Manaphy Mishap

[Skillfulness]

≈ Ɛ> ≈ Manaphy Mishap ≈ <3 ≈

Sign-Up Thread
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It was a sunny, yet cool day made cooler yet from the ocean breeze in Castelia City, Unova. The whole place is a buzz with activity on this Friday afternoon as preparations are made to set up for the Autumn Harvest Festival. Some booths are already opened and entertaining guests with food, drink, and games while other places are hauling in goods or setting up extravagant displays and activities. The noise builds as more and more people show up to either help, or have just gotten off work to come and unwind with some fun. Pokémon skitter between legs or fly overhead, carrying things to and fro or just generally getting in the way. Wingull swoop in trying to steal food and a cart owners’ Purrloin did their best to defend it. A stage was set up on the end of one dock, a Ferris Wheel on another and some boats were pulled up to sell their wares out of or simply enjoy the scene from the waters. All in all, it was looking to be a fabulous Autumn Harvest Festival.

Brandon Masons
Masons Family Farm - Outskirts of Castelia City, Unova

Once he was finally finished rounding up the Mareep, Brandon grabbed his coat and was out the door, yelling to his parents that he was on his way to the festival. The walk was rather long, but the sun was out and he felt like walking with his Pokémon for a bit. Fluff the Whimsicott popped out and began running on his short legs a bit ahead, Macy the Flabébé hovered close by, Eragon the Bagon started chasing after Fluff on his stubbier legs, and Zella the Bergmite stood on top on Brandon’s shoe, his legs the shortest of all with no hope of keeping up.

“Hey gang, you ready for the Harvest Festival?” There was a chorus of excited cries followed by a fwump sound when Eragon tackled Fluff. Brandon chuckled at their antics and smiled. He was glad they were all looking forward to it; the festival was a great way to celebrate togetherness and the fruits of what could be gained when working as a team. This being his team, Brandon had decided they would go on their own today and tomorrow he could meet up with some friends. Being local made it easy to come and go as he wanted to and he even got a few deals here and there. His parents were setting up a stall for local wool tomorrow as well so he would need to help them in the morning. For now though, he was free with his Pokémon to hit up the docks for an evening of fun.

As he came upon the city proper, there were loads of out of towners in; bright and flashy internet celebrities from Johto, sulky looking individuals from Hoenn, easygoing island types from Alola, and plenty more. While it was an internationally renowned festival, it was well known and had word of mouth to bring in lots of people from all around the globe. Brandon would have to find a pamphlet that listed all the stalls and events going on tonight and let his team know to keep their eyes peeled. Not long after, Macy chirped in his ear and pointed at a stand crowded with people. He pushed through and snatched up a paper listing some of the activities going on today.

Pokémon Dance Competition ...
Live Concert ...
Baking Competition ...
Community Charity Games ...
Lantern Send-off ...
Fishing Competition ...
Pier Parade ...

Food and Drink Vendor Locations ...
Game Booth Locations ...
Craft Vendor Locations ...

"So, what do you guys want to do first?"

 

[Schade]

Grayson Wells
Cafè Le'Pepè (Located by the Castelia City piers)

"Over there.. No, not there, further to the left please. There! No wait, go back to where it originally was." Kara was channeling her 2 years of interior design as she pointed with a pen towards different spots in the windowsills leading out to the busy streets, all while Grayson and Matthew were slowly losing the battle of carrying the larger than life Pumpkin ornament to its desired spot by said window. A typical Friday, really.

"Let's see, lower it a bit... wait no go back; it looked better there after all.", Kara just went on and on, and Grayson and Matthew's eyes briefly met, mirroring each others determination to not give up. They would never hear the end of it if they admitted to the pumpkin being too heavy; especially after they had both teased Kara about it when she complained about its weight earlier that day. Whoever decided to decorate the cafe with all of these pumpkin-themed ornaments anyways, it was Harvest festival, not halloween. Similar but different. The festival was a day away, and the trio had been at it for several hours making sure everything were where it was supposed to be, while Jean had taken care of ordering the right ingredients for the cafe's super secret seasonal sensational selebratory (Jean insisted to type it that way) Menu.

"Let's put it over there.. Wait no, there's better lighting over there, let's go there guys" Kara kept going, but no pumpkin was going to best Grayson and Matthew! Before long though, Jean walked out into the Cafe from the office, wearing an orange hoodie whose hood was shaped like a pumpkin. "Just put it down in the corner over there, and put more Pumpkaboo plushies on top of it" they said, and the guys crab-walked over to a corner by the window and gently put it down, before both sighing in unison. "Huh, yeah i guess there works too" Kara said in a defeated tone. So she did enjoy torturing us! Grayson and Matthew thought in unison. "All the spices are ready , and i've drawn up a few more No Pokemon Allowed signs" Jean continued. The cafe had a strict No pokemon-policy after an incident 2 years prior involving a garden hose, a sour Appletun and a lot of drama. Grayson had no issues with this rule at all, as work had become a lot calmer and better ever since. Jean was not too pleased by the rule though, as they were a true Poke Maniac through and through. There were no arguing with results though, and the sign stayed. "Also make sure that the pokemon broom is ready, just in case" they said.

"Grayson, could you please go outside and hand out these pamphlets to passerbys?" Jean then said as they handed him a huge bundle of pamphlets depicting Kara, Matthew and himself in their event-appropriate uniforms while putting very little effort in hiding the fact that they used them as eye candy to lure in customers, while having the special meny printed on the backside. Clever. "Sure, no problem." he said as he snatched the bundle and walked to the exit while the rest prepared for the festival to start.

It was a decently warm day despite the winds foreshadowing that winter was coming, and the streets were busy with people setting up stalls, making sure electricity works, someone testing out pyrotechnics with potentially disasterous results. All in all, everyone were excited for the festival. There were many tourists curious about the event passing by, and Grayson handed out pamphlets left and right, blissfully unaware of the majority of teenaged girls and young women running up to him, with some even taking two or even three pamphlets. Business would be booming, and in the end that's really all that mattered. As he stood there handing the pamphlets out, the streets became even more crowded as the festival started.

