Chương 112: Chapter 108

As a trainer brought along for Pryce's operation through Route 43, Lois made sure to stay on high alert as she and her Pokémon marched through the forest. She held her head high and kept her gaze sharp as her Jumpluff bounced along, as her Ninetales's tails swished, and as her Flaaffy trotted ahead with his head-fluff flopping up and down. Yet, even seeing how seriously her Pokémon were taking this, she couldn't allow herself to smile. No, she had to treat this mission with the utmost dedication.

Her presence here represented more than just a single trainer's assistance with Pryce's plans. No, performing well here could ensure a bright future for her and her Pokémon. Truthfully, Lois knew she had only earned her sixth badge through a fluke. Her first season in Johto had been focused far too much on exploring and seeing what the world had to offer. She only managed to earn three badges by the time it ended. But yet, she didn't want it to end. This year, she tackled the Gyms with a determination to win.

But it had all become so much harder than she expected. After re-earning her first few Gym Badges, she could no longer train solely to keep her Pokémon in shape. Every day, she had to push to increase the power of her Pokémon, and every day felt more exhausting than the last. Jumpluff managed to at least reach her final form, and a lucky bazaar-found Fire Stone meant Ninetales had evolved, too. However, their increase in power meant little in the face of strategy.

They had to win battles based on more than just super effective moves. Against the Ice Type Gym Trainer she faced for her sixth badge, Jumpluff's extreme weakness to cold meant she couldn't help, and Lois's fourth Pokémon, Shuckle, had no offensive power to be of any use. The only reason she managed to get as many knock-outs as she did was thanks to Ninetales's Flamethrower. However, in the end, it was Flaaffy who won the match.

Through sheer chance alone, the opposing Sneasel had found itself locking up after landing a jab into his static-y wool. That victory had been an accident. She knew she'd never earn her seventh. However! At the back of this line of trainers stood Diana, a Gym Trainer leading the squad with the authority of Pryce. If Lois could just maybe, maybe impress her, then she could ask for a recommendation that'd make her a shoo-in to any job that'd let her keep working with her Pokémon.

She couldn't imagine settling down into the boring life of an office worker. Not after spending so much time on a journey with her Pokémon. As she continued to walk forward, she was brought out of her thoughts by a movement out of the corner of her eye. She threw out a hand to point, aiming at exactly what she saw.

"There!" she shouted. A hiss came from within the branches of a nearby tree. Flaaffy, as determined as ever, managed to react with a mighty Thunderbolt that sliced right through the wild Spinarak's web. Burned, the threads of its web fell apart, and the wild Spinarak jumped in fright. Now cowed, it scurried off, having learned why an ambush here would have been a bad idea.

"Good, Lois," a voice came from the back. Lois stood a bit taller, feeling the heat rush to her face. Diana remembered my name! She resumed marching north with a newfound determination. The three other boys in her group kept at her sides, lined with their teams of Pokémon about a dozen feet away to each of Lois's sides. With this setup, any Pokémon that tried to attack was defeated in seconds and sent running. At the same time, every other Pokémon living peacefully in these woods was left alone.

Pryce's line was a disturbance, but that disturbance had a purpose. The Pokémon that chose to needlessly attack humans were being sent off-route. The Pokémon Rangers would allow them back once they calmed down. Once we get our recommendation, we won't have the power to work as an Ace Trainer, but maybe we could learn how to be a Pokémon Ranger? That would be nice. Or maybe the League has lower-level jobs that need to be filled too? I wouldn't mind something easier. Ooh!

What if they need someone to help guard a park? I'd love that. That'd be perfect for us. Goldenrod had a place north of it like that, right? Lois couldn't stop her smile this time around. She would wring this opportunity for all it was worth, earning a future for herself alongside her Pokémon.

"Eyes up. Keep moving," Diana's voice called out from behind.

