Swanna Song, Sung Throughout Sinnoh

“I only have one Badge so far, but after I get done with what I need to in Alamos, I’ll go to Oreburgh City and see Roark for my second Badge,” Gary told Psychic Tiny. That’s right. Just one Badge, he kept to himself.

“That’s great! Congratulations! And good luck on your next Badge!” Psychic Tiny whispered happily.

One Badge... He thought about the Phobia Badge he got from Cas. One Badge... What is it about that girl that I just can’t let go of?

“So, what exactly are you going to Alamos City for?”

Gary didn’t respond right away. “I’m trying to find rare Pokemon in the mountain area outside of the city itself.”

“Oh, right. Looking for more Pokemon. Of course, ha ha ha.”

Gary just nodded.

The five went through the night woods.

Psychic Tiny kept as quiet as she could, but kept talking. She was truly worried about any Dark type Pokemon in the woods, afraid they would be unstoppable at night, despite Gary explaining that that isn’t how it works.

If Gary was now afraid of anything though, it was that Trevenant they had run into earlier.

Voices rang out.

The party came to a collective stop.

“So everyone heard that, right?” Gary said loudly.

“Gary!” Psychic Tiny whispered loudly. “Your voice!”

“Come on, Tiny. I’m a Pokemon Trainer! I battle Pokemon for a living! If it’s Pokemon you’re afraid of, you’re in the right hands!” Gary argued, frowning now.

“How did your hand get injured? I bet a Dark type messed up your hand, didn’t it?” Psychic Tiny eyed Gary.

Gary paused.

Psychic Tiny caught this and smiled. “I knew it!”

“That doesn’t prove anything! Pokemon-!”

“Gary!” She held a hand out to him.

“NO! You - no! Trainers get hurt all the time from all types of Pokemon! I won’t let you pin this on Dark types!”

“They’re evil!”

Gary was stuck, knowing the backstory of Dark type Pokemon. “They’re not that bad! They’re just... embodiments of nature! Evil is a part of nature. But Dark types are no more ‘evil’ than a Squirtle is literally made up of water! Or, or... Or a Charmander is just a ball of fire! You said it yourself that Ghost types aren’t actually dead, but are a representation of death!”

Psychic Tiny was gonna respond, but a shout came out of the woods, interrupting her.

“That must be a Pokemon,” Gary stated.

“Yeah, an evil, Dark type Pokemon,” Psychic Tiny added, glaring around her. “Gastly, be ready.”

“Gaastly!” Gastly responded determinedly, turning everywhere his Trainer looked.

Gary’s eyes shot through the trees. It’s okay, he told himself. Just a new Pokemon to capture. A cool Dark type, at that. I won’t let this one get away.

Nothing came out.

The Trainers and their Pokemon did their best to not make a sound.

The grass briefly rustled in one spot.

Everyone focused on that one spot.

“Alright, if this thing won’t show itself, then let’s just go ahead and see if we can make it jump out!” Gary suggested impatiently and walked past a number of close trees, slipping by them by scraping along.

“Gary, please!” Psychic Tiny pleaded fearfully.

“Pokemon leap out all the time to attack Trainers and their Pokemon!” Gary said loudly. “I’m not afraid of that. I’m an experienced Pokemon Trainer!” Gary felt a large amount of nervousness in his heart, but he rejected the idea that he was speaking so loud to scare off whatever might be there.

“Oooooh... Garyyyyyyy!” Psychic Tiny was trembling.

It’s fine!! Gary was now thinking loudly! He grabbed an empty Poke Ball from his pocket with his left hand and enlarged it. Nothing to it! Just another wild Pokemon to-!

A dark monster burst out from the trees and came for Gary’s face!

“AAAAAAAAHHH!!!” Gary waved his arms in front of him wildly and stumbled backwards, falling over. He purposely turned to land on his left shoulder to cause less pain to his injured right hand, but the hand still ached badly, causing him to shout out again.

The creature flew over Gary and hit the ground before scampering off, looking like some kind of goblin to the Trainer.

Gary’s mouth was hung open wide, quivering with fright as he stared at the last place the monster had been.

“Raichu Raichu!” Raichu had run up to the boy and put one paw on him.

Electivire had his arms crossed, unbothered by what had happened.

Psychic Tiny, however, was sitting, her arms around her knees, her eyes bigger than her actual glasses, her teeth chattering, frightened.

