“When your mom first came to me and told me she was pregnant, I was shocked. She was young, but she wanted a child, and she told me she didn’t want her kid to grow up on their own. She wanted her son to have a family, an entire family, so after years of silence, she reached out, and she eventually joined me to settle in Dewford Town.

  “She always talked about all these great plans she had for you. She had so many potential names, too. I can’t say I remember all of them, but I jokingly offered up ‘Samuel’ one day. It wasn’t until weeks later that I learned that was the name she chose!”

  The man in the bed laughed to himself, though his laughs quickly gave way to wheezing coughs under his breathing mask. It was honestly a miracle he was managing to stay awake. He looked so thin, and Sam’s memories of these events were not pleasant. They had found him in his home after a heart attack, and it’d been so long since he’d seen a doctor that all of his underlying health conditions meant—

  No. It’s not worth thinking about that.

  Slowly, Sam sat in a chair that had been placed next to his grandfather. His grandfather, head resting on a pillow, turned to look at him.

  He placed a hand on Sam’s and squeezed. Sam knew it was meant to be reassuring, but there was hardly any of the pressure to it unlike his usual grip.

  “I didn’t think much of it at the time,” his grandfather continued, gaze locked onto Sam. “The name ‘Sam’ isn’t uncommon—especially not ‘Samuel!’ Not when there’s someone so famous named that exactly that making waves out there. No, my reasoning was the same as so many others’, but it was truly just a coincidence. Your birth was the second happiest day of my life, right after your mother’s, of course.

  “But, more than anything else, I was just happy to have a family again.”

  His grandfather’s gaze drifted away from Sam, and his expression slowly fell.

  “Then, your father passed. And so did so many of my Pokémon. I stopped taking care of myself, but I did everything in my power to take care of my daughter and you,” his grandfather said. “And then, coincidences began to build up. I got a little suspicious. It wasn’t until you were seven and you started asking me about the Ghost Type that I finally put together the clues.”

  Sam’s throat felt dry. Every breath he took caused his body to shake. He stared at the form of his grandfather, still alive, even as his grandfather turned his head to look right into his eyes.

  “Hi, Sam,” Richard Greyson, Sam’s grandfather, said. “Gah. I really was a little prick back then, wasn’t I?”

  “Grandpa,” Sam choked out.

  His words were met with a laugh.

  “Oh, none of that!” His grandfather waved a hand. “Why do you have to look so sad? It’s me! Your grandfather! Your old, old man!”

  His grandfather’s tired face curved up into a grin, and despite everything going on, Sam let out an empty laugh. In the background, the machines quietly hummed, and the consistent beat of a heart monitor pulsed through the air.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” Sam whispered.

  “Tell you what?”

  “That you knew me. That you’re from another world.”

  “Oh, that?” His grandfather smacked his lips. “Wasn’t important. Didn’t make sense to bring it up. There was a lot going on, even back then.”

  Sam sent his grandfather a look, the same look he always sent the man whenever he was being too vague. His grandfather saw that, and just like how he reacted to so many things, he simply chose to let out a loud, belly-deep laugh.

  “Come on, now! You’re taunting me even here?”

  But Sam kept it up, and his grandfather’s smile faded away. Eventually, he breathed out, faced the ceiling, and let his head sink into his pillow.

  It took a full minute for him to talk again.

  “I didn’t want to overcomplicate things,” his grandfather said quietly. “I wanted you and your mother to be happy. It didn’t make sense to bring it up. It’s easier to keep things simple, and I thought... I thought that if I never said anything, you would never have to go through all of that.

  “Guess I was wrong.”

  He barked out a laugh.

  “And mom?” Sam asked.

  “What about her?”

  “Does she know?”

  The pause was slight, but it was definitely there.

  “No. Not completely, I think. She has her hints—I wasn’t exactly the ‘usual’ father, I’d say. I suspect she suspects, but she never approached me, and I didn’t say anything. Knowing her, her logic was probably the same as mine. She didn’t want to complicate things. I think she just wanted to enjoy her family and her home.”

  Sam quietly nodded. He didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t sure if he could speak, and how was he supposed to? Having a second chance to talk had never been in his plans.

  His grandfather had always been hearty. The man was jolly in more ways than one. He was a solid oak of a person, but that oak had withered.

  Right now, he looked weak.

  “I remember, way back when, I once told you I’d answer any questions you’d give me,” his grandfather said quietly. “I guess I never put a limit on that, did I? So how about we continue here?”

  He grinned.

  Rubbing his eyes, Sam did his best to nod, and it took him a bit to figure out what questions he wanted to ask—what questions he needed to ask.

  “Professor Oak,” Sam said, settling on that topic even as much as he hated it. “Why did he never reach out to us? Even someone who said they were your friend, Doctor Hale, was surprised you had passed. What happened to all of them?”

