MunchMunch skipped with Gastly. The sun was high in the sky, which she had taught him meant it was noon.

  He had no idea what that meant either, so she explained it meant the sunlight was half gone for the day.

  He had learned so much this trip!

  “Halt!” a voice commanded.

  MunchMunch paused mid-step. He looked up to see a Growlithe standing before them, a badge pinned over his chest.

  “This is human land, Pokémon. Wilds are not allowed here without clearance. State your business.”

  MunchMunch cocked his head.

  “Uhm, can I put my foot down?” He could feel Gastly laughing softly from his shadow.

  Growlithe blinked.

  “Of course.”

  “Are you a Pokémon Ranger?” he asked hopefully, setting his foot down so he didn’t fall over.

  The Growlithe nodded.

  “Yes! Can you help me find my Happy and my Teddy? Please?!” he enthused.

  They had finally found them! The Rangers!

  Gastly slowly floated out of his shadow to join them. The Growlithe blinked again but didn’t look surprised.

  “Mama, we are going to find them!”

  “We are Law Enforcement, kid,” the Growlithe Ranger sighed. “As much as I would like, I can’t help you find your teddy bear.”

  MunchMunch paused. “What’s a Teddy bear?”

  “Teddy is the name of our Trainer, Happy is one of our Team,” Shadow clarified, floating forward. MunchMunch nodded eagerly in agreement.

  “Ah, I see,” the Growlithe Ranger nodded. “Identification please.”

  “Identi… what?” Shadow fumbled.

  “Proof you belong to a trainer,” Growlithe sighed. “Listen, I don’t mean to be rude but we have a lot going on right now. I need to see a Trainer card or a Poké Ball or no entry without going through the standard process. You should be admitted in a few days.”

  MunchMunch plopped down. It felt like his legs got really weak, and then like someone hit his tummy really hard when he didn’t have time to use Defense Curl first. In fact, it felt a lot like the time when Zubat tried to take his forever-snack.

  He started to cry warm tears. He didn’t know why, but he couldn’t help it.

  So he sat down and opened his backpack.

  “Ma.. Mama,” he sobbed, stuffing a mouthful of berries into his mouth. It didn’t make him feel any better, which only made him sob harder.

  “How are we going to find our Teddy and our Happy? We don’t have our Poké Balls!” The tears came faster now, and he shoved berries into his mouth as fast as he could.

  But food wasn’t making him happy, and the empty spot in his chest was still there.

  “We walked so fast and so far,” MunchMunch sniffled. “Mama… I miss Teddy and Happy.”

  He patted an Oran berry sadly and put it back into his backpack. It was the first time food hadn’t helped him feel better.

  “Now listen here,” Gastly began, her eyes flashing.

  “Ma’am,” Growlithe sighed tiredly. “I work and live in a city haunted by ghosts in every shadow. It’s not going to work.”

  Shadow deflated.

  “We really do have a Team,” she tried again.

  “I never said I didn’t believe you,” Growlithe replied, looking around to keep an eye on their surroundings.

  It was Shadow’s turn to blink.

  “Ma’am, I’ve been a Ranger for nearly 20 years. I know every type and breed of Pokémon living in these parts.”

  He gestured towards MunchMunch, “I have no idea what he is.”

  “I’m a MunchMunch,” Munchlax responded, wiping his eyes. He noticed there was still some berry juice, so he stuck his paws in his mouth to clean them. He did still love food after all, and he was sure it was trying to help him… even if it wasn’t able to right now.

  Growlithe coughed and raised an eyebrow. “Clearly. Anyway, he certainly is not native, meaning he belongs to a trainer. As for you? Gastly aren’t so rare, but as I have never in my life seen a wild ghost trick a baby into loving them, you must be a team. So, what I need is your proof so you can enter the city,” he finished.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  “We don’t have any,” Shadow responded flatly. “Unless the backpack counts.”

  MunchMunch scrambled up and offered the backpack.

  “I really am sorry —“ Growlithe began, shaking his head.

  “Please!” MunchMunch cried. “We got separated in the storm! We are ok, but Happy is my baby sister! She just hatched… we have to find our Teddy and our Happy so they can be safe, too!”

  Growlithe’s shoulders sagged. “We are already stretched too thin working on stories just like yours. Blasted storm came out of nowhere.”

  He glanced at Shadow.

  “Listen, I can’t promise anything but —”

  At this point he leaned behind him and grabbed a tuft of his tail between his teeth and yanked.

  “Take this,” he said, dropping a small tuft of fur from his tail into MunchMunch’s hand. “The other Growlithe Rangers will recognize the scent and let you pass. Follow the road until you can see the city. The Ranger station is the first building on the right. Don’t pass it. Tell them Captain Redlithe sent you. Maybe… maybe we can spare a team.”

  With that, he trotted off.

  ____

  Teddy’s legs ached.

  His feet burned and his shins felt like they were going to explode.

  But Minerva had promised he could make it to the city tonight, if he walked hard.

  And walked hard he had, determined to make it before nightfall. Judging by the position of the sun, that meant maybe an hour.

  Stantee had been wonderful, always just ahead and choosing the safest path. Only once she had stopped them for a berry, which she had taken from him before bounding off into the bushes. She returned shortly before motioning him to follow.

  A tribute, he had realized.

  “Piii~” Togepi chimed, encouraging him on without knowing what they were hurrying for.

  “Stantee, just a second,” he gasped. “Need. Water.”

  He plopped down, unscrewing his canteen and taking great gulps, pouring some over his face and hair. Togepi giggled as some waterfalled down to her.

