DarkFoxKit: *Was rolling some dice on the desk before she was typing something on the computer* Why am I getting such crappy rolls lately?
Traveling Master: *Was currently playing on my switch, so I was partially paying attention* Uh...Maybe use different dice? Roll with your other paw?
DarkFoxKit: Maybe I should get a rabbit's foot to do the rolling. *Looks over at what TM was playing* Is that Spyro The Reignited Trilogy?
Traveling Master: *I pause the game to show DF* Yup, this was my childhood, along with Crash Bandicoot. Those two were great games. I already had beaten Crash, so now I'm focusing on Spyro!
DarkFoxKit: Heh, Spyro was definitely my childhood. I also played Crash Bandicoot when I was a kid, but it wasn't a series that really stuck with me like Spyro did. *Then she notices something* Uh, TM, did you bring in another purple dragon that we know and love?
Traveling Master: *I look up from my switch to see what DF was talking about* Uh...no...
DarkFoxKit: Then… what's she doing here?
*The two of them were looking at a familiar Goomy slithering onto TM's couch*
Berry: Hi, I've been wanting to meet the two of you. Well, I almost did, but then Dust unleashed total chaos and I didn't get the chance to speak.
Dust: Hey! That was not my intention... at first. Just...one thing led to another and well...you already know the rest.
Traveling Master: Dust! It's already bad enough when you barge in here, not to mention when Chihiro randomly shows up! Why do you keep bringing others in here?! No offense, Berry, just wasn't expecting to see you here.
Berry: Excuse me, Dust didn't bring me here. I came here myself.
DarkFoxKit: How did you do that? I don't remember giving you the power to go through the 4th wall.
Berry: Well, maybe I did have a little bit of help from Otti.
DarkFoxKit: Of course you did. *Grumbles*
Dust: Well, now that we're all here, how about we all watch the game TM is playing while the readers move on the chapter?~
Traveling Master: If we are going to be watching me, let me first dock my switch, so we can all see it on a bigger screen. Perfect timing too, I'm about to go on the TreeTops level…*Groans* Yay.
Berry: *Slithers up on DF's head and gets comfortable*
DarkFoxKit: … What are you readers looking at? Get to the chapter already.
Traveling Master: *Lost my first life in the level* ...This is gonna be a long day...
Chapter 22: Welcome to the Strange Mansion
Dust walked into the Dojo with Berry and Cliff on his back. After a good night sleep, and a hearty breakfast, Dust felt ready to finally start training again, and it was even better, because this time Berry would be joining him for the training.
"I've been looking forward to this for a long time now," Dust spoke up. "Not just using our new moves, but having you here. I'll be honest, it was quite lonesome when I trained here by myself."
"Heh, yeah… I figured since the tournament will be coming up soon, I want to be able to at least stand a chance against other teams," Berry admitted sheepishly. "And this might be a good chance for Cliff to see how we battle in a safe environment."
The Corviknight flew over to them. "Ah, Team Night Tide. What can I do for you today?"
"We've actually learned some new moves yesterday and were hoping to do some training with them," Dust explained.
"Oh, and what moves did you two learn?" Vesper asked.
"Berry learned Sludge Bomb, and I learned Iron Tail. We had trouble with a Fairy type recently, and Otti suggested it would be best if we at least learned a Steel or Poison type move," Dust answered.
"Ah, that is true, with just the two of you, you do have that unfortunate shared weakness to Fairy types. Very well then, in order to practice your new moves, use them against these training dummies. They will absorb your hits, and rebuild themselves if you break them," Vesper instructed, gesturing a wing to a few dummies. "They're meant for Pokemon to learn or test out their new moves."
Dust turned to Berry, to further explain. "They are actually very useful. I've used them before and was amazed by their designs. Oh, and you don't have to worry about breaking them, I've learned that they are very strong and can endure most attacks."
"Doesn't mean that we have the occasional member break one. Team Destruct has had more than their fair share of broken dummies. But like I said, they are able to repair themselves. Otherwise we would have run out of them a long time ago," Vesper chuckled.
"Heh, alright, then it'll be good to try out Sludge Bomb on these things," Berry agreed. "Cliff, you stay here while Mommy and Daddy use their moves. We wouldn't want you to get caught up in it and get hurt."
"Watch Mommy and Daddy?" Cliff asked.
"Yes, watch Mommy and Daddy." Berry nodded.
Cliff tilted her head at first, still not fully understanding, but then she smiled. " Okay, I watch Mommy and Daddy now."
Dust was relieved to have Cliff slide off of him, as well as Berry. Cliff sat down on the floor while Dust and Berry walked over to the training dummies.
Berry took a deep breath, seeming to expand herself a little, before she shot out a big ball of purple goop that slammed into the dummy, leaving purple sludge all over it. The Sludge Bomb was a bit weak, however, she needed it to explode on the dummy rather than just land on it. So Berry continued to make more big balls of purple goop.
Dust had been watching Berry for the first part, wanting to see her use the move. He was amazed by her use of it and would've been fine with just watching her, but he had his own move to use. Focusing on the technique, he felt energy built up in his tail. He looked back and saw his tail was now hardened, having a silvery shine. Again, if he wasn't training at the moment, he would've just just spent time taking notes while watching his tail. He imagined how best to use the move on the dummy, practicing it a few times in his head. Satisfied, he focused on the dummy before getting a running start. He then leaped forward, twisting his body in the air. He expected to make contact but suddenly he saw that he jumped past the dummy. Before he could react, he ended up crashing against the wall.
"Okay… that did not go how I thought it would," Dust shook his body as he got up. "Let's try that again."
Dust tried once more, but this time he twisted his body too soon, missing the dummy with his tail and instead crashed into it, face first. The third time he ended up tripping before even having a chance to leap forward.
When Dust tried again, he ran a bit too fast and when he tripped, he flipped around before he heard someone yelping in surprise before he suddenly had a face full of purple goop.
"Dust!? Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Berry squealed, seeing that Dust ended up on the wrong end of her Sludge Bomb.
It took a moment for Dust to get up, shaking his head from receiving an attack just now. He looked down at his Pecha Scarf, glad that it protected him from being poisoned. "It's fine. It's a good thing I've been wearing my Pecha Scarf, still that was quite the attack… I should've been more careful, but I ended up tripping when trying to use Iron Tail."
Cliff looked more amused then anything, she was giggling while clapping her stubby arms together.
"Here's a tip," Vesper spoke up to Dust. "For first time users of Iron Tail, don't run. It's best for you to aim and take it slow first, then work your way up as you get more used to using your Iron Tail."
Dust nodded. "Thanks for the advice Vesper."
Dust was about to turn and continue his training, but Vesper placed a wing in front of him. "Maybe you should wash up first before doing so. Your Pecha Scarf may protect you from being Poisoned, but carrying all that sludge on your body can be dangerous."
Dust then realized his body was partially covered in purple sludge from Berry's attack. "Oh, hadn't realized I was currently a walking hazard. Berry, you can continue, I'll be back shortly."
"Yeah… maybe I'll choose a training dummy that's further away from yours," Berry sweatdropped.
After Dust and Berry trained with their new moves, they had gotten to a point where they were comfortable with using Sludge Bomb and Iron Tail on other Pokemon. But they had to admit that moving targets might be trickier, especially for Dust and his Iron Tail.
