Halloween + Grand Opening Celebration!

[Crim]

Avery shuddered and pulled his trench coat just a little more securely around himself as he entered the Pokemon Center, doing his best to suppress that little chill that ran up along his spine. This entire festival filled him with a certain sort of discomfort that he couldn't exactly place. There was something about the sheer number of people mingled with the surprisingly joyous nature of the celebrations that he simply found unnerving. He'd still be interested to see what precisely all the fuss was about, however. There wasn't ever really anything like this in Lumiose City. There had been quite a few various festivities, of course (almost all of which he'd done his damnest to avoid), but he hadn't ever experienced a so-called Festival of Death.

The nearby marsh had seemed energetic and abuzz when he'd made his careful, hasty way through it earlier. He'd much prefer the safe, easier travel he'd managed to obtain across the lake after exiting the Lab. That hadn't gotten his boots dirty and caused him some traveling stress (he felt as if he'd almost gotten stuck once or twice, which was the very opposite of pleasant). Still, he'd managed to survive the trip once (it hadn't occurred to him that he'd have to traverse the troublesome area again once he decided to leave-- it was the most sensible option, providing the chance for training as well as accumulating extra members for his team). Surely, now that he was here, he'd be able to enjoy himself at least a little bit.

He'd avoided many of the festivities thus far, though he had purchased some of that cake, as well as some glorious, glorious coffee (he'd been pining for the stuff all day). The little Fairy dog which he'd only recently obtained had stuck surprisingly close, though Avery suspected that this was in no way the result of her being nervous or uncomfortable amid so many people. No, if anything, she seemed to sense his discomfort, and was making sure that she was there if he needed her for whatever reason. The man still wasn't used to having a little creature to look after (though, to be fair, she seemed relatively self-sufficient), and he'd spent much of the boat travel reading up on the Snubbull rather than actually bonding with her. The trip through the Marsh had also been relatively quiet, though she'd used her sharp sense of smell to lead them in the proper direction more than once.

The man glanced down at the bipedal canine and offered a little smile, reaching down to gently scratch her behind one ear. The Fairy-type leaned into his touch and closed her eyes with a pleasant little growl, sharp teeth jutting out in what could almost be described as a smile. Avery smiled a little more at this, withdrawing his hand to break off a piece of the blood cake, offering the berry dessert to the pink creature.

"Would you like some, Adrienne? It's good." The Snubbull regarded his question for a moment before taking the cake and munching away at the food in a manner that could be politely described as "the opposite of daintily", ears flicking back happily at the vibrant, slightly spiced flavor the cake provided. Avery grinned a little and nibbled a little more on the leftover cake, before shifting his gaze to glance around the Pokemon Center.

"... Mm. This guy's supposed to be giving away Ghost-types..." he murmured, in a distinct way that signified that he didn't actually know who "this guy" was. Avery's observational skills needed work. Adrienne's ears perked up, and she glanced around only for a moment or two, nose crinkling as she scented the air, before a soft little growl escaped her throat.

+... That guy, you think?+ the Snubbull offered in vain, knowing fully well that Avery couldn't actually understand her. In fact, he didn't even seem to register that she'd made any sound, still glancing around. Making an almost-sighing noise, the fairy dog rolled her eyes and nudged his leg fiercely with her head, one forepaw tugging at his jeans. Avery started in surprise, glancing down with some concern. Adrienne gestured with her other paw in the direction she was looking, and, after a moment of confusion, the thirty-year-old followed her gaze.

"... Ah. That's probably him, yes." The amount of ghosts around the other man, as well as his rather queer mannerisms, should have been a dead giveaway; Avery felt ridiculously stupid. He drew in a little breath before shifting his way closer to Sasha, Adrienne right at his heels. The Snubbull was eying the stranger warily, ears pinned back as she uttered another quiet growl.

+... He's a bit odd.+ The trainer nodded despite not understanding this concisely; the general message was clear enough. Still, he was harmless, right? And someone willing to give away some Pokemon couldn't be bad, right? Avery cleared his throat and shuddered again (it was unnaturally cold in here), but was at a loss as to what to really say. Shit. Instead, he awkwardly shifted his weight from one foot to the other, merely standing a small distance away from Sasha and his ghosts and looking more than a little lost.

