The Haunt of Kalos (Open)

[Trucro]

(OOC: This is an RP about trainers who are forced to take shelter in a haunted house in Kalos. Once you enter, the ghost pokemon living there change the rooms so that you may not leave.You may find yourself lost in the house forever; enter if you dare!)

BIC:

“Let’s go, Vulcan!” Jacob shouted as he released his pokeball. In a flash, his Magby, Vulcan appeared in front of him, standing in the turf of the makeshift battlefield. The pokemon looked over his shoulder back at Jacob before looked forward again, unsurely. Jacob knew that Vulcan was a nervous pokemon, but he and Vulcan had been working together much better as of late, and it was no doubt due to this training.


“Alright, Karrie!” Martha shouted. The sixty-nine-year-old woman wasn’t able to move very well, but she released her pokeball, and in a flash her Snubbull, Karrie, appeared in front of her. Martha was a well-known fairy-type trainer, and Jacob had only received the honor of her training because his grandmother had known her. She was impressive, Jacob had to admit. He hadn’t beaten her once, although he had come close once or twice. If she had really been going all out, he knew, he wouldn’t stand a chance. “Okay Karrie, use Hidden Power!”


The Snubbull became surrounded by spheres of glowing energy. Jacob could feel his Oshawott, Oscar, who was on the ground at his side, grab his leg tightly. His mind began to race as he calculated Vulcan’s best move. As Karrie released her attack, Jacob gave the command.


“Vulcan use Lava Plume!” Vulcan looked nervously back at Jacob only for a moment. It was a mistake, of course, and it reduced the amount of time he had to block the attack. Vulcan slammed his arms on the ground, and a wave of lava erupted from the ground, blocking the attack. “Now, Ember!” This time Vulcan didn’t hesitate, and the Magby released a barrage of embers at Martha’s Snubbull.


“Dodge,” Martha said, rather quietly for a battle. The pokemon leapt to the side, easily avoiding the attack.


“Vulcan, again!” Jacob ordered, and the pokemon released another ember attack. The embers rushed towards Karrie, but again the Snubbull dodged. “Alright then, use flame burst!” The Magby began to build up fire energy in his mouth before releasing it into a group of streams of fire sent flying in multiple directions. Karrie tried to dodge, but couldn’t avoid them all. One of the streams landed a direct hit, and the field was covered in smoke. Jacob threw his fist forward. “Gotcha!” He said. Vulcan, breathing heavily, looked back at his trainer and smiled.


But out of the smoke, Martha’s Snubbull rushed forwards, using Headbutt. The pokemon’s head glowed as it flew towards Jacob and Vulcan. “Alright then,” Jacob said, somewhat surprised, but suppressing his disappointment. “Counter with Fire Punch!” Vulcan looked back at Jacob nervously again but stretched out his arm, concentrating fire energy in his hand. As Karrie was on approach, Vulcan swung forwards. The two attacks collided, sending both pokemon tumbling backwards.


“Vulcan, you okay?” He shouted to his Magby, who was already lifting himself from the ground. Vulcan nodded at Jacob before turning back to his opponent. Martha didn’t even need to ask her pokemon if she was alright, the Snubbull was already standing, without a scratch. “Okay then, use feint attack!” Vulcan nodded, lifting himself into the air and rushing towards Karrie.


“Karrie, Headbutt again!” the Snubbull flew towards Vulcan, her head glowing once more. Karrie’s attack caught Vulcan front and center, and sent the pokemon crashing to the ground. “Now, use Crunch!” The Snubbull opened her mouth as her teeth glowed black and extended. She sunk her teeth into Vulcan, lifting him up off the ground. Jacob’s Magby shouted in pain. Karrie then released Vulcan, sending him flying backwards and somersaulting to a stop in front of Jacob. Vulcan shook as he struggled to stand. The pokemon had taken a lot of damage. “That’s probably enough,” Martha said, ending the battle. She walked over to Vulcan, and handed him a berry, which he took from her and promptly began eating. Jacob and Oscar(Oshawott) walked over to Vulcan and sat beside the pokemon. “Jacob, I think you know why you’ve been having trouble. You and Vulcan have known each other for a long time, but he still doesn’t trust you fully. You need to use him in battle more; he needs experience, unlike some of the others.”


“Yea,” Jacob muttered, looking down at Vulcan who, having just finished the berry was looking significantly better. He reached out and patted his Magby on the head as Martha continued.