  “Ah. Really decided to hit home with that question, huh?” His grandfather’s smile became more strained. “Truth is, we haven’t talked in years. Most of the people I know are from Kanto. We exchanged a few letters after I moved to Dewford, but outside that...”

  His voice trailed off.

  “I guess we just got too busy. Didn’t bother to keep in contact.”

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  He didn’t look at Sam. He almost seemed ashamed. But Sam could tell it was more than that.

  He had grown up with the man. He could always tell when his grandfather lied.

  “Grandpa,” Sam said, voice and look serious.

  When his grandfather’s eyes flicked over to him, the old man sighed.

  “Alright. You got me. Your old-old man wasn’t telling the complete truth,” he said. “Yes, we fell out of contact, but it isn’t their fault. I just... stopped. I was worried. I didn’t—”

  His body shook when he breathed in.

  “I remember what happened in the Ilex Forest that day. Nothing went to plan. With so much of the forest being destroyed, and with Sammy getting hurt... I didn’t want to risk it. I knew how it was meant to go. After all, my world? My old one? It knew quite a bit about this one, but those were just stories. Yet all those stories had happy endings. I didn’t want... to ruin that.”

  “So you cut yourself off,” Sam concluded. “You didn’t want to spread butterflies.”

  “It was one of the reasons I was so resistant to letting your mother go out on her journey, and that cost me years of her life,” he said mournfully. “Sam. I know how much you looked up to me, but I’m sorry to say—your old-old man’s a coward!”

  He laughed, but his laughter lacked any sign of joy.

  Sam looked over his grandfather. He could tell just how little energy the old man had left. Even just talking was taking a lot out of him, but saying that? He looked as though he had just taken a blow to his chest.

  “You’re not a coward,” Sam said.

  His grandfather opened his mouth to try to deny that, but Sam kept talking.

  “Back then, you never hesitated. You always threw yourself into action. Were you dumb? Yeah, a little bit. I mean, you never once followed through with any plan! But that doesn’t change what you did. It doesn’t change your decisiveness. At every chance you got, you stepped forward. Even though you told me you had selfish goals, you always worked solely to protect your friends.”

  Sam did not hesitate. He stared his grandfather in the eye, pouring every ounce of meaning into his words. And to that, his grandfather’s lower lip shook. He seemed like he wanted to say something, anything, but he instead brought up a shaking arm to wipe the tears out of his eyes.

  “Th-thank you, Sam. I think I’ve been waiting my whole life to hear that. Do you—”

  “I have one more question.”

  The room was quiet. Even the machines seemed to pause.

  “The New Pokédex was in your attic,” Sam said. “Who sent it to you?”

  For a long, long time, his grandfather was silent. He did not respond. He only stared, unblinking, at Sam.

  For a second, Sam almost started to worry that that had been it, but then the slightest of smiles returned to his old-old man’s face.

  “No one,” his grandfather said.

  “What? But it was wrapped up in a mail—”

  “I wrote it.”

  Sam choked.

  “The New Pokédex was... I suppose it was a hope of mine. Some secret desire to make an impact, even as foolhardy as I thought that was. See, I didn’t exactly come here empty-handed. I had a device on me from my old world. Jolt helped keep it charged, and I had downloaded this application filled to the brim with knowledge on all things Pokémon.

  “But those kinds of devices don’t last forever, and I didn’t have the know-how to repair it nor the willingness to give it to someone who did,” he continued. “So one day, I sat down, and I... spent a few weeks recording everything it had. Not everything, but everything about Pokémon. I hoped that... I’m not sure. I hoped that when I sent it off, maybe something good would happen for once.”

  “You said you were afraid of spreading butterflies,” Sam whispered.

  “I was. And even now, I’m not sure why I did that.”

  Sam let his grandfather’s words sink in.

  “So that’s why it’s so detailed,” he mumbled. “Because it has otherworldly information. And that’s also why there was nothing about Legendary—”

  “What?” His grandfather fought to sit up. “No, I included information on Legendary Pokémon. They weren’t in it?”

  His grandfather stared at him in disbelief until understanding seemed to light up his tired eyes, and he then let out a short laugh.

  “Oh. I see. He really...!”

  He then laughed even harder, with the sound eventually developing into coughs.

  “Who did you send it to?” Sam asked, leaning closer.

  “If you don’t know, then I’m not going to tell you. That’s something I’ll leave you to figure out,” his grandfather said with a smirk. “So! Other than that, any further questions for your old-old man?”

  “Maybe just why you kept thinking I’d recognize your name?”

  The response to that was amusement. Something glimmered in his grandfather’s eyes. The smirk on his face spoke of Sam falling for a prank that his grandfather had forgotten he’d even made.

