Chương 158: Chapter 152

The shadows cast by the dense canopy were grasping fingers that reached for Sam's throat. A fog spread across the ground, creating a smothering blanket that muffled each of his steps. The hair on the back of his neck stood on its ends, and each and every exhale saw a mist form in front of his face. Gengar was hostile. Enraged. Dangerous. This was no mischievous trick; the Pokémon was on a hunt. Escaping the portion of the woods destroyed by the Marauder's plot, Sam pressed himself against the bark of a tree.

He used the corridors formed by massive roots to hide his presence the best he could. Carried by the breeze, laughter echoed from a distance. It was punctuated by the sound of something heavy shattering. Think, Sam. Think! When the Marauder ran, you did too. Why? How do you get out of this, and what's your goal to win? His goal was to make Celebi help him. But that wasn't applicable right now.

No, his real goal had to be the capture or defeat of the Iron-Masked Marauder, but Sam also needed to outlast and end Gengar's rampage.

"Misdreavus isn't here right now," Sam whispered to himself, just checking that he could hear his voice.

"She went off to hide the Dark Balls, which means..." It was just him. He had no Pokémon. In other words, his only defense was his knowledge of the Ghost Type. Pressed against that freezing cold nook beneath a shadow-covered tree, Sam could only see a few possible ways out of this. One, he could knock out Gengar. (Not likely.) Two, he could choose to run away. (A coward's move.) Three, he could dump his problems in the Iron-Masked Marauder's lap instead, which risked— Sam froze when he heard another distant branch break, but no matter how hard he strained his ears, no other sound followed that. This is the worst-case scenario when dealing with Ghost Types—a hunt. I need to keep that in mind. If Gengar kept his skills when he evolved, I can expect him to sense others and be skilled with moves like Hypnosis. That means no negative emotions. That means no eye contact.

But even if I avoid eye contact, he'd still be right there. I can't forget that he's a powerful and fast special attacker. My best hope is to hide. He had to stay hidden, but he also needed an end goal. Realistically, he had to obtain help. Which meant he needed to find Misdreavus. But all of that came together in a singular point: he and the Iron-Masked Marauder had the same goal.

If Misdreavus was somewhere out here hiding those Dark Balls, then the Iron-Masked Marauder was likely trying to find them to get Gengar under his control. That meant he would be trying to search for Misdreavus as well, so, in other words, they were headed toward the same place. All of this would be settled by who could find her first. I know Misdreavus. I know how she thinks, and I know how she likes to hide. If I apply that to where she might put those Dark Balls... Somewhere shadowy. Sam paused, looking around.

Okay, everywhere is shadowy right now, so she's probably searching for an "obvious" place. One that someone would easily overlook but might notice out of the corner of their eye. Unlike usual, the ghostly chill around Sam was uncomfortable, but there was no frost. Still, Gengar had been training for a long time, and the pressure his aggression emanated made Sam feel as though frozen daggers were being pressed against his spine. Yet, the feeling wasn't completely new to him.

The pressure caused by Morty's Dusclops was worse. Sam desperately wanted to snap his Pokémon out of it, but he didn't know how, so he had to treat Gengar like the threat he was. When Sam pushed off the tree to begin stalking through the woods, he made sure to walk slowly and dragged his feet so that he wouldn't step on anything that'd cause a loud crunch. No matter what he did, his movements caused old leaves to rustle, but anything louder would have been worse. Gengar was fast.

If Sam was too obvious, Gengar would be on him in an instant, yet Sam couldn't let himself move too slow without risking the Iron-Masked Marauder finding Misdreavus first. He crept past the towering trees, those ancient giants serving as cover for both him and his foes. He scanned every nook and cranny he could find, but he never once found any sign of Misdreavus. The only good thing about being alone was that there were no wild Pokémon around right now.

The threat of the Marauder's rampage combined with the emanations caused by Gengar's anger meant all wild Pokémon had fled. Sam only had one threat to worry about. Still. Each time Sam stepped, he felt as though that slight noise was the start of an avalanche. Each time he exhaled, he felt as though he had just blasted an airhorn. But Gengar didn't appear, and Sam kept searching.

