Two weeks prior…
Blake looked over his Poke Balls on his desk: three standard model Poke Balls, and one Sport Ball from the bug-catching contest in the National Park. All the Pokemon he had collected in his three years of experience as a trainer, and it wasn't even a full team.
He picked up the ball containing the first Pokemon he received, Murkrow, and reminisced about how he and Murkrow came together. He was nine-years-old at the time. He'd been at the park with his parents in Ecruteak City, eating a picnic, when a Murkrow swooped out of the air and snatched his sandwich. It was the closest he'd ever been to a wild Pokemon before, and he was excited. The Murkrow came around for another pass. Blake's father pulled out a Poke Ball of his own, preparing to fight back the Murkrow, but Blake didn't want to hurt the Murkrow. His father relented, and gave his son a Poke Ball, telling him to catch the Pokemon instead. It took three tries, but Blake finally succeeded in catching the young Pokemon and made it his first team member.
It was almost two years later that he got his trainer's license on his eleventh birthday, and with it, the ability to carry a full team of six Pokemon, and his second team member. His father worked for Bill's PC network, and when he mentioned his son's birthday to his boss, Bill gave him a gift for his son: an Eevee. About nine months later, it evolved into an Umbreon late one night.
His third Pokemon, Sneasel, he traded for. He'd caught a Drowzee in the tall grass south of town late one night, but found the Pokemon inordinately difficult to train. When a passing trainer came through town, he offered a trade: a Pokemon egg for the Drowzee. The trainer accepted, and it was not long afterward that the egg hatched, and Sneasel was born. The Pokemon's second birthday was coming up soon now.
His final Pokemon was a recent addition: he'd taken a trip to the National Park, and entered into a bug-catching contest. There he met Scyther, his fourth Pokemon. It was young and weak, and Blake came in second to a young bug catcher who had caught a giant Caterpie. Blake never would understand why an oversized Caterpie was worth more points than a Scyther.
Now he was back at home, and making the tough decision of whether it was worth it to continue. His win-loss record against other trainers was slanted in the favor of losses, and he'd yet to earn a single gym badge.
Of course, his Pokemon journey was a little more complicated than the norm. Most kids didn't have to take sabbaticals from their journeys to spend at the hospital. Fewer kids had to spend their time under parental supervision in case they went into cardiac arrest. But he was getting stronger now. It'd been almost a year since the last time his condition put him into critical condition. His last hospital stay was months ago. He was ready for a solo journey now, but only if he could fight on his own.
And that was what he had been preparing for the past few months. He'd returned home to train. He'd been taking physical therapy again, getting stronger. And he'd been studying, learning everything he could about one subject: Ghost-type Pokemon.
And now he was going to test his progress over the past few months. His Pokemon were growing stronger. His team was specialized to defeat ghosts. And he was an expert on the subject now. Now was the time to see if he could defeat the Ecruteak Gym Leader. If he could do it, he'd start a new journey. He and his Pokemon, as hunters. If not… well, Blake didn't want to think about that possibility. He breathed deeply, put his Poke Balls in their holsters in the inside of his jacket, and headed out toward the Ecruteak City Gym. It was time to test his mettle, once and for all…
…
Melissa sat in the Blackthorn City Pokemon Center, tapping her foot impatiently. She gave the boy a clear 36-hour time limit to make it to the city. It was nearly noon now, and his time was almost up. The Pokemon they were chasing had already moved on to She sat at a table on the second floor, giving her a clear overlook of the people heading into and out of the building.
For his part, Blake didn't know who he was looking for. He'd never seen a picture of Melissa, and he wasn't sure she was even really a girl until she called him on their mission.
As he stepped into the Pokemon Center though, he got a call on his Pokegear. "Upstairs, second table on your right," came Melissa's voice before cutting off. She was kind of short with him, wasn't she?
Melissa looked Blake over. He was... scrawnier than she expected, almost sickly. Her nose crinkled. Was it really this kid who caught that amazing Gengar? She continued to analyze him. His matted raven hair contrasted sharply with his light blue eyes. She got a better look as he sat down opposite to her. He seemed a bit out of breath and tired, and dirty from traveling. It wouldn't do for her if he was exhausted that easily. She pursed her lips, then smiled at him.
