The Ghost Specialist

Sam could barely move fast enough as he raced through the steep forest. The lake behind the Blackthorn Gym was to his side, and his Pokémon chased after him. Quilava and Primeape bounded through the woods, panting but keeping pace. Haunter and Misdreavus had a much easier time, as both could float and phase through any trees that got in the way.

“Can’t... believe... I almost... forgot!”

Sam had asked for a list of all known ghosts. Morty had gone above and beyond and provided Sam with a list of all suspected ghosts, as even previously known locations could change. There weren’t enough Ghost Type specialists around to confirm every location, so even though there was a bit of uncertainty to it, Sam now had dozens of places to check within almost every city across Johto.

The problem was, it didn’t make sense to visit these locations during the day, and many of these supposedly haunted were still only probable locations of ghosts. Sam had spent the past several days, today included, checking every place he could. Unfortunately, the vast majority contained wild Pokémon, several of which were wild Ghost Types trying to set up pranks, and only a few contained actual, spiritual phenomena.

However, the spiritual phenomena he did encounter were only weak, environmental effects that stemmed from lingering regrets.

In other words, Sam had found areas where Ghost Types would eventually form. Haunter could use those areas to evolve, but only if he hung around for around a year. They had yet to encounter an actual ghost, but with all the information Sam now wielded, they were close.

It was only a matter of time. One of these locations had to have a ghost.

“We’re almost there!”

Right now, he was out of breath, and he was almost late. Specifically, he was late to being early. If he arrived on time as otherwise expected, he’d ruin the plans of their entire group.

As he raced forward, twigs and branches snapped under his feet. The light of the moon glimmered off the lake, and, in the distance, he could see the lit braziers flickering between the trees, lighting up the space just outside of the Dragon’s Den.

With his destination rapidly approaching, Sam quickly returned his Pokémon and slowed down so he could fix up his appearance. It was nice to be out of that blinding snow jacket, but given how chilly it was this late at night, he still made sure to wear thick pants.

Once he had slowed enough to properly catch his breath, he finally broke through the trees to reach that open space. He smiled at the group of trainers waiting there.

“Sam!”

Redi’s eyes immediately lit up as she pulled away from her conversation with the rest of the group. She held her arms out as if she was about to hug him, but she just as quickly snapped them down to her sides.

“You’re back!” she said.

“You already knew I was back.”

“So you got my note?” she whispered, leaning in.

Sam looked at her with a flat expression before snickering at her expression.

“Redi, we might not have seen each other in person, but we’ve been in town. Our only communication recently has been through notes. Why wouldn’t I have got it?

She brought herself up, holding a finger in the air.

“Well, I was doing some reading for Porygon, and there’s this thing called the Two Generals Prob—”

“You were reading?”

Sam gaped at her, and she puffed up indignantly.

“Whatever. Whatever!” she said. “Come on. I’ve already been organizing everyone else here. If you got my note, you know the plan. And, no one here has less than four Gym Badges! The Blackthorn Clan won’t know what hit it!”

She grinned at him, flashing a wing-shaped badge from her pocket before dragging Sam over to the rest of the trainers. These four were the rest of the people present, and they looked on with a mix of both annoyance and amusement after being interrupted by Sam’s sudden reintroduction.

Eliza sent Sam a polite nod, a much more reserved reaction from when she’d approached him at the last Trial. The angry boy who’d shown up at the last one was here as well, but he didn’t look anywhere near as grouchy.

(Although, he still looked like he’d just tasted a lemon.)

The other two trainers seemed like people plucked directly out of a Pokémon Center. Honestly, Sam wouldn’t have been able to identify them from a crowd. He would have spoken up to introduce himself and learn everyone’s names, but Redi was already on the case.

“This is Sam, my friend. He got through three of the five tests last time, so he’ll also be competing with us now.”

“Is he allowed to do that?” one of the two unfamiliar trainers said, looking Sam up and down.

