Pokemon: Lord of Fear

"Hey, you know, these dolls are really—" The man was about to say something to his colleague when he caught sight of the dolls on the shelf out of the corner of his eye. At that moment, all of them were staring at him.

Their heads hadn't moved, but their eyes were locked onto him.

"Ahhh!" A sharp scream pierced the silence of the night. The two men exchanged glances—it was their colleague!

"Geita… th-they're looking at me!" Their colleague's legs were already trembling. Geita wanted to help, but he himself was frozen in place, unable to move, as the dolls' gazes fixated on him as well.

"This…" While Geita was trying to figure out what to do, he saw something shift in the corner of his eye. A wave of terror washed over him as he turned his head. In the cabinet, a Dragonite plushie was slowly twisting its head to look at him, all while keeping its gaze fixed.

At the same time, the other plushies in the cabinet also began to turn their heads, one by one, until they were all staring directly at Geita. His mind went completely blank—he couldn't even hear the sounds around him. He could only stand there, dumbstruck, as the dolls stared at him with their eerie eyes.

"Wow, the production team really nailed this little scare tactic," Foxy nearly burst out laughing. He knew it was just a prank, so he wasn't fazed at all.

["Hahaha, but honestly, people are saying it felt like the dolls were staring even before they moved. Any experts know what's going on?"]

["Yeah, what's the deal with that?"]

["I think it's a trick using convex mirrors to create the illusion that their eyes are always following you."]

"But still, this side of the prank has way more entertainment value," Foxy said, chuckling as he zoomed in on the screen, focusing on the two women.

At the time, the two cleaning company workers, Lily and Clara, were pressed tightly against the wall, staring in terror down a pitch-black hallway.

Earlier, they had escorted an elderly woman out and started cleaning near the entrance. However, as they worked, the door silently swung open.

At first, Clara thought the elderly woman had returned, but when she checked, there was no one outside. Feeling puzzled, she closed the door and resumed cleaning.

But then the door opened again.

Clara checked once more and still found no one outside. She glanced around and noticed nothing unusual near the doorway except a framed photograph of the elderly woman hanging on the wall. In the photo, the woman's expressionless face seemed to stare down at Clara, making her feel uneasy.

Clara closed the door again, this time locking it.

But just as she turned around, she heard the door creak open once more.

When she looked back, the door was open again.

This strange occurrence left Clara feeling unnerved. She was sure she had locked the door. Trembling, she called Lily over to help her close it again. This time, they not only locked it but also secured it with a chain lock for extra protection. However, just then, the picture frame fell off the wall, the sound of shattering glass prompting high-pitched screams from the two women. The chat was instantly flooded with laughing comments:

["Hahaha, did you see that? The picture fell!"]

["Wait, why would it fall?"]

["I bet it wasn't hung securely. Typical horror prank setup."]

"Lily, how did this fall?" Clara asked, clutching Clara's shirt and looking nervously at the shattered frame on the ground.

"Maybe I didn't hang it properly…" Clara replied nervously. She cautiously approached the frame and picked it up, only to see that the elderly woman in the photo was now smiling eerily.

Clara flinched, dropping the frame again.

["OMG! Did you see that? The picture changed!"]

["High alert! Something's coming!"]

["Must be a Ghost Pokémon's doing, right?"]

"Clara, what's wrong?" Lily asked, startled by Clara's reaction. But when she turned to the photo, the elderly woman's expression had returned to its original blank state, as if nothing had happened.

Clara, now thoroughly confused, muttered a quick "Nothing," and re-hung the picture. The two women, though still uneasy, continued cleaning, trying to suppress their growing fear.

While cleaning, Clara glanced at the door to ensure it was still closed.

Thankfully, it hadn't opened.

But just as she breathed a sigh of relief and turned to continue cleaning, she caught something strange out of the corner of her eye.

She froze, then slowly turned back.

["No way! The woman in the photo is gone!"]

["I'm out! The cabinet moved—I'm done!"]

The chat erupted with screams of terror as viewers forgot this was just a prank video.

"Calm down, calm down," Foxy said, licking his lips. "I have to admit, this prank is incredibly well done. It's so realistic, it makes me want to try it myself."

Back in the video, Clara had also noticed the change.

"Lily… the woman in the photo… she's gone," Clara stammered. Her voice trembled as she tapped Lily on the shoulder. Lily shrieked in surprise but quickly calmed down when she realized it was just Clara. When she looked at the picture, her whole body began to shake.

"I-I don't know…" Lily said, her voice cracking as she fought back tears.

Suddenly, the hallway lights began flickering, alternating between light and darkness. When the lights came back on, Clara and Lily saw an elderly woman standing at the far end of the hallway, her distorted features illuminated in the flickering light.

The lights flashed one last time before plunging the hallway into total darkness.

A chilling sound echoed through the blackness, followed by the girls' terrified screams. Suddenly, the twisted figure of the elderly woman lunged at them from the shadows.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the video, the dolls also sprang to life, with a grotesque elderly woman crawling out of them and lunging at the two male employees.

The screen went completely black, leaving only the sound of four distinct screams.

Foxy leaned in closer, eager to see what would happen next. But then, four mutilated faces with tongues missing suddenly appeared on the screen, shrieking. Startled, Foxy jumped so hard he knocked his mouse onto the floor.

(End of Chapter)