Prospekt
Legacy Name: Prospekt

The Grifter - Criminal (reformed)

I ask you if you remember.
"Prospekt, how could I forget?"
...
Now here I lie, on my own in a separate sky.
I don't wanna die on my own here tonight,
But here I lie, on my own in a separate sky.

-"Prospekt's March/Poppyfields" by Coldplay

Well, hello there! The name's Prospekt! You look like you know a good deal when you see one, am I right? And I can 100% guar-an-tee a good deal!

No, no, I'm not talking about selling you something, I swear! I don't do that anymore! I just meant, having a friend like me is a good deal, 'cause I know what's up. You hang out with me, I promise you'll never be bored again! I pay attention, see, so I always know when there's fun stuff going on here in Serannian. Sure, this place seems like it could get boring - the only city in the Dreamlands where the dreams are always good ones, on an island in the sky floating up in the clouds. But about half of Serannian's population is made up of balloons, and we know how to have a good time! For instance, we have a lot of parties here because balloons love parties!

And well. . . maybe I do get kinda bored every now and then. But by now, I've come to see being bored sometimes as a positive thing - a luxury, sorta. 'Cause back when I first came here, during the Dream War. . . I didn't have time to be bored, and neither did anyone else in Serannian. We were too busy fighting for this world and our dreams. Now, not having anything to do means something good. It means we have peace.

And I'll have you know that yours truly helped make that peace happen! . . .Uh, not that I had a lot to do with it, but I did help.

I used to live in another universe - one of many that make up the omniverse - in a place called Sinnoh. It's in a world full of creatures called Pokémon, and that's what I am. Specifically, I'm a Drifloon, a species of sentient balloons who can evolve into, well, bigger balloons called Drifblims.

There didn't used to be that many balloons here in Serannian, and I was one of the first to come. It all started one day when I was hanging out in Floaroma Town in Sinnoh, pitching Ekans Oil to potential customers. . . .What's Ekans Oil? Well, it's a product I came up with! Like I mentioned, I used to be a salesfloon, and Ekans Oil was my best seller. It was a liquid medicine that I sold in little bottles, kinda like cough syrup, and it turned ordinary, run-of-the-mill Pokémon shiny!

See, most Pokémon are all the same color, like almost all Drifloons are purple. But a few special Pokémon are hatched an alternate color, and they're called shiny Pokémon. Shiny Drifloons are yellow! For instance, my friend Celeste is shiny, and she's real pretty. Me, I was hatched purple, but thanks to Ekans Oil, I became a special yellow shiny Drifloon! And all my customers could be shiny too for the low low price of 300 Poké Dollars a bottle! I told them, "Now, turning shiny isn't an instant process, and it might take several bottles of Ekans Oil. Or, like, a lot of bottles. But it'll happen eventually! Just look at me - I'm living proof!"

art by Sp00ntane0us

. . .Except, uh. . . I wasn't. It was all lies. Ekans Oil was nothing more than vegetable oil flavored with Pokéberry juice. A Pokémon could drink a hundred bottles of it, and absolutely nothing would happen. And I wasn't really shiny at all; I just painted myself yellow. By this particular day, I'd gotten away with it for a pretty long time, although some of the more perceptive Pokémon were starting to get wise to me since no one who'd been buying my oil had changed color. In fact, I'd decided this would be my last day in Floaroma Town before I moved on to another town in Sinnoh where no one knew me or my con.

Well, it sure did end up being my last day in Floaroma Town, but it was my last day in Sinnoh too.

It all happened because that day, Bart happened to be in town. He didn't come around much, since he lived in the woods out past Floaroma Meadow, and most everyone was afraid of him. Bart's a Drifblim, but he's a weird-looking one. Instead of being purple like most Drifblims, or even yellow like the shiny ones, he's black and grey - the only black Drif I've ever seen. He's also pretty big, and he has a couple old injuries: a scar on his X and a torn wing. No one knew how he'd gotten them, but there were all kinds of rumors about him, how scary and violent he was.

Now, maybe I was a little scared of him myself, but business was slow that day, and when I noticed him drifting past the street corner where I was hawking my Ekans Oil, I saw a new customer. Because a strange-colored Pokémon like him would definitely prefer being shiny, right? And I could tell him that changing the color of a Pokémon as big as him would take tons of Ekans Oil. I also figured that even if he was a violent guy, he wouldn't do anything to me right there in the middle of town where anyone could see, and I'd be skipping out the next day anyway, not hanging around where he could find me later if - well, when he realized the Ekans Oil wasn't working.

