Disclaimer- I do not own Pokémon and expect no profit from this endeavor
May 27th, 04:41
This morning has been complete and utter flaming tepigshit and the sun isn't even up yet. My wallet is missing and, as if life weren't complicated enough, I might now be a target for dream manipulating assholes; most likely a psychic or ghost type. If not, I'm either possessed of a sick and freakishly consistent imagination or something terrible is out to get me.
The string of unfortunate events that led me here to write at death o'clock in the morning began with another nightmare. I don't always dream and, since reaching adulthood, I rarely remember them. Yet, I now recall three consecutive nights where, stranger still, there exists a thread of continuity While the first was harrowing and the second, peculiar and frustrating, the latest evokes a curiosity and dread seldom matched.
My vision lingers in alarming clarity. Once again, my body was a child's. I was somewhere dark and cold; buoyant within a passageway of stonework. The only illumination came from a familiar flame that crept along the walls and swirled about a center of writhing shadow. Yet, within its core, a circle of gold watched, ardent and ominous. This was a conscious entity; the very same that had seized my wrist two nights ago. Then, it spoke and its voice was a burning hiss.
"Don't be afraid," it told me. "I will not touch you again." When I inquired as to why it attacked me in the first place, the thing had the audacity to deem my agony accidental. It claimed to be desperate because I was leaving. Supposedly, the creature had built a place for dreamers to commune, which required sending part of itself through the veil (between here and the spirit world). This, understandably, is an exhausting process that cannot be repeated indefinitely. I asked if this being was among the dead and, receiving an affirmative reply, asserted that it must belong beyond the veil. It countered that I, of all people, should be well aware of exceptions.
It went on to insist that we needed each other (we being myself, my harasser, and another). The other dreamer can't complete their task alone and, according to this fiery thing, neither can I. The spirit world had weakened it for "the veil takes. It takes names, memories, and will."
Still, I demanded to know exactly why it wanted to cross to the side of the living. For strength? For revenge? How could I be certain it wasn't a monster? I had felt its overwhelming hatred for myself. The reply was both chilling and poignant; "can a monster not also love?" I repeat its parting words, uncertain of my course. "The other dreamer rejects you here, but I shall deliver them in flesh. It will cost me much and force my silence for a time. I implore you, help us."
The dream then concluded, not in fire, but inky black. The flames faded and, suddenly, I realized the passageway was underwater. I was blind; drowning, unable to tell up from down, and woke, cold, breathless, and heaving as if to expel liquid from my lungs. What this means, I'm loath to consider.
Part of me thinks it's an awful prank. Some pokemon are known to deal in dreams. For example, six years ago, a mismagius convinced someone it was the soul of her deceased daughter, appearing as she slept. The mother performed absurd and, eventually, criminal acts at the ghost's behest. Authorities found her slathered in sriracha in a pokemart restroom, wearing only a necklace of dried patrat bladders and shoplifted birthday cards. She claimed it was an attempt to revive her child. The mismagius needed no concrete reason for their elaborate and cruel deception. It was simply entertainment.
Another instance involved a lonely elgyem, too shy to leave the abandoned warehouse where it lived. To compensate, it influenced humans and pokemon to sleepwalk during REM, leading them to its lair. There was no malicious intent, only longing for company. However, those interviewed expressed confusion and alarm upon regaining consciousness. One man said he had fallen asleep in bed, dreamt of walking his herdier, and woke up ten miles away.
If my nightmares are the work of dream manipulators, I must quickly determine their intentions. Is this an innocent prank gone wrong; a misunderstanding? Is it something more twisted? I also question what species would or could inflict such terror, purposefully or not. Munna and musharna only absorb the bioelectrical output of dreams, not induce them. Zoroark, gothitelle, and elgyem are generally too benevolent for something of this nature unless there's a grudge. Mismagius would be a prime suspect if only they were native to Unova. Perhaps a hotel guest or villa resident from overseas has one? I could ask around.
The only other option outside impossibly rare legendaries is beheeyem. As far as potential candidates go, this is by far the worst case scenario. They are certainly capable of fashioning nightmares and would have no moral qualms about unleashing them. If I am their chosen victim, worse could be coming. Playtime with beheeyem isn't over until their toys are broken.
It would be a horrific coincidence. They're already tentative suspects for the murder of my hero. Now, they might be the architects of my own demise. Perhaps I'm too paranoid. I have little evidence to suggest their involvement. Nonetheless, I find it prudent to take precautions. My team and I will now sleep in shifts; one of us awake and on guard during every hour of the night. If something is targeting me, they could easily turn their wrath on Clarisse, Baron, and Vivi too. In a world without pokemon, dreams would just be dreams. Reality is more complex than that. Negative ghostly auras elicit irregularities in the HPA axis. Psychics stimulate posterior cortical hotspots while we sleep. Strange forces are at work all around us and people like myself and Dr. Skye seek to know them.
