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Old 05-01-2017, 09:26 AM   #1
Ex-Admiral Insane
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Misdreavus Phantom Isle: The EA-Insane Chapters

Phantom Isle
The Haunted Theme Park

For several decades this remote theme park was a popular tourist attraction for people of all ages. Starting as a small fairground it was built into the land's largest and most sought after family holiday destination, the entire island eventually converted into one enormous theme park incorporating hundreds of rides, entertainment venues, and showcases. Contests were held, friendly trainer battles took place, children were even allowed to hire Pokémon for the day to either keep them company or to battle with in special kiddie events. When the park became so popular that families wished to stay longer than a single day in order to experience everything there was to offer, a grand hotel was built offering special and affordable deals for families and trainers alike. Then one day, several years ago and during the height of the theme park's popularity, a devastating fire on the Ghost Train responsible for the deaths of several adults, trainers, and dozens of children, closed the fairground to the public. Reconstruction work began immediately, but after many unexplained happenings involving serious injury, and in a few cases the death of construction workers, the repairs were put on hold. The spooky events continued long after, with many curious trespassers, as well as the security guards hired to keep them away, disappearing, never to be seen again, or turning up on the mainland frightened out of their wits with no memory of why, or of how they got there. Any and all attempts at reconstruction have since failed, leaving the theme park shrouded in an aura of darkness and mystery. As a result very few dared to venture here, the stench of death and misery allowing the theme park to become a breeding ground for the darker side of the Pokémon world. As supernatural activity in the deserted park increased, a strange purple haze began to appear until eventually the entire island was surrounded by it resulting in a permanent state of darkness shrouding it as natural light was unable to properly filter through. This of course deterred even more people from approaching the area as they deemed it far too dangerous. In recent weeks, however, some rather bizarre events are rumoured to be taking place, and as word spreads of the park once again being open, only now run by ghosts, the theme park has been renamed "The Phantom Isle". Now, some of the more daring adventurers in the land have been contemplating returning to the park to discover for themselves if there is indeed any truth to these amazing stories.

The Park
Despite the lack of human activity in the park during its closure, it seems those from the realm of the dead are quite active in these parts. All of the popular rides remain the same as they were prior to the ghost train event, but over time they seem to have become populated by very unsavoury characters in the form of spectres, poltergeists, and even some of the more mischievous Pokémon who want to manipulate anyone brave enough to enter such a place. If you dare to venture here, you'd best have your wits about you.

Areas:
Rollerquaza: The largest rollercoaster in the park, this ride is designed around the legendary Pokémon Rayquaza and its home, the Sky Pillar of the Hoenn region. The highest peak of the ride reaches, much like the Pokémon itself, high into the clouds above the fog shrouding the park. The final drop leading the rider to a darkened tunnel where people have apparently gone missing for days at a time, reporting a bizarre force as they plunged deep into the shadows.

The Funhouse: The name speaks for itself, though the fun you'll have might not be the sort of fun you are acquainted with. A strange entity exists in the building which seems to emanate evil from the walls and floors, causing even the most nimble of trainers to have trouble keeping their balance in the various rooms.

Mantine Mania: A water-based ride with a twist, not only do you ride through what used to be the serene decorative gardens, there is a waterfall drop and even an underwater segment. Pokémon are rumoured to live in the water and the various surroundings, but if you plan on leaving the ride be wary of getting lost in the now-jungle-like gardens as it could prove to be a very dangerous trek.

Salty Sam's Pirate Ship: Don't be fooled by its light hearted name, this pendulum-like ship ride with its dummy captain is more than it looks. Rumour has it that if the carriage goes completely upside down, the bizarre events begin to unfold with your escape being the last thing on the captain's one-track mind.

Helter Skelter: Seems like your regular climb up, slide down, helter skelter but, unbeknown to its riders, there is more of a twist than you would expect...

Sideshow Alley: Contains all of the normal things you would find in a sideshow with one exception - a memorial wall set up with dozens of plaques in honor of the deceased children who never made it off the ride of a lifetime. Each plaque has a space for flowers to honor their memories if you wish, but beware, for the sad and gloomy atmosphere around here attracts more than curious trainers.

Merry-Go-Round: Looks just like a normal Merry-Go-Round right? Think again. Take the trip of a lifetime, or maybe just your life, and see what mysteries lie within the maze beneath the Merry-Go-Round. Not such a fun-filled looking ride now is it?

The Circus Tent: Want to see the show of a lifetime? Enter the Circus Tent and challenge the bloodthirty ghosts within to a battle upon the stage. Defeat four in a row to reach the Champion - A Dark Pokémon whose identity remains a mystery as nobody has ever made it far enough to win.

Fortune Teller's Tent: Situated in the shadows cast by the majestic circus tent is a much smaller tent which once housed a mystical woman who was said to have powers beyond that of a regular human, being able to see not only into the past, but also into the future. She passed away not too long before the closure of the theme park but nobody thought anything of it, since she was getting on in years. Today, there is still a light coming from her tent, so could it be she still lingers in the theme park, waiting for her next customer?

The Big Wheel: Seems like any old wheel ride, but on a much greater scale. Each carriage can easily hold ten people and the top of the wheel is so high that it cannot be seen from the ground due to it being shrouded in the bizarre violet fog. Recently, there have been rumours of it speeding up, its riders lost, but where?

Ghost Train: Enter if you dare - The Ghost Train, the site of the disaster responsible for the closure of the theme park. Ghostly visits from children lost are reported to have scared many a construction crew away from this site while some of the strongest and darkest Pokémon of all are rumoured to dwell within the burnt out remains of this once popular ride.

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

Contest Halls: Scattered throughout the park are five contest halls, each devoted to a specific contest type; Beauty, Cool, Cute, Smart, and Tough. One contest was held in each hall each day at noon while the park was open, with people flocking in to watch. The contests are now back, though a little different to before, the entry deadline being midnight. Better not be late.

Kiddie Arenas: Sixteen kiddie battle arenas are scattered throughout the park, each devoted to a specific Pokémon type. They're not very big as these were simply a testing ground for children under ten to practice their battle skills with rented Pokémon, though these days they're a little more treacherous.


The Hotel
Situated at the back of the theme park is a grand hotel where guests and their Pokémon stayed whilst visiting. The ground floor has the usual areas such as lobby, restaurant, boutique, and entertainment room, while the downstairs levels house a storeroom and very special casino for its patrons. The hotel is still very active but its guests are far different than you might be used to encountering. The eight upper floors containing the suites are more often than not inhabited by spirits, some being those who perished in the fateful incident that closed the park. Some are restless not realising they are dead, and some are harmless, while others are not. Wander around the hotel and you may find more than you'd bargained for.

Areas:
The Lobby: Upon entering the hotel's main doors, you reach a marble-floored lobby with a check-in desk and huge chandeliers that flicker ominously. Behind the desk lies most of the keys to the various hotels rooms, but an unseen power prevents you from taking more than one at a time. A lone elevator sits at one end, leading up to the rest of the rooms or down to the storeroom and casino.

Restaurant: Through a set of ornate double-doors lies what used to be one of the finest restaurants in the world. All of its tables and chairs remain untouched and the food seems to be frozen in time, no signs of decay at all. Candelabras decorate the tables but they have been seen flying around the room. The kitchen has become a dangerous place, however, located through a saloon door behind the food counters. The walls, still lined with the sinister, sharp utensils previously used by the various chefs glint in the moonlight and seem to sway on their own. A wrong move could lead to you being the latest delicacy.

Boutique: A gift shop selling theme park souvenirs, you might find more than a keyring or two floating about in here.

Entertainment Room: A place for visitors to unwind after spending a long day wandering around the park. A pool table is it's central focal point, although there are several arcade machines lining the walls as well as many tables set out with board games for children to play. Tron and Jumanji are child's play compared to what goes on in here nowadays.

Storeroom: A vast room filled with everything the hotel might need and plenty of spare hotel furniture of all kinds. Pokémon have taken the furniture as an invitation to make themselves at home and quite a large variety of Pokémon can be found here not wanting to be disturbed by anything, let alone humans.

Members-Only Casino: Situated beneath the hotel is a large casino that was previously members-only. Reports speak of a barrier that you still seemingly cannot pass without possessing one of the members' cards handed out to adults who visited the hotel and casino in its heyday. You might end up gambling more than you bargained for, however, so beware...

The Upper Floors: There are eight upper floors to the hotel where the park's guests stayed, and some still dwell. One great mystery seems to be surrounding the sixth floor, or lack thereof, as the entire level seems to have vanished. Curious, as it's clearly visible from the outside, it just doesn't appear to exist within. The key to room thirteen is also rumoured to be located somewhere within the hotel, its sinister contents being protected as best they can. Can these two mysteries possibly be connected?

Last edited by Ex-Admiral Insane; 05-22-2017 at 05:06 PM.
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Old 05-01-2017, 09:36 AM   #2
Ex-Admiral Insane
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Recorded History

Update Batch #1
Spoiler: show
(Mwahaha, welcome to my park, guys and gals. I will be your reaper and host for the remainder of your stay. Should any of you be dissatisfied about the results of your visit, please feel free to inform my secretary. *points to a dead Rattata on the desk* Now let’s get started.)

~Please reply in Slategray~

The Park

Funhouse
Missingo Master:
Your Scolipede hurled along the asphalt with single determination. In earlier days the paths would have been bustling with activity of families standing in line, clowns blowing up balloons and cotton candy dispensers working overtime. Now, the wide breadth served only as your Scolipede’s personal fastlane. It made another corner as it circled a pile of debris. Nothing seemed to want to slow it down, not even the strange purple mist that should have warranted a careful trot.

Your mind was on running on similar tracks when it came to the disregard for safety. You had heard of the stories surrounding the island; ghosts operating the scarred amusement rides, some of which their visitors never returned from, but had met your share of ghosts before and remained unworried of that fact. The Banette that floated by Salazar’s tail was the unliving proof of that. It had been a while since anything new crept from the shadows at you though. The various adventures of enraged Slakings and Frontier Battle rooms all became a drag and a bit the same after a while. That’s why you decided to shake things up for yourself and see if that stalwart mind of yours was what it used to be, something your Meowth would call you crazy for. He could have stayed at home but the cat Pokémon tagged along with you nearly anywhere, even if he objected to your ideas of fun, openly, due to the rumours of vicious ghosts spreading their deadly state to whoever crossed their path.

Your Banette took the objection as a sign of insult. She herself was a ghost after all, and an experienced one at that - if anything, the ghosts would have her to worry about. The two argue but are quickly cut down by their trainer. Your Banette though, giving a last grudging glow at you before gliding to the Scolipede’s head as look-out.

The strange building that was the Funhouse came into a dim view in the distance. The house was an odd, white, wooden, obtuse, slanted, twisting, jagged, unevenly reassembled chamber that was scratched with pastel colours and attached to four similar containers in a manner much like Lego bricks couldn’t. A toddler’s drawing come to life was the first thing that came to mind. Immediate need for deconstruction was the second. Though you suppose its laughable exterior was the point of the design. Against the backdrop of greyed-out terrain and purple mist though, the place had the appearance of an ill-begotten castle surrounded by a moat of deadly fog. The friendly place had gained an edge of terror that struck anyone caught looking at it.

The irregular shape of the building leaned over you as you came up close. Even the lime-green door was slanted at an angle, and unfortunately for Salazar, made to accommodate the average sized human. It would appear he couldn’t enter through the door with you, or at least not outside his Pokéball. A large signpost of warnings and safety precautions stood by the entrance side. Some of the grime covering it was wiped away, probably by a previous visitor you think (perhaps hope). The details of the house were the five rooms one could enjoy, all seemingly connected in a way that was kept a secret from the visitors for entertainment purposes.
Living Room
Hallway
Bedroom
Stairwell
Bathroom
“I see you’ve taken to visit the Funhouse,” chuckles a voice behind you. It was not human what you saw when you faced the voice, but it had the vague shape of something akin to a human. Yellow skin, white mane and large pointy ears between which a top hat rested. The creature bent forward, supported by his smooth cane. “It certainly is one of our most playful enterprises. Play is such an important part of life; wouldn’t you agree?” Your various adventures aided you and you instantly recognised it as being a Pokémon, one that could talk.


“Ohohoho, you’re not surprised by my ability to talk, are you?” He looks at Meowth and Myrtle in turn, “it’s certainly been a while since I last met Pokémon that could talk like I do.” (Was he eavesdropping on you?) “How refreshing.” He smiles at all of you in as much a way a Hypno could.

He hums to himself and strokes his mane as he looks you over. “Hmm.” He holds his hands on both ends of his cane in front of him, and then closes them. In a magician’s trick, the cane vanished between his hands. After opening them, his left hand blew purple flames which he held in his palm face-up. A small black box materialised inside which he delicately gripped in his hand. “Now then,” he says, the flames still licking his fingers that caged them. “Ordinarily I would give our visitors this remote as a gift. But you on the other hand, I think I can give a choice.” He holds out his right palm and a similar violet flame shot out. Another black box appeared in his hand after which the flames receded into his skin to uncover them. “Would you like the remote, or the walkie-talkie?” he looks at you questioningly. They weren’t real, you could tell. They were made of a cheap, plastic material and had most of their buttons painted on.

The Hypno asks you one last time. “Which toy would you prefer to take with you?”

How do you respond?


Mantine Mania
Gemini Spark:
Delilah could only look onto her trainer in a mix of despair and concern. ’Was this their limit? Was all they had come through for naught?’ she asked herself as she looked upon her trainer who remained in his anguished state, clutching his head in pain until finally, tears streamed down his cheek. She couldn’t let her trainer down, not after what they’ve managed to accomplish; the Whale Island, the battle with an Espeon. If this was their limit, were they destined to become part of something bigger all along, and remain forgotten forever? ‘No’, she thought. In the absence of hope in Hyrem, his Pokémon took it upon herself to fill that void and show what they had left to fight back with. Her orbs glowed with renewed vigour and glowed brighter and brighter until engulfing her entire body to shine a bright light that caused her body to thicken and her tail to develop.

Hyrem remained in his state of turmoil until he noticed the rays of light shining through his tears, and a scaly but soft skin rubbing against him. “Delilah?” he asked after folding down his hands to reveal the newly shaped Lanturn floating with her new angler in front of her. The sight of his Pokémon evolving shone a new light on his tears, and his faith. He hugged his Pokémon back, tears still streaming down his cheeks; but this time, it was for something.

There was a renewed sense of hope that burned in the trainer’s chest, and it alleviated some of the burden on his mind, the voices now receding. With clear intent, Hyrem orders them to land a critical blow, and sent Delilah and the Frillish out, each resonating the trainer’s vigour as they swam up high to scale the wall’s length.

The Harvester refused to let them get away. Even after witnessing the miracle that was Delilah’s evolution she remained just as determined to hold her grudge and gaze on the Frillish to deliver another Lock-Down. Delilah crossed the empty hooks that remained from the defeated eyes to swim up to those that remained, electricity cackling by her antenna and bursting into a Thunderbolt that coursed from eye to the next and then the next with near explosive power; a result of her newfound strength. The tiny Frillish rushes behind her in the distance and summons a torrent of tidal water that she Surfs across the wall’s path, washing away a host of eyes left behind by Delilah. The two exchange glances of confidence as their combined effort cleared a large section of the wall before swimming up the last that remained. The Harvester keeps her eyes locked on the blue Frillish and prepares herself for what she deemed to be the final blow. Hyrem takes note of the Harvester’s focus of attention and kicks into a dive at her, his hands extended at her costume and the many adorning eyes. Hyrem gripped the costume tightly and popped as many of them as he could, leading to the Harvester’s momentary loss of focus when she turns and shrieks at him. More eyes fly off the wall to fill in the vacant sockets while Delilah releases another bolt of energy that charged across those that were left behind. The Frillish, once more swimming behind the Lanturn, prepares a second Surf attack and sends the tide of salt water right after her ally. The Harvester turns to the blue Frillish with the help of her Lock Down and releases an even larger and brighter burst of electricity in the form of a Zap Cannon that catches the blue Frillish off guard. The Surf dies down before it finishes, leaving a plethora of undealt eyes to gaze at the Frillish who helplessly sinks to the floor. Male Frillish is KOed.

Hyrem and Delilah look on in horror as their last ally lies at the bottom of the room, the two quickly turning their sights onto the Harvester with grit determination. The voices start culminating in Hyrem’s head once more and force him to release his grip on the Harvester. The voices of Tuner and TA, which had just died down to an echo, resurfaced together with the others that added a pounding weight to his mind. The voices were faint but many, and rang in his ears and head to remind him of the pain he had in his eyes. The pain stacked with renewed memories of having gone through this countless times before, each one from a different victim, but to Hyrem felt like they were his own. There was a sense of doubt in his sanity as he recalled his memories. Had he really gone through this before? And was all of this nothing more than some sort of reincarnative joke? He remembered the pain of Tuner as his eyes were ripped out, and the fear that settled in TA when his vision was lost, and of those countless others that had gone before them. They were all his now; each one of the curses that took a person’s eyes were his, reminding him of the sheer hopelessness of the situation. So many others had gone before him, what would make this different?

Costume: 20/20
Wall:15 eyes remain

What will Hyrem do?


The Ghost Train
Liltwick:
The cowardly guide runs off, leaving you to fend for yourself as you approach the park’s main gates. Your two companions stayed by your side, sort of. The Pachirisu prefers to climb and scatter his way to your head, clinging on as you stride through the parks. The land, as you noticed, was deserted and had clearly been so for a long time. There was little in the way of eeriness in the park, safe for the byzantium fog on land and the blanket of storm clouds in the unending night sky which never rained. No, most of it was dusty, overturned or cracked; nothing spiritual or ghostly about any of that. The furthest to a scare you got was from your own partner Litwick as he burps a practical joke in your face.

Thus, you manage to reach your destination unharmed and with little difficulty, perturbed only by the lack of sight you had through the mist, but there it leaned; The Ghost Train. Having heard about this sight and being naturally attracted to the darker side of life, your sole intention was to visit the area for yourself and see it with your own two eyes. If anything was to jump out and scare you, the sight of the disaster that triggered the mystical occurrences was a good place to start - not that the initial sight could though, only making you stare in marvel at what a sight the fire would have been.

The entire ride was built as a large mansion through which train tracks swerved, that, in its old days, used to carry its passengers past the frightening animatronics. Grey bricks climbed the walls of the place, dislodging themselves over time, while the grounds surrounding the place were planted with dead trees and bushes - though you’re not sure if that was done purposefully or as a direct result from years of abandonment. The building itself served as a grim reminder of the polarising sides of life and death, as construction was only halfway completed; one side stood in its full haunted glory while the other remained in that of a burnt-down, crumbling ruin. The two sides would have remained eternally separated from one another by the white tarp, were it not for the train tracks that had survived the fire and crawled from exit to entrance. A scaffold of ladders and plateaus gave the construction sheet its own unique, skeletal character with which to separate and stand out from both the living and lifeless borders of the building.

It’s not soon after that you hear the familiar sounds of footsteps. Strange’’, you tell yourself. You wouldn’t think ghosts made sounds when they moved. The dull, shapeless figure of a man looms in the fog when you look back, and paces slowly towards you before stopping to stare in your direction.

Before you can say anything, you’re interrupted by the noise of a loud whistle bellowing inside the mansion. You can hear the sounds of raining steel, pounding rhythmically and getting louder as it drew close. Red lights pour out of the collapsing tunnel to your right and become the source of another ghastly whistle. The red lights emerge out of the tunnel, followed by a cloud of black smoke and the rolling barrel of a large beast. An ear-splitting screech rings in the air and forces you to cover your ears when the figure turns its sharp corner and heads straight for you. The figure of a large skull adorned the black hunk of machinery, red lights oozing out of its sockets and onto you as it drew near. The locomotive belches a few short puffs and the wheels let out a sigh from restraining themselves. The white skull passes you, its red gaze lingering on you as it did, while the train halts to a slow standstill to let the back carriage rest by your side.

The carriage consisted of black metal sheets held together by a framework of ivory piping, and embellished with frosted windows and rusted doors that blocked most of the view - though you were certain there was no one inside. Behind you still lies the ominous shape in the fog, which now continued its course towards you accompanied by another, smaller figure; and whose intentions remained enigmatic and potentially threatening to you.

How do you react?


Raves:
Your own personal Charon didn’t have the mind for such places it seems, as he left you behind in a buzz of Yanma larvae and unfulfilled gratitude. Some of your own Pokémon had declined the invitation of coming to the island as well, perhaps out of a similar fear for the island. Not that this was a place for just anyone to drop by; you had heard glimpses of the park’s tragic history before - the boatman having filled you in on any missing details before he left you. Despite this, the story didn’t do much in the way of upset you but, rather, invoked a sense of adventure that you hadn’t felt in a long time.

Upon reaching the gate, you call out one of your more trusted Pokémon; a Gothorita by the name of Paine. The mute Pokémon walked by your side as you moved from ride to ride, inspecting each location for you by ways of her psychic sense. At each place, either you or your Gothorita nodded your head in disapproval - There was a sense of energy in the area, you could feel it, and it turned and twisted to cause knots in your mind or stomach whenever you got close to one of these rides, but you were looking for something specific. You didn’t know what, but you were certain you’d know when you came upon it; your Gothorita would make sure of that, even if she didn’t say much.

Then you find it: The Ghost Train. Towering out of the bank of fog was the large building that housed the train ride of mechanical ghosts and spooks, and perhaps even a few real ones. This was the right place you sensed. The unanswered question of what had happened to the burned-down ride sparked your curiosity and your Gothorita chimes in approval.

To first thing you note in your stride towards the place is the huge white tarp covering the building’s midsection. You instantly recall the stories that had been told; of the various attempts that had been made to restore the place, only to have the workers refuse stepping fit inside after confessing sightings of ghosts and children. The construction, as was clearly visible by the diving tarp, was half done already.

A small shadow of a figure stands atop the train station in the distance, covered by the stream of purple mist that blurred its details. It stirs and seemingly moves around as if to look directly at you before two more wisps join its side. You stop in your tracks. A small sense of fear settles in as you’re unsure of the identity or nature of the creature that kept its gaze on you.

Before anything could happen though, the sound of deep whistle echoes from the building to attract your attention. You can hear a cacophony of metal banging onto metal and note an ominous red light piercing through the fog, blinding you where you stood. Through the glimmer though you notice the faint glimpses of black smoke enveloping the purple mist before you. Another whistle blows as if to announce the coming of the black-clad skull that ploughed out from the smoke and kept its blinding, red sight on you. The massive skull figure barrels towards you in a sequence of banging metal, whistle blowing and interrogating eyes. An eerie screech like that of a banshee rings in the air and in your ears, near forcing you to cover them, before the pounding monster turned its gaze and body away from you.

With the light turned away from you, your vision returns and you recognise the dark skull-faced figure to be a train. It thumps the tracks below a few last times before coming to a humming standstill beside the mysterious figure. From your distance you didn’t have to think twice about what you saw: there was something incredibly off about the train. It wasn’t just the way it looked or even the fact that it was running on tracks that had been desolate for who knows how long. It was the sheer size of the thing and the impracticality at being an amusement park ride. Most carts would have been open to the environment to allow passengers to witness the interior, but this was a closed train carriage of a real train; black metal walls and roofs that an otherworldly sleek quality to them were adorned with a skeletal white lining.

The figure had turned its attention away from you in light of the coming train, but you witness, as you continue your stride towards the place ever so carefully, the expressionless face turning its gaze back to you with neither sign of hostility or kindness.

How do you react?

-----

The Hotel
The Lobby
Aposteriori:
You were somewhat undeterred by the vacant park and its uninviting mist, having come to the hotel in search of the paranormal. The lobby, as you could notice at first glance, was in dire need of some custodial staff. Despite the room being covered in marble, what once would have been a marvellous sight of gleaming stone and shining light was now a dank grey of filth and had but a glim of light cast from the chandelier. Cobwebs marked every corner, with some dropping off only to be blown around in whatever faint breeze travelled by. A lone standing drink together with a rusted bell and vacancy sign were the only things that covered the otherwise dust-filled desk. A series of keys hung behind, one for every room with a few removed from their rusted nails.

You walk over to the counter, hoping to find a friendly face to help you, and call out into the silence. “Is anyone here?” Your voice travels down the hallways and back to you, bringing with it a whisper of your own cry.

Nothing. A faint growl from the ajar entrance is all that answers you in this deserted place.

“I would like to stay the night please!”

Again nothing. This time even the doors don’t answer your calls.

You look around to see if anything was missing. There was a door beside the counter next to which a plaque read ‘Restaurant’. On one end of the corridor was another door with the plaque ‘Games Room’, on the other end was the elevator doors, practically rusted shut from lack of use.

“Why hello.”

Your look over your shoulder in shock to find a man-sized, yellow figure behind the reception desk, complete with top hat, ruffled white neck hair and a diamond-crested cane.


“You wish to stay here?” he speaks with a gentlemanly hum. “Greetings, my name is Nero.” He holds up a hand to stop you from responding. “Please. Yes, I am a Pokémon, and yes, I can talk. Let’s not dwell on these matters any longer or we might be still be here next morning.” Having said that, the creature looks you over, his eyes glancing from your head down to your attire and shoes before returning back to your face with an unimpressed gaze. “We haven’t had visitors in quite a while”, he continues with a hint of surprise in his voice.

He turns around to the keys behind him. “We have very few guests at the moment, so we’re free to choose a room that will be more accustomed to your taste.” He looks you over one more time and starts picking at the keys one by one. “Hmm, perhaps a window view. Or no, one with a king sized bed. Or perhaps one with the exquisite bathroom. A free massage is always well received though.” He continues talking out loud as he inspects each key at a time, wondering if it might be the right fit for you.

“Dahh,” he finally utters at himself. “Of course. Why didn’t I think of that earlier? I should have the guest tell me what he wants. “After all,” he looks at you, “the guest is king.” He shakes his head in disappointment at himself. “Young man, could you help me? What type of room would you like; Large, small, refined, modest, antique? It might help if you could tell me a little about yourself.”

He thimbles with his diamond headed cane and looks up in thought and then back down at you with shrewd eyes. His voice calms to a smooth, sinister pace. “Perhaps tell me what your goal is in life? Are you a businessman trying to conquer the world? Or an Olympic swimmer hoping to set the world record? Do you dream of claiming victory over every combatant you come by?”

He looks at you one more time. His eyes squint even more as if trying to look through you. “Or you might tell me about your wrongdoings? What is your major vice for example? There is no shame in divulging a pet peeve - we are all but human after all. Are you arrogant and proud, envious and wrathful, or..perhaps..lustful?” He’s quiet for a second as he ponders that last bit. “I should hope not. We prefer not to accommodate such types, though we wouldn’t refuse you if you did.”

“Of course; fears are a more primal instinct,” his voice becomes a near whisper, “and might allow me to peer deeper into your soul’s very core.” The light flicker but for a brief moment and the same faint howl growls by the door once again with a creak. The whole lobby room which creaked, urging you to answer him, felt like it had just come alive upon hearing the question. It wasn’t that there were any eyes you could see anywhere, but you could feel that something was staring at you.

“So tell me, please, the Hypno continues, “What room would you like? What suite would match your character? It is only fitting that the room should be suited to your needs.”

How do you answer?


Marblezone:
Ghosts were but a shell, a relic of the past. One that was best left where it was and not something to be uncovered or kept in this mortal world. Your intentions were not to play or appease those lost souls. You were here for darker reasons; the insatiable appetite that lured you to remote and dark places such as this - the power and simplicity in the Dark-type’s nature to chase their desire. The Phantom Isle was a perfect place for exploring such an ambition. Its melting pot of dark corners and desolated paths mixed with the occult energy that weaved through it provided the perfect training ground for which to unleash your Pokémon on.

You were familiar with the hotel by now. In the past, you had visited the area on occasion for some peace and relaxation. So it came as no surprise when you entered, that the hallways were devoid of any life in both creature and interior. The same dust-filled desk stood where it always was, unmanned. The chandelier’s light, which never seemed to die out, cast a soft glow of grey and red across the hotel marble.

“I come to seek spirits in need. My Pokemon grow restless with lack of hostility; if we can be of service to any of you, make yourselves heard!” Your words were not soft-spoken or in lack of vigour as you addressed the lobby. You were here to lure out whatever spirits remained and sought to take advantage of them in whatever way you could. You gaze across the walls and ceiling, hoping to catch a glimpse of a response.

“Oh spirits, heed my calls: Come forth and challenge me.”

You turn to the voice that stood behind the desk. A yellow creature with white mane and top hat held his cane up high as if to summon a native American ancestor. “Really though”, the creature’s nose twitches in mild annoyance, “what an absolutely absurd gesture. And to think you believe someone would answer such a call.” He composed himself back in a gentlemanly fashion and leaned on his back staff, staring at you with judgemental eyes.

Your first response is to protest but the Pokémon stabs his cane in your direction. “Quiet, Mr. Helford! I know very well who you are. I’ve sensed your presence ever since you stepped foot onto this land from the moment you first visited this place.”

“Luther C. Helford; the Dark type master,” he spat out each word like they were curses.

“I’ll make no secret of it Mr. Helford; I despise you. I and my associates worry for our very lives when you enter the premises. We don’t particularly enjoy the Dark type but we’ve come to a mutual understanding and tolerate one another’s presence. You, on the other hand, are an entirely different matter; purposefully indulging yourself in the dark type’s spirit with complete and utter disregard for the psychics and ghosts that suffer at their hands. And now, you enter our very home and actively declare a fight with whichever poor soul happens to float by.”

His eyes are like daggers when they look at you. “It is clear you do not fully understand the basis of their existence, and I would love nothing more than to strike you down right now. However, such an action would be beneath me and I have very clear instructions from my master.” He taps his cane against the ground, producing a knock that echoes down the hallway and reaches the elevators, signalling them to open and spill their light down the corridor floor.

“Despite our differences, we would like to ask something of you. We have a few problems for which we lack certain, skills shall we say. You, however, might be able to help us resolve these issues. Take the elevator and bring it to the sixth floor. There you will find the ghosts you seek. You will not,” he emphasises, “fight them. It is our intention to have you resolve the issue in the hopes of better understanding our plight.”

“If, however, you decide you want to be stuck in your ways and refuse to accept opposing views – then take the elevator to the storage room. We have an infestation of sorts that requires immediate attention and we’ve been unable to enter the place. Go there, and you will find those ‘hostile’ ghosts you’ve been looking for.”

The choice was laid out bare in front of you: Take the elevator to the sixth floor in the hopes of understanding the ghosts’ resentment to pass on, or take it to the storage room where you would find the challenge you’ve been looking for. Of course, there could always be other options.

How do you respond?


Entertainment Room
Electric Blue Eye:
Lost, tired and hunted by the authorities, you inch away closer to anything that would resemble civilization. An abandoned amusement park was about the best you could get at this point though. Perhaps for the best. Considering you were the prime suspect in an arson case, you could do with a little retreat away. Still, the lack of human presence in the area made the whole place even less inviting then the authorities.

The land was covered in an almost perpetual mist that stretched from the coast far across the amusement park and beyond. You note various decrepit structures rising from the bank of fog; a tilting Ferris wheel, tracks which most likely belonged to a roller coaster, even a few tent tops erupted as hills above the white. The biggest though, by far, was the tall, rectangular building on the side. From your standpoint you could make out the letters that adorned the entrance bow. HOTEL. After your long travel from places far away, a place to rest and possibly eat was the most comforting thing in the area and so you set out, hoping to find such a thing.

The doors were unlocked and slightly open. Entering wasn’t a problem. Finding some good help from the workforce was another matter. Seeing as there was no workforce to start with. The hallways on either side were thick in dust and cobwebs and a lone trolley was parked with some spilt baggage. Nothing of interest, just clothes. The reception desk in front of you was bare, safe for some keys hanging on the wall behind it, and a bell on top of it. Strangely, the desk and keys were the only thing not covered in dust. No point in ringing the bell you reckon, and instead head for the keys on the wall. At this point you could practically pick which room you’d want to stay at.

You make your way around the dusted desk only to find you halting yourself. At the end of one hallway stood the elevator going up. On the other side, stood a door. Next to which a plague read ‘Games Room’. What was interesting though, was the soft neon glow that spilt out underneath it. Was someone or something here perhaps still working? You fumble through your pockets and remember the spare change you had on you. You certainly could play a few games. No harm in at least looking.

The doors open with a loud creak, but easily. In front of you stood aisles of slot machines and arcade games. Far to one side you could make out billiards tables. Some with cues and balls still scattered across it. The glow came from the aisles in front of you though. Each separate stand had its own neon colour. You notice the familiar games. Pin-Voltorb, Gulpin-Man, Weedles, Super Aipom Bros. There was more than one of each. Though, sadly, not more than one of each to play on. Some were broken, damaged glass or dust in the machinery. Their presence reminded you of the stillness that pervaded the park. Some, luckily, were as lively as ever.

At the very end of the aisles you hear a faint hum where two machines stood side by side on an open space. One was black. One was white. You can’t exactly make out what they are though and go over to inspect. The crackle of some of the broken arcade games give off a warning as you pass them, but there’s little sense in taking warning from broken machinery.

The first you inspect is the bright white one. Compared to the rest of the room, it was immaculately clean. The name at the top said ‘The Game of Life’ and various pictures of happy children playing along with Pokémon skipping through meadows were dotted across the side as advertisement for it. You go around to look at the black one which, despite its colouring, managed to liven itself by emitting black light on top of it. The pictures of advertisement on this arcade game were of skulls and ghosts; also of children playing along or Pokémon skipping through meadows. The name at the top said ‘The Game of Death’.

Clearly the two were meant to be as opposites of each other. Though what the games were supposedly going to be you didn’t know. You take a step back to get a better look and notice something else; a cable, that span from one console to the next was visibly slashed. A few loose sparks rained down every few seconds. Clearly, it was meant to be the establishing link between the two opposite consoles, something someone might not have agreed with.

Either way, the Arcade provided enough games to play on first sight. Besides the black and white consoles, there were arcade games and pool tables that remained in a viable state. You also hadn’t investigated the whole floor yet as the room extended to back a bit further.

What do you do?


Update Batch #2
Spoiler: show
(Welcome Bleu to my haunted collection of updates. My receptionist will fill out your forms. *Points to dead Rattata on desk*)
(Empoleon Dynamite and Uhhhhh: I will take up your adventures at a later date, leaving the remaining spots open for newcomers. Both of you are next in line though the first moment a spot opens up after that. I’m sorry for having to postpone it.)

~Please reply in Slategray~

The Park

Funhouse
Missingo Master:
There had to be reason you would be offered a second option, or so your line of thinking went. From what you gathered, the psychic Hypno liked you and must thus be offering something of incredible value if it wasn’t supposed to be standard, and so you make your pick known out loud.

“Very well,” the Hypno says as he flashes the same purple fire to disintegrate the other option of a remote. No turning back on your choice now. He hands you the walkie-talkie with the number ‘1’ painted in a big white letter on the back. “Why not have one yourselves,” he says with glee towards Meowth and Myrtle before producing two more walkie-talkies out of thin and shoving them into their hands. They were exactly the same as yours except for the number ‘2’ and ‘3’ given to your Meowth and Banette respectively.

You obtained:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Item
3 x Toy Walkie-Talkies
A closer look at them reveals that they were indeed toys. There was one large button on the side and a nob on top to switch between stations but neither of them did anything.

“One last thing before you go,” his voice adopts a dark tone. “This ride closes at midnight, please make sure to return before then. We wouldn’t want you to get lost and stay there.”

His voice and face light up again. “Well, I best be off then,” he tips his hat. “Don’t forget to enjoy yourself,” he points his cane to the door as it opens with a creak, startling those of you with tender nerves. Once you turn back to the Hypno, whether it was to thank him or question, you notice he’s gone, leaving a sweep of dust where he stood. Not even your Pokémon had noticed where he disappeared off to in such a short second.

The hinges squeak even further when you push open the door, revealing a long, narrow stretch of hallway that seemed to go on forever until it hit a door. Not much else could be said about the room. Like the exterior of the house the inside was white on all sides with pastel colours painted in strange and childish patterns; spiral, dots, squares, trapezoids – all the shapes were there. Only a few decorations in the form of a table, a lamp and a rug that stretched from your side to the other, were glued to the floor to give the impression of being lived in.

The door slams with a loud thump once you enter, closing you off from outside and welcoming you to the house. With no seemingly other way to go, the group moves in a single file through the narrow corridor. The wood gives away on your second step and quickly slips out from under you. You attempt to regain your balance but feel thrown off by the walls that zipped past you with chugging sounds. The wall opposite you raced towards you as if rushing to slam you down.

Then everything suddenly stops moving and you find yourself standing still by the door, holding your balance. Looking back, you can see the carpet is still gently rolling. The first trick of the house, you realise; a moving floor. At least you got to the other side quicker.

The door was once again, oddly shaped to fit only the corresponding frame. Just when you reach for the handle, you hear a voice in the back of your head. “Will you stay and play with us?” The voice was instant and unmistakable, and dead right after it spoke. A glance at your Pokémon shows that neither of them spoke, and both look at you worried for your sudden halt, apparently not having heard the voice themselves. Still, against what might have been better judgement you press on through, somewhat hoping you imagined it.

This room was definitely the living room. It had tables, sofas, chairs, lamps, carpets, TVs, stereos, bookcases, plant pots, board games, even domino pieces that were arranged in a pattern. The whole place would have looked like an ordinary living room if they weren’t all glued to the walls and ceiling, each of which slanted at its own peculiar angle in open defiance of the rest. Right in the centre erected a small rubber hill held in place by a pole that reached the ceiling. The moment you take your first step inside, as if noticing your entry, the whole floor trembles with mechanical churning, similar to the one in the hallway. The segments of hardwood that made up the floor broke apart and moved, turned or rocked on their spot, engaging a playfield of unstable footing to play on.

It was fairly simple what you had to do; there were door on all sides of the room. All you had to do was move in a straight line across the room towards your destination, and you could have avoided most of the traps. You step onto the first game piece, two narrow strips that moved back and forth at different speeds, when the same voice calls to you again. “Will you stay and play with us?” You lose your focus and stumble, throwing yourself straight into a glass wall that appeared as if out of nowhere. You recover and take a closer look. It seems you wouldn’t be able to cross in one straight line after all. In addition to the moving floor, the room was a maze of glass panes designed to force its visitors in predetermined paths, all of which lead to the foam hill in the centre.

Well you were here for fun. Now go have fun. ~ feel free to describe the traps in the room and how your group crosses them.


The Ghost Train
Liltwick: ~ After this, you and fishyfool will be updated together as long as you stay together.
With little hesitance you decide to accept the train’s ominous invitation and head through the carriage doors. Your Pachirisu continues to beg you to reconsider but decisions based on fear would not take control and lead you. Instead, an interesting development based on confronting the steel monster was what you hoped and craved. The interior was a welcome sight, standing in stark contrast to the gloomy outdoors with its bright lights and soft cushions spread on the two benches on either side. Gently, you place yourself on one of the benches, all the while taking in the sight and expecting something peculiar to happen at any moment.

The train remains in its motionless state yet trembling and you start to wonder about the mysterious figure in the fog and if it would catch up to you. Was it perhaps attempting to scare you into the train, or perhaps trying to dissuade you in the first place? Your memories and thoughts are interrupted and answered by the slow and dramatic approach of footsteps outside. With the light reflecting off the carriage windows you can only discern the soft shape of the dark figure walking beside the station. While not easily scared, you and your Pokémon hold your breath for a brief moment as you’re kept in wonder.

Then the carriage doors open, and the footsteps become louder. Entering the train was the small figure of a black and white clothed girl followed by the tall figure of a young man aged a few years ahead of you. The two turn to you to in silence and look you over. Before either of you can say anything to one another you hear a separate voice calling to you from the mists.

“Stop! That train’s not for-!”

As if to drown the voice of reason, the carriage doors close behind the man and the trains sets into motion. With slow, repeated chugs, the wheels hit the tracks in a symphony of steel and concrete. Out of the window you can make out the dim sight of a yellow creature looking at you with eyes that flare in both distress and malice.

You take one last quiet look at your new accomplice before the two of you enter the repaired tunnel of the Ghost Train. Black sheets of shadow hug the trains windows while the carriage’s lamps pass out momentarily at every thump until it reaches the steady rhythm of a heart. There was no turning back now.

What do you say/do?


Fishyfool: ~ After this, you and Liltwick will be updated together as long as you stay together.
While you’re left in wonder of the train’s inexplicable lack of reason, the three enigmatic shades ahead of you decide to accept its offer. Before you even knew it, you found yourself walking into the same direction towards the doors’ haunting light. Your senses return, if perhaps momentarily, to question you on your endeavour. The Gothorita beside you remained in her calm disposition as she looks back at you. You usher her on to go ahead, perhaps out of fear, perhaps out of reason. Pokémon were more well known for holding their ground, if only at times by a trainer’s command. This, who knows, might be a just reason for exploiting that unspoken gospel.

You walk up the station’s steps and pass the sleek black carriage. You can make out the shape of what appears to be a boy, almost a man, and what appeared to be two Pokémon by his side, sitting on the carriage’s bench. You’re not halted by this recent development, but feel slightly more relaxed as the idea of a threat dwindles, if only upheld by the unanswerable question of his presence.

The doors open as silently as the world outside, welcoming you in with little restraint. Your Gothorita walks ahead of you as ordered before you quickly, but calmly, follow her suit. You have but a moment to glance at the trainer and take him in, his face mask being his most distinguishing feature, before a voice from the shadows calls to you.

“Stop! That train’s not for you!”

In some haunted attempt to silence the voice, the doors trap mercilessly behind you and the train’s whistle bellows with the belch of smoke. Your slightly caught off guard by the sudden motion beneath your feet as the train shifts into a steady pace. Through the door windows you can see a yellow figure of a man beckoning towards you before the train moves away. You take one final glance at the quiet boy you shared the carriage with, who stares back at you with equal eyes of question. Both of you are thrown into the dark abyss of the tunnel, left with nothing but the carriage light, which decided to ominously flicker and underscore the mood.

What do you say/do?


-----

The Hotel

The Lobby
Aposteriori:
The Hypno listens intently, not glancing away for even a second, as you detail your aspiration in life, your desires and wishes for your stay. Finally, you come to your vice of smoking and with it the end of your story.

“Ohohoh,” the Hypno chuckles, “I think we can hardly call smoking a deplorable sin; it’s more of a vice wouldn’t you say? No worries sir, there’s absolutely nothing to be ashamed about. But what an interesting story you have; your endeavour to research the flying types is rather refreshing I might say. It fills my heart with joy to see youngsters with such an ambition and thirst for knowledge. I think we can cater exactly to your needs here, and gladly so.” He turns to the hanging stack of keys behind him. “Now let’s see, research and science - I do think was on the fifth floor. Now as for room, antique, flying, maybe 34, or was it 67, no wait…”

He continues mumbling his thoughts to himself, leaving you anxiously waiting. “…or was it one. Ah, now I got it, it’s room 99 but which one…” He continues on for a while again. Finally, he cheers in a state of eureka and hands you the key to your room. “Here we go, Room 99.4, yes that was it, a fine room indeed. I hope you’ll find it to your liking. Despite the odd number he presented, you take the key from the smiling Hypno. “And don’t forget your complementary hotel gift, our way of saying thanks for your stay.” He hands you a couple of berries.

You obtained:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Item
1 x Key to Room 99.4,
2 x Oran Berries,
2 x Persim Berries and
2 x Lum Berries
The Hypno tips his hat in a polite farewell as you take off for your room. The elevator doors, as you quickly realised, were out of order, thus forcing you to take the stairs. On your trip there, you manage to take in the other hallways. All of them, with not a single exception, had poor lighting, overturned carpets, dust and some were even littered with thrash. It didn’t look like the hotel was in business at all but, rather like much of the rest of the park, left in a state of grim disrepair. Your own hallway wasn’t any better. Sure the lighting was a slight improvement over the others but the buzzing that came off the lamps wasn’t reassuring.

When passing the many doors on either side, you notice the odd numbering that made no sense at all, 33.4 was followed by 12.5 and then by 84.3 for example before going back to 33.5. The hallways split seemingly countless times in unimaginable turns, leaving you wandering the floor for quite some time. By chance, you manage to pass the room with number 99.4, if only because it was the only door that had received a fresh coat of paint and was adorned with a bronze lock.

You turn the key and open the door with a rusted creak before a bright flash hits your eyes and blinds you. You stumble around a while, almost scratching your eyes in pain before your vision slowly returns in splashes. In front of you stood, by all accounts, an antique room in the style of the 19th century. A hardwood floor covered with a stitched rug, off-colour white wallpaper on all sides and the flames of the chandelier and kerosene lamp to shed light. Opposite you was the wooden frame of the four poster bed, practically overflowing with its many layers of sheets and embroidered pillows. Beside the bed were the two slender, white, drawn curtains covering the small stretch of windows. Looking further around you find a dressing table, closet, coffee table, nightstand - all in the matching style - and a small bookcase with literature from the greats like King, Lindqvist, Stoker, Rice and Le Fanu; all at your disposal while you stayed. The only thing that didn’t match the setting was the black box beside the bed that was the telephone. You instantly recall the Hypno having mentioned a masseuse, and reason you could probably use it to call for room service or other luxuries if requested.

What do you want to do first?


Lt. BLEU™: ~ please don’t forget to add a link to your profile in either your signature or replies
You crashed rather violently into the deserted theme park, landing right outside a run-down shamble of a hotel. With your time machine in need of time itself to repair, the irony of which was lost on you, you decided you might as well stroll around and look for anything peculiar or of interest. Who knows? Most adventures start by an unpredicted turn of events, perhaps your crash-landing would be a blessing in disguise, something that would be very unlikely if you had any idea as to where you were.

When stepping outside though, the faint glimmer of a memory resonates in your mind and the surroundings have an eerie resemblance to another place you’ve once visited and fought a war. The dreary sight of the landscape provoked you to return, and quickly. You’d rather not stay here. Chrysophylax, on the other hand, had her plans and speeds off from you. In the blur of rattled emotions, you instantly shout out the wrong name, recalling, instead, another shard of a sombre memory, forcing you to chase after the Bagon inside.

Inside you find your Pokémon in a spooked state, with no apparent cause for her discomfort. The place was filled with dust, cobwebs and lack of lighting. Barely a breeze fluttered by to breathe life into this place, a grey husk of its former self, but nothing stood out as chiefly frightening. You take a last glance around and decide that, while you were here anywhere, you might as well find answers to this place’s origins. The reception desk was your first port of call. Despite it’s apparent abandonment, you try the reception bell, producing a chime that resonates throughout the hall. For a while, nothing happens, and then the same ring echoes back into the hall. The tinkle reverberates down the hallways and back up a couple more times as it dies down gently, and only once it did could you hear an ominous sound coming from outside.

What was it? You weren’t exactly sure. The sound was distant and faint but appeared to have the tone of a sighing song. A whale perhaps? A sick wolf? You listen for a few more seconds but hear nothing any more. You wait a few more second to be sure, your Bagon preferring to wait a few longer as she pulls herself closely to you, and then hesitantly head towards the door to inspect.

Your footsteps echo across the hall and you manage only a few before another noise draws your attention. This time it was happier, giggling even, and came from inside.

“…why…here...ask...no…see…”

The small whispers of children float by your ears as you turn your head to make out the source of the sound. Your Bagon clings closer to you, as if having heard the voices before. Was this why she was so spooked when you found her?

“…maybe…fun…cry…fun…go…no…you…”

You question where it came from as the whispers turn into a soft buzz of words, forgoing their earlier stillness. Thoughts and fears bubble up inside you as you question where you’ve managed to land now, and what all those noises outside and inside were.

How do you react?


Update Batch #3
Spoiler: show
(Welcome DaveTheFishGuy to my update group of the damned. You’re a late entrant but we don’t mind your tardiness. All are welcome to lose their souls, just ask my secretary. *points to dead Rattata on desk*.)

~Please reply in Slategray~

The Park

Funhouse
Missingo Master:
After a crazy walk through the room, spinning, jumping and striding your way past all the house’s tricks (sometimes unsuccessfully) you reach the door you were headed for on the opposite. The door opens with relative ease to reveal to you the wall that was behind it – another joke of the fun house; fake doors attached to walls to fool you. Your dismay at your finding is met with a light giggling that fills the room. Your Pokémon look around in shock, trying to find who was there, having heard the voices too for once. Just like last times though, the giggling stops as quickly as it came and you are all left wondering if you might have imagined it, but you were sure this time; someone was watching you very closely.

Unfortunately, this meant you had to narrate your own path back again.

What do you do?

Just kidding.

You make your way across the rickety path once more, this time in reverse and slightly more aware of the traps. The glass panes made for a nasty surprise still but the path was pretty clear-cut, and in only half the time it took you to cross it the first you reach the centre. You stumble on the last trick though and hop to the rubber hill where you hold your balance. The giggling returned, and persisted a while longer while other voices joined in on the laughter. The sound of cackling children surrounded the three of you on all sides, getting louder the more you turned hastily to find them.

“You can’t see us, you can’t catch us,” one of the voices singsongs.

“You can’t catch us, you can’t catch us,” all the other voices chimed in on the chant.

“You can’t catch us, you can’t catch us, you can’t catch us,” they continued on and on. Small wisps of light glowed softly and then brightly in five pairs by the walls. The air in the room started to ripple and a shiver ran visibly through the walls. A loud thump comes off of them and passes through, giving you a splitting headache. You hear a loud yell from your Pokémon too. Looking at them, you see your Meowth and even the Ghostly Myrtle clench their heads in pain.

“You can’t catch us, you can’t catch us,” the voices never stopping. The headache persisted and pounded in your head. Your skin screamed as if wanting to peel itself, your eyes clouded and played a musical of colours in front of you while your ears rang a sharp tone before suddenly turning numb, drowning the singing voices and Pokémon screams down to a low murmur like you were turning deaf. Each one of your senses was being attacked in turn while the walls thumped again to send your headache coursing through every molecule of your being.

And then your vision returned, although you couldn’t first notice it. Blackness was all around you, the white walls replaced by the murky backdrop. The ringing in your ears returned and you slowly start to make out colours of bright neon and find yourself having curled up into a ball of pain.

You can’t catch us, you can’t catch us.” You can make out the voices over the ringing pitch and look up to find them. “Oh,” one of the them said. “I think he can see us now.” The voices stopped. Between the glowing neon colours and against the black walls you see the faint cut-out of five children floating above you. There didn’t appear to be anything unusual, that is to say spectral, about them at first, though it was hard to tell through your blurred vision. The five pairs of light float towards them, trailed with blue orbs, pink hats and white lint that drifted through the air.

“So will you play with us, sir?” a girl said. You didn’t feel like answering them. You weren’t even sure you could. The headache persisted and you could barely stand, let alone crawl. Your senses were returning slowly but resisting. Your Pokémon weren’t fairing much better but somehow appeared to recover quicker.

“You want to play with us mister,” the girl repeated, “forever?”

How do you respond?


Mantine Mania
Gemini Spark:
Hyrem’s minds remained unfocussed on the battle at hand, a battle he remembered to have lost countless times before, but this was different, he hoped, he knew. They had come further now than they had before, or, than others had before him. The two Frillish remained unconscious but Hyrem grasped onto whatever hope he had left while the voices surged in, bubbling up troubling memories. He turns to his Lanturn to give a final set of orders, in the attempt to finish this battle and the Harvester with it. Delilah gave a confident response and built up a surge of electrical energy within her once more, aiming at the walls as she passed the empty hooks towards the remaining eyes. Hyrem shifted his focus on the voices once more and pleaded for their help. He urged them to send their wrath to the Harvester instead, the cause of all their despair and to help him end her tyranny on helpless victims that would continue to pass by if she weren’t stopped.

But to no avail, the voices continued resonating in his mind and though the memories subsided slightly they didn’t end. Hyrem is reminded once more that his insanity is caused by his merging with the other spirits, becoming one with the Harvester and not due to being attacked by the forgone spirits of the dead. Still, a few seconds pass and a moment of clarity ensues as the voices dwindle down. The ghosts of past victims seemingly hearing his plea and trying everything within their power to hold off. Then, only a single sound, a chorus of voices chime together; ’finish her’.

While his mind and vision restores, Hyrem notices a glimpse of movement down below and sees the female Frillish returning to consciousness as well. With a seeming loss of interest at the battle at hand, the little Pokémon ignores Hyrem, Delilah and the Harvester and flies across the temple floor towards her fallen brother. “Brother,” she holds him in her tentacles. Just then, a surge of lightning Discharges from the Lanturn’s body and zips from metallic hook to hook, knocking out a large chunk of the leftover eyes. The Harvester screams in agony and a dark purple smoke emerges atop of her. A large red eye opens up in the middle and tendrils of purple electricity course through the waters in single movement to strike Delilah with a Hex attack. The Lanturn screams in pain but she doesn’t count herself out of the battle yet and grits her stare back at her opponent.

“Oh brother, what has happened to us,” the pink Frillish coos. “This is all my fault, I should have protected you. I should have protected her back then. I remember now brother. I remember what we once forgot, what we once wanted to forget. How the Harvester took from us as she took from countless others.” The blue Frillish’s eyes open up faintly in response and closes them again. The pink Frillish gently lies down her brother back on the ground. “I know now what needs to be done. What we need to do to save her.”

In all this talking, Hyrem nearly forgot about his Pokémon, but she reminded him by glowing a soft yellow once more. Both he and the Harvester look in surprise at the Lanturn as she charges towards the Mantine suit in fell frenzy. The Harvester screams in pain as lightning courses through her whole body from the Wild Charge, with eyeball after eyeball popping off of her. Only half remain but they are quickly filled up by the last ones that released themselves from their hooks. This was it, there were no more eyeballs on the walls, only the suit remained. The Harvester lashes out in anger at the Lanturn, her fin stretching like a whip as it strikes Delilah across her body and sends her sailing through the water. The Lanturn gives a painful squeak from having received a critical blow. “You will not stop me. No one will stop me!”

“Sister!” the female Frillish shouts from the top of her lung breathing mechanism. The Harvester halts and all her eyes turn to the female Frillish in stunning surprise. The female Frillish didn’t look to the Harvester in anger or worry, but with a stare of pity and sorrow. “What has happened to you? Is this it? Is this the result of what happened when we lost you to the Harvester so long ago? Have you become her? Have you stayed with the Harvester so long that you don’t even recognise yourself from her? I’m so sorry. It is all my fault. I should have protected you when we tried to run, hid you away from her and given myself instead. You’ve become the new Harvester when I let you go all those years. You’ve lost yourself, haven’t you?”

