CHAPTER 7

Type energy.

It was a kind of elemental force in the world and one which coexisted with Aura inside the bodies of Pokemon. When the Creator made the universe and our world, He and his Named Servants filled it with endless energies. Those were spiritual and elemental forces whose properties took on influences from beings of great existence. They could only be safely utilized by Pokemon.

As it was, type energy was one of the world's seven mysteries or so researchers liked to say. Even now in the modern era, we didn't know everything about it. What academics and trainers knew amounted to a mere modicum of understanding—a droplet out of an entire ocean. How could mortals ever hope to fully comprehend energy that had existed since time immemorial, energy that had the power to change the world itself?

That was the thing. They couldn't, but they certainly had to try.

More than you would expect, there were plenty of documented incidents and horror stories about people who had suffered from type energy poisoning, or TEP for short. That was what it was called when type energy leaked into the human body, a fragile vessel that wasn't compatible with it in the first place. It was curable—sometimes—or fatal. It could even develop into a lifelong condition depending on the severity. Symptoms varied case-by-case and depended on the type of affliction.

Swimmers who trespassed on the territory of a sleeping Seaking and ingested large amounts of raw Water TE from a rage-filled Whirlpool? Chances were fair that they could get stuck with permanent breathing problems and an unhealthy obsession for the sea that consumed their mind twenty-four seven—and that was if they didn't die via drowning first.

Fairies like Togetic or Togekiss who were known for flying around the world and showering so-called 'joy dust' on people? Sharing happiness and good luck? Yeah, that was Fairies accidentally—or intentionally—leaking Fairy TE out into the world in uncontrollable, undiluted amounts. Inhale enough of that too fast and too soon, and you'd lose what made you human. Oh, it'd make you happy alright, but it'd also bring out the worst in you in true Fae style. You could murder someone without even blinking.

Most of the time, TEP occurred because of involuntary accidents.

Or, sometimes, it was completely intentional.

Maybe someone wanted to feel happy at all costs, so they willingly overdosed themselves on Fairy TE even though it would alter their psyche forever.

Maybe a scientist wanted to see if they could turn themselves into a human psychic, so they had their Abra flood their mind with pure Psychic TE. The result was a toss up between permanent brain damage and multiple fractured personalities.

The point was that TE was dangerous, but the allure of what it could offer was too tantalizing for people to ignore.

People like me once upon a time.

No matter the time or era, grief would always remain one of the most crippling emotions. Grief stung, buried, and drowned the bearer in its unending depths. To lose not one but two people you loved more than anyone else in the world, to lose them without even getting to say goodbye—that did things to someone. Terrible things.

Every breath taken became a fresh reminder of the pain. Memories felt more like shackles.

And when something hurt, the natural human response was to make it stop.

I did not ask my Pokemon to 'help' me back then. They wouldn't have even if I asked, and I wouldn't have wanted them to bear that burden for the rest of their lives. I asked a wild Dark type for 'help' instead, a Thievul who could have cared less what a crazy human child asked of it so long as it got free food.

I didn't even think about possible consequences at the time.

If Astre and my grandfather had not found me almost right after, if my Ability had not mitigated the worst of it, if I had spent even a second longer in The Abyss—

If, if, if. So many ifs.

I was lucky to be standing here today alive and intact.

Well, mostly intact.

"Right," I mused out loud, rolling my shoulders. Pondering the past wasn't going to get me anywhere. Twilight was fast burning. "We should probably get to work, too."

But first, some mandatory coffee.

A cup was already waiting for me when I walked back upstairs. My right-hand man knew my habits and schedule like the back of his hand, and he proudly presented the nectar of the gods to me. Mathis had even put the drink in a plastic cup since I would be going out.

"Thanks," I smiled as I took the offering. Maybe it was because thoughts about TEP were still on my mind, but I felt like my semblance of a smile felt stiff.

