Here, Have a Cookie a Pokemon Fanfiction

Deep breath in, and deep breath out. Just don’t think about it. Put one foot in front of the other. Think calming thoughts. Winning your next gym badge. May. A fun day at the beach.

I felt a force pull down on my left pant leg, and it took everything I had to hold in my scream. Last thing I wanted was to pull down a horde of Zubat.

Joern looked at me and sighed, a pitying look on his face. ‘Lea, you don’t have to do this to yourself. Me and Apollo are more than enough to deal with this.’

Take it. Just get the hell out of this hell hole. They’ve got this.

“I’m fine,” I said, giving him a thumbs-up. It’d probably be a lot more convincing if my arm wasn’t shaking.

I would not be defeated by this. I beat fear into submission before and I was going to do it again.

“Besides, you need me to light the way.” I waved Wally’s phone around with a weak grin. “You need me.”

‘I think I can manage a phone, Lea,’ Joern said. ‘It can’t be that hard.’

“Joern, you don’t know how to read.” Emilie deadpanned as we moved deeper into the cave.

He didn’t? Of course not. He lived in the wild for most of his life and I haven’t taught him. I needed to fix that.

‘...fair, but you do.’ Joern nodded towards Apollo. ‘I’m fairly confident he does too.’

The waterfowl in question blinked a few times before blushing. ‘Aye, I suppose I can, though this old seadog isn’t all that good at it. I doubt I’d be much help pushing buttons on that tiny little thing, though.’

It didn’t have buttons. It was a touch screen.

“Out of idle curiosity, Apollo. How old are you?” I asked, my urge to be a smart ass beating down the desire to run out of this shithole screaming and crying.

‘Captain, as a personal request, please don’t make me answer that question. I’ll do it if you insist, but-’

“You’re fine, don’t worry. Sorry. I couldn’t resist.” I sighed as Sol took a left at the fork. “You alright, Sol?”

‘Not great. Probably better than you, though.’ She turned and grinned. ‘Your inane ramblings are doing a good job at distracting me from how much I hate this place.’

“Fair enough.” I smiled at her, before fully processing what she said and how she probably meant it. “Also, rude.”

‘You are neither my mother, nor my trainer, so suck it.’ She stuck her tongue out at me. What was she, five?

...I am the last person that should be thinking that.

“I dunno about that last part. Considering how solid this week has gone, May might try to pawn you off on us full time,” Emilie said as she glanced up towards the ceiling.

Sol looked like she’d bit into something sour. ‘I already take frequent walks through the island to get breaks from your stupidity, please don’t make it a full-time thing.’

Joern snorted. ‘I like how you think it gets better when May’s around. Ninety percent of the time, Suzy and Emilie bicker like an old married couple, Leshy glares at us at random intervals before muttering something under his breath and complaining about the good old days, and Samie yoyos between being the most adorable mon on the face of the earth to being the poster child for why testing adhd meds on a Pokémon might be a good idea.’

“I... you, that’s not.” Emilie kept opening and closing her mouth at odd intervals, with random words coming out that didn’t form any kind of coherent stream of information.

“Huh, I didn’t know a conversation was something that could be won, but I think Joern just did.” I smiled down at him and patted his leaf.

‘Not even going to mention the constant make out eyes the captain and her lass have with each other?’ Apollo asked.

“The what!?” I screeched, before throwing both hands over my mouth and looking up towards the ceiling. Please don’t let there be bats.

‘I didn’t feel the need to. She probably saw plenty of it when May was above ground.’ Joern shot me a teasing smirk.

‘Fair enough, fair enough.’ Apollo nodded zenly.

Emilie ignored the both of them, her eyes trained on the shadows between hanging rocks from above.

‘I’m starting to realize that I want to wallow in the bad emotions this place brings out in me more than I want to listen to this conversation.’ Sol’s stare looked dead inside.

‘The point, lass, is that you were conscripted by a group of sailors that probably belong in an asylum. Doesn’t really matter where you end up, you’re living through the best of it with us.’ Apollo grinned before swooping down and landing on Sol’s back. ‘You know what, I’m kind of tired, and this perch is rather comfortable.’ He lifted his wing and pointed further into the abyss. ‘Onward, swabbie. If we don’t have our other swabbie back by daybreak, you’ll inherit his title and it’ll be the Crowsnest for ye.’

