Ash's Arc

Chapter 8 of 14

The skull doors swung open on their own. Ash stepped into a hall lit by blue flame. His fire pig pressed against his leg. The mouse's cheeks sparked on his shoulder. At the far end sat the gym leader, robed and still. Beside her floated a small dark rat with oversized ears and creamy paws. Its eyes glowed faint white. It flickered, half there and half gone. "You look ready to lose," the leader said. "Fire and lightning. My ghosts eat both." Ash had never fought a ghost-type. He remembered a lesson someone once told him. Normal attacks pass through ghosts. His mouse could still bite. His pig could still tackle. But those would do nothing here. He needed a different kind of hit. The rat winked out and struck the pig from behind. The pig squealed and stumbled. Ash's stomach dropped. If he traded blind swings, this would end fast and ugly. He knelt and studied the rat. It faded before each attack, then flashed solid when it hit. That flash was the moment. That was when it could be touched. "Pig, don't chase it," Ash said. "Wait. Ember only when it lands." The pig snorted, unsure. Ash pressed his hand to its back. "I've believed in you before. Do it again." The rat vanished. Ash held his breath. It reappeared inches from the pig's snout. "Now!" The pig blew a burst of ember. Fire caught the rat mid-flash. It shrieked and dropped, singed and solid. The leader's eyes narrowed. She sent out a second ghost, a round orange creature with black-tipped ears and a forked tail, sparks jumping off its cheeks. It moved fast and blinked in and out like the rat. "Mouse, same plan," Ash called. "Wait for the flash." The orange ghost darted close and struck. The mouse rolled but held its ground. It watched, cheeks crackling. The ghost flickered, then flashed solid for its next hit. "Thunder, now!" Lightning speared the exact spot. The ghost seized and fell. Both ghosts lay beaten on the stone. The blue flames dimmed to a low glow. The leader rose and studied Ash for a long moment. "Most trainers panic and swing at empty air," she said. "You learned the rule in one match." She held out a small badge. "You earned it." Ash took it with a shaking hand. Two badges now. His pig ran a happy circle around his feet. The mouse climbed back to his shoulder. "There's a healing center up the valley path," the leader said. "A rounded red-and-white place. Your team needs it." Ash thanked her and stepped back into daylight. Down the slope he saw it, the cheerful domed roof with red trim. He had a badge, a healing center, and one new truth: he could beat what he could not touch. The arc goal moved one step closer. He started walking toward the doors.