#ashen / salandit

[phantomguild]

Lief @Mystery Vulpix: "Don't have a name, huh? Heard that one before. More like you refuse to tell us who you actually are."

The Vulpix turned to look at the Sylveon/Ribombee hybrid. His presence did give them a bit of surprise, as up to now Mint was the only hybrid they'd interacted with. They thought a bit about his words. There was a bit of truth to them.

They did have a name, though it was more of a "designation" than a proper name like near anyone else had. After a bit of thought, they decided to humor Lief's statement by finally telling everyone.

"'Monarch Experiment 01'." They answered blankly in response to him. "That is the closest thing I have to a name. ... You can see why I do not want people to call me that, aside from being a mouthful."

"Definitely not like any name you have heard, I can assume. I am taking suggestions for an alternative name that's more... normal sounding."

Ask Hints have been updated!

Unnamed Porygon2's profile unlocked!

[phantomguild]

I love this.

He gay, and he do crime.

WHEW glad i could handle these bf clocking out yippee. Tbh this was fun, if I remember to I might do this again in the future.

Characters in following order:

1. Rimi (Wave) from @ask-the-shiny-pokemons!

2. Kevinn (Dancing) from @ask-kevinn!

3. Phil (Protection) from @pmd-waveringfate!

4. Ashen (Thievery) from @phantomguild!

Thank you very much for submitting your characters!!

[asksavel]

( @phantomguild ; Ashen )

Ashen took a seat next to Farrow, placing a plate of crackers in between the two of them. A small gift from the Phantom Guild for some of what Farrow's done. It was a pretty hollow gesture in the Salandit's opinion, especially when Eris could probably do this a lot better. He doubted she even knew in detail what Farrow's gone through.

" Hey, uh... Farrow, was it? I... I can't say I really blame you for being upset. I completely understand. Believe it or not, I was in a place similar to that for a long time myself... "

" ... Merciful Arceus, I'm bad at this... " Ashen quietly muttered under his breath.

" Look, I might be bad at people, but I am good with emotions, and right now, I can tell you're still in a lot of pain. No one should have to go through the shit you did. "

" If you ever need someone to listen, or to let your emotions out, you have a lot of friends, plenty of people who love you. " He just snapped one of the crackers in his jaws, his gaze turning towards the stars. " ... More than I can say I had back then. "

"You're not bad at it... I'm sure there are plenty of people out there willing to help you as well. You just need to allow it."

"Thank you for the crackers."

- Farrow has begun to calm down. -

[phantombunker]

Communications Opened

In a bunker an entire kilometer below the ground, paws deftly and with purpose flow across a computer terminal’s keyboard, the screen alight with a soft green glow.

“ Please let that have been the last hint... ”

USERNAME: [ CDracaena16 ] PASSWORD: [ ********************** ]

[ Connecting, please wait... ]

[ ... ]

[ Connection reestablished. Welcome back Professor Cinnabar. ]

Eris’ visage appears, though she appears panicked. Between the dark bags under her eyes, the messy unkempt hair, and the fact that she has several burn marks across her body, she’s clearly seen better days. Behind her the members of the Phantom Guild are unloading supplies.

“ Oh, finally! Took me an eternity and a half to get this to work. ... Ahem, anyway. If you’re getting this message, and I’m going to be blunt here, things have gone shit sideways on us. To cut the long story short, we were blasted to another dimension, entirely unlike our own. Thankfully, our base came with us so we have enough supplies for everyone to last a few years, even if it doesn’t taste the greatest. Wish they’d managed to freeze a few sweets in time. I mean, if they can do it with- ”

“ Eris, you’re getting off topic again... ”

“ Huh? Oh, right. ... Aaaanyway, we managed to get the hatch to this old room open, and despite being unused for what looks like a few centuries, a few of the terminals were working. Only major setback was the fact that the owner of this one had a massive password, and we all had to find hints etched into several parts of the room. We’re currently working on trying to find a way back, but until then, feel free to send any questions over this communication line, and we’ll get to them asap! ”

------------------

Heyo, this is Dust! I made a sort of sideblog-not-sideblog for Phantom Guild while I wait to hear back from Tumblr about my main account that was terminated while I was asleep the other day.

[phantomguild]

Mint and Ashen dashed at each other repeatedly, their blows shaking the forest. Though Ashen was wounded from her attack, Mint was exhausted from overusing her power, but despite that, they continued to fight their hearts out. The three consisting of the Vulpix, Azurill, and Deerling watched as the fight only escalated.

Mint at one point even cut a tree using her Dragon Tail, before knocking it through the air towards her foe. The Salandit retaliated by using his Flamethrower attack to break it apart before it hit him. Though he was momentarily thrown off by a Snarl reaching him through the flames.

