It had been a long time since Skratch had been let out. The ball was cramped. Desperate for water and oxygen Skratch mewled for Pikachu to let him out, to glimpse the dear Earth before the light faded from his eyes.

"Please Pikachu" he begged in an unsightly manner, "let me see the sun, the jewel that every creature is privy to. The gift from God to man".

"Get out, trash."

Pikachu threw the ball into the river and Skratch nearly drowned.

"Where are we Pikachu? To what satanic land have you summoned me to?" said Skratch as he dragged his sullen body from the water.

"Welcome to crime, Skratch. We're staking out the entrance to Mt. Moon. Nurse Joy caught whiff of a gang passing Bright Powder and Moon Stones and it's our job to hospitalize them." said Pikachu whilst handing Skratch a brutal set of pliers and a dead Bonsly.

"Excellent." said Skratch, digging into dinner.

Crunch. Crunch. Rock types aren't very tasty thought Skratch as he stared into Mt. Moon's wide gape. The sun had just begun to set, and a damp, cool air drafted from the cave's opening. The Volbeats and Illumise had come out to play, bobbing and dancing like a field of ethereal flowers. One could hear the faint notes of a Jigglypuff singing in the calm fairyland of Mt. Moon's bushy trees and slouching spires. A splendid night to draw blood.

Pikachu and Skratch camped in dusty underbrush about a hundred meters from the entrance. They waited for hours in boredom and relative discomfort, Weedles, Grubbin, and Spinarak crawling all over them and injecting nasty neurotoxins into their bodies. But it was all in good fun. By the seventh hour of waiting, Pikachu had run out of snacks and was on the verge of falling asleep, Skratch had also gone into anaphylactic shock. Times were truly dire, yet their patience would be rewarded.

A deep, throaty voice coming directly across Skratch and Pikachu by the other side of the road, cut through the inky silence.

"Thirty grams. That's all I'm able to offer on short notice."

"..."

"Fine. I can give you an advance, but only because you have good standing."

"..."

"Yes, I'll be at the wedding. See you then."

Skratch hit them from the side. Overdosed on Antidote and armed with a sharp piece of flint, Skratch was a maelstrom of violence. Rock Smash! Rock Smash! Critical Hit! On cue, Pikachu also rushed out, with a wriggling Weedle in hand, and lunged. Fell Stinger!

With unreasonable swiftness, a thick, muscular hand grabbed Skratch's thrashing limb and threw him to the ground with a painful snap. Then, it smoothly intercepted Pikachu's Weedle, grasping it just above the stinger, and ripped the worm in two. Pikachu was in shock, but had not long to contemplate his position, for the hand quickly made a grab for his throat.

Clefable smiled. She could not recall the last time she had been exposed.