A Case of Winging It [One-Shot]
Aug 25, 2019 14:28:39 GMT
Post by veniasilente on Aug 25, 2019 14:28:39 GMT
category: one-shot; status: complete; genre: mystery;
Good morning community.
As a new member I wanted to begin here with a small one-shot that I wrote this month for a PokéCommunity contest. It's about a bird.
Author notes, meta entries and other links will be given at the end of the post. As a note particular to this entry, this is the version that was sent to the contest. There is intent to publish a Director's Cut version, exclusive to PokéCommunity, which might be linked for discussion here if I understood the rules alright.
For now, introducing:
A Case of Winging It
Clouds large as hills covered the sky, their gray fluffiness threatening the city below with more rains for the winter – yet promising a sunnier tomorrow with their tapering ends towards the horizon. Allure that the Pokémon and humans down at the city could not appreciate however, busy as they were making ends meet for the day.
Atop one of the many rooftops of the commercial district birds of all kinds and colours flocked to watch unfolding events, cawing and shrieking as they gave live commentary to add to the day’s gossip. Down at street level some electric bolts and energy projectiles went by at a garage as a few Pokémon including a Monferno, an Espeon and a Gabite quickly reduced a few Murkrow and Hakamo-o thugs who were trying to get out of the place with some loot.
Fat chance, for most of them thugs, as soon after most of them were apprehended, with the Espeon being quick to shoot a Future Sight up to the sky to signal for the human police and their Pokémon to come in – to the cheer of the various birds on the rooftops as they watched the signal explode in a burst of light.
Soon three police trucks showed up coming down the street, followed by a group of officers with their Pokémon. The officers were quick to form up around the entrance and, organizing themselves in two columns, entered alongside their Pokémon. There were shots and scuffles left and right, but in the end the Pokémon who had entered working for the caretakers of the city prevailed.
The Pidoves and Murkrows trilled with excitement at the live show. Once again crime was stopped and the day was won, and all with some entertainment tacked on.
Though, as it is with most crime busts that open a story, there’s always the odd one out who manages to escape.
Unseen by most of the birds, a solitary Pokémon carrying a small stash rushed into an alley and leapt through the first readily open window he could find into a three-stories building. The Pignite checked his loot in an empty kitchen, ignoring the food within, and proceeded to wander around unnoticed by the inhabitants of the building, until he reached an escape staircase at the other end.
Pignite looked up and down the alley, noting only a few Pokémon going on with their daily lives: a Liepard napping at a windowsill, a Fearow preening his plumage atop a trash can, other Pokémon around sometimes distracted by the ruckus next street over. And in front of him there was another residential building, similar to the one from before.
Taking his time the Pignite leapt from the emergency staircase to the one in the next building and made a climb to the top; as he reached the top and looked into the horizon he smiled, feeling ready to escape towards the park at the edge of the neighbourhood.
That’s when the Pignite shuddered as he felt something metallic clack behind him. He only had the time to kneel and look back down from the building’s rooftop when a talon almost swiped his face as it passed over. He recovered to see a Fearow – apparently the same as before – circle around and land on a TV cable antenna, wings spread.
Pignite snorted as he recognized his attacker – an old Fearow, discarded by humans, who now tried to make a living out of catching petty thieves in the city. Fearow acknowledged his opponent as well – an intruder from the meaner neighbourhoods of town who surely had more in his mind than a mere bag of loot if he had come all the way down here.
The two Pokémon threatened each other for a moment. Classical “you can’t escape” and “come and catch me, old geezer” banter accompanied by the Pignite trying to circle around the antenna to continue his path. The Fearow would have none of that however, he took off to try and slash his foe; alas the element of surprise was now gone and Pignite was able to dodge with a roll to then shoot some embers at the attacking Pokémon.
Atop some antennas and power lines, a murder of Murkrow eyed the skirmish going on. At long range neither Pokémon were able to go at each other and thus before Pignite could attempt a leap to the next building over Fearow dived in and tackled him making him lose balance. For a brief moment the two Pokémon grappled with each other though neither was strong enough to hold for long; both had to resort to try and land random pecks and blows before separating.
The birds cawed in excitement wondering, scheming as they were, what was in the bag that prompted such chaotic fighting. Their calls soon caught attention from a few Pokémon working with the city police below, soon their forces would reach the building to stop the fighting.
In the meantime however, Pignite circled around a support wall with lots of wiring, looking for a good position to attack Fearow from; the bird anticipated the move however and before Pignite could prepare Fearow swooped in. Pignite cried and reeled from a bruise on their left arm as Fearow had swatted them there with a wing; in exchange the Fire-type managed to headbutt the bird on the shoulder and nearly got to grab the bird’s neck in his arms to twist it, but the Fearow managed to climb the wind out of his opponent’s reach.
The two Pokémon snarled and furiously went at each other again, the Pignite manoeuvring and managing to tackle the Fearow against the wall, not noticing that something had just gone amiss. The Pignite hopped back and eyed his escape route…
“...Oooh!” cried the Murkrows from the distance. “Bag!”
“Bag!”
“What is it?”
The Pignite had not noticed his bag had gone flying a short distance. The bag fell wide open to reveal…
“….Ooooh!” cried the Murkrows at unison, staring at the sunlight reflected from the small pile of crystal discs.
“Shiny!” the murder cawed as legion, their focus completely trained on the loot. “SHIIIINNNYYYY!!!”
A few eyes suddenly turned to an end of the rooftop, where unnoticed by the two combatants a small Spearow peeked in, trying to get closer to the bag.
“Nooo!” cried the Murkrows, readying their wings for takeoff. They cawed in alarm. “It must be ours! BIRD CAN HAS NOT HAVE SHINYYYY!!!!”
The noise was enough to distract the Pignite, who turned to see the Spearow absconding with his loot and fired a few Embers after him, prompting the smaller bird to shriek and hop around looking for an escape.
Pignite bashed the Fearow’s head against the wall, loosening some shielded cables, and prepared to attack the Spearow. Fearow attempted a weak talon slice but Pignite had already rushed after his new target.
Before Pignite could get too close a bubble of energy materialized at the rooftop’s edge and a Kadabra appeared accompanied by a Bayleef and a Galvantula. The two Pokémon were quick to restrain Pignite, first Bayleef with some vines and when Pignite attempted to counter that, Galvantula weighed in, attacking her opponent with a few Thundershocks to the Pignite’s chest before their target fell to the ground, left shaking.
