Rainbow Rocks

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Standing at the foot of this humongous mountain of black stone sharply piercing the skies above brought back memories. This was the place where William and Acro had met for the first time. This was the place William had found his Joy Ribbon. This also was the place he had found the Link Cable he used to evolve into the Pokémon he was today.
It was just one mountain in an entire range of them, but this one was special. So many things had happened here already. And that was why the Gengar was almost stunned by the wave of nostalgia that overcame him seeing this mountain again after such a long time.
But he was not here to think of the good old times. He was here to save a poor, defenseless family from the torment of one particular Scraggy.
This should not be too difficult as he was a seasoned explorer.
Unless of course some unforeseen disaster happened.
Something like someone completely inexperienced tagging along.

"That indeed is not too bad a set of items you brought there. I am more of a supportive fighter myself as well though. Or at least a nonconfrontational one. Hypnosis, Confuse Ray, Levitation and the ability to pass through solid matter and hide in shadows are quite useful for avoiding direct combat."
It never had made sense to the Gengar why people tried to fight so openly and violently. His method got the job done just as well and usually ended up with far fewer bruises than a head-on battle would have caused. Yet so many Pokémon just kept their tactic or rather absence thereof. Was there some sort of prize for the most blood shed? TheGengar could not think of any other explanation for why Pokémon would voluntarily subject themselves to this. In any case - they had a mission to carry out.
Now what would be the best way to proceed?

"Hm....well, if we're both supportive, I guess we'll just focus on less direct means of fighting." Sova said, before continuing to walk. Perhaps his ability was just getting the better of him, maybe there was nothing to worry about on this mountain. "So, how are we gonna go about climbing?" He asked, a bit worried about possibly slipping high up on the mountain. That certainly wouldn't be pleasant.

The Gengar found himself shrugging.
"To be honest I have little to no knowledge pertaining to climbing so choosing that may be something better left to you to decide."
To further emphasize his point the Gengar lifted off a short distance into the air, his appreciation for his ability to levitate growing once more. If he wouldn't be capable of levitation, he might just fall through the ground by accident and that would not be too good a thing.
What did falling feel like anyway? Judging by the reactions of falling Pokémon it wasn't too pleasant a feeling, but nevertheless the Gengar almost wanted to experience it simply for the reason of never having been able to feel it thus far. The feeling of running into a wall would probably be interesting too...

"Must be nice not to have to think about things like this." Sova commented half jokingly, a bit jealous of the gengar's special abilities. Why didn't he have anything as cool as that? All he had was a slight perception of impending threats, which he was starting to think was malfunctioning somehow. But, he still kept in mind the possibility of an actual danger, despite considering that his ability may have somehow broken.

Sova decided after a moment that the best way for him to climb the mountain would be to stay away from steep and unstable looking areas. As if that wasn't obvious, but he couldn't really think of much else. With that, he began walking again.

"Eh, it's not as great as one might think. There are lots of other abilities that would be much more useful. But I guess the grass is always greener on the other side - or in this case with the other ability."
There were so many useful abilities - Wonder Guard being the most obvious one. But others like Tinted Lens were very powerful as well. Of course every species had their advantages and disadvantages but the Gengar couldn't help but think that nature had treated many species...unfairly to say the least. There were quite a few Pokémon whose lackluster abilities didn't quite make up for them not being very strong in other aspects either. On the one hand that was a good thing as it made many rescue missions easier for the Gengar but on the other hand this imbalance of power was what made those missions neccessary in the first place...

Sova sighed. "I guess, but I'd rather be able to fly right now than have what my ability is doing to me...." He said, still trying to avoid admitting he felt afraid. "Anyways, since this is the second time we've met, I guess that makes us friends, so lets get to know each other. What do you do in your spare time?" He asked. "Other than hassle travelers to stay in Pecha Forest, that is." He continued, jokingly.

The Gengar chuckled.
"You are quick to call someone your friend. Not that I'm against it."
He had no idea why, but the Ghost type felt an odd sense of Déjà-vu and...nostalgia when speaking that sentence. Somewhere he had heard it before. But where? No matter.
"Well, unsurprisingly I find myself going on missions for the guild - mostly to redeem myself in the eyes of society. Never did anything bad though. It just tends to be difficult to make friends with an appearance like mine. So I figured the best way to show them that I am not planning to steal their souls would be to join the guild. Has worked relatively well thus far. Other than that I guess I read relatively often. Oh, and I do enjoy cooking if the occassion does present itself."

"For what it's worth, you don't seem scary to me. And being a bit less....judgmental would probably help you make more friends." Sova said, trying to lighten the mood a bit. Despite having quite a disagreement with the gengar in their previous encounter, he couldn't help but feel bad for William.