So yeah, maybe it was pretty stupid of me, but I grabbed my satchel of bottles and floated after him, calling, "Hey, wait up!" I thought maybe I'd have to chase him down, but Bart stopped right away and turned around to look down at me. And I mean way down, 'cause he's a lot bigger than me.

It made me a little nervous being stared at by this spooky Drifblim everyone was scared of, so my voice shook a little as I gave him my pitch. I told him all about how Ekans Oil had made me turn shiny, and how it would turn him shiny too, if he drank enough of it. Bart didn't say a word as I spoke, just kept right on staring with those dark grey eyes of his, and finally I trailed off and shut up. I waited for him either to agree to the sale or else turn me down, which I now thought was a lot more likely. By that point, I was so creeped out that I wasn't even gonna try to convince him if he did say no. I just wanted to get out of there.

But the thought that I just maybe had a chance of making the sale kept me floating there to hear his answer, at least, before I skedaddled.

Then, eventually he said something: "What makes you think I want to be a different color?"

His voice was real deep, and I tried not to shiver as I stammered, "I-I uh, just. . . well, every Pokémon wants to be shiny, right? Eheh. . . I know I always wanted to be shiny, and now I. . . I am. . . ."

Bart narrowed his eerie eyes and growled, "Liar."

I wanted to turn and bolt right then and there, but the animosity in his eyes and voice had me too scared to move. He raised one of his front wings and moved it towards me, and I flinched, squeezing my eyes shut because I was sure he was gonna hit me.

But he didn't. I felt something brush my cheek, and when I opened my eyes, I saw Bart's wing still held out, now smeared with the yellow paint I'd put all over myself that morning, to make myself look shiny. I put my own little heart-shaped hand to my cheek, which now revealed my true, ordinary purple color.

"If you want to be special, you should change yourself on the inside, not the outside," muttered Bart. "Deceiving innocent Pokémon to build yourself up is despicable - and now everyone knows what a fraud you are, Prospekt."

I had no idea that he knew my name or that, apparently, he'd been on to me for a while now. I glanced around and realized that yeah, everyone else was on to me too, because a crowd of Pokémon had gathered (a safe distance away) to stare at Bart and me. They all could see that I wasn't shiny at all, and some of them were already scowling at me and muttering - probably the ones I'd sold Ekans Oil to.

"You've got a choice," Bart went on, leaning down a little towards me so that he seemed bigger than ever. "Either you come with me, or I let them deal with you." He gestured with his wing at the angry Pokémon surrounding us.

I thought I was doomed either way. If I stayed in town, my former customers were probably gonna tear me to pieces for cheating them. . . and if I went with Bart, he was probably gonna tear me to pieces for trying to cheat him. I weighed my options and decided that being trounced by one big Pokémon would hurt at least a little less than being trounced by a whole bunch of smaller ones.

"I-I'll-- I'll come with you," I squeaked.

Bart didn't say anything, just nodded with a sort of bob in the air. Then he wrapped his wing around one of my strings and turned away, tugging me after him like a kid's balloon at a birthday party. He did it so suddenly, I dropped my satchel of Ekans Oil bottles, but I decided just to leave it behind. I certainly couldn't sell them around those parts anymore, and I might not live to sell them anywhere else, either.

And anyway, I didn't even want to try. What Bart said made me feel ashamed, for just about the first time in my life. When this big, weird Drifblim that no one else liked called me despicable, it made me realize that I really was. I felt bad for lying to everyone and stealing their money. . . but I felt even worse for thinking that Bart needed to change himself, just because he didn't look how I thought he should.

So I followed Bart out of town into Floaroma Meadow, where he finally dropped my string and faced me. I just floated there all miserable, staring at the ground with my strings drooping. I was sure I was about to get the beating of my life, and pretty sure I deserved it, too.

But Bart didn't hit me. Instead, he put out his wing again and tilted me up so I had to look at him as he said, "I'm leaving Sinnoh tonight, to go help a friend who needs me. In fact. . . she needs all the help she can get, so I want you to come with us."

