#Mercy the Gourgeist

[redolentgrove]

Loki sat in her gardens, holding a couple of sunflowers in her hands. A box full of assorted colours of wax paper sat at her left side, the taur's eyes closing briefly in thought before she rose to her paws. She padded over to one of the garden beds with assorted irises and daisies, when the Gourgeist arrived. She paused to listen to her for a moment, composing her response while picking some of the flowers and gathering them alongside the sunflowers.

"Oh yeah, she's pretty well acclimated to it," Loki responded, giving Mercy a warm smile. "I mean, I've taken her to Castelia City quite a few times before she ever got near Harmonia University; she used to love coming with me when I sold flowers there. I guess she grew out of that like most of the other kids have… but that's just what growing up does to you. You start finding your own interests, your own identities."

Loki perked an ear toward the Gourgeist. "Answering that second question kind of depends," she said, gathering more flowers into her hands. "Do you mean the more anthropomorphic Pokemon? Pokemon in general? Because there are a good number of both that commute to and from the forest." The taur nodded, arranging the flowers in her grasp slowly and methodically, creating a vibrant bouquet of differing colours and shapes. "I'd say odds are, if you're talking about Pokemon like myself, who are standing around on at least two feet, with hands, acting like humans would… yeah, most of them are going to be used to the cities and towns if they live here."

"But most of the Pokemon like that don't live here; they live in small settlements around the actual established towns." Loki grabbed a sheet of purple wax paper, wrapping it around her bundled flowers while holding a length of white ribbon in her other hand. "Most of the Pokemon who live in White Forest tend to be the more, let's call it.. 'traditional' style of Pokemon. They don't tend to really leave much. Why would they need to? There's not a lot of reason for wild Pokemon to go into towns, on average."

The taur tied the ribbon around the middle of the wax paper covering the floral bouquet, letting out a quick 'tssk' sound as she looked over it. "Slightly off-center tie, but the flower arrangement itself is perfect…" she whispered. "I prefer it out here, though." She once again addressed the ghost-type. "At least for what I do, all the floral beds, being accustomed to the forest… it just doesn't feel right trying to set myself up in a city. Even a town feels wrong. I never mind visiting them; in fact I quite love my time in Castelia, specifically. It's just… I wouldn't ever live there full-time."

Loki held out the bouquet to offer it to Mercy. "I can imagine with spectral abilities, you'd have an easier time getting to towns and cities." She nodded curtly. "I like the commute, though. It gives me time to explore and make new friends. And time to… as they say, stop and smell the roses."

(( @omnipokemonproducts ))

[crystalelemental]

Generation 6 has held an awkward spot in the series for me. Since around Gen 7, I started calling this game the beginning of Pokemon's decline in quality, or at the very least, the point at which the strains we all now understand began to show. Cut content, delayed feature rollout, save-annihilating bugs; Gen 6 was the first time this felt prominent and noticeable. But it was also the last time I truly felt whimsy and excitement picking up a game. Maybe I was still young enough, or maybe fan response was still positive enough, but the introduction of Fairy type and the presentation of mega evolution as a concept got me really into it, and I went through that first run wildly excited. While my eventual opinion would turn a little sour, recent years have also resulted in my mellowing out, and holding opinions on what I like a little more earnestly. So now that it's finally time to revisit Kalos, let's see if I'm finally ready to love again.

My team used was Braixen, Spritzee, Emolga, Carbink, Gourgeist, and Cryogonal. We had additional rotating cast members of Fletchling, Butterfree, Wartortle, Furret (if you count the HM user), Krookodile, Meowstic-F, and Sliggoo, with a ton of options that were brought in early but didn't stick around longer term.

Right out of the gate, this is an extreme departure from previous games, where I had a dedicated team of six and very little deviation. XY's biggest change, and the biggest hangup for many in my demographic, was the EXP All. This tool allowed the whole team to gain EXP per battle, and now also with each capture. Many who were used to previous systems complained this made the game too easy, myself included. I did soften out fairly quickly into "I'm not opposed to EXP All, but I don't think it's integrated well," and I'll get to that, but I'd like to start out with what works about this system.

EXP All allows you to rotate your team around in a way that the series never had before. EXP always felt extremely finite, and grinding was a long, drawn-out process you did one by one. You could catch something up with the old EXP Share hold item, but it took a while, and you certainly couldn't swap an entire team. The EXP All allowed this to happen. It's a pretty obvious feature, but it's inherently at odds with how people played the older games.

When you're used to the system of picking a core of six and going with only that, this expansion feels unnecessary. You already know how to manage your party's EXP, and sharing it around just means you're overloaded with the stuff. You're wildly over-leveled, and nothing can stand against you. The expectation was that players would switch up their team more often to counterpick opponents, but the reality was that many players from the olden times were already set in their ways and wouldn't rotate the team at all. The merciful thing was that XY left EXP All as optional. You could turn it off. But its mere presence sparked complaints, because...I mean, let's call it what it is: players have trouble not optimizing their own fun out of the game.

"But it's optional" is not a compelling argument when presented with a system that is purely beneficial. Players who are used to attempting optimizations are going to look at EXP All as mandatory in many situations, because why would I not want to optimize? If you play normally, you're still going to hit points of grinding, why not turn it on for that at least and save the trouble? But now it feels like a cheat. When you insist it shouldn't be there, but its presence is a pure benefit, there's no winning for you. You have to meet the system where it's at.

This happened for the other features introduced as well. Pokemon Amie was a cute little minigame hub to play with your Pokemon more directly, feeding and petting them, which increased an affection score that granted in-combat bonuses, such as boosted EXP, and the ability to randomly dodge or endure through attacks. Again, all upside, but feels wildly overpowering. Then there was Super Training. Pokemon finally acknowledged the presence of EVs without calling them what they are, and allowed players to train in perfect increments of 4, allowing players to actually maximize stats without knowing the whole system. Again, both features are optional. You can ignore both. But like. Come on.

Unlike EXP All, however, the intention here is harder to see beyond "make game easier." EXP All rotating the team keeps some teeth in the game while giving the player more time with a wider variety of Pokemon, but Amie and Super Training don't. They're just embellishments to make everything easier, so...why are they there? What benefit to they confer?

At this point, it's best to talk about statistics in a way I haven't before. Not because they're important, no one runs these numbers in main game, but it illustrates the point.

