Spirits of Mt Pyre, Chapter 63

I took a big bite out of my sandwich, much to the envy of Vulpix. After having my Pokemon treated at the center, I said my farewells to Winona and the local Joy, setting off for Lilycove City at last. Routes 120 and 121 were between the two cities, but it was alright in my book. Unlike the western side of Hoenn, these routes were calm and serene. How else was I able to take a break in the middle of Route 120 to enjoy a late lunch? After another bite, Vulpix's pleas for a nibble got the better of me.

"One bite only," I warned her, without reason. The second the sandwich was offered, she promptly snatched the entire thing out of my hand and ran off with it.

"Vulpix! Get back here!" I yelled after her.

The small fox stopped a short ways down the road, turning to face me before she devoured what was left my lunch. I would've scolded her for that, but fortunately I had another in my bag to enjoy. I looked out over Route 120 as I ate, it being one of the few roads in Hoenn that sloped down. Several bridges crossing over small lakes were ahead of me, and I could see a number of people on them. Fishermen, mainly, all trying to catch Pokemon for their collection. The last critter I fished out of a river, Feebas, stayed behind in the storage system. I said I wouldn't leave him behind, but I sure wasn't going to carry around a Pokemon that couldn't contribute to the team. To replace him, I chose Clefairy, whom had suffered most of my journey locked away in the storage system. Bug types wouldn't get me very far anymore, so I had to start looking into new ways to do battle.

And what better way to do that than to participate in a practice bout? That idea firmly rooted in my mind, I gobbled up the last trace of that sandwich and jumped to my feet. Vulpix rejoined my side, no longer fearing repercussions for eating my food, and we set off. Rather than hide out amidst the tall grass, we proudly strolled through the middle of the road, begging for a Pokemon battle challenge. Thus we were granted our wish, from a boy dressed in a black get up that reminded me of Koga.

"You are a Pokemon Trainer, right?" He kept his face covered with a mask. I found it adorable, especially considering he was somehow shorter than me!

"That I am!" I offered my hand to the boy, who was left a bit stunned by the gesture. "I'm Star, and you are?"

"Um... Keigo," he muttered, his confidence lost.

"Well, nice to meet you, Keigo!" Because he didn't take my hand, I instead ruffled his hair a bit, like any adult would do a kid. He didn't take kindly to it, either.

"I challenge you to the Pokemon battle!"

"Oh, good! I was looking for someone to battle!" I picked out Clefairy's Pokeball from my belt, and took a few steps back. "Ready when you are, Keigo!"

Keigo dropped his Pokeball, releasing a purple Pokemon I hadn't seen in quite some time: a Koffing. I showed off my Pokeball chucking skills, and released Clefairy, who for the first time in a long while was able to breathe in free air. Her slight confusion was to be expected: last time she was out, it was still summer. Still, once her eyes locked with the Koffing, she knew what had to be done.

"Koffing, start with Sludge!"

"Clefairy, Doubleslap!"

Koffing hovered slightly higher in the air, taking aim before coughing up a glob of black spit at Clefairy. She was able to avoid it easily by bouncing around, almost like a balloon. She closed in on Koffing, and delivered a pair of slaps in quick succession, knocking the Pokemon back a ways. Koffing shook off the attack, and the battle continued.

"Koffing, Smokescreen!"

The purple critter belched out thick smoke from every pore on its body, clouding the battlefield and blinding not only myself, but Clefairy as well.

"Clefairy, Sing!"

I still couldn't see her, but I heard Clefairy break into a serene lullaby. The power of her voice was lulling even Vulpix to sleep, so Koffing should also fall within seconds. I kept my ears wide open, waiting to hear something. It came in the form of a thunk, as if something hit the ground. That was my cue.

"Clefairy, find Koffing and drag him out of that smoke!"

"Koffing, wake up and use Smog!"

Both our voices entered the smoke-covered field, but there was no way to tell what was going on inside. All the time I was praying for some kind of breeze to come along and clear the field, but the wind was at a standstill. After a few tense moments, Clefairy came out of the smoke, dragging a sleeping Koffing behind her.

