The Ghost Specialist

There was a heat to the air—a palpable tension. After all the talk of Pokémon reaching new forms, both Mankey and Teddiursa had enough. They fell to an extreme case of evolution fever.

Cyndaquil had evolved into Quilava. Gastly had evolved into Haunter. And now, a random trainer was already bringing up the idea of Haunter evolving into Gengar? No, it wasn’t fair that Mankey was still in his base form, and Teddiursa felt the same way.

Even though it was morning, and even though they should have been continuing along Route 32, both Mankey and Teddiursa woke up, stood apart from one another, and refused to move until they started the day off properly.

(That meant a fight.)

“You know you two won’t be able to fight in any other battles today if you injure yourself in the morning,” Sam pointed out.

Mankey snorted, communicating that it didn’t matter, and with the way Teddiursa growled, Sam was pretty sure the bear tried to imply that they’d have time to heal.

All Sam could do was shake his head and step back. He had hoped they’d finally reach the end of the route today, but if these two wanted to battle, then so be it. With the space between them set, the two Pokémon began to circle one another with a foot dragging behind them. They tilled the dirt, drawing the lines for a perfectly square field. As they both stepped into opposite corners, Sam was briefly reminded of a boxing ring.

Actually, he was pretty certain that was exactly what they were going for.

As Teddiursa breathed out, he flexed his paws. Redi rushed over to start whispering in his ear.

“Alright, Teddiursa, if you want to win, you’re going to have to...” She cupped a hand around her mouth to hide the rest of her advice.

When Sam glanced over to Mankey, his expression fell.

“And you too, Quilava?” he said.

She squeaked at him apologetically before going right back to whispering advice to Mankey as well. Sam couldn’t even help his own Pokémon as a coach—Quilava was already fulfilling that role for him.

Both sides of the boxing ring glared at one another as they centered themselves, breathing at regular intervals. Something about Teddiursa’s movements was familiar, and Mankey’s attempts at regular breathing caused alarm bells to ring in Sam’s mind.

“You at least understand you’ll need to hold back, right?” Sam asked. “We aren’t anywhere near a Pokémon Center. If you faint—”

The two Pokémon responded by taking a step forward.

Sam dragged a hand down his face and moved to stand at the side. Redi practically jumped to join him, pumping a fist in excitement.

For a brief moment, Sam felt a deep longing for his reading nook back home. But, at the same time, he was a Pokémon trainer for a reason.

“You wanna start it properly?” Sam asked Redi.

She grinned, exposing her teeth, and brought her hands up to the sides of her mouth to cause her voice to echo.

“LADIES AND GENTLE-MON!” Redi shouted. “ARE YOU READY TO RRRRRRUMBLE!?”

A cheer. Off to the side, within the shade of a tree, Haunter howled his name. Porygon idly floated next to him, and he excitedly tapped the Pokémon with the back of his hand. Unfortunately, Porygon was too preoccupied with staring at nothing to join in. The audience remained one Pokémon, but Sam clapped his hands to mimic an applause.

“I want a good fight between you two,” Redi said. “No low blows, nothing to the eyes, and only—”

“Hold back on your moves,” Sam interrupted.

Redi pouted, pursing her lip.

“Aw, come on, Sam! That’s half the point of the battle!”

“I don’t want them to get hurt so early in the day. If you really want to support this, then it's your Potion supplies we’re dipping into.”

Her expression fell. Redi was suddenly stuck with the toughest problem of all; she had to choose between watching a fight or saving money. In the end, she crossed her arms and took a step back.

“Like I said, a good fight,” she said, adding nothing more.

“You better win, Mankey,” Sam added.

Quilava cheered from where she was still standing in the corner.

Redi huffed, breathing in. On the field, the two Pokémon walked forward to meet each other in the center of the field. They made eye contact but otherwise focused on steadying themselves. Sam could see both of their gazes occasionally flick to exactly where they wanted to hit. They couldn’t be more obvious about their plans if they tried.

Redi was still breathing in. She gathered up as much air as she could. Finally, she couldn’t do it any longer, and let loose a shout that used her entire body at once.

“START!”

Both Pokémon attacked.

Mankey’s fist impacted Teddiursa’s face.

