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A day or two late, but this is the third entry in the bouncy adventures of young rubbermancer Mandy Wilson, this time with a helpful visit from 
Ephraim225's Lugia clown plush to ease her creator's block.
Although I wrote this particular episode myself unlike before, the links to the previous episodes are here.
1) https://www.furaffinity.net/view/38932535/
2) https://www.furaffinity.net/view/44314889/
---[STORY]---
Mandy Wilson looked out her window at the quiet street outside her house, watching cars and pedestrians pass this way and that as the long shadows of sunset crossed the lawn. Fall had already begun not too long ago, yet so much had happened in the last few years, it seemed like a whole decade since then.
Mandy made a bored sigh, then thought, "So much for Mandy the Pumpkin Witch..."
Since her last experiment of a Halloween when she was thirteen, Mandy had laid low and put her magical persona aside, deciding to give her neighborhood time away from crazy antics while she learned to hone her own skills in secret. At least her collection of living toys kept her entertained, and the Phantom Pumpballoon ship always brought her solace every Halloween, even if her parents thought it slightly strange for a teenager to go trick-or-treating.
Now, at the budding age of fifteen, Mandy was already beginning to miss her and her ship's brand of spooky fun, but one problem remained: Creator's block.
A few days before Halloween, after finishing her homework, Mandy decided to go for a walk around the neighborhood for ideas. At first she wanted to walk by herself, but when she stood up and took in the bedroom around her, her gaggle of plush toys stirred to life almost immediately.
“Aww,” she playfully teased, “You wanna come with me, don't you?"
Ruby of the Shooting Star Triplets said first, "Totally! We're downright bored stuffed!"
The other plushies giggled at the pun, and soon Mandy did as well.
"All right," she said, "It's been a while so I'm game."
Mandy thought about bringing the cats with her, but it'd be hard to be subtle with flying kitties on broomsticks.
But as she glanced toward the closet, Princess Pumplush rolled forward on her button wheels and warmly asked, "Why walk when you can roll through town like a princess?"
That made Mandy's eyes light up, and she answered with a smile, "Yeah...I think that'll work!" But as she bent down and picked up the currently melon-sized plush, Mandy warned, "But pumpkin mom, remember: I'm not going in costume. This is just a...research mission, okay?"
Pumplush's hole-like mouth just made a wide smile, and she answered, "You have my word, my little pumpkin!"
With approval from her parents, Mandy carried her pumpkin plush out to the driveway and set her down. She watched as the living toy grew in size, creaking like a diaper as it filled with more cotton. When Princess Pumplush reached her maximum size, she was as high as the family minivan, and even pressed up against it.
Then, hoping no one was watching, Mandy climbed into Pumplush's open zipper mouth and made herself comfy in the huge mound of cotton. And then they were off down the alley.
"Hey wait a sec, how do I steer?" Mandy asked.
"Steer?" Pumplush teased, "But my princess needs no- "
"But you don't know this neighborhood that well!" Mandy complained. She gasped as a car started to back out, "Look out!"
In an instant, a green Y-bar rose from the cotton mound, and Mandy pulled the pumpkin off to the side, allowing the car to drive off.
"Phew, that was close!" she sighed.
"How rude!" Pumplush whined. "So un-lady like!"
"And that's why I'm here to help," Mandy answered, continuing the drive.
After that incident, the turn onto the next block was uneventful. Some houses had already broken out the decorations, but most were bare.
"Hmm, let's see how the neighbors are doing," Mandy said, turning onto the next road.
Princess Pumplush couldn't help but smile at the many inflatable pumpkins dotting the various yards.
"Well now!" she smiled, "I've never seen this many pumpkins in one place! It reminds me a little of--"
"The ship?" Mandy interrupted, "Yeah, I've thought about him too. I just...haven't figured out what to do for him this Halloween."
They passed one yard practically overfilled with scary Halloween decor, making the two girls sulk at such a prospect. But in the next yard, something seemed amiss.
Mandy leaned close to Pumplush's right eye and asked, "Hey pumpkin mom, do you see that?"
"See what, my darling?" the plushie answered, too enamored by the spectacle ahead.
They were staring at a yard filled with cute Halloween inflatables, with a line of small orange pumpkin balloons lining the front edge.
But among them, Mandy pointed and said, "That, dead ahead! Since when are pumpkins...silver?"
But Princess Pumplush only noticed at the last minute, and a loud "BANG!" erupted as the plushie collided with the silver balloon, flinging Mandy backwards into the cotton mound.
"Oh, dearie me," the pumpkin said, "I should watch where I tread."
Mandy felt something crinkly around her waist as she tried to pull herself up, but they never expected what that explosion had released.
In place of the silver balloon was a spinning, white mass of plush, which eventually unfolded to reveal a spectacular plush Lugia, a Pokémon Mandy recognized due to having seen a child show off a trading card of his. Lugia had white wings with fingers and thumbs, a large blue belly that looked incredibly soft on this plushie, and this Lugia wore make-up, a red nose, and big red shoes, as well as a silly jester hat, completing his clown get-up.
Lugia was much bigger than Pumplush and gazed down at the pumpkin carriage with a grin. “How adorable,” he giggled, “A soft pumpkin carriage…and who could be inside?” He looked into the eyes of Pumplush, giving him a glimpse of the girl inside, and he giggled even more. “Awww, a sweet little baby girl!”
Mandy’s cheeks flushed bright red, realizing what was covering her waistline. “Wh-what is THIS doing here?!” she gasped.
“Oh, I thought you might like something soft to wear,” Pumplush replied, Mandy now feeling totally embarrassed.
“In any case,” Mandy gulped, “D-do I know this guy?”
“I’ve heard of you,” Lugia winked. “The toys in this town are whispering. They say they’ve never felt more alive than on Halloween night thanks to the wonderful parade of plushies and other toys. But they say there was no parade last year! What happened, sweetie?”
“Oh, um,” Mandy shuffled, trying to ignore how the diaper felt, “The year before that, I made a few…big mistakes…and put the town in danger. I decided to not mess around like that again.”
“Oh, sweetie,” Lugia cooed, “Everyone makes mistakes, you know that. And if it makes you feel better, how about having the assistance of an expert this year?”
Mandy noticed the sun was getting dim, and hatched an idea. “I...I’d love that, but it’s kinda getting dark. Why don’t we head back to my place first? My uh...friends would probably like to meet you.”
Lugia cocked his head slightly, then asked with curiosity, “Of course, sweetie. Where are we going?”
Mandy gripped the steering vine and said, “Just follow me, and I’ll show you!”
Lugia watched Princess Pumplush do a U-turn and roll back up the sidewalk, so he spread his wings and flew off after her. It only took ten minutes for Mandy to make it back home, and less for her to crawl out of the pumpkin plushie, still wrapped in a thick, orange, jack-o-lantern diaper.
Pumplush shrank back to melon size while Mandy peered through the backdoor window. Seeing that her parents were out of sight, she scooped up the orange plushie with one hand and asked, "Hey, can you at least hide this diaper for me? So my parents don't see it?"
“Anything you say, darling,” snickered Pumplush. “It still looks adorable on you!”
Lugia chuckled as the orange garment shrank beneath Mandy's clothes. Then Mandy held the door open to let Lugia through, and she whispered, “Be careful, my parents could be here. They don’t know I have...living toys like you!”
“Ooh, secrets are fun!” Lugia giggled.
As she stepped into the well-cleaned kitchen, Mandy looked back and asked, “Hey Lugia, can I just...carry you the rest of the way? Until we get to my room?”
Clown Lugia snickered, “Ah, the art of disguise! Certainly, now that you’ve got me curious!”
Immediately, the hovering Pokémon plushie shrank slightly, then dropped right into Mandy’s free arm.
“I look like I’ve won the carnival,” Mandy thought, carrying two plushies under her arms.
The living room was empty, and Mandy could tell by the wall clock that her parents were preparing for bed. As she traipsed up the stairs, however, she froze, witnessing her mother Julie, inches away.
“Oh! Hi, mom!” Mandy said, trying to be casual.
“Hey Mandy, how was your walk?” Julie asked.
“It was fine,” Mandy answered.
But then she saw Julie’s eyes narrow when she noticed something.
“Is that a...Pokémon you’ve got there?” she asked, pointing to Mandy’s left arm.
“Y-Yeah, I found it on the curb while I was out walking.” Mandy half-lied.
“Well,” Julie replied, “Just make sure to keep it in your room this time, all right?”
“Of course, I’ll remember,” Mandy answered, trying not to think about the time Ruby got into mom’s sewing kit for her yarn.
