You can fail, you just can't give up

[yosef1]

*Sigh*

I really wanted to start my list of The Loud House stories.

But NOOOOO, I have to have tons and tons of writing inspiration for various fandoms. I have another Pokémon story besides this one, one for Pixar's Luca, and so on. I even have a new TLH story involving the Blouds and an AU of Lincoln not being a brother, but there aren't any +18 situations because I don't like them (I'm making this clear because I know how famous this fandom is).

And this story was supposed to be part of a collection I was going to do after the TLH list, but unfortunately my poll didn't get any engagement. So I'm doing it now because I don't want to lose the momentum of this story.

So, have fun.

The camera showed the tops of a large number of trees with leaves ranging from yellow to orange to red, belonging to a dense forest.

And just above, there was an incredibly clear blue sky.

Then something passed over the trees at high speed.

The camera followed this thing until it showed its face, revealing it to be a Talonflame flapping its wings above the forest.

It flapped its wings a little more and then began to glide.

It stayed like that for a while before looking to the side. Then it tilted its entire body in that direction.

The camera shifted to show the inside angle of a medium-sized hole made of the autumn leaves of the trees.

From the hole, the Talonflame entered the forest with its wings pressed against its body like a missile.

It spread them and slowed down, gaining altitude and gliding through the maze of trees while dodging them.

It glided until it reached a tree with a very thick trunk and branches, landing on one of the branches. He looked up at the berries hanging from the branch above, right at his face level.

The berries were a dull yellow color with an hourglass shape, resembling a cross between a pear and a potato.

He looked at the other berries right next to them, a cluster of small red balls resembling cherries.

He walked over to them and ate one of the small berries.

He stood still for a moment.

When nothing happened, he began to eat the cluster of red Berries.

The camera then focused on the shadow of his tail.

Suddenly, the shadow began to move, slowly swelling and rounding.

It stretched until it was just below the pear-like Berries.

From the shadow, a round, purple hand with three sharp fingers rose.

Then his round, purple arm appeared, reaching up until it placed its hand on the Berry.

He grabbed it and gave it a slow tug, but it didn't let go.

He gave another slow tug, still not letting go.

Then the arm gave a strong tug, ripping the Berry free and making a decently loud noise.

He disappeared into the shadow along with the Berry, and the shadow returned to normal, before Talonflame turned around, its pupils dilated in attention.

He looked in several directions cautiously.

Then his pupils returned to normal, and he resumed eating the red Berries.

The shadow of its tail stirred again, stretching far below the pear-like Berries.

This time, two round, purple arms appeared from the shadow, grabbing the yellow Berries in a clump.

Then with a strong tug, the Berries released their grip, and the arms disappeared into the shadow before Talonflame turned around again.

The Talonflame looked in different directions, now with a more frightened look.

Then it grabbed the Berries by the bunch with its beak and ripped them off.

It jumped from the branch and flew toward the hole in the trees it had entered earlier.

The camera shifted focus to show one of the red Berries, having landed on a mossy rock on the ground.

Then the small shadow of the tree shifted, stretching until it was right in front of the Berry.

From the shadow, the same round, purple arm emerged, picking up the small Berry and disappearing with it into the shadows.

##

The camera focused on an orange tree leaf, swaying easily.

Then its dry petiole loosened as a light breeze blew.

The leaf began to fall slowly and irregularly through the air, performing acrobatics or rocking.

As it descended, the background behind it revealed that the tree's roots had grown above higher ground.

The leaf continued downward, showing that the roots had traveled above the high ground toward lower ground.

The leaf continued downward...

Then the face of a Gardevoir appeared, staring into space with lines and wrinkles in its eyes.

The camera shifted to show a full-length view of Gardevoir, sitting with her legs bent to the side but with her knees pushed forward, leaning against the wall made of dirt, roots, and moss that formed a mini-cave beneath the tree.

On her lap was a lime-green egg with lime-green circles painted on it, her hands circling it.

The leaf was still falling.

The camera shifted to show a moving perspective, passing through the trees in a bit of a hurry.

Gardevoir's eyes closed slightly.

The perspective now passed under a root, then to the right and over another root.

She circled her hands around the egg a bit more.

The perspective rose to higher ground and turned left.

Her eyes closed, and her breathing slowed to a sleepy rhythm.

The perspective continued in a straight line, gradually slowing until it almost stopped.

She let the key fall slightly to the side.

The orange leaf fell to the ground, its shadow merging with the shadows of the trees.

Nothing happened.

Then the leaf's shadow stretched, stopping when it stood in front of the mini-cave.

The shadow expanded in all directions in a circle, and from it emerged a broad purple head with sharp points.

Soon, the face of a Gengar with a toothy grin appeared, and in his arms were pear-like Berries and a small red one.

When his body was completely out of sight, the leaf shadow fell away and returned to normal.

His smile faltered a little as he looked at her.

He held all the Berries in one arm and used the rest to give her shoulder an extremely light and calming touch.

Her eyelids fluttered slightly, and she slowly opened her eyes.

She lifted her head and stared at him with a sleepy, very confused look.

He gave a soft "Ge," his smile widening back to before.

She continued to stare at him.

Then she closed her eyes and opened her mouth in an adorable smile. The background behind her turned into pure pink paint with simple flowers in it.

She looked at him happily, mouthing her own name as if it were a sentence.

He also mumbled his name as if it were a sentence and held the Berries in both arms, showing them to her.

She looked a little surprised and curious.

She picked up the small red Berry and put it in her mouth.

She chewed on it and then gave a "hmm!" with a satisfied expression.

Her smile widened even more. Then he pressed the Berries toward her.

She picked up one of the yellow Berries and took a bite, chewing with a satisfied smile.

He chuckled, his smile widening.

She took another bite and swallowed, then laid her head back against the wall, the lines around her eyes deepening. But with a slight smile on her face.

He looked slightly disappointed.

He dropped the other Berries on the ground and tried to push her busy hand to his mouth, mumbling his own name.

She removed her other hand from the egg and gestured for him to calm down.

She mouthed her own name as she placed the bitten Berry on the ground right next to her.

Gengar looked at it with a disappointed look.

A thought bubble appeared, showing him proudly handing her colorful leaves.

The bubble disappeared, and he cringed a little, embarrassed.

Gardevoir looked up at the trees with their ever-falling colorful leaves. It's Autumn.

And the food is going to run out.

She turned to Gengar and gave a friendly smile, dragging the Berries across the ground with her hand to where the bitten Berry lay. She continued her conversation.

Gengar sat on the ground with a sad look on his face, his hands on his toes.

This left Gardevoir with a dejected expression.

Then she put on a friendly smile and spoke, leaning forward to stand up.

Gengar quickly stood up in fright, holding out his hands and almost yelling at her to stop.

She froze in place with a look of surprise.

He began to speak frantically, gesturing.

He pointed at her and pulled at the skin just below his eye with his finger, making it look like it had lines of fatigue.

Then he let his body fall limply as if exhausted.

Then he pointed to her egg.

He slapped his hands on his chest, perhaps?, and ran to a bush.

He came back and showed her a small stone in his hand.

He pointed to the stone and then placed it on the ground behind him.

He sat on top of her and rubbed his bottom.

He got off and picked her up, touching her with his finger and grimacing as if he was cold.

He tossed the stone away as he looked at her expectantly.

She blinked a few times.

Then she looked thoughtfully at her egg as she leaned back slightly.

She looked at him and made a questioning sound.

He nodded.

He walked over and placed one hand on her chest, just below the pink thorn, and the other on her shoulder. He pushed her gently until she was back against the mini-cave.

He removed his hands from hers and rubbed the back of his neck, looking to the side as he spoke.

Then he placed his wrists on his hips and gave a confident chuckle, along with an equally confident expression.

Her eyes relaxed, her expression weary but with a tender smile.

She placed a hand on his arm and pulled herself against him, rubbing his head gently with a comforting smile.

He smiled happily and used his free arm to rub her shoulder.

They let go and pulled away.

Gengar pointed upward like a superhero and flew away, soon disappearing into the barrier of tree leaves.

Gardevoir looked after him, still smiling.

But soon her expression grew weary.

She pulled Egg closer to her and closed her eyes.

Further away, Gengar landed on the ground.

The heroic smile on his face changed to a dejected expression.

A flash of him holding a baby blue furball with a dangling black wing against a snow-covered backdrop appeared.

He...

