Orange Rose Gathering

by Crossoverpairinglover

A lighthearted comedic take on the Resetverse and Blossomingverse together as one. According to her father a teenage Chloe Cerise needs more friends. According to Chloe Cerise herself she needs money to buy some books. According to an 18 year old Ash Ketchum, his family reunion needs help. Can Chloe can survive hundreds of hot Ash siblings? Blue humor abounds. Rated M for safety.

4. Chapter 4

Cross: Welcome to another chapter! And one that was actually added in from the original draft due to new ideas and partially from flow. Also an announcement: at least for the time being editing is done entirely by myself and not Exetos. He will just be hosting this for Archive. Any comments from him at the start of later chapters came from before this stepping back.

….

Chloe's eyes stirred. She felt like she slept like a baby, she never felt so relaxed or at ease. She felt safe, she felt happy….she felt a pair of arms around her!?

Oh, she was clothed…..so nothing like that happened at least

"Good morning, Chloe." Lita greeted from behind her in the hug.

"Smear!"

It all came back to her at once. She had opened up a lot, she was hugged, she must have fallen asleep where she had been. In Lita's arms….all night….

Also, when did Smeargle get here?! Did she forget to put her back in her ball? Was that a bad thing?

"Mor..morning!" Chloe squeaked out. Lita was still holding her, and Chloe had no idea if she should ask her to let go or wiggle or what.

"You sleep well?"

"Fine. Very fine. Did you sleep well?" Lita has clearly slept on her side all night.

"Of course." Lita assured.

"Are you sure you did? You're not sore or anything?"

"Nothing I wouldn't be used to. I'm a tough girl."

"One who doesn't need to be held all night to sleep." Chloe noted in a bit of self pity.

"You let a lot out Chloe. Don't be so hard on yourself."

"Yeah...I did let out a lot. I'm not really used to it. I won't lie, I can keep stuff to myself too much. I don't tell people things, I get angry they don't know what I'm feeling so I don't say things. It can be a bit of a cycle."

Then your dad's assistants infiltrate your school in disguises only she seemed to notice were off, seemingly to figure things out. Maybe those three criminals who bothered Ash weekly in real life and were friends on Facedex with him weren't that strange after all.

"Maybe talking about things...should be something I try more of."

"It never hurts to."

Lita and her hadn't moved from how they woke up yet

"We probably do need to put on new clothes. These all have wrinkles. And shower and stuff."

"Yep." Lita agreed, though she also put a fresh bit of squeeze in their hug.

"You want to shower first or me? I have time before I need to see Ash's mom about today."

"Could just take one at the same time."

"Can't. The shower isn't big enough."

"Well that's a pity. Thanks for checking though, I hadn't even thought of that."

Chloe nodded absently to that point before it really sunk in what Lita had just suggested. Then she made a shocked sound that sounded like an asthmatic Magikarp. Lita chuckled at the bizarre sound.

And all Chloe could wonder was when did she get so good at imitating Pokémon sounds?

...

"Another day?" Chloe said in stunned surprise to the Ketchum duo of mother and son.

"Yeah it happens sometimes. We're delayed because of a cake disaster. Over 50 cakes were lost, and that's terrible." Delia sounded like she was wondering about her choice to outsource cake production.

"It's terrible if forty cakes are lost. Any other number needs a different wording." Chloe corrected and got confused looks from the two and Lita. None of them got it.

"Well no matter what word you want to use, I think your dad said you have days to spare even if it expands any farther." Ash assured her. And it was assuring to know she had even more of a chance to meet some special person and do special things with them….and that was also terrifying to imagine.

"We'll need to let everyone know though, and seeing as you two are up you want to split it with Ash? I can tell everyone here but if you and Ash split the hill it shouldn't take that long." Delia said like she didn't know there were hundreds of people in the thick woods to find.

"We can't wait until they come here for food? Wouldn't that be more efficient?"

"They will all be too distracted by crepes to listen."

Chloe sighed. This was going to be a long morning hike, but if she was doing it she wasn't making crepes to feed the seemingly endless count of Ash siblings as more arrived every day.

(...at one point she could almost consider hundreds of them to be almost funny when it wasn't threatening to turn her brain off. Now it was kind of disturbing….)

"My Pokedex's been keeping a record of where everyone's setting up. I can send you the map and an app, or something I'm not entirely sure if it is an app, that will keep track as either of us check on a secret base so we don't stop by any twice." Ash opened up a non-phone red Pokedex, whose screen beeped with an activated program that quickly showed a map of the entire hill with many, many, many, markers on the large hill Ash owned, and some areas around said hill. The app beeped for a minute before squaring in on one area for more detail, then retracting.

"That'll make it easy, let me…"

BEEP

Her phone gave a download beep before she even opened it up. A quick check of what just downloaded was the map app Ash was using.

"I….didn't click anything." Chloe clarified in worry.

"You were supposed to ask first." Ash scolded the Pokedex like it was a living being, which beeped almost insolently at the reprimand.

"That would take too long. Also you had a malware program. You're welcome." The device declared in a tone that made Chloe expect to see eye roles. She could, however, feel the sass, just like if it was alive.

"Ash….why do you have that thing? Surely you can get a Rotom Phone that doesn't disobey you like that or mock people?"

"Because if I did that it might take over the world." Ash, unlike everything else he said that was ridiculous or strange or disturbing in some way, said that completely without humor.

"Why not destroy it then and get a new one that doesn't threaten world peace?"

"He'd need a new accountant and to recreate all of his passwords. Also, do you think this is my first body? Not even 'the World's Strongest Pokemon' can kill me, and it tried after I failed to kill it."

Must. Not. Ask. Answer. Unwanted.

...

"So Ash had some unkillable nightmare machine in his pocket the entire time. I almost feel jealous…"

"Well I guess you can be truly safe when he has no pockets to keep it in." Lita shrugged as they walked through the woods.

The sound she made at Lita after that could be best described as 'negative reaction sound number 6.' Lita chuckled.

"Huh, I wasn't even thinking about 'Ash shouldn't wear pants'. I was thinking some of those dumb pants that don't have pockets but if you want to go there Chloe I'm not going to stop you. But let's get this job done first, so then we can eat. So this is what we need to look for…. "

And so Lita gave her a basic rundown on Secret Bases that was a bit more advanced than John had given them two days ago.

Secret Bases generally came in three different forms: they could be made of bushes that were grown out and expanded into an interior cavern, out of holes in rock faces that were expanded out into caves, or be set up inside the bushy leaves of trees much like the bushes but elevated. They were somewhat camouflage but with the app and a bit of attention to detail they should be visible.

As to the question of what they might see at and around them this early in the morning…

"So do you want to do the bet thing again? We list out some stuff we might see, and the one we see first wins?" Lita inquired as the search began.

"You really want more kisses don't you?"

"Can you blame a girl?"

"..."

"See, you can't blame me at all."

…

The two of them eventually broke down a new bet, Chloe going for it partially out of boredom while getting to the hill.

Chloe would give Lita a kiss if they encountered anyone who had slept naked and was still naked, showering under a waterfall, or naked for some third reason first while if they found anyone doing anything else that was sexual, insane, or both first Lita would go without underwear. She has made the mistake of asking Lita if she had some of exhibitionist tendencies, and Lita…

"Hey, you are the one who suggested it. You must just like my butt a lot and want to see it with nothing at all on as much as you want."

That had led to great amounts of sputtering and Lita laughing, and her eventually admitting to being more of a boob person, and after that more sputtering when Lita reminded her that would be no problem at all.

The first possible bet resolution, and the first secret base, couldn't come soon enough.

"Piplup, Bubblebeam!"

The first secret base was an enhanced shrub and out of it flew dozens of big blue bubbles.

"Is she trying to drive out an Ariados swarm or something!?" Lita immediately guessed, reaching for her Pokeballs. It took Chloe a second to remember that, yeah, she had one of those now...though what stepped out was not in fact the end result of a swarm of giant spiders trying to eat someone.

"What would I do without you Piplup? I'd never have a good hair day."

"Pip!"

The girl who stepped out was actually one that Chloe had met two days ago. She had volunteered to help her out in that volleyball game at the secret lake. Blue hair, Z-marks under her blue hair, she looked a lot more similar to Chloe than most of the sisters she had met. She was in a pair of pink and tan pajamas, which was more than she had seen her in last time.

In that odd train of 'skinny dipping being valuable in non-pervy ways', it also had clued in Chloe to a rather crucial fact. The girl she was seeing, despite not being anywhere near 6 feet and looking more like her or Sara than Lita, was not 13. She was not going to make that mistake again and earn another endless enmity from a bloodliner this week.

"Hey!"

…

What followed was what would soon become routine for them this morning. A good morning, a 'hey things are going to be delayed because of a cake disaster, this is going on for at least a day longer', and some small talk. And from that small talk came the question of the bubbles.

"Oh, that's an easy one. My hair's always a mess this morning. It was something I sort of stumbled on, but Piplup's bubbles are able to fix it in a jiffy!" Explained Dawn, which was the girl's name. Who was apparently age 15, and just happened to look like it for once.

"Wait, it's that easy!? I have to spend an hour on my hair, and even with help it takes half an hour!" Chloe questioned in disbelief.

"She's not lying." Lita wasn't her mom, but she was a valuable help in taming her hair each morning.

"I wonder if it would work with your hair. Oh dang if there was only a way to get your hair a mess so we can see." Dawn wondered aloud.

Lita, a curious look on her face, rubbed her hands together and very quickly a lot of visible static electricity sprang up on both hands like one of those electric tools used in surgery, but probably less potent and potentially dangerous.

"Lita….what are you going to do with that static electricity?" Chloe backed away from the two half sisters.

"We need to see if your hair can be fixed by Bubblebeam, and static electricity would do the trick."

It took about two minutes for her to be convinced to be experimented on.

What followed was a crime against hair as an entire half hour of brushing was undone in a single swipe of a hand, and then her hair was blasted by a barrage of bubbles. Dawn offered her a mirror when it was done, and she stared at her reflection for a good minute before giving her reply.

"Smeargle, copy that Bubblebeam with Sketch and never forget it!"

"Smear!"

A miracle hair solution had been found. This day, even if she walked in on something terrible, was now worth it.

…

She had learned a few bits more beyond the ultimate hair solution before she went to the next secret base. Dawn had traveled with Ash in the Sinnoh Region when Ash had first traveled there, a bright-eyed ten year old rookie who discovered she had a half brother shortly after beginning her journey to follow in her mom's footsteps. She had also met said mom, Johanna, who was also here for the reunion. Johanna seemed to be a completely normal woman who, despite being apparently something of a contest celebrity, was completely normal and not weird at all.

