The Ghost Specialist

“I don’t get it. You just told me you wanted to catch a Ghost Type,” Redi said.

“Yeah, but this counts, too.”

“How? Mankey evolves into Primeape, and that’s a Fighting Type!”

Sam left the answer unsaid. Clearly, Redi didn’t have access to a Pokédex as advanced as his. Most people thought the only Ghost Types in Kanto were the Gastly line and Misdreavus, but there was actually one more; they just weren’t aware of the evolution.

Sure, this would have been different in the far-off region of Paldea, but Sam only ever saw the faintest of references to that place, and only ever in rare texts. Annihilape was completely unknown here, and Sam wanted to be the first trainer to use one on their team.

If I can manage to catch this, I can’t even imagine what the future response to my team will be like.

Hisuian Typhlosion? Annihilape? People won’t just be shocked at those evolutions, they won’t know how to counter them, either!

Sam already found himself cackling at the idea. Being able to catch people off guard like that was the whole reason he wanted to make use of that book. With how much more information he had at his disposal, his final team would be that much stronger than every other Ghost Type specialist in the region.

“No, really, why are you catching a Mankey?” Redi asked flatly.

“Physical attackers are important. Cyndaquil focuses on special moves. Catching a Mankey rounds off my team, and a Fighting Type will help counter any Normal Types, as they’re otherwise immune to ghosts,” he half-lied.

Redi said, “huh,” and continued to walk in silence.

Sam had been worried about his overall team strategy before, but having Mankey fill a needed role like this was a start to putting together the pieces.

The job listing Sam held in his hand led him to a street not that far from Olivine’s docks. Colorful market stalls lined its sides, and each one sold fresh produce, rare items, or custom arts and crafts. There were Oran Berries, Sitrus Berries, and a few evolutionary stones. There were even people selling furniture that they advertised were “perfect for a secret base!”

The primary purpose of this market, however, was to sell those berries. The northern route between Olivine City and Ecruteak City had a lot of farms and ranches, and the goods here were part of their usual profits.

Sam followed the job sheet’s directions to reach a specific stall filled with berries and fruits. There, a scowling woman wearing a green apron wielded a broom while sitting underneath her stall’s cloth overhang.

She spoke before Sam could say anything.

“You here to take care of it?” she said tersely.

“Yes,” Sam replied, caught off guard by the harsh tone of her voice. “You wanted me to get rid of that Mankey, right?”

Her response came in the form of her spitting on the ground and the scowl on her face deepening.

“I don’t just want you to get rid of it, I want you to make it suffer. It’s stolen too much! It deserves to hurt for everything that it’s done.”

Sam unconsciously took a step back. Redi looked unimpressed.

“Man, talk about having a stick up your butt,” she mumbled.

“Excuse me?” the woman said.

“I mean, it’s just one Pokémon? How much could it have actually done?”

The shop owner glared at Redi, and the heat of the gaze made her be the one to take a step back this time around.

“How much could it have done? How much could it have done?” the woman shouted. “That pest has stolen half of my produce, destroyed my crates, left refuse all over anything it leaves behind, and as a Mankey, the noises it makes hurt my ears! Do you even know how much one berry costs?”

“...No?” Redi offered.

“Ten dollars for a decent-sized Oran Berry. More for berries that can cure status conditions. Don’t even get me started on how much Sitrus berries cost. And this thing is constantly shoveling them all into its gullet!”

“Do you know how long it’ll take for the Mankey to show up?” Sam asked, interrupting the woman’s rant.

“Not long. Not long at all. It comes and goes. Comes and goes... So often, it comes by just to taunt—”

A grunt. The woman narrowed her eyes.

“It’s here,” she hissed.

Eyes darting around, she clenched her broom even tighter than before. Sam and Redi both went on guard, and Sam quietly had Cyndaquil leave his hood to stand on the edge of the woman’s stall.

