Ash and Pikachu are ready to battle in a real Pokémon Gym. But when they get there, the place is on fire! Should the gang run for their lives or explore the secrets of the haunted Gym?

Pokemon - The Haunted Gym, and other Pokemon books for young readers, mix magic, cartoon violence, in this case evil and good ghostlike fantasy creatures in a battle of cute and defensless against evil. It sends children mixed and confusing messages, and lets them know that violence is an answer to problems. A high school principal in Newark, NJ, a city with much violence, and a higher homicide rate than Sao Paulo or Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, addressed his school daily, "violence is not an answer, find peaceful ways to solve your problems." His counsel to high school students makes sense. Pokemon's answer is the opposite, violence solves problems. [...]