The Ghost Specialist

After so many rounds of battling, the Violet City Tournament was entering its final phase. Two competitors were left to fight it out in a final match to determine who won overall.

As no one wanted the finals to be a fight between exhausted Pokémon, the final round had the longest break before it, giving competitors a full hour to rest while also allowing a battle for third to take place towards its end. When it came to tournaments, people were always the most interested in the final rounds. That full hour’s break didn’t just let Pokémon recover, but it also gave people a chance to stand up, buy food, arrive at the arena after a long day of work, and watch replays and highlights of previous battles on the arena’s large screens.

There was no telling how many more people were watching from home, too. Specific, recorded matches were actively being played on cable to time everything just right to let even more people watch the tournament live. Most of the at-home viewership would come from a local Violet City network, with a few smaller, region-wide channels displaying the fights as well. Unfortunately, this tournament wasn't shown across regions. His mother had checked, and both she and Sam had been disappointed that she wasn't able to watch.

However, the Pokémon League did have a video archive that allowed people to rewatch almost any official or close-to-official battle online. Anyone could catch these battles after the fact, which meant Sam’s future opponents would be able to look him up and prepare for any strategies they witnessed here. The archival site was part of the reason Sam wore an outfit for this—why not start working on his public appearance now rather than later? Technically, the Beginner’s Tournament also recorded a battle involving Sam, but he doubted anyone would get anything out of watching a Teddiursa beat up a Mankey and a Cyndaquil. No, this was effectively his debut as a trainer.

And I made it to the finals!

He couldn’t stop smiling as he leaned back in a cushioned armchair. Given that he was a finalist and given the long break before the final match, an entire, private dressing room had been provided for himself and his team. It had a couch, it had a mirror, and it had this exceedingly comfortable armchair.

But Sam was alone. All of his Pokémon were currently with a nurse. They were being treated with the best care possible so they could perform at full health in the final fight.

Quilava’s foot injury won’t be as bad, but it’s still something her opponents can take advantage of if she turns while running. Primeape should be able to recover from his exhaustion. If not, I’ll probably be able to buy him an energy drink or something. Haunter should be fine. Same with Misdreavus. That means my entire team will be ready to take on Franklin.

Sam would have liked to plan more, but he simply didn’t have a way. Through every round, Franklin had only ever used his Kadabra. The only reason it was able to succeed was thanks to the move Recover, which restored its health within each match. That, and Franklin combined Kadabra’s Psychic and Teleport to make approaching it a nightmare.

He’s definitely burning through a supply of Elixirs with how much energy it's been expending. Still, with how he’s been pushing it, one solid physical attack should be able to take it out. I’d like to have Primeape do that, but that’s just asking for Kadabra to one-shot him with a Psychic. Same with Haunter, unfortunately. That means I’ll need to rely on Quilava or... Misdreavus.

I still need to introduce her to the rest of the team.

He also needed to go over more specific strategies with her, which was possible now that they actually had time. The next battle would be a test of how well his team had trained rather than how well they could prepare. With so little information, there wasn’t anything Sam could do to prepare counters for Franklin ahead of time.

Sam’s mind went on and wandered, with him mostly thinking about future improvements for his team. Misdreavus definitely needed to learn more status moves, and Haunter needed to learn Shadow Ball. Ominous Wind was a decent stop-gap for him, but it lacked the certain “oomph” that Shadow Ball could provide. That, and it kind of grated on Sam that the only Pokémon who knew the move was one that had known it from before. He was even tempted to train Haunter without Misdreavus’s help so he could learn more about the Ghost Type, himself.

Actually, that makes more sense anyway. I’ll likely need to help future Pokémon learn Shadow Ball. Asking for Misdreavus to serve as a tutor would help Haunter, but it won’t help me when it comes to becoming a proper Ghost Type specialist.

Sam continued to lean back and think, drifting off with his body melting into the cushioned chair. Before too long, however, there was a knock at the door. Sam shot up and ran over to retrieve his Pokémon now that they’d been healed.

It wasn’t the nurse, and it wasn’t his Pokémon being returned to him, either.

“This your friend?” a burly security guard grunted.

Redi tried to pull away from the man, but he had her arm locked down with an iron grip. He didn’t even move when she yanked, and there was a nasty-looking scowl on her face.

“What’s going on?” Sam said in a low voice. The guard seemed to misunderstand why Sam might be upset and grinned, unaware of the heat beginning to roil in Sam’s chest.

