The Ghost Specialist

Sam considered Spite a strange move. The New Pokédex stated that it drained the energy reserved for a specific attack, but what did that actually entail? Sure, the effect was obvious—it limited how much more the targeted move could be used—but Sam just couldn’t wrap his mind around Spite’s mechanics.

I mean, all Pokémon have a pool of Type energy inside of them. That’s what makes them Pokémon! But if Spite drains that pool, how does it limit its effects? Shouldn’t it affect other moves? How can it even target a specific attack?

He wasn't sure how to train it either, but it seemed that simply being informed of it was enough to let Gastly figure it out. As Sam called for him to use Spite, Gastly went through the move’s motions, growling and causing specific energy to be drained out of an opposing Heracross.

Its Fury Cutter attack could no longer be used.

The horned, blue beetle crouched down and crossed its arms while chittering to itself unhappily. Rather than follow up that Spite with a different attack, it glanced over its shoulder at its trainer, a burly man dressed for hiking.

“Hm,” the man grunted. “I don't think we'll be able to continue from here. We forfeit!”

Gastly cackled. It was just his normal laugh, but his normal laugh always sounded so malicious that it couldn’t be called anything but a cackle. He proceeded to float backwards to reach Sam, where he lowered himself in the air to let him pat his head.

“Good job,” Sam said.

Gastly grinned and moved over to Mankey to celebrate. Without any hands, they couldn't exactly high-five, but he still seemed to appreciate Mankey’s attempt at a high-five, which involved smacking him in the face.

Next to them, Redi shouted her compliments at Sam as he and his opponent shook hands.

“You’ve definitely earned your reward money,” the man said, pulling out the few bills Sam had won from their bet. “Only got two badges so far, and I didn't realize just how much a Ghost Type counters us. Can't really beat Ecruteak Gym with our usual Normal and Fighting Type moves, can we?”

He grinned as his Heracross grumbled behind him. The Pokémon looked annoyed that it had lost against a weaker foe.

“Well, good luck in Goldenrod!” he said.

“Good luck in Ecruteak,” Sam replied.

“And just between you and me, if you wanna win the Bug Catching Contest, have a Pokémon use Headbutt on some of the trees. You might get lucky enough to find a Heracross like I did!”

The man let loose a boisterous laugh before walking off. He and his Heracross disappeared into the trees of Route 36. This Route connected Routes 35 and 37, which served as the main path between Goldenrod and Ecruteak. As it was so heavily forested, trainers weren’t as common here as they had been on the connecting Route with Olivine.

Sam returned to where Redi sat with their Pokémon and where they had deposited their stuff. Before he said anything, he reached into his backpack to check the New Pokédex.

...I had a feeling. Heracross’s entry doesn’t list the Bug Catching Contest as a place it can be caught. Yet, just skimming it, it does say both Butterfree and Scyther can be caught there, instead.

Ugh. I don’t get it.

This was yet another addition to Sam’s growing list of questions he had about the New Pokédex. The book hadn't been wrong—not yet, at least—but Sam was growing more and more suspicious about all of the little details it left out. He was starting to grow curious about the identity of its unnamed author, too.

Who wrote it? And how did they manage it?

More importantly, why did his grandpa, of all people, have the New Pokédex mailed to him?

Sam wanted to find those answers, but he recognized he wouldn’t be able to until he had a stronger team. He needed more power to have the freedom to explore. For now, he planned to stick to major routes and follow the expected path before he could really dive into his search for knowledge.

“So the Bug Catching Contest,” Sam said, standing up.

Redi pushed away from the tree she was leaning against and rolled her shoulder.

“Psh. Not interested in Bug Types.”

“Yeah, I get it. I'm not sure if there are any Bug-Ghost Types in Johto for me to catch.”

Sam returned Cyndaquil and Mankey to let them rest as Redi returned her Teddiursa. Gastly stayed out because he wanted to stay out. Usually, the Ghost Type rested in his Pokéball to avoid the daylight, but within a shaded forest like this, he was happy to bounce along at Sam's side.

