I woke up unrested; memories of the previous day wouldn't let me sleep in peace. The war of the Beedrill against the Scythers and those massive white cocoons played on a loop in my dreams, but instead of a mere observer, I featured in them as a victim. Exhausted, I stumbled out of my tent to prepare breakfast.
"Haunter!" my partner greeted me the moment I stepped outside.
"Good morning, Haunter. How was the night?" I asked, rubbing my eyes.
"Haunt, Haunt, Haunteeer!" he began to articulate and gesture wildly, eventually pointing a claw at half of a green body on the ground. It was the lower half of a Caterpie, and it looked like its upper torso had been literally torn apart by a Shadow Ball.
"Did it get too close during the night, or were you just hungry?"
"Haunt, Haunter!"
"So it approached, but since you were hungry, you made a feast out of it?"
Haunter nodded in agreement with a wide, chilling grin. He had probably drained it of its fear like juice first, then took its life energy as the main course, and finally finished the remains with a Shadow Ball. Maybe he was depressed about his failure with the Acid Spray. In truth, it didn't matter. Everything had been too easy for him until now; let him realize right at the start that he has to work for it—even a centimeter of progress is still progress.
While my food heated in the pan, I thought about the day ahead. I had to try and tame the Scyther—at least to the point where it wouldn't butcher me at the first opportunity. And I finally had to get out of Viridian Forest onto Route 2 toward Pewter City.
After breakfast, I began searching through the backpack I had found discarded in the Spinarak hunting grounds. I quickly sifted through its contents. According to the ID, it belonged to a boy originally from Saffron City. As was standard, he likely had himself teleported to Pallet Town to start his journey from the safest areas to the hardest. There was no money in the bag; he probably had that on him. However, I found several Pokéballs, which I didn't even dare touch. They were linked to the owner's ID, and I certainly didn't plan on drawing suspicion to myself. Someone might think I'd killed him.
In these woods, after all, anything could happen, and murders were nothing exceptional. Who would ever find out that someone deep in the wilderness had been taken out of this world? An attacker would rob the victim of everything, release their Pokémon, and then catch them again to cover their tracks. Such a crime was incredibly difficult to prove. However, if there was exceptionally serious suspicion, psychic-type Pokémon would be called in to scan the suspect's emotions and reactions to specific questions.
In the end, I only salvaged two Antidotes, an Elixir, and some cheap dried Magikarp meat from the bag. As soon as I set the backpack aside, I decided to summon the Scyther.
"Haunter, get ready," I commanded. "We're going to have a talk with our new guest."
"Haunter!"
I tossed the Pokéball a short distance in front of me. In a flash of red, the Scyther materialized. It stood proudly, blades ready for combat, with pure hatred etched across its face.
"Scyther," I addressed it calmly. "Aren't you hungry?"
It refused to answer. It kept glaring at me with malice, but I decided to approach. I walked slowly, a bowl of food in my hand. This moment, however, was interrupted by Haunter. Amused, he threw the remains of the Caterpie at it. He aimed right for its face, but the Scyther didn't even blink. Its gaze remained fixed directly on me. With a single lightning-fast movement, it sliced the flying Caterpie torso into two halves, which fell into the grass with a thud.
I stopped then. It was extremely dangerous toward me, and its fixed, hateful stare said everything. It didn't care at all that I had saved it from certain death. It acted like a defeated samurai who would rather perish proudly alongside his swarm than owe his life to a stranger.
"You'd rather have died with your swarm?"
"Scyther! Scyth! Scytheeeeeeer!" it began to scream venomously.
Its blade flashed white, and I knew I was in trouble. In a fraction of a second, it became a blur in front of me. I immediately drew my sword just to have some sort of chance. The green streak approached me with extreme speed. It was almost upon me when Haunter's Shadow Ball struck it. It was thrown back a few meters and hit the ground with a thud, but it was back on its feet instantly.
I ran toward the Pokéball lying nearby. I trusted Haunter to protect me, so I hurried. As soon as I reached it, I caught a glimpse of the green specter flying at me again in my peripheral vision. Haunter, however, had better eyes and reflexes—he blasted it away from me with another ball. In that split second of speed, I activated the recall beam and pulled Scyther back into the safety of the sphere.
