The Ghost Specialist

“Ah, there we go! Looks like the kid is finally here!”

Buck shook his arms to get off his sweat. A few Pokéballs were magnetically attached to a belt around his waist, ready to be pulled off and thrown forward at a moment’s notice. Makuhita was likely inside one of those balls, as Buck had no Pokémon at his side. That stood counter to how Sam almost always had Cyndaquil out. She did have her own Pokéball, she just preferred not to spend too long inside of it.

“I don’t know what you mean by ‘finally,’” Sam said, annoyed. “You said our match is at noon. It’s before noon. I’m early.”

Sam sent a side-eye to the crowd sitting on the sidelines. He hadn’t expected any observers outside of random people who happened to be nearby. These people looked like they intended to be here, however.

Buck must have talked.

“You don’t mind, right?” Buck said, completely brushing over Sam’s previous statement when he noticed Sam stare at the crowd. “Had a lot of errands to run these past few days. Got up to a lot of talking. A rumor or two might have spread around. They’re here to see our fight.”

Sam couldn’t stop himself from scowling, which probably didn’t align him well with the crowd. He could see that the Pokémart worker, Mark, was here. A few of his neighbors were present. There were other shopkeepers, too. Blending in with the rest, there was also a shorter, unfamiliar man with spiky blue hair.

“Let’s get this battle over with. You’ve brought these people here just to embarrass yourself,” Sam said.

Buck opened his mouth and let loose a loud laugh. A few people in the crowd laughed as well.

“Big words for such a small boy! Fine, then. Let’s have our match!”

Sam sent the man a stiff glare and moved to one side of this outdoor battlefield. Buck did the same, and Sam used this moment to look over the area.

Pokémon fields mostly followed the same shape—large rectangles painted to be divided in half. Small squares were positioned on each end for the Pokémon trainers to stand. Neither trainer was allowed to leave their box. As for the Pokémon, they had to stay inside the bounds of the field for their battle. Stepping outside was usually impossible in official matches thanks to Pokémon-maintained Psychic barriers, but in a casual setting like this, those lines mostly just served as a general guide.

“Are you ready, Cyndaquil?” Sam whispered, glancing at Buck as he did.

Buck was just grinning. Waiting. Notably, most battles had referees, but for all the grandstanding the man had done, this battle wasn’t official enough to warrant one being around.

In response to Sam’s question, Cyndaquil squeaked and climbed out of his hood. Her movements were stiff thanks to nerves, but she was at least not shaking. Sam could tell the crowd was getting to her with how she kept sending glances to them, yet she also was doing her best to stay focused on Buck as much as she could.

She’ll feel better once the match actually starts.

“Come on out, Makuhita!” Buck shouted.

He tossed forward a Pokéball, which opened up and sent out a stream of light. That light coalesced into the pudgy-yet-muscular Pokémon that was Makuhita.

To announce its appearance, it lifted up a single leg to unleash a stomp befitting a sumo wrestler.

“No special rules for this, just the same ones for a casual battle.” Buck then gained a look of fake shock, covering an open mouth with his hand. “Oh! Sorry, I totally forgot you haven’t been in a Pokémon battle before! Need the rules explained?”

Sam groaned. “Really? It’s like you're obsessed with bullying a fourteen-year-old or something.”

Buck’s grin slackened at that, and a few members of the audience chuckled at the taunt. That seemed to bother him the most, as he proceeded to rush through his role of explaining the rules.

“Don’t attack a fainted Pokémon. No moves aimed towards anyone watching. You can’t use items unless agreed upon beforehand. And for this battle, only use the Pokémon we already have on us.”

“Fine.”

For some reason, Sam’s response made the man’s amused look return.

“We’ll start on the count of three,” Buck said. “One. Two... Three!”

Both Sam and Buck immediately pointed forward, each of them striking a dramatic pose like the trainers on television always did. In Buck’s case, the pose came as part of his showboating. In Sam’s case, he did it for two reasons: firstly to force himself into the trainer mindset, and secondly, because it felt right.