"We're on the right path. No need to change our direction just yet." Lois felt herself blush at the Gym Trainer's reminder. She might have been getting a little too caught up in her thoughts. Still, she had a duty out here. She kept walking, unceasingly marching north to reach the Lake of Rage and trying her best to ignore the growing burn in her legs. (Unfortunately, she was pretty sure they had a few hours of hiking left.) It was only soon after that, however, that Lois realized this wasn't going to be as easy as she thought. Like how she had noticed that Spinarak, she saw a shadow move beneath a tree to her side.

"...'stly," it whispered. Lois froze and whipped her head around. There had been something unnerving about that noise, but no matter how hard she searched, she wasn't able to make out what had spoken.

"Lois." Diana raised her hand to call for their group to halt.

"Why did you stop?"

"I swore I just heard something," Lois said, but even though it was midday, she couldn't make out any wild Pokémon through the forest's dim light.

"Maybe... Maybe it was nothing," she mumbled.

"What if it was just the wind? Yeah. It was just the wind!" Sounded like the wind, anyway. The three other trainers in her group sent her flat looks. One boy in the back had such a disbelieving look in his eyes that Lois actually flinched, and she had to push the thought that he had actually earned his sixth badge out of her head. However, even with those glares, Diana didn't tell their group to keep going.

"No. You were right that something's here," the Gym Trainer said.

"Listen. Isn't it a little too quiet out here?" It had always been quiet. With so many trainers and their Pokémon marching north, most if not all of the wild Pokémon had been choosing to hide. Only the most aggressive Pokémon bothered to attack. But even without wild Pokémon around, Lois had been hearing the occasional bird chirp or the distant rustling of underbrush. Right now, there was nothing. No one in their group moved, and Lois saw Diana narrow her eyes.

The Gym Trainer cautiously brought up a PokéGear, but Lois saw her wait when one of the boys talked.

"Kingler?" the other trainer asked. His question was followed by the sound of a sudden thump. His large, crustacean Pokémon fell to the floor, no longer scuttling but letting out chittering sounds that resembled snores.

"From behind?" Lois heard Diana ask. The moment the Gym Trainer finished her question, the forest exploded behind them. Lois thought they were about to be under attack, but the only thing that appeared was a man wearing a basket on his back, running forward with a Parasect at his side.

"Forsooth!" the strange man yelled.

"Alas! I hath been attacked-eth by Pokémon... eth!" Lois knew she probably should have acted, but she found herself unable to think due to sheer bewilderment. Why is he yelling like that? He sounds like he's some kind of mid-century robot. He continued to shout nonsense in that same attempt at an accent, and Diana deposited her PokéGear to grab a Pokéball. Behind, Lois heard Ninetales scoff at the man's voice.

She and Ninetales often watched period dramas together, and it was clear that Ninetales did not appreciate the man's failure to imitate the way people used to speak.

"Really, what's going on?" she asked, half-annoyed. When Lois turned back around, she immediately froze out of fright. Ninetales had yet to notice, but a haze phased out of a nearby trunk to linger next to her head. Red eyes opened up within it, and Ninetales checked behind her at just the wrong time. A flash. Lois's Pokémon hit the ground, completely and utterly asleep, and Lois finally managed to understand what was going on. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent.

Report any appearances on Amazon. She was the first trainer to react.

"We're under attack!" she yelled. The sound of her warning shocked the two other trainers into action. The third boy, the serious-looking one, had disappeared, but she was more worried about her Pokémon than the other trainer's whereabouts. The forest turned to chaos. The other trainers began to shout as if their own Pokémon were also being forced to sleep. They called for moves as whispers filled the air, almost resembling the chanting of a cult.

Alongside that noise, pockets of darkness erupted throughout the forest. It was as if someone had dropped a series of night-conjuring grenades, and those spheres of darkness would consume a Pokémon before disappearing, whatever Pokémon caught inside immediately being forced asleep.

"Gas!"

"Gas!"

"Haunt!"