Which brings me to my final theory. What if that creature I spoke to were not merely a prop? What if it were truly trying to use me to cross fully into the physical world? That's almost more frightening than the prospect of beheeyem, for, if this is true, that entity possesses power, awareness, and dexterity the likes of which I have never encountered.
From what spiritual physicists know of the mysterious veil between our world and the spirit world proper, it is generally permeable from only one direction. The dead easily cross over into the spirit world but can't cross back. Likewise, the living, unless assisted, can't access the spirit world. Certain ghost type pokemon can bend these rules as they are denizens of the physical world with affinity for the spirit world. For a soul without a physical anchor to establish the smallest channel for consciousness through the veil entails an energetic expenditure of at least 5,000 meS.
The creature in my dream repeated this three times to my knowledge. To those familiar with these units, 15,000 meS is the type of number that normally makes us laugh and recheck our calculations. No one just throws that type of spiritual energy around. Lunala and giratina, sure, but they're in class by themselves. They're also not actually dead, ghost typing aside.
When that thing touched me, it felt like my life was ending. Whatever it is, however eloquently and sympathetically it speaks, it's definitely dangerous. It also clearly knows about my background in spiritual physics ("you, of all people, should be aware of exceptions"), which is probably why it thought to contact me.
What would Julianne have done? She had allies; strong pokemon, friends in academia and the league. She had experience navigating dire situations, sometimes almost impossibly so, and emerging victorious. She had determination bordering on madness. I have degrees from UNU and JC, a lot of paperwork, a potentially unhealthy obsession, and a team that's never stepped foot in a gym. I suppose it's a start.
Dr. Skye had many enemies and trusted few. Yet, her trust and willingness to embrace the unknown was also one of her greatest assets. She could have fled from Keros when they met in the cemetery. She could have even reported him. Instead, she sought to understand him. Gemma came into her home completely uninvited to live underbeds and in walls; a pest. Some would've called an exterminator or ordered their pokemon to drive the venipede away. Julianne welcomed and befriended the invader. She was hospitalized, given anti-venom, in the process but eventually found a lifelong friend and protector.
I don't know what she would have done in my situation. Perhaps she would see a threat. Perhaps she would see an opportunity. Whether this is a ghost or psychic playing tricks or an actual eldritch abomination, I have no way of discerning yet. First, I must wait and see what, if anything, they meant by "I shall deliver [the other dreamer] in flesh." Can they make good on that promise? Who is the other dreamer? Does "in flesh" mean "in person" or something I haven't deciphered yet?
It must also consider the fact that this might be related, not only to my proficiency in spiritual physics, but my investigation of Dr. Skye. It's possible she engaged beheyeem in the desert, after all. Then again, my new fixation on beheeyem might be because of that. Arceus, it's almost five o'clock. I might read this later and deem it the deranged product of sleep deprivation and hysteria. Sugar could also be involved. Clarisse has made me four cups of hot cocoa (thank you, Clarisse) since I fell, gasping, off the bed. I'm on my way to surpassing Dr. Skye's daily average and I didn't even like the stuff until recently.
I'm also growing exceedingly restless due to the absence of my wallet. An hour ago, I thought of heading downstairs to purchase chips from the vending machine. An hour later, I've torn my apart my room searching for some of the worst possible things to misplace besides my pokeballs and my head. Credit card, debit card, cash, insurance card, trainer license, UNSA ID, a freaking flash drive containing copies of every document involved in the investigation; gone. All I have left is my hotel keycard and 1,000 pokedollars. There are toothbrushes more expensive than that, and not even the fancy electric kind!
The most infuriating bit is that I can't imagine not bringing my wallet back with me. My gut says it should be in the room, even though Clarisse and I have searched the room more thoroughly than a sableye in a jewelry store. Undella town tends to attract a mixture of competitive trainers and well-to-do tourists. Though there's always the risk of pickpockets at the shore, you'd think the lifeguard's patrolling seismitoad would deter petty criminals. I also never left my possessions unattended. I came for a nice spot to work. Baron's the one who wants to get pummeled by waves.
The only explanation I can devise is that I unwittingly dropped it somewhere on the beach. Clarisse refuses to let me go out and backtrack until dawn. I admit, her decision has merit. The lifeguards are off duty and this is prime hunting time for eelektross and frillish. There was a report of an ambush only a few miles from here a couple of weeks ago. Some teenager was playing knee-deep in the surf one night when he was attacked. He got away with only some stitches and a contusion thanks to his well-trained krokorok.
So, here I am, passing the time before I can dig through sand so I don't have to cancel my credit card and explain my missing trainer license. Someone might be out to get me, copies of my research could be in anyone's hands, and Vivi just vomited what I think was a hotel brochure into my shoe. Good morning, indeed.