With that, the two of them bade each other good night, Mandy warily locked her bedroom door, and set Lugia down on the bed.
“Okay Lugia,” she said, “You can move now!”
Immediately, the clown plush grew a few inches, then laughed when he noticed the other toys gazing upon him, "Well now, it seems you've got your own little troupe of plushies!"
"Yeah, I sure do," Mandy answered, slightly blushing.
“Would you look at that! A circus clown!” Garnet gasped in astonishment.
Sapphire joined in and said, “I bet the Phantom Pumpballoon would love to meet you!”
“‘Pumpballoon, eh?” Lugia asked, rubbing his chin with intrigue, “I wonder who that is?”
Everyone in the room watched as Mandy approached the closet.
Blushing with shyness, she replied, “He’s a...a living balloon ship, and a few years ago, he made me his captain.”
Mandy drew the mirrored sliding door aside, and Lugia’s eyes widened when he saw the distinctive rubber pumpkin costume and balloon staff inside.
Knowing where this was going, he teased, “So then, what’s keeping this captain from setting sail again?”
Mandy grabbed her staff on impulse and sat on the bed, turning it side to side while a blob of liquid rubber floated around its tip.
“I’m out of ideas, basically,” she tiredly said, swirling the rubber with one hand. “Even rubbermancy’s no fun without something to cast it on.”
Lugia stared at the display before him, his curiosity growing by the second.
Then, as she put away the staff, Mandy looked straight at Lugia and asked with a yawn, “So...Lugia clown, what kind of expert are you, anyway?”
The Pokémon bowed, pulled a small plush pie from nowhere, then bragged as he tossed it back and forth, “I am the expert of entertainment! The professor of pie fights! The master of mayhem, and the teacher of...uh, tickles!”
Mandy snickered as she cradled him against her torso. Right before sleep could overtake her, she whispered, “Maybe...you could teach me how to...bring friendly clowns to Halloween...” And with that, she dozed off.
“Now that...” Lugia thought as his telepathy gradually sensed his new friend’s dreams, “That I can definitely arrange!”
On the morning of October 30th, The plushies remained in “camouflage mode” when the alarm clock rang 6 AM, well aware that Mandy had no time for playtime when school called. She was already up and out the door in the span of a half hour, just in time to catch the school bus while her parents drove off to their own jobs.
Even as the day started, Mandy could barely concentrate on her classwork. Her new stuffed friend was certainly something new, and she couldn’t help but wonder what he’d be capable of once she returned. But one thing was so clear she had to write it down: She had to introduce him to the pumpkin ship, ASAP.
Meanwhile, Lugia and the others waited eagerly for Mandy's return, as they spent the day crafting ideas for Halloween, playing harmless pranks on one another, and other such camaraderie. But Lugia saved a special surprise when she finally came home.
Alongside dinner, Mandy had to help her parents with some chores, which stalled her all the way to 6:30 PM before she could get back to her room.
At that point, sensing Mandy's footsteps, Lugia asked the other plushies, "All right, you guys ready?"
"Ready!" giggled Sapphire, "I can't wait!"
So, on the count of three, Lugia reared back, produced a handful of plush pies, and splattered each of Mandy's living plushies in rapid succession. Mandy opened the door just in time to see this, and her surprise was so sudden that her backpack fell to the floor as she was taking it off.
At first, Mandy wanted to shout, but seeing how excited each of her toys seemed to be receiving what looked like a harmless gag, she just asked, "L...Lugia? What are you doing?"
The Pokémon turned and snickered, "Just wait and see, kid!"
Indeed, as the plush cream coated the toys' faces, it coated everything else as well. Soon, the cats and the pumpkins had makeup, red noses, hats, gloves and large shoes just like a clown, with varying goofy outfits to match. Not only that, but each of them seemed to grow ever so slightly plumper than they normally were, which said a lot for a plushie.
When it was over, Lugia turned back to Mandy and smiled, "Well, Mandy? Whaddya think? I remember you saying you wanted to bring some nice, friendly clowns to Halloween! How’re these ones for ya?"
The other plushies collectively giggled in agreement.
Suddenly her memory from last night came rushing back, and she gasped, "Yes...YES! We gotta show this to the pumpkin ship, right now!"
Throwing all else aside, Mandy raced to the closet, ripped her pumpkin costume from its hanger, and pulled it on in one squeaky move. Lugia's curious smile grew when he saw the way it magically self-inflated around her.
"Aww, you look just adorable with that on!" he snickered.
Mandy noticed him reaching for another pie, but she grabbed her staff, pointed it toward him, and warned, "Whoa there! I haven't even shown what this suit and staff can do yet!"
Ruby turned to Lugia and agreed, "She's right, you haven't seen anything yet!"
Quietly, the plushie troupe accompanied their master out the front door, off in search of the Phantom Pumpballoon. Mandy morphed her staff into an inflatable broom and took off into the air, followed by the Shooting Star Triplet cats like a fighter squad, while Lugia himself flew as well, psychically carrying Gourd Gourmand and Princess Pumplush.
"Wow," Mandy thought, "Just like in the movies."
"Where are we headed?" Lugia asked, sensing her awe.
Glancing back, Mandy answered, "We should be able to meet him safely at this park a few blocks away! Follow me!"
With the sun low in the sky, few people noticed the flying circus of toy clowns, but not enough to cause a ruckus. Soon, they arrived over Weber Park and came to a standstill above a baseball field.
Lugia glanced around but saw nothing out of the ordinary.
Mandy looked as well, then told her friends, "That's odd, usually he shows up around this time."
Then the clown cat Garnet spoke up, "Hee Hee! I remember now! We always used to call for him if we got separated!"
Ruby and Sapphire understood almost immediately, and on the count of three, red, blue and purple sparks shot from their wands, exploding in a goofy fireworks display of stars and smiling faces. Then, seconds later, the familiar shiny, orange silhouette of the Phantom Pumpballoon emerged from the clouds, lit up like a parade float by the smiling Jack-o-Lantern faces on its hull and rubber pumpkins.
Mandy pointed toward it and shouted, “There he is! Let’s go!” before leading the flying plushies on board.
They heard a familiar deep voice as soon as they landed. “My...captain! It has been so...long since we met! And...your friends look so different!”
Mandy hugged one of the huge pumpkin balloons and said, “Yes, because I brought someone new this time!”
The clown Lugia looked up at the bridge, and saw its Jack-o-lantern face smiling back.
He laughed, “I won’t lie, this looks like one amazing ship, but when it comes to fun, ya won’t stand a GHOST of a chance against Lugia’s brand of clowny fun!”
“Is that right?” the ship asked, punctuated by the rubber doors of the cabin swinging open. “Why don’t you come inside, then?”
And so they did, stepping into a huge orange room that looked like a giant bounce house. Sensing this, the ship giggled and spontaneously inflated the floor, sending its passengers into a bouncing frenzy.
As they bounced up and down, Lugia looked Mandy's way and said, "Heh, you know, you remind me of a friend I helped back home."
"Oh?" Mandy asked, twirling her staff like an acrobat, "How'd you do that?"
With circus expertise, Lugia juggled three pies in mid-air, saying, "I made his birthday a little better by...changing his house for a day with these pies! This ship of yours reminded me a little of that."
Mandy's eyes widened while her cats played pranks on each other in the background. She thought about her experiment from two years past, and said, "Funny, that's what I tried to do before. Except...it was this whole neighborhood, and we had to clean it up before anyone noticed. We didn't even get to enjoy much of it."
Lugia fanned a stream of playing cards from one hand to another, chuckling, "That's what I did too: I transferred the changes into their own pocket world, so we can visit it at will with nobody else the wiser!"
Suddenly, that set Mandy's heart fluttering with glee, and, hugging Lugia on the next bounce, she squealed, "That's it! With your clown tricks and my rubbermancy, we can make our own Halloween dimension!"
"Did someone say...'Halloween dimension'?" laughed the ship.
Simultaneously, the bouncing antics ended as the Pumpballoon gently let the group down.
He continued, "Come to the bridge, my captain. You too, Lugia."
Then one of the many green rubber tubes surrounding the cabin began sucking in air like a vacuum, and Mandy and Lugia found themselves transported up into the huge hollow pumpkin atop the ship's cabin.
"Ah, my throne!" Mandy sighed, sitting in a huge puffy pumpkin chair. "I missed this."
Lugia noticed how the pumpkin seemed more translucent from in here than outside, giving them a great view of the suburb below. From the looks of things, it was already nighttime, and most of the houses' windows were lit, with only the occasional car passing by.
