Pokemon One-Shots and Headcanons

Ouija

Ash, Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie were staying at a Pokemon Center for the night on their way to Snowbelle City for Ash's eighth gym battle. Ash and Clemont would be sharing a room, while Serena and Bonnie would be next door. Serena was slightly disappointed, since she was secretly hoping to room with Ash, but she knew it would be pointless anyway since her crush was still as naive as ever.
"Make yourselves comfortable, guys," Ash said, releasing his Pokemon from their Pokeballs.
Ash's Pokemon scattered about the room happily. Greninja and Hawlucha sat down on the couch and watched Noibat and Talonflame flying around just below the ceiling. Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder and went to go play with Chespin, Bunnelby, and Luxray after Clemont let them out. While the Pokemon were enjoying themselves, Ash went to put his bag in the closet when he noticed a strange-looking board in the back. He pulled it out and saw that it had the alphabet imprinted on it, as well as numbers 0-9 and yes and no written on each of the top corners. There were also the words "good bye" printed at the bottom of the board. A planchette was placed just below the phrase.
"Hey Clemont, do you know what this is?" Ash asked, showing his friend the board.
Clemont looked at it carefully. "I think that's a ouija board," he said finally.
"A ouija board?" Ash repeated curiously.
"A ouija board is a board that supposedly summons spirits into our world," the blond-haired inventor explained. "It's a game played in a dark room, with only candles for light. Anyone who's playing places two fingers on the planchette, and someone asks a question. If there's a spirit in the room, it will force your hand to move the planchette over the letters, words, or numbers that make up the correct answer. At the end of the game, however, you have to remember to say "good bye" so you don't leave the door to the spirit world open."
"Wow," Ash said, looking down at the board. "That's pretty cool."
"I wouldn't set too much store by the stories, though," Clemont said quickly. "There's actually scientific proof that ouija boards don't actually work. You see, there's a something called the Ideomotor effect, which is your mind subconsciously causing you to move something. This is actually what causes the planchette to move, not spirits from another world."
"Makes sense, I guess," Ash admitted, not really understanding the Ideomotor effect at all. "Want to call the girls over and play with this thing, then?"
Clemont looked a little apprehensive. "I'm not so sure about that, Ash..." he began slowly.
"Come on, if this Ideomotor effect thing is really the only thing making the board talk, then we should have nothing to worry about," Ash pointed out. "Unless you're telling me that the Ideomotor effect summons ghosts too?"
Clemont shook his head. "No, no, it's fine," he said. "You're right, we won't have anything to worry about. I'll go get Serena and Bonnie and then we can play."
Ash nodded and sat down on one of the beds to wait. A small part of him, though he couldn't explain why, was beginning to regret suggesting playing with the ouija board.

Once everything was set up properly, Ash, Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie sat down around the ouija board and placed two fingers each on the planchette. Their Pokemon were sitting with them as well, though they weren't playing since there wasn't enough room on the planchette for everyone (and besides, a lot of the Pokemon didn't even have fingers).
"Is everyone ready?" Ash asked. Everyone nodded in agreement. "Okay, Bonnie, why don't you ask the first question?"
"Okay, uh...am I ever going to find someone to take care of my brother?" the little blond girl asked.
"BONNIE!" Clemont yelled, going red with embarrassment.
NO.
"Aw," Bonnie complained sadly.
"I'll go next," Serena decided. "So...uh...how old was I when I met Ash?"
7
By now, a feeling of cold dread was creeping up inside Ash. He tried to shake it off, but it was still there. Deciding to try to ignore it, he focused on the board.
"Ash?" Clemont asked, nearly causing him to jump out of his skin. "Are you all right?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah," Ash said, shaking his head. "Sorry, just spaced out a little. Is it my turn?"
"Yes, so hurry up so I can go again," Bonnie said impatiently. Ash chuckled at her and looked down at the board again.
"Are you a spirit?" he asked.
YES.
"Are you a friendly spirit?" Bonnie asked.
NO.
Oh shit, Ash thought as he felt a chill sweep over him. From the looks on everyone else's faces, however, they hadn't felt a thing and he wondered if he'd only imagined it.
"Will you tell us why?" Serena asked.
NO.
"I don't like this game anymore, Clemont," Bonnie cried.
"Bonnie, relax, it's not really a spirit," her older brother said reassuringly. "It's scientifically proven that spirits don't exist."
"We talked to a dead man in the Scary House," Bonnie reminded him.
"Ash?" Serena exclaimed suddenly, realizing that something was bothering Ash. "Are you all right? You don't look well."
Ash nodded and shut his eyes, trying to suppress the feelings of nausea and dizziness threatening to overwhelm him. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he replied. "Just-just feeling a bit weird."
"Do you want to stop playing?" Clemont asked worriedly.
In all honesty he did-but for some reason, Ash felt as though he had to keep playing. "No, no, I'm fine," he answered with a forced smile. "And if you want proof that there are no spirits in this room, I know how to do it. I'll ask it a question no one knows the answer to except me, but I'll take my hand off the planchette. If the board gets it wrong, then there are no spirits with us."
"Good idea," Clemont agreed.
Ash nodded and removed his hand from the planchette. "What was the Pokemon I was planning to choose for my starter before I woke up late and had to take Pikachu?" he asked.
S-Q-U-I-R-T-L-E
Oh shit, oh shit, oh holy fucking shit, Ash thought, taking several deep breaths as he stared, wide-eyed and horrified, at the board.
"Pika pi?" Pikachu asked, looking at his trainer in concern.
"Gren. Ninja?" Greninja asked, shaking Ash gently.
"Ash? What's wrong?" Serena asked fearfully.
Slowly, Ash looked up. "That's right," he whispered. "The board was right."
Everyone stared at him in disbelief. Serena and Bonnie screamed, while Clemont just stared back at him, as wide-eyed as he felt.
"You're-you're serious?" he whispered. Ash just nodded. "Oh my...."
"W-where are you now?" Serena asked the ouija board.
B-E-D
Slowly, Ash and his friends turned to look towards the nearest bed. In the dim light from the candles, they could just barely make out the figure of a man sitting on the bed, his face completely covered by shadows. As soon as their eyes (or where the man's eyes would be) met, Ash felt a chill run down his spine. Somehow, even though he couldn't see the man's face, he knew he was looking at him. Before he could look away, however, the man suddenly emitted an inhuman roar.
At that, the room broke into complete chaos. Serena and Bonnie screamed and ran for the door, while Ash picked up the ouija board and hurled it against the wall. It slammed hard into the plaster, and all of their Pokemon attacked it as soon as it hit the ground. Pikachu fired off a Thunderbolt, while Greninja and Noibat used Water Shuriken and Supersonic, respectively. Braixen used Flamethrower, Pancham used Dark Pulse, and Chespin used Vine Whip. By the time everyone was finished, the board was nothing more than a pile of ashes.
"I guess that's it, then," Ash breathed out in relief.
"Yeah...who knew that was going to happen," Clemont said with a shudder. "You should go to sleep, Ash. You still don't look too well."
"All right, I will," Ash acquiesced. "Good night, Clemont, everyone."
"Good night, Ash," Clemont replied.
Yawning, Ash climbed into the bed nearest to the window and fell asleep. Pikachu hopped onto the bed as well and curled up on the pillow. The rest of the Pokemon, meanwhile, made themselves comfortable with whatever they could find in the room.
The next morning, Ash felt completely normal again. Nothing was said about their encounter with the spirit the night before, and soon they were on their way to Snowbelle City once again. It wasn't until they were long gone from the Pokemon Center that Ash realized they had never said goodbye.