"If I may make a suggestion," Vesper spoke up to the two. "How about you both spar with each other?"
"Sparring? With each other?" Dust asked.
Vesper nodded. "Sparring with your partner is a great method for training. It helps both Pokemon grow and understand one another. I've seen Team Destruct Spar with one another many times. And whenever Crimson and Blizza come here, they mostly train by sparring with each other too."
"I've never had to battle against Dust before," Berry noted, sounding a little nervous.
"All the more reason to spar with him now. You can also help each other get stronger," Vesper pointed out.
Berry looked at Dust while he looked at her. "What do you think, Dust? You want to spar with me?"
Dust was also uncomfortable with the thought of having to battle against Berry too. "Well she explained it pretty well… If we want to improve, I supposed sparring would be the best option to take."
"When you two are ready, head on over to the arena," Vesper instructed. "Remember, no items, it will be a pure one on one combat."
Cliff gave a concerned look. "Mommy and Daddy fight?"
"Um… Not exactly, we are only practicing… Training," Dust tried explaining.
"Mommy and Daddy are helping each other get stronger," Berry added.
Cliff seemed to understand, before nodding. "Mommy help Daddy get strong!"
The two then headed over to the arena, where Vesper was waiting for them. "As I said before, no items. Also, while normally you are open to using any attacks, for this sparring match, I want you two to focus more on the new moves you've learned. You can still use your other moves, but you should practice more with what you've just learned. Now, are you two ready?"
Both Dust and Berry looked at each other, both feeling nervous having to spar with each other in only a few seconds. But seeing as this is necessary to help them improve, they both nodded.
"Then begin!" Vesper shouted
Dust made the first move, he decided not to go for Ice Beam since he didn't want to hurt Berry too much. He turned his tail into steel, intending to try to hit Berry with his Iron Tail. Berry shot out a sudden small Sludge Bomb at his head, which blinded Dust for a moment, making him miss Berry completely.
Dust then suddenly had the sludge washed off by Berry's Water Gun attack, which didn't feel like much of an attack. Dust blinked a couple times until he could see clearly.
"Um… Berry, was that supposed to be an attack?" Dust asked as he shook his wet fur.
"Uh… yes…?" Berry hesitantly answered.
But Dust could tell it wasn't meant as an attack. "Berry, I know you don't want to hurt me, trust me, I don't want to hurt you too. I even decided to not use Ice Beam… But I think we'd only hurting ourselves further by holding back. What if this was a real battle against an outlaw, or a dangerous opponent. I don't like the idea of hurting you, but… I also don't want to see you get seriously injured again because I was too weak to do anything. Only reason we made it out of that encounter with that Snubbull was because of luck, and I don't know how lucky we'll be if something like that were to happen again. So...I'm willing to use all my moves if you are willing to use your stronger attacks too."
Berry frowned. "But Dust… what if I… you know… lose it?"
"Not to worry, so far everytime you've begun to lose it, I've always felt this sense of danger approaching. As you know, our kind are known to sense oncoming danger. So if you do happen to start losing control, I'll be able to sense it and we can stop sparring immediately," Dust confidently explained.
The Goomy hesitated a little more before she gave a look of determination and nodded. "Alright… alright, if you're sure you want us to go all out, then… we'll do it."
Dust is right, there's only so many times luck will save us. When I was facing that Goodra back at Waterfall Cavern, I thought I was going to die. When that Snubbull Attracted Brody, I thought we were going to die. I don't want to feel helpless again. We've both been in near death situations, so going all out on each other should be nothing. Berry decided.
Dust and Berry gave a firm nod to one another before getting into battle position. Dust is the first to attack by firing an Ice Beam at Berry. He didn't want to use that move, but he knew if they were facing an opponent who used the same move, they wouldn't hesitate to use it on them, so he shouldn't hesitate either in this sparring match.
However, Berry knew Dust had that move, and remembered how much it hurt last time. So when Dust fired Ice Beam at her, she suddenly flattened herself so much to the ground that she looked like a purple puddle, which made the Ice Beam pass over above her.
Amazing! Dust thought to himself. Another burst of questions were coming to mind, but then he quickly shook his head. No, now's not the time for that. I have to stay focused.
Berry shot out Water Gun at his face, unlike the several other times Berry used Water Gun on him, it didn't just feel like a gentle squirt of water, it actually stung. While Dust was trying to rub his eyes with his paw, Berry jumped over Dust. Dust didn't get the warning until he managed to open his eyes just before a purple gooey mass Body Slam onto his face, knocking him down as Berry bounced off of him.
Dust got back up, shaking a bit from just having his partner Body Slammed on his face. After a few seconds, he recovered, though wincing a bit from the pain. Dust kept his eyes on Berry as thinking of a battle strategy. He knew that despite her slow speed, Berry made up for it for fast thinking and resourcefulness. Dust thought of a new plan and set it in motion.
Rushing forward, Dust leaped high into the air while charging another Ice Beam. But instead of aiming it at Berry, he ends up firing the attack around Berry, causing the ground around her to be covered in ice. While still in the air, Dust adjusted his body as he fell towards Berry, his tail already becoming hardened as he prepared Iron Tail . Dust knew he would have a difficult time hitting a moving target, but with Berry surrounded by ice, he knew where he had to aim.
Berry, however, was bolder than Dust gave her credit for. She actually hopped onto the ice and let her body slide across the icy ground, which made Dust's Iron Tail miss her entirely and he hit the ground instead. While Berry was sliding on the icy ground, she moved her body to turn to Dust. She opened her mouth and Dust saw a familiar purple ball forming there. Dust knew that was Dragon Breath, but the fact Berry didn't fire it right away showed she was trying to condense it like she tried to do for Grant earlier.
It seemed as though the trap Dust had set up for Berry was now working against him. He knew he had to think of a plan before Berry fired her attack. Right now his best shot was Ice Beam, so just as Berry was charging her attack, Dust began charging his. Thinking Berry was planning on firing a powerful version of Dragon Breath, Dust decided to put more energy into his attack, hoping to counter Berry's attack. Unable to hold back the attack any more, Dust fired his overcharged Ice Beam at Berry.
Berry, however, didn't fire the little purple ball in her mouth. Instead she jumped as much as she could, barely, just barely, avoiding the large Ice Beam, though it did nick her bottom a little, causing ice to form there. With a hiss, Berry dropped the purple ball, which hit the ground with a small puff. Dust stared at where the ball hit, and saw it didn't leave much of an impact. That was when he realized that Berry never intended to use Dragon Breath, it was a feint. Realizing this too late, Berry landed on his back. Dust then felt a familiar drain of his energy. Looking back, he could see Berry's body was glowing green. She was using Absorb on him.
Dust tried firing another Ice Beam at Berry, but just as he charged his attack, it sputtered before disappearing. Dust then realized he used up all his energy for Ice Beam against Berry's feint. Dust tried shaking off Berry, but she held on tight while continuously using Absorb, each passing second draining more and more of Dust's strength.
As Dust was getting weaker, Berry abruptly stopped using Absorb and jumped off of him. Before Dust could say anything, Berry shot another Water Gun at him, but because she was so close, she only managed to hit his chest rather than his face this time, and the Water Gun, having been strengthened from using Absorb on him, pushed him back. The ice under his claws made him slip as well.