It was silent. Mostly. The sounds of the market around them still continued. But within this specific vendor space, no one made a noise. Until, a thump. Then, a shadow appeared on the striped cloth that protected the area from the sun.

“There it is! Get it! And I don't care about property damage if you get it gone!” the woman shouted.

Sam took that as explicit permission and called for a move that had the potential to set everything on fire.

“Ember!”

Flames sparked from Cyndaquil's back as she opened her mouth and sent dozens of burning globs into the air. They struck the cloth overhang and burned through as whatever creature was on top hooted and hollered in surprise.

The Ember chased it as it rushed towards the edge of the cloth. Through the holes Cyndaquil’s move made, Sam caught the sight of coarse, whitish fur and thin limbs.

When the shadow reached the side of the overhang, a brown hand grabbed the edge of the cloth. Using that handhold, it swung around to land right within the displayed fruit.

It was definitely a Mankey, with a rounded body and two legs and arms. A thin tail extended out of the base of its back, and it had a pig-like snout underneath its red eyes.

It screeched, and the vendor owner let out a battle cry. She swung the broom down, but the Mankey hopped back. All she ended up doing was crush her own fruit and send juice spraying everywhere.

“Man! Key! Man! Key!”

Mankey were a species that were known for their impressive rage, but in this case, it didn’t seem angry. It instead just seemed to be enjoying the situation.

It taunted the woman, laughing as it did. She repeatedly swung her broom at it, and the violent motions prevented Sam from sending Cyndaquil in to attack.

“Attack it!” she shouted.

“I can’t! You’re in the way!”

“Stop! Being! So! Useless!”

She swung a few more times before pulling back, and then Sam was finally able to call for a Tackle.

Cyndaquil lunged, and Mankey finally locked its eyes onto her. Its mouth was hidden by the fur covering its face, but the way its eyes curved up told Sam it had a mocking smile.

Just like what it had done against the woman, it jumped. This time, it hopped right over where Cyndaquil lunged to land behind her, but rather than attack, it started to pick as much as it could up.

Its hands grabbed as many berries as they could hold. Its tail wrapped around a nice, juicy Sitrus Berry. Sam shouted for another Tackle the same moment the woman swung her broom again.

Mankey leaped. Cyndaquil was bonked on the head. The primate used its feet to hang from the roof while laughing, then it swung away to start hopping between the other market stall covers in an attempt to flee.

“You better chase it, boy!” the shop owner shouted.

Sam grabbed Cyndaquil—they would be faster if he was the one running—and did exactly as said.

“I’ll just be here!” Redi shouted. “Good luck with the Mankey!”

“Alright! I’ll be back!”

She and Teddiursa stayed behind as Sam dashed after the fleeing Fighting Type.

If it was a month ago, Sam wouldn't have been able to keep up. Mankey used the agility inherent of a primate to jump from stall to stall, and then from building to building. Before too long, Sam was panting, running down a street rather than the market itself, but Mankey kept going, not even bothering to check what was behind.

Thankfully, it was easy to track as it generally followed the same path as the road, but the stamina of a Fighting Type was far more than what Sam had. He could barely breathe with how much he had to run. The distance between them kept growing, except—

I refuse to fall behind! I’m catching that Mankey no matter what!

Sam had already decided this Mankey would be joining his team. Sure, it was a bit rude, but the agility it had shown off was incredibly impressive.

Block after block, Sam ran after it. It slowly became nothing more than a white blur on the horizon. Yet, even as he slowed, he finally caught sight of the exact scene he wanted; the Mankey stopped on top of a two-story house at the edge of town and slipped through a window on its upper floor.

Seeing that, Sam slowed to a jog and eventually stopped, struggling to catch his breath. It was like there was a cinderblock attached to his chest, and he found a fence to lean on to recover. While his legs were burning, he had still done it.

While it took everything out of him, Sam had somehow chased Mankey all the way to where it was staying.

“Just a...” He breathed in. “Just a minute, Cyndaquil. We’ll go inside once I’m able to walk again.”

