Chapter 145

Author Note:

I am sick to the point where it's hard to focus but I didn’t want to skip today because I love this arc and want to see it come out. I should be better by Friday. This chapter will get touched up later, but it thankfully hits everything I want it to hit.

Please enjoy.
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The best trainers, as in the peak of the peak, could take an inexperienced Pokémon and turn them into an elite-level fighter within only a few months.

Sam could not do that.

However, he was still someone with almost a full season of experience behind him as well as a massive pool of knowledge to draw from. Just because he couldn’t bring a Pokémon to an elite-level in a short time didn’t mean he was clueless how to help Misdreavus. He was no longer the trainer that struggled to put together a training plan. He knew what exercises he would need her to do as well as how to best describe new moves to help her learn them.

He was a Pokémon trainer. A proper one.

He couldn’t call himself weak. He knew for a fact he’d be able to help.

“Alright, Misdreavus,” Sam said that morning, facing her at the edge of the stream. The flow of the water made it obvious in which direction he’d need to travel to find the river—or at least, Sam hoped it did. “I want to see what moves you know. Show me what you’ve picked up all this time on your own.”

Locking eyes, Misdreavus sent him a firm nod before demonstrating her moves.

She was cute.

Overall, her selection was pretty basic for a wild Ghost Type, consisting of Growl and Confuse Ray for support, and hten Psywave, Astonish, and Confusion for those attacks.

“Hm.”

All of her attacks are decent, but she doesn’t have anything that strong. At most, they’re functional, but she’s not exactly using them fast or giving them the power they need to deal damage.

“Let me guess,” Sam said, “for a lot of these, you spied on other Pokémon and then copied what they could do, right?”

As he tapped his chin in thought, Misdreavus gained a slight blush.

Alright. So that’s how she knows these moves. She just needs to practice and then expand her options.

“In a battle, you need options. You also need to make sure those options actually work,” Sam said, pacing back and forth with his hands behind his back. “By that, I don’t just mean moves you’ve used once or twice. I mean that to win battles, you need to use the moves that can actually hit. You need to use moves whose effects will actually apply.”

He stopped walking, pushing his feet together as he glanced over to where Misdreavus floated in the air. She tilted herself to the side curiously, clearly interested in her words.

However, there was a tinge of disappointment to her.

She clearly wanted Sam to compliment her moves.

“Okay, okay. Yeah, it’s pretty great that you’re already so familiar with the Psychic Type,” Sam said, causing Misdreavus to puff up in pride. “Except, I did see some flaws with it. We need a way to improve, so...”

He looked around.

No one else was here.

This was the first time he’d be training a Pokémon without any other Pokémon to help, so he decided to take a risk.

He threw his arms out to his sides, making himself the widest target he could be.

“Hit me. Use Psybeam.”

Misdreavus immediately looked aghast.

Scaring someone was one thing, but directly attacking them was another. In the wild, fights and moves were only really exchanged during moments of actually aggression or to claim territory. Using one on a companion wasn’t too command—but that was for Pokémon. Humans weren’t known for taking the same level of hits.

“Trust me. I won’t get hurt, but I need you to see this with your own eyes.”

Sam knew that Haunter would help him dodge in the worst case, but also he didn’t have any other targets that Misdreavus could attack.

She was hesitant at first, shaking her head in an attempt to deny Sam’s request. However, Sam kept up his expectant stare.

She grimaced before finding her resolution, breathing in, and then closing her eyes for focus.

Unlike most of the times Sam saw his Pokémon attack, he couldn’t see Misdreavus’s move form right away. She was far more inexperienced than he thought. Still, soon enough, ripples formed in the air as her control of Psychic Type energy manipulated that space.

A few seconds longer, and then she snapped her eyes open. Her Psywave properly took form alongside a shout, forming a blue-pink wave that oscillated through the air to reach Sam.

He dodged it by taking a single step to the right.

“Okay. That was pretty good! Like I said, knowing more than just Normal and Ghost Type moves is pretty good for a Pokémon at your level.”

Misdreavus responded with a huff—the move came naturally to her. His compliment didn’t mean much.

“Let’s skip straight to the advice, then. No compliment sandwich. I’ll keep it straight and to the point—is that okay with you?”

She nodded. Sam once more took up the stance of a proper lecturer or a drill instructor.

(He might have been enjoying this a bit too much. No matter what, he’d need to travel to find a way back to his team, but practicing with Misdreavus was nostalgic and helped keep unwanted thoughts out of his mind.)

“First thing’s first—never close your eyes. Throughout that entire process, I could have walked away while you weren’t paying attention to me, and that would have completely thrown off your aim.”

Briefly, shame passed over her face, but that disappeared when she realized Sam wasn’t criticizing her, just giving her advice.

