Phantom Isle - The Haunted Theme Park

[Itzatrap]

Itzatrap- Deceptively cute and childish with its bright colors and cartoon smiles, many visitors to the Haunted Theme Park mistakenly assume that Mantine Mania is the "safer" option amidst the cursed, corrupted mechanical marvels that fill the Phantom Isle. Rob, however, is under no such delusion; keeping the park's gristly past in mind, the young man who now approaches Mantine Mania is fully aware that this former kiddie ride is capable nowadays of just as many thrills and chills as the other Theme Park attractions. Rob thinks to himself that he is surrounded by the smell of mystery as he travels through the Park... Perhaps the true mystery is what mystery actually smells like. Is it the soft, playful scent of popcorn that drifts from empty, long-abandoned stands? Is it the oddly crisp scent of the abnormally cool air that suffocates the Summer breeze as it attempts to breathe warmth into the Park? Is it the faint, yet distinct tinny smell that just blew past Rob's nostrils, which reminds him quite disturbingly of blood? Whatever it is, there is certainly an indistinguishable, yet ominous something in the air here that sends chills down Rob's spine. Not wanting to be alone in such a place, Rob calls out Judis, who seems overly enthusiastic about the spooky atmosphere in which she finds herself. Perhaps it is the darkness within her typing that draws her to this place. Either way, she is happy to be exploring Mantine Mania, though seems slightly indignant at the fact that she cannot go out exploring on her own. Like a rebellious child, she is reigned in by her trainer with the half-joking statement that Rob may need her for "protection." Certainly, in a place like this, one can never be too safe.

The Mantine Mania lobby is full of dust and smells faintly of mold, clearly having been abandoned for a long time. Beneath the dirt and graffiti, old signs hint at the popularity of the ride in its heyday, and the joy of land and sea adventures for both children and trainers alike. Three different "breeds" of Mantine car are featured, advertised fairly equally in the lobby, with the benefits of each clearly being played up. One Mantine boasts the ability to "fly" above the forest and lakes fabricated for the ride, with clear top and bottom to give the wonderous illusion of flying through the air. Another Mantine, which "surfs" along the river, is advertised as being a wonderful option for more adventurous children, with flume-like plunges to really get one's heart going. Finally, there is a Mantine car shaped like a little submarine, which "dives" beneath the water to give the rider an up-close and personal look at the marine Pokemon which inhabit the undersea world of Mantine River. All three options sound enticing when reading their descriptions, though Rob can't help but wonder how the "scenic, Pokemon-filled" forest and "beautiful blue depths" of the river have changed since the ride's abandonment...

As Rob and Judis consider their options, the faint sound of rustling echoes from behind the pair. The two turn around, and see nothing... Was it just their imagination? Certainly, rustling could be caused by a number of things, including harmless breezes. Exploring the lobby might be a good option if the pair is curious about that strange little sound, or they may decide to continue into the Mantine Mania ride and ignore the noise. After all, what could be more thrilling than the very ride itself?

What will Rob and Judis do?

(Thanks again for updating me! Forgot Judis is in the Daycare so I'll unfortunately recall her from the end of the update. =( I'll let you out again Judis!)

"What's this?" the young trainer asked himself as he saw the different types of Mantine's, all of which demanded to be riden by the trainer and his companion. "Flying Mantine...hmmm." Rob quickly imagined the flying Mantine stop in the middle of the ride, and then plummet. "I don't think we would make if it broke down. Don't want to get stuck there with no way out, or if it comes crashing down." In his younger years, while visiting his family, he went to a carnival. He could not wait to try out every single ride, that is until he got to the Ferrathorn Wheel. The traumatizing event left him stranded for hours, which as child multiplied to days for him. He never got over getting in machines that took him up in the air...

"Surfing Mantine..." No visions of doom came upon this one, until he thought to himself, "Guess I can swim should something go wrong...unless it is filled with dangerous man-eating Pokémon..." "Diving Mantine.." "I could also swim..." While all options definitely seemed like fun, albeit a little scary (A lot in the flying Mantine's case), he could not help to think worst possible scenarios for the old rides that looks like they weren't that well maintained anymore. He then remembered his ground type friend. "I don't think I should take her just yet, especially to a water ride." There was an anxious look on the Sandile as she waited for Rob to make a decision, looking into her eyes, which were desperate to have an adventure with her trainer. A faint sound of rustling echoes was then heard by both Rob and Judis, which alarmed the trainer quite a bit as he turned around to take a look. Judis on the other hand seemed thrilled that there were signs of something possibly being there.

The trainer grabbed her Pokéball, and under protest, she got absorbed by the Pokéball, which he then clipped to his belt. "Sorry girl, I'll let you out again soon." he said, still keeping a nervous eye aroubd as he then grabbed another Pokéball and pressed the opening mechanism. A light emerged from inside the ball, which took the shape of a quadruped, with white fur and black tail and something that looked like a horn on the side of her head. "Absol!" the young creature growled, quite excited that she is in such an amazing place, at least for her. "Melantha, I think we should go back to the lobby to see what that noise I heard was, be alert for anything suspicious, okay?" She nodded in agreement as he continued, "After all, if there is nothing, we can come back after we check it out right?" She nodded once again, "Let's go then!" He said, trying to sound as excited as Melantha appeared to be as they started to investigate the origin of the mysterious sound.

[Monster Guy]

mon1010- ((In the future, I think it would be helpful if you specified which target you were aiming for with single-target attacks like psybeam when there are multiple targets. It makes writing the results of the round less confusing on my end.))

As the bloody, mangled plushies slowly make their way forward towards Scott and the strange girl, the Houndour referred to as Melanie charges toward the Arcanine plushie before the girl can even issue an order, using a vicious Bite attack that tears the Arcanine's plush head clean off. The head rolls around on the floor for a bit before stopping, its red eyes flickering out; before the head goes completely still, however, it unleashes a Hypnosis attack on the Houndour; while the fierce hound appears somewhat drowsy and disoriented by the hypnotizing gaze, she refuses to go down to sleep that easily. Strangely, the plush body continues to move at the same, steady pace towards Melanie's trainer, chanting Abandoned over and over again. The girl, unnerved by the unrelenting pace of the plushie towards her and complete disregard of her Houndour, tries running farther into the maze, but notices to her horror after turning the corner that the two trainers are trapped in a dead end. Meanwhile, Shaana lets loose a Psybeam toward the plushie pair; unfortunately, in the disorienting mirror-world, the Munna finds her psybeam bouncing off the reflection of the Eevee plushie and down the corridor, doing no damage. The Eevee plushie seems to be moving towards Scott and Gulpin, though unlike its vocal partner, the Eevee says absolutely nothing. Instead, its soulless, glowing eyes seem fixed on Gulpin, who refuses to look at the creepy plush figure. The Eevee unleashes a nasty Screech in Scott's direction, presumably in an attempt to further frighten the Gulpin and lower its defenses, but it seems as if its fear could not be any greater and its defenses could not be any lower.

Realizing that Melanie will not back down, the girl decides that she may as well give her Pokemon some orders; "Melanie, try to get them to retreat with a Roar," she shouts encouragingly. Melanie unleashes as mighty a roar as she can muster; however, it seems to have no effect on the two advancing monstrosities. Munna unleashes another Psybeam, as ordered; this time, the attack is aimed towards a plushie instead of a reflection, though it only barely scrapes the Arcanine's body. The Arcanine head, which appeared still and lifeless before, suddenly animates to Houndour's surprise, a spectral tongue giving Houndour a disgusting Lick. Fortunately, aside from the bit of damage, Houndour does not seem to have been affected by the often paralytic effects of this attack. The head becomes "dead" again, though it seems as if its supposed lifelessness is not to be trusted. Meanwhile, an eerie, glowing Will-o-wisp makes its way toward Shaana, though she is able to dodge out of the way of its explosion, avoiding a particularly nasty burn. Both plushies continue their unnerving advance. As Scott rocks the Gulpin gently, it seems to calm down somewhat. The giant tears, at least, seem to be subsiding, which have turned into big, uncontrollable sniffles. Gulpin looks up at Scott with a strangely trusting look, as if hoping that he and his Munna will help make the evil monsters go away.

"Melanie, Smog!" She orders the Houndour, who unleashes a cloud of black, putrid smoke towards the Arcanine's body. It seems to have little effect on the demonic plush, who continues its advance as resolutely as ever. Shaana's third Psybeam shows great improvement from the first two; this time, the Arcanine body is directly nailed, piercing a hole right through the Arcanine plushie's chest. Scott can hear something within the plush screaming in pain as if hit by a super-effective attack, which suggests that there may be more to these plushies than meets the eye... In response to Shaana's killer attack, it seems as if both plushies now have turned their attention to the flower-covered Pokemon. The Arcanine body glows red and unleashes a Night Shade that directly hits Munna, the dark beam blasting Munna on impact with significant power. Eevee decides to blast Munna with a Night Shade of its own; fortunately, Shaana is able to move out of the way before being hit twice by the same attack.

Scott finds himself wondering why the plush Pokemon are so intent on their advance toward the girl and the Gulpin she was originally carrying... What consequences will they face of the pair of possessed toys make their way down the corridor? With the advance of the plushies, the girl has retreated all the way to the back of the corridor, against the mirrored wall. Scott may wish to do the same if he wants to keep Gulpin away from these creatures. After seeing how quickly they move in combat, Scott estimates that three rounds remain until the plushies make it to the end of the corridor.

How will Scott and Shaana respond?

The haunted plushies reacted to Shaana's Psybeams using Pokemon attacks. Suddenly, the Pokemon nerd in him came out, and Scott whipped out his Pokedex from his pocket. These were most likely Ghost types, didn't have much of a reaction to melanie's Smog, and he knew Ghosts resisted Poison. Not to mention, they both used Night Shade, which is usually a move Ghosts types can learn. So he looked up Ghost Pokemon. A long list of Ghost type Pokemon came up.

Judging by the way that Arcanine plushie reacted to Shaana's Psybeam, it was likely possesed by something in the Gengar evolution line. It was also the only thing he could think of that could learn Lick, Hypnosis, and Night Shade. As it was part Poison, and therefore weak to Psychic. He wasn't sure what to make of that Eevee plushie, so he looked up Pokemon that learned Screech. From his findings, the only Pokemon that learned Screech were Shuppet and Banette. So, he closed the Pokedex, and put it away.

"Shaana, use another Psybeam on the Arcanine plushie, then use Yawn" Then he had to think of what to do about the Eevee plushie. He remebered an incident involving Shaana, and a Purrlion Shaana hoped was male, on Valentines Day. Long story short, she gained a special move from the situation. "Then use Pursuit on the Eevee." He then followed this girl's example, and ran to the back of the corridor against a mirrored wall to keep this Gulpin away from these things, as they looked like they were after him for some reason. The rocking seemed to calm him down a bit, as he was no longer crying as much as he was before. Hopefully keeping his distance from these things would keep him that way.

[Marion Ette]

((Happy Friday the 13th, everyone! Here's a quick little extra-special update in celebration of such a wonderful day~))

Meetan- Pokeball at the ready, Alice urges her Swinub to perform a Mud Slap that will weaken the Purrloin, but won't knock it down for the count. Heeding his orders, he quickly flings a bit of mud toward's the Purrloin's face; unable to dodge completely in time, The Purrloin is slapped right in the shoulder, with her right eye taking some mud and impeding the vision out of that eye somewhat. With one good eye, however, Purrloin can clearly see that the battle is not going in its favor, and claws at Swinub with a particularly vicious Fury Swipes; unlike Swinub, who is following orders not to faint the devious Pokemon, this vicious Purrloin is in for the kill, and its five ghastly swipes do some major damage. Looks like it's time to act fast and throw that Pokeball before poor Swinub is shred to ribbons!

Alice takes a deep breath and throws the Pokeball, hopeful to catch the dark feline for a dear friend who is obsessed with such creatures. The Purrloin is barely able to get out an angry "PURR" before the ball's red light engulfs the Purrloin, sucking it into the Pokeball with incredible force. The closed Pokeball wiggles wildly, as the Purrloin attempts with all of its might to break free, before the shaking ultimately dies down, and stops altogether. Congratulations! Level 4 Male was caught. One wonders what kind of luck catching a dark-type cat Pokemon on Friday the 13th will bring...

At the sight of your capture, the mechanical Rapidash bounds up on its hind legs and whinnies excitedly. "Those are some great moves, pardner! Yer' little Swinub fought mighty hard. I'm glad t'see that I'm travelin' with a trainer that's packin' some heat." The Rapidash neighs happily. "A'course, I gotta warn you, lil' lady... The journey might not be so easy from here on out. My path likely ain't a pretty one, but if yer' willin' t'come along, I can at least promise ya' some wild adventures." The Rapidash pauses for a moment. "It's up t'you. I ain't like that fortune tellin' lady... I don't know what the future's gonna hold. Then again, I know Fate ain't the type to wake up an ol' bag-a-bolts like me for nothin'. There's gotta be a reason... I just gotta know why... Why I remember things. Machines ain't s'posed to be able t'do that, right?" The horse tilts its head, as if Alice may have the answer to the questions the mechanical horse poses. Eventually, the mechanical Rapidash turns around and moseys on over to the Fortune Telling Tent. "Y'comin', darlin'?" The mechanical voice asks, turning toward Alice.

How will Alice respond?



Itzatrap- Rob and Melantha decide that the best course of action would be to search the lobby for the source of that suspicious rustling; after all, even if it turned out to be nothing, the rides would still be waiting for them. After so many years just sitting there, it's not like they'd pick up and leave in the time it takes to make a quick search around the lobby, right?

Rob and Melantha search around the lobby, hoping to locate the mysterious noise they heard before. For a couple of moments, it seems as if the lobby is completely lifeless; no signs of motion can be detected, not even a light breeze, which is strange considering the sound they heard before. After those few moments, however, they eventually hear the sound again; Melantha reacts quickly, using her sharp hearing in order to trace the sound to a small hole in the wall. The hole is about 6 inches high, 6 inches wide and rather unremarkable; even so, Melantha growls ominously at the hole, as if to indicate that whatever happened to make the noise happens to be inside.

Of course, there's a rather obvious problem; neither Rob nor Melantha can fit inside that hole. Even so, there are plenty of options that Rob could try. He could attempt to lure the creature out with a berry or some other object. He could order Melantha to attack and make the hole wider; after all, who's going to yell at him for a little bit of vandalism in this abandoned park? He could even try calling out a smaller Pokemon who would be able to investigate. Certainly, Rob is not limited to these options, as he is a free man who can do whatsoever he likes, provided he is willing to face the consequences of his actions.

What will Rob and Melantha do?


Mon1010- Using some deductive logic and the help of his Pokedex, Scott quickly figures out that there are likely Pokemon possessing the plushies, and based on the attacks that they've used so far, he can even pinpoint the exact evolutionary line of each attacker; the Arcanine appears to be possessed by some member of the Gengar evolutionary family, while the Eevee is possessed by either Shuppet or Banette. Of course, these deductions provide no help in terms of the motivation and intent of these plushie-possessing spectres, but at least these findings aid Scott in developing a solid battle strategy for his buddy Shaana.

Melanie leads the charge this round with another Bite; since the Arcanine plushie seems intent on heading towards her trainer, it seems as if a lot of her energy is being focused on that particular plush. This bite takes off one of the Arcanine's paws, revealing a ghostly, purple hand beneath. Seems as if this dark-type attack is also super-effective against the creature, who yelps with pain in response to the attack made by the Houndour's vicious fangs. Shaana tries to follow up with another super-effective Psybeam, but the Arcanine's body manages to dodge to the side in time, marking the first deviation in its forward-moving path since Scott and Shaana first laid eyes on the monstrous plush form. Seems as if the attacks are finally causing some hesitation; at least enough to cause them to deviate from their straight path, anyhow. The Arcanine responds with a nasty bit of Spite towards Houndour, laying a spooky curse on the dark puppy which limits the amount of times she can use her bite attack as the battle continues. "Eevee", who seems to like to copy its plush partner, also uses Spite, directing the attack towards Shaana; however, the curse does not seem to take hold, as Shaana seems to shrug off the attempt of the Eevee to freak her out.

Melanie is ordered by her trainer to try her Smog against the Eevee in attempt to poison it; however, Arcanine blocks the attack with its plush body, causing Melanie to completely miss the Eevee and do very little damage to the Arcanine. Shaana attempts a Yawn in order to cause the Arcanine to fall asleep, but this time, the Eevee acts as a shield for Arcanine; seems like this Eevee is an insominac or something, since it seems completely unphased by Shaana's attempt at making it drowsy. Arcanine, coming out from behind Eevee, attempts Hypnosis once again on the vicious Melanie, who once again is having none of this sleeping juju nonsense. She simply growls angrily in response. Eevee, seemingly tired of Melanie's impertinance, attempts a Shadow Sneak behind her; Melanie whips around and catches the particularly unlucky creature in her jaws, ripping the Eevee head clean off. Seems as if the creature within dodged the counterattack, though with the head of the Eevee gone, Scott can now see the true head of the Banette that inhabits the Eevee. Certainly, the gaze in the creature's eyes is highly unsettling, and Scott wonders what might be causing the creature to act so malevolently.

