Chương 134: Chapter 129

Carl's couch was comfortable. Sam wasn't sure what to think of that. Honestly, he wasn't sure how he got here in the first place. No, he had a clear memory of spending the past few days traveling. What he really felt confused about was what had possessed him to come here with an entire tribe of Mankey—or how he had even managed to come here without being stopped by a Pokémon Ranger in the first place. I'm on Carl's ranch. A breeder's ranch.

That's probably how I managed to get away with two dozen Pokémon following me from behind. I bet a Pokémon Ranger did notice me. They just didn't approach, because why would they need to? There are a bunch of different ranches and breeders on this route. I probably just looked like a trainer helping one of them with their Mankey. He heard the low cry of a Tauros come from outside. The stress in its voice probably signified that the Mankey were harassing it.

Well, it probably wasn't being harassed, but it was probably being surrounded and bombarded with questions. After living off-route for so long, the Mankey were all overwhelmingly curious about every little thing. It didn't help that the Gastly actively encouraged them on, too. After a short while of sitting in that cozy living room, a noise came from the nearby kitchen, and Sam looked over to see Carl stepping out with a pair of steaming drinks. He placed one in front of Sam while keeping the other for himself.

"There you go. One cup of cocoa for the young'un. Just be careful, it's hot." Sam gladly took the cup and blew on it before taking a sip. It was sweet, maybe a little too sweet. Carl had gone as far as to slip in a few marshmallows, but Sam wasn't going to complain. Something about having access to a sweet treat was nice. For once, Sam felt as though he could totally relax even with everything that had been lingering in his mind.

Carl let Sam enjoy that for a few minutes as he moved over to a cushioned armchair and sat down. The rancher settled into its thick cushions and enjoyed his drink before he finally started with his questions.

"So," Carl said. His eyes flicked over Sam, who didn't exactly have any of his Pokémon with him right now. Everyone was outside watching the Mankey tribe interact with Carl's Tauros, but Typhlosion herself had slipped around to the back to go and greet her grandfather. Sam couldn't exactly blame her for that decision.

"So..." Carl said again.

"Your Pokémon?"

"The Mankey," Sam finished, but Carl just shook his head.

"We can get to them later. I might be getting a bit nosy, but I can't say I recognize half your team?" Sam just blinked, and Carl set down his drink to awkwardly rub the back of his neck.

"Now, I can't say I personally know most of your Pokémon, but that ain't what I'm talking about. I can't say that I'm un familiar with new species in general, either, but your Typhlosion? The one that used to be that sweet lil' Cyndaquil? Can't say her looks are familiar. Same with your Primeape—if he can even be called a Primeape anymore." Like Carl, Sam slowly put his cup of cocoa down. Half of its contents were already gone.

Breathing out, he steadied his breath, and then he put his face in his hands and groaned. It wasn't like he forgot to keep his team's evolutions secret, it was just that he didn't think he needed to—Typhlosion had constantly been out of her Pokéball for the past several days, and Carl was trustworthy! The man was taking care of his grandfather's personal Typhlosion, for goodness's sake! But the fact that he'd need to explain two entire evolutions had slipped Sam's mind.

He knew he could trust Carl, he had just thought the big swarm of Mankey behind him would have taken precedence. Sam spoke quickly.

"Typhlosion is a Hisuian Typhlosion, an old variant that's part Ghost Type. We spent most of the season meeting people and visiting new locations just to make sure she'd be able to evolve," he said. Carl nodded along. His words were carefully selected.

"I thought so," he said.

"I'd be a poor excuse for a Cyndaquil breeder if I didn't recognize her variant. But to see one in person—to see that one of the Cyndaquil from my ranch was able to evolve into an extinct species?" He chuckled, shaking his head.

"Well, it ain't extinct any longer," he continued.

"I'd be proud of myself if I had anything to do with it, but I didn't. The achievement's all yours. Certainly one heck of a surprise, and you two deserve all the praise you get for that. Incredible job." Sam smiled.

"Thank you," he said.

"But your other one? The Primeape?" Carl's expression suddenly shifted to bewilderment.

"Is that a Ghost Type? Is he a Ghost Type? Was he that same Mankey from before? So then that means he managed to evolve twice! And into something completely unknown! Wait. So is that why you caught him? Because you knew all of this would happen? That's why you had a Fighting Type even though you said you wanted to train a team of Ghost Types?" Faced with so many questions, Sam opened his mouth but failed to think of an easy reply.

Delaying it, he chose to grab his mug and take a long, long sip to finish off his drink.

