Forest Shrine: Venom's Spirit Encounter

[Caramell 🍬]

Evil Spirit Gengar [Level 25]
Encountered here
^{Raining weather is in effect.}

Notes: Whirlipede's HP 18% [12/66]

[Venominon]

Just as he had done with all the other evil spirit encounters, Venom kept his wits about him, his eyes narrowed, and all of his senses as sharp as they could get. True, he had been successful in his mission to purge said spirits from the Ilex Forest and save Chikorita's life so far, but just setting foot in this particular area was more than enough to tell the ninja that this spirit wasn't like the others. It was stronger, more cunning, and far more malicious than any spirit he had faced up to this point. Still, even with the freezing rain continuing to pour down from the sky, and the fog making it impossible for Venom to see even three feet in front of him, he wasn't even close to giving up and leaving the forest. He knew the leader of the evil spirits was here, and that if he and his Pokemon defeated it in a battle, it would disappear from the Ilex Forest forever. So, while he waited for even the tiniest sign of movement, Venom reached into his bag, grabbed a Pokeball, and pressed the button on it to make it bigger.

Then, as soon as he heard the cry for help, the Poison type trainer started to follow the sounds of the voice he heard, but did so very slowly, keeping his guard up as he went. Venom did find it odd that an evil spirit would be crying out for help and began to wonder if maybe it was some other creature's voice that he was hearing. Perhaps even Celebi itself, as the shrine soon came into view through the fog. "Celebi? Is that you?" Venom questioned as he eyed the shrine, knowing that the Time Travel Pokemon must've been more upset than any other living thing about what was happening to the forest. However, any hopes that Venom had of meeting the legendary Pokemon were dashed as soon as the ominous presence he was sensing grew strong, and a pair of big red eyed stared at him through the fog.

The ninja quickly jumped back from the shrine, then watched and gripped the Pokeball in his hand as the spirit slowly manifested itself before him. Given the Ghost type Pokemon he and his Pokemon had faced so far, Venom wasn't too surprised to see that the leader took the form of a Gengar. However, Gengar's voice, as well as the events that followed did surprise him quite a bit. "Sorry, but you've done far too much damage here already. Your rein ends here, evil spirit. Team Toxic will send you to the next world. Isn't that right, Skorupi?!" Venom declared, then tossed the red and white orb in his grip into the air, sending the Pokemon inside into the fray.

As soon as Skorupi appeared, she immediately flinched and went wide eyed upon seeing her opponent, clearly not as calm or collected as her trainer was. "Gah! What the heck is that thing?! It looks like a Gengar, but it sounds like something straight out of one of my nightmares!" Fortunately for her, Venom had more than enough confidence for both of them, remembering an interesting fact about Gengar as he gave Skorupi her first order of the battle. "You're that thing's nightmare, Skorupi! I'm not exactly sure how this happened, but recently, Gengar's ability changed from Levitate to Cursed Body!"

"That means Ground type moves will work on it now! And since Gengar is also a Poison type, it should hurt too! So, use your Dig attack!" The Scorpion Pokemon didn't really understand what Venom was talking about, but she was more than happy to do anything that would get her away from the evil spirit before her, quickly burrowing her way underground. "You don't have to tell me twice! Down we go!" True, Venom knew that Cursed Body would likely disable Skorupi's Dig, but that was of little concern to the ninja. He had a plan, and he had faith that it would work.

[Caramell 🍬]

Gengar’s large eyes spun around inside of his head. The strange grin never left his face. He searched for the human as Venom spoke back to the large spirit that hovered above them with its strange, cursed body even as he had already found Venom and called the lad closer to him. Gengar’s thick pink up slipped from between his lips like a while snake, slithering around in a tensed pose in the air. “…sssaaavveee mmmeeee…” A voice almost completely unlike Gengar’s voice spoke from somewhere inside of Gengar’s body. Then, at once, the sentient spirit swallowed his own tongue with a raucous laughter. “…feeedd mmmeee mmmooorreee sssooouuulllsss!” He demanded.

Strange shadows danced on the ground and in between the trees. They stretched and swelled from various angles. Like, demonic cat-like shadows stretched their long, blood red clawed feet up the sides of the tall pine trees and easily scaled their heights. Strange wolf-like shadows ran across the tall grasses and jumped over the tall bushes with a loud, eerie howl. The movements of the shadows were quick and otherworldly, meant to pull Skorupi into an almost trance as they seemed to speed up and dart all around her from various angles. Then, a huge black mass almost like a cloud being lifted up out of the ground swelled up behind Skorupi and slammed into her from behind.