Dust managed to get back up, but was heavily breathing. Vesper was keeping a close eye on him, in case he fainted from exhaustion, but Dust stood his ground. Berry was some distance away from Dust, already realizing that with him unable to use Ice Beam, Dust had no other range attacks to use. Dust knew battling against Berry would not be easy, but it just dawned on him how dangerous an opponent could be when they personally knew you and how you fought. But there was one thing Dust knew that Berry didn't know. Heck, even Dust himself wasn't entirely sure of it. But each time those strange occurrences happened, those random visions appeared, they were always on accident. The only one he told about those strange moments was Chihiro, and no one else.
Dust never practiced trying to force a vision before, he didn't even know how they happened in the first place. But he noticed that each time it did happen, he was in some form of danger. From the first time against the wild Taillow, later during that deadly game of Tag with Grant and Al. Even when fighting against Brody it happened, and he felt that maybe he might be able to make it happen on purpose this time.
He took a deep breath before closing his eyes, trying to sense any familiar feelings from last time. But at the moment, all he saw was nothing, but that didn't stop him from trying to focus even more.
Berry noticed that Dust looked distracted about something. Normally she would wait and let the other Pokemon regain their focus, but since this was supposed to be a practice spar against other Pokemon, Berry would have to show Dust that the enemy will not wait around for him to think or regain his concentration if he started to space out. As dirty as it felt to the Goomy, she knew she would have to take the opportunity, better that she taught him the lesson now rather than someone else who would aim to kill. Berry fired an actual Dragon Breath attack at Dust this time, without condensing it since she wasn't confident enough to do that without it backfiring on her again.
As Berry had just fired her attack, Dust was still concentrating on searching for anything. He noticed a small sensation within and tried focusing on it. But then he sensed the oncoming attack. Part of him wanted to open his eyes, but he was so close to the feeling that if he stopped now, he knew he would miss his chance to use it.
Berry's Dragon Breath attack was halfway close to reaching Dust, but just then, as Dust continued to focus on that feeling, he suddenly felt that same feeling each time he was about to have a vision. And just as he did, he saw what was happening and what would happen. Seeing everything he needed to, Dust quickly opened his eyes to see he was only seconds away from being hit by Berry's attack. Following his body's instinct and the vision he just had, Dust jumped to the left, dodging the attack. But he didn't stop there, knowing what would happen next, Dust started charging towards Berry, already preparing his next move.
Berry was surprised at the sudden dodge Dust just did, she reacted quickly and tried to fire a Sludge Bomb at him, a purple ball of toxic goo beginning to form in her mouth. That was when Dust decided to take his chance. The Absol leaped at the Goomy, his tail turning into steel. Berry's eyes widened as Dust suddenly flipped himself over, his Iron Tail slamming not only into Berry, but at the purple ball of toxic sludge as well, which caused the Sludge Bomb to explode. Dust got some of the sludge on his tail in the process.
Berry fell a few feet away, her body sliding against the ice, which chilled her slide, causing her body to go stiff and cold. The purple sludge that was on her body after the Sludge Bomb explosion likely poisoned her as well.
Dust stood there, breathing hard. Even though everything played out exactly how he saw it, he still couldn't believe he managed to pull it off. But when Berry hadn't gotten up, Dust got very worried, completely ignoring all other thoughts.
"Berry!" Dust shouted as he rushed towards Berry. Reaching her, he saw that her body was looking more like a puddle. "Are you alright?!"
"Mommy!" Dust heard Cliff as she ran to her side.
Vesper landed beside Berry herself, checking the Goomy. "Hmm…"
Vesper held out a Pecha Berry and a Tiny Reviver Seed. "Feed her these. She's been poisoned by the Sludge Bomb, so the Pecha Berry should cure her, and the Tiny Reviver Seed will help her regain consciousness and heal her wounds."
Dust grabbed both the Pecha Berry and the Tiny Reviver Seed before feeding them both to Berry. After a few seconds of waiting, Berry started moving slightly while also groaning. Cliff immediately hugged Berry, glad to see that she was waking up.
"Mommy! You okay!" Cliff smiled.
Berry blinked open her eyes, seeing that she was being hugged by a Larvitar. She then looked up, seeing Dust and Vesper.
"Heh… looks like you won that one, Dust," Berry stated.
"Forget about winning, are you okay?" Dust asked once more.
"I'm fine… I might need a bath, but I'm fine," Berry reassured Dust. "I've been through worse. Though your tail packs a mean punch."
"Quite indeed," Vesper spoke up. "That was some impressive maneuver you pulled off Dust. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you already mastered using Iron Tail."
Dust chuckled slightly. "It was most likely a fluke, with all the adrenaline running, I wasn't sure myself of what would happen."
"I thought you were daydreaming, or trying to come up with a plan while we were in the middle of a battle," Berry admitted. "I guess I should've figured you were likely waiting for me to make a move before you strike."
"Daddy strong," Cliff said. "I want to be strong too!"
Vesper was still eying Dust, but decided to drop the matter for the time being. "Yes, your Daddy is quite strong. But your Mommy did great too. They both did a great job."
Cliff nodded, still hugging Berry even though she had some sludge on her from the Sludge Bomb explosion.
"Cliff, you're going to need a bath," Berry sighed.
"What's… a bath…?" Cliff asked.
"Are you sure this is how we're supposed to bathe a Rock and Ground type?" Berry asked in concern when she, Dust, and Cliff were back in their room.
Dust had Cliff on his back, standing by an indoor hose that sprayed water for them to get themselves clean. There was a grate under the hose to where the water would go.
"I mean they're not known to like water you know," Berry added.
"True, but how else are we supposed to wash off the sludge?" Dust asked. "Until we find another Pecha Scarf for her, we can't risk Cliff getting poisoned. Doesn't help that she's part Ground. While they are more resistant to poison, it doesn't mean they are immune, all that does for us is make it harder to tell if she's poisoned, since the symptoms would appear at a much slower rate."
Cliff was giving curious looks, seeing that her mommy and daddy were nervous about something.
"Maybe we should ask Carrie first, I don't want to accidentally hurt Cliff with water," Berry suggested in concern.
"I'm not sure if we have time to look for Carrie right now, this sludge could already be seeping through Cliff's rock-like hide," Dust argued.
"And water wouldn't feel like acid to her?" Berry frowned.
While the two were arguing, Cliff hopped off of Dust's back before she approached the hose curiously, poking it.
"It might hurt for a moment, but better to get over it quickly then have it become a bigger problem later," Dust answered. "Look, if it makes you feel better, we can do a little at a time instead of cleaning her entire body at once. See how she reacts, and if she can handle it, we keep cleaning more and more of her body."
Suddenly there was a jet of water that hit Dust, it was like being hit by a powerful Water Gun, and it pushed Dust several feet away. Berry blinked in confusion before she turned to see where the jet of water was coming from. She saw Cliff, holding the hose, and laughing as she just hosed her 'daddy' with the hose.
"Cliff? How did you turn on that hose?" Berry asked in surprise.
"Water! Mommy likes water!" Cliff smiled before she sprayed Berry with the hose, thinking she was making her mommy feel good.
Unfortunately, the hose was shooting too powerful for it to be relaxing to Berry. She was pushed back a little from the stream of water.
"Cliff! Stop!" Dust shouted while trying to get up, only to be blasted once again with the hose.
There was a knock on the door while the two were trying to get the hose away from the giggling Larvitar.
