“We can leave this city through this exit and we’ll be on the right path to Interough City,” I pointed out on my Town Map that I had spread out on the table at the diner June, Courtney, and I had stopped by to grab some food.

Courtney, sitting next to me, stabbed at the last square piece of blueberry waffle on her plate with her fork and shoved it into her mouth.

June’s plate of French toast was now empty, and she was silently sipping from a cup of tea, her eyes on my map as she sat across from me.

My plate of pancakes was nearly cleared, and I grabbed my cup of coffee and took a long sip from it. It was getting cold, and I wanted to get the last remaining bit of warmth left in the drink. “It could be a little while of walking, though. Less than a week, if we move at a quick enough pace.”

“Isn’t there a train we could take there?” Courtney suggested.

“I’m not taking any train,” June said quickly, anger in her voice as she glared at Courtney.

“What’s wrong with the train? We’d get there sooooo much quicker. Are you serious right now?”

“Let’s just walk,” I said. “We might run into some Pokemon on the way that we would have missed otherwise. That’s what being a Pokemon Trainer is all about, after all, right? Traveling, seeing the world, meeting Pokemon and Trainers. Besides, who knows how screwy the subway is after that attack in Nimbasa City earlier this year. The lines could be all screwed up and it could get confusing. Let’s just stick to traveling by foot.”

“That’s so stupid.” Courtney rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I’m clearly outnumbered here.”

I nodded, satisfied that June and I didn’t have to explain the truth about why we weren’t interested in traveling by train, and I started to fold up the Town Map.

“Wait, can I see that for a second?” Courtney reached out and flattened her hand down on the Town Map. She slid it closer to her and stared at it, running her finger along a route.

I continued eating from my plate, clearing it shortly, and I downed the last of my coffee. I was full and feeling good this afternoon. At least, my stomach was. My head was an entirely different story as I worried about what would become of Ghyst Town.

Spector was sure that everything would be alright for him and Cory, but I certainly wasn’t convinced. He may have believed that Team Solace made the Litwick get out of hand, but the Litwick had been attacking before Team Solace got there, too.

I felt uneasy and feared the worst when leaving Ghyst Town, but what could I do?

Spector and Cory wanted to remain there.

Looking at the Town Map and determining where the three of us would be going next while eating a nice lunch helped a lot in clearing my mind of my stress. “So, you guys ready?” I smiled at the girls.

June sipped from her nearly empty cup of tea and set it down on the table with a smile. “Yeah.”

“You know, we’re not that far from Opelucid City,” Courtney noted, and she looked up at me. “You wanted to go there, didn’t you? For your eighth Badge?”

I nodded. “Yeah. I was trying to skip Ghyst Town and go to Opelucid, but I have my eighth Badge, now.”

“Well, how about you go for nine? And I could go for my eleventh!”

“Eleventh?” I stared at her in confusion. “Wouldn’t that be your ninth or something?”

“No.” Courtney’s eyes widened and she shook her head. “I have ten from Ghyst Town’s Gym, and if we go to Opelucid, I can go for my eleventh!”

“Wait a minute…” June mumbled, counting off on her fingers. “You should have nine Badges now. You had eight when we were in Virbank City after we found out the Flower Badge didn’t count. Then, the Ghyst Town Gym battle gave you your ninth Badge.”

Courtney stared blankly at June before bursting out laughing. “Oh, right! That Flower Badge thing totally threw me off. I have nine Badges, and I’ll go for my tenth at Opelucid! Thanks for reminding me of that, ha ha.”

June stared at Courtney suspiciously.

“So,” Courtney said as she got to her feet. “Are we all game to head to Opelucid City together?”

“What?” I frowned in confusion.

“Why in the world would we do that?” June glared at Courtney.

“Because we still have time to get in a little more training!” Courtney said eagerly. “What else are we gonna do? Let’s travel just a little bit longer and face off against just one more powerful Gym Leader to be sure that we’re ready! Our Pokemon could use the experience, and we could totally benefit from it, too! Not to mention, it’s a Dragon type Gym! Didn’t you say you wanted to challenge Dragons because they’re really tough?”

“I think I said something like that…” I admitted in a low voice.