A cackling laugh echoes of the walls. The Harvester trembles in her place and erupts into a manic euphoria. “Sister. How clever of you to see me through my suit But I am not your sister anymore. I have become something greater. The Harvester has shown me, no, us, that there is a greater purpose in life. That all life should become one. All eyes should turn to the same goal in life, the gathering of knowledge, the combined effort of so many lifetimes. To see if everything in the universe and to know all of it. Only by doing this together can that goal be reached. No, sister, I am not who you think I am, not any more, I will-“

True to Hyrem’s orders, Delilah kicked off her last attack in surprising fashion. Thunder rained down from her body and seized a hold of the Harvester by engulfing her in bright yellow sparks. A screech like no other, a ghastly wail that came as if from another world, overflowed the room. One by one, the eyeballs popped in a musical of flesh and blood, holding onto the Mantine suit as long as they could to withstand the attack. On by one, they all failed, until there was none left. An empty suit was what remained, the Harvester hunched over in her floating position, wheezing from pain.

“You..will..not..stop..ME!”

The Harvester made a deep breath and spread her fins to either side. Soft currents drifted through the room from her body, stirring up lose debris and items on the floor and picked up their speed gradually. The Harvester’s body floated upwards in a whirlpool of water and two eyes soared through it towards her, the two eyes from the hallway that Hyrem had neglected when they entered. The eyeballs planted themselves on her face and acted in coordination with the Harvester’s stare at the Frillish. The Harvester’s body continues to uplift, placing herself above them as if portraying to be some demigod.

“Even if you stop me here, I will recover. The souls who previously claimed ownership remain lost and a part of me. I will simply start over again with what I have, harvesting new eyes from new children. And I will start,” she turns to Hyrem, “with you. Your transcendence is nearly complete. Even if you destroy my vision, I will remain, and I will take from you what is mine. Even if you destroy me entirely, the Harvester will claim a new champion to continue my work. You can never stop us, not completely and you never will. All will become one with the Harvester of Eyes in the end. There is no stopping it. Do you feel it?” she asks Hyrem. “Do you feel yourself becoming one with the others? The voices that are speaking to you? The memories that want to join yours? It is too late for you-”

“It is not too late!” the Frillish erupts. “Hyrem, don’t give up. We can beat her. She’s right, she’s not my baby sister, not anymore. But we can still save her, and we can still save you.” Her voices dwindles to a stuttering hum. “I know what needs to be done. I know what we can do, to end this, once and for all. Attack her, destroy her last hold on the souls, I’ll give the final blow.

Hyrem’s unsure at first of what she means but in a slow-motion turn of events the Frillish places her tentacles on her face and starts pulling at them. The Frillish screams in pain and with one large suction, she rips out a piece of herself. Blood trails off from her face while the screams and sobs continue to wail in louder fashion from the little pink body. The Frillish holds out her tentacles and reveals her own two eyes, cradled lazily with a clouded stare. “Now Hyrem. Do it, finish the Harvester! Land the final strike and destroy her sight. I will use mine to stop her from ever coming back.”

Costume: 2/20
Wall: 0 eyes remain

What will Hyrem do?


Salty Sam's Pirate Ship
DaveTheFishGuy:
The ship was about as desolate as the rest of the island and its amusements. The only difference was that the mechanical ride was on, for god knows how long. By now the circuits must have rusted or snapped if they were kept active since the park’s closure. The ship was hovering in its station with a silent hum while light poured out of the ships lower hull windows and captain’s cabin - the engine room obviously.

You take your first steps on the wooden staircase that led up to upper deck. Rows of seats with safety guards lined up like a terracotta army waiting for the return of their emperor; a mechanical upper-body of a pirate captain with bicorne hat, black goatee and a permanent sneer of two rows of teeth that could come apart. In one hand rested a plastic cutlass which could move in tandem with its arms as indicated by the exposed rotaries in the shoulders and hips that connected it to a wooden platform opposite the mechanical man’s army of empty seats.

Nothing about the wooden ship – wooden only by appearance as a great deal of metal machinery and wiring was needed – seemed out of the ordinary, just dirty from lack of use in years of abandonment. Strangely though, some areas appear to be relatively clean you notice and the place wasn’t nearly as disgusting as you would expect from years of neglect. Coupled with the activity of the engine below, something didn’t feel quite right with you and a small wisp of nervousness washes over you when you realise the quietness of the place. You scour the deck in hopes of finding anything but come up short. Only the seating area was available to you as any doors that led elsewhere were locked long ago. Eventually you have to give up and decide to leave. Even the controls were off limit to you and so you would be incapable of even starting the damn thing if you wanted to. You take your first steps of the deck, your Pokémon closely following behind you, when Salty Sam suddenly speaks up.

“Aargh matey, are you ready to leave port and set sail for the seven seas. Come on up to Salty Sam’s ship of pirates and buccaneers if ye dare and let’s see if yer brave enough to face her majesty the ocean.”

It was a pre-set recording, specifically designed for kids to enjoy and give the idea of being on a pirate ship.

“There be stormy weather up ahead so you best leave your land-lubber stilts behind and grow a pair of sea legs. Urgh, I seem to have lost mine.” A pause for children’s laughter. “Show me your ticket and prove yer brave enough to become part of me crew.” With that the mouth of the robot opened up in anticipation and lay there waiting.

“A peculiar thing, no. I myself am not quite fond of ‘Salty Sam’ but kids seemed to enjoy it back in the old days.” Behind you was, to your surprise, a Hypno in tophat and cane waiting for you at the bottom of the stairs. “Greetings my fellow man,” he bows, “the name is Nero. I’m the current proprietor of this park, which is why I come to you now.” He clasps his hand and looks at you warmly with squinted eyes and a scrunched up nose. “You see, you’re in my park but you don’t seem to have bought a ticket for anything. Such a shame. It’ll be hard for you to enjoy anything here if you lack the proper papers.” He holds up one of his hands from which purple flames erupt out of his palm. The flames quickly recede and the Hypno grasps the remaining embers to reveal a paper between his fingers.

“Here I have a ticket for you. One return ticket, good for one person.” He looks over your Pokémon and then back at you. “Trainer’s Pokémon may ride for free. Besides, it’s not like we’re short of seats these days. Though, I cannot give you this just like that of course. Most people would have paid for this in the old days. I should expect something in return.”

“Now now,” he stops you before you can say anything. “I’m not a stingy person. I don’t want much from you. I do have a small request I may ask but you don’t have to listen to it. Instead, tell me why I should give this to you. What should I expect from you if I gave this ticket? That is of course, if you want the ticket in the first place?”

He clearly wants you to come up with a reason you should be given a free pass, even if it is a lazy excuse that only appeals to his good nature (if he has one though), but would you want to bother though for a flimsy piece of paper?

How do you proceed?


Merry-Go-Round
PikaGod:
You had heard about the abandoned island and its park before from both rumours and friends. Its mix of childish rides and gothic decay appealed to your personality in more ways than one. The fondness of your own childhood memories grabbed a hold of your interests which is why you decided to visit the Merry-Go-Round first. Amidst the rubble and purple haze lied the wore-down remains of the amusement ride, its bright colours now dulled to a grim memory of its former glory. Still, it remained intact in one piece, complete with Ponytas, Blitzles, Gogoats, Rhyhorns and Lapras as well as the three legendary dog Pokémon Entei, Raikou and Suicune and a few others (to be decided by the update if he wants). Each one of the Pokémon statues floated with hanging mouths, complementing the park’s feel of remaining frozen in time where no new life seemed to cross.
The sight wasn’t unsettling despite standing desolated and neither you nor your Spritzee or Starmie showed signs of hesitance in nearing the structure. You take a step closer and hear the light crackle of electricity and machinery as the ride lights up and merry, although dulled, music sings in whistles and pipes. As if reading your mind, the Merry-Go-Round decided to come to live and invite you and your Pokémon along for a ride it probably hasn’t had in a long time.

Not one to turn down an invitation, or perhaps not one to question it too much, you decide to tag along, seeing as how it was your hope in the first place. You and your Pokémon look around the carrousel and each pick a Pokémon to ride on. As if sensing your readiness the ride springs to movement, not requiring a key or the push of a button in any way. An eerie screech rings in the air while the machine tries to turn on its axis. Music starts playing, a song you remember from your childhood (or not), but the notes are sparse and missing and the few that do ring out are accompanied with a rusty tone or cackling screech. The movements themselves are sluggish and forcing themselves to move in chugging motions. The mechanical Pokémon themselves struggle to bounce in their place and give up after a while. Then, before the ride can even come to a proper pace, the machine decides to quit and the song stops during its first chorus.

Disappointed to say the least, it would appear you and your Pokémon wouldn’t be able to enjoy the ride as you had hoped. Thoughts rise on what to do next; move on to the next ride, attempt to fix it or perhaps wait in the hopes of it restoring itself? It is then that off to the side, removed by a few feet, you notice a yellow figure gazing at you from the mist. The strange man leans with one hand on his black cane while using his other to lift his top hat in greeting. The creature gave off a sinister air by standing so alone and still in the fog while fixating his stare at you at every movement. Your Pokémon shortly join your side after noticing the yellow figure too. There was a chance the thing was benevolent but in a place as abandoned as the Haunted Theme Park you had more than a few doubts about that. Still, the creature appears to be waiting for your next move.

What do you do?


The Ghost Train
Liltwick: and Fishyfool:
As you enter the dark tunnel, the first leg of the journey consists of animatronic ghouls throwing themselves at the window with imitation thunder lighting up the supposed attacks. The two of you exchange a conversation of stares and glances before one of you decides to speak up. “Alex. Paine, with an e,” the later entrant says while the Gothorita gives a waving greeting at the young, masked boy. The man continues to probe with questions in an attempt get a conversation moving while explaining his interest in discovering the train’s origins and what it was doing in an amusement park. Austin was less inclined to return his fellow occupant’s favour. He gave his name and requested to be left alone to his thoughts, memories returning to trouble him.

While the two of you converse, the lights in the train give off a soft buzz and flicker briefly. A small announcement of what was to come? You notice by now that you haven’t heard the sound of thunder or the sight of any ghouls for a while now, only the ink-black of the tunnel shadows remained to loom over you. The whole place had turned an eerie quiet, safe for the train wheels pounding on the tracks slightly quicker. The train lurched a bit, halted and sped up again, faster than before as if having enough of the leisurely pace of an entertainment ride. A few of your Pokémon try to call your attention to one of the windows where you notice a veil of white cloth sailing past the carriages and hiding in the shadows, too quick for you to make out what it was. The two of you remain silent momentarily and exchange brief glances of puzzlement.

Then, shrill shrieks like that of a banshee reverberated of the tunnel walls and some of you cringe in startled surprise. You think it was the train at first as it turned a corner but the pitch had an animal-like tone, and between each shriek, you start making out the screeches of a woman yelling at you.

”NOOOOO! I won’t let you!” The white veil flew past the carriage in the blink of an eye and screeched at the two of you once more.

”You won’t get away with this!” the voice booms from outside. The train makes a sudden sharp corner as if rolling off track, and sends the group off their feet and onto the ground. The lights flicker again with the passing thumps, as the train starts speeding up, faster and faster like a Tauros gone mad.

”You will pay for what you did! None will pass!” Your Pokémon attracts your attention to one of the windows. The pale face of a shrivelled woman stares at you from behind the glass, fog creeping up as she gets close. She stares at you with empty eye sockets and gives another howl, scratching at the glass with her fingernails. She lets go and dives down to the tracks. The whole carriage rocks and stutters along the tracks while another shriek fills the air. The train steadies itself but continues picking up speed. Small sparks of ember fly past the windows and it takes a few second before you notice the faint smell of burnt metal and the flames that crept up the carriage outside.

”I will not let you pass!” the woman yells as the flames grow to cover the carriage walls and the train continues its speed with no inclination to stop anytime soon.

What will you do?


-----

The Hotel

The Lobby
Marblezone:
The elevator rumbles for what felt like forever as it inched its way up ever so slightly. The whole thing shook as it moved and for a brief few moments, the sound of clanging metal and scraping made you wonder if it was going to drop at any moment. The whole thing comes to a standstill and keeps you waiting in its six dusty panels. The light buzzes above you and shuts off, leaving you in total darkness. The doors in front open up and light spills in, revealing in front of you a sight you were not prepared for.

An entire new lobby was laid out, complete with people, blue checked carpets, wall lamps, magazines piles and trophy cabinets filled with odd pieces of artefacts and ancient relics from the region; Sinnoh as you recognise upon closer inspection. You hadn’t even noticed you were drawn away from the elevator doors before you look back to find the startling realisation that the elevator doors had become simple lobby doors. More startling though was what you saw through the glass walls that extended on either side of the door. A backdrop of a nightly purple stretched out as landscape in all directions. There was no ground or sky or horizon to speak off. The whole lobby, the whole hotel for all you knew, hovered in the violet nether-plane as its sole inhabitant, and the disappearance of the elevator doors meant you were stuck here with the other occupants. But no one appeared alarmed though. Looking around the lobby, the place was filled with people and a few Pokémon that were going about their usual business as if the world outside of this room didn’t exist, or even ever existed before.

Two receptionists were chatting behind the counter across from you. On either side of the reception desk were two doors, both marked ‘Employees Only’, but separated by their name of ‘Kitchen’ on the left and ‘Boiler Room’ on the right. To your left were a couple chairs and tables with magazines and a door that lead into the hallway through which, if you peered through, was the same purple sky. To your right was a another seating arrangement and the display cabinets of some of Sinnoh’s heirlooms. An employee was struggling with a luggage cart whose wheels had decided to lock itself in place.

Just beside the reception desk, opposite you, the lobby extended to make way for a larger seating area of luxury couches and coffee tables and a large crowd of businesspeople gathering in the open space behind that. Two men in suits were midway their Pokémon battle. The Camerupt charged into the Walrein’s soft body who in turn retaliated by digging its two tusks into its attackers hide. Behind the crowd was a double door, open and protected by three security guards and a young woman with a clipboard and a pile of entrance passes. A board read, “Business Convention, Darrlow Enterprises”. A symbol was put in place, arcing above the name was a shooting star, or perhaps, more likely, a missile. Your expertise and knowledge in the business world helped you identify the name immediately. Darrlow Enterprises was well known for their broad focus, ranging from fast-food chains and clothing stores to insurance companies and computer software development as well as biotechnological experiment laboratories and weapon research. None of it was illegal or anything, but it was hugely morally corrupt and on more than a few occasions the company had been sued for selling products to black market officials. They were well known for this but society had turned a blind eye towards it in favour of their fundraising events and well placed bribes. A couple decades ago though, the company was given a huge blow to their market and their shares rapidly dropped as well as their influence in multiple off-region locations, but you had forgotten the exact details of what transpired.

You’re left wondering in your puzzlement on what exactly was transpiring and where you had ended up. By all accounts, everything seemed and acted like normal safe for the ominous backdrop when you looked through the windows. After having your fill of examining the room, one of the receptionists waves to you to come over and asks how she may help you and whether you had any questions. At the same time though, from the corner of your eye, you notice one of the seated gentlemen lowering his newspaper, revealing the face of the Hypno you met before. He beckons you to take a seat opposite him. Once again, just like with the purple view, no one batted an eye at the sight of a Hypno acting like a man by reading a newspaper and occasionally sipping his coffee. No one seemed to even recognise him as a Pokémon. He beckons for you to come over once more with a warmer smile and ask any questions you may have. The receptionist, similarly, is waiting for you to say something.

What do you do?


Lt. BLEU™:
The voices giggle once more when you call out to them.

“Who are you? What do you want.”

The voices murmured words to one another. “Maybe…play…no…crying man…help…run…him…help…maybe…run.”

This continued for a while as the voices resonated through the hall, coming from seemingly every angle in the place. You continue keeping on a brave face right until a white mist pours out of the wall in front of you. It drops down to stop and hover in front of you where it condenses and four eyes open to stare at you. The vague shape of two people materialises before your eyes. You can make out arms, legs, eyes, noses, hair and two smiling mouths that giggle when staring at you.

“Hello,” the ghost girl said. She giggles and flips through the air. The other shape curtains around you teasingly before turning into the shape of a boy. Both ghosts were those of children, fully coloured in clothes and skin but with a noted whitewash quality to both. Spores of white mist trailed behind them wherever they floated.

“So who are you mister?” the boy asks as he flips behind you, making you turn your head continuously if you were to keep eyes on him. “Why are you here mister?”

“And what’s this?” the girl jumps down to stare the Bagon right in the face, sending the little Pokémon into another fright of fear. “Aww, he’s cute,” she holds out her hands to try and grab it.

Another wail louds outside, closer than the last one and clearer. The little girl stops her reach on the Bagon and floats back with the boy joining her side.

“Oh, they say. The boy asks, “are you running from the Crying Man too? He’s close, so you might want to hide.”

The little girl gasps when hearing it. “We’re playing hide-and-seek also. Do you want to play with us too? It’s a lot of fun. We’ve been doing it for seven years and we’ve never been caught.” The girl looks at you with eager jitter at the prospect of having you join in on their game.

The wail bellows once more outside, this time but a few feet away from the door as far as you could tell. Whatever it was, it was getting close and coming towards you.

“We’re going to go hide now,” the boy said. The two lingered to wait for your response but didn’t seem to want to wait much longer as both floated gently up and towards the wall.

What do you do?


The Upper Floors
Aposteriori:
You arrived at your strange numbered room with fatigue in your limbs and notches in your back. Perhaps the trip to the forlorn island was more taxing then you had previously thought, but that was why a hotel was such a prime place to be for your first visit. Here, the staff, if there were any to speak of, were hired to cater to their visitor’s need. With that in mind, you recall the Hypno’s previous mention of a massage and figure you could do with one before proceeding to tour the locale further.

You pick up the horn of the black box beside the bed and ring the number of the reception as indicated on a small notice; ‘0000’. You hear static on the other side and then a brief click, but no one speaks on the other end, just some more static answering you. “Hello,” you ask to the Hypno on the other side. Still nothing but static, and so you decide to talk, asking for a masseuse in the hopes it might hear you. The static gargles in response, clicks and shuts off with a hum. Nothing happened at all, as the phone continued its misconnected hum, and so you disappointedly put it down.

“Good evening, sir,” a raspy voice wheezes behind you. A pale, scraggy looking man with thin white streaks of hair down his face hunched his head in your direction. His eyes fix on you lazily and his thin lips show barely a sign of life. He was dressed in white attire that seemed loose but formal, with white buttoned sleeves from which a bony hand invited you to lie down on the massage bed beside him, one that somehow, like the man, had been magically conjured up out of thin air while you had your back turned. Neither the man nor his mysterious and sudden appearance made any sense to you and you take a nervous few seconds to gulp, rub your eyes or take deep breaths to calm your down (whatever you feel was necessary to get to grips with this).

“I am the masseuse you ordered. Take off your clothes. Lie down here. On your stomach please.” Each word came with its own breath from his rasping voice. You could ask as many questions as you liked but the man only answered them by repeating that he was the masseuse and requested you to strip and lie down on the bed. For someone with seemingly formal attire, he had very little in the ways of formal manners.

For whatever reason you decide, you finally end on the massage bed face down, stripped to you underwear, and nervously watchful. The man placed his first fingers on your rib cage. An icy chill ran down them in reaction to his cold hands. This was already starting bad for you. He runs them up your back and back down, cold at first before settling into a soothing warmth. You feel a bit more relaxed and start calming down, feeling some of the knots dissipating as he continues running his hands down your sides, your back, your shoulders and your neck. The warmth coursed with your blood throughout your whole body and your limbs start to feel the effects as well. Your head, before a mix of insecurity and nervousness, was calming down and clouding your mind with sweet relaxation, making you forget about your worries and your strife.

He then pinches the fat underneath your shoulder blades, and kneads your skin like a baker. A chill, like that of a bad itch being scratched away, shivered down your back in delight. The shudder continues moving down your body, to your arms and finally your legs where it settles down to a small pinch. Another pinch joined beside that one, and pricked. More pinches joined in, covering your legs and then your arms. They weren’t painful but neither were they comfortable. The pinches got bigger and sharper until they started hurting like tiny pinpricks stabbing you over all your limbs and your lower back. You decide to call out on this but the moment you utter a word, the masseuse grabs you by your arms and pins you down on the table. His breath becomes a whispering growl and his face comes down to yours. You look back as much as you can and see the scraggly-haired man baring his teeth, four sharp fangs coming down onto your neck while his hands continue to hold you down.

What do you do?


Update Batch #4
Spoiler: show
(To Blaze, Samayouru and anyone else eager to visit Phantom Isle: I’m currently on my self-appointed quota. Currently this is in place to ensure I don’t overwork myself. Once I have the time and energy I’ll look into picking up more people. Summer’s coming, which is a promising time I hope. In the meantime, feel free to post an intro post if you want to get into the waiting line. *points to dead Rattata on desk*.)

~Please reply in Slategray~

The Park

Funhouse
Missingo Master:
Your head was still ringing and your body was in pain, but despite that the ghosts insisted on asking you to play with them. This wasn’t the first thing on your mind though. Play forever? How much time did you have in the first place?

“…I…I don’t know about ‘forever’. But…if you’ll give me a moment to get over this headache… then sure, I’ll play with you-but all I can promise for now is a little while, OK?”

You pull out your Xtransceiver to get an idea of the time. You glimpse a digital ’20:22’ but then the device short-circuits and the screens turns to static, having lost all functions.

The ghosts giggle at your response. “A little while? No sir,” a ghost girl says. “You’re going to stay with us forever and play. You can’t leave, we won’t let you. You’ll play with us forever. Just like all the other people.

Your vision starts returning at the shock of their words and both they and the room come into view. The white walls had become a pitch black in which no boundaries could be seen, and the pastel colours were replaced by sickly neon that plastered across the black like a nightclub. But that wasn’t all. As both you and your Pokémon return to your senses you regain a renewed fear that you hadn’t completely. The furniture - before, sticking to the walls and ceilings - had stayed so, albeit in a completely different manner with the ceiling displaying some strange floor pattern of glass walls. Quickly thereafter you notice not only that the floor was above you but that you were standing on what used to be the ceiling. The whole room had inversed itself.

One of your Pokémon gasps when they awaken and stare at you in shock; and you stare right back at them. Your Meowth had become a nightmarish blue, straight out of a horror movie, while Myrtle had turned a shade lighter with a similarly dark blue tail and mouth and green eyes that replaced her usual violet. Finally, you take a look at yourself – your hands, your feet, your attire – and see you’ve become a pale white-blue, like a ghost or a negative picture.

The ghosts giggle once more and you notice, thoroughly this time, that the five children looked exactly like living children would. Nothing white or pale like you were in your current state. The whole room dizzied in your head once more as you took in your strange environment, making heads and tails, or rather turning heads into tails. The blue bodied, pink hatted creatures floated around the five children. Instantly you recognised them to be Pokémon and instinctively you pull out your Pokédex, only to make another startling realisation. Your Pokédex, just like the Xtransceiver, gave off nothing but static and white noise. Whatever those things were, you weren’t going to identify them like this.

“So sir,” the girl remains as insistent as ever, “what do you want to play.”

A boy next to her speaks up in a rude manner. “And don’t try to run like those others. That’s really boring.”

“But seeing them run is fun,” giggled a second boy. “Because they can’t and we always catch them.”

“And then we play with them,” the second girl sneers, “like dollies.”

The fifth, a boy, said nothing and instead stared at you with a content and drooling face like you were candy.

What do you do?


The Ghost Train
Liltwick: and Fishyfool:
The die were cast, as one of you so elegantly put it. The two of you had hastily entered the train without second thought, warned only seconds too late, and now you were about to pay the price. The flames crept up the carriage walls and sent one of you into another waking nightmare. The other merely standing in a state of stupor for a brief moment.

Austin is the first to snap back and springs into action. Fire, he felt, he was familiar with and the first thing that came to his mind was his own fire Pokémon – the candle Pokémon Litwick. He calmly orders a him to use his natural Ability of Flash Fire and absorb as much of the flames as he could. Austin’s human partner, Alex, equally set his mind to work and turned to his released Pokémon. The Pokémon Gothorita was ordered to grab a hold of the carriage’s axis with her Psychic powers after Calming her Mind. Outside, the ghost howled as it sailed past the windows in preparation for something.

The two Pokémon set to work. Wisp’s purple fire grew in size as it neared the walls. Flames were attracted to the Pokémon’s crown and blew in its direction as he phased through the carriage walls, staying as close to them as he could the moment he saw what was outside. Meanwhile, Paine’s eyes glow an ominous dark pink. The whole train rumbles and throws the passengers off their feet. An eerie screech rings as the back wheels brake on their tracks. Wisp was booking equal success. The flames didn’t die down completely but he was managing to slow them down and even safe some parts of the wood. The plan was working so far.

The banshee shrieks once more. A psychic string, no thicker than a hair, appears between the carriage floor and Paine’s forehead and with a spark snaps in two like a rubber band. Paine is thrown back on her feet and clutches her head in agony, a head-ache setting in. The rear axles hit the tracks and speed up once again. Somehow, the banshee was able to attack the psychic link between Paine and the wheels. The Litwick is forced to stay within the carriage as it quickens, trying his best to hold down the fire on one side.

The two trainers look at their remaining Pokémon for a follow-up plan. Austin can only look at his Pachirisu in slight disappointment. Destroying the electric current was an idea that ran through his mind, but an idea that might end up worsening the situation if it backfired. For all they knew, there were no electric currents running this train to begin with. Alex though, remained confident in his Pokémon and ordered his colossal water type to come out of his Pokéball and aid them. He issues his orders and, not to sit back lazily, gets to work himself. The trainer looks around the carriage for an opening while his Swampert tries to pry open the roof hatch.

The group looks around the carriage for any signs of exit, the first and foremost being the door that led outside to the next freight. They were unsure if it was unlocked but it was their first attempt. The Swampert clicks open the latch and climbs through. Instantly, he gives a small sound of surprise. Alex opens the door and understands his Pokémon’s shock. Swiftly, the door opened and revealed to him the next carriage. Only two metal scaffolds and some chain links separated the two of them and provided a means of crossing. Beneath that though, lied an empty darkness that bared no depth and stretched around him to cover all sides. The train was ploughing through on no visible tracks and through no solid tunnel or space.

The Swampert clambers onto the roof and tries to hold himself steady, before Gunning Water, covering one side of the carriage while the Litwick was holding down the other. The ghost wails and soars once more. Mjolnir gives a shriek and a pound is heard atop the carriage roof, followed by a gurgling sound as the Swampert releases a Mud Shot. A confirming howl is heard when the banshee is hit and tumbles behind them.

Alex turns back to the carriage door, separated by the rickety scaffold and the dark abyss. Would he dare even cross it? Testing the handle revealed that the door was locked though, another obstacle. Looking back, Alex can see the Litwick and Swampert trying their hardest to curb the fire. At best, they appeared only to be slowing it down. In the distance, the banshee’s howling echoes return and grow louder with every second.

What do you do?


The Hotel

The Lobby
Lt. BLEU™:
The ghost children were eager to get away from whatever was approaching the hotel and suggested you to come with them. You were still in doubt though on what was best. Another wail echoed outside, a mere few footsteps away, followed by the slow treading towards the door. Even if running might have been the sensible thing to do, you decide to halt your decision making in preference to first discover what it was that was chasing you in the first place.

“Chrys, get behind me.”

Even as you said that, you prepared yourself to run away in any direction you could. “Be on your feet Chrys. We may have to run.”

“I don’t think that’s very smart sir.” The children wished you the best of luck and submerged themselves into the wall. Their two heads poked through, eager to see what would happen first before retreating entirely.

The footsteps continued until its owner stood right behind the door, and stopped. Nothing happened and you hold your breath for a while in anxious anticipation. What was it doing? Did it move away?

Suddenly, the lobby doors banged open and hit the walls, the outside winds flew in and a loud wail howled in the opening. A large man stood in front of you, covered entirely from head to toe in dark azure, temple robes. His head, covered by his cowl and an expressionless, golden mask, stared at you and Chrys in turn for the longest time. A smaller figure, similarly clad in robes and golden mask, appeared behind him and gave a girlish moan. The girl’s head cocked up and to the side to where the two ghosts were still lingering.

One of the children yelped. “Run!” The two children dissipated through the walls to hide and left you alone to face ‘The Crying Man’.

The creature made a howling stance and a sad wail protruded from his mask again. The man faced you again and stretched a large sleeve in your direction. Instantly, a dark shadow snaked across the distance between you two and a ghostly hand formed that lashed out at you. Instinctively you stepped back and out of reach, only for the hand to coil back into sleeve. Another sobbing wail howled from the obscured face at the missed grasp. The girl moved away and started crossing the lobby with a whimpering cry towards where the two ghost children were hiding – the Boutique. The Crying Man attracts your attention with another howl and lazily swings his sleeve in your direction; the shadowy tentacle lashes out again in your direction.

What do you do?


Entertainment Room
Electric Blue Eye:
The Gastly emerged itself from its shaded slumber and the two of you converse abruptly. Your Pokémon questions you on where you were before his eyes fall on the machines. ’While we’re both here,’ you thought, ‘we might as well play some games,’ wanting to take your mind of off your situation and let the morning sun awake you on a new day.

You insert the coins steadily, one each for starters. You, as the living human trainer, were to play the Game of Death, while you’re partner James, a Ghost-typed Gastly, was to play the Game of Life. Giratina himself couldn’t have made a more ironic choice on this matter but perhaps that was the point of your decision; to invoke a sense of surprise and fun.

Instantly, the screens buzz alive with activity and make a few bleeping sounds. The screen’s logo, a sword in a cracked skull, appeared atop the company logo ‘Darrlow Enterpises’ in white colours on a blank background. The words and logo faded and an 8-bit scratching music played a melancholic organ in a thunderstorm. Melancholic for you though; your Gastly was given a chirpy choir during a spring festival. The menu opened up for both of you and you see a pixelated colosseum of some sort adorning the background. You were given the choice of playing with three characters:
1. The Psychic Type Gallade: Good Attack, Bad Defence
Moves: Psycho Cut, Slash, Feint
Super: Close Combat

2. The Ghost Type Aegislash: Good Defence, Bad Speed
Moves: Shadow Claw, Sacred Sword, Block
Super: King’s Shield

3.The Dark Type Bisharp: Good Speed, Bad Attack
Moves: Night Slash, Metal Claw, Protect
Super: Guillotine
Either you or James decides to speak first on the matter and it becomes quickly apparent that the two of you are not given the same choice. James’ screen on the Game of Life provides him instead with the that of three other players to choose from:
1. The Grass Type Chesnaught: Good Defence, Bad Attack
Moves: Wood Hammer, Hammer Arm, Protect
Super: Spiky Shield

2. The Fire Type Blaziken: Good Speed, Bad Defence
Moves: Fire Punch, Hi-Jump Kick, Feint
Super: Blaze Kick

3.The Water Type Samurott: Good Attack, Bad Speed
Moves: Aqua Tail, Mega Horn, Block
Super: Razor Shell
The two of you puzzle momentarily when making your choice, perhaps exchanging information or deciding to keep it quiet from the other. Or perhaps, with your dishonest background you would opt to deceive your Pokémon. Either way, you both make your choice and are given another option of which game mode you would like to play.
1. Arena – Pit yourself against the computer players with increasing difficulty. Aim to reach the Final Boss and place your name on the high-score board.

2. Survival – Pit yourself against low-tiered mobs of creepers. More and more will join the fight and it is your job to stay alive as long as possible. Aim to survive the longest and place your final time on the scoreboard.

3. Combat – Face another player on a different console and fight to the death. Best out of 5 matches wins the cup.
There was a fourth option to play co-operatively on ‘Arena’ and ‘Survival’ but it appeared to be unavailable until the option was unlocked somehow. Nevertheless, you have been given the choice of three Pokémon gladiators and three types of Game Mode. All free to pick in any combination, but once you’d make a decision, the game was set and you would be unable to revert your choice or get your credit back. Obviously, you can’t let a machine take your money just like that, so you knew you would have to be careful about making the right choice the first time.

What do you want to do?


Update Batch #5
Spoiler: show
(Welcome Emi and Samayouru to my update group of the damned. There’s space enough for everyone and I do apologise for the delay. My assistant has been a bit lax as of lately. Between you and me, I don’t think she’s feeling very well. *points to dead Rattata on desk*.)

~Please reply in Slategray~

The Park

Funhouse
Missingo Master:
You stare in shock for a moment as you try to comprehend the renewed scenery and all its colours, yours and your Pokémon’s included, while the ghost girl repeats her question. Your Meowth mulls over the idea of running but you remind him of their warning, and what had supposedly happened to the ones before who did.

Myrtle regains her composure and eyes the strange Pokémon momentarily, before answering the very question your Pokédex was unable to. The Pokémon were Inkay; squid-like beings that had the strange power to invert almost anything with their Topsy-Turvy, in this case the very room itself and all it contained.

You’re left pondering on the decision. Run in a desperate attempt, like your Meowth wanted, or to entertain the ghost’s request? You decide on the latter and calm your Pokémon down. After all that had happened before on your joint adventures, questioning your leadership now would be disloyal.

"So, even if we can't agree on how long, I did promise I'd play with you. And I keep my promises. So, since this is your house, so what games do you like to play?"

The ghosts giggle and cheer at your answer. “Oh, we get to choose?” says the girl.

“Let’s play tag, or catch,” says the boy. Another, the silent boy, smirks with a drooling face.

“No,” says another. “We always play that. Everyone always runs and we always play catch.”

“But what if they catch us instead then?”

“Oh, well that’s something we’ve never done,” says the fourth.

“No. I still don’t want to play catch. Why don’t we play hide and seek instead?”

“Yeah!” exclaim two of them.

“They’ll hide and we have to try and find them.”

The first girl talks again. “That’s no fun. They don’t know this place and they’re probably not very good at it.”

“Well how would you know?” the boy sneers.

“Well we’re very good at hide and seek. It wouldn’t be fair. And I think it’ll be very boring if all five of us looked for those three.”

The boy thinks for a while. “Hey mister, are you good at hide and seek?”

“Wait,” says the other girl, “what if we hide and they seek?”

“Oh yeah, that could work. That sounds like fun.”

“Well then we’ll help them and make sure they can’t.” The girl turns to talk to you once again. “Okay mister, we’re going to play hide and seek. You have to find and catch all five of us. It doesn’t count if you don’t catch us. Otherwise we won’t believe you.”

“But we can’t trust them. What if they try to run while we’re hiding?”

“That’s true. And it’s also unfair if three of them get to look together.”

The girl thinks for a while. “Okay then, we’ll let the two Pokémon hide as well.”

“But what if they lie and help the mister instead?”

“Well then we’ll just hide them for him, okay?”

The other kids nod in satisfaction. “Inkay,” she calls out to the one closest to her. The Inkay gives a small chirp and glows two spotlights on its hat while its eyes turn a dark, hazy purple. Before you even realise what’s about to happen, you hear your Meowth give a yelling call for help. The floor beneath the Scratch Cat Pokémon was moving out from under him, much like the one you saw in the hallway before and your Meowth was desperately trying to outrun it.

The Inkay gives another chirpy sound and the floorboards move even faster than before. Almost immediately, Meowth stumbles and crashes onto the wooden treadmill. You’re given another brief shock of your life as you witness your Pokémon hurtling backwards. The panels behind him crack open, scattering an array of splinters around it as the wall opens up like a gaping maw about to swallow a full-course meal. In what felt like it last only a second, Meowth is sent flying into the dark abyss and the wooden jaw clenches shut with an echoing crack before the seams close up and disappear from existence. in a second and disappearing into the dark abyss.

You want to do something, anything, but the moment you even try to move you hear the sound of the other four Inkay chirping in unison. You feel your legs and feet becoming weightless, numb even, and realise only too late that the floor beneath you opened up a trapdoor, and sends you into another dark void. For what felt like minutes, you’re left tumbling in a senseless blackness, seeing the face of the five smiling ghosts growing ever smaller until they were but a mere needle of light. And then, it shut, and you were left alone, falling.



You feel your back hit something rough and hollow. Instantly, the floor beneath you gives way and divides into smaller parts that climb past your body and bury you. The momentum of your fall throws you further into the scattered objects. You weren’t sure what it was but you were drowning in it. The objects were light and hollow but many and hard but smooth and round. You flail your limbs with desperate attempts, trying to stay up and catch your breath. You find your grounding and with your legs make one final kick that push you out of the pitfall.

The surface breaks with a cascading sound of plastic. A dim light reveals to you finally the scores of coloured plastic balls around you in a sea that stretched out far beyond your sight. The cold black of the walls and ceilings taunted you with eerie patterns of neon, colouring the air like an off-worldly night sky. You are reminded once again by the stillness around you, that you were alone, and only the sound of you kicking your feet against the plastic balls accompanied you.

You look around for anything that might be different and give you a clueof which way to go, but all you see are the steady waves of plastic balls and sickly special patterns. It is only after a few moments that a strange light glows far beneath you, only momentarily, before leaving you to your lonesome again. The brightness of it was enough to blind you and sent a rippling wave across the dark expanse. Your vision instantly returns and in that brief moment when the light didn’t completely die out yet, you see a patched tower stretching from beneath the plastic surface up to the sky where it disappeared into its immeasurable heights, coiling like a giant demonic snake that lashed out at the heavens.

The light dies though, leaving you in the neon-illuminated dark once more. The serpentine tower disappears from your vision and there is no glimpse left of the mysterious light that passed beneath you. The tower, as far as you recollected, was far off into the distance and could take a good hour of you swimming to reach it while you had no idea how deep down the light was. In addition, you had lost all contact with Myrtle and Meowth and had no idea how they were holding up, but time was ticking and you needed to find them and the exit on time.

What does Keith do?


Fortune Teller’s Tent
Plight of Leon:
Lost both in mind and place, you find yourself wandering the desolated park that was converted to a home for other lost spirits. Perhaps this would then be the best place for you to stay, to rest or find answers; an identity perhaps or even a glimpse of an idea on who you were, now and in past lives. The Fortune Teller’s tent pops up in the corner of your eye, a soft pale light sliding past the curtain doors. This place was abandoned, supposedly. No cities or farms or markets to speak off that could sustain any living thing from living here for long periods of time. The fortune teller herself would not be there, you knew, or otherwise had a feeling. It was only days before the first horrific accident took place that the fortune teller had mysteriously vanished, supposedly died from old age.

No, you knew, it was someone else, something else. Something had taken residence in the canvas tent and had announced its presence to you. Slowly, you creepy our way to the tent flap, an itching sensation of flying sparks flowing through your body as you neared. The sparks buzz alive in your head and whisper small static groans, first sad, then happy and then angry until it become an infuriating heat of angry moans and growls. For a brief moment, you feel as if the park had been alive with energy, and it was all waiting for you inside, but it was not friendly. It knew what you were and it didn’t like it. You stretch your grey, paper-thin arm out to lift it when you hear a voice surprise you from behind.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Your hand retracts away instantly and the buzzing and moaning stop, your body cools down to match the thin purple mist that swirled past they grey dirt bricks. The creature took a few yellow steps further towards you, his hand cautiously gripping his cane which he tapped alongside his stride until he came but a few feet away from you.


“They are waiting inside, but they are waiting for a youngster to prove himself worthy. I don’t believe you to be a youngster,” his eyes squint suspiciously at you, “and I don’t think you to be worthy either.” His words send a cold wisp your way that sends a soft trail of something familiar through you. “I suggest you step away from there, lest you want to lose all you have left to them.”

The creature eyes you top to bottom, scratches his yellow chin and strokes his furry mane before shifting his tophat and finally speaking to you again. “Strange, I was warned of a peculiar entity having come to the park and was expecting something, well something more. You, most certainly are a strange thing; living but dead, both in this realm and the other while existing in neither. Most ghosts would have something similar, they are spirits with no shells, but here I see a shell with no spirit, no semblance of live at all. I can see you but I can feel nothing. You have no presence.”

He takes a defensive stance towards you. “Tell me, do you work for him? Are you his servant sent to aid? What is your purpose? What do you want?” He asks basically the same question in different ways. He is suspicious of you and has very little cause for trust it seems but he is asking you the very thing you came here to find out; Who are you and what do you want?

What do you do?

The Ghost Train
Samayouru: (Please add a link to your FB Profile in your signature or in every Zone reply. This is merely so your updators can find your trainer’s stats easily.)
Your family had a strong penchant for the mystical, drawn to the old folklore tales of fairies and benevolent spirits that have come to humanity’s aid. Their modest obsession had rubbed off on you since your childhood but had failed to steer you in the same course of the mystic arts. Instead, you had grown an interest in that which your family decided not to look into, the darker side of the supernatural, the occult and the dead that refused to pass on. It was this unnatural interest that got you to visit the abandoned lots and buildings or inspect supposedly haunted locales. One of your first port of calls? The Phantom Isle obviously, a name it had only received in recent years as it was more commonly known as one of Fizzytpia’s most successful entertainment enterprises, despite the occasional newspaper clippings suggesting connections to the Fizzytopian black markets, illegal activities and various mobster underworlds.

The park had retained its relics and artefacts from its glorious past, each ride stood solemn and resolute as a statue in its own right, declaring its existence in the past, for now and ever, unperturbed despite the ominous fogs and ceaseless black skies that entrapped them forever in their tomb; the dark ruined landscape of the former amusement park. Your Houndour sniffs the ground in curiosity the moment you stepped on to the land. He was excited about being here, the perpetual darkness that enshrouded the area suited him well, and yet there was a sense of foreboding that frightened even him, a dark type. You could feel it as well, it excited you. This was certainly the place you could find that which you had previously only heard of in ghost stories.

Your Houndour continuous sniffing the ground in suspicion as you single-mindedly walk to your destination; the Ghost Train. You had done your research; this was where it all supposedly started. The site of the accident that triggered the cataclysmic events of deaths and ghost sightings that got so bad it forced the park to close entirely. Rumours had circulated early that warning signs appeared before the accident; the fortune teller had mysteriously disappeared, the stock markets were plummeting while illegal activity grew throughout Fizzytopia, and all those who were there that day of the accident swore they heard the chime of the broken belltower ring and the shriek of an old hag yelling right before the metal pipes bent.

The decrepit building, half burnt, half restored and separated by a veil of white construction sheet came into view, and with it the figure of a yellow man. The creature’s ears perk up at the sound of your footsteps closing in on him and it turns around to greet you with piercing eyes that though not hostile looked at you with suspicion and agitation.


“Not another one,” you hear him sigh under his breath. He turns to lean on his diamond-headed cane, his gaze fixated on you. “First those two twits decide to ride the Ghost Train, and now a young lady decided it’s a good idea to explore the centre of the spectral storm.” He eyes your Pokémon momentarily. “The little girl isn’t even adequately prepared. A novice,” he scoffs. At this point you weren’t sure if he was talking to you or muttering to himself. “You would think it a blessing she missed the Ghost Train, one less death to worry about, but here she is, exploring the abandoned tracks; not the healthiest obsessions I would say, this’ll certainly lead to her death.

He turns back to stare into the depths of the Ghost Train once more. “Fools, all of them. I can’t be expected to save all of them. Not while they’re flinging themselves neck deep into danger. And certainly not here.” He extends a finger in front and pokes the air ahead of him. A spark of purple electricity buzzes and instantly the Hypno retracts his finger in mild pain. The sparks disappeared but a silent hum followed for a split second. The Hypno rubbed his finger in irritation at the invisible electric fence that blocked his path.

His head rose in slight realisation. “Though I suppose,” his voice trails off and his head turns crookedly over his shoulder to peer at you once more, his eyes fixed with a near-mad stare that sent rung all your inner alarm bells for danger. Even your Houndour, a Pokémon with a type advantage over Psychic types felt a pang of horror and stepped back, sensing something so dark it surpassed his own.

The Pokémon’s body turned to match the head’s cocked direction. “Little girl,” the Hypno speaks to you. “This is an extremely dangerous place, and you are clearly not prepared. However, I cannot stop you if you decide to push on through. I’ve been, shall we say, barred from entering the desecrated place. I won’t go into details on why or how, as that story will take a long time to be told and raise only more questions.” He turns his head in a more composed manner and shifts the top-hat on his head into a more suited position while he clutches his cane with fidgeting fingers. “There is a situation, however, inside that requires my attention. Some restless spirits that remain trapped, I can feel the anger and pain even from here behind the barrier. There’s more than one, of that I’m sure, but there’s one wrathful soul that clearly towers above the rest, and will become dangerous if not stopped.” His voice stops to let the words sink in for a moment as the Hypno sizes you up on your reaction to hearing all this.

“If you are to move on despite my warning, then at least stay away from the tunnels. No good will come from playing near the netherworld’s gates. Instead, stick to the middle, the construction site you see before you. It’s not safe, not at all, but it’s the best you’ll get. While you’re there though, I have a favour to ask.” He shoots you a brief pleading glance. “Help the souls in there. Find a way to give them some peace. But if you can’t,” his voice darkens, “then run. Don’t try, and don’t stick around for too long.”

“I will give you something to help you, but use it cautiously.” His left arm extends to you and purples flames erupt from the palm of his hand and grow to the size of a small football before instantly vanishing with a whoosh into the wind. The Hypno clutches his claws together to hold a strange bronze object.

His claw opens up and the object reveals itself to be a small handbell, no larger than your own hand. “Take this Deidbell, it is a special instrument used in communicating with unwilling ghosts. It is not of this world, and thus it is dangerous to keep with you for very long,” he warns you. “The bell comes with its own set of rules. Disobey them and you’ll forfeit your life, or even worse…” his voice trails off and his eyes betray a glimpse of worry.

The Hypno had clearly warned you of the dangers ahead and insisted you weren’t fully prepared. In addition, he’s added that you should definitely not go near the tunnels, and instead stick to the construction site. Despite all his warnings though, he seems reluctant to physically stop you from doing what you want and is even offering you a mysterious tool for aid, one who’s functions you didn’t know but were clear to be lethal if improperly used. He would though, only give it to you if you were willing to help him out, but was aiding a mysterious talking Pokémon the right way to go? You were short on information, but was it enough to make decision on what you would do?

What do you do?


The Hotel
Entertainment Room
Electric Blue Eye:
You struggle with your choices momentarily, deciding on the best mode to play for your first time as well as what strategy to go with. You and your Gastly, while partners, had distinctly different battle styles, and each of the Pokémon choices were different not only in looks but statistics and attacks as well.

Despite preferring fast and powerful attacks, you liked the idea of trying something new and thinking on your feet. The option to play with such a Pokémon was new to you and the thought of playing with something so novel was what made the final choice when you decide on going with Aegislash, the Pokémon that had a good defence but terrible speed. Meanwhile, James makes his decision by inversing your statistics and goes with Blaziken, a Pokémon that excelled at Speed but had a terrible defence.

Though you had only one credit to play, you decide against pitting yourselves against each other and go for Survival and challenge James to see who lasts the longest.

The game opens up on a circular arena filled with sand, surrounded by a stone wall with open gates dotted around. In the centre, you find a pixelated version of your Pokémon of choice and the top right shows a green bar with 100% health and an empty bar below for the Super move. You’re allowed a few free seconds to play with controls. The joystick was easy enough to discern and allowed your Pokémon to move, though at a terrible crawling pace. James, however, could move his Blaziken with incredible speed, crossing the length of the arena in a couple of seconds. The two main buttons allowed you to use your two main moves – Shadow Claw and Sacred Sword for you, Fire Punch and Hi-Jump Kick for James – while the third, removed button allowed you to use Block or Feint.

The countdown ends and the first opponents appear. One by one, with increasing numbers as time went on, first stage Pokémon appeared from the various black openings and crawl towards your character. The battle begins as both you and James try your best to fight the oncoming horde as the intensity rose with each passing minute. You notice, after a while, two other things as you play. First, all your opponents were Psychic, Ghost and Dark types, while James had to fight Grass, Fire and Water types. The second was what the last move did; they were utility moves that allowed your Pokémon to overcome its weakness. While James could easily outrun his opponent if he was outnumbered, you didn’t have the same luxury with an Aegislash. Instead, the move Block refreshed after few seconds and allowed you to immobilize an opponent for a few seconds. The addition of Shadow Claw being a ranged move in this game helped with that as well. The Feint attack allowed James to momentarily dodge an incoming attack if timed correctly and severely damage any opponent that tried.

[Updatee is allowed to fill in progression of challenge as he sees fit, including how he plays, who wins between Ethan and James, and what Pokémon appear; as long as he adheres to the aforementioned game rules]

Both of you do relatively well but eventually the horde becomes too big for you. You get surrounded by a mob of basic Pokémon until there was no way to run while James was struck multiple times in quick succession; both of you losing by your Pokémon’s choice weakness. Sadly though, neither one of you managed to figure out how to activate the Pokémon’s super move once the gauge was full.

The scoreboard pops up and both you and James can delight in the fact that you made 1st place. Congrats!

Your excitement is cut a little short when a shudder creeps down your back. One by one the names of the other nine contestants (and tenth that was about to kicked out) on the scoreboard are revealed and all show the same name: ‘DEAD’ in full capitals. Your Gastly calls out to you as he too notices something odd about his scoreboard, the name ‘FIGHTING’ appearing for every contestant from two to eleven.

The on-screen keyboard pops up to allow the two of you to put in names, up to twelve characters instead of the usual ten due to the sixth upgrade that was installed. This last upgrade also allowed you to cancel the option of adding your name (and score) to the scoreboard, but who would want to do that anyway?

Both you and James find the consistent naming odd and the electronic machines cackle angrily as they’re made to wait for the two of you to submit your names and scores to the scoreboard.

What do you do?


The Upper Floors
Aposteriori:
You feel distressed and panic as you squirm underneath the man’s grip, his mouth moving ever closer to your neck despite your warnings. You can feel his hot breath growling on your skin and this last shot of panic calls your Pokémon out to aid. The Charmander exists his Pokéball, ready to defend his partner and get an equal treatment of relaxation afterwards, he hoped. A spur of light exits the Pokéball and forms the shape of a flame-tipped lizard that gives a confused growl when looking at the strange man that’s holding you down.

Instantly, the scraggly-haired man hisses at your Pokémon and a high-pitched screech fills the room that deafens the two of you and gives you a headache followed by a blinding white light that knocked out your sight momentarily. Your vision returns quickly as does that of your partner Pokémon. The Charmander gives a surprising and startled growl this time as he sees the man hovering above you, holding you down.

“GET THIS MAN OFF OF ME”

“USE HIDDEN POWER OR SOMETHING”

Your Charmander snaps out of his daze and follows your order to the letter. With no clear idea what he was facing, any attack to throw off the man was good enough. The orbs of light appear immediately and spin in a dazzling fashion around his body before he releases them towards your assailant. The man releases his grip from you and gives a hissing growl as he stumbles back. You’re free and you immediately pull yourself up and off the bed. The pricks on your body were gone but when your rub your legs for relief, you see thin holes have made their appearance along the length. You get up to face your attacker but raise a shocked eyebrow.

What you see are the scattered remains of the man as Firestorm’s Hidden Power sent the man’s body into a dozen pieces. The limbs and chunks of flesh of his torso are scattered around the legs that remained upright where the man once stood. The pieces lift themselves off in a slow hover and whirl around the severed legs, each with a seeming mind of its own. You catch a brief moment of something blue or purple flying past but another deafening pitch makes you and Firestorm lose your focus and the blinding light fills the room once more to dazzle you.

Your sight returns quickly in blotches to witness the man revived as a new version of himself, one that looked more monster than human. His attire had changed from a white masseuse outfit to a dusty 19th century count attire. His posture was hunched and his limbs crooked. His skin and face had turned a dark blue with deep, angry lines surrounding his bloodshot eyes and thin pale lips that were pulled back into a permanent sneer to revealed his four sharp fangs. Any notion that he might still be human was removed from your mind as you question the very fact of what it was you were looking at. The man stares back at you with fierce eyes and gives a bloodcurdling hiss as his hands reach for you with long uncut nails.

You’re still in your underwear and the path is blocked as the blue-faced monster stands between you and the door you came through.

What do you do?


Update Batch #6
Spoiler: show
(From the desk of Maudlin, the Phantom Isle secretary: the management would like to ask its visitors to fill in the questionnaire handed to them. Any feedback is welcome.)

~Please reply in Slategray~

The Park

Funhouse
Missingo Master:
Trapped in the plastic sea, your brief glimpse of the spiralling tower was your only hope for the time being. Ignoring the brief shimmering light for now you pull out a Pokéball to your aid. Even if you were separated from your Meowth and Banette, you had a few other allies you could rally to your help.

The Crobat emerges from her Pokéball with a surprising startle upon seeing the environment she had found herself in. Was this outer space? The whole room had the atmosphere of being some alien galaxy. She is surprised a second time when she notices her own off-colour, a vomit-green body with sea-blue eyes. "Get me out of here, Hedwig," you said. "You gotta Fly me in that direction, as fast as you can.” You point in the generic direction of the tower, even if you couldn’t see it anymore. Your Crobat gives an assuring pitch and sweeps her wings in a rapid fashion as she lowers to you. She grabs a hold of your shoulders and attempts to lift you. Under current conditions, your Crobat’s size and weight, Fly or not, was just enough to pull you out of the plastic ocean but only enough to have you hang just above it. It didn’t matter, it was enough and you order your Pokémon to set off. Meanwhile, an idea had formed in your mind on the new rules of physics that were set by the Inkay. While your Xtransceiver and Pokédex couldn’t work, you might have one object that had increased in usability.

You pull out the toy walkie-talkie the mysterious Hypno had given you before, a near exact copy of the one he had given Meowth and Myrtle as well, you remember. You’re distracted briefly by another soft glow of light beneath the plastic balls. The light flickered and briefly illuminated your path ahead. Hedwig sees the tower and understood where you’re headed. You take a look at the control of the walkie-talkie. One button to switch channels between one and five. It was currently set to one. You press the button on the side and to your surprise, or perhaps lack thereof as you had hoped for this, a static noise emits from the top. You talk while holding the button down and wait.

Hedwig continues flying in the direction of the tower and the soft light glowed once more dimly. Was it getting closer? You weren’t sure. It didn’t originate from the tower but it definitely appeared to be on the path ahead. Then, for just a brief moment, you hear a voice murmur from below. “Don’t, stop that.”

You check your walkie-talkie. Was that Meowth or Myrtle? It was faint but it didn’t sound like either of them. You had waited for what felt like minutes and talked into the walkie-talkie but you were getting no response. Perhaps you were wrong? You try one last time and fiddle with the other buttons, trying other stations. You switch it to channel two and try again, calling for your Meowth and Myrtle. You get a static noise in return.



“Boss?” you hear the voice of your Meowth.

What does Keith do?


The Ghost Train
Samayouru:
You ask the talking Hypno if there was anything in the park you could do to prepare yourself, stating your wish to help the Hypno in any way you could. The talking Pokémon raises a peculiar eyebrow at your response. “I think you’ve misunderstood. It’s not that you lack preparation or items, it is that you lack skill. No one thing here specifically will prepare you for what is to come, it is the accumulated experience of adventures you need.” He shakes his head at your question. “No, there is nothing here you can do that’ll prepare you for what lies beyond this barrier, hence why I’m offering you the Deidbell in the first place.”

