Bloody Banette
Darcy looked over the side of the ferry as it prepared to go out to sea. The fee had cost him nearly all of his money, but if Melissa were right, it would all be worth it. If she was right was the key though, and she had yet to be. Honestly, she had not been much help to him yet. She took his first payroll and got him hospitalized in his last mission. Things were not going well, but she would never admit it was her fault. She was not one liable to take the blame for anything.
"Darcy," she surprised him. "We should get to Dewford by tomorrow morning. Don't screw this one up, and we'll both have lined our pockets."
"What do you mean, don't screw this one up? I haven't messed anything up yet." Darcy did not feel upset yet, but he was afraid she might force him to lose his temper.
"You certainly didn't do anything right with Mismagius incident anyways. I'm just being encouraging." Melissa said with her syrupy sweetness.
"You really aren't being encouraging and you know it. You like to press my buttons for some reason, and I don't know why. If anything I should be asking if you got a good job, ever since we started this partnership I've lost money while you've made it." Darcy was nearly out of patience, something that rarely happened.
"Don't patronize me. You'd be lost without me. My services are invaluable, so just remember that I can walk out at any moment." Melissa reverted to her cold, soft voice. Those two voices, her sweet voice and her cold voice, seemed to be the only ways she spoke. Darcy was certain he had had enough of her games.
"Are you that insecure? Are you really going to act superior every time you're challenged? It's so immature. Stop pretending to be so great when you aren't."
Melissa was about to respond, her temper building as much as Darcy's when they were interrupted.
"I'm the captain of this ship." A middle-aged hefty man said proudly. "Welcome aboard!"
The two teens gave unenthusiastic replies tempered by the fact that they were speaking to the captain.
"If you two have a dispute, you should have a Pokémon battle. I have a battlefield set up on this ship if you want to use it. Nothing helps you think straight and relieve tension like a battle."
Darcy and Melissa looked at each other. With the degree of tension there was, it could not hurt.
They followed the captain to a marked off rectangular field on the deck. Melissa assumed one side and Darcy the other. It was a small field, but Darcy doubted that either of them was going to be throwing around anything big.
"Is a three on three match good for you?" Melissa asked.
"I'm fine with that." Darcy replied.
Melissa pulled out a Poké Ball, threw a quick pose, and lobbed it towards the field. A red beam of light hissed to reveal a Pokémon. Darcy quickly identified it. It was a biped, yellow skin, star on his forehead and a spoon in his hand. It was a Kadabra.
Darcy smiled. "Are you asking for a beating Melissa?" he asked, as her Pokémon had a horrible type disadvantage against all of his Pokémon.
"You'll see," she grinned. Darcy tossed his own Poké Ball towards the field.
A dark blue Pokémon with striking red plumage stepped onto the field and sized up her opponent. She felt her trainer's confidence and smiled. To others psychic Pokémon were an anomaly, a mysterious species with strange powers. To her and her kind though, they were nothing. She understood them better than they understood themselves; they relied on a power they only sought to understand, but she fought with inner strength.
"Sneasel, Fake Out!" Darcy commanded as his snow weasel dashed along the ground to surprise her opponent with a quick first move.
"Focus Punch!" Melissa cried in response.
Darcy could not believe what he was seeing. Why would she use Focus Punch? There was no chance that Sneasel would give Kadabra enough room to pull off that attack. While Kadabra backed up and prepared his punch, Sneasel struck with a quick strike, guaranteed to knock him off his feet before he could carry out his attack. To his horror, Kadabra ignored the blow and drove his fist directly into the Sneasel's gut. The Pokémon was thrown back on to the ground, the wind knocked out of her as she lay on the arena floor.
Melissa smiled. "Oh? Didn't you know that Kadabra is immune to flinching thanks to his Inner Focus? "Sneasel brought herself back to her feet. "That quadruple weakness to fighting moves must suck, doesn't it?" she teased. Sneasel shook off her daze and pain and regained resolve. She also had Inner Focus, after all.