"A Banette," the girl exclaims. "I should have known! Melanie and Munna, I think it's time for a Beat Up! Shaana nods in response to the girl trainer's request, and both Melanie and Shaana wail on the Banette, with two super-effective strikes to its plushie "armor". Munna follows up the gang-style beating with a Pursuit she had learned from a Valentine's Day adventure, which seems to be coming in handy now; the super-effective attack has "Eevee" reeling, its Banette form clearly damaged by the brutality of the attack. "Arcanine" seems hellbent on sending Houndour to sleep, and attempts Hypnosis once more. Once again, this creature is shown to have some god-awful luck (perhaps it's the fact that it's Friday the 13th?) and once again fails to send the hyper Houndour to dreamland. The Eevee-Banette, who is certainly not backing down from this fight, attempts a Knock off on Shaana, but Munna is quick to float away from the Banette before it causes any damage with its potentially killer move.

Shaana and Melanie are still fighting fit, while Banette and her "Arcanine" partner have become like their plushies in that they have definitely seen better days. Two rounds remain until they close in on Gulpin and the girl who is training Melanie.

Gulpin is substantially calmer. He seems especially hopeful considering that the battle seems to be going the way of his allies.

How will Scott and Shaana respond?

[Meetan]

((Happy Friday the 13th, everyone! Here's a quick little extra-special update in celebration of such a wonderful day~))

Meetan- Pokeball at the ready, Alice urges her Swinub to perform a Mud Slap that will weaken the Purrloin, but won't knock it down for the count. Heeding his orders, he quickly flings a bit of mud toward's the Purrloin's face; unable to dodge completely in time, The Purrloin is slapped right in the shoulder, with her right eye taking some mud and impeding the vision out of that eye somewhat. With one good eye, however, Purrloin can clearly see that the battle is not going in its favor, and claws at Swinub with a particularly vicious Fury Swipes; unlike Swinub, who is following orders not to faint the devious Pokemon, this vicious Purrloin is in for the kill, and its five ghastly swipes do some major damage. Looks like it's time to act fast and throw that Pokeball before poor Swinub is shred to ribbons!

Alice takes a deep breath and throws the Pokeball, hopeful to catch the dark feline for a dear friend who is obsessed with such creatures. The Purrloin is barely able to get out an angry "PURR" before the ball's red light engulfs the Purrloin, sucking it into the Pokeball with incredible force. The closed Pokeball wiggles wildly, as the Purrloin attempts with all of its might to break free, before the shaking ultimately dies down, and stops altogether. Congratulations! Level 4 Male was caught. One wonders what kind of luck catching a dark-type cat Pokemon on Friday the 13th will bring...

At the sight of your capture, the mechanical Rapidash bounds up on its hind legs and whinnies excitedly. "Those are some great moves, pardner! Yer' little Swinub fought mighty hard. I'm glad t'see that I'm travelin' with a trainer that's packin' some heat." The Rapidash neighs happily. "A'course, I gotta warn you, lil' lady... The journey might not be so easy from here on out. My path likely ain't a pretty one, but if yer' willin' t'come along, I can at least promise ya' some wild adventures." The Rapidash pauses for a moment. "It's up t'you. I ain't like that fortune tellin' lady... I don't know what the future's gonna hold. Then again, I know Fate ain't the type to wake up an ol' bag-a-bolts like me for nothin'. There's gotta be a reason... I just gotta know why... Why I remember things. Machines ain't s'posed to be able t'do that, right?" The horse tilts its head, as if Alice may have the answer to the questions the mechanical horse poses. Eventually, the mechanical Rapidash turns around and moseys on over to the Fortune Telling Tent. "Y'comin', darlin'?" The mechanical voice asks, turning toward Alice.

How will Alice respond?

Alice squealed, thrilled as she dashed forward to claim her Poke Ball, giving an acrobatic jump in which her heels nudged her behind. "Woohoo! My first official capture!" The girl cried, holding the ball up proudly. Indeed, there were more spheres on her person: another Love Ball containing her beloved Pineco, and two more with a Torchic she was awkward about and a Bagon. The first two had been adopted, the latter hatched. "My friend'll be so happy! We'll have to find somewhere in the park to send it to her right away. I'll tuck it safely in here." She added, burying it deep and safe into her bag.

The girl beamed over to Rapidash, head bobbing in full agreement. She was proud of that battle, as close as it was, and felt pride towards her Swinub. As the robot spoke, she crouched down to reward the piggy with some soft pets over his back, listening intently. What it said she already knew: no safety was garunteed and they could not see the future, but wild adventures lay ahead. Alice had already joined the Rapidash, and did not want to leave yet. She, too, wanted to uncover the mystery of Rapidash's memories, and even more than that, wanted to reach a happy end for her new companion.

"Yes! Coming!" The teenager called, looking at her Swinub. "You need a bit of a rest after that. Thank you so much, baby." With a loving kiss to his snout, he was returned to his own Love Ball. Once packed away, Alice hurried to follow Rapidash into the Fortune Teller's tent, feeling uncharacteristically brave and ready for whatever awaited them.

((Stats~))

[Balmund]

Balmund- Both William and Balmund are painfully aware that their pursuers are closing in, and that, indeed, the force they both sensed earlier is not only aware of their presence, but is also aggressively closing in on them as they speak. William quickly scarfs down his pizza, and doesn't even bother to pick up his tray and bring it to the waste disposal unit. Balmund senses that the pair are pretty screwed, and suggests flying to the station instead of walking. At first, William's facial expression seems to indicate that he is in favor of the idea, but as he begins speaking, that expression quickly changes... "Listen, Duke, flying would be awesome right now, but there's one problem..." As William speaks, his eyes seem transfixed behind Balmund; when Balmund turns to see what has captured his new friend's attention, he sees two shadows rising from the ground. Strangely, the parkgoers do not seem to notice the shadowy figures that seem to be phasing in through the earth, continuing to eat, talk and laugh as if nothing out of the ordinary is going on. William stares grimly at the two figures, stating what Balmund likely already knows; "They've already found us. Quick, Duke, call out your Pokemon! There's only two right now... If we can take 'em out quick, we can jump on Salamence and fly to the station before more show up! C'MON OUT, AVERIL!"

William quickly pulls off the only Pokeball on his belt, and activates the device in order to unleash the form of a particularly tough-looking Haxorus. Averil growls menacingly at the shadows, which are now taking on the form of two Dusknoir. While the parkgoers don't seem to notice the Dusknoir, they definitely notice William's Haxorus, and seem confused at William's incredibly defensive stance. The strange thing about these particular Dusknoir, however, is that their eyes and markings are a strange, glowing blue, while the rest of their bodies seem entirely composed of transparent shadows... Perhaps these creatures are the minions of the God Dialga. Certainly, they look the part. The pair of Dusknoir advance, and William turns to Balmund, whispering to him frantically; "We need to figure out how to make this battle believable to these parkgoers, or they're gonna call the cops on us. They can't see the Minions like we can..." In fact, some children are actually circling around Averil, mesmerized by the strange, yet powerful Pokemon. If Balmund doesn't think quickly, not only will he and William look like total nuts attacking nothing, but some bystanders may get hurt, as well. He'll need to think of a very convincing lie to get this battle going!

What will Balmund do?

Balmund's idea of flying straight to their final destination seemed to be of William's liking. If only it was suggested sooner... William points out to a pair of shadows emerging from the ground, materializing into what seemed like a pair of far from ordinary Dusknoir, considering Dusknoir are hardly ordinary as is. Oddly enough, they couldn't be seen by anyone other of the parkgoers, which was a troubling cpnsoderation. They didn't seem like oppoments one could just easily walk over, and having to concentrate on anything other than the battle ahead was going to put them at a great disadvantage. What possible excuse could he come up with to explain fighting opponents that weren't supposed to be there to begin with? Could he stage battle between himself and William and maneuver around that to combat the Dusknoir? Possibly, but that would present a lot of maneuvering issues and could ultimately spell disaster. Will's mighty Haxorus certainly looked strong, but how good a team player was she? He would have to put his trust on her and see what happens. But wait a second, they don't necessarily have to stage a Pokémon battle.... perhaps there was an easier way...

Throwing his Pokéball high into the air, the ball burst with light as a majestic Salamence emerges from it. The Dragon type is instantly alarmed by the two Dusknoir, and one look at Balmund was all it took to understand his role right now. "Oh yeah? Well I'll show why my Salamence is the Coolest out there. Your dragon ain't got nuthin' on mine!" He exclaimed to William, though to ensure surrounding passerby could hear him. "Everybody clear out! This os going to be a move demonstration for the ages! Durandal, Focus Energy before wowing everyone with you Air Cutter, then heat things up with a dazzling Heat Wave."

It was this or nothing. It was time to roll dice and cross fingers.

[Itzatrap]

Itzatrap- Rob and Melantha decide that the best course of action would be to search the lobby for the source of that suspicious rustling; after all, even if it turned out to be nothing, the rides would still be waiting for them. After so many years just sitting there, it's not like they'd pick up and leave in the time it takes to make a quick search around the lobby, right?

Rob and Melantha search around the lobby, hoping to locate the mysterious noise they heard before. For a couple of moments, it seems as if the lobby is completely lifeless; no signs of motion can be detected, not even a light breeze, which is strange considering the sound they heard before. After those few moments, however, they eventually hear the sound again; Melantha reacts quickly, using her sharp hearing in order to trace the sound to a small hole in the wall. The hole is about 6 inches high, 6 inches wide and rather unremarkable; even so, Melantha growls ominously at the hole, as if to indicate that whatever happened to make the noise happens to be inside.

Of course, there's a rather obvious problem; neither Rob nor Melantha can fit inside that hole. Even so, there are plenty of options that Rob could try. He could attempt to lure the creature out with a berry or some other object. He could order Melantha to attack and make the hole wider; after all, who's going to yell at him for a little bit of vandalism in this abandoned park? He could even try calling out a smaller Pokemon who would be able to investigate. Certainly, Rob is not limited to these options, as he is a free man who can do whatsoever he likes, provided he is willing to face the consequences of his actions.

What will Rob and Melantha do?

Rob looked around carefully as he walked into the lobby. It was completely static, with only the trainer and his Absol in the room. "Guess it was all in my head." he thought with slight relief, although maybe he shouldn't have been so happy to be hearing things in his head. That is until he heard the noise again, only this time he had Melantha with him, who located the base of whatever was making the sound. A small hole in the wall, too small for Rob or any of his Pokémon to be able to lure out whatever is in there.

Looking on at the hole, he could not help but feel curious as to what was possibly hiding there. So was Melantha as she eyed the hole, ready to attack it. Rob quickly intervened as he saw that, kneeling down and stopping Melantha from attacking with his hand keeping her back, shaking his head at her, which she understood. He certainly did not want to attack the hole to make it bigger, especially since it might lead to turning whatever is in there hostile, and he certainly did not want that. He looked in his bag, hoping to find something that might help him. He then grabbed all the berries in his bag, and decided to offer them them all. He had a Wiki Berry, Grepa Berry, Lum Berry, Figy Berry, Passho Berry, Kelpsy Berry, and finally Bluk Berry. Hopefully whatever is in there would be enticed enough to come out after seeing the berries offered, and take one, or a few. If not, he would have to think of other ways to bring out what was inside.

[uhhhhh]

uhhhhh- An eerie sort of deja vu overwhelms Connor as he realizes that the overwhelming, horrific feeling of fearing for his life is actually quite familiar... He tries to recall the vision in the mirror which followed his gristly death, but the memories do not seem to be coming easily. These tiny bits of memories surfacing into Connor's conscious mind certainly make him wonder what horrors might lurk under the surface of his unconscious... Even so, the topic is one better dwelled upon when not being threatened with permanent Drifloon transformation; an oddly appropriate fate, considering Connor's innate lack of direction. Perhaps, in an eerie, twisted way, the haunted world in which he finds himself is trying to send him a message...

As the battle rages on, Gaspard produces a glowing egg out of nowhere, absorbing the Softboiled creation into himself; after doing so, he appears a bit healthier than before. Drifloon attempts another Cut attack with his sharp scissors, but finds himself having to dodge a brutal Ominous Wind from the demon balloon. Fortunately, the little 'floon avoids significant damage, and motions Gaspard with his scissors to come rejoin the battle. Gaspard flings himself forward with incredible gusto, hitting hard with a Fury Cutter that causes the balloon to hiss with pain as hole on its left side becomes even more damaging to the creature's overall structure. The Drifloon nudges himself beside Gaspard and further tears open the gash with his scissors, Cutting the hole enough that half of the balloon appears completely torn; the other half hangs on for dear life, and sucks in air from the giant gash in an attempt to Swallow the Drifloon whole! Connor had no idea a swallow attack could work that way, but this strange creature seems to be capable of things beyond the capabilities of ordinary Pokemon. With a tug from Gaspard, the Drifloon narrowly escapes being sucked into the demon's body. Gaspard, hoping to end this battle once and for all, unleashes a Seed Bomb in hopes of exploding the balloon to pieces. While it blows out a big hole in the right side, the effect is not as large as Gaspard would have hoped. Drifloon attempts a Whirlwind in order to blow the balloon apart, but only ends up blowing the rubber body around a bit. The balloon then attempts to Swallow Gaspard; seems as if Connor's little monkey is particularly unlucky, as the little purple monkey is drawn right into the attack, and finds himself tangled in the cut balloon's rubber body! He screams and flails in desperation as the life is slowly sucked out of him... Drifloon shrieks, attempting to cut Gaspard free, but only seems to be getting small bits of the balloon untangled (and plenty of clumps of Gaspard's fur). The Drifloon seems absolutely frantic to save Gaspard, his little, black eyes wide with fear.

Paired with Gaspard's Cursed status, there won't be long before Gaspard is completely drained of life energy by the evil balloon. The situation seems dire, and if Connor doesn't act quickly, it may be Gaspard who ends up suffering a fate once intended for Connor.

What will Connor do?

"GASPARD!" Connor screamed as as he saw his faithful partner being choked by the demonic balloon. He looks at the Drifloon who was also desperate to free him, but was having no such luck. Both the photographer and the balloon were desperate to save the little monkey from having his life sucked out of him... and suffer the fate of being a Drifloon forever. Connor didn't know what to do, what to think as to how to get the both of them out of this situation. He knew he had to think fast if he wanted to save him, but his mind was drawing a big blank as to what to do. Why was the balloon targeting Gaspard now? Wasn't it after him? Connor then thought of something. Would the balloon be willing to give Gaspard back to him in exchange for his? Was he willing to give up his own life to save his best friend? Was he okay in being a Drifloon forever? It didn't take the photographer long to come up with an answer.

He was.

Connor clenched his fists and gritted his teeth as his expression darkened. It was almost like he wanted to smash one of the mirrors around them just to let out his frustration. He didn't want to do this, but it was the only thing he could think of right now. He then stared at the Drifloon, then at the evil balloon, and then at Gaspard. Gaspard, while still feeling tangled by the balloon, saw Connor's eyes. Looking at his trainer and best friend, it was as if he trying to hold back his tears as if he was going to make a painful decision. Gaspard then realized what Connor was trying to do, and he was completely against it.

"Ai...aipom..." Gaspard weakly said to Connor, "Aipopom... Aipom..!" he continued as if saying that he shouldn't give up and that they can get through this both alive. Somehow understanding what Gaspard was saying, it made him come back to his senses and looked at Gaspard one more time, "Ai...pom..." he called out to Connor, "That's right... how could I let him down like that? That was too selfish of me that I completely forgot to consider his efforts and feelings. He's trying to help me get out of this alive, and I should try to do the same... but not like this. This isn't the way!" he thought to himself. They've been through so much ordeals together and overcame them together. This one's no different, right? Connor slightly chuckled to himself, "Heh, sorry Gaspard. Your trainer's such a fool isn't he? He still has a lot to learn from you... and everyone else too," he thought.

With renewed determination, Connor pointed at the balloon, "You... I don't know if you can understand me... but I am telling you right now, you're not taking anyone's soul away today! Not Gaspard's, not mine, not anyone else! Gaspard just hold on a little longer, we'll make it through alive!" he said with confidence, "Try to cut the tangles with your Fury Cutter, then once you're free, cut the hole completely with one more Fury Cutter, and U-Turn back to me! We'll make it though out of this, I swear!" he ordered Gaspard. Connor then looks at the Drifloon, "Drifloon, you can use Ghost-type attacks right? Try using them against the balloon! It's Ghost-type so it should be able to hit the balloon without harming Gaspard. Do you know any Ghost-type attacks?" he asked the Drifloon.

"Please Gaspard, stay strong for me, please..."