“I didn’t exactly reach the fifth round last time, so I can still technically try again,” Sam answered. “But since I already received a ‘reward,’ I don’t think I can get anything else. It’s kind of like how some people go back to take on the core team of a Gym. It’s for the experience, not for anything I can get.”

The two trainers looked a little confused but still nodded. The sour-faced boy—whose name was Terry, apparently—nodded approvingly, but he seemed otherwise unimpressed.

“So you’re helping?” he asked flatly.

“I’m supporting you with my Pokémon, but I don’t think I can give explicit spoilers,” Sam said.

“It’s fine, it’s fine!” Redi interrupted. “It doesn’t matter what he can do. You all know the plan, so as long as we work together—”

She cut herself off when the sound of footsteps came from inside the cave. They had come here early before any elder came out to stand guard. For this first step, they planned to start with a strong first impression, which was the entire purpose they came before the usual time.

From within the Dragon’s Den entrance, a face became visible, half-lit up by the nearby torches. A middle-aged man in a robe exited the cave. He stopped and looked at everyone here, confused.

“WE GREET THE ELDER!”

Six voices echoed in unison, shouting as they lined up for a synchronized bow.

“...M-my greetings to you?”

He coughed, adjusting his sleeves before glancing behind him. He looked around as if searching for something, but the only people here were Sam, Redi, and the four other trainers. They all brought themselves back up to watch the elder’s reaction.

Huh. I wonder if he thinks this is a prank.

The man tugged at the neck of his robes before quickly using his hands to smooth out any wrinkles. Normally, the elder on duty was meant to be outside before any trainers arrived. Terry apparently stalked this place each night to know when he needed to head over, and an elder’s appearance was generally his sign for when the Trials were set to start.

So everyone stood there. At attention. Not moving but politely waiting for everything to begin.

Sam did catch a few eyes open up in his shadow—a couple of the wild Ghost Types, probably. With how awkward the Blackthorn Clan member looked, they were probably taking great joy in seeing such a stuffy person look so uncomfortable.

“Well then,” the elder said after some time had passed. “Since you’re all here and so prepared already, no one else is set to arrive. So, if you’re ready to take part in our Trials, please, follow me.”

He cleared his throat once more and turned around. Unlike last time, he didn’t point anyone out. No one would be left behind.

“Yes!”

The two unfamiliar trainers whispered a cheer and pumped their fists. Sam could see Eliza smile.

“Great job, Redi,” Sam whispered. “Now where do we go from here?”

Her response was just a shrug, and she moved to follow behind. Sam didn’t see a reason to not move in alongside her. As a group, everyone followed in a single-file line behind the elder.

For these trials, the Blackthorn Clan wanted respect. With this, they were receiving respect. But even then, Sam still had to hold back his laughter at the situation.

While he could admit he might have been unfairly upset with how the Blackthorn Clan was deciding to give away their items, he couldn’t say he disliked seeing how caught off-guard this member of the clan was.

After a short trip downward, they were brought down to the stone shore of the Dragon’s Den’s underground lake. The middle-aged Blackthorn elder pointed to the shrine on the other side.

“Find a way across.”

He then moved back to the entrance of the tunnel to silently observe.

“So... What are we doing here?”

Everyone looked among themselves as one of the two unfamiliar trainers asked that question.

Sam cleared his throat to gather everyone’s attention.

“I got it. Give me a second,” he said.

He proceeded to look at the shadow beneath his feet. In the dim light of the cave, it was the only shadow among their group that had remained.

For some reason, Redi looked excited, but everyone else started to pale.

Eliza yelped.

Shapes raced out.

Following them along were Misdreavus and Haunter, moving to guide and manage the Ghost Types leaving to search.

“...Are you allowed to have that many Pokémon with you?” Eliza asked.

She flinched when Sam looked at her.

“It’s fine. Most aren’t my Pokémon.”

She went silent for a while.

“Oh.”

The voice was so quiet Sam wasn’t sure it was Eliza who eventually replied.

Twisting shapes moved between the pillars of rock within this cave. Gastly, slithering inside shadows, searched every nook and cranny of this nearby shore.

