Last time, I introduced a Joy with a shotgun. If you're wondering about what shotgun was, it was the Pokemon version of the mighty SPAS-12 loaded with the so-called lupara shots (pellets linked with iron strings, more disruptive against flesh, a 'Ndrangheta habit). In this chapter I'll introduce a my original character that you could have seen in the webcomic Secret Love from ElliasMaidenhowl. I created the character for a contest of OC that would appear in her comic, there's not art thieft from anybody.
by lord Martiya
TALE 10: VS NOCTOWL
Well, I suppose to have talked too much, and now I have to unveil my training regime... One hundred thousand, in cash.
Very well, all the money. And I was joking... Oh, well, some money is always welcome.
Good, so, you want to know my training regime? Very simple: attacking TR A-rankers and Elites and various shipment. Yes, shipment: Giovanni had the habit of using some of the most talented and most thrusted trainees for the various material deliveries, so I was sure to find a reasonable match that wouldn't escape while damaging TR affairs.
I 'trained' for a week when something forced me to interrupt.
I just finished lunch when I had a sensation and ducked. And a bullet fled exactly where my head was, near enough to let me feel its heat. Acting on the Aura-sensing, I managed to evade various other bullet while moving behind a three. Then I heard a cell phone ringing with a registered tone that was saying: "Enrico Paolucci, this call is for you!"
I answered the call and asked in the phone: "Please, can you tell me who are you?"
"You can call me White Feather(1)." the other answered. "Yes, THE White Feather. Also, I am the one who's shooting at you."
Uh? You don't know who the White Feather is? Well, he's one of the best sharpshooters in the entire world. I don't know if he's really able to hit a Caterpie between his eyes from a 2000 meters(2), but what I know is that he can hit a little Flying-type Pokemon flying at Dragonite's speed from 800 meter(3).
Knowing of him, I asked: "What do you want?"
"Your bounty is thirty millions, and even if they understimated you the money don't stink. Can you surrender now, please?"
"Is there somebody under-18 listening?"
"Yes. Why?"
"Because I don't want to use curses near them. Go to Hell."
"Well, at least you're polite... I suggest you reconsider: you can run, but only in my trap, as I proved.""What will happen if I surrender?"
"I'll shoot you with a tranquillizer bullet. You know, sometimes there's an idiot who try THAT trick..."
"As I supposed. My answer is no."
"As you want. You have five seconds to find another cover before I shoot again and a device wet you with Gloom essence."
I didn't called his bluff (besides, he didn't bluffed) and took cover behind another tree. Then I discovered something about his ability: he was able to hit with ricocheting bullets, and I was near-missed by one of those shots. And if you consider that he only knew that I was behind the tree, you can call him a very good sniper. At least I managed to see the caliber of bullets he was using, 12.7x99mm, and that could help me.
OK, let's resume the data. I thinked. He's using a weapon chambered for 12.7x99, and those weapons have an effective range between 1800 and 2000 meters. He's ricocheting his rounds, so I cannot know exactly the direction, but at least I know that he's very much nearer than 1800 meters. And he's using tranquillizer bullets, so he's probably nearer than 1000 meters. Now I have to locate him, if I want to fight back, and running is not an option, he could shoot my legs with something more damaging. Well, let's try that and hope that the under-18 people he talked about won't attack me...
Then, from another direction, he shot at me a rifle grenade(4) filled with tear gas. I managed to evade his attack only by sheer luck, because a wild Murkrow was attract by the shining grenade and took it far from me before I was gassed, but it told me that he was nearer than 200 meters. Maybe even 100 meters, considering that he was surely using a silencer to not be located. I knew almost all I needed, and called upon Aureliano to understand exactly where White Feather was hiding.
"Aureliano, there's somebody who's attacking us. Fly high and locate him." I ordered after changing position.
Aureliano flew high and as fast as he could, rivaling Dragonite speed. He was almost at 700 meters high when I discovered that White Feather was able to shoot him at that speed. White Feather just did a thing he shouldn't do: enrage me.
"YOU ASKED FOR IT!!" I shouted while recalling Aureliano in mid-air and unleashing Raimondo. "RAIMONDO, RAKE THE AREA WITH YOUR HYPER BEAM!"
It appeared that White Feather had another weapon, a submachine-gun, that he used in direct fire attempting with his rifle attempting to stop Raimondo. The counterattack had no effect on his scales, but White Feather somehow survived the Hyper Beam (I later discovered that one of his Pokemons shielded him using Protect).
But at that point I turned the table: with that direct shooting White Feather revealed his position, while during the Hyper Beam I called forth Federico and hided underground with his Dig. From that I recalled Raimondo and reached White Feather position while he was looking around with his Shiny Gengar, the Pokemon who shielded him. Being just 2 or 3 cm(5) underground, I could see him and, as back-up, called for Snyer. I planned to attack with Federico zapping around with Thunderbolt, hoping that the electricity would detonate White Feather rounds. Then we emerged. And I discovered the golden rule of a sniper: having a good spotter covering your back. And his Noctowl was named Spotter and had an Extrasensory ready for us. And I can assure you that it HURTS. But, unluckyly for Spotter, Extrasensory is a Psychic attack and Snyers is and was partly a Dark-type and partly an Ice-type. I'll let you guess. No Ice Beam, try again. No, he hates using Ice Punch. Yes, he used Blizzard at point blank. On a lower-level Flying-type. No, it didn't hurt, Spotter fainted before feeling pain.
