By the time they’d returned to the campsite, the situation had changed. No longer were the Gastly on a neat patrol around the boulders to keep an eye out for attackers. No, the task at hand had been pushed to the side, their presence replaced by several older-looking Mankey and an annoyed-looking Misdreavus herself. Any attempt at staying hidden had gone out the window, and every single Gastly was now involved with something else:

  Fraternization.

  Their shadowy hiding spots had been abandoned even with the hanging threat of the mid-afternoon sun. They’d exposed themselves to the light, a discomfort apparently worth experiencing if it meant taking this opportunity at hand. Here, in the wilds of off-route, few species of Pokémon ever truly had a chance at a pleasant exchange with others. To the Mankey, Sam’s team might have once represented a potential threat, but the “mere” act of healing their leader served as proof they came in peace. Now, the Mankey were more than willing to be awed by the wonders of the Ghost Type.

  Gastly bounced through the air and zipped between groups of wide-eyed Pokémon. Hoots and hollers echoed around as the wild Mankey took in the sight and abilities of the many ethereal Ghost Types. Instead of stalking through the night or messing with their dreams, these Gastly were showing off everything they could do. They phased through rocks, did flips in the sky, and a few of them even demonstrated their Type immunity by letting the Mankey attack them to no avail.

  One Gastly contorted its face, its gaseous form letting it make exaggerated expressions. Another regaled a trio of the Fighting Types with all the wonders it had seen. Others played tricks, shocking lone Mankey with unexpected scares. Yet, while the victim always became angry, the others laughed, and it’d calm down as soon as it saw another Pokémon become a victim of that same joke.

  “I guess we don’t need to worry about any more fights?” Sam said quietly as he watched one Gastly gain a grin so wide that it seemed to almost split its body in two. “I can’t say I expected any of this.”

  At his side, Trevenant rustled his leaves as if to agree.

  Meanwhile, Primeape just stared—because what else could he do? He had come here and attacked their leader, yet, at this point, none of the Mankey bothered to pay him any mind.

  Almost jealously, his eyes seemed to linger on a few of the Gastly and at how much positive attention they were receiving. He didn’t let it show on his face for long, however, and soon looked over to Haunter—who wasn’t exactly taking part for once. He seemed far too preoccupied with flitting about to make sure nothing was too mean-spirited while also ensuring no interaction devolved into something that wasn’t just a show.

  As Sam and Primeape took all of this in, pausing where they had just stepped past a gap in the boulders to enter the Mankey’s camp, Trevenant’s brief glance seemed to be enough for him and he strolled straight in. Almost immediately getting over his initial moment of shock, he used the opportunity to approach the berry tree at the camp’s center. No Mankey stopped him, though some did stiffen when they noticed his directed march.

  However, Trevenant was visibly a Grass Type. Grass Type Pokémon were rare out here. These Mankey would act foolishly at times, but they weren’t actually fools. They had no reason to stop him as he placed a clawed hand on their berry tree’s trunk. Closing his eyes, he seemed to be checking its health while also ensuring proper growth.

  Trevenant’s march also served as a distraction, as his presence let Sam break his gaze away from everything else. Misdreavus was on guard, Haunter was managing the Ghost Types, and Typhlosion sat at the dead center of this area. She looked exasperated at how everything had developed, but, notably, the healing items Sam had passed her were gone. The berry was absent, having been consumed, and the Potion bottle now laid empty, broken in half at her side.

  However, while she visibly relaxed when she saw Primeape return, Primeape had the opposite reaction when he saw who she was with. It wasn’t that he had a problem with Typhlosion herself, but he definitely wasn’t pleased with the Pokémon at her side.

  In the shade beneath the tree and in the comfortable presence of Typhlosion’s cool flames, Primeape’s brother leaned back, his eyes closed while he attempted to recover and rest.

  The other Pokémon hadn’t stirred when Trevenant had walked next to him, but he seemed completely relaxed. At the same time, Sam could feel just how still Primeape became upon laying his eyes on his closest blood relative. His hair stood on its ends, yet Sam wasn’t able to tell if it was out of anger or something else entirely. For a moment, to Primeape, it was as if the only living creatures here were him and his brother.

  A leg twitched. Primeape brought up a foot. But rather than placing it down to move closer, he took a step back.

  “Primeape. You promised.”

  Sam bumped his Pokémon on the back, and the sudden touch surprised Primeape enough to send him stumbling forward. Annoyed, a vein throbbed on his head as he shot Sam a glare, but his angry look vanished when he realized the noise of his stumble had caused his brother to wake up.