The decision is yours, you can heed my warning and stay clear of your obsession with ghosts or you can ignore me and dive headfirst into danger. But if you do, make sure to take the Deidbell with you. I have no idea what it is that is lingering beyond that tarp, but it is angry and vicious. His eyes linger for a few moments at the construction site ahead, and you notice that the whole island had turned quiet safe for the whistle of the wind that blew from the burnt tracks of the Ghost Train.

“Let me explain the three rules of the Deidbell,” the Hypno continues with a calm whisper in his voice. His eyes remain fixed on the Ghost Train ride, scanning left and right as if in search for something, or perhaps he was just being cautious and keeping a look-out. “The Deidbell,” he continues without moving his gaze, “is an instrument used to summon the spirits of the dead that linger in this realm. You will notice the bell is stiff, and it is so for a reason. Ring the bell once, hard, to force any ghosts in the area to reveal themselves. Spirits might linger in rooms or objects but they often prefer to hide from mortal’s view. Use that to force them to reveal themselves. The effect has a limited range though, it goes about as far as a room.”

“Some spirits might reveal themselves to you when you don’t want them to. They might taunt you, distract you or even try to hurt you. Be careful when that happens. If necessary, you can ring the bell three times to force the ghosts to flee for a while. Those are two of the basic functions. I should warn you though; the Deidbell as you can understand is an object from the afterlife, an instrument of the dead not meant to exist here. The reason being is that the Deidbell sucks the life out of its owner with every use, something the afterlife doesn’t have to worry about. For that purpose, if you happen to ever need to use the Deibell, don’t ever ring it more than thirteen times total. If you ring it even once more after that, you will die and join the spirits of the afterlife; or worse, become a part of the Deidbell itself.” His voice becomes dead serious on that last note. “And don’t try to be clever and give it to your Pokémon. As I said, it suck the life out of its owner, not the one who rings it. Once I give it to you, it is your responsibility to not have it ring more than thirteen times.” He seems assured of the building ahead and turns to you finally.

“So, do you still want it after I warned you about it?” He holds out the Deidbell for you to grab. Mystery and questions were still surrounding you in this place. There was the site of the strange accident that happened so many years ago, there was the Psychic Pokémon that could talk and wore a top hat, there was the strange barrier he kept talking about – he reason he couldn’t enter the grounds of the ghost train for some reason –, the angry presence he supposedly felt beyond the barrier and the Deidbell he was offering that could steal your life if you weren’t careful with it. Of course, you didn’t have to listen to him and instead you could ignore all he had to say. For all you knew he could have been a trickster and was only giving you the Deidbell so he could steal your life in the first place, and then there was the matter of the Deidbel’’s third function he had kept quiet about.

The Hypno is waiting for your answer and is holding out the Deidbell, waiting on your response. Now you had to make a decision, would you walk away or stay? Would you take his request or ignore it? Would you explore the construction site or ignore him and go to the tunnels anyway? And lastly, would you take the Deidbell?


What do you do?


The Hotel

The Upper Floors
Aposteriori: (Don’t forget to add a link to your profile in every reply, or add it to your signature.)
You were not sure what it was that you were facing, but whatever it was, it was not human. To your mind, your best chance of escaping was to fight it head on. “Firestorm, attack it head on. Use Shadow Claw against the monster. Then, chomp down with a Crunch if you are able. If for some reason you are unable to bite down on him, use Ancient Power instead.”

Your Charmander gives an approving sound and the blue-faced monster hisses at you and your companion. You whip out your Pokédex to your aid. Even if you didn’t know what it was, you had one device that might let out even a glimpse of knowledge, even if its search function would turn up empty it was something. You take aim with your Pokédex as it searches for a nearby Pokémon while your Charmander starts his first attack. The tiny lizard lashes forward with claws of shadow and strike down across the monster’s body. The man’s body splits apart before your eyes and avoids your Pokémon’s attack completely. The body disintegrates further and bursts in a flock of screeching blue and purple. Your Pokédex lights up at identifying only one target ahead of you.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pokédex
Charmander, the Lizard Pokémon. When the tip of Charmander's tail burns brightly, that indicates it's in good health.
Drat, the man had avoided the Pokédex search function and instead had your Charmander take up the place. You have no time to get frustrated or retry though as the man’s splintered remains swirled with sharp angles at you and your Pokémon, lashing out at your heads and striking in a fast blur of blue and purple. You both swing your limbs around to try and bat them away, a Pokédex in your hand.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pokédex
“Searching. Searching. Pokémon found.”
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pokédex
Z-
“Searching. Pokémon found.”
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pokédex
G-
“Searching. Searching. Pokémon found.”
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pokédex
Go-
“Searching. Searching. Searching.”
This kept on for a while as your Pokédex was unable to focus on one target long enough to obtain any data. The flock continues to strike at your head and you start to feel the pinpricks from earlier biting into your leg. You swipe them away and the flock retreats to coalesce into the man once again and hiss at you. Firestorm too regains his focus with the batting swarm removed and leaps at the man’s hand with a Crunch attack. Before he even realises it, the man’s hand severs itself and avoids your Charmander’s jaw. The hand turns mid-flight and grabs Firestorm by the nape of his neck, pinching it and forcing him to let out a howl of pain as he stumbles down, pinned.

You want to do something or call out, when your Pokedex finally completes its search function. The man hisses angrily in your direction and the strange light and high-pitch screech follow to numb you again and give you a headache. Your vision and hearing soon return though and your Pokédex announces:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pokédex
Oops, false alarm.
What?

Out of sheer panic from being pinned, your Charmander flashes out an orb of rock energy. The Ancientpower is haphazardly thrown but it strikes the centre of the man’s body perfectly. He lets out a pained hiss and his body scatters into the same flock of blue and purple you saw before. The flock buzzes past your eyes and ears with high-pitched screeches of pain, sending you flailing again before it bashes itself repeatedly against the wooden door. Considering its age, there was little surprise that a hard enough push was enough to have the unlocked door open. The flock swoops out and leaves Firestorm panting on the floor and you in your underwear.

Questions still remained on what was happening. As if the talking Hypno, the labyrinthine hallways and lavishly decorated room weren’t bizarre enough, you were just attacked by the masseuse that had turned himself into a blue-skinned beast. Just what were those strange lights and high-pitched screeches you kept hearing, and why was your Pokédex just about to collect information only to stop right after they happened again? And why on earth were you, a Flying-type researcher, sent here in the first place if it was so dangerous?

What do you do next?


Update Batch #7
Spoiler: show
(Dammit Maudlin, how can the visitors fill in the questionnaire if you forgot to hand it to them? *dead Rattata says nothing* Don’t give me excuses, I don’t care that you remembered to send the memo, it’s useless unless they have the questionnaire that goes along with it.)

~Please reply in Slategray~

The Park

Funhouse
Missingo Master: (Congrats on discovering the use of the walkie-talkie. With it however, come instructions and rules for this game. Once you’ve also managed to get into contact with Myrtle, any two people can communicate via the device, but only two. Only the two people who are communicating will get an update. This will leave one person absent from your update and open for attack from the environment, so try to stay in touch. You’re allowed to leave instructions for how that person will further their path though. Enjoy.)
Meowth:
The walls cracked shut the moment they swallowed you up, leaving you spiralling into a dizzying black nothingness with a surprisingly rough floor. The last you could hear from the other side were brief exchanges between Myrtle and your trainer. ‘I would-n't look down if I were you.’ After that, the place went eerily quiet and there was nothing to keep you company except the sigh of your own breath which you couldn’t even see.

You hear the cackling sound of sparks though, faint but close. You can barely make out your own paws as you try to feel your way. As you get closer to the sound so to does the smell of burning coal, until finally...

‘WOOSH!’

The fireplace opposite you ignited in a hellish blaze, it’s topsy-turvy colour shedding blue light across the room. The sight of it blinded you momentarily but you quickly made out shapes. A large dining table was set out in front of you, larger than any you had ever seen before; it was as if the contractor himself was a giant, you could barely make out the top but you noted the table was set with fake knives, forks and dishes of the most luxurious food you had ever seen. Luxurious and plastic, you could tell even from here. Even if they weren’t real, their otherwise inversed colours put you off from even considering them edible.

You have enough time to make out five doors when you hear a familiar voice echoing to you as if from a distance. The voice became clearer and you start to recognise it, but where was it coming from? The voice howls while you look left and right only to find the source was right in your hands. The walkie-talkie, before a mere useless piece of plastic, was speaking to you, and it sounded a lot like Keith.

“You nervously place the toy to your mouth and push the button.”

“Boss?”



"Meowth! Oh, thank Arceus, I was right, these things do work here... Listen, Meowth, me and Hedwig are trying to find you and Myrtle. Is Myrtle with you? Can you describe where you are? What do you see?"

You look around the room. Opposite you still glowed the hellish blue fire below the mantelpiece, a small black cauldron hanging above it. The two doors on either side of the fireplace were as gigantic as the table that was laid out and read ‘Stove’ and ‘Blender’. The two doors on either side of you though were so tiny, they were envisioned for mice it seemed. They were just big enough to allow you to crawl through and read ‘Fridge’ and ‘Oven’. After all that had happened, those four choices didn’t seem appealing or trustworthy at all. You want to go back but the wall behind you had morphed into the fifth door, it’s size that wasn’t too big or too small but felt just about right. It read ‘Cooler’. As for Myrtle, ever since you had split away from the group you hadn’t seen her. The last thing you remember was that she was with Keith.

What does Meowth do?

Keith:
After a lengthy discussion with your Meowth (feel free to fill in), you find yourself at the mysterious tower. Hedwig had made surprisingly good time; the path ahead was illuminated by the strange light that occasionally flickered but you felt there was something else besides your own Pokémon’s strength that got you here so quick. Perhaps you had misjudged the time and distance? Regardless, the sight of the tower was enough to give your Crobat her last ounce of strength to lift you there before she lowered and perched, in slight need of some rest after the long haul here.

You inspect the tower and it’s immediately clear to you what it is: a slide. The colouring was off due to Topsy-Turvy but your expertise in the poison type helped you recognise that the base was shaped like an Ekans’ tail. The submerged blue nodules spiralled into the sick-green body and continued until it reached the invisible ceiling where undoubtedly its head lay. The tail was split open to reveal the dark opening inwards that spiralled up to the top. Behind you, once more, pulsed the strange light in the distance for only a brief moment.

What does Keith do?


The Ghost Train
Fishyfool:
You were perturbed by the cabin’s locked door and the banshee’s assault. Mjolnir had successfully managed to subdue your assailant for now but the echoing screams made for a distressing forethought. You return into your original cabin and convey your orders. Your Pokémon were to attack on sight and keep a vigil eye to stay safe. You turn to your fellow occupant, "Austin, we need to focus on taking out that ghost out there, it seems to be the source of this fire. Call your Litwick inside for now, I'm going to try and take a chunk of this fire down in one good hit." From the side, your companion Austin picks himself up and returns his Litwick to his Pokéball as you instructed.

"I'm going to try and open the door to the next carriage. See if there's anything I can do. I'll bring Kai and Wisp with me in case the banshee attacks.”

A plan was set; while you would hold off the banshee, the less experienced trainer was going to try and free the path up ahead. The flames encroached the walls of the carriage still but it didn’t stop him. If only it had though, a flame shoots from the opening where Austin stood and the squirrel Pokémon lets out a surprising jolt and grabs a hold of his trainer, only to cause him to trip. From the corner of your eye you notice Austin dropping off the side, the small sound of his hand reaching for the ledge only for it to slip off as soon as it did. All that followed was the confirmation of his fall with a distant Wilhelm scream. Austin was lost, gone into the dark abyss.

There was no time to panic or go after him, as the banshee’s howl rings loudly behind you. Paine had already opened the door in the back letting in a swirl of wind that passed through the cabin. The Gothorita murmured softly while rubbing the temples on her sides, the Miracle Eye was being set up. In the vast black nothingness that stretched out before her, Paine pointed her arm up off to her side and conveys her message to you; she found the ghost. The banshee confirms this for you as she lets out a howling wail at being discovered. Her grim face comes into full view, a blazing fury etched in her empty gaze as she howls towards the carriage. Paine’s eyes glow a mysterious purple and a cackle of lavender electricity spark around her face and in the distant dark where the banshee flew.

The Psyshock was a direct hit you knew as the banshee let out another wail of pain, but the attack did little in the way of stopping her. Despite your Pokémon’s Miracle Eye, the move had little in the way of effectiveness. Still, the move managed to get a lock on to the ghost and have Paine launch a successful attack, no matter how little damage it might have been. The spirit’s anger wasn’t letting up at even the slightest resistance so there was little way to tell how effective it may have been.

Mjolnir continues spouting Muddy Water across the sides. Thus far, one flank of the cabin was caked in thick mud and slabbed across the windows, blocking any view inside. At least the fire was hindered on that side for the time being. The Swampert was about to release his second stream of Muddy Water on the opposite wall when he heard Paine’s warning chime. His head, the only part of his body that dared emerge out of the latch for fear of being thrown off, turned to face the oncoming spectre with a deep breath. Mjolnir was about to release his loud Roar when the banshee caught him off guard first. A pinching howl transforms into a high-pitched screech that rung yours, Mjolnir’s and Paine’s ears and stopped you in your tracks. The windows shook with willowish resistance and the cabin walls reverberated the pitch inside with loud bangs. Mjolnir lets out a cry for help as the banshee sails past him with a quick movement. Your Pokémon falls down the hatch and lands on the floor, clutching his face in clear pain.

A look over your Pokémon’s face shows three deep cuts extending from his chin to his scalp; a Slash(-like) attack, and a critical hit it seemed. Paine gives a chime as she looks over her shoulder at her pained ally, only to concentrate on the darkness ahead. The Miracle Eye was still in effect and apparently to her this meant it was time to launch her next attack. Shadows float across the ceiling and walls to coalesce between her two cupped hands into one dark orb. A white veil approaches from beneath the carriage’s floor and darts up into the door opening. The banshee howls at Paine and prepares to strike; Paine waited for this opportunity, her Miracle Eye having predicted her opponent’s movements this time, and releases the [B]Shadow Ball[B] with an angry toss. The orb instantly connects with the ethereal corpse and sends it far back into the dark; a mix of ghost and windy howling was heard as the move struck an apparent effective hit. The echoes die and for the time being it seemed you were safe, at least from the banshee.

The carriage was still on fire on one side and would catch the other side again if not stopped on time. The train continued lurching across its many bends, shaking you left and right and regularly forcing you to regain your balance. Paine herself steps away from the door once the banshee was removed, lest she herself followed Austin’s fate. Even if the banshee was removed as a threat for the time being, you remained trapped in the void across a galloping train that needed to be stopped.

What do you do next?


Liltwick:
You recall your Litwick to its Pokéball as suggested by your companion. He was going to concentrate on extinguishing the fire as much as he could, ordering his Pokémon to keep a watch on the banshee and attack it on sight. Not one to stand idly by on the sidelines, you try to focus on getting the door to the next carriage open, hoping to find a safer haven in the next, unkindled wagon.

"I'm going to try and open the door to the next carriage. See if there's anything I can do. I'll bring Kai and Wisp with me in case the banshee attacks." You near the cabin’s door when the whole train suddenly shudders into a turn and the flames creep up the side. Your Pachirisu gives a startled shock and latches onto your leg in a panic, inadvertently giving you the final push you needed to lose your footing and fall. You quickly turn to try and grab a hold off the ledge but your hand slips with your momentum and an empty shock of realisation settles in that you were falling ever distant into the black abyss below, your Pachirisu clinging on to you for dear life.

You can’t say for sure what it was; the panic, the vast nothingness that seeped into your mind and eyes or you hitting something below. Whatever it was, you and Kai descend so deep down into the abyss that you lose consciousness, and the last thing you remember is the warm embrace of the void welcoming you in.



…Sun?...goth…

….wu?...leafleaf!

Dusk..gby..Sent?…bra…

…ralral…snee…bleye…

What was that? Who was there? Your head hurts and your senses don’t seem to want to wake up along with your consciousness. Your hear faint whispers of something whispering close by. Chattering? Giggling? You couldn’t tell what they were exactly. Your eyes open to a purple blur. You make out figures, dark figures, and the voices become clearer in your head. You start making out eyes, red and dangerous along with some white; faces, but not human; and sharp teeth hanging above you with a menacing grin. You jolt awake at the sight of sharp teeth and look around startled.

The figures come into full view and you can make out what appear to be small Pokémon running from you scared. A few stay behind; a green-capped white humanoid, a leaf-topped onion with arms and legs and a purple goblin of some kind. The purple goblin pokes you violently in the side and gives a surprised yelp to the others once he shoves his finger deep into your flesh. The others give worried exchanges of Pokéspeak, the little humanoid giving a sickly cough while doing so, and the remaining three Pokémon make a run for it as well, hiding as far away as they could from you.

Your headache pounds brutally and subsides shortly. Where were you? How long were you falling? You couldn’t have possibly survived that fall. Could you? You find yourself, surprisingly, in one piece. Aside from your headache, a few scrapes and some dirt you were perfectly fine. A little away from you lies the unconscious Kai, covered in dirt and scuffs.

You take a clear look at your surroundings. As far as you could tell, you had landed in some form of desert, a grim one at that. The sand below you was a shady grey and clung to your skin like mud. Scattered across the horizon lay boulders, dead trees and broken ruins of what might have once been houses, temples or towers, shattered far beyond recognition. Over all of this, stretching as far as you could tell, loomed a hazy purple sky like the one you saw in the abandoned amusement park, but this one was more pronounced. You could clearly make out murky, overlapping clouds above you and what appeared to be thunderstorms of blue lightning in the far distance. The atmosphere was so thick the clouds permeated the ground with a thin mist that smelt like burnt corpses. Or at least this is what you would imagine it to smell like.

You were nowhere, or wherever you were, it didn’t feel like earth to you. Any sound you made echoed across the empty plains to return to you with wisps of sand and mist that made you cough. But one echo returns with something more; crying, someone was lamenting in the distance and weeping with distant and loud sobs.

What do you want to do next?


The Hotel

The Fifth Floor
Marblezone:
You felt you were being mocked, played with or at the very least not being up front towards. You had no intention to play someone’s games and upon spotting the Hypno’s reappearance you make that intention clear with one word.

“Explain.”

The Hypno bristles and folds his newspaper. “Well you’re not one for taking a detour are you? Wouldn’t you like to stay and have a chat first?” He notes your annoyance and puts the paper down. “Very well, I’ll get straight to it then. But first.” He waves at a nearby employee to come over. The young man, previously scouring around the lobby floor like a Rattata, scurries over with shifty glances to the side.

“Yes.. sir? Can.. I help?” he said with pausing reluctance.

“Yes, may I have one more coffee please,” he hands his empty cup over and looks at you. “And for this gentleman, would you like anything?” he asks you.

The man is sent away on your orders and leaves the two of you alone to discuss the matters further. “Don’t look at me like that. The reason I didn’t explain everything was because having you see it first-hand would have made things easier. It would have been a long explanation otherwise and besides, would you have believed me after seeing what you know now?” referring to the strange purple backdrop you saw in every window. He lets the question rest a couple of seconds for a response. “As you may understand, this place is not in the mortal realm, but neither is it the afterlife. I think the best way to explain it is that this place lies in a realm in between. For lack of a better term, you could call it a pocket dimension, a place that exists beside these two without connecting with either. There are more of these, they tend to get created for purposes or out of necessity, sometimes by those who dabble in magics and misuse their abilities. Why I remember one time I met this funny little gall when I was younger and she came up to me-“ he stops at your stare and shuffles uncomfortably in his place.

“Right, straight to the point of course. Anyway,” he gives a humble cough. “This one was made out of necessity, it is an old one made by my master a long time ago to contain this area and all the events that transpired. These places are usually made to be inaccessible to the other realms. I have used a considerable part of my energy to get you here, I hope I didn’t make a mistake in relying on you.” He chokes at your visual response (knowing you) and recollects his thoughts. The employee returns with a tray of coffee and your order.

“I hope you took your time to get acquainted with the surroundings,” he says once you’re left alone again. “It’s best to know where you are and to understand these people as best as possible. Reason being; in one hour, everyone here will be dead…”

He takes a sip of coffee and lets you stir in that last sentence for a while. “Well, 55 minutes by the time we’re done talking,” he pulls out a pocket watch to assure himself of what he said. “Strictly speaking of course they’re dead already, but not exactly either, they die over and over again or, ahem. How best to put this? The souls you see here are afflicted with a curse, you see? They’re doomed to repeat their final moments time and over again until someone steps in. This happens quite often actually in the real world, more than you’d think. They’re usually not that significant but in this case, as you can see outside, it was necessary to remove them for a while. What happened here was disastrous and would have been dangerous if kept to the mortal realm.” He continues sipping his coffee, as if more eager to get this over with than you.

“So,” he puts the cup down firmly, “now we get back to why I brought you here in the first place. I’m sure you can guess by now why I brought you here; to change the circumstances of these spirits and free them so they may move on to the afterlife. It may sound easy, but trust me it is not. To have you better understand, I will not explain what it is that put them in this predicament in the first place. If I told you now, I’m sure you wouldn’t help at all. Though perhaps,” he strokes his mane in thought, “having you know why might actually stop you.” He scoffs the idea away for the moment. “Either way, instead I’ll have you figure out why it is that these people found themselves in such a predicament. Find out why the people here died and you’ll figure out what you’ll have to do to help them.”

“I’ll give you one last thing for your quest,” he slides the pocket watch across the table. “I’ve set the timepiece myself. It is currently 12:04. You have until 13:00. Try not to mess with the settings, will you? Please.” The favour was made to sound more serious than it was, but you could note the hint of urgency in his voice.

You look at the pocket watch and find it to be subtly tasteful. Everything about it - the design, the colour, the numerals, the sound – ticked as if it were made specially for a man like Luther C. Helford. There was only one knob on it though with which to turn the hands of the watch. The moment you look away from the pocket watch, you notice the Hypno had disappeared from his chair. Only the presence of his empty coffee cup ensured you of his recent existence. A small ring hums in your head before making way for the soft voice of your recent companion. “One last thing I forgot to mention: don’t tell the inhabitants they’re dead. They’re not ready to confront it just yet and you’ll regret what happens if you remind them.” The voice and the ringing disappear and leave you to explore the limited grounds of the pocket dimension.

The majority of the crowd was still surrounding the battle of Walrein vs Camerupt but it was coming to a close. The entrance to the conference hall was still blocked by the three security guards and the lady with the clipboard. The employee who just served you continued scurrying around the lobby floor to serve others while another was finally managing to get the luggage cart moving after getting help from a third employee. In addition you have; a few people reading their books or magazines at some of the tables, the two receptionists, and the kitchen and boiler room that remain unexplored.

What do you want to do next?

Current Time: 12:05 PM

(You have a time constraint in place. Roughly every major action will take 5 minutes, this corresponds roughly to an update, two in case of the results of your actions needing to be detailed. I’ll give the current time for every update though so you won't have to keep guessing.)


Update Batch #8
Spoiler: show
(Maudlin! You were supposed to take care of the submissions while I was gone. *dead Rattata says nothing* I mean look at this inbox, these have been waiting weeks for a reply.)

~Please reply in Slategray~

The Park

Funhouse
Missingo Master:
Myrtle:
The trick didn’t end with Meowth being swallowed up by the wall. While Keith looks frantically at the wooden mouth that had just closed, you notice a new one opening up right below him.

“Meat Sack”

"What?"

"...I would-n't look down if I were you."

As comical as the situation was, the truth remained that the trapdoor took a hold of your trainer and pulled him in. You wanted to reach for him and extend a hand but as you peered down into the abyss you saw only the small figure of Keith being enshrouded by the dark. The trapdoor swings shut, nearly catching your claws in them, and seals, removing any trace of its existence. The trapdoor was but just a part of the floor now which excited the ghost children even more.

“Fun!” shouted one. “Now that they’re hiding we should hide too.”

“I claim the Kitchen!” shouted one of the boys excitedly.

“Hey! That’s not fair,” said a girl, “you didn’t give us a chance.

“Booh, too bad, I said it first.”

“Why do you always want to go there?” asked the other boy.

“Because there’s a cool hiding spot there most people can’t find.”

“Oh you mean the secret place in th-“

“Ssssshhht!” he whispered, “don’t say it in front of him,” referring to you. “I’m going to hide now, come on Inkay.”

The boy faded into thin air and let the other four to discuss amongst themselves.

“I’ll take him to the hallway,” said the girl, grabbing the boy who always smiled and never talked by the hand. “They can’t run away from you there. You like that, right?” The boy gave a drooling smile and nodded. “Okay, and after that I’ll go to the staircase and hide in my room.”

“Why do you always get that room,” the boy protested.

“Because I’m the leader and I’m the only one who knows how to get there.”

The boy pouted. “Well I’d know if you’d just let me once.”

“I claim the bathroom!” shouted the other girl. “You can swim there and even go underwater.”

“Hey wait, but then I have to stay here.”

“So?”

“Well they’ve already seen me here, I can’t hide any more.”

“Well too bad.” The other three stuck their tongue out at him.

The girl who had proclaimed to be the leader told him “just don’t let him catch you. You can at least do that, right?” she sneered.

“Better than you can!” The girl didn’t stick around to hear the boy insult her back. The three children and their Inkay vanished just like the other spirit did before them, leaving the last boy and his Inkay alone in that room. His eyes focus on you as he pouts.

“Inkay,” he turns to his partner. “Go!”

“Ink-inkay,” the little body twisted around gladly, releasing psychic rings of fuchsia at the walls, ceiling and floor. The whole room shivered and trembled in its place. The walls quaked, the ceiling cracked and you were momentarily disoriented when the floor shook in resonance. You pick yourself up and notice the twisting colours swivelling through the air and seeping into the wooden boards. One by one, furniture picked itself up from its grounding. Sofas and chairs detached from the wall to your left, bookcases and cupboards from your right, lamps and plant pots opposite you, the TV and stereo installations behind and the shifting tiles from the ceiling above which used to be the floor until recently. The back of the tiles reveal patterns of colours, dots and pictures reminiscent of board games and paintings. The last to throw you off balance did so literally as the carpet rugs beneath you lifted up and twisted into chaotic jigsaw pieces. The red velvet carpet you were on collapses to drop you back to the ground with an oomph.

Each of the pieces of furniture drifted towards the centre to hang limp in the air where they formed a scattered mess like flakes in a snowglobe. The boy pulls a finger on his eyelid and taunts you like a child would to a grown-up, sticking out his tongue to further anger you.

“Blehh, try and catch me now. Turd.” He didn’t sound too sure about the insult himself. You notice only now that the furniture wasn’t the only thing affected by the Inkay’s wacky psychic abilities. While the furniture was free to float as it wished, your floating ability was lost and grounded you to only short jumps!

It is then, after the successive strange occurrences that another one beckons to you. The voice of someone familiar calls from you down below. Below the floor? Keith? The plastic toy in your hand buzzes and Keith’s voice echoes through the slits.

What will Myrtle do?

Keith:
You steel your nerves and head into the plastic Ekans’s body, the one that coiled for what seemed like forever into the total abyss, all the while fiddling with the nob and button on the walkie-talkie. You place your feet strategically to prevent yourself from sliding down and switch the device to frequency 3. You push the button and call for Myrtle.

A few seconds pass by and you hear nothing. Then, a voice calls to you. The voice of Myrtle!

(Updatee is free to fill in conversation here)

Your conversation is quickly interrupted though as you unexpectedly lose your balance on your feet. The surprise came not from the fact that you could have been pulled down, put pulled up. The unexpected turn of events turned you in turnas you slipped and crashed belly down onto the plastic tubing and shot up the spiralling slide. Up and up you picked up speed, seeing for only a brief moment the flash of the Ekans’s mid-stripe passing you by. Before you knew it you were launched out of a gaping mouth onto a soft but uncomfortable landing that was the ground. Something pointy stings you into your gut and you instantly pick yourself up away from the sharp object, only to find…

Quote:
Originally Posted by Item
You found 1x Poison Barb
What was this doing here? Never mind that, you were talking to Myrtle. You hesitate speaking into the toy for only a moment as you take in your new surroundings. Stairs, but not just one, dozens of them were scattered across the room. Some appeared normal enough, with their soft, cushiony steps as you’d expect from a kids’ playground, but they were aligned in abnormal positions, either stretching or bending their ways from wall to ceiling to wall and floor. The entire room was a maze of incoherent, and frankly impossible to normally walk, staircases set at impossible angles. The whole thing would have looked like an M.C. Escher painting were it not, yet again, for the Topsy-Turvy neon colouring splashed across it. Ahead of you lay nothing more than a thin walkway across the wall towards a curved door. To the side a drop alongside some roundabout stairs to the floor.

What will Keith do?


The Ghost Train
Fishyfool:
With the blast from the Shadow Ball the banshee’s echoes faded into the distance. You and your partners are left in peace for the time being, however long that might be. You look over your Swampert and aid its wounds with a Potion from your backpack. The spray stings but nevertheless cover the slashes to protect and heal them quickly, lest they infect. Paine luckily needed no such treatment this time and instead found herself with a renewed sense of power. From the corner of your eye you notice the shimmer of light that was Paine’s evolution into Gothitelle. (Congratulations!)

And with the evolution…

'What burdens shall I bear for thee, Blackhall?'

She had gained the ability to talk (through minds)!

You stammer briefly, perplexed by your Pokémon’s newfound power but regain your thoughts to focus on the situation at hand. You order Paine to pick the lock with her Psychic powers, ripping the door apart if that didn’t succeed. Mjolnir was to use Hydro Pump to extinguish any lingering fires that might bother your passage through the dark.

Both nod and get to work. Paine moved to the door and set herself at the edge of the carriage. Her eyes light up with an ominous pink glow and you can hear the squeaks of the lock’s pins moving in the tumbler. Eventually with much ease thanks to her new abilities, Paine unlocks the door and nudges it open with her mind. Immediately, the door flies open and rips apart from its hinges to drop into the abyss below. It appears her new powers are stronger than she realised. It might take some time for her to adjust to her new strength.

Either way, the road was clear. All you needed was a path. Mjolnir takes point and plods next to Paine. The Swampert breathes a chilling beam of ice cold energy and instantly freezes the metal chains and clinks. The breath continues to pile on ice until a rough patch forms that connected the two carriages with a brittle and slippery bridge. You take your first tentative step, making sure the path was safe to traverse. Despite the unsure footing of ice, you manage your way into the next carriage, quickly followed by your Pokémon who’s exuberant strength and power crossed the frosty patch as if it were almost nothing.

The interior of the carriage was much the same as the previous with two sets of benches on either side to accommodate passengers. There were two major differences you could note however. One was the handful of poles in the centre which standing passengers could hold onto. The second was that this carriage remained unaffected by the fires of the banshee. From what you remembered when the train docked at the station, the locomotive was up ahead, through the same doors as the one you had just gone through. Before you proceed though, you notice an odd roundish object underneath one of the benches. Closing in, you notice it to be a special Pokéball of some kind; yellow and black with a small red ‘V’ on it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Item
You found 1x Level Ball
Instantly the train lurches with a chugging motion, forcing you to regain your balance yet again as it picks up speed. The sudden momentum wasn’t the only surprise though as you feel yourself being pulled back by gravity. The train was going uphill, and from what you could tell the slope was rising. From behind you hear a familiar screech whistling in the distance. The whole train shudders and squeals in response, continuing ever onwards. The sound of a cracking ice reaches your ears followed by the quick bash of sleet and steel as the carriage behind detaches and whistles into the black nothingness like Austin had done moments before. The hollow abyss welcomes you with a gaping wind and the train responds by inching itself even higher, now released of the burden of the burnt-out carriage.

The slope was getting steeper by the minute and you feel your feet dragging themselves across the floor as you're pulled back. Behind you lay the gaping hole, ready to suck you and your Pokémon into the abyss. The flash of light and echoing screech told you the banshee was approaching, and fast. Round two was about to start.

What do you do next?


Update Batch #9
Spoiler: show
(We apologise for the administrative failures of late. Maudlin has been feeling a bit under the weather lately. *Indicates the dead Rattata on the desk* Her husband just recently passed away.)

~Please reply in Slategray~

The Park

Funhouse
Missingo Master:
Meowth:
“Dahh!”

You weren’t entirely sure whether the noise came from you or someone else, or even if it was said at all. You had stepped through the door to find yourself back where you were; the kitchen, but with one added twist that tightened in your stomach.

After having gone through the regular-sized door marked ‘Cooler’ you spent a good chunk of time crawling through narrow gaps, scaling steep slopes and climbing your way through twisting tunnels. The lay-out was that of a children’s crooked house; a funhouse in which visitors had to climb their way through similar bizarre turns until one found the exit. The most important distinction though were the off-putting colours; a mixture of black darkness that blocked all light followed by a dazzling array of neon splashed walls that glowed and fizzed your eyes if you stared too long. But the most unsettling of all was that on more than one occasion you felt the pull of gravity coming from above or from the side, and you were sure, though you don’t know how, that the corridors had somehow twisted you into walking on the ceilings and walls.

Still, the narrow crawlspaces were no match for a Pokémon with your dexterity and ingenuity. Your paws, claws and thin body aided you easily in turning the tight corners and scaling the slopes like they were nothing. Your cat eyes, amongst an arsenal of attacks, allowed you to navigate through the dark corridors when needed. Eventually, after traversing the one-directional path, you came up to a split. A slope extended before you from the hole in the bottom left to the gap in the top right. Both paths looked equally ominous and gave no hint as to what lay around its corner. With Keith out of communication this time, you had made your own decision (as is part of this game) and scaled the slope up and right.

And that, as you recalled, was how you ended up back in the Kitchen area. You saw the same five doors, the same fire place with blue flames and the same giant dining table set with the off-coloured food – except it wasn’t so large any more. To you, it now seemed like a regular table size you could sit at, and the fireplace and doors had shrunk together with the size of the room.

No, that wasn’t right you felt. The door you had come through, ‘Stove’ - before a large gigantic door - was now about the same size as you, as was the door opposite you named ‘Blender’. Bowing down on all fours you find the tiny mouse holes that made up the doors marked ‘Fridge’ and ‘Oven’, now too small for you to even fit your arm through. The door you had gone through first, ‘Cooler’, was smaller than you – about the same size as the two smallest doors had been before. Theoretically you could squeeze through it, but with the change in size you’re not sure how well you’d fit through the tight passageways this time around.

No, you realise, the room didn’t change size. You did!

Your thoughts though, as startled or relaxed as they may have been, are interrupted by the familiar static voice of Keith coming from the plastic walkie talkie.

What will Meowth do?

Keith:
With no immediate path set out for you other than straight ahead, you decide to walk the thin runway strip to the other side of the room where a single door laid peacefully waiting. To your side you notice the odd physics of the stairways themselves coming to life if you moved. Some of them, you note, had no presence of depth you could speak of; they were two-dimensional structures placed in a three dimensional world. They were as thin as paper and disappeared completely when looked at from the right angle. Other stairwells refused to change their shape or size merely by observation. No matter where you moved or how fast you walked, the staircases opted to remain in the same place of vision, never changing orientation as you slowly stare at how they unmovingly displaced themselves from the floor to the wall.

Other stairwells then, had a clear mind of their own; one that didn’t like you, and like a mechanical machine had decided to move away from you whenever you neared, connecting walls to walls or ceilings to floors and in some cases even cross and merge so as to change a passenger’s orientation halfway. If ever you had the opportunity to walk amongst the many bizarre and moving steps of this room, you were unsure if you could ever gain your bearings or even find the exit.

But the dizzying portrait of improbable stairwells wasn’t your main focus. You fiddle with the walkie talkie and communicate with Meowth this time. The walkway staid as stationary as any normal platform should and within seconds you make your way across the room and open the door, a mistake you felt a split second thereafter.

Immediately, a vortex of wind sucked you in and swallowed you into the next room with the door banging shut after you, ceasing the rapid air currents.

You feel as if you were swimming; weightless, like you were floating in space, or perhaps in nothingness. The latter made more sense when taking in your surroundings. You look around and notice nothing but the same black darkness as when you had taken that large fall into the sea of balls, though tiny pinpricks of light, too dim to illuminate anything, shined all around you like stars at an infinite arm’s length.

It is then that the bright neon colours erupted onto the scene. Glowing wireframes of various shapes – mostly circles, triangles and squares – stretched in front and behind you like a large glowing tunnel suspended in the backdrop of space. The shapes rotated, in opposite directions and with differing speeds, independent from one another. On either side, illuminated by the neon tunnel’s light, was a door; a door that rotated on its axis in tandem with the tunnel, and the longer you looked at it, the more it seemed to be moving away from you. You try and move in the vast nothing that surrounded you and surprisingly found yourself able to push and kick away in whatever direction you wanted, albeit it at an anchored speed. Wherever this was - space or some other similarly strange and ridiculous guess - you could only move by ‘float-swimming’ – or whatever it was you were doing.

“INKAY!”

You hear the booming voice; louder, deeper and larger than imagination allowed, coming from behind. A gigantic Inkay, with a size that could equal Kyogre or Groudon in stature peered down from above the tunnel down on you, a menacingly innocent chirp in its voice as the blimp of a Pokémon floated ever closer towards you. Behind him, you hear the equally gigantic laugh and snicker of the ghost child; the boy who always drooled and smiled but never talked.

What will Keith do?


Fortune Teller’s Tent
Meetan:
Led by your Swinub’s braver spirit, the two of you make your way across the abandoned park’s grey tiles. The air was thickly permeated with the same hazy purple mist it had always been ever since the unfortunate mishaps those many years ago that culminated into the large spectral storm that shaped the Phantom Isle. A great many mysteries surrounded the place; its origin, its past, its reason… its inhabitants.

The island wasn’t your usual spot to visit, but you felt you could brave the ghosts and ghouls of the place as long as you had your trusted Pokémon with you. Your Swinub trots of the chipped bricks onto a greyish dirt path that lead to an open field of dead grass. In its midst, a proud canvas castle pierced the fog with its five conjoined tents, four of which surrounded the main entrance like proud watchtowers. But it wasn’t the circus - the dead and emptied husk that was more grim than grin - that your Swinub came for. Instead, he burrowed his nose in the pliable ground and sniffed his way around the side of the ginormous circus to a smaller confined one that stood off to the side. A cold light spilled out of its open tent flap, the only beacon that informed you of its existence.

Your Swinub leads you closer to it, the fog growing thicker like tobacco smoke as you did, until the rest of the park – the hotel, the rollercoaster, the Ferris wheel and even the circus tent itself – faded out of sight. Only you, your Swinub and the smallish tent was what remained in the purple haze of the Phantom Isle fog. Your eyes catch the chalkboard sign to the side, white letters scratched into its timeworn panel: ‘The Fortune Teller’.

“Please take good care of her.”

You’re surprised by the sudden appearance of a yellow, trunk-nosed creature standing apart from you.


Two dead eyes filled with sorrow stare at you from beneath his top hat. He repeats himself.

“Please take good care of her.”

A burst of wind spews forth from the tent, and a cloud of grey dust and purple mist washes over the creature. Within seconds, the wind and dust settled, and the creature was gone. You and Maasa were left to yourselves again, left this time with only a plea for help, or was it perhaps a cry for mercy? For a moment, you feel uncertain about pursuing this path. You had no clue yet as to what the creature was that had spoken to you, nor what it’s cryptic clue meant or why he gave it to you.



For whatever reason you deemed fit, you decide to walk into the light and call out to whatever was in there. You’re overcome by the bright light and your eyes take a moment to adjust. A scene forms in front of you quickly and you make out a chair and a table. You hear a zipping noise and notice the tent flap closing behind you. The wind perhaps?

Two candlelit lanterns, erected on wooden poles on the other side of the room, cast their light throughout the tent. Another single tent flap rested between them, closed. On either side of you were placed small bookshelves, nightstands or tables, all made of wood but none of which matched in colour, size or design. The furniture itself was packed with obscure ornaments fashioned in a way so as to instil horror, mystery or bewilderment to its visitors. You noted decks of cards and spirit boards with otherworldly symbols carved in them, Torchic bones and gold coins spilling out of a pouch bag, a Slaking skull with its dome cut off in which a candle acted as a substitute for a brain, regional bird feathers attached to a chain, a necklace of what may or may not have been Sharpedo and Tyranitar teeth, and plastic bags tucked away in corners from which odd - and possibly illicit - Pokémon toxins emanated.

The only clearing was the cloth-covered table in front of you on which a crystal ball was nestled. A swirling pattern of dark clouds and soft glows coalesced inside the glass orb like a thunderstorm. You notice yourself inching closer out of curiosity only to stop and discover there was another chair directly opposite you, bigger and grander than yours and with its back turned towards you. It is only then, when you properly look, that you realise someone is sitting in the chair. A black veil covered the crown of their head and slunk down across its body until it draped the feet. A single sleeve hung over the chair’s arm, most likely enshrouding the person’s hand. Not a single facet of the person’s identity was left to exposure by the black curtain. You couldn’t tell whether it was human, Pokémon, man, woman, old or young and it especially didn’t help that this person was faced away from you.

This whole time, the person hadn’t said a word, but the moment you noticed its presence you feel a waft of cold air blow past your ears and bring with it a raspy voice that echoed more in your mind than it did your ears.

The voice was scratchy and stiff but the words were unmistakably clear.

”What. Is it. You. Seek?”

What do you do?


The Hotel

Restaurant
Electric Blue Eye:
An odd cackle of electricity sparked off of the machines and warded you off.

"I don't think we should put our names in those machines..." you said.

"Yeah," James sighed heavily, "There's definitely something odd about them, isn't there?"

The two of you decide against playing with the machines any further. Ominous didn’t even cover the strange sensation that washed over you when you saw the names of all previous players; ‘FIGHTING’ and ‘DEAD’. Instead, you opted to fill the pit in your stomach with some food. You both recall one of the signs in the lobby that read ‘Restaurant’ and decide to go there to get something to eat, leaving the machines alone – neither inputting your name nor cancelling the option, but leaving it waiting.



The door into the restaurant was barred it seemed. Turning the handle didn’t do anything and while the door shuddered when you pushed, it didn’t budge. After one more try, you push your weight against it and hear the wooden frame crack, releasing the door from its grip and sending you falling. A cloud of dust swept up as you landed, some which clung to your face.

You wipe the grime off and note the décor of the restaurant. Opposite you on the far end of the room were the giant glass panes that made up the wall, covered in thick grey dust which obscured the view to the grey backdrop that sprawled out everywhere in the park. Between you and the glass panes were tables set with knives, forks, plates and unlit candles, accompanied with comfortable upholstered chairs and everything was covered in that same layer of grey dust. The floor descended halfway the room by a few steps, giving a slight difference in height and view outside while providing the feeling of having two separate rooms connected with one another. The one you were standing in had mostly tables and chairs seated for two – couples – and a long stretch of bar with stools behind which shelves were lined up with fancy liqueurs and expensive spirits along with some cocktail shakers, glasses and wine bottles. Most of the drinks here could last years and might still have been good had you had an interest in that sort of thing. The other room, a few steps ahead and down was laid out for larger groups ranging from two to six. To its right, a bit further form the bar, were the doors to the lavatories and the kitchen, a sign marking it as ‘Employees Only’. Not that anyone would stop you from walking through it though.

Seeing as no one was going to serve you and you both wanted food, you eventually head through the doors and into the kitchen. The kitchen was standard with pots and pans piled on top of one another in either the sink or the cupboard. Utensils hung on hooks above stoves which, to some surprise, had a few still operational. There were three ovens, one of which had broken buttons and the other which wouldn’t turn on. You would have to clean some of it maybe. Luckily there were cleaning supplies below the sink.

Opening the fridge made you want to gag and close it as soon as you did. Given enough time, anything, even mould, can grow in a fridge, and you had just allowed the food to spread its spores. The pantry was riddled with foaming disease and only the non-perishables survived. Pasta, rice and other such grains managed to survive and hadn’t expired. You found cans of tinned soups and sauces, full of sodium but that meant it could have lasted this length of time without spoiling. The freezer was your last inspection point, and a good one at that. Metal shelves on either side were packed with boxes of ice cream, pies and whole carcasses of (Pokémon) meat. Any chance you knew how to carve?

[Player is free to describe how character proceeds, what he eats, etc.]

Eventually you make a decision on what to do and get set to it. Moments after just when you got into the rhythm, you hear a chirping noise from the door. Turning your eyes, you see a small orange chick Pokémon and a Pokémon with a white body and green helmet poke their heads through the kitchen door at you. Both give a surprised chirp or chime and look somewhat baffled at you.

What do you do?


Update Batch #10
Spoiler: show
(Maudlin we’ve talked about this. You can’t bring your friends to work! *Ekans hisses in the corner and looks gleefully at the dead Rattata*)

~Please reply in Slategray~

The Park

Funhouse
Missingo Master: (Five Pokémon claimed in party so far: Meowth, Myrtle, Salazar, Hedwig and Dudley)
Myrtle:
With a crash you landed on yet another wall, it now becoming your new floor yet again. How many times was this? You try to remember as you rub your head from your recent crash.



You had charged up a Shadow Ball and tried to get closer to the boy and his Inkay. A shot from afar would have been too easy to dodge otherwise. The closest piece of furniture was the red carpet that had previously dragged itself out from under you. You jumped on it and sped across its coiled surface upwards.

Still not close enough. The ball of energy in your hand got bigger as you jumped on the next platform in sight; a bookcase. You landed, clutching tightly around the Shadow Ball only to feel it loosen from your grasp as you’re whisked away. The bookcase you stood on plummeted to the wall on the side, crashing as if gravity had just turned itself on. You land with your back on the wall and notice the bookcase picking itself up to gently float back into the air amongst its fellow furnishings. To add to that, once you picked yourself up you noticed you were now standing on what used to be the wall. The Shadow Ball you had just held onto was released and crashed lazily opposite you, far away from your intended target.

“Ha!” the boy taunts from his safe place in the dead centre of the room. The ghost and Inkay laugh at your recent crash-landing.

You try again, this time avoiding the bookcase and jumping onto a nearby painting. It rocked gently as you landed, then instantly zipped to your side to crash into another wall with you alongside it.

You recover and notice that yet again, the piece of furniture returned to the air without you. The original floor of the room, that had become the ceiling and then your wall was now back to being your floor as you were grounded to it.

The boy and his Inkay continue their laughter.

Again. This time you grabbed a hold of the painting that had launched you previously. Surprisingly, it rocked a bit but didn’t do much otherwise. So far so good. One of the tiles that had loosened itself when the trick set in hovered close by and revealed a chess pattern underneath it. You jump on it and land firmly. Now you were getting somewhere. Another painting floated past and you took your chance, diving for it before it escaped your grasp. The same painting stood firm in its place as you settled on it.

The boy and Inkay look somewhat nervous as you were getting closer but they were still too far away to get a good shot at. That’s when the couch provided the next means of getting closer. You jumped, and regretted the decision the moment you land. As if it couldn’t wait, the moment your feet touch the leather the couch rockets into the wall next to you.



By your count, as you now recollected while rubbing your head, that made three crash landings. Your health was slowly being chipped away with each one, and your bearings were upset with the continuous re-orientation of space as you kept finding new groundings.

The Inkay gives chirpy chuckles while the boy continues taunting you. “You’ll never get close to us like that.” He pulls his eyelid and sticks his tongue out. You want to react or move but you feel the soft buzz of the walkie talkie beside you and Keith’s voice coming through the plastic speaker.

What will Myrtle do?

Keith:
With the gigantic form of Inkay right behind you, you try desperately to swim to the other side of the tunnel, despite your anchored speed slowing you down to a float. That’s when an idea forms in your head, possibly insane but it might work. You call out your Pokémon Dudley, and with it his symbiotic partner Kenny. A sick green blob materializes into a Slowbro with an ocean blue shell latched onto his tail.

"Dudley! Trick Room!" you call out.

The Slowbro obeys diligently and a sharp twang fills the air and dissipates. Nothing about the room seemed any different but you felt lighter and could tell you were swimming faster, if only gradually. The looming giant behind you chirps gleefully as the big eyes stare down at you trying to escape. You latch onto your Slowbro and give the command to Surf out of here.

Your Slowbro understands and (magically) produces a wave of water beneath him. You hold on tightly and the two of you speed through the neon hoops one by one.

Success! You fiddle with the walkie-talkie and switch the channel to talk to Myrtle only to witness a frightening scene as you tried to make your getaway. The spaces between each hoop seemed to be getting larger and larger and the door you were headed for was moving back as far away from you as it could; nearly twice the speed you were moving. The closer you tried to get to it, the more it moved away until it felt like the space between you was endless. And that wasn’t all.

The Inkay gives a low-hum chirp as its stature grew only larger and larger while never moving an inch away from you. It’s size slowly towering above you and surpassing the height of any known legendary Pokémon. Its eyes remained fixed on you with the same menacing stare as his partner child, who was giggling far behind him out of sight, before bursting into ghostly cackles.

The tricks of the funhouse continued to turn you and your Pokémon’s world upside down with no direct approach seemingly working in this Topsy-Turvy world. The clock was ticking and the Inkays did not appear to be letting you go so easily.

What will Keith do?


kawaiiconcept: (Your adventure takes place in time after MM’s - for the sake of continuity.)
A mixture of that old familiar anxiety and your recent curiosity for the macabre bubbled up into you one more time upon having the funhouse come into full view. A rotten structure of five colourful wooden containers glued together at impossible angles, like a Lego house that was dropped roof first and stitched together by a child with no understanding of architecture - pretty much any child.

The colourful, odd-shaped building should have in theory provided a stark contrast to the grim climate that perpetuated on Phantom Isle. Instead, the oddness only helped to accentuate the strangeness of the haunted island. Small gusts of wind wafted past you playfully ever so often, never bringing with them even the slightest whisper of a voice or faintest smell of anything lively. Grime covered everything around you on the way here; flowers, park benches and cobblestones were all covered in dirt.

But you had expected this…

Calling out to anyone didn’t produce any result for the longest of times. The funhouse was, like everything else on the island, deserted and had its entertaining spirit hollowed out long ago back when construction had already been deemed to be as useful as a band-aid on a phantom limb.

Calling out didn’t work in the rest of the park, but a strange cooing noise echoed in response to you approach, from deep within the throat of the funhouse. The door to the entrance stood ajar, and with a gentle creak eased open for you, spilling the violet light outside into its dusty chambers. A stretch of hallway, reaching the other side of the building was laid out; bare, with nothing but a few pictures and tables cropped against the sides, it’s centre cleared for walking. On the other end hovered a pink unidentifiable blob. The blob cooed in your direction twice; first was a curious delightful squeal like that of a child, the second was frightened and scared. The little pink blob darted through the door to its side and disappeared into the next room.

How do you react?


Fortune Teller’s Tent
Meetan:
The voice is silent for a moment once you answer.

“…her?”

“HER!” the voice rang with a high pitch, and for a moment you catch what sounds like two voices shouting at you. A violent wind picks up to blow in your face. The entire tent shudders in its place, trying desperately to remove itself of its pins while small grains of sand pelt away at your skin and sting your eyes.

“Don’t ask about her!” the voice shouts with an animalistic growl. “You are not worthy of her! You will never be worthy of her!”

There it was again, briefly but you heard a second voice snarl along with the first.

The voice calms down slightly and the wind settles gently with it. “Foolish girl. You? You! You who doesn’t even know who you are? What you are? Little girl doesn’t even know why she’s here. Why should we trust little girl with ‘her’ if little girl can’t even look after herself?” You couldn’t quite tell whether the voice was questioning you or taunting you.

“If you want to know who you are - then do it yourself,” the voice snapped. “Look into the crystal ball and try to remember. Remember your last memory; the important one you forgot, and look again! Find your answer and prove you’re not a little girl. If little girl can’t find her answers on her own, little girl is unworthy of ‘her’."

“Now go! Otherwise; leave and never dare come back or ask about ‘her’ again.”

The last gusts of wind settle and the tent nestles quietly into its resting position. The crystal ball on the table was inviting you to look closer, the colours shifting and dancing around each other in order to entice you. All this time, the black-cladded figure in the chair didn’t budge an inch while its voice assaulted you. You feel a nervous twitch pass your spine at the unusual calmness that pervaded the area so soon after. Answers remained to be found and the voice gave you two clear options; find your answers in your own memories and prove yourself, or leave forever.

What do you do?


The Ghost Train
Fishyfool:
With the banshee’s howl declaring the next round, you set your Pokémon to work and give your orders for the upcoming battle. A plan was formed and the first issue to tackle was the gaping hole through which you were to be thrown out unless you did something. Using her newfound psychic powers, Paine’s kinetic energy grabs a hold of a single bench to the side. The screws and metal holding it in place squeak as the pins are uprooted from their wooden base. In a rather reckless few seconds the Gothorita uplifts the bench, leaving the floor and wall of the carriage intact, and shoves it against the doorway.

That was one. Your Gothorita focusses on the bench opposite and repeats the procedure, slowly stacking the seats against each other and plugging the hole by doing so. Meanwhile, you tell Mjolnir to stay ready and attack the ghost on sight. You move to the back of the carriage, aided by the vastly increasing slope of the floor and call out to the banshee who’s howls was but a few moments away.

"You out there! If you wish to make us pay for whatever it is we have done, be it trespass or get onto this train with no ticket, the door is open for you to come for us, if you dare!"

The banshee merely howls at you in response. “None will pass! None! I won’t let you!”

The ghost gives another wail and the train lurches upwards even more. While the tug of the wind was decidedly less with Paine having blocked your exit, you still feel the pull of gravity throwing you against the wall. Thanks to your quick thinking and Paine’s labour, you at least didn’t have to worry about being thrown out of the carriage. The train continued going up until it shot straight for the sky, sending you and your Pokémon tumbling from floor to wall. The train didn’t let up and continued its arch, turning on its tracks even further, and that’s when you realise; the train was looping! You feel the gravity shift and tumble even further until you land on the ceiling, pulled down hard onto your new grounding while the train continued speeding on its new upended course.

You all recover quickly enough despite the overturned lay-out of the cabin, only to find the banshee took you up on your offer. The benches against the back wall shudder and the white veil of the ghastly woman bursts through the collection of steel and wood with eyes blazing fury.

“None will pass!”

The banshee lashes out towards her closest victim – Paine - but Mjolnir puffs his cheeks, prepared for combatting the ghost as per your orders. A sticky Sludge belches from his mouth and splashes across the spirit’s face, angering her but interrupting her long enough for Paine to strike next. With the banshee momentarily subdued and close-up, the Gothorita takes her chance and charges a Thunderbolt before skilfully and forcefully flinging it into the banshee’s side. The old woman gives a howling shriek of pain and lashes out with her skeletal hand at Paine – a direct and close hit. Paine stumbles back in agony, three long scratches stretching across her torso and glowing an otherworldly red colour.

