The Ghost Specialist

Sam kept a close eye on Cyndaquil as they continued to travel south. Most of the time, she was just fine, throwing herself into training and practicing Curse, Will-O-Wisp, and Detect with a fervor rarely seen.

However, there were other times that she would slow down when she thought Sam wasn’t looking. She would stay low to the ground, barely moving, staring off into the distance as if she was just trying to get a handle on herself. When eating meals, she’d often stare into the flames of their campfire, watching it flicker without touching her food.

Whenever Sam would try to call out to her, she’d smile at him and go back to behaving completely normally, as if there was nothing wrong.

There was obviously something wrong.

The length of time it took to get from city to city was often made longer by the frequent stops Sam and Redi made to train. They were taking on the Gym Challenge, and spending long periods on only walking would have their team’s skills begin to deteriorate. Constant growth was practically demanded if they wanted to reach the Pokémon League, yet how was that growth supposed to happen when Cyndaquil was frequently distracted by pain?

A week’s trip turned into slightly less than a week’s trip, as Sam declined to stop as frequently. They still stopped to practice and rest, of course, but it was a few less times than usual. They didn’t reach Azalea Town, rather, they reached the end of Route 34. There, trees began to become more frequent and started to increase in size. A small Pokémon Center sat at the very edge of Ilex Forest proper to give trainers who spent the past few days pushing through it a place to rest and heal their Pokémon.

The nurse there was a junior nurse, much to Sam’s disappointment. She didn’t have as much training or experience as nurses from any major city.

“I’m sorry, but as far as we can tell, there’s nothing wrong with your Cyndaquil,” she said as Sam worriedly listened in. “She’s not sick. She’s not poisoned. Best I can tell is that she might need some rest—”

“She’s been resting almost all the time the last few days,” Sam interrupted. “I’ve been making her train far less than normal. She’s actually starting to get annoyed.”

The laugh that came after wasn’t happy. He was nervous. Worried about her.

The junior nurse behind the counter frowned.

“I’d like to give you an answer, but it’s nothing I’ve seen before. And I can’t really check, either, since our Pokémon Center doesn’t have the same kind of advanced medical suite as in most cities. We’re mostly equipped to handle poison.”

Sam rubbed his head out of frustration.

“But!” the junior nurse suddenly said. “I can give you a potential solution, at least. Our usual nurse isn’t here right now, as she’s on her usual route of treating Pokémon in smaller settlements where the forest is sparse. If you’re willing to wait a few days—”

“How long?”

“Six, roughly,” she said, much to Sam’s frustration. “She just left yesterday, unfortunately. Alternatively, if you’re not willing to wait, I recommend heading to Goldenrod or back through the forest to reach Azalea.”

“...We just came from Goldenrod,” Sam mumbled.

Although, not stopping at all would let them return to the city before the usual nurse returned here.

“Then, I recommend going to Azalea. Ilex forest is filled with Bug Types, but heading straight to town should allow you to reach there within only three days. Most of the difficulty with traveling through it is wild Pokémon attacks and the difficult environment, but you should be able to avoid most of that by keeping to the center.”

Sam nodded, weighing his options, and thanked the nurse before picking up Cyndaquil’s Pokéball. He walked over to where Redi was waiting for him on a couch. Teddiursa was fast asleep on a pillow on its side.

“So, what’d she say?”

“She’s not sure what’s wrong with Cyndaquil, but that’s because she’s still in training. We can wait for their usual nurse to return—”

“How long?”

“Just under a week,” Sam replied. “Or we can quickly push through the forest to reach Azalea in the next three or so.”

He sat down, running a hand through his hair. He already knew how Cyndaquil would react if he talked to her; she’d whine at him and try to assure him that everything was fine.

“Waiting seems like the safest option,” Redi mused, “but...”

“Those flashes are getting more frequent. I don’t know how long it’ll be before she’s all but stuck in one place,” Sam said.

