South Area Two
The sleepy town of Sencamento was a far cry from their well-known sister, Cortondo. It had a population of 220, and the Skyfair Plaza was a well-known landmark.
"I wonder why the locals would call it that name?" Bonnie's question pierced the air as the quintet looked at her.
"From what I've read up on the town history, the place is famous for its annual balloon festival that occurs every spring," Nanda added as she carried Popplio, "It was established to celebrate the end of an epidemic, and how a hot air balloon was able to bring the medicine needed to treat the sick children there. The landslides and flooding at the time impeded easy transit into the town. A fearless operator of this balloon risked his life to save the children."
"Makes sense, though," Auronaku commented as she looked around the plaza, Rowlet sitting on her shoulder.
On the left of the quintet, they could see a fountain that depicted a hovering hot air balloon. It was colored in azure blue, jade green, citrine yellow and pearl white mosaic tiles in a spiraling block pattern. Below it was the rotund statue of a man with goggles and an old-fashioned aviator jacket. His aquiline nose dominated his face, while he carried a crate that had jars of medicine in his hands.
The fountain was four-tiered, with the hot air balloon and man at the top, and progressively larger basins of waters that flowed gracefully from one level to another.
Brisallan took out a coin and tossed it into the bottom tier while Misdreavus observed over their shoulder.
"It's for good luck during our journey," they said, "I remember doing the same in Luminoise City when I was small with my older siblings."
"Great idea," The other four took out their coins and did the same.
"I see you understand the time-honoured custom of our fountain," an elderly lady said as she sat on one of the fountain benches, knitting an overly long scarf. She wore a pastel yellow dress with a chintzy floral print. The effect served to reinforce the imagery of a stereotypical old lady.
"This started as a form of thanksgiving by the parents of the surviving children after the epidemic. When these children left for Mesagoza or another region, the parents tossed a coin in this fountain to give thanks to the hero of the town for ensuring their children had this experience. As generations passed, it slowly evolved to a good-luck custom for the sojourning locals and passing trainers," The woman explained.
"And where does the money from the coins go?" Max's question was quickly answered. Ralts sat on his shoulder, gazing at the mosaic hot air balloon in amazement.
"The money are funneled into the Levinica Children's Hospital's funds," The woman answered, "It's a world-class hospital that supplied the medicine that saved Sencamento's children."
"Oh, I get it," Bonnie nodded as she patted Dedenne's head as he rode on her shoulder.
As the quintet looked around the plaza again, they could see several food vendors clustered in a shady corner. It included Smoochurros which sold their world-famous churros, Chic Kebab, which served kebabs and grilled rice balls, Kanto Crepes and their incredibly delicious crepes, and Sugar-N-Ice which carried the teriyaki ice cream that Auronaku was an ardent fan of.
Loud rumbles emanated from the quintet's stomachs, much to their embarrassment.
"It's official, we're absolutely famished," Auronaku piped up.
"Yeah, let's go grab a bite to eat," Brisallan agreed. As the gang split up to purchase their meals, they headed to the Chic Kebab stand.
"We have a deal this week," The elderly man said as Brisallan looked over his wares, "Two for one on our pinchitos."
"The price?"
"1,200 Pokedollars," The man answered.
"I'll take the lemon-and-pepper chicken, please," Brisallan answered as they took out their loose change and handed it over to the man.
Meanwhile, Bonnie and Nanda looked over the menu of Smoochurros; There was the standard, cinnamon sugar and chocolate-dipped churros. But what caught Nanda's eye was the addition of a new flavour: peanut chocolate-dipped churros.
"That's new," She said.
"Yeah, I've never seen that one before," Bonnie commented.
Turning to the young woman working the stand, the duo made their orders, and handed over the money for it.
A fire-red food truck caught Auronaku and Max's eye. Eduardo's Cheese Sandwiches and Toasties, the vinyl signage said in blocky letters in sea green and royal blue. As the duo approached the truck, they could see the menu written on a nearby standing chalkboard.