The flash changed to the furball now standing on a brown ground with a snow-covered circumference.

It's so dead.

The fingers of one hand glowed translucent purple.

He...

The flash changed to an image of Gardevoir sleeping with lines etched beneath its eyes.

It's so useless.

Suddenly, he slapped the air with a shout, sending three sharp lines of translucent purple light shooting toward a tree.

The lines easily pierced the tree, leaving three gashes that ran across the trunk.

Soon, the wood began to creak, and the tree tilted until it fell to the ground with a loud crash.

When everything calmed down, Gengar returned to a normal posture.

The camera focused on his back as he stood frozen.

Then he gave a disappointed sigh and levitated toward the tree.

He dove into the mass of leaves, leaving a visual trail of movement behind him.

He emerged from the mass of leaves and stood above it, throwing dry twigs from both hands away and diving again.

He traveled through the leaves until his face appeared below, then gave an annoyed groan and went back inside.

He rummaged around a bit more until he disappeared near the trunk.

Then he emerged from one side of the trunk with half his body, breaking it, and holding a straw nest in his hands.

He looked both ways at the nest, then snorted dejectedly as he tossed the nest into a corner.

He looked in several directions from where he was. Then his eyes widened.

In a corner of one of the trees, a Grovyle was frozen with its mouth open, staring at him with a surprised expression.

He also had a small brown sphere in his hand, which he froze in midair toward his mouth.

They stared at each other for a while.

Then Gengar noticed a bag with several of these brown spheres near Grovyle's feet.

He squeaked strangely loudly in satisfaction, which made Grovyle drop the food he was about to eat and pick up the bag from the ground, running away very quickly.

Gengar's expression was confused.

He levitated off the trunk, breaking it even further, and I walked over to Grovyle.

He picked up the brown sphere and gave it a gentle lick.

A look of surprise and satisfaction instantly washed over him.

Grovyle leaped between the trees to climb them, reaching a few branches and jumping between them.

He leaped to the next branch…

In an instant, Gengar appeared on the branch with a grin and his tongue lolling out.

Grovyle's expression was shocked and he let out a cry.

In a panic, the leaves on his arms gathered together to form glowing green half-moon blades, and he prepared to strike Gengar.

He swung, and Gengar easily dodged to the side, following him with his eyes as he flew forward.

Grovyle's expression was startled as he began to fall.

He threw his free arm against a tree trunk, driving his blade in.

He slid toward the ground, slowing as his blade sliced through the trunk.

When he reached the ground, he disengaged the blades and landed on his feet.

Gengar soon landed on the ground right in front of him, startling Grovyle.

Grovyle looked around. From right to left were tall, thick tree roots, and behind him was the trunk he had climbed down.

Then he turned to Gengar, sweat breaking out on his head, and the leaves on his arms, head, and tail turned into shiny green half-moon blades.

He assumed a fighting stance with a tense expression.

Gengar stretched out his arms in a belaying gesture.

He showed the brown food he had found and pointed to it.

He pointed at Grovyle and then put his hand above his eyes, shaking his head as if searching for something.

Grovyle relaxed slightly, undoing his blades.

He broke his fighting stance and spoke questioningly.

Gengar spoke back affirmatively.

Grovyle stared at him for a few seconds.

Then he leaped high into the tree, climbing it leap by leap like a goat.

Gengar watched him do this and levitated, following him.

The camera shifted to show the treetops, which stretched out into a vast sea of colorful leaves.

Grovyle's head emerged from this sea, and shortly afterward, Gengar emerged and floated above it.

Grovyle looked in several directions, then spoke as he pointed.

Gengar looked in the same direction.

Far in the distance, several tall, large things, much larger than the trees, their light colors shining in the sun, stood very close together.

Some were taller or shorter, and others were much taller and very thin.

He moved his head slightly from side to side, noticing that this cluster of things stretched for considerable distances in both directions.

He stared at it for a while, then turned to Grovyle and offered it back the food.

A bead of sweat appeared on its head.

He waved dismissively and dove back into the mass of leaves.

Gengar gave a "if you insist" expression and tucked the food into a kangaroo-like pouch on its belly.

It flew toward those exalted objects.

##

Gengar had just emerged from the forest, flying above streets with crosswalks, traffic lights, and streetlights.

It looked down, noticing the number of individuals on these streets.

Of people.

A mass of people that took up much of the ground. And there were even some pokemon with them, being held in their arms or walking alongside.

And a lot of noise, loud noises from lots of different things that only made it louder.

He flew a little further until he saw a sidewalk without a road that was less crowded.

He descended and landed, people immediately looking at him.

He ignored them and continued walking.

He looked everywhere, searching for something resembling food.

As he walked, he looked at those huge things he saw from afar.

These things were buildings, structures with multiple windows and diverse shapes.

And they were all huge, big enough to reach the flying pokemon in the sky.

He also saw that the tallest structure was a metallic gray transmission tower, rising even higher than the buildings.

He continued looking at the large structures until he heard murmurs.

He looked at the people around him, confused.

They murmured among themselves or to themselves.

"Is that a Gengar?"

"Don't they stay in abandoned houses or out-of-the-way places?"

"They like to play pranks, maybe they're looking for a target."

"He is very lonely, he may have separated from his partner."

"Could it be from a trainer who is traveling here?"

Then he looked at these people's pokemon.

A Vulpix was hiding behind a person's legs, but staring at him curiously.

An Illumise, who was lying on a person's head, tilted its head towards him.

A Dewott was holding his two shells in his hands in a semi-fighting pose with an attentive expression.

Gengar then looked ahead and stopped, surprised.

A girl, a teenager, wearing a white blouse under a beige sweater with diagonal checks, a gray pleated skirt reaching to her feet with black flats, a green bag diagonally across her chest from shoulder to armpit, and short lilac hair with a Crobat clip holding a long strand of hair at the side of her forehead, knelt down to his level.

"Did you lose your partner?"

The man behind her, an adult with a thin black beard, light blue hair, a white long-sleeved shirt, blue pants with pockets through which his hands were tucked, and brown shoes, spoke casually.

"Viri, Gengars are smart, he probably knows what he's doing."

She placed one hand on her knee and extended the other to him.

"Come here."

Gengar looked apprehensive and took a step back.

She looked surprised and took a similar step forward. He took another step back.

And she did the same as before.

Then he took another.

The man sighed a little impatiently, "See? He's shown he doesn't want help. I'll leave him alone."

A little away from the situation, at the front of the crowd, a blond boy in a blue jacket and pants looked at it with shining eyes.

He looked at the stuffed Gengar in his arms, then at the real Gengar. Switching back and forth several times.

Then he broke into a wide, innocent smile and ran, laughing, toward Gengar.

Gengar looked to the side and was startled when the boy came very close and jumped on him.

Everyone around, except the man and the girl, gasped in concern.

Gengar looked awkward, trying to reach the boy, who was laughing as he climbed on top of him.

The boy reached behind him and pulled on the sharp spikes on his head, making him grimace uncomfortably.

Suddenly, everyone began approaching cautiously, saying things to the boy.

This made Gengar look around frantically, beads of sweat appearing on his head.

People kept approaching, and his eyes became even more frantic.

Then he calmed down, his face forming a shadow that reached just above his mouth.

The boy continued to laugh at him.

Then he began to walk through his body until he was past him.

The boy slipped out of Gengar's body from below and fell to the ground unharmed, hugging his Gengar plushie tightly.

The boy looked up.

Gengar made a frightening face at him, his tongue sticking out and let out a terrifying scream, made even scarier by the fact that he was angry too.

The boy's expression was one of pure terror, his face turning pale.

He got up and ran away, crying.

Gengar turned to the crowd and made the same face several times, charging at them, making them retreat in fright.

Even the man and the girl were startled and backed away.

He grabbed her arm, "I said leave him alone!", and dragged her away.

On the outside of the crowd, a girl around 13, wearing a yellow shirt that left her midriff exposed beneath an orange jacket, jeans, green sneakers, and a blue fedora, looked at the situation with a curious look.

"What's going on?"

She walked slowly until she was near the crowd.

Suddenly, the crowd backed up, and she had to do the same so no one would hit her.

This caused the crowd to part enough for her to see a Gengar scaring everyone.

She looked confused, "A Gengar gone wild? But aren't they the most discreet Pokémon?".

She reached into a jacket pocket and rummaged through it.

Then she stopped, her eyes wide.

