Over the course of her Pokémon journey, those around Cassia began to realize that she attracted ghosts. Starting with Gimmighoul, the Pokémon who would eventually become her team seemed to choose her and most of them ended up being ghost types… If they weren’t when they joined her, they evolved into one eventually.  Some would think it was morbid that a little girl who had lost much of her family so young would draw spirits near, but her grandfather didn’t see it that way.  He knew there was something special about her

The next Pokémon came to her nearly a year after Gimmighoul became her partner.  One late summer evening, she was walking back home from the beach.  Now that she was older and had a Pokémon of her own, she was trusted to go to the shore by herself if her grandfather was busy.  The only stipulation was that she be home before dark, but time had gotten away from her on this day.  She spent too long playing with the Finzens and Palafins, not realizing it until the Pokémon started heading away for the night themselves.  The sun was setting when she left the beach and she was beginning to worry that she’d get in trouble for being out too late.

The cool evening air felt so comfortable compared to the summer heat she’d been in all day.  The bright stars overhead were beautiful as they began to glisten one at a time above her.  As she walked along the path, nearing her grandfather’s villa, a strange light in the corner of her eye grabbed her attention.  All of the worries she felt about getting home late were forgotten as her curiosity got the better of her.  She walked towards the tiny flickering light hiding in the dirt. As she stepped closer, she began to realize it was a candle.  It confused her.  Who would leave a candle out on the side of the road?  Could it be in memory of someone?

When she crouched down to look at it, she heard a playful bark.  She glanced around to find the source of the bark and the candle jumped up out of the ground.  She gasped, her eyes wide at the sight of the little Pokémon, but was immediately comforted to see it was just an adorable little puppy.  Its long fur was yellow and white and its wispy tail wagged furiously behind it, causing its entire little body to shake.  The widest smile crossed her face and she reached forward to pet it, not once considering how strange it was that this puppy had a candle on its head or that it just rose up out of the ground.

“Aren’t you cute!” she giggled, trying to pet the dog’s head behind the candle.    When she placed her hand on its shaggy fur, she couldn’t help but frown at how cold the little doggy was.  It didn’t seem perturbed by its icy body temperature.  With just that little bit of attention, it jumped up on Cassia and began to lick her making her giggle again.  “And friendly!”

It barked once more, nuzzling its face against her chest.  She smiled, rubbing its face and scratching beneath its chin.  The sun was gone now, and she knew her grandfather had to be worried about her by now.

“Nice meeting you,” she said, giving it a kiss on the side of its head before standing up.  “But I should probably go!”

She waved at it before continuing down the path.  She hurried down the trail, only stopping when she heard another bark.  Turning around, she found that the candle puppy followed along after her.  It ran a circle around her then sat in front of her.

“Oh!  Do you not have a trainer?” she asked.  It looked up at her and gave another happy bark.  “Well, if you plan on following me, we have to get going or else I’ll be in big trouble!”

She began to walk again. The puppy’s stubby little legs had it waddling along behind her.  She slowed her pace so that the Pokémon could keep up with her.  The little dog seemed content enough as it panted heavily between bouts of barking.

“Ruff, ruff,” she said in return, laughing at how vocal it was.  “You’ve sure got a lot to say.”

“Ruff-ruff!” it barked out again in response.  It ran ahead of her and picked a stick up out of the middle of the trail, stopping until she reached it to pass the stick to her.

“Fetch?” asked Cassia. The puppy sat the stick in front of her and she picked it up.  She tossed it down the trail and followed the puppy as it ran ahead to fetch it.

“There you are, Cassia!”

The sound of her grandfather’s voice startled her, but filled her with relief.  It seemed he had gone out looking for her when she wasn’t home in time, but he didn’t sound angry.  She ran towards him, throwing her arms around him when she saw him.

“Sorry, Papa!” she apologized.  The man laughed and squeezed her back.  After he let her go, she scooped up the Pokémon and held it up so he could see. “Look!  I ran into this little dog on the way home.”

Her grandfather’s brows furrowed as he looked down at the puppy she held in her arms.  It looked like a Greavard, but he had never seen one that color.  Most of them were a pale, ghostly white.  If it were indeed a Greavard, he couldn’t help but worry about his granddaughter. These little guys were known to inadvertently suck the life out of those who played with it.  He didn’t know how true that statement was, but he was still concerned.

“You don’t feel faint, do you, Cassie?” he asked, putting a hand to her forehead.  She shook her head.

“Nuh-uh,” she told him. “I’m not even tired.”

Her grandfather nodded, looking back at the dog in her arms.  It barked happily at him and licked his fingers.  Cassia laughed and patted the creature as it wagged its tail. It gave her such joy.

“I think he likes me!” she said.  “Doesn’t he remind you of your Chandelure?”

The man chuckled, shaking his head.  Indeed, the candle on top of its head did remind him of one of his own Pokémon. When he was younger, he was often told his Litwick would leech his life energy and use it as fuel, yet here he was as an old man decades later.  He supposed some people were more apt to tolerate ghost types than others.  With this in mind, he didn’t see the harm in letting Cassia keep the Pokémon.  

“I think we should hurry home so you can take him inside and give him some food and water,” he said, rubbing the dog behind its ear.  “He’s panting so hard.  He must be thirsty from running around with you.”

“Does this mean I can keep him?” she excitedly asked.

“Yes, ma’am.  We’ll go to the marketplace tomorrow to get you a nice ball for him first thing in the morning.  Do you want to get him one to match Stringcheese’s?”

“Yes!” she exclaimed, hugging the puppy.  It licked her face.

***

The moment Arven saw Cassia with her Greavard, it was over for him.  His heart pounded in his chest at the sight of such an attractive woman happily playing with a little puppy.  He had already found her beautiful, and he already knew that she had to be the only one capable of helping him.  But finding out she was a dog person too?  He didn’t feel like it was an exaggeration to say that she was the girl of his dreams.

“I’ve never seen one that color before,” he said, watching her petting it.  “They’re usually white, right?”

“Right,” she said. “Apparently, he’s a shiny.  He was the first Greavard I ever saw, so I had no idea.”

“You’re pretty lucky then, huh?” he remarked.  “From what I hear, shiny Pokémon are pretty rare.”

Cassia laughed shyly, petting the dog more.  “I guess so.”

Arven nodded along, crouching down to rub the dog on its belly.  It reacted positively to the touch, but its body felt so cold, making him remember how cold Mabosstiff’s paws felt since he got hurt.  Arven reminded himself it was natural for a ghost-type to feel chilly, not for a living dark-type like his partner.  His heart clenched at the thought and he drew his hand away.

“Something wrong?” she asked, frowning as she looked up from her own dog.

Arven closed his eyes and shook his head.  “It’s nothing.”

He still didn’t want to tell her the true reason behind him needing her help.  At this point, he felt like if he brought up Mabosstiff, he’d only be taking advantage of her kindness.  He’d tell her eventually, but only after he was certain that she wanted to help him on her own terms, not because she felt guilted to do so.  He cleared his throat, shaking the sorrow from his mind.  He was more determined than ever to find these herbs and cure his best buddy.

“So, uh…  You up to face another titan?” he asked with a weak smile.

“Hell yeah,” she said. “What’s the next one?  The open sky titan?”

He laughed.  “Yeah, that one.  I heard it’s pretty tough.  You ready for it?”

“Of course,” she replied confidently.  “Bring it on.”