Hello all, this is a little idea that I had that I figured I'd try to write, so hopefully it comes out fairly well. Anyway, this is basically a Pokemon-based variation of Darkwing Dark; those of you who remember that little show may easily recognize some of the characters that appear, some will be a little tougher to spot, and still other characters will be entirely new. Comedy will be toned down somewhat, there is more of an overarching plot, and there will be more mature themes here.
Anyway, that's all I can think of for the moment, so enjoy. Obviously, neither Pokemon nor Darkwing Duck are owned by me.
The Daring Deeds of Darkwing Crow
Chapter 1: The Terror Takes Flight
"This is the city of St. Cuno, in the region of Kanto. Like any normal metropolis, it has its problems with the criminal element. However, the citizens of this fair city can rest easy, as a dark defender dutifully guards its defenseless denizens. He surveys swiftly and silently, stalking scum wherever it may slink away to."
Deep in one of the darker alleyways of St. Cuno, a shifty-looking man stood in wait. Dark clothes enshrouded his body, allowing it to blend with the shadows he stood in. Beady eyes peered out over the black bandanna that covered the lower half of his face, looking out into the street purposefully, searching.
Only moments passed before his target came into view. The woman was well-dressed in a navy blue skirt suit fit perfectly to her feminine figure, and a soft, angelic face was framed by silky brown hair. Her blue eyes remained on the street in front of her, completely unaware of her one-man audience.
As she began to walk by the alley, the shadowed man slowly crept forward, practiced movements helping keep him from making any sounds loud enough to be heard from outside the gloom. The man struck quickly and quietly, grabbing the woman and clapping a hand over her mouth to prevent her from making noise. Not even one other person could be seen on the streets for several blocks; no one saw the abduction.
The terrified woman struggled vainly against her captor as she was dragged into the alley, not even noticing her purse be pulled away from her in her fright. Her abductor grinned slightly to himself; he knew that she was doing well financially, so she probably had a worthwhile amount of money in there. Of course, she had something else he wanted.
As the man's hand wandered toward her chest, the woman immediately realized his intentions; her struggling grew to a fevered intensity, thrashing about like a cornered animal. Her captor held firm, though; he had followed her for a few days, and had known that she wouldn't be strong enough to resist him. Muffled screams edged their way out from around the man's hand, but they weren't nearly loud enough to reach anyone outside the alley.
The jacket came off first, the navy blue garment carelessly tossed aside. The abductor then turned his attention to the white shirt underneath, preparing to undo the buttons that held the front together. One by one, the fasteners were loosened, exposing slightly more white flesh each time, and each time eliciting another muted scream from the defenseless damsel.
Suddenly, a shrill caw pierced the air, its haunting tone instantly sending a harsh chill up the man's spine and forcing his attention away from his captive. Despite himself, he turned from his work to look to his left, where the sound had come from, and found… nothing. Another caw rang out, this time from directly behind the now anxious man; he whirled around to face the unsettling noise, and once more was met with an empty alley.
Another sound burst forth, this time of heeled shoes clacking against concrete. Abruptly realizing the lack of a warm body pressed against himself, the prowler turned around once more, and found that his prey was escaping, having already reached the glow of the streetlights, where he didn't dare follow her. He cursed as loudly as he dared as he watched her go, all of his efforts over the past several days wasted. He had waited so patiently for that moment, and now the opportunity had slipped away; there was no way that she was going to be that careless again after tonight.
All of a sudden, more caws flowed through the alleyway, the mysterious sounds almost forming a sort of eerie melody. As the man turned toward the source, his vision was filled with a blue smoke, which was slowly dissipating to reveal a small, black-feathered bird Pokémon. Its black wings were spread wide in a dramatic gesture, and the crown of feathers on its head resembled a wide-brimmed fedora, which cast a shadow over its face so that only the glimmers in its sharp eyes could be seen.
Completely unfamiliar with the Pokémon standing before him, the man took an involuntary step backward. The odd flying-type acted immediately, launching a burst of shadowy energy from its mouth. The Dark Pulse struck him in the shin, knocking the leg out from beneath him and sending him falling forward.
The dark Pokémon quickly lunged at the dropping man, and rammed his body into the prowler's midsection, sending him sprawling onto his back. The man clutched at his bruised gut, when a feathery shadow descended on him from above. The darkness filled his vision, when he felt a decisive blow to the head, and then felt nothing.