Darcy analyzed the situation. He was lucky that Kadabra was such a physically frail Pokémon. Focus Punch was an incredibly powerful attack, as powerful as a Hyper Beam, and Sneasel was very vulnerable to that type of attack. They were hardly down for the count though, for just one good Night Slash could finish it.
"Kadabra, Miracle Eye!"
"Sneasel, Night Slash!"
Sneasel raced towards the Kadabra again, confident of her victory. The Kadabra simply looked towards the oncoming Pokémon, whispering static. Sneasel raised her claws to bring them down on the Kadabra, hissing, when it suddenly blocked her paw with his spoon. Sneasel refused to break off the attack, her claws still retching the darkness she was going to rend on the Psi Pokémon.
"Psychic."
With his power boosted by the Miracle Eye, Kadabra flipped the spoon in his hand around, grabbing Sneasel with his mind and lifting her into the air. In a bust of white noise that deafened both Pokémon and trainer, Kadabra threw the Sharp Claw Pokémon and dropped her like a ragdoll in a telekinetically abused heap, bruised and unable to continue. Darcy recalled his Pokémon. On paper he should have rather easily won, but he did not.
Melissa smiled. "Do you have any more favorable match-ups you want to try me with?"
Darcy did not answer, but replied with a lightly thrown Poké Ball, releasing his first Pokémon, Murkrow.
The bird flew overhead the Kadabra, who, although only suffering a direct hit from Fake Out, was beginning to fatigue. Unlike his evolved form, he could not sustain his powers for long.
"Shock Wave," Melissa said. Her Pokémon collected energy for a wide, dispersed blast of electricity, impossible to avoid.
Darcy however commanded his Murkrow to do what he did best. "Sucker Punch!"
Melissa gasped in surprise that she had been outplayed, and Murkrow dashed towards Kadabra at a blazing speed and gave the Pokémon a quick uppercut with his wing followed by a long punch to the side. Kadabra was down for the count. Melissa recalled him to her Poké Ball, smiled, and replaced him with a much more favorable match-up. Her Poké Ball released a small Pokémon, although it was bigger than Murkrow by a sizable margin. It had a mixture of features both cute and touch, and had a very prominent tail with a lightning bolt shaped blade on its end. It was a Raichu. He looked at Murkrow, turned back towards it master and let off a quick bark before preparing for battle.
"Thunderbolt!" Melissa commanded.
"Dark Pulse!" Darcy countered.
Both Pokémon lobbed their best attacks directly at each other. Two separate rays of energy, one dark and one light collided in midair. The two attacks danced for a few moments, both trying to better each other when the energy finally collapsed in a sonic boom. Smoke clouded the area between the two Pokémon. Melissa was surprised though when a sudden blow struck her Raichu, still recovering from the expended electricity, from the Murkrow as he spun like a turbine, ramming his beak into the electric mouse's face. Melissa's Pokémon, crying out in pain, suddenly released an involuntary burst of electromagnetic waves around him, causing Murkrow to end the attack. Raichu fell to all fours, breathing heavily, and Murkrow grimaced as best as a bird could, electrical discharge still sparking around the dark bird. It perched on the ground, trying to regain his strength.
"Way to use your Static!" Melissa said, raising her arm into the air as a cheer. "Now, finish him off with your Volt Tackle!"
The Raichu let his electrical power consume him as he engulfed himself in a glowing electromagnetic storm. He sprinted towards the Darkness Pokémon, planning to make quick work of him. Darcy was unflustered though.
"You'll never learn. Sucker Punch."
Despite suffering paralysis and the imminence of a rushing Raichu Murkrow prepared his attack. Raichu, still racing towards the grounded Murkrow, gave one great leap as he crashed into the bird. Murkrow however jumped into the air as well, his left wing coming under the mouse for a devastating uppercut while his right wing delivered a savage hook right after. Raichu was knocked out cold, and Murkrow flew back into the air, ready to fight again despite its paralysis.