The door then opened suddenly. "Hey, I wanted to- uh, is this a bad time?"
Dust and Berry looked back to see who walked into their room, and were surprised to see it was Roxy the Rockruff.
"No! Perfect timing in fact! Turn off the hose!" Dust managed to shout before getting hit in the face with water.
"Uh, okay," Roxy answered, still confused by what's going on.
While Cliff was busy laughing while using the hose on Dust and Berry, Roxy made her way to the valve and turned it off. Cliff then noticed that the hose was spraying less and less water, until it finally ceased. Dust was completely soaked while Berry seemed extra slimy.
Cliff pouted when she saw the hose 'ran out' of water.
"Cliff… you already gave Mommy and Daddy a bath, now it's your turn," Berry grumbled.
Roxy was giggling herself. "You were trying to give this Larvitar a bath?"
Dust nodded. "Me and Berry had a sparring match earlier, and after we had finished, Cliff went and hugged Berry, not knowing that she was partially covered in poisonous sludge from Sludge Bomb. We were concerned about her getting poisoned, so we came here, hoping to wash it off...That is until Cliff got a hold of the hose and decided to give both of us a bath."
Roxy laughed for a moment. "It's best to keep an eye on young mons, they can sometimes cause a lot of problems unintentionally. I can help you give her a bath though, since I doubt you two have an experience giving a Rock type a bath."
"Some help would be much appreciated," Berry answered. "We're not really sure how water affects types that are normally weak to water."
"Most Rock type Pokemon hardly ever take a water bath, but I learned how to wash myself, though it does take some getting used to, but it's actually quite nice once you get the hang of it," Roxy explained. "You normally want to transition from a mud bath to a regular one."
"Okay, but how would that help us get rid of the sludge that's on Cliff now?" Berry asked.
Cliff walked over to Berry then nuzzled into her, seeming to like Berry's watery slime. The slime started to wash off the sludge that was on the Larvitar's body.
Dust just stared blankly at the sludge being washed off. "While normally I would be impressed by witnessing such a thing… I think it would've been nice if we figured that out before being completely soaked with water."
"Huh… I've never seen a Rock type enjoying someone's slime before," Roxy admitted.
"She… likely thinks my slime as some kind of affection due to always hugging me not long after she hatched," Berry guessed.
"Oh yeah! That reminds me why I came here in the first place," Roxy realized. "I wanted to find out why Team Night Tide had a baby Larvitar with them."
"I supposed we didn't really have much of a chance to explain ourselves," Dust admitted.
"Didn't help that you ran off, that really caught me off guard," Roxy pointed out.
Dust gave a nervous chuckle. "Sorry about that. Anyways, I had found that egg recently in the Phoenix Desert Dungeon, though at the time I thought it was a unique rock. The egg ended up hatching, and we didn't know what to do. We didn't want anyone else to see Cliff yet, not until we at least knew what to do with her first."
"Well that does explain your odd behavior yesterday," Roxy noted. "But in the end, I was right!"
"About what? Dust having a Rock type with him?" Berry asked.
"Well… I was right about that too." Roxy nodded. "But I also knew Dust would never experiment on a baby. I know he can get a little obsessive with his experiments, but I know he's a good Pokemon who knows not to cross the line. I just wanted to know where you got the Larvitar."
"Oh, happy to have answered your questions then," Dust smiled.
"But there is still one thing that I wanted to ask. Why did you run?" Roxy asked. "You could've just explained why you had the baby Larvitar in the first place instead of running. Honestly it made others worried that you were up to something."
"Again, sorry about that," Dust apologized once more. "It was just something… I was not expecting, and with that I ended up having a sort of panic attack. My body told me to run, and so I listened."
"Dust had some… problems with others judging him," Berry added, Cliff still nuzzling her.
"Oh? Well that's not good." Roxy frowned. "You should probably do something about that. After all, I like being friendly to others, even if they think I can be a bit much sometimes."
"Again, nothing serious," Dust quickly explained. "Just something I was not expecting."
Roxy smiled as she wagged her tail. "Maybe I can help you be a little less self conscious then~"
Dust gave a nervous look while Roxy continued wagging her tail.
Dust decided that he was glad he wasn't born as a canine Pokemon. After having spent half the day with Roxy, he wished he had Otti's ability to transform, or Crimson's ability to cast illusions on himself. Roxy had him going around the other guild members to explain what the Larvitar thing was about, before she had him pounce them to lick their face while wagging his tail, or nuzzle them with his neck like she often liked to do. Dust was sure he offended or scared a few members with that stunt.
By the time he managed to shake Roxy, he was relieved to be back in the room where Berry and Cliff were.
"Had fun being a canine Pokemon?" Berry asked, chuckling, likely having heard the other members talking about how weird Dust was acting.
Dust didn't answer at first, instead he climbed on his bed as he laid down, his back facing Berry. "You know, I've done a lot of stuff to earn the judging look from others. But this… This was humiliating! At least before, it was because of something I did, something I wanted to do! But this was down right degrading. I don't know how Roxy has no problem doing that everytime she greets a fellow Crusader!"
"Well, it probably helps that she's a cute little dog Pokemon," Berry remarked. "Absol are usually known for being these dark, foreboding, disaster warning, intimidating, broody Pokemon. So you acting all super friendly and cuddly was bound to throw a few Pokemon off."
"Nuzzle me, Daddy!" Cliff smiled.
"Not now Cliff. It's been a long day," Dust mumbled.
"Pwease Daddy? Pwwweeeeeeaaaaase?" Cliff begged.
Dust turned to face Cliff to tell her no again, but then he saw her begging eyes. He recognized those eyes. The classic Lillipup eyes. The reason why he recognized those eyes were because he used to use them on his own mother before, and how often he was able to get away with many things. That was until he had gotten older and his mother profoundly gave him a good smacking. Since then he hasn't used the technique, nor seen anyone else use them until now.
Dust tried to ignore the eyes, but eventually gave in and sighed. He changed his position, making an open spot for Cliff. "Okay, you win."
"Yay!" Cliff smiled before she waddled over to Dust.
Berry couldn't help but chuckle.
"Hey! No one can say no to the Lilliipup eyes!" Dust explained.
Cliff hugged Dust's furry chest, she appeared to like both Berry's goo and Dust's fur, which shouldn't surprise Dust since she did imprint on them both, and thus love her 'mommy' and 'daddy's bodies. Dust briefly wondered how most baby Larvitar felt when being raised by Tyranitar since their hide was not made for comfort or cuddling.
"I was thinking we would take a nap before we leave for the Strange Mansion tonight," Berry spoke up. "We wouldn't want to be exhausted when we get there and back after all."
"Right," Dust nodded. "This will be exciting, our first official night mission. Curious to see what kind of Pokemon we will encounter. If they are nocturnal, I was thinking of Noctowl or Decidueye. Or perhaps some other Dark Type Pokemon."
"Maybe, guess we'll see when we get there," Berry shrugged as much as she could.
The two of them laid out in their bed. Berry didn't feel the need to sleep in the pot because she was still extra wet from her little 'bath' earlier. Cliff had fallen asleep rather quickly in Dust's fur though.
"Hey Dust," Berry suddenly spoke up.
"Hmm?" Dust mumbled.
"I was just wondering about our spar earlier," Berry said. "I didn't mention it earlier, but… just before you defeated me with your Iron Tail, I noticed your eyes were glowing, or at least it looked like they were glowing."