"Once again, the dark defender daringly defeats a despicable degenerate." The Honchkrow stood proudly as he stood before his fallen foe, narrating the incident out loud to no one in particular. It was a shame that, as a human, the criminal was unable to understand his self-introduction, but hey, it was his loss. He then began to inspect the man more seriously, and came to the conclusion that his Wing Attack did the trick, and he would be out for some time.
Grabbing a length of discarded rope from nearby, the Honchkrow began to bind the prowler's limbs, silently bemoaning his lack of hands at the more difficult parts. Eventually, the black-feathered bird was satisfied that the criminal would be unable to move under his own power even if he were to wake up, and he pulled the dark bandanna off of the man's face. He recognized the countenance, as this creep had been convicted of comparable crimes in the past; that would make things easier, as the police would probably be able to guess what had happened on their own after checking their records of him.
He then turned to the forgotten purse and jacket that the woman had left behind in her fright. Picking through the contents of the handbag with his beak, he found the lady's address; her home was nearby, and he resolved to have the purse and jacket returned to her before morning. With that issue resolved, the Honchkrow dragged the unconscious body of his victim out into the street where the police would be sure to find it, leaving behind one of his signature black feathers as he did so.
"Another lecherous lurker whose lot is to be locked away, thanks… to Darkwing Crow!" The dark-feathered bird spread his wings wide as he proudly declared his chosen name to the world. Darkwing Crow took to the air, scooping up the jacket and purse in his talons before setting off to find their owner.
Later that night, Darkwing Crow stood at the top of one of St. Cuno's taller buildings, surveying the scenery for signs of sinister schemes. He had found the lady's home with little difficulty after dispatching her captor, and, thanks to the lock picking skills he had picked up from a Meowth he had once saved, had silently returned her belongings without her being any the wiser. The woman hadn't seen him even once throughout the entire episode, and the Honchkrow was slightly disappointed that the incident had turned out that way; sure, it was important that she was saved and the bad guy was caught, but it would have been nice if more people knew that he was the one responsible for it.
Darkwing's thoughts were interrupted when a ruffled newspaper came into sight, being shuffled along the street by a slight breeze. With smooth, silent movements, the dark-type soared down towards the discarded paper, seizing it in his beak and carrying it towards his previous perch. Reading human writing was an extremely difficult talent for Pokémon to learn, much less master, but he was one of the few who had done just that.
'Research Center announces first test of breakthrough procedure in one week.' The Honchkrow grinned; he had a hunch that the headline of that paper would be one that he would be interested in. Darkwing Crow immediately set off, making his way to another part of the city.
In a house near the outskirts of St. Cuno, a man in his mid-twenties was sluggishly typing into a computer. Underneath messy hair were eyes with large dark bags visible under them from a noticeable lack of sleep. Slowly, curling wisps of blue smoke edged into his vision; as he quickly swiveled his office chair around, he found the source of the fog, a black-feathered bird perched on a file cabinet.
"Darkwing, you don't have to use that Haze entrance every time you come here, you know." However, the grin on the man's face indicated that if he actually was irritated at the Honchkrow's method of revealing himself, it was only a little. Darkwing smirked back, pulling his wings back from their spread position and allowing the remnants of his Haze attack to disperse.
The man's name was Dr. James Dumani, one of the more prominent scientists in the St. Cuno Research Center. Through some strange genetic quirk, Dr. Dumani was born with the extremely rare ability to understand Pokémon language. Only a few humans knew about his particular talent, but many of the Pokémon living near St. Cuno tended to find out about it at one point or another, including Darkwing himself.
"So, how has the night gone for you?" Darkwing puffed himself up at the human's question, drawing himself to his full height and sticking his chest out proudly as he answered.
"Well, tonight I've stopped nine vandals, four muggings, three car jackings, a convenience store robbery, and a would-be rapist." Dumani eyes went wide at the declaration, his face becoming sullen as he looked down.
"All that, happening right here in St. Cuno, it's unreal." Darkwing took on a comforting grin as he looked at the suddenly grim looking man.
"It's not like we live in a kid's cartoon or anything; these things happen, and not even the police can be everywhere at once." That did fairly little to ease the dour human, who continued gazing at the floor.
"If you weren't there… I guess it's a good thing you didn't listen to me when I told you that crime fighting idea of yours was too dangerous." Darkwing burst into motion, lashing his right wing out to the side, and then sweeping it across his body, obscuring everything below his eyes.
"Ha! I laugh in face of danger! I have the eyes of a Pidgeot, and the reflexes of a Zangoose! The criminals corrupting this city could never catch me!" That brought a grin back to Dumani's face, even as he fixed the Honchkrow with a serious look.