Interested in the new development, the bravest among the Murkrows took wing and neared the building, looking for places where they could land and idle about looking innocent until they could chase after the Spearow who was at a corner still dragging the crystal discs.
The Kadabra gave instructions for the two other Pokémon to apprehend the Pignite as he went to where the Fearow was still getting on his talons to check if he was okay, which the bird Pokémon was not. Tired, bruised and singed on a wing, the larger bird let himself rest on the ground for a moment, giving exasperated looks at the Kadabra.
“Should have figured out it would be you,” spoke the Kadabra with an admonishing tone. “You’ve gotten old, Kalas. You should leave these things to the police.”
“I have my beak to feed,” snapped the bird back. “Besides, I just had him on the ropes before you had to intervene.”
“...Suuure,” teased the Kadabra, taking a look around.
A short distance over, Bayleef gave his boss a sign to indicate their target Pignite was properly secured. Kadabra turned to the Fearow once again and looked him down.
“You do remember working with the humans is not that bad,” he spoke. “Did I mention that recruitment drive for detective Pokémon? I could surely use someone to teach them...”
Kalas mumbled something unintelligible and avoided eye contact with his interlocutor.
After a while a few other Pokémon arrived to the area, among them several Murkrow that the party did not mind much as they seemed to just be wandering aimlessly eyeing the commotion. If anything, extra witnesses were always welcome.
“So,” asked Kadabra as an Audino approached to check Kalas’ injuries. “The Pignite?”
“Ölonk. Again.” The Fearow shook his head. “Have been on his tracks since… the Lansat syrup ring showed up.”
Bayleef and Galvantula commented something on the background as they heard that last part. The Kadabra raised an eyebrow and let out a content hum, recalling old times.
As that was going on, a few Murkrow were trying to walk past Galvantula who was the closest to the rooftop’s edge and had not noticed the Spearow just behind some supports, sliding some of the crystal discs through a hole on the ground. The Murkrow eyed their prey carefully and arranged for some of their own to go distract the Galvantula and Bayleef by looking cute.
“We’ll have you patched in no time then,” the Kadabra pointed out at Kalas. Then he leaned over. “Even faster if you seriously consider my job offer.”
In the background, Galvantula seemed to be complaining about something but Kadabra did not pay her mind.
Kalas cawed. “For the twelfth time I don’t-”
“It’d be a way to get yourself clean of… you know… interfering in a police investigation.”
The Fearow beat his wings, surprised. “Ha ha, fun one,” he answered in a low and uncomfortable tone.
Kadabra smiled at the effect of his bit of intimidation, then floated up and turned in the general direction of his assistants to watch Galvantula being poked on his legs by a bunch of Murkrows who had seemed to take a liking to him and circled around, hopping in and out and plucking at his legs whenever they could find an opening.
“Can you stop playing?” Kadabra spoke admonishing his fellow.
Galvantula babbled an attempt at an apology as the Murkrows danced around. Kadabra looked at them for a moment and turned his attention to the wiring wall, frowning.
“And you three behind that wall. Don’t you think I don’t know what you’re up to.”
There was a sudden silence as the Murkrow flinched and stepped away from Galvantula; all of them stared at Kadabra and remained otherwise quiet. The Pokémon floated above the wall, looking upset at the damage, but relaxed when he saw what lied below, the Spearow and one of the Murkrow were on the ground a bit battered, still pecking each other, while a second Murkrow had been caught his beak stuck on one of the crystal discs, a few more behind him as he was making attempt to steal them.
“Shoo!” yelled Kadabra, prompting the two Murkrow to shriek and hop away at random until they reached their group of fellow Murkrow.
“And what do we have here…?” the Psychic-type asked, using his powers to levitate the Spearow off the ground and up to about arms reach.
The younger Spearow certainly struggled and flapped and put up a fight.
“Lemme go! Come on...” insisted the Spearow, prompting the Kadabra to tilt his head.
In his frantic attempts to release himself from the psychic hold, the Spearow swung around a few times and suddenly caught glimpse of Kalas still leaning against the wall and surrounded by the other police Pokémon.
“...Ek! Don’t worry Kalas I got him!” cried the little bird. His plumage flared and the Pokémon started fighting back harder, trying to reach Kadabra to peck his head. “You’ll see. Pee-skin!”
Kadabra snickered and turned back at Kalas. “Yours I presume?” he asked suppressing a laugh.
Kalas just shrunk in his wall, trying to ignore the mocking laugh of the Murkrow as they had joined Kadabra for entertainment.
All the while the Murkrow observed, feigning disarray, secretly discussing the progress of their investigation to report back to their handler. Their focus was on the shiny stuff, certainly, but also on the one who had helped recover it.
Pokémon like this Fearow, who chased outlaws and followed clues, had to be fairly smart and resourceful, and the Murkrows saw in these a good long term investment to learn things from and maybe to even swipe some shiny stuff from under their wing.
It was more or less as their handler had advised. “Do follow him and we’ll never get bored.”
Kalas’ investigations during the following months took him to carefully observe the way many Pokémon carried out trade in the neighbourhood. Purrloins (the tricksters), Murkrows (hard to miss nowadays), Buizels (getting a bit too used to play for humans at the docks), Houndours (dutiful but secretive), Mienfoos (they had to get their “vitamins” from somewhere), everyone had their price and their bargaining chip.
All this he observed from his various perches, the current one a storage room at a toys store, right at the edge of the neighbourhood. He could watch from there many children from various species play. For him, it was comforting to have that feeling of a place where nothing would go wrong.
Unable to take wing for too long until he was fully recovered, he had taken a job for a client who would be referred to only as “Mr. Foo” to protect their persomonal information (and because Kalas had never actually seen this personmon in… well, person). Scout a number of places, track down the activities of a number of Houndour packs, identify Murkrow traders, report back every Friday at the attic of the [REDACTED] just a few houses south of [REDACTED].
Kalas approached a window with some sunlight and spread his wings to soak up on it. He looked at the many boxes with toys around him, that humans every once in a while came to move downstairs. No one bothered with his presence so long as he was tidy, which was good because in his current condition he did have the perfect excuse for spending nearly six hours a day preening himself.
A voice came from down the ally at the other side of the building. “...No, blue! I saw it. And since I saw it it’s mine.”
“Green! I’ll show you it when I beat you to it! Meanie!”