She threw her head back with a frustrated expression, "AAAAAHHHH! I lost my Pokédex again!"

She returned to her normal self with a determined expression, "Okay."

She walked through the crowd.

Gengar grimaced again, once again causing everyone to back away.

"HEY YOU!"

Gengar stopped, surprised, and turned toward the voice.

The girl was pointing her finger at him.

"You think it's cool to scare people like that?!"

Gengar made an unimpressed expression.

Then he gave the same scary face to the girl.

She made a slightly irritated expression, "If you want to be stubborn..."

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a mini-Pokeball, which expanded when she pressed the button in the middle.

"Bisharp! Go!"

She threw the spinning Pokéball high into the air.

The Pokéball stopped in mid-air and burst open, releasing a mass of glowing blue and white energy that stirred like water on the ground.

The energy took shape and disappeared, leaving a Bisharp with its arms crossed in an X.

The Bisharp broke its stance, throwing its arms down and screaming at the sky.

Gengar replaced its grimace with a confused expression.

She caught the falling Poké Ball back in her hand and put it away. "If it won't listen, then it needs training."

She threw her arm forward. "BISHARP! USE IRON HEAD!"

The blade on Bisharp's head glowed and turned completely metallic. It leaned forward and launched itself at full speed.

Gengar was slightly surprised.

Bisharp got closer and closer, but he didn't move.

She was a little confused. "Why doesn't he try to dodge?"

In slow motion, Bisharp arrived with his metal blade right in front of Gengar...

And pierced him.

Time returned to normal, and Bisharp landed behind him, placing one knee and one hand on the ground.

His Iron Head fell apart, and he and the girl stared at it with shocked looks and a bead of sweat on their foreheads.

Gengar placed his hands on his hips and laughed smugly.

The girl placed a finger on her head with an embarrassed expression. "Oh, yes, Gengars can become intangible."

She continued muttering, "And even though Poison-types are weak to Ground-types, intangibility would protect them."

Then her gaze changed to a more determined one. "But Ghost-types are weak to themselves."

She threw her arm to the side. "BISHARP! USE NIGHT SHADE!"

Bisharp shook his head and recovered. Gengar turned to him.

Bisharp's eyes glowed pink.

Gengar's expression was startled.

Then, dark crimson rays with red outlines shot from his eyes.

Gengar awkwardly turned his body to the side, dodging the blow.

Bisharp stopped the shot and fired again, with Gengar once again awkwardly dodging.

This repeated several times.

After a while, Gengar began to levitate, dodging attacks in midair.

At some point, Gengar dodged a downward beam, levitating just above the ground.

In an instant, Bisharp appeared almost entirely above him.

"USE CONFUSE RAY!"

Four spheres of yellowish-brown aura appeared in front of Bisharp's body, spinning in orbit.

They shot out, all striking Gengar and exploding like water balloons.

Gengar froze in place as Bisharp spun in the air and crouched on the ground in a performance.

Gengar's eyes turned into swirling black spirals.

"USE IRON HEAD!"

The blade on its head turned metallic, and it quickly spun around, slamming into Gengar's back and sending him flying forward.

He flew a decent distance before crashing to the ground, the ground scraping against the asphalt before coming to a stop.

He was quiet for a moment, then braced his hands and lifted his head. His face had an uncomfortable expression and some dirt streaks from the damage.

She smiled confidently, "I knew it, if it gets disoriented, the instability won't work."

She threw her arm forward again, "BISHARP! FINISH WITH DRAGON RUSH!"

Bisharp assumed a running stance and took off, moving like a human runner.

A transparent blue light with white beams appeared in front of his body and ran through it like air resistance, giving him a comet-like shape.

Gengar's expression was dark and irritated.

Then he turned, his expression furious, and levitated at high speed toward Bisharp.

A white light appeared in front of his body and dissolved like a mass of air filled with white particles.

The girl's expression was worried. "Wait! Why is he charging?!"

They both charged at each other without slowing down.

Then they collided.

The energy around their bodies flattened out at the front, the shock of the impact producing a loud boom and a sudden, large displacement of air.

This caused everyone around to grab onto each other or stretch their arms out in front of them.

Quickly, the mass of white energy sank deeper than the blue energy.

Its momentum hit Bisharp's legs, causing the torque to throw him forward.

The masses of energy dissipated, causing another displacement of air, and Bisharp spun diagonally upward.

Then he began to fall and hit the ground hard, kicking up a light cloud of dust.

The girl's expression was a mixture of surprise and confusion, "HUH?!"

The dust dissipated; now there was a Bisharp, his eyes in static black spirals, unconscious.

Gengar looked at him with a certain superiority and then walked away, waving his hands to remove the dirt.

But he soon stopped when he heard several voices and looked around.

He hadn't realized it, but there were many more people in the crowd, so much so that there was a closed circle of people staring at him.

"That Gengar is starting a fight."

"He's just causing trouble. We should call the police."

"That girl couldn't stop him, someone else needs to fight him."

"We have to keep him under control."

Gengar looked up as a Poké Ball flew into the air.

And then came another, and another, and another…

He grew increasingly frightened.

In an instant, several Poké Balls had been launched into the air, and many more were coming at him without stopping.

He took a step back in fear.

Then all the Poké Balls froze in midair and burst open, releasing absurd amounts of energy that fell to the ground around the crowd.

Gengar spun in place, looking at them all.

From the masses of energy emerged an Absol, a Machamp, a Hippowdon, a Sandaconda, a Mantyke, and many others.

Gengar flinched.

Then he noticed his round shadow, right below him.

He looked forward with an indignant look and slapped his forehead.

He waved to everyone with his usual smile and disappeared into his own shadow, with it disappearing with him.

All the summoned Pokémon fell to the ground in a classic, comical fashion.

"He got away!"

"Someone really needs to call the police now!"

At the police station, Officer Jenny sat reviewing some paperwork.

Then the black landline phone next to her began to ring.

She picked it up and answered, "How can I help you?"

"There's an uncontrolled and aggressive Gengar in town!"

She looked surprised, "A Gengar?", he whispered now, "That's strange, they're usually discreet. This is quite unusual."

She got a serious expression. "Are you sure? Because if this is a joke…"

"It's true! A trainer tried to restrain him and lost. He escaped after other trainers arrived and is now somewhere in the city!"

She relaxed, "Well, if there are witnesses..."

She put on a determined expression. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it."

Somewhere, in a darker block with abandoned buildings crowded together, the camera focused on an empty alley.

Then the camera panned upward, where sunlight was hitting one of the buildings.

Just below the light, Gengar emerged from the shadows and floated slowly to the ground.

He looked both ways; no one was there, then he fell to the ground with a weary sigh.

He reached into the pouch on his stomach and pulled out the food.

He looked up, a thought bubble appearing.

In it, he was standing in the middle of the street, walking calmly.

Then a crowd surrounded him, startling him, and several Pokémon appeared to fight.

The scene changed; now he was sneaking through alleys and corners, no one able to notice him.

The bubble disappeared when he nodded.

He stood up, clenching his fist with the food in it, looked both ways again, and levitated out of the alley.

The camera shifted to show another street, more lively than before.

From an alley, Gengar poked his head out a little.

He blinked and looked both ways.

Then he looked up and gave a soft "Geeeee."

There was a café on the rooftop of a two-story building, with outdoor tables painted a soft pink with white stripes.

And there were people sitting on white ornamental chairs, eating or chatting at the tables.

A Skitty was curled up asleep on the floor near one of the chairs with someone.

From the shadow of the chair, Gengar's hand emerged and reached across the table, picking up a circular brown cookie with icing on top.

He quickly retreated into the shadow, disappearing.

Kitty woke up just as he disappeared, but saw nothing and calmly curled up again.

Back in the alley, Gengar had his hand tucked into the shadows just below the sunlight, just before the alley's exit.

He pulled his hand away and looked happily at the cookie.

Then his smile fell.

He set the food and cookie down next to each other, glancing between them.

They weren't the same.

He picked up the cookie and licked it.

It was sweet, but not the same.

He gave a frustrated groan and tossed the cookie away.

##

Officer Jenny scribbled in her notebook with a pencil while the female Trainer from before spoke and gestured.

In the background, Gengar emerged from a narrow alley, walking sideways.

He turned and floated to a decent height.

He stayed very close to the wall and floated like a spy sneaking around corners.

