MunchMunch woke up to Nurse Chansey grumbling over him while removing some bandages.

  “When I said we would have you on the other bed next time,” she grumbled, taking an egg from her magic-tummy-pouch and sticking it in his mouth, “I didn’t mean for you to be back the same day.”

  He happily took a bite of the yummy egg. He didn’t mind being back!

  Then he remembered why he was here.

  I lost, he thought.

  “I wasn’t strong enough Nurse Chansey,” he said sadly, taking a bite of the yummy-nummy egg. It made his tummy feel happy, but not enough to make his heart feel better.

  Nurse Chansey plopped down next to him and gave him a hug. MunchMunch happily leaned into her, munching on the yummy-egg and enjoying how warm and safe she made him feel.

  “I watched the fight from the PokeCenter,” she said. “You did a good job. A baby had no business being in that fight, but you tried your hardest,” she said, patting between his ears.

  MunchMunch nodded. “Is Mama Gastly ok?” He asked.

  Chansey actually laughed then. “Oh sweetie, the thing with ghosts — it’s actually very hard to hurt them,” she said. “She woke up before you did!”

  “Oh!” MunchMunch nodded. That made sense. Mama Gastly was super strong after all.

  “But that means she knows we lost?” He asked.

  “She isn’t upset,” Chansey said softly. “And to me, you won.”

  That made MunchMunch feel a bit better, but he was still sad about losing.

  He remembered the way Croconaw looked at him. MunchMunch couldn’t deny he was strong, but he didn’t ever want to look at anyone that way.

  The way Croconaw made him feel small made him feel really bad. And he didn’t want to do that to anyone.

  MunchMunch wanted to help people feel big. Like Mama Gastly and his Trainer helped him feel!

  “Munch!” He gasped. The Egg!

  He hopped up from the bed and waddled over to the door.

  “Am I ok, can I go now Nurse Chansey? I promise I feel great - everything is ok!” He finished the yummy egg and took a bite from his favorite-snack at the same time, just so she could see how good he was.

  Chansey got up and laughed. “What’s got you in such a hurry?” She asked.

  “I want to see my friend!” He chirped. “She is still in an Egg, so I want to be next to her as much as possible, so she never feels lonely!” He explained.

  “Hmmmmmmm,” Nurse Chansey said, seeming to think very hard.

  MunchMunch watched anxiously.

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  “Yep,” she finally said with a smile, “I think you are all healed up!”

  “Yay!” He said, turning to the door and trying to open it.

  But…the door handle was too high. He tried to jump, but…he didn’t move. Nurse Chansey pet him on the head and opened the door. MunchMunch happily ran out, before remembering his manners and turning around.

  “Thank you!” He shouted, turning and waddling to the front, where he knew his Teddy would be waiting.

  ____

  Gastly waited in a shadow, up in a corner of the PokeCenter.

  They had lost. And that Croconaw? He had changed. Last time they fought he was just a tiny Totodile, scared and confused at being stolen. At being yelled at for being too weak.

  In just a few short weeks, he had already been forced through an evolution. She didn’t want to imagine what he had been through. Evolving that quickly never came without consequences.

  A mind of a child in the body of a teen was a terrible thought. Even more worrying was he didn’t seem to be a child anymore.

  She sighed.

  And then there was the baby. She was worried about the way this battle would affect him. She knew he was going to be sad. Part of that was her fault - she had left too much on his shoulders. It wasn’t fair of her to ask him to finish the fight.

  But from what Chansey had told her, he had done a very brave job. Gastly smiled contentedly.

  When MunchMunch came out, he would be beating himself up. She wouldn’t let him. It wasn’t his fault they had lost.

  And sometimes? It was ok to lose, too.

  Not in this case, but she wouldn’t tell him that.

  Her mind turned to the other Pokemon on the trainer’s team. She wasn’t worried about the Zubat, but that Gastly was a cause for concern.

  Sure, she had wiped the floor with him. But there was something in his eyes. Something she saw right before he fainted.

  It told her that next time, the fight wouldn’t be so easy.

  That’s ok, she thought, Because next time I will be a Haunter.

  Going from a Gastly to a Haunter took more than just fighting. Most Pokemon evolved just through age mixed with battle experience. That push that forced them to take the next step—the one they needed to win.

  For Gastlys, there was something else to it, but the only other Haunter she had ever met had refused to tell her. Saying it wasn’t worth the cost.

  She had accepted it then. There was no reason for her to pay a cost when she didn’t need to. But now, now she realized she had a reason.

  She’d heard whispers from the dark. Whispers from ghosts passing stories like secrets. Tales of a Ghost-Type specialist. Someone she could ask and from whom she could learn.

  Morty.

  He would know. And it just so happened he was not that far from here.

  They would go through Ilex and into Goldenrod. She knew he resided in the next city, but she did not know what it was called, nor did she know how long it would take to reach it. But it didn’t matter. She would continue to train, continue to grow. And when the time came?

  Yes, Morty would know.

  The door to the treatment room opened, and Gastly prepared to float down to Munchlax.

  She was very confused and quite shocked when he tumbled out of the treatment room with a huge smile, babbling and cooing as he waddled up to their Trainer.

  This baby…this baby was not the least bit dejected. How did this Munchlax manage to surprise her at every turn?

  She watched as Munchlax reached out both of his tiny arms, grasping for the Egg in Teddy’s backpack. The grin and giggle as he got the Egg and cradled it close.

  She floated out from the shadows with a smile, ready to join her team. Her team where their Teddy was laughing with Chansey and Nurse Joy. Where their Teddy was petting MunchMunch on the head while the baby laughed and patted the Egg in turn.

  Her team that she was surprised to find she wanted to be a part of.

  Maybe they had lost.

  But it felt like they had won.