“I’m back!” Redi called out. “And I brought sandwiches!”

  Appearing in a flash of light, Redi popped into existence alongside Porygon in the middle of Sam’s campsite. Seeing her there, he immediately knew that any further attempts at training would be pointless.

  Typhlosion almost immediately snapped her head toward Redi. Her nose twitched with excitement as she sniffed at the scents coming from a plastic bag Redi held. Haunter zipped out of a shadow, and even Primeape looked over with interest.

  All practice effectively ceased as almost everyone gathered to eat the offered meal.

  “You’re really bringing food every time you come here, huh?” Sam said as he walked over as well.

  “Yup!” Redi patted Porygon’s head and dug through the bag to hand sandwiches to everyone asking for them. “Why wouldn’t I? I have the money and you’ve basically been living in the woods these past two weeks. Don’t you miss the luxuries of civilization? Don’t you miss eating something not made over a campfire?”

  She tauntingly held a sandwich toward Sam, and he leered at it before snatching it away, tearing its paper and ripping off a bite in the same way he had done every other time Redi came bearing gifts.

  She laughed as he fumed and enjoyed the unfortunately delicious food. Once everyone had a meal of their own, she went ahead and released her own Pokémon, too.

  Ursaring chomped down and ate half a sandwich in a single bite, and Dragonair brought her head high into the air, proudly holding it up before her “super-special” hoard of two.

  “So how’s your training been?” Sam asked as he slid down into a chair next to his camp’s unlit fire.

  Redi shrugged as she found her own seat next to him. At this point, she’d been showing up via Porygon’s Teleport often enough that he had a chair permanently reserved for her.

  “It’s been going alright,” Redi said as she bit into a sandwich of her own. “I’m trying to make as many different plans as possible for Porygon since I’m hoping that will help them get better at making decisions. For everyone else, Dragonair’s already picked up a bunch of new moves, and Ursaring is a brick, same as always.”

  “A brick,” Sam repeated.

  “Yup! A brick!” Redi said with a smile. “He’s hard to damage but extremely effective on impact! We’ll be ready for our Gym Battle soon enough, cause, well, I think I am just going to fight a Gym Trainer.”

  Sam raised an eyebrow questioningly as he made his way through the rest of his sandwich. Redi shifted around in her chair before setting her sandwich in her lap. She tried to shrug again, but Sam could tell her nonchalance was forced.

  “I don’t like Pryce,” Redi outright admitted. “I mean, I was thinking I’d just come back later with Teleport and challenge him another time, but screw that guy! I don’t care about fighting him! Word around town is that he doesn’t even think people and Pokémon can be friends. So I’m just battling a Gym Trainer and getting out of here. We’ll be taking on Morty next, and that’s a match I’m actually looking forward to.”

  Sam laughed, easily agreeing.

  “Nothing you said is wrong,” he replied. “For us, we only have a few days left until our match, but I have to face Pryce since I don’t really have a choice. Honestly, I’m a bit nervous about him recognizing us, because when it comes to Haunter’s Hypnosis—”

  “Oh, please,” Redi interrupted. “Pryce wasn’t there. How’s he supposed to know it was your Haunter that put all those trainers to sleep? You’ll be fine, Sam. Him recognizing Haunter is so unlikely that I promise that I’ll eat a shoe if he does. That way it’s a win for you no matter what!”

  “Because I’ll get to watch you eat a shoe.”

  “Because you’ll get to watch me eat a shoe,” she replied cheekily.

  Sam rolled his eyes as Redi smirked at him, and the conversation briefly went on pause and they both tore bites away from their sandwiches. Off to the side, Misdreavus floated next to Typhlosion and chewed on a treat Redi brought just for her. Rather than a full-fledged sandwich, Misdreavus had a thin, pastry-like bread covered in strong-smelling spreads that let her enjoy a variety of flavors without the need for sustenance like with everyone else’s meals.