 

[InnerFlame]

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Rose [Elizabeth Roseanna] Miller
Castelia City Area to the Piers
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Rose had spent the majority of her morning exploring the city of Castelia with just her Carbink, Beryl in her arms. Her other pokemon drew too much attention, so she decided to keep them in the pokeball for now so she could explore more freely. Starting with exploring the art studio, Rose was very interested in the art pieces that depicted legendary pokemon Zekrom and Reshiram. Though not much could be revealed to her other than the well-known lore of them, which she already knew. Afterward, the woman stood in line to buy a Castelicone. She and the little fairy rock type shared it. About the time she reached the pokemon gym, the chilled afternoon air had set in. Rose, for a moment, considered taking on the gym but with the Harvest Festival starting soon. She decided to put that aside for now.

As she reached the pier, she put down Beryl and began to let out her pokemon. Rose hesitated to let out her Cradily, Chompy. As she released the last one, the woman was surrounded by fossil pokemon. Roost the Archen, one of the smallest of the group, was incredibly excited. He hopped up and down, and his head dart all around to take in the surroundings. On the other side, the biggest of the party, Quiver the Arctozolt, shrunk down as low as possible as she attempted to hide behind her much smaller trainer.

"Okay, everyone, this is the Autumn Harvest Festival. It's supposed to be a pokemon-friendly event, so let's try to enjoy ourselves," Rose informed her pokemon with a soft smile. Her brown-reddish eyes turned toward the Cradily. "Chompy, behave yourselves. And Roost, stay close. I don't want to lose you." She firmly addressed them, which got a soundless response from Chompy and an excited chirp from Roost. Rose sighed as she prayed they wouldn't cause too much trouble. As they walked in deeper, Sheldon the Kabutops pointed one of his sickle arms towards a man handing out pamphlets. Rose was going to head over to grab one anyway, but Roost made a sprint right toward the person. She called out the Archen as she raced after him.

 

[Tangeh]

Alvin Kohlberg
Castelia City Piers – Harvest Festival

Alvin pulled his black coat up a little further as a gentle ocean breeze blew through the Autumn Harvest Festival's concert stage. He knew he should have worn more than three layers, and his black electrical gloves were doing nothing to protect his rapidly numbing fingers. He blew some warm air into them, knowing full well that was counter-productive, then reached for the pliers out of his toolkit. His company had been hired to design the system for the festival – partly a community donation, as they had a smaller sister branch in Castelia City – and he was just here to set it up and make sure it was working okay. Most of the hard work was already done. All of the circuits were set up and fully ready for the power of the amps they'd designed to deliver the clearest, loudest sound known to Unova. Or, that was the theory, anyways – they hadn't actually tested it with the scheduled band's own instruments. And they wouldn't until later either, as the band wasn't here yet. Knowing his luck, something was bound to go wrong, and he was dreading having to reprogram something at a moment's notice.

Sparky the pichu was using one of the very expensive, custom-designed amps as a perch to watch the increasingly bustling dock. He beamed down at the crowd, his ears twitching to the laughter of passersby as they raced to the open booths, the splash of water as a fisherman reeled in a huge basculin off the pier, the pings of carnival music from the games booth...

“Sparky?” Alvin called, one hand gently holding a wire to one of the circuits. Sparky's ears swiveled and he turned to face his trainer – though his nose was twitching as he caught the scent of freshly baked... cookies? - “Can you go grab the electrical tape? I left it by the other amp and want to make sure this wire will stay, it's a little loose.”

“Pi!” Sparky's expression hardened and he gave a salute and leapt off the amp. But, what was that smell? More than one thing, it smelled like. Castelia City was full of different cultures, and the Harvest Festival smelled like it was representing them all very well. He ran to the other amp, something he needed to get here...? Something in the sky caught his eye and he bounded with an impressive leap in proportion to his tiny statue onto the amp. His eyes widened – pretty coloured paper, gliding through the sky. There were so many of them! A few stray sparks escaped his cheeks as he wondered what was pictured on them – it must be important! But... too high to reach. Sparky's ears drooped for a moment, then he sized up the stage's curtain, attached to a long pole...

“Sparky? Are you getting the tape?”

Sparky was halfway up the pole, his tiny paws clinging easily to the decorative fabric. A few passersby stopped to point and stare as Sparky, standing precariously at the top of the pole, reached with all his might toward a flyer, and successfully clasped the corner of one –

Alvin sighed and gently put the wire down, resigning himself to finding the tape himself. He stepped toward the other side of the stage and caught sight of the small crowd gasping and pointing upward. Alvin followed their gaze - “Sparky!”

He and Sparky locked gazes momentarily. Sparky's arms pinwheeled as he lost his balance and tumbled off the top. Alvin's heart jumped into his throat and he broke into a run – please, please, please -

Alvin was at the very edge of the stage when Sparky dropped into his arms, and he would have fallen off if the crowd hadn't swarmed him and caught his balance for him. Sparky's eyes were big, terrified, and teary, and Alvin frantically held Sparky away from the innocents with his electrical gloves as electrical jolts flew off him. The rest of the crowd cheered and Alvin sheepishly pulled himself back onto the stage, barely noticing electrical sparks flying into his cheek as he gently put Sparky onto his shoulder. “Uh, sorry everyone – and thank you, won't happen again, I promise.”

Alvin awkwardly sighed and glared to his left at Sparky. He grabbed the electrical tape off the ground and only when he was walking back over did he notice Sparky was reading something. He snatched the flyer out of Sparky's hands – even though he was reading it upside down, he whined and reached to get it back. “This whole ordeal was over an advertisement for a Kalosian cafe?!” Alvin sighed and set the advertisement for Cafè Le'Pepè aside. He didn't have to wonder long where it came from, as he quickly noticed several people, for whatever reason mostly young girls, tossing the flyers aside and giggling to themselves about “if he would notice if we went to get more advertisements... then asked for his number.” Sparky pouted and pointed at the macarons displayed on the flyer. “No,” Alvin said firmly, “we are NOT getting a snack! Come here, just use a little electricity to test if it's working properly.”