I exhaled with relief.
"Thanks, Haunter, you saved me," I panted gratefully.
A moment later, however, I began cursing myself inwardly. I had made a schoolboy error. I was afraid to have it close, so I threw the Pokéball far away... but because of that, I couldn't immediately withdraw it in a crisis. I had risked death because I completely underestimated Scyther's speed and strength. Oh well, we survived. I'll be damn careful about that in the future.
"Haunter!" he agreed, gesturing a heart with his claws. My heart rate had slowed a bit and the fear of a heart attack had passed, so I returned the gesture.
"Scyther is going up for sale," I muttered under my breath. "It could bring in some decent money."
It was a bit of a shame, but in this world it was relatively common for a caught Pokémon to refuse to cooperate with its trainer. In such cases, it was customary to sell the Pokémon and buy the same species from another trainer, or simply trade it.
I quickly packed up camp, wiped my sweaty forehead after that close call, and set off. I wanted to be back on a safer path as soon as possible today.
***
As soon as we were back on the main beaten path in Viridian Forest, I leaned the Saffron boy's backpack against the nearest tree. Maybe some kind soul would grab it and inform the police or rangers in Pewter City of his passing. I, however, was more pragmatic and didn't want to waste time with bureaucracy; it wouldn't bring him back anyway.
I had been walking for a few hours, and around noon, I pulled out the Magikarp jerky. I munched on them contentedly as I walked. Although the sounds of Pokémon echoed from all sides, the path was relatively peaceful, even though I was quite tense at first. We didn't encounter any Beedrill swarms, no other people, and no junkies, so we pushed on. I strongly hoped to be out of the forest by evening.
Haunter took his job as my starter extremely seriously, which was for the best. I saw my shadows swirling every now and then; he was constantly checking the surroundings in a full three-hundred-and-sixty-degree range and listening to sounds so he could alert me immediately if anything happened.
My peace, however, didn't last long. Haunter suddenly stepped out of the shadow and whispered hushedly: "Haunter, haunt, haunter, haaaunt haunter!"
I didn't understand a word, but from his expression, it was clear he was warning me of something worse than a bug war. What did he feel? What did he hear?
"What is it, Haunter? What do you sense?"
"Haunter, haunter, haaaaaunter!" he gestured wildly, drawing a claw tellingly across his throat.
"You smell death? A person? Up ahead?"
He nodded. Once, twice, three times.
It was right on the path to Pewter City. Either I'd have to leave the trail and push through dangerous thickets, or risk it. Maybe it wouldn't be so terrible after all. I decided we would proceed forward carefully and slowly, scouting from behind the trees to see what had spooked him so much.
"Lead me right there, Haunter. Let's check it out."
He frowned in disagreement for a moment, but eventually capitulated and nodded. We continued along the beaten path until he turned off into the trees. Tensely, he signaled with a claw for me to be quiet. Seeing his serious expression, I obeyed immediately and focused on not making a sound. We crept slowly between the thick trunks.
It wasn't long before I heard a stranger's voice accompanied by the crackling of a fire. The harsh, metallic scent of blood hit my nose. Inconspicuously, millimeter by millimeter, I poked my head from behind a trunk and stood there in shock. The scene looked like something out of a horror movie. Pieces of a Raticat were scattered across the ground, a headless and wingless Butterfree lay nearby, and a massive Mightyena was feeding on the remains of a Pidgeot.
I could hear it enjoying every bite—the crushing of delicate bird bones, the tearing of tendons and muscle. It feasted wildly on the Pokémon's remains. With his back to me, just behind the fire, sat a man in black clothing wearing a baseball cap. He was eating dinner calmly, as if he were used to this massacre. Not far from him lay the corpse of a nearly grown man. His throat had been ripped out.
I slowly began to back away so they wouldn't notice me. It was a fucking mistake coming here. Then I realized that if I ran, I'd probably die anyway. Haunter was at a massive disadvantage against a Mightyena, and his Acid Spray wasn't yet usable for an attack. As soon as that beast finished eating, it would catch our scent and inform its trainer. They would hunt us down in the end. There was only one option left: ambush him from behind and quickly return the Mightyena to its Pokéball. Otherwise, I'd end up with my throat ripped out too.
