This was an interesting episode. Ash & co. have FINALLY made it to Nacrene City and immediately head for the gym which is inside the Nacrene Museum. However when they get there they see the museum is closed but soon a guy comes running out of the museum claiming he was being chased by something. He later introduces himself as Hawes, the vice curator to his wife and the Nacrene Gym Leader Lenora, and explains that after having put up the "Secret Artifact Exhibit" strange things has been happening. Iris and Cilan argue on what could be causing the occurrences and after Hawes gives them a tour of the museum they decided to stay for the night to get to the bottom of things. What is causing the strange occurrences in the museum? Is Iris right about it being an angry spirit or Cilan saying there is a scientific explanation? If Team Rockets main goal isn't to switch the meteorite with the fake one, then what is their main goal? And how many times will Cilan use "sound waves" or "magnetic field" as a reason to the strange occurrences? I guess that last one is more of a drinking game so get out our shot glass and prepare to get hammers:

This Is What Happens When You Put Artifacts Of DOOM On Display:
Ash & co. have finally made it to Nacrene City and Iris immediately brings attention to the strange buildings which Cilan explains are unused warehouses which the town has leased to artists and because of this Nacrene City is known as "The City of Art" (which is kind of odd who the Gym Leader is considering who the next (main) city's Gym Leader is). Iris looks at a painted tower and Cilan also says Nacrene City is known for its style and so it called "The City of Admiration" (whatever happened to its title in the games: "A Pearl of a Place?") but Ash doesn't really care saying he just wants to have his Gym Battle. Cilan tells Ash that the Nacrene Museum is also the Gym (isn't it "coincidental" that is exactly where Team Rocket is planning on breaking into ) but when they get to the Nacrene Museum they find it to be closed. Ash yells he wants to challenge the Nacrene Gym and tries to get the door open while asking if anyone is there. Cilan spots a poster on the wall advertising a "Secret Artifact Exhibit" (which show a Cofogrigus (yes, I know I spelt it incorrectly, I have to) in its "coffin form") which is dated for today further making no sense why it's close. Ash knocks on the door a few more times but there's no answer... until they hear a loud, blood curdling scream coming from inside!

The scene changes to inside the museum where we see a guy in a suit running away from a floating fossil (with those two circular indents on the front I'm going to say it's a Dome Fossil, aka the Fossil which gives you Kabuto) surrounded by a purple outline. The guy runs into the door and seeing the fossil right behind him he opens the door and falls through and right next to Ash & co..

Cilan: Sir, are you alright?
Guy: In there! *points inside the museum* It's horrible!
*Ash & co. look to see an empty hallway*
Comment: Oh my god, it's education! RUN! RUN AWAY!

Iris asks if there's something wrong with the hallway and the guy says there isn't but a Dome Fossil (point for me! ) is following him. Cilan says they don't see a thing but the guy tells them it's there and Ash says they'll check it out. They go inside the museum to find the Dome Fossil back on its pedestal and Cilan tells him that and the guy explains it was chasing him a minute ago and Cilan asks him for more details.

Back outside the guy tells Ash & co. that the museum was behind on setting up the "Secret Artifact Exhibit" so they were rushing to put up the displays when the artifacts arrived. It was late at night when they got finished and the guy (who I'm guessing is the curator) was the only one left and was doing some final checks when the lights suddenly went out. The Curator takes out a flashlight and was heading for the light switch (shouldn't he had been heading for the fuse box?) when he heard footsteps behind him. Next there seems to be some confusion with the Curator's narration and the flashback as he said he heard a cry next but the flashback shows him asking if anyone is there when a purple flame appears and come toward him saying it's a ghost. He runs out of the museum which seemed to have chased it off and next morning him and the workers looked around for anything strange but found nothing. Worried about the visitor's safety they closed the museum and the workers left while the Curator decided to take a final look around when the Dome Fossil began floating after him which leads us to where we are now. Ash says that weird things do happen (him being the expert on that) and Iris says that it's a curse by an angry spirit. Continuing to scare her Axew, Iris goes on to say that bad things will happen if they don't do something but Cilan tells her not to overreact and there is a rational explanation and that it's a misunderstanding.