“So let’s just make a quick run to Opelucid City! It’s not even far! Just one more Gym match, and we’ll go to Interough City and compete in the Interough Conference! Isn’t this exciting?” Courtney squealed excitedly, bouncing on her feet. “Group hug?” She spread her arms open, an ecstatic smile on her face. Before I could even move, she reached out and grabbed my arm, pulling me out of my seat.

I cried out in surprise as I was forced to stand up, and Courtney wrapped me up tightly.

“Wait!” June stood up and crossed her arms. “Nobody agreed to this! Gary has his eight Badges. If you wanna go and get another six Badges, then have fun, but I’m sure that Gary is trying to make sure that he gets to the Conference on time. Right, Gary?”

“Mmmm,” Courtney moaned against me, snuggling tightly to me, and the scent from her hair infiltrated my nose.

“I-I…” I looked down at her.

Courtney looked up at me with wide, sugar-sweet eyes. “Please, Sugar? Surely you don’t want to lose to one Gym Leader and feel like you’re not even ready for the Interough Conference. We’ve been through so much together, you and I, gathering Badges and traveling and having so much fun.” She fluttered her eyes at me. “Why stop now?” She smiled and nudged her cheek against mine for a split second and then winked at me. “Please? What’s one little Gym gonna do? Prove how powerful a Trainer you truly are? Give you nine whole Badges instead of the boring, typical eight everybody else is gonna have? Come with me, Sugar Lumps.” Her arms slowly slid off of me and I felt her hands hold onto mine. She got down to her knees and looked up at me pleadingly. “I’m begging you, Gary. Don’t make me travel by myself. I feel like we really have something special. Like, a bond. You’re one of my best friends!” She placed her cheek against my hands and closed her eyes, rubbing on my fingers.

“Courtney!” I cried out, pulling my hands away and backing up. “We’ll go, okay? We’ll go to Opelucid City! Just get up and stop begging!” My face was burning hot with embarrassment. It got a lot quieter in the restaurant and I knew that people were staring at us.

“YES!” Courtney cheered, standing up.

“WHAT?!” June screamed. “Gary!”

“It’s just for one little Badge, and it’s not far from here,” I shrugged at June, my heart beating rapidly over how Courtney had just been acting. She’s nuts, I thought, crossing my arms to stop them from shaking.

June scowled at me and shook her head. “You never let me decide where we go next! Especially when we don’t have to go there! You don’t have to go to Opelucid City, Gary! I can’t believe you’re doing this! What has gotten into you, Gary?”

My heart thumped even harder. “I just want to train a little bit more before the Conference starts!” I said nervously, avoiding her gaze.

“Excuse me,” someone said.

The three of us turned to see a skinny waitress smiling up at us nervously. She was shorter than all of us.

“I’m sorry, but, could I ask you three to lower your voices, please?” she asked in a tiny voice. “The other customers are becoming a little uncomfortable.”

I looked around the diner that had now become completely silent.

Everyone was staring at us, some of them smirking while others held blank looks.

“I’m sorry. I was leaving, anyway,” June snapped, and she grabbed her bag from the floor and walked quickly out of the diner.

Courtney and I turned to each other.

She smiled and sighed, shrugging. “Should I apologize to her?”

“Apologize for what?” I asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t think I did anything wrong, but, I just want to keep the peace. That’s all I’ve ever wanted with us.”

“Yeah…” I sighed, looking towards the doors June had walked through. “Let’s just get our stuff and catch up with her, okay?”

“Sure…” Courtney replied hesitantly.

*

We walked through the humid city, the stars sparkling above us. Lights were on in buildings, but not a single person was outside except for us.

None of us had anything to say. We just walked, Courtney leading the way with her Town Map in her hands, and me walking next to her.

June was behind us, refusing to pick up her pace and even slowing down when I had slowed down to walk next to her.

Courtney had then slowed down to keep up with me.

Even when I came to a stop, June would stop walking and look away from us, across the street.

Courtney had also stopped walking and looked back at us until I sighed in defeat and continued down the sidewalk, joined by Courtney, and June would walk after us moments later.

Courtney and I gasped as something fluttered down from the darkness above.

“Oh! What is that?” Courtney cried, stumbling back.

The creature stood up proudly, its huge chest puffing out.

“I’m thinking it must be a Pokemon,” I told her, and I pulled out my Pokedex.

The large bird spread open its wings and let out a loud, sharp cry.