Gastly was smiling, hovering above her, staring at Gary.

Seeing the scared girl, Gary gathered strength. His tightened fist shoved into the ground and he got to his feet.

Raichu, Electivire, and Psychic Tiny turned to him.

“I won’t be afraid again. Whatever animal, Pokemon, comes out of these woods, I identify and stop!” he stated loudly. He faced ahead of the path he was on. “No more running! It’s time to capture us all of the Pokemon that reside out here!”

Raichu nodded at Gary and kept his paws by his face. “Raichu!” he said bravely.

“Let’s go, team!” Gary walked, Raichu keeping by him.

Electivire moved as well, holding onto June’s bag.

“Gary!” Psychic Tiny called out.

“Gast?” Gastly spoke.

Gary made his way through tight groups of trees, slipped on some dirt, and crunched leaves and branches along the way. I hope this coat will keep me warm enough for the mountain climb. It’s the best thing I’ve got! Come to think of it, how prepared am I to just think I can walk up a mountain? Do I have enough food? What kind of gear do I need? I mean, it’s not like I’m climbing up the side of the mountain or- The child froze at a sound. A giggle? he thought. His eyes swept around, but seeing was impossible at this hour. Oh, wait! The phone! Gary remembered and pulled it out. Light from the screen glowed, and after a minute, he got the flashlight to glow on the back and held the phone up.

The murderer stepped into the light with an axe raised over his shoulder and brought it down upon Gary, screaming with a maniacal smile.

Gary shrieked in the night.

Raichu joined him in his wailing.

Electivire was even shouting out, the bag slipping from his shoulder.

Both Electric types attacked at once.

Electivire’s blast of electricity curved and hit Raichu, who continued to attack, even stronger now, and hit the attacking man.

The guy screamed wildly and fell away, stumbling into a tree and sliding down. His weapon landed beside him.

Trembling, Gary struggled to keep the light on him, the glow waving around unsteadily.

A cry like that of a crazed lunatic came from behind Gary, and before he knew it, he’d been taken down by something storming through.

An animal? Pokemon? Gary couldn’t see it clearly, his phone on the ground, the light mostly covered. When he had grabbed his phone back and held out the light, he squinted in disbelief.

Its long hair covered its face. It stood at a towering height. Its body was covered in thick tufts of fur, long and dangling. It could have been a skinny bear, or some kind of pouncing panther.

Gary shook his head. It’s not a Pokemon, is it? It’s... His arms, along with his legs, were trembling. She’s back! The monster! She has June! June! Gary’s eyebrows narrowed, but he couldn’t build up enough anger or confidence to do anything, fear keeping him down. Wait! he remembered. Electivire! He turned.

Raichu’s ears were down as he watched the creature get ready to attack the man who had come at Gary with the ax, disbelief and fear on the Pokemon’s face.

Electivire just watched angrily.

Electivire? Doesn’t he want to-? Gary stopped and turned.

The monster leaned towards the fallen attacker dangerously and grabbed at his throat, the man gasping out. The thing then grabbed the ax the man dropped and raised it into the air and started cackling! “A stick?” it spoke in the voice of a human woman. “Is this the best you can do? This is your scare tactic?”

Gary’s eyes widened. Huh?? Wait, that’s not-

“If I can get a minute to catch my breath... There’s someone out there that I think I scared. Let go of my shirt and help me up.” It wasn’t his throat that was being gripped, but his shirt!

It was hard for Gary to see straight in the shaking light he held, but he could see that the monster had picked up the man’s stick, not an ax!

Furthermore, the monster that had been terrorizing the planet and haunting Gary’s dreams, was not what was in front of him! It seemed that someone was covered in what looked like vines and moss, leaves and dirt, all hanging and otherwise dripping from their body. It was a woman! Nothing but a tall woman!

The guy was now standing, matching in height with the woman, and they both turned to Gary and held up a hand, shielding their eyes.

“Wait. You mean that’s not the camera guy?” the woman called. “Who are you?”

“I’m sorry! We mean you no harm! It’s just a prank!” the man added.

They both approached Gary and his Pokemon.

“RAICHUUUUUU!!!” Raichu freaked out, zapping the area.

Gary, the man, and the woman were all screaming out now and collapsed.

Electivire stood just fine, swinging both arms in separate circles, geared up by the attack.

Psychic Tiny raised an arm to shield her eyes from the bright blast, but she wasn’t hit.