[Nimbostratus]

As Avery entered, a group of ghosts had formed up in a single-file line. Nobody seemed to know what they were up to, but everyone stood aside - after all, even the dead had things to do and places to be.

Sasha smiled again as he observed his loyal 'subjects'. "Is it time, then?" The group of ghost Pokemon clamored back, and Sasha chuckled. "Yes, yes. Story time."

"Now, this is about a place called Lavender Town in Kanto. It was once a resting place for Pokemon, and it's said that there are still many ghosts lurking about. And on quiet, moonlit nights, the ghosts sing a haunting melody..."

As if on cue, the neatly-formed line of ghosts stopped, turned toward Sasha, and began to hum a rather somber-sounding song, their voices joining in harmony... as that group sang, a Duskull floated up above them, slowly spinning about. It seemed to be dancing...? But after a moment, it stopped and faced Avery, staring right at him.

(or)

Duskull has its eye on Avery!

[img src="http://serebii.net/blackwhite/pokemon/355.png"] (or) [img src="http://serebii.net/Shiny/BW/355.png"]
[b]Name[/b]: ?
[b]Species[/b]: (Shiny?) Duskull
[b]Gender[/b]: ?
[b]Ability[/b]: Levitate
[b]Level[/b]: 5
[b]Friendship[/b]: 5
[b]Moves[/b]: Leer, Night Shade, Feint Attack
[b]Nature[/b]: ?
[b]Met[/b]: Buteston Festival of Death @ lvl 5

[Crim]

Another chill rippled up along Avery's spine as those ghost got into their various positions, eyebrows knitting together in confusion as he observed the spectral Pokemon. The sheer amount of them was probably the reason it felt so damn cold in here. Adrienne drew herself forward slightly, steady gaze fixed upon the wispy figures, ears pricked for any signs of trouble. Everything seemed to be in order, of course, and those ears laid back once Sasha spoke, though her look of curiosity seemed to mirror Avery's.

He'd heard of Lavender Town, though he hadn't heard much about the strange, spiritual town. He straightened up and forgot all about why he was there; the tale sounded interesting. When the ghosts began to sing, he froze again, unable to describe the feelings the eerie melody stirred within his stomach. It was oddly calming despite the creepy tune, and the man felt himself relaxing a little as he watched the spectacle along with everyone else. He could almost forget that he was surrounded by complete and total strangers at the moment... Almost.

His eyes followed the motions of a strange, red Duskull as it floated its way into the air, twirling and spinning slowly along with the others' humming, though it seemed to remain completely silent. Its movements were fluid and beautiful in a strange way, those wispy, 'robed' arms waving as it continued to spin. Finally, it seemed to take notice of Avery, and simply froze, its single eye shifting from one side of its skull to the other, though no other part of its body moved.

He'd heard the legends Duskull was involved in, and knew that he should have felt a little concerned by that stare, but... somehow, he didn't. Instead, he merely stared back, hazel eyes widening a little. He found himself taking a little step forward towards the specter, seeming mildly surprised when the Duskull mirrored his motions. The silent creature floated its way forwards until it hovered only inches from the man's face, staring straight at him. Then, slowly, steadily, it lifted one of its arms and extended it towards the man, Avery's eyebrows lifted as he reached out his own large hand to connect with that robed arm. It felt strange, somewhere between tangible and intangible, though the Duskull's 'hand' wrapped about Avery's, and it drew closer, circling around Avery before shifting to stay close by his side, barely touching him. The creature felt less cold than he would have expected, and he glanced down to Adrienne, who had been watching the incident with a mixture of wariness and incredulity.

"... I believe we have a new friend, Adrienne."

[ZOM]

Gertie jumped, startled, at the ghost's sudden appearance and cry. It only took her a moment to recover, though, and then she was all smiles as she reached out to gently envelope the Pumpkaboo in a hug, scratching at the top of its head. "Hallo, liebling! You are so cute, oh!" She was almost beside herself with delight; the creature was squishy and fluffy and admittedly quite cold, but so adorable! "That was great Astonish move! You are fierce! What is your name?"