In prior games, at best your Pokemon was fed stat boosting medicine to cap out around 100 in speed, relevant offensive stat, both defenses, and HP. This equates to 25 points at level 100, or 15 around the level 60 you typically finish a game at. XY's introduction of Super Training allows players to fully invest two EVs to maximum, for a total of 63 points at level 100, or around 37 at level 60. This is a wild jump in power, speed, bulk, whatever the player wanted, compared to what used to be possible. But if we assume this was intentional, and designed to accomplish something, then we can start to pick apart where the benefits are and what you can do.

The first obvious one to me, person who is used to optimizing natures, was to consider offsetting a bad nature. If you pick up...let's say Chespin, and roll an unfortunate Modest nature, in previous games you would suffer. My Platinum run involved a Gardevoir who had Sassy, and let me tell you, that speed drop hurt. Detrimental natures can be difficult to work around in ways that don't involve grinding levels for the missing stat points. Super Training allows you instead to maximally invest in the stat, providing an extra 22 points at a comparable level. Which is more than the 10% drop of a bad nature at the level you're finishing up the game. But this was a fairly superficial one. That never stopped you from being able to work around it before, so what's truly new with this system? What can you do now that used to feel impossible?

Suppose you picked up Fennekin as your starter. You really like the cute fox, and when it evolves into a little fox magical girl, you are delighted. But you've seen Delphox and...yeah, it's just not as cute. but you know, you're used to the older games, and evolution is really almost required. You can beat things with pre-evolutions, but the grind is intolerable. But hey, new generation, new mechanics, you decide to stick to your guns and not evolve Braixen, using everything at your disposal to make it as strong as possible.

Statistically, at around level 60, here's what their stats look like, considering a neutral nature, max IVs (because the calculator defaults to it) and no EVs:

Delphox: HP: 178 (75) Atk: 106 (69) Def: 110 (72) Sp Atk: 160 (114) Sp Def: 143 (100) Spd: 148 (104)

Braixen: HP: 159 (59) Atk: 94 (59) Def: 93 (58) Sp Atk: 131 (90) Sp Def: 107 (70) Spd: 111 (148)

In every category, Braixen lags behind pretty severely. The smallest gaps, in Atk/Def, are still 12-17 points of difference, while the important ones, Sp Atk/Spd, are off by 29 and 37 respectively. That is a massive discrepancy, and the kind of statistical drawback that will keep most players from even considering Braixen. So historically, you would evolve to Delphox, and taking the best possible outcome you probably don't have with medicine, you get this at level 60:

Delphox (100 EVs HP/Def/Sp Atk/Sp Def/Spd) HP: 193 Atk: 106 Def: 125 Sp Atk: 175 Sp Def: 158 Spd: 163

But you've decided you're sticking with Braixen. And maybe you don't even know how EVs work as a system, but you do understand number go up in Super Training, and also that speed determines turn order while Sp Atk governs damage, so you max out both. You slap that Eviolite item on for a pre-evolution, and you get:

Braixen (252 Sp Atk/Spd, 4 Def EVs + Eviolite) HP: 159 Atk: 94 Def: 94 -> 141 Sp Atk: 169 Sp Def: 107 -> 160 Spd: 149

Braixen is now comparable. You're still slower by a good margin, but offensively and in bulk, you average out compared to what a final stage used to get.

Now, this wasn't a perfect solution. A second stage like Braixen can roughly keep up, but a first stage is far more behind than its final form. So let's say you're still scarred by SmogBird, and can't use Talonflame. You also have Braixen, and don't want the type overlap of Fletchinder, but you do want a Flying type. So you pick up Fletchling, and run a comparable approach. To compare stats with Talonflame:

Fletchling (252 Atk/Spd, 4 Sp Def + Eviolite) HP: 142 (45) Atk: 121 (50) Def: 75 (43) -> 112 Sp Atk: 71 (40) Sp Def: 69 (38) -> 103 Spd: 135 (62)

Talonflame (100 HP/Atk/Def/Sp Def/Spd) HP: 197 (78) Atk: 135 (81) Def: 123 (71) Sp Atk: 112 (74) Sp Def: 121 (69) Spd: 189 (126)

Fletchling doesn't just lag across stats, its speed is wildly behind. Attack gets closer than I anticipated, but you definitely feel this discrepancy more strongly, and the Super Training can't salvage it.

But EXP All can. Keep Fletchling in your party long-term, to soak up all that experience and over-level a bit, and now you get:

Fletchling (same parameters, level 70) HP: 164 Atk: 140 Def: 86 -> 129 Sp Atk: 82 Sp Def: 79 -> 118 Spd: 157

A comparable spread. Speed is still lower, though, and your bulk isn't great, so maybe you're worried about your little bird managing through a hit. We've exhausted EVs, and even EXP All only goes so far without serious grinding, so what do we do?

Amie can grant sudden surprises, like bonus crits, dodges, and endure effects, that let your little baby stick it out. Even if stats aren't on par, you can get some surprise outcomes that can make it work.

I think this was the intent. The three new features work in step with each other, providing means of keeping pre-evolutions and generally weaker Pokemon up with their fully evolved competition. It's more of an investment, but it's now a reasonable one (45 minutes for Super Training, 15 minutes for Amie) compared to trying to force level grinding well beyond what's typical (several hours and likely a lot of frustration regarding damage).

Now, for all that good, I do think the system struggles against itself in two major ways.

First, nothing is done on the opponent's end to combat these tools. Opposing teams remain small like Gen 5, but without the same teeth. All of the E4 felt surprisingly easy, except for Wikstrom who kinda got the drop on me from a misclick and remembering too late that three of my Pokemon were weak to Steel. But like...Malva literally could not hurt Carbink. She had nothing against it. And that's rather staggering after Unova, where each of the E4 felt so supremely capable of countering their expected weaknesses that Hydreigon felt difficult to use. Combined with the sense from many that EXP All and the other features simplified things, it's easy to understand the belief that the game is too easy. After all, the system works great for pre-evolutions, but it's a universal buff and you get more benefit from full evolutions, so why not stomp it all? The answer is fun, but again, people optimize away fun. I'm getting off topic...

Second is structure. In older games, you would pick up Pokemon as you went. You get your starter, maybe an early option, then not get you third until about Gym 3, staggering out a new Pokemon every gym or two until you have a team of six going into the League. With smaller regional dex sizes, this wasn't too difficult, because you only had so many things to choose from. Gen 6 is flush with options across a ton of types. By the end of Viola's gym, you have something in nearly every single type available for your party, and several with multiple options. Choice paralysis starts here. I have a tough time playing games from this point on past the opening, because I'll start, get wishy-washy about the team, and then just...stop. I think it's also bad for the new Pokemon when you have a huge roster, and a ton of the early acquisitions are powerhouse favorites like Bagon and Ralts. It feels hard to justify picking up Goomy, who turns out okay but not great, when you can pick up Bagon, Axew, and Gible by that point. I prefer Gen 5's requirement to use the new stuff.

