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All these little buggers have a little magic in 'em

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TAG WITH @zac

POSTED ON Mar 19, 2021 14:53:00 GMT

Laurence Anderson likes this

Two week had passed, and the seeds had sprouted into a lone plant. It was a carrot, ostensibly, yet it was hard to get excited about such a foul, dark, withered knot of a vegetable.
"The hell is this?" Zac whispered, holding up the rotten root. He gave it a sniff. It smelled like shadowy, unwashed feet. "Well, at least it's not burdock."

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SHIV

GONGAGER

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October 13

GONGAGA

gongaga-romantic

gongager

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TAG WITH @shiv

POSTED ON Mar 20, 2021 0:57:29 GMT

MT. PYRE

TAMING THE HORSE

UPON RETURNING TO MT. PYRE, the same unnerving feeling of being watched returns. on this eerie mountain, your footsteps seemingly disappear in the mist that endlessly billows out from the earth. oddly enough, the time of day is obscured: it seems like you're in eternal night. this has never happened before and as you struggle to find a rational explanation for this phenomena, you instinctively hush yourself. a horse-like pokemon neighs in the distance. wreathed in spectral mists, a black equine pokemon hovers in midst the fog.

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

however, the horse seems to notice you. it advances close. the clopping of hooves is muted— or rather, it sounds like an ominous breeze surging in like a tide. suddenly, it disappears in the dense haze before reappearing behind you like a phantom.

SPECTRIER ASKS FOR:

OFFER THE WILD HORSE WHAT THEY SEEK

write a post that has your trainer offering the carrot to the spectrier and then post in MODERATION REQUESTS. after they have been given the carrot, the horse will promptly fade away.

should your trainer come the next day, they will find the spectrier on mt. pyre once more. shiv will post a new prompt, detailing what the spectrier wants (hopefully, once per day). each request fulfilled by your trainer will steadily tame the spectrier.

Zac Ramsay

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D-Bug

The Robust

He/Him/His

Twenty-Eight

October 30th

Bevaridge Town

Biomesexual

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Avatar/Gym Leader/Elite Ranger

All these little buggers have a little magic in 'em

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TAG WITH @zac

POSTED ON Mar 20, 2021 9:08:47 GMT

shiv and Laurence Anderson like this

    At 4:44pm, night fell on Mt. Pyre. It fell hard. The light disappeared as is the sun had dropped from the sky, and Zac was left in perfect darkness.
    Light-blind, he dropped to the ground, grabbing hold of the matted grass on the outcropping. Zac reached into his bag, tossing out three Pokeballs, which opened to reveal dull rocks. The rocks fell to the ground, cracking on the uneven stone and spilling their cold lights. "That's better," Zac said, squinting against the light of his Minior. "Back a bit, guys. It's damn near blinding. Now what happened?" He looked up at the starless sky. It was thick with tarry haze. Where did the sun go? What's doing this?
    Zac stepped back towards the bridge, but his footsteps were muted. The crunch of bootheel on rock was muffled to a distant scrape. "Did I bang my head?" he asked, but the words came out like silent smoke.
The wisteria bridge creaked, shifting as something began to cross. It was a shade. A phantom half-hidden by the same haze that had stolen the sun. It's face was thin, equine, and one will-o-wisp eye glinted from beneath its streaming indigo mane. In strode forward with silent hoofbeats, a dark blot on the vibrant purple of the bridge.
"What a beast," Zac said noiselessly, eyes wide at the unexpected arrival. "So powerful," he mouthed, just as the approaching beast fell through the bridge. "NO!" Zac shouted, and this time the words came out hole, shattering the silence on the outcropping. He lunged for the bridge. Did it break? Where did the beast go? The bridge was whole. The woven wisteria unbroken. But I saw it fall through-
    Something chuffed behind Zac, sending chill breath down his neck. "AH!" He spun, bringing his hands up to block the attack that was surely oncoming. How did it get behind me? The creature lunged, faded teeth like clipped gravestones, spread wide as it chomped. With a sharp CRUNCH! it bit Zac's hand. He shouted, before realizing that there was no pain.
    The creature pulled back, chewing on something dark and hard. Zac looked at his hand, which held the stumpy remains of the crooked carrot. "Oh. Uh, here ya go mate," Zac said, moving slowly to offer up the rest of the snack with a flat palm. The beast's will-o-wisp eye glanced onto the nub.
    It bent to finish off the carrot, and disappeared.