“Cyndaquil, remember the plan! Run away and use Ember!”

“Arm Thrust!”

Before either Pokémon could move, the difference in trainer experience was made clear; Buck’s quick shout meant Makuhita sprung into action, whereas Cyndaquil waited for Sam to explain the plan.

The Fighting Type wasn’t very fast. It was a Pokémon built for bulk and weight. Short legs rapidly pushed against the ground to move it forward, and it readied its punches by holding its naturally gloved fists close to its chest.

For Cyndaquil, however, even with that delay, she was still able to run. Makuhita managed to reduce the distance between them with its initial lurch forward, but Cyndaquil’s body was much more suited to scurrying around.

She ran a bit, stopped, then turned and aimed her head. Flames flicked off her back as she opened her mouth. Several globs of Ember fanned out in a spray.

Makuhita sidestepped most of them, ignoring the few that hit its side. While it wasn’t fast, its movements came out well controlled. Seeing that, Cyndaquil hurriedly stopped her attack since Makuhita was using this moment where she wasn’t running to rapidly approach.

“Now!” Buck shouted.

The Fighting Type lunged, and Cyndaquil wasn’t ready to continue her dash.

A fist struck her side, then another. Thankfully, Arm Thrust traded power for speed, so Cyndaquil managed to scramble away and flee after suffering only two hits of that attack.

“...Keep running,” Sam said.

He was already grimacing.

One day of training really wasn’t enough.

“You know, if all you’re going to do is run away, we can make use of that, too!” Buck taunted. “Makuhita, Focus Energy!”

“Go for an Ember now!”

Makuhita brought its arms close to its body and hunkered down. Its eyes were thin enough to always look closed, but it was clear it had turned all of its attention inward to center its internal energy.

Cyndaquil, as her opponent had stopped, paused her dash around the field to aim another use of Ember. Many of her sparks went wide, missing the immobile Makuhita, but enough of them hit that scorch marks appeared on Makuhita’s yellow skin.

Come on...

The Ember continued, and then Makuhita snapped its eyes open. Its gaze was entirely focused on Cyndaquil, but her flames continued to blaze as she continued to attack.

“Keep going!” Sam shouted.

Buck looked amused at Sam’s poor attempt to deal damage.

“Charge forward. Grab it for Vital Throw.”

Makuhita charged as commanded. Cyndaquil didn’t move, maintaining her current attack. Sam felt his fists clench by his sides as the distance between them narrowed. By saying nothing, he was essentially ordering her to take this hit.

Flames scorched Makuhita’s chest as it rushed closer. Within a second, it was on her, and it lunged forward to grab her front paws.

Ember concluded with a yelp as Makuhita yanked Cyndaquil off the ground. The yellow Pokémon began to spin, building momentum, then it released it all to send Cyndaquil away in a painful throw.

She cried out, yet when Makuhita had thrown her, it had winced.

It took all of Sam’s efforts to not jump in the air in a cheer. He still cried out, though. He couldn’t resist at least some celebration.

“You did it! Makuhita is burned!”

Once again, Makuhita winced. It clenched its jaw as the scorch marks on its body caused continuing pain. It wasn’t exactly aflame, instead, the heat from its wounds dug into it to have it suffer from damage over time.

Ember inflicted the exact status condition Sam wanted.

“...You know, kid, that’s pretty clever of you. How’d you know Makuhita didn’t have Guts?”

Sam smiled. Guts normally boosted a Pokémon’s physical power when fueled by the adrenaline of a status effect like a burn, but such a thing didn’t happen here. Instead, the burn hindered Makuhita; the stress of the pain made it difficult to land full-powered attacks.

“It was obvious. Of course your Makuhita doesn’t have Guts. Most abilities require training to be used in battle, and your Pokémon hasn’t been with you for that long.”

Sam mimicked Buck’s previous, mocking grin. He received a frown in return.