Finally, Mint dove towards Ashen, before they almost instantly fizzled out into a trail of embers, leaving her to fall into his arms, dazed and weak as the Poison-type slid back from the force Mint impacted him with. She was plenty strong, and had that attack hit, she could’ve won this match, but she was still young, and her stamina just couldn’t hold out from everything she was doing.

“Almost had it…” Mint weakly grumbled in defeat. “I almost… almost won that one.”

“Yea, but you came pretty close.” Ashen hefted her up onto his back and gave a nod to their spectators. Silas pushed the lever back up, lowering the barrier around the forest biome. “C’mon, let’s get ourselves to the infirmary. You did quite a number on me.” Mint gave an exhausted nod as the two began approaching the rest of the group.

——————————

Mint and Ashen lay in neighboring beds, with Clover, Silas, and the newcomer staring down at them, checking their injuries. Thanks to Embers of Life, Mint had very little damage on her body. She was just horribly exhausted. Ashen, meanwhile, had a bit more to worry about, with lacerations across his body from Mint’s Dragon Tail and shards of the tree launched at him that still dug into his body.

“Damn kid,” Ashen laughed as the Vulpix worked to bandage his injuries. “That was great, but you didn’t have to go nearly as hard on me as you did.” Despite his words, he was smiling the whole while. It was nice, seeing Mint get stronger, even though she had a long way to go. He was definitely proud of her progress so far.

“Heh, sorry. At least we didn’t have to take turns with the bed this time.” Mint said weakly. Clover looked to the fox for any response, but there didn’t seem to be any acknowledgement of her light teasing. “Speaking of, what’s your name? I didn’t really get it back when we met.”

That gave the Vulpix pause, their ear twitching and their movement pausing in the middle of bandaging Ashen’s head. The room fell into an awkward silence. Eventually, their almost-white eyes turned to look at Mint, starting up their work again.

“I… don’t really have what you’d call a name.” was their response.

Maybe they'd be willing to elaborate a bit?

[phantomguild]

Sorry this took so long. Last few days have been... utter garbage to say the least. I'll see about answering the last few asks at some point (hopefully before the end of the event), I'm just so incredibly drained atm and I just wanted to try doing something fun.

+ Individual versions in case you want to rearrange them on the image or smth.

Parranda!

Nothing like parading around playing and singing songs to get in the celebratory spirit, why not join in?

-

This is the main post for the drawpile for the event! As more participants get added, the canvas can be extended to accommodate everyone.

I'll keep track as best I can for new additions, but if it makes it easier you can also send me a transparent file through dms so I can add it in. This drawpile's final composite will be on January 30th, 5:00 PM EST, so hopefully that's enough time for everyone!

[phantomguild]

serafina@ashen oh hello there! i wasn't expecting to see any more salandit here, what a nice surprise! where have you come from, have you come with your own harem?

Ashen looked at the hybrid that approached him. Though he was curious about the fact he was staring at a hybrid, he figured he'd answer her question first.

"Don't have one" was Ashen's response, as he leaned against one of the palms, placing his hands behind his head as he leaned back. "Always went faster on my own."

"Closest you could even say I have to family is the rest of the guild. Don't really feel I have anyone I feel I can rely on besides them."

"As for where I'm from: you could say that I'm from quite an... interesting stretch of land on the Water Continent."

[phantomguild]

Chapter 3: Nil

The Porygon2 slowly woke from their unintended slumber, staring at the Azurill smiling over them, while a Deerling was looking over a stack of papers. Taking brief look around the room, they quickly figured out that it was an infirmary of some sort.

"Oh hey! You're finally awake!" Clover said cheerfully to the half-conscious Pokemon. Silas looked over her shoulder at them as well. "You had us worried when you came through and just fell unconscious! Are you alright?"

They vaguely remembered it, the events leading up to now playing back in their mind. Stowing away, the Magi retreat, Mint showing off, meeting her friends, coming through the portal and... oh.

"Yes... yes." They answered, shaking their head. "I'm alright. I wasn't expecting my body to be disrupted by that." They hopped off the infirmary bed and focused. A rainbow light consumed their body, engulfing the room in white before it faded, their Vulpix form recreated. They stepped forward and stumbled on their way to the door, Silas and Clover moving to support them.

"Hey, take it easy!" Silas spoke up, helping to hold them on their paws. "You just woke up after being out for a few months. You need time to recover!"

