#it's just their domestic life is going to be full of ghost pokemon

[sleepinglionhearts]

Pokémon trainer who started out with a froslass and then a banette decided to move in

[gone-daddy-gone]

18 with Shinsou please I beg of you

Rating: 17+

Warnings: murder, yandere themes, gore, throw up

Word Count: 5,288

Tags: @the-grimm-writer <3

Prompt: “Cry for me baby.”

 The day had an odd air to it that soaked your senses from the second you opened your eyes. It felt colder than usual, even with his arms caging you in. It compelled you to push him off you, make breakfast and clean yourself off from whatever happened last night. You tried to forget the grisly details, glimpse of sweat and purple hair invading you peripherals. So you fought his grip, whispering about how much you loved him and will be back with his food. You're praise had earned you you’re temporary freedom. His large arm relieving you of its weight before settling behind you. A sigh of relief pushed itself out of your raged body before you pushed off the large bed with the palms of your hands. He grumbled at you, looking at you with those empty violet eyes; and for a quick second every punishment you ever received came rushing back to your hippocampus. Luckily, he let them flutter closed again. And another sigh was pushed out. 

 “You know what today is right?” He asked, waiting till you were almost free of that godforsaken room. 

 “Y-yes...our...our anniversary?” You tried to make it sound less like an answer and less like a question. You didn’t want your loyalty to be questioned after all. 

 “Mmm hmm. Why don’t you make me my favorite?” You nodded, shooting him the best half smile you could muster. You hated being docile for him, so much, but you hated when he was angry even more.

 The living room had changed some from when you first arrived into your captivity. Originally he had glass and other breakable things to be thrown during a tantrum. Now there was a single couch, adjacent was his rather large TV courtesy of his pro hero money. In the corner was his wall of toys as he liked to call them. A large range from things to shove into you to things to beat you with. Below his sadistic wall was his cage he would put you in when you were in aforementioned tantrums. He preferred to gag and bind you, placing you in that chair till you exhausted yourself out with all the kicking and screaming you would do, the tears would do little to energize you either. He just liked those. That was all he had in his living room, like his whole life revolved around you, which it did. If you stared at it too long, you might just break out into hysterics again, and as much as sobbing uncontrollably on the floor sounded pleasant; you opted to just finish your original task.

 Now the kitchen was a much livelier place than that so called “living room”. The kitchen was the only place he let you have free reign, he wouldn’t even grope you, or shove your head into the counter to force himself on you when you were in there. It was like those safe zones you used to have during four corners, back when you were a kid and your only worry was going home and being able to catch the reruns of pokemon. Oh, how the times have changed, now you were making food for the number five hero, praying he’d like it and won’t slap you around for not saying you loved him right. 

 The daylight was spilling in from the kitchen windows and illuminating the pale floor in a beautiful yellow and orange. Oh, the daylight. You missed that simple privilege of being able to be outside in the morning. Feeling the UV rays cook your skin in the most pleasant way. Walking towards the window, the only glimpse of outside you ever got. You reminisced on when you were first in captivity and tried for hours to break it, a horrible mistake on your part; as he had already thought about it and made sure to put some sort of plexiglass on it thus making it unbreakable. If you soaked in the sun and wallowed in your misery for too long you might just break down. Not that he would be upset, he liked watching you cry, to crumble like an old withered statue. Today might be one of those days, you were almost too suspiciously reminiscent. 

 Making breakfast was a good break from your surroundings that we’re going to send you into a full fledged panic attack. The eggs reminded you only of eggs, the bacon reminding you about that one video you watched in health class, the one about what they really do to those animals. For that small moment in time, you could pretend that you were a willing participant in your domestication. 

 Once you had plaited up a mountain of food for the lean hero, you allowed yourself some of the same meal; much smaller in comparison. Holding up both on your forearms, a ghost of your old life taking over your senses. 

 Suddenly you were back at the Sushi Bar and Ramen restaurant you worked at. Your hair up in a messy bun, four plates of food and two cups of water in each hand. The heat making fat globs of sweat run down your back, beading at your forehead. It all seemed so real, the low rise lanterns casting that oh so familiar orange hue over mahogany tables. 

 “(Y/N)?” In absolute horror, you turned your head to see your old manager. A middle aged man with ashy hair, golden eyes and a smell of designer cologne faintly in the air. 

 “What-what?” You began to shake. You weren’t so sure what was happening, but you were more than happy to hear a voice that wasn’t Shinsuo. 

 “Dear, why are you so shaken? Did that guy come by again?”

 “What- I….What guy?” 

 He made a face of confusion, shaking his head from side to side to signal his displeasure. “The one with purple hair...he’s a hero?” You felt yourself begin to hyperventilate, a sense of dread coming over you. 

 “I don’t...I was just…he...he” 

 “Baby? Commer why are you crying.” He began to walk towards you. 

 “NO! Don’t come near me…” You began to sob, setting the food down and backing up. 

 “Darlin...what did he do?” You just shook your head, frantic as ever. The mirage was too good to be true, too kind.

 “Listen, commer, ok? Let’s talk it out.” He moved towards with you, hands up to show he meant no harm. 

 “Please...please…” Your withered and beaten body caved under the pressure of your mental psyche, before you crumbled to the ground. 

 “What’s wrong? What did he do?” His shadow casted over you, words refused to come out of you as you hiccuped a sob. You flinched in horror, and he looked miserable to see you in pain. It was such a beautiful contrast to glee at seeing you in pain. You gave into the illusion and let your body slump itself into him. He cradled you like he used to during a particularly hard dinner rush. Rub soft circles into your back before rubbing the opposite direction into the same spot. You clawed at his arms, reveling in the feeling of his flesh in your nails.

 “What is happening? Common, you can talk to me.” 

 “He...he...I was…”

 “You were what?” His voice sounded like home, a place you missed so desperately. You took his hand and rubbed your face into the back of it, smelling the sweet smell of miso paste. Talking was going to ruin this moment, you just wanted to be held by him while you still could.

 “He killed me didn’t he.” Your heart and your breathing stopped all at once. If this was a fantasy your brain was cruelly displaying for you, why was your heart racing?

 “What...did you just say?” You wanted to make sure you heard him right. Yet you still lacked the courage to look him in the face as he said it. Maybe it was the guilt. Wait what guilt?

 “I said that he murdered me. And it’s all your fault.” Your heart was thundering, and your ears were ringing as you brought your head up slowly to look at him. Your breath was shaky when you looked to see Shinsuo staring back at you this time.

 “I killed him Kitten...all for you...now come here be good…”

 “NO! I won’t!” With all your strength and what little sanity you had left you pushed away from him. Kicking your feet desperately until you were almost to the couch.

 “No what?” The intrusion surprised you enough for you to avert your eyes to the offender. The only other person in the house, Shinsuo.