“But I do think I want to catch a new Pokémon,” Redi said with a hum.

It took all of Sam’s effort to not fall flat on his face with the very first step he took.

“...What? You can’t just drop something so major like that!” Sam shouted as he picked his jaw up off the ground. “You said you wanted to keep your team small! And you have Teddiursa! And know your strategy! And then there’s your family—”

“Why are you grinning,” Redi said flatly.

“We've been traveling together for weeks and all I’ve helped you with is learning the Type chart! You don’t get it! With this, I can finally, really help!”

Sam practically tore the New Pokédex out of his backpack. He also took out his journal, holding it under his arm as they walked.

“Okay, okay.” He flipped open the old tome. “What kind of Pokémon do you want?”

Redi gave the book a side-eye but returned to humming as they began to walk south.

“Well, it can't be one that overlaps with Teddiursa—”

“Naturally.”

“—So it should be one that fills as many other roles as possible,” she said. “I’m pretty confident I still want a small team, but I’m thinking that I don’t catch more than three or four Pokémon. Actually, scratch that. I think I’ll only do four if it's an emergency. So unless I make a surprise new friend, this Pokémon will be the second of three.”

Sam swapped which book he held to scribble down Redi's comments into his journal before opening the New Pokédex once more.

Briefly, he glanced at Gastly and whispered to ask if he was willing to act as a floating table. Gastly actually paused to consider it, but then he shook his head before drifting over to Redi’s side.

“...Okay. And what else?” Sam asked, resigned to continue juggling his books.

“I don't want it to eat a lot. When Teddiursa evolves, he'll be expensive. Is there anything cheap like Gastly?”

“You could catch a Ghost Type?”

Redi placed her hands behind her head and stared up into the canopy of branches that covered the path. She hummed, thinking, before shaking her head against the idea.

“Nah. I should care about branding, shouldn't I?” she mused. “What if we keep it simple and I catch another Normal Type?”

Sam glanced up from the New Pokédex to look at his friend.

“You want to be a Normal Type specialist?”

She shrugged.

“Why not?” Redi asked.

“There are so many reasons to not be a specialist unless you’re really dedicated to that Type,” Sam hurriedly replied. “I mean, there’s the obvious—unless you think of specific counters, how are you going to beat a super effective Type?”

She shrugged again.

“Punch ‘em.”

“You’d punch a Fighting Type?”

“I’ve done it before. We’ll do it again.”

Sam stared at her, aghast, but Redi didn't reply with the cheeky grin he expected.

“Back home, my family works with a lot of Normal and Fighting Types,” she started slowly. “I know Fighting Types like and expect to be punched in battle, but that’s only true to a certain extent. I guess I could try to catch a Fighting Type, but I don’t think they’re the Pokémon for me. Don’t you think they’re a little much? I think their training is a bit too involved, and I don’t do that.”

“...A bit too involved,” Sam repeated under his breath.

He shook his head and read off what he had written down.

“So you want a Normal Type that doesn't eat too much or cost too much or require too much effort to train, and then it also can't have much overlap with Teddiursa when it comes to your team’s overall strategy.”

“Yup. Sounds about right.” Redi brought her hands down behind her back and stretched her arms. “So what does that narrow my options down to, oh great Pokémon Master?”

Sam stared blankly at the page in front of him.

“...I don't know.”

It felt like a specific enough list, but at the same time, Sam didn't yet have all thousand-plus Pokémon memorized. He could think of a few Normal Types that were good, but all were far too physical to not overlap with Teddiursa.

This would require research.

“Thankfully we’re heading to Goldenrod,” he said. “Maybe we could ask. I’m pretty sure the Gym there specializes in the Normal Type.”

“Yeah?” Redi replied, perking up. “I think I heard about that. Didn’t the Gym Leader there just replace the old one this year?”

“Maybe?”

Sam probably should have looked into his future opponents a bit more, but he had been busy with both the Beginner’s Tournament and Morty in Olivine and Ecruteak. Goldenrod would be the first time he entered a city without anything major going on. Thankfully, he at least knew the local Gym Leader’s name:

Whitney.