"I'll be fine. I just need a bit of fresh air." The pair of Pokemon nodded and helped them up a flight of stairs and to a ladder. Silas used Grass Knot to create a few of extra footholds for the Vulpix, and to grab onto them when they nearly fell back down. Leaving out the back door of the Phantom Guild's base, they looked around, seeing the six trapezoid-shaped mini biomes that surrounded the base, forming a hexagonal shaped perimeter both inside and out.

Mint and Ashen stood across from each other in one of the six biomes that surrounded the perimeter of the stronghold, specifically one that looked most like a forest. Either one was idly stretching, before they both took a battle stance. The foliage around the two of them gently swayed in the breeze, the pair of yellow hyacinth near Mint's paws gently brushing against her.

"Guess they're sparring again. Clover, can you pull up the barrier? We don't need their battle destroying any of the walls of the base again." The Azurill ran off, towards a metal wall, hidden in a corner, decorated with seven levers. Clover leapt up, wrapping her tail around a lever, on the control panel, hopping on it to push it down. A series of blue hexagonal plates manifested around the perimeter of the forest, gently glowing as they reached into the sky, isolating the biome. And with the barrier raised, the pair could cut loose and go all out.

The two dashed at each other, with Mint swinging her tail around, a green glow covering it, while Ashen's claw coated itself in a toxin. Their attacks collided, Mint's Dragon Tail attack countered with a strong Poison Jab, launching her backwards. A solid start for either one, with both sustaining some damage in countering each others initial attacks.

She used her momentum to enter the treetops, dashing around randomly in an attempt to throw Ashen off. Though he kept his defenses up, already knowing this trick. As if on cue, he whirled around just as Mint dashed at him with her fangs bared, and sent her hurtling to the ground with a Dragon Claw.

"Come on Mint!" Ashen taunted, tightening his bandana over his brow as he approached. The hybrid on the ground growled, glaring up at him. Though she couldn't hide the playful smirk on her face, already cooking up a different strategy. "You can't rely on cheap tricks to go up against the master of underhanded tactics!"

A series of blue flames surrounded her body as she used Embers of Life on herself. She couldn't hide the sudden wave of exhaustion as she engulfed herself in the healing inferno, as was the price for using this move. The whirlwind restored her wound and obscured her from sight, and when it vanished, so had she. Ashen kept his guard up, knowing she had something planned. He heard the grass and foliage move as she dashed around the biome, bouncing from wall to wall, tree to tree, gradually increasing in speed.

When she dashed at him, he swiped at her with a Dragon Claw again, only for her to dodge with a midair twirl. There was a flash in her eyes, and the draconic energy faded, with Ashen's access to the move being completely disabled. He looked at her, as she smiled and hopped up to balance on his outstretched claw. She briefly danced on one paw, twirling and slapping him with a Dragon Tail, and while he fell to the ground, she hopped off his arm, landing back in front of him with a grin.

Though it did give her a considerable advantage, the trick also wiped out a good bit of her stamina, especially using Embers of Life to the extent she did.

[phantomguild]

Mint looked towards the night sky, an azure glimmer in her gaze. It seems her vigor has already been renewed. She'd tied the cloak around herself to keep it from falling away as she finally stood up onto her paws again.

"Are you sure that you're feeling okay?" The mysterious Vulpix continued to look over the previously exhausted hybrid, making sure that she wasn't pushing herself too hard.

"Okay as I can be!! Wooo!" Mint beamed, wiping a few beads of sweat that still remained on her brow. Seems that nothing could keep her down for long. "That was the closest I've gotten to a complete form change! Sure I didn't quite get it, but it was pretty damn close!"

Ashen ran up to the two of them, having noticed Mint activate her power earlier, and wanting to check on her. Though he was worried both that something might've happened, and that Mint would naturally push herself too far. "Hey. Is something up? I saw the blue flames a bit ago!"

"Yea, we're fine. I was just showing off to the Magi a bit." Mint answered with a sheepish grin.

"...And let me guess, you collapsed after burning through your energy?" The hybrid gave a small nod in response, and he just pinched his forehead between his claws in light frustration. After a moment, his gaze turned towards the vulpine nearby. "Who's your friend?" Mint turned towards the fox, not having really gotten its name yet either.

"I'm just a stowaway. Not really much else to it."

"I meant your name."

"I don't... really have one. Didn't really like the one I was given, and never thought of one that I particularly liked."

"Alright. Well, I'm assuming you're gonna want a ride back with us, since I'm sure you've got some stuff going on back home." Ashen said, unable to hide a small smile forming on the corner of his lip. "I guess I can overlook the stowing away since you didn't cause any problems."

Guiding everyone back to the beach, Vivian was standing at the water's edge, staring out towards the horizon. Xe truly enjoyed just... basking in the tranquility, a welcome change from life back home.

