The Ghost Specialist

Sam sat in front of a blank monitor. His stool squeaked with every slight shift. The machine before him made no noise—it was off—and he fidgeted, unable to find a comfortable position.

“I don’t want to make the call,” he said quietly.

“You have to!” Redi said, bringing her hands up for emphasis. “If it were any other day, we could have taken our time searching, but Union Cave is supposed to flood today. Come on, Sam! You know we need a guide.”

He sighed, not able to look her in the eye.

“I know, but... Do I really have to?”

“Alright. I have an idea,” Redi said, drawing back and nodding once as if she suddenly understood. “Do you want an argument that’ll change your mind?”

“Sure?”

She cleared her throat, and a second passed without her speaking a word. Then, out of nowhere, she dropped to the floor and pressed her head to the ground, her hands clasped together to beg in just the most pitiful way.

“Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease—”

“Ugh. Fine,” Sam said. “Just stop.”

“Yes!” Redi hopped back to her feet.

Sam rubbed his temples and faced the video phone once again. Getting to this Pokémon Center was... underwhelming, to say the least. He generally expected routes to actually last a while and force them to spend time passing through. However, Azalea was called one of the safest cities in Johto for a reason; it was protected by the Ilex Forest to its west and a series of rugged hills to its northeast. To reach Violet City, trainers had to either climb over those hills or face the tunnel system that was Union Cave. Like how there was a Pokémon Center at the start of Ilex Forest, there was a Pokémon Center at the start of Union Cave as well, as the tunnels’ entrance was just far enough away from Azalea to require its own medical facility in case of emergency.

It had taken barely half a day to arrive at this building.

This Pokémon Center wasn’t anywhere as large or as modern as the one in Azalea. Heck, it was barely even the size of the Pokémon Center north of Ilex Forest. This place felt more like a lodge than anything else, offering bunk beds to sleep in rather than independent bedrooms, and it had a clinic that was only there for emergencies and basic aid. Yet, as it was with all Pokémon Centers, this one still had a video phone. Only one, but with how few people actually bothered to stop here, no one was around to occupy it and prevent Sam from making this call.

He took a deep breath and hit the power button. After dialing the appropriate number, the phone connected to one back in Dewford. There, the Pokémon Center passed on the message that someone had a call waiting, and Sam’s mother appeared in almost record time.

“Sam! Is everything alright? Are you okay? You never call me out of the blue like this!” she said, speaking a mile a minute.

Sam winced. On the screen, the tips of Delcatty’s ears flicked with annoyance. She had likely been woken up from a nap, but there was still a measure of alertness to her that spoke of hidden worry. Additionally, something with dark fur briefly flashed at the edge of the screen. It wasn’t Delcatty, and its presence signified... something else.

“Everything is fine,” Sam said with a sigh, rubbing his head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you worried. I needed to ask you for a favor.”

Delcatty let out a “mrow” of annoyance as his mother let out a breath and placed a hand over her heart.

“That’s good,” she said, relief obvious on her face. “What is it that you need?”

“...We’re on a time limit,” Sam said. “We have to find somewhere specific in a cave today. Do you think you can send over Sableye?”

His mother blinked at him. Delcatty hopped up to rest her front paws on the counter, and stared at the camera. Sableye walked out from behind the monitor on his mother’s desk to appear before Sam and stare blankly at the screen.

“We’re at Union Cave,” Sam quickly explained. “There’s a spot inside that floods once a week, but it’s kind of hidden and we want to find it. The problem is that it’s set to flood today, and we didn’t know that until now. We could try to search by ourselves, but we aren’t really cave dwellers, so we need...”

Sam grit his teeth.

“We need Sableye’s expertise when it comes to navigating caves,” he said unhappily.

Sam felt as though he had just eaten bile when those words left his mouth. His mother, who had looked so panicked seconds ago, now looked extraordinarily amused. Sam really hated the way Sableye’s mouth curved up into a smug grin, too. The Pokémon didn’t deserve to look at him like that. Sableye’s expression mocked him.

Sam’s mother didn’t get to respond, however. Redi suddenly butted in, leaning against Sam’s shoulder to squeeze into the call.

“Hi Ms. Greyson!” she said. “Sorry to bother you, but like he said, we really need Sableye’s help! But we can make it worth his while too, look!”

She pulled out a chunk of white polished stone from her pocket.

“I managed to get this from a hiker who digs for them in these hills! Sableye eats quartz, yeah?”