  “Anyway, I don’t think Pryce deserves more focus than that. How’s your own training going?” Redi asked.

  “Fine. Same answer as to every other time you’ve asked this question,” Sam said. Redi stuck her tongue out at him. “Typhlosion’s better than ever. Misdreavus has picked up a few new tricks. Primeape’s still working on mastering Rage Fist, but we’re really just trying to expand everyone's current moves into new ideas and strategies.”

  “I see. I see.” Redi nodded along. “And Trevenant?”

  Sam paused mid-bite, staring into the layers of veggies and substitute meat. Trevenant hadn’t joined with the rest of the group to get food, having chosen to stay back and sit with his roots stabbed into the earth. Though a Ghost Type, he wasn’t as ethereal as the others and still needed some form of sustenance. However, he could feed himself by absorbing nutrients from the soil and the sun, but there was still a small container of chopped berries for him sitting in the bag at Redi’s side.

  “He’s... improving,” Sam said quietly. He put his sandwich down, not wanting to eat.

  Redi silently watched Sam, continuing to chew her food. She glanced over to where Trevenant sat under a tree with his eye having vanished in a state of torpor.

  When Sam didn’t speak, someone eventually interrupted. Grunting out of annoyance, Primeape stood up from where he’d been eating next to Ursaring. Grumbling to himself, he walked over to snatch the bag at Redi’s side and march up to Trevenant. The tree Pokémon’s single eye appeared once more as he looked down at Primeape, and Primeape plopped down next to him while holding up the bag.

  After a moment of silence, Trevenant did take out the container, and he began to slowly place the chopped berries into his mouth.

  “See? Improvement,” Sam said weakly.

  Redi stared at him until he let out a sigh.

  “The best way I can put it is that Trevenant is still healing,” he said, keeping his voice quiet in almost a whisper. “I’m pretty sure he came here because he didn’t know where else to go. After seeing that tree’s spirit pass, he seems to want to move on, but even though I’m trying to help him, it’s like he doesn’t want to be helped. He doesn’t have any desires. It’s like he’s just...”

  He’s just going through the motions. He’s sad.

  Sam could see the subtle signs on Trevenant’s face. Though a visage of pure wood and shadows was hard to read, the occasional slow glances and the general listlessness was far too familiar for Sam to not recognize. Trevenant was in mourning, and he didn’t know what to do about that. It was as if Trevenant recognized he needed to move on, but his very nature meant doing so was impossible.

  “I also think Trevenant is young,” Sam added, though he still spoke quietly. “I think he evolved in response to a traumatic experience before he would have otherwise. Don’t get me wrong, he’s strong, but he doesn’t have the battle experience most Pokémon would have at his level.”

  Sam had prepared for a fight against a skilled Trevenant, but against Quilava, Trevenant had really only really attacked with Horn Leech. He used no strategy other than straight offense, save for a single Forest’s Curse born of rage as well as a failed attempt at a Leech Seed during a chase.

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  The battle had been nothing more than a mix of him lashing out and a desperate attempt to defend his home. Now that he was here, Sam had been trying to help him get used to a wider variety of strategies, but all Trevenant was working with was raw, unpolished strength.

  “Pft.”

  A sudden snort from Redi saw Sam look up from his sandwich to glare at her.

  “Yeah, I don’t know what I expected,” she said, not bothering to lower her voice. “You’re overthinking things again. Just talk to him. Have a proper discussion with him now that he’s on your team.”

  “Okay, sure, I know that I should, but—”

  “No excuses! He let himself be caught by you and then stuck around, yeah? Trevenant’s on your team which means he’s your friend! If you, my friend, were in a funk, I’d try to snap you out of it—which is what I’m doing right now!”

  Redi proudly thumped her chest. Sam groaned.

  Why does she always have to be right?

  If any of his other Pokémon had been feeling as down as Trevenant, he would have gone out of his way to cheer them up, but he hadn’t helped Trevenant.

  Not yet, at least.