"I assume we are all ready to head home?" Xe inquired without even looking at the group, still enjoying the moon's light.

"More or less. Even picked up the extra that snuck along with us." Mint said, nudging the Vulpix's shoulder with her own.

"Really. Well, I would like to get acquainted when we have some extra time. For now, I think it's about time we head home." Vivian finally turned away from the shimmering moon hovering over the water to look at the small Vulpix. "Might I know your name?"

"I don't--" It was interrupted by a ripple appearing in front of them, a hole appearing in the fabric of space being torn open. Though it remained mostly stable for the moment, despite how violently it seemed to have been opened. On the other side of the rift was the Phantom Guild

"Hey, looks like our door's open." Ashen turned to look at the Vulpix and gave a grin. "Don't worry 'bout a thing. I used to stow away all the time back when I was... a different 'mon. We could maybe even get you a spot in the Phantom Guild if that's something you'd be interested in! Comes with some interesting perks."

It didn't have a response to the Salandit's offer. While it'd give it a chance to work towards its own goal, it was clearly not used to being around others. Mint, Ashen, and Vivian stepped through the rift leading directly into the base for the Guild. Taking a deep breath, it followed suit, and things immediately went horribly wrong. The rift began to tear the moment it began to step through, red bolts of energy dancing across the portal, and straight into its body.

"Gyaaa!!" It shrieked, vulpine form dissolving into gray sparks, revealing a form much more akin to a Porygon. Red sparks of energy danced across its entire body, which seemed to power up the tear in space further, beginning to destabilize it. The lights of the room began to flicker, before finally shutting down entirely. In the distance, a loud pop could be heard, likely the sound of the breaker shutting down to prevent a fire, an explosion, or both. Without the power to sustain it, the rift closed behind the Porygon as it collapsed to the ground.

Mint immediately rushed to its side, attempting to use Embers of Life to at least heal some of... whatever that was.

[ ??? has fainted! ]

"Hey! Hey c'mon, wake up!" The Porygon2 didn't move or respond to Mint shaking it as she poured her energy into its unconscious body. At least, not beyond a light grumble anyway. Vivian placed a hoof on Mint's shoulder, channeling some of xeir power into her so that she didn't collapse again.

Eris briefly looked over the Porygon. No obvious signs of damage, but something clearly went wrong. "Let's get this one to the infirmary. We can probably find out what happened there. Maize should be getting the power back up soon. Then you can explain why you brought a stranger with you." Mint looked up at the Guildmaster, before giving a nod. Ashen went to Mint's side to help her carry the unconscious shapeshifter.

"Guess this makes us even." Mint said, trying to stay on the positive side of this situation, as she and Ashen worked to get the Porygon to the Phantom Guild's infirmary.

Vivian meanwhile, continued to stare at the unconscious Pokémon as it was carried off, eyes narrowing slightly. "That was no normal surge..." Xe muttered. "... I wonder... Could that Pokémon be..." Vivian began to leave, stepping out towards the entrance to the guild base.

"I need a minute to think about all of this. And if my assumption is right, I will need to have a word with a certain Shaymin regarding a few... inconsistencies to what they told me..."

[ Mint, Ashen, Vivian, and ??? have left the event! ] [ Ask Hints have been updated! ]

[phantomguild]

"Hey." Minerva said, carrying a letter and a pair of masks. "Something came in the mail for us. It's from Kitakami."

"Aya!" Mint excitedly pointed out, smiling. Minerva gave a nod and gently set the Zoroark masks on the table before reading off the note that they had appeared with.

---------------

“Hello friend! You've been invited to this year's Mask Festival! The event takes place at Kokochiyoi Village, the largest village in Kitakami! Come join us for food, games, fireworks, and of course-”

Oh? Halfway through the letter, the handwriting changes.

“Hello there!! It's me, Kenji! Aya really wanted me to invite some of her friends to the festival this year, so I thought I'd send you an official invitation! I also made you a couple masks with the help of a close family friend! If you're a feral or anthro, wearing them'll give you a gijinka form! Don't worry- you won't actually turn into one! It's just an illusion that only works on the villagers, so they won't freak out when they see you. If you'd like to bring a different mask but still want the illusion powers, just take the bells off the masks and onto your own!

Aya, me, and my husbands all hope to see you soon!”

---------------

"Oh I am so in!" Mint states with a grin, before quickly looking around herself. "You guys wanna come too?"

"Can't. I've gotta rest up from having a tree thrown at me." Mint sheepishly rubbed the back of her head at that comment. She might've gone a bit overboard in the sparring match.