Blake was surprised by his partner's appearance as well. She was... younger than he expected. Around his age even, maybe a year older. That threw him off balance. It was a girl his age who'd played him for his cut of the pay for his last job? He looked her over. A slender, feminine girl with long brown hair and green eyes that sparkled with confidence and cleverness. She was dressed in a simple, professional white blouse, like something you'd wear to an interview. Was he being interviewed? She smiled at him. Best to put his most confident foot forward.
"Good to finally meet you in person," Melissa said in a warm, sweet voice, extending her hand towards him.
"Likewise," Blake agreed, shaking her hand. "Soft," he thought.
"Now, let's get to business." Melissa said, her voice turning three degrees colder. Since you arrived in Blackthorn City, our mark has moved on to Mahogany Town." She explained, pulling out a Pokedex.
"You have a Pokedex?" Blake interrupted her, surprised. That kind of technology was usually limited to university researchers and the like, not commercially available.
"Yes. I've worked a lot of interesting jobs," Melissa dismissed him. "Anyways," she continued, setting her Pokedex to display a purple, floating Pokemon with a feminine appearance. "Do you recognize this Pokemon?"
"Mismagius." Blake said, recognizing it instantly. "The evolved form of Misdreavus native to the region. Rarely found in the wild, rarer still in Johto. Dusk Stones are found in the Sinnoh underground, but not in the Johto region. Which means this Mismagius is probably a former trainer's." He reasoned.
"That leaves two possibilities." He concluded. "Either the trainer who evolved his Misdreavus released his Pokemon, unlikely but possible..."
"Or the trainer is dead. Possibly by the hand of his own Mismagius." Melissa finished. "I was wrong about you, you do know your stuff about Ghost-type Pokemon."
"Thanks... Hey!" Blake answered.
"Which brings me to my next point…" She continued. "The Mismagius has been on the move. It was first sighted here in Blackthorn City, but it's moved on since then to Mahogany Town, and now it's on the way to the Lake of Rage. If you'd gotten here sooner, we might've already caught it."
"You gave me less than two days to cross an entire region!" Blake exclaimed.
"I got here from the Kalos Region in the same amount of time," Melissa interjected. "Anyways, that's behind us now. What's next is that you need to get to Mahogany Town, on the double." She said. "According to the bounty on this Pokemon, its been responsible for attacking trainers and releasing their Pokemon. It also has displayed significant psychic powers as well."
"That's to be expected." Blake explained. "Misdreavus and Mismagius both learn several Psychic-type moves naturally. They have a certain affinity with the typing without actually being the type, like the Charizard family and the Dragon-type."
"Anyways, you better get going," Melissa told him. "Mahogany Town is on the other side of the Ice Path, and it might still be on the move."
"Wait," Blake said, exhausted. "I can't catch up to it on foot. I barely made it here in your ridiculous time limit. Especially through treacherous terrain."
"So what do you expect to do then?" Melissa countered. "Just give up and let the bounty go loose, attacking trainers at random?" She asked. "Why don't you have a Pokemon to fly you around?"
"All I've got is a Murkrow," he said. "Not exactly a Pokemon that can carry me to another town,"
Melissa sighed. "Fine then. I'll fly you over to Mahogany Town on my Skarmory, but that's it. You've got to manage it from there." She told him.
"I thought you were supposed to be my support team." Blake said.
"And I'll support you from the Pokemon Center in Mahogany Town. Support!" Melissa cried cheerfully, pumping her arm into the air.
Blake didn't have much of a choice. "Thanks then," he said, standing up from the table. The two of them walked out to the front of the Pokemon Center.
"Alright Skarmory, time to shine!" Melissa cried out, throwing her Poke Ball down. A metallic bird with razor-sharp feathers emerged from its Poke Ball, and happily wrapped its wings around his mistress.