She’d be the trainer to beat if he wanted to earn his third Gym Badge.

Sam had thought Slateport was big.

Then, he had thought Olivine was big.

Now?

He wasn't even sure he could classify what “big” was. The sheer size of Goldenrod City was entirely something else.

Skyscrapers crowded city blocks, doing exactly what they were called with their ridiculous height. The streets were all paved and were utterly lined with cars. People of all sorts practically flooded the sidewalks as they went to and from work.

“What? I thought you got over this back in Olivine,” Redi said, not even blinking at her surroundings.

Sam craned his neck up, and up, and up...

“Why is everything so pointy?”

“I think it's to catch lightning?”

Practically every skyscraper had a point.

The city was called Goldenrod, and Sam felt like it lived up to its name. The thousands of windows on the sides of the buildings each caught the sun in just the right way to give everything a faint, golden glow. The reflections didn't blind the sidewalk, either. The skyscrapers shrunk in width the higher they went. That allowed enough light to reach the streets to prevent everything from being cast into shade.

“...really interesting!” a voice said over the crackle of the radio. “So you’re saying that a Nidoran’s spines can be groomed without risking poison?”

“There will always be a risk, Mary, but as long as you treat a Pokémon with respect, its body language will guide you! A good relationship between Pokémon and trainer is key to all success stories, and my research shows that...”

Sam couldn’t stop a scowl from forming on his face when he heard that aged voice. A few people gathered around the electronic shop’s open doors to listen in and idle about, but as far as he was concerned, the so-called “Professor Oak’s Pokémon Talk” didn’t have anything worth listening to.

“Come on!” Redi grabbed Sam’s wrist right as he started to slow down. “Signs say the Gym is just up ahead!”

She dragged him, dashing down a few turns to reach their destination, intending to head to Goldenrod Gym and hopefully ask her needed questions. Arriving, the Gym itself looked a little out of place with its domed roof and bright gold text stating “GYM” above its front doors. It was nowhere near as tall as the buildings around it, but what it lacked in height, it made up for in width.

It apparently made that up in importance too, as the entire outside street was closed down to allow a crowd of people to gather around its front doors.

“Entries. Entries! Do we have any last minute entries?” a woman’s voice shouted over a microphone.

Sam and Redi only needed to exchange a single look before they rushed to push through the crowd and see what this was all about.

A semi-circle of people stood around a foldable table, and several Gym Trainers positioned themselves as guards outside of Goldenrod Gym. Each Gym Trainer wore a short skirt and a shirt that almost resembled a sailor’s uniform, and they stood with dramatic poses that spoke of tolerating no nonsense.

No one stopped Sam and Redi as they approached the table. A small stage was set up to the side where another Gym Trainer was using a megaphone to attract more entrants.

“What’s the registration for?” Redi asked the woman sitting behind the table.

The Gym Trainer looked up.

“Um, the battle raffle?” she replied, saying the raffle’s purpose as if it were obvious. “If your name is drawn, you get to challenge Whitney without needing to wait.”

Apparently, this event took place twice a month—every two weeks. There had been a larger crowd earlier in the season, but it was still popular enough to draw a crowd and a few reporters.

Sam didn’t hesitate to provide his name and trainer ID, but Redi drew back. It didn’t make sense for her to enter, as she was both seeking to catch a new Pokémon and reevaluate her team’s strategy after passing by the previous Gym.

Once Sam properly entered, he backed off to let a few other last-minute entrants sign up. Everyone’s names were written down on slips and placed into a box. It took only a handful of minutes before the time to draw was up.

“Then, without further ado...” The megaphone whined as the Gym Trainer on the stage placed it under her arm. The box of entrants was lifted up to allow her to reach in, where she pulled out a single, slightly torn slip and read off the written name.

“Xavier!” she shouted. “Xavier, won’t you come up!”

Sam and Redi crossed their arms in near unison.