[Dark Searchman]

((Hello, everyone! After getting permission from the mods, I have decided to assign my group a unique color in order to help me find your posts in the thread more quickly and easily when writing updates. Therefore, if you are in my group, I expect you to respond to updates using our group color, which is #9933FF. If you can't remember that nifty little hexadecimal code, just copy it from my list of updates and you can't go wrong. Also, so you know, the # symbol is not necessary when writing the code for our color, though I use it out of habit. Enjoy~))

Dark Searchman- Questions multiply in Hyrem's head as the situation he finds himself in grows more and more intense. Who is the Lady who covets eyes? Why is the Frillish being referred to as "brother"? Where did his Frillish find all of these comrades in such a short time? The answers may be concealed within the dark, murky depths, but for now, the desire to repent for past transgressions is too great for Hyrem to resist the call of battle. Hyrem chooses to literally illuminate the battlefield instead of metaphorically attempting to shed light on these mysteries, and calls upon Delilah. The little Chinchou's glowing anglers and bright smile warms Hyrem's heart a bit, and cuts through the gloomy atmosphere. The zombies call out their Pokemon, which strangely do not materialize in a flash of light; instead, they seem to materialize from pools of darkness which seep out of the Pokeballs like tar. Eyeless, zombie versions of Igglybuff, Mime Jr., Togepi, Cleffa, Wynaut, Azurill and Pichu take form and shape, with the same vicious expressions on their faces as their trainers. The leader's Togepi, in particular, looks quite menacing.

Chinchou begins the battle with a surprisingly bright and overwhelming Flash. Hyrem is not sure how, but in the moments when the attack is unleashed, the light is so bright that the sea becomes a brilliant, blinding white. In that moment, Hyrem is completely blinded, and feels himself being dragged away by a jelly-like appendage. As Hyrem's vision eventually returns, he sees that both he and Delilah are being spirited away at full speed by Frillish; Hyrem, of course, is being pulled away by his buddy, while Delilah seems to be happily holding the hand of a beautiful pink female Frillish, who seems intent on escaping the zombies and their Pokemon. The female has a similar collar to the male Frillish, hinting that she, too, may have been a rental as well. "Hurry! As fast as you can, brother!" The female Frillish says in human tongue, who is pulling you as hard as his tentacles can pull. "Frill frill," the male responds... Perhaps he has already forgotten how to speak in his "native" tongue. Hyrem also notices that there don't seem to be any other Frillish... Hyrem wonders where they could have gone. The pink Frillish turns to Hyrem, a sad look in her clear blue eyes. The zombies seem to be dots in the ocean, far away from Hyrem, Delilah and the pair of Frillish. Even so, Hyrem gets the feeling that stopping for a quick rest would likely be a bad idea.

"Oh, my dear friend... What have they done? Why must the greed of the Harvester of Eyes be so immense?" There seems to be tears in the little pink Frillish's eyes as she turns to Hyrem's Frillish companion. "I will be strong, brother. I will be the one to kill him."

"FRILL FRILL," the blue Frillish responds angrily.

"But... but we've tried that, brother. We've tried! We tried and we failed! You were there when she turned our baby sister! You saw the way our flesh and blood... the way she looked at us, back there! She threatened to kill you!" The pink Frillish seems to be getting more and more agitated.

"Frill. Frillish Frill. Fri-lli" The blue Frillish snaps back.

"You are an idealist and a fool," The pink Frillish says with a slightly vicious tone. The Frillish responds in his own language, and turns to you. "My brother says that the decision should be yours," the pink Frillish translates with a sigh. "He says that if we defeat the Harvester of Eyes, we may be able to reverse the process. Your only other option is to let us kill you, mercifully, so that you may become a Frillish, as we did."

"Frill-frill," The male Frillish looks at Hyrem pleadingly, as if urging him not to take the easy way out. "We... we win." Frillish attempts to say, with a strong nod. The female Frillish shakes her head.

"Seems as though his mind is made up. Are we to head to her Chambers, then?" The pink Frillish turns to Hyrem, awaiting his response.

It seemed for a moment that Hyrem and Delilah would be in deeper waters than they were already in after the zombies called out their Pokemon. They may have all been in their baby forms, but the way they came out of their Pokeballs... they looked like they materialized out of thick, black oil, and they maintained their demonic auras even after being sent out, with the zombie girl's Togepi having the worst aura and demeanor out of all of them. He was reminded of the way his father described certain Pokemon he had met back in the Orre region... These Pokemon may well have been Shadow Pokemon, for all he knew, and facing such a power in such a life-and-death situation was definitely making Hyrem wonder if he would be able to get out of this now. Still, these "Shadow" Pokemon, if they were such, were still Pokemon, and Hyrem's Pokedex, thankfully waterproof, was auto-registering them like crazy, except for the Togepi, which had already been registered:

Igglybuff, the Balloon Pokemon. Their bodies are extremely elastic and cannot stop bouncing if they ever start to. Igglybuff cannot sing very well until they evolve and gain more developed vocal chords.

Mime Jr., the Mime Pokemon. They can mimic the movements of any person or Pokemon, either to captivate their attention and take the time to understand their feelings or confuse them in an attempt to escape.

Cleffa, the Star Shape Pokemon. Most of the time, they are found soon after a meteor shower occurs. Each shooting star is rumored to bring a Cleffa with it. Sightings of these Pokemon commonly involve them dancing in a circle around meteorites or Moon Stones, and these dances last until daybreak when they stop to drink.

Wynaut, the Bright Pokemon. They seem to always be smiling, but if seen slapping their tails on the ground, that is a sign they are angry. They live in close-knit groups so they can sleep together during the night, and they squeeze against each other to prepare for the day they evolve. Most Wynaut eat sweet fruits, including Berries.

Azurill, the Polka Dot Pokemon. Its tail carries its livelihood. Filled with the nutrients needed to sustain it, the tail can also bounce to be used for transportation and can be flung at enemies to protect itself.

Pichu, the Tiny Mouse Pokemon. At this stage, they cannot control their electric powers, so they may randomly send electricity when you least expect it. Many accidents occur as a result, and people and Pokemon can be hurt from being too close to a Pichu. They are commonly surprised by the sudden outburst of their own electricity.

Delilah was also afraid of these Pokemon and sent out a huge Flash of light that covered the entire area. Hyrem is blinded as a result, and can only feel a tentacle dragging him somewhere. As his eyesight returns, he sees himself in the clutches of his Frillish friend, while Delilah holds onto a pink Frillish, who also has a rental collar. "Hurry! As fast as you can, brother!" she says in human language to the blue Frillish. "Frill frill," he says in Frillish language. Maybe he could talk like a human in the past the way his sister could, but he couldn't do so now.

"Where are we?" Hyrem wonders and then looks back. It didn't look like the zombies were following them at all and were a respectable distance away from them. Then he made another observation: "Wait, where are the other Frillish?" The pink jellyfish turned to him sadly. "No, don't tell me..." His worst fear was realized. The rest of the Frillish were battling the zombies. Stalling. Defending their position so the blue Frillish and his sister could carry Hyrem to safety. And likely getting slaughtered. Rest was not an option. He knew exactly what the Frillish must have been thinking at that moment; all that mattered now was putting as much distance between them and the zombies as they could. They couldn't afford to be any closer.

"Oh, my dear friend... What have they done? Why must the greed of the Harvester of Eyes be so immense?" Hyrem could see the pink Frillish crying as she turned to her brother. She had certainly been privy to many a hardship. "I will be strong, brother. I will be the one to kill him."

Kill!? he thought suddenly. Me!?

"FRILL FRILL," objects the blue jellyfish.

"Chou! Chin Chou Chou Chou! (No! I won't let you!)" Delilah joins in.

"But... but we've tried that, brother. We've tried! We tried and we failed! You were there when she turned our baby sister! You saw the way our flesh and blood... the way she looked at us, back there! She threatened to kill you!" So the undead girl was their sister. And she had to have been corrupted as far as to be willing to turn on them.

"Frill. Frillish Frill. Fri-lli" said the blue Frillish. He seemed unmoving in his argument in Hyrem's defense.

"You are an idealist and a fool," the sister says out of pessimism. "My brother says that the decision should be yours," she says to Hyrem, translating for her brother. "He says that if we defeat the Harvester of Eyes, we may be able to reverse the process. Your only other option is to let us kill you, mercifully, so that you may become a Frillish, as we did."

"Become a Frillish..." he said out loud. But he'd be dead. And, while turning himself into a Water/Ghost Pokemon was certainly an attractive option for a moment...

"Frill-frill," says the blue Frillish. No, that'd be too easy, he thought. The blue Frillish wanted him to live. He was giving him the same look Sera would give him when she was concerned for his life. The same stare she gave him in the lobby of the attraction. He half expected Frillish to start transmitting colors to his mind too. Instead, he gave him these encouraging words in human tongue.

"We... we win."

"Chou!" Hyrem's Chinchou chimes in with complete faith in her trainer.

Yes... we win. He internalizes the thought as Frillish's words and Chinchou's light and countenance increase his morale.

Frillish's sister shakes her head in disbelief before turning to Hyrem and saying: "Seems as though his mind is made up. Are we to head to her Chambers, then?"

"Well..." he started to say. "Being a Frillish would be pretty cool, but I don't actually want that, and none of my Pokemon would want that either, if Delilah's any indication to you. The way I see it, beating this 'Harvester of Eyes' lady is my only hope! So let's go take her down already!" he finishes, confident that, no matter how powerful the enemy, they'd somehow overcome this adversary.

"Chou! (Yes!)" adds Delilah, hoping to instill faith in the Frillish as well.

Now completely in favor of Frillish's plan, Hyrem turns to the sister. "So, can you tell me who this 'Harvester of Eyes' is? I'd like to at least know who or what I'm dealing with."

[MarbleZone]

MarbleZone- If Calandra's humming could produce such a strong, heart-wrenching effect on its own, Levin can only imagine what a full-blown performance could do to him. This is one encore that he is not willing to sit through; despite the consequences that may result from revealing his position, Levin decides that he would rather risk the wrath of the odd pair in the middle of the lobby than endure any more of Calandra's beautiful, yet decidedly haunted "music". Of course, with Crix making his presence very well known, it seems as if Levin doesn't really have any choice in the matter.

Calandra notices Crix before she recognizes that Levin is present; the sight of the little Elekid stops her mid-breath, as she bends down to get a closer look at the curious electric-type. "Hello there, little one! Hehe, I bet you've never seen a human's ghost before, have you?" Calandra seems amused by Elekid's antics, and does nothing to stop him from sticking his hand in and out of her partner's transparent form. Levin can't help but notice that even Calandra's laugh has a certain melodic quality to it. Her ghostly partner, while not nearly as amused as Calandra, at least does not appear hostile to Levin's adventurous Pokemon. Instead, the spectre seems more curious than anything else.

"Hmm... I wonder what an Elekid would be doing here..." The ghostly man says with a quizzical look, before noticing Levin standing up behind the counter. Calandra, who is already pulling out a Pokeball from a well-hidden pocket in her dress in preparation to attempt to catch the Elekid, is stopped by her partner gently grabbing her arm. Calandra looks up, notices Levin, and immediately repockets the Pokeball with some measure of embarrassment. It is abundantly clear to both Calandra and her partner that Levin is nervous and stumbling for an excuse; the ghostly figure seems to derive some dark sort of amusement at Levin's fumbling attempt at communication, a small smirk spreading across his face. Calandra, on the other hand, seems strangely relieved.

"I'm glad you spoke up, Levin! I honestly thought there was no other living person here..." Calandra giggles a bit, though there's a certain sadness in that laughter. "My name is Calandra, and the gallant ghost beside me is my former partner, Orfeo. Oh, I hope you're not here for Talent Night at the Phantom Isle Hotel..." Calandra shakes her head. "I am afraid the living are not usually welcomed very kindly. Why, it's a wonder that I've even been-"

"If the act is good enough, he'll most assuredly be welcomed." Orfeo's smirk widens. "Let's just say that the audience has a much higher standard for living acts than dead ones, and their expressions of disapproval are often fatal to those who have not already seen their end. Then again..." Orfeo pauses dramatically; Levin notices that something in his behavior and mannerisms suggests a background in theater. "If you manage to impress the judges, the rewards are quite great. I know Calandra here will be an incredible hit!" Orfeo gleams with pride as he pats his partner on the back.

"Honestly, I'm just happy to have an audience that can listen to my music without... well, you know." Calandra smiles sheepishly. "If you do decide to come to the show, Levin, you may want to leave when I start to sing. My voice... well, it tends to... it tends to have an effect on people. Anyway, you and your Pokemon wouldn't happen to have a talent, would they? If not, I heard that they're looking for people and pokemon to help out with the event... You know, handing out programs and stuff. I bet they'll pay you well!"

Orfeo laughs. "A living volunteer at Talent Night? Haha, sounds like someone with a death wish... He'll be subjected to more tortures and pranks by the patrons than a freshman getting hazed by a group of frat boys. Then again, it is true... They don't just pay well for talent; they'll also pay well for good ol' fashioned hard work." Orfeo turns to Levin, locking eyes with the living trainer. "My suggestion to you? Forget you even saw us. In fact, forget you even HEARD about the talent show. There are other places in this Hotel to explore, aren't there?"

Orfeo has a point; there are certainly other places in the Hotel Levin could go; after all, he did just pick up a key to one of the rooms, and there are plenty of other locales within the hotel that are just waiting to be explored. That said, the opportunity to go to a ghostly talent show, even as a stagehand or front of house, is certainly once in a lifetime.

How will Levin and Crix respond?

Fortunately for Levin, neither of the mysterious entities seemed too upset with his presence - or, more appropriately, his blatant eavesdropping. Moreso, they didn't dismember Crix nor ate his soul for the abuse of confidence, which was always nice of them, he supposed.

Instead, he found himself amicably confronted with a choice - one that involved the possibility of dying a horrible death for his own incompetence, but an amicable proposal no less. He had to weigh his options carefully...
Well, he really didn't. Going head-on towards a fate that, according to Orfeo, would almost assuredly result in death shouldn't even be an option when others existed. He hadn't even been to his room yet, and God knew how much he needed a rest. But even so...

Levin looked at Calandra once more. She was beautiful, particularly when she looked flustered like she did moments ago, after contemplating capturing his Crix. And at the same time, there was an unmistakable look of sadness in her eyes that no warm smile could hide. If she was indeed the only living soul among these ghostly presences (something he still had a very hard time accepting, even though one was standing directly in front of him), it was no wonder she felt saddened, lonely even. He found himself wanting to be with her, if only for the Talent Show, which seemed to be important for her. The Hotel was going nowhere, he guessed (although, given the circumstances, even that assumption was a bit of a stretch), and even with all the risks involved with listening to her voice, something inside him just didn't want to turn back and leave all of this behind.

- I have only just started my journey, and my Pokémon are all young and inexperienced. I can't really say I have any talents that would impress a common person, let alone an entire audience of demanding ghosts... But I'm a hard worker. It was kind of you to introduce yourselves back and be so open with me about all this, I will admit I expect some... hostility for listening in on your conversation. But if there's anything my Pokémon and I can do help your performance and the Talent Night as whole to run smoother, I'm up for it.

He tried sounding confident, unafraid. But inside, he was trembling like a little boy lying in bed, expecting the boogeyman. He was knowingly walking into a possibly fatal situation, with the opportunity of avoiding it altogether... What was he thinking?!

Before he could panic any further, he felt a light nudge on his leg. Looking down, he was met with his Elekid's huge smile, as if telling him he'd made the right choice. He was pretty sure he hadn't, but at least Crix was on his side. The crazy little bastard.

He forced himself to look Orfeo in the eye, something he had actively avoided doing up until now.

- I'll help out backstage, no matter the pranks they throw at me. But if I'm gonna be useful in any way, and putting my life on the line for this, I'm gonna need some pointers...

[Extroph]

Favorite color is yellow and blue, but yellow looks better here. (If you want to see yellow clearly, try the Electric Skin) Also, just like the past weeks, my updating will slow down. One because I'm moving. Two because I'm applying for an advanced arts school which requires a lot of projects that need to be done. And lastly because I'm also busy with other Serebii related stuff other than FB. But this doesn't mean that its once a month. But if it is, then I apologize for the inconvenience and I hope you guys understand

kaisap112- “Of course I want to get to know you, Yamask. We’re friends now, right?” Noriko’s words lingered in the air. Yamask stared down at the floor, thinking. The two looked around, shocked from what just happened. After a few laps around the shop, Noriko and Skitty settled in a corner of the shop near Yamask. “Hey Yamask, the police will be here soon to um…you know. Skitty and I are gonna try to find that freezer those thugs were talking about, there might be something helpful there, for the police at least. So um, I know this is new to you and all, but…” She took out a shining Pokeball, which made Yamask look up again.

