#burhalla

[ask-team-searchlights]

(@ask-neontiger) Keahi: "You guys have gone on some adventures, right?" The Torracat tucked her paws underneath her in a loaf, sitting in front of Team Searchlights with bright eyes, "Will you tell me about an interesting one?"

"How about the one we took to get here?" Saltriv said, waving their leaf at the Torracat. "It's a really interesting story!"

"Uh, I d-don't know about th-that one—" Gen started, before Burhalla cut him off.

"Relax, Gen. People'll ask us about it sooner or later," the Charmander said, his tail flame flickering in the breeze.

"A...a-alright," Gen said, looking down at the ground.

"So, we were on the train, on our way back home from purifying a Shadow Pokemon," Saltriv started.

"We had received a prototype of a new entercard set from a Jolteon in Moonlight Town. Said they could make a magnagate all the way to the human world," Burhalla said, looking over at Gen. "They wanted us to deliver them to a Leafeon colleague of theirs back in Overcast Village, but..."

Gen took a deep breath, then said, "I, uh...hid in a storage closet on the train, and...tried to use the entercards myself. T-to get back home."

"The magnagate sucked the three of us in, and...we ended up in a weird rainbowy void, with a mystery dungeon in front of us," Saltriv said, tapping one of their hindlegs on the grassy ground. "It was right out of a dream!"

"I...was really mad at Gen," Burhalla said, looking away. "Shouted at him a bit, but...we had to find a way out, so...we entered the mystery dungeon together."

"it w-was really scary, full of really weird and powerful Pokemon, but, uh...me and Burhalla reconciled on the way through, so...th-that was at least good," Gen said.

"Eventually, we found an exit, and when we made it out...we ended up here, in the human world!" Saltriv said, wagging their tail.

"I didn't believe it at first, but Gen was sure of it. Something about the Pokemon around, and the language on signs? I don't really get it myself," Burhalla said, shrugging. "But apparently we're in a human place called Johto."

"Y-yeah!" Gen said, perking up a bit. "Th-this is...my home region. Now we just...need to find our way to Goldenrod City, and...h-hope for the best."

(Ask hints have been updated!)

[goldenrodchef]

So. Went better than I thought it would. Not as good as I hoped, but better than I thought was likely.

Saltriv immediately forgave me. Burhalla...he's mad at me, but he said I'm still his friend.

They're going to be coming back with me to my world for a while.

Maybe I'll start sharing this blog with them.

[goldenrodchef]

Hi! It's been a while!

Gen came to ask us to visit. He said he was getting really stressed from some stuff, and is letting us borrow his blog for a while.

We're also in the human world for now! Gen brought us here with a strange kind of orb!

So...if you have any questions for us, don't hesitate to ask. Though we might not be able to answer everything.

[goldenrodchef]

[Another picture is attached. Gen is standing next to a Charmander wearing a pink scarf and some sort of bracelet. They both look happy, though Gen seems a bit more nervous this time.]

Meet my other friend in this world, Burhalla.

Now I just...need to tell them both everything.

[goldenrodchef]

Hey newbies! You know Gen pretty well right? Got any embarrassing stories from the other world?~

Consider this part of the payback for lying to me, Gen.

In the first mystery dungeon we went through together, Twig Woodland, Gen had no idea how to use moves. So he pointed a paw at a Pikipek and shouted, "Water Gun!"

It was completely ridiculous.

[goldenrodchef]

What do you mean Gen got expelled from his school for being a former human?!

[ask-team-searchlights]

Avin trots after Burhalla. "Shadow Pokemon? I'm vaguely familiar with the term, but I can't say I know a lot about them. Can you tell me what you know? And how does one go about this... "purifying" process?"

Burhalla paused, and turned to look at the Shaymin. "Oh, hi! Don't see Shaymins often around here."

His tailflame then dims. "Shadow Pokemon...we have no idea what causes them, but...sometimes Pokemon go missing, and when they're found, they're Shadow Pokemon. Shadow Pokemon are Pokemon that can feel very few positive emotions, only empathy and concern."

"To purify them...they're taken to a Tapu's shrine. Then, if you follow the rules of the shrine, the Tapu purifies them."

Burhalla looks down. "But...recently, two of the Tapus have gone missing, too."

[ask-team-searchlights]

HELLLLOOOO, IS ANYBODY THEEEEEEEERE? IS ANYBODY THEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE? IT'S ME , DEOXYS. THAT'S THE NAME. DEOXYS' THE NAME, FLEXING'S MY GAME. I'M LIKE A SUPERHERO, I'M SO BUFF. SO MUSCULAR. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. THAT WAS MY MUSCLES SCREAMING, NOT ME, JUST FOR CLARIFICATION. ANY OTHER SUPERHEROES AROUND? ANY OTHER HEROES? REGULAR HEROES? NORMAL HEROES? WHERE EVEN AM I? WHAT IS THIS- WHATS THE HISTORY HERE? ANY BEACHES? I LOVE BEACHES. I LOVE SHORES. I FLEX SO GOOD AT THEM. A BABABABABA

All three members of Team Searchlights stared at Deoxys in various stages of confusion. Saltriv was tilting their head. Burhalla's eyes were wide and his mouth was agape. And Gen was staring in shock, his body trembling.

"Um...h-hi?" Gen said, the first to speak up. "I...don't know of a-any heroes. Don't remember much of anything, r-really."

"Well, there's the World-Savers' Council!" Saltriv said. A smile had reappeared on their face, and their tail was wagging. "They're a group of people who saved our world! My uncle is one of them!"

"Yeah. Two of them helped me out, too, a while back," Burhalla said, smiling as well. "They're the coolest!"

Gen began to clutch onto his reunion cape.

"As for beaches...at least nearby, there's the tiny one over by the river," Burhalla said, glancing at somewhere through the fog. "Or Blistering Shore. Though that one's a mystery dungeon."

"Yep...don't want to go there again for a long time...not after what happened on floor 4," Saltriv said, their leaf beginning to droop.

"Me neither...floor 3 was a nightmare," Gen added, his trembling getting worse.

Burhalla walked over to the two of them, and put his hands on their backs. "Don't think we're gonna have to go there again anytime soon. We've rescued Flapple, things will be ok."

"Even with...what happened on floor 4?" Saltriv asked.

"...I can't say for certain. Don't want to lie to you. But I think so," Burhalla said. "Shadow Pokemo, not, or somewhere in between, you're still my best friend, Saltriv."

"Thanks, Burhalla," Saltriv replied, their leaf lifting back up.

Gen remained silent.