Despite its small, unassuming size, the boy’s Pancham could hit like a truck. Its Body Slam was more than sufficient to knock out the Houndour. It turned out that dog had more bark than bite, much like the bullies themselves.

“Tch. Let’s just leave! See you when your boyfriend’s not around, witch!”

As the juvenile delinquents ran away with their tails between their legs, the dark-haired girl groggily stood up, clutching her head. “T-thank you…” She weakly muttered, blood trickling down from where the rock had hit her. Feeling light-headed from her injury, she wobbled a bit, before tumbling over the boy that had just saved her.

Thomas Benoit

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Dolores stared vacantly at Johanna’s newest capture. “Malamar… That one I don’t like.” She muttered under her breath. “A bunch of Rocket grunts in Kanto used Malamar. I don’t like Team Rocket…” She added, hugging herself tightly.

A second Haunter appeared alongside Chuckles. The two ghosts had a wholesome bonding moment, making funny faces at each other and having a good laugh.

A small chuckle escaped the ghost lover’s lips. “Heh. Chuckles made a new friend. I like friends…” The gloomy woman said, hurling a ball towards the wild Haunter they had just befriended.

Johanna Joy //attempting to catch haunter

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"Mimikyu... I see. I like that one as well." Dolores sheepishly remarked. A shrinking violet that just wanted to be loved like the much more popular Pikachu. She certainly felt for its plight.

The punk girl must have been blessed by the goddess of luck, because she soon found a shiny Ralts, which she befriended with ease. "The two of you make a good team. You have matching hair. Teehee..." The gloomy woman barely suppressed a giggle. "N-not that having blue hair is a bad thing! I l-like your hair!" She hastily added, frantically waving her hands.

A sinister Smog filled the air. There were enemies afoot! The Pokémon mortician yelped in fear. "Eek! Chuckles, help!" Her Haunter demonstrated to Ralts what a TRUE Mean Look looked like, before incapacitating his fellow Ghost with a Shadow Ball. "Chandelure... I like them too." Dolores mused, attempting a capture.

Johanna Joy //attempting to catch chandelure

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"Let us begin." As Sam got ready, so too did Dolores, grabbing a bucket and filling it with water from the nearby sink. Her Haunter gently poked her with its floating claw of a hand. "What is it, Chuckles?" Having seen Alecto playing with his trainer had clearly made Chuckles jealous.

"You wanna get splashed with water too? OK... Here." The gloomy woman sprinkled some water on her Haunter, who gargled with laughter and tried to catch the liquid droplets with his elongated tongue. Seeing his goofy antics made the girl stifle a giggle. "Heh. I didn't know that Ghosts like water."

Having sufficiently filled the bucket, she poured a whole bottle of shampoo into it, then dipped a large hairbrush inside the concoction. "I'd rather we got all that fur cleaned first. It's gonna take the longest time, so then we can focus on the finer details." With that, Dolores began scrubbing the Arcanine's rich fur with due diligence.

samuel carter

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Sam's unwavering neutrality was stunning. She didn't know whether to praise him or call him out. "I know that people just as bad as Team Rocket exist in this world. I know that better than most..." Dolores replied, her voice trailing off. "Death may take no sides, but I'm--"

I'm alive.

That's what she wanted to say, but was she really? She didn't live her life, not in the same way other people her age did. For all intents and purposes, she was a ghost nobody even acknowledged the existence of, unless they needed a punching bag. What opinion could she have about the worldly state of affairs?

"I'm nearly done with the embalming." The young mortician said after a long pause. "Cleaning comes next. I would really like your help with that, because this Arcanine is quite big." She requested, pulling her face mask down and staring at Sam with pleading eyes.

samuel carter

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The young funeral director blinked. "T-thanks..." She wasn't used to someone treating her line of work as important. Most people either thought that touching dead bodies was too gross, or they liked to pretend that death was an ugly part of life that did not exist.

The pink-haired woman introduced herself as Elise, revealing that she owned a Mismagius of her own called Mana. "I would like to meet Mana one day. Out of all Ghosts, I like Mismagius the most." Dolores mused with a wide grin, before placing a finger under her chin, quizzically. "Wait, did you say you've come from another region? Was it Kanto?" She inquired.

Elise Calcifet

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The mere mention of the crime syndicate was enough to send a shiver down the girl's spine. Even Haunter's perpetual smile turned into a frown. "Do you think it's true what they say... That Team Rocket is going to take over Kanto?"

It wasn't a reality she wanted to accept. Team Rocket already controlled various aspects of the region from the shadows, but if the League fell, then there would be nothing stopping them from fully taking over and ruling with an iron fist.