"Your turn. Anything you wanna know about me?" He asked, hoping the topic wouldn't be involving his parents. Or maybe the gengar didn't want to know anything about him, that'd be fine too. Pretty much anything other than his parents would be a fine topic, he just didn't want to get upset by thinking about them, especially in his current state of mind.

The Gengar found himself shrugging.
"I guess one gets a bit judgemental after having spent a long, long time alone in the forest, fending off self-declared "heroes" bent on destroying you because they see you as a danger to Pokémonkind. And then you can either try to defeat them, further worsening your reputation or get your face kicked in, which is kind of unpleasant. I'd be surprised if I wouldn't have recieved a few psychological scars during that time. But enough of that. If you wish to tell me of a particular event then feel free to do so. But since you have not started telling me already I deduce from this that your life has been relatively average. I think it might be a better idea for you to focus on the ground though. I don't have much experience in this field, but I think watching where you are walking drastically reduces the probability of falling."

Sova tried to think of some way to relate to the gengar, to make his friend feel better. Nothing came to mind, he couldn't relate to someone who was hated simply to be hated. How could he? The best thing he could think to do was to show his life wasn't the most fun either. "Well, I actually started exploring a lot earlier than most do. My parents used to take me on explorations a lot with them....they're....gone now." He said, still hoping perhaps his parents were just lost somewhere. It was a small bit of hope keeping him as his normal self and he wanted to hold onto it longer.

"But having friends around makes things a little better....for me at least. Do you travel alone often?" He continued, trying to change the subject before the gengar had a chance to mention anything about Sova's parents.

"Loss is a terrible part of life...", the Gengar began.
"It is always painful to lose someone you held dear. But at least the torment you are feeling when those Pokémon are gone shows you what they truly meant to you - how you treasured their companionship. Of course never having to lose anyone would be the optimal scenario, but it isn't reachable yet. So all we can do is take our suffering in stride - for if we submit to it we may lose ourselves as well."
William was interested in getting to see how the Eevee would react to what he said. The Gengar himself was not too familiar with loss, but maybe he still managed to express some sort of truth about the concept. It were times like these in which the Ghost type found himself questioning how a world could allow for such things as loss, grief and violence to happen.

Sova giggled a bit, oddly. It was completely uncalled for, there was just something about the gengar's statement he felt deserved a laugh. "I....think I would prefer to lose my self. But it's what someone weak would do, so I can't." He said oddly nonchalantly. He could easily become different, cold, make things stop hurting, just stop caring. But in his eyes, that would just prove he was weak. Too weak to stand sadness. The fact that he was so close to something so appealing to him yet at the same time simply could not do it was for some reason funny to him.

Perhaps the looming fear mixed with sadness was just causing some emotional stress in him, confusing him. Or maybe it's how he actually felt. He couldn't really tell.

The Gengar didn't really know what to say anymore.
"Grief is a paradoxical thing. It torments Pokémon, breaks minds. And yet it has the ability to bring forth laughter, tighten bonds, affirm the meaning of life for some."
How could it be that something as beautiful as life held within it some of the most horrible things imaginable? Death. Grief. Fear. Hate. All these things routinely made life miserable for Pokémon all around the world and yet for some reason they were inseperably tied to the concept of life.
"What a twisted world this is we are living in...", William chuckled.
"Guess we just have to make the best out of it."

Sova listened intently, waiting for his next chance to speak. Moreso, waiting for the next part of the topic he felt he had something to add to. "The only problem I see there is how hard it is to decide what "the best" is...." He paused for a moment. "Sometimes I wonder if....it's worth it." He continued, vaguely. His statement was probably a bit confusing to the gengar, but what he actually meant was being good. He'd never really gotten any satisfaction from helping others outside of getting to talk to other friendly pokemon more, it didn't stop others from considering him weak, sometimes he wondered if it was worthwhile.

"Life, you mean?", the spectral Pokémon asked.
"No, it is not. It is an absurd, painful and grotesque place without any meaning. But that doesn't mean that one should give up. Life is a terrible abomination, yet it is our task to go on anyway, easing this ever-present suffering as much as we can. Friendship. Mercy. Kindness. All just fleeting constructs designed to tie together what little good there is in this world. And yet they are the greatest things in the world for some."
The Gengar sighed, contemplating the mystery of existence.
"All of this is completely meaningless. We stave off hatred and despair until finally we disappear. But that doesn't just mean that there is no meaning to life - it also means that you can create your own. You yourself can decide what it is that is worth living for. And that in itself is a miracle."