"I—" He coughed and wiped away the liquid that had given him a foamy mustache on his upper lip.

"Yes to everything?" Carl looked as though he didn't know how to respond. For a long while, Carl just leaned back into his chair and sipped at his drink much more slowly than Sam. For some reason, Sam got the sense that it wasn't entirely coffee in there. From outside, the Mankey continued to launch their questions at the nearby Tauros. When its cries became rather terse, a sharp noise from Annihilape echoed out, immediately silencing and calming them.

Annihilape's brother might have technically been the leader of the tribe, but at this point, he carried so much respect among the Mankey that the tribe would do anything he said.

"... I've met a lot of people. Seen a lot of wild things," Carl said, starting slowly once a full minute passed.

"I've even shook hands with the Champion once. That was pretty great."

"I saw the picture," Sam responded quietly.

"I work on a ranch that has a contract with this region's Professor. I'm responsible for raising almost all of the Cyndaquil handed away as starter Pokémon in Johto. But your Primeape... Or your Pokémon that was once a Primeape. Can't say I've ever encountered a completely new species." Carl then blinked.

"Hold on, who else knows about it? Heck, who else knows about Typhlosion, anyway?"

"Morty knows about Typhlosion. Agatha does, too. As for Annihilape—that's the name for Primeape's evolution—no one knows about him," Sam said.

"Annihilape evolved in the mountains to the north when we were with the Mankey tribe. It's part of the reason we came directly here." Carl finally put down his mug. Sam could see it was empty. The man sighed as if he was still having trouble processing everything he just heard.

"Whew. So no one else knows that a Primeape can evolve. Except for you. And me, as of just now. I could believe a variant Typhlosion—they were thought to be extinct, but most people know from Alola that variants are a thing. But Annihilape? An Annihilape. That's... That's a completely unknown evolution! Man, the response. Oh, the response! Hah! The sheer amount of chaos he's going to stir—""Sure, but I'd like to wait?" Sam interrupted. Carl glanced back down at Sam.

For a second, he had started to stare off, but Sam's comment snapped him out of his growing daze. Thankfully, Carl seemed to have got ahold of himself, and he easily nodded along to Sam's request.

"Of course. Of course!" he said, merrily enough.

"The Conference's in just about a month. So you're planning on debuting your two evolutions there."

"Yeah, I've already been given advice to do that, too. The hope is that we make a big enough splash and use that fame to make it so criminals won't want to mess with us."

"Makes sense, makes sense," Carl said, humming as he leaned back his chair.

"Then, you're in for the long run, aren't you?"

"We are," Sam answered decidedly.

"We're going to become the strongest Ghost Type team there is." For a while, Carl just continued to hum. His face went through a number of different expressions. He started appreciative before into amusement. From there, he looked curious, then confused, and then almost giddy, and then he took on a look of contemplative, deep thought.

"Hm. Back to the start of it: you said you didn't come here to show off your Pokémon. You came here because you needed my help." Sam winced.

"I do. Sorry. I didn't know what else to do—where else to bring the Mankey. They kind of had a berry tree, but that got destroyed, and then they had nowhere else to go, but then you were nearby, and then I could take them with me but I can't say no because my team was begging but it's okay since the Mankey are honestly really fun and then—""Stop," Carl said, holding up a hand.

"Gimme a moment to think." It took him only a few seconds to confidently nod and firmly lock his gaze on Sam.

"Alright. Before I say anything else, I want you to know that I don't got much free funds. Most earnings get cycled back into costs. High gross, low net, understand?" If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

"I understand," Sam said, sitting straight up.

"Now, I might not have too much money to spend, but I have enough to make an allowance, if only for a bit. Since I have this ranch of mine, and since the Conference is coming up anyway, I can tell you outright that I can temporarily take on your Mankey—""Thank you!" Sam was halfway into standing up for bow when he was abruptly stopped by Carl holding up his hand once again." Temporarily," Carl emphasized.

"This ain't something I can do long-term. Technically, it's a matter of contracting. Despite all the secrecy, we sometimes get the wrong kinda' folk snooping around. A bunch of Mankey staying here will help muddy the waters a bit. No one needs to learn about the Cyndaquil, so I can take them on for a while in exchange for room and board." Sam eagerly nodded, already more than willing to agree, but Carl had more things he needed to say.