The only reason he knew he hadn't been found was due to the nature of the Dark Balls—if Gengar located him, the Ghost Type would not stalk Sam before striking, as was his standard. No, the infused rage would see him attack almost immediately. That meant Sam would know if Gengar found him right away. Since he was able to walk, he was hidden. It was a small comfort, but it was a small comfort he'd take. Every second stretched out. For ages, it felt like he was truly alone.

Sometimes, he'd hear something move in the distance, but Gengar never once appeared. It was only when the fog thickened that Sam realized he was being watched. Something shifted at the edge of his vision, and he caught two glints of red staring at him as if they were eyes. But calling them eyes would have been wrong. They were flat, featureless, and one seemed to be cracked. When the yellow of the Marauder's iron mask became visible through the mist, Sam froze in place.

The Marauder, a slight smirk on his face, lifted an arm and heaved. He threw a rock. Sam jumped. He managed to avoid the projectile, but that wasn't the Marauder's aim. Instead, it sailed past Sam and hit the ground. With that impact, it made a noisy thump. A screech—something shot toward Sam from out in the distance. The Iron-Masked Marauder was gone, having already disappeared into the fog.

No longer caring about the noise he made, Sam shot toward a massive root sticking out the ground next to one of those enormous trees. He pressed himself into the shadow formed by a bend, and he held his breath, recognizing that staying hidden was his only recourse. Forcing himself to go still, Sam felt nothing. Thought nothing. Did nothing. For this, he only stared. Gengar's momentum pushed the mist behind him as he shot right to where that rock landed. Bringing an arm down, the stone shattered.

Unsatisfied with that quarry, he looked up. Red eyes, real ones, then glanced around. Gengar searched through every gap here. He turned in a circle to check the world around himself, and Sam prayed he'd go unseen. But as enraged as Gengar was, the Dark Ball had not granted him patience. Despite his terrible strength, this search was nothing more than one, long glance. For one single, terrifying, horrifying moment, it almost seemed Gengar had laid his eyes on Sam.

However, he kept turning, and his gaze merely swept past. After an eternity of searching that lasted naught but a few seconds, Gengar drifted off the ground to begin to float away. Sam breathed out. And Gengar snapped around, his stare sharp enough to cut and his grin practically splitting his body in twain. Sam thought that was it, but the movement was just a bluff, and Gengar finally left the scene. For a while, Sam waited in that nook, expecting Gengar to return at any moment.

His absence could have just been a trick or just a delay to draw Sam out. At any second, Gengar could come back and finally unleash his attack. But the dreaded moment never came. Slowly and cautiously, Sam pulled himself out to check his surroundings. He even glanced up to see if Gengar was hiding above his head. There was nothing. He was alone once more. The Iron-Masked Marauder might have tried to lure Gengar, but, despite everything, Sam managed to escape unscathed. Somehow. I need to keep going.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. This delay had brought an advantage to the Marauder. He had recognized this unspoken competition as well, and he wanted to reach Misdreavus first. Sam staying in place had given the man more time, which meant Sam could no longer risk any further delay. As much as Sam wanted to speak just to hear his own voice, he couldn't allow himself to make any sound. Not until he was close.

He stuck even closer to the trees, trying even harder to stay cloaked. He recognized that Gengar was doing little to stay hidden, and at several points, he could hear the rushing of wind from his Ghost Type darting through the woods. But staying still, holding his breath, and making sure he felt nothing at all prevented any unexpected attacks. Finally, eventually, and thankfully, the mist faded ever so slightly as Sam left Gengar's part of the woods. It was funny. The sun was brighter out here.

Sam had to hold back a laugh when he remembered— Technically, it was still morning. Resisting the urge to shout for his Pokémon, Sam was able to pick up his speed and use all of the little tricks he'd learned in his search. Finally, Sam managed to find Misdreavus when he saw her movement out of the corner of his eye, locating her in the exact manner he'd thought.