The other three human bodies were twitching and flinching, sparking and arching.

“O-o-o-o-o-o-okay, th-th-th-th-that’s r-r-r-really start-start-starting to hurt,” the man stammered.

The woman stuttered as well, but whatever she might have been trying to say wasn’t clear.

“R-R-R-Raich-ch-chuuuu...” Gary managed. “Y-y-you’re supposed to be helping prevent this-s-s-s-s.”

“Ga-ha-ha-ha-ha-haaaaaaa-stlyyyyy!” Gastly appeared and disappeared, appeared and disappeared, over and over again, floating over everyone.

“Gary, are you okay?” Psychic Tiny knelt down beside Gary, not touching him as she saw him spark, and then staring at the man and woman. “Who are these two?”

“Just a happily m-m-m-married cou-coup-p-ple trying to k-keep the sp-spa-spark alive,” the woman answered. “Th-th-though I d-d-didn’t m-m-m-mean l-l-l-like th-this.”

“If there’s one thing that gets us going, it’s a good fright!” The man then groaned, cringing and flinching, unable to talk.

“Is that what this is all about?” Psychic Tiny sighed, smiling weakly.

“I don’t understand what’s going on...” Gary said wearily, sitting up and holding his head.

*

“I need to sleep, boy,” Psychic Tiny said grumpily.

“Well, I wish you luck. I’ve gotta keep going.”

“It’s really late! Aren’t you sleepy? And why did Riolu come out?”

Gary looked to his Riolu.

She stared back at him from the corner of her eye.

Gary and Psychic Tiny had been arguing about going to sleep for half an hour, and suddenly, Riolu came out of her Poke Ball.

When this happened, Gary was confused, and while he tried to put her away, she put up an incredibly determined effort to remain outside, including using attacks like Dig, Double Team, and even Agility. He eventually gave up and they all continued through the woods until Psychic Tiny demanded they call it a night, which Gary refused.

Gary didn’t admit it to the girl, but he was afraid to go to sleep. He’d had enough of his nightmares. And he was sick of Riolu being there to stare at him almost every time he had them.

And, she only seemed to appear during the most stressful, frightening of the dreams, when they seemed to be something else entirely...

Some of his nightmares were the regular that would be expected. Making little to no sense, or just being simplistic and explainable.

But then there were other dreams where he felt like they weren’t dreams of any kind at all. It felt more like...

Memories? Thoughts? Maybe. They just didn’t feel like dreams! They broke him down to the bone. To his core. And left him shattered, trembling, and feeling like he wasn’t himself. Feeling as if he could do the terrible things his dreams were telling him the monster was doing to June. As if he had done them! As if he wanted to harm June!

“Are you and Riolu close?” Psychic Tiny now asked.

Gary stared at her. “Yeah. We’re working on getting stronger. I know that when we get really close, she’ll evolve, so long as it’s the day.”

Psychic Tiny just stared at him. “I only ask because, I find it so weird it’s so determined to stay outside of its Poke Ball. You know about Aura, right?”

“Yeah,” Gary answered. “I mean, I don’t really get it, to be honest. I meant to look into it a bit more...” he muttered.

“You need to if you have a Riolu. Riolu and Lucario are all about Aura! It’s the essence of every living being! Pokemon like Riolu and Lucario are amongst the most important Pokemon in the world! They’re like, the world’s most important living creatures! If Riolu is so forcibly coming out of his Poke Ball like this, he might be seeing something important!”

“What do you mean...?” Gary asked hesitantly.

“Riolu can read Aura. This allows them to read the feelings and emotions and thoughts of other beings, Pokemon and humans. And animals, too.”

She’s reading me? My emotions? My nightmares are calling her out? Gary realized. Does she know what’s going on with me?

“So-”

“Tiny...”

“-he must know about the forest ghoul!”

“Wait what??” Gary shook his head, his eyes widening.

“Your Riolu must know about the forest ghoul! It’s a Dark type that takes the form of a doll to lure people to touch it. But if you doooo, it’s revealed to be Banette, the forest ghoul! And it eats you!”

“Banette...?” Gary was about to put away his phone and grab his Pokedex, but an idea hit him and he ended up just typing on the phone. This search failed to work, as he realized he had no service, so he ended up getting his Pokedex after all. He squinted a bit in the bright glow of the Pokedex.