"No, Skarmory, we need to fly!" She told the Pokemon happily embracing her. She stroked her Pokemon's head affectionately, then boarded the Pokemon's back. "You getting on?" Melissa asked, gesturing the small spot available on the Pokemon's back behind her.
Blake swallowed. He'd never actually flown on a Pokemon before. Skarmory turned and looked at the boy with a keen look in his eyes. It was like the Pokemon smelled his fear. Blake slowly straddled the Pokemon, uncomfortably close to Melissa as he sat behind her. Just a moment before he settled in, the Armor Bird Pokemon took off, flying high into the sky. Blake felt his heart lurch into his throat as they quickly ascended over the cliffs of Blackthorn City, flying west towards Mahogany Town. The Pokemon reached a cruising altitude quickly, then dove downwards, reaching speeds of over 180 miles per hour.
"If I lose consciousness, I'm dead…" Blake told himself as his heart beat out of control. He grit his teeth, struggling to stay awake as the wind whipped him and his heartbeat grew erratic from fear and stress. Melissa seemed totally fine, apparently used to this.
It was only about a fifteen minute flight to Mahogany Town, even though the hike between the two towns could take a full day between the treacherous cliffs and dangerous Ice Path connecting the two cities. Blake had to admit, having a Pokemon that could fly was useful. The Pokemon soared downwards, its speed slowing, until it was just a short distance above the red roof of the Mahogany Town Pokemon Center.
Suddenly, Blake felt himself lose tangibility. It was a sickening sensation as suddenly he couldn't maintain contact with anything. He slipped straight through Skarmory's body and plummeted towards the ground, falling about three stories before regaining corporeality, hitting the grass below with a thud. Fortunately, he landed feet first, and seemed to be alright, besides the adrenaline rush shooting through him. He looked up and saw his Gengar, laughing hysterically above him at the sight.
"Oh, that was rich!" Gengar cackled with its signature grin. "I'll have to make a running gag of this; you should've seen your face!"
"What the heck!" Melissa demanded as Skarmory reached the ground, returning the Pokemon to its Poke Ball. "You could've died! What kind of person falls off a Pokemon mid-flight?" She shouted, helping him to his feet then punching him in the shoulder. "If anything had happened to you…" She started. "How would we cash in the bounty?" She asked.
"Nice to know you care…" Blake muttered, breathing deeply. His heartbeat began to normalize, but that was close.
"Whatever." Melissa brushed him off. "I'm going to go set up in the Pokemon Center. Here," she said, handing him a case from her pack. Blake opened it. It contained a top of the line model Silph Scope, complete with all the latest tracking features.
"Wow," Blake said, thankful as he booted it up. "You didn't have to do that…" He said.
"Yes I did," Melissa corrected him. "We can't work with the old equipment you had in Lavender Town." She said. "We lost connection easily, and your Silph Scope didn't have half the features we needed." She told him, slapping a brand new Holo Caster on his wrist to replace his old Pokegear. "Don't think this is a gift though, I'm deducting the cost of this equipment from this job." She clarified.
"Oh." Blake said dejectedly, putting his new Silph Scope over his eyes. He fiddled with the features a little bit, and quickly set it up to filter for Mismagius's spectral signature. A trail appeared up the way to the Lake of Rage. Blake smiled.
"Well, it's good equipment anyways. I'll make the most of it," he justified to himself, starting to follow the trail.
"Good luck!" Melissa told him sweetly before ducking into the Pokemon Center. Somehow her voice didn't sound quite as sweet as it did when they first met. Blake forced himself to focus on the task at hand instead. It was ghost hunting time.
The path to the Lake of Rage was an uphill battle, literally. The slope was steeper than Blake was used to walking, at the air was thinner than he expected. This was an endurance battle against his greatest weakness: cardio. His muscles were strong enough to carry him forward, but his heart was struggling to pump blood fast enough without threatening to give out on him. He had to take regular breaks to catch his breath. About an hour into his hike, he heard Melissa call on his Xtransceiver.
"Are you there yet?" She demanded.
"A little more than halfway," Blake gasped.
"Are you kidding me?" She said exasperatedly. "What do you think this is, a sightseeing tour?" She demanded.