Much like the small den she had for herself when he had first found her, Misdreavus was sticking to the shadows but was trying to dig out a hiding spot under where one of the trees' roots bent out of the ground. Sam had found her, and the belt of Dark Balls was next to her, but Misdreavus hadn't seen him. And Sam wasn't alone. Above, once more, Sam caught sight of one-and-a-half red lenses glinting off of the late morning sun.

The Iron-Masked Marauder, having given himself a head start, had used that time to position himself right above her, intending to surprise her by jumping down. He didn't need to win completely. He just needed one Dark Ball. With that, he could catch-and-release Misdreavus, and then he could use the ball to command Gengar. I can't let that happen. But Sam knew that any noise he made would just draw Gengar here.

The Iron-Masked Marauder was moving slowly to keep quiet, and if Sam tried to warn Misdreavus, she wouldn't have a fast enough reaction to dodge before the Marauder jumped down at her. I can't call out to her. The Iron-Masked Marauder would just use that as an opening. And that'd also lure Gengar here. Misdreavus is so focused on digging that she has no clue about what's going on around her. So then how do I stop this? We're at a disadvantage. If any noise would attract Gengar— Sam paused.

Any noise would attract Gengar, Sam realized. What if that was what he wanted? Quickly, Sam flicked his gaze around, trying to look for anything else he could use. He searched for something, but there was nothing. It was only him and everyone else. He only had this plan to go through. Before he did anything, Sam took a moment to remember every moment he'd ever had with his Pokémon.

He remembered every second he'd spent with his team, every break he'd spent in training, and every moment he'd spent traveling with Misdreavus. Fueled by positive thoughts, Sam knew he was ready. So, breathing in, Sam cupped his hands around his mouth, and with a bright smile on his face, he let loose a powerful shout.

"GENGAR!" Misdreavus looked up. The visible, lower half of the Iron-Masked Marauder's face went stark white. Sam stepped back, allowing himself to fade into the shadows. And then the world seemed to turn to night. Cackles echoed out from the section of the forest they'd just left, and mist served as the harbinger of Gengar's presence. The Marauder snapped out of his surprise to say one thing.

"No. Not like this." With his words coming out like a growl, he jumped, trying to reach Misdreavus before any of this could happen. His goal was, more than anything else, to grab the Dark Balls before Gengar showed up. But Sam had already rigged this to be in his favor, and for once, the Marauder was acting out of fright. Gengar appeared like a rocket, traveling so fast that his movements were guided by instinct alone. As a Ghost Type, he was attracted to the most negative presence in their area.

And as much as Ghosts attracted Ghosts, it wasn't Misdreavus. No, in a complete reverse to how the Marauder had avoided Gengar's detection in the first place, the Marauder's fright meant Gengar was attracted to him and him alone. The impact saw Gengar slam into the Marauder, taking him out of the air and giving him the scare of his life. The two were sent tumbling, and the Marauder hit the ground first. Groaning, he slid, coming to a rest against the bark of a tree. But Gengar wasn't done.

So possessed by the energy from the Marauder's very own Dark Balls, he charged to float right above the fallen man. Mouth stretched out in ferocious glee, he lifted an arm to conjure a mass of shadows behind it. Sam knew he couldn't let that happen. He refused to have something like this be done by a Pokémon on his team.

"Hey, Gengar! Turn around!" And Sam was running before he realized it, but that didn't mean Gengar dropped his rapidly forming attack. He did check over his shoulder with a glance, turned back to the Marauder, and then snapped around once more when he realized that, yes, someone was rushing him. He wasn't prepared to redirect his attack, and he didn't seem to think he needed to. Without the use of Type energy, Sam should have phased right through. He didn't.

No, Sam's fist smashed right into the center of Gengar's face in a perfect mimicry of the same moment he'd first caught him. The surprise punch sent Gengar straight to the ground. Gengar didn't take any damage—why would he? It wasn't a Pokémon move—but he did grab the rapidly forming bump on his face and rocked back and forth in pain.