Banette. The Marionette Pokemon and the evolved form of Shuppet. This Ghost type is an embodiment of resentment and revenge for a toy that was carelessly discarded. The full power of this negative energy is kept locked inside of the zipper of its mouth.

Gary’s mouth hung open in confusion and disbelief. “That’s not what you just said, Tiny...”

“Well, there’s more to it. Those things are evil. It only told you a little bit of the whole story. I’ve heard things about that Pokemon.”

“Everyone hears things, Tiny! That doesn’t mean they happened! And it’s a Ghost, not a Dark type!”

“Ghosts don’t eat people. Banette kills people lost in the forest!”

“The Pokedex said nothing like that! In fact, what it actually says doesn’t even make any sense! How can it be evolved but be a doll? Where does the first form-?”

There was an explosive sound that silenced the two.

Raichu cried out, grabbing onto his tail and staring into the sky.

Electivire was looking upward but not as high up as Raichu, looking to each side.

Riolu was trembling on the spot, her voice quivering as she said, “R-r-r-r-i-i-i-i-i-i-i!”

Gastly was silent by his Trainer, his eyes upward, staring around determinedly.

“I’ve never seen a Banette, but was that the sound they make?” Gary asked shakily.

“P-probably,” Psychic Tiny answered.

Gary didn’t trust her response, but he knew that whatever made that noise didn’t sound too friendly. Human-eater or not, Gary wasn’t interested in being the test dummy for the outcome of encountering this ghoul. But what direction do we go in? We could end up walking right into-

Another explosive roar sounded like it was coming from all parts of the forest, echoing untraceably.

A low rumble of thunder followed.

Thunder? Gary stared into the sky. Is that all it was? Have I been startled by some thunder? Another storm?

BAAAAAAAAAAAMMM!!!!A bright light blinded everyone before Gary, Riolu, Psychic Tiny, and Gastly fell away from each other.

Gary shielded his eyes with his wounded hand and held himself up with his good one, squinting into the blinding light.

Riolu was motionless on her back, her eyes closed.

Raichu was in the middle of the glowing light, revealed to be from a bolt of lightning!

Electivire had his arms moved away from Raichu but stood close by the Pokemon.

The lightning was gone soon after it arrived, and another noisy blast caught Raichu, startling everyone again.

Raichu’s body relaxed just a little and he nodded strongly at Gary. “Rai! Rai!”

The lightning was gone again.

“Raichu’s going to evolve at this rate! Being struck by so many beams of lightning will-!” Psychic Tiny cried out happily to Gary.

“Will you shut up?!” Gary snapped at her. He managed over to Riolu.

Riolu groaned, finally lifting her head.

“Riolu, stop. Please. Return.” Gary put her away and then frowned at Psychic Tiny. “Raichu’s a fully evolved Pokemon! Do you know anything but a bunch of false rumors and nonsense?”

Psychic Tiny frowned and huffed. “Well! Rrrrude!”

Gary sucked his teeth and rolled his eyes. Yeah, whatever, he kept to himself. Not like you- “It’s not like you aren’t asking for it,” he decided to say out loud. “What have you surmised that’s been accurate so far? You said there were ghouls in the forest who would eat us, trees would attack us, like, what else?”

“And Dark types are evil,” Psychic Tiny reminded him.

“Yeah! That nonsense, too! You’re supposed to be seeing the stupidity of what you’re saying, not adding to it!”

“Rrrrruu-!” Psychic Tiny stopped and covered her mouth, her eyes now wide.

A huge gust of wind was now blowing.

Gary copied Psychic Tiny and covered his own face, holding his breath. Raichu! I should return him, but I need him with all this lightning out here! Though, isn’t he the one pulling it down to him with his Ability? He’s the one causing the lightning to come down!

Gastly was gone completely.

Maybe, since it’s gone, it’s fine, Gary considered. He won’t suffocate from his poisonous body.

With the howl of one hundred wolves, the wind blew hard and wild.

“Whoa!” Gary leaned into the wind, struggling to keep his footing, Psychic Tiny shouting out, but the wind then blew in all sorts of directions and Gary fell!

Psychic Tiny screamed and was lifted off her feet about a foot before dropping and tumbling nonstop!

“TINYYY!” Gary reached out for her but had to shut his eyes when something got in them. He growled with frustration. A storm at all times! Not even a storm! This is more like a hurricane! He got to his knees and tried hard to dig them into the dirt. His hands hit the ground, one firmly, the other one more gently. “TINYYY!” He squinted hard and then blinked rapidly, trying to clear his vision as tears tried to flush his eyes.