Besides, the Blizzard had a side-effect: prevented White Feather's Gengar, named Security (I know, White Feather has an impressive fantasy for names) to aim his Shadow Ball due to snow in his eyes and White Feather, who was wearing goggles, to locate us well enough to shoot at us.
Federico and I jumped on White Feather to beat him while Snyer dealed with Security, but all five of us were blocked in mid-air by a powerful Disable, and a young man about 25-years old and a red-headed girl with a Raichu on her shoulder appeared out of nowhere. I consider myself lucky: I had a pistol aimed at my shoulder and Federico had a submachine gun aimed at his leg, and if White Feather wasn't blocked by the Disable I was surely shot.
"You got a good performance." the man said to me. "Normally people won't survive five seconds against White Feather, but you managed to arrive at point-blank range before 'losing'. It was worth to locate you and use him as a test."
"Who are you?" I asked.
"Oh, yes, you can't turn your head for the Disable... Look."
He posed his face before my eyes, and I gulped: he was The Lord, the youngest Pokemon Master in history, the strongest living Master, Master Champion of Candraca, honorific general of the World Army, yadda-yadda-yadda, and, more important, the Pokemon G-Man in charge about Team Rocket.
"I suppose from the 'gulp' that you recognized me." he said. "Very good, because I'd like you to work for me in Pokemon G-Men to bring down Team Rocket."
"No." I replied. "It's personal."
"That's not a videogame, it's real life. The strenght of your Pokemon and of your will matters NOT, you cannot bring down something like Team Rocket alone. The first Cipher in Orre was a glorified joke, that's why Wes managed to bring it down almost alone. Team Rocket it's the biggest criminal organization in the entire world. Do you really hope to do some significant damage before being overwhelmed? It's impossible."
"You bringed down the Tiksi(6) Rebellion survivors."
"I simply defeated the brother of their boss and the boss was stupid enough to search for me and being surprised by my last Pokemon. I took down the boss and his elite, the Army did the job. However, here's my offer: clearing from all charges; a salary of ten millions monthly; information and powers of a Pokemon G-Man; and..."
"I don't care."
"Let me finish. Last but not least, a motorbike."
"A... Motorbike?"
"Just join us and tell me the model."
"Did Rose told you about that?"
"Obviously, yes."
"Can you bring here a Dogati Hypermotard S with a sidecar and customization tools?"
"It will be here tomorrow."
"I accept!"
"Good! You know, if you refused I'll had to let my brother-in-law claim your bounty..."
While I was wondering of how a Pokemon Master happened to be a bounty hunter's brother-in law, the source of the blocking Disable pointed White Feather's guns in air and moved us to not crash, and then freed us. After I signed the contract, The Lord ordered the bike and the redheaded-girl treated Aureliano to wake him up, I asked: "Excuse me, but where is the minor?"
"Did W.F. mentioned a minor?" the redhead asked.
"Ye-"
"JAKE! WHERE ARE YOU?! I'M GONNA TO ZAP YOU OUT OF MANHOOD!!"
White Feather, whose real name was apparently Jake, was disappeared, leaving only a note for me to congratulate my performance and wishing to work with me the next time we met, and the redhead went after him.
"When it regards each other, they revert at five years old." The Lord Explained.
"I noted." I answered. "Is it real that Candracan gym leaders are all crazy?"
"She's one of them, judge by yourself. BTW, when your bike is here I'll have a job for you in Jotho, a funny one, at least for you."
"Let's do it."
I had a job. A remunerative one. And, better of all, I had my motorbike. For free. In spite of White Feather, that was one of the best days in my life.
footnotes
(1)The original character that I created for Secret Love, he's not a simple sniper, but a Master Sniper (in Canadian Army they're the best of the best among the snipers). His sniping weapon is the Pokemon world version of the McMillan TAC-50 LRSW, the anti-material rifle who realized the longest recorded sniper kill (2432 meters, or 1.509 miles), while, in this incarnation, for self-defence he carries the local version of the infamous submachine gun FN P-90 and of the FN Five-seveN (no mispelling, it's writed in this manner). Here he's not Canadian.
(2)1.2 miles, just in case you don't use SI units.
(3)1/2 mile.
(4)A grenade using a rifle as launcher. It's range is inferior to a grenade launched by a grenade launcher, but it's bigger and more powerful.
(5)3 cm1 inch.
(6)Tiksi is a place mentioned in the Green, Red, Blue, Yellow, Fire Red and Leaf Green versions of the game by a Silph Co. traitor scientist as a place where he was about to be transferred. It's also a mention of a real world city in Sakha Republic, a state in Russian Federation, more precisely Siberia.