[PKMN FULL] TRAINERS (IC)

[Groc]

Vera Hill and Jordan Springs
Chapter 5 - Solitude in the Cemetery
Lavender Town, May 24th

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Leaving behind the party atmosphere, Lavender is actually pretty peaceful at night. The dull orange glow of dusk has given way to the light purple of twilight, and Jordan and Vera share a companionable silence as they make their way to the graveyard. Vera is in a good mood, or at least less anxious than she was before, as they arrive at the ornate iron gate to the cemetery.

The smaller of the two Safari boys is waiting for them, casually leaning against the gate. He looks surprised when he sees them, smiling slightly before putting on a cocky grin even Vera can tell is fake. "Well, well, you actually showed. We didn't think you'd make it."

"You're one to talk." Vera frowns back. She hadn't forgotten the insult from this morning, but she's not as angry now, having had time to calm down and a fairly fun day up til now. "Where's your big friend, he get scared?"

The boy steps away from the gate, casually strolling alongside the fence. "There's a camera watching the gate. He's finding us another way in, where we won't be seen. Follow me, I'll show you."

"Sneaking into a graveyard after dark… kind of a thrilling experience, eh Jordan?" Vera offers him a sly grin. There's a kind of nervous energy to this, and she's getting kind of a rush from the misdemeanor.

Jordan definitely looks like he's feeling the nervous energy more than the rush, but he smiles back anyway. "Yeah… I mean, I don't know why I was expecting this place to be more… inviting, but yeah, no. Rush. I definitely feel something. Hope we see something cool tonight, at least."

The wrought iron fence is only five feet tall, but topped with dull, rounded spikes that dissuade simply climbing over it. It's more a symbolic barrier than a physical one, marking the boundaries of the graveyard and keeping casual passersby out. Or maybe it's keeping something in… No, stop that! Focus, Vera!

"Hey, Dudley, what'd you find?" They spot the larger boy kneeling by the fence, holding onto an Aron and testing the strength of the bars.

"Oh, hey Vinnie! Found this hole in the fence. Figured we could check it out." The Aron takes a bite out of the fence, and Vera suddenly has a newfound respect for Emmy the archeologist. They nibble hard, indeed. Dudley kicks at the weakened bars, which bend in and allow access to the graveyard. "Ladies first." He steps back, gesturing to both Vera and Jordan to take the lead. He's halfway through the hole before the insult registers and he lets out a "hey-!", but Vera rolls her eyes and pulls Jordan through.

Vinnie comes through next, looking around uncertainly. "I suggest we split up from here. We'll be able to cover more ground that way. Dudley you go right, I'll go straight in."

"Then I'm going left." Vera volunteers, calling out Iggy and holding him close. So he doesn't run away, she tells herself.

"Remember, if you see a Rotom, try to get a picture of it, at least. Capture it if you can, but we just need proof they're in here." With that, Vinnie heads deeper into the cemetery, following the winding path through the headstones and monuments.

Vera heads deeper into the graveyard, letting Iggy lead the way. It's dark enough now that she can only see faint silhouettes of objects, so she pulls out her new flashlight and keeps it trained on Iggy, trusting him to make his way through the graveyard.

Suddenly, she feels a sharp tug at her hair, making her yelp in surprise and pain. She whirls around, shining her flashlight behind her, but no one's there. "That wasn't funny!"

Jordan wouldn't do that, so it was probably one of the Safari boys trying to scare her. The thought of one of them grabbing her hair makes her stomach turn, but she stamps that down as she angrily looks around the area. "There aren't that many hiding places here, just come out!"

She twists off the cap of her flashlight, holding it above her head like a torch. Without the cap to direct the light, it shines all around her instead of in a beam, and with the bare bulb above her head, her eyes can adjust to the circle of dim light without being blinded.

She approaches the nearest headstones, but there's no one hiding behind them. "Sniff them out, Iggy. Human or Pokémon, find whoever just grabbed me."

Iggy starts sniffing around the headstones, and Vera feels something grab her hair again, but softer this time. It doesn't pull, just feels, and she instinctively grabs for it. She feels her fingers pass through something, but there's enough substance to get a grip on. It's semi-solid, almost like moving her hand through water. She's able to push it away from herself, stepping back to get a look at it.

It's a tiny little thing, bluish-green with pink tips at the end of its hair and large red pearls around its neck. Its yellow eyes are wide with surprise, two of its long locks held in front of it (fidgeting like someone nervously tapping their fingers together) as it slowly floats backwards to hide behind a headstone. Vera pulls out her Pokédex and identifies it as a Misdreavus.

"D'aww, he's adorable!" Vera coos as she looks at Misdreavus, and Iggy rushes over to see for himself. He jumps at Misdreavus, nipping at its billowy lower half. Misdreavus floats upwards, out of Iggy's reach, his red irises expanding until his eyes are pure red, and a shadowy energy settles over Iggy.

"Oh, you want to fight, is that it? Iggy, use Sand Attack!" Iggy happily barks in response, digging at the ground. Misdreavus gasps in shock, his eyes abruptly returning to normal before his central pearl shines a dark purple light on Iggy. Iggy stops digging, swaying from side to side before tripping over his own feet.

"Iggy!" Vera takes a step forward out of concern. Misdreavus sighs in relief, earning a glare from Vera. "Iggy, get up! Jump up and Bite him!" Iggy shakes his head as he gets back to his feet, leaping at the headstone. Misdreavus yells in panic, his outer two gems glowing. Iggy hits the headstone feet first, vaulting off it and toward Misdreavus. The glowing gems crackle with electricity, and Misdreavus releases a Thunder Wave that hits Iggy full in the chest. He locks up, missing Misdreavus and hitting the ground.

"Iggy, no! Come back!" Vera returns Iggy to his ball, and now she's mad. Misdreavus smiles at her, waving those two locks of hair as a bead of sweat appears on his head. Vera grabs another ball, sending out Sapphire. Misdreavus shines a Confuse Ray at her, but it doesn't seem to affect her.

"Go get him, Sapphire!" Sapphire leaps forward, claws extended, only to land on her hind legs, pivot, and slap Misdreavus with her tail in a glorious Fake Out. Her tail passes right through Misdreavus, to Vera's surprise. Misdreavus' eyes glow red, and Sapphire steps back in fright as the shadow of Spite settles on her.

"Okay, that didn't work… Bite him!" Sapphire pounces on Misdreavus, and his eyes widen as she noms onto his head, dragging him to the ground. He winces, but manages to struggle free.

"Yes! Again, Sapphire!" Vera grins, happy to finally get a hit in against the tricky Ghost. Sapphire pounces again, but trips over her feet. It seems the Confuse Ray worked after all. Misdreavus floats back up, firing another Thunder Wave at Sapphire, who growls in distress as she stiffens from the shock.

"Oh, come on! Sapphire, hit him with Icy Wind!" Misdreavus grimaces and shakes his head, while Sapphire fights through the paralysis to exhale her frigid breath. Unfortunately, in her confusion she only manages to freeze her own feet. "I'm getting real tired of this…" Vera grits her teeth in frustration as she recalls Sapphire, sending out Bonnie instead.

Misdreavus begins chanting in a low, growling voice, causing Bonnie to pause. "Just try that Electric attack now! Bonnie, use Bonemerang!" Misdreavus does indeed try Thunder Wave, but Bonnie throws her club at him. The electricity is drawn to the club, but Vera is confident Bonnie would be immune anyway. Misdreavus dodges the club by floating up and out of the way, dodging to the side as it returns to Bonnie's hand.

"Alright, use Leaf Blade!" Misdreavus shines a Confuse Ray at Bonnie, but she bows her head as she flips her club around, the green blade erupting from the broken handle. She leaps into the air, slashes her sword through Misdreavus' ethereal body, and lands with her blade held parallel to the ground. The energy blade retracts as she stands, and Misdreavus falls to the ground, barely conscious.

Vera smirks, but Bonnie rests her club against her shoulder rather than strike the final blow. Vera frowns as she looks at Misdreavus. He puts one lock of hair in front of his chest, rotating it in a small circle. Vera smiles at him, her anger gone. "He's still really cute. And strong! What do you think, Bonnie? Should we bring him with us?" Bonnie nods, and Vera tosses a Pokéball, capturing the little Ghost inside.

"What should we call the little guy?" Tired of holding the torch over her head, she puts the cap back on, shining the beam onto the headstone Misdreavus had been hiding behind. The text is faded, but she can make out the word "Blackwood" written on it. "That's not a bad name, but it seems a bit… I don't know, disrespectful? To just steal the name from a tombstone?"

She pulls out her phone and types "black wood" into a search engine, and the most popular result turns out to be "ebony". Vera shrugs, putting her phone away. "It's as good a name as any. I guess we'll call him Ebony."

A joint post between Groc and Juno.

 

[Ninetales]

Keone Maluhia

Lavender Town, May 24^th

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Keone's team:

• Kai the Machop
• Pele the Larvitar
  [*]Blitz the Murkrow
  [*]Bane the Pancham

Theme song:[/tab]

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Friend or Foe?

Keone decided to relocate, in the case that his training became overly boisterous. The last thing he wanted to do was disrupt the townspeople and generate an unfavourable reputation for himself, it would be most inauspicious in the case of a gym battle. Of course, one's reputation was only relevant to geographical location. Once removed from a particular environment, all presumptions about oneself, negative or positive, woul become obsolete. The opinions of others held as much weight as you allowed them to, especially in a location that was not your residency. For Keone, the entirety of the Kanto region was a foreign place. The moment he returned to his native Alola, the importance of Kantonian perspectives diminished.

He strolled about, hands in his trousers, as he analyzed his surroundings. Kanto was quite barren, he thought. Much in contrast to his homeland, of course. Alola had an overabundance of flora and fauna. Hell, the region itself was essentially overgrown, resisting civilization and refusing to be tainted by humanity's destructive forces. It was notable that plenty of local beliefs heavily emphasized the significance of nature whilst restricting human access.

The simplicity of the Lavender outskirts was somewhat comforting though. Alola could certainly entail an overload of the senses, with its endless array of vibrantly coloured flowers, rambunctious local pokemon, and chatty tourists. It wasn't dull though, it was just [i/]different.

Upon reaching a destination that he deemed satisfactory, Keone pulled out his pokeballs and called to his pokemon.

Kai, Pele, and Bane popped out and stuck close together, though they all collectively appeared weary of the newest addition to the team, Blitz.

Blitz, meanwhile, seemed equally unsure, as he perched on the winding branch of a nearby tree, glaring at the three skeptically. Based on his disposition, Keone sensed a hint of bitterness mixed with disapproval.

This would be something to smooth out.

"Pele, Kai, Bane, Blitz is your new companion." Keone began, ogling his pokemon thoughtfully. "I know you didn't get off to the best start but now is your opportunity to make amends."

He swiveled his head in Blitz's direction, studying his reaction.

"Larv.." Pele groaned, crossing her arms and huffing.

Keone strolled over to his pokemon, kneeling beside her and looking at her intensely.

"Trust my judgement, alright..?" He patted her head affectionately and she released a coo of pleasure, warming up to the idea of the new teammate.

He stood up, crossing his arms.

"Now that that's settled, it's time to begin training once more."

He turned back to Blitz, glancing at him expectantly.

"I want to see what you're capable of."

The Murkrow cawed in response, accepting the challenge. Blitz launched himself off the tree branch, becoming airborne and beating his wings rapidly, creating a moderately powerful gust of wind.

Keone smiled.

"Pele, you're up."

The Larvitar stepped forward, unsure of her trainer's expectations of her and what she would be asked to do. Of course, she evidently was still a tad uncertain of the dual type pokemon that Keone had just caught.

"Sandstorm."

Pele hesitated momentarily, before whipping up an aggressive storm of sand, the move encompassing the nearby area, compromising the vision of each member of their small assembly.

"Dive straight into the eye of the storm." Keone instructed the Murkrow, who was shielding its eyes from the streams of sand with one wing, whilst keeping himself afloat with the other.

Blitz obeyed the command, diving straight for Pele, who stood firmly in position, unbothered by the extreme weather she had generated.

"Now use peck."

The Murkrow's beak became aglow and extended itself, as its attack collided with Pele, creating a tiny burst of energy upon impact.

Pele recoiled, though was mostly undamaged by the ineffective hit. Despite the weakness of the attack, Keone was impresse by Blitz's endurance. Diving into turbulent weather such as that certainly wasn't easy and he had fared immensely well.

"Let's try that again, but this time, let's use haze."

"Caw! Krow! Caw!"

With that, the Murkrow opened its beak, a thick, inky black cloud of smoke pouring out of it and completely shadowing Blitz. The cloud absorbed the sandstorm completely and weakened it quite considerably.

"Dive once more."

The murkrow did as commanded and disappeared within the cloud of fog. Pele looked around anxiously, attempting to spot her newly established rival from above, but to no avail. The haze was too impairing. In a flash, Blitz reappeared, smacking straight into Pele and knocking her off balance. Her soared once more, cawing triumphantly, evidently pleased with his successful attack.

Following the attack, the sandstorm dissipated. Pele helped herself off the ground, clenching her fists together.

"Now, rockslide."

Pele took a deep breath, before sending a sea of jagged rocks cascading down in the Murkrow's direction from the sky.

"Blitz, evade. Climb."

The dark-type instantly soared, weaving through the rocks as they rained upon him, swiftly dodging them with ease and as he gained height.

Blitz certainly has agility. It's the power we need to focus on.

"Now, peck once more."

From such a height, Blitz can gain more momentum which should equate to a higher damage toll.

The murkrow dove instantaneously, aiming its attack straight for Pele.

Pele jumped up just in time, narrowly missing the attack. Blitz however, crashed into the solid ground, his beak now stuck in the earth.

Keone chuckled lightly as the Murkrow squabbled and squirmed about, as he struggled to displace his bill from the earth.

Pele approached the Murkrow, smirking as he writhed. Keone took notice of this and hardened his gaze. She responded with an apologetic look of her own and grabbed his talon, tugging on it. Bane and Kai followed suit and together, they extracted Blitz's beak from the dirt.

"Caw!" Blitz squealed, disgusted by what had just occurred, spitting out the dirt that had gathered in his mouth.

Pele patted him on the back gingerly and Bane covered his mouth to stifle a snicker.

Ah, how humour was able to connect pokemon to one another.

"Alright, I think we can take a break for now."

Initial perceptions are impertinent in most situations. They can easily be broken down and dissolved, as one becomes more familiar with another, as new associations and perceptions develop, eventually replacing those that were first in place.

Keone looked as his pokemon conversed with one another, relieved that his plan had a positive outcome.

We'll be ready to take on a gym leader soon enough.

 

[Juno]

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Chapter 4: Oh My Gourd // May 24th
ft. Vera Hill​

He would have preferred not to split up as a group, or from Vera at the very least. But no one else seemed to object to the idea, so Jordan lingered behind for a few moments as the rest of the group eagerly split off, before eventually following his own path deeper into the site. Not gonna see anything worthwhile hanging around out here, then this little break-and-enter would have really been for nothing.

This is fine.

"'Let's split up in the big, old and creepy graveyard!'-" Jordan mimics Vinnie spitefully as he walks along a row of gravestones. "Has no one seen a horror movie ever?"

A rustling noise coming from behind him makes him instantly regret doing his impression out loud. He turns around, timidly shining his light from stone to stone, but nothing seemed to be moving.

This is not fine.

It's not really ghosts he's afraid of, but who knows what kinds of shady characters lurk around cemeteries after sundown?

"Who's there?" he asks in what he intended to be a commanding tone. No answer. His paranoia was picking up for some reason. Granted, he's not the most courageous individual on a good day, but this doesn't feel... natural. Like he was simultaneously anticipating something terrible and pumped full of adrenaline, but not in the 'rush'-y way Vera was talking about earlier.

"Okay, this is stupid, what am I doing- I don't have to be alone alone." Kid had his Aron and Vera's got Iggy with her, after all. Jordan fumbles with his bag as his light and eyes continue to dart around, but manages to pull out and toss a Poke Ball.

"Buddy system," He explains to a confused Tangles as her eyes adjust to the low lighting. "Stay close and let me know if you see anything strange... well, if you see anything." She shivers a little, but complacently follows along without wandering off. Jordan smiles, a little more relieved already with her by his side. He loves all his Pokemon, but Tangles' presence is the least... likely to add to his worries, at the moment.

They take a few steps between two rows of headstones before the rustling starts up again, sounding much closer this time. Slightly emboldened by his Pokemon standing next to him, Jordan whips around much quicker with his light, just in time to catch a roundish silhouette disappearing behind one of the stones. He bristles. What was that?

Well, it was certainly not a person. "Come on," He motions for Tangles to follow him, and the soft rustles of her padding along reassures him she is right behind.

They creep closer and closer to the headstone, until he is close enough to look behind it, and… nothing. Nothing is behind the headstone. As Jordan stands in confusion, shining his light in the general direction of where he had seen the silhouette just moments ago, he feels a tap on his shoulder and whips around. "Oh- Tangles, don't scare me like that!" He brushes off her vine, but she waves it insistently in his face and directs his attention to something else. Hovering behind them are four gleaming, yellow dots. He blinks into focus and trains the flashlight on it.

A Pumpkaboo. A pretty small one, at that. It settles back down on the ground and runs behind a different headstone. A wave of relief washes over Jordan.

"Well hey, little guy! Are you the one that's been following us? Don't worry, we don't mean to-" before Jordan finishes his sentence, the Pumpkaboo kicks a small pebble at him, hitting him square in his forehead.

"Ow! You got some powerful little stubs," he murmurs, rubbing his head. "Okay, I get it, you don't want us here. We were just-"

Another pebble flies in his direction, but misses.

"Hey, quit it!" He quickens his pace and moves away from the Pokemon, only stopping when he realizes Tangles is having trouble keeping up. He turns around to wait for her, and catches another rock between his eyes.

"Ow, damnit! Okay, that's it - we came here to study and interact with the Pokemon here, so we're gonna do just that. Tangles!"

The Vine Pokemon stands up tall and turns around to face her opponent, recognizing the tone of his voice and that a battle command was about to follow. Well, she stands as tall as she could, at least. Sensing trouble as well, the Pumpkaboo starts to bounce away.

"Grab it with Constrict!"

Vines lash out, flying towards the Pumpkin Pokemon before it could hide again. They phase through its body, and Tangles retracts them, holding on to nothing.

Oh- it's a Ghost. Duh. "Uh, Sleep Powder?" It's a pretty squirmy Pokemon, they need to do something to calm it down a bit. Jordan watches as the shimmery powder cascades over Pumpkaboo, but it does not stop wriggling. Insomnia?

"Okay… well, let's try a Poison Powder, then."

Before the Sleep Powder has settled into the ground around them, another shower of dust mists over the two. As Jordan waits to see if the poison lands, the Pokemon starts glowing. A dark, purple aura surrounds the intertwined Pokemon, but it's not the same purple of Tangles' Poison Powder. Wait, this isn't part of the move. "Wh-" Jordan steps forward to take a closer look - it's not just the Pumpkaboo, they're both glowing. Frightened, Tangles steps away from the Pumpkaboo, and Jordan can see a ghostly hue tinting her as she levitates slightly, even without making contact with the Ghost Pokemon. "What…?"

Quickly pulling out his Pokedex, he skims to the relevant information. "Its signature move, Trick-Or-Treat, adds the Ghost-type to its target…" he murmurs quietly, but does not have long to reflect on this information, as Tangles is, understandably, freaking out in front of him. The Pumpkaboo takes this opportunity to attack. A dark, ominous shadow creeps below both Pokemon, expanding impossibly, almost comically, from the small Pumpkin Pokemon, until it suddenly reaches out from behind Tangles and strikes her in the back, causing her to double over.

"Tangles!" Jordan cries out, as she weakly composes herself. She's not looking too good. "Ingrain yourself!"

As a ghostly Tangles extends her roots into the ground to restore her energy, the Pumpkaboo wastes no time, sending out a beam of light of its own towards its rooted target. It spins closer and closer above Tangles' head, dizzying her.

"Don't look, snap out of it! Ack-" Jordan calls out a little too late. He tries an offensive command to distract her and hopefully pull her attention back. "Hit it with a Vine Whip!"