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SHIV

GONGAGER

he/him

October 13

GONGAGA

gongaga-romantic

gongager

gongago

808 height

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TAG WITH @shiv

POSTED ON Mar 21, 2021 1:49:21 GMT

MT. PYRE

TAMING THE HORSE

THE NEXT NIGHT, you don't spot the horse; however, it does find you. reappearing some distance away, it remains still: an eerie image in the mist. like spectral scarves, the mountain's ominous fog passes through where the horse's pasterns should be.

♥ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

upon closer, quiet inspection, the horse seems hesitant. without the shaderoot carrots— you do not possess the same gravity you once did; however, the horse approaches still, sensing your benevolent motives.

SPECTRIER ASKS FOR:

OFFER THE WILD HORSE WHAT THEY SEEK

write a post that has your trainer offering any two week berry to the spectrier and then post in MODERATION REQUESTS. after they have been given the berry, the horse will promptly flash away.

you do not need to have the berry grow in your garden. you can simply purchase it from the SITE SHOP.

should your trainer come the next day, they will find the spectrier on mt. pyre once more. shiv will post a new prompt, detailing what the spectrier wants (hopefully, once per day). each request fulfilled by your trainer will steadily tame the spectrier.

Zac Ramsay

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played by

D-Bug

The Robust

He/Him/His

Twenty-Eight

October 30th

Bevaridge Town

Biomesexual

Pokemon Educator/Vlogger/Biome Enthusiast

Avatar/Gym Leader/Elite Ranger

All these little buggers have a little magic in 'em

685 height

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TAG WITH @zac

POSTED ON Mar 21, 2021 16:00:18 GMT

shiv likes this

That night Zac camped in the graveyard. After the mysterious horse dined and dashed, the sky cleared and he had watched the sun set over Lilycove. It was definitely equine, Zac thought, scratching notes in his field book. He lay wrapped in his sleeping bag, thermos of coffee to one side. Ghost, summoned a haze, was able to move through the darkness, loved the purple carrot, he wrote. Zac made some quick sketches of the horse, trying to capture its missing pasterns and indigo mane.
Zac's three Minior floated between the graves like lost souls, looking for traces of the haze, but it had disappeared along with the horse.

Zac woke in the early hours, with a cold wind tickling his neck. "Dammit Devin, close the bloody window," Zac griped, pulling his sleeping bag up against the icy haze of morning. The wind came again, this time from straight above him. It ruffled Zac's hair, and smelled of damp earth and incense. Zac fought to hold onto the warm scraps of his dream, but the day was brought into crystal clarity as he heard someone going through his bag. His eyes popped open, wide and bright as 1000 watt flash bulbs. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" Zac shouted, already halfway to his feet, legs tangled in the sleeping bag.
The hazy horse turned to regard him with its single, will-o-wisp eye, and Zac went very still. It was chewing something green and hairy. A Rabuta berry. "Uh, help yourself," Zac said. The horse continued chewing, swallowed, and disappeared.
Zac scrambled over to the spot where it had been standing, just as the last of the haze faded. He pawed through his bag, searching for any clue of hint or scrap of proof. Some hair? Grave dirt? A bloody horseshoe? Anything!
But there was no proof that the creature had been here, aside from the fact that it had eaten all of Zac's berries. Zac frowned and zipped the bag back up. "It even ate my bloody Oreos."

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SHIV

GONGAGER

he/him

October 13

GONGAGA

gongaga-romantic

gongager

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TAG WITH @shiv

POSTED ON Mar 22, 2021 1:13:44 GMT

MT. PYRE

TAMING THE HORSE

UPON RETURNING TO MT. PYRE, the spectral horse awaits. its wavy mane seems quite tangled, knotted at its mauve ends. still, the sight of the pokemon is breathtaking. around you, the mist eddies and swirls like spirits escaping the consecrated ground.

♥ ♥ ♡ ♡ ♡

upon closer, quiet inspection, the horse seems hesitant. without the shaderoot carrots— you do not possess the same gravity you once did; however, the horse approaches still, sensing your benevolent motives.

SPECTRIER ASKS FOR:

OFFER THE WILD HORSE WHAT THEY SEEK

write a post that has your trainer's pokemon using the move, SHADOW CLAW, to "comb" through the spectrier's mane. after, post in MODERATION REQUESTS. after they have been groomed, the horse will promptly fade away.

should your trainer come the next day, they will find the spectrier on mt. pyre once more. shiv will post a new prompt, detailing what the spectrier wants (hopefully, once per day). each request fulfilled by your trainer will steadily tame the spectrier.

