Chương 152: Chapter 146

The offer of real food distracted Sam from his thoughts, and he didn't hesitate to take it. He was given a bowl of what he had to call powdered gruel. It thickened once it was mixed with water, and then a few sprinkles of spices were stirred in. The meal wasn't anything special—it wasn't even like any of those pre-made travel meals sold at PokéMarts. It had the consistency of breakfast but somehow had the flavors of lunch.

However, after surviving off of nothing but berry bread and Haunter's scavenged berries, Sam thought it was delicious. He devoured it. As he finished inhaling the last bite, a voice spoke up next to him.

"So. What brought you to this forest? When he heard the question, Sam almost choked. He looked up at the boy seated there only to see narrowed eyes and a gaze that met his own. It was harsh. Aggressive. It lacked even the slightest amount of trust. Honestly, Sam was hurt by that glare more than anything they could have said.

Slowly swallowing that last little bit of food, Sam glanced around for help, but Haunter was too busy keeping an eye out for intruders, and Misdreavus was shyly floating in the air a short distance away to allow that Sammy kid to record her appearance in a sketch.

"I... wandered here," Sam ended up saying as he rotated the empty bowl in his hands.

"I just... found myself in the forest one day. Misdreavus helped, but—""Likely story." His interrogator leaned back and crossed their arms.

"Let's say I don't believe you. Instead, tell me where you're from." It was an order, not a question. There was no room for maneuvering. Sam didn't want to speak of it, but given just who was asking...

"I had a family," he said, breathing out.

"I was with all of my friends. We just... wanted to see the world together, and then I was suddenly falling through the arch." He hesitated to say the next part.

"I was pushed in," he added in a whisper. As he finished his explanation, something about his interrogator's gaze shifted. Familiarity? Not just that. It's like he went through a similar experience. Briefly, it seemed as though the kid understood exactly what Sam had gone through, but that look quickly disappeared.

"Ugh. I see," the kid said, his brow creasing in a line.

"You didn't even mean to be here. Hmph. I think I understand." You don't. You don't understand the half of it. Sam searched the younger version of his grandfather, desperately trying to find anything that might have been recognition, but there was nothing. This kid was just a kid. He was Sam's grandfather, but Sam hadn't been born. He wasn't Sam's grandfather yet.

"Richard Greyson," Sam said, repeating the name of the man he so looked up to. Richard, the kid, responded with a simple raise of an eyebrow.

"I think I knew someone named that," Sam continued. Sam was met with a smile.

"Yeah! I hope you do!" Richard said.

"I told you, the name was intentional!" Sam didn't understand what that meant.

"But... Hm. It really seems like this is just a coincidence. A weird coincidence, but maybe not depending on what's involved." Richard tapped a fist against his chin.

"Fine. I'll accept your story. And as an apology, go ahead—to prove myself, I'll answer any question you ask me." Sam opened his mouth, closed it, and then looked his grandfather in the eye. Except, he didn't do that. Sam looked the unfamiliar boy in the eye.

"Why are you in the forest?" Sam asked. A smirk briefly flashed across the kid's face before vanishing as if it had never been there.

"Really? Can't figure that out? Well, that's fine. Sammy over there wants to see as many new Pokémon as possible, and since we've been traveling together, I went along with his plan to come here."

"You've been traveling together?" Sam asked, blinking.

"With... Sammy? Sammy? I— Hold on. Who is he, anyway?" As Sam sent Richard a confused look, Richard sent a nearly identical confused look right back.

"You don't know? Wait, you didn't see—" He stopped himself.

"He's just a friend. He helped me. And he..." Before continuing, he paused and cocked his head to the side, looking at Sam while mumbling something about him lacking 'culture' under his breath.

"Yeah, we've been traveling together for a while, ever since I got 'started' over in Celadon. He'd already been traveling for a while, but he helped me get my bearings, catch a Pokémon, and take on the local Gym," Richard explained.

"Except... Mm. It wasn't what I expected." His shoulders shifted down ever so slightly. It took a moment for Sam to figure out what he wanted to ask next.

