@Typical

Approaching the seemingly random house in the middle of the route, Eryn found that there was a sign in front of it. A sign with a huge arrow pointing at the door. “Inviting Pokémon Trainers!”, it says. So, would she enter?

It’s a regular one-room house. There’s a bed in the corner. A couple of shelves here and there with personal belongings and books. The floor is square plates of smooth mineral, heated from below. There are windows to the outside, and in the back is a large, white stone wall placed against the mountain. There’s a refrigerator and cooking area, with oven and all the things. A wooden table stands in the middle, with numerous chairs. Around the place, on window-shelves, in the book-shelves, and on the walls, there are framed photographs, all of the same man. A older man, bald on top of his head with a band of hair still clinging to the sides of his head, looking jolly and posing with a younger, extremely exhilarated kid.

The place appears utterly normal… Except…

You’re being watched…



What will Eryn and co do?

In case they just leave…



Connected areas:
Lakewatch Town. On the south-west of the route, Lakewatch Town lies adjacent to the lake on the road to the Wet Caverns.
Stillwood Village. In the north lies the forest which hides the village, Mt. Strength lying behind it..
Route 6. Vast plains start in the south-east, this route leads towards Raremine Town.
Frozen Cavern. After an incline up to the ridge of Mt. Chill, a cavern of ice could guide the way to Route 9 and Cooldome City.
Endless Forest. To the south, a dark forest looms. There are no indications as to why you’d ever want to go there.



One of Eryn’s Pokémon pointed out the individual out, and Eryn ran over to ask if he was alright, but as soon as the first syllable in his direction was uttered...

‘Argh!’ the bed shouted out and the whole thing rocked to. He aimed an accusing voice at her, but it wasn’t hostile. ‘You noticed me hiding under the bed!? Grrh… You’re sharper than you look!’ With that, suddenly the whole bed launched upwards, tied to an axis it rotated and placed itself against the wall, revealing the bottom of it to appear as a perfectly normal book-shelf, complete with books! There was also rows after rows of empty water bottles and empty cans… and a young man attached to the book-shelf by some sort of rope! A brown-haired young man with red-rimmed glasses looked at Eryn with a confident smirk as the ropes loosened and he fell down to his feet before her. It was an older version of the exhilarated kid in the framed photographs.

‘Ta-ha, did I surprise you? I am the mighty Trial Master!’ He announced, proudly adjusting his clothing and glasses after the sudden movement.



‘You heard that right! I’m the one and only Trial Master! The grandson of the famous Trick Master of Hoenn! … _{That nobody on Isson has ever heard of, but that aside!}’ … He shook his head a bit, then took several steps to stand in front of the rock wall of the back the room, and from there he spun to point at Eryn. ‘POKÉMON TRAINER! You’ve come here to accept my trial, have you not!? Rejoice, then, for my trials accept YOU! ’

‘Your task is simple! Use your Pokémon to reach the end of my trial, and claim the reward I hold! This will be unlike any trainer battle, for this is a challenging TRIAL! Seek to overcome it only if you’re confident in your abilities! My only rules is no teleportation or digging around the trial, you need to actually get through the room! So, I’ll see you on the other side, if you win! Tahahaha…!’

And then he pulled an Escape Rope out of nowhere, and it pulled him through nowhere and he was suddenly gone.

Behind him… the white stone wall behind him swung open, because it was apparently a huge double-door, showing the dark entrance into a very finely carved-out cavern, inviting inwards, and it was very dark. In the distance, inside the cave… was complete silence.

The challenge had been made. What would be Eryn’s reaction?

---

---

"Yeah! Let's go, Paradise!" Skylar cheered on his friend, fist pumping as his resolve was steadied once again. Paradise wasn't going to be able to take many more hits, but she was standing pretty proud so far with this fight. Maybe it'd go well from here on out, as long as Lorette didn't throw Skylar a curveball with her next few Pokemon.

Escavalier was sent out, and Skylar had to think for a moment what to do. Razor Leaf wouldn't be useful here since Escavalier was a Bug/Steel Type, Stomp wouldn't be a terrible idea since it could cause the Escavalier to flinch, but the best move for damage seemed to be Gust. It wasn't resisted and it could probably do some small damage before Paradise was knocked out.