Although, I really had no way of knowing. My logic holds, but this was really all just a bet.

Either Makuhita was burned and that lowered its attack, or Makuhita was burned and it became that much stronger thanks to Guts. For Sam’s purposes, it didn’t matter. Cyndaquil would still need to run away no matter what, and the burn would still slowly damage Makuhita regardless of any harmful or beneficial effects.

“Now, run away!” Sam shouted at the top of his lungs. “Get ready for a Smokescreen!”

“Grab it! Hold it down and pin it and beat it ‘til it faints!”

Buck was downright scowling. Sam smiled, but his attention remained firmly locked on the field.

Keep going...

Like before, Cyndaquil proved she was faster. She kept to the edge of the painted boundary as Makuhita gave chase, but it genuinely could not keep up. Flames sparked off her back as she prepared herself to use her next move as soon as possible.

“This isn’t a battle! All you’re doing is running away!” Buck yelled.

“It’s called strategy,” Sam said.

“It’s called cowardice!” Buck countered. “Makuhita, time to change things up! Sand-Attack, get it in its eyes!”

Where Makuhita was once giving chase, it stopped and used its momentum to dig its feet into the ground. The skid kicked up dirt which then sailed over the battlefield right towards Cyndaquil.

The dirt wasn’t sand, but it was still a cloud of irritating grains that coated her face and entered her eyes. She cried out and squinted. Already, Sam could see tears forming as her vision became unreliable.

Now, Cyndaquil wouldn’t be able to run away. Sure, she might have still had the speed advantage, but she wouldn’t know where to run thanks to her greatly reduced sight.

Thankfully, at this point, Cyndaquil was finally ready to follow his command.

“Smokescreen,” Sam said.

Repeating the move’s name encouraged Cyndaquil to go ahead and release it, as a cloud of thick, black smoke left her mouth to coat a good third of the field.

Sand-Attack might have temporarily blinded Cyndaquil, but this move meant Makuhita wouldn’t be able to rely on sight as well. Both Pokémon were now invisible to their targets, and with Makuhita being worn down by its burn, the match was firmly in Sam’s favor.

“Quiet. Listen to your surroundings. Locate it through any noise it makes,” Buck said.

“Cyndaquil! Stay still and don’t make any noise!” Sam shouted.

The thickness of the cloud meant he could only barely make out Buck’s face. The man looked rather annoyed that Sam had immediately given orders that stood counter to his own.

The field went silent. Smoke continued to drift through the air. It lingered above the battlefield, taking longer to dissipate than non-Pokémon-based smoke. Sam found himself clenching his jaw as his entire attention was locked onto the darkness.

You can do it, Cyndaquil. I know you can.

There was no movement, no sound, and no signs of battle for what felt like minutes. The audience was perfectly silent. Makuhita hunted for Cyndaquil in the continuing smoke.

Yet, a Pokémon did eventually cry out.

It wasn’t the Pokémon Sam would have liked to hear.

“Quil!”

Just like that, Sam’s heart sank. He watched as Cyndaquil was tossed directly out of her cover. The Vital Throw caused her to sail through the air and hit the ground hard. After rolling over the dirt, she shook and barely managed to push herself up.

She breathed heavily. The only reason the move hadn’t fainted her outright was that the burn had weakened this damage.

“How are you doing, Cyndaquil? Can you hold on?” Sam asked.

She was too tired to make any noise, but she still nodded her head. He gripped his hands and stared forward. From the smoke, Makuhita strode out.

After all that time Cyndaquil had delayed, Makuhita was now in bad shape. It was breathing just as heavily as Cyndaquil, and it winced with every small move. The burn on its body looked even worse than before—likely, the heated smoke had negatively affected it. The Pokémon stood there, panting, as it glared at Cyndaquil where she stood.

“Knew Vital Throw would work. The move always hits,” Buck mumbled. “Alright, Makuhita! Finish off the match! Go ahead and use Arm Thrust!”