If you’d like to join us, we’d be happy to have you. And I really do want to get to know you and help you, so what do you say?” With this, Yamask shook her head. Noriko’s smile slowly lowered, but she understood. She looked up again, to say something, but was greeted with a cold, stifling, substance on her face. She tried to scream but everything was muffled. Soon the stone mask connected with her skin, starting from the chin. It moved its way up the side of the face, until it finally locked itself on the forehead. Noriko couldn’t breathe. She doesn’t know how much time she has left before she faints. Her mind was panicking, but she was immobilized. Her consciousness begins to fade, when a bright light appears in her vision.

It wasn’t a blinding light, but a soft, soothing one. It was dark everywhere else, and the light makes you curious as to what it was. Noriko stared at it with great interest. She moved closer to it, and closer, and even closer. Soon enough she could hear a slight vibrating noise that the orb of light was emitting. Noriko slowly raised her arms, and extended a finger towards the orb. As her finger got closer, the vibration grew louder. Noriko expected her finger to be greeted with a hot sensation, like touching a lightbulb when it’s used. Rather, her finger went through, like touching fluff. “Huh… Not what I expected but--” Her finger tugged violently towards the fluff even more, pulling most her arm inside. She tried pulling it out, but slow moving tendrils from the fluff was connecting to her arm, and soon pulling inside all of her body. Then, it was blackness again.

“Luna! Wake up, darling!” Noriko slowly opened her eyes, and realized that her head was throbbing with pain. “Coming!” The words came out of her mouth, even if she didn’t say anything. She shifted around the bed, and got up. Noriko felt weird. As if, she wasn’t controlling her body. After a few steps towards the bathroom, she knew that she was just hitching a ride in someone’s memory. Then she realized that Yamask had placed her visage mask on her face, showing her past.

Luna rocked back and forth towards the bathroom. Although Noriko was only seeing a distant memory, she could feel what Luna was feeling. The cold wooden floor, the slight headache from waking up early, and the back pain from sleeping in one position all night. Luna finally reached the bathroom after a few yawns and rubs in the eyes.

A mirror was connected to the bathroom wall, just above the sink. For a short moment, Noriko could see the details of Luna’s face. She had long hazel hair, green eyes that were hiding from the bright light of the morning, and somewhat pale skin. She looked a lot like a girl of 15. The longer Noriko stayed in her body, the more she understood Luna. She could hear the dead girl’s thoughts, feel what she’s feeling, and see what she has seen.

The memory skips forward to when Luna is finally leaving for school. She was about to walk out the door, when she was stopped by her mother, who called her from behind. Luna turned around, which gave Noriko a chance to see the main parts of the house. It was a simple home, without any decorations. From the size, Noriko realized that it was an apartment, with only necessary things placed in it. A small TV, a dirty couch, a small dining table. Luna’s mother walked out of the kitchen, drying a mug with a towel. “I appreciate that you want to help our family, but don’t continue this. I can make enough money for the both of us. Just, be careful honey, okay?” Noriko waited for Luna’s reply, but she could only feel tears forming up in her eyes. She turned around and walked away, but said, “Goodbye, mom…” under her breath.

The memory skips again, this time in the afternoon. The sun was covered by the horizon, and the trees along the line. The sky was a hue of yellow and orange, but the purple and black of night was closing in on the other half of the sky. School ended by this time, but Noriko was wondering why Luna wasn’t home by now. She was walking in an old sidewalk, filled with cracks and moss. Adjacent from the sidewalk were old buildings, also with cracks and moss. They looked abandoned, and Noriko could feel Luna’s heart beat faster. She arrives in front of one of them, and looked up. Luna’s thoughts echoed in Noriko’s mind. “This is the right place.” Luna’s heart was pumping rapidly by this time, which was deafening for Noriko. She comes up the steps and enters the abandoned building. The building was empty of furnitures. Barred windows make a silhouette of themselves in the floor from the disappearing sun. Luna looked around from where she was standing, when the door slammed shut behind her. Luna’s reflexes took over and shifted her whole body towards the closed door. A tall man was standing in front of it. Luna and Noriko could see a wide grin on his face. The girl moved back, her ears becoming hotter and the room becoming more stifling. She continued to step back until she bumped into another man, who was also smiling. Both men were hiding in the shadows. Luna’s voice was filled with terror, as if she did not see this coming. “Yo—You said that I’d get my payment. I did it okay? Even ask your boss!”

“We did.” The man near the door chuckled and paced forward. Noriko now recognizes these two. “The boss wants to uh, save money. We’re in a recession these days.” The man behind her chuckled from the joke and the desperation of Luna. Then, a black plastic bag wrapped around her head. Luna tried hard to breathe, but the plastic just gets sucked in. Noriko could feel her head throbbing, becoming lightheaded.

Noriko feels a sharp tug in her waist, as she was reeled away from the body and the memory, returning to reality.

The vision fades, as Noriko was released from the clutches of the mask. She coughed and breathed deeply, from the earlier suffocation. “How long was I gone?!” Noriko asked Skitty, who was worried. Noriko kept coughing, while also hitting her chest lightly to help her lungs. 5 seconds. Luna told her through telepathy. Now you know my secret, and we can speak to each other through our minds now. I’m sorry to say, but I do not wish to join you. I want to roam free, but before doing so, I need your help finishing some unfinished business with me. Before Noriko could respond, Yamask looks towards the entrance of the shop. Again, a light passes by and stops near the shop, and doors open and close. This time, it seems that there’s more of them.

What will Noriko, Luna, and Kitty do?

XatuGamer- Reiji realizes the problem that they were in, and thinks quickly. Different solutions flooded his mind, until he found the safest way to exit and not possibly alter the future. He stepped towards the very end of the fast moving train, and walked out the platform at the back. Harsh winds were tossing Necro back and forth, but he managed to cling on Reiji. “Not too bad of a drop, eh?”

Reiji leaps from the train straight down the brick floor of the park. Many walking commuters gasped at the feat from below, but Reiji just smiled. Necro flew up and grabbed Reiji’s arms, slowing down the fall. When Reiji made contact with the ground, Necro released him, as he performed a barrel roll. Reiji looked up at the crowd, with a slight grin. But it was silence. Then, he saw the floor. It was now an eerie purple, and it was sucking down Reiji like quicksand. The crowd’s faces turned into dark purple blotches, with blood red eyes and red jaws. They were smiling at Reiji, who cannot see them clearly. The mist around them thickens as the crowd distorts like a heatwave would distort a distant object. Then, Reiji heard it. “Shadow Claw, Stunky!” Reiji’s vision distorts once more, into a radial blur, until he was transported back to reality. He was laying on the brick floor, gasping from exhaustion. He looked up and saw a Gastly being struck by a Stunky, and a trainer standing in front of him. He extends his arm towards Reiji, and helps him up. Reiji observed the trainer. He was his age, and had black spiky hair. He was wearing a blue jacket with a yellow V cut shirt inside, and had white headphones resting on his neck.

Necro squawks towards Reiji, making him turn around to see what has happened. More than twenty Gastlys and Haunters were closing in on the four of them. “RUN!!” the other trainer said, and Reiji could hear the boy’s footsteps dash away.

What will Reiji do?

King Ghidorah- Hugo yelled desperately towards Krabby, who was still nowhere to be found. The crab’s familiar clicks could be heard, but Hugo cannot make out which was dream and which was reality. Soon enough, Hugo was crossing a bridge into mental insanity. “Maybe I can fight them off. Maybe I can… maybe I can use AncientPower! Or Croissfire! Or Bubblebeam! Maybe I can do it all!”

Finally, he stops running, and loses his grip on reality. He faces the crowd of faceless people, and taunted them. The horde came quickly, jumping off buildings and getting out of cars. They closed in on Hugo, who was now laughing wickedly at the world.

“Click click!”

Hugo opened his eyes, and saw the dark night above him. The cold stony floor was unconfortable on his head and back. His mouth was parched, head dizzy, and body paralyzed. Krabby was standing on his chest, and was rejoicing when he finally awakened Hugo. Hugo tried his best to get up, but was interrupted by a screaming wail from the Mismagius. “Your Krabby was the least of my worries, but I guess he was too strong to remain asleep with my Hypnosis.” Mismagius’ tendrils spazzed rapidly, as she screams louder. “THIS TIME, YOU WONT ESCAPE!” She opens her beaks, and a large black ball formed near it. She is planning to attack!

Although paralyzed and dizzy, Hugo must make a decision for Krabby. What will he do?

Emp- Mojumbo was a perfect Pokemon to be with at this situation. Wes has recently delivered a sweet Scent at the other tunnel, which, if it works, would make the rampaging killer to lose his way long enough for the two to escape. Besides, the small metallic entrance to the sewer could never make the monster fit. He reached for the door handle, but stopped for a second. Thinking one last thought, he opened the sewer doors. “Here goes nothing.”

Wes was punched straight in the nose by the awful smell. It was as if someone had delivered a knockout blow at him. He pinched his nose at the smell, and waved his hands back in forth in fron of him. He coughed the smell off his lungs, while making a sour face at the dirty tunnel. The rotten waters of the sewer reached up to Wes’ waist, which made him think twice about continuing further. But he’d rather take this than be mauled to death any day. He forced himself to continue on, looking around as he quickly moved around the tunnel. Trubbish and Rattatas were lurking around the dirty piles of trash, minding their own business.

As the made it at the end of the tunnel, they were met with more smaller routes. Wes tried one route first. It wasn’t lit on this first route, so he had to make his way down slowly to avoid bumping into anything dirty. As he reached the end of this tunnel, he realized that it was a dead end. Cursing softly, he turned around, Mojumbo still looking at him without expression. He squints at the distant light of the other tunnel, but he wasn’t looking at that. At the end of the current tunnel, a set of red eyes was staring back at him, submerged in the water.

What will Wes and Mojumbo do?

[Emp]

Hoping to keep my posts this colour for consistancy, but if it bothers you then I have no problem switching to yellow

Emp- Mojumbo was a perfect Pokemon to be with at this situation. Wes has recently delivered a sweet Scent at the other tunnel, which, if it works, would make the rampaging killer to lose his way long enough for the two to escape. Besides, the small metallic entrance to the sewer could never make the monster fit. He reached for the door handle, but stopped for a second. Thinking one last thought, he opened the sewer doors. “Here goes nothing.”

Wes was punched straight in the nose by the awful smell. It was as if someone had delivered a knockout blow at him. He pinched his nose at the smell, and waved his hands back in forth in fron of him. He coughed the smell off his lungs, while making a sour face at the dirty tunnel. The rotten waters of the sewer reached up to Wes’ waist, which made him think twice about continuing further. But he’d rather take this than be mauled to death any day. He forced himself to continue on, looking around as he quickly moved around the tunnel. Trubbish and Rattatas were lurking around the dirty piles of trash, minding their own business.

As the made it at the end of the tunnel, they were met with more smaller routes. Wes tried one route first. It wasn’t lit on this first route, so he had to make his way down slowly to avoid bumping into anything dirty. As he reached the end of this tunnel, he realized that it was a dead end. Cursing softly, he turned around, Mojumbo still looking at him without expression. He squints at the distant light of the other tunnel, but he wasn’t looking at that. At the end of the current tunnel, a set of red eyes was staring back at him, submerged in the water.

What will Wes and Mojumbo do?

Wes’s heart skipped a beat as his fingers wrapped around the metal handle of the door. With a twist the door gave a hollow click, prying open as the teen leaned into it with some difficulty. The rusty hinges made it difficult to budge, but with the combined effort of Mojumbo it isn’t long until the door creeks open. Wes shut his eyes, bracing himself for whatever lay ahead until – the kid’s nose contorted. He flinched at the duo were hit with the stench of rotting sewage. Wes pinched his nose in disgust, the horrid smell setting his nostrils on fire. Mojumbo looked bewildered as Wes recoiled back into the tunnel. He didn’t have a nose. “You’re lucky”, he stated, wincing again as he broke through the threshold with one brave lunge. The smell only intensified as the door to fresh air slammed shut behind them. The trainer fanned his hand back and forth, but he just seemed to be spreading the awful aroma closer to his face. After a good minute holding his breath, the kid choked all sour faced as it drifted into his lungs. He’d chose the Minotaur over this, no doubt.

“Don’t worry Mojumbo”, Wes spluttered, one hand on his mouth, “You’ve been help enough”. Wes tapped the grizzly caveman on the head with his Nest Ball, vacuuming him out of the sewage and sparing him a voyage through the polluted waters – which would no doubt be detrimental to the grass type’s health. This would leave him a sitting duck for whatever lay ahead, and realising this as the tip of his converse tested the sewage, he faltered back and rummaged through his canvas satchel. Prizing a purple ball which seemed to reek with a smell of its own, the trainer butted it to activate its release mechanism. Cracking open in his hand, a small bag of rubbish materialised from the flash of lavender, Wes catching her in his arms leaving his sinuses defenceless. “Climb up”, Wes said through gritted teeth as his nose crinkled. The Trubbish smiled toothily and clambered up her trainer’s bicep leaving brown prints wherever she touched, her long arms of spilling trash tied steadily around his neck. Snooki wouldn’t be much use fighting, but the extra pair of eyes could be a lifesaver.

Wes sunk into the rotten waters with a look of utter revulsion. His denim jeans stuck tightly to his legs as he staggered waist deep in the toxic waters, his green parka billowing in his wake. Wes then remembered his injury from the rollercoaster crash. His eyes darted to the fractured leg and he wondered what the odds of an infection were. His mind quickly darted back to the here and now, his ears straining at the sound of distant squeaks. Wes was relieved to spot a pack of Rattatta scurrying down the side of the current, narrowly scampering past a pile of rubbish bags which appeared to be moving. It was more Trubbish! One of Snooki’s spewing arms withdrew from the kid’s throat as she started blowing kisses toward the sewage dwellers, giving Wes even more reason to retch. Flushing red with embarrassment, the trainer doubled his pace, pressing on further down the sewage line without averting his eyes.

As he made it to the end of the sewer line, the tunnel forked into two smaller routes. Wes veered left, although he quickly regretted this as the lack of illumination made it tricky to navigate. His legs gave a quiver whenever he bumped past a pile of debris or an unseen sewer Pokémon, his fingers clenched on the handle of his satchel with several of his powerhouses nestled inside. More time pressed on until Wes reached a dead end, swearing heatedly at the idea of spending even longer in the dirty cesspits of the deserted theme park. Turning on the heel, Wes squinted toward the other tunnel – shining flecks of light on the curdling torrent a good stretch away. The kid then spotted something in the corner of his eyes, a pair of red dots submerged underwater – fixated on him menacingly. Wes jerked back, now rummaging through his canvas satchel for the first Pokéball he could find.

“Cloysteris!” Wes didn’t need to check as he lugged what felt like a small weight from the pocket of the bag, volleying the Heavy Ball forward. The ball plopped into the water and cracked open on its grimy bed – revealing a menacing bivalve which buoyed up to the surface. Mucky water ran off the two spiny turrets as her pearly face retracted from view with a sickened grimace. “I’m sorry but I need your help right away. Approach whatever’s lurking ahead and get ready to Protect yourself if necessary. If it attacks then show ‘em we mean business with a Spike Cannon – Icicle Spear combo!”

FB

[Shadowshocker]

Shadowshocker- Contrasting with Scherza's loud and merry chirps, Dahlia seethes under her breath, muttering a string of curses at her opponent. Concerned by the damaging status effects Dahlia seems to be taking in her first match, Shadow tries to ease her pain somewhat with a Pecha berry. Unfortunately, the timing for this action couldn't have been worse; as Dahlia attempts to chomp down the berry quickly, the Chandelure appears to be charging up flames for a powerful attack; as Dahlia is just about to finish her berry, Chandelure unleashes a deadly Fire Spin towards the Murkrow, hoping to trap her within the vortex and slowly burn her into submission. Though Dahlia is able to fly enough away to miss the center of the vortex and avoid being trapped within it, she is heavily side-swiped by the flames, her left claw taking the full brunt of the burning cyclone. The claw itself appears black and charred, and Shadow wonders if this burned foot may make it more difficult for Dahlia to land during the battle. Of course, she is still motivated by enough pure, unadulterated rage to keep flying for miles if it means revenge on her opponent, so despite the painful setback, she still attempts a Pursuit of her opponent in attempt to close the distance between the two; her anger propelling her, she even manages to hit the Chandelure square in one of his candles with her sharp beak. The Chandelure yelps a bit, as that candle completely extinguishes. He reflexively insubstantiates into nothingness, leaving Dahlia's attempts at following up her attack with a Sucker Punch completely useless, as she essentially flies through the air. It seems as if the Chandelure was hoping not to directly damage the furious Murkrow this round, but to disorient and confuse her; he immediately fires off a Confuse Ray in the direction of the dark-type, hoping to successfully disorient the bird as he did previously. This time, however, Dahlia is able to shut her eyes before the light completely overwhelms her; though her eyesight after re-opening them is a bit hazy for a second or two, she appears to have been unaffected by the mind-melting light. As if to show off her own power, Dahlia responds with a Confuse Ray of her own; not expecting his own attack coming back at him, the Chandelure is blinded by Dahlia's hate-filled ray, and now floats about aimlessly, bashing into corners and pillars as he tries to navigate the lobby.