"Glowing?" Dust asked. "Well that would be interesting to see, though I never noticed them glowing. Then again I can't really see my own eyes glow unless I was looking at a mirror at the time. Was there anything else strange about my eyes? Did they glow a different color? Were they completely white?"
"No, they just… glowed. I guess your blue eye glowed a little more than your red eye? I only saw it for like a second before you slammed into me, so I didn't get a good look," Berry answered. "I wanted to know if you maybe used some kind of special psychic move or something while you were spaced out back there."
Dust paused for a moment, trying to figure out exactly what he did. He kinda had an idea of how he did it, but as to what it was in the first place, or how to even explain it puzzled Dust. "Well it wasn't exactly a psychic move...At least I don't think it was. Maybe it has to do with me being an Absol and our ability to sense oncoming danger. Or maybe…"
Dust paused once more, thinking about his encounter with Giratina. He recalled how the Ghost Dragon had mentioned that he would obtain some sort of gift, but never explained what it would be. But after all the past experiences, Dust felt that perhaps they were all related to this gift Giratina had mentioned before. Part of him wanted to share his thoughts with Berry, but everytime he thought of mentioning Giratina, he grew hesitant. Plus, he didn't want to worry Berry about his encounter with Giratina, the Pokemon of death itself.
"All I know is that sometimes I've been able to… somewhat see what would happen before it does," Dust explained. "I know it's hard to understand, I don't fully understand myself. But doing our sparring match, I wanted to see if I could actually do it on purpose this time."
"So you can see the future somewhat?" Berry asked.
Dust nodded. "The first time it happened was when we were in the Dusk Forest Dungeon, when that Tailow was attacking us. The second time was during that game of tag, when Grant and Al were charging at us at the same time. And the last time it happened was Brody was under the influence of Attract, though that one was different. It was like I could see what he would do before he even didn't it, while still dodging his attacks. But one thing they all had in common was that they happened on their own. I wanted to see if I could somehow pull it off when we were battling."
"Wow… how did you get that ability then?" Berry asked.
"Well…" Dust wanted to tell Berry about his theory, about how it was most likely due to his encounter with Giratina, but once again he suddenly felt reluctant to do so. So instead he decided to tell parts of his theory. "I think it may have to do with when I almost died. I think it might've triggered something in me, a sixth sense of sort. At least that's my guess, besides that, I'm not entirely sure."
Berry frowned, she didn't like being reminded how Dust almost died, especially since it was her fault in the first place. "Maybe… I suppose… whatever the case, perhaps we can see it as a good thing… you know, as long as you using that ability doesn't come at some kind of cost."
"Well, so far I haven't noticed any repercussions, though I do recall having a massive headache when I first used this ability. Then there was that time with Brody where…" Dust was about to mention his painful experience when fighting Brody, but as he thought about the headache, he recalled the voice he heard in his head too. "Well then again, I was already in pain from his attacks, so it's hard to say if it was from using the ability, or just from regular pain."
"Maybe it's something we'll have to… heh, experiment on later," Berry decided. "For now, let's just say it's good for an ace in the hole for when we really need it, kind of like my… outbursts."
Dust nodded. "Agreed. For now, let's get some rest. We have a busy night ahead of ourselves."
"Yeah. Heh, seems Cliff already fell asleep. Just hope she doesn't mind it too much when we leave her with Carrie or Chihiro," Berry remarked as the two of them got comfortable.
Dust was walking out of White Leaf Town with Berry on his back. They were able to get Cliff to understand they had to leave her with Carrie for the night, and promised to come back. Cliff wasn't too happy to have her 'mommy' and 'daddy' leave, but she didn't put up too much of a fuss, she seemed to understand she couldn't go everywhere with her 'parents', and she did seem to like Carrie a lot.
It was night, and there was barely any moonlight due to it being a new moon tonight. Dust was able to see in the dark just fine, though it was the first time he had to walk out after it was past 8 PM. It was almost like he was walking in a completely different area.
"And this is where Brody took you last time to rent a carriage?" Dust asked.
"Yeah, they do have a few Pokemon that take night shifts," Berry answered. "I doubt we'll be seeing Sunny and Twilight this time though."
"Shame, it's been a while since we last saw them. But I'm sure we'll see them again in the future," Dust optimistically said.
It wasn't long until they had reached the carriages where Brody had shown Berry last time. But instead of them breaking the rules and sneaking out, this time they were doing a mission. Dust went to the nearest carriage with a Pokemon, a Blitzle.
"Excuse me, we were hoping to use your services tonight," Dust said.
Blitzle eyed the Absol for a moment until the Blitzle turned her eyes towards Berry. "Wasn't expecting to see you again."
"Heh… didn't expect to come here again either," Berry admitted sheepishly.
"Well, I'll have to get a different Carriage since I carry a one-mon only Carriage," Blitzle stated before she walked to the back.
After about a minute later, a Houndoom and Mightyena came over, pulling a bigger Carriage that was more similar to the one Sunny and Twilight always carried.
"A Carriage for two?" The Houndoom said.
"Yes, that'll be for us," Dust answered.
"Show us the destination, then hop on in," The Mighyena stated.
Dust held out the invitation for the two Dark Canines to see. After reading it for a moment, they both give a nod. With that Dust and Berry climbed into the carriage. With the two onboard, the Houndoom and Mightyena began pulling the carriage, heading towards their new destination.
"It's kind of creepy to be out here after dark," Berry admitted. "I don't think I've ever been out here after the sun went down before. It's almost like an entirely new place."
"I can see how it can be discomforting for you, being a Dark type myself, our eyesights are more attuned to the night," Dust explained. "Out of all Dark types, it is said that Umbreon have the best vision in the dark."
"I think Umbreon can also light up the darkness with those golden rings on its body," Berry remarked. "Also, isn't the Shinx line known for seeing in the dark the best?"
"Well, I did say Dark types, the Shinx line isn't Dark type… even if they look like they could be," Dust stated.
"Yeah, that's kind of weird, isn't it? A type that looks like it should be, but isn't?" Berry chuckled, though she sounded half sarcastic.
Then they suddenly heard what sounded like very creepy howling in the distance. It sounded like something really creepy was out there rather than a normal canine Pokemon.
"Don't worry about that howl," Houndoom spoke up. "That kind of howl comes from my kind. It's not an attack or stalking howl, they're likely grouping up a pack to hunt around their territory. We're far away from them, judging from the distance of the howl, so we should be fine."
"Interesting," Dust noted. "I've done some research on your kind before, but never read anything about your howls. But one thing that did sound a little hard to believe was your fire. Is it true that your flames can cause lasting pain, even after it's been put out?"
"Heh, as much as I want to say it's true, it's actually over exaggerated to scare little mons, and also make for a good Halloween story. What actually happens is that we mix toxins into our flames when we burn our opponent or prey, the toxins in our fire is what causes the long lasting pain. It can last for days up to months, some unfortunate souls may get a concentrated toxic fire and the pain could last for potentially years. That's likely where the story comes from," Houndoom answered. "Thankfully, humans back in ancient times, and civilized Pokemon have modern medicine that will kill out the toxins. If they didn't, every Pokemon that got burned by one of my kind would never be able to fight again, or at least fight as well as they did before. Even if they recovered from the pain, the burn would leave an ugly scar if not treated quickly enough."