Sparky sulked over, took a deep breath, then slowly outputted electricity into the device. The amp clicked as it turned on, the lights overhead - barely visible in the daylight - flickered on, and Alvin breathed a sigh of relief. It worked! The lights dimmed, then lit up again, then dimmed. Alvin squinted first at them, and then at Sparky -

"Oh no."

Alvin hastily unplugged the amp but wasn't fast enough to save the lights as Sparky accidentally outputted a huge surge of electricity. The lightbulbs exploded in a flash of colours, and the organizers yelped and ducked away as glass showered down. Alvin hastily grabbed Sparky away as he dizzily staggered away from the circuit- which was definitely going to need to be replaced. "Sorry, sorry, I'm really sorry!" Alvin was scolding himself internally - okay, Sparkly should have been fine with that, but it was never worth the risk. He didn't realize Sparky even had enough electricity in him to do that. Ugh, he knew he should have brought Klink...

The stage manager approached them, looking none too happy. "Hey, kid!" Alvin gulped as he scowled at them. "We'll clean this up. Why don't you go take a break?"

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir." Alvin bowed apologetically and went to sit on the steps near the entrance to the stage. Sparky watched as Alvin buried his head in his hands, then his attention caught another flyer soaring overhead.

"Pi!" Sparky grinned, pointing up at it.

"No!"

 

[Monster Guy]

Cameron Mason
Castelia City Piers – Harvest Festival

Cameron and Melody walked out of Cafè Le'Pepè eating some macarons they bought from there. He got the idea after seeing an advertisement for the place land on his face. They also brought a bag with extras to have as a snack for later. Yes, Cameron knew he had a performance later that evening. That meant he had to get into costume and makeup, as well as rehearse for the big show but... Cameron and his Pokémon had been rehearsing for this all week. Now was his chance to enjoy the festival. There was still plenty of time before he had to go live. Besides, he had to dance a lot, some sugar is good for a high energy performance.

On his way to find something else fun to do, Cameron passed by the concert stage. It looked like they were still setting up. That was perfectly ok, they could take all the time they needed. There was still fun to be had!

He saw a boy sitting on the steps near the stage. Normally, Cameron notice random people, but this was different. This boy had an adorable little Pichu. And Cameron loved cute Pokémon. The Pop Star immediately approached the boy. “Ohmigosh! Hi! You’re Pichu is soooooooo cute!”

Upon hearing this, the Jigglypuff pouted, and tapped her foot in an annoyed fashion. “Jiggly...”

Cameron looked at his Pokémon, and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Of course you’re cute too. But lots of Pokémon can be cute.” He turned his attention back to the boy and his Pichu. “Anyway, I’m Cameron. Cameron Mason. Cam works too. Or Cammy. The cute lil Jigglypuff there is Melody. Anyway, we’re gonna be performing on that stage tonight. It’ll be soooooo much fun! There will be music, and dancing, and sparkles, and neon lights, and of course lotsa costume changes! You should come watch. It’ll be great!” Cameron threw a fist in the air excitedly.

Cameron noticed the Pichu looking longingly at the snack Cameron was eating. “Oooh, you’re Pichu looks like he wants a treat. No problem! I got plenty to share!” He reached into the paper bag from the cafe, pulled out a macaron, and handed it to the electric type. “They’re delicious!”

 

[Sketchie]

Karen Finch
Eowyn [Gardevoir]; Tuffy [Skitty]; Aura [Riolu]; Storm [Frosslass]
Harvest Festival
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Karen walked down the Castelia City streets, savoring the fall breeze on her face. Eowyn floated gently beside Karen taking in the sights herself, while Tuffy trotted just in front of her (clearly the leader). Aura, on the other hand, stayed close to Karen's ankles, nervous at the vastness of the city. Storm floated just behind Eowyn, in her usual fashion. It may have been a sightly group with so many pokemon out, but Karen didn't like keeping her closest companions in pokeballs unless she had to. Besides, it was better to experience the festival with her partners!

"It's such a lovely day," Karen said, "I'm so glad Ben invited us before we get to check out those ruins." Eowyn nodded in response. Karen glanced down at the pamphlet with all of the festival activities. "There's just so much to do though, I'm at a loss at where to start!" she chuckled. She knelt down to Tuffy, scratching between her ears. "What do you think, Tuff? You clearly have an idea where to go."

"Skit!" Tuffy's tail puffed up strait, and she started off.

Karen stumbled a bit, a little startled by Tuffy's swiftness. It was very clear in a moment where Tuffy was headed when the scent of homemade treats filled the air. The five of them found themselves surrounded by pies, breads, cookies, all sorts of goodies! "Skit, skitty!" Tuffy squeaked, bouncing around at her new find. Karen chucked and looked at her other pokemon. "Well, I guess it's time for a snack?" The other pokemon cheered in response. "Alright, treat time it is."

They grabbed some small pecha berry pastries from a nearby stand, then gathered at an unused table nearby a stage. "So-" Karen said through mouthfuls of pecha, "What do we do next? There's a concert being held here later, although, kinda seems like they're behind on set up. Looks like something just happened, there are lots of people over there..."

 

[Skillfulness]

Now that evening had hit, the Autumn Harvest Festival In Castelia City was in full swing. Stalls were set up in any available space, causing patrons to crowd together around the docks. The stage was vibrant with lights and decor, performers going through their various acts one after another. Sounds from games and Pokémon rang out over the sea harmonized by laughter and music. The salty sea air was overpowered by fried foods, fruit drinks, and the general smells of the season. Things could not have been going any better than they were for this festival.

Trouble was brewing deeper in town though. A group of people dressed in dark colors shuffled quickly through the alleyways of the city. They pushed past citizens aggressively ignoring cries of protest. It seemed they were on a mission. While most had heads low on a swivel, looking for trouble, one huddled in the middle had a large case wrapped in fabric that they desperately cradled. It must be an important package by how stiffly they moved, how they jumped at every sound.

Eventually this group made their way towards the festival and slowed. Hoods still down, they took on a more casual stroll in the same formation. Their dark blue figures flowed through the crowd around the docks, their destination seeming to be at the end of the far left dock. In fact, there was a man at the end in the same garb, craning over the crowd and bouncing from foot to foot. They were aiming for a quick and easy escape.

