Pokémon Hunter, Haunted

[Goolix]

Been a minute, but I am here for Chapter 5!

But… I killed her. Shouldn't I be back? Looking around, everything is still muted, hazy… dreamlike. If killing her is not the way back, then what…

...is my face… drying?

It feels… crusty, ugh. And cool. Cold. A layer of something is forming onto it. Solidifying. Is it...

Oh Gods. I gotta open my mouth before --

“Mmphh!”

It's too late! My mouth, my nostrils - they're sealed shut!

When I read the end of the story, where Joanna had possessed him again, it felt out of nowhere. Like, didn't he exorcise her? But here, it seems that she did last at least a little beyond the exorcism.

Something gleams on the floor. Shards. Golden. Of the mask? Must be. It broke on my face. That was that impact I felt. What caused that? What caused this whole thing? Was this… was this just transition to reality? I… I guess. I mean, the shift to the spiritual plane or whatever it was also had me nearly suffocating, only fitting that...

A sizzle. The shards. They've caught fire. White fire, the same that took Joanna. Does that mean it's ending? Truly ending this time? Yes. Yes! Burn!

The mask, disappearing - the exorcism is finally reaching its end.

It really is over now.

That's what you think.

I catch my reflection in the mirror and study it further. I’m tall. My shoulders, wide, while my waist is narrow… a silhouette so masculine, yet so graceful. And look at that pretty face, pretty hair! By the Gods, I’m beautiful! No wonder HE chose me! I’m perfect!

A funny little moment of Red going full Narcissus on himself and thinking "yasss queen serving handsome snatched man goodness".

I turn to Michi. She’s so small. Afraid. And I'm so not that. The contrast is almost tangible.

Another instance of him insisting he's nothing like her even as he can't help but constantly compare himself to her.

After I've drugged her and carved the seal… this'll all be over. I'll just go home and - well, I will perform that exorcism just in case, but besides that… nothing more. I'll return to my boring life and be right where I started. Nothing gained from this adventure, only a danger patched up.

Red's life is currently

She nods, and for the first time in a while, a spark of hope ignites in her eyes. So she still has some of that in her. May it fuel her and guide her way in these dense woods.

And there again we have it. She's nothing like me, but she's admirable, and a little like me, but she's weak and we're not alike, but but but...

Little feet, little body, so frail. A sparkless pichu, its usually rosy cheeks pale with fear. Too light to even make audible noise as its tiny paws tap the ground, when the houndoom’s thumps can be felt to the bone.

A Pichu with no electrical power is truly about as pitiful as one can get.

But houndoom don’t have hands, do they?

They don’t. Then why are there hands? Wasn’t it supposed to be teeth around her neck, not hands? Wasn’t she supposed to be a fuzzy little pichu?

She’s not. She’s human. I’m human.

Wait --

Ah, being human forces Red to deal with the moment and reality.

But I will have to make one anyway - I can't let her live, not with those marks on her neck. I have to dispose of her body. I just… have to find some spot open enough for the circle to fit, first. And I better make sure she doesn't wake up in the meantime and needlessly complicate things…

What happened to your promise, Red? You promised you wouldn't hurt her and you just wanted to have some fun. And now you're going to send her to the shadow realm?

I pull back the sleeve of her left arm. Her wrist is so thin, her arm so dainty, her skin so pure… but force of habit makes me swipe it a few times anyway.

Swipe, like making sure nothing is dirty?

He really is flowing into me. He really is merging his body with mine. I’m going to… have HIM inside me, fully. HE will conquer every blood vessel, every cell’s cytoplasm. HE will… saturate me. I will become one with HIM. I will inherit HIS power. HIS control over everything. Anything material and anything immaterial. Existence. My existence. I can become what I want. I can think and feel how I want. I can banish any pain, any dread, any sorrow. I can feel euphoria unimaginable by any mortal. And… and I will never have to die.

It is interesting that he thinks he won't die, and yet he is fantasizing about his destruction at the hands of HIM. He wants his identity replaced.

The only thing I'll miss - no, I won't miss anything after I've ascended. What I hate to give up now, while corporeal sensations still matter, is this moment.

