A Match Among Man and Ghost

It was a dim and dreary day, not an uncommon thing in Mist Veil City, but Archer was out going through his weekly routine, buying groceries and checking in with what few friends he still had in town. He had just finished his last item on his agenda and was heading back for the long trek back to his home at the top of the mountain. Thankfully, Archer had his Hitmonlee and Poliwrath to help him with his task, leaving Machamp at the gym to watch over things. He was very lucky to have Pokemon that were so helpful, though that was not always the case.

Smiling to himself, Archer made his way through Ghost Park; it was always a little odd coming into town since the people treated him as an oddity. In a town filled with ghost he was the thing that many of the townspeople truly feared. The black sheep in a place populated with them. He shrugged as his smile dimmed as he saw a small group of people pointing at him and talking to themselves. When would he be accepted as the Gym Leader of this town? Archer had known that his father, the Gym Leader before him, had been a bit of an outcast but surely it had not been this bad.

“Come on, guys.” Archer said to his Pokemon. They acknowledged his instruction in their own way but for the most part none of them changed what they had been doing in the slightest. The trio just kept walking towards the base of the mountain which would take them home and away from the town that they lived in but at the same time did not live in. “Maybe we’ll have a visitor waiting for us at the Gym,” He said forcing a smile but neither of his Pokemon were fooled.

Hayden and his faithful companion Charmander rode along on their skateboard, until they started to see there was a thick fog ahead. They stopped for a moment to analyze it, because they never seen such a foggy place. They kept on going until they could start to make out a city in the distance. With this, they began to get excited. They kept on going until they could see the entrance to the city, almost running into a wall in the process. They hopped off the skateboard and started turning their heads in awe at the buildings which seemed to attract their attention.

They heard scary sounds come from all over the city, but they didnt let it bother them. They talked to a man that was walking in the direction opposite to theirs. "Excuse me, we heard there was a gym here, do you mind telling me how to get there?" The man just pointed in the direction of the mountain, and said "At the base of the mountain you'll find that gym leader." Making a face as if he didnt seem to like the gym leader. Now is when Hayden started to feel a bit strange. But still, the kept on, not caring about the mans facial expression.

They saw what seemed to be millions of tourists, talking some gibberish about ghosts and whatnot. They kept searching for a while, close to the base of the mountain, only seeing shops and restauranta along the way, beginning to lose their patience. They talked with another person, asking directions once again. They were directed to the peak of the mountain. They began their ascend to the peak of the mountain in search of the gym leader.

Archer had finally made it to the base of the mountain, which was not too far from the park he had just walked through. He saw a young boy riding a skateboard with a little Charmander. If the boy was looking to go up the mountain then that meant he most likely wanted to challenge a Gym Leader. Archer was not sure if he looked to be experienced enough to have a gym badge or not given the distance. “Hey you, going up the mountain,” The Gym Leader called out to try and keep the trainer from wasting his time by climbing all the way up the mountain.

The journey up the mountain was designed to push a trainer and his pokemon to the limit so that they could prove themselves worthy of challenging him. Archer thought that he would give this guy a little bit of a pass with the mountain. He would have to make the battle all the harder though. “Are you wanting to go fight the Gym Leader?” Archer called out again. Picking up his pace, he made his way to the boy.

Hayden heard a voice call out to him, and almost fell off his skateboard in surprise. He managed to not fall off, and held on to Charmander before he would fall off of Haydens shoulder. He turned around to figure out who was calling him, but he didnt search for long, as the man was already sprinting towards them. Hayden remembered what the man had said, and replied back. "Yes, i am. "

Hayden answered but was still analyzing the man to figure out who he was and why he was asking. His Charmander like always, had turned his back to the man he was talking to, and grew upset. Charmander only liked Hayden and Hayden only. Not many other people had earned Charmanders trust, and Charmander disliked even being around strangers he wasnt familiar with. Hayden merely ignored Charmanders behavior, and continued analyzing the man, for the next few seconds.