Both combatants are significantly wearing down; however, Dahlia currently has the advantage. If Shadow can utilize this opportunity to its full potential, he may be able to lead his battered, burnt companion to victory.

How will Shadow respond?

At that point it was hard to tell who was winning. Both Dahlia and her fixture foe were both rather addled after the constant trading of status effects, and the scientist wasn't quite sure who was better off. Dahlia was wincing noticeably from the course in confusion, poison and burn, though she tried to hide it; on the other hand Chandelure was effectively flying blind as he slammed into pillar after pillar. This might be the only chance for leverage, thought Shadow, while Dahlia flapped her wings at a frequency enough to rival Combee just to stay aloft. A note briefly passed Shadow's thought processes as he observed the tight matchup - one of Chandelure's limbs had defused when Dahlia's attack struck it. Could that be the key? "It's super-effective! Squawk!" cheered Scherza.

"Alright, Dahlia. Pursuit to chase him down, then send a Twister into the flame on his head to blow it out. Follow it up with a Dark Pulse into his core where he's weakest."

[kaisap112]

Favorite color is yellow and blue, but yellow looks better here. (If you want to see yellow clearly, try the Electric Skin) Also, just like the past weeks, my updating will slow down. One because I'm moving. Two because I'm applying for an advanced arts school which requires a lot of projects that need to be done. And lastly because I'm also busy with other Serebii related stuff other than FB. But this doesn't mean that its once a month. But if it is, then I apologize for the inconvenience and I hope you guys understand

kaisap112- “Of course I want to get to know you, Yamask. We’re friends now, right?” Noriko’s words lingered in the air. Yamask stared down at the floor, thinking. The two looked around, shocked from what just happened. After a few laps around the shop, Noriko and Skitty settled in a corner of the shop near Yamask. “Hey Yamask, the police will be here soon to um…you know. Skitty and I are gonna try to find that freezer those thugs were talking about, there might be something helpful there, for the police at least. So um, I know this is new to you and all, but…” She took out a shining Pokeball, which made Yamask look up again.

If you’d like to join us, we’d be happy to have you. And I really do want to get to know you and help you, so what do you say?” With this, Yamask shook her head. Noriko’s smile slowly lowered, but she understood. She looked up again, to say something, but was greeted with a cold, stifling, substance on her face. She tried to scream but everything was muffled. Soon the stone mask connected with her skin, starting from the chin. It moved its way up the side of the face, until it finally locked itself on the forehead. Noriko couldn’t breathe. She doesn’t know how much time she has left before she faints. Her mind was panicking, but she was immobilized. Her consciousness begins to fade, when a bright light appears in her vision.

It wasn’t a blinding light, but a soft, soothing one. It was dark everywhere else, and the light makes you curious as to what it was. Noriko stared at it with great interest. She moved closer to it, and closer, and even closer. Soon enough she could hear a slight vibrating noise that the orb of light was emitting. Noriko slowly raised her arms, and extended a finger towards the orb. As her finger got closer, the vibration grew louder. Noriko expected her finger to be greeted with a hot sensation, like touching a lightbulb when it’s used. Rather, her finger went through, like touching fluff. “Huh… Not what I expected but--” Her finger tugged violently towards the fluff even more, pulling most her arm inside. She tried pulling it out, but slow moving tendrils from the fluff was connecting to her arm, and soon pulling inside all of her body. Then, it was blackness again.

“Luna! Wake up, darling!” Noriko slowly opened her eyes, and realized that her head was throbbing with pain. “Coming!” The words came out of her mouth, even if she didn’t say anything. She shifted around the bed, and got up. Noriko felt weird. As if, she wasn’t controlling her body. After a few steps towards the bathroom, she knew that she was just hitching a ride in someone’s memory. Then she realized that Yamask had placed her visage mask on her face, showing her past.

Luna rocked back and forth towards the bathroom. Although Noriko was only seeing a distant memory, she could feel what Luna was feeling. The cold wooden floor, the slight headache from waking up early, and the back pain from sleeping in one position all night. Luna finally reached the bathroom after a few yawns and rubs in the eyes.

A mirror was connected to the bathroom wall, just above the sink. For a short moment, Noriko could see the details of Luna’s face. She had long hazel hair, green eyes that were hiding from the bright light of the morning, and somewhat pale skin. She looked a lot like a girl of 15. The longer Noriko stayed in her body, the more she understood Luna. She could hear the dead girl’s thoughts, feel what she’s feeling, and see what she has seen.

The memory skips forward to when Luna is finally leaving for school. She was about to walk out the door, when she was stopped by her mother, who called her from behind. Luna turned around, which gave Noriko a chance to see the main parts of the house. It was a simple home, without any decorations. From the size, Noriko realized that it was an apartment, with only necessary things placed in it. A small TV, a dirty couch, a small dining table. Luna’s mother walked out of the kitchen, drying a mug with a towel. “I appreciate that you want to help our family, but don’t continue this. I can make enough money for the both of us. Just, be careful honey, okay?” Noriko waited for Luna’s reply, but she could only feel tears forming up in her eyes. She turned around and walked away, but said, “Goodbye, mom…” under her breath.

The memory skips again, this time in the afternoon. The sun was covered by the horizon, and the trees along the line. The sky was a hue of yellow and orange, but the purple and black of night was closing in on the other half of the sky. School ended by this time, but Noriko was wondering why Luna wasn’t home by now. She was walking in an old sidewalk, filled with cracks and moss. Adjacent from the sidewalk were old buildings, also with cracks and moss. They looked abandoned, and Noriko could feel Luna’s heart beat faster. She arrives in front of one of them, and looked up. Luna’s thoughts echoed in Noriko’s mind. “This is the right place.” Luna’s heart was pumping rapidly by this time, which was deafening for Noriko. She comes up the steps and enters the abandoned building. The building was empty of furnitures. Barred windows make a silhouette of themselves in the floor from the disappearing sun. Luna looked around from where she was standing, when the door slammed shut behind her. Luna’s reflexes took over and shifted her whole body towards the closed door. A tall man was standing in front of it. Luna and Noriko could see a wide grin on his face. The girl moved back, her ears becoming hotter and the room becoming more stifling. She continued to step back until she bumped into another man, who was also smiling. Both men were hiding in the shadows. Luna’s voice was filled with terror, as if she did not see this coming. “Yo—You said that I’d get my payment. I did it okay? Even ask your boss!”

“We did.” The man near the door chuckled and paced forward. Noriko now recognizes these two. “The boss wants to uh, save money. We’re in a recession these days.” The man behind her chuckled from the joke and the desperation of Luna. Then, a black plastic bag wrapped around her head. Luna tried hard to breathe, but the plastic just gets sucked in. Noriko could feel her head throbbing, becoming lightheaded.

Noriko feels a sharp tug in her waist, as she was reeled away from the body and the memory, returning to reality.

The vision fades, as Noriko was released from the clutches of the mask. She coughed and breathed deeply, from the earlier suffocation. “How long was I gone?!” Noriko asked Skitty, who was worried. Noriko kept coughing, while also hitting her chest lightly to help her lungs. 5 seconds. Luna told her through telepathy. Now you know my secret, and we can speak to each other through our minds now. I’m sorry to say, but I do not wish to join you. I want to roam free, but before doing so, I need your help finishing some unfinished business with me. Before Noriko could respond, Yamask looks towards the entrance of the shop. Again, a light passes by and stops near the shop, and doors open and close. This time, it seems that there’s more of them.

What will Noriko, Luna, and Kitty do?

Yamask didn’t respond to Noriko’s question about joining them – instead snapping her out of consciousness and showing her its life right till the moment it passed away. When Noriko finally returned to the present, Kitty was worried sick, nudging Noriko with her head. “How long was I gone?!”

“5 seconds.” Noriko would’ve jumped at the sudden voice in her head if she wasn’t already busy trying to get her lungs to work properly again. Kitty didn’t seem to notice anything, so…Yamask? No, her name was Luna, Noriko had learned that in the vision.

“Now you know my secret, and we can speak to each other through our minds now. I’m sorry to say, but I do not wish to join you. I want to roam free, but before doing so, I need your help finishing some unfinished business with me.”

Some lights started passing by, stopping in the vicinity of the shop they were in. Doors opened and closed and footsteps could be heard. Noriko could only figure out that there were more of these thugs than the first two. Noriko attempted the telepathy Luna had mentioned. “I’d love to help, but just so you know: my team is not big and strong and ready to take on all those thugs at once. If you have any ideas, I’d love to hear them before they make me join you as another ghost!”

[tsumigi-chan]

XatuGamer- Reiji realizes the problem that they were in, and thinks quickly. Different solutions flooded his mind, until he found the safest way to exit and not possibly alter the future. He stepped towards the very end of the fast moving train, and walked out the platform at the back. Harsh winds were tossing Necro back and forth, but he managed to cling on Reiji. “Not too bad of a drop, eh?”

Reiji leaps from the train straight down the brick floor of the park. Many walking commuters gasped at the feat from below, but Reiji just smiled. Necro flew up and grabbed Reiji’s arms, slowing down the fall. When Reiji made contact with the ground, Necro released him, as he performed a barrel roll. Reiji looked up at the crowd, with a slight grin. But it was silence. Then, he saw the floor. It was now an eerie purple, and it was sucking down Reiji like quicksand. The crowd’s faces turned into dark purple blotches, with blood red eyes and red jaws. They were smiling at Reiji, who cannot see them clearly. The mist around them thickens as the crowd distorts like a heatwave would distort a distant object. Then, Reiji heard it. “Shadow Claw, Stunky!” Reiji’s vision distorts once more, into a radial blur, until he was transported back to reality. He was laying on the brick floor, gasping from exhaustion. He looked up and saw a Gastly being struck by a Stunky, and a trainer standing in front of him. He extends his arm towards Reiji, and helps him up. Reiji observed the trainer. He was his age, and had black spiky hair. He was wearing a blue jacket with a yellow V cut shirt inside, and had white headphones resting on his neck.

Necro squawks towards Reiji, making him turn around to see what has happened. More than twenty Gastlys and Haunters were closing in on the four of them. “RUN!!” the other trainer said, and Reiji could hear the boy’s footsteps dash away.

What will Reiji do?[/COLOR]

"Let's try to hold them off Necro," Reiji said, "Peck everything!"

CAW

What was once Necro is now just a black blur attacking semi-transparent blobs.

After a few minutes the blur begins to slow and visibly start lagging. Reiji the accepts the fact the resistance is futile, and makes an only slightly regrettable choice.

"Necro, RETURN"

Reiji then begins running in the direction he last saw the mysterious dude go in. "I'm sorry Necro, but I'd rather keep you for now."

Reiji spots a deep hollow in the wall and dives in. "Necro, come out". Necro beams out and shoots a dark look at Reiji, then begins preening itself.

I hope we catch up with that other dude. We can always leave him when we get out of danger.

[gmoyes]

gmoyes-

As much as Alex would desperately like to RUN AWAY, it seems as if the risks associated with that option are far too great for Alex to even consider it seriously. Endure may not be an attack option in this generation of games, but it seems as if Alex will have to learn the technique quickly, since his choice will force him to endure whatever horrible consequences may befall him for letting his clone carry him into Lavender Tower. The sound effect of a door opening and closing rings through Alex's ears as they cross the threshold.

As is customary when traveling between different parts of the game, the world turns black for a moment; it is in that moment that Porygon Alex senses that something is dreadfully wrong (as if this whole situation wasn't dreadfully wrong already). First of all, the music isn't starting up again. A strange silence has consumed the world in which Alex and Clone Alex have been traveling. Eventually, the Pokemon Tower "loads," but it is not the familiar purple lobby-like area of the games; there is no receptionist, or man sobbing about his Clefairy, or even walls or a floor. Instead, the entire area is a swirl of disparate pixels, textures, colors and paths that lead everywhere and nowhere, both real and unreal; textures you recall from the real world (fabric, stone, etc.) and their near-infinite range of colors and shading mesh with low-resolution versions of the same objects at odd and impossible angles, with an overall effect more confusing and mind-bending than any M.C. Escher painting or "impossible" shape Alex has ever encountered. This is no ordinary glitch; it is as if the real world and the world within the Game Boy have somehow joined in this place. Standing in the center of this utter madness is the protagonist of the game himself, still and quiet amidst the vortex of odd and distorted sights. Red appears completely unaltered by the glitch around him, though Porygon Alex can somehow sense a sadness emanating from the 8-bit hero. The black dots which comprise his eyes seem to focus on Alex with incredible intensity for a couple of black dots stuck together. Alex notices immediately that this Red does not seem to have the white, soulless eyes of the previous "Red" he encountered, the aura around him still makes Alex feel dreadfully uneasy.

"You won't get away with this!" Red's text box could not be more cliche, and yet Alex senses that the pixelated Red is painfully aware of how silly and meaningless these words are. "Don't make me laugh," Clone Alex responds, as he pushes Alex forward until the Porygon finds himself trapped beside the eerily melancholy Red. Setting Alex's white Pokeball beside Red, Clone Alex begins ascending into the air as pieces of the disjointed world form a transient staircase for him to climb, pieces disappearing as soon as he steps off of each makeshift platform. As Clone Alex ascends, he becomes less pixelated and more realistic, until finally, he is the spitting image of Alex in the real world; the moment this occurs, he vanishes into thin air, and the impossibly altered dimension suddenly returns to the original Pokemon Tower, complete with music, light purple pixels and familiar sprites. A boy and his newly-acquired Porygon stand alone in an electronic wasteland, with seemingly no way out.

Pixel Red turns toward Alex, staring at him for a moment before finally acknowledging him with a text box; "A Porygon, huh? How oddly appropriate..." Pixel Red pauses for a moment before launching into a series of statements. "...Can you speak? Do you know a way out of here? Do you know how they made that portal? Do you have any ideas at all? Please, please tell me! That FREAK has my Pokemon, and with my body... I don't even want to think about it! The damage they'll cause! PLEASE!" The barrage of text is relentless and difficult to read, as if someone is pressing A rapidly through a long dialog, hoping to get to the important plot points.

Alex can't be sure who this "pixel Red" might really be, or what his intentions are, but it certainly seems as if he's trying to get out of this situation just as desperately as Alex is. He may not know a way out, but he may know something about this world that Alex doesn't... Alex may ask questions or attempt to provide answers, but the situation is clear; if there's a way out, the two will have to find it using what they know about the game.

Alex took one last look around Lavender Town before he followed his copy into the tower. For all he knew, this was the last time he would see it. He gave a silent prayer to Arceus as he passed through the doorway and with a shuffling noise, everything went black.

Immediately he had a bad feeling about this. The interior of the tower took a moment too long to load and once it did those feelings were made clear. Instead of the usual reception area of the tower, what appeared was a glitched up mess. It looked as if someone tried to model an object with at least 4 dimensions with paper-mache made from confetti from a shredded National Geographic and a map of videogame Kanto. Just trying to look at it was giving him a headache. His gaze soon settled on the only thing that wasn’t glitched up, the pixelated sprite of the protagonist of the game. The new Red looked up as they approached and while Alex was sort of appreciative that this one had pupils, however pixelated, they still somehow managed to convey pain and anger.

While the sprite Red gave an ‘outburst’ of rage towards Alex’s copy, it just snarled back and shoved Alex towards the pixelated hero. Alex was caught by surprise and found himself stuck beside Red. His clone then placed his pokeball at Red’s feet. Then the world warped around it and formed a staircase for it to climb. As his copy rose, the steps behind it disappeared and it gradually became more and more lifelike. When the pixilation vanished altogether, so did it. As soon as his clone disappeared the space around them turned back to the way it was supposed to, accompanied by the music.

Then sprite Red turned to Alex and after a pause, a text box opened up and he ‘muttered’ to himself about the fact that Alex being a Porygon was appropriate. He then launched into a tirade about him being trapped here like Alex himself was and that he was desperate for help. The stream of text flew by fast and Alex was glad that he was normally a fast reader, otherwise he might have missed something.

At first, he didn’t know how to respond, literally because he obviously couldn’t talk the way he was used to. He tried to make a sound, but all that came out was the standard cry of a Porygon. He gave a few more tries and made an effort to try to say something other than the chirping cry, but no matter what it still came out. He was losing hope and he could tell from Red’s fallen face that he was as well. It would be impossible for them to work together if they couldn’t communicate.

