Wigglytuff's Guild

[unrepentantAuthor]

"Many thanks again for your visit," said Brisa, still a little giddy at so much attention. Two weeks with the posse had gotten her used to company, but that didn't make it any easier on her energy levels. Still, she felt fine physically.

She moved to get out of the bed, and realised the moment she put weight on her legs that she was still absolutely not fine whatsoever. She groaned and spent what strength she had left to clamber back into the bed.

Pain was nothing. Fatigue was a different matter. She'd better rest up, the better to find Curio...

Diyem? she called, wincing at initiating telepathic contact unnecessarily. Is Curio okay? Do you know where she is?

Very soon, she would drift off to sleep again.

 

[Namohysip]

...She is fine. You should rest.

That was all he said, but he imagined that was all that'd be needed.

<><><>​

 

[Namohysip]

<><><>

Day 18, noon
​

Maple decided to portal them from Sharpedo Bluff to near the entrance of Wigglytuff's Guild. The staff there had been upset at Maple constantly bypassing their security systems with her portals, so she'd made a habit of waiting at the gate as requested.

Then, on their way down, Meringue had suddenly lost his hold of the ladder and fell; Maple created a portal for him to fall in that spat him back up a few paces ahead on the lower floor, which zeroed out his falling momentum, and he thanked her with a stupefied, confused expression. "How can you do that?" he had asked.

"Mm," Maple replied, and then gestured forward. "The medical area is this way. I will summon some of my team, but tell us what you can for now."

 

[Virgil134]

Cabot followed along, listening quietly for what Meringue had to say.

 

[Namohysip]

They got settled into the medical ward, and called for a nurse to come in later, Meringue explained what he could while Maple was present.

"My brother and I were training," Meringue explained. "Oh--my brother is the new Ho-Oh, or, well, the one in training, like me. Anyway..." Meringue gestured vaguely upward. "We were doing some flight training with our masters, but in the middle we were attacked by a strange... blast of--I don't know. But it hurt, a lot. Our masters protected us from most of it and the residuals still scorched feathers."

"Did you see your attackers at all?" Maple asked.

"No." Meringue sighed. "I tried to get a look, but they were too far away. And then, suddenly... she disappeared. Lugia did, I mean. In thin air, just gone... I don't know what happened to the others. I was the only one that escaped in the direction I went."

 

[Ambyssin]

"So, you were attacked mid-flight?" Bahamut tucked his head into his chest. "But you didn't see the assailant. Fascinating. Concerning, too." He looked at Maple. "Could it have a connection to the parasites that have been plaguing this continent? As I recall, you all cannot see them with your own eyes, but us travelers can."

 

[Virgil134]

Cabot slightly tilted his head as he listened to Meringue's explanation. While he'd never heard of a 'Ho-Oh' before, the strange, powerful blasts that hurt regardless of what type you were certainly did.

"I think Necro- Er... Bahamut is right about this being related to the Shades," Cabot added. "That strange blast you mentioned sounds similar to the sort of shadowy attacks that Darkrai could use when he was possessed. And we know the Shades can use weaker versions of those on their own."

 

[Namohysip]

"They could have also been hidden or far away," Maple theorized, "but this is too much to be a mere coincidence. And--"

A distinct, heavy pitter-patter indicated one of the God Squad was coming. Specifically...

"Hello, Potluck."

"I got berries!" Potluck cheerfully declared, prancing into the room and tossing a sack of Orans and other medicinal items to Maple.

"Thank you," Maple said, and then nodded at Cabot. "This sounds a lot like the shadowy attacks that had been described to me before. I asked some on your team about them to keep a log of what was encountered... But your master disappearing completely? That's... new."

 

[Ambyssin]

"Perhaps they were teleported?" Bahamut's mismatched eyes looked Maple over. "You can open wormholes so effortlessly. I'm surprised it wasn't the first thing that popped into your mind."

He still didn't know what to make of Potluck. Just what was this strange creature with an aura as varied as the colors of a rainbow gummi?