I wonder what it is he will miss.

Oh. No. I understand now. It wasn't real. None of it was.

Later in the story Red experiences a series of hallucinations. I think you said that this one was partially real? But I'm not sure. I thought it was fake the first time I read it.

I look at Michi over my shoulder. Yeah, I was like her. I sought adventure, experiences, mysteries… and every day I would learn something new. Each dawn had promise, and the world was full of possibilities.

But now I'm an adult and I know that what I am and what the world is don't mesh. I can't go to school, I can't get a job - I learned that years ago, and what happened at the supermarket today undeniably only highlights that. So all I can do is wait. Spend each day sitting at home, slowly drowning in the lack of things to do.

It is sad to think of Red as a child.

The psychiatrist. Could she possibly...

No, no, no! You can’t let anyone know. Are you honestly naive enough to believe them when they say what’s discussed is confidential? If you told that psychologist how much you want to cut people open and play with their organs, you’d be dragged over to the nuthouse before nightfall. In what world would a society of caterpie willingly keep a spearow around?

I mean, he's got a point. I don't think you can tell a mental health professional about your plans to cut people open without being reported as a safety concern.

Faced with another dead end, I open my eyes and let the features of the sky take over my mind for a change. The pleasant blue, the tufts of white, the invisible wind they drift around on…

It’s strange how calm they make me.

Nature remains an important thing for him - something that reminds him he is part of this world and this present moment.

. It stifles our progress in service of made up moralities, rules that no god truly enforces.

Thank goodness Nietzsche does not exist in his world. I can't imagine what he would be like if he were high not just on Helix but on weird interpretations of philosophy.

And if I have the freedom to choose how I think, why couldn’t I choose to drop the emotions that harm me and keep the emotions that give me strength? Peace, joy, relief… an existence knowing only these feelings can't be that bad to live.

Mind over matter! Except there's a limit to the power of the mind being it itself is made of matter. I suppose he could train himself for years to get to a point where he can truly control himself and all his sensations... but I don't think he can also engage in bloodlust while doing so.

I guess this corporeal form is one thing I can be happy about. Not only did I luck out on my genes, I’ve brought out their full potential with diligent training.

He works out a lot?

So this is an important chapter! Unexpectedly, Michi's stay in this has been cut short. I'm not sure Red really expected that to happen either. He has some conflicting urges in this chapter - he wants to be free and embody this predator concept, but he also wants to control his emotions. Freedom and control aren't necessarily at odds, but the way he wants it would require him to choose what he wants. He didn't plan to kill Michi - things got out of control and he became paranoid that someone would find her bruised and somehow lead it back to him. He's lucky that he has Helixian seals on his side. I am surprised he didn't do the memory seal on her, but I imagine that he must be very paranoid about being found for, you know, murder. As he himself says, he doesn't have much to look forward to without the fantasy of the kill! And he must know what he's doing is quite risky. Predators aren't known for being coy about the bodies they leave.

Still, it is sad to see. The one person he found who he could even begin to relate to, he zapped out of existence. He creates the conditions for his own ongoing isolation because of his, well, fill in the blanks - depression? Desire for self-annihilation? Wish to live forever? And his search for forever leads him to forsake the present moment, his adult life, the people he could try to connect to.

 

[canisaries]

When I read the end of the story, where Joanna had possessed him again, it felt out of nowhere. Like, didn't he exorcise her? But here, it seems that she did last at least a little beyond the exorcism.

It sounds like a stretch, but the idea is that, from the point of Red putting on the mask, Joanna gained the ability to give Red hallucinations (which ghosts have kind of semi-control over, being able to prompt them and then the host's mind coloring in the blanks save for the parts the ghost explicitly changes), and she managed to hide herself and create a fake illusory body for Red to kill instead of her, and the rest is theatrics to make Red think he was successful. She does do a weirdly good job for a first-timer, but well, story's gotta happen.

Later in the story Red experiences a series of hallucinations. I think you said that this one was partially real? But I'm not sure. I thought it was fake the first time I read it.