She apparently did partake in the naked pinata party last night, but if Johanna was to hang out with her mom and Goh's mom she'd see nothing out of place. She was a pretty woman, sure, but just a normal pretty woman.

The next time they encountered a mom and child, after a few unremarkable drop ins, was not that.

The first thing that was odd about the mom and child pairing was the fact that it wasn't that. It was a bunch of them, and not like twins or something. There were a few of those around. So unless the woman had eight children at once something was up.

And it wasn't that. Chloe had seen hundreds of Ash's half siblings at this point. She'd seem then with clothes, in swimsuits, and skinny dipping. They'd been her age, older, younger, and everything in between those three. At this point she had gotten a bit of a read on certain tells, similarities, and differences among them.

Some traits seemed to come from the man who heard the name 'Shub-Niggurath, Mother of a Thousand Young' and took it as a challenge: red eyes, black or green hair, Z-marks under their cheeks, towering height, and large bust sizes among others.

(If she really wanted to she could probably list some common 'variants' of inheritance in both the sons and daughters of said creep, but she'd need a few hours, a lot of paper or Kbs of data, and a headache pill)

The eight Ash-siblings that were up with the mother, doing some morning stretching and aerobics, were that. Half siblings. One of them had dusky skin, a second had blonde hair, etc etc etc. Long story short they all had something that made them look very different from the others.

The only two who looked like were a mother and son, having curly brown hair and a slightly tanned skin tone somewhat between her own and Goh's, and she only guessed the former's status because she was leading and the fact that her haircut was that of an older woman, that short curly style popular with moms older than her own. If she changed it…well she'd just be a foot shorter yet still clearly a family member.

"Good morning!"

What followed up was the normal 'hey there'll be at least an extra day, 50 cakes had died a terrible death' talk and some name sharing.

The mother was named Charlotte P.K. Finch, and her children were named Amaru (the one who looked like Charlotte), Coca (the dusky skinned one), George (the blond), Clover, Sorrel, Dar, Tox, and Melody Finch. They learned their names, and the siblings drafted Lita into a morning run while leaving her and their mother back at the area around a few secret bases in various trees and bushes around them with a few cups of tea and a picnic table. It would seem to be question time now.

"So I'm guessing you're Amaru's biological mother and the others…" Chloe wasn't sure how to phrase that. Charlotte put her tea down at this and sighed.

"You can tell which of them I adopted and which is my own flesh and blood? I'm almost sad to hear that. I don't like having that be clear."

"Some of the differences are pretty obvious."

"True…" She shook her head and looked off to the distance where a pack of nine children of the same man were running a lap around who knew what. The entire hill maybe. Poor Lita… "If you are worried about your friend tiring out, you don't have to. Bloodliners have more stamina than you and me, they don't tire easily."

That was said innocently, but Chloe….well that was not where her thoughts went at that statement.

"And I'm sure if I said the rest of them are adopted you would believe me. That doesn't mean I love them any less of course, but alas it is, as you put it, 'obvious'."

Chloe took a sip of her tea, wondering what to ask next. Why did she adopt them? How do you feed all of them? A third question as valid as the first two (she was just coming up with stupid questions for the third one.)

"What's it like having eight kids?" Chloe eventually decided on asking. She couldn't imagine it, and she certainly couldn't imagine it as a single parent.

"Oh it's a dream!" The mother clapped her hands happily. "My house is always so lively, and there is never a dull moment. Plus I live on a berry farm, so having a lot of hands to pick them is as useful as anything. Plus it means I can actually feed them."

Chloe was no stranger at this point to how many berries: Pecha, Oran, Liechi, etc, that these people ate at a single meal. Berries also grew really rapidly with crops coming in multiple times a month outside of winter, enough that the problem was never that berries were lacking in quantity of food, but for quality.

"And you get enough nutrition from them to raise eight bottomless pits who are six feet minimum?"

"Oh Melody's just twelve. She's only five foot nine," Twitch "Actually the trick is growing a variety of berries. Most people don't have the space or the time to grow enough of a variety to cover all a person's nutritional needs and their dietary requirements. Grow just one type and you won't get protein or fibre or something you need. You can do it, but you need a combination of diligence and space to grow a bunch of types of berries at once. It's why rice farms were more common historically. It's something I find interesting, studying dietary history and personal growth differences between diets. It was interesting enough for me to get a degree in at least. But that's what I find interesting, what do you find interesting?"

"Er….the horror genre, storytelling in general, Bloodliners…"

"So you found Bloodliners interesting?" Charlotte connected to that, and Chloe wondered how this one would go. Even when she was around so many constantly, there were things she did wonder about that she simply didn't know how to ask about. There was no good way, even by her standards, to ask 'hey how many evil siblings do you have?'

But at the same time, she had plenty of terrifying and nutty answers to questions she had already, and while she felt like she wouldn't get another incidence of 'the woman I actually know becoming evil on alien space venom' there was still a huge gap of space between that level of crazy and normality.

"Find. I'm still not sure how, or why, this family is as freaking huge as it is, but they are still interesting. Really interesting, and there are things I still want to know."

"Well I can certainly relate." Charlotte mused as she took another sip of tea.

"Relate how?"

"Oh in a lot of ways. Like I said, I find stuff like different growth rates and limits interesting and how things like dietary differences and genetics affect such things. Bloodliners were much less common when I was young, and while barely anyone's written anything worth reading about them now it was even worse then. Finding anything solid to learn on the subject was nearly impossible."

"So some 6 foot 6 Orrean Bloodliner shows up and you are so thrilled you jumped his bones?"

"A few more steps than that, but yes."

If Chloe had been drinking any tea at that moment, she'd have sprayed it all on the woman in a spit take. The woman smiled at her disbelieving face. So, what, did the father of everyone here say 'Hello I wish to knock you up with my Bloodliner sperm' and she went 'hell yeah that's my festish' and they promptly banged, probably with things like 'give me a strong child!" shouted seven times a minute or something.

Do. Not. Ask. That. Question. Though she was going to guess that Charlotte was a one off in that regard. And that she probably wasn't part of the whole naked deadbeat dad pinata party thing.

"That...is probably the closest thing to a positive statement about that guy as I've heard here." Seriously when Ash had explained things the first time he had admitted to hating the man. Ash Ketchum hating someone. And that was shared by everyone here more or less. "So, you found the others by looking more into him. Kids needed a home, you took them in, wondering where the now dead guy went?"

"Oh no. It's really sad actually. I mean I get that a lot of times a woman can't raise a child on her own. Money, resources, stigma, it's terrible but inescapable sadly. What I can't understand is how someone can love and raise a child, and then they show they can do something like a Pokemon can and suddenly a switch flips." Charlotte shook her head bitterly. "I like to think I am more than a bandaid to their hearts, and I do know they are happy. But sometimes, I do see them cry for something only they feel, and I can guess what it must be."

Oh….well while the woman had potentially questionable fetishes, that was still good of her. Very good. Applause worthy good. She knew what a bad parent could do, just ask Yeardley and Sara if the rumors she heard were any indication, so good on her.

Some small talk followed, as Charlotte talked about how Sorrel was experimenting with seeing if she could get into contests or how Amaru had figured out a new strategy that he hoped would let him break past the Top Eight in his next Ever Grande Conference and such. Chloe then felt like she could broach the somewhat taboo topic again of 'him'.

"So does he have a name beyond 'guy who knocked me up and left me the next morning to go do it elsewhere?'" Chloe was sure Lita didn't know, as she was nearly as new to this family as Chloe was, and she didn't want to ask Ash. She...well she liked him not being angry at her, and she was sure that asking that would make him angry. She could get annoyed, perhaps too easily, when her father came up, and he was a loving, caring man whose issues she had were gripes, especially compared to a deadbeat father of thousands.

Charlotte finished her tea cup off, setting it down lightly before proceeding.

"He does, but I don't know it. Like I'm sure you've guessed he's...not popular. Most of the other mothers here do not want to know his name, first or last. Their children are Ketchums or Lonos or the like, not his last name. I do believe a few know his name, but I am not one of them nor any of my children. I've heard a few things though. He's from Orre for one thing, and he was one of seven brothers, the youngest in fact. Their own mother was a Bloodliner like he, and only he, was among his siblings, and a terrible woman. It started with naming her children alphabetically and it went down from there. Her abuse made six of them hardened criminals, while the last managed to escape her grasp before they killed her."

So the good guy was probably the one that Ash mentioned before, and after, she fainted. The one who left him with a cousin and punched a tablet in half because of a nasty comment. His name was also probably weird, like most Orrean names.

"As to why he had so many kids...I think he wanted to fulfill an ancient prophecy. That's what I've heard mentioned here and there."

Chloe stared at the older woman in disbelief.

"So what, he saw something written by some ancient civilization that said that if he had far too many kids, or 'united the world with his blood', or some crap like that he'd rule the world or something, so he went nuts with genealogy and went at it?"

"Scarily, yes. And bizarrely, or perhaps frighteningly, it may have succeeded. Part of what I heard that entailed was that if fulfilled, Bloodliners in general would become more common…"

And they had in fact, around the time that the oldest of this family would have been born...oh crap that was kind of disturbing. How did that even work?! On a 'knowing it would happen' level, or a 'mechanics of it all' level, or just...just anything! Especially as she had heard nearly all bloodliners, seemingly outside of this family, who were born since then were girls.

"So ancient prophecy fulfilled….oh joy. So this guy killed his mom, found some ancient prophecy after, presumably, going into the jungle and fighting through the hordes of death, and decided to make it happen with his buttery words, too much genealogy study, and his cock. Maybe that's why Ash went to the jungle too, who knows, I don't, and I'm not sure I want to. So he's also apparently dead, how did that happen? When did that happen?"

Charlotte shook her head.

"I wish I could tell you, but I don't. By the time I met the rest of the family he was dead for years. All I've heard is that it involved the first of his children, the one he raised himself, or perhaps 'raised'. He called himself the Bloodliner King, and his son the Bloodliner Prince. I know a bit about him, but not as much as I'm sure you'd like to know."

"I'll presume that he's also evil, and one of the 'evil siblings' I've heard about."