“Wait, officers, there they are! Stop them!” A female voice pierced the music and chatter of the crowds and those nearby turned towards her. She was in a white lab coat, brunette hair up, glasses perched, and a Volbeat floating beside her with two Castelia PD Officers flanking her. They perked up and looked in the direction she had just pointed, then followed after the sprinting scientist.

The hooded group dropped all pretense of calm and started sprinting themselves. Some left loose Pokémon that snapped at festival goers to make room and fend off would-be interveners. This left a clear path though for the scientist and officers with a stunned crowd in their wake. From the end of the dock, a submarine began to rise and the man was making preparations to open the hatch, a gangway hastily put up. In a flash of light, the Volbeat attacked in an attempt to stop the group, batted away by a Poochyenna. It gave her trainer an opening though as she leapt at one of the goons at the center.

Just a few yards away from the end of the dock and at the corner of the stage where most patrons had abandoned the area, the scientist had met her target. She tackled the legs of the center figure carrying the tank which fell with a crash to the ground. Three voices cried out; the goon who grunted in pain and surprise, the scientist shouting in triumph, and the Pokémon within the tank, Manaphy, screamed in pain. The tank striking the ground seemed to set something off and upset the mythical Pokémon. A red light quickly grew and glowed from within its heart and antenna, bright enough to be confused for red-tinted sunlight in the evening air. As soon as it started though, it was over. The scientist had lost her grip and the criminal dashed up to retrieve the tank and meet their friends at the submarine.

The officers were two steps behind and couldn’t get past the defenses of their water Pokémon, leaving them to call for backup from the marine department. They instead went to calming the crowd and assessing the situation further before making any decisions. The scientist sat on the ground, defeated and looking a little lost. Nearby, the festival started going back to normal.

But the Heart Swap that Manaphy used had not been missed. It would have lasting effects on a number of the patrons at the festival and one despondent scientist.


Brandon Masons
Autumn Harvest Festival; Far Left Dock of Castelia City

In all the commotion, Brandon had been struck and knocked on his butt. Someone’s Pokémon must have bumped him sending him to the ground while people were rushing around in all directions. Macy hovered over him anxiously, flitting about and chirping near his face. Her fear was infectious, but he kept calm until this red light shone in his face. It blurred his vision as it floated towards him before approaching his chest. No amount of scurrying away prevented it from honing in on him and once it made contact with him, his vision blacked out completely.

Brandon's sight and other senses gradually returned and he clutched his head groaning. It felt as if he’d just woken up from a terrible sleep and the noise around him didn’t help. As he took in his surroundings, the first thing he noticed was how big everything now looked. People towered over him and he might even be able to fit between the planks of wood along the dock, the thought sending a jolt through his stomach. The next thing he noticed was something taking up his other hand and when he glanced at it, he saw a giant flower was in his grip. Finally, the pieces all fell into place as he saw a prone body wearing the exact outfit he’d been wearing to the festival. The body moved slowly, stiffly and Brandon recognized his own face staring at him. Eyes locked, the two came to the same conclusion at the same time.

“Brandon!” Macy screamed from his body. She crawled to him on the ground and gently put her hands around him in a scooping motion. Staying close to the ground, tears were beginning to pour down her face and she shivered violently while swinging her head around to watch what was happening.

“Brandon, Brandon, it’s me! What happened?” his own voice spoke to him in a frantic stutter through sobs. It was incredibly disorienting to hear his own voice, coming from his own body, while being in the body of his own Pokémon. He struggled to form a coherent word, much less a coherent thought. Macy had to be in his body while he was in hers, but how had this happened?

“Brandon! I don’t know what happened, things look so different and I’m big now and you’re me. I just don’t know, Brandon,” Macy said, still on her knees probably too afraid to stand to her full, new height. Brandon was at a loss and inspected his new body while Macy cried and rambled away.

 

[Schade]

Grayson Wells
Cafè Le'Pepè (Located by the Castelia City piers)

By now, the festive festival festivities were in full action, and the once calm streets (Or as calm as it gets in the afternoon in Unova's biggest city) werecramped by people and pokemon alike from all over, pointing in different directions, laughing a lot, and somehow things hadn't caught on fire yet. Even Grayson had to admit: This was actually going pretty well. Most of the people would wind up at the docks where a large stage had been set up to host a variety of different artists from all over. Not just your local legends like Milly Kyrus or Lady BlaBla, but the kind of names that makes you wonder how such a humble festival can afford without sending the entire city into an economic bankrupcy.

Things had calmed down by the modest cafe as well, and Jean had given the trio the rest of the evening off. Kara had then insisted they swalk out by the pier at this time to relax a bit, coincidentally also right on cue for some of the festival fireworks to light up the dim sky in a barrage of colors, weird patterns and potential medical issues.

"Hey look! That one looked like a Bounsweet!" Kara exclaimed excitedly while downing the rest of what had been an impressively large coffee. "That one looks like a Wailmer!" she then laughed. Looking up, Grayson noticed the pokemon shaped fireworks as well, allthough he wasn't early as interested in them as Kara was. It was nice to get some time off though. Jean's plan of pretty much pimping the three out by shamelessly have them model for the flyers had attracted large crowds of people of all ages and genders, sparked rivalries amongst friend groups and even prompted its own page on N'stagram with pictures taken with Grayson, Kara and Matthew by customers, all of which Jean had charged for, naturally. In other words, the day had been even more tiresome than anticipated, and sitting here in silence with Kara was somewhat calming.

Kara then spoke after a long pase, one that Grayson actually hadn't noticed. "Uhm.. Gray?" she started. "Please, Gray is my father, call me Son" he answered with a heavy british accent, delivering the inside joke for probably the millionth time. Instead of laughing out loud as she normally did, Kara just sort of chuckled to herself before continuing. Uh-oh, had something happened? "Uhm.. It's nice to be able to watch the fireworks with you like this." she continues. Maybe she just sounded tired, but her voice didn't have that same pep as it used to. "Uh-huh? Yeah any time." Grayson replied. Damn, she looked really down all of a sudden, almost as if she was about to say something she may or may not regret, like in those romance series where the protagonists watch the romantic fireworks together and confess their love for each other!. Naturally, Grayson doesn't watch these things so he had no idea what was going on right then and there. She then chuckled again and took a deep breath. "See, i've been meaning to say this for a long time now. I enjoy hanging out with you and was wondering if you'd like to go on a date..."

