The chase exploded into the meadow, and the Oddish and Bellossom there fled into the trees. Lunging ahead, the Scyther dragged a bladed arm through the air, and its Houndoom ally tried to snap out with a Fire Fang from behind.

  The Pokémon they chased dropped, barely managing to avoid both moves. The Scyther's wings almost allowed it to catch up, but only in a short burst. Its target flickered and was suddenly five feet ahead.

  “It’s Celebi,” Richard said.

  “What?” Sam joined Richard where he had paused at the edge of the meadow. Sammy was still running ahead.

  “That’s Celebi,” Richard repeated. “Trust me. I know for sure.”

  Sam’s grandfa— Richard stared out over the battle, giving Sam a but to observe the fight. It zig-zagged through the flowers, the green Pokémon just barely avoiding every move.

  But it was exhausted, and its tiredness was only growing.

  Through the chaos, Sammy was trying to slip between the attackers in some hare-brained plan to grab the tired Pokémon and run. Against those two, Sam could tell he wouldn't succeed. A Houndoom and Scyther would always outpace a human, especially across the uneven earth of the woods.

  “I never caught your name. I'd ask for an introduction, but that doesn’t matter right now,” Richard said, and Sam felt his eye twitch. “The only thing that matters is stopping this. So I’m assuming your Misdreavus is smart enough to follow a paraswag strategy—that’s paralysis and Swagger, by the way.”

  “She doesn’t know Swagger,” Sam said tersely.

  “Does she know Confuse Ray?”

  “She does.”

  “Then use that.”

  Before Sam could say or even do anything, Richard had already taken off, charging right toward where Sammy was struggling to enter the fight. Running ahead, he pulled out his Jolteon’s Pokéball and twisted it to release his chosen team member.

  Fine. Whatever. Who cares what I think? It's not like I have a bunch of experience making plans.

  With Richard already running, Sam tried to explain a strategy to Misdreavus as fast as he could.

  “If he’s taking the lead, we’re forced to follow, but we have our own goals too. No matter what, we need to catch up to that Pokémon. Celebi, or whatever it's called. But what matters is that it is the Voice of the Forest.”

  Misdreavus’s eyes widened when Sam said the Pokémon’s name, but she still nodded in ready agreement. When he ran, she joined him, and he pulled off to the side to make more distance between him and the fight.

  “Thunder Wave!”

  Richard's Jolteon was like a bolt of lightning in both its movements and its use of the called-for move. Sam recognized its initial burst of speed as a use of Quick Attack, and that allowed it to slip right between the Scyther and Houndoom.

  The fight was then put on hold when Jolteon jumped and unleashed its electricity. In a burst, weak bolts of lightning jumped off its body to zap the two hunters. The Scyther and Houndoom shook, locking up due to the rampant electricity racing through them.

  “Got you!”

  Misdreavus was yet to catch up, but Sammy was right there. He managed to squeeze through and dive, just barely catching Celebi before it fell out of the air. Continuing with his momentum, he pulled it against his chest and began dashing out of the meadow.

  “Keep going, Sammy!” Richard shouted. “We’ll take care of these two! And we’ll catch up later!”

  Sam reached Richard’s side, feeling his eye twitch once again.

  Are you kidding me? I need to reach it!

  Celebi was Sam’s ticket to both go home and help Misdreavus.

  But if the Scyther and Houndoom needed to be defeated before he could reach Celebi, then so be it. Sam would do just that.

  “Misdreavus, this is your first real battle, but I trust you!” he shouted as she narrowed the distance. “Use Confuse Ray! Trap both of them with your illusions!”

  “First battle, huh?” Richard mumbled under his breath.

  Misdreavus tore through the air to get closer. Both the Scyther and Houndoom shakily pushed through their paralysis to face the newest threat, but all that did was give her the perfect opportunity to strike the Scyther between its eyes.

  Though successful, Confuse Ray could only hit one Pokémon at once. The Houndoom went unaffected and faced her, sucking in a breath for a Flamethrower.

  “Haunt...” a voice whispered on the wind. “...er.”

  Unfortunately for it, red eyes opened up in Sam’s shadow, disrupting the Flamethrower. Only the Houndoom and Sam were aware of Haunter’s use of Spite.

  That short delay gave Misdreavus just enough time to use Confuse Ray again, and both Pokémon became subjected to the move. Trapped by both illusions and paralysis, they weren't in a position to defend against any attacks.

  Richard wore a grin of utter confidence on his face.