"It's over," Sam said. He could already tell: Gengar had been snapped out of it. Already, the freezing cold aura had completely disappeared. Behind, Misdreavus stared at them in utter shock. From her perspective, this entire exchange had lasted only a few seconds. And now, somehow, Sam was towering over the Iron-Masked Marauder. He made sure to display his full confidence on his face.

"... You." But this was not over. Not yet. The Marauder's voice was a low, gravelly drawl. The poacher remained unintimidated, and a hand snapped up to grab the tree's bark as he began to pull himself up.

"You... You child. You twerp! You're ruining it. Everything I had planned, and you're trying to take it from me like this?" A laugh. The man shakily returned to his feet. Despite everything, Sam found himself taking a nervous step back. Gengar wasn't in any place to react. It was just him and the Marauder. They stood off, facing one another from less than a yard away.

"No," the Marauder said.

"I'm not going down this easily. I'll end everything here, I'll re-catch your dumb Pokémon, and then I'll—" Through the lenses, Sam could see the man blink. Coming from right behind Sam, Misdreavus rocketed forth. Despite having stayed back all this time, she was not going to let someone threaten Sam and get away unpunished. Fueled by everything, she put her all into this move. And right in front of her face, a shadowy mass formed.

Instead of merely flopping out, her Shadow Ball slammed right into the Marauder's chest. That was the last strike needed. The man simply couldn't take it anymore. The move sent him falling back, and he fell to the ground, his world a daze of pain.

"Misdreavus. You... did it. You saved us," Sam said. Misdreavus looked Sam in the eye, smiled, and then she fell. Sam was just barely able to catch her in time as she had truly put everything she had into her move. She wasn't quite asleep, but she was definitely unconscious.

"Thank you. Let's go back," Sam said softly. They had finally managed to win. With the fight finished, Sam went through the last few things he needed to get through. He checked each Dark Ball to make sure they were empty, then he placed them on a stone to stomp on them and break them in half. The Iron-Masked Marauder himself was in no position to resist, so Sam also searched his body, found any hidden electronics, and broke all of those, too.

There was a point in which the Marauder seemed to be about to wake up, but that was when Gengar stepped in, finally having recovered after writhing on the ground. He was tired after being so consumed by the Dark Ball's all-encompassing energy, but he was still able to pull up the man's mask and subject him to a Hypnosis. And then they were walking back, with Sam carrying the resting Misdreavus in his arms and with Gengar dragging the unconscious Marauder over the forest floor.

If the poacher ever bounced off a rock or a root in his sleep, neither of them said anything, and neither of them acted like they noticed.

"You were frightening," Sam said.

"You made me creep through a dark forest just to avoid you! You know how hard my heart was hammering in my chest? And I had to ignore all of that just to hope you wouldn't detect me." Gengar blushed.

"Congratulations on your evolution. I'm sorry the rest of the team isn't here to celebrate it, but I'll say this— your evolution means you have got to be strong. Think about it like this: You were keeping up with everyone as a Haunter. You were part of an eight-star team. Sure, we were at the bottom of eight stars, but we were still at eight stars! And now, since you've evolved..." Sam let his voice trail off to let the implications settle in.

A Pokémon's evolution came with an increase in power, and Gengar had already been strong when he was a Haunter. Gengar ended up gaining a body-wide smile. It was honestly something straight out of a nightmare, but Sam didn't feel any fear. He just felt pride.

"I'm sorry that your evolution happened because of some jerk's Pokéball—" Sam paused when he definitely didn't hear someone bounce off of a rock.

"But it was only the last little bit you needed to evolve. It also means you've unconsciously gained experience with some wild stuff. If I'm remembering right, a Gengar can learn Haze, and that—" That move could eliminate all stat changes on a field. In other words, if someone tried to set up against Sam's team, Gengar would be the perfect answer. Sam continued to chat, speaking lightly with his friend while they dragged the Iron-Masked Marauder back. With the criminal's defeat, they'd done it.

Celebi wouldn't be captured, and now he could use that as a favor to make it help. At any moment, they'd be back in the clearing, and Sam could point out everything he'd done to help Celebi. Therefore, in exchange, Celebi would have to help him. He could prevent Misdreavus from spending decades on her own in the past, and then Sam could be sent back to his team. But there was also everyone else. Ash. Sammy. Richard. There'd be more to it.