"There's that ego again. You need to be careful about that if you're going to keep on crime fighting; it could probably be used against you pretty easily if you let it." Darkwing gave a chuckle as his wing went back to his side, nodding his assent as he did so, and the human continued. "It's been awhile since you've come to talk to me; I assume you wanted to ask about something?" Darkwing gave a slight nod as he responded.
"As a matter of fact, I just caught word about the experiment you guys are demonstrating next week, and since you're involved, I figured it'd be something I'd be interested in. Care to share?" Dumani had fully returned to his previously cheerful mood, and laughed heartily at the question.
"Sorry, just because we're friends doesn't mean I'm going to give you special treatment; you're going to have to wait to find out, just like the press." Darkwing gave a dismissive shrug, apparently expecting the response. The Honchkrow went on, this time in a more concerned voice.
"In that case, how are you doing? You look like you've overworking yourself a little." Darkwing glanced meaningfully at the human's eyes, which had gone near bloodshot from lack of sleep. However, Dumani easily waved off the sympathy.
"Ah, this is nothing compared to how much work Rootwen's been putting into this project; he's probably still at the lab even now." Dumani leaned back in his chair with a contented grin as he continued. "Working under Professor Rootwen has been the most rewarding experience of my life; the man's a genius, plain and simple. Mark my words, one day the name 'Randall V. Rootwen' will stand right alongside names like 'Oak' and 'Rowan' as one of history's biggest contributors to the knowledge of Pokémon."
"Well, in that case, take care of yourself, Dumani; I'll see you around." With that, Darkwing blew the blue smoke of a Haze attack from his beak, allowing the fog to quickly enshroud his form. As Dr. Dumani watched, the smoke quickly dissipated, leaving no trace of the Honchkrow's even having been there. With a sincere grin directed at his nocturnal friend, the human turned back to the computer screen and went back to work.
Daybreak came, and Darkwing Crow reached St. Cuno Park just before the sun grew visible over the horizon. The Honchkrow flew quickly and purposefully toward a particular tree in the midpoint of the park. Making his way through the thick foliage of the sizable sapling, Darkwing perched himself on one of the higher branches, preparing himself for his sleep through the daylight hours.
However, it was only a few hours before the bough that the bold bird balanced himself on shook slightly. The dark-type instantly cracked open an eye, glancing down to ascertain the source of the disturbance. A small, red-haired human girl was a few branches below him, determinedly making her way up the tree.
She didn't appear to have noticed him yet, as her focus was firmly fixed on her task at hand. With agility that reminded the Pokémon of an Aipom, the girl pulled herself from branch to higher branch, making her way toward the top of the tree. At the rate she was moving, it wasn't long before she came across the heroic Honchkrow; she stopped to regard Darkwing for a moment before she greeted him.
"Hey there, I'm Gail; you're a pretty neat looking Pokémon." Darkwing fought the urge to sigh to himself; apparently, the kid didn't recognize a nocturnal Pokémon when she saw one. On the other hand, a complement like the one Gail just gave was a pretty quick way to get back on his good side; Darkwing grinned inwardly, deciding that the kid deserved a good show.
As Darkwing spread his wings with a showman's flair, the girl situated herself on the branch she was on so that she was less likely to fall, apparently guessing the dark-type's intentions. With a burst of Haze, Darkwing vanished from Gail's sight. Then, using his well-practiced ability to throw his voice, he made it seem as though his caws were coming from one side of the tree, then another, and yet another, almost all at once. Finally, he crept back into her line of sight, reappearing with another burst of Haze.
"Wow, that was great!" Not one to disagree, Darkwing merely made a deep bow before his lone spectator, when the girl went on. "I bet a Pokémon like you has a really cool name, too." Seeing an opportunity to get his name out, Darkwing began to hope that the child before him was any good of charades, and wrapped his wings across his body so that only his darkest feathers were visible.
"Oh, I get it. Let's see… Mysterious? Shadowy? Black? Dark?" With the last word, Darkwing burst into motion again, thrusting his right wing into the air dramatically; Gail seemed to catch onto this one immediately, bursting out in exclamation. "Darkwing? Wow, that is an awesome name!" The Honchkrow grinned proudly as he moved into his most confident pose, drawing himself to his full height, thrusting his chest out, and turning his face skyward. The dark-type couldn't help but marvel at how quickly the girl caught on to what he was trying to say; she was certainly a lot more clever than he had initially given her credit for.