There are plenty of other issues with the gameplay. I didn't even talk about the myriad issues with Mega Evolution and how it may as well not exist given its access point. But these are aspects that are more understood and agreed upon, so I think it's time to move on.

I have talked about this already several times on this blog, but it's been a while and it's fresh so I'm doing it again. When the game came out, I was fully on board with the story complaints. It makes no sense, it's stupid, Lysandre's stupid, etc. All of it is obvious and dumb. But in recent years, I have softened to the point that I think I'm something of a Gen 6 story fan.

The major complaints against it tend to focus on the antagonist, because...let's be honest, Pokemon never has a robust story, all of it centers on what the antagonist is doing and your player is interpreted based on being the foil. Complaint 1: Lysandre's motivation makes no sense and is stupid. Complaint 2: Lysandre is so obviously the villain, why doesn't anyone stop him or question him?

I'm tossing complaint 2 out the window immediately. I have no interest in this point, it's a boring line of thought that ignores the concept of dramatic tension and what the characters are experiencing for whether they fit into our perceived logic boxes as omniscient viewers. It's as vacuous as complaining about why Eirika would trust Lyon with the Sacred Stone: because she cares about him and wants to trust he can overcome this. Done. Easy. Almost like you didn't think about the story at all if this is your complaint.

The first complaint is more salient, though, because it feels like bad writing is at fault. Why is Lysandre so contradictory? He claims to care so much about people and the region, but he's actively genocidal. He claims he wants to be someone who gives to others, to be a good person, yet is given ample opportunity to change when confronted with how wrong he is and never does. He goes on and on about people who take, but runs a Scientology cult you pay a small fortune to get in on, and runs a tech company that spies on people and collects personal data for profit. What is his deal?

But with age, I feel like...I've seen a Lysandre before. He runs a tech company and is likely worth billions, but he also runs this little cafe and is apparently a pretty good boss who cares about his workers taking breaks. He cares deeply about the country and its future, and is extremely philanthropic to things he believes are important. But at the same time, he views some subset of the population as parasitic, taking beyond what's theirs and dragging the whole country down with them. His only perceived solution is one of violent removal of these people, and is overtly willing to let others be harmed in the crossfire of removing what he has identified as the problem. I hope you can see where this is going.

Lysandre is an extremist and a nationalist, who is on the one hand someone who wants to help others, but on the other so deluded by his belief that he's perfectly identified a specific group that is The Problem. It's just that said group is a wide shot. At times it's the "unproductive fools" that makes it sound like he's on about welfare. At times it's stuff about ongoing war. His specific target shifts constantly, but his end goal is clear: everyone has to die, unless they think exactly like him. Only the in-group that he's created is worth saving. While his specific complaint feels inconsistent, his big picture is. This is the end result of that kind of in-group/out-group thinking.

This is the same for Sycamore, a highly regarded professor who, while likely not as wealthy as Lysandre, fits in the same general social spheres. Sycamore has not radicalized like Lysandre has, but Lysandre is also his friend. Yes, he goes off about things and can be uncomfortable at times, but this is a man you've known for years as someone who is compassionate and driven and does good things for the world. It's hard to confront that he may be going down a dark path.

"Okay, but Lysandre literally goes off about the positive spin on genocide and he doesn't do anything." Of course he doesn't. Aside from just believing it can't be his real feelings, it's outlandish enough to read as apolitical. The reason you get gamer dudes talking about games like FF7 as if they're completely apolitical is because, when you have a political statement that meets group consensus, there's no debate to be had, thus it is apolitical. It is bad to harm the planet to the point of killing it. No politics enter here because duh. The flip side of this coin is that anything that is so wildly against group consensus must not be serious, and is thus also apolitical. It's only when there's debate that it becomes a serious question, and serious extreme views fly under the radar because of that disbelief. And thus, Lysandre saying "What the ancient king did was terrible, but you can't deny it cleaned up the problem" is treated as just an impassioned statement said in anger, rather than a serious concern. He says it in a rough way that stings the ears, but it's because he's passionate and justifiably angry at the state of things, don't think ill of him. He doesn't mean it. Until he does. And then the warning signs make sense.

This also ties into why I think Serena (or Calem, but it...it's Serena) is the most developed protagonist, despite being silent. Protagonists get some mild character solely through their stance against the antagonist. Dawn can be assumed as a sort of champion of emotion - the importance of feeling and empathizing with others - solely because Cyrus is the complete opposite. In the case of many protagonists, this does little. Gens 1-3 don't add anything, and Gen 5 has Ghetsis who is so laughably cartoon evil that it doesn't say anything about the protagonists that they oppose him. Even in contrast to N, their presentation as "Caring about bonds with Pokemon via Pokeballs" is so in line with the status quo narrative of literally every game that it adds nothing.

Serena has flavor, though, because of the scene in the labs. You are presented a choice of two buttons. Press one, and the weapon will be damaged in a way that renders it inoperable, and the day is saved without any conflict. Press the other, and it will fire instantly. Serena is given that choice. What makes this scene tick is two elements. First, that Xerosic will fire the weapon anyway if you guess right, and Lysandre will call him out for it. The gamble was legitimate, and Lysandre was willing to let his entire plan fail before it even took off if you guessed right. Which brings into question, what's his motivation? If the genocide could be stopped so easily and he'd be fine with it, then there's another, possibly more important goal, he's after, right? Which leads to the second interesting point: there's a third option, but you cannot take it.

Look at the situation from outside. The weapon is inert, and as far as you know, the only way to currently turn it on is one of two buttons in front of you. If your end goal is "don't let the weapon fire," you can just...not push a button. That's a viable option. Stop Xerosic but don't make a choice. Except you can't just leave. The game makes you choose, which reflects the notion that the character would not think to, or would not accept, rejecting a choice. Which, I think, was Lysandre's goal.

