MunchMunch woke chewing his Leftovers, which tasted a little bit like ice cream today.

  MunchMunch decided that was the best way anyone could ever wake.

  “Munch!” he laughed, rolling off the bed.

  The floor thumped under him and the bedside table wobbled, which only made him giggle harder.

  “Morning, sleepy head,” Shadow drawled from the other side of the room, where she was perched on their Teddy’s head, occasionally drifting gas across his eyes so he couldn’t read.

  “Morning Mama Gastly!” MunchMunch cried, happily skipping over.

  He froze mid-skip and stared as the table shook again.

  “Mama!” he gasped. “I must have grown stronger in my sleep! Watch!”

  He skipped again.

  This time the vase slid off the table and shattered on the floor.

  MunchMunch giggled and rolled the rest of the way to his Teddy, who was sitting perfectly still with one hand on his forehead, while trying to wave Shadow’s gases out of his eyes with the other.

  “Morning, Teddy!” he cried, giving his Teddy’s leg the biggest hug he could manage.

  MunchMunch loved seeing the worry-creases above his Trainer’s eyes disappear when he hugged him.

  “MunchMunch, you know I don’t like to be called —“

  “Right! Sorry!” he gasped.

  He beamed proudly. “Mama Shadow!”

  “…Just Shado—” she started, then sighed. “I love you too, MunchMunch.”

  MunchMunch glowed.

  Their Teddy laughed and lifted the Egg off the table, which MunchMunch immediately grabbed to hug.

  “So, Teddy and I were talking,” Shadow began.

  “I wish I could talk to our Teddy,” MunchMunch responded sadly.

  Shadow smiled softly. “Maybe one day, you will,” she nodded.

  MunchMunch beamed.

  “That would be awesome!

  Then I could tell him how much I love Chocolate Cake!

  Do you think he knows I love Chocolate Cake?

  Oh, and I can tell him how much I love that he knows my name,

  and what I am going to name Happy!

  And — “

  “MunchMunch,” Shadow sighed. “How do you have so much energy as soon as you wake up. It was quiet in here less than five minutes ago.”

  MunchMunch thought about that hard. For almost a whole second. He even took a munch of his forever-snack to help him think.

  “I think it is because of food,” he nodded. “How can I not have energy if I get to eat Leftovers all night!”

  MunchMunch giggled when Shadow’s mouth fell open.

  “Oh, but also, I am just so excited to spend time with you and our Teddy!” He exclaimed. “I really love you and Teddy. Oh, and Happy too!”

  Gastly hovered quietly for a second. “Yes well, I still think you have too much energy,” she groused, but her smile gave her away.

  “Anyway, our Teddy has decided we are going to head to the next city instead of staying to fight,” she continued.

  MunchMunch paused. Something about the way Mama Shadow said the word “city” —

  “Mama Gastly!” he gasped, stuffing his paws into his mouth.

  He pulled them out to look at them sadly. There weren’t any leftover Chocolate Cake crumbs on them.

  “You are just as excited for the next city as I am when I wake up!” he exclaimed.

  “I am not excited,” Shadow sniffed. “I am anticipatory.”

  MunchMunch grunted. “Mama, what does aunti-pat-history mean?”

  Shadow froze. And narrowed her eyes. And froze again.

  “…It means,” she said slowly, “that you should give Happy a hug and get ready for the day. We have many battles ahead of us.”

  “Okay!” MunchMunch giggled, hugging Happy with one arm and their Teddy with the other.

  A tearful goodbye later to Nurse Chansey —

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Well, it was tearful until she gave him a Soft-Boiled Egg. Then he was able to stop crying.

  When she gave him a second one, he forgot why he was crying altogether —

  So now MunchMunch was happily riding along in his bicycle basket, flapping his arms like a Pidgey, Happy nestled between his foot-paws and looking forward to the battles to come.

  And so, the day began.

  ____

  Teddy bowed his head in thought, the decision to leave Goldenrod heavy on his mind.

  He was scared to do so, but deep down he hoped it was the right decision.

  He sighed as yet another trainer on the Golden Road refused to battle him.

  And that was the problem.

  He still only held two badges. Which meant he couldn’t challenge three badge trainers.

  And what three-badge trainer would lower themselves to challenge him?

  A lowly two-badger.

  But he needed to get to Ecruteak.

  To Morty.

  Shadow was growing too fast for him, and he didn’t know how to keep up.

  He knew he could be a good trainer for her. Maybe even the best.

  No, he was sure of it.

  But right now, he just didn’t know how to be that trainer.

  How to train a Ghost.

  It was time to move on, even if they weren’t ready.

  He knew she felt the same.

  Even if she tried to hide it, he had seen.

  She had grown pensive since the Gym battle.

  Prone to staring.

  Into space.

  Into corners.

  Into shadows.

  And always she faced the same direction.

  North.

  “Hey. Kid.” A voice startled him from his thoughts.

  In front of him a middle-aged man stood, 3 badges loosely displayed on his shirt and a wand of fire in his hand.

  At his side stood a real, live, Magmar.

  “You look like you want a battle. Don’t cry when you lose.” The man stated.

