Gastly waited, prepared. The ambush was hard to prepare, but he truly believed this was it. He had perfectly hidden himself, a shadow among shadows under a tree. His breath, usually something unnecessary he just did out of habit after spending time with breathing Pokémon, was now absent, to make sure to maximize his stealth. To complete his preparations, he had already set up a few scattered broken branches.
The three female Pokémon, the Ivysaur, the Clefairy and the Jigglypuff, walked under the tree, and he grinned. He slipped down from above, and as he did he prepared the Hypnosis. When he was sure it had taken hold, he emerged from the shadow. To them, he would appear as a creature from the underworld, an horrible being of pure madness.
"Oh, Hi Gastly." The Clefairy said with a smile. "Can I help you with something?"
Ivysaur and Jigglypuff both chuckled, as the Pokémon undid his illusion "Alright, I need to know now, how? I prepared the terrain, I did not emit a sound, and I certainly looked scary."
Clefairy nodded "Scary, but not realistic. A creature of that size makes sounds your illusion lacks, and I can easily pick that up."
"I noticed Clefairy's reaction." Jigglypuff added.
The Ghost turned to the oddly colored Ivysaur, that simply shrugged "Wasn't that scary."
The last remark left Gastly physically and mentally hurt. With a slow floating movement, he returned to Charmeleon and Fearow, that were training nearby. Noting his defeated look, Fearow offered a sympathetic nod. "Defeated again?"
"They are the hardest challenge I have ever faced." He scoffed "I don't understand! How are they harder to scare than you two!"
"Well for starters they… Wait when did you scare us?" Fearow asked.
"Doesn't matter, but there must be a way. I will find their weakness."
Charmeleon stopped hitting the rock he was using as a target, reduced to chopped rubble, and scratched his head "Are you sure you need to?"
"Absolutely. It's a challenge now! That Ivysaur even said I am not that scary. I, the King of Spook, the Emperor of Fear!" Gastly replied, a fire in his eyes "I will have them scared!"
Fearow and Charmeleon looked at each other and both shrugged.
"Should we tell him that you can hear him as he prepares and Jigglypuff keeps checking what he is doing because she is worried?" Ivysaur asked "I am pretty sure he will not stop until he gets the jump on us."
"I don't know, should we tell him you are just good at hiding the fact you are scared, and that you have been sleeping in your Poké Ball for the last two days because you are terrified?" Clefairy asked in response, with a nasty grin.
"Touché." Ivysaur commented "You Clefairy are not like they describe you."
"Of course." The Star Pokémon replied, "We are a lot better. Now let me listen."
The shiny Ivysaur sighed loudly 'Why do we Ivysaur have to be the level-headed ones?' She thought with a long sigh.
"Cerulean City here we are!" Leaf shouted, a large smile on their face. Raziel and Draconix sighed in relief. Sleeping outside or in the Pokémon House was nice, but making the extra effort to reach the city would pay them back with a nice, comfy bed and food prepared by someone competent. He could swear the lunch Leaf had prepared the first day of their travel was still on his stomach. After that, both male trainers had agreed Leaf was banned from ever touching the cooking tools again.
Still, finally making it meant two things: a new Gym and, according to Giuls, a tournament all three were way too eager to take part into. Events like those weren't rare in the season, but still it was easy to miss one.
As they entered the city, Raziel could not help but notice signs of abandon. He briefly wondered if he could find any Ghosts in there, as abandoned buildings were usually a magnet for them, but he then realized that even if there were the chance of them not being Gastly were slim. 'Still something to keep in mind though.'
After sending a brief message to Giuls, they walked to the northern part of the city. She had explained to them that the tournament was the very next day, so they better sign up. With the sun already setting, they chose to do so immediately.
The man behind the stand wasn't the talkative individual Giuls had described, but rather a younger man. Still, he was very helpful, helping them compile the documents.
"So only one of you will take the battle with three Pokémon, uh?"
"Well yeah, I only have one." Raziel replied, pointing at the floating sphere of gas behind him.
"And my third team member is too… unexperienced." Draconix added. Both Leaf and Raziel snickered at that.
"Fair enough. Well, good luck for tomorrow." He said, and all three thanked him while leaving. Raziel briefly wondered where they would meet up with Giuls, when they saw her coming down the road from the Pokémon Center, with a newly caught Clefairy and… an ecstatic Ivysaur, clutching on something with a vine.
"Oh, she evolved!" Draconix commented.
