When you stopped at the village’s Pokemon Center that afternoon, one of the townspeople warned you to take caution in the weald leading to the next route. She had said that it was teeming with ghost type Pokemon who preyed upon trainers who got in over their heads. This naturally had you curious. You already had to brave the haunted woods, and with two badges under your belt considered your growing team to be decently strong. Not to mention this would be a great opportunity to add a ghost type to the party. Already you were hoping to find a Misdreavus or Pumpkaboo, but you’d be happy with just about anything.

You set off into the Dismal Weald, your three Pokemon at full energy and bag full of potions and balls. The trees above stretched outwards like claws, dark leaves blocking out the late afternoon sunlight. The soft moans of ghost Pokemon were distant, enough to make your hair stand on end. It was appropriately eerie, but you pressed on. You weren’t scared of any ghosts!

As you ventured into the tall grass, taking out a few Bellsprouts and Pidoves, you found it odd that there weren’t many Pokemon around. Sometimes you caught a glimpse of a Gastly leering at you, only to vanish a split second later. You’d heard that a stronger Pokemon in the area might scare some of the others away…but what could be wandering around here that would frighten everything else?

The sudden feeling of a powerful presence sent a chill down your spine. Your confidence was melting away, the sound of a rumbling growl making you afraid to turn around. You wanted to just run, but it might get you lost in this shady place. Taking a deep breath, you gripped a Poke Ball and tossed it as you turned, releasing your Vulpix to stand against your foe. Immediately you wished you hadn’t.

A Dusknoir hovered mere feet away, his single red, glowing eye fixed on you. This Pokemon was way above your level, more than capable of sweeping your team. He didn’t look like he’d let you run away easily…you swallowed your nerves, deciding to just try and distract the ghost long enough to flee.

“Vulpix, use Incinerate!” you commanded. The fox nodded and exhaled a concentrated stream of flame at the towering spirit. He shrugged off the attack and lurched forward, the mouth on its belly opening up. While you braced yourself for an undoubtedly strong attack, something entirely worse happened. Instead of striking, a long, golden, spectral tongue slithered out of its mouth and wrapped around your Vulpix. 

You stared in horror, unable to move an inch. Even if you could, would you have the heart to just run away and abandon your partner to her fate? As the Dusknoir floated closer, licking his lips, you snapped out of it and scrambled for your Bayleef’s Poke Ball. If you could just get one Sleep Powder off, you could try and save Vulpix! But you weren’t fast enough-Dusknoir held you tight in his large hands, preventing any sort of counter or escape.

You shuddered as the massive ghost pressed you against his large belly, giving a low, pleased rumble. That tongue, dripping with slime, pressed against your legs before slowly sliding its way all the way up your body. As the spectral muscle lapped up your face, you were left shivering within Dusknoir’s hold, painted in a thick layer of ectoplasmic saliva. Dusknoir gave another pleased rumble before wrapping his tongue around you, pulling you into his dark, gaping maw. 

Your scream was swiftly muffled by the Dusknoir’s jaws clamping shut around you. You were sealed away in warm, damp darkness with no possible escape. You kicked as hard as you could, but it only created faint bulges on the outside of Dusknoir’s body. Fear seeped in as you thought about all those stories of the Gripper Pokemon devouring souls, leaving only the body behind. Were you destined to die young? Was this the Reaper claiming you, or a mere accident that would spell the end of your journey?

There was a nuzzle against your side and a whimper. You had almost forgotten about Vulpix, now as slimy and frightened as you were. She snuggled up into your arms as you hugged her, taking some comfort in her natural warmth. You felt awful about unintentionally condemning your beloved Pokemon to the same fate. Maybe if you were lucky, this wouldn’t hurt, maybe the afterlife wouldn’t be so bad…

Minutes passed, and nothing happened. You and Vulpix appeared completely fine, still very much alive. You were confused, but mostly relieved. There still wasn’t any way out…it was still dark, and all you could make out was that large, thick tongue resting underneath you. The combination of darkness and warmth, both from the environment and the fire type you were hugging was taking a toll after a long day of traveling. Though you were hesitant, sleep was closing in on you. Maybe you could afford to close your eyes for a few minutes…