“This girl attacked a member of security. And when we tried to capture her, she had the gall to run away! Took ages to nab her, but when we did, she starts claiming that she's one of the competitors’ ‘friends.’ Came here to prove a point, mostly. But now that’s been taken care of—”

“I didn't attack you! I just warned you the place was haunted!” Redi growled. “And when I helped your friend into the chair so he wouldn’t be on the ground, you know what he did? Screamed at my Pokémon!”

The security guard gained a scowl on his face that matched Redi’s own.

“Not my fault you’re training a freak.”

“Porygon is not a freak, you take that back!”

His grip tightened around Redi’s arm, and her next shout was cut off. If Sam had his Pokémon with him...

“She’s my friend,” he said, doing his best to keep his voice level.

The security guard blinked at Sam, and Redi looked up at him, a smug grin on her face.

“Ha! Told you!”

“But she still—”

“Let her go,” Sam demanded.

The security guard threw Redi’s arm forward, causing her to stumble towards where Sam stood.

“Fine,” he snapped. “I’m only doing this ‘cause you’re a finalist. Not supposed to stir the pot, they said. This city gives you way too much freedom. If I had my way, you’d be kicked out of here and arrested! Hear me, girl?”

“Yeah, yeah. Go do your job so you can return to bullying people at a mall or whatever you do in your free time.”

The security guard's face turned red. Redi stuck her tongue out at him. Before he could respond, Sam closed the door in his face.

“Did you attack him?” Sam whispered.

“...No?”

“Did you have Haunter use Hypnosis?” he asked after a few seconds of giving it thought.

Redi turned away from him and didn’t respond, but not responding itself was an answer enough.

Sam sighed and dragged his hand down his face.

“You can’t just have Pokémon use moves on people like that. You know how illegal that is?”

“It’s only illegal if they cause harm,” Redi quickly replied. “Technically, since I didn’t explicitly order Hypnosis, and since Haunter’s not actually my Pokémon, I’m only on the hook for trespassing. Do you think they don’t—”

Sam’s stare made her shut up.

“So this was how you found Misdreavus?”

Redi slowly nodded.

Sam went quiet for a long time before letting out another sigh. Honestly, he wasn’t actually too mad. It could have been a lot worse.

“Thank you. It was a risk. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to meet up with her.”

“No problem!” Redi walked over to nudge Sam in the arm. “So you caught her, huh? Wasn’t able to watch your last battle because of, uh...”

She briefly drifted off.

They chatted for a bit, but with Redi having spent so long running away, she started to wobble where she stood, the adrenaline crash getting to her. She walked over and called out dibs on the couch, where she promptly collapsed and fell asleep. As Sam watched, Porygon released itself without an order, and the artificial Pokémon floated down to sit on her back.

“Weird,” Sam said.

The knock Sam wanted to hear happened just a minute later. Opening up the door, he wasn’t met with a security guard, but the smiling face of a Chansey. The nurse Pokémon said its name to ask to be let in, and it pushed forward a cart once Sam gave it permission. Four Pokéballs sat on top of that cart—three red, one green. Inside, the Chansey handed Sam a form that listed out his team’s current statuses before bowing its head. It then brought everything back out and left Sam with the Pokéballs.

The sheet detailed nothing unexpected. Quilava’s front right leg had a hairline fracture, but with the inherent sturdiness of Pokémon as well as the quality of modern medicine, it was genuinely nothing major, though an injury like that would have been devastating for a human.

After making sure there were no other surprises, Sam went ahead and sent out his first three team members, holding Misdreavus back for now. Quilava appeared with a yawn, sitting down and briefly licking her injured leg. Primeape appeared and wobbled just as much as Redi had. Clearly, he was still a bit tired, but with how much time was left before the next match, a nap would put him right as rain. As for Haunter, meanwhile, the floating Ghost Type’s eyes lingered on the fourth Pokéball in Sam’s hand. Quilava soon started to stare at it as well.

“In our last fight, you probably noticed we aren’t a team of three anymore. We have a fourth friend with us now,” Sam said.

Haunter was already grinning. Primeape, meanwhile, blinked.

Wait, are you genuinely surprised?

Sam pushed past that reaction. He kept sharing what he wanted to say.

“Usually I’d have wanted to ask before a new capture, but I only had Haunter with me when it happened. Our new team member is... We’ve met her before. Once in Ilex, once in—”

He stopped himself. His team hadn’t been out in that clothing store.

Over on the couch, half-asleep, Redi brought up a hand.

“Get on with it,” she slurred.

Sam shook his head.

“Fine, I’ll stop delaying. Long story short, I caught her in the arena. This is Misdreavus. Everybody, please say hi!”