“Secondly, you don’t need to pay that much attention to your form. Moves will be disrupted when they hit no matter what, so at the base level they only need to be functional enough to be used,” Sam said. “But that brings me to my third point—your moves don’t need to be perfect! You’re only just starting.

“This is how I trained all of my Pokémon,” Sam said, continuing. “We learned the basics of their moves at first, and then we tried to make it better. Build a solid foundation before you perfect it. And if you have a solid foundation, then you can modify it later on, right?”

Misdreavus listened with rapt attention, eagerly nodding her head with every word. Truthfully, Sam didn’t remember her exact moveset from when he caught her. He knew he had it written down in his journal, but his journal was—

Don’t think about that, Sam. Just think about helping the Pokémon in front of you.

“Alright. Try again. Think about everything I just said and use Psywave for a second time.”

Once more, he held out his arms, and once more Misdreavus looked hesitant.

But Sam had already shown that he could dodge, and she focused—this time, without closing her eyes.

When she used Psywave here, those same ripples appeared, but only after several long seconds where nothing happened. Closing her eyes had helped her focus, before. However, she was still able to form the move, just with a bit more effort.

Space vibrated, and then her attack took form.

Briefly, Sam’s eyes widened when he realized this less controlled version of her attack was rushing him faster that he’d be able to dodge.

“Shoot!”

Haunter saved him; hands left Sam’s shadow to grab his feet and slide him to the left. The Psywave continued past him with an uneven speed before hitting the bark of a tree, landing with a heavy thunk.

“That would have hurt,” Sam mumbled, staring at where Misdreavus’s move just hit.

Misdreavus, meanwhile, didn’t seem to care. She didn’t even notice that Sam had moved unnaturally, she just seemed worried that she almost caused him pain.

Inherently, Psywave varied in its power due to the wave-like structure of the move. When she used it with less preparation, there was less control. They’d just been unlucky enough to see its power overflow and hit its max.

“No, no! Don’t get worried! You’re already doing great! Did you see how quickly that formed once you got started! Already, it’s way better to use in a fight!”

Misdreavus froze, hearing what Sam said and now truly realizing what she had done. Slowly, she turned to the bark of the tree to see that dent she had made.

“Good job,” Sam said.

She smiled at him.

And then she fell.

He caught her in his arms as exhaustion set in. She’d overcharged her move and completely drained herself, but at least Sam could carry her to let her rest as he moved to follow the stream south.

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Together with Misdreavus, Sam walked alongside that stream. The water flowed and bubbled, and at several points he had to move to hide from wild Pokémon that went to it to drink.

Haunter always gave Sam a warning, but it was a bit nerve-wracking to see the wild Pokémon out here. If more of his team had been around, he wouldn’t have thought it was an issue, but as strong as Haunter was, there was still the risk of being outnumbered.

Stantler could use illusions to see Haunter fall. Aipom were menaces and great a tricks to distract both Haunter and Sam. Any Bug Types could swarm—as Sam had unfortunately learned in Azalea Gym.

Misdreavus could technically help, but she was too busy going through a cycle of practicing and then slowly following along at Sam’s side.

Regardless of any threats in the environment, Sam managed to follow the flow of water safely. Misdreavus practiced, and Sam helped her train her moves.

Days passed.

She showed improvement as Sam continued to make his way south.

Misdreavus’s Psywave quickly became her best attack, turning into a pulse of energy that moved strange enough to disrupt any foe. Her control over Psywave also bled into her Confusion, which she trained by telekinetically carrying small stones. As for Growl, that was just a matter of using her voice, and Confuse Ray was a move used on Sam whenever he stopped to take a break.

But the big thing he wanted her to learn was more Ghost Type attacks. She was already familiar with the energy thanks to her Type and knowledge of Astonish. Through that, he was able to guide her through the process of releasing the energy in an area around her.

That meant she knew Night Shade, as weak as it was. It was a simple move, only requiring raw control, but it was also a great way to track just how much she improved.

Over the few days Sam spent training with her, Misdreavus started with only being able to conjure a faint haze into being able to conjure a shroud that turned her into a silhouette. It wasn’t quite the sphere of darkness Sam was used to, but she was getting there.

And then there were also her next steps.

“For Shadow Ball,” Sam would explain to her, “you basically want to take that same energy and condense it into a singular attack. Instead of having it suffuse the space around you, you want to make it into a ball. Before, I’ve been told it actually doesn’t feel too different than something like Astonish.”

She would try and fail, but every attempt at least helped her control. Sam said nothing when she closed her eyes—doing so was a mistake, but it helped her focus. The importance was getting the basics down and improving it from there.

Though she didn’t pick up Shadow Ball, Sam did notice flickers. Nothing proper ever formed, but the way her Ghost Type energy moved reminded him of wisps.

Wisps that would be key to the attacks she’d eventually pick up in the future.