Consider Serena as a character. When you start this journey, you are with four friends, who (notoriously) suck. They're all kinda bad at what they do. Calem is no threat as a rival, Tierno and Shauna just kinda fart around without accomplishing anything, and Trevor is so bad at being the guy filling out the dex that I have never lost our competitions no matter how much content I skip. Serena breezes through the toughest trials the region has to offer, and excels far beyond her friends, even acquiring and mastering the art of Mega Evolution that Professor Sycamore couldn't achieve. Serena is, by definition, gifted. She is exceptional. And because she is exceptional, she has never really known failure. When Lysandre makes his announcement that the weapon will be fired, there is no ultimatum issued to you. There is no reason for you, specifically, to show up. And yet he counted on it, so thoroughly that he had this decision set up just for you. A decision you didn't have to make, but cannot back away from. Why?

Because in that moment, you're thinking like him. Who else is going to stop him? Professor Sycamore can't even talk back to this guy about his extremism, he's all but useless. Your friends certainly can't contribute much in a fight. Diantha hasn't done a thing since she showed up. If you don't, who will? It has to be you. You're the only one qualified, because you've proven, time and again, how exceptional you are. You have the inflated ego, the sense of self, to see this problem the way Lysandre would. To see it as your responsibility. He openly shows it, but the character really could be part of his in-group. You have the outline for that path, you just need pushed down it. And imagine what it would do to someone like that to have made the wrong choice. God I need to write that fic some day...

Now, this isn't to suggest that XY story is peak...although I am inching ever closer to that statement to be inflammatory. A lot of its problems are really in presentation rather than substance, though. Lysandre doesn't get much play, despite how much Ghetsis got to ramble on about literally nothing interesting. Diantha does nothing but mumble about bonds one time, despite how many previous champions became deeply ingrained in their regions. Even Sycamore doesn't really get much play. But your friend group does, and a lot of that play feels extraneous and slows down progress a bit. It's just a bit too much of them, and at times they can feel rather annoying, which...I guess is ludonarrative, in some sense.

It's really just...cutscene spam. Gen 5 could go for a while, but Gen 6 feels like you get a lot more stop and go. Here's a scene. Okay now go downstairs for another scene. Okay now leave the lab for another scene. Okay try to move on to be told to visit the cafe for another scene. Okay now leave but oops another scene! It's constant interruptions where you think okay, this time for sure we're going forward, but then it screeches to a halt again. The strict gameplay sections are still fun, but I found it harder to deal with a lot of the unnecessary interruptions. I will, however, applaud the Santaulune Forest. I think having Shauna follow you and heal your party as needed was a divine way to offset the usual need to run back to the center like a dozen times while catching and training your early party. It really smoothed things out.

Overall...I had a ton of fun with this run. I'll be honest, this is above Gen 5 now. I'm kinda staggered by it too, but it checks out. It's just fun, and fast, and lets me get away with absolute nonsense. This definitely isn't my favorite, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

As for the next game up...long story short, my wife's playing Digimon but also works over the summer while I don't. While she has the switch, I think my handheld is going to be ORAS or White 2 (I'm avoiding Gen 7 as long as possible), but I'm going to start picking up Galar. Haven't decided between Sword or Shield, but...there's going to be a lot to say there, too.

[cheemken]

Sheesh Diantha, being kind of a hypocrite rn. You hated it when people got mad when you didn’t live up to their standards, but now you get mad at Iris and Hau for not living up to your standards 🤨

But oh my god, the Kalos league not knowing makes the dynamic between Malva and Diantha all the better.

I’m imagining someone jokingly asking Diantha how she managed to quell Malvas snarky attitude and it takes everything in Malva to not panic because Diantha is watching her and she doesn’t want to give Diantha a reason to kill her

Pffft ikr ouo

But then again that's her belief that she has more rights to set standards bc ofc, she's a Champion, compared to the others that are just low trainers that set their own standards for themselves towards her. And she's justifying her standards on Iris and Hau as "they're Champions too, are they not? Surely they should also be above everyone else."

But damn yes P L E A S E

Just Malva looking uneasily at her, praying to every god up there that they'd spare her this one time, just this one time that Diantha would also grant her the same mercy. And she could just feel the aura of Diantha's Gourgeist hiding within the shadows, not felt by everyone but her and the Champion, that eerie song accompanied by the echo of the souls haunted her with each breath, and she knows just how close the Ghost pokemon is to her, how close those claws are to her face, how hard she's trying to stay calm while everyone's looking at Diantha, waiting for her answer

And Diantha's there, smiling oh so innocently at Malva, then she spoke, "oh, we had a bet, if I beat her in a one on one battle, my Gardevoir and her Houndoom, then she'd stop with those sarcastic comments and finally take me seriously," she chuckled, prompting her head on her palm, eyes half lidded as the others finally looked at Malva.

"wow, you really thought you'd beat our Champion?" Korrina laughed, poking Malva's side, with the latter giving her a weak glare. "what would've happened if you lost tho, Dia?"

"well.." Diantha hummed, one eye closed and she made a hushing motion, "I get to tell her everything I know on one of her interviews." Then she smiled, "but fortunately for me, I won!"

And what they don't know, even if Malva did "win" that "battle" Diantha still would've won. After all, they would believe their Champion more than the lowly Fire type specialist of the Elite Four.

[omnipokemonproducts]

The Ultra Beast Question

---

“She’s late.” Leigh was already at her patience’s end with Simmons. Vonnegut could not help but agree with her but just sighed. They were going to be meeting with Simmons, who had just happened to capture a UB, in particular, the one entitled Xurkitree. Plus considering her ‘specialty’ of interstellar pokemon, she was the best consultant.

The doors to the briefing room opened to an underwhelming sight. A middle aged woman with dark complexion, with a contained hairdo that still was messy all over. The most striking item was a pair of glasses that could not hide the dark spots under her eyes. Around her waist were four pokeballs all strapped to her not-fanny pack, one of which would be the talking point today. The woman who looked not out of place at all was Simmons Bērōnī.

“What kept you?” Leigh folded her arms and shot her a glare. “We have been waiting for fifteen minutes.”

The woman waved her hands as if to pacify her colleague’s concerns. “Take it easy. Jubjub just found a song they liked and wanted to dance to it.”

“Jubjub?” Vonnegut finally voiced his own concern and confusion.

The young woman reached into her not-fanny pack and clicked the ball open. To both his colleague’s shock the UB itself was as bizarre in person as the data they had been given showed...all quashed by one article of clothing on its neck(?). Closest to what could only be described as the bulb of the mon was a small bow tie. It was a clip on, but it seemed it was attached well enough to where it would not fall off.