Teddiursa’s claw swiped down the front of Mankey’s body.

There was a pause, their eyes went unfocused, and then both of them fell backwards to land flat on the ground.

“Really?” Sam covered his face with his hand as neither of them got back up.

This was probably the dumbest way this could have ended, in Sam’s opinion. If he had to guess, both of them had abused set-up moves.

Sam stepped onto the field, circling the two unconscious Pokémon. He nudged Mankey. Then he nudged Teddiursa. Neither of them moved after sustaining the other’s blow.

“So, Quilava...” Sam said, drawing out his words. “You helped Mankey figure out Ghost Type energy, didn’t you? You were whispering advice on how to use Curse.”

His friend looked away.

“And you, Redi,” he said, turning to her. “I recognized that move. It was Focus Energy. You managed to get Teddiursa to figure that out too, huh?

“...Yeah,” Redi said, coughing into her hand.

“Congrats, I guess. It must have taken a while to teach those moves.” Sam crouched to better look at the two Pokémon on the ground. “Quilava, Mankey’s been struggling with Ghost Type energy for a while. Mankey’s Curse is thanks to you as much as it is his own efforts. And you, Redi—”

Sam shook his head.

“Do you really need any compliments?” he asked.

“Wouldn’t hurt.”

“You’re a monster.”

Redi stood taller at the “praise.”

Both Pokémon had used their set-up moves in the corners of their makeshift boxing ring, preparing themselves while being whispered advice. Curse let Mankey’s Karate Chop one shot Teddiursa, but the critical strike granted by Focus Energy let Teddiursa bypass any of Mankey’s defenses with Slash.

Two simultaneous hits for two simultaneous knock-outs. Sam would have been more annoyed if he wasn’t so impressed.

“At least they’ve shown improvement?” he offered.

“Yeah!”

When he sent a pointed stare at Redi, she quickly turned away.

Given that the two Pokémon had only suffered a single attack, and given that they still had the rest of the day to recover, both Mankey and Teddiursa were returned to rest without being treated. A Potion could have been used to treat their wounds, but with only a single injury, rest could do the same. Effectively, forcing a natural recovery was a form of punishment for the misguided fight.

It was kind of funny, though.

...But I’m not going to say that out loud.

He had a persona to maintain. Someone had to be the responsible one, and it couldn’t be Quilava anymore since she had chosen to participate in... that.

“Let’s pack up camp and head out. We’re close to the end of the route today,” Sam said.

With the “battle” over, Haunter dived back into Sam’s shadow, Quilava moved to walk alongside him, and Porygon was returned to its Pokéball to ensure no one too smart would learn of the species. So far on this route, outside of what had happened in this match, developments had been sparse. Haunter was still working on his Night Shade for their totally-not-stolen combo, and Quilava was now trying to combine Quick Attack and Flame Wheel into the speed-boosting Flame Charge. Most of their practice was about building up a baseline, anyway. That kind of training was constant to ensure they wouldn’t fall behind.

“So when are you going to help us with Ghost Type moves, anyway?” Redi asked Sam once they resumed their travels north.

“Probably after Mankey’s evolved,” Sam answered. “I might know a lot about potential attacks, but my actual experience training Ghost Type moves is limited to just Hex and Curse. Even then, Haunter basically figured out Hex on his own, and Curse was a TM. Quilava has properly claimed it as her own, so she can help, but I might be able to help you more once Mankey evolves. Teaching him Rage Fist should help me understand the Type.”

Redi hummed.

“Not Shadow Claw?”

“Might be a good stop-gap, but Rage Fist is the attack that’ll get him to evolve. I might have gone back and tried to teach him that, but someone somehow taught him how to use Ghost Type energy already. It’s like I’m not even his trainer or something!”

Quilava let out another apologetic squeak next to him, but Sam laughed and shook his head.

“No, no. I’m not actually angry,” he said, waving her off. “You’re getting crazy good with Ghost Type energy, and your control is still growing! I’m just feeling a little tense, today. We should reach the ruins by this afternoon.”

Route 32 connected to two places—Violet City and the Ruins of Alph. Both were right at the end of the route, with the Ruins of Alph located not too far away from the city.

