Chapter Six
Minior proved to be a more difficult foe than Lampent. Minior's core was pink, but it shielded itself before Panpour had the chance to hit it. Panpour would attack the shell with a water move and the shield would fall, exposing Minior's core and speeding it up. Panpour couldn't get a hit on it.
"Minior, use Tackle!" Manju shouted.
The sentient meteor slammed hard into Panpour, knocking her flat to the ground. Jace returned her reluctantly. He shook his head and delved into his pocket. "Go, Koffing!"
The Pokemon emerged looking completely unaware of what was going on. Minior tackled him before he had the chance to react. "Koff!" he shouted, falling against the ground.
Jace put two fists up. "Koffing, use Smog!"
"Koffing!" said the Pokemon, putting two-and-two together and understanding he was in a battle. A cloud of smoke filled the area, enveloping Minior, but doing minor damage to it.
"Rollout!" Manju cried.
Minior took a break from its usual hovering stance to sit on the ground. It began to roll, gearing itself up for an attack, and then let itself go, soaring up into the air and smacking against Koffing. Koffing lost his balance but straightened. Jace was about to call another attack when Minior rolled on the ground again but this time, much faster. It flew into the air and hit Koffing a second time, knocking him down further than it had before.
"Looks like this isn't gonna stop," Jace said. He pointed a finger. "Use Psybeam!"
That familiar dark pink glow began around Koffing but disappeared when Minior slammed into him a third time. Koffing couldn't keep himself in the air any longer. He tried to initiate the attack again from the ground this time, but Minior succeeded in knocking him far away from the battlefield.
Jace stared, his mouth agape. "Koffing?!" he shouted.
Manju nodded once. "Koffing isn't able to fight anymore," she said. She returned Minior to its PokeBall. "You've lost."
Jace shook his head. "No, no, this is-" He dropped to his knees. "You don't understand how important it is that we meet Bonesaw..."
"Trust me, it's much better this way," Manju assured. She turned her heels in the direction of the PokeCenter and off she went.
Jace sadly pulled out Koffing's PokeBall and used it to return him. Lark, Chris, and Millie approached Jace. "It's okay," Chris said, "we'll find another way."
"Or we could just go home," Millie suggested. Lark shot her a dirty look.
The four made their own way to the PokeCenter to heal up. While Nurse Joy had Jace's Pokemon, they tried to come up with a plan to find a way to meet the ghost-leader. Unfortunately, none of them could think of anything.
"What if..." Lark started. She stopped herself when she realized she had nothing to suggest.
"How about..." Millie scratched the top of her head.
"We could..." Chris stroked his beard with one hand.
Jace sighed. It was getting late and they were all beginning to feel the effects of exhaustion. His Pokemon came back to him and they all retired in the cots in the back of the center. Jace released his Panpour and his Koffing from their balls once everyone started falling asleep.
"You guys did good today," he whispered.
Panpour smiled and climbed up the bed, snuggling herself inbetween Jace's legs. Koffing floated down to his head and nuzzled it with his own. Jace chuckled.
"I'm just sorry we couldn't win. It was my own fault." Koffing and Panpour got themselves comfortable and began to slumber themselves. Jace sighed again. "This is a lot harder than I thought..."
The group stayed in Ephestia for the next several days, though the town didn't become any more welcoming the longer they nested. They spent their time trying to come up with a strategy, exploring the barren city, or wandering back to the burial grounds to train up their Pokemon; much to Millie's dismay. No trainers were about and Lark wondered where they went during the day.
Finally, a day came where Chris birthed an idea.
"Follow The Hunt, eh?" Jace repeated.
Chris nodded. "It's so simple I don't know why we didn't think of it before. We just join in The Hunt. Since Bonesaw leads it, that'll get us right to him."
"Uh, HELLO, people die at the end of The Hunt!" Millie shouted. "This is just like when you guys wanted to make and sell drugs. I'm not doing it!"
"Millie, if you don't join in The Hunt, who's to say you won't be the one they're hunting?" Chris worried.
Millie gulped. "Ah...I don't want that either... but do we really have to watch these guys kill some people? I don't think I can stomach it."
Lark nodded. "I agree with Millie. Selling drugs was one thing, but basically allowing people to kill each other? That's way worse. I don't think I can do it either."