Kalas frowned and let out a sigh. He recognized that second voice as that of his self-appointed pupil Spearow who was arguing with a Murkrow. Begrudgingly Kalas folded his wings and abandoned his sunlight spot to walk to a few windows over where he could look down the alley.
Sure enough there were Spearow and a Murkrow taking flight and heading off towards a hospital building to do who knows what. Kalas watched them go in silence and tilted his head, somewhat envious of their carefree flight.
He turned his head around and looked long around the lifeless room. He shook his plumage as he barred from his mind the thought that he felt lonely without the younger bird’s antics. A moment after he returned to his sunlight spot and spread his wings as he looked at the world below.
Kalas narrowed his sight on the road crossing at the end of the block. As expected this time of the day, a lady with two Houndooms was crossing and heading to the store, and he could make the shadows of three more, probably unrelated, Houndour at a nearby alley.
He was not the only one who was looking however. He caught sight of a few Honchkrow who were paying attention to the people entering the store. One of them looked up and eyed Kalas back, and the two shared a long and tense moment of focusing on each other yet pretending to just be each at their perch randomly, their mutual sight a chance encounter.
Both knew it to not be the case.
Some weeks went by with Kalas watching specific houses and stores from his new perch and temporal base of operations, eyeing the activities of a gathering ground for Murkrows near one of the largest Pokécenters in the city. That was the kind of places that never lacked activity, not even in the rainy tail end of winter nights like this one, as it was where Honchkrow gathered to sing (the females) and showcase their latest “acquisitions” (the males) yet Kalas was condemned to only appreciate that activity from a distance…
For now.
As it was, Kalas had for long eyed “stakeout” as the second most boring part of his job in his eyes: his many years of activity had him try a number of things that were far riskier and had rewarded him with a number of injuries and enemies, but at least doing those he could entertain himself with a number of things, get to meet other birds, or even eat at new places such as the zoo, where the humans did not mind much to share.
Today was a bit more active a day. Looking down to the yard besides the Pokécenter, Kalas’ eyes trailed to the southern passageway connecting it to the following street.
Kalas shook his feathers, letting out a sight.
The bird’s previous attempts at gathering some intel had not gone as marvellously has he had expected, neither when targetting the Honchkrows nor the Houndooms. With the birds in particular, he did get to enjoy a few sessions of singing of a particular female – one whose voice, much as he tried to, he could not get out of his mind.
Trying to approach the birds while they were idling at a fountain however had gone awry.
A few days ago he had attempted to infiltrate. Kalas wandered around the fountain, covered in a dark dust that an acquaintance of his had provided, hoping he would be mistaken by the flock as yet another Honchkrow. All the while his eyes, as those of many other males, were focused on that female Honchkrow that had caught his eye as she sang a melody about the ending weather and the importance of getting the early worm.
During the conversations he could not get much. A few birds talked about the rumours that an offering to the local elder gods was to be stolen and auctioned in the black market, something Mr. Foo had instructed to keep an eye on, but the Honchkrows seemed to be less informed on the subject than even he was. A mention of a few petty thieves who had been caught in the surroundings of Houndoom territory held his attention, as the names included those of a few of Kalas’ previous informants and contacts, and feeling his position threatened Kalas avoided directly intervening in the conversations.
Alone under a tree, he eyed the female as she sang and she eyed him back. She sang something about the responsibilities to one’s blood and about how one’s enemies made the best cover against the dangers of the world. Kalas gulped as he held the female’s gaze, realizing this would draw the attention of other males too. In response, the female scratched the fountain with a talon and turned away.
Uneasy and sweaty, Kalas decided that it was best to have a drink at the fountain before leaving the place.
When he landed there there were only a few birds around. Most of them Honchkrow, but also two Noctowl. He looked around as the darker birds paced around the fountain and took sips every once in a while, and he did the same. Everyone eyed him a couple of times though he did his best to pretend he didn’t care – but that soon died when he looked past some trees and realized a certain Spearow was also there, trying to mingle with the other small birds.
“You gotta be k-” be cursed under his breath as the younger bird waved him a hi.
Still, as the older birds started talking under their breath, focused on him, against his better judgment he decided to make a last attempt at gathering new information. He remained still as some of the birds approached, and gave them ample room as they moved in.
“So,” he asked looking at them down, trying to mask his uneasiness. “How do we do, fellow Honchkrows?”
All the water sipping sounds stopped then as several pairs of eyes trained on him and Kalas knew himself lost; he turned he barely had time to let out a danger call for Spearow to flee and a wing beat on his head later he had found himself surrounded by the darkness of the murder’s cover. The birds towered over him and another moment after it was the pain of talons and beaks that surrounded the Fearow, overcame him and delivered him to the darkness of unconsciousness.
Atop a power line, the female Honchkrow watched the scene and tilted the scene both at the weirdness of it and at the persistence on the Fearow’s part to try and get to mingle with the Dark-types for a few weeks already.
She hummed a song but did not word the lyrics out. It was a song about Trained mons spending years on the competitions and, just like soldiers, feeling very unstable and unfitting once they returned to the life in the wild.
Kalas had woken up next morning atop some boxes, with a few bruises and a headache that would not fade any sooner if Spearow kept chirping and shrieking of how exciting the adventure had been. At first, Kalas felt like seriously admonishing the younger bird and tying him up to a post while he went for Social Services to finally take him away, but he didn’t have the muscles or the heart for that. Nor the brains, once Spearow started chirping without end about all the curious stuff the younger Murkrow had been gossiping about that they had heard when spying on their fathers.
Though he did not want to in the beginning, Kalas decided to just let the Spearow do as he pleased so long as he kept himself out of trouble. Kalas would dedicate himself to the stakeouts and to trailing some of the Honchkrows and Spearow would provide some food, some gossip and some much welcome and needed interaction.
Spring had come full force and with the more sunny days more humans and Pokémon wandered around the streets.
With more streets, more crime out there in the open. More jobs, and much as Kalas liked the payments from his current assignment, he still needed to keep himself active and informed in the way of the City. So he took to chase after one petty criminal or another – yet his targets were not random.
The Honchkrows had mentioned many of Kalas’ past acquaintances, so Kalas made sure to keep tabs on them as well and find out if they had taken part of anything that could be of use to the Fearow. Today the target had been a Zangoose gang that had encroached into Houndoom territory and apparently stolen some food and persomonal effects from them.
Kalas sprung into action quickly; he knew exactly who would be involved. He offered some assistance to the police in the investigation and his previous expertise in dealing with the gangs. Comarra the Kadabra chief had been pleased with the involvement and did not pry any further, so Kalas was free to specifically target his one Zangoose of interest.