Grayson didn't quite catch the last part of her sentence due to a sudden and abrupt interruption, as situations like these normally go. As they were walking, a hooded group of people had made their way to the pier as well, pushing away people in their way. Including Grayson, who fell off the pier and into the presumably icy cold waters. Yup. 'tis cold allright. Jesus that water was cold. "Oh my god are you allright?!" Kara souted down at him. the distance up to the pier wasn't too much, but too much to climb by yourself. What kind of dumb docks doesn't have railings anyway..

"No worries, I'll help you out!" some random kid wearing a blue hoodie with a red cap shouted way too enthusiastically before yeeting a Pokeball out above Grayson, out fo which, came a Charizard. Yup, a gigantic fire-breathing flying Godzilla-esque kaiju of a pokemon was supposed to be his savior. This is it, Grayson thought. Things have gone sour, as they do. Well the giant lizard effortlessly flew down to the water's edge and fished him out, hovering up gently and putting him down next to Kara and its trainer. "Great job Charizard" The kid exclaimed, giving a thumbs up. Then, all of a sudden, the sky flashed just a bit more red than it had done during the fireworks. Yep, here comes the medical issues. It's like everything one thinks can go wrong one day just huddles together and goes 'ok, but what if we all struck together'. IF that wasn't enough, the cold water, even though it seemed to have dried already, had given him quite the dizzy spell. A minor shock, most likely.

"Hey, Hey are you allright?!" Kara asked in a worried tone, helping him to his feet while giving him her jacket. "Yeah, im fine, thanks" he replied, to which she turned to him and said "Thank you so so so so much Charizard!". Whet.

Yup, there in front of him stood himself, looking pretty worse for wear, and that's not counting the Krabby that was pinced to his shirt. "Grayson" also looked very very confused, looking at his arms and legs as if he's never seen a human body before. Wait a second... If i'm standing over there, but im also standing over here. Does this mean im god? No that's probably not it. Mirroring "himself", Grayson looked at his hands which were now Clawed, orange, and signifficantly shorter than his sleek sexy human arms. Looking down, yup, an orange belly. a belly! No more rock hard abs no no no you're a weather balloon now. Stubby yet sturdy legs and.. ohmygosh is that a tail, andits on fire? yeah yeah he knew well he was looking at a Charizard from a first person perspective but the shock hadn't set in yet. Wait he had wings now? Whooooaa.... Ok now it's time for the shock to settle in, with a terrifyingly terrified loud scream, to which "Grayson" did the same, and also he had taken off his shirt for some reason.

"Oh wow, what's going on guys!" A voice from somewhere said. Looking around, they found that the voice came from a Pidove on the ground, next to the body of the Charizard's trainer lying on the ground flapping his arms and legs around.

"G.. Grayson, what's going on?" Kara asked. She sounded legitimately scared now, and seemed to be unaffected by the strange phenomenon that the others were. Grayzard cast a quick glimpse over at "Grayson". It seemed Kara didn't understand him, but this stunningly attractive imposter did. Flashing his best "pls explain something to her pls quick", "Grayson" somehow picked up on it. "Oh, don't worry about it, it's probably just a bit of aftershock. You go back, i'll go find something to change into.". Yes! Tell her to leave! There's no need in confusing her even more, or gods forbid, this phenomenon happens again and she suddenly struts around claiming to be a Bonsly or something. "Are you sure? I could call someone..." Kara said before "Grayson" spoke again. "Yeah, yeah no problem, i'll make sure this guy here is ok." he then said, pointing to the poor trainer on the ground who only muttered "im a bird, im a bird" yeah he likely needs some solid therapy that one.

Somehow all of this worked, and Kara left back to the cafe, instructed to tell them that Grayson had gone home for the evening after falling into the pier. They would understand that (they didn't) and the revenue from Jean's shady activities likely won't take a hit from it (It did). So now, Grayzard stood there in silence with "Grayson", the Charizard currently inhabiting his body, his trainer Bash, who was standing up now and was inhabited by a Pidove, while Bashdove, the Pidove inhabited by Bash was sitting on "Grayson"'s shoulder. By the looks of i, there were more instances of this having happened at the festival. It all felt very surreal, obviously.

"So.. now what?" Bashdove asked. "There seems to be other people affected by this. What if we split up and ask around and see if we find any answers?" "Grayson" asked. Obviously, this Charizard had more leadership skills and protagonist vibes than Grayzard did, but alas, here we are.
"Well, I'll go into the crowd and try not to burn anything down then!" Grayzard said in a mild panic, to which "Grayson" simply laughed. "It's not that hard, don't worry about it.". Grayzard jusy mumbled a bunch of noises in response before heading off into the crowd of people by the festival. "Fine, I'll take these two and ask around. We'll meet by your cafe later?" "Grayson" said. Grayzard turned around and pointed fingerguns in response. Fingerclaws? Clawguns? There's an idea for a pokemon move guys! What a hassle this evening would be....

 

[InnerFlame]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rose [Elizabeth Roseanna] Miller
Castelia City's Autumn Harvest Festival
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Luckily her little Archen didn't cause any problems despite his hyper nature, which cause him to headbutt one of the flyer holders. There were some people and children very interested in her prehistoric pokemon, but Rose and her pokemon were able to enjoy quite a few activities. The young archeologist was really enjoying herself. Then suddenly something caught her attention, a strange group of dark clothes hooded individuals making their way through the festival. Because of the woman's more observant character, something just stuck out about them. Then when they took off running and releasing pokemon, the alarms were fully set off.

