The Ghost Specialist

Sam reacted in the same way half the group around him reacted; he stared up at the massive building in awe. It had a domed roof, was at least a hundred-fifty feet tall, and its base took up several city blocks. It was a pinnacle of modern engineering, one that couldn’t have ever existed back on Dewford.

Redi, next to him, giggled. The tour guide and tournament organizer continued to speak as she led their group in.

“Olivine Arena is host to major events almost every other week. Between Contests, performances, shows, and even tournaments like this one, it's almost always in use and is one of Olivine’s primary attractions. In fact, elements of its design actually inspired the in-progress Battle Dome, a mysterious building located in Kanto, said to be a part of...”

Her words faded away as Sam clenched his hands. Around him, trainers grouped up, all determined and ready for what waited before them. The Johto Beginner's tournament was all about introducing novice trainers to what it was like to be a high-level trainer. This tour was part of that. This building was part of that. Everything here was a part of that.

Honestly?

It worked.

According to the tour guide, on average, at least half of the Beginner Tournament participants were successful in earning all eight Gym badges. Half of those managed to compete in the annual Silver Conference. Considering that thousands of trainers took on the Gym Circuit each year and the Silver Conference only allowed a hundred of those trainers at most, the percentage of successful trainers stood out among the participants here.

Yet, those were humbling statistics. Out of everyone here, only twenty-five percent competed in the end-season tournament on average. While beginners, each and every trainer here had the potential to be an elite, yet the vast majority would still fail to get anywhere in their first year.

Sam felt small.

Redi elbowed Sam's shoulder, and he looked over as she grinned at him.

“You know my family's built arenas, too. Nothing as big as this, but they're all impressive in their own way,” she whispered.

“Oh yeah?” Sam said. “That sounds cool. I guess you'll have plenty of time to explore and compare them to this place once I beat your team.”

“I bet I—Hey!”

Redi fumed while Sam just snickered. She stomped a foot before making a show of stepping a foot away.

The tour continued up until the thirty-two competing trainers were led to a hallway in the depths of the building. It stretched around the central, open battlefield in a ring, and it was lined with enough dressing rooms to support up to a hundred twenty-eight people.

“Each of you will have your own, private rooms to recover and strategize between matches,” the guide said. “A nurse’s station is located near each exit, where you’ll be able to pass over Pokémon for healing at the end of each battle. With thirty-two people competing, that's up to five, serious matches you'll be participating in today. Make sure you pace and heal your Pokémon appropriately if you want to win.”

Sam nodded, determined. He wasn’t going to make the same mistake he made back in the preliminaries. Around him, the other trainers reacted in the same way, and it was clear that each and every person here was determined to win.

He actually recognized a few familiar faces in the crowd. Other than Redi, Sam saw the blue-haired, Slowpoke trainer from his preliminary rounds, and Xavier was there, too. The boy from the boat almost seemed to make a point of glancing over Sam as if he weren't there, however.

Really? What did I ever do to him?

Each trainer here represented a threat Sam would have to beat, and for most of them, he had no clue what their teams were. For now, he just had Redi to beat, though he couldn’t help but still be a bit nervous about the power of the other trainers’ teams.

“There's a limit of three Pokémon in a match. Really think you and Teddiursa will be enough?” Sam whispered to Redi.

“Psh. Of course. Teddiursa is the strongest Pokémon here,” she said outright.

That earned her a few withering glares, which she responded to with a smug smirk. Sam just sighed and moved forward as the tour guide began pointing out each participant’s individual rooms.

He said goodbye to Redi and entered his, where he closed the door and sent out his two Pokémon.

“So. Redi, huh?” he mumbled.

The room was simple enough. A wall mirror. A stool. A couch. A cabinet for storage.

Sam walked over to sit on the stool and spun around to properly face his team. Cyndaquil stayed on the floor, waiting intently for what he would say, but Mankey went over to the couch and plopped down, where he bounced up and down on the padded cushions.

“Redi’s team is just Teddiursa. I know with all of our advantages, we should be able to beat him, but...”

She managed to make it through with only one Pokémon. How many other trainers here managed to do the same?

Cyndaquil walked over and raised her front paws up, and Sam recognized that as the sign she wanted to be lifted up. He bent over to heave her off the ground and place her in his lap, and she snuggled closer to his stomach and made a satisfied noise.

That was her trying to reassure him; if Cyndaquil could behave so calmly, then Sam could do the same.

“You're right. We can do this,” Sam said.

There was a smacking noise, and Sam looked over to see Mankey munching on something he had pulled out from between the cushion of the couch. The primate blinked at the sudden attention but went ahead to give Sam a thumbs-up all the same.