Sol growled but slowly picked up the pace. ‘I hate you, so much.’

‘Coming from a dark type, that doesn’t mean-’

“Where are the bats?” Emilie asked, cutting off the stupidity before it could get worse. “None of us have been particularly quiet. There were a ton of random Pokémon the last time we went through here. Where are they?”

‘Great! Just great. We’ve got the starting plot point of a B tier horror movie on top of all the other shit this hellhole has going for it, because why the hell-’

‘Lea, you’re projecting your thoughts,’ Emilie hastily whispered in my mind.

My brain halted all at once as my face lit up bright red. Fuck tonight. Everything about tonight was bad.

‘They’re probably just huddling up somewhere deeper into the caves to get warm, lass. This cave is a fair sight colder than the last time we went through it.’ Apollo brushed past my accidentally aired freak out without batting an eye, and I couldn’t love him more for it.

‘That, or the Duskull’s been practicing his new fancy ghost moves on the locals, and we’re going to find a pile of bodies in the ritually sealed chamber from-’

“Joern!” ‘Joern!’ Not a single other Pokémon's voice was left out of that shout as my heart leapt into my throat.

‘...sorry. That joke kind of-’

I ignored him as I pushed through the group, light in hand, and made tracks for our destination. The sooner we got out of here, the fucking better.

‘Wait, I’m the one that knows the way!’ Sol shouted.

“Screw you. I know where I’m going. Keep up!” I shouted back as I took the middle path in a set of three. “I’ve only been in here for ten minutes and I am already done!”

‘Damn it all, you bilge-sucking addlepate! We had her calm, and you couldn’t keep your mouth shut and think for five seconds!’ Apollo screamed as he flew up, carefully dipping below some dangling rocks from the ceiling.

‘I know, I know. Latrine duty, I’m aware. Yell at me when we’re not busy chasing down our only light source in this pit.’ Joern groaned as a weight formed on top of his leaf. ‘Damn it, Emilie, I’m not a Ponyta, get off!’

“Shut up, your legs are longer than mine and trying to stay balanced on Lea’s shoulder right now is a dance with death. Sol, how much are we going to have to backtrack once she calms down? I remember you saying these caves were one big maze,” Emilie said as we dipped to the right at another fork.

‘Uh... actually, we’ve been going the right way,’ Sol said. ‘Lea, I know you’re really busy having a freak out right now, but how do you know where we’re going?’

“No idea. This path feels familiar. I blame being possessed. Less talking more runn-ah!” I stopped talking as a horde of Zubat swarmed us as we rounded the corner. I lifted both arms in front of me as they rushed down, before wincing as a hundred tiny little bodies bounced off my tiny frame before bounding out through the cave we came from.

‘See. Further in.’ Apollo floated down and landed on the stone floor; his wing raised as the last of the Zubat filtered through. ‘Now. Are we all calm? Is this group of sailors ready for the mission? Because the door’s right there, and it’s sealed shut again.’

I slowly let out the air I was holding in as I sunk down to the floor and hugged myself.. "Just think of outside, Lea. Think of outside." I took a deep breath, held it for a moment, and slowly let the air out through my mouth. In, and out.

Casually glancing around me, I winced as I noticed the somewhat familiar sights. That indentation was where Sol was slammed into the wall. There was a faint bit of blood just a few feet away.

I glanced down at Sol with a knitted brow. How many times did she come back through this chamber? How long did she spend just... hanging out, where it happened? She was walking towards the door like this place didn’t even bother her right now. Why the hell was I so pathetic?

‘It’s been resealed. I don’t know how, though.’ Her voice was low. ‘I was at least partially right. The door’s gray now, instead of black. God, dad, just how strong were you? It’s been weeks since I’ve been back here to reinforce it, and the Terrain is still up.’ Sol sighed before turning back to the group. ‘I don’t know if you’ll be able to do much, Emilie, but it shouldn’t be as bad as the last time you were here.’

Emilie nodded once, before lifting both hands above her head. Several loose, large boulders rose up from the ground. ‘Stand clear.’

‘Huh, wait, Emilie. That didn’t work last time, what-’ Joern barely managed to hop out of the way as the volley of stones slammed into the ornate doors.

Several cracks formed on impact, before the whole thing exploded inwards, kicking up dirt and gravel as the smell of decay assaulted my nostrils. Cold air permeated the hall as chaos settled, and the chamber stood open.