Cilan: I'm sure science has the key, scientific perspective is what we need.
Comment: You live in a world which has creatures that control the elements, have several alternate dimensions where physics don't exist, and 10 year olds who take control of these creature and goe to these places. I think science has left the building.
Iris *angry*: Yeah? Then figure it out from a scientific perspective!
Cilan: I'll do just that. This is turning into a recipe I like.
Curator: What are you saying?
Iris: I'm saying I'll find out why a spirit would cast a curse on the museum. I guarantee it!
Comment: You mean them taking artifacts from their resting place isn't enough of a reason?
Cilan: And I'll find out what's really going on, with science. The scientific method is the smart way to go.
Comment: Can't we just say that Cofogrigus is to blame are we going to spend the whole episode running around until you realize that coffin is a Pokemon?

Having exercised his neck muscles, Ash demands to know what is going to happen with his Gym Battle and Iris tells him there is no time for it now which disappoints him when the Curator tells Ash that Lenora isn't there anyway. The Curator introduces himself as Hawes and he's actually the vice curator along with Lenora who is his wife and the Nacrene Gym Leader. Ash & co. introduce themselves and Cilan asks if they could look around the museum and Hawes says he'll be happy to give them a tour (I mean there's only a (supposedly) malicious spirit in there that chases people around, nothing to worry about ).

Isn't This How One Scooby-Doo Episode Went:
To start off the tour Hawes shows them the Dome Fossil saying that Kabuto had lived in Unova 300 million years ago (wait, aren't Kabuto suppose to be native to Kanto? Then again in the games you get a Dome Fossil from a guy in Twist Mountain who mined it so, yeah). Next is the Dragonite skeleton which Iris states is a Dragonite (something which the game for some reason tries to ignore) and Hawes says that it's the largest Dragonite skeleton in the world (I think Ash would beg to differ). Then Hawes shows them a meteorite (hmm...) and says that it's believed to contain cosmic energy (okay, you're now making it too obvious...). Finally they come to the "Secret Artifact Exhibit" (not so secret if it's in the open like that) and Ash runs up to knight's armor which Hawes explains were once worn in Unova (why were there knights in a New York-based region? And Team Plasma doesn't count), something which seemed to have caught Iris's curiosity.

Ash sees the main attraction, the (secret) artifacts which Hawes said were found in a ruin and even mentions Cofogrigus saying they are known to appear in those types of ruins (YOU'VE KNOWN A GHOST-TYPE IS KNOWN TO GUARD THESE KIND OF ARTIFACTS AND YOU'RE WONDERING WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING IN THE MUSEUM?!?!). Cilan asks if that's a real Cofogrigus but Hawes reveals it to be a replica (guess the writers knew what we would think and so did this to put down our assumption, that or they're messing with us) but Iris says this has something to do with the curse and Cilan asks her why which Iris responds it's her sixth sense having Cilan put it down saying she has no evidence so it's only a hunch. Ash then runs over to a Yamask's mask (geez Ash, ADHD much? Stay focused) and asks what it is and Hawes pretty much says it's a Yamask's mask and Yamask frequently appear in ruins. This intrigues Cilan and Ash says it's a weird Pokemon as Hawes goes on to say that the mask is also a replica (don't you have anything that's real?) but Iris says she has a bad feeling about it as we zoom in on the mask. Hawes leads Ash & co. into the library where the tour ends and he asks them if they found anything strange (didn't you hear what Iris has been saying?).