I backed away further, and when I was sure we were far enough not to be heard, I addressed Haunter.
"Haunter, we have no choice. We have to attack," I began, completely serious. "If they catch our scent first, we'll end up exactly like that trainer. We have to ambush them."
"Haunter!" he whispered with chilling understanding.
Slowly and in total silence, I drew my sword from its sheath. I then issued the final orders.
"I'll attack the trainer. I'll try to knock him out and immediately return that Pokémon to its ball. If I don't get it on the first try, your job is to keep that Mightyena as far away from us as possible, understand? You have to buy me time until I withdraw it."
"Haunter!" he nodded with determination.
"If I happen to fail... you were a great Pokémon. It was an honor having you as my starter."
I didn't wait for his answer. I turned and headed toward the danger.
I slowly made my way back to the tree. In the minute I'd been gone, the situation hadn't changed at all. The Mightyena continued to feed on the Pidgeot's remains. It looked like it was the guy's starter; I noticed his belt and firmly believed the first Pokéball on his side belonged to it. That's how it should be according to the rules. If I was wrong, I'd be facing even greater odds.
I stepped carefully from behind the trunk with my sword drawn, while Haunter swam unobserved through my shadows. I was right behind him now. I couldn't bring myself to stab him in the back, though. Instead, I quickly pulled out a dagger. He sensed movement and started to turn with a jerk, but it was too late—I struck him hard on the temple with the pommel of the dagger. He folded like a house of cards.
The Mightyena noticed immediately. It howled angrily and charged straight at us; even as it ran, dark energy for a Crunch attack began to gather on its fangs. Haunter immediately emerged from my shadow and threw a Shadow Ball at it, but to no avail—the attack didn't even move it. The beast kept rushing toward us. Haunter began to tense up for an Acid Spray shot, but I was already rapidly pressing the button on the Pokéball. Thank god, just two meters away from us, the Mightyena vanished in a flash of red light.
Uff. I slumped to the ground from the immense tension. After a moment, however, I forced myself to stand; I had to secure him in case he woke up. I took his belt with the other Pokéballs and tied him tightly with a rope. I stood there, in that bloody clearing, breathing hard to calm my racing heart.
I dragged him to a tree and leaned him up so I could see his face when he woke. Only then did I notice a distinct, blood-red "R" on his chest. He was a member of Team Rocket, the most dangerous gang in the entire Kanto region. They had their fingers in everything: murder, kidnapping, drugs, forced prostitution, illegal Pokémon trading, and store robberies. It would be easier to say what they didn't have their fingers in. Every trainer was warned about them, but the problem was how to recognize them. A simple cloak was enough to hide the letter on their chest, and they weren't stupid either—they didn't show up in cities wearing uniforms.
I knew that if he woke up and saw me, I would be in mortal danger... if he ever got out of this clearing alive, that is. While he was unconscious, I decided to search his things as well as the murdered trainer's bag.
There was nothing left in the victim's backpack; it had been completely looted, save for some cheap camping gear. The Rocket's bag, however, was a different haul. I found 3,493 dollars in it, three Elixirs, two Antidotes, a strange magnetic card, bandages, a folding net, and some pre-packaged steaks. I took absolutely everything except for the magnetic card. It was useless to me and I had no idea what it was for. In the worst-case scenario, I could draw attention to myself if someone saw it on me.
In total, I had 4,226 dollars now, which was a pretty decent sum. I was just tucking the loot into my bag when an angry voice came from the tree.
"You have no idea what a mistake you've just made," he began in a low, hateful tone. "When I get out of here, your own mother won't recognize you. I'll cut you into pieces and my Mightyena will eat you along with your Pokémon."
I looked at him for a second but didn't answer. I needed to think. His Mightyena was safely in its Pokéball along with the others. I knew his starter wouldn't work for my plan; Mightyena are notorious for their absolute loyalty to the pack leader. But what about the others? I ignored him completely and took a second Pokéball from the belt.