Mathis saluted. "You're welcome, boss—"

"Uh uh uh," I cut him off, waving a hand in front of his face. Mathis froze as I raised a brow meaningfully at him. "New workplace, new rules. What did I say before?"

"Ray," Mathis quickly amended after a moment's realization.

My smile widened. It felt a little more real now. "Excellent. Now come with me outside. You'll have to get used to patrols from now on, you know."

"Y-Yes! Coming!"

He scampered after me. Technically, this was way beyond regular work hours already, but Mathis was dedicated to his role as my most reliable assistant. Together, we exited the gym out onto the streets of the city.

Warm winds tickled my neck and face the moment we stepped out of the lobby. It was not too hot or cool for once—a perfect June evening in Lumiose in all regards. Instead of the streets being dark, they were awash with light. The source came from the wrought-iron lattice building behind us.

In a sea of glittering buildings, the Prism Tower shined the brightest. Thousands of lights lovingly fitted into its structure cast their guiding glow on those gazing from below and afar. It might have been more accurate to call it a lighthouse, one that watched over the city and whose rays infiltrated shadows hiding in the alleys. No matter where you went in Lumiose, you would always be able to see the beloved symbol of hope.

It was now my job to make sure the lights never truly went out.

Similar to previous instances, I let half my team leave to patrol the city on their own. The other half stayed with me to ensure my safety. I didn't think it was necessary, not at this point in time at least, but I was not going to be a fool and set myself up for potential disaster.

The Phantom likely needed time for his Pokemon to heal from their wounds. The scene of destruction at the late former Lumiose Gym Leader's crime scene suggested as much. I found it hard to believe the notorious killer got away scot free after fighting one of the nation's strongest trainers. He was going to need time to recuperate, and then he was going to need time to plan out how to kill his next target. I believed him to be a cautious and thorough fellow.

Assuming I was next on his to-kill list, I gave myself about a month at the minimum and two at most. Before the next League Circuit season opened, he would strike in that estimated time frame. I know I would have if I was in his shoes. It was the best way to instill more panic after the previous incident.

Of course, I was not going to idle around until then. I was going to try and find him first while upholding my end of the deal with Diantha.

"Let's walk down the Venora tonight," I told my human companion. It was not a suggestion but a matter-of-fact decision. "Thanks to all the League forces stationed around the city for the upcoming conference, we have less to do."

That would change after the Lumiose Conference ended in a month, but I was happy to take advantage of them until then.

Mathis did not argue. He let out two of his Pokemon, Murkrow and Scrafty, while I sipped my coffee. With Umbreon and Sableye basically living in my shadow these days and Astre constantly hogging one of my shoulders, I only saw the need to release one Pokemon of my own. A Meowscarada appeared next to me, but it was actually Zoroark disguised with an illusion.

We set off now that our party was complete.

Even at this hour, the Venora riverbanks were full of light chatter and people. Couples rested together watching tour boats glide down the river. Workers weary from overtime and a long day enjoyed snacks paired with a bottle of wine. And with long, winding waters that flowed through all of Lumiose as their backdrop, performers made their music known.

In fact, I heard the sweet, soft strains of a violin drifting through the air as we walked along. It was a famous Kalosian classical piece but with a spin of its own added. I liked the interpretation enough to pull out some cash from my wallet. When I held it out to empty air, a string of shadow reached up from mine to take it.

I briefly patted the shadow. "Thank you, Umbreon."

A little rumble of contentment answered me before the shadow darted away to deposit the tip.

Beside me, Mathis watched Umbreon go with a look of envy. "Persian's never going to get that fast…"

Umbreon had already returned by the time he spoke his last fifth syllable.

"You're making excellent progress so far," I reassured him. Locals stared at me with wide eyes when we passed, but I only offered brief smiles without stopping. "It's not easy traveling through shadows or the space In-Between. The fact that your Persian can at least do so deserves credit where it's due."

"Really?" Mathis brightened up immediately. It was amusing how fast his mood could change with such a meager compliment.

"Truly."

