues. "The boy panicked at the thought of going anywhere with his sister, and fainted." the Pokemon giggle as Ash feigns fainting. "When he came to, he tried to tell his mom and dad what he saw the night before, but they don't believe him."

"So what did it take to convince them?" Melody wonders, half afraid for the boy.

"Determined to have his parents believe him, the boy took a sword," Ash picks up a stick for effect. "and left on a long journey. On the way, he saw a Raikou growling in pain from a thorn in its paw. The boy helped the Raikou, who promised to help him in return."

"Pini?" Happini asks.

"Several days went by, and the boy returned home." Ash replies as he tosses the stick away. "He found out his mom and dad had been turned into Pikachus!"

Misty gasps, stunned by the turn of events. "The mamachu explained that everything was as the boy said, and to forgive her for not believing him." Ash continues. "The papachu added that the demoness had rounded up all the villagers and was draining their energy."

Brock decides to scat a few bars of the Riolu Girl theme song, but Ash has other ideas. "The demoness found the boy hiding on the roof, but just as the he drew his sword to attack, the Raikou he helped earlier came to the rescue!"

"Pika!" Pikachu cheers, unleashing a few celebratory sparks.

"After a long battle, the Raikou defeated the demoness, returning the girl and the children's parents to normal." Ash concludes. "The boy was hailed as a hero, and the villagers built a statue of a Raikou in his honor--which you can still see in Ecruteak today."

Brock smiles. "I think I have some old pictures of us in front of that statue..." he muses as he applauds...