"Do you hear me, you little shit? I'll kill you!" the Rocket screamed.
A Golbat appeared from the ball. It looked around the clearing in confusion until its gaze fell on the tied-up trainer. He immediately began giving it orders to attack me, but the Golbat didn't even move.
"Just as I thought. His other Pokémon certainly aren't loyal to him," I muttered under my breath. "Would you like freedom, Golbat?" I asked it. Meanwhile, my Haunter faithfully watched its every move—one wrong maneuver and he would blast its wing off with a prepared Shadow Ball.
"Golbat!" it nodded in agreement, eager.
"Then wait a moment," I paused. "Are his other Pokémon the same way?" I asked warily.
"Golbat!" it immediately nodded and enthusiastically bared its sharp teeth.
I took another Pokéball, from which a Meowth emerged. Like the Golbat, it completely ignored its trainer. With a mocking look, it began licking its paw and meowed lazily: "Meeoow." It was clear it also desired freedom.
I pulled out the last Pokéball. A Houndour materialized from it. Instead of a healthy appearance, it looked beaten, dirty, tired, and malnourished. As soon as it appeared, its legs gave way with a groan and it fell into the grass. With eyes closed, it whined fearfully on the ground.
The Rocket constantly tried to give commands to his Pokémon from the tree, but they hated him. It looked like without the Mightyena, which likely forced their obedience, they had no reason to listen to him.
Even if I'd wanted to show mercy before—which I certainly didn't—after seeing Houndour's condition, I was sure this Rocket wasn't leaving this clearing alive. I immediately tossed the Houndour's Pokéball to Haunter.
"Destroy it, Haunter."
With a harsh crack, Haunter's Shadow Ball smashed it into pieces; only a pile of steel remained. The Houndour was free, so I wasted no time and threw my own Pokéball at it. I'd treat its wounds later, once we were away from this place.
"Just wait until I get out of here, you little prick! You'll regret ever being born," the asshole continued to threaten me. Hatred and a desire to hurt him grew inside me. I stepped toward him, followed by his Meowth, Golbat, and my Haunter.
"Who said you were getting out of here alive?" I asked in a chilling, quiet voice.
He turned pale instantly. It dawned on him that I was deadly serious.
"Y-you wouldn't d-do that," he stammered. "You're a g-good kid, r-right?"
I didn't answer.
Sshhkt. In a fraction of a second, I slit his throat. He immediately began to wheeze and choke on his own blood. I watched for a moment as he slowly expired, and once I was sure I was no longer in danger, I loosened the ropes and rolled them back up. I dragged his body a bit further; it was time to cover the tracks.
"Golbat, lunch," I ordered. "Meowth, claw his throat so that no trace of a blade remains."
Both felt the sweet scent of freedom, so they obeyed. Golbat bit into his neck first, and once it had its fill of blood, Meowth lunged with an enthusiastic smile, digging sharp claws into his throat. He slashed away until the head was completely severed from the body. When it was done, it was time to set them free.
I handed their Pokéballs to Haunter to destroy, and then I sent them away with a final word.
"You can go, you're free. Avoid humans so you don't end up in the hands of someone like him again."
They obeyed immediately, each heading in an opposite direction. With one last look at the bloody clearing and a soul slightly heavier after my first murder, I made my departure.
***
Author's note:
A real shame about that Scyther, isn't it? I mean, who wouldn't want one as their Pokémon? Unfortunately, he's just way too dangerous for our MC to handle right now... It makes you wonder, is Viridian Forest cursed? It seems like there's something extremely lethal lurking around every corner.
Also, it goes to show: if you force obedience through fear or pain, it can come back to haunt you in such a cruel, ugly way. On the bright side, at least we made a decent profit…
***
Step into the Restricted Section
Join the Inner Circle - tgdTNZYVKt (Discord)
(Vote on plot | Dark FF recs | Chat with the Author)
Upcoming Chapters – Already Written:
11. Gastly: From the Void
12. The Weight of Necessity
13. Nature's Cruel Mercy
14. I'm Rich, Baby!
15. Shelled Defiance
Support the craft and keep the darkness spreading. Your support directly allows for faster updates.