He hated this. He hated that Cyndaquil wasn’t feeling well. Part of the reason he liked Ghost Types so much was because they didn’t get sick. They didn’t have medical emergencies, or illnesses, or surprise passings that caught everyone off—

“I think we should push through the forest. Get her checked out at a proper Pokémon Center,” Sam said. “The sooner the better.”

“Anything we should worry about?”

Sam had done a bit of research on Ilex Forest back in Goldenrod.

Truth be told, most of what he had looked up was to see what Ghost Types might be present. While he didn’t have a spare Pokéball right now, he could have easily obtained one in Azalea. Ilex Forest, however, didn’t have a set path or any main road like most dedicated Routes. Instead, it stretched across a large swath of southern Johto, having designated “safe areas” for travelers that Rangers regularly patrolled.

Swarms of Bug Types were the forest’s biggest threats, but they were easily warded away by fire. Between Teddiursa’s Fire Punch, Gastly’s phantasmal Hex, and Mankey’s own eventual learning of Fire Punch, they could scare those Bug Types away. What Sam was worried about the most was the presence of any aggressive, wild Ghost Types. After all...

“Ghost Types attract Ghost Types,” he said.

Redi cocked her head to the side, a little confused.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“It was in one of those books Morty lent me. It implied that ghosts are drawn to ghosts, positing because it takes spiritual power to handle spiritual power. There’s this strange, unexplainable... affection the Type has for itself. Ghost is super effective against Ghost, so why wouldn’t that be the case?”

“And you have Gastly with you,” Redi concluded.

Sam nodded solemnly.

“We’ll have a higher-than-usual chance of attracting another Ghost Type. And if we’re rushing, we won’t be staying quiet.”

Sam had a good idea of the species that might appear. The Gastly line was obvious, as no matter where someone went in Indigo, those Ghost Types tended to appear in dark places. Misdreavus was another that was more common to Johto than Kanto. Yet, while those two were the most known about species, Sam had his own theory about what else might be in the forest.

Dual Grass-Ghost Types were likely present, though likely only deeper in. There was Phantump and its evolved form, Trevenent, which were literally possessed trees. Other than them there was Poltchageist and its evolved form, Sinistcha, which were possessed cups of tea.

Considering no one in Johto ever reported seeing them in Ilex Forest, those two species were probably only found off-route.

Though, why would a cup of tea be in a forest? Well, there might be some kind of forgotten, abandoned home deep, deep in.

But Sam shook his head. It made more sense to prepare for the obvious, which was the Gastly line and Misdreavus.

“So we’ll need to worry about being attacked?” Redi asked.

“Maybe. It’s a chance, not a guarantee.”

It was at that moment there were two flashes of light. From Sam’s waist, his other two team members released themselves.

Mankey punched his fist into his palm, demonstrating his readiness to fight. As for Gastly, the Ghost Type simply grinned. He conjured a Hex around himself, showing off just how capable he had become—

“No moves in the Pokémon Center!”

—but the purple lights winked out when the nurse shouted for him to stop.

Sam still laughed, thankful for his team’s show of support.

“And you have us, too,” Redi said. “Teddiursa. Me. Porygon. Something attacks us, and it’ll have to fight all of us off!”

Despite all the worry Sam had built up over Cyndaquil, he couldn't help but to feel a bit of relief.

“Thank you,” he said genuinely. “Once we rest tonight, we’ll go through Ilex Forest. And before too long, we’ll reach Azalea Town, where we’ll head to the Pokémon Center and...”

Make sure Cyndaquil starts feeling better.

The Ilex Forest was ancient, older than Johto itself. The trees here outlasted multiple eras of human history. More often than not, their trunks were as wide as one of Goldenrod’s skyscrapers. Sam felt like he was traveling through a natural version of the city’s downtown, yet he also knew that these were small compared to some of the trees deeper in!

Branches stretched out hundreds of feet above Sam’s head. Dense leaves shrouded the sky and cast everything into dim light. Occasionally, the curve of a branch would allow a beam or two to get through, creating areas of natural light. Smaller bushes and trees were more common there. The rest of the forest was filled with enormous roots.