"Alright! Now, use Wake-Up Slap!"

Clefairy reeled back for a powerful attack, then delivered a charged slap that sent Koffing spinning around in place. The Pokemon was awake again, but the attack had done considerable damage, making it hard for Koffing to get up again.

"Koffing, take her with you! Self-Destruct!" My eyes widened. Keigo was crazy to be using a move like that!

"Clefairy! Uh..." my voice trailed off for a moment. Even if Clefairy was able to land one more hit on Koffing, the explosion would still inflict considerable damage on her. I had to avoid it. "Use Minimize!"

As Koffing's body began to glow, Clefairy waved her little fingers around in a circular pattern. Instantly she shrunk down to a fraction of her size, almost as small as a pebble! Koffing stored up a bit more energy before exploding, releasing a shockwave that knocked even me off my feet. When the dust settled, Koffing's charred body lay on the ground, while a small white pebble came bouncing up to me. I held out my hand, and Clefairy hopped onto it. She was so adorable at that size, I had to resist squeezing the very life out of her.

"You're a pretty good trainer," said Keigo as he returned his Koffing to its Pokeball. "But I still have one more Pokemon left!"

He released another Pokeball, revealing a strange flittering bug that stared me down with a sharp glare. I looked down at Clefairy, who was more than willing to face off against this new critter.

"Can you get big again?" I asked the miniature Pokemon, who sadly shook her head. The ability required some time to wear itself out, apparently. "It's okay, I'll let someone else handle him."

Without my even saying anything, Vulpix jumped into the fray, ready to face off against the critter before her. I took out my Pokedex to see just what kind of Pokemon we were up against.

"Ninjask, the Ninja Pokemon. Because it darts about vigorously at high speed, it is very difficult to see. Hearing its distinctive cries for too long induces a headache." Why was it I never encountered these cool bug Pokemon in the wild?

"Ninjask, use Bug Bite!"

"Vulpix, Flamethrower!"

Though Vulpix was the first to act, her flames seemed to strike at air. Before we both knew it, Ninjask had appeared behind Vulpix, viciously gnawing away at her tail. She spun around and fired again, but the Ninjask she blasted was a shadow, as the real thing was already behind her again. It was moving faster than we could both see!

"Ninjask, Leech Life!"

"Vulpix, Tail Whip!"

Ninjask zoomed in to bite Vulpix again, but her own attack was able to cancel it out. She just wasn't able to keep up with Ninjask. I had to come up with a different plan.

"Ninjask, Double Team!"

The bug Pokemon began flying around in circles, leaving behind dozens of exact replicas that all fluttered about in the air. Vulpix started barking at the clones, panicking in her own way. If Keigo started ordering attacks, Vulpix would be overwhelmed.

"Vulpix, use Ember, and shoot it as high up into the air as you can!"

Acknowledging my command, Vulpix launched several waves of the small flames high up into the air, eliminating a few of the clones in the process. There were still more than enough to win the battle, but that was just the first part of my strategy. The next move was up to Keigo.

"Ninjask, Fury Cutter!"

"Vulpix, run under the Ember now!"

Every single one of the clones turned their attention to Vulpix, who leapt ahead a short pace. She ducked for cover, and instantly the mass of bug Pokemon swooped in on her. As they closed in on Vulpix, the flames from her last attack rained down all over her, wiping out the clones. Some of those same flames hurt her, but most importantly, they struck the real Ninjask.

"Now, use Quick Attack!"

"Ninjask, Leech Life!"

Somehow, the bug was able to latch onto Vulpix before she could attack, but wasn't able to drain her of much health. Vulpix shook him off, and slammed into the bug hard, knocking it to the ground.

"Vulpix, finish with Flamethrower!"

Immobilized, Ninjask could do nothing but watch as Vulpix unleashed her fiery fury upon it. It didn't take much to end the battle, as Ninjask relied entirely on speed to dodge attacks. His final Pokemon defeated, Keigo silently put Ninjask back in its Pokeball. I promptly celebrated my victory, and at the same time Clefairy grew back to her normal size.

"I had never seen a Vulpix owned by a trainer before," said Keigo as he walked up to me.

