(This headcanon post centers around Corvin and his unconventional first friend. It’s on the longer side, so is under a read more – enjoy!)

Morty and Falkner’s youngest son, Corvin, has always had trouble connecting to others. Even as a child, he was distant and withdrawn, preferring to spend time by himself than play with other children. The only way he ever did anything outside his comfort zone was when his twin sister, Branwen, dragged him into it. Outgoing, energetic and charismatic, Branwen is Corvin’s opposite and always had plenty of friends in school. She’d bring her brother along with her when she went out with them, but he always felt uncomfortable with so many extroverted people and they often didn’t like him tagging along, finding him weird. All the same, Corvin developed a habit of following Branwen around everywhere, taking her lead and letting her make all the decisions. It was the same when they were old enough to go on their journey, Branwen setting out to become a coordinator, while Corvin simply tagged along with no real goal.

While traveling, Corvin still struggled to open up to others. Branwen made new friends everywhere they went and began to grow more and more popular as a coordinator, while Corvin felt he was fading more and more into the shadows. He often felt that his pokémon were his only true friends, since even Branwen seemed to be forging her own path apart from him now. He wanted to find a goal, something he was passionate about, but he never felt like he fit in anywhere, no matter what he tried.

When the twins are traveling in Sinnoh, one night Corvin is woken up with the feeling of something being wrong. He and his sister both inherited the ability to sense and interact with spirits from Morty, though perhaps due to his lack of human friends Corvin’s senses have always been stronger than Branwen’s. He could tell that there was a lost spirit somewhere nearby, so he left Branwen asleep at their campsite and set out to find it. He eventually finds the spirit wandering around a ways off the route, lost and confused and not having any sense of consciousness from before their death. Corvin spends the rest of the night by the spirit’s side, talking to them and trying to help them remember who they were and why they had remained behind as a ghost. Branwen finds the two of them in the early morning, still talking. She’s in shock to find out how long they’d been there, since this was probably the longest her brother had ever spent time with someone else besides her, spirit or otherwise. She offers the spirit the chance to travel together with them and try figure out their identity along the way.

Over time, Corvin and the spirit bond more and more, especially as the spirit beings to remember more and more about himself. He remembers what he looked like and is able to take that form, leading Corvin to find out his new friend is a boy around his age, which he’s secretly excited about since he’s always dreamed of having a friend his age who wasn’t Branwen. However, despite traveling together for over a year, the spirit can’t seem to remember things like his name, his family, where he was from, or how he passed away, frustrating him since he knows he stayed behind for a reason but can’t remember what his goal was. Branwen suggests the name “Gus” (as in “ghost”) for him as a temporary name until he remembers his own, which initially he and Corvin veto for sounding lame, but it somehow sticks.

Gus remains traveling as the secret third party member to Branwen and Corvin for years, even when they’re later joined by Celeste (who’s fear of ghosts leads to him sometimes playing pranks on her). He and Corvin grow very close, developing an almost brother-like bond, helped along by the fact not many people can see him. Gus even begins trying to alter his appearance so he can “age” alongside his friends as the years go by (and he grows more powerful as a spirit), leading to the twins sometimes forgetting he even is a ghost (at least until he moves something and spooks Celeste). They begin to struggle to imagine life without each other, but it was never meant to last. Eventually, while the circumstances are still under development, Gus is able to remember his past and his purpose and the time for him to leave the group to fulfill his last wish comes. It’s heartbreaking for everyone, but Corvin understands this was the entire reason Gus began traveling with them in the first place, and Gus in turn is thankful to all three of his traveling companions for helping him remember his identity and final wish and giving him so many happy memories in his (after)life.

After parting ways with Gus, Corvin realizes he’s discovered his dream. He wants to be able to help other lost spirits find their way. It’s something he’d already started doing here and there, but now he knows that it’s what he wants to do with his life. If he’s able to help others and bring peace to those who can’t move on, then he doesn’t mind having to say goodbye eventually. From that day, he begins training more with Morty to be a medium and guide for spirits, honing his powers. Thanks to his friendship with the outgoing Gus, he also begins to be better at interacting with humans as well – his friend may now be gone, but Corvin will always remember him as a best friend who helped him find his way in life.