At one point, one of the shadows tried to move behind a conspicuous stalagmite next to the entrance.

“Off limits.”

But the ghost was cowed away by the sternness of the elder.

Although that secret tunnel was not a viable way forward, it didn’t take long for Haunter to rise out of the floor to communicate what he did find.

Nearby, someone shivered.

“What is it?”

Haunter had a sullen look on his face as he shook his head.

“Wait, there’s no boat?”

An unhappy nod.

“What about a hidden bridge? Or a walkway? Or another secret tunnel?”

Two shakes denied Sam’s question, and after a quick glance back at the watching elder, a third told Sam there was no such thing.

Sam frowned, but Redi stepped forward. She looked around at everyone here with a grin on her face. Though her practice under Will meant she’d been using Porygon’s Teleport to let her train her team off-route, she had still set aside time to talk with the other trainers here and come up with a plan.

“It’s alright. We already know what to do, remember?” she said.

She then looked at Eliza, who met her gaze with a smile.

“Come on out, Lapras!”

At the edge of the water, a red flash from a Pokéball grew until it towered above their heads, and when it broke, Eliza’s order was punctuated by a melodic cry.

Her Pokémon, a Lapras, was practically designed for transportation. Its four, finned limbs let it glide through water with ease, and the hard shell on its back gave people plenty of room to ride.

However, Lapras was only one Pokémon, and there were six total people here. Not everyone would fit.

Eliza walked forward and cupped the cheeks of her Pokémon’s face as it lowered its head to meet her approach.

“If you’re willing, can you...”

She finished her command by whispering something into her Pokémon’s curved ears.

In the flickering torchlight, Lapras's eyes glimmered. It brought its head up, opened its mouth, and began to sing. Right in front of its lips, a sphere formed. From that sphere, a beam of freezing lightning hit the surface of the lake to form a flat, solid ice floe.

“Amazing! Perfect, Lapras!” Eliza turned and faced everyone with a clap. “Everyone on! Should last long enough to bring us to the other side, but be careful. Ice is heavy, and Lapras doesn’t have a way to drag it. We’ll need help bringing it along.”

The end result was a strange yet functional boat—of sorts. Sam, Redi, Terry, and the two other trainers sat on the ice floe, and Eliza rode on her Lapras’s back. A Weepinbell and Tangela were released and held in their respective trainer’s laps. The two Grass Types used Vine Whip to extend vines like ropes, which Eliza tied onto the rough spikes coming out of the shell on Lapras’s back.

“And for pushing—”

“We got it.”

Terry released a Pokémon of his own, sending out a Pokémon with a smooth body and long legs thick with compressed muscles. The Hitmonlee didn’t wait to jump into the water, not bothering to need a command. Though Sam could see no mouth, Hitmonlee's eyes curved up in a smile to show it was ready.

“Hitmonlee has the strongest kicks among Fighting Types. He’ll be able to help push the ice as long as Lapras can drag most of it forward.”

Eliza nodded.

“That should be enough. Lapras is a pretty strong swimmer, right Lapras?”

Her Pokémon cried out in agreement.

To finish everything off, Redi looked around to make sure everyone was properly situated.

“Everyone ready?”

“I thought that was your name!”

Her eye twitched at Eliza’s joke, but she still forced a smile and pointed forward.

“Then let’s go!”

Lapras took off with a surprising amount of speed. Hitmonlee vibrated in the water as it shouted its name, and the fury of its kicks made it sound like a motor.

They were fast. At least, for a “boat” of their size. They weren’t moving as fast as the Ace Trainer on his Seadra, but travel was going much quicker than when he’d been forced to row a boat alongside Cassandra.

Sam’s thick pants helped let him resist the cold of the ice he sat on, and the two trainers with their Grass Types clutched their Pokémon to make sure to keep them warm with body heat. This was unfortunately not the perfect solution, as water splashed onto the ice floe and spread around, getting everyone wet. However, it was still thick enough to float, and Hitmonlee in the back was putting enough force into it so it was tilted up ever so slightly and not at risk of plunging everyone into the lake.