While most festival-goers were panicking, Rose hopped into action. Getting her larger pokemon help to weave through the crowd and defeat some of the pokemon, she attempted to keep the smaller ones somewhat nearby. Though Roost excited darted off with her Kabutops leaving just her Carbink at her heel. Just as she managed to get somewhat closer to the troublemakers a bright flash of red blinded her. Before her vision return, she felt rather strange... her body felt stiff all of the sudden. Rose's eyes regain sight and her point-of-view was lower now... a lot lower. When she looked around he could see ankles and legs but she definitely felt like she was upright... Also, she couldn't feel her arms and legs, it felt really strange. Her eyes dart around and when she noticed something white around her neck... The white hair fur seemed familiar despite being from a different perspective.

"Rose, what's wrong," A man voice call her name with much concern which pulled her out of her current train of thought. Rose instinctively looked at the person that said her name. Though what her eyes found was Sheldon and for a moment Rose thought she was mistaken about where the voice came from. "You're acting a bit strange." The Kabutops continued and she confirmed that he was indeed talking... and she could understand him. Following his eyes, she saw some very familiar-looking legs, outfit, bag, and eventually a face she knew all too well... her own face.

"This... me?" The words out confusedly as out of her mouth while staring at her and hands. Constantly, the short-haired opened and closed the hands and individually wiggled her fingers. Suddenly the pair of brown-red eyes stared blankly down and locked onto the current her. "Me.....? No... Rosie?"

"B-Beryl?!?" She shouted out with equal confusion and her human body let out a hum and stiffly nodded its head up and down. Suddenly it was obvious what had happened and why she should felt so strange. "We have swapped bodies! How? Oh, I think read up about this phenomenon... but where?"

As Rose began to go through her knowledge of ancient history in her mind. She was positive there wasn't any such lore in the Unova region, so she began to slowly go through each region one by one. Her pokemon gather closer voicing their confusion about what was going on with the two. Beryl in Rose's body was much more enthralled by the movement of the woman's hands and just stared at them as he flexed and twist them about.

 

[Tangeh]

Alvin Kohlberg
Castelia City Piers – Harvest Festival

“Ohmigosh! Hi! Your Pichu is soooooooo cute!”

Alvin sighed and lifted his head up. It was a small blonde man dressed in pink, with a jigglypuff beside him. If only he had a pokedollar for every time he'd heard those words. “Thanks...” Alvin said, realizing immediately after the lack of enthusiasm was probably rude. “Uh, you can pet him, if you want?” Alvin quickly offered to combat this. The guy introduced himself as Cameron Mason, and his grumpy jigglypuff as Melody. “W-wait, you're one of the performers?” Alvin asked, sitting up a bit taller. Oh, good, they could finally test the equipment. Sparky's nose twitched and he bounded over to the stranger, smiling and widening his eyes. He placed one tiny paw on his chin and the other pointed up at Cameron's hand.

Alvin followed Sparky's gaze, recognizing the cute act he put on whenever he wanted something, and spotted the macarons in the guy's hand. “Sparky, no, how many times have I told you not to beg to strangers? I'm so sorry, just ignore him.” Alvin explained, embarrassed.

Cameron offered Sparky a macaron anyways – Sparky grabbed it excitedly out of his hand and tucked right in. Alvin internally was dreading the inevitable sugar rush and would have loved to yank the treat out of Sparky's hands, but that would be incredibly rude. Instead, he forced a smile and commented, “thanks, that's nice of you to share, right Sparky?” Sparky ignored Alvin, probably set on demolishing the macaron as fast as possible before Alvin had a chance to take it away. Alvin cleared his throat. “Right Sparky?”

Sparky jumped a bit, then offered a smile to Cameron and a happy “pi pichu!”

“Uh, anyways,” Alvin had one eye on Sparky and the rapidly disappearing macaron, “My name is Alvin, and this is Sparky.” Sparky licked his lips and then his paws to ensure every molecule of sugar was ingested. His left ears twitched a few times. “We're working on setting up the electrical equipment for the stage tonight. If you have a minute, do you think you could help us test it?”

Later that evening...

So far, so good. Sparky had spent a good hour running in circles, which although the stage manager wasn't too thrilled, at least it kept him occupied. Sparky had fallen asleep smack in the middle of the stage sometime after that, and Alvin had tucked him in his backpack with the top open, where he was still snoring surprisingly loudly for such a tiny creature. Sparky had a bad habit of letting himself out of his pokeball, and Alvin didn't want to risk not noticing, so backpack it was.

Things had gone very smoothly with Sparky unconscious, which Alvin was having very mixed feelings about. He'd never be able to take Sparky to work. He couldn't continue leaving Sparky at home by himself. Alvin's heart hurt. He busied himself by quadruple-checking the wiring.

Alvin was so engrossed in his work and his personal thoughts that he didn't notice the commotion at first. The music stuttered out and Alvin hurriedly began checking the circuit before realizing the issue was that the performers had stopped singing.

Alvin rushed out to see what was going on and was met with the terrified screams of festival-goers as they fled the scene. He flicked Sparky's ear and felt him stir from within the backpack. At the edge of the stage were a number of hooded figures, and Alvin watched in shock as a female scientist tackled one of them to the ground, and an ethereal cry echoed over the two human ones. The last thing Alvin remembered seeing was a flash of red light - -

…

Alvin blinked his eyes open, not recognizing that he was inside his own backpack until he was suddenly jolted to the ground. He rolled out of the backpack and rubbed his head, very slowly processing that 1. he was just inside his backpack 2. he had no hair, just fur, and big ears; and finally, 3. he was currently staring at himself laying on the ground.

Shakily, Alvin raised two stubby yellow paws up to his face. Oh god, he must have hit his head harder than he thought. He pinched himself, feeling the jolt of pain correctly radiate off his tiny arm -

...Oh no.

He watched with big, disbelieving eyes as his body tried to stand up, then Alvin winced as his body fell over again. That will hurt later. He watched himself look around desperately from the ground, then fearfully ask: “Alvin... Alvin, where'd you go?”

At once, what just happened clicked in Alvin's mind. He and Sparky had switched bodies. Oh, Arceus. He was pretty sure he'd literally had nightmares about this before. He still wasn't fully convinced this wasn't one of them. Alvin managed to get his tiny legs going and hopped over to his own body. “Sparky?” Alvin asked. His heart dropped as he watched his head turn toward him, confirming his theory. “Sparky, it's me, it's Alvin.” His voice was tiny and squeaky, but Sparky seemed to understand perfectly.

