Chapter 154

Author Note:

This is the second of two chapters posted today!

Make sure to read the first chapter here!

(And this line is here just to take up space so that the previews don't have any spoilers. Same for this line being here to take up space so that the previews don't have any spoilers.)

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“When your mom first came to me and told me she was pregnant, I was shocked. She was young, but she wanted a child, and she told me she didn’t want her kid to grow up on their own. She wanted her son to have a family, an entire family, so after years of silence, she reached out, and she eventually joined me to settle in Dewford.

“She always talked about all these great plans she had for you. She had so many potential names, too. I can’t say I remember all of them, but I jokingly offered up ‘Samuel’ one day. It wasn’t until weeks later that I learned that was the name she chose.”

He laughed to himself, though those laughs gave way to wheezing coughs under his breathing mask. It was honestly a miracle he was managing to stay awake. He looked so thin, and Sam’s memories of these events were not pleasant. They had found him in his home after a heart attack, and it’d been so long since he’d seen a doctor that all of his underlying health conditions meant—

No. It’s not worth thinking about that.

Slowly, Sam sat in a chair that had been placed next to his grandfather. His grandfather, head resting on a pillow, turned to look at him.

He placed a hand on Sam’s and squeezed. Sam knew it was meant to be reassuring, but there was hardly any of the pressure to it unlike his usual grip.

“I didn’t think much of it at the time,” his grandfather continued, gaze locked onto Sam. “The name ‘Sam’ isn’t uncommon—especially not ‘Samuel!’ Not when there’s someone so famous named that exactly that out there. My reasoning was the same as so many others’, but it truly was just a coincidence. Your birth was the second happiest day of my life, right after your mother’s birth, of course.

“But, more than anything else, I was just happy to have a family again.”

His grandfather’s gaze drifted away from Sam, and his expression slowly fell.

“Then, your father passed. And slowly, so did so many of my Pokémon. I stopped taking care of myself, but I did everything in my power to take care of my daughter and you,” his grandfather said. “And then, coincidences began to build up. I got a little suspicious. It wasn’t until you were seven and you started asking me about the Ghost Type that I finally put the clues together.”

Sam’s throat felt dry. Every breath he took caused his body to shake. He stared at the form of his grandfather, still alive, even as his grandfather turned his head to look into his eyes.

“Hi, Sam,” Richard Greyson, Sam’s grandfather, said. “Gah. I really was a little prick back then, wasn’t I?”

“Grandpa,” Sam choked out.

His words were met with a laugh.

“Oh, none of that!” His grandfather waved a hand. “Why do you have to look so sad? It’s me! Your grandfather! Your old, old man!”

His grandfather’s tired face curved up into a grin, and despite everything going on, Sam laughed. In the background, the machines quietly hummed, and the consistent beat of a heart monitor pulsed through the air.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Sam whispered.

“Tell you what?”

“That you knew me. That you’re from another world.”

“Oh, that?” His grandfather smacked his lips. “Wasn’t important. Didn’t make sense to bring it up. There was a lot going on, even back then.”

Sam sent his grandfather a look, the same look he always sent the man whenever he was being too vague. His grandfather saw that, and just like how he reacted to so many things, he let out a belly-deep laugh.

“Come on, now! You’re taunting me even here?” the old man asked.

But Sam kept it up, and his grandfather’s smile faded away. He breathed out, facing the ceiling, letting his head sink into his pillow.

It took a full minute for him to talk again.

“I didn’t want to overcomplicate things,” his grandfather said quietly. “I wanted you and your mother to be happy. It didn’t make sense to bring it up. It’s easier to keep things simple, and I thought... I thought that if I never said anything, you would never have to go through all of that. Guess I was wrong.”

He barked out a laugh.

“And mom?” Sam asked.

“What about her?”

“Does she know?”

The pause was slight, but it was definitely there.

“No. Not completely, I think. She has her hints—I wasn’t exactly the ‘usual’ father, I’d say. I suspect she suspects, but she never approached me, and I didn’t say anything. Knowing her, her logic was the same as mine. She didn’t want to complicate things. I think she just wanted to enjoy her family and her home.”

Sam quietly nodded. He didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t sure if he could speak, and how was he supposed to do that? Having a second chance to talk was never in his plans.

His grandfather had always been hearty. He was jolly—in more ways than one. He was a solid oak of a man, but that oak had withered.

Right now, he looked so, so weak.

“I remember, way back when, I once told you I’d answer any questions you’d give me,” his grandfather said quietly. “I guess I never put a limit on that, did I? So how about we continue that right here?”

He grinned.

Rubbing his eyes, Sam did his best to nod, and it took him a bit to figure out what questions he wanted to ask—what questions he needed to ask.

“Professor Oak,” Sam said, settling on that topic even as much as he hated it. “Why did he never reach out to us? Even someone who said they were your friend, Doctor Hale, was surprised you had passed. What happened to all of them?”

“Ah. Really decided to hit home with that question, huh?” His grandfather’s smile became more strained. “Truth is, we haven’t talked in years. Most of the people I know are from Kanto. We exchanged a few letters after I moved to Dewford, but outside that...”

