Chapter 26 – Wishing for a Friend
Now having the opportunity to take a closer look at the Litwick I notice that unlike the others of its kind this one has chemical green eyes instead of the bright yellow ones of its brethren. Sadly, it’s fire was still out for some reason and the expression on its face makes me believe this one is experiencing health problems. As a fire type specialist, I know that a sizzling external flame is a sign of good health. Fire types that can’t produce their characteristic flames should be taken to a Pokémon center immediately.
“Is everything alright? Can you light your fire?”
The Litwick seemed to exert itself but the only thing that was produced were black fumes.
“Lit…”
“Do you mind if I bring you out of here? I want to take you to a health expert for a checkup.”
Litwick wiggled a bit but seemed too exhausted to put much effort into communicating with me. Having made up my mind on what to do I fish out my last empty pokéball and tap Litwick on the head with the ball. It is standard procedure to capture injured or sick Pokémon you find in the wild and then bringing them to a Pokémon center. If the Pokémon in question is indeed in dire straits the league reimburses the trainer for the used poké ball. In any event my time inside the tower is at an end since I had the obligation to bring the Litwick to a healthcare professional.
I ran back to Victini who was still busy distracting her three newly self-appointed subordinates.
“Tini, we have to go. That Litwick is sickly and needs to be brought to a Pokémon center.”
“Vi!” “Alright let’s hurry!”
The trio of litwick were confused as to why we suddenly had to leave and kept following us until we reached the staircase that went down to the ground floor. Feeling bad, Victini told the rambunctious trio where to find Kira’s house before we departed. We quickly met back up with Phoebe who was waiting for us downstairs.
“Egon, did you have any luck finding your new partner? Hey! Hold up! Where are you going?!”
“We came across a sick Litwick. It couldn’t ignite its flame and was acting very lethargic. I am taking Litwick to the nearest Pokémon center.”
Her expression quickly changed into a serious one quickly chasing after me as I was hurrying towards the exit.
“Egon this settlement doesn’t have a Pokémon center. Our best bet would be asking Kira for help. If that doesn’t work, I am sure she can ask one of the academy’s psychic type Pokémon for an emergency teleport.”
“Is Kira a licensed health worker?”
“No, but when one of the litwick living in the area has issues they call her. I am telling you she’d probably be more knowledgeable than any nurse Joy when it comes to ghost types.”
“Fine… we’ll go see her first.”
We passed the same guy working the security detail from before but quickly left him in the dust as we ran towards Kira’s villa. We zipped past all the foot traffic without stopping to talk to anyone and eventually made our way to Kira’s place. Luckily the gate at the main entrance was unlocked. According to Phoebe Kira never locks any of her doors. The Pokémon that live on the property keeping the house secure by themselves. If a stranger without an invitation enters the premises, he or she is considered free game for the ghost types more natural proclivities. After passing Glove who was sleeping in the living room wrapped around the egg incubator, we found Kira sitting at the dinner table nursing an Oran berry cocktail. Phoebe took the initiative to broach the urgent subject.
“Kira! Egon found a sickly litwick inside the tower. Quickly, have a look at it!”
“Phoebe calm down, just release the litwick on my table and I’ll have a look.”
I pulled out my Poké ball and tapped the release mechanism. The candle Pokémon materialized in a flash of light.
“Lit…”
“Oh my?! Do you know what type of Pokémon this is?”
“A litwick…? Anyway, the poor thing can’t seem to light the wick on his or her head.”
Both women in the room instantaneously responded to my previous observation.
“His.”
“His.”
‘How are they able to tell? Ghost type Pokémon don’t have any sexual dimorphism… Do they?’
“Young man this here is what we trainers in the know call an off-color Pokémon. These are incredibly rare to find outside of species that are more numerous like pidove and woobat and the like.”
“That’s fine and all but can you help this one? Or do I need to bring him to the nearest Pokémon center?”
“That’s easy, his condition is caused by a lack of life energy. I have just the thing to alleviate this problem.”
Kira moved into the kitchen and opened one of the cabinets taking out some sort of urn. It smelled really bad, and I wasn’t the only one who noticed that. Victini used her paws to block the odor from entering her nostrils. While Glove decided to move himself and the egg outside to enjoy the fresh air. Remarkably Phoebe and Kira had no reaction whatsoever to a smell that I can only describe as a mix between rotting fish and spoiled fruit.
