The Ghost Specialist

Sam woke up the next morning in an unfamiliar room. There were no sounds of children playing, Wingull squawking, or waves lapping against a nearby shore. The bed underneath him was significantly wider and squishier than his bed back home. A ceiling fan lazily spun to provide the barest bit of flowing air as light peeked through a set of mauve curtains to land on his eyes. Everything around him was decorated in hues of lavender and white. Out of all the places to stay, he had genuinely not expected to sleep in an old woman's guest room like this.

“Good morning, Cyndaquil,” Sam said.

He sat up and rubbed his eyes. From where she had snuggled into a pile of far too many pillows, Cyndaquil poked her head out.

It was oddly quiet. Olivine was a big city, and Sam would have expected some noise. Except, he wasn't in the center of the city. Instead, he was rooming in its suburbs, located in the hills to the northwest.

“I might only have a hundred dollars on me, but I would've found a hotel instead of... this,” Sam mumbled.

It wasn't that he wasn't thankful, it was just that it felt awkward to stay at the home of someone he barely knew.

“Alright. Plans,” Sam said, standing up and arching his back to help him wake up. “Today, we'll need to call Mom, but we have until the tournament to do what we want. Training’s a given, but I guess we could explore? Ugh, actually, we should figure out our money situation first. Plus... I don't really know what to talk to Mom about, anyway.”

Maybe I'll just tell her that I'm staying with a friend? But I don't know Redi that well. I can at least talk about the tournament! She'll enjoy hearing about that.

Given Sam couldn’t hear the sounds of people shuffling around the house, he didn't want to be rude and wake them up. Instead, he stayed in the guest room for now, reaching into his backpack and pulling out the New Pokédex to flip to a certain page.

He yawned and rubbed his eyes. He was trying to force himself to stay awake, but he didn’t have the energy to stand just yet.

“So. Hisuian Typhlosion,” Sam said. Unwilling to do anything else, he could at least discuss his current goal.

Upon hearing the name of her eventual evolution, Cyndaquil pushed out of her pillows to trot across the bed and rest her head in Sam’s lap.

“We need to figure out how we’ll actually get you to evolve,” he said.

Cyndaquil stared at the drawing of her alternative final form. Typhlosion were more weasel-shaped than Cyndaquil, and this variant kept the same general body. Except, where the fur on a Typhlosion’s back was blue, a Hisuian Typhlosion’s fur was purple. Not just that, but it had floppier ears and flames that came out like fading wisps.

She took in every inch of the drawing, and Sam let her analyze it in silence. Her thin eyes were locked forward, and she let out the faintest of squeaks.

“Quil,” she said.

Basically, she had no clue what to do.

“Yeah, I get it,” Sam said, chuckling slightly before being interrupted by another yawn. “There’s not anything here that actually states how to become a Hisuian Typhlosion. I mean, all it says is ‘evolve Quilava in ancient Hisui.’ Time travel isn’t a thing. We’re going to need to figure out how to achieve it on our own.”

At least we know it exists.

Cyndaquil nodded and pushed forward to curl up against Sam’s leg. He started to pet her while turning back to the section on her own species. He read through every detail, intending to find even the slightest of hints for their goal, but the more he read, the more the grimace grew on his face.

“I mean, it lists all your potentially learnable moves, but there’s only a single Ghost Type move actually included. And it’s Curse.”

To put it lightly, that was a problem. If Cyndaquil was going to eventually evolve into a Ghost Type, Sam wanted her to familiarize herself with Ghost Type energy. Yet, the only move she could do that with was Curse, and the move behaved differently for Ghost Types and non-Ghost Types.

When used by a Ghost, Curse sacrificed the user’s health to lay a literal curse on the opponent that slowly ate at their vitality. When used by a non-Ghost, it instead sacrificed speed to increase physical power and defense.

It was such a strange move that most people didn’t even think of it as a Ghost Type move. Ask any expert about it, and they’d say the move had an unknown Type.

But Curse was their only lead, so Sam had to chase it.

“I don’t even know where to get started on this. Usually, Curse is either an Egg Move or a TM move, so unless we spend a bunch of money to buy you a TM or we figure out you secretly knew it all along, we’re going to have to spend a lot of time training to get you to learn it.”

Learning moves Pokémon couldn’t learn through passive training was possible, it just took a lot of extra practice. Egg moves and TM moves weren’t exclusive to what they were named after, they were just so difficult to figure out otherwise that people were more than willing to dump insane amounts of cash to skip that practice.

