Game Week of the Multiverse: Banette's House (Zack, Toby, Hearts, Morgan, Amanda)

[IFBench]

Banette's house was...odd.

The immediate first thing someone would see as they walk in was a painted mural of a dark, desolate landscape, with dead trees and floating rocks. Five straw beds were in front of it, each with a pillow and blanket. There were hallways going to both the left and right.

If one were to head through one of the hallways, they'd find themselves in a strange maze that seemed way larger than one would expect given the modest exterior. If one were to turn around, they'd find that the way behind them was different than when they came this way. If one wandered around the maze enough, though, they'd eventually find themselves back in the room with the beds. Scattered around the maze were various bookshelves, cupboards of food, and a single table. Within the maze, more murals could be spotted, of a gigantic snowflake-shaped creature blotting out a grey sky; a tall tower, shattered, yet the pieces were suspended in midair; of a greyed Groudon roaring, with similarly grey lava plumes behind it; a Grovyle suspended in six bolts of electricity, coming from pillars of ice nearby; a Grovyle, Dusknoir, and shiny Celebi fighting a reddened Dialga atop an icy mountain.

No dungeon Pokemon or stairs could be found within the maze. Whatever it was, it did not seem to be a mystery dungeon.

 

[Equitial]

"That was so much fun!!" Amanda said, as Morgan helped her haul a large sack of ribbons and berries and random shiny things toward the doorway. "Oh my gosh, it was sooooo cool! All the pokemon scarves, and all the other clothes, and so many weird things!"

Amanda had been going like this since she first saw the stalls and shops. Morgan didn't say much, but Amanda didn't appear to mind.

"And of course all the pokemon!!" Amanda gushes.

Morgan felt like they should say something, but Amanda never left much of a pause for Morgan to slip in. Morgan kind of nodded awkwardly occasionally, but that was it.

Still... being a pokemon, exploring an other-world village and (watching Amanda) interacting with the inhabitants...

Morgan thought toward the mountain of things they were hauling to this weird bannette house. Morgan themself bought some things, because Amanda kept saying they should. In particular, there was this odd clip, a small wooden thing studded with unfamiliar, heavy gemstones. Morgan wasn't sure what the clip was actually meant for -- they should stick it in their neck ruff? -- but they had liked holding it, feeling its unexpected weight. They had held it close to their eyes to try to see the colors; their clicks echoed slightly oddly from the gemstones back to their ears.

"Uhhhh," said Amanda, stopping suddenly as she passed through the doorframe.

Morgan looked up. The inside of Banette's house was bare with long walls. Straw beds. Two hallways from which off-tilt echoes reverberated.

"Do you see that painting?" Amanda asked, her voice a whisper.

... No.

But Morgan squinted their swoobat eyes in its general direction. They could kind of see the texture of the paint through their echolocation. Amanda approached, spellbound, leaving her precious sack of freshly-purchased shinies on the ground.

Amanda was quiet now as she stared. Morgan shifted. "... The Pokemon shop was pretty cool?" they put in uncertainly.