"Really? They're not that rare, are they?"

"Around here they are. You can see a bunch of them over on Mt Pyre, just down that way," he said, pointing to the southeast. "But because they live on the mountainside, not many people try to catch one."

"How far away is Mt Pyre? I'd like to visit."

"Just keep going down the road, it'll be near the Safari Zone. If you get lost, you can ask there for directions." Safari Zone? There was another Safari Zone in Hoenn?

"Thanks, Keigo. And sorry about your Pokemon, I didn't mean for that battle to get out of hand." The young boy shook his head.

"It's okay, I kinda went all out as well. You're a really good trainer, for a girl." That last comment sort of sucked the fun out of my victory, but I chose not to hold it against Keigo. It was a built-in response for boys to look down on girls, or something.

"Well, I hope I see you around, Star! Bye!"

"Bye, Keigo! Nice to meet you!" I waved goodbye to him, before moving on with my own adventure.

~o~

As the sun vanished from the skies, I continued jogging on Route 121. I had been hoping to hide out inside the Safari Zone building for the night. As was typical, in the darkness of the evening all sorts of different Pokemon started making themselves known. I never wanted to admit it, but I was somewhat terrified of the dark, hence my promptness in setting up camp.

"Vulpix, mind keeping an eye out while I pitch the tent?" I dropped my bag to the ground, but just as I was pulling out the supplies, I noticed a faint light from just beyond the next row of trees. Braving the dark, I put everything back into my bag and told Vulpix to follow me. As we got closer, the light turned out to be a campfire, and its owner was a girl dressed oddly enough like a witch. Not that it mattered to me, she had a fire set up and it was certainly a lot warmer around it.

"Excuse me," I said, emerging from behind the trees, "would you mind if I camped out here with you?"

"Not at all! Please!" Sounding more than eager, the young lady moved over a bit and signaled for me to sit next to her.

"Thanks. I'm Star." Her eyes seemed to light up at the mention of my name.

"Wow! What a cute name! Wish I had a name like that. I'm Tammy." I gave Tammy a warm smile, genuinely happy that she didn't know me from the TV interviews with Gaby.

"I was looking for the Safari Zone," I said, trying to make small talk as I prepared my sleeping bag. "But it got so dark, I didn't want to keep looking."

"Silly! The Safari Zone is at least an hour going back that way!" She pointed in the direction I came from.

"Oh? Guess I missed it..." Was it really? I had kept my eyes peeled the entire way for a road leading towards the building. Unless there was no such road.

"Sure did! But because of that we got to meet! Guess it was fate, right?"

"Um, sure, I guess?" With my sleeping bag set up, all that was left to do was down a snack before bed. I didn't want to seem rude by not offering Tammy anything, but I didn't have much in the way of snacks left. I dug around my bag for a moment, considering the possibility of eating the bag of chips while she wasn't looking.

"Care for something to eat? I made some soup a little while ago. Bit cold now, but it's still tasty!" Tammy brought a small cooking pot into view, which had been hidden before by the lack of light. She checked to see if the pot was cool, and then gave it to me. It smelled delicious, but I wasn't sure what kind of soup it was. And asking felt wrong, especially after she offered it.

"Um, is there a spoon I can use?"

"Spoon? Who carries a spoon? Just drink from the pot, silly!" I giggled slightly at her words, before pressing my lips to the pot. My fears were instantly dissolved by the still-warm soup as it coursed through my body. I still couldn't tell what it was, but it was delicious!

"This is great! What kind of soup is it?" I went in for another gulp.

"Rat tail soup!"

Instantly I spat out what soup was in my mouth to a side, startling both Vulpix and Tammy in the process. Bad manners or no, she couldn't possibly expect me to act in any other manner after telling me the main ingredient of the soup. Rather than be offended though, Tammy just burst out laughing. And despite my first reaction, the soup flavor still in my mouth wasn't at all repugnant.

"Oh the look on your face! You actually fell for that one?" Tammy tried to contain her giggles, while I stared back at the pot and the soup that remained.

"You mean, it wasn't...?"