Skorupi immediately dug underground. Bits of upturned earth showed the tunneled pathway she made from beneath the ground. At first, Gengar only lifted himself higher into the air to try and avoid his opponent’s attacks. A wild grin covered his face as he searched about for Skorupi and even called out to the other Pokemon. “Sooouuulll…sooouuulll…rrreettuurrrnnn tttooo mmmmeeee ssooouuulll!” He laughed. Slowly, but surely, Gengar’s body would float down closer to the ground until he eventually set both legs on the soft grassy surface and spun his eyes around in his head, shooting large hypnotic waves from their gaze. They would completely miss the underground scorpion, who lunged herself up out of the earth at the right second, slamming into the evil spirit’s large hide and causing Gengar to stumble backwards a bit with a loud “Oaf!” Gengar immediately consumed his Jaboca berry, which caused a strange power to surround Skorupi and claw into her hide.


Wild Encounter

---

Weather: Raining

[attr="class","qkt-bkgd"]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-pkmn"]
Gengar ♂ LV 25
HP 56% [40/72]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-imgbox"]

[attr="class","qkt-pkmn-img"]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-pkmn"]
Skorupi ♀ LV 26
HP 63% [40/64]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-imgbox"]

[attr="class","qkt-pkmn-img"]

Evil Spirit Gengar [Cursed Body]: Normal
Venominon's Skorupi [Sniper]: Normal [Dig disabled 1/4]

SP67 Gengar used Shadow Punch!
SP46 Skorupi used Dig! Skorupi dug underground!

SP67 Gengar used Hypnosis! But it failed!
SP46 Skorupi dug up from underground and struck Gengar! Dig was disabled!
Gengar consumed his Jaboca Berry and Skorupi took 12.5% damage!

[Venominon]

As Venom listened to the words that came from the evil spirit, he narrowed his eyes, sensing that something was off. Even more so than with the other spirit he and his Pokemon had fought up to this point. He was certain that the words he had heard came from the evil spirit before him, but at the same time, it felt like the words didn't come from said spirit at all. The only conclusion Venom could come up with was that an innocent spirit must be trapped inside Gengar's body. The Poison type trainer knew that these evil spirits consumed souls to gain power and stabilize themselves in the physical world, but from the sound of it, one soul that Gengar consumed hadn't been fully absorbed into its body just yet. If that was indeed the case, then Venom and Skorupi had yet another reason to end this battle sooner rather than later.

That being said, Gengar certainly wasn't making it easy for the poisonous pair. The two watched as the shadows danced all around them, causing Skorupi to become even more scared, as the Scorpion Pokemon shook from the tips of her claws to the end of her tail. As usual, Venom wasn't scared at all though, as he held up the Cleanse Tag in his hand to keep any other lingering spirits at bay. "Don't be scared, Skorupi! I've got your back, and I'm not going anywhere!" The ninja did his best to reassure his Pokemon, as he darted around the area, holding out the Cleanse Tag to frighten off as many evil spirits as he possibly could. Of course, this meant that Skorupi had absolutely no protection from Gengar and its attacks, but Venom knew that she could win this battle if she really tried.

Knowing that her trainer was doing his best did well to motivate Skorupi to try her best as well, as she put all of her strength into her attack. But then, just as Venom predicted, the Poison/Bug type was immediately struck by the effects of Gengar's ability, Cursed Body. Granted, this was well within Venom's expectations, but the Jaboca Berry did surprise both trainer and Pokemon a bit. "OW! Darn it! That hurt, you big meanie!" Skorupi winced in pain, but still managed to glare and yell at her otherworldly opponent, as the rain continued to fall all around them. "A Jaboca Berry, huh? Damn. No wonder this one's the leader. It's not just stronger. It's smarter too." Venom remarked to himself, then quickly thought up his and Skorupi's next plan of attack.

Fortunately, when it came to super effective moves, Skorupi had more than just Dig in her arsenal. And luckily for Team Toxic, a Jaboca Berry, like all other types of berries, was only a single use item. "We've got more than just Dig! Let 'em have it, Skorupi! Feint Attack!" Skorupi felt like the luckiest Pokemon in the world at that moment, remembering that she had another super effective move to use against her frightening foe. "I'm on it, master! Hope this works!" Skorupi hoped that this move wouldn't end up getting disabled too, as she moved behind the shrine and vanished from sight. She then narrowed her eyes and waited for the perfect moment to strike, while Venom continued to make use of the Cleanse Tag's power.

