It’s been a few weeks now, since you’ve move in to your new apartment.

It’s a nice place, really. Small, but livable. Comfortable. And your neighbors are nice, too. Always quiet. Best part? No more package thieves!

You do have a… few complaints, though.

First: your neighbors are always complaining about not being able to sleep, because you’re always “stomping about and banging on the walls”. You do not do either of these things, and actually tend to walk quietly. After all, sneaking up on Pokémon in the middle of nowhere is harder than it sounds. The habit of walking lightly has stuck.

For another, you could almost swear you can hear someone laughing when you’re alone. At first, you thought it was your neighbors, but they’re about as quiet as you are, so you’ve ruled that out.

Then, of course, there’s the times where you see someone moving around the place. It’s always just a glimpse, nothing more; a tail-tip disappearing into another room, a shadow moving across the halls.

Lights are always flickering, last but not least. Trying to get work done or clean up late at night? The lamp in the living room goes haywire, as if someone were deliberately toying with it to annoy you.

You thought it was a ghost Pokémon. However, every ghost-type expert you’ve called has said that it’s something else, or that you’re crazy. Heck, even Shauntal (Unova’s Elite Four Ghost specialist) has said it’s your imagination.

This morning, however, things are surprisingly calm for once. No noises, no weird sightings, no lights flickering. Just you, your Pokémon partner, and a cup of coffee (or tea, if you prefer it).

And then the lights turn on in your bedroom. Then off, then on again. This repeats for a few minutes before you decide to grab a bat (and a Poké ball) and check it out.

What you see scares you half to death.

There, beside your door, curiously staring at the light switch beside it, is a man. Tall, with blonde hair and dark grey eyes. And horns. And claws. And a barbed tail, flickering casually about.

When the “man” sees you, he smiles… rather politely, funny enough.

“Ah! It’s you! Good morning! Don’t mind me, I’m simply intrigued by this switch that seems to be manipulating the lights…”

You, startled, raise up your bat to swing. Suddenly alarmed, the man steps back and holds his hands up above his head, his smile turning into a nervous grin.

“Wait! Wait! Let’s not be hasty!”

He laughs anxiously, then bows, keeping his eyes trained firmly on the bat in your hand.

“Allow me to introduce myself!”

The man (or whatever he is) seems to hesitate, then says,

“My name is Volo! I’m a demon, if you couldn’t tell!”

You raise your bat higher, and he yelps, voice raising in pitch as he adds quickly,

“But not to worry! I won’t hurt you! I- I promise!”

You hesitate, then slowly put the bat down. As freaked out as you are, this shark-toothed demon doesn’t seem to have any malicious intention. After all, you’ve been here nearly a month now, and all he’s done is mess with your lights and make some noise. He even seems to be quite polite. Perhaps he’s not so bad.

Volo, as he calls himself, smiles as he watches you put the bat down.

“Much better.”