farawayplace | [in which the rich brat has to work for the first time in his life, probably]

Ah, then they must be a family. The parent was just trying to protect its kid this whole time.

"So that's why Stantler created that illusion on us." Ash mused aloud. His expression softened as he started to feel bad for the poor thing, but he knew Trip didn't intend to do what he did. Especially with how remorseful he sounded.

Ash looked at the cup, then at the fallen water bottle. A thought occurred to him once he picked it up.

"Actually, I've got a better idea!" He took out a Pokéball and threw it upwards. "Dracovish, I choose you!"

A large fish-like creature with dragon-like legs appeared, and happily waved its short fins at the sight of new faces.

"Let's have Dracovish help you clean Stantler up!" he suggested.

Ash then looked at the Stantler family with a reassuring smile.

"We'll make it up to you and get your kid washed up! Promise!" Once he finished, Ash directed his Dracovish to aim at the Stantler child.

"Now Dracovish, use Water Gun!" Though he paused for a second before following up with another command. "...But uh, do it gently!"

As told, Dracovish breathed in ans let out a gentle stream of water over the younger Stantler's face. Now it's Trip's turn to do his part.

The younger Stantler looekd frightened by Dracovish, but the parent gently nudged it, reassuring it. It looked a bit bolder, then, and tried to stand up tall and imposing (well, er, as tall and imposing as a tiny Stantler could!), bracing itself.

It shut its eyes, but then blinked in surprise at how gentle the stream was. Trip fished out a small towel handkerchief from his bag and used it to gently clean the Stantler, carefully cleaning its fur as well as he could. Eventually, the Stantler found it fun and flicked its tail calmly, until he was finished.

It hung its head, almost disappointed the bath finished, but then ran off into the brush, searching for something, while its parent watched, also calmly flicking its tail.

And look at that! Good as new! Pikachu and Dracovish cheered at the little Stantler now that it's all washed up. But as it trotted away, Ash tilted his head as he watched.

"Hey, where are you going?"

He glanced at Trip then to the Stantler's parent, wondering if he had any idea what it was doing.

Trip gave a little shrug with an expression that seemed to say, "Don't look at me!"

Stantler returned shortly after with a pair of scratched and dusty Soothe Bells that must have been lost for quite some time there, but which still chimed pleasantly. Tranquill cooed softly at the sound.

Stantler set them down before the boys, as its parent turned and began to leave. Stantler pranced after its mother.

"Those are... Soothe Bells, aren't they?" He picked up the pair as he placed them on the palm of his hand. It chimed again, making his Pikachu feel relaxed at the tune. Despite looking slightly worn over time, it still looked like they're in good condition.

Ash then noticed that the Stantler pair were moving away. He hadn't showed his gratitude to them yet! Quickly he waved his hand as he bid farewell to the family.

"Thank you so much Stantler! You two take care!"

"Piika Pika!"

And once they're gone, Ash took a quick look at the soothe bells, then offered one to Trip.

"I think this one's meant for you too! Stantler must've been really grateful for what you did!"

And he smiled, as he believed it so.

What a gentle sound...

He watched them leave, smiling a little and offering a silent wave goodbye as well.

He took the offered bell, half-wondering if he should insist Ash keep both, since his mistake was the source of all of the trouble, but the way Ash said it... made him believe it too.

"Sure."

He accepted the Soothe Bell and looked ahead, Tranquill climbing onto his arm again.
"... we could keep going, I think it looks like the path's changing up ahead, but it looks a little different from the usual path... it might be safest to retrace our steps, if we want to keep going straight ahead, unless you want to go see what it is."

Explore deeper into the forest or find and follow the main path?

Ash pocketed his Soothe Bell and recalled both his Lucario and Dracovish back into their ball before looking at the road ahead. He let out a hum as he cupped his chin in thought. On one hand, it's good to be safe if they turn back. On the other hand it wouldn't hurt to check out what's up ahead.

"Hmm, we've already come this far though." Ash finally answered, and followed it up with a confident grin. "I'd say let's keep moving! Maybe something good might happen if we keep moving forward!"

"Pikachu!" His partner sounded his agreement.

"Alright," Trip said, then looked back. "Let me just... figure out how we got here first... to make sure we're still walking straight—oh, we didn't stray at all."

It was less of walking back a few paces and a lot more of shifting direction. The Stantler basically had them panic and run around in tight circles, effectively. What used to be up ahead of them just got shifted a bit to the side. They just needed to turn. He appreciated that the boulder was still where it was. That tree's kind of familiar, it didn't look so close in the illusion, but he he scratched himself on that one, can't forget that, there's still a mark on it... yeah, they're on the right track again!

"Alright, full speed ahead!"

~~He's not a Subway Boss, though!~~

"Roger that!" He raised his fist up high excitedly.

