"Roy"?

Roy had previously guessed that Gengar had already reached Elite Four level, but back then he had no system and had been purely guessing. Now that he knew Gengar's true level, he couldn't help being surprised.

An eighty-two-level Gengar at the High-level Elite Four rank—worthy of being the old woman's Pokémon.

As for the feeble old man described in the games as guarding the two Orbs...

What a joke. Could someone capable of guarding the Red Orb and Blue Orb, which could awaken Groudon and Kyogre, possibly be weak?

Before leaving, Roy went to see Yazi again and told her that Pheobe would come help drive away the Ghost-type Pokémon that came to fool around. As for him, he was going to Rustboro City to attend school.

Yazi was reluctant to see him go, but she knew that going to Rustboro Academy was by no means a bad thing for Roy. He would be able to learn more there and see more people and things.

Before he left, Yazi worried that, as a boy, Roy might not have prepared everything properly. She stuffed several bottles of standard Potion and some energy bars that could rapidly replenish a large amount of energy into his Spatial Bracelet.

Naturally, taking from the supplies he was guarding was out of the question. She had paid for all of it with her own money.

"Goodbye, Sister Yazi!"

Watching Roy's departing back, Cleffa, who had thought she would be happy, found herself unable to feel happy at all.

She should have been glad that Roy was gone, but without his pestering, it somehow felt as though something was missing.

Inside the cabin on the mountain.

The old woman seemed to sense Roy's departure and sighed inwardly. Still, she knew it was time for Roy to leave.

"He's already gone, so stop sighing. Think about how you're going to explain this to Pheobe."

Though Pheobe always claimed to hate Roy, she ate every last bit of the snacks he bought, leaving nothing behind.

Ever since her parents had gone to the Spirit World and never returned, leaving Pheobe with them, and ever since Roy had arrived, Pheobe had become much brighter. Her face held countless more smiles.

"Grandma!"

What they feared most had come to pass.

Pheobe ran into the cabin, with Haunter following behind her by passing through the wall beside them. The moment it saw the large bag of snacks on the table, it pounced on them, tore open a bag of chips, and began crunching away as it asked through a mouthful of food,

"Grandpa, did you buy these?"

Roy had gone down the mountain again last night specifically to bring these snacks back for Pheobe.

The old man didn't know how to tell his granddaughter that Roy had already left, so he could only look helplessly at his wife.

This was even trickier than fighting two Elite Four-level Trainers back then.

The old woman nudged the old man with her elbow, signaling for him to tell Pheobe that Roy had left.

Before the old man could speak, Pheobe complained to the old woman,

"Grandma, Roy must've gone to see Sister Yazi again! When I went to see him this morning, he wasn't there. He even stayed out all night! You have to give him a good scolding... No, that's not right! You have to give him a good beating!"

After saying that, Pheobe raised her tiny fist and threw a punch at the air. Haunter copied her with great flair, throwing a clumsy flurry of punches.

"Grandpa has something to tell you. It's just..."

There was no changing what had happened, so the old man told Pheobe that Roy had left Mt. Pyre and gone to Rustboro Academy.

When Pheobe heard that Roy had actually left Mt. Pyre, she stood frozen in place, not knowing what to do.

It took her a long while to react before she asked in utter disbelief,

"Impossible. No way. You must be working with that idiot Roy to trick me, right?"

But the two old people's silence was the best answer. Roy really had left Mt. Pyre.

Seeing that neither of them appeared to be lying, Pheobe's eyes gradually reddened. Trembling, she ran out of the cabin and rushed toward the foot of the mountain.

"Grandma, I don't care! I want to go find Roy!"

But evening was already approaching, and the path down the mountain had become too dark to see. In the end, Gengar brought Pheobe back.

Seeing Pheobe's reddened eyes, the two old people couldn't help feeling heartbroken.

I knew this would happen.

Though Pheobe always called him "idiot Roy," Roy was like an older brother to her. She said she hated him, but deep down, she had long since come to rely on him.

And now he had left without saying goodbye...

After thinking it over, the two old people decided to tell Pheobe why Roy had left.

Pheobe was still young and didn't understand anything about family inheritances. She only knew that Roy—the one she had to call every day to wake up, who brought her snacks, and who called her little charcoal ball—had left Mt. Pyre.

"Grandma, can I give up the inheritance? Can you make Roy come back and stay with me?"

The two old people said nothing. Tears kept spilling from Pheobe's eyes, and before long, she was sobbing uncontrollably as she hugged the Gengar doll Roy had given her yesterday.

Haunter immediately became flustered and helpless, then began crying as well, copying Pheobe.

The two old people handed Pheobe the letter Roy had left behind.

With tears in her eyes, Pheobe opened Roy's letter. The very first line—"Little charcoal ball!!!"—felt as though Roy were speaking right beside her ear, making the heartbroken Pheobe burst into laughter through her tears.

She remembered when Roy had first given her that nickname. She had chased him around and beaten him for an entire day, nearly falling down the mountain in the end. Roy had disregarded the danger and saved her.

In the letter, Roy said he wasn't leaving forever. When Rustboro Academy went on break, he would come back to visit Pheobe and the old couple again.

He hoped that by the next time they met, Pheobe's Ghost Power would have improved, allowing her to become the hope of the Mt. Pyre Family's inheritance.

He also promised that when he returned, they would have another battle, and the loser would have to wash the winner's feet.

In the letter, Roy also asked her to feed the Caterpie at the foot of the mountain whenever she had time and help Yazi drive away the Ghost-type Pokémon causing trouble.

Don't miss me, Roy.

"Hmph! Who'd miss him? It's good that he left. I'm taking over Roy's room, and I'll sleep in two rooms all by myself."

The two old people didn't know what Roy had written in the letter to make Pheobe laugh through her tears, but it was a good thing that her mood had improved.

Hugging the Gengar doll in her arms, Pheobe picked up an Oran Berry from the table and prepared to run outside again.

"Where are you going at this hour?"

"I'm going to feed Roy?"

The two old people looked at each other. What did she mean, feed Roy? Hadn't Roy already left Mt. Pyre?

Only later did the two old people learn from Haunter that Pheobe had given the Caterpie at the foot of the mountain a new name: "Roy."