Sam stared. Redi had bought that crystal barely a few minutes ago. The man who told them the cave was set to flood today was the same man who sold her that chunk. Sam had thought it suspicious that she “wasted” her money on something so useless, but now he understood.

She planned this the second she figured it out, huh?

Running his hand over his face, he looked back to the screen to see how his family and Sableye were reacting. His mother was still smiling, but now Sableye was actively drooling. The Ghost Type grabbed behind himself to tug at the sleeve of her shirt. One hand went up as he pointed at the screen excitedly.

“I don’t think Sableye will have any problem at all helping you out. Isn’t that right, Sableye?” Sam’s mother said.

Delcatty sent Sableye a warning glare, but the glutton didn’t even notice. He bobbed his head, gemstone eyes locked onto his next meal, and Sam’s mother chuckled.

“Alright. But I do need to actually catch him first if I want to transfer him over,” she said.

“Oh, that’s no problem at all!” Redi said. “A lot of people keep Pokémon around without Pokéballs, so Pokémon Centers are prepared for that! If you go up to the front desk, I’m confident you can get a temporary Pokéball that’s in reserve just for the transporter!”

“Perfect! I’ll be right back!”

She stood up and left the screen, likely doing exactly as Redi said. Both Delcatty and Sableye hopped down to follow after her, and Sam muted his side of the call to glare at Redi.

“Are you sure we have to do this? You know what Sableye did back in Granite Cave, right?”

Redi replied with a determined stare back.

“You wanna wait here for an entire week?” she replied.

Sam clicked his tongue.

Part of the reason they left Azalea was to, y’know, leave Azalea. Sitting in a tiny, boring Pokémon Center for a week straight didn’t appeal to Sam. It was either get Sableye, or he’d be forced to do nothing that interesting. If he had a few decent books, Sam wouldn't have minded, but all he had was the New Pokédex, and he was already constantly reading entries in it to prepare strategies for his team.

When Sam’s mother soon appeared back on the screen, she was holding a Pokéball, but it wasn’t like any other Pokéball Sam had seen before. It had the same basic shape of two connected hemispheres and a button keeping them closed, but it was also perfectly grey with none of the usual bells-and-whistles specialty Pokéballs tended to come with.

Sableye held out his arms, and she lightly tapped the ball against his head. Right away, he was sucked up into the ball, causing it to shake only once. When it stopped moving, it dinged, and Sam’s mother placed it into the video phone’s transfer device.

“He’ll be over shortly!” she said cheerfully.

Sam nodded, mourning the loss of what could have been a pleasant experience. Redi excitedly hopped in place.

“Thank you Ms. Greyson!”

“Please, call me Amanda.”

“Thank you Amanda!”

His mother smiled.

“It’ll be good for Sableye to get out for once, just make sure to not lose track of him. And Sam...” Her expression wilted for a second. “I want to apologize again. I would have said something if I knew for how long Quilava planned to hold her evolution back.”

He shook his head.

“It’s alright. I honestly think it ended up being a good experience for the both of us, in the end.”

He smiled at her, and she smiled back, although her expression was a bit more strained. While waiting for Sableye’s Pokéball to finish transferring, Sam went ahead and released Quilava, Haunter, and Mankey. Quickly, he whispered a few commands.

They split off, and eventually, the processing was done, and Sableye’s Pokéball appeared in a glass-covered slot.

“Thanks again, Amanda!” Redi said.

“Thank you Mom,” Sam added.

His mother waved goodbye to both of them.

“Good luck!” she said.

And the monitor turned off, and Sam grabbed Sableye’s Pokéball and rushed outside.

There wasn’t a dedicated battlefield or training ground here as much as there was a flat, open space just outside. It was dirt with patches of grass, but it was good enough for what Sam intended to do.

After everything that happened to him, Sam wasn’t going to let Sableye have an easy arrival.

Pressing the button on the ball, light flashed and Sableye coalesced into being in front of him. The Ghost Type Pokémon stretched, grinned, and glanced around with his blue, crystal eyes.

However, the gremlin-like Ghost Type’s smile fell when no one greeted him.

Only Sam was there.

Sam’s team was suspiciously absent.

Sam crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow at Sableye, daring the Pokémon to react. Sableye stared back, tilting his head to the side, and the two began a staring contest—one Sam was destined to lose.

Sableye wasn’t exactly a Pokémon that could blink, but this served as the perfect distraction. With nothing else of interest, Sableye only bothered to pay attention to Sam as everyone else prepared in the background.