Fallen leaves crunched under their feet as the entire group pushed forward. They forwent stealth in favor of speed. Everyone stayed on high alert.

Gastly drifted in a perimeter around the group. As a Ghost Type, he was most in-tune with potential ambushes and spirits that might be drawn near. Mankey was Sam’s personal guard, and Teddiursa was Redi’s. Then for Porygon, the floating Normal Type was told to stay exactly one foot away from Redi, where it would serve as a turret that would unleash a Psybeam at anything Redi pointed to.

Other than their Pokémon, Sam had a secret weapon, too. The Cleanse Tag from Morty was out and proudly displayed on his backpack’s back. Its inscription provided a calming aura around their group, relaxing them as they traveled. For all of his nerves about Cyndaquil, Sam did find himself breathing easier with it out.

“You really think Cyndaquil will be okay?” he asked. The little Fire Type was resting in her Pokéball, on Sam’s orders.

“Absolutely,” Redi said alongside a firm nod. “If I had to describe it, it’s more like she’s strained rather than in pain. I don’t think it’s anything we need to worry about too much. She’ll definitely be able to hold out until we reach the Pokémon Center.”

Sam could imagine all of the potential worst case scenarios if he wanted to, but that wouldn’t help him. He forced all of those thoughts out of his head. Instead, hours passed uneventfully as they trudged forward, passed by enormous trees, and climbed over massive roots that occasionally tried to block their path.

The first day passed without trouble. Sounds of Bug Types could be heard, but their group was large enough that none ever approached. On the second day, Sam felt confident. They could do this. One or two more days, and they would make it. When dusk fell, they began to set up camp.

Teddiursa helped Redi set up their tents as Mankey used Low Kick to sweep away fallen twigs and leaves in their chosen campsite. A forked set of giant roots provided them a bit of cover, reducing the chances some hostile wild Pokémon stumbled upon them in the night.

They were following the most well-traveled path through the forest, however. Already, they had seen several people going the opposite way—and Sam had to turn down battles almost every time. Going as fast as they were, it didn’t make sense to stop. At least no one reacted negatively to that. All of their potential challengers had been understanding and let them continue on their way unbothered.

With the time to rest rapidly approaching, Sam released Cyndaquil from her Pokéball as he built a small fire.

“How are you feeling?” he asked her. Cyndaquil yawned and stretched out, having been inside of her Pokéball all day.

She sat on her back paws and punched at the air. She turned up to look at him, a determined smile on her face.

Sam knew what she was doing. She was trying to tell him that everything was fine and that he shouldn’t worry. Yet, he had known her for years. Her smile didn’t curve up all the way, and the look in her thin eyes was forced.

He scooped her up and placed her in his hood.

“Oh, no you don’t! Rest only! Training might worsen your condition, so you’re going in there, little lady!”

She whined unhappily but still nuzzled up inside. With all of her training, she was growing. She still fit in his hood, but it was tighter than before. That at least made it a more cozy nest.

He chuckled, glad to see her comfortable despite everything else. He also whispered a request for her help, and she conjured a single Will-O-Wisp that lazily drifted over and lit the fire.

She seemed proud of that contribution, as small as it was. As ingredients were poured into the water, Sam glanced around at the rest of the team.

Mankey looked disappointed. Since Sam and Redi were keeping their Pokémon out while in the forest, he had plenty of time to train. While walking, he frequently punched at the air, trying to convert his Ice Punch into Fire Punch. Unfortunately, while he was picking it up, he was learning it nowhere near as fast as Teddiursa. The little bear Pokémon was already able to completely coat his own fist in ice.

“I know you can do it, Mankey. Just a bit more training and you’ll nail it, yeah?”

Cyndaquil squeaked her own support from inside his hood.

“...Maybe if you rest tonight, I can let you sit back there when we travel tomorrow, and you can give him advice on using the Fire Type when we walk.”

