Mankey sat perched upon his favorite tree branch. He could hear twigs breaking and Pokémon stirring from a nights rest. The dawn sun crept over the horizon casting a blanket of light across the forest. Mankey could see the corpse of a Furret lying on the grass below, its entrails strewn across the grass. He had heard the sounds of some sort scuffle between it and a Luxio last night, looks like it lost.
Mankey heard wings flapping behind him, Murkrow, he heard her perch on a branch parallel to him. He gazed over at her, she too seemed to be glaring at the Furret's dead body. She licked her beak.
"How fresh is it?" She asked.
"Fresh as it gets." Mankey said. He scurried down the tree, reaching the ground a little bit before Murkrow did.
Murkrow put her beak deep inside the Furret's chest cavity and slurped out a long strip of meat. "That's delicious, Pokémon life is good." She exclaimed as she licked blood off of her lips.
"So you say. Seems to me like life's only good because it's boring. Nothing can go wrong if nothing's going on." Mankey said, sitting in the grass.
Murkrow flew over to Mankey's side a nestled in to the grass. "Why do you have to say such cynical things? Life's great if you look at it through optimistic eyes." She began picking bugs out of Mankey's fur. "Besides, at least nothing bad's happening."
"Yeah I guess you're right." Mankey said as he picked at the blades of grass.
Mankey and Murkrow snapped their heads in the direction of incoming footsteps. From the bushes appeared Zigzagoon. He stopped just in front Mankey and Murkrow. "Guys, Lord Mightyena needs all of the Pokémon at the Grand Oak for a meeting," He looked at the dead Furret, "except him of course." He scurried off into the woods.
"Well Mankey you heard him." Murkrow said turning her back to Mankey.
"Like we already don't know what it's about." He said jumping onto Murkrow's back. "We've had this berry famine for a while, probably just another half-assed scheme to keep us off our toes."
"You're a real downer you know that?" Murkrow spread her wings and flapped off towards the Great Oak.
Outside of the Great Oak stood a large crowd of Pokémon. Yet as large as the crowd was Mankey could tell that the attendance rate of these meeting were dwindling. The other Pokémon were starting to lose hope, lose hope in their leader, lose hope in themselves, lose hope in surviving. Now they just wanted to take care of themselves, by themselves. This forest was dead and everyone knew it.
Mankey stood by Murkrow as they watched "Lord" Mightyena step out from the opening in the Grand Oak. He was tall and muscular with almost all of his fur grayed and a red scar on his left eye where a black stripe should've been. He gazed hard out at the crowd, preparing himself for the speech to come. Surrounding him as guards were his three sons and next to him was his right-hand Pokémon, Medicham.
He began to speak. "My fellow Pokémon, as you are all well aware we are currently experiencing a famine of berries."
"No shit Sherlock." Shouted a Zangoose.
Mightyena ignored the outburst. "But after much deliberation we have finally found the cause of the berry shortage. It is humans my friends, humans are stealing our berries."
"Yeah and that's what you said about the Shiftry before you banished them from the forest and we didn't see any change then!" Shouted another voice from the crowd.
"I know that many of you are upset over that but I'm sure over time they'll return and be part of our family again. But we have a plan to stop the humans. We know that humans are too dangerous to go to war with. So we have decided that it would be best to reason with the humans."
Another voice heckled, "Yeah right, do you speak human?"
"No, but there is someone in this audience who does. Murkrow if you would be so kind as to step forward?" Called out Mightyena into the crowd.
"He wants me?" Asked Murkrow to Mankey.
"You are the only Pokémon I know that can speak a lick of English." Said Mankey, motioning her to the front of the crowd.
"I guess you're right." Murkrow flew over the crowd towards Mightyena and landed in front of him. "What is it you need from me, I can't speak a whole lot of human."
"But you can speak enough to let them know we need berries and we need them to stop taking them. Perhaps even bargain out a deal with them. So what do you say, help out your fellow Pokémon?" Mightyena stared straight into her eyes, a mixture of pleading and threat in his gaze.
Murkrow bowed her head in thought for a moment then lifted it back up. "Yeah, I guess I could help."
"Excellent, you will be rewarded handsomely for your service! Everyone cheer for our hero!" Exclaimed Mightyena to the crowd.
The crowd cheered with joy. The Pokémon lifted up Murkrow and carried her around in a mosh pit. Eventually the excitement settled down and people began to leave to head for their homes. Murkrow chatted with Mightyena and Medicham afterwards about the different things they could offer the humans. Mankey watched them from afar until Mightyena motioned him over. Mankey walked over to them.
"You need something from me Lord Mightyena?"
"Yes young one, we know well of your strength and it is highly revered throughout the forest. We would like if you were to come with us as muscle in case the humans try anything slick. Besides, I'm sure you'd want to protect your woman." Said Mightyena smirking.
Mankey withdrew blushing. "S-she's not my woman we're just friends."
Mightyena chuckled heartily. "I'm sure you are my good boy. Now we will all meet back here tomorrow and head out." Mankey hopped on Murkrow's back and she flew off.
Murkrow landed on a tree branch and Mankey hopped off. Mankey looked down in thought. Murkrow licked Mankey's fur.
Mankey put his hand up to stop her. "Could you please not do that?"
"Sorry your fur was all messy. Say you're not embarrassed by what Mightyena said about me being your woman are you?" She inquired.
"No, that's not it." Mankey lied.
"Well you'll always be my friend and that's what counts. I'll see you tomorrow." She flew off into the night sky.
Mankey stared at her as she flew towards the moon. Her beautiful feathers glistening in the light. He hung from the tree and closed his to falls asleep.