Other than that, the only other move he had her practice was Mean Look, because of course he did. When Ghost Type energy was involved, it didn’t take much to have a glare lock a target in place, especially since she already knew Confuse Ray. It was by no means battle ready, but she certainly knew the move.

He even had her test it out on a few wild Pokémon that got too close. They would freeze and allow Sam to run away, and then Misdreavus would dash over and catch up right after.

Frequently, she’d giggle the whole way.

“You know,” Sam said one night as they rested under the stars. “You’re growing strong, Misdreavus, and I can’t even say it’s due to myself. You’re just... a hard worker. You’re determined. Without your enthusiasm, you would have never gotten anywhere as far as you do.”

Misdreavus would laugh a lot. There was a happiness to her that Sam hadn’t seen before. At times, she would randomly fling herself in the air just to feel the wind rushing past her, and then Sam would scramble to catch her in his arms.

He didn’t have a Pokéball. He didn’t have a way to help her rest. Yet, she would let herself become physical enough for him to carry her.

That was how she recovered over the day.

“You’re also...” Sam wasn’t sure how to phrase this. His voice drifted off. The thought hurt to think. It would be worse to not say. “You’re also so much like one of my Pokémon. Incredibly so. It’s just... I don’t know. She put all this hard work into becoming a powerful special sweeper, yet she...”

She never told me.

“She was more lonely than I realized.”

Misdreavus pressed herself against Sam’s side. He found himself leaning back against her.

He wasn’t sure why she was so attached to him even though just a few days had passed.

Had she really been that alone?

It made the moment she re-encountered him in the forest feel that much worse.

One phrase echoed through his mind:

Ghosts attracted Ghosts.

“...Thank you.” Sam ended up saying. “I’m sorry. I should have come sooner.”

She made a noise as if to say it was fine because he didn’t know, but that wasn’t true. It was her who didn’t realize the truth of the matter.

But their travels continued, and their training sessions progressed. The stream slowly grew, never quite becoming a river but definitely becoming a brook.

Without supplies, Sam did his best to take care of himself in that time, using whatever he could to keep himself fit. Having a source of clean, fresh water helped a lot, and Haunter also assisted by slipping off and returning with berries.

Eating them made the bread last longer.

Sam never asked what Haunter had to do to get them.

Without a proper source of meals, Sam did find himself growing tired. He knew this trip wasn’t something he could keep up forever. He needed to find civilization sooner rather than later, not just to find a way to reunite with his team but also to just eat a good meal.

And then it happened. The further south they got, the shorter the trees became. When Sam passed by one to exit into an open meadow, Sam froze out of recognition.

“I know this place.”

Before him, grasses and flowers spread out in a meadow, and a mass of Pokémon danced under the sun. The same as it was years in the future, he could see so many Bellossom and Oddish living in this place.

“We... I passed by this place with my team,” Sam said to Misdreavus, but also to Haunter. “There should be a road just up ahead. That means if I’m remembering correctly, there’s a stream—”

He stopped what he was doing to desperately look around, and then he took off in a dash.

Misdreavus shouted out as Sam chased toward where his memories took him.

Yes! I was right! It changed over time, but that’s definitely where those Marill were playing. That means the road is just up ahead, and if the road is right there...

“The campsite.”

My team might be there.

What if he and Haunter hadn’t been the only ones to fall in?

A flicker of hope entered his chest.

Sam charged through the woods, running toward where he had been at rest with his team. He had no clue how time had been passing for both him and them—was there a difference? Was a day here a day then? Or was no time passing at all, and he’d only return once all of this was over?

Yet, it wouldn’t matter if at least one of them were here. If a single other Pokémon was somehow sent through time with him, then it wouldn’t just be him and Haunter trying to get back.

He followed the trial. He followed memories of his footsteps. There was no sign that he had walked this path, but that made sense.

He hadn’t technically been here yet.

The forest exploded before him, opening up in that tiny grove he and his team had taken break. The same rare beam of lights peeked through, and Sam glanced around for any sign that his friends were here as well.

Except...

“No,” Sam breathed. “No. There’s nothing.”

It was empty.

The only thing he recognized was that root he had used as a bench, but it was significantly smaller than it was before.

It hadn’t grown yet.

“I hoped... I just thought...”

It was barely big enough to serve as a seat, but Sam sat on it anyway.

He dropped his head into his hands, crushed. A pressure was placed onto his knee.

The presence of Haunter’s hand helped.

From behind him, Misdreavus finally caught up, also entering the empty clearing and moving over to Sam while making a worried noise. He sighed, bringing his head back up, and forcing a smile onto his face.

“I’m fine. Sorry. I didn’t mean to run. I just got separated from my team here and I thought... I thought they’d be here. Even if it didn’t make sense.”

But they weren’t. We’re alone.