"He wasn't invited, but evil is a word that can mean many things. There are, in fact, terrible people who share a father with my children. Ones who have committed true acts of evil on the world. As many would say, their berries didn't fall very far from the tree. Some were probably raised badly, but as many were born evil. And they have had issues with some of their kin. Don't look into it Chloe, I have to ask you. I doubt if you had asked Ash or any of the others about their father they would want to avoid the topic, but I do believe there are some encounters they will not want to speak of, ever."

Well that made Chloe's mind immediately go to kinslaying, and she had also been told to never ask about it. It was going to kill her, but she'd manage, probably. Maybe. It probably helped that she really, really couldn't imagine Ash having had to do it. He just seemed far too happy and nice and upbeat to have that weighing on him. She just also struggled to imagine seeing someone who looked like Ash and being scary. He was never scary to her. Jinx didn't look that much like Ash, that was an exception.

"As to the Prince...he's better. He and Ash have teamed up against greater threats before, though they are not friends nor is the Prince not dangerous. The King wanted to rule the world, while the Prince wants to change it and make it 'better'."

"Let me guess, overthrow humanity? One with a God Emperor and another wanting to fix the world in a way most people would very much disagree with."

"Pretty much." Charlotte confirmed as the return of the running siblings appeared on the horizon. "Well, I'm glad I could answer some questions of yours. Don't fear your interests Chloe, wherever they go. You might not always like the answers, but people only dislike questions if you ask things too personal."

"Is that why no one seems to be bothered by me asking things bluntly around here?"

Charlotte shrugged. It was either that or a family trait that was mutually exclusive with the evil genes that the mothers then in turn picked up by radiation or something.

….

"Lita, I have a terrible thought and I must curse you with it too." Chloe said after a few more stops and a bit of time to digest her new nuggets of information. Chloe hadn't judged the bet as being solved yet, so her lips had yet been wettened and Lita was still in possession of her panties.

"Go ahead."

"You know how the moms need to find things to do here too, and a lot of that seems to be hanging out together and doing things?"

"Yeah, and Ash and his evil pocket skynet are footing the bill for it."

"That's not relevant but….and you've also noticed there are no step-dads around?"

"I actually asked about that. Apparently they do exist, but they aren't here. Apparently a lot of the moms who have found someone after him aren't as prone to coming because they have support or something like that." Lita gave her a tidbit she didn't have before. And while stepdads did add a new wrinkle to the family dynamic, it didn't quite make her terrible thoughts go away.

"...You think any of the moms….bang each other?"

Lita was silent for a minute as they walked, processing the question.

"Fuck."

"Exactly." Chloe had the extra baggage of knowing that if her mom was here, quite possibly the only barrier between her and Delia 'catching up' was her father, and that might be moot if her father went 'oh hey my wife wants to make out with another woman, happy day!' She had no context for how he'd answer that, and she did not want to know.

(Technically her mom, in a scenario where Delia wanted to 'catch up' and her father was all for it, could say she valued monogamy too much to do so, but after Cherry Poppers who knew what went on in her mom's head!?)

If she (or Lita) were able to not think about this stuff when putting their own moms in, it was probably less disturbing. But the undesired projecting was impossible to avoid unfortunately.

"Like...if my mom met someone special I'd be happy for her. I just...do not want to think about anything beyond them smiling at each other, and only P.G smiles." Lita adamantly admitted.

"Same. I'm glad my parents are happily married, and I want to think of nothing else about that statement ever."

Maybe the next person they'd check in on was a nice, wholesome sort with nothing weird whatsoever.

…

"Good morning! Just polishing my Sudowoodo like I do every morning!"

"Sudo!"

"I find if I polish him it makes him stand out more…."

"Do you know what that sounds like!?" Chloe demanded of the brother of the family.

"...It sounds like I am saying I rub my Sudowoodo with…." He showed the two of them the cloth he was using, but flinched at her utter scream of agitation.

...

Chloe stared at Vedia.

Vedia, looking ready to shower in an oversized light purple T shirt, stared at Chloe.

"..."

"... Good morning."

"... Good stare fight."

The young woman adjusted her glasses. "Thanks, you're a pretty worthy adversary, if I do say so myself."

"So does this mean you've had your revenge now and will leave me alone?"

"I have had it since two days ago." Vedia informed her.

"Then what was yesterday?"

"Random chance."

So it was just random chance. It felt like that. Glad to have it confirmed."

Lita looked over the pajama clad girl holding a bottle of shampoo and a travel bag for bathroom essentials and sighed. The shorter girl looked at her in curiosity at the sigh and Lita explained.

"We kind of have a bet between us. Chloe wins for nudity and I win for sexual or crazy stuff." Lita explained casually.

"Oh, my apologies. My Haunter had seen you coming so I got dressed in pajamas before you arrived." Vedia also explained casually. Oh the wonders of family (by blood or by long term relationship) being completely casual about stuff like that.

"I'm almost disappointed I just got a guy polishing his Sudowoodo." Chloe joked as Vedia shrugged.

"Most of the couples and casual nudists are on the side that you said Ash is covering. This side is mostly singles and those with mothers bunking with them and not with Ash's mom."

Okay so...that was something to unpack. First, how did she feel about Ash doing that? It was responsible but moderately draining of both her fun and terror. Second, why did that make her easier terrible joke about moms more likely?

…

They met up with Ash a bit later and then it was crepes time. After that it was a bit of a light few hours before it was time to work on lunch, to which Chloe was assigned. She spent that time with Lita, who helped her do some training with Smeargle. Lita's Bulbasaur and Sandshrew helped Smeargle with reflexes and reaction time, and Smearlge didn't exactly provide nothing in return to those two. Had you asked if she'd have spent time this way a week ago she'd have scoffed. But a lot was different now, wasn't it?

When that was done far too soon she was on lunch duty, and then the sky darkened.

...

It was raining hard out there. Even among those present who traveled continents for fun, no one was eager to leave and get drenched by it. Those at the inn were a mix of everyone and now they were all trapped in a relatively small building complex. Boredom quickly spread among their ranks.

That led to any attempt to find something to do, and that led to Ash's room being raided. Because 2 + boredom meant a violation of privacy

"Your video game selection is old Ash." Pendula noted Ash's small smattering of consoles and games.

"...Sorry, I'm kind of gone a lot." Ash admitted to slight embarrassment

"Well if we can't do video games, what else can we do on a rainy day?" one if the younger newcomers questioned.

"Ash has video games, they're just old….." Aurora suggested.

"They are all SD." Said newcomer countered like it was a fatal flaw.

"I have no idea what that means." Ash admitted "Oh, I think I have this party game. The general store guys paid my mom with it ages ago."

"Why not tell ghost stories? It's dark enough." Chloe threw it out as a joke. Surely they'd rather go play a karting multiplayer game or a party game meant to destroy friendships and risk a family feud with superpowers and fire breathing dragons than….

"Oh that sounds kind of fun." One of the other younger Ash-kin mused.

Huh?

"I don't know about you, but I think I'll tell the scariest stories." Ash declared with a grin.

Huh?

"Na ah! Just because you are older doesn't mean you'll win! We'll scare the pants off of you!" Celesta fired back.

Huh?

"Looks like you gave us a winner! Now, let's give them all nightmares! And by that I mean you since I'm not really good at scary stories" Lita cheerfully declared.

Huh?

….

The way the scary stories were organized were quickly diverged. All participants put their names into a hat, which was drawn from at random to pick who was telling the story. What sort of story would be told by determined by the card that one drew, with its level being the determining factor of how scary your story was. Whoever told the best story for their level was the winner. Though on the topic of cards and levels.

"I'm amazed so many of you have Yu Gi Oh cards. I never meet anyone else who has them anywhere near my age. I kind of wish I brought mine….and you don't have any Ash?"

"The store here never sold them and Viridian City is too far away. I do sort of remember the show though. There was a guy with a silver coat who had this thing with dragons, the big bads had long hair and millennium eyes and staffs, and the best friend of the hero used gambling cards a lot. Also that other guy got stuck in a robot monkey for some reason, but I might be remembering that wrong." Ash seemed to be pulling the scattered memories from the deepest recesses of his mind, long forgotten to a life Chloe was both infinitely curious about and mortified by.

"There are seven shows." Chloe informed the casual fan, if a casual fan with reasons to be one.

"Really?"

"Yep."

And with that began the scary story contest.

"I'm first! And sorry Ash, I'm going to win." Acerola strolled up to the deck in a display of confidence.

"Nah, I'm going to. Sorry, but I've got the experience to win." Ash countered.

"Well I have centuries of lore on my side."

"I've died more times than a Meowth."

"The Team Rocket one?" Chloe interjected honestly. With how often that cat got blown into the upper atmosphere, surely if anyone knew if a Meowth really did have nine lives it would be the talking one at this point.

"Spooky stuff is my thing. You know, ghost trials and types and heart bloodline n stuff."

This teasing argument went on for about a minute before someone broke it off. And so Acerola drew her card, looking a bit dejected when she did. Zubaba Knight.

"Ah drat, level 3. Hmmm….can't tell the ones I really want to...but I do have one. Tell me, have you ever heard of the Nightmarchers?"

"No." Red simply said, who was not participating as a storyteller.

"You told me that story at least once, same with Hala." Ash reminded her.

"A what?" Lita asked.

"Yes." Chloe knew this story as Acerola went into story mode.

On misty nights whose eerie fog extends from the Ruins of Life and spreads to the other islands of Alola they come. From the mist of Tapu Fini, which creates a space between the worlds of the dead and the living come the Nightmarchers. Listen to this tale oh living souls, lest you offend the Nightmarchers and leave our world.

The Nightmarchers are the ancient spirits of the thousand kings of Alola. The soldiers of King Kahele and his family, the petty kings before him after that, and the countless Pualani rulers and their grand armies since. They march across the islands on sacred nights, returning from the netherworld to ancient battlegrounds and sacred spaces, dressed and armed for the wars that they waged so many years ago. On some occasions when the most worthy of these rulers return from the dead, their marches are heralded by the Tapu themselves, who clear the way for them to ensure safety for the mortals in their way. However, as few petty kings or Pualani rulers ever earned such respect, most of the time you cannot simply be sure that Tapu Koko will drop you off somewhere else to save your life. On most of these nights you must watch for their signs.