A bit dazed from the Confuse Ray, Tangles is still able to swat at the Pumpkaboo before it can pull off another Shadow Sneak. Its shadow quickly retracts as it tries to avoid the attack, but the vines land against its gourdy body with a sharp crack. It quickly regains its composure, however, and resumes its attack. The shadows criss-cross menacingly over the graveyard's grounds once again.

"Tangles, quick! Come-" shit, she's still Ingrained! Jordan curses to himself. Wait a minute- He thinks back to why they are in this predicament in the first place. It's not all bad, the Trick-Or-Treat might have saved her in this moment. He quickly throws her Pokeball out. "Tangles, return!"

As expected, her paler-than-usual body enters the capsule with no issue, leaving behind only the roots that held her in place. The shadows under them scatter, and the Pumpkaboo looks at Jordan smugly before dancing away. "No, we are not done here," he shakes a finger at the Pokemon, before pulling out another Pokeball. "Let's go, Hop!"

The small bird settles on the ground gently, ruffling his feathers. The two Pokemon stand almost eye to eye, a look of amusement in the Pumpkaboo's eyes as it stares at the unassuming bird. Like their first battle, it immediately uses its signature move - Jordan expected it this time and was not as startled, but he still had to prepare and reassure his Pokemon.

"Hop, listen, it's okay-" He starts, but something is clearly different - unlike Tangles, Hop did not seem frightened as he began levitating, and Jordan suddenly understands why.

He's floating, not flying, but he is where he belongs.

"Alright! You got this, hit it with a Gust!" In the air, Hop's Gust was as effective as any other Flying-type. The wind buffets the Pumpkaboo before it could react, hitting it hard and causing it to tumble backwards. It slowly gets back up, a hard glare in its eyes. Once it finds its footing, the now-familiar sight of its Shadow Sneak reaches out.

The Pidgey propels himself higher into the air, effortlessly avoiding the attack. Jordan grins as the shadows grab at him menacingly, but are unable to reach him in the sky. "Alright! Let's copy that and give it a taste of its own medicine!"

With his Mirror Move, Hop replicates the ghostly attack in retaliation. The Pumpkaboo's glowing eyes widen as it realizes this and turns to run, only to be greeted by more shadows rising up behind it. It lets out a small shriek as they strike down. Visibly weakened now, Jordan can tell they were almost done here. "Let's finish this with another Gust!" Jordan can feel the cool, night air whip around him as Hop launches the wind at his opponent, and the battle is over. Gently landing back on his feet, the Pidgey hops back over to Jordan's side, and he reaches an arm out so the Tiny Bird Pokemon can get up his shoulder.

"Great job," Jordan coos, before pulling out an empty Poke Ball from his bag.

​

The capture goes smoothly, but Jordan doesn't have a lot of time to celebrate - as he stands back up after putting away his new Pokemon, a peculiar sight catches his attention.

"What in the world-" Several rows of headstones down, he could see two boy-shaped figures running together, almost tripping a few times. At first, Jordan was really annoyed that Vinnie and Dudley hadn't 'split up' according to plan and he could have been with Vera this whole time if these two had stuck together anyway, but as he watches them, they are clearly panicked and running from… something. In the dim lighting, a small, purple creature is shuffling behind them. The Safari boys don't look like they are going to be waiting up for Jordan and Vera.

"Vera!" Jordan turns and hisses, trying to find the girl but careful not to raise his voice too much; last thing he needs is for that thing to turn around. Those two boys can take care of themselves. "Where are you…? It's time to go!"

As if responding to his whispered call, Vera's voice echoes across the graveyard. "Jordan? You out here?" He can see Vera wandering his way, the green glow of Bonnie's Leaf Blade lighting the path. "This stopped being fun like ten minutes ago! I'd like to leave, please!"

"Way ahead of ya," he responds as they reunite. "Come on, the entrance is… is, uh," Jordan glances around. The lights from the Safari boys' flashlights were gone now, too. Hop, still on his shoulder, suddenly lets out a piercing squawk. "Oh, geez! Don't do that. What is it?!" Jordan jumps up and whips around to face whatever frightened the Pidgey.

...And has to crane his neck up, up, up to face the thing that looms far above them both. Noiseless and still, glowing from within, and very, very, close. It's a Golurk. But it doesn't seem to be a wild Pokemon.

Jordan feels his heart stop for a moment. "Oh," he manages to squeak out, too scared to let out a bigger reaction. He grabs Vera's forearm and they back away slowly.

"Do you think it sees us?" Vera whispers as she holds onto Jordan's arm, but he can tell she's just being hopeful. The giant raises its hands, an oddly calming gesture, and turns to point in a different direction.

"The exit is… that way?"

The giant gives a thumbs-up as it turns back to the pair. Vera sighs in relief. "He looks scary, but he's not so bad. Come on, Jordan, let's-"

Apparently tired of waiting, the massive Pokémon grabs the two Trainers and their Pokémon, lumbering off in the direction it had pointed. Its grip is surprisingly gentle, but it's not very comfortable with all four held in its cupped hands. Luckily they don't have to endure it for long, as the giant calmly deposits Jordan and Vera in a heap outside the cemetery gates. It waggles a finger at them, as though admonishing them not to come back, then turns and wanders back into the darkness.

"I- what did-" Jordan stammers.

"Let's just get out of here…"

Pokédex

Pokemon on hand:

Tangela // "Tangles"

Ingrain
Constrict
Absorb
Vine Whip
Sleep Powder
Poison Powder

Pidgey // Hop

Headbutt
Sand Attack
Gust
Mirror Move

Cubone // Spirit

Leer
Growl
Bone Club
Headbutt

Skiddo // Sage

Tackle
Growth
Vine Whip
Play Nice

Pumpkaboo // ???

Razor Leaf
Shadow Sneak
Confuse Ray
Scary Face
Worry Seed
Trick-or-Treat​

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[Juno]

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Chapter 4: Worry Seed // May 25th - Past Midnight / Early Morning​

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

Jordan lies wide awake in bed. It's been hours since they got back to the Pokemon Center safely and he had parted ways with Vera, but adrenaline is still pumping through him for some reason, as he replays the events of the night. It wasn't even that bad, honestly, and he got a new Pokemon out of it. So what's wrong with me?

Tick. Tock. Sigh. Whatever it is, it doesn't feel like he is going to be able to sleep anytime soon. He sits up.

On the other side of the room, Hop and his new friend are squabbling over a balled up pair of socks. It looks like Hop is trying to recreate and teach her the little game Jordan had shown him when they first met, with two 'goal posts' behind them and kicking the 'ball' back and forth. Jordan watches them for a few moments. Hop is visibly frustrated because the Pumpkaboo refuses to kick the ball, opting to pick it up with her hands instead whenever she can.

"Hey, that's handling- that's a foul. Hop doesn't even have hands, that's not fair. Here-"

He sets the sock down and gently kicks it with his toe. "See? You were very good at kicking rocks at me earlier, I know you can do this."

He watches them play for a little while longer. She is having fun, but the tiny Pumpkaboo is still prone to cheating whenever it suits her. Fed up and tired, Hop eventually makes his way back to his sleeping spot on the chair. She's not done playing with him though, apparently.

The Pumpkaboo produces a dark, spherical object suddenly, tossing it from hand to hand before holding it up in preparation to hurl it in Hop's direction.

"Wait, what is that? Hey, Tiny. Tiny - what is that?" Jordan scrambles for his Pokedex as the Pumpkaboo feigns ignorance. "Yes, I'm talking to you. Pumpkaboo is a mouthful, and you're tiny. Worry Seed? No, no, no, put that away. Wait a minute. Did you do this?" He points to himself. "Did you Seed me? Is that why I can't sleep and I can't stop worrying?!"

Tiny shrugs and scampers towards Hop's resting spot, clambering on his back. The poor bird squawks loudly in protest. "No-" Jordan pulls her off and carries her to his bed, but the Ghost Pokemon momentarily turns herself incorporeal to escape his grasp and makes her way back to the Pidgey. "Stop it! Why are you all like this?"

Rascals. He thinks to himself. Aside from Tangles, all these rascals give me a headache. Why can't I catch any normal Pokemon?

"Alright, I'm just going to put you back in your Poke Ball if you can't behave. At least let him sleep through the night, and give what you did to me some time to go away."

Jordan clicks the Poke Ball and tosses it at Tiny, before settling back down in his bed. He pauses.

"This... this goes away, right?"

The Pokemon shrugs again, with a mischievous grin, before disappearing in a flash of red light.

Pokédex

Pokemon on hand:

Tangela // "Tangles"

Ingrain
Constrict
Absorb
Vine Whip
Sleep Powder
Poison Powder

Pidgey // Hop

Headbutt
Sand Attack
Gust
Mirror Move

Cubone // Spirit

Leer
Growl
Bone Club
Headbutt

Skiddo // Sage

Tackle
Growth
Vine Whip
Play Nice

Pumpkaboo // Tiny

Razor Leaf
Shadow Sneak
Confuse Ray
Scary Face
Worry Seed
Trick-or-Treat​

Return to Top​

 

[Aquacorde]

Casey Holt

Saturday, May 25, 2019
Lavender Town
Early Morning, Day 6

5-19: won't you let it lie?

Casey wakes up.

Ah, ow.

He groans as he rolls out of bed and stretches. Sorley may be light, but lifting them repeatedly for an hour or so was absolutely a workout and wow, it's been a while since he was actually sore the day after a workout. Part of that's definitely 'cause he didn't stretch before falling asleep; he'd just brushed his teeth and dropped face-first into the mattress. Hadn't even showered. That's pretty gross. But at this point, he may as well leave it 'til he's done with his morning jog anyway. At least his collection of injuries are looking alright. Mostly healed, even. His palms are back to normal and the talon scratches on his neck are just new, pink skin. He peeks under the gauze on his wrist and decides to leave it for now. He's got things to do. And two texts to answer- a sequence of strange emoji that seem to represent "good night" from Sorley, timestamped 12:07AM, and a "where are u rn?" from Kel at 3AM. He almost falls down the stairs typing replies. Good lord, Casey, get a grip!

Jordan is downstairs already, sitting at the same window seat he was in yesterday morning. He is looking a bit paler than usual, accentuated by the shadows under his eyes, and eating a bit healthier today, but the bar was set fairly low considering he had chips for breakfast the last time he was here. He stifles a yawn as he looks up from his peanut butter and chocolate spread toast.

"Morning."

Casey's hit by a train full of emotions as he suddenly remembers what Jordan was up to the night before. Tension, fear, worry, shame, and guilt all stop him in his tracks before relief washes them all away. Jordan's back here, safe and sound. Vera must be, too.

So what he says is: "Oh, good, I don't have to call Ralph."

"Huh?" Jordan responds through a mouthful of peanut butter.

"I was gonna, y'know, call Ralph if you weren't back. 'Cause that would meant the ghosts got you. And. That wouldn't… that would be bad. So. Vera's back too, right?" And neither of you are possessed? he thinks to himself, narrowing his eyes at the boy in front of him. A possessed person probably wouldn't eat like that. Jordan is Jordan, still. And that's a relief.

Casey really doesn't know what he'd do if Jordan wasn't Jordan.

"Oh, stop, we're fine." Jordan casually waves him off. "And yeah, Vera's probably still sleeping, but we definitely came back together in one piece. It was… interesting. You shoulda come."

"Convince me," Casey dares, swiping his usual assortment of breakfast items from the buffet and sitting down with Jordan. "Unless you somehow managed to avoid every single Ghost-type that hangs out there, I'm sticking to my choice."

Jordan opens and closes his mouth, like he is choosing his words carefully. "I mean, there were definitely some ups and downs, but not all - or many - of the Ghost-types contributed to the downs." He shakes his head, popping the last of his toast into his mouth. "Anyway, go take a shower, you stink."

"No point in that when I'm 'bout to go run. I'll shower when I get back. You'll just have to deal with it," Casey laughs and squishes in closer to Jordan, who picks up his empty plate and holds it like a shield against Casey.

"Nope, I don't - I'm done with my breakfast. Out, out." Jordan pushes against him. Casey keeps him pinned for a moment but relents easily enough. He still has to eat his own breakfast, after all. And today, he can actually finish it properly, instead of running around like a fool.

Spoiler: music

He heads outside after tidying up after himself. God, he'd better stretch more even before running. This is ridiculous; he knows better. He chides himself a bit before he thinks: his Pokémon worked out yesterday, too. Training in the morning and the gym battle, and training against Vera. And he wonders if Pokémon get sore. His three, upon being let out and questioned, give the general consensus of "not really". Huh.

"Well, that's good," Casey says, starting in on actually jogging. "Maybe we'll battle Beaumont again before we leave, then. He didn't give us a real fight an' I'm still not happy 'bout it. But we need more training, so keep an eye out for a field or something, okay?"

Losing against Beaumont had been… somewhat surprising, but not unexpected. Gym leaders are meant to be tough. Casey's pretty good at battling, he knows he is. But gym leaders are gym leaders for a reason.

The hard part was watching his friends succeed where he had failed.

Am I actually behind?

He jogs for a while through the cool morning haze, residual soreness fading quickly as his body actually gets moving. But for some reason, he's still uncomfortable. Casey quickly goes through a mental checklist and decides no, it's not a discomfort within himself. Something else is happening. Centered around a prickling feeling at the nape of his neck…

He's being watched.

Casey swings around suddenly and sees a Manectric pause about half a block behind him. It surveys him stoically.

Well, that's weird.

It doesn't seem like it has an agenda, though, so he relaxes and continues his jog. But as he and his Pokémon turn a corner, Casey feels like he should check behind him again.

Yeah, it's following him.

Okay.

He turns to face it fully. It stares at him. "Hey, c'mere." Manectric trots over to him and circles a few times, sniffing. "What d'you want from me?"

It stops behind him and butts its head into his shoulderblades, pushing him forward. "Uh- okay, we're going somewhere? Cool."

They walk like this through empty streets, Manectric occasionally nudging Casey to turn at an intersection, Casey's Pokémon following quietly. Eventually, Casey looks down a street and sees the famed Pokemon Tower casting its long shadow in his direction. Oh, no, he never wanted to be this close to it, he never wanted to be this far east; the graveyard is just on the other side of the tower, isn't it? And that's where they are; he can't go there, he can't-

Casey stops dead in his tracks and Manectric can't push him so it growls, deep and threatening, and sparks against his back. Pepper makes a move to fight and just barely avoids snapping teeth.

Casey walks forward reluctantly.

They turn north again at the next intersection, much to Casey's relief, but they're joined by a Scizor and his memory sparks.

Just like Cerulean.

And he's proven right, at the park at the end of the road, because that person dressed all in blue is waiting for him again. The Manectric trots to her side, but the Scizor stays at his back.

"Why're you following me?" is the first thing he can think to ask.

"How many Pokémon do you have?" is the non-answer he gets.

"Just them- what do you want?"

"A battle." She releases a Pokémon. A Pidgeotto forms in front of her and immediately a gust of wind resonates all of Casey's PokéBalls, sucking his surprised Pokémon away. "Guess you weren't lying last time."

"Course not, I-" Wait, being indignant about that is definitely mis-prioritizing. He changes tracks. "I don't wanna battle."

She seems surprised, but not for the reason he thought. "You think you have a choice?"

"Yeah!"

"Whirlwind."

Pepper's PokéBall activates, leaving him on the grass between Casey and their opponents. As soon as he solidifies, Pidgeotto darts in, slamming its weight into the Charmeleon and swooping around for another charge. Pepper rolls at Casey's shout and no, he doesn't have a choice, does he?

Casey fumbles with his bag as Pepper defends with tail and crossed forearms, slinging dead-on Embers every time Pidgeotto swoops away. It's fast, much faster than Pepper, and far more mobile. But Casey's pretty fast, too, and he darts in as Pidgeotto darts out, planting the dual tanbō firmly in Pepper's claws. Staff Rush may be useless here, but the tanbō themselves aren't- Pepper lays them against his forearms, pushing back Quick and Wing Attacks until their opponent gets frustrated enough to snap out a different command. Pepper bobs and weaves, each Ember now matched with an answering Mirror Move, some dodged and some deflected with charged tanbō but both taking damage, Pidgeotto moreso than the fire-resistant Charmeleon. It tumbles in midair and lands clumsily.

Could… could he win?

The Pidgeotto closes its eyes and glows momentarily. Oh, no, jinxed it...

That's gotta be Roost; Pidgeotto opens its eyes and takes off with renewed vigor, Pepper's- slowing- barrage of Embers fizzling against a funnel of wind. Shit, okay- something else- what else-

Dragon Breath isn't nearly as flimsy as Ember and punches through the tornado with ease. But Pidgeotto dodges, and Pepper's stance needs to be so firm and planted that he can't dodge the move mirrored back at him in turn- it hits him dead-center, straight in the chest and he drops, control of his limbs lost from the numbing blow.

Spores, paralysis, helplessness-

"Return-" Casey chokes out, light arcing from Pepper's PokéBall. The tanbō clatter to the ground and for a moment, the morning is quiet.

"Well?" the person demands. "Send your second."

Casey exhales shakily. He has to keep hold of himself, he has to, he can't let them faint, he doesn't have any medicine, he can't be in Lavender all alone-

"I'm done waiting," she says, and Whirlwind activates a PokéBall- the one in his hand, dragging Pepper back to the field only for him to be struck down before Casey can utter a single word.

"Now. Your second."

He takes a step back and the Scizor makes itself known alongside a flutter of panic. Trapped.

There's no choice.

The Pidgeotto wheels around, landing to Roost once more as Casey reaches reluctantly for Ginger's PokéBall. If he can keep Parsley out of this battle, he will- not only is he weak to Flying, but Parsley's the only one who has power over Ghosts and Casey needs that, he needs to be able to get away…

Focus. Ginger solidifies in his arms. "You're faster this time," Casey murmurs, "but it's more mobile than Emolga. Pepper's down. Parsley shouldn't go. You gotta take it out."

Ginger gives a short nod and hops down.

And it's a battle of speed.

Quick Attacks clash in midair as Ginger boosts herself into the sky but Ginger gets a second hit in as well; a Pound using a coiled ear catches Pidgeotto in the eye before it can fly higher, away from Ginger falling back to Casey's arms. Despite a call of "Cheat!" from the other side, he's realized- there are no rules here. This battle is coerced and he's going to do anything he can to get out of it. And so Ginger braces herself in the palm of his hand as he sets it under and behind his ear. Can't use proper technique, gotta see… She's lighter than a standard shot, but that's to their advantage. Casey partially crouches, loading muscles, and tracks the circling Pidgeotto, waiting until- there!

Casey sends Ginger high, higher than she'd gotten on her own, high enough to come arcing down on Pidgeotto's back and yank at its head feathers for balance as she stomps down, delivering blow after blow to the back of its skull and her feet seem to glow with crackling energy. They're too high now, Casey can't tell what's happening, but he can hear the Pidgeotto shriek and it can do nothing to stop her; no moves nor desperate banks can reach where she strikes mercilessly. All it can do is tumble, and when it hits the ground Ginger is grimly triumphant, static crackling around both Pokémon.

Static?

The woman in blue tsks and recalls her Pokémon but before Casey can escape there's another flash.

"Two?!" Casey blurts out, and the woman laughs unkindly at him but says no more as the Mawile solidifies on the grass. Fairy and Steel… There's not much he can do, not with Pepper out of the running.

But there are no rules, and Whirlwind is gone.

Parsley joins Ginger and she hops up to her favored perch, out of the long and dewy grass. "Cheat," the woman hisses, and Casey feels the Scizor step closer. He steels himself. No vulnerabilities!

"I didn't agree to battle," he says, crisply enunciating every syllable. Keeping any tremor out of his voice.

"You had no choice."

"Right." He thinks he sees a furrowed brow, evidence of a frown under that blue bandana. "And no opportunity to discuss rules, either. And when no rules are stated…"

The morning haze swallows all sound.

"Anything goes."