"You see all these drab, sleepy houses, Lugia?" The ship asked, "What do you suppose is missing from this picture?"
Lugia rubbed his hands with mischievous intent, already putting the pieces together in his head.
"Why, paint of course!" he answered with glee. "We should paint this town silly!"
Mandy jumped from her inflatable throne and said, "And I think I know just how to do it!"
"Oh?" Lugia asked, a daring look in his eyes, "Lay it on me!"
Suddenly, he added her one of the pies, gesturing to his face.
"Oh, I get it!" Mandy laughed, plastering her friend with plush cream.
Soon the two of them were a giggling mess, and it took a lot for Mandy to continue the conversation.
"Hehehe, okay! Remember those funny-looking decorations down there?" Mandy asked, pointing to the rubber viewport.
Lugia giggled, still doing tricks even with cream on his face, "How could I not? It was a pretty good hiding place!"
Mandy put a gloved hand on his shoulder and leaned forward, giving Lugia a faint view of the real girl behind the translucent mask.
Then she said, "I could go back down and build some...new ones with my rubber magic, while you...hehe, splat the town with this ship! Then when people walk by on Halloween, they’ll...have a little surprise waiting for them!”
Lugia’s eyes widened with glee, and a new idea struck as he reached into his hammerspace and pulled out a pair of Pokéballs.
“Better take these with you, then,” he said, handing them to Mandy. “Wouldn’t want an adorable witch like you to do her work alone, now would we?”
Mandy just giggled slightly at holding real Pokéballs.
As planned, Lugia remained on the bridge to survey the neighborhood, while the Phantom Pumpballoon quietly landed, releasing Mandy out into the street. In no time at all, Mandy set off scouting the nearest streets, looking for places to set her special traps.
Her first stop was at a typical house loaded with inflatable Halloween balloons on the lawn. Making sure no one was watching, Mandy crouched behind a tree, focused on what she desired, and cast her spell with the rubber staff. In a flare of orange light and plenty of squeaks, a new inflatable emerged on the lawn, a typical orange pumpkin with a purple wizard’s cap, just like her suit’s helmet. From afar, it looked like any other décor, but the faint pooltoy-like sheen set it apart from the rest, the same on Mandy’s suit and ship.
“One down...how many to go?” she wondered,
Then she remembered her gift, and, turning a corner, Mandy tossed the pair of Pokéballs, and out popped a plush Braixen and Cinderace, both looking very eager to help.
“Hello, friends,” she snickered, “I’m looking to spice up this suburb with some squeaky magic. Think you could lend me a hand?”
The two Pokémon didn’t seem to talk, but they nodded, listening to Mandy’s instructions. Braixen would help with the rubber pies and other decorations, and Cinderace would kick the pumpkin balloons to their destinations.
Soon, in the span of an hour with no one to disturb them, she and the two Pokémon set about adding rubber and plush Halloween decorations in dozens of people’s yards, from plush ghosts, to rubber pies, small tents, and even cute rubber human figures.
When it was over, Mandy let Braixen and Cinderace ride her rubber broom back to the ship, just in time for Lugia to finalize his part of the plan.
“Okay, Pumpkin ship!” Lugia called, “Are you ready?”
“Ready! I can’t wait!” the ship called back.
“Better load your cannons, then,” Lugia laughed, yanking out a huge assortment of pies, tomatoes and fruits, “Because this Lugia is dropping a smorgasbord!”
Mandy touched down on the upper deck just in time to see those items being sucked through the green rubber vines.
“Oh...boy,” she muttered, turning toward the bow. “Here it comes!”
Mandy heard a hollow “THOOMP! THOOMP! THOOMP!” of the rubber cannons firing, followed by “SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT!” as Lugia’s barrage of pies and other transformative objects landed on every house, townhouse, and apartment within a 3-mile radius.
She and the two Pokémon couldn’t help but stare as they watched gooey globs of cream and colorful paint warp, reshape, and inflate themselves into rubber versions of the originals. Houses became inflatable houses, apartments turned cartoony and warped, even the sidewalks, trees and décor turned rubbery and inflatable.
At first, a part of Mandy wished this suburb could stay this way, but she remembered her next plan, and watched as all the traps she set opened up, creating a vacuum effect that seemed to stretch the rubber around it. In only a few minutes, the magic balloons sucked the rubber suburb inside themselves, peeling away and leaving the real buildings untouched.
“Wow!” Mandy observed, “Like peeling silly putty off a drawing!”
Before she could ask where all that rubber went, the pumpkin ship laughed, “Well done, my captain! Your little plan makes my rubber heart soar, and only a day before the true Halloween!”
“Thanks!” Mandy answered, facing the cabin. She started to walk across, but abruptly she added, “Wow, that first romp wore me out!”
“Well then, I can arrange that!” the ship answered.
Then one of the green tubes rotated and vacuumed Mandy up to the bridge, just in time for her to see the captain’s throne morph into a familiar inflatable bed.
Mandy couldn’t help but lie down on it immediately, using her staff to deflate her costume into rubber pajamas.
Lugia popped up beside her, climbed onto the bed, and hugged her tightly.
“Good job, kid,” he said, “I bet you can’t wait for tomorrow, huh?”
“No way,” Mandy replied, yawning. “I’m totally excited!”
Mandy heard his clown nose squeak as Lugia booped her nose.
“Relaaaaax,” he said, “I’ll take care of the details, you’ve got a whole day to get through!”
“Ain’t that the truth,” Mandy sighed.
And with that, she was fast asleep, embraced by living rubber bed sheets and her new plush friend.
The morning of October 31st felt like an absolute blur to Mandy. She didn’t notice her costume was already off and hung up in the closet. Her toys were all on the Pumpballoon to test drive their big plan, and school seemed tuned out, even when she tried to follow classwork. Her Halloween was coming after two whole years, she felt like bursting with anticipation. It took everything she had just to focus on school without doing something strange.
She was already itching to get out on the street by the time she got home, and dressed back into her rubber witch costume once the coast was clear.
As she took off on her broom, the sun was still setting. Mandy knew well that the trick-or-treating craze was bound to start in an hour or two, so she tried to lay low while looking for the Phantom Pumpballoon.
Lugia was already waiting when she flew up to the ship, and she caught the face of the pumpkin bridge smiling at her.
“Welcome back!” the ship said, gleeful as ever.
Lugia smiled and added, “Well, look who’s an early bird!”
“Hehe,” Mandy giggled, “I was itching to get back!”
“It is good that you did,” the Pumpballoon added, “Because now you can lead our parade, just like old times!”
Mandy blushed with shyness, remembering her true role from so many years back.
“He and I made a little...shortcut to make things easier,” Lugia added.
Mandy glanced over the bow and noticed some trick-or-treaters already on the move.
“Shortcut? Where?” she asked.
“In the hold,” the ship said, raising another tube.
In a flash, Mandy and Lugia found themselves floating in the ship’s low-gravity hold. This time, however, Mandy saw a strange, inner tube-like structure floating at the bow.
“You like it?” Lugia asked. “Wait’ll you see what’s inside!”
Just as Mandy and Lugia crossed to the strange structure, kids and adults all around found themselves ensnared by Mandy’s strange new Halloween traps. Whoever so much as touched them ended up sucked inside, sometimes pulled through layers of plush or even ball pits.
When the trip ended, these trick-or-treaters and their parents found themselves in a colorful, bouncy neighborhood full of inflatable houses and apartments, with cute Halloween decorations everywhere. Even the sky itself was just a rubber sheet painted blue and dotted with stars and a moon, yet they all seemed to glow like a real night sky. The kids were absolutely ecstatic, and their parents could do little to stop them.
Mandy emerged into this pocket world like a parade leader, and it fit, considering how her ship sent her plushie friends through, one by one.
“This is...incredible!” Mandy squealed. “It’s better than anything I could ever have made myself!”
“I can’t take all the credit,” laughed Lugia, “You helped make this happen!”
“Gosh,” Mandy said, turning a corner, “For all these clowns, I bet you got a circus somewhere, huh?”
“Yep, it’s at the end of the main road, in a giant mansion,” said Lugia, suddenly hovering at eye level. “And you’re invited to join!”
Without warning, Lugia whipped out one of his pies and splattered Mandy across the helmet. Somehow, not only did the magic cream warp and change parts of her suit to be more colorful and goofier, but Mandy could feel makeup and a rubber nose on her real face as well. She even felt a presence behind her, and when she reached past her shoulder, she felt something soft, pulling out a shiny, rubbery pie.
Stashing it for later, she stopped and looked back at her friends, who all burst out laughing at her new look.
Then, suddenly, as she looked at a clowny Princess Pumplush, Mandy had a new idea.