Sam wanted to go to the Ruins of Alph to search for information. The place was an ancient, abandoned settlement famous for unexplainable phenomena. Most importantly, it was a hotspot for researchers and archaeologists. If there was anywhere Sam could go to ask about a long-lost evolution, it would be there.

“You’re really going to ask for help?” Redi asked.

“I am. The New Pokédex says Hisuian Typhlosion is the evolution of Quilava in old Hisui, but that doesn’t really help us. We’re playing a guessing game when it comes to Quilava’s evolution. I don’t want to risk it. The Ruins of Alph are ancient. There might be information in the ruins, or one of the researchers might know something. Either way, I can’t pass up this opportunity to find something to help.”

Quilava moved a bit closer to Sam as they walked. She briefly leaned into his leg before making room so he wouldn’t stumble. Her potential evolution was meant to be secret, something that’d make her and the rest of the team well known, but neither of them were willing to ignore a way to get answers.

They were almost already there anyway, as a fork in the road split the path between the ruins and Violet City. Overall, travel hadn’t been too difficult thanks to the relative uniformity of the forested coast, though the water had reached its end a few days ago. Union Cave was almost like a shortcut too, in that it was a direct path through a bunch of otherwise difficult terrain. Not to mention, there were fewer places to explore in Azalea Town than Sam wanted. They hadn’t lingered. Right now, they were actually ahead of schedule.

It only took a few hours to arrive, allowing them to reach the archaeological site just around noon. The ruins were located within a wide valley, hidden within a set of rocky hills. Dedicated research buildings sat on those hills’ tops, providing a good view over all the ancient buildings below. This place was open to tourists, and Sam could already see people wandering about within the old city, but his goal was to talk to researchers first. He’d be a fool to think himself a better archaeologist than trained professionals.

Pokémon weren’t allowed inside due to issues involving Type energy, so Sam had to return Quilava before heading in. Despite it being midday, it was rather quiet as he stepped into the building. The place was like a combination of a warehouse and an office complex. There were desks set up along its sides where younger researchers furiously took notes and analyzed small artifacts under bright lights. Crates were stacked in the back, and long tables had collected artifacts spread out in the center.

Sam didn’t see any other tourists here even though anyone was free to enter. There was only him, Redi, and the many archaeologists working in the room. Sounds of scribbling and murmuring filled the air, and he was hesitant to call for help out of worry he’d disturb them. Thankfully, a nearby worker noticed him and approached with a friendly smile on her face.

“We don’t get many visitors to this building. Can I help you?” she asked.

“Yes, I wanted to ask a few questions about the Pokémon here?” Sam said.

The woman nodded along, her eyes flashing with understanding when Sam mentioned Pokémon.

“Ah, you’ll want to talk to Dr. Hale, then. I’ll fetch him for you! Give me one moment.”

She ran off to grab an older man standing in front of the table filled with artifacts. He looked to be forty or so years old, looking over clay tablets with bubbly letters carved into them, one on each tile. As the woman tapped his shoulder to get his attention, she whispered something to explain. He looked up, a sharp gaze snapping to Sam and Redi. His height made him intimidating at first, but as he headed over, his expression was far too excited to carry any malicious intent.

“Hello!” he said jovially with a deep voice that suited him. “I’m Dr. Spencer Hale, but please, just call me Spencer!”

“Sam,” Sam said, shaking the man’s hand.

“And I’m Redi!” Redi said, doing the same.

Spencer tilted his head at her.

“Ready for what?”

“No. Actually, Redi’s my name.”

Spencer blinked before letting out a deep laugh.

“Ah, that’s fun! Pleasure to meet you, Sam, Redi. So! I heard you’re trying to find out more about Unown, yes?”

Sam frowned. Redi pursed her lips.

“Sorry, Unown?” she asked. “I thought we were here about Typhlo— something else.”

The man’s expression faltered. His excitement began to fade, but Sam quickly spoke up.

“Wait, uh—” He paused. “Sorry, but I don’t think I was specific enough when I asked for help. You came over here to talk about Unown, right? You looked kind of excited about it.”

“No, no. It’s fine,” Spencer said, waving him off. “I can still answer your questions.”

Sam sent a glance to Redi. She stood up a bit straighter, getting the hint.