  “Hah! Alright, newbie, you did a great job! Paralysis and confusion both give a Pokémon half-odds to use an attack, so these two will only be able to move twenty-five percent of the time!”

  “...But that’s not how it works?” Sam said to no one, apparently. Richard wasn’t listening.

  There were no set proportions for success. Some Pokémon were better at pushing through paralysis and confusion than others.

  But the combination was effective. Paralysis already made movement difficult with the electricity coursing through a Pokémon’s body, and the illusions layered over their vision with Confuse Ray meant neither the Scyther nor the Houndoom knew where to aim the few attacks they could manage.

  “Thunderbolt! Into Double Kick!” Richard ordered, and then he sent Sam a glance. “Give your Misdreavus a command, too! This is a double battle! But you can trust us to win!”

  “Alright,” Sam said, his expression flat.

  Sam went on to watch the Jolteon burst with electricity, and it sent a bolt right through the Scyther. Immediately after, it turned around to slam its hind legs into the Houndoom’s side.

  Strength-wise, Jolteon wouldn’t be out of place on a five-star team.

  But Haunter is at eight. We could probably defeat Richard pretty easily.

  Sam chose to say nothing along those lines, simply choosing to give Misdreavus an order, as requested.

  “Night Shade.”

  With Jolteon having dealt super effective damage to both Pokémon, the Scyther and Houndoom were still recoiling from the pain. Paralyzed and confused, they were too slow and too lost in illusions to know how to react.

  So, without difficulty, Misdreavus placed herself perfectly between them. Upon doing so, she pulsed out a Night Shade. The caustic haze that formed around her ate into both of her opponents. That was the last little bit needed to send both the Scyther and Houndoom falling to the ground.

  “Impressed?” Richard proudly swiped a thumb under his nose. “Jolteon set them up perfectly for you! You can trust us—just keep close, and we’ll make sure you’ll stay safe!”

  “Uh, okay.”

  Sam’s gaze flicked to the woods to search for any sign of where Celebi had disappeared. As he did, Misdreavus floated up to him with a smile.

  “You did a good job,” he said, pausing briefly to give Misdreavus her well-deserved praise.

  She gained a slight blush, and then Sam no longer needed to search. From a tap on his foot, he found that Haunter knew where to go; while there was no longer any hostile intent, he could still track down where the Celebi had gone by following its pain.

  “Let’s go,” Sam said, taking off in a dash.

  Richard blinked then hurried to follow. His Jolteon ran over, he returned it, and Misdreavus followed along by Sam’s side.

  She needs better moves, but as she is now... About three stars. Definitely.

  Haunter tapped on Sam’s shin to provide the directions. Sam could tell that Celebi wasn’t far off, but this was enough of a lull to finally give them the chance to talk.

  “So what’s going on? What was that Pokémon—a Celebi? That’s the Voice of the Forest? Then why was it being attacked? And why was a poacher out here?” Sam asked as they ran.

  “I don’t— It’s just— Man, you have a lot of questions, huh?” Despite having barely started running, Richard already looked as though he was already almost out of breath. “Those were... a poacher’s Pokémon. Yeah, Celebi’s a... Legendary Pokémon. I thought—”

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  He took a deep breath in and finally managed to find a pace that allowed him to breathe.

  “Celebi. The ‘Voice of the Forest.’ A Legendary Pokémon native to Ilex,” Richard said. “We were warned about it when we first entered these woods, and with how it was being chased, that Scyther and Houndom have to belong to a poacher.”

  He then sent Sam a quick look, glancing at him out of disbelief.

  “Although, I don’t get it. Are you really sure you haven’t seen—”

  Sam shook his head when he could tell Richard wasn't going to say anything useful anymore.

  “Yeah, no. I don’t believe you. “There’s no way Celebi is a Legendary Pokémon,” Sam said. “Legendary Pokémon are supposed to be these big, massive creatures. Where’s its presence? Where’s its power? If just those two were forcing it to run away, it can’t be much. And if it’s really a Pokémon, then why haven’t I...”

  Then why haven’t I seen it in the New Pokédex?

  The New Pokédex had always had information missing. It only really included information about locations along the main routes. But when it came to known species, it generally had everything.

  Sam had no clue how something like a ‘Celebi’ could be missing.

  He ignored the strange looks Richard continued to send his way, and he hardly bothered to listen to Richard’s mutters that Celebi was a ‘Mythical’ Pokémon and not technically a ‘Legendary.’ Instead, now that the thought had settled in, he was too busy trying to understand how no Legendary Pokémon had been listed.