It took only three hours for the Pokémon police to apprehend all members of the gang and restore most if not all stolen artifacts that the Houndooms had reported. It also only took him five minutes to track Morach, one of his informants, to his whereabouts and subdue him after a scuffle as the Zangoose had been fairly unprepared.
Back at the police, Comarra and a few other Pokémon police officers were busy closing the case with the Houndooms.
“We thank you for your assistance,” insisted one of the female leaders of the pack. “We were lucky most of our stuff had already been moved over...”
“You should inform of such migrations, ma’am,” insisted Comarra as he scratched some notes. “When our troops arrived they actually mistook you for some of the feral packs that live downstream out the city.”
The Houndoom tensed and lowered her head. “I did not expect we would be… stereotyped as criminals,” she explained in between soft growls.
As all that happened, Kalas was finishing his talk with Morach in a room at the back of the building. Unlike the various police-affiliated Pokémon in the city, Kalas worked alone (not counting his recent self-appointed pupil), and he did not mind much whatever the case with the Houndoom was. He was mostly interested in what Morach knew.
“Nothing,” the Zangoose insisted. “We already returned everything.”
Of course Kalas did not believe him, but without evidence he was forced to turn him over to Comarra.
As Kalas marched his “prisoner” over the corridor leading to the front offices, the pair crossed paths with the Houndooms from before. The dog Pokémon snarled at Morach but otherwise made no motion and as they brushed against each other, Kalas and Morach apologized and made their way.
It was not long before Kalas knew something was amiss. He took a long look back at the two Houndoom with bags they had bounced upon earlier. He did not held the two Pokémon in the same light that he held the Dark-type Murkrows and their mafias, but still his feathers stood on end feeling that that little altercation had gone… far too well.
He turned to look down to the final door a few meters away, and noticed Morach’s steady and energetic pace with barely some hint of resistance unlike before; he would know after having to deal with Sparrow’s antics for a while, he noticed with a passing thought to reward the little bird later.
Still, at present Kalas’ concern had turned to the Zangoose’s change of tune. He eyed him as they walked.
“You are never going to learn aren’t you?”
“I learn well and fast, heh.”
Kalas was looking down at the corridor when Morach spoke; he turned to the Zangoose for a moment and let out a sigh. As soon as the two arrived to door heading to the lobby the Fearow was quick to wack the Zangoose on the head with the blunt weight of his wing and shove him against the wall. A surprised snarl by the other Pokémon was met by Kalas with a harsh peck to the shoulder, and the larger bird imposed his presence by spreading his wings wide to completely shade the beaten Pokémon – and to cover the full width of the corridor.
“W-what’s with that, walnut? That’s assault!”
Kalas inched closer, obstructing the Zangoose’s view of the door. “Come on, Morach, how many times have we played this game?”
The Zangoose bared his fangs. “Oh now what are you blaming me for?”
“Just the usual. Come on, fork it over.”
The two Pokémon stared into each other’s eyes for a moment, breathing in and out; eventually the Zangoose couldn’t hold his gaze and leaned over, presenting his tail to the larger bird. Kalas’ eyes opened wide and he leered back at the Zangoose with a hint of incredulity, to which the only response was a shrug on the part of the Zangoose.
“...You got to be kidding me,” spat Kalas.
A talon swipe after, a small object fell out from among the fluff prongs on the tail; the little object clank a few times as it bounced on the floor until it shone a dim blue-ish light on the two Pokémon.
“I’ll say at least,” commented Kalas as he folded his wings and picked the small ring with a claw, “you are learning new tricks. Just do it out of my sight.”
Morach bowed to his interlocutor ever so mockingly, turned past the bird whipping his tail behind him, and walked past the door to rush out in all fours to the streets again.
Kalas, meanwhile, pondered the little ring in his possession for a moment. It was obvious the Police Pokémon had frisked him earlier during the raid. The ring looked clean and it was certainly not the variety of thing Houndoom had with them, the dogs being more fond of collars and bracelets.
Yet Morach had swiped it from them. While inside the building.
Some voices came from the side of the door Morach had gone off to. Kalas could hear the Pokémon officers and their various assistants apparently being interviewed by a troop of Pokémon that had arrived into the building all of a sudden.
“...callable at this moment? We don’t have them in our contacts?”
“When would the messengers arrive?” asked one of the Mienfoo assisting with the raid.
“A few hours I think?”
“It’ll be a better shot,” interjected Comarra in the distance, “that you head off to Coinless Underpass. They are headed over there anyway.”
Kalas tilted his head, recalling the nominal grounds of the Houndoom were a shorter distance from the Precinct than the Underpass; as things were, he knew he could reach the underpass before the messengers did, just in case he could figure something out. Taking a clue from Morach (not that he would admit it), he hid the ring in his neck feathers, between a tuft that he knew would hold for a while.
The Fearow idled through the door and greeted the officers feigning some tiredness. Comarra was there as expected and waved at him for attention. Close enough was Spearow as well, watching intently as the Police Pokémon were booking the various suspects caught in the raid.
“The humans will still need your statement about that other skirmish, Kalas,” warned the Kadabra pointing a spoon at him. “When can it be ready?”
“Later tonight if you leave me in peace. Earlier if you take care of lil’Spearow in the meantime?”
Kadabra nodded; Spearow’s head turned right at Kalas and the younger bird stared at him with some degree of annoyance that he was to be left alone with some cops.
Well, not if he could do something about it was probably what was Spearow thinking as he got up from his little roost and tried to follow after Kalas; only the Kadabra chief was well tuned to the movement to bump his tail against the bird and start lecturing him on a number of reasons to stay at the Precinct that Kalas did not bother stay long enough to listen.
Taking his chance, Kalas left the Precinct with the ring and flew past the rooftops, heading west towards the nearby parks he could use as waypoints to reach the Underpass. Going past the first few residential buildings he did not pay mind to the random Pokémon such as Absol, Glaile, Larvitar and Meowth basking in the last of the sunlight.
But the Larvitar did pay him mind, observing him as he flew past. The Pokémon walked to a nearby pipe and methodically scratched it several times, the vibrations sending a message down to the streets for his associates to carry over; all the while watching the bird as he disappeared between the forest of buildings.
Neither noticed that, at a much lower altitude, a certain young Spearow also flew ahead, trailing his hero, the one that would teach him how to become an awesome law enforcing Fearow one day.