My mouth fell open in the middle of my X, and all I could do was stare at him a second before I managed to squeak, "M-me? Why-- why me? How can I help? I-I'm no good to anyone. . . ."

And bless my strings, Bart actually looked kinda sad when I said that, and he replied, "That isn't true, Prospekt. I think you can do a lot of good, especially in Serannian."

"Serannian?" I asked. "Where's that?"

"It's a beautiful city in the Dreamlands, the place everyone goes when they fall asleep and dream," Bart explained. "It's where Emily - that's the Cresselia - comes from. She says that Serannian is in danger, from a Darkrai who wants to destroy it. He's envious of those with good dreams, especially a man named King Kuranes because he was able to create Serannian all by himself, just by dreaming it. So Emily is gathering a group of Pokémon and some other creatures to protect the city. And that's why I think you can help. . . because you have a lot of dreams."

I blinked up at him and murmured, "I. . . I do?"

Bart nodded. "I believe so. You've been going about trying to achieve them the wrong way, by tricking people, but that doesn't mean your dreams are wrong. You want to be special, don't you? Different from an ordinary Drifloon. . . and you want other Pokémon to like you and care about you. You want to have friends."

"Yeah, I guess that's true," I mumbled. "But no one has ever wanted to be my friend, even when I pretend to be shiny."

Bart patted me on my head fluff and said gently, "I'll be your friend, Prospekt. And so will Emily - she's very kind. I bet the other dreamers she's gathering will be your friends too, if you use this chance to think about and help others instead of yourself."

I couldn't believe that Bart, this big tough Drifblim that everyone said was violent and scary, was actually being nice to me. . . that he actually wanted to be my friend. I didn't know just what I was supposed to do when I got to Serannian; Darkrai is a legendary Pokémon like Cresselia is, and a little Drifloon like me didn't stand a chance of fighting him. But then I thought that if King Kuranes could create Serannian with his dreams, maybe I could help protect it with mine. And anyway, I had to leave Floaroma no matter what, so I might as well go where I was wanted.

"Okay, I'll come with you!" I told Bart after I thought for a minute. I even found myself smiling and feeling kinda excited. Partly because I might be starting off on an exciting adventure, and partly because I had my first friend, ever.

I washed off all my "shiny" paint, vowing that from then on, I would become special on the inside rather than the outside, just like Bart had said. That night, Emily the Cresselia came to meet Bart in Floaroma Field, to take him to Serannian. She was kinda surprised to see me, but she was kind like Bart had said, and she told me she was happy I would be joining the group of Serannian's defenders. You're supposed to have good dreams if you find a Cresselia feather, and Emily gave one to each of us, telling us they would help us find our way to Serannian in our dreams.

And they did! I don't think Emily is just an ordinary Cresselia either (if there is such a thing as an "ordinary" Legendary Pokémon!) because her feathers didn't just let us visit the Dreamlands in our sleep. They let us go there for real, with our real bodies and everything. There, we met the others Emily had gathered. She'd given a special balloon staff to their leader, a Drifblim named Poof.

Some of Poof's Pokémon friends had come to help too. There were also some other kinds of balloons, like a Digimon Blimpmon named Kyzer.

We did end up fighting the Darkrai that Bart had described. I'd never been in a regular Pokémon battle before, and it was. . . well, it was pretty awful. I don't like talking about it, but basically, the Darkrai did what he wanted to do, and he destroyed Serannian completely. Poof was able to protect our little group using the power of his staff, but everything else was just. . . gone.

When I looked down from where I was floating overhead and saw the flat, barren island where the beautiful city had been, it was the worst thing I'd ever seen. It made me feel even worse than I had when Bart confronted me about everything I'd done wrong. All the good dreams were gone, destroyed by the Darkrai's jealousy. . . and his loneliness, I think. He wasn't just a Darkrai, any more than Emily is just a Cresselia, and I still don't really understand who he was. But I think he felt all alone, maybe the only being in the Dreamlands who didn't have good dreams, and he wanted everyone else to be as miserable as he was.

I guess I could understand that, a little. I'd felt all alone too, until I met Bart and then Emily and the others. So when I saw all that loneliness made visible, and how sad it made everyone feel, I started crying. Not what a brave balloon should do when the chips are down, but then, I never claimed to be a brave balloon. Bart held me while I cried, and when I told him how sorry I was that I had failed to protect Serannian and let him and Emily down, he told me that I hadn't let them down at all.

