MATURE: Pokenormal Activity

[DecepticonCobra]

From the diary of Stephen P. Lovecraft

Table of Contents

1. The Case of Hypno's Lullaby

Introduction

My name is Stephen Lovecraft, Pokemon paranormal investigator. I never planned to go down this road, but something set me down it regardless. I suppose a brief overview of my life is in order.

I was an orphan growing up in Lavender Town, my parent's vanished when I was the age of five. To this day, the cause remains unknown. All I know is that they left for Johto and never returned. I hold no accusation in my heart that they abandoned me however, they loved me deeply. Still, growing up without a loving family puts a dark void in a child's heart, one easily exploited.

Lavender Town's horrifying, macabre tales and rumors are all true. Ghosts run rampant throughout the town wreaking havoc one night and not making a peep the next. Unpredictable creatures ghosts are, but I could routinely count on a visit from Ghost-type Pokemon nightly. It was simply not enough that I had to struggle through my childhood to simply get food to eat and a place to live, but I had to suffer night after night of nightmares brought on by the presence of the ghosts. They feed on negativity and I was a full-course meal ripe for the dining.

Yet, as the nights went on I slowly grew in my power to resist them and eventually, they backed off. One ghost, a Ghastly, remained around my house and would keep coming by every night. I didn't know why it did this, but I confronted it one night. To my surprise, it spoke:

"So you are able to keep us from your dreams and mask your fear?" the Ghastly said telepathically and then with it's trademark grin, "I respect that."

From that night forward, Ghastly became my first Pokemon friend. I nicknamed him Virgil, after the name of some obscure poet from an old tome I read at the library, and much like the poet, he guided me through the supernatural realm in which he resided. I spent many of my days inside Pokemon Tower, mourning with the Trainers of recently deceased Pokemon and, to my surprise, seeing the spirits of those Pokemon pass on to the spirit world. It was then that I knew I had something special.

At the age of ten, I set out away from Lavender Town with Virgil as my shadow, figuratively speaking of course. It has been 8 years since I left Lavender Town and since that time, I have experience many a strange phenomena or two.

These are those tales.

 

[DecepticonCobra]

The Case of Hypno's Lullaby*

*adapted from the Hypno's Lullaby creepypasta

Date: January 24th
Age: 12
Location: Johto

My first extraordinary encounter with the paranormal Pokemon world started in the Johto region. I had arrived in Goldenrod City, enthralled by it's sheer size. The biggest city back in Kanto, Celadon City, couldn't compare to what I saw. Still, my amazement was suppressed for the moment by a different feeling, hunger. I asked a random passerby for the nearest restaurant and pointed me towards the Fortunato Sandwich Shop, located near the Goldenrod Department Store. I purchased a Tauros sandwich, a glass of Moo-Moo milk and a fresh apple then proceeded to eat my meal quietly in the very back.

The wall beside me was very dark, the perfect spot for Virgil to hide. I never kept him in a PokeBall, he always preferred to stick to my shadow or any shadow nearby. Virgil came out of the wall and I set the fresh apple on the table where he proceeded to take the life energy from the apple, leaving it a grey heap. Once finished, he smiled and slid back into the shadows. When i was halfway through my own meal, a group of Pokemon breeders walked into the restaurant, purchased meals for themselves and then sat down relatively close to me. They had been talking to one another as they were walking in, so I only got a little bit of their conversation, but it was the most important part for me.

One of the breeders asked another breeder, "So Matt I hear you are making a killing on breeding Houndours as of late, that true?"

The person named Matt leaned up the the breeder who asked and answered, "Oh like you wouldn't believe Damien. All from some little town up the road. Wish it was under better circumstances though."

At this point I walked up and decided to join the conversation. "Why is that?", I asked.

Matt's face reflected a deep-seated remorse as he answered, "This town has had a rash of child kidnappings over the last few weeks. Some of the kids who come back from the forest ramble on some strange rhyme about a Hypno. As a precaution a lot of the villagers are buying up all the Houndours I have, sometimes by the dozen. Makes sense, them being Dark-type Pokemon. I haven't been down there for a few days, so I hope it all worked out. Got any particular reason you care young man?"