Monte Cristo Sandwich, 1,200 Pokedollars.
Brie and Blueberry Panini, 1,650 Pokedollars.
Creamed Strawberry Sandwich, 1,250 Pokedollars.
Spicy Scovillain Pulled Pork, 1,200 Pokedollars.
Dilled Salmon Sandwich, 1,250 Pokedollars.
Galar-Curried Tofu Panini, 1,650 Pokedollars.
"It looks good," Auronaku observed as she read the menu.
"Yeah, the Scovillain Pulled pork is pretty intriguing," Max added.
"I'm always happy to see new customers," The middle-aged owner and cook of the food truck smiled.
"One Monte Cristo Sandwich, please," Auronaku took out the money from her wallet and handed it over to the man.
"Coming up!" The man answered cheerily.
Max followed suit with his order for the Spicy Scovillain Pulled Pork.
As the duo walked over to the picnic tables situated near the fountain, Auronaku's Rotom Phone rang. Picking it up, she could see a text message from Bonnie.
'Can you please grab some Soda pops to go with the meals?' She read the message.
'Sure!' she texted back.
Alin and Marquz observed the quintet from one of the trees surrounding the pavilions. As they sat down and began eating their meals, the duo could hear the beginnings of good conversation.
"I've been looking over some pastries from Soapberry's I want to send back to Clemont and Korrina," one of the trio's companions said as she held up her orange Rotom phone.
"Yeah, same here, except it's for my entire family," The teal-haired boy added.
"I would have done the same with my mother if she wasn't dead," Auronaku's voice was filled with bitterness, Nanda nodding in agreement.
"I'll do the same; my mom is a big fan of Soapberry's and every year she orders the annual Winter Festival cake from there," Brisallan added, "Their strawberry jam macarons are one of my favorite treats."
"So, it seems Soapberry's Pastries is pretty popular around here," Alin commented as she took a quaff of the Spring Water she had purchased.
"Yes, I've seen Brisallan eating these treats they mentioned on multiple occasions when they were a young child," Marquz added, "I've been teaching them to moderate their sugar intake, though."
"Same here with Auronaku. She has the basics down pat well," Alin added, "But some of her friends are an entirely different story. She once mentioned that Nemona and Bonnie had extravagantly large portions of waffles with copious amounts of whipped cream and syrup the morning Brisallan, Nanda and she uncovered that serial killer."
"I've overheard the joke about the food going to Nemona's legs. I still don't get it," Marquz shrugged.
"Neither do I," Alin nodded in agreement.
The Sencamento hostel used to be the first phase of an extravagant, sprawling mansion under construction by a nameless local crime lord. When he was nabbed by the International Police in Port Marinada at the auctions fifteen years ago, the local mayor of that time saw an opportunity to capitalize on an unmet need for lodging for travelling trainers and coordinators. She convinced the authorities to hand over the unfinished shell of the building and the now subdivided parcel of land it sat on. The next phase was to reconfigure the architectural plans so the building would serve its new purpose better; for this she turned to an associate of Donaldo Carillo. From there the six massive bedrooms of the original plans were each subdivided into four smaller rooms, and the center parts were now hallways. The attached master bathrooms on each side were then converted to public bathrooms and showers.
The luxury living room, once slated for entertaining visitors, was pared back and subdivided into two sections by a wall that had been added to the original plan. The first section was for reading; the new addition of three built-in bookshelves where the fireplace was originally slated to be made the room useful to its new clientele. The second section had become the new cafeteria. The addition of counters against the new wall to accommodate self-service non-alcoholic beverage machines served to further separate the former living room from its original purpose. The room also had two small buffet counters added next to them so visitors could have their pick of meals to go with the drinks.
The kitchen and former dining room, which now was the gaming room, had been swapped to serve their purposes better, as well. The original plan had originally called for elaborate dentil moldings in many areas of the building, but with the conversion, they had been dropped for far simpler trim that were also more durable and thus easier to clean.
