Halloween 2023

[indigo_league]

The last few hours before dusk sees you all arriving at a large, stately home just outside of Lavender Town.

Unlike previous years, where Halloween had you visiting dilapidated castles, this manor home is in perfect condition. Age hasn't crumbled the walls or worn away the dark roof, but rather it sits on the manor like a heavy, proud crown, a testament to the many long years it has stood here while everything around it changed but it stayed forever the same. Candlelight flickers in its many windows, while it casts a dark shadow against the slowly setting sun. The gravel crunches under your feet as you make it up the long drive and a cold wind chills you to your very bones, even through the layers of whatever costume you've chosen to wear.

Then the manor's large double doors fling up. Two long shadows stretch down across the driveway towards you, light spilling around two silhouettes standing in the opened door, beckoning, inviting. Soy doffs his hat, while Riegfried bows deep, his hare ears nearly brushing the ground.

"Welcome to our Halloween Feast."




Inside the Manor

Not all of the Manor is available for you to explore. In fact, it's really just the ground floor that has been decorated and made available for your use. And even then, what rooms are available to you depends on the time of evening.

Contest portion

Early in the evening, several large rooms on the left of the Manor are open to your character.

The largest of these rooms has a stage and chairs set up, clearly where the contest will be held. Soy can be found in this room, in case you need to discuss some things with him ahead of your performance like lighting cues or other things you might need.

In addition to this, a dressing and prop room have also been made available. Need some last-minute adjustments on your costume? Desperate to find one final prop to really make your performance shine? Why not peruse the items Riegfried and Soy have brought with them for you to use? This is also a good place to have a chat with some others -- perhaps you like to scope out the competition before the performances start, or you are a newbie looking for some advice. Either way, this is the best place to find it!


Haunted Ball

Once the contest has concluded, and night has well and truly fallen, characters will be able to enter the large room on the right of the Manor.

The Ball Room has been decked out in enough black lace and dark velvet to make any classical vampire quite jealous. The ceiling has been decorated with spider silk that sways ever so slightly, casting flicking shadows on the walls in the candlelight. And while there are some seats and benches along the edges of the room, most of it is left free for people to dance and mingle. On a small podium in the corner of the room, a band of ghouls and zombies (costumes, we hope!) plays the kind of spooky tunes that are still, somehow, upbeat enough to dance to.

As folks dance and make merry and the evening carries on, one might note a spectral shape gliding around the dance floor, observing, before finally nudging its ghostly nose against a hand here and there and suddenly the ballroom floor is a lot more crowded.

More details about this part of the event can be found here

Outside the Manor


If you run out of interesting things to do inside (or you need some fresh air), why not visit the sprawling yard behind the Manor? It too has been decorated for the occasion -- carved pumpkins sit everywhere, candles burning merrily inside and on top of them. As night falls, a trained flock of zubat swoop low over the garden, adding that extra hint of spookiness to the air. Don't worry, they've been trained not to get caught in anyone's hair!

Food

The garden is clearly where Riegfried and Soy have put the less formal Halloween Activities, starting with a fair few food stalls. There is a stand where you can get drinks, offering things like tea and coffee, hot chocolate for the kids (or the young at heart) and mulled cider for the adults. No one shall go parched tonight!

Food is also available in various flavours, from various sorts of candy (cotton and otherwise) to more hearty snacks. No need to worry if your character isn't into all of this sweet stuff! There is piping hot soup and other common festival foods available as well for those seeking a break from all the sugar.

One stand in particular draws attention though, not for the food on offer --though those Candied Apples do look mighty tasty!-- but rather for the unusual pokemon that sits both proudly on the booth itself as well as the sign above the stand. Rumour has it that if you feed one of these Syrupy Apples to your Applin, you might just see something amazing!


Maze

A large corn maze has been grown towards the back of the sprawling yard. Riegfried and Soy have made sure to make it a little more exciting than your average maze though.

A small warp pad will transport you to the middle of the maze, from where you'll have to find your way out, guided only by lantern light (please remember to pick one of the lanterns before warping in!). And as if that isn't spooky enough, the maze has been stocked full of Pokemon ready to give you a little fright. Try not to run towards that dead end now!

The pokemon in the maze are available for capture. In fact, Riegfried and Soy encourage you to make a new friend or two in their haunted maze.

Available Pokemon: Zubat, Gastly, Murkrow, Misdreavus, Shuppet, Duskull, Drifloon, Yamask, Galarian Yamask, Litwick, Phantump, Pumpkaboo, Sinistea, Impidimp, Greavard, Gimmighoul

Bonfire

Set a bit away from the food stalls, and very safely away from the maze, is a large bonfire. October nights, after all, can get quite cold, and it will be nice to warm yourself up next to the fire. And maybe put all manner of things on a stick and roast them above the fire.