Eventually, Sam saw the signal—a single flame telling him that everyone was ready.

“Boo,” he said, speaking the keyword that’d start the plan.

His Pokémon acted. A purple hand reached out from Sableye’s shadow, grabbing the Pokémon’s leg and causing him to fall backwards. Sableye yelped in surprise, and as his view turned upside-down, a cloud of stars rushed right at him.

He cringed, but the Swift went wide. Although, due to Type effectiveness, it wasn't like the move would have damaged him even if it hit. However, it wasn't done just there, because as Sableye's back hit the ground, Mankey rushed out from where the stars obscured his charge with a fist sailing towards Sableye’s face.

Sableye brought up his hands in an attempt to block, but he had been caught completely flat footed. His mouth was wide and ready to yell as Mankey’s fist continued towards his face.

There was no impact.

The punch stopped an inch away from Sableye and the monkey Pokémon instead lightly poked Sableye on the nose.

The silence was deafening. Sableye stared with his expression locked to the same fearful expression he had when he saw everything coming his way. Mankey drew back his hand and stared back, taking in the Pokémon’s look before him.

Then, a single snort as Mankey wasn’t able to hold it back any longer, and he dropped to the floor, howling with laughter. Haunter left his shadow to reveal himself as well, cackling the whole way.

“Got you,” Sam said.

This was payback for what happened in Granite Cave.

On the ground, Sableye glared at Sam, but the Pokémon pushed back up to his feet and nodded once respectfully.

Fair’s fair, the action implied.

Sam would have liked to do more, but this was the best he could think up on such a short notice. It was only a single, rushed scare, but it was enough to be something done in revenge after Sableye had lured him to dangerous locations in Granite Cave.

Besides, how much had his mother subjugated this Pokémon while Sam was gone? What had she done to make sure Sableye paid for putting Sam in danger?

As Sableye brushed himself off, Redi strode over as Mankey and Haunter continued their mad laughter. Quilava trotted over to rejoin everyone else, glaring at Sableye with an implied threat as Mankey and Haunter high-fived behind her.

“Alright. So now that that’s done, can we go?” Redi asked.

“One more thing.”

Sam motioned for Haunter to come over, and he held out an open hand to Redi. She groaned, placing that piece of quartz into it, and Sableye’s eyes immediately locked onto the stone.

“Show him,” Sam told his Pokémon.

Sam tossed the crystal to Haunter, who then easily snatched it out of the air. Sableye didn’t look away from it as Haunter held the crystal above Sam’s head.

“As established, this will be your payment for the job,” Sam said to Sableye. “Safely guide us to the flooded bottom of the cave and then back up, and only then will we cough it up. Don’t, and you won’t even get a taste. Sounds good?”

Sableye feverishly nodded.

“Great! Do it, Haunter.”

The gluttonous Ghost Type could only watch in horror as Haunter opened his mouth and dropped the quartz in with a noisy gulp. He went as far as to lick his lips too, rubbing his stomach to imply he’d just eaten a tasty meal.

Defeated, Sableye fell to his knees on the ground. Sam suppressed a smirk.

“I said we’d cough it up, right? I guess I should have been more clear—I meant that literally. But you don’t need to worry. Haunter doesn't actually eat crystals. He’s just keeping it safe while we head down.”

Sableye had to manually push his jaw closed once more. His default expression involved a toothy grin, but it looked nowhere near as pleased. When he turned around, his way of walking had him take many quick steps, with his head and upper body staying perfectly level.

It looked as though he was refusing to glance back at Sam, but for a second, Sam could have swore he caught a snicker.

Did Sableye find that prank funny?

The line of thought was interrupted by Redi.

“So is this the point I tell you I have two more?”

He stared at her before shaking his head.

“It doesn’t matter. I needed to do all of that for myself. Thanks for waiting, we can head in.”

Sam returned Mankey and Haunter, leaving Quilava out at his side. She didn’t let up her glare, and her flames were already burning dark thanks to a preparatory use of Curse.

But as Sableye continued forward, Sam followed the Ghost Type in, hoping that the Pokémon was both skilled and trustworthy enough to lead them to the bottom—and that he wouldn’t be spiteful for everything Sam had done to scare him when he was first sent over.

Sam had been in two caves before this point. The first was Granite Cave, which he had rushed into with a poorly made plan and the confidence of someone who didn’t know better. That experience was...

