It took two days to reach the mountains. With how large they had been on the horizon, it made sense in retrospect that they were closer than Sam had thought. Route 39’s hilly plains quickly gave way to a short forest at the very north of Route 38, and then that forest gave way to rocky cliffs and shrub-covered slopes. No Pokémon attacked even as they moved off-route. The wild Pokémon seemed less willing to approach now that the Gastly were more readily leaving Sam’s shadow to follow along from behind.

  Unfortunately, though they entered the mountains in search of his old tribe, Primeape wasn’t able to help with much more than traversal. The environment was rocky and consisted of valleys interspersed with sharp climbs. The only plants were shrubs and the occasional, almost barren chestnut tree. Despite this being his old home, only the basic sense of the area was familiar to him—whatever Pokémon lived out here seemed to regularly reshape the terrain.

  Large grooves on mountainsides marked where Graveler would roll down slopes to race. Plants were almost always new growth, popping up from seeds dropped from Flying Types and then grown due to the influence of the rare Grass Type. Paths were formed through chance rather than anything else. It was difficult to find ways to travel forward at all.

  And then there were other, even larger roadblocks.

  A few days in, Sam found himself staring at a mountain of flesh that rumbled as it snored. Pokémon that lived in these mountains had to be strong to survive, and there was no way that the Pokémon before him was anything his team could easily handle.

  “Redi would hate me right now,” Sam mumbled as he looked over the massive Pokémon.

  Sleeping so soundly, that... thing in the road didn’t react to his words. Though it was probably in its equivalent of a simple nap, it’d likely be in its hibernation-like state for the next few days or until violently disturbed. However, so thick with fat, it had plenty of padding to be comfortable no matter what it felt. Its position lodged between two cliffsides probably made it feel as though it was sleeping in a hammock.

  If Redi was here, she would have considered catching this Snorlax. They were as rare as they were strong, but they inhaled food almost as much as a person inhaled air. Part of the reason Redi kept her team small was to keep costs down, but given her current sponsorship with Mr. Pokémon, the sight of this sleeping monster would have caused her to debate if its sheer strength made it worth the catch.

  But she wasn’t here. Only Sam and his team were. Snorlax might have been considered nuisances for how much they ate and for the way they blocked roads, but no one ever denied just how strong they were. It took muscle to walk around with all that fat, and then that fat also protected them from even the strongest of moves. Their reputation was earned, and it didn’t help that they became very grumpy when improperly woken up.

  ...So despite how his team had found a rare, even path to keep moving forward, Sam could tell that having Haunter mess with the Snorlax’s dreams to wake it up was not worth the risk.

  “We’re climbing,” he said with a sigh.

  Traversal out here was as difficult as it was annoying. Off-route, there wasn’t anyone around to make paths for humans, and all the local wild Pokémon tended to climb.

  Above him, Primeape easily dug his hands into the stony cliffside to pull himself higher and higher. His species was adept at finding handholds, or at least they were adept at making new ones. He excelled out here—but that made sense given the mountains were where the Mankey line tended to live. He didn’t need help like Sam did, who benefitted from Haunter’s disembodied hands pushing from behind to provide additional lift.

  Of course, Primeape reached the top of the cliff first, stepping onto a sloped ledge that was just flat enough to support a precarious hike. He was silent as he stared out over the canyon and the wide valley past it. Below, the Snorlax let out a snore, and Sam gasped as he barely managed to reach the top.

  “We’ll find them,” Sam said, promising his Pokémon as he moved up to Primeape’s side. He put a hand on his head, but Primeape just grunted and started to walk ahead.

  Primeape was as quiet now as he had been over the past few days. Not at a single point had Sam returned him to his Pokéball. He knew he should have, just to let Primeape rest, but he could also tell that his Pokémon wanted to stay out. Primeape wanted to experience every step that brought him closer to his goal. Closer to his brother.

  “I know we said we’d help him, but I can’t help but be worried. He wants his revenge, and I’ll help him with that, but it almost feels wrong. I don’t want it to consume him, either.”

  A rustle at Sam’s side brought his attention to Trevenant. There wasn’t exactly enough room for Typhlosion—these paths were narrow and she wasn’t great at climbing stone—but weirdly, Trevenant had plenty of space to walk. He might not have been traveling along the ground like Sam and Primeape, but he had a better way of getting around: he could stab his sharp roots into the cliffsides, and that allowed him to walk across the rocky walls almost like a Spinarak.