"Of course not, silly! You actually think I'd make soup with a rat's tail? I may be dressed like a witch but that don't mean nothin'!" She had a point, but, after saying something like that, I was hesitant to keep drinking it.

"So, what kind of soup is it?" By this point I honestly didn't want to know anymore. To answer me, Tammy produced a pair of empty cans.

"My own special blend! Really, it's just beef mixed with veggies, I find it tastes better than either one alone. Go on, silly, keep drinking! I swear, there're no rats in there!" I looked down at the pot, my appetite now completely gone.

"Um, you won't hold it against me if I say I'm full, will you?" I handed her back the pot, to her dismay.

"Well, your loss, Star. Guess I should've pulled that one after you finished." She contained a few snickers before offering me a bottle of water. Red flags went soaring over my head when I saw it.

"What's that?"

"Water. Just water, nothing in it or anything, it's just plain water." It took me a few seconds to accept the offer. I eased up a little when I realized it was a brand new bottle, as the cap was still sealed. Certainly didn't taste funny, either.

"So tell me a bit about yourself, Star. Where you from?"

"Pallet Town," I said, chugging down half the bottle as quickly as possible. I wanted to erase all traces of that soup from my taste buds.

"Never heard of it. That's not in Hoenn, is it?"

"Kanto. I'm from Kanto, I'm just traveling Hoenn for the fall."

"Oh, I see. Aspire to defeat the Elite Four?"

"No, I'm just traveling for the sake of it. My mom was always a bit of a control freak, so when she let me go, I decided to see as much of the world as I could before going back home." I decided to spare Tammy the details of my initial escape. Boy, did that feel like forever ago.

"That's cool. I went out on a similar journey myself, when I was your age. Now, I'm just traveling for the sake of it myself. No Pokemon this time, either."

"Really? What happened to all your old Pokemon?" I also wanted to ask how long ago was her first adventure, but the Pokemon question seemed more important. I couldn't imagine leaving Vulpix behind.

"Oh, they're still around back home. Just felt I needed to do a bit of soul-searching on my own, you know? Well, I think you're a bit too young to truly understand everything, huh?" She gave me a pat on the head, instantly making me feel like a toddler by comparison.

"I do too understand!" I slapped away her hand, trying to assert myself. Tammy just giggled.

"Don't be in such a hurry to grow up, Star. You'll end up regretting it, trust me." I was about to retort that, but one look at her expression stayed my hand. Her cheery demeanor vanished, and with it all the fun around the campfire.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to bring down the mood like that. I didn't mean to make you feel bad or anything, Star." With Tammy's smile, the warmth of the fire returned. Eager to shift the topic of the conversation, I decided to ask her directions.

"Can you tell me which way to go to reach Mt Pyre? That's where I'm headed tomorrow."

"Oh! What a coincidence! I'm headed there as well, I came from Lilycove earlier today. If you don't mind the company, we could go there together!" I somehow had a feeling she'd say that.

"Sure, I'd love to go together!"

~o~

Morning came, and with it another meal courtesy of Tammy. Because I saw her prepare this one, I made sure there were no strange ingredients added to the pot, but that didn't stop Tammy from trying to pull a fast one on me.

"I added a Pidgey's claw while you were asleep," she had told me. I wasn't about to fall for the same joke twice.

From there, we had to backtrack a little from my perspective, as the road to Route 122 was hidden slightly behind a dense cluster of trees. No doubt the same trick concealed the Safari Zone from me yesterday. To my pleasant surprise, Route 122 was a water route, with Mt Pyre nestled in the center of the lake. There were boats available for use to reach the island, so I wouldn't have to strain Vaporeon by using him as a makeshift boat.

"Tammy, why are you going to Mt Pyre?"

"Stuff," she replied, finding the question a bit of a pry. "You?"

"Well," I stuttered, momentarily unsure why I was going there myself. At first, I didn't want to go, after hearing what was inside the mountain. But now, I was doing it not only to see the place with my own eyes, but also give Vulpix a chance to see other foxes like herself.

"It's okay," Tammy said, seeing that the question was bordering on uncomfortable. "No need to say anything."