While Berry found the information unsettling, Dust was taking in every word. "That is incredible. I'll be sure to take extra caution if I'm ever up against a Houndoom then. But still, part of me would be curious by how it would feel exactly. The sensation, the pain, I would write down every single description."
"Please don't say things like that, Dust, you're tempting fate," Berry groaned. "And I rather you didn't almost die on me again because you got too curious for your own good."
"I've always been a little jealous of your kind," Mighyena spoke up to the Houndoom that was running beside him. "It'd be really nice to have that kind of Fire power. My kind can howl too, but it's nowhere near as spine chilling as how you could howl."
"But I did read how your kind are one of the most coordinated canine hunters," Dust pointed out. "Whether it was wild or civilized, your kind are always well versed when working together."
"Heh, well that is true~" Mighyena smirked proudly, making Houndoom roll her eyes.
"Jeez… coming out here at night is creepier knowing there are Pokemon like that roaming around. I mean no offense to you two, but I rather not get burned by toxic fire, or surrounded by Mightyena," Berry shivered.
"We understand. Most Crusaders don't usually like coming out at night for that very reason, unless they're high ranks or a part of the nocturnal Pokemon," Houndoom chuckled.
"Though I'm surprised that you're creeped out. I figured with an Absol as your partner, you'd be used to this kind of thing. No offense," Mightyena pointed out.
"None taken," Dust replied.
"Dust is more of a day time Absol than a night one," Berry answered.
"Ah, that might explain it, unusual, but not impossible for a Dark type to be out and about in the daylight hours," Houndoom noted. "But there's a reason why we Dark types prefer the night over the day. We blend in with the darkness, we feel more in control, our prey can't see us, but we can see them. We thrive in the shadows, ready to pounce, and roam the darkness under the stars, waiting, watching, and feeling the shadows giving us strength."
Berry looked more and more creeped out as the Houndoom went on. Dust just nodded, having heard something similar from his mother before.
"You're not doing the Absol's partner any favors you know." Mightyena rolled his eyes.
Houndoom chuckled. "I know, it's just fun to scare someone once in a while."
Suddenly going to this Strange Mansion sounds more like a death sentence than a mission. Berry gulped.
The remainder of the ride was in silence, though Berry did jump at every sound and howl she heard. And before long, Berry could already see a large mansion up ahead. She ended up clinging to Dust's leg as the Carriage came to a stop near the mansion's entrance.
"Welp, here we are, the Strange Mansion," Mighyena announced.
"This place popped up out of nowhere a few weeks ago," Houndoom spoke up. "Be careful, you don't know what you might find in there~"
"Oh stop it, Inferna" Mightyena laughed. "You already scared her enough, I'm sure they'll want a break from your teasing now."
"Hunter, you know a little scare never hurts anyone," Inferna smiled.
Hunter just shook his head before turning towards Dust and Berry. "Don't mind her, you two stay safe now. Be on your best guard, you don't know what you'll run into in this Strange Mansion."
"Thank you for the advice and for the ride," Dust said as Hunter and Inferna started to turn away and leave. "Hmm, they seemed pretty nice."
Berry didn't say anything, she was too busy trying not to sweat out her goo all over Dust's back.
The Absol walked up to the steps, standing right in front of the mansion's door. He wasn't sure if he should knock or ring a doorbell or slip the invitation under the door. After a few seconds of deciding, Dust reached out and rang the doorbell. As soon as Dust had pressed the doorbell, the bells gave a pleasant chime, but with each passing second, each chime grew longer and more ominous, until the last bell made a very deep chime that echoed through the night.
Both Dust and Berry took a step back, even Dust had found the doorbell unsettling.
Then a few seconds later, the door opened, seemingly on its own. Dust stepped into the mansion. The mansion itself was pretty dusty, though it also looked nice. There was a large door in front of them, and a set of stairs that lead up. There was a red carpet on the floor.
There was a sudden noise that freaked Berry out, she gave a yelp as she quickly and frantically looked around. Her antennae pick up the presence of something.
"Dust! We're not alone here!" Berry hissed.
"Can you sense where they are?" Dust asked as he looked around, trying to find the source of the noise.
"N-not really…" Berry frowned. "It's a bit hard to tell…"
There was a sudden lightning and thunder, the lightning showed a large shadow that looked distinctly like a Pikachu.
"Oh, it's just a Pikachu," Dust pointed out. "Nothing to worry about, Berry. Well except for the sudden thunder and lightning. I swore it was a clear night only seconds ago."
Berry was still shaking as the shadow of a supposed Pikachu started coming near them, making these eerie noises as it got closer.
"D-Dust, look at that Pikachu, there's something wrong with it! Those ears don't look right, they look all long, crooked, wrinkled, and the head is wobbling unnaturally… I think it broke its neck!" Berry yelped.
At first Dust was alarmed at hearing that, but when he got a better look, he did notice some strange things about the Pikachu. Upon closer look, what Dust thought was a Pikachu was actually some sort of costume. But that only made Dust wonder why a Pokemon would be wearing some sort of Pikachu costume. Dust felt he had seen pictures of this costume before, but couldn't quite remember everything he read about them.
The strange creature in the Pikachu costume started to cackle after seeing Dust and Berry's reaction. "Welcome to our mansion~ It has been centuries since we've got… heh, visitors here, living visitors~"
Berry was squirting a lot of goo on Dust's back as she was scared stiff. "L-living visitors!?"
"Yes, for you see, those who come here…" The creature in the Pikachu's costume suddenly had a pair of yellow stars flashing at the costume's torso. "LOSE THEIR SOULS!"
There was a sudden flash of lightning, Dust only had time to blink as a long, black tendril with claws reached out and stopped in front of his face. He yelped and jumped back in reflex.
The creature in the Pikachu's costume then laughed suddenly before pulling back the 'arm' under the costume. "Forgive me, it's been too long since I was able to scare someone like that. Allow me to introduce myself; I am Mimi, Mimi the Mimikyu. I am but a humble servant of the Strange Mansion."
"Mimikyu? Of course!" Dust exclaimed. "That's what your kind is called. I remember seeing pictures of your kind in children's books. I never would have imagined ever meeting a Mimikyu! Oh I have so many questions! First-"
Dust stopped when he felt something wet spread across his back. Frowning, Dust turned back to see Berry's body resembled a purple puddle. Berry's eyes were spiraling.
"Oh dear, seems my little scare prank might've overwhelmed the poor Pokemon on your back," Mimi noted. "I didn't realize that someone from Team Night Tide would be faint of heart considering your reputation among the Ghost types around here."
"I think Berry is not used to meeting another Ghost type who is very… Uh…" Dust tried to think of an appropriate word to describe Mimi.
"Creepy?~" Mimi questioned.
"I wouldn't exactly say creepy… But yes," Dust nodded. "Though to be fair, the only other Ghost Pokemon I've met was our Guild Master and her grandchildren, and they are very different from you. No offense."
"None taken. Ghost types are creepy by nature. I know about Chihiro and her adorable grandchildren. They can easily get along with non-Ghost types pretty well, and I have to commend them for that," Mimi remarked. "Ghost types don't often get the best reputation."
Suddenly another lightning and thunder went through the mansion, which snapped Berry awake. "Ghost types! Ghost types! … Oh… you're okay."