  He might have been trying to train Trevenant, but Sam was yet to have a proper conversation with him. He would have liked to lie to himself and say he didn’t know why he’d been putting it off, but he knew exactly why no such talk had happened.

  It’s because Trevenant reminds me too much of myself. I don’t want to have to go through all of that again.

  But he needed to, and Sam unfortunately recognized that.

  “Ugh.” He pinched his nose. “I’ve been a bad trainer.”

  “You haven’t. You’re just dumb,” Redi replied.

  Off to the side, Typhlosion looked up to voice her disagreement to both of them—she didn’t think Sam was a bad trainer, and she didn’t think he was dumb, either.

  “So what are you going to do?” Redi asked.

  “...We’ve been in this campsite for long enough, and our Gym Battle is pretty soon,” Sam said. “Ugh. Yeah, Trevenant and I need to talk. No sense in waiting, so please excuse me. I need to have a proper discussion with him, you know?”

  “Go ahead.”

  Redi replied to Sam’s cautious look with an encouraging nod, and then she bit into her sandwich and waved him off. He took a deep breath before standing up, and while everyone else ate—and while Haunter darted over to steal Sam’s remaining food—Sam cautiously walked over to meet with Trevenant.

  “Hey,” Sam said to greet the resting Pokémon once he arrived. Trevenant held a half-full container of berry chunks in one hand, and Primeape looked between both of them before walking away with a grumble. “Can we talk?”

  Trevenant’s red eye bore into Sam. The average person would have balked with a stare that strong, but at this point, Sam was just glad to see that the eye’s burning edges and mad hatred had faded away.

  “We’re planning to leave this campsite soon,” Sam said. “We’re heading back to Mahogany Town to take on the Gym Leader there and earn our seventh Gym Badge. All of our training so far has been for that purpose—earning Gym Badges, I mean. We’re traveling the region to face each and every Gym to earn the right to battle in the Conference and demonstrate our strength to the world.

  “...But a lot of that is just details. We’re training to become strong. Long story short is, do you actually want to leave with us? Or do you want to stay here? I know that you let me catch you, but I don't want to bring you away without making sure you understand, first.”

  Trevenant’s eye flickered in surprise. Since Trevenant had been captured and wasn’t leaving, most trainers would have simply left with him. But Sam couldn’t do that. He wanted Trevenant to be happy and fully understand the implications of his choice.

  “We’d be traveling far, far away from this forest, but this is supposed to be your home,” Sam continued. “You deserve to have the choice instead of just being carried away because you don’t know what else to do.”

  He paused.

  “You know, making sure you have the choice instead of being forced away was actually a big part of why my team searched you out in the first place. The rest of the forest is still here, and you should know that Redi’s already talked to the local Rangers for you. We might not be doing anything ourselves, but they know someone burned part of it down. If you want to stay, I can pull some strings to give you the chance to help out.”

  Trevenant froze.

  Sam had asked Redi to pass a note to the local Rangers, and they now knew that humans were responsible for that destruction, though they weren’t aware of who sent them that information in the first place. Although, Sam would have to admit to what he had done to get through Pryce’s line of trainers if he wanted to give Trevenant the chance he’d offered. He’d need to explain how he’d captured Trevenant, and Sam would personally get in deep trouble, but he could lean on Morty to give Trevenant the chance to hunt down those who had caused all of these problems in the first place.

  He breathed in, bracing himself for Trevenant’s reply. He couldn’t blame the Pokémon if he jumped at this option, and Trevenant genuinely looked like he was considering it. However, no such response came, and Trevenant’s eye seemed to unfocus in thought.

  “I’ll give you time. You don't have to come to a decision right away. We won’t be leaving for a few days, so until then, I’ll just be over—”

  “Trevenant,” the Pokémon interrupted. He looked up to meet Sam’s gaze with a firm look of his own.

  His voice, a mixture of a rumble and cracking wood, was resolute. Though Sam had trouble reading Trevenant, he still understood the message.