Honchkrow. The Big Boss Pokemon. This is Murkrow’s evolved form. This Pokemon controls flocks of Murkrow with a call, and the Murkrow follow the orders of Honchkrow without question, often times leading to mischievous behavior. It is referred to as the “Summoner Of The Night.”

Cries from above made me look up, and I could see a dark cloud, darker than the night sky, approaching from behind Honchkrow.

“What’s going on here?” Courtney gasped.

“I think we better run!” I said loudly, and turned around to start running. “Oof! Ow! Oohh!” I was hit in the stomach, my right shoulder, and finally, my back, before I dropped to the ground. “Hey!” I pushed myself up and looked for my attacker.

Something small and black slapped at me repeatedly, squawking annoyingly.

“Hey! Get off of me!” I shouted as I swung at the bird.

Courtney was next to shriek, and June’s voice called out right after that.

I slapped away the bird, but I was now being attacked at all sides by pecking, flapping, screeching birds! My hands swung frantically at my attackers, but there seemed to be too many around me. I couldn’t see anything but the furious, black birds. “Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” I slapped at my jeans pockets as I felt something digging through them. “Get out of there!!”

“Get away!!” Courtney screamed shrilly.

“Leave us alone!” June begged.

“Honchkrow! Honchkrooooooww!!” Honchkrow cawed.

The surrounding birds around me almost immediately flew away!

“Whoa!” I was still swinging at the area around me, only now realizing that the little birds were now soaring into the sky. “Wait! Those things are Murkrow!” I pointed my Pokedex at them. “Huh?” I looked down at my hand. There was no Pokedex in it! Both of my hands were empty! “My Pokedex?” I patted my pockets, but they were all empty. “Hey! My Pokedex!” I shouted in a panic as I looked up into the sky.

“They took my Badge case and my mirror and my mother’s necklace!” Courtney cried. “And some of my change, too!”

“My Thunder Badge!!” June screamed in anguish. “Get back here! I need that!”

“MY BADGES!!!” I bellowed, my hands inside of my pockets. “They stole all of my Badges!! NNNOOOOOOOOO!!!!!” I then noticed the Honchkrow, still on the ground, looking up at me smugly. “Where are my Badges?!”

Honchkrow laughed at me and fluttered its wings before relaxing them, keeping its eyes on me.

“Murkrow!” one of the Murkrow in the air cawed.

I turned to the sound to see a rather beaten up looking Murkrow flying much slower than its fellow Murkrow who were disappearing into the sky with our stuff. This one Murkrow seemed to be having trouble getting very high, flapping its wings as hard as it could, its eyes tight as it desperately attempted to escape.

That was when I spotted the glittering object in its beak. “One of my Badges!” I stood up fast and ran after the bird as it got even higher into the sky.

With a cry, Murkrow’s beak opened, and the Badge fell! Murkrow seemed to cough, and more shiny objects sprinkled out of its beak!

“More Badges!” I reached up and grabbed at the falling objects as if it was raining cash. “Yes!” I caught only two Badges, but I quickly scooped up the remaining six happily. “I got them all back!”

“Murkrooooow!” Murkrow cried out weakly and dropped from the sky.

“Murkrow?” I gasped as it plummeted for the concrete. “Murkrow!” I ran forward, shoving my Badges into my pockets and then quickly reaching up for the crow.

Murkrow fell right against my chest.

I cupped my arms and held the Pokemon close to me. “What happened to you?”

Murkrow was breathing hard in my arms. Up close, I could see that several spots on its body were bald, and there were wounds all over it. Murkrow’s beak even looked cracked, a single line going along the side of it. Its eyes were swollen.

“There’s something wrong with this Murkrow!” Before I could turn around to June and Courtney, I heard Honchkrow’s angry screech. As I turned, I saw Honchkrow fly at me, its wings glowing purple, and it slammed into me with Night Slash. I choked out and groaned as I was knocked down, Murkrow wailing as it took the blow directly. “What are you doing?” I gasped at Honchkrow.

The intimidating bird circled me in the air and then came down, landing on top of my stomach. My body flinched and I groaned lightly under the weight of Honchkrow as it took a few steps forward on top of me.

“Murkrow!” Murkrow cowered in my arms, trembling.

“Honchkrow!” Honchkrow’s left wing extended and it smacked Murkrow out of my arms.