Parsley bolts, Leech Seed smacking into Mawile's back and bursting into vines wrapping around its little torso as he starts cantering, circling, Ginger on alert for the opportunity to- "Now!"- spring from Parsley's back and slam her whole little body into the Mawile, not moving it an inch even as her ears deliver a one-two strike to its jaw, the second crackling as he'd seen earlier. What is that? Oh, he wishes he had his PokéDex, but there's really not time to dwell on it anyway. Parsley snatches Ginger up before the Mawile can snap back but it doesn't matter- the little thing glows instead, a gentle light that dims immediately. Casey doesn't know what that is but he knows he's still at a disadvantage here, even with Leech Seed siphoning energy into Parsley. The Mawile glows again and Parsley answers with a green surge through his leafy pelt, fading just as he catches Ginger on the rebound of another Quick Attack.

The Mawile glows in the face of a boosted Razor Leaf.

Casey sees the glint in its eye just too late and Ginger takes a resounding punch straight to the gut, leaving her winded on the ground for Parsley to hastily yank away from a second punch that leaves a dark divot in the grassy field. Ginger races back in despite his shout and gets another punch for her trouble; oh, no, he knows that posture-

The electronic sounds of the recall mechanism don't seem to come as a surprise to the woman in blue. Did she realize…? No, it doesn't matter. Parsley's still fighting-

The Mawile staggers as Leech Seed draws more of its energy but grabs hold of Parsley's whipping vines and yanks him, throwing him just off-balance enough to strike him in the chest. Parsley shoves it away, a shock of leaves filling the space between the two Pokémon. Parsley glows green once more and the Mawile answers in kind but this time- this time it glows a bright, bright white.

And it stands up straight, no longer listing. No longer weakened.

Ready to open the jaws at the back of its head and clamp around Parsley's foreleg, dragging a pained bleat from the Skiddo. And it clamps down again, on his soft belly, and Casey's heart breaks as his Pokémon cries, wild eyes seeking direction, help, anything until a last punch knocks him down for good.

The recall mechanism seems louder this time, with no other sound to compete with it.

"We're done here," the woman in blue says, and the Scizor moves to join her and the Manectric. Casey blinks.

"You're not going to make me finish?"

The woman looks at him with obvious contempt. "She used Endure."

And there's no point in continuing, Casey's brain fills in. She's right, of course. And he's somewhat horrified to be grateful about that. Ginger won't be able to do anything against a Ghost if they run into one, but… better than being alone.

Pepper Bomb • Charmeleon • lv22 | Ginger • Buneary • lv19 | Parsley • Skiddo • lv17
Casey's Profile | Extra Characters | TRAINERS Art

 

[Aquacorde]

Casey Holt

Saturday, May 25, 2019
Lavender Town
Early Morning, Day 6

5-20: freeze

Casey waits until the woman is fully out of sight before retrieving the tanbō and releasing Ginger. He's not about to have her change her mind on a whim and take out his only standing Pokémon.

Well, standing might be generous. She sways, and Casey scoops her up as soon as he stows the tanbō in his bag. "You did good," he sighs, and she kicks at him half-heartedly. "What was that new move?" She scratches at his chest, just enough to let him know her blunt little claws are out. "Fine, I'll figure it out later."

He's not going to run, not with Ginger like this, but a brisk walk will do for his beeline to the Pokémon Center. It's a good thing he paid attention when that Manectric was shoving him around. If he goes straight south for a while…

The back of Casey's neck prickles. Something's here…

He whips around.

His breath catches. Too far east!

Tendrils of gas flick around the Pokémon's core and fall from its mouth as it laughs, a quiet but sinister chuckle that echoes through the empty streets. There's- there's nothing he can do, it's right in front of him, there's nobody else here. It just floats lazily toward him, laughing all the while. Waiting for an opportunity. An opportunity to slip into his body, into his mind, to take control, to-

Casey takes a halting step back and stops. He can't run. He can't, he's a trainer, he can't! But Parsley and Pepper are unconscious, Ginger in his arms is the only one and she can't even hit it and she Endured, there's nothing-

He's frozen. Ginger hits him to loosen his too-tight grip and springs into action. He can't even open his mouth, let alone form words enough to tell her to stop, that she won't be able to do anything, not against a Ghost. She darts forward, Quick Attack boosting her already fast footwork. It won't do a thing, not this time. Her shoulder slips into the gas surrounding the orb, the Gastly laughing as she falls-

As it falls with her.

The power she's channeled slams the Gastly into the ground, its bone-chilling wail gripping Casey's heart even as Ginger hits it again, and again, eyes glowing as fists and crackling ears somehow land blow after blow on a Ghost type. The Gastly doesn't know what to do in the face of this onslaught. Casey doesn't know how Ginger is doing what she's doing.

And he can't figure it out, not with another two gaseous orbs swooping in to aid their kin. Casey's vision is going fuzzy around the edges, even as he tries to force out any words, any help for Ginger. He drops to his knees instead. The ringing in his ears gets louder. The first Gastly lashes at Ginger with a dark aura that glances off a blue shield.

Ah. The sensation of vertigo overtakes him. Missy's here.

Darkness engulfs him even as the sun rises higher above the horizon.

Pepper Bomb • Charmeleon • lv22 | Ginger • Buneary • lv19 | Parsley • Skiddo • lv17
Casey's Profile | Extra Characters | TRAINERS Art

 

[Eleanor]

The After Show
🍀🍀🍀
Arianne, Coralie, Noel and Ralph - written with Adventure, Dragon, and Ninetales
Lavender Town - Day 5 - May 24^th

​

---

♫ - Nimbasa City (Jazz remix by Kamex)
That last show, that last person to walk up on Lucretia's stage… that was really something else. Arianne couldn't stop gushing about it with Ralph, at least not until she spotted someone else in the crowd.

"Oh, that's got to be Coralie! Mind if we go say hi?" The black haired girl smiled, her eyes sparkling. "Y-you saw her around Cape, didn't you?" She asked out of courtesy, but in reality she was already walking towards her friend.

Ralph didn't try to answer since Ari walked away so rapidly. She bit her lip and rummaged her mind for memories of anyone called 'Coralie' as she followed Arianne through the crowd near the stage.

A quick pat on Coralie's shoulder, and the two friends were reunited.

"Hello again! Looks like you really enjoyed the show, uh?" Ari greeted Coralie, beckoning Ralph to come closer and stand beside her.

Ralph did so with a nonchalant look and arms crossed. She eyed Coralie up and down but didn't say anything yet.

"Oh, Ari! Hiiiiii!" Coralie hopped out of her seat and wrapped her arms around the dark-haired female, a beaming smile plastered to her face. "Yes, I did. The show was just FABULOUS! Noel is very talented, don't you think?"

Coralie then directed her attention to the female standing a bit behind Arianne and drew the conclusion that they were accompanying one another. Ralph, was that her name? Coralie was almost sure of it.

Ralph didn't like it when people eyed her up in return. She suppressed the urge to snap at the girl though - this was clearly a friend of Ari's.

"Yo," she said instead.

"Oh, right! Coralie, this is Ralph! We went through some crazy stuff during this journey, much like the two of us last night." Arianne smiled, very hopeful that the two would become friends.

"Oh, yes, I recall you mentioning her before! Hi, Ralph, I'm Coralie! I don't know if you remember me but we all went to school together!"

Ari seemed to like the cheerful girl, and Ralph couldn't immediately detect anything nasty about her. So she relaxed and gave the new acquaintance a smile.

"I don't think I remember you, but hi," she said. "I just assume all young trainers in this town are from Cape, to be honest."

As she heard those words, Arianne looked at Coralie and rolled her eyes, but then turned back towards Ralph and chuckled. "If only, if only…"

Coralie giggled. "Eeeeeek! That certainly isn't the case! I wonder where Courtney and Francis are now? I wouldn't expect them to miss out on such a brilliant performance! OH! Speaking of the show, we MUST congratulate Noel!"

"Oh, was that really…?" The black haired girl paused, trying to think about all her previous classmates at Cape. "If that's really her, then yes! We have to at least say hi." She announced.

Ralph crossed her arms again without realizing it. Courtney, Francis, Noel…? Maybe she wasn't prepared for this graduation journey after all. Everybody seemed to know each other and Ralph had just been grumpily ignoring as many people as she could at school. Maybe it would be easier to just keep doing that. Then again… She glanced at Ari. She knew Ari and Montany now. The annoying dragon gym leader's words rolled by in her head once more. The journey is the goal, huh? Fine.

"Yes, let's do it," she said. "The ghost pokémon were really cool, I want to know how she could control them."

"Eeeeek! Well, WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR? Let's go!" Coralie grabbed Ari's hand and hastily led her towards the large stage that the performance had occurred on only a few moments prior. She beckoned for Ralph to follow them. She sharply turned the corner, still dragging Arianne along with her, before her Cerulean eyes landed on their former classmate.

"NOELLL!!" She hollered, energetically waving to attract the girl's attention.

"Hello there, Noel! That was an amazing show!" Arianne chimed in shortly after.

"Oh? Ohhh!!" Noel turned from her costume rearranging to see some familiar faces. "My, my, my! This is a surprise, a congratulatory visit from my fellow classmates! I'm ever so glad you liked the show!"

Coralie walked up to her, her orbs sparkling with wonderment. "Oh, Noel, it was WONDERFUL, MOVING, A CINEMATIC MASTERPIECE! Eeeek!"

Ralph studied the interesting character for a moment, then smiled. "Coralie's right. It was a hella cool show. Were the ghosts yours, or maybe from the Tower?"

"The Ghost-types here are real scamps, aren't they? Pranksters and trickers the lot of them," Noel responded with a giggle. "Unfortunately, ghost manipulation is not among Noel's endless list of super amazingly dark cosmic powers, but as my master said, Pokémon each have different traits and personalities, so all I and the rest of the trainers did was help them along to the right direction. They all did the rest!"

"OOOOOH! That's so amazing! The ghost pokemon did such a fabulous job! You guys performed together in perfect sync. It was MESMERIZING!"

"They really are scamps, yeah…" Arianne shrugged at that comment, remembering the previous night's adventure. "But it's cool to see how they all played along. You all did great!"

"Neat," Ralph said, and lost herself in thought for a moment. Ghost types were scampers with lots of personalities, huh? Sounded very attractive to her.

"By the way, Noel, I'm Ralph," she then added towards the entertainer again. "Maybe you already knew, I don't know. I recognize you from school now that I think of it, but I didn't realize when you were in costume on stage." She smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you that quirky girl who always disappeared and reappeared in smoke and glitter... And who kind of spoke as if we were all in a fairytale?"

"Heavens bellsprout, of course I remember you, Ralphie!" Noel replied. "And… a fairytale, you say? Non, non, mon amie! Entertainment is ma spécialité! What you have witnessed during school is but a taste to the calamities maaaaany powers!"

Coralie giggled. "Oh, you always made such spectacular entrances to class, even when you were fashionably late!" She smiled at the wildly dressed girl, recalling the fond memory of Noel's countless dramatic appearances. "It is no different on stage, either!"

Ralph's raised eyebrow remained, but her smile softened. She couldn't quite tell yet if her old classmate was hiding something behind her theatrics, or if she was simply a spirited person with a flair for the dramatic. Either way, Ari and the hyped Coralie seemed to be on good foot with Noel, and Ralph was in a good mood. She decided to give both Noel and Coralie her mental 'OK' stamps for now.

"Do you have any ghost pokémon of your own, then? Could make for some pretty cool tricks on stage," Ralph then asked.

"I do not, but you have given me a fabulous suggestion!" Noel beamed. "My master Jarmie has some fantastic ghost-type Pokémon and if I can harness that power, think of the possibilities! Hmmm possibilities indeed… maybe a Gastly can grant the power to… possess people? Or a shuppet for the power of transparency!"

"They can be that powerful!?" Arianne questioned. "Jarmie didn't mention that when I fought her." In fact, the message that the black haired girl got from that battle was… that even despite being Jarmie's favorite, Ghost was just a type like any other. Not stronger or more special, or to be that scared of.

Coralie twirled around. "OH, I have a ghost type of my own! Trixie, my drifloon, of course! EEEK! I can envision all the tricks we'll pull on our opponents. Perhaps we can have a disappearing act of our very own! All we have to do is harness that fabulous ghostly energy!" Coralie clasped her hands together, her azure eyes dazzling as she considered this plan of hers.

"Oh man, imagine having an invisible pokémon to sneak up on people with!" Ralph mused, now clearly interested and gushing along with Noel. "Or possess nasty people and make them embarrass themselves in public! No way they aren't powerful."

"Well, that may be slightly overdoing it…" Coralie giggled at the thought, in spite of herself. "You are right, though! The possibilities are ENDLESS! MY GOSH, I feel so inspired right now! EEEK! Training can wait! Right now, the only thing on my mind is that Slurpuff stand!" Coralie motioned towards a nearby vendor, a man with a pink and wiped stripe apron standing next to a multitude of different kinds of desserts, chocolates, and candies. "OH! That cotton candy looks HEAVENLY! I think such a riveting performance calls for something SWEET, a TREAT!"

"Ooh! Of course!" Arianne laughed. "So… uhm, would you like to get some cotton candy as well?" She turned to Ralph and Noel.

"Thank you, but I must pass on the offer," Noel turned down. Her smile didn't quite reach her eyes. "I actually plan on doing more training… and due to our conversation, find a Ghost-type pokemon for our merry crew!"

"Hell yeah, let's go!" Ralph said eagerly, but she was turned towards Noel and not Ari.

"Uhm… I guess we can do that later, why not get some cotton candy while the stand is still open? Or rather…" Arianne went from talking normally to whispering in Ralph's ear. "...before Coralie buys the shop out?"

Ralph pouted, but then looked thoughtful for a moment as her eyes went from Noel to Arianne. "Sure," she then said with a shrug. "Cotton candy priority."

"Looks like you all have some fun plans!" Noel smiled. "Please don't let me get in your way!"

The girls who chose sugar parted ways with the girl who preferred ghosts, for now… But the evening adventures had only just begun.

---

Arianne's team:

Eric •

Mulan •

Alice •

Mizar •

Lulu

 

[moon]

Ralph Gonder

Bright Start To The Evening

Lavender Town Streets
Friday May 24th
Evening, Day 5

"Great show, honestly, I mean it! It told the story perfectly about our town."

Ralph swallowed a huge chunk of cotton candy and looked to find the source of the rather loud commentary, as she figured she recognized the voice.

"Ghost infestation, a savior coming to chase those trolls off… Remind you of someone we know?"

The speaker took a big sip from the can he was holding and grinned at his buddies around him. Antonio, the electric gym worker who had been arguing with his cousin earlier. They were leaning against the wall of a market stand some meters away from Ralph and Arianne on a less busy side street.

"I know what you mean!" one of the buddies said excitedly. "It's just like how Beaumont came here to chase away Jarmie!"

"Well, duh!" Antonio said, and they all laughed again.

Ralph shook her head and bumped Ari with her elbow to get her attention. "That idiot still didn't stop, look."

"Oh? You're right, he's just gone back to square one." Arianne rolled her eyes. "I just hope he doesn't start trouble… let's just move on."

"Yeah, I'm not dealing with this," Ralph agreed and started to leave, Arianne right beside her.

But that was when another player entered the field.

"You really shouldn't be calling Jarmie a troll."

Ralph froze, hearing that voice, and spun around. Long, blond hair, swirling cape, and for this special occasion apparently also an obnoxiously large bowtie. Marcus was walking up towards the gym workers, a strangely friendly smile on his face.

"Oh, you're one of them," Antonio spat. "Your whole… Getup, it says it all."

Marcus demonstratively looked behind himself, as if indicating that Antonio's 'them' were a group he didn't know of. The joke was lost on the not so sober gym worker, who just got annoyed with the antics.

"I know you call Beaumont bad things too!" one of the other workers exclaimed. "I've heard!"

"Only when they've done bad things," Marcus smiled, waggling a finger. "Please don't talk badly about Jarmie behind her back on her own birthday, though. She's not flawless, but she doesn't deserve that."

"Freedom of speech!" the third gym worker slurred angrily, but Antonio waved him shut and took a few steps closer to the blond man.

"Listen here, you gastly git," Lucretia's cousin started. "You don't get to tell me what to do. None of you do. I work at the official Lavender gym. I have authority. You? You are criminals!"

Here, Ralph tugged Ari's arm to direct her attention back to the troublemakers, only to find that her friend was already aware of the scene too.

"What do you think," she said so only Ari could hear her. "Want me to punch him before he punches somebody else?"

Marcus leaned his head to the side. "I honestly don't even know where to begin arguing with you," he told the gym workers, in a voice that mostly just sounded tired.

"Shows just how skilled you are! I know exactly where to begin!" Antonio sneered and was suddenly holding a pokéball.

"Can't we just get out already, and enjoy our cotton candy and ice cream?" Arianne rolled her eyes, looking more and more worried. "R-Ralph?"

The purple haired girl unfortunately was already moving forward. Truth be told, she had been starting to feel a bit bored at this festival. Even though hanging out with Ari for hours without any apparent danger dangling above them had been soothing in many ways, some drama and risk of action was apparently just what she craved right now. Maybe the past few days had made her an addict.

"Back off!" she called out as she practically leaped to land in between the men just as Antonio raised his hand, likely about to send his pokémon out. Ralph's eyes bore into Antonio's; it was clear which one of the men she considered to be in the wrong here.

Antonio first gaped, then laughed, then seemed to remember her. Ralph could feel his nasty breath as he loomed.

"Last I saw, you seemed to support Beaumont. You a betrayer too, huh?"

Ralph wrinkled her nose. "You're more thick-headed than I thought. Are you sure you're an adult?"

Arianne just kept eating her ice cream, albeit faster than before. "He's not going to change…"

Marcus seemed to share Ari's sentiment. "Not sure you're helping, Ralph."

"Oh, he knows what I'm talking about," Ralph grunted without turning to face Marcus. "Earlier today, he heard a Tower Gym person agree that talking was better than back-talking. But apparently he didn't understand it. I actually talked things out today. And it really did help."

She forced her own stance to soften for a moment. She didn't want to make a fool of herself when several people were already watching.

"So, you really should try that too," she finished directly towards Antonio.

A beat.

Then a pokémon was sent out, practically in Ralph's face, knocking her over. Marcus luckily caught her before she hit the ground. When they looked up, they saw a big red and white orb sitting where Ralph had just stood. Its eyes were menacing and there was an ominous crackling aura around it. Voltorb!

Marcus carefully shoved Ralph away a bit and swiftly sent out his Jigglypuff. "That was a bad thing you did," he told Antonio in a serious tone. "I'm gonna have to call you bad things later."

Antonio just grimaced, and his friends didn't waste any time. Within seconds, two more pokémon stood lined up in front of the ragged gym workers. An Electrike and a Klink. The latter hovered in the air, its metal cogs spinning enigmatically. It had cut off Ralph's escape route back to Ari.

More disappointed than ever, Arianne just tried to make a single bite of what was left of her ice cream, almost spilling it over, and reached for her Pokéballs. Mizar was the one she called out.

"Emb-b…" Was all that she could say without spewing out everything in her mouth, leaving the Bagon quite disoriented, but… one sight at the Klink in front of him was enough to understand why he was out of his Pokéball.

He walked closer to Klink and let out an Ember, that the Steel type easily dodged. Better than nothing, though, Mizar was being a decent distraction. Its trainer reared his head in Ari's direction, and people around her stepped aside. Uh-oh.

Ralph shone up from seeing Ari coming to the rescue though. Back on her two feet properly now, she reached for a pokéball of her own.

"I guess we are all trainers, after all…"

"So we'll let a battle do the talking?"

Ralph snapped her head to glare at Marcus. "Don't steal my jokes, man!"

But she was still smiling when she sent out her own pokémon to join in.

Greeny

Lv 9 | Sandsy

Lv 21 | Coldy

Lv 15
Edgy

Lv 18 | Softy

Lv 10 | Jolty

Lv 14
Ralph's Profile | Current Chapter | css base by Aquacorde

 

[Aquacorde]

Casey Holt

Saturday, May 25, 2019
Lavender Town
Early Morning, Day 6

5-21: light me up // knock me down

Spoiler: music

It's quiet.

Casey's eyes flutter open. He sees a shock of copper curls on a background of steely sky.

Sorley is frowning down at him. That's weird. He opens his mouth but Sorley cuts him off before he can say "you can't frown on a nice morning" or something else ridiculous.

"This really is a problem."

"Uh. What is?"

"Your ghost thing. This's the second time this week Golurk's picked you up off the street!"