Oh, yeah, this one is actually fake. I forgot about this when I said HELIX was real - Red is correct in thinking HELIX's powers don't have enough range to reach him here, so it couldn't have been HIM. What actually causes this, though, could be Joanna, or it could be homebrew psychosis, or it could be a combination. When I first wrote this in 2017 these details weren't extremely important to me, so I've kinda had to manage them after-the-fact. Hell, there used to be a scene in the first version where Red creates his own illusion of torturing Joanna's brother to rile Joanna up, but I removed it because it was gratuitous, not even thinking about how it didn't make sense worldbuilding wise.

He works out a lot?

He does mention having a daily routine in Chapter 1 that involves exercise. The Helixians were kinda gymbros on top of everything else they were, obsessed with strength and survival of the fittest and all that. That, and I needed an in-universe excuse for why I always draw Red so muscular. :p

Thanks for the review! You are most definitely among the most analytical of my readers, and it's wonderful to read.

 

[Goolix]

It is time... for Chapter 6. The beginning of Red's recursive nightmares! Geez, Joanna, you're doing the most, huh?

I lick my teeth. Sharp, conical.

I know that Dragonair must eat, but it's unpleasant to imagine it with a mouth... I do like the imagery here of Dragonair as a powerful sea snake. I do feel like it would be very muscular.

the aura in my jewels… ugh, phrasing.

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
So, I feel like I've missed something in Pokemon fandom - why does everyone refer to 'aura'? Is this a commonly recognized term for power?

Eyes wide as plates stare back. Eyes I know, framed by blue arms and a spiral shell.

What’s He doing here? It’s not safe out here. If any predator found Him, He’d stand no chance.

A predator like… me.

So I should...

I should. I have no reason not to. I should --

Oh? Are you telling me you have connections to this world and you're not some detached predator? But would you really kill him?

I don't remember if Joanna just triggers nightmares or if she has influence over the content, but it's interesting that in this, his first dream, he has to come face to face with both his fantasy of being an idealized predator and the reality that that would mean hurting someone he loves.

Well, anyway… it looks like the metal fencing around the area is rather high and equipped with a spiked tips, making it between extremely difficult and impossible to climb over. I don’t want to accidentally neuter myself, so I keep looking for a gate, but just can’t seem to find one…

As he enters the next dream, the focus shifts from his underlying concerns about the

I nod to the man, and we exchange positions. I can see more people’s faces now. A lot of pale folk. This really is a Western funeral. Or… wait.

That young Tohjoan guy in the front row, with the long face and short black hair, isn’t that… oh Gods.

This isn’t any relative’s funeral. This is Joanna’s funeral.

I'm curious about the characterization that the Western funeral has "pale" folk since most of the images for the Kanto and Johto denizens show lighter skin. Is the idea that Westerners are particularly fair compared to people from Kanto/Johto?

“So, uhh...” Not like that, dumbass! You’re not holding a presentation in front of your classmates, you’re calming a herd of angry tauros pawing at the ground!

I am wheezing at the idea of starting a speech for a funeral like an underprepared college student.

“She was a bright young woman, independent, supportive of her friends and family…” I try to remember some real life example that I’d witnessed while stalking her, but the only thing I can think of at the moment is her lying on the floor eating cheese snacks while watching some weird, weird anime on her TV. Uhh.

You're one to judge, my lad! I'm certain her taste in weird anime was exemplary.

Every nerve blaring at the brain of the hell brought upon the body, unobstructed by any other signals as I go blind and deaf.

The first time I read this I parsed it as "every nerve blaring at the brain of the hell brought upon the body." Re-reading, I think it's meant to be "every nerve blaring at the brain [about] the hell..."

Finding men’s clothes turns out to be easy - not because there’s many of them, but because there aren’t that many clothes in the first place. I suppose it makes sense for my mother to have taken most of the clothes she uses to where she actually lives. How she’s managed to fit them all in that apartment is beyond me.

Either way, this confirms that she lived together with my father for some amount of time, which in turn means she knows his identity and how he exited the picture but just refuses to tell me. The presence of these clothes would primarily suggest his death, but it’s also possible for the breakup to have been so stormy that he decided going back for his clothes wasn’t worth it. But then she would have also had a reason to keep them. Maybe she wanted to sell them and never got around to it or guessed correctly that I would grow into them.