Murkrow tumbled on the ground, and before I even realized it, a swarm of black birds attacked from above, pecking the single Murkrow with their beaks, clawing with their talons, screaming loudly. The number of Murkrow had to be around thirty, at least. There were far too many Murkrow to be attacking just one, and a few of the Murkrow were attacking one another while trying to get at the already injured Murkrow.

Behind the enraged Murkrow, sitting on the ground, was Courtney’s pink Badge case, her pink mirror, a shiny white necklace made of marbles, a Thunder Badge, and some change. Far away from the collection of items the Murkrow had stolen was a familiar red object that brought a smile to my face.

“Stop it! Leave that Murkrow alone!” June ran forward, holding her bag closed. “Why are you doing that to that Murkrow?” June was staring in shock at Honchkrow. “How can you order them to do this? What did that Murkrow do? Just leave her alone!”

Honchkrow was looking back at June firmly. “Honchkrow! Honchkrow!”

“You don’t forgive mistakes…?” June said slowly. “What do you mean? What mistakes?”

“Honchkrow! Honch! Honchkrooooooow!!” Honchkrow flapped its wings angrily and took a step towards June. “Honchkrow! Honchkrow! Krow! Krow! Honchkrow!”

“You can’t do that!” June cried, her eyes wide. “That isn’t fair! Release her if that’s the problem, but you can’t just keep beating her up like that! That’s not right! Just because she didn’t accomplish a theft so long ago?”

Honchkrow looked over to the gathering of fighting Murkrow, and it let out a cry.

The Murkrow started separating, removing themselves from the fight until they all were standing on the ground, looking down at one Murkrow. All of the Murkrow were breathing hard and some had new bald spots on their bodies, the feathers pulled out during the scuffle.

The Murkrow on her back was breathing hard, moaning her name tiredly, and I could see that a couple of spots on her feathers were wet.

Honchkrow turned to June. “Honchkrow! Honchkrow! Honchkrow!”

“So, because she failed to steal some stupid object a long time ago, you just plan on keeping her in your flock and abusing her for the rest of her life as punishment?” June yelled, squinting in disgust at the Honchkrow.

“Honch!” Honchkrow nodded.

“Is that what’s going on here?” I said in disbelief, turning from June to Honchkrow.

June nodded. “Yeah. This Honchkrow has the Murkrow do bad things at night. Thefts, random attacks, whatever he decides. That poor Murkrow failed to carry out a theft and returned with nothing, and since then, she’s been getting abused daily. Honchkrow controls this entire flock. The Murkrow won’t go against the leader.”

“You Murkrow outnumber that Honchkrow about fifty times over!” I shouted at them. “You don’t have to listen to that big bully!”

The Murkrow stared at me silently, coldly.

I shook my head at Honchkrow. “Why are you having them do bad things in the first place? Why can’t you just behave? Or, if you’re so big and bad, go do those things by yourself! Stop scaring the poor Murkrow into doing what you won’t!”

Somehow, it got even quieter after I stopped speaking.

“Um, so, I guess that’s sorted out…?” I said uncertainly. I pushed myself up to my feet.

“Honchkrow!” Honchkrow’s sharp voice startled me.

The Murkrow all soared at me instantly, screaming out.

Even the female Murkrow who had just been attacked flew at me with rage on her face.

I stumbled away from them in fear and ran past June, and then past Courtney. Something about the look on Courtney’s face caused me to look back as I ran, and I came to a stop.

“I don’t have a clue as to what’s really going on here, but I do know that I won’t stand for what I can confirm with my own two eyes,” Courtney said seriously. She grabbed a Poke Ball from her waist and tossed it. “Swoobat, let’s make things just a little bit easier for us! Use Attract!”

“Swooooobat!” Swoobat’s body was surrounded by pink hearts and it spun in place, crying out softly. “Swoobat!”

The hearts flew towards the oncoming Murkrow, and several of them stopped attacking as their eyes took the shape of pink hearts and throbbed with love. It seemed that maybe a little less than half of the Murkrow were under Attract’s spell.

The female Murkrow that had been getting beat up was also in love, flapping her wings joyously with the others who had been caught by the attack.