"I'm no stranger to bizarre occurrences," I said, "I have this feeling that I can help out."

"Best of luck to ya," one of the other breeders replied, "I'm not too sure what a kid can do about it though."

I thanked the breeders for their time, finished my meal then departed for this town up the road, called Lost Pine indicated by a signpost along the side of the road. Once I arrived at the town, nightfall descended and there was an eerie atmosphere at work. No doubt something wicked was at play. As I neared the center of the town, a woman opened the door to her house and said, "What are you doing outside young one? Quick get inside!".

I did so and found her two children, a boy and girl, resting near the fireplace with their father watching over them, much like a Noctowl does high above the trees. Three Houndours rested near the children, but awoke at my presence and started to growl. The father gave them a hand signal which calmed them then got up and walked towards me.

"What is this boy doing here Maria?" the father asked.

Maria replied, "I saw him through the window wandering through the town. Would you rather I just leave him out there so that thing can get him? How would that feel on your conscious Richard?"

Richard sighed, "No, not at all, I'm sorry I snapped at you Maria." Turning to me he asked, "But what are you doing wandering through town at night son, haven't you heard about the problems we've been having?"

I nodded, "Yes I have sir and I intend to see what I can do."

"No offense son," Richard said with a grim smile, "But this is beyond the capabilities of a child such as yourself. Kids your age and younger are the victims after all."

"I'm from Lavender Town and am no stranger to the bizarre occurrences. I think I can handle it. Now, I heard from some breeders that some of the children have turned up and chant some rhyme, is that true?"

Richard looked down and nodded, "Yup, it's true. Perhaps you should see it for yourself though."

Richard escorted me to the local clinic and once inside, I was shocked at what I saw. Two rows of ten beds at both sides of the room were all lined with children, all awake and talking, but only when I got close did I hear what they were saying...no...singing:

Come little children, come with me
Safe and happy you will be
Away from your homes, now let us run
With Hypno, you'll have so much fun.

Oh, little children, please don't cry
Hypno wouldn't hurt a fly
Be free, be free be free to play
Come down in my cave with me to stay.

Oh, little children, please don't squirm
Those ropes, I know, will hold you firm
Hypno tells you this is true
But sadly, Hypno lied to you!

Oh, little children, you mustn't leave
Your families for you will grieve
Their minds will unravel at the seams
Allowing me to haunt their dreams!

But surely, all of you must know
That it is time for you to go
Oh, little children, you weren't clever
Now you shall stay with me forever!


I was enchanted by this song, but was quickly broken out of this state when I heard a blood-curdled scream pierce the night air. Richard and I ran outside to see Maria on their porch screaming and sobbing in terror. Richard asked, "What happened?"

"I don't know how it did it, but it got the kids Richard. It got the kids!", Maria choked out, "It just appeared out of nowhere and I just glanced at it's pendulum and then I was knocked out."

We all ran back into the house and saw the spots where the kids used to be gone, the Houndours also knocked out cold. The couple clung to each other and started crying while I walked up to the fireplace and summoned Virgil.

"What do you make of it Virgil?" I asked.

Virgil looked around and deduced, "Teleport to get inside the house and Hypnosis to knock out any person and Pokemon nearby. Has to be very strong to pull this off so quickly."

I noticed one of the Houndours get up and turned it's head back and forth then yelping, probably when it couldn't find the children it was supposed to protect. I knelt down and pat it's head then turned towards Richard and Maria and said, "I'm going out there, do you mind if I borrow this Houndour?"

Richard nodded and we were off. Virgil, Houndour and I darted through the forest, getting deeper and deeper into the darkness until we stumbled upon a cave. I crept towards the cave's entrance and turned on my flashlight. After a ways, I came upon a chamber and saw a sight that sent a chill down my spine. Children were scattered all about the chamber, tied up and unconscious. At the end of the cave stood the Hypno who was responsible for the kidnappings. Richard and Maria's children were laying before it and a strange essence was emanating off their bodies. Once it vanished, the kids started to shake and quietly moan, the Hypno also turned towards us. It was a strange Hypno, visible scratches could be seen on it and the trademark collar around it's neck was as black and the night sky. Hypno then spoke:

"So you've found my lair young one, I must say you demonstrate remarkable bravery, but alas it's all for naught, you will become just like the children you see here, a steady stream of dreams for me to feast on."