 

[Virgil134]

"Do you think Meringue's Master could have been possessed by one of the Shades?" Cabot asked Maple, shifting uncomfortably at the idea of a fully grown Lugia being taken over in the same way Darkrai was.

 

[Namohysip]

"Teleportation usually has a flash of light, and a portal, you would see them pass through." Maple tapped her chin.

"Can you Teleport quietly?" Cynthian suggested.

"No, well, yes, but... Lugia are part Psychic. They would have sensed something like that. Meringue?"

He shook his head. "No, I didn't sense a Psychic power like that. But I also wasn't watching the whole time. Maybe it was a portal?"

"Hmm..." There wasn't enough information for Maple to work with. Only that they had a force that was strong enough to abduct Legendary Pokemon before they had a chance to fight back.

"What if Lugia was instantly Shadowed or something?" Cynthian suggested. "Would that make her disappear?"

Potluck crouched down. "I hope not..." He frowned. "Because then how can we fight a foe that's totally invisible, even after, um, after they possess someone?"

"As far as I can tell," Maple said, "hosts do not become invisible. We simply do not see their corruption... until, perhaps, the corruption becomes extremely powerful, such as Darkwhite. So, I doubt that corruption itself caused Lugia to become invisible."

"...She's... she's probably being corrupted, though, isn't she?" Meringue asked.

 

[Ambyssin]

Bahamut remained transfixed on Potluck. "If we are to expect the worst, then Lugia is corrupted, yes."

 

[Namohysip]

"...Is something bothering you?" Maple asked, noticing Bahamut's gaze.

Potluck was busy trying to feed Meringue, despite the fact that Meringue was probably well past adulthood mentally. The small Lugia growled and grabbed the first Oran. "Thanks, but I can seriously feed myself."

 

[Ambyssin]

"Your subordinate's aura..." The different colors swirled around Bahamut's eyes. "It's like each of the types slumber inside of him... and he can pull one out to spread across his being if he so chooses. I've never seen such a thing. Much less a pokémon like him."

 

[Namohysip]

"Oh, yeah! That's one of my special abilities!" Potluck grinned with his eyes, and then stared at Bahamut. "Watch this!"

And then, suddenly, his eyes flickered across several colors in rapid succession, each one corresponding to a different element. "Pretty cool, huh?" Potluck asked once his eyes returned to their shiny gray.

 

[Ambyssin]

“Fascinating.” Bahamut leaned over and scratched Potluck’s neck. “Seems you’re a talented puppy.”

 

[Namohysip]

Potluck's tail wagged, kicking up a few lighter objects behind him.

"So these... possessed things," Meringue said. "Those are... the same things that I heard are corrupting Pokemon with an illness?"

"...Hmm. When you are feeling better, I will explain that in more detail," Maple said. "But right now, know that we have a team that knows how to cure Pokemon that are in that state, no matter how far they seemed to have fallen. We will find your mother--your master"--Maple corrected herself when Meringue glared. Apparently this was a common and irritating mistake--"and help her as we did with the others."

 

[Ambyssin]

“Question. If the puppy can change types at will... could he replicate the energy infected folks give off?” Bahamut moved to rubbing Potluck’s cheek-bolt. “Perhaps that would allow you to sense the energy for yourselves.”

 

[Adamhuarts]

"That's right! If Potluck could do that, it'd make things easier for us... I think," Cynthian said, scratching his forehead with a bundle of vines.

 

[Namohysip]

Potluck's expression briefly darkened into something like a wince or fear, or perhaps both.

"We... tried," Maple said. "And it is possible. But... we will not be doing that again with Potluck, no."

"...I take it he went berserk," Meringue said, but realized that perhaps even that question was too much, as Potluck let out a soft whine. "Right, well--if it's that bad, I don't think it's worth exploring, even if it's to find my master. There are other ways, right?"

"We are finding other ways," Maple confirmed.