Mt. Pyre’s funeral services were overbooked. Turns out, during wartime, a lot of Pokémon died. After being queued up for many weeks, Andrea had finally gotten a proper memorial built for Chomper near the top of the graveyard mountain. Now she truly felt a sense of closure.

Needless to say, this was one of the last places she expected to randomly come across one of the Lousy Three’s effigies. Loathe as she was to admit it, hiding them among the gravestones of other Pokémon was a brilliant tactic. As expected of the retainer with the biggest brain.

“Munkidori…” Andrea hissed at the simian statue smiling back at her with its perpetual, goofy grin.

“PON!” An enraged Ogerpon smashed the false idol to bits with her signature Ivy Cudgel.

“Good job, Pon. Let’s see if there’s any other statues hidden around here.” Said the young cosplayer, as she and her ogreish partner began combing the area.

howard slayte //GHOST STORY I

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“A mirror of our own world… I see.” The Minor Gym Leader nodded in understanding, recognizing some of her hometown’s landmarks mixed in with the non-Euclidean geography. “So anything that happens in Hoenn must also affect this world.” She surmised.

Yuina with her Braviary landed on a large, floating island, and Andrea with her Iron Jugulis followed suit. “Something doesn’t add up…” The draconic cosplayer muttered as she dismounted the robotic hydra. “If this world mirrors our own, shouldn’t there be a Mirror Andrea and a Mirror Yuina? Where are all the people? Where are all the Pokémon?”

Suddenly, Mecha-Chomper’s LED face flashed red, its danger sensors going haywire. The futuristic paradox started firing Dragon Pulses left and right, seemingly at nothing.

“Whoa, Mecha-Chomper, what’s wrong?!” Andrea blurted out in shock, trying to restrain the defective machine. “Yuina, I’m getting the heebie-jeebies!”

She could feel it too: That uncanny sensation that they were being watched by someone or something. Yet, its location was impossible to determine. It was everywhere at once, and yet it was nowhere.

Yuina Higashi

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“Oh, so this is what Quickinium-Z looks like!” Andrea could not tell Z-Crystals apart, so it was nice to have some confirmation. Despite a few hiccups and difficult puzzles along the way, their expedition had borne fruit after all.

When the Mauville Gym Leader asked her if she wanted to take some crystals for herself, the dragon fanatic chuckled. “Heh. Looks like Mecha-Chomper made that choice for me!”

Unbeknownst to her, the crystal her Iron Jugulis had taken was not a Quickinium-Z, but a Dragonium-Z.

As the duo made their way out of the alien ruins on their respective mounts, Josh thanked Andrea for her contribution. “Don’t mention it! And I totally agree. We should head back home. That dungeon was too much for both of us.”

They had gotten what they needed anyway. It was not worth the risk staying to see if there were any other treasures lying around. The electric titan that roamed these parts had already been claimed by someone else.

Josh Devlin //mission thread

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Gigi reached out one of her shadowy limbs, dragging Andrea into the ethereal world along with her just in time to hear Josh’s instructions. “W-wait, Chomper is really here?!” The draconic cosplayer blurted out in disbelief.

At the sight of the young woman, the Shiny Hydreigon’s ghost seemed to stop, but only for a moment. It tried to attack, but a timely Confuse Ray from Gigi caused the three-headed revenant to miss its target once again.

“Chomper, I’m sorry! This is all my fault!” Andrea cried out amidst the chaotic battle. “I should’ve never been in Petalburg! If you’re gonna be angry at anyone, it should be me!”

Unmoved by the girl’s pleas, Chomper’s eyes shone a baleful red.

GET OUT. LEAVE.

Josh Devlin //GHOST STORY G

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Missy was perplexed. How could human mothers let their young roam freely out of their pouch? Were they not worried about them? What if some evil Lycanroc decided to turn them into dinner?

According to her trainer, this was a common ritual among humans. Still, Missy kept a close eye on the little ones as they went from lair to lair collecting sweet treats. Her baby Kangaskhan was dressed up for spooky season too, wearing a white ghost sheet.

//pokejob post

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Andrea’s Haxorus chopped up the Terastal tree stump into several cylindrical blocks that were easier to carry around. With that, the group headed back home, but not before running into another wild critter on their way out of the crater.

The Solrock twisted the dimensions, trapping them inside a room of wonder. “I didn’t wanna do this, but… Mirabelle, use False Swipe!” The costumed trainer ordered.

Taking advantage of the room’s bizarre properties, the black dragoness slashed at Solrock with her tusks, doing just enough damage to weaken it without making it faint. Afterwards, Andrea threw a Pokéball. “Here goes something!”

//attempting to catch solrock

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Now this was more like it: A larger than average Pumpkaboo. Finally, big chonker had been achieved!

“Ponyo!” Ogerpon eagerly scribbled her guess onto a new piece of paper, which she handed over to her caretaker.

“Ooh, that’s a good number! A lucky number!” Andrea remarked as she read the slip. She had a good feeling about this.

//guessing 777

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A particularly territorial Rhyperior suddenly came charging at them, its great horn primed to strike. Ogerpon parried with her signature Ivy Cudgel, a quadruply super-effective hit that forced the bipedal rhinoceros to run away with its tail between its legs.

“Thanks, Pon! We’re almost done here!” Soon, the tree fell down. Inspecting the resulting stump, Andrea found multiple Tera Shards embedded in its wooden rings. “Bingo! We just need to take this back home, and we’re good to go!” The woman declared.

//skipping

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Burned by the opponent’s fiery blessing, Pon was forced to play defensively. She quickly conjured a wall of ivy and thorns in front of her, blocking the Paradox Pokémon’s attack with her Spiky Shield.

Meanwhile, Andrea was still hurting. Her worst fears were materialized when Jalapeño was brutally punched by their shadowy pursuer. Now both mother and son were beat up and lying on the ground.

“We can still fight…” The onesie-clad woman eked out, willing herself to stand up. Her Sygna Suit deactivated, a Tera Orb activating in its place. “Jalapeño, Terastallize! Show them your Stellar power! RAWR!” She roared defiantly.

A majestic crown shaped like a turtle manifested on top of the Fuecoco’s head, colorful crystals representing each type orbiting around it. With its newfound power, the Paldean starter fired a Stellar-type Tera Blast at their unknown enemy.

Eris Halla //skirmishes

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Josh’s words got her to think: Was she supposed to avenge Chomper the same way he had avenged his coworker? Would that give her the closure she sought? Chomper would still be dead, and she would still feel hollow.

Besides, there was already a certain peachy devil she had sworn vengeance against. GRUDGES were more potent when focused on a single target.

Her contemplation was cut short by the spooky mist that now permeated the forested route. The Master of Faster, riding his Spectrier, disappeared from the corporeal realm. “Gigi, use Phantom Force too!” Andrea ordered.

The Gengar Mimicked the spectral steed’s move, joining them in the ethereal side. There, a familiar Hydreigon ran rampant, bathed in a purple miasma. It spoke out, its voice sounding like radio static.

GET OUT. BEGONE.

The apparition lunged at Josh and his mount, but Gigi forced it back with a Shadow Ball. That seemingly angered the spirit, its fearsome roar shaking the brittle foundations of this reverse world.

Josh Devlin //GHOST STORY G

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