  The wild Pokémon was tired. Healthy, but tired. With the dense nutrients of a farm-grown berry and the healing effects of a human-made potion, his injuries had mostly faded away, and he had finally gotten rid of that stress. Of course, he still had a few patches of matted fur that likely marked spots he’d been attacked in the past. A simple potion wasn’t enough to treat those lingering injuries, but a nurse could have fixed those overnight.

  But while those remnant injuries marked a further need to rest, they also marked the wild Primeape’s experience in battle. This Pokémon had been fighting on behalf of his tribe for all this time. He had been alone and without his brother—and he had no one to blame but himself.

  Yet.

  Yet.

  Now, his brother was back. However, Primeape just stayed there, staring forward from where he was kneeling after stumbling into the camp.

  Slowly, both Pokémon pushed to their feet, and both of them took a single step forward. For very different reasons, those small acts seemed to cost the Pokémon a great effort.

  They moved forward, walking straight at one another and the general sense of celebration in the camp slowly died down. The Gastly were the first to notice, followed by the Mankey. Tension and expectation alike filled the air as the two evolved Fighting Types finally met.

  This time around, Primeape didn’t look angry. All members of his species were angry, but he didn’t look that way right now. Mankey tended to be quick to rage, and a Primeape always had a certain heat burning in their chest. However, those Pokémon’s anger varied from individual to individual. While it was always there, its target often changed—mostly.

  (Primeape were known to hold a grudge.)

  But in this case, Sam could see the family resemblance between the two Pokémon. The physical similarities were blatantly obvious now that they were next to each other, but so was the resemblance in how they both felt. They were angry, maybe a little bit at each other, but really, the two Primeape were angry at themselves.

  Primeape hated himself for being so weak that he’d been abandoned, and his brother hated himself for neglecting, ignoring, and betraying his brother.

  They clenched their fists, eyes looking one another up and down. Sam could tell from the tension in Primeape’s arm that he was ready to throw a punch, but as his brother breathed in, he didn’t throw it. He was waiting to see what he’d say first.

  A breath out—his brother exhaled.

  Everyone in the camp seemed to breathe in out of nerves.

  The wild Primeape looked over Primeape himself before finally allowing that tension to leave his body.

  He spoke his mind, blurting it out:

  He was sorry.

  And then Primeape punched him in the face for the second time today.

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  The attack was basically unconscious. Nothing his brother said could have stopped that result. This time around, it wasn’t fueled by months and months of resentment, so he wasn’t launched back. He did grunt in pain and grab his face, and a wince passed through the entire camp.

  Sam let out a groan.

  This isn’t going to be good.

  But, save for a single moment of rage that passed across his face, Primeape’s brother chose not to react. The impact saw him slide a few inches back, but he didn’t get further away. He simply breathed out to recover and looked up.

  His expression said everything—he was tired, and he recognized that he deserved that.

  “You know what? Yeah, he kind of betrayed the Pokémon that let him evolve in the first place. He’s getting off easy,” Sam mumbled.

  But no one paid attention to what he said; they were too busy watching the two Primeape interact.

  Even though Primeape hadn’t intended to punch, he still huffed and crossed his arms as if the attack had been intentional. His brother rubbed a nasty welt forming over his eye and grunted to acknowledge the strength of the attack. He seemed to wait, as if hoping Primeape would say anything else, but the two Pokémon just stared at one another before finally turning away.

  The meeting hadn’t exactly been a reconciliation, but it had at least been an acknowledgment. Sam couldn’t exactly call himself an expert on inter-Pokémon relationships, but for Fighting Types, violence was apparently a form of respect?

  However the two Pokémon felt about one another, for now, they chose to let things rest. Slowly, Primeape’s brother walked away to disappear into the hole beneath the tree, and Primeape walked away, finding a free spot to sit in this camp.

  The end of that meeting allowed the rest of the tribe to finally breathe out—the encounter was over. Practically every Mankey here then exploded back into that same excitement as before. They chatted animatedly among themselves, and a good number of the Gastly joined in. Primeape himself looked as though he just wanted to leave, but he never got the chance; he was quickly swarmed.

  Whatever lingering tension he felt vanished, immediately replaced by sheer bewilderment at the mass of Pokémon that surrounded him. Mankey jumped, cheered, and practically assaulted him with questions. Not every Pokémon here had been a member of the tribe when he left. Some were hatched and others had joined up, but they were all overwhelmed by curiosity—he was their leader’s brother. They wanted to learn everything they could.

  Primeape looked to Sam for help, but Sam deliberately looked away. Avoiding Primeape’s pleading gaze, he moved to join Typhlosion at her side.

