The afternoon sun shone over Stow-on-Side as Allister peaked out the back of his gym. He had an itch to go outside, but with the warm weather and bright sun, people would certainly be bustling the town roads. He’d never be able to reach the ruins on the other side.
He stood in the shade of the stadium. If he tried to go visit those revealed statues, he’d be noticed too. Where could he walk around for a few hours? Allister idly shuffled his feet.
A shuffling caught his attention. Allister looked behind him to see Mimikyu getting up from the soft bed he’d made for it. Mimikyu shuffled over and stared up at him. Allister swung his hands slightly. “Sorry if I woke you up. I was just thinking where to go where there won’t be...so many people.”
A shadowy paw slunk out of Mimikyu’s costume and pointed. Allister’s gaze followed. Glimwood Tangle. He never did go through that forest outside of placements. It’d be a nice change of pace.
He looked back to Mimikyu. The ghost rarely battled outside the gym anymore, but Allister still valued it as a friend. “Do you want to come along?” Mimikyu jumped and happily cried out. With that, the two practically skipped along to Glimwood Tangle.
The forest quickly covered them in shade. It felt welcoming, safe. The air was cool, and the luminescent mushrooms were just the perfect dimness. It was comforting. And also interesting to him.
And Allister saw no one else here.
As he walked, Mimikyu crawled off to one side. It batted a mushroom, causing the fungus to light up. It giggled before swatting the mushroom again.
Allister stopped to watch for a moment. Mimikyu certainly liked this place. Maybe the others would, too. He plucked his pokeballs and, one by one, released his team, waking them up from their rest.
Dusknoir, Cursola, and Runerigus all lazily glanced about at their surroundings. Chandelure curled its arms up to avoid starting a fire. Gengar barely looked around before finding home in Allister’s shadow.
Then they glanced to Allister. He idly held his hands together, shifting his weight to one foot. “I thought you’d want to walk around Glimwood with us.”
That seemed to be all the answer they needed. Runerigus lifted its head chunk as if to yawn while the others turned their attention to the trees and fungus. Dusknoir started to drift off on its own.
Allister laughed to himself. Another might tell them not to wander, or keep a firm leash on them for being ghost types. But he knew better. His team always stuck close enough to come if they were needed.
He turned and started down the trail, the dim glow of the mushrooms just light the way. The dusty grass felt nice under foot. It smelled like fresh leaves with a hint of flowers and mustiness. It reminded Allister of reading an old book in a forest. It all made the experience so surreal.
The grass ahead of him rose to knee length. Allister felt a twitch on his scalp. He stopped. Was something tugging his hair? He glanced up, but saw only that one lock of hair fall against his mask.
He looked down. That lock fell towards the grass below. Maybe something in there was trying to pull his hair down? He knelt and tried to part the grass.
A yellow spiral flew at him.
Allister jerked his head back in reflex. He felt Gengar loom up behind him. The grating of stone against stone echoed behind him.
He didn’t feel scared, just confused. Blue light from above revealed a little chipped teacup in front of him. It held something purple. And it had a face.
Sinistea. He’d stumbled upon a sinistea.
The little ghost looked up for a fight. Allister couldn’t help but smile. So small, yet ready for a brawl. And its decorated porcelain cup made it look so posh. He wanted to take the little guy back to the stadium.
“Hello,” he greeted, gently cupping his hands under the sinistea. Mimikyu shuffled up beside him. He kept his focus on the new ghost. “I’m Allister. These are my friends. Do you want to come along? Or...would you like to battle?”
The cup frowned for a moment as it considered Allister’s offer. Then it smiled and spun.
Its delighted spin made him feel fuzzy. A new ghost, a new friend. And so classy.
He stood up with Sinistea cupped in his hands and turned to see Dusknoir, Mimikyu, Gengar, and Chandelure right behind him like expected. Runerigus and Cursola watched from a distance. Allister held Sinistea up for them.