"Quite an upset you pulled there, Darcy." Melissa commented, withdrawing her Pokémon to his Poké Ball.
"After you beat me with a Kadabra, how couldn't I?" Darcy reminded her.
Battle was an effective way to release tension. You cannot be mad when you test the mettle of your Pokémon and yourself against another. Melissa picked her last Poké Ball.
"Skarmory, come on out!" she said enthusiastically as her beloved metal bird entered the scene.
The armored grey bird was eager to spread his wings, and displayed his lovely red feathers for all to see. After taking a moment to enjoy the crisp sea air he turned towards his master, squawked with joy, and grabbed some of her deep brown hair in his beak and started to tug on it.
"Skarmory, no! Battle!" she said commandingly but happily. Her loyal bird of prey turned around to see Darcy and Murkrow on the other side of the battlefield. He gave a sudden roar and glared menacingly at the two, all too eager to engage them in combat.
"I don't think your Skarmory likes me." Darcy noted.
"He's just so protective of his Mama," Melissa cooed. "He's still just a baby." Her bird cooed at her voice, then attempted and failed to regain his menacing posture.
"Don't think I'll go easy then," Darcy warned.
"You won't get the chance. Skarmory, use Brave Bird!"
Her metal raptor soared into the sky and started a wicked dive down towards Murkrow, who was still in low flight.
"Murkrow, use Sucker Punch!" Darcy commanded. His Pokémon prepared his favored attack, but Skarmory had no weak point to hit, and no safe point to hide. He tried to dodge at the last moment, but Skarmory nailed the bird at a torrential speed. Murkrow are not known for their resilience, and the single hit brought the crow down. Darcy recalled his first Pokémon, proud of the work he had done, and amazed at just how powerful Skarmory was.
"You said Skarmory was just a baby. How did it pull off Brave Bird?"
"You like?" Melissa asked. "Skarmy here was hand bred you see. His mother was a powerful Skarmory, high-leveled."
"What about his father?"
"His father… was a Ditto. Don't ask. He inherited all of his fighting skills from his mother. Apparently, acquired knowledge is genetic for Pokémon. The point is though that you can't stop my dear Skarmory."
"You can't be stopped, can you sweetie," she said to her Armor Bird Pokémon, who cooed and grabbed her hair once more.
Darcy thought through his options. Scyther obviously would not last ten seconds with his type disadvantage and inexperience. Umbreon, while powerful, did not have any attacks that good hit Skarmory for decent damage. Murkrow and Sneasel were unable to battle. Darcy pulled out a Poké Ball, nearly shuddered, and released his latest acquisition. His powerful purple poltergeist appeared from his Level Ball with a bit of surprise. He was used to only coming out when he felt like it; being ordered out of his Poké Ball was a new, and unpleasant, experience.
"What do you want?" Gengar asked his master through the unknown medium that only they could access.
Darcy answered, "See for yourself."
Gengar looked around, noticed Skarmory's aggressive look in his eye and the battlefield and realized what was going on.
"You don't seriously think I'm going to do this, do you?"
"Just get in there," Darcy said. "One of your Thunderbolts and it's all over."
"Yeah, I don't think so." Gengar replied.
"Skarmory, Steel Wing!" Melissa interrupted. Her Pokémon rushed towards Gengar, his majestic red feathers glowing white with energy.
Gengar cursed as he dodged away from the attack, muttering obscenities at all in the general area. Skarmory was undaunted though.
"Drill Peck," Melissa followed up, and her Pokémon attacked with repeated stabs with its beak, all of which Gengar easily avoided with his ethereal speed.
"How is your Gengar so fast?" Melissa wondered aloud. "No matter, Aerial Ace!"
Skarmory reeled back and threw its wing forward towards Gengar for a vicious cut certain to make impact, but Gengar simply phased through the blow.
Neither trainer expected that.