  Of course, no publicly-accessible Pokédex ever included details on Legendary Pokémon, but Sam would have thought the New Pokédex was different. However, most Legendary Pokémon were just that: Legendary. They only existed in rumors and myths, and even the ones confirmed to exist, like Latios and Latias, or Moltres and the like, were practically impossible to find.

  “Trust me! It is a Celebi! And a Celebi is definitely a Legendary—a Mythical Pokémon!” Richard shouted. “It’s a Grass-Psychic Type! Equal in every stat! Found in the Ilex Forest! And it doesn’t need to exert any dumb pressure if it can travel through time!”

  “Travel through time?” Sam repeated.

  That was the only thing he needed to hear.

  Any remaining doubt he had was eliminated; he knew that Celebi was the Voice of the Forest. Not only was its cry too familiar, but when it had flickered forward to dodge the Houndoom and Scyther’s attack, it hadn’t used a Pokémon move. It moved more as though it had fast-forwarded its path, reappearing as if shunting itself through time.

  Thanks to Haunter, they were able to quickly catch up to Sammy—catch up to Sam’s ticket home—in almost no time at all. Weaving through the woods, Sam found himself coming to a stop just past a few trees that surrounded a grove with a stone shrine.

  Ahead, that other boy, Sammy, pressed himself against the stone structure. He was still clutching the Voice of the Forest against his chest, but he was no longer alone.

  “Let it go, kid,” a voice said. “My Pokémon will be back anytime. Don’t matter what they do. Your friends won’t be able to withstand their attacks.”

  A rough-looking man in a leather jacket sent him a slimy grin from atop a purring motorcycle. He turned its handle, and its engine revved as if in threat. It coughed up black smog behind him.

  Sam held out a hand to try to signal for Richard to stay back. From where they had arrived in the trees, the man had yet to notice them. They were in the perfect position to creep around in the shadows and strike in an ambush.

  But it turned out that Richard was dumb. Really, really dumb.

  “Don’t give up, Sammy! We’re here to help!” Richard’s shout was like a slap to Sam’s face. “Hey, you! Poacher! You aren’t taking them! We’ll never give up a Pokémon in need to someone like you!”

  Genuinely stunned—likely for multiple reasons—the man glanced over his shoulder to see Richard confidently stride forward. He seemed too struck by disbelief to do anything to stop him, even as Richard boldly walked over to interpose himself between the poacher and Celebi.

  Recognizing any element of surprise had been lost, Sam unhappily trudged along to join Richard’s side.

  “Huh? You kids beat my Pokémon?” the poacher asked, lifting an eyepatch to rub his eyes. “Well, it don’t matter. Just means you’re giving me more Pokémon to take.”

  Richard replied with a smirk, causing the poacher to laugh.

  “Oh, kid!” the poacher said. “You really don’t know how any of this works! If you think those two were my only Pokémon, then you’re going to be sor—”

  He stopped himself when the engine of his motorcycle suddenly stalled.

  In this case, it wasn’t Richard’s doing. He looked just as surprised as the man. Ahead of him, the poacher scrambled to get off his bike, just barely jumping off his seat in time. The back wheel of his vehicle sank into the earth, and then a mass of thin ivy wrapped around the motorcycle’s sides, gumming up its parts.

  “W-what?”

  With the crunching of metal, the motorcycle was consumed and became nothing more than a plant-covered lump on the ground.

  Richard stared. The poacher blinked.

  Behind everyone, Celebi stirred.

  From within Sammy’s arms, the supposed ‘Mythical’ Pokémon had turned to look out ever so slightly. Its single visible eye exposed a hateful glare, and it held out an arm toward the poacher. The ivy writhed under its control.

  “You’ll pay for this!” the poacher yelled.

  He charged, but neither Richard nor Sam moved. The poacher might have been running right toward them, but Celebi was still active. Dropping its arms, the small Pokémon brought its head back. Using what little energy it had left, it cried out, and a Psychic-Type wave pulsed out to bounce the poacher back.

  “Stop!” Sam shouted.

  He realized what Celebi was doing too late.

  Heedless of his shout, the Legendary Pokémon continued its cry, the familiar noise echoing throughout the forest. Sam tried to run closer to reach it, but then, as if in reaction, everyone close to it disappeared.

  And with that, Sam found himself flung through time for the second time this week.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Sam groaned. His fingers wrapped around a tuft of grass. He was on his back once more. As much as he wanted to shout, he knew that wouldn’t help.