  “Trevenant, what do you think?” Sam asked quietly. “About Primeape, I mean.”

  Trevenant watched Primeape continue ahead, but he remained silent without answering Sam’s question. Soon, he chose to keep moving as well, and he maneuvered himself onto the wall, where he walked as if ignoring gravity.

  Sam sighed.

  “At least I can tell Primeape needs this. Facing his brother should help him with his confidence. I think his anger’s been too directed toward his past. In a way, this has been holding him back. A fight should let him break free.”

  Finally, Sam actually got a response. Misdreavus brought herself out of the shadows to voice a quiet agreement with Sam’s words. Pulling her worried gaze away from Primeape, she looked at Sam for assurance. He did his best to send her a confident nod that’d tell her that everything would be okay.

  All of this was to support Primeape. All of this was to make sure Primeape would be in a better spot from here.

  She nodded back, and Sam continued after the rest of his team. He made sure to give a few orders to the nearby Gastly as he did.

  “Alright. Now that we’ve managed to get somewhere out here, I think we’re deep enough in to start searching in earnest,” Sam said, and his shadow came to life. “Split off into groups of three to search for Primeape’s old tribe. Look for what he described—a berry tree surrounded by a big group of Mankey. Don’t go farther than line of sight. You can hide, but Haunter has to be able to see at least one of you. Also, please don’t anger anything, and keep in mind that running away is always okay if you feel unsafe.”

  As he finished his orders, he watched as groups of shadows split off from his own, traveling over the landscape like splotches of darkness cast by a Pokémon flying through the air. However, where a flying Pokémon’s shadow would carry a blurry yet distinct shape, the shadows of the Gastly were far more ambiguous and vague.

  He lost sight of them pretty quickly, but he was able to keep track of where all the groups were thanks to flickers in the corner of his eyes. While he wasn’t able to see them when they dipped behind boulders or hid in a cliff’s shade, Morty’s advice rang true once more—Ghost Types were pretty obvious when they were moving. He could follow where the Gastly went by keeping an eye out for the shadows that jumped from hiding space to hiding space.

  And just like that, days passed. The Gastly searched the area while everyone else followed what viable paths they could. The terrain was treacherous enough that it was hard to locate safe paths for hiking and areas for camping, but Primeape was able to point out signs. Despite the shape of the environment being unfamiliar, he was able to find viable, Pokémon-trodden paths and flat sections in which they could sleep through the night. All the while, the Gastly found points of interest and tribes of Mankey, but none were that berry tree or the exact group of Mankey they were looking for.

  Not right away, at least.

  Time passed. Soon, there were only thirty-seven days left in the season—thirty-seven days left for Sam to earn his final Gym Badge. Thankfully, they had a slight bit of wiggle room when it came to the Conference. The end-of-season tournament wouldn’t start right away. There was a day’s break and then a week-long “festival” in Silver Town beforehand. Smaller tournaments and events would take place over that period, giving trainers with fewer Gym Badges a place to compete. Most trainers who intended to take part in the Conference itself used that period to arrive.

  Sam’s plan was to show up then, but that was still a while away.

  Thankfully, before too many days went by, one of the Gastly found something important, something that wasn’t just a false lead this time around. From where they had been traveling so high up in the mountains, they followed the Gastly along a steep cliff and up to a sudden drop. And there, not too far below them, was the exact tribe of Mankey they’d been looking for all this time.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  There was a fight going on beneath Sam. At least, there was the prelude of a fight. Hoots and shouts were met with the sounds of sharp hisses as two groups of Pokémon faced one another, posturing and trying to make themselves appear as a threat.

  There might have been no large stone or boulder to hide behind, but Sam was able to kneel and use the lip of a narrow path as cover to let him watch. Below, at the very end of a ravine that overlooked a valley, a group of Mankey surrounded what could only have once been Primeape’s home.

  Trees out here weren’t too impressive, and the one in the center of the Mankey’s boulder-protected “campsite” wasn’t that special, either. However, it was greener than any chestnut tree they’d walked past, and it towered over everything else, its roots grasping a large stone and growing out with a gnarled curve. Between its thick leaves was another dash of color; bright blue Oran berries grew from its branches.

  Hm. But there doesn’t seem to be too many Oran Berry left right now. Can’t say they look that ripe, either.

  The tree might have looked nearly picked clean, but it was still obviously a berry tree.

  ...Which was probably why a group of Gligar was trying to approach the Mankey’s camp.