Dust couldn't help but chuckle a little at Berry's reaction.
"I apologize to you. I just wanted to give a little scare~" Mimi giggled. "I can show you around the Strange Mansion. The others would like to meet you, especially you, Dust."
"Oh, well good to know that others wish to meet with me. I actually am looking forward to meeting with them as well," Dust smiled as he thought of countless questions to ask them.
Berry frowned a little before Mimi turned around and began to move towards the large door. Like with Phantom and Spooks, Mimi phased through the door. Dust had to push it open to go through. There were corridors on the other side, and many doors. There were little tables and cases around, as well as dusty pictures of what appeared to be humans. Humans that had likely lived in this mansion in the ancient times. There were pictures of human children with their pet Growlithe, pictures of adolescent humans riding on Ponyta, and pictures of adult humans having some kind of party feast with their entire family, Pokemon included. They looked nice, but the fact they were dusty, their placements on the wall were crooked, and some of the pictures looked a little torn or tattered, made them look creepy to Berry.
Dust on the other hand was taking it all in. First he was lucky enough to encounter a Mimikyu, now he was looking at each picture, amazed by so many humans. He was sad that most of them were damaged from time itself, but the fact that he could still glimpse some of them was good enough for them. If it wasn't for the fact that Mimi was waiting for them to follow, Dust might've stayed the whole visit, looking at all the pictures. There was one picture in particular that made him pause for a moment. It was a picture of a little human girl, she had short brown hair, and wore some kind of striped shirt. She was cuddling with a Pikachu plushy. There were some letters at the bottom of the picture that said 'Mi'. Some letters were missing or torn though.
"We are almost there," Mimi spoke up. "The party room."
"A… party room?" Berry cautiously asked.
"Of course, you didn't think that the others would've sent an invitation and just let you stay here with nothing to do, did you?" Mimi chuckled.
"Well seems very appropriate too, though I'm not one for those kinds of social activities, we were invited and would be rude if we kept them waiting any longer," Dust explained.
Berry looked nervous. "Dust, we don't know how Ghost Pokemon 'party', for all we know this could be some ritual to eat your soul or something."
"While I do understand your concern, if they wanted to take our souls, I'm sure they wouldn't bother with throwing a party," Dust explained. "They could've easily done it the moment we've walked in. Ghost Pokemon are known to be able to do many strange and mysterious things."
"I assure you, we have no plans on eating your souls," Mimi spoke up. "Though… there might be a Pokemon here who would be… tempted. Don't worry though, he's currently out, so you shouldn't run into him tonight."
"... I-I hope you're right…" Berry shivered.
They stopped at a door, this time, instead of going through the door, Mimi's long, black claw came out from under her cloth before she reached up and grabbed onto the doorknob, opening it. Dust watched, his curiosity peaking as he saw the long black claw slipping back under the Pikachu costume. As the doors had opened, Dust and Berry were greeted to a spacious room, filled with many Pokemon Dust assumed were all Ghosts. He noticed how the chandeliers were glowing a strange dark color, but upon closer look he realized that there were in fact the Pokemon Chandelure. At first everyone was busy mingling with each other, but as soon as Mimi had opened the door, all eyes had turned their attention towards Team Night Tide.
Mimi drew out her black claw in front of Dust and Berry in a showing manner before addressing the room. "I present you Dust Absol and his partner, Berry, of Team Night Tide."
The Ghost Pokemon all gave a loud cheer.
"Didn't think we would meet them so soon!" A Shuppet remarked excitedly.
"This will make things more fun now~" A Gastly grinned.
"I wonder if they are just how others described them?" A Misdreavus commented
Several Litwicks got on the table, lighting their purple flames like fancy candles. "Please, join us for a nice party. We have food and fine berry juice."
"You… eat and drink too?" Dust asked.
"Of course, just because we're Ghost types doesn't mean we can't eat," Mimi chuckled.
"Fascinating, oh how I wish I brought my notepad with me, I'll just have to make sure to recount everything that happens!" Dust exclaimed.
"As interesting as taking notes sound, I think you two will be too busy enjoying this party~" Mimi chimed.
Dust nodded, not minding the fact that he was in a room filled with Ghost Pokemon, while Berry was still creeped out by all the watchful eyes.
An orange glowing manikin walked over, bringing plates of food and putting it down on the table. There were a few Duskulls that brought in some cups of berry juices. Once the food was all set up, a Rotom came out of the manikin.
"Enjoy the food~" Rotom smiled.
Dust found a food spot at the table, and he looked back at Berry, seeing that she refused to move. The Absol nudged her a bit, before having her slide onto the table next to him.
"Relax, Berry, you look like you're about to melt again," Dust chuckled.
"How are you so unaffected by all of this? How do you know that food isn't cursed or something? What if by consuming it, you'll end up binding your soul to this mansion?" Berry hissed.
"Well for one, Dark Types are rather resistant to Ghost Type moves. Second, as I mentioned before, if they truly meant to cause us harm, they wouldn't have bothered setting up this whole event. They could've easily attacked us the moment we walked in. And third…" Dust started to chuckle a bit. "After spending so long with my mother, hardly anything can compare to the terror she can bring. I think I'd rather eat cursed food than have to face my mother's wrath."
"Well I'm not a Dark type!" Berry hissed.
"Live a little, don't be such a sour puss, you big Bug type," The Misdrevous remarked.
"Besides, if the food was cursed, we'd be curing ourselves," Gastly informed.
A Litwick took a sip of a berry juice. "There, see? Not cursed. At least try it."
Berry frowned, she still wasn't convinced, but she realized if she kept raising a stink about it, she would be insulting the Pokemon who invited them here. The Goomy turned to Dust, and saw he was already taking a bite out of an apple on the plate.
"See, nothing bad. And if it makes you feel better," Dust took a sip of berry juice before continuing. "We can wait and see if something bad happens to me. If it does, we can use the badges and leave immediately."
Berry frowned a little before she watched Dust deciding to eat what looked like a thick steak. Berry blanched a little, she knew Dust was a natural carnivore, but she still didn't like seeing him eat something that came from a once living Pokemon, even if it was wild. The poor Miltank or Tauros that the steak came from was quickly being ripped apart of by Dust, who seemed to be enjoying it a lot. Berry turned away, but she couldn't help but feel a little hungry as she watched the other Pokemon eating. She hadn't eaten anything since breakfast that morning.
After a little bit of time passed by, Berry decided to take a chance. Dust appeared to be alright so far, and if Dust was going to fall, Berry supposed she might as well fall with him. She quickly ate up whatever food was in front of her that wasn't made of meat. It was surprisingly good.
"Heh, Musk the Haunter, is our cook. He was a really good chef in his former life," Mimi explained, seeing that Berry was finally eating.
"Former life?" Dust paused from eating after hearing this. "I always assumed Ghost Pokemon were born from other Ghost Pokemon."
"Some Ghost Pokemon are," Mimi answered. "But there are some who became Ghost types upon death. Many of us had former lives before becoming what we are today. Your guild master, as well as her grandchildren, were likely born Ghost Pokemon. Back in ancient times, humans believed Yamask were the spirit of people who died, holding a mask that resembled their face. Phantump were believed to be human children who died when they got lost in the woods. Well, those legends aren't exactly wrong you know. But there are different ways for humans to become different Ghost Pokemon upon death."
