The road out of Pallet Town was frustratingly winding. Go around a cliff on the right, go up a bit, go around some trees to the left, go up a bit, trek around a cliff on the right… And then, suddenly, Squishy and I encountered our first Wild Pokémon! I was pretty excited; it was only a measly Pidgey, but it was still my first wild battle! My stomach was fluttering once again, a grin tugging at the corners of my mouth as I launched my starter's PokéBall up into the air with a mighty throw. It opened in a flash of red light to reveal my new faithful companion, and he seemed ready to go – albeit a bit distracted again. I was still convinced he'd become more focused with a bit more training, however.

Surprisingly, Squishy took quite a beating. His Tackle attacks kept missing, likely because he seemed spaced out. The Pidgey did, too, strangely, but it didn't stop the winged creature from scratching and pecking at its opponent with all the strength it packed in that tiny, hollow-boned body it had. My Bulbasaur just seemed to take it, continuously looking back at me with a strangely expressive look, almost as if he was sad – maybe he was a peacekeeping little Bulbasaur, and didn't like to fight. While I really wished I had a partner that could kick some Poké-Tail, the very idea of this seemed so adorable!

However, if this was the case, I had no intentions of forcing him to harm the bird. I took out his PokéBall, fully prepared to pull him out of battle and run away to prevent further harm. I couldn't watch my friend get beaten and scarred by this scrappy pigeon. I lifted it, about to say 'Squishy, return!' and press the button on the front of the capsule, but I didn't get to finish the action. I was halted when I suddenly heard something… In my head.

'It's going to die.'

What? There was no one around, yet that voice had been very distinct. I heard my Bulbasaur cry out as the Pidgey scratched open the bulbous bud mounted on his back, but I couldn't move a muscle. A creepy voice in my own head was unsettling; I'd pretty much lost track of the world around me. It had to have been my imagination… Yet I couldn't snap out of the frightened daze it had put me in, nor could I shake the chill down my spine, or close my gaping mouth. I was, literally, paralyzed with fear.

'Fine. Stand there and watch it die, then…'

This time, I gasped, and I spun around to look behind me. Still I was alone on the route leading out of my hometown. To think I, Red, was going crazy was – well, unthinkable! My whole life I'd been pretty stable, and now I was hearing voices! That was like, the definition of insane! It he was right, Squishy was going to die if I didn't do something, but what was I going to do while I was insane and terrified? How could this be happening to me, and moreover, why couldn't I move?

'You could always send me out… I can defeat that bird… Just do it… Command me to attack it…'

I didn't trust it, but then again, I had to. "Go! Attack that Pidgey! Squishy, return to your ball!" I finally managed to call out, holding out the red and white capsule as it got sucked back in. The second I saw what took his place, however, my stomach lurched. The back of my throat stung from the bile that rose, and I swallowed hard several times in an attempt to relieve the burn. As I did so, I saw this phantom-like creature move its claw-like hands up and down, and suddenly I began to get tunnel vision, until my vision was totally black. It was as if this… This… Thing didn't want me to see what it was doing. I heard the Pidgey make its typical cry again, but much more drawn out, as if it was in pain or something – it must have fainted, the ghost did the job!

Upon the return of my vision, the purplish-black entity hovered in front of me, a disturbing smile on its face. It appeared happy about winning, but where had the Pidgey gone? It seemed to have vanished without a trace. Perhaps this ghost thing had done something to frighten it off – maybe gave it a really scary look, and that's why it blocked out my vision? Maybe it was afraid it would scare me, as well, and that I would therefore reject it and send it away. I needed to stop fabricating my own explanations for things, though. It was as if I was trying to make excuses, as if it, or I, had done something very bad. Naturally this wasn't the case, right? My nerves must just be fried from the sudden appearance of the creature, and its voice in my head. It was certainly unsettling, especially the disappearing act the Pidgey had pulled.

'I defeated it. Is that not what you wished for?'

I jumped when its voice rang out in my head again, seeming to echo, as if off the inner walls of my skull. I wasn't sure I could ever get used to that. I had heard of Ghost-Type Pokémon before, but this one seemed strange somehow, more… sinister than your average Pokémon. "Y-yes! Thank you for saving Squishy, er..." I paused for a moment, and then cocked my head inquisitively. Pulling out my Pokédex, I held it up. 'NO DATA: NO POKéMON WITHIN RANGE' flashed in blocky white text on the little screen. It seemed odd, but I figured maybe it was because he was a Ghost-type. Once on television I'd watched a show that said that the presence of Ghost-Type Pokémon can make electronic devices malfunction. No harm done – it could speak to me after all, right? I'd just ask. "What should I call you?"

'I do not need a name.'

That was a strange answer. Maybe it thought I was trying to name it. "No, I was going to rename you; I was just asking what your name was. I thought maybe you already had one."

'I do not need a name.'

Its voice was firmer this time, despite it still ignoring my question and having no reason to become angry with me. Though, there must be a reason for it, though, and I would respect that. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry. I'll just call you Ghost, then."

'…'

No protest. I decided to take that as confirmation that it would be okay if I called him such. Taking out one of the PokéBalls Professor Oak's lab assistant had given to me, I prepared to tell it to return, just as I had for my Bulbasaur. Rather than being compliant and getting in the ball, it disappeared before I could even speak. "Ghost? Where did you go?" Getting no response, I sighed; it had seemed irritated with me after it thought I wanted to give it a nickname. Maybe trying to put it inside a PokéBall was the final straw and it decided to leave. What a shame, it seemed like a really strong Pokémon…

…Perhaps it would have been better, though, if he had left right then.