"However, like I said, it can't be something long-term. I can only have them here until a bit after the Conference. That means you need to find somewhere else for them to stay. But, with your Pokémon? Your Typhlosion and Annihilape? You'll definitely get yourself a sponsorship. Just make sure to negotiate ranching options when discussing the contract." Although Carl was doing him a big favor, Sam still grimaced slightly.

Two brand new Pokémon would absolutely attract a big fish sponsor wanting to latch onto his name, but now he'd also need to make sure that sponsor could provide a place for his Pokémon to stay. An entire tribe of Mankey was not a feasible option to send home, unfortunately. He'd been able to do so with Shuppet and Duskull because, as Ghost Types, those two didn't really need to eat.

He hadn't been worried about sending them to his mom, but two dozen Fighting Types would simply be far too much even with a Fighting Type Gym in the same town.

"I'll do that," Sam promised.

"Whatever sponsor I get probably won't pay as much in return, but ranching benefits would probably save me more money overall, anyway."

"Good. Now, that being said..." Carl hummed again.

"You mentioned a few people know about Typhlosion, but I've heard nothing, myself. I'm taking that means she's staying secret for now. But with Annihilape, well, you came directly here?"

"Yes?" Sam answered cautiously.

"No visit to the Pokémon Center just yet?"

"None," Sam answered.

"Which means you're the first to find out, other than me. But probably not for too long. I want to call my mom, and then Agatha and Morty will probably learn about him automatically since he's a new Ghost Type and their system—" Sam stopped himself when he saw Carl frowning. He wasn't sure if he had ever seen Carl frown.

"Ah. That rule," Carl said.

"The one that says all new discoveries for 'dangerous' Types need to be shared to keep people safe." He breathed out, temporarily taking off his hat to wipe his otherwise hidden, bald head.

"I don't like it," Carl said outright, speaking with almost a scowl.

"It's a holdover from older times. No such thing as a dangerous Type, just harder-to-train ones. All that rule does is create a system where trainers have to give up their secrets to empower the strong." Sam blinked at the man.

"Excuse me?" Carl seemed to realize the sour expression he was wearing and laughed to get it off of his face.

"Ah, sorry. Sorry! Don't get me wrong, I understand why it exists and I do carry the belief that new discoveries should be shared—eventually at least. Trainers should be allowed to keep some tricks in their pocket as long as they aren't hoarding 'em for too long. My problem is that their system is automatic—doesn't matter how hard you worked, if someone thinks your Pokémon might be dangerous, you don't get to keep any tricks about it."

"But it's necessary," Sam immediately countered.

"Some Ghost Types can be genuinely dangerous." Real ghosts existed, and real ghosts were capable of dangerous spiritual effects. A powerful Ghost Type was capable of inflicting spiritual problems, and even outside of various hauntings and curses, spiritual possession was a real, genuine thing.

"No, no. I understand that, and the same is true for the Poison Type. New Poison Types need to be sampled so that the proper antidotes can be made," Carl explained.

"But the Dragon Type? And the Dark Type? Certainly not those two. Dragon Types might be a bit egotistical and strong, but dangerous? Any powerful Pokémon can be dangerous. Is a Dragonite really that much more threatening than a fully enraged Steelix?" Sam took a moment to try to picture the type of damage those two Pokémon could cause. A Dragonite could fly around and fire off Hyper Beams, but it'd fall pretty quickly to a decent Ice Type. Steelix, however, were incredibly defensive and could also dig.

Instead of being visible, if a Steelix was clever, it could destroy an entire city by causing earthquakes underground. And even then, it didn't take a Steelix to be that destructive. Even a low-level Fire Type could cause a fire to spread over an entire town.

"Yeah. You see what I mean," Carl said.

"This might just be my bias talking, but let me do you one more favor. I can offer you something else and let us pull a little trick on the League."

"I don't want—""Is your Annihilape dangerous?" Carl interrupted.

"In a fight? Yes."

"But is he at threat of losing control of his anger and going on a rampage?" Sam thought of all of their training, all of their efforts to have Primeape control his rage. They'd spent ages on meditation and weeks and weeks practicing Rage Fist itself. In his evolution, anger was less something that affected him and more something that was a part of him.

He was so in control that he had even lost access to his Anger Point ability—he simply could no longer lose himself to his rage even after taking an infuriatingly direct critical hit.

"No. He's not," Sam answered slowly. An Annihilape could only truly fall into a rage if it really wanted to.

"Then let me offer you this: as one of the League's officially contracted breeders, I have a few avenues I can approach when it comes to submitting new discoveries. I can pass on the news of Annihilape myself to stop him from tripping any flags and preventing his data from automatically being sent to everyone in their systems." Sam stayed quiet. Carl was offering him a way to bypass Morty—but it was more than that. Carl was offering him a way to bypass even Agatha.

