PKMNCC--January Event--The Twilight Zone

For PKMN-CrescentCavern

Story time!

With mood music~

Yin-Ko somehow knew, through that special talent of just being him, that things were not going to be normal today.  As a matter of fact, the air felt charged somehow, ready for him to go out there and stir everything up.

So it was with great eagerness he floated off his shelf and out of the car—

To find everyone acting as though they had lost their minds.

What was this?  Murdock was acting sane?  Tungsten was arguing with Koa?  Sunny was in a corner depressed?  What was going on?

“Did I somehow miss a memo?” Yin-Ko asked Iggy, who was currently lazing on the floor of the car.

“Why are you asking me?” Iggy practically drawled, barely cracking an eye open.

“Excuse me?  Aren’t you the one who insists on being the ‘mon in charge here?”  And wasn’t his mind practically screaming at him to get up and do something?

“It’s not my problem.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m taking a nap.”

“This from a Charmander who practically legally has Insomnia,” Yin-Ko observed, absolutely baffled.  “Someone tell me, what is going on here—Feldspar?” he asked, spotting the usually lazy Slowpoke practically charging across the dirt plot.

“We’ve got a new job!” Feldspar said cheerily.  “I can’t wait!”

“I don’t—is this sarcasm?  This is you being sarcastic,” Yin-Ko said, floating after him—and passing Cadpig, who was literally mentally screaming.  “And what are you doing?”

“I’m returning all this,” Cadpig said in a flat tone—none of her usual false sweetness or I’ve-just-been-caught-bite.

“I’m sorry, do what?  Did Hurley catch you again?”

“No.  I’m just returning all this.”

The resident thief returning everything?  Suspicious.  Especially when her mind was screaming I don’t want to return this what am I doing!?

What indeed.  Where was Weaton?

Yin-Ko floated higher, extending his psyche briefly before quickly pulling it back—the insanity he was sensing was disconcerting, at the very least.  And over there—Ellsworth by himself, pacing like he was hunting, exhaling ice clouds as he went.  Which was peculiar, considering Ellsworth wasn’t the lonesome type and had never really acted like a typical Kyurem—like he was now.  And Oreo over there thrashing instead of calmly lazing in the shade—what was going on?  Where was Weaton?  Weaton was the human around here—in theory, he was supposed to be in charge.  In theory.  In reality, Weaton would be absolutely freaking out—Yin-Ko was surprised he didn’t hear the screams.  Hmm…that tarp over there acting as a tent looked promising….

And now Yin-Ko was treated to an entirely new surprise.

Weaton pouring over a map, when usually he just struck off and hoped for the best, dressed to the nines with a live flower tucked into his lapel, little round beatnik sunglasses instead of his usual glasses…and did he comb his hair?

“Today’s April First, isn’t it?” Yin-Ko asked, when he finally recovered.  “Today’s April Fools, and everyone decided to play an elaborate prank on me.  Well, ha ha, joke’s over, knock it off.  Hello?  Are you even listening to me?” Yin-Ko asked, reaching over to snap his fingers next to Weaton’s ear.

In response, Weaton waved him away irritably, not looking up.  “Not now, I’m busy.”

That—was not even remotely Weaton’s usual tone.  Weaton usually had no backbone, and it reflected in his speech—timorous and stuttering.  He had been improving recently, but…this was not that.  This was Weaton…well, the polite term would be ‘being a Mudbray’s behind.’

“WILL SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT’S GOING ON!?” Yin-Ko finally yelled, having lost all patience—especially with the way Weaton was ignoring him.  “I am Yin-Ko!  The master of minds!  NOT knowing is NOT on my resume—OW!”

He looked down to see Annie and Cathy glaring at him, bulbs sparking from the shock they had given him.

“Stop disturbing Weaton!” Annie demanded.

“Yeah!  Weaton doesn’t want to be disturbed!” Cathy added.