  “My name? Hah! It was a bit of a joke to myself. I was in a new world, so I wanted a new me. I chose a name from a comic book—I liked the character. I thought he was cool! And, I suppose looking back on it, I thought I could leech off those jokes about him having a great—”

  He interrupted himself with a more purposeful cough this time around.

  “But it’s more that I appreciated the character’s backstory,” he said quickly. “I wanted to be the same as him—someone able to strike off on his own and succeed.”

  “So your name isn’t Richard Greyson?” Sam asked.

  His grandfather shook his head.

  “At this point, it is my name. After all, it’s the name I’ve gone by my whole adult life. And if I try to remember what I used to be called, I can’t...” His eyes briefly lost their focus. “I’m just me. I’m Richard Greyson.”

  And then he laughed at the joke Sam didn’t get.

  For a while, Sam just sat there. He didn’t have anything else to ask, and his grandfather’s hand still rested on his own. What else was he supposed to say? What else was he supposed to bother him with? Was he supposed to talk about Celebi, or was he supposed to warn his grandfather about his impending—

  “Now then,” his grandfather said, interrupting Sam’s train of thought. “That’s enough about me. What about you? I can tell it’s been a bit. What have you been up to? Give me all of the spoilers.”

  Sam had to wipe his eyes. His grandfather did his best to lean in.

  “Me? I... finally started my journey.”

  “You did? With Cyndaquil?”

  “Yeah. Do you want to hear about it?”

  A brilliant smile crossed his grandfather’s face.

  “Of course I do! You’re my grandson. I want to hear about everything you’ve been up to more than anything else.”

  Finally, Sam laughed, truly laughed, feeling a weight in his chest that he didn’t know he had completely disappear. He didn’t wait; he went right into it. With such an eager audience, he spoke of all the wonderful Pokémon on his team, all of the amazing people he’d met, and all of the incredible adventures they’d had together.

  Sam talked to his grandfather through the rest of the night.

  When Sam emerged back in his camp, he stepped out of the bushes with Gengar hiding in his shadow. The newly evolved Pokémon stayed in the darkness, and Sam silently took in the scene taking place before him.

  It was a stand-off.

  Annihilape stayed in place but was raging, barely keeping his anger under control. Drakloak was at his side, violently snapping her head at the two Pokémon in front of her while doing her best to resist lashing out. Opposite to them, Typhlosion was trying her hardest to persuade them to stay back. All the while, Mismagius floated behind her. There were tears in the Ghost Type’s eyes, but Mismagius didn’t seem to be fully there. Her gaze was unfocused, and Sam could tell she was lost in memory.

  Yet, despite how torn up she looked, there was a hardness to her expression, as if she was forcing herself to accept that she had done what needed to be done.

  The only Pokémon not involved in this were Trevenant and Dreepy, who stood and floated off to the side, watching the exchange. Above, without Gengar leading them, the Gastly were divided. They either supported or hated Mismagius’s decision. Shadows writhed with the horde split in two.

  So focused on the argument taking place, none of the Pokémon noticed Sam step into the campsite. They all shouted at each other, barely resisting using their moves, and the archway in the back was completely gone at this point. It had never truly been there, after all.

  But, eventually, out of all of the Pokémon here, only one noticed Sam’s presence. A surprised squeak pierced through the air, and Dreepy shot over to slam into his chest.

  “It’s nice to see you, too,” Sam said.

  He smiled as he hugged the small Dragon Type. He made sure to rub Dreepy’s head, and the tiny Pokémon let out purrs.

  Immediately, the stand-off went completely and utterly still, and above them all, every single Gastly turned their head. The swarm of unevolved Ghost Types didn’t wait to rush Sam excitedly, but before they could spiral in a storm around him, darkness exploded out from beneath Sam’s feet.

  Gengar had to dramatically show off his evolution, after all.

  With that, just about every Gastly cried out in celebration. Likely, for miles away, anyone nearby would have had shivers sent down their spine. And, things weren’t done there. Sam had to force himself to say nothing when several of the Gastly proceeded to glow.

  It seemed that the few ready to evolve had been waiting just for him.

  With the swarm of Gastly and newly evolved Haunter now being properly distracted by Gengar’s brags, Sam was able to bring his gaze to the rest of his team, right toward the core members he had come here to train with. The haunting celebrations of the Ghost Types above their heads were almost musical, but the sound hardly mattered.

  Drakloak looked like she wanted to collapse out of relief. Annihilape breathed out, immediately pulling back on his rage to calm down. Trevenant nodded once, acting as if this was the only possible outcome, and Typhlosion looked as though she was about to cry.

  But Mismagius. Poor, lonely, Mismagius. Her gaze focused as she turned toward Sam, and her expression became what he could only describe as desperate hope.

  When he met her gaze, they both stared, only looking at one another from across the clearing.

  He smiled.