Blake grimaced. He couldn't possibly tell her why he was struggling though. That'd be a quick way to end his Pokemon Hunter career.
"I'll move faster…" Blake breathed heavily, and shut off communications.
He could finally see the Lake of Rage for his own eyes not long afterwards, and the trail he was following grew very bright. Storm clouds gathered over the lake, and it began to rain. Blake was glad he was wearing a jacket, but his Silph Scope was utterly exposed to the rain. He knew he couldn't let it get wet, so he stowed it back in his pack. He'd have to track the Mismagius the old fashioned way now.
Not that it was a challenge for someone with his expertise. He considered what he knew about this Pokemon's behavior so far and the tendencies of the species. If it was trying to release trainers' Pokemon, it would make sense for it to keep moving on from town to town quickly to avoid getting captured. But why, then, would it head for the Lake of Rage instead of Ecruteak, the next town over?
"Melissa," he asked, pulling her up on his comm system. "What do you know about this Pokemon's previous victims?" He asked. "Was there anything they all had in common?"
Melissa looked over her files in the Mahogany Town Pokemon Center. "No, I already checked them. The victims are unrelated," She said. "None of them knew each other. There's no connection with the location of the attacks either. It looks completely random."
"What about their Pokemon though," he asked. "Did they have any Pokemon in common?"
"That was the second thing I checked." Melissa said defensively. "Of course not. They all had wildly different teams they were training." She explained.
Blake thought for a moment. "Did any of them have Pokemon they'd have difficulty getting to obey?" Blake asked. "Look for Pokemon that were recently traded, or higher level than their gym badges would suggest they were capable of training."
Melissa hadn't thought of that possibility. "Let me check," She said, looking through her files. "What do you know, you're right," She marveled, finding the connection. "All of them had at least one Pokemon of significantly higher level than the rest of their teams, but what do you think that has to do with-"
"I think this Mismagius relates to those Pokemon." He said. "I suspect after evolving it grew disobedient and abandoned or killed its trainer. And now it's trying to do the same for others."
And if that was the case, Blake had the perfect bait for such a Pokemon. He reached for the Poke Ball holster in his jacket and retrieved his Dusk Ball. "And if so, I think I know how to get it to come to me." He told Melissa, releasing his Gengar out.
Gengar materialized into the rain with a yawn, looking around, surprised to be released of Blake's volition rather than his own. "What's up, bitch?" He asked him snarkily.
"I just wanted to talk," Blake smiled. "You said you're special after all. Gengar are rare in the wild. And you know more moves than any Pokemon can, including moves that you can't learn naturally. I wanted to know your story," he said, honestly curious.
"My story?" Gengar scoffed, waving Blake off. "There's nothing to tell. I am what I am, and that's all there is to it."
Blake's smile dropped. That couldn't be all there was to it, was there? "You mean you don't want to tell me how such a powerful and unique Gengar came into being? Certainly there's an interesting story behind it all."
"I told you. I've got nothing to tell you." Gengar said, his grin actually falling for once.
Blake was surprised. This wasn't the reaction he was expecting. He at least expected some fake story to be spun off by Gengar, not a defensive denial. "Wait…" Blake said, piecing things together. "You don't actually know where you come from, do you?" Blake accused him.
Gengar frowned. "What did you say, punk?" He asked, raising his fist.
"I don't think you know where you came from at all." Blake continued. "It's not that you don't want to tell me, you just don't know why you are what you are at all!" He realized. "That must be why you're so aggressive… you don't remember ever even being a Gastly, or a Haunter. You just started existing one day and don't know why. It must be awful, not knowing why you even exist." Blake said, pushing Gengar's buttons now.
Gengar's eyes visibly twitched. "Why I oughta!" He started, building up electricity in his fist.
Suddenly they both heard the voice of a witch cackling from across the lake. Blake pulled out the Silph Scope briefly, shielding it from the rain to get a better look. A Mimagius was in the middle of the lake, zooming towards the bickering trainer and Pokemon with a wicked smile on her face.
"Thanks," he told Gengar. "You made excellent bait," he sneered, returning the Pokemon to its Poke Ball.