“I’ll forgive you for thinking I’m anywhere close to as weak as I was a few weeks ago. You’re not the only one that’s been training their ass off.” Emilie huffed as she slowly started walking forward.

Joern just nodded, his mouth opened wide as he took in the sight. ‘Thanks... I think.’

My legs were still frozen in place as Joern started to follow. Could they not smell that? Could they not feel that cloying unnatural cold chill?

Sol brushed up against my leg and I took a deep, shuddering breath. I hadn’t been breathing. How had I smelled anything?

The dark type just stared up at me and smiled, before nodding toward the open passage. ‘I’m not going to bother telling you to wait here. You’re way too stubborn for that, but... if you want, I can stay close.’ She looked away with a blush. ‘I hear that fur can be quite calming.’

I took a few more deep breaths before nodding, my heart slowly calming down as I gave her a gentle smile and rested my hand on top of her head. “Thanks.”

‘Don’t mention it. To anyone. Ever.’ Sol slowly walked forward, and I kept in step.

Apollo just looked at the two of us and smiled, the prick.

Black walls had been replaced with a monochromatic greyscale that oozed a single pronounced feeling of loss. It was tangible and cloying as my nightmare slowly formed around me. Torches lit up the whole of the chamber in an eerie blue light, and at the center of it all, stood a proud, red sword, slammed deep into the ground atop the raised dais.

“Lucas!” I moved quickly once I saw it, the rest of my worries melting away as I moved to lift him from the ground. “Lucas, are you alright?”

“Lea, wait-”

Emilie was cut off as the ground shifted and warped beneath me. A writhing mass of shadows lurched upwards, shoving me backwards as a single thought plagued my mind. Why did this place look so pristine? Why was it put together at all when we practically destroyed it the last time we were here?

Something was horribly wrong.

‘You’re intruding. On my Terrain.’ A crippling chill gripped my spine as a blue flame danced in front of me, forming seconds before a white mask stared deep into my soul. ‘Sleep.’

A crippling sense of lethargy overtook me as the word bounced around inside my skull. A volley of glowing blue leaves slammed into the ground in front of me, forcing the ghost back, and I breathed a sigh of relief as I slowly started to fall backwards.

‘If you think you can bully my trainer while I’m up and about,’ Joern snarled as his arm glowed black. ‘I’ll be damned if I let anything hurt her in this cursed room again!’ He leapt forward and slammed his fist into the ground as the ghost type slunk down into the shadows. Rocks exploded upward in a hail of shrapnel that bounced harmlessly off Joern’s thick skin.

‘Up you go, cap. We can’t be sleepin’ on the job,’ Apollo said as he pushed up against my back with his beak, doing his best to keep me upright. He sounded so far away.

‘Care to give that fancy little ball of yours a shot?’ Emilie whispered into my mind, her tone gentle and soothing.

"Wha...”

A small stream of cold water blasted me in the back of the head, and I sputtered for a few seconds before nodding and falling to one knee.

I turned back and nodded at Apollo before focusing. “Sorry. I got tunnel vision.” I reached down and pulled up Lucas’s ball, before aiming it at the sword.

A single red line reached across the room and made contact, before dissipating to no effect.

I leaned back, before doing a double take as the ground Joern just destroyed slowly started to reform. “What the fuck?”

Sol stared at the ground before looking around the chamber and sighing. ‘Oh, good. The party trick wasn’t the only thing you remembered, because of course it wasn’t. I should’ve known it was something different.’

‘Care to share, lass?’ Apollo asked as he glanced toward the ground worriedly.

‘He set up Terrain. The ground doesn’t look different because the old one’s fading, it’s different because it IS different.’ Sol jumped toward me and got down low. ‘I have no fucking clue what this does, so be ready for anything.’

Joern growled as he lifted his arms up, a spinning ball of water forming between his hands. ‘Counteroffer. Fuck this and his little shadow puppet game. Emilie-’

“Already on it. Let her rip.” My starter disappeared, before reforming in front of me. The air around me started to shine.

‘Hide from this, coward.’ Joern slammed his hands up, and the water expanded outward before exploding in every direction. The six blue fires that lit up the chamber sputtered and died as the cascade slammed against the walls and rattled the torches.