 “But...but you were…” You looked feverishly from him to the spot your episode had taken place at, only for there to be an empty spot where there was once a body.

 “Are you feelin alright kitten”

 Not wanting to have him stay home and “nurse you back to health” you sputtered out a yes I am fine before you clambered up to your feet, still a bit shakin. He must have taken notice.

 “Your face is all red and puffy...and you’re shaking like a leaf. Were you crying?” You felt a twinge of disgust as you could practically hear the grin in the way he spoke about it.

 “No! I...I just cut myself on a knife and its cold in here…” Those were very obvious lies, not well thought out lies on your part. Which is something he hated when you do. Lie to him. He owned you heart, mind, body and soul. He had made that abundantly clear taking over your mind by force plenty of times. You could feel what was coming next, the complete shut down of your brain by force. Making you prisoner in your own body, mindless to your own actions. The sunken place like Get Out. You could hear him about to form words to take you over, his mouth was already forming them when, by the grace of god you heard his familiar ringtone. Saved by the bell.

 “Do not move.”

 You didn’t respond, not even in your head, only doing what you were asked. While he was steadily raising his voice in the other room, your mind was going wild. Did he kill him? Why would he do that? You had worked there so long ago after all, he wouldn’t be a threat. But...just how long ago had it been? You gave up counting the days. Shinso never let you near his phone, as if he didn’t have a million and one passcodes on that thing if you ever did get your hands on it. On top of all of that, you had no cable either. No new outlet to let you know what was going on in the outside world. No recent TV shows to watch, no movies to update you on pop culture. All that put together made it quite literally impossible for you to know about his possible untimely death. The episode was obviously meant to feel real, anyone who had the trauma you did would want to create that escape, if only for a minute. But what kind of deranged masochistic person invisions someone saying something like...that. Maybe you were over analyzing it...what reason would he even have for killing him. Like a reason mattered to him, he was one of those “the end justifies the means” type of hero’s, a red flag the public liked to think of as a light blue.

 Almost if on cue, Shinso emerged from the dungeon that was your shared bedroom. You gulped and couldn’t fight the instinctual flinch at his seething that seemed to sour the already grim room. He looked at you before he clenched his jaw and shook his head. 

 “You are lucky, I have to work.” Your fingers dug their way into your palms, scrapping over the scabs, the intensity increasing as he went on, getting ready for his day.

 “You do not lie to me, you know that.” The aforementioned scab had finally broken its very fragile seal, and you felt the blood flow out in time with the tears in your eyes. Crescendoing with that sickeningly familiar sense of dread rising in the very core of your chest. 

 “Get over here, now.” You released your palms from your self inflicted torutre. Almost running over to him, willing to do anything in that moment to appease him. 

 He just gave you a long look, those violet eyes holding nothing in them against his snow white skin. He breathed out his nose slowly, to anyone that would have seemed like he was trying to take as much oxygen into his system as he could. Not to you, the trained eye. That was his signal that he wanted you to know he was trying his hardest not to beat you.

 “You better do dinner right, and after we are done, you’re going to tell me what was going on.” After he was done ordering you around, with a dash of a threat. He forced you into a kiss, capturing your elbows in between both of his pointer fingers and thumbs. You kissed back, hoping your desperation would be mistaken for genuine love.

 He slammed the door and you stood there. Stood there breathing in the silence. What was I supposed to say? I don’t even know what I had experienced you thought to yourself. You moved in slow motion to the couch, setting yourself onto the couch. One day, all you wanted was one day where you didn’t get “punished”, for anything. You let your body fall back onto the couch, a heaviness that wasn’t quiet sleep taking over you. Your nose was so stuffed up with snot you could barely make out the smell of eggs still...that smell of eggs.

 “Hey! (Y/N), crack this egg and put in the bowl why don’t cha?” You opened your eyes and you were...back in that restaurant…in the kitchen to be exact.

 “W-what?” 

 The young cook, who for the life of you you can’t seem to remember the name of; rolled his eyes and sighed.

 “Common toots, I know you aren’t just a pretty face, crack these for the customer while I go flip this meat before it burns.”

 You took the egg out of the rude cook's hands, giving him the stink eye. If I was going to hallucinate, why can’t it be people who aren’t snarky. With reluctance, you tapped the fragile shell on the counter before you pulled them apart and watched the egg splash into the broth. You smiled at that familiar sight, enjoying the ripple and all.

 “Ya see, that was juuuust perfect.” You watched as he looked up from his meat that he was now cutting into pieces.

 “We need it to be perfect...with that customer out there. Thank god he’s in your section.”

 This conversation seemed so familiar, like it barely felt like you needed to think about what you were to say next.

 “Who?”

He slams the knife down making you jump, the fight or flight mode you’re always in is still active even in your dreams. 

 “Who? WHO!?” He looks around like someone was going to hear your conversation, or care for that matter. “What do you mean who? You live under a rock or somethin’?” 

 “No I-” 

 “EH, I don’t care when you see the customer, you’re going to act like you know him alright?” With no other real choice than to agree you shake your head yes, face contouring into an uncomfortable one.

 “Take these and get out of here...can’t you see it’s crowded in here?” You slowly pick up the bowl he had so delicately placed the meat in, and you so carelessly plopped the egg in. Looking around, he was wrong. It was the exact opposite, there was no one but you two in the kitchen. A rarity in any restaurant. 

 “No...actually I can’t…” 

You stared at you, expressionless before he busted out laughing, he kept laughing as he threw his head back and cradled his stomach. He kept going for an inhuman amount of time before he took his knife and slammed it into the cutting board, exhaling the air in his lungs with a sigh eyes upward.

 “You know...I get it now.” 

 You shivered, feeling scared for some unknown reason.

 “You get what?”

 He smiled, eyes skyward still. “Why he loves you.”

 “Who?” 

 He cast his eyes downwards, not tilting his head just letting his eyes come down to see you. 

 “You’re a funny thing, you know that.” You didn’t say anything, slowly trying to walk out the door into the main floor. “You killed me…” He let those out with a smile, before walking to you.

 “You killed me...and the worst part is we all get why he loves you...but I just…” He was right to your nose, you could smell whiskey and mint on his breath. “I don’t think I can forgive you.” 

 “I-”

 “Wake up.” He shoved you, and you quite literally were pushed back into your body. Rising up from the couch, gasping and clawing at your throat for air. You were panicking, trying to grip onto the cushions frantically looking around trying to ground yourself. After a while you finally got a grip on yourself. Why was this even happening? What did you even do to deserve this? You rubbed your forehead and pushed yourself off of the couch; approaching the kitchen to relieve your dry throat. You took a small glance at and noted that it was now lunch time, and you had been knocked out for at least four hours. Shinso would be calling any minute now. Turning on your heel and retrieving a glass you watched the bubbles of the water form at the top of the glass. You started off with a small swig before chugging the rest down. Your hand seemed to act on its own, as you absentmindedly wiped the sweat off your face. You filled the cup up more before you went to the bookshelf full of Shinso approved books, trying to find one you had yet to read. Then you heard the phone that only received calls ring out, beckoning you into retrieving it. With a sigh you sauntered over and pulled it up to your ear. 

