Senpai peeked around a corner, finding a smile on his face when it was all clear.

He sighed.

Good. No annoying Smeargle to interrupt his day. He was lucky. The first two nights of his strange experience as a Budew warded no interaction with the strangely artistic-looking Boyfriend.

The third day when he was being instructed on how to properly fight, however, he bumped into the now-much-taller Smeargle. Their interaction didn't ensue much. Mostly because Senpai saw Mearest glaring at him from the corner of his eyes, wherever they're located.

The interaction still enraged the Budew because Boyfriend gazed at him with pity. Disgusting.

Today was his fourth day here and he didn't see no Bellsprout or Smeargle in sight. Perfect. He waddled over to a Pokémon nearby. It was a Grookey.

The Grookey smiled and waved at him as he approached her. "Good morning, Senpai!" She cheerfully exclaimed as he approached. This Grookey was one of the only Pokémon here he could stand.

He couldn't stand emo clown the mermaid over there—aka Pip, and many more since they were all so infuriating to work with. Mostly because they kept saying he was weak and needed to train. Who the fuck do they think they are to tell someone so perfect this?

Senpai knew they meant well, but they were all so strict and didn't seem to be invested in helping him so much as they were helping either themselves or the Squad in general—not to mention Vaya here was one of the only Pokémon who tried to invest in Senpai.

"Good morning, Vaya." Senpai responded, though it was more fearful than anything as he looked around for any possible enemies.

The Grookey searched around as if in on the task before her warm black-and-brown gaze honed in on Senpai. "No one's here, Senpai." She assured him before taking his bud-like-head in her paws. "We have a very important task to do today." She informed him with a serious expression.

"An important task? Like what?" He inquired. Anything to get away from that freak show and his snake friend. He almost bumped into Pico once. It was awful because the snake was glaring at him.

Guess he cares more about his friend than he does why Senpai went against him. Just another brainwashed friend in this sea of brainwashed humans. Not everyone bothered with Senpai's side anyhow.

The Grookey dramatically clapped her paws together. It wasn't enough to be annoying, but it was enough to get the Budew out of his thoughts once more.

"We are going to the Ghost Squad HQ! Isn't there exciting?!" She inquired. "No." Senpai remarked.

Getting out of this hellhole would be excitement to him. Seeing a bunch of creepy ghosts wasn't on his agenda of fun or exciting things to do—Then again, his idea of fun was being worshiped by a crowd and getting any girl he wanted.

"Oh, don't be such a downer, Senpai. I know your world probably fears ghosts, but there's nothing to be afraid of." Vaya assured him as she gives him a hug. He didn't return it, but that never bothered the Grookey.

She was always peppy and warm like this; it was especially strange she was like this with Senpai, but he didn't mind. He was just glad there was someone who wouldn't complain about him.

The first day he was here, he was under the care and guide of a strict, stuck up loser called Pip. He couldn't handle him and his attitude.

The next day Vesuvius told him he was under the care of a shiny Chespin. A brown quirky little grass type who likes to roleplay a little too much. He ended up yelling at her and scaring her.

The stupid shiny Chespin was getting too into the role of a teacher, making him feel stupid and obsolete. Something he despised. If anything it was her fault for thinking he'd like her.Although, he did get some good training tips thanks to her.

And then on the third day, Paarthurnax had a talk with him about his pride and how yelling at girls wasn't a good idea. Senpai didn't care. That was when he met Vaya.

Now? He finally had someone who was willing to listen to him. She was gullible, however. He managed to convince her that Mearest and Dearest were these really bad parents. However, he didn't really lie that much. They were kind of horrible parents to Girlfriend since they were trying to destroy Boyfriend.

"Afraid? Hah. I'm not afraid of some silly little ghosts. If anything they'll be afraid of me!" He bragged as he puffed out his chest.

The Grookey giggled awkwardly. "Well, let's try to make friends with them Senpai. They're one of the few allies the Starter Squad have." She informs him.

Senpai grunts. He didn't want to say it out loud, but the only Pokémon who would be allies with this squad here were weak Pokémon like them. Vaya wasn't like the others, however. She had a good heart.

Too good, in fact. Senpai didn't deserve her friendliness or helpfulness. Then again, he only knew her for a day now.

"Alright. I'll try." Senpai remarked, disgruntled. He didn't want to upset the Grookey and tell her he wouldn't make friends. He didn't need any. He just didn't have the heart to tell her he never even attempted to be anything but a worshiped AI.