Sparky looked at his hands – well, Alvin's hand - then back at Alvin in his body. For a moment he looked stunned, then he started giggling, still on the ground. “That's.... that's hilarious!” Sparky exclaimed. “How'd you do that?”

Alvin sighed. “It wasn't me. I-I don't know what's going on...”

 

[Skillfulness]

Brandon Masons--Flabébé | Macy--Brandon Masons
Autumn Harvest Festival; Far Left Dock of Castelia City

“Alright Macy, I’ll admit, this is a new one for me.” Brandon was still staring down at his new, tiny appendages. The perspective of a Flabébé meant everything looked huge and he was always curled up against a flower the size of his (new) body. In front of him was Macy, but in his body. Neither of them were where they belonged and it seemed the chaos was still roaring around them. That group of shady people pushing through the docks were getting away and he still wasn’t sure where that red light came from, but it must’ve had something to do with that happened to him and Macy.

“Look, let’s calm down and carefully pick me up. I don’t think it would be safe for me to attempt flying right away.” Macys head snapped up, tears and snot running down her (Brandon’s) face. She nodded quickly and slowly held out a hand within reach for him to hop upon. Looking at his own face was unnerving, but Brandon was starting to get used to it as he let Macy lift him in her kneeling position. He took a moment to gather his surroundings and didn’t see anything immediately helpful. People were still pushing around, somewhat panicked, and the festival continued in various stages or was stopped completely on most of this side of the dock. While he didn’t want to rush Macy in her own new reality, they really should get moving to someplace out of the way to talk things out. Though now that he thought about it.

“Macy, you can understand me? Normally humans can’t understand Pokémon speech.”

“Well yeah,” she said. “It’s almost like listening to myself talk or watching back one of those videos you’ve taken of me.” A blush rose in her face and she looked away. Brandon assumed that made sense, then again, Pokémon science was never anything he got much into outside of breeding for the farm. For now, they had to work on getting her to stand up so they could move. But his plan was interrupted before it could begin.

“Hey! You two!” A stout Misdreavus floating nearby gestured with her chin at the two of them crouched in the crowd. Macy pointed at herself and Brandon at himself in a questioning manner.

“Yes, glasses boy and little Flabébé--meet me by the popcorn stall soon, we’re figuring this out.” Now Brandon realized there was a meek middle-aged woman hovering nearby, though not literally. She looked as confused as Macy and had an uncomfortable gait as if unused to using legs. A theory was forming in Brandon’s head that maybe he and Macy weren’t the only two unlucky trainer and ‘Mon that got body swapped.

“Ok Macy, let’s work on standing up and slowly walking to that stall just down the dock. Just one step at a time, yeah?” The Misdreavus and her owner hurried off and started ordering a few other duos to all meet up at the popcorn stall.

 

[InnerFlame]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rose [Elizabeth Roseanna] Miller
Castelia City's Autumn Harvest Festival
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"...hey..... Hey... HEY BERYL!!! ...You still in there?"

Rose the Carbink called out loudly to her original human form. The short-haired woman's eyes shot away from her wrists twisting and rotating. Eventually, they fell down to the rock/fairy-type pokemon that shouted out. There's was slight confusion reflected in those red-brown eyes. "I've been calling you."

"Oh... really? Sorry, Rosie." Beryl answered with no change in the tone of his voice. "Rosie has lots of moving parts..." The face of the human woman remained unnatural stiff. Due to his previous form as limbless rock-type, the pokemon was entranced by suddenly having so many moveable appendages and joints. His attention once again began to drift off as he grew once fascinated by the movement of the hands.

"Looks like I lost him again... " A sigh escaped the small jewel pokemon as her diamond-shaped ears droop a bit. Not that she could blame him, it was certainly a strange feeling no longer having her usual limbs and feeling so rigid. Though there was also something floaty about her as well that she couldn't explain. This, however, wasn't the time for such analysis... she needed to assess her situation. Rose turned to look around but her new perception didn't allow her to see much past the sea of legs.

Rose wasn't going to give up yet... Shifting her position and turning, she hoped to find something. Her blue gem eyes landed on the rest of her team. Quiver's was looked particularly panic and scared among the crowd, her large shrunk down as low as she could handle as she trembled more than usual. Chompy seemed calm but that was just worrying when it involved him. Sheldon, the ever responsible one was trying his best to keep the youngest member Roost under control. After staring for a moment, inspiration struck Rose.

"Hey Sheldon, let me climb up on your head." The request brought out a quizzical look from Kabutops' face. "I need a higher vantage point to evaluate our circumstances. I don't think getting much help out of Beryl right now... " A quick glance over the human body of Rose just mesmerized by the bending of the arm at the elbow spoke volumes. "And even though Quiver and Chompy are taller, but I think I'll have a better chance balancing on you since your head is flat."

"Okay, Rose. " There was no resistance from the fossil pokemon. "Let me help you up." He shot the Archen a firm look that told him to behave himself before taking a couple of steps closer to the Carbink Rose. He held out his sickle-shaped arm, nice and level for her to stand on. Ever so slightly, she hopped forward trying to maintain her odd sense of balance. Once steady he gently lifted up his arm to head height.

With another short stabilization time, Rose had reached her goal for a much better view. There appeared to be a lot of panic people and stalls seem to have halted altogether. Those villains from earlier seem to have made their escape. She observed some oddities in some of the people for a slight moment before a Misdreavus appeared directly in front of her. It startled her enough to make her wobble a bit. The red-eyed ghost just looked at Beryl before scanning through the pokemon nearby before stopping on the Carbink.

"Hey, take your pokemon over to the popcorn stall. There are some things we need to discuss." The womanly voice commanded in a somewhat stern voice. It took only a second for the human turned into a pokemon to process. Especially after spotting a meek-looking lady shadowing her.

"Are you also..." the ghost nodded in response before she finished her statement. This gave Rose a lead to her current dilemma. Spinning around carefully, she looked at her destination in the distance... "Alright, we'll head there. Let's head these guys."