 “Hello Kitten, how are you?”

 “Oh I’m...just trying to pick out a book.”

 He hummed happily before responding. “That’s my girl, always trying to better herself. Did you see the new one I got you.”

 Your ears perked up at those buzz words. “New one?” You couldn’t hold back the smile that pushed its way onto your face.

 He giggled. “Yes Kitten, happy anniversary. I love you.” Your smile faltered at his words, loving someone and being utterly obsessed with someone was two totally different things.

 “Happy anniversary, I love you too.” 

 “Alright Kitten, I’ll see you when I come home for dinner tonight.” 

 “Ok.” You hung up the phone, setting it down and letting your face fall. You turned to the bookshelf, scanning over all the books before you landed on the new one. You smiled, letting out a shaky laugh. He could be sweet, when he wasn’t being manic. It was a book from before you were in containment, so you couldn’t get a grasp on reality. You turned it over and went over the reviews before flipping it over and looking at the cover again, only to discover it was a different book. One you read. Oh no.

 You shot up and suddenly you were in your bedroom again. Sitting criss cross applesauce from your sister. 

 “This book should take your mind off of...you know. Picked it up just for you sis!” She beamed at you, and your heart ached. You just stared at her and all her beautiful glory, it had been so long since you'd seen her, or even heard her voice. The only reason you realized you were crying was your sister looking at you in shock, mixing with horror. 

 “Hey, hey now it’s ok! You’re safe here...you’re safe here.” She wrapped her arms around your torso and pulled your sobbing form. 

 “Sissy...what’s happening to me?” She furrowed her brows and kissed your forehead, petting your head.

 “Nothing baby...just...some boy with too much power had taken a liking to you…” She didn’t know what to say to you to keep calm, to make you feel safe. It was like she was insinuating without insinuating, that she knew where this was going. 

 “He’s a monster…”

 “Oh baby.” She kept stroking your hair, letting you vent all your emotions out.

 “It’s not fair! It’s not fair! It’s not faaair!” You screamed into her shoulder. 

 “Remember what momma always told us.” She knew what she was doing as soon as you turned your sobbing into some suppressed laughing. 

 “I hate you.” You smiled, wiping your tears and globs of snot off of your face. 

  “Now that’s just blatantly not true!” She said with a laugh, turning around to grab her wine glass. She took a large swig before looking down at you, meeting your expectant eyes staring back at her. 

 “You know what happens now right?” 

 “Yeah…” You said sadly, a part of you is happy that it wasn’t a sad twisted goodbye this time. Maybe your brain just couldn’t bring itself to turn her into a nightmare. 

 “You need to make dinner afterall…” You nodded and closed your eyes, the last thing you felt was her lips on your forehead. Before you opened your eyes.

 You stood back up and walked into the kitchen, four thirty. You laughed, she was right for once. It was about time you made dinner. Shinso’s favorite, ramen. You turned the water on to boil in a few different pots for different reasons. Going into the fridge to retrieve the noodles, the vegetables and your special ingredient in your broth. You got to work chopping, seasoning the broth, and cooking the meat. The kitchen smelt so lovely, you were proud of your forced skill you developed. You were weary at every turn waiting for another hallucination to take over your senses. Weary as you dropped the eggs into the ice bath, weary as you grilled your vegetables, weariest as you dropped the noodles into the broth. Something about them seemed untrustworthy to you. You looked back out the window to be greeted with the sun going down, a deep shade of maroon with just a twinge of yellow outside. It was a calm end to the stormy day. You plaited up the food, throwing the tea kettle on the stove so Shinso could have his favorite tea with his favorite meal. You looked over the bowls one last time, realizing that you forgot to put the egg in. You giggled at yourself, how could you forget the best part? For the second time today (at least in your head) you cracked the egg on the counter and watched it fall into ramen. You smiled at your masterpiece.

 “Hey that's pretty good!” You groaned before you turned, and this time it was your best friend who also worked at the restaurant. 

 “Hey, don’t be dick , I'm being nice to you!” She chuckled out before taking the bowl in front of you. 

 “I wish you wouldn’t…” You mumbled, watching as she took an ungodly amount of dishes into her arms. 

 “You just gonna check me out or are you gonna help?” You rolled your eyes and took the rest of the plates. 

 “Listen pop your tits out I need to pay rent.”

 “Girl!...I am not doing that” 

 “First off, don’t pretend I haven’t seen you do worse.” You glared at her before you mocked her behind her back.

 “I can see what you're doing.” She taunted before turning her head only a little bit so she could see you out of the corner of her eye. You just rolled your eyes at her, watching as she set her table's plates down, encouraging you to take the foot out of your mouth and do the same. You snapped out of your stupor and did just that. She said something about you being new and absentminded before gripping your elbow and tugging you in the direction of the kitchen. 

 “What is your problem?...Is it...you know?” You sighed, why did no one ever say his name?

 “You mean Hitoshi?” Almost exasperated. 

 “You’re on a first name basis with your stalker?” She said inquisitively. 

 “Oh you don’t know half of it.” You retorted back.

 “Oh...don’t like the sound of that. Here, I made you something that will make you feel better!” She exclaimed out loud. You really doubted it. And you gave her that look that meant, you doubted it. 

 “Don’t look at me like that. Common, I have just the thing.” You reluctantly followed after her, hoping this would be just like the time before. You couldn’t say you were entirely disappointed when you two stopped at a ramen bowl, it looked like your favorite. 

 “Come on go ahead, I made this one myself.” She said so giddily that you couldn’t help but smile back and obliged her. Letting the large spoon take in the broth, sipping it and letting the warm liquid slither down your throat. It felt good, tasted even better. You smiled and looked at her confused, as she sucked at cooking. 

 “What do you think?” She urged you to give your review. 

 “It’s amazing, what did you do to it?”

 “You have to guess!” You took another sip, twirling the chop sticks in your fingers to catch some noodles to assist the broth.

 “I don’t know...extra ginger?” You asked, genuinely at a loss. 

 “No! Do you see any ginger? You dense chicken wing.” You looked at her with offence, shaking your head as you shoveled more in your mouth. 

 “No I suppose I don’t” You scratched your head before taking some of the meat into your mouth.

 “Is this wagyu?”

 “Yes but that’s not it!” You shrugged your shoulders, signaling your defeat.

 “Give up?” She asked eerily quietly. You nodded your head, still absentmindedly digging into your meal. 

