hashtagafreakingghost | Fourth 👻 Story [Video/Action for Goldenrod]

[VIDEO]

[It's flashback time on multiple levels. A waxy stub brushes over the PokéGear's lens, leaving the view muddy. A blurred hand swipes at it, as if it's trying to either knock the camera away or snatch it up and away, jury's out on which one. From the frustrated grunt accompanying it, seems like either would be preferable.

Whoever's holding the PokéGear, however, doesn't let go, instead jumping away. "Wick lit, wick!" Okay so it's a Litwick, now...desperately trying to get the camera to focus on the owner of the small hand. After a few seconds it works well enough, waxy fingerprints aside, and the one staring her down is an auburn-haired little girl, kneeling on a hotel bed. Around eight, maybe ten? Her small stature and incredible baby-face make it hard to tell if she's just a late bloomer or not. However old she is, she's pouting something fierce. A blanket's draped over her head and a discarded Pokémon Handbook lays open by her knees.]

Give it back, pl-please, I don't wanna!

[With each word, the defiant expression she's tried to keep up slips a little more, until she's genuinely...less distressed and more shy, and she pulls the blanket down so it's covering half of her face. Ashley is absolutely positively miserable.]

Go away. Turn it o-off, 'veryone's just gonna...

[...And there goes the other half of the blanket and she's just a blanket-girl now. Congrats.

Agatha the Litwick sighs and then lets out a confused "Lit?" The view shifts just a hair to the right, to a Ralts also standing on the bed. She shakes her head as the blanket-girl begins to whimper and just takes the 'Gear as if she's taking a selfie.]

Hello. Something seems to have gone quite terribly wrong. My trainer's somehow devolved, and she has no idea-

I WANNA GO HOOOME! 'V-VE NEVER EVEN PL-PLAYED A- A- [And now just wailing. Jane the Ralts winces.]

...where she is. We are...not doing very well in comforting her.

[Agatha's gone to try and fix Ashley! ...It doesn't seem to be working.]

I hope this isn't going to be a permanent change.

[ACTION FOR GOLDENROD / 3/12-3/14]

[Eventually Ashley will venture outside. At least she has a sensible outfit for this place. She's never out by herself, instead often holding hands with her Froslass (who is just a little shorter than her) or generally with any number of her Pokémon on hand, as she has never been out in a city by herself before. Back when they were actual kids Mike tried to get her to go exploring or adventuring but she always said no, because they could get in trouble or get hurt, and her mom would yell at her, so this feels bad and weird, but staying in that hotel room all the time's not fun either, and she has to find some way to call her parents!

While she has the natural instinct to clam up if anyone tries to talk to her or shy away from interaction, if she spies something that interests her like cute Pokémon or a bookstore or the Game's Corner, she'll get caught in one-track mode and go investigate. Curiosity, it truly is a beast. The earlier on you encounter her, the more withdrawn and upset she'll be, but she has to be brave! Or at least try to be. She's more inclined to get drawn in by an unfamiliar sight the longer the week goes on.

Ashley trips up a little on Friday night, as she...kind of gets distracted at the bookstore for too long, though, and when she realizes it's far too late, it's night. Like, pitch-black-stores-are-closing night. So that's a big problem, because guess who is absolutely terrified of the dark?

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[She looks him up and down, scrutinizing.]

How do I know you're not a bad person?

...Huh. I mean...you got me there. That's a smart thing to do, instead of just trusting everyone all the time. But these animals here seem to think I'm an okay guy, and I've made a couple friends here. That doesn't sound so bad to me.

...Your lamb does look nice...

[She takes a few steps closer.]

If you do anything bad, my dinosaur will hurt you, okay? [...is that supposed to be a warning...?]

I have zero doubts about that, kiddo. [The Mareep takes her cue to close the gap, a calm baa, tail and therefore light swaying gently Voltorb cracks open an eye at her but doesn't do anything else.] Where to, my lady?

[No one's ever called her that before, like she's a princess. That's a little embarrassing...!] U-um-- the hotel. It's really big...and it's close to uh...a Pokémon Center.