Last, to make the Sencamento hostel a distinctive landmark, the mayor took a cue from the hot air balloon fountain and had the building painted in jade green and white, so it stood out from its terra-cotta red neighbours.
It was in this building that the quintet had settled down for the night. The rooms had been arranged in capsule-style bunk beds not unlike the ones usually found in Saffron and Goldenrod's city centers to cater to the office workers there. The walls were painted a mint green with gray and bright brass accents in the wainscoting and hardware.
"Wanna see the gaming room?" Bonnie asked as she put down her orange Switch console.
"Yeah, it's going to be fun," Auronaku was playing with her midnight blue one. She saved her game then paused it.
"Me too," the other three chorused.
As the quintet left their bedroom, Brisallan looked over at Auronaku's Switch display.
"Dark Souls?" Their question raised a few eyebrows.
"Yes," Auronaku answered, "I also have the sequels and Elden Ring as well."
"These games are hard as hell," They said, "one of my elder brothers, Nikos, is also a fan of these games, but he gave up because it was too difficult for him."
"Arise, ye Tarnished, ye dead who yet live. The call of long-lost grace speaks to us all!" Bonnie made a passable impression of the narrator's voice in the opening cinematic of Elden Ring.
"Excellent!" Auronaku burst out laughing, "You could make a pretty penny as a voice actor."
The gaming room was 20 feet by 20, and arcade games and claw machines filled with all kinds of prizes filled the room. To the left, the group could see a prize redeeming counter chock-full with all kinds of cool things, including a VR headset, which was the most expensive item there.
"Well, I get why the place is so popular," Max observed as he looked over one claw machine that was filled with candies from the Kanto, Johto and Hoenn regions. Inserting a few coins in the slot on it, he begun playing. After a couple of failed attempts, he won on the third try as the claw machine grabbed a fistful of the sweet stuff and deposited the things in the prize chute.
"There's individually wrapped Hi-Chews candies, mini bags of konpeito and even a couple of tiny boxes of ramune candy," he said as he collected his winnings from the machine. Auronaku plucked one of the konpeito bags out of his hands and opened it, the others following suit with the candy they picked out.
"Mmmm, strawberry," Nanda said as she looked at her Hi-Chew wrapper, a piece of candy in her mouth. A burst of inspiration seemed to have hit her, as she had taken out a mini sketchbook and began sketching out an outfit idea in it.
"Awesome, limited-edition yuzu flavour!" Bonnie commented holding up a box of ramune candy, "We never see anything like that in Kalos."
"The tropical fruit mix konpeito is unlike anything I've tasted," Brisallan admitted, "It make the local Paldean candy look mundane in comparison."
"Mine is caramel apple," Auronaku added, "It's an unusual taste but apparently, it's pretty popular in Alola and Unova to the point it's a regular dessert and candy flavoring there."
"My favorite is the Hi-chew yogurt mix, it's pretty good," Max shrugged.
The group was about to split up to try out the various machines, when a panicked voice rang out.
"The coins in the fountain are ALL GONE!" A middle-aged woman screamed.
"What's going on?" Auronaku and Max had taken charge, as they turned to the panicked woman.
"I was supposed to collect them and roll them up to bring to the bank in a week's time. But when I went to the fountain to do that, they had disappeared!" she replied.
"Well, that's kind of strange," Auronaku observed.
"Agreed," Max nodded as he put a hand on his chin.
The following morning, the quintet stood around the fountain. Nanda let Popplio take a dip in the fountain, while Rowlet, Ralts and Dedenne perched on the fountain's edge, Misdreavus hovering above them.
The quintet released their other Pokemon. Grovyle took up his usual spot near Ralts, while Greavard briefly ran around Brisallan's legs before they ordered her to stay at the fountain.
"Misdreavus, please keep Greavard out of trouble," Misdreavus acknowledged his master's order with a brief "Mis, Mis!"