And as per usual, Ash went ahead and took the lead. Strolling down the path in his usual carefree demeanor. The road ahead seemed teeming with more Pokemon after their brief encounter with the Stantler family. So he hoped to see more and more of them along the way, even pointing out some he could immediately recognize.

"Ah, there's a Pidgey over there! Oh, and a Swadloon over there!" Trip would likely hear the giddy in Ash's voice.

"Piiika!"

Oh, God, he's loud. Trip initially picked up the pace, then, decided to slow down instead and let Ash charge on ahead. He seemed happy enough to point everything out and it's not like Ash could get lost when they only had to walk a straight line until they exit the forest, right?

"On second thought, lead the way. It's smooth sailing from here on out... hopefully," the last part added in a somewhat dubious voice as he avoided the Bug type creeping too close.

Nowhere near Misty's level of phobia, he just found some Bug types kind of gross and unsettling. ~~Yes, this is coming from the boy who's fine with Lampent and Frillish and visiting graveyards.~~

It's still pretty from a distance and he decided to take a picture of it, blending nicely into freshly-fallen leaves of similar colour.

When Ash pointed out Pidgey, Trip definitely took an interest, because they were Pokemon that weren't native to Unova, even if they weren't too rare a sight here.

He did kind of, sort of want to stray from the path when he saw a Pidgey carry a worm to its nest.

"A little closer won't hurt..."

When he heard Trip's footsteps moving away, that got Ash to stop in his tracks and curiously follow behind. And as he saw the Pidgey from before, it clued in on what Trip was about to do.

"Don't worry. Pidgeys are pretty gentle as long as you don't startle them." Ash advised, "They can throw out a Gust attack if you're not careful!"

This is coming from experience.

That's good, Trip thought, but didn't speak, wanting to get as close as he could for a picture without frightening them. At a low angle, a backlit picture of Pidgey feeding its hungry chicks a wriggling worm, bordered in gold in the dusk from the beam of light filtering through the canopy of trees.

"... funny, I thought it'd be brighter. I mean, this way, you can see the Pidgey better, but... wasn't it still mid-day?"

Apparently not. They might not have made that much progress while dealing with Stantler's illusions, but time still progressed more than expected.

Ash looked up at the treetops above them covering most of the sky. He could make out the gold and orange hues through the openings, which was strange... it should've been a vibrant blue, shouldn't it? Had they been in the forest for that long?

"Huh you're right..." It won't be good if they traverse through the forest when night falls, Ash thought. He was beginning to hear the Murkrows cawing in the distance. "We should pick up the pace before it gets dark. Let's keep going."

He gestured Trip to move before continuing straight ahead on their path.

"Right."

Hurrying along, Trip recalled Tranquill as he walked, and called out Lampent instead, partly to be ready for the garden and partly to light the way if needed.

The sky darkened quickly, but fortunately, they'd reach before the forest became too dark to navigate.

When they finally make it out the forest, they're greeted with a faint, salty sea scent and with flowers blanketing the ground, colours still dotting the landscape, even as the darkness made their colours less vibrantly contrasting, and Ash might be able to feel them brush past as well.

The more he walked the more he could hear the sea breeze blowing through the exit. And once they were out, the scent of the ocean from afar penetrated his senses which woke him up. Ash stretched out his arms, feeling a sense of relief. Pikachu let out a loud "chaa!" as he stretched alongside his partner.

"Mmm, it's good to be finally out of there!"

He took notice of the wildflowers up ahead, a clear sign that they're near their destination. Though he was far more used to seeing this route during daytime where the flowers were at its most colorful.

"So..." Ash took a quick look around, trying to find an outline or a silhouette of something. "...where's Memorial Garden?"

"Yeah," Trip agreed, albeit more quietly.

Trip only gestured for Lampent to lead. It seemed Lampent knew the way from frequent visits!

The further they go, the more they might see. The rows of graves might be easier to miss, being so close to the ground, but the larger family graves with stone monuments should be easier to spot, even if they might be a little harder to identify until they got close enough for Lampent to shine a its light on them.

Lampent's blue-purple fireglow wasn't as strong as it could be, as it needed to feed...

It might not seem so dark to Ash as he approached, particularly if he was still seeing the traces of Aura, but then again, that might take some effort, when it isn't concentrated?

In Ash's eyes, all he could make out are tiny glimmering, floating orbs, like the out-of-focus portions of lights in a photograph. However the heavy, eerie atmosphere coming the graveyard was enough for Ash to feel a strong chill throughout his body as if the air was weighing him. Whether if it was the Aura he picked up or just his own gut feeling, he wasn't sure. But he knows they're in a graveyard just by the feeling alone.

The excitement he had from earlier was now replaced with uncertainty. And he was far more quiet than usual. Ash could feel his Pikachu's weight on his shoulder growing heavier, and sensing his partner's unease as he attempted to comfort him ー placing a gentle hand over the mouse Pokémon's back.