"How so?" Richard blinked as if he had forgotten Sam was there. He almost seemed to rush to sit back up and correct that slight slump. There was the barest hint of reservation to him before he spoke next. For a second, Sam almost got the sense that Richard hardly believed the words about to leave his mouth.

"It's the war," he said.

"The war," Sam repeated. He'd heard it mentioned once or twice in the past, but people didn't like talking about it for some reason.

"Okay, okay, it's not actually a war—at least not yet," Richard explained.

"Think of it more like a cold war with a huge amount of posturing. Kanto and Johto hate each other. They're constantly trying to show that they're stronger. There's not really any fighting save for 'independent battles' along the border, but is that an issue? If it's just a few fights, it's totally a region's duty to make sure their trainers stand at the top, right?"

"Sure?" Sam offered.

"So..." Richard leaned back, and his mouth pinched into an unhappy frown.

"The Gym Challenge is the real problematic part of this. It wasn't what I expected. Like, if you go through the traditional route of Pewter Gym and onwards, your journey is going to be pretty standard. Except, if you go anywhere else first, those Gym Leaders won't have the appropriate teams. With everything going on, all people care about right now is being the strongest. It wasn't what I expected. It's like... I don't know. It's like where... Ugh. Everyone only cares about themselves."

Richard cast his gaze to the forest floor, and Sam could tell there was plenty of baggage there. Despite being a Ghost Type specialist, he wasn't the biggest history nerd. He knew the gist of things when it came to the past, but most of his 'historical' knowledge came from stories and myths. What he did know was that the Gym Challenge, or at least an equivalent to it, was something that had existed for a long time, essentially since the founding of Kanto.

He had known his grandfather had participated in it, but he had never known to what extent or what the world's general situation was during it.

"How strong was her team?" Sam asked. Richard looked up, surprised to hear Sam talking again.

"... Her team? Oh, you mean the Celadon Gym Leader? Eh, somewhere around a fourth or fifth badge level? I just had Eevee, so the outcome..." He shrugged and returned to his thoughts. After that, Sam remained silent. There was a storm brewing in his gut. He wasn't sure if he could stomach any more questions, especially since reality was settling in now that he'd eaten. His chest hurt. His throat hurt. His grandfather was alive before him, and yet... He doesn't know me. I don't know him.

There are all these little details that he's sharing that I didn't... Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. That I didn't know. Apparently, his grandfather had an Eevee. He'd never told Sam about an Eevee. Then again, he'd always been reluctant to speak about most of the Pokémon he'd raised. By the time Sam was born, his grandfather had already retired and had sent most of his team members to caretakers and other trainers.

There, they could either enjoy a comfortable retirement or continue chasing their dreams in an active circuit. But the truth was that most had already passed away. The main reason his grandfather's Typhlosion was still around was because that Typhlosion had been one of his grandfather's final captures. His first Pokémon and his oldest Pokémon hadn't been around for a reason back when Sam was growing up. I never knew the exact details, but I also didn't like to ask.

He would always get this look on his face whenever they were brought up. I didn't want to make him sad. I think... I think that might have been one of the reasons I started to like the Ghost Type in the first place. I'd always enjoyed scary stories, but I also didn't want to train a team that'd eventually leave me. Richard had already drifted off into thought, and Sam realized they'd both been sitting in silence. Placing the empty bowl down, he looked over the boy sitting before him.

It hit him then that he was truly decades in the past. As he stared, Richard also looked up, acting as if he expected Sam to ask another question, but Sam didn't say anything. Instead, he looked past him to where a certain Pokémon floated in the air. Misdreavus was still not making eye contact, but she had taken up a slight pose as if she wanted the other boy to get her best side. Decades. She really waited that long just for me? Sam's chest didn't just hurt. He felt as though his entire body was in pain.

"You alright?" He then blinked, realizing his grandfa— Richard was now sending him a curious look.

"Oh. Yeah. Sorry. I just—""I get it!" Richard snapped his fingers.