Zac Ramsay

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D-Bug

The Robust

He/Him/His

Twenty-Eight

October 30th

Bevaridge Town

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Avatar/Gym Leader/Elite Ranger

All these little buggers have a little magic in 'em

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TAG WITH @zac

POSTED ON Mar 22, 2021 10:48:20 GMT

shiv likes this

Zac stayed awake all night, but the horse didn't return. At some point a Pelipper arrived, dropping off a bundle of berries and the shittiest carrots that Devin could find at the store.
If- no, WHEN it comes back I'll be ready, Zac thought, leaning his sleeping bag up against the cliff. He was wrong, of course, because this ghostly steed was nothing if not ineffable.
Many hours and half as many cups of coffee later, haze rolled in across the graveyard. The purpling smoke submerged headstones, smothered the sleeping Minior, and consumed the sleeping form of Zac Ramsay. And with the haze came the horse itself, dark and silent as sleep. It watched Zac, for a time, before chuffing lightly, in the way that a person might clear their throat.
    Zac hardly stirred. He was wrapped tightly in ducklet-down fabric and pleasant dreams of sunny mountaintops.
The horse moved closer, and one of the gravestones twitched. A pair of yellow zigzags peeled away from the stone, solidifying into a squat, wide-eyed reptile. The Kecleon blinked one eye, then the other, and then its tongue shot out, intending to wrap around the horse.
The sticky appendage phased through the horse like a cheap drink through Katherine Fairburne, instead wrapping around one of the gravestones.
The horse disappeared.
    The Kecleon unstuck its tongue from the stone and sucked it back into its waiting mouth. It let out three short chirps, and Zac sat up. "It's here?" asked the man, casting around.
    It wasn't.
Haze is still here, Zac thought. It's gotta be nearby. He pulled himself free of the sleeping bag, yanked on his boots, grabbed a handful of produce, and gently kicked his Minior awake. The haze was thick on the ground, and Zac walked cautiously through the graveyard. Overhead, moon and stars were both obscured by the hanging mist. "I've got more food," Zac whispered. "Rabuta, carrots, Oreos, you name it." His Golden Explorer's Jacket rustled tellingly, the pockets stuffed with packets and plastic bags.
A pale light glinted in the haze, moving closer. The singular, will-o-wisp eye became a whole face, then a head, and then Zac was standing in front of the creature. He reached into a pocket, slowly, and pulled out another Rabuta. "Hungry?" he asked, offering the fruit. The horse snapped the food out of his hand the moment it was revealed, almost costing Zac a finger. "Whoa! Okay. Yeah. I've got more, don't worry."
Halfway through Zac's pocket feast, the horse stopped eating. Zac offered it the rest of the food, just in case it had gotten picky, but it refused everything. But it didn't disappear.
"Is...is there something else you want?" Zac asked, hoping that it hadn't been trying for his fingers the whole time.
The horse bobbed its head, as if offering its mane up for a hearty scratching. Zac reached out, but his fingers passed through the tangled indigo strands. "Huh, guess you don't have a brush, do you." Zac said, inspecting the mane. It was tangled and knotted and full of prickles and rotten flowers. It looked more like wrist thick dreadlocks than a true mane.     "Mei, can you touch this?" Zac asked, calling over the Kecleon. The reptile, now a ghost type, plucked at the tangling chunks, working them free. Lots of wisteria in there, Zac noted, as Mei used Shadow Claw to break apart on of the larger chunks. It's been spending a lot of time in the graveyard. Zac could only watch, admiring the magnificent beast as Mei unraveled its mane. "Spectacular," he breathed, etching the intricacies of its form into his mine. Terrified of looking away, lest it fade back into the haze.
Mei finished combing the mane, and the horse nodded in thanks. Zac reached into his pocket to offer it one last piece of food, but as he held out the carrot, the horse disappeared.

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SHIV

GONGAGER

he/him

October 13

GONGAGA

gongaga-romantic

gongager

gongago

808 height

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TAG WITH @shiv

POSTED ON Mar 23, 2021 6:23:45 GMT

MT. PYRE

TAMING THE HORSE

THE NEXT NIGHT, you see the horse— but it seems different in appearance from afar. getting close, you see that the spectrier's own wisps has become entangled with what appears to be a renegade soul.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♡ ♡

when the spectrier sees you again, they seem hesitant. without the shaderoot carrots— you do not possess the same gravity you once did; however, the horse approaches still, sensing your benevolent motives. the spectrier must be freed of this spirit, for it seems to bother the horse like a clinging burr. perhaps, there is a pokemon that is an expert at sucking souls...