[Little girls like ponies and being princesses until they're about 11, right? And also climbing trees and getting in trouble and--hmmm, maybe totally relying on the Director's memories of small Carolina is not the wisest move ever.]

Yeah? That's where I'm at right now, too. I don't know how long I'll stay there, but it seems pretty safe. There's some weird stuff happening. Seems better to stay until it sorts itself out.

[That's...good, it seems a lot of people are staying where she is. Ashley holds her Chikorita's vine as she walks and pouts.]

This whole place is weird... I just wanna go home, but people keep saying confusing things. Like I can't.

Yeah, doesn't seem like it's an easy thing to do. Sounds like I'm just as new as you are to this. Wouldn't want to run off into the woods to see if there's a way out that way anyway.

[She shakes her head vigorously.]

Nuh-uh, that's where even more scary things live! You're not supposed to go into the woods alone anyway. ...But it's not just that. Some people said I was here before...but big. And I don't get it.

Some people said I was different, too. I'm really confused. [He's confused a lot lately anyway, but those are just...side-effects.] So you're not alone in that feeling. I think a lot of people got whammied by something that messed up their bodies or their memories, maybe. Got switched by other versions of ourselves? Hm...

Like, science-fiction? [Ashley frowns.] That's even weirder. I don't think I like that either.

...I don't wanna be a big girl yet.

You don't like sci-fi? Maybe I'm biased. My life seems like one big science fiction movie. I bet you like animated movies about talking cats and dogs, though.

I like high fantasy, but there's not a lot of good animated movies in that setting, outside anime. [Oh well okay then.] ...But talking animals aren't bad.

Oh. The other big nerdy genre. That's cool, too. No wonder you were at a bookstore; probably reading all the new sprawling epics this place has to offer. Hm, I bet some of the stories back home would be pretty different with the addition of guys like these. [Instead of motioning to Chikorita, Mareep, or Voltorb, he jerks his thumb back at the nervously following Buizel, who freezes in his tracks for a few seconds, caught.]

[She did not realize there was another one following them! Instead of answering properly, Ashley spins around with a gasp and-
...Oh.]

...A weasel.

Like a weasel-otter hybrid. Don't mind it. Him? Don't mind him. He thinks he's being sneaky. It's okay, little buddy, you're not fooling me. I promise they won't shock you up.

[Buizel remains UNSURE. But, caught, he scampers on up to the group in a sheepish, embarrassed way. He's totally not out here because he's worried about his trainer going anywhere. Definitely not.] Bui...

[Oh, it's kinda cute... And looks soft. Ashley wonders if she could pet him?]

...How come so many Pokémon are weird animals and others are just objects?

[Buizel is more curious than he is nervous, thankfully, though he's still a little ashamed of getting caught. He bounds up to the group and stays in the Mareep's light. Wants to poke the little vined one, curious, but refrains because he might get rightfully smacked. Awkwardly waves a little paw at Ashley. Hello, tiny human...!]

Wish I knew. Maybe something happened a long time ago for it all to develop this way. Or maybe things just evolved differently. Not sure how the things that would normally be things but are instead living creatures got around in that case, though. [Alpha do not knock playfully on the Voltorb...]

[Since he's not resisting, it's time for pets, then! Scratch, scratch, scratch, oh he is furry...]

We learned a bit about evolution last year...but I'd already read that chapter so I didn't pay attention much. [Ashley, bad girl.] But it was mostly for plants and dinosaurs, and then we had a unit on the solar system...so I dunno what could make a candle start walking or a ball have a face.

[Ooooohhhhhh the scratchings are niiiiiiice. The Buizel lets out a satisfied buiiiiiiiiiiii and sinks lower to the ground. See, this is how to treat your pokemon, Church.]

So if a smart cookie like you can't figure out how candles gain sentience, or metal balls with faces, I don't think anyone really knows. Maybe there's a weird animal expert somewhere from here who's studied it. No books about it in the store?

[Oh...! He's too big for her to carry, so Ashley stops and focuses on giving the very friendly weasel a nice scritch. It's just like her little kitten back home.

Oh, right, answer, um. Shakes her head.] I didn't really see any. I was...mostly looking for fiction, though.

Fourth 👻 Story [Video/Action for Goldenrod]

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