"You're curious about Sammy, right?"

"... Sure. I'm curious about Sammy," Sam lied. It was only a half-lie, though. The other boy was an enigma. Never once had Sam heard his grandfather mention him. Both he and 'Sammy' shared a name, just like how Sam shared a name with another unmentionable person. Yet, as the barest hint of that thought entered his mind— He refused to think it. There was no way he'd allow himself to make that connection. Distracted by that, he missed the smug grin on Richard's face until Richard had already stood up.

As he moved past him, Richard sent Sam a friendly smack on the shoulder.

"Go ahead and chat! You're no threat. He's worth getting to know, but Sam?" Richard leaned in for a whisper.

"Don't mess this up." He then sent Sam one last smile, giving him another 'friendly' shake on the arm. As he walked away, Sam heard him mumble something about needing to check in with his Jolteon, and then Richard pulled out a grey, metal sphere to twist a red knob on its top.

"Hey, Jolt. Need your help again. Just gimme a moment to take it out." Richard's Jolteon coalesced from light like any other Pokémon released from a Pokéball. As he moved behind a nearby tree, it was already causing sparks to crackle off of its fur out of eagerness, and it practically bounced around his feet. Briefly, Sam swore he caught the briefest hint of some kind of cord, but the other boy was gone before he could give it a proper look. With Richard having stepped away, Sam was now alone—mostly.

Haunter had returned to his shadow when everyone was distracted, and then Misdreavus and the... artist were still there. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Sam stood, recognizing he didn't want to put this off. And, despite being so focused on his work, the other boy, Sammy, was still aware enough of his surroundings to notice Sam's approach.

"Oh, hey! I hope you got your fill! We have more of those meals if you need more."

"Thank you, but I'm fine," Sam said.

"I hope it wasn't too bad."

"It was alright. Actually, it was pretty good." The boy snorted in amusement and pointed at Sam with his pencil.

"Sorry, but I'm going to doubt you on that—those meals are awful! I haven't heard anyone compliment them before, but I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm sorry we didn't have anything else, but I guess being in the forest for a few days has to make any meal taste good!" He smiled and waited for Sam to continue the conversation, but he went back to drawing when it became clear Sam had nothing more to say.

Sam still felt a bit dizzy after everything he'd learned, so he chose to sit on the forest floor next to the boy, wanting to be near Misdreavus. The boy attempted to stand to offer Sam his seat, but Sam just politely declined and remained on the forest floor. From where he sat, Sam was in the perfect position to watch the other boy continue his surprisingly detailed sketch of Misdreavus. The drawing wasn't a perfect copy, but it contained all the little details that let Sam know the image was definitely of her.

However, when Misdreavus noticed Sam had walked over, she suddenly gained a beautiful smile, and Sammy held back a gasp as he flipped to a new page just to try to capture that brief moment of delight. Silence persisted. Sam's thoughts were deafening. When faced with the choice to reflect on what he learned or to say something, Sam chose to speak.

"Do you like Pokémon?" he ended up asking. He then immediately cursed himself and his stupid little question. If Redi was here, she would have started an actual conversation, but he just had to open his dumb mouth and answer the most basic thing possible. He really wished he was still with his team right now.

"I love Pokémon," the boy answered, not even blinking at what Sam said.

"They're why I'm out here. I want to learn as much as I can about them. Honestly, living this kind of life is living out my dream." The boy quietly laughed to himself before going back to work. Sam could see just how much effort he was putting into it. All he had was a pencil and a blank sheet of paper, yet the kid was doing his utmost to capture the most perfect image of Misdreavus he could.

"No camera?" Sam asked.

"Cameras cost too much. There's also something impersonal about them," the kid said.

"So if you're sketching and studying Pokémon, do you... Do you have a Pokédex?" Pokédexes had been around for years—for at least the past century. Even if Sam was truly this far back in the past, people would still have the written Pokédex. And then there was also the question of the New Pokédex, but as much as the sketches reminded Sam of it, it seemed unrelated to what Sammy was drawing.

