During the dead of night was when the dead of Boomtown came out to play. Haunter, Shuppet, Mismagius - you name it, phasing through walls and filling the cold night air with the sound of their laughter.
However, there was one Ghost type Pokemon who spent the twilight hours asleep upon a cushioned bed stuffed with Delibird feathers within a small, pink brick cottage. Dusknoir. A spectral agent of the spirit world, fast asleep with a Clefairy Pokedoll - once the possession of an old teammate - clutched within her gripping hands. Like all Pokemon, she dreamt and like all who dream, she had nightmares.
The ghostly giant's fingers dug into and tore her beloved doll whilst her ectoplasmic tail whipped about, behaving as its own poltergeist as it knocked about her possessions. Among them was a framed photograph of her trainer, Candice Attridge, whose visage lay torn upon the floor covered in broken glass.
Tonight, while the other Ghost Pokemon were spooking the neighborhood, this spook was having a dream which would make Darkrai jealous.
Baby's massive abdominal jaws opened to emit a banshee's shriek, yet her neighbors remained in a deep, pleasant slumber for the screams of a frightened Dusknoir are heard best by those further away, which meant that the Explorer's guild on the other side of town had to give up their hopes of having a good night's sleep.
The mighty creature rose to an upright position, jaws still agape and arms outstretched, then floated steadily towards one of the many Pokemon with whom she shared her home - a little male Ralts, who was at the time dreaming of one day becoming a handsome Gallade and winning the heart of Smoochum who by then would be Jynx.
Said Smoochum was still awake, having just rummaged through the pantry for a tasty morsel to bring back into the bedroom. Upon her entrance, instead of consuming her sneaky little midnight snack, her Forewarn ability activated, warning her that the Dusknoir she had come to know as the closest thing to a mother she had was leaning over Ralts looking as if she was about to snatch him from his bed. Possessing a Hasty nature, Smoochum decided that she would play the hero and fired off an Ice Beam directly at Baby's tail. It wasn't much, but it was enough to cause the Dusknoir's single eye to illuminate with the red and yellow glow of full consciousness and for her to immediately drop what she was doing.
They say one should never awaken a sleepwalker, though in this case it may have been for the greater good. Staring at her hands, then at the sleeping psychic before her, it only took seconds for Baby to realize what had been going on. She turned to face the one who had awakened her, then bowed forward in a nod of sorts before steadily floating back to her bed.
Smoochum was quite surprised by Baby's reaction. She was expecting her to scold her for staying up all night and al that jazz, though instead it almost seemed as if she had thanked her.
Sleep-reaping - or 'sreaping', as the local Pokemon called it - was a condition with which Baby was afflicted which involved a Dusknoir following its commads from the spirit world whilst his or her consciousness is trapped within a particularly unpleasant dream.
Episodes of attempting to take souls while asleep had been occuring quite frequently, though she didn't bother having Dr. Blissey figure out the cause for it as she didn't want to further burden the good doctor who has lately been flooded with patients much in the same way Baby's soup kitchen has been flooded with the homeless and hungry, some of whom she had taken in.
Nonetheless, that wasn't what she found herself thinking about as she lay awake, but what was going on inside her own mind whilst she unconsciously attempted to reap the soul of Ralts. That dream. There was something about it that seemed somewhat... off.
Baby tried not to put too much thought into it, dismissing it as simply a particularly vivid dream, though as soon as she lay herself back upon her bed, she heard a voice calling to her. A voice she had recognized from that dream.
"...A tiny temple, the shrine where Life's voice may be heard."
Dismissing this as a Gengar messing about in the house, Baby rolled her single eye, then closed it. Which was when she saw before it a blinding flash of white light, a blurred face, then a bleeding wound surrounded by pink fur. Though she possessed a Relaxed nature and usually remained unfazed when faced with such sights, she jumped, her eye opening as wide as the lid would allow. She turned to face Smoochum to check if it was she who had been messing with her mind. Lo and behold, the little Kiss Pokemon was now sleeping like the baby she was, her puffy lips still stained with Pecha Berry juice.
Baby gave a shrug, then lay back down and closed her eye once more, only to hear that same voice yet again.
"A tiny temple, the shrine where Life's voice may be heard..."
Deciding that she'd had enough, Baby heaved herself from bed, then phased through the nearest wall to meet the other nocturnal Pokemon on the streets of town. She was determined to find whoever was trying to interrupt her hard-earned sleep, even if as a Ghost type, she didn't really need it.
"WHOEVER HAPPENS TO BE PULLING PRANKS ON MY MIND, STOP OR I GUARANTEE I WILL ATTACK!" She boomed, uprooting a nearby tree for effect. Along with her sheer size and frightening appearance, Baby's physical strength scared the other residents of Boomtown beyond belief. The other Pokemon stared at her blankly, trembling before the usually gentle giant. Baby rivals the good doctor Blissey in age, kindness and resilience, though when she has reached her limit, her behavior begins to match her appearance.
One Gastly even considered 'confessing' to the imaginary act just to avoid getting into trouble, though he was too anxious to utter a word. Following a long pause, Baby turned away and floated on back to her cottage... only to crash into the wall and be knocked right off balance as she was at that time she was so full of rage that she'd forgotten to switch planes in order to phase through the wall. After lifting herself back off the ground, she heard not the voice that had been bugging her all night, but a demonic, screeching tone.
"...A tiny temple, the shrine where Life's voice may be heard... Agent of Death. REDEEM YOURSELF!"
This was followed by a vision of a barren wasteland which, quite frankly, looked at first glance like any other part of the island. However, within that empty darkness flashed a golden light around a small shrine, in front of which stood a statue of a Pokemon. "...chosen ones."
She was beginning to suspect that this may not have been a prank, but something more sinister. Possibly a trap of sorts. However, she eventually decided to leave town for the location of the shrine she'd envisioned.
"...I'm ever so sorry for that outburst. I will be leaving town for a while. Would any of you be so kind as to inform Dr. Blissey of this so she may send for Chansey to run the kitchen and care for the orphans whilst I am away?"
Without even bothering to wait for a response, Baby floated on out of town, headed for the place she had seen in the dream which almost cost her Ralts' life.
Her journey went rather smoothly, as the gangs that usually ambushed weaker Pokemon steered clear of her lest she was sent to 'collect' them. That was, until she was stopped by a pair of Tyranitar brothers who saw an easy target in a lone Dusknoir.
"...What you doin', ghostie?" The older of the two sniggered, leering at her while his brother snuk up behind her. Unaware of the Tyranitars' intentions, Baby turned to face him.
"I am on a journey to... a place. Do you need something, dearie?"
Upon hearing her voice and having a good long look at her, Tyranitar urged his brother to cease conjuring up a Stone Edge.
"Cut it, little bro. This 'ere be a lady spook. Sorry miss. Go 'long yer way." The brothers moved apart, giving way for Baby to leave.
"...Oh. Alright then... Well, it was nice meeting you two boys."
Giving a nervous chuckle, she proceeded to drift off towards her destination.
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((OOC: Really half-butt attempt at an intro, but I had to post something.))