  “Have fun, Primeape,” Sam said as he walked past his Pokémon, patting him on the back. “I know how much you like showing off, so what better place to do that than right here, right now?”

  The only way Sam could describe the rest of the day was that it became a sort of party. The wild Mankey laughed along at all of the nonsense the Gastly got up to, and even the Mankey that chose to stay on watch seemed to get along with the few Gastly that were less interested in social events.

  A few of the Mankey dove into that dug-out tunnel to retrieve a handful of berries—rather conspicuous ones. They were few in number, but those berries were old and had been stored in darkness. If Sam had to describe them, rather than rotting, it was more like the old berries had fermented.

  Gross.

  The actions of the Mankey and the Gastly that took bites from the aged berries weren’t worth paying attention to, but Haunter certainly had his hands full for the rest of the day and night. Misdreavus seemed to take great pleasure in his exasperated expressions—for once, he had to experience what it was like to be on the other side of his pranks.

  Misdreavus stayed back on watch with the others, occasionally drifting over to hang out with Sam and Typhlosion. At a few points during this “event,” Typhlosion used her wisps to put on shows that described her best battles to the curious Mankey. Trevenant didn’t exactly interact with any of the wild Pokémon, but he did stay next to the tree. As was his expertise, he did something to cause new berries to grow and ripen in almost no time at all, and Sam even managed to catch sight of Trevenant smiling to himself as he watched the Mankey pick the newly grown fruits and toss them to their friends.

  As for Primeape, Sam’s gut feeling had been right—this party was good for him. The attention of the crowd prevented him from slipping away, and it prevented him from slipping into a more sullen mood. While many of these Mankey had treated him poorly once, that was not true for every Pokémon here, and he had been gone for months. There’d been plenty of time for the tribe to obtain new members, and there’d been plenty of time for the Mankey to grow regretful of what they’d done.

  That meant plenty of Pokémon came over to offer their apologies, and plenty more practically begged him to show off his strength. He was surrounded by all of the youngest members of the tribe, and they shouted their names over and over again before he finally gave in and demonstrated his power by punching straight through a nearby stone.

  A cheer echoed out. It was just a Rock Smash, but the variety of moves wasn’t as intense out here. Primeape looked around sheepishly, but practically every single Mankey looked back at him with awe.

  From there, a completely different type of event started. No longer as enthralled by the Gastly, the various Mankey started to scramble off. A young Mankey brought Primeape a pebble, which he then crushed in his palm. A second one brought a slightly larger pebble, which he also easily turned to dust. A third then brought him a slightly larger stone that he punched through, and then another lined up behind that one with a rock of their own, and behind that Mankey, another Mankey with a rock, and then another, and another.

  The items got bigger, tougher, and even more rugged, but Primeape broke through them all. The sheer excitement shared by the Mankey was infectious—even the Gastly brought stones over to help out. Save for a single Geodude that woke up and rolled away, annoyed at being disturbed in its nap, Primeape shattered everything placed before him. At the very end of the event, over a dozen Gastly and Mankey worked together to roll a boulder to his position.

  Of course, Primeape broke through that, too.

  There was plenty of time to chat, plenty of food to eat, and plenty of ways to be entertained. Out here, where life was defined by constant fights, these Pokémon jumped at this chance to celebrate. If Sam had to describe it, it was like they experienced higher highs and lower lows.

  The party lasted the rest of the day and a decent way into dusk. The air was filled with laughter. The goofy Mankey and Gastly made oddly good pairs.

  But though these Fighting Types seemed like furry balls of boundless energy, they didn’t exactly have infinite stamina. Day gave way to night, and as the sun fell, the Mankey eventually exhausted themselves and fell into a deep sleep.

  Dozens of snores echoed out, the rumbling so prevalent it felt as though it came from the earth itself. Haunter was already in Sam’s shadow, using the familiar darkness as a comfortable spot to rest. Other Gastly had joined him, slipping into a restful torpor now that the Mankey had burned out, and a few remained in shadows around the camp, watching over the slumbering forms of their new friends.

  “I really can’t say I expected any of this,” Sam said to Typhlosion. He sat against a boulder at the very edge of the camp. Her head was in his lap, and he scratched behind her ear. “A party is not what I thought bringing Primeape here would become, but he needed this. This was good for him. He needed to see that he’s more than just his past. He looks a lot better, too.”

  Typhlosion chuffed to herself and glanced over to where the campsite gave way to a cliff’s edge. Much like Sam had found him earlier, Primeape was sitting on a rock and overlooking the valley. But instead of being filled with nerves and tension, it was clear that he had finally been able to relax.