In a way, the sheer nonchalance of that act helped Sam feel even more confident than before.

Above his head, a television hung on the wall, and Sam picked up the remote to turn on the television to play. It was already set to the correct channel, displaying the feed of the tournament that was being broadcast nation-wide.

Sam chose not to think about how many people would be tuning in today.

On the screen, a young woman stood in the center of an arena battlefield, wearing a teal dress with a white top. Her brown hair hung down her back with two portions done up into pigtails that stood up on the sides of her head. Stands rose up behind her, though they weren't filled to the brim. This tournament didn't quite reach the same level of popularity as a League Conference, but there were enough people here that it was still crowded.

“...Hello everyone.”

The woman spoke quietly and with a small smile on her face. There was a polite applause in greetings.

“....My name is Jasmine. I am the Olivine City Gym Leader. Today, I have the h-honor of hosting the Johto Beginner's Tournament...” she said, letting her voice drift off. “It's, um, it's lovely that our great city had the chance to hold it this year...”

She looked nervous. She couldn't have been that old, probably around the same age as Brawly. Yet, where Brawly had a boisterous, can-do attitude, Jasmine didn't have quite the same presence.

Sam actually had trouble believing she was the city's Gym Leader.

Jasmine continued to speak in a soft voice as she went over the tournament's rules. Teams of up to three Pokémon were allowed to compete, and participating trainers were all required to be novices. No one who had earned a Gym Badge was allowed to sign up, but that didn't necessarily mean that these battles were simple.

Even at the lowest level, strategy could make all the difference in the world.

I have Mankey for physical attacks, and I have Cyndaquil for attacking at range. We have a basic strategy for Teddiursa, but is that going to be enough?

He grimaced, and Jasmine took a deep breath.

“T-that’s all I need to say about the rules. The tournament will start soon, but before we bring in our first trainers...”

She smiled nervously and fidgeted around to reach into a pocket in her dress. She actually grinned at the camera when she did that; it was almost as if she was proud her dress had pockets. Pulling out two Pokéballs, she tossed them into the air.

“H-here's what your Pokémon might achieve in the future! As a d-demonstration!”

A roar shook the building around Sam, and then the same sound played out of the television a second later. He almost fell from his chair out of surprise when the television screen became consumed by the metal of an enormous Pokémon. Cyndaquil shivered.

A rough but sleek body. Craggy spikes poking out at regular intervals. A head the size of a car and teeth likely capable of eating a car.

Jasmine’s Steelix was enormous, and the Pokémon immediately moved to curve itself around her protectively. She was only as tall as its head, and the rest of its snake-like body stretched out behind it several times over.

“This is Steelix, and that is Magneton,” Jasmine said with a smile.

Sam hadn't even noticed her Magneton floating in the air—his gaze was firmly locked onto the behemoth of a Steel Type.

“T-this might be the Beginner's Tournament, but each of you hold the potential to eventually compete with my team,” Jasmine said, confidence beginning to inch into her voice. “That goes for all of you, even the ones that weren't able to compete. With enough dedication and effort, any Pokémon can stand at the top! All it takes is a proper connection to fuel that growth! Believe me when I say that even the meekest of Pokémon can become powerhouses in their own right. I know from experience that all it takes is a bit of determination to reach new heights. Believe me, and I’ll believe in you. All of you are Pokémon trainers, and all of you can become elite if you really try!”

She smiled brilliantly, her eyes now properly taking on the edge an elite trainer would have.

This was a Gym Leader. Jasmine was a woman who excelled with Steel Types, someone whose Steelix seemed like an insurmountable beast.

“We'll beat her one day,” Sam declared. “And I don't mean that we’ll beat the weaker team she keeps for a low level Gym Challenge. I mean that we’ll beat her actual team, and put that Steelix in its place!”

The audience was in an uproarious cheer, celebrating their Gym Leader and her incredible Pokémon. Jasmine said a few more words to wish all the competitors luck, and then her Steelix pushed its head under her legs to scoop her up and her off the field.

Sam had goosebumps. Mankey's hands were clenched into fists. As for Cyndaquil, she stared at the now empty screen. There was a certain determined glint to her eyes.

“We know who our opponent is. We know her basic strategy. Considering she told us not to hold back...” Sam reached into his backpack to take out the New Pokédex. His Pokémon turned to him, and he grinned confidently right back.

“Let’s make a plan that’ll guarantee us a win,” he said.

A Spearow blew a Poliwag out of its water.

An Ekans squeezed the consciousness out of a Sentret.