The Pokémon proceeded forward. Sam bit his tongue—Cyndaquil was far too exhausted to use any new moves. Yet Makuhita didn’t run; it walked. It was just as tired as her.

The Fighting Type doggedly moved across the entire field, where it stopped only a foot away. Neither Pokémon immediately acted, instead glaring at one another in silence.

Then, a smirk from Makuhita. Cyndaquil smirked right back.

Only a second later, it fell.

Cyndaquil hadn’t needed to use her own power; a burn would harm a foe no matter the difference in strength. The pain it caused had slowly eaten away at Makuhita’s energy until it finally caused it to collapse.

“We... won,” Sam said quietly. “We... We won, Cyndaquil! We won!”

He laughed madly and threw out his hands. A minor applause came from this battle’s small audience. Relief filled Sam’s chest.

“Not yet, you haven’t,” Buck said, snarling. “Makuhita, return! Medicham, come out!”

To both Sam’s utter dismay and complete confusion, Buck returned his fainted Pokémon and replaced it with a brand new individual. This one was lean with incredibly thick legs. Its eyes had the focus of a Pokémon that had seen hundreds of battles, and it pressed its two hands together almost in prayer.

“But... we agreed to have our fight between Makuhita and Cyndaquil?” Sam asked.

“Did we? Because if you think back to when I was stating the rules earlier, I specifically said that we’d use the Pokémon we had on us. Hence, Medicham.”

Buck’s grin was in no way friendly. A few of the observers threw boos his way.

“Oh, quiet you. You don’t realize how much money is riding on this battle,” he said. “Medicham, it isn’t moving. Go for a Hi Jump Kick.”

“Don’t! We forfeit!”

Buck made no efforts to call his Pokémon back.

Sam wasn’t a fool; he could recognize a losing battle when he saw one. Cyndaquil had already exhausted herself against Makuhita. A veteran Medicham like this would absolutely defeat her.

He tried to pull Cyndaquil’s Pokéball from his pocket. Yet, in his panic, he fumbled.

I need one of those fast-to-use belts.

Medicham loyally jumped into the air, and Sam moved without thinking. As a leg extended downwards, he charged.

“Stop!”

In an instant, Sam was on top of his Pokémon, clutching her tightly to his chest in a way to protect her from the incoming attack. Rushing onto the field like this would spell an immediate loss. It was a manual forfeit.

To Buck, the battle was still on. But to Sam, he knew it had ended when Makuhita collapsed.

Cyndaquil whined, and Sam clenched his eyes shut. He braced himself to provide her with as much protection from this attack that he could.

The world was darkness with his closed eyes. Out of fear, he was temporarily deaf. He waited for the impact to come, but it never did.

“Yeah, alright. This match is over,” someone new called out.

Sam’s tension turned to confusion when he heard that unfamiliar voice. Peeking open an eye, he saw someone standing over him. The man had spiky blue hair and had been in the audience only a moment prior.

“You...”

There was something about him Sam thought he recognized, but he wasn’t sure who this guy was until he spoke next.

“Sorry about all of this,” the man said, grinning. “We’re still getting our Gym in order. What kind of a Gym Leader would I be if I let one of my own Gym Trainers attack a newbie like that?”

Despite everything that had just happened, this newcomer’s smile was practically infectious. Sam pulled himself off of Cyndaquil, sitting up, and he looked around.

Somehow, Buck’s Medicham was now lying on its back, groaning. Nearby, a massive Pokémon stood in front of Sam as if to protect him. Hands as wide as a grown man’s chest were held out like walls, as the evolved form of Makuhita, Hariyama, patiently waited for its trainer’s next command.

“You’re...”

“Brawly,” the apparent Gym Leader said. “There was going to be a big ceremony introducing me to Dewford soon, but I guess this will do.”

He was young, likely barely within his twenties, yet he stood with the intense focus that only the elite of the elite ever had.