"I'm getting really pissed off," Gengar muttered as he soared upwards, raising his hands for an attack. He threw his hands forward and started to summon a strange energy ball, a yellow orb that glowed a pitch dark purple. Bolts of energy suddenly leapt from the sphere in his hands and arced towards Skarmory, instantly blasting him with incredible voltage, the static discharge leaving the arena with an unnatural crispness. Gengar had a very terrible Thunderbolt attack.
"Skarmory!" Melissa yelled as she saw her Pokémon fall from the sky, smoking and hot from the electrical burns Gengar inflicted. She dashed on to the battlefield where her treasured baby bird fell in an undignified heap. After a short yet anxious examination, Melissa found him to be fine. He was unconscious and rather badly bruised, paralyzed and burnt, but a trip to a Pokémon Center would bring him back into fighting shape.
"Good match," Darcy commented as he pulled out his Poké Ball to retrieve Gengar.
"That Gengar of yours is something else. How'd you get hurt at the Lake of Rage with him with you?" Melissa asked, caringly reaching for her Pokémon's Poké Ball.
"I don't think he cares for me particularly," Darcy answered. Gengar was nowhere to be seen.
"There didn't seem to be a problem to me."
"Trust me, he doesn't," Darcy started when Melissa saw him suddenly bend forward and collapse to his knees.
"Hey, you okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine." He said, coughing rather horribly afterwards.
"Is that blood?" Melissa wondered incredulously, looking at the phlegm he had exhaled.
"Don't worry about it." Darcy said. "I'll be fine."
"You look like you just got punched in the gut."
"I'm fine," Darcy insisted as he struggled to his feet.
"What's wrong with you?" Melissa asked, now as angry as she was concerned. "I'm getting you to first aid."
"That might be a good idea," Darcy admitted as he stumbled trying to walk forward.
They reached the basic first aid faculties of the ferry, where the captain was able to inspect the teenage ghost hunter.
"Looks like you took some sort of blunt blow to your stomach," he said. Melissa's eyes shot death at Darcy, who stood there silently. "Are you sure you don't know what happened?"
"Nothing happened," Darcy lied, taking a makeshift ice pack from the captain as he fidgeted with his Level Ball. "I just felt hurt all of the sudden, that's all."
It was past nightfall now, and the two made their ways to their respective cabins in the hull of the ferry.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Melissa suddenly snapped in the hallway after making certain they were alone. "You fell over like you were just shot, and started coughing up blood. You're not telling the truth. Do you have some sort of disease, or something? I don't want my livelihood depending on someone who can't win a Pokémon Battle without falling apart. Stupid."
She had been much more considerate when Gengar got his revenge on Darcy for putting him into a Pokémon Battle, but it seemed that once she was sure he was okay she was even more aloof, as if she was compensating for caring when he was injured.
"This wasn't because I'm sick," Darcy phrased it. "I don't know, it might have been the static from Gengar's Thunderbolt."
"First of all, that's a stupid idea. How does that equate to a gut punch injury? Second of all, what did you mean, because I'm sick?" Her eyes narrowed. "You're hiding something."
Darcy was lucky enough to find the room where he was sleeping. "I'm allowed to my own privacy you know." He walked into the room. "Where's your room?" he asked.
"It's on the deck, top cabin. Because I can afford it," she teased before heading towards her much better quality amenities.
Darcy turned towards the basic bed frame and mattress with thin sheets in his room, and sat down on the bed he could already tell was uncomfortably and loudly springy. He pulled out his Level Ball and activated it.
"What is thy bidding, my master?" Gengar bowed in a deep voice.
"Why do we have this problem?" Darcy asked exasperated. "Why can't we get along?"
Gengar floated around his trainer before giving his answer. "I'm going to go with the fact that you took me out of my graveyard and decided it would be fun to keep me in a little ball on your belt as a pet. Some people think its kinky, but not me. So if you think you're going to tell me what to do, here's a little newsflash: I don't give a damn about you, and no one tells me what to do."
"Other Pokémon don't seem to have such a problem."