Casey rolls off of Sorley's lap and sits himself upright, facing them in the grassy boulevard. Petulance bleeds through his words more than he'd like. "Din't ask him to."

Sorley raises an eyebrow. "You'd rather be left unconscious and alone?"

And incapable of helping yourself? The chill and wave of nausea shuddering through him shows far more than he would ever say. Sorley presses their lips together.

"Right," they say, drumming their fingers against their thigh as their words pick up both speed and volume. "Twice in a week, and you almost went down yesterday, and those're just the ones I know about! How much does this happen?"

Casey looks to the sky as he silently ticks things off, but his train of thought screeches to a halt as he realizes- "Hey, wait, you can't- it's only your Pokémon that have made me faint on this journey!"

Sorley sits bolt upright. "You're blaming-" And just as suddenly, they relax, hint of a smirk at the corner of their mouth as they shake their head. Casey looks away, anywhere but their face. "Ah, ah, no, I caught that. "On this journey". It's been happening. This is a big, big problem, and you-"

"I KNOW! I know it's a problem, okay!"

The silence in the wake of his outburst is deafening. Casey never really understood that phrase until this moment.

He chances a glance at Sorley. They look a bit stunned, eyes wide and lips slightly parted. Casey looks away again, scrubs his hands over his face and sighs.

"I know," he says, much more quietly and slightly muffled by his palms. "It's- I used to run. That worked, that was fine, I didn't have to…"

He tucks his knees under his chin and folds his arms atop them. "But I'm s'posed to be a trainer. I mean, I am a trainer. Can't just run from every fight with a Ghost type. Imagine! You an' me, quarterfinals in a tournament, and I forfeit soon as I see any of your Pokémon. That's ridiculous."

Sorley looks like they might say something, but if Casey's going to say some of it then he's going to say all of it. "When I started college I started forcin' myself not to run. And now I don't. But I don't do anything else, either. 'Cause I can't. 'Cause it takes all I have just to… stay put."

"And then you faint."

Casey splutters. "I- well- not always-"

"Enough, though."

He's not sulking. He's just… irritated. And not making eye contact again.

"You gotta fix that," Sorley declares, and Casey breaks again.

"I know that! I just-"

He refuses to admit it. Saying it out loud would make it real. He doesn't want to tell someone he barely knows. All of the above. Wait, why's he telling Sorley any of this? He hasn't even told Jordan, not in so many words at least. He doesn't tell anyone anything. Not about this kind of thing.

But maybe not knowing the person makes it easier.

No. He shuts his mouth with a click. He's not going to say it.

Unfortunately, Sorley is pretty observant when they want to be.

"You don't know how."

Casey flinches and curls further in on himself. That blow wasn't softened at all.

A breeze drifts lazily down the street, slipping over two very talkative people sitting in complete silence. Sorley brushes their fingers across the blades of grass. Casey vaguely contemplates ways he can leave without looking like he's running away.

A snap of fingers makes him jump. "Exposure therapy!"

"What?"

"It's-" Sorley begins, but Casey waves dismissively. "No, I know what it is. I've been doing this for two years. How is that not enough exposure?"

Sorley cocks their head. "Explain what "this" is."

"Not running away from Ghost types." Obviously. But Sorley throws their hands in the air with various exasperated noises.

"Well that's not it!"

"Wh-"

"You can't just let them show up whenever! You gotta be in a, a controlled thing- situation- environment- that! So you gotta make it!" They bring their hands back down to start ticking things off on their fingers. "You gotta pick a time to meet a Ghost type and, and get yourself prepared, you know, mentally. And then sit with it until you can't. And then get its trainer to put it away." They go back to tapping their fingers on their thighs. "That's how to make it safe. And then you'll get better every time!"

Casey can't help the short laugh that escapes him. Sorley's eyes narrow. "Safe, huh?"

"Yeah!"

"It's never gonna be safe! Ghosts aren't safe, they're not trustworthy, they can do things-!" Sorley's brow furrows further. "It's not safe!" Casey protests.

"Neither is fainting in the street!"

They glare at each other for a long moment.

Casey huffs and unfolds himself, rising to his feet and scooping up Ginger in one fluid motion. "Thanks for pickin' me up."

He feels Sorley's eyes on his back as they watch him go.

Pepper Bomb • Charmeleon • lv22 | Ginger • Buneary • lv19 | Parsley • Skiddo • lv17
Casey's Profile | Extra Characters / Sorley's Profile | TRAINERS Art

 

[Eleanor]

A battle of rage
🍀🍀🍀
Arianne and Ralph - written with Adventure
Lavender Town - Day 5 - May 24^th

​

---

♫ - Sleepmakeswaves - batavia
Without any comprehensible command from his trainer, Mizar was just left on his own against a Pokémon he really wasn't sure how to fight. Klink was dodging most of his moves and hitting him back quite effectively, and it was right between Arianne and Ralph.

At the same time, Ralph's pokémon had materialized next to Marcus' Jigglypuff. It was her new Elekid, whom she had dubbed 'Jolty' after getting to know him briefly earlier. Fighting sparks with sparks.

"You want the dog or the toy?" Ralph hurriedly asked the man next to her as both Voltorb and Electrike were ordered to charge by the gym workers.

"Ball versus ball!" Marcus responded without losing a beat. "Disarming Voice!"

Ralph didn't wait to see the result of the fairy's move, because the Electrike had just leaped at her Elekid. Luckily, her new pokémon seemed to not be the kind to stand around waiting for orders. It dodged the tackle with what Ralph assumed was a Quick Attack, leaving the Electrike and its surely intoxicated and slightly slow trainer to spend a few precious seconds wondering what had happened.

"Way to get fat, girl! Eating as your Pokémon is out there fighting," one of the trainers mocked the other Cape girl, who just couldn't understand the reason for all that vitriol. This gave Arianne an idea, though.

"Bite!" she mumbled, as Mizar waited for Klink to come close enough and successfully immobilized it. Arianne took the opportunity to run to where Ralph was, letting her presence known with a pat on the shoulder. Finally able to speak normally again, she just commanded her Pokémon to use another Ember, dealing some strong damage on Klink before it could escape once again.

"Nice going, Ari," Ralph said with an appreciative grin. "My turn. Jolty, Quick Attack!"

The Elekid shot forward again, but Electrike responded with a Quick Attack of its own, that the trainer somehow managed to order in time. The two pokémon tackled each other with blindind speed, neither damaging the other much. While they were still close, Ralph called out: "Low Kick!"

Bagon was spouting Embers all around in the meantime, not necessarily hitting Klink but keeping it away from him. Arianne took this chance to take a better look at how Ralph and Marcus were faring, instead.

Jolty let out an odd little scoffing noise before he swept the legs of the electric dog. Since it wasn't very heavy and actually had four feet, Electrike seemed more agitated than hurt by the move though. Its trainer called out a Bite attack.

"Thundershock!" Ralph called out.

Electrike still bit the Elekid, but sparks flew as it did, and it was visibly not a very pleasant munch. When the two pokémon broke apart, Jolty was clearly in pain though. Drat, Ralph thought. Electrike might have a dumb drunk trainer, but it has probably got several levels on my new Elekid. Maybe picking Sandsy would have been the wiser move.

"Oh no! Can I help?" Arianne nervously asked the other girl. Just a few seconds later, though, Bagon was right onto Electrike, hitting it with a full power Ember that its trainer clearly couldn't anticipate. Klink quickly followed suit, however, getting ready for a Gear Grind attack.

Ralph's brain sped up. A couple of meters away, Jigglypuff and Voltorb were caught up in some kind of rolling, sparking wrestling match. Marcus wore an expression in between boredom and scolding, while Antonio looked somewhere in between delighted and downright crazy. At least one opponent was distracted.

"Maybe you can," Ralph said and smiled towards her friend before turning back to Electrike and Klink. "Remember when we double battled on our first day of the journey? Time for a better performance! Jolty, Quick Attack!"

The Elekid quickly tackled the Klink away before it could reach the dragon, and landed relatively elegantly nearby. He gave the Bagon a poke with his elbow, but his grin was encouraging. He might have been newly caught and half wild, but he wasn't uncivilized. He was ready for teaming up.

Arianne didn't really blush, but was about to, as those sweet memories resurfaced in her head. She nodded, but quickly turned to the ongoing battle - just like Mizar did after getting Elekid's sign of support. The Dragon-type aimed another Ember at Electrike, slowing it down as it tried to execute Bite, and taking the attack with relative ease.

"Alright Ralph, we got this!" Arianne cheered.

"Okay. So they're pretty shabby right now. I think we can get the upper hand with some attitude first. Jolty, Leer!"

Elekid sneered and delivered a sudden pointed glare at its opponents, curiously matched by his trainer's stare.

"Well! Mizar, use Leer as well!" The black haired girl called out, mimicking her own Pokémon as it casted an angry glare Electrike's way. She had not quite forgiven the other trainer for what he said, and that was surely the best way to let him know!

Klink and Electrike, as well as their trainers, seemed to jolt at the four-fold leer, giving the Cape girls a window of opportunity.

Arianne's angry face gave way to a smug expression. "Bite on Electrike!" She called out. "Join in, Ralph!"

Ralph saw in the corner of her eye how Klink's trainer made his Pokémon come zooming in, as if to hinder Mizar from attacking the dog. Impressive strategy considering their current sorry state.

"Counter moves for counter moves," she mumbled, then with more force: "Quick Attack on Klink!"

Jolty might not have been the fastest pokemon on the planet, but focusing its power into this particular move still made him much speedier than a recently leered, slightly burned Klink. He tackled it away just before it could reach Mizar, leaving the dragon free to finally make impact with the Electrike.

Bite was a success, hitting the Electric type for a good amount of damage. Soon, however, Mizar had to turn back to Klink.

"Gear Grind!" Its trainer commanded, and the Steel type did its best to get back into the battle, gaining momentum as it began spinning around.

Electrike, on the other hand, readied up a Thundershock.

Ralph's brain was thankfully still in fast-mode. She was perhaps still spurred on by her fired up disgust for their opponents. It didn't matter that they were Beaumont's henchmen.

"Jolty, Quick Attack in front of Bagon!" she called out.

Even with the speed from the technique, the Elekid barely managed to get there in time, but effectively shielded the dragon from the electric attack, which didn't seem to harm Jolty much; he was still somewhat grinning when the sparks subsided.

That did, however, leave room for Klink's Gear Grind to move in towards the Bagon from the other side.

Except… the intended target was Jolty this time. Bagon could only see the Steel type fly past him as it hit the already weaker Elekid. Not exactly something that Arianne liked to see, and not something that Mizar would tolerate either.

"I'll help you! Get ready with Ember!"

Mizar waited for the perfect moment to strike, and hit Klink just as the two gears reunited together. This time, the flames knocked the Steel type out for good, leaving just Electrike for the two girls to deal with.

"Get him while he's weak!" Electrike's trainer shouted and pointed straight at Jolty. "Thundershock!"

Ralph clenched her fists. Going straight for the weakest pokemon with repeated attacks? She wasn't sure if that was a good strategy or just mean in this situation. But she chose to interpret it as the latter.

"Jolty, Swift!"

The Elekid fired off star shaped rays that collided with the Thundershock mid-air. The flashing sparks of electric energy waged a battle with the glittery energy of Swift, and it didn't look like the latter would actually win… Unless… This wasn't the time to be independent and strong. Their two pokémon had already helped each other today, and Ralph [i[did[/i] trust her friend.

"Ari! Help!"

"On it! Use Ember!" The girl from Cinnabar called out, this time with more urgency, as Bagon combined his attack with Jolty's. The now fiery ray of stars whirled through the air, practically plowing through the electricity like a hot knife through butter. Electrike was promptly knocked out - no way it could take two attacks at the same time.

"Yes, we did it Ralph!" Arianne cheered, happy to fight alongside her friend once again after all that happened.

Ralph grinned and put an arm around the other girl's shoulder in camaraderie. Mizar and Jolty seemed proud too, and smiled happily at each other.

The gym trainers both looked with appalled faces at the fainted Electrike on the ground. As one of them returned it to a pokeball, the other one grunted: "It's not over yet!"

"Isn't it?" Marcus said, making the girls' heads snap around and remember that he had been there and fighting too.

What they saw was his Jigglypuff sitting casually atop a clearly fainted Voltorb, near a very agitated Antonio. The loser finally downed the last of the beer he had been holding all this time, and tossed the can away, nearly hitting a bystander. His eyes were slightly bloodshot as he returned Voltorb to its pokéball, forcing Jigglypuff to float like a balloon to the ground when its seating dematerialized.

"Of course it isn't! Just how weak and dumb are you? Magneton, go!"

Ralph's grin instantly faded when a large, metallic pokémon appeared with a crackling noise in the air in front of them. Antonio's friends were now the ones wearing the grins instead, and they followed his example and sent out more pokémon of their own: a Pachirisu and a Blitzle. The three gym trainers advanced on their opponents with renewed hope.

Ari was getting more upset by the second. Sure, at first she just wanted to get out of there quickly and stay out of trouble, but now all that she wanted to do was win quickly, and at whatever cost. She already had one or two more Pokéballs in her hands, ready to go.

Ralph instinctively put a protective arm out in front of Ari, and glanced at Jolty. He was tired and hurt. She should switch her pokémon out too. But could she take the big Magneton on? Maybe Marcus' dragon could, or maybe they should send several pokémon of their own out actually, like Ari seemed about to do. But maybe the gym trainers would send even more pokémon then and…

"Stop," a voice suddenly said. Loud, but not very deep.

A flash of green passed by the girls and came to a stop in between the two groups of pokémon. The green turned out to be a suit, and inside of it was no one other than the gym leader Beaumont Tayloz himself.

---

Arianne's team:

Eric •

Mulan •

Alice •

Mizar •

Lulu

 

[moon]

Ralph & Arianne... kind of.
Friday, May 24th, Evening
Lavender Town Square

It isn't easy, being Beaumont Tayloz.

He was a good trainer, graduated among the best in the class at Safari Academy, and was one of the rare trainers from that school to actually conquer every gym on his journey - that feat was usually only something more hardened Cape trainers pulled off. So when his parent approached him and said that he was now all of a sudden going to be a gym leader, in the sleepy Lavender Town of all places too, it might have come as a surprise, but not an unwelcome one.

Beaumont loved a chance to prove himself, and to be honest, most often he came through and impressed. He liked making people happy. Being a gym leader meant that he would be a community leader, and he would meet new trainers as well as experienced ones. He would get the chance to be a role model! What could go wrong?

A lot, apparently.

His presence in Lavender didn't become what he thought it would. Instead of reverence and admiration, most villagers had looked at him with skepticism, or even disgust, for the past year. He did meet new traveling trainers, but most of the old experienced ones came from Saffron or another big city, traveling to his remote town just to get help with some specific part of training Electric Types. The Lavender residents hadn't paid him much attention, at least not positively. And it was all because of Jarmie Katalan.

They had only had a few brief conversations. When Beau first arrived in town and learned that there was someone referred to as the Pokémon Tower Warden, he paid a visit. Only to find a bitter, dark teenager with venom in her words and anger in her stare. Once his gym was properly set up and he had learned more about the reason for her antagonism, he had visited her again, but this time she had barely even looked at him. They had ran into each other at town events, or even randomly at the pokémon center or in the town square a few times too, but all he had ever received from the Pokémon Tower Warden was intense darkness and dislike.

So he had given up.

Or so he told himself.

He heard a ruckus at the edge of the square this otherwise lovely evening, and did as many other bystanders present - he went to see what was happening. By the time he had reached the scene, there was a full battle going on. He recognized several of the involved trainers. Three of them were his own employees, to his disappointment, and they did not look to be in their best shape either. Their opponents were none other than a trainer who had lost to him earlier in the morning, exchanging moves with her friend, as well as a man Beau clearly recognized as one of Jarmie's acquaintances. The Electric gym leader was a smart man. He didn't need to see more, he could read the pent up anger now fuming from Antonio's face, and also figure out from what he knew about Marcus that that trainer wouldn't start a battle in the middle of a crowd without good reason. Jarmie was very likely this good reason.

Even though he knew he should do something, he couldn't help but just standing put and watch the final moves, see the girls overwhelm his gym workers through actual teamwork. But when Antonio and the others started pulling up more pokéballs, Beau pulled himself out of his intrigued daze, and dashed out into the scene.

"Stop," he said, and placed himself in the middle of all the pokémon.

He really hoped he still had authority enough for the pokémon not to throw themselves onto him instead now.

Nah, it worked fine. The girls looked surprised, Marcus actually broke into a smile, and his gym workers looked frankly aghast. Their pokémon didn't move another muscle. Good. Beaumont took a deep breath, before putting on the warmest smile he could muster.

"While that looked to be a fascinating battle, this really isn't the place or time for that. You," he said and bored his gaze into Antonio, who gulped audibly. "Should probably head home now, yes?"

"They were-" Antonio begun.

"Don't just let them go!" someone on Beaumont's other side said.

The purple haired girl. Ralph, was it? Her face was fire, while her friend looked like she wanted to hold her back.

"They got drunk and started a fight! He," she pointed at Antonio, "sent out his pokémon right on top of me! They think they can crap all over the Tower people, but they haven't even tried talking to them for real."

She took a pause, and turned to look her friend in the eyes, as if those words held great meaning for them. She nodded, a quite serious look on her face.

Antonio growled. "Didn't you literally just see me try to talk sense into my cousin earlier?"

"I heard her agree that talking is the way to go, but clearly you weren't listening!" The purple haired girl turned towards Beaumont again. "You… I don't think you're here to ruin things."

Beau's face softened. Of course he wasn't. All he ever wanted was to make people happy.

"I don't think so either," Marcus said, and he was looking at Beaumont.

"Really?" Beaumont couldn't help but blurting out, maybe in a tone that revealed too much of his skepticism.

Marcus leaned his head to the side, his straight blond strands falling even lower over his arm. "Jarmie does, though."

"Exactly!" Antonio exclaimed, with agreeing murmurs from his companions.

Ralph's friend was probably the one who looked the most skeptical, though. "N-no, I don't think…" She muttered.

"Toni," Beau said. "Go home. I'll talk to you tomorrow at the gym."
Antonio grunted something inaudible, but did recall his pokémon and turn around, the other gym workers following suit. The crowd finally started to disperse at that.

"But-" Ralph began, but Beau cut her off.

"I said I'll talk to them, tomorrow. Wasn't that what you wanted? We're all tired now and just want to enjoy the celebrations. Rest assured I won't let them get away unscathed. And you do have my thanks for helping out with the situation here. I'll keep it in mind when I talk to professor Palm about you."

Ralph's response luckily was merely to fold her arms tightly and give a sour stare, perhaps again thanks to her friend keeping her back.

"When was the last time you talked with Jarmie Katalan?" Marcus asked curiously.

Beaumont straightened up, and took a few moments to think. "I don't even know. But every time I tried, she sure didn't want to talk with me."

"Maybe you should start with Happy Birthday!" Marcus suggested with another smile.

The gym leader sighed. "Wouldn't it be nice if it was that easy?"

His glance wandered over to the two younger trainers still standing around, seemingly wondering if they should say something more or were allowed to leave. They seemed to be good friends. Marcus and Jarmie were… Well, some kind of friends. He sighed, and the smile that grew on his face now was probably a bit different from his usual.

"But, you know what? Maybe I'll try."

He gave the three trainers a nod and something akin to a curtsy, before he left the scene. He wasn't sure where he was headed now though; his enthusiasm for the festival had pretty much dissipated completely. Should he try to find the Pokémon Tower Warden?

He probably should. But.

Putting his hands into his pocket in an uncharacteristic hunching pose, he instead began the long walk back to the official Lavender Town gym. Being sponsored professionally by the Tomorrow Foundation, and privately by his parent, Beaumont had all the money, technology, tools and toys he could ask for, and a home to be in awe of. But he just realized that he didn't actually have friends here to share all he had with.

 

[moon]

Ralph & Arianne & Richard
Friday, May 24th, Late evening
Lavender Town

"Argh… What should I do? What should I do?" Richard muttered as he frantically turned his head left and right, scanning through the crowd for the right people to show up.

It was almost the agreed time to meet up with Sarah and Courtney yet he hadn't managed to find anyone he was comfortable in inviting. Not that he had anyone of course, the only one he was remotely close with was Keith and he wasn't answering his calls at all.