After he passed an open window, a man with short brown hair, thin eyes, and a red-and-green velvet plaid polo shirt leaned against the window sill and stuck his head out, staring at him in shock.

Gengar fled as the man screamed loudly enough to attract the attention of the officer and the trainer.

The camera shifted to show Gengar's hands, one holding the brown food, the other a pepper-like Berry, a green Macaron, and a piece of meat roasted until orange. One at a time.

Gengar was now pulling a bun while a Kilowattrel pulled the other side, trying to fly with it.

They were on a rocky area at the edge of a river. A Clodsire stared at them with its mouth open and its naturally ridiculous expression.

In the background, Officer Jenny was riding along the road on her motorcycle, right next to them.

Her hands now held half a bun, an onigiri, and a cotton candy stick. And the light in the background had become more yellow.

Officer Jenny was leaning on her motorcycle, looking in one direction through binoculars.

When she turned, she revealed a Gengar in the background levitating from one building to another as if it were leaping. And the sun was lower now.

In Gengar's hands appeared a caramel-colored heart-shaped cookie with flowers, a tea bag, and a chicken drumstick. The background had become more orange.

Officer Jenny sat in a cafe, reading the newspaper, lit by the orange sky, about a Gengar defeating a Bisharp in the middle of the street.

In front of her, but not far enough for her to notice, Gengar burst through the cafe wall.

A Herdier noticed it and growled at it.

Gengar glared at it, then pulled down its eyelid toward it.

In Gengar's hands now lay a mushroom with a white body and a green head, and a writhing, live Magikarp. The lighting seems smaller.

Officer Jenny stopped her motorcycle right in front of a bar, and Gengar emerged from the door.

She watched in surprise as he stuck his tongue out at them, made a raspberry gesture, and floated away.

Now, Gengar had a piece of blue and green ice cream in his hand, melting and dripping onto the ground. His hands seemed to be illuminated by artificial light against a dark background.

The camera showed him in a dark alley, but in a more well-maintained neighborhood, illuminated by a streetlight outside a house in the alley, his back to which was facing. While the rest of the environment was darkened by the presence of night.

He stared at the ice cream for a moment, then turned his hand away, letting it fall to the ground.

He turned to the wall of the streetlight and began banging his head repeatedly, not very hard or fast, but with a decent effort.

He continued banging his head without any other reaction.

Then he stopped, freezing with his head resting against the wall.

He slid his head until his forehead touched the wall, his expression sad and looking down.

He just wants to help.

A fleeting image of Gardevoir lying in the mini-cave appeared, holding her egg as she looked at him with a compassionate smile.

Then he handed her a set of leaves, which she stared at with a confused look.

But he just...can't. He doesn't understand what they need.

An image of him sitting inside the mini-cave appeared, holding the baby blue furball with a big smile, even though it was trembling.

He can't feel the same, he doesn't eat the same way (he neither eats nor sleeps). He doesn't even understand what certain things they all feel are.

The image shifted to him holding the furball, now motionless and with drooping wings, while staring at her with a dead look.

He is so dead.

Too dead to be any good to anyone.

He sighed and lifted his head from the wall, ready to leave.

Then he froze when he saw a large, clear plastic bag (half his size) stuffed tightly with something inside, right at the end of the alley.

Something brown.

Similar to the one he had with him.

Wait...

He stretched out his arm, leaving the food right next to the bag in his view.

He looked from one to the other several times.

Soon his eyes turned to stars and a huge smile appeared on his face.

But then he saw the bag disappear, crawling around a corner in the alley.

He looked shocked and ran toward it.

He looked both ways out of the alley.

He spotted the bag on the left, crawling until it disappeared around another corner again.

He put his hands on his hips, a strange expression on his face.

And he ran after it again.

Just as he emerged from the alley, on the other side, Officer Jenny's motorcycle stopped at the entrance.

She walked until she was under the light he was standing under.

She crouched down and stared at the green and blue ice cream, now turning into a viscous juice on the ground, with a thoughtful expression.

"Everywhere he's been seen or has been around, there's a decent amount of food thrown away."

Her expression relaxed a bit, "But I don't think he has anything to do with the repeated theft of large amounts of food these past few months. He seems to be alone."

She tilted her head with a confused expression. "And for some reason, even though Gengars don't need to eat, he doesn't even try to eat it. That's strange."

He stood up, put his hands on his hips, and looked down the alley with a stressed expression, "What now? Did he go all the way to the end of one of the alley's sides or go through the walls?", she sighed, stressed.

Gengar continued his pursuit, almost always losing his balls when he turned a corner.

Right.

Right.

Left.

Right.

Left.

With each corner he turned or each meter he walked, the alleys grew darker and the block became more desolate and destroyed.

The alleys became more irregular in size and shape, and the buildings either had their tops missing, were half-destroyed vertically, or were just a pulverized base.

Then he turned a corner, and the alley was now quite long.

This revealed that the sack was being pulled by a Conkeldurr, holding the two pillars in one arm and pulling the sack from the edge with the other.

Gengar was startled and quickly threw himself at a wall, crashing through it.

The Conkeldurr stopped walking, raising his head slightly.

He stood still and silent for a moment.

Then he resumed walking normally.

When he was a certain distance away, Gengar stuck his head out of the wall, watching him.

He waited a moment longer and then resumed walking, still keeping most of his body inside the wall.

They continued walking forward in a straight line.

Until Conkeldurr leaves the alley, walking through a more open one.

Gengar stopped right at the edge of the wall.

Conkeldurr was crossing an apparent road that went around an aged but intact building, which was more isolated from the others. Like the Arc de Triomphe.

Conkeldurr walked to the building, entering it and disappearing into the shadows.

Gengar leaned further away from the wall with a curious look.

He looked both ways and flew very quickly until his back was against the outside wall.

Then he floated upwards in a straight line.

The camera for the internal side of a floor without a wall.

Gengar floated past him, then stuck his head out a bit upside down.

On that floor, there was a Swellow, An Beheeyem, a Kricketune, and An Raticate standing together, waiting.

From the shadows, the Conkeldurr appeared, still dragging the sack with him.

The others spotted him.

Then the Raticate spoke angrily to him.

Conkeldurr got angry and spoke too, stretching his bag towards them.

Raticate claimed the most and Conkeldurr claimed one back.

He tilted the sack back and threw it upwards, Gengar following with his eyes until he heard a knock upstairs.

Raticate snorted, then turned and gave Kricketune an order.

He hit the wall, causing a small mountain of food to fall from the floor above.

They all walked over to the mountain of food and sat around it, each eating their own.

Gengar glanced at them, then looked up.

He levitated, spinning to his feet, up to the top floor.

Upstairs, there was a much larger mountain of food, piled on the only remaining patch of ground on the second floor.

He leaned to either side, trying to see what was on the other side of the mountain.

He broke into a wide smile.

He levitated, passing intangibly through the mountain, to the other side.

Right at the edge of the cracked ground, the bag of food lay on top of other food at the base of the mountain.

Gengar picked it up and hugged it tightly, laughing in fulfillment and very quietly.

He turned to leave.

Then a bright light struck him and the others below.

They all stared at the light in surprise.

The light came from Officer Jenny's flashlight, who stared at them in equal surprise.

"What the—?"

Everyone eating stood up with serious expressions.

Jenny raised the flashlight slightly, focusing more on the mountain of food and Gengar.

The others looked up and gasped in surprise.

Gengar looked back down at them.

Jenny's expression became confused. "So he was with them? Or is this something else?"

Gengar noticed that the light was casting a shadow of him.

Kricketune gave an irritated expression and flew after him.

This made Jenny jump to attention, pulling out a Pokeball.

She sighed, "I'll figure that out later," and threw it.

Just as Kricketune arrived right in front of Gengar, one of the claws about to attack, Gengar waved and dove into the shadows along with the bag of food.

Kricketune ended up striking the air with its claw.

Jenny was frustrated, "Damn it!"

The Pokeball opened, and a mass of energy erupted, transforming into an Arcanine, which let out a growl into the air.

He looked up in alarm when he heard a scream. It was Conkeldurr running toward him.

She had a serious expression, "I think it'll be you guys first! ARCANINE! USE HEADBUTT!"

Arcanine rushed at Conkeldurr.

Conkeldurr slid his hand around a pillar to grab it in the middle, tilted it back, and threw it.

Arcanine positioned his head like a bull, and the pillar's body and his head collided.