Just then he realized that everyone else here used textboxes to talk, so it made sense that he should be able to as well. He focused on a mental image of a textbox and to his delight, one popped up by his side. He displayed his joy on the textbox with a “BINGO : )”. He then launched into his own stream of text, though nowhere near as fast and as neat. “UH… I’M ALEX AND I GUESS I’M IN THE SAME BOAT AS YOU. I RAN INTO SOME SORT OF GHOST VERSION OF YOU AND THE PIKACHU IT HAD TURNED INTO A PERFECT COPY OF ME AND CAUGHT ME IN THE WHITE POKEBALL AT YOUR FEET. NEXT THINK I KNOW, I’M HERE AND TURNED INTO A PORYGON. I GUESS FROM HERE ON OUT, WE’RE PARTNERS HUH?” He had no clue if this Red was part of the illusion of the game or not, but none of the less, the only way forward was to work with him. “I’M AT LEVEL 12 AND AT FULL HEALTH AND I KNOW TACKLE, PSYBEAM, CONVERSION AND AGILITY. I WILL BATTLE FOR YOU, BUT BE WARNED THAT I CAN MAKE MY OWN CHOICES. SO, DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS ON HOW WE GET OUT OF HERE? THE FIRST THING THAT COMES TO MY MIND IS TO BEAT THE ELITE FOUR AND WIN THE GAME BUT THAT COULD TAKE A WHILE. SIGH.” He looked up at Red. “WHAT DO YOU THINK? I’LL HELP OUT ANY WAY I CAN.”

[Marion Ette]

Meetan- After lavishing her Swinub with some well-deserved affection and recalling the little pig-nose Pokemon into his Love Ball, Alice follows the mechanical Rapidash into the Fortune-Telling Tent with renewed courage and enthusiasm from her successful capture. The Rapidash senses Alice's elated mood, and though the plastic face is stuck permanently in a single expression, Alice can almost sense the Rapidash smiling... "I'm hopin' the future will be as bright as yer' eyes'r lookin' right now, darlin'. Never seen y'so happy before... Then again, can't say I've known y'very long!" The horse whinnies in a manner similar to laughter and moseys on into the tent. As Alice follows behind, she notes the faint smell of a deep, smoky incense, and admires the gorgeous velvet purple cloth draped over the tent, with gold trim and gorgeous golden stars and moons embroidered into the fabric. Over the tent, signs advertising "The Mysterious Selene and her Cute, Clairvoyant Companion, Urth" are accentuated with beautiful paintings of a Cresselia floating beside a Natu. As Alice walks inside behind the Rapidash and navigates through a maze of golden rope where a line most likely would have formed in the glory days of the Phantom Isle Amusement park, she is greeted by photographs of the woman who is supposedly the Mysterious Selene. She is wearing a cheap-looking blue gown with a phony, Cresselia-esque head adornment, with dark roots showing at the crown of her light-blonde hair, and what are most definitely pink contacts over her eyes. Beside her in the photograph is a rather ordinary-looking Natu with a little turban on its head. Though the description above the photograph raves about Selene being the "spiritual daughter of Cresselia" and "capable of peering forth through thousands of future generations," Alice can't help but wonder how a woman who can't even get a decent dye job can manage to tell the future.

Finally, after crawling under some golden ropes to expedite the process, Alice and Rapidash make it to the elaborate main entrance; paintings of psychic-type Pokemon surround a hanging wall of purple crystals, which Alice and Rapidash try their best to walk through without getting tangled. As the two make it into the room, the strong smell of incense assails their nostrils as they are met with the real Selene and Urth. Most of Alice's experiences with advertisements has likely been that what they depict is usually far more beautiful or appealing than the actual product. It seems as if the opposite is true in this instance... The radiant woman with crystalline fuschia eyes and pure-gold hair is barely recognizable as the woman in the photograph. Her gorgeous attire appears far more expensive and well-tailored than it originally appeared. She sits in an ebony wooden chair, with rich fabrics draped over the arms, her head tilted back, eyes focused on the ceiling. She appears to be muttering to herself...

"Virginia, the suicide note you wrote to Leonard was absolutely gut-wrenchingly beautiful. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise- Oh, hold on, it seems as if we have visitors!" The strangely enchanting woman tilts her head back down to Alice's eye level, and gives her a soft, serene smile. "Dreadfully sorry, dear... Communicating with the dead is often very distracting." The woman chuckles a bit, as her Natu, Urth, hops up onto the table. Unlike Selene, Urth is mostly the spitting image of its photograph, except for the eyepatch over its right eye. Based on the scarring that lines the edges of the patch, it seems as if the poor thing had an accident of some sort. It still wears its adorable little turban, and despite its handicap, it appears pleased to see Alice and her mechanical companion out of its good eye, as evidenced by its bright, cheerful chirping. Selene places a deck of Tarot cards in front of the Natu, who chirps at the Rapidash, beckoning it forward.

"Gonna give me a readin', hmm? Well, bein' psychic n' all, I'm guessin' you probably know my question..." The Natu nods, and immediately doles out three cards for the Rapidash. The first card that Natu reveals is the Fool, which causes the Rapidash to react rather strongly. "Fool, huh? Is yer' deck tryin' to insult me?? Why I oughta'..." Natu immediately chirps apologetically, and seems to be desperately trying to explain the significance of the card to the horse-shaped robot. While this is going on, Selene catches Alice's gaze, and beckons her forward.

"You must have a question too, my child..." Selene grins knowingly. "What aspects of your future would you like me to reveal? I have tarot cards, a crystal ball, expertise in palm reading... From abacomancy to zygomancy, I know it all. You choose the question and the method, and I shall provide an answer." As Selene speaks, the pupils of her pink eyes seem to pierce straight into Alice's soul.

How does Alice respond?



Balmund- Orchestrating a fake battle between Averil and Durandal may be one possible solution, but an incredibly risky one... The positioning would have to be choreographed perfectly, and with Averil being a relative unknown to Balmund and Durandal, hoping for that level of cooperation and coordination seems a bit much to expect. Balmund soon realizes, however, that there was more than one solution to this problem. Perhaps faking a move demonstration was the key to fighting these "invisible" foes. Balmund straightens his posture and strengthens his voice as he bellows out to the crowd, pretending to be preparing for a move demonstration that will fill the parkgoers with wonderment and delight. Normally, such a ruse would be hard to pull off, but with the awe-inspiring Pokemon that both William and Balmund have at their disposal, plus Balmund's obvious Blackthorn heritage and aura of expertise, it seems as if the crowd is buying it. Parents usher their children away from Averil as William catches on quickly to Balmund's ruse. He begins playing Duke's foil as the stereotypical bruiser, which seems to fit his appearance all to well. Looking like one tough bully, William smirks at Balmund, as if amused by such a pathetic display. "Oh, yeah? You may be from Blackthorn, buddy, but you're on MY turf now. Time for you to learn some respect!" The crowd already seems divided between the badass ex-gangster and the honorable Dragon Tamer. The crowd's cheers are intoxicating, but with the shadowy spectres closing in, Averil and Durandal both know that they have to stay focused. With Balmund having already issued his orders, William counters with his own "display" of moves.

"Focus energy? BAH! How boring! Show Duke here that even status-boosting moves can be awe-inspiring! Knock 'em dead with your Dragon Dance, then show 'em your Assurance that we can kick his a**! If he wants 'dazzle', then show him your Dragon Pulse! C'mon, don't let that overgrown flying lizard Duke's been training show you up!"

It is clear from the positioning of the two men that each will be going after their own separate Dusknoir. Both dragons "show off their moves" simultaneously, leading to a surprisingly coordinated battle. Durandal Focuses his Energy onto Dusknoir, honing in on his target so that he can hit hard, while Averil's impressive mix of brutality and grace is displayed by her stat-pumping Dragon Dance. Both Durandal and Averil seem to have chosen stat-boosting moves; The Dusknoir seem similarly in sync, simultaneously using their red, cyclopian gaze to perform a curse-like move. Both Dusknoir shoot a Mean Look at the opponent opposite them. Looks like even if Durandal and Averil wanted to, they can't escape this battle now. Good thing neither dragon was intending on running away in the first place...

Focused and ready to go, a mighty wind bursts forth from Durandal's powerful wings. The Air Cutter certainly looks impressive to the crowd, and they cheer in delight from the immense burst of wind; however, Durandal and Balmund are not about to celebrate, as the Dusknoir deftly dodges the impressive attack; however, the Dusknoir opposite Averil does take some of the hit, which seems to do some respectable damage. Averil takes advantage of the situation with her super-effective Assurance; her sniper-like accuracy and sheer brutality make the Dusknoir, who had already been hit that round with Air Cutter, absolutely reel with pain. William cheers loudly in spite of himself, very clearly proud of his Haxorus' strength. The Dusknoir opposite Durandal performs another strange, curse-like move; both Balmund and William begin feeling heavier than usual, and they're both pretty sure it's not just the weight of the pizza in their stomachs... The entire battlefield is weighed down by Dusknoir's oppressive Gravity. Meanwhile, the other Dusknoir unleashes a Will-o-Wisp towards Averil, which hits her dead-on with a particularly nasty burn. Though the parkgoers do not see the attack itself, they seem to comprehend that Averil has taken damage somehow, though it makes no sense given the suddenness of the recoil... The parkgoers don't know what to make of Averil's obvious burn, though crowd consensus seems to be that it must have been from a previous battle. Both Balmund and William realize that while the attacks the Dusknoir are performing are invisible, their effects are not... The two will need to decide how they are going to treat these mysterious wounds.

Heat Wave is immediately a crowd favorite. Everyone's inner pyromaniac seems to come out when Durandal inhales deeply and breathes massive amounts of flames, which heat up the area and cause the smaller ones to "Oooo" and "Aaaah." The effects of the attack on the Dusknoir are similarly impressive; both Dusknoir are hit by the flames, and in a sort of karmic retribution, the Dusknoir opposite Durandal is clearly burned. One of the parkgoers swear that they saw two figures in the flames, though it seems like his friends are laughing at him. As for Averil, her Dragon Pulse is exactly what the ever-growing crowd came here to see: a powerful dragon-type attack. The Dusknoir opposite Averil is not so enthusiastic, as the creature is battered by the blast of pure energy. Suddenly, both Dusknoir disappear from sight... Perhaps they recognize how powerful Averil and Durandal, and have given up the battle. This hope is short-lived, however, as the Dusknoir attack Averil and Durandal from behind with a twin Astonish! Both Pokemon are taken by surprise, taking a decent amount of damage. Fortunately, both dragons recover from their shock quickly, and will both be able to attack next round. There's a big problem, though... Now both Dusknoirs are positioned between the dragons and the crowd, which will make attacking far more risky.

Durandal is fit as a fiddle and looking great, having only taken a little bit of damage from this round. Averil is also relatively healthy, though her burn is somewhat concerning, and has left her more damaged than Durandal. The Dusknoir opposite Durandal is looking like it had a good chunk of health taken away, but the mysterious creature is far from backing down despite its burn. The Dusknoir opposite Averil is the most damaged-looking of the combatants, and seems to have been unfortunate enough to lose what could easily be almost half of its health.

Positioning is now a huge issue, and the Dusknoir seem to know it. They seem to be daring you to attack, even though doing so will mean having attacks potentially leak into the crowd. Some quick thinking is definitely necessary!

How will Balmund and Durandal respond?



Itzatrap- ((I apologize that your updates have been somewhat short. They will grow longer as the story progresses, rest assured!))

They say you can catch more Beautiflies with honey than with vinegar; Rob, agreeing with this general philosophy, decides on a sweet solution in order to attract the creature within the small hole in the wall. Scattering an array of delicious-looking berries at the entrance to the tiny opening, the denizen within seems to take notice of the treats. A brown paw reaches out of the hole and grabs the Wiki berry, immediately snatching it back into the hole. Unfortunately for the little brown creature, the other berries are far too distant for it to grab from within the hole, so it scampers out into the open, its cheeks chubby with the berry it took; Rob immediately identifies the rodent-like Pokemon as a Patrat, who looks up at Rob and Melantha for a long moment before grabbing the Lum and Passho berries. Ir holds them under each arm, attempting to scurry back into its hole on two legs, which significantly slows the creature down. Even more detrimental to the creature's escape is the fact that it will not take its eyes off either trainer or Absol, which is typical of the hyper-vigilant breed. What is interesting about this particular Patrat, however, is it has a large earring clipped to one of its ears, with a large, expensive-looking gemstone dangling from it. The clear, well-cut stone may very well be diamond... At the very least, the earring looks well-made. In fact, that single earring, if made with the right material, might fetch a pretty penny for the gemstone it so beautifully displays. Even Melantha seems quite taken by the beauty of the earring the simple little Patrat wears. Could this little Patrat be some kind of treasure-hoarder...?

How will Rob and Melantha react?



uhhhhh- Connor's first thought is to potentially offer his own life in exchange for Gaspard's; after all, he did appear to be the demonic balloon's intended target. Connor is resolute to perform the ultimate sacrifice in order to preserve Gaspard's life; after all, life as a directionless Drifloon would be nothing compared to losing his beloved companion. The connection between Gaspard and Connor is such that the purple monkey can read Connor's thoughts by his expression, and he attempts to communicate his disapproval of Connor's plan, hoping to reassure him that there might still be a way for both of them to get out of this alive. Connor understands in his heart what his Aipom is trying to tell him, and Connor comes to an important realization. Gaspard has been fighting with all of his might to keep Connor alive, which is the whole reason he got tangled up in this dreadful mess in the first place. What would it say to Gaspard if Connor were to give up his life now? What would Gaspard have fought so viciously and resolutely for, if not for his trainer to keep on living? It was not right to make that kind of sacrifice. No, the two of them would have to keep fighting for one another. They would have to keep fighting, no matter what happened, so that they could both get out of this twisted mirror world together.

Connor issues the order to Gaspard to cut the tangles with Fury Cutter. Though having order and direction from Connor helps Gaspard to focus himself instead of flailing aimlessly, his arms are too tightly bound to even pull off the attack, let alone pull it off effectively. Resolute to cut Gaspard free, Drifloon continues attempting to Cut with his scissors, and while he does manage to cut one of Gaspard's arms free, he is still tangled within the awful balloon. The balloon viciously Constricts around Gaspard; fortunately, the rubber around his neck has been cut by the Drifloon in his last attempt at freeing him, but his limbs and chest are squeezed mercilessly, and he squeals out in pain. Poor Gaspard! Hoping to end the painful constriction, he performs a frenzied Fury Cutter with his one good arm; luckily, the attack is powerful enough to cut most of his body free. Connor can hear a terrible shriek from the balloon as Gaspard bursts from his rubber prison, though unfortunately, his monkey tail is still trapped within the balloon. Darn it! So close!! Drifloon attempts to Cut the tail free, but it seems as if Gaspard's tail is the most entrenched part of him, and the balloon is not about to let go anytime soon. The balloon tries to Constrict Gaspard's tail, but does not have the strength or the hold anymore to cause significant damage.

The curse is weighing heavy on Gaspard. Panting and somewhat limping, it is clear that Gaspard is nearing his limits, though he remains completely determined. His U-turn, though attempted with as much force as he can muster, is not enough to free his tail from the balloon's clutches. Drifloon's attempts at Cutting him free remain unsuccessful. Then again, despite Gaspard's lack of freedom, the balloon has been taking some terrible structural damage from all of these cuts, and especially from Gaspard breaking free. It seems as if Gaspard is not the only one in dire straits. The demon balloon, coughing and sputtering, begins moving at a startlingly rapid pace towards Connor, dragging Gaspard along with him. Drifloon, frantic and upset, chases after the balloon with his scissors, but to no avail. Gaspard tries attacking the balloon in any way that he can, but cannot seem to stop its rapid forward motion. Fortunately, Gaspard's vicious attempts at stopping the balloon from attacking his trainer are enough to at least break Gaspard free, who rushes towards Connor in an attempt to defend him. Of course, no one is truly prepared for what happens next.

With little more than a fizzle to act as warning, the balloon suddenly performs a kamikaze Explosion the moment the balloon is in range of Connor! Connor attempts instinctively to shield himself with his right arm, but both Connor and Gaspard, who had instinctively attempted to defend Connor from the blast, are knocked backward. The explosion was likely a final attempt at killing Connor once and for all, despite being blown to smithereens. Gaspard, though bruised and beaten, barely escapes the blast conscious, with only a sliver of health remaining. With the curse broken by the balloon's desperate last-minute ploy, Gaspard can be proud to say that he has survived the fight for his life. Level up for Gaspard.

Connor, on the other hand, is not a Pokemon, and therefore poorly-equipped to deal with massive explosions. He blacks out on impact.

---

Upon awakening, Connor becomes acutely aware of the pain he is in before he is even able to take a look at his surroundings. As consciousness begins to return to the young photographer, he realizes that when he shielded himself with his right arm during the explosion, his right arm must have taken the brunt of the damage. Some nasty cuts and scrapes can be seen along the arm, which have yet to be dressed or tended. As Connor attempts to get up from the ground, he becomes more aware of his surroundings. He appears to be in a basement-like area, with no windows and the only light coming in from holes in the ceiling. Judging by the mirrored walls of the room above, this basement must be part of the House of Mirrors. Of course, what really gets Connor's attention is the fact that he appears to be surrounded by the black eyes and purple faces of some very curious Drifloons. Behind the group is Connor's beloved Gaspard, who appears to be munching on some Oran berries... Provided by the Drifloon, perhaps? He seems to be much healthier than when Connor last saw him, as evidenced by the way he bounds happily over to his trainer, delighted that he appears to have recovered somewhat from the blast. One of the Drifloon begins to speak, and Connor recognizes the voice immediately as the Drifloon that helped him with the battle against the demonic balloon.

