The pair re-entered the forest from earlier, only this time, there was no mist around to impair their vision. However, at some point, they could both hear a loud commotion in the distance.

"What was that?" questioned Taki.

"I don't know," answered Louis. "Come on!"

They both began to jog towards the source of the sounds. As they got closer, it turned out that it was none other than the three ghost Pokémon that Louis encountered moments earlier. All three were scaring another individual, but then, out the corner of its eye, the Gengar spotted Louis and Taki getting closer.

"Gen! Gen-Gar Gen!" it cried.

"Haunt?" said Haunter.

Both Haunter and Gastly looked in the direction that Gengar was gazing at and saw the boy. Once again, they became scared and, very quickly, dashed out of sight. The stranger looked at the two children.

"Um...thanks...kids?!" he stuttered.

"Don't worry about them," reassured Louis.

"Just go home," he continued.

Almost immediately, the stranger took off. After he was out of sight, Louis started to chuckle. Taki grew curious at the boy's laughter.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

"Those three are calling me ghost kid, now," replied Louis.

– "Ghost kid?"

"Yep," answered the boy.

"This may surprise you, but I gave them a little scare myself," he explained.

Taki's eyes widened in stunned silence.

"...you scared a Gengar?!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, it was easy," said Louis. "Sometimes, the scariest of people are the most afraid."

Taki wondered, for a second, the origin of such a phrase.

"Is that another thing your mother taught you?" she questioned.

"No. My dad taught me that one" answered Louis.

Before taking off, Louis then remembered the bridge that had the Gyarados' nearby. Taki reassured the boy that the Pokémon sleep at night, so they could safely cross. Louis sighed in relief.

After crossing the bridge and walking for a while, the twilight glow of an evening-lit area began to permeate the darkness.

"That must be Flash Town," Louis pointed out.

As they approached, a village of wood and brick met their gaze. Its garden aromas filled the air with floral scents. Numerous cottages lined the well-kept streets, and the smell of delicious food from the inhabitants' dinner found their noses. Louis' stomach grumbled.

"Oh man," he said, quietly.

"There's no way I'm going to bed hungry."

A short walk later, Louis and Taki arrived at Louis' home. Through a window, they spotted Louis' mother. In turn, she notices Louis outside with Taki. His mother quickly dashed to the door, opened it, and looked outside.

"Louis!" she cried.

"Oh, thank goodness!"

She jogged over to Louis and hugged him tightly. A look of concern on her face displayed her worry.

"What happened to you?" she asked.

"It's so late!"

Louis, feeling a little bit unsure, looked to Taki. She signalled him to tell his mother. Then, Louis looked back to his mother.

"...it's a long story," he said.

Louis' stomach grumbled again. The demanding hunger-growl heard clearly in the mother's ears.

"Hmm, you must be starving," she said.

Minutes passed, while Louis devoured a plate of the finest curry, composed of vegetables and rice, he and Taki explained the whole situation to Louis' mother. However, she remained uncertain about the legitimacy of their story.

"So let me get this right," she started.

"You rescued this young girl's Pokémon, she invited you back to her tribe, you were given some of their tea, and now...you can suddenly talk to Pokémon?"

Louis swallowed a mouthful of food and looked to his mother.

"That's pretty much it in a nutshell," he answered.

Across the room, the family's Pidgeotto, perched on a windowsill rolled its eyes.

"Riiight," it groaned.

"Next minute he'll say that he is a Pokémon."

Louis overheard what the bird said. His eyes shifted towards the Pokémon and scowled at it.

"I heard that, Pidgeotto!" growled Louis.

Taki peered at Louis from the side.

"What did it say?" she asked.

– "*sigh* Pidgeotto said-"

Louis paused. He turned to Taki with a bewildered look on his face. Did he hear that right? Is Taki not able to hear Pokémon talk? There was only one way to find out.

"Wait. You don't know what it said?" he asked.

"...no?" replied Taki.

At that moment, Louis' eyes widened with a flabbergasted expression.

"You can't understand Pokémon?" he added.

Taki shook her head.

"No, I can't," she said.

– "Wha-...why not?"

"I wasn't able to drink the tea," answered Taki.

"It was way too bitter for me."

Louis looked on, bewildered at what Taki just explained.

"Oh…" he quietly said.

The boy suddenly had a passing thought regarding the tea.

"Wait, it was the tea that gave me this ability?" he questioned.

"I believe so," responded Taki, nodding as well.

"I don't know how, but I think it may have something to do with the feather of Ho-Oh that Chief Tanaka puts in it."

Louis' mother had trouble understanding what was going on. Louis noticed this and turned to his mother.

"I know this all sounds ridiculous, but it's true," he said.

"I really can talk to Pokémon."

"Well, you have always been a little different to everyone else," said Louis' mother.

Louis was about to object to what she said, but after a brief moment, he realised what she actually meant and stopped himself.

"...oh yeah," he said.

Taki wasn't really sure what they meant by that. Louis' mother began cleaning away her son's finished dinner. As she went to the kitchen to wash up, Taki leaned closer to Louis.

"Louis, I'm sorry but what is she talking about?" she inquired.

Louis hesitated for a moment. He felt that this answer might make him look odd.

"I'm...I'm not a Pokémon Trainer," he explained.

Taki seemed intrigued by Louis' answer.

"You're not?" she questioned.

"How come?

"I was never interested in being one," said Louis.

Taki just looked at him with a deadpan stare.

"...is that it?" she said.

"Yeah," replied Louis.

"The thing is, I never pictured myself as being a Pokémon Trainer."

"Me neither," offered Taki.

Upon saying this, the height of the moon in the clouds alerted Taki of the time.

"Hey, it's getting late..." she said.

"...I should get back home."

Louis stretched and yawned.

"Maybe catch you at the temple tomorrow?" he voiced through the satisfying yawn.

Taki nodded. She stood up and walked toward the door, but not before looking to the boy's mother.

"It was a pleasure meeting you, ...uh," she paused.

"You can call me Janet," answered Louis' mother, smiling.

Thanks for reading. Is there something you enjoyed? Can you guess what happens next? Or...what do you hope to see in future chapters? If so, go ahead and leave a review explaining any of these reasons. (Please don't leave hurtful reviews)

If you enjoy this story and don't want to miss out on future chapters, go ahead and follow/favourite this story so you will be notified when a new chapter is released. Heck, feel free to share this story with your friends.

Thanks again. See you next time