Cilan says everything seems normal but Iris says something doesn't feel right but she can't put her finger on what while Ash says he knows one thing... he needs to eat. Iris yells at Ash to stop and he tells her it's just a joke as Cilan asks Hawes if it was okay for them to sleep in the museum tonight explaining that it'll help them observe any paranormal activity (paranormal activity? Cilan I thought you said you were going to use the scientific reasoning?). Iris adds in spirits are more active at night and Hawes says for kids they're quite courageous and Iris says Ash is the only kid there having him angrily ask what she mean (yeah, what did Ash do to get that? Are you still annoyed at that "I'm hungry" joke?).

That night Ash & co. (+ Hawes, guess he couldn't very well leave kids alone in the museum) get ready to sleep as Ash says he can't wait for his Pokemon Egg to hatch and puts it away in his backpack which looks completely empty (so is the only thing Ash carries in his backpack when he doesn't have a Pokemon Egg is his sleeping bag?). Hawes asks what the plan is if they hear things or something starts moving and Iris says that's their cue to spring into action and Cilan adds in that then they'll finally be able to solve the mystery.

Going over to the R Plot, Team Rocket are in an alley wondering how their contact will be meeting with them and Pierce appears behind them tell them like this. The Rocket Trio wonders how Pierce snuck up on them but he tells them he has their mission from HQ and they ask him to tell them. But first Pierce asks if the Rocket Trio had investigated the Nacrene Museum and they tell him it's all taken care of (how? It's been closed) and he tells them they're going to swap the meteorite which Hawes showed Ash & co. with the fake one they got two episodes ago. However Pierce tells the Rocket Trio that the meteorite isn't their main target and they ask him what their true target is...

Get Those Shot Glasses Ready:
But enough of that, back in the museum Iris wakes up Ash and Cilan saying she feels a weird chill that's closing in on them but Cilan says she's just having another unscientific explanation. However a purple fog rolls in and Hawes wakes up from the noise and jumps out of his sleeping bag seeing the purple fog asking what's going on. Iris says that the angry spirit is about to do something but Cilan says that the air conditioner must have broken down (really Cilan? What air conditioner do you have which makes fog?) and they hear metallic footprints followed by a purple glowing knight armor walking towards them (Oh, and thank you "Who's that Pokemon" for spoiling what is responsible for all this ). Hawes yells out it's a ghost and Iris asks Cilan to explain.

Cilan: Easy, it's the poltergeist phenomenon which refers to things that move but due to the vibrations of ultra low frequency sound waves.
Comment: ... IT'S F***ING WALKING AND IT'S FAR FROM WHERE YOU SAW THE ARMOR ORIGINALLY WAS PLACED!
*The armor takes out its sword*
Iris: Are sound waves doing that too?
Cilan: It's possible someone is manipulating its arm with strings.
Comment: If you're willing to believe that someone is causing it to move then why haven't you concluded it could be Cofogrigus or Yamask angry its artifacts have been taken?
Ash: Wow, that's kind of a stretch.

The armor starts running towards them and Ash tells Pikachu to do a Quick Attack which causes the armor to fall apart however it rebuilds itself and Cilan says that's curious as Iris tells him it's a curse. Pikachu uses Volt Tackle this time (guess Hawes isn't too worried about them destroying priceless artifatcs) and the armor falls apart once more but this time a purple flame rises up. Hawes asks if it's a ghostly aura but Cilan says it's electrical discharge (that's purple and in a shape of a flame?) as it starts to chase Hawes. Ash calls out Oshawott to use Water Gun which puts out the flame but the helmet of the scattered armor rises up and Iris asks Cilan to explain that which he does by saying a change in the magnetic field is causing it to float (even if a magnetic field shifted they aren't strong enough to lift something!). The helmet begins chasing Hawes again (you'd think it would go after the people who are attacking it) and Pikachu uses Iron Tail to knock it away. Iris notices the obsession the spirit has with Hawes and she says it might be after him but Hawes says he hasn't done anything to make something mad and then it starts raining.