"Your monkey friend and I had to drag you down here, so I hope you're damn grateful," it says as gruffly as its tiny Drifloon-voice can allow. With a deep inhalation, it begins to speak again; "You don't look like the type to understand Latin, but I hope you know what 'Quid Pro Quo' means. I helped you out-" Another long inflation, and it begins speaking again; "...so I think it's fair that you monkeys help me... help US." The Drifloon looks around at his friends, who haven't said a word, though their eyes remain fixed on Connor.

How will Connor and Gaspard react?



Dark Searchman- With Delilah's support and Frillish's determination both affecting Hyrem, the latest candidate for zombification decides that he will fight his fate by attempting to defeat the Harvester of Eyes. Hyrem, wanting to know as much as he can about his new foe, asks the pink Frillish who... or what... the Harvester of Eyes is, and how potentially to defeat it.

"That's the thing.... She is everywhere. She sees everything. Every corpse, every zombie, every empty shell of a being that was once alive is under her control. Once..." Frillish sighs. "Once, my brother and I tried to escape. We thought we'd get new trainers... Start new lives. We made it to the lobby, but..." The Frillish touches her collar with a tentacle, looking forlorn. "It's as I told you. She is everywhere. I thought she may have killed brother, taken his eyes, but I see now that our fates were the same..."

"Frill, Frill-ish..." The blue Frillish seems to be reminding her sister of something.

"I'm getting to that, brother. In a moment..." The pink Frillish gives her brother a stern glare. "Oh, fine. My impatient sibling here wants you to know that we think that destroying her collection of eyes will cripple her... limit her vision. Then, once we locate the body she is inhabiting, we can destroy her once and for all. Frillish and I made the mistake of trying to destroy the whole lair, but even then, those eyes are cursed, and there are so many of them...." The pink Frillish shudders at the memory. "I honestly would not know how to destroy the eyes quickly before the other pairs alert her."

As this conversation is going on, Hyrem notices that he is being pulled closed and closer to a group of giant rocks underwater. The boulders are so large that they seem to go all the way to the bottom, and probably continue above the surface. As Hyrem's group turns the corner, Hyrem is met with what looks like a mini-cathedral carved into the rock's face. Instead of a door, however, there is what appears to be an ominous looking cave entrance, which is outlined with some kind of decoration. As Hyrem gets closer, he realizes that the "decorations" surrounding the door are actually pairs of eyes. Chances are good that at this distance, the eyes have not caught sight of the group yet.

"As you might have guessed, this is the place..." The pink Frillish shakes her head. "Seven pairs of eyes in the front, plenty more in the hallway leading to her chamber, and then... the great room. I don't even know where to begin on how to tackle this." The blue Frillish, feeling for his sister, gives her a compassionate "Frilll".

Seems as if Hyrem might have to help the Frillish think of a plan before they attempt to tackle this disturbing little lair.

How will Hyrem and Delilah respond?



MarbleZone- Levin considers himself fortunate that he and Crix were not dismembered, deprived of their souls or tortured to death by the supernatural being and his beautiful companion. Instead, the two actually seem to be offering him an opportunity... A dangerous one, for sure, but one that seems to promise great reward. Though Levin knows that he probably should not even be considering Orfeo's proposal, considering the obvious dangers and the fact that Levin could just as easily check into his room and get some sleep, it seems as if the young trainer has become smitten with the lovely Calandra. Her enchanting looks and personality, coupled with the heartbreak obvious in her sparkling green eyes, have Levin completely under her spell. Of course, Levin is humble in responding, letting Orfeo know that his Pokemon are only just starting out on their journey, and that he does not have a talent that such a picky audience would find entertaining; however, he is willing to put in some good old-fashioned hard work and help their performance, as well as the talent show in general.

"I am glad to hear that you are eager to help," Orfeo says with an obvious grin. He motions to Levin and Calandra, and Calandra takes Levin's hand, ushering him towards the staircase leading downward with a silent smile, with Crix following close behind. Orfeo continues; "Unfortunately, the decision of what type of job you'll be given is not up to me, so it will be difficult to provide you specific advice until you are properly assigned. That said, I can give you a general word of warning... Always be on guard, watch your back, and do as you are told. Provided you do those things, you should hopefully be fine..." Orfeo chuckles a bit. "Oh, one more thing... Never, under any circumstances, piss off Ruby. Ever. EVER."

"Ruby is the manager of the Talent Show," Calandra adds. "I haven't met Ruby yet, but I've heard some interesting things..."

"The same goes for you, my dear," Orfeo says ominously to Calandra. "Ruby does not discriminate. No matter how talented you are, my little songbird, that Mismagius' temper is legendary... Best be as gentle and polite as you can in that psychotic Pokemon's presence, but I know you will be a delight, as I have said."

Halfway between the first floor and the basement, Orfeo and Calandra stop on the staircase, where Orfeo reveals a secret panel in the wall. "There are many ways to enter the theatre, but since I doubt either of you are able to phase through walls, this is the best way to go," Orfeo says with a smile. Hand in hand, Levin and Calandra follow Orfeo through a small hallway with elegant red wallpaper; at the end of the hallway, Levin can see a gigantic gilded theatre with golden pillars, plush velvet seats and an impressive stage. Before the trio make it into the theatre, however, Orfeo stops them at the ticket booth. A bored-looking Haunter behind the counter appears to be flipping through a magazine advertising various types of chainsaws before looking up at Orfeo.

"You're here early... Guessing you're one of the talent people?" The Haunter speaks to Orfeo in surprisingly good English. Orfeo nods, but stops himself mid-nod.

"Oh, myself and the lovely lady are an act, yes... but the young man over there is looking to volunteer."

The Haunter cranes its body to take a look at Levin, then lets out a harsh grunt. "Gonna have to talk to Ruby... Hang on a sec." The Haunter excuses himself and floats out of the ticket booth, apparently looking for the hot-tempered manager of the theatre. Eventually, out of a door labelled "staff", a gorgeous-looking Mismagius floats towards the trio, its crimson eyes glistening with glee. The flowing, silk-like body, pink grin and gleaming eyes certainly make this Pokemon a sight to behold. Levin admires the Pokemon as it makes its way towards them, but is completely taken aback when he starts to speak..

"Good to see you again, Orfeo," the low, masculine voice cheerfully says. He turns to Calandra with a grin. "You must be the lovely Calandra that I have heard Orfeo speak so fondly about... Certainly, looks do impress! I hope your voice will do the same. Ah, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Reuben, but of course, you may call me Ruby, as everyone does. Oh!" Ruby immediately turns his attention to Levin. "Orfie, did you provide an appetizer for the Jellicent? Oh, oh no, he won't do at all... Not enough meat. Don't worry, though, we have a real fat one this time around. I learn from my mistakes, let me tell you-"

"Uh, he's the guy that wants to volunteer, Ruby... His name is... uh... Kevin?" Orfeo sheepishly attempts to correct the odd Mismagius, though it seems like he doesn't quite remember your name.

"Oh, well if Kevin a bad worker, then it will make no difference, now, will it?" Levin notices something rather unsettling about Ruby's grin... "I trust you will work hard. I do not tolerate slackers."

"Is there work for him? Might you be able to tell us what he will be doing? He's inexperienced as a trainer, but he'll work hard, I promise!" Calandra's expression suggests a strange concern for Levin, which makes Orfeo grimace somewhat.

"Oh, there's work, all right..." Ruby floats up to Levin, and moves his face mere inches away from the trainer's. "I need to size you up first, though. Orfeo, please take your little Songbird to the dressing room and help her warm up... I need to talk with the new hire."

As Orfeo and Calandra walk towards the stage, Calandra turns back to wave at Levin before catching up to her ghostly companion. Ruby doesn't waste any time beginning his interview. "Doesn't seem like you have any techie experience, but I got all the techs I need anyway... Five simple questions, and I'll be able to assign you some work based on your answers. Now...

-Would you rather work with people who are friendly, yet fake... or honest, yet brutal?

-Let us say that you were on death row. You are given two choices that ultimately average out to the same amount of pain. Would you prefer the method of death that is quick, yet immensely painful... or slow, with a lesser amount of pain doled out over time?

-A busload of strangers and the person for whom you care most are both in a situation in which they are about to die. You can either save the busload, or the loved one, but you have to pick one. Which would you pick? Would that answer change if the busload was an entire city?

-How would you fit a Wailmer into a breadbox?

-Suppose you disappoint me (hypothetically, of course), and I decide to bring you to the dinner table with a group of at least ten hungry Jellicent. How would you prevent yourself from being eaten? Remember, you are unbound and free to move, but the door is on the other end of the table, beyond the hungry patrons.

Think quickly, Kevin! I don't have all day."

Simple questions? Yeah, right! Certainly, the questions Ruby asks would take a lot of thought for anyone, but it seems as if Ruby expects and answer, and if he is as impatient as Orfeo says, it might be wise not to keep him waiting too long.

How will Levin respond?



ShadowShocker- Not wanting to waste their momentary advantage, Shadow comes up with a plan; since Chandelure's flames seem to go out when he sustains heavy damage, perhaps going after the core directly and extinguishing Chandelure's central flame was the key to victory. With Chandelure floating aimlessly, still blinded by the light, it is easy for Dahlia to go in Pursuit of her opponent; she smacks her beak right into his core for some massive damage, which causes the core flame to flicker somewhat, but not extinguish. The impact is enough to knock Chandelure back to his senses, and unleashes a Flame Burst straight into the poor Murkrow's face. With such a direct, brutal hit, it was nearly impossible for Dahlia to avoid a burn, which painfully singes her cheeks and neck. Dahlia looks absolutely fed up with these status ailments, and she has had quite enough of this painful, gradual damage! Time to end this battle once and for all. With a cry so loud and fierce that it rings through the entire lobby, she unleashes a ferocious Twister at Chandelure, which sucks in Chandelure's core and provides the power and force necessary to extinguish the central flame. As the twister subsides, the Chandelure ceases floating and falls to the ground with a loud clang, indicating that Dahlia's foe had finally been KOed. Though Dahlia has been battered, beaten, poisoned, burned and confused, she has ultimately triumphed. Level up for Dahlia.

Another of the candlabras springs to life at the sight of your victory, floating over to his fallen comrade with a chuckle. "Hmmm, I don't believe my brother Tytus thought that your Murkrow would win. How silly of him to assume victory before the battle even begun!" Admiring the Murkrow's handiwork, the Chandelure shakes his head with a sly grin. "He promised to be your guide through the hotel, did he not? Well, he's in no shape to be guiding anyone right now, but I suppose I could peform the job just as adequately... you earned it, after all, and a promise is a promise." The Chandelure bows gracefully to Shadow and Murkrow. "My name is Pyrrhos. Like my fallen brother here, my flames illuminate more than just shadow. With my light, you will be able to see the things to which most mortals are blind. For example..." Chandelure floats over to an open area in the lobby, and lifts one of his candles to what initially appears to be nothing but air and empty space... In the light of the flame, Shadow can see a group of people of all ages, shapes and sizes gathered in the area. "The spirits have been enjoying your battle. You may not have seen or heard them... but they were rooting for you and Dahlia." Pyrrhos retracts his flame, and Shadow notices the spirits waving happily before they disappear from view.

It seems that through Shadow and Dahlia's harrowing battle, they have earned a rather peculiar gift; they now have a ghostly guide to take them through the hotel. How they decide to use this odd little perk is up to them.

How will Shadow and Dahlia respond?



gmoyes- At first, Alex finds it difficult to communicate without using simple Porygon language; however, after putting his processing power to good use, Alex realizes that he could probably use textboxes to communicate if he put his mind to it. Focusing on transforming his thoughts to text, Alex is happy to discover that the talent is not simply limited to sprites of humans; even in his Porygon form, he is able to speak. Pixel Ash is silent as Alex creates his own text, seeming to be reading what Alex has to say as quickly as he can. After Alex has finished speaking, pixel Red takes a moment before responding back with text of his own. "The Pikachu has your body, huh... Guess that creepy rodent must have wanted to be human this time around. I'll bet you anything that in the real world, your body is running around screaming 'PIKA PIKA' while the bastard who took mine is wreaking havoc... All I know is that they call themselves spirit hackers. They somehow possessed this game and used it as a vehicle to steal our bodies, though I haven't the slightest idea how..."

Pixel Red considers Alex's idea to beat the Elite Four as a way of getting out of the game. "I would see how that would work, but the problem with Pokemon is that the game doesn't end when the Elite Four are beaten. It just... keeps going. You go to the cave near Cerulean City, you capture Mewtwo, you keep training your Pokemon. There's no closure, no end... Like you said, it would also take time. Then again, if you can produce text boxes like I can, maybe you can do more than that. Do you think... do you think that with enough concentration, you would be able to alter your stats?" Pixel Red shakes his head. "Nah, maybe that's too crazy... No, we have to think of something else. Maybe, maybe some kind of machine within the game... or maybe if we can break the game somehow, though that would be risky..."

Pixel Red pulls up the main menu and displays it to Alex, hoping that the two of them might be able to figure out something about the world in which they inhabit. The trainer name, "RED," is not very helpful. Red's list of Pokemon only includes Alex, the Lv12 Porygon. The Geodude which clone Alex caught must still be with the clone. Pixel Red runs through the rest of the menu, looking for any sort of clues; "Eight badges, full Pokedex except for... Alakazam, Machamp, Golem and Gengar... and no Mew. Weird. Elite Four beaten 99 times. Whoever played this game had a lot of time on their hands." He opens up his items list, and finds a full list of TMs and 99 rare candies, along with 99 of every item in the game other than Key Items. "Oh! Well, hey, looks like we can level you up to 100 and give you some new moves. Here..." Pixel Red begins feeding Alex candies until he feels completely bloated. Every time a new move shows up, he asks Alex whether or not he would like to keep it. ((NOTE: Your final moveset is entirely up to you. Just be sure to include the list in your reply so I know which four moves you would like. You are limited to Red Version Porygon's level up moves and the TMs that Porygon can learn in Red Version.))

After loading you with a rather unhealthy crash diet, Pixel Red beckons Alex toward the door of Lavender tower. "Let's get out of here... I hate this music. We can talk while we walk." Pixel Red walks outside the tower, and seems to want Alex to follow.

How will Alex respond?

[Meetan]

Meetan- After lavishing her Swinub with some well-deserved affection and recalling the little pig-nose Pokemon into his Love Ball, Alice follows the mechanical Rapidash into the Fortune-Telling Tent with renewed courage and enthusiasm from her successful capture. The Rapidash senses Alice's elated mood, and though the plastic face is stuck permanently in a single expression, Alice can almost sense the Rapidash smiling... "I'm hopin' the future will be as bright as yer' eyes'r lookin' right now, darlin'. Never seen y'so happy before... Then again, can't say I've known y'very long!" The horse whinnies in a manner similar to laughter and moseys on into the tent. As Alice follows behind, she notes the faint smell of a deep, smoky incense, and admires the gorgeous velvet purple cloth draped over the tent, with gold trim and gorgeous golden stars and moons embroidered into the fabric. Over the tent, signs advertising "The Mysterious Selene and her Cute, Clairvoyant Companion, Urth" are accentuated with beautiful paintings of a Cresselia floating beside a Natu. As Alice walks inside behind the Rapidash and navigates through a maze of golden rope where a line most likely would have formed in the glory days of the Phantom Isle Amusement park, she is greeted by photographs of the woman who is supposedly the Mysterious Selene. She is wearing a cheap-looking blue gown with a phony, Cresselia-esque head adornment, with dark roots showing at the crown of her light-blonde hair, and what are most definitely pink contacts over her eyes. Beside her in the photograph is a rather ordinary-looking Natu with a little turban on its head. Though the description above the photograph raves about Selene being the "spiritual daughter of Cresselia" and "capable of peering forth through thousands of future generations," Alice can't help but wonder how a woman who can't even get a decent dye job can manage to tell the future.

Finally, after crawling under some golden ropes to expedite the process, Alice and Rapidash make it to the elaborate main entrance; paintings of psychic-type Pokemon surround a hanging wall of purple crystals, which Alice and Rapidash try their best to walk through without getting tangled. As the two make it into the room, the strong smell of incense assails their nostrils as they are met with the real Selene and Urth. Most of Alice's experiences with advertisements has likely been that what they depict is usually far more beautiful or appealing than the actual product. It seems as if the opposite is true in this instance... The radiant woman with crystalline fuschia eyes and pure-gold hair is barely recognizable as the woman in the photograph. Her gorgeous attire appears far more expensive and well-tailored than it originally appeared. She sits in an ebony wooden chair, with rich fabrics draped over the arms, her head tilted back, eyes focused on the ceiling. She appears to be muttering to herself...