Quickly, Arcanine jerked his head upward, using the momentum to throw the pillar backward.

The pillar spun in the air, crashing through a wall.

The camera shifted to the outside, showing the pillar slowing down and falling to the ground, digging itself into it slightly.

"USE FLAMETHROWER!"

Arcanine spat a jet of yellow fire with orange edges and outer rings from his mouth.

In an instant, Beheeyem appeared floating beside Conkeldurr.

His eyes glowed yellow, and a light wall of yellow hexagons appeared in front of them, shielding them.

The FlameThrower struck, causing the hexagons to vanish on contact, but soon after, new ones appeared in their place.

Elsewhere, in a slightly less run-down part of the block, the camera focused on a streetlight, the bulb flickering incessantly at an unpredictable rate.

In the tiny space between the blinks, Gengar leaped out of the shadow.

He fell to the ground, but quickly got up and looked around suspiciously.

He then looked at the sack in his hands with an optimistic smile.

A flash of light appeared, showing him handing the sack to Gardevoir as she stared at him with a look of wonder.

He began to dance, hopping from one leg to the other.

The camera shifted to show the background.

He began walking in a circle.

A tall pillar of pink light rose in the distance as he completed the circle and then disappeared.

He swayed from side to side with the bag tightly wrapped around his body. A strange object began to fly near him in the background.

He danced, bending and unbending his knees, then began to move one foot forward at a time, resembling a Russian dance.

The camera zoomed in on the ground, showing him from behind, lifting the bag into the air several times.

Then a stone pillar landed on the ground, causing a soft bang. Gengar froze.

He placed the bag close to his body and turned 90.

The entire group of Pokémon from before was glaring at him, the flashing light giving them even more sinister dark features.

Gengar turned slightly to the other side, looking around. There was no other light source, which would have cast a shadow, nearby.

He turned back to them, looking at the lamp he'd come from behind them.

Then Beheeyem's body glowed yellow, as did the lamp.

The lamp spun in its socket, ceasing to illuminate.

Once it was completely extinguished, the yellow light disappeared from the two of them, and it fell to the ground, making a sound like shattering glass.

Gengar glared back at them from the ground.

They all growled menacingly.

Gengar made a peace sign and slowly floated to the side, passing through the wall of a building.

As his hands passed, the sack remained in the alley.

Then a beam composed of purple rings shot out from the wall, opening a decent-sized hole.

Gengar's hand reached out and grabbed the sack, pulling it inside.

Everyone looked at it with neutral expressions, but without reaction.

Conkeldurr shook his head and ran angrily toward the hole.

Inside, Gengar was flying upward.

But he stopped and turned as two stone pillars passed through the hole, widening it.

Then a pillar flew to each side, splitting the wall open and causing it to crumble a little before disappearing.

Conkeldurr ducked through the hole, Swellow and Kricketune emerging from behind him and flying after Gengar.

Gengar held the sack with one hand and extended the other toward Conkeldurr.

From it, a beam of several black rings shot out at high speed.

Conkeldurr placed one of the pillars in front of his face, the beam striking him.

He was pushed back, then placed the other pillar diagonally behind him, but he continued to slide across the ground, passing through the other building.

He stopped when Swellow and Kricketune flew close to him, one on either side.

Their bodies glowed with white energy, resembling a meteor.

Gengar raised the sack above his head, and the two slashed through it, Kricketune on top and Swellow on bottom.

Their expressions were shocked as they slowed down abruptly, deactivating their move.

Gengar dropped the sack, dropping it to catch it with his feet.

He then pointed both hands and fired a beam of rings from each hand at the two.

They both accelerated again to dodge, continually dodging the beam that was chasing them.

Gengar stopped firing and flew upward, only to slow down dramatically when a yellow glow appeared around his body.

He looked down, seeing the Beheeyem with its hand raised toward him, its eyes glowing yellow.

Gengar tried to force it upward, but it continued to rise very slowly.

He looked around, seeing Swellow and Kricketune returning.

Then he turned his head toward the Beheeyem and opened his mouth.

A beam of rings shot out, startling Beheeyem and moving his Gengar hand toward the beam.

This knocked the light out of Gengar's body, causing him to fly upwards at the last second.

Kricketune and Swellow dodged each other at the last second.

The beam seemed to hit an invisible yellow wall, dissipating slightly.

Remnants of the beam reached Beheeyem, forcing him to shield himself with his arms.

Gengar quickly passed through the second and third floors, heading for the fourth.

But as soon as he passed through the gap between the floors and entered the room, everything went into a camera.

Raticate was on the ground, its mouth open, and inside it was a small, glowing blue ball.

Then, blue lightning shot out from the ball and struck Gengar, freezing him in a thick block of transparent ice.

He hovered in the air for a moment, then fell hard to the ground.

Raticate walked over to him and opened its mouth, revealing two glowing white jaws the size of his head.

He bit into the ice where the bag was, removing the ice around it.

He grabbed the bag in his mouth and dragged it away.

He stopped and glared at Gengar, beginning to gesticulate angrily.

A thought bubble appeared, showing the group of Pokémon fleeing the building because of Jenny.

Then a large red X appeared on top of the mountain of food.

The bubble disappeared, and Raticate pointed at the food bag, kicking it.

Gengar finally slowly looked down at him, the only thing he could move.

Raticate walked to the edge of the hole, speaking loudly downward.

Conkeldurr appeared, shaking his head to clear it of dust, looked up, and responded expectantly.

On the ice, Gengar's body shifted outward, passing through.

Raticate responded irritably, not noticing a figure growing behind him.

Then Gengar's Foot lightly hit Raticate from behind, pushing him into the hole.

Raticate took a few seconds to understand, then began to scream comically.

Beheeyem pointed his hand at Raticate, causing him to glow yellow and slow down.

The camera shifted to the roof of the building, or what was left of it, showing several broken or weakened pieces.

Then the bag of food flew off the ground and landed with a loud crash.

Gengar appeared, breaking through the ground and running to the bag.

He picked it up and looked in all directions. There wasn't a single light source he could see.

He had a look of exhaustion on his face.

"Swell-ow!"

Gengar looked to the side, startled.

Swellow was outside, circling above him.

He made an irritated expression and reached out, firing ring beams at him.

Then Conkeldurr, whose body had a yellow outline, pierced the floor on the other side.

Gengar looked at it, and at the light it held. He smiled.

Conkeldurr spoke down below.

He flew at full speed toward Gengar.

Gengar smiled even wider and flew toward him, his body emitting white particles of light like a comet.

Conkeldurr stretched out his arm, gripping the pillar by its base, treating it like a spear.

Just as they got close to each other, a small, blurry shadow appeared beneath Gengar.

He dove into it and disappeared in an instant.

Conkeldurr was speechless.

He then swung awkwardly, screaming downward.

He stopped just before hitting the ground again.

The camera shifted to Raticate, Kricketune, and Beheeyem, who was pointing his hand upward with his eyes glowing, who were on the first floor.

They looked at Swellow, who was approaching the ground and speaking to them.

Raticate growled in fury, veins visibly showing on his head.

Beheeyem then heard something and turned his head back.

In the corner, a Venipede was sneaking around, searching every stone it could find.

It lifted a small stone, and its eyes emitted a red light that illuminated the ground.

He turned off the light and dropped the stone, moving to another and doing the same.

Beheeyem let out a soft "Be" and pointed his free hand at him.

A few meters from the building the group was in, a bright light illuminated one of the alleys.

The light swung to one side, revealing itself to be the beam of a flashlight on a yellow construction helmet.

The one wearing it was a boy with long black hair, wearing an orange jacket with a red backpack, sky blue pants, and equally blue shoes.

A Rattata emerged from behind his feet and walked forward, sniffing the air.

He placed his hands on his hips with a frustrated expression, "Why haven't we seen any Pokémon yet? Not even the dark Pokémon."

A red light appeared and covered half of his face, making him look at it.

Several beams of red light extended in different directions from a distant building.

And one of them hit him squarely in the face, forcing him to block them with his arms.

From the shadow just beyond the lantern, Gengar, his body faintly outlined in red, was thrown from the shadow and fell belly-first onto the ground.

The red outline disappeared, along with all the rays of light.

He stood up and looked at his body.

Then he began to grumble angrily, like a child.

The boy and Rattata noticed him and were slightly startled.

But the boy quickly became excited. "I can't believe it!" He turned to Rattata. "Look! A Pokémon!" He pointed at Gengar. "This is our chance!"

