My short tale for this Halloween! Since I like to imagine the Pokemon world in a realistic manner, I liked to include our holidays for them as well, a sort of parallel. Any of my other readers who are looking for info about my other stories, I'll have some info at the end of this short story as well as on my profile. Enjoy this little spooky tale, and make sure to get yourself some rare candies! Yum!
Eric glanced over his shoulder as he entered Route 15 from the entrance from Laverre City of Kalos. Certain that no one saw him, the 15 year old slowly made his way to the location marked on the piece of paper he was holding, seeing with a small flashlight and the light of the moon. As he walked, he muttered to himself, "Come on Eric, you can do this. It's for a free Pokemon after all!" As he continued walking along the edge of the path, Eric mulled over how he got to where he was. Sneaking out at night, into an area with wild Pokemon, 'Though not very strong ones', he reminded himself, all to possibly join a small club on Route 15.
The Reapers, as they called themselves, were a small group of trainers and trainers-to-be who had a small hideout in the ruins of a building on Route 15. While not considered a gang, they do sometimes make trouble trying to get others to battle with them and their Ghost Pokemon. Started by an ex-trainer who almost made it through the Kalos Victory Road, anyone was welcome to join, provided several things. They must be at least 15 years old, 'Check', welcome their starter Pokemon that was given to new members, which were always Ghost type, 'There not that scary...well most of them', and finally, complete a mysterious trial.
The trial was what had Eric slightly worried. No one knew what it was, and members were forbidden to tell anyone. Still, the promise of a Pokemon to start early training with before taking on the League Challenge was a good one. Eric took one last look at the map, and nodded when the small doodle on the paper matched the ruins he saw in front of him. As he began to go down the steps, a person suddenly stepped in front of him, seemingly materializing from the darkness. Startled, Eric stepped back and tripped on the stairs behind him.
"Ow!"
"Hmph. So your the new recruit? If you scare that easily, you might as well turn around right now."
"Wait!" Eric hurriedly got up to speak with the person in front of him, "You just startled me! That's all, I swear! I'm ready to take on the challenge!"
The person cocked their head, and lowered the hood covering their face. Eric was slightly surprised seeing a girl slightly older than him, holding her hand out. Remembering what he had to do, he placed the paper-map in her hand, and waited.
"Well, you're the guy. So you ready for this? Your instructions are on this piece of paper. Come back after you completed everything before the sun rises, and you'll be a member of the Reapers." After saying that, the girl turned around and went down the stairs.
Looking at the new piece of paper in his hand, Eric began processing what just happened, before suddenly asking, "Wait, what? That's it? But what abou-" But as he looked up, he saw the girl was gone, back in the darkness of the lower ruins. Shrugging to himself, Eric looked at the slip of paper.
Eric began to walk to the marked location on the paper, a nearby field of tall grass. "Rule 1, do not lose this paper. Rule 2, complete the trial before sunrise. Rule 3, what you must do. Search the field for 6 Pokeball colored balls, don't bother trying to steal them, they are not real. You must gather all the 'Pokeballs' and bring them back to the ruins. Rule 4, if you cannot complete the trial, bring back everything you have found and put them outside the ruins along with this paper...That's it? Doesn't sound that hard."
Eric soon found himself at the edge of the tall grass field. Using his flashlight, he could see that parts of the grass were trampled, in an almost maze-like fashion. 'Guess I have to find the Pokeballs in this maze...well, should be easy with this clear night'. Using the light of the moon and his flashlight, Eric started looking for anything resembling a Pokeball.
Several minutes in, Eric soon found his first 'Pokeball'. However, he did not go get it, seeing it was at the edge of some dark woods. "...Come on Eric, just go get it!...Nah, I'll save it for last." As he turned to continue searching, he heard a sharp snap, like twig, and whipped around, shining his light into the woods, his light barely piercing the darkness. Seeing nothing, Eric gave a shudder and continued on, but he kept feeling like he was being watched.
Almost half an hour later, Eric had collected 5 of the 6 Pokeballs, putting them in his pocket. The final one laid at the edge of the dark woods. Eric stared at it, it was so close, but something kept him from heading towards it, part of his brain was telling him, almost screaming at him to forget it and accept defeat. He didn't know why, but he did his best to ignore it and started towards the ball. As he stood over it, he shined his light into the woods again. Despite the little light, he was confident nothing was there. Eric reached down to take the ball.