"Gas!" Cackles rang out, but Lois couldn't find their source. She tried to give her Pokémon orders, but all she spoke were stutters.

"Stop! Get out of my way! I can't send anyone out if you're right there!" Diana yelled at the back of the group.

"I'm trying!" that strange man shouted, his accent dropped.

"But Parasect can help! If she just uses Spore—""No!" Two simultaneous thumps echoed out as a powdery mist consumed where the Gym Trainer once was.

"Pluff!" Jumpluff raced to Lois's side, jumping over a bush to land in front of her feet. Behind, electricity crackled over Flaaffy's fur as he ran to stand by her side. Lois managed to do the only thing she could do—she returned Ninetales. Her Pokémon might have a harder time waking up inside a comfortable Pokéball, but at least she wouldn't be at risk of being attacked if left on the ground.

"J-Jumpluff, get a M-Mega Drain ready. Flaaffy, try to use another Thunderbolt," Lois said. Her two Pokémon said their names as they prepared their moves, and as their trainer, Lois did her best to stay confident because she had to. She was her Pokémon's trainer. She had to appear confident, no matter how her teeth clattered or how her heart raced in her chest. She couldn't tell how many Ghost Types surrounded her with how they phased through the trees and disappeared into one another's shadows.

If Diana was awake, the Gym Trainer could have stopped all of this. But she wasn't. Lois and her team had to get through this alone. The sounds of voices and shouts continued to come from the forest. The two other, remaining trainers had larger teams, but she could only hear the voices of the boys and not their Pokémon. The sounds of them giving commands echoed out, and she did hear the occasional move. However, one by one, the noise faded away.

Soon enough, the same silence that had alerted them in the first place was all that remained. Lois felt cold. Colder than she ever thought she could be in this forest. She could feel the hair on the back of her neck stand on its ends. The world became dimmer around her, with patches of shadows preventing her from seeing any further into the woods. She would have thought herself surrounded, but she honestly couldn't tell. All she could see were empty shadows filling the gaps between the trees.

"S-should I send out Shuckle, or..." She let her voice drift off when she heard her words echo. It was now dark enough to be night. She only knew her Jumpluff and Flaaffy were there because they were touching her legs.

"S-Still!" she shouted.

"We can't fall here! All we have to do is stay conscious and awake enough to wake everyone else or get help or—""Sleep," a voice said. Gastly lunged. So many, horrible, horrible Gastly. Every Pokémon within the swarm of Ghost Types wore a wide grin that stretched across their face. To Lois, the Pokémon almost looked withered, as if their flesh had dried out and gone taut from resting within a grave. Of course, she screamed. Her Pokémon attacked.

Jumpluff brought up her puffball arms to try to draw energy out from their attackers with a Mega Drain, and Flaaffy unleashed a bolt of lightning that shot out in a line toward the back. But Gastly were known to be fast Pokémon, and in their panic, Lois's team members hadn't given themselves time to aim. Jumpluff fell first when a completely unseen Gastly lunged at her from her side, and Flaaffy fell a second later when three Gastly surrounded him at once.

"I'm sorry about this. I really am," that same voice said from within the shadows. Lois tried to look for whoever had spoken only to see a madly grinning Haunter staring right at her from behind her back. Its eyes flashed, and she fell. The last thing she heard before falling into a deep slumber was the sound of two sets of footsteps hurriedly rushing north. Sam sent an apologetic look to the group of trainers that had just been knocked out.

Haunter and most of the Gastly were going to stay behind but planned to catch up soon. They couldn't afford to let any of those trainers wake up too early, and working together, all of those Ghost Types could delay anyone who attempted to chase after Sam and Redi. Three normal trainers and one Gym Trainer had fallen to the mass use of Hypnosis. Really, Sam had been able to fight at an advantage since his victory condition was just pulling off a single move against every foe.