After all, Gym Leaders weren’t just strong trainers. They were people that stood at the peak of their class, hand-chosen by the Pokémon League to both protect their local area while also serving as the final boss of their Gym’s challenge.

“So, Buck,” Brawly said, terrifyingly casual. “Wanna explain why you’ve been so eager to ‘help out’ with all our business deals?”

“I, uh...”

Buck’s face drained of blood. He looked like he was about to cry as Brawly cracked the knuckles of his hands.

“Go heal your Cyndaquil,” Brawly said. “In the meantime, I’ll take care of Buck. I think it’s about time he learns that it’s wrong to abuse power.”

Brawly looked just as malicious as Buck had been only a few moments prior, yet Sam didn’t wait. Cyndaquil was staring at the enormous Hariyama next to her in awe, but Sam scooped her up anyway and rushed into the nearby Pokémon Center, where she would hopefully be treated after that match.

Sam stood at the front counter of the Pokémon Center. Technically, there was a small fee for anyone who received healing who wasn’t a registered Pokémon trainer, but Sam had been a registered Pokémon trainer ever since Cyndaquil first joined him. He just hadn’t signed up to compete in any Pokémon League. Although, he would need to register again when his journey actually started.

Still, there was a cost to this, and that cost was getting yelled at.

“I mean, really, carrying your Pokémon like that? Pokéballs exist for a reason. Next time your Pokémon is hurt, return them so that the passive stasis of their Pokéball prevents them from getting worse!”

“Y-yes, Nurse Joy!” Sam was quick to salute.

The pink-haired nurse huffed and leaned back, a satisfied look on her face. After a few moments of staring at the terrified Sam, she let out a sigh and handed over a Pokéball.

“Cyndaquil will be fine. She just needs rest. No training or Pokémon battles for the rest of the day. She really pushed herself in your match, do you understand me?”

Sam nodded the best he could. The nurse gave him a small smile.

“Go,” she said. “I believe you have some people waiting for you, yes?”

When he turned, he saw not just Brawly standing off to the side, but his mother was here, too.

“Yo!” Brawly brought up a hand and smiled cheerfully as Sam approached. “Just talking to your mom, little dude. Far as I’m concerned, the Pokédex deal is still on.”

“But Buck—”

“Buck thought he could manipulate things so he could pocket any extra funds for himself. Yes, we might be getting some electronic Pokédexes, but they’re expensive and are primarily a research tool for the Professors. We don’t have enough to cover every Gym Trainer in the Gym.”

Sam...

Sam couldn’t help but to feel practically all of the tension in his body drain away. He had needed to win the battle to ensure the deal would go through. Now? He had won, and any issues Buck might have caused had vanished just like that.

“Although, next year, we’ll probably cut back on the amount we’re ordering,” Brawly said. “While electronic Pokédexes might be expensive now, the Professors are hard at work ensuring they’ll be more affordable in the future.”

Sam wanted to cry out about how unfair that was, but his mom immediately waved off those concerns.

“That’s fine. As long as you give us a heads up.”

“Then consider this your one year warning,” Brawly said in an almost playful voice.

Sam really hated the way Brawly had just made his mother laugh.

“Oh! I almost forgot!” said his mother a second later. “Congratulations!”

Out of nowhere, Sam was pulled into a tight hug.

“I’m so, so proud of you. You won your battle!”

“I... you were right. It’s risky. If Brawly wasn’t there—”

She pulled out to better look Sam in the eye.

“He was, and that’s what matters. In the future, if you don’t want to be bullied by the strong...”

“Then I should get strong, myself,” Sam finished.

His mother smiled proudly and rubbed his shoulder. When she stepped away from Sam, he sighed, a little embarrassed.

“But that was a great battle, though!” Brawly said, butting in. “Really handled yourself well against Buck. That strategy? Impressive for a new trainer!”

“Really?”

The Gym Leader winced.