“What in the reverse world’s name is that?”
“Corpse Incense. It’s what I use to feed my litwick, lampents and chandelure. I hope I don’t have to explain to you what it’s made from.”
“Wait wait wait… this is the reason why people like yourself can afford to skimp donating your own life energy to feed your litwick?”
“Indeed, the wild litwick living inside the Celestial tower feed off the remains of the Pokémon laid to rest there. This here is a special product those of us specializing in this particular species often use. Just sprinkle some of this on top twice a day and they are good to go. Here you go little one this will make you feel all better.”
“Lit…! Wick Wick!”
Contrary to her expectations the moment she dropped that pinch of incense on top of the emaciated Litwick the little guy immediately tried shaking off the offered nutriment. Heedless of the health benefits proffered. Even more so it looked like the little Litwick was deathly afraid of the unsavory substance.
“How strange this is the first time a Litwick in my care has refused to partake in corpse incense. Hmmm… even more baffling it seems to be afraid. Maybe it has incurred some kind of phobia from its past life?”
“Tini, can you ask Litwick why it won’t accept the incense?”
“Vi!” “Leave it to me!”
“Vi vi?”
“Lit Lit…”
“VI?!”
While Victini was busy sussing out our Litwick situation Phoebe who was the only person I know who is fluent in ghost wore a flabbergasted expression after those two were done with their conversation. Victini was similarly surprised after his rendezvous with the little ghost type.
“So, what’s the sitch?”
Before Victini had time to answer my question Phoebe stepped in to answer the question.
“Litwick is suffering from a severe case of Necrophobia. He won’t accept the incense because Litwick has an instinctive fear of all things related to death.”
“Isn’t that strange? For a ghost type who lives inside a tower filled with other dead things to be afraid of his natural environment. No wonder he looks so emaciated. This is just as peculiar as you knowing the meaning of the word necrophobia.”
“My family works in the industry, you pick up a thing or two about this stuff you dolt!”
Kira had her own two cents to add.
“This Litwick can’t be older than two weeks else the staff would have noticed him by now. Still, that leaves the question on who is going to feed him life energy. I would do it myself, but my Pokémon would get crazy jealous if I let an outsider Litwick feed on me.”
Phoebe found herself in the same boat as Kira her newly caught Lampent would faint from jealousy if she knew that she let another Pokémon take her life energy. At this point both woman were watching me now.
“I’ll do it. Technically speaking Litwick is my responsibility since I caught him. Now how do I do this? Just touch him or what?”
“Litwick can absorb life energy from any being that finds itself in the glow of their candle flame. Seeing as that is not an option right now, you’ll have to touch his wick directly.”
I extended my hand in Litwick’s direction before offering it to Litwick letting him get familiar with my hand before going any further, which seemed to me to be the right call.
“Hey little fellow you mind taking some of my life energy? That way you don’t have to use that icky incense.”
“Lit!”
Having received confirmation from the candle Pokémon I extend a finger and touch the top of his head. Immediately I felt the drainage of my vitality kicking in. It was a weird feeling but not at all painful it was more like an all-over numbing feeling.
“Oh, this isn’t so bad I wonder what all the fuss was abou…”
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Several hours later*
I opened a singular eye to survey my surroundings. Apparently, I was tucked into a guest bed after being the victim of a fainting spell. One look in the room and I noticed my team of Pokémon occupying various spots in the bedroom, most of which were on top of the same bed I was occupying.
Even Tranquill was perching on top of the empty dresser.
“Hey guys what’s up?”
“Num!”
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“Vi!”
“Pix!”
“Dar!”
“Quill!”
My three smaller teammates all started jumping up and down on the bed using it like a trampoline while Glove was the only one who observed the rules of good bedside manners.
“That was some head-trip I was on. Sorry for worrying you guys. Did things work out with Litwick?”
“Vi Vi.” “Kira is taking the time to teach Litwick how to manage his appetite for life energy without putting people or Pokémon in danger.”
Noticing a lack of sunlight coming through the drapes I sat up from bed and started unwrapping myself out of the cocoon of blankets and sheets.
“Well, it's dark out. I should probably get dinner ready.”
Immediately I felt a foreign force enveloping me moving me back inside the bed.
“Tini what are you…!?”
“Vi!” “You need more rest, let Phoebe handle the cooking!”
“No way she’s a terrible cook; most of her ghost types don’t even have taste buds. It’s my job to make sure you guys are eating quality dishes.”