"You haven't failed as long as you still have dreams," Bart told me. "None of us has failed, until we give up hope."

Poof nodded and said, "He's right! You do still have your dreams, Prospekt - I can feel them!" He held up his staff and went on, "With this, I can feel everyone's dreams! And if King Kuranes built Serannian from his dreams, maybe we can rebuild it from ours. Please, all of you. . . close your eyes and dream the sweetest dreams you can!"

I didn't know if it could possibly work. King Kuranes is a very special person, with very special dreams. He brought Serannian into being by dreaming about it when he was just a little kid, and then spent his whole life searching the Dreamlands, trying to find it again. He gave up his life in the physical universe he came from, and only then was he able to return to Serannian, forever.

I wasn't sure if the ordinary dreams of ordinary balloons would be good enough to recreate Kuranes's beautiful city. But that was why I'd come there, right? To help Bart and Emily and the others protect it. . . so all I could do was try.

So I snuggled a little closer to Bart, where I felt safe, and closed my eyes to dream the best dream I could. And when I tried to think of what that was, you know what happened? I didn't think of being rich or famous or even shiny.

Instead, I thought of being right where I was. . . with Bart and Poof and the others. That was where I thought I would be happiest, and where I wanted to stay. So I dreamed it, that Serannian was restored and we were all together there, like one big family. . . and that I could stay there forever and ever, where I'd never feel lonely again.

I don't know what any of the others dreamed, but I think it was probably something like that, too. And Emily helped us. I really don't know what a Cresselia (or whatever she actually is) dreams, but I do know that she used her move Lunar Blessing on us and healed our wounds and exhaustion from the battle - both physically and emotionally. And I think it was Emily's staff that amplified Poof's words so that the whole omniverse could hear him: Please, all of you. . . close your eyes and dream the sweetest dreams you can!

The whole omniverse heard him, and the whole omniverse dreamed. Even I could feel them, the sweet dreams of all the kind dreamers who existed - every kind of creature in every universe gave Poof their dreams. His special balloon staff absorbed the creative power of those dreams and sent it out into the Dreamlands, to the empty floating island where Serannian had once stood. . . and those dreams brought it back. I'd say just like before, but it was actually better than before, even more beautiful. Best of all, the dreams brought back everyone who lived there too, all the citizens the Darkrai's nightmares had destroyed - including King Kuranes himself!

The Darkrai screamed in anger, but there was nothing he could do to stop what was happening. He could've destroyed Serannian again and again, and the omniverse's dreamers would just rebuild it, again and again. I guess he knew that, because he ran away, and I haven't seen him since. Emily says that he's gone back to where he lives in the Dreamlands, in a palace of black crystal in a place called Kadath at the north pole. She doesn't think he'll ever come back to Serannian, but she has stayed here to protect it, just in case.

And guess what? My sweetest dream came true, because she asked us if we wanted to stay in the Dreamlands forever too, and help her guard the city. I said yes before she could even finish the question! Poof and Kyzer stayed as well, and now we balloons protect Serannian together.

Best of all. . . Bart stayed too. When he asked me why I wanted to give up my life in a physical universe to exist in the Dreamlands, I told him that I didn't have anything in Sinnoh worth going back to. Then he said that neither did he.

I've never fought another battle since that war, which means I haven't gained any more experience. At this rate, I'll probably never evolve into a Drifblim like Bart and Poof. . . but I'm okay with that. I like being a Drifloon, and now thanks to Bart, I feel special just the way I am!

(Uh. . . not that I don't like to pretend sometimes that I'm a Drifblim. I don't think there's anything wrong with that as long as I don't try to trick anyone into thinking I'm something I'm not!)

So! That brings us back to where I started: I don't mind things getting a little boring around here sometimes, but I sure don't like being bored for very long! Like I said, I don't sell things anymore, so instead, I help plan parties and keep everyone up to date on what's happening. . . sort of an event coordinator, I guess! And you're in luck - some of us balloons are having a party this very evening, and you've got yourself a gen-u-ine invitation from the one and only Prospekt! Hope I'll see you there!

Credits

original character based on the Pokémon Drifloon
character, profile, background, and story by Balloon
art by Balloon unless otherwise noted