With how he managed his ranch, this wasn't something he was offering just to steal credit for himself. He wasn't the type of person that would backstab him for recognition. With the secrecy of his Cyndaquil, Carl wouldn't want any recognition. No, this was just a loophole that Carl was in a unique position to abuse, and it was something that would let Annihilape stay secret. More secret than he'd otherwise be.

Annihilape's evolution would be revealed at the Conference no matter what, but this offer meant Sam wouldn't need to worry about a Primeape trying to evolve incorrectly and getting an unfortunate result before more information could be shared.... Also, the look on Morty's face when he sees Annihilape come out during the Conference would be amazing to see.

"Let me think about it," Sam said, even though he was pretty sure he'd take Carl up on his offer. For this, Annihilape wasn't a dangerous Ghost Type—and Sam had no doubts about that. He wasn't a Ghost Type at risk of causing horrible curses, and he wasn't a Ghost Type to go out and cause issues that were more than just base destruction.

If he was a special attacker tied closely to esoteric uses of Ghost Type energy, then Sam would have probably turned Carl down and let the League's systems automatically share Annihilape's information just in case. But Annihilape was the most physical of physical Pokémon. If Sam was wrong and the worst came true, even if Annihilape lost himself to a rampage, a single Thunder Wave would be enough to lock him down.

"Regardless of what you decide, keep in mind that you just have Chuck left, if my understanding of your journey so far is right. Won't be long until you reach him, and he'd be a good judge of Annihilape once you're there. He's a Fighting Type specialist and would probably love to know how you evolved a Primeape, but..." Carl chuckled to himself.

"Can't say I know that man too well, but he's not the sort to cause you any trouble. Not in any way that matters, at least." There was definitely something more to what he was saying, but it didn't seem like anything harmful. As far as Sam could tell, Carl had simply made a connection that he hadn't. Cianwood Gym was certainly going to be interesting. But before then, he still needed to get through Olivine, get another Pokémon, and then actually reach that final city.

Yet, even with all of that waiting before him, Carl's offers had left Sam with a single, burning question on his mind.

"But... Why?" he asked.

"Why are you offering this? Why are you doing all of this for me? Taking on the Mankey. Keeping Annihilape secret. You'd be doing all of this in exchange for... nothing. You're just handing it over. Why?" Sam half expected to hear some kind of grand plan, some kind of enormous benefit Carl wanted to obtain. Maybe he wanted to use Sam's Pokémon to subtly advertise his ranch, or maybe he wanted to get a Ghost Type or two to help protect the Cyndaquil. Some of the Gastly could be convinced to stay.

Or maybe offering to keep Primeape secret was more than just a small protest on his part to call out the League. But as much as Sam wanted to know the grand reason Carl was doing all of this for him, in the end, Carl just gained a small smile.

"Because I can," he answered easily, and Sam knew he was telling the truth.

"I'm in a position to help someone else, so why not do just that?" Sam waited to see if Carl would offer a further explanation, but he didn't. He had already shared all of his thoughts. Even though there was a level of secrecy involved with his job, Carl wasn't the type of person to lie. His expressions had been far too revealing for this entire conversation. He truly meant what he said. So, as Sam stared at the man, Carl went on to chuckle.

His soft smile turned to something much more mischievous as he leaned back to stare ahead.

"If you really want a reason, I already told you I'm not getting nothing out of this deal. The Mankey will act like a Cyndaquil's Smokescreen to make sure they aren't found. And keeping Annihilape unknown enough helps me call out something I don't like with the League," Carl said.

"But if there's a single reason, then think of this as a thank you. You showed me that there's more than just a single future for all the Cyndaquil I take care of. Having a choice matters, and I know that quite a few of them are going to strive for that new possibility you and Typhlosion brought here together." At Carl's words, Sam felt something warm in his chest. It wasn't just pride about their achievements, it was pride that their achievements mattered.

Typhlosion wasn't just a single Pokémon that managed to evolve. She was an example that would inspire an entire new generation of Cyndaquil on their journey. And the same was true for Annihilape—he would show the Primeape of the world that there was more to them than just their rage. Sam's Pokémon weren't just his team. They were Pokémon that would become the shining examples of what Ghost Types could be.

"I think I get it," Sam said quietly.

