A lovely day in the Pecha Forest

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What a great day. The sun was shining, it was almost noon and the Pecha Forest was very calm.

How boring. There was nothing at all exciting going on. How did Sova let himself willingly go to such a boring place? He'd been here plenty before too, it's not like it was new for him. But William wanted to have a peaceful day.... The eevee had been in so much danger lately, he didn't object to being able to relax and get to know this gengar much. Still, it was a very boring place to be. Maybe something exciting would happen. Then again, every time he wished for something exciting, he got his excitement and then some.... Perhaps learning to not have a constant death wish would be beneficial. Maybe a boring and relaxing day in the Pecha Forest would be healthy.

"So, what do you wanna do?" He asked the gengar, who was probably much more happy to be here.

"You don't leave things be if there's even the slightest risk someone could get hurt. And as for me staying alive, you can call it luck, but even luck can only carry someone so far. Plus, lady luck seems out to get me...." Sova thought about some of the recent times he'd gotten into very unlucky situations. Luck definitely wasn't on his side.

"Oh, and you're definitely a stalker. But a lot of stalkers develop intimate feelings for those they're stalking, which can literally lead to them killing the other with what they call kindness. So I think I can have both here. For better or worse." At least they were getting along now. Maybe he would agree to go with William, put the gengar's mind at ease. But only if he would be allowed to walk on his own. As much as being carried seemed like a fantastic idea, he didn't need it and really didn't need his image looking any worse to the ghost.

"Indeed. Luck can only get someone so far. And that's why I have become this protective towards you. Call if stalking if you want to. However if you are waiting for a declaration of love or something of the sort, then you'll be disappointed."
Just what was Sova trying to achieve here? He was talking about things both of them knew for to be completely pointless. There was no way the Eevee would suddenly develop an interest in these things, so there had to be some other intent behind these questions.
And knowing the Eevee, this intent was most likely not one the Gengar would agree with in the slightest. He would have to remain careful and think twice about everything Sova would be attempting. This just had to be a trick somehow.

"Not the kind of intimate I had in mind." Sova sighed. "Thanks, though. But why? Why me in specific? There's plenty of reckless young explorers around if you want someone to save, so why did you decide on me?" He questioned. Now the conversation was really getting interesting. Though whether interesting was better than what ever the conversation previously was or not was up for debate.

Actually, the conversation could easily go to much less interesting places if William had only made his choice because the eevee was simply the first Pokemon he'd come across meeting the criteria to need his protection.

"Because I had met you and not anyone else. Also it had been of help that until recently you would not been able to hurt me and thus other Ghost types as well. And considering some of the areas you had ventured into to explore, not being able to do damage against a Ghost type can be a serious problem."
The Eevee was probably looking for a list of things he would have to do to be left alone. However William knew that the Normal type would simply try to get each and every point done, only to return to his normal self as soon as the Gengar would be out of sight. And the Poison type was determined not to make it all that easy for the Evolution Pokémon.

"Oh." Well that was disappointing. Sova had just happened to be the first soul the gengar had come across who had been presumed to need "help". Luck really wasn't on his side.

"Well then....when we have that spar, if I win, you agree that I don't need your protection and view me as an equal. And if I lose....name your terms." He spoke with more confidence than he felt. If he lost, William would probably make him stay in Grassveil and quit the guild. Of course that'd be a term he just wouldn't be able to abide to, so if that proved to be the case, he would have to be sure to win.

"You'll never give up, will you? Are you sure that you really want to go through with this? I can fly. I can move through solid matter. I can hide in any shadow. You can't."
Indeed the Gengar did not only have much more experience than the Eevee, but he also believed for himself to have quite a few other advantageous abilities.
"Now, if you lose then I ask of you to not venture out into dungeons on your own, but rather to train with me in ways I deem appropriate until I believe for you to be ready to go out on your own. Are you truly willing to risk that?"
It would be more than just foolish for the Eevee to really believe he would be able to pose a threat to the Gengar. Shadow Ball or not - he was inexperienced and even his new attack lacked practice.
Sometimes determination could be a bad thing.

Sova laughed at the gengar's end of the agreement and attempts to be threatening. "Ooh, yeah, yeah, that's so much better than I thought you would say. Besides, I'm not worried at all. Once we're on even grounds, your only REAL advantage over me will be gone, and by then I'll have some tricks too." Now he didn't have to pretend to not be worried, the gengar's terms weren't at all as overbearing as he'd expected them to be.