“This is Jubjub. They can generate a lot of electricity and has been charging my phone the last few days.” To demonstrate Simmons took a phone charger from her pocket and stuck the plug end into the alien. The latter did not even react.Her phone emitted a small sound, to signify it was charging. Suddenly music began to play from the phone, followed by the electric alien to dance while making some small unknown noises. “I have noticed that is generates massive amounts of electricity when happy that are more stable and consistent than if it is agitated or in pain.”

“Great. Fantastic.” Vonnegut curtly replied. “We need to cut to the chase. Simmons, we need your expertise to develop a means of stopping any inter dimensional invasion.”

“Ah right. Well to be frank I don’t think these Ultra Beasts are merely an inter-dimensional threat. I think this could be the most recent encounter with pokemon from a potential far away planet and they have discovered transportation before we could.”

All four of the Think Tank member’s groaned. Simmons’ tried and true theory: anything new, even the god-like pokemon, always came down to aliens. “Do you have any basis to this?” David was often the one who had to do most of the leg work to prove she was wrong. During the few times she was right he had to confirm it, which only fueled her alien hunter tendencies more.

“Yes actually. In fact I have cross referenced a few reports from the Aether Incident, some other reported sightings, as well as my own testimony.” Reaching into her fanny pack, she pulled out a small tablet and pressed the screen to allow an image to appear projected via hologram. In there, stood a long, lanky humanoid pokemon. Its appearance looked feminine.

“This mon for instance is known as Pheromosa. These pokemon tend to operate in swarms, and are the strongest combat wise out of all the ultra beasts reported. Most tend to operate in a hive mind of a leader.” Pressing another button on her tablet it switched over to an image of the same Ultra Beast but most of its body was black. “Except these black ones are always independent agents, as they are able to operate independently of the swarm. They have also been seen giving some kind of orders to their white counterparts.”

David was at least impressed. Of course he would need his own combat data and his own tests, but this could yield fruit. “And these are the only two you have so far right?”

“I don’t have the pheromosa. Darren Ida was the one who caught most of those. Granted he had suffered some injuries related to said capture. One took a bite out of his arm, but his arm is still intact. Just in a cast now.” All four think tank members would need to interview Darren Ida, despite how difficult it could be to work with him due to his cold and hostile demeanor.

“So what is our new course?” Mercy chimed in, finally speaking up after being silent as to not have to talk to Simmons. “Do we reinstate project Quantum Leap?”

Vonnegut grumbled. It had been a long time since he mothballed that department since the last discovery of a variant of gothitelle that had crash landed in Sinnoh. The goal of operation Quantum Leap was research into pokemon with potential alien or dimensional origins. He had Simmons, but he had a lot on his plate now and out of everyone here, she was the most adept at leading it. For now.

“Yes. Simmons we will leave that department to you. You will be given a budget and a number of resources to do as you see fit on the Ultra Beasts and everything that can be verified adjacent. Do not spend any money on any frivolous side projects.” The malamar knew that giving her complete control of this department would be a bad idea, so he would need to have someone oversee her.

“I have a demand.” Mercy sounded stern and forceful, which was surprising to the other think tank members. “You are to not talk to any undead staff members on anything other than anything related to your project.”

“Oh shit.” Leigh muttered under her breath. She knew exactly why Mercy had said that.

“If it about my own research into echtoplasmic pokemon, I’m sorry if I offended you or anyone in the support group you run. I just don’t think it is healthy for any of them to cling onto false memories. Forcing memories of people who have died is amoral and not healthy. It will just lead to dissociative identity disorder for them. They need professional medical help.” Simmons did not sound mad, but she sounded just as stern.

As she said that Mercy’s eyes got wide and her fangs starting to become more pronounced, with a low snarl.

“Alright that’s enough.” Leigh felt inclined to cut this off before it got uncomfortable. “Simmons get yourself in order so David and I can establish the basis for you to work with.”

“Works for me. I’ll get started right away.” As quickly as she came in, the scientist put Jubjub back in their ball and left the room to somewhere not even she knew.

[askgaiasgrace]

(omnipokemonproducts): Mercy pulls out a pen and pad, approaching the young magus in training, staring intently. "What components do you use for your spells? Is there any gods connected to your magic?" Noticing her pushy nature, the gourgeist backs off slightly.

“It varies depending on the spell, though most often it's suggested for lower levels to carry a wand when doing them so said spells don't fly out of control. Or for super-powerful ones, it's advised to use them. Occasionally there are ingredients for summoning ones, be it fleshy or regular nature bred ones...It goes on and on and ill be honest I er...Don't know the entire djist of it...Dang, I need to keep reading...” She muttered softly before her ears perked at the mention of a deity.

“OH! Yes actually! Gaia is our main god, which most associate her name as ‘Xerenas’! She's the one who started our coven after she fell into her slumber, so we help keep the natural order in balance! In return, she grants us the power to control nature and stop aging after our prime. Though of course, she isn't the only hand in it, we also work alongside the forces of nature, as they bring apon needed disasters, same with life. Zygarde is top next to xerenas as he also keeps watch of our duties, thankfully though he hasn't been seen in eons! If he did well, that would mean we aren't doing a very good job...”

@askbohemiancompany - @omnipokemonproducts / @ask-nimby-the-castform

[gloomyloveletter]

(picrew by chereverie)

presenting my rival pokemon ocs + my si that i wanted to add to complete the trio!!

dove, the determined and competetive rival! the kind to make friends easily, but shows no mercy in battle. picks the starter weak to mine. she was born in johto and her goal is to be a great pokemon champion - a goal that she has yet to achieve.

dove's team is:

gengar ♀️

nidoqueen ♀️

espeon ♂️

gourgeist ♀️

meganium ♂️

hatterene ♀️

and lupine, the aloof, cold, and somewhat cocky rival. born in unova, grew up in kalos, and spent many teen years in alola. picks the starter strong against mine. it takes a lot for him to open up to someone. despite his frigid nature he cares very deeply for his pokemon.

lupine's team is:

zoroark ♂️

decidueye ♂️

umbreon ♀️

swoobat ♀️

midday lycanroc ♂️

houndoom ♀️

greninja ♂️ (a team alternate)

and yall alredy kno my si

theyve all been rivals for years and have followed each other to every region since meeting.

(also. swag: secretly we are gay)

[askspringbringers-blog]

(OPP)Mercy@Crylic: "You say you are a god correct? Just out of curiosity, what are some other gods in your pantheon?" The gourgeist pulled out a pen a paper, ready to take notes.

CRYLIC: “Oh, there are plenty! So many, but the ones I know the best are….”