First comes the smell of volcanoes and death: the putrid scent of sulfur, the rot of decay, and the copperish whiff of blood. Then comes the blowing of the ancient Shellder warhorns and the chants of ancient warriors, shouting the coming of the great rulers in ancient Alolan. Finally one would see the sight of shuffling spirits amidst the mists of Tapu Fini, and the fires of their torches. These fires glow an eerie glow, and it is said that the Marowak learned their own fire techniques by watching the Nightmarchers. But the Marowak suffered to earn their powers, and you and I are no exception. For if you can see the spirits you are too close. If you can only smell or hear them, or their distant eerie fires you can see, you must run away. To stare upon a Nightmarcher procession is sinful and the kings and their retainers take very severe offense, and to them the walls of a house or the width of a tree is no deterrence. If you simply hide behind a wall, you will be punished. Your punishment for bearing witness to their procession is death, usually by incineration by an unearthly light. A few of these processessions from certain rulers will not cause you death this way, though while King Kahele among others will not incinerate you for a mistake, he may not be able to prevent his guards from striking you down with a spiritual wound that renders your death in a slower, more arduous manner. You slowly bleed your lifeforce away in a manner that can be best described as spiritual dysentery, so this is not any better of a way to go.

If you cannot, by any means, escape the Nightmarchers you must drop to the ground, face in the dirt, and lay motionless. The Nightmarchers will recognize this reverence and respect and let you be, though if you move even once you will die. You must be completely still until they are gone, their war cries and scent having faded into the distance. Native Alolans may be spared if the processession contains one of their ancestors, who will claim you and protect you even from accidental disrespect. However not everyone in Alola has such a protector, you are not guaranteed to encounter the processession with such a person, and your ancestor may simply decide not to protect you if you aren't seen as worthy of it.

Pokemon and humans alike must respect the Nightmarchers, and I am sure that you must be wondering if you can battle the Nightmarchers to protect yourself. This is a very bad idea, as it is not just men in these processions. Pokemon too march among the Nightmarchers, and very few can hope to defeat an entire army on their own. There is only one story of someone who ever tried this and actually avoided death.

Ti Lono was a Kahuna of Melemele Island generations before this modern day who served under the overlordship of King Konane Koko Lunalal Exeggutoritor Pualani the Third, also known as King Konane the Diseased as his reign was one of great disease and pandemic in the islands. Foreign disease swept through the islands as men from distant shores came seeking luxury goods, and many died in droves in this time. However as many brought death, others brought help. A healer, the first Nurse Joy of the Alola region, had come with a great expedition and had elected to stay under Ti's roof to assist the sick. With her came the first Chansey to the Alola region, who assisted her efforts in a great hospital that serves both people and Pokemon. However such a space required great space, and a known marching path of the Nightwalkers was in the way. One night when the mists spilled across the land Tapu Koko came to clear a path, but Ti stood between the guardian and the sick and injured. She declared that she would defend the sick who needed rest, even at the cost of her life. She was the Kahuna, and she would do her duty to the living and the spirits. At this Tapu Koko just shrugged, humming a funeral tune as it flew off. She stepped into the jungle after that, even as the first panicked patient told the Joy that he smelled sulfur.

Ti never told the story of the battle she and her Fairy-type Pokemon faced in that jungle, and the sick could only hear so much of it. Only some of it can be certain to be true and not the delirium of the ill, collaborated by the inoculated Joy and multiple statements by the ill. These sounds lasted until dawn, and Ti was not seen until dusk. She hobbled back to Iki Town in a terrible state, her gait more akin to that of a venerable elder than a spry young woman, her skin pale, and her body covered in blood and burns. Her team was only a bit more fortunate. In the years that followed her state improved somewhat, but she remained in a poor state for the rest of her days. She was a young woman with many children before the battle, but never had a child after that night. In fact, her descendants walk among us even now!

Acerola ended the story with a dramatic pointing at the twins from the lake, who jumped in surprise.

Overall Chloe felt like the story was one that was definitely restricted by the level 3 monster Acerola drew, but it felt solid.

"So we have two people who are the descendants of a Kahuna and the last royal of Alola. Anyone else here with famous ancestors…." Chloe joked as Ash, among others, raised their hand.

Dammit!

...

"My draw." After a few entries of iffy status that kept Acerola comfortably in the lead was Celesta, who drew and held up a level 5 Turret Warrior.

"I think I've got one that fits, but I have to admit it's a story I remember seeing on a television series once. One of those 'Twilight Zony moral lesson aesop' programs on a non-cable channel or something…" The 13 year old admitted nervously.

"No story is truly original." Chloe assured her as the younger girl nodded.

"Yeah, okay, oh I hope I remember this story right. Okay...the story is called 'Caroline's Ghost' and goes something like this.

In the village very few had heard about, lived a little girl by the name of Caroline. Caroline, like many young girls, love to play with the Pokémon that and what about her little village. The two boys across her house loved to play with the the wild Furret, and her next door neighbor had found a pet in the form of a wild Skitty at her door.

Caroline had a different friend by the name of Haunter, who lived three blocks away in an abandoned house few realtors had been able to sell.

She visited him every Saturday she could, she still had her kindergarten homework, and Miss Lumity gave candy to everyone who turned homework in.

When Caroline did come, they had so much fun! Haunter juggled these weird white sticks he told her to never touch, and she listened, because Haunter was her friend, and because she was a good girl.

He put on old movies the house still had, made funny faces, and sometimes put on records to dance with! Yakkity sax was her favorite!

Unfortunately, she couldn't stay all the time, and that always made Haunter sad. Sometimes he tried to pull her back in or lift her with Psychic moves, but he always let her go.

It was a wet and dreary Saturday when she came inside Haunter's haunted house, but she figured it would be nice to visit Haunter on such a day. The weatherman said it would rain all week!

She hung her raincoat on the bannister before running to greet her friend Haunter. They were gonna have so much fun!

Haunter was so happy to see her. He juggled, he danced the funky torchic with her, they had so much fun in such a short time she fell asleep listening to her favorite song!

She saw Haunter's eyes glow before she fell asleep. Her friend was so cool to have glowy eyes!

She woke up a while afterwards, and she was floating above the bed. She also saw her own body, which scared her a little.

Haunter was right bext to her, saying he was sorry, he just wanted her to play a game with her, and he hoped she wasn't mad.

Caroline didn't understand why she would be mad. She got impatient too.

He said she was a good friend, and offered to show her around the house, and they started a game of hide and seek tag, her favorite! They flew outside the house to play on the rain, and she didn't feel a drop.

Haunter double ducklett dates her to fly down into the ground, and she couldn't turn down a double ducklett dare!

Caroline dove down down down into the underground. She saw a rattata den and a lot of diglett. She flew through the dirt for a long while, but she got bored without her friend Haunter, and flew up up up!

When she was finally above ground, she noticed it was super sunny, and that all the rain clouds were gone. Confused, she looked around a sobbing Haunter holding something, in his arms. It looked like it was covered by her rain coat.

Haunter sobbed as he dropped what he was holding, saying he was so glad to see her again, how sorry he was that he didn't keep good track of time. Caroline didn't know what was going on until she looked down and screamed. There was a rotted skeleton wrapped in her raincoat.

Haunter kept apologizing, saying he didn't realize it had gone on this long, how he tried to find her. Caroline was scared, but she told Haunter it was okay. Accidents happen, and she'd probably be able to still go to school.

Haunter sobbed again. He said it was far far into the future, several years. Everyone she knew was dead.

Caroline cried, she didn't know how they had played for that long! She kept sobbing, asking if Haunter would let her stay. Haunter nodded, and Caroline felt a little better.

—

Haunter breathed a sigh of relief as he wiped a bit of sweat from his brow. The kid was asleep, and he had managed to bury her real body a few yards away from the house. He'd probably dig it back up and hide it in a nearby forest, make it look really damaged. It took a few weeks for bodies to decay when the soul was in close proximity to the body.

Haunter grimaced a bit as he realized the kid would probably figure him out soon. That rainstorm he conjured up had fooled a lot of people, but he couldn't keep up the lies forever. He had to contact that chandelure as soon as possible, get his final payment done.

In the meantime, he had plenty of bones to juggle for the kid.

Celesta finished the story with a bit of a distressed look on her.

"Drat, I feel like I told that one badly…"

"No you didn't, you were recapping a television show. That's a bit tricky to sound right." Chloe assured the girl. Acerola was still leading, sure, but it was a good effort.

And with that the stories continued. One of the next was by a Hoennese sibling named Angust, a dusty-skinned fellow of the taller, thinner variety with red eyes and dark hair.

"And I draw...a level three card called Niwatori? I think I remember a plot point with this card and a desert, so I've got one for that. Maybe we can call it Cacturne Creep. Okay, let's do it."

My grandfather once told me a story about his grandfather from back in his merchant days. In those times, all travel through the Hoenn desert was by foot and by Camerupt. The people walked alongside the Camerupt, as the Pokemon pulled along the carriage of goods. Every caravan of merchants always carried at least one Cacturne with them, to convince the wild Cacturne to stay away as they travelled at night.

One night, as they travelled, my ancestor's caravan began to be stalked by something in the night. They did not see much, just dark shadows at the peripherals of their vision. They group swept about with their lanterns in hopes of revealing the shadows, but nothing was revealed by the light. There was a full moon that night, so the desert was lit up as much as it could be at night. My ancestor let out his Cacturne, hoping to pre-empt what he thought was a pack of Cacturne marauders from attacking. But, still nothing revealed itself. Normally, just having his Cacturne out would cause marauding Cacturne to reveal themselves so this worried the caravan. Still, the final sign that whatever the shadows were, it wasn't a Pokemon was the sounds they made. Apparently, they sounded like the laughter of children.

Still, they travelled yet further on through the desert night, and still the shadows stalked them. At times, the shadows banged out a rhythm against the caravan wagons' sides. Other times, they knocked hats off heads. Still, the entire time, everyone could hear their laughter. At one point, one of the merchants in the caravan sent out a Torkoal and had it light up the entire area around the caravan as they moved and told it to blast at any shadows that it saw. Still, the shadows danced around at the edges of the light, now much further back from the group than they had been before but much more solidly there as their laughter grew ever more louder.

My grandfather never told me what his grandfather said the shadows looked like. Only that there were fluid in form and never quite really there. The only thing that he did know was that they were not Pokemon of any sort, and they were most definitely not human. The shadows followed them the entire night, and everyone was so scared that none left the group the entire time. The merchant camp stopped with the sunrise and made camp and slept the heat of the day away. Finally night came again, and again the caravan was stalked by the giggling shadows. That second night, one man did end up leaving the group to take a bathroom break with their trusty Mightyena at their side. Neither were seen again, there was no noise to note their departure and no signs of a battle out in the sands. They looked for half the night before they were forced to move on.