At the bonfire, you'll also find Riegfried. You've only ever seen him in his role as a contest or prom host, but today he's here to show you he's got one more hidden talent. Yes, by the light of the bonfire, Riegfried will be telling ghost stories. Why not sit for a spell, drink some hot choco and listen to the frightening tale of man door hand hook car door.

(Of course, Riegfried cannot be there the whole night. He still has contest duties to attend to too, so whenever he is absent, why not try your hand at telling a spooky story yourself? Tell people what goes bump in the night back in your home world)

Contest submissions | Shiny draw | Witches' judgement | Greavard event info

Comments

[mywayistheway]

That’s the last time she will do that. Bo-Katan heaves an exasperated sigh as Harry comes over. She wished she could say she had no idea, but she had already witnessed Epar’s gluttony in action.

“Voracious isn’t it? I’m starting to wonder what I’ve gotten myself into.”

At least the Snorlax isn’t constantly mad at her like Ori, but she’s not sure this is much better. Controlling that Snorlax was proving to be difficult in a different way.

“I just caught her the other day, so I’m still learning exactly what she’s capable of.”

[phoenixwiz]

“So she was a recent catch? That is understandable, I am also trying to understand a pair of tiny mice I got from a couple of days ago when there are many of them foraging for food. I don’t have them out of their ball right now because I have no idea of what they can do when let out of the ball. Heard that they seem to multiply out of nowhere when you’re not looking.”

“Umbre-on…” Ron sweatdrops in horror, and he thought that some of his teammates are that gluttonous.

[mywayistheway]

When he says he caught a pair of those mice, Bo blinks for a moment , then smirks a bit.

“I thought that was you.”

She thought she recognized the way Harry used his words in that anonymous post. And he had mentioned catching a pair of those mice then too.

“Well, winter is coming, maybe all the Pokémon are eating more because of that.”

[phoenixwiz]

Yep, he did respond to her anon post at the time when he caught those mice. So he knew that it would be brought up eventually.

“Oh yes. I am pretty certain that plenty of Pokémon would be gathering and eating loads of foods with winter approaching even closer. So I was certain that these mice were wanting to get a head start for the winter as soon as they can. I guess that several of them will going to going into hibernation season soon.”

[mywayistheway]

“Whatever the reason, I’m going to be more careful from now on.”

No more releasing Epar in the presence of food unless she could control the situation.

[phoenixwiz]

“Yes, it is probably for the best. Especially with her still not knowing to control her eating urges. If one of my friends from home was here right now, he is going to be at a loss of words upon seeing her eating so much food.”

[mywayistheway]

"I think anyone would be."

Truly the Snorlax's endless appetite is amazing. It's stomach must be a bottomless pit.

"Have you been enjoying the party at least?"

[phoenixwiz]

“Oh, it has been really good so far. I didn’t get to dance a lot, I might have spent more time hanging out by the sidelines, it has been really good for the most part.”

He’s not sure if he wants to bring up the whole Greavard bringing his mom from the afterlife to have a mini reunion just yet.

[mywayistheway]

"I didn't dance much either," Bo-Katan admits. Despite the fact that she's certainly dressed for the formal part of the party.

"These aren't the kind of parties I'm really used to. This is more my sister's scene." She had always been the tomboy of the two, while Satine absolutely flourished in these formal settings.

[phoenixwiz]

“No kidding. I thought that I might be the only one who chose not to dance at all. Well, at least I don’t have to feel too bad for not doing so tonight,” Harry admits to her, “I take that your sister is the more social between the two of you, right?”

[mywayistheway]

"Something like that. We had always been very different. She was a politician and a pacificist. I always sided with the warrior traditions of our culture."

That had led to a lot of... bad things. Things that were difficult to talk about.

[phoenixwiz]

“Ah okay, I see. Anyway, I was going to get some Syrupy Apples before Epar, um, started eating most of them up. But after that, I think that I might be wanting to try out the other food instead. Want to get some as well?”

[mywayistheway]

“Yes I would like that. You should try the soup.”

She had been enjoying that until Epar decided to make a scene.

“There are so many different foods to try in this world.”

It’s all very different from what she’s used to.

[phoenixwiz]

“Sounds good to me too. I would like o have some soup too. Back in the UK, we actually have something similar to the Syrupy Apples called Toffee Apples. They are covered in toffee (we usually make them by caramelizing sugar or molasses with butter and sometimes flour) and are pretty popular treats at home.”

Harry chimes in happily as he gets to line up to get the Syrupy Apples and the soup. He is eager to see what kind of soups are available at the party which could be different from what he had the previous year’s party.

[mywayistheway]

Getting in line behind him, activity seeming to recover after the momentary chaos, Bo-Katan hums thoughtfully.