Psychic Tiny was sitting up against a tree, her eyes tight and her glasses crooked.

Electivire had his arms out, struggling against the storm, and Raichu had managed to cling to one of those arms, his body being pulled by the invisible force as he wailed out constantly.

“RAICHUUUUU!!” NO! I have to-!

Suddenly, it began to pour rain!

Everyone was drenched in no time at all.

“Gary, this is dangerous now! In the rain, Electric moves have a higher chance of causing unwanted harm, and hurt way more!” Psychic Tiny complained. “And they could draw the lightning right to us!”

Well you got something right for a change! Gary could only nod, his eyes closing against all the water pouring down his head. Blind, he grabbed a Poke Ball and held it out. “RETURN, RAICHU!” He waited until Raichu went silent and then went for Electivire’s Poke Ball and enlarged it. “ELECTIVIRE!” Don’t give me any problems, man, Gary hoped.

BAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSHHHH!!!!

Psychic Tiny shrieked at the top of her lungs.

Gary jumped in terror, screaming out, rain getting in his mouth. He wiped at his eyes and struggled to see. He found himself frantically wiping at his eyes to keep his vision as he stared at the sight in disbelief.

Psychic Tiny was on the ground, facedown, feet away from a shattered tree that had only seconds ago been whole!

Now, the tree was in pieces all over the ground!

Gary’s mouth was hanging open. What?!

Psychic Tiny was okay though! She scrambled away from the tree, shouting, “LIGHTNING!! LIGHTNIIIIING!!!”

“Are we gonna die here??” Gary was crying now, tears flowing from his eyes. “We’re gonna die in the middle of this storm!”

“This is the workings of Dark, Evil type Pokemon! They’ve cursed us! We’re going to die by a stream of bad luck!!” Psychic Tiny insisted.

“TINY!!” Gary shouted in tears.

“GASTLY! GET HELP, IF YOU CAN HEAR ME!!” She moved her wet hair from her face and looked around helplessly.

And then, something tremendous forced its way through the trees, snapping them easily and crashing them down! It towered over the three and roared deafeningly, its head to the sky as its body waved around like crazy.

“GYARADOOOOOOS!!!” Gary screamed for his life, his voice mixed with Psychic Tiny’s vocal panic.

The blue brute looked down to Gary and roared again.

Gary felt like he would end up deaf, if he survived this.

“THE FOREST GHOOOOUL!!!” Psychic Tiny stood on shaky legs.

Gary frowned with irritation, but didn’t take his eyes from the Pokemon. “ELECTIVIRE!! USE STRENGTH! We can’t use electricity here!! It’s too dangerous!!”

Electivire raged and his horns sparked.

“ELECTIVIRE NO!!” Gary pleaded.

Psychic Tiny screamed.

Electivire’s body then sparked, and soon, everyone was blasted and screaming!

Before Gary knew it, he was on the ground, twitching uncontrollably in the rain, his body sparking.

Psychic Tiny was also down and out.

It was the Gyarados who was just fine! It didn’t seem to have been struck at all! It roared, its head tilted back with about half of its body, completely out of control! Its body straightened back to normal and it was looking down at the group again.

Electivire leaped for Gyarados and swung one of his two sparking fists.

Gyarados leaned waaaaaaaaaaay back, bending its body over at the middle!

The Punch went right over the bend. “VIRE!!” Electivire shouted as Gyarados did the unbelievable!

Gyarados continued leaning back, the top half of its body finally hitting the ground, and it raised the lower half to smack away Electivire!

Electivire was sent flying and crashed into a tree! He gripped the trunk tightly, shaking his head, his eyes tight, and then looked back to Gyarados. “VIIIIIIIRE!!!” He lunged at the Gyarados and swung again with Thunder Punches back to back.

Gyarados could have been part Psychic the way it kept dodging the moves with ease, swaying lazily, dipping, sliding, and bouncing about. Electivire blasted with Thunderbolt, but Gyarados tumbled on the ground to get away! Electivire tried again, Gyarados flying off the ground tail first to get away.

Gyarados’ style of battling was so unorthodox and insane, captivating Gary and Psychic Tiny so much that they failed to even realize that the rain, wind, and general storm had come to a stop!

Electivire now glowed white, and he lunged at Gyarados with all his Strength.

Gyarados stood still, watching, its body swerving, curving, swaying.

