hmmmm ryou and ghostie in the context of a silly pokemon au…..
I think Ghostie would really avoid or be wary of ghost type pokemon, with them heightening whatever sensitivities she has to spirits and the paranormal. she wants to believe she doesn’t have anything against the creatures themselves, just what they bring about, but the more she hears spooky stories and rumors of ghost-type pokemon, of their inherent malevolent natures being passed around her school and kids her age, the more I think the idea of being near one would freak her out on top of them making her see more ghosts.
perhaps her parents gift her a hatenna to offset this; if the thing that she simultaneously has to take care of and rely on is sensitive to strong emotions, to distress and fear, then she will have to take care to avoid these things, or at least grow a resistance to them, lest she upsets this thing that she’s meant to have a special bond with. I think she would resent it at first (she has to take complete responsibility for something she has no holding over, that she has no control of? and if she can’t do that, then she risks basically mistreating this creature that relies entirely on her, and it might grow to resent her?), but I think she would get over it after a while, because it’s not like the hatenna had a choice in being paired with her either, and it isn’t like it doesn’t try to help when her mediumship starts acting up.
getting early warning signs when she starts sensing something off with yugi, both from her own senses and from her hatenna, but shrugging it off…..what would she tell him anyway? they’ve barely spoken before, and her powers act up all the time in populated spaces. and then it gets harder to ignore the more involved she gets with him and the rest of their friend group. her hatenna just has to put up with it, but it gets less and less distressing for ghostie to be involved with everything happening, because now she isn’t looking away. now she isn’t ignoring it. now she’s trying to understand it, and whatever things she’s hearing. maybe she even starts working up the courage to approach it directly and intentionally on her own time?
and then she meets ryou. lovable yet off putting ryou. ryou who owns at least three ghost types and progressively shares more and more of his paranormal interests with ghostie as they get closer. disregarding how wrong the time they first met went, I think Ghostie would nearly jump out of her skin upon hearing his spiritomb’s silly little haunting cry for the first time. tries not to show that she’s obviously intimidated (failing miserably, looking violently in the other direction of the thing, mumbling her words in hopes of not catching its attention, etc etc), trying to ask about his espurr instead (we both have psychic pokemon who are sensitive to emotions!! isn’t that cool. isn’t that wonderful. isn’t it funny how both said pokemon look slightly on edge right now hahahaha), totally playing it cool. god forbid his litwick is evolved at all (“lost spirits” contained within the flames of those things? oh. oh no). ryou probably sees her distress (perhaps would notice the hatenna’s discomfort first, being used to picking up on those things from his espurr) and would shoo his spiritomb away, take care to only have his clefairy out when Ghostie is over or something. neither of them are willing to draw direct attention to this issue.
more time passes for them to get closer. ghostie even speaks directly to the spirit of the ring without being intimidated or shying away— isn’t that something? but she still won’t intentionally get close to ghost-type pokemon. she’ll still tense up when she’s visiting ryou’s apartment, will still look in any other direction when some of his pokemon are out. I don’t think he gets frustrated about it, just more antsy to prove to her they aren’t as scary or harmful for her as she’s convinced herself they are, that she isn’t as weak to them as she thinks she is.
“I just don’t think I can,” she’s trying to derail again, to dissuade from approaching this like they have before, claim left painfully open ended (“can” what? can hold them? be near them? do them at all?).
“sure you can!” he’s pushing again, but it’s not in a mean or antagonistic way, in a way that is patient yet still eager to prove something to her, “they’re not nearly as bad as you think they are. they aren’t going to possess you or anything the minute you touch them— here,” he leans down, plucks his mimikyu from where it was staring down ghostie’s hatenna on the floor of the game room. He approaches Ghostie, holding the creature in his arms, meeting her eyes as if asking her a question. She can’t seem to meet his gaze though, only looking at the Mimikyu with distracted, worried eyes. He huffs, shakes his head, carries on.
Despite having followed the thing with her eyes, Ghostie startles when Ryou puts the creature on her lap (it does too, if the curious noise emitted from it says anything). Immediately leans away, as if it isn’t already on her, her Hatenna making an offended, chiding noise from across the room at the sudden swing in emotion. Ghostie goes quiet, still, just staring at the pokemon. And then Ryou holds out his hands for hers, still staring at her, still silently asking a question. Ghostie finally looks at him, lets her eyes flick between him and the pokemon for a moment, before she hesitantly puts her hands in his. Lets him guide her hands to hold the creature, hands overlapped; feeling the slightly worn and rough cloth of its disguise, its footing, the slight rumbling of what Ghostie assumes is a content noise from the creature. It’s just as tangible as any other pokemon she knows. It’s just as real. And it’s not hurting her. It’s not making her see more vivid visions, hear more ghostly whispers. And it’s oddly… cute, even with its unconventional looks. She softens. Stares at it with more than trepidation and fear now. Ryou smiles, lets go of her hands, tries not to feel too smug about it.
I like to think he later gifted her a sinistea. not for the sake of repressing something, not with the expectation that it would make her more responsible, not to mock her lingering fear or anything. just because it reminded him a lot of her <3