[FIN] "The Week"

[Blood_Goddess]

"Man I know." He agreed, looking over his shoulder toward Zacharie. "first time it said something I ********' nearly fell off the roof."

The Gengar yelled out with a laugh, reaching his arm out in a quick snap to attempt and grab the Shuppet into the crook of his arm, still holding the Jirachi in the other hand he floated off after the humans.

"Hmm" Jerome hummed thoughtfully, "I know bout this place s'pretty empty, mostly at night, figure we'll go by th'town and see w'sup"
Pausing for Zacharie's opinion, thinking it might be the best option though.  

[insidiousEnigma]

Jabari narrowly avoided being caught up in the Gengar's grasp but followed after him all the same. "Sounds good to me." Zacharie agreed with a nod. The less people he had to interact with the better, "I'm sure there will be a lot of ghost pokemon activity." He quipped, grinning from ear to ear. "Maybe I'll even be able to catch one."  

[Blood_Goddess]

"Ain't really sure. guess we'll find out" Jerome chuckled.

The night was cold in the desert, though the air grew more stale the further into town they got.
If ever there was a place to call a ghost town, this would be it. half of the buildings looked as if they were simply decaying away, it didn't look practically habitable for pokemon let alone humans. Though from Jerome's understanding there was a population of people here.

the lights were burnt out, shattered glass hung in shards from empty bulb sockets, drenching the town into blackness, and leaving whatever depths of darkness the eye could not see up to the imagination.
Though there was a consistent stirring in the shadows of the gaping holes of crumbling buildings, occasionally a distant whisper floated from the wood, was it a voice? or was it the wind, playing with the creaking structures and whistling through the streets.

"Ohhh..." whimpered the little Jirachi uncertainly, lowering its self closer to Jerome's shoulder.
Bro however grinned wide as he floated up, crossing his arms

"What i hear- 'place s'been fallin' apart fer years," Jerome said in a hushed voice. "Rockets come n'pick it apart bit more every now n'then too."  

[insidiousEnigma]

Both Jabari and Zacharie were practically vibrating with excitement. The Shuppet groaned, drifting away from the group. "Jabari, you have to stay with us." Zacharie ordered, gripping the strap of his bag. "Shuppet!" Behind his bangs, the teen rolled his eyes. "...I know you're hungry. You can eat after we do this training." He said firmly, holding his ground this time. He would be damned if he missed out on learning something new because Jabari couldn't suck it up for a few hours. <...Fine.> The pokemon relented and moved to hover angrily behind the teen's shoulder. "So...where should we start?" He asked eagerly.  

[Blood_Goddess]

Bro let out a laugh at Jabari's comment, grinning at the other pokemon then with a twirl vanished from sight.
his voice drifted from the darkness.

"Start by havin' a look around." Jerome told him, making a gesture forward. "S'got pokemon round here, pick one out N'well see where yer ghost s'at in battlin'"
As he explained the ex-gangster himself stepped forward into the darkness, shoving his hands in his pockets though a slouch, and a lazy stride as she glanced around the buildings.  

[insidiousEnigma]

Jabari muttered under his breath as he followed behind Zacharie. "Alright, sounds easy enough." He said with a nod, already heading towards a building with ivy climbing up it's crumbling walls. If he didn't run into any pokemon in here, unlikely, at least he'd be able to collect some of the ivy. Win/Win situation. "...Will you be alright, Jabari?" He asked his pokemon quietly as he climbed over a fallen pillar to slide into the building. "Shupp Shuppet." If the sarcastic tone was anything to go by, the Shuppet was saying that he'd be just fine. "Well in any case we have Jerome to make sure we don't run into anything too dangerous." He'd never had a run in with a hostile pokemon before and he doubted simply running away would do anything. "Shuppet." He knew that Jabari was agreeing with him.

The inside of the building reeked of decaying wood and garbage but he payed it no mind. He, despite not having having access to any medical supplies, was prepared for this. He pulled a white rag out of his bag and tied it so it covered his mouth and nose. If the ivy was anything to go by, there were probably rotting animals in here and that was nothing something he was keen on breathing in. "Shuppet Shupp Shuppet." Zacharie rolled his eyes, "You look stupid." He returned as they rounded the corner to a long hallway.  