  Misdreavus came over to offer herself as a handhold to help him pull himself up, and Sam could still feel the chill of Haunter in his shadow.

  This time, he wasn't alone.

  They were still in that grove. That stone shrine was still present. Richard was here. Same as Sammy. But Celebi was gone; therefore, so was Sam’s ticket back.

  We’ve been sent through time.

  Again.

  And just like before, Sam didn’t know when he was.

  Nearby, Richard pushed up to rub his head. Sammy didn’t move and remained where he laid on the ground.

  “That... thing was the Voice of the Forest,” Sam mumbled to himself. “Celebi is the one responsible for all of this. It’s the reason why I was separated from my team.”

  He needed to find it, and he needed to get its help. It was the only thing capable of doing something to prevent the decades Misdreavus would spend on her own.

  He looked up.

  “Are you okay, Misdreavus?” Sam hurriedly asked, and he thankfully got a reply in the form of a merry nod. “Good. I’m glad. And what about you—”

  “I’m fine, thanks for asking,” Richard grumbled.

  Sam was actually trying to ask Haunter, who recognized the question and sent him a comforting push to the bottom of his feet.

  “So where—when are we?” Sam asked, looking around. “Even further back than before?”

  “I don’t know,” Richard said, letting out a sigh. “All I know is that Celebi can bring people through time, but finding out when is...”

  His voice trailed off as his eyes locked onto something, and Sam followed his gaze.

  There was a lump.

  But it was one they had just seen.

  Yet this was a lump that had changed and grown over the course of years.

  Where there had once been thin ivy, there were now thick roots. They grew out of the earth, making what they covered seem like a plant-covered boulder.

  But that wasn’t what it was. No, trapped beneath all of that overgrowth was a hunk of metal that had once rumbled and purred. The poacher's heavy motorcycle was now brown, covered in rust, and parts of it had fallen inwards from an excessive amount of decay.

  “Years,” Sam said slowly. His heart raced in his chest. “There’s no way it could have gotten that old so quickly, so that might mean...”

  Everyone else could still be nearby.

  Quickly, he searched his surroundings to try to find anything he could recognize, but he saw nothing familiar save for the trees of his immediate surroundings. He wanted to take off running, but that wouldn’t help him return to his camp. All that he knew was that he was somewhere and somewhen in the Ilex Forest, but he didn't have the exact date, and Haunter had led him down a rather meandering path.

  “Wait.” Richard’s eyes widened. “Sammy!”

  He scrambled over the ground to reach his friend.

  Sammy was yet to get up, and a prod into his side only resulted in the slightest of groans. Despite Richard’s nudges, Sammy did not stir. As far as Sam could tell, whatever Celebi had done had hit him hard. It didn’t seem like he had been able to resist as much as Richard or Sam.

  “Is he...”

  Richard gained a dark look on his face.

  Sam suddenly found himself wondering if this was why his grandfather had never mentioned a ‘Sammy’ before.

  Not sure what else to do, Sam tried to take a step forward.

  It was then that a voice called out, and he heard the echoing sound of an electric shock.

  Out of nowhere, Misdreavus slammed herself into his chest, and Haunter grabbed his ankles to yank him back. Their combined efforts hurt, but they also saved Sam. Instead of hitting him, the Electric Type move uselessly hit the ground right where he planned to walk.

  “Get away from them!” a boy’s voice yelled out.

  Frustrated, Sam could only scowl.

  Things like this just keep happening. Why?!

  Why can’t anything ever be easy for once?

  Turning away from where he was technically looming over Richard and Sammy, Sam and Misdreavus glared at their would-be attackers as a pair ran out from the woods. Thankfully, the two newcomers seemed to follow the same decision-making process—or lack of one—as Richard from before, as neither the cap-wearing boy nor the Pikachu beside him bothered to reposition themselves for a better ambush.

  “You!” the boy shouted, his voice dripping with hostility. “I should have known—get away from them! I won’t let you hurt them!”

  “Am I supposed to know you?” Sam asked, crossing his arms.

  “You... You forgot?!” The boy clenched his fists. “I can’t believe it. Fine! Remember the name! I’m Ash Ketchum! From Pallet Town!”

  The boy brought up a fist, raising it in threat. At his side, his Pikachu called out in support, letting loose a strong “Pika-pi!” as its red cheeks sparked with electricity.

  “Misdreavus,” Sam said, eyeing their opponents and finding them lacking. “Good news. This will be easy. These two don’t even know what they’re getting into.”

  She cackled, and even if the pair before them turned out to be too tough, Sam wasn’t worried. He could always just tell Haunter to circle around.