Well, it was on him. For as much as he blamed Sableye for how bad it got (the Pokémon had literally tried to lure him into an Aron nest, and that was no laughing matter), he couldn’t ignore how unprepared and poorly thought-out his plan had been.

The second time he’d been in a cave was Slowpoke Well, which was over a week ago at this point. There, he had also entered that place with a poorly made plan and a horribly-reasoned competition to boot.

He hoped this time around that he wasn't making a mistake.

Third time’s the charm, yeah?

Yet, he was dumb enough to taunt Sableye minutes before following him into a darkened space. He was really starting to question his own decision-making process.

“I’m starting to think me and caves just don’t mix,” Sam whispered to Redi. “Everytime I’m heading into one, I’ve messed something up. The first was an accident. The second was just dumb. This time? If this doesn't go well, I’m worried that I’m developing a habit.”

“I’m sure the fourth time you enter a cave will be perfectly normal,” Redi said, bumping his arm.

Sam stopped walking to stare at her in horror.

“Why would you ever say that?” he whispered. “You’ve jinxed it!”

She just snickered.

Sableye briefly shot them a look from the front of the group, his gemstone eyes glinting off of Quilava’s flames. Sound could lure wild Pokémon, so if they were going to talk, they needed to be quiet.

“Sorry,” Redi said.

“Sorry,” Sam added.

As Sableye turned back around, Sam grumbled to himself—why was he apologizing to Sableye when the Pokémon never apologized to him in the first place? At least, Sableye seemed to be taking his job seriously. From his position at the front of the group, he was just barely visible at the edge of the light from Quilava’s flames. Sableye was clearly more at home in the darkness, and alongside his night vision, he would occasionally stop to sniff the air in his continued task to lead them.

Sam knew that Sableye ate minerals, but he wondered to himself how much scent influenced Sableye’s perception of the space around him.

He knows we’re looking for some sort of flooded section that probably connects to the ocean, which we know since Lapras is an ocean-bound species. Is he just sniffing for water? Salt? Can he detect minerals via scent?

Sam wasn’t going to lie; for all his distaste for this Sableye in particular, there were so many things he was dying to learn about the Ghost Type’s species.

Unlike the other caves Sam had been inside, Union Cave was almost exclusively a series of tunnels rather than caverns, with pockets of water formed by dripping stalactites. There were no massive, cavernous rooms like the entrance of Granite Cave, and there was no underground lake like the main room of Slowpoke Well.

Here, Sam was unsure if this place was Pokémon-made or naturally formed. Rock Types always liked digging and reshaping their environments, but there was a natural slant to the ceiling that made Union Cave feel like it had been carved out by flowing water. Occasionally, a wild Rattata would scurry away from them, scared away by Quilava’s fire. Sometimes, a few Wooper would stick their heads out from muddy puddles, and there had even been a smiling Quagsire at one point.

“Feels like this place is just cramped enough to only have smaller Pokémon,” Redi said, ducking beneath a low ceiling. “What did your book say?”

“A lot. And little. It’s hard to tell what species of Pokémon can be found in specific places. Location entries can be massive and include names I’ve never heard of, like where the heck is Ten Carat Hill? And there's somewhere called Seaward Cave?”

Sam sniffed.

“But I think I’m slowly picking things up. Usually I just check for specific common species to see if they’re present. I can’t scan every entry, so it's a sum of guesswork. Here, I knew about the Rattata and Geodude,” Sam pointed at a suspicious rock pressed against the wall, “But I didn’t know about the Wooper or Sandshrew. Those were Pokémon I thought only lived on the surface.”

“So no big creatures,” Redi commented.

“Huh? Oh, no, sorry. There are. Onix can be found here, too.”

She sputtered briefly, and Sableye stopped to furiously hold a finger up to his mouth and shush them. He pointed to a wall, where it looked like part of the ceiling had collapsed. There, a mound of fallen boulders uncoiled and pulled themselves into a nearby hole. Rather than attacking, the wild Onix pulled back to escape from Quilava’s light.

“...Maybe let’s rely on Haunter,” Sam said. Quilava let out an apologetic squeak.

She was returned, and the dim, unintrusive hues of Haunter’s purple-colored Hex began to light up the space around them instead.

Sam stayed on alert as Sableye brought them deeper and deeper underground. If there was ever the chance for the Ghost Type to “escape” and ditch both the group and Sam’s mother, it would be right here and now. With no Sableye native to Union Cave, he’d be able to dig and hunt for gemstones and crystals without any competition. Sam was just waiting for the moment Sableye led them into a trap, or a pitfall, or a dead end, or caused a ceiling to separate them, but nothing like that ever came.