It was cold, but it was impressive.

He saw Redi smile to herself as they skipped over the water.

But it won’t be this easy. Last time, Cassandra and I were attacked by a Gyarados. What are they going to send after a bigger group?

Trying to hide his look, Sam glanced over at the lake’s murky depths, trying to search for anything that might jump out at them. His Ghost Types were back in his shadow, so he knew his Pokémon could help, but still.

The prospect of being attacked by something greater than a Gyarados was intimidating.

He stayed silent as he watched the water, and soon, a quiet voice whispered something not too far away from his side.

“...Porygon.”

Redi sent out her Pokémon into her arms. She looked away from where she was watching Sam to start whispering quiet commands.

But in the end, it seemed that with the speed their group was moving, the Blackthorn Clan wasn’t going to wait to start this test. Less than a few seconds later, dark shapes started to grow. They didn’t exactly swim under the icy platform so much as they exploded out of the water’s surface.

Not one, not two, not three, but four different Gyarados rose out of the lake. Of course, four Gyarados were worse than one Gyarados, and Eliza’s Lapras cried out in alarm. Terry just groaned.

But Redi was ready. In her arms, Porygon was now tinted yellow thanks to Conversion and an ongoing Charge.

“Zero, ten!” Redi ordered. “Discharge!”

As Porygon flashed away to Teleport in front of Lapras, Eliza was quick on the uptake and called out a command of her own.

“Protect!”

Sam was blinded by the successive flash. All of Porygon’s stored Electric Type energy, enhanced with a shared Type thanks to Conversion, was released in a single, enormous burst.

The Gyarados, vulnerable to the energy twice over, roared in pain before submerging just as quickly as they appeared in an attempt to escape.

And then, silence.

Sam rubbed his eyes to regain his vision.

He heard Redi give a command next to him.

“Back.”

Something not too dissimilar from the sound of vibrating metal wire rang out. Porygon reappeared in her arms, and she hugged her Pokémon while grinning at the rest of the group.

“What? Never seen a Discharge before?”

Eliza gagged, but she patted her Lapras’s neck. Immune to the damage thanks to Protect, their makeshift boat continued to be pulled ahead.

“You know, when I did this, Primeape one-shot a Gyarados, too.”

Redi hummed as she returned Porygon.

“Sure, but that was a Gyarados. Did he take out four at once?”

Redi just laughed as Sam grumbled. One of the other trainers clasped his hand to help him off of the boat, and Sam did the same to help Redi behind him.

Now on the opposite shore, everyone did their best to clean up and dry off. Pokémon were returned as people squeezed their clothes to try to get some of the freezing water off. Eliza approached her Lapras and hugged its head before returning her Pokémon, and Terry hit his Hitmonlee on the arm in a proud thanks.

The Fighting Type was a bit charred. Porygon’s attack had hit it through the water, but it had managed to push through the damage and continue to bring them to the other shore.

But there weren’t any awaiting members of the Blackthorn Clan here. Last time, two members—not elders—had helped Sam and Cassandra out of their boat.

It took a few minutes for anyone to arrive. Eventually, the same, somewhat pudgy elder who had led Cassandra away exited from a lit-up opening on the cavern’s back wall. Behind him, three other elders followed.

All of them moved with a distinct purpose, and none looked happy.

“Did you plan this?” he asked.

The corners of his lips twitched down into a frown.

“Nevermind. It’s not important. What you did is fine. But if you wish to proceed so badly, then follow me to reach the next stage.”

He turned on a heel to walk toward the shrine. The elders behind him—two men, one woman—followed with narrowed eyes. None bothered to look over at their group to see if they were coming along.

All of the trainers here chose to look to Redi instead.

“We following?” Terry asked.

Redi pursed her lips for a moment before nodding. She took a step, and then everyone hurried to catch up.