"Paradise, keep up the Gusts! Try and get as much damage in as you can!" Skylar commanded, looking down at Mac who was a bit grumbly from being pulled out. Thankfully, he wouldn't likely have to wait for very long to get right back into the thick of battle. Steel was weak to Fire, Bug was weak to Fire, this was an opportunity Mac was made for!

@Gardevoiran

Lorette looked with a mildly unimpressed look as Escavalier charged ahead and was met with a Gust, which did not do all that much damage against the Defense-heavy steel armour of the bug-Pokémon.

‘Well, you live and you learn. Fell Stinger,’ Lorette commanded, and Escavalier rammed his lances at Paradise, doing the last pieces of damage against her causing the Tropius to topple over. Paradise fainted!

And because Fell Stinger caused an opponent to faint, Escavalier's Attack sharply rose! Escavalier's Attack, which is even higher than his defense, effectively doubled!

The knight-bug looked to his next opponent.

---

---

Uh oh. That... wasn't good.

Skylar held out Paradise's Pokeball and called her back to it. She'd need to take a good rest in there for a little while, no need to keep her out when she needed a real nap. Though, with Paradise down, that brought the score down to 5 versus 5, and this Escavalier was standing there being ever-so menacing to Skylar's team.

What to do... what to do...

"Mac, get in there and hit it HARD with an Ember!" Skylar shouted, Mac immediately springing into action and leaping forward into the ring. He charged the Escavalier, an orange flame sparking from his mouth as he let it loose towards the Escavalier. If it didn't miss, it was sure to cause at least some damage, maybe enough to take it down, but that was also unlikely. Skylar'd just have to play this by ear, then.

@PlatinumSkink

---

"Well, you hit the nail right on the head." Claire replied. Might as well go with the flow for now. No sense in telling her she didn't in fact, have her memories taken. "Don't remember at all, but I must've been smart enough to bring out the pokedex." That said, she was worried about what Connor had said. Some sort of protection in Isson? That was the first she was hearing of this, and this could be a pretty good chance, couldn't it?

While Claire replied, Ralia attempted to jump, grabbing Klefki's keys with her tiny arms in an attempt to try and use the levitating fairy type as a some sort of paraglider, trying to use the other pokemon to glide over to Claire's shoulder.

"I'm actually just curious about 'em." Claire said with a grin. "Maybe something happened, I dunno, but I just feel like learning a bit. I called professor Kalmia and she told me Dunstan was the authority on 'em, so here I am." What sort of disaster could they be protecting them from? That lined up extremely well with what Uxie had showed her at the rock. "So uh...disaster?"

---

^{Route 5 || Day 4: Evening || @PlatinumSkink}
Eryn stared at the man as he sprang up, eyes widening as the bed stood and revealed itself to be a bookshelf. At his introduction, though, her confusion morphed into understanding, and she grinned. Since he kept rambling, she was forced to nod along instead of responding, and she listened with keen interest as he kept up his fast-paced monologue.

“Hey, you didn’t even—hey!” Eryn shouted, but the Trial Master was already gone. Somehow, he’d magicked out an Escape Rope that then magicked him away.

“Damn, think it’d be worth it to follow him with an Escape Rope?” she asked, looking at her team. Eri shrugged, Kylie chirped a happy “maw” of careless agreement, and Dei said nothing, lashing his tail instead as he looked down the cavern that had opened up.

“Well, anyway, we’re obviously going to take up his challenge. ‘If you win,’ I’ll show him ‘if,’” Eryn said, grinning. “C’mon, let’s see what else this third ‘one and only’ Trial Master’s got up his sleeves.”

With Dei and his flaming tail at her side, she led the way into the darkness, Tula wriggling in her arms. This, she was sure, was going to be fun.

---

@Gardevoiran

‘Fire. I need to end this quickly,’ Lorette said with a smile, and pointed forward. ‘Escavalier, Double-Edge!’

And Escavalier charged forward! Needing the time to arrive to Mac, Mac got off his Ember first. It hit the armoured bug straight on, doing heavy damage as Escavalier cried out on the way towards Mac… but he did not faint. Glaring angrily, Escavalier charged on, and unable to dodge Mac took the Double-Edge straight ahead, sending the chic flying straight back to Skylar. With Escavalier’s boosted strength, it was far, far too much! Mac fainted!

… But!