And further beyond, news would soon fly all over the city. For Kalas, the case was only about to begin. For the female Honchkrow down the street, reading the tunes and the vibrations for the pipes, her interest in the wandering detective and how he had managed to survive with the many crime gangs on the loose, had also begun, and would last all spring.
Atop one of the many rooftops of the commercial district birds of all kinds and colours flocked to watch unfolding events, cawing and shrieking as they gave live commentary to add to the day’s gossip. Down at street level some electric bolts and energy projectiles went by at a garage as a few Pokémon including a Monferno, an Espeon and a Gabite quickly reduced a few Murkrow and Hakamo-o thugs who were trying to get out of the place with some loot.
Fat chance, for most of them thugs, as soon after most of them were apprehended, with the Espeon being quick to shoot a Future Sight up to the sky to signal for the human police and their Pokémon to come in – to the cheer of the various birds on the rooftops as they watched the signal explode in a burst of light.
Soon three police trucks showed up coming down the street, followed by a group of officers with their Pokémon. The officers were quick to form up around the entrance and, organizing themselves in two columns, entered alongside their Pokémon. There were shots and scuffles left and right, but in the end the Pokémon who had entered working for the caretakers of the city prevailed.
The Pidoves and Murkrows trilled with excitement at the live show. Once again crime was stopped and the day was won, and all with some entertainment tacked on.
Though, as it is with most crime busts that open a story, there’s always the odd one out who manages to escape.
Unseen by most of the birds, a solitary Pokémon carrying a small stash rushed into an alley and leapt through the first readily open window he could find into a three-stories building. The Pignite checked his loot in an empty kitchen, ignoring the food within, and proceeded to wander around unnoticed by the inhabitants of the building, until he reached an escape staircase at the other end.
Pignite looked up and down the alley, noting only a few Pokémon going on with their daily lives: a Liepard napping at a windowsill, a Fearow preening his plumage atop a trash can, other Pokémon around sometimes distracted by the ruckus next street over. And in front of him there was another residential building, similar to the one from before.
Taking his time the Pignite leapt from the emergency staircase to the one in the next building and made a climb to the top; as he reached the top and looked into the horizon he smiled, feeling ready to escape towards the park at the edge of the neighbourhood.
That’s when the Pignite shuddered as he felt something metallic clack behind him. He only had the time to kneel and look back down from the building’s rooftop when a talon almost swiped his face as it passed over. He recovered to see a Fearow – apparently the same as before – circle around and land on a TV cable antenna, wings spread.
Pignite snorted as he recognized his attacker – an old Fearow, discarded by humans, who now tried to make a living out of catching petty thieves in the city. Fearow acknowledged his opponent as well – an intruder from the meaner neighbourhoods of town who surely had more in his mind than a mere bag of loot if he had come all the way down here.
The two Pokémon threatened each other for a moment. Classical “you can’t escape” and “come and catch me, old geezer” banter accompanied by the Pignite trying to circle around the antenna to continue his path. The Fearow would have none of that however, he took off to try and slash his foe; alas the element of surprise was now gone and Pignite was able to dodge with a roll to then shoot some embers at the attacking Pokémon.
Atop some antennas and power lines, a murder of Murkrow eyed the skirmish going on. At long range neither Pokémon were able to go at each other and thus before Pignite could attempt a leap to the next building over Fearow dived in and tackled him making him lose balance. For a brief moment the two Pokémon grappled with each other though neither was strong enough to hold for long; both had to resort to try and land random pecks and blows before separating.
The birds cawed in excitement wondering, scheming as they were, what was in the bag that prompted such chaotic fighting. Their calls soon caught attention from a few Pokémon working with the city police below, soon their forces would reach the building to stop the fighting.
In the meantime however, Pignite circled around a support wall with lots of wiring, looking for a good position to attack Fearow from; the bird anticipated the move however and before Pignite could prepare Fearow swooped in. Pignite cried and reeled from a bruise on their left arm as Fearow had swatted them there with a wing; in exchange the Fire-type managed to headbutt the bird on the shoulder and nearly got to grab the bird’s neck in his arms to twist it, but the Fearow managed to climb the wind out of his opponent’s reach.
The two Pokémon snarled and furiously went at each other again, the Pignite manoeuvring and managing to tackle the Fearow against the wall, not noticing that something had just gone amiss. The Pignite hopped back and eyed his escape route…
“...Oooh!” cried the Murkrows from the distance. “Bag!”
“Bag!”
“What is it?”
The Pignite had not noticed his bag had gone flying a short distance. The bag fell wide open to reveal…
“….Ooooh!” cried the Murkrows at unison, staring at the sunlight reflected from the small pile of crystal discs.
“Shiny!” the murder cawed as legion, their focus completely trained on the loot. “SHIIIINNNYYYY!!!”
A few eyes suddenly turned to an end of the rooftop, where unnoticed by the two combatants a small Spearow peeked in, trying to get closer to the bag.
“Nooo!” cried the Murkrows, readying their wings for takeoff. They cawed in alarm. “It must be ours! BIRD CAN HAS NOT HAVE SHINYYYY!!!!”
The noise was enough to distract the Pignite, who turned to see the Spearow absconding with his loot and fired a few Embers after him, prompting the smaller bird to shriek and hop around looking for an escape.
Pignite bashed the Fearow’s head against the wall, loosening some shielded cables, and prepared to attack the Spearow. Fearow attempted a weak talon slice but Pignite had already rushed after his new target.
Before Pignite could get too close a bubble of energy materialized at the rooftop’s edge and a Kadabra appeared accompanied by a Bayleef and a Galvantula. The two Pokémon were quick to restrain Pignite, first Bayleef with some vines and when Pignite attempted to counter that, Galvantula weighed in, attacking her opponent with a few Thundershocks to the Pignite’s chest before their target fell to the ground, left shaking.
Interested in the new development, the bravest among the Murkrows took wing and neared the building, looking for places where they could land and idle about looking innocent until they could chase after the Spearow who was at a corner still dragging the crystal discs.
The Kadabra gave instructions for the two other Pokémon to apprehend the Pignite as he went to where the Fearow was still getting on his talons to check if he was okay, which the bird Pokémon was not. Tired, bruised and singed on a wing, the larger bird let himself rest on the ground for a moment, giving exasperated looks at the Kadabra.
“Should have figured out it would be you,” spoke the Kadabra with an admonishing tone. “You’ve gotten old, Kalas. You should leave these things to the police.”