“Actually, I’d like to hear about Unown first, if that’s okay?” she asked.

Sam nodded furiously, and Spencer replied with a smile. However, it was more than just a friendly smile. It was one of someone given the chance to give a lecture that all of his colleagues had grown tired of hearing.

Spencer started with a totally unnecessary crack of his knuckles.

“Unown are an absolutely fascinating Pokémon, with appearances dating back thousands of years. They’re extraordinarily rare, only ever found in these ruins and other, select places. They have a connection to the mysterious, and sightings tend to place them next to many unexplained phenomena. They’re a favorite of many conspiracies that tend to be true, more often than not. In fact, it’s commonly agreed that they’re responsible for many of the Ruins of Alph’s unusual events!”

He then leaned in and brought up a hand as if he was sharing a secret.

“A few myths even say that if they work together, a group of Unown would be comparable to Legendary Pokémon. We have no proof of such a fact, but it’s a common story told across the world. A fantastical idea, isn’t it?”

“Wow,” Redi said. Her eyes looked glazed over.

“Wow, indeed!” Spencer drew himself back and laughed. “Thankfully, while still capable of minor telekinetic feats, Unown are pitifully weak independently, and they’re rare enough that it’s hard to locate more than one at a time. Any mass linkage is exceptionally unlikely. That kind of foretold power would be devastating, but we don't have anything to worry about. If something like that happens in my lifetime, I’d be surprised.”

He chuckled.

“Unown are the core of my research, which is why I commonly find myself at these ruins. I think they deserve to be understood better. They’re my favorite Pokémon.”

“I can tell,” Sam said.

“And if you want to see one... Ah! Here we go. Take a look at this.”

He jogged back over to the central table, put on a glove, and came back holding one of the tablets. The image inscribed onto it was a rounded letter with an eye right where a gap normally would be.

“Unown take the form of letters of this ancient alphabet, hence why this place is called the Ruins of Alph. The name can be sourced both from the original name of the city and from the word ‘Alpha,’ as these ruins were the first major archaeological site established in Johto. But ‘alpha’ is still part of the ‘alphabet!’ If I could write a letter to historians...’”

He laughed at his joke.

“Um, thank you. I didn’t know most of that. It was... a lot of information,” Sam said.

He took a step closer to Redi to hide his smack to her arm. She snapped back to attention and quickly nodded her head.

“For sure!” she shouted.

A few of the other researchers briefly turned her way.

“So, for my question...” Sam continued.

“Of course, of course! My apologies if I got a bit too caught up in that little speech of mine. I’ve been told I can be a bit ecstatic when it comes to Unown.”

Redi still looked like she was in a daze.

“Well, I actually wanted to know if this place has any connection to Sinnoh,” Sam asked. “Or, I want to know if there are any species depicted here that used to be found in Sinnoh?”

Spencer didn’t seem to be expecting Sam’s question. Thinking, he hummed and rubbed his chin.

“That’s a very interesting question you have there. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone could write several papers on that topic alone. Yes, I do believe we’ve seen a few variant species depicted on these walls—but not many.”

“Which ones?” Sam asked.

“A few ancient fossil Pokémon, mostly. A Legendary Pokémon or two. Additionally, some walls have depictions of Growlithe that don’t quite match up to the species’s current appearance.”

Spencer went on to explain how those carvings of Growlithe often included hair that covered their face and neck. Unfortunately, it wasn’t what Sam was looking for. He wanted to know if Hisuian Typhlosion specifically was depicted in this place, and if he could find any clues to help out Quilava.

“So... is there anything connected to Hisui here?” Sam asked.

The doctor hummed again. He spent a while in deep thought.

“You’re at the wrong ruins for that, I’m afraid.”

“Oh.” Sam slumped.

“But that doesn’t mean these are the only ruins around,” the man continued. “Have you ever heard of the Sinjoh Ruins?”

“The Sinjoh Ruins?” Sam asked, repeating the word to try it out. “It sounds like someone mashed up ‘Sinnoh’ and ‘Johto.’”

“Exactly!”

Spencer’s sudden outburst made Sam jump.