“In my experience, the best way to do this is to travel with your pokemon. I’d suggest you travel around the world, but I, of course, am too old to follow you very far, even as far as Shalour is a challenge at my age.” Martha looked down a Karrie, who was happily sitting on a ledge created by the ascending stone stairs that lead into Martha’s home. “I know!” She said rather quickly. “My daughter, Valerie, runs a gym in Laverre City, which is not too far from here. There she trains any number of young students who I am certain would love to travel the region with you. I’ll send you to her!” She said, now smiling. Jacob wasn’t thrilled about the thought of travelling all the way to Laverre City to meet someone he never met so that she could assign him another stranger to travel with him, which he didn’t particularly want to do in the first place. But he went along with it, and the next day he left Martha’s home, note in hand, Oscar(Oshawott) hanging from his back, heading to Laverre City.


It shouldn’t have been too long a walk, but Jacob became tired very quickly. He wasn’t used to traveling for long periods of time, and after just a few hours, he and Oscar took a break. They had found a tree stump that provided a nice seat for Jacob, and Oscar(Oshawott) found a nice patch of grass to lie down in. Relaxing, Jacob decided to let some of his other friends out to breath.


Releasing three pokeballs, his Magby, Vulcan, his Heiolisk, Nero, and his Ledian, Callicles, appeared in front of him. Vulcan(Magby) sat beside Jacob after brushing away several sticks that blocked his seat. Nero(Heliolisk) spent his first few moments looking around. Nero had a strong mind, and was always thinking, particularly about his surroundings when they were new. Cal(Ledian) buzzed around for a bit, flying up into the air to get a bird’s eye view of the forest before dropping back down and rejoining the group.


After his pokemon had gotten settled, he also released Atlas, his Tangrowth, who took up much more space than the others. Atlas was generally a shy pokemon, often having trouble getting along with others, but Jacob enjoyed his company in particular. Oscar(Oshawott), who had begun messing with Nero(Heliolisk), to Nero’s dislike, was lifted in the air by Atlas(Tangrowth) who had gotten to know both pokemon well enough to be comfortable interjecting and to prevent quarrels. Oscar struggled to free himself from Atlas’s vine-y arms, unsuccessfully, until Jacob walked over and took his Oshawott from Atlas’s grasp. He walked back over to his stump and placed Oscar down in front of it.


They relaxed for some time, until the sun began to drop below the horizon. Jacob was a little disappointed that they hadn’t made it too far that day, but he thought it would be better for them to rest for the night, and try again tomorrow. He pulled his sleeping bag out from his pack, and had Vulcan(Magby) start a little fire. Oscar(Oshawott) fell asleep almost immediately, and it wasn’t long before the rest followed suit.


Jacob woke with a start. It was still nighttime, and the fire had all but died out. His eyes were already well adjusted to the dark, and he reached up to wipe the sweat off his forehead. He couldn’t remember what he was dreaming about, but it must have been bad; he rarely sweat like this while he slept, especially in a place with a comfortable temperature like tonight.


Jacob scanned the rest of his campsite. Callicles(Ledian) and Nero(Heliolisk) were both asleep on the far side of the site across from the fire pit, sleeping side by side. To his right, Vulcan(Magby) slept soundly on a soft patch of grass. Oscar(Oshawott) was dead asleep, lying across Jacob’s legs on top of his sleeping bag. To his left, he could see Atlas(Tangrowth) wide awake, and it almost startled him. He shot Atlas a confused look, and the pokemon returned it, nodding into the woods. It was then that Jacob got the feeling he was being watched. He looked around, shifting his eyes.


Jacob slowly slipped his feet out of his sleeping bag so as not to wake Oscar, although frankly the Oshawott could sleep through an earthquake. He stood and looked around the immediate campsite, before checking behind the closest trees, with Atlas’s help. Having come up with nothing, Jacob and his Tangrowth returned to their spots around the fire pit and promptly went back to sleep.


Jacob woke with a start again, but this time it had nothing to do with his dreams. A drop of water had splashed him in the face. He looked up at the sky which was covered in dark rain clouds. He quickly began to pack his things as the rain began to fall, turning from a drizzle into a heavy downpour. He put on a raincoat he had packed that had been given to him by Martha as a present. Jacob recalled his pokemon, all except for Oscar who hid himself beneath Jacob’s coat, poking his head out from Jacob’s torso.


With his Oshawott tightly tucking into his coat, and his things in his backpack, Jacob began sprinting through the rain, looking for cover. He had been running for less than a minute when he came upon a cabin. It looked old and warn down, but it was quite large; at least two stories high. Jacob didn’t spend a lot of time analyzing it; he rushed onto the front porch, which had been covered by an upper veranda. He knocked on the door quietly, but the rain drowned out the noise. He knocked on the door more heavily, and this time, it opened.