He set her on the ground, and she nudged at his leg, worried. He did his best to give her a smile, but it honestly took several minutes before he could properly recover.

“Alright,” he said once capable again. “Here’s the plan. Mankey is inside of that house. We can’t scare it off. Instead, we have to beat it so I can catch it in a Pokéball.”

The house it had entered looked abandoned. The foliage around it was overgrown, its faint-blue paint was peeling, and most of its windows had been covered with boards.

Cyndaquil was doing her best to stand tall. The sight of the old building reminded Sam of that one Dewford mansion.

“Ready?” he said.

She nodded, doing her best to not shiver.

Together, they walked up to the front door, where a broken lock hung on the handle of the front, sliding door.

Ominous.

Heading inside, the interior was yellowed from age, and a few spiderwebs sat here and there. From the ceiling, Sam thought he saw something move, but it wasn't the Mankey. It was a green Spinarak that looked deep purple in the darkness.

“Cyndaquil,” he said.

At his acknowledgement, Cyndaquil let the flames on her back flare. The wild Spinarak didn’t approach further, warded off by the Type it was weak to.

“I saw Mankey enter a window upstairs. It's probably in the attic,” Sam said.

He briefly checked to make sure Cyndaquil was okay—she was—and he sent one last cautious glance to the Spinarak. Satisfied everything was going well, Sam moved to find a route upstairs.

While this place had a second floor, it was clear no other Pokémon had made its home here. There was nothing around to leave signs of life, and Sam was once again reminded of that mansion.

This place is a lot smaller, though.

A string hung from the ceiling in the corner. Sam recognized it as a way to pull down the ladder to the attic. It creaked when he pulled, and dust clouded the air.

He coughed. The dust drifted to the ground.

“Be careful. Stay on guard.”

Sam picked up Cyndaquil to give her an easier time of heading in first. He followed her immediately after, properly entering the attic. Here, the rafters of the building were exposed, and a few empty cardboard boxes were spread out on their sides. There weren’t any pieces of furniture in here like Sam’s own attic room, and while he didn’t see the Mankey, he did at least see the mess it had made.

Pieces of cardboard from torn-up boxes littered the floor, with those and scraps of cloth pushed together to make some sort of bed in the corner. Cores of fruits and miscellaneous seeds were thrown all around onto the ground. On one side of the room, there was a pile of berries obviously stolen from the vendor. Not just that, but there were also a few Pokédolls—stuffed toys that resembled Clefairy—scattered around as well.

One thing that suddenly stood out to Sam was the fact no other Mankey were here.

That’s strange. I could have sworn Mankey traveled in packs.

Cyndaquil let her flames burn to illuminate the room. The windows were opened, but the light they provided only reached so far in. This time around, Sam didn’t need to retrieve his flashlight, because all of his and Cyndaquil’s practice together had meant she built up her stamina. She could actually maintain her flames for a few minutes without needing to use any moves.

Without any excess movement, Sam started to make his way deeper in. He stayed on high alert, constantly looking around, but the eventual encounter didn’t come from his side. It came from directly above him.

A howl.

A screech.

Sam froze only for something wet and squishy to hit his face.

He gagged almost immediately and bent to hurriedly try to get it off. A half-chewed piece of berry slid onto the ground. It left an uncomfortable residue behind.

“Man! Key! Man! Key!”

The Mankey laughed, revealing itself to have hidden behind a thick support beam. Sam scowled and only barely managed to stop himself from calling for an Ember.

Don’t want to burn this place down.

Thankfully, though, the Mankey seemed willing to take this challenge on. It hopped down to land on the attic floor across from Cyndaquil, and it laced its fingers together to crack them, implying that this would be an easy match.

“Yeah? You’ll realize your mistake before long,” Sam said, a growl to his voice. Pointing forward to start the battle the right way, he shouted for Cyndaquil to attack first.

“Tackle!”

Cyndaquil charged, and Mankey snickered. Just like what had happened at the fruit stall, it jumped to hop over her attack.