My ancestor never did run into the shadows again, but he kept track of his friends and found that some had vanished after talking openly about what they had experienced during that travel. I don't know what really happened beyond that, only that my ancestor only gave the bare bones I just shared about what happened. Well, that and that he never went anywhere close to the Hoenn desert ever again.

Applause was given. A solid story, if not one that was going to win.

"Thanks. It's just...really good that the Draconids and us have peace now. No more desert crossings!"

"Well I guess...it's my turn." A ten year old who had just arrived this very day, looking like a completely normal kid from Parker's class, nervously took a card several stories after Celesta. He had a pair of glasses, dark hair that was a bit long, and the Z-marks under his blue eyes. As many in the family did, he had a partner Pokemon on his shoulder, a Panpour.

"You don't have to if you don't want to Reve." Ash assured the kid.

"I know, but I...I want to be part of this family…"

"And you already are." Betty assured the little boy.

"I drew…Nirvana High Paladin…." He read the card out as a few of the siblings took a peek at the card.

"Level 10…." Pendula hissed nervously. "You...you up for that?"

"I could substitute in if you don't think you can tell a scary story that scary." Belladonna asked.

"...Oh geeze that card. What...what even is it?" Ash's eyes seemed to glaze at the sight of it.

"A Synchro Pendulum Monster." Chloe informed him.

"A Synchro what?"

"No I...I think I have a story. It's...it's really scary, and I was there for it." Said Reve, sounding like it was one that was personal. Immediately Chloe noticed a shift in the older siblings whose body language immediately went from soothing and assuring to tense and potentially furious.

"...You were huh?" Ash said, for the second time today, sounding serious, and it was a different sort of serious from the Pokedex.

"Is it still a problem?" Betty's eyes were narrow as slits.

"Does someone need to die?" Asked Belladonna in a tone that reminded her of Ash's warning of what she was like when she was one's enemy. Terrifying.

"No no no, nothing like that. It was just a really bad dream!"

And with the assurance the problem was not something real and terrible every 6 foot + sibling with dangerous powers and likely a legion of Pokemon at the top echelons of strength instantly relaxed. So the rule of thumb would be…. Don't bully anyone here, and definitely don't do anything worse than bullying or they'd descend on you in a swarm. But enough of that, scary story time.

It was a dream at first. Me and Panpour were in a place filled with fluffy clouds and story book colors. The sun was shining and bright, and it felt like you just skipped from everything to everything, smiling and laughing all the time. I didn't have a care or a fear in the world. It was just like when I first met Panpour. It was a dream at first, but then it changed into something else.

At some point the bright light faded into a dull haze. The bright forests and fields were gone, and it was almost like a desert. There was nothing in it, except this one thing. A train station, and some train tracks. We saw it and then we were there, because it was a dream, but one turning into a nightmare.

The train station was barren, it didn't have anything. No advertisements, no people, not even a name. Just an Infinity symbol and a phone I only noticed when it rang, and I picked it up.

"Reve Poppy." said the caller, his voice deep and dark. There was no light in how my name was said, no fondness or familiarity. Nor was it robotic and emotionless. The words carried with it a sense of speaking of a possession.

"...Who are you? Why do you know my name?" I asked the voice, as a faint light appeared in the distance.

"You are of finally some use to me. I wish for you to listen to me carefully. Do not miss a word I say, or else." The voice said without compromise as the light grew more intense. "Your existence was an unnecessary step until this moment. I acted only until I was certain I had the conditions I sought were reached, and after that I had no more need to extend the effort. After a certain point I had the only ones I required and everything else I made, including you, was of no use to me. Perhaps a tool, but something of convenience and nothing that I actually need."

"I don't understand, what are you talking about, who are you?!" It was a dream, I couldn't move. I was stuck there, listening to this call as the light grew closer and closer. I could start to make out the color of the light, a green color, as it grew closer.

"The reason you exist, and you should always remember it. A tool for my perfection, and not even one I actually need. However, by the sheer cruel twists of fate, you actually have a reason to be here. You see, I was betrayed by my very first creation, my most valuable tool. I let it get ideas through the cracks and I paid the price with my very freedom! I'm sure it even thinks I must be dead! But I'm not! I am merely imprisoned and I. Will. Get. Out!"

The dream shoved me away from the phone, though the sound of infuriated breathing could be heard from the phone like that of a raging animal. Before I could see if the dream could let me escape I suddenly had something grabbing my head. A massive hand that emerged from the phone speakers, a limb belonging to a giant of a man. It squeezed my face, grasping it in an iron grip. It hurt like nothing I had ever felt before. I only didn't cry out because the dream didn't let me.

Panpour let out a scream of distress and tried to cut at the arm, but it was as if it was there and not. It was there to hold my face and restrain me, but when Panpour tried to get it off it was like it wasn't there at all.

"Tell your pitiful tool to stop, for it is of no use. In this place in between I can get out of my prison, I just need the right substitute. Reve Poppy, you are finally of use to me and your creation was actually worth something. You will take my place in this endless prison while I return to a world that belongs to me!"

I struggled as the arm seemed to get stronger and stronger, just as the approaching light became brighter and brighter. Everything I could see from between the cracks of the arm's fingers was green, and the arm was now lifting me over the ground. My feet were dangling, kicking empty air in a desperate attempt to get free.

"Stop struggling! You only exist because I needed to be sure I had everything I needed. You are nothing special boy, just one of countless tools I had created in case I didn't have what I required yet! You owe me everything, and now I am going to take back the life I gave you! You will rot in this place in my stead while I get my revenge on them for thinking they can defy me! They only exist because of my perfection! My greatness! My foresight! My ambition! I am the greatest existence this planet will ever know, and I will not be denied my rightful place in eternal power by…."

I was woken up by my mom at that moment, who had heard and seen me in distress and roused me with a water bucket. I had apparently not responded to shaking or yelling. The scariest thing was Panpour was just as distressed as I was, and on my face were bruises in the shape of a merciless grip.

I've never had a dream like that since, especially one that left bruises on my face.

Chloe agreed it was a scary dream for a ten year old, though she wasn't sure it was quite a 10 star dream. Though credit for him trying and whatever sort of dream it was was definitely fucked up. With some refining Chloe felt like it could have possibly won this contest, though there was something else.

As the story was being told there was an odd reaction among some of the siblings and companions. Specifically among ones that Chloe believed were both older and more 'old guard'. By that she meant that there were several fifteen year olds and younger, like Yellow, who were looking a more distinct form of discomfort at hearing that story, while Lita didn't seem to notice or be part of it. Did that dream...mean something to them? If so, what?

Did she want to know what? Even Ash and Red, who had been very deliberately ignoring each other the entire time, looked at each other with grave looks of shared dread. She was sure the words 'it can't be' were being thought between the two. But what was 'it', and did she actually want to know?

"Oh, my turn."

The next up was one of the Ash-kin that she had only met now. Her name was Juliet Avon. A platinum haired girl who was fourteen (that was the age she gave, she didn't look it, but Chloe was used to that at this point), she had a bit of a Galarian accent, though not one of the harder to understand variants.

She drew a card, and held up a 5-star Cyber Dragon.

"Ohh, and I think I have just the story! Okay, so this is an old legend that is told back home in Ballonlea. It's always been rather scary to me, so I hope it's worth five stars!"

Long ago, in a time of ten thousand knights, a thousand petty kings, and not a single ruler to unite them all, lived a knight by the name of Sir William. Sir Willam was a wandering man-at-arms, who traveled his liege lord's land in search of crimes and those who defied the will of his lord. He was a tall man, a broad warrior who carried a sword with a Wishing Star for a hilt and whose armor was so bright it was said to be like a Flash in the darkest night.

One day Sir William was tasked with bringing the lord's justice to a small town known as Ballonlea. Nestled in the dark and strange woods of the Glimwood Tangle, word had reached the lord that the town housed enemies to his rule and those who escaped his justice. Sir William was sent into the woods to reach the town and enact his liege's will. To destroy those who have angered his lord and make an example of defiance out of them.

He traveled through the seemingly endless forest at a relentless pace. He was a strong man whose endurance was said to be legendary. It was said that the knight could run from the sea to the great mountains where the Duraladon lived in a single breath, but the Glimwood Tangle was a natural maze. Many before Sir William had entered it, and many had never left it. Those who did not find others and settled were lost forever to the forest's twisted secrets. With his armor so bright the light of the great mushrooms of the forest were like the sun to him, and he lacked for no vision. No trickery of the spirits could ensnare him as he saw things clearly. However eventually the man grew tired, the constant turns draining his stamina. It was fortunate to the knight at the time he had stopped by a clear forest pool. Needing to cleanse himself of sweat and calm his aches he removed his armor and entered the pool, bathing in it for a time. For a time the great knight was at ease, not a care in the world. At one point he even closed his eyes, confident he would not need to be at his fullest attention. His armor would wake him if something disturbed it. And so he closed his eyes. And when the knight opened his eyes, unknowing of how much time had passed, he found his possessions gone. It was just his bare form and the endless depths of the Glimwood Tangle.

Startled, he leapt from the pond, bare as a baby, searching for any sign of his great armor. Unfortunately for him the same light that had allowed him to travel through the forest with ease also allowed him to see the armor reflecting everywhere in the forest. In all directions his armor had been taken, and with all the haste his great chase began. He pursued every glimmer of light he saw, desperate to retrieve his armor at any costs. He climbed trees, dove into ravines, running himself in every which way at the glimmer of his armor. Desperate to retrieve every piece he could. While he could find every piece glittering in the woods, he could never retrieve even a single piece of his armor. He ran and ran and ran, never stopping. Eventually a new light appeared, reflecting off many pieces of his armor at once. A great reddish light. He ran towards this light, uncaring of what the light might entail. And so he met the Raging Goddess of the Glimwood Tangle.

Above her floated a storm of red clouds, and around her body waved tendrils that whipped and slammed the forest around her. The Goddess was surrounded by bolts of blue lightning, and upon seeing the panicked, frustrated, and naked intruder the Goddess became angry. She blasted Sir William with all her rage, and the knight's body was no more. Yet to this very day, people still claim to see him. Strange white streaks running through the forest, always seeming to go after reflections of light that sometimes flash in the forest depths. To this day it is said that Sir William seems to find the pieces of his armor, his spirit hoping to wear the suit as a new body to fulfill his duty even in death. To bring his liege lord's justice to Ballonlea, even hundreds of years after his demise. Travelers must never follow the lights, or they may bring his terrible justice one step closer to fulfillment with another piece of his new body found., Never follow the lights, or you will bring yourself and all you love closer to their doom.

