Rumour Report - Shadowhue Forest | ☼

Table of Contents:
- Rumour Summary [R1]
- Methodology [M2]
- Conclusion [C3]
- Further Theories [D4]
- Samples & Evidence [S5]

Rumour Summary [R1]:


Further clarifying details were unknown, leaving this as a difficult rumor to investigate. While I made an attempt to gather more information, I was unsuccessful, and so the only approach seemed to be entering Shadowhue Forest and investigating firsthand. This lack of concrete information added to my skepticism. The idea did seem rather whimsical, and speaking to the explorers in Grassveil only resulted in odd looks.

Funnily enough, despite my skepticism, I wanted it to be true. And so I entered the mystery dungeon personally to see if I could glean anything as to the truth of the matter.

Methodology [M2]:

And so I set out, despite an initial lack of leads. I was joined by a Dratini named Osiris, who proved to be very helpful in fighting the forest’s hostile residents. Our first real clue was a piece of bark, with the unusual coloration of ice blue and leaf green, streaked in a vertical pattern. While I was concerned over inconveniencing my travelling partner with the hailstorm that I often involuntarily summon, this proved to be less of a concern than I feared, for we found our way into an underground pitfall trap.

We dispatched and avoided the two pokemon who were present (an Exeggutor and a Drampa, respectively). While traversing the underground tunnels we found ourselves in, we encountered rainbow-coloured roots on the ceiling of a small cavern. These implied that we may find where the odd trees were growing, if we could locate the same spot once we found our way back to the surface.

Once we reached the surface, we began to navigate to the area where the roots were present. While we were set upon by bandits, led by an unknown Shroomish, they were quite young and seemed sated with the promise that we would spread the word of the self-declared ‘Hyper Bandits of Shadow’. Their leader gave us directions to an area that they had dubbed Prism Hollow, warning us that a territorial Honchkrow had claimed the area as it’s own.

We chased the Honchkrow off via intimidation tactics. I am uncertain if it has returned, but it left us alone for the remainder of our visit. Once the hailstorm from my ability had cleared, it revealed area that the locals knew as Prism Hollow.

Conclusion [C3]:

There was, indeed, a crop of trees that can best be described as rainbow. Their structure seems to be identical to regular trees, save for the whimsical colour of their bark. Colourful streaks line the bark. They range in width and length, but all are vertical. I observed ocean blue, reddish-fuchsia, ice blue, leaf green, orange, and dull purple (colour swatches presented for reference).

Additionally, personal tests have revealed that this is, indeed, the nature colour of the bark, and not merely paint.


(There’s something scratched out here.)
I am pleased to be able to confirm that this rumour was, indeed, true. It’s a pleasant day, when we can confirm a bit of wonder in the world. Additionally, (More objective, less sappy. They don’t want to hear about you, Robin.)

I hereby submit this report to the Windrose Archives, under the solemn vow that all knowledge contained therein is current and accurate to the best of my knowledge, and that due diligence has been done to confirm the veracity of this paper.

Further Theories [F4]:

Note: This section contains personal speculation. Please take it as such. It may not be accurate to the truth of the matter.

My companion was lucky enough to discover a Leaf Stone, which presumably contains the power of nature within it, judging by it’s effect on certain pokemon. These trees could possibly be drawing energy from one or more Leaf Stones. Of course, this raises the worrying possibility that they might not be able to sustain themselves naturally, once the energy from the stone has been used up.

Thankfully, this is only a theory. This tree seems to be an as-of-yet undiscovered species, though that raises the question of what made them sprout in Shadowhue. They could have potentially been carried by droppings from bird Pokemon. Natural mutation this drastic and rapid seems unlikely, but I am not knowledgeable enough about biology to rule out the idea.

Samples & Evidence [S5]:

Robin has submitted the following samples, enclosed with this report:

- A leaf and bark sample from the trees in question. The leaf appears normal. The bark is splintered, as if someone has stepped on it, though it does detail some of the odd coloration.
- A seemingly live, unwieldy and large branch from the tree. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now she isn’t quite sure what to do with this...
- An artistic recreation of one of the trees.
- Color swatches representing the colors of bark that Robin reported finding.

Credits from Venus:
The ‘ink painting’ is this stock photo, with a filter over it.
The font used for Robin’s handwriting is called Sherlyn, downloaded here.