Spirits of Time

The **Spirits of Time** are three ghost Pokémon proposed by Mason Green in 2017. They are based on the three ghosts from Charles Dickens' *A Christmas Carol.* They are accompanied by a special Marshadow named Marshade.

If you like the idea, click here to sign the petition to get the Spirits of Time added to the games for real!

They could be added to generation 8, but another option would be to make them exclusive to Pokémon GO! as a holiday event. (A player might have to capture Marshade first, which would trigger a series of cutscenes during which the Spirits of Time themselves are encountered).

## Antiqua

Antiqua (Ghost/Fire) is based on the Ghost of Christmas Past.

Antiqua looks like a humanoid version of Litwick. Over a thousand years old, yet still looking as youthful as ever, this old flame can bring its foes' (and its own) memories of the past to life once again.

Antiqua has two signature moves, both of which are variants of Transform. These are *Flashback (*which causes it to shapeshift into a randomly selected Pokémon from the Pokédex), and *Ghostwrite* (which keeps a permanent record of the first target it was used on, enabling Antiqua to turn into that Pokémon at will on future occasions). Antiqua can know multiple copies of Ghostwrite, and hence keep memories of multiple Pokémon.

Antiqua is genderless, but like Ditto it can breed via shapeshifting. If it breeds with a species that it knows Ghostwrite for, the offspring will be guaranteed three IV's of 31 (as though it were legendary).

## Ephemeris

Ephemeris (Ghost/Normal) is based on the Ghost of Christmas Present. It resembles a jolly giant, whose left half is young and whose right half is old.

Ephemeris regularly dies and is reborn, losing most of its memories in the process. As such, it receives only 1/4 as much XP as usual and levels up very slowly.

Its signature move, *Humble Pie*, gives its opponent a painful understanding of how their deeds have hurt others.

Ephemeris has extremely high stats, rivaling Arceus. But its power is limited by its signature ability, *Fleeting*, which gives it a limit of seven turns in which to defeat its opponent. If it does not do so within this time, Ephemeris will faint. It cannot circumvent this limit by switching out.

## Finis

Finis (Ghost/Dark) is based on the Ghost of Christmas Future. A foreboding but ethereal reaper figure, Finis has low stats. But it has a trick up its baggy black sleeve: Its signature ability, *Final Countdown*, will cause any opponent that doesn't defeat Finis within seven turns to faint instantly. Its opponent also can't escape by switching out.

Finis' signature move, *Flashforward*, gives its opponent a taste of what they can expect if they don't turn from their ways.

## Mechanics

Ephemeris and Finis are, in many ways, opposites of each other. One is strong but must defeat an enemy before the clock runs out or it will lose; the other is weak but will win automatically if it can survive long enough.

Antiqua, on the other hand, more closely resembles a cross between Ditto and Smeargle. (Ghostwrite is basically Sketch but it works on entire Pokémon rather than individual moves; Flashback is similarly analogous to Metronome).

## Backstory

Antiqua, Ephemeris, and Finis have been known to appear, in that order, to evildoers in order to urge them to change their ways.

One time, they were reported to have been accompanied by a Marshadow named **Jacob Marshade.** Marshade was once a human and was cursed to become a Marshadow as a result of his misdeeds in life. His appearance differs from that of other Marshadow; notably, he's weighed down by a set of heavy chains and locks.

By capturing Marshade, the player granted him some degree of freedom, being able to remove some of the chains but not all of them. With the player's help, Marshade subsequently appeared to his aging friend, **Aloysius Scrounge**, to prevent him from suffering the same fate. Marshade sent the Spirits of Time to appear to Scrounge one by one, again with the help of the player.