“I don’t think we have anything quite like that where I’m from. There are apples, of many different varieties, but mostly found on planets I don’t really frequent.”

So it’s safe to say she’s never tried one of these candied apples.

[phoenixwiz]

“So apples aren’t commonplace fruits in your planet? Well, you’re in luck today since there are plenty of them that we can get tonight. Even with Epar’s hunger finishing most of them, I’m pretty sure that they will try to make more of them to make up for that.”

“Eifie, Ei-fie!” “Umbreon! Umb-reon, Reon!”

[mywayistheway]

“Then I have to try it, don’t I?”

A smirk coming to her face as it was their turn to get their treats. Taking one of the sugar coated apples after Harry gets what he wants. Taking an experimental bite, her brows raise as she gives it a taste.

“That is good. Messy, but good.”

[phoenixwiz]

Harry takes a bite of his Syrupy Apple eagerly after he gives one for Bo-Katan and eventually distributes the rest to Minerva, Violet and Ron so they can enjoy them too. The new strange Pokémon happily watches as everyone gets to enjoy the very treat Epar had almost finished up moments ago.

The Pokémon are having a great time with the snack as well, Minerva is using her psychic powers to levitate her apple for her to eat it properly while the Eeveelutions munched on theirs with the help of Violet’s own powers.

“Mmmm, these apples are pretty brilliant. Yes, they can be messy but they are also very delicious too.”

“Umbreon!” “Fie!” “Mis-drea-Vous!”

[mywayistheway]

Taking another bite of her apple, Bo motioned for Harry and his Pokemon to follow her as she moved back to sit down where she had left her bowl of soup.

"So. How have you been? Challenged any gyms yet?"

She knows he was planning to, but they hadn't spoken since that time in Goldenrod City. A lot can happen in that amount of time. She wanted to catch up.

[phoenixwiz]

“I’m actually planning to head over to Violet City first and Azalea Town before the winter season comes along. I might even consider doing the gym challenge in Olivine City since that’s where I’m currently based in. Maybe I should have faced Jasmine first before going for Falkner and Bugsy.”

He is probably not mentioning about the infamous Orthworm incident of 2023 right now: he did consider going for Jasmine first when the worms attacked and Zinnia was still a Litleo too, so that had to be put on hold for now.

[mywayistheway]

Bo-Katan (and her player lol) hasn't even heard of this great Orthworm incident! Someone should enlighten her sometime.

"Good. I'd like to hear how it goes. I'm certain you can challenge Jasmine any time."

She doens't know much about Jasmine's gym yet since she hasn't gotten that far yet. She has steel types right? That should be interesting.

"I managed to defeat both Falkner and Busy recently, so I doubt you will have much trouble with them."

[phoenixwiz]

“Oh gee thanks. I have been meaning to get to them soon but with life and new Pokémon coming in the way, I wasn’t able to do it right away. Luckily I have been traveling towards Violet City for some time before tonight’s party so I should be on my way to face Falkner.”

“Whoa, you managed to defeat him and Bugsy already? That’s terrific. I think that my Pokémon are in levels high enough to take on their own by now so I do hope that they can handle them in the gym challenges. Here’s hoping that I can get at least two badges by the end of this year. And hopefully face Jasmine at some point too.”

[mywayistheway]

"As long as you have the right types, I don't think you will have any trouble beating them. Bugsy was more difficult for me as I don't have any fire Pokemon yet. Especially when it came to the last one, that Scizor."

She doesn't all of what Harry has but she knows he has at least one fire type. He should be fine.

"I'll be facing Whitney next, though we need to get in a bit more training before my Pokemon will be ready for that."

[phoenixwiz]

“Well, I got at least 4 Fire Pokémon who could go toe to toe against him and his team, especially that Scizor, with very little problems. Say, how much trouble did it gave you?”

Harry vaguely recalls looking up on Scizor in his PokéDex but he wants to be sure by asking around. He is pretty certain that Godric, Sirius, Zinnia, and co. can do very well. Scarlet and Viktor are too young to compete in gym battles just yet but they have been wanting to do them as well.

“Oh wow, that sounds like you and your team will be working hard to get into a high level to face her. That’s great to hear. I have been hearing that her Miltank has been giving people a lot of problems in the past.”

[mywayistheway]

“It was fast and tricky. I don’t have any fire Pokémon so I went in with sheer brute strength in my Blastoise. By powering up his water attacks he was able to beat the Scizor, but it was quite a fight.”

Harry should definitely be fine with how many fire Pokémon he has. It was the steel half of the Scizor that made it so tough! Which has made Bo appreciate steel types even more.

“Her Miltank, hm? So that’s the one to beat. I’ll have to look into that. I recently caught a Heracross that I’m training for this challenge.”