Escavalier, exceedingly hurt from Chic’s Ember, stumbling back from the impact of Double-Edge. He tried to stand strong… but ultimately he couldn’t, the knight toppling back from his damage. Escavalier was hurt from the recoil! Escavalier fainted!



Lorette chuckled lightly, as she stood up on the other side of the stage. She returned Escavalier, smiling towards Skylar.

‘You took down my vanguard. Well done. That’s two Pokémon down each. For your third challenge…’ Lorette said, and then lobbed out another Pokéball. It crashed open and a purple creature flew up into the air, giving out a little cry as it extended white wings, staring forward at Skylar with two little red eyes…





‘… Overcome a distance-attacker! Let’s go, Butterfree!’ Lorette called, as Skylar’s third opponent floated in mid-air before him.

__________________________

@Rune_Alchemist.

Klefki was more than happy to let Ralia hold onto its keys and fly around the room giving her a bit of a ride, eventually ending on Claire’s shoulder.

‘…’ Connor looked at Claire a bit, looking like he was considering what to say… ‘O-oh, okay then. It-it IS publicly available information, a-after all.’

He leaned back and sighed a little, letting his smile wane away a bit. The tone he then spoke with was calmer. Far calmer.

‘All I’m about t-to tell you… is a myth. The-there’s no evidence proving this to be true. R-regardless…’

‘Once upon a time, th-the Original One c-created two other Pokémon. O-one which would govern space, th-the other which governed time. Together, th-they brought forth the world as we know it. They made matter. A-afterwords, anoth- a trio was made, who would breathe spirit into the world. Th-this was the Lake Guardians, Mesprit, Uxie and Azelf. H-however, beyond blessing the world with emotion, knowledge and willpower, th-they have another extremely important task…’

‘The m-masters of time and space are vital… b-but also whimsical. They are living beings, w-with will and desires of their own. I-if any of them would decide to act out of line… the effects of the loss of time or space would be… n-nothing short of disastrous, wouldn’t you say?’ Connor smiled to Claire, though Ralia felt a certain amount of fear within him.

‘Th-therefore, the three of the Lake Guardians were gifted with the means to control the mighty beasts. W-with all three of their powers combined, they can calm down the fickle rulers of our very physics...’ Connor sighed out.

‘That’s why… th-they can never be meddled with. While, unlike the Pokémon of Creation, th-the Lake Guardians are sometimes seen by humans, we may never interact with them. F-for if even one of them is taken, they’ll lack the ability to calm either the master of Time and Space should one of them step out of line…’

‘A-and would all three of them be taken, along with their ability to control the beings that in turn controls the very essence of creation? W-well… that’s a nightmare of entirely different pr-proportions…’ Connor then shook his head, though.

‘But th-that’s just a myth. There’s no r-reason to believe the very f-fabric of existence is kept in check just be-because a Pokémon wills it to. B-besides, the Lake Guardians are V-VERY capable of defending themselves! Uxie c-can wipe the very identity of a-anyone who meets its eyes. With a mere touch, M-mesprit can leave an individual drained of all emotion. A-and Azelf…’ Connor shuddered.

‘Azelf can rid any who harms it of the willpower to do anything, leaving them a living being unable to ever move again, for they have no will to move. Th-those who would hunt them are risking everything. The duty of the Guardians, in addition to how dangerous th-they are when threatened, together make up the reason why it’s forbidden to even attempt to research them…’ Then, the researcher smiled at Claire again.

‘St-still,’ he smiled. ‘The universe as we know it h-has existed for millions of years. W-we have no reason to think it’d be in any danger a-anytime soon. You can c-continue your Pokémon journey in peace, a-and be proud that, even if you don’t remember it, y-you got to see one of the guardians of our universe up close. Th-that’s a rare honour. Congratulations.’ So Connor said, smiling. He was calming down, but Ralia could still feel the traces of fear from within him.

What would Claire say now?

Dawkin waited patiently enough for his new partner and then the two set off. He listened carefully and shook his head as the first challenger approached. He should've figured something like this would happen. Oh well, he was prepared anyway. "Alright, let's do this!"



"Yeah sure kid, just don't cause me any trouble, and next time you find a challenge work through it on your own."