Sam released the Ghost Type from out of her Friend Ball.

Misdreavus appeared doing her best to maintain a friendly expression, but she was also trying to hide the nerves underneath. She might not have had hands, but the sound she made and the slight turn of her body was about the equivalent of a nervous wave.

Haunter eagerly waved back. While he already knew about her, he seemed excited to have a fellow Ghost Type on the team. Primeape, meanwhile, lifted up a hand in bare greetings then walked over to join Redi on the couch. He pushed her legs out of the way to give himself space to hop up. The second his back hit the cushions, he passed out and snored.

“About as expected for him, yeah,” Sam mumbled. He turned and glanced at Quilava.

The Fire Type was doing her best to keep a placid expression on her face, but her eyes kept flicking over to Sam. She recognized Misdreavus and remembered being “attacked.” Quilava was silently trying to ask him if he was really sure about this capture.

“Back in the forest, Misdreavus wasn’t attacking,” Sam said quietly. “She was just trying to say hello, and I misunderstood that. She followed us because... she was lonely. My excuse for trying to find her was to get her to help us win the tournament, but really, I just wanted her to have a friend.”

Quilava eyed Misdreavus as the Ghost Type levitated downwards to move closer to her on the floor. She said her name in greeting, and Quilava slowly did the same right back. Neither of them moved, simply existing next to one another. Finally, Misdreavus seemed to come to a decision. She bit her lip in thought before leaning down for a whisper.

Whatever she said encouraged Quilava to follow. The pair started to move to the corner of the room, Misdreavus briefly turning around to tell Sam to stay behind, and then they started to talk.

It was mostly Misdreavus. Sam could occasionally hear a noise from her, but she kept her voice quiet and positioned herself to block Quilava’s expressions and hide her own. Sam didn’t know her well enough yet to understand her body language, but he could at least tell she was sharing a story.

Occasionally, Quilava squeaked something to ask a question or make a comment, but it was mostly just Misdreavus talking for several minutes straight. Sam tried to subtly move around to catch a glimpse of how Quilava was responding, but even though she wasn’t facing him, Misdreavus moved to make sure Sam could never see either of their faces.

He was nervous, and he paced, but enough time passed that he ended up sitting down in the armchair. Their noises continued, the only other sounds being both Redi’s and Primeape’s snores. Haunter disappeared... somewhere, but Sam knew his Pokémon would be back in time to strategize before the finals.

When Misdreavus eventually stopped talking, there was a long period of silence interrupted by a single squeak. Quilava used that noise to ask the equivalent of a simple question:

“Really?”

Sam could see Misdreavus nod to confirm.

Before he could even process what that might mean, Quilava let out a wail and threw herself into the Ghost Type. Misdreavus fell back, bewildered, but she remained solid enough to allow Quilava to press against her.

Sam could actually see their expressions now. Misdreavus looked overwhelmed, and Quilava was outright sobbing. As he stared, the tears suddenly stopped, and Quilava snapped her gaze to him.

“Uh...”

“We’re keeping her,” Quilava’s expression almost explicitly said.

“Of course. We’re friends now. Why would we send her away?”

A huff from Quilava might as well have said, “Good.” She continued to press herself against Misdreavus, affectionately rubbing her face against the Pokémon.

“Am I going to get any hints about what just happened?” Sam asked.

Both Pokémon shook their heads no in perfect unison.

“Of course,” he sighed. “That’s fine, I guess. I’m not going to force you to tell me if you don’t want to, but... I am curious why you know such strong moves. Shadow Ball and especially Shadow Sneak aren’t common for wild Ghost Types. Were you trained?”

Misdreavus locked up but managed to shake her head. Sam had seen the expression on her face once before; Primeape had looked the same way when his own background was close to being discussed. It wasn’t that she figured out those moves out on her own, but she wasn’t willing to answer the question until later.

“Alright,” Sam said, breathing out. “Sorry. I don’t want to force you to answer anything you don’t want to. Primeape has his own secrets he hasn’t told me, so it’s not a big deal if you have your own motivations too, alright? Just remember that we’re a team. If you need help with something, anything—”

Misdreavus furiously nodded. Sam could tell she absolutely knew that she could rely on him.

He smiled at her, and Quilava came bounding over. The weasel-like Fire Type jumped into his lap. He began to run his fingers through the warm fur on her back as Misdreavus followed her over to perch on the back of the chair.

He leaned into his seat’s cushions, relaxing alongside his Pokémon.

