Feeling a bit of sadness at the sudden disappearance of Ghost, as well as what I expected to be the end of our short-lived companionship, I made my way to Viridian City. I had used a Potion that Professor Oak's lab assistant had given me on Squishy, and he ended up becoming quite a bit stronger, his focus having increased immensely throughout the rest of the battles. With his help I caught a Pidgey, and I named it Bird. I wasn't particularly creative with names – but then, it didn't seem many people were. Most just called their Pokémon as whatever species it was and left it at that. This made me wonder something: what if you didn't know what species a Pokémon was? What would I call Ghost, even if he did come back? If he didn't want a nickname, the least he could have done was….

Wait a second.

Was I…

Was I referring to it as 'he' now?

I knew it was a psychological thing, something about humans automatically relate animals and other creatures to a specific gender by default, but up until that point I'd had no trouble differentiating Ghost as an 'it'. I wasn't sure how to tell what gender it was, anyway. Did ghosts even have genders? What did this mean for me, now that I was thinking of it as a 'he'?

Had I grown attached to something I'd known for so short a time, despite the fact that it hadn't exactly been very friendly? Perhaps it was just an illusion of my mind, created by the fact that wandering the route by my lonesome after spending the entirety of my short life in Pallet Town was a frightening experience. Maybe nothing had been there at all – but if that was the case, what had happened to the Pidgey it defeated?

My mind was whirling. I still wasn't sure exactly what happened, and at this point, I doubted I'd ever have sufficient information to piece together the events that occurred while I was fresh out of my hometown. For now, I gathered up Squishy's PokéBall in my arms as if it were the Bulbasaur itself and meandered over to the Pokémon Center I saw. I knew there would be a nurse inside that would heal him and my new Pidgey up, so I went inside. A redheaded nurse stood behind the desk with a cheery smile on her face; she kind of reminded me of my mother in a way, seeming to be permanently, unfalteringly happy, noticeable even from the first glance you took of the woman.

"Welcome to our Pokémon Center!" She called, still grinning widely. "We can heal your Pokémon to perfect health. Shall we heal your Pokémon?" Blinking out of surprise at how eager she was, I trotted up to her.

"Yes, please. Here are their PokéBalls." I stated plainly, handing her the two bi-colored orbs containing my companions. After the cheerful nurse placed them on a strange machine, they glowed momentarily before the stretcher-esque table dinged five times in a happy tune.

"Thank you for waiting. Your Pokémon are fully healed." She said, bowing slightly after handing them back to me. "We hope to see you again!"

"Thanks…" I said, brows furrowing in confusion. Did she just indirectly say that… She wanted my Pokémon to get hurt again…? I wouldn't dwell on it – her poor choice of words weren't really of any importance, I'm sure she didn't mean anything cruel by the phrase! Did she?

Heading out of the Pokémon Center, I sighed. It looked like the next course of action would be to challenge the Gym Leader here; however, I ended up learning that the Gym Leader wasn't around, and the large building I would've obtained my badge in was locked tight. My only option was to move on, and head through the Viridian Forest. After the incident with Ghost, I didn't want to stay in one place. My legs compelled me to keep going and not to stop, to find a Pokémon that satisfied my craving for one as strong as it had been. I'd lost out on one that probably could've carried me through, at the very least, the first few gyms in Kanto – my ego still felt the sting from the loss.

Somewhat hesitantly, I set foot in Viridian Forest. The darkness was foreboding, since I was used to the sunniness today's Friday morning held. My eyes took a moment to adjust, and I swallowed hard as I heard various insect Pokémon calling out their typical cries, which sounded nothing like the more animal-like Pokémon's. They almost sounded mechanical, like metal was inside their throats. However, I knew I wanted to catch a Weedle or Kakuna; I was once told that Beedrills could be really good Pokémon for those just starting out! To be fair, those giant needles did look pretty frightening – I certainly wouldn't want to be hit with one.

After easily taking down a few Caterpie and Metapods, I saw a Trainer with a long insect net slung over his shoulder crouching in a patch of tall grass. I wanted to catch a Weedle or Kakuna first, though, before I decided to battle anyone else with my team. Squishy had gotten pretty strong by this point, but just the same, better safe than sorry – it'd be embarrassing to lose my very first battle against someone other than Blue! He would never let me live it down, I was sure, if he found out, and being as he seemed to be the center of attention of gossipers and rumor-spreading type people, no doubt someone would pass on the message.

To my surprise, however, rather than the Bug-Type I'd been searching for, I stumbled upon a funny looking mouse, yellow in color with a thunderbolt-shaped tail. Taking out my Pokédex, I realized before the name even came up that it was a Pikachu! My typical determined grin appeared, and I ran my fingertips along the brim of my hat as I tossed Squishy's PokéBall into battle. A few Tackle attacks later, and I was fairly sure it was weak enough to catch. Pulling out an empty bi-colored capsule from my bag, I tossed it towards the creature. It jiggled once as it tried to escape, and then a second time… The third had my muscles tense with anticipation as I waited for the glow that signified it being caught for sure.

Just a second later, success! Pikachu had been caught! I named her Static, getting slightly more creative with my names now. Taking her out long enough to use the last of my Potions on her, I felt prepared to take on the Bug-type catching trainer a bit further up the path. But before I could, I felt a chill down my spine, and I was rendered paralyzed once again by fear. I knew what had happened before I heard its voice.

'It will never be as strong as I am…'

Ghost had reappeared.