“Then...” Sam hummed in thought. “I guess we should start trying to figure out how to get you to channel and manipulate Ghost Type energy? I’m sorry. I don’t know any other way to help. Until I actually manage to catch a Ghost Type—”

Cyndaquil put a paw on Sam’s arm to tell him that it was okay.

Without anything else to talk about, it was just about time to start properly waking up. Ever since Sam started training a month ago, his morning routine became a lot more intensive than before. Instead of immediately getting dressed and stepping out for food, he now worked with Cyndaquil to stretch to warm up for the day. It was light and just something to get their blood pumping, but it was enough to serve the same purpose that a cup of coffee might have had. Of course, once Sam caught a more incorporeal team member, this habit would need to change. As for now, both he and Cyndaquil were rooted firmly enough in the physical that stretching helped enough.

By the end of these exercises, shuffling noises became audible from deeper into the house. Sam made sure he was washed up and dressed before he walked out with Cyndaquil. There, he was met with a sleepy-looking Redi holding Teddiursa in her lap. Her grey-haired aunt was making breakfast.

“Good morning!” Redi’s aunt cheerfully said. “Did you sleep well? My apologies for not getting the room more set up. I didn’t expect Redi yesterday, and I didn’t expect that she would invite a... friend?”

Sam held back a wince. Redi’s aunt was maintaining a kind smile, but he could tell she had been a little caught off guard by her two guests. Redi, however, was shameless. She had no reaction in the slightest, but that could have also been due to still being half-asleep in her seat.

“I slept fine,” Sam said, politely bowing his head in thanks. “Thank you for lending me your guest room.”

“Oh, it was no problem, no problem at all!” she said, smiling and waving him off. “The pancakes will be ready in a few minutes. Feel free to indulge in as many as you want. It’s always nice to have family around.”

She turned and began to hum as she returned to cooking, and Sam sat down across from Redi. The girl yawned and rubbed her eyes. Her Teddiursa mimicked her actions in her lap.

“Mornin’,” Redi mumbled.

“Good morning?” Sam offered.

She blinked as if not expecting Sam, and after rubbing her eyes again, a smug grin returned to her face.

“So... You took me up on my offer, huh?”

She looked properly awake now.

“We had this conversation last night,” he groaned. “There wasn’t anywhere else to go.”

“Yeah, because of the tournament!” Somehow, her grin deepened. “You signed up, right? Are you going to compete?”

“I signed up yesterday. And you?”

She kicked her feet back and forth in her chair, and her eyes seemed to gaze dreamily into the distance.

“I still need to sign up, but of course I’m going to compete. I mean, have you seen the prizes? Wads of cash. A bunch of TMs! Rumors say that Professor Elm—he’s Johto’s most famous Pokémon Professor, by the way—has donated an actual Pokémon Egg for the winner! Those are crazy rare!”

Sam nodded along, but he perked up when he heard Redi mention TMs.

“TMs? Do you know what kind?”

She shrugged.

“Dunno. They could be pre-set or some you can choose. Either way, you could probably trade them with other trainers to get the moves you want.”

Sam knew he wanted to compete in the tournament, but now he really wanted to win.

If we can place high enough to earn a TM, we might be able to figure out Curse sooner rather than later.

“But what are your plans today, anyway? Want to go with me while I sign up?” Redi asked.

“I...” Sam sighed. “I need to figure out a way to earn more cash, first.”

For some reason, Redi’s smile became brighter yet again. She replied right away.

“Great! So you’ll be coming with me to the Pokémon Center, after all! Pokémon Centers are amazing; they always have job boards advertising work listings specifically for Pokémon Trainers. Those usually involve either some kind of manual labor or fighting against a wild Pokémon, but it’s way more consistent to earn money through them than by betting on a match with another trainer.”

She then nodded her head and rubbed her chin, closing her eyes as if this was a serious matter.

“You know, my family puts them up all the time back in Vermillion. I haven’t really done any myself, but you’d be surprised just how helpful it is to get a Pokémon Trainer to help out with work.”

“Pokémon Jobs, huh?” Sam mumbled.

Could solve multiple problems at once. Money, experience, and maybe someone needs help with a Ghost Type I can catch?

Redi’s aunt came out carrying a tray of pancakes soon after, and conversation stopped in favor of shoving as much food as possible into their mouths. Teddiursa and Cyndaquil were required to eat on the floor, however. While different from how Sam’s family usually did it, each of them still got a hearty helping of sliced Oran berries each.