“We should probably go over a few strategies soon, but we have time before our next match. How about we just take it easy for a bit, first? I might not have any books on me, but I do know a lot of stories. I have this one my grandfather told me when I was little. It’s about a mystical knight and his partner, Lucario...”

When it was time for the final round to start, Sam felt as though he should have been nervous. The idea of starting the battle that would determine the winner should have caused him to panic. Instead, he felt calm, collected, and ready to take on whatever Franklin had to offer.

He trusted his team, and his team trusted him. He didn’t bother thinking about all the ways he might lose. Instead, Sam thought about all the ways he might win.

Stepping out onto the field, he might have been the only one leaving the tunnel, but he knew he wasn’t alone. His team was with him, inside of their Pokéballs. Redi was in the audience. Her team was alongside her, too.

Sam looked up.

Above him, after an entire day of battling, the sun was no longer visible but was now close to lowering into sunset. The sky was beginning to hint at night with a few darker shades, and lights had turned on inside the arena to keep the central floor lit up. This start of the match was a bit different than previous starts, as Franklin was already on the field. Both trainers came out one at a time to allow the announcers to hype the crowds up.

“And there’s our resident Ghost Type specialist!” Mr. Pokémon’s voice shouted. “An incredible Haunter! A powerful Misdreavus! A Primeape able to sweep an entire team all on its own, and a Quilava whose flames always leave its opponents burned!”

The audience roared. Sam’s heart swelled with pride. He wasn’t just being recognized as a Ghost Type specialist, but all of his teams’ efforts were being recognized, too. The cheers were deafening, and he could hear people yelling both his and his Pokémon’s names.

I wonder if we’ll have any dedicated fans after this.

The crowd started to quiet down as he approached his trainer box. Franklin watched him as he moved into position.

Contrary to how Sam was introduced, Franklin had much less of an introduction, being described as a “mysterious challenger and his lone Kadabra,” without much else. Apparently, he hailed from Kanto’s Saffron City—which gave credence to him being a Psychic Type specialist given which Gym was there. Unfortunately, as this was also Franklin’s official debut, nothing was known about him for sure.

Franklin wore a maroon shirt, buttoned across his chest. His hair was black and neatly cropped, a look common to Indigo. He stood with a practiced confidence, but he wasn’t arrogant about it. He slightly bowed his head in respect for Sam, and Sam slightly bowed his head right back.

“And look at that,” Mr. Pokémon’s voice echoed. “A show of respect between our two toughest competitors before the final match! Neither of them seem to be worried about their chances. I can’t wait to see what kind of tricks they might have up their sleeves!”

Falkner spoke up, replying to Mr. Pokémon.

“The rest of Franklin’s team is still unknown. If either trainer has an advantage, it’s definitely him.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine. Samuel seems like a clever young man. We’re up for an exciting finals, folks, with the exact combatants not known until we find out!”

There was an awkward pause.

“...Isn’t that always true? That you don’t know something until you learn it?”

Nurse Joy’s whisper was broadcast to the entire arena, failing to be hidden under her breath.

With those last words from the announcers, the head referee stepped up to the field. Two more referees stood behind both trainers, serving as a way to check what each competitor saw. Additionally, instead of being hidden, two green Xatu stood with the junior referees as well. Likely, those avian Psychic Types were responsible for the field’s protective barriers, conjuring them to prevent moves from leaving the field.

“We’ve had a long tournament so far,” the head referee said, his voice coming from speakers throughout the entire arena. “Thirty battles have been fought on this field. Twenty-nine competitors have been eliminated. I am proud of each and every trainer who has fought here today. We’ve had no major problems or disturbances. I’d say this tournament has been a rousing success.”

Sam looked at the experienced old man. The head referee was actually smiling. It stood at odds with his otherwise stern professionalism that he’d displayed during the rest of the fights.

“The rules for this final battle are simple; fight until your opponent has no more usable members of their team. Follow the Pokémon League’s rules and expectations. Both of you will be able to send out five Pokémon for this match, and you’ll each have three switches to use at your discretion. Understand?”

Sam nodded. Franklin bowed his head in acknowledgement once more.

“Good. Send out your Pokémon. And... I wish you luck. To the both of you. I expect an exciting fight.”

Franklin’s Kadabra appeared on the field. It had to take a few steps to balance itself despite having an hour to rest. Its eyelids drooped, but its tired gaze still had a level of determination to it that told Sam it wasn’t ever going to give up.

Sam, meanwhile, decided to start simply. His closest friend and starter Pokémon appeared on the field. Flames burned from Quilava’s head and lower back.

