Duskbound
Author's Note: This fic's premise operates on the presumption of Tommy's passing, which the English-language dub went out of its way to avoid, but was more ambiguous in the original. Enjoy the story and R&R.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to or of the Pokémon franchise.
Summary:
Allister removes his mask, if only so the friends he's made can see his face just one time.
Exploding flashes.
Wingbeats beating a wind that blew the hats off the battling Trainers' heads.
Allister fixed his mask's sockets on the envelope – a wax-sealed message delivered to his Gym via express post – giving it a silent minute before slouching away through the shadows into the privacy of the gloomy night.
His Pokémon followed. The two Gas Pokémon and the fully evolved Shadow Pokémon borrowed the letter from him, while Corsola calmly watched them play with it in a circle in the air.
"Is that an invitation to something?" John stowed Corviknight's Poké Ball.
"I bet it's a request to appear with Leon on the pitch at the Gathering of Stars!" Tommy stood slant at John's side.
Instinctively, Allister elevated his mask, but stopped, keeping it clutched to his chest.
Would it be so scary for them to see his face? Divested of the eerie mystery and rumour his status as Gym Leader publicized?
Scary for him or for them?
He suspected both.
The sight of his stark whiteness may come as an honest shock.
He didn't just hand his Rare League Card out to anyone. Unless a Trainer owned it, no person presently alive knew what he looked like under his mask (Galar's new Champion was the notable exception).
Who took the photo? Who had the audacity to hide in his locker room and take his picture without asking? It was the creepy "prey upon your vulnerabilities" behaviour Nessa warned him about, if her reproachful remarks toward ex-Chairman Rose were any indication.
The brief on the back of the card theorized a Ghost-type Pokémon might've captured the snap.
Not possible. Allister would have sensed a Ghost-type Pokémon's presence.
Here's a little-discussed fact: Ghost-type Pokémon by and large hate being around cameras because they don't register on film. Though Pokédexes and most pieces of reading equipment you can find at a Pokémon Center are designed to compensate, it's best not to rile the guts of a Gourgeist with a grudge.
Very fleetingly, Allister stressed over whether Tommy's overconfidence in his spectral gifts made him the sneaky photographer, but that didn't hold up either. The same vibes off Gastly or Haunter or Gengar or Corsola, he felt from Tommy. More importantly, Tommy was his friend!
"Hey Allister, you OK?"
For all his fears and insecurities, Allister couldn't remain in dusk forever.
Somebody unbag the onions.
"Crumbs…Here goes!"
The moonlight revealed Allister's longing stare. Sullen eyes, blanched skin, and a beauty mark below his lip.
Allister just wanted the courage to show Galar he was a normal boy.
Yet to Tommy and John, the brave kid sitting in cemeteries and hobnobbing with ghosts had never been anything else.