Reverse World ~ Downsideup City

[Flyg0n]

Koa took a long moment to take in their words. Would they understand if he spoke normally, or did he have to speak in reverse too? Giratina hadn't. And only answers seemed to be swapped.

"We're looking for someone, a Charmander, I believe, named Sword?" he asked the Pidgey. "Have you seen one, or seen anything weird lately?" He paused and thought for a moment. "Or anything normal, I guess..." he mused to himself.

 

[Phoenixsong]

"Or lots of charmander!" Araun barked, emboldened now that he was certain she was here. (What did that even mean in a place like Cibus, anyway, where it seemed like the things were coming out of the fuckin' walls even before Sword had escaped?) "Weird, giggly-grinny-ghosty charmander, like. Maybe appearing around, or at the same time as, the dungeon distortions you folks take in?"

Skara tried to ignore the ringing that was starting to fill her head as Araun struggled with whether or not he should be asking "the opposite thing" instead. She'd just about managed to stop tumbling and level out. Upside-down, sure, but baby steps. She cast her gaze back to the Poppin' Arms team, making sure not to lose track of what they were doing while the others got to work with their questions.

 

[Namohysip]

"No," Pidgey replied. Then, he motioned to one of the other buildings, where there were a few Pokemon walking along the side of the wall despite there being another pair sitting on the opposite wall, nuzzling each other like youthful lovers. "There are Charmander who appear in random homes. They're very friendly guests, and they like to play with the kids a lot."

"They what?" Cal frowned. "Are their smiles really big?"

"No."

"Like, go past their eyes big?"

"No."

Cal hummed. "That sounds like Sword... Did she say anything in particular?"

"Yes. Well... no." Pidgey shifted. "She likes to play. She speaks strangely. And she finds our food gross. It's a little rude."

"What did you feed her?"

"Rocks. Charmander love rocks. Yet she does not. Very strange." He pecked the head-crest under him, then looked at Potluck. "Do you like rocks?"

"I don't know," Potluck repllied.

"You're all very strange."

Giratina sighed, whispering to the others, "Don't try to talk to them too often. I can explain on the way." Then, to Pidgey. "Thank you for your help. Go away."

Pidgey let out a little birdsong and flew back to the building, twisting through several gravity wells along the way. He seemed quite pleased.

"You need to be very blunt when talking to Reverse Pokemon," Giratina said. "It's part of the culture."

 

[Virgil134]

”Eh? But why would anyone want to eat a rock?" Pleo asked. "They're super hard and when I tried to eat one of them it didn't taste like anything at all!"

 

[Namohysip]

"Some things are best left not questioned," Giratina said. "Mortals that aren't native to the Reverse World... you're better off just trying to get answers that matter."

"Rocks aren't that bad," Dialga murmured to himself. "Just depends on the kind. Feels the minerals you'd need."

Palkia rolled his eyes as Giratina flew them forward, between a few nearby islands with more natives. In one of the houses, a Shade was flying around, chasing a laughing Druddigon.

 

[Flyg0n]

Koa eyed the landscaped, fascinated. Would his Reverse World be like this? Somehow he doubted he'd ever see it. That would require meeting his world's Giratina...

His gaze drifted to watch some of the inhabitants, trying to see if anyone looked suspicious (or would that be normal?) or if he could spot any signs of this Charmander.

He briefly noted a Druddigon, fleeing from a Shade as it laughed. How nic- wait

"Giratina, is everything here reversed? Like emotions? If someone from here was laughing, would that mean they're actually in danger?"

As he spoke, his gaze never left the Druddigon and Shade.

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

"Some things are best left not questioned," Giratina said. "Mortals that aren't native to the Reverse World... you're better off just trying to get answers that matter."

"Rocks aren't that bad," Dialga murmured to himself. "Just depends on the kind. Feels the minerals you'd need."

Palkia rolled his eyes as Giratina flew them forward, between a few nearby islands with more natives. In one of the houses, a Shade was flying around, chasing a laughing Druddigon.

Melanie blinked at the sight of the Druddigon being chased around by the flying shade, giving a puzzled tilt of her head.

"Are those two playing a game? Or...?"