Even she was about to attack me when Honchkrow ordered, despite us trying to stand up for her, and despite her getting attacked daily by the Murkrow and Honchkrow, I thought to myself. She’s still loyal to the orders of Honchkrow, no matter what…

The Honchkrow stood tall, glaring at Swoobat, Attract failing to work on him.

Swoobat’s a boy, I acknowledged.

“Alright, now use Amnesia on the rest of them!” Courtney ordered.

The rest of the Murkrow that had not fallen for Swoobat continued flying at Courtney, squawking out in rage, prepared to attack.

“Swooooobat! Swoobat!” Swoobat’s eyes glowed light blue as he stared ahead at his opponents.

Several of the Murkrows’ wings were glowing purple or light blue while a couple of other Murkrow had glowing pink eyes, their bodies a pale purple. All at once, the Murkrow stopped attacking and dropped to the ground. They all cried out softly and looked around, seeming confused.

“Amnesia?” I questioned, turning to Courtney.

“It raises the user’s Special Defense while also causing the opponent to forget its moves for a bit.” Courtney kept her eyes on the Murkrow, and then she looked over at Honchkrow. “Now, it’s time to take down the leader. Honchkrow, I really don’t like what I see from you! Let’s battle!”

“Honchkrow.” Honchkrow glared at Courtney.

The Murkrow who were suffering from Amnesia let out surprised cries as they seemed to come to their senses, and many of them flew into the air to attack Swoobat.

“HOOOOONCHKROOOOOOOWWW!!!” Honchkrow bellowed out.

The attacking Murkrow immediately halted just feet away from Swoobat and turned to their leader.

Honchkrow nudged his head.

The Murkrow then flew away from Swoobat and landed on the sidewalk behind Honchkrow.

Even the Murkrow in love managed to hobble away from Swoobat and stand behind their boss, stupid looks of admiration and love for Swoobat on their smiling faces.

“Wait, Courtney,” I said, and I stepped in front of her and Swoobat, my eyes focused on Honchkrow. I grabbed a Poke Ball in my hand and pressed the center button, increasing its size. “Allow me.”

“But, I can handle this, Gary!” Courtney argued.

I nodded. “I know, but I also held that Murkrow.” I stared at the bruised Pokemon who was captivated by Swoobat at the moment, swaying on her talons as she gazed so lovingly at him. “I can’t allow Honchkrow to get away with that. I have to battle him! Sawk, I’m going with you!” I threw his Poke Ball.

“Sawk!” Sawk appeared and stared seriously at Honchkrow. “Sawk!” He bowed deeply and then took a karate stance.

“Sawk, let’s go! Start off with your Bulk Up!” I ordered.

Sawk flexed his muscles and they bulged out strongly against his karate gi, threatening to rip whatever fabric it was made out of.

“What’s that move do again…?” Courtney asked me.

“It raises the Attack and Defense stats,” I answered.

“Oh, yeah… I forgot, ha ha,” Courtney replied.

“Honchkrow!” Honchkrow attacked with Wing Attack, hitting hard with the Super Effective move that sent Sawk stumbling backwards.

The Murkrow behind Honchrow all cried out in celebration from the attack.

The Murkrow who had fallen for Courtney’s Swoobat were no longer in love and were urging their leader on.

Sawk shook his head and held Honchkrow in a serious stare. “Sawk!” he spoke strongly.

“Now use Focus Energy!”

Sawk glared silently at Honchkrow, bouncing his shoulders and feet, hopping in a kind of square pattern, and his body was outlined in white for a moment.

Honchkrow stood on the sidewalk and smiled sinisterly at Swoobat. “Honchkroooow!”

“Now, let’s do one more Bulk Up, Sawk!” I insisted.

“SAAAAAAAAAWK!!” Sawk shouted with surprising anger, and he ran like a madman at Honchkrow with one arm raised. He leaped into the air and his hand started to glow white as he attacked with Brick Break.

“Honch!” Honchkrow flew around the attack and ended up behind Sawk, but Sawk whipped his body around quickly, a strange, scary rage on his face.

The Murkrow clan was cheering for Honchkrow.

“Sawk!” I couldn’t believe how enraged Sawk looked. “I said to use Bulk Up! Don’t use other attacks until I say!”

“Saaaawwwk!!” Sawk leaped at Honchkrow and delivered a flurry of punches at the bird’s stomach with his Close Combat.