SPECTRIER ASKS FOR:

OFFER THE WILD HORSE WHAT THEY SEEK

write a post that uses ONE SHEDINJA and a Pokemon using the move, VACUUM WAVE, to suck the soul away! after, post in MODERATION REQUESTS. after they have been cleaned, the horse will promptly fade away.

should your trainer come the next day, they will find the spectrier on mt. pyre once more. shiv will post a new prompt, detailing what the spectrier wants (hopefully, once per day). each request fulfilled by your trainer will steadily tame the spectrier.

Zac Ramsay

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D-Bug

The Robust

He/Him/His

Twenty-Eight

October 30th

Bevaridge Town

Biomesexual

Pokemon Educator/Vlogger/Biome Enthusiast

Avatar/Gym Leader/Elite Ranger

All these little buggers have a little magic in 'em

685 height

See ya later, Feraligatr!

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TAG WITH @zac

POSTED ON Mar 24, 2021 2:55:13 GMT

shiv and chryssa glasgow like this

When the horse arrived the next night, its mane was tangled with souls. They hung like fluorescent burs from the recently combed mane, fading in and out of sight as they pleased. So, like any sane person would, Zac called chryssa glasgow .
"Yeah, just bloody covered in souls."
[...]
"No I didn't kill anyone near it!"
[...]
"Well what do I do then?"
[...]
"Do you have one? I don't keep many soul suckers around."
[...]
"Yeah, a-huh, okay. Yeah I'm just at the peak. In the cemetery. Thanks Chryssa, you're a life saver. Or I guess a soul saver!" Zac said, chuckling to himself.
[...]
"What do you mean a cut. These are souls Chryssa. I'm cleaning a horse, not heisting pristine, Galarian diamonds."
[...]
"Okay. Sure. Actually I've got just the thing. I'll send it back with the bug." Zac said, and he hung up.
A few hours later Zac noticed the withered form of a Shedinja, floating soundless at his elbow. "Ah!" he shouted, startled by the Pokemon's sudden appearance. "How long have you been there?"
The Shedinja didn't answer. Instead, it handed him an envelope. Inside was a frankly insulting letter, expounding Gawen the Shedinja's numerous virtues, particularly in comparison to one, rapscallious 'Zabami Rambutan'. Chryssa had also been kind enough to include a return envelope for payment.
Zac smiled and set to work. "Okay Gawen, can you pull the stray souls off that horse?" he asked. The Shedinja floated over to the waiting creature, and turned its back to it. The air in the cemetery shifted, as if a fell wind was blowing into the crack in the back of the bug.
The horse's mane was pulled towards Gawen, but the souls did not dislodge. "We need more power," Zac said, and he rooted around in his bag for some assistance. "Vacuum wave, Hanyu! Pull in those loose souls!" Zac called, as he sent out Hitmontop. The spinning Pokemon twirled gracefully over to Gawen. His feet kicked at imaginary opponents, pulling at the air. The dark wind around Gawen strengthened, and one by one the souls slid free of the horse's mane and into the bug's empty shell. They disappeared with muffled murmurs. "That's the way! Perfect!"
Once all the souls were pulled free, the horse nodded in thanks to the three of them, and disappeared. Zac sighed, nodding back to the empty spot where the horse had been. He wrote a quick letter on a page of his notebook, ripped out the page, and slipped it inside the return envelope. "Here's the letter," Zac said, pressing the envelope into Gawen's stiff claws. "And...can you even carry this?" Zac asked, as he pulled a plate of metal out of his bag. The plate was flat, and dark as a tombstone's shadow. There was a massive, stylized 'Z' carved into one face. "Maybe not. Okay, REM, give him a hand." Zac said, and he sent out his Flygon, who picked up the plate. He gripped the dark chunk of metal, hovering noticably lower. "Go with Gawen, and deliver this to Chryssa, okay?"
REM buzzed with excitement. This was just like the part in 'Live and Let Dialga', where Chadwick Bronstanton reverse-heisted $300 million in diamonds onto the Galarian ambassador's mega-yacht to avoid paying alimony. REM loved that part.
Gawen and REM flew off, and Zac could rest easy, at least for a few hours. "I hope Chryssa enjoys her cut."

chryssa glasgow has received the Spooky-Z Plate.

