Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Stories

Living in the Shadows Ch. 4

Nights passed in rapid succession. Everything had been quiet and peaceful as of late. There hadn't been any more attacks on the Team Star bases, but each of the crews remained vigilant. The thieving pokemon were still out there. Small towns across Paldea were still falling prey to them. Fortunately, Atticus and Eri had the endurance to be on the lookout every night, despite the exhaustion slowly creeping up on them. The grunts had the luxury of taking turns, but the bosses had no such luck. Even now, Atticus did his best to stay awake, sitting outside of his tent in a meditative state.

"Hey, Atticus?" The ninja peeled his eyes open to look at the grunt. "Would you, uh, like a drink? Maybe a soda or coffee?"

"Nay, I need no caffeinated beverages." He forced back a yawn that threatened to escape him. "Please, do not concern thyself with me. You need only focus on keeping our base safe."

The grunt was about to respond when an aroma hit his nose. "What's that smell? It's…almost sickeningly sweet."

Atticus lifted part of his hood in order to sniff the air. "The fiends are here!" Shaking off his weariness, he was on his feet in an instant. "Alert everyone! We must be prepared to fight!"

The grunt took off for the little microphone by their boss's tent where announcements could be made to the entire crew. "Heads up, gang! Our pilfering pokemon are in the area! Get ready to defend our base with everything you've got!"

All over the base, grunts were scrambling around and calling out their pokemon. Atticus brought out his team as well, but he immediately noticed something wrong. Three of his five pokemon were wobbling around as if they were in a trance. Atticus tried giving them orders, but they didn't seem to hear him at all. A lot of grunts were having a similar problem. Muk, Revavroom, and Dragalge were unable to do anything. However, Skuntank and Toxapex were able and willing to act at his command. Why are only some of them affected by the aroma? he asked himself. What sets them apart from the other pokemon?

The realization hit him, and he was quick to return his incapacitated pokemon. "The scent! It's affecting the male pokemon!"

A dark figure suddenly leapt from a nearby tree, sailing past the ninja and his pokemon to hide in the darkness. Before he could issue a command to his team, a glob of purple poison covered Toxapex. Surprisingly, the poison type was afflicted by its effects. Atticus returned Toxapex, jumping back alongside Skuntank to avoid another Toxic attack.

"Poison that can inflict other poison types." He narrowed his eyes to peer through the darkness. "There's only one pokemon with that ability." Catching a glimpse of movement in the shadow of a tent, Atticus directed Skuntank toward it. "Flamethrower!"

Skuntank aimed a blast of fire at the unknown creature, watching it leapt from its hiding place. Just as suspected, a Salazzle crouched before him, hissing and lashing her tail. It was no wonder the slippery lizard had managed such surprise attacks. That also explained the sweet, enticing scent that had all the male pokemon stumbling about like lovesick fools. But how could one Salazzle cause all that by herself? As if to answer that question, something far bigger landed between the Salazzle and the ninja. The piercing gaze of a Grimmsnarl landed on the boy and his partner. Taking her chance, the Salazzle darted away to escape.

"No!"

He barely took one step after her before a punch from the Grimmsnarl forced him to jump back to avoid being squished.

"Out of the way, wretch! Skuntank, use Toxic!"

A glob of purple fluid was shot from her tail tip. Grimmsnarl dodged the attack and went after Skuntank with its fist, forcing her to run and avoid the attack. Atticus only now realized he wasn't the only one in a bind. He looked around to see his teammates battling against powerful foes. There was an Ursaring, a Tyranitar, a Salamence, a Beartic, and even a Gyarados slithering around causing havoc. The whole base was in chaos.