  “Can’t give up now,” Teddy grit his teeth. But his feet hurt so much. He could feel where he had gotten blisters before they chaffed away, only to give way to new ones. Even with Stantee choosing the safest paths, the ground was still muddy from the storm.

  He had slipped, tripped, fallen, and gotten stuck more than once.

  But his Munchlax and Gastly were out there somewhere, and it was his job to keep them safe.

  “Ok, let’s go,” he said, crying out when he stood. Stantee looked at him in concern, but he just waved her forward.

  Nothing was going to stop him.

  ____

  “Why are you walking like that?” Shadow asked curiously. MunchMunch remained focused, the tuft of fur held out before him like a talisman.

  “This… this is going to help us find our Teddy and our Happy,” he said earnestly. Shadow felt that recurring ache in her chest return as his voice cracked over the last word. “I have to keep it safe.”

  Shadow watched as a Growlithe Ranger peered at them curiously, sniffing the air. It cocked an eyebrow but continued on its way.

  “You’re doing a good job, MunchMunch,” she whispered, floating above his shadow so he didn’t have to travel alone.

  He began waddling faster as a building came into view. “Mama! We are almost there!” he cried.

  “This is it, MunchMunch,” she called, floating ahead to double check the Growlithe paw print next to the door — the universal sign for the Pokémon Rangers.

  “Yep, we found it,” she affirmed.

  “Shadow, you got us here,” he said earnestly. “You really are the best!”

  Then he barreled right through the door.

  Shadow blinked, once again pushing away the feeling in her chest. Hopefully, someone in the city would have an answer for what was happening to her.

  She shook herself and floated through the door to follow.

  ____

  “Wooow, you’re so big,” MunchMunch breathed, looking up at the Pokémon before him. “What kind of Pokémon are you?”

  The Pokémon looked down from its perch behind the Ranger Station desk, ruffling its feathers softly.

  “Noctowl,” it stated.

  ”You have really pretty feathers,” MunchMunch said, staring at the huge Pokémon in awe. It was the biggest Pokémon he had ever seen.

  The Noctowl ruffled its feathers.

  “I haven’t seen a Munchlax in… many years. What brings you here, youngling? You, and your ghostly companion?”

  MunchMunch stuck the tuft of hair straight out, lifting it towards the Noctowl.

  “My Teddy and my Happy! They are lost and you are the only ones who can find them!” he pleaded, something between a choke and a sob.

  Noctowl blinked and turned to look at Gastly, who nodded back.

  “Hmm. Well, that is certainly Captain Redlithe’s. He is fiercely proud of his tail-stache, you know. Can’t believe he messed it up for you. Remarkable. Remarkable indeed,” the Noctowl pondered slowly.

  “I presume these are nicknames, and not what you are actually looking for?”

  MunchMunch paused. “No, I am looking for my Teddy and my Happy!”

  “Yes, they are our Trainer and last Team member, respectively,” Shadow cut in.

  Noctowl nodded, reaching down with its claw to scratch something on a pad of sand. The human next to him nodded and started writing as well.

  “Names?”

  “I am Shadow, this is MunchMunch.”

  The Noctowl nodded, scratching some symbols she didn’t understand into the sand.

  “Approximate height of your trainer and Pokémon type of this ‘Happy’?”

  Shadow looked at the wall behind them, where there were different outlines of people. “He is closest to that one,” she nodded to one that was slightly taller than the middle one. “And Happy is a Togepi, just hatched — fits in our Trainers hand.”

  Noctowl blinked. “A Ghost and a Fairy on the same team?”

  Shadow smiled tightly.

  Noctowl shrugged and continued.

  “How long have you been separated?”

  “Three, almost four days.”

  Noctowl nodded again.

  “Yes well, I have to tell you, we have quite a few missing persons and Pokémon right now,” Noctowl hooted. “I might be able to push up the urgency depending on your trainer age?”

  “I… I’m not sure,” Gastly admitted. “He is older than usual trainers, but not yet an adult. He started his Journey a bit later than most, from what I understand.”

  Noctowl blinked, dropping his claws back to his perch.

  “I see. Well, we will process this as quickly as possible. In the meantime, I would avoid wandering the city. While you are not wild, it would be best to avoid any misconceptions. The customs building is next door. I would urge you to start there.”

  “What… what does that mean. Mama?” MunchMunch asked.

  Shadow froze.

  “It’s… it means they are going to help us look, Sweetie,” she smiled. “But we need to take care of some other things while they do.”

  “Awesome!” MunchMunch cried. “Thank you so much, Noctowl!”

  The Noctowl blinked and shuffled uneasily.

  “Yes well, we have a spare room you can use to sleep tonight,” he hooted softly, glancing uncomfortably at Gastly.

  She nodded her gratitude, turning to go. MunchMunch followed closely, the tuft of fur still clutched in his paw.

  “A word of advice?” the Noctowl hooted.

  Shadow turned to listen.

  “Foraging isn’t easy in the city, and you might not be admitted again if you leave, especially while you are being processed to visit. I would suggest you have the child ration.”

  Shadow sighed. “Thank you.”

  The Noctowl nodded and ruffled its feathers, watching them go.

  They still had a few hours until twilight. With a safe place set for MunchMunch, they could focus on getting access to the city.

  After that? She had work to do while MunchMunch slept.

  If the Rangers wouldn’t help, she would have to find someone who could.

  Her Trainer and the fairy needed her help.

  Shadow would not fail to deliver.