“Turn and Smokescreen! Right into its face!”

The Fighting Type seemed more intent on playing around with Cyndaquil rather than unleashing attacks of its own. Because of that, it wasn’t ready for when Cyndaquil’s flames flared and she coughed a puff of smoke into its face.

It screeched in surprise and coughed from the sudden move. This wasn’t a cloud, just a small puff, but it was good enough to create a hindering effect.

Glad that worked.

Though an untested strategy, the impromptu Smokescreen was enough to make an opening for Cyndaquil. Sam hurriedly shouted for Ember, and she fired the attack at the Mankey, which was trying to rub the irritants off of its face.

The move struck, knocking Mankey to the ground. Blackened marks appeared on its fur from where the attack hit.

“Now, Tackle!” Sam shouted.

The Mankey looked enraged.

This time, when Cyndaquil charged, it didn’t jump. It stuck its leg out for a Low Kick that made her trip.

With Cyndaquil having fallen to the ground, Mankey bared its hands to use Scratch at her back. She cried out from the damage, but Sam had an idea.

“Flare your back!” he shouted.

After all, he had personally experienced the heat of her fire when he picked her up in Granite Cave.

Just like Sam ordered, Cyndaquil let her flames come out at full blast, and Mankey recoiled as the heat burned through its Scratch.

“It’s weakened. Let’s finish it off! Create an opening, and use Leer!”

Using its primate agility, Mankey leaped through the air to come at Cyndaquil from above. However, its eyes widened and all aggression was lost when a sudden withering glare came out towards Mankey. Instead of letting it land a powerful attack, its leap only served to deliver it right to where Cyndaquil was waiting.

Her head slammed into it right under its mouth.

Mankey cried out.

When it hit the floor, it briefly rolled around in pain before coming to a stop. Motionless, it was clear that Mankey had been rendered unable to battle.

“Great. And now for the final blow,” Sam said.

Instead of ordering for one last move, Sam reached into his pack to pull out a Pokéball—the same Pokéball he had brought to catch a Ghost Type in the mansion—and he threw it forward to let it smack Mankey on the face.

It grunted from the impact, but then the ball opened up. Red light consumed the Fighting Type to bring it into the ball.

With a clunk, it landed on the floor and shook as the Mankey tried to escape.

One shake.

Two shakes.

Sam held his breath.

In the end, the battle with Cyndaquil had tired it out enough that after the third shake, Mankey settled down, and the Pokéball clicked.

“Yes!” Sam practically roared his cheer. “We did it, Cyndaquil! We actually caught a Pokémon!”

She weakly raised a paw. Seeing that, Sam rushed to pull out his sole Potion from his back. She sighed in relief as the spray immediately began healing her wounds.

“You did absolutely incredible. You’re showing great flexibility with your limited moveset. Ember was kept constrained without burning the floor, Smokescreen came out faster than ever, and your Leer? Oh, your Leer! Now that’s a move we’ll be able to rely on for a long time.”

Embarrassed, she scratched at her cheek as Sam affectionately rubbed her head. Once he made sure she was taken care of, he went over and picked up the Pokéball that contained Mankey.

This was Sam’s first capture. It represented a powerful future if he actually managed to get it to evolve. While not a Ghost Type, it still filled a gap on his team. He just needed to figure out a way to train it, first.

Plus, we need to take on some more jobs to ensure I can afford food, and that’s going to be a problem with all the competition. Before that, we probably need to head to the Pokémon Center for healing, first. Then I can try to convince Mankey to actually stay and work with us.

But, uh, I should probably inform the lady who hired me. I actually want to be paid for this job.

Sam smiled at Cyndaquil and scooped her up. Placing her in his hood to rest, he headed back downstairs, still avoiding that Spinarak, and left to report a job well done.

According to the stall owner, there was a difference between getting rid of Mankey and capturing it with the promise of a new life. It took a lot of arguing on both Sam and Redi’s parts, but in the end, he still got paid.