"I don't. I can't afford one," Sammy answered, taking Sam's question in stride and just seeming to be happy to speak about his work.

"Pokédexes are almost as expensive as cameras. I make do with what information I can find on my own, but I mostly get it from word of mouth. Rich is a great help, too, but I think I'm a bit selfish when it comes to him. He tries too hard to give me advice. Research is fun. Sometimes, listening to him almost feels like cheating." The kid sent Sam a smile, and Sam could tell—none of his questions had been dumb. Truly, Sammy loved Pokémon with all his heart.

If his words didn't prove it enough, then Sam could see that in just how much effort he was putting into the sketch of Misdreavus. He didn't know her at all, yet he was pouring himself into it. But Sam wasn't here to talk to the kid. Sam was here for someone else. Throughout this whole conversation, Misdreavus had been trying to "subtly" approach Sam through the air, moving with a slight, constant drift. Ever so slowly, she'd been inching toward where Sam sat.

However, the moment she noticed Sam's attention was wholly back on her, she used that moment to lunge. She widened her eyes as far as they could go and stuck her tongue out in an attempt at a scare. Unfortunately for her, Sam saw it coming, and he'd had it worse in the past. Still, he pretended she got him, and he purposefully fell back just to hear her laugh.

"Come on!" he whined.

"Don't laugh—you didn't get me that bad!" She cackled, and the sound of her laughter made him smile. He started laughing pretty quickly alongside her, too.

"Okay, okay. I've ignored you for long enough. Since we're just sitting here, do you want to train a bit more?" She nodded eagerly, and Sam pushed to his feet, pausing slightly when he realized Sammy was staring.

"Oh. Uh, sorry. I know I haven't really explained anything after you offered me that meal, but we can at least—""No, it's fine! Train your Misdreavus! I'll just be here. I'm waiting for Richard, anyway. I like to sketch, so you don't need to worry about me!" Sammy's smile was bright, and Sam nodded slightly, not sure what else to say. He just stepped back a bit to make some room and then gestured for Misdreavus to move closer to him through the air.

"Alright. We're going to keep working on Shadow Ball. Remember, all you need to do is collect your energy. Don't worry about the shape; just keep it together. As long as it's all attached, the 'ball' part will come naturally, so it's the 'shadow' part we need to work on, yeah?" She sent him a firm nod, and then both of them pulled back. Facing outwards into the forest, she pulled up into the air and waited for Sam's command.

"Show me what you can do, Misdreavus! Use Shadow Ball!" She shouted her name, the noise echoed around them, and then a mass of shadows collected in front of her face. The air flickered. A few wisps appeared, but most sputtered out. Something that resembled a half-inflated balloon floated forward, but then it flopped to the ground and burst into a rapidly fading puddle of purple and black.

"... Mis." Misdreavus fell a full foot in the air.

"It's fine. That was already a massive improvement. Compared to only being able to make a weak Night Shade, I can tell you're growing fast." A blush overtook her face, and then Sam laughed. Seeing that reaction, she cried out her name, doing her best to complain about how mean he was being.

"... Got it." But they both paused when Sammy suddenly spoke up.

"Excuse me?" The kid looked up from his book with a slight, cheeky grin on his face. Sammy hadn't actually been paying attention to any of that. Glancing between the two of them, he grinned and then turned his book around. Sam had to hold back tears when he saw what it was, and Misdreavus went completely still in the air. The sketch displayed on the page was of the two of them, but neither were training. It was a perfect capture of them at the very beginning, when they had both laughed after Misdreavus's scare.

"Do you want it?" Sammy asked.

"I, uh—""Here. It's easy to tear out. I can put more pages in later, anyway." Sammy pulled the sketch out and held it out. Sam cautiously took it into his hands. He wasn't sure what to do with it. Misdreavus seemed unable to look away. He was eventually snapped out of it when Haunter nudged his feet to remind him of everyone nearby.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, by the way." Sam looked up from the paper and folded it into his pocket.