As the fires died, a small figure rose up from the darkness into the flooded cave. I stared on from my spot behind Emilie’s barrier and watched as Joern swam through the receding water and leapt up into the air, before bringing his arm down on the ghost type. It cleaved into the miasma with a resounding crack, and the shadowy form exploded in a black goop that coated the cave.

Joern whipped his head around as the last of the water flowed out of the chamber. ‘Another fake.’

Sol leapt forward and slammed Joern out of the way as a black tendril rose up from the ground where Joern had been. A single wind sickle launched out from behind me and cut the attack in two, and a piercing wail sounded out into the darkness.

‘Yeah, well keep your tentacles to yourself, you craven scallywag.’ Apollo hopped forward. ‘Any ideas on how to draw this thing out, cap?’

I whipped my head away from the spot where the tendrils fell back into the ground to look at my quartermaster, my thoughts a scattered mess. “I... I don’t-”

Sol leapt backwards as two new black tendrils rose up from the ground, a Shadow Ball already charged. A brief pained look crossed her features as she fired, her shot going completely wide of the things that just attacked her.

‘Damn it, Cap. Keep your head in the game!’ Apollo shouted, his face right in front of mine. ‘I know you’re terrified. You’ve every right to be, but we need you right now. You’re the brains of this crew, so stop fighting scared, unfurl your sails, and show this dime store ghost ship reject just how outmatched he-’

Three black tendrils rose up from below Apollo and slammed into his sides. I stared with wide eyes as his beak opened wide with pain as he slowly rose up from the spectral vines that dug into him.

In that single moment, my worries seemed to fade into the backdrop as my waterfowl launched a Water Gun into the shadows below. We weren’t in a cave. We weren’t in a tomb, fighting for our lives against some unknown, overwhelming force of nature. It was just me with my family, fighting against some random, wild Pokémon that thought we’d be easy pickings.

I clenched my fists and glared down at the moving shadows beneath us. “Emilie, can you move your barrier?”

Emilie tilted her head up at me and nodded. “Uh, yeah. Kind of. It’s slow, but we can move. Why?”

“Good, in that case, we’re getting Lucas back, now.” I lifted myself up to full height and pressed my hands up against the wall Emilie had erected around us. “Joern, Apollo. This thing doesn’t want me pulling Lucas out of the altar again. When it pops up to stop me, hammer it with your strongest attacks.”

“You want to use yourself as bait, are you nuts?” Emilie shouted right in my ear.

Legends above she was getting shriller as time went on. “I have every confidence in your ability to keep me safe, now start moving this wall.”

‘You can... count on us... cap.’ Apollo’s thoughts came jumbled and echoed, a warbled quality distorting the message.

“Sol, your job is to keep these two from getting hammered while they look for an opening. Just because I’m pissing off the angry ghost doesn’t mean he still won’t try to go for you guys,” I ordered.

Sol nodded once before shifting her gaze to the ground below.

I reached out my mind to my quartermaster, a frown marring my features. ‘You alright? Sorry you got hurt talking sense into me.’

‘It’ll take more than a few hits from a trumped-up ghost to bring me down, Captain. Don’t worry so much,’ Apollo said.

I nodded up at him, before almost falling forward as the wall I had placed myself against slowly started to move forward. “Ack, Emilie, a little warning?”

“You’re the one that told me to move the walls, mon amie.” Emilie smirked at me as her eyes glowed in the pale darkness. “Grab the phone so the stupid ghost can’t get it.”

I scrambled to do just that when another sneak attack came from below. The tendrils rose up and slammed into Emilie’s wall, bouncing off the barrier without leaving so much as a crack. I lifted up the only consistent source of light we had in this hellhole as a sickle of wind sliced through the exposed appendages, and slowly trudged forward towards our goal.

This march continued in much the same way for what felt like an eternity, as I slowly realized exactly what kind of fighter this thing was. Not once had it stuck its own mask up to fire something with more power. It continued to hide, despite the steady progress we made, taking potshots wherever it could, hoping to land another strike.

I could honestly state that I hadn’t felt this annoyed since my fight against Wally.

Things quickly changed the second I took my first step up to stand on the dais in the middle of the room. The torches once again came to life, shifting in color from blue to purple before settling on an unnatural lime green as several fires rose up from the abyss that matched them in color.