"Virginia, the suicide note you wrote to Leonard was absolutely gut-wrenchingly beautiful. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise- Oh, hold on, it seems as if we have visitors!" The strangely enchanting woman tilts her head back down to Alice's eye level, and gives her a soft, serene smile. "Dreadfully sorry, dear... Communicating with the dead is often very distracting." The woman chuckles a bit, as her Natu, Urth, hops up onto the table. Unlike Selene, Urth is mostly the spitting image of its photograph, except for the eyepatch over its right eye. Based on the scarring that lines the edges of the patch, it seems as if the poor thing had an accident of some sort. It still wears its adorable little turban, and despite its handicap, it appears pleased to see Alice and her mechanical companion out of its good eye, as evidenced by its bright, cheerful chirping. Selene places a deck of Tarot cards in front of the Natu, who chirps at the Rapidash, beckoning it forward.

"Gonna give me a readin', hmm? Well, bein' psychic n' all, I'm guessin' you probably know my question..." The Natu nods, and immediately doles out three cards for the Rapidash. The first card that Natu reveals is the Fool, which causes the Rapidash to react rather strongly. "Fool, huh? Is yer' deck tryin' to insult me?? Why I oughta'..." Natu immediately chirps apologetically, and seems to be desperately trying to explain the significance of the card to the horse-shaped robot. While this is going on, Selene catches Alice's gaze, and beckons her forward.

"You must have a question too, my child..." Selene grins knowingly. "What aspects of your future would you like me to reveal? I have tarot cards, a crystal ball, expertise in palm reading... From abacomancy to zygomancy, I know it all. You choose the question and the method, and I shall provide an answer." As Selene speaks, the pupils of her pink eyes seem to pierce straight into Alice's soul.

How does Alice respond?

At Rapidash's compliments, Alice laughed and blushed lightly, petting its false fur and mane as she walked one step behind. "Aww, thank you. I hope your future's bright, too." She replied. Before she knew it, she was at ease with the pretend Pokemon, when before it had made her quiver in fear. Maybe one day, she hoped, the real fire Pokemon of her team - Torchic - and she would share a similar bond. Alice and fire just didn't really mix.

"I'm normally smiley, I'm just a bit of a 'fraidy cat, really. 'Fraidy Purrloin." The girl joked, taking in the beautiful attraction. All the gold, purple and mystical set-up was appealing to her, despite her cynical and more logical outlook on life. Hell, she even enjoyed all of the fortune telling stuff, even if its accuracy was questionable. Things were particularly questionable when posed by a person who looked like they did on that sign. People should be shot for stating they're related to Cresselia, if they dare look like that, the brat of a teenager thought to herself haughtily.

In order to speed things up, the trainer ignored her childish temptation to jog around along all of the roped maze, and instead clambered beneath it instead, walking over the threshold to be greeted by a blast of incense. She liked the mix of smoke and spices, but she also liked what she saw: a cute (albeit slightly 'incomplete') Natu, and a serene fortune teller in expensive garb, who appeared strangely alluring and beautiful. The woman took her breath away, and once beckoned forward, it seemed somehow easy to ignore the Rapidash's confused threats.

"Well..." The girl began shyly, a little unsure of herself. If they really were psychic, as the Natu suggested, that would be a bit embarrassing. Had Selene really been conversing with a spirit? Well, if ghost Pokemon existed, it could be possible... "I would like a general palm reading, if we have the time. You know, what people usually get. But specifically, Rapidash and I were wondering where we should go next, in or out of the park. We came from the Merry Go Round." Alice explained, taking a seat before the pretty table, "Is a palm reading good for that, too, or would you recommend something better?"

((Stats!))

[poketim2]

The Park

House of Mirrors: Reflections aren't the only things you'll find in these mirrors...

Hastefully moving down the walkways of the amusement park, Brier couldn't help but regret making the bet with his partner Jitterz. In fact he couldn't quite remember what it was about. Needing to reassure himself why he was there, he was forced to ask the only one who was there at the time.

"Hey, I know this is irrelevent but what was that bet about?"

"Oh that, it was nothing, you just had to get a date with that one girl that we met at the restaurant last saturday. And just so you know I'm not gonna let you live this down." Jitterz mockingly replied.

"I hate you sometimes, you know that, right?"

"Yeah, why else would I...I...I..."

"You alright there man, wait... what are you doing?"

*WAP! WAP!*

Brier was helpless as his partner lead him about with a String Shot made into the form of reigns towards the House of Mirrors yelling, "I know what we're gonna do today!"

[Dark Searchman]

Dark Searchman- With Delilah's support and Frillish's determination both affecting Hyrem, the latest candidate for zombification decides that he will fight his fate by attempting to defeat the Harvester of Eyes. Hyrem, wanting to know as much as he can about his new foe, asks the pink Frillish who... or what... the Harvester of Eyes is, and how potentially to defeat it.

"That's the thing.... She is everywhere. She sees everything. Every corpse, every zombie, every empty shell of a being that was once alive is under her control. Once..." Frillish sighs. "Once, my brother and I tried to escape. We thought we'd get new trainers... Start new lives. We made it to the lobby, but..." The Frillish touches her collar with a tentacle, looking forlorn. "It's as I told you. She is everywhere. I thought she may have killed brother, taken his eyes, but I see now that our fates were the same..."

"Frill, Frill-ish..." The blue Frillish seems to be reminding her sister of something.

"I'm getting to that, brother. In a moment..." The pink Frillish gives her brother a stern glare. "Oh, fine. My impatient sibling here wants you to know that we think that destroying her collection of eyes will cripple her... limit her vision. Then, once we locate the body she is inhabiting, we can destroy her once and for all. Frillish and I made the mistake of trying to destroy the whole lair, but even then, those eyes are cursed, and there are so many of them...." The pink Frillish shudders at the memory. "I honestly would not know how to destroy the eyes quickly before the other pairs alert her."

As this conversation is going on, Hyrem notices that he is being pulled closed and closer to a group of giant rocks underwater. The boulders are so large that they seem to go all the way to the bottom, and probably continue above the surface. As Hyrem's group turns the corner, Hyrem is met with what looks like a mini-cathedral carved into the rock's face. Instead of a door, however, there is what appears to be an ominous looking cave entrance, which is outlined with some kind of decoration. As Hyrem gets closer, he realizes that the "decorations" surrounding the door are actually pairs of eyes. Chances are good that at this distance, the eyes have not caught sight of the group yet.

"As you might have guessed, this is the place..." The pink Frillish shakes her head. "Seven pairs of eyes in the front, plenty more in the hallway leading to her chamber, and then... the great room. I don't even know where to begin on how to tackle this." The blue Frillish, feeling for his sister, gives her a compassionate "Frilll".

Seems as if Hyrem might have to help the Frillish think of a plan before they attempt to tackle this disturbing little lair.

How will Hyrem and Delilah respond?

"That's the thing.... She is everywhere. She sees everything. Every corpse, every zombie, every empty shell of a being that was once alive is under her control. Once..." The pink Frillish sighs before continuing: "Once, my brother and I tried to escape. We thought we'd get new trainers... Start new lives. We made it to the lobby, but..." Hyrem sees Frillish touch her collar, and he wonders what the significance could be. Could the collars be equipped with something to prevent rentals from running away? Perhaps the Harvester of Eyes was a former employee of Mantine Mania? But what was with the eye stealing? That didn't fit anything, as far as he knew. "It's as I told you. She is everywhere. I thought she may have killed brother, taken his eyes, but I see now that our fates were the same..." But the little sister wasn't so lucky, apparently.

"Frill, Frill-ish..." said the blue Frillish. It looked he wanted his sister to mention something important.

"I'm getting to that, brother. In a moment..." The pink Frillish gives her brother a stern glare. "Oh, fine. My impatient sibling here wants you to know that we think that destroying her collection of eyes will cripple her... limit her vision. Then, once we locate the body she is inhabiting, we can destroy her once and for all. Frillish and I made the mistake of trying to destroy the whole lair, but even then, those eyes are cursed, and there are so many of them...." Then she shudders from remembering her encounter. If there were as many eyes as she said there was... Hyrem was starting to shudder too, just from the fantasized image. "I honestly would not know how to destroy the eyes quickly before the other pairs alert her."

The Frillish eventually lead Hyrem to a pile of huge boulders that go all the way from bottom to an eventual surface. Once they see it from a different angle, it looked like some sort of small temple. The decor for the entrance to this cave seemed macabre... and it was.

"As you might have guessed, this is the place..." The pink Frillish shakes her head at what she again deemed impossible. "Seven pairs of eyes in the front, plenty more in the hallway leading to her chamber, and then... the great room. I don't even know where to begin on how to tackle this." The blue Frillish, feeling for his sister, gives her a compassionate "Frilll".

Eyes? Those were eyes!? This had to be the most gruesome surveillance system Hyrem had ever seen. Fortunately, not one of them could see Hyrem, Delilah, or the Frillish, but he could see now why the pink Frillish had so much trouble trying to figure this out. If there was an attack that could destroy fourteen eyeballs at once, he would've loved for his Chinchou to know it about now. Even then, he couldn't think of any feasible way for one attack to work completely in this situation.

All he could do was try and toss around some ideas with the Frillish and hope they could come up with a successful strategy to deal with the eyes on the outside. Then they had to deal with more on the inside... that'd be fun. Assuming they even got past the first few without the Harvester of Eyes alerted to their ploy.

"Hm, I'm having trouble figuring this one out too," said Hyrem while holding his chin. "Maybe we could have Delilah use Flash to stun the eyeballs, then use Shock Wave to deal with some of them while you two attacked the others at about the same time?" he said, not too confident about the plan, but it was all he had so far. He was pretty sure it needed some more ironing out before it turned into an effective plan (he could already think of a flaw; Shock Wave might only be able to target one eyeball at a time, so it may take too much time to deal with all of them), so he waited for the Frillish's input before trying to bounce around some more ideas. It may take some time to come up with a good strategy, though, and that might be time he just didn't have.

[gmoyes]

gmoyes- At first, Alex finds it difficult to communicate without using simple Porygon language; however, after putting his processing power to good use, Alex realizes that he could probably use textboxes to communicate if he put his mind to it. Focusing on transforming his thoughts to text, Alex is happy to discover that the talent is not simply limited to sprites of humans; even in his Porygon form, he is able to speak. Pixel Ash is silent as Alex creates his own text, seeming to be reading what Alex has to say as quickly as he can. After Alex has finished speaking, pixel Red takes a moment before responding back with text of his own. "The Pikachu has your body, huh... Guess that creepy rodent must have wanted to be human this time around. I'll bet you anything that in the real world, your body is running around screaming 'PIKA PIKA' while the bastard who took mine is wreaking havoc... All I know is that they call themselves spirit hackers. They somehow possessed this game and used it as a vehicle to steal our bodies, though I haven't the slightest idea how..."

Pixel Red considers Alex's idea to beat the Elite Four as a way of getting out of the game. "I would see how that would work, but the problem with Pokemon is that the game doesn't end when the Elite Four are beaten. It just... keeps going. You go to the cave near Cerulean City, you capture Mewtwo, you keep training your Pokemon. There's no closure, no end... Like you said, it would also take time. Then again, if you can produce text boxes like I can, maybe you can do more than that. Do you think... do you think that with enough concentration, you would be able to alter your stats?" Pixel Red shakes his head. "Nah, maybe that's too crazy... No, we have to think of something else. Maybe, maybe some kind of machine within the game... or maybe if we can break the game somehow, though that would be risky..."

Pixel Red pulls up the main menu and displays it to Alex, hoping that the two of them might be able to figure out something about the world in which they inhabit. The trainer name, "RED," is not very helpful. Red's list of Pokemon only includes Alex, the Lv12 Porygon. The Geodude which clone Alex caught must still be with the clone. Pixel Red runs through the rest of the menu, looking for any sort of clues; "Eight badges, full Pokedex except for... Alakazam, Machamp, Golem and Gengar... and no Mew. Weird. Elite Four beaten 99 times. Whoever played this game had a lot of time on their hands." He opens up his items list, and finds a full list of TMs and 99 rare candies, along with 99 of every item in the game other than Key Items. "Oh! Well, hey, looks like we can level you up to 100 and give you some new moves. Here..." Pixel Red begins feeding Alex candies until he feels completely bloated. Every time a new move shows up, he asks Alex whether or not he would like to keep it. ((NOTE: Your final moveset is entirely up to you. Just be sure to include the list in your reply so I know which four moves you would like. You are limited to Red Version Porygon's level up moves and the TMs that Porygon can learn in Red Version.))

After loading you with a rather unhealthy crash diet, Pixel Red beckons Alex toward the door of Lavender tower. "Let's get out of here... I hate this music. We can talk while we walk." Pixel Red walks outside the tower, and seems to want Alex to follow.

How will Alex respond?

When Alex finished his speech, sprite Red paused for a moment and responded with saying that the Pikachu was probably out taking a joyride with Alex's body. While slightly unnerving, he sort of doubted it. The ghosts probably had more important things to do like trap more people in the game. Anyway, Theta and Echo were there to watch over things, though thinking about made him wonder how they were handling the situation. They saw what happened to him, there was no way they would side with his copy. At least he hoped so, his Bronzor being a psychic type would know something was wrong anyways. Well he now had a name to put to the demons that trapped him here: spirit hackers. Fitting, and he wouldn't be surprised if a Rotom was part of this scheme.

While Alex knew that there was no true ending in a pokemon game, the credit roll after defeating the elite four was as close to an ending as you could get. Though his line that he might be able to do more than just create textboxes made him slightly confused. He was still human and he didn't think creating the box took any special powers. Even if he could find a way to alter things in the game, he ageed with the pixelated Red that screwing around with the game while still inside it would probably not be the best idea.

When Red opened up the main menu, he was impressed of all the accomplishments. Obviously by looking at the pokedex, whoever played this didn't trade to evolve their pokemon, but they must have traded at some point. How else would they be able to get the other starters and the other fossil? If they hacked them in, why didn't they hack the others in? Mew not being in there wasn't really surprising, it took a certain glitch while battling certain trainers to trigger it. When he saw the number of time the elite four were defeated, his eyes widened, even though he was sure that it was physically impossible the them to do so. When he himself played the orignal red version, he couldn't even get passed Lorelai. When he saw all the items stored in the bag, he was glad he didn't have a mouth. If he did, his jaw would have gone straight through the floor and potentially meet whatever was burried under there. Whoever played this must have done some hacking. How else would they have gotten all of those items?

When Red started spam-feeding the rare candies to Alex, while he obviously couldn't eat, the number count decreased and he felt an increase of energy inside him. If he was still human, there would have been a big goofy grin on his face. While he didn't use rare candies much in the games, now he was above and beyond every other pokemon in the game. He learned Tri Attack while leveling up and after a little debate, discided not to learn Recover because they already had a massive stockpile of potions so using a move to recover heath was pointless. He also learned Thunderbolt, Psychic and Blizzard using the TMs. He inwardly cursed the '4 move symdrome' of the games, it would be fun blasting foes with Hyper Beam and there was a bug that if you defeated a foe with it you didn't have to recharge. Still the recharge time might be hazardous so he stuck with reliable Tri Attack.

After his power boost he quickly followed his new 'trainer' out of the tower. They have spent too long in this town already. Who knows when that glitch would act up again. Just then it hit him. The glitch in the tower showed some sort of link to the real world. What if other glitches did the same? He quickly brought up a new text box as soon as they were outside. "HEY RED, I JUST HAD AN IDEA. THE GLITCH WE SAW IN THE TOWER HAD SOME SORT OF CONNECTION WITH THE OUTSIDE. WHAT IF OTHER GLITCHES DID THE SAME? THE TWO MAIN ONES I CAN THINK OF ARE THE MEW GLITCH AND MISSINGNO. THE MEW GLITCH IS CLOSEBY, WE JUST NEED TO GO WEST OF HERE, BUT WE NEED TO FIND A CERTAIN TRAINER AND FLY TO CERULEAN CITY BEFORE THE BATTLE ACTUALLY STARTS. THEN WE HAVE TO FIND A CERTAIN TRAINER TO THE NORTH OF THE CITY WITH A SLOWPOKE AND BATTLE HIM. THEN WE COME BACK HERE AND RUN INTO MEW. HOWEVER, THAT MIGHT NOW WORK BECAUSE MAYBE THOSE TRAINERS HAVE ALREADY BEEN BATTLED. THE MISSINGNO. GLITCH IS EASIER, WE JUST NEED TO GET TO THE EASTERN SHORE OF CINNABAR ISLAND. HOWEVER WE NEED TO ACTUALLY GET THERE SO WE NEED TO GET A POKEMON THAT CAN KNOW FLY EITHER WAY. THOUGH THAT WON'T BE THAT HARD TO DO SEEING AS WE HAVE A TON OF POKEBALLS. WHAT DO YOU THINK?"

Alex kept to himself that there was one more place, not a glitch, but a place where the 'fourth wall' is thinnest: Gamefreak's office in the Celadon apartments. Though that isn't very likely to have any impact, it was a place to keep in mind.