It turned out Bonnie also had a Marshtomp. The Pokemon was smaller than the others and had a noticeably tealer blue than most of her peers.
"I found her as an egg the month before I left for Hoenn," Bonnie explained as Auronaku, Brisallan and Nanda shot her baffled looks, "She hatched on the day I arrived there."
"Oh, I get it," Nanda answered. Marshtomp leapt into the fountain and offered Popplio a high-five, which the Sea Lion Pokemon immediately responded to with a cheerful whistle.
Tarountula chose to hang from the edge of the second tier, swinging cheerfully as he started a conversation with Nanda's Skowet and Hoppip.
"Let's look around for clues," Bonnie said as she looked at the fountain. The others nodded in agreement. As the quintet split up, they didn't notice the tiny coin-carrying figure lurking underneath one of the picnic tables.
The only park in Sencamoto was called the Cecile Martin Memorial Park. It was named for the twelfth mayor's youngest grandson, who had died during the historical epidemic that had ended with the delivery of the medication from Levinica City. He was only four and a half years old at the time.
It had a newly installed play structure built to look like a hot air balloon on the west side, and northwest of it was a moderate-sized spray park themed around Paldea's water Pokémon; the distance between these two amenities was five metres. Hydrangeas bred for the climate of the region lined the north perimeter of the park, and Nanda could see that the large park was shaped like the home base in baseball, a clever nod to the child's love for it on the map/information kiosk she had visited.
In the distance, she could see one of Paldea's famous watchtowers in the distance. Although they had long since fallen out of official use one hundred and fifty-five years ago, they were still maintained as lookout spots for trainers and visiting tourists.
Taking out her sketchbook, she began sketching the scene of children playing on the playground. Two little girls were chatting about boys their age, while two ten-years-old boys had begun duking it out over a shiny new soccer ball; they were identical twins. The two were promptly chastised by their mother, who then took it away from them.
Nanda had always wanted to be a mother and wife. She could remember the hours in playschool spent playing housewife in the house section of the classroom. But she knew that for this to occur, she would have to meet the right man. Her Coordinator journey would be one part of her life; from what Nanda had heard, some of the best Top Coordinators were also mothers themselves.
But her best friend was another matter entirely. Motherhood and marriage didn't appeal to Auronaku. Although she was sexually attracted to men, she often felt little to no romantic attachment to them. She was quite grossed out by the thought of romantic interactions.
From what Nanda had suspected, the most likely relationships with men Auronaku would accept would be friends-with-benefits situations, and even then, she had told her it would have to be egalitarian. Nanda had agreed with that sentiment. How many women had ended their relationship with men who acted more like children than the actual men they really were?
Her thoughts were broken when a few children began skipping to a rhyme mentioning a Ghost Pokémon with a chest and a roaming form.
"Gimmighoul, Gimmighoul, roam and play,
Two non-changeable forms, in a Chest display.
Through the forests and hills so wide,
With a Chest Form, it'll surely hide.
In the morning sun, it skips and hops,
With Chest Form hidden, no one stops.
A chest so shiny, oh, what a sight,
Gimmighoul sparkles, pure delight,"
The children sang as they rotated through the Double Dutch rope game they had been playing.
Nanda was a little confused, but she thought the poem was quite good. Writing it down in her notebook, she stood up and left the park to get something to eat.
The small marketplace of Sencamento was known as the Pentamarket, due to the geometric shape it resembled. At its heart was a medieval well that once served the inhabitants, but with the coming of water pipes, it gradually fell out of use. It was the idea of one of the newer shop owners to convert it to a small fountain; so far, it hadn't gained traction so far.
Auronaku frowned in annoyance. The bustling crowds of locals chattered back and front, and it really irked her. Small talk offered little to no practical information, especially when it was filled with unfounded rumours.
She could see two men carrying an antique chest into one of the stores.