"...I guess it can't be helped." Richard sighed before turning back.

Richard couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed that he didn't find anyone. But at the same time, he felt happy that no one was unlucky enough to be dragged in an expedition he felt destined to fail. Or so he would, if he didn't notice a familiar face in the crowd.

"Oh no…" Richard's face tensed as he watched Ari with someone else as she enjoyed the festival. He would've left her alone in any other situation, but promise is a promise, and he had to at least try. Even if he hoped that she would reject his offer.

"Hi Ari! Enjoying the festival?"

"Oh, hi Richard! Yes, definitely." Arianne turned around to greet the boy. Of course, she'd find him again at the Festival, just like Coralie before.

Ralph's eyes widened when she saw who was approaching them. She recognized the guy from class. He had always seemed like the quiet, strong character, and Ralph did remember his name, but she couldn't recall if they had ever actually spoken.

"What about you though?" Arianne asked the boy. "And how did the Jarmie battle go?"

"It's… I can say it was close, but I guess there's a reason she could claim to be the rightful gym leader haha." Richard awkwardly laughed, and then turned to Ari's companion. "Oh sorry, I didn't mean to ignore you. You're… Ralph, right? Nice to meet you."

"Yeah. And you're Richard," Ralph said with a slow nod. "Nice to meet you too. Ari sure knows a lot of people." She hadn't meant to say the last part out loud, and felt a sting of red on her cheeks as she heard herself. It wasn't necessarily an embarrassing thing to say, but she hadn't really meant to reveal that it was on her mind.

Ari just smiled genuinely at Ralph's words: hearing them felt very nice after all her not-so-happy times back at Cape College.

"Sorry for asking this, but are you two free right now?" Richard continued. "Me and my friends are going to go to the town graveyard. It may sound weird but there are rumours that the elusive Pokemon, Rotom is there. Well anyway, would you guys like to join?"

"Rotom?" Ralph's brain was instantly switched on. "I've heard that name before… Isn't it an electric legend?"

"Rotom, Rotom… I don't remember much about it. Probably just a rare Pokémon." Arianne chimed in. "Still…" The girl shuddered, and turned more serious. "I-I'm not sure that's a g-good idea…"

"Just a rare pokémon?" Ralph repeated, eyes shining. "If we didn't learn about it in school, it's probably rarer than even your Bagon. I wonder what it's doing in a graveyard. I found other electric types around the Power Plant, but that's on the other side of the city."

"When something is really special, you hear stories and legends about it. But Rotom? I don't even remember its typing…" Arianne confessed. "If you really want to go with him though, I guess one more person in the group never hurts."

"Well, if the stories and rumours are true, they said that Rotom is a really elusive Pokemon which is something worth considering. Although, it also meant that finding it is going to be hard… I'm not going to force you both to join, but if you two do have time, then… Maybe, we should try finding it?"

"Uhm…" Arianne was getting more conflicted. Another night-time adventure, after all that already happened, sounded like it was better off avoided. But of course, leaving them to wander off by themselves was not a good choice either! Well, Ralph knew about the whole Lavender Tower thing, but Richard only went there during the day, didn't he?

"I'll trust you on this, Ralph! Just know it's going to be hard, like he said, alright?" She finally nodded.

Ralph smirked. "Wouldn't be fun otherwise. Lead the way, Mr Rich!"

 

[Eleanor]

The quest for fame
🍀🍀🍀
Arianne, Gwen, Ralph, Richard, Courtney and Sarah - written with Adventure, QueenNothing and WizardOfOdd
Lavender Town - Day 5 - May 24^th

​

---

♫ - A Hat in Time, main theme
Following Richard, the newformed trio soon found themselves back at the pokémon center. His quest-givers were waiting for them.

"Oh, here you are Richard!" Sarah greeted the boy, before turning her attention to the two girls who were following him. "You also brought more trainers? I really didn't expect this to happen, but… nice!."

"Finally! Can we get to the graveyard alr-" Courtney smirked, before getting interrupted by her friend.

"Come on, he wasn't that late anyways." Sarah chimed in, as her classmate sighed and looked at the newly arrived girls as well.

Arianne felt the eyes of her… fellow citizen on her, and immediately grimaced. "Richard, why her…" She whispered, hoping that only he would hear her complaints, but being just a bit too loud.

Richard, who realized that Ari was whispering towards him, slightly turned his head only to be surprised at her expression. "Sorry, I knew I should've talked about who else was going to join this. I'm really sorry." He whispered back.

Ralph had raised a skeptical eyebrow when she heard Ari's whisper.

By the time Richard turned around once again, Courtney was already standing much closer to him and the girls.

"So… you brought her along, uh? Nice choice!" She smirked, only causing the black haired girl to pout at her even more than she was already doing.

"You couldn't know," Ari whispered back to Richard in the meantime, keeping her eyes fixed on the redhead.

But now Ralph was crossing her trademark arms and giving Courtney a challenging stare. She was starting to realize who this person might be, based on her earlier convo with Ari.

"You've got a problem, girl?" she scoffed at the redhead.

"Oh? Couldn't be happier." She smirked back at Ralph.

"I thought so," Ralph said and promptly turned away from the redhead to face Ari and Richard again with a sly smile, as if making her back a wall. She playfully raised her fist so they but not Courtney could see. Arianne smiled at her, but still looked a bit worried.

"Hello? You're supposed to help me. If you don't, then I'll be a very sad girl." Courtney insistently poked on Ralph's shoulder at that point. "I mean, do you know why you're here?"

Arianne and Richard could clearly see the change in Ralph's demeanor when the shoulder poking began. Her green eyes were suddenly like emerald fire, and it was almost as if her purple braids stood up from their roots for a moment. The dark girl slowly turned back to glare at Courtney.

"I'm here to catch Rotom. Name's Ralph. I don't know who you are, but you look like you'd be useful as a distraction, or maybe as bait," she added with a smirk, looking at Courtney's hair that was even more colorfully bright than her own. "So you can come along, if you dare."

The redhead pouted. "Wrong answer, Ralphie, the Rotom is mine. If you want one go find another one yourself." She shrugged in defiance. "If you're that good you should have no problem going alone."

Sarah, slightly further away, rolled her eyes in disappointment. "Courtney, come on…" She tried to call out, but went unnoticed.

"Courtney, she came here to help us. There's no need to be that aggressive…" Richard tried his best to defuse the tension.

Now it was Ralph's turn to smirk. "No problem at all, kiddo. I guess you're not that good, then?"

"Why, does it even matter to you?" Courtney replied, this time definitely more bitter.

Noticing that the other girl might actually be upset now, the intensity in Ralph's emerald eyes suddenly mellowed. She couldn't help but glance over at Ari next to her, who seemed rather worried by what was happening. Had she gone too far? She'd never worried about going too far when they were in school.

"No, I guess it doesn't," Ralph finally said, more slowly. "How about we see if Rotom's here at all, first? And…" She actually reached up and scratched her head now, "Maybe there's other cool pokémon to catch too. Ghosts, maybe."

Courtney just squinted her eyes and pouted at the purple haired girl, staying quiet just enough for Sarah to speak up.

"Excuse me?" The brunette called out, finally getting enough attention. "Plan is to go and catch a Rotom, which is difficult enough on its own. Let's stay together and be alert, and then for all I care we can keep trading that Rotom between ourselves, if we end up getting our hands on one."

"We are the Safari Trainers who actually put in effort to graduate, and we get looked down upon by some other students because of it. I tried some other solutions to get them to stop but at this point, I'm fine with Courtney's idea of playing their own game." She continued, trying to sound inspiring more than realistic, but nonetheless managing to get the redhead's eyes sparkling again.

Arianne quickly caught onto Sarah's words and looked at Ralph. "Sorry for all that, but… please, stay in the group! I'm counting on you."

"Yeah, I'm really sorry that it turned out this way… But Ari… No, we need you to help us. Can you stay? I'll try to make it up to you, I promise."

Ralph smiled at them, slightly more at ease now. "Fiiiine," she said with obvious fake annoyance. "I guess I'll make for pretty good bait too!"

Meanwhile, largely unnoticed from the rest of the group stood Gwen, who was shivering in her place. Now that she wasn't homing in on Courtney anymore, Ralph finally noticed another face she actually recognized, to her own surprise.

"N-N-Nobody told me there'd be this many p-p-people here…" Gwen spoke to herself, likely quiet enough where few were able to hear her.

"I wasn't expecting it either," Ralph said, as she had stepped away from the others a bit and caught some of what the other girl had said.

The black-haired girl flinched as she was being approached. Her eyes widened, and she subtly backed away.

Ralph raised an eyebrow at the odd reaction. She had been feeling socially emboldened by recent events, but maybe not everyone was the same. Well, she was still gonna try harder now.

"You're… Gwen, right? Pretty sure we met in school."

"Uhhh, yeah, that's me…" Oh great, another Cape student she didn't remember. She was far too nervous to give a proper response beyond that, and just meekly scratched the back of her head. This might just be a repeat of Route 9 for her.

"Um. Right." Ralph blinked for a few moments, feeling increasingly awkward, social momentum slowing. Maybe this was the wrong individual to try to branch out with. Not knowing how to continue, Ralph just chose to subtly turned back to the others again to see what they were talking about now. Gwen sighed, sounding both relieved and dissatisfied.

Richard who realized the new person in their group was not sure how to greet the girl, he definitely knew her name but did she even want to be greeted by someone she barely knew? Probably not, at least that's what he thought. With that in mind, he tried to signal Sarah to greet the newcomer.

Sarah took notice of the situation and tried to walk closer to Gwen herself. After all, this wasn't the Gwen she remembered just some minutes ago! "Hey, is everything alright?" She asked out loud.

Gwen stared at Sarah for a moment. "Y-Yeah, I guess, I just…" She wasn't used to being asked things like this, not by kids her age at least. "I'm nervous around strangers, except apparently that girl wasn't a stranger, and we went to school together…"

"I understand… But don't worry. I can always keep an eye on them, you know!" Sarah smiled.

"Oh, uh...Thanks." This was an unfamiliar feeling to the Unovian trainer, and she lightly blushed while scratching the back of her head. Being friendly with people might have had some merits after all.

"Well, come closer then! When we'll be at the graveyard we shouldn't wander off alone to begin with." Sarah announced, as she waved her index finger in the air. "If you're ok with it, that is."

Gwen looked around for a bit before reluctantly giving an answer. "S-Sure." She slowly made her way over to the rest of the group, meekly smiling and averting her pupils towards the dirt.

"Well," the brunette looked at all the other trainers. "This here is Gwen! A great trainer and Ghost enthusiast…" The black-haired girl became more flushed, but could also feel a cocky grin slowly form on her face.

"With a great taste in food!" Courtney playfully added, creating a single seamless sentence.

"Hi again, Gwen! It's been a while." Arianne officially greeted Gwen as well, remembering her from the camping on Route 9.

"Hello, nice to meet you, Gwen. I'm Richard, you would probably know me as the guy who teleported out from the campsite from the same event."

Gwen, on the other hand, struggled to remember the people who were greeting her. She simply awkwardly waved back.

Ralph just folded her arms again and wondered what kind of Cape trainer would be chummy with Safari trainers but not her own schoolmates. She luckily didn't voice that sentiment.

"So are we going, or what?" she said instead.

"We'd better!" Courtney chimed in. "But no, Sarah loses herself in formalities…" She teased her friend. As she heard those words, the brunette sighed, knowing that the complaints were justified for once, and once again tried to get everyone's attention.

"Girls… and Richard, time to get down to business." Her voice was slightly unsteady, but the Safari trainer still made it through. "Let's get a move on!"

"Sure, let's not waste more time." The boy nodded.

Gwen could barely contain her excitement, smiling ear to ear. "Oh my god, I'm so excited to catch a ghost-type!" The anticipation that had been building up for hours was finally about to pay off.

---

Arianne's team:

Eric •

Mulan •

Alice •

Mizar •

Lulu

Courtney's team: Magby • Shinx • ???
Sarah's team: ???

 

[QueenNothing]

Gwen Alanis
Ft. Ralph, Richard, and Ari
Lavender Town, Day 5

---

"Ugh, of course it's all closed." Courtney sighed, as under the light of the last post of the road, stood the massive iron gate that would lead into the graveyard. "Any idea how to get to the other side?" She questioned, trying to hide her insecurity.

"It's not worth the effort, see? We already walked for so long, too, only to break the law in search of some Ghosts!" Sarah complained as well, voicing her own worries. The group was all there, all trainers ready, but their presence didn't make her feel that much better. Instead, she was mostly worried for getting that many people into this. "The question is, should we really keep going at all?" She asked, adding onto what Courtney said.

"We have to keep going!" Gwen insisted. "These aren't just some ghosts, ghost Pokemon are some of the most uncommon Pokemon and I can't miss any opportunity to catch them!"

Ralph walked up to the gate and tugged on it, measuring it with her gaze. She also stomped on the dirt next to the fence. Then she turned back to the group with a cocky grin.

"My Sandshrew can dig a tunnel easily. Unless you're afraid of getting a little dirty?"

While Courtney seemed to like the idea, and smirked back at Ralph, it was Arianne who tried to stop her. "Hm, I…" She whispered to her friend. "I'd really rather not do that, sorry." Claustrophobia was not something she could just get over after a cave adventure, after all. It was still there, and the thought of jumping into a Sandshrew sized tunnel only made her more reluctant.

"Well, Any—"

"I have an idea!" Gwen blurted out, unknowingly cutting Richard's attempt to present his idea. "I can use Tusk to break down the gate!"

"And have everyone find out?" Sarah replied, as if she was scolding Gwen. "Sorry, but that's way too much." She then looked at the wall nearby and started walking back and forth, along the perimeter of the graveyard. "I wonder if there's a spot where the wall has crumbled. It looks… fairly old, doesn't it?"

Ralph rolled her eyes. "You guys really aren't creative geniuses, are you?"

She took out a pokéball and her Beedrill appeared in the air next to her. He buzzed agitatedly when he noticed all the strangers, but Ralph waved at him to calm down. She whispered something to the bee, and next thing, his scrawny arms were under her armpits as she ran, took a leap up and scaled the tall fence with surprising ease, the Beedrill's intensively flapping insect wings making her lighter. At the top, she swung a leg across the bar and glanced triumphantly down at the group of teenagers. Just as she was about to say something though, the old metal creaked and swayed, and Ralph had to quickly grab hold of Edgy's lance to steady herself.

"Okay, it… I can confirm it seems fairly old," she mumbled, but loud enough that at least Sarah might hear it. "And tall."

"That was great!" Courtney called out from down there, not listening to Ralph. "I want a lift too now!" She gushed. Gwen nodded in agreement.

"Well…" Ralph glanced over at her Beedrill, who was glaring in a quite hostile fashion at all other humans present. "I couldn't promise he'd help you as much as… Poison you. He's a bit edgy."

"Can't you tell it I'm friend?" The redhead complained, but still kept some distance between her and Edgy.

"Uhh… whatever…" Arianne grumbled. She wasn't really that vocal about it but she could've used a little lift as well. Plus, she didn't have any Flying-type with her! She looked at all the other trainers who were still out of the graveyard, reading the disappointment in their faces, but…

Finally, a plan. And just like that morning, it was Lulu's time to shine. Literally, because right as she called her Mushroom Pokémon out, Lulu immediately started to emit light. Arianne didn't have time for watching the show though, and just put down her Grass-type right in front of the gate, at a certain distance. "Set up your Ingrain, Lulu!"

"Sorry bu—"

"Woooaaaah!" Gwen's jaw dropped. "I've never seen a Morelull in person before!"

"Oh well, nevermind." Richard muttered under his breath.

After a few minutes, the white mycelium was already sprouting up from the ground, but this time, not vertically. It was now at an angle, going from where Lulu stood up to the top of the gate. Arianne was the first to try and climb it, and while it seemed rather slippery at first, the intertwined fibres gave the girl enough footholds. In no time the girl was sitting on top of the column on the side of the gate, eye to eye with Ralph.

"That's amazing, let me come too then!" Courtney cheered, but was quickly grabbed by Sarah.

"I don't think your friend even knows how to come down… maybe you should wait until she figures it out."

Ralph heard the Safari trainers and decided she wasn't going to let them be right. She reached out and put a steady hand on Ari's shoulder.

"You can jump from here, right? If…"

She leaned back a bit to reach another one of her pokeballs. On the inside of the gate, Ralph called forth Sandsy and Coldy. "Sandsy, use Fury Cutter on the ground to form a big pile of earth quick!"

As the Sandshrew got to work below them, Ralph turned to Ari again. "And since you don't like dirt… Coldy, use a lot of Powder Snow onto the dirt pile!"

Within a minute, there was a deep hole in the ground next to the fence, with an even bigger pile of earth next to it. It was topped with a pretty thick layer of snow.

"Your mattress is ready, princess!" Ralph motioned. Herself, she let Edgy half carry her down though, to land softly enough next to the big pile.

Without any hesitation, Gwen had already made her way to the top of the gate from the mycelium, seemingly out of nowhere, as her classmates had been distracted by the Sandshrew duo's work. "You weren't wrong Courtney!" She looked down directly at the red-head. "It is pretty amazing!"

"T-thanks Ralph!" Arianne nodded, as she felt Gwen climbing the mycelium behind her. She then quickly jumped off, gesturing Gwen to do the same: standing on top of Lulu's ingrain or on top of that old gate for too long would have not been nice. The Unovian trainer quickly followed suit, however missed the snow Coldy set up.

"How are you holding up, Lulu?" The girl called out afterwards, and was met with a chirp of approval.

As Gwen ignored the pain she felt in her legs from her fall, she pumped both of her fists into the air. "Ghost Pokemon here I come!" Despite her genuine posturing, it was still obvious by her trembling her legs didn't take kindly to the fall. Ralph, standing next to her, now had trouble hiding her confusion over this odd person. Or was it actually fascination?

Eventually, Courtney made it to the other side as well, shivering as she touched the snow but hoping that no one would notice. With some more difficulty, Sarah also used Lulu's improvised staircase to get into the graveyard. "And now… Richard?"

"Welp, I guess it's my turn now. I missed my chance to say this but… Let's say I don't want to rob you guys from your enthusiasm. I'm counting on you, Uri!" The Psi Pokemon emerged from it's Pokeball, ready as always to meet it's trainers' expectation of him.

"I think some of you guys already knew about what I'll do now... Uri, would you kindly help me?" The Kadabra nodded slowly, it's eyes turned bright pink as both him and his trainer was enveloped by a bright light dyed in the same color, before suddenly disappearing from the group's line of sight.

"W-well?" Courtney pouted at Richard and Uri, as they appeared somewhere behind her, but on her side of the wall. "It was that easy? You could've told us!" She smirked, as she tried to brush away with her hand the last snowflakes and dirt on her legs.

"Trust me, I tried… Twice. You guys were so eager to enter that I didn't manage to try and say it without getting myself cut off. Sorry for that, though."

Meanwhile two nearby Pokemon rested in the branches on a dead tree, a Murkrow and a Misdreavus, and both had been keeping an eye on the group of teenagers that had entered the graveyard. The two Pokemon looked each other in the eye, both plotting a prank on the victims of their next scheme, nefariously giggling to themselves at the thought of it.

As a part of their routine, the Misdreavus would stealth it's way around the group, while Murkrow would try to catch their attention, preparing it's throat for a loud noise.

KAW! KAW!

"T-they're already here…" Arianne whispered, walking closer to Ralph as if she was trying to hide behind her.

"What, the ghosts?" Ralph said.

Courtney did just the same with Sarah, grabbing the taller girl and peeking from over her shoulders. She reassured the red haired girl, however. "So far it's just a single Pokémon's cry… and I have my starter ready to help."

"Yeah, I'm sure everything will be fine." Richard slightly smiled, trying his best to reassure the others.

Ralph blew raspberries into the darkness and put one hand on each of her Sandshrew's heads. "Come out, you cowards! Take us to your leader! Or whatever Rotom is!"

"Ralph? What are you…" Arianne tried to complain, but soon stood quiet and tried to brace for whatever shenanigan was to come, shuddering as a gust of air passed through the group.