"Guys," Chris said, "I'm really adamant about this. If you don't follow, I'm afraid they'll go after you. I don't know how they choose who they hunt, and we've been here for several days now. People surely know we're not natives to this town and that could be a criteria."
"Can we stop them?" Jace asked.
"From hunting? I don't know... we should ask Manju." Chris looked around the center. "From what we know, she'll be part of The Hunt as well."
Millie moaned. "Chris, don't make me do this."
Lark sucked in a breath. "I will only do this if we find a way to stop what they're doing," she said shakily.
"Okay, I can do that," Millie agreed. "I will only follow The Hunt if we can stop The Hunt."
Just as they were coming together, a chorus of shrieks could be heard. "That's it," Chris said, "that's The Hunt!"
The four of them ran outside, PokeBalls at the ready. They hesitated in unison before running up to join the vast amount of people running into the forest.
While trying to keep up a brisk run, Lark noticed Manju at the back of the crowd, her Lampent by her side. "Manju," she whispered.
Manju turned her head and smiled. "Hi," she whispered back.
"Manju, we want to stop all of this!"
"What?"
"The Hunt! We want to stop The Hunt!"
Manju shook her head, falling behind the group a little so she could talk to Lark better. "You can't," she whispered harshly.
"But it's wrong!" Lark countered. "Surely you agree?"
"I do, but there's nothing we can do to stop it."
She was no help, Lark thought. She continued to keep up the pace by looking forward, ignoring Manju for the rest of the run.
They all stopped once they came to a clearing. The sound of a motorcycle wafted through the area and everyone began chanting. The cycle stopped at the front of the mass and a man, close to eight-feet-tall, stepped down from it.
"My Bonesmen!" he shouted.
A cheer arose from the crowd.
Jace, Lark, Chris, and Millie couldn't see since they were in the back, but they knew the voice had to have come from Bonesaw.
"Today we have a special treat; a Pokemon OR a human up for grabs!"
Another cheer.
"What's going on?" Millie whispered.
Chris shook his head. "I'm not sure."
Someone in the crowd turned around, having overheard them talking. "What's going on?" he asked viciously.
"Nothing," Chris answered.
"Pay attention!" said the man. He turned back to the front of the crowd.
"You know the drill," Bonesaw's voice was towering over everyone. "One of you lucky Bonesmen get to do the honors! Now disperse so I may pick him."
The mass divied itself up into two groups; one on Bonesaw's left and one on Bonesaw's right. Lark, Chris, Millie, and Jace were caught in the middle. They took a look forward and finally got a good glimpse at the man in charge of The Hunt.
He had curly blonde hair atop a face painted with white. He wore some kind of breathing apparatus on the lower half of his face; a terrifying grin painted on top of it. A necklace of bones fell around his neck atop his bare chest, and he had on dark green shorts that had been torn off at the bottom. Boots adorned his feet and bracers were on his wrists.
Millie gasped. Chris tried to pull her off to the side but Bonesaw noticed her too quickly. He pointed. "You!"
Lark, Chris, and Jace's hearts started pounding. Millie gulped. "Me?" she asked.
Bonesaw menacingly walked towards her, making a 'come hither' motion with his finger. "I've never seen you before."
"I... I'm not from... from around here," Millie stuttered.
"I can see that. Your dress is too vibrant for the eyes of a Bonesman." She noticed at that moment that his eyes were bloodshot red. "Do you know who I am?" he asked.
"You're...Bonesaw," she responded.
"That's right. And do you know what this is?" He gestured all around him.
"The Hunt," Millie choked.
Bonesaw walked around her, sizing her up. "What's your name, girl?"
"M...Millie."
"Millie!" Bonesaw shouted. Both crowds laughed. "You look like you've never killed a man, Millie... why don't you do the honors today? We'll initiate you like a proper Bonseman!" He grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her up to the front of the clearing. Jace, Lark, and Chris ran up as the crowds put themselves back together. Manju followed.
Bonesaw, still in front of Millie, yanked her hard enough that her PokeBall fell from her pocket.
"Now, I want you to send out your Pokemon," Bonesaw instructed.
Millie was too terrified to disobey. She sent out Pansage, resulting in more laughter from those behind her.
"Oh no, now that won't do," Bonesaw said. He smacked the PokeBall away from her hand and gave her another one. "Use this one."