"You son of a -" was all Gengar got out before being sucked back into his spherical priosn.
Now it was time to fight. He put Melissa back in contact again. "Sorry I can't give you visual," he said. "The rain will ruin my brand new Silph Scope." he told her. "But I've made contact. The Mismagius is approaching now." He told her.
"Don't worry, I can see clearly through your Holo Caster," She told him, looking at a projected image of the lake on her screen. "Now take that Pokemon down for me, alright?" She said.
"Got it." Blake replied. The Mismagius was nearly in attack range now. He readied his Poke Balls. "It's ghost-busting time!" He shouted.
"Did you really just say that?" Melissa blurted into his ear. "Unbelieveable."
Blake ignored her. "Umbreon, Feint Attack!" he shouted. "Sneasel, Scyther, Murkrow, Pursuit!" He ordered, releasing all his Pokemon, beisdes Gengar, to battle. If the Mimagius retreated, it would be nailed by Pursuit, and if it stayed to fight, Feint Attack would surely hit it for Super Effective damage.
Gengar released himself from his Dusk Ball while the rest of his Pokemon went to clash with the Mismagius. The Mismagius stayed to fight, and Umbreon nailed it with a powerful attack from its claws. It started to back off, and then the rest of his Pokemon landed their Pursuits. It was a perfectly executed plan, except for Gengar's interjected obscenities.
"...Can't believe that you'd play me like that…" Gengar muttered to himself, watching the fight going on. "Oh, so we're in a fight now?" He asked, curious. "Don't mind me, but I'm gonna watch you get your ass kicked. And laugh."
Blake smiled. He was winning already. The Mismagius retreated over the water, out of range of his Umbreon and Sneasel, but Murkrow and Scyther could approach without issue. "Scyther, Murkrow, Pursuit again!" He ordered. But as the two Pokemon approached, he could see a glint in the Mismagius's eyes, and she dodged the two Flying-type's attacks, humming to herself.
Blake racked his brain for what she could be doing. She wasn't using Perish Song, he knew the melody to that move by heart. He thought through the abilities that Mismagius had besides attacks… telekinesis, invisibility, entrancement… it hit him.
"Scyther, Murkrow, get back!" He ordered.
It was too late. A Gyarados emerged from the water, followed by another, one striking at Scyther with a Bite attack, the other at Murkrow with an Aqua Tail, knocking out Scyther and sending Murkrow flying back towards Blake. Five more Gyarados rose out of the water, each one swaying back and forth to the melody that Mismagius was humming to herself. She controlled them all.
One Gyarados rose up and generated reddish-black energy in its mouth, charging up a Hyper Beam. A second followed suit. The others began to Dragon Dance, growing stronger as the Mismagius continued to hum her charming song.
"Oh, things just got interesting…" Gengar said, watching gleefully. "Well, it was nice to know you as long as I did, Master," Gengar cried out sarcastically. "I won't be attending your funeral."
"Gengar," Blake ordered desperately. "You can take these Gyarados out! Use Thunderbolt!"
"You've put me into a powerful position, Master," Gengar contemplated snidely, grinning wider than ever. "I don't discard power easily…"
"We can discuss terms later," Blake pleaded. "Just take these Pokemon out!"
"Alright," Gengar said, rubbing his grubby little hands together. "Seven Thunderbolts, coming right up!" He shouted. He flew up and pointed his finger at the first Gyarados, bluish-black lightning streaming off of him. Blake had never seen a Thunderbolt that looked like that before, but it was the most powerful Electric-type move he'd ever witnessed. The blast of electricity arced into the Gyarados, knocking it out instantly. A second bolt struck one right before it fired its Hyper Beam, then another and another.
The rest of the Gyarados turned tail and fled. Whatever control Mismagius had over them, it wasn't enough to get them to fight against certain defeat.
Blake breathed a sigh of relief, then suddenly turned towards Gengar, wondering if the Gyarados were the lesser of two evils. "Oh god, what are you going to do to me?" He asked the Pokemon.