“It’s with my deepest pleasure to have served as your referee,” the older man continued. “So, for the final time today...”

He brought two flags up into the air. A tense silence fell over the arena. Once more, he glanced between the two competitors before smiling to himself, satisfied.

A pair of dual swishes echoed through the air.

“Let the battle begin!”

Quilava dashed forward. Kadabra held a spoon in one hand and waved it. Each movement left a translucent film behind that hardened into a barrier.

Light Screen. Interesting.

Sam called out a command.

“Swift, as usual!”

Quilava let loose her attack.

Quilava’s move carried the usual trick of the stars hiding and guiding the flames of a Will-O-Wisp. The Swift battered Kadabra’s psychic barrier, but the Light Screen was fragile due to its exhaustion. Enough stars pierced into it and caused the barrier to shatter. The move passed right through.

Kadabra suffered the full brunt of the attack, and both the Swift and Will-O-Wisp hit it several times over. Kadabra took the damage from Quilava’s homing Normal Type move and was inflicted with a burn from the follow-up Will-O-Wisp.

“Next, Incinerate,” Sam said.

Franklin remained silent, continuing to merely observe the fight.

A quick Recover from Kadabra saw the damage of the Swift be healed, but Quilava reared up and formed a ball of flame right in front of her mouth. She fell, using that momentum to fling her Incinerate forward, which exploded against the Kadabra’s chest.

A shout. Kadabra stumbled back. The Pokémon’s long mustache drooped as it breathed heavily, struggling to keep standing up.

What’s his game? Why is he leaving his Kadabra out like this?

“Again, Quilava,” Sam said.

The Kadabra stayed in one place, forcing itself to both breathe and use Recover.

Without Kadabra readying an attack, Quilava took her time with this Incinerate, pouring more and more flames into an ever growing fireball.

Franklin finally spoke, but he didn’t give any commands.

“Kadabra. How are you feeling?”

His voice came out steady and unconcerned.

Kadabra just grunted. It brought up its spoon once more, taking a step back. As it did, it adjusted its stance, and it aimed both its spoon and gaze at the move Quilava was still forming.

I don’t get it. Kadabra is utterly exhausted after fighting in so many matches. If it wasn’t for Recover, it would have fainted by now. Why put his Pokémon through so much stress? I mean, I guess it’s doing well, but it’s only a mid-stage—

Sam’s eyes widened.

“Quilava, get back!”

The move didn’t drop, but she did stop building it up. Quilava hopped back in the same moment she unleashed the growing Incinerate. As the flaming sphere roared through the air, Kadabra’s eyes suddenly grew hyper-focused and flashed a brilliant blue.

In a single instant, every ember of the incoming Incinerate stopped in its place. It hung motionless in the air, not even wavering an inch due to Kadabra’s immense telekinetic control.

“Crush it,” Franklin ordered.

The flames pressed together inch by inch, Kadabra’s psychic power shrinking the sphere as if it were crushing a metal can. The smaller the Incinerate became, the greater light it gave off. Quilava ran back to the edge of the field and skidded to a halt, watching Kadabra from the furthest possible distance away. Sam stayed silent, too. Ordering an attack now would just let Kadabra switch targets and unleash all of its focus on Sam’s Pokémon, instead.

The audience went silent in this immense show of Psychic Type control. The Incinerate became a single, impossibly bright ember. A miniature sun floated in the center of the field. It was so bright that a few yelps rang out, and Sam was forced to cover his eyes.

The Incinerate was soon snuffed out, but that blinding light didn’t vanish. Instead, the moment the move disappeared, Franklin’s Psychic Type began to change.

“This is why you’ve been putting your Kadabra through so much, isn’t it?” Sam asked. “This whole tournament has just been a way to get it to evolve.”

Kadabra’s limbs extended. Its body grew upwards. Where there was once a rather bulky Psychic Type, one much more lean formed in its place.

Franklin simply smiled as the light of his Pokémon’s evolution broke. Replacing Kadabra was an Alakazam, and the energies from its evolution seemed to have fixed its growing exhaustion, too.

“Indeed. A trade evolution felt... wrong, but it is also true that Pokémon grow the most when brought to the brink. This was our solution. I’d say it’s worked rather well.”

The fight’s previous exchange might as well have not happened. Across from Quilava was a freshly evolved Alakazam, a species known to Indigo as one of the strongest Psychic Types around. In any other circumstance, that increase to power would have sealed the fight right here.

Except, Sam still had a chance. After all, the Alakazam’s evolution hadn’t fixed its burn.