---

---

---

Another one down, but another one down for him too. Skylar held up Mac's Pokeball and brought him back. He was down two Pokemon, but all was not lost! He still had Seabreeze, JoJo, Celebrity, and Smiley! His friends and he could get through this battle, he knew it! Lorette sent out a Butterfree, and Skylar figured that it was time to give another bird a shot. He pointed out into the battlefield and called out his next Pokemon. "Smiley! You're up!"

"... Krow." Smiley didn't move at first, but after taking a glance at Celebrity's angry glare, he decided it'd be best to get into the battle. He flew over into the ring, tipped the feathers on his 'hat' down, and shot a nasty look at the Butterfree. If Smiley was gonna fight, he was gonna make sure it was filled with character.

"Give it your best Peck, Smiles!" Skylar called out, and his Murkrow understood, immediately rushing up to the bug and jabbing his beak right at the bug's big pink eyes.

@Typical

Eryn and her Pokémon entered towards the cave, and found it to be quite dark. However, they did not have to walk far before they were greeted with… moonlight?



A moon hangs high in the cave. It is a cave, correct? Regardless, a moon presented itself high above, shining down on a small grove of trees in the middle of the rocky cave. As strange as that sounded, the trees just kept on going, becoming a little underground forest, which the moon shone down on. Before the trees started, however, there was a sign right in front of them… and a bird which stood right on top of it.



Murkrow turned and looked at Eryn for a second, and then, with a bird’s best impression of a smile, it spread its wings.

‘Mu-KROOOW…!’ it called out, probably audible to the entire cave. The signal was obvious. The trial had begun. Murkrow waved its wings and flew off among the trees…

The sound of a flute could be heard. It was a pretty flute, yet somehow there was something incredibly eerie about it, and even more so there was something even more chilling about the howl that could suddenly be heard from the far end of the cave, a more sinister sound difficult to find. While Eryn might maybe have a hard time placing the sounds, the Pokédex could easily recognize them.







… And then she identified something else. Something large and purple was resting by a tree over there, yet it was clearly not asleep. It had made no motion of recognizing that something had started, but there it lay anyway, large, and possibly threatening.



And… eyes. There was eyes in the darkness. Looking at her from between the trees, were eyes, which should she meet them with her own it would certainly be a bit uncomfortable. The moon still hung above, lightly illuminating the underground woodland cave, yet it revealed nothing about those whose eyes she could see. Her Pokédex could, however, and in fact she’d already seen those kinds of eyes before.



The objective of the trial was to get through this forest, most assuredly, and quite a few Pokémon inhabited them. The sign before Eryn still stood, and it was a bit hard to read it with merely the moonlight, but the message when read was loud and clear.

”You walk upon the Trial of Fear.

Multiple Pokémon that are either known for or unnaturally causes fear are spread ahead. Some that could be fought, others that may be better avoided. How will you overcome the challenge?”

… What would Eryn and Pokémon do?

Amelia was enjoying herself as she walked through the halls with Litwick , only to stop when she finally sensed some ghosts. She was surprised, since normally she would've sensed them from outside the building, before she had even entered it. She was worried that this was a sign that something might be happening to her. Litwick sensed her unease and let out a low cry, causing Amelia to smile and reached up to pat the little candle, avoiding it's flame.

The two didn't get to enjoy each other's company for long, as the hall suddenly dropped in temperature. Amelia stopped in her tracks and stared down the hall, where she sensed a ghost. Noting that there was something there, she simply stared back at it, not scared in the slightest, but curious was definitely a word that was more appropriate.

Sadly her chance to study the creature as someone abruptly opened the door of a nearby classroom, causing Amelia to jump back in surprise, her hand instinctively shooting up to her chest to feel her heart. After knowing she was going to be okay, she looked up in time to see the aftermath of the girl and her pokemon's assault on whatever ghost had been there. The girl was quick to introduce herself, hand Amelia and piece of paper, and then depart, leaving Amelia there dumbfounded.

After recovering from her shock, Amelia would looked around the hall. She knew the presence of the ghost that had been at the end of the hall. She closed her eyes and focused, homing in on that particular ghost. Once she had a lock on it, she would make her way to it's location, getting lost several time due to being unfamiliar with the build and then having to change where she was heading if the ghost moved at all.