His voice trailed off.

“I guess we just got too busy. Didn’t bother to keep in contact.”

He didn’t look at Sam. He almost seemed ashamed. But Sam could tell it was more than that.

He had grown up with the man. He could always tell when his grandfather lied.

“Grandpa,” Sam said.

His look was serious.

His grandfather’s eyes flicked over to him, and then the old man sighed.

“Alright. You got me. Your old-old man wasn’t telling the complete truth,” he said. “Yes, we fell out of contact, but it isn’t their fault. I just... stopped. I was worried. I didn’t...”

His body shook when he breathed in.

“I remember what happened in the Ilex Forest that day. Nothing went to plan. With so much of the forest being destroyed, and with Sammy getting hurt... I didn’t want to risk it. I knew how it was meant to go. After all, my world? My old one? It knew quite a bit about this one, but those were just stories. Yet all those stories had happy endings. I didn’t want to ruin that.”

“So you cut yourself off,” Sam concluded. “You didn’t want to spread butterflies.”

“It was one of the reasons I was so resistant to letting your mother go out on her journey, and that cost me years of her life,” he said mournfully. “Sam. I know how much you looked up to me, but I’m sorry to say—your old-old man’s a coward!”

He laughed, but his laughter lacked any sign of joy.

Sam looked over his grandfather. He could tell just how little energy he had left. Even just talking was taking a lot out of him, but that? He looked as though he had just taken a blow to his chest.

“You’re not a coward,” Sam said.

His grandfather opened his mouth to try to deny that, but Sam kept talking.

“Back then, you never hesitated. You always threw yourself into action. Were you dumb? Yeah, a little bit. I mean, you never once followed through with any plan! But that doesn’t change what you did. It doesn’t change your decisiveness. At every chance you got, you stepped forward. Even though you told me you had selfish goals, you always worked solely to protect your friends.”

Sam did not hesitate. He stared his grandfather in the eye, pouring every ounce of meaning into his words. And to that, his grandfather’s lower lip shook. He seemed like he wanted to say anything, but he instead brought up a shaking arm to wipe the tears out of his eyes.

“T-thank you, Sam. I think I’ve been waiting my whole life to hear that. Do you—”

“I have one more question.”.

The room was quiet. Even the machines seemed to pause.

“The New Pokédex was in your attic,” Sam said. “Who sent it to you?”

For a long, long time, his grandfather was silent. He did not respond. He only stared at Sam.

For a second, Sam started to worry that that had been it, but then the slightest of smiles returned to the old man’s face.

“No one,” he said.

“What? But it was wrapped up in a mail—”

“I wrote it.”

Sam choked.

“The New Pokédex was... I suppose it was a hope of mine. Some secret desire to make an impact, even as foolhardy as I thought that was. See, I didn’t exactly come here empty-handed. I had a device on me from my old world. Jolt helped keep it charged, and I had downloaded this application filled to the brim with knowledge on all things Pokémon.

“But those kinds of devices don’t last forever, and I didn’t have the know-how to repair it nor the willingness to give it to someone who did. So one day, I sat down, and I... spent a few weeks recording everything it had. Not everything, but everything about Pokémon. I hoped that... I’m not sure. I hoped that when I sent it off, maybe something good would happen.”

“You said you were afraid of spreading butterflies.”

“I was. And even now, I’m not sure why I did that.”

Sam let his grandfather’s words sink in.

“So that’s why it’s so detailed,” Sam mumbled. “Because it has otherworldly information. And that’s also why there was nothing about Legendary—”

“What?” His grandfather fought to sit up. “No, I included information on Legendary Pokémon. They weren’t in it?”

His grandfather stared at him in disbelief until understanding lit up in his tired eyes, and he let out a short laugh.

“Oh. I see. He really...!”

He then laughed even harder, with the sound eventually developing into coughs.

“Who did you send it to?”

“If you don’t know, then I’m not going to tell you. That’s something I’ll leave you to figure out,” his grandfather said with a smirk. “So. Any other questions for your old-old man?”

“Maybe just why you kept thinking I’d recognize your name?”

The response to that was amusement. Something glimmered in his grandfather’s eyes. The smirk on his face spoke of Sam falling for a prank his grandfather had forgotten he’d even made.

“My name? Hah! It was a bit of a joke to myself. I was in a new world, so I wanted a new me. I chose a name from a comic book—I liked the character. I thought he was cool! And, I suppose looking back on it, I thought I could leech off those jokes about him having a great—”

He interrupted himself with a more purposeful cough this time around.

“But it’s more that I appreciated the character’s background,” he said quickly. “I wanted to be the same as him—someone able to strike off on his own and succeed.”

“So your name isn’t Richard Greyson?” Sam asked.

His grandfather shook his head.

“At this point, it is my name. After all, it’s the name I’ve gone by my whole adult life. And if I try to remember what I used to be called, I can’t...”  His eyes briefly lost their focus. “I’m just me. I’m Richard Greyson.”

And then he laughed at the joke Sam didn’t get.