However, all of the trainers there needed to fight back to knock out their opponents. That goal was made vastly more difficult given the dozen-or-so Gastly involved. It also helped Sam that the group of trainers had been purposefully keeping their eyes open to stay alert during their march. If even one person had decided to close their eyes, this whole strategy would have failed. It was too close for comfort, especially with the attacks a few of those Pokémon had pulled off.

Thankfully, their plan was made easier with Shin's help. He did the hard part; by simply acting like a fool, he managed to put both himself and the Gym Trainer to sleep before she could act. Sam really hoped that Shin wouldn't get in trouble for this.

"We have to move faster," Sam said, running north.

"Haunter and his Gastly will make sure they won't get up, and they'll hide our tracks before catching up."

"But that Gym Trainer—""I saw," Sam said, grimacing at Redi's comment. The Gym Trainer had been holding a PokéGear. If she had been regularly checking in, then Sam and Redi wouldn't have long before the other groups noticed this group had gone silent. They needed to get north. They needed to reach Trevenant before Pryce. Sam still wasn't even sure what he'd do once he reached there. Battle it, most likely, since that was the "easiest" solution. But he hoped to have the chance to talk, first.

To warn it and try to convince it to run before Pryce could push it away. But that would be Quilava's job. He couldn't directly help. At least, he directly couldn't help if he wanted Quilava to evolve at any cost. Morty's words echoed in his head. Pokémon, ghost or not, deserved to be treated fairly. If not evolving Quilava meant helping Trevenant, then maybe, maybe, he wouldn't have Quilava... The thought trailed off.

"Stop!" Out of nowhere, Redi suddenly jammed her feet into the ground and practically slammed into Sam to get him to stop. They'd barely managed to get that far north before suddenly having someone block their path. Sam wanted to lash out after that painful interruption, but any words failed to leave his throat. Ahead of them was a single person, standing with his arms crossed and a Donphan at his side.

"Xavier," Sam said. Redi glared at the other trainer as if she were looking at trash.

"Of course it's you," she hissed.

"I told you, Sam. I told you that this guy was no good." Xavier didn't respond, choosing to simply stay silent and stare back. At his side, his Donphan dragged a foot across the ground. At any moment, the Pokémon could launch itself into a powerful Rollout. It wouldn't matter how well Sam's Pokémon fought here; if they were delayed for too long, the other trainers might catch up, and then they'd be in a world of trouble for interfering with Pryce's plans.

"Commanding Pokémon to use their moves on humans is a serious crime when not done solely for self-defense," Xavier said.

"If you're discovered here, Pryce has a strong argument to lock both of you away for a long time." The other boy waited. He stared at Sam, expecting a reply.

"... How did you know it was us?" Sam asked. At his side, Quilava's flames blazed. They crackled around her scarf, still holding that borrowed Everstone.

"I didn't at first," Xavier admitted.

"But the use of Hypnosis was far too similar to what I'd seen in recordings of your battles. I confirmed it when Donphan noticed a certain Haunter, so I moved ahead to prepare." He watched recordings of my battles? This was a strange place to feel so oddly flattered. It took a few seconds for Sam to recover and push past that surprise.

"Whatever," Sam eventually said.

"Sorry, but we do need you to move. It's really important that you get out of our way."

"Why?" Xavier asked. He didn't shift even a step. While Xavier didn't go into any details, his intentions were clear enough. By just staying there, he was preventing Sam and Redi from leaving and further interfering with Pryce's plans.

"Because..." Sam grit his teeth. He wasn't sure what to say. Next to him, Redi subtly grabbed a Pokéball. She'd be ready to battle if needed, but she was waiting for Sam to decide how they'd do this.

"Because..." Sam said again. He still wasn't sure what he needed to say. He knew Misdreavus was in his shadow. He knew he had a few Gastly with him that hadn't wanted to fight. They could face Xavier here and force their way past him. But what would be the point?

"Because we're trying to help someone," Sam declared, staring Xavier right in the eye.