A thud crash happened behind her... and many nearby eyes turned to see a brown-haired woman face down on the ground. Beryl had neither figured out the art of walking nor using limbs to catch himself to prevent facepalming. This might take a minute for him to get used to a human body.

"Uh... We'll get there soon?" That statement sounded more like a question but was probably enough for the Misdreavus to continue on her way. "You okay Beryl." He nodded or at least attempted to do so without pushing his head up... This might quite a bit for them to the popcorn stall at this rate.

 

[Monster Guy]

Cameron Mason
Castelia City Piers – Harvest Festival

Later that evening, it was finally time for Cameron’s concert. He picked out a cute pink dress for himself, and with Melody by his side, he hopped onto the stage in front of a crowd of cheering fans. He clutched the microphone in his hands, and opened his mouth to sing.

When the bubblegum
pops
I want you to smile
And remember every good time
We had when skies were grey
oh, Bubblegum dear
Why are you crying?
I’ll never let them take
My Bubblegum away.
And when the skies
are all blue
All I can think of is yoooou
The world lights at your smile
And shines at the sound
of your lauugh
And Bubblegum dear
I just want to see you again.

Cameron and Melody were too busy singing and dancing on stage, they didn’t notice anything else that was going on. Even when the flash red light dominated his vision. As soon as that passed, Cameron went back to singing as if nothing was wrong.

“Um… Cam… You can stop…”

Cameron turned around to see he was looking up at himself. “OMG! Hi Me!” Cameron replied excitedly. “You’re a lot taller than I expected.”

“Um…” For some reason, “Cameron” was studying his own hands. As if this were the first time he was seeing them.

It was only then that Cameron loooked down at himself, and saw pink feet, and little stubby arms. “Wait… OMG! You’re Melody! Then… I’m a Jigglypuff! Did I turn into you? And you turn into me?! Neat!”

“What are these things?!” Melody asked. Still confused by her new appendages.

“They’re called fingers. You use them to pick stuff up.”

"Hey, kid! Take your pokemon over to the popcorn stall. There are some things we need to discuss." A Misdreavus commanded them. They’re was a nervous looking lady behind her. She must have gotten into a similar situation to himself.

“Oh… uh… Be there in a second!” Cameron took one step on his new Jigglypuff feet, tripped, and started rolling. This was not at all a concern to Cameron. “Weeeeeeeeee!” He exclaimed before he literally crashed into the Popcorn stall itself.

Meanwhile, Melody had to run after him, and quickly found herself out of breath. She too wasn’t used to being on human legs.

 

[Tangeh]

Alvin Kohlberg
Castelia City Piers – Harvest Festival

Screams and the footsteps of people stampeding out of the docks roared around them, and though they were close to the stage and out of harm's way, Alvin the pichu's situation was starting to sink in, and he started hyperventilating, eyes wide. "Oh Arceus, oh Arceus, what do we - what do I do - " Sparks flew from Alvin's cheeks, startling him. "Ouch!"

Sparky, sitting awkwardly on the ground in Alvin's body, giggled. "Try holding your breath; that's what I do."

"Y-you do?" Alvin stopped breathing, which did nothing to ease his anxiety, so he let out a shaky breath and more sparks danced off his cheeks. "Okay, okay, we need to, uh..." This wasn't something that could be solved with science… but still, that might be his best bet. There were some studies from a researcher named Bill from Kanto who had managed to swap bodies with a pokemon and then back again, so maybe - maybe, they were already at the docks, if they could just get onto a ship to Kanto -

A misdreavus floated up to them. "You two!" it said. Alvin's eyes somehow got even wider. "Come with me, we're meeting by the popcorn stand to figure this out." It floated away, and Alvin took a few moments to blurt out a response.

"It-it-it could talk!" Alvin literally squeaked.

Sparky gave him an odd look. "Well, duh. Ghost-types never shut up. Always trying to freak people out!" Sparky yawned and tried to curl his human body into a ball, which Alvin winced at. "'M sleepy. Gonna take a nap..."

Now that Sparky mentioned it, Alvin felt full of energy. It was as if he were the embodiment of electricity itself - was this how Sparky felt all the time? It would explain a lot. "Not now, Sparky." Alvin said sternly, trying to see where the misdreavus went. This would be a lot easier if he weren't barely a foot tall. Alvin gauged the height of the stage. He'd seen Sparky clear that tall of a jump before - he coiled himself up, and made a leap. He shocked himself - both literally and figuratively - when he managed to grab onto the end of the stage, and wriggled himself to the top. "There! Misdreavus is over there!" He had spotted the popcorn stand and gestured toward it. Alvin may as well have been talking to nobody, as Sparky snored lightly, already asleep. With an annoyed grumble, Alvin jumped back off the stage. How did Sparky do this again? Hm, well, when he was little… Alvin rubbed his cheeks, and sparks ran through his body - he touched Sparky, and they transferred over to him. Sparky yelped and sat bolt upright, then groaned and rubbed his neck. "Ow, ow, ow… what's the big idea?!"

Alvin jumped onto Sparky's shoulder and tried to smooth out his hair. Ugh, this was hard enough to do with human hands, let alone fuzzy paws that conducted electricity. Far from helping, the hair on Sparky's head stood upright. Alvin sighed. "C'mon, up you get, we need to sort this out."

Sparky groaned and tried to shift to a standing position. Luckily it wasn't too difficult - pichu were sort of bipedal - and Sparky seemed to get a kick out of it. "Whee! Alvin, we're so high up! It's like riding on your shoulder except I can control it!"

Alvin, currently riding on his shoulder, nervously clung to his shirt. "U-uh, okay, grab my backpack, don't go too fast - okay, go left, forward..."

By the time the reached the popcorn stand, there were a couple people already there. Among a few unsteady-looking humans there were a few pokemon, including a Flabébé, Carbink, and Jigglypuff. Alvin recognized Cameron from earlier. "You too, huh?" Alvin asked, his voice a lot squeakier than before. Sparky smiled and waved at Cameron the jigglypuff. "Hiya! Remember me??" Alvin sighed in embarrassment.