A familiar Slowpoke crushed a Nidoran against the ground.

Then, a certain Yanma decimated a Spinarak’s attempts to build a web.

“These Pokémon...”

These Pokémon were Sam’s opponents. Every one of them fought with such skill and such fury that he almost felt out of place being here.

He had a plan against Redi, but knowing what lurked past the first round was horribly intimidating. Still, he slapped his own face to stay focused.

Bad, Sam! Only think about what comes next, not what’s after!

He needed to narrow his thoughts. His match against Redi was next.

The crowd was cheering when Sam stepped out of an entranceway onto the battlefield. It took all of his effort to not shrink in on himself. At least several hundred people were present with even more watching on the television at home. He hadn’t realized just how big the Beginner’s Tournament was, but if so many people traveled to Olivine just for the chance to compete, he felt that he shouldn’t have been surprised.

Across from him, Redi left her own exit, practically strutting when she stepped out onto the field. The grin on her face was as wide as ever, and she already clutched a Pokéball in her hand.

But, rather than move to her trainer box like Sam, she walked all the way up to where a sweatshirt-wearing referee stood at the side.

Murmurs—the people watching were confused. Sam was too, until the referee leaned down towards her.

Before the referee could stop her, Redi lunged forward and grabbed his shirt. There were a few gasps, and Sam’s hand smacked his own forehead.

Redi grabbed the referee’s shirt-pinned microphone and was now shouting into it.

“Get all your construction needs with Vermillion Construction Co.! Located in Vermillion City, its work will not leave you—ack!”

A nearby Alakazam telekinetically grabbed her. It was here to provide a psychic barrier around the battlefield if needed, but right now it was more intent on dragging Redi away. She was heaved up into the air, surrounded by a blue aura. She flailed her limbs for a second before going slack in defeat.

“Well then,” the referee said with a grunt. A few members of the audience chuckled. “Do that again, and you'll be disqualified. Understand, miss?”

The Alakazam deposited Redi in her appropriate trainer box. She sent a thumbs up to the referee in acknowledgement, but the grin on her face was not guilty in any way.

The referee sighed and somehow managed to maintain his professionalism. He cleared his throat before speaking again.

“This battle follows the same basic ruleset as all League-standard battles,” he called out in a voice that echoed over the field. “Healing items used by trainers are not allowed. Held items are allowed. Trainers have a number of available switches equal to one less than the maximum team limit; in this case, each of you can swap your active Pokémon twice without needing to wait for them to faint. The battle will progress until all of one trainer’s Pokémon are unable to continue, where the trainer with Pokémon remaining will be declared the victor. Any questions?”

He looked between Sam and Redi. Both of them shook their heads no.

“Then, without further ado...” he held up a flag in each hand, one green, one red, the two colors representing the two trainers participating in this match. “Trainer Samuel. Trainer Meredith. Please send out your Pokémon!”

Both Sam and Redi moved immediately, Redi tossing forward the Pokéball she already held, and Sam reaching into his pocket to pull out his own. Her ball opened up to send out Teddiursa, as expected. For Sam, Mankey hit the field.

The shout that would start the match came less than a second later.

“Begin!”

“Go for Fury Swipes, Teddiursa!” Redi shouted right away.

“Low Kick, as planned!” Sam yelled.

Sam’s strategy was simple: he wanted Mankey to wear down Teddiursa in melee to open up the bear to being burned at range. He was playing for the long game, where Teddiursa would be slowly worn down to grant him an eventual victory.

In other words, he was playing it safe. He didn’t want to underestimate the Normal Type in the slightest.

(Except, he kind of did.)

Mankey ran forward like an ape, hands over legs, charging right at Teddiursa. The little bear bared his claws right when Mankey dived into a slide to try to kick Teddiursa’s legs out from beneath him. However, while the attack did strike, Teddiursa only winced even through the super effective damage. Mankey’s slide came to a complete halt as his eyes widened in surprise. Then, there was a slash across his side.

Then another.

And another.

“Karate Chop!” Sam yelled.

He hoped that a strong blow would stop Teddiursa’s Fury Swipes.

Mankey struck. He desperately swung his hand forward. Just like the Low Kick from before, it did hit something, but when Sam looked closer, he saw that Teddiursa had caught Mankey’s attack.

The bear smirked. Mankey snorted, trying to hide his worry with faux-annoyance.

“Scratch!” Redi shouted.

“Leer!” Sam countered.