[Caramell 🍬]

The childlike soul that fought and struggled to escape the black void of Gengar’s body screamed at the top of its lungs. It wrestled against the forces that tried to tether the soul to Gengar’s body, longing to once against find the bright light that it was trying to run into before the ghostly apparition swallowed it whole. “Plleaassseee….saaavveee mmeeee…!” The child’s voice pleaded through long gasps of air, breaking free long enough to control the Shadow Pokemon’s vocals. “I’ll…nneevveerrr…..rrrruuunnn aawwaaayyy…aaggaaiiinnn…moommmyy? Daaadddyy? Aaannyyyoonneeee?” Then, the strange Pokemon’s face that had fallen into an expression of existential dread immediately warmed up and smiled with its usually devious and evil grin.

The bright purple scorpion looked tasty. It caused the large Shadow Pokemon’s mouth to water and hi ears to prick, listening for any and every sound the two exchanged between each other. “IIII….wwwiillll haaavveee…yoooourrrr soouuulll!” It hissed at the top of its lungs as the black shadows mixed and swirled on the grounds below. The strange howling from two dark shadows that wrestled off in the distance faded into the sounds of a blood-curling scream like that of a child’s in utter distress. Somewhere in the opposite direction the screams of two adults called out, “Johnny? Sweetie? Please come home!” Followed by a stricter, sterner, and gruff, “Listen to your mother, Johnny, or no TV for a week!” What happened to the lost soul that Gengar was currently fighting to absorb might have been anyone’s guess before, though the shadows seemed to paint a clear picture.

Then, the shadows leaped out from the grounds below and slammed their full force into Skorupi’s body, causing her to stumble a bit on her feet from the impact. She immediately managed to shake herself of the worst effects and turned to face her opponent head on. Gengar smirked and spun its eyes around in its head until they stopped with an awkward gaze fixated on the small purple scorpion. When Skorupi disappeared from Gengar’s field of vision, it immediately floated around and checked behind all the pillars, rocks, and trees around the area in confusion. “Sooullll- OAF!” It screamed in surprise as Skorupi lunged from behind the shrine and slammed into her opponent with all of her might, taking Gengar by surprise.

Wild Encounter

---

Weather: Raining

[attr="class","qkt-bkgd"]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-pkmn"]
Gengar ♂ LV 25
HP 19% [12/72]

[attr="class","qkt-wild-imgbox"]

[attr="class","qkt-pkmn-img"]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-pkmn"]
Skorupi ♀ LV 26
HP 38% [24/64]

[attr="class","qkt-trainer-imgbox"]

[attr="class","qkt-pkmn-img"]

Evil Spirit Gengar [Cursed Body]: Normal
Venominon's Skorupi [Sniper]: Normal [Dig disabled 2/4]

SP67 Gengar used Shadow Punch!
SP46 Skorupi used Feint Attack!

[Venominon]

This was all extremely strange. If Venom hadn't been seeing it and hearing it for himself, he might not have believed it. But even with the sounds of the rain and the other evil spirits all around him, he was certain that his ears weren't playing tricks on him. There was definitely an innocent spirit trapped inside the evil spirit's body. And from the things it was saying, the ninja deduced that it was likely the spirit of a child who got lost in the forest and suffered the fate that Venom and Skorupi were fighting against right now. Even though Venom didn't care for humanity, and it was already too late to save the child's life, he could still save his spirit from what was probably a fate worse than death.

With that in mind, Venom continued to dart around the area, wiping some rainwater from his face and using the Cleanse Tag to make sure that no other evil spirits interfered in Skorupi's battle with their boss. But then, as he did this, the Poison type trainer noticed that two spirits weren't like the others. He sensed no ill will from them, and instead sensed what could only be described as love. Having never actually met his birth parents himself, Venom didn't fully understand the feeling of a parent's love. In fact, that was something that he might never fully understand. No matter how good of a parent Koga and the wild Nidoking and Nidoqueen were to him.

However, regardless of all of that, Venom's determination to rid the Ilex Forest of this evil spirit remained strong. Absolutely no good came from its presence here. That was true for both humans and Pokemon alike. Saving the child's spirit and reuniting it with the spirits of its parents was more of a bonus to the ninja, but that didn't stop him from doing his best to make it happen, as he began to use the Cleanse Tag to push the evil spirits aside and make room for the parents to get through to the clearing. "I don't know who you people are, or who you used to be when you were alive, but come here! Your child will be freed soon! On my word, Team Toxic will bring this nightmare to an end for all!"