“Sawk! That isn’t what I just said at all! Why aren’t you listening to me?”

Honchkrow tumbled through the air, groaning in pain from the powerful move, but his wings spread wide and he regained his focus, hovering in the air as the Murkrow encouraged him. He flapped his wings a couple of times and then flew forward with incredible speed, using Aerial Ace, and he knocked Sawk to the ground.

“Sawk…” Sawk groaned painfully as he struggled back up.

“Don’t tell me this thing is disobedient…” I groaned impatiently.

“No, Gary. Sawk is suffering from Taunt attack,” June explained. “He’s only able to do damaging moves and may not listen to you for a while.”

“Oh! It’s Taunt. Hmm.” My eyebrows furrowed and I nodded. “Fine with me! Try another Close Combat attack, Sawk!”

Sawk leaped high into the air and raised his right leg, kicking Honchkrow in the side of the face.

Honchkrow’s scream was loud as he dropped like a rock, and Sawk landed on top of him and pummeled him determinedly with a barrage of punches.

The Murkrow were shouting at Sawk, stepping towards him and flapping their wings threateningly.

“Again, Sawk! Close Combat!”

Sawk ignored the Murkow trying to distract him and he attacked Honchkrow with Low Sweep, swinging his foot low to the ground and kicking Honchkrow in his side.

Honchkrow shakily got back up to his talons, his enormous chest heaving hard.

“I said to use Close Combat,” I grumbled angrily. “But this should be fine.” I dug in my pocket for a Poke Ball. “Poke Ball, GO!” I tossed the Poke Ball at Honchkrow.

The Poke Ball bounced off of his body and opened, pulling the Pokemon inside before landing on the ground. The red button glowed as it shook once.

POP!

“Honchkroooooww!” Honchkrow was released from the Poke Ball and growled angrily at me.

The Murkrow went nuts seeing their boss free.

I grit my teeth as I kept my eyes on him.

Honchkrow then fired a beam made of black and purple circles at Sawk.

Sawk was forced backwards from the Dark Pulse attack and he slid on the ground. He shivered in pain from the damage he took. “Sawk. Sawk…” he moaned weakly.

“Sawk, you okay?” I called out to my Pokemon. “Can you keep going?”

Sawk shook his head and placed his hands on the ground, flat. Grunting, he pushed himself back up to his feet and then looked back to me. “Sawk…” he nodded.

“Sawk,” I nodded back. “Are you alright, now? Are you free from Taunt?”

“Sawk Sawk!” Sawk confirmed.

“Excellent! Then let’s finish off that Pokemon with one more Close Combat!”

Sawk turned back to Honchkrow to attack.

Honchkrow vanished from his spot and reappeared in front of Sawk, tackling him down.

“Wait! How did Honchkrow move so fast? Was that Quick Attack?” Courtney said, worry in her voice.

“That was Sucker Punch,” I told her.

Sawk leaped to his feet and delivered a sharp punch at Honchkrow’s face, adding on swift kicks and extra punches that were thrown out with precision and expertise.

Watching Sawk fight reminded me of my Primeape.

Primeape never fought like this. He was a brute of a fighter, swinging wildly but strongly, attacking uncontrollably but determinedly, hitting mercilessly to take down his opponents no matter what.

However, Primeape and Sawk had a very similar, matching aggression when battling and a determination in their eyes that made it impossible not to compare the two.

I wondered how a battle between the two Fighting types might turn out.

I thought back to when I first met my Primeape as just a little Mankey out on Route 1, where our lives had been threatened, to his evolution when battling Aurora, to his battles at the Pokemon League in Kanto.

Honchkrow took a punch to the chest and rolled on the ground, sprawled out on his back, his eyes closed.

“This time, you’re mine! Poke Ball, go!” I threw another Poke Ball at Honchkrow.

The Poke Ball sucked in the Pokemon and hit the ground.

It shook once, the red button glowing in the night.

POP!

Honchkrow burst free from the Poke Ball easily. “HONCHKROW!!” he screamed at me.

The Murkrow went berserk once again.

“Oh, come on!” I yelled back. “Maybe I need to put the thing to Sleep or something. Do I have any status Pokemon with me?” I tried to remember.

“Hoooooonch!!” Honchkrow raged at Sawk.

“Sawk, Counter!”

“Sawk!” He took his karate stance.