CRYLIC: “Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu are staples! They’re the sun and moon, so they’rere always around– they’re both so strange-looking and honestly beautiful! And Tsukuyomi is so… kind! I haven’t seen Amaterasu in a while, though…!”

CRYLIC: “But the biggest god closest to me is my father, Kurogane.  He rules Igarashi, and is the god of corruption. He’s… actually one of the major gods of our entire planet…!”

> ASK HINTS HAVE BEEN ADDED.

[ @omnipokemonproducts | Anonymous ] 

[thetakenpokemon]

(OPP)Mercy@Richmond: You seem to study magic. If you don't mind my asking what is your exact focus for magic? Also if you don't mind my asking: how familiar are you with the idea of a familiar?

[PoV: Richmond]

It appears that several individuals are feeling rather bold on approaching me today, this time a Gourgeist. “Magic is one of the many things I study, but it is one of my primary focuses.” I respond, my gaze not lifting from my tome. “However if you wish to know, my focus specializes on fire.” My gaze flicks up to her, but only for a moment. “Spirit Fire.”

I turn to the next page, reading the scripture that I have read numerous times before. “Although there are many names for it, Spirit Fire is what I’ve started calling it. It is the flames within me that is powered by ethereal energy, similar to what you would find in Ghost-types.” The edges of my lips rise slightly. “But then again, perhaps ‘study’ is not quite the right term. I already know of my capabilities, the only reason why I have this tome is because it provides a focus for my power.”

A soft breath escapes from my nose. “As for ‘familiars’, I can say I'm quite familiar with the term.” I look back up at the spirit, my eyes twinkling. “Pun intended, as I can assume that it was intentional on your side.” I let out a soft laugh. “Back to the question at hand, I do know of them. Creatures that accompany magic-users, often providing assistance or even being used as a focus for numerous spells.” I adjust the glasses on my snout. “Personally I have no use for a familiar, my tome is more than enough for me.”

With that I focus my attention back at said book. “I believe I’ve answered all of your questions. If there is anything else that you desire to know, please ask. If not, then I bid you good day.”

[askinggourgeist]

Drew the askblog communities Gourgeists! (IDK if there are anymore??? woopsie)

Mercy belongs to @omnipokemonproducts & a Creeper for @askshadyflower !

[omnipokemonproducts]

Threads Running Parallel and Intersecting

It had felt like a year, sitting in one location for so long after years of being on the run. After some weeks of recovery, Delasol was back at full again. She planned to leave her gracious host, who ironically would be one of her targets if she had known.

“I cannot thank you enough for caring me these last few weeks.” The massive gripper said, noticeably sounding happier than her usual brooding demeanor. This amount of time not on the run was nice, not having to kill anyone or avoid being killed. It was a nice reprieve.

“It’s no trouble at all. If you ever need to, feel free to stop by,” Mercy said with a glowing smile. The grass type floated over to the counter and handed her a small knapsack. “I have some medicine in case you get hurt again. I also packed you some sweets for the road.”

While the medicine was practical, Dela could not help but feel like she was being coddled like an infant. If the ghost had a face, she would have given an awkward, embarrassed smile. “Well uh, that’s generous of you. I wish you well.”

Both ghosts waved as the bigger of the two exited the small house.  

Once she was far enough away from the house, Dela reached inside her maw, pulling out a piece of newspaper with the headline “Local ‘mon Slays Monster. When Dela saw it at an early day she had a panic attack. That gave Mercy a scare.

What was she going to do now? She had no leads on where Keenan was, or even if they were alive. She could not just abandon her old friend and colleague to suffer on their own, but she would need to act fast in order to kill the two involved in Okyasu’s death. Whatever would come first would depend on what is in front of her, but her rage at this clefable and blastoise was unparalleled and both needed to pay.

---

In the storage room of OPP, Laramie was carrying several crates of cargo. Her natural strength made the three containers a cake walk to carry. Several of the interns, including Marajane, were monitoring the taur and making sure the packages were in the right spots. It was the intern's job to maintain the stock of different supplies and to make sure they were in their respective spots in the room.

“Alright Laramie, it looks like you only have these two crates of golett parts to carry, then we can call it quits,” said Marajane. Laramie was in a good mood due to how everything was going today. Stock was easy, she did not see sight or sound of either Leigh or Kieron, and Marajane was working with her. All in all, it was a good day considering her status as a criminal.

A sound that was metal being dragged on metal could be heard, some gasps from the interns drew their attention to one of the very people the fire type did not want to see. Kieron.

To everyone’s shock and fear, Kieron did not look very well, he was limping, while holding his arm to attempt to cover the deep slash mark in his armor. Many of the interns feared Kieron due to his status as a member of the Caged Angels, but also because of his background and his laundry list of crimes he committed in his time before, and even after, capture.

Laramie could be rough on the interns, but between the two members, the interns tended to side with the fire type. Mostly due to her not taking any of Kieron’s abuse or wrath, if he were to show it. She wanted to stop any of the interns from soiling themselves, but she had to wonder what happened to him to cause these injuries.

“What happened to you?” Laramie sounded cold but curious.

“Not gonna talk about it. All of you piss off and leave me be.” Kieron sounded bitter.

“So you are gonna sulk in a stock room and not even try to get your armor fixed?”

“Yes that is exactly it. Now all of you leave before I get pissed.” The mewtwo was sounding angrier by the moment. As he darted around he noticed Marajane pulling out her phone. On the screen, he noticed Leigh’s name. She was going to try and call this in.

Lashing out at her hand, he gripped the young girl’s wrist, which caused her to recoil. “Did I say to call this in?!” The psychic snarled.

Seeing Marajane’s scared reaction, Laramie quickly reached and ‘firmly grasped’ his hand. The grip was so ‘firm’ that a small crack could be heard as he was forced to let go of the human’s hand.

“Go ahead and call it in.”

After Marajane composed herself, she sent Leigh the message and quickly made her way back to the other interns to distance herself. Once she was far enough away Laramie weakened her grip. “Go sulk all you want, but don’t lash out at the interns.”

Kieron stopped struggling. “Fine. Just let go and leave me be.” The camerupt released the cyborg’s arm and he continued limping towards a corner of the storage room to be alone. Laramie had to try to get the interns away from Kieron as he had his own pity party, so she signaled them to leave.

---

Several miles away from most of the major cities in Unova, stands a single manor. This massive abode belongs to David Essex, OPP’s residential genetic research specialist.