She declared in her best ringmaster impression, “Hehehe! Friends, I hear there’s a circus somewhere, and every circus needs an audience!”
“That’s true!” clown Ruby laughed.
“Where shall we find this audience?” Gourd Gourmand asked in an almost rhetorical tone of voice.
Mandy pointed down the nearest rubber street, and declared, “Those who trick-or-treat, like the parades we’ve done before! Find them and bring them to the circus!”
The other plushies couldn’t help but oblige, and each of them scattered in all directions, looking for a new playmate.
The ways of trick-or-treating here were far more exciting than in the normal suburb. Half the kids were bouncing their way up the street, and none were afraid of visiting any of the houses. When the door opened, most times they would see a strange animal-like figure made of either rubber or plush, and when a kid held up his candy bag, an entire pound’s worth or more would fill the bag with more candy than anyone would hand out on earth. Some people even scored homemade pastries.
Little did they know that Mandy’s plush troupe and Lugia’s assorted Pokémon were on the move for these very people.
Gourd Gourmand unzipped his torso, plopped a plush pumpkin mask on one kid’s head, and stuffed the kid inside for the trip, rewarding him with more assorted candy and pastries while the mask slowly grew into a plush pumpkin suit.
Princess Pumplush scored three teenagers named Ed, Todd and Julia, dressed as a familiar kangaroo, dragon and eagle. When she lured them inside, instead of cotton, the entire pumpkin was filled with cotton candy, and right before the 3 teens could get comfy, the cotton moved on its own and began filling them up, making for an unusual ride. Ed and Todd swore they felt like their costumes were changing again.
Cinderace trapped two kids and their parents in a giant plush soccer ball, after daring them to kick it back.
And as for Mandy, her now candy-striped staff morphed into a pogo stick instead of a broom, giving her incredible bounce to better lead her parade, complete with a cartoony “BOING!” sound on every bounce.
Thus, with their captive audience on the way, Mandy led her parade toward a huge rubber mansion. It looked like your typical spooky abandoned mansion from afar, but up close, everything about it looked cartoony and harmless. Cute ghost balloons whizzed by overhead, making playful squeaks like Boos from Mario 64 as they passed. Then its puffy double doors stretched open, complete with a shiny, taffy-like red carpet, wide enough for everyone to go in. Rubber Pokémon servants darted back and forth, excited for the new guests. The troupe passed hallways that seemed to lead to a huge array of bedrooms, as well as a living room and kitchen. But at the far end, per Lugia’s suggestion, two double doors opened to an impossibly huge theater.
“Here we go, you know what to do, right?” Lugia asked.
“You bet I do!” Mandy bragged, “Watch this!”
Suddenly, in one jump, Mandy bounded from the entrance to center stage, while the other toys released their captives into the surrounding seats. Many of the attendees were disoriented from the ride and how stuffed many of them were, giving the other toys time to make the stage as well.
When everyone was relatively attentive and ready, Mandy turned to the audience and began, “Ladies, Gentlemen, Trick-or-treaters of all ages! Welcome to our humble little circus!”
Lugia joined her and continued, “Tonight, you’ll see more thrills, chills and spills than any Halloween before!”
“So, without further ado,” Mandy finished, gesturing to the stage, “let the Halloween circus begin!”
Heavy rubber curtains parted, and the opening act started with all sorts of plushies throwing pies at each other, laughing the whole way. At first that seemed to be it, until some of the attendees noticed how every pie thrown caused its target to grow in size. Soon, a plush Rapidash started running up the walls and ceiling, before dive-bombing straight into an enormous pie on the stage, sending cream everywhere, even into the audience. The act came to a climax when a huge plush Kangashkan and Ursaring suddenly had boxing gloves and started battling each other inside the cream-filled pie tin. Some of the kids rooted for either side, but Kangashkan finished the Ursaring with a sharp uppercut.
The crowd applauded, the winner bowed, and the curtains fell to make way for the next act.
Minutes later, the curtain rose again, this time showing clown Mandy before a rubber pumpkin cauldron, and Lugia near a ball of plush.
Turning to the audience, Mandy spoke, “And now, for your amazement, I, the Pumpkin clown witch, and my assistant Lugia, will attempt to create life from this vat of rubber, and this ball of plush! Watch and be astonished!”
Mandy raised her staff over the pot, while Lugia raised his hands, and simultaneously a happy, smiling rubber pumpkin inflated to life, alongside its plush twin from the ball. Both lifted themselves up and rolled onto the stage using cute button wheels. The audience couldn’t help but stare with awe.
Almost like a comedy duo, Mandy asked, “Hey Lugia, one is nice, but why don’t we make more?”
Lugia just smiled and said, “I don’t see why not!”
Just like that, they spawned more and more pumpkins, set loose around the stage like little bumper cars, especially with how they literally bumped into each other.
But then, getting an idea, Mandy proposed, “Lugia, let me try something special, on my own.”
“You’re the ringmaster, go ahead!” said Lugia.
Concentrating, remembering what happened last time, Mandy put all her will into her newest spell, and seemed to pull something out of the cauldron with her staff, as if she were fishing. That something turned out to be an enormous pumpkin balloon, inflating every second until it nearly covered the entire stage.
The audience watched as it rolled around, absorbing every other pumpkin into its hollow body.
Realizing what its next target would be, Lugia warned, “My sorceress, grab some pies! That’ll stop it!”
Holding the staff with one hand, Mandy used the other to reach into that hammerspace and pull out a rubber cream pie. She threw it immediately, and the pumpkin balloon stalled in its tracks. Lugia joined in with his own, splatting it at every turn while the audience watched with confusion, some of them wondering if they were in any danger or not.
But then suddenly, the giant inflatable pumpkin turned toward the audience, rolled off the stage, and started absorbing everyone inside. Some tried to run, but many of the kids were too excited about being this close to a huge balloon. Mandy and Lugia kept up their pie barrage, but this only barely slowed it down. In secret, they snickered, knowing what the end result was.
Inside the giant pumpkin was an enormous pool of candy and pastries, and with every person grabbed, strands of the stuff moved on their own and began feeding them nonstop. The more treats devoured, the more the people inside seemed to bloat into big orange balls, which glowed with an orange light. One thing was for sure, everyone in here would get their fill in every sense of the word.
With no one left in the audience, the pumpkin faced the two mages with a whimsical smile, and, slightly unsure if they could hear her, Mandy bowed and finished, “Well, we hope you’ve enjoyed our magical marvel on this Halloween night!”
Lugia added, “The Pokémon in this mansion will make sure all of you are given a good rest, and a safe ride home!”
Then suddenly Mandy asked, “Wait, am I staying here too for the night?”
But Lugia grinned, and answered, “Actually, I had something more...convenient in mind.”
Suddenly, the zipper on Lugia’s mouth opened, and Mandy could see that his throat was actually a hollow tube of plush.
Instinctively, Mandy morphed her suit into PJ’s again, and squealed, “Oh wow, are you some kind of suit? I’ve always wanted to try that out with my plushie friends!”
“You...could say that,” Lugia giggled. “Hop in!”
Without the slightest hint of resistance, Mandy tucked both legs inside the Pokémon’s mouth, kept both arms to each side, and slid down into what turned out to be a belly full of blankets and pillows.
With that, the zipper shut, and Mandy quickly fell asleep as Lugia’s inner plush walls molded around her, somehow making her rubber suit glow.
When Mandy woke up, her room seemed back to normal as before. It was a Saturday, so there was no pressure at school this time. Her costume was back in the closet where it always was, and her plush troupe was back to normal, free of clown makeup and outfits. But something new was on her desk now, in a gift-wrapped box.
She opened it, and two things were inside: The first was a genuine pokeball with the icon of a Drifblim on it, while the second looked like a translucent orange pumpkin with a diorama inside, showing the same rubber Halloween town she’d just visited. Next to it, a short note read: “If you ever want to return here, just ask your ship. –L”
Mandy smiled, happy Lugia did this much for her.
Just before she could open the door to start her day, however, Mandy noticed something glowing inside the closet. When she approached, her staff was causing the glow. She grabbed it, stepped back a few feet, then pointed it at her bed, hopefully a safe target for whatever spell this thing was charged with.
Then “KA-FWOOMP!” Suddenly her entire room was transformed into orange and black rubber, like a Halloween-themed bounce house. Everything was rubberized, from the furniture to the clothing. Even her bed had a cute pumpkin pattern worked into its inflatable covers. Only her living plushies were spared the changes.
Looking at her staff, then the costume, Mandy smiled and wondered what else she could do with this newfound magic.
