The morning after Lavender Tower, sunlight cut through the fog of the town. The air was crisp, cool, but still tinged with that faint incense smell that never quite left Lavender.
The group had gathered at the Pokémon Center to heal their partners. Ash was recounting his latest "super awesome battle" to Misty, who rolled her eyes; Brock was giving advice about diet and nutrition; Cael was stretching with Machop.
Ren sat apart, hunched over a terminal in the corner, his notebook beside him. He was updating his notes, sketches of Ghastly's gaseous movements, calculations of Night Shade's effective range, half-completed equations on type interactions.
But his eyes kept drifting to the one Poké Ball at his side, tucked safely in his coat. Marshadow. The secret burned at him like a live coal. He had sworn to keep it quiet. But curiosity itched at him.
Finally, he sighed and whispered: "Fine. Just to register."
He slotted the Poké Ball into the PC terminal. The system whirred. The screen flickered.
And then, Professor Oak's face filled the monitor.
"Ren? Goodness, I wasn't expecting a direct call this early. How's your journey so f…" Oak's voice cut off. His eyes darted down to the data streaming across his screen.
"Species: Unknown… Classification: Mythical… Ghost/Fighting dual typing… Registry confirmed: Marshadow."
Oak's face went pale. His coffee mug slipped from his hand, shattering just out of view.
Ren blinked. "…Professor?"
Oak leaned so close to the screen that his nose nearly touched the glass. "Ren. My boy. Tell me this is a glitch. Tell me this is an error in the system. Tell me you did not just register a Marshadow."
Ren tilted his head. "I mean… it followed me home."
Oak clutched his chest. "F-followed you?!" His voice broke into a squeak. "Ren, that is a mythical Pokémon! No confirmed trainer in Kanto, no, none! And you, 'it followed you home'?!"
Behind Ren, Ash perked up. "Whoa, what'd he get?!"
Ren quickly muted the call.
But Oak wasn't alone.
From off-screen came a familiar, creaking voice: "What's all this ruckus about shadows, Samuel?"
Ren froze.
Oak turned pale. "Oh no."
The camera jolted as someone shoved Oak aside. A wrinkled face, sharp eyes glowing with vigor, filled the monitor.
"Ren." Agatha's voice was both silk and steel. "Show me."
Ren stared back, deadpan. "Hi, Grandma."
"Don't you 'hi Grandma' me. Samuel's notes say you've caught a Marshadow." Her eyes narrowed into gleaming slits. "Mythical. Ghost and Fighting. A being of shadows themselves. Show. Me."
Ren hesitated, then held up the Poké Ball. He didn't release it just let the faint green shimmer glint under the Center's fluorescent lights.
Agatha inhaled sharply, her expression shifting. For one heartbeat, she looked almost… proud. Then the hunger returned.
"You are my heir, whether you like it or not," she said, voice trembling with delight. "This proves it. The shadows themselves have chosen you. Ren, you'll take my seat in the League one day."
Ren blinked. "…No."
Agatha slammed her cane against the floor the sound somehow echoing through the PC connection. "YES. You cannot run forever."
Ren's lips twitched. "Watch me."
And before Agatha could say more, he ended the call.
The Pokémon Center was silent. Everyone had heard enough.
Ash blinked. "Ren… you caught a legendary?"
Ren corrected without missing a beat. "Mythical."
Misty gawked. "And you just… didn't tell us?!"
Ren shrugged. "It's not important. I'm not here for fame. I just want to study ghosts."
Cael stepped closer, eyes flashing. "Not important? You have the embodiment of shadows in your team and you act like it's a stray Meowth you picked up?"
Ren's deadpan expression softened just slightly. "Closer to a stray Zubat, actually."
Cael sputtered. "You're impossible!"
By midday, Lavender Town was buzzing. Trainers whispered in alleys. Merchants gossiped in hushed tones.
"Did you hear? The boy with Agatha's bloodline… they say he tamed a mythical in the Tower."
"They call him the Ghost Prince."
"No, the Shadow's Chosen."
Everywhere Ren went that day, eyes followed. Children peeked from behind stalls, teenagers whispered, older trainers watched him warily. Even Nurse Joy looked at him differently, a mixture of awe and fear.
Ren, notebook in hand, didn't react. He jotted down incense burn rates, ghost manifestation frequencies, and acted like none of it mattered.
But Ghastly cackled loudly, floating proudly behind him, and the faint pulse of Marshadow's Poké Ball seemed to glow just a little brighter on his belt.
Of course, Agatha wasn't done.
That evening, as the group prepared to leave Lavender, a flock of ghostly shapes swooped down from the mist, Haunters and Gastlies, spectral familiars that could only belong to one woman.
Ren's blood went cold. "She's here."
"Who?" Ash asked.
Before Ren could answer, a cackling voice rang out across the fog.
"RENNNNN! You can't hide from your grandmother forever!"
Agatha appeared at the road's end, leaning on her cane, eyes blazing.
Ren didn't hesitate. He bolted. "Nope!"
"Get back here, boy!"
"Not happening!"
Ash, Misty, and Brock stared, slack-jawed, as Ren sprinted down the path with Ghastly swirling behind him, Agatha's laughter echoing through the night. Cael folded her arms, smirking.
"…I think I understand him a little better now," she muttered.
Hours later, the group finally settled camp outside Lavender. Ren slumped against a tree, panting, hair ruffled, Ghastly chuckling in circles.
Ash poked the fire. "So… she's really your grandma, huh?"
Ren sighed. "Unfortunately."
Misty smirked. "She seems nice."
Ren gave her a flat look. "She is not."
Cael sat beside him, quiet for once. Finally, she said: "You can't run from shadows forever, Ren."
He didn't meet her eyes. "Maybe not. But I can keep outrunning Grandma."
Ghastly cackled again. The night stretched quiet. The Poké Ball at Ren's side pulsed faintly, like a heartbeat in the dark.
And across Kanto, whispers began to spread:
The boy who tamed shadows walks among us.