"All throughout my journey, so many people have helped me basically for free. There's been Morty. Spencer Hale. Professor Carolina. Agatha, technically. And now you. They all helped because they wanted to. They all helped because of that look of gratitude on someone's face... it's nice, isn't it?" Carl continued to chuckle to himself, looking rather amused.

"Yup. It's pretty nice," he said as he looked over Sam.

"But, let's call it here. It's pretty late, and I have a free guest room. After traveling for so long, you must be tired. My home is always open to a family friend." Sam readily nodded, the stress practically melting out of him. Right now, after spending so long off-route, a real bed sounded great. So, he went out to talk to his Pokémon, informing them of his plans for now. Once he made sure they were all settled, he went to lie down and promptly fell asleep.

Sam found Annihilape's old tribe with thirty-seven days left in the season. Annihilape evolved that same night, and then they all left the next morning when it was confirmed there was nothing they could do to fix the berry tree. Returning from the mountains didn't take long as there was no need to search for a hidden, wandering tribe. Now that they were on Carl's ranch, they stayed for a couple of days just to make sure everything was properly settled and to give all the Pokémon a chance to relax.

Sam did take up Carl's offer, watching the man call a Noctowl that'd deliver a few letters for him about the discovery of Annihilape. No drama was stirred, only the absolute minimum number of people were informed. And, instead of pushing his team even more and having them train, Sam used this visit to take a break, and he spent his time relaxing and helping Carl go through his daily tasks.

For two days, Sam and all of his Pokémon stayed, relaxed, played with the ranch's Pokémon, and also maybe worked in a small amount of training. The Gastly got to hang out with the Mankey for a bit longer, and Typhlosion got to hang out with her grandfather. After the break and all of their traveling, only thirty-one days remained in the season. Summer was beginning to give way to fall, and the final city tournaments of the season were taking place, though Sam had no plans to compete.

When it finally became time to head out and continue their journey, everyone stood at the edge of the ranch. They said their goodbyes, and Carl assured Sam that everything was already handled. The Gastly sobbed when they parted with the Mankey, even the ones that were quieter than the others. Much to Sam's surprise, none of the Gastly chose to stay behind, either. All of them returned to Sam's shadow to continue their journey with him.

But for the Gastly that would decide to stick with Sam for even longer, this was not a final meeting. Technically, the Mankey were now all Sam's even if he never formally caught them. He was responsible for their wellbeing, and with Carl's offer, he was officially their trainer. He made sure to tell all of them that he'd live up to that and find them a proper home as soon as he could. As for one member of the tribe—their leader, that no-longer-wild Primeape—he shared a final, long look with his brother.

Their parting wasn't that sad or even emotional, but he and Annihilape shared a firm handshake. They'd leave on that for now. Finally, Typhlosion said goodbye to her grandfather. Sam had barely seen her throughout their stay as she'd been sequestered away in the deepest sections of the half-burned Cyndaquil grove. There, she trained, which Sam knew for sure. The roar of her flames had been far too regular for her to have been doing anything else.

She and her grandfather could not have looked different enough, but they were still so very similar. The two of them stared one another in the eyes before falling forward for a hug.

"Typhlo!" Her grandfather, through his tears, expressed just how proud of her he was."' Phlosion!" Typhlosion, in response, expressed her love and her genuine thanks for all of his help. When they pulled out of their hug, Typhlosion's grandfather let his flames burn. She did the same, and a red-purple glow came from around them, their flames so different yet still so alike. Sam stepped back. He and his team left Carl's ranch and so many memories behind.

They began to head down Route 39, to where Olivine City was waiting for them not too far to the south.

"We don't have that long left in the season," Sam said to everyone as they walked away. He got a mix of cries and jeers in response—they knew. Of course, they knew. At this point, he was bringing up that fact practically three times a day.

"Hah. Sorry. I just want to make sure we're prepared, y'know?" he said with a slight laugh.

"But really, I'm excited. It feels like everything is finally coming together." Typhlosion had evolved. Annihilape had evolved. They had a Dusk Stone in pocket for Misdreavus to become a Mismagius, and Trevenant was already in his final form. That just left Haunter's evolution, but Sam planned to take care of that when they visited the Ilex Forest. The darkness of the deep woods would hopefully carry the perfect conditions for him to become a Gengar.

"I guess I could make a big speech, but I've already done that a bunch before," Sam said as they traveled down the route.

"So I'll just say this: we're heading to Olivine! To see just how strong we've become in a rematch against Jasmine, to catch a boat to Cianwood and reach our final Gym, and to also..." He smiled.

"And to also finally add a sixth member to our team."