Inside the manor, it was spotless, despite how infrequently David would visit the place. David would always mention to guests that this was his vacation house, the place he goes to escape or take a vacation when he needed to get away from OPP.

This was a lie.

While it looked like the mansion of a standard millionaire, it was more his private lab. A place where he kept many secret projects, both in progress and failed. Not to mention several artifacts from his many aliases and occupations over the decades.

In fact, the reason he was here today was that another artifact from his past had come back, and not in a good way. Baozihi was someone he always hated, it filled him with schadenfreude to know her kingdom was gone...until he found out her plan to rebuild it. Not to mention Hui was possibly alive as well, one of the few people in this world to make him feel fear. This problem needed to be solved and solved soon.

Descending to the deepest section of the manor, David noticed the walls covering the floors of the cave. The limestone would have cause any attempt to grow crops would have failed. Yet the flowers grew healthy and in great bundles, some of which were now considered a rarity as well. Deep in the cave was a light that was bright enough to give lighting a standard lamp would from far away.

David smiled. It seemed his greatest asset, and what he came here to see, was working as intended.

“It seems you have been growing a garden since I was away.”

No one replied. If anyone else was with him, they would call David mad, or at least that he was making some kind of joke. “I thank you for keeping this place looking nice, but I will need your assistance. But not just your life-giving powers. No no. That will come another time.”

Still no response.

“I can only trust this task to someone I consider an ally, a friend, someone strong enough to eradicate something that requires the force of a god. Baozihi has returned.”

A loud ‘clank sound’ could be heard. Following this noise, the light began to move towards him. This caused David to grin. “She is attempting to rebuild the kingdom. The one whose ideals of strength and might trump over compassion is what lead to the nation to ruin. It alienated you, drove you to me and made me stronger.”

The audible banging became faster, the intensity of the light increasing as David spoke. “I know we are as old as they are, but the difference between Baohzi and her ilk is that we adapted to the times. Their attempts to revive their kingdom will only lead to self-ruination due to how firmly stuck in the past she is. And when she fails, she will make sure everything goes with her.” Seeing the light coming increasingly closer, the humanoid formed a thin layer of skin to cover his eyes as to not bind himself.

As quick as the clanging began, it stopped. The humanoid gave a gleeful smile upon the massive behemoth that stormed his way towards him. The source of the light within the cave was finally facing him, causing a blinding light to surround the towering individual.

“It is time to revive the god of old, the name you chose yourself.”

The eyes of the illuminating giant pierced through the light.

“Show them why you have the title of Mithras.”

A booming roar reverberated through the cave.

[omnipokemonproducts]

Zel@Mercy: "Wow, you're a gourgeist, just like my dad!" He bounced in front of her. "From what I hear, pumpkaboo can either be natural born or formed from the spirit of the deceased. Which one are you? And um, if you're the latter, could you tell me something about your past life? Maybe a memory of some kind?" The mismagius beamed with curiosity.

Mercy could not help but smile at the yellow ghost’s optimism. This was reined in when the child inquired on her background, not because of her being a spirit, but more so the memories of her past life, which had come recently in small bursts.

“I am a spirit yes. I do not remember any details aside from an outside of being a scientist that worked with OPP before I passed.” She paused after thinking on some of the dreams she had involving her children. “For a while, I only heard some voices that seemed familiar to me when I was alive. They were my children I believe. Recently I have had some dreams and flashes of their outlines. In fact, I have been actually making notes on what I have been seeing in order to see if I can piece it together on my own.”

A single sigh slipped her lips. “I want to consult a dream specialist in order to see if I can unlock or fully piece these memories.”

(negativenox)

[omnipokemonproducts]

Nuc(L)ear (O)pt(I)on

A decision had been made. It had been a long and thoughtful deliberation all four think tank members came to a conclusion: the Earth could not handle a full out assault from the UBs. If the UBs were to attack it would mean the destruction of their earth due to their power and sheer numbers. Worse came to worse they would need to end the increased assault of the UBs at any cost.

Fortunately, Leigh had a solution. One that would be a hard sell, but one only someone who knew the best interests of human and pokemon kind like Leigh could propose.

“Alright everyone here is my plan. In the event, we do not succeed in killing the UBs outright, as a last resort should be what I would like to call plan B. The first part of the plan is to start forming what I would call the ark. We stick select pokemon and people into a series of spaceships and we shoot it to the moon, where we then implement all of them to live on the moon into some ecosystems we could form, as well as proposed potential colonies outside of the moon's orbit.” She wanted to emphasize the moon's orbit, for the Earth could explode. This was after all a smart plan that was destined to saving everyone in the worst case scenario.

Waves of silence went over the think tank members. To her surprise, everyone agreed. She even got a standing ovation from the remaining three, with Mercy crying tears of joy. The notion passed.

So after months of careful deliberation, Leigh had successfully approved her simple yet universally agreed plan. OPP set up the series of nuclear bombs in the core of the Earth with the universal assistance of the world governments and pokemon groups. It was a great era of peace, as pokemon and humans put aside their differences to put a bomb in the middle of the Earth in the event of an alien attack. Love for bombs was a popular slogan around this time.

All that was left was to arm the bomb. Nothing could go wrong...

On December 17th, 20XX the Earth mysteriously was reduced to space debris and dust. The ark system was put off until the bomb was completely set up, therefore the preservation of humanity and pokemon kind backfired. The planet was completely decimated. What caused the bomb to explode is a pointless mystery because no one was left to record it in the history books. After all, history means nothing if everyone is dead.

Not everything was a complete loss however, some pokemon did survive the vacuum of space, including one furious off golruk whose disgust is not easily shown, a cofagrigus who had a stern look but was more than confused as to what happened to the planet and a psychic type with a voice that would thankfully not travel due to drifting in space. So everything was not a total loss.

[omnipokemonproducts]

Cassie@Mercy: "Oh me oh my, what is this I spy? A Gourgeist that casts spells such as I~?" The Gothitelle clasped her gloved hands together and flashily skipped over to Mercy with an elated smile. "Hello my dear, good day to you! You're a conjurer, yes? What sort of spells do you do?"

Well this gothitelle sure looked flashy. Not the gourgeist minded, she herself had her moments of being a bit hyper or over dramatic moments. At least this mage seemed nice and was up for a chat. “Oh why thank you, my good lady.” This woman seemed to enjoy speaking in a hammy, almost medieval era style of speaking. She might as well match the tone.