"As much as I'd like to, someone has to be here to greet any guests, both those kind, and not so much." She wordlessly created a multicolored flame in her palm before she closed her hand around it, extinguishing the embers. "Especially since we've already got a good chunk of the Guild out on assignments." She looked over to Clover, running around the room preparing an extra round of equipment just in case, and Silas, who was watching all of this with a calm smile. "Maybe you two would like to join her?"

"I'm pretty sure I'm about hit a breakthrough on my research into something I'm working on with Maize, so I'm gonna have to pass on that." Silas stated, stretching out her hooves.

"Incredible. You two working together on something all by yourselves." Ashen joked with a small chuckle. "Maybe you can tell us about it when you're done." Silas answered the offer with an excited nod of her head. They were all in on the playful rivalry that she shared with the Luxio. "Why don't you join Mint, Clover?"

"Are you sure? What if you guys need help here-" Minerva cut her off with a gentle tap.

"We'll be fine, don't worry." Clover looked up at the Indeedee, one of her large ears twitching. "I think it'd be good for you to get out with Mint for a bit and enjoy your time in Kitakami." She turned her gaze back to Mint who gave an excited nod.

"Alright!" Clover said, accepting the offer. "Why don't you come with us?" She asked the Vulpix, who for showing near no emotion up to now, seemed genuinely surprised.

"Wait, hold on a second-" they began, looking at the rest of the group. "I have.. um. Things, to do here. Yes, very important things."

"C'mon, you and I both know you've just been spending most of the time in the infirmary, both on the bed, and helping out here." Mint said with a small grin."

"I... You know what, alright. I'll join you. Just give me a moment to put together my form." They left the room, taking the Unovan Zoroark mask with them. Clover meanwhile, bounced the Hisuian Zoroark mask onto her face.

Mint decided to bust out a mask she made a few months ago in preparation for this. It looked like it combined traits from Latios and Latias, with a green hue instead of red or blue.

---------------

The three were now in the forests, wearing their respective outfits. The colorless of the three of them looked at their own outfit, one they crafted themselves out of data after seeing Mint and Clover in their own outfits, with the help of the bell of course.

"I probably could've done a bit better with mine." They admitted quietly.

"Yea, probably. Don't worry, I'm sure nobody will mind!" Mint said, with Clover giving their back an open-palm slap. One that nearly knocked them off their feet.

"Ghh!" They quickly regained their balance and turned to look at the small Pokemon, shocked by the fact they were three times as strong as any other Azurill. "Huge Power, huh?" They muttered, continuing to walk.

"Hm?"

"Pokémon have special abilities that help them in battle. Yours is one called Huge Power, which doubles your physical strength. Which is why you can hit me with the force of an Azurill three times your level."

"Oh, sorry." Clover said, laughing a bit. The middle of the group just took the whole thing in stride, especially since they were still on the fence about coming here. But it was too late to back out now, with them having already arrived in the region.

Mint, Clover, and the unnamed Pokemon have arrived in Kitakami!

[ @asktheoger ]

[phantomguild]

Arrival

“So lemme get this straight,” the ship captain, a Cinderace named Walter, began. He was having a casual conversation with Mint on the ride to Raiex. “You’re tellin’ me that your compass doesn’t actually tell what direction you’re going?”

“Yea.” was Mint’s only response, as she held the compass in her paws.

“You think it’s busted or somethin’?”

“I don’t think so. The needle moves occasionally. It gets very close to pointing north when I use Embers of Life.”

“That's a pretty fancy thing- where’d you get it anyway?”

“It was a birthday present from… Aster, I think his name was? Got it for my third birthday. He told Eris that this was going to be important for me to have later, whenever that ‘later’ is...”

“Ah, the yellow Shaymin, he's a fickle one with… very important information like that. It honestly wouldn’t surprise me if that thing had some pretty massive secrets waiting for you to find.”

Mint continued to stare at the compass, mulling over the Fire-type’s words. A Mightyena, one of Walter’s traveling companions, scurried through the door towards the two. “We’re here!” They excitedly informed the two, to which Walter nodded and stood up.

“Hey kid, was nice chattin’ with ya, but this is your group's stop.” Mint blinked, looking up at him.

“Wh-huh? Oh, right. The Magi Retreat. Thanks.” She stood up and shook her head to shake off the lingering reverie. “Yea, it was nice.”

“Tell Eris next time you see her that if she wants another favor like this, she just needs to give me a holler. Friends of the 'mon that helped me when I was stranded are always welcome.” Ashen poked his head through the doorframe, interjecting.

“That’d be nice, but I don’t think she’d accept that without doing something to help you Walter.”