Once the food was devoured, Redi left the room so she could get ready to head out. As a result, Sam was left alone with her aunt, but he at least had enough experience ringing up customers in his mom’s shop to know how to be polite despite the awkwardness of the situation.

“So, sweetie, how did you meet Meredith, anyway?” her aunt asked, calmly eating her own breakfast at the same table.

Sam cocked his head to the side.

“Um, Meredith?” he asked.

“Ah. Oops. She tends to go by Redi nowadays, but she’ll always be little Meredith to me,” the old woman replied.

Sam hummed, pretending to be cheerful while also desperately trying to figure out a polite way to reply.

“I met her on the boat over,” he said.

“Did you talk a lot?”

“I mean, we fought and then she offered to give me a place when she found out I failed to make plans?”

Redi’s aunt smiled at that, despite how brief that description was.

“Redi’s always been a kind girl. I’m glad she made a friend.”

A door slammed open a second later. Sam turned around in his chair. Charging into the room was Redi and Teddiursa, and they both stopped to pose with their fists held against their sides.

“Ready, Redi!” she shouted, although her face turned bright red when she remembered Sam was still here.

“To the Pokémon Center?” he asked.

“Um, yeah.” Redi cleared her throat. “There should be one not too far away.”

Sam thanked Redi’s aunt one last time before heading out with Redi and their Pokémon. She made sure to hug her aunt before leaving, but she did try to hide the act from Sam.

Heading down the road, Cyndaquil sat in Sam’s hood like usual while Redi walked at their side. For a while, she held Teddiursa in her arms, but the little bear squirmed his way out to begin to scamper around to better look at the things that interested him.

“So how d’you plan to win the tournament, anyway?” Redi asked.

“Trying to learn my plans?” Sam taunted.

“Psh. No, just making conversation,” Redi replied.

Sam just shrugged.

“I guess I haven’t thought too much about it yet. I want to train more with Cyndaquil first.”

“Good, good.” Redi crossed her arms and nodded along sagely. “I suppose that’s okay, being in the process of making a plan is fine and all, but do you really think you’ll be prepared to beat us?”

She grinned challengingly. Nearby, Teddiursa stopped sniffing a flower to turn and flex his arms at Sam. Seeing that, Sam did his best to puff up his own chest confidently in exchange.

“I’ll weaken you by inflicting a Burn,” he declared.

“No way! I told you on the boat, and I’ll tell you here. Burn won’t mean nothing if we’re still able to punch Cyndaquil in the face!”

On Sam’s shoulder, Cyndaquil let out an indignant squeak, and Redi cackled with glee.

(Although, for all that he liked spooky Ghost Type stories, Sam was still intimidated enough to take a step away.)

“Anyway, I don’t really care how we win,” Redi said, shrugging and answering her own question as she almost immediately calmed down. “As long as we make money off the tournament, anything is fine with me.”

Sam went quiet. Truth be told, he was a little embarrassed at how Redi had a stronger plan for her team than he did. It was basic, sure, but she knew she’d focus on brute strength. As for him...

What am I going to do?

Brawly told him that running away after inflicting a burn wouldn’t be enough. He had the New Pokédex, but his mother made it clear that he needed to learn how to apply it if he wanted to put it to use. He had no plan for his team outside of “Ghost Types!” With the tournament so soon, he would not only need to spend all his free time training, but he’d also need to figure out a strategy.

“I guess for me, all I know is that I want to catch Ghost Types,” Sam said. “Once I have a bigger team, I’ll figure something else out.”

“Sounds cool! Not a lot of people work with Ghost Types.”

“Yeah. I like them.”

Redi purposely elbowed Sam’s arm in a friendly manner. It kind of hurt.

“Good for you!” she said. “I’m gonna limit myself to just Teddiursa for now. Training costs money, so I’m keeping my team small.”

They reached a Pokémon Center a few minutes later. This wasn’t the same one Sam had visited when he first arrived, but it was still a true Pokémon Center within Olivine City. It was located at the edge of town, intending to service the people who didn’t live downtown, as only one Pokémon Center couldn’t cut it for a population this large. While the one Sam had visited was the main one, this one was an offshoot branch. However, when he stepped inside, it was almost just as full.

Redi pushed through the crowds to join the line waiting for a turn at the counter, and Sam headed to the back, to get a turn on a video phone. It was too early in the day to contact his mother, so he just ended up sending a message to her to schedule a call for when she was free.