"Well, I'm gonna have to go now; my mom doesn't want me up here for very long. I'll come see you again soon." As Gail made her way back down the tree, Darkwing settled back down to his slumber once more. Since this particular spot was found out, he immediately decided that he would have to find another tree to sleep in, but for that particular moment, he just preferred to get some rest.
As dusk broke, the daring dark-type awoke from his daytime dreaming, glancing about at the city he had sworn to safeguard. Just as he prepared to take off, Darkwing heard rustling sounds coming from the ground beneath him. The Honchkrow quickly decided to take a closer look, and swiftly made his way down the tree.
As the ground came into view, Darkwing found Gail, leading about a half dozen other kids through the park. The Honchkrow found himself torn as he saw the children searching about, undoubtedly for him. On the one wing, he should get to cleansing the streets of criminals quickly; but then again, who was he to disappoint potential fans?
Darkwing's thoughts were interrupted when a symphony of screams broke out beneath him. As the dark-type turned back to the cluster of humans, there was a large bug-like Pokémon glaring at them. Four yellow and purple striped legs carried his red and black body purposefully toward the children. His purple compound eyes stared maliciously at the obvious prey frozen in fear before him, and sharp mandibles glistened with trickling toxins.
As the Ariados crept closer and closer to the petrified kids, Darkwing knew that he had to do something about it. Though he would never admit to anyone and rarely even to himself, the Honchkrow was hardly the most powerful Pokémon out there, and Pokémon battles weren't really his strong point. However, he was the only one who could do something about the situation, and he wasn't going to let himself back down.
Only a few feet remained between Gail and the Ariados, when a cloud of blue smoke seemed to materialize between them. As Darkwing stopped the Haze attack and allowed it to scatter, he readied himself to deliver his dramatic introduction. The Honchkrow spread his wings wide, and the wide brim of his crown to cast an eerie shadow over his face as the haunting words pierced the air.
"I am the terror that flaps in the night, I am the antidote that renders your poison harmless, I… am Darkwing Crow!" The daring dark-type drew himself to his full height as he faced down the Ariados, all the while making sure that he stood between the children behind him and the arachnid before him. An annoyed look crossed the bug-type's face as he stared down the Honchkrow standing before him.
"Get out of my way; I'm hungry, and I don't like it when someone gets between me and my meal." Darkwing had to force himself to keep from shrinking away; the Ariados was clearly stronger than he was, and would have little trouble taking him down if he was given half a chance to do so. However, the Honchkrow held firm, and he replied in the most intimidating voice he could manage.
"Cease your sinister strives for snacking, or I assure you that you'll soon be six feet under." The arachnid was unfazed, angrily glaring at the dark-type as if sizing him up. Suddenly, the Ariados began its attack, launching several thin needles from his maw at the Honchkrow; fortunately, Darkwing had his guard up, and was prepared to deal with such an attack.
"Whoo-ta!" With a smooth movement and an overdone yell, the dark-type swiped his right wing across his body, his Wing Attack deftly deflecting the destructive Pin Missile. As Darkwing turned to fix the Ariados with a smug grin, a fine thread of silk was shot at the would-be savior, quickly cocooning his wings.
The other end of the String Shot was still in the spider's grasp, and it took use of that fact by yanking back on it, easily jerking Darkwing off of his feet and into the air. The Ariados used the thread to swing the hapless Honchkrow around and around for several long moments before finally letting go. A yelling Darkwing was launched into the air, unable to change course due to the silk holding his wings down; eventually, the dark-type crashed into the unyielding trunk of a nearby tree, and limply slid to the ground. With a pained groan, Darkwing lifted himself back to his feet, narrating to himself in an attempt to keep his mind off of his aching body.
"Battered… bruised… but never beaten, Darkwing Crow prepares to pounce back into action." However, the Honchkrow's dazed state rendered that easier said than done. As he hobbled about drunkenly, a sudden scream shook Darkwing out of his stupor; with him no longer acting as a distraction, the Ariados was advancing on the group of humans again.
The dark-type was briefly struck with anxiety as he looked on. This wasn't a paranoid crook that could be easily manipulated by fear, surprise, or clever tricks; it was a tough Pokémon that was undoubtedly used to the harsh and often unpredictable nature of the wild. Darkwing shook his head roughly, as if shake out his doubts; Dr. Dumani told him this quest would be dangerous, and he knew himself that it would be dangerous. The Honchkrow straightened himself as his eyes narrowed.
"Well then… let's get dangerous." With a single swift swipe of his beak, Darkwing severed the silk strings that ensnared him. His hindrances tossed aside, the dark-type launched himself toward the scene once more.
