Chen Yan opened his eyes after dreaming that he was playing soccer and some fat bastard had kicked him in the face, only to find a big, purplish-black foot planted on his face.
Frowning, Chen Yan moved the chubby foot aside. Still asleep, Gengar rolled over, scratched its ample backside, then smacked its lips and went back to sleep.
After moving the little furnace that was Growlithe out of his arms, Chen Yan finally sat up. He looked at Grandma, who was watching something on a tablet, scratched his head, and asked, "Grandma, aren't you taking a nap?"
Grandma turned, muted the tablet, and asked quietly, "Did I wake you?"
Chen Yan shook his bedhead and scooted over beside her. Looking at the tablet's screen, he discovered that she was reading the comments on the video he had just uploaded.
Grandma smiled. "You were all asleep, so I came over to read the comments. Lots of people like your videos, Chen Yan."
Chen Yan grinned. "Of course they do. Just look at how amazing my photography skills are."
Grandma wholeheartedly agreed. "That's true. Our little Chen Yan has the best camera skills in the world."
Hearing her praise, Chen Yan didn't think she was being sarcastic. He knew that, in an elder's eyes, their own child was the best child in the world.
Even if the grandma before him wasn't his biological grandmother.
"Grandma, you praise me every day. Aren't you worried I'll get so full of myself that my head ends up in the clouds?" Chen Yan asked, reaching out to hold her hand.
Grandma placed her other hand over his and said softly, "Good is good, and bad is bad. Good things deserve praise. Bad things need criticism, then correction."
"That's true," Chen Yan said with a nod.
After chatting with Grandma and eating dinner, Chen Yan went to the swing beneath the tree and sat down, as he always did.
According to Grandma, Grandpa had made this swing for her when she was young. She had said that every girl was a princess, and every princess needed a swing, so he had built her one.
It hadn't had a backrest at first. Grandpa had added one as Grandma grew older. But after he passed away, no one had maintained it. Chen Yan had only just repaired it recently, and Grandma had cried for a long time as she looked at it.
Sitting on the swing, Chen Yan gazed through the courtyard gate at the backyard. There was a wooden bridge there, with a little stream flowing slowly beneath it, as well as some vegetables planted nearby.
The backyard was enormous, and all of it belonged to Grandma. By Chen Yan's rough estimate, her house and backyard covered as much land as the university he had attended in his previous life-over 130 acres. It was absurdly large.
After washing the dishes, Gengar came up behind Chen Yan.
Ever since Chen Yan had arrived, the courtyard had become a much happier place. Gengar had originally been a wanderer itself, until Grandma took it in when it passed her house.
It remembered what she had told it then: "If you have nowhere to go, stay here. You can leave whenever you find somewhere else you'd like to be."
So it had stayed, helping Grandma with the farmwork. Later, the town's Officer Jenny had even given Grandma a Growlithe egg so she would have someone to look after her.
Gengar was a prankster by nature, so it had started scaring the Pokémon nearby to relieve its boredom.
When Growlithe hatched, it finally had a friend. But Growlithe seemed a little dim. Every time Gengar tried to scare it, it just grinned goofily back.
Then one day, while accompanying Grandma on a walk along the town's shore, Gengar and Growlithe had found Chen Yan unconscious on the beach. At Grandma's request, they had gone to find help and successfully gotten him carried back to the Pokémon Center for treatment.
After Chen Yan recovered, he had stayed in Grandma's courtyard. With him around, the place grew livelier and livelier. He really seemed to attract certain wild Pokémon.
That was even better for Gengar, because it hated loneliness and loved having a lively crowd around.
But sometimes, this Chen Yan fellow really got on a ghost's nerves. Just like Growlithe, he never reacted when Gengar tried to scare him. Sometimes, he even turned the tables and scared Gengar instead.
Worst of all, he got me every single time! That rotten human!
Still, he really was amazing. He knew so many stories, could sing so many songs, and could make so many delicious things...
At that thought, Gengar's mouth curled into a grin without it realizing, and it began gently pushing Chen Yan's swing.
Feeling the push against his back, Chen Yan smiled, then suddenly spoke. "Gengar, what do you think..."
"Gengar?"
Gengar stopped pushing and looked at Chen Yan in confusion.
Chen Yan continued, "What do you think the world out there is like?"
What else could it be like? Wandering, living, traveling...
"What are the Pokémon out there like? What Pokémon live across the sea? What's it like on the other side...?"
At Chen Yan's questions, Gengar shook its head.