Ephraim225's Lugia clown plush to ease her creator's block.Although I wrote this particular episode myself unlike before, the links to the previous episodes are here.
1) https://www.furaffinity.net/view/38932535/
2) https://www.furaffinity.net/view/44314889/
---[STORY]---
Mandy Wilson looked out her window at the quiet street outside her house, watching cars and pedestrians pass this way and that as the long shadows of sunset crossed the lawn. Fall had already begun not too long ago, yet so much had happened in the last few years, it seemed like a whole decade since then.
Mandy made a bored sigh, then thought, "So much for Mandy the Pumpkin Witch..."
Since her last experiment of a Halloween when she was thirteen, Mandy had laid low and put her magical persona aside, deciding to give her neighborhood time away from crazy antics while she learned to hone her own skills in secret. At least her collection of living toys kept her entertained, and the Phantom Pumpballoon ship always brought her solace every Halloween, even if her parents thought it slightly strange for a teenager to go trick-or-treating.
Now, at the budding age of fifteen, Mandy was already beginning to miss her and her ship's brand of spooky fun, but one problem remained: Creator's block.
A few days before Halloween, after finishing her homework, Mandy decided to go for a walk around the neighborhood for ideas. At first she wanted to walk by herself, but when she stood up and took in the bedroom around her, her gaggle of plush toys stirred to life almost immediately.
“Aww,” she playfully teased, “You wanna come with me, don't you?"
Ruby of the Shooting Star Triplets said first, "Totally! We're downright bored stuffed!"
The other plushies giggled at the pun, and soon Mandy did as well.
"All right," she said, "It's been a while so I'm game."
Mandy thought about bringing the cats with her, but it'd be hard to be subtle with flying kitties on broomsticks.
But as she glanced toward the closet, Princess Pumplush rolled forward on her button wheels and warmly asked, "Why walk when you can roll through town like a princess?"
That made Mandy's eyes light up, and she answered with a smile, "Yeah...I think that'll work!" But as she bent down and picked up the currently melon-sized plush, Mandy warned, "But pumpkin mom, remember: I'm not going in costume. This is just a...research mission, okay?"
Pumplush's hole-like mouth just made a wide smile, and she answered, "You have my word, my little pumpkin!"
With approval from her parents, Mandy carried her pumpkin plush out to the driveway and set her down. She watched as the living toy grew in size, creaking like a diaper as it filled with more cotton. When Princess Pumplush reached her maximum size, she was as high as the family minivan, and even pressed up against it.
Then, hoping no one was watching, Mandy climbed into Pumplush's open zipper mouth and made herself comfy in the huge mound of cotton. And then they were off down the alley.
"Hey wait a sec, how do I steer?" Mandy asked.
"Steer?" Pumplush teased, "But my princess needs no- "
"But you don't know this neighborhood that well!" Mandy complained. She gasped as a car started to back out, "Look out!"
In an instant, a green Y-bar rose from the cotton mound, and Mandy pulled the pumpkin off to the side, allowing the car to drive off.
"Phew, that was close!" she sighed.
"How rude!" Pumplush whined. "So un-lady like!"
"And that's why I'm here to help," Mandy answered, continuing the drive.
After that incident, the turn onto the next block was uneventful. Some houses had already broken out the decorations, but most were bare.
"Hmm, let's see how the neighbors are doing," Mandy said, turning onto the next road.
Princess Pumplush couldn't help but smile at the many inflatable pumpkins dotting the various yards.
"Well now!" she smiled, "I've never seen this many pumpkins in one place! It reminds me a little of--"
"The ship?" Mandy interrupted, "Yeah, I've thought about him too. I just...haven't figured out what to do for him this Halloween."
They passed one yard practically overfilled with scary Halloween decor, making the two girls sulk at such a prospect. But in the next yard, something seemed amiss.
Mandy leaned close to Pumplush's right eye and asked, "Hey pumpkin mom, do you see that?"
"See what, my darling?" the plushie answered, too enamored by the spectacle ahead.
They were staring at a yard filled with cute Halloween inflatables, with a line of small orange pumpkin balloons lining the front edge.
But among them, Mandy pointed and said, "That, dead ahead! Since when are pumpkins...silver?"
But Princess Pumplush only noticed at the last minute, and a loud "BANG!" erupted as the plushie collided with the silver balloon, flinging Mandy backwards into the cotton mound.
"Oh, dearie me," the pumpkin said, "I should watch where I tread."
Mandy felt something crinkly around her waist as she tried to pull herself up, but they never expected what that explosion had released.
In place of the silver balloon was a spinning, white mass of plush, which eventually unfolded to reveal a spectacular plush Lugia, a Pokémon Mandy recognized due to having seen a child show off a trading card of his. Lugia had white wings with fingers and thumbs, a large blue belly that looked incredibly soft on this plushie, and this Lugia wore make-up, a red nose, and big red shoes, as well as a silly jester hat, completing his clown get-up.
Lugia was much bigger than Pumplush and gazed down at the pumpkin carriage with a grin. “How adorable,” he giggled, “A soft pumpkin carriage…and who could be inside?” He looked into the eyes of Pumplush, giving him a glimpse of the girl inside, and he giggled even more. “Awww, a sweet little baby girl!”
Mandy’s cheeks flushed bright red, realizing what was covering her waistline. “Wh-what is THIS doing here?!” she gasped.
“Oh, I thought you might like something soft to wear,” Pumplush replied, Mandy now feeling totally embarrassed.
“In any case,” Mandy gulped, “D-do I know this guy?”
“I’ve heard of you,” Lugia winked. “The toys in this town are whispering. They say they’ve never felt more alive than on Halloween night thanks to the wonderful parade of plushies and other toys. But they say there was no parade last year! What happened, sweetie?”
“Oh, um,” Mandy shuffled, trying to ignore how the diaper felt, “The year before that, I made a few…big mistakes…and put the town in danger. I decided to not mess around like that again.”
“Oh, sweetie,” Lugia cooed, “Everyone makes mistakes, you know that. And if it makes you feel better, how about having the assistance of an expert this year?”
Mandy noticed the sun was getting dim, and hatched an idea. “I...I’d love that, but it’s kinda getting dark. Why don’t we head back to my place first? My uh...friends would probably like to meet you.”
Lugia cocked his head slightly, then asked with curiosity, “Of course, sweetie. Where are we going?”
Mandy gripped the steering vine and said, “Just follow me, and I’ll show you!”
Lugia watched Princess Pumplush do a U-turn and roll back up the sidewalk, so he spread his wings and flew off after her. It only took ten minutes for Mandy to make it back home, and less for her to crawl out of the pumpkin plushie, still wrapped in a thick, orange, jack-o-lantern diaper.
Pumplush shrank back to melon size while Mandy peered through the backdoor window. Seeing that her parents were out of sight, she scooped up the orange plushie with one hand and asked, "Hey, can you at least hide this diaper for me? So my parents don't see it?"
“Anything you say, darling,” snickered Pumplush. “It still looks adorable on you!”
Lugia chuckled as the orange garment shrank beneath Mandy's clothes. Then Mandy held the door open to let Lugia through, and she whispered, “Be careful, my parents could be here. They don’t know I have...living toys like you!”
“Ooh, secrets are fun!” Lugia giggled.
As she stepped into the well-cleaned kitchen, Mandy looked back and asked, “Hey Lugia, can I just...carry you the rest of the way? Until we get to my room?”
Clown Lugia snickered, “Ah, the art of disguise! Certainly, now that you’ve got me curious!”
Immediately, the hovering Pokémon plushie shrank slightly, then dropped right into Mandy’s free arm.
“I look like I’ve won the carnival,” Mandy thought, carrying two plushies under her arms.
The living room was empty, and Mandy could tell by the wall clock that her parents were preparing for bed. As she traipsed up the stairs, however, she froze, witnessing her mother Julie, inches away.
“Oh! Hi, mom!” Mandy said, trying to be casual.
“Hey Mandy, how was your walk?” Julie asked.
“It was fine,” Mandy answered.
But then she saw Julie’s eyes narrow when she noticed something.
“Is that a...Pokémon you’ve got there?” she asked, pointing to Mandy’s left arm.
“Y-Yeah, I found it on the curb while I was out walking.” Mandy half-lied.
“Well,” Julie replied, “Just make sure to keep it in your room this time, all right?”
“Of course, I’ll remember,” Mandy answered, trying not to think about the time Ruby got into mom’s sewing kit for her yarn.
With that, the two of them bade each other good night, Mandy warily locked her bedroom door, and set Lugia down on the bed.