A single bolt of lightning lit up the entire forest immediately after Venom finished speaking, as if the heavens themselves were granting him their support in this matter. Still, the battle wasn't over yet, as both Skorupi and Gengar were reeling after their last exchange of blows. And of course, Venom kept in mind that Gengar was still faster than Skorupi, and it knew Hypnosis. So, even though one more Feint Attack would likely finish it off, a comeback was still possible for the evil spirit. Even so, something had to be done. "You've got it on the ropes, Skorupi! One more Feint Attack should do it! Let's end this! Go now!" Venom decided to take a chance, and the Scorpion Pokemon was happy to oblige, shrugging off the pain from Gengar's Shadow Punch before disappearing into the darkness once more. "I'm afraid...but you should be too, you monster!" Skorupi warned Gengar from her hiding place, but with all the rain and shrieks coming from the other spirits, it proved to be rather difficult to pinpoint her exact location.

[Tarlar]

The shadows which stretched around them seem to shake as Venom held the cleanse tag high, and a wide area around them was free for them but it meant that the echoing voices he had heard also stayed at a distance. The gengar wasn't laughing anymor and a haunted look at entered its eyes as it tried to find Skorupi, but she wasn't were she had disappeared at first and was quick to take advantage of the lush greens.
It was an error on her part though, that she called out to the ghost as the rain and shrieks around clearly wasn't enough to mask the direction of her voice. Shadows instantly gathered around where she was and slammed into her from all sides and knocked her out of her hiding spot, a hollow laugher was heard from the gengar although it didn't move its frozen grin as it dived for her.
She darted out of the way in the nick of time and spun around and buried her claws into the side of the ghost as it swiped past her and it stumbled very ghost-unlike and everything seemed to freeze. A flash of light and a shriek not of this world came from the gengar as a green figure rose from the shrine, glowing like another messias.
Gengar slowly dissolved and became a twirling mass of shadow which floated up right until it hit the invisible dome Venom had created with the cleanse tag and he could feel it shake as the shadow pushed against it. Then in lightning speed the shadow flew to the opposite end and slammed against the other end of the dome and almost knocked the cleanse tag out of Venom's hand.
Shadow figures materialized and formed to be human, ghosts of the past, lumbers, shrine keepers, children, and they slowly walked towards the shrine as if Venom wasn't there, all the while the shadow of the gengar slammed rapidly against the dome which kept it trapped, and the cleanse tag shook and jumped in Venom's hand.
The ghosts gathered around the shrine and while Venom couldn't hear a thing they clearly chanted and slowly the ghost of the gengar was pulled over and eventually into the shrine which lit up and in a blink of an eye the ghosts were gone along with the shadows which were now just normal shadows.
Only the rain stayed, and was just as icy cold as before.

And the celebi off course which darted around the clearing an enjoying its freedom, it circled Venom exctatic and gave Skorupi a short whirling dance in the air as it grabbed her and swung her around before safely placing her in front of Venom.
The celebi seemed to pause and a little frown appeared on its forehead as it listened to something, but Venom wouldn't be able to hear anything. It floated over to Venom and laid a reassuringly hand on his shoulder, "I'm going to set things right!" It said to Skorupi and lifte a hand in front of it.

At first nothing happened, but then the battle they had just been a part of happened around them, except there were no Gengar so Skorupi looked to be doing some very weird training with herself. Then an image of Venom left the clearing, backwards, the way he had come to the area. The sun and moon whisked over the sky, with flashes of pokemon rushing past as Celebi turned time backwards.
It slowed down and a very sick chikorita stumbled into the clearing walking backwards, it struggled to lay down on shaking legs and the 'fell' up standing and stumbled closer to the shrine where it slowly laid down again and shadows crept from it and into the ground and back into the shrine. The chikorita now 'jumped' up sideways up to beside the shrine with a horrified expression and turned to put a front paw on the stone, its expression eased and became one of curiosity and it slowly walked backwards away from the shrine.

Celebi lowered its arm and time travel stopped, Chikorita took a few steps forward as time was running the right direction again and then its eyes widened in fear as it saw the shrine and it jumped away with a little scream as it certainly remembered what had happened.. even though it hadn't really happened now?
Celebi zoomed over to it and touched its forehead making its eyes widen with realization. The grass type turned to look at Venom and Skorupi in awe before it bounded over to thank them and give them loving headbutts.

Skorupi won over evil and grows (25*50) 1250 exp!
She grows to level 27! (43/2269)
And she can learn Scary face if she forgets another move!


Congratulations!
You have purged the forest of the evil spirits and rescued the Forest Guardian!
Freed from the curse, Chikorita would like to join your team!

Please fill out the form below if you wish to take the chikorita with you:
[img]https://play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/gen5/chikorita.png[/img]
[b]Chikorita[/b]
Name: [choose]
Gender: [choose]
Level: 10
OT: Venominon Ouroboros
Attacks: Tackle, Growl, Razor Leaf, Poison Powder
Ability: Overgrow
Nature: [choose]

- Forest's Blessing complete! -