"Tazzvil, let's use Shadow Ball!" Davis called.
"Tazz!" Tazzvil fired the dark orb and blasted Polear with it.
"Hang in there, Polear." Terra encouraged.
Our heroes have hit the road once again, and are in the middle of training. Now that Davis has six badges, he needs to keep his pokemon in top shape for when he finds his seventh gym.
"You're doing great, Tazzvil! Now let's use Night Slash!" Davis called. Tazzvil charged right at Polear with its dark power flowing through its claws.
"Dodge it!" Terra called. Polear jumped out of the way as Tazzil attacked with Tazzvil diving behind some bushes.
"Tazzvil! Are you okay?!" Davis called. They all wondered if Tazzvil was okay, but it called out to them and appeared to be okay.
"Tazzvil says there's something it wants us to see." Imperialdramon said. All of them wondered what that could be. All of them made their way through the bushes and soon saw what Tazzvil saw. They saw a pokemon that was basically a green pumpkin with a yellow top. It had a carved out mouth, but it also had actual eyes placed inside where the eyes should be carved. It also seemed quite relaxed. It just sat on a rock and was soaking in some sun.
"What kind of pokemon is that?" Cletus questioned.
"And what's it doing?" Terra said. It just stood there and didn't appeared to be bothered or anything. It didn't even seemed disturbed about them being there. It was... Actually, it was a little weird.
Through the water, forest, and up in the sky
In the fire, thunder, and right in your heart
There are so many, many, many to find
And I know I can do it
(I can do it)
I know I can catch them all-all-all
(Gotta catch'em all)
So let's go
(Come on)
Oh
Watch me, here I go
Pokemon, here I come
It's destiny calling
I'll give it my all
It's all I can do
(Davis' voice): The Walking Gourds
"Gourdkin, the Pumpkin Pokemon. A grass-type. Gourdkin are usually rather relaxed pokemon and spend their time absorbing sunlight to give themselves nutrients to make their bodies healthy."
"Sounds like it's rather harmless." Davis said once his pokedex explained what that pokemon is.. "So, all it's doing is just taking in sunlight? Seems like a pretty chill pokemon."
"I guess so, but something about that pokemon seems a little weird to me." Terra said.
"What are you talking about, Terra? It's not doing anything except taking in some sunlight." Imperialdramon said.
"I know, but the way it's just sitting on that rock and giving off that rock is rather... I don't know. I just feel a little uneasy." Terra said. She might be right. Something about Gourdkin just seems a little off, especially since it was just sitting there and didn't really do anything. It didn't even react or anything.
"Are we sure that's all it's doing? What if it's hurt or something?" Cletus questioned. Something about how Gourdkin was just making all of them a bit uneasy. Cletus reached out for Gourdkin.
"Gourdkin." Suddenly, a vine came up and out of nowhere. It gave Cletus a little spook. It turned out that the vine was part of Gourdkin. It had four of them connected to it's body and used them like tentacles. Gourdkin moved around like an octopus with it climbing it's way off the rock and kept moving.
"Where's it going? The pokedex said that it spends it's time absorbing sunlight. This seems like a pretty good spot to do just that." Davis said.
"Look over there." Imperialdramon said. They all looked and saw other Gourdkin crawling their way through the ground. "There are more of them."
"Where are they all going?" Terra questioned.
"It's time for the Gourdkin Gathering." They all heard a voice that gave each of them a good scare. When they turned to the voice, they all saw that it was Loki. Who else could scare them like that. "Hello." He said without him even reacting to them screaming.
"Loki!" Davis said.
"You need to stop doing that! Do you actually enjoy scaring people like that?!" Terra complained.
"I actually do." Loki said.
"Regardless of the scare, it's nice to see you again." Cletus said. "What are you doing out here?"
"Back it up for a minute. Did you say something about a gathering of the Gourdkin?" Davis questioned.
"Why bother with the questions? If Loki is involved, it's obvious that it's going to be something creepy and scary." Terra said as she could just tell that was going to be it.
"The Gourdkin Gathering is an event that takes place once a year." Loki said. "The Gourdkin all gather in a spot where they would all evolve into Jackohead. I was hoping to go see it."
"That's it? That doesn't sound so bad." Davis said.