The heavy air continued to weigh on Ash. And after eyeing on a few gravemarkers, he finally decided to speak up to shake off his nerves.

"I've never seen graves shaped like this before..."

Thanks to the light from Lampent, Ash noticed the family graves they've passed all seem to have a spacious platform before it. Nothing like the graves he's used to seeing back home. He couldn't quite figure out why those are there, but there must have been a reason.

Speaking of Lampent, his focus was then shifted to the Ghost-type.

"Oh yeah... I'm wondering how Lampent could tell when there's an evil spirit nearby?"

Those blurry lights in photographs are called bokeh, Ash!

“They don’t bury people like this in Unova either. You see some pretty elaborate sculptures and grave-markers, but not like this. A grave and tombstone’s usually for just one person, too, unless it’s for a bunch of unknown people.”

Lampent cast its light, illuminating the names.

“It’s easier to tell in the day, but they’re for families. Look at the names.”

The somber tone lifted when Ash asked about Ghost types, as Trip was ever eager to show off his knowledge.

“That’s basic, isn’t it? I believe your regional professor mentioned it, on TV, too, that the spirit world is the birthplace of Ghost type Pokemon,” Trip said matter-of-factly, then smiled a little. “It’s familiar. Evil spirite are confined in the spirit world, but sometimes, they escape. You know, like a dangerous criminal breaking out of jail or shackles—“

His carefree lecturing, being much less sensitive to the aura of the place and all too used to graves, came to a sudden halt when his last word was followed by the sound of rattling chains.

Luckily one of the names that were illuminated was written in a more familiar script. He was more used to seeing grave markers that are shaped like a large block or column. But Trip's explanation was enough to satisfy his slight curiosity.

As he continued to listen to Trip, his eyes wander around at the sight of those floating orbs that were trailing by one by one. To Trip however, he would likely only see Ash spacing out and be just distracted with all the gravestones around them.

And then he too heard the sound of rattling chains, also causing Ash to stop in his tracks. He felt goosebumps as a sharp chill shot through his spine.

"...Did you hear that?"

Trip silently nodded, eyes wide.

Lampent, who had been drifting apathetically as ever, also came to a halt, but turned and seemed focused in a particular direction, around a certain grave. The intense, negative emotions there seemed to draw in certain Pokemon.

Some sort of dark and heavy aura not like the rest was hiding among the graves. There was some kind of sick, disorienting feeling about the place, causing both fear and waves of dizziness.

All of that negativity did not go unnoticed for Ash. It made him flinch the moment he sensed it, and immediately turned to the direction of its source at the same time with Lampent. The weight of it felt crushing, almost to the point that he's beginning to breathe heavily.

"...There's something over there."

His Pikachu also felt even more unease and took to hiding behind Ash, his ears folded and his tail tucked close to his body.

"Relax buddy, just stay close to me." Ash said reassuringly to his Pikachu. Despite everything, Ash tried to compose himself and maintain a strong front. He decided to come here for a reason, and he couldn't falter now.

"I know. Lampent feels it too."

Trip glanced at Ash and Pikachu. Ash was a lot more sensitive to this stuff than he was, it was almost like looking at one of his Ghost types...

"... why don't you send Pikachu back into its pokeball?" he offered, not knowing Pikachu's aversion to it. "If it's too much, you can stay back. I have another light in my bag, you could use, so you don't have to stick close to Lampent. Are you feeling sick? Or is it... like before, with the Aura?"

He was just trying to cover all the bases, whether this was a reaction born of natural fear or Ash's sensitivity to the unseen...

...Was Trip worried about him and Pikachu?

"Ah, about that..." Ash glanced at his partner, "Pikachu can't stand being in his Pokeball, and he wouldn't like it if I'd tell him to do so. Isn't that right, buddy?"

"Piii..." And Pikachu shook his head as if to make his aversion clear.

"Besides that, I'm totally fine! Don't worry about me!" He grinned, still putting up a strong, determined front as he fought back that crushing feeling. "Even a little heaviness in the air won't keep me down!"

Yes. The situation was a bit too tense and serious for him to disguise his concern with teasing and there was nothing for him to be rude about, right now, really.

“Understood.”

He won’t ask why.

Something glinted gold in the dark, two eyes and a zipper-mouth.

“There’s a Banette.”

Something else gleamed in its hand. It was hard to tell what from a distance, as the sky continued to darken.

Lampent burned brighter, drawing in the same spiritual energy.

“Is it responsible for this? Some kind of curse…?”

oops this got a bit long

[the longer, the better! o/]

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[gift!]

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[hoping he doesn't stumble into side-plot number 2 xD;]

watch as i slip and give the two another mini-adventure in the same day- (no)

[safe!!]

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1/2

[2/2; SO not the time, Trip…]

trip's priorities xD

[priorities: Alder, photography, safety, showing off knowledge--last two flexible!]

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