Rattata spoke uncertainly, a bead of sweat forming on his forehead.

The boy grabbed a Pokéball and threw it at Gengar.

When it hit Gengar and bounced off, he stopped grumbling and looked back.

He was converted into red energy and entered the Pokéball, then the bag fell to the ground.

The Pokeball fell to the ground and began to swing on its own, its button glowing red.

The boy and Rattata looked expectantly.

Then the Pokeball stopped and opened, a mass of energy erupting and transforming into a Gengar lying on its stomach again.

The two of them had surprised expressions, "What?!"

He quickly got up and desperately grabbed the bag, breathing a sigh of relief.

They both slumped their shoulders with expressions of dissatisfaction, "I guess we really need to fight first."

The boy pointed at Gengar, "Rattata! Use Shadow Ball!".

Rattata opened its mouth, and a dark purple sphere with a lighter center and lightning on the surface appeared.

Gengar turned enough to glare at them with an extremely dark and deadly expression.

Rattata froze, which caused the sphere to dissipate.

It ran and jumped into the Trainer's lap, who was also startled.

"I-I think that's enough for today!"

The boy ran away very quickly.

Gengar made a "Tsh" sound and turned around.

He needs to go before—

"Swell-ow!"

He had a horrified expression.

He looked up and saw Swellow circling above him again.

The fingers of one of his hands glowed purple, and he sent sharp purple slashes into the air.

Swellow dodged them and seemingly flew away.

He quickly flew away.

But that yellow outline appeared again, and he flew extremely slowly.

He looked desperate, straining to move any further. But it was no use.

Behind him, a very robust shadow appeared.

This shadow lifted two massive columns together.

He spun them, and at the last moment, the yellow outline disappeared.

It hit Gengar hard enough to make him drop the bag and slam it into the wall of a building.

Gengar passed through the entire building and then went through another.

He went through another before rolling to the ground.

He remained silent for a few moments before lifting his head.

The outline returned and pulled him through the holes it left in the buildings.

He stopped in front of the group of Pokémon, all of whom stared at him with contempt.

Kricketune walked slowly to the bag and dug its claw into the air, using it to pull him toward the group.

Gengar followed it with his eyes until he turned back to them.

Everyone moved aside, making room for Conkeldurr.

He dug the pillars into the ground and began flexing his arms in an almost bodybuilder-like pose.

His body began to emanate a red outline, and his arms glowed, visibly swelling.

Gengar groaned in concern.

Conkeldurr slowly positioned his fist.

Then he threw a punch.

Everything went dark.

##

Gengar now sat, his back hunched but supported, against a wall in a different alley.

He had several scratches and bruises on his body.

He groaned uncomfortably.

He raised his hands, looking at the bruises as he inspected them.

He brought one of them to his stomach, stuffing it into his kangaroo pouch.

From it, he pulled out the brown, delicious-tasting food.

He stared at it in the palm of his hand.

Then he threw it at the far wall as hard as he could.

He raised his head and looked at the moon, which was right in the middle of the sky.

The camera focused right on the moon.

Gardevoir was also looking at the moon, but with a look of deep concern, as well as an almost natural sense of exhaustion.

Gengar slowly closed his eyes, the spines on his body softening slightly.

He is incredibly useless.

He can't find food on his own like the others.

He can't even heat an egg.

He...

A flash appeared, showing Gengar diving into a thick mass of snow.

He quickly emerged, poking his head out and laughing.

All around him were dry tree trunks and thick snow.

He climbed out of the layer of snow and threw himself on top of it, rubbing his arms and legs together to make a snow angel.

He stopped when he heard something.

A small cry, coming from far away.

He sat up and looked around.

Then he spotted something.

A Woobat, flapping its wings so slowly it looked sleepy.

It began to fly lower and lower, until it disappeared from Gengar's sight.

It levitated just above the snow and flew there.

It arrived and found the Woobat lying in the snow, shivering with cold, its wings curled up.

Gengar hurriedly picked it up with both hands and held it against its body.

The scene shifted to Gengar rocking its smiling body with the Woobat in its arms, inside that mini-cave at night.

The scene changed again, now in the daytime, to Gengar holding the Woobat's body, which lay still, its wings drooping, looking devastated.

He touched it and shook it several times, but it didn't react.

Its expression slowly changed to a blank expression.

The scene shifted to a hole dug to where there was dirt beneath the snow, with the Woobat placed in it.

Gengar continued to stare at it, expressionless and now motionless.

He hadn't realized he'd gotten colder.

He hadn't even realized he'd become so still.

He couldn't perceive anything.

He...

can't help it.

Gardevoir stopped looking at the moon and looked at the ground right where she was.

She placed a hand on it and rubbed it calmly.

A flash occurred, showing Gardevoir walking through the dense, colorful forest with the egg in her arms and faint lines across her eyes.

She walked a little further until she raised her head.

She spotted a mini-cave, formed by tree roots covered in dirt and moss.

She stopped, staring in surprise.

Inside the cave, a Gengar sat, staring straight ahead with a blank, expressionless gaze.

The scene shifted to Gardevoir lying in the mini-cave, looking up.

Then Gengar stretched out his arms, hands full of multicolored leaves, a proud smile on his face.

Gardevoir looked nervous, a drop of sour on his forehead.

Gengar's smile faded very quickly.

He slowly became dejected as he looked at the leaves.

Gardevoir's expression grew sympathetic.

Gengar looked up slightly and noticed, quickly changing into a forced smile.

He waved her off and turned, walking away.

If he stopped walking, he threw the leaves away rather roughly.

Gardevoir continued to stop scrubbing the floor, pushing her hand against it with a distressed expression.

The flash returned, showing Gengar offering a half-bitten blue Berry.

Gardevoir looked at the Berry a little strangely.

Then she looked at him.

He had a hint of anticipation on his face.

She gave a sweet, empathetic smile and took the Berry, putting it in her mouth.

She smiled at him as she chewed.

This made a bright glow of satisfaction fill his eyes.

His anguished expression blended with rosy cheeks and a smile.

He failed.

The scene shifted to Gengar acting theatrically for her while she smiled amusedly.

He couldn't help.

Now he was sitting with his back to her as she slept, staring out at the rainy forest.

But she needed his help.

The scene shifted to him sitting beside her, with her lying against his body as he rocked gently as if with a baby, as the night darkened the room.

She trusted him.

The scene shifted again to Gengar placing a flower on top of the egg while Gardevoir watched, a flower tucked into the side of her hair.

So much so that she always tried to smile at his attempts.

He made a "Ta-da!" gesture, and she smiled with a blush.

Much more than he could reciprocate.

But he also cares for her.

He doesn't want to fail her.

He won't.

His eyes opened.

He looked up at the sky; the moon was no longer in the middle, but it was still dark.

His body was free of bruises, now completely normal.

He sat up, his arms resting on his legs, his expression thoughtful.

He needs to go back.

And with something in his hands.

##

In a building with only the first floor remaining, and still without a roof, the group of Pokémon from before sat in a circle.

The camera focused on them, showing them eating food from the bag, which had been ripped open at one corner.

Conkeldurr chewed the food with a smile and constantly moaning with satisfaction.

The others took several bites of a single piece with some trepidation. In Swellow's case, he pecked at the piece on the floor.

Conkeldurr finished chewing and chatted happily to the others.

They leaned away with disgusted expressions and beads of sweat on their heads.

Conkeldurr pushed his finger against the bag, causing it to sink in and push new portions through the hole.

He took some and placed it above his head, opening his mouth.

Then a beam of rings hit him where his collarbone would be, sending him flying through one of the walls.

The others dropped their food and got into fighting stances.

Everyone was a bit surprised.

Gengar was standing in the corner of the building, staring at them with his usual grin.

Raticate began to yell angrily at him, chattering excessively.

Gengar just made a "Gea."

Beheeyem's eyes glowed red.

Then a red beam shot out from them and struck Gengar, covering his body.

He still didn't react.

Beheeyem stopped emitting red light and stared at him in confusion.

He pointed his hand toward him.

In an instant, everything went into slow motion.

Gengar appeared right in front of Beheeyem, using Tackle, and struck.

He pushed him back a bit and then released the move, calmly falling forward to the ground as Beheeyem flew in the same direction as Conkeldurr.

The others slowly wore shocked expressions.

Everything returned to normal.