"Yup!" Giuls replied with a wide smile "Just this morning. I had to come back here and update my documents too. I honestly thought she would take a bit longer. Then to celebrate I took her to do some shopping, since she seems to like it." She said, pointing at the item the Grass-type was clutching.
"How did that go? You mentioned she is still a bit bossy." Raziel asked.
"Well…"
"I want it! I WANT IT!" Ivysaur shouted, literally dragging Giuls to the item.
"You know she can't understand you, right?" Clefairy asked, looking almost with pity in her eyes at the trainer.
"I don't care! I want that!"
The Star Pokémon shook her head, and by extension basically her entire body 'Why do we Clefairy have to be the level-headed ones?' She thought with a long sigh.
"Good enough I think." Giuls concluded. The muffled laughter from Clefairy and the embarrassed scoff from Ivysaur were enough of an indication of their true opinion on how that trip went.
"Good to hear." Raziel replied, and Leaf walked onward. Looking at them side by side, Leaf was almost an entire head taller than the short tomboyish trainer.
"So, how are you doing Giuls?"
"Very good, how about you Leaf?" She asked.
She smiled, pointing at the four Poké Ball at her belt "I have already made up a decent team, I'd say. So, want to have a 'go' with me?" She asked, with a teasing tone. Giuls blushed.
"I insist that's not what I meant." She replied, with a flustered stutter. Leaf laughed and hugged her.
"Is good to see you Giuls."
"Thanks Leaf, you too."
Raziel bent his head toward Draconix "So, are they best friends or…"
"I don't know, me, Giuls and Blue didn't end up hanging out with other friends much when we were together. I guess each of us had his own friend circles when we weren't meeting up." He said, "Still weird I barely remember Leaf."
At that Giuls shrugged "You know Dracotung, is not my fault you have terrible memory."
"Why is that nickname still around…"
Giuls ignored him and continued "I expect Blue would not remember what I talk about, since his name is not in all my sentences, but you?"
"Come on, I remember most stuff, but is not like I met any of your friends, so her name didn't stick."
"That's because you never came when me and Blue organized a night for girls and boys to meet up." Giuls commented with a snark, walking closer to the trainer "And by the way, you do know I never bought the 'I have stuff to do' excuse, right?" Draconix turned bright red and Giuls sighed "Fine, I get it, going out with girls is not your thing. But then don't act surprised when you can't recognize one from your city."
Leaf smiled, lighting up the mood "Come on guys, let's focus on the present, not the past."
The tomboyish trainer turned to her, nodding. Raziel realized that was a perfect moment to change the subject, noticing the defeated look Draconix had, and instantly jumped in. "So, Giuls, you ready for the tournament?"
"With Ivysaur and Clefairy, I'm sure we can pull a win." The short-haired trainer said with a smile.
"Eh, I can say that too. I just need to add 'and Jigglypuff'." Leaf noted. "I will massacre everyone and bring home the win."
"I don't know if the fact you can say that with a smile is funny or concerning." Raziel commented "Anyway, seems we are all set I guess we can go. Dinner, sleep and then…"
"Tournament Time!" Draconix shouted with a smile.
Everyone cheered, and they headed off.
"Turns out Domino was right, one of the kids does have a Gastly." The Rocket member said, entering the main hall of their new hiding spot, a formerly abandoned house near the river "Not sure about the others, the girl has a new Poké Ball but she won't use whatever Pokémon is in it and the other one said his third Pokémon isn't experienced enough."
"And you are sure you have to leave?"
"That's what Archer said when I informed him of all the new details. Apparently, Giovanni wants a close eye on them, and is willing to send a Lieutenant and his chosen men."
His vice-Lieutenant, Kyoku, frowned "So, which of them are you following?"
"Don't know yet. I signed up to the tournament and work it out from seeing them in action. I am leaning for the Charmeleon one. Tell Proton and Petrel that I want them ready to follow the other one." He replied.
"Are you sure about them?" His sis asked.
"There isn't much of a choice, sis. You need to stay here to run the operations, and those two are the best choice left."
"… We really need better grunts."
"Tell me about it." He said, and they both chuckled "But no, I think those two will be fine. They just have to follow him, it's the kind of job they can't possibly screw up."
"If you think so…" Kyoku said with an uncertain tone "Anyway, Petrel says the IDs are ready and the masks and clothes too." She pointed to a bag nearby, similar to those commonly used by trainers "We have also prepared a few extra Pokémon." She added pointing to a belt with three Poké Ball, currently resting on a chair.