  Clawed Gligar with sharp fangs and even sharper, stinging tails clung to the ravine’s cliffsides and hissed at the Mankey that shouted back at them. They would occasionally unlatch to threaten the Fighting Types with sweeping glides before returning to the wall, but the Gligar never risked getting too close.

  Both sides were testing one another—the Gligar would glide past, and the Mankey would swipe at the air. Neither wanted to fight, but they both wanted something. The Mankey wanted to protect their home, and the Glilgar wanted to claim those delicious berries for themselves.

  Behind Sam, Trevenant rustled in annoyance. He didn’t bother to hide. If anything, his displeasure was making him stand taller than usual. In his eyes, the Mankey were “selfishly” protecting their tree instead of sharing, but Sam could only disagree.

  “The Mankey are only able to live out here because of their tree,” he whispered. “They have an entire tribe to feed—which looks to be about two dozen Pokémon right now. If they give away their food to the Gligar, then even more Pokémon would come to ask for food. Their tree isn’t that large and they aren’t Grass Types. They only have enough berries to support themselves, so a meal given away is a meal their tribe can’t eat.”

  Trevenant grumbled but relented, quickly quieting down. Sam glanced around to see where everyone else was, finding that his Ghost Types were watching from the nearby shadows and that Primeape was now watching at his side.

  Everyone was completely silent. Primeape stared at the Mankey with an intensity that told Sam this group was exactly right.

  “Do you see your brother?” Sam whispered.

  Primeape slowly shook his head, but his eyes lingered on the base of the tree. Beneath the boulder and the tree’s roots, a dug-out hole formed a den beneath the earth. Given the lack of a certain individual, Primeape seemed convinced that someone was inside.

  So Sam and everyone else stayed hidden above the clearing, watching and waiting as the stand-off progressed. Each time the Gligar unlatched for a dive, they seemed to glide closer, and each time they came near, the Mankey’s shouts became even more furious.

  Eventually, one Gligar got far too close.

  With a hiss, a single Gligar unlatched from the cliffside and dived in the same way so many others had done before. However, its fanged mouth curled up into a nasty grin that seemed far too targeted for this dive to be a mere test. It moved surprisingly fast, and one of the shouting Mankey off to the side wasn’t prepared.

  The Gligar hurtled downward, pulling up at the very last second to swipe right across the vulnerable Fighting Type’s face.

  The slashing attack might not have been too serious, but it still knocked the Fighting Type off the boulder it had been perched on. It hit the ground with a grunt, rolling back to clutch its head in pain. The hooting and hollering stopped, and Sam expected the entire tribe to fall into a rage.

  But that didn’t happen.

  Instead of that hot, furious anger Mankey were known for, a far more cold rage seemed to settle into the tribe. The clearing below fell into pure silence, and the many Mankey perched on the camp’s surrounding boulders all pulled back at once.

  “Is that normal?” Sam whispered.

  Primeape stayed quiet. He only watched.

  As the Mankey left their spots on the stones, they moved back to surround the tree. Two of them peeled off to the side to help their injured tribe member, who they escorted to sit in the shade under the tree’s trunk.

  The Gligar took that as a victory, hissing in laughter and jumping down to take up positions on the very boulders the Mankey had just abandoned. The largest of the Gligar, the same one who had landed that attack, jumped into the clearing almost in challenge.

  Instead of attacking group-to-group, this one Gligar seemed to be challenging the Mankey’s leader. Doing so would minimize the injuries on both sides, but Sam had a feeling it was doing this out of ego more than anything else.

  After a further moment of silence, Sam felt just how still Primeape suddenly went next to him. From the darkness of that den beneath the tree, an arm shot out. A gloved hand grabbed the rock, which cracked under its grip.

  At first, Sam thought it was his Pokémon down there. All Pokémon of the same species usually looked somewhat alike, but the resemblance here was genuinely uncanny. However, where his Primeape was thick with muscle, this Primeape was far more lean. More than that, too. They had similar faces but different fur. Sam’s Primeape had the benefit of semi-regular grooming sessions. This Primeape had coarse, dirt-covered fur and matted patches that betrayed the locations where it had been injured in the past.

  Also...

  It’s tired.

  Once Sam got over his shock at the clear family resemblance, he realized that the wild Primeape had bags under its eyes. It moved with a controlled confidence, yet part of that control came from an ongoing feeling of exhaustion.

  Seeing the state of its foe, the lead Gligar grinned. It cackled, cockily raising its head and acting as though this would be an easy win.