"Is it me or is it getting colder here?" Courtney pointed out, in spite of her own choice of outfit. Surely, being the only one with shorts, she should've just swallowed her pride… but no, that's not very Courtney.

"Now that you said that…" Richard glanced left and right, unsure of what had caused the sudden drop of temperature.

Gwen's attention was currently occupied by the Murkrow. "Murkrow are so cool! Let's get a better look at it!"

The Misdreavus that previously rested in the try cloaked itself, being invisible to the naked eye. Using this to his advantage, Misdreavus snuck behind the trainers, slowly uncloaking himself while the trainers faced the opposite direction. It had been awhile since the graveyard duo had this many people to frighten.

"MISDREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVUS" The Misdreavus let out a deep, unsettling screech, loud enough to where anyone nearby would feel a chill down their spine.

The sudden shriek made every trainer either jump, turn around or both at once. What they saw was the Misdreavus' face, somehow enlarged with his eyes glowing bright red, groaning in the same deep pitch as before.

Courtney and Sarah screamed in unison as the Ghost type showed itself, whereas Arianne's reaction was to just grab Ralph tightly and try to hide behind her and her two Sandshrew. The only boy of the group bit his lips as hard as he could, all in an effort to avoid cussing excessively due to being surprised. Ralph and Sandsy had actually jumped and gasped, but they stood their ground, Ralph perhaps emboldened by having Ari cling to her. Coldy didn't seem to have reacted much at all.

"It's… it's j-just one this time, r-r-right?" Ari asked her friend, the memories of the previous night still haunting her.

"I think so… I expected them to come sooner or later… But darn it… It still gave chills down my spine." Richard wryly smiled as he responded to Ari.

The ghost-type absorbed the terror the trainers displayed in their faces, delighting in every second of it. Misdreavus darted his pupils around to savor the reactions, but was caught off-guard by the girl with her black-hair in space buns appearing to be anything but terrified.

Uri who was not impressed at all with the spooking started to twirl his spoon using his Psychic powers, but just as he was about to throw the first attack...

"OH MY GOD!" Gwen exclaimed, her eyes glowing. "It's a Misdreavus! I've always wanted one of my own!"

Misdreavus was taken aback by the girl's reaction, the illusion of his large face wearing off. All he could do was stare at Gwen, blinking in disbelief.

This was the first time he witnessed a human react to his pranks this way.

Gwen reached for her belt to toss a Pokeball, sending out Custard. Once she shook off the light, she took in the atmosphere and began to shiver.

Ralph finally came to her senses too, her brain now registering for sure that this was a pokémon and not some kind of otherworldly monstrosity.

"A ghost pokémon!" she said, and glanced at the odd trainer and her Pikachu while crossing her arms. "Well, this will be interesting to watch."

"It's like the ones in the Tower… isn't it?" Arianne muttered, still trying to recover. "Yeah…" Courtney chimed in, before focusing on the battle that was about to begin.

"Uri, let's leave this to Gwen shall we?" Uri grumbled for a bit, before he eventually relented and left the spotlight for Gwen to take.

"You can do this Custard! Thundershock!"

With her trainer's encouragement, the Pikachu was able to unleash electricity from her red cheeks, directing it directly at Misdreavus.

The electric-type attack did decent damage to Misdreavus, especially as he was so baffled that he was unable to dodge. Regardless, he shook off the attack and launched a subsequent series of circular energy blasts from his mouth, the blasts changing color every millisecond.

"That's Psywave! Dodge and use another Thundershock!"

At the command of her trainer, Custard swiftly side-stepped the attack and was able to zap Misdreavus again.

Misdreavus shook his head again, trying to get serious. His eyes glowed red, and launched two small, slow-moving energy spheres from his mouth that drifted towards Custard. Gwen was able to tell it was Confuse Ray, ordering Custard's next move.

Before the attack could land, the Pikachu circled Misdreavus, her speed increasing to the point it appeared Custard had created copies of herself. The ghost-type looked around in confusion, randomly shooting Psywaves at whatever copy he could.

With Misdreavus distracted with the illusions, the real Custard stood behind Misdreavus, turning around quickly to launch a Thunder Wave from her tail, successfully landing on the ghost-type and paralyzing him.

Misdreavus fell to the ground, not quite fainted, but the paralysis proved difficult to fight. He meekly began levitating before being zapped by another Thundershock, falling to the ground once again.

Before Misdreavus was able to begin levitating again, he noticed a Pokeball was zipping directly his way. It might have been a good plan to make an escape, but with his status and the skill this trainer was showing, he wasn't sure how exactly he could do that. Maybe if-

BONK

The Pokeball nailed Misdreavus on his forehead. He spent too much time planning an escape to actually act on it. The ball then opened up, converting the ghost-type into a red light that was sucked into the Pokeball before closing.

Initially Misdreavus used his remaining power to try escaping the Pokeball, being represented with a single shake of the ball. Gwen's heart beat faster with the first shake.

The Misdreavus' eventually calmed down, and began to contemplate an observation he had. All his life, every human he came across was terrified of him. This was the norm, and he grew to like it. But the look on the girl's face was something else. Why was she not terrified of him?

As Misdreavus thought more and more on the subject, he began reflecting on what exactly could have led Gwen to reacting that way. The closest thing he received was how sometimes Murkrow would fondly gaze at him, but not with the sheer… Admiration? Yes, that was it. He witnessed the admiration that was present in Gwen's eyes, and Misdreavus processed his reaction as flattery.

All Misdreavus ever knew was scaring passer-bys and scavenging for food, both things he did with his lifelong friends, Murkrow. He thought nothing could be better, but he realized the appreciation he received far outweighed the rejection of many strangers. This would mean saying goodbye to his best friend, but he'd have to move on sooner or later. It was time to find a new purpose in life.

click

The Pokeball stopped shaking, and made a clicking noise. Gwen bounced into the air with joy.

"YES! YES! I CAUGHT A MISDREAVUS! YES! I CAUGHT ONE! I CAUGHT A GHOST! THANK YOU SO MUCH CUSTARD, YOU WERE PERFECT!"

Custard sighed with relief. She pushed her limits fighting in such an atmosphere.

Gwen picked the ball up from the ground, intensely staring at it with excitement. "I'm gonna name you Bead, after your little necklace-looking thing. Welcome to the team Bead!"

"Well, congrats! You did amazing, Gwen!" Sarah cheered, and was soon joined by Courtney.

"Yeah, congrats on your new team member Gwen! You did really great on that battle!" Richard congratulated Gwen on her success catching the Misdreavus.

The Unovian trainer blushed, and scratched the back of her head. "Thanks guys." She nervously chuckled.

"See, we got this! Rotom is totally at our reach."

Ralph had silently been watching the battle play out in the light from the electric and psychic attacks. She now finally had a clearer picture over who this Gwen was. Someone with a one track mind to the point where she couldn't even speak normally unless properly motivated. But when her motivation matched what she was talking about, she went out in full force, no limits. Gwen seemed to be all about pokemon, and was a skilled battler, because she ignored everything else. No wonder Ralph couldn't win gym battles. Her mind was constantly riddled with worries and thoughts about other things. Other people.

Instead of cheering or congratulating the other trainer on her capture, Ralph just looked down into the ground. Sandsy nudged her with his nose and she gave him a half-hearted smile.

"Ralph?" Arianne looked back at her friend as soon as she realized she hadn't said anything. "Is everything ok? Let's just…" She gulped, still unsure whether she could handle more time in there or not. "Let's just find a Ghost-type for you to catch, alright?"

Ralph looked up, a bit surprised. But then she put on a more cocky smile again and crossed her arms.

"Of course," she said. "We're just getting started. I'm here for Rotom, after all!"

---

Gwen's team

 

[Groc]

Vera Hill, Casey Holt, Jordan Springs
Chapter 5 - Ghost of a Chance
Lavender Town, May 25th

---

Vera actually wakes up fairly early for once. For her, anyway. Either she's finally adjusting to the traveling lifestyle, or she actually went to sleep at a reasonable time for once. Regardless, after a shower and change of clothes, she's ready for breakfast.

Of course, she's still later to get up than either of her friends, so no doubt they've already eaten. She grabs herself a bagel and an apple, not wanting Casey to throw fruit at her again today.

As if responding to her unspoken thought, Casey appears next to her to swipe food from the buffet, which he hands off to Pepper to distribute among himself, Parsley, and Ginger. "Better," he says approvingly. He's clearly freshly showered and fully packed, scrubbing one hand through still-damp hair as he drops his backpack on the ground next to the table Jordan is slumped over in. He twitches slightly at the commotion.

Vera doesn't jump at his unexpected arrival, honest. She does make herself a cup of tea, though, setting her breakfast on the table by her own backpack. "Well, of course. I'm not relying on Jordan for snacks."

The boy sits back up properly at the mention of his name. "Don't feel bad, he's shamed me into eating real food, too."

"And yet, we have a long way to go," Casey says primly, opening something for Parsley while Pepper shoves himself into Casey's lap. "Why're you sleeping down here? You have a room."

"Huh? Yeah, I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. Tried, but I just couldn't. It was Ti- it must have been, uh… it was really noisy outside last night. So I figured I would just come down here and start my day, but it's wearing off now." Jordan mumbles incoherently as he looks at the ground. "Anyway, how was your guys' night?"

"I dunno what you're talking about; I slept like a log. You two missed out on an amazing party!" is all Casey has to say about it, apparently.

Vera feeds her Pokémon some breakfast as well. Most of them, anyway. Ebony instead hides on her shoulder, nestled under her hair. She lets him, going back to sit with her friends. "I think the night went great. We didn't see any rare Pokémon, but we did see those Safari blowhards running away in terror. So that was fun. More fun than some party."

A smirk tugs at the corner of Jordan's lips. "Yeah, that part was nice. Last night was definitely a win for Cape." He holds out a hand to Vera for a high five.

She looks at his hand for a moment, as she isn't offered high fives very often. She rolls her eyes, but smiles as she puts her hand to his.

"What'd you do to scare them off? Be yourself?"

Vera frowns at Casey. That was a rude thing to say to her. But, now that she thinks about it… "What were they running from, Jordan? I only saw them run off and then that giant showed up."

Jordan looks contemplative. "You know what, I'm… actually not sure? I saw something purple shuffling behind them. It wasn't very big, but it seemed to freak 'em out a lot so I didn't want to mess with it either."

"Oh." Casey presses his lips together. "You did see Golurk and Sableye."

"Yeah, I guess. The big one even gave us a lift back to the entrance. Literally, he just picked us up and carried us."

Casey twitches, just slightly.

Vera notices this, but something else catches her attention as Ebony moves slightly. It's strange, like a wet spot on a shirt that moves. "Hey, you going to come out after all?" She can feel his little "hands" on her shoulder as he peeks out from under her hair.

Casey's reaction is sudden and violent, chair screeching backwards and clattering to the ground as he falls entirely off of it, curling behind Pepper with wide eyes fixed on Ebony. "Vera-"

This time, Vera does jump, Casey's reaction taking her by surprise. She's certainly awake now, her heart pounding from the sudden adrenaline. Ebony hides again, frightened by the loud noise. "What the hell, Casey? You scared him!"

Casey struggles to say anything, at least until Parsley abandons his food to flank him. "It's a Ghost," he tries, as if that means anything.

"I know he's a Ghost, I found him in the graveyard." Vera struggles to reach Ebony, managing to get a hold of him and pull him off her back. It's tricky holding onto him, but she gets him to where Casey can see him. "You don't need to be scared, he won't hurt you. Tell him you won't hurt him, Casey."

"Hurt him?!" Casey's voice hits a pitch Vera hadn't known he was capable of. "As if he's not the dangerous one here?! No, I won't- can't!- hurt him! If he's yours, put him the fuck away before he, he-!"

"Don't yell at me, Casey!" Vera shouts back. Honestly, he's overreacting here! Ebony slips through her fingers, trying to hide again, so she quickly grabs for him, but he phases through her hands. She has to stand up to reach his Poké Ball, almost knocking her own chair over, which just scares Ebony even more. Iggy starts barking at all the commotion, and Sapphire swipes at him, and…

Suddenly Vera is feeling a little light headed, and her breath is coming in quick gasps. She braces herself against the table, which wobbles slightly as she leans on it.

"Okay! Oh my God- everyone just-" Jordan flails about, unsure of who or which Pokemon to attend to first. He decides to stand between Vera and Casey, back towards the girl and her party, and reaches out to grip Casey's shoulders. "-calm down, and- Vera, where's your Poke Ball?" He looks behind his shoulder to ask. Seeing her also panicking, he turns around to try and help as well, but quickly withdraws his hand, deciding not to touch her.

"Poké Ball? Right… Which one…?" Vera forces herself to think through the pounding in her head. Where did she put Ebony's?

"Any!"

She flinches when Jordan snaps at her, barely picking up on his own note of panic. She returns Iggy to his ball, then Sapphire, looking around for Ebony. "Wait, where'd Ebony go?"

She looks back to the table and comes face-to-face with her ghost, who looks very confused. And for good reason- while he's been able to slip through Vera's fingers any time he wants, Ginger has him firmly by the ends of his "hair". She waves him at Vera, tapping her foot as she pins Vera with an unimpressed glare.

"H-how…" Vera returns Ebony, frowning at Ginger. "How did you do that?"

Ginger gestures at her own eyes, which fade from a bright amber to their usual brown-black. She shrugs, and returns to her food.

And their little corner of the Pokémon Center is quiet once again.

Casey is still curled around Pepper, clinging to the lizard as if that's his only hold on the world. Jordan gently taps Casey on the shoulder. "Hey, it's alright now. Come on, finish your breakfast."

Vera reaches back for her chair, her other arm at her stomach. She backs up a step when she can't find it, and keeps backing up until she reaches the wall. She leans against it instead, forcing herself to calm down. "Casey, I'm… I didn't know. I didn't think you'd… ugh."

Casey sighs, loosening his grip on Pepper. "I don't like Ghost-types."

"Yeah, but that was a reaction. I don't think I've seen you do that even around Gospel," Jordan nods at Vera. "Are you okay, too? You also looked kinda shaken back there."

"I've had a morning," Casey mumbles, picking up his chair and taking his seat once again.

"That was just… a lot." Vera mutters. Jordan was right, she'd never seen Casey react quite like that. She couldn't get mad at Iggy, but Sapphire acting up again, and she didn't know how Ebony would react… and again, she'd somehow caused all this…

She decides to just hang back for a bit.

Casey lets Pepper eat and instead chooses to tug Ginger over to cuddle, despite her grumbling.

"Well, in any case, you sorta saved the day back there, hm?" Jordan reaches over to stroke her cheek with his index finger, and she promptly tries to chomp down on it as he pulls his hand back quickly. "Not friends yet, okay." An uncomfortable silence falls over the group, until Jordan speaks back up again. "I mean… it wouldn't be the worst… to just get used to hanging around Ghosts, right? Face your fears and all that. Almost a good thing one of your close friends caught one last night…" His eyes were trained on Ginger, avoiding Casey's gaze, but he sounded hopeful.

"Exposure therapy," Casey mutters, almost to himself. Then, flatly: "You did what?"

Casey's tone makes Jordan jump a little, and he finally raises his eyes to meet Casey's. "Wha- what do you mean?" He sputters quickly. "What did I do?"

"Spirit was bad enough, but you actually- you went and caught another one, didn't you?" Casey looks like he might actually cry.

"I… I-" Jordan couldn't flat-out deny it, but the look of guilt on his face says it all. "Casey, don't-"

"Don't- don't what? Be upset?" Casey chokes out a humorless laugh. "Don't worry about it?"

"Don't get mad at us because we did something you can't." Vera snaps, finally looking up at her friends. "Yeah, we caught Ghost types. What are you gonna do about it?"

Casey goes silent, lips pressed into a thin line. Jordan reaches out for his shoulder again, but this time Casey gently pushes his hand away. He sighs.

"Are… we all done with breakfast? We should probably get out of here soon."

Casey wordlessly tidies up after himself and his Pokémon. Jordan and Vera exchange a glance, before doing the same. Casey shoulders his backpack and leads the way out of the Pokémon Center, his Pokémon half a step behind.

Vera follows behind the other two, distracted by her thoughts. Should I say something? Casey seems upset, maybe I should… no, why should I? I didn't do anything wrong! She picks up her pace to catch up to Jordan and Casey, picking up Bonnie when she starts to fall behind.

They walk in silence for a few moments, until Jordan pulls out his map. "...So! Where are we headed next, gang? I do need to go back to the Gym sometime today, but aside from that, I have no further plans here."

"...You should do that without me." Casey says quietly, looking anywhere but at the two of them.

"Oh? You have other plans, Casey?" Vera questions coldly.

Jordan stops walking, map still in hand. "Yeah, what do you mean?"

"I don't- I don't want to be around when- if- you use that ghost." Casey says haltingly.

"Tiny's really not what you would imagine when you think 'ghos-'" Jordan starts, but Casey's guarded expression tells him he's made up his mind. "No, I get it, that's okay."

"I think… I, uh. I don't think I can do it. At all." Casey fidgets, opening and closing his mouth as he tries to find the words. "I don't think I can… stick around. You both've got Ghosts, and Spirit's gonna evolve one of these days, and... I can't."

Vera wants to be angry, but she forces that part down, turning away from the boys. "I get it, Casey. If you can't stay, you can't stay."

Jordan looks disappointed, but puts on a smile. "Yeah, I'll let you know how the battle goes. Catch you later?"

"Yeah. Uh. Yeah, of course. Maybe in Vermilion. Call me? I won't remember to call, you know. You know," Casey babbles, clearly not actually wanting to leave. "I wish- uh, I hope your match goes well." And he pulls Jordan into a hug, a barely-audible apology muttered into Jordan's shoulder. Wordlessly, Jordan just pats him on the back awkwardly.

Casey reluctantly breaks away and turns to Vera, arms outstretched and waiting for her.

Vera looks back at Casey, conflicted. One the one hand, she's enjoyed traveling with him, and now he's leaving. On the other hand, he's leaving because he's scared of her new Ghost. She's mad that this is ending, and for such a trivial reason, but he's still her friend, right?

"I can't." Vera sniffs. "I need to clear my head. I'm going for a walk!" And she walks away, not picking any direction in particular, just following the road south. Casey's sad goodbye echoes in her ears, and her vision gets a little blurry.

A joint post between Groc, Aquacorde, and Juno.

 

[moon]

Ralph & Arianne & Richard & Gwen
Friday, May 24th, Nighttime
Lavender Town

The trainers walked on in the night, passing by older and older tombstones. Ralph was at the front, her Sandshrews marching along with her. Arianne followed close by with Lulu glowing in her arms, and Gwen - still eager - kept her own pace somewhere nearby. Finally Courtney, Sarah and Richard made up the tail of the group together.

Murkrow, frozen in shock, watched in horror from a dead tree, as his best friend, Misdreavus, had been captured before his very eyes by one of the teenagers in the group of trainers. Plotting out his revenge, he tailed the group, flying distantly overhead to avoid being seen by them. His eyes mostly followed Gwen, who held the Pokeball containing Misdreavus up to her face.

"God, I'm so happy right now!" Gwen lightly shrieked in excitement. "I've always wanted a Misdreavus! I'm just super excited to evolve him into Mismagius when the time is right!"

Ralph raised an eyebrow, but in only the dim light of Lulu abd few all too well spread out lamp posts and candles near graves, nobody probably saw it. She was about to say something snarky about pokémon not needing to evolve in order to be great and do well, but actually managed to stop herself in time. A mental image of a flustered Weedle came into her mind. Some pokémon really did want to evolve. Several times, even. She couldn't know what kind this Misdreavus was, so she shouldn't assume. But then again… Neither should its trainer.

She was about to say something after all, but was interrupted by cold, thick, black smoke rolling in, obscuring the group's vision.

"W-what is that?" Arianne yelped, definitely quite startled as her vision decreased.

"That's not natural," Ralph deduced, loud enough for everyone to hear.

The smoke gradually grew thicker, only making it increasingly more difficult for anyone to actually see each other.

"S-Sarah? G-girls? Girls and Richard?" Courtney called out, maybe a bit too loudly considering the setting. But she didn't care.

Sarah facepalmed, but no one could really notice that due to the smoke.

"I'm still here!" She then said, trying to sound serious and ready for battle, if needed. Turns out, a battle was needed.