“You kidding? Why’d it have to be that guy?” Redi grumbled.

Pushing through the crowd was a boy maybe a year or two older than Sam with brown hair smoothed back on his head.

“I’m Xavier,” the boy said.

Sam remembered him from the boat to Olivine. Xavier had competed in the Beginner’s Tournament as well.

Although, it wasn’t just Sam and Redi who remembered who Xavier was. Several of the nearby reporters began to excitedly crowd around him.

“You were the runner-up in the Beginner’s Tournament!”

“Xavier! Xavier! How does it feel to skip the lines?”

“Wait! Where’s your incubator?”

Sam blinked.

The first place victor had passed up the Professor-granted Pokémon egg, allowing Xavier to earn it despite only placing in second. However, Pokémon eggs needed to be contained within environment-controlled incubators if they were to hatch. Xavier had no such obvious device on his person.

So it hatched already, huh?

Sam couldn’t help but to grin when he remembered Xavier’s grimace when he was handed the egg.

The reporters continued to surround him until he managed to escape by hopping onto the stage. Two other Gym Trainers approached to keep the reporters at bay as the megaphone whined once again.

“Xavier will challenge Whitney to a...” The woman whispered to him. “Third Gym Badge battle! Please, allow us space to head inside, and then the rest of you will be able to enter and watch right after!”

As she hopped down and encouraged Xavier to follow, Redi nudged Sam on the arm to get his attention.

“Wanna watch?” she whispered.

For a moment, Sam wanted to say no, but then again, his team was stronger than it had ever been. Feeling confident, he was also curious. He wanted to see if Xavier’s team could even compare.

The doors opened, and the crowd began to flow in. Gym Trainers and a few Normal Types—Sentret, Furret, Meowth, and Snubbull—encouraged people towards a set of open doors that led to an interior field. A few Pidgeys and Pidgeotto perched on lamps and other pieces of furniture also helped, waving their wings to direct the crowd to where they could watch the impending battle.

The interior field was a basic Gym battlefield like always, consisting of a painted rectangle over a compressed dirt floor. Whitney, the pink-haired Goldenrod Gym Leader, was already in place across from Xavier. Both of them stood tall.

She had to be only a few years older than Sam, and maybe only a year older than Xavier. Sam sat up and leaned forward in his seat.

“And this is her first year as a Gym Leader?” he whispered to Redi.

“Pretty sure. Gotta say, if this event is a way to build a name for herself, she’s doing a pretty good job.”

The reporters were escorted to the ground floor, not needing to sit on the stands like everyone else. A few had cameras pointing at the field, while others furiously took notes in open journals.

There wasn’t anything special about the rules for this battle, other than it would be a two-on-four match. Whitney would use only two Pokémon, but her opponent would be allowed to use up to four.

Once the referee finished speaking, Whitney struck a pose, holding up two fingers in front of her eyes.

“Ready?” she asked.

A few people in the stands chanted her name. A handful of the Gym Trainers joined in.

“...Let’s get this over with,” Xavier grumbled.

At the command of the referee, both of them threw forward a Pokéball to send out their first Pokémon.

Gasps rang out. Sure, Clefairy was a rare species, but people were far more interested in the Pokémon Xavier had released.

“A Donphan! I saw he had a Phanpy back on the boat, but don’t tell me it’s already evolved!” Redi said.

“...He evolved his Pokémon?”

He hadn’t known that Xavier had a Phanpy—or a Donphan, for that matter. Evolving a Pokémon this early was an impressive feat.

Sam shrunk down in his seat when the referee proceeded to confirm Xavier planned to use all four slots for his team as well. He didn’t just have an evolved Pokémon, but apparently he had more than just three Pokémon with him right now.

Wanting a distraction, Sam pulled out the New Pokédex to browse as the referee went over a last bit of set-up. He ignored Donphan’s entry for now, instead flipping to Whitney’s Pokémon, Clefairy, to see exactly what—

“That can’t be right.”

He glanced between the listed information and the pink Pokémon on the field.