"I never introduced myself. My name is Sam, but yours is Sammy. Do you have a last name or anything else I could call you by? Not that I'm trying to take your name, it's just that—" Sammy let out a short laugh.

"It's fine! I used to go by 'Sam' as well, but Rich called me Sammy, and that kind of stuck. But I guess if you really want a different name to call me by, just use my last name. It's—" He then froze, head snapping up to stare out into the woods. Haunter had detected nothing. Sam had detected nothing. But there was something out there that had made Sammy go on high alert.

"Do you hear that?" Sammy asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"It's like... a shout. OR some kind of cry."

"The Voice of the Forest," Sam breathed.

"... We were warned about that when we first headed in," Sammy mumbled. Sam strained his ears to try to hear that same, cursed cry, but he couldn't hear anything—at least at first. It started out ever so faint, but it grew in volume over time. The noise was familiar to Sam. He had heard it once before. But back then, he had been falling, and it had sounded distant, muffled, and faint. Now? It was like he could suddenly hear clearly for the first time.

"Hey! What's going on? Everything suddenly turned quiet." Richard walked out from behind his tree, returning his Jolteon and shoving something back into his pocket. However, his appearance marked a new development in these events—the bushes to their clearing's north suddenly started to rustle. Everyone froze, expecting something to burst out. It was not a single Pokémon. A full-on stampede charged out, and dozens of small Pokémon exploded into the clearing.

Sammy yelped, jumping back to press himself against a tree, and Sam dropped to the ground to try to use that root as cover. Richard's position let him just barely avoid the horde, but he still stumbled backwards as the pinks and blues of Nidoran rushed past them, and many Rattata and Sentret ran along their sides.

"What's going on?" Sam shouted. He could barely see from where that root covered his side on the ground. Thankfully, Haunter helped from the shadows to redirect the few Pokémon that missed their jump. None landed on Sam, and then, without anyone noticing, it was over. Mostly.

"There's more," Sammy whispered. Sam brought his head up to stare out toward where the wild Pokémon had just fled. He expected to see another stampede come out or to see those species' evolved forms, but something else entered the clearing instead. A sharp cry entered the air. It was a panicked, exhausted "bbbBBBIII!" that grew by the second. Out of nowhere, a small, green Pokémon fell from the canopy, and it just barely managed to catch itself in the air to keep flying straight through.

The foliage rustled behind it, and a Houndoom lunged out with flames licking its snout. A Flamethrower tried to incinerate that green Pokémon, but its form flickered, and it jumped several feet ahead to just barely avoid that move. Then, a Scyther leaped from the trees, scythe swinging down in an attempt to pin that flying Pokémon to the forest floor. In that case, the unknown Pokémon fell to the side to just barely dodge the move. None of the three Pokémon reacted to or even noticed the group hiding there.

What stood out to Sam the most about the exchange was that he had never seen that first species before—not even in the New Pokédex. Just as quickly as they had appeared, the three Pokémon disappeared from the clearing. Their chase brought them back into the forest, and Sam could hear that strange Pokémon's cries become fainter as it continued to desperately fly away.... That sound. He recognized its cry. Without a doubt in his mind, he knew it was the Voice of the Forest.

"But that wasn't a fight," Sam mumbled to himself.

"It was more like it was the target of a hunt." No one else spoke. Everyone needed to process what had happened. However, before anyone could say anything, Sammy suddenly pushed off that tree to run after the chase. Richard didn't hesitate to join him, and Sam could tell the two of them planned to stop that fight. After all, neither the Houndoom nor the Scyther seemed to be acting with benevolent intentions. But Sam? Sam didn't share those thoughts.

He knew the green Pokémon was in danger, but he was unable to enter the same mindset. He had no doubts. That Pokémon had to have been the Voice of the Forest. In other words, it was both the solution to and the source of all of his problems. So, exchanging a look with Misdreavus to warn her of his plans, Sam scrambled to his feet to take off running after everyone else. However, unlike the other two, he didn't have the same plan. Right now, the idea of 'help' wasn't exactly at the forefront of his mind.