It didn’t open very widely, but rather just cracked. Jacob stepped back, expecting someone to open the door wider for him but no one did.


“Hello?” He asked rather quietly, but no one answered. He reached forward and swing the door open widely. It was dark inside the building; it appeared there were no lights, but Jacob could see the carpet. It was a thin strip of purple carpet that extended across the room into the darkness. AS far as he could see, in the center of the room, was a larger square of the same carpet. The rest of the floor was wooden boards, like the porch. They creaked as he stepped forward. “Hello?” He asked louder. The wind blew some water at him, which hit Jacob from behind. Jacob took another step in to protect himself, and the door slammed shut behind him.


As it did, the room was lit with purple flames surrounding the room, all handing from the moldings on the walls. The inside looked a bit more regal than Jacob expected, with a large staircase opening up into the main room. Up the staircase, Jacob could see the beginning of a hallway, leading to a door on either side. Similarly, a closed wooden door was on either side of him on the first floor. Jacob wasn’t sure what was happening, and he could feel Oscar(Oshawott) shaking. He called out again.


“Hello? Is anybody there?”

 

[Ingusto]

A young boy was in a corner a looked distraught and tired. He was covered in cloth wraps and wore no shoes. He had a small bag next to him as well as a small wrapped bundle. The boy started to cry and rocked back and forth. His crying dragged on and was steadily growing into drawn out sobs (rather than a few sniffles and tears). After a while he looked up at Jacob and stared for a while. He blinked in disbelief and said "Are you real, am I not the only one?"

 

[Trucro]

Jacob looked at the figure in the corner. He felt Oscar(Oshawott) jump in his coat as he saw the man. Covered in bandages, Jacob was unable to tell if the figure was man or beast. Whatever it was, it was creepy. With the purple lights giving off an eerie glow that barely allowed him to see the boy, Jacob quickly decided he’d rather leave than remain in the building any longer.

Without saying anything, Jacob turned around and opened the door through which he had entered. However, rather than opening up to the outside, it entered into a bed chamber, with a large, king-sized bet sitting in the middle of a rather small room. With no obvious route out, Jacob thought for a moment. What was going on? Had he made a mistake? He turned around to the man, and spoke.

“What’s going on here?”

“Osha!” Oscar followed up.

 

[Ingusto]

The wrapped boy crawled out of room, following Jacob. He wanted freedom from the haunted house. He had spent what felt like an eternity trapped inside the haunted house. The boy was Winter, a poor boy who wandered into the house in search of shelter. He carried an odd bundle, its contents know only to him. Jacob was the first person he'd seen since he was locked inside. The boy recalled being thrown inside the room by a strange man. The man told him to never say a word.....and the boy went mute. Winter walked into the room Jacob was in, trying not to be noticed. He knocked on the door and stepped into the room. Winter set the bundle onto the floor and stepped beside Jacob and made a coughing noise.

 

[Trucro]

Jacob was made slightly afraid by the wrapped boy followed him and Oscar(Oshawott) into the bed chamber. As he stepped beside Jacob, the door slammed shut behind them. Jacob swung around to see the closed door. Without moving his feet, he looked around the room, still processing what was happening. It was then he finally decided that this boy might be helpful; something was going on here, and the boy was the only person around who might know what was going on, despite his creepiness.


“I’m sorry,” Jacob began, almost shaking. “Who…. What was your name again? And do you know what’s going on here?”

 

[Ingusto]

The boy said nothing, he held out his trainer card. Winter was his name, and he was mute. He pointed towards another door and led them to it. It appeared as if this was the way out.

The boy wore no shoes and possessed nothing but "The Bundle".

 

[Trucro]

The fact that the boy would not speak scared Jacob a bit. He could tell that Oscar(Oshawott) didn't like the boy much either, but Jacob took the boy's trainer card. Winter was his name, apparently, but for whatever reason, he would not speak. Maybe the boy lived here. He didn't seem particularly hostile, so it seemed as though Jacob might be welcomed here. Of course, he still didn't feel like it. The boy carried something white in his arms, but Jacob couldn't tell exactly what it was. He handed the boy his trainer card.

He heard the springs on the bed crunch and he swung around quickly. There, on the bed was a Gengar, lying lengthwise across the bed. Jacob was surprised, and took a few steps backwards. As he did, the Gengar leaped into the air, and released a shadow ball attack towards Jacob. The attack hit Jacob's torso, but his Oshawott was hiding in his coat, and the attack his Oscar. The pokemon fell from Jacob's coat as Jacob was propelled backwards by the force of the attack. Oscar hit the ground with a Thud! Jacob wiped rubbed his eyes to see the Gengar laughing and smiling eerily. He looked over at Oscar, who was struggling to get back up. He reached for a pokeball.