Honchkrow opened his beak and attacked Sawk with another Dark Pulse.

“Saaaawk!” Sawk was tossed back.

“Oh, no! Stupid!” I slapped my forehead one hard time. That was too risky! He did a special move, not a physical one! “I’m sorry, Sawk. That was all my fault! I shouldn’t have had you do that.” Sawk’s looking really low on health, now, I noticed. He might not be able to keep on going. “Sawk, use Reversal!”

Sawk groaned, sitting on the ground, Flinching.

“Sawk, get up!” I urged him.

“Sawk… Sawk.” Sawk couldn’t get up, and he was now unable to defend himself.

“Screw it! Poke Ball, I know you can DO IT!!” I threw the Poke Ball at Honchkrow.

“Honchkrow!” Honchkrow easily batted my Poke Ball right back at me!

The Murkrow were now laughing, several of them actually rolling on the ground.

“No way!” I gasped. “That can’t be!”

Honchkrow looked in rough shape, but somehow, he had the strength to keep going, refusing to be caught. “Hoooooonch!!” Honchkrow flew at Sawk with blinding speed and knocked him onto his back with Aerial Ace.

“Sawk!” I called out to him.

Sawk was baring his teeth, his eyes tight, his arms shaking as he struggled to push himself up.

That Honchkrow can’t win, I thought as I watched Honchkrow call out loudly, flying high through the air.

His wings glowed white and he turned around and flew towards Sawk, ready to end the battle with Wing Attack.

Sawk managed to push himself up a little and his eyes opened. He gasped in surprise. “Sawk?”

Honchkrow slammed into Sawk’s head with his right wing.

Sawk laid still on his back, defeated.

“NO!” I shouted angrily, glaring down at Sawk. “Sawk!! Come on!!”

The Murkrow were ecstatic now, some of them flying a few feet in the air while the others stayed on the ground, flapping their wings and walking around with cheerfully, all of them crying out victoriously.

Honchkrow’s cry made me turn to the powerful crow and I realized that the Pokemon was now dive bombing me!

“Gary, get out of the way! He’s using Fly!” June screamed to me.

“Gah!” I took a step back, but there was really nowhere for me to run.

The Murkrow continued to scream with joy as Honchkrow got nearer.

I heard a grunt from behind me.

Something small caught my eye as it flew through the air.

A Poke Ball?

Honchkrow needed only another two seconds before he was sure to deliver a strong attack at my face.

The Poke Ball flew fast.

Honchkrow’s eyes bulged as the Poke Ball slammed into his stomach, and he let out a choked cry.

The Murkrow went silent and the ones in the air landed amongst the others, watching.

The Poke Ball opened and pulled Honchkrow inside. It then hit the ground.

The red button glowed, and the Poke Ball shook.

It shook again.

It shook some more.

It shook repeatedly.

PING!

The red light faded.

Honchkrow had been captured!

But, by who?

I turned back and stared at June.

June was staring at Courtney.

Courtney had a huge smile on her face. She giggled excitedly. “I did it! I caught a Honchkrow!”

“Courtney??” I couldn’t believe it! “You caught him?”

Courtney laughed and ran past me, stopping in front of the Poke Ball. “I caught a Honchkrow!” The Poke Ball glowed white in Courtney’s hand, and finally, it vanished. “Ha ha! Awesome!” She turned to me, her eyes lighting up like headlights. “You okay?”

I nodded. “Yeah! I am! Thank you, Courtney! You kinda saved me there, ha.”

“Aww, wasn’t nothin’.” She opened her arms wide. “Hug?”

I laughed and walked over to her, hugging her gratefully. “Thanks so much. Good catch. Congratulations!”

“Thank you, Sugar Lumps. Juni, won’t you come here and join in this hug?” Courtney asked June, squeezing me even tighter.

“Courtney, don’t you already own a Honchkrow, since, you supposedly own every Pokemon in Sinnoh and Johto?” June asked, ignoring Courtney’s request. “Murkrow were originally spotted in Johto, and Honchkrow were first discovered in Sinnoh. Why would you catch a Honchkrow if you already have one?”