 “The secret ingredient is me.” She said it sounded like a smirk was on her face. Her ominous words caused you to stop mid bite. With shaky hands, you looked from the bowl then back at her, your breath caught in your throat as you realized you weren’t looking at anything. Her neck was clean off of her neck. You began to breathe heavily through your nose, looking to the ground to find her head before you heard.

 “Psst, over here.” Coming from the direction of the ramen in front of you. You tried swallowing the food but realized you couldn’t. You turned slowly, gagging before you made eye contact with her lifeless head in the soup. You began to cough, spitting up something that had to be cartilage, something was still in your mouth, so you reached inside, retrieving a long strand of hair from your mouth. That was the final push you needed as you threw up all over the floor, chunks of your best friend getting all over your shoes. 

 “Do you see now?” You looked up, hiccuping in horror at the severed head speaking to you now. “He killed all of us. In this very shop, right in front of you.” You shook your head, trying to deny it, for your own sanity. “Just look.” Her freaky bulging eyes moved over to the left, and you followed accordingly. You had to cover your mouth to stop yourself from throwing up again. Every person who worked there was dead on the ground, their body parts strewn around like they were those dolls whose limbs popped off. Perhaps, in the most horrible of displays was your manager's body, stomach open, arms sprawled backwards and organs on the outside. The worst part was that his lungs were moving. 

 “Do you see now? You sleep and kiss the monster who did this to us all those years ago...it’s your fault...its all your fault.”

 “No..”

 “It's all your fault. It's all your fault. It's all your fault!” “NO! I-I didn’t do this…”

 “IT’S YOUR FAULT IT'S YOUR FAULT IT’S YOUR FAULT!” 

 “NO!” You were screaming now, covering your eyes and crying. 

 You kept screaming till the only other sound's the tea kettle screaming back at you to ift it off of the burner. You were still crying, standing shakily as you removed it rather violently from the burner. You look at the time, Shinso would be here any minute now, so you cleaned yourself up and put both his tea and ramen down in his spot. Putting your food in yours and sitting down, face stone cold as you stared at the door, waiting for him to come in. 

 It was a few minutes before he came bustling in, exclaiming about how hard his day was. Right. You said in your head, watching as he took his coat off. He walked over to you and gave you a kiss on your forehead.

 “Guess who I saw today.” You didn’t answer him, only looking at him waiting for him to tell you the answer you didn't ask for. 

 “Chargebolt! Can you believe that? Haven’t seen that kid in-” You tuned him out, the sounds of your best friends screams and blaming you were all you could hear. The stench of death still burns your nostrils too.

 “Anyhow Kitten, how was your day?” You looked at him, cocking your head. 

 “How was my day?” You repeated the question. You thought about it, before you licked your lips and looked him in those cold eyes.

 “Fine.” You said, poking at your food like a toddler. 

  He just hummed in response. Then talking incessantly about this villain he had a hard time dealing with. Somewhere between needing to call backup and him getting punched in the face, you tuned out again. Thinking about how much you wished that could have been you that did that to him. You snapped out of your thinking when he spoke to you directly again. 

 “What’s wrong? Is it your finger.” You looked back at him, not caring to play this game anymore.

 “You killed them, didn’t you?

 He made a face that said “whatever do you mean kitten?”, it made you mad. “Who? The villain?” He had the audacity to act dumb.

 “My friends...all of them...you killed them...in front of me.” 

 He cocked his head, before smiling. “I don’t know what you mean Kitten.”

 “Don’t lie to me!...Don’t you dare lie to me...I remember it...I remember it all.” You began to sob and shake, staring at him expectantly and angrily before watching him rise to his feet. He tilted his head back before he laughed, long and hard, making you angrier. 

 “Oh Kitten, of course I did…” You cringed and sobbed harder, tears mixing into the broth below you. 

 “That’s right, cry for me baby, you know I love it when you do.” You let out a wail before your fingers found their way into your hair again, ripping out the strands. 

 “I brainwashed you to forget, for a year, every year. Just so I get to see the anger and horror on your face like it’s brand new. You don’t remember any of it all year, until I ask you the phrase “Do you know what day it is?” He said smiling, that cold sadistic smile down at you before he leaned into your face.

 “Think about it this way Kitten, I save you from all that pain for a whole year. Aren’t I so thoughtful?” He said with a sinister cackle, and all you could do was sit there and cry.

[poketeer]

Domestic Devilry and Household Horror: Dealing with Home Hauntings

[Interior shot of a poshly dressed yet disheveled MT Hadid in an armchair. A fireplace is aglow in the background as they sip tea from a delicate-looking teacup. Over the course of the entire episode, the fire slowly dies down until nearly burning out at the very end. They appear startled that the camera is rolling and attempt to recover as smoothly as possible, quickly putting the cup down and smoothing their wrinkled clothes quickly before clearing their throat and smiling to the camera.]

Good evening. I am Dr. M. T. Hadid, and I’m here to bring you on a journey through the mysterious world of Pokémon.

[The pattern on the teacup smiles, revealing itself to be a Sinistea. Its dark handle detaches at the base, showing its tiny hand. It waves to the camera then reattaches. MT notices none of this.]

This evening, I will be taking you on a journey through strange domestic occurrences experienced by myself and many others that can only be attributed to one thing: ghost Pokémon.

[A few notes of cheesy music play, akin to something from an early B horror movie. Sinistea silently giggles.]

Have you ever heard noises in your house of someone else moving around, even though you were sure you were alone? Do you find that things go missing, but you were sure you knew where you last had them, only to find them hidden in preposterous locations? Do you experience periods of confusion, disorientation or fainting? If so, you might just live in one of the spookiest places possible: a house haunted by ghost Pokémon.

Hauntings are much more common than most people think, and to this day there are skeptics that believe these Pokémon shy away from human dwellings in favor of more wild places, but their antics tell a different story: one of domestic devilry and household horror.

[MT looks surprisedly proud of themself for this apparently spontaneous alliteration. Sinistea rolls its eyes.]

As recently as last week, an elderly neighbor came to me with concerns that a family of Duskull might have taken up residence in her house. Naturally, I was concerned for her, so I paid her a visit with my ghost Pokémon detection kit. I did a thorough search of her house and, sure enough, the signs of haunting were rampant, and they didn't point to only Duskull—I suspected the presence of Gastly, Haunter, Rotom, and Shuppet in this woman’s house.

Among numerous other things, her possessions had been strewn about the house, several of her dishes had recently been broken, and there was a near-constant high-pitched whine that followed her about the house. Fortunately, she also kept a companion Pokémon that I felt would be well-suited to helping her with her problem, so I gave the Pokémon some ghost-hunting training and put my dear neighbor at ease. I have here a photo of her and her Pokémon at the end of our visit, her nerves soothed that the problem would be resolving soon.

