Too much yelling. MunchMunch hated yelling. It made it hard to sleep.

  But now it was quiet. And cramped. It had felt nice, but now it was too cramped. He tried to stretch, but had no room to stretch. Frustrated, he kicked the wall and a loud CRACK echoed.

  MunchMunch kept kicking, throwing a few punches here and there, until he was finally free.

  Munchlax grunted as he opened his eyes for the first time. It was dark, but somewhere a light was flickering, letting him see a little bit.

  There were monsters around. Lots of them. Some of them rolled, and some of them were above him.

  MunchMunch, Munchlax squeaked, scared and alone.

  And hungry. His tummy hurt.

  Next to him, there was something that looked yummy. He picked it up and took a bite. It tasted super yummy too, and made him happy. Then right before his eyes, the bite he took filled back up.

  Munch! he squealed in delight, taking another bite. It tasted suuuuper good, but more importantly, he sat there and watched. The bite he took wasn’t showing back up, and he started to panic — but then it showed back up!

  MunchMunch! he laughed again. He liked the way he felt after he got to bite the thing - it made him feel full and happy.

  He decided it was his most favorite thing ever.

  Suddenly, one of the monsters that were above him dropped down, eyeing his favorite thing!

  MunchMunch held it close - it was his! The thing screeched and then bit him!

  Zuuuuuuuuubat, it cried, circling away.

  It hurt a lot! So much! And then Munch felt something happening, something that made things blurry and harder to see.

  Munch, the baby Munchlax cried, cradling his Leftovers.

  The bite had filled back up, so he munched on it quickly - and it made him feel happier! He still hurt, but his tummy felt happy!

  “Give me that!” he heard the bully screech again, its voice so high it hurt his ears.

  MunchMunch watched fearfully, when all of the sudden another monster showed up.

  This one was much scarier.

  Gaaaaastly, it hissed, giving a big lick to the Zubat. The Zubat cried out and tried to fly away, but suddenly froze and fell to the ground.

  MunchMunch giggled a little.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  But then the Gastly turned to look at him.

  “Are you ok, little one?” the Gastly said.

  MunchMunch nodded, using his tiny paw to wipe the water from his eyes.

  “There there,” the Gastly said, “My trainer heard you crying and sent me to help. He will be here soon.”

  Munch nodded. “You look scary, but are nice,” he sobbed, taking another bite of his favorite thing.

  The Gastly seemed very happy about that.

  Then out of the dark, a two-legged monster showed up. MunchMunch tried to stand up to get away, but he had never stood up before, and he fell back down.

  The two-legs squatted down in front of him and patted him on the head.

  MunchMunch decided he liked that a lot. He let the two-legs pet him some more. It was also making weird sounds, but he had no idea what they were.

  “Do you want to come with us?” Gastly asked. MunchMunch looked at her in confusion.

  The two-legs was holding a small red-and-white ball.

  Munch looked at Gastly tearfully. “What is happening?” He asked.

  “Do you want to get strong?” She asked.

  “No?” Munch answered. He didn’t know what “strong” meant, but the way she said it didn’t sound very nice.

  Gastly blinked her big eyes slowly, looking at the two-legs and then back at him. Then she gave a great big smile.

  “Do you want to have lots and lots of food?”

  “Yes!” Munch gasped, doing his best to stand up. But he ended up falling over, so he took a bite from his favorite thing instead - and it made him feel just as warm and happy as the first time he tried it. He really, really liked how it made him feel.

  “The ball there, let it hold you - don’t fight. Once it is done, we will find you some food,” the Gastly said.

  MunchMunch nodded, rolling up to the two-legs, since he still hadn’t figured out how to walk.

  The two-legs gave a funny sound, but it was nice and didn’t sound mean. Then the ball glowed, and MunchMunch felt safe once more.

  ——-

  “Gastly, what is a Munchlax doing in Union Cave?” Teddy - Gastly’s trainer, asked.

  “I don’t know, but it is adorable and I want to keep it,” she answered. She knew her trainer couldn’t understand her words , but he was still able to understand what she was trying to say.

  She had never met another human like that - trainer or no. It was the reason she originally decided to let him catch her. And while she might still only be a Gastly, she was a ghost, and had lived for a long time.

  “Mmm, yea. We should get to a Pokemon center soon though, because that Zubat did a number on him,” he answered. Gastly nodded in agreement.

  Teddy looked at the pokeball for his newest member for a moment. “I can’t believe I got a Munchlax - thank you for the help!” He crowed, jumping happily. Gastly laughed and spun around him.

  She had lived in the trees outside New Bark Town for a long time. Her trainer didn’t know, but she had watched him grow up. When he met her for the first time - it was because she had let him.

  And what she had witnessed in Violet City? The thought sent shivers down her spine. Her trainer hadn’t let her down. They had trained intensely in Bell Tower. Then they absolutely dominated that poor gym leader.

  Yes, her trainer was very special. For years she had tried to become stronger and had no luck. Her trainer had made her stronger in a few short weeks than she had been after many years.

  She had no doubt that little Munchlax would grow up to be a terror. And something about that egg her trainer was carrying just screamed destiny.

  Oh yes, they wouldn’t stop until they reached the top.

  Gastly smiled before slipping into the shadows to find Pokemon to terrorize.

  What? She only had to be nice to her trainer and now the second Pokemon on her team - the rest was fair game.