  Trevenant would stay with Sam.

  He already had time to think. He already made the decision to be caught. At this point, there was no going back now. As much as it pained him to leave the opportunity behind, he would leave the search for the arsonists to the experts, and he’d travel with Sam with that shared dream to become strong.

  “Are you sure?” Sam asked.

  Trevenant huffed—a strange noise to come from a tree—and the Pokémon glared at Sam as if annoyed he needed to ask.

  “Yeah, yeah. Thank you, Trevenant. You didn’t need to trust me, but you did anyway. I promise to you that you won’t regret it, and I promise to you that we’ll get strong together,” Sam said.

  Trevenant nodded again, and this time around, Sam could see the slightest of smiles at the corner of the Pokémon’s mouth. Trevenant flicked his eye over to Primeape, who grunted as if annoyed it had taken Trevenant this long to make the decision in the first place.

  I’m not going to say anything about it just yet, but if we can keep our current “lead” on this season, there’s something else I want to do at the end of the season. Visiting Ilex Forest again should help a few different members of the team.

  I want to learn more about Misdreavus’s old home. I want to see if we can set everything up to get an evolution out of Haunter. And for Trevenant, if we go deep enough in, we might be able to find other members of his species. Doing so might help him learn more about himself and what being a Trevenant means.

  Sam breathed out and smiled at his Pokémon.

  “Oh, and by the way, you should know that I have a book filled with information on Pokémon far more detailed than anything else, so sticking with me also means you have an advantage no other Trevenant has.”

  Trevenant blinked.

  Sam glanced back to where everyone else was still eating. They chatted happily and munched on the last few bites of their food. Haunter tore off pieces of Sam’s abandoned sandwich to toss into shadows, where many Gastly jumped out to snap up the chunks like a school of hungry Carvanha.

  When Sam started to move to return to his team’s side, he heard Trevenant pull his roots out of the earth. The Pokémon took a step closer to follow.

  “So... Trevenant,” Sam said, recognizing the opportunity for what it was. “We’re facing an Ice Type Gym Leader pretty soon, which means that you’ll be fighting at a pretty extreme disadvantage. However, you have the strength and are incredible at recovery, but those won’t be important just yet. Instead of a direct fight, I have this idea for a strategy you might like. In fact, if you’re willing, there’s this certain move you know...”

  When Sam re-entered Pryce’s Gym, the room was just as crowded as before. This time around, however, he knew what to expect thanks to Redi filling him in with the information she’d gathered around town.

  For a seventh Gym Badge battle, Pryce always used five Pokémon, as that was the minimum required by the League’s standards for a trainer’s first year Gym Challenge. Of course, Gym Leaders were always allowed to make personal exceptions, but Pryce wasn’t the kind of person to do anything but the bare requirements. He might have been a Gym Leader, but he wasn’t fond of the League.

  Thankfully, since the match would only follow the most generic of rules, Sam would have four switches for the match, the standard number that was one less than the size of the competing teams. He didn’t plan to “just” battle Pryce, he planned to put everything his team had been recently working on to use.

  In the past, their strategy had been all about inflicting status conditions. Now, based on the advice of a few more experienced trainers, they’d be relying on a far more aggressive strategy that utilized moves in new ways.

  Talking to the trainer behind the front desk, Sam confirmed his battle and was brought through a door into a long hallway. The air slowly became colder the deeper he moved within. It eventually reached the point where metal sections of the walls had a layer of frost over them, but Sam had spent weeks at the top of a freezing mountain. This wasn’t as bad as anything he had felt up there.

  Passing through one last door, he entered the Gym’s interior battlefield, stepping into a room that was basically a giant refrigerator. Enormous vents on the walls pumped in freezing air, and the field itself was covered in a thin layer of ice that’d make ground-based movement difficult—difficult, unless the Pokémon in question was an Ice Type.