"Ow! What th-" Gwen cried in pain. It was difficult to make out what was going on, but she felt something pecking at her head, and shielded herself with her arms.

Ralph didn't see much either, but heard enough to realize that there was someone in the air giving them trouble. And she had an idea.

"Sandsy, Rapid Spin! Coldy, Powder Snow above him!"

She didn't see it, but her pokémon both would have shrugged if they had had proper shoulders. After the dirt-snow pile idea, they just assumed she had another combo plan in mind and obeyed. Sandsy started spinning while Ralph fumbled to find Ari's arm and pull her and herself out of harm's way.

Coldy began spraying her snow and it swirled around Sandsy in a spiral, spreading out above them. The smoke above seemed to clear up, and the snow captured the flying rascal, making it squawk in sudden cold pain. The offender was now visible to the trainers as a dark silhouette against the dim lights.

"That's a Murkrow," Ralph said simply.

Gwen's eyes sparkled as she saw Murkrow clearly. "Wow, another Murkrow! Or, is it the same one from before?"

Murkrow then began flapping his wings, creating a smaller cloud of smoke, clearing up the snow around him, becoming airborne once more. Despite the attacks targeting him coming from Ralph, Murkrow opted to focus on Gwen, to which the Unovian trainer noticed.

"Damn, you really wanna give me a hard time, huh?" Gwen smirked, grabbing another Pokeball from her belt.

"Oh I won't let that happen!" Sarah yelled, snatching Gwen's attention, as she called out her own Pokémon. "Nidorina, Fury Swipes!"

Before it could get too high up, Nidorina lunged at the Dark type and brought it back to the ground.

While under Nidorina's grasp, Murkrow started furiously pecking at the poison-type's front legs, trying to loosen her grip. But Nidorina was able to keep it there, as the dark-type Pokemon was too weak in comparison to his predator.

Ralph snickered. "Okay, so do we beat it up for being annoying, or does someone want to capture it, maybe?"

"It was attacking me first, so I say I should catch it!" Gwen stated.

"Excuse you?" Courtney complained. "You got a Pokémon already!"

"Well… if you don't mind, this is for me. I'll knock some sense into it!" Sarah grinned, an empty Pokéball already in her hand.

She kept having Nidorina weaken the Flying type with more Fury Swipes and Poison Stings, before finally throwing her Pokéball, all while Courtney watched intently.

While Sarah attempted a capture, Ralph turned to Ari. She could faintly see the features of her face from the glow of the pokémon she was holding.

"Hey, you alright?" she asked the paler girl.

"Y-yes…" Arianne replied, but her voice could have sounded better. "It's just that I didn't take that smoke so well."

She coughed, as she tried to gain some distance between herself and Murkrow. Lulu, still in her arms, looked quite uncomfortable as well. The girl kept walking uphill, towards a line of tombstones, as she spoke, and finally tried to take in some heavy breaths.

"It was probably not dangerous at least," Ralph said, but pulled out her pokédex to read an entry quickly anyways, before she nodded and followed. "Murkrow isn't toxic. But some ghosts are."

She looked around. At the edge of her sight, it looked like shadows were moving around the tombstones ahead. Uh-oh. They had woken the place up now, hadn't they…

"Speaking of," she added. "Maybe you'll want to get Lulu battle-ready."

Ralph nodded towards where she had seen the moving figures.

The Grass-type glowed more intensely as she heard those words, trying to see where her enemies could be. Ari looked around as well, trying to reassure her Pokémon, but still struggled to see much… besides a few shadows coming closer.

But then, the shadows all seemed to leap into the air. Four wide grins astonished the girls and made them stumble backwards involuntarily. One of the Sandshrews kept their cool, but the yellow one let out a yelp.

Holding Lulu made it harder for Arianne to balance, and in no time she was sitting down on top of the tombstones she'd seen before. She felt something strange on her arm, but gave it no thought and focused on her friend, only to realize that things were actually getting worse for her.

One of the grinning shadows seemed to pick up on Sandsy's outcry, and dove down from its spot above them to suddenly come face to face with Sandsy. Ralph watched in horror as the ghost's eyes glowed; she could now identify it beyond a doubt as a Gastly, a ghost that actually was poisonous.

"Sandsy, look away!" she called out, but it was too late.

The Kantonian sand mouse fell over backwards, probably poisoned or… Asleep? In the midst of the scary laughter from the ghosts, a loud snoring noise broke through.

"Really… He fell asleep. Hypnotized..." Ralph said in disbelief as she returned him to his pokéball and stepped closer to Ari.

The Gastly laughed even louder as it floated back up to its companions - a Shuppet, a Duskull and a strange creature with big eyes that Ralph couldn't quite identify. Was that a Rotom?

Lulu in one hand, and Pokéball in the other, Arianne was now ready to make her move, though. If those Ghosts could put her friend's Pokémon to sleep, then why not repay the favor?

"Sleep Powder!" She called out, as she launched Lulu like a ball towards the group of Ghost-types.

Surely it wasn't as easy as she thought, but maybe it was her who wasn't used to Lulu's weight.

All that the tiny Mushroom Pokémon had to do now was bounce off the ground, releasing all the sleep-inducing spores she was holding in her three caps, before being recalled inside her Pokéball, too fast for her opponents to lay a finger on her.

The strategy seemed to have worked, as most of the Ghost-types seemed to be asleep. Ralph saw Gastly, Duskull and Shuppet sail down to the ground, eyes closed, grins half stuck on their face in the sleep.

"Nice work, Ari!" she commended, but then stopped. "Wait, wasn't there one more?"

"T-There was?" The other girl questioned, still sitting on the ground. She really didn't feel like coming back up, not yet at least.

"Yeah, I'm sure of it. I think it might have been Rotom!" Ralph said and looked around to try and spot the last ghost. Coldy was on edge too.

The ruckus from the other trainers below was finally put to rest though, as Sarah happily declared, "I caught it!"

"Should have been me." Gwen pouted.

"Sorry, but I want all of us to get something… I'm strict on this kind of things!" Sarah and her Nidorina smiled at the rest of the group of trainers, only to realize that half of them were missing.

"Richard!" She called out, to no avail, before trying to get the attention of the two Cape Girls who were missing. Still not remembering their names too well, she asked Courtney to actually use her voice, and she complied.

"Hey, Purple hair duo! You good?" the redhead called out, as her friend facepalmed once again… probably just to hide a grin, though. The light from Lulu was now gone, as she was recalled in her ball just a few seconds ago, but luckily the missing girls were still nearby, and still easy to spot for the Safari girls.

"Oh, you were closer than I thought. Need any help?" Sarah asked, as she closed the distance between the Cape trainers and herself and noticed the Ghost-types around them.

"Wow, that's a LOT of ghosts!" Gwen exclaimed, just barely able to contain her excitement.

"Stay back!" Ralph harshly shouted out before they got too close. "I've got this!"

The last pokémon could be lurking anywhere, after all. She kept looking around, at every gravestone nearby. But her patience wasn't in its best state this evening. After a few more seconds, she gave in.

"Coldy, Powder Snow! There!" she ordered, and the Sandshrew fired off into the distance, hitting… Nothing.

"There!" Ralph said in a new direction, but same result there.

Visibly agitated now, she was about to call out for a third direction, when a face with large yellow eyes suddenly materialized a mere inch from her own.

"Whoa!" she said and stumbled backwards, almost tripping over Coldy.

The pokémon in front of them giggled and leaned its head to the side.

​

Gwen was faintly able to see the Pokemon's bright, yellow eyes. "I wonder what Pokemon that is...If only I could get a better view…"

"Argh. You're not getting away! Coldy, Metal Claw!"

Coldy obeyed her trainer swiftly, and delivered a nasty scratch with her metallic shining claws across the ghostly body. It apparently wasn't ghostly enough, because the wild pokémon was easily hit, and seemed to start crying after that.

"Uh. Are you not going to defend yourself?" Ralph asked it.

"Careful, Ralph!" Arianne called out, probably not loudly enough to be heard. At least she had standards, unlike a certain person who didn't care about yelling in graveyards.

Even Coldy let her guard down a bit as she felt uneasy about upsetting their 'opponent' so fast. She hadn't forgotten what happened in Rock Tunnel with the Geodude… But that was exactly what the wild pokémon had been waiting for. It suddenly launched itself with a screech at Coldy, making the Sandshrew jump in fright - and she wasn't usually easily scared.

"It's using Astonish!" Ralph groaned. "What a sneaky bastard. Don't underestimate it, Coldy! Ice Ball!"

Coldy, annoyed by being so easily fooled, curled herself into a ball and launched herself in an icy flurry at the grinning ghost. But the ghost avoided it by suddenly becoming super fast, darting up into the sky. Before Ralph could formulate some kind of reaction strategy, the wild pokémon sped down again, tackling Coldy so the icy ball that was she bounced away and crashed into a big tombstone next to Arianne.

"What kind of ghost is this fast…" Gwen asked herself, her index finger and thumb holding her chin.

"Grrr," Ralph grunted, but then actually smiled. "Are you okay, Ari? This pokémon, it's tricky… Maybe stronger than it looks… I really gotta have it!"

"I-I see…" Arianne couldn't help but think back about the Route 9 encounter with Bagon. Surely, whatever Ralph was battling was a rare, or at least lesser known Pokémon, and it looked quite strong also. But she was in no position to stop her now - she got her Bagon already. Not only that, but…

She had just moved aside quite quickly, trying to avoid the Ice Ball, and that suddenly felt difficult. Her head was starting to hurt, her body felt heavy, and… it really didn't make any sense to her! She heard a metallic sound coming from somewhere close to her, way closer than any other trainer or Pokémon…

"WHAT IS THAT!?"

Arianne raised her arm in the air, revealing the silhouette of what looked like a sword sheath hanging from it. No matter how much she shook her arm, and no matter how heavy it seemed to be, it wasn't coming off her. Courtney and Sarah shifted their attention from Ralph's battle to Arianne, trying to guess what that thing on her arm was.

Ralph heard Ari's shout and turned around to see what was up - but just then, the strange pokémon in the air unleashed a strange attack on Coldy, who seemed to actually get spooked at this point, and kept scratching herself as if there was something on her body.

Ralph looked from her pokémon friend to her human friend, torn.

"WOAH!" Gwen, who had her attention nabbed by Ari's cry of confusion, excitedly called out, dashing over to Ari. "That's DEFINITELY a Honedge, and…"

The awe in her face quickly dropped as she noticed a long, thin, blue scarf-like thing wrapped around Ari's arm.

"Oh no, that's now good!" Rather serious now, Gwen tossed a Pokeball, sending out a Vulpix.

"Pix, use Incinerate!"

"W-what!?" Arianne called out, baffled, but there was no use arguing… Gwen looked like she knew what she was doing. In the end, she just braced for impact.

Relieved to not have to make a choice since Ari got help, Ralph turned her focus back to Codly in the meantime. The airborne pokémon was diving in, jaws wide open.

"Rapid Spin!" Ralph called out, hoping Coldy was in her senses enough to listen.

Luckily, she was. The Rapid Spin made it difficult for the ghost's Bite attack to land. Unfortunately, when Coldy stopped spinning, she still seemed to be Infested by the mysterious buzzing energy from before.

We'll just have to try to end this before whatever that is ends Coldy, Ralph thought. "Use Ice Shard!"

Pix was careful to make sure she didn't give Ari a third degree burn, something she noticed her trainer hadn't specified- Gwen was pretty oblivious to some details, but this was just ridiculous. Still, the Vulpix made sure not to have the firey blast, which struck Honedge, get anywhere near the girl attached to it.

The localized fire merely made Arianne feel some heat, but hurt Honedge significantly instead. Because of that, it let the girl go and floated in the air, taking a defensive stance in front of her… as if it had to protect her from Vulpix.

​

Contrary to its expectations, it was Arianne who wanted to fight it, though. "I'm taking care of this one!" She said, reinvigorated now that Honedge was no longer draining her energy. "Come out again, Lulu!"

Rather disgruntled, Gwen groaned. "Damnit, they keep taking all the other cool Pokemon!"

Nearby, Coldy's Ice Shard hit the ghost above the Sandshrew, making it fall to the ground and start crying again.

"We're not falling for that again!" Ralph said mockingly. "Ice Ball!"

Coldy dashed forward again like an icy bowling ball, and the ghost barely had time to stop its Fake Tears and dash away upwards with Quick Attack before the Sandshrew reached the spot where it had just been.

"Upwards! Powder Snow!" Ralph called out, relentless and not willing to give her target a break.

In the meantime, Lulu readied her Flash attack to act as a source of light, before she bounced right onto Honedge with Astonish, dealing some damage and catching its attention right away. The Ghost-type was quick to react, however, and caught Arianne and Lulu off guard by removing its sword from the sheath, and lunging at Lulu with Aerial Ace.

Morelull didn't take the hit well, and used Moonlight to recover some energy as Honedge readied another attack. Still, she wouldn't have lasted more than a couple turns anyways to begin with, even if Arianne really wanted her to.

"What are you even…" Courtney spoke as the battles went on, somewhat unsure if that was the same Arianne who won against her. Surely she would've used a better Pokémon if she wanted to knock Honedge out clean, right? I just have to be patient and get Rotom when it eventually appears… I got this, I got this…

On the other side of a cracked tombstone, the snow spray enveloped the slippery ghost creature in the air and made it give out a whelping noise as it froze. It fell to the ground and looked up in horror as Coldy stalked close, Ralph just behind.

"I've got you now… Rotom," Ralph mumbled, smiling triumphantly.

She tossed a pokéball and the ghost got sucked in. The ball landed in the slightly snowy grass and flipped to the side once… twice… thrice.

"Oh, come on," Ralph began complaining, and as if that had done the trick, the pokéball finally fell silent and still.

With a huge grin, Ralph picked it up, and gave Coldy a proud nod. "You're getting really strong," she said.

Coldy let out a grunt that probably was meant to be proud as well, but it was clear that she was quite tired. Ralph took pity on her and sent her back inside her own pokéball before turning back to see what was going on on the other side of the tombstone, where Ari was.

Lulu was still struggling, getting hit again and again, but was somehow still managing to not succumb… mostly because of Ingrain and Moonlight. All moves that Arianne told her to use, and that she still executed even if it sounded like a failure waiting to happen.

Honedge, after all, didn't seem to have any strategy: it just kept hitting the now immovable Morelull with Aerial Ace, going back and forth. And that's just what Arianne wanted!

"Ok, let's catch this!" She yelled. Lulu quickly reacted and did her best to summon more mycelium all around her, which sprouted up from the ground to grab Honedge.

"Sleep Powder now!" was Arianne's next move, and with Honedge unable to move, it worked perfectly.

Illuminated by Flash, binded by Ingrain, and asleep from the spores, Honedge was easily sucked into Arianne's empty Pokéball. It shook a couple times as it landed on the ground next to Lulu, but eventually it remained shut.

"And done!"

The girl ran up to her Pokémon, cheering her up for the great performance and grabbing her new catch as well.

A clapping noise came from behind. It was Ralph, grinning widely.

"Not bad, girl," she said. "Did you just catch a sword though?"

"Looks like it!" Ari giggled. "Except it's alive… I've only heard of this in legends and tales!"

"They're called Honedge!" Gwen explained, her eyes sparkling. "When they evolve, they become really strong! And there are legends about how Honedge are the spirits of warriors who've fallen in battle, and their souls possess their weapons they used in combat. Cool, huh!"

Ralph nodded. "Not gonna lie, that does sound pretty damn cool. I guess much cooler than what I caught," she said with fake disappointment, as she sent out her newly acquired specimen.

The lizard-like ghost with big yellow eyes materialized in between Ralph and Gwen and blinked up at them both, the purple haired girl with a huge grin breaking out on her features, unable to hide it in anticipation of the ghost-geek's praise.

Getting a closer look at Ralph's new Pokemon, Gwen's jaw dropped as she loudly gasped. "OH MY GOD, IS THAT A DREEPY!?!?" With excitement that dwarfed her previous reactions, she kneeled down to inspect the Pokemon. "I had no idea that Dreepy could be found in Kanto! They're incredibly rare Pokemon, and when it fully evolves into Dragapult, they're super powerful and they can shoot Dreepies out of the cannons on their head!"

For a moment, Ralph didn't know what to say. It wasn't Rotom after all? She opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to process this information. Figures, really. The moment she actually dares to try to be first or best at something, she fails spectacularly. She shouldn't have tried at all.

"Oh," finally came out, flatly. "That's great. Um."

She fumbled with her pokédex to scan the pokemon, who was now nervously floating up to the height of Ralph's own head, seemingly unsure of the situation.

"Dreepy," Ralph repeated, reading just to distract herself from her own darkly spiraling thoughts - but then her eyes widened, and she looked up and faced the yellow gaze. "It's a dragon!"

"It sure is! A dragon and ghost type!" Gwen rapidly nodded. "I'd look for one, but well, type balancing is important, and I already have an Axew and Misdreavus."

Ralph studied the nervous creature floating in front of her while Gwen spoke. And finally, she shrugged. "Not a bad catch, after all. Welcome to the team, Dreepy. You were pretty creepy back there. I like it."

Dreepy leaned its head to the side, maybe unsure what to think of this human yet. But Ralph returned it to its pokéball without further ado, then sighed.

"It's pretty late. And it doesn't look like Rotom's gonna come out to meet us. And… Hey, where's Richy boy?" Ralph asked, suddenly noticing that he was the only trainer from the group she couldn't see.

She spun around to search, but what she found was something else. Or rather, the lack of something.

"And the sleeping ghosts have gone too… This looks bad, guys."

 

[WizardOfOdd]

Richard Wolstenholme​

Pokemon Graveyard - Lavender Town, May 24^th, Nighttime

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Chapter 5 - 7
Terror Beneath The Moonlight - Part 1​

"Oh boy… I should've knew coming here was a mistake of the highest order."

Richard looked left and right with an irritated expression, it was really great that he didn't have to hold back since no one was there with him except Uri. But at the same time, inviting people and suddenly disappearing on them was not something he would feel comfortable with.

With that in mind, he turned his body back to try and reach the group once more.

"Chi~"

"Argh! Dang it!" Richard let out a scream as the sudden reappearance of the Chingling he already met earlier shocked him.

"You sure gave me a shock, little girl… Didn't I tell you to stay put? I don't think it's safe for you to tag along with me."

At first, Richard was more than happy to sate the Bell Pokemon's curiosity. But after one chunk of chocolate cookie he shared with her, she was not willing to budge at all from Richard's side.

The Chingling continued to float in front of Richard's face to attract his intention, all while trying to act cutesy so he would change his mind.

"Uri! hey! Help me!" With a hushed tone, Richard tried to show a distress signal for Uri to notice.

The Psi Pokemon didn't reciprocate like how Richard expected and instead just shrugged before shooking his head in disapproval. He already tried his best to stop his trainer from giving the chocolate cookie to the Chingling, but since his trainer went ahead and do it anyway then he'll have to deal with the consequences himself.

The young man eventually stopped and resigned himself to his fate, much to his chagrin.

However, a faint cry that had haunted him from a while ago could be heard once more. Stopping him cold at his tracks.

"C'mon, this is not funny at all." Richard gritted his teeth as he felt the shivers down his spine. It definitely wasn't from the Chingling who hugged him tightly while shaking in fear, but then who caused this noise?

Uri shook his head to tell his trainer that he was not responsible for the eerie noise, but of course, Richard already knew that… No way Uri was capable of making noises that he could only identify as a young girl in distress. The only explanation is that it was an actual ghost that's causing it.

Nope ghost doesn't exist and that's final… Or so thought the distressed young man.

The chance that a little girl was roaming the graveyard at that hour was next to none and he should've been smarter to know that. But at the same time, he didn't want to take any risk. Even if there's a slight chance of that happening, he couldn't turn a blind eye to it.

...But then again, it was exactly that conviction which had plunged him to his current predicament. If only he felt more comfortable asking someone else to accompany him in his search of the voice source. Heck, he could've told the entire party that he was hearing some mysterious cry and be done with it.

He started to lament the fact that he didn't want to inconvenience them any further. If he could handle this on his own… Then it's the right thing to silently slip away and then join them again when he found them once more. Which apparently was not the right move at all.