Cilan says there is something wrong with the sprinklers but it soon stops and they hear something crying which Hawes says is the same cry he heard last night. Iris says that the spirit is sad, Cilan says it's low frequency sound waves causing something to squeak, and I think Ash has had enough and tells them they should check it out as he returns Oshawott. They go to the "Secret Artifacts Exhibit" and see the replica Yamask mask crying and right after Cilan says it's just condensation it starts floating and bashes against the glass case which Cilan explains by saying it's attracted to something like a magnet. They watch the mask bang the glass some more (maybe they might want to let it out? Maybe it's angry because it's stuck?) and they hear footsteps behind them and see it's the Dragonite skeleton which Cilan tries to say it's another change in the magnetic field but admits that even he doesn't believe himself anymore and the Dragonite skeleton attacks and Ash & co. (+ Hawes) dodges it. The Dragonite skeleton starts punching the glass (how strong is that glass?) and Cilan sends out Pansage to use Bullet Seed which hits the Dragonite skeleton to reveal a ghostly Yamask (well that's a but redundant to say) which falls down and vanishes as the Dragonite skeleton falls apart.

Ash says he heard a cry and Iris says it's the angry spirit and Cilan asks if the mask is alright which Hawes goes to check using a key card to open the display case which the mask flies out of and attaches to Cilan's face. Ash and Iris try to help Cilan get the mask off but he pushes them away and just stands there and they ask if he's okay.

"Cilan" *in a deep voice*: And now.
*Ash, Iris, and Hawes look surprised*
"Cilan": I SHALL PUNISH YOU! *throws purple fireballs*
Comment: Pssh, he's fine, though sounds a bit angry about Iris being right.

They dodge the purple fireballs and Ash asks what's wrong with Cilan and Iris says that he's obviously possessed by the angry spirit and Ash asks why which Iris says it might be because Cilan denied the angry spirit was real (so remember everyone, if you don't want to be possessed believe that every little bump in the night is a ghost *nod*). Iris asks why the spirit is angry and it tells her that they locked its mask away and a voice says that the "replica" Yamask mask is a real one. They turn to see Lenora and Hawes says she couldn't have picked a better time to come back (this reminds me, Lenora and Hawes are an interracial marriage and I must admit that was a bold but commendable decision on the Pokemon Company's part) and Lenora asks where Hawes got the mask. Hawes said that while they were loading the artifacts into the museum he found the mask on the floor and assumed it was a bonus replica to go along with the Cofogrigus coffin and Lenora tells him he should have known better than that which he admits he should have (whipped! ). The possessed Cilan reforms the Dragonite skeleton and Lenora tells him that's enough punishment but he tells her to get out so Lenora sends out her Watchog which starts sending out beams of light (which I'm going to guess is Illuminate) which blinds the possessed Cilan which halts the Dragonite skeleton.

Lenora asks Yamask to show itself and the mask comes off Cilan's face who asks what happened as the mask floats up and the rest of Yamask materializes. Lenora concludes that Yamask must have came with the artifacts but while it was travelling with them it dropped its mask (apparently it was sleeping... why would a ghost Pokemon need to sleep?) which is where Hawes found it and when Yamask woke up it found its mask in a display case (which for some reason it can ghost its arms through but not the mask) and assumed Hawes had stolen it. Ash & co. begin to figure out that all the strange occurrences was Yamask using its moves: Psychic to move/control objects, Haze to create the purple mist, Rain Dance to make it rain, and Will-O-Wisp to create the purple flames (and yes, despite Yamask being a Ghost-type (a pure one at that) it doesn't have any Ghost-type moves). Iris boasts that she was right about it being an angry spirit but Cilan tells her it wasn't exactly that and she counters that she was closer than him (which she is right about). Hawes apologizes to Yamask with Lenora apologizing too and Yamask accepts the apology and next morning it leaves with them saying it can come back to visit anytime. Iris and Cilan comment on the fresh morning air and Ash says it's a good day to have a Gym Battle which has Lenora ask if Ash is here to challenge her which he says he is and Lenora accepts his challenge wanting to see Ash's battling style. So finally next episode is Ash's Gym Battle against Lenora for his second badge!