Time passed strangely. Without access to sunlight, the seconds didn’t feel like they passed. The sounds they heard were limited to the footsteps of distant Pokémon, dripping water, and the noise of their own breaths. It was surprisingly uneventful, overall.

A few times, Sableye almost brought them into one especially cramped room, paused, sniffed the air, and then promptly expressed that Sam and Redi should never enter under any circumstances. It was something about those places having “bad air.” Sableye could pass through, but it’d be especially dangerous for Sam and Redi, but not necessarily a few of their Pokémon.

After a while, Sableye seemed to catch onto something. He started to speed up. He climbed like a spider over uneven terrain, forcing Sam and Redi to give chase, but no matter how fast he moved, he made sure to remain within line of sight as the caverns twisted, curved, and continued to slope down.

Sam half-thought that this moment was it, and he chased after Sableye. He had the command to order Haunter to attack on his lips, but then he too smelled something in the air.

Salt.

Seawater.

Around one last bend was the exact location they had asked for. Where the rest of the water in Union Cave was contained within puddles or small ponds, this room contained a single, enormous pool.

But...

“I thought it would be larger,” Sam said.

Redi slapped a hand over her mouth so as to not burst into laughter.

He glared at her and her immature sense of humor before turning back to Sableye. The Ghost Type looked up at him expectantly, despite the terms of their deal.

“Haunter,” Sam said with a sigh.

Haunted opened his mouth, reached into his throat, and retrieved the crystal he had “eaten” to hand it over. Sableye snatched it from him and greedily chomped down.

“Redi has more that you’ll get when we go back to the surface. I assume you’ll want them too, yeah?”

The crystal broke and shattered thanks to Sableye’s gnashing teeth. The gremlin Pokémon looked up at Sam and grinned, already halfway through the crystal as if it were some sort of hotdog. He sent Sam a thumbs up and went back to his meal, eyes going glassy as if he was experiencing the best thing in the world.

“Over here,” Redi said in a half-shout, half whisper.

A ledge raised above the water served as the perfect place to wait and look out. The room was flooded, but there was no movement. No Lapras were here—at least not yet.

Sam and Redi needed to wait. They climbed up, hunkered down, and used their sleeping bags to cushion the hard floors. A few stones and broken stalagmites served as cover for this ledge.

The remaining members of their teams were sent out in the meantime. Teddiursa, Porygon, Quilava, and Mankey were all released for the chance to enjoy whatever scene came their way, too.

Redi pulled Porygon into her lap, where she ran a hand down the artificial Pokémon’s back. Teddiursa snuggled up next to her, and Quilava moved to sit next to Sam. Haunter went... somewhere, but he kept nearby. Mankey, bored, tried and failed to juggle stones until he was glared at by Quilava to stop making noise.

Without anything else to do, Sam ended up just watching Sableye. The gremlin Pokémon was strange in that he barely moved. At times, it seemed the Ghost Type was content with standing perfectly still and staring out into the distance. Watching. Waiting. Not really doing anything but existing in the moment.

Occasionally, Sableye would steal a glance towards Redi, obviously desiring more of those quartz crystals. However, he didn’t bother her, try to steal, nor did he run off to search for food.

“...My mom got you good, huh?” Sam said quietly.

Sableye tilted his head at Sam.

Sam wasn’t sure what to think.

He still had his personal grudges, but Sableye didn’t seem as... malicious as he would've thought. It could have been a trick, but for all his experience with Haunter and with everything he had read about ghosts, it honestly seemed like Sableye had no greater plans. The gremlin Pokémon had a decent life now. He didn’t have to scramble for food in a cave or keep himself occupied with pranks played on others. Sam still didn’t let down his guard, but with how calmly Sableye was acting, it really felt as though his mother had taken a cruel, wild Pokémon and somehow made him... tame.

At this point, it had been months since Sam had left home. Sableye had been with his mom and Delcatty all this time, keeping them company while he was gone. How much had Sableye been helping out? How many of Sam’s responsibilities had Sableye taken on?

Sam didn’t like where this train of thought was heading. He ended up turning away.

The group sat in silence for a while longer as Sam stewed. Quilava pressed herself into him, trying to distract him with her soft fur. It worked quite well, as he let his mind drift elsewhere while running his fingers down her back.

“How long do you think this is going to take?” Redi eventually asked, staring out over the water.