When the group reached the entrance of the nearby shrine, that first elder moved to stand next to its front doors. The other three Blackthorn Clan members positioned themselves off to the side to observe as the first elder spoke.

“Inside, you will answer a series of questions,” the first elder announced. “These questions are intended to test you as individuals, not as a group. For this test, I will ask one of you to enter, and the rest of you will stay—”

“Thanks. We’re going in,” Sam interrupted.

The elder sputtered. Sam ignored him and stepped to the front of the group, pushing open the doors before anything else could be said.

Yes, he was being rude—but that was honestly the point. He didn’t have anything he wanted. His only goal was to help everyone else. These test questions were meant to be asked to one person at a time, but by pushing to the front and opening the doors like this, he was giving everyone else an excuse to enter together, and by being the sole individual to interrupt, only he would be at blame.

“Are you coming?”

The first elder was left so utterly flabbergasted that he had no words to stop them.

Redi waited a moment before taking a step forward, but before she could pass through the doors, a short chuckle came from inside the shrine.

“It’s fine, it’s fine!” an aged voice called out. “Please, come in! The occasional change-up helps to keep us on our toes. You have my permission to take on this stage together!”

Huh.

The first elder next to Sam turned red as Redi strode inside. She sent a thankful bow to the elderly man on a cushion in the back, sending Sam a thankful look while her face was hidden.

Once everyone else stepped inside, Sam moved to enter, but a finger jabbed into his chest.

“You—”

“You as well! I said ‘everyone,’ didn’t I?”

The aged elder’s comments interrupted the lecture the first elder had been about to give.

Smirking, Sam entered the room at the back of the group, joining everyone else as they kneeled on the floor in a line. Sitting down, he immediately recognized the ancient-looking man from last time. The elder had a smile on his wrinkled face, and though his eyes were half-closed, there was still an amused glimmer to what Sam could see.

He nodded to Sam, and Sam adjusted how he was sitting to make sure he was sitting at attention. Everyone stayed silent as the doors closed behind them, and the four other, younger-but-still-old elders moved in to observe from the back.

“These trials were always meant to test interesting new trainers—though, they are usually challenged one at a time. It’s been quite some time since someone had the idea to attempt this as a group.” The old man stroked his hairless chin. “About twenty years, by my estimation.”

He breathed out in the semblance of a laugh, shaking his head while hiding a grin with the sleeve of his robe.

Behind, a floorboard creaked from the slight movement of an observing elder. The reaction wasn’t much, but it did speak of a lot.

Someone isn’t happy.

Sam made sure his expression stayed blank.

“This test involves questions, yes, so let’s start with a simple one,” the old man said. “To each of you, answer me this: What are Pokémon to you?”

Sam blinked.

The question was identical.

There was no change to what he heard last time.

After a moment of silent consideration, Redi shuffled around to wave everyone in. Sam and everyone else quickly joined her in a huddle.

“I mean, the answer’s pretty obvious. Of course it’s going to be ‘friends.’”

“I think ‘partners’ could work as an answer, too.”

“That’s a better one. ‘Partners’ has a more positive historical context, right?”

“But ‘friends’ implies a closer relationship.”

“Wait, wait, wait. But what if he wants us to give a literal definition?”

“What, and treat this like a test of knowledge?”

A pause.

“Hey, don’t look at me. I don’t think I’m allowed to help. But I’ll say that I don’t recommend being too literal here.”

Sam heard the soft sounds of the old man’s chuckles, and after a small amount of further discussion, the huddle broke. Everyone pulled themselves back to where they were kneeling before.

“Friends,” Redi announced. “Yup. For our answer, we’re going to go with ‘Friends.’”

A moment passed. Through the silence, someone ground their teeth together with such ferocity it was almost audible. Curious, Sam glanced behind him to see a series of red and frowning faces.

That first elder from before stepped forward.

“You have to be kid—”

“Good answer!” the old man interrupted. He then clapped his hands. “Now then. How about a more interesting one? Hm... Yes, I have it!”

Sam braced himself.