She couldn't move her legs. Millie softly threw the PokeBall to the side and out emerged a Cofagrigus. Millie instinctively took a step back, along with the rest of the crowd. The Pokemon was quite large and had a disturbing look on its face. Pansage ran behind Millie and held onto her as tightly as he could.
"Now! Are you ready to see the catch of the day?" Bonesaw raised his arms out to his sides. All the Bonesmen cheered.
He stepped aside, revealing to Millie who was in front of her.
She couldn't believe her eyes. In front of her was Dane, tied up next to a Tyrogue; the very same Tyrogue she had helped before.
Lark turned around and saw Manju. "Manju, we've got to stop this," she whispered harshly.
"I don't know what you plan on doing," Manju responded.
Chris joined in. "Whatever it takes!"
Jace's hands fell to his pockets. "I could send out Koffing and Panpour, but they won't be enough. We need your Lampent and Minior."
Lark nodded. "I have a Pansear but he's not as strong as your Pokemon," she chimed in.
Millie felt herself shaking uncontrollably. Cofagrigus was facing the two before him, eagerly awaiting instructions from Millie.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Bonesaw teased. "It's your time to shine! Tell Cofagrigus what to do."
Dane shook his head furiously. "Don't kill me!" he cried. "Take out this Pokemon instead, there are millions like him!"
Tyrogue flinched from the comment. "Ty!" he shouted, a cry so solemn it made Millie's eyes water.
"I...I can't," she whispered. Cofagrigus inched closer to the two, raising his shadowed arms above their heads.
"If you can't do it, then we'll just have to kill you instead," Bonesaw stated.
Dane's Stunky was over to the side, nervously pacing and whimpering for his owner. Dane continued to plea with Millie.
"Guys, we can't wait anymore," Jace said. "If we're going to do something, we have to do it now!"
The others nodded. Lark and Jace brought out their PokeBalls. Manju looked to Lampent and then grabbed her own PokeBalls.
"DO IT, girl!" Bonesaw shouted.
Cofagrigus was now turned towards Millie, ready to strike her.
Suddenly, Jace, Lark, and Manju threw their PokeBalls in the air and released their Pokemon. Everyone turned to look at them, including Bonesaw. Millie took the opportunity to pick up Pansage and run to the back of the group.
"Lampent, Fire Spin!" Manju cried.
Lampent surrounded the group and their Pokemon with a ring of fire blazing high above the crowd.
"Koffing, Smog!" Jace shouted.
Koffing's dark mist filled the area, causing everyone to start coughing and wheezing and giving them a perfect opportunity to run about without being seen. Lampent's Fire Spin moved with Manju to keep her protected as she ran up to the clearing and untied Tyrogue and Dane.
"No!" Bonesaw exclaimed. He ran towards his prisoners but couldn't reach them because of the fire. He growled in anger, pointing at Cofagrigus. "Don't let them get away!" he demanded.
"I have to get Stunky!" Dane cried. He glanced over to where Stunky was. He was overjoyed to see Dane freed, but couldn't get to him because of the fire.
Koffing's smog started to evaporate, allowing the Bonesmen to see again.
"Pansear, go!" Lark pointed in Stunky's direction. Pansear nodded with determination. He jumped through the fire and ran towards the skunk. Bonesaw stood in the way. "Pansear, Incinerate!" The small monkey let loose a stream of fire at Bonesaw. He picked up his feet and stepped back. Pansear led Stunky back to the group and the fire receded momentarily for him to pass through.
Dane scooped him up into his arms and hugged him. "It's okay little one," he cooed.
The Bonesmen all began sending out their own Pokemon, and soon the forest was filled. Lampent's Fire Spin was disappearing slowly. Cofagrigus started to approach the teenagers. Millie continued to panic. "What do we do?!" she screamed.
"We fight!" Jace responded. "We fight as many of them as we can!"
"Are you ready, Pansear?" Lark asked. The Pokemon smirked, nodding twice.
The Fire Spin disappeared completely and everyone's Pokemon started closing in.
Battles broke out between Lark, Millie, Jace, and Manju and the Bonesmen. Cofagrigus focused his attention on Pansage, who fought alongside Tyrogue just to stay alive. Koffing was taking on multiple Pokemon at once. Panpour and Lampent watched each other's back as they fought. Pansear and Minior kept an eye out for Bonesaw, but succeeded in pushing the Bonesmen back in the process. Stunky stayed close to Dane, protecting him as much as he could.