"Do other Pokémon talk?" Gengar laughed. "Can other Pokémon become invisible, or duplicate themselves, or shapeshift?"
"Chatot, Keckleon, anyone who learns Double Team, and Ditto, in that order." Darcy said smugly. "I suppose by extension Smeargle can do all of those things too, except he can't gain Keckleon's Color Change, unless of course he uses Skill Swap on him..."
"That's not the point." Gengar said, frustrated at his failed evidence. "I already told you though. I'm special. There's no one, no person, no Pokémon, no ghost in the world like me."
"What makes you special then? Why are you so great?"
"Hell if I know," Gengar shrugged. "It's just true."
Darcy rubbed his eyes. "Can we just try to get along?" he asked.
Gengar smiled. "Maybe."
"Really?"
"No." Gengar cackled as he flew around the room before diving into his Poké Ball. Darcy was in for a long night.
The next morning proved to come earlier than Darcy would have liked. After reaching for his arm and confirming his heart rate to be within normal deviation, he got out of bed and dressed himself to find that Dewford City was in sight. It was time to get to work. He collected his equipment into his bag and headed for the deck. Melissa had been waiting for him.
"You're finally up. Your hair is a mess." She condescendingly mentioned. Her hair by some miracle looked flawless despite the fact that it was barely past sunrise.
"How long until we get into port?" Darcy asked.
"It's not going to be long. We'll probably arrive in an hour. Make sure you're ready, I'd like to get this done as soon as possible." There seemed to be no emotion in her voice. She was all business right now.
"Me too. I'd like to be able to eat something."
They looked at the coast, darkened by the shadows. The sun had only just risen in the west.
"Don't do anything stupid." Melissa said nonchalantly.
There was a pause. "What?" Darcy asked.
"I said don't do anything stupid." Melissa repeated, turning away to do something else.
"You say it like there's a risk," Darcy said over his shoulder, not certain if he should be grateful for her concern or offended by her tactlessness.
Melissa turned around. "Is there?" she asked before walking away.
Darcy was certain he would never understand her. At least they had a better chance of getting along than he and Gengar did.
-000-
When they finally arrived in Dewford City they found the town to be fairly battered. The attacks of Kyogre, Groudon and Rayquaza had done massive damage to the entire region. The economy was in shambles; even Devon Corp. was considering closing its doors, an action that would have surely broken the region completely. The tech and industry giant was the heart of Hoenn; without it, the cities would dry up, its citizens would move to Johto, Kanto, or even Sinnoh. Dewford was a relatively isolated town, which depended on ocean vessels for access to the rest of the world, vessels that spent more and more time out of the water and in docks or shipyards. It was thus quite an event when the ferry arrived, for an impressive reception was waiting for them when they got off the ship.
"Hey, isn't that the girl who's supposed to save us?" a man asked, noticing Melissa.
"It is!" Another man said, rushing forward to greet her. "Melissa! How good it is that you have finally arrived. I can show you where you need to go now."
"I need to get to a Pokémon Center first. I'll be glad to meet you at the town hall afterwards though."
"Excellent!" The man said gratefully. "I'll see you then."
Darcy followed Melissa closely as she made her way towards the all-important institution, and nudged her as they made their way there.
"I think you forgot something." Darcy said quietly.
Melissa barely mumbled in the affirmative, clearly not really listening.
"Me. Did you tell them that you weren't the one who was going to catch the Banette?"
"Don't be silly." Melissa brushed his comment off. "Of course I didn't. They'll be more easily impressed if they don't know you exist, and impressed people are impressionable people."
"You're using sexism to your advantage." Darcy filled in the gaps.
"More or less. And it's not my advantage, it's our advantage," she corrected, handing a tray with her Poké Balls to the nurse behind the counter.
"So what do I do?" Darcy asked slightly flustered.
"Just sit outside the town hall until I get out and talk to me. It'll be fine," she assured him, taking the tray from the nurse's hands before leaving the building.
Darcy handed the nurse his Poké Balls. He had some time to kill.
