He almost steps on the thing. Hattori grabs him at the last moment and pulls Navy back. The pink coral Pokemon screeches. Poison spews from its mouth. Coating the frog. Shinobi, as the old saying goes, means one who endures. Hattori lives up to that title. Poisoned, he still barrels forward. Still raises his blade. Still strikes down his foe. The Pokemon falls, unconscious.[break][break]
“Meez…” Navy curses when he sees the damage the thing did to Hattori when it fell off. Flora comes out. She sees Hattori’s condition and immediately starts to fuss. Thankful he can’t speak the language of Pokemon, the detective turns and surveys the corridors.[break][break]
If this place is under his jurisdiction as Sheriff, he wishes he had a ranger captain to collaborate with. They could clear the place out together. Put this shame of the past out of its misery. Kids and reckless adults are going to keep getting hurt, here.[break][break]
Eventually, Hattori’s as good as new. Flora caught the poison before it could spread and turn fatal. She turns her attention to Navy. It’s his turn to be berated.[break][break]
Just then, there’s a distant scream down the hall.[break][break]
“Thanks, Flora.” Navy says as he recalls her. Hattori and his Lord break into a run, hoping they make it in time.

[break][break]

+ @

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

What awaits him is not horror. As Navy turns the corner, he sees a trail of scattered dust and old books. Hattori looks up at him, worried. Navy shrugs. They keep going. Bursting through a room, they find their blogger.[break][break]
He’s shrieking, huddled in the corner of the room, crying his eyes out. Trainer and Pokemon are once more united by a roll of the eyes. The source of this kid’s unique, sublime terror is a Litwick. The tiny little candle flits about, giggling. It likely has ill intent, but for now it seems content to play with its food. It circles, doing an ominous ‘awoooo’.[break][break]
Hattori flicks a shuriken without thinking or even looking. It slices the flame of the candle, knocking the ghost out cold. Only now does the kid seem to notice Navy is even there. Scrambling up, all rigged up so every moment is captured on a camera feed, he scrambles up to Navy and pulls him into a hug.[break][break]
“Yo, bro. Yo yo, bro. Oh Arceus. Thanks man. Oh, oh, Mew…I thought I was done for, man. Holy shit.”[break][break]
“Yeah.” Navy musters. “Well, you’re fine now. We should uh, we should head out.”

[break][break]

+ passing

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Ironsides, Shuwen, and Hattori lead the humans through the ship. It creaks. Somehow, it sounds like the ship is weeping for them. Every cloud has its silver lining. Today, that silver lining is silence. This influencer kid doesn’t seem to be a man of many words after what’s happened to him.[break][break]
He looks like he’s seen a ghost. Maybe he has. Something really, truly terrifying. Not that little candle, but something that will haunt his dreams. Curiosity overtakes him as they near the speedboat.[break][break]
“I’m gonna have to take a look at your footage when we get back to Dewford.” Navy speaks with a solemn air. “Gotta make sure there’s nothing weird on there you didn’t catch.”[break][break]
His silence even then speaks volumes. Once that initial frantic adrenaline rush of gratitude was over, he turned into a statue. Navy looked up the guy on the ride over. He’s popular. Energetic. Always full of life. Hopefully this stunt doesn’t translate into his career dying. Lots of people enjoy him and his content.[break][break]
“Don’t worry. We’re almost out of here.” With a reassuring thumbs up and a smile, he tries to perk up the kid’s mood.[break][break]
The kid looks at Navy. Then, he looks past him, up into the sky. His eyes go wide and he shrieks, pointing a finger. Turning, Navy sees what the fuss is about at once. A looming balloon, coming low. A haunting figure that steals children in the night, or so the stories go.[break][break]
“Hattori. Shuwen. Ironsides. You three know what to do.” Watching three members of his core team go to work is a delight. Hattori disappears in a flash, becoming a blur that makes for the balloon. Shuwen bounds up, fists poised to strike. Ironsides simply flies, adjusting the trajectory of his wings. Three highly trained Pokemon versus one balloon is no contest.[break][break]
It falls into the sea. Navy thinks to leave it there but feels a pang of pity. Pulling out a pokeball, he tosses it to try and catch the creature. Even if these creatures are already well-documented, maybe this one will have some insight into the strange floating creatures seen over the bay.[break][break]
“See, I’ve gotcha. You’re gonna be okay.” The career big brother says as he jumps into the driver’s seat and turns on the engine. They leave this place, and leave behind the terrors there. They’ll be dealt with another day.

[break][break]

+ catching!

[attr="class","pokeclass"]