The Looming Shadow

As the dream played out once more, Jared couldn't help but notice a significant change. Firstly, the lantern was already in his hands, and secondly, the shadow looming over him didn't attack, prompting him to ask, "Well, well, well, look who's back. Mind telling me what's after you, Gastly?"

"Gastly feed Haunter, Haunter to gengar, all serve Greater Nightmare." the shadow replied ominously.

Jared's mind was racing as he tried to make sense of what he had just heard, "So let me get this straight, are you saying that Haunters often hunt and eat Gastlys regularly?"

The shadow paused for a moment before responding, "Gastlys Strong. Dislike. Haunter Eat Forever."

Jared mouthed the words to himself as he ventured a guess, "So Gastlys remain small because they're eaten by Haunters from time to time? They eat away at you? When?"

"Soon. Soon!"

Furrowing his brows, Jared asked "So In a few days there will be a 'Greater Nightmare,' and that's when you'll be attacked?" he repeated.

The shadow's form quivered, and Jared could sense its growing agitation. "Greater Nightmare. All Motes, Enter. Feast," it replied.

"But how will they find you?" he asked. "Nobody knows that you're my Pokemon."

The shadow's response was chilling. "Smell. Traitor. Hatred. Different. Eat All," it hissed. "

Jared swallowed hard, "You say soon, but how soon??"

"Soon All. Dream. All All All." the shadow replied, its voice cold and ominous.

"Then how can I keep you safe, what should I do? I need you!"

"Gastly. endless. mote. Enter, Haunter, big mote, Lead. Greater. Nightmare. All. All. All."

"So you're gonna get swarmed by your kind, and there's no escape even if we run far away?

But the shadow just kept repeating, "All All All"

Jared was beginning to feel a sense of helplessness. Gastly was going to enter the so called 'Greater Shadow' no matter what, and then hundreds of his kind would attack him until there was nothing left. What could he possibly do about this? How could he protect Gastly from a dream, how could any human do so? Humans are tangible creatures after all, they can't freely enter dreams, let alone the so called Greater Shadow. But if he let Gastly die, wouldn't that just set him back to square one? Maybe he was doomed from the start, maybe he wasn't truly the chosen one? As Jared began despairing at the futility of it all, at the corner of his eye, he noticed the small lantern in his hands growing dimmer by the second.

Seeing this, Jared felt like his heart was being torn out as he gazed at the shadow, his expression turned fanatical, "No! I won't accept it! There must be a way! I refuse to let it all end here when it hasn't even begun!"

With bloodshot eyes, he shouted, "What if I fought alongside you when the time comes? Can you take me into the Greater Nightmare?"

The shadow's eyes widened in absolute disbelief. "You... insane..."

But the flames of the lantern burned brighter than ever as Jared persisted, "Is it possible?"

As if wondering whether the strange human was serious or not, the shadow finally replied, "Possible..."

.

After devising a plan, he asked Gastly to dispel the dream by consuming him. Upon waking up, Jared noticed that the sun was halfway across the sky, indicating that at least a few hours had passed. But he was finding it increasingly annoying that he didn't know the exact time. But even if he wanted a watch, luxury goods like that were still far too expensive for him. Fortunately, there were a few tiny clock towers scattered around the town, which were helpful albeit inconvenient.

As he contemplated his next course of action and his future, he quickly dismissed a few options. Firstly, revealing Gastly's existence now would be a grave mistake. Currently, he was akin to a blind beggar holding a bar of gold. Even if that gold bar would disappear without a trace in a few days, he still had no right to possess it. Catching a Gastly was exceedingly rare, and he had lost much of his faith in the authorities after the deaths of the two boys in the alleyway. Seeking their aid might only incite their greed, given his status as a temporary resident, a foreigner without any backing, and above all, a commoner. He was becoming acutely aware of how little value trainers placed on a commoner's life. He then briefly considered talking to Kukui, but even if someone like Kukui had been kind enough, he still hadn't known him long. What if his rescue and generosity were merely a facade to enhance his reputation, especially since he was seen in the company of people like Bane, who thought little of him?

Jared made a decision, "I have to rely on myself."

He let out a deep sigh, realizing that he had to climb this hurdle on his own. If a ghost Pokémon could infiltrate someone's dreams, it could also locate where Gastly was hiding in the real world, so every person that knew of his little secret was a potential disaster in the making. But, despite Gastly warning him about it, he still had his own plans. If he kept Gastly hidden away, never exposing him, it wouldn't be any different than not having him at all. First, through the bond he had with Gastly, he had to battle and become stronger, as well as living longer. But just living longer wasn't enough. In his plans, conquering mortality was just the first step, because even if he could achieve everything he wanted, the continuity of his plan after his death was not guaranteed. Therefore Immortality was a must!

Jared then gave a few seconds of thought to the supposed Greater Nightmare, as he asked himself, "Could I even help Gastly through it? What if I failed? All my plans would be for nothing." But he quickly shook his head, "No, the threat of failure shouldn't deter me from taking future actions. I'm already twenty-nine years old. In another twenty-nine years, I'll be an old man. Compared to other trainers who have been training Pokemon from a young age, I'm already far behind, I must work harder!"

With a determined expression, Jared left the house and set out for the library, his mind solely focused on the task at hand. The sights around him no longer held any fascination. As he arrived at the library, he noted the influx of students, but paid them little heed, diving straight into the vast collection of books and archives.

Numerous questions plagued him now. Why was it that pokemon could not communicate with humans? Who had determined this to be common knowledge and where had the information originated from? What had researchers discovered about this phenomenon and what did their findings entail?

