Poisons and Partnerships

Two months had passed.

About three times a week, me and Meowstic would hunt. I was able to procure a few Oddish in that time. Now I had full poison resistant armor and replacement leaves for my battle fan. So far, tranquilizing Pokemon before finishing it proved the most effective. Sentret has been my main prey though I did hunt a stray Ducklett.

Currently, its feathers fill some soft leaves. The cottony down was heavenly to sleep on, despite the crinkly packaging.

Recently, I have come to the conclusion that to achieve any comfort with my extremely sensitive body, I will have to make everything to my standards. Which was a staggering task all things considered.

Also since that fateful day, the thief, who shall now be dubbed Mr. Hyde Thief, has continued to steal from me. I would wake up and find materials missing. It infuriated me as everything I had was hard won. Even when I hide everything, stuff would still disappear.

Fed up with it, I laid traps to catch the booger. They were simple, a trip wire attached to a stack of rocks and branches, causing them to tumble and make noise. But no matter how hidden the wire was, it bypassed everything. I began to wonder if it was a ghost type playing pranks on me. There was no way of knowing until I caught the culprit.

Until then, I have taken to keeping my spoils under my pillow. I may sacrifice comfort, but better then not having them at all.

My thought ray training has made ample progress. I could project a reception field about five feet from me, enough to talk to Pokemon in a room. However, I was still having problems with sensing anything. The thought rays would bounce around chaotically, before returning in a jumble.

On the tanning front, I have made little progress. Occasionally, I could dry a hide without it being stolen, but the results were stiff and crinkly. I tried to soften it by kneading it, but the effort to the results were not satisfactory.

Desperately, I tried to remember how Native Americans made it. I know they string it up to dry at some point. 'Perhaps it gets stretched?' I know for a fact that it gets salted to. Maybe that's the problem, I'm not salting it. Though that still doesn't help as I don't know where to get salt inland.

"Huuh"

Anyway, today I am on the prowl for new game. Sentret was nice to practice with, but I needed new resources to work with. Also, it would be great to get a start on a Pokemon team. I had a few in mind, but I don't know if any live near me. Not knowing sucked.

I digress.

So far, I have come across some Fletchling and Spritzee, though not much else. I was following a natural trail with Meowstic. Over these two months, Meowstic and I have become very close. To the point where he insists I call him Da. I felt it was bit too familiar like dad, but he looked so hopeful and considering what happened with Espurr, I went along with it.

It was nice having that kind of connection in a world where I have no one at all.

As we followed the trail, I picked up on a horrid scent. It was acrid like burning acid. Probably a poison type. Signaling to Da, I told him what I smelled. Agreeing with my conclusion, we approach cautiously. I hope to snag more poisons for traps. Mr. Hyde Thief will rue the day he steals from me.

Soon me and Da had come across a battlefield. Trees were melted and the ground was smoking. Whatever caused this was definitely a poison type.

'Could this be the Toxicroak?' I thought to Da.

'No, to messy. Toxicroak likes to use his fists, not sling acid.' He replied

I had picked up enough of the Pokemon language to actually have conversations. It was still weird to talk with intents, but I was adapting.

'Do you think it's a threat?'

Da shook his head, 'no'

Glancing at the carnage, there was a trail leading down the mountain.

'That is Venipede territory. My guess is a Pokemon came across one of their scouting parties, and then got chased into their territory.' Da explained.

'Maybe they left some of the bones or a Venipede got injured and left behind. I bet their carapace will make great armor.' I thought back.

I really needed better materials. If I come across a grass type where my fan doesn't work, I am left with a tree branch. Not the best scenario. I need weapons and armor or I will never leave this mountain.

'You know the risks right? Venipede are nasty to deal with in groups.' Da asked.

'I don't plan on engaging one unless it is already on the throes of death. I can't hide forever, I know there are much stronger Pokemon that could sneeze and kill me' I answered.

Just thinking of all the over powered Pokemon out there made me shiver.

Tracking the trail of destruction, we did come across a sliced up Venipede. Smashing it on the head, I knocked it out. Da dealt the final blow, stabbing its head. Tying it to my back with some string from Nincada, we continued.

'What do you think cut up a Venipede so bad? Just hitting that carapace has my hands vibrating.' I questioned.

'Not sure. Very few Pokemon on the mountain could cut a Venipede so cleanly.' We weaved through some trees, 'Normally, I would say it was a strong evolved Pokemon, but there would be more damage to the forest if that was the case.' Da surmised.

'Could it be a new Pokemon?'

'Unlikely, Pokemon hardly ever move from their habitat, especially with Toxicroak preventing them from getting in.'

We trudged on as silently as possible, hopping to avoid any other Venipede scouts.

...............…

An hour of tracking later, and we finally come to the site of the battlefield. There were about six Venipede cornering a floating sword at a cliff face.

Stopping, I immediately recognize it, as it was one of the most awesome shiny Pokemon in the whole franchise.

Honedge.

It blade and sash were shimmering crimson, clasped in the sash was a dull bronze sheath. The cuts on Venipede made sense, a Honedge's greatest strength was its edge.

Seeing that it has been backed in a corner, the Honedge slashed wildly at its opponents. The Venipede shielded with defense curl, mitigating the damage. Following up, the Honedge rammed the curled bugs. However, the Venipede got a chance to attack soon after. They shrouded themselves in dark energy, headbutting the sword.

The Honedge screeched in pain.

At this point, it was on the ground being pummeled. It tried to defend, but any attempt at defense was futile. The Venipede were cruel beating it down.

