#deremords

Hey, don’t worry about it, friend!  This new year has brought about a lot of change, and not all of them good.  Sometimes school takes everything out of you, and you just have to take it and go along with it.  I’m sorry that things are so difficult for you right now, but it’s going to be better.  Thank you so much for being a part of the Park!  Good luck with everything!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, but that means that it’s busy, too!  Why do they have to stuff all this, well, stuff at the very end of the year?  Finals, holidays, this, that...  It’s all too much!  So take this time to study hard, have a fun holiday, and everything in between!  Lysandre will be on hiatus until December 30th.  See you then!  Take care!

Phantump let out a high, bell-like tinkle of a giggle and reappeared at Mary’s elbow.  The wisps that were her arms gingerly grazed Mary’s skin and she shuddered—th-that wasn’t natural.  Feeling 10 degrees cooler, the DJ smiled weakly.  Phantump giggled again.

“Easy now, Phantump,” Mary chastised with a forced grin, “we mustn’t get too carried away.”

But that wasn’t in the Pokemon’s vocabulary—indeed, the Phantump disappeared only to reappear several feet from where it floated next to her desk.  She stared at the expensive baubles the Director gave Mary with childlike wonder.  Meowzie hissed, her golden eyes glinting.  Her tail flicked irritably.

As much as DJ Mary loved Pokemon, ghosts freaked her out most.  That was a lie: they terrified her.  She was abashed to admit it, but the sooner the participant came to retrieve her—

A brief knock, and the door opened, revealing a very tall, very large, red-haired man.  His face was gaunt and his eyes were sad.  Phantump materialized next to him immediately, her blue eyes glowing.

DJ Mary knew this man.  As Lysandre stepped into the office, she did her best not to scream.  “A-ah, h-hello!  Um, yes, I’m—I’m DJ Mary.  Th-this is, um, Phantump...” she feebly waved towards the Pokemon.  Phantump studied Lysandre closely.  “She’s... ah... rather bold, er, affectionately, that is.

“Phantump doesn’t like being alone,” DJ Mary finished lamely.  “Please take good care of her.”

DJ Mary finally took down the last of the Halloween decorations.  Which was fine with her, because she’d had her fun for the next two years.  Between costume gore, horror films, and Ben jump-scaring her numerous times, Mary was all frightened out.  She didn’t want to know how many times she’d screamed.

With everything back in its place, there was only one thing left to do: announce the winners of this season’s event.  Grinning, Mary sat back at her desk, looking at the finished paperwork in front of her.  Meowzie jumped into her lap, purring.

“Let’s do it, Meowzie!” Mary giggled, stroking her Pokemon’s sleek fur.  “Happy Meowth-oween!”

MINA, LYSANDRE, and BARRY—Congratulations!  Your names were the first to be drawn in the raffle.  You may now pick one (1) shiny Pokemon as your very own, so long as it is a Dark, Ghost, or Poison-type. There is no need to wait for the other winners to make their pick; everyone can choose whichever type they desire, regardless of what other types were chosen.

Back with a bang, I see!  I couldn’t have expected anything better.  I hope your hiatus was good for you!  We missed having you and Lysandre on the dash.  We all need a little dose of “sad villain” in our lives, after all!  Welcome back!

Work is the killer of all free time;  and adding in a bunch of other stuff is just a recipe for trouble!  You’ve come to the right place for a hiatus, my friend!  That just sounds like a whirlwind of this and that to do and with no time to spare!  We’ll see you back after you catch up, all right?  Lysandre will be waiting for you to return, so we’ll see you by July 31st!

@deremords

Summer stalked back to her hideout in a huff. The man had returned to his campsite without anything notable. Again. As she approached her own camp, an initially faint melody grew louder. She arrived to find Pichu entertaining a crowd of local forest Pokemon with his Ukulele.

She scratched the scruff of a Gogoat as she considered her options. She didn't particularly mind camping out in the woods, but usually she was on her way to a destination or stopping by briefly to help with a problem. Not just watching a guy go about his day. A moderately shady guy, sure, but he hadn't done anything remotely interesting in the few days she'd been watching him. She wasn't a spy and Ranger training hadn't improved her ability to sit and do nothing for extended periods of time.

Summer's patience was up, and she didn't plan on spending another night in these woods. She couldn't just leave though, Ranger Headquarters wouldn't be impressed with a report that she'd come across some suspicious activity and done nothing to resolve the situation. At the very least, she needed more information about what was going on. And the easiest way to learn what someone was up to was asking them — nicely, or not.

She directed the gathered Pokemon to clear the area. If the man reacted badly to her appearance, she didn’t want any of them to get caught up in the crossfire. Except Pichu of course, who could only be convinced to leave her side in dangerous situations when they involved diving underwater. With the wildlife dispersed, the woods were unnaturally quiet as she crept back to where she last saw them man. After one more check that her capture styler was fully functional, she charged into his campsite.