Yin-Ko wasn’t quite able to answer—he was too busy staring at the two Chinchou who were usually so sweet and happy.  Never angry, definitely not the bodyguard types—and were they seriously saying Weaton didn’t want to be disturbed when he had never minded before?

“But—” Yin-Ko began, but quickly cut off and sped away when the Chinchou sisters’ bulbs started sparking again, and didn’t slow down until he was on a rocky outcropping overlooking the area.  And opposite of where Ellsworth was lurking—after having Annie and Cathy practically bite him, he didn’t want Ellsworth to literally bite him, especially when he barely made a mouthful for the Kyurem.

And besides, he needed time to collect his thoughts.  Everyone had gone topsy-turvy overnight—if he didn’t know any better, he’d say he’d dropped right into an episode of The Distortion Zone.  He was confused, and he didn’t like being confused—he needed to clear his head, he needed to be in charge…think soothing thoughts, jazz music…calm…calm….Breathing in…and breathing out.  Okay.  We’re good.  We’re good.

And everyone is still insane.  This is not good.

But now that he was calm…he sensed someone else’s presence.  Someone also trying to calm their mind.

He floated down to a small enclave in the rocky outcropping to find Calcium, the little silent Ralts-cross, curled up on herself and focusing so very hard on keeping her thoughts still and blank and calm and actively trying to think of nothing—

“Calcium,” he said, hoping that this meant that there was at least one other sane ‘mon left—

Calcium started, almost said something—spoke out loud!—before quashing it and going back to focusing on still, silent thoughts, trying to turn turbulent waters into calm ripples.  And yet he could still feel the underlying current of panic.

She could sense something was wrong too.

“Calcium, I need you to focus,” Yin-Ko said, hoping he didn’t sound like he was begging—he was feeling like he was begging, and he really hated that.  “I need someone to tell me what’s going on here.”

Long silence.

And then Calcium’s thoughts began stirring, starting with a memory of Weaton singing that inane ‘Topsy-Turvy’ song with Murdock the other day—

And then something more coherent.

Up is down.

Down is up.

Wet is dry.

Dry is wet.

Normal is abnormal.

Abnormal is normal.

“That makes no sense,” Yin-Ko said.  “That sounds like that 1984 novel with the Ministry of Truth—or—or an episode of The Distortion Zone,” Yin-Ko muttered to himself.  “Up is down—everyone’s acting the opposite of how they usually act—why am I not affected?”

Calcium looked like she was studiously ignoring him before finally looking at him as the mental command ignore him crossed her mind.  Her skull face might have been inscrutable, but Yin-Ko could read minds and could therefore hear the you’re an idiot she was projecting.

“Okay, fine—why am I not being affected as badly?  It must be my amazing psychic prowess,” Yin-Ko deduced, noting the head bobble Calcium made—he translated it as yeah, right.

“Fine then,” he muttered, glancing about the ranch.  What he could see and sense was in utter chaos.  “I can’t get anyone else to help me,” he muttered to himself.  “I’m going to have to figure this out on my own.” He turned to Calcium.  “Unless you’ve been spending this time trying to sense who’s done it—this is the job of a powerful Pokémon; anyone with any psychic prowess should have been able to shrug it off….” Extend senses, sense….

Ahem.

He looked at Calcium’s very deliberate thought, saw her point off in a direction, and then felt a ripple of irritation from her.

Other way, she clarified.

Yin-Ko glanced in that direction—yes, he could sense…something from that way…something odd.  And in employing Miracle Eye, that sense sharpened.

Something had done this, and he was going to find out who.

“Stay here,” Yin-Ko told Calcium.  “Stay hidden, stay safe—I’m off to find out what’s gone south here, and I’m going to fix it.”

Again, that you’re an idiot sensation from Calcium, but she did what she was told after some mental restructuring of his orders.

With that squared away, he started floating higher.

Yin-Ko had gone through many incarnations before this, but he was quite fond of this ranch.

And no-one but no-one messed with his territory.