But right now, Sam just needed to return, and Sam just needed to share the news that they had won. It didn't take long to walk back through the forest, especially since Gengar was no longer trying to chase after him. Honestly, Sam was surprised at how deep they'd gone. When avoiding his Ghost Type, he hadn't realized just how far Misdreavus had fled. Soon, in the distance, Sam could see the first hint of light peeking through where the trees had been destroyed.

He might have taken a longer, rougher path with the unconscious Marauder dragging behind him, but he wasn't going to say anything. Neither was Gengar. Finally, Sam stepped into the late morning sun, and he was ready to reunite with everyone else. Gengar didn't bother to hide, and Misdreavus was still comfortably sleeping in his arms. Sam started to walk around those four fallen trees to return to everyone else and end this whole mess. But his pace slowed ever so somewhat....

For some reason, he swore he could still hear the sounds of a fight. Drastically increasing his speed, Sam rushed to one corner of that makeshift battlefield. He turned to check that the Marauder was still unconscious behind him—the man was—and then he checked to make sure he really was seeing an ongoing battle on the other side of the fallen tree. A tauntingly familiar voice echoed out.

"Ha! You kids aren't going to defeat me! Give up Celebi! With its power, I'll be able to take Team Rocket all for myself!" What? How?! Sam rubbed his eyes. Gengar was staring. Between the two of them, Sam was confident he was really seeing exactly what he saw. In the dead center of the clearing, Richard and Sammy looked utterly exhausted. Their team members were all barely standing up around them.

Countless Pokémon lay fainted on the ground, but Ash was still standing tall, and his Pikachu's cheeks crackled with the electricity of an Electric Type ready to continue a fight. They both faced that Tyranitar. Terrifyingly, it looked as healthy as ever. And behind that Tyranitar was the Iron-Masked Marauder himself, standing with his arms crossed and with a mocking grin on his face.

"How?" Sam hissed. He wanted to step forward and push his way into the clearing, but a green face suddenly popped in next to him and Gengar. Its words stopped him in place.

"Me!" The voice was a child's voice. Non-descriptive. Androgynous. Somehow high-pitched without containing a pitch, and Sam heard it in his head more than he heard it in his ears. Checking the Pokémon that had appeared between him and Gengar, he didn't need to spend more than an instant to recognize what it was.

"The Voice of the Forest," Sam growled. Celebi, not even blinking at Sam's harsh tone, sent him a mischievous grin and pointed to the battle taking place in the center.

"Wait," it said.

"Story continues." It took all of Sam's willpower not to reach out and strangle the Pokémon right there. Celebi was acting as if this was a mere game, nothing more than a show, but he couldn't do it. Not when it looked so healthy. Not when it was a Legendary Pokémon. Not when an identical Celebi was floating above the center scene.

"I hate time travel," Sam groaned.

"Fun!" came Celebi's reply. His anger gave way to flat frustration. He'd been defeated, and Celebi just maintained an infuriating smile. Though the final stand-off was still ongoing in the center of the destroyed clearing, Celebi buzzed closer to Sam and held out a hand.

"Explain?" it offered.

"I'm not even going to bother to ask why you can talk—""Special!" he heard it say. Sam ignored that.

"But if you're telling me that you'll give me answers, and if you promise to help Misdreavus—""Promise!"

"Then I— Wait, just like that?"

"Just like that!" He blinked. He hadn't expected it to be this easy. Not after everything else. Sending one last look over to Gengar, Sam could tell that his Pokémon's mischievous side meant Gengar was already convinced. Also, Misdreavus was too unconscious to comment, and no one cared about what the Iron-Masked Marauder thought. So that just meant Celebi was waiting on Sam. It wanted him to make the choice.

"Fine," he said unhappily. He hated how that seemed to fill Celebi with glee. So, Sam grasped the Legendary Pokémon's hand, and everything went black and white. With a simple flex of its will, he and everyone else on this side of the clearing utterly disappeared.