"Let's go, Callicles!" he said as the pokeball opened, revealing Jacob's Ledian. The pokemon remained suspended in the air, and stretched his arms. "Alright, Cal, use Silver Wind!" Ledian flapped his wings, releasing blades of wind that flew towards the Gengar. The attack hit, sending Gengar falling backwards and crashing into the wall. Now with a frown the Gengar disappeared into the floor, sinking out of view. Breathing heavily, Jacob looked over at Winter. "I just... didn't see that one until it was too late. Have you seen others around here?"

 

[Ingusto]

Winter shook his head slowly, a look of fear in his eyes. There were many more inside the mansion. THey just wouldn't show themselves.

 

[Trucro]

As Winter shook his head, Jacob took a deep breath. He was trapped in a haunted house, with a bunch of hostile ghost pokemon, and a boy who refused to speak a word. Jacob rose to his feet as his Ledian, Callicles, lowered himself to his gound by Jacob's feet. Oscar(Oshawott), having just gotten back to his feet after being attacked by the Gengar, walked over to Callicles and Jacob, rubbing his head, and mumbling to himself.

"Alright guys," Jacob began, talking to his pokemon, but also to Winter. "We've got to find a way out of here, but there is definitely something going on with this house. So let's all be careful and stay together. If you see another ghost pokemon, make sure you alert the whole group. The last thing we want is to be attacked from behind." Oscar and Callicles nodded as Jacob spoke. Once he finished, he walked over to the closed door and opened it, revealing a different room. This one was wide, with a high, glass ceiling. Through the glass, rain could be seen pounding down on he house. It was lit, like most of the other rooms, with eerily purple lights glowing in lanturns hung from poles throughout the greenhouse. On the ground were troughs of dirt, with plants growing out of them.

It was very odd, Jacob thought, for there to be a greenhouse in a haunted house. It looked like this could be their way out as well, if they could just get through the glass. "Cal," he called out to his Ledian. "Let's see if we can't break through these windows. Use Mach Punch!" Ledian's hand glowed white as he rushed towards one of the windows. He struck it as hard as he could, but the window did not budge nor did it break. Some power was preventing them from escaping. Jacob sighed as he looked back at Winter. "Any ideas?"

 

[Ingusto]

Winter looked at the glass and waved his hand. A blue beam shot from his hand and the glass shattered. He stepped back and looked at Jacob, motioning forward.

 

[Trucro]

Jacob was surprised once more at the child's powers. But then again, nothing had made sense ever since he entered the house not long ago; in other words, Winter might as well have this power. Jacob was just thankful to be able to leave. He took a step forward, but something caught his shirt. He turned to see a tree, holding onto him, as if on purpose. But wait; that wasn't a tree! It was a Trevenant! In his fear, he shouted out to his Oshawott: "Oscar, use razor shell!" The water pokemon grabbed his shell from his torso and jumped at the Ghost/Grass pokemon. The Trevenant responded quickly however, and, releasing Jacob, he used a Wood Hammer attack, smacking Oscar across the room.

"Oscar!" Jacob shouted after his pokemon. Jacob turned back to look at the hole in the glass only to see two more Trevenant blocking the way out. "Callicles!" He called out to his Ledian. "Use Bug Buzz!" Callicles raised his arms upwards, releasing red waves that, once reaching the Trevenants, caused them to recoil in pain. Jacob rushed backwards, pulling Winter along. He picked up Oscar, and, with Callicles flying behind them, he rushed back through the door, deeper into the haunted mansion.

 

[Ingusto]

Winter was realizing they were going the wrong way. He pulled Jacob and the rest back towards the room. But this time they took the hallway to the right and ran down some stairs. When they reached the bottom, a weird noise started. It got louder and louder until shadows appeared, making it impossible to see. The shadows covered everyone in a veil of shadows, there was no way out.

 

[Trucro]

Unable to see, Jacob held on to Oscar(Oshawott) tightly. He had the pokemon cradled in his arms, and he didn't want to lose him. Callicles(Ledian) became nervous as well, clinging onto Jacob's back. Jacob turned to where he thought Winter was. "Where are you? What were you thinking? Let's get out of here!" Jacob extended his arms to feel for the boy, who was now somewhere hidden in the shadows.

 

[Ingusto]

Winter was in shock as the shadows crept closer. He reached out towards Jacob and found nothing, just darkness. Winter was becoming more and more scared. He was able to stand up and scurried around. A hand, Jacob's, grabbed him and sent him towards 'a way out'.