  Letting the wild Primeape approach it, the lead Gligar bragged to the rest of its group, causing a few of the other Gligar to laugh. However, the evolved Fighting Type continued to walk forward unabated, never letting up and never slowing for even an instant.

  Some of the Gligar in the back started to look nervous—the Primeape’s confidence was far too persistent. Sure, it looked tired, injured, and overall exhausted, but those were signs of previous battles. It was experienced. It was tough.

  But that lead Gligar, though? It wasn’t worried in the slightest. If anything, it looked excited to win here. Before the Primeape could ever reach it, it launched itself forward, gliding through the air and twisting its body around to stab with its tail in an attempt to immediately end the fight.

  It failed.

  An inch away from the wild Primeape’s face, its stinger came to an abrupt halt. The Gligar’s eyes widened as it stared at the hand that had snapped up to grab its incoming tail. The Gligar tried to flap its wings in an attempt to escape, but it simply wasn’t strong enough.

  The wild Primeape had it pinned, and, in a single movement, the Gligar was then unceremoniously slammed into the ground.

  Dust entered the air. The Gligar behind it all shouted at once.

  “So that’s...”

  Sam didn’t finish his thought. Below, gasps from the Gligar echoed out in pain.

  Rather than attacking again or encouraging the other Pokémon forward, the lead Gligar began to furiously scramble away. Hurt and terrified, it clambered up one of the surrounding boulders to jump off, using the height to glide away as fast as possible. The rest of its group followed.

  The lone Pokémon that had to be Primeape’s brother watched as the Gligar fled, and it was only when they had completely vanished that he finally let himself breathe out in relief. One of the Mankey watching in the back hurriedly climbed up the tree to pluck a berry. It then rushed down, running up to the Primeape and offering the healing fruit to him.

  Without missing a beat and without slowing down, he took it. Except, he didn’t eat it right away. Instead, he strode toward the rest of the tribe, marching right up to where a certain Mankey sat.

  In the shade, the Mankey was still too busy rubbing its head to notice its leader standing before it. It was only when it noticed a slight shift in the tree’s shadow that it looked up, seeing a pair of red eyes staring back down at it.

  It froze, not sure what to do. The Primeape thrust its hand forward, and Sam braced himself for what was about to happen, but he didn’t need to.

  This wasn’t an attack. The Primeape was offering the injured Mankey the berry.

  After taking a second to process what just happened, the Mankey smiled and easily grabbed the berry so it could eat and heal. It showed no sign of caution or restraint as it did so, and the Primeape grunted as if amused before walking back over to the tree, where it sat in the shade to rest.

  “That was...”

  As Sam frowned, Misdreavus said something. He had failed to notice the sudden absence at his side.

  For all his training with the Ghost Type, Primeape might not have been the Type just yet, but he certainly knew how to sneak.

  “PRIME!” he roared, jumping to slide down the cliffside right toward the berry tree campsite. “APE!”

  The entire tribe of Mankey went on high alert. The cliffside was steep, but Primeape didn’t care. So consumed by his anger, he was more focused on reaching his brother than anything else and perfectly maintained his balance while pebbles rolled down the hill around him.

  “Wait, Primeape!” Sam shouted at his Pokémon. “We need to talk about this, first!”

  Something about this situation felt off. The action he’d just witnessed was not one of the cruel despot Primeape had once described.

  The cliffside beneath Sam might have been sloped, but it was far too steep for him to risk sliding like Primeape. His Pokémon was already nearing the bottom, and he looked around in panic before taking off toward where the slope was more reasonable. He shouted for Haunter to help him out.

  Right after, he also ordered the Gastly to surround the campsite, just in case, but even with his shouts, none of the Pokémon below looked up.

  No, their hackles were raised. Their fur stood on its ends. An unfamiliar intruder was rushing their leader—and why wouldn’t Primeape be unfamiliar? He’d been gone for months. He had evolved in the meantime, as well.

  Primeape’s brother met his aggressor’s eyes and carefully stood up. Primeape punched for a Rock Smash that shattered one of the boulders and made his way in. The Mankey shouted in an attempt to ward him off, but he didn’t stop. The two evolved Fighting Types were already moving to meet one another in an unavoidable fight.

  Primeape ran, arm over leg. His brother calmly walked. Where Primeape was completely consumed by rage and anger, his brother seemed to be consumed by nothing but weariness instead.

  However, halfway there, when the two Pokémon were seconds away from their clash, the wild Primeape seemed to freeze, going through what must have been the shock of its life.

