Event Quoth the Honchkrow, Nevermore

The illustrious but illusive writer Edgar Allan Honchkrow has just flown into Lake Valor for a fall vacation, claiming to be suffering from a bought of writers block. In order to help him out, I've volunteered to collect short stories from the members of LV to help reignite his creative spark. To sweeten the deal, Edgar and the Mod Crew will be working together to give prizes to the stories he likes best.

Rules​

• All submissions must be posted in this thread.
• Any genre of horror is acceptable.
  
• All stories must be between 500 and 1500 words in length.
• Stories must follow general Lake Valor's general rules and guidelines (no NSFW or offensive content, keep blood and gore to a minimum).
• Absolutely no plagiarism. Anyone caught plagiarizing will be immediately disqualified.

Prizes​

1st Place: 300 PP + Oktoberfest Winner's Medal '20
2nd Place: 200 PP + Oktoberfest Participants Medal '20
3rd Place: 100 PP + Oktoberfest Participants Medal '20
Participation: Oktoberfest Participants Medal '20

 

Whoops, I guess I forgot a few important details. All stories must be horror, but other than that anything goes as long as it doesn't break LV's general rules. And submissions must be placed in this thread. Thank you for pointing out that I forgot to include this information, which I have no added to my initial post.

 

All Oktoberfest events end at the end of the month, unless otherwise stated.

 

For your first questions, you have to submit the story here for it to count for the event, but can do whatever you want with it after that (it's your story, after all).
And for your second question, only one story will count for the event but you can edit or outright replace that story as much as you want until the event ends at the end of the month.

 

Spoiler: Making Friends

All I’ve ever wanted is to make friends. Every day I see how all of the other Pokémon laugh and play together. But I’ve only ever been able to watch them from a distance in the shadows. I’ve tried reaching out to them. I’ve tried joining in their games. But I’ve always been turned away, looked at with disgust and fear.

It’s not fair. There’s nothing wrong with me. I may not be the cutest or the coolest Pokémon out there, but that doesn’t mean that they had to shun me like that. No matter what I tried or what I said, they always looked at me with that same look. No one would ever even give me the time of day if I asked.

They never treated each other Pokémon as poorly as they did me. Even when strange Pokémon they’ve never seen before come from far off lands, the others would treat them like old friends. All of the Pokémon get along so well, except me. But the most popular of them was Pikachu. Everyone loved Pikachu.

That’s why one day, I decided to try something new. If everyone hated me and loved Pikachu, then I should just be more like Pikachu! It seemed so simple that I was surprised the idea had never occurred to me before then and I set out at once. From the shadows that I had been shunned to, I collected all the scraps I could salvage to make myself a costume.

My first attempt wasn’t very good. It didn’t really look all that much like him and I knew that people would hate me even more if they saw it, so I ended up having to scrap it and start again. I had to think a bit out of the box this time, but with a little ingenuity and creative thinking, I was able to make the perfect costume. As I stared at my reflection on the moonlit water’s surface, even I couldn’t tell that I wasn’t looking at the real Pikachu! Sure, I had to carve some eyeholes on the stomach and leave the head stuffed because I was so short, but I doubt anyone would notice those small details until they were ready to finally accept me as one of their own. That was when I rushed back to my corner and waited for morning, when the other Pokémon would arrive and I could show them my work. I didn’t think that there could be any way that my plan could fail.

As the dawn’s light reflected off the surface of the lake where everyone always gathered to hang out together. It wasn’t long before everyone arrived and started to play, which is when I stepped out for everyone to see. I was so excited to finally be allowed to play with the others! So happy that I would no longer be alone!

Alteria was the closest to me, so I ran up to her excitedly and said hello. She took one look at me and screamed before flying off, drawing attention from the others. I was so shocked by what had happened that it took me a moment to realize that everyone looked at me the same way they always did. No, their expressions were somehow even worse. They seemed even more horrified of me than normal and I just couldn’t understand why.

Some of the others began to flee as well, while others were up in arms. Obstagoon threw a rock at me, striking the head of my costume and knocking it over. I had spent so much time and effort into making that costume and now it was ruined. All I had to show for my work were the damaged remains and the stickiness in my fur that had leaked out from it without my noticing.

This was my last chance to finally make friends and I had somehow done something to make everything worse instead. All I could do was stand there and cry, even as more Pokémon began to attack me. Tyrunt charged at me and shoved me into a rock, causing what was left of my costume to make a sickening scrunch. This was the last straw for me, as my sorrow turned to hatred. They were all hitting me for no reason, so I had to hit them back. I was so blinded with fury as I attacked everyone that I had wanted to be friends with that I didn’t even realize what I was doing until it was too late.

By the time I had regained my senses, I was alone again at the edge of the water. I stared down at my reflection, at the tattered remains of the costume I had put so much effort into making. It was nothing now. It barely even looked like Pikachu at this point, even if his eyes were still there, staring at me, mocking me. I threw the costume into the water in frustration and began to cry again, utterly defeated. I was now drenched in the sticky stuffing from the costume, my dark fur stained red, while the smell started to overwhelm me. I hated it. I hated everything. I was done trying to make friends. If all of the other Pokémon were going to be that mean to me, then I was going to be mean right back to them.

I started to laugh, then, as I watched what was left of my costume sink further into the lake. I laughed, as I saw the reflection of a stranger I had never seen before come up behind me. Laughed, as the stranger held up an odd stone. Cried, as I suddenly found myself being pulled away from the water and into the stone. Everything faded to black as I suddenly found myself drifting off to sleep.

I don’t know how long I slept, but I eventually woke up to find myself trapped in that odd stone the stranger held. I can’t leave this spot, placed along the shore in a place no one ever visits. I am now more alone than I have ever been but I no longer want friends. It’s been like this for a very long time now and I’ve had nothing to do but reflect on everything that happened. I realize now, what I hadn’t back then. Of course, no one was going to like my costume. I had made it out of their friend. But it wasn’t my fault! They pushed me into doing it. Everything was their fault! The other Pokémon, and that stranger that trapped me here! I’ve had a long time to think about what they’ve done to me. I no longer want friends. Now all I want is revenge, and all I feel is hatred. And someday, I’ll finally be free to get my revenge.