Beheeyem hit the wall, leaving a hole in it and making several sounds that indicated it had passed through other walls as well.

Everyone watched as Beheeyem disappeared into the wall.

Kricketune shook his head and pointed his claw at Gengar, firing a beam of various shades of bright green.

Gengar quickly turned and took the blow, blocking it with his hands as he was pushed back a few meters before stopping.

He looked to the side and saw Swellow flying to stand right next to him.

Then he dove, his wings glowing white.

He stared at Swellow, bracing himself.

As he got closer, Gengar waved his hands to deflect the green beam at Swellow.

The beam and one of Swellow's wings collided, stopping them for a moment until Swellow was knocked back.

Gengar noticed the beam disappearing and turned just as Raticate used Bite.

He took a step back, avoiding the move.

Then he flew forward, grabbing Raticate's tail and throwing it.

Kricketune grabbed him, pushing him along the ground until he flapped his wings to stop.

Gengar noticed several streaks of static pink light emerging from the holes.

In the blink of an eye, he dodged right next to Conkeldurr's joined pillars, which he held like a spear, the pink parts of his body glowing.

Gengar immediately lunged at his face, striking him with three sharp purple lines.

Then, he swooped down and did the same again to Conkeldurr's leg.

This caused Conkeldurr to fall, slamming the pillars into the ground and kneeling just above the ground.

Gengar stretched both hands toward his torso.

Then a yellow outline covered his body, slowing his movements.

He looked to the side.

Beheeyem emerged from Conkeldurr's hole with his hand raised and an uncomfortable expression.

Gengar smiled confidently at him.

He stretched his body as best he could and fired several ring beams in various directions.

A shield of yellow hexagons appeared in front of Beheeyem, protecting him, while the others took direct hits.

Gengar's yellow outline disappeared and he fell to his feet.

He ran to the food bag and lifted it, covering the hole with his hand.

He pulled out the kangaroo pouch and placed it inside, patting it lightly.

He and Beheeyem exchanged glances.

Then Gengar flicked its tongue like a raspberry and flew off at high speed.

Beheeyem glowed and reached out, but he was too slow and ended up tearing off a chunk of the top of the wall instead of catching Gengar.

He flew up, but only saw the empty, abandoned block.

He let out a frustrated groan and looked down, calling to the others.

They slowly rose to their feet, Kricketune and Swellow calmly accelerating their wings and taking off.

They flew away while Beheeyem grabbed Raticate and Conkeldurr with Psychic, taking them with him.

The camera showed a high-speed perspective passing through the alleys, making several twists and turns.

The buildings in the alleys quickly became clearer as time passed.

Then the perspective turned left, and there was a bright light at the end of the alley.

The perspective quickly caught up to the light, making everything too bright to see.

The perspective quickly adjusted, and now it was a normal Pokemon City street, lit up for the nighttime atmosphere and with a decent amount of people on the street.

Gengar looked around and then flew higher, soaring over the people at a rapid pace. People noticed him and pointed at him in confusion and surprise.

It wasn't long before he looked back and saw Kricketune catching up to him from above.

He positioned his claws like a praying mantis.

He hovered directly above Gengar and slashed with his claws together.

But Gengar dodged, slamming his body into its side.

Kricketune flew until it landed on a berry stand at a night market, startling the nearby humans and Pokémon.

High above, Raticate spoke to Beheeyem.

Beheeyem then placed Raticate on Conkeldurr's shoulder and brought them both to the ground.

The people and Pokémon scrambled away from where they landed, not even trying to get close.

Raticate jumped from Conkeldurr's shoulder to the ground, raising its butt high.

Conkeldurr slammed his pillars into each other's bases, making their pink lines glow.

Then they both sped down the street, Conkeldurr leaving a pink afterimage while Raticate's afterimage appeared to be vapor.

Gengar glanced back as he walked through the streets, seeing the entire group of Pokémon behind him.

He looked up and saw Beheeyem aiming its hand at him.

Gengar was startled and looked ahead, searching for something.

He spotted a trash can.

He flew lower toward it.

When Beheeyem's eyes turned yellow, the trash can was right in his path, and it levitated with a yellow glow.

Beheeyem gave a soft groan and dropped it to the ground.

He aimed again.

Then Gengar passed behind a car, and it levitated.

Beheeyem groaned louder now.

Gengar tried to do the same again with a moisturizer.

But Raticate overtook him, forcing him to the more exposed side.

The moisturizer still turned yellow and was ripped from the ground, but quickly fell back to the ground.

He tried to duck behind some wooden crates that formed a mountain.

But just as he was behind them, Conkeldurr's pillars shattered them, exposing him again.

He spotted a crowd of people and tried to walk toward it.

But a bright white X appeared from above, forcing him to brake and turn toward the street on the right.

Gengar began to sweat, thinking of something.

The sweat beads disappeared, and a lightbulb appeared in his head.

He looked up in alarm as Kricketine's claw pierced it and broke it.

Gengar easily dodged to the side and continued until he entered a narrow passage between two buildings.

Swellow entered at an angle, and Raticate followed soon after.

As soon as they exited the narrow path, Gengar was no longer in sight.

Raticate braked and looked around in confusion.

Soon, the others arrived and also stopped, staring at him.

Everyone looked up to see Swellow talking in one direction.

Kricketune and Beheeyem climbed onto the platform to join Swellow while Raticate and Conkeldurr sped through the streets.

The camera shifted to show an overhead view of a white, a pink, and a yellow glow passing through the city.

Over time, there were fewer and fewer buildings and more houses and low-rise buildings.

And with a little more time, they reached the forest, now only Beheeyem's glow visible, which grew denser the further they advanced a few hundred meters.

The scene changed to Gengar emerging from a bush and slowing down until he was right in front of a large tree.

He looked up and then gave a wide, mischievous grin.

From the same bush, Raticate emerged at high speed.

Gengar quickly turned and threw a punch that sank into Raticate's cheek, knocking it down.

Then Swellow appeared, its wings glowing white, and slashed crosswise, sending a bright white X at it.

Gengar blocked the blow with his hands and directed it to hit the tree, causing it to tremble.

He opened his mouth, and a small, ringed sphere appeared.

But it disappeared as it glowed yellow and was hurled against the tree, making it tremble even more.

He gave a wry laugh as the others approached.

Swellow and Raticate, which now had a red mark on its cheek, joined him.

Raticate spoke demandingly to him.

Gengar simply stuck out his tongue.

Conkeldurr spoke threateningly as he snapped his fingers.

He cocked his fist back.

And Gengar laughed.

He lost his composure a bit, confused.

Gengar pointed his finger upward with difficulty.

They all looked up.

Their expressions were terrified.

Higher up in the tree, several Galvantulas were in the branches.

Many had their eyes glowing blue in their direction, and others were constantly opening new eyes.

The group of Pokémon stared at them, slowly approaching each other.

Then the new eyes stopped appearing.

And the Galvantulas began to make a swarming sound.

Several jumped from the branches until they fell to the ground, surrounding the group and Gengar. And Galvantulas continued to fall.

The Galvantulas finally stopped falling, now staring at the group, which formed a circle of death.

Beheeyem looked at Gengar in alarm.

Some Galvantulas began to emit electric sparks from their bodies, and others produced growing balls of electricity with their smaller limbs.

Gengar made a "Gegege" sound at him.

Just before it all happened, Beheeyem dispelled the light on Gengar, giving it a chance to fly as high as possible, and activated its yellow hexagonal shield.

The Galvantulas fired, causing a discharge that created an X-ray effect on the trees.

At the same time, Gengar emerged from the trees just in time to dodge a yellow beam that followed it upward.

The beam soon disappeared, but the light coming from within the forest continued.

Gengar clapped its hands over its mouth, laughing, then flew away.

The shield was continuously hit by a massive electric beam and electric balls, the hexagons disappearing upon impact and then quickly returning.

Beheeyem looked around in fear.

Then its eyes glowed yellow, and a wave of yellow energy shot out in all directions immediately after the shield disappeared, sending the Galvantulas flying.

The Galvantulas still present were either knocked upside down or limp.

Beheeyem quickly covered them all in yellow light and levitated them above the trees, carrying them back to the city.

Raticate spoke angrily, pointing away.

Beheeyem responded questioningly and harshly.

Raticate merely frowned.

The camera shifted to a high-speed flying perspective above the trees.

Then it dove into the trees, piercing through the mass of leaves.