Mjolnir doesn’t let up and closes the gap between them. With the banshee still slightly fazed from the sludge on her face, Mjolnir leaps, bites her in the neck and pins the beast down. The white figure of the banshee writhes in pain beneath the bulky shape of the Swampert, letting out painful gasps of air as Mjolnir holds on to his victim with a terrifying Bite. A small cackle and a kinetic spark are followed quickly by a sudden psychic force that shoves the Swampert off the ghost and into the roof (floor). Wisps of grey dust escape from the Swampert’s mouth where the ghost’s neck had been. The spirit herself continues screeching in agony as she sieves through the carriage wall and recedes into the distance with howling pain.

The train arches back up, or down you suppose, and closes the loop. You and your party stumble around the room again, getting thrown towards the front of the carriage before landing back on the floor with a thud. The front engine whistles and the train picks up its original hasty speed. The spirit’s screeches dwindle to a mere hum and for the moment you felt a bit safer again, despite the blows your Pokémon had just received in the last round. How many more could they take? The engine room was just up ahead; through the doors, over the chain-link scaffold and past the dark oblivion wasteland. Where was the train going? Was it ever going to stop? Your questions (if any) are cut short when the train’s gravity shifts again, this time to the side; an oncoming corkscrew twist.

(Player is free to fully describe and write out how to tackle the corkscrew twist as long as it remains within the confines of the setting. Next update will tackle what the player wants to do afterwards.)

What do you do next?


The Hotel

Members-Only Casino
Escalion:
The hotel doors opened with a creak when you pushed them. Before you lay a dark, ill-lit lobby floor on which a lone chandelier projected its soft warm glow. Scattered debris of pieces of paper, cobwebs and dust were strewn across the marble tiles and carpets. The hotel desk was as run down as the rest of the place; a decayed wooden relic of its rich past as host to the guests. A silent wind blew past and shut the doors behind you, the air dying to a quiet stillness. Your voice and footsteps echo through the empty halls and down the hotel’s many abandoned corridors. No one, it appeared, was here to welcome you.

You were opposed to visiting this place at first but had decided to indulge in your Pokémon’s wants for this time, whatever they might be. Corvus was unknowingly insistent on visiting this place, or more precise; its casino. A treasure trove of abandoned items surely must lie in waiting for someone to claim them, if none had already.

The way to the casino was easy enough to find. A grime-covered panel gave small directions towards the floor below you. Floor B1 was dedicated in its entirety to the casino it would seem. Easy enough had the elevators decided to cooperate, the sign above of which read 6th floor and didn’t change no matter how many times you would push the button. The staircase was your only other option it would seem. Rusted deadbolt doors barricaded your way but you somehow managed to push through either way.

(Updatee is free to fill this part in.)

The floor itself consisted of nothing more than a short stretch of hallway blocked by a set of metallic doors, which were strangely not nearly as rusted or rundown as the rest of the hotel. A plaque beside it read ‘Casino. Members Only.” beneath which a keycard switch rested and appeared to be your only way of entry. No matter how hard you might try, these doors refused to open up as easily as the previous had.

“Looking for this?” a voice behind you asked.

The voice came from the other end of the hallway and belonged to a strange yellow creature, marked by its white mane, top hat and bonelike fingers that clutched onto a blue card.

“Catch,” it said and it flicked its fingers in your direction. The card whizzed through the air in a fury towards you with a mind of its own.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Item
You obtained 1x Member Card
“Of course,” the creature continued, “you won’t find what you’re looking for in there. At least, not without paying up front first.” He cranes his wrist and flicks his palm upwards. Purple flames erupted and embraced his fingers to the tips. He closed his hand and the purple fire condensed within it to a brilliant blue sparkle. The last of the wisps died out and a scrap of glistening blue tinsel was left within the confines of the yellow creature’s tips. “Your money has no value in this place. It is materialistic.” His gaze peers around the dirt-filled corridor. “Not much use for that here.” His focus is back onto you for a moment as he sets into a slow stride. “The inhabitants prefer to play with another type of currency, a casino secret for now.” A black stick grew from the palm of his hand down to the floor. The frame of a diamond-headed cane took shape, tapping the floor’s dust with every step. “If you want to play I won’t stop you, but if you’ll listen then hear my warning.” The Pokémon was an arm’s length away when he stopped, his eyes betrayed a sense of both worry and delight at once.

“Play until the end. Don’t stop no matter how hard things might get. Being half-hearted in your endeavour is what will really put you in danger. And be prepared; you might lose more than you bargained for.”

Was that it?

“If you wonder why I’m not telling you more…”

His face scrunches into a Hypnotic smile. “…well it’s because I don’t think the guests would appreciate me spoiling the surprise.”

He brings the flimsy piece of sparkling blue paper beside his face. “This is a voucher for 10 tokens. Seeing as how it might be hard for you to pay up front this time, I’m willing to give you..uhm..well how should I put it? Store credit? Give it to the dealer and she’ll understand.” He pulls the voucher out of your reach at the last second and closes his eyes in thought. “Before I give you this though you’ll have to assure me first.”

His voice darkens and gains a more serious tone. “What is it you want in here, and are you prepared to, as they say, go all in?”

How do you respond?


Update Batch #11
Spoiler: show
(*The Ekans bites anyone touching it*)

~Please reply in Slategray~

The Park

House of Mirrors
Monster Guy:
You enjoyed amusement parks like many others but after a few minutes of wandering through the park you were having your doubts about visiting the one on Phantom Isle. Not its original name but the one people had given it after the series of unfortunate events that transpired, most of which included the sightings of ghosts and mysterious abductions. The park hadn’t been active for a while. In fact it was abandoned and in decay. Yet, rumours had reached your ears that lights could be seen from the island and some even stated they saw some of the rides running like they had done in the old days. Most people wanted to keep away from the place, fearing it was a ploy of the ghosts to lure people in. (Perhaps for this reason, you decided it was a good idea to come here?)

The lay-out of the place hadn’t changed. As far as anyone was aware, the buildings and rides themselves hadn’t moved. With that logic, the old maps of the amusement park were still usable as guides, something many construction workers, travellers and investigative reporters had used before you. You had managed to obtain such a map, either by printing one off of your computer, picking one up at the park’s entrance or some other matter.

Your Pokémon had opposite views to one another when it came to visiting this place. Your Munna felt nervous and looked fearful. Perhaps her Psychic powers sensed there was danger in this place? A chill had run down your spine more than once ever since you came here, like a cold hand stroking your back only to discover there was no hand, or even a person, behind you. Your Scraggy though puffed his chest in anticipation of coming across ghosts or anything dangerous. He was proud of his power and clearly enjoyed boasting about his bravery. That is, until the slightest mention of Fairies is hinted, at which point Hoodie would cower behind your leg in fear.

The map worked exactly as you had hoped. With a clear idea of the paths you had to take, you cut your wandering time considerably and found yourself at the foot of the Rollerquaza in no time. In front of you erected the roller coaster’s highest peak into the clouds where the dark purple sky clouded the very top, obscuring it from view. The coaster was designed to mimic Rayquaza’s ascension to the ozone layer where it made its home, away from the view of others. The violet clouds above you only added to this believe, giving the impression that the ride did indeed ascend to the heavens far above the earth to where the mythical Pokémon rested.

You make your way to the entrance booth only to discover you weren’t alone. The queue’s railings were in place and empty but behind the ticket booth stood a yellow figure waiting for you. From behind the glass pane you can make out the figure’s wry smile and eyes that were fixated on you as you moved to the front, as if expecting your arrival.

“Welcome,” the creature bursts with a cathodic voice when he spoke into the microphone. The various speakers set around the ride’s queue conveyed his every word without fault, “to the amusement park’s tallest ride. And one of the few that is still functioning. We haven’t had a live visitor here in a while. The last time we had such a guest they never returned. Must have been too big a thrill to leave behind, right?” His smile disappears from his face and his eyes stare at you for the longest time. Was the question directed at you?

The creature exits the ticket booth and casually strolls through the queue lines. A mysterious purple flame erupts atop its head and his right hand before taking the shape of a top hat and black, diamond-headed cane. It is but a few steps away from you when you notice it to be a Pokémon with yellow skin and white hair.


“That announcement,” he speaks to you with a normal voice and in perfect English, “was not meant as a threat.” He continues his stride without wavering, zigzagging through the aisles until he comes to you face to face. “That announcement is the truth. While I and my master try our best to control the situation on this island, we’ve yet to fully uncover what the mystery is of this ride. For some reason, despite all logic, this ride is still functioning as it did before and we can’t figure out why, nor can we stop it. What’s more, everyone who’s taken this ride, whether they’re living or…” he takes a moment to try and think of the best way to put it, “otherwise, disappeared and hasn’t returned.”

If you decide to speak up or protest at this point, the Hypno holds his hand up and orders you to stay quiet. “This isn’t a safe place to be. I don’t know why you’re here, but for all intents and purposes it is best you leave this place now. I already have more than enough guests running about and throwing themselves in danger, I can’t afford to distract myself watching over you vanish. So please leave.”

How do you respond?


Funhouse
Missingo Master: (Five Pokémon claimed in party so far: Meowth, Myrtle, Salazar, Hedwig and Dudley)
Meowth:
You were feeling a bit defeated at this point. So long for finding the secret hiding spot. Without knowing where to look first, you’d never find a secret hiding spot.

After having found yourself enlarged by exiting the gigantic door marked ‘Stove’ – large being a relative term as it had been perfectly normal once you went through – you decided to go through the only other door you could realistically fit through with your new size; ‘Blender’.

You opened the giant door and went through. Ahead of you was the same lay-out of twisting corners and tightening crawlspaces, each which gave you its own distinct sense of distancing yourself from the kitchen as much as you could. And just like last time, around a tight corner you climbed yourself to a junction. You could either go left or right. The one to the right sloped downwards whereas left was level. While you had no clear idea of where either would leave you, the instinctive safe way to go was too stay level and thus left, in the hopes it would lead to some form of escape.

You nearly found yourself in such hopes when you quickly found the door afterwards. Success? You opened and walk through, only to find the same kitchen area as before. If the table seemed large the first time you were here, it must have looked gigantic now. You couldn’t even see any of the plastic food you knew was laid out across its surface. The door behind, you had the sneaking suspicion, betrayed the sign ‘Fridge’.

The fireplace hissed its blue flames as if laughing at you and your shrunken size. White smoke trailed off the flames’ tips up the chimney. The dark gateway enshrouded in blue flames looked more like a hellish monster than it did a regular fireplace with your small size. If you weren’t careful, it might just spring to life and decide to eat you. Who knows in this bizarre torn world?

If you tried to tune the walkie-talkie you’d only end up hearing static. For some reason, all the channels were clearly either busy or out-of-order. Or perhaps there was no logic to begin with.

Whatever. Keith had left you with orders. For whatever reason, you decided to continue (as per the rules of the game) and went through the door exactly opposite of you; ‘Oven’, the only one that was the same small size as you.

You were met again with the same twist of corridors and turns that marked the crooked set-up of the kitchen area. That is, until you climbed down and came up to another split in paths. One went straight ahead while the other bent to your left. For some reason, instinct, familiarity, whatever-you-wish, you decide to go left. The same twisting tunnels were lain out for you but by now you were almost accustomed to them, or was it more?

A door like many of the ones you had seen before stood in front of you. You opened it and found yourself back where you were moments ago; large and standing outside the corridor marked ‘Stove’. The table, doors and fireplace stood exactly where you expected them to, the latter of which gave a crackling splash of burnt wood as if mocking you once more. If it was a monster, it was a small one, about the size of your own paw, with a chimney as menacingly large as your arm now.

Another familiar cracking sound made its way to your ears and you feel the buzz of the walkie-talkie coming to you as Keith’s voice drew in.

What will Meowth do?

Keith:
Your Surfing was going nowhere it seemed. The closer you tried to get to the other end, the further away it seemed to go, the Inkay’s size only growing as you kept moving. An idea came to mind, insane and desperate but worth trying you hoped. Even if it didn’t, continuing to move as you were seemed to only make your situation worse.

"Dudley! See that door ahead of us?"

"Slow..."

"OK, use Teleport- get us as far away from the door as you can!"

You held with one hand decidedly on your Slowbro while your other tried to fumble with the plastic toy – not an easy task as you only had one hand to hold and turn the knob with. Your Slowbro focusses his slow yet acute psychic mind on the area, trying its best to locate the farthest place you could go. Only a split-second later your Slowbro snaps out and gives a surprising (and lazy) startle. There was clearly something wrong with finding such a place. No, not that. Your Slowbro closed its eyes and focussed and within the smallest of seconds he Teleported with near success.

Your vision distorts and re-appears almost instantly in that brief moment as your mind adjusts to the new sight. Behind you lay the door you had come through, close enough to open. Ahead of you, a small distance away stood the other door, the one you had ordered Dudley to focus on, but it was what was in between that surprised you the most. In front of you stood, with his back to you, the ghost child who was always drooling and laughing. In front of him levitated the Inkay, as ordinary a size as any and clearly confused that it couldn’t see you ahead of it anymore.

The ghost child notices you, turns and startles himself.

“Mehh!” he splatters a mouthful of spit as he does. The Inkay turns back, astonished at finding you behind it and gives its own alarming startle at having been found. Instantly, the Inkay springs forth and comes between you and the drooling ghost child.

The boy desperately writhes and struggles back, trying to get away from you while crying a few sobbing sounds that didn’t make any sense to you.

“Inkay!” the Revolving Pokémon shouted as a dark red energy formed around its beak, readying an attack at you and Dudley.

What will Keith do?


kawaiiconcept: (The stores don’t matter. This has to take place afterwards. And don’t forget to add a link to your account in either every Zone reply or your signature.)
You take chase after the strange pink blob. You dart through the hallway, passing all the furniture and paintings that littered the sides. You get the strangest feeling you’re being watched though and slowly come to a halt, takinging panicked breaths as you feel the piercing gaze of the paintings loom over you. A memory surfaces of a present you got once; a book of optical illusions, the contents of which gave you nightmares as a child for weeks on end. The memory takes a hold as you feel the unescapable grasp of being stuck in some sort of optical illusion yourself. You slouch down and sit, taking deep breaths to try and calm yourself down. Your companion Freighya joined your side and purred in comfort.

You feel slightly calmer and notice the first real oddity about the paintings, perhaps the reason you felt so uncomfortable about passing them; they all had the same expression. Each face had a sly smile, a sideways glance and eyes that were deceivingly painted to always follow its viewer, like the famous Mona Lisa smile. The idea of being watched by Scooby Doo-like paintings unnerved you enough to call out an ally Pokémn to your aid. A Meditite named ‘Eleven’ appeared from his Pokéball upon your instruction. With a simple stare and nod your Pokémon understood what it was you wanted and focussed his gaze to the other side.

Your team continues moving through the corridor, you staring directly at the other end where the pink blob disappeared, Freighya right beside, while Eleven moved at your pace, back turned and facing the hallway.

Your Meditite calls out to you in surprise. At first you’re not sure why until you turn and notice the dark figure that just entered the corridor. At a frightening pace, a dumpy figured shade creeped up towards you until it was close enough to have light spill across its face.


“Drow-zee,” it hissed in your direction, its sly smile mirroring the paintings on the walls.

“Drow. Zee!” It said before charging towards you!

What do you do?


Mantine Mania
Hydrangea:
Phantom Ilse lived up to its name by being exactly that; a phantom of its former self. The many paths were devoid of life and every ride you passed was dying alongside every customer that had visited the island on that fated dreadful day; the single calamitous event that caused a fire at the Ghost Train and threw the rest of the island into its ethereal clutches. You didn’t like coming to places such as these. The haunted locale was something you preferred to stay away from. Still, you had your hopes set on adding a new partner to your roster and hoped that anything that could survive in this place was something worth adding to your team. Who knows, perhaps in this grim and cold amusement park you might find a warm smile or a heated battle to soothe you.

The Mantine Mania was a rather well-known exhibit in the park’s heyday. It was one of the newest additions before the island crumbled. The building was designed as a small café for families to rest and relax while small boats in the design of Mantine passed through it on a stream of water, allowing visitors to hop on whenever they felt like it. The ride would pass through decorative parks, some of which used to house exotic and abandoned Pokémon. Depending on the rider’s preference, they could set the ride to go through either the tranquil gardens, its waterfall drops or the underwater lakes that housed many Pokémon both domestic and wild.

The building was easily found as the entrance was built like a log cabin with an entrance that resembled a Mantine opening its mouth. Your Houndour didn’t like the look of this place. She hated the idea of haunted places as much as you. And to add to that she, a Fire-type, was about to enter a water ride. Ghosts and water-types were two of her least favourite things. You cajole your partner and set her at ease while taking your first steps towards the buildings massive entrance…

…only to suddenly bounce back and trip like you had stumbled into a wall. In a brief glimpse afterwards you notice a glow shimmering around the ride’s perimeter. Shortly thereafter you notice you and your partner were joined by the appearance of another figure standing beside you. The creature reached out a hand while his other kept a grip on the diamond-headed cane.

“Are you all right?” It was definitely a Pokémon you could tell. It was yellow with a long, scrunched-up nose and had a white mane around his neck. It looked exactly like a Pokémon except for the cane, his top hat and the fact that it spoke in perfect English.


“I’m very sorry for that,” he said after you got yourself up. “We erected a barrier here to stop what’s in there from coming out. We’re not entirely sure yet why it decided to come here and we’re worried it might have spread if we didn’t block it. I suppose we could have gone in to talk, but…” he shudders, “we’re a bit afraid of what it might do.”

The Pokémon was talking cryptically and didn’t fully explain what was going on, but he made it clear that whatever was on the other side of the psychic barrier was dangerous. Yet, for some reason, he offered you a deal: “I can take down the barrier for a few seconds if you’d like. The problem is,” he rubs his chin in contemplation, “I’m not entirely sure you’d be able to get out once you go in. Still, I suppose…”

He clasps his hand together and looks at you somewhat beggingly. “Little girl, would you mind terribly if I asked you a small favour? I could take down this barrier for you to allow you entry, but could you look into matters on the other side for me while you’re there? Specifically, there’s someone there who’s visiting this place but I’m not sure why. I would like you to find out why it decided to come here. In exchange, I’ll allow you to go in for whatever reason you came here in the first place.” His gaze briefly looks suspiciously at you. “You’re not here for ‘it’ by any chance are you? Are you working for him?” His gaze breaks and he shakes his head at himself. “No of course not, I can tell right away.”

“So, what say you? Could you run this small errand for me?” He looks over your partner Pokémon. “It seems you’re prepared after all.” The (surprisingly) talking Hypno wasn’t fully explaining himself and didn’t give a very clear description of what was on the other side. Whatever it was, it was something he found dangerous, dangerous enough to erect an entire psychic barrier and lock it in, but apparently not dangerous enough to let you in and explore.

What do you do?


Fortune Teller’s Tent
Meetan:
You gaze deep into the swirling vortex of colours. Shadows, pictures, started to form within the crystal ball and vague shapes started to take hold of your mind as you recalled vividly memories of your past like they were taking place right in front of you. The day you performed, the day you met Masaru, the day you were in the labyrinth, the day you were attacked – to name a few. Like a speeding train the memories flashed past you, each new memory a separate carriage that flew past your eyes, and by the time the last carriage passed you were left in only a dark abyss of your mind.

Realization shot your mind and you snapped out of your trance back to the tent you were in. The whole ordeal couldn’t have taken much longer than a few seconds, but having to witness your entire life playing in front of you made it feel like you had only just returned from an agelong journey. And there was something else you recalled with all those memories but didn’t quite understand. It was like you remembered something from your past but didn’t quite know what it was. Or was it that you knew what it was but you couldn’t quite remember? Whatever the case, you felt it and you felt you understood what was being asked, but could you even trust everything you just saw? What if all of it was just a trick?

The voice is quiet while you think and contemplate on all those flashes of memories.

“I think I know who I am. Who I'm supposed to be... Let me protect her. Even if I don't deserve her yet, let me prove that I can! If you've done this for me already, I should do something for you! We should!”

A jittery giggle fills the air and you distinctly notice it was two voices and not one. The giggling stops and the voice returned to you in answer. “If so…” the voice was low, “then prove it!” The crystal ball glowed a hot red colour and exploded into tiny glass shards, the brunt of which struck you across your face and had you reeling back in pain. Your eyes stung where splinters of glass had embedded themselves and you feel the hot red glass where it met with your warm blood. You want to scream out in pain, if only for a moment, when it disappears and you open your eyes.

---

Now was not the time to dwell on mistakes. ’don’t let them get to you’ you try to tell yourself. The jury consisted of a man dressed in a magician’s suit and top hat, and a woman clad in a white veil of a dress with a sparing amount of jewellery attached to her face and neck. The two of them had a pair of Espurr’s on their lap which they stroked. All four of them applauded you and you urged to continue with still faces, but the crowd-, the crowd-.

You felt like crying. The crowd was booing, loudly, shouting obscene words at you and telling you to be ashamed and walk away. Some started throwing rotten vegetables onto the stage. One overripe tomato struck you on the chest, leaving a red rotten smear across your clothes – the ones you had so delicately washed and prepared for this day. Why? Why where they doing this?

And then it hit you with a pang, and you remembered the Fortune Teller’s tent, the one you were in until only recently. How did you get here?

That memory faded and you returned to yourself again, forgetting everything about your visit to Phantom Isle and what happened in the fortune teller’s tent. In fact, you forgot everything that happened after this event: the little girl who was being booed off of her stage. You take another look across the crowd. All of them were yelling now and shouting insults while the jury did nothing and merely continued smiling at you while stroking their Espurrs.

What do you do?


The Ghost Train
Samayouru:
Thoughts roll through your head as you contemplate the various things you were told. If the tunnels were deemed dangerous then perhaps it was best to listen to the mysterious, strange talking Pokémon that appeared out of nowhere, and stick to the construction site. The Hypno had warned you that angry spirits resided within, and there was one in particular he seemed frightened of. But if you didn’t stop it, would that mean others might wander into the ghosts’ den out of curiosity only to become one of the many that inhabit the place?

Your mind was set; adventuring required taking risks. A glance at your trusted partner shows he too was happily ready to enter the desecrated ruins of the Ghost Train. “I’ll do what I can,” you said while extending your arm to the Hypno, “Hand me the bell – I’ll stick to the construction site for now.”

The Hypno raises an eyebrow in surprise at you. “Well you’re certainly determined, I’ll give you that. Very well then.” He places the Deidbell in your palm. The cold touch of metal sent a chill down through your veins and you felt the chime of the Deidbell resonate with you. “The ownership of the Deidbell has been passed onto you,” the Hypno confirmed.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Item
You obtained 1x Deidbell
“Good luck,” he said with a wave of his top hat, and left you to explore as you deemed fit.

Right across the ruined station tracks was the building’s centre field. Ahead of that rose the broken down remains of the Ghost Train, it’s skeletal scaffolds enshrouded in the white construction tarp. The lone bell tower, the symbol of the haunted locale cresting the building, stood proud and defiant of the remodelling by leaning away from it. The tower’s gothic-styled clock read that it was just after twelve. On either side of the field were the two wings of the building which stretched out into the collapsed tunnels of the ride.

You crossed this field, the looming building only growing in size as you neared it. Dirt and mud clung to your shoes where once grass and flowers grew. Trees once full of leaves, birds and sap were now bare, fallen and withered. Abandoned construction tools littered the site amidst half-dug holes, piles of bricks and metal pipes.

The wind picked up the lower skirt of the tarp, playing with it gently as the breeze rolled through and revealed to you a hole to the side. Pulling aside the flap, you notice an entrance carved into the bell tower’s brick wall. The door which once blocked this path hung on its last hinges curving inwards. The room ahead was dusty - extremely dusty - dark and barely lit. Whatever strange essence that pervaded Phantom Isle’s dark climate and lent its light didn’t want to come into the building. You could barely make out shapes ahead of you as it is.

The moment you step in the room, you feel a strange chill run down your spine. Any Pokémon you had beside you could feel the same. There was something near, so close you felt its breath on your neck. Your own breath becomes like fog with each exhalation and you notice the place is quiet, but not silent. There was some noise filling the void of the room but you couldn’t tell what it was or where it was coming from. Ahead of you were two stairwells that ran in opposite directions. One was wooden and clung to the building’s sides as it rose to the tower’s upper floors. The other was a stone-laid staircase leading down into the building’s cellars. To your sides are hallways to the other rooms that were a part of the train ride, though you were warned before to stay away from the ride itself.

What do you do?


The Hotel

The Upper Floors
Aposteriori:
After the sudden retreat of your attacker you relax yourself by focussing on your surroundings, finding whatever you can. There was something odd about the books you felt but you hadn’t paid much attention to them. You scan through the authors and your own memory bank of data, trying to uncover a common theme amongst all of the strange happenings. One thing became evidently clear; vampires were involved. It was the common theme that matched the décor of the room as well as your recent attack; the masseuse had just revealed himself (itself?) to be a blood-sucking, long-toothed monster.

Next was to.. get dressed. You call out another Pokémon to aid in your findings while instructing Firestorm to stand guard by the door. The Charmander obeys and keeps a vigilant eye, peering around the corner of the doorway to see if anything was lurking ahead. The Pokémon on your belt materializes to Wan Shi Tong, your Hoothoot.

The Owl Pokémon looks around the room and is clearly a bit distraught about what it sees. You order it to use a Foresight and scan the room for anything peculiar. Your Hoothoot looks around and finds the question to be slightly odd but obeys nonetheless. Its red eyes scan across the walls and furniture. He takes his time and goes slowly but finds nothing of interest. His gaze turns back to you in worry, like something was off about you.

Firestorm, meanwhile, snarls and hisses but doesn’t appear to detect anything in the corridors up ahead. But you had a nagging feeling that whatever the masseuse was, he (it?) wasn’t going to just leave you alone like that. Whatever it was, it was waiting diligently before making its next move.

The room reveals nothing according to your Hoothoot and the corridors up ahead were devoid of life it seemed. But you were just attacked by a vicious monster of some sort that defied any logical explanation, and straight up ignoring that might be dangerous.

What do you do next?


Update Batch #12
Spoiler: show
(*Wipes the last bit of saliva off* Really Maudlin, you’ve got to make better friends. That last one tried to eat you. *dead Rattata says nothing* Really?)

~Please reply in Slategray~

The Park

Rollerquaza
Monster Guy:
"Scraggy!"

“What the..” The Hypno almost stumbles over as the little Pokémon speeds past him towards the ride.

"Hoodie no!" you shouted after him.

"Munna..." the Psychic type could only sigh.

"I suppose I wouldn't be a very good trainer if I just let him go off on his own, would I?" you rationalise, and before you knew it you sped after your Pokémon before he got himself hurt. "I'm really sorry about this sir!"

The Hypno quickly grabs onto the railings to sturdy himself. “Now wait here. You… I… oh…” Your Scraggy had already taken a seat in the Rayquaza-shaped train and you and Shaana quickly followed. The Hypno mutters to himself. “I suppose it can’t be helped.” The train’s safety frame buckled down on you and your Pokémon. The Hypno produced another purple flame in his hand and called out to you. “Child, at least take this.” From within the flames he throws a small satchel towards you and then the train left its station. The tracks led up a small hill before dropping its height and turning around a few fast bends until it came to the major peak.

The gears shift and the chain-link grabs a hold of the train. The ascent was slow and steep, pushing your back into the leather seat. From afar you could see the Hypno gazing at you with a worried expression. A couple minutes later the ominous sky surrounds you in a thick veil of purple haze and you can see nothing. The air was terrible and made you and your Pokémon cough. It smelt terrible, like something burnt, and tasted like grimy dust. Luckily it didn’t last long and the clouds fall behind you to showcase the view atop. Light spills in and pretty soon you can make out the sun beaming down on you. A dark purple sea of mist rolled out beneath you to the horizon. The view was impeccable, tranquil and almost impossible in comparison to the dark atmosphere of the park below you. It didn’t last long though. The train reached the ride’s peak and you slowly drop into a vast descent.

The bank of clouds come up to and blow into your eyes before departing and giving you a new glimpse of the grimy, ill-forgotten island. You rapidly speed up and plummet down to the ground, the train quaking while being held in place on its track. The ground came up to you swiftly and you and your partner Pokémon level out across it and zip into the dark tunnel. The ride kept going for a while and you could make out the pitched squeaks of the brakes slowing you down. You decelerated to a crawl and eventually a standstill. Darkness was all around you and the entrance of the tunnel behind you seemed far away by now. The sheer size of the tunnel stretched out far beyond your vision and was undoubtedly larger than what it appeared to be when you first laid your eyes on it.

The safety harness opened and it didn’t seem the train was going to move on any time soon. Amidst the darkness you can make out a strip of concrete beside you like you would find at a station. This was the first moment you could look into the satchel the mysterious talking Pokémon gave you. Digging into the brown bag you feel the edges of three gemstones.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Item
You obtained 1 x Psychic Gem
You obtained 1 x Ghost Gem
You obtained 1 x Dark Gem
For a long while nothing happens until a faint light can be seen in the distance. The light drew closer and you recognise it to be a lantern, and after that you recognise the person holding the lantern to be a young woman clad in a sober and rather dull robe that covered every inch except her face. She had a warm smile on her as she approached you and there didn’t seem to be anything spooky or ethereal about her other than her strange presence in this place.

“Welcome,” she says. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll bring you to the cove. Are you here for the church yourself?” She notes your puzzlement at the question. “Oh I see,” she gives a soft chuckle, “another soul who lost themselves here. No matter, this happens quite frequently. If you’ll follow me we’ll get it sorted out. Father Desadayus is a kind spirit and can help you. You can rest with us if need be until we find a way to get you out.” You knew disappearances in the ride’s tunnel were spoken of, and apparently this woman knew about them and had helped the others who had come before you. She gives a warm, inviting smile and indicates behind her. “Come. I’m sure you have a lot of questions and I’ll be happy to answer any you want on the way, though most will probably be spoken of once we reach the cove. Father Desadayus is much better at explaining these things-“

Your conversation was interrupted by a frantic run of footsteps. Both of you look in the distance to where the noise is coming from. A shadow emerges and a manic man starts charging towards you. The woman gasps and takes a step back but it is soon thrown aside by the oncoming man. “Get out of the way,” he yells. His mouth was practically foaming with frenzy. He’s surprised to see you though and quickly pulls out a knife. He grabs the woman and holds the tip to her neck. “Let me go!” he barks at you. “I’m not going back there. You can’t make me. I’m getting out no matter what!” A look over the man shows he was scuffed and dirty and wore a robe similar to the woman except his was tattered and had the hood down, revealing the rabid expression on his face.

He digs the knife deeper and the woman gives a small yelp as blood trickles down its tip where her skin was nicked. “Help,” she calls out to you. “Stop him.”

“Let me pass!” he shouts at you. “Or I’ll kill her. I swear I’ll kill her.” The man was in a state of mania and nothing about him gave you an idea he was ready to reason. If you weren’t going to do something he might very well kill the woman on the spot. If you made too big a movement he might just panic and kill her as well, though you couldn’t attest to how desperate enough he was to actually do it.

What do you do?


Funhouse
Missingo Master: (All six Pokémon claimed in party: Meowth, Myrtle, Salazar, Hedwig, Dudley and Fang)
Myrtle:
With no direct approach seemingly possible you try a different tactic and go for a widespread attack. You focus on the room and its size and fire off a Dazzling Gleam. Your body lights up brightly and rainbow coloured rays strike every inch of the room, including your opponent. The Inkay and ghost child falter back, covering their eyes in pain.

“I-ink!”

“Oww,” the boy cries. “Ow, that hurts! Ow. Ow-how.” He rubs his eyes and tears soon start streaming down from them. “That hurt you stupid Doduo-head!”

“Ink-inkay,” his partner Pokémon tries to calm him down, reassuring him by petting him with his appendages.

“No!” the boy protests. All the furniture singularly dropped to the floor with a temper. “No! It’s her stupid fault for attacking. You stupid-, stupid-, Dodrio-head!” If only he was more grown-up he could have found a more adult way of insulting Myrtle that properly portrayed his anger. “It’s your fault you can’t figure out the puzzle. You said you wanted to play, and then you cheat, and attack!” The Inkay tries one more time to calm his partner down but to no avail.

“No!” the boy shouts one more time. His eyes glow an ominous red and his face turns into a bitter scowl as he looks at you from his levitating space. “If you want to fight,” his voice becomes a childish growl laced with ethereal undertones that echoed with a second voice, “then we’ll fight. Inkay!” The Inkay snaps into a surprisingly still stance. “Attack!”

The Inkay seems reluctant to follow the child’s orders but it nonetheless floats further down and focusses on you. A small dark red glow forms at his beak before a dark multi-coloured beam is fired towards you. You instinctively dodge, easy enough with the current distance, and find that gravity had returned to normal ever since the furniture dropped back down. Your natural levitating abilities were restored as well. You dodge behind an upset table, only to find it floating back up to reveal you to your attackers. Looking towards them, you realise it wasn’t the Inkay but the ghostly boy who somehow managed to lift the piece of furniture with some psychic, or ghostly, power. A strange aura surrounded him as his arm lifted in unison with the table.

Only moments thereafter, the boy sends the piece of furniture crashing down towards you, knocking you down with a hard blow that removed part of your health. The Inkay floats to your side and tries to strike with another (Topsy-Turvy coloured) Psybeam which connects before you get the chance to move.

The next few moments were spent trying to hide from or dodge any attacks from the Inkay and ghost child. If you tried to fiddle with the walkie-talkie you wouldn’t be able to get into contact with Keith, but eventually, after enough time, Keith’s voice comes through. You weren’t sure how much time you would have left. Between the Inkay and child, your health was assaulted to the point of realisation that you couldn’t keep this up forever.

What will Myrtle do?

Keith:
Realising a fight was imminent, you quickly rationalise some of the Topsy-Turvy effects the environment would have on it. Taking this into account, you call out a neutral Pokémon and decide to see from there where it would take you. In the meantime, you would focus on the walkie-talkie and try to get into contact with Myrtle whenever the situation would allow you to. Clutching the Pokéball, you call out the last member of your party; Fang, ready with a set of orders in mind. First off; counter the incoming attack.

But you were too late. In the time it took you to grab the Pokéball, call out Fang and issue an attack, the Inkay who was already preparing one fired his. A dark multi-coloured Psybeam strikes Fang directly in his torso and sends his levitating body reeling backwards into you, pushing you back in turn.

A small mistake, but Fang seemed alright nonetheless and recovered, ready to follow your next command. Immediately upon hearing the words, the Carnivine retaliates with a Razor Leaf. Purple sickles, only slightly lighter than your dark violet Carnivine, fire off of Fang’s tips in a storm of foliage, each sharp enough to make small precise cuts across the Inkay’s body. The Inkay squeals and reels back into the drooling boy, similarly to how Fang previously bumped into you moments ago, and gives a chirpy exclamation of pain. A direct hit, and critical it seemed which wasn’t too surprising if you considered how close the two combatants were, though the distance between the two Pokémon had now grown with both having been pushed back.

The Inkay squirms back into an aggressive stance, as much as its tiny body could while floating, and focusses on you. The boy gives an incomprehensible howl with drool and the Inkay chirps in understanding. It was next to attack and focusses on another dark-red attack that takes the form of an ominous aura. Before you, Fang, and definitely Dudley, knew what was happening, the energy was released into multiple rings, six exactly, that traverse the distance and strike. Fang cries in pain when the first two rings make contact with his body. He tries to move to the side but gets hit by the next three as well, only managing to move to the side and out of the way of the sixth ring. A Psywave attack you judge.

You give the order to follow your last command, wondering just how the screwy environment would affect Nature Power in these circumstances. Fang didn’t seem to quite know either but he rears towards the Inkay, his body glowing as he soaks in the aura of the locale, before stopping in his tracks. His mouth opens up and a dazzling dark-coloured beam, similarly to what you saw the Inkay do before, erupts and zaps the Inkay. The squid-like Pokémon yells with comical tones as the attack somehow manages to deal a super-effective blow. By the time the attack ends, the Inkay’s eyes reveal two dazed swirls and his body gently collapses.

“Mumph-humph!” The unintelligible child floats towards his partner Pokémon and catches him, and just as he does, a bright white flash washes over your eyes and forces you to re-adjust to what you saw.

The Inkay and boy were gone, disappeared, but more importantly: the room was returned to a normal white colour, pastel colours lining the corridor in a ring-like pattern. You also quickly realise that you were standing on solid ground, only to feel it move away from you afterwards. The whole corridor was segmented into single parts connected with coloured rubber, and each segment spun on its axis in different directions and speeds. This was a standard funhouse trick; a long winding corridor that rotated when visitors entered. But there was one other trick you noted in this place and that was the slight optical illusion it gave its customers as the size of the tunnel gently grew towards the other end, giving the appearance that a person standing on one end of the tunnel would appear larger than someone at the other end.

Eventually, it’s time to move on. Besides the rotating tunnel, the room was as normal as could be, relatively speaking, and you could either go back through the door behind you to the maze of staircases or move ahead through the tunnel and go through the door at the other end that had escaped your grasp when you were in the Inkay’s Topsy-Turvy world.

What will Keith do?


kawaiiconcept:
With your Pokémon at the ready you opted to wait and see if the Drowzee would indeed attack. The Hypnosis Pokémon continues charging towards you while you wait patiently. Just when it came up close its intentions were clear but it was too late to stop it. The Drowzee ploughs on and Headbutts Eleven who was standing at the ready before but was now knocked back into the wall off of its stance. Freighya quickly springs into action and fires off her Swift attack. A dazzling display of stars are fired when she whisks her tail and the attack travels the short distance to quickly and effectively deliver a strike.

The Drowzee staggers back but remains somewhat unperturbed as he dashes up close to your Eevee and retaliates with a Pound, knocking Freighya into the carpeted floor. Eleven got up back to his feet and takes his turn to attack. He rubs his two hands together until his right arm glows a light purple. The Meditite leaps and slices the air, sending a glowing crescent of energy that strikes the Drowzee, inflicting a powerful but not very effective Psycho Cut.

Eleven lands back on his feet and the Drowzee stammers back, clutching his head in pain and giving an occasional shout in Pokéspeak. He quickly recovers and focusses back onto his opponents. He charges in with another Headbutt, this time bashing Eleven into the body of Freighya, shoving them both back into the floor in a tangle. While you outnumbered the Drowzee, it didn’t appear to make itself an easy win.

With both of your Pokémon knocked down in a knot, the Hypnosis Pokémon focusses on its next attack. And true to its namesake, it starts waving his arms in a lazy manner while chanting its name over and over. You notice a faint outline of psychic rings moving towards you and all of a sudden you feel very Drowzee yourself, ready to fall in a slumber if you didn’t act quick.

What do you do?


Mantine Mania
Hydrangea:
"I accept, I just came to this park to explore but maybe whatever is inside could be a rare Pokemon!" completely neglecting to ask any further questions about what was in there. Your Houndour though only looked fearful and worried about what she had gotten herself into.

“Outstanding,” the Hypno says. He tosses his cane up and snatches it back out of the air with a swift and cheery manner. He stabs the diamond-crested end of his staff in the direction of the barrier. Immediately the barrier lights with a dark pink and sizzles like a short-circuiting wire. The Hypno lifted his cane as it passed through the barrier and a gap opened up beneath it. Like a curtain, the Hypno lifted part of the barrier’s veil, creating an opening big enough for you to go through. “Quickly now, I can’t hold this for very long,” he ushers you in.

You walk through and hear the sizzling sound of the barrier die down as the glow dissipated. Behind you the gap had closed, though it would be hard to tell now that the barrier had become invisible once more, and the Hypno was nowhere in sight. Like one of the island’s many inhabitants, the Pokémon disappeared like a ghost.

You didn’t fully understand the Hypno’s worry about ‘it’ spreading and had wondered if it might have been some sort of disease. Upon walking through the doors however, you had a nascent sense that you understood what exactly was spreading: ice. Patches of frost clung to windows, broken boards and furniture. Icicles hung from above and grew out of the floor on the outskirts of the building. And the stream of water that entered through an opening in one of the walls and exited out another, was frozen stiff into a rough sheet of ice. The Mantine boats were forever stuck in them, some of them at odd or twisted angles where the ice pushed them out. The scene looked like a school of Mantine trying to escape a fast approaching winter, only to fail and be forever frozen in its clutches. The whole building creaked as you moved through it, giving the idea that the ice was still growing and shifting the building around as it did. A cold breeze blew into the room, chilling you to the bone no matter how thickly you were clad.

The whole room was in a state of disarray. Even without the ice, the building had the distinct feel of something that was evacuated in a hurry years ago, never once being visited since. Many of the chairs and tables that weren’t frozen were thrown about; scattered and splintered. The café’s counter was cracked and uneven. It is when you look at the counter that you notice a noise coming from it. Something was scrambling from behind it, making the occasional odd nibbling sound. A pan scuffs the floor as whatever it is moves about. You gently move closer, weary of what was there. You get closer still, and peer over the other side, only to see there was nothing there.

Relief? Or worry? You briefly wonder if there was anything there at all, and whether you should worry if there was. Fenris tugs at you for attention, and nods towards the end of the counter. From around the corner a yellow hat-like creature emerged casually. The Pokémon didn’t seem to have noticed you before, as the moment it lays eyes on you it gives a scared yelp, dropping a handful of the berries it was holding.


“Snor snor!” it turns and runs away on its two small legs as fast it could. It jumped and skipped across the ice patches like they were nothing, spun towards the frozen stream and zipped out of the boats’ entrance.

With a small understanding of the situation at hand, you could decide how to proceed further. The yellow hat-like Pokémon was holding onto a few berries. Perhaps the counter or kitchen had some you could take with you. On the other hand, you could immediately go on through either of the frozen stream’s openings; the boats’ entrance and exit. But if you wanted to catch up to the Pokémon you just saw, you’d have to be quick.

What do you do?


The Ghost Train
Fishyfool:
The floor slanted quickly to the side, toppling everyone who wasn’t holding on. You feared for Paine’s health after witnessing the vile, slashed marking on her torso. If anyone was deserving of holding onto the centre pole it was her. She understands your concern and communicates her obedience telepathically. Concentrating on her psychic powers she both physically and mentally grabbed onto the brass pole and steadied herself. You and Mjolnir however were not nearly as lucky. The pair of you tried to tumble and roll with the train’s natural twist, hoping to either weather the brunt of the impact or simply run with its shifting trajectory. Mjolnir wasn’t accustomed to Rollouts and while he was ordered to avoid breaking the windows at any cost, the recoil from having his body thrown into the hard walls cost his health dearly, equalling two Take Downs, and leaves him in a battered condition by the end of it.

By the time the train settled into a more natural angle, you and Mjolnir both collapse to the floor and inspect one another’s wounds. You flop off the wall and clutch your side in pain, gasping for breath as you realise that task had become more difficult. Something was broken, that felt certain. Paine confirmed it; both you and Mjolnir had taken a significant beating in the train’s tumble. Paine herself was mostly unharmed, allowing her to focus all of her anguish on you and the Swampert.

You grab onto the nearby bench and gently try to raise yourself, conveying through thought your future intentions. After taking a break that is. You clutch your chest with pain and do your best to regain your breath as much as you could. Mjolnir too could do with a break.

By the time you feel a bit better and good enough to move a little more on, you near the door. After testing the knob you realise this door wasn’t locked and opened easy enough outwards. In front you saw the locomotive within reach, barred only by one more door and the same chain-linked scaffolding that held it onto the carriage you were standing in. The banshee’s howls echo far in the distance once more and you wince in pain as the possibly cracked or broken rib dug another aching splinter into your chest. The banshee’s howls didn’t seem to be getting closer though. More than anything it sounded like it was still recovering from the pain it last received, courtesy of you and your partner Pokémon.

Crossing the gap was going to become a bit more difficult though. Using ice was still a possibility but you were unsure if your current state would let you pass as unencumbered as last time. Still, you were this close to the train’s control room that stopping now was barely an option.

What do you do?


Liltwick:
The first thing on your mind was to retreat the unconscious Kai to the safety of his Pokéball. Better he rest in there than continue being dragged along in his comatose state you reckon. You heard the faint cries in the distant, its source unrecognisable. You call out another partner Pokémon of yours. Wisp comes forth and hops into your arms. The two of you give only a look but the Litwick understood something was wrong. That much was certain when you took in your surroundings. The faint sense of obliteration littered the ruins, as if civilisations came here to be forgotten and removed from the world.

You felt like a ghost amongst the ruins yourselves and with no sure way of where to go, opt to follow the cries in the hopes of finding someone or something. The crying never stopped, making it easy for you to find the path where the lamenting got louder. You wander amongst the broken remains of buildings as you got closer and pretty soon you heard other cries with softly uttered words in between.

“Why…why..”

“Where am I?”

“Help”

Each voice was a quiet cry for help made of only sobs. Eventually you come up to find the source of the lamenting only to stand dead in your shoes when you see it. An ethereal being, a woman you reckon, was crouched with her back to the wall of a broken-down building. She rocked back and forth in her place, continuing to cry softly. “Why...I don’t know…why..” The catatonic ghost didn’t even so much as recognise your presence, continuing to stir in her misery. If you tried to get closer or even talk to her, the ghost merely said “leave me alone” with a sorrowful voice, never stopping her movements as he rocked back and forth. The woman merely continued, ignoring your presence altogether.

It is then, when you look at the other ruins that you notice other spirits in a similar pose. Each of them mourning in their own place separate from one another and weeping while crying out regrets or questions.

“..where are you…”

“…where am I…”

“…why?...”

“…I didn’t know…I didn’t know…”

None of them so much as took a moment to look at you or cease what they were doing. Except one. A darkly clad boy passes by one of the walls. He was close, close enough for you to tell this wasn’t a spirit like the rest of them. You weren’t able to see through him and he wasn’t in a perpetuating state of misery like the rest. The boy notices you too and gasps almost in surprise. Instantly, he walks towards you, then paces himself and then practically runs with grim excitement on his face.

The boy comes closer into view and you can tell by his pale skin tone and tattered layers of dark clothing that he belonged to a small clique of specific people with specific interests; hex maniacs, or spiritualist as they preferred to call themselves. “Oh my- wow,” he grabs a hold of you and shakes. “You’re real!? Another real life person in here. Are you also a spiritualist like me? Who are you? Why did you come here? I can’t believe I found another person who can channel themselves here.” The boy continues to shake you with excitement, clearly intrigued by finding you in this desert.

“Tell me what else you can do. Did you master the nine sacred arts? Did you manage to levitate once?” He stops shaking you for a while and pants from exhaustion. He bursts into a laughing cackle, the type that would make most people’s skin crawl.

He turns back to his questioning. “You have to tell me everything about you. Maybe I can help you?” His still, smiling face was dangerously close to yours at this point. “I’m looking for something here too. Maybe we can help each other?”

“Tell me,” he gives you another shake. “Tell me, tell me.”

Whoever this person was, he clearly had an idea of where you two were and was more than eager at having come across you. You could answer and perhaps even get some information out of him. He did ask if you two could team up, but his ghastly excitement and boundary issues were a tad scary to say the least so perhaps that might not be the best option. Still, you would have to find a way to deal with the Hex Maniac spiritualist and his, literal, clutches.

What do you do?


Samayouru:
None of the paths presented to you were very favourable. You were warned to stay away from the ride itself, and the halls leading to the ghost tracks were probably not the best way to go if you were to follow the mysterious Hypno’s advice. That left two choices: the basement and upstairs. Going up the wooden staircase didn’t exactly sound safe, but the idea of going into the basement was even less inviting.

You whistle to your partner Pokémon to follow and decide to go upstairs and investigate the place further. The wood had seen better days as it was rotting, and an uneven foot made every step creak as you slowly ascended the stairs upwards. Each plank gave off its own sound and for a moment you wonder if it was in any state at all to hold you. Looking up you notice the staircase crossed every floor above you, ascending to the very top of the bell tower on the top floor. The idea of falling through the stairs from there was something not preferable to think about.

The first floor, once you reach it, was as dusty and broken down as the one below. You could notice by the shade of the floor that a few walls had been knocked down here, combining all the small rooms into one large dusty lobby. Wooden planks fell apart at the walls that remained and only burnt black plaster and ash could be seen beyond them.

This room was empty it seemed, and so you proceed to continue to the second floor. The stairs didn’t get any better and squeaked as soon as you stepped on them. After taking a few uneasy steps up you suddenly notice ahead of you a pair of red eyes staring at you from between two broken boards. You give an uneasy movement and/or cry, causing the plank below you to break. The wooden step crumbles and a large chunk falls to the bottom. Your leg falls down with it but luckily you manage to hold on somehow and regain your footing on the remaining steps. Peering at the wall ahead again, there was no sight any more of the red eyes.

For a reason you see fit, you continued and got to the second floor. It’s size and shape was exactly like the one below you with odd-coloured patches were walls had been knocked down during the construction. So far, besides the pair of red eyes, nothing really seemed out of the ordinary in this place. Most of the eerie atmosphere was just built on the idea of an abandoned building. Unexpectedly, mid-thought, a loud thud chimes and shakes the building. Loose dirt falls down from the ceiling as it did. A second chime could be heard and it was even louder. More dust fell and a third chime strikes. You realise the sound you heard came from upstairs as the tower was striking its bells, announcing the time.

A total of thirteen chimes played – it was one o’clock - and then the tower turned silent. For a while nothing happened and all seemed back to normal except that as your ears adjusted from the loud banging you hear the soft chitter-chatter of a crowd. The noise got louder as it filled the tower and pretty soon afterwards you notice white wisps emerge around the room. The wisps grew in size as the voices got louder and eventually took on the shapes of people. You nervously watch as you look around and realise you were surrounded by ghosts on all sides. However, a second look betrayed that none of them seemed to be paying any attention to you, as if not recognising you at all. The voices got clearer and you could make out their words.

“Haha,” one of the ghosts prodded the one next to him with an elbow, “admit it, that scared you. I saw it on your face.”

“Oh shut up,” she said, “don’t be such a jerk,” she laughed.

“Mommy mommy,” you heard a boy shout, “can we go on this ride?”

“Sure sweetie,” a lady’s voice came through.

All of the ghosts it seemed, were re-enacting a regular day at the amusement park. All of them appeared to give the impression of moving, talking and interacting with others but not a single one of them moved from their spot. Not one of them seemed to even want to recognise the bare, sullen room they were in. All of them seemed fine, until you hear chilling scream come from one of them.

You look behind and notice a trail of blue fire stretching across one of the ghosts. The ghost screamed in agony. “Help! Fire. Help!” The ghosts to his side gained a small ember of blue on themselves as well, and then the ones beside them, and the ones on the other side of the room. The blue flames grew on the ghosts, and as it did their wailing and yelling got louder as they screamed in pain. On all sides of you the walls caught flame as well and pretty soon the whole room was on fire with that same eerie, blue flame.

None of the ghosts were moving from their spot, but each gave their distinct yell as the fires consumed them. Screams filled the void were the fire’s roar did not and you hear each of them shouting for help. Men, women, parents, children. A lone girl was crying as she called out.

“Mommy?” She sobs. “Dolly? Where’s my dolly? Dolly help! Please? Dolly, where are you? Did I lose you?”

The fire continued to grow and engulf each of the spirits. The entire room seemed to be in danger of being consumed and you were stuck dead-centre in the middle of it.

What do you do?


Update Batch #13
Spoiler: show
(Hey Maudlin, going for a new look? *dead Rattata is wearing sunglasses*)

~Please reply in Slategray~

The Park

Rollerquaza
Monster Guy:
"Shaana, use Hypnosis on him, quick..." you whisper to your partner. The Munna focusses and locks eyes with the woman’s assailant. A strange presence is felt in the room and you can hear the soft hypnotic chime emanating from your Pokémon’s mouth.

“Stay back!” the man shouted. “Or I’ll..I’ll..I’ll…” His voice trails off and his eyes slowly drop. His knife slips out of his slack hands and the woman quickly pushes herself away. Shortly thereafter the man gives a thud as his body drops to the floor in a snooze. The woman clutches her chest and gives a sigh of relief. “Thank the Elder Dragon.”

“Angela!” a voice shouts from up ahead. Two other men, clad in the same robed outfit as the woman you were with, ran up to you, with worried expressions leading them as they came close. Two smaller shadows emerge beside them and you recognise them to be two Pokémon;


The group closes in in a hurry and quickly exchange glances from the woman, to the knocked out man on the floor, to you, and finally back to the woman. “Angela, are you okay?” said one of them.

“What happened here?” asked the other.

“I’m fine,” she assures them, “thanks to this young man here and his Munna.” The two turn to you; the one with the Riolu by his side grabs your hand and shakes it (or bows if you don’t accept the handshake). “Thank you so much kind sir. The name’s Marcus.”

“I’m Francis,” the other extends his hand to you.

“What happened?” the woman now identified as Angela asks them.

“It’s another one of those poor, wretched souls,” says the man who introduced himself as Marcus. “ The ones who’ve turned mad.”

“He managed to escape,” said Francis, “we ran after him. We were afraid he might have gotten to you before we did.”

“I see,” she says reassuringly. “Still, I don’t understand why Father Desadayus would even want to bother with these unfortunate souls. Their minds are far gone and they’re a threat. If they want to go, we should be relieved that we’re getting rid of them.”

“You know Father Desadayus,” Marcus protested, “he has a soft and kind spirit. Too much so. He wants to help all those he can. It’s better than having to leave them on their own.”

She gives a small scoff of frustration. “It will be the death of him.” Her expression concedes. “Very well, I suppose it’s best we bring this man back before he wakes up.”

“What about him?” Francis looks at you.

“I think he’s another one of those lost souls who’ve come wandering in. I was about to bring him to Father Desadayus. I thought he might know what to do.”

“Oh yes!” both Marcus and Francis light up. “Father Desadayus will know exactly what to do. This hasn’t been the first time after all that this has happened.” They each grab an arm of the unconscious man and carry him. “Follow us, we’ll bring you to Father Desadayus. It’s the least we can do after you saved Angela.”

How do you react (to everything)?


Funhouse
Missingo Master:
Meowth:
You briefly look around the kitchen area while in your larger size. Picking up the plastic food on the table revealed nothing; no secret switch or hidden clue anywhere. The walls had nothing as far as you could tell. You gave up quickly after having gone through most of the room and double-backed the way you came; in through the door marked ‘Stove’, through the narrow passageways and out the door marked ‘Oven’.

To no surprise you were back to being a miniature version of yourself. Perhaps in this small size you could uncover something new. Alas, going over every nook and cranny and brick gave you nothing as far as the walls were concerned. The table was gigantic and it would take a while for you to climb up. The fireplace roars with flames, sparks flying as it laughed at you once more. It was just then that you heard another noise. A small giggle emanated from the fireplace. You couldn’t quite make out what it was but it echoed up the chimney and died when the fires settled their roar to a soft cackle.