For a while, Sam just sat there. He didn’t have anything else to ask, and his grandfather’s hand still rested on his own. What else was he supposed to say? What else was he supposed to bother him with? Was he supposed to talk about Celebi, or was he supposed to warn his grandfather of his own—

“Now then,” his grandfather said, interrupting Sam’s train of through. “That’s enough about me. What about you? I can tell it’s been a bit. What have you been up to? Give me all the spoilers.”

Sam had to wipe his eyes. His grandfather did his best to lean in.

“Me? I... I finally started my journey.”

“You did? With Cyndaquil?”

“Yeah. Do you... want to hear about it?”

“Of course I do! I want to hear about everything you’ve been up to more than anything else.”

Finally, Sam laughed, truly laughed, feeling a weight in his chest that he didn’t know he had completely disappear. He didn’t wait; he went right into it. With such an eager audience, he spoke of all the wonderful Pokémon on his team, all of the amazing people he’d met, and all of the incredible adventures they’d had together.

He talked to his grandfather straight through the entire night.

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When Sam emerged back in his camp, he stepped out of the bushes with Gengar in his shadow beneath him. The newly evolved Pokémon stayed in the darkness, and Sam silently took in the scene taking place before him.

It was a stand-off.

Annihilape stayed in place but was raging, barely keeping his anger under control. Drakloak was at his side, snapping her head violently at the two Pokémon in front of her, trying to resist her urge to lash out. Opposite to them, Typhlosion was doing her best to persuade them to stay back. All the while, Mismagius floated behind her. There were tears in the Ghost Type’s eyes.

Mismagius wasn’t fully there. Her gaze was unfocused, and she was lost in memory. Despite how torn up she looked, there was a hardness to her expression, as if she had to force herself to accept that she had done what needed to be done.

The only Pokémon not involved in this were Trevenant and Dreepy, who stood and floated off to the side, watching the exchange. Above, without Gengar leading them, the Gastly were divided. They either supported or hated Mismagius’s actions. Shadows writhed with the horde split in two.

So focused on the argument taking place, none of the Pokémon noticed Sam step into the campsite. They all shouted at each other, only barely resisting using their moves, and the archway in the back was completely gone.

But, eventually, out of all of the Pokémon, one eventually noticed. A surprised squeak pierced through the air, and Dreepy shot over to slam into Sam’s chest.

Sam gained a slight smile as he hugged him back. He made sure to rub the small Dragon Type’s head.

“It’s nice to see you, too.”

Immediately, the stand-off went completely and utterly still, and above them all, every single Gastly turned their heads. The swarm of unevolved Ghost Types rushed Sam excitedly, but before they could spiral around, darkness exploded out from underneath Sam’s feet.

Gengar had to dramatically show off his evolution, after all.

With that, just about every Gastly cried out in celebration. Likely, for miles away, anyone nearby would have experienced shivers sent down their spine. And, things weren’t done just there. Sam had to force himself to say nothing when several of the Gastly went on to glow.

It seemed that the few ready to evolve had been waiting just for him.

With the swarm of Gastly and Haunter now being properly distracted by Gengar’s presence, Sam was able to bring his gaze to the rest of his team, toward the core members he had come here to train with. The haunting celebrations of the Ghost Types above them were almost musical, but Sam didn’t pay attention to them.

Drakloak looked like she wanted to collapse out of relief. Annihilape breathed out, immediately pulling back on his rage to calm down. Trevenant nodded once, acting as if this was the only possible outcome, and Typhlosion looked as though she was about to cry.

But Mismagius. Poor, lonely, Mismagius. Her gaze focused, being brought over to Sam, and her expression became what Sam could describe as desperate hope.

When Sam met her gaze, they stayed there, staring at one another from across the clearing.

He smiled.

“Hi, Misdreavus,” Sam whispered. “I’m back.”

Mismagius burst into tears.

Before anyone could do anything else, she rushed him, basically falling into him. Her arms draped over his shoulders as she let her head rest against him, letting out a horrible wail.

Sam didn’t hesitate to hug her back.

“I’m sorry.”

Everyone but Typhlosion looked on, confused.

“Everyone,” Sam said, barely managing to speak properly after eventually pulling away. “I can explain, but just know that Mismagius did what she had to do.”

He breathed in.

“The important part is, I’m back, and I have a wild story to tell you,” he said. “And more than that, more than anything else...”

For once, Sam felt completely and utterly confident.

“And more than anything else,” he continued. “I’m ready. I’m ready for anything the world throws at us. Come here. Let me explain, but also remember we have plenty of time. We’ll be training as much as possible over the coming weeks, and I promise you that we will win the Conference.”

After all, even with everything Sam had gone through, only a handful of minutes had passed. He was back with his team. He was armed with knowledge. And with his experience and his grandfather’s New Pokédex, Sam had just about two full weeks to prepare his team for the Conference.

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Author Note:

See: End of Chapter 142. Very final line.

Thank you so, so much for reading. With this, the “journey” arc has ended. There will be a break next week, but we will pick back up on Tuesday, April 22nd for the start of the Silver Conference.

See you then.

Pokémon included in this chapter:
Celebi

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