-000-
"So where's this ghost of yours?" Melissa asked, her hands outstretched as she sat in the chair at the table.
An elderly man with grey hair and a full beard spoke up, who was presumably the mayor of the town. "The Banette has been infesting the southern region of the town, especially around the gym. Brawley had to close it in fact since he couldn't handle it."
Brawley looked rather angry about the fact. "It isn't my fault." He said. "I'm a fighting gym. None of my Pokémon can damage ghosts."
"Isn't that a huge tactical error though?" Melissa asked. "To not have any attacks that can even touch your most obvious weakness?"
"It seemed like a good idea," Brawley resigned.
"Regardless, we need you to capture it. 50,000 for its head will suffice." The mayor explained.
"I put down good time and money to get here. 75,000." Melissa argued.
"60,000."
"Deal," Melissa agreed. That was the number she wanted in the first place anyways.
"Oh yes, one more thing. This ghost is very, very nasty. Some citizens tried to fight it. None came back alive. We already told you about his unique fighting style."
"Knives, yeah, I know. I'll handle it," Melissa assured him before leaving, satisfied with the promise of money. "Can I be paid in advance?"
"No," the mayor laughed. "If you die then we can't get our money back then, can we?"
"Fair enough," Melissa said as she left the room.
"I don't think she took me seriously." The mayor said.
"We'll find out if she did soon enough," Brawley morbidly noted.
-000-
Darcy sat outside the town hall. It had only been a little while, but the time gnawed at him. It was not the length of time, but the fact that he had to be hidden that frustrated him. What was the point if he got no recognition for what he did? Darcy quickly abolished the thought. Above all else, he was helping people, stopping dangerous Pokémon; that was why he was a Pokémon Hunter. A little credit would not hurt though.
The town hall was a relatively unadorned building, except it had a huge banner over it that said, "Tasty Children". Darcy did not understand at all what that was about. It probably did not mean anything good though.
"Humph," A man grumbled at Darcy. "Don't you just love Tasty Children?"
Darcy was at a loss for words.
"I love Tasty Children. I don't know what I'd do without Tasty Children."
"What are you talking about?" Darcy asked uncharacteristically nastily.
"Tasty Children! It's all the rage on the mainland. I have all the Tasty Children merchandise. You've never heard of it?"
"What are you on?" Darcy asked. "There's no such thing as Tasty Children."
"The last person who was through here said it was all the rage! It's all we've been able to talk about. What is cool right now then? What's the trendy thing to say?"
Darcy thought for a moment. "Ghost Hunting," he finally said.
"Really? So Ghost Hunting is what everyone's talking about. I'll have to spread the word!" The man ran off to tell people about Ghost Hunting. Darcy was certain he would not miss him, or this town.
Not too long after Melissa came out, showered with praise by a few bystanders. Melissa probably had not told them she was the huntress for the attention, but she didn't seem to mind it. Darcy tried as subtly as he could to motion for her. He caught her attention and she managed to make her way to him without being noticed.
"We're going to the south side of the city, near the gym. That's where the Banette will be," she said breathlessly.
"Then let's go," Darcy said, more eager than he should have been to get into some action.
As they walked south, the town became more and more barren. Store windows were broken, buildings abandoned, but it got worse as they went on. The first body they saw was a Makuhita, presumably caught in Granite Cave by a local trainer. There was no doubt that the Banette in question had considerable skill with a knife, judging from the deep penetrating wounds that cut through the Sumo Pokémon's Thick Fat.
The next body they found was even more horrendous. A young boy, younger than Darcy even, lay dead on the ground, blood crusted on his face with a mess of dried blood on his chest and on the ground, presumably from the horrible wound straight down his stomach. The sight made Darcy queasy. It made Melissa vomit.
"I think we should get our Pokémon out now," Darcy said to Melissa.
"That's a good idea," she realized.