Then…a voice speaks to you. It was Keith’s voice coming in from the walkie-talkie.

What will Meowth do?

Keith:
The tunnel rotated on its axis as you attempted to navigate through it. All the while, you juggled the Xtransceiver and walkie-talkie in both hands. Meowth’s voice came in first for contact, and right after that your Xtransceiver came back to life.

The digital clock on your gadget displayed a firm ’60:E2’ before fizzing out to static. The display glowed up ’60:E2’ again. Something clearly wasn’t quite right with the time. The Xtransceiver fizzed in between display and white noise, possibly still trying to recover from having been in the Topsy-Turvy world. Finally though, the display stabilised. The ’60:E2’ came into view, fizzled and realigned itself properly. The time was ’23:09’. That couldn’t be right. Last time you looked, it was only 20:22. You couldn’t possibly have wasted two and a half hours already.

As if matters weren’t bad enough, the moment your Xtransceiver decided to work was the moment your walkie-talkie became nothing more than a toy. No matter how hard you tried, pushing the buttons didn’t do anything but make your fingers sore.

You finally reach the other side of the tunnel and pull the door open. For some reason - because you were too distracted, too eager to move ahead or because your Pokémon bumped into you – you step through and fall through the gaping blackness that stood on the other side. The door shuts behind, trapping you and your party. You keep falling and falling, recognising the sensation from earlier, until you realise where you were.

Moments later, you make a soft but uncomfortable landing on some round objects. Smooth, plastic, coloured objects. Neon colours and shapes illuminated the dark surrounding and you saw that you were back where you had started; the sea of balls, the gigantic ball pit of the Topsy-Turvy world.

Bad news was that you were back right where you started. Good news was that you could see the spiralling Ekans tower up ahead - unless you have a different plan this time? More bad news was that your Xransceiver broke again, though your walkie-talkie had returned alive with the voice of Meowth.

What will Keith do?


kawaiiconcept:
All three of you feel the tug of the Hypnosis as it settled in your minds. You more so than your partner Pokémon who were starting to worry about you and had to think on their feet. Eleven and Freighya communicate briefly by Pokéspeak and divide the tasks. The Eevee prances towards you in a hurry and crashes into your side. Just in time, as Eleven’s arm glowed a bright purple before she slashed the air. A glowing sickle of energy bulleted through the air and shot right past you and Freighya, thanks to your partner throwing you to the side.

You hit your head against the wall and snap out of your previous trance. Your pretty-boy hero was gone, disappeared like he was never here to start with. Your head hurts from the crash but you can make out the shape of the Drowzee. It appears to be recovering from its pain, though not very effectively. The Drowzee winces and starts crying. Before you knew it, it sped off in the direction it came from; out of the house. Loud sobs distanced themselves from you as the Drowzee disappeared through the exit.

Success! Or so it seemed. No knock-out, but you and your Pokémon had managed to push off your attacker nonetheless. You get up back to your feet, only to realise your head pounded when you did. It would seem your landing from when Freighya pushed you was harder than you initially thought. Still, would that be enough to stop you from moving on? There wasn’t any blood as far as you could tell. The pink blob you saw earlier had moved deeper into the house. Was it worth going after it? Or would you prefer to save it for a rainy day, and exit now?

End your adventure and return later? Or continue on, further into the house’s innards?

What do you do (and how do you do it)?


Mantine Mania
Hydrangea:
Eager to get your hands on the Pokémon you quickly think on your feet and come up with a plan. You call out another partner Pokémon, Eleos the Solosis, and devise a plan. Seeing as how the ride was built in a loop like most amusement rides, you were hoping you could cut it off and corner the Pokémon by approaching it from both sides. Fenris was sent to go directly after the Snorunt while you and Eleos would head out the exit and go the other way around. Your two Pokémon understand and Fenris is first to set off. Quickly thereafter, you climb past the icicles and uplifted Mantine boats out the exit.

You take your first few steps on the frozen river outside only to be met with a cold prick on your cheek. Looking up, you see nothing but light grey clouds shedding flakes of snow. All around you, the parks were covered in a permanent thick layer of snow. The river was frozen through, the trees were dead with leaves of sharp icicles, and your vision was reduced to only a mile or so thanks to the continuous storm of Hail. You walk a bit further on, the cold chilling you to the bone if you weren’t properly prepared for these freezing conditions.

You take only a few more steps when you realize three important problems with your plan. One was that the vast size of the park, which houses many parks and habitats for various Pokémon, was enormous enough to practically become a small zoo on its own. And with these conditions, it could take hours before you walked the entire length of the frozen river. The second problem was that the river split up at more than one junction, allowing its visitors to choose the length of their ride and the exhibits they wished to visit. The third was thanks to the snowy conditions – because of it, the Pokémon you were chasing wasn’t confined to only the river; it was free to disappear into the snow-covered grasslands or frozen forests.

Your plan wasn’t going to work as is right now. As if recognising your torment, a voice caws from the nearest trees. “Not really a smart move coming here huh?” A black shadows stands perched atop one of the dead branches. You recognise it to be a Pokémon, one that could talk just like the Hypno you met before.


“If you’re not careful, krow-,” it flapped it’s wings, “the queen’s guards will find you. Best to run back and leave. Craww! It’s too late for your partner though,” he extends a wing towards the other side of the building - towards the boat’s entrance where Fenris went through. You hear a faint cry in the distance. It was Fenris!

An orange glow lights up the sky ahead. Fire? Fenris’ attacks maybe? You hear the Houndour cry softly one more time before a loud whimper replaces it. The glow dies down and Fenris’ voice becomes silent.

“Never stood a chance. Krow! Your fault, trainer. Sent him to his doom. Queen’s guards have him now. Better run trainer. Krow! Run before the queen finds you. Krow! Run! Krow!”

Fenris had clearly run into trouble, and the talking Murkrow was indicating it was too late to save him. Best you leave and cut your losses was his opinion. You didn’t even know what was going on in these parks anyway, though the dark-typed bird apparently did.

What do you do?
(To clarify: Fenris is still a part of your party but he's removed from the adventure for now. No summoning him or anything.)


Fortune Teller’s Tent
Meetan:
Almost with desperation you kick-start your routine. Jumping from heel to toe, you throw your arms in the air to the rhythm of the music. The booing of the crowd subsided slightly as the audience started questioning what was happening. The judges looked both intrigued and puzzled by your performance. It was working. No one was throwing rotten fruit anymore and the booing had dwindled to a loud murmur.

You move into your next pose, and a sharp splinter pierces your mind. The flash of memory interrupts you. You stop haphazardly in the middle of your dance, clutching your head as the pain overwhelms you. Memory was piling onto memory as you slowly recalled Phantom Isle. You remember the ghostly theme park, the tent, the fortune teller, and Masaru. Masaru! Where was she? She was with you only moments ago. The pain dies down and you remember everything vividly. Everything except for how you got here, on stage.

The crowd returned to its booing and started throwing rotten food again. There was something familiar about this place. A sense of déja-vu crept up inside you, though it was off, something didn’t quite feel right. The judges and their Espurrs look strangely at one another. A single piece of food strikes you in the face out of nowhere, blinding you temporarily. The same pain shot through your mind as the memories erased themselves once more. You forget about the stage, about Phantom Isle, and about Masaru. You wipe the last bit off your eyes and open them.

-----

You were with your mother. You were young; two, maybe three years old. She was urging you to duck underneath the bed. It was one of those games of hide-and-seek, the ones you’ve played many times over with your parents. You crawl underneath the bed. It’s dark and you can’t see anything…and then you remember. Masaru, where was she? Memories trickle in again and the darkness lights up with colours as a new tapestry forms in front of you.

-----

You were in a garden. The memories returned. You recall Phantom Isle, and your strange transport onto the stage with the booing crowd. You recognize where you were. This was the garden where you first met Masaru (or at least that’s what I’m concluding from your visions). You haven’t seen Masaru since the crystal ball exploded in your eyes. Could this be where she was hiding?

Where is Masaru?
(Feel free to describe what this environment looks like and/or explain how your meeting with Masaru should go according to memory.)


The Ghost Train
Fishyfool:
After carefully weighing your options you decide to recall your Swampert to its Pokéball. He had done enough for now and was in need of rest you reasoned. His exhaustion was not without reward though as his recuperation will allow him to rest to the next level.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Level-up
Mjolnir the Swampert gained +1 level!
The next step was to bring out a new partner. You detach a third Pokéball from your belt and call forth another ally. A flash of light materializes into a hard shape that takes the form of a brutish-looking construction worker. You explain your plan to your Pokémon, both giving you worried glances whenever you clutch your chest. You assure them though it’s nothing serious. You gesture towards the door. "Rip it off and bridge it, Tantalia."

Tantalia places one of her two pillars firmly into the carriage floor while clutching tightly onto her other one for support. With her free hand she grabs a hold of the door and easily rips it off of its hinges. The metal pins cracked as they split and Tate was left holding onto what was now nothing more than a giant wooden plank for you to use. She plants it down across the gaping gap, forming a bridge for you to cross over.

Now was Paine’s turn to help. As you gingerly take your first steps, Paine’s psychic prowess grab a light hold on you. If you would slip or fall, she would be sure to catch you before you dropped into the abyss completely. Once across, you tested the doorknob to the locomotive; unlocked, fortunately. The engine room was dark and empty, with no apparent danger in sight. You recall your Pokémon from the other side, retreating them to the safety of their Pokéballs while you focussed on your next task.

After closing the door you closely inspect the room. There were barred windows to either side of you, and in front you could see the two gaping holes that made up the eye sockets of the skull that adorned the locomotive. None of these windows helped though as outside there was no light source to speak of and you saw nothing but the pitch blackness of the abyss. As far as you could tell, there were three controls you could use; one was the button nestled between the two eye sockets, the second was the lever set in the floor and the third was the chain-switch hanging from the ceiling.

What do you do (first, second, third, etc.)?


Samayouru:
You were surrounded on all sides by a wall of blue fire. Your hand reaches for the Deidbell but you’re uncertain if this is the right time to purpose some of your limited usages. You decide against it for now and go for a different strategy. Ramses is called from his Pokéball. A bright light flashes and within instants a Yamask appears beside you. You issue his orders and he understand firmly, erecting a translucent, protective barrier around himself, you and Caesar. Meanwhile, you look around frantically, hoping to find something, anything, that could be the cause for all of this. But nothing stood out amongst the white spectres and blue flames. No cause could be found other than the ringing of the bell tower.

The fire grew and consumed the ghosts one by one. In moments, the entire room was engulfed in flames and stretched slowly from the walls towards the centre. You wait in anticipation for it to be over, wondering how long this would last. Your heart sank when you noticed one trail of fire passing through the protective shield. The barrier was doing nothing against it. More fire joined and pierced the shell, and in moments you were surrounded on all sides by the blue flames. Your plan wasn’t working. Moments later though, you recognise the distinct lack of heat in the room. After touching one of the flames (for whatever reason you deem fit) you realize that the fire didn’t burn. It wasn’t hot, or cold, or even painful. It was simply nothing more than light.

Still, all around you the ghosts wailed in pain, begging for it to stop and screaming for help. And the sheer brilliance of the fire blocked your view in all directions. At this point you had lost your bearing of which way you had come from and where you were going. Was it even worth continuing up the tower with this?

What do you do?


House of Mirrors
DracosWulfgar: (Two small things to look out for, since someone needs to say it. 1. I’d personally prefer you didn’t use a numbering list when stating reasons for coming here. Just write it out instead. 2. I’m fine with you using song lyrics in your updates, just try not to use them as a substitute for actual writing. That wasn’t the case this time but it’s something to look out for.)
You came to Phantom Isle to confirm the sightings of ghosts. You came to the House of Mirrors however to conquer your own fear of claustrophobia. So far though, that wasn’t going very well. Almost as soon as you entered the shadow-filled building you felt the pinprick of eyes drilling in the back of your neck. There was no constant source of light and instead you had to rely on the island’s glow spilling through the entrance and the occasional lightbulb that wasn’t completely shattered. The closed spaces made you nervous and the constant appearance of new reflections in the dark corridors didn’t help making you feel any less trapped.

You partner Pokémon senses your trouble and appears from his Pokéball, the Growlithe assuring you by acting as a therapy dog. A low moan echoes through the corridors briefly. Quite possibly the wind howling through the cracked wooden boards. You manage to recover yourself and move on, remembering a trick you were taught by your sister long ago. You think back to what she said that first time; the trick is to notice the edges of the mirrors. Specifically at the top and bottom you could easily see where the reflective surface met with the dirt coloured panels of the floors and ceiling.

You think hard about this trick, but the moment you do the loud moan echoes down the corridor once more. A violent wind blows past and in an instant the floor and ceiling were replaced by mirrors themselves. All around where you looked you and your Growlithe were surrounded by images of yourselves. The two of you are momentarily shocked by the sudden change in scenery. Was this supposed to be a part of the attraction?

“Hello?” a voice startles you. You look around but find nothing. Your Growlithe looks at you, puzzled.

“Is someone there?” the voice speaks again. You turn again to find nothing. You couldn’t tell where it was coming from; the voice appeared to be coming from all directions at once.

“Hello?” it asks again.

You concentrate on the path ahead first, for a small piece of mind you had to make yourself comfortable first. You think about the corners of the mirror panels themselves. Perhaps they could still provide you with some comfort and bearing.

Another loud moan bellows in the corridor, and another gust of wind blows past you. The corridor trembles in its place, and before your very eyes the corners of the mirror panels squeaked as they bent into soft corners, obscuring their sharp angles. Your Growlithe was sufficiently startled, by both the sound and the warp of the mirrors.

“Is someone there? You need to put a halt to your overtly pensive thoughts.”

The loud moan turned louder and became closer. A dark shadow filled the corridor up ahead and crawled towards you. One by one, the mirrored panels rippled like waves as the shadow approached your direction. A whistling chime blows past you along another howl of wind.

“Answer please, I beg you” the voice speaks. It is then that you realise the voice wasn’t coming from anywhere in the building; it was in your head. “I’m trying to warn you that you’re in danger.” The shadow slowly crept closer as the mirrors continued to ripple by its touch.

“Run!”

What do you do?


The Hotel

Members-Only Casino
Escalion:
”Let’s just say I heard a good story about this place that I’m dying to check out for myself.” A dark grin appears on Corvus’ face, ”But rest assured, we will go all in.”

“I’m sure my partner already explained himself, and I think we can go all in when needed. I know how to play a game or two,” you chime in, all the while remaining wary of your visitor.

The Hypno chuckles at Corvus’s response. “Yes yes, quite right, ’dying to check it out’. I suppose that wasn’t an accidental pun. I must say,” he looks at Corvus with admiration, “I commend you for your dedication. Just be sure it doesn’t devolve to foolhardy tenacity. Although…”

He scratches his chin in contemplation. “…perhaps foolhardy tenacity is exactly what you’d need to persevere. But not that kind of tenacity Mr. Virote.” His eyes turn sharply to you and it is then that you realise you can’t move your arm anymore. It was stuck in place by your belt by some unseen force. A small numb sensation creeps from your fingers up your arm, and you recognise almost immediately it was because the blood flow was being cut off slowly.

“That type of grit,” he continues, “is more foolhardy than you may realise. Caution is important but I’m less than impressed by your resolve to resort to violence so easily. Careful not to portray a too overwrought character once inside. Some things, as you may very well know, are not as they first appear.”

At that moment your arm is released from its invisible grip. The blood flows back down your extremities, sending pins and needles all across your arm. You look at the Hypno who merely smiles, inviting you to do the same. You get the sense he was referring to more than one thing with that last sentence of his.

“Either way, a deal’s a deal. Here you go,” he hands over the voucher for you to take. “And then of course.” He opens his palm in which a flame shoots up. Another voucher materializes and the flame dies down. “This one’s for you,” he hands the other voucher to Corvus.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Item
You obtained 2x Vouchers for 10 Phantom Tokens
“Now that that’s out of the way, I’ll take my leave. Before either of you decides to indulge in their violent tendencies.” He takes a bow and lifts his top hat, “tata,” and disappears in a flash of purple smoke.

-----

Eventually you reach the point where you swipe the keycard through the slot. A confirming bleep and green light shows it was accepted. The doors creak and you hear something unhooking. Pushing against the door, you realise its unlocked and you move through.

Ahead was laid out a quaint VIP room, the size of a large studio apartment. One side of the room was covered with crystal-clear mirrored panels from left to right. The carpet was of a simple yet elegant design and every chair, sofa and seat had red upholstery. A small performance stage was placed in the corner opposite of you, atop which sat a lone mic. To your side was a vacant bar, and the token booth; its reception empty and the only place in the casino that had witnessed the island’s decay. Scattered all across the floor were tables set up to accommodate poker, blackjack, craps and roulette. The lay-out of the room was only second to what had caught your eye though.

Set in the centre of the room was a table with its roulette currently still spinning. The only guests of the casino were circled around its rotating wheel, bets already placed. Their laughter was cut short upon noticing you and Corvus had entered. All eyes stare at the two of you with bewilderment. Some of their jaws dropped in astonishment at seeing you. All of them – Gastly, Haunter, Gengar, Sableye, Lampent and Mismagius – remained quiet as they stared at you, nervously waiting for your next move.

What do you do
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Last edited by Ex-Admiral Insane; 05-01-2017 at 11:05 AM.
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Old 05-01-2017, 11:43 AM   #3
Ex-Admiral Insane
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(Maudlin, what did you do to the office. This doesn’t look anything like the place I remember? *Dead Ratatta says nothing*. What do you mean I should consider this place to be under new management?)

~Please reply in Slategray~

The Park

Rollerquaza
Monster Guy: ~ See Update Batch #11, #12 and #13
"Shaana, use Hypnosis on him, quick..." you whisper to your partner. The Munna focusses and locks eyes with the woman’s assailant. A strange presence is felt in the room and you can hear the soft hypnotic chime emanating from your Pokémon’s mouth.

“Stay back!” the man shouted. “Or I’ll..I’ll..I’ll…” His voice trails off and his eyes slowly drop. His knife slips out of his slack hands and the woman quickly pushes herself away. Shortly thereafter the man gives a thud as his body drops to the floor in a snooze. The woman clutches her chest and gives a sigh of relief. “Thank the Elder Dragon.”

“Angela!” a voice shouts from up ahead. Two other men, clad in the same robed outfit as the woman you were with, ran up to you, with worried expressions leading them as they came close. Two smaller shadows emerge beside them and you recognise them to be two Pokémon;


The group closes in in a hurry and quickly exchange glances from the woman, to the knocked out man on the floor, to you, and finally back to the woman. “Angela, are you okay?” said one of them.

“What happened here?” asked the other.

“I’m fine,” she assures them, “thanks to this young man here and his Munna.” The two turn to you; the one with the Riolu by his side grabs your hand and shakes it (or bows if you don’t accept the handshake). “Thank you so much kind sir. The name’s Marcus.”

“I’m Francis,” the other extends his hand to you.

“What happened?” the woman now identified as Angela asks them.

“It’s another one of those poor, wretched souls,” says the man who introduced himself as Marcus. “ The ones who’ve turned mad.”

“He managed to escape,” said Francis, “we ran after him. We were afraid he might have gotten to you before we did.”

“I see,” she says reassuringly. “Still, I don’t understand why Father Desadayus would even want to bother with these unfortunate souls. Their minds are far gone and they’re a threat. If they want to go, we should be relieved that we’re getting rid of them.”

“You know Father Desadayus,” Marcus protested, “he has a soft and kind spirit. Too much so. He wants to help all those he can. It’s better than having to leave them on their own.”

She gives a small scoff of frustration. “It will be the death of him.” Her expression concedes. “Very well, I suppose it’s best we bring this man back before he wakes up.”

“What about him?” Francis looks at you.

“I think he’s another one of those lost souls who’ve come wandering in. I was about to bring him to Father Desadayus. I thought he might know what to do.”

“Oh yes!” both Marcus and Francis light up. “Father Desadayus will know exactly what to do. This hasn’t been the first time after all that this has happened.” They each grab an arm of the unconscious man and carry him. “Follow us, we’ll bring you to Father Desadayus. It’s the least we can do after you saved Angela.”

How do you react (to everything)?


Funhouse
Missingo Master: ~ See Update Batch #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12 and #13, and here’s #14:
Myrtle:
Keith’s words coaxed you into showing your true strength, that which could only come from being a MissingNo. "Al-right, Ex-egg-u-tor head," you insulted the ghost boy. "You just messed with the wrong Ba-nette!"

The boy sneered at you, his eyes glowing a faint red. “Die!” he commanded. And as he said that, a table lifted itself up out of the mess of furniture before being forcefully flung towards you. But you were prepared for this. A jet of shining red that looked more like fire than water gunned from your mouth to push off the incoming attack.

“Inkay,” the boy said angrily. The Inkay shivered in its spot, and then laid still like a statue. “Attack!”

The table slowed down and fell back to the floor, but before you got a moment’s rest the Inkay pops up to your side and fires off another Psybeam. The attack connects and throws you off your balance, the pain stinging unlike a regular psychic attack should have. You pick yourself up, but just when you did another piece of furniture, a wardrobe, plummeted down on you. The wooden dresser splintered upon impact while crushing you against the room’s floor.

A battle against one Pokémon in a topsy-turvy world may have been tough but doable; two opponents was near impossible it seemed, even for a MissingNo, and it didn’t help that they had the type advantage thanks to the inverted type-scales. Nevertheless, you weren’t down for the count yet and you pick yourself up again. The Inkay charges towards you with another attack but you weren’t going to let it get the better of you this time. Right as it came close, you charge yourself with a veil of black aura and fly up out of the way of its attack. Your body soars up through the room, just barely missing the ghost boy in your path.

“You’re not going to leave,” his voice was menacing. Another, smaller table was lifted and thrown up towards you. You go into the second part of your attack; charged with the black aura you dive down with your Sky Attack, straight through the table as if it were nothing. The table splinters before you and you continue your rapid descent. The ghost boy dodges you. “Ha. You missed” but he wasn’t your target. Right below him, where you had left it, the Inkay stood idly by as you close in on it, before crashing into it with your body, the floor cracking beneath the force off of both of you.

You get off and back away, slightly panting. To your dismay, so did the Inkay though. Keith hadn’t rung in yet and so you were left to your own devices. The battle continued until…

(Updatee is free to write out how the rest of the battle proceeded, as long as it’s within the confines of what has been provided for the battle. The end result will have to be the same though; )

…you managed to give the ghost boy a critical hit, stunning him, and quickly thereafter delivering the final blow to the Inkay. By this point you were panting heavily, practically worn out from having to deal with two opponents at once. The Inkay collapses and the boy grunts at you.

Quote:
Myrtle grew by 1 level!
The two vanish into thin air but his voice remains; “we’re not going to let you go. I’ll get back at you.” With the threats gone you could relax and did so by falling onto the ground. You could feel your consciousness waning. The battle had taken more out of you then you realized. Keith’s voice rings in from the walkie-talkie but you were too tired to pick it up. Your eyes slowly close but just before they do you notice the room changing colours; it was restoring itself from the Topsy-Turvy world.

Keith’s voice calls again; “Myrtl-“ and then dies as the last effect of Topsy Turvy was removed. You finally close your eyes for a well-deserved rest.

Myrtle is knocked out!

Keith:
Your Carnivine indicated the tower, wondering whether it was a way out. You decide against it though, informing Fang that you had tried that same thing last time only to end up back where you were know. With the small amount of the strange rules in place here you decide that a different approach is most likely needed. Though you couldn’t attest whether it was safe to do so, inverted logic dictated you might have to sink instead of swim. Fang questions your idea briefly but goes along with it. Extending one vine, he wraps it around your waist before the two of you swim farther down into the sea of balls. With one hand gripped on the walkie-talkie you try to get back into contact with Myrtle. But no matter how hard you tried or called out to her, Myrtle didn’t respond.

It wasn’t long before you heard the faint giggle once more, the very same you heard the first time you were here. A bright light flashes before your eyes and dies down. “Don’t,” you hear a whisper. You go even depper, deeper still while you and Fang tried to stay closer. Deeper again, until finally the balls separated and made way for a large open space of blackness.

The two of you break the surface and you notice a surrounding that was very much like the one you saw before; pitch black sky dotted with neon-coloured constellations. The sea as it turned out had two surfaces opposite one another, but this wasn’t the most surprising thing to see.

“Ink ink!” the Inkay tries to distance itself from the two (is Dudley back in his ball?) of you.

The ghost girl gives a shriek out of surprise. “How’d you find me?” she was clearly astounded. “It doesn’t matter. You still have to catch us,” she jeered. “Inkay, go!”

“Ink-inkay.”

While the two of you were still swimming, the Inkay closed in on you, a red energy forming at its beak as it prepared an attack.

What will Keith do?


kawaiiconcept: ~ See Update Batch #10, #11, #12 and #13, and here’s #14:
Both of your Pokémon worry about your mental state. The Eevee in particular knew you had a tendency to obsess when you had a crush, and the added potential crush in your skull would have only made matters worse. Freighya instructs Eleven to watch over you, the Psychic type being more attune to mental states. Nevertheless, the pain is barely noticeable even when rubbing your head, and you feel surprisingly chipper enough to continue.

Upon reaching the door in the next room, you gently nudge it open, only to be met with a small puff of pink smoke blown in your voice. A distressed coo cries in the distance and the smoke evaporates before your eyes. Before you lay a scene that was surprising to say the least. In an abandoned amusement park rumoured to have been haunted by ghosts and spectres one would have expected a ghoul to show up and scare them or at the very least have specks of dust littering the interior. What you found was none of that though, and instead you saw a large, constructed and fully operational trick room, complete with furniture attached to walls, sliding tiles in the floors, glass panes scattered to create amaze and a bouncy castle-esque blob in the centre, but the biggest shock was the laughter that permeated the room. Young adults and teens roughly your age were running, jumping and playfully pushing one another.

One of the girls notices you standing by the door and waves at you. “Come on in and join us. You’re Kawaii right?”

How did she know your name?

She beckons for you to come closer and soon afterwards others start waving at you too, but before you take another step closer you hear the familiar echo of a distressed cry resonate through the room, though no direct source could be found.

What do you do?


Mantine Mania
Hydrangea: ~ See Update Batch #11, #12 and #13
Eager to get your hands on the Pokémon you quickly think on your feet and come up with a plan. You call out another partner Pokémon, Eleos the Solosis, and devise a plan. Seeing as how the ride was built in a loop like most amusement rides, you were hoping you could cut it off and corner the Pokémon by approaching it from both sides. Fenris was sent to go directly after the Snorunt while you and Eleos would head out the exit and go the other way around. Your two Pokémon understand and Fenris is first to set off. Quickly thereafter, you climb past the icicles and uplifted Mantine boats out the exit.

You take your first few steps on the frozen river outside only to be met with a cold prick on your cheek. Looking up, you see nothing but light grey clouds shedding flakes of snow. All around you, the parks were covered in a permanent thick layer of snow. The river was frozen through, the trees were dead with leaves of sharp icicles, and your vision was reduced to only a mile or so thanks to the continuous storm of Hail. You walk a bit further on, the cold chilling you to the bone if you weren’t properly prepared for these freezing conditions.

You take only a few more steps when you realize three important problems with your plan. One was that the vast size of the park, which houses many parks and habitats for various Pokémon, was enormous enough to practically become a small zoo on its own. And with these conditions, it could take hours before you walked the entire length of the frozen river. The second problem was that the river split up at more than one junction, allowing its visitors to choose the length of their ride and the exhibits they wished to visit. The third was thanks to the snowy conditions – because of it, the Pokémon you were chasing wasn’t confined to only the river; it was free to disappear into the snow-covered grasslands or frozen forests.

Your plan wasn’t going to work as is right now. As if recognising your torment, a voice caws from the nearest trees. “Not really a smart move coming here huh?” A black shadows stands perched atop one of the dead branches. You recognise it to be a Pokémon, one that could talk just like the Hypno you met before.


“If you’re not careful, krow-,” it flapped it’s wings, “the queen’s guards will find you. Best to run back and leave. Craww! It’s too late for your partner though,” he extends a wing towards the other side of the building - towards the boat’s entrance where Fenris went through. You hear a faint cry in the distance. It was Fenris!

An orange glow lights up the sky ahead. Fire? Fenris’ attacks maybe? You hear the Houndour cry softly one more time before a loud whimper replaces it. The glow dies down and Fenris’ voice becomes silent.

“Never stood a chance. Krow! Your fault, trainer. Sent him to his doom. Queen’s guards have him now. Better run trainer. Krow! Run before the queen finds you. Krow! Run! Krow!”

Fenris had clearly run into trouble, and the talking Murkrow was indicating it was too late to save him. Best you leave and cut your losses was his opinion. You didn’t even know what was going on in these parks anyway, though the dark-typed bird apparently did.

What do you do?
(To clarify: Fenris is still a part of your party but he's removed from the adventure for now. No summoning him or anything.)


Salty Sam's Pirate Ship
DaveTheFishGuy: ~ See Update Batch #3
The ship was about as desolate as the rest of the island and its amusements. The only difference was that the mechanical ride was on, for god knows how long. By now the circuits must have rusted or snapped if they were kept active since the park’s closure. The ship was hovering in its station with a silent hum while light poured out of the ships lower hull windows and captain’s cabin - the engine room obviously.

You take your first steps on the wooden staircase that led up to upper deck. Rows of seats with safety guards lined up like a terracotta army waiting for the return of their emperor; a mechanical upper-body of a pirate captain with bicorne hat, black goatee and a permanent sneer of two rows of teeth that could come apart. In one hand rested a plastic cutlass which could move in tandem with its arms as indicated by the exposed rotaries in the shoulders and hips that connected it to a wooden platform opposite the mechanical man’s army of empty seats.

Nothing about the wooden ship – wooden only by appearance as a great deal of metal machinery and wiring was needed – seemed out of the ordinary, just dirty from lack of use in years of abandonment. Strangely though, some areas appear to be relatively clean you notice and the place wasn’t nearly as disgusting as you would expect from years of neglect. Coupled with the activity of the engine below, something didn’t feel quite right with you and a small wisp of nervousness washes over you when you realise the quietness of the place. You scour the deck in hopes of finding anything but come up short. Only the seating area was available to you as any doors that led elsewhere were locked long ago. Eventually you have to give up and decide to leave. Even the controls were off limit to you and so you would be incapable of even starting the damn thing if you wanted to. You take your first steps of the deck, your Pokémon closely following behind you, when Salty Sam suddenly speaks up.

“Aargh matey, are you ready to leave port and set sail for the seven seas. Come on up to Salty Sam’s ship of pirates and buccaneers if ye dare and let’s see if yer brave enough to face her majesty the ocean.”

It was a pre-set recording, specifically designed for kids to enjoy and give the idea of being on a pirate ship.

“There be stormy weather up ahead so you best leave your land-lubber stilts behind and grow a pair of sea legs. Urgh, I seem to have lost mine.” A pause for children’s laughter. “Show me your ticket and prove yer brave enough to become part of me crew.” With that the mouth of the robot opened up in anticipation and lay there waiting.

“A peculiar thing, no. I myself am not quite fond of ‘Salty Sam’ but kids seemed to enjoy it back in the old days.” Behind you was, to your surprise, a Hypno in tophat and cane waiting for you at the bottom of the stairs. “Greetings my fellow man,” he bows, “the name is Nero. I’m the current proprietor of this park, which is why I come to you now.” He clasps his hand and looks at you warmly with squinted eyes and a scrunched up nose. “You see, you’re in my park but you don’t seem to have bought a ticket for anything. Such a shame. It’ll be hard for you to enjoy anything here if you lack the proper papers.” He holds up one of his hands from which purple flames erupt out of his palm. The flames quickly recede and the Hypno grasps the remaining embers to reveal a paper between his fingers.

“Here I have a ticket for you. One return ticket, good for one person.” He looks over your Pokémon and then back at you. “Trainer’s Pokémon may ride for free. Besides, it’s not like we’re short of seats these days. Though, I cannot give you this just like that of course. Most people would have paid for this in the old days. I should expect something in return.”

“Now now,” he stops you before you can say anything. “I’m not a stingy person. I don’t want much from you. I do have a small request I may ask but you don’t have to listen to it. Instead, tell me why I should give this to you. What should I expect from you if I gave this ticket? That is of course, if you want the ticket in the first place?”

He clearly wants you to come up with a reason you should be given a free pass, even if it is a lazy excuse that only appeals to his good nature (if he has one though), but would you want to bother though for a flimsy piece of paper?

How do you proceed?


Merry-Go-Round
PikaGod: ~ See Update Batch #3
You had heard about the abandoned island and its park before from both rumours and friends. Its mix of childish rides and gothic decay appealed to your personality in more ways than one. The fondness of your own childhood memories grabbed a hold of your interests which is why you decided to visit the Merry-Go-Round first. Amidst the rubble and purple haze lied the wore-down remains of the amusement ride, its bright colours now dulled to a grim memory of its former glory. Still, it remained intact in one piece, complete with Ponytas, Blitzles, Gogoats, Rhyhorns and Lapras as well as the three legendary dog Pokémon Entei, Raikou and Suicune and a few others (to be decided by the update if he wants). Each one of the Pokémon statues floated with hanging mouths, complementing the park’s feel of remaining frozen in time where no new life seemed to cross.
The sight wasn’t unsettling despite standing desolated and neither you nor your Spritzee or Starmie showed signs of hesitance in nearing the structure. You take a step closer and hear the light crackle of electricity and machinery as the ride lights up and merry, although dulled, music sings in whistles and pipes. As if reading your mind, the Merry-Go-Round decided to come to live and invite you and your Pokémon along for a ride it probably hasn’t had in a long time.

Not one to turn down an invitation, or perhaps not one to question it too much, you decide to tag along, seeing as how it was your hope in the first place. You and your Pokémon look around the carrousel and each pick a Pokémon to ride on. As if sensing your readiness the ride springs to movement, not requiring a key or the push of a button in any way. An eerie screech rings in the air while the machine tries to turn on its axis. Music starts playing, a song you remember from your childhood (or not), but the notes are sparse and missing and the few that do ring out are accompanied with a rusty tone or cackling screech. The movements themselves are sluggish and forcing themselves to move in chugging motions. The mechanical Pokémon themselves struggle to bounce in their place and give up after a while. Then, before the ride can even come to a proper pace, the machine decides to quit and the song stops during its first chorus.

Disappointed to say the least, it would appear you and your Pokémon wouldn’t be able to enjoy the ride as you had hoped. Thoughts rise on what to do next; move on to the next ride, attempt to fix it or perhaps wait in the hopes of it restoring itself? It is then that off to the side, removed by a few feet, you notice a yellow figure gazing at you from the mist. The strange man leans with one hand on his black cane while using his other to lift his top hat in greeting. The creature gave off a sinister air by standing so alone and still in the fog while fixating his stare at you at every movement. Your Pokémon shortly join your side after noticing the yellow figure too. There was a chance the thing was benevolent but in a place as abandoned as the Haunted Theme Park you had more than a few doubts about that. Still, the creature appears to be waiting for your next move.

What do you do?


Fortune Teller’s Tent
Plight of Leon: ~ See Update Batch #5
Lost both in mind and place, you find yourself wandering the desolated park that was converted to a home for other lost spirits. Perhaps this would then be the best place for you to stay, to rest or find answers; an identity perhaps or even a glimpse of an idea on who you were, now and in past lives. The Fortune Teller’s tent pops up in the corner of your eye, a soft pale light sliding past the curtain doors. This place was abandoned, supposedly. No cities or farms or markets to speak off that could sustain any living thing from living here for long periods of time. The fortune teller herself would not be there, you knew, or otherwise had a feeling. It was only days before the first horrific accident took place that the fortune teller had mysteriously vanished, supposedly died from old age.

No, you knew, it was someone else, something else. Something had taken residence in the canvas tent and had announced its presence to you. Slowly, you creepy our way to the tent flap, an itching sensation of flying sparks flowing through your body as you neared. The sparks buzz alive in your head and whisper small static groans, first sad, then happy and then angry until it become an infuriating heat of angry moans and growls. For a brief moment, you feel as if the park had been alive with energy, and it was all waiting for you inside, but it was not friendly. It knew what you were and it didn’t like it. You stretch your grey, paper-thin arm out to lift it when you hear a voice surprise you from behind.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Your hand retracts away instantly and the buzzing and moaning stop, your body cools down to match the thin purple mist that swirled past they grey dirt bricks. The creature took a few yellow steps further towards you, his hand cautiously gripping his cane which he tapped alongside his stride until he came but a few feet away from you.


“They are waiting inside, but they are waiting for a youngster to prove himself worthy. I don’t believe you to be a youngster,” his eyes squint suspiciously at you, “and I don’t think you to be worthy either.” His words send a cold wisp your way that sends a soft trail of something familiar through you. “I suggest you step away from there, lest you want to lose all you have left to them.”

The creature eyes you top to bottom, scratches his yellow chin and strokes his furry mane before shifting his tophat and finally speaking to you again. “Strange, I was warned of a peculiar entity having come to the park and was expecting something, well something more. You, most certainly are a strange thing; living but dead, both in this realm and the other while existing in neither. Most ghosts would have something similar, they are spirits with no shells, but here I see a shell with no spirit, no semblance of live at all. I can see you but I can feel nothing. You have no presence.”

He takes a defensive stance towards you. “Tell me, do you work for him? Are you his servant sent to aid? What is your purpose? What do you want?” He asks basically the same question in different ways. He is suspicious of you and has very little cause for trust it seems but he is asking you the very thing you came here to find out; Who are you and what do you want?

What do you do?


Meetan: ~ See Update Batch #9, #10, #11 and #13
Almost with desperation you kick-start your routine. Jumping from heel to toe, you throw your arms in the air to the rhythm of the music. The booing of the crowd subsided slightly as the audience started questioning what was happening. The judges looked both intrigued and puzzled by your performance. It was working. No one was throwing rotten fruit anymore and the booing had dwindled to a loud murmur.

You move into your next pose, and a sharp splinter pierces your mind. The flash of memory interrupts you. You stop haphazardly in the middle of your dance, clutching your head as the pain overwhelms you. Memory was piling onto memory as you slowly recalled Phantom Isle. You remember the ghostly theme park, the tent, the fortune teller, and Masaru. Masaru! Where was she? She was with you only moments ago. The pain dies down and you remember everything vividly. Everything except for how you got here, on stage.

The crowd returned to its booing and started throwing rotten food again. There was something familiar about this place. A sense of déja-vu crept up inside you, though it was off, something didn’t quite feel right. The judges and their Espurrs look strangely at one another. A single piece of food strikes you in the face out of nowhere, blinding you temporarily. The same pain shot through your mind as the memories erased themselves once more. You forget about the stage, about Phantom Isle, and about Masaru. You wipe the last bit off your eyes and open them.

-----

You were with your mother. You were young; two, maybe three years old. She was urging you to duck underneath the bed. It was one of those games of hide-and-seek, the ones you’ve played many times over with your parents. You crawl underneath the bed. It’s dark and you can’t see anything…and then you remember. Masaru, where was she? Memories trickle in again and the darkness lights up with colours as a new tapestry forms in front of you.

-----

You were in a garden. The memories returned. You recall Phantom Isle, and your strange transport onto the stage with the booing crowd. You recognize where you were. This was the garden where you first met Masaru (or at least that’s what I’m concluding from your visions). You haven’t seen Masaru since the crystal ball exploded in your eyes. Could this be where she was hiding?

Where is Masaru?
(Feel free to describe what this environment looks like and/or explain how your meeting with Masaru should go according to memory.)


The Ghost Train
Fishyfool: ~ See Update Batch #1, #2, #3, #4, #7, #8, #10, #12 and #13
After carefully weighing your options you decide to recall your Swampert to its Pokéball. He had done enough for now and was in need of rest you reasoned. His exhaustion was not without reward though as his recuperation will allow him to rest to the next level.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Level-up
Mjolnir the Swampert gained +1 level!
The next step was to bring out a new partner. You detach a third Pokéball from your belt and call forth another ally. A flash of light materializes into a hard shape that takes the form of a brutish-looking construction worker. You explain your plan to your Pokémon, both giving you worried glances whenever you clutch your chest. You assure them though it’s nothing serious. You gesture towards the door. "Rip it off and bridge it, Tantalia."

Tantalia places one of her two pillars firmly into the carriage floor while clutching tightly onto her other one for support. With her free hand she grabs a hold of the door and easily rips it off of its hinges. The metal pins cracked as they split and Tate was left holding onto what was now nothing more than a giant wooden plank for you to use. She plants it down across the gaping gap, forming a bridge for you to cross over.

Now was Paine’s turn to help. As you gingerly take your first steps, Paine’s psychic prowess grab a light hold on you. If you would slip or fall, she would be sure to catch you before you dropped into the abyss completely. Once across, you tested the doorknob to the locomotive; unlocked, fortunately. The engine room was dark and empty, with no apparent danger in sight. You recall your Pokémon from the other side, retreating them to the safety of their Pokéballs while you focussed on your next task.

After closing the door you closely inspect the room. There were barred windows to either side of you, and in front you could see the two gaping holes that made up the eye sockets of the skull that adorned the locomotive. None of these windows helped though as outside there was no light source to speak of and you saw nothing but the pitch blackness of the abyss. As far as you could tell, there were three controls you could use; one was the button nestled between the two eye sockets, the second was the lever set in the floor and the third was the chain-switch hanging from the ceiling.

What do you do (first, second, third, etc.)?


Liltwick: ~ See Update Batch #1, #2, #3, #4, #7 and #12
The first thing on your mind was to retreat the unconscious Kai to the safety of his Pokéball. Better he rest in there than continue being dragged along in his comatose state you reckon. You heard the faint cries in the distant, its source unrecognisable. You call out another partner Pokémon of yours. Wisp comes forth and hops into your arms. The two of you give only a look but the Litwick understood something was wrong. That much was certain when you took in your surroundings. The faint sense of obliteration littered the ruins, as if civilisations came here to be forgotten and removed from the world.

You felt like a ghost amongst the ruins yourselves and with no sure way of where to go, opt to follow the cries in the hopes of finding someone or something. The crying never stopped, making it easy for you to find the path where the lamenting got louder. You wander amongst the broken remains of buildings as you got closer and pretty soon you heard other cries with softly uttered words in between.

“Why…why..”

“Where am I?”

“Help”

Each voice was a quiet cry for help made of only sobs. Eventually you come up to find the source of the lamenting only to stand dead in your shoes when you see it. An ethereal being, a woman you reckon, was crouched with her back to the wall of a broken-down building. She rocked back and forth in her place, continuing to cry softly. “Why...I don’t know…why..” The catatonic ghost didn’t even so much as recognise your presence, continuing to stir in her misery. If you tried to get closer or even talk to her, the ghost merely said “leave me alone” with a sorrowful voice, never stopping her movements as he rocked back and forth. The woman merely continued, ignoring your presence altogether.

It is then, when you look at the other ruins that you notice other spirits in a similar pose. Each of them mourning in their own place separate from one another and weeping while crying out regrets or questions.

“..where are you…”

“…where am I…”

“…why?...”

“…I didn’t know…I didn’t know…”

None of them so much as took a moment to look at you or cease what they were doing. Except one. A darkly clad boy passes by one of the walls. He was close, close enough for you to tell this wasn’t a spirit like the rest of them. You weren’t able to see through him and he wasn’t in a perpetuating state of misery like the rest. The boy notices you too and gasps almost in surprise. Instantly, he walks towards you, then paces himself and then practically runs with grim excitement on his face.

The boy comes closer into view and you can tell by his pale skin tone and tattered layers of dark clothing that he belonged to a small clique of specific people with specific interests; hex maniacs, or spiritualist as they preferred to call themselves. “Oh my- wow,” he grabs a hold of you and shakes. “You’re real!? Another real life person in here. Are you also a spiritualist like me? Who are you? Why did you come here? I can’t believe I found another person who can channel themselves here.” The boy continues to shake you with excitement, clearly intrigued by finding you in this desert.

“Tell me what else you can do. Did you master the nine sacred arts? Did you manage to levitate once?” He stops shaking you for a while and pants from exhaustion. He bursts into a laughing cackle, the type that would make most people’s skin crawl.

He turns back to his questioning. “You have to tell me everything about you. Maybe I can help you?” His still, smiling face was dangerously close to yours at this point. “I’m looking for something here too. Maybe we can help each other?”

“Tell me,” he gives you another shake. “Tell me, tell me.”

Whoever this person was, he clearly had an idea of where you two were and was more than eager at having come across you. You could answer and perhaps even get some information out of him. He did ask if you two could team up, but his ghastly excitement and boundary issues were a tad scary to say the least so perhaps that might not be the best option. Still, you would have to find a way to deal with the Hex Maniac spiritualist and his, literal, clutches.

What do you do?

Samayouru: ~ See Update Batch #5, #6, #11, #12 and #13
You were surrounded on all sides by a wall of blue fire. Your hand reaches for the Deidbell but you’re uncertain if this is the right time to purpose some of your limited usages. You decide against it for now and go for a different strategy. Ramses is called from his Pokéball. A bright light flashes and within instants a Yamask appears beside you. You issue his orders and he understand firmly, erecting a translucent, protective barrier around himself, you and Caesar. Meanwhile, you look around frantically, hoping to find something, anything, that could be the cause for all of this. But nothing stood out amongst the white spectres and blue flames. No cause could be found other than the ringing of the bell tower.

The fire grew and consumed the ghosts one by one. In moments, the entire room was engulfed in flames and stretched slowly from the walls towards the centre. You wait in anticipation for it to be over, wondering how long this would last. Your heart sank when you noticed one trail of fire passing through the protective shield. The barrier was doing nothing against it. More fire joined and pierced the shell, and in moments you were surrounded on all sides by the blue flames. Your plan wasn’t working. Moments later though, you recognise the distinct lack of heat in the room. After touching one of the flames (for whatever reason you deem fit) you realize that the fire didn’t burn. It wasn’t hot, or cold, or even painful. It was simply nothing more than light.

Still, all around you the ghosts wailed in pain, begging for it to stop and screaming for help. And the sheer brilliance of the fire blocked your view in all directions. At this point you had lost your bearing of which way you had come from and where you were going. Was it even worth continuing up the tower with this?

What do you do?


House of Mirrors
DracosWulfgar: ~ See Update Batch #13
You came to Phantom Isle to confirm the sightings of ghosts. You came to the House of Mirrors however to conquer your own fear of claustrophobia. So far though, that wasn’t going very well. Almost as soon as you entered the shadow-filled building you felt the pinprick of eyes drilling in the back of your neck. There was no constant source of light and instead you had to rely on the island’s glow spilling through the entrance and the occasional lightbulb that wasn’t completely shattered. The closed spaces made you nervous and the constant appearance of new reflections in the dark corridors didn’t help making you feel any less trapped.

You partner Pokémon senses your trouble and appears from his Pokéball, the Growlithe assuring you by acting as a therapy dog. A low moan echoes through the corridors briefly. Quite possibly the wind howling through the cracked wooden boards. You manage to recover yourself and move on, remembering a trick you were taught by your sister long ago. You think back to what she said that first time; the trick is to notice the edges of the mirrors. Specifically at the top and bottom you could easily see where the reflective surface met with the dirt coloured panels of the floors and ceiling.

You think hard about this trick, but the moment you do the loud moan echoes down the corridor once more. A violent wind blows past and in an instant the floor and ceiling were replaced by mirrors themselves. All around where you looked you and your Growlithe were surrounded by images of yourselves. The two of you are momentarily shocked by the sudden change in scenery. Was this supposed to be a part of the attraction?

“Hello?” a voice startles you. You look around but find nothing. Your Growlithe looks at you, puzzled.

“Is someone there?” the voice speaks again. You turn again to find nothing. You couldn’t tell where it was coming from; the voice appeared to be coming from all directions at once.

“Hello?” it asks again.

You concentrate on the path ahead first, for a small piece of mind you had to make yourself comfortable first. You think about the corners of the mirror panels themselves. Perhaps they could still provide you with some comfort and bearing.

Another loud moan bellows in the corridor, and another gust of wind blows past you. The corridor trembles in its place, and before your very eyes the corners of the mirror panels squeaked as they bent into soft corners, obscuring their sharp angles. Your Growlithe was sufficiently startled, by both the sound and the warp of the mirrors.

“Is someone there? You need to put a halt to your overtly pensive thoughts.”

The loud moan turned louder and became closer. A dark shadow filled the corridor up ahead and crawled towards you. One by one, the mirrored panels rippled like waves as the shadow approached your direction. A whistling chime blows past you along another howl of wind.

“Answer please, I beg you” the voice speaks. It is then that you realise the voice wasn’t coming from anywhere in the building; it was in your head. “I’m trying to warn you that you’re in danger.” The shadow slowly crept closer as the mirrors continued to ripple by its touch.

“Run!”

What do you do?

The Hotel

The Lobby
Lt. BLEU™: ~ See Update Batch #2, #3 and #4
The ghost children were eager to get away from whatever was approaching the hotel and suggested you to come with them. You were still in doubt though on what was best. Another wail echoed outside, a mere few footsteps away, followed by the slow treading towards the door. Even if running might have been the sensible thing to do, you decide to halt your decision making in preference to first discover what it was that was chasing you in the first place.

“Chrys, get behind me.”

Even as you said that, you prepared yourself to run away in any direction you could. “Be on your feet Chrys. We may have to run.”

“I don’t think that’s very smart sir.” The children wished you the best of luck and submerged themselves into the wall. Their two heads poked through, eager to see what would happen first before retreating entirely.

The footsteps continued until its owner stood right behind the door, and stopped. Nothing happened and you hold your breath for a while in anxious anticipation. What was it doing? Did it move away?

Suddenly, the lobby doors banged open and hit the walls, the outside winds flew in and a loud wail howled in the opening. A large man stood in front of you, covered entirely from head to toe in dark azure, temple robes. His head, covered by his cowl and an expressionless, golden mask, stared at you and Chrys in turn for the longest time. A smaller figure, similarly clad in robes and golden mask, appeared behind him and gave a girlish moan. The girl’s head cocked up and to the side to where the two ghosts were still lingering.

One of the children yelped. “Run!” The two children dissipated through the walls to hide and left you alone to face ‘The Crying Man’.

The creature made a howling stance and a sad wail protruded from his mask again. The man faced you again and stretched a large sleeve in your direction. Instantly, a dark shadow snaked across the distance between you two and a ghostly hand formed that lashed out at you. Instinctively you stepped back and out of reach, only for the hand to coil back into sleeve. Another sobbing wail howled from the obscured face at the missed grasp. The girl moved away and started crossing the lobby with a whimpering cry towards where the two ghost children were hiding – the Boutique. The Crying Man attracts your attention with another howl and lazily swings his sleeve in your direction; the shadowy tentacle lashes out again in your direction.

What do you do?


The Fifth Floor
Marblezone: ~ See Update Batch #1, #3 and #7
You felt you were being mocked, played with or at the very least not being up front towards. You had no intention to play someone’s games and upon spotting the Hypno’s reappearance you make that intention clear with one word.

“Explain.”

The Hypno bristles and folds his newspaper. “Well you’re not one for taking a detour are you? Wouldn’t you like to stay and have a chat first?” He notes your annoyance and puts the paper down. “Very well, I’ll get straight to it then. But first.” He waves at a nearby employee to come over. The young man, previously scouring around the lobby floor like a Rattata, scurries over with shifty glances to the side.

“Yes.. sir? Can.. I help?” he said with pausing reluctance.

“Yes, may I have one more coffee please,” he hands his empty cup over and looks at you. “And for this gentleman, would you like anything?” he asks you.

The man is sent away on your orders and leaves the two of you alone to discuss the matters further. “Don’t look at me like that. The reason I didn’t explain everything was because having you see it first-hand would have made things easier. It would have been a long explanation otherwise and besides, would you have believed me after seeing what you know now?” referring to the strange purple backdrop you saw in every window. He lets the question rest a couple of seconds for a response. “As you may understand, this place is not in the mortal realm, but neither is it the afterlife. I think the best way to explain it is that this place lies in a realm in between. For lack of a better term, you could call it a pocket dimension, a place that exists beside these two without connecting with either. There are more of these, they tend to get created for purposes or out of necessity, sometimes by those who dabble in magics and misuse their abilities. Why I remember one time I met this funny little gall when I was younger and she came up to me-“ he stops at your stare and shuffles uncomfortably in his place.

“Right, straight to the point of course. Anyway,” he gives a humble cough. “This one was made out of necessity, it is an old one made by my master a long time ago to contain this area and all the events that transpired. These places are usually made to be inaccessible to the other realms. I have used a considerable part of my energy to get you here, I hope I didn’t make a mistake in relying on you.” He chokes at your visual response (knowing you) and recollects his thoughts. The employee returns with a tray of coffee and your order.

“I hope you took your time to get acquainted with the surroundings,” he says once you’re left alone again. “It’s best to know where you are and to understand these people as best as possible. Reason being; in one hour, everyone here will be dead…”

He takes a sip of coffee and lets you stir in that last sentence for a while. “Well, 55 minutes by the time we’re done talking,” he pulls out a pocket watch to assure himself of what he said. “Strictly speaking of course they’re dead already, but not exactly either, they die over and over again or, ahem. How best to put this? The souls you see here are afflicted with a curse, you see? They’re doomed to repeat their final moments time and over again until someone steps in. This happens quite often actually in the real world, more than you’d think. They’re usually not that significant but in this case, as you can see outside, it was necessary to remove them for a while. What happened here was disastrous and would have been dangerous if kept to the mortal realm.” He continues sipping his coffee, as if more eager to get this over with than you.

“So,” he puts the cup down firmly, “now we get back to why I brought you here in the first place. I’m sure you can guess by now why I brought you here; to change the circumstances of these spirits and free them so they may move on to the afterlife. It may sound easy, but trust me it is not. To have you better understand, I will not explain what it is that put them in this predicament in the first place. If I told you now, I’m sure you wouldn’t help at all. Though perhaps,” he strokes his mane in thought, “having you know why might actually stop you.” He scoffs the idea away for the moment. “Either way, instead I’ll have you figure out why it is that these people found themselves in such a predicament. Find out why the people here died and you’ll figure out what you’ll have to do to help them.”

“I’ll give you one last thing for your quest,” he slides the pocket watch across the table. “I’ve set the timepiece myself. It is currently 12:04. You have until 13:00. Try not to mess with the settings, will you? Please.” The favour was made to sound more serious than it was, but you could note the hint of urgency in his voice.

You look at the pocket watch and find it to be subtly tasteful. Everything about it - the design, the colour, the numerals, the sound – ticked as if it were made specially for a man like Luther C. Helford. There was only one knob on it though with which to turn the hands of the watch. The moment you look away from the pocket watch, you notice the Hypno had disappeared from his chair. Only the presence of his empty coffee cup ensured you of his recent existence. A small ring hums in your head before making way for the soft voice of your recent companion. “One last thing I forgot to mention: don’t tell the inhabitants they’re dead. They’re not ready to confront it just yet and you’ll regret what happens if you remind them.” The voice and the ringing disappear and leave you to explore the limited grounds of the pocket dimension.