[Blood_Goddess]

Jerome slowed his pace, making sure not to stray too far away from the trainee, It would take a bit of time before any of the ghost types got confident enough to check out the intrudes and start testing their strength.
"What ya doin?"
the tattooed man asked as the boy put a white bandana around his mouth.
He knew bangers who used to do that so they wouldn't be easily recognized., though Zacharie seemed to be far more interested in the plants growing up the wall then of anyone that might be around,
That was to no real surprise either.
Odd kid.

Bro appeared next to Jabari, squinting one eye and at the other ghost.
he grunted elbowing the other ghost.

"fun fun!" The Jirachi cooed from the darkness, twirling around and bumping into Zacharie's shoulder "Gas?" It asked with wide eyed intrigue.  

[insidiousEnigma]

"Ivy is a strong indicator that there is a lot of decomposition." Zacharie explained as he picked his way over a fallen pillar. "Decaying animal isn't healthy to breath in. Not deadly in small doses, but not particularly good for you. The dust isn't all that pleasant to breath in either." Pulling a jar from his bag, the teen plucked a few vines down and gingerly tucked them inside. "I have another rag if you would like to use it." He offered, not glancing up from his work.

<...Alright. There's nothing exciting happening here anyway.> Jabari muttered, glancing over at his preoccupied human. Zacharie would be fine by himself for a bit and he would come back if the twerp needed him. He groused, fazing through the ceiling in search of something to eat.

Absently, he reached back to pat the curious Jirachi on the head. "Yes, well...sort of. There are unhealthy particles in the air, like a harmful gas." He tried to explain. "But you will be fine. As far as I've observed, stuff like that doesn't effect pokemon."  

[Blood_Goddess]

"Naw S'alright." Jerome declined "I'll just stand back." He could see just fine from here, plus he didn't want to go breathing in dead animal,
"jus' watch it, might be pokemon n'there."

"ooohhh" Jirachi chimed, as if it was fascinated what Zacharie was telling it, even though it probably could only grasp a child like understanding of what he just said.
"I want it!" he burst, pointing to the bandana "Me too me too!"
Clearly he didn't care that he didn't need it.

Bro teased with a chuckle, floating up after the Shuppet.  

[insidiousEnigma]

Jerome really didn't know what he was missing out on. There were loads of interesting things to be found inside of the crumbling building. "Alright, suit yourself." He shrugged lightly before startling at the Jirachi's excited exclamation. "...Yes, alright. You can wear the other one." He agreed as he tugged it from his bag. "As I said, pokemon aren't affected by the sort of particles floating in the air." He explained as he tied the rag securely around the pokemon's head. "But I suppose in the spirit of condoning safe exploration I will permit for you to wear it. Just be sure to give it to Jerome if he comes fully into the building." He leveled the Jirachi with a serious look, not that you could really see it what with his entire face covered with the rag and his bangs, before continuing on into the depths of the building. As he rounded the corner into a long hallway, he heard a faint...shuffling, if it could be called that, sound. "....Jabari...?" He called, freezing on the spot as he peered into the darkness. He was pretty sure that it wasn't his pokemon. "...Gas...Gastly!" The sound came from behind his head. The teen turned sharply on his heel with a startled yelp but saw nothing, only another expanse of dark hallway. "...Jerome!" He squeaked, clutching his bag tightly to his chest.

Jabari huffed as he scanned the room they'd floated into. <...Pick a fight?> He repeated slowly before perking up. He could have sworn he'd heard his name being called. <...Did he manage to get himself in trouble already?> He muttered in annoyance, as he phased through the floor towards the source of the noise.  

[Blood_Goddess]

"Wooohh!" The Jirachi seemed pretty thrilled as Zacharie helped it put on the bandana. making a few "Rachi Jiiiirachi!" noises as it realized that its actual voice was muffled.
When Zacharie continued to explain things he probably didn't fully understand, the wide eyes Legendary still looked as if he was paying attention.
"Oh okay! Give it to Jerome, okay." no nodded in agreement, showing he understood, but really hoping Jerome didn't come in. he held his arms open wide, then with a twirl that made the bandana flutter around his chest he floated after Zacharie.