What the heck is a Fairy Type?

His question went unanswered, interrupted by the start of the battle below.

“Scary Face. Defense Curl. Rollout. Proceed!”

“Metronome!”

Everything happened quickly. Donphan glared at Clefairy before tucking itself in for a roll. Donphan normally resembled a sort of squat elephant, but when curled into a ball, the bumps on its back made it look like the tire of a truck.

However, with Xavier listing off orders so succinctly, Clefairy was quickly overwhelmed. It tried for a Metronome, which randomly called up Thunderbolt. As a Ground Type, Donphan was unaffected by the Electric Type move, and it slammed into the supposed Fairy Type.

“Again!” Whitney called out.

It never got the chance.

Building momentum, Donphan tore over the ground like an escaping wheel. Clefairy was struck a second time before a third time finished it off.

“Hey! Don’t steal my strategy!” Whitney shouted. “Let’s see you do the same to Miltank!”

A pink cow was released onto the field, where it stomped its hooves into the ground. It braced itself with its arms held out to try to catch Donphan and stop the Rollout—

But the move continued, its strength having grown to unstoppable heights as Xavier’s Pokémon bashed into Miltank and sent the bovine flying across the field.

Whitney’s Pokémon skidded over the dirt and did not get up. For the briefest of moments, absolute silence filled the room until almost everyone erupted into deafening cheers.

“In an incredible victory, Xavier and his Donphan have absolutely crushed Whitney’s team!” the referee called out.

The Gym Leader had a blank look as she stared at her fainted Pokémon.

“...Oh.”

Whitney’s voice was just barely audible over the noises of the audience thanks to some carefully hidden speakers.

Xavier returned his Donphan without comment and strode forward to stand in the center. He sent Whitney a pointed look as if telling her to get it over with.

Credit to her, while Whitney looked like she wanted to cry, she still did her best to maintain a pleasant smile.

“How about—” She breathed in. “How about another cheer for Xavier and his Donphan!”

The audience clapped, and Whitney used the distraction to turn off her mic. She wiped her face with an arm before heading over to shake Xavier’s hand. Her eyes were bright red.

“...I kind of feel bad for her,” Redi mumbled.

Sam was too busy staring at Xavier to reply.

The boy nodded respectfully to the Gym Leader as one of her Gym Trainer rushed over, carrying a package. She reached within to hand Xavier a disc. Sam identified it as a TM.

How come Morty didn’t give me a TM?

Sam just wanted this event to be over with, but of course the reporters moved in and crowded around Xavier before he could go. They asked him inane questions, mostly about how he was feeling. Silence fell once again when Xavier asked if he could have a moment.

“I...” Xavier had an annoyed look on his face, but that look faded away into utmost seriousness when he took a deep breath. “I am going to win the Silver Conference.”

Shouts of both disbelief and support. By merely holding up a hand, Xavier somehow managed to get everyone to quiet down once more.

“I don’t care how experienced you are. I don’t care what Pokémon you have on your team. No matter who you are, I will beat you. I am going to be this year’s Silver champion.”

He breathed out. Voices started up once more. Xavier refused to take any comments as he strode out of the room.

“Man, he really has a punchable face, doesn’t he?” Redi whispered to Sam.

Sam hadn’t noticed it, but he had somehow grabbed Cyndaquil’s Pokéball off of his belt. His knuckles were white in response to Xavier’s declaration, but he forced himself to relax.

You wanna be the Silver champion, huh?

Someone winning the overall Conference in their first year was a ridiculous idea. Out of hundreds of people, there could only be one annual champion. Nine times out of ten, it was someone making a repeat challenge after losing the year before. Their experience carried them through.

But, every once in a long while, a dark horse slipped through the ranks. One person that reached the end despite having never competed before.

“Xavier isn’t going to win the Silver Conference,” Sam said. “I am.”

“Sure, buddy,” Redi replied, patting Sam on the arm. “Now, come on. I want to see if Whitney’s free. I wonder if she’s willing to help me with my team like Morty helped you with yours.”