Chapter 99

Katana led the way through Palkia's Woods, with Maple close behind. She didn't focus on where she wanted to go or what she wanted to do, so the Woods would probably just send them around in a circle. That was fine with Katana. It was more important to walk than to get somewhere.

The local Aipom did their usual screeching and acorn-tossing as the two human Pokémon passed. Almost absent-mindedly, Katana tossed Ice Shards at a few of them. They scattered soon afterward, but more would take their place. If Palkia's Woods really was sending them in circles, then they would be gone soon enough. Still, the small Pokémon were annoying at best.

"Do they always do that?" Maple asked, in a small voice.

"Pretty much," Katana chuckled, "they never learn, either." Her next Ice Shard hit one directly in the forehead. It fell off the branch it was sitting on and tumbled end over end to the forest floor below.

Katana turned to smirk at Maple, but stopped when she saw the expression on the Leafeon-girl's face. Her eyes were downcast and her ears drooped forward.

"We're not supposed to be like this…are we?" she asked. She looked at Katana with desperation, even panic.

"What?" Katana asked, "What are you talking about?" She must have missed something.

"Human!" Maple cried, "We're not supposed to be human!" She sank to her knees, fighting back tears. Everything was falling apart. Mark didn't love her and she couldn't even battle. What was the point?

Dammit, Katana thought. She had never been good at this, but she would have to try.

"It's alright," she walked back towards the Leafeon-girl and knelt down with her, "come on, it's not that bad." She put a hand on Maple's shoulder. That was supposed to help, but she didn't know why.

She regretted doing so a moment later when Maple flung herself at Katana's chest and hugged her tightly. She cried openly into Katana's shirt. Mostly, this just confused the young Weavile-woman. She hardly felt like a mother-figure and the Leafeon-girl was probably better endowed than she was. It struck her that it might be more comforting for Maple if Katana swapped herself out for that Vaporeon-girl that Quickstep had been leering at.

"It's alright," she said again. She had never felt so awkward in all her life. Maybe she just needs to let it out or…something, she hoped.

After the longest minute of Katana's life, Maple finally released her and sat back up.

"I'm…I'm sorry," Maple apologized as she wiped at her eyes, "I didn't mean to…"

"It's alright," Katana shook her head, merely relieved that it was over, "not all of them do that," she gestured towards the trees, "most of them, but not all."

"But…why?" Maple asked.

"I have no idea," Katana shrugged, "I didn't grow up in the wild. I'm guessing you didn't either."

Maple shook her head.

"Mm…" Katana nodded, "yeah, I don't know why they do it. They're probably just afraid of us."

"Why?" Maple asked again.

"I don't know," Katana stood up and brushed off her knees, "don't let it bother you."

"But…"

"I wouldn't worry about what you're supposed to be," Katana sighed, "that sounds like you're trying to be something you're not. If you're supposed to be a Leafeon, then why are you a girl?"

"Umm…" Maple didn't have an answer. A few weeks ago, she would've said Mark was the reason. But now…

"Look," Katana started, "we all know what's wrong. And we want to help, but the two of you can't keep avoiding each other. You're afraid of another fight, sure. Doesn't really make any sense to me, but what do I know? Katana, the 'Frigid-Bitch,' never even had a date! But look at what you're doing to yourself!"

"What?" Maple asked. She only understood about half of that.

"Dammit…" Katana took a deep breath and rubbed her forehead, "my point is: teaching you to meditate and taking you into the woods to cry aren't fixing the real problem."

"Then…what do I do?" Maple asked, finally getting to her feet.

"You know what you need to do," Katana told her.

Maple nodded. Some of the fear and uncertainty left her eyes.

"Maaaaple! Katanaaaaa! Where are you?!" a voice echoed through the woods, coming towards them, "Come ooooon! I'm hungry!"

"That's Cherry…" Maple turned towards the Charmeleon-girl's voice. "Well…uh…" she turned back to