"Maybe, but I'm willing to bet that it's creepier than he's making it sound." Terra said. Loki looked down at the pokemon and noticed Tazzvil.
"One of you own a Tazzvil now?" Loki questioned.
"Yeah. This little guy is now mine." Davis said.
"Good for you." Loki said. "Tazzvil are lovely pokemon. They are very tuned with the forces of night, and I admire how they are able to digest even the rotten of most food. They can eat rotten apples, moldy bread, and even the remains of all those who have parted."
"Stop right there! See?! He's talking creepy and disturbing!" Terra called. "Whatever this Gourdkin Gathering is, it's going to be the same thing! I know where this might be going, and I say we avoid all of it! I don't want to be part of whatever Loki is going to be a part of!"
"Now you're just being rude. Don't overreact." Davis said.
"I'm not overreacting!" Terra shouted.
...
The Gourdkin
Davis and the others decided to go with Loki to see where the Gourdkin are going. Loki might have made it sound a little creepy, but it was also interesting at the same time. That's why they're all following the Gourdkin to see what lies ahead for them.
"So, how come the Gourdkin gather like this in the first place?" Cletus questioned.
"You could think of it like a natural phenomenon." Loki said. "Something like how certain plants grow at a certain time of the year. I like to think of it as a gathering of those that wish to conform into the next part of their lives and embrace their true nature."
"And what could their true nature be?" Terra questioned as she's worried it's going to be something terrifying.
"Are you going to try and catch one of them?" Davis questioned.
"No. Why would would I want to disturb something glorious like this." Loki said. "Besides, Gourdkin aren't that interesting to me. It's their evolve forms, Jackohead, that really interest me."
"That means they're creepy." Terra complained as she began to wonder why she's coming along in the first place. All of them kept on moving until they saw the Gourdkin suddenly stop.
"What's with them?" Imperialdramon questioned.
"Gourdkin..." All of the Gourdkin turned right to them with all of them wondering what they might be doing. Suddenly, the Gourdkin attacked as they all had their vines stretched out and attacked them. All of them moved out of the way. The others all moved away, but Loki just simply leaned his body away from the attacks without a care.
"Why are they attacking?! We didn't do anything to them!" Terra said.
"I guess outsiders aren't allowed to witness what they're all doing." Imperialdramon said. The Gourdkin kept on attacking as they all used Bullet Seed at them, but all of them kept trying to avoid those attacks.
"You guys want to battle? You got it." Davis said as he was ready to rumble with them.
"No, Davis!" Cletus called. "We can't attack them! The Gourdkin are just trying to protect something that's important to them! To them, we have no business being here and they want to keep us out of it!"
"Cletus has a point." Loki said. "Let's just pull back for now." He just took off with the others following after him. They just needed to make it look like that they were retreating. When it seemed like that, the Gourdkin stopped attacking and kept going to wherever it was that they were going. Loki and the others made it look like they were leaving, but they just simply pulled back to get the Gourdkin to stop attacking. "Let's trying being more careful so that doesn't happen again."
"Good idea. We don't want to spook the Gourdkin and have them attack us again." Davis said.
"Let's go. We can't wait too long or else we're going to miss it." Loki said and kept going.
"Hold on." Terra said as she stopped her friends. "Why are we doing this again? Remember last time we went with Loki? I just know that something scary and spooky is going to happen. So, why are we going along?"
"Don't worry about it, Terra." Davis said. "If something bad does happen, we can get out of there. Besides, it could still be pretty fun."
"Fun?! I don't think scary stuff is fun!" Terra complained.
"It will still be an interesting experience, and it won't be like we're in any real damage." Cletus said. "Although, I have to admit that I am a little worried after that attack. They clearly don't like outsiders in their own personal affair."
"You guys worry too much." Davis said as he just brushed off the concerns and followed after Loki.
"How I envy his courage." Terra complained. She knew they weren't going to like this, but it seems like there's no talking to Loki or Davis to forget this whole thing.
...
Later
"Are we getting close? It's already dusk." Cletus said. "It will be dark soon and might be too dark to keep going."
"We are. I'm sure of it." Loki said. Time has passed, very slowly since the Gourdkin do move rather slow. Loki and the others made their way through the woods, but it was already getting rather late. This Gourdkin Gathering must be happening soon.