Just as soon as they appeared, a massive torrent of water was let loose, once again flooding the area as Joern glared down toward the ground. ‘I don’t care how spooky you make it, fire’s still fire.’

I grinned, before taking another step up. Lucas was right there. The barrier expanded slightly, and within a few steps, I stood before what I assumed was the unconscious form of my pun-loving ghost type. At the base of the pedestal, I could faintly make out a symbol carved into the base. One I couldn’t understand.

I wrapped both hands around Lucas’s hilt, and winced as an otherworldly shriek filled my ears. Duskull himself finally launched out from the shadows, his eye glowing red as one of his hands rose up above his head, a faint purple glow radiating from it as he moved forward with the speed of a freight train.

He didn’t even get to touch the barrier.

Joern slammed his fist home, driving the Knock Off into Duskull’s face with an audible crack and slamming it into the ground. He bounced twice before landing in a heap across the cave, his body unmoving.

Sol hoped forward before nudging him with her claw, her shoulders stiff as she took stock of the unconscious ghost type. ‘It’s real.’

‘Oh, thank Kyogre. That was miserable.’ Apollo grinned as he shifted his gaze to me. ‘Care to give that idiot a tug so we can get out of here, captain? This old sea bird could use a nap.’

I nodded with a grin, before turning around and grabbing Lucas by the hilt and pulling. A small bit of resistance made itself known, before a blinding blue light cascaded throughout the chamber, banishing the grey aura that clung to it and revealing the shattered chamber beneath. Beams of moonlight shone through holes in the ceiling, and massive piles of stone and rock covered the ground around them.

“What... what on earth?” I muttered as I slowly lifted the blade into the air, the moonlight reflecting off the steel in resplendent glory.

Emilie smiled before teleporting to my shoulder. “We thrashed the place last time, remember? Multiple cave ins, huge ass fight, ringing any bells? I don’t know where exactly we were or what he did, but... when we walked through those doors, we sure as hell weren’t here.”

I nodded grimly before taking a few steps forward. “Sol, Apollo, Joern, are you alright?”

Apollo flew up from behind a single pile of rocks and landed in front of me, before collapsing down in an exhausted heap on the ground. ‘Reporting for duty, captain.’ An attempt was made to make a salute, but the wing fell limply back to the ground before it could be completed.

‘Yeah, we’re good, Lea,’ Joern muttered as he shoved a large rock up and stood proud as Sol hoped out from under the pile.

‘We came back in a pile of rocks, really?’ Sol muttered before shaking out her fur. Dust and gravel flew out in every direction as she stretched out and glared behind her. ‘Nothing can go right tonight, can it. Well, we won, so I suppose it can’t get any worse.’

Emilie teleported down and landed angrily on Sol’s head. “Idiot. You don’t just say crap like that. Do you have any idea how bad it is to tempt fate? Do you?”

I started giggling before sucking in a sharp breath as something started to move in my hands.

‘Lea, I uh... I appreciate you coming down here like this for me, but uh... well, I’m exceptionally flattered but, Arceus this is awkward. It’s not you, it’s me. You’re human, I’m a talking undead spirit in a sword, it’d never work.’ Lucas kept going faster as he went, a light tinge of red spreading through the hilt that was being held in his tassel as he glanced form left to right. ‘If you wouldn’t mind, could you, uh... let go?’

I couldn’t help it. I started laughing, hard, as I let the spectral sword float out of my hands. ‘I’m sorry, Lucas. Thank you for letting me down easily.’

‘So out of idle curiosity, is that why-ow.’ Joern cut himself off before meeting the glare of an angry dark type.

‘I’m doing Apollo’s job for him. Not where children are present.’ Sol nudged her horn toward Emilie.

‘You do realize I’m translating for all of us and know what almost everyone’s going to say and not say, right? Besides, going off how hard Lucas is trying not to laugh right now, that whole skit was him being him.’ Emilie capped off her thoughts with a giggle as the ghost type joined me in laughing.

‘Just a little bit of fun, is all. Besides, that was more or less just us holding hands,’ he said between giggles. ‘Now then, why don’t we call it a night and get out of here, Apollo looks half dead, and I could use a-’

A black shadow moved just out of the corner of my eye, and I shoved Lucas backwards as a tiny black ball of shadows with a cracked mask dove, headfirst, into me.