They both drew their Poké Balls. Darcy summoned Scyther, while Melissa summoned Skarmory. Skarmory was at first angry at the sight of Darcy, after what his Gengar had done, but after seeing the state Melissa was in realized that comforting his mother was first priority. Instead of taking to the skies, he walked, right in front of Melissa, ready to stop anything threatening her. The foursome continued down the roads. The body count became higher the further they went, and no one seemed to be spared. Darcy could not believe that no one had been here yet, that he and Melissa were the only people to respond to their need, that the world was really this horrible of a place. Then they finally found the Gym, or what remained of it. Darcy pulled out his Silph Scope and examined the area. The ghost was near, the readings showed. He had probably made the Gym his home, as a testament to his superiority.
"Did you hear something?" Melissa asked. Darcy had never heard as much fear in her voice.
He pulled the scope off his eyes and looked around. He could not see anything at all. Just a dead city around him, he listened carefully and heard a sharp sound of something small moving very fast through the air.
"Look out!" he yelled as he dodged forward from any attack from the rear. He was not the target though, he deduced from the scream Melissa made. Skarmory gave a fierce roar as he shielded his mistress with his wings, the blade failing to cut his cold steel body.
"Scyther, Pursuit!" Darcy commanded.
His bug Pokémon dashed a mad dash towards the Banette busily hacking futilely at the Skarmory. Scyther lowered his blades so that they were facing upright and pointed outwards towards his opponent. Before he reached the Banette though, he turned with his blade and gave a fast stab towards the oncoming Scyther. Scyther deflected it quickly but found it to be a feint; the next cut went straight up where Scyther had no protection, glancing against the bug's head.
The Banette was incredibly skilled. He held a double-edged knife in a hammer arm grip. The two continued to duel, but Banette, despite having half the weapons that was half the size that Scyther had, was keeping the pressure. Almost every movement Scyther was making was oriented towards blocking, not attacking, counterattacking, or parrying. The Banette laughed as he did his work, doing psychological damage along with physical damage by settling for scraping Scyther with the knife instead of quickly killing him with a much less certain attack. The small damages the scrapes created combined with the mindset of inferiority they inflicted were a very effective weapon. It also made the killing that much more fun.
Banette was so confident in fact that he suddenly retreated from Scyther and levitated a little bit away, juggling his bloodied knife with a maniacal satisfaction. Scyther did not attack and instead tended to his wounds during this lull in the fighting, cementing Banette as the superior opponent. Darcy did not like the looks of this match at all. The Banette was an expert knife fighter while Scyther was an amateur swordsman. He hardly stood a chance. Darcy considered switching him out for Sneasel, or getting Sneasel, Murkrow, or Umbreon to help him.
This was more than just one fight though. Scyther needed to be able to fight for his own. If Darcy bailed him out here he would never learn to fight. It was more important that Scyther make it through this fight, and be stronger for it, than for him to leave this fight, and be safer.
"Get in there Scyther!" Darcy ordered. "You're better than he is!"
Scyther nervously but dutifully attacked. Darcy and Banette could both tell that he had the mentality of a suicide run though. He did not expect to come out alive. The Banette laughed through his zipped mouth at the thought of the coming bloodshed.
"Darcy! He's going to kill himself!" Melissa said peeking through Skarmory's wings. "You've got to bring him back."
"He's got to learn to fight. I won't let him die."
"I won't either." Melissa said. She reached for a Poké Ball. Go P…"
Melissa was interrupted by Skarmory, who shook himself to prevent her from drawing attention to herself. He could not risk drawing Banette again.
Scyther drew up with a quick cut with his right arm at Banette, who easily dodged it and made a thrust towards his chest, which Scyther blocked with his left arm. The clash of steel against hardened armor continued as Banette steadily increased his advantage. At the range they were fighting Scyther had no freedom of movement while Banette could hack and slash as he pleased. Scyther was letting the ghost control the battle.
Darcy shouted to Scyther. "Back up! Keep him at an arm's length away! Don't let him get so close."