[MT holds up a photograph. Close-up of the image, which shows an ancient woman with a severely wrinkled face, squinted eyes, incredibly thick glasses, two large hearing aids and a heavy cane in one hand. Her other hand holds on to the hand of an energetic-looking Impidimp, which was clearly not able to hold still for the picture. The old woman’s smile looks nervous and somewhat forced. MT’s finger appears from the side of the photo, indicating the somewhat blurry space in front of the refrigerator above Impidimp’s head.]

Here, above her Pokémon’s head, you should be able to see the faint outline of the Rotom I suspect was responsible for the whining sound that persisted for the duration of my visit. It’s a little-known fact that Rotom, young Rotom especially, may occasionally squeal in excitement when possessing certain appliances.

[The photo moves out of the shot unceremoniously. Cut back to the original, full-room shot. Sinistea is once again rolling its eyes.]

If you’ll join me, I have a small collection of similar images of previous hauntings, either that I myself took, or that were given to me by friends and acquaintances over the years.

[MT picks up Sinistea, stands, and walks to their left, the camera following them. During the pan, we get an instantaneous look at MT’s doctorate hanging slightly askew on the wall. It’s only partially legible at this distance, but it’s from a highly regarded university and does seem to be relevant to Pokémon biology. They stop in front of a wall that is covered in photographs, nearly floor to ceiling. They are haphazardly arranged and, in many places, placed partially one over the other. MT sips tea from Sinistea and makes a face that indicates they are surprised by its intense bitterness. Sinistea giggles silently.]

Go ahead, take a closer look.

[MT gestures with their free hand toward the wall collage. Cut to a close-up of a cluster of blurry, washed-out, and grainy photographs. Few details are discernible, but those that are indicate that these images were taken in and around people’s homes. The camera slowly pans around the collage as MT talks, showing more of the same.]

You’ll notice some common themes in these pictures. Ghost Pokémon generally don’t like being photographed—or even looked at for more than an instant, usually—so they use their spectral nature to avoid appearing properly. The blurring and low resolution you’ll notice in many of these images are artifacts of the ghost Pokémon they contain. Some ghosts like Litwick and its evolutions, along with Rotom, have bright lights they can shine to obscure themselves and wash out any pictures taken of them. Capturing proper pictures of ghost Pokémon is an art form that it eludes most photographers.

[The camera arrives on a picture of a smiling MT next to A Sensu-Style Oricorio with several other Oricorio in all forms in the background. Cut back to a wide shot of MT standing next to the wall-sized collage.]

Now, let’s say you suspect you might have a haunting in your home. What do you do?

[MT walks back to their chair during this next bit of speech. When they arrive at the chair they will return Sinistea to its saucer.]

First off, if you’re in a new home, especially one built in the last 20 years, or you live in a house with a lot of residents, you’re likely experiencing anxiousness and mundane occurrences, not ghost Pokémon. Check in with everyone else who lives in the house, and you’ll likely find that the disturbances are well within the realm of everyday life. Once you’ve ruled that out, or if you live in a house that’s more likely to be haunted, you have a few options. Ghost-proofing is one such option, although this can often prove expensive and difficult to guarantee successful if not performed by a trained expert. A more straightforward approach would be to keep a companion Pokémon in your home, preferably a dark-type, as ghosts are weak against them.

[MT pats their lap twice.]

Here, Sammy!

[A small but spunky Alolan Rattata runs up and jumps into MT’s lap, making itself comfortable. It glares at Sinistea but stays still. MT pets Sammy then leaves their hand resting on Sammy’s back.]

If they’re available in your area, I primarily recommend either an Alolan Rattata or a Galarian Zigzagoon, as their added normal type gives them immunity to most attacks ghost Pokémon might use. Normal-types that have been bred or raised to know dark-type moves like Bite and Crunch are also a solid choice for the same reason. Sammy here has been with me for quite some time, and together, we keep our household haunt-free.

[Sinistea laughs at this. It’s still silent, but this laugh is much heartier than its earlier giggles.]

If neither ghost-proofing nor a companion Pokémon are practical options for you, there are plenty of trainers willing to send their Pokémon on Poké Jobs, as well as professional ghost-hunting trainers and Pokémon handlers who are more than willing to tackle your problem for you.

[MT pauses and ponders for a moment.]

Though, ah, not literally; ghost Pokémon are immune to Tackle, as it’s a normal move, you see.

[MT chuckles awkwardly. Sinistea nods proudly.]

Now, all of this is not to say that ghost Pokémon can’t ever be good companions for trainers. I personally am well acquainted with a number of ghost specialists, including Elite Four Agatha of Kanto, Gym Leader Fantina of Sinnoh, and Gym Leader Allister of Galar, among others. Any of them would tell you that a well-trained ghost Pokémon is a loyal and powerful companion for battles and beyond. I have no intention to disparage this type on the whole, but rather shed light on the problems they can cause if they are wild and unattended. In fact, for the more experienced Pokémon pet owners, a Sableye can be just as effective at keeping a house haunt-free as Sammy here.

[MT affectionately pets Sammy again. Sammy licks their finger, chitters happily, and then returns to its resting position. The fire has burned down to nothing but embers.]

Well, that’s about all we have time for today. I hope you found this segment informative on the nature of ghost Pokémon hauntings and what to do if you suspect that you or a loved one may be experiencing one in or around your home. If you have questions, pictures or stories about hauntings, I’d be delighted if you would share them with my viewers and me! Until next time, I’m Dr. Hadid, your guide through the mysterious world of Pokémon.

[The electric lights in the room suddenly burn out, leaving only the last embers in the fireplace visible. There’s a squeal from Sammy and an audible giggle that’s just a bit quieter.]

Dangit, why do these light bulbs burn out so fast? I’m sorry, this is really quite strange.

[Sounds of movement as a faint glow in the shape of a Rotom fades into view. It’s not a bright glow, but the shape is unmistakable to those who know it. End program.]

-- If you have a story, picture, or questions for MT and their Pokemon, feel free to write a letter to Pokemon 101 at the Poketeer! MT Hadid 4/29/20

[igotmysteriousmessages]

Pokemon AU: RFA+Mint Eye as Pokemon Trainers

Ok,I’m a sucker for Pokemon almost as much as I am for Mystic Messenger so I had to write this AU... I hope you like it (and sorry to the people in my askbox because this took forever to be made so is the only think I’ve worked on this week)

Credits to shootingstar03 on deviantart for the template for the trainer cards

Warning: This is full of spoilers, like everywhere and from every route

RFA Member Yoosung wants to battle

Since he is still unsure of what to do with his life I don’t think he has a preferred type on his team despite him having quite a few normal types.

His team is mostly composed of cute and energetic pokemon (Lillipup, Buneary, Ambipom, Pachirisu) but in case of needing they can still give a good fight.

He caught a Rockruff because it was cute and with time it evolved into Lycanroc a Pokemon that is loyal and protective like Yoosung is to MC in his route.

