"Lit!"
"Lit!!"
"Lit!!!"
The three bound Litwick were shocked when they saw Gengar spit Lampent out.
Their boss had been defeated.
[LV49 Lampent | Potential: Gym]
Gary looked at Lampent.
He had originally thought Lampent's potential would be at least Quasi-Elite, but he hadn't expected it to only be Gym-tier. Still, its level was already maxed out, which would save Gary a lot of Mid-Level Rare Candies.
The other Litwick that had gone off to spread the word had been defeated by Gengar along with Lampent.
Gary took out a Poké Ball, aimed it at Lampent, and captured it successfully.
Gengar used Confusion to float the Poké Ball over to Gary.
Gary took it and checked Lampent's data.
[Pokémon: Lampent]
[Type: Ghost, Fire]
[Level: 49]
[Potential: Gym]
[Ability: Flash Fire (When hit by a Fire-type move, absorbs the flames to power up Fire-type moves; physical attack and special attack x1.5.)]
[Moves: Ember, Minimize, Will-O-Wisp, Flame Burst, Night Shade, Curse, Shadow Ball, Poltergeist, Inferno]
[Teachable Moves: Psychic]
[Friendship: 50]
After looking over Lampent's data, Gary released it, sprayed it with a healing potion, and also treated the unconscious Litwick.
Then he began teaching Lampent new moves.
"So few!"
[Teachable Moves: Psychic, Protect, Rest, Taunt, Attract, Fire Blast, Hidden Power, Toxic]
Gary had thought Lampent could learn at least ten moves, but in the end it only managed eight. Psychic had been taught to it by its previous trainer.
That put its friendship at only 130, which still wasn't very stable.
Still, Gary figured that when Lampent evolved into Chandelure, its friendship would rise by another 50 points. At that point he could teach it Hyper Beam as well, bringing its friendship close to 200—enough to keep Chandelure obedient.
After waiting half an hour, Lampent woke up.
The moment it saw Gengar, it immediately looked wary. But then it noticed the three other Litwick and shouted, "Lamp!"
What are you doing over there? Why aren't you helping me fight the enemy?
"Lit! (Boss, you get to stay in this world from now on.)"
"Lit! (Yeah, boss, that's how it is.)"
"Lit! (Boss, I'm so jealous. You get to stay outside forever.)"
The three Litwick decisively abandoned their boss.
They had never wanted to come to the human world in the first place—Lampent had forced them into it.
Now that Lampent had been caught by Gary, they wouldn't have to follow its lead anymore.
"Lamp! (?~?)!"
Lampent was furious.
After all these years together, you're this disloyal? Do you even still see me as your boss?
"Lit! (Boss, just forget you ever had us as underlings. You made us go hungry nine meals over three days.)"
"Lit! (Yeah, exactly. We never got enough to eat. When we came to this world, you ate the meat and left us the soup.)"
"Lit! (For the sake of all the years you looked after us, once we're back, we'll explain your situation to the guardian. That way you can stay in this world.)"
Whether the Litwick were just being practical or Lampent had simply been a bad boss, the moment danger struck, they sold it out completely.
"Lit! (Goodbye, boss!)"
"Lit...! (Bye-bye!)"
The three Litwick said their goodbyes to Lampent, then gathered up the still-unconscious Litwick.
To make sure the Litwick actually left, Gary had Gengar escort them and confirm that they returned to the spirit world.
As for the spirit world itself, Lampent was still here, so Gary could ask about it at his leisure.
A few minutes later, Gengar returned to the dining room and nodded to Gary, signaling that the Litwick had gone back to the spirit world.
Lampent: "Lamp! (T▽T)!"
Hearing that, Lampent burst into tears.
"Why are you crying?" Gary asked.
"Lamp..."
Lampent fell silent. It didn't want to talk to Gary right now.
"Come on, cheer up."
Gary took the Premium Dusk Stone out of his space backpack and held it out to Lampent.
"Lamp!"
The crying Lampent froze the instant it saw the Dusk Stone.
The Dusk Stone was the very reason Lampent had come to the human world, yet it had never managed to find one. It never expected Gary to have it.
Seeing Lampent stop crying, Gary immediately put the Dusk Stone away again.
At that, Lampent grew anxious.
Wasn't that for me? Why are you putting it away?
"This Dusk Stone is for you, yes—but only if you agree to be my Pokémon. And I get to be the boss," Gary said.
"Lamp..."
Lampent looked hesitant.
"What are you still hesitating for?" Gary asked.
"Lamp."
Lampent voiced its worry. It still hoped to return to the spirit world and didn't want to stay in the human world forever.
"You can relax. You're a Ghost-type, so you've got a long lifespan. I can live seventy or eighty years at most—maybe not even that. After I retire, I can send you back to the spirit world," Gary said.
"Lamp!"
Lampent looked surprised, but also skeptical.
"Gengar..." Even Gengar looked doubtful.
"What's wrong?"
Gary didn't understand why Gengar was doubting him.
"Gengar."
Gengar explained.
The spirit world wasn't easy to enter. Only the guardians of the spirit world could open its gate, and under normal circumstances, that entrance was very difficult to open.
Only in a place where Curse energy was extremely strong was there a chance for the gate to open—and even then, it would stay open only briefly before closing again.
This time, Lampent and the Litwick had been able to leave because they'd received the guardian's permission. But they had to return within half a month, or the gate would close and they'd be unable to go back.
That was why Lampent had been so upset when the Litwick left just now. With the gate closed, it could no longer return to the spirit world.
"So that's what it was...!"
Gary hadn't realized the spirit world was so unusual—that even a Ghost-type Pokémon couldn't enter it freely.
"Gengar, you actually know about the spirit world?"
Gary suddenly realized something didn't add up.
His Gengar had come from an Egg that Candice gave him. It had hatched not long ago and wasn't very old at all.
So how did it know about the spirit world?