Welcome to Gaia! ::

Ah, the end of the Zatao harvest. A time to reap the bounty of the crops you've grown over the year, and to celebrate the autumnal time with spookiness. This year, a young girl, inspired by a book she found in an old library, has organized an event. While originally the event would be a small get-together with her friends, word spread around the area, and kind farmers decided to make the girl's idea truly special. They spread the word, and soon the entire region was abuzz! Scary storytelling around campfires, games, food stalls, and events! All on the outskirts of Inhinx, the ghost town of Zatao.

Dare you enter the Spirit Forest? Its pale trees cast an ominous glow in the moonlight, and few have the nerve to enter the forest alone, especially after strange noises have been heard coming from inside since the festival began setting up - howling and screaming, predominantly, but an overall sense of unease emanates from the forest this year.

Or, maybe you'll Visit the Abandoned Mines? While not attached to as many stories being told around the campfires at the Pumpkin Festival, the Abandoned Mines are full of mystery. Softly glowing pink crystals can be found, but no one has ever seen them anywhere else before. In fact, the crystals themselves are the subject of more than one tale. But this year, wailing has been reported coming from deep inside the mine. Has a spirit been awakened from its slumber? If so, what can you do to calm it?

While we're on the topic of things that shouldn't be around, a strange shack appeared near the festival grounds. The thing is, no one knows who built it, or even when, just that it wasn't there when the festival was beginning to be set up. Perhaps stranger still, there is no apparent way to get inside. There's a hole in the wall, just big enough for perhaps a pokeball to slip through, but nothing large enough for humans. Maybe you could send your pokemon to investigate the creepy shack?

Group up with your friends, and even some strangers, and go around causing mischief! This is the night for it! Trick-or-treating only comes once a year - visit the food stalls and grab some delicious treats! Candy, caramel apples, and the occasional toothbrush (What the heck, dentist lady??) are all potential spoils of your warpath.

Of course, it wouldn't be much of a Pumpkin Festival without jack-o-lanterns, now would it? Carve some pumpkins, graciously donated to the event by Farmer Todd! Maybe your jack-o-lantern will be judged spiffier than the rest, and you'll win a prize!

And on the topic of prizes, don't forget to check out the raffle! A lotto booth is in place at the festival, but no one quite knows who is running it, or who invited them. Surely someone must have, right?

Whatever you decide to do in the festival, be sure to enjoy yourself! It only comes once a year, after all.

Kyle decided to go to the Pumpkin Festival with his two pogeys. It seemed like the perfect set up to make some Rocket mischief. The tall dude was dressed up in a Batman costume and started to explore the festival grounds. "Dressed up like this, no one should recognize me," he told himself with a grin on his face. It was fine for him to wander alone. He knew his pogeys would find him again sooner or later.

His Haunter, Jake, trailed after his trainer and was having a great time floating through the trees and scaring trainers.

Ryuu, however, already made himself feel at home as he ditched his trainer and sat close by the food stalls begging for food. Once in a while he would wag his tail when food is offered to him from strangers.

(( can't resist extra;s ORPs ))

Brutus crept along the long grass, heading for the festival. He was looking for... well, he was looking.

He hadn't had much of a chance to put together a costume. All he had managed to do was roll in some orange dirt and use his vines to paint a smiley face in mud; a poor bulbasaur's jack-o-lantern bulb.

The other pokemon were looking extra scary- too scary for a poor little bulbasaur to cope with. He hoped there would be apples to eat when he got there; the thought of them was all that kept him going, bent kneed, to the festival.