“I have my beak to feed,” snapped the bird back. “Besides, I just had him on the ropes before you had to intervene.”
“...Suuure,” teased the Kadabra, taking a look around.
A short distance over, Bayleef gave his boss a sign to indicate their target Pignite was properly secured. Kadabra turned to the Fearow once again and looked him down.
“You do remember working with the humans is not that bad,” he spoke. “Did I mention that recruitment drive for detective Pokémon? I could surely use someone to teach them...”
Kalas mumbled something unintelligible and avoided eye contact with his interlocutor.
After a while a few other Pokémon arrived to the area, among them several Murkrow that the party did not mind much as they seemed to just be wandering aimlessly eyeing the commotion. If anything, extra witnesses were always welcome.
“So,” asked Kadabra as an Audino approached to check Kalas’ injuries. “The Pignite?”
“Ölonk. Again.” The Fearow shook his head. “Have been on his tracks since… the Lansat syrup ring showed up.”
Bayleef and Galvantula commented something on the background as they heard that last part. The Kadabra raised an eyebrow and let out a content hum, recalling old times.
As that was going on, a few Murkrow were trying to walk past Galvantula who was the closest to the rooftop’s edge and had not noticed the Spearow just behind some supports, sliding some of the crystal discs through a hole on the ground. The Murkrow eyed their prey carefully and arranged for some of their own to go distract the Galvantula and Bayleef by looking cute.
“We’ll have you patched in no time then,” the Kadabra pointed out at Kalas. Then he leaned over. “Even faster if you seriously consider my job offer.”
In the background, Galvantula seemed to be complaining about something but Kadabra did not pay her mind.
Kalas cawed. “For the twelfth time I don’t-”
“It’d be a way to get yourself clean of… you know… interfering in a police investigation.”
The Fearow beat his wings, surprised. “Ha ha, fun one,” he answered in a low and uncomfortable tone.
Kadabra smiled at the effect of his bit of intimidation, then floated up and turned in the general direction of his assistants to watch Galvantula being poked on his legs by a bunch of Murkrows who had seemed to take a liking to him and circled around, hopping in and out and plucking at his legs whenever they could find an opening.
“Can you stop playing?” Kadabra spoke admonishing his fellow.
Galvantula babbled an attempt at an apology as the Murkrows danced around. Kadabra looked at them for a moment and turned his attention to the wiring wall, frowning.
“And you three behind that wall. Don’t you think I don’t know what you’re up to.”
There was a sudden silence as the Murkrow flinched and stepped away from Galvantula; all of them stared at Kadabra and remained otherwise quiet. The Pokémon floated above the wall, looking upset at the damage, but relaxed when he saw what lied below, the Spearow and one of the Murkrow were on the ground a bit battered, still pecking each other, while a second Murkrow had been caught his beak stuck on one of the crystal discs, a few more behind him as he was making attempt to steal them.
“Shoo!” yelled Kadabra, prompting the two Murkrow to shriek and hop away at random until they reached their group of fellow Murkrow.
“And what do we have here…?” the Psychic-type asked, using his powers to levitate the Spearow off the ground and up to about arms reach.
The younger Spearow certainly struggled and flapped and put up a fight.
“Lemme go! Come on...” insisted the Spearow, prompting the Kadabra to tilt his head.
In his frantic attempts to release himself from the psychic hold, the Spearow swung around a few times and suddenly caught glimpse of Kalas still leaning against the wall and surrounded by the other police Pokémon.
“...Ek! Don’t worry Kalas I got him!” cried the little bird. His plumage flared and the Pokémon started fighting back harder, trying to reach Kadabra to peck his head. “You’ll see. Pee-skin!”
Kadabra snickered and turned back at Kalas. “Yours I presume?” he asked suppressing a laugh.
Kalas just shrunk in his wall, trying to ignore the mocking laugh of the Murkrow as they had joined Kadabra for entertainment.
All the while the Murkrow observed, feigning disarray, secretly discussing the progress of their investigation to report back to their handler. Their focus was on the shiny stuff, certainly, but also on the one who had helped recover it.
Pokémon like this Fearow, who chased outlaws and followed clues, had to be fairly smart and resourceful, and the Murkrows saw in these a good long term investment to learn things from and maybe to even swipe some shiny stuff from under their wing.
It was more or less as their handler had advised. “Do follow him and we’ll never get bored.”
Kalas’ investigations during the following months took him to carefully observe the way many Pokémon carried out trade in the neighbourhood. Purrloins (the tricksters), Murkrows (hard to miss nowadays), Buizels (getting a bit too used to play for humans at the docks), Houndours (dutiful but secretive), Mienfoos (they had to get their “vitamins” from somewhere), everyone had their price and their bargaining chip.
All this he observed from his various perches, the current one a storage room at a toys store, right at the edge of the neighbourhood. He could watch from there many children from various species play. For him, it was comforting to have that feeling of a place where nothing would go wrong.
Unable to take wing for too long until he was fully recovered, he had taken a job for a client who would be referred to only as “Mr. Foo” to protect their persomonal information (and because Kalas had never actually seen this personmon in… well, person). Scout a number of places, track down the activities of a number of Houndour packs, identify Murkrow traders, report back every Friday at the attic of the [REDACTED] just a few houses south of [REDACTED].
Kalas approached a window with some sunlight and spread his wings to soak up on it. He looked at the many boxes with toys around him, that humans every once in a while came to move downstairs. No one bothered with his presence so long as he was tidy, which was good because in his current condition he did have the perfect excuse for spending nearly six hours a day preening himself.
A voice came from down the ally at the other side of the building. “...No, blue! I saw it. And since I saw it it’s mine.”
“Green! I’ll show you it when I beat you to it! Meanie!”
Kalas frowned and let out a sigh. He recognized that second voice as that of his self-appointed pupil Spearow who was arguing with a Murkrow. Begrudgingly Kalas folded his wings and abandoned his sunlight spot to walk to a few windows over where he could look down the alley.
Sure enough there were Spearow and a Murkrow taking flight and heading off towards a hospital building to do who knows what. Kalas watched them go in silence and tilted his head, somewhat envious of their carefree flight.
He turned his head around and looked long around the lifeless room. He shook his plumage as he barred from his mind the thought that he felt lonely without the younger bird’s antics. A moment after he returned to his sunlight spot and spread his wings as he looked at the world below.
