Snippet #2789197

As Crimson stepped out from the alley, now looking like a typical Chimchar, he realized that it hadn't been the alleyway sheltering him from the harsh elements. In fact, the entire area inside the walls was much calmer. Not even the purple rain fell, which he had to figure was a choice rather than a natural phenomenon. He immediately decided to blend in by walking behind a couple of female children heading towards the castle, pretending to be one of their Pokemon. All the while, he was scanning the area around them, keeping his ears open and waiting for the callout from some spy.

At least it was easy to distinguish the good guys from the bad. While Melaine's army had clothing that stood out like purple-ish spiky buoys in the sea of people, the residents didn't look...threatening. He understood that this power was a corruptible and sinister substance, but this was his first glimpse at the idea that maybe it wasn't as contagious as he originally thought. Some people even seemed to be happy, despite the ever gloomy sky above them casting unnatural shadows and spreading an eerie light. Maybe they weren't even plagued by the Shadow Energy just yet. And even better, it made it easier to tell who was corrupted and who wasn't, as he could read facial expressions and look closely at their eyes. It wasn't an ability that enabled him to sense these creatures, but a recognition of this unnatural air around them. It was...unsettling.

Nevertheless, being uncomfortable wasn't anything new to him and so he shrugged it off, dodging the gazes of those he felt might be searching for him as fluidly and naturally as possible. He never had a trainer (and figured he never could), but his adventures in the Kalos Region pretending to be a Pokemon with a trainer while winning a human-run tournament had taught him certain mannerisms. He maintained a distance from the children, not too far but not too close so he wouldn't make his presence known. Every time he figured a guard would gaze in his direction, he kept his direct gaze off of them, as if he was a resident who didn't mind the company around them. His peripherals were on guard always, ensuring they paid him no mind as he walked by. He figured he should be fine. Chimchars weren't uncommon, at least to his knowledge. But if they were to point in his direction or stop the girls in front of him to ask them about their tag along, he readied his escape routes, which snaked around the claustrophobic buildings and cramped alleyways around him. He was prepared.

The girls would make a right and Crimson would continue forward, immediately hopping into a small crowd surrounding a roadside stall. He glimpsed right as he ventured through, noting that it was crystalline jewelry of a very fine quality that captivated these people. He stopped to blend in, trying to be captivated as well. He stood in between two ladies, equidistant from both. One of the ladies noticed the bright spark beneath her and glanced down, noticing the Chimchar. She smiled and waved, to which Crimson waved back. The lady would then turn to the other.

"Daw, he's so cute," she said pointing down, "What's it's name?"

The other lady looked bewildered, "What's what's name?"

"Your little Chim-...huh?"

As she pointed down, she noticed that he was no longer there. He had moved past them when the talking began, bee-lining swiftly for the alley diagonally across from them. He was gone before she could even search beyond the crowd for him. He breathed a smooth exhale and continued forward. Close...

He was slightly more adamant about hiding in plain sight now, electing to stick to the alleyways where few people were. Thanks to his time on the main street, however, he now had bearing of where he was supposed to go. It took a little longer, but he was finally peering around the corner. He noticed that there was some separation between the town's outskirts and the walls of the castle, a sickly forest in between. He checked to make sure the coast was clear before venturing forward. He debated whether it was worth transforming into a type without the flaming posterior, but decided against it. Even if he was less noticeable, if he was caught, he wanted to hold as many cards as he could close to the chest.

As he walked towards the castle walls, he took in the scenery, keeping a straight face while his internal self was appalled at the forest. Everything seemed to be dead or dying. The grass was dark and brittle, crunching under his feet. The soil was rock hard and brown. The trees looked mangled, the brown oak getting darker as he followed them down to the trunk. He noticed small, purple crystals breaking through the bark. The air was dry and stagnant and it almost felt like breathing in smoke. He noticed his throat was even burning slightly, and he coughed to clear it.

This air is not healthy... he decided, and slipped a hand into his knapsack to pull out a bandanna, straightening it out before tying it in front of his mouth. It seemed to help, the burning sensation slowly ebbing away. The bandanna was dark red and had an embroidered symbol etched on the front: A five-pronged star with the letter P in the middle.

In no time at all, he realized he was very close to the wall, the shadow of which creeped out into the forest's edge slightly. He saw the road positioned a hundred yards to his right and leading what he had to presume to be the entrance. To his left, more forest and wall. But what caught his eye was the swirling pink and purple cloud that floated a good ten feet in front of it. He had to figure that it was some kind of defense mechanism, given it's position around the castle, but that wasn't the question in his mind. The question was this: Was he immune?

He had to try and so he kept his eyes open for guards, sentries, and anything resembling such as he went into the mist. Immediately, it felt like a cloud had descended on him, dampening the air around him with a thick, gross smell. He held his breath, despite the bandanna he already wore, but he could feel his senses flaring up, his pain nodes beginning to fire. He recognized right away that this was going to hurt him if he stayed in it too long, so he rushed forward, getting a feel for the wall. It was smooth and glassy, towering a good forty times taller than he stood with thin, razor sharp spikes jutting over the top. Yeah...scaling this without a tool would be impossible, he realized, electing to run back into the forest. Even then it would be a hassle.

He reached the forest's edge once more, scanning himself and looking for anything strange or nasty-looking that the mist could've left on his body. Thankfully, nothing seemed to be wrong. He paused to think as he decided his next action going forward. After a little time and deliberation, he finally turned around and started walking back diagonally, towards the road. It didn't take long to cover the distance and reach the road's edge. There was very little traffic heading towards the town, so he simply decided to step out into the road, taking up a casual gait as he approached. He pulled his makeshift mask down from his mouth as he got within sight, a warm smile that shone through the darkness around him. He took in the appearance of the heavily armed guards and the weapons they had, sizing them up in case the worst case scenario would happen. Hopefully, things wouldn't be taken that far.

"Hiya!" he said and waved at the two of them. He figured from previous experiences that they likely didn't know PokeSpeak, so he emulated what he was trying to say with hand gestures, first pointing at himself before pointing at the gate in between the two of them, as if to say May I enter?