 

[Namohysip]

"Thankfully, emotions aren't reversed," Giratina said. "They're just a little more blunt. Oh!" She noticed what they were all looking at. "You must be talking about the Shades. Yes, apparently... ever since Joule had scattered so many in the Reverse World, they became companions to some of the residents here. A few had gone berserk and tried to infect the residents, but they seemed to be resistant to any possession attempts. Over time, they calmed down..."

"So they're just... here. Huh." Cal wondered if that was safe. "Are they starting to, like, talk, or anything?"

"A little, yes," Giratina said. "They're quite intelligent."

There were a few Charmander swinging on Giratina's wings, but they were so light and see-through that she, nor either of her siblings, didn't even realize it.

 

[Virgil134]

Pleo blinked out of surprise. "Huh? How come the Pokémon here can't be possessed? I was able to possess Lugia before I took on this form, and she's a Legendary!"

 

[Phoenixsong]

"There! Look, look! There are some more Swords!" Araun whirled around and pointed at Giratina's wings. Whether or not the specters would remain there after he pointed them out, he puffed himself up proudly. "We must be getting closer to something if we can see them now! Oh, oh! Hey, Giratina, what actually happens when the dungeon stuff gets funneled in here? Does it go anywhere in particular? Are we near there? Can we go there?" He hopped around the combined dragon in a circle. "If there's a single place, or a couple specific places, we could probably find a bunch of them at once! And then we could... we could... uh." He stopped hopping. What would they do if they found a bunch of spooky Swords? "Is there, uh. A way to trace back where the distortions come from? See if one dungeon's spitting out a lot more Swords than the others? Or..." Araun sat down, frowning.

It had taken far longer than was good for her sense of dignity, but Skara had finally managed to right herself in midair. Now that she could actually look up, she checked to see what Protein was doing before watching the shade chase the druddigon around. Hm. Sword was technically a familiar, right? A strange one, sure, but a familiar nonetheless. If Araun really had been able to sense Sword's presence, did that mean the shades might be able to as well? Would that even tell them anything beyond "yeah, there sure have been a lot of super-creepy charmander phantasms around here"?

...worth a shot, at least. Loath as she was to take her eyes off of S'more's group, they did have actual work to do here, and a half-baked lead was better than none. She pushed toward the house, and there was much tumbling and spinning and gnashing of mandibles, but at length she figured she was close enough to hail them. Upside-down.

"Hey there," she called to the druddigon and its pet. "We're here to help your patron Giratina figure out what's going on with all of these charmander. If you don't mind giving me a moment of your time—" don't mind? do mind? ugh, whatever "—have you or your friend there seen any of them, or noticed anything interesting about them?"

 

[Namohysip]

"Huh? How come the Pokémon here can't be possessed? I was able to possess Lugia before I took on this form, and she's a Legendary!"

"Perhaps for the same reason we seem to be resistant to Shadows and Radiance while here," Giratina said. "The very properties of this world defy it..."

Hey, Giratina, what actually happens when the dungeon stuff gets funneled in here? Does it go anywhere in particular? Are we near there? Can we go there?

"Well... I suppose a better question would be, what is happening?" Giratina used a few wings to gesture around her. "...The Reverse World is a single, gigantic Mystery Dungeon. Arceus funneled the distortive energy into my realm to keep Cibus safe, and to put the distortions in a more controlled environment. If all that chaotic energy went into the surface world, it would be uninhabitable. But here... it's manageable. Unfortunately, the place has been... irreparably warped because of it. But it's not necessarily bad. Just... different."

"...Why does this kinda sound like a nicer version of that place Bahamut talks about?" Cal mumbled aloud.

Potluck wagged a fishtail, too distracted by all the new sights and sounds to really pay much attention. Protein, meanwhile, looked nervous to so much as fly while in this place, not sure which way would be up or down...

Poffin eyed the Charmander warily.

"The Reverse World used to be empty. My realm. But over time, Pokemon became trapped here for one reason or another, and I took them under my care. The distortions warped their spirits and turned them into Reverse Pokemon over many generations."

"Is that... bad?" Cal asked.

"It's different," Giratina replied simply. "And it's better than bringing Cibus, which cannot handle this kind of distortion, into chaos. Reverse Pokemon live in chaos. Harness it. Thrive in it." She chuckled. "It's quite fun, in a way. I do miss home."