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SHIV

GONGAGER

he/him

October 13

GONGAGA

gongaga-romantic

gongager

gongago

808 height

WHERE ARE UNOVA REMAKES

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TAG WITH @shiv

POSTED ON Mar 25, 2021 8:19:15 GMT

MT. PYRE

TAMING THE HORSE

THE NEXT NIGHT, you see the horse. the spectrier does not seem hesitant at all this time. instead, the horse appears to have been waiting for you, as if they were in tune with your rhythms. your schedule.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♡

when you approach, the spectrier kicks you. hard. you fall to the cold, hard ground; however, when you lift yourself up, you find yourself peering down at your own limp body. you're not dead— however, your soul seems to have been separated from your physical form nevertheless. in this odd, spectral realm, the horse grants you a test. in its mouth, a narrow wisp of spirit acts as reins.

asking you to mount its black back, the spectrier intends on testing your mettle. this ghostly world is disorienting. nauseating. however, it intends on galloping through the steep mountain's rugged terrain to see if you can hang on for dear "life."

TAME THE HORSE:

REIN IT IN!

WITH EVERY POST, make a ROLL. you must hit or surpass a total of 100 to successfully hang on to the spectrier; furthermore, the horse is examining your ability to ride it!

shiv will post the conclusion to this encounter after you have posted in MODERATION REQUESTS,

Zac Ramsay

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D-Bug

The Robust

He/Him/His

Twenty-Eight

October 30th

Bevaridge Town

Biomesexual

Pokemon Educator/Vlogger/Biome Enthusiast

Avatar/Gym Leader/Elite Ranger

All these little buggers have a little magic in 'em

685 height

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TAG WITH @zac

POSTED ON Mar 26, 2021 1:37:27 GMT

elijah gardner and Laurence Anderson like this

Same horse different day, right? That's how it felt for Zac. Except, with each passing day there was a hint of progress. The horse lingered a little longer, showed its teeth a little less, and held his gaze a few seconds more with that single, will-o-wisp eye.
So on the fifth day Zac was very surprised when the horse kicked him. The big man hit the ground hard. His body shook from the impact, and the one-two combo of horse hooves and graveyard dirt felt like it knocked his soul clean from his body.
Though maybe that was all the coffee and the four restless nights spent horse watching.
Zac looked down and noticed his body was still sprawled on the grass. Nope. Maybe it was the kick after all. What the hell? What did you do? I thought we were getting along! Zac reached out to touch his body, but his hands passed right through. Damn! First it was that bloody horse, and now it's me! What do I do now? How do I get back? He looked over at the 'bloody horse', who was watching with that unblinking, monocular stare. It's eye seemed brighter now, like a guttering lantern that has been refilled. Zac walked over to the horse, more cautiously this time. Can it even kick me like this? Probably. So...does that mean I can touch it now?
The horse let him approach. A sliver of transparent soul draped from its mane like a set of reins. Can I...ride it? Zac reached out one huge, spectral hand to grasp the reins. His hand closed on the thin strip. It felt slippery, hard to hold, like it might slip away at any moment.
He looked the horse in its single eye. And the two of them disappeared.

JRJdVPm9

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D-Bug

The Robust

He/Him/His

Twenty-Eight

October 30th

Bevaridge Town

Biomesexual

Pokemon Educator/Vlogger/Biome Enthusiast

Avatar/Gym Leader/Elite Ranger

All these little buggers have a little magic in 'em

685 height

See ya later, Feraligatr!