+Diana!+ the ghost squeaked, nuzzling her face against Gertie's wooly collar. She was very pleased by how warm this one was, and she felt assured that she had made the right choice.

As the two were bonding, the crowd suddenly quieted and the ghosts fell into a line, gathered around Sasha. Then... they began to sing, and Sasha sang along with them, his voice airy and perfectly suited to the eerie melody. He swayed along with the Duskull, smiling as he went, and when at last the Duskull glided away he giggled and danced back to his seat, perching on the chair once more. The ghosts continued to sing.

Gertie watched and listened in awe, her ears perked and her mouth agape. How incredible! The song gave her full-body shivers, and yet it was pretty in its own somber way. She realized after a few moments that Diana, still nuzzled into her arms, was singing along, and Gertie smiled down at the ghost. "What is this?" she asked.

Diana hesitantly paused in her singing to say, +A requiem.+ Then, she rejoined the song.

After several minutes, the chorus died down and the ghosts began to scatter again, back to their mischief and playtime. Diana bared her sharp little teeth up at Gertie in a grin, and the Pokemorph returned the look. She took this as a good time to get going; there was still more of the festival to check out!

[Deleted]

Nora was slowly staggering around Buteston, her coat pulled tightly around her to fight off the chill. She might have looked a little odd, a Lotad under one arm and a box of blood cakes under the other. Someone was selling them by the docks and after the first one she had to buy some more. Nora didn’t mind looking like a lost tourist as she attempted to find the Pokémon Center, what bothered was that people were looking at her like she was drunk. Just as she had found her sea legs, she had had to get off the boat. And now she was having trouble finding her land legs again.


“Never ask for directions. I’m serious Chance.” Nora hissed to the Lotad, but he was too busy eating his blood cake to listen. “We must have asked the village idiot. Follow the music, what kind of direction is that?!” Nora scoffed. But while she couldn’t hear anything, it seemed that Chance could. Just slightly, floating on the wind like the ghosts that were singing. Chance began to wriggle furiously as he swallowed the rest of his snack. “What is it boy? Is Timmy trapped in the well?” Nora mumbled as she placed the Lotad on the floor. But Chance wasn’t the type to answer questions directly, and instead took off in the music’s direction.


It wasn’t long before they reached the Pokémon Center, by this point the ghosts had finished their song though. Panting slightly, Nora curiously looked around, taking in the sea of ghosts before her. “Damn…” She whispered, blinking slightly. She hadn’t really expected there to be so many. But what had she expected? It was a festival of death after all.

[ZOM]

With the song over for the moment, the mob of ghosts was once more dispersed, and spirits weaved their way between the humans in the crowd, or danced near the ceiling, or played with Sasha as he waved his arms like the conductor of an orchestra. They seemed like a jolly bunch, for the most part.

That is, all but a few. Huddled in a corner of the room was a small group of Yamask and Phantump, apparently somber creatures who were unwilling to join in on the festivities with much enthusiasm, if at all. Some of the little Yamask sobbed to themselves, while most of the Phantump simply appeared to be lost and perplexed by all that was going on. One of the Phantump, however, suddenly looked up and peered through the crowd, catching a glimpse of Nora. Something had sparked in the Phantump; it hovered into the air and slowly progressed towards the human girl, driven by a strange feeling. Sasha, from his perch, spotted this and giggled to himself.

The little ghost appeared before Nora without a sound. It stared at her, hovering at eye level, and mimicked every motion she made.

(or)

A Phantump seems taken with Nora...
[img]http://www.serebii.net/xy/pokemon/708.png[/img] (or) [img]http://i41.tinypic.com/2h3bwgo.jpg[/img]
[b]Name[/b]: ?
[b]Species[/b]: (Shiny?) Phantump
[b]Gender[/b]: ?
[b]Ability[/b]: Natural Cure or Frisk or Harvest
[b]Level[/b]: 5
[b]Friendship[/b]: 5
[b]Moves[/b]: Tackle, Confuse Ray, Astonish
[b]Nature[/b]: ?
[b]Met[/b]: Buteston Festival of Death @ lvl 5

[Nimbostratus]

Pooch was a bit of a late arrival. There weren't many people left around here, and the celebration was winding down. But at least he was still in time to get a Pokemon - and that was all he really cared about anyway.