  So he stood off, facing this ‘Ash Ketchum’ and that irritating-looking Pikachu. Sam just wanted to get this over with, and he readied himself as Ash threw out an arm to give a command.

  Instead, a loud “thunk!” echoed through the forest. The boy fell to the ground, groaning in pain, and a fist pulled itself back from the top of his head.

  “Seriously, Ash? Running ahead like that? Did you even stop to think— Oh, who am I kidding? You never think.”

  Behind Ash, a red-headed girl sighed and withdrew her fist. She crossed her arms, leering at the Ash kid. Ash sat up and clutched his shoes, leaning back to look at his apparent friend.

  “Ah, come on, Misty! You heard that shout! That guy was trying to hurt them! Look! He even sent out his... Wait, what’s that Pokémon again?”

  Sam didn’t bother to hide his distaste when the boy pulled out an electronic Pokédex. To make matters worse, Ash didn’t even read Misdreavus’s entry.

  No, the device read the page out loud for him.

  “You have to be kidding me. What’s society come to?”

  Sam silently mourned for bookstores everywhere.

  The girl, Misty, just looked passively annoyed at Ash’s behavior. However, the second she laid her eyes on Sam, she went utterly still. Frozen, almost in fear, her eyes flicked between him and Misdreavus, and she barely managed to suppress a shudder.

  Right as Ash’s Pokédex finished speaking, she grabbed his arm to yank him up and dragged him behind a nearby try. Sam could hear the faint sounds of furious whispering. Ash’s Pikachu sent him one last dirty look before scurrying off to join its trainer and friend.

  “You know, I came to this forest to train with my team. Alone. Without disturbances,” Sam grumbled quietly to Misdreavus. “It was supposed to just be me and them. Together. By ourselves. Training for a few weeks without anyone bothering us and without anything else happening!”

  As he finished, Misdreavus made a soft noise next to him, and the heat in Sam’s chest vanished.

  “No, no. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I’m really glad I met you, too.”

  She smiled.

  Sam looked over to check on Sammy and Richard only to find a third unknown person suddenly there, because why wouldn’t there be another person? This stranger at least seemed more mature than the others, as he was on his knees and checking over Sammy, who was still unconscious.

  But next to them, Richard was staring. Ever since Ash appeared, he had never once torn his gaze away from Sam.

  “Who... are you?” Richard asked.

  “I’m Sam,” Sam said. “It’s as simple as that. That’s my name. I’m Samuel...”

  He couldn’t bring himself to say his last name.

  Thankfully, the awkward moment only lasted a handful of seconds before it was interrupted by a nearby shout.

  “WHAT?!” Ash’s voice pierced through the silence of the forest. “BUT HE’S—”

  “QUIET!”

  Then, another smack echoed out.

  Rubbing his arm, Ash came back out from behind that tree. He sent Sam a final annoyed look, but he then dropped his gaze to the ground.

  “Sorry,” Ash mumbled. “ ‘Thought you were someone else.”

  At this point, Sam just wanted to go to bed. Specifically, he wanted to go to bed like he usually did: surrounded by his team.

  “Okay.” The guy in the back finally spoke up. “The good news is he’s fine, but the bad news is that he’s exhausted enough to not wake up for a while.”

  He looked around.

  “By the way, I’m Brock. Sorry for not introducing myself sooner. I’ve studied a bit of medicine. Your friend should be fine, but we should bring him back to Arborville.”

  Since Sammy was Richard’s friend, Sam looked to him to say anything, but Richard still didn’t speak.

  “I guess we’re fine with that,” Sam said, not bothering to keep the displeasure out of his voice. “But I need one question answered first: What year is it?”

  “The year?” Ash blinked. “It’s—”

  Two years later.

  It’s been two years since we first stepped into the forest.

  Sam really wasn’t happy with Celebi right now.

  Because the date Ash had given meant too much time had passed. Sam had no hope that his team would still be nearby.

  The universe for this story is a mix of the anime and the games, but there’s been a heavy focus on the games until now. So just in case, I’ll state now that this next arc will be taking inspiration from Pokémon’s .

  Expect plenty of butterflies to be involved. It’ll become clearer once its events properly take off.

  Sam’s Team:

  Approximate Team Strength: 5 Stars

  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, Curse

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

  Pokéball: Friend Ball

  Abilities: Levitate

  Moves: Growl, Psywave, Astonish, Confusion, Confuse Ray, Mean Look, Night Shade

  Pokémon included in this chapter:

  /

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