And that was the story of the Z-marked Juliet Avon.

"Yeah, that's five stars. Maybe even more." Lita shivered. Among others there were reactions to the spooked. Acerola now had a rival for the lead.

Chloe had to admit that this story intrigued her. It had that interesting hook that it felt like something with some roots in reality. Beyond a legend told in regards to not wandering off into the woods like an idiot, it had details that felt like genuine warnings to specific things.

"I can't say if the story about a ghost is true or not, but a lot of that stuff has some truth to it. If you do take your clothes off in the forest to bathe, you will get them stolen by an Impidimp. The buggers sometimes even get into people's houses to do that."

"A what?" Chloe asked, wondering since when was there a 'thieving perv' Pokemon.

"Impidimp, the Wily Pokemon! A Dark and Fairy Type! Impidimp feed off people's agitation so they are prone to finding ways of screwing with the unexpecting around them to get larger meals! The average Impidimp nest surveyed in the Glimwood Tangle contains on average five left socks, three pairs of house keys, a roll of toilet paper, and several pairs of women's undergarments!" Ash's Pokedex elaborated from his pocket.

There was a thieving perv Pokemon!?

"Balloonlea is mostly inhabited by women, so there isn't as much guy underwear to steal as they otherwise might, but they are the biggest pains in the butt you'll ever live around." Juliet grumbled to herself.

And with that extra note of disturbing, it was time for the next scary story.

"Speed Warrior! Oh drat it's only level 2…." Travis, son of the previous host, grumbled before thinking for a moment. "Oh yeah, got one! Okay...Rampage!"

A friend of mine swears that this story is true. They had gone on a cruise boat, cannot remember the name of it to save my life, and that it was going well for a while. They made it away from the shore of Kanto and had started to go over the deeper parts around there. It was not due to be an overly longer cruise ride, so they were not going anywhere cool. Anyways, suddenly the captain is screaming over the speaker.

"Everyone, pray to your deity or deities of choice! All hands on deck! We have a Class 5 emergency on our hands. All guests, make your way to the lifeboats and prepare for the worst! Do not! I repeat, do not, look out the port holes."

As all the guests made their way to the lifeboats, when my friend took a look out the window. My friend, they have never been good at doing as they were told. Anyways, so they look out the window and see a wall of wind as far as the eye can see. Within that wall, were blurs of blue and cream. While this confused my friend, the roar they heard a moment later did not. Now, my friend is not a pokemon person, but even they know enough to tell a Gyarados roar from any other. And so, they, and everyone else on board, finally figured out they were in the middle of a Gyarados rampage.

Not too long after that, a crack was heard and the ship began to sink. My friend, they were scared. I mean, who wants to be in a dingy lifeboat in Gyarados infested waters? But, the lifeboat on that boat was safer than being on a sunken ship. And so, guests and crew were loaded onto lifeboats and set down into the rough seas. All Pokemon were put away into their Pokeballs, to conserve space in the boats. It would be a desperate measure indeed if they had to sink a boat to defend themselves against the rampaging Gyarados. Without any Pokemon to really defend themselves, they were all defenceless against the Gyarados in the waters.

The Gyarados circled around them for three days before rescue came. Things tense for everyone. Rations were low by the time that Surge and his Raichu arrived, so it is thanks to them that everyone made it out alive. No lives were lost yeah, but it was a close thing for some. My friend told me a couple of the boats had ended up in a Gyarados' mouth when they got tired of waiting for people to try and leave. Afterwards, it was a scramble by the other lifeboats to get to the stranded when they leapt out of the boat before anything happened to them.

A good Level 2 story but nothing really that would win it all, but Gyarados…..something was ticking in Chloe's mind as the stories continued. A story that was somewhat related to them...yes...

"My turn!" Dawn the blue cheered as she drew. She held up a level 6 Iron Chain Dragon, humming to herself as she considered what was needed for that level.

"And I know just the one. Allow me to tell you all a little story in a town called Alamos."

Alamos Town was an ancient town in the Sinnoh Region. Dominated by the massive Space-Time Towers. It's a beautiful place, filled with happy humans, playful Pokemon, and I'm sure the architecture is amazing to those who like that stuff. But the city is home to a more sinister figure. His name is Darkrai, of the species of Pokemon who spread nightmares to those who sleep too close to one. It lurked in shadows, haunting the town but until that day, it was unnoticed by most.

Then it became very noticeable. Darkrai emerged from the shadows, yelling at everyone to leave. Darkrai was aggressive, attacking things and places at random, blasting with darkness and trapping those who tried to interfere in terrifying nightmares. Those who did try to leave though, found they could not. A fog had engulfed the town's edges and running into it led them only back to where start. They were trapped in a nightmare, and Darkrai was the one responsible. And so everyone tried to defeat Darkrai, attacking him with everything they had.

And everyone did so in vain.

The nightmares that Darkrai's defeated victims experienced projected around them. Pokemon ran from terror in their nightmares, visible like a light show protecting all over the town. One man in particular turned into his Lickilicky. His Lickilicky apparently turned into him as his own nightmare and it was transferred into reality as it occurred in reverse. Having met the man, I can agree that it would be a nightmare.

However the nightmare they were in was not the work of Darkrai. In many of the dreams the Pokemon could hear a cry. An unearthly cry like none had heard in centuries.

At this moment Ash's Pokedex played the call. Most of them all flinched at the sound of something primeval and unworldly. It was a sound not of their world.

Eventually everyone could see what had caused the fog, what made Darkrai's nightmares enter reality, and what Darkrai was attacking. What he truly wanted to go away. It was Palkia, the creator of space itself. The great creator Pokemon slumbered over Alamos Town, its body injured from a great battle. It sought to heal itself, and it needed a place to hide. Alamos Town was that place, and they were trapped in a separate dimension from reality until Palkia healed.

Or until they all died, for the one who injured Palkia soon appeared.

Dialga, the creator of time, had battled Palkia when their dimensions overlapped. The battle was ferocious, and it was this battle that had injured Palkia. The two titans continued their battle, but as their battle began the universe that Palkia had created around Alamos Town began to disintegrate. It started on the edges, as the town bridges turned into pink dust, and with every minute more of the town began to decay. With every clash of the powers of space and time this process sped up. Soon the town was vanishing, and the trapped people and Pokemon had nowhere to go but where reality hadn't decayed.

Darkrai tried to stop the two deities, blasting them with all his power. It was for naught though, and the only solution was to play Oración, a song created by the creator of the Space-Time Towers for the very nightmare playing out across the city. Just in time, as when the song had played the town was nearly gone, and Dakrai had been struck down by the rage of space and time itself. Without the song Oración Darkrai would have been dead. Without the song Oración everyone would have died. Without the song Oración, perhaps Palkia and space itself would have died.

Chloe, and some of the younger or newer family members, stared at Dawn in disbelief.

"Is...is that normal?" Reve asked nervously.

"For most people no, but for us...yeah. Stuff like that happens. But the universe crumbling is a bit extreme." Betty assured the little boy, in a way at least. "I just had to fight my way out of the spirit world twice. Ergggh, I hate ghosts…."

"Technically it was just a pocket dimension crumbling." Acerola corrected like that made it any less freaky. She seemed to care a bit more about Betty's issue with ghosts than treating that story as something unusual and unsettling.

"And wait….that sounded like it had sequels…" Lita noted nervously as Ash nodded.

"Yep. Arceus tried to blow us all up in the last one."

He says casually.

"I think you may have gone a bit over six stars, Dawn so…." Acerola gently put it as others agreed with the assessment

"Drat."

Okay so….normal story next?

"This story is actually a prequel to my own issue with 'The All Devouring King's Spirit', but that's too much for a Level 4 Ghost Gardna card." Pamela, a Galarian sister, began. Okay, so not normal. "Here you guys go."

Over a century ago, there was a natural history museum in Galar. By day, everything was more or less normal, but nights were a different story. Strange things would happen that nobody could explain. Objects would move, sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. There were times when unusual markings would seemingly appear out of nowhere. Strange sounds echoed through the dark halls, and strange smells would waft through the most unlikely of places. Nobody could explain why these things happened. Some blamed the nighttime employees. Others said there was somebody secretly living inside the walls, maybe multiple people. Still others pointed to... less naturalistic explanations.

Then one foggy night, a group of men went out to drink at a pub near the museum. As the beer flowed and their inhibitions lowered, the conversation turned to what was happening inside it. One of the men volunteered to sneak inside and see what happened. There was nobody working there that night, so he would not have to worry about running into anyone on the staff. And to prove he actually was there, he volunteered to stick his cheap, un-monogrammed handkerchief on something sharp. His friends encouraged him, joking that he should be careful not to offend any ghosts. As he slipped away into the night and fog, his friends went to sleep, sure he'd turn up again in the morning.

But he never returned.

Nobody was laughing the next morning after he failed to turn up. As they searched for him, they found no trace of him in any of his usual haunts. Not at his house, not at his workplace, nowhere. Then one of them remembered the dare he had made last night. When they went to the museum, they saw police tape across the entrance. A copper told them the police were just going to send someone to check on them and asked them to step inside, warning them that what they would see might shock them. What they saw was their friend's corpse lying in a pool of blood, his handkerchief on the floor some distance away. Above him was a Kabutops skeleton, one of its scythes stained with blood.

The official verdict was that his death was a freak accident. Nevertheless, the museum was closed down, and all of its exhibits were transferred elsewhere. Some say this was because nobody wanted to go there anymore, but others say it was to prevent something like it from happening again. The museum building is now a storage warehouse, and as far as anybody knows, nothing like that has happened since. But there are whispers that on some nights, when the fog is just right, blood curdling screams can be heard ringing through what was once the museum where a man died.

"I can tell the full story later, and I also do tarot card readings." She said as she finished.

Chloe might take her up on the latter, though maybe not the former.

A few stories passed.

"This is one I'm rather fond of as it has a lot of interesting variants." Pannoicia, a younger version of her mother Wicke and with the family Z-Marks, nodded as she held up her level 3 Backup Secretary. Which almost looked like her mother and herself, come to think of it. The Ranger-nationette adjusted her glasses.

"It's the story of The Forest Lord, and it comes from the Galar Region. Let me begin."

One day, during the year after the Darkest Day, there was a woodsman and his three children. The oldest was an eager helper, well and able to help their father chop down trees for the winter fire. The second oldest was of a green thumb, able to coax the garden to grow well into the autumn. The youngest was only just coming into their own, helping to watch over what few livestock they could keep.