Right away, all motivation to push herself tonight faded away. Sam heard her fake a yawn. If it meant less forced rest tomorrow, of course she would rest tonight.

The orange hues of dusk turned to the darkness of night. The meal finished cooking, and the group had a stew prepared once again.

“You know, I said I didn’t like the powdered stuff, but I think I’m getting kind of sick of stew,” Sam mumbled, holding a spoon in his hand.

Redi put her own spoon down and sighed.

“We really should have bought a wider variety of meals.”

It was fine, but eating the same thing every day made good food taste bad.

Mankey and Teddiursa elbowed each other as they ate, roughhousing until Redi told them to stop or risk spilling their food. Meanwhile, Porygon was inside of her calculator, feasting on the freshly installed programs Redi had obtained at the last Pokémon Center.

As Sam turned to Gastly to check on his final team member, he paused. The Ghost Type was staring out into the woods.

He wasn’t smiling. He was staring forward without a readable expression on his face.

“Hey—”

Sam stopped.

When he spoke, the faintest bit of mist left his mouth.

It suddenly felt far too silent around them, and Sam could have sworn he heard muffled giggling.

“Gastly, do you... feel that?” he asked.

Everyone else froze mid-bite, snapping their eyes towards Sam as he followed Gastly’s gaze. Gastly did his best to smile nervously at him out of the corner of his eyes. Redi cautiously stood up and held up her calculator, whispering for Porygon to appear at her side.

Utter silence. Complete stillness. So, so many alarm bells were going off in Sam’s mind. Even the gluttonous Mankey put his bowl of food down, pausing his meal to go on high alert and prepare for whatever was coming.

It felt like hours passed without anyone moving. Each second was a day that Sam spent staring into the woods.

A chill went down his spine. Sam felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on its ends.

“Do you.... think it’s a ghost?” Redi asked quietly.

“A Ghost Type? Yeah, I do,” Sam whispered.

He carefully reached to his belt, aiming to free Cyndaquil’s Pokéball. He didn’t want to involve her in a serious battle, but it was that movement that served as the gunshot to start the race.

A spine-chilling scream rang out, piercing the heavy silence of their campsite. Directly where Gastly was staring, a dark blur rushed out directly at Sam.

“Hex, Gastly!” he shouted.

Purple flames rushed to intercept the blur’s course. The incoming Pokémon spun to the side and easily avoided them all before lifting itself up further into the air.

Hair drifted out like wisps behind it. Yellow eyes with red irises curved up as if in amusement. The wild Misdreavus glanced at Gastly, as if to ask him if he had been serious about his attack.

“I knew it,” Sam mumbled. “There was no way we’d get through this forest so easily!”

The Misdreavus smiled, bouncing in place. It looked excited. Like it wanted to play. Its gaze slipped away from Gastly to lock onto Sam, and only Sam.

That made him even more nervous.

“...Teddiursa,” Redi whispered.

“...Mankey,” Sam added.

They wanted to get those two to assist in the upcoming fight.

However, Gastly turned around and shook his head. Like the Misdreavus, he was smiling. Grinning. This was his fight, and his expression told them he was looking forward to it.

“Alright. Be careful,” Sam said.

He had faith in his friend. Besides, this was a wild Pokémon. How strong could it possibly be?

For a brief moment, the wild Misdreavus’s gaze flicked over everyone here. But, just like before, it settled on Sam, and it started to drift forward, trying to reach him and only him.

Gastly acted without Sam needing to call for a move. He howled his name, and a Hex popped into existence like numbers of a rapidly appearing clock. The purple fire launched at the Misdreavus, and the wild Ghost Type pulled back and ducked beneath to avoid every mote.

Briefly, it looked betrayed—shocked that Gastly had continued to attack at all.

“Hypnosis!” Sam shouted.

He wasn’t going to give it time to recover, but the Misdreavus closed its eyes to render Gastly’s hypnotic look ineffective.