As Jared sifted through the library's collection, his attention was caught by a book labelled "Pokemon Language, and Its Infinite Mysteries." Determined to find answers, he delved into its pages, discovering a passage that intrigued him. Despite some pokemon having intelligence on par with humans, direct communication between humans and Pokemon had always been impossible, with no scientific explanation for why. Instead, the book pointed to a paragraph from another book, "The Holy Arceus Bible." Jared couldn't help but find it amusing that there were religious texts in this world. His curiosity piqued, he delved further into the passage. It told the story of humans and Pokemon living together in a boundless forest, with the humans being weak and hunted by powerful Pokemon. Huddling together in fear, they prayed for salvation, and Arceus took pity on them, creating the first language so that humans and Pokemon could understand each other and form bonds. This worked for a while, but soon, humans forgot their blessings and used their Pokemon for selfish ends. As punishment, Arceus stripped humans of their ability to speak with Pokemon, making most direct communication impossible.

While Jared was engrossed in his reading, a woman clearing her throat drew his attention, and he looked up to see Mali approaching him. "Hi," she said hesitantly, "Sorry about the other day, I didn't mean to call you a coward like that."

Jared waved off her apology, returning to his book. "It's alright," he said, before asking, "So, how did it go? Did you find a ghost in the House of Spinaraks?"

Mali shook her head, a wry smile playing on her lips. "No," she admitted, "I left after that. So I guess I'm a coward too." Jared let out a polite chuckle, turning another page in his book.

"So..." Mali said, eyeing Jared's reading material, "I can see you aren't reading about ghost Pokemon anymore. You aren't quitting the club, are you?"

Pondering for a moment, Jared weighing the pros and cons of ending his friendship with Mali. Ultimately, he determined it wasn't worth it, and he appreciated having someone to converse with occasionally. "No, I'll continue with the club, but I won't be going on any more field trips for a while. I have a lot of gaps in my knowledge due to my amnesia, and I want to fill them in as quickly as possible."

"Amnesia?" Mali's face twisted with concern. "Did you hit your head or something?"

Jared chuckled dryly, not wanting to reveal too much. "Let's just say it's along those lines," he agreed.

The woman's eyes sparkled, "Oh, then I can help you with that! You're part of the club, so I can answer any questions you have!"

Jared smiled gratefully. "Thank you, I really appreciate it." He paused for a moment before deciding to share some personal information with her. "To be honest, I'm not a student here. I just have access to the library for now. I meet with a tutor once a week, but it's only for a couple of hours, so progress is slow."

"Mali's eyes lit up. 'Oh... then do you have any questions to ask me?'"

Jared took a moment to collect his thoughts before asking, "I was wondering if you could help me out with something. How familiar are you with the concept of the 'bond boost'?"

Mali felt slightly uneasy about the topic, and her insecurity manifested in her reluctance to answer. "Well, I'm not exactly a trainer," she began, then quickly changed her wording, "But I do know quite a bit. I suppose you already understand that one must possess at least some degree of talent to form a mystical bond with a Pokémon?" Jared affirmed her statement with a nod. "I understand that much, but precisely how much talent is necessary? And how can we determine whether or not we possess the required amount? For instance, if we were to encounter a Gastly, how might we discern whether we possess the talent to bond with it or not, and how would we gauge the strength of our ghost affinity?"

Although Jared pretended that he had never come across a Gastly, he didn't feel any remorse for his deceit. Even though he already had a ghost Pokemon, he couldn't risk telling her. He had his own agenda, and he might reveal it one day, or he might not. But for now, Mali was on her own.

Not noticing Jared's deception, the blue eye woman replied, "Well, when you lay your hands on an elemental stone and can perceive the glow with your naked eye, then you certainly possess enough talent to bond with a pokemon of that element." She paused, then said, "However, you're right, without ghost stones, how can we gauge your talent with ghost pokemon?" After thinking for about five seconds, Mali continued, "One way could be to test how much your pokemon's strength is augmented after you command it to attack. You're aware that trainers act as amplifiers for their pokemon's moves, right?"

"I did know that," Jared confirmed, "but your idea on how to assess my talent through attacks is an idea I haven't thought of before. If one day we are lucky enough to encounter a Gastly, this information will absolutely prove useful. Thank you."

"It's no problem, teaching my members is what I should do as the club leader." Mali blushed.

"Well, I don't have any other questions for now." Jared scratched his chin then pointed with the same hand, "Are you going to get the ghost pokemon books like usual?"

She shook her head, "No, I just discovered that I failed the midterm yesterday and it upset my sister a lot... so I have to study my major."

"What's your major?" Jared asked curiously.

"Mathematics... pretty lame, huh?" Mali replied, seeming a bit self-conscious.

Jared wasn't surprised by her answer. Without any talent as a trainer, pursuing a field of pokemon study would certainly be a bit more difficult. He couldn't help but wonder if he would have made the same practical choice if he had taken a different path in life.

"Not at all," Jared replied reassuringly. "I hope you manage to get your grades up."

"Anyways, I just... came by to apologize, and thanks. So... I'll be going now" Mali said awkwardly.

"Alright, see you later then," Jared replied before returning to his books.

He spent the rest of the day in the library, his mind consumed by the information he was absorbing. It wasn't until he was forced out of the building at closing time that he finally left.

As he walked home, his mind was still abuzz with the information he had learned. Lost in thought, he accidentally bumped into a kid in the alley, sending the boy tumbling to the ground.