Similar he caught Goomy because it was cute and looked like a slime (he is a gamer kid after all) and as they trained together it evolved into his most powerful and beloved Pokemon.

Pachirisu besides the reasons already given is very protective of its food and it reminded me of Yoosung and his HBC bag  

Lillipup came into his team after Rika’s Herdier died but after Rika dying not too long after he found himself unable to evolve it till he meets MC.  Towards the end of his route it becomes a Stoutland.

RFA Member Zen wants to battle

I do know beautiful is not a Pokemon type but a contest attribute, the reason I chose is because I firmly believe Zen is a contest trainer therefore he hasn’t got a main type.

His family runs a gym and he was expected to succeed his brother as gym leader but he loved acting, singing and pretty Pokemon so he ran away to become a contest trainer.

Lurantis and Vivillion are Pokemon that look pretty and elegant so I think they’d fit him well

Munna is a Pokemon that protects the dreams of its trainer with its psychic powers so I chose it because of Zen’s psychic dreams

Arcanine, besides being a beautiful Pokemon this big dog is loyal and protective; Much like Zen.

For Gallade I have no much explanation, his ace is a beautiful knight on white armor (he probably owns the mega-stone too)

When he was a kid he caught a Feebas and kept it since he felt identified because everybody said it was weak and ugly. After running away and start winning contests Feebas beauty stat raised to the point it evolved into Milotic.

RFA Member Jaehee wants to battle

(Confession time: I was very tempted to give her Meloetta because of her love for musicals but I didn’t want to use legendaries so I had to leave it out… maybe in the future I’ll write about RFA and legendary Pokemon)

I hadn’t planned her to have a defined favorite type but as the Pokemon were chosen the flying type became evidently fitting since flying is associated with freedom and her route is about her freeing herself from expectations and finding her happiness.

Throh is the Judo pokemon so it fits her pretty well

Noctowl, owls are known to be smart and this particular one along his pre-evolution is based on clocks as for most her route Jaehee is running against time also is nocturnal and this poor woman never sleeps.

Fletchinder and Altaria are both known for being beautiful and have pretty singing voice which I bet she’d appreciate in her team since she loves Zen’s musicals.

Swanna is partly inspired in the tale of the ugly duckling and it reminded me of Jaehee forcing herself to wear office oufits, short hair and glasses for her job despite her loving long hair and pretty dresses, probably when she met MC she had a ducklett and it evolved with time.

Oricorio Pom-Pom style (Caught by MC) Knowing Jaehee liked musical Pokemon and that this particular one is known for cheering up depressed trainers MC caught one and gave it to her as a gift.

RFA Member Jumin wants to battle

As you might have imagined this man has mostly cat pokemon

Also his team is not very battle orientated since he is a businessman not a fighter and thought his team can hold a pretty good fight he keeps them mostly as company.

This rational man that is also interested on paranormal stuff screams Psychic type. Thought he only has 1 ghost type I think he might be pretty knowledgeable on the type since he is interested on magic.

Meowstic is the only female on his team (is a white female cat inspired on a domestic cat…so, basically Elizabeth the 3rd)

Alolan Meowth they are the pets of wealthy families so probably Jumin got a Meowth from his father who has a Persian.

Alakazam, since they are incredibly intelligent and with amazing psychic powers I bet Jumin wants one on his team…. Similarly grumping has great psychic power too.

Espeon is cute and thought not exactly a cat is pretty close. I have headcanon that MC suggests him to get and Eevee like hers because they are good friends and could help him open up… he wasn’t trying to evolve it, it just happened.

I already said, this man is interested in magic so a witch inspired pokemon like Mismagius is a need on his team.

It wasn’t on purpose but I couldn’t help but mention most of his team is purple and even in shades similar to his hearts.

RFA member Saeyoung wants to battle

Since he is a hacker he has electric pokemon related to electronics like Rotom, Magneton and Vikavolt.

By the way he said hackers were like cockroaches so it seems fitting he has electric bug Pokemon as Joltik and Vikavolt (sadly there is no Pokemon inspired on cockroaches)

Beheeyem is an alien with the ability to rewrite people’s memories which is both very fitting with his personality at the beginning of the story and useful for a secret agent.

Vikavolt is inspired on a bug, a battery and an alien so is no wonder is his ace.

Plusle is not in his team at the beginning of the story though he caught it on his childhood. The reason is because is a symbol of the past he is hiding. As he and MC head to rescue Saeran Plusle becomes an important member of the team.

When they were kids Saeyoung and Saeran found the eggs of Plusle and Minun and decided to raise them; hiding them from their mother who didn’t allow them to have pokemon. When Saeyoung joins the agency he keeps Plusle but can have him on his team because is part of the past he supposedly erased but he always keeps it close because it reminds him of Saeran.

RFA leader Jihyun wants to battle

This man has such a free and creative soul that I don’t think he’d have a main type

I don’t really think I need to explain why Smeargle is his ace; is a painter after all.

Maractus is quite evident too, this man loves his cacti.

Chansey and Audino are both pokemon who main role is to be healers which is what Jihyun wants to do for his friends, heal their pain and keep them safe… also Chansey is related to good luck which Jihyun needs.

I’m going to hell for giving him a Cubone, I know. But Cubone wears it’s mother skull on its head till it evolves into Marowak when is replaced for its own and since one of the biggest traumas Jihyun carries with is his mother dead he’d probably feel very close to this Pokemon.

He adopted Cubone after his mother dead but it didn’t evolve till his 2 year trip after his route.

Braviary is known for protecting its friends without stopping to consider consequences, very similar to Jihyun.

Mint Eye admin Ray wants to battle

He like plants and beautiful/cute stuff so his specialty would be Grass and Fairy

Roselia, of course flower boy’s ace would be inspired on a rose. Also it has a blue rose (unattainable) and a red rose (love)

Mimikyu hides it’s true self because it wants to be loved and make friends, just like Ray.

His savoir has a Florges so he in his admiration for her, he adopts Flabebé (one with a Blue flower) and raises it to become Floette. He dreams that one day his savoir will acknowledge his hard work and loyalty and will grant him a shiny stone so he can evolve Floette into Florges.

Mareep, it cute and cuddly so he probably would like it, also it produces electricity so it becomes helpful in his job as a hacker; especially on the firsts stages of the building of Magenta when he didn’t have permanent access to electricity (Also sheep are associated with sleeping and this boy needs a nap)

I chose Chespin mostly based on the XY series rather than the game itself. Clemont’s Chespin was really cute and loved sweets which I think suits Ray.