He shouted again, calling for Confuse Ray, but even in its temporarily blinded state, the Ghost Type rolled to the side to avoid the greyish beam.

“Maybe try for a Mean L— Wait, no. Don’t use that.”

Mean Look could prevent a Pokémon from fleeing, but they wanted this Misdreavus to flee. Besides, the move was ineffective against Ghost Types, anyway.

Instead, Gastly used Hex once more, unleashing his sole attacking move against his hovering opponent. As the purple flames sparked up around him, he rushed forward to get as close as he could manage.

Mankey and Teddiursa, cheered their names, supporting Gastly as loud as they could. Gastly smirked and tried to slam his Hex into Misdreavus. To mix it up, he even went for a Lick.

However, it was like the Misdreavus saw all of that coming. Faster than he could move, it pulled back, moved around him, and dipped and ducked under every one of his attacks.

Confused, he pulled back. Sam bit his lip nervously. The wild Pokémon turned its full attention to Gastly, and it opened its mouth to cause bits of shadow to coalesce in front of it.

“What?!” Sam shouted. “That’s Shadow Ball! How does it know that?”

Shadow Ball was commonly thought of as the most powerful Ghost Type move around. Sam knew better than that, but to have a wild Pokémon use it in such a casual manner...

Gastly tried to flee, but he was outmatched. A pulsating ball of pure darkness sailed forward and caught him in the back. The Ghost Type move caught him as if he was completely solid, and the attack carried him forward to slam him into the trunk of a large tree.

He didn’t bring himself out.

“...Gastly?” Sam asked nervously.

The Misdreavus giggled and resumed its casual drift towards Sam. Its eyes lit up with excitement. The wild Pokémon was filled with glee.

“Fire Punch!” Redi called out.

Sam snapped into focus.

“Ember and Assurance!”

Three Pokémon unleashed their attacks.

Cyndaquil, while still tired and still in Sam’s hood, contributed by unleashing an Ember that forced the Misdreavus downwards. Avoiding the move brought it close to the ground, within range of both Mankey and Teddiursa jumping up to hit it with their attacks.

Unfortunately, while Misdreavus was briefly caught off guard by that combination, it had a defense ready in the form of a Psychic Type move. Eyes glowing blue, a telekinetic Confusion caught both jumping Pokémon. Mankey was unceremoniously tossed into the ground, and Teddiursa was used as a shield to block a silent follow-up attack from Porygon.

Redi lowered her finger from where she pointed, chuckling nervously as she did.

“Sam, should it really be this strong?”

Sam grabbed his Cleanse Tag. The Misdreavus didn’t even glance at it.

“No. It shouldn’t,” he said, taking a step back. “Why is there such a capable wild Pokémon here, of all places?”

The Misdreavus looked annoyed. It looked at Sam as if he should have known the answer to that question. He took another step back, and the Ghost Type started to speed up. The hair on the back of its head waved from an unseen breeze.

Cyndaquil winced, unable to use a move. Sam tripped on the edge of a small root and fell on his butt.

He closed his eyes in panic, an unconscious response when dealing with a predator. Yet, the Misdreavus never reached him.

He felt heat. A cold heat. Another use of Hex stopped the Misdreavus from getting any further.

Gastly burst from the tree, phasing out of its thick trunk while panting, forcing himself to recover after that previous attack. His usual casual yet relaxed demeanor was gone. An eye twitched in utter annoyance.

Another Hex, and another dodge. The Misdreavus clicked its tongue, annoyed.

“Cyndaquil,” Sam whispered despite his worries, “do you think you could—”

His request never concluded; he was interrupted by a bright glow.

His words caught in his throat, and Sam stared at Gastly. For all the Ghost Type had thrown himself into practice, Sam would have never expected to see this so soon.

“No way,” Redi breathed.

Sam respectfully agreed.

“Of course,” he said. “Pokémon always grow the most when they’re stressed. There’s a reason most evolutions happen in the middle of battles—so why wouldn’t one happen right now?”