*Snap!*
Another loud noise, similar to the one he heard earlier, came from the edge of the woods. Startled, like how he felt when he saw the girl emerge from the shadows, Eric jumped back. His eyes narrowed, suspecting a trick. "That's it! I won't scared of you again! I'm completing your challenge!" He stepped forward and reached towards the colored ball again...
A dark, clawed shaped hand shot out from the dark woods, grasping Eric's outstretched hand. He gave a yelp and dropped his flashlight, trying to free his other hand. He suddenly was pulled into the woods and thrown to its floor. Before he could get his bearings, he felt another clawed hand grasp his shoulder and throw him again. Eric landed on his side, his breath knocked out of him. Gasping, he looked around in a panic.
What he sawed scared him, several Trevenant, at least 4, surrounded him, glaring at him menacingly. Flashes of the horrible legends from his childhood of these Pokemon ran through his mind, while his mind was trying to process what was going on. 'Is this part of the trial?! They can't be this violent...and these Pokemon don't look trained!' Eric tried to back up, but he was blocked by Trevenant at every turn. Suddenly, they began to back off, forming a large circle around him. Confused, Eric stood up and looked around. 'Maybe this is part of the trial?'
*Thump!*
Startled yet again, Eric turned around to face the sound, to see an orange colored Pokemon, this one having a legend to itself too.
"Gourgeist," Eric whispered to himself, still in fear as the Pokemon's glowing eyes stared into his.
The Gourgeist's plant like arm shot out and suddenly grasped Eric's right arm. His eyes widened in even more fear as the terrible legends flashed through his mind, fearing for his life. Eric began to shake his arm widely, but the Pokemon kept its grip, and lashed its other plant like arm to his. Struggling for his life, Eric suddenly felt a weight lighten in his pocket. The Gourgeist's arms suddenly pulled back and it gave a hiss in alarm and fear.
Eric looked down and saw the Pokeball colored ball at his feet. Thinking quickly, he grabbed it and drew his arm back, mocking a throw. He aimed in all the directions, and the other Pokemon began to scatter. Taking his chance, Eric ran to the edge of the woods, grabbing the last colored ball as he ran.
He soon arrived at the ruins again, gasping for breath, he wasn't sure, but he may have just ran all the way back without stopping. Sensing another presence he shot up and took a step back.
"Hah! You really are easy to scare. I just keep stepping in front of you! So, did you collect it all?"
Still in a haze, Eric handed over the balls and the paper, finally catching his breath.
"Well, you did it, but why out of breath? Shouldn't be that scary to just collect colored balls at night, unless you are just a coward." Before he could answer, the girl continued, "Nah, and you did complete the challenge. So welcome to the Reapers!"
"B-but, the Pokemon tha-"
"Oh yeah! Your Pokemon! Here yah go!" The girl pulled a Pokeball from her pocket and threw it to Eric, "Ready for a new trainer! Take care of her well, and maybe you can battle me someday." With a wink, she walked off.
Eric just stood there, in front of the ruins, dumbstruck, thoughts racing through his head. His mind screamed for him to get answers, but he was also completely out of strength. Looking at the Pokeball in his hand, with a symbol of a scythe on it, he began to walk home.
An hour later, Eric collapsed in his bed after sneaking back into his house. He would explain to his parents about his new Pokemon in the morning, but right now, he wanted to sleep. Before he did, he looked at the Pokeball in his hand another time. 'Still don't know what Pokemon you are, but hey, now's a good time as ever.' He shut his door, and released his Pokemon.
Eric jumped back at the sight of the Pokemon, almost letting out another yelp at the familiar colors, but soon caught himself. His new Pumpkaboo stared at him for a bit, before hovering around his room, taking in her new surroundings.
"Well," Eric said to himself, "This is gonna be great."
Hope you liked my first story in a while! As for my other works, I haven't forgotten them, but like I said, school and personal troubles have been an obstacle for a while. I will continue my other stories, but until then, if you have any other questions, send me a message! Hope you had a Happy Halloween, thanks guys! Peace.