Berry sighed, she didn't expect to hear how Ghost types were dead people, but she was surprisingly more curious than creeped out about it. She grabbed onto one of the berry juice cups with her right antenna and started to gulp down the berry juice, which had a strong taste to it.
"Interesting," Dust noted. "But what about you? I haven't read much on your kind, but there was a rumor about how beneath your cloth is something that hardly anyone has seen. Would you mind if I took a peak?"
Mimi gave a curious look to Dust. "There is a reason why our true forms were never documented, not back in human times, or now. If you see our true form, you will die."
"Oh, well dying would be quite the shame. Can't really be doing that again, now can I?" Dust laughed at his own joke.
Berry threw the cup at Dust's face, which was thankfully made of paper. "Don't even joke about that!"
Dust was quite shocked by Berry's reaction. Thinking about it now, he can understand why Berry would be upset, but normally she showed more restraint when angered. "Right, sorry… Is everything alright, Berry?"
"Everything is perfectly fine, even though we're hanging out with possibly dead people," Berry answered.
"Oh dear," Mimi spoke up. "I forgot that non-Ghost types have different bodies than we do. The berry juice has some added alcohol to add flavor, since most of our natural sense became dull. While it doesn't make us drunk, I suppose it would have a different effect on other Pokemon if they can't hold their drink very well."
"If that's the case, maybe we should ease up on the drinks, Berry." Dust suggested.
"Oh, so now you want to ease up on the drinks, well too bad! We've already drank them, so now you put the food where your mouth is and stuff it!" Berry huffed.
"Wow, this Bug type is a riot!" A Gastly laughed.
"Oooh, maybe I am a Bug type, perhaps a Water and Bug type, Dusty~" Berry smiled.
Dust just blinked at his partner, surprised by her words. Dust grabbed the cup by Berry and moved it away from her. "I think you've had enough."
"Some Oran Berry juice on some nice meat will help sober her up a little," Mimi suggested. "This type of berry juice gets flushed out quickly with the right kind of meat."
"Actually she isn't really comfortable with eating-" Dust started before Berry had cut him off.
"Do the Miltank like being eaten!?" Berry shouted. "Do they go to the pasture in the sky?"
Mimi sighed a little before she took one of the steaks, squeezed some Oran Berries on it, then she stuffed it into Berry's mouth as she was shouting about Miltank. Berry, in her drunken stupor, didn't seem to notice that the steak in her mouth was meat. She just liked the taste of it.
Dust couldn't help but observe Berry eat the meat, seemingly not bothered by it. He knew it was most likely due to the alcohol, but still, Dust couldn't help but wonder how Berry felt while eating.
"Berry, how do you feel?" Dust asked.
Berry swallowed the steak rather quickly since she had no teeth to chew it with. "Hmmmm? I feel tasty~"
Berry then shook her head for a moment. "I mean that food was tasty, whatever it was."
"Ah there we go, she's already sobering up," Mimi noted.
Dust then got close to Mimi to whisper to her. "If you don't mind not mentioning how she just consumed meat. Last time she accidentally ate meat, her stomach hadn't exactly agreed with it. And I'm sure if she found out now, all that alcohol in her stomach would just make it worse."
"Oh? Is she an herbivore Pokemon then?" Mimi asked. "I'm afraid I'm not familiar with her species."
"Um... Not exactly. She is a vegetarian, someone who only eats fruits and vegetables, but her kind is an omnivore Pokemon," Dust explained.
"Oh, I guess even Pokemon of today could still make life choices like that," Mimi muttered, then she suddenly went stiff.
The other Ghost Pokemon suddenly stopped doing what they were doing and looked up in alarm.
"Is everything alright?" Dust asked, but then he tensed up a bit, his instincts warning him of something, but of what he couldn't tell.
Surprisingly, Berry was the only one who didn't seem all that stressed out. "Hmm? What's everyone doing?"
The other Ghost types quickly fled the room, going through the walls, ceiling, or the floor. Mimi was the only one who stayed.
"We have to get you two out of here!" Mimi hissed.
"W-why? What's going on?" Berry asked, surprised.
"The owner, the owner is back earlier than we expected," The Mimikyu replied.
Before Dust could ask, a large Dusknoir appeared in the room, along with a few Sableye and Duskull. Dusknoir eyed Dust before giving a sinister laugh.
"Welcome to my mansion, Dust Absol~" Dusknoir gleefully said.
FoxyKhai0209: Traveling Master: Thank you. We've been waiting to finally introduce Gale for a while now, and we still have a lot more plans for other future characters. I always thought that other Pokemon should be working as Mailmon, as Gale described, there are certain areas that other Pokemon are more suited for delivering mail.
As for the tournament, it's not too far, only about two weeks to go until the tournament, in-story. Then Dust and Berry will have a chance to increase their rank.
Star Aquarius: DarkFoxKit: Heh, yeah, Cliff is indeed adorable~
Dew Aura: Traveling Master: Oh yes, very mysterious indeed. As I mentioned before about Al, he was my first character I've created, and something that I always have him end up with is amnesia. So I'm excited to finally share that bit with Al.
Greatest Guy: DarkFoxKit: Yup. Though this is more a take on human years, Pokemon could age differently though. Dragon types usually have a longer lifespan than most other Pokemon with a few exceptions like Wartortle (said to live over 10,000 years in the Pokedex) or Ninetales (said to live over 1,000 or so years in the Pokedex). And yes, Cliff is indeed cute~
Chihiro: Ha! ReGALEd! I remember that one, oh you should've seen the look on Gale's face. He'd up and Flygone away!
DarkFoxKit: Greatest Guy, why do you keep bringing more fuel to the fire?
Chihiro: If the reader wants to add fuel, then let him. Puns may be hard, but that just makes them more worthwhile!
Sandy Jewel: DarkFoxKit: Heh, oh don't worry, we'll be getting into Cliff's parents at some point. That's going to be fun to write for.
Violet Sparkle: Traveling Master: Yup, just like DarkFoxKit explained earlier, they're measuring their age like human years, though ages could differ between species, and whether they're wild or civilized, with the exception of certain Pokemon. Like she mentioned, Dragons do have longer lifespan, and Chihiro is very old. Won't say how old...mostly because I'm not even sure how old she is exactly.
DarkFoxKit: Chihiro is also half Ghost type, and so she doesn't age past her prime, which is why she is still young despite living for… a really long time.
Chihiro: Alright, I think we talked long enough about how old I am, let's just move on. No need to Dragon this conversation.
Lonelyboi69: DarkFoxKit: Thank you. :3
ArcherAmpharos: DarkFoxKit: Yes! Luigi's Mansion! That's where the inspiration came from!
Cliff is definitely adorable, while we won't show all of how Dust and Berry's interactions with her, we do like to show some to make the scenes more organic.
Star Pisces: Traveling Master: Welp, you are just gonna have to wait and see what's so special about the invitation.
Mystic Shy: DarkFoxKit: Sorry, but even we don't know how long it will be before the next update. It all depends on our schedule and when we can get together to write. We will update when we can, but we can't always update, even if it's been two or so weeks since the last one. Please try to understand and be patient, we don't plan on abandoning the story at the very least.
Traveling Master: These last two weeks have been a bit...rough, to say the least. But like DF said, we aren't planning on giving up on this story, we still plan on working the best we can with it. But thank you for your concerns.