“That’s exactly what the Sinjoh ruins are, a mash-up of Sinnoh and Johto! They’re located between the two regions, so much so that it's set perfectly between the two of them! The Sinjoh ruins can be found high up in the mountains north of Johto, and we researchers are still struggling to understand them. Strangely, if you travel to the ruins from one region before the next, no matter how long the trip is, you’ll find your travel takes less time.”

“That’s so weird,” Redi said.

“Indeed,” Spencer said, sagely nodding his head.

Something in Sam’s gut told him that the Sinjoh ruins were exactly what he was looking for. He absolutely needed to go straight there.

“So how do we get to the Sinjoh ruins?”

Spencer winced, and he suddenly looked almost... ashamed?

“Ah,” he said, rubbing his neck. “I might have gotten ahead of myself. Only approved researchers or qualified trainers—eight Gym Badges or more—are permitted access. ...I have a feeling neither of you meet those requirements.”

Sam sighed.

There goes that hope.

By the time he had eight Gym Badges, Quilava would have likely evolved.

Then again, we could request an Everstone. That’d buy us some time, but it’d replace her Charcoal. She’s gone against the idea of using an Everstone before, but I’m not sure if she’d still feel the same way. I don’t want her holding herself back again. Maybe there’s somewhere else we can head?

As Sam struggled to figure out what to do next, Spencer seemed to inspect him, looking him up and down.

“Might I ask why you want to go to Sinjoh Ruins?” he asked quietly.

Sam looked back up, his focus returning to the conversation at hand.

“I...” He took a deep breath. “I have a Pokémon I’m trying to evolve, and I think she’d be able to evolve into one of those variant species I mentioned if we could just obtain more information.”

Redi immediately looked at him, sucking air through her teeth nervously.

Revealing Hisuian Typhlosion was a risk, but Spencer was a researcher rather than a Pokémon Trainer. He was clearly more focused on learning about Unown than “stealing” any potential discoveries from Sam. The New Pokédex was Sam’s advantage, and he had no plan to hand it over. It would stay that way for a long time, but the book wasn’t perfect. He needed supporting information—supporting information this man might have.

As Sam explained the concept of Hisuian Typhlosion, Spencer’s eyebrows practically went to the top of his head. Redi openly gaped at Sam, now properly recovered from her daze.

When he finished speaking, she took his arm and turned him around, leaning closer for a whisper.

“You sure you wanted to reveal that?”

“I’m sure. If it means success, I’m willing to reveal a lot more—not everything—but anything that’s necessary.”

She gave him another look before turning back to Spencer. The man continued to inspect Sam, and his expression leveled out.

“And you’re confident such an evolution is possible?”

“Absolutely. We’ve been working towards it for months at this point.”

He hummed one last time before giving Sam an approving nod of his head.

“Who am I to stand in the way of such a determined young trainer? I might not be able to provide you the information you seek, but I can help in a different way. If you give me your names and ID numbers, I can pass along a recommendation that should grant you an approval for an early visit to the Sinjoh Ruins.”

Sam let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“Thank you,” he said genuinely. “This will help us a lot.”

“Yeah! You’re pretty cool!” Redi added.

Spencer chuckled.

“Of course! And perhaps this experience might encourage you to become researchers, yourselves, when you grow up, hm?”

When Redi scrunched up her face in disgust, Spencer just laughed.

He headed back to a side table to grab a sheet of paper, and Redi immediately provided her name and trainer ID when he returned. Just in case, Sam checked to make sure the man had the appropriate credentials. He didn’t want to risk his identity being stolen, but Spencer was trustworthy. He’d even been approved by the League.

“...And that’s my ID,” Sam said. “Name’s right there—Samuel Greyson.”

Spencer paused where he was writing, looking up at Sam with a sudden glint in his eyes.

“Your name is Samuel? Last name Greyson?”

“Yes?” Sam offered.

Once more, Spencer started to smile.

“This might be... Hm. I don’t suppose you know one ‘Richard Greyson?’”

“He’s my grandfather?” Sam answered cautiously.

Spencer immediately brought himself back up and let loose a full, belly-deep laugh.

“Amazing! What a coincidence!” he practically shouted. “Fate can really be incredible, sometimes! Sam, you’re in the right place. You should know that Richard is a close friend!”