“What is... your favorite color?” the elder asked with a delighted grin.

“You... You. Simply. Cannot. Be serious!” that first elder yelled. “Are you truly going to go along with this farce!? These trials are sacred! And you’re allowing these children to... to... to cheat! The Trials test individuals! Not groups! They should not have been allowed in here in the first place!”

To that cry of outrage, the elder on the cushion simply smiled and held up a finger.

“Ah, but has that ever been established? Tell me, where is it written that trainers are not allowed to work together?”

The first elder gave no response.

“Taking our trials on as a group is the opposite of cheating. It’s cheeky, yes, but I recognize it as a worthwhile strategy. They knew of our tests and chose to prepare much in the way a true Pokémon trainer would. Is it not a trainer’s duty to assemble a viable team? And would it not be hypocritical of us, the Blackthorn Clan, to criticize others for working together?”

When Sam glanced behind him, he was met with the reddest shade of red he’d ever seen. He was sure he was about to see someone’s head explode.

But all that happened was the first elder tilting his body forward.

“Of course,” he said through gritted teeth. “I bow to your wisdom.”

If the man had been a Fire Type, the shrine would have burned down by now.

“My, my. You all are causing quite a stir, aren’t you?” The old elder turned back to the group, fanning his face with a hand. “I’ll say that you’ve already demonstrated more than enough to get through this stage of the trial, but what is your plan for the next? Most often, in it, the proceeding challengers are narrowed down through a series of battles set against one another.”

A beat passed.

Redi smiled.

“Well, there’s an even number of us, right?” she asked. “All we have to do is end every match in a draw. You’d either have to move all of us on or kick every single one of us out. And if you kick us out, we’d just be back to do the same again next time.”

For the first time tonight, the old man burst into laughter. He’d been chuckling, but this was a genuine, belly-deep laugh.

“The cleverness of children truly has no bounds!” He wiped an eye. “Ah, we’ve been thoroughly bested, and through such simple means too, hm?”

He shook his head, still somewhat laughing to himself. Honestly, the elder was right in his comments. Working together to move through each round was a basic idea in retrospect, but then again, in Indigo, trainers tended to be more individualistic. Even the basic concept of a double battle wasn’t as common here as it was in Hoenn.

“You’ve completed the third test. And with the threat you’ve so boldly presented, I say there’s no point in bothering with the fourth stage, either,” the elder announced. “All that leaves is the final challenge: a simple test of worth and power. There, you will be facing core members of our clan in battle, but...”

He paused.

“I have a feeling that your opponents will be more than willing to show you the true depths of their annoyance.”

When Sam checked behind him, he caught flashes of red and white within the sleeves of the observing elders. Each retrieved Pokéballs from where they’d been hidden in sleeves.

Of course, they’re trainers. This is the Blackthorn Clan. Everyone here trains Dragons.

Wait, but there’s only four of them for the six of us. How is that going to work out?

The old elder spoke up once more.

“As for your desires...”

He waved his hand to bid everyone to share their requests.

The two trainers Sam wasn’t familiar with spoke up right away. One wanted a Leaf Stone, and the other just wanted help. He felt he wasn’t ready enough to take on the other Gyms of the League, and he wanted the assistance of a more experienced trainer to point out mistakes he wasn’t aware of.

When Eliza spoke, she brought up the idea of initially wanting rare TMs, but she seemed to change her mind while explaining her desires. Instead, she stated that she wanted insights. Specifically, she wanted hints on how to better teach rare moves to her Pokémon.

For Sam, he just shrugged when the elder’s gaze moved onto him. He was only here to support Redi. He’d already been given something. There wasn’t any way he felt the Blackthorn Clan could help.

Then, when the elder’s gaze reached Terry, the boy chose to stand. He spoke up, gripping his hands into fists at his sides.

“I... I already told you I wanted help with my Gible. But your clan refused to help me unless I promised to take on one of you as a mentor. I... I can’t accept that! It goes against everything my Pokémon and I stand for! All I wanted was a bit of help, but yet...” He laughed. “You spat in my face. I’ll spit in yours.”