Gail and the rest of the kids continued attempted to back away from the Ariados, who seemed to have no problem taking his time to reach them. At one point, Gail snatched up a tree branch and swung it wildly at the ravenous Pokémon, but she got in only a few errant swipes before the spider simply caught the limb in its mandibles and tossed it aside. Its poison-permeated pincers were mere inches from Gail when a bolt of dark energy came out of nowhere and crashed into the bug-type's head, sending it jerking slightly to the side.
"Munchtime's over, you meal-mongering monstrosity!" As the arachnid turned to locate the source of the voice, it found a cloud of blue smoke begin to appear. It immediately launched a String Shot into the Haze, noting with satisfaction when it caught onto something; however, when the Ariados attempted to pull the Honchkrow toward him, his captive didn't even budge. When the smoke cleared, it was revealed that Darkwing wasn't there at all, and his silk had instead caught onto a tree trunk.
The Ariados heard another sound behind him, and quickly turned to fire another String Shot. A similar cloud of smoke met his angry glare, and his string of silk caught against a second tree. Upon hearing yet another noise, the spider turned to find the Honchkrow himself, who was quickly coming up from behind and passing him by.
The arachnid angrily turned to attack Darkwing again, but he was quickly clotheslined by the line of silk he had inadvertently strung between the two trees. The Ariados landed on his back, slowly shaking off the sudden pain as he returned to his feet. Darkwing was hovering nearby, flashing a smug smirk at the spider as he gave a flippant remark.
"And I'd hate to see you try and dance, too." The bug Pokémon wasn't sure what the one-liner meant, but he knew that it was supposed to make him angry, and he was more than willing to oblige. Lifting his head toward the hovering Honchkrow, the Ariados let loose another String Shot at the hero, this time intending to immobilize the bird completely.
Darkwing was too quick for even that speedy attack, and danced to the side in midair, allowing the silk to stick to the tree branch that had been behind him instead. The Honchkrow wasted no time as he flew up to perch on that same limb; with his right wing, Darkwing severed the branch with a Night Slash attack, and with the other, he began pulling the bough backwards. As he expected, the silk was somewhat elastic, stretching as he continued pulling, causing the tension in the line to grow stronger by the second.
The dark-type's deft motions were too quick for the Ariados to have a chance to sever the line of silk before he released the branch he was holding in his wing. The tension in the line of silk caused the limb to slingshot back to the spider, harshly catching him between the eyes with a resounding 'thwak'. The Ariados was knocked backwards by the impact, clearly dazed by the blow.
Darkwing looked over his stunned opponent as he took to the air once more, coming to the conclusion that the fight was nearly over. With a swift, smooth movement, the Honchkrow merged himself with the numerous shadows that stretched across the area. Just as the disoriented Ariados was beginning the regain his bearings, the dark-type emerged from the shadows below him, catching him directly in the face and knocking him backwards.
Darkwing came to a perch on the ground as the spider landed sprawling on his back from the impact of the Faint Attack, this time no longer showing signs of consciousness as his limbs went limp. With the fight clearly over, the Honchkrow looked over the bug-type curiously; as far as he had known, there weren't any Ariados anywhere in St. Cuno Park. Though Spinarak tended to make their homes there, there wasn't much of a reason for them to put the necessary effort into evolving. Of course, the presence of Ariados was still a possibility, which was why children weren't supposed to be wandering the park alone at night.
Of course, Gail and her friends seemed completely unheeding of that fact, commenting excitedly to each other and Darkwing about what they had just seen. Though he was winded from the battle and annoyed at the children for endangering themselves, the Honchkrow couldn't help but show off just one more time. With a flurry of dramatic movement, Darkwing wrapped his right wing across his front in a way that covered everything below his eyes.
"And the abominable arachnid's appetite is abruptly arrested by… Darkwing Crow!" With that, the Honchkrow released a burst of Haze, using the smoke as cover to steal out of the children's sight. Quickly alighting on a nearby tree branch, Darkwing watched the kids, who evidently realized with no small amount of disappointment that the show was over, turn to leave.
Secretly safeguarding the small group as they made their way to their homes, Darkwing followed the kids to a small neighborhood he didn't patrol often, as it was usually fairly quiet. The dark-type breathed a small sigh of relief as the party split up and went back to the safety of their homes. Despite wincing momentarily from one of his new bruises, he decided that he wouldn't mind seeing them again, so long as he didn't have to fight off wild Pokémon again next time.
After a dramatic spreading of his wings, Darkwing Crow launched himself skyward, seemingly merging with the darkness itself as he began to prowl the night once more.