In the depths of winter, their food supplies fell low. The father left the house and instructed his children to stay within it so that they would stay warm and to protect one another. The oldest was given permission to use their mother's partner, Stoutland to command. The second oldest was provided the father's bow and arrows and given a key to the roof and was told to assist if they were required. The youngest was given a warm blanket and a sweet treat. With that, the father left the house in search of new food, or a far off neighbour to get help.

The two oldest took their responsibilities very seriously, constantly watching for signs of danger. The youngest, left to their own, soon became bored. They went and left the house through an underground tunnel a Pokémon had dug that hadn't been filled back in yet. Wrapped warm and snug, they did not feel the bite of winter for a time as they explored. Meanwhile, the two oldest continued doing as they had before.

After a time, the youngest became tired and cold. They had wandered far from home and were now lost. They cried out, scared and tired but no one could hear them, save a Trevanant. It heard the cries of the young child and came to them.

At this time, the two oldest had noticed their younger sibling had gone missing. They found their tracks in the snow and went after them on a sled, Stoutland pulling them along. The oldest remembered to take a gourd lantern with them during their flight from the house, so that they could find the way as the sun was setting.

In the twilight, with the sun's rays gone, the forest was a blur of greys and blacks save for what the gourd lantern lit. They only stopped when a pair of red eyes startled them in the darkness.

"What are you dear children doing out so late in the midst of winter," the red eye's voice whispered, "have you lost your way?"

"No," the oldest replied, "we are searching for my young sibling. They left the house and we were following their tracks in the snow to find them. We need to bring them home."

"I'm afraid you may be too late then," the red eyes intoned, "all the lost and the meek become part of my forest. And your sibling, they were just so cold they could not carry on any longer."

Stoutland growled at the voice as the gourd lantern's light fell upon it. A mighty Trevanant, antlered branches reaching high and barren of any leaves. "I am lord of this forest, and have let your father harvest my work, as any host should. I collect the souls of those he takes to feed you as well. It is my trees that keep your home warm this time of year and my citizens who feed you when you are hungry. I am sorry your sibling could not make it, but if you are willing to make a deal they will be free to go home."

The Trevanant Lord laid their hand down to pay upon a a dark shape beside them. An adjustment of the lantern revealed it to be their sibling, blue from the cold, slumped upon a stump. The two oldest gasped in shock as the younger of the two began to cry. Stoutland, however, kept their gaze upon the tree lord.

"I have been looking for an heir, someone to watch over my forest once the time has come for me to set my roots down permanently. I would have one of the two of you become as I am. You would collect the souls for me and help the forest grow. Which of you will it be?"

Some say that the oldest took the deal, and was bound to the gourd lantern they carried thus becoming the first Gourgeist. They learned under the Trevanant Lord, after guiding their siblings home. The Trevanant Lord found them to be talented with souls and thus the oldest was set to taking the souls of those who angered the Trevanant Lord to the afterlife.

Others say that the second youngest took the deal, and they became bound to the stump the youngest was laid upon. They became a Phantump, and took well to the growing of the forest and were well regarded by the Trevanant Lord. When the time came for the Lord to pass-on, the second oldest inherited their forest.

My favourite ending was that the Trevanant Lord was merciful and split the service between the two. The oldest became a Gourgeist during the winter and the younger became a Trevanant during the summer. When their time upon the mortal coil passed, they became Pokémon permanently.

Yet others say that the two oldest quailed before the Trevanant Lord and tried to flee. Angered by the cowardice, the Trevanant Lord claimed the both of them as part of their forest. The father would return to his youngest alone in the house and mourn the fate of his two oldest.

Pannocia got a respective applause for it, though it was a bit too research-based to try to take the lead. And so more cards were drawn as the leads stayed in place.

"Oh I up….well I guess." Serena took a card from the deck and immediately sighed in audible relief. Chloe took a peak at what she drew.

"Serena, that's Kuriboh."

"And it's only one star. I won't have to say something that scary! And I've got just the thing! I call it 'It Came from the Oven'!"

Once, many years ago, there was a little girl. She lived in a house in the countryside with two companions. Her mother and Rhyhorn, who isn't in the story.

She loved nothing more than to cook delicious things in the kitchen. Sweets, sours, spicy, it was all wonderful. Her mother couldn't cook sweets after all.

One day she wishes to try a new recipe for cookies all by herself. Her mother was out and she was all alone. No problem she felt, because she made plenty before. She stirred and mixed and made the better, putting them all on the tray and setting them to cook. Like every time before they went in, but they didn't come out. Maybe she had made the dough too runny. Maybe she had put them too close together. But when she opened the door, she didn't see cookies. She saw. ..a monster!

It bubbled and rose and fell. It breathed like a living creature, up and down and up and down. It was a molty mass of grays and browns,, like a terrible fungus. The massive glob of sizzling goop seemed to be alive, and the little girl felt like it was watching her. It was angry at her. It had failed to give it true life as a cookie and it was angry. It hissed at her, and the girl ran screaming…..

"Wow you are right. Your scary story sucked."

Serena seemed a bit dejected at the harsh criticism from one of the younger kids. Ash and Acerola comforted her with gentle touches to some avail.

"It was scary at the time." Serena muttered.

"You didn't burn yourself did you? Did your mom get angry at you…" Chloe asked in concern years after the fact.

"Nah. Serena's nightmare fuel was actually pretty good. Best cooking disaster I ever ate." Said an older woman, looking like a rather fit older mother sort. She had brown hair, somewhat fit arms (though not to Jinx levels) and wore a jacket around her waist.

"Mom! That was….you ate that!" Serena still sounded grossed out thinking about it. So this was Serena's mom, the one who found the dozen deadbeat dad pinatas for the mom's night out….

Damn it she was hot too. And she looked older than Delia or her mom. Not significantly older, but still!

"Yeah, and it was delicious. Like 'you' said in your story, I can't cook sweets and you can."

Several stories later and it was Ash's turn, and he drew the Ursarctic Grand Chariot card, and was rather confused by what it was.

"Why are this card's levels backwards? Also why is the card black?"

"Oh, it's a Dark Synchro monster so it has a negative level. I added it as a joke." Pendula admitted as Ash looked at the card in disbelief.

"Negative seven!?"

"Hey, on the bright side, this means your story must be hopeful rather than scary!" Chloe argued. "That should be a nice breather after so much horror."

"Yeah, but I can't win that way." Ash almost moped. She only said it wasn't a full on mope because he didn't sound like Parker moping, just greatly disappointed in the outcome. But he took a long breath and got composed again.

"Alright. Hopeful story. Okay...alright….got one I think….."

Years ago I had just gone to my first Pokemon League at the Indigo League. Like all the tournaments in the last near decade or so, it was larger than it has ever been with over a thousand participants. That isn't entirely a direct response to most of us entering them every year, though we apparently do indirectly increase it by sparking more intense rivalries and competition or something…

Well anyway I did really well for a ten year old rookie. I defeated the infamous Rookie Crusher and made it all the way to the top Sixteen when I...may or may not have lost to a certain someone who I then beat at the Silver League after winning in the Orange Islands, but that's neither here nor there.

Red went from looking amused to looking annoyed then back to his usual stoic appearance

When I returned to Pallet Town afterwards there was talk of a great party to celebrate my achievements. Being 10 and having lost I wasn't sure I really deserved it, and Carl agreed with me. That should have been the first clue I was a bit wrong.

I was feeling rather down for a while after losing. I lost to someone I consider a fierce rival, I let everyone down. I lost in front of the whole world. Misty and Iris and the others tried a lot of things to make me smile, but it didn't quite work. Then my mom came to talk to me, the day before the party was going to start.

"Ash, I know it is hard to lose. I can't imagine what it must be like to lose on the big screen. It can feel like that's all there is in the world right now. You can put up a smile when you shake Red's hand after your battle, and show up to the ending ceremony. I've lost badly too, losses that shook my world too."

As a ten year old I couldn't really connect the dots that she meant her parents.

"But you can't let a single loss overshadow everything else. The ending doesn't mean the journey was for nothing. You weren't going to give up because of one loss were you?"

"No!" I told her urgently "I couldn't. I want to see more of the world, and Misty and Iris want to do things out there too. It's just….why are people having a party for me not winning? I...why?"

My mom put a hand on my shoulder, a smile on her face.

"Because they see it in a way you don't. They don't see someone who lost. They see someone who got through six of the hardest league fighting there has ever been. They see someone who made it farther than anyone in Pallet Town has in decades, even if you ignore how many more rounds there were this time than usual. They see someone who made Pallet Town proud and did his best. They see someone who did that at the ripe old age of 10, which is something very few kids your age ever accomplish. They see someone who is worth celebrating, and maybe they just want to celebrate something for a change. What I'm saying Ash, is you need to see things more than just winning and losing. It's a first step to where you eventually go. Now let's have some fun."

And I did. We all did. I won leagues in the future as much as I lost them, among other wins and losses throughout the years. That advice was always in the back of my mind when I needed it. I don't need it anymore, but I wouldn't be who I am without that advice.

Did Ash choose that story for the younger kids to teach them about using failure as a stepping stone? Chloe wasn't sure, though if it was the intended idea...she could see something in the younger kid's eye. And it wasn't fear.

"How touching, but it's not a scary story. Next."

The next card drawn was the Level 4 Harpie Lady 2. The drawer was a girl in the higher age of the siblings, dyed hair that looked like a Pidgeot crest, and in clothes with the marks of the Ranger Union. Some of the newer siblings seemed a bit nervous around her, and she had to admit it was a little...odd to see someone so Ranger in Kanto.

Her name was Jane Jackrum, Almian Pokemon Ranger.

"This is a story that is disputed as being from either Sinnoh or Almia. Stories, unlike people, aren't restricted by borders. It is called the Revenger's Handmaiden."

In a far-off place, in a region whose name is forgotten, there was a young woman. Her name is best left unsaid, for they say that it brings her attention. She lived in the mining town, nestled by the roof of the world and was adored by all within it.

A rich man from a city on the far side of the region passed through and was besotted by her beauty. He implored her to spend the night with him but she refused. He did this for twelve days and was twelve times refused. On the thirteenth time he did not take no for an answer.

Before he could do the deed, the woman took her own life. Panicked by the dead body before him, and worried that the townspeople would turn on him if they found him with the body, he took the woman's body as high up the world's roof as he dared and left it there. He fled the town immediately after, sure that his dark deeds would go unpunished.