Electivire grappled Gyarados’ upper half and leaned it back to slam it down.

Gyarados leaned back, back, back... It then leaped into the air, flipped its body around, and slammed Electivire, who was still holding it, on his back!

“Vii,” Electivire’s breath was snatched away.

Gyarados’ fangs then glowed and it bit into Electivire using Crunch!

Electivire screamed and grabbed at Gyarados’ head, struggling to get it off of him! His body then glowed red right before he vanished!

Whoa. Gary kept his eyes on Gyarados, holding Electivire’s Poke Ball, the Pokemon inside it. There’s something different about this one. I think it has to have a Trainer. He eyed the forest, but he couldn’t see anyone. His eyes scanned the sky above to see that it was actually starting to lighten up! Have I been up all night? Is it really morning?

Gyarados was breathing hard and heavy, its eyes on Gary.

Maybe recalling Electivire wasn’t a good idea. The rain is done. Oh, no. Gary screamed as Gyarados then dove down with gaping jaws to eat him! “AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!” He turned and closed his eyes, raising his arms uselessly, preparing for the chomp! Hot, stinky air hit him, and he flinched and panicked, squeaking in fright. He choked on the air and opened one eye, looking over. After taking in a sharp breath, “AAAAAAHHH!!” he screamed again, turning back and holding out his arms pointlessly as he was about to die in less than a second!

Seconds passed.

Maybe even a minute, now? Am I dead? Gary questioned, and slowly, his eyes widened. He was soon in complete surprise!

Gyarados, for all of its intimidating features, actually had a fairly cute face on now! Its eyes were closed, its cheeks red, and it had some kind of possible smile! It definitely didn’t look as ferocious as it had earlier. Its head was rested on the ground and it rasped out.

Gary choked on the foul air the Pokemon exhaled. “Gyarados...? What is it doing...?” Cautiously, he scooted back a little. He would have gone further had his Pokedex not startled him by going off.

Happy Hour. The user brings about good joy and celebration. It is said that good luck comes from this to those around.

“Happy Hour?” Psychic Tiny repeated.

“Happy Hour? It’s using a move right now?” Gary questioned, confused.

“Waaaait... So this Gyarados is drunk?” Psychic Tiny breathed out as she stood up, her little, thin body quaking.

“Drunk?” Gary saw the stupid look on Gyarados’ arguably pleasant face.

“That’s what a happy hour is. It’s a time when you can get drunk for cheap. I think this Gyarados is just drunk!” she laughed.

Gary sucked his teeth and rolled his eyes. “Tiny! Come off it, already!”

“No, hear me out!!” she said loudly. “Think about it. The way he fought Electivire just now, that was the drunken fighting style where you move all, whoooooooa! Whooooooa!” Psychic Tiny swayed her arms around wildly and leaned backwards, moving her body loosely. She straightened up and continued, “It’s when you fight but let your body do all kinds of crazy, unpredictable movements and make it hard to hit you and you fight back just as unpredictable!”

Gary wanted to argue. He opened his mouth to call her an idiot. He formed his vocals to demand to not hear another word of this absolute madness.

“Tiny’s right. That Gyarados is just lit as fuck right now. My man is twisted.”

Psychic Tiny turned to the voice.

Gary looked as well and then squinted, both due to the poor lighting, and the surety within himself that he couldn’t be seeing who he was seeing. He just couldn’t have heard who he heard.

Approaching them was a young guy with a beard and sideburns, the mustache shaved. His entire face was cut, bruised, and scarring. He had on a big, puffy black coat and ashy black jeans with dark-blue and regular-blue sneakers. On his head was a knit blue beanie. On his back was a big black backpack with some white on it. He stopped and smiled at Gary. “Ha ha haaaa! My nigga!!”

“ISH?!” Gary burst into a huge smile and got to his feet. “ISH! I can’t believe this! You’re here?? In Sinnoh!”

“My nigga, I work out here! In Drive Hill. I work in a pet store, at PokeLand Discounts.”

“I know that place!” Gary said, surprised.

“We do a lot of work, helping Pokemon in other regions and working with other locations and other shelters and stuff to help Pokemon.”

“Yous guys have been in trouble lately with Neo Team Plasma lately for selling Mega Stones and other torture devices, a ha ha ha ha haaa!” Psychic Tiny laughed, pointing at him.