“Ah, right, that's true. she’s always had a lil' bit of pride under the surface, and a lot of the time it won’t let her accept help without doing something for someone else…” Walter let out a sigh, rubbing his forehead. “Well, go ahead and enjoy yourselves now! Don't have much business bein' here, so I'll be heading back.”

With a wave, Mint and Ashen began disembarking, Vivian waiting for the two of them. However, something small caught the Salandit’s trained eye. A white blur, slipping from below the deck of the boat, and behind a series of trees. Someone had stowed away with them, though none of the boat’s crew seemed to notice.

Deciding it wasn’t really worth the hassle of chasing them, he instead opted to stay quiet about it for the moment while Vivian led the group towards the grounds for the event.

The group (+1 stowaway) have arrived! Ask Hints have been updated!

[phantomguild]

Departure

Eris entered the garden behind the Phantom Guild base, watching Mint pick a variety of berries including a few Razz, Bluk, and Nanab, though by the end, most of the bag on her left was filled with Sitrus and Oran Berries, with the others interspersed throughout. The one worn on her right had the book and scale she'd received from Kyurem.

“Going to see the Magi this year too?” Mint’s ears perked up at the question. Looking over her shoulder at the Ninetales, she gave a grin.

“Yep. Last year, I only had enough time to give my gifts to the Magi. I want to see plenty of Pokémon this time though! Now that I’ve gotten further in my training, I should be able to spend a bit more time there!”

The Ninetales gave a flick of one of her tails in amusement. It was no lie. She could plainly see how hard Mint was working to control the slumbering power that was beginning to stir inside of her. This would be a good chance for her to relax. If she was being honest, she was amazed at the stamina the young hybrid had on display, given she herself was still completely wiped from the Gala a few months ago.

“Vivian’s gonna be coming with me again this year, and Ashen'll be joining me too!” It was unusual for the Salandit to go to these sorts of events, but with how Mint was during the last one, it was understandable he’d want to help look after his ‘little sister’.

“That’s great. Just be careful on the way there. Minerva’s going to be using the rift generator so you’ll have to go the long way. I figured you'd want to go, so I already called in a favor from a Cinderace ship captain that Silas, Minerva, and I helped out a few months before we... "officially" founded the Phantom Guild. He's already agreed to take you. By the time it's over, the generator should be available again.”

Mint gave a nod in response, throwing on the bags and tightly securing the strap around herself.

“Don’t worry. When have I been known to get into unnecessary danger?” Eris just rolled her eyes in response to the question. If she weren’t holding her tongue, she’d’ve responded with “alphabetical or chronological”?

The Salandit appeared on the balcony above the two Pokémon, vaulting over the railing and landing a short distance in front of Mint. His expression curled up into a grin as he fixed his bandana, tightening the fabric around his head. “Ready to go, kid?”

“Yea. Vivian said xe’ll meet us in the forest.” As the two of them left into the foliage, Eris gave a wave to the duo, one that the pair responded to in kind.

She was proud of how far Ashen had come in the years since she'd given him her offer, from being someone that would lie, cheat, and steal from strong and weak alike, to someone that'd willingly volunteer to put himself into discomfort to look after his sister...

Before long, they’d disappeared from sight, heading towards one of the few standing towns, where they’d hopefully be able to get a boat to this… Raiex. She knew that getting a Lapras was out of the question, with Vivian’s large stature making it a hassle even for an Alpha Pokémon, so she instead called in the favor… Though she knew that they’d be safe, the fox couldn’t help but worry…

"Please, look after them..." Eris muttered, and the only response she got was an uncharacteristically pleasant breeze for the middle of winter.

Unbeknownst to her however, a small figure slipped in and out of the shadows behind her, following the two Pokémon into the forest out of a simple curiosity...

[ Mint, Ashen, and Vivian have departed for the Magi Retreat! ]

[pokege-ne-project]

(@phantomguild ; Ashen)

As soon as he saw Shadow, the Salandit could tell that something was troubling her. He assumed she had a nightmare or something. Shadow's emotions were like ripples (or waves, going by the strength of these emotions) in the calm night.

"You uh... You alright? What the heck happened in your dream for your emotions to be this.... I... um... jagged, to simplify it?"

"Oh, uh, hi there!" Was it all that obvious? Even with that, she tried to keep a smile, though it didn't do a good job of hiding what Ashen already noticed.

"The dream was just, I don't know, just silly! It didn't really make sense at all. It's not something that I should be upset about." Too bad it felt as bad as it did.

"Well.. If y'all want to know, I can try to explain it." It took some work getting mentally together.