  “And it’s crazy. Primeape only used Rock Smash. I would have expected him to use Bulk Up to cheat, but he didn’t. He’s really become that strong.

  “He needed this,” Sam said again. “He needed this chance to move on. I think he’s finally recognizing just how powerful he actually is. And his brother...”

  Sam sighed. That was a more complicated thought.

  It wasn’t like the two Pokémon had forgiven each other. Well, it wasn’t like Primeape’s brother was in a state to be forgiven. Saying sorry was a start, but back then, he had essentially taken everything Primeape had done for him and thrown it in the trash. That kind of betrayal was painful, and it wasn’t exactly something words alone could fix.

  But this was still a step forward, and Sam knew that seeing his brother’s regret had helped Primeape, even if it had caused him far too many mixed emotions at the start.

  “I’m not sure if they’ll ever have the same relationship. But I’m not sure how much they’ll interact from here. Do you think Primeape will want to come back here, or do you think this was a happy enough event that he feels as though he can now properly say goodbye? It’s... Ugh. It’s a family matter. It always feels like this stuff gets more complicated than it should be.”

  Sam sighed, pressing his back against that boulder. Typhlosion scooted around to press her head closer to his stomach, and he made sure to keep scratching behind her ear as he stared up at the countless stars visible in the night sky.

  “If Redi was here, she’d know what to say, but I can’t rely on her for everything. I have to learn to take care of this kind of stuff by myself, too. I know it sucks, but it’s probably for the best of both of us that we’re taking the time to be on our own.”

  The situation was complicated, but Sam was just happy that Primeape looked better. When he had walked over to sit on the boulder, it was like his steps were lighter. His movements didn’t carry that same weight to them as before.

  It made Sam wonder how Primeape was feeling. Not how he was feeling about his brother, but how he was feeling in general. As a Primeape, he was supposed to be constantly angry, but how was that anger being directed? After all of their training, Sam knew Primeape should have had great control of it, but he couldn’t exactly see into his Pokémon’s head.

  ...But did he even need to? Primeape wasn’t consumed by a need for revenge, and that was enough. All that mattered was that he was finally better off.

  So for a while, Sam and Typhlosion just sat there, taking in the cool night air and the clear view of the stars that came from the lack of light pollution off-route. It was hard to put into words just how peaceful it was, but it was nice. He might not have had a book in hand, but it reminded him of all the times they read together in the windowsill above his mother’s shop.

  After a while, however, Sam breathed out. The moment couldn’t last forever.

  Typhlosion snapped her head up and began to let her flames lick around her neck as Sam pushed to his feet. Shadows writhed beneath her. Sam stared up at the cliffs.

  “Yeah,” he said quietly, “I see them too.”

  Above, creatures stalked about, but they were no Ghost Types. Though they stuck to the shadows, their purple bodies were far too obvious against the light-colored stone of the rock walls. Faint clattering came from their claws breaking the stone and sending pebbles to the stone floors.

  The cliffs looked as though they were moving. The Gligar did their best to hide their midnight approach, but Sam was far too used to searching for hidden Pokémon for that strategy to work against him.

  “Looks like they got help this time around,” Sam said as he took in the incoming horde. “They didn’t exactly change their plan, but they definitely got help.”

  The number of Gligar from earlier had more than tripled—whatever had happened in the past few hours, the previous Gligar attackers had somehow gathered others for help. Berry trees were invaluable out here, not just for food but also for the healing they represented. Even split several ways, a berry tree meant not just power but safe growth for any Pokémon with access.

  From around the campsite, shadows of Ghost Types peeled away to meld with Sam’s own. Trevenant left where he’d been resting against the berry tree to join Sam at his side.

  The muffled hissing of the Gligar sharing their plan stood in the silent night. They intended to make use of the darkness to attack, swooping down and ambushing the sleeping Mankey to force them all to flee.

  If this were any other day, the Gligar’s plan might have worked. Unfortunately for the wild Pokémon, Sam was here, and he had his entire team with him.

  “Looks like we really can’t go anywhere without something going on,” Sam said with a sigh, “but at least this isn’t too much. A Gligar swarm isn’t that bad.”

  He quickly took in the sheer size of the crawling mass. His team had to be outnumbered by at least three to one.

  “Still, we’ve had such gracious hosts. I think we can at least take this on for them.”

  His Pokémon readied themselves for a fight, and the many Gligar turned their heads. Yellow eyes glowed in the darkness of the night, and they unlatched from the walls to dive at them in a wave.

  “We’ll do this carefully,” Sam said as he calmly watched the incoming horde. “No sense in waking up the Mankey, so let’s win as quietly as possible, yeah?”

  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:

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