With more trouble than he bargained for in hand, Richard decided to abandon his exploration and instead doubled down his effort to find the way back.

"Anyway… I think we should trace our steps and regrou—"

Just as Richard was about to finish talking, he started to feel that the surrounding environment has started to change. He pulled two of the remaining Pokeballs in his possession as fear started to creep into his mind. An obstructing curtain of white fog started to envelop him while he let out the rest of his party.

"Pi…" Eileen immediately went on a defensive stance as she puffed her cheeks in an attempt to intimidate whoever was behind the fog. Meanwhile, Victor didn't show any signs of confidence it showed in previous battles. Richard suspected that the last two losses had something to do with it, but it wasn't the time to think about it… Whoever conjured the unnatural fog was close, and they better be focused to face it, or else.

As Richard expected, the assailant quickly took action and strike immediately. However, what he didn't expect was the Shadow Ball that was flying towards him at high speed.
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[WizardOfOdd]

Richard Wolstenholme​

Pokemon Graveyard - Lavender Town, May 24^th, Evening

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Chapter 5 - 8
Terror Beneath The Moonlight - Part 2​

"Uri!"

Richard yelled towards his trusty partner, as he managed to push the young man away from harm's way just barely before the Shadow Ball made contact with him.

Fearing for his trainer's safety, the Psi Pokemon immediately waved his hand as he ordered his trainer to run away as fast as possible.

Richard knew that he had to strategize right away to deal with this unknown threat. However as much as he wanted to do it in peace, the assailant wasn't so kind to let him do that. Not long after, multiple barrages of attacks launched by the aggressor rained down on them mercilessly, it was a great danger to the party's attempt to escape the encounter.

The thick fog around them gave Richard and his team a great cover for evading the attacks, but at the same time, it gave them a disadvantage as they couldn't gain the information needed to concoct a proper plan to counter the mysterious assailant.

Judging from the attacks, the only right play here is to escape… But how? Using Teleport will be very risky inside this annoying fog.

Pressured to make a quick decision but unwilling to take any risks by teleporting without knowing the destination, the young trainer decided to take a gambit and made a run for it by rushing through the mysterious fog.

It didn't take long for Richard and his party to run through the fog, only to be greeted by a grim sight.

One… Two… Five!? Really!? Five Yamask!? When I think my luck can't fall even further, it always reaches new lows.

Richard gritted his teeth as he ordered a retaliatory strike against the pack of Yamask. "Attack now!"

Each Pokemon used their respective attacks. Uri used Confusion, Eileen used Thunder Shock, while Bronzor launched pebbles around it using its own Confusion. The combination attack should've been deadly… If it wasn't dodged easily by the pack of Yamask.

The Yamask scattered itself to a more loose formation, all in an effort to circle the perceived threat for easier termination. They waste no time putting their plan into motion with a second volley of Ghost-type moves.

"Tch, Victor! Uri! Shield us!" The pair attracted whatever they could for a makeshift wall before reinforcing it with psychic power.

It was a valiant effort, but even several hits from the horde were enough to cause the wall to crumble badly. Under pressure, Richard immediately ordered his last available Pokemon to retaliate so they'll have some time to breathe.

"Eileen, Electro Ball!"

The Mouse Pokemon slung a yellow ball of electricity towards one of the Yamask. Richard thought that if they couldn't beat them all, then it's a wise decision to whittle down their number to make escaping easier. But of course, this time it also didn't work the way he wanted.

"What!? This is a total BS!" Richard could only yell in despair as the attack exploded in front of an invisible wall the Yamask conjured. The fact that the attack failed means that his prepared scheme also crumbled in one swift moment.

With literally no choice at all, Richard yelled towards Uri as he ran towards the smoke.

"Switcheroo! Big gravestone! Three o'Clock!"

Richard pulled two of his Pokeball as he ran, removing both Eileen and Victor from the battlefield. All while Chingling was hanging for dear life on Richard's jacket. Uri dashed towards the same way, using whatever was left from the fog to hide the bright light from using Teleport.

Looking at what seemed to be a prime opportunity, the Yamask pack threw another barrage of attacks toward the smoke. Only to be befuddled with what appeared to be an empty lot without anything visible around it.

Meanwhile, the hunted ones barely managed to run towards the back of the gravestone in an effort to avoid the pack's line of sight.

Richard huffed as he tried his best to catch his breath all while touching all of his body parts to make sure it was there.

Teleporting without proper calculation is a total nightmare… I don't want to imagine what'll happen if Uri failed to gauge the environment properly. But now what, it wouldn't take a long time for them to real— Argh…

Richard's train of thoughts was interrupted by the pain from his bruised ribs. The doctor advised him from limiting his movement, but the franticness of the situation caused Richard to forgot about it. Now he had to pay the price for his carelessness.

Both Uri and Chingling started to panic as Richard couldn't hide his pained expression from them. With little to no choice, Uri decided that it was his job to buy some time so his trainer could escape. And it didn't take long until Richard managed to catch on what Uri was trying to do.

"Rejected."

Uri tried his best to convince Richard, but his trainer wasn't having any of it.

"Remember the last time we're in this situation? Well, it's still yesterday… What am I even saying haha…" Richard shook his head as he giggled. "Anyway, I'm not leaving anyone behind… Not Victor, not Eileen, and definitely not you, Uri."

"Chi?" Chingling let out a sad noise that she wasn't mentioned at all.

"Okay, okay… You too Chingling. But anyway… I couldn't imagine how I would continue my journey without you guys… So, let's get out of this mess together alright, kay?"

The Psi Pokemon shook his head, but this time a bright smile was painted on his face.

"The current situation is abhorrently bad… There are only 4 of us… Um… 3, if you count combatants only and they have 5… Only Eileen is not weak against them… And you already saw for yourself how much damage they can cause individually. So yes, we're outnumbered, outclassed, and outpowered. Hmm… What to do indeed…"

Richard tried his best to concoct a plan to get them all out of there, but all of them either seemed far-fetched or just plain dumb. And with time kept ticking down, he needed a solid one fast.

Seeing the hopeless situation, Chingling decided that it's the perfect time for her to shine. She immediately opened her mouth to let out a really loud yet beautiful melody. The alluring cry filled up the night sky, it wasn't even an exaggeration to say it soothes the soul, but for Richard, the mesmerizing moment was drowned by the panic he felt after he understood the implications that her cry brought.

"What are you doing!? You just ratted us out to them." He quickly covered the Chingling's mouth before she could sing any further.

Richard carefully peeked from behind the gravestone only to be greeted by the pursuing Yamask.

"Darn it, Uri! we'll have to hightail it once more…"

"CROWWWWW!"

Just before the party did another attempt to shake off the pursuers. An unnerving caw could be heard from the distance, the contrast between it and the melody that Chingling sang earlier was like night and day. The Yamask pack even fled after the caw was audible due to the sheer terror the cry was attributed to.

"Wait no way… This cry… It can't be…"

Unfortunately, Richard didn't have a long time to sit on his laurels, because the creature responsible for the cry was already perching menacingly on the tree nearby. Gazing at every single motion the exhausted young man made with its dark crimson eye.

"From all things you can call to help us escape... Why did you have to call the 'Summoner of the Night'..."
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[moon]

Chapter 6: Route 12
Starting date May 25th, Saturday



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Spoiler:

Route 12 sees plenty of harsh cliffs by the ocean, a winding walking road stretching out in between the big blue and the murky inland vegetation. Kanto's east coast is actually nothing like its inner or south coast - instead of a beach paradise, the climate is often windy and rainy with large waves, and there are very few good places to swim from, if any.

Despite this, there are some fisherpeople living here, making their living from catching fish pokémon and selling their scales or meat. This is frowned upon by most of the modern Kantonian society, as vegetarianism is the default state nowadays. Traditional people south of Lavender have however kept this custom, although the morality and legality of it all is shady and still not fully resolved. At least they only claim to eat fish and bird pokémon... If that is any consolidation.

There is another unique aspect to Route 12. If you venture into the dark, swamp-like woods to the west, you might find another one of Kanto's strange secrets: the dead factories. In the 1990s when the effort to harvest geothermal energy from Rock Tunnel was ongoing, new buildings were also set here on Route 12 with promises that wind and water power would also be enough to sustain them. Lavender's efforts failed, as you know, and the whole project crumbled. The factories and buildings here were never finished, so they now sit as eerie ruins in the swamp here and there, the vegetation having overgrown them immensely in the decades since and wiped out all vehicle roads to and from them.

A relatively uninterrupted journey through Route 12 will probably see you at the southern end around dinner time. Note that in Trainersverse, we end just where Route 11 forks off to the west, so we will not travel all the way down south.



WHAT TO FIND HERE

- Fisherpeople, very traditional people living in reclusive huts or groups of houses near the cliffs. They might be trainers, with or without licenses as they frankly don't give a frick, and they might offer you freshly cooked fish meat... Yeah. From pokémon. But they may also offer you a place to stay for the night, if you don't offend them.

- Kind of unplesant weather, most of the time.

- At the southern end of the route (middle of the in-game route, think where Snorlax sleeps...) is a pokémon research station. Its residents have plenty of beds they are used to offering any traveling trainer.

EAST-KANTO RESEARCH STATION

This is run by an energetic non-binary researcher in their mid 30s, called doctor Quartz (pictured to the right, but imagine wilder hair - and definitely wears a hoodie 100% of time). Their assistant is a patient man in his early 50s who goes by the name Arthur. He's not a fan of titles and social barriers and will try to offer you sweet baked goods at any opportunity; he's a bit of a hobby baker. Quartz on the other hand doesn't have a hobby, as their life is their work. This station was established four years ago both to research the impact the abandoned factory environment had had on the pokémon living on Route 12,

and to observe the rich fauna of Route 11's savannah just west of here. Quartz has done a lot of fieldwork but was attacked when they tried to recover their data last time and is now being kept away from dangerous situations by the overly protective Arthur. The two are the only permanent residents, although there used to be many more.

EVENTS

DISTURBING DEVICES: May 25th/26th / OPTIONAL
- Doctor Quartz has placed some equipment in the dead factories that gather data over time. However, they are not a trainer and managed to anger the resident pokémon badly last time. They need help recovering their gadgets! The devices are radio-looking machines the size of a medium sized bag and can be carried with an attached shoulder strap. Quartz will point out the approximate location of one gadget on your Pokégear or map if you have one, and will only ask you to bring back one. They have other trainers helping them to recover the rest.

- Reward? Quartz has plenty of other gadgets too, and they'll reward you with a TM of your choice.

- Alternative? Destroy the gadgets instead to make the resident pokémon happy - they don't dare to go near the machines themselves. They'll give you one of their eggs to hatch and raise (from one of the species available on the route as usual) and it will be born with powerful moves or be shiny and not count towards your 1 shiny in the RP! You should probably not tell doctor Quartz about what you did though... Or they will not let you spend the night. I hope you like cooked fish!

POKÉMON FOR CAPTURE
Hover for movesets. All are approximately Lv 15-16.

 

[Eleanor]

Coming for you and your emotions~
🍀🍀🍀
Arianne, Gwen, Ralph, Richard, Courtney and Sarah - written with Adventure, QueenNothing and WizardOfOdd
Lavender Town - Day 5 - May 24^th

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♫ - Bring Me The Horizon - Throne
"Pretty late? And Rotom is not coming? Ugh, who are you to say…" Courtney complained, angrily. "As soon as you all get a Pokémon, you just up and leave!"

Of course, the intended recipient was just Sarah, but the red head was probably loud enough for everyone to hear.

"It is late, and these trainers probably have better things to do. So let's just find Richard and get out… and if you want, you can come here tomorrow." The brunette nodded.

The five trainers barely had time to start searching before a caw mightier than any Murkrow sound they had heard so far caught their attention. They all hurried over to where it had come from, only to find a whole group of Murkrows staring down at Richard and his pokémon.

When the trainers approached, the birds instead turned to look at them, with piercing glares.

"Whoa," Ralph said. "What's going on here? There's Richard, anyways. And… A fricking crater?"

"Woaaahhhh!" Gwen gasped, very captivated at the amount of crow Pokemon she observed. "I've never seen so many Murkrow in one place!"

Seeing the incoming intruders, the Honchkrow turned its head slowly towards the crouching young man who was busy looking for his missing item. With its deep and majestic voice, it called for Richard to take a look at the newly arrived trainers.

However, Richard was so overtaken by panic that he didn't even realize that Honchkrow had already started cawing once more. So does Madeline, the newly named Chingling was busy gnawing on her cookie that she didn't even think to look back at all.

"Ahh… Here it is… If I lose it then— "

"CROWWW!"

With its patience thinning, the Honchkrow let out a cry so powerful that even its own underlings flinched by the mighty caw.

Confused with what was happening, Richard turned his head in panic.

"Uh… Did we do something wrong? Argh…"

Left with not much of a choice and the lost item in hand, Richard rushed back towards the Big Boss Pokemon alongside Madeline who continued to gnaw on her cookie without much care of anything else.

"Hey Rich boy!" Ralph's voice suddenly cut through the night. "Over here!"

"Richard!" Sarah called out as well, this time nearly matching Courtney's loudness. She quickly composed herself after that, hoping that no one would think too much of that, as her classmate still giggled behind her.

"Ah, guys! Sorry I had to make you guys look for me." Richard slightly bowed courteously while putting the item he found in his jacket pocket.

"Well, at least we're all safe, aren't we? Now we can g-get out together…" Arianne nodded at Richard, too tired to notice Courtney pouting at her. "I don't even wanna know what happened here…" She whispered, as Lulu casted her light on the torn up graveyard ground nearby.

"Safe? Not really… I don't like it here." Sarah answered the Cinnabar girl's question. "We just need to stay together as a group."

"Yeah, I agree… After what I've been through earlier, I had enough of this place… Also, I don't think you'll be interested in what happened here, it's uh… Boring." Richard sighed in exhaustion as he told a flat-out lie even bigger than the crater itself.

"Clearly," Ralph said sarcastically, arms folded and a demonstrative nod at Richard clutching his ribcage. "Well that's that then. I'm outta here."

She started walking confidently in the direction where she figured the exit was based on where they had come from, motioning for Ari to come along.

The Cinnabar girl hesitated, but eventually followed Ralph, looking back at the rest of the group and catching Courtney's annoyed glare.


She really had reasons to be angry now. She was able to get this far, with many supplies and more great trainers that she could have ever hoped for, but as soon as they got their own Pokémon from the graveyard they stabbed her in the back and urged everyone to leave! Which meant doing all of this for nothing - because even if she told everyone what she witnessed that night, probably no one in her class besides Sarah would believe the red head. Only making things worse was Sarah deciding not to help her anymore and, especially, that Ralph girl… a unique name for a unique kind of unbearable.

"Sarah?" she cried out, hammering in the point even more. "You wanted everyone to get a Pokémon from this adventure, but now you want to leave without giving me a chance to get one?"

"It's late, our Pokémon are getting tired, and all of the others are quite fed up as well. Don't you feel bad about dragging them in?" her classmate answered. "You can come another ti-"

"I'd rather not, you know!" Courtney interrupted her. "But also…" She went from just talking to her friend, to yelling at everyone. "Who are you to boss me around? Let's not waste this chance and stay a bit longer. I'm talking to you, Ralph!"

Ralph stopped and turned back, annoyance on her face. "Look who's trying to boss people around," she scoffed. "I'd stay all night if I thought there would be any point to it, okay? But we already got attacked by birds and hordes of ghosts, and to be honest? I doubt Rotom is even real!"

She added the last bit somewhat due to bitterness over her erroneous capture, but if it could get Courtney to give up and pipe down, the statement was worth it, even if she hoped it was wrong.

"You're just selfish. Get a Pokémon for yourself and leave. But I know there's more to this! I want to believe!" The Safari girl continued, a hint of sadness in her voice. It was hard to tell in the darkness, but her eyes were starting to get watery as well.

"Okay, let's calm down. We're all tired… Bickering won't do us any favor. I agree with Ralph that we should go out as soon as possible, but I can understand how you want to catch a Pokemon of your own. Look, I'll try to negotiate with these guys to let us stay a bit longer, cause I don't think they are enjoying our company." Richard pointed at the glaring crows who were still sitting menacingly on their respective tree branches.

"Everything will be alright, I'm sure of it." Just as Richard turned his back towards the crows, the Big Boss Pokemon immediately pointed at the crater without even changing its terrifying expression. "Okay, I will… Please wait." Richard released Victor and Uri back to the field in an effort to cover the crater.

Ralph considered several ways she could snap back at the redhead and make her feel bad, but her energy just wasn't there at this point; she probably exaggerated greatly when she said she could have kept going all night. So instead, she actually just sighed and turned around again, continuing to walk away. She was really starting to feel tired now, after another very long eventful day, even if most of it had been at a fun festival. The pokémon center bed was more alluring than ever.

Arianne was feeling a bit more conflicted this time around, but decided to not give in to Courtney once again, and remained close to Ralph as the older girl walked away. "I just don't think I can take this any longer…" She said.

That of course, only made Courtney angrier. Seeing Lulu's light, and with it, her childhood friend, getting away from her did tug at her heartstrings a little. She just stood still for a moment, hoping that a Ghost-type would appear for her to catch… not just Rotom, anything. But all she could see were those menacing eyes.

"Hey, Courtney… come on, let's get out of here!" Sarah was the third girl to start walking after Ralph. "This adventure has been going on for long enough."

"On second thoughts, I agree with Sarah. We should rest for tomorrow, it is unwise to stay any longer in this graveyard. Especially with crows not being very accepting of our presence" Richard quickly followed the rest of the group while Maddie who glanced sadly towards Courtney sat on his shoulder.

Gwen unhinged her jaw to unleash a loud yawn. "I may be feeling a little tired, but that won't stop m-"

She had been cut off by one of her Pokeballs opening without her input- Bead let himself out of his Pokeball.

"Wh- Bead??? What are y-"

The Misdreavus floated behind her, biting the back of her shirt collar, and doing her best to tug her away from the group.

"...I think Bead wants me to go to sleep, guys."

Despite her willingness to stay in the graveyard, Gwen ultimately gave in to her tiredness, and her Misdreavus, who aided her away to the exit to end a long night.

In the end, the redhead walked after Ralph as well, finally closing the group. She kept her head low and kept drying her tears from her eyes, trying to keep at bay all the bad memories of Safari Academy that were starting to resurface. But as much as she wanted to just let out all of her frustration and start to cry properly, she knew it would have only got her in more trouble.

Eventually, the group reached the steel fence once again. Arianne and Lulu were ready to create another mycelium staircase, trying to let everyone get out of the graveyard the same way they'd got in before. The Mushroom Pokémon was just gathering energy with Moonlight, her light changing in color and intensity as she recovered, as Courtney grinded her teeth. She was considering it, for sure… she could just knock out Lulu without giving her time to react, by using her Magby's Fire Spin. As she grabbed her own Pokéball, however, she realized how that would have given her no way to leave that place.

"Teeheeeee…"

Magby was called out anyways as her trainer heard that sinister… giggle, almost, coming from behind her. She turned around with a short but noticeable yelp, noticing a Shuppet floating around her, and quickly tried to backpedal, hoping to put her Magby between her and the newly appeared Ghost-type. The Fire-type was getting ready for letting out an Ember also, and kept track of Shuppet as she breathed in air.

The girl was not really sold on the idea of catching Shuppet, and was still looking at it warily, hoping to stay at a safe distance from it. But even if it wasn't Rotom - not even close, in fact - the girl had also understood that this was her last chance at catching anything at all that day. Not like Sarah's idea of going to the graveyard again enticed her much.

Courtney looked back at the group one more time, as Arianne and Sarah nodded at her.

"C'mon girl, it's your chance!" the brunette said, before the redhead would face the Shuppet once more.

"You there! Wanna know who you're dealing with?"

Shuppet kept giggling, but didn't even attack once. Anticlimactic, really. It just dodged Magby's Ember a few times, before flying straight into Courtney - and at that point, its intentions were clear to everyone. As Lulu was finally done building up her Ingrain, everyone in the group had caught a Pokémon.

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Arianne's team:

Eric •

Mulan •

Alice •

Mizar •

Lulu

Courtney's team: Magby • Shinx • Shuppet • ???
Sarah's team: Nidorina • Murkrow • ???