It didn't know either. It had never crossed the sea, so it had no idea what lay beyond it. It didn't even know how big the island it lived on was.
Chen Yan said nothing more, and Gengar chose not to speak either. It simply resumed pushing his swing.
A cane tapped against the ground as Grandma came over to Chen Yan. He hurriedly stood and let her sit on the swing.
Once seated, Grandma stopped him from pushing her and asked him to sit nearby and talk with her instead.
"What is it, Grandma?"
Chen Yan sat on a stone stool beside her and asked.
Grandma's clouded eyes lingered on him for a long while, as though she were remembering something. At last, she spoke. "Chen Yan."
"Yes, I'm here, Grandma."
"You should leave."
Chen Yan's pupils contracted, and an inexplicable panic seized him. He hurriedly said, "Grandma..."
Smiling, Grandma patted the back of his hand to reassure him. "Don't be nervous. I'm not chasing you away."
"Then what do you mean...?" Chen Yan asked, letting out a relieved breath.
"I mean you shouldn't be tied down by this little courtyard. Go out. Go traveling."
Understanding what she meant, Chen Yan opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but no words came out.
"I know you long to see the world outside. But because I'm here, you've had to stay in this courtyard and look after me."
"No, Grandma. I really like this life. I have you with me, and Gengar and Growlithe to play with." Chen Yan lifted her hand and gently pressed it against his cheek. Her hand was rough, but he didn't mind as he continued:
"Grandma, you know, I never felt any love from my grandparents before. To them, my family was nothing but a burden..."
Grandma stroked his cheek with her fingers, her heart aching beyond words as she looked at him. She comforted him. "I know. I know all of it. But you shouldn't stay here."
"But..."
"Let me finish. I know that every day, when you look out at the backyard, you're wondering what the world outside is like. I know all of that, and I know you're staying to take care of me. But don't worry. A Pokémon your grandpa and I once looked after will be back soon. It'll take care of me."
With a kindly smile, Grandma continued, "I shouldn't keep you here. Silly child, don't worry. This will always be your home."
"..."
Chen Yan fell silent.
"Do you know something, child?" Grandma said, slipping into her memories.
"I'm not from the Sinnoh Region. I'm from the Hoenn Region. But when I went traveling, I met your grandpa and followed him back to the Sinnoh Region. In the end, I never finished my journey."
"I love Pokémon, you know. They were what first brought your grandpa and me together. I hear there are lots of Pokémon now that hadn't been discovered when I was young. So, Chen Yan, could you go out and photograph them for me, then send the pictures back for me to see?"
"Think of it as... fulfilling the dream I had when I was young?"
Grandma looked at Chen Yan as she asked.
Chen Yan fell silent. Grandma had already said this much, and she had told him it was her youthful dream, too...
Grandma's dream, and his own dream...
Under Grandma's gaze, Chen Yan slowly nodded. "All right, Grandma. I promise. I'll go out and take lots and lots of Pokémon pictures for you, then send lots and lots of them home."
"Hahaha, then you'd better not trick me."
"I won't, Grandma. Pinky swear."
"A pinky swear..."
Looking at Chen Yan's outstretched little finger, Grandma suddenly laughed. "You've reminded me of when I was young... Oh, you..."
Grandma reached out and hooked her pinky around his.
"Chen Yan, take it with you."
Meeting Grandma's gaze, Chen Yan nodded firmly.
After Grandma left, Chen Yan and Gengar remained where they were, looking toward the summer sunset.
Gengar wasn't in the mood to admire the sunset. It turned to look at Chen Yan, a strange emotion welling up inside it.
Was he leaving? Leaving the courtyard...
Leaving Grandma...
Leaving us...
Was he going out to wander...?
Would he come back...?
Gengar lowered its head.
There was no telling what it was thinking.
"Gengar."
Gengar lifted its head and looked at Chen Yan. At some point, he had stood up. With the sunset behind him, he smiled and held out his left hand. What was he going to say?
I heard him. Every word, clear as day.
"Gengar, will you come with me? Let's go see this amazing world together. Let's cross the sea, go beyond the mountains, meet more people, and see more Pokémon. We'll photograph them and send the pictures home to Grandma."
Looking at the purplish-black chubby fellow before him, Chen Yan extended his invitation once more:
"Just like in the stories I told you, will you protect me?"
He... wants me to go with him?
The evening breeze stirred the loose hair over Chen Yan's forehead. Gengar grinned and stretched its tongue straight toward his face, giving him a lick.
"Gengar-"
Sure. I'll go with you.
Before you continue