“Okay Lugia,” she said, “You can move now!”
Immediately, the clown plush grew a few inches, then laughed when he noticed the other toys gazing upon him, "Well now, it seems you've got your own little troupe of plushies!"
"Yeah, I sure do," Mandy answered, slightly blushing.
“Would you look at that! A circus clown!” Garnet gasped in astonishment.
Sapphire joined in and said, “I bet the Phantom Pumpballoon would love to meet you!”
“‘Pumpballoon, eh?” Lugia asked, rubbing his chin with intrigue, “I wonder who that is?”
Everyone in the room watched as Mandy approached the closet.
Blushing with shyness, she replied, “He’s a...a living balloon ship, and a few years ago, he made me his captain.”
Mandy drew the mirrored sliding door aside, and Lugia’s eyes widened when he saw the distinctive rubber pumpkin costume and balloon staff inside.
Knowing where this was going, he teased, “So then, what’s keeping this captain from setting sail again?”
Mandy grabbed her staff on impulse and sat on the bed, turning it side to side while a blob of liquid rubber floated around its tip.
“I’m out of ideas, basically,” she tiredly said, swirling the rubber with one hand. “Even rubbermancy’s no fun without something to cast it on.”
Lugia stared at the display before him, his curiosity growing by the second.
Then, as she put away the staff, Mandy looked straight at Lugia and asked with a yawn, “So...Lugia clown, what kind of expert are you, anyway?”
The Pokémon bowed, pulled a small plush pie from nowhere, then bragged as he tossed it back and forth, “I am the expert of entertainment! The professor of pie fights! The master of mayhem, and the teacher of...uh, tickles!”
Mandy snickered as she cradled him against her torso. Right before sleep could overtake her, she whispered, “Maybe...you could teach me how to...bring friendly clowns to Halloween...” And with that, she dozed off.
“Now that...” Lugia thought as his telepathy gradually sensed his new friend’s dreams, “That I can definitely arrange!”
On the morning of October 30th, The plushies remained in “camouflage mode” when the alarm clock rang 6 AM, well aware that Mandy had no time for playtime when school called. She was already up and out the door in the span of a half hour, just in time to catch the school bus while her parents drove off to their own jobs.
Even as the day started, Mandy could barely concentrate on her classwork. Her new stuffed friend was certainly something new, and she couldn’t help but wonder what he’d be capable of once she returned. But one thing was so clear she had to write it down: She had to introduce him to the pumpkin ship, ASAP.
Meanwhile, Lugia and the others waited eagerly for Mandy's return, as they spent the day crafting ideas for Halloween, playing harmless pranks on one another, and other such camaraderie. But Lugia saved a special surprise when she finally came home.
Alongside dinner, Mandy had to help her parents with some chores, which stalled her all the way to 6:30 PM before she could get back to her room.
At that point, sensing Mandy's footsteps, Lugia asked the other plushies, "All right, you guys ready?"
"Ready!" giggled Sapphire, "I can't wait!"
So, on the count of three, Lugia reared back, produced a handful of plush pies, and splattered each of Mandy's living plushies in rapid succession. Mandy opened the door just in time to see this, and her surprise was so sudden that her backpack fell to the floor as she was taking it off.
At first, Mandy wanted to shout, but seeing how excited each of her toys seemed to be receiving what looked like a harmless gag, she just asked, "L...Lugia? What are you doing?"
The Pokémon turned and snickered, "Just wait and see, kid!"
Indeed, as the plush cream coated the toys' faces, it coated everything else as well. Soon, the cats and the pumpkins had makeup, red noses, hats, gloves and large shoes just like a clown, with varying goofy outfits to match. Not only that, but each of them seemed to grow ever so slightly plumper than they normally were, which said a lot for a plushie.
When it was over, Lugia turned back to Mandy and smiled, "Well, Mandy? Whaddya think? I remember you saying you wanted to bring some nice, friendly clowns to Halloween! How’re these ones for ya?"
The other plushies collectively giggled in agreement.
Suddenly her memory from last night came rushing back, and she gasped, "Yes...YES! We gotta show this to the pumpkin ship, right now!"
Throwing all else aside, Mandy raced to the closet, ripped her pumpkin costume from its hanger, and pulled it on in one squeaky move. Lugia's curious smile grew when he saw the way it magically self-inflated around her.
"Aww, you look just adorable with that on!" he snickered.
Mandy noticed him reaching for another pie, but she grabbed her staff, pointed it toward him, and warned, "Whoa there! I haven't even shown what this suit and staff can do yet!"
Ruby turned to Lugia and agreed, "She's right, you haven't seen anything yet!"
Quietly, the plushie troupe accompanied their master out the front door, off in search of the Phantom Pumpballoon. Mandy morphed her staff into an inflatable broom and took off into the air, followed by the Shooting Star Triplet cats like a fighter squad, while Lugia himself flew as well, psychically carrying Gourd Gourmand and Princess Pumplush.
"Wow," Mandy thought, "Just like in the movies."
"Where are we headed?" Lugia asked, sensing her awe.
Glancing back, Mandy answered, "We should be able to meet him safely at this park a few blocks away! Follow me!"
With the sun low in the sky, few people noticed the flying circus of toy clowns, but not enough to cause a ruckus. Soon, they arrived over Weber Park and came to a standstill above a baseball field.
Lugia glanced around but saw nothing out of the ordinary.
Mandy looked as well, then told her friends, "That's odd, usually he shows up around this time."
Then the clown cat Garnet spoke up, "Hee Hee! I remember now! We always used to call for him if we got separated!"
Ruby and Sapphire understood almost immediately, and on the count of three, red, blue and purple sparks shot from their wands, exploding in a goofy fireworks display of stars and smiling faces. Then, seconds later, the familiar shiny, orange silhouette of the Phantom Pumpballoon emerged from the clouds, lit up like a parade float by the smiling Jack-o-Lantern faces on its hull and rubber pumpkins.
Mandy pointed toward it and shouted, “There he is! Let’s go!” before leading the flying plushies on board.
They heard a familiar deep voice as soon as they landed. “My...captain! It has been so...long since we met! And...your friends look so different!”
Mandy hugged one of the huge pumpkin balloons and said, “Yes, because I brought someone new this time!”
The clown Lugia looked up at the bridge, and saw its Jack-o-lantern face smiling back.
He laughed, “I won’t lie, this looks like one amazing ship, but when it comes to fun, ya won’t stand a GHOST of a chance against Lugia’s brand of clowny fun!”
“Is that right?” the ship asked, punctuated by the rubber doors of the cabin swinging open. “Why don’t you come inside, then?”
And so they did, stepping into a huge orange room that looked like a giant bounce house. Sensing this, the ship giggled and spontaneously inflated the floor, sending its passengers into a bouncing frenzy.
As they bounced up and down, Lugia looked Mandy's way and said, "Heh, you know, you remind me of a friend I helped back home."
"Oh?" Mandy asked, twirling her staff like an acrobat, "How'd you do that?"
With circus expertise, Lugia juggled three pies in mid-air, saying, "I made his birthday a little better by...changing his house for a day with these pies! This ship of yours reminded me a little of that."
Mandy's eyes widened while her cats played pranks on each other in the background. She thought about her experiment from two years past, and said, "Funny, that's what I tried to do before. Except...it was this whole neighborhood, and we had to clean it up before anyone noticed. We didn't even get to enjoy much of it."
Lugia fanned a stream of playing cards from one hand to another, chuckling, "That's what I did too: I transferred the changes into their own pocket world, so we can visit it at will with nobody else the wiser!"
Suddenly, that set Mandy's heart fluttering with glee, and, hugging Lugia on the next bounce, she squealed, "That's it! With your clown tricks and my rubbermancy, we can make our own Halloween dimension!"
"Did someone say...'Halloween dimension'?" laughed the ship.
Simultaneously, the bouncing antics ended as the Pumpballoon gently let the group down.
He continued, "Come to the bridge, my captain. You too, Lugia."
Then one of the many green rubber tubes surrounding the cabin began sucking in air like a vacuum, and Mandy and Lugia found themselves transported up into the huge hollow pumpkin atop the ship's cabin.
"Ah, my throne!" Mandy sighed, sitting in a huge puffy pumpkin chair. "I missed this."
Lugia noticed how the pumpkin seemed more translucent from in here than outside, giving them a great view of the suburb below. From the looks of things, it was already nighttime, and most of the houses' windows were lit, with only the occasional car passing by.
"You see all these drab, sleepy houses, Lugia?" The ship asked, "What do you suppose is missing from this picture?"
Lugia rubbed his hands with mischievous intent, already putting the pieces together in his head.