Kalas narrowed his sight on the road crossing at the end of the block. As expected this time of the day, a lady with two Houndooms was crossing and heading to the store, and he could make the shadows of three more, probably unrelated, Houndour at a nearby alley.
He was not the only one who was looking however. He caught sight of a few Honchkrow who were paying attention to the people entering the store. One of them looked up and eyed Kalas back, and the two shared a long and tense moment of focusing on each other yet pretending to just be each at their perch randomly, their mutual sight a chance encounter.
Both knew it to not be the case.
Some weeks went by with Kalas watching specific houses and stores from his new perch and temporal base of operations, eyeing the activities of a gathering ground for Murkrows near one of the largest Pokécenters in the city. That was the kind of places that never lacked activity, not even in the rainy tail end of winter nights like this one, as it was where Honchkrow gathered to sing (the females) and showcase their latest “acquisitions” (the males) yet Kalas was condemned to only appreciate that activity from a distance…
For now.
As it was, Kalas had for long eyed “stakeout” as the second most boring part of his job in his eyes: his many years of activity had him try a number of things that were far riskier and had rewarded him with a number of injuries and enemies, but at least doing those he could entertain himself with a number of things, get to meet other birds, or even eat at new places such as the zoo, where the humans did not mind much to share.
Today was a bit more active a day. Looking down to the yard besides the Pokécenter, Kalas’ eyes trailed to the southern passageway connecting it to the following street.
Kalas shook his feathers, letting out a sight.
The bird’s previous attempts at gathering some intel had not gone as marvellously has he had expected, neither when targetting the Honchkrows nor the Houndooms. With the birds in particular, he did get to enjoy a few sessions of singing of a particular female – one whose voice, much as he tried to, he could not get out of his mind.
Trying to approach the birds while they were idling at a fountain however had gone awry.
A few days ago he had attempted to infiltrate. Kalas wandered around the fountain, covered in a dark dust that an acquaintance of his had provided, hoping he would be mistaken by the flock as yet another Honchkrow. All the while his eyes, as those of many other males, were focused on that female Honchkrow that had caught his eye as she sang a melody about the ending weather and the importance of getting the early worm.
During the conversations he could not get much. A few birds talked about the rumours that an offering to the local elder gods was to be stolen and auctioned in the black market, something Mr. Foo had instructed to keep an eye on, but the Honchkrows seemed to be less informed on the subject than even he was. A mention of a few petty thieves who had been caught in the surroundings of Houndoom territory held his attention, as the names included those of a few of Kalas’ previous informants and contacts, and feeling his position threatened Kalas avoided directly intervening in the conversations.
Alone under a tree, he eyed the female as she sang and she eyed him back. She sang something about the responsibilities to one’s blood and about how one’s enemies made the best cover against the dangers of the world. Kalas gulped as he held the female’s gaze, realizing this would draw the attention of other males too. In response, the female scratched the fountain with a talon and turned away.
Uneasy and sweaty, Kalas decided that it was best to have a drink at the fountain before leaving the place.
When he landed there there were only a few birds around. Most of them Honchkrow, but also two Noctowl. He looked around as the darker birds paced around the fountain and took sips every once in a while, and he did the same. Everyone eyed him a couple of times though he did his best to pretend he didn’t care – but that soon died when he looked past some trees and realized a certain Spearow was also there, trying to mingle with the other small birds.
“You gotta be k-” be cursed under his breath as the younger bird waved him a hi.
Still, as the older birds started talking under their breath, focused on him, against his better judgment he decided to make a last attempt at gathering new information. He remained still as some of the birds approached, and gave them ample room as they moved in.
“So,” he asked looking at them down, trying to mask his uneasiness. “How do we do, fellow Honchkrows?”
All the water sipping sounds stopped then as several pairs of eyes trained on him and Kalas knew himself lost; he turned he barely had time to let out a danger call for Spearow to flee and a wing beat on his head later he had found himself surrounded by the darkness of the murder’s cover. The birds towered over him and another moment after it was the pain of talons and beaks that surrounded the Fearow, overcame him and delivered him to the darkness of unconsciousness.
Atop a power line, the female Honchkrow watched the scene and tilted the scene both at the weirdness of it and at the persistence on the Fearow’s part to try and get to mingle with the Dark-types for a few weeks already.
She hummed a song but did not word the lyrics out. It was a song about Trained mons spending years on the competitions and, just like soldiers, feeling very unstable and unfitting once they returned to the life in the wild.
Kalas had woken up next morning atop some boxes, with a few bruises and a headache that would not fade any sooner if Spearow kept chirping and shrieking of how exciting the adventure had been. At first, Kalas felt like seriously admonishing the younger bird and tying him up to a post while he went for Social Services to finally take him away, but he didn’t have the muscles or the heart for that. Nor the brains, once Spearow started chirping without end about all the curious stuff the younger Murkrow had been gossiping about that they had heard when spying on their fathers.
Though he did not want to in the beginning, Kalas decided to just let the Spearow do as he pleased so long as he kept himself out of trouble. Kalas would dedicate himself to the stakeouts and to trailing some of the Honchkrows and Spearow would provide some food, some gossip and some much welcome and needed interaction.
Spring had come full force and with the more sunny days more humans and Pokémon wandered around the streets.
With more streets, more crime out there in the open. More jobs, and much as Kalas liked the payments from his current assignment, he still needed to keep himself active and informed in the way of the City. So he took to chase after one petty criminal or another – yet his targets were not random.
The Honchkrows had mentioned many of Kalas’ past acquaintances, so Kalas made sure to keep tabs on them as well and find out if they had taken part of anything that could be of use to the Fearow. Today the target had been a Zangoose gang that had encroached into Houndoom territory and apparently stolen some food and persomonal effects from them.
Kalas sprung into action quickly; he knew exactly who would be involved. He offered some assistance to the police in the investigation and his previous expertise in dealing with the gangs. Comarra the Kadabra chief had been pleased with the involvement and did not pry any further, so Kalas was free to specifically target his one Zangoose of interest.
It took only three hours for the Pokémon police to apprehend all members of the gang and restore most if not all stolen artifacts that the Houndooms had reported. It also only took him five minutes to track Morach, one of his informants, to his whereabouts and subdue him after a scuffle as the Zangoose had been fairly unprepared.
Back at the police, Comarra and a few other Pokémon police officers were busy closing the case with the Houndooms.
“We thank you for your assistance,” insisted one of the female leaders of the pack. “We were lucky most of our stuff had already been moved over...”