Ghost and Dark Specialists overlapped in some areas, but barely so. The domain of Ghosts was a dimension known as the Beyond. For the Dark, we strictly dipped our toes in the In-Between, the space between this World and the Other. It was possible for trained Pokemon to travel through it. Deep and deeper still within the In-Between, there was a separate space of its own.

The Abyss.

Proper capitalization, both a physical and non-physical space, and with three different kinds as I liked to categorize them. Outer, Inner, and the True Abyss.

Most people and their Pokemon—including Mathis—would never cross the threshold beyond the Inner Abyss. Would and could not.

I ignored the sudden, itchy feeling that gnawed at my mind and drank more coffee instead. Then my head tilted back, and I eyed the bird flying high above us.

Since we were on the topic of Mathis's Pokemon anyway…

"How's your Murkrow doing? If you think he's ready to evolve soon, I'll get you a Dusk Stone," I offered. Needless to say, it would be a high quality one. Noblesse oblige, employer's responsibility—take your pick, they intertwined.

Surprisingly, Mathis shook his head with an embarrassed expression. "I-I'm really sorry, Ray. It's a generous offer, but… he doesn't want to evolve. I know because he almost pecked my eye out the other day when I brought it up."

He flinched as if expecting me to scold him, but no such thing occurred. I smiled instead.

"That's fine. It's good that you're respecting your Pokemon's choice," I praised.

Just like before, his whole face lit up. So easy to read, this one.

"Yes! Understood!" Mathis saluted, and the smile nearly slipped off my face. People around us stared at both of us now. Did he have to act like this when we were in public?

He calmed down thankfully. Aside from a few ladies who asked for pictures and autographs (and Mathis embarrassed me once again by being a very enthusiastic photographer), the rest of our patrol slash evening walk was peaceful. We even crossed paths with League Trainers who were swapping shifts.

It was almost odd to think this was the same city that had a recent murder shake its core, but I knew better. Shadows always lurked in places unseen.

My Pokemon didn't find anything out on patrol, so we went back to the estate for the night. Instead of sleeping after dinner, I spent hours with my Pokemon reinforcing security around the premises.

We laid down traps—so many, in fact, that I ended up going to bed at one in the morning.

Like usual, I didn't sleep well that night.

Not like usual, the nightmares were more intense.

It was probably because of all the thinking I'd done about type energy poisoning and The Abyss, but I woke up with cold sweat plastering hair all over my forehead and gem-like eyes inches away from my own. Jagged rows of sharp, pointy teeth glinted in the half-gloom.

The tiny gremlin hovering by my head immediately retracted his hand and let out a series of high-pitched sounds reminiscent of crackling.

"I'm good," I murmured. "I'm up now. You don't need to eat the dreams for me."

It wasn't healthy to rely on Sableye too much in the first place.

Whining, the Pokemon flopped back-first onto my pillow and let out a long sigh. He complained about boredom and hunger. Typical.

I chuckled quietly and tapped Sableye's forehead with a finger. "Come on, you can have an early morning snack."

The half-Ghost was so happy that he sprang up and bounced all over the bed, waking Astre in the process. I let them roughhouse on the bed while I got up and rummaged around in some desk drawers. I was still getting used to living back at home again, so I didn't know where I'd put everything yet.

"Ah, here they are."

Hearing my words, Sableye darted out of the way of a Morpeko Flying Kick special and jumped onto my desk. He held out his hands with an eager expression. I dropped some small emeralds into them, and the first thing he did was snatch one up and toss it into his mouth.

A satisfying and loud crunch echoed in the room. Judging by Sableye's happy expression, he liked the taste. I didn't think he wouldn't. My Pokemon were the only family members I had left now. I didn't spare expenses when it came to them.

Maybe watching Sableye eat influenced Astre, but my starter also decided a snack was in order. He begged me for some seeds he could roast since he was out.

My response was opening another drawer that contained a bunch of pouches. Astre jumped inside with glee.