I answered it's taunt with an order for Houndour to use Ember and Ghastly to use Shadow Ball. Hypno used Light Screen to stop the attacks and then launched a Psychic attack on us. Ghastly avoided the attack, but me and Houndour were slammed against the cave wall, but quickly got up. Hypno was gearing up for another attack, but Ghastly came form behind and used Sucker Punch on Hypno. It turned towards Ghastly but by then Ghastly had left, but Houndour leaped forward and struck Hypno with a Faint Attack, blending with the darkness and viciously taking it down. It lay on the ground and tried to get back up, but I pinned myself on the Pokemon kidnapper and ordered Ghastly to use Hypnosis itself.

Thankfully, it worked and the Hypno got a taste of it's own nocturnal medicine when I ordered Ghastly to use Nightmare. I know not what Hypno saw in it's dreams, but judging form the spasms and squiring, it was no pretty. To ensure Hypno couldn't do anything once it awoke, I captured it with a PokeBall. With that action, it's spell was broken. The children all started to awake and could not recall how they came to be in the cave or of the psychological torture of Hypno. That gave me joy, perhaps they could move on past this terrible ordeal. With every child accounted for, I guided them back home. Parents and children were reunited and the children in the clinic stopped chanting and also returned to normal. I was thanked immensely by the townspeople of Lost Pine, I was just happy I could give them their lives back. Richard and his wife let me keep their Houndour, which I nicknamed Cerberus after the guardian of the underworld.

As for Hypno, I could not release it back into the wild, it presented too great a danger. In it's rage, which I knew it would have, I did not know what it would do. At the nearest Pokemon Center, I accessed my PC and transferred Hypno into a storage box. There it still remains, perhaps plotting at it's revenge towards me. I intend to keep it plotting until I find a better way to contain it, permanently.

 

[Laterna]

This fic caught my attention by the title as all I could think about while looking at it were the Paranormal Activity film series and was thinking "it's not gonna be a Pokémon fic inspired by those films?". As much as I would love to see that, you're fic is a lot better than how that would work out.

As an overall pointer for you - I think you should work on bumping out your chapters with a little bit more description of locations and environment to help put the story in visual context for the reader. This would also help you in allowing the "cases" to be a little bit more expanded and read a lot better, as well as helping you to set up a proper creepy atmosphere for them. However, I do think you should keep these descriptions fairly brief as the fast-paced nature of this style works for the type of fic this is.

I really enjoyed your short opening chapter - a nice and gentle introduction to the overall story that I could almost hear in my head almost like a voice-over. Very cool. One thing I would like to point out is a spelling error - Gastly does not have a “h” in it.


I am curious as to the inspiration behind the character’s last name “Lovecraft” - I have my own thoughts about it, but would like to ask you about it first.


One of my favourite parts so far has been Gastly eating the apple - I like little details like that that go just that little bit beyond the standard for describing. Normally, I’d see writer’s just having the Pokémon eat it normally, so I think it’s really good that you took that little bit of extra time to put in that Gastly doesn’t eat in a conventional manner.

Some of the kids who come back from the forest ramble on some strange rhyme about a Hypno.

Spelling error - “ramble” should be “rambling”.

Richard escorted me to the local clinic and once inside

As a suggestion, rather than jumping straight from Richard and Maria’s house to the clinic in one sentence, maybe add some brief description of the journey? I think it would benefit as it gives you an opportunity to provide the user with a little bit more of both the context of the town as well as exploring that atmosphere a bit more.

Virgil, Houndour and I darted through the forest, getting deeper and deeper into the darkness until we stumbled upon a cave.

Again, I think some brief description here of that journey through the forest - doesn’t have to be much, just enough to allow the user to see the characters get from point A to point B, especially since you are introducing a new location.


I am glad that Stephen got to keep Hound our - I was wondering if that might happen while reading it. Also, very interested that you opted to keep the Hypno in a storage box - reminds me of Ghostbusters.


Anyways, very good job with this - I am looking forward to seeing what you do with it next.