"Don't worry your little head about it," Gengar cooed. "When the time comes, you'll know. You'll know…"
The Mismagius didn't seem bothered by the loss of her trump card though. If anything, it seemed even more confident. "What are you planning…" Blake asked himself. The Pokemon summoned a circle of blue flames around herself, and fired them in a ring at all of Blake's Pokemon, burning them with a Will-o-Wisp. It left the water, approaching without hesitation towards Blake.
Blake grimaced. Most of the moves he had available to use were physical attacks, so the reduced attack power from the burn would severely hinder his options.
"Murkrow, Dark Pulse," He ordered, knowing that burn wouldn't affect his Pokemon's special attacks. But the attack barely seemed to phase Mismagius, who shrugged it off and fired a Shadow Ball towards Blake. Umbreon jumped to intercept it, but despite its ineffectiveness was sent sprawling by the attack, struggling back to his feet.
Blake realized what had happened now. While Gengar had handled the Gyarados, the Mismagius had been using Calm Mind. It must have sent its Special Attack and Special Defense to maximum now, and with his Pokemon burned he couldn't hurt it enough with physical attacks either. This was surely checkmate.
Or not. Blake still had a trick up his sleeve. "Murkrow, Haze!" he ordered. The Darkness Pokemon obediently flapped his wings and created a murky field of fog around the battlefield, removing any status changes from the field… including Mismagius's Calm Mind.
But the Mismagius smiled and her eyes glowed with power, and psychic energy redirected the haze around her, creating an impenetrable barrier with her Psychic attack. She then generated another ring of blue floating flames and sent them at Blake and his Pokemon. The heat was unbearable. Blake could feel his flesh searing at the heat before it dissipated, and slowly, one by one, he watched as his Pokemon dropped to the ground.
The Mismagius approached him as his knees shook, and he knew exactly what it was after: Gengar's Dusk Ball. Tentatively, Blake reached into his jacket and retrieved the Dusk Ball. He had no choice after all. And then he suddenly heard a voice.
"She burned me!" Gengar exclaimed. "That bitch burned me! I'll kill her!" He shouted, and took off towards the Magical Pokemon.
Blake could only watch as Gengar unleashed hell like he'd never seen before. Mismagius tried to Shadow Ball, but Gengar quickly dodged and delivered a Sucker Punch to the Pokemon, knocking her flying away. She followed up with a powerful Psychic attack, but Gengar ignored it, barreling through the Super Effective, stat boosted blow and delivered a Shadow Ball, hitting her as if she hadn't used Calm Mind once this fight. Ectoplasm leaked off of her body; she wouldn't last much longer. And Blake didn't intend to let this fight end with a Pokemon dying. Even one as nasty as that Mismagius.
He reached for a Love Ball he'd gotten, slightly appreciating the irony of it as Gengar tried to finish off the Mismagius, and tossed it at the Magical Pokemon. It made contact, and sucked the Pokemon into its Poke Ball. The sphere dropped to the ground, shook three times, and clicked shut. He'd caught it.
He sighed in relief. That was another close battle. His heart was pounding with excitement, adrenaline rushing through his body. He needed medical attention though, soon. And so did his Pokemon. They all had serious burns now, and Blake could barely stand. He messaged Melissa.
"I caught the Mismagius," he said softly, his voice weak.
"I saw," Melissa said, impressed by the action of the Gengar. "That Gengar of yours is quite the trump card, isn't it?" She asked, not having heard the conversations between the two. "Get back here so we can cash in our reward." She told him.
"I can't." He replied. "My Pokemon are in urgent need of care, and I'm injured too." he admitted. "I need you to extract me."
There was a lengthy pause on the call. "Alright." Melissa said nonplussed. "I'll come pick you up,"
Blake hung up the call, and turned to look at Gengar, who'd helped himself to a full heal from Blake's pack. He floated down to the ground, and walked up to Blake, smiling wider than he'd ever seen before. Suddenly, his fist turned dark with shadow, and all Blake saw was Gengar's fist, then a bright white light, then nothing.
"That was for capturing that bitch before I killed her," he heard Gengar say as everything went black.