"This could sell for a pretty penny," One of the men remarked, "Especially when it's a genuine Sanz family heirloom."
"Yeah, they're sought after by wealthy collectors," The other replied.
'Now that's intriguing,' Auronaku thought as she followed the duo and the chest into the antiques store.
"Child of angels and demons, I see you," The Psychic who ran the store cast her eyes upon Auronaku as she entered it, much to her annoyance.
"How would you know about this shit? I don't care for them; my ambition is to be a Pokémon league champion," she snorted as she crossed her arms.
"I see many things in my dreams. A man cloaked in death told me to hold on to these things until the correct people come to my shop," She answered, "He said his name was Rathma."
She took out a trio of strange things. One was a Dusk stone carved like a skull with a glowing rune on its forehead. Another was a tiny water droplet pulsating with elemental arcane energies, and the third was a strange arrow that had two energies intertwining around it, each one orbiting and interacting with each other.
Auronaku's eyes widened as she looked over the aforementioned items. They looked out of place in this world, but at the same time also felt very much like the world she thought Nanda and she had left behind.
"What the fuck are these things?" She murmured under her breath.
"You'll find out in due time," The woman answered, "Please take them, and give the other two to your friends. The arrow is yours."
Auronaku grumbled as she took the items and put them in her bag. Turning to the various tchotchkes on display in the antique shop, she could see many of them were ceramic collectible figures. Yuck, this was the shit she would usually see in the home of rich little old ladies with entirely too much time to pursue their hobbies.
Another corner was lined with antique trunks and chests. Many of them were elaborately crafted dowry chests. Another expression of disgust passed across her face as she looked over them. Auronaku didn't even like the idea of being a married woman, it didn't feel right to her. And this world she now resided in gave women equal rights and that includes the right to reject and end marriages they didn't like.
But back in the olden days of the Pokémon world, they had little choice, though. There had been quite a few stories of young daughters of well-heeled families making their parents' choice of husbands disappear on the eve of their wedding with a little help from the criminal underworld, probably by having them shanghaied onto a passing vessel, or outright murdered on the way to the venue where the wedding would be held.
A few women from poorer households simply disappeared from their parents' houses on their wedding eves and returned with lethal skills to kill their would-be husbands months later. This resulted in these women being outcasts of their communities, but they were also feared as protectors in some of the regions of the Pokémon world.
The chest she saw earlier caught her eye; It was red and gold. The latch on it looked a bit like the number 999; although Auronaku was sorely tempted to touch it she kept a bit of a distance from it. Pulling out her Rotom phone from her vest pocket, she scanned it.
"Gimmighoul, Chest Form: It lives inside an old treasure chest. Sometimes it gets left in shop corners since no one realizes it's actually a Pokémon," The Rotom in the phone said.
Auronaku nodded. Stepping back, her stomach rumbled. Guess it was time to eat.
Brisallan looked around the Skyfair Plaza. Although during the day, it bustled with activity; it was pretty sparse today. They could chalk it up to being a weekday; most of the parents were working, while most of the children five years and up were at school.
As they transversed the square, they tripped over their own feet. The people there certainly heard the thud! As they turned to stare at Brisallan, their face turned beet red in embarrassment.
'Damned development coordination disorder,' They thought sourly as they picked themself up, albeit in their usual uncoordinated manner. This caused them to fall over again, further exacerbating their embarrassment at being seen in this manner.
Sighing again, Brisallan tried again with some success. The stares abated, much to their relief as the people returned to what they were previously doing. Looking around again, they could see that there were three entrances to the square. One led to a shopping street, while the other two were mostly residental.
The old town hall, which was next to the water fountain seemed to have been converted into an archive, judging by the sealed windows and sole entrance to it. The new town hall was far more spacious; From what the locals had told Brisallan, the new town hall had been built in anticipation of a population boom well over sixty years ago; Although it had never came, the larger building had addressed many of the complaints that the locals had voiced over the years, from cramped offices to the lack of air conditioning in the hot Paldean summers.