The answer was at least another thirty minutes.

When they heard a loud splash, Haunter quickly brought his Hex back up, and Sam turned off the flashlight that had been lit in the meantime. Everyone went quiet as they turned to stare out over the pool.

A shout rang out—cheerful and almost melodic. A large, dark shape broke the surface of the water and craned its head back towards the pool’s depths. There was another splash that followed as another large shape broke through. After that, there was another, and another, and another.

By the end of it, Sam realized they had underestimated this place. An entire herd of Lapras were visiting here today. He couldn’t make out any details other than the Lapras’ silhouettes thanks to the minimal amount of light provided by Hex, but it kept them hidden. Besides, Sam and everyone else weren’t here to watch; they were here to listen.

The voices of the chatting wild Pokémon echoed around the cavern. The Lapras were happy to be here, but they weren’t singing just yet.

“There’s a lot,” Redi breathed. “You know, Lapras are supposed to be a protected species. You can’t even catch one without official permission. Think about how rare it is to see this many at once!”

“I bet there’s some kind of underground tunnel. That’s how they got to this place from the ocean,” Sam whispered back.

They crouched and moved closer to the stalagmites, trying to better watch the herd of rare Water Type Pokémon. Their teams moved to join them, but Redi had to manually call Porygon over. It moved to float at her side right as a single note echoed out.

It started with one Lapras, beginning with a single, low tone that emerged through the rest of the chatter. A few squealed excitedly, causing the water to splash as they patted at it with their fins. Another joined in, then a few added notes of their own. Eventually, all of the Lapras were singing as one enormous choir.

Sam immediately understood why the Lapras would come to such a dark and dreary place. They might have been underground, but the walls and ceilings contained their sounds. The acoustics were incredible, and with the sheer number of singing Lapras, it was like each voice harmonized with itself, taking on an ethereal, almost otherworldly quality.

It was one of the most beautiful things Sam had ever heard, and he regretted not having a way for his Pokémon to mimic this. Being able to recreate this noise in battle would create the perfect haunting melody to throw off any foe.

“Hey, um, Sam?”

Redi’s voice came out slurred.

“Yeah?”

When Sam spoke, his tongue felt strangely heavy.

“I think this isn’t just music practice. I think they’re practicing a move.”

Ah, Sam realized. That’s probably why I’m so tired.

The Lapras weren’t just singing. They were specifically practicing Sing.

Redi slumped to the ground, already beginning to snore. Porygon drifted down to sit on the floor, with the rate of its treads’ spin slowing as it shut down. Teddiursa pushed himself into the crook of her arm before settling back, and Quilava passed out right as she climbed into Sam’s lap.

Sam turned to Mankey.

“Protect... us...” he groaned out.

The last thing he saw was a thumbs up from his Pokémon, and the last thing he heard was the herd’s continued, haunting song.

When Sam woke up, nothing had changed. Everyone was still asleep where they had fallen, but Sam was the first to come to. Mankey sat on the edge of their platform, feet dangling off the side as he stared out over the pool.

“Thanks, Mankey. Good thing we worked on your Vital Spirit, huh?”

Mankey’s ability helped him resist being forcibly put asleep.

Having spoken, Mankey turned to Sam in surprise, but the primate’s eyes curved up with a smile. Since Haunter had passed out too, Mankey had taken Sam’s flashlight to use as a source of light. Unfortunately, the Lapras were gone. The likely scenario was that they finished their song and dived back down.

Sam rubbed his eyes to try to wake up a bit more. He didn’t regret coming here, but he did find it a bit funny that yet another trip into a cave had a poor ending. It took him a second to realize it, but—

“Where’s Sableye?”

Mankey pointed to an opposite edge.

The gremlin Pokémon was still here. Despite everyone else falling asleep, Sableye hadn’t left. Like before, he stared out over the water, unmoving. This time, though, there was something more to it. He looked considering—deep in thought.

Seeing that, Sam bit his tongue. Sableye could have run away at any time, but he hadn’t. He’d been genuinely reliable.

A lot of time had passed between now and when Sam first entered Granite Cave. Sure, he might have been upset about never receiving an apology, but he could at least be the bigger trainer—Pokémon? Person?—between the two of them.

“Hey, Sableye?” Sam called out. “Thank you for all the help.”

The Ghost Type didn’t turn around, but he did reply to Sam with a slight nod. Slowly, over time, everyone else woke up, and once conscious, they began their trip back up to the surface. Sableye led them back out with no problems at all.