On the Wings of Death

Last One There Is A Bad Egg

"Corphish, Rock Tomb!"

Harry brushed his hair behind his ear as he focused on the battle in front of him. This was the second Gardener he'd encountered so far in Route 4, and apparently they had some sort of fetish with Corphish. "Fletchling, Aerial Ace!"

Fletchling darted between the falling rocks, at one point flying completely sideways to avoid being hit. Body glowing, she slammed into the Corphish. The Corphish swayed for an eternal moment, before collapsing.

The Gardener glared at Harry and threw some cash at his feet. "Here ya go, then, lad. Now off with ya."

Harry shook his head, bending down to collect the cash. Fletchling landed back on her perch in his hair. What's with all the gardeners and their crabs?

"Route 4 is apparently some kind of glamorized garden," Harry said dryly. "The Gardeners are just protecting it. Maybe a little too overzealously."

You don't say, was the response.

"Hey, Trainer! I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!"

Harry turned as the Roller Skater released a Pidgey. Deciding that Fletchling could have a rest, he pulled out Honedge's Poké Ball. "Honedge, let's go!"

The Sword Pokémon hovered in the air, glaring daggers at the Tiny Bird Pokémon. The Pidgey ruffled its feathers uncertainly. Fletchling chirped something uncomplimentary.

"Pidgey, Sand Attack!" the Roller Skater declared.

"Honedge, Autotomize," Harry said.

The Pidgey flapped its wings, kicking up a flurry of dust. Honedge ignored it in favour of spinning around, boosting his speed to much higher levels.

The Roller Skater look nonplussed as Honedge ignored her Pidgey. "Fine, be that way! Pidgey, Twister!"

The Tiny Bird Pokémon flapped its wings, creating a whirlwind of draconic energy that surrounded Honedge. Through the shifting winds, Harry could see that Honedge was barely bothered. Of course, Steel-types - wait, if Honedge was in the centre of the winds... the eye of the storm. No wonder Honedge wasn't bothered. There wasn't any wind buffeting him at all!

That had to be one of the most stupid things he had ever seen, but it was there and he was damned if he didn't use such a great boost. "Swords Dance!" he called.

He couldn't actually see Honedge, but the faint scraping sound was obvious. "Now stop that Pidgey with Metal Sound!"

"Metal Sound is a status move," the Roller Skater said, confused. "It's not going to work."

Why does everyone say that? Fletchling grumbled.

A second later, both trainers were wincing at the shriek Honedge was emitting. Fletchling clung tighter to Harry's hair as the sound waves blasted across the gardens. Wild Pokémon shrieked in distress, and Harry felt a burst of guilt at disturbing their sanctuary.

If I finish this soon, he decided, it might make up for the noise.

The Twister had already vanished, the Pidgey desperately clinging on to consciousness (or maybe sanity) as deafening noise rang in its mind. Ouch... loud, it mumbled.

"Finish it!" Harry called out.

One Aerial Ace later and the Pidgey was down for the count.

Harry left Honedge out of his Poké Ball, the Sword Pokémon looking around at the stylized gardens. Is it possible to stay an afternoon here? Honedge asked.