Cherubi, based on the chatroom in which him consideres destroying the stronger branch of his plant to let the weak survive because when Cherubi is ready to evolve the smaller cherry dries up; (Also you know he has no respect for the 4th wall, so Cheritz reference)

Mint Eye admin Saeran wants to battle

I like the idea of his specialities being somewhat the opposite of Ray’s. Dark is contrary to Fairy (which symbolizes light) and Poison (associated to death) is quite contrary to Grass (Plants are the base of life) but despite that the reason is because of how dark his personality becomes and poison for the elixir.

His team in this case is composed of pokemon known to look scary and aggressive but that tend to be very protective of themselves or their master (since he tries to prove he is the stronger by being aggressive to MC yet he keep obeying his savoir) like Houndoom, Liepard and Mightyena.

The choice of Type:Null is rather similar but I wanted to expand a little here. Type:Null was created by humans as a weapon and it resulted to be too powerful so it has to be contained by that helmet or it might lose control and go against it’s trainer…. Which is exactly what Rika does to him with the elixir… in a minor point is very aesthetically fitting.

(I was rather reluctant to choose this one since it falls in a grey area between being and not being a legendary but it fitted too well to leave it out)

Toxapex is also similar to the others but rather than taking the offensive this pokemon hides on a hard poisonous shell.

Zweilous two heads are in constant conflict and the one that gets more food gets to be in control of the body which reminds of the relationship between Ray and Saeran during this part of his route.

RFA Member Saeran wants to battle

He said it. He is both Ray and Saeran so he keeps both of his teams aces and since he reached a new stage on his life so do those pokemon.

Roselia evolves through shiny stone. MC gives one to him after escaping Mint Eye since she knew how much he wanted one. But he is now free from Rika’s influence so instead of evolving Floette (which represents he relationship with Rika) he decides to use it on the Pokemon that represents Ray, thus Roselia becomes Roserade.

Type:Null on the other hand evolves through friendship stopping it’s agresive behavior when it meets a partner it fully trust therefore no longer needing the helmet. So basically when Saeran decides to leave Mint Eye and open his heart to love and friendship Type:Null evolves into Silvally

Skiploom, I kind of cheated here because this is based on something we learn about Saeran on the secret endings rather than on his route but I think it stills applies to him. Skiploom is based on a flower and a bulb and likes to float through the wind similar to how Saeran likes to be able to see the sky.

Lillygant, he caught this one the night on the cabin when he leaves to pick the flowers.  Lillygant produces a relaxing smell, gets along with other pokemon pretty easily, is very beautiful and loyal so when he found one he immediately thought of MC and decided to add it to his team.

Swirlix, sweet candy pokemon which reminds of cotton candy and ice cream is perfect for this guy (I know vanillite family is literally ice-cream but somehow I feel swirlix fits Saeran better)

Minun; the same as with Saeyoung. He kept minun with him all time after Saeyoung disappeared but after joining Mint Eye he kept it on its pokeball because the memory of his brother’s betrayal was too painful, yet he didn’t have the heart to get rid of it. When he starts working with the intelligence unit to find Saeyoung Minun becomes part of his team.

Mint Eye Leader Rika wants to battle

When she was in RFA she was a Fairy type trainer because she wanted to be good and didn’t want anybody to notice the darkness within her but when she embraces her demons she becomes more fond of Dark type (even though there is only 1 dark type pokemon on his team)

Vespiquen, this pokemon is the queen of the hive which is the role the savoir plays at Mint Eye.

Solrock, I don’t need to explain this…you all saw that coming.

Shiinotic, it produces powerful spores that Rika uses to make the elixir.

Florges (Yellow Flower) this is based on the chatroom with V on Ray route in which he talks about the daffodil on his garden, Florges absorbs energy from the surrounding plants.

Absol, they are believed to be a bad omen and bring disgrace which is pretty much how Rika lived as a child so it became her closest friend from the day she caught it when she was a child. When she started going out with V she hide it because she didn’t want him to reject her but when she discovers V sees nothing wrong with her Absol it becomes a permanent member of her team

Herdier (based on Sally) died on battle. It was a very traumatic experience for Rika from which she never got over so the spot on her team was left forever empty.

[tumblunni]

BUNNI WATCHES RANDOM OUT OF ORDER SINNOH EPISODES THAT WERE LEFT ON THIS HARD DRIVE I GUESS

Today is diamond and pearl season one episode 28 "Drifloon On The Wind!"

Huh this one had a cold open showing the climactic moment from the end of the episode before it actually happened. Thats the first time i recall the anime doing that? I thougjt initially it was a flashback and i missed the first of a two parter.

Such a cool neat weird premise! A traditional pokemon centre out in the countryside! That adds so much worldbuilding to the setting! They never state it in the english dub but it seems to be a joke on a japanese onsen? (An inn built around hot springs) the archetecture just seems to be very similar, and from what i've seen in anime the "my mum and my mum's mum and my mum's mum's mum worked here" thing is a common trope. The nurse joy family is probably a joke to exaggerate it? Also i loved the scene where Brock is like "wait what the fuck this identical nurse joy is actually old enough to have a daughter ash's age and also OH NO A WEDDING RIIIIIING" And then he thankfully,blissfully GAVE UP and we had one nurse joy centric episode without him being a fuckboi. Seriously, the older you get the less funny you find brock, it sucks that the stuff that's meant to be over the top jokes is now barely more exaggerated than how some dudes act in real life. All you real life brocks, nobody finds you as charming as a fictional goofball! You're just rude! AND REAL BROCKS DONT HAVE A CROAGUNK TO STOP THEM

Anyway i LOVE the cute cottagey aesthetic pokemon center/hotel place! It seems the family mostly treats wild pokemon in the forest and they were actually so surprised to see customers that they thought they were burglars at first! And then daww ash and co help out doing chores to pay them back for the meal and bed even though the family is like 'no dude thats the duty of a pokemon centre'. I think that was a really mature moment for ash? He realized that this pokemon center gets less business than usual ones and figured he should give them a hand. And its so nice to see him being so super excited and wowed by the chores?? Like i mean its CHORES but for him its all so new cos its learning how to work in a pokemon center. Ash's best characrer trait is how his enthusiasm really has no limits, he'll go 100% be the best choremon master ever! Or maybe he was intentionalky being all THIS IS SO FUN because the joy daughters were fighting and he wanted to help cheer them up? In a lot of ways i prefer season 1's bratty egotistical sarcasm ash just cos he had more of a visible personality and you didnt have to sorta sleuth it out like this and always be left wondering whether they really meant to write nice-Ash this way or you're just imagining it. But when nice-Ash has monents like this he's way better and i just wish it hapoened more often and was 100% confirmed, yknow? Most of the time in sinnoh he feels less like nice-ash and more like nothing-ash or changes-every-day-into-whatever-the-plot-requires-him-to-be-ash. But in sun and moon season they have all those more slice of lifey and emltional plots and he's the more nicer ash that i always wanted, and i love it!

Anyway lol im going wildly off topic. Also fun fact i spell "the" wrong so much that "tge" is the first result in my autocorrect now...