To make it worse, the aging structure needed serious repairs as it was a century and a half old, and its severely outdated layout made things more difficult. The Paldean Pokemon League had given Sencamento a generous sum of money at that time to preserve the building; it was put to good use in the project to convert it from its original purpose to an archival building.
As Brisallan strolled down the shopping street, they could see an old church that had been converted into a restaurant. The sign at the front read Espinoza's Eatery. A tiny Pokémon carrying a strange coin stood on top of it.
Brisallan took out their Rotom phone and scanned it.
"Gimmighoul, Roaming form: It wanders around, carrying an old coin on its back. It survives by draining the life-force from humans who try to pick up its coin," The Rotom phone said.
As Brisallan put their phone back, the Gimmighoul was about to make a run with the coin on it back, but it fell from the sign. They reached out to catch it, and the Coin Hunter Pokémon's soft landing into their hand confused it.
"You ok, little guy?" Brisallan's question startled them, but as they stood up, they nodded happily.
"Gimmi!" they held up their coin.
"You want me to have this coin?"
"Gim!" The pokemon nodded again. Brisallan took the coin.
"If you want to join my team, it's up to you. I'm a Ghost-type specialist, and my ambition is to be a gym leader for Paldea or another region," They explained.
The Gimmighoul tilted their head, before it jumped up and down in enthusiasm. They liked the idea of getting stronger under this person's tutelage, and they could also collect more coins along the way!
"GIMM!" Gimmighoul pointed to the pocket that held Brisallan's Pokeballs, then to themselves.
"I get it. Welcome to the team, Gimmighoul," Brisallan took out a pokeball and tapped the Gimmighoul they had befriended with it; the device promptly absorbed the Coin Hunter Pokémon into it.
"I got a Gimmighoul!" They cheered, before their stomach rumbled, indicating that it was time for a meal.
{I'm bored,} Tarountula commented as they swung on their silk thread, "I hope our masters comes back soon.}
{Me too,} Greavard yipped.
{Me three,} Skowet nodded in agreement as they nibbled on a berry they had found under a nearby tree.
{These three drive us crazy,} Misdreavus was conversing with the rest of the Pokemon gang, {I've had to stop Greavard from stealing things thrice today.}
{Really?} Ralts' eyes widened under his bangs.
{Her kleptomania is annoying as heck,} Popplio added, {I've seen Greavard's antics at least four times.}
{I've seen this tendency with dark-types, but to see it in a Ghost-type is new,} Grovyle chimed in.
{Bonnie and I once met a Trainer who was just as steal-happy as her Theivul,} Marshtomp added.
{Auronaku and Nanda knew a guy from Samson's school on Melemele who had quite the sticky fingers, though,} Rowlet chimed in.
{They must've had some pretty crazy tales about that guy,} Hoppip observed.
{Oh yeah, too many,} Rowlet replied, {He once stole from a candy shop. Another time he nicked two durians from a fruit stand. Alin caught Auronaku and Nanda eating them alongside their other friends when she sought her out for a training session.}
{The fruit's smell was horrible! But the flesh was unlike anything I've experienced,} Popplio commented.
{Definitely agree,} Rowlet gave Popplio a high five.
{I've eaten durian once with Bonnie during our travels in Hoenn,} Dedenne added. {It was in Sootopolis city. It came already cut and shrink-wrapped.}
{I've never tried the fruit, though,} Ralts looked at the Alolan duo in amazement, {But if the description you gave it is true, I want to try some of it.}
{Our masters is returning!} Tarountula exclaimed in excitement as he swung on his silk thread.
As the group of Pokémon turned, they could see the returning figures of their trainers.
They had purchased food and were eating them.
"I got a Roaming form Gimmighoul," Brisallan mentioned as they approached the fountain, "I'll introduce him to Misdreavus and Greavard."