“I’ve watched you prepare food for us dozens of times. I'll make sure she follows your recipe.”
With that Victini zipped out of the room no doubt to keep an eye on Phoebe as she flounders around inside the kitchen. The rest of my team started playing a game of tag inside the room. Understandably since we haven’t gotten the time to do team exercises today and they were still full of pent-up energy. Glove received the task of making sure I didn’t get out of bed. Helpless against their fervent gazes I decided to stay in bed until dinner was ready. Phoebe was a hopeless chef, but with Victini there to keep watch over her I was assured my ingredients wouldn’t be wasted.
‘I guess I could close my eyes for a few more minutes.’
An hour later*
“Egon dinner’s ready!”
“I am coming! Don’t start without me!”
I entered the living room and was rewarded by the sight of Victini carrying a ladle and a chef’s hat. Floating around and filling everyone’s bowls and plates. Being a manly man, I was immune to beckoning call of her cuteness, the other people currently residing in this house less so. I caught the two of them taking pictures with their pokégear and Xtransceiver.
“Tini… who put that chef’s hat on you? And you two stop taking advantage of Tini! What do you think will happen when a person other than you got a hold of your phones?”
“It’s fine Egon I’ll delete the pictures after printing them out. These photos will make a perfect addition to my family’s scrapbook. You trust Granny and Grandpa with keeping a secret right?”
“If it’s those two yes… and print some extra pictures for me…”
Victini and Phoebe’s cooking didn’t taste that much different from what I usually make funnily enough. Promptly assuming Victini did most of the work I happily enjoyed dinner with the rest of my team. The Pokémon for some reason or another couldn’t stop themselves from lauding the taste in an exuberant fashion.
“Wait a minute… Phoebe how many berries did you use for my team’s portions?”
“Victini said to put in as many of the Custap berries as possible. I gotta say Egon you really treat your Pokémon to luxurious feasts and here I thought that I had you pegged as a skinflint.”
“…Victini, could I have a word with you for a quick second?”
Victini, predicting the coming storm telekinetically grabbed as many as three bowls and flitted out of the window without a second’s notice. Phoebe now realizing what she has wrought gave me a guilty but bemused look while Kira munched on some popcorn obviously enjoying the show. I wasn’t even that mad really this just meant Victini would have to pay for this in future treats as did the rest of my team who facilitated the crime without stopping it. I quickly checked my bag to ascertain the damage done to my supply of berries. Obviously, I was all out of Custap and the berries I was saving for their use as treats were gone as well.
“That was half a month’s supply of berries. Gone in just one evening…”
“Oops sorry…?”
“I don’t blame you Phoebe this is the first time Victini’s been bad. I actually feel relieved in a sense. This just means she can come out of her shell around other people. You can’t tell as much from her more recent behavior, but she was suffering from crippling shyness since the moment I found her.”
With every word I uttered Phoebe seemed to inflate like a balloon and just when her ego couldn’t get any bigger, I put her back in her place.
“Still… no more having you cook meals for my Pokémon. Just the caloric intake alone was enough to feed my team three times over. By the way where’s Litwick I figured he’d be here enjoying our company.”
Kira helpfully replied.
“My Chandelure is putting him through his paces. We can’t be having you fall down in the middle of the routes because of some overeager feeding sessions.”
“I don’t know… I haven’t asked Litwick if he wanted to be part of my team yet. It seems a bit presumptuous to assume he wants to stay with me.”
“It’s good to know that you are not one of those trainers that think captured Pokémon don’t have a mind of their own but believe me when I tell you that Litwick will want to stay with the person who rescued him. He was constantly fretting over you after draining too much of your vitality. While we are on the subject of staying… How long are the two of you planning to remain here?”
“I was actually thinking of leaving right after capturing a litwick, since I need to be back in Hoenn for something important. I guess I would like to stay the night if you don’t mind? It’s probably a bad idea to travel back overnight.”
“Nooo! Egon I still have a week left on my visa. Let's just stay here for a couple more days.”
“I can’t…”
Kira decided to add her two cents to the conversation.
“Hmmm… If it’s really important I’d like for you to stay the rest of tomorrow and then I’ll rent a psychic type Pokémon from the academy to teleport you to Mistralton City. You’ll be saving yourself the hassle of a day’s travel on route 7 and make it there in roughly the same amount of time.”