"Why, paint of course!" he answered with glee. "We should paint this town silly!"
Mandy jumped from her inflatable throne and said, "And I think I know just how to do it!"
"Oh?" Lugia asked, a daring look in his eyes, "Lay it on me!"
Suddenly, he added her one of the pies, gesturing to his face.
"Oh, I get it!" Mandy laughed, plastering her friend with plush cream.
Soon the two of them were a giggling mess, and it took a lot for Mandy to continue the conversation.
"Hehehe, okay! Remember those funny-looking decorations down there?" Mandy asked, pointing to the rubber viewport.
Lugia giggled, still doing tricks even with cream on his face, "How could I not? It was a pretty good hiding place!"
Mandy put a gloved hand on his shoulder and leaned forward, giving Lugia a faint view of the real girl behind the translucent mask.
Then she said, "I could go back down and build some...new ones with my rubber magic, while you...hehe, splat the town with this ship! Then when people walk by on Halloween, they’ll...have a little surprise waiting for them!”
Lugia’s eyes widened with glee, and a new idea struck as he reached into his hammerspace and pulled out a pair of Pokéballs.
“Better take these with you, then,” he said, handing them to Mandy. “Wouldn’t want an adorable witch like you to do her work alone, now would we?”
Mandy just giggled slightly at holding real Pokéballs.
As planned, Lugia remained on the bridge to survey the neighborhood, while the Phantom Pumpballoon quietly landed, releasing Mandy out into the street. In no time at all, Mandy set off scouting the nearest streets, looking for places to set her special traps.
Her first stop was at a typical house loaded with inflatable Halloween balloons on the lawn. Making sure no one was watching, Mandy crouched behind a tree, focused on what she desired, and cast her spell with the rubber staff. In a flare of orange light and plenty of squeaks, a new inflatable emerged on the lawn, a typical orange pumpkin with a purple wizard’s cap, just like her suit’s helmet. From afar, it looked like any other décor, but the faint pooltoy-like sheen set it apart from the rest, the same on Mandy’s suit and ship.
“One down...how many to go?” she wondered,
Then she remembered her gift, and, turning a corner, Mandy tossed the pair of Pokéballs, and out popped a plush Braixen and Cinderace, both looking very eager to help.
“Hello, friends,” she snickered, “I’m looking to spice up this suburb with some squeaky magic. Think you could lend me a hand?”
The two Pokémon didn’t seem to talk, but they nodded, listening to Mandy’s instructions. Braixen would help with the rubber pies and other decorations, and Cinderace would kick the pumpkin balloons to their destinations.
Soon, in the span of an hour with no one to disturb them, she and the two Pokémon set about adding rubber and plush Halloween decorations in dozens of people’s yards, from plush ghosts, to rubber pies, small tents, and even cute rubber human figures.
When it was over, Mandy let Braixen and Cinderace ride her rubber broom back to the ship, just in time for Lugia to finalize his part of the plan.
“Okay, Pumpkin ship!” Lugia called, “Are you ready?”
“Ready! I can’t wait!” the ship called back.
“Better load your cannons, then,” Lugia laughed, yanking out a huge assortment of pies, tomatoes and fruits, “Because this Lugia is dropping a smorgasbord!”
Mandy touched down on the upper deck just in time to see those items being sucked through the green rubber vines.
“Oh...boy,” she muttered, turning toward the bow. “Here it comes!”
Mandy heard a hollow “THOOMP! THOOMP! THOOMP!” of the rubber cannons firing, followed by “SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT!” as Lugia’s barrage of pies and other transformative objects landed on every house, townhouse, and apartment within a 3-mile radius.
She and the two Pokémon couldn’t help but stare as they watched gooey globs of cream and colorful paint warp, reshape, and inflate themselves into rubber versions of the originals. Houses became inflatable houses, apartments turned cartoony and warped, even the sidewalks, trees and décor turned rubbery and inflatable.
At first, a part of Mandy wished this suburb could stay this way, but she remembered her next plan, and watched as all the traps she set opened up, creating a vacuum effect that seemed to stretch the rubber around it. In only a few minutes, the magic balloons sucked the rubber suburb inside themselves, peeling away and leaving the real buildings untouched.
“Wow!” Mandy observed, “Like peeling silly putty off a drawing!”
Before she could ask where all that rubber went, the pumpkin ship laughed, “Well done, my captain! Your little plan makes my rubber heart soar, and only a day before the true Halloween!”
“Thanks!” Mandy answered, facing the cabin. She started to walk across, but abruptly she added, “Wow, that first romp wore me out!”
“Well then, I can arrange that!” the ship answered.
Then one of the green tubes rotated and vacuumed Mandy up to the bridge, just in time for her to see the captain’s throne morph into a familiar inflatable bed.
Mandy couldn’t help but lie down on it immediately, using her staff to deflate her costume into rubber pajamas.
Lugia popped up beside her, climbed onto the bed, and hugged her tightly.
“Good job, kid,” he said, “I bet you can’t wait for tomorrow, huh?”
“No way,” Mandy replied, yawning. “I’m totally excited!”
Mandy heard his clown nose squeak as Lugia booped her nose.
“Relaaaaax,” he said, “I’ll take care of the details, you’ve got a whole day to get through!”
“Ain’t that the truth,” Mandy sighed.
And with that, she was fast asleep, embraced by living rubber bed sheets and her new plush friend.
The morning of October 31st felt like an absolute blur to Mandy. She didn’t notice her costume was already off and hung up in the closet. Her toys were all on the Pumpballoon to test drive their big plan, and school seemed tuned out, even when she tried to follow classwork. Her Halloween was coming after two whole years, she felt like bursting with anticipation. It took everything she had just to focus on school without doing something strange.
She was already itching to get out on the street by the time she got home, and dressed back into her rubber witch costume once the coast was clear.
As she took off on her broom, the sun was still setting. Mandy knew well that the trick-or-treating craze was bound to start in an hour or two, so she tried to lay low while looking for the Phantom Pumpballoon.
Lugia was already waiting when she flew up to the ship, and she caught the face of the pumpkin bridge smiling at her.
“Welcome back!” the ship said, gleeful as ever.
Lugia smiled and added, “Well, look who’s an early bird!”
“Hehe,” Mandy giggled, “I was itching to get back!”
“It is good that you did,” the Pumpballoon added, “Because now you can lead our parade, just like old times!”
Mandy blushed with shyness, remembering her true role from so many years back.
“He and I made a little...shortcut to make things easier,” Lugia added.
Mandy glanced over the bow and noticed some trick-or-treaters already on the move.
“Shortcut? Where?” she asked.
“In the hold,” the ship said, raising another tube.
In a flash, Mandy and Lugia found themselves floating in the ship’s low-gravity hold. This time, however, Mandy saw a strange, inner tube-like structure floating at the bow.
“You like it?” Lugia asked. “Wait’ll you see what’s inside!”
Just as Mandy and Lugia crossed to the strange structure, kids and adults all around found themselves ensnared by Mandy’s strange new Halloween traps. Whoever so much as touched them ended up sucked inside, sometimes pulled through layers of plush or even ball pits.
When the trip ended, these trick-or-treaters and their parents found themselves in a colorful, bouncy neighborhood full of inflatable houses and apartments, with cute Halloween decorations everywhere. Even the sky itself was just a rubber sheet painted blue and dotted with stars and a moon, yet they all seemed to glow like a real night sky. The kids were absolutely ecstatic, and their parents could do little to stop them.
Mandy emerged into this pocket world like a parade leader, and it fit, considering how her ship sent her plushie friends through, one by one.
“This is...incredible!” Mandy squealed. “It’s better than anything I could ever have made myself!”
“I can’t take all the credit,” laughed Lugia, “You helped make this happen!”
“Gosh,” Mandy said, turning a corner, “For all these clowns, I bet you got a circus somewhere, huh?”
“Yep, it’s at the end of the main road, in a giant mansion,” said Lugia, suddenly hovering at eye level. “And you’re invited to join!”
Without warning, Lugia whipped out one of his pies and splattered Mandy across the helmet. Somehow, not only did the magic cream warp and change parts of her suit to be more colorful and goofier, but Mandy could feel makeup and a rubber nose on her real face as well. She even felt a presence behind her, and when she reached past her shoulder, she felt something soft, pulling out a shiny, rubbery pie.
Stashing it for later, she stopped and looked back at her friends, who all burst out laughing at her new look.
Then, suddenly, as she looked at a clowny Princess Pumplush, Mandy had a new idea.
She declared in her best ringmaster impression, “Hehehe! Friends, I hear there’s a circus somewhere, and every circus needs an audience!”