"Hey! Over here!" Imperialdramon called to the others as he looked through some bushes. "Check this out!" All of them gathered together to see what he found. They all looked to see an open field with a bunch of Gourdkin gathered together. They all gathered around a huge tree with no leaves. It was actually a lovely sight since the sky is a mix of pink and blue with a crescent moon overhead.
"This must be the spot for the Gourdkin Gathering." Loki said.
"Not a bad place, but what are they all doing?" Terra said.
"Wait. I think there's something inside." Imperialdramon said. They all looked into the roots of the tree and could see something coming out of there. They all saw a lean figure walk out with the entire body made out of plants. It also had a pumpkin for a head with actual eyes, but the head was upside down.
"Jackohead."
"That's Jackohead." Loki said.
"That's Gourdkin's evolved form?" Davis questioned. He pulled out his pokedex to learn more about that pokemon.
"Jackohead, the Pumpkin Pokemon. A grass-type, and the evolve form of Gourdkin. Jackohead have their heads upside down to help their brains get energy sooner. They draw that energy from the very ground they stand on."
"I knew we were going to see something creepy. Just looking at that pokemon makes me feel uneasy." Terra said as she was getting scared.
"This must be it." Cletus said. This was what they all came to see. They all watched to see what would happen. Jackohead held out its arms and was giving off a humming sound. The Gourdkin followed it's lead with all of them harmonizing. As they were doing that, the wind began to pick up and danced around them.
"What's happening?" Davis said. The wind swirled around with the leaves dancing in the air. It was actually rather enchanting to see. Then, all the Gourdkin rolled right over with them upside down. Once that happened, all of them began to evolve. "They're evolving!" All of them watched as all the Gourdkin grew and with all of them becoming Jackoheads.
"Jackoheads!"
"So this is what happens. They all really do come here to evolve." Cletus said.
"I've never seen so many pokemon evolve like that. That was actually amazing." Terra said as the fear was going away. They all seemed to have love what they saw, but they're about to find themselves in trouble. The leading Jackohead spotted them hiding and didn't like that they were spying on them. Jackohead attacked by firing an Energy Ball right at them.
"Watch out!" Imperialdramon called as he managed to push all of them out of the way, but they were now out in the open. None of the new Jackoheads seemed happy that they were there. The Jackoheads had them all surrounded. This part does seem to be rather scary with how they stared down at them.
"I think they're mad." Davis said.
"Of course they would be mad." Loki said. "They didn't want us to be here and we did the opposite of that."
"This whole thing was your idea! Do something!" Terra told Loki. Loki stepped forward to speak with the Jackohead, and hopefully he can talk them down.
"Please don't be upset." Loki said. "I simply wanted to witness this beautiful event. You Jackoheads appear to be wonderful pokemon, at least in my opinion. You also put on a spectacular show with what we just witnessed. Is it really wrong for us wanting to see something incredible?"
"Loki is right. That actually was pretty cool to see." Davis said.
"You pokemon certainly do appear to be incredible." Cletus said.
"I have to admit that I actually did enjoy what I saw." Terra said.
"You pokemon can be amazing, and what you do is amazing. We humans just simply wish to see more of what you are all capable of." Loki said. "We humans and pokemon should be able to live together, and you pokemon make our world a better place. I just simply want to see what you are all capable of." Loki sees how incredible each and every pokemon is, even the scary ones. He ain't wrong. Each and every pokemon is unique and special in their own way. Even when they go through a strange and eerie evolution. The Jackoheads appeared to be flattered by that as they were beginning to settle down.
"Are they calm now?" Terra questioned.
"I think so. They're just standing there." Davis said.
"That's probably because they're thinking of draining your life force. Jackoheads are capable of doing that. That is their true nature." Loki said. As soon as he said that, they were all beginning to feel like they're food as the Jackoheads all stared down at them in such a creepy way. All of them couldn't hold back their screams and just ran as fast as they could. "That doesn't mean they were going to."
Pokemon are certainly strange creatures. They can evolved from relaxing carefree to strange and eerie pokemon. Our heroes continue to meet all kinds of new and bizarre pokemon. There are sure more to come. Now, let's continue this journey and get away from these creepy ones.
To Be Continued...