@PlatinumSkink

---

Claire frowned, having listened to all of the scientists story. She was pretty sure she had heard that somewhere before, but she probably hadn't been paying attention enough to commit it to memory. Ralia gave her a pat on the head, feeling just as uneasy as her trainer was about this. Something was off, wasn't it? Ralia seemed to think he was hiding something, but did she have enough reason to actually think that?

If he thought the trio showing themselves to people was bad, then obviously he'd be concerned, upset, or afraid. What did she want to do next?

Hrm.

"Is that everything, huh?" Claire asked casually, looking a little concerned herself before switching quickly back to her upbeat, energetic demeanor. "Welp, thanks I guess! Still gonna go say hi to the professor." Ralia patted her head. She could maybe press further, but she still wasn't sure she could trust this guy. After all, if it was as bad as Uxie had said then she needed to be careful. Reaching into her bag, Claire already was pulling out her bike.

"I gotta get going! Already spent too long in Worldedge! Gotta get them sweet, sweet, level gains!" Once she reached the entrance to the lab, she'd put it down, and zoom out of World edge, heading to Route thirteen. From there, she'd do a bit more training, gaining a few levels for her team before heading onto route 8, then to six, and finally Raremine. Hopefully by then she could get a few more levels under her belt.

She'd challenge a few trainers along the way, too.

(Assuming the GM throws nothing else at her on any route)

@Eklispe

Wooper VS Gulpin! Braden couldn’t decide if Wooper looked like a Special Attacker or not, so Gulpin took a Super Effective Mud-Shot before being able to get off Amnesia! After that, it was a Sludge VS Mud-Shot battle, and, well, it was a clear case of Ground VS Poison, in which case Ground wins! Gulpin fainted after two more Mud Shots and Wooper took minimal damage! She wasn’t even hurt by the sandstorm!

Atlas VS Sandshrew next. Atlas Hardened, increasing his already formidable defense, while Sandshrew threw sand at him and reduced his already reduced vision trying to find the sand-veiled Pokémon in a sandstorm! Next turn, Sandshrew curled up with Defense Curl, while Atlas charged in for a Headbutt! … And he hit, slamming Sandshrew back! The annoyed Sandshrew went Rollout on him! … Which wasn’t very effective! Despite reduced vision, Atlas hit his second and fourth Headbutts, missing only the third! The Rollout grew stronger, though, the second blow resulting in a Critical Hit against Atlas, and building in power! Atlas won out, fainting Sandshrew eventually, but took around 40% damage from the increasing power of Rollout!

Pichu VS Taillow! Taillow was the faster Pokémon, flashing in with a Quick Attack and doing damage… but managed to immediately Paralyze himself by Static! Though, this would increase his power next turn by Guts…! … But Pichu responded with an instant Super Effective Thundershock back at the paralyzed bird! Critical Hit! Taillow fainted!





‘Gaaaaaaaaah! I’m eaten!’ Braden shouted as he spun around and ran off with his Pokémon…

Next opponent!

Wooper VS Drilbur! Now, Wooper’s pretty slow, so Drilbur went first! Ground does not resist Ground, so he went for Mud-Slap… which Wooper somehow dodged! Wooper replied with Water Gun, hitting for Super Effective damage! The confused Drilbur tried to Mud-Slap again, and hit this time, doing some damage and reducing Wooper’s Accuracy! … Wooper hit the next Water Gun anyway! Drilbur fainted!



Atlas VS Cubchoo! Enemy looks dangerous! Cubchoo uses Play Nice! Atlas attack was reduced! … Still slammed into the ice-bear for super effective Metal Claw attack! Ice being ineffective, Cubchoo tries to Bide! … Way too late! Atlas Metal Claws down the last of Cubchoo’s health with ease!



Tyrunt VS Heatmor! Heatmor happened to be Fraser’s strongest Pokémon, so he figured he could Incinerate through the hide of the rock-dragon… not realizing the dragon part of the rock! It took some exchanges of Tackle VS Incinerate before Fraser realized his attacks were doing nothing! He then switched to telling Heatmor to Lick instead, hoping to paralyze Tyrunt, except four Licks in nothing had happened! Heatmor being stronger Tyrunt had taken a bunch more damage, but Heatmor’s lack of Ghost-type meant his tackles still did more damage. A desperate Fraser now commanded Heatmor to just Tackle! And, even if Heatmor’s Tackles were stronger… Tyrunt had a lead now, and rock resisted Tackle as well! Eventually, Heatmor fell! Tyrunt took serious damage, but managed to take out the far more powerful Pokémon all by himself!