Another thing i like is that these Joys seem to be a ghost type specialist family? The kids have a big pile of drifloon cuties and when the gang first arrived they saw a bunch of happy gastlys enjoying their stay at the inn. I like to think maybe all the ghosts they have are "drifty" types like that? I feel that the writers ppicked gastly cos the pokedex entry saying they blow away on the wind like drifloon. Cos this is actually the valley windworks adaptation episode! That was such a nice surprise when it turned out momma joy's husband was the windmill electrician guy!! He looks SO cute in the anime too! He's really chubby and has such a nice round face with a button nose and big anime eyes and a cute turquoise jacket electrician uniforn thing. And he's funny and goofy with his kids and very caribg and cautious about letting them ride home alone in the bad weather, and also he's a GIANT BADASS with an ampharos that thunderpunches the shit out of team rocket and defeats them before ash can even get there lol! Actually they never show what momma joy's main pokemon is? I like to think maybe its a gengar cos thats the most chansey-ish ghost type. And also itd mean the chubby guy has a tall and thin pokemon and his tall and thin wife has a chubby pokemon. Theyre such a cute couple so itd be even cuter!

Oh and i forgot to mention that everyone travels around via drifloon??? Thats so surreal when you consider their pokedex entries saying them carrying children is a bad thing that means theyre kidnapoing them. Like, they domesticated a very dangerous pokemon and now it uses its dangerousness for the powers of good instead! Maybe its just the anime censoring a scary thing or maybe it was intentional to show how badass this momma joy is that she could tame so many spoopy ghosts that everyone thinks are pure evil? Seriously i LOVE how they show this family working to protect and heal the local wild pokemon and them all being super friendly to humans because of it. And it makes sense theyd be ghost tyoe trainers cos if youre befriending all the pokemon in a forest youre bound to find a few lost souls. Mountains and forests are like the deadliest areas for travellers so mountain forests especially so! Everyone's lucky they have this badass family team watching over the area like guardian spirits~

OH SPEAKING OF WHICH

I forgot to mention that the main conflict of the episode is that the joy sisters have a fight because the older sister is a bit overprotective and dismissive of her little sister, causing her to be reckless and get lost trying to "be grown up and help mommy". And in the end the big sister rescues her with the help of the guardian spirit of the hot springs and they reconcile their differences and have big cute hugs! Its all very well written and dramatic actually.i really felt for the older sister's determination to save her, and i felt it was a good case of a conflict where both of them were wrong and both made mistakes and it was just like they coulda avoided those mistakes if they talked it out better. And both of them had a point at the same time, yknow? So it didnt end with either of them losing the argument or anything, it was more like the lesson is just to appreciate your siblings while theyre there and also talk about your problems in clear language with younger kids instead of using excuses like "you just cant, cos im older and i said so".

Oh also SUICUNE!

The super onsen spirit is suicune?? The little sister just casually mentions her biggest best friend in the forest is suicune and is surprised when ash says its a legendary! Wow thats actually a really cool idea? You wouldnt necessarily think of it cos you kinda think of hot springs for the hot part but theyre also a sort of super clean water like how suicune is meant to be able to purify polluted lakes. Maybe it came here to make its nest cos places that are already purified are comforting to someone who wanders the earth blasting stinky water with its powers every day. I like to think maybe this is the same suicune from Generations where they said the legendary beasts are roaming legendaries because humans treated them as demons when they first walked out of the ashes, and now theyre still scared of us even centuries later. Itd be sad if they literally kept running forever, so i like to think they all have a comforting spot to sleep in, somewhere. And for suicune its this little isolated lake in the sinnoh region which used to be super far away from human civilization. But then this family's ancestors built this hospital here and suicune was initially like "oh no my house is ruined" but then it saw that these humans were helping protect tge forest pokemon too. So its like "ah fellow coworkers" and theyre the only humans it trusts. And whenever theyre in trouble it sneakily helps them and dashes away before it can be seen, but one day it got unlucky and the kids saw it and now OH NO it is stuck havibg CUTE TINY FRIENDS! I bet the littlest joy just treats suicune like a big puppy, and this great noble beast of legend plays along because it loves her so much. But if anyone else sees it demeaning itself with a game of fetch, it would be Total Social Death In The Legendaries Club

Anyway there's some cute moments of Emotionally Wise Kind Ash The Best Of All Ashes where he finds the lost little-joy and he tries to cheer her up when she's scared by the storm and keep her dry from the rain. And he has absolute faith that his friends will come to save them both! The only thing i think coukd have maybe made it better is if the big sister joy didnt beleive in suicune? Cos it just ends with her going to ask suicune for help and then suicune helps. There's a lack of tension cos you know suicune could easily resolve all this and you already know suicune is real cos the lil sis says that big sis told her to keep it a secret cos its a Big Deal and Bad People Could Take Suicune Away and stuff. Like it might have worked better if the big sis thought that little sis was just making up rumours to be all boastful, or playing with an imaginary friend. Then her going to ask suicune for help would have symbolized something, yknow? And the audience might have been tense about whether it was real or not.

But even without that added suggestion it was still a great episode! Lots of cuteness, emotionalness, familyness and a few great jokes along the way! Also i just loved them giving unique character designs and a full backstory to these minor npcs from the game. Whenever i play it now i'm totally gonna headcanon this all as true! I mean all we know about the daughter character in the game is that she says "papa youre stinky but i still love you" and that feels very in character for the slightly mischievious little sis joy that we meet in this episode. Though you only see the one daughter and she acts like she hasnt caught a drifloon yet and dreams of seeing it if you can fix the windmill problems so it'll come back. So maybe the game version takes place a little before the anime? Like, that daughter is the engineer dad's daughter from a previous relationship and the older daughter is joy's daughter from a previous relationship. And i dunno maybe lil daughter's hair colour actually is the generic npc brown from the games but she begged her momma to dye it so she could match. Like she just loves her new momma and sister so much!! And now the struggling mountain poke-center is doing better because both parents work difderent jobs now and have enough money combined to be able to keep the family in a better quality of life. And maybe the team galactic incident at the valley windworks got it a bit of publicity as a tourist destination? and after the daughter caught that drifloon everyone who visited was like GOSH ITS SO CUTIE and the dad was like "yes our special windmill attracts these pokemon that are normally only found high up on the mountains, speaking of which my wife runs an inn up there and you can go on pokemon wildlife tours to see them in their natural habitat!" And just I LOVE THESE GUYS AND I WANT THEM TO HAVE ALL THE SUCCESS IN THEIR LIFE!! There is NOTHING better than "hey we're adapting this gane what should we do?" "Add MORE FAMBLY" Like oh my god whoever had that wonderful idea should be promoted!

Thus ends bunni's disjointed review of FAMBLY EPISODE