No longer trading speed for power, Teddiursa’s Scratch came out much more brutal than before. Mankey tried to throw him off with a Leer, but Mankey didn’t have the same experience with the move that Cyndaquil had gained from all of her spars with Delcatty. As a result, it wasn’t enough, and the Scratch tore across his face. He cried out in pain.

Ultimately, Mankey’s species tended to be more about offense than defense; they weren’t the sturdiest Pokémon around. After having already taken a brutal Fury Swipes, the Scratch forced Mankey back. He hit the ground hard, and after all that previous damage, he did not get up afterwards.

“Mankey is unable to battle!” the referee called out. “Trainer Samuel, please send out your next Pokémon!”

Sam stared at his Fighting Type in shock before turning up to look at Teddiursa. The bear was panting a bit, but he hadn’t taken that much damage. He was putting more force onto his right leg rather than his left leg after taking that Low Kick, but the scuff left from the attack didn’t look serious enough to actually warrant a change in how he fought.

That was so fast.

Redi was living up to what she had said. She was having Teddiursa throw his entire raw power into this battle, and she was showing off the strength needed to get through the preliminaries without losing. Teddiursa might have been just one Pokémon, but where his stamina was limited, Redi could focus all of her training entirely on him. Individually, he outclassed both of Sam’s Pokémon.

Mankey still managed to land Low Kick. We’ll need to hope that was enough to weigh the odds in Cyndaquil’s favor.

“Giving up, Sammy-boy?” Redi shouted in a sing-song voice, taunting Sam as he stared at the field without making a move.

Sam scowled and returned his Pokémon. He didn’t react more than that out of fear that the awful nickname would stick.

“Cyndaquil!”

Replacing Mankey on the field was Sam’s sole other Pokémon. Cyndaquil appeared and paused, recognizing how Teddiursa looked less damaged than planned.

“Continue!” the referee called out.

Sam was quick to throw up a hand, pointing forward as he yelled for Cyndaquil to use her first move.

“Smokescreen!”

Meanwhile, Redi maintained her grin and shouted for the same attack from before.

“Fury Swipes!”

Cyndaquil’s back blazed bright, and she exhaled out a plume of smoke from her mouth. The field became obscured by a black cloud, hiding both Cyndaquil and Teddiursa from within.

Then, a flash. Faint wisps of heat glowed inside the Smokescreen as Teddiursa cried out in pain.

Ember. Good, she remembered the strategy.

Sam clenched his fists and tried his best to figure out what was happening inside of the smoke.

The Smokescreen wasn’t thick enough to completely block his view of Redi, but she did become a shadowy figure with only the barest hint of details on her face. Still, it was pretty obvious that her focus was entirely locked onto the battle as well. She shouted out a command while staring into the smoke.

“When you’re hit, run in that direction and use Scratch!”

Sam grimaced. Cyndaquil could move and attack, but her actual speed still wasn’t that great. There had been some minor improvements since her tie against Yanma, but not enough to make a difference.

So, he bit his tongue. He chose not to speak, letting Cyndaquil decide when to use Ember on her own. He hoped making it less obvious for Teddiursa would help, but at the same time, it meant he was just standing there and waiting.

Seconds passed. Sam could smell the acrid scent of Cyndaquil’s Smokescreen in the air. Everyone focused intently on the cloud, until—

“Run!” Sam shouted.

There was the glow of an Ember. The sound of back paws crunching over a dirt field. Sam had yelled to try to get Cyndaquil to flee, but his order came too late.

Ember hit, but it gave away Cyndaquil’s position to Teddiursa. Sam could hear her shout as a Scratch landed across her body, and a growl from Teddiursa had him carry through that attack to toss her out of her smoke in a puff. This time around, she did land on her feet—an improvement from her battle against Buck and his Makuhita. However, she wasn’t alone. Teddiursa exited the smoke after her.

He was charging. The small bear Pokémon had both of his claws held up high, ready to unleash his Fury Swipes the moment he was in range. Redi had pulled the same trick of not calling for an attack—why would she need to if Teddiursa only knew two moves? As for Cyndaquil, she was panting. Scratch might be a weak attack in high-level matches, but here, Teddiursa was strong enough that each Scratch were painful blows.

One solid attack, and Cyndaquil would likely faint. Teddiursa was injured, but not to the point where one Ember would finish him off. Not just that, but Teddiursa wasn’t burned, either. There was nothing reducing his physical power, and nothing that made him more tired out than normal.

Sam had to pull out something wild if he wanted to win. Thankfully, he at least maybe had something in his back pocket.

“Leer!” he said quickly. “And then...”

Sam gulped.

“Flame Wheel.”

Cyndaquil hadn’t been able to master the move just yet, but if there was ever a time to do so, it was now.