“I am Yin-Ko,” he told himself.  “I am the master of men’s minds, the knight of darkness, an unparalleled psychic, the greatest ‘mon of mystery.  I once convinced a whole nation that they were Pokémon—” and here his attempted Psych Up wavered—what if…it was another psychic, one on par with himself?  Better, even?

No.  That was whatever-this-was trying to take hold.  He would not let it.

He would not waver.

“The weed of crime bears bitter fruit,” he quoted, loudly and strongly, shooting off in the direction of the odd impulse.  “Crime does not pay—the Shadow knows!”

Final Word Count: 1,489 words

This—is a ranch. A perfectly normal, calm ranch, typical of the post-eclipse world they live in.  But today, their perfectly normal world is flipped upside down, and no one notices—except for one poor soul, who finds that he’s woken up in…The Distortion Zone. Do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do~

So! Welcome to the event, where up is down and everyone is acting in the total opposite of how they usually act—or, as Yin-Ko has decided to stylize it, everyone losing their marbles. AAA!

…

So. Kind of wanted to make a Twilight Zone/Outer Limits/Invasion of the Body Snatchers reference with Yin-Ko here and have him be the only one aware that anything’s gone sideways (got the graphic novel The Twilight Zone/The Shadow for Christmas and figured it was a good reference ), although I did end up having Calcium manage to somewhat be aware of things but still affected, seeing as how she usually stays away from the rest of them. Actually, come to think of it, Yin-Ko’s still somewhat affected, considering he’s usually unflappable…but then again, he was still a bit of a goof in the December event, so….

And for Weaton’s flip—trying to be a bad-@**, and ends up looking more like Tobey McGuire halfway through Spider-Man 3: a dork trying to be tough and failing miserably. But he doesn’t know that. Also ended up showing a lot of the Don’t Starve inspiration behind Weaton—was tempted to give him extra-pointy shoulders but managed to reel myself in. As it is…Weaton actually cleans up nice.

And had to hustle and do Oreo and Cadpig’s references this week so I could include them in this….And in my head-canon, The Distortion Zone is the Pokémon world’s version of The Twilight Zone (narrated by Rod Starly ).  Calcium and Yin-Ko figuring out that everyone’s acting opposite and how Calcium communicates with Yin-Ko is a reference to a Buzz Lightyear of Star Command comic with a similar theme that was in an issue of the now-defunct Disney Adventures Magazine—and while Calcium never speaks, Yin-Ko’s mind reading means they can still carry on a conversation.

…And come to think of it, the Shadow has prior experience with invading body-snatchers—“Out of this World,” a radio episode from 1945 that put Lamont Cranston/the Shadow in the middle of an alien plot similar to Invasion of the Body Snatchers (which is odd, considering the films and movies came nearly a decade afterwards—maybe the Shadow started it?...). Of course, the Shadow saves the day at the end of the drama.

So! Levels!

Iggy

Murdock

Tungsten

Ellsworth

All gain nothing, because they’re already Level 100.

 

Yin-Ko

Full Body x 3

Shading x 2

Specific Background x 2

+2 Event Levels

+2 Trainer Bonus

1,400/100 (100 words = 1 level) = 14 levels

1,000 words = +2 bonus levels

3 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 14 + 2 = 27 Levels!

Yin-Ko learned Calm Mind!

Yin-Ko learned Psych Up!

Yin-Ko had a minor panic attack….

 

Calcium

+2 Event Levels

+2 Trainer Bonus

1,400/100 (100 words = 1 level) = 14 levels

1,000 words = +2 bonus levels

2 + 2 + 14 + 2 = 20 Levels!

Calcium learned Calm Mind!

 

Annie

Full Body x 3

Shading x 2

Specific Background x 2

+2 Event Levels

+2 Trainer Bonus

1,400/100 (100 words = 1 level) = 14 levels

1,000 words = +2 bonus levels

3 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 14 + 2 = 27 Levels!

Annie learned Shock Wave!