“Lea!” Thoughts mixed with words as all of my Pokémon rushed forward. Joern propped me up as I slowly fell down to the ground, and Emilie teleported back to my shoulder before putting her hands on my head.

“Wait,” I gasped out between shuddering breaths. “I’m fine.” What was weird was, I wasn’t lying. I felt like myself, and I could tell exactly where Duskull was in my head, despite not being there.

This was easy, and I had no idea why.

‘Lea, that thing’s trying to possess you, I need to shove him out before-’

I cut Emilie off with a grin. ‘He’s not going to get very far. I can feel him trying to look for something to grab hold of. Anything...’ I glanced down toward Sol with a smile. ‘I trusted you earlier.’ I let my eyes drift closed and fell back on the cold hard ground behind me. ‘I made a promise, and I think I know of a way to keep it.’

I heard a loud, annoyed growl from my right and felt a thump on my right shoulder and smiled even wider, before letting the world around me fade.

My own personal world rose up from the darkness, and a single, tiny black ball of goop, barely larger than the palm of my hand, scurried back behind a fence post. I could feel the abject fear and regret rolling off him in waves, as he tried, and failed to flee my mind.

I closed my eyes and imagined myself on the other side of the fence, before opening them and grinning down at the shadowy interloper. “You bit off way more than you can chew, huh?”

The mini specter lurched upwards, before diving back between the posts and scurrying away from me. He almost seemed to crawl along the ground, he was moving so slow.

I chuckled lightly to myself. “It’d almost be cute if it weren’t a bit sad. I wonder. Do you remember this place? You had to have spent some time here before you turned, but I have no idea how much of that stuck.”

The small blob didn’t respond as it scurried forward, desperately trying to reach one of the buildings. I sighed, closed my eyes, and brought my hand up before clenching it into a fist. A single, loud yell flitted through my mindscape, and I grinned as Duskull looked up at me from behind a small, stone cage. Outside, he could probably phase through the bars, but here? In a world dictated by me?

My rule was law.

I slowly walked over and knelt down to stare at the creature with narrowed eyes. “Sorry about this. I just needed to make sure you understood. Trying to possess someone is wrong, and more than a few people out there are equipped to make sure you have a very bad time.” Thinking for a second, I reached down and picked up the small, spherical prison and visualized myself with black, hollow eyes. “You wouldn’t want to have a bad time, would you?”

Duskull pressed himself to the back walls of his prison as he quickly shook his head from side to side.

I grinned before letting the stone ball dissolve into dust in my hand as I closed my fingers around the writhing ball of shadows. “Now then, you might not know it, but I believe I owe you a debt.”

The single blue dot behind Duskull’s mask kept rapidly moving between my face, and my other hand.

I sighed, already tired of being feared. “You probably don’t remember any of it, but you helped me help a friend of mine through a really tough time.”

The fire behind Duskull’s eyes stopped moving as I let my eyes start to glow.

“You gave me a gift, even if I didn’t view it as one when it happened. I think it cost you everything you had left at the time, but you didn’t mind. You just wanted to help someone close to you. I...” I sighed before looking down at the ghost with a sad smile. “I admire you, honestly. Not a lot of people or Pokémon would do what you did. None of this means much of anything to you, does it?”

Duskull didn’t break eye contact.

I sighed. “Yeah, that’s what I figured. Still though, that doesn’t change anything. I didn’t really know how I was going to do this, but I think I have a very good idea now that you’re here.” I closed my eyes and imagined myself in my mind palace.

A niggling twinge of doubt gave me pause, but as I visualized the tiny, terrified creature in the palm of my hand and Sol’s depressed, hopeful face, my decision was made for me. The bakery formed around us in an instant, and I took a seat at one of the tables. “It’s time I returned the favor and gave you a gift of my own. So just close your eyes and join me, as we take a trip down memory lane.”

I let out a sigh as I opened my eyes and glanced around the shattered chamber, before glancing to the left as a small black blob flowed into my shadow before disappearing into the caves beyond.

‘How did it go?’ Sol immediately put herself in my personal space, her eyes pleading.

“Are you alright?” Emilie asked shortly after, glaring at the dark type.

I smiled at my starter. “I’m fine. Don’t worry. I’d like to think I can handle a new ghost trying to bully me. Have SOME faith in your teaching skills.”