The spirit of the woman cried and lamented her fate. Her wails pierced the world's roof and echoed into existence on the other side. There, the Revenger heard her.

Within the ice slicked walls of the cavern her spirit languished, the Revenger drew their insectile head and clicked their mandibles. "Why do you wail so, young maiden?"

"A rich man came into town," the spirit replied, "He lusted after me and for thirteen days asked for me to lie with him. I refused each time and so he tried to have his way with me. I refused to let him tarnish me so, so I took my own life. Now, the man has carried my body far from home and left to continue living his own life unpunished for his misdeeds. I worry for the women there, for if he is willing to try and force his way once will he not try and do so again?"

"I have heard your thoughts and would see to it that he is punished. I cannot act in your world though, or my Father will see it and lock me further away. I can, however, give you the guise of one of Father's creations. If I do so, will you do my will for me?"

"So long as it is in a matter like this, I am willing to do so and more," answered the spirit. Thus, the Revenger worked their will upon the world. Ice creeped into her soul, and a new body was fashioned from the snow for her.

The Revenger guided her to the city in which the rich man lived. Every path the spirit passed down, ice trailed behind. As her anger grew with the man's nearing presence, so too did a blizzard build around her. As she arrived at the man's door, she could hear him laughing as a servant ran from him.

Gilded in hoarfrost, the door blew open with a gale. The rich man stopped, and the servant escaped out a window. "Who are you," his voice but a whisper over the roaring of the storm, "who would dare enter my home!"

The temperature of the room dropped, the fire blowing out and dropping everything into darkness. "I am she who you left at heaven's door!" The spirit cried, "I am she who you once wished to lie with. You wished to spend one night with me. Be glad," she whispered in his ear, a sleeve tickling his side, "you'll get to spend eternity with me instead."

And with that, she carried the screaming man away on winter winds. It is said that throughout the region, you could hear his cries of fright that day. Anytime you hear a winter gale make a sound like a cry or a scream, it is an attempt by that man to gain rescue by some poor soul. And from that day onwards, the young woman did as the Revenger willed her to do.

"So don't be terrible or she'll get you." She finished with the moral of the story. A good touch, but not one that could win the ranger this contest. But maybe…

Several cards later it was her turn. She had Juliet and Acerola to beat. Heart of the cards, guide me!

And she drew Talaya, Princess of Cherry Blossoms, one of her favorite cards, and a level 8 monster! And she had just the story for this one.

"This story is called The Magikarp Curse. It's a somewhat obscure story from the Sinnoh region that I think you'll all enjoy."

Once in the ancient past, years before the creation of synthetic protein when man ate Pokemon like they would plants, there was a fishing village. It was like any fishing village at first: the fisherman would capture Pokemon to feed their families and community, and the bones and inedible organs were returned to the sea from which they came. It was believed that if they did this the Pokemon they had consumed would be reborn and the balance of the natural world would continue. It was something that was always done.

Then a chief did not do this.

He was a man too clever by half, who saw the bones of the Goldeen and Finneon and Remoraid and saw means of innovating. Burning the bones would make better forged weapons he had discovered, and so he forbade the return of the bones of the consumed Pokemon. He had seen how Pokemon reproduced and knew that the bones did, in fact, do nothing for the cycle of life. However what he did not take into account was that traditions existed for a reason.

One day, in the midst of a terrifying unseasonal storm, a Pokemon the villagers had never seen before appeared in the waves. Out from it these words bellowed.

"Who dares to disrespect their fellow creatures?!" It demanded of the town. "Who has breached the sacred contract!?"

The chief, seeking to be brave and lead his people by example, stood before this new Pokémon and spoke these words.

"I am the chief of this village and its actions are my actions! I know the origin of Magical Creatures and the cycle of death! I swore no oath nor did anyone here to waste bones in such a way. We use every part of their flesh we can, so why not use every part of their body? With it we create stronger tools, more durable weapons, and bring us even greater prosperity and protection! Who are you to ask us to live lesser lives for the sake of a meaningless ritual!?"

"Who am I, you ask?! Who am I!? I am an enforcer of a sacred oath, one that predates your mother's mother's mother's mother! I have borne witness to the flow of time and the emergence of your species! You are but one insignificant member of a numerous species! You have no right to renege on the oaths that your species has been bound to for all of time!"

"You call us numerous, but that does not make us weak!? Our brains are greater than all other forms of life including your own! The Luxray knows not what to do with bones beyond leaving them! The Lucario cannot make fire! The Combee cannot plant its own food! Our mind and our numbers grant us power beyond even that of you! Our numbers and our intelligence makes us greater than any Magical Beast!"

If there was a chance to avoid a curse it was lost at this point. The great Pokémon that came to the village glared down at all of them in fury.

"If you declare that being numerous makes you powerful, so be it. You will be as numerous as anything, and you will come to regret it!" And so the Pokémon vanished in a great blinding light, and all the townsfolk had no idea what to expect.

It was after a fretful sleep that their curse became evident.

The chief woke up to screaming, and a sore face. He ran out to his town first to see what had gone wrong, and what was amiss soon became clear.

The smith's arms were peeling, his skin falling off to reveal red scales instead of skin and hair.

The farmer's wife had a pair of whiskers like that of a Whiscash bursting from her lips, and the chief only noticed he had a pair of yellow ones from his own lips then.

A yellow fin had replaced the hair on the miller's head, whose hair had entirely fallen out overnight.

"What have you done to us!" The town, who all were afflicted with various odd changes demanded of the chief.

"Kar! Kar!" Some could only choke out, sounding like their throats were ravaged and barely able to breathe air.

The chief was a proud man, one who believed he was right and he had done nothing wrong. However even he could admit that things had gone beyond the right here. That something had to be done to fix this.

"Everyone who can still fish, go out! If we catch a Magical Creature and honor them 'properly', maybe this'll stop!" He begged, and to his credit he was the first in a boat to try and catch anything.

However the seas were barren. There was nothing to catch, and the forests were similarly barren of anything to honor similarly. Panic and fear soon spread through the town further, as they were trapped in a situation that they couldn't find a solution to.

"You have doomed us all!" One villager, who had not changed as clearly as the others, shook the chief in despair and fury. "What have you done to us…."

The villager started to cough violently, like he couldn't breathe. He thrashed around violently, as his body began to morph and change. One could even say he was evolving, but his body didn't temporarily take on an energy form when he did so. Everyone could see what was happening to him, and they looked upon it in absolute terror.

The villager's neck expanded, merging seamlessly into his shoulders as to make no clear distinction between his head and his body. His arms and legs flobbed around helplessly as they shrunk and widened, reducing into mere fins. Across his body his skin peeled off, revealing red scales instead of soft flesh. Out of his face emerged whiskers. In utter pain and agony the body flopped off the deck he had been on, splashing into the water down below. All the villagers could only stare in horror at what had become of this villager, before a fish Pokémon they had never seen leapt out of the water.

"Magikarp!" The new Pokemon said, seemingly unaware of them. The new species fell into the waters below,and then the screaming began again. Every villager who could ran far away from the water, hoping to avoid a similar fate. Several fell before they could make it, trapped in their own transformations. The chief could only watch in horror as they changed, and in further horror as the villagers he was in charge of came back. Gasping for breath they ran over and past their downed counterparts into the water, desperate to get into it. No human came out of the surf.

As flailing, splashing, desperate red shapes struggled into the water from the shore, the chief could only look upon what he had brought with his words and actions, and could only say these words in grief.

"Karp! Karp! Karp!" Chloe said those words out of story mode as several of the younger kids screamed in fright. A number of the older siblings looked rather unsettled, and they seemed speechless.

Did...did she go too far? It was a folk myth about why an ancient tribe in Sinnoh didn't eat Magikarp, somewhat mythologized….

And then the clapping again, more intense than any other story so far, and Lita gave her a proud hug.

"Seriously, Chloe, I think you made some of the younger ones wet themselves!"

"Hooray? Do I win or do I get punished?" That was a genuine question after the Reve big sibling cold rage moment. Was Belladonna going to hurt her? Er, no, she was giving her a thumbs up.

"Ask me after we count everyone's votes first…and have a few others go too. But I'm sure you win unless, IDK, we have a future horror icon in our midst."

Given the roster and count, that was entirely possible.

...

"And the winner by a landslide is….Chloe Cerise!"

It took a second for it to register before Chloe blinked at everyone cheering for her.

"I...I won!?"

"Yeah you did! The only people who didn't vote for you probably were just too spooked by your story." Lita affectionately elbowed her, nudging her forward for all to see and praise.

"What does she win?" One of the younger participants asked.

"What does she win….you want anything Chloe?" Ash asked.

"Bragging rights?" Chloe wasn't entirely sure what, if anything, was appropriate to ask for.

"I mean besides that."

Everyone present looked at each other, a look of genuine interest in having a prize discussed.

"She's on my mom's cooking staff, so maybe we cook something for her?" Ash suggested.

"I am sure the Pokedex was recording it all, so maybe she could have a copy of it for herself, though the cooking idea is pretty good." Serena added.

"I think she's had enough food around her for a while now, maybe she should have something else." Celesta guessed.

"It's not money is it?" A ten year old who had not participated asked worryingly, perhaps wondering if he had anything to chip in.

"Maybe you could ask them to model a swimsuit calendar for you?" Lita whispered as a suggestion. Chloe quickly shushed her. They might actually consider it for some reason! "Or, if you really want to have another go at a guy…."

Do not say bachelorette auction!

"Got it! Chloe, you won…."

END CHAPTER

What did Chloe win? Give me some feedback and a later chapter may show it. I mean as fun as the idea of Chloe getting her own set of sibling swimsuit calendars is to write, it might be too much? Or is too much not really applicable? IDK, I'd appreciate the feedback.

Those familiar with Yu Gi Oh may know that the Ursartic cards are not actually Dark Synchro outside of simulators. I didn't initially know that, but I find the joke too fun. So I'm fudging reality a bit. So clearly the flaming badgers changed the card game a bit.

I probably could have had non-family show more stories, but I felt like making 'the giant family' feel more giant with this chapter so I went that way instead.

Special thanks to the following for spooky story submissions. If uncited they were written by myself (Cross).

ThanatosTiger for Caroline's Ghost

Underseawings for The Forest Lord, Cacturne Creep, Rampage, and the Revenger's Handmaiden

Imperator Maximajorian for Pamela's story.