I left the desk light on for them and crawled back into bed, inhaling and exhaling many times over in long-practiced rhythms. My eyes remained closed the whole time. An image slowly painted the world behind them—a bottomless sea.

Night was comfortable. Dark was soothing.

But sometimes, the sheer silence threatened to overwhelm even me.

No traps were sprung and no stadiums tampered with overnight. I woke up to a packed morning and afternoon schedule.

With only four days left until the Lumiose Conference's opening day, preparations were in full swing across the whole city. I spent the better half of my day on calls with Diantha and various League officials. True to the Champion's word, she kept me in the know of everything the Kalos League was doing around Lumiose. I also read many reports that Mathis handed me about the state of the city. Those included entry and exit logs, graphs of estimated foot traffic over the next few weeks, and many others. There was practically no time to investigate the Phantom, but I reasoned things would settle down after the Conference began. I would have time after that to really get the ball rolling.

I also briefly visited the Mayor.

It was technically a trip to City Hall to get some gym ownership change files updated in their system, but Mayor Bernard intercepted me on my way out. I stayed long enough to finish a cup of coffee in his office and learned what kind of person he was.

A cowardly man who knew to grab opportunities where he could—that was Morgan Bernard.

He had complied with Diantha's request about letting me enforce the city's peace as I liked for one and one reason only.

"I hope we can cooperate for the sake of peace in Lumiose," Mayor Bernard told me while dabbing sweat from his forehead. He smiled nervously. "I swore to the people that I would do my best to lower crime rates. Catching the Phantom would be a bonus. I'd like to continue serving the city if possible…"

I was his ticket to getting voted in again for a second term when the mayoral election opened up next year. He needed to produce results, and he was counting on my support.

Better to have an easily cowed mayor than one who was too opinionated and more difficult to control. I didn't care so long as I could do what I wanted.

When I left City Hall, I took the long way back to the gym.

It was not just the League preparing for the Conference on their end but the city itself, too. I saw it everywhere I looked.

After the crisis in Indigo some years ago, international relations deepened between both sides of the world. The Kinjoh Area and Galovea Continent ultimately signed a treaty, and their regions formed a global organization known as the World Alliance. Once safe transcontinental routes were found and tested for safety, borders were then eventually opened.

That led to an influx of foreigners pouring in from the Kinjoh Area. Kalos's tourism industry was always flourishing, but never more so than now.

Hotels across Lumiose were completely booked out by tourists and locals alike. They had been for entire weeks. Whether by plane, car, Pokemon, or some other odd form of transport, people traveled to Lumiose in droves for one of the nation's most prestigious events. Particularly for the locals, the whole affair was basically a month-long holiday and grand celebration. They were pulling out all the stops to serve what was going to be an overflow of customers in a few days.

Cafes everywhere had signs polished or new ones put up to attract attention. Hiring ads were plastered all over walls seeking the interest of temporary, part-time employees. Outdoor dining spaces were completely redecorated with fancy chairs and bright, eye-catching parasols.

I couldn't forget the flowers. So, so many flowers.

We were praised as the City of Light, but we were also a city of beauty.

Employees from various city departments had worked overtime to add hanging pots, flower wreaths and arrangements, balloons, party streamers, lights—everything festive and colorful, they had it. They covered every street lamp and surface you could see. Every bloom was a token to our regional deities. The God of Life watched over them as they lived. Later, when the flowers wilted and died, workers would return them to the earth and the God of Death's embrace.

Truly, Lumiose looked beautiful (and terrible for anyone with pollen allergies).

I bought something different today for my afternoon drink — some iced tea — and strolled down the streets with Astre sitting on my shoulder as usual. Apparently, he had a fanclub already online. We looped through some alleys on our way back to the gym to see if we could come across any gang members that needed a stern talking to.

We didn't. They were more likely to show up at night as it was.

We only saw locals leaving their houses and a lone boy sitting next to a dumpster. Anyone else would have missed him, but my eyes pierced through the shadows as we passed.