Courtney released me with a giggle and turned to face June. “June, I own multiples of a lot of Pokemon! It never hurts to capture more than one of the same kind of Pokemon. That’s what Prof. Birch told me when I went on my first journey through Hoenn. He told me that it helps research when you capture multiples of the same kind of Pokemon. This is how discoveries about Pokemon are made, and evolutions are uncovered, and new moves, and so much! Besides, we had to get rid of that Honchkrow. It would never have left the poor Murkrow alone.”

We all turned to the Murkrow who were all staring at us blankly.

“Sawk, get some rest, okay?” I recalled my fainted Pokemon and then walked over to the flock of Murkrow, my friends following behind me. “Murkrow, you’re all free, now. Honchkrow is with us, and you guys can go off and do whatever it is you want.”

The Murkrow turned to each other and muttered softly amongst themselves. They all faced us.

“Murkrow!” a Murkrow said loudly, happily, and it flapped its wings, flying into the night sky.

More of the Murkrow also followed that Murkrow’s lead, crying out before flying into the darkness above.

There were only six Murkrow left, one of them being the female who had been getting abused.

She walked up to me and rubbed her beak against my leg.

I knelt down to her, smiling. “Will you be okay?”

“Murkrow…” She stared me in my eyes warmly, smiling. She suddenly leaped into the air and pecked the top of my head hard, repeatedly.

“OW!” I fell back and watched as the Murkrow all laughed and flew into the air, leaving us behind. I sighed, rubbing my head, but I still managed to smile up at them all. “BYE, MURKROW!” I shouted after them. “TAKE CARE!” I snickered. “And try to behave yourselves,” I muttered.

Courtney and June reached down and helped me to my feet.

“Well, at least I finally have my stuff back.” Courtney walked over to the items still on the ground. She picked up her Badge case and opened it, her back to me, and she closed it back tightly.

Courtney’s Swoobat grasped at Courtney’s necklace that was on the ground and started to fly to his Trainer, but the necklace slipped out of his grip. “Swoooobat!” Swoobat looked back and spotted Courtney’s pink mirror. He went down and grabbed it, ascending into the air, and he flew towards Courtney. “Swwooooo?”

The mirror fell from Swoobat’s clutches and headed for the pavement!

With a desperate cry, Courtney leaped and slid on the ground, catching her mirror in her hand at the last second before it smashed against the street. She breathed a sigh of relief and looked up wearily at Swoobat. She let out a single, light laugh as she sat up. “Swoobat, hon, I’ve got this. Thank you for your help, though, okay?”

Swoobat blushed, his cheeks growing red as he was returned to his Poke Ball.

Courtney nodded with approval at her Swoobat’s Poke Ball before attaching it to her waist. She then walked over to the necklace Swoobat had dropped and picked it up. She cradled it tenderly before slipping it into her pocket. Finally, she walked around to pick up the change from the ground that had been taken from her as well.

June walked over and picked up her Thunder Badge. She blew on it and wiped it on her shirt as she walked over to the red object that belonged to me.

I walked over to her eagerly as she picked it up and turned around.

“Here ya go.” She held out my Pokedex.

“Sweet!” I smiled at it, but after a few seconds, my smile faded away.

“Well, since that’s over, let’s keep moving on to Opelucid City!” Courtney said eagerly.

June grunted, and I knew she wasn’t happy about being reminded that we were headed there.

I didn’t say a word as I stared at the Pokedex.

“Gary?” June said. “Is something wrong with your Pokedex?”

I sniffled and opened up the little device. I played around with the buttons, looking for something.

“Is it working? Did it break?” Courtney asked me.

“Here we go,” I said.

Murkrow. The Darkness Pokemon. This Pokemon loves a good prank, but they typically have a very foul sense of humor, sometimes getting travelers lost, or stealing shiny objects which attract them. This Pokemon is capable of repeating human words.

I closed the Pokedex and looked up at Courtney and June with a smile, squinting at them playfully. “I wonder if we changed anything tonight.”

“What do you mean, Gary?” June asked me curiously.

“We stopped a big bad Honchkrow that was bullying the flock it runs, and saved a poor little Murkrow from being beat up on, but…” I rubbed my sore head as I looked up into the night sky, my smile fading slightly.

“What?” Courtney asked me.

“Pokemon are Pokemon, you know. They have their personalities and… They just are who they are. I mean, I just feel like, for all that we did to help those Murkrow…” I looked down to the girls. “I don’t really think it’s over.”