‘Ough, that’s not cool…’ Fraser complained, but turned and made his way away after having returned back his Pokémon.

‘Ah…!’ a ninja boy sounded out, getting a happy smile from Dawkin’s confirmation he could follow along this time. ‘Yes! I will! Thank you, you're a bro!’ he said, hopefully not unintentionally triggering bad memories about taking care of smaller family-members in Dawkin.

‘Oh,’ Florrie sounded ‘Y-you did it. Well done,’ she said, and then it was time to head through the sandstorm.

With the aid of the Go-Goggles, it was easy to see through the sand, but perhaps more of a task to navigate. The Vivillon seemed to change direction at random, but always seemed sure of what direction to go. Now, Vivillon would be buffeted by the sandstorm, so the bug-type would need to be healed, but assuming they had the means to do so, eventually, they found the way.

The Go-Goggles showed that ahead, the sandstorm was clearing. Overall, it was decently simple to get through with the tools purchased. As such, they were now getting close enough that they could see into…



__________________________


@Gardevoiran

Smiley soared ahead, quickly approaching Butterfree for a Peck. However, he had some distance to cross, meaning that Butterfly was allowed the first move.

‘Butterfree, Sleep Powder!’ Lorette called… and while the usual strategy for sleep powder was to fly over the enemy and scatter it on them, Butterfree did something different. Smiley perhaps knew to stay away from Butterfree during the time where it was releasing the powder… but Butterfree braced her wings, and then spun! The butterfly spun and waved powerfully with her wings, sending a mild gust of wind forth at Smiley along with the Sleep Powder!

… And it hit! Taken by surprise by the wind along with the Sleep Powder, Smiley couldn’t avoid and inhaled some of the powder, slowly falling down and asleep before being able to Peck his opponent.

‘There, that done. Phew, he didn’t have Insomnia. I remembered Murkrows could have that ability first after I’d made the command,’ Lorette sighed out in relief as she said. ‘Unfortunately, Confusion isn’t going to be very effective against a Murkrow, so I guess it’s signature move time for me, huh?’ Lorette said, smiling to Skylar.

‘Butterfree, U-Turn!’ Lorette commanded, and Butterfree dive-bombed towards Smiley with a little Butterfree cry, and it was up to Skylar if he wanted to switch Pokémon or hope for Smiley’s reawakening.

What would Skylar do?

---

---

Ah jeez! He was almost there, too! Smiley skidded along the ground slightly before he ground to a complete halt, snoozing on the ground awkwardly as Skylar felt his heart start to pound. This was not a good situation for him to be in. What made things worse was the U-Turn that was coming towards Smiley's direction. Though Skylar was pretty confident Smiley could take that hit and get right back up, he was fairly sure it would be a nasty hit onto Smiley, though if Skylar sent anyone else out...

"Puff!" Celebrity angrily interrupted Skylar's thoughts, staring up at him with a frown. It took only a second for Skylar to know what she wanted to do.

Skylar raised up Smiley's Pokeball, calling him back to his side of the field as Celebrity jumped into the fray, taking Smiley's place and beefing through the attack. If there was anything apparent, one thing certainly was... Celebrity was getting fired up.

Skylar, meanwhile, let Smiley out of his Pokeball as he started to gently shake the Murkrow, trying in a desperate attempt to wake him up from his slumber. "Come on, Smiley! Wake up bud! We need you to help us finish this fight!"

---

^{Route 5 || Day 4: Evening || @PlatinumSkink}
Eryn gaped up at the scene before her, eyes darting wildly between the moon and everything else in what seemed to be a perfectly large and roomy forest. Was this place underground, or had she just been led into the forest out back?

“Alright, well,” she said, fishing her Pokedex out around Tula and pointing it at the moon, then at the forest, “well.”

The Murkrow that’d crowed at her looked harmless, but everything else? Not so much. Nuzleaf, Houndoom, Arbok, and Sableye—there were a lot of dangerous Pokemon out and about in this cave, and most of them were way out of her team’s capabilities. Thankfully, they all seemed to be waiting for her to make the first move, and she did, stepping up to the sign and squinting at it.

“Alright, Tula. I’m going to have to return you so I can carry Dei around for light, okay?” she asked, patting Tula before retrieving the Magikarp’s ball from her belt.