Within the light, Gastly changed. His ambient gas sucked into him, and the sphere that was his body grew and reshaped. Points stabbed out across his back, and a wispy trail emanated from his base. For his mouth, it became fanged, and at his sides, two blobs split off to become clawed hands.

When the light broke, Gastly was no longer Gastly. Instead, a magnificent Haunter stared at the Misdreavus with hateful determination.

Sam quickly capitalized on the moment—evolving usually came with a burst of increased energy, and that sometimes came with insight.

“Shadow Punch!” he yelled.

The move was something most Haunter could understand intrinsically, and more importantly, the attack homed.

Haunter’s disconnected hands curled into fists and left his sides, rushing through the air like rockets aimed at Misdreavus. The wild Pokémon’s eyes went wide in panic as it tried its best to roll and dodge like it had done so many times before.

Except, in this case, Haunter could still control his hands, and he leaned to the side to change their course and finally manage a hit. One slammed into Misdreavus’s cheek, and the other slammed directly into its face.

Haunter cackled happily. Briefly, Sam was reminded of how his own punch had led to Haunter’s capture in the first place.

The freshly evolved Ghost Type slowly drew back his hands. Though super effective, he still wasn’t a great physical attacker. Misdreavus was hurt, but it was still conscious.

However, it also looked completely and utterly betrayed.

Pain that was more than just physical crossed Misdreavus’s face. Its eyes flicked around in a panic. Tears welled up. It sniffed. It seemed incapable of even glancing at Sam.

“Wait—”

Instead of some tough, final match, Misdreavus turned and fled back into the woods, barely holding back sobs. Haunter was left behind, staring out, blinking and confused.

“What was that about?” Redi asked.

Sam didn’t know. Something twisted in his chest.

Still. He had more important things to think about. Cyndaquil needed to reach the Pokémon Center, but Gastly—no, Haunter—had evolved!

He couldn’t help it. He grinned.

So Xavier might have an evolved Donphan, but now we have an evolved Haunter with us, too!

He smiled at his Pokémon, a genuine feeling of happiness for his friend crossing his face.

“You did it!” Sam laughed once. “Congratulations! I should have known you were getting close to evolving!”

Haunter gained his usual grin and pumped his fists, replying with a cheer. He clapped his hands as if to test his new manipulators out.

Meanwhile, both Mankey and Teddiursa suddenly shouted for his attention. They each held up a hand high.

Haunter stared with shock. He sniffed, eyes watering as if he had been waiting for this for a long time. Drifting downwards, both Pokémon smiled at him to finally receive a long-awaited high-five.

He smacked them in the face instead.

As they shouted at him angrily, he sped off into the air, cackling all the way.

“...Of course he did that.”

Sam had to chuckle.

The two grounded Pokémon stomped back to the camp, any sense of cheer being replaced by the red marks on their faces.

“You know, I had a feeling I should have bet on which of our Pokémon would evolve first,” Redi said, stepping closer to Sam.

“Wait, why?” He blinked. “Wouldn’t I win?”

“Yeah, but I would have bet on one of your Pokémon evolving first. Congratulations, by the way.”

Sam replied with a sharp smile.

“Yeah! And now that Gastly, sorry, Haunter has evolved, that means we’ll get through this forest even easier than before!”

He then looked around and back at the forest, eyeing the darkness where Misdreavus had disappeared.

“But, uh...” He scratched his cheek nervously. “Maybe we should move our campsite? I don’t want that Misdreavus to know where to find us if it returns.”

Redi’s eyes widened, and she quickly called for her Pokémon to help pack everything up.

Sam did the same, quickly moving to assist. Mankey inhaled both his meal and Teddiursa’s dropped meal before grabbing everything he could.

Eventually, Haunted drifted back down, and Sam could feel Cyndaquil shift in his hood to properly congratulate him. However, when she squeaked a happy squeak, something about it felt off.

Why does Cyndaquil sound so... conflicted?