Bro had wandered off, and the Jirachi was hanging out with Zacharie, Jerome's eyes turned upwards, toward the buildings. Lifting a corner of his mouth lightly as he studied the structures, considering the best route to climb up.
He was considering this while absently aware of the chattering from Zacharie and the Jirachi, not taking notice that it had stopped until he heard his name, or thought he heard it.
Furrowing his brow and unfolding his arms the dark man ducked into the building, hopping easily over some fallen rubble.

Bro asked, lingering behind for a couple of seconds as he glanced around, clacking his teeth before poofing out of sight.

"What?" Floating up next to Zacharie, the Jirachi tilted its large head, Why was he standing like that. "you need it?" He asked, tugging at his own mask. "You need?"  

[insidiousEnigma]

Zacharie ran a shaky hand through his hair and let out a long breath. Was he the only one that heard that? The Jirachi didn't seem to be troubled...or even aware that anything had been there at all but he could have sworn that he heard something. "...Didn't you hear that?" He asked the Jirachi, his shoulders relaxing slightly. "Shuppet?" He jumped slightly at the sudden appearance of Jabari, but was quickly comforted. "...I thought I heard something." The teen muttered, making the Shuppet roll his eyes.

think you heard something? Man, you're such a pansy!> Naturally, Jabari felt right at home in the creaky, old building. He had assumed with how often they roamed the streets at night something like this wouldn't phase the purple haired male...apparently he was wrong.

Both the Shuppet and Zacharie froze at the loud clanging sound that came from the darkness, a rock skittering to a stop near the teen's feet. "Something's down there!" He squeaked, taking a step back and bumping into the Jirachi. "Shup Shuppet Shup-pet!" The pokemon scolded, rolling his eyes again.  

[Blood_Goddess]

"Heard something?" the Jirachi asked, blinking a couple of times before looking down the hall that Zacharie had been staring down. Or supposedly was staring down, since you couldn't really see where Zacharie was looking.
As the Shuppet appeared the Jirachi perked up and smiled
"PANSY!" He cheered, throwing his arms up in the air. "Pansy you are such a pa-"
Stopping dead with the other two when the clanging sound was DEFINITELY heard.
Spinning around quickly to see what it was, only to have Zacharie bumped into it causing the legendary to cling to the boy's shoulder and peer out from over his head, his eyes wide.
"What is it...?"  

[insidiousEnigma]

Jabari squinted before his eyes widened in disbelief. A white...blob was silently floating towards them. The Shuppet recognized it for what it was, Ghost. He'd seen them on the tv when Zacharie left it on while he napped. Naturally, he knew that such things didn't exist. he was a ghost, not those white blob things that seemed to scare humans. He had assumed that his human knew that as well but the sharp intake of breath told him otherwise. Didn't the teen like ghosts? "W-What the hell is that?" The teen stuttered, yanking the bandanna from his face. The 'ghost' paused as if regarding them before flying at them at a terrifying speed. "EEEEEE!" Zacharie let out a terrified screech and this time managed to fall over a bit of debris. Jabari yelped, startled by the suddenness of its movement but not moving from in front of his human.  

[Blood_Goddess]

A white thing appeared, The Jirachi might have been more curious, having no idea what it was, and not feeling intimidated by it... or it might not have been if it was not glaringly obvious that Zacharie was scared of this thing.
The reaction from the boy startled a yelp from the Legendary, who straightened up to look at the white blob, only to shrink back in fear as well.
"AAAHHHH!"
ducking down with Zacharie the Jirachi tried to hide behind him.

Behind whatever the floating thing was a sudden shadow large and thick suddenly loomed up, melding from the walls and flooring.
causing the darkness down the halls to seem even more black and despairing.
the sound of clacking and grinding teeth drifted from this blackness, growing louder and louder for a couple of seconds before a sudden flare of jagged green lights and wide glowing eyes lit up around the white blob and the sheet was torn away from it, a glowing hand slapping out to try and grab hold of the top of a Gastly's head, and glare down at it with a contorted frown.
the Gengar growled.