Once that was taken care of, he then headed to the side of the room, where a cork board hung on a wall. There, a few papers posted to it listed out notices for trainer assistance—the Pokémon Jobs Redi had mentioned—but everything here was far too difficult for Sam to even think about taking on.

A wild Gyarados needs to be beaten back? A herd of Tauros need to be corralled? Ugh, fetch medicine from Cianwood? These are way above my level, but that pay is crazy! Man, once we get stronger...

Sam grinned. Turned out, strength and wealth went pretty hand-in-hand.

Despite the lack of jobs posted, there were several other trainers standing around nearby. All of them were staring at the empty board, but it was more than that. They almost looked like they were waiting.

Carefully, Sam joined them, thinking that something was going on. There was an edge to the air around them. All of these people were poised to jump.

He found out why only a few minutes later; a Chansey walked out of the Pokémon Center’s back room carrying a thick stack of papers. The egg-shaped Pokémon waddled up to the board, and Sam realized those notices it held promised new jobs.

Everyone seemed to turn into a hunter stalking its prey as the Chansey grabbed the corkboard and took it down. Slowly, one-by-one, the Pokémon pushed pins in to attach the papers to the board. Sam did his best to see what was being offered, but more and more people started to crowd around to lie in wait, which blocked his view.

Just need to be quick. Have to grab the right job.

Once it finished putting everything up, the Chansey paused, glanced around, and then it smiled and put the board back up onto the wall.

“Chansey!” it said, and it’s cry was like a gunshot to start the race.

All the waiting trainers charged forward. Sam found himself included in that flood.

A Zubat nest to be cleared!

A red-haired trainer snatched that one up.

Redirect Skiploom herd!

A buff man tore the paper off the wall.

Gloom perfume testing!

Pollution-Pokémon garbage collection!

More and more people reached out and tore papers away. Sam had to squeeze to see what was listed, but it seemed that every job was being claimed.

Hindered by the crowd, Sam could barely see what was on the board. Bold text stood out to him in one moment only to go missing a second later.

Except, almost half-hidden behind another sheet of paper, one job stood out. It paid so little that everyone else paid it no mind, but it was perfect for him! He lunged, practically screaming as he pushed through the crowd. His hand grabbed onto the edge of the paper, and with a tug, it tore free of the pin keeping it in place.

I... I got one! I got a job!

He grinned and took a step back from the crowd.

Overall, it was like a feeding school of fish. The mass of trainers swelled around the boards before all the jobs were claimed, where they grumbled and walked away. Behind them, only scraps of paper and the highest level of jobs remained.

“I’m glad I waited,” Sam mumbled.

He moved to get in line to report which job he had taken to the local nurse. It wouldn’t pay much, only twenty bucks, but as he looked over the sheet, he knew it held potential in a different matter.

I can’t wait.

Submitting his acceptance only took showing the sheet and handing over his fresh trainer ID. The nurse smiled and recorded the job as his within the system. Satisfied, he stepped outside, and Redi joined him right as he passed through the Pokémon Center’s front, glass doors.

“Sam! Managed to get a job?” Redi said. She proudly held up a brand new trainer ID, as if to brag.

“Yeah,” Sam said. He quickly reread the job notice one more time just to make sure. “It’s not a lot of pay, but I think it might lead me to a new capture.”

“Oooh! What Ghost Type?”

“Not a Ghost Type. It’s even better: a Fighting Type! Specifically, I have to deal with a wild Mankey!”

Redi’s face scrunched up in confusion as he handed over the paper to let her read it over. She glanced between the listing and Sam himself, her bafflement growing the more she read the bolded job listing. Yet, even with her confusion, Sam could only smile.

A wild Mankey is stealing from fruit stalls? Sure, I’ll scare it off. But, by scare it off, I mean I’ll catch it! And once it’s caught, I’ll have a new Ghost Type to add to the team!

No one in Indigo knew the potential a single Mankey held. They were physically strong but somewhat fragile Fighting Types, yet all of that changed when they reached their true final form.

It wasn’t Primeape; it was a step beyond.

Annihilape.

A Pokémon so in control of its own rage that it transcends its pure Fighting Type to become dual Fighting and Ghost. Even better, unlike Hisuian Typhlosion, Sam actually knew how to achieve that evolution, too.

So, with this opportunity presented before him, there was no way he was going to pass it up.