“That’s true!” clown Ruby laughed.
“Where shall we find this audience?” Gourd Gourmand asked in an almost rhetorical tone of voice.
Mandy pointed down the nearest rubber street, and declared, “Those who trick-or-treat, like the parades we’ve done before! Find them and bring them to the circus!”
The other plushies couldn’t help but oblige, and each of them scattered in all directions, looking for a new playmate.
The ways of trick-or-treating here were far more exciting than in the normal suburb. Half the kids were bouncing their way up the street, and none were afraid of visiting any of the houses. When the door opened, most times they would see a strange animal-like figure made of either rubber or plush, and when a kid held up his candy bag, an entire pound’s worth or more would fill the bag with more candy than anyone would hand out on earth. Some people even scored homemade pastries.
Little did they know that Mandy’s plush troupe and Lugia’s assorted Pokémon were on the move for these very people.
Gourd Gourmand unzipped his torso, plopped a plush pumpkin mask on one kid’s head, and stuffed the kid inside for the trip, rewarding him with more assorted candy and pastries while the mask slowly grew into a plush pumpkin suit.
Princess Pumplush scored three teenagers named Ed, Todd and Julia, dressed as a familiar kangaroo, dragon and eagle. When she lured them inside, instead of cotton, the entire pumpkin was filled with cotton candy, and right before the 3 teens could get comfy, the cotton moved on its own and began filling them up, making for an unusual ride. Ed and Todd swore they felt like their costumes were changing again.
Cinderace trapped two kids and their parents in a giant plush soccer ball, after daring them to kick it back.
And as for Mandy, her now candy-striped staff morphed into a pogo stick instead of a broom, giving her incredible bounce to better lead her parade, complete with a cartoony “BOING!” sound on every bounce.
Thus, with their captive audience on the way, Mandy led her parade toward a huge rubber mansion. It looked like your typical spooky abandoned mansion from afar, but up close, everything about it looked cartoony and harmless. Cute ghost balloons whizzed by overhead, making playful squeaks like Boos from Mario 64 as they passed. Then its puffy double doors stretched open, complete with a shiny, taffy-like red carpet, wide enough for everyone to go in. Rubber Pokémon servants darted back and forth, excited for the new guests. The troupe passed hallways that seemed to lead to a huge array of bedrooms, as well as a living room and kitchen. But at the far end, per Lugia’s suggestion, two double doors opened to an impossibly huge theater.
“Here we go, you know what to do, right?” Lugia asked.
“You bet I do!” Mandy bragged, “Watch this!”
Suddenly, in one jump, Mandy bounded from the entrance to center stage, while the other toys released their captives into the surrounding seats. Many of the attendees were disoriented from the ride and how stuffed many of them were, giving the other toys time to make the stage as well.
When everyone was relatively attentive and ready, Mandy turned to the audience and began, “Ladies, Gentlemen, Trick-or-treaters of all ages! Welcome to our humble little circus!”
Lugia joined her and continued, “Tonight, you’ll see more thrills, chills and spills than any Halloween before!”
“So, without further ado,” Mandy finished, gesturing to the stage, “let the Halloween circus begin!”
Heavy rubber curtains parted, and the opening act started with all sorts of plushies throwing pies at each other, laughing the whole way. At first that seemed to be it, until some of the attendees noticed how every pie thrown caused its target to grow in size. Soon, a plush Rapidash started running up the walls and ceiling, before dive-bombing straight into an enormous pie on the stage, sending cream everywhere, even into the audience. The act came to a climax when a huge plush Kangashkan and Ursaring suddenly had boxing gloves and started battling each other inside the cream-filled pie tin. Some of the kids rooted for either side, but Kangashkan finished the Ursaring with a sharp uppercut.
The crowd applauded, the winner bowed, and the curtains fell to make way for the next act.
Minutes later, the curtain rose again, this time showing clown Mandy before a rubber pumpkin cauldron, and Lugia near a ball of plush.
Turning to the audience, Mandy spoke, “And now, for your amazement, I, the Pumpkin clown witch, and my assistant Lugia, will attempt to create life from this vat of rubber, and this ball of plush! Watch and be astonished!”
Mandy raised her staff over the pot, while Lugia raised his hands, and simultaneously a happy, smiling rubber pumpkin inflated to life, alongside its plush twin from the ball. Both lifted themselves up and rolled onto the stage using cute button wheels. The audience couldn’t help but stare with awe.
Almost like a comedy duo, Mandy asked, “Hey Lugia, one is nice, but why don’t we make more?”
Lugia just smiled and said, “I don’t see why not!”
Just like that, they spawned more and more pumpkins, set loose around the stage like little bumper cars, especially with how they literally bumped into each other.
But then, getting an idea, Mandy proposed, “Lugia, let me try something special, on my own.”
“You’re the ringmaster, go ahead!” said Lugia.
Concentrating, remembering what happened last time, Mandy put all her will into her newest spell, and seemed to pull something out of the cauldron with her staff, as if she were fishing. That something turned out to be an enormous pumpkin balloon, inflating every second until it nearly covered the entire stage.
The audience watched as it rolled around, absorbing every other pumpkin into its hollow body.
Realizing what its next target would be, Lugia warned, “My sorceress, grab some pies! That’ll stop it!”
Holding the staff with one hand, Mandy used the other to reach into that hammerspace and pull out a rubber cream pie. She threw it immediately, and the pumpkin balloon stalled in its tracks. Lugia joined in with his own, splatting it at every turn while the audience watched with confusion, some of them wondering if they were in any danger or not.
But then suddenly, the giant inflatable pumpkin turned toward the audience, rolled off the stage, and started absorbing everyone inside. Some tried to run, but many of the kids were too excited about being this close to a huge balloon. Mandy and Lugia kept up their pie barrage, but this only barely slowed it down. In secret, they snickered, knowing what the end result was.
Inside the giant pumpkin was an enormous pool of candy and pastries, and with every person grabbed, strands of the stuff moved on their own and began feeding them nonstop. The more treats devoured, the more the people inside seemed to bloat into big orange balls, which glowed with an orange light. One thing was for sure, everyone in here would get their fill in every sense of the word.
With no one left in the audience, the pumpkin faced the two mages with a whimsical smile, and, slightly unsure if they could hear her, Mandy bowed and finished, “Well, we hope you’ve enjoyed our magical marvel on this Halloween night!”
Lugia added, “The Pokémon in this mansion will make sure all of you are given a good rest, and a safe ride home!”
Then suddenly Mandy asked, “Wait, am I staying here too for the night?”
But Lugia grinned, and answered, “Actually, I had something more...convenient in mind.”
Suddenly, the zipper on Lugia’s mouth opened, and Mandy could see that his throat was actually a hollow tube of plush.
Instinctively, Mandy morphed her suit into PJ’s again, and squealed, “Oh wow, are you some kind of suit? I’ve always wanted to try that out with my plushie friends!”
“You...could say that,” Lugia giggled. “Hop in!”
Without the slightest hint of resistance, Mandy tucked both legs inside the Pokémon’s mouth, kept both arms to each side, and slid down into what turned out to be a belly full of blankets and pillows.
With that, the zipper shut, and Mandy quickly fell asleep as Lugia’s inner plush walls molded around her, somehow making her rubber suit glow.
When Mandy woke up, her room seemed back to normal as before. It was a Saturday, so there was no pressure at school this time. Her costume was back in the closet where it always was, and her plush troupe was back to normal, free of clown makeup and outfits. But something new was on her desk now, in a gift-wrapped box.
She opened it, and two things were inside: The first was a genuine pokeball with the icon of a Drifblim on it, while the second looked like a translucent orange pumpkin with a diorama inside, showing the same rubber Halloween town she’d just visited. Next to it, a short note read: “If you ever want to return here, just ask your ship. –L”
Mandy smiled, happy Lugia did this much for her.
Just before she could open the door to start her day, however, Mandy noticed something glowing inside the closet. When she approached, her staff was causing the glow. She grabbed it, stepped back a few feet, then pointed it at her bed, hopefully a safe target for whatever spell this thing was charged with.
Then “KA-FWOOMP!” Suddenly her entire room was transformed into orange and black rubber, like a Halloween-themed bounce house. Everything was rubberized, from the furniture to the clothing. Even her bed had a cute pumpkin pattern worked into its inflatable covers. Only her living plushies were spared the changes.
Looking at her staff, then the costume, Mandy smiled and wondered what else she could do with this newfound magic.
Category Story / Transformation
Species Pokemon
Size 50 x 50px
File Size 36.5 kB
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