The old elder’s face was unreadable.

“So I want nothing,” Terry continued. “I don’t want anything from your clan but a battle! You want a test of worth? I’ll give you a test of worth! I’ll show you just why it was a mistake to try to force your way in charge of my team!”

The elder didn’t respond. His expression was dead serious. His eyes almost looked grim as Terry finished his declaration.

“Very well,” the old man said calmly, not betraying even the slightest hint of his thoughts. “And as for you?”

He looked directly at Redi, and Redi nodded once.

Like Terry, Redi pushed up to stand. She turned to make eye contact with everyone here—the watching elders and the other trainers alike—before locking her gaze onto the old elder’s face.

“There’s a Pokémon you have,” she said. “A Pokémon who’s... She and I are already friends. I don’t care that Clair was told to take care of her. I don’t care if I’m not a part of your clan. I’m going to be the one to train Dragonair. I’m going to be the one that takes her out of this city.”

When Redi finished, the room fell into such tense silence that Sam could hear the wood of the building creak. On his cushion, the old elder frowned.

“Oh? A demand and not a request?” he asked.

“It’s a statement,” Redi corrected. “I’m here to prove to you that letting Dragonair leave with me is in everyone’s best interests.”

She then cracked her knuckles.

Why, Redi?! Why phrase it like that?!

When facing the Blackthorn Clan, there couldn’t have been a worse way for Redi to present her desires. Sam knew she wasn’t actually stating a threat, she was just trying to firmly and confidently state what she wanted. Yet, everything about her words and body language screamed that she was willing to get violent to get what she wanted.

But even just cracking her knuckles wasn’t anything intended to be aggressive. She was trying to loosen up in preparation for the fifth stage’s battle.

After a long period of tense, tense silence, the old man on the cushion let out a hum. He seemed to recognize Red’s declaration—most importantly, he recognized she was just trying to state her desires—and his eyes flicked to the sole two Pokéballs at her belt.

He stroked his chin once more.

“You truly wish to train one of our Dragon Types?”

“I don’t care about your Dragon Types. I only care about Dragonair.”

For the briefest of moments, the corner of the elder’s mouth twitched, and Sam swore the old man had been about to smile. But, instead, the old man kept his expression level.

He looked up, staring at a point behind their group and even behind the observing elders as well.

“You can corroborate this?”

“I can,” a voice said in the entranceway of the room.

Credit to her, Sam hadn’t heard Clair enter, and apparently none of the four younger elders had heard her, either. All practically jumped as the Gym Leader’s voice echoed out from behind them. They quickly moved to the side, revealing Clair. She stood there with her arms crossed, taking in the entire room at once.

The light from nearby braziers caused shadows to flicker over her face.

“This one approached me and asked for a way to let her train Dragonair,” she said, nodding to Redi. “At first, I refused, as she was the one to rescue Dragonair from Goldenrod, but after seeing her dedication, I chose to tell her about these Trials as a solution.”

Three of the four other elders glared at Clair. One of them stepped forward to speak up.

“You should not be here.”

Everyone ignored him.

“And your thoughts on her request?” the old man asked.

To that, Clair let out a single, barking laugh.

“Well,” she started, “before she ever asked me about Dragonair, she and her little friend here had already met me off-route. There, something very interesting happened.”

“Oh?”

“They challenged me to a two-on-one match.”

The old man chuckled once again, shaking his head in disbelief. Clair flicked a hand out to retrieve a Pokéball from her wristband. She looked it over before tossing it to Redi. Redi only barely managed to catch it, almost being caught by surprise.

“There. This’ll be a temporary measure since I noticed you only have two members on your team,” Clair said. “It’ll make sure we have an even match, but if you want to keep her...”

A draconic grin spread across the Gym Leader’s face.

“It’s time. You’ve made me wait for far too long. For the fifth stage of your trial tonight, we’ll finally be getting to our double battle. Let’s settle everything here.”