Unfortunately he hadn't realized that it was Gym Leader Sasha who was handing out the Pokemon - when he stepped into the Pokemon Center and saw the almost ghoulish-looking boy surrounded by ghosts, his first thought was to run away. Shit shit shit. He'd heard bad things about Sasha - and not just from his parents. The sewer-dwellers who knew of him were afraid of him, too.

But hey, he was just a gym leader, and they were just Pokemon - how bad could it be?

And when he realized what he'd just thought, he groaned and slapped his forehead. In his youth he'd quickly learned never to even think that question.

[ZOM]

Sasha was not one to sit still, not for long. He had been content atop his perch for a while, knees pulled to his chest as he sat upon the chair and watched his ghosts go about their fun, but before long he had tired of that and hopped to the floor. For a time he spun around, and then for a while longer he had allowed his ghostly friends to sweep him off his feet and fly him through the air as he giggled shrilly. That had grown boring eventually, too.

As it turned out, spending days on end in the Pokemon Center was not the most exciting thing in the world. Sure, Sasha did venture out whenever his band of spirits wanted to, but he had promised the silly huma-- er, people -- of Decona that he would be around to generously pair them with his ghosts. He was capricious and strange, and creepy to boot, but he was not a liar. He would be here as long as he needed to be! Who needed sleep, anyway? Pffah!

The crowd was thinner now, so when Pooch entered the Center all eyes turned to him, and the ghosts were seemingly no less plentiful than they had been on the first day of the festival. Sasha bared every one of his pearly whites in a painfully wide smile, and as he danced over to Pooch, he was followed by at least ten spirits flying around his head. "Hello, darling... Have you come to play? Can you sing? They like to sing." His voice was raspy and wispy, as though he spoke smoke rather than words. To support Sasha's statement, the group of ghosts let out a cacophonous sound that might have passed as vaguely musical if one was tonedeaf.

"You know," said Sasha, tapping his narrow chin and giggling, "I believe I have just the friend for you, morphling..." He spun around and stooped over, comically pantomiming as if he was crafting something from scratch just out of view. When he stood up straight and turned around once more, he was holding a rather strange-looking ghost with a stone base beneath its huge grinning face. "For you!"

(or)

Pooch has been given the gift of Spiritomb...
[img]http://www.serebii.net/blackwhite/pokemon/442.png[/img] (or) [img]http://www.serebii.net/Shiny/BW/442.png[/img]
[b]Name[/b]: ?
[b]Species[/b]: (Shiny?) Spiritomb
[b]Gender[/b]: ?
[b]Ability[/b]: Pressure or Infiltrator
[b]Level[/b]: 5
[b]Friendship[/b]: 5
[b]Moves[/b]: Curse, Pursuit, Confuse Ray, Spite, Shadow Sneak
[b]Nature[/b]: ?
[b]Met[/b]: Buteston Festival of Death @ lvl 5

[Nimbostratus]

Pooch groaned and shuddered as the creepy gym leader approached him. "...Yeah, no. No. I don't sing. Or dance." He crossed his arms over his chest, an obviously guarded gesture - and an impressive one given the ear-splitting noise being made by the ghosts. Pooch winced but soldiered through it. "And don't call me 'darling'," he added, once the 'song' had finished.

"...Don't call me 'morphling' either. What the fuck does that even mean?" He grunted as the gym leader turned around to grab something behind him. Pooch hesitated and then took a step back, almost expecting something to jump out at him.

Nothing happened.

Sasha held the curious ghost in his hands and presented it to Pooch. The teen blinked and took it, and the Spiritomb seemed to approve. "We are Legion," it said, its voice a chorus of echoes. "We will join you, and you will help us survive and expand."

"...sure, whatever." He smirked and then looked back at Sasha. "Uh... thanks."

And then he ran away.

As fast as his legs could take him.

Screaming along the way: "THIS TOWN IS FUCKING CREEPYYYY"