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TAG WITH @zac

POSTED ON Mar 28, 2021 0:32:09 GMT

The pair reappeared, with the horse galloping at top speed through the thin, hazy paths of Mt. Pyre. Zac gripped hard to the reins as he tripped on the ground before managing to kick up and swung his body sideways across the horse. Thank Arceus I'm so light, Zac thought, as he readjusted his incorporeal form.
    Steady on buddy! Slow down! Zac said, trying to calm the best. He clung to the back of the speeding steed, fingers curled in its wisteria mane. He tried to pat its neck, but he only succeeded in a combination of slapping and pulling. The horse sped up, hurling its body around the switchback trails that ran up and down the mountain.
    Zac kept his body low and his eyes forward, but with the constant, oppressive press of the haze he could only see a few meters ahead. He noticed an split in the trail, a jagged gap falling into darkness, but the horse had already moving, adjusting its spectral weight to take the obstacle at top speed.
    It leapt over the crevasse, disembodied feet pattering a swift rhythm as it landed on the other side, already on the move.
    It knows what to do, and it's got no intention of slowing down, Zac thought, clinging to the horse's cold mane. It was all he could do to hold on.
    He tried shifting his weight to steer the horse, but he had to weight to shift. He pulled on the side of its mane, but the creature remained as uncompromising as death itself. It doesn't need me, so why am I here? He thought, pulling himself up to look over the creature's head. It's headlong pelt through the mountains cut through the haze, wind, and whipping branches. It seemed like a careless dash, but as Zac watched he got a crooked feeling in his gut. This horse is taking me somewhere. It was galloping a roundabout, meandering path, at breakneck speed, but there was a feeling of purpose. This wasn't a run for the fun of it. This was a race, to some unseen, unknown goal. And Zac couldn't do anything.
    He had no map, compass, or any real horse-riding experience, and there were no visual indicators, either. In these mountains their destination could be around the next breakneck bend, or it could be deep in the crypts. He just needed to trust that the horse knew better than him.
  So he pulled himself up to his full height, set his sights forward, and trusted.

IwnsB2O9

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D-Bug

The Robust

He/Him/His

Twenty-Eight

October 30th

Bevaridge Town

Biomesexual

Pokemon Educator/Vlogger/Biome Enthusiast

Avatar/Gym Leader/Elite Ranger

All these little buggers have a little magic in 'em

685 height

See ya later, Feraligatr!

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TAG WITH @zac

POSTED ON Mar 28, 2021 1:02:54 GMT

shiv likes this

Being a trainer was about control. From the moment you picked which Pokemon to start with, there was a clear difference in power. The most successful trainers formed strong friendships with their Pokemon, but there was still an overwhelming sense of purpose that the trainer brought to the relationship. What Pokemon wants to beat a gym, catch a legendary, or to become a Pokemon master?
Zac was full of purpose. A dozen high floating goals. Travel every route, interview every gym leader, hit 1,000,000 followers on Pinsirgram. When he had clashed with Tapu Bulu it had been the primal clash of two conflicting ideologies.
    Tapu Bulu wanted the world to heal and stay the same.
Zac wanted to improve it.
In the end, Zac had won, pulling Tapu Bulu to his way of thinking. Another example of trainers imposing control over their Pokemon.
But this horse...was unique. It didn't care for control. Every interaction had been a lesson in how Zac didn't have power over it. Couldn't bend it to his way of thinking.
The plant seeds had defied his identification, and refused his powers of growth. They had warped and curved into unusual and unwanted shapes, and produced a terrible, twisted harvest. Zac's power was plants, but everything about that plant had been uncontrollable. When it came to the carrot he had been less than average.
And then the horse itself. It appeared in a haze that defied sky and sunlight, and vanished on a whim. Zac couldn't call it, and he couldn't understand it. It was only fitting that he couldn't ride it. Not like a regular horse anyway.
I just need to trust it, Zac thought, as the pair hurtled through the night. It hasn't hurt me before, well, aside from the kick, but that didn't really hurt...Zac looked down at his incorporeal form, soul-shaded hands gripping tight to the creature's mane. Uh, not physically anyway.
  The haze parted like a funeral shroud, and Zac caught a glimpse of a pointed iron fence. Zac felt the horse tense and pull, and he leaned back an instant before it stopped right in front of the gate to the graveyard. A lesser rider would have been hurled over top and been impaled on those spikes.
The beast wasn't breathing fast. In fact, Zac didn't think it was breathing at all. It turned to look at him, that single eye gleaming underneath the tangled curtain of purpled hair. It watched Zac as he climbed down. Thanks, Zac said, giving it a little nod. For the ride. You really know this place well. You've been here a long time, haven't you?
The horse bowed its head in silent answer. When it looked up there was a pale tinge to its will-o-wisp eye. I've got plenty more carrots at home, you know. And a lot more Oreos. If you want to come visit, that is.
The horse was still as the grave, aside from that single, flickering eye. Haze swirled around the pair, and for a second Zac thought he had made a fatal mistake. Did I overreach and lose it? Is it even able to leave? Is something holding it here? Does it belong on the mountain? It sure acts like it. Is this the end? Can I come visit? He felt the prickling of what would have been a cold sweat on any physical form.
    The horse stepped back, retreating into the haze, and in desperation Zac followed. He lunged, great arms wrapping around its neck. Don't go.

It didn't disappear.

7pMxP_3k

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SHIV

GONGAGER

he/him

October 13

GONGAGA

gongaga-romantic

gongager

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