“I mean, kind of? Not too many trainers at your level think to try for status moves, but simply putting a status on someone and running away won’t be enough against a stronger opponent.”

“Oh.”

At least I know there’s room for improvement.

Yet, despite how Brawly had put down Sam’s strategy, the man still looked cheerful, and he leaned in to get a bit closer.

“Now, the real reason I wanted to bring that up is because I have advice for you. You want to be a Pokémon Trainer, yeah?”

“I do. A Ghost Type specialist. The best there ever was.”

The man grinned.

“Alright. So, listen. Hoenn is great and all, but if you really want to challenge yourself, I have a different place in mind. You know Johto?”

Sam blinked.

“...But you work for Hoenn? Why recommend somewhere else?”

“Well, I’m not technically a Gym Leader here just yet—not until my first season starts in two months. Johto, though? I trained there, under a man named Chuck. I can personally attest to the strength of the region’s Gym Leaders, and their League season starts in just a handful of weeks, sooner than ours. If you want to face tough opponents, encounter unfamiliar Pokémon, and really push yourself, I can’t recommend Johto enough.”

Sam looked to his mother. She was smiling without even an ounce of worry. Calmly, she nodded her head.

“I support your decision, whatever you choose,” she said.

Sam stepped back away from Brawly and looked the Gym Leader in his eyes.

“I’ll go. I’ll follow your advice and head to Johto.”

“Great!” Brawly merrily slapped Sam on the shoulder and took a step back. “Now excuse me, I have an employee to fire.”

And then he cheerfully walked straight out.

Then it was just Sam and his mother. Delcatty was still at home, and Cyndaquil was in her Pokéball. The layout of the Pokémon Center meant there were couched sitting areas for trainers to wait while their Pokémon were being healed. Taking the chance, he and his mom moved over to one to have a private talk.

“Sam...”

“Brawly is right. We talked about this. I want to go on my journey.”

She took in a shaky breath.

“I... understand. Holding you back would have never worked. I’ll support you,” his mother said.

“But...” Sam paused, weighing his own words. “I’m not a strong trainer. Not yet, at least. Cyndaquil and I still have a lot of ways we can grow. You said you would help me, right?”

Her eyes were wet, but there was a proud gleam to them, too.

“Of course,” she said, wiping away her tears.

Sam immediately embraced his mother, pulling her into a hug. He was squeezed back in return. A second later, Cyndaquil made sure to release herself from her Pokéball to join in as well.

“Besides, you said I was grounded, remember?” Sam asked.

His mother laughed.

“For the rest of the month,” she said. “I imagine you’ll be heading out after?”

“Yeah. But before then, we still have all that time to spend together.”

He smiled, and his mother smiled back.

Sam didn’t go to bed right away that night. The thoughts of foreign regions and difficult challenges filled his mind. Instead, he turned to the best resource he had at his disposal: the New Pokédex. He wanted to see everything Johto had to offer.

Opening it up, he parsed through it, looking at all of its entries. Pokémon not native to Hoenn filled the pages in front of him, but when he turned to one specific page, he froze.

A desk light illuminated the text. The entry listed moves, abilities, approximate stats, and even the immense rarity the Pokémon had.

Yet, none of that was what stood out. Instead, it was the name of the species, its Type, and the drawing that came with it that utterly consumed his focus.

Cyndaquil was unable to look away, too.

“I can’t believe it,” Sam whispered. “According to this book, you have an alternative final evolution.”

He turned to look at his Pokémon. Cyndaquil turned to look at her trainer.

“It was last sighted over a hundred years ago, but evolving into one should still be possible. What stands out to me the most...” Sam swallowed. His throat felt dry. “The thing about Hisuian Typhlosion is that it’s part Ghost Type. Somehow... I... Cyndaquil, if we can figure out how to evolve into this, you can end up sharing a Type with the rest of our future team.”

She looked into his eyes and nodded once.

If there was ever a way to become a Ghost Type specialist, figuring out a long-lost evolution would be a great first step.