It was an all-out free-for-all.
Everyone was shouting orders and throwing potions. Flashes of red light indicated a Pokemon had been defeated. Pure chaos had erupted.
"Pansage, Vine Whip!" Millie called.
Two vines grew from Pansage's tail, entangling Cofagrigus within them. They held tightly as the ghost Pokemon struggled to escape.
"Koffing, Psybeam!" Jace instructed.
The two Pokemon he fought went down to a dark pink beam shooting out from Koffing's body. They were returned instantly.
"Lampent, Fire Spin!" Manju demanded.
Lampent spun around, releasing a larger ring of fire that burned every Pokemon it touched, sending some back into their PokeBalls.
"Stunky, Poison Gas!"
"Panpour, Water Gun!"
"Minior..." Manju made sure to get her Pokemon's attention. There weren't a lot of Pokemon left, but they were still greater in numbers. She sucked in a breath and shouted as loud as she could, "HYPER BEAM!"
Minior's form glowed with a white hot intensity, as if it were drawing power from a star gone supernova. The air around it fizzled with heat and the rest of Lark's surroundings appeared to dull in contrast by comparison. Suddenly, the Pokemon's power erupted from the center of its body in a massive stream of plasma and energy. It engulfed several Pokemon and their trainers, boring directly through the crowd before evaporating into the distance.
When the dust had cleared, the Bonesmen and their Pokemon were all sprawled out on the ground, most of them unconscious. Bonesaw examined the damage and let out a yell. "What happened?!"
"You've lost, Bonesaw!" Millie cried.
"RRRRAAAAAUGH!" He balled his hands into fists and slammed them into a tree. "My Bonesmen! You've killed them all!"
Jace shook his head. "No, we've simply knocked them out for the time being."
"Face it, Bonesaw," Manju started, "you can't finish The Hunt without your followers."
Bonesaw, in a rush of fury, stomped over to Manju and clasped his hands around her throat, lifting her in the air. "That's what YOU think!"
Everyone gasped. Chris gathered his strength and tried to pull Bonesaw off of her but failed. Lampent and Minior tried flying into him, knocking the back of his head over and over until finally he dropped her.
Jace ran to Manju, who was gasping on the ground for air.
"Look, Bonesaw, sir..." Jace stood up. "The reason we came to Ephestia in the first place was to recruit you to help us take down Yveltal. We're trying to get all of the Gym Circuit leaders to join in, and we already have Rodriguez..." He reached into his pocket to pull out his badge, but Bonesaw smacked his hand away.
"You're trying to recruit me?!"
"Well... yeah. We were strong enough to beat your Bonesmen so that should prove-"
"I'm not joining you kids! I'm not doing anything to help out you little brats! You've ruined my hunt!"
"Which, by the way," Millie added, "is a completely barbaric thing to do! You need to stop The Hunt at once!"
"'Stop The Hunt'? The Hunt is our way of life! It's how we get more ghost Pokemon, it's how we survive!"
"But it wasn't always like that, right?" Millie pressed. "You were once a Gym leader, weren't you? Just battling kids on their journey through the region? What happened?"
"Yveltal happened!" Bonesaw was practically seething at this point. "He destroyed our homes and food supply, leaving us with nothing to sustain ourselves and no Pokemon to catch! What were we supposed to do?"
"I understand things got hard for you and your people..." Millie continued. "But killing each other is not the answer." She gestured behind her. "If you need food, try to contact Cydia Town! I'm sure they'd be willing to trade goods with you!" She shrugged. "If you need Pokemon, there were plenty hiding themselves in the burial grounds! I'm pretty positive they breed there!" Then she pointed to herself. "If you want to take down Yveltal for doing this to you in the first place, then join us! Join our cause! Fight him together with us!"
Bonesaw's rage quieted for the moment as he pondered what Millie had said. He shook his head. "We can't just go back to the way things were."
"So don't!" Millie responded. "Build a new Ephestia! Start from scratch! Keep the outfits if you want, but ditch the sinful attitudes!"
"Look at it this way..." Manju walked forward. "If you don't stop The Hunt, we'll come after you again. And again. And again, until you do."
Bonesaw glanced back over at the unconscious bodies that lay around him. He waited a beat, then sighed. "I don't suppose I have a choice now, do I?" He reached into his pocket, pulling out a badge. "You have my support."