“Why yes my lovely lass. I know some magic.” There was a prolonged pause. “Emphasis on some sadly. I only really have the ability to communicate with spirits and to be able to control one zombie at a time, and even then not for very long.” An awkward, embarrassed, chuckle came from the head of the magic studies division. It made her seem like a chump as she was one of the few people who knew magic in the company.

“I admit I have struggled to hire qualified staff for the magic division. In terms of studying paranormal and spirit based endeavors, we have plenty of experts, but we are sorely lacking on those who study magic.”

(thevaloroushearts)

[omnipokemonproducts]

Delphine@Mercy: "Hmmmm....I was born as a ghost" the Mimikyu said as she floats around the Gorgeist, "But I never thought about what would happen to the person if they turn to a ghost because of death. Let me ask, did you have to get used to this new body? Or did it came to you like on instinct?"

The gourgeist was fascinated at the pokemon standing before her. She looked like a ‘darkrai’, but it was clear the mon was not like that at all. Was it a new species she did not know about? Either way, she would have to ask at some point, but until then the mon did ask a question.

“I had to adjust quite a bit. I do not remember what my old body is like at all, but I remember it felt weird to be kind of hollow and incorporeal.” A small headache began to overcome the gourgeist. She was having one of her memory flash moments. “One thing that is hard is that periodically I have flashes of some vague memories, but parts are blotted out. I-it can be rough and disorienting at times.”

“When I came back I had trouble remembering who I was.” Mercy gave a small sigh, but managed to give a small smile. “Thanks to Vonnegut, I was able to help reclaim pieces of my memories and get back on my feet. Kind of”

(Note: Any mons that are in Sun and Moon have not been established in canon with regards to my blogs. So any Aloan mon is considered an unknown to many characters until tomorrow.)

[omnipokemonproducts]

(seashoreshenanigans) Sylvain @ Mercy: You know a lot about ghosts right? So, I was wondering ... do you know why Pokemon come back as certain ghosts? Is there any reason for someone ending up as a certain species?

“Yup! There is actually a correlation for why certain pokemon come back as specific ghost types!” Mercy always loved talking about this. It was always fun grouping certain ghost types and explaining why certain pokemon come back as certain ghost types. Plus it would help clear the air over what souls can actually come back as, rather than the blanket assumption that all ghosts are dead souls.

She pulled out a tablet and put her hand on the psychic type’s shoulder. “Strap in. I’m going to give you an education you cannot afford to miss!”

The gourgeist swiped against the screen of the tablet until a hologram of an image of certain species of ghosts appeared with the tagline Ghost Types that Cannot be the Souls of the Dead.

“I think the best place to start is what ghost types souls don’t become. Contrary to popular believe not all ghost types are really…spirits of the dead trapped in this mortal coil.” The scientist gave the Mr.Mime a glance to make sure they were still on board. “Some are spectral beings that either have the body consistency of ghosts or have properties such as being able phase through most solid matter.”

“These mons are gastly, haunter, duskull, dusclops, shuppet, shedinja, the frillish line, the misdreavus line, the golurk line, sableye, rotom, litwick and froslass. You may have noticed how I did not mention Banette, dusknoir, gengar, lampent and chandelure when I mentioned their pre-evolved forms. There is a good reason for that.”

The image that appeared on the next hologram showed the tagline Distortion World Ghosts. “When a living soul dies in the distortion world it tends to be horribly warped, losing the ability to pass on and becomes certain ghost types. Since dusknoirs, lampents, drifloons, drifblims and chandelures are often the common pokemon that ferry souls to after life, they tend to come back as that and are often coerced into collecting souls to bring them to the afterlife. Their reasons  for doing this job tends to vary.”

She swiped her finger again to bring up the hologram of the Tagline Emotion Based Ghosts.

“Some creatures come back as particular ghosts due to a strong emotional feeling. Banette come back if a grudge towards someone or somethingwas so great that they possess an object close to the thing they had a grudge on, or just take the appearance of the standard Banette. Gengars come from feelings of malice, mischief or a desire to cause any degree of trouble, or if the victim feels that they were the source of trouble, pain ect. The honedge line are souls that died heroic deaths, or died feeling a certain duty was not completed. Often times they are found in old medieval ruins or locations where swords are frequent.”

The next hologram to pop up was Ghosts Based off Location.

“There are ghosts that come back due to specific location where they died. The phantump and gourgeist line come back if they die in a forest location with a lot of living and dead trees, and even some normal grass types in some cases. The cofagrigus line tend to come back in either urban, or desert setting, where metal or dry soil is located. Drifloon can also come if someone dies in a location that has high elevation, namely mountains, planes exploding in mid-air and reeeeeeealy tall buildings.” She hoped she did not have to explain what an airplane was, or how one can explode in mid-air. “It is common for flying types or ones that fly really high to come back as these mons.”

“So does that answer your question?” The amount of time that it took Mercy to explain this to the poor mon never even crossed her mind. She did tend to go over every nook and cranny of certain details.

(seashoreshenanigans)

[omnipokemonproducts]

How was Mercy welcomed back on the think tank post-death? Did they know it was her? What was her reaction towards this?

“…alright. Start taking…away… -me to.”

“Yes…”

*groans*

“She’s coming to fairly quickly.”

The gourgeist’s vision was blurry. Trying to open her eyes too wide at this point burned to do at this point. “Hm. Seems you awoke faster than I thought”. The gourgeist was confused to hear the voice of an unknown man. “W-where am I am?”She couldn’t place the voice. She could not place anything: who was this man? Where was she? “W-who am I?” The gourgeist began to feel scared. To her the world was too big for her now. This fear was strong enough to cause a tear to fall down her left eye. “P-please. I don’t know anything. I-I am scared.”

“Mercy. Yes. Mercy. I am sorry to say this but you are dead. You were a close friend of mine, and I tried to get here as soon as I could, but you were killed before I could save you. I am sorry. Believe me. I tried everything.” Mercy? Was that her name? This man seemed to know what the answers were to most ofher questions. “S-sir. I-” He placed a tentacle on her chest. “Shh. It is ok. Just. Lie here. I will tell you everything once you have recovered.”

When I awoke, I felt so different. It was almost like I felt floatier, more tired. Almost like I could not move, no matter how hard I wanted to. I was so scared. It was like I had been asleep for hundreds of years. But if there was anything good I could recall…it was all of the lights around me. All of them were so beautiful, so calming. It made me feel like the world was not so scary, some even managed to touch against my face. I could even hear some of them whisper to me.

(Commission by guideofthetornworld)

(dangers-and-magic)