"One moment, please," Auronaku gestured, before she pulled out the items she had been given, "The owner of the antiques store gave me these items. She said something about me being an offspring of angels and demons. I think it's bullshit."
"Judging from the aura these items emanate, I'd go as far to say that these were made specially for our Pokémon," Nanda observed as she picked up the strange water droplet.
"Agreed," Brisallan added as they held up the runed Dusk stone skull, "But how would the person who made that weird skull know that Misdreavus evolves through a Dusk Stone?"
"And the arrow looks like it would mesh well with a Dartrix," Auronaku inspected the arrow she had been given earlier.
As Auronaku, Brisallan and Nanda put the items in their bags, they turned to Bonnie and Max.
"Anything of interest you've found so far?" Bonnie's question broke the companionable silence.
"I've heard rumours that the janitor of the archives has been acting oddly," Max remarked, "He've been collecting coins at odd hours."
"I met this little guy at Espinoza's Eatery. He's a Gimmighoul," Brisallan released their Gimmighoul. The Pokémon held up a coin.
"I remember now! The kids at the park were singing about Gimmighoul having two forms. This seems to be the roaming form the rhyme speaks of," Nanda explained.
"And I've seen the chest form in the antique store," Auronaku added.
"Is it possible that the guy was possessed by a chest form Gimmighoul he had encountered? I recall hearing old legends about these Pokemon possessing unfortunate people and making them collect coins," Brisallan said, "It was the plot point of an old horror movie I watched when I was a child."
Max pulled out his Rotom Phone and tapped the entry on Gimmighoul.
"Is this scenario Brisallan described possible?" He asked.
"It's highly plausible. There have been at least 204 reported incidents of this phenomena in the last fifty years, according to League records," Max's Phone replied, "The last one occurred fourteen years ago in Alfornada."
"Now that means we'll need to go out in the dead of night, find the possessed guy, follow him to where the chest is and confront the Gimmighoul there. That's where we'll find the fountain's missing coins!" Auronaku exclaimed.
The full moon was bright; its shimmery light cast a ghostly sheen on Sencamento. A fifty-something man scrounged around for coin; his gray eyes seemed quite off. He picked up one coin after another through the town, including the ones in the fountain.
Unbeknownst to him, he was being followed by a quintet of young Naranja-attending Pokémon trainers. They stalked him from a distance alongside their Pokémon partners.
"He's definitely possessed," Brisallan noted, Misdreavus hovering above their head.
"Arceus, this is going to be a long night," Bonnie added.
"Indeed," Nanda sighed, "But Auronaku can be quite the tactician when she has a set goal in mind."
Looking over to Auronaku, the other four could see the razor-sharp focus honed from years of training as a demon hunter in her glowing eyes. The way she restrained herself could be attributed to the fact that Discipline indeed restrained the blazing hot Hatred in her heart.
The way she used the shadows to her advantage was also a bit frightening, and Nanda could see how Rowlet had also melded well with the ways of the Demon Hunters.
Popplio sat on Nanda's shoulder. Even if Rowlet and her were best buds, she knew their masters had suffered terrible traumas that had shaped them mentally and physically. Nanda was still afraid of spider Pokémon, even if she had grown used to Tarountula's presence. But the nightmares she had were so bad, she frequently had to be shook awake by either Popplio or Auronaku. It was the same with Rowlet and Nanda.
As the quintet followed the possessed janitor, they could see he was heading to the back entry of the antique store Auronaku had visited earlier. As the possessed man took out a purloined key, he used it to open the door.
They followed the man down a long hallway of offices, a couple belonging to the store, while others were rented to other businesses. They included a dental practice, the local branch of a major insurance company, a small obscure barber shop and the local town physician.
The possessed man turned right and unlocked the door in front of him. It opened to a moderate-sized storage area.
"What a load of junk!" Bonnie said as she looked around the room, Dedenne on her shoulder.
"Yeah, my family has seen worse," Brisallan replied, "There was this hoarder old lady living in the outskirts of Montenevera. We had to clear out a load of stuff to reach the body."