"Hey there," she called to the druddigon and its pet. "We're here to help your patron Giratina figure out what's going on with all of these charmander. If you don't mind giving me a moment of your time—" don't mind? do mind? ugh, whatever "—have you or your friend there seen any of them, or noticed anything interesting about them?"

The Druddigon stared at Skara like she was insane, then grabbed the Shade and held it close.

Another Druddigon approached and said, "No. The Charmander are all around, now. They do strange things, but it's like the weather. Just yesterday we had an Oran Berry storm. But the Charmander appear more when you get closer to the Core."

 

[Phoenixsong]

What... what exactly did the first druddigon even think she'd said? And then the other one didn't seem bothered by it? Skara was used to the idea of having to watch what you said in Mysthame, sure, but even the mistfolk didn't generally mix up "yes" and "no" and... whatever the heck she'd apparently just said. (Usually. She wouldn't be surprised if some of them did, now she thought about it.)

Whatever. At least the information did sound useful, assuming she wasn't wildly misinterpreting it. She started to nod at the second druddigon, caught herself, tried shaking her head instead, and then... maybe just a smile instead of words. Emotions they still understood, right?

"Ooh, what about the Core, then?" Araun asked as Skara thought the message back at him. "Sounds like there are a bunch of Swords near the Core, so maybe that'd be a good place to look? Is that somewhere we can go investigate?" He looked eagerly at the Blacklight Hydra.

 

[Namohysip]

"I think that will be our next spot," Giratina said, nodding. "Thank you for your help, Druddigon. We're leaving."

Druddigon smiled happily, as did the presumably younger one, as they departed from the home and looked around at Downsideup City. "Well, it's good that the Reverse Pokemon can take this kind of chaos in stride, hm? We--"

Far below them, from their current perspective, a thunderous, distant room shook the air, as if some kind of explosion had gone off. Giratina, looking worried, glanced downward and said, "Oh. That... was the Core."

"Guess that answers where we're looking next, huh?" Cal asked, stiffening. "What was that?"

"It sounded like some kind of attack, but... if I'm not down there, it should be empty..." Giratina looked at her siblings, who shrugged.

"Prepare for anything," Palkia said.

A voice that seemed to come from everywhere rattled in their minds. It was incredibly distant, and most of what was said seemed to be faded. They could only hear one word:

". . . sorry . . ."

 

[Flyg0n]

Koa's ears twitched and he glanced all around. He'd heard something, he was sure of it. It sounded like an apology. Someone saying 'sorry'. The voice sent chills down his spine.

"How quickly can we get to the core?" he asked uneasily. He had a bad feeling about what lay ahead. Suddenly, he very much didn't want to be in the Reverse World. He peered downwards, trying to get a glimpse of what was below.

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Melanie blinked at the sound of a voice in the distance, looking around in vain for its source and noting Koa's expression.

"Is that voice someone you know? You're acting like you've heard it before somewhere."

 

[Flyg0n]

Koa was so focused he hardly registered the question. He looked up to his teammate and stared at her a moment. "No uh, it's not that, it just... reminded me of something." Better not to dwell on the past. He smiled as carefree as he could. "It's nothing though. But it sounds like something big is happening down there."

He peered downward again.

"Do you think Sword is down there? Maybe that was their voice."

 

[Phoenixsong]

"Sword! Sword! That's her, but— but that didn't— it wasn't like the laughing, and— fuck." Araun spun around, looking for the source, but the sound had come from everywhere at once; he might as well have been chasing his tail. He wheeled toward the edge of the island, next to the electrike, and stared down into the darkness alongside him. "That had to be her! We have to get down there! Can you take us to the Core right away, Giratina? Oh, oh, Skara! Can you fly ahead and see?"

Skara gave her familiar an upside-down deadpan before glancing nervously at S'more. How would he and his group react to this...?

 

[Namohysip]

"...Follow me," Giratina said with a firm nod. "We can't really tell from here, can we? But the core is my home. So, stay by me, and you should be... er... relatively save."

A dark power enveloped the undersides of the Reverse World visitors, and then got ready to fly down. "This way!"