Vaya grins. "Wonderful! I'm sure you'll get along!" She cheerfully exclaims.

The two then took off, Senpai following Vaya as she led him out of the village. The two walked for about an hour before they came across a lone building in the middle of seemingly nowhere.

"Where are we?" Senpai wondered as the two stopped in front of the creepy gray building in front of them.

It seems as if the HQ for the Ghost Squad was some sort of castle or haunted tower. It certainly fit the ghost ascetic they got going.

"We are near the town next to Poke Town. You've never been this far before." Vaya informed him. Before Senpai could repeat the question, she put a paw on his bud where his mouth apparently was. "We are near Honedge Valley. If we went to the left of Starter Squad HQ we would have found Pikachu Valley."

That was an acceptable enough answer. Though, Senpai didn't know the mapping of this area.

"Okay. Why are we here?" He asked her. He had followed her without a single question. He at least had freedom to know this.

The Grookey started playing with the branch in her strange green hair.

"Well, the Ghost Squad has a really cool Pokémon within it's HQ. And she happens to be my friend." Vaya informed with an excited jump.

"I don't think I know a Pokémon who isn't friends with you." Senpai retorted. It wasn't sarcastic, it was actually a compliment.

Vaya snorts. "Well, obviously the villains out there don't want to be my friend. I offered my friendship to this female Sandslash once. She tried to kill me on the spot." She remarks, continuing to laugh.

She almost got killed by a Sandslash for offering her friendship? That's not really something anyone would find funny; not even Senpai found it hilarious. Then again, death isn't a joke.

The Grookey stopped laughing. "Yeah. Anyways, let's go inside. I'm sure you'll love her. She's really nice."

Senpai nodded, not paying an ounce of attention to her. His gaze found itself on a pair of strange Pokémon. One was some sort of tree ghost and the other was a pumpkin ghost. It was odd. They were popping up here and there and laughing together.

Before either of them could go inside, the two apparent children ghosts nearby started floating into the building with giddy laughter and excited faces.

"Come on, come on Pump! Let's go say hi to the pretty ladies inside once again. Maybe they'll give us candy!" The strange tree-looking ghost remarked.

He appeared to be some sort of neutral faced ghost on the outside—or at least he would be if he wasn't smiling constantly.

His friend on the other hand seemed to be supposed to be a Halloween decoration gone wrong. Senpai didn't recognize either of the two, however something about them felt unreal to this world and it wasn't them being obviously ghost type Pokémon.

"Who are they?" Senpai wondered as the two disappeared into the building. Vaya shrugged. "I have no idea. They don't seem to be a part of the Ghost Squad. Though, they do seem like they're fans of the Squad." Vaya retorted with a small smile.

"Yeah. It's strange." He confusingly commentates. Vaya shrugs in response. "Maybe they're going to join? I dunno. It's none of our business." She remarks.

She right. Just because these two seem familiar doesn't mean anything. We have a job to do. I think.

The two didn't say anymore and walked into the Ghost Squad headquarters. There was a strange Pokémon at the desk. However, she was talking to the two Pokémon who Senpai and Vaya saw outside.

"What do you mean, 'go away?' We want to talk to your pretty ghost friend." The strange pumpkin whined. "Yeah! She gave us candy. We want more candy!" The tree exclaimed with eyes shining.

The strange Pokémon in front of them sighed deeply. "Could you please stop bothering us? Listen kids, I know you mean no harm in visiting the Squad, but you make Yuyu uncomfortable; you're making me uncomfortable!" The Pokémon exclaimed shaking their head.

It was a strange purple bird with a stressful look on her face.

"Hey, you must be confused on what kinds of Pokémon are located here. Obviously they're ghost types, but those two children are Pumpkaboo and Phantump. That Pokémon at the reception is an Oricorio. She's called Spook." Vaya explained.

Senpai nodded. He was confused why a bird would be a ghost type, however.

Vaya approached the front desk. "Hey, Spook. Where's Yuyu?" Vaya inquired.

Spook smiled at Vaya. "Hello there, Vaya. Yuyu is down the hall to the left." The Oricorio informed as she pointed in a direction. As soon as she pointed in the direction the Phantump and Pumpkaboo ran off.

"Thanks for the tip, lady!" The Phantump exclaimed while the Pumpkaboo snickered.