  “Hi, Misdreavus,” Sam whispered. “I’m back.”

  Mismagius burst into tears.

  Before anyone could do anything else, she rushed him, basically falling onto him. She draped her arms over his shoulders and let her head fall back as she let out everything at once, releasing a horrible wail.

  Sam hugged her just the same.

  “I’m sorry.”

  Everyone but Typhlosion looked on, confused.

  “Everyone,” Sam said, barely managing to speak even after he pulled away. “I can explain, but I want you to know that Mismagius did what she had to do.”

  He breathed in.

  “The important part is, I’m back, and I have a wild story to share with you. And more than that, more than anything else...”

  For once, Sam felt truly confident.

  “And more than anything else,” he continued. “I’m ready. I’m ready for anything the world throws at us. Come here. Let me explain, but also remember we have plenty of time. We’ll be training as much as possible over the coming weeks, which means we have more than enough time to finish twice as strong as we started.

  “So I promise you,” Sam said, “once the season is over, we’ll have the strength we need, and with that, we will win the Conference.”

  After all, even with everything Sam had gone through, only a handful of minutes had passed. He was back with his team. He was armed with information. And with that experience under his belt and all of the knowledge he had from his grandfather’s New Pokédex, Sam knew in his heart that he and his team would sweep through any challenge sent their way.

  End of Chapter 142. Very final line.

  Thank you so, so much for reading. With this, the “journey” arc has ended. There will be a break next week, but we will pick back up on Tuesday, May 6th for the start of the Silver Conference.

  But before then, a poll for the next fiction will be posted on Tuesday, April 29th.

  Sam’s Team:

  Badges Earned: 8 (Mineral, Fog, Plain, Hive, Zephyr, Rising, Glacier, Storm)

  Approximate Team Strength: 8 Stars

  (Fire / Ghost Type, Female, Timid Nature +Spe/-Atk)

  Abilities: Blaze

  Held Item: Charcoal

  Moves: Tackle, Leer, Smokescreen, Ember, Flame Wheel, Curse, Will-O-Wisp, Incinerate, Detect, Quick Attack, Swift, Flame Charge, Flamethrower, Double Team, Infernal Parade, Confuse Ray, Hex, Shadow Ball, Night Shade, Shadow Claw, Agility, Blast Burn

  (Fighting / Ghost Type, Male, Impish Nature +Def/-SpA)

  Abilities: Vital Spirit

  Moves: Scratch, Leer, Low Kick, Karate Chop, Fury Swipes, Assurance, Ice Punch, Fire Punch, Cross Chop, Curse, Brick Break, Rock Smash, Rock Slide, Bulk Up, Rage, Rage Fist, Close Combat

  (Ghost / Poison Type, Male, Naive Nature +Spe/-SpD)

  Abilities: n/a

  Moves: Hypnosis, Lick, Confuse Ray, Spite, Mean Look, Hex, Shadow Punch, Night Shade, Acid Spray, Ominous Wind, Shadow Ball, Dream Eater, Nightmare, Curse

  Mismagius (Ghost Type, Female, Hasty Nature +Spe/-Def)

  Pokéball: Friend Ball

  Abilities: Levitate

  Moves: Growl, Psywave, Astonish, Confusion, Confuse Ray, Mean Look, Night Shade, Shadow Sneak, Shadow Ball, Nasty Plot, Psybeam, Will-O-Wisp, Psychic, Hex, Power Gem, Pain Split

  Trevenant (Ghost / Grass Type, Male, Quiet Nature +SpA/-Spe)

  Pokéball: Moon Ball

  Abilities: Harvest, Frisk (Developing)

  Held Item: Sitrus Berry

  Moves: Horn Leech, Tackle, Confuse Ray, Astonish, Growth, Ingrain, Leech Seed, Forest’s Curse, Shadow Claw, Phantom Force

  Drakloak (Dragon / Ghost Type, Female, Serious Nature, +-n/a)

  Pokéball: n/a

  Abilities: Infiltrator (Developing)

  Moves: Astonish, Infestation, Quick Attack, Bite, Lock-On, Agility, Double Hit, U-Turn, Phantom Force, Take Down, Dragon Pulse

  Dreepy (Dragon / Ghost Type, Male, Rash Nature, +SpA/-SpD) [Partnered with Drakloak]

  Pokéball: n/a

  Abilities: Clear Body (Developing)

  Moves: Astonish, Infestation, Quick Attack, Bite

  Auxiliary Pokémon: A gathering of , a handful of

  At Home (non-battlers): ,

  At Carl’s Ranch: (more than twenty), (Annihilape’s brother)

  Pokémon included in this chapter:

  Celebi

  huge thank you to everyone reading! Your support keeps this story going.

  Next Chapter: Chapter 155 on Tuesday, 5/6