  Eyes as wide as they could go, the Primeape whispered something under its breath. It was a question, one filled with far too many emotions at once. Shock. Surprise. Guilt. Curiosity.

  And also, hope.

  Something twisted in Sam’s chest. He knew Primeape wanted revenge, but too much time had passed. Everything about this felt off. Haunter’s help let him reach the base of the cliff without falling, but Trevenant stayed behind.

  The Pokémon remained at the top of the cliff and watched in silence.

  Primeape’s brother completely dropped his guard, overwhelmed as he stared at Primeape in disbelief. A cloud of dust filled the air as Primeape tore forward, his eyes bright red and locked on his singular goal.

  To the sounds of the Mankey’s fervent cries and Sam’s panicked shouts, Primeape struck first.

  His fist impacted his brother’s face.

  His brother rocketed back.

  The Pokémon bounced across the ground and came to a rest against the boulder under the tree.

  It had only been a single attack.

  Yet, Primeape’s brother did not get up.

  Sam’s Team:

  Badges Earned: 7 (Mineral, Fog, Plain, Hive, Zephyr, Rising, Glacier)

  Approximate Team Strength: 7 Stars

  (Fire / Ghost Type, Female, Timid Nature +Spe/-Atk)

  Abilities: Blaze

  Held Item: Charcoal

  Moves: Tackle, Leer, Smokescreen, Ember, Flame Wheel, Curse, Will-O-Wisp, Incinerate, Detect, Quick Attack, Swift, Flame Charge, Flamethrower, Double Team, Infernal Parade, Confuse Ray, Hex, Shadow Ball, Night Shade, Shadow Claw

  (Fighting Type, Male, Impish Nature +Def/-SpA)

  Abilities: Anger Point, Vital Spirit

  Moves: Scratch, Leer, Low Kick, Karate Chop, Fury Swipes, Assurance, Ice Punch, Fire Punch, Cross Chop, Curse, Brick Break, Rock Smash, Rock Slide, Bulk Up, Rage, Rage Fist

  Haunter (Ghost / Poison Type, Male, Naive Nature +Spe/-SpD)

  Abilities: Levitate

  Moves: Hypnosis, Lick, Confuse Ray, Spite, Mean Look, Hex, Shadow Punch, Night Shade, Acid Spray, Ominous Wind, Shadow Ball, Dream Eater, Nightmare

  (Ghost Type, Female, Hasty Nature +Spe/-Def)

  Pokéball: Friend Ball

  Abilities: Levitate

  Moves: Growl, Psywave, Astonish, Confusion, Confuse Ray, Mean Look, Night Shade, Shadow Sneak, Shadow Ball, Nasty Plot, Psybeam, Will-O-Wisp, Psychic, Hex

  Trevenant (Ghost / Grass Type, Male, Quiet Nature +SpA/-Spe)

  Pokéball: Moon Ball

  Abilities: Harvest, Frisk (Developing)

  Moves: Horn Leech, Tackle, Confuse Ray, Astonish, Growth, Ingrain, Leech Seed, Forest’s Curse

  Redi’s Team (at last sighting):

  Badges Earned: 7 (Mineral, Plain, Hive, Zephyr, Rising, Glacier, Fog)

  Approximate Team Strength: 6 Stars

  (Normal Type, Male, Adamant Nature +Atk/-SpA)

  Abilities: Guts, Quick Feet

  Moves: Scratch, Fury Swipes, Fire Punch, Baby-Doll Eyes, Slash, Ice Punch, Focus Energy, Thunder Punch, Hyper Beam, Rock Slide, Swords Dance, Giga Impact, Shadow Claw, Sleep Talk

  Porygon (Normal Type, Genderless, Quirky Nature +-n/a)

  Abilities: n/a

  Moves: Tackle, Sharpen, Conversion, Psybeam, Thunder Shock, Charge Beam, Discharge, Tri-Attack, Charge, Teleport, Recover, Thunder Wave, Magnet Rise, Lock-On, Zap Cannon

  (Dragon Type, Female, Rash Nature +SpA/-SpD)

  Abilities: Shed Skin

  Moves: Wrap, Leer, Thunder Wave, Twister, Slam, Agility, Aqua Tail, Dragon Rush

  Auxiliary Pokémon: x2 (Tibia and Fibula), a decent number of wild (variable)

  At Home (non-battlers): ,

  Pokémon included in this chapter:

  Gligar

  huge thank you to everyone reading! Your support keeps this story going.