I paused, thought to myself a bit, and then turned back. Dress shoes clicked against cobbled ground as I walked and planted myself a few feet away from the dumpster. The boy hidden in its shade was busy gazing out at the colorful main street full of pedestrians in the distance, but he looked up when he heard me approach. His eyes squinted from the sunlight at my back. Otherwise, he looked expressionless.

Perhaps 'teenager' was the better word to use here. He couldn't have been older than fourteen or fifteen at most, but he looked younger because of how skinny he was. His worn clothes didn't fit perfectly on him.

I'd turned back out of curiosity for this boy sitting on the ground by himself, but I didn't have any particular conversation starter in mind.

Thankfully, he rectified that for me when a tremendously loud growl echoed in the alley. It came from his stomach.

"Hungry?" I asked.

Bright blue eyes peeked out between bangs of dull, dusty gray hair. Instead of suspicion or friendliness or any other emotion, he quite simply stared at me with no particular feeling. He didn't say anything in response.

When his stomach growled again, I made an easy decision.

"Astre, keep him company. I'll be back in a bit," I told the Pokemon sitting on my shoulder. He nearly choked on the roasted seed he was eating and gave me a startled look once he swallowed. Squeaks of protest were then chattered in my ear. He reminded me he wasn't good with kids.

I ignored his weak objections, gently grabbed the Morpeko, and set him down on the ground before departing.

Five to ten minutes later, I came back with a cup of lemonade and a bag stuffed full of fresh sandwiches and pastries. Hopefully something in them suited the boy's taste buds.

I also came back to the sight of Astre doing his best to entertain the kid by making funny expressions—or his weird, awkward attempts to scrunch his face into them at least.

He literally sagged with relief when he saw me and scurried back up my body onto my shoulder again. Never again, Astre chittered in my ear. Apparently, the kid hadn't said a peep while I was gone and just stared curiously at the Morpeko.

The boy did the same to me when I offered him my purchases. About a solid ten seconds of silence passed before he hesitantly took them into his arms. Then he got up slowly from the ground, bowed awkwardly to me, and ran down the alley.

An untalkative but polite kid.

Thoughts about him disappeared as I picked up yet another call from the Kalos League.

"Leader Ray speaking…"

The second evening of training the Dark Specialist squad passed uneventfully. It was more image training today and practically mirrored our last session. Tomorrow's session, however, would be a little different and involve moving around while deploying darkness.

Once again, I dispatched the guards to their posts before setting off on a patrol—this time by myself. Mathis had homework that I'd assigned him, and that was memorizing the layout of the streets closest to the gym.

As beautiful as Lumiose was during the day, I preferred how it was at night.

All the hustle and bustle faded away into more muted sounds. Less motion. Less noise.

Less everything.

Tonight, I wasn't wandering around at random but traveling set routes I'd planned in advance. These were the routes I was going to have my future gym trainers take over when I finally hired more.

I expected another peaceful evening, but I reaped the unexpected reward of my splashy debut.

Meowscarada jumped down from a rooftop building saying Houndoom had found something. I didn't bother asking for details. I went directly to the place of interest through shadow travel.

We arrived in a small, unremarkable corner of a shopping district in the southern part of Lumiose. My Pokemon had already sealed off the area within a void, so no one was going to be able to hear or see a thing.

It was a good thing, too, because what Houndoom had found would have startled an ordinary citizen half to death.

I pulled out my phone and dialed a number almost without looking, holding it to my ear with a smile that wasn't quite genuine.

The Kalos Champion picked up within a few rings.

"Diantha," I greeted. "I'm calling to let you know our mutual friend left me a greeting."

"What? Where are you?"

She said something else, but I wasn't listening anymore. My eyes were glued to the wall in front of me. Another note was added to my mental archives. I believed the Phantom to be a cautious and thorough fellow, and now it seemed like he was easily provoked, too.

Here in this rundown alley and written in white paint on a dirty, half-broken wall was a message I knew was meant for me.

YOU'RE NEXT.