The majority of the crowd was still surrounding the battle of Walrein vs Camerupt but it was coming to a close. The entrance to the conference hall was still blocked by the three security guards and the lady with the clipboard. The employee who just served you continued scurrying around the lobby floor to serve others while another was finally managing to get the luggage cart moving after getting help from a third employee. In addition you have; a few people reading their books or magazines at some of the tables, the two receptionists, and the kitchen and boiler room that remain unexplored.

What do you want to do next?

Current Time: 12:05 PM

(You have a time constraint in place. Roughly every major action will take 5 minutes, this corresponds roughly to an update, two in case of the results of your actions needing to be detailed. I’ll give the current time for every update though so you won't have to keep guessing.)


Members-Only Casino
Escalion: ~ See Update Batch #10 and #13
”Let’s just say I heard a good story about this place that I’m dying to check out for myself.” A dark grin appears on Corvus’ face, ”But rest assured, we will go all in.”

“I’m sure my partner already explained himself, and I think we can go all in when needed. I know how to play a game or two,” you chime in, all the while remaining wary of your visitor.

The Hypno chuckles at Corvus’s response. “Yes yes, quite right, ’dying to check it out’. I suppose that wasn’t an accidental pun. I must say,” he looks at Corvus with admiration, “I commend you for your dedication. Just be sure it doesn’t devolve to foolhardy tenacity. Although…”

He scratches his chin in contemplation. “…perhaps foolhardy tenacity is exactly what you’d need to persevere. But not that kind of tenacity Mr. Virote.” His eyes turn sharply to you and it is then that you realise you can’t move your arm anymore. It was stuck in place by your belt by some unseen force. A small numb sensation creeps from your fingers up your arm, and you recognise almost immediately it was because the blood flow was being cut off slowly.

“That type of grit,” he continues, “is more foolhardy than you may realise. Caution is important but I’m less than impressed by your resolve to resort to violence so easily. Careful not to portray a too overwrought character once inside. Some things, as you may very well know, are not as they first appear.”

At that moment your arm is released from its invisible grip. The blood flows back down your extremities, sending pins and needles all across your arm. You look at the Hypno who merely smiles, inviting you to do the same. You get the sense he was referring to more than one thing with that last sentence of his.

“Either way, a deal’s a deal. Here you go,” he hands over the voucher for you to take. “And then of course.” He opens his palm in which a flame shoots up. Another voucher materializes and the flame dies down. “This one’s for you,” he hands the other voucher to Corvus.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Item
You obtained 2x Vouchers for 10 Phantom Tokens
“Now that that’s out of the way, I’ll take my leave. Before either of you decides to indulge in their violent tendencies.” He takes a bow and lifts his top hat, “tata,” and disappears in a flash of purple smoke.

-----

Eventually you reach the point where you swipe the keycard through the slot. A confirming bleep and green light shows it was accepted. The doors creak and you hear something unhooking. Pushing against the door, you realise its unlocked and you move through.

Ahead was laid out a quaint VIP room, the size of a large studio apartment. One side of the room was covered with crystal-clear mirrored panels from left to right. The carpet was of a simple yet elegant design and every chair, sofa and seat had red upholstery. A small performance stage was placed in the corner opposite of you, atop which sat a lone mic. To your side was a vacant bar, and the token booth; its reception empty and the only place in the casino that had witnessed the island’s decay. Scattered all across the floor were tables set up to accommodate poker, blackjack, craps and roulette. The lay-out of the room was only second to what had caught your eye though.

Set in the centre of the room was a table with its roulette currently still spinning. The only guests of the casino were circled around its rotating wheel, bets already placed. Their laughter was cut short upon noticing you and Corvus had entered. All eyes stare at the two of you with bewilderment. Some of their jaws dropped in astonishment at seeing you. All of them – Gastly, Haunter, Gengar, Sableye, Lampent and Mismagius – remained quiet as they stared at you, nervously waiting for your next move.

What do you do
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Old 05-01-2017, 02:07 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ex-Admiral Insane View Post
(Maudlin, what did you do to the office. This doesn’t look anything like the place I remember? *Dead Ratatta says nothing*. What do you mean I should consider this place to be under new management?)

~Please reply in Slategray~

The Park

The Ghost Train
Fishyfool: ~ See Update Batch #1, #2, #3, #4, #7, #8, #10, #12 and #13
After carefully weighing your options you decide to recall your Swampert to its Pokéball. He had done enough for now and was in need of rest you reasoned. His exhaustion was not without reward though as his recuperation will allow him to rest to the next level.



The next step was to bring out a new partner. You detach a third Pokéball from your belt and call forth another ally. A flash of light materializes into a hard shape that takes the form of a brutish-looking construction worker. You explain your plan to your Pokémon, both giving you worried glances whenever you clutch your chest. You assure them though it’s nothing serious. You gesture towards the door. "Rip it off and bridge it, Tantalia."

Tantalia places one of her two pillars firmly into the carriage floor while clutching tightly onto her other one for support. With her free hand she grabs a hold of the door and easily rips it off of its hinges. The metal pins cracked as they split and Tate was left holding onto what was now nothing more than a giant wooden plank for you to use. She plants it down across the gaping gap, forming a bridge for you to cross over.

Now was Paine’s turn to help. As you gingerly take your first steps, Paine’s psychic prowess grab a light hold on you. If you would slip or fall, she would be sure to catch you before you dropped into the abyss completely. Once across, you tested the doorknob to the locomotive; unlocked, fortunately. The engine room was dark and empty, with no apparent danger in sight. You recall your Pokémon from the other side, retreating them to the safety of their Pokéballs while you focussed on your next task.

After closing the door you closely inspect the room. There were barred windows to either side of you, and in front you could see the two gaping holes that made up the eye sockets of the skull that adorned the locomotive. None of these windows helped though as outside there was no light source to speak of and you saw nothing but the pitch blackness of the abyss. As far as you could tell, there were three controls you could use; one was the button nestled between the two eye sockets, the second was the lever set in the floor and the third was the chain-switch hanging from the ceiling.

What do you do (first, second, third, etc.)?
Alex assured the pair he was fine, despite their concerns, as he finished explaining the plan to them. Without much trouble, the Conkeldurr gingerly lay one of her pillars to the floor, gripping her other tighter, then grabbed the door and in one not so swift motion, tore the door clean off the carriage, the screams of the hinges almost fitting considering what he had recently dealt with. Hefting the door around, she then carefully lay it over the gap, with enough of a solid hold on each side to form a sturdy enough bridge that held its own weight despite the occasional rattle of the train.

With a nod, Alex slowly approached and placed a foot onto the bridge, a faint cyan glow surrounding him as he took each step carefully, a slight tremble causing the aura to intensify and hold him steady. By the time he had crossed, he gulped slightly before reaching his trembling hand for the locomotive handle, grasped it, and pulled down. The click of the unlocked door was the most beautiful thing he had heard in the past twenty minutes or so.

"We're good, girls..." he whispered, taking a step into the engine room before turning around and recalling the Gothitelle and Conkeldurr into their orbs, thankful for their aid. Entering the darkened room, he closed the door behind him, the dull thump taking him from poor visibility to practically none. Despite the dark and the pain in the chest, he examined his surroundings. The holes to the front, likely the skull's eyes. The barred windows, no use whatsoever in this void he was in. There seemed to be a button of sorts between the eyes, he could hear the gentle jingle of a chain at roughly head height near him, and what appeared to be some sort of stick in the floor, perhaps a lever.

The man took a couple of seconds to consider each application. The button may be the source of those eyes, given his first encounter with the train had him rooted by the crimson glare. The chain, most likely the whistle, and the lever was probably the brake system. He hesitated, however, as another flashback of memory of the train's arrival. It had made a screech much like a banshee on arrival...the brakes may very well be linked to that thing outside...but I've little choice. Slowly stepping forward, Alex's plan was to pull the chain-switch first, then hit the button between the eyes from as far as he could, then to pull the lever to the floor in the direction that seemed to indicate braking: backwards. If he heard the banshee, he was pushing that lever forwards, though. The speed of the train was irrelevant, as he reached for the chain, wondering in his position where the hell the train was headed.
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Old 05-02-2017, 12:32 AM   #5
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(OoC:I had to recreate this update by copy and pasting so thats why it looks unnoficial. My phone could not handle something this big.)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ex-Admiral Insane

Both of your Pokémon worry about your mental
state. The Eevee in particular knew you had a
tendency to obsess when you had a crush, and
the added potential crush in your skull would have
only made matters worse. Freighya instructs Eleven to watch over you, the Psychic type being
more attune to mental states. Nevertheless, the
pain is barely noticeable even when rubbing your
head, and you feel surprisingly chipper enough to
continue.
Upon reaching the door in the next room, you gently nudge it open, only to be met with a small
puff of pink smoke blown in your voice. A
distressed coo cries in the distance and the
smoke evaporates before your eyes. Before you
lay a scene that was surprising to say the least. In
an abandoned amusement park rumoured to have been haunted by ghosts and spectres one would
have expected a ghoul to show up and scare
them or at the very least have specks of dust
littering the interior. What you found was none of
that though, and instead you saw a large,
constructed and fully operational trick room, complete with furniture attached to walls, sliding
tiles in the floors, glass panes scattered to create
amaze and a bouncy castle-esque blob in the
centre, but the biggest shock was the laughter
that permeated the room. Young adults and
teens roughly your age were running, jumping and playfully pushing one another.
One of the girls notices you standing by the door
and waves at you. “Come on in and join us.
You’re Kawaii right?”
How did she know your name?
She beckons for you to come closer and soon afterwards others start waving at you too, but
before you take another step closer you hear the
familiar echo of a distressed cry resonate through
the room, though no direct source could be
found.
What do you do?
What would normally be entrancing to other people imeadiatly freaked Kawaii out. "No, no it's some kind of trap." she gasped out backing up quickly. Why had she decided to come here, it was too much, she wanted scary things like in horror games and movies. Not stuff that messed with her head like that one T.V. show did. That one T.V. show, even the thought of it sent a chill down her spine. It was a show about picking apart how the brain works. It usually focused on optical illusions but sometimes dove into things like fear. As soon as she thought about that show the pink-eete began to shake violently. Frieghya snapped to attention and rubbed against her legs. The sounds of the teens echoing in the background. Frieghya looked back at the door and looked detirmined. The pink colored Eevee dashed forward into the room. Her eyes shut and her ears snapped back as she ran her body began to glow and elongate. Her fluffy coat turned smooth and her tail elongated and split. Soon the evolution was complete. Frieghya was now an Espeon. The newly evolved psychic type fired many small BEAMS of PSYchic power throught the area hoping to dispel the illusion.
Meanwhile, Eleven rushed to Kawaii's side and held her trainer's hand while Frieghya evolved.

Code:
"huh Frieghya is evolving?"
...
...
...
"Wow! Frieghya evolved into Espeon.
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Old 05-02-2017, 02:28 PM   #6
Missingno. Master
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ex-Admiral Insane View Post
(Maudlin, what did you do to the office. This doesn’t look anything like the place I remember? *Dead Ratatta says nothing*. What do you mean I should consider this place to be under new management?)

~Please reply in Slategray~

The Park

Funhouse
Missingo Master: ~ See Update Batch #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12 and #13, and here’s #14:
Myrtle:
Keith’s words coaxed you into showing your true strength, that which could only come from being a MissingNo. "Al-right, Ex-egg-u-tor head," you insulted the ghost boy. "You just messed with the wrong Ba-nette!"

The boy sneered at you, his eyes glowing a faint red. “Die!” he commanded. And as he said that, a table lifted itself up out of the mess of furniture before being forcefully flung towards you. But you were prepared for this. A jet of shining red that looked more like fire than water gunned from your mouth to push off the incoming attack.

“Inkay,” the boy said angrily. The Inkay shivered in its spot, and then laid still like a statue. “Attack!”

The table slowed down and fell back to the floor, but before you got a moment’s rest the Inkay pops up to your side and fires off another Psybeam. The attack connects and throws you off your balance, the pain stinging unlike a regular psychic attack should have. You pick yourself up, but just when you did another piece of furniture, a wardrobe, plummeted down on you. The wooden dresser splintered upon impact while crushing you against the room’s floor.

A battle against one Pokémon in a topsy-turvy world may have been tough but doable; two opponents was near impossible it seemed, even for a MissingNo, and it didn’t help that they had the type advantage thanks to the inverted type-scales. Nevertheless, you weren’t down for the count yet and you pick yourself up again. The Inkay charges towards you with another attack but you weren’t going to let it get the better of you this time. Right as it came close, you charge yourself with a veil of black aura and fly up out of the way of its attack. Your body soars up through the room, just barely missing the ghost boy in your path.

“You’re not going to leave,” his voice was menacing. Another, smaller table was lifted and thrown up towards you. You go into the second part of your attack; charged with the black aura you dive down with your Sky Attack, straight through the table as if it were nothing. The table splinters before you and you continue your rapid descent. The ghost boy dodges you. “Ha. You missed” but he wasn’t your target. Right below him, where you had left it, the Inkay stood idly by as you close in on it, before crashing into it with your body, the floor cracking beneath the force off of both of you.

You get off and back away, slightly panting. To your dismay, so did the Inkay though. Keith hadn’t rung in yet and so you were left to your own devices. The battle continued until…

(Updatee is free to write out how the rest of the battle proceeded, as long as it’s within the confines of what has been provided for the battle. The end result will have to be the same though; )

…you managed to give the ghost boy a critical hit, stunning him, and quickly thereafter delivering the final blow to the Inkay. By this point you were panting heavily, practically worn out from having to deal with two opponents at once. The Inkay collapses and the boy grunts at you.



The two vanish into thin air but his voice remains; “we’re not going to let you go. I’ll get back at you.” With the threats gone you could relax and did so by falling onto the ground. You could feel your consciousness waning. The battle had taken more out of you then you realized. Keith’s voice rings in from the walkie-talkie but you were too tired to pick it up. Your eyes slowly close but just before they do you notice the room changing colours; it was restoring itself from the Topsy-Turvy world.

Keith’s voice calls again; “Myrtl-“ and then dies as the last effect of Topsy Turvy was removed. You finally close your eyes for a well-deserved rest.

Myrtle is knocked out!

Keith:
Your Carnivine indicated the tower, wondering whether it was a way out. You decide against it though, informing Fang that you had tried that same thing last time only to end up back where you were know. With the small amount of the strange rules in place here you decide that a different approach is most likely needed. Though you couldn’t attest whether it was safe to do so, inverted logic dictated you might have to sink instead of swim. Fang questions your idea briefly but goes along with it. Extending one vine, he wraps it around your waist before the two of you swim farther down into the sea of balls. With one hand gripped on the walkie-talkie you try to get back into contact with Myrtle. But no matter how hard you tried or called out to her, Myrtle didn’t respond.

It wasn’t long before you heard the faint giggle once more, the very same you heard the first time you were here. A bright light flashes before your eyes and dies down. “Don’t,” you hear a whisper. You go even depper, deeper still while you and Fang tried to stay closer. Deeper again, until finally the balls separated and made way for a large open space of blackness.

The two of you break the surface and you notice a surrounding that was very much like the one you saw before; pitch black sky dotted with neon-coloured constellations. The sea as it turned out had two surfaces opposite one another, but this wasn’t the most surprising thing to see.

“Ink ink!” the Inkay tries to distance itself from the two (is Dudley back in his ball?) of you.

The ghost girl gives a shriek out of surprise. “How’d you find me?” she was clearly astounded. “It doesn’t matter. You still have to catch us,” she jeered. “Inkay, go!”

“Ink-inkay.”

While the two of you were still swimming, the Inkay closed in on you, a red energy forming at its beak as it prepared an attack.

What will Keith do?
Myrtle was more than ready for the forcefully flung flying furniture. She unzipped her mouth and unleashed Water Gun at the table, holding it at bay. At this, the boy commanded Inkay to attack while setting the table down. "Bring it," sneered Myrtle, just before getting slammed by a powerful Psybeam. This was followed by a wardrobe being dropped on her- the Inkay and ghost child still made for a powerful opposing team... but Myrtle did not let this deter her. Inkay started coming in for another attack, but Myrtle soared up to evade it, cloaked in an intense aura. The Banette cackled as she felt the energy she was putting into the Sky Attack- she almost felt like her old self whenever she used the move. Indeed, the aura almost seemed as though it was enveloping a huge L-shaped figure for a moment before Myrtle descended at great speeds... right past the ghost boy. He taunted Myrtle, saying she missed. "I was not ai-ming at you," Myrtle shot back, just before driving that very point home by ramming into Inkay. Myrtle backed off... and so did Inkay! The Sky Attack hadn't finished it off at all! Moreover, with Keith not checking in, Myrtle had no further orders... but it wasn't as though she needed him to keep giving orders in this battle. He had told her to fight them off as only a Missingno. could, and that's just what she planned to do. Water Gun and Sky Attack, while the best-known tools in a Missingno.'s arsenal, were by no means the only moves she had to work with when she was alive.

Inkay moved in for another attack, but Myrtle was not deterred in the slightest. She responded by unleashing a Thunder Wave at the oncoming Inkay, paralyzing it and slowing it to the point where she could dodge the incoming Tackle- inverted type matchups meant that far from being immune to Normal moves, now she'd be weak to them! She kept an eye on the boy as well, and thus was able to fire off another Water Gun to fend off another oncoming table, though this time Inkay was able to land a super effective Tackle attack. Grunting in pain and rage, Myrtle reacted in a most effective fashion- blasting Inkay with Psychic. While Inkay reeled from that, Myrtle wheeled around to face the ghost boy, and started to wave her cloth fingers back and forth. Metronome generally wasn't the most dependable move in any Pokémon's arsenal, be it Banette or Missingno. or something in between, but Myrtle was feeling daring. And indeed, the unpredictable maneuver paid off, for Myrtle was suddenly seized with the urge to Storm over to the ghost and Throw him to the floor. One wouldn't expect a Fighting move to work on something so incorporeal, but considering what she used to be, she knew better than most that sometimes logic as we humans know it simply doesn't apply.

The ghost boy was stunned from the critical hit, which left Myrtle free to focus on Inkay. The Dark/Psychic-type was charging up another Psybeam. "Oh, no, you don't!" Myrtle declared, before promptly charging up and firing off a full-force Hyper Beam attack. This was the straw that broke the Numel's back, but as Myrtle quickly realized, not just for Inkay. Both boy and Inkay vanished, albeit with the former's final threat lingering in the exhausted Banette's ears. The last thing she heard before passing out was Keith calling for her over the walkie-talkie. Well, that, and the walkie-talkie going dead, as the Topsy-Turvy effect started to fade. There was the faintest of smiles on the Banette's zipper mouth as she lost consciousness.


"Myrtle?" Keith spoke into the walkie-talkie. "Myrtle?! MYRTLE!!" Still no response. Keith was starting to panic somewhat by this point. "OK, calm down," he murmured to himself. "There must be a perfectly good reason why Myrtle's not responding- hey, maybe she won the battle," he said suddenly. "Yeah. Beat the Inkay, the Topsy-Turvy goes away, and that's all that's keeping the walkie-talkies working, isn't it?" he nodded, calming down somewhat.

"Carni vine?" Fang remarked, sounding utterly confused.

"It's a long story, Fang," Keith stated as they descended further and further into the, for lack of a less funny term, sea of balls. And then, a bright flash of light met Keith's eyes. "Gah! What-" Keith exclaimed, before hearing a faint, eerily familiar giggle, and the word "don't". Intrigued, both Keith and Fang descended even further down through the balls, until they emerged... at the bottom of the sea of balls was a surface not unlike the surface they had descended from, complete with night sky and neon constellations. And most importantly, there was the ghost girl and her Inkay. Both of them were quite unpleasantly surprised to see Keith and his Carnivine. The ghost girl stated that he still had to catch them, and ordered Inkay to attack. But this time, Keith felt confident. This time, he felt ready.

"Fang, get ready!" Keith ordered. "Use Razor Leaf right now, and follow up with Sludge Bomb! Then go for a Nature Power attack!" He gripped his walkie-talkie tightly, intent on checking in with Meowth at the first opportunity.
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Old 05-14-2017, 10:49 AM   #7
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(Maudlin, what did you do to the office. This doesn’t look anything like the place I remember? *Dead Ratatta says nothing*. What do you mean I should consider this place to be under new management?)

Meetan: ~ See Update Batch #9, #10, #11 and #13
Almost with desperation you kick-start your routine. Jumping from heel to toe, you throw your arms in the air to the rhythm of the music. The booing of the crowd subsided slightly as the audience started questioning what was happening. The judges looked both intrigued and puzzled by your performance. It was working. No one was throwing rotten fruit anymore and the booing had dwindled to a loud murmur.

You move into your next pose, and a sharp splinter pierces your mind. The flash of memory interrupts you. You stop haphazardly in the middle of your dance, clutching your head as the pain overwhelms you. Memory was piling onto memory as you slowly recalled Phantom Isle. You remember the ghostly theme park, the tent, the fortune teller, and Masaru. Masaru! Where was he? She was with you only moments ago. The pain dies down and you remember everything vividly. Everything except for how you got here, on stage.

The crowd returned to its booing and started throwing rotten food again. There was something familiar about this place. A sense of déja-vu crept up inside you, though it was off, something didn’t quite feel right. The judges and their Espurrs look strangely at one another. A single piece of food strikes you in the face out of nowhere, blinding you temporarily. The same pain shot through your mind as the memories erased themselves once more. You forget about the stage, about Phantom Isle, and about Masaru. You wipe the last bit off your eyes and open them.

-----

You were with your mother. You were young; two, maybe three years old. She was urging you to duck underneath the bed. It was one of those games of hide-and-seek, the ones you’ve played many times over with your parents. You crawl underneath the bed. It’s dark and you can’t see anything…and then you remember. Masaru, where was she? Memories trickle in again and the darkness lights up with colours as a new tapestry forms in front of you.

-----

You were in a garden. The memories returned. You recall Phantom Isle, and your strange transport onto the stage with the booing crowd. You recognize where you were. This was the garden where you first met Masaru (or at least that’s what I’m concluding from your visions). You haven’t seen Masaru since the crystal ball exploded in your eyes. Could this be where she was hiding?

Where is Masaru?
(Feel free to describe what this environment looks like and/or explain how your meeting with Masaru should go according to memory.)[/COLOR]
((-Pets da Maudlin-))

Everything was changing too quickly to comprehend, and in the end, Alice was left in a muddle of confusion. She found herself feeling panic, but not truly remembering why, over and over again. How did she get to these places? Why was she so different to how she should be? The further she fell down the rabbit hole, the less sense everything made.

Moving to wipe fruit from her face, the little girl soon realised that there wasn't any-- but also that she was taller than before. Her blonde hair now had a fringe, something which Alice found irritating, and her clothes were exchanged for a set of jeans and a simple purple t-shirt. The environment, too, was new but also nostalgic. There was a sense of deja vu: well-cut garden grass, a single swing at the back and a trampoline off to one side. A few toys had been left idle, and there was a big, single tree that stood out against the rest of the plants and flowers that lined the garden in a horseshoe. A shed likely stored more toys, its wooden door swung open for the child to access.

A noise caught her attention, and Alice took some unsteady steps towards the shed around the corner. A tall gate and fence separated the home from other properties, all similar in build and size to their own. Alice's heart lurched, and her lips went to form a word - a name - before it fell to silence. What was the word, the name? The child came to a bewildered stop. Just next to the threshold of the shed was a fridge, and its door was open to the summer day. There was some beer spilled on the ground, and an open tub of vanilla ice cream that a small, furry pink creature was scoffing into a barely-visible mouth. Alice gasped, and that was when the Pokemon noticed her, too, crying out a shocked 'Swiiiineeee~~!'

"Oh-- oh, sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!" The little girl replied, stumbling back a bit, afraid the Pokemon might attack. "... I'm sorry, I've never seen a Pokemon like you before. What's your name?"
"Swine, Swinub."
"... Swine. Swinub." Alice repeated, her voice different to how a future self would sound. She had a few teeth missing. "I'm Alice." The human crouched down, slowly offering a hand out, which the Swinub tottered cautiously closer to sniff. It was obviously avoiding the sunlight, this season not its preferred one at all. "Mommy's gonna be mad you broke into the fridge... Are you hungry?"
"Swine." It nodded, but also returned to huddling itself into the bottom shelf, causing Alice to tilt her head in puzzlement.
"You're too warm?"
"Swiiiine." The dual-type groaned solemnly. Alice 'ahhh'd' in realisation. Her mother wouldn't like her bringing a wild Pokemon into the house, but...
"I could try to sneak you inside. We could run a cold bath and I'll bring you some ice from the kitchen. How's that sound?" Alice offered excitedly.

Masaru, who was not yet named Masaru, sounded delighted.

((Muh profile.))
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Old 05-22-2017, 02:41 PM   #8
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~Please reply in Slategray~

The Park

Rollerquaza
Monster Guy:
"Shaana, use Hypnosis on him, quick..." you whisper to your partner. The Munna focusses and locks eyes with the woman’s assailant. A strange presence is felt in the room and you can hear the soft hypnotic chime emanating from your Pokémon’s mouth.

“Stay back!” the man shouted. “Or I’ll..I’ll..I’ll…” His voice trails off and his eyes slowly drop. His knife slips out of his slack hands and the woman quickly pushes herself away. Shortly thereafter the man gives a thud as his body drops to the floor in a snooze. The woman clutches her chest and gives a sigh of relief. “Thank the Elder Dragon.”

“Angela!” a voice shouts from up ahead. Two other men, clad in the same robed outfit as the woman you were with, ran up to you, with worried expressions leading them as they came close. Two smaller shadows emerge beside them and you recognise them to be two Pokémon;


The group closes in in a hurry and quickly exchange glances from the woman, to the knocked out man on the floor, to you, and finally back to the woman. “Angela, are you okay?” said one of them.

“What happened here?” asked the other.

“I’m fine,” she assures them, “thanks to this young man here and his Munna.” The two turn to you; the one with the Riolu by his side grabs your hand and shakes it (or bows if you don’t accept the handshake). “Thank you so much kind sir. The name’s Marcus.”

“I’m Francis,” the other extends his hand to you.

“What happened?” the woman now identified as Angela asks them.

“It’s another one of those poor, wretched souls,” says the man who introduced himself as Marcus. “ The ones who’ve turned mad.”

“He managed to escape,” said Francis, “we ran after him. We were afraid he might have gotten to you before we did.”

“I see,” she says reassuringly. “Still, I don’t understand why Father Desadayus would even want to bother with these unfortunate souls. Their minds are far gone and they’re a threat. If they want to go, we should be relieved that we’re getting rid of them.”

“You know Father Desadayus,” Marcus protested, “he has a soft and kind spirit. Too much so. He wants to help all those he can. It’s better than having to leave them on their own.”

She gives a small scoff of frustration. “It will be the death of him.” Her expression concedes. “Very well, I suppose it’s best we bring this man back before he wakes up.”

“What about him?” Francis looks at you.

“I think he’s another one of those lost souls who’ve come wandering in. I was about to bring him to Father Desadayus. I thought he might know what to do.”

“Oh yes!” both Marcus and Francis light up. “Father Desadayus will know exactly what to do. This hasn’t been the first time after all that this has happened.” They each grab an arm of the unconscious man and carry nd carry him. “Follow us, we’ll bring you to Father Desadayus. It’s the least we can do after you saved Angela.”

How do you react (to everything)?
Much to Leo's, and certainly the mystery woman's relief, the Hypnosis worked. The crazy man fell to the floor, out like a light, before anybody actually got hurt.

Then, two mysterious voices called out for somebody named Angela. Obviously, that was probably the name of the woman who had found him, but Leo couldn't help giggling. For a minute, he had thought two strangers were calling out for his Togetic! The new voices belonged to two men, wearing robes similar to what the lady who he knew was named Angela, ran up to the group, looking worried. Two smaller shadows appeared beside them and Leo recognised them to be two Pokémon Leo liked very much. A Ralts and a Riolu. As much as Leo wanted to fawn over the cute Pokemon, now was probably not the time for it.

After making sure that their friend was unharmed, the man with the Riolu by his side shook Leo's hand, which he took, and introduced himself as Marcus. Leo also shook hands with the other man whose name was Francis.

Then, there was more conversation between the robed people. Apparently, some crazy person had escaped from their care, and there was somebody named Father Desadayus involved. All of this made Leo wonder exactly what has happening down here. Angela had mentioned something about a church before, but why have a church in some dark and mysterious place like this. This was a combination of weird and exciting all rolled up into one.

The men picked up the unconscious guy, and told Leo to follow him. They said they would bring him to Father Desadayus. He would probably know some way to get back home.

In the meantime though, Leo decided to make some small talk along the way. "So, you're name is Angela? That's funny, I have a Togetic named that!" He said with a laugh "My name is Leo! Anyway, um... I guess I should ask first, where exactly am I?"

Meanwhile, Leo's Munna and Scraggy were still following their trainer. They were just as confused about this situation as he was. He decided to return them both to the safety of their respective Poke balls for the moment. If only to keep them out of harms way. For all they knew, another crazy person could attack them out of the blue.
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Old 06-12-2017, 03:39 PM   #9
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(Oh Maudlin. Are you having a midlife crisis now? *Dead Rattata on Harley says nothing* I don’t understand how you even got it inside. The door isn’t big enough.)

~Please reply in Slategray~

The Park

Rollerquaza
Monster Guy:
You follow the three as they carry the unconscious man with them, retreating your Pokémon in the meantime for some rest and safety. You walk alongside Angela, interested to find out more about where you were and so strike up a conversation, noting the similarity in the woman’s name and that of your Togetic.

Angela chuckles at hearing this. “Oh my, what a coincidence. Perhaps this means we were fated to meet. I would love to meet your Togetic. I hear they’re very friendly and peaceful Pokémon.” Her tune changes though at your question as to where you were. She remains silent for a moment, contemplating how best to answer you while continuing her stride through the dark corridor, lit only by the lanterns they carried. “I suppose,” she responds, “it would best be described as a small part of the world that’s secluded off from the rest of it, obscured so to speak so that we may live in peace, far removed from the world. It should be near impossible to visit such a place without the know-how, but it’s even harder to leave unless you know the way. Strangely though, we’ve had more visitors such as yourself.” She returns a sorrow silence. “Father…father Desadayus is better at explaining these things. He’s helped people before who have lost their way. He provided us with shelter when we were lost, and he welcomed us to join the Draconids.”

The Draconids? That name sounded familiar, but how much did you remember about them? (How much does Leo know about the Draconids?)

It wasn’t long before the group came up to a door in the side of the wall. It was old and made of rotten wood, and creaked when the two men tried to pry it open. They usher you to follow them inside, leaving the dead rollercoaster tracks behind you. Through the door you find a narrow tunnel of arching cobblestone lined with lit torches. No more than two people would be able to walk side by side, and even that would feel cramped as you were now witnessing first-hand. The corridor split at irregular intervals into separate tunnels, each the same as the one you were in and almost indistinguishable. You had taken note of the tunnel for only a few seconds but already you could tell one would easily be lost in the maze-like structure of the corridors unless they were familiar with them.

From around the corner of one of these a pink blob of a Pokémon hurried towards you. “Chans, chansey!” The Pokémon gave a big welcoming hug to Angela. Angela hugged her back. “Thank you Chansey, I’m safe now thanks to this young man.” She indicates towards you. “Leo, this is my partner Chansey. Chansey, this is Leo.” The Chansey gave you a big smile in greeting, probably thanking you for saving Angela.

“Angela,” Marcus spoke, “we’ll take this man to his room where he’ll be safe. Why don’t you take Leo to see Father Desadayus?”

Angela nods in agreement. “Of course. Leo, follow me,” she asks.

Marcus and Francis give you a small nod farewell, “Until next time,” and carried the unconscious man through the corridor.

Angela leads you around one of the nearest corners, the Chansey closely plodding behind you, an inescapable smile still plastered on her face. She took you around a few more corners, torches providing the flicker of light needed to make out the path you were taking, until you reached another wooden door, guarded on either side by a robed figure. “Wait here,” she tells you as the guards allow her entry through the door.

You wait patiently for a while, obtaining nervous glances from the two guards. These two had a clearly different demeanour than Angela, Marcus and Francis. Neither spoke so much as a word to you but neither did they take their anxious gaze off of you for even a moment. At least the Chansey’s warmer gaze relaxed you a bit, removing the tension from the room.

A few minutes later the door opens once more and Angela beckons you to come inside. “Father Desadayus has agreed to see you.” For whatever reason you want to use, you step inside, the wooden door closed behind you as soon as the Chansey followed in as well. The room wasn’t large but felt spacious with its open floor. Shelves and cupboards were filled with books and piles of paper, most of which looked antique. A plethora of candles and lanterns were spread out and replaced the need for torches. Other pieces of furniture such as a bed, a table and a reading chair gave you the idea that this room was used to live in. The armchair was turned away from you but from it you heard the sound of pages being flipped. You inch your head a bit closer and notice only a few words that were seemingly scratched out by hand – ‘edict 1’ and ‘edict 2’ – before the book is closed by a white hand.

“So you’re Leo?” a gruff but charming voice asks. “I understand you’re lost and in need of finding your way. I can help you if you want, and answer any questions you may have. First though; introductions. Before I get up though I need to warn you to not be frightened.”

Frightened? What would you be frightened of?

You choke in your thought the minute you had it. The man stood up out of his armchair, a pale white veil enshrouding him from top to bottom. But it wasn’t a veil you could tell by the translucent light coming through. The man turns to you and passes through the armchair as if it were non-existant. “Greetings, I am Father Desadayus. Please tell me how I can help.”

Father Desadayus…was a ghost!

How do you respond?/What questions do you want to ask?


Funhouse
Missingo Master:
Meowth:
The orb of blue water doused the fire on impact, sending a hiss of smoke up the chimney. The room luckily remained lit however by the undisclosed lights that weren’t mentioned but had no impact on your story anyway. The chimney however remained another matter; looking up above you find nothing but bricks piling onto each other, strecthing into a dark crawlspace. The use of Flash helped though, providing you with a makeshift torchlight of sorts as you manoeuvred up, using your claws the best you could to scale the walls inside like the cat you were.

You flashed the light up above and noticed it wasn’t as tall as you had expected. Falling would still cause major injury but at the very least it did not appear you had to climb to the very top of the Fun House. A bit up above, having climbed quite a way up that darkness now stretched out below you, you find a small crawlspace no bigger than your own size. You reach the ledge and pull yourself up, before flashing your light down the corridor.

“You found me!” The little girl gasped when she saw you shine your light at her and clutching even tighter on her Inkay partner.

“No!” she protests. “Inkay, protect me,” she releases the Pokémon from her clutches who gives a confirming ‘ink-inkay’ as it preps a strange red energy at its beak. Before you realised what was happening the energy fired its way down the corridor and struck you hard, shoving you off of the ledge and down the chimney. You reactively grab onto the ledge, holding on for dear life when the voice of Keith pours through the toy walkie-talkie once more.

What does Meowth do?

Keith:
You’re worried about the lack of response you got from Myrtle. You kept calling her name, over and over, louder and louder as nothing but static responded. You quickly calm yourself with reason. This must have been a positive sign, surely. After all, you recall what happened when you last knocked out an Inkay; the room must have reverted to its original design, one where the toys became nothing more than toys. Fang questions your reasoning though, and an uncomfortable sensation notched itself in your stomach that something else may have been the reason. You switch the channels and decide to talk to Meowth instead.

-----

After emerging through the surface and being attacked by the Inkay, you pit your Carnivine in for another battle. Considering Fang’s last success in the topsy-turvy world, you were hoping for a repeat of the last battle. Fang leaps into action on your orders just when the inverted-Psybeam was fired off. Fang quickly sends a shower of Razor-sharp Leaves that was coloured the same shade of magenta that he was. Both attacks pass one another and strike their opponents successfully, both Pokémon having been too preoccupied with firing their own attacks to dodge the other. Fang spins back from the blow, nearly confused by the tumbling in mid-air, but recovers steadily to prepare a Sludge Bomb. The Inkay is quick to note and makes its own preparations, and just when the Sludge Bomb is fired, the Inkay erects a mysterious glowing panel of dark, navy blue energy in front of it. The droplets of slime collide with the mysterious panel where they disappear as if being absorbed by it. A Light Screen you could tell with your years of experience, despite the Topsy-Turvy colouring.

The Inkay goes back on the offensive and fires off another psychic attack; this time the glowing red energy you recognised from earlier as a Psywave. With the distance between the two, Fang manages to dodge the first few hoops of energy by dashing to the side but the Inkay turns quicker than the Carnivine can float and Fang is quickly struck by the last few psychic rings.

Fang recovers and fires off the last of your orders; Nature Power. You recall from last time the effectiveness of the topsy-turvied attack. Similarly to last time, Fang fired of a red Psychic energy towards his opponent, except this time it fell short as the attack collided with the Light Screen and both attacks cracked and shattered into nothing. The Inkay chuckles at you, noting that Fang was panting slightly from using three moves in quick succession – though not gaining nearly as much ground on his opponent as last time. This Inkay had a few more tricks up its sleeve.

What does Keith do?


kawaiiconcept:
No! Make them go away! Your thoughts (and possibly words) rambled on with the same idea. This was trickery you thought and you didn’t feel like being a part of it. You began to shake, wanting to cower away. Sensing this, Freighya is determined to save you and leaps into action. You see her body glow a bright light, the contours of her body elongating and her tail becoming thin and splitting into two. Her ears became more cat-like and soon the glow faded to reveal a pink-bodied Espeon. An Espeon who was firing of Psybeams left and right haphazardly in an effort to destroy “the illusion” as you thought it to be. Eleven joins your side and holds your hand in comfort.

The teens scramble and run in panic as the Psybeams close in on them. You want to shut your ears and eyes, and you do, putting your hands over your face and wishing for it to be gone. You could still hear the shouting and the screaming, and then it stopped.

“Eev?”

You pull your hands away and notice an Eevee, Freighya, looking up at you worryingly. Eleven was still holding onto your hand, trying to soothe you and looking equally worried at you. The teens exchanged confused glances at one another, standing in exactly the same position as when you had first seen them.

“Uhm, Kawaii?” one of them asks. “Are you okay? You were crying and yelling.”

One of the boys walked out of the group to the front, making himself recognisable to you. You knew him. It was the dream guy you had swooned over before. For some reason he was here as well. “Kawaii?” he asks, “Why don’t you come over and join us?” He gives you one of the most charming smiles imaginable. Both Freighya and Eleven encourage you to move on, hoping you were alright, but it is then that you hear the same crying coo from earlier. It echoed throughout the building, down the walls and floorboards, through the very air, but not one of the others paid so much as an ounce of attention to it - it was like they didn’t even hear it.

Last chance to stay with your peers.
What do you do?


Fortune Teller’s Tent
Meetan: ~ (Rewriting your memory for PI reasons ;).)
You wandered through the gardens, the tranquil setting being ideal for a child to play in, but a noise coming from the shed attracted your attention instead. You nervously stepped towards it, inching closer to the opening and in want of calling out a name, which you didn’t. You poke your head inside to find the fridge door open, its contents spilled across the floor, one of which was an open tub of ice cream that shook lightly in its place. A small creature emerged from within and was startled by your presence.

“Esp-Espurr!”

The small, pink-coloured cat Pokémon took a few anxious steps back but you try to reassure it, though you yourself stumble a bit backwards out of fear of the Pokémon attacking. You stretch out a hand to the Espurr who nervously approaches you and sniffs carefully. Your mother wasn’t going to be happy about the Pokémon having broken into the fridge, nor would she be happy about you bringing a Pokémon into the house, but…

You offer to sneak the Espurr inside and get some ice for it. For some reason you didn’t really question the line of thought just yet. It is only a little later, once you start befriending the Pokémon a bit more that you’re wondering why you’re getting ice for an Espurr. They weren’t particularly inclined to the cold though, were they?

Your head pangs with sudden pain, like the onset of a migraine. Piece by piece your memory was reshaping to its former self once again, and in seconds you were your old self again; except you were trapped in a younger body, and Masaru…

Masaru!

What was the Espurr doing here instead? This wasn’t how you recalled the memory yet here the Espurr was enjoying your company and everything you gave it where the Ice-typed Swinub was supposed to be. What did the Espurr do to Masaru?

How do you react to it?


The Ghost Train
Fishyfool:
The choices were presented to you rather straightforward. Three independent controls that did who knows what, though you reason what their functions would be if this were a regular train. If it were though, you felt it best to use them in an order where you would start with, what you hope would be, the safest option.

You yank the chain switch dangling beside you and a screeching whistle blows above you, resonating through the darkness and echoing its call to the banshee. Clearly this was for the whistle, and it did little else. The second option was the button between the train’s two eye sockets. Pressing it made two red lights behind you glow their incandescent light, spilling out of the skull’s sockets and lighting up the path ahead. Nothing but darkness could be seen and the red light did little in giving you a sense of direction but did all it could in adding tension to the now lust-red illuminated room.

The last option, and possibly the most obvious one in putting the train to a halt. You wrap your fingers around the bronze lever and take a few seconds to mentally prepare for what might come. You pull it back, the lever stiff in moving but once you put in a bit more force the lever flips in the opposite direction and you’re suddenly thrown forwards by the momentum. Whistling screeches reverberate in the steel engine room as the brakes hit the wheels hard, successfully slowing down the ever-speeding train. You pull yourself up and gaze once more out of the skull’s sockets. Nothing could be seen and the train’s haphazard speed was still not over yet. The brakes continue their work, pressing down on metal disks when you finally see something in the distance. Something was coming up ahead.

You couldn’t tell what it was at first but with the train’s current speed it was coming at you fast. Your heart sinks when you see what it was; a wall. Dusk-grey panels held by ivory connectors formed an immense wall that rose up indefinitely and stretched as far into the horizon as you could tell, and worse, the train was heading straight towards it.

Perhaps you panic, or even try to pull the lever down harder but your final moments of desperation weren’t enough and the train engine plummeted straight into the wall. You shield yourself for the impact, and a heavy blow knocks you in your head.

-----

The next thing you know your head was pounding from pain and you felt the room spinning in circles. You were disoriented, stunned, and as far as you could tell you were crawling on the floor. Your eyes were swollen with white as your senses still hadn’t recovered, but you make out a sound coming towards you. Footsteps and clanging metal were marching up and down the carriages. A voice shouted. “…eck other …’ll…engine…” It sounded angry, the note of a growling human, or perhaps a monster.

Your body still wouldn’t cooperate with you but your vision was slowly returning, allowing you to note vague contours and shapes. The door to the engine room opened and a shadow stood in its opening, another growling creature came up beside it, smaller but fierce. The light from the carriage behind flowed into the room and helped you regain some of your sight.

“You!” The shadow points at you, clearly angry. “Get off this train!” it hounds at you. You still weren’t fully awake though but the shadow seemed to care little. It grabbed you by the collar and in a surprising feat of strength pushed you against the wall. “Didn’t you hear me? Move and get out!” You were eye to eye with whatever it was and the final shock of being shoved against the wall brought your eyesight back to life, though you had every reason to believe it hadn’t. The face you saw before you was of bone, an angry-looking eye cradled within the skull’s socket. No, that wasn’t quite right. The other half of its face still had flesh, though it was putrid and rotting from decay. The hand holding onto your collar you realise was nothing more than pieces of flesh hanging off of bone. The other shadow had reshaped itself to the figure of a Houndoom, an orange glow pouring out of its gaping mouth as it threatened you to obey.

“Last warning!” the decaying corpse barks at you. “Get o-“ The thing stopped as his lower jaw unhinged itself from the skull portion of its face, suspended now only by a stretch of flesh that was attached to the side of its face that was still in decay. It gives a few annoying grumbles, tongue wavering below his teeth and lets go of you so it could reposition its jaw. You notice at this point that the thing was dressed in a uniform of sorts. Though it didn’t look new you noted by the coloration and design that it was one that would belong to an officer; a policeman or a conductor perhaps?

The creature finally locks its jaw back in place and points at you. “Get off or else! Houndoom,” he ordered his Pokémon. The Pokémon’s mouth glowed a new shade of red in preparation for an attack.”

You weren’t sure what was going on, but the choices were laid out for you. Do you get off the train peacefully, or do you put up a fight? Try to reason first, or ask questions later?

What do you do?


The Hotel
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Old 06-12-2017, 04:56 PM   #10
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kawaiiconcept:
No! Make them go away! Your thoughts (and possibly words) rambled on with the same idea. This was trickery you thought and you didn’t feel like being a part of it. You began to shake, wanting to cower away. Sensing this, Freighya is determined to save you and leaps into action. You see her body glow a bright light, the contours of her body elongating and her tail becoming thin and splitting into two. Her ears became more cat-like and soon the glow faded to reveal a pink-bodied Espeon. An Espeon who was firing of Psybeams left and right haphazardly in an effort to destroy “the illusion” as you thought it to be. Eleven joins your side and holds your hand in comfort.

The teens scramble and run in panic as the Psybeams close in on them. You want to shut your ears and eyes, and you do, putting your hands over your face and wishing for it to be gone. You could still hear the shouting and the screaming, and then it stopped.

“Eev?”

You pull your hands away and notice an Eevee, Freighya, looking up at you worryingly. Eleven was still holding onto your hand, trying to soothe you and looking equally worried at you. The teens exchanged confused glances at one another, standing in exactly the same position as when you had first seen them.

“Uhm, Kawaii?” one of them asks. “Are you okay? You were crying and yelling.”

One of the boys walked out of the group to the front, making himself recognisable to you. You knew him. It was the dream guy you had swooned over before. For some reason he was here as well. “Kawaii?” he asks, “Why don’t you come over and join us?” He gives you one of the most charming smiles imaginable. Both Freighya and Eleven encourage you to move on, hoping you were alright, but it is then that you hear the same crying coo from earlier. It echoed throughout the building, down the walls and floorboards, through the very air, but not one of the others paid so much as an ounce of attention to it - it was like they didn’t even hear it.

Last chance to stay with your peers.
What do you do?


This was too much. Kawaii could not believe what her senses told her. The only thing she truly knew in this moment is that the real Freighya was an Espeon. She knew that her dream guy would never be here, and also never know her name. He was a guy who made his living over the internet and he lived in a region far away. Lastly, he was way too old to be among these teens. Something in that made Kawaii stand up. She looked the people in the face and took a breath. "You are not real but some kind of illusion." She shook her head to clear it "I don't care if you are some kind of powerful Ditto but I don't like what you are doing to my head."
Eleven could not do much in the moment, she was low level and could not do much damage. She thought through her move pool for even the slightest thing, and then she realized she knew an attack that might work. She took a breath and began to float in the air to MEDITATE and see the truth. Maybe a detect attack would have worked better but this might work as well. She cleared her ind and hoped to see the truth as soon as she opened her eyes.
Frieghya stopped, realizing it was not an illusion. Maybe these creatures were in disguise? She picked a random "teen" and focused on it's thoughts. She could now talk through thoughts and thus could read other's as well. She hoped this might solve the dilemma of what was going on.
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Old 06-12-2017, 08:04 PM   #11
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(Oh Maudlin. Are you having a midlife crisis now? *Dead Rattata on Harley says nothing* I don’t understand how you even got it inside. The door isn’t big enough.)

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The Park

Funhouse
Missingo Master:
Meowth:
The orb of blue water doused the fire on impact, sending a hiss of smoke up the chimney. The room luckily remained lit however by the undisclosed lights that weren’t mentioned but had no impact on your story anyway. The chimney however remained another matter; looking up above you find nothing but bricks piling onto each other, strecthing into a dark crawlspace. The use of Flash helped though, providing you with a makeshift torchlight of sorts as you manoeuvred up, using your claws the best you could to scale the walls inside like the cat you were.

You flashed the light up above and noticed it wasn’t as tall as you had expected. Falling would still cause major injury but at the very least it did not appear you had to climb to the very top of the Fun House. A bit up above, having climbed quite a way up that darkness now stretched out below you, you find a small crawlspace no bigger than your own size. You reach the ledge and pull yourself up, before flashing your light down the corridor.

“You found me!” The little girl gasped when she saw you shine your light at her and clutching even tighter on her Inkay partner.

“No!” she protests. “Inkay, protect me,” she releases the Pokémon from her clutches who gives a confirming ‘ink-inkay’ as it preps a strange red energy at its beak. Before you realised what was happening the energy fired its way down the corridor and struck you hard, shoving you off of the ledge and down the chimney. You reactively grab onto the ledge, holding on for dear life when the voice of Keith pours through the toy walkie-talkie once more.

What does Meowth do?

Keith:
You’re worried about the lack of response you got from Myrtle. You kept calling her name, over and over, louder and louder as nothing but static responded. You quickly calm yourself with reason. This must have been a positive sign, surely. After all, you recall what happened when you last knocked out an Inkay; the room must have reverted to its original design, one where the toys became nothing more than toys. Fang questions your reasoning though, and an uncomfortable sensation notched itself in your stomach that something else may have been the reason. You switch the channels and decide to talk to Meowth instead.

-----

After emerging through the surface and being attacked by the Inkay, you pit your Carnivine in for another battle. Considering Fang’s last success in the topsy-turvy world, you were hoping for a repeat of the last battle. Fang leaps into action on your orders just when the inverted-Psybeam was fired off. Fang quickly sends a shower of Razor-sharp Leaves that was coloured the same shade of magenta that he was. Both attacks pass one another and strike their opponents successfully, both Pokémon having been too preoccupied with firing their own attacks to dodge the other. Fang spins back from the blow, nearly confused by the tumbling in mid-air, but recovers steadily to prepare a Sludge Bomb. The Inkay is quick to note and makes its own preparations, and just when the Sludge Bomb is fired, the Inkay erects a mysterious glowing panel of dark, navy blue energy in front of it. The droplets of slime collide with the mysterious panel where they disappear as if being absorbed by it. A Light Screen you could tell with your years of experience, despite the Topsy-Turvy colouring.

The Inkay goes back on the offensive and fires off another psychic attack; this time the glowing red energy you recognised from earlier as a Psywave. With the distance between the two, Fang manages to dodge the first few hoops of energy by dashing to the side but the Inkay turns quicker than the Carnivine can float and Fang is quickly struck by the last few psychic rings.

Fang recovers and fires off the last of your orders; Nature Power. You recall from last time the effectiveness of the topsy-turvied attack. Similarly to last time, Fang fired of a red Psychic energy towards his opponent, except this time it fell short as the attack collided with the Light Screen and both attacks cracked and shattered into nothing. The Inkay chuckles at you, noting that Fang was panting slightly from using three moves in quick succession – though not gaining nearly as much ground on his opponent as last time. This Inkay had a few more tricks up its sleeve.

What does Keith do?
Meowth grinned as the Water Pulse did the trick, dousing the flames as water was so expected to do. "Alright," he grinned. "Let's see wat we're dealin' wit here." And with that, he pressed his front paws to his forehead, which cause his charm to light up. Using Flash, Meowth was able to see up the chimney. It wasn't as high a climb to the top as he'd have thought it would be, and so, claws extended, the Normal-type started climbing.

"Ugh... Uh... Hey, wat-" Meowth grunted as he climbed- he had spotted an indentation in the chimney. A tiny crawlspace, just big enough for him to fit into, and there he saw- it was the ghost girl, tightly clutching an Inkay. "Hey, wat- YAAH!" Meowth exclaimed, as the Inkay's attack sent him tumbling back into the chimney. He clutched the ledge with one paw, hanging on for dear life as he clutched the walkie talkie with the other. And speaking of which... "Keith?!" he exclaimed. "Wat's goin' on, wat is it?!"

"Ghost girl. Battling Inkay," Keith said quickly. "What about you? You find anything?"

"Other ghost girl. Battlin' other Inkay," Meowth reported. "Also tryin' not ta fall to my death," he added.

"OK, I'm gonna let you get back to that," Keith replied. "Hang in there, Fang!"

"Gah... OK, Inkay," Meowth grunted once the conversation was cut short. With all his strength, he pulled himself back into the crawlspace, and stood at the ready, claws extended. "Youse wants a piece o' me? Prepare for Fury Swipes!" he declared, racing in to deliver the Normal-type move. He wasn't gonna stop there, though- he was all set to follow it up with an Aerial Ace, and then go for a Swift attack.


Keith was confident in his Carnivine's abilities, but this Inkay proved a tougher opponent than the previous one. His Razor Leaf landed a direct hit, but so did Inkay's Psybeam. "Fang!" Keith exclaimed.

"Caaar... Carni! Vine!" Fang exclaimed, reeling from the attack, but still not out just yet.

"Good!" Keith grinned. "Now use your Sludge Bomb attack!"

"Carniii... VIIIIINE!" Fang exclaimed, launching explosive orbs of sludge towards Inkay, but Inkay was ready, erecting a Light Screen to deflect the special attack. To make matters worse, Inkay followed up with a Psywave, one which the Grass-type couldn't fully evade, and the Nature Power-generated Psybeam only managed to cancel out the Light Screen.

"Fang..." Keith murmured, noting how exhausted his Carnivine was getting. "You want a rest?" he offered, holding up Fang's Poké Ball.

But the Carnivine shook his head. "Vine carni carni!" he exclaimed, glaring at Inkay. He was all fired up, intent on seeing this battle through to the end.

Keith nodded. "Let's do it, then!" he declared. "Fang, Leech Seed, let's go! Then follow up with Stun Spore, and let it taste your Giga Drain!"
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Old 06-14-2017, 06:24 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ex-Admiral Insane View Post
(Oh Maudlin. Are you having a midlife crisis now? *Dead Rattata on Harley says nothing* I don’t understand how you even got it inside. The door isn’t big enough.)

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The Park

The Ghost Train
Fishyfool:
The choices were presented to you rather straightforward. Three independent controls that did who knows what, though you reason what their functions would be if this were a regular train. If it were though, you felt it best to use them in an order where you would start with, what you hope would be, the safest option.

You yank the chain switch dangling beside you and a screeching whistle blows above you, resonating through the darkness and echoing its call to the banshee. Clearly this was for the whistle, and it did little else. The second option was the button between the train’s two eye sockets. Pressing it made two red lights behind you glow their incandescent light, spilling out of the skull’s sockets and lighting up the path ahead. Nothing but darkness could be seen and the red light did little in giving you a sense of direction but did all it could in adding tension to the now lust-red illuminated room.

The last option, and possibly the most obvious one in putting the train to a halt. You wrap your fingers around the bronze lever and take a few seconds to mentally prepare for what might come. You pull it back, the lever stiff in moving but once you put in a bit more force the lever flips in the opposite direction and you’re suddenly thrown forwards by the momentum. Whistling screeches reverberate in the steel engine room as the brakes hit the wheels hard, successfully slowing down the ever-speeding train. You pull yourself up and gaze once more out of the skull’s sockets. Nothing could be seen and the train’s haphazard speed was still not over yet. The brakes continue their work, pressing down on metal disks when you finally see something in the distance. Something was coming up ahead.