 

[Trucro]

Jacob pulled Winter along, back the way they had come, hoping he would find a way out. Something tripped him, and Jacob tumbled to the ground, his Oshawott, Oscar, still in his arms. Reaching for a pokeball, he called out: "Vulcan, use ember!" In a flash of red, his Magby, Vulcan, appeared by his side, and released a barrage of burning embers that lit up the room. Now with enough light, Jacob could clearly see their opponents.

A Dusknoir floated beside two Dusclops, all of them laughing at Jacob and Winter as they had struggled through the dark. Realizing that they had been discovered, the Dusknoir released a shadow ball attack. Jacob quickly responded. "Cal, use silver wind!" Jacob's Ledian flapped his winds, releasing several blades of wind that collided with the shadow ball, canceling the attack. As the attacks collided, Vulcan(Magby) ran out of breath, and his ember attack ended, plunging the room back into darkness. "Everyone, this way!" Jacob shouted as he tried to lead the group out of the darkness.

 

[Ingusto]

Winter was still thinking of ways to get out. He hadn't thought of anything yet. The situation seemed dire and he started to give up. He blacked out suddenly and was dragged away by a Dusknoir to another room. The rooms seemed to always appear out of nowhere. Winter disappeared out of sight, not saying anything.

 

[Trucro]

Jacob hadn't seen Winter be dragged away in all the commotion, and it too him a moment to realize the boy was gone. He had recalled all his pokemon, except for Oscar(Oshawott), who lie breathing heavily on the ground beside Jacob. This had not been a good idea; why had he ever entered this haunted house? He slowly rose to his feet as he thought of what to do next. There appeared to be ghost pokemon at every turn, with no way out.

He was still catching his breath when a Lampent appeared, floating in front of them. Seeing them, it moved towards them, preparing to attack.

"Enough of this!" Jacob said to himself aloud. "Oscar, let's battle!" Oscar(Oshawott) rose to his feet and lifted his arms, taking a fighting stance and letting out a "Osha! Oshawott!" "Use water gun!" Oscar sent a beam of water from his mouth, flying towards the Lampent. But the Lampent sent a flamethrower attack in defense, turning the water into steam. "Alright, Oscar, use Aqua Tail!" The Oshawott rushed towards Lampent, his tail glowing blue as he brought it across, striking the Lampent and knocking the pokemon to the ground. "Good job!" Jacob commended his pokemon.

But the Lampent rose, and turning around, it disappeared into the shadows. Jacob looked around. It appeared as though he had made it back to the entrance hall in which he had first entered. He knew, though, that if he opened the front door again, it wouldn't lead out, however, and he and Oscar took a moment to think about how to proceed.

 

[Ingusto]

The Dusknoir threw Winter into a darkened room. But this wasn't no ordinary room. It was the same one he was in to begin with. He now remembered how it all happened, why he can't escape. He thought:
"I keep travelling in circles, helping each new victim find their way out. But I'm bound to this place forever, I can never escape, that is my sacrifice to save others."
He had to find a way back, but how?

 

[Trucro]

"WINTER!" Jacob shouted, as he had decided to search for the boy. He couldn't very well leave him in the house, not after everything that had happened. Despite the attention he was drawing from the ghosts, he hoped Winter would hear him and come running. "WINTER!" He repeated, this time even louder. He could see out of the corner of his eye several ghost pokemon begin to congregate. He called out again. "WINTER! WHERE ARE YOU?" By now, more than a dozen ghosts surrounded Jacob and his Oshawott, and Jacob decided to stop yelling. Each ghost varied in species and size; there was quite the diversity in this haunted house. He looked around at each; Gengar, Shuppet, Ghastly, Dusclops, Duskull, Driftloon... there were too many now to count. Jacob looked over at Oscar(Oshawott) who was trembling. There was no way they could fight their way out of this one.

It was then that a single Gengar stepped forward. It began to shout its name in no rhythym or patter; Jacob discerned that it was speaking to the rest of the group, but he had no idea what it was talking about. Another ghost stepped forward, a Banette, and the two began to discuss loudly, in front of the entire group. Jacob didn't like the feeling he got, as if the two were debating about his fate. He glanced behind him at the door. If he could just make it through the door, he might have escaped to freedom. He slowly began crawling backwards before jumping up, scooping Oscar into his arms, and sprinting towards the door. He pushed through the door, still running, and crashed into the bed. He was back in the bed chamber, and he took a deep breath. He hoped he had escaped the hordes of ghosts, at least for the moment.