“You should inform of such migrations, ma’am,” insisted Comarra as he scratched some notes. “When our troops arrived they actually mistook you for some of the feral packs that live downstream out the city.”
The Houndoom tensed and lowered her head. “I did not expect we would be… stereotyped as criminals,” she explained in between soft growls.
As all that happened, Kalas was finishing his talk with Morach in a room at the back of the building. Unlike the various police-affiliated Pokémon in the city, Kalas worked alone (not counting his recent self-appointed pupil), and he did not mind much whatever the case with the Houndoom was. He was mostly interested in what Morach knew.
“Nothing,” the Zangoose insisted. “We already returned everything.”
Of course Kalas did not believe him, but without evidence he was forced to turn him over to Comarra.
As Kalas marched his “prisoner” over the corridor leading to the front offices, the pair crossed paths with the Houndooms from before. The dog Pokémon snarled at Morach but otherwise made no motion and as they brushed against each other, Kalas and Morach apologized and made their way.
It was not long before Kalas knew something was amiss. He took a long look back at the two Houndoom with bags they had bounced upon earlier. He did not held the two Pokémon in the same light that he held the Dark-type Murkrows and their mafias, but still his feathers stood on end feeling that that little altercation had gone… far too well.
He turned to look down to the final door a few meters away, and noticed Morach’s steady and energetic pace with barely some hint of resistance unlike before; he would know after having to deal with Sparrow’s antics for a while, he noticed with a passing thought to reward the little bird later.
Still, at present Kalas’ concern had turned to the Zangoose’s change of tune. He eyed him as they walked.
“You are never going to learn aren’t you?”
“I learn well and fast, heh.”
Kalas was looking down at the corridor when Morach spoke; he turned to the Zangoose for a moment and let out a sigh. As soon as the two arrived to door heading to the lobby the Fearow was quick to wack the Zangoose on the head with the blunt weight of his wing and shove him against the wall. A surprised snarl by the other Pokémon was met by Kalas with a harsh peck to the shoulder, and the larger bird imposed his presence by spreading his wings wide to completely shade the beaten Pokémon – and to cover the full width of the corridor.
“W-what’s with that, walnut? That’s assault!”
Kalas inched closer, obstructing the Zangoose’s view of the door. “Come on, Morach, how many times have we played this game?”
The Zangoose bared his fangs. “Oh now what are you blaming me for?”
“Just the usual. Come on, fork it over.”
The two Pokémon stared into each other’s eyes for a moment, breathing in and out; eventually the Zangoose couldn’t hold his gaze and leaned over, presenting his tail to the larger bird. Kalas’ eyes opened wide and he leered back at the Zangoose with a hint of incredulity, to which the only response was a shrug on the part of the Zangoose.
“...You got to be kidding me,” spat Kalas.
A talon swipe after, a small object fell out from among the fluff prongs on the tail; the little object clank a few times as it bounced on the floor until it shone a dim blue-ish light on the two Pokémon.
“I’ll say at least,” commented Kalas as he folded his wings and picked the small ring with a claw, “you are learning new tricks. Just do it out of my sight.”
Morach bowed to his interlocutor ever so mockingly, turned past the bird whipping his tail behind him, and walked past the door to rush out in all fours to the streets again.
Kalas, meanwhile, pondered the little ring in his possession for a moment. It was obvious the Police Pokémon had frisked him earlier during the raid. The ring looked clean and it was certainly not the variety of thing Houndoom had with them, the dogs being more fond of collars and bracelets.
Yet Morach had swiped it from them. While inside the building.
Some voices came from the side of the door Morach had gone off to. Kalas could hear the Pokémon officers and their various assistants apparently being interviewed by a troop of Pokémon that had arrived into the building all of a sudden.
“...callable at this moment? We don’t have them in our contacts?”
“When would the messengers arrive?” asked one of the Mienfoo assisting with the raid.
“A few hours I think?”
“It’ll be a better shot,” interjected Comarra in the distance, “that you head off to Coinless Underpass. They are headed over there anyway.”
Kalas tilted his head, recalling the nominal grounds of the Houndoom were a shorter distance from the Precinct than the Underpass; as things were, he knew he could reach the underpass before the messengers did, just in case he could figure something out. Taking a clue from Morach (not that he would admit it), he hid the ring in his neck feathers, between a tuft that he knew would hold for a while.
The Fearow idled through the door and greeted the officers feigning some tiredness. Comarra was there as expected and waved at him for attention. Close enough was Spearow as well, watching intently as the Police Pokémon were booking the various suspects caught in the raid.
“The humans will still need your statement about that other skirmish, Kalas,” warned the Kadabra pointing a spoon at him. “When can it be ready?”
“Later tonight if you leave me in peace. Earlier if you take care of lil’Spearow in the meantime?”
Kadabra nodded; Spearow’s head turned right at Kalas and the younger bird stared at him with some degree of annoyance that he was to be left alone with some cops.
Well, not if he could do something about it was probably what was Spearow thinking as he got up from his little roost and tried to follow after Kalas; only the Kadabra chief was well tuned to the movement to bump his tail against the bird and start lecturing him on a number of reasons to stay at the Precinct that Kalas did not bother stay long enough to listen.
Taking his chance, Kalas left the Precinct with the ring and flew past the rooftops, heading west towards the nearby parks he could use as waypoints to reach the Underpass. Going past the first few residential buildings he did not pay mind to the random Pokémon such as Absol, Glaile, Larvitar and Meowth basking in the last of the sunlight.
But the Larvitar did pay him mind, observing him as he flew past. The Pokémon walked to a nearby pipe and methodically scratched it several times, the vibrations sending a message down to the streets for his associates to carry over; all the while watching the bird as he disappeared between the forest of buildings.
Neither noticed that, at a much lower altitude, a certain young Spearow also flew ahead, trailing his hero, the one that would teach him how to become an awesome law enforcing Fearow one day.
And further beyond, news would soon fly all over the city. For Kalas, the case was only about to begin. For the female Honchkrow down the street, reading the tunes and the vibrations for the pipes, her interest in the wandering detective and how he had managed to survive with the many crime gangs on the loose, had also begun, and would last all spring.
That would be about it. Comments of course are appreciated.
For more information on the story, the characters and the setting, as well as alternate publications, check:
"A Case of Winging it" - official wiki article | PokéCommunity | Archive of our Own | Director's Cut (pending)
Guest Starring: Morach the Zangoose by fellow author Virgil134@Serebii.