You couldn’t tell what it was at first but with the train’s current speed it was coming at you fast. Your heart sinks when you see what it was; a wall. Dusk-grey panels held by ivory connectors formed an immense wall that rose up indefinitely and stretched as far into the horizon as you could tell, and worse, the train was heading straight towards it.

Perhaps you panic, or even try to pull the lever down harder but your final moments of desperation weren’t enough and the train engine plummeted straight into the wall. You shield yourself for the impact, and a heavy blow knocks you in your head.

-----

The next thing you know your head was pounding from pain and you felt the room spinning in circles. You were disoriented, stunned, and as far as you could tell you were crawling on the floor. Your eyes were swollen with white as your senses still hadn’t recovered, but you make out a sound coming towards you. Footsteps and clanging metal were marching up and down the carriages. A voice shouted. “…eck other …’ll…engine…” It sounded angry, the note of a growling human, or perhaps a monster.

Your body still wouldn’t cooperate with you but your vision was slowly returning, allowing you to note vague contours and shapes. The door to the engine room opened and a shadow stood in its opening, another growling creature came up beside it, smaller but fierce. The light from the carriage behind flowed into the room and helped you regain some of your sight.

“You!” The shadow points at you, clearly angry. “Get off this train!” it hounds at you. You still weren’t fully awake though but the shadow seemed to care little. It grabbed you by the collar and in a surprising feat of strength pushed you against the wall. “Didn’t you hear me? Move and get out!” You were eye to eye with whatever it was and the final shock of being shoved against the wall brought your eyesight back to life, though you had every reason to believe it hadn’t. The face you saw before you was of bone, an angry-looking eye cradled within the skull’s socket. No, that wasn’t quite right. The other half of its face still had flesh, though it was putrid and rotting from decay. The hand holding onto your collar you realise was nothing more than pieces of flesh hanging off of bone. The other shadow had reshaped itself to the figure of a Houndoom, an orange glow pouring out of its gaping mouth as it threatened you to obey.

“Last warning!” the decaying corpse barks at you. “Get o-“ The thing stopped as his lower jaw unhinged itself from the skull portion of its face, suspended now only by a stretch of flesh that was attached to the side of its face that was still in decay. It gives a few annoying grumbles, tongue wavering below his teeth and lets go of you so it could reposition its jaw. You notice at this point that the thing was dressed in a uniform of sorts. Though it didn’t look new you noted by the coloration and design that it was one that would belong to an officer; a policeman or a conductor perhaps?

The creature finally locks its jaw back in place and points at you. “Get off or else! Houndoom,” he ordered his Pokémon. The Pokémon’s mouth glowed a new shade of red in preparation for an attack.”

You weren’t sure what was going on, but the choices were laid out for you. Do you get off the train peacefully, or do you put up a fight? Try to reason first, or ask questions later?

What do you do?
-
In hindsight, he should have gone for the lever first.

As the train screamed forward, Alex had tried the chain first, assuming that it may do something. The shriek of the whistle, almost akin to the banshee, told him this was the wrong choice. The button, too, was futile, merely replicating his first view of the locomotive, two red lights behind him illuminating the room a lustful red, but doing nothing.

I should have gone for the lever first.

With the first two options spent, he grabbed the lever, bracing himself for a few seconds, before pulling back hard. The bronze rod moved stiffly to start, but then jolted forward, causing a pang of sharp pain in his chest where the rib broke, but what cry of pain he had was drowned out by the screech of steel on steel, as he discovered the brakes at last. Climbing back onto his feet from the stumble, he gave a gasp before looking out the window, feeling the train slow down gradually, as something came into view.

why oh why did you not go for the lever first

Ivory and grey, it was a vast wall. A wall the train was charging towards at still high speeds. Alex contemplated hopping off, but at these speeds and his condition right now, that would be a fatal mistake. Swiftly gripping the lever, he tried pushing down harder, but the lever wouldn't budge, the brakes weren't slowing the train down fast enough, the-

In the brief instant the engine collided with the wall, Alex's body was open, and momentum carried him forwards, and the last thing he could remember before the world turned black once more was the interior wall coming at him at speeds of roughly fast per hour.

It'll be more than just a rib now, you should have just gone for the lever you idiot.

---

Pain.

Deep, throbbing pain.

Pain in the head.

Pain in the chest.

Pain all over.

Darkness.

Dark. Dark, yet darker.

Sounds.

Thump, thump, clank, clank.

It hurt.

Every sound hurt.

Growls.

Other. Engine.

What?

Can't move.

The darkness wanes.

Shapes. Objects.

A door.

A shadow. Two shadows.

Metal in the mouth.

Pain.

"You!"

Who? What?

"Get off this train!"

Train?

Pain. So much pain.

No, train.

Yes, train. Fast train, wall train.

Shadow moving. Shadow grabbing.

A sharp gasp.

Incredible pain.

What...?

Even more pain.

No, vision.




Alex's sight returned to him as he gazed in shock at the being before him, holding him against the wall as the thoughts of what had happened sprung back to him. He must have hit the wall even harder than the first time, and he felt something run down from his mouth down his face.

"Didn't you hear me? Move and get out!"

He looked towards the source of the voice. He saw bone housing an angry exposed eye, and fetid flesh rotting on the bone. His eye drooped to the hand gripping him, bone and flesh. He looked toward the other creature, horned canine, mouth agape with sinister glow, Houndoom.

"Last warning! Get o-" the figure barked until the jaw fell off his mouth, hanging by flesh. The figure - no, zombie would be more apt - grumbled before reattaching the jaw, releasing him as he slumped back against the wall, face in painful grimace as he held his chest, much more pain within. The corpse spoke once more after fixing itself, the human noticing only now the uniform. Policeman? Conductor?

"Get off or else! Houndoom," he snarled once more, the Houndoom's mouth glowing in preparation, and it was clear the being planned to enforce the leave. Before he could do anything, Alex coughed. Hard. He dropped to his knees, covering mouth, as the internal pain overcame him momentarily, scarlet seeping between the fingers. Blood. Quite a bit of blood.

He swallowed, climbing back to feet, light-headed. He noticed the look both gave him, and could only give a weary nod, one which required effort on his part. He was in considerable pain, making his way for the exit of the train. He'd been on it far too long.

"S-ure...officer...too much...ban...shees anyways..." he whispered, finding it hard to bring voice above that. His head was reeling, and he had a limp. He had no idea how hard he hit the interior, but it must have been hard enough to do serious damage, likely smashing more of his ribs. He paused just at the door, turning head towards the pair, and asked an innocent question, given his situation, before leaving the train in a peaceful manner. He was in no way fit to argue with anything that looked more alive than he currently felt.

"...where in hell...am I...?"
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Old 06-21-2017, 08:27 AM   #13
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(Hey Madlin. Redecorating? *Dead Ratta on desk says nothing.* Where did you find so many toy skulls? They look pretty real though.)

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The Park

Rollerquaza
Monster Guy: ~ last update


Funhouse
Missingo Master:
Meowth:
Claws extended you charged right ahead through the crawlspace to reach the Inkay for a Fury Swipes. The squid-like Pokémon in turn blasted another Psywave to push you off. With a lack of room to dodge the attack landed all five rings directly and put you at the edge of the drop. Your second attack, an Aerial Ace was cut short too, having not nearly enough room to move about and deliver a surprising side from the flank.

Two attacks landed on you with a neutral hit, making the ghost girl and Inkay giggle while none of your close-up attacks could even get close. Your last attack would be different though as brightly coloured stars Swiftly closed the distance between the two of you and struck the Pokémon, unable to dodge either. The battle wasn’t going to stop here though, as the Inkay prepared another psychic attack at its beak.

Keith:
The Reflect had blocked your previous attempts and thus a new strategy was tried. Carnivine foated up until the Inkay was within range and belted out an array of pellets. The Inkay responded by repeating its previous tactic and erecting another barrier, mistaking your attack for another physical hit. The Leech Seeds passed through through the Reflect like air and planted themselves on the startled squid desperately trying to shrug off the growing vines.

Success, and while the Inkay continues to struggle within its ensnaring vines, Fang jolts out a cyan mist of Stun Spore that wafts over the tiny Pokémon’s body, further incapacitating it with paralysis. Score!

It was the Inkay’s turn as it prepared another attack at the beak. You and Fang await nervously to see if aralysis was going to kick in, and…a Psybeam byzzed out and struck your Carnivine square on his mouth. Fang spins backwards, unable to even remotely dodge the attack in his exhasperated condition. He wants to obey your third order but unfortunately he was tired still from last round and needed a break instead of continuous use of three movers. And so, Fang’s turn ended before it even started, and only afterwards did Leech Seed’s first sap of health return some life back into him.


kawaiiconcept:
You didn’t want to believe it. The Eevee you knew really did evolve into an Espeon, despite everything (including your updater) telling you otherwise. The young adults (or teens or adolescents – basically the youth that was approximately your age as previously mentioned) had to be fakes as well. Even that guy you were pining over before couldn’t possibly be here. Not impossible, just highly improbable.

Eleven would have, could have, should have tried to help you – but something was clearly off about your Eevee and Meditite as neither had seemingly recalled or been remotely affected by the circumstances. Instead, both seemed worried about you not wanting to continue on. Neither really did anything to help, they just stared at you with looks of worry, clearly thinking you had gone mad with disbelief. Why couldn’t you just go along?

Your Meditite does NOT Meditate and your Meditite does NOT focus on the mind of one of those teens, as much as you would have wanted. Again; your Pokémon are not being helpful in any way. Before you had believed Freighya to have evolved and attacked with Psybeam, though none of that was true when you had opened your eyes again. Why would Eleven obeying your wishes suddenly be any different from last time?

You wish as hard as you want for your Pokémon to do something, you wish so hard that Jack gets fed up at you and snaps. “Fine!” his eyes glow a dark red. “We have tried giving you your dreams but you only spit in our face.” His voice becomes darker and gains a violent tone. The cooing cry echoes once more in warning and the whole room quakes along with Jack’s voice. The other youth’s faces turn grim and their eyes similarly glow a dark red.

“If you don’t want your dreams,” Jack yells with an audible tremor moving through the room, “then you can have your nightmares,” and as he said that a trapdoor opened behind you leading to a shadowed and narrow shaft. You look ahead again and notice Freighya and Eleven’s eyes glowing a dark red now as well. The two sneered at you, forcing you to take gentle steps back. Freighya tackled you which ended up being the final push needed to have you trip and fall over backwards, down the trapdoor. Up above you saw the menacing red eyes of your Eevee and Meditite staring down at you with the angry voice of Jack coming from behind them. “Have fun being on your own. Once you’re willing to comply we’ll let you out.” The trapdoor closed.



You landed roughly, but with surprising lack of pain, on a smooth surface; your new cage being that of a glass orb, outside of which there was nothing; no shadow, no texture, nothing but empty white canvas. The trapdoor you had fallen through was gone now, melted away into the glass dome arching above you – there was only you, your glass, orbed cage and the white nothingness - and no matter how hard you tried it wouldn’t break, shatter or splinter.

You were trapped, alone and with no seemingly possible way to escape. You had no idea why though or what the hell was going on. Did you miss something in your past few moments? Jack did say he would let you out but then you’d have to agree to something? What the hell was going on?!

What does kawaii think?/How does kawaii respond?

Punishment Room: Figure out the clue you’ve missed or tag along with the story before continuing.
Kawaii lost control over all her Pokémon.
Kawaii cannot use any of her items here.


Fortune Teller’s Tent
Meetan: ~ last update


The Ghost Train
Fishyfool:
You leave the train on your terms, not wanting to hold up a fight with the undead in your current state. You mutter a few words, a question. "...where in hell...am I...?"

You had taken your first step outside of the engine room when you saw the scenery – and with it an answer to your question - reveal itself to you. The same old darkness permeated the area to instil the familiar sense of being lost, with the landscape being marred this time by recognisable, earthly objects.

“Dah,” you heard the walking corpse utter behind you. He continued his muttering, “Youth nowadays getting themselves in trouble like this, diving in headfirst.”

“Are you really telling me you had no idea what you were doing? Move along and I’ll explain when we’re outside.”

Somehow you manage to lower yourself down onto the death-grey silt. You take a few steps further into the unknown to find your environment, though resembling much in the ways of earth, felt alien to you. The walking corpse followed close behind - seemingly more interested in the other carriages than you - and left his Houndoom to guard you. Other decaying figures clad in similar uniforms descended from the single remaining carriage and conversed with the one you had met previously. “…no one…find…”

The giant grey wall you had bashed into rose behind the train into the abyss above where thick purple mists made up the sky – a s sight similar to one you saw on Phantom Isle. Immeasurable forests of both living and dead tress dotted the remaining three cardinal horizons between which the darkness poured its vast presence. The train, oddly enough, found itself on train tracks leading up to what appeared to be a mid-nineteenth century station built of obsidian metal and opaque glass. The tracks continued on into the distance where they would eventually meet up with the horizon’s forest and who-knows-what. To add to the bizarreness of the situation, various clouds of fogs – akin to will-o-wisps - emitted light as they drifted gently above the ground with organic patterns and speeds.

The Houndoom kept its eyes on you as you turned continuously to take in your new surroundings. Your decaying captor strolled back after finishing the briefing with his co-deceased. Each one of his kin shambled along and passed him to continue on to the revolving door of the train station, each in a separate state of decay ranging from fresh and human to skeletal, each providing you a new look of concern, distrust or suspicion. Their eyes strangely enough never seemed to be affected by the decay, though this only added to the haunting image of the march of dead stares they gave.

“Right,” your captor approached you, rubbing the top of his hair with his hand as he thought over how to start, dropping tufts of hair while he did. “So, names first I suppose. The name’s Virgil, though most call me Virg.” He waited for you to respond first before continuing.

“As for where you are, it’ll be hard to describe if you didn’t come here on your own accord. Some might think of this place as limbo, though that wouldn’t be entirely accurate. You’ve passed limbo and moved on even further. You see, if a soul dies it has to pass to the afterlife but how do you think that happens?” He stalls for a few seconds to see if you’ll answer.

“So,” he continues. “It’s never straightforward. Souls have to be carried, moved, from oneplace to another and first obtain a confirmation of being deceased before moving on. It’s very important the realm of the living and the dead are separated which is why there are almost no direct connections – you need a bridge, a connector, something to divide the two worlds. This is where you are; it is one of such places that exist between the realm of the living and the dead. Understood so far?” He waits for your response (if any) before moving on.

“These places are shaped by the beliefs of the souls and mirror their worlds as close as possible. In the old days they believed you had to cross a river, or walk through a labyrinth. Those places still exist as well I suppose though the idea sounds ridiculous if you ask me. Nowadays people lnow of trains and imagine trains. Who knows what new world wil be created in the future. Either way, I’m getting off track…”

He anxiously rubs his hands as he prepares for what to say next. Whatever it is, it doesn’t seem to be easy for him to say. “To move on to your situation…well…you’re dead. I’m sorry, there’s no easy way to put this but this land is meant for those who moved on from the living world. Once you’re here you become part of the dead. And there’s no turning back so don’t even ask,” he stress the importance of this last part. “The worlds are meant to be separate. The moment you crossed the threshold you sentenced yourself to this place for eternity.”

He waves his hand in protest. “Even if you wanted to, the path is blocked for now. You mentioned the word ‘banshee’ earlier? I’m guessing that means you ran into that blasted white wretch?” Again he allows you to answer first.

“That damn howling woman is the whole reason everything here is at a standstill. We haven’t been able to move any souls to the realm of the dead for years because of her. Worse yet, souls from the living realm can’t be transported here. No train can move in or out. No train safe for this one,” he pointed towards the skull train you had brought along. “Strange thing is, it’s not one of ours. We have no idea where it came from, what it’s purpose is or where it goes - but it keeps showing up. This is the first time we’ve found a passenger on it though,” he gives you a curious sneer as he said that, clearly still distrustful of you. “Still, I wonder how the other realm is fairing. Spirits can become restless if they remain in the living world for too long. All that build-up of souls, I can’t imagine what it would be like.” Something tells you you didn’t have to imagine to know what it was like. You had seen parts of the aftermath first-hand. One of the will-o-wisps, you notice, had inched its way closer to you plaguing you and Virgil by skipping between the two of you. “Go,” Virgil tries to shoo the creature away.

“So that leaves the last part you need to be informed on. I’m sure you’ve noticed the will-o-wisps floating around. In case you haven’t guessed yet; these are the spirits that are waiting to be transported to the next realm. The ones here outside are those of Pokémon most likely; shy spirits tend to hide their form after all. However,” his voice turns grave. “This leaves the question of what that makes you. You see, when a creature’s time is up they earn their passage and stay to the next realm. You cheated on life and passed on to the next realm on your own – before it was your time. Sadly, you don’t get to skip life and move on to paradise just like that. Like every soul before you, you have to earn your place first. Since you didn’t earn your place while in the realm of the living, you know have to earn it here before being allowed to move on. This is reflected in your state; you’re a corpse and not a spirit, and trust me when I say that working off your debt here takes a lot longer than it does in the realm of the living – it’s a punishment for trying to cheat after all. Considering you’re young I think you’re looking at centuries of work.”

“Oh, and since you’re dead, be ready for your body to start decomposing. That’s right buddy, look at my rotting face; this is what your future will look like pretty soon. By the time you’re done here I’m sure there’ll be nothing left of you than bone and eye. You still have some time before it starts though. You might not have noticed but I bet your heart has started beating slower.” You hadn’t noticed it until now but your heart was beating at a drastically low rate. Your pain had started to subside as well. If you asked about this you would get the confirmation that death here goes smooth and painless. Soon you wouldn’t feel any of your broken ribs anymore.

Virgil places a comforting hand on your shoulder. “I’m very sorry for this. I’ll leave you to your thoughts for now. Come see me in my office when you’re ready. We can get you a uniform so you can start work soon.” And with that, he and his Houndoom left you.

(Since this update contained a lot of explanation, I’m giving you the time to respond to this first before continuing to your character’s next choice/action.)

What do you do?/How do you react?


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Old 06-21-2017, 04:33 PM   #14
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Originally Posted by Ex-Admiral Insane View Post
(Hey Madlin. Redecorating? *Dead Ratta on desk says nothing.* Where did you find so many toy skulls? They look pretty real though.)

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Funhouse
Missingo Master:
Meowth:
Claws extended you charged right ahead through the crawlspace to reach the Inkay for a Fury Swipes. The squid-like Pokémon in turn blasted another Psywave to push you off. With a lack of room to dodge the attack landed all five rings directly and put you at the edge of the drop. Your second attack, an Aerial Ace was cut short too, having not nearly enough room to move about and deliver a surprising side from the flank.

Two attacks landed on you with a neutral hit, making the ghost girl and Inkay giggle while none of your close-up attacks could even get close. Your last attack would be different though as brightly coloured stars Swiftly closed the distance between the two of you and struck the Pokémon, unable to dodge either. The battle wasn’t going to stop here though, as the Inkay prepared another psychic attack at its beak.

Keith:
The Reflect had blocked your previous attempts and thus a new strategy was tried. Carnivine foated up until the Inkay was within range and belted out an array of pellets. The Inkay responded by repeating its previous tactic and erecting another barrier, mistaking your attack for another physical hit. The Leech Seeds passed through through the Reflect like air and planted themselves on the startled squid desperately trying to shrug off the growing vines.

Success, and while the Inkay continues to struggle within its ensnaring vines, Fang jolts out a cyan mist of Stun Spore that wafts over the tiny Pokémon’s body, further incapacitating it with paralysis. Score!

It was the Inkay’s turn as it prepared another attack at the beak. You and Fang await nervously to see if aralysis was going to kick in, and…a Psybeam byzzed out and struck your Carnivine square on his mouth. Fang spins backwards, unable to even remotely dodge the attack in his exhasperated condition. He wants to obey your third order but unfortunately he was tired still from last round and needed a break instead of continuous use of three movers. And so, Fang’s turn ended before it even started, and only afterwards did Leech Seed’s first sap of health return some life back into him.
"Gah!" Meowth grunted, as he struggled to regain his balance. Inkay was attacking far too quickly for him to be able to land any hits with Fury Swipes or Aerial Ace. Desperately, he unleashed his Swift, and this made a difference, as the stars pelted the Dark/Psychic-type. But this was far from over, Meowth knew- already Inkay was preparing yet another Psychic move of some sort. He had to act fast, and he couldn't rely on contact moves, much as he was considering stuff like Skull Bash. Part of him wanted to try Hypnosis and Dream Eater, but another part of him remembered all too well what happened the last time he tried to hypnotize a Psychic-type. Nope. No way in the Distortion World. But what, then? He felt like he could keep taking those attacks, at the very least, but a fat lot of good that would do when-

Meowth felt like facepalming (facepawing?). Of course! He could practically hear Keith's voice in his head telling him what to do, a thought that brought the slightest of smiles to the Scratch Cat Pokémon's face. One of Keith's favorite moves, and if all that Inkay was gonna do was pile on the Psywaves or Psybeams or whatever, this would be perfect. Meowth closed his eyes and focused. He was right in the path of whatever attack Inkay was throwing his way, but considering he was now using Bide, that was exactly what he wanted.


Keith, meanwhile, had an Inkay of his own to worry about. He was having more success here than Meowth, though- Fang had landed the Stun Spore and the Leech Seed, meaning that Inkay was slowed down, less likely to attack, and would also lose some of its health gradually over time, with said health going right to Fang.

"Fang," said Keith, once the Carnivine righted himself, having been sent spinning by the Psybeam. "You still good to go?"

"Carni... vine! Carnivine!" Fang nodded determinedly.

"Excellent," Keith grinned. "You're doing great, now let's keep this moving! Use Giga Drain, and follow up with Nature Power!" Only two attacks as opposed to three- Fang was getting tired, Keith could tell, and he had no intention of overworking the Carnivine, especially if just these moves might do the trick.
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Old 06-24-2017, 07:13 PM   #15
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(Hey Madlin. Redecorating? *Dead Ratta on desk says nothing.* Where did you find so many toy skulls? They look pretty real though.)

~Please reply in Slategray~

The Park

The Ghost Train
Fishyfool:
You leave the train on your terms, not wanting to hold up a fight with the undead in your current state. You mutter a few words, a question. "...where in hell...am I...?"

You had taken your first step outside of the engine room when you saw the scenery – and with it an answer to your question - reveal itself to you. The same old darkness permeated the area to instil the familiar sense of being lost, with the landscape being marred this time by recognisable, earthly objects.

“Dah,” you heard the walking corpse utter behind you. He continued his muttering, “Youth nowadays getting themselves in trouble like this, diving in headfirst.”

“Are you really telling me you had no idea what you were doing? Move along and I’ll explain when we’re outside.”

Somehow you manage to lower yourself down onto the death-grey silt. You take a few steps further into the unknown to find your environment, though resembling much in the ways of earth, felt alien to you. The walking corpse followed close behind - seemingly more interested in the other carriages than you - and left his Houndoom to guard you. Other decaying figures clad in similar uniforms descended from the single remaining carriage and conversed with the one you had met previously. “…no one…find…”

The giant grey wall you had bashed into rose behind the train into the abyss above where thick purple mists made up the sky – a s sight similar to one you saw on Phantom Isle. Immeasurable forests of both living and dead tress dotted the remaining three cardinal horizons between which the darkness poured its vast presence. The train, oddly enough, found itself on train tracks leading up to what appeared to be a mid-nineteenth century station built of obsidian metal and opaque glass. The tracks continued on into the distance where they would eventually meet up with the horizon’s forest and who-knows-what. To add to the bizarreness of the situation, various clouds of fogs – akin to will-o-wisps - emitted light as they drifted gently above the ground with organic patterns and speeds.

The Houndoom kept its eyes on you as you turned continuously to take in your new surroundings. Your decaying captor strolled back after finishing the briefing with his co-deceased. Each one of his kin shambled along and passed him to continue on to the revolving door of the train station, each in a separate state of decay ranging from fresh and human to skeletal, each providing you a new look of concern, distrust or suspicion. Their eyes strangely enough never seemed to be affected by the decay, though this only added to the haunting image of the march of dead stares they gave.

“Right,” your captor approached you, rubbing the top of his hair with his hand as he thought over how to start, dropping tufts of hair while he did. “So, names first I suppose. The name’s Virgil, though most call me Virg.” He waited for you to respond first before continuing.

“As for where you are, it’ll be hard to describe if you didn’t come here on your own accord. Some might think of this place as limbo, though that wouldn’t be entirely accurate. You’ve passed limbo and moved on even further. You see, if a soul dies it has to pass to the afterlife but how do you think that happens?” He stalls for a few seconds to see if you’ll answer.

“So,” he continues. “It’s never straightforward. Souls have to be carried, moved, from oneplace to another and first obtain a confirmation of being deceased before moving on. It’s very important the realm of the living and the dead are separated which is why there are almost no direct connections – you need a bridge, a connector, something to divide the two worlds. This is where you are; it is one of such places that exist between the realm of the living and the dead. Understood so far?” He waits for your response (if any) before moving on.

“These places are shaped by the beliefs of the souls and mirror their worlds as close as possible. In the old days they believed you had to cross a river, or walk through a labyrinth. Those places still exist as well I suppose though the idea sounds ridiculous if you ask me. Nowadays people lnow of trains and imagine trains. Who knows what new world wil be created in the future. Either way, I’m getting off track…”

He anxiously rubs his hands as he prepares for what to say next. Whatever it is, it doesn’t seem to be easy for him to say. “To move on to your situation…well…you’re dead. I’m sorry, there’s no easy way to put this but this land is meant for those who moved on from the living world. Once you’re here you become part of the dead. And there’s no turning back so don’t even ask,” he stress the importance of this last part. “The worlds are meant to be separate. The moment you crossed the threshold you sentenced yourself to this place for eternity.”

He waves his hand in protest. “Even if you wanted to, the path is blocked for now. You mentioned the word ‘banshee’ earlier? I’m guessing that means you ran into that blasted white wretch?” Again he allows you to answer first.

“That damn howling woman is the whole reason everything here is at a standstill. We haven’t been able to move any souls to the realm of the dead for years because of her. Worse yet, souls from the living realm can’t be transported here. No train can move in or out. No train safe for this one,” he pointed towards the skull train you had brought along. “Strange thing is, it’s not one of ours. We have no idea where it came from, what it’s purpose is or where it goes - but it keeps showing up. This is the first time we’ve found a passenger on it though,” he gives you a curious sneer as he said that, clearly still distrustful of you. “Still, I wonder how the other realm is fairing. Spirits can become restless if they remain in the living world for too long. All that build-up of souls, I can’t imagine what it would be like.” Something tells you you didn’t have to imagine to know what it was like. You had seen parts of the aftermath first-hand. One of the will-o-wisps, you notice, had inched its way closer to you plaguing you and Virgil by skipping between the two of you. “Go,” Virgil tries to shoo the creature away.

“So that leaves the last part you need to be informed on. I’m sure you’ve noticed the will-o-wisps floating around. In case you haven’t guessed yet; these are the spirits that are waiting to be transported to the next realm. The ones here outside are those of Pokémon most likely; shy spirits tend to hide their form after all. However,” his voice turns grave. “This leaves the question of what that makes you. You see, when a creature’s time is up they earn their passage and stay to the next realm. You cheated on life and passed on to the next realm on your own – before it was your time. Sadly, you don’t get to skip life and move on to paradise just like that. Like every soul before you, you have to earn your place first. Since you didn’t earn your place while in the realm of the living, you know have to earn it here before being allowed to move on. This is reflected in your state; you’re a corpse and not a spirit, and trust me when I say that working off your debt here takes a lot longer than it does in the realm of the living – it’s a punishment for trying to cheat after all. Considering you’re young I think you’re looking at centuries of work.”

“Oh, and since you’re dead, be ready for your body to start decomposing. That’s right buddy, look at my rotting face; this is what your future will look like pretty soon. By the time you’re done here I’m sure there’ll be nothing left of you than bone and eye. You still have some time before it starts though. You might not have noticed but I bet your heart has started beating slower.” You hadn’t noticed it until now but your heart was beating at a drastically low rate. Your pain had started to subside as well. If you asked about this you would get the confirmation that death here goes smooth and painless. Soon you wouldn’t feel any of your broken ribs anymore.

Virgil places a comforting hand on your shoulder. “I’m very sorry for this. I’ll leave you to your thoughts for now. Come see me in my office when you’re ready. We can get you a uniform so you can start work soon.” And with that, he and his Houndoom left you.

(Since this update contained a lot of explanation, I’m giving you the time to respond to this first before continuing to your character’s next choice/action.)

What do you do?/How do you react?

Stumbling off the train revealed to Alex exactly where he was.

The all too familiar darkness surrounded him, though this time with earthly objects he recognised vagely, as the corpse urged him off the train, muttering about the folly of youth, asking almost rhetorically he he had any clue what he was doing. The ground below was grey, much like ash, but coarser, and the alien environment around him left him unnerved through the pain, yet unusually he felt almost at home for some reason. Another cough, more blood on hand, and the zombie left for the other carriages, leaving the Houndoom by Alex to guard him. He couldn't help but notice the pokemon seemed much livelier than the man, in the sense of being fleshy.

Other walking corpses emerged from the carriage, giving the message he knew: nobody else was found. Right, that Austin kid fell off...looking at the great wall the train crashed into, he followed it up and found himself gazing mesmerised slightly at the fog, familiar and purple...just like Phantom Isle. Turning slowly, a vast forest of living and dead trees surrounded the place, the train's tracks led to an ornate obsidian station, architecture similar to ninteenth century structures, with the tracks continuing through the forest into oblivion. Even then, there were wisps of sorts, clouds of fog luminant and erratic, and he had the feeling that more than just the eyes of the Houndoom were on him.

The walking dead soon returned, his captor standing by him as the others, from fleshy like Alex to skeletal shambled through the revolving door, eyes staring at him with mostly negative emotions, be it suspicion, distrust, concern, or even pity. He made a mental note that the eyes hadn't decayed, thinking to the old adage that the eyes are windows to the soul, until his uniformed captor spoke up, breaking his thoughts as the corpse rubbed his head, thinking on how to begin.

"Right, so names first I suppose. The name's Virgil, though most call me Virg," the corpse started. The trainer took a slow breath, slightly gurgling at inhalation, then responded. "Alex."

"As for where you are, it'll be hard to describe if you didn't come here of your own accord." Virgil began. "Some might think of this place as limbo, though that wouldn't be entirely accurate. You've passed limbo and moved on even further. You see, if a soul dies it has to pass through to the afterlife but how do you think that happens?" The way the undead spoke began to set off thoughts in the young man's head. Past limbo? Then was this Purgatory, and if so, was he in the land of the dead? It seemed to be the case, but he'd have to confirm it. "Afterlife? Th...that'd be through some sort of gateway of sorts..."

"So, it's never straightforward. Souls have to be carried, moved, from one place to another and first obtain confirmation of being deceased before moving on." On hearing this, Alex had a bad feeling about being in this place. "It's very important the realms of the living and the dead are seperated which is why are almost no direct connections - you need a bridge, a connector, something to divide the two worlds. This is where you are; it is one of such places that exists between the realm of the living and the dead. Understood so far?"

"...right, so it's kinda like...Purgatory, where the dead await Judgment from the gods in the days of old?"

"These places are shaped by the beliefs of the souls and mirror their worlds as close as possible. In the old days they believed you had to cross a river, or walk through a labyrinth. Those places still exist as well I suppose though the idea sounds ridiculous if you ask me. Nowadays people know of trains and imagine trains. Who knows what new world wil be created in the future. Either way, I'm getting off track..." Virgil continued, before pausing as though to let it sink in to Alex.

"Yeah, kinda like that...though in the future if technology's anything to go by we'll be using teleporters or something...what's this have to do with me being here?" Alex asked, and judging by the way Virg was rubbing his hands, he had a grim feeling on what was coming, given the fact he was still walking after that impact...oh no. Oh Arceus above, light of the sun and moon, let it not be what I think it is...

"To move onto your situation...well..."

"...you're dead."

Two words hit him with a force an unimaginable volume of magnitudes more than the train crash, what colour on his face drained. Impossible, he thought, until Virgil continued. "I’m sorry, there’s no easy way to put this but this land is meant for those who moved on from the living world. Once you’re here you become part of the dead. And there’s no turning back so don’t even ask. The worlds are meant to be separate. The moment you crossed the threshold you sentenced yourself to this place for eternity."

Alex was in a state of numb shock, only capable of giving a slow nod as his mind attempted to process what he had heard, trying to figure how he could have expired so to say. The zombie's wave of arms in protest caught his wandering attention, "even if you wanted tothe path is blocked for now. You mentioned the word ‘banshee’ earlier? I’m guessing that means you ran into that blasted white wretch?"

"Y-yeah...it torched most of the train, but I managed to repel it twice..."

"That damn howling woman is the whole reason everything here is at a standstill. We haven’t been able to move any souls to the realm of the dead for years because of her. Worse yet, souls from the living realm can’t be transported here. No train can move in or out. No train safe for this one," he grumbled, motioning to the skull train. The very same one from Phantom Isle. "Strange thing is, it’s not one of ours. We have no idea where it came from, what it’s purpose is or where it goes - but it keeps showing up. This is the first time we’ve found a passenger on it though."

The sneer directed at Alex reinforced the suspicion Virgil had upon him, but Alex continued to listen, seeking as much information as possible as he tried to come to terms with the prior bombshell regarding his mortality. "Still, I wonder how the other realm is fairing. Spirits can become restless if they remain in the living world for too long. All that build-up of souls, I can’t imagine what it would be like." Despite knowing, Alex remained silent, until one of the wisps came up and began to pester the two, forcing the undead to shoo it away.

"So that leaves the last part you need to be informed on. I’m sure you’ve noticed the will-o-wisps floating around. In case you haven’t guessed yet; these are the spirits that are waiting to be transported to the next realm. The ones here outside are those of Pokémon most likely; shy spirits tend to hide their form after all." He had the feeling this was the case, which could also explain the Houndoom by Virgil's side, with no fears it could assume a natural form.

"However," the zombie's voice becoming graver. "This leaves the question of what that makes you. You see, when a creature’s time is up they earn their passage and stay to the next realm. You cheated on life and passed on to the next realm on your own – before it was your time." He tried to open his mouth to protest, but Virgil continued. "Sadly, you don’t get to skip life and move on to paradise just like that. Like every soul before you, you have to earn your place first. Since you didn’t earn your place while in the realm of the living, you now have to earn it here before being allowed to move on. This is reflected in your state; you’re a corpse and not a spirit, and trust me when I say that working off your debt here takes a lot longer than it does in the realm of the living – it’s a punishment for trying to cheat after all. Considering you’re young I think you’re looking at centuries of work."

As if the prior whammy didn't hit hard enough, he wasn't finished. "Oh, and since you’re dead, be ready for your body to start decomposing. That’s right buddy, look at my rotting face; this is what your future will look like pretty soon. By the time you’re done here I’m sure there’ll be nothing left of you than bone and eye." Alex was crestfallen, yet as he made the next statement, any doubts Alex had about his demise were put to the sword. "You still have some time before it starts though. You might not have noticed but I bet your heart has started beating slower." Raising a trembling hand to chest, he indeed felt his heart beating very slow, the pain in his chest now a dull ache rather than agony.

The hand on the shoulder from Virgil had some air of reassurance as he apologised, before leaving Alex to his thoughts after asking him to head to his office when ready. In the decaying ash of the deadlands, Alex looked around forlorn, slowly trudging towards a wall and laying down by it, hand over eyes, partly to give the impression of thought, but also to veil the stem of fluid streaming from eyes. No if, and or buts about it. He was dead.

And then Alex gave a small chuckle, which then grew into an ironic cackle. "Haaaah...what an undignified way to go!"

Deep inside, he put together his understanding of what he learned. Phantom Isle's ghost train serves as a connection between this land of the dead and the land of the living. Virg said I became one with the dead on entry, which means the moment that we entered the darkness, our lives ended...both mine and Austin...and if the entry didn't kill me, that impact did. I woulda drowned in my own blood...what a way to die.

That aside, what I know of the land above and what he said about souls...there's no damn way the ghost train fire and the lack of souls flowing isn't connected, and I'll be damned even more than I am already if the banshee isn't connected either. It'd also explain the many ghosts in the park unable to move on, if this was the only train going. I really should clear up some of the things I know of the land above with Virgil, and admit I wasn't alone...oh gods, would this mean I brought Paine, Mjolnir and Tantalia to their doom too? Surely not...

...but one thing's clear to me. There's definitely ways back from death to life, and even if it takes me a millenium, I'll find a way back. Shuppet and Banette come from somewhere after all, and I think Yamask were once human too. Have to admit, didn't mean to come here, just wanted to find out what caused the fire in the first place...I can't just sit here dour all eternity. I'll see what this Virgil guy's got planned for me, explain how I managed to survive the banshee, tell him about that kid who fell off, and then...try and find some way to end the suffering of everything here. If it means I end up a psychopomp, well...at least I know someone with a reputation as one.


Climbing to his feet and dusting himself off, Alex continued to breathe, raspy gurgle with each breath out of natural habit, and started towards the office, defeated but not broken in spirit as he ensured his pokeballs were in check, whispering apologies to his team. He had no idea how he'd break it to the squad he'd died, but he at least had to make them see the funny side. And well, if he ever did find a way back to the land of the living, he'd get them to perhaps give him a proper burial.
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Old 06-26-2017, 01:02 PM   #16
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Originally Posted by Ex-Admiral Insane View Post
(Maudlin, what did you do to the office. This doesn’t look anything like the place I remember? *Dead Ratatta says nothing*. What do you mean I should consider this place to be under new management?)

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Liltwick: ~ See Update Batch #1, #2, #3, #4, #7 and #12
The first thing on your mind was to retreat the unconscious Kai to the safety of his Pokéball. Better he rest in there than continue being dragged along in his comatose state you reckon. You heard the faint cries in the distant, its source unrecognisable. You call out another partner Pokémon of yours. Wisp comes forth and hops into your arms. The two of you give only a look but the Litwick understood something was wrong. That much was certain when you took in your surroundings. The faint sense of obliteration littered the ruins, as if civilisations came here to be forgotten and removed from the world.

You felt like a ghost amongst the ruins yourselves and with no sure way of where to go, opt to follow the cries in the hopes of finding someone or something. The crying never stopped, making it easy for you to find the path where the lamenting got louder. You wander amongst the broken remains of buildings as you got closer and pretty soon you heard other cries with softly uttered words in between.

“Why…why..”

“Where am I?”

“Help”

Each voice was a quiet cry for help made of only sobs. Eventually you come up to find the source of the lamenting only to stand dead in your shoes when you see it. An ethereal being, a woman you reckon, was crouched with her back to the wall of a broken-down building. She rocked back and forth in her place, continuing to cry softly. “Why...I don’t know…why..” The catatonic ghost didn’t even so much as recognise your presence, continuing to stir in her misery. If you tried to get closer or even talk to her, the ghost merely said “leave me alone” with a sorrowful voice, never stopping her movements as he rocked back and forth. The woman merely continued, ignoring your presence altogether.

It is then, when you look at the other ruins that you notice other spirits in a similar pose. Each of them mourning in their own place separate from one another and weeping while crying out regrets or questions.

“..where are you…”

“…where am I…”

“…why?...”

“…I didn’t know…I didn’t know…”

None of them so much as took a moment to look at you or cease what they were doing. Except one. A darkly clad boy passes by one of the walls. He was close, close enough for you to tell this wasn’t a spirit like the rest of them. You weren’t able to see through him and he wasn’t in a perpetuating state of misery like the rest. The boy notices you too and gasps almost in surprise. Instantly, he walks towards you, then paces himself and then practically runs with grim excitement on his face.

The boy comes closer into view and you can tell by his pale skin tone and tattered layers of dark clothing that he belonged to a small clique of specific people with specific interests; hex maniacs, or spiritualist as they preferred to call themselves. “Oh my- wow,” he grabs a hold of you and shakes. “You’re real!? Another real life person in here. Are you also a spiritualist like me? Who are you? Why did you come here? I can’t believe I found another person who can channel themselves here.” The boy continues to shake you with excitement, clearly intrigued by finding you in this desert.

“Tell me what else you can do. Did you master the nine sacred arts? Did you manage to levitate once?” He stops shaking you for a while and pants from exhaustion. He bursts into a laughing cackle, the type that would make most people’s skin crawl.

He turns back to his questioning. “You have to tell me everything about you. Maybe I can help you?” His still, smiling face was dangerously close to yours at this point. “I’m looking for something here too. Maybe we can help each other?”

“Tell me,” he gives you another shake. “Tell me, tell me.”

Whoever this person was, he clearly had an idea of where you two were and was more than eager at having come across you. You could answer and perhaps even get some information out of him. He did ask if you two could team up, but his ghastly excitement and boundary issues were a tad scary to say the least so perhaps that might not be the best option. Still, you would have to find a way to deal with the Hex Maniac spiritualist and his, literal, clutches.

What do you do?
Austin looked at the desperate hex maniac with wary eyes. So it would seem he wasn't the only one trapped here in this weird limbo. Was this purgatory? Or a reality marble created due to the the mass amounts of the dead that lived within the isles? This boy seemed human, but he could be no more than a wraith... A restless spirit that doesn't even realize it's own death. There were too many possibilities to think over, but it seemed that he wasn't a departed soul to Wisp... At least that was a good sign. Still, the way he was desperately clutching the brunette set him on edge.

"Uh, I just fell down here from the train I was on... That's all. I'm not a mage..." Austin muttered, dodging the personal questions and being a bit uncomfortable with the distance, or more accurately the lack of, between the two. The last time he was physically close to someone... Was before that day. He couldn't remember, but he could feel that was true. Collecting himself, he created a gap between the desperate hexer and continued walking forwards.

"Still.... sitting around and crying solves nothing. I think the Pokemon surrounding me went in this direction, so I'm going to continue that way. If there is any way to escape, they might know..." The teen spoke under his breath, adjusting his mask. it felt like he was already stepping on needles. Why did the only human... If he was truly human at this point.. be a crazed Hex Maniac? "Oh, speaking of them, have you seen a group of ragtag Pokemon around here? It might help out."

With his responses and questions out of the way, Austin continued to head forwards. He didn't care to see if they Hex Maniac was following him or not, he had a feeling that they would be. Just.... He just didn't need to get attached. He had his own Pokemon to deal with anyways. Austin quickly looked up at the pitch black darkness. How was that trainer her ran into earlier doing? It was hard to know at this point. He continued to walk through the desolate land, awaiting for an answer to his questions.
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Old 07-02-2017, 08:02 PM   #17
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Fortune Teller’s Tent
Meetan: ~ (Rewriting your memory for PI reasons ;).)
You wandered through the gardens, the tranquil setting being ideal for a child to play in, but a noise coming from the shed attracted your attention instead. You nervously stepped towards it, inching closer to the opening and in want of calling out a name, which you didn’t. You poke your head inside to find the fridge door open, its contents spilled across the floor, one of which was an open tub of ice cream that shook lightly in its place. A small creature emerged from within and was startled by your presence.

“Esp-Espurr!”

The small, pink-coloured cat Pokémon took a few anxious steps back but you try to reassure it, though you yourself stumble a bit backwards out of fear of the Pokémon attacking. You stretch out a hand to the Espurr who nervously approaches you and sniffs carefully. Your mother wasn’t going to be happy about the Pokémon having broken into the fridge, nor would she be happy about you bringing a Pokémon into the house, but…

You offer to sneak the Espurr inside and get some ice for it. For some reason you didn’t really question the line of thought just yet. It is only a little later, once you start befriending the Pokémon a bit more that you’re wondering why you’re getting ice for an Espurr. They weren’t particularly inclined to the cold though, were they?

Your head pangs with sudden pain, like the onset of a migraine. Piece by piece your memory was reshaping to its former self once again, and in seconds you were your old self again; except you were trapped in a younger body, and Masaru…

Masaru!

What was the Espurr doing here instead? This wasn’t how you recalled the memory yet here the Espurr was enjoying your company and everything you gave it where the Ice-typed Swinub was supposed to be. What did the Espurr do to Masaru?

How do you react to it?[/COLOR][/SIZE]
Alice's room was as stereotypical for a girl as it could be: the walls were painted pink, the lampshade and curtains all matching and decorated with swirls and shapes. A white cabin bed with a ladder was set against the back wall, various furniture pieces of the same wood matching it. She had a TV with some consoles and a tape player, and a bookcase packed tight with books, comics, magazines and videos and there was a calender hanging on the back of the door. The picture depicted a beach scene of water Pokemon, Wingull soaring in an azure sky, perfect for a summer month.

The little girl was lucky that there was a bean bag nearby, because she practically crumpled over into it, her tiny body curling up as she whimpered and cried; little hands grasping the head that was stuffed into the hot pink bag. Alice thought she would scream with the agony as her memories set themselves back into place, fighting back against another life that didn't make a lot of sense. It took a few minutes before the trainer sat up, inhaling shakily, and peered down at the Espurr, and then around at the room. Her own room...?

A full length mirror alarmed Alice that she was not truly herself. She was skinnier, in the body of a child-- of herself-- and she stared, hands pressing around her face and hair and the rest of her as if there might be a disparity in the reflection. Blue eyes were drawn to the windowsill, peering out into a regular housing estate with a view of the town beyond. There were picture frames, too, of herself with her mother (who she looked nothing like), of her father (which she did) and a baby Shinx. Was that supposed to be the Pokemon replacement of their pet cat? It was like an alternate reality to her own-- if she had been in this world all along...

"Holy fuck, I'm gonna be sick." That was how Alice was going to react, apparently, and the 'child' convulsed. The bathroom was only next door, and with haste, she went and unloaded whatever her child self might have eaten into the toilet, feeling utterly disgusting and quite dazed. The trainer's reflection in the mirror lacked make-up, and looked even pastier (which probably bordered, appropriately, on ghostly).

The theme park had given her a wild ride, and she wanted Masaru, and then to get the hell off it.
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Old 08-17-2017, 04:25 PM   #18
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(*A maggot crawls out of the dead Rattata’s mouth.* Maudlin, your lunch is escaping.)

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The Park

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Funhouse
Missingo Master:
Meowth:
There was no way you were going to get in for a close attack. Before you would even be able to reach the Inkay and ghost child they would launch their own volley and push you back, and the narrow confines of the crawlspace didn’t allow much in the ways of evasion. A special move, a distant one, would be more optimal but the first move that came to mind was Hypnosis and Dream Eater. You shrug that thought off immediately. Bad idea to use that against a Psychic/Dark type. Even in a Topsy-Turvy world that might be hazardous. You recall the last time you had tried that, in vain. Keith had even so much as warned you about using those moves again.

And then it struck you. Of course, Bide was a move that could fire a large concentrated beam, but it would require you to withstand the full brunt of a few attacks first. You gave away the slightest of grins though, as you recall that the Inkay was stockpiling Psychic upon Psychic-type moves. It would be the perfect move.

The Inkay charges another spark of luminescent light at the beak, while you cross your arms charging your own energy in the form of an aura. The Inkay and ghost child stood in brief surprise at what you were planning but upon seeing your lack of movement chuckle and continue their attack nonetheless, clearly unaware of what you were planning. The Inkay fires of a Psywave attack, the maximum amount of rings managing to charge up and releasing themselves. One by one the rings strike you with small pinpricks of force, slowly shoving you back to the edge with each attack while you grimaced in pain. By the time the last Psywave ring had dissipated the Bide’s aura had not yet been broken. Your two aggressors take note of your lack of movement and deceive themselves into thinking the battle is nearly won.

“Inkay, use Psybeam.”

“Ink Inkay,” and another multicoloured beam of energy shot from the squid Pokémon’s body. The attack connected and pushed you back even further. You felt the chimney’s shaft encroaching upon you.

“Hold on Inkay. We’ve almost won.”

The Bide’s aura was still not broken and the back of your feet had passed the ledge, forcing you to balance on your toes. Almost…
You felt a surge of energy rise through your body as the last bit of energy needed was soaked up. In a splendorous display you unfold your arms and a brilliant white beam of focussed energy shot from your aura, easily overtaking the Psybeam and colliding with the Inkay. The whole corridor was lit up with the Psychic-typed, white light and you hear the muffled sounds of the Inkay being unable to withstand the super-effective, brute force of the Bide.

Seconds passed and eventually your attack dissipates. The Inkay’s body was spinning on its axis in tandem with its pupils which betrayed clear signs of having been knocked out. The Inkay’s body floats gracelessly towards the floor. The ghost child reaches out to grab it and within a moment you see the two of them vanish as the corridor twists around you, peeling back the dark layers to make way for dusty, prime-coloured panels. The whole room shifted as the effects of the Topsy-Turvy were being reverted and space itself was being restored. Shortly thereafter, you find you were actually standing on the ceiling by means of a painful thud as you connected with the ground.

[Success! Meowth gains 2 levels for beating the Inkay.]

The walkie-talkie didn’t work anymore. No matter how much you wanted to try the device had returned to being a mere toy, granting you no direct means of communication with Keith or Myrtle. The entirety of the Kitchen area, as you had found after climbing out of the chimney, was formatted as one-part crooked house and one-part jungle gym, its walls lined with padding in sharp corners – not that it had helped you in Topsy-Turvy world. The dining table was back to normal and consisted of the same plastic plates, cutlery, cups and food you saw before glued to a table that was just big enough for a toddler to hide under. A last bit of hope was given to you as arrows were drawn underneath the words exit that could lead you through the door marked “Cooler” and out of the room.

Your walkie-talkie had returned to life in the new room. That was at least a small bit of reassurance you were given as when you stared into the vast complexity of the Staircase room you found an M.C. Escher-designed Hogwarts lay-out of stairs with seemingly impossible turns connecting walls, ceiling and plateaus alike. The only doors you found were halfway up the walls at disjointed angles. Never mind finding the exit to this room, how were you going to get there?

What will Meowth do?

Keith:
Fang was tired from the continuous use of three-movers. He had to rest, and the ghost child was not going to grant him that so easily. Seeing your Pokémon’s fatigued state, the child and Inkay capitalise on it by firing another Psybeam. A direct hit. Fang was blown back in flurry, twirling in place like a dazed twister. He was near knock-out and wouldn’t be able to hold on for long if this was going to continue.

He quickly recuperates on hearing your orders and tries his best. From the tips of his leafy arms, energy constructs emerge like vines. The Inkay, too restricted in movement by your earlier Leech Seed, soon finds itself equally entwined by the Giga Drain.

“No!” the ghost child roared. “Inkay, try and get out!” The Inkay did its best but to little avail as paralysis hindered its movement even further.

Pearls of green energy travelled along the length of the vines which your Pokémon greedily soaks up. With the double-coiled Inkay held in place, Fang managed to hold on for longer than usual as each glob of energy revitalised him more, inspiring him to hold on for even longer.

The Giga Drain’s vines eventually had to recoil as Giga Drain’s turn ended, your Fang feeling as strong as he had moments before the battle.

“Now Inkay, attack.”

“Ink,” the Pokémon gasps. “Ink…inkay.”

“What’s wrong? Use Psybeam. Hurry!”

Fang follows the last of your orders quickly. Energy gathered inside his throat, soon filling up his entire mouth. A strange and dark colour rocketed from behind his fangs, easily striking the exhausted Inkay. The attack didn’t have to hold on for long. Soon after the attack had landed the Inkay’s body succumbed to the strange force of the [B]Nature Power[B]. The Inkay released its grip on consciousness and dropped raggedly, fading out of visibility alongside his partner ghost who was shouting confused statements loss, impossibility and unfairness.

[Success! Fang gains 2 levels from beating the Inkay.]
[Fang also gets 2 levels from beating the Inkay in the Hallway area which were neglected up until now.
]

A familiar spectacle played itself before your eyes as the room’s colours, shape and size reverted back to their proper dimensions. The whole display was dizzying for you and Fang but the ordeal quickened itself with a bright flash and soon after, you and Fang find yourself back in normal reality. You were in a kiddie’s ball-pit, that was easily to tell; the soft rubber edges of the pool were supposed to hold all the colourful, plastic balls except they had been scattered across the floor outside of the rink, like some sort of rough-and-tumble had recently occurred.

There were two easy exits to identify. On was the Ekans-tail slide spiralling upwards where it disappeared into the wall. The other was a door standing opposite and was most likely the very same door you had come through earlier. You knew were both of these led in Topsy-Turvy world. Which do you take now that you had returned? The walkie-talkies weren’t going to help, you wouldn’t even have to check to know that, both Meowth and Myrtle were going to be out of direct communication range for the time being.

What will Keith do?


kawaiiconcept: ~ last update


Fortune Teller’s Tent
Meetan:
You gazed deeper into the bathroom’s mirror. Your childish designs were thinner and paler from both exhaustion and the scare Phantom Isle had given you. The memories had settled nicely back into the back of your mind once more. The frequent disappearance and re-emergence was taking a toll on your body, physically and mentally. It was becoming harder and harder to tell what was real and what wasn’t. And Masaru, Masaru was still nowhere to be found. He should have been here, fitting nicely into the memory of having met him for the first time, but instead an Espurr was surrogating the role. You were about to be sick again…

Back in your room the cat-like Pokémon betrayed one of the first of her personalities, namely that of a curious mind. While you were gone discovering your child stomach’s contents, the Espurr had taken an interest in discovering your room. Your wardrobe was dishevelled, clothes scattered across your childhood room while various toys were brought out in a half-willed attempt to play with them. Nothing was broken, but still. The pounding in your head began again. By now you had an idea of what this meant; your memories were about to readjust themselves once more. The Espurr looked at you worryingly and came to your aid, though there would be little she could do. Your vision started distorting itself again and blackness soon swooped in front of your eyes before a pinprick of light emerged that came through the slit underneath the bed.

Back to an earlier memory you had visited, the one of you and your mother playing hide-and-seek. Last time, you left when your mother was urging you to go under the bed. She put a hand against her lip to be quiet. You heard commotion coming from further away. Shouting? Someone was having an argument. Your feet were abruptly pulled back by the darkness and your body was quickly torn away from the memory once again. A flash of light hits your eyes and rests easily once more.



It was a calm and pleasant day in the forest. Unlike before, your memories had remained intact this time. You recall everything still from Phantom Isle and the bizarre attempts it had made on revisiting your adulterated memories. This one would likely be no different, as you found yourself in the younger body you were in when this memory played out. You recall this instance vividly; the time you were nearly attacked (and/or chased) by a Persian. The forest itself was just like any other and didn’t appear much different than last time. You gaze through the treetops in search of the Pokémon. No sign of the Persian, yet. Aside from that, the only change noticeable so far was that the Espurr had surprisingly travelled with you this time. Sitting in a crash-landing position amongst the fallen foliage lay the little kitten, gazing at you in slight panic of the change in scenery. Her ears perked up – she had picked up on something.