“Man, fuck dem niggas!” Ish responded with some energy, and yet, he still seemed pretty calm. “They don’t understand what we do. I get where they’re coming from, but fuck them. They’re ignoring all the good we do, and the fact that Mega Evolution is still in demand and completely legal. And the Pokemon are just fine after it’s all done.”

“Well, it’s being considered to be banned,” Psychic Tiny brought up.

“My nigga Senator Slowking won’t let that happen. Watch when he wins. It’ll be-”

The Gyarados reminded them of its existence as it let out a low growl and flopped around lazily, ending up rolling happily on its back with its tongue hanging out.

Whoa! Gyarados! Gary thought, staring at the beast warily. “Wait, so, Ish! You were saying about this thing that it’s actually... drunk?”

“I think Gyarados was just attacking in like, a state of play! Not to actually harm anyone!” Psychic Tiny spoke.

I wanted Ish to speak, not you, Gary thought, shooting her a look.

“Yeah,” Ish agreed, nodding. “That’s not impossible. It’s not a common effect of Happy Hour, but it’s like, not everyone holds their liquor the same.”

“Huh?” Gary was confused. He understood what Ish said, but this was just unbelievable!

Ish was a talented and experienced Trainer who knew Pokemon, and he was speaking as if this definitely could be the answer to what had been going on!

“The sudden storm could have been an attack, the lightning, the rain, all attacks, but not meant to hurt us!” Psychic Tiny stated. “We may have just been in the middle of him playing around and not really knowing what he was doing because he’s a big drunk boy! Is that right, Boo Boo?” She walked right up to Gyarados with its big smile and red face. Her hand reached out slowly and touched Gyarados’ huge head.

Gyarados purred now! It rolled over to its side and continued to purr against Psychic Tiny’s pets!

Ish burst into crazy, heavy laughter. “Yo, I’m weak!”

Gary felt like passing out in that moment, not believing what he was seeing. While a side of him was grateful things seemed to be going so well, another side of him wanted to actually be infuriated! This was all just plain ridiculous!

Gyarados’ tongue came out and it slobbered all over Psychic Tiny happily.

“Eeeeeewwww!” Psychic Tiny laughed helplessly.

“That’s gross,” Ish commented.

“Perhaps this is what they mean when they say that the ends justifies the means, or something?” a voice asked next to Gary.

Gary jumped, startled by the sudden arrival of yet another person, and turned. He choked out as a pale man in a blue cap grabbed his throat and forced him down to his back!

“What??” Psychic Tiny squealed with fright.

The fingers on Gary’s left hand dug into the man’s left hand, and while he tore into the skin and shed blood, the man did not let go or react in any kind of pain. Gary raised his injured right hand, keeping the forearm in front of him as some kind of useless protection.

The man opened his mouth wide, revealing a pair of sharp fangs in the upper half of his jaw. Two red ovals glowed from under the bill of his cap where eyes should be before he lowered his mouth to bite into Gary’s neck!

Gary’s knees swung inward and kicked the guy in the stomach, and he vanished in a puff of purple smoke! Both his hands shoved into the ground to scramble backwards, but Gary had to stop and scream in pain as he held his right hand when it burst with pain. He was now staring in horror at...

“Sorry. Should I have chosen a woman to do the job?” Gastly smiled with a huge, open mouth.

“Gaaaastlyyyy!” Psychic Tiny ran from Gyarados and to her Pokemon. Somehow, she was able to hug him, Gastly closing his eyes and surrounding parts of her in his fog.

Gyarados looked up, seemingly confused, its cheeks still red.

“My nigga Gastly. Ha ha ha!” Ish laughed.

“My brotha, Ish! Always a pleasure teaming up with you,” Gastly smiled at him, his eyes closing with delight. But his smile went away quickly as the Ghost gazed at the sky uncomfortably. “Though, I’m afraid I won’t be here for much longer. The sun is rising after all.”

The sun hadn’t risen yet, but the sky was showing that it was coming soon.

“Wait, you knew that Gastly was playing a trick?” Psychic Tiny smiled at Ish, and then her Pokemon.

“Yeah, I ran into my son when I was out here and he came up with the idea to get you guys with a prank, ha ha ha haaaaa!”

“Gaaastlyyyy,” Psychic Tiny smirked at him. “So that’s where you were blown off to. I told you to get help.”

“Did I not?” Gastly smiled again.

“Wait, do you two, or, three... know each other??” Gary questioned, curious about the situation.