“Excuse me for being worried, you were out for a bit.” Emilie put her hands on my head, her eyes glowing. “He’s not still in there, right? Do I need to show a spook who’s boss?”

“Already did, don’t worry.” I pushed myself up from the ground. “I had to show him all the memories he showed me, plus all the new ones he made when he was just a ghost and not a ghost Pokémon.”

‘He’s good now then? Where is he?’ Sol whipped her head around the room, tracing every shadow.

I let out a long sigh. “To be honest, he slinked off as soon as I let him, and is probably somewhere on the island having a long, hard think about all the things he just lived through.” I grinned as I looked out a hole in the ceiling towards the moon. “Trust me when I say that it’s a lot.”

‘Oh.’ Sol sagged low, a frown on her face.

“He just needs time, okay?” I did my best to smile at her. “I could also feel guilt rolling off of him in waves, in addition to him being really overwhelmed. He’s... not exactly proud of how he’s acted these last few days.”

Sol chuckled before returning the smile. ‘That’s a good thing, at least. Means he’s got a handle on his thoughts and feelings and isn’t just an angry, vengeful ghost.’ She laughed again. ‘Honestly, that’s more of a relief than anything. I already knew he was going to be a mess after this, him taking a sabbatical for a few days isn’t out of character. Dad’s not too great with feelings.’

“Are you going to be okay?” I asked, before wincing. Legends above, that question was stupid.

Sol chuckled. ‘I will be, don’t worry. Dad’s in the driver's seat of his own mind for the most part. We can deal with everything else later, preferably with more sleep and during the day.’ She glanced at her ball.

I rolled my eyes at the over the top hint, grabbed her ball, and recalled her. “Where’s everyone else?”

“I recalled Apollo because he was dead on his feet, and Joern’s keeping watch at the entrance to make sure we don’t get jumped.” Emilie nodded towards the door. “Want to grab him and get out of here?”

I nodded once before grabbing Wally’s phone and freezing.

My gloves were gone.

How long did it take me to realize that? I don’t think I took them off, when did I lose them?

Why am I not freaking out?

I took a moment to really look at them. My nails had started to grow back. Legends above the little nubs were actually kind of cute. They still had a long way to go, but it was nice to see them. Most of the scar tissue had faded. The skin wasn’t as misshapen.

Honestly... they looked nice. Not great, but still.

I smiled to myself as I swiped down on the phone, wincing at the time. Two in the morning, great. To top it all off, we hadn’t had dinner.

I tapped the light function back on, before freezing and swiping toward messenger. May hadn’t shot me a text tonight.

A cold chill gripped my shoulders as a frown pulled at my lips.

‘Everything alright?’ Emilie asked.

I turned toward my starter and did my best to smile. “Probably nothing. I’ll call May tomorrow, she’s probably asleep now. No since in worrying-”

“Send a text. Sergei will respond if no one else is available,” Emilie ordered.

I froze, slightly taken aback, before nodding and typing my message asking if things were alright.

I instantly got a ping back and sighed. “Sergei said they got caught up in something with the variant Sandshrew, and they didn’t really have time to talk. He also said that Wayne now has a new member from the cold tribe.”

Emilie’s shoulder sagged. “Good, that’s good. Probably still a good idea to call tomorrow, though. You ready to get out of here?”

I nodded, before walking towards the shattered doors. “You have no idea.”

I pulled up Wally’s phone and tapped on Sergei’s number before taking in the sight of my full squad. Emilie was playing keep away with Joern’s bacon as the first dial tone played, and Apollo snatched it out of the air with his beak before throwing his head back and swallowing.

‘Rude! Leave some for the rest of us, old man.’ Joern reached out, only to grab air as the flying type flew juuuust a bit higher.

‘Not his fault you’re a bit dull,’ Lucas said.

Another dial tone played as a small, bundle of shadows faded through the wall. Everyone tensed slightly, before the ghost chuckled lightly and waved his hands in front of him.

‘I come in peace. I, uh. Just wanted to talk.’ The ghost shifted his gaze to look towards the frozen dark type. ‘If that’s okay, Sol?’

Sol practically beamed as a third dial tone played in my ear. ‘I’d love that.’

I smiled at the scene before freezing, my veins turning to ice in an instant and my heart practically stopping as a monotone voice played out in my ear. “The number you have dialed is currently not available. Please hang up and dial again.”