Tutor Berry Required

Tutor Berry Usage: comments.deviantart.com/1/5427…

 

Cathy

Full Body x 3

Shading x 2

Specific Background x 2

+2 Event Levels

+2 Trainer Bonus

1,400/100 (100 words = 1 level) = 14 levels

1,000 words = +2 bonus levels

3 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 14 + 2 = 27 Levels!

Cathy learned Shock Wave!

Tutor Berry Required

Tutor Berry Usage: comments.deviantart.com/1/5427…

Since everything is reversed, so is Annie and Cathy’s polarities—hence why it looks like they had a palette swap.

 

Feldspar

Partial x 2

Shading x 2

Specific Background x 2

+2 Event Levels

+2 Trainer Bonus

1,400/100 (100 words = 1 level) = 14 levels

1,000 words = +2 bonus levels

2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 14 + 2 = 26 Levels!

 

Reeses

Partial x 2

Shading x 2

Specific Background x 2

+2 Event Levels

+2 Trainer Bonus

2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 10 Levels!

 

Koa

Full Body x 3

Shading x 2

Specific Background x 2

+2 Event Levels

+2 Trainer Bonus

3 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 11 Levels!

 

Sunny

Full Body x 3

Shading x 2

Specific Background x 2

+2 Event Levels

+2 Trainer Bonus

3 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 11 Levels!

 

Cadpig

Full Body x 3

Shading x 2

Specific Background x 2

+2 Event Levels

+2 Trainer Bonus

1,400/100 (100 words = 1 level) = 14 levels

1,000 words = +2 bonus levels

3 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 14 + 2 = 27 Levels!

Cadpig learned Return! *bricked* Wait, would that even work?....

 

Honorable Mentions go to:

Hurley

Oreo

Who have such brief mentions that I’m not sure if they count.

 

Weaton

Nice ascot, Weaton.

 

27 + 20 + 27 + 27 + 26 + 10 + 11 + 11 + 27 = 186 caps

Had the joy this week of trying to install a new driver for the Cintiq, and in the midst of playing the waiting game of uninstall/restart/install/restart/rinse/repeat/give-up-reinstall-old-driver…anywho, during that, I read the Shadow/Twilight Zone comic I mentioned…oh boy *said in best Sam Beckett impersonation* had to get up every five minutes and run around the house because dude.

“The Twilight Zone” by Golden Earring is one of those songs I always caught on the radio but could never find because 1) I didn’t know the name of the song or who sang it, and 2) I could never figure out the lyrics well enough to look it up (always misheard that one line as “bullet hits the phone”). This makes the second Golden Earring song I’ve heard that I absolutely love—first one being “Radar Love,” which gets bonus points for appearing in an episode of House, MD: this was back when there were top-rated comments, and for weeks afterwards the top rated comment on the one I frequented was “Wilson’s indifference brought me here.” Which, for reasons I’m not entirely certain of, I found funny….And yes, that one took me forever to find too because again, I misheard the lyrics and had some hunting to do.

And in an opposite day moment for me, have this before midnight on the night it’s due.

Which makes me think of a Calvin and Hobbes comic:

“Don’t forget—at midnight, opposite day is over, right?”

“’Yes.’”

 

Pokémon © Game Freak; Nintendo

Don’t Starve © 2013 Klei Entertainment

The Shadow © Conde-Nast; Dynamite Comics

Pirates of the Caribbean: at World’s End © 2007 Gore Verbinski

The Twilight Zone © 1959 Rod Starling

“The Twilight Zone” © 1982 Golden Earring

Calvin and Hobbes © 1985 Bill Watterson

1984 © 1949 George Orwell

Spider-Man 3 © 2007 Sam Raimi

Disney Adventures/Buzz Lightyear of Star Command/Hunchback of Notre Dame © Disney

Done in Adobe Photoshop (on a Cintiq! )

“Help I’m stepping into the Twilight Zone,

“The place is a madhouse,

“Feels like being cloned—

“My beacon’s been moved

“Under moon and star,

“Where am I to go

“Now that I’ve gone too far….”