“Yeeees!” Psychic Tiny answered. “But I didn’t know yous two knew each other!”

“Yes! I know Ish!” Gastly also answered.

Gary stared at Gastly, feeling kind of uneasy. It was fine that Gastly could talk, but things were getting just a little too casual.

“This is the guy who beat Diancie!” Ish explained to Psychic Tiny. “Remember I told you about him. He’s good money.”

“Oooooooohhh!! That was yooooou! Wooooooooow! You’re impressive, kid!” Psychic Tiny smiled at Gary.

Gary smiled back, his face getting red, absolutely nothing making any sense.

*

“Man, you stink, boy!” Psychic Tiny pulled away from Gary, smiling.

“Yeah... Thanks...” Gary muttered, moving away from her after their hug.

She laughed. “Sorry, but it’s true! Ha ha ha! You need a shower! Gyarados breath isn’t nice!”

What about you? You were slobbered in its saliva! And yes, you do stink! Gary chose not to let this out openly, not wanting to be rude, but he didn’t know why as it would be completely fair game. He was sure if Psychic Tiny wasn’t female, he likely would have played back harder. “Well, I’d have given it some mints if it hadn’t kept drunkenly dodging my Poke Balls,” Gary looked away with annoyance.

Psychic Tiny laughed. “I hope to see you again! Good luck where you’re headed!” She ran over to Ish and hugged him. “And take care, Ish! Text me, okay? We’ve got to hang out soon!”

Ish was hugging her back, towering over her. “Sure thing, Tati. And you need to clean yourself up, too. You stink, too.”

Psychic Tiny slanted her mouth at him after they pulled apart and brushed herself off. “Jerk.”

Ish just shrugged. “It licked you all up.”

Good one, Ish, Gary smirked. “Anyway, I’ll see you around, Tiny. Be safe. And thanks again for breakfast!”

“You’re welcome! And you really need to sleep!” Psychic Tiny replied. “You didn’t sleep the whole night! I don’t even think I’m gonna make it any further, myself.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Byyye yous guyyyys!”

“Rai Raaaaaaaaaiii!!” Raichu waved back to her before she left.

From the middle of the forest that wasn’t so tightly squished together with trees anymore, Gary and Ish faced each other under the morning sun.

“So her name’s... Tati?” Gary asked.

“It’s Tatiana, so I call her Tati.”

“Oh, I see. Right. Her name wouldn’t really be Tiny. Duh.” Gary shook his head, looking down.

“Yeah, a friend of ours gave her that name.”

“Hm,” Gary nodded. “Well, I have to get somewhere in like, another, I dunno, another two days I think, so I have to keep going.” Gary was starting to feel woozy, sleepy, and ready to collapse, but with Ish there, he was fighting these feelings with the desire to be awake and attentive.

“I’m out myself, actually. It was cool meeting you guys but I’m on a serious mission right now.”

“Mission? For work?”

“No. I took time off for this, and they can fire me if they want. I don’t care. I need to find my Pichu.”

“You have a Pichu?”

“Yeah. Remember back in that city? Dark City? We helped those Raichu and Pikachu?”

“Raichu!” Raichu stared at Ish.

Ish laughed lightly and pointed at Raichu. “Dope sunglasses. Anyway.” He turned to Gary. “I found a little Pichu running around there and I caught it. But now he’s been kidnapped in this area, and I’ve been looking for him for days now. I think he was taken by that Pokenapper who’s been stealing Baby Pokemon, and I have to find him.”

“Ish, I’m so sorry to hear that.” Gary considered that he could actually help Ish by using one of his wishes for him. He blinked repeatedly, feeling like he was swaying.

Ish nodded. “I’ll find my buddy and fuck that guy up to death! Watch when I catch him!”

Gary looked down and nodded, understanding Ish’s feelings. “Which direction are you headed?”

Ish pointed.

“I’m going that way, too. To the mountains. I need to climb and do some stuff.”

“You better change into a warmer coat. It gets cold up there.”

“Oh, right,” Gary responded, keeping to himself that he had on the warmest coat in his luggage. Heat rises, Gary thought. So why is a mountain cold?

“Anyway, let’s get going if we’re going.” Ish looked dead serious as he looked ahead. “I’ve wasted enough time.” He walked, leaving Gary behind, unconcerned that the kid wasn’t following him. His fists were trembling, tight with determination, and urgent on releasing some pent-up rage.