Tula disappeared into the red light with one final wriggle, and Eryn smiled, placing the Pokeball back on her belt and rubbing it. One day, she’d get Tula big enough to warrant a return based on size instead of hand space.

“Alright, Dei. Up you come.” Hoisting the indignant fire-type up, Eryn raised him towards the sign, the words clear against his burning tail. “‘Trial of Fear,’ eh? Thankfully it doesn’t seem like we’ll be fighting all the nasty Pokes up ahead, but some of them, huh.”

She paused, pulling Dei back to look at him with a frown. Then, glancing back at the woods, she cocked her head. “Say, nocturnal Pokemon don’t do so hot with light, right?” She grinned. “Dei, how long can you hold an Ember?”

Raising Dei so that he was balanced on her head, Eryn turned around to face her other Pokemon, a big grin on her face. “Stick close, alright? Don’t be afraid to dish out some moves if anything gets close, and get ready to run.”

This ‘Trial of Fear’ was scary, sure, but compared to the Infested Forest? Where she could see no end, no beginning to the trees, where dangerous hazards lay at every corner and crossroad, and where the feeling of unease was so strong she could have sworn it was an effect of the forest itself? Compared to that, this forest was a piece of cake, and Eryn liked cake.

“Go on three, two, one!”

On cue, Eryn sprinted directly ahead towards the forest, Dei belching his best Ember diagonally ahead of them to illuminate the path ahead. If there was one thing dark-types avoided, it was coming out of the shadows, and Eryn intended get through as much of the forest as she could before they caught onto that.

---

@Joshua Tamashii

Oh, the ghost moved constantly. In fact, it seemed to become aware of her location, and made efforts to keep Amelia at a certain distance. It also appeared to be aware she wasn’t very familiar with the building, repeatedly placing itself in places where she’d have to try to go through walls in order to get to it. It seemed to enjoy playing this little game of chase with her.

Then the temperature decreased again as she got closer. The ghost was not running anymore. It was immediately on the other side of a wall, and there was a chill going through the air, Litwick’s flame burned just a little bit brighter…

And then something grabbed Amelia’s foot and tried to trip her.

Whatever it was that grabbed her foot, it was both not giving off any ghostly energy, and it was also invisible to her eyes. But something had definitely grabbed her, and it wasn’t there anymore… was it?

How would Amelia respond to this? It’s still a bit chilly here.





__________________________

@Rune_Alchemist.

‘That’s ab-about it, yeah,’ Connor said. ‘Very well! T-take care!’ he then called after her as Claire left in all haste.

Route 13 up first, huh.

Claire cycled her way straight out of Worldedge City and towards the Route directly west of the city! She cycled on a decently regular road, seeing some lightning strike in the distance, and the route itself seemed bright in the day and so. If there had been a night in Worldedge, then it was day again now-!

Or was it?

Everything suddenly got all dark.

She’d just suddenly entered night.

Was this because some unnaturally powerful being that was capable of instantly turning everything into night had come to mess with her?

Nope. It’s just how it is on…



__________________________


@Gardevoiran

Skylar called back Smiley, and started shaking him to wake up, but unfortunately Smiley stayed exceedingly asleep for now. Meanwhile, Celebrity jumped in and took that U-Turn! Fairy-type resisted the Bug-type attack, but after that Butterfree went back to her Pokéball. Lorette smiled a bit at Celebrity.

‘Something that doesn’t have wings of some sort, huh,’ Lorette commented, before throwing out her next Pokémon. The counterpart of the previous being, a huge, buzzing bee with two giant lances for stingers took form…!





‘Alright, Beedrill! That one’s Fairy, so Poison Sting!’ Lorette commanded, and Beedrill surged forward at full speed at Celebrity!

‘The challenge now is to take care of something fast with high attack, heh,’ Lorette added on the end.

__________________________

@Typical

Straight forward it was! Dei shot the fireball straight forward (diagonally?) to illuminate the path, and they rushed to get through the forest…! … Which turned out to be the wrong way, because a mere just ten meters forward they almost ran into the resting place of an Arbok. Said Arbok had clearly been woken up by the fireball that flew over it, and the cobra Pokémon raised itself high and pointed the “face” upon its body towards Eryn and co, and it was decently creepy indeed when it was in motion. Regardless, an Arbok had fixed its sight on them, and if Kylie threw a Fairy Wind… well, it did next to nothing.