The two passed by a strange goblin Pokémon who had gem for eyes. "H-Hey!" He exclaimed as the two passed. He shook his head with a glimmer of amusement in them. "Looks like Yuyu's got two admirers. Not the first time this has happened." The stranger remarked as Senpai and Vaya approached.

He noticed them. "Oh hey, Vaya. Who's this? Another Yuyu admirer?" The strange goblin wondered as he winked at Senpai.

Senpai mentally gagged.

"Er, no. Vaya wanted to introduce her to me for some reason. We're here for some sort of job, but she hasn't told me what yet." Senpai informed.

He didn't want to be rude to this Pokémon and say ghosts were just creepy and mischievous where he is from—or from where Boyfriend was from.

The goblin-goul creature nodded his head. "I see. Well she's over there where Skid and Pump have run off to." So that was their names.

"Uh huh." Senpai replied, not really paying much attention to the strange Pokémon.

"Senpai over here is from another world, Phantom. Do you mind telling him what Pokémon you are?"

The strange goblin didn't seem surprised, but he still got a good amount of gawking in at Senpai before he nodded. He cleared his throat. "Right. Senpai, I am Phantom. Nice to meet you. I am a Pokémon known as Sableye."

The "Sableye" bowed. Senpai just stared at him. He wasn't sure what to think of him.

Phantom could tell there was an awkward air about. He cleared his throat. "Well, it was nice to meet you. I better go." He scuttled off.

Vaya and Senpai exchanged glances. Senpai shrugged, not familiar with so much attention. Especially one from a monkey. He looked away briefly.

"So what important mission at these headquarters do we have?" Senpai asked his friend. His only friend at that.

Vaya giggles and places a paw on his shoulder. "It's a secret." She tells him. Senpai wanted to groan. It definitely something he didn't like.

Senpai sighed. Whatever it was, it already was draining him mentally. He followed Vaya into the room where Skid and Pump were heckling a strange creature that kind of looked similar to a few Pokemon in the Starter Squad; he assumed the Pumpkaboo was Pump and Skid was the Phantump because of reasons.

"Hey! Calm down! I'll give you your Candy if you stop trying to climb me. Im not something you can use Rock Climb on."

It appeared serious, but the strange copycat of "Pikachu" was giggling about and reached around with a strange-and-creepy hand. She grabbed some strange-looking candy Senpai had never seen and handed it to the two children who squealed in delight, eating the strange candy in a blue wrapping paper.

Vaya giggled, catching the ghost's attention. "Yuyu" gasped with a small smile on her face. Or that's what Senpai assumed as she seemed to be happy-go-lucky at the moment.

"Vaya!" Yuyu exclaimed as she ran over to the younger Pokemon, giving her a huge hug. "Yuyu!" Vaya squealed. She returned it.

Senpai wasn't sure if he should continue to stand there awkwardly or if he should say hi.

Thankfully he didn't have to do either as Yuyu noticed him. "Oh, hello. Who is this?" The strange Pikachu clone inquired with a gentle indication with her strange hand. Was it a claw? Senpai was quite unsure.

"This is Senpai. Yuyu, can I have a favor from you?" The Grookey wondered as she played with her fingers.

Senpai didn't like where this was going.

"Sure!"

"Can you please help Senpai?" "With what?" "He's a little moody. Could you help him with his temper tantrums? Paarthurnax isn't sure how much longer he can stay protected in the Squad if he continues to have...issues."

Senpai grumbled something that Vaya couldn't hear. He didn't want to deal with these issues. People should just know he's better than them and accept that. He wasn't a loner, however he didn't want to take crap from creatures who barely knew him.

He supposed he should just have to deal with it.

"Uh, sure. He doesn't seem moody." Yuyu remarked as she ogled at Senpai. "Well, Paarthurnax says he's been moody with other Pokémon. Though he's been pretty okay with me. But still, could you help me?"

Yuyu looked at Senpai who tried to get her to say no. She obviously was more than oblivious to his No signals as she nodded her head with a wide smile.

"Sure! Of course I'll help you! I'll make sure Senpai knows his place."

Fuck, Senpai pondered, not liking where this was going. His thought was ruined when Skid and Pump started desiccating his body with their stupid grass-ghost bodies; they could float, but no they wanted mayhem.

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Author's Note: Not gonna lie. I enjoyed putting those two little spooky lovers in this chapter. They won't be too important to the plot, but they do make it interesting.

Anyways the next chapter is probably the last chapter I have planned out entirely. Lol. Thanks for reading! Getting close to 100 reads on this little thing.