Let’s not kid ourselves, though. He’s probably dead, a box of ashes and bones in the ground. Which is a shame - I would’ve liked to know which of my traits I inherited from him. There’s a possibility he was a predator, too, a very clever one at that to be able to manipulate my mother into a relationship and having a child with him. I haven’t felt that need to spread my genes myself, but I hear it’s very common, and it only makes sense when thinking from a biological standpoint.

Well, that's sad. Even though he's allegedly happy he's not like other people, he's constructing this fantasy that his father was someone like him. It's like how he allows himself to relate to Michi before killing her. Clearly he doesn't relate much to his mom, who is only described as a relational figure and a hoarder of clothes.

My widow’s peak is exposed. More like widowmaker’s peak… is what I would say, had I ever killed married men.

We need Red to STOP killing people and START killing crowds... with comedy.

It sounds like the smart thing to do, but the thought of walking around without anything to defend me sends shivers all around my body. What if I accidentally piss off someone bigger and stronger than me? A group of people? Someone with a weapon of his own? I could end up dead. Or get seriously injured in a way that disqualifies me from the position of Bringer.

It's interesting how he's paranoid about interacting with people because he's afraid they're going to hurt him. Even though he acts

Nobody’s there. The beach is empty. This, of course, makes sense very quickly as I remember that it’s the morning of a weekday.

It's hard to remember these things when you're unemployed.

an RK9 unit.

Nice pun!

What every mother would want their son to act like. I hate him, hate him, hate him.

What will he do now? Will he get mad? He has to get mad. I insulted his entire world view, trivialized it to animal worship. Go on. Get mad. Escalate this. Show me how your rage overtakes your senses. Show me the evil within that you deny --

He sighs. “I’m sorry you feel that way.”

Oh my Gods. Oh my Gods. He really just pulled the ‘bigger man’ shit. I hate him. I hate him so much. Kill. Kill him. Knife. The hilt is cool to the touch.

And we have his complex feelings about other people on display here! He's afraid that other people are going to hurt him, so much so he brings a knife with him, but he also wants to provoke them to feel in control, and to feel that he's able to read others. But he completely misreads the Samson and gets angry at a pretty benign non-response. It's not even like the crying baby in the supermarket where there's an understandably upsetting stimulus. He's mad that he's not mad. (Not to mention the implied competition that this is the kind of son a mother would like, whereas he believes he is not. The killing is pretty bad, but being depressed and alienated is not his fault.)

And I do not want to apologize to an Arcean. If anything, they should apologize to me. For what, I’m not sure, but they should.

His pettiness knows no bounds.

We're getting into some of the trippier stuff in this chapter with the dreams within dreams! His inner conflict really comes through here, and especially his fear. He's trying to find some kind of place in this world while he's waiting for his prize. Even if the reason isn't positive, him trying to go out in public and interact with another person is a sign of him reaching out to the outside world. He's also got his sense of comedy, which is present throughout the fic, but he's really dropping zingers in this one. On a second reading, his desire to get some control in his life comes through. He's still a killer and he still doesn't really relate to anyone, but I kind of root for him to get better! (He won't be for a while though )

 

[canisaries]

So, I feel like I've missed something in Pokemon fandom - why does everyone refer to 'aura'? Is this a commonly recognized term for power?

Oh, yeah, it's basically what people use for the magic that explains how Pokémon moves work. This particular reference, though, I should remove, as I've since chosen a different meaning for "aura" in the HHverse. Thanks for catching it!

I'm curious about the characterization that the Western funeral has "pale" folk since most of the images for the Kanto and Johto denizens show lighter skin. Is the idea that Westerners are particularly fair compared to people from Kanto/Johto?