Arbok hissed and slithered forward towards them.

There’s still the flute in the background, and the moon gazing down on them, and Sableye eyes from around here.

What’s the next logical action?

Amelia couldn't help but smile as she proceeded to follow the ghost around the school. She instantly came to recognize this as a game of tag of sorts, the same kind she used to play with the ghosts in the graveyard. She knew if she kept up with the game, she would eventually come out the winner and find the target of her pursuit.

The game lasted a very long time, the ghost in question apparently aware of Amelia's location at all times and also her lack of knowledge about the building. Still, Amelia was nothing is not persistent when it came to these kinds of games with these kinds of pokemon. So, she kept at it and eventually her opponent stopped moving. This in turn made Amelia weary, as she knew this tactic well. The pokemon, if it was one, would stop and then pull some sort of prank on you to trip you up or confuse you. So, with that, she slowed her pace and took her time approaching the door the target was behind.

As such, when something grabbed her foot, she was not all that surprised but still tripped up by it, hitting the ground a bit hard, Liwick tumbling from his perch on her head. Groaning in pain, she got back up to her feet and picked Litwick up, putting him back in place before moving towards her target. She didn't question what had grabbed her much. Sure, it was scary that she couldn't sense it but she was sure she would get answers if she kept pressing forward. So, as such, she continued to pursue the ghost, though a bit more cautiously now.

@Joshua Tamashii

As she's more cautious now, she could probably be more ready next time it happened. Amelia continued hunting after the ghost, and the chill disappeared. The movements became a little bit more unsure, yet still the ghost lured Amelia somewhere. Coming close again, the ghost led her into one of the classrooms... and something just pushed down a whole section of books stacked onto a table at her. Of course, assuming Amelia was alright after that, there was nothing there to have pushed the books if she or her Pokémon looked in the direction. Yet, there was as if there was the faintest of sounds... and then something tried to trip her again. She may be more ready this time. The ghost, as she could feel it, was on the other side of the wall outside, hiding right by the window, it was not the ghost that was trying to trip her. Failing, the tripper let go, and then there was no trace of it... was there? Litwick's still feeding off slight life-force from something.

What would Amelia and Pokémon do?

---

---

"Celebrity, Sing!" Skylar spoke quick - he needed Celebrity to act fast on this. This Beedrill had just a little mileage to go before it made any contact, so maybe if Celebrity acted quick Skylar could hit Lorette's team with a taste of it's own medicine. That, and if anyone was going to show this team who was the true boss, it would be Celebrity.

She whipped out her Microphone at the call of Skylar's voice, a dark gleam in her eyes. She was born to sing, and she'd gladly do it again, especially for an audience that wasn't aware of what it was like to mess with her OR the headpat-giver!

And if it so happened that Beedrill fell asleep... well... everyone will cross that bridge when they got there, if they got there. For now, Skylar just had to stay wary of whatever would come on next. Though, he could definitely answer a comment that Lorette had. "Birds might be my specialty, but they don't need to be the only thing I use!" Skylar smiled cheerily, his hand still trying to shake Smiley awake. Gosh, he was out like a light.

The game simply continued from that point. Amelia was not going to give up, she was no determined to find this ghost, no matter how long it took. She noted that the ghost seemed more hesitant as it moved around. She felt a bit bad now but still continued her pursuit. As she did so, completely unbeknownst to her, Amelia began emanating a small... aura of sorts that spirits would be able to feel. It was small and weak but still present, giving the air around her a warm and comforting feeling to all those that could feel it.

Moving into the classroom she felt the spirit in, she got a little too close to a bookcase, which seemed to trigger an avalanche of books onto her. They did hurt as they fell, but she managed to cry out as she shielded her head. Litwick showed enough restraint to not cause a massive fire by using Ember on the books, as he recognized that flaming books might also harm his trainer. After another attempt to trip her up, Amelia moved over to the window she sensed the ghosts. As she did so, something attempted to trip her again, but it failed and she opted to ignore it as she moved to the window and opened the curtains and then the window itself, leaning outside to look in the direction of the ghost in order to try and get a good look at it, Litwick getting off her head and watching the classroom incase anything fishy happened.