The perspective emerged and stood directly in front of Gardevoir, who opened her eyes and watched sleepily as the leaves fell between them.

Gengar gave a small, soft "Giga" with her natural smile.

She gave him a relieved smile.

She extended her hand...

Which then glowed black with a red outline.

She furiously smacked him on the head several times. His body seemed to crumple like a skewer.

She stopped smacking and just kept snarling at him, very irritably.

Gengar's eyes flickered from side to side.

Then he smacked his head with both hands, and they stopped.

He held out his hands in a calming gesture.

She calmed down, her expression hurt.

Gengar reached into his kangaroo pouch and pulled out the food bag dramatically.

Gardevoir tilted her head slightly, confused.

Gengar placed the bag on the ground and reached into the hole, pulling out one of the pieces of food.

He offered it to Gardevoir, nodding for her to take it.

She took it and put it in her mouth, her eyes immediately shining with satisfaction.

She chewed and swallowed, then reached into the bag and pulled out another.

Gengar smiled proudly as she watched her eagerly eating.

She took another and put it in her mouth, but froze with her mouth open when she noticed him.

Gengar's smile faded a bit.

Gardevoir closed her mouth, smiling sweetly.

Gardevoir lowered her hand and slowly fell until she was leaning on Gengar.

Gengar looked a little confused at this.

Then she smiled happily.

The days passed, along with the seasons.

Gardevoir ate eagerly while Gengar sat beside her, hands on his feet, rocking. The leaves on the trees were dwindling.

The scene shifted to Gengar holding Gardevoir's hands to help her stand with the half-eaten Gardevoir egg in her kangaroo pouch. There were even fewer leaves on the trees, enough for sunlight to seep through the gaps.

The scene changed again. Gardevoir was now sleeping comfortably on her side on the ground, her egg in her arms, while Gengar stood guard over the mini-cave with his arms crossed. There were barely any leaves on the trees, and the moon was visible in the sky.

Gardevoir then looked expectantly at her egg, now no longer having lines in their eyes, even though it looked completely normal.

She called out to Gengar, who ran comically toward her.

She spoke, pointing to the egg.

They both stared at the egg.

Then the egg suddenly emitted a glow so bright that its silhouette vanished, leaving Gengar and Gardevoir with shadows on their faces.

The glow began to fade until a small Ralts was curled up in a circle in Gardevoir's hands where the egg had been.

The Ralts began to stir and slowly open its eyes.

It turned its head and looked at them.

Gardevoir and Gengar looked at each other with small red lines on their cheeks and joyful smiles.

##

The trees were gone; now they were scattered across the ground, filling it with many colors, including red, yellow, and orange.

Then a round, purple foot stepped on them, making a sound like crunching leaves.

Gengar twisted his body with enough force to send Ralts flying into the air, holding her by the hands.

Gengar accelerated a little more and then released her.

Ralts flew into the air until he landed in Gardevoir's arms, throwing his arms up with a smile on his face. Gardevoir laughed at this.

Meanwhile, Gengar staggered unsteadily.

He then steadied himself and shook his head, regaining his balance.

He stared at them.

Ralts could survive much better now that he wasn't a fragile egg.

The food had helped Gardevoir regain her health; now she could take care of herself and Ralts.

He leaned to the side, looking at the sack leaning against the wall of the mini-cave, the hole tied shut to keep anything from falling in.

And they still have enough food to last them through the winter.

He smiled softly.

So I guess that's it.

Gardevoir and Ralts were touching their heads affectionately.

"Gee."

They stopped and looked intently at Gengar.

He flashed his natural smile.

He spoke to them, making them tilt their heads slightly.

Then he waved at them and turned, walking away.

They both looked at each other, confused and surprised.

Gengar walked calmly, as far as two legs could carry him.

A flash of light appeared in front of him, stopping him, and soon after, Gardevoir appeared in front of him.

She set Ralts down, who crossed his hands over his stomach, while she placed her hands on her hips with an angry expression.

Gengar spoke to her, confused.

She narrowed her eyes.

He continued speaking, now stretching his arm toward where the food bag was.

She finally spoke, speaking firmly.

Gengar pointed with the thumb of his other hand to the side, indicating the forest.

Ralts spoke now, stretching his arms toward him.

His arm dropped slightly, his expression becoming more confused, and he looked at Gardevoir.

Her angry expression softened to one of disappointment.

His arm dropped completely, and he wore a look of disbelief.

Why do they want him around?

They don't need help anymore. He's no longer needed.

Gardevoir slid her arms around his body, hugging him under his arms.

She pulled her body closer to his and rested her head on top of his.

Gengar looked at this with a nervous expression, beads of sweat on his forehead.

Why would he be so necessary? He can't even keep them warm during the winter.

A call made him look down and see Ralts still with his arms outstretched toward him.

Gengar reached out with his free arm and grabbed her.

She quickly clung to his body, her arms outstretched in a hug.

He gave a knowing expression.

Ah.

He then adjusted his hand to hold and hug Ralts at the same time, while stretching his other arm across Gardevoir's back.

He's not the one keeping them warm during the winter.

*A few weeks later*

The camera focused on the forest, now exposed to light due to the leafless trees and thick snow.

There was snow on the tree branches, on the roots that stuck out of the ground, and a decent layer of snow on the ground itself.

Small flakes of snow were falling from the sky.

Ralts appeared, flying with a blue outline on its body.

Gardevoir appeared right behind it, its eyes glowing blue.

Ralts flew just above the layer of snow on the ground, searching.

She turned to one side, then the other.

When she did, Gengar was standing out of a hole in the snow, his tongue protruding alarmingly, right in front of her. He also had a bit of snow on his head.

Ralts didn't even react.

Then she also stuck out her tongue and gave Gengar a light lick.

He immediately wore a shocked, disgusted expression and ran away, staring at his tongue with his hands wrapped around it.

He rubbed his tongue desperately against the snow several times.

He stopped when he noticed Ralts and Gardevoir laughing loudly, each with a hand over their mouths.

He just stared.

Then he smiled.

Well, that's it.

And I'd like to clarify a few things.

Gengar and Gardevoir aren't romantically linked; I can't say what they are. But they're definitely family.

This is because Gengars are sociable, and Gardevoir usually live in groups, so it makes sense they'd enjoy being together.

Another thing is that I established logic behind Gengar's ghostly appearance: since he's dead, he doesn't feel hungry or sleepy unless he wants to. But this also means he has poor hunting instincts and can't give warmth to a living being, which is why Woobat died.

Another thing about Gengar's ghost nature is that the move Foresight can make ghosts susceptible to Normal and Fighting typing, but I decided to expand this to also prevent things like intangibility or shadow travel. But psychic abilities can do the same, and Gengar is also susceptible to damage from more spiritual moves like Psychic, Fairy, Ghost, and Dark.

Also, I wanted to build on the story's idea and drew a certain analogy with the relationship between wild animals and their journeys when they go to urban environments. For example, when they are almost always (I hope this has changed nowadays) overwhelmed by people and then, when they become aggressive out of fear, they are antagonized and treated like monsters, or when they invade cities in search of food because it's scarce.

And as in another story, I'll list the moves used, for those who don't recognize them. Since I mix attacks from different generations.

Gengar: Dark Pulse - Dark-type, Tackle - Normal-type, Rest - Psychic-type, Fury Cutter - Bug-type, Thief - Dark-type.

Gardevoir: Psychic-type Psychic, Teleport-type Psychic, Brutal Swing-type Dark.

Bisharpragon Rush-Dragon type, Iron Head-Steel type, Confuse Ray-Ghost type, Night Shade-Ghost type.

Rattata: Shadow Ball-type Ghost.

Beheeyem:Foresight-Normal type, Psychic-Psychic type, Skill Swap-Psychic type, Light Screen-Psychic type.

Galvantula:Electro Ball-type Electric, Thunder Shock-type Electric.

Venipede:Foresight-type Psychic.

Arcanine: FlameThrower-Fire type, Headbutt-Normal type.

Kricketune: Signal Beam-Bug type, Sky Attack-Flying type.

Swellow:Wing Attack-Flying type, Air Cutter-Flying type, Sky Attack-Flying type.

Raticate:Quick Attack-Normal type, Bite-Dark type, Ice Beam-Ice type.

Conkeldurr:Bulk Up-Fighting type, Strength-Normal type, Rock Polish-Rock type.

Grovyle:Leaf Blade-Grass type.