“Why would you go so far to keep me around for only a bit longer?”
“You see, I want to show off your Litwick to the rest of my colleagues and my little sister will probably want to see him too.”
“All this over some variation in color?”
“We kind of want to figure out if the type of candle the spirit of this Litwick inhabited has any relation to his coloring. The best way to do that is to find out where this Litwick was born and determine which brand of candles that household bought.”
‘All this talk about research reminds me that I still have to talk with Professor Juniper before I leave for Hoenn. He’ll probably want to know that I am leaving the region since I am one of his sponsored trainers.’
“I accept your proposal but first I need to talk with Litwick to figure out if he’s okay with it.”
“Great, how about we go meet him right now? Chandelure and Litwick should be about finished with their session. I left the both of them at the mausoleum outside.”
“You mean that small building that looks like something out of a tomb explorer movie?”
“Indeed, my Cofagrigus absolutely loves staying there as do my other Pokémon. Now let us be off.”
Me and Kira went to visit her mausoleum, the strange looking building looking as imposing as ever. Entering places like this one on your own, while traveling the routes, was usually a bad idea but Kira’s presence did a lot to stymie my worries. The mausoleum itself did have a gate which was already open the moment we got there. Kira led me inside and it was exactly as I imagined it. Sarcophagi lined the walls and at the end of the hallway stood three treasure chests each filled to the brim with treasure mostly filled with the same type of relic gold silver and bronze from the relic castle. I was convinced that these coins were mostly replicas since being able to acquire the real deal would classify Kira as a person who is beyond the normal standards of people who are classified as wealthy.
“Great right? Most Cofagrigus trainers don’t get to spoil their Pokémon as much as I do. Let me introduce you to some of my longtime friends. Come on out everyone!”
Instantaneously a couple of ghosts revealed themselves. One fairly large Cofagrigus pretending it was just one of the sarcophagi crawled out of the wall before eventually standing upright. The golett statue in the corner also came to life revealing itself to be the actual Pokémon. This Pokémon in particular seemed familiar to me but all of that was forgotten when the chandelier hanging from the ceiling animated and revealed its true nature.
“Luuuure!”
“Wow this is actually my first time meeting a Chandelure. May I record it with my Pokédex?”
“Go ahead, Egon my Chandelure is an exemplary specimen of her species.”
Chandelure, the Luring Pokémon and the evolved form of Lampent.
Being consumed in Chandelure's flame burns up the spirit, leaving the body behind. This Pokémon haunts dilapidated mansions. It sways its arms to hypnotize opponents with the ominous dancing of its flames.
“Very cool. The part about burning the spirit is a bit creepy though.”
“That entry is blatant speciesism. My dearest Chandelure has never burned someone’s spirit before. I’ve tried getting the professor to change that entry but he insists that a bit of folklore should remain in the entries for posterity’s sake.”
“Really? I’ll bring it up with him the next time I see him. When I arrived in Unova he helped me get settled and even decided to give me sponsorship as a freelance trainer for the lab.”
“Hmmm small world. Anyway, are you ready to see Litwick? He should be around here somewhere seeing as Chandelure is not with him, which means his lesson about responsibly taking life energy should already be done. Dearest, can you lead us to him?”
“Lure!”
Chandelure floated in the direction where I presumed litwick was holed up. We went back outside where the Pokémon decided to go up towards the roof of the building handily helping us get there with the liberal use of Psychic. There hidden away in a gutter sneakily installed on the backside of the mausoleum was Litwick. Now this was actually the first time I’ve seen litwick while his flame was alight unlike his brothers and sisters in the tower Litwick’s flame was an ethereal blue color instead of the darker purple other members of his species sported. What I did not expect to see was my wayward rabbit Pokémon having a heart to heart with him.
“Vi Vi!”
“Lit… wick.”
“Ahem… Can I join in on the conversation?”
“Viiii!”
Before Victini had the chance to fly off again I tried calming her down.
“I am not angry Tini. Just surprised is all, now please come back down here and help me figure out what to do with Litwick.”
“You promise you are not angry?”
“Promise, and this dinner got me thinking that we should all have a cheat day once a month to keep our spirits up. Sticking to the same diet plan everyday might get stale for the team and affect performance.”
Victini, now assured that I wasn’t mad at her, gave me a quick full body hug before landing on her usual spot at the top of my head.
