Some time later, the explosion subsides. Jinji the Gengar lifts himself from the debris, covered thickly in sludge and dirt.

Meanwhile, Mallow the Garbodor emerges from his hiding place.

Satisfied the plan worked, Mallow teases Jinji while laughing joyfully.

“P.U! You need a bath, Jinji!”

“Look who’s taking!”, replies Jinji irritably. Despite the cover from the garbage heap, Mallow had not escaped being caught in the bomb’s blast, resulting in him becoming even filthier than before, and increasing his intense stench tenfold!

Suddenly, Jinji realizes the intensely foul stench in the air isn’t just coming from Mallow! Jinji reacts with horror as he realizes the intense blast from Mallow’s malodorous machine has given him an equally intense odour!

Jinji realises this whole escapade was a deliberate trick!

“MALLOW!”, Jinji screams angrily. “How DARE you! This is absolutely disgusting!”

Before Jinji can continue ripping into Mallow, however, a sudden sound grabs both of their attention. Jinji and Mallow both look up to the sky – just in time to see something swooping directly down towards them!

Before either of them can react, a Dragonite lands directly between Jinji and Mallow, hitting the ground with a thump. The sudden arrival catches them both by surprise; but afer the shock wears off, Jinji quickly realises he recognises the unexpected guest.

“Zain! My old buddy! Did you get invited to Mallow’s party too?”

To Jinji’s surprise, however, Zain proceeds to high-five Mallow as both of them laugh. “We did it, buddy!”, he exclaims.

Jinji looks on in shock. “Wait, you were behind this too?”

“Haha, yup! Mallow gave me a special Birthday wish, and I thought, why don’t we reform Team Alchemy for one day, with the two of us playing a special trick on our third wheel? So, a few weeks ago, Mallow started filling some barrels with his toxic sludge and gas; while I researched some magic to make me immune to the putridity. Then the two of us raided the dump for pipework, scrap metal, electronics and other materials. Combined with my wisdom and some Dragonite magic, we built this very special stinky explosive just for you!”

“That’s right!”, Mallow adds. “Zain enchanted the bomb so only you and I would get hit by the blast. With the amount of disgusting material we put inside it, you’ll be stinking for days!”

Although Jinji would never admit to it, the revelation that he had been tricked so effectively by both of his oldest friends impresses him greatly; and his anger quickly subsides. However, one question remains. “But why?”

At this question, Mallow frowns and approaches Jinji nervously. “I’m sorry, Jinji. I hope you’ll forgive me. It’s just…”

Tears start to form in Mallow’s eyes.

“Well… to tell the truth… I just wanted to see you bring out your Poison-type a little more. I mean, even though you may be Ghost-type, you also be a Poison-type like I be. Us Poison-types stick together, but also, most Poison-types take advantage of the toxic abilities inside. We do not mind getting dirty, or playing around with sludge, or crawling through sewers and other filthy places most people rather avoid – because that be what makes us Poison, and this be just harmless fun to be enjoyed.”

“You understand, right?”, continues Mallow. “I mean, you play about with bombs all the time because you be Ghost and explosions do not hurt you. Just like explosions are fun to Ghosts, dirt and sludge are fun to Poison-types; but I never see you embrace that side of you. I’m sorry I had to force you, but I just wanted to see you embrace this side of you for once…”

The words of Mallow bring out an emotional response in Jinji. Hearing Mallow express such passion for his Poison-typing tugs at his heart; and he begins to realise that Mallow created this prank from a position of love rather than malice.

With that, Mallow hands Jinji back his gas mask. Jinji examines the mask, and discovers that the bomb blast has caused light damage to the internals; and the fabric is slightly torn in places. Yet, remarkably, the filters seem to be mostly intact. Jinji realises that while the mask won’t offer him complete protection from the toxic stenches he and Mallow now carry, it will still offer enough filtration to reduce his awareness of it to a tolerable level, ensuring he can breathe relatively normally.

With that, Jinji makes a snap decision.

“Okay buddy, here’s what I’m gonna do. As my gift to you, I’m gonna honour your wish. Just for today, I will embrace the Poison-type and join you with anything you want. I’m gonna spend the whole of this Birthday party – in fact, the entire remainder of today – being as stinky as you’ve made me now. I won’t do a single thing to clean myself, nor will I complain about your stench, or anything you do to make today’s party the grossest it’s ever been.”

“Doro gaboro… you really mean it?!?,” Mallow responds with excitable joy.

“…As long as you don’t remove my gas mask, that is!”. Jinji’s tone is good-humoured, but still with a slightly serious undertone. He then turns to Zain.

“As for you, Zain, I have one further condition. As soon as the clock strikes midnight, I want you to fly me back home as quickly as you can. You must make sure we’re high enough in the air that I can’t be seen or smelt by anyone below; and I trust you to stay strong and not allow the stench to overwhelm you for the entire journey.”

“Drahaha! It’s a deal!” The Dragonite laughs with glee. Since Jinji’s home is in a separate dimension, Zain knows that he only has to fly far enough to be out of sight of everyone so that Jinji can open a portal back home without anyone else seeing. With that, Zain renews his incantation, extending his immunity to his friend’s toxicity. All he has to do now is figure out the quickest route to a water source to clean his wings once Jinji has returned to his realm…