Rotom

As the story goes, Charon was once the child of a wealthy and very powerful family, who originally owned the chateau. In those days, it was bright and bustling, with maids and servants running to and fro. Back then, Charon and his sister, Annabel (though some variations call her "Echo" or "Vestia")were carted along by several nannies, since Charon's own parents were too busy at parties funding Pokemon Gyms and at welcoming ceremonies for Safari complexes. Charon and his sister were supplied with all sorts of toys and games and playthings for their amusement; they even had a big TV to watch movies on. Annabel was perfectly fine with this arrangement, but Charon still longed for something more: a friend.
One day, he found it in a mysterious Pokemon that emerged from the groundskeeper's lawn mower. At first, Charon was afraid, but he quickly got to see that the Pokemon was benevolent, and brought it inside the house, where he talked to it and played games with it and essentially befriended it.

5 days later, the groundskeeper's body was finally found. The upper half of his body seemed to be completely mulched, and the remains had been dumped into the compost heap. Foul play was suspected, but after several weeks of investigation, nothing was uncovered.

Meanwhile, Charon and his new friend (who he named "Rotom", it reminding him of an atom) developed a tight bond. He spent hours into the night chatting with his friend, and some still testify that his friend chatted back. He began to skip dinner and sleep to spend time with his friend, which began to concern the nannies. When they complained to Charon's parents about this, they brushed it off as an imaginary friend; however, when the boy was one day found face-down in his room, it became clear that something had to be done.

So, the family scheduled a worldwide excursion, to everywhere from Veilstone City (then, one of the few towns where real gambling was legal) to Lavender Town (famous for its "Ghostly Tours" of the surrounding area). Throughout the trip, Charon was deeply enthused, and by the end, he had formed a close bond with his parents and his sister. It had seemed that merely getting out of the house was just what Charon had needed.

When the family came back, they found the house in disarray. The common complaint came that while the family was away, almost all of the machines, from the washing machine to the fans, had acted up with disastrous results, even causing a few trips to the hospital. Naturally, the family was concerned, but it was Charon whose eyes lit with a sudden sense of dreaded recognition. He bolted through the house, searching high and low for something. After scouring the house for hours, Charon simply broke down and cried. He had lost one of the few friends he had ever had.

A year later, it seemed that the entire incident with the machines and with Charon's imaginary friend had never happened. The boy had grown stoic after that, rarely speaking but reading often. He kept a small journal, which he would infrequently write in (what he wrote, no one could say). Charon's parents were proud that their little boy was growing up to become such a fine young man, but deep down, he still mourned the loss of Rotom, and wished that he was happy, wherever he was.

One night, though, Charon awoke from a forgotten nightmare to a strange whirring sound, like a wind-up toy. He followed the sound to his old playroom, which was in the process of being converted into a guest bedroom. The TV had been turned on, and Charon's old toy robot was walking around in circles of its own accord. Slowly, the robot turned, and raised its plastic arms as if to hug Charon. The boy's eyes watered with recognition, and he bent down to finally hug his old friend, Rotom.

Now, Charon became just as obsessed with this toy robot as he did his imaginary friend a year before. Once again, his parents became concerned, but Annabel (who had grown close to her brother over the months) was frightened for her brother. She tried to get him away from the toy with games or planned trips to the surrounding areas, but Charon was transfixed with this little toy robot. Soon, the maids and servants began to spread stories of the toy robot stalking the halls in the dead of night, and remarked that the toy seemed to leer menacingly at you if you stared. Charon's parents consulted the best psychologists money can buy, but they all had wildly varying ideas about the toy and what to do with it.

Then came that crisp August morning, when Annabel was found dead at the bottom of the stairs, her head split open like a melon. Authorities concluded that she had tripped on a tiny toy robot, which was laying at the very top.

Charon's parents were immediately convinced that Charon had committed this act, and it seemed to be confirmed when his fingerprints appeared on the toy. He was convicted of murder in Eterna City's court and sent to a reformatory school, where he would wait to be sent to prison as an adult. No sooner had Charon's parents signed the necessary paperwork did their investments suddenly go belly-up. They had to lay off more and more workers to get through the days, and the malfunctioning machines certainly didn't help things. Eventually, they had to leave the Old Chateau, and have since fallen into obscurity. Not even their names have been remembered.

Now, the Old Chateau lies in ruins, its only inhabitants being an infestation of Gastly. However, there are those who whisper of mysterious things. On certain nights, lights have been seen to turn on and off in the windows, and if it's quiet enough, the whirring of some clockwork mechanism echoes into the night. Those few brave souls who have visited the interior have come back with a wild variety of stories, but 2 things tend to remain constant.

The old groundskeeper still stalks his favorite spot in the dining room, and Annabel stares out into the black and bitter night.