Another thing I can explain... you see, when I first wrote this in like 2017, I had this idea in my head that Japanese people don't refer to people as black or white (which I've since found out they apparently do), so I felt like I had to come up with another word for "white". Realistically, though, Tohjoans (Kantoans+Johtoans) don't have a remarkable difference in skin tone to the ones referred to as "pale" from Tohjoan viewpoints in the HHverse (or I would have been drawing everyone wrong), so it's literally just a word-replacement for "white". I've been contemplating changing it with the pro being that people aren't confused or get the wrong idea and the con just being... I'm lazy.

You're one to judge, my lad! I'm certain her taste in weird anime was exemplary.

Fun fact: the anime I was thinking of when I wrote this was Jojo!

As he enters the next dream, the focus shifts from his underlying concerns about the

It's interesting how he's paranoid about interacting with people because he's afraid they're going to hurt him. Even though he acts

It seems like some of your comments were left incomplete? (Happens, tbh.)

We're getting into some of the trippier stuff in this chapter with the dreams within dreams! His inner conflict really comes through here, and especially his fear. He's trying to find some kind of place in this world while he's waiting for his prize. Even if the reason isn't positive, him trying to go out in public and interact with another person is a sign of him reaching out to the outside world. He's also got his sense of comedy, which is present throughout the fic, but he's really dropping zingers in this one. On a second reading, his desire to get some control in his life comes through. He's still a killer and he still doesn't really relate to anyone, but I kind of root for him to get better! (He won't be for a while though )

I'm super glad that you're rooting for him to get better tbh! It is the intended experience, although I know it's a hard ask for a lot of people to look at this person and wish for anything except death upon them.

Thanks for the review!

 

[Goolix]

It seems like some of your comments were left incomplete? (Happens, tbh.)

WOW this is what I get for writing at night with a headache. Let's fix that:

Well, anyway… it looks like the metal fencing around the area is rather high and equipped with a spiked tips, making it between extremely difficult and impossible to climb over. I don’t want to accidentally neuter myself, so I keep looking for a gate, but just can’t seem to find one…

As he enters the next dream, the focus shifts from his underlying concerns about the consequences of being a predator to his fear of being found out. He's literally trapped within this funeral (and nobody else can presumably can get in - not even to rescue him). I also just feel like public speaking is something he'd hate. For one, most people hate it, but also, he knows he's not great at socializing. And it's dangerously close to getting caught. He may be a self-described predator, but he's not stupid, and giving an extemporaneous speech like this is really pushing it. And because it's a dream, of course his murder reveals itself - but curiously, through Michi.

I'm intrigued by the next part, where he wakes up and then sees himself all skinless and deformed from the coffin. I'm guessing this is a continuation of dream logic, though you could view it as a fear that the consequences of what he did will follow him? It's also him coming to terms with "huh, just had back-to-back dreams," introducing that. And then pulling the rug and going "surprise! this one's also a dream!"

canisaries said:
It sounds like the smart thing to do, but the thought of walking around without anything to defend me sends shivers all around my body. What if I accidentally piss off someone bigger and stronger than me? A group of people? Someone with a weapon of his own? I could end up dead. Or get seriously injured in a way that disqualifies me from the position of Bringer.

It's interesting how he's paranoid about interacting with people because he's afraid they're going to hurt him. Well, his fantasy is that he's sort of a hunter. He's not a brute going around broadcasting sheer strength to everyone. His self-image is based around disguise. He likes to think that everyone else is a sheep, yet here he clearly doesn't see other people as docile. They're threats who could be carrying weapons. Unless he lives in a dangerous part of town (and it sounds like he does not), this sounds like a massive projection. Either he's secretly afraid there are more people like him in the world than he thinks, or he's afraid that he's not actually as strong as he thinks he is and that other people could easily hurt him. It's a very revealing thought from him, placing him in an inferior and vulnerable position unless he has a weapon.

Well, the fantasy of being the stalker does have something to it - he feels like he has to hide. Even though he is swole and carries a knife, he doesn't feel like he can just walk around town and own it. He's not effortlessly radiating power and control. His power is always hidden, only able to emerge when he's far from people, like hunting Michi in the woods. He's dangerous, but he lacks confidence around people, and needs to set up highly specific circumstances to get what he wants from them (for him, it's killing, but, you know, in general he's not really some master manipulator).