  Then Magmar stepped forward and Teddy narrowed his eyes.

  He really hoped he had made the right decision.

  Staying would hinder them.

  Pushing forward might break them.

  Teddy clenched his teeth. He couldn’t let that happen.

  When he scanned MunchMunch with his Poké Gear that morning, he’d been surprised to see he had taught himself a new move.

  They hadn’t trained for it at all.

  But his MunchMunch was like that.

  Awesome.

  Teddy grinned.

  It was time to try MunchMunch’s new move.

  ____

  MunchMunch gasped as the Magmar used Fire Punch.

  It hurt.

  He was surprised by how much it hurt, but the Magmar looked even more surprised he was still standing.

  That made MunchMunch grin as he took a bite of his Leftovers.

  He skipped in anticipation, waiting for his Teddy to tell him how to win.

  “MunchMunch, use _________,” his Teddy called.

  MunchMunch froze.

  A great echoing buzz filled his head, drowning all other sounds.

  He wobbled as the world got smaller.

  “Munch… lax?”

  He looked at his… his… who was?

  The Magmar used Fire Punch again, but this time it practically bounced off Munchlax.

  But still his ears were ringing. He couldn’t…

  What?

  Again, the Magmar smashed into him.

  “… your Leftovers!” the Trainer screamed.

  Leftovers? What was that?

  The Magmar crashed into him and Munchlax felt tears.

  He felt like he should know what Leftovers were.

  He felt like he should know who that Trainer was.

  They felt special, but he didn’t know why.

  “Munch!” He cried, scared and trying to drown out the buzzing.

  The Magmar blitzed again.

  “MunchMunch! It’s your forever-snack!” He heard a voice screech. He knew that voice…

  Snack.

  Forever-snack!

  Right! He knew what that was! It was always there for him, even from the beginning.

  It always made him feel safe!

  MunchMunch clung to the thought, chewing down instinctively — and instantly his tummy felt happy!

  “Munch!” MunchMunch cried! He remembered what his…

  The ringing got louder.

  The world shrank and the ringing grew. Magmar collapsed to the size of a Caterpie, then grew into a giant.

  No!

  No, No, No!

  MunchMunch chewed harder, trying desperately to resist.

  “…Recall him!” He heard a distant voice screech.

  Then the world flashed.

  ____

  Shadow watched in horror as their Teddy had MunchMunch use Amnesia.

  She watched as the spark that made Munchlax MunchMunch faded from his eyes, replaced by emptiness and confusion.

  The Magmar hammered into him again, but the fire barely affected him.

  Thick-fat and Amnesia, he was a wall.

  But that’s all he was.

  A wall.

  He was no longer MunchMunch.

  Again and again the Magmar rained down fire, its trainer watching quietly while twirling his fire-wand.

  Teddy desperately screamed moves and commands, horrified by what he had unknowingly done.

  She watched as he froze, his hand twitching against MunchMunch’s Pokeball, his eyes darting across the field.

  The surrounding trainers and their Pokémon watched on in horror as MunchMunch cried out, his voice dazed.

  “Munchlax, use your Leftovers!” He finally sobbed, anguish cracking his voice.

  But MunchMunch just looked at him in confusion, his eyes blank and unfocused.

  Her MunchMunch wasn’t there!

  “MunchMunch, your forever-snack,” Shadow screamed, her heart breaking.

  She saw the spark come back into his eyes as he remembered what his forever-snack was, munching down on it like it was a lifeline.

  She watched as his eyes began to lose focus again, the fear she saw there as he munched faster, trying to remember.

  “Teddy, recall him! Now!” She screeched, blitzing onto the field to replace him.

  Teddy didn’t hesitate, going so far as to recall MunchMunch to his PokeBall - something they both knew he hated.

  She knew in the back of her mind it wasn’t the Magmar’s fault.

  Neither she nor Teddy could possibly have predicted what Amnesia would do to their waddling gremlin.

  She knew it wasn’t his fault, but she was too upset to care.

  Gastly’s eyes flashed precisely once as she settled onto the field.

  ____

  Shadow watched sadly as their Trainer stood frozen in the corner, even the memory of what she had done to that Magmar wasn’t enough to lift her spirits.

  Her Teddy looked…

  Small.

  Unsure.

  He unclipped the Pokeball from his belt, fumbling as it fell from his fingers and rolled toward her.

  Shadow watched with a broken heart as Munchlax flashed out of his Pokeball, sitting in the middle of the floor and gazing at his paws.

  MunchMunch immediately started sobbing.

  Not tears of anger, nor tears of sorrow.

  No…

  Munchlax sat in the middle of the floor and wept tears of fear.

  “Mama Shadow,” he sniffled, looking at her through terrified eyes.

  She drifted closer. “Yes, little one.”

  How she wished she could hold him.

  “What was that?” He wept.

  “Amnesia,” she said, her voice cracking. “It… it’s a move. It makes Pokemon forget things… unimportant things. Just for a little while. It’s supposed to help. Supposed to make them stronger,” she whispered.

  It sounded so simple.

  He looked at her, and she wished with all her heart she could take this memory away.

  “Shadow,” he whispered.

  “I forgot I liked Chocolate Cake.”