Teddiursa’s charge almost fell flat as Cyndaquil sent a devastating glare towards Teddiursa. The little bear seemed shocked that she could look at him in such a way, and he stumbled slightly while rushing over the ground. The delay wasn’t enough to affect the power of the incoming move, but it was just enough to give Cyndaquil time to act.

She jumped. She didn’t leap forward, but she jumped up into the air. As if preparing for a Tackle, she brought her head down, but then she continued that movement by pulling herself into a ball.

Flame Wheel failed at first. Cyndaquil started to fall, rotating in the air without much happening. The flames on her back were blasting out in full force, yet they weren’t wrapping around her like the move required.

However, when she hit the ground, it was like a match striking the side of its box. Flames gathered on the ground and were pulled up and around her with every spin. She stayed in place, but every spin made more and more fire circle her and join her in this attacking move.

“Yes! You did it!” Sam called out.

Honestly, he had never felt more proud.

Eventually, the rate at which she was spinning was too much, and Cyndaquil practically exploded forth. She left flames in her wake as she shot right at Teddiursa, who was starting to nervously take a few steps back. Her Flame Wheel slammed into his chest, hurting him with the impact and proceeding to burn his brown hair.

Then, Redi called out.

Sam had heard the line she used once before.

“Push through and punch them in the face!”

Teddiursa should have fainted. Specifically, if Teddiursa was at the same level as Cyndaquil, he would have fainted, but Redi’s training over the past few days meant he now surpassed her. As a result, he roared as Cyndaquil ground fire into his chest, clasping his arms around her body as if going for a tight hug. The pressure squeezed her until she stopped, and Teddiursa grinned at her shocked face.

He threw her into the ground.

He threw her into the ground!

All it took was one more shout from Redi, one shout of “Do it,” for Teddiursa to lunge forward and unleash a Fury Swipes against Cyndaquil’s prone form.

The tips of Teddiursa’s claws glinted in the midday sunlight. Raw, unadulterated Normal Type energy coursed through them as he put his everything into this attack.

Sam called for an Ember, but it was pointless. The move came out before Cyndaquil got the chance to react. She wasn’t great in melee combat, only really having Tackle—and now Flame Wheel—at her disposal. As it stood, she was helpless under Teddiursa’s assault. Within only a handful of seconds, he pulled back from the unmoving Pokémon on the ground.

“Cyndaquil is unable to battle. Trainer Samuel has no more usable Pokémon. Trainer Meredith wins!” the referee called out.

Sam stared, slack-jawed. He lost. Mankey had the Type advantage. Cyndaquil’s flames should have been too hot for Teddiursa to handle. Heck, he had two Pokémon to Redi’s one!

Yet, she had pulled through. Teddiursa panted, heavily injured, the only Pokémon left standing.

Neither Redi nor Sam immediately returned their Pokémon. The audience cheered, and the Smokescreen slowly dissipated. Eventually, it faded away enough so that Sam could see Redi’s face.

Her eyes were red. She rubbed her arm against her face. She was doing her best to muster a smile and failing to do so.

He touched his own eyes. Moisture came off onto his fingers.

I lost.

The words hit him like a truck. Robotically, he returned Cyndaquil back to her Pokéball.

Redi moved onto the field, her own movements coming rather stiff. She scooped up Teddiursa in one arm, where he sat like a young child.

Sam followed, dazed. When he met Redi, he heard a question he hadn’t expected her to ask.

“...We’re still friends, right?”

He blinked. She was genuinely on the verge of tears. The whole idea of no longer being friends just because of one battle was so ridiculous that he...

That he...

Sam giggled.

“Yeah?” he said, speaking as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Of course we’re still friends! Just because I lost doesn’t mean I’m going to stop hanging out with you! Teddiursa was incredible. Mankey was incredible. Cyndaquil was even better—I mean, she figured out Flame Wheel! Did your Pokémon figure out an attack mid-battle?”

He grinned at her, a little smug. Redi let loose a hiccuping laugh, herself.

“Alright,” she said, a proper grin returning to her face. “Great match, Sam!”

He clasped her free hand and shook.

“It really was,” he said.

Redi wiped her eyes one more time as Sam smiled, and the two of them waved to the audience before moving off the field.

He might have been eliminated in the very first round of the tournament, but Redi hadn’t. She still had a chance to win. No matter what, only one of them would have advanced anyway, but Sam still had fun. He would have plenty of chances to do better in the future.

And he would dedicate himself to ensure that he would never lose again. A loss like this would only happen once.

Sam would make sure of it.