I thought back to what Da said about the Aegislash line being hated on this mountain. While I could sympathize with the Pokemon of this place, I could not stand a Pokemon being bullied because it was born a certain way.

Cold fury boiled in my gut.

Looking to Da, he saw my determination and already knew what was about to happen.

'I need you to pull those rocks off the cliff. Try to hit the Venipede without hurting the Honedge. I may kill to eat, but I won't torture them to death.'

Nodding, it raised its ears. The boulders rose in a blue glow, before falling, crushing the poison types beneath. Quickly running up, I check the Honedge for damage. It was battered and dented severely. The sash was frayed and the sheath was destroyed. Swiftly grabbing the Pokemon and the pieces of its sheath, I tie them to my back.

I could feel vibrations in the ground so reinforcements must be coming. Bowing to Da, I said 'Thank you.' He waved it off before turning. Like that, we headed home as fast as possible.

...............…..

The Misses was not pleased when we returned. First we had trespassed on Venipede territory and then killed one of their kin. Not only that, we killed six more to save a Honedge, one of the most hated Pokemon on the mountain, before bringing it back home.

Da and I endured the torrent of rage with our heads bowed.

My brain felt like mush after that barrage. Da was on the ground mimicking a corpse. I bowed in honor of his sacrifice, as it was my fault for suggesting what happened in the first place.

Now that I was released, I checked on the battered Honedge.

Nincada was watching over him in the corner. Kneeling, my chest clenches at the amount of damage done.

Chips and warps covered his blade, the sash had holes and was fraying like an old sweater. The sheath was in even worse condition. The three loops near the top had been broken off, the tip was dented inwards, and it was bent halfway from the top.

The Honedge would never be able to use this sheath again.

Looking at, I realized just how important this sheath was to a Honedge. It was its only defense against the elements and even to Pokemon. Without it, there wouldn't be much chance of it surviving in the wild.

To me, that just seemed sad. There was no reason for the Venipede to attack it so viciously. If it was such a problem for them, they should have outright killed it. I saw the dark attack. They could have ended things a lot sooner, but they chose to wail on it. It was just sick.

Getting up, I walk to the dead Venipede. Calling Da over, we dismantled it. The outer carapace was hard and brittle, but on the underside, there were pliant sheets that folded inward to allow for it to curl up. The insides were as gooey as one can imagine, though I was lucky enough to have found the poison sack before it was perforated.

Outside of the shell and sack, the rest were useless to me. What meat it had was saturated with toxic chemicals. The most I could do was use it as bait, but even then the smell warned all Pokemon from eating it.

Sighing, I turned back to the carapaces. Picking up the sheets, I gazed at their color. Black like the night, with red lining the ends. With a little modifying, I could make a box with two of the shells. That actually gave me an idea.

...............…..

The night flew by and when dawn came, the Honedge woke up. It painfully winced as it tried to float into the air.

'Hello'

The Pokemon jostled, finally noticing me to its right.

'I imagine you still need to rest a while and recover. You had a hard fight with those Venipede.'

It backed away wearily.

'If I wanted to hurt you, I would have done it while you were sleeping.'

It was still on guard. I placed an Oran berry in front of it.

'Eat that. It should help.'

The Honedge glanced at the berry before looking back at me, distrust still in it eyes.

I sigh.

Backing away, I let it go at its own pace. Slowly, it grabbed the berry, before bringing it to where the eye was. Chunks of the berry vanished into nowhere.

'Interesting' I thought to myself.

Once it finished the berry, it said, 'Thank you.' His aura was silver and noble, and most definitely male.

'Your very welcome. If you don't mind, could you tell me how you landed in that predicament?'

Gazing at me, weighing the pros and cons, he decided to tell his tale.

'I have been alone most of my life. Traveling around the mountain looking for food.' It sighed, like it remembered a bad memory, 'However, I was shunned by the Pokemon here. Apparently, one of my kin had killed the leader, resulting in disdain for my kind. I had found a few berries in the Venipede's territory that looked unguarded. I was wrong.' I could guess where it went from there.

'Well I have some bad news for you my metallic friend.' I picked up his broken sheath and placed it in front of him.

Panic overcame the weak Pokemon. Fervently, he picked up the scraps of himself.

'We rescued you from the Venipede, but we weren't fast enough to save that.' I explained.

'Thank you, but I am afraid you should have just left me to die. Without this, I am defenseless.' He mourned.

'Not necessarily.' I rebutted.

Reaching behind me, I pulled out last nights project for him to see.

'Its a little rough and will have to be upgraded as time goes on, but it should definitely help.' I placed a midnight black sheath, with burgundy lining the ends. Violet threads lined the black like a spiders web, holding everything together.

'Its made from a Venipede carapace that you had wounded. Try it out' Reluctantly it picked it up before sheath himself.

'Its not bad, but what is that oily stuff inside it?'

'That is venom from the Venipede, I figured that if you coated yourself in poison, your attack would be that much more effective.' I replied.

'I never even thought of that.'

'Most people wouldn't, but since you defense is down. Best to have as many tricks up your sleeve.'

'Thank you.'

'Think nothing of it, I hated what those Pokemon did to you, it was cruel.'

Looking at his new sheath, he glanced at me before saying, 'How can I repay you.'

I smiled, 'I told you, What they did was cruel and I would not stand for it.'

'Even so.'

I sighed, 'Fine, if you want to repay me, I could use some help training. I need a sparing partner who will keep me on my toes.'

'I'm not that good.'

'Then it will be a learning experience for both of us.' I replied.

Giving up, he sighed, 'Alright, if that is what you wish.'

I nodded. It was the beginning of a beautiful partnership.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon in any shape or form.