"That's disturbing," Nanda shuddered.
"My dad once had a hoarder as his neighbour once. The place was condemned and torn down after he was carted off to a nursing home," Max added as he patted Ralts on his head.
Auronaku's sharp eyesight scrutinized the room. She was silent during the exchange, Rowlet flying above her shoulder.
A stack of file boxes was stacked in a pyramid configuration in one corner; It had come from the dental office, judging by the labels on it. Next to it was an old, beaten-up dental chair. It was an outdated design that had been popular a decade ago, but updated standards had necessitated its replacement.
Six twelve-high stacks of old chairs from the former town hall lined the backmost wall. The fabric on them dated it to the mid-60s, judging by the avocado green and mustard yellow geometric pattern. They had a tall trapezoid back, something that was common in the 60s up until the early 90s. Next to it were several antique dining tables from the same building; they were in various stages of disrepair.
Another corner held thrift shop paintings; some of them were so laughably bad, the quintet had to squelch a rude snicker as they passed the objets d'art.
The man stopped before the chest Auronaku had encountered earlier. As he dumped the coins he had collected in it, she sprang into action. Using a precise acrobatic movement borrowed from Sanctuary rogues called a shadow step, she passed into the shadows briefly before leaping out and using a precise blow aimed at his head to knock him out. It had the desired effect.
"I'll take the chest, Auronaku!" Brisallan took out the pokeball, and released their Roaming Gimmighoul. Letting the Coin Hunter Pokemon rest on their shoulder, they gestured to it.
"Observe carefully, Misdreavus is going to battle the Gimmighoul," They said.
Walking up to the chest Brisallan tapped it. The chest opened to reveal hundred of coins, and another Gimmighoul at its centre.
"Misdreavus, Taunt, then follow up with Confusion!" Brisallan orders were met with an affirmative cry of "Mis, Miss!"
As his taunt set off the opposing Gimmighoul, he dodged the Antonish aimed at him before picking up the Coin Chest Pokemon up with a weak telekinetic force and throwing them. This incurred a bit of damage.
The Tackle the opposing Gimmighoul used didn't have any effect, as it was a well-known fact that Normal moves didn't affect Ghost-types.
"Confusion, then Antonish!" Another weak telekinetic force moved the Coin Chest Pokemon back and forth, making it dizzy. Misdreavus disappeared for a while before he suddenly reappeared, frightening the opposing Gimmighoul and incurring a large amount of damage.
Dodging another Antonish, Misdreavus goaded the Gimmighoul in attacking again; The Tackle failed again as he dodged that one. A Confuse Ray followed a moment later, leaving the Coin Chest Pokémon confused to the point it hurt itself.
"Antonish, then finish it off with another Confusion!" Brisallan ordered.
Misdreavus repeated the maneuver Brisallan had taught him, before he tossed the Gimmighoul with the telekinetic force; it caused the Chest Form Gimmighoul to faint. It promptly vanished, leaving behind ten Gimmighoul coins.
Brisallan's Gimmighoul leapt off their shoulder and landed next to the coins.
"Gimm, gimm!" they picked up one and offered it to Brisallan.
"You want me to take all of them?"
"GIMM!"
Bonnie kneeled and pointed to a small hole in the wall.
"I see the missing coins there," She observed.
"Yeah, I see them as well," Auronaku nodded, "Apparently your theory was confirmed, Brisallan."
The quintet begun gathering up the coins.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" The same middle-aged woman gushed as she hugged each member of the quintet a bit too tightly, much to their collective embarrassment. They had presented the retrieved Pokedollar coins to her after breakfast.
Presenting them with a coupon for a free meal at Espinoza's Eatery, the unnamed woman had mentioned she was the sister of the owner and worked there.
"We're leaving, soon. Thanks for the free meal!" Auronaku waved as the group turned their back on the hostel and stepped on the road to Cortondo.