She was right. I mean, for what reasons does one go to a Pokemon burial ground, if not to bury a Pokemon, or remember one that had been? Actually, that very thought, right there on the boat, crushed me with a massive force. I had lost a Pokemon myself, not too long ago. At the very least I could offer a silent prayer for Primeape.

The boat pulled up to the dock, and we hopped off the vessel. After Tammy tied up the boat, we walked inside the mountain. The style of the entrance reminded me of the Burned Tower, further proving that there was at one point a link between the two regions. Make that three regions, as the interior was practically identical to the Pokemon Tower in Lavender Town.

"Welcome to Mt Pyre, dears," was our greeting from an elder woman just by the entrance. "What brings you to the spiritual Mount Pyre?"

"I'll be heading to the summit," replied Tammy, who promptly left me alone with the old lady. Not that I was expecting her to stick around, but it did catch me off guard.

"And you, dear?"

"Um, I heard that you could find wild Vulpix on the mountain," I started slowly. The old lady let out a sigh.

"Come to steal away more of the tranquil Pokemon?"

"Oh no! Not at all, ma'am! It's just, Vulpix has never seen other Pokemon like herself, so I wanted her to meet with other Vulpix, is all." I picked up my own critter to prove it. Vulpix let out a soft bark.

"I see," the old lady said, staring at me the entire time. "You can come out to the mountainside through that exit over there."

I looked up, seeing one of many entryways up on a higher level. The entire mountain was hollow on the inside, with places to actually walk only lining the walls. I pointed it out to Vulpix, who ran off once she had my permission.

"Something else, dear?"

"Yes, actually. I'd like to know where I can pay my respects, for a Pokemon I lost. He was buried in Ecruteak City, but while I'm here, I'd like to say a prayer." For once, the old woman gave me an honest, warm smile.

"Follow me, dear."

The old woman led me to a small shrine, tucked away in a corner of the first floor. Once I was alone, I took out my purse and offered a few coins, clasping my hands together. My thoughts turned to Primeape, as well as memories of when I first met up with him as a Mankey. It felt like so long ago, a sign of the experiences I had acquired on this adventure. Once I was done with my prayer, I opened my eyes, and saw something forming before me.

Frightened momentarily, I backed away, but didn't scream just yet. The wisp of purple smoke took form, into a Pokemon I knew very well. The Gastly hovered before me for a moment, but didn't make any sudden movements. Instead, it just remained there, awaiting something.

"It seeks to join you," came a voice from behind me. It was the old lady, who bowed in respect to the ghost type.

"How can you tell?"

"Can you not? This Pokemon has followed you since the day it was reunited with you at its grave." It took me a moment to register that, but suddenly it hit me. I looked into Gastly's eyes, seeing the same fierce determination and will I used to see in another Pokemon.

"Primeape? Can it be...?" I reached out to touch the Pokemon, who maniputed its gaseous body to wrap around my hand. In that moment I knew it was true.

"Sometimes, when a Pokemon that has passed on has a strong enough bond to its previous life, it manifests as memories when it is reborn as a ghost type Pokemon. This Gastly possesses such memories, only it wasn't able to reveal itself to you until you sought it out."

"I-I'm sorry," I said, suddenly breaking down in front of the Pokemon. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean for this to happen to you, Primeape! I'm really, truly sorry!"

"Be at ease, dear," said the old lady as she put her hand on my shoulder. "This Pokemon bears to ill will towards you. Quite the contrary, it seeks to rejoin your company, to travel alongside you once more."

"Primeape- no, Gastly," I said, wiping away a tear that had formed, "do you forgive me?"

The Pokemon nodded, which put my heart at ease. I took out a Pokeball, and held it out to Gastly; one final test. Without hesitation, Gastly lifted the device into the air, letting it land on him. He was absorbed into the Pokeball, and instantly it sealed. I picked it up, holding it close to my heart. Somehow, I felt as if I were truly reunited with an old friend.

Once Vulpix returned, I said goodbye to the old lady, who showed me the way out. With Beedrill back in the storage system, and Gastly taking his place, I walked out of Mt Pyre with a smile on my face.

I left behind a painful memory, and gained back an old friend in a new body.