"Pryce is planning to fight every Pokémon on this Route and push them out. But that's wrong! It's... It's not right.

"Except, I know. I get it," Sam continued, loosening his clenched fists.

"Having aggressive Pokémon on a Route isn't safe. These places exist for a reason—they make sure humans and Pokémon can live in peace. But have you stopped to consider why these attacks are happening? How Pryce's plan does nothing to address that, just deal with its effects?"

"Explain," Xavier ordered. Sam scowled at Xavier's unreadable face." Fine. You want to know what's behind all of this, then? It's a Trevenant. An angry one. A rare Ghost and Grass Type species known to protect forests, and it's angry because its home was burned down, and I'm pretty sure that it was humans responsible for that destruction.

"I mean, just think about it!" Sam almost laughed.

"Why would a forest fire ever cause this kind of reaction? Natural disasters are known to stress Pokémon and cause them to attack, but that's only when threatened. Here? Now? Trevenant is attacking for more than just defense. It's angry. It's mad. It wants revenge on those who did it wrong, and we need to help it. We need to stop it. If Pryce pushes it out of its home, then yeah, sure, the route will be safe, but at what cost? What about Trevenant?" Sam realized he was pacing, and he stopped himself.

He cleared his throat to stop his rambling.

"It's just that... Pryce's plan isn't a solution. It's an answer, but it's not a solution," he said.

"Forcing Trevenant out of its home would only reinforce its beliefs, which is why Quilava and I are trying to reach it first. Pryce is too stubborn to see its side of the story. He just wants it gone." As Xavier carefully observed Sam, Sam breathed in and reached to his waist. No further words needed to be exchanged as he plucked Primeape's Pokéball from his belt. Bringing it up, he held it forward in a threat, his unspoken meaning clear. If Xavier stood in their way, Sam would fight.

He would use his Pokémon to force open a path regardless of how hard such an act would be. But Xavier didn't react. He just stood there and silently stared at Sam.

"... Do you know how many ghosts my team and I have fought?" the older boy eventually asked.

"How many?"

"Two," Xavier answered.

"And both times, they were... difficult fights. The ghosts weren't happy to have their homes invaded. They weren't happy to be forced to attack." He then sighed, running a hand through his hair. He frowned as if conflicted. Seeing that reaction, Sam had to wonder where Xavier's journey had brought him. The areas Sam had passed through had been relatively peaceful, where ghosts had lingered undisturbed, away from the hubbub of modern life that might have seen them more willing to lash out dangerously.

"Both times my team fought those ghosts, we had to fight those ghosts," Xavier said softly.

"They didn't take 'no' for an answer. We had to fight them until they were exhausted and forced to move on." He looked up, staring into the trees and away from Sam and Redi. It took a full second before Xavier spoke again, and when he did, his voice was quiet, but it grew more determined with every word.

"I... hate that," he said.

"I hate the idea of forcing them to leave. To take your own desires and place them above those of someone else. To say, in a way, you are more important than them." He closed his eyes, still facing the trees. Though the branches were thick enough to block any view upwards, Sam could imagine Xavier staring into that grand, vast blue.

"Okay," Xavier eventually said, bringing his head back down.

"Okay?" Sam repeated. Xavier just sighed.

"I joined this... operation, but I don't know why I joined it. Experience, maybe? Because everyone else was doing it, maybe? I certainly don't need payment. My family's made sure of that." He laughed. Xavier then looked down at his Donphan, to whom he sent a firm nod. With a single movement, his Pokémon was returned, and he plucked a second ball from his waist to release someone else.

"Noctowl can keep watch while we run north. She's not great at hiding when it's not night, but she flies silently and can pick out ambushes before they take place."" We?" Redi said, repeating that word.

"You're coming with us?"

"Of course I am," Xavier said right back.

"If you're racing Pryce to reach that Trevenant, you won't be able to do it on your own. With the number of Pokémon that stand between you and your destination, you're going to need all the help you can get. So, I'm coming with."