"For some reason, I was looking at myself the whole time. I had control of myself. but it was like I was seeing it outside of myself, right? I don't know why, but I had these strings tied to things I needed to keep pulling. Then the floor I was on collapsed! Everything got covered in darkness, but I woke up before I hit anything. Weirdest thing was that I started seeing from my eyes after I fell." Even explaining it out loud felt incoherent. Is she making sense??

"Whenever a bad dream happened, I could ask 77 what that could mean, but... Hmmmmmm....." Shadow was stumped.

"... It's okay though! I'll feel better after a little bit, I promise! Thank you both for letting me talk." She perked back up as best as she could, even if it was a bit forced.

@blueespeon, @phantomguild

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[phantomguild]

Star Sending Part 2

Part 2 of my PokeAsk Star Sending Gift for @sweetdreamscafe // Part 1

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“Mint??” Minerva shouted, shocked at the sudden appearance of the dragonling. “What are you doing out here?” Not missing a beat, Mint looked over her shoulder and grinned.

“We’re here to give you backup. What did you think?”

“It’s dangerous to-... Wait, ‘we’?” And as if on cue, a hook flew from the trees, locking itself on Entei’s brow, before a Salandit flew out of the foliage, slamming a Poison Jab directly into its stomach and making it lurch in pain.

“Grab what you’re looking for and let's go!” Ashen called out, focused entirely on the Pokémon in front of him. Minerva took a moment to process before nodding, continuing to dig through the broken stall. The duo held back Entei for as long as they could, until Minerva finally managed to dig out a Shiny Stone. Shoving it into her bag and picking everything up, she began sprinting. “She’s going! Let’s give this guy one last memento before we fall back!” Giving a nod in response, Mint grabbed onto Ashen’s arm, and he grabbed onto hers in turn. Her tail glowed green as she let it hang limp, while the Salandit began to spin.

Quickly picking up speed, Mint’s tail flew behind her as the duo spun around and around, cutting into Entei in a multitude of places, before the two of them backed away, and Mint was thrown at full speed. Beginning to spin, it’d be an accurate assessment to say that she was similar to a saw blade in that moment, cutting straight through Entei and landing on her paws behind it. She immediately turned back and began flying at full speed, while Ashen was already well on his way to following her. Without the Hollow Aura, that Pokémon would take at least a full day to recover from what the two of them just did. However, that didn’t matter to it, and before long, it had followed them back to the guild base, where Minerva was waiting in the entryway, a friendly smile on her face.

“Allow me to welcome you to the Phantom Guild.” Her tone was like that of a frustrated retail worker forced to put up with terrible customers all day. Her body was shining with that dazzling light that continued to build itself to greater and greater heights. “Please, enjoy the finest accommodations that I am able to offer. Just do me this one favor: go back to the abyss you crawled out of.” With that, she finally unleashed her charged Dazzling Gleam, the light blasting most of Entei apart, leaving the remainder of the barely stable Hollow to dissolve into nothingness. While it was a victory, it still disturbed her how quickly it was advancing on making replicas of Legendary Pokémon, even if it hadn’t claimed any further deities yet…

Carrying her gathered gifts back inside, she immediately received a glare from a clearly worried Ninetales. “Why didn’t you tell anyone you were going out?” she asked, simply and with concealed annoyance. “I could’ve given you some backup. Nobody’s supposed to take on a Hollow alone, especially if they’re able to generate an aura.”

“I wanted to try doing this on my own. I’m normally the guild’s intelligence gatherer, but I wanted to do something more for a change. I figured this Star Sending thing was a good opportunity for that.”

“... Look, Minerva, I’ve said it to Mint, and I’ll say it to you too. It’s okay to rely on the rest of us. We’re all a team, and that means if you intend on going out to areas that have a good chance of having Hollow Pokémon, you should bring someone with you.” Minerva gave a small nod in response to this. Eris may be a bit cold, but she’s also the most level-headed of everyone. Eris gave a small smile. “Now, if you need help with anything, just let one of us know.”

With another nod, Minerva set off towards her room to begin repairing the telescope. Thankfully, Mint’s escapades looking for the book that Kyurem mentioned had led her to bring back quite a bit of stuff that she figured she could use later for her crafts. She set to work replacing the lenses of the telescope, before moving on to repairing the slightly broken legs, replacing the three foldable (and broken) legs with wooden planks cut to about an inch in width and depth in the same positions. They may not fold anymore, but it was better than having the whole thing topple over. 

Finally, Minerva wrapped the gifts up in preparation to be sent off to their receivers, or in the case of the telescope, placed in a large box and wrapped that instead. No special notes, no grandeur, just simple wrapped gifts. Perhaps she’d go back and check out those books from that library some other time. For now though, she was thoroughly turned off to any further solo adventures. She wasn’t feeling up to running any further risks with the Hollow Pokémon getting stronger... Preparing the rift generator, a monolith that looked almost like a futuristic cannon, she powered it on with a hefty pull of a lever, and with a loud crack, the fabric of space was carefully unstitched. Three tears in space appeared in front of the titanic machine, each of them in sequence.