Hopefully he'd be able to evolve soon. But with such a rare item required, how would he ever manage that?

"Even grounds you say?", the Gengar chuckled.
"When you hadn't even been born yet I was old already. I had to survive on my own in the wilderness for decades. I have visited places you could not even hope to get close to. Fought creatures that would make even you run away screaming in terror. Have made those creatures scream in terror. And you honestly believe that you will be able to defeat me? Maybe what you need is a psychologist."
Indeed the Gengar had much, much more experience, superiour abilities and a better moveset.
Sova might be priding himself on the Shadow Ball attack, but he was forgetting - or maybe he did not know - that William was capable of using Focus Blast himself, an attack that would be devastating against Normal types. Furthermore most other attacks the Eevee would be able to use would be of the Normal type - something William was immune to.
There was only one thing of which the Eevee had more than the Gengar. Determination.

"I don't care if you're old, I'm not going easy on you." Sova joked, clearly understanding what the gengar meant but choosing to pretend otherwise. There wasn't anything William said that the eevee felt warranted a serious response anyways, especially the bit about things that would scare him. The only thing to date that had scared him was a hallucination conjured up by his own mind. Even then he didn't run away....though he did try to. Even when he wanted to run, his mind just wouldn't let him.

Nope, he was cursed to be brave. Even if it killed him.

"Oh, believe me, I would be questioning your sanity even further if you were to do so. I may have spent more time doing battle than you have been alive for."
Just why was the Eevee so sure of his own abilities?
The Gengar had so much more practive, such an advantage in typing that there should be no way for Sova to be able to deal any serious damage. There were not many Pokémon who could actually pose a threat to the Gengar, and the Normal type was not one of them. What made him believe he was?
Maybe with practice, lots and lots of practice, enough practice to make the battle itself more than just pointless, the Eevee would have a chance to win. But definitely not in this state and definitely not any time soon.

"And I'm sure that has taken its toll on your body, but you shouldn't have agreed to the fight if you thought you were too old." Sova continued to warp the meanings of the gengar's words, hoping to get some funny reaction. Was everything a joke to him? Quite possibly.
The situation was also getting a bit boring. Their conversation wasn't proving to be very entertaining and he was being badgered to get up and do things when he just wanted to rest. Perhaps if nothing else, he could annoy William into dropping the subject.

If all they years spent having to survive alone in the forest had taught William anything other than survival skills, it was patience and determination.
And right now the Gengar was quite determined not to let Sova get away with this sham of a debate.
"And you shouldn't have agreed to the battle if you are too young and inexperienced.", he replied.
Sova was such a reckless and adventurous Pokémon. What was he trying to prove with this? Training should be the last thing the Normal type would object to, so it certainly was not that.
Did he maybe want to follow the Gengar's advice and train in safer situations and just didn't want to admit it, thus choosing the Ghost type as a training partner as he knew that William would not pose an actual threat to him while still being quite powerful?

Sova shrugged. "You're afraid because I'm in my youth, I understand." He continued the joke of a debate that he was obviously not taking seriously. In hindsight, there were a lot of dangerous things he did that he was too young for. He would probably end up dying in his youth. William was absolutely right. The eevee was reckless and inconsiderate of his own safety. And he knew it.

But he'd take an eventful and short life over a long and boring life any day. What fun would long and boring be? Even negative events would be better than boring for him. Of course that didn't mean he wanted to be a criminal or anything, of course....

"Indeed. I am afraid. Afraid for your safety."
This Eevee wasn't taking anything seriously and William knew it. Just how could the Normal type hope to accomplish anything useful with an attitude like that?
Yes, the Gengar was quite aware that he was looking for fun and excitement. But acting like this would leave him with a short life in which there wouldn't be much room for those things. So his very actions were completely counterproductive. Would William ever understand this Pokémon? Probably not.
But there had to be some way to convinve this brown-furred fool of the error of his ways, hadn't there? And the spectral Pokémon was determined to find it.
Just why did helping others have to be so difficult?

Sova sighed. "I didn't ask you to be. I LIKE doing dangerous things. As much as you want to believe otherwise, I'm not an idiot and I know the risks I take. You might think living a safe and boring life is best, but I don't." His tone was more sincere than earlier, showing he was actually being serious now. Hopefully the gengar would enjoy that while it lasted, as serious was not common with the eevee.
Maybe some day the two could get along. Perhaps they would some day agree with each other. Very unlikely, given they were polar opposites, but one could hope.