Scyther did as Darcy told him, and played defensively, quickly retreating. Banette tried to follow up with a few thrusts, but Scyther blocked them with angled blows.
"Keep up the pressure! Fury Cutter!"
Scyther made a few fast, choppy blows, all of which Banette laughed against as he quickly deflected them against his knife. He did not seem to be fighting back even, just grinning madly. Scyther's blows became more and more powerful, as the effects of Fury Cutter kicked in. The slashes Scyther made began to push Banette back further and further. Eventually it would hit harder than a Hyper Beam. Banette would not be able to take the final blow. Scyther reared back for a finishing cut.
He stopped. The energy needed to strike Banette down would not come. He could not make the attack.
"Spite," Darcy realized. It was too late for that now though.
Banette twisted his knife around. He had played long enough. It was time to end it. He took his left hand, put it to his mouth, and opened his zipper. Scyther was crushed by the torrential hatred that poured out of his open mouth, his curse that never ceased. Scyther was brought down to his knees from the pressure of the energy flowing from the opened mouth. Banette took his knife and considered where he should cut him open. He decided that under the jaw would be the best spot.
Darcy would not let it end like this though. "Focus Energy!"
Scyther tried to gather himself despite the pain that was bombarding him. Banette drove his knife up for the kill when suddenly a hardened blade stopped the knife. A second hit disarmed the ghost. The Banette backed up, worried without his trusty knife. He attempted a Shadow Claw but met harsh resistance. He got cocky, and Scyther would not be merciful.
"Night Slash!" Darcy shouted, hopeful for victory.
A gleam of black light shone down Scyther's blade as he cut Banette straight up.
A critical hit! It's Super Effective!
Banette stumbled, utterly defeated. The combination of the Focus Energy and Night Slash nearly ensured that the hit would do the maximum possible damage, and Banette felt it. Darcy checked his inventory of Poké Balls. An Ultra Ball would be most effective here. He pulled it out and threw it at the Ghost Pokémon. It was drawn into the tiny sphere and, after battling the capturing device, was defeated.
Darcy held up the Ultra Ball proudly. Another capture, and one that, despite the morbid nature of the Pokémon, went relatively smoothly. He was not even hurt. Skarmory began to relax.
"I don't want to go into the field ever again." Melissa complained. "I don't care if I make more money if I go with you, that was messed up." Her eyes narrowed. "How could you be so stupid? You nearly let Scyther get killed, and if Scyther got killed that Banette would have gutted you!"
"It was worth it." Darcy defended. "Besides, Scyther is fine."
Scyther unhelpfully took that most inopportune time to succumb to multiple stab wounds, trauma, and blood loss.
"Alright, he's not doing too hot, but he's stronger than he ever was before." Darcy explained.
"Let's just collect our bounty. I think you're going to like what you see."
-000-
When Melissa arrived at the town hall, Ultra Ball in hand, the entire city rejoiced. They held a reception for her in front of the city's most iconic building, with a banner draped over it saying, "Ghost Hunting", in which Melissa got a medal from the mayor and was handed the check for her mercenary work: sixty thousand Poké. Darcy stood in the crowd, waiting for her to finish. She did not seem eager to though; her personality would just not give up attention. Darcy was consoled though by the substantial cut he made; he could do a lot with 40,000.
"You realize this puts you ahead of me now in profits, don't you?" Melissa asked.
"By a measly 1000 Poké, yes."
"Whatever. I've got the plans for our next few jobs." Melissa said, pulling out a map of the Sinnoh region.
"Sinnoh?" Darcy questioned. "That's the other side of the world. It's even further than Olivine City."
"It also happens to be a hotspot for spectral activity. There are so many jobs open for us we'll be set for the next two years alone." Melissa explained.
"What's the plan?"
"We go from Dewford to Slateport City, change ships and go to Canalave. We head along Route 218 to Jubilife City. There's a nasty mob of Murkrow there."
"A mob?"
"A mob. And that's only the beginning…" she began.
POST NOW