"We?" He asked with a knowing look, and Kyoku smiled back.
"Fine, I did. I just thought Raichu, Golbat and Raticate weren't enough, and depending on the ID might actually look suspicious."
The Lieutenant smiled. "Thank you, sis."
"Don't mention it frère, just make sure to not get caught and come back." She said. She then hugged him, an embrace he returned immediately. "We still owe everything to them." She continued "Make sure we pay back so we can leave."
"It's a pretty heavy debt to pay, but I will." He said back, leaving her arms "Good luck sis." He said, picking up the three Poké Ball from the belt and putting them on its own, before picking up the backpack. He put a hand in the side pocket of the bag, looking at the various fake IDs. He grimaced reading the name on one of the two that had his actual picture instead of a mask "Dragozard Drakon… I get Petrel isn't the most inventive of the surnames but damn, did he even try?"
"Your fault for choosing Dragozard to begin with."
"Oh, come on, it's a name full of meaning for us." He said, putting back the IDs.
"Doesn't mean I have to like it." She replied "Lieutenant Frant always suited you better."
The Lieutenant chuckled "My actual name should stay a secret for a mission like this. Anyway, I'm probably not gonna use it anyway." He walked away, moving to the door "Goodbye Kyoku, I'll miss you."
"Bye Frant… or should I say Dragozard?"
They both laughed, and he left, closing the door behind. Kyoku bent her head back on the chair and sighed "Stay safe, frère. I can't lose you too."
"So, where are you going next?" Giuls asked, as they all ate together.
"Well, I think after the tournament I will go for Saffron." Leaf replied "It's a tough Gym, I probably don't want to beat around the bush with that one."
"Really?" Raziel asked "I am keeping that for last, or at least close to that. With a Gengar I might have some hope, with Gastly… Cosmo would probably mop the floor with him."
"So Vermillion or Lavender and then Celadon?" Draconix asked, curious.
"Probably Vermillion. There is an event about the SS. Anne soon, and a lot of people from outside Kanto will be around. Hopefully one of them will have a Ghost and will be willing to trade it for something I can reasonably give them." The Ghost trainer replied "I trust Gastly to take me to the League, but if I can get some extra help for my team I will not refuse."
"Right, you have the toughest road ahead." Giuls commented "Not to sound like a broken record, but why Ghosts and not, I don't know, Bugs? They are both scary."
Raziel looked uncertain for a second, Giuls noted. Almost as if the question reminded him of something else. Then the look disappeared, and he answered "I always liked the paranormal. You know, spirits, apparitions, mediums, all the big deal. I guess growing in Lavender helped. When the greatest pet cemetery in the region is right next door, the city is bound to be filled to the brim with Ghost-types. And I find them… easy to understand. Easier than people." He noticed their puzzled looks and continued "Ghosts have an objective. Pranksters, vengeful spirits, a basic need to feed of emotions… You know what they want. When a Banette comes after you, you know it's because you mistreated and threw away something important. When a Gastly insists on haunting some place, you know that's where he died. When a Misdreavus jumps out from behind a curtain, you know they want to eat." He smiled, with a serious look "I like that. Ghosts sound scary, but they are the most honest of all Pokémon."
Everyone nodded "Yeah, I get it." Leaf said "I was considering getting a Gengar, you know? Any tips?"
Raziel's eyes shone brightly, and Draconix sighed. "Oh Arceus…"
Before Giuls could ask why he had reacted like that, Raziel begun to talk. An influx of information, a torrent on Gengar's behavior, favorite habitat, moves, and so on flowed from his mouth, as Leaf and Giuls looked in disbelief at the usually calm trainer getting heated in his long explanation on the behavior of the Ghost types. "You knew he would do that when she asked, didn't you?" Giuls asked.
"Yeah, I made the same mistake." Draconix said "Buckle up, we are going to be stuck here for a while." Giuls sighed, and Draconix could not help but chuckle, before returning his attention to Raziel's long monologue on the Ghost-type. Giuls did the same with a smile.
The Lieutenant observed the four trainers, a close eye on the two males. He was sitting at a table near them, one where they wouldn't notice him. He was eating methodically, looking absent minded, when in reality he was listening closely.
'A Ghost specialist, uh?' He thought, touching one of the Poké Ball 'That might make things easier. Thanks sis.' He thought, taking out the phone to send a message to Petrel and Proton. He was starting to formulate his strategy.