Misdreavus replied with a noise to say that she was here, and there was something about that that made Sam feel even worse.

“B-but it’s fine,” he said. “I know where we are now. We’ll follow that path to head back to the river, and Arborville won’t be too far from there.”

Arborville was an old town. He had no doubts it’d be around, even whenever it was currently int he past. If he could just speak to someone knowledgeable about local myths, he could learn more. They’d either have advice, or they’d have information on whatever that cursed “Voice of the Forest” was.

When I find that Voice...

A dark look overtook his face.

“Come on,” Sam said, taking a deep breath to stabilize himself. “Getting stuck here isn’t going to help us. It’s fine to have a few negative thoughts, but they’re not worth getting trapped in.”

Misdreavus nodded slowly. She looked as though she didn’t quite believe him.

Sam ignored her worried look as well as the one Haunter sent him from the shadows.

Standing up from that same root, Sam prepared himself to leave. Unfortunately, neither his pack nor the New Pokédex was where he’d left them—or would leave them, in an unknown amount of time.

He’d truly need to carry on as he was, with just Misdreavus and Haunter at his side.

But as he readied himself to head out, he heard something in the distance:

It was not the cry of the Voice of the Forest, but a pair of voices from two people getting close.

“Are you sure we couldn’t stay in the meadow?”

“I’m sure! We’ve already delayed this long enough!”

“But I wanted a sketch of a Bellossom!”

“It’s fine! You have plenty of sketches of Bellossom! I want to get deeper in—and look! I was right, there’s a clearing just up ahead!”

Sam went still as a set of nearby bushes shook, and two young boys almost immediately popped out in front of him right after. Having shoved their way through the foliage, they fell to the earth when the resistance suddenly disappeared. One clutched a leather-bound journal close to his chest, and the other hit the floor only to laugh and roll onto his back.

“See? Told ya, Sammy. A clearing! This’ll be a better place to rest before moving on!”

“I guess so. But we could have rested near the Bellossom.”

“Psh. We’re going to see so many more rare Pokémon if we head deeper in. Plus, you could just sketch...”

The boy’s voice trailed off when he saw Sam standing in front of him.

Immediately, the boy scrambled to his feet and sent Sam a hostile glare. His gaze was almost murderous, and Sam had no clue what he’d done to deserve that.

The other one—Sammy—continued to clutch his journal while pushing back to his feet, pausing momentarily to brush dirt off of his baggy pants. He froze as well when he saw Sam there, but instead of any hostile gaze, he kept a kind smile on his face and greeted him politely.

“Oh, hello! Sorry, we didn’t know someone else was already here. You can call me Sammy, and this is—” He froze when he saw the Pokémon behind Sam. “You have a Misdreavus!”

“...Yes?” Sam said.

Immediately, Sammy pulled a pencil out of the front pocket on his shirt and tried to begin sketching her in his journal. Shy, Misdreavus moved to hide behind Sam, but the situation failed to progress from there when the other boy held out an arm to get Sammy to stop.

“Wait. Look how ragged he is. We don’t know if he’s a threat.”

“A... A threat? You’re kidding, right? He’s not ragged, he’s just— Hold on, do you need help?”

This look sent at Sam was one of worry, carrying a promise of help.

The other look was still one of hate, seemingly carrying a promise of pain.

“I...”

Sam’s throat felt sore.

Honestly, the world seemed as though it was spinning.

He couldn’t find the courage to talk.

Why?

Because he’d seen the faces of these two boys before.

“You... You two... You are...”

Memories flashed through his head of a certain photograph he’d once glimpsed in his attic. They were older there, but he knew it was them.

When Sam failed to speak, unnamed boy stormed forward. Ignoring Misdreavus’s yelp of surprise, he grabbed Sam’s arm and dragged him away.

His whisper was more like a hiss.

“Who the hell are you supposed to be? You aren’t supposed to be here.”

“I’m—”

“Doesn’t matter. Leave. I set up too much to fail here. I need to make this work.”

Sam gaped at just how hostile the boy’s voice was, but he didn’t say anything. This time around, it was because someone else butted in.

“Hey, don’t speak to him like that!” Sammy shouted. “What’s with you? I’ve never seen you act like this—you didn’t even introduce yourself!”

A blink.

Finally, the other boy backed off.

He sighed, bringing a hand through his hair in a show of his utmost confidence.

“Fine. Whatever. I guess I might have been overreacting, but so what?

“As for my name...” He grinned. “Call me Dick. Or Richard. Or just Rich. I’m Richard Greyson! Yeah, I can tell you recognize it—it’s purposeful! And I expect you to remember that!”

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Author Note:

I’ve made a slight adjustment to Misdreavus’s known moves in the last chapter. Primarily, I realized it didn’t make sense for her to know Mean Look and Night Shade just yet.

Pokémon included in this chapter:
Aipom
Stantler

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