“Purrrrrrsssian,” something purred. There was no indication where the sound came from but you remember in your heart that you were about to be attacked.

It’s younger you, the Espurr and the violent Persian from your memories.

What do you do?


The Ghost Train
Fishyfool:
You felt somewhat defeated after hearing all you had, but remained determined that there must be at least some way to get out of here. If not for you, then perhaps for your partners. Perhaps if you explained everything to Virgil the two of you could find some way. Even if he did protest the very idea before it had even been suggested.

You pick yourself up and head inside the glass train station. The glass itself was rather opaque, obscuring the view of much what was inside, but once through the crystal revolving door, you emerged into a vast complex of nineteenth-century gothic architecture. Polished stone plates were lined neatly in the floor, reaching far to the other side while supporting decorated, obsidian pillars which in turn supported the scaffolding upon which the glass dome rested. Various stalls and vendor resided within alcoves, separated by stony columns. A multitude of benches were installed throughout the station, each occupied by a glum spirit. The area was packed with them, the floor obscured by their stacked bodies as most were forced to stand or lie on the ground due to lack of space. Despite the enormity of the crowd that inhabited the place, there was not a single voice to be heard as each spirit was too defeated to so much as utter a single word to one another. It was a silence of the dead masses.

The same wisps you saw outside drifted amongst the crowd, ignored by all. One such wisp surprised you as it jumped into the sight from behind you. You recalled Virgil having said they were the spirits of shy beings, in all likelihood Pokémon. The wisp started dancing around you in an erratic fashion but was unable to make any discernible sound or portray a single feeling. Strangely, you wondered if this was the same will-o-wisp that bothered you and Virgil outside. The wisp wouldn’t leave, even if you tried to shoo it away, and merely continued its prancing, stopping every now and again in front of you before repeating itself.

The office was easily located. To your side you found a small kiosk of sorts nestled into the architecture as if a part of it. The last of the undead conductors were entering it, but it was the lone skeleton standing just a way off from it that attracted your attention. Crammed into a dark corner behind a column, away from the crowd of spirits, a single skeleton stared at you and beckoned for you to come over. His lidless eyes continued their stare in anxious anticipation and you felt for a moment a familiarity, as if you had met him before.

The will-o-wisp, the crowd of spirits, the conductor’s office and now a lone skeleton. As if you didn’t have enough to handle with your ordeal there appeared to be a lot more going on for you to uncover. Most of all, the skeleton, which appeared to want to remain out of clear view, was clearly eager to talk to you.

What do you do?


Lil’twick:
"Uh, I just fell down here from the train I was on... That's all. I'm not a mage..."

“Oh.”

“Oh,” the boy’s grip loosens slightly as he gazes a bit more gloomy and you take the chance to create a bit of distance between you and the overly intimate spiritualist. You declare you saw some Pokémon earlier and are looking for them, asking the Hex Maniac if he might have seen them. The boy looks at you, slightly bewildered and sullen still before listlessly pointing into the distance behind.

You had your answer and you set out. You paid no mind to the Hex Maniac. If he wanted to follow he could but you weren’t going to force it out of him. His silence continues along with your own as you make your way around ruins of broken walls and shattered church towers, when suddenly the voice of the boy perks up behind you, shouting at you.

“Wait! I know how to get out!”

Just as before, the boy’s ecstatic expression was plastered across his face as he hurried towards you with incessant zealotry. He runs up to you in a flash put stops suddenly, just a mere few steps away. He stares in shock at the air up ahead of you – a view blocked to you by the nearvy wall – before sprinting with even more fervour in your direction. His expression had turned white as a sheet, fear having taken a hold of him. He closes in and you realise last-minute that he wasn’t going to slow down. It was too late for you to react by the time he had caught up and before you knew it he forcefully tackled you down to the ground. You want to move, reach up or shout out (whatever you prefer) but the boy pins you down and clasps a hand around your mask before placing a finger from his other against his lips. He urges you to move closer to the wall while he crawls himself. The two of you press yourself against the cobblestone. You didn’t know what was going on at first until a shadow grew across the ground. You looked up, the boy’s hand clasping itself around your mask once again just in case as you witnessed a giant hand floating gently above you - a hand twice the size of full-grown adults, made of elephant-grey skin and smooth, stocky fingers.

The hand continued its float above you before moving on and disappearing around a pile of stones. The boy didn’t let go of your mask for a few more moments though but when he felt it was safe to talk again he unclasped his hand and gave a huge sigh of relief.

“Those things,” he speaks in a quieter tone, “are the wardens of this place. They scour the land for those who don’t belong and destroy them.” He looks you dead in the eye. “That means you and me.” He gazes back into the distance to note if there are any signs of the hand re-emerging, then looks back at you, his Cheshire grin having near-returned. “The wardens are strong. Even if you managed to defeat one, the others will be alerted and come swarming to your place. They’re the sharks of the dead.”

“Now, about your quest. I know how to get out of this place. It’s easy for me to leave. I’m only channeling my spirit, so I can leave whenever I want to. But you, if you’re really not a spiritualist then you’re in deep trouble. You’re not going to find a way out unless you have my help.”

“There’s a legend,” he continues to explain, “that there’s an artefact in this realm. It was rumoured to be made by the gods themselves, and it was made in a different realm. The gods placed it here so that they may return if they were ever trapped here.”

“That artefact…" He pokes his head around the corner of the wall and looks out into the distance. His full grin returned again and he grabbed another excited hold of you. “I know where it is. It can help you get out.”

“You want to find those Pokémon first though, right? So how about we find your Pokémon, then go find the artefact and get you out of here? Even if you didn’t want my help, the other grey watchers will catch you if you’re on your own. You need my help.”

How does Austin respond?


The Hotel
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Old 08-17-2017, 07:05 PM   #19
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(*A maggot crawls out of the dead Rattata’s mouth.* Maudlin, your lunch is escaping.)

Fortune Teller’s Tent
Meetan:
You gazed deeper into the bathroom’s mirror. Your childish designs were thinner and paler from both exhaustion and the scare Phantom Isle had given you. The memories had settled nicely back into the back of your mind once more. The frequent disappearance and re-emergence was taking a toll on your body, physically and mentally. It was becoming harder and harder to tell what was real and what wasn’t. And Masaru, Masaru was still nowhere to be found. He should have been here, fitting nicely into the memory of having met him for the first time, but instead an Espurr was surrogating the role. You were about to be sick again…

Back in your room the cat-like Pokémon betrayed one of the first of her personalities, namely that of a curious mind. While you were gone discovering your child stomach’s contents, the Espurr had taken an interest in discovering your room. Your wardrobe was dishevelled, clothes scattered across your childhood room while various toys were brought out in a half-willed attempt to play with them. Nothing was broken, but still. The pounding in your head began again. By now you had an idea of what this meant; your memories were about to readjust themselves once more. The Espurr looked at you worryingly and came to your aid, though there would be little she could do. Your vision started distorting itself again and blackness soon swooped in front of your eyes before a pinprick of light emerged that came through the slit underneath the bed.

Back to an earlier memory you had visited, the one of you and your mother playing hide-and-seek. Last time, you left when your mother was urging you to go under the bed. She put a hand against her lip to be quiet. You heard commotion coming from further away. Shouting? Someone was having an argument. Your feet were abruptly pulled back by the darkness and your body was quickly torn away from the memory once again. A flash of light hits your eyes and rests easily once more.



It was a calm and pleasant day in the forest. Unlike before, your memories had remained intact this time. You recall everything still from Phantom Isle and the bizarre attempts it had made on revisiting your adulterated memories. This one would likely be no different, as you found yourself in the younger body you were in when this memory played out. You recall this instance vividly; the time you were nearly attacked (and/or chased) by a Persian. The forest itself was just like any other and didn’t appear much different than last time. You gaze through the treetops in search of the Pokémon. No sign of the Persian, yet. Aside from that, the only change noticeable so far was that the Espurr had surprisingly travelled with you this time. Sitting in a crash-landing position amongst the fallen foliage lay the little kitten, gazing at you in slight panic of the change in scenery. Her ears perked up – she had picked up on something.

“Purrrrrrsssian,” something purred. There was no indication where the sound came from but you remember in your heart that you were about to be attacked.

It’s younger you, the Espurr and the violent Persian from your memories.

What do you do?[/COLOR]
((Maudlin, that's gross. Sort that shit out, mate.))

Alice could vaguely hear the Espurr raiding her old bedroom, honestly intrigued as to what it found. As it was, she was more occupied by the fact that she thought she was gonna hurl again (nice), and then by the nausea that gripped her again. Her words were slurred, but the child complained about how she was 'tired of this, holy shit' before her feet caved in. Smaller still, Alice didn't feel the impact of landing, but did realise that she was flopped onto her stomach under the bed again. This time, there was arguing, but Alice couldn't think of who else might be present in the house. Her grandparents, one of her uncles, maybe...?

Then, by surprise, the darkness gripped her and the little one screamed. The sound dissipated into whimpered panting, the blonde once again trying to catch her breath. At least this time Alice still remembered who she was, her head pounding. It was so peculiar. She recognised this place. It wasn't the forest behind her old house, but another that held some familiarity, although it wasn't so close to anywhere she might label 'home'. An adult trapped in a teeny tiny vessel, she picked her bruised and scratched body from the floor, peering at Espurr through uneven glasses. That Persian made her remember what illness felt like, and undiluted fear. So, she had been attacked.

Her first instinct was to try and climb a tree. Adult Alice wasn't so great at it, but as childhood memories filled in, she remembered the skill and enthusiasm for the outdoors and adventure. As it was, Persian could probably climb faster, and take off her feet for the mistake. It was time to embrace what growing up had taught her, and that was Pokemon battling.

"Espurr, you're not Masaru, but we're both gonna get wrecked if we don't do this together!" Alice announced, and the sound of her own immature voice spouting such words was really weird. It was like she was in South Park or something. Screw this nightmare, I'm goin' home. "Can you battle? Use light screen, and once that Persian shows up, fling it for miles with confusion! If we can get some distance on it, we might have a shot!"
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Old 08-17-2017, 09:26 PM   #20
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(*A maggot crawls out of the dead Rattata’s mouth.* Maudlin, your lunch is escaping.)

~Please reply in Slategray~

The Park

Funhouse
Missingo Master:
Meowth:
There was no way you were going to get in for a close attack. Before you would even be able to reach the Inkay and ghost child they would launch their own volley and push you back, and the narrow confines of the crawlspace didn’t allow much in the ways of evasion. A special move, a distant one, would be more optimal but the first move that came to mind was Hypnosis and Dream Eater. You shrug that thought off immediately. Bad idea to use that against a Psychic/Dark type. Even in a Topsy-Turvy world that might be hazardous. You recall the last time you had tried that, in vain. Keith had even so much as warned you about using those moves again.

And then it struck you. Of course, Bide was a move that could fire a large concentrated beam, but it would require you to withstand the full brunt of a few attacks first. You gave away the slightest of grins though, as you recall that the Inkay was stockpiling Psychic upon Psychic-type moves. It would be the perfect move.

The Inkay charges another spark of luminescent light at the beak, while you cross your arms charging your own energy in the form of an aura. The Inkay and ghost child stood in brief surprise at what you were planning but upon seeing your lack of movement chuckle and continue their attack nonetheless, clearly unaware of what you were planning. The Inkay fires of a Psywave attack, the maximum amount of rings managing to charge up and releasing themselves. One by one the rings strike you with small pinpricks of force, slowly shoving you back to the edge with each attack while you grimaced in pain. By the time the last Psywave ring had dissipated the Bide’s aura had not yet been broken. Your two aggressors take note of your lack of movement and deceive themselves into thinking the battle is nearly won.

“Inkay, use Psybeam.”

“Ink Inkay,” and another multicoloured beam of energy shot from the squid Pokémon’s body. The attack connected and pushed you back even further. You felt the chimney’s shaft encroaching upon you.

“Hold on Inkay. We’ve almost won.”

The Bide’s aura was still not broken and the back of your feet had passed the ledge, forcing you to balance on your toes. Almost…
You felt a surge of energy rise through your body as the last bit of energy needed was soaked up. In a splendorous display you unfold your arms and a brilliant white beam of focussed energy shot from your aura, easily overtaking the Psybeam and colliding with the Inkay. The whole corridor was lit up with the Psychic-typed, white light and you hear the muffled sounds of the Inkay being unable to withstand the super-effective, brute force of the Bide.

Seconds passed and eventually your attack dissipates. The Inkay’s body was spinning on its axis in tandem with its pupils which betrayed clear signs of having been knocked out. The Inkay’s body floats gracelessly towards the floor. The ghost child reaches out to grab it and within a moment you see the two of them vanish as the corridor twists around you, peeling back the dark layers to make way for dusty, prime-coloured panels. The whole room shifted as the effects of the Topsy-Turvy were being reverted and space itself was being restored. Shortly thereafter, you find you were actually standing on the ceiling by means of a painful thud as you connected with the ground.

[Success! Meowth gains 2 levels for beating the Inkay.]

The walkie-talkie didn’t work anymore. No matter how much you wanted to try the device had returned to being a mere toy, granting you no direct means of communication with Keith or Myrtle. The entirety of the Kitchen area, as you had found after climbing out of the chimney, was formatted as one-part crooked house and one-part jungle gym, its walls lined with padding in sharp corners – not that it had helped you in Topsy-Turvy world. The dining table was back to normal and consisted of the same plastic plates, cutlery, cups and food you saw before glued to a table that was just big enough for a toddler to hide under. A last bit of hope was given to you as arrows were drawn underneath the words exit that could lead you through the door marked “Cooler” and out of the room.

Your walkie-talkie had returned to life in the new room. That was at least a small bit of reassurance you were given as when you stared into the vast complexity of the Staircase room you found an M.C. Escher-designed Hogwarts lay-out of stairs with seemingly impossible turns connecting walls, ceiling and plateaus alike. The only doors you found were halfway up the walls at disjointed angles. Never mind finding the exit to this room, how were you going to get there?

What will Meowth do?

Keith:
Fang was tired from the continuous use of three-movers. He had to rest, and the ghost child was not going to grant him that so easily. Seeing your Pokémon’s fatigued state, the child and Inkay capitalise on it by firing another Psybeam. A direct hit. Fang was blown back in flurry, twirling in place like a dazed twister. He was near knock-out and wouldn’t be able to hold on for long if this was going to continue.

He quickly recuperates on hearing your orders and tries his best. From the tips of his leafy arms, energy constructs emerge like vines. The Inkay, too restricted in movement by your earlier Leech Seed, soon finds itself equally entwined by the Giga Drain.

“No!” the ghost child roared. “Inkay, try and get out!” The Inkay did its best but to little avail as paralysis hindered its movement even further.

Pearls of green energy travelled along the length of the vines which your Pokémon greedily soaks up. With the double-coiled Inkay held in place, Fang managed to hold on for longer than usual as each glob of energy revitalised him more, inspiring him to hold on for even longer.

The Giga Drain’s vines eventually had to recoil as Giga Drain’s turn ended, your Fang feeling as strong as he had moments before the battle.

“Now Inkay, attack.”

“Ink,” the Pokémon gasps. “Ink…inkay.”

“What’s wrong? Use Psybeam. Hurry!”

Fang follows the last of your orders quickly. Energy gathered inside his throat, soon filling up his entire mouth. A strange and dark colour rocketed from behind his fangs, easily striking the exhausted Inkay. The attack didn’t have to hold on for long. Soon after the attack had landed the Inkay’s body succumbed to the strange force of the [B]Nature Power[B]. The Inkay released its grip on consciousness and dropped raggedly, fading out of visibility alongside his partner ghost who was shouting confused statements loss, impossibility and unfairness.

[Success! Fang gains 2 levels from beating the Inkay.]
[Fang also gets 2 levels from beating the Inkay in the Hallway area which were neglected up until now.
]

A familiar spectacle played itself before your eyes as the room’s colours, shape and size reverted back to their proper dimensions. The whole display was dizzying for you and Fang but the ordeal quickened itself with a bright flash and soon after, you and Fang find yourself back in normal reality. You were in a kiddie’s ball-pit, that was easily to tell; the soft rubber edges of the pool were supposed to hold all the colourful, plastic balls except they had been scattered across the floor outside of the rink, like some sort of rough-and-tumble had recently occurred.

There were two easy exits to identify. On was the Ekans-tail slide spiralling upwards where it disappeared into the wall. The other was a door standing opposite and was most likely the very same door you had come through earlier. You knew were both of these led in Topsy-Turvy world. Which do you take now that you had returned? The walkie-talkies weren’t going to help, you wouldn’t even have to check to know that, both Meowth and Myrtle were going to be out of direct communication range for the time being.

What will Keith do?
Meowth stood his ground, bracing himself, as the ghost ordered attack after attack from Inkay. The Psywave, the Psybeam, they pushed him back a fair amount, even forcing him to balance on his hind feet's toes so as to avoid tumbling backwards... but in the end, he unleashed a powerful beam of concentrated energy, sending the Inkay's own power back upon it twofold. The attack was a direct hit, and an intensely powerful one at that. Indeed, as the attack faded, Meowth could see that he'd knocked Inkay clean out. He grinned as both Inkay and ghost vanished, and as they vanished, the corridor he was in returned to normal, the source of the Topsy Turvy now gone. Meowth would have been happier about this, except he found out, to his mild irritation, that he had in fact been standing on the ceiling this entire time.

"Hmph," he grumbled, climbing back to his feet. "Meowth always land on deir feet, my ass... not dat Keith's got ta find dat out," he added. "I gots my pride, afta all." He tried the walkie talkie, only to find that it was completely nonfunctional. "Gah," he grunted. "Da one upside o' dat crazy mixed-up environment..." He climbed back out of the chimney, which appeared to be part of the funhouse after all, now padded in areas where there might usually be sharp corners (which Meowth would have greatly appreciated before). The kitchen was back to normal, and there were even arrows leading Meowth to the Cooler door, along with the word "Exit". Pretty clear indicator, Meowth thought, and so he ventured onward-

"...Whoa," Meowth murmured, eyeing the new room before him. "Dat's trippy." Indeed, the room was nothing but staircases, staircases, staircases, laid out in weird and normally non-navigable angles and turns. Normally non-navigable, Meowth reminded himself- in this crazy mixed-up world, anything was possible. It was freaky, though- like the unholy offspring of a Harry Potter movie and an M.C. Escher painting. He saw some doors, but they were high up on the walls, at disjointed angles, seemingly impossible to reach. Seemingly. Meowth began to try and navigate the stairs, trying to bear in mind as he did so that the usual laws of physics, in this room, were more like guidelines than actual rules. The walkie talkie did work, he noted, but he couldn't seem to contact Keith...


"Yeah!" Keith grinned as his Carnivine managed to knock out the Inkay. As was the case with Meowth, both Inkay and ghost vanished following defeat. "Way to go, Fang! That was awesome!"

"Carni Carnivine!" Fang grinned toothily (as though he had another option on how to grin), pleased with his Trainer's praise.

To Keith's satisfaction, the room returned to normal. It was a dizzying process, but the aftermath was a sight for sore eyes- reality. The normal, the ordinary. They were standing in a ball pit, the kind one finds at restaurants geared towards little kids, such as McDeino's, or Chans-E-Cheese. Except this particular pit seemed completely- heh- devoid of balls. The multicolored balls had scattered all over, as though some sort of big fight had happened within the ball pit. Which, Keith realized, kinda did happen.

Keith looked around- he saw the Ekans-themed slide, spiraling upwards, disappearing into the wall, and he also saw a door, likely the one he'd just come through earlier.

"Carni?" Fang asked.

"Hmm... let's try the slide," Keith suggested. "See where that takes us, now that it's not all Topsy-Turvied."

"Carnivine," nodded Fang, following Keith as he led the way to said slide.


*Meowth grew to level 23!*

*Meowth grew to level 24!*

*Fang grew to level 15!*

*Fang grew to level 16!*

*Fang grew to level 17!*

*Fang learned Sweet Scent!*

*Fang grew to level 18!*
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Old 08-26-2017, 12:18 AM   #21
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Lil’twick:
"Uh, I just fell down here from the train I was on... That's all. I'm not a mage..."

“Oh.”

“Oh,” the boy’s grip loosens slightly as he gazes a bit more gloomy and you take the chance to create a bit of distance between you and the overly intimate spiritualist. You declare you saw some Pokémon earlier and are looking for them, asking the Hex Maniac if he might have seen them. The boy looks at you, slightly bewildered and sullen still before listlessly pointing into the distance behind.

You had your answer and you set out. You paid no mind to the Hex Maniac. If he wanted to follow he could but you weren’t going to force it out of him. His silence continues along with your own as you make your way around ruins of broken walls and shattered church towers, when suddenly the voice of the boy perks up behind you, shouting at you.

“Wait! I know how to get out!”

Just as before, the boy’s ecstatic expression was plastered across his face as he hurried towards you with incessant zealotry. He runs up to you in a flash put stops suddenly, just a mere few steps away. He stares in shock at the air up ahead of you – a view blocked to you by the nearvy wall – before sprinting with even more fervour in your direction. His expression had turned white as a sheet, fear having taken a hold of him. He closes in and you realise last-minute that he wasn’t going to slow down. It was too late for you to react by the time he had caught up and before you knew it he forcefully tackled you down to the ground. You want to move, reach up or shout out (whatever you prefer) but the boy pins you down and clasps a hand around your mask before placing a finger from his other against his lips. He urges you to move closer to the wall while he crawls himself. The two of you press yourself against the cobblestone. You didn’t know what was going on at first until a shadow grew across the ground. You looked up, the boy’s hand clasping itself around your mask once again just in case as you witnessed a giant hand floating gently above you - a hand twice the size of full-grown adults, made of elephant-grey skin and smooth, stocky fingers.

The hand continued its float above you before moving on and disappearing around a pile of stones. The boy didn’t let go of your mask for a few more moments though but when he felt it was safe to talk again he unclasped his hand and gave a huge sigh of relief.

“Those things,” he speaks in a quieter tone, “are the wardens of this place. They scour the land for those who don’t belong and destroy them.” He looks you dead in the eye. “That means you and me.” He gazes back into the distance to note if there are any signs of the hand re-emerging, then looks back at you, his Cheshire grin having near-returned. “The wardens are strong. Even if you managed to defeat one, the others will be alerted and come swarming to your place. They’re the sharks of the dead.”

“Now, about your quest. I know how to get out of this place. It’s easy for me to leave. I’m only channeling my spirit, so I can leave whenever I want to. But you, if you’re really not a spiritualist then you’re in deep trouble. You’re not going to find a way out unless you have my help.”

“There’s a legend,” he continues to explain, “that there’s an artefact in this realm. It was rumoured to be made by the gods themselves, and it was made in a different realm. The gods placed it here so that they may return if they were ever trapped here.”

“That artefact…" He pokes his head around the corner of the wall and looks out into the distance. His full grin returned again and he grabbed another excited hold of you. “I know where it is. It can help you get out.”

“You want to find those Pokémon first though, right? So how about we find your Pokémon, then go find the artefact and get you out of here? Even if you didn’t want my help, the other grey watchers will catch you if you’re on your own. You need my help.”

How does Austin respond?


Austin could only help but watch as the events unfolded before him. He was tackled, basically, into a wall to avoid some giant gray hand of death. Lastly, he was stuck with this kid, and had to find some kind of artifact? He just wanted to explore some decrepit amusement park, not get stuck in some spirit realm. But, if he wanted to get out of here, he needed to get the boy's help. That was something he couldn't negotiate, no matter how much he just wanted to wander through the sands by himself.

"Okay, fine. At this point I just want to go home..." he muttered in response to the Hex Maniac. This was already too much social interaction for one day. This place was supposed to be empty, yet the teen already had to deal with two people. At least the first guy seemed okay.

Austin looked up towards the sky, and wondered how that man was doing. Alex was his name, if he could recall correctly? It would've been a shame if the train crashed or something. Death already surrounded the brunette, he needed not to cause it for those he just met. He looked around and saw Wisp's light flickering, but the Litwick looked sad. There was more here than what met the eye, that was for certain.

Getting some distance between him and the overtly creepy boy, Austin looked over the landscape for the weird death hands. Why were they here? Were the Pokemon he saw earlier part of this realm too, or wandered he on accident? He felt a nagging feeling at the back of his mind, that something about this didn't feel all too real. Was this just a dream? He hoped so.

"So where is this thing?" he asked, his tone making it obvious that he needed space.
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I fill my lungs with everything
You want someone that I can't be
You say it's insanity, but
I say that's my life

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Old 09-10-2017, 04:25 PM   #22
Raves
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(*A maggot crawls out of the dead Rattata’s mouth.* Maudlin, your lunch is escaping.)

~Please reply in Slategray~

The Park

The Ghost Train
Fishyfool:
You felt somewhat defeated after hearing all you had, but remained determined that there must be at least some way to get out of here. If not for you, then perhaps for your partners. Perhaps if you explained everything to Virgil the two of you could find some way. Even if he did protest the very idea before it had even been suggested.

You pick yourself up and head inside the glass train station. The glass itself was rather opaque, obscuring the view of much what was inside, but once through the crystal revolving door, you emerged into a vast complex of nineteenth-century gothic architecture. Polished stone plates were lined neatly in the floor, reaching far to the other side while supporting decorated, obsidian pillars which in turn supported the scaffolding upon which the glass dome rested. Various stalls and vendor resided within alcoves, separated by stony columns. A multitude of benches were installed throughout the station, each occupied by a glum spirit. The area was packed with them, the floor obscured by their stacked bodies as most were forced to stand or lie on the ground due to lack of space. Despite the enormity of the crowd that inhabited the place, there was not a single voice to be heard as each spirit was too defeated to so much as utter a single word to one another. It was a silence of the dead masses.

The same wisps you saw outside drifted amongst the crowd, ignored by all. One such wisp surprised you as it jumped into the sight from behind you. You recalled Virgil having said they were the spirits of shy beings, in all likelihood Pokémon. The wisp started dancing around you in an erratic fashion but was unable to make any discernible sound or portray a single feeling. Strangely, you wondered if this was the same will-o-wisp that bothered you and Virgil outside. The wisp wouldn’t leave, even if you tried to shoo it away, and merely continued its prancing, stopping every now and again in front of you before repeating itself.

The office was easily located. To your side you found a small kiosk of sorts nestled into the architecture as if a part of it. The last of the undead conductors were entering it, but it was the lone skeleton standing just a way off from it that attracted your attention. Crammed into a dark corner behind a column, away from the crowd of spirits, a single skeleton stared at you and beckoned for you to come over. His lidless eyes continued their stare in anxious anticipation and you felt for a moment a familiarity, as if you had met him before.

The will-o-wisp, the crowd of spirits, the conductor’s office and now a lone skeleton. As if you didn’t have enough to handle with your ordeal there appeared to be a lot more going on for you to uncover. Most of all, the skeleton, which appeared to want to remain out of clear view, was clearly eager to talk to you.

What do you do?

The approach to the doors of the station was one of deep reflection, as the opaque glass blocked the view of what was within, but showing him his own ghastly reflection. He winced, the sight of him a ghastly pale white with a few streaks of crimson down the front only reinforcing the image of undeath, but he pushed these thoughts aside and shoved through into the station itself. The interior of the building was certainly a feat of architecture befitting a station of the dead, gothic pillars and stone tiles, the pillars supporting the massive glass dome of the building.

However, the ambient atmosphere and contents put a chill down Alex's spine. As far as the eye could see, lost spirits stood and lay, not a single sound from any of them, the silence deafening in the desolation, and the very air felt thick with resignation. His footsteps on the ground made the silence crackle briefly with a hollow thump before being swallowed by the oblivion of the mute. There weren't just human spirits either, as wisps drifted around lazily in the sky.

One such wisp drifted before the trainer, forcing him to stop briefly in surprise as it pranced and floated around him. Try as he would, the ethereal being wouldn't remove itself from his personal space. They were pokemon in their past life, but why would this have such interest in me? Perhaps it's due to my circumstances being here...though is this the one from before when I first got here? The slow wandering eventually brought the ex-human to find the office where Virgil would be waiting for him, an ornate stone structure with a kiosk nestled into it. As the conductors filed into the office, something caught his eye.

That a skeleton over there? Surely enough, on a second glance there was indeed a being of bone hidden behind a column in the darkness, beckoning him over, eyes portraying some sense of urgency and interest in him, and why not? He was the first arrival as such in who knows how long, and still surprisingly fresh as far as decay went, yet Alex felt as though he had seen them before. With the wisp dancing around, the ocean of despairing souls, the office where Virgil waited for him, and this stranger in the shadows. It was a lot to take in, and given that he had more of a call on the banshee as it were who attacked him and that Austin kid on the way in, he paused to think.

No clue who that is, but I'm sure Virgil can afford to wait a little longer. He dd say he'd wait for me there until I've came to terms with my fate here, yet something's eating me here, and it won't be maggots for some time. Still in the slow movement as the wisp continued, he looked the bone man in the eyes, gave a small nod of acknowledgement and discreetly approached them, figuring that he was already in hell as it were, and nothing bad could surely happen. Besides, the skeleton seemed too familiar, yet he couldn't put his mind onto it. As he reached the stranger, he felt it wise to keep a low voice.

"Y...you need me for something? I don't know if we've met before?"
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Old 09-27-2017, 03:49 AM   #23
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(“Oh my god Maudlin, did you evolve?” *Dead Raticate on desk says nothing.*)

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The Park

Rollerquaza
Monster Guy: ~ last update


Funhouse
Missingo Master:
With the Topsy-Turvy effects removed, you opt to climb up the Ekans slide once more, anticipating perhaps a different outcome. The climb up went easily enough. That was, until, you felt the pull of gravity shift ever so slightly as you headed towards the other side – the other room – and soon you found yourself in the similar predicament of sliding up the spiral, only to be regurgitated by the Ekans’ head onto the hard floor of the paradoxical stairwell room you were in before. Fang is beside you, and for whatever reason – perhaps you made a noise – a voice calls out to you that you recognise.

Up above, clung to a ceiling like a frightened cat, Meowth gazed at you with a quizzical stare as both of you ponder for a slight moment to decide which one of you was the one who was walking right-side up, and who was touring the ceiling.

(Walkie-talkies will not be needed for communication as long as both participants are in the room – though perhaps you might still find it better suited. I don’t know. You decide.)

Your conference was abruptly cut off by a cackling laugh. The child’s voice conjured itself with taunting jabs. “You’re very good. You found all my friends, but you won’t catch me! You have to catch me before midnight. That’s what all the stories say. And Inkay told me there’s less than an hour left. She says you’re not going to find me in time so I should help you.”

“I don’t want to help you, but Inkay said I was being scared I would be found. But you’re just a Tauros-head. You can’t find me even if I help you…”

“INKAY!” the girl’s voice shouted. “Go!”

The room trembled in its place and sent quaking ripples down all six surfaces of the room. The walls shifted and collapsed upon themselves to make way for a black void in which singular white panes emerged. Contours ran down the edges and pictures of Pokémon emerged on them. The stairs twisted and curled anew, giving way to the centre of the room. In the centre, a strange polyhedral container emerged, floating untethered to any other surface with smooth edges and white panes of its own rising out of its shell.

“I’m hiding in the Dar-, I mean, Inkay room. Good luck finding it,” she taunted.

You looked around and saw the white panes had fully-formed by now to lone standing doors. Each side of the room, as well as the polyhedron in the middle, having its own set, making for a total of seven traversable surfaces. The doors directly accessible to you were: two up a flight of stairs, one of which twisted mid-air upside down, and two others in the sides of the wall for a total of four. The Ekans’s head had remained, though there was no sign of a body that continued anymore. Pictures had fully coalesced with an illusory pattern on each door, resembling Pokémon; a Carnivine, Feraligatr, Nosepass and Marowak. Meowth too, had doors of his own to pick from, one down a flight of stairs (or up in Meowth’s case) and ending abruptly mid-air where it connected with one. Two more, one of which was located in the floor like a trapdoor, and one which was as average as they came to his side. The pictures on his doors depicted a Timburr, Lapras and Eevee. If he tried, the door behind him leading to the kitchen area was locked. For both of you, the stiarwells twisted enough around one another that you might be able to shortcut from one onto another, but the shifting logic of gravity might make that a harder task than it would initially appear.

This is your last puzzle it would seem. The ghost child seemingly helped you and gave you a clue to proceed, but how was it connected to your sudden change in surroundings?

What do you do?


kawaiiconcept: ~ last update


Fortune Teller’s Tent
Meetan:
You made your best attempt to spur the Espurr into battling alongside you. You might have been in a child’s body, but you had your adult mind intact. Battling was more of a viable option now than it would have been last time you faced off the Persian. The Espurr however, quivered in its place at the mere thought of it, anxious of what was about to happen and what was being asked of it. There was little time to ponder though as another purr reached down from the canopy and leaves rustled when a dark shade leapt down behind a tree trunk. It was closing in.

The figure emerged into the spilling light, revealing a cat-like creature as expected, though one entirely unanticipated. The (female) Meowstick bared her fangs at the two of you and gazed still. The Espurr tugs on your leg and indicates towards the would-be attacker, exchanging cheerful smiles between you and the Meowstick as if knowing the beast. It abruptly lets go, making disjointed and hurried steps to the Pokémon while flailing its arms with excitement. As soon as the Espurr was within range, the Meowstick raises a paw and channels an energy before swiftly punting back the small frame of the tiny cat to the ground. The Espurr meekly picks herself up and hurries back to you with tears and a frightened pout. She desperately clings onto your leg, hoping you’d do something when the Meowstick opens its mouth to give another terrorising cry.

“Purrrrrrrrsian,” the Meowstick called out, the voice asynchronous with the jaw’s movements. Like static on a TV with bad reception, the visage of the Meowstick blurred and briefly betrayed the look of a wiry cat with frothy white, shaggy fur before relapsing back to the more delicate and prim form of the Meowstick. Something was very clearly off about this memory. The Meowstick fixes her stare at you and then the Espurr, exposing a voracious glare as she grinned her teeth. She approached with a gangly leap, baring her fangs once more and startling the Espurr into firing a Confusion like you had ordered. The reactively quick attack knocked the Meowstick off guard mid-air, bouncing her back a few feet away. The cat immediately picks herself and readies to pounce again, shaking off the Espurr’s attack like it was nothing. Little knowledge is needed to recognise that the power levels of the two cats was hugely disproportionate, and your further experiences of battling had you hazard a guess that the Espurr was roughly level 10, hardly a powerhouse at this point and in desperate need of a larger movepool as well.

You briefly recall that there were some tricks to this forest that you knew from last time. One of these things was that berries grew in grove patches somewhere nearby, if only you could recall where. You had prior experience of this area and knew of a few other places. Perhaps you could use them? [(Feel free to come up with something – you’re in large control of the environment, just not the characters outside of Alice. Player is free to shape this specific environment to their liking as longs as it’s still forest-y.)] Alternatively, you could use your battling experience to come up with a strategy and take the Meowstick head on; or take a run for it, perhaps even abandoning the Espurr to use as a decoy while you make your escape. By and large, sound judgement would dictate that if you didn’t come up with a plan, the battle between the Espurr and Meowstick would be over soon, and not in your favour.

What do you do?


The Ghost Train
Fishyfool:
You carefully treaded closer to your beckoning acquaintance, all the while taking in your environment carefully as you contemplated the overwhelming magnitude of new information and people you had come across. Wisps, skeletons, zombies, ghosts, banshees, runaway trains, dead… that last one still stung a bit, didn’t it? One could have argued that something like this would have been expected in a place dubbed the Phantom Isle, but still… Your thoughts wander for a brief few moments more but focus back to the skeleton lurking in the shadows who you were nearing. His eyes betrayed a dull strength, a focus of mind as they danced around your body, sizing you up. His sclera, constantly exposed to air from lack of skin to protect it, had remained a marble white in spite of it. The very fact became an odder peculiarity when, once up close, you realize his body was picked clean off every scrap and slither of flesh and skin. Murky white bone glistened from the few light beams perpetrating the shadows, illuminating his outfit which, to no small surprise perhaps, was in tatters and desperate need of replacement – the fact that it wasn’t, merely added to his undead disposition. Unlike the other zombies you had seen before, this one appeared to have been buried for years where maggots had crawled through his intestines and eased his fleshy burden, like some sort of zombified version of a spa day.

You were practically face to face, hiding yourself amongst the shadow of the alcove’s pillar. "Y...you need me for something? I don't know if we've met before?"

His eyes fix onto yours. His voice was a deep, throaty rasp, one similar to a long-term smoker who had indulged in other equally unhealthy habits that took a toll on his larynx, but never quite finished the job as he never once stopped for breath, wheezed or coughed. “Need you?” he cackled. “Kid, I’m here to help you. You’re the new arrival, correct? I assume you want to get out. So I’m willing to help you return to the living world. If that is what you want.”

Virgil’s words returned to you, ”Once you’re here you become part of the dead. And there’s no turning back so don’t even ask”. “Now now,” the skeleton protested, as if knowing you were recalling what Virgil had told you. “Let me guess, Virgil told you there’s no way back. That old codger’s got a few too many maggots rotting in his brain if you know what I mean,” he tapped his temple while he did. “There’s always a way out, Virgil just doesn’t like discussing it. And if he can’t get out you can forget him ever helping out anyone else around here. He’s a worker, not a volunteer after all. Spend a few years here and you’ll know what I mean. I, on the other hand…” he let his words rest on you for a moment.

“I can freely choose to help people if they want. All they have to do is ask, and all they have to do is return the favour. To get out of here requires me to do a fair bit of work for you. And people usually get paid for work, and I don’t like doing things for free.” It is at this point you realise the lack of tongue in the skeleton’s jaw did not stop it from speaking his mind even once. “So, if you want me to tell you how to get out and to make the preparations, I will have to ask for something in return. Don’t worry, it’s a small thing and won’t cost you much, barely a thing at all.”

If at any one point you asked him if you had met before, the skeleton replies “Don’t know, might just be that I have a very familiar face,” as he strokes his skull’s chin with his bony hands, seemingly joking you.

“Now I need to know I can trust you. Virgil will not like it once he knows what we’re up to, so you’d better keep this between you and me. Trust me kid, my method has a 100% success rate of getting you back, assuming you’ll do your part of course.”

“So, do we have a deal?”

(Choose your reaction and questions carefully, as this may be the only chance you get for information. You can set out a list of things you want him to tell you instead of just a singular response.)

What do you do?


Lil’twick:
You felt you had little choice but to let the meddling Hex Maniac join you. If he did know how to get you out, it might have been the only way. Not that you liked the option very much either way though.

"So where is this thing?" you inquired towards the artefact the Hex Maniac mentioned earlier. His face reappears from behind the wall as he looked out for any other Grey Wardens in the area. Despite your efforts to keep your space from him, the Hex Maniac would frequently attempt to intrude upon it as the two of you made your way from broken walls to ruins and shambles, often by physically touching you with feverish zealotry from his fascination for you. [You are free to add these moments throughout your replies as you see fit.] The ruins were sparse at first but soon cramped upon one another like you and your companion, as if heading closer towards the centre of a dead metropolis. The buildings, while in shambles, got larger, and soon complete structures were made visible in the form of half-crumbled churches and temples.

“The artefact,” the Hex Maniac whispers in your ear with a ticklish breath, “lies in a shrine that now only exist in this area. History says that civilisations revered the shrine and its artefacts, often erecting places of worship close to them. All of them have been wiped out but their sanctuaries remained in the afterlife so to speak.” An eye across the ravaged pantheons around you gave you an idea of what he was talking about. “The building itself though was said to have not been made by man, but by a god. It should be on the outskirts of these ruins, though I’m not entirely sure where, but we’ll know when we see it,” he produced his caricature grin once more, “large, pristine, and untouched by time, made in ways that would take mankind thousands of years before they could reproduce it, or so they say. Most think it’s just a story, but I believe it exists. Many of my kind say they’ve seen it. Problem is, no one can enter it.”

“You see,” he attempts to rattle you by lightly rubbing your shoulders, “they say that man had desecrated the shrine and exploited its artefacts for selfish reasons. Out of anger the gods punished them by sacking their buildings and removing the shrine from their world. Many ancient writings described the event, often with floods, raining fire, earthquakes and unnatural storms. Most ‘scholars’,” he said with a clear hint of disgust to them, “say it is nothing but a story, but I know it isn’t. Either way, the gods put a barrier on the shrine, essentially preventing anyone who was channeling their spirit to enter the shrine and desecrate it like the people of old. But!” he interjects, “it only accounts for spirits and channelers. It does nothing against bodily beings. Probably another trick, when one enters the realm and finds the artefact they are returned to where they came from and removed from the shrine.”

“So if what you say is true, that you aren’t a spirit or a spiritualist, then you should be able to enter the shrine and retrieve the artefact to get back home.”

He quickly grabs you once more and pulls you behind a church tower. You hadn’t noticed before but the wailing of spirits had returned, louder than before, and pinpricks of light emanated occasionally from their place. But it wasn’t the spirits the Hex Maniac was worried about. “Ignore them,” he’d say when asked about them, “they’re fools who made their mistake in the living world and are now paying for it. There’s nothing that can be done for them.” You peered around the tower and looked up ahead with the boy. A labyrinthine expanse of stone and walls, both broken and as part of withered cathedrals, were up ahead slanting downwards into a valley, providing you with a rough overview of its paths. At the far end, across the maze-like foundation, you saw the vague shapes of some colourful creatures – Pokémon in all likelihood, quite possibly the ones you were looking for. However, you also saw the slew of Grey Wardens between you and your target, swimming through the mass of corridors with near-dormant measure. Where at first you had lucked out on not coming across one for a while, the centre of the dilapidated city was swarming thick with them.

The Hex Maniac eyed them once more before looking upon you with question. “We need to get to the other side. Any ideas?” The first three options that would come to mind are simple, and your companion would say them out loud if you didn’t: fight through, sneak past, or go around. However, each provided quite a few drawbacks as even the Hex Maniac would tell you. Fighting was an option, as by now you denoted at least one Duskball hanging off of a metal chain below the Hex Maniac’s tattered cloak, but there was always the risk you’d alert the other wardens and be overcome by them. Sneaking would require stealth from you and your ally, and if you were caught even once while in the midst of the snake-pit, you might quickly find yourself ambushed. If you went around, you’d have to take a long and puzzling route with your companion, and ultimately might have you lose sight of the Pokémon. If you were going to the other side, you’d better come up with a plan for doing so, but perhaps you’ve thought of other options?

What do you do?


The Hotel
-

Last edited by Ex-Admiral Insane; 09-27-2017 at 04:12 PM.
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Old 09-27-2017, 05:52 PM   #24
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The Park

Funhouse
Missingo Master:
With the Topsy-Turvy effects removed, you opt to climb up the Ekans slide once more, anticipating perhaps a different outcome. The climb up went easily enough. That was, until, you felt the pull of gravity shift ever so slightly as you headed towards the other side – the other room – and soon you found yourself in the similar predicament of sliding up the spiral, only to be regurgitated by the Ekans’ head onto the hard floor of the paradoxical stairwell room you were in before. Fang is beside you, and for whatever reason – perhaps you made a noise – a voice calls out to you that you recognise.

Up above, clung to a ceiling like a frightened cat, Meowth gazed at you with a quizzical stare as both of you ponder for a slight moment to decide which one of you was the one who was walking right-side up, and who was touring the ceiling.

(Walkie-talkies will not be needed for communication as long as both participants are in the room – though perhaps you might still find it better suited. I don’t know. You decide.)

Your conference was abruptly cut off by a cackling laugh. The child’s voice conjured itself with taunting jabs. “You’re very good. You found all my friends, but you won’t catch me! You have to catch me before midnight. That’s what all the stories say. And Inkay told me there’s less than an hour left. She says you’re not going to find me in time so I should help you.”

“I don’t want to help you, but Inkay said I was being scared I would be found. But you’re just a Tauros-head. You can’t find me even if I help you…”

“INKAY!” the girl’s voice shouted. “Go!”

The room trembled in its place and sent quaking ripples down all six surfaces of the room. The walls shifted and collapsed upon themselves to make way for a black void in which singular white panes emerged. Contours ran down the edges and pictures of Pokémon emerged on them. The stairs twisted and curled anew, giving way to the centre of the room. In the centre, a strange polyhedral container emerged, floating untethered to any other surface with smooth edges and white panes of its own rising out of its shell.

“I’m hiding in the Dar-, I mean, Inkay room. Good luck finding it,” she taunted.

You looked around and saw the white panes had fully-formed by now to lone standing doors. Each side of the room, as well as the polyhedron in the middle, having its own set, making for a total of seven traversable surfaces. The doors directly accessible to you were: two up a flight of stairs, one of which twisted mid-air upside down, and two others in the sides of the wall for a total of four. The Ekans’s head had remained, though there was no sign of a body that continued anymore. Pictures had fully coalesced with an illusory pattern on each door, resembling Pokémon; a Carnivine, Feraligatr, Nosepass and Marowak. Meowth too, had doors of his own to pick from, one down a flight of stairs (or up in Meowth’s case) and ending abruptly mid-air where it connected with one. Two more, one of which was located in the floor like a trapdoor, and one which was as average as they came to his side. The pictures on his doors depicted a Timburr, Lapras and Eevee. If he tried, the door behind him leading to the kitchen area was locked. For both of you, the stiarwells twisted enough around one another that you might be able to shortcut from one onto another, but the shifting logic of gravity might make that a harder task than it would initially appear.

This is your last puzzle it would seem. The ghost child seemingly helped you and gave you a clue to proceed, but how was it connected to your sudden change in surroundings?

What do you do?
Fang followed Keith up the slide. The Poison-type Trainer was feeling quite optimistic here- now that the slide was no longer affected by Topsy-Turvy, it was quite possible that it led to somewhere different. Or, perhaps, that the place it led to was different. Either way, Keith felt it was worth investigating.

The climb went quite smoothly. Well, I say the climb went smoothly- not all of the trek up the slide could be classified as a climb. At some point, Keith felt a sudden shift in the direction in which gravity pulled at him. "Oh, boy," he sighed just before he started to slide in an upward direction. Fang hovered after Keith, and soon, Keith found himself being spat back out of the Ekans's mouth. "Owww," groaned Keith.

"Keith?!"

Keith perked up at once, recognizing the voice that called out to him from above. Turning his head faster than a caffeinated Rowlet, Keith looked upward, and indeed, Meowth was clinging to the ceiling. "Meowth!" Keith smiled. "Holy crap, are you a sight for sore eyes!"

"I could say da same ting," grinned Meowth. "Wat are youse doin' on da ceilin'?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Keith responded. "Have you seen Myrtle anywhere?"

"Nope," Meowth shook his head. "But we'll find her- we found each other, afta all."

"Yeah, that's true," nodded Keith. "I-"

But at that moment, a cackling laugh cut off the conversation. Both Keith and Meowth jumped a bit at this, and the child's voice, while complimenting them on finding all of her friends, maintained that she would not be found by them. The only reason she was even offering them help was at the request of her Inkay, which somewhat surprised Keith. Considering the Inkay were the reasons for all the screwiness around here... but then, he realized, that wasn't right- the Inkay were only acting on the orders of their ghostly Trainers. And at the ghost's command, her Inkay, unseen to them, set to work, rearranging the room as the ghost saw fit, and soon there were a number of doors accessible to them, some only to Meowth, some only to Keith. There were a number of staircases as well, two of which seemed to meet in the middle, which would in theory allow Keith and Meowth to reunite. Of course, considering how screwy gravity was being here, whether this would actually work was debatable. Keith paid attention to the last thing the voice said- that she would be in the Inkay room. But that, Keith could tell, was not what she was originally gonna say. She changed what she was saying, but not before part of it could be heard. The "Dar". Whatever that was... And in any case, of the Pokémon images adorning the doors, none of them appeared to be Inkay. Or anything starting with "Dar", for that matter.

"...Wat da hell?" Meowth asked weakly. "Wat da actual hell?"

"Lemme think," Keith murmured.

"Yeah, but wat da hell!" Meowth exclaimed. "Were's da stinkin' Inkay room? Dese ain't pictures of Inkay!"

"Yeah, well, don't forget, Meowth," Keith said, brandishing his walkie talkie for emphasis. "In this topsy-turvy environment, you gotta think backwards. I had to have Dudley Teleport us as far away from our destination as possible to get close to it. My Pokédex and Xtransceiver are useless, whereas these plastic toys have been vital to us. And Inkay, Dark and Psychic-types seem to be massively weak to Psychic attacks here. So we gotta think backwards. Opposites."

"Oh, yeah. Real great insight," sighed Meowth. "All we gotta do is tink o' da opposite of Inkay, is DAT ALL WE GOTTA DO!?!?!" he suddenly screamed in frustration. "Wat in da Distortion World is da opposite of an Inkay?!"

"Meowth, get ahold of yourself," Keith said firmly. "We got less than an hour, we can't afford to panic now. OK... Well, Inkay look like they ought to be Water-types that live in the sea..."

"And instead dey're Dark and Psychic-types wat dat live on land," finished Meowth. "So da opposite o' Inkay... is a Water-type?"

"I dunno..." Keith murmured. "It makes as much sense as anything could be said to make in this place, but... I get the feeling it's not that simple."

"O' course it ain't," groaned Meowth.

"...Neither Feraligatr nor Lapras have 'Dar' in their names," Keith murmured. "There's gotta be something we're missing here."

"If ya works it out, lemme know," said Meowth. "Cuz I gots nothin' on dis one."

"This one... one... One. One! Numbers!" Keith snapped his fingers. "That could be it! Pokédex numbers! Lemme see if I remember these... What's Lapras's number... oh, it's 131, I think, so reversing that doesn't make a difference..."

"So wait, yer tinkin' dat if ya flips da Pokédex numbas, yer gonna get wat da room really is?" Meowth asked incredulously.

"It sounds screwy," Keith nodded. "But then, so does everything else we've had to figure out in order to make it in this crazy place. Alright... Marowak's number is... 105, so 501... that'd be Oshawott..."

"Vine! Carnivine!" Fang said, gesturing to the door bearing a likeness of himself.

"Alright, Fang, I'll try that one next," said Keith, thinking hard. "Carnivine's Pokédex number, that's... 455, I think it is? So, 554, that would be..." His eyes widened at that point.

"Wat is it?" Meowth asked.

Keith grinned broadly. "Darumaka," he replied. "Flip Carnivine's Pokédex number and you get Darumaka's! The Dar! The Darumaka room! The Carnivine room is the Darumaka Room which has got to be where the last ghost is hiding!"

"...How did youse do dat?" Meowth asked, sounding exasperated and admiring in equal measures. "But more to da point... how do youse propose I gets down dere?" he added. "Or... up dere? I don't even know wat ta call it."

"Well, we could try something with the stairs, but that could have the potential to go badly," said Keith. "But... Meowth," he added. "Would you say that this qualifies as... an emergency?"

Meowth's eyes widened, catching on immediately to what Keith was getting at. "Very much so," he nodded vigorously.

Keith grinned. He often thought of Meowth as the Pikachu to his Ash, and indeed, the parallels between the two were quite noticeable. But one distinction that Keith prided himself on was that Meowth's dislike for his Poké Ball did not override common sense. Whereas the infamous Ash Ketchum refused to withdraw his equally notable Pikachu no matter what the situation, Keith and Meowth were agreed that in times of true need, then and only then could the object in question come into play, and even then, only for as long as needed. "I'll send you right back out," he said, reaching for his belt. True to his word, once this succeeded, he would send Meowth right back out. And of course, Meowth was prepared to try the stairs to reach Keith if the ball didn't work for some strange reason.

Meowth nodded. "I know ya will," he grinned.

Keith grinned back. "Guess we're trying the Carnivine door, then," he stated, plucking a rarely-used object off of his belt- Meowth's Poké Ball. "But first and foremost," he added, enlarging the sphere and aiming it upwards, taking careful aim at his companion. "Meowth, return!"
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Old 09-28-2017, 11:19 AM   #25
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The Park
Funhouse
Missingo Master:
You assess your situation of the doors’ clues, alongside the girl’s blundering reveal of where she was. “Dar-, dar-, dar-,” you contemplate the wordage. She was about to say something else first. “Darumaka?” But none of the doors portrayed a Darumaka it would seem. Meowth is only agitated further by this fact but you try to relax him, reasoning that there must have been some sort of inverse logic hidden within the clues. You go over the Pokémon one by one; Lapras and Feraligatr, two Water types which might have a connection with squids, had nothing else about them that would strengthen this conviction. You forego these choices for now and move on to the others such as Marowak, when Fang indicates the door with a picture of himself.

You mull over the numbers momentarily and figure out that Carnivine’s inverse number, so to speak, would have come up as the index for Darumaka. And the ghost did indeed reveal something along the lines of Dar-. Reasonably, one would expect that such a clever solution may indeed have been the key to all of this (if only your updater really could make something that clever).

First things first, your reunion with Meowth. Quite a few Pokémon have exhibited a reluctance to being confined in a Pokéball, and Meowth was exactly one of them. However, in a situation such as this, he would be willing to forego his uneasiness if it meant using a cheap shortcut to bring you two together. You hold out Meowth’s Pokéball, a rare occasion for you, and recall the Pokémon to safety. It was unsure if the ball’s light was affected by the shifty gravity of the room, and the beam of light did indeed move slower through the air than usual, but the red shimmer remained nevertheless straight and on target. Within seconds Meowth’s body was covered in a red veil and disappeared into the Pokéball’s shine, and finally the confines of the Pokéball itself. Success!

Next would come the door itself. The white door with the Carnivine phantasm on it opened easily on touch. Within, you saw a screwy staircase that went down, or at least it seemed to go down. Once through, you realise it was moving up, where it toiled around itself and recoiled back, past the door and into the wall behind, parallel to the door. The door behind you shut with a jingle, and a soft green light pervaded the room. An image on the door revealed itself like the ones before, baring a resemblance to a Leafeon. The door, if you would try, was locked.

“You can’t go back through a door if you just came out,” the girl’s voice explained with a giggle.

The staircase, as screwy as its hairpin structure was, didn’t knock you off when traversed. Instead, you found that each tread by your feet, clung to the disorderly steps. Gazing through the green-illuminated room, you see the same polyhedron sphere floating in the centre of the room. The wall to your left exhibited the familiar sight of the Ekans’ head. All the Carnivine door had managed to do, it seemed, was move you to a different plane.

Looking around, you had three doors to choose from. Well, two technically, as the door you had just come through, marked by a Leafeon, was locked. One other door floated ever so slightly off the the centre of the floor, while the last hung above you upside-down. Another staircase in the form of a loop could theoretically take you there, assuming the gravity would shift once more as you moved. Their icons were a Slurpuff and a Weezing.
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