  Pryce was already in position on his side of the field, and he didn’t bother to greet Sam as Sam moved to the challenger’s trainer box. No, the Gym Leader merely stood in silence and looked vaguely annoyed that he was there at all.

  “Good. You’re on time. Let’s get this over with,” Pryce said with a grunt.

  He wore a coat but no gloves, something that felt insane to Sam. Sam had brought his ugly-yet-warm jacket for this, and even the Gym Trainer off to the side that’d serve as the referee was all bundled up.

  “Trainers!” she called out, speaking after going over all of the expected rules. “Please, send out your first Pokémon!”

  Pryce stiffly tossed forward a white Pokéball, releasing a large, horned, seal-like Pokémon. Seeing the Dewgong released onto the field, Sam smiled.

  Pryce used the same Pokémon as his lead for every match, which was perfect for Sam’s plan.

  “Trevenant,” Sam named.

  His latest capture and newest friend appeared on the field. As a Grass Type, Trevenant was vulnerable to the cold, and his leaves immediately wilted in the freezing temperatures. However, he fought through it, stabbing his sharp legs into the field as he glowered at the serious-looking Dewgong leaning before him.

  And just to check...

  Pryce didn’t react. The Gym Leader was totally and utterly unaware that the target of his “failed” march north was now standing before him.

  The two Pokémon faced off, ready to begin their fight. The referee in her thick, icy-blue sweatshirt glanced between them before nodding to herself and throwing her arms into the air.

  “Begin!” she shouted.

  Pryce gave no commands. He merely nodded to his Pokémon, and a wall of water grew behind his Dewgong as it prepared a Surf.

  Yet, unfortunately for Pryce, Sam expected that very start. Pryce always started this way, calling for a Water Type move to spread water across the field and make it even more treacherous for ground-based Pokémon. Though Trevenant resisted the incoming attack, moving around would be impossible.

  If Pryce had bothered to open up with an Ice Type move, Trevenant would have been a bad choice. However, Pryce started his matches the same way every time. To him, Gym Battles were more of an obligation than a privilege, and he rarely ever changed his usual plans.

  Thanks, Redi. The information you gathered means we’ll win.

  As the wall of water grew and grew, Sam remained unworried. Trevenant only needed to land a single attack to secure their victory. Recognizing that and not wanting to delay by even a moment, Sam pointed forward to call out the move that was the first step of his plan.

  “Forest’s Curse!”

  Sam’s Team:

  Badges Earned: 6 (Mineral, Fog, Plain, Hive, Zephyr, Rising)

  Approximate Team Strength: 6 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

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

  Abilities: Anger Point, 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

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

  Abilities: Levitate

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

  (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

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

  Pokéball: Moon Ball

  Abilities: Harvest, Frisk (Developing)

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

  Redi’s Team:

  Badges Earned: 5 (Mineral, Plain, Hive, Zephyr, Rising)

  Approximate Team Strength: 5 Stars

  (Normal Type, Male, Adamant Nature +Atk/-SpA)

  Abilities: Guts, Quick Feet

  Moves: Scratch, Fury Swipes, Fire Punch, Baby-Doll Eyes, Slash, Ice Punch, Focus Energy, Thunder Punch, Hyper Beam, Rock Slide, Swords Dance, Giga Impact

  Porygon (Normal Type, Genderless, Quirky Nature +-n/a)

  Abilities: n/a

  Moves: Tackle, Sharpen, Conversion, Psybeam, Thunder Shock, Charge Beam, Discharge, Tri-Attack, Charge, Teleport, Recover, Thunder Wave

  (Dragon Type, Female, Rash Nature +SpA/-SpD)

  Abilities: Shed Skin (Developing)

  Moves: Wrap, Leer, Thunder Wave, Twister, Slam

  Auxiliary Pokémon: x2 (Tibia and Fibula), a decent number of wild (variable)

  At Home (non-battlers): ,

  Pokémon included in this chapter:

  Carvanha

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