‘So, what’s the deal with Litwick? Wouldn’t he rather stay inside the Mausoleum instead of on top of it?’
“Litwick is scared of all the coffins filled with corpse incense inside.”
“That makes sense. Hey Litwick, I didn’t have a chance to ask you yet, but do you want to join my team and travel around the world? You could also stay here with Kira. I know she is really interested in you.”
“Lit…?”
“Litwick is asking why you are not afraid of him after what happened.”
“It was an accident. I know that you were not actively trying to hurt me. Now that Chandelure has gotten you up to speed I doubt that you will take as much life energy every time you need to eat. Besides if I have to faint for a bit to save you, I’d say that is a fair price to pay.”
“Lit! Wick!”
Litwick jumped into my arms giving me all the confirmation I needed. That this little Pokémon wanted to come with me.
“You know what this means right Tini?”
“Yes!”
“I did it! I caught a Litwick!”
“Vi Vi Vi!”
Kira, who was watching me twirl around while holding onto Litwick, didn’t question my actions even once. Her Chandelure got pretty into it though copying our artistic movements with a few pirouettes of her own.
“Let’s get back inside Litwick I am going to introduce you to the rest of the team. I just know that they’re going to love having you around.”
“Lit Lit!”
We got off the roof, this time with the help of Victini’s own psychic abilities. Litwick don’t have flying capabilities until they evolve which made me wonder how the little scamp got stuck on the roof in the first place. As we made our way back inside, my Pokemon were all there lounging on the couch waiting for me. Phoebe was present too, holding onto one of the ghosts I haven’t seen her let out before except for televised matches.
Froslass, the Snow Land Pokémon. No further information available.
“Lasss.”
“Really Egon? You were the one that told me about Froslass. Don’t you know enough about the species already?”
“I know how to get one and that’s it. There are a bunch of things I don’t know about the species as a whole. Never mind that… I have to introduce my team to our new companion. Litwick, you’ve met Victini already and this is Numsy the Numel my first partner, Rena the Vulpix, and Glove the Darmanitan. Numsy can show you the ropes and don’t hesitate to rely on the others as well.
“Lit Lit!”
“Num num!”
“Vuuuul!”
“Manitan!”
Kira tapped my shoulder.
“Now that that’s settled how about I clue you in on the dos and don’ts of caring for your own litwick?”
What followed was a long seminar with slides projected onto her television. On how to clean, how much to feed and most surprising of all beginner trainer tips on how to work on moves. The last part would be something trainers keep secret from each other since it could give them an edge in competition. Kira did let me know that she hadn’t shown any of the advanced stuff her colleagues and family have been working on but any information on that subject is a great boon for any trainer. Kira let me know that each year she hosted a good handful of trainers who she thought had potential and had come to the celestial tower to catch a litwick.
After sitting through all that I was completely exhausted and ready to head for bed. My Pokémon bravely holding me company through the extensive lecture were in similar states to mine.
“Ugh… evenings are for lounging not studying. Well at least we don’t have to sit through that presentation again.”
Without even bothering to put on my pajamas I slipped under the covers of my guest bed and fell into sleep’s warm embrace.
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The following morning, I was awoken by two stubby little arms poking my face. Opening my eyes, I met the sight of a clingy candle who just succeeded in waking me up. Having been enlightened by last night’s presentation, I know that technically speaking ghost types and by extension Litwick don’t need to sleep. They voluntarily enter a state of dormancy to avoid getting bored while their trainer hits the hay and becomes unavailable to avoid being the only one awake at night. My Litwick hadn’t adjusted himself yet to my sleep cycle so there was a good chance he was just looking at my face the entire night.
“Good morning Litwick.”
“Lit!”
“You ready to be poked and prodded? A bunch of Kira’s colleagues are coming to visit you today and her sister will be down here later this afternoon.”
“Lit…”
“Don’t you worry that was just slang, they aren’t actually going to poke and prod you. They’ll mostly be taking pictures and asking questions.”
“It’s probably for the best if you take some of my vitality now while I am still in bed. That way I can go right back to sleep if you accidentally take too much.”
Litwick gave me a quick nod before I felt the now familiar drain on my vitality. This time I didn’t lose consciousness. Where before Litwick almost drained me dry this felt much more manageable.
“Hmm that wasn’t so bad… I’ll have an extra big breakfast to make up for it. Do you want to help me boil some water?”
“Lit Wick!”