"I don't want to live in a world ruled by Team Rocket." Dolores lamented, knowing full well that she was too weak to prevent that outcome. "The tower is filled with Pokémon that they killed, after all..." She added, clenching her fist.

samuel carter

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"Burn the witch! Burn the witch! Burn the witch!"

The children chanted in a fit of collective bloodlust, while the ball of fire in Houndour's mouth grew ever bigger. The girl shut her eyes tightly and prepared for the worst, when suddenly, an angry teenager with brown hair yelled at the bullies to fuck off. They turned towards him with sour expressions, clearly not happy that someone had ruined their fun.

"What do you care? She your girlfriend or something?"

The boys laughed derisively. The head bully then snapped his fingers, prompting his Houndour to turn around and hurl its Ember at Pancham instead.

Thomas Benoit

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"My favorite Ghost?" The gothic woman parroted the question, giving it a once over before replying. "I really like Mismagius. Some people don't like the way its cry sounds, but I think it sounds beautiful." She said, wistfully clasping her hands together.

Dolores gasped when a little Litwick sat on top of the punk girl's hair. It seemed friendly, almost immediately being tamed by the human, but still. "A-aren't you worried you might get wax all over your hair?" The ghost enthusiast sheepishly asked, while pointing at the sentient candle.

Johanna Joy //skipping

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The gothic woman looked even more puzzled by the fact that Elise started giving her life story to a complete stranger. She wondered if that level of openness was considered common in Hoenn. Still, she felt a sense of empathy for her plight, the fact that she'd been bullied in her youth hitting very close to home.

"I was bullied too as a child. People still don't really like me..." The girl shunned as a witch looked down with a sullen expression. "I'm a mortician... It means I work with dead Pokémon. That's why I smell bad. It's not that I don't shower, it's just that the smell is hard to get off me... Ghosts don't mind the smell, though, so they're my only company too." She said, flashing a warm smile at her Mismagius.

Suddenly, she remembered that she hadn't introduced herself. "I'm Dolores. This is Dorothy... She's my friend. Heehee~" She giggled, while the Mismagius bowed its head.

Elise Calcifet

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Humans were cruel. Children more so. The moment they spotted someone who looked different, they singled them out like a lamb for slaughter.

"Begone, witch! Go back to your evil lair!"

A gang of middle school students chased down a pale, dark-haired girl. They laughed giddily while spouting vile curses, treating this like some sort of game. The streets of Lavender Town were empty, since all the adults were at their jobs. Eventually, they wound up in a murky alleyway, where the girl was completely cornered by her pursuers.

"Die, witch!" They started hurling rocks at her, one of them hitting the girl on the head.

"S-stop! I'm not a witch!" The girl cried, shielding herself with her arms. A tiny Misdreavus swooped in to defend her, only to be swiftly taken out by the head bully's Houndour.

"Wait, Dad says they didn't stone witches... They burned them!"

"B-burned?!" The girl's pupils dilated in terror. She yipped in pain as two of her classmates grabbed her arms, locking her firmly in place. "No! No no no! You can't do that! T-that's... that's murder!"

Part of her wanted to believe they were bluffing. However, as she felt the heat coming off the Houndour's mouth draw closer, that hope evaporated, giving way to mortal dread. "P-please let me go! LET ME GO!" She desperately pleaded, knowing that her cries for help would reach no-one's ears.

Thomas Benoit

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Dolores came to an abrupt stop when Sam mentioned his mother's illness. She quickly resumed her work without saying anything, until another poke courtesy of her Haunter forced her to break the silence.

"I've been helping my parents for as long as I remember too. I didn't get officially hired into the family business until I was eighteen, of course. They say it's easier if you start out young. Apparently, normal people can't stomach... this." She vaguely gestured at the death and decay surrounding them.

"I'm sorry to hear about your mother..." The young woman added in a solemn tone.

samuel carter

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After realizing that the punk girl meant no harm, Dolores tentatively came out of her hiding spot. An unwise decision, since a Golurk that meant a lot of harm appeared just then. Fortunately, the other trainer was able to contain it.

"Your Gengar looks... strong." The gothic woman muttered in awe, before a floating Sinistea caught her attention. "M-my Pokémon can put others to sleep too!" She declared in a flustered manner, releasing a Haunter that burst into laughter as soon as it was let out of its ball.

"Chuckles, use Hypnosis." Dolores ordered, readying a spare Pokéball in her hand, and throwing it as soon as the Sinistea had fallen into a deep slumber. "I like Ghosts." The woman added with a slight grin.

Johanna Joy //attempting to catch sinistea

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