One opened directly in front of the shiny Cacturne, Sandy. Another opened before the kind Bisharp, Solly. The final one appeared a little further away from Boo, the lighthearted Gengar. Stepping through the first rift, she set down the wrapped books and telescope. “Got some stuff for you. Sorry I can’t stay long, hope you enjoy the gifts!” Before he could say a word in response, she’d already left back through the tear she came through.

Next, Minerva simply held out a hand through the portal and set down the package containing the Lunar Feather in front of Solly, weighed down by a few regular rocks so it didn’t immediately blow away. And once again, as quickly as she entered, she left again. Finally, she picked up the Shiny Stone, wrapped in a collage of various decorative paper to hide what kind of evolutionary stone it was, and gave it a small toss through the final rip in space, landing a short distance in front of Boo.

Of course, she’d leave the rifts open for a while. It was generally a pretty bad idea to open and close tears in space willy nilly. That’s a very good way to a) weaken the fabric of space even further, and b) piss off Palkia.

Town search, complete. Death, averted. Presents, delivered. Overall, she’d call this a productive and successful day… more or less, at least.

[phantomguild]

Character Summaries

--- Toyhouse Page ---

Phantom Guild

Eris, Alolan Ninetales (Ice / Fairy) Female (she/they) October 31st / Character Tag

Nature: Lonely Characteristic: Thoroughly cunning.

Minerva, Indeedee (Psychic) Female (she/her) October 17th   / Character Tag

Nature: Mild Characteristic: Often lost in thought.

Russet, Shuckle (Bug / Rock) Male (he/him) December 19th / Character Tag

Nature: Gentle Characteristic: Capable of taking hits.

Clover, Azurill (Normal / Fairy) Demigirl (she/her) June 9th / Character Tag

Nature: Jolly Characteristic: Impetuous and silly.

Maize, Luxio (Electric) Female (she/xe) March 31st / Character Tag

Nature: Bold Characteristic: Quick tempered.

Silas, Deerling (Normal / Grass) Female (she/her) June 21st / Character Tag

Nature: Brave Characteristic: Alert to sounds.

Iris, Espurr (Psychic) Female (she/they/it) ???? ??? / Character Tag

Nature: Quiet Characteristic: Often lost in thought.

Ashen, Salandit (Fire / Poison) Male (he/him) July 7th / Character Tag

Nature: Sassy Characteristic: A little quick tempered.

Mint, G.Zigzagoon / Dreepy (Dragon / Normal) Demigirl (she/it) April 23rd / Character Tag

Nature: Naïve Characteristic: Highly persistent.

Unaffiliated

Acacia, Shaymin (Grass / Flying) Demigirl (she/they) October 2nd / Character Tag

Nature: Careful Characteristic: Alert to sounds.

Echo, Relic Mirror Construct (Shaymin) (Grass / Flying) Demigirl (they/she/it) December 8th / Character Tag

Nature: Serious Characteristic: Strong willed.

Dante, Mew (Psychic) Demiboy (he/they) July 3rd / Character Tag

Nature: Brave Characteristic: Likes to fight.

Cherry, Rockruff (Rock) Female (she/her) February 28 / Character Tag

Nature: Relaxed Characteristic: Often dozes off.

Plasma, Rotom (Electric / Ghost) Agender (they/it) ???? / Character Tag

Nature: ??? Characteristic: ???

Gracia Village

Aster, Shaymin (Grass (Grass / Flying)) Nonbinary (he/they) March 21st / Character Tag

Nature: Calm Characteristic: Often lost in thought.

Viola, Shaymin (Fairy / Poison (Fairy / Fire)) Female (she/they/it) March 11th / Character Tag

Nature: Quiet Characteristic: Alert to sounds.

Azy, Shaymin / Marill (Grass / Water) Genderfluid (he/him) June 20th / Character Tag

Nature: Naïve Characteristic: Impetuous and silly.

[phantomguild]

Multiple people broke the balance of time and space in different ways, usually to bring back those they’ve lost, while others simply wished to attain wealth, knowledge, or strength. And while some loose threads were caught in the storm, in the present day their fates are now intertwined with those that wish to repair the damage they caused over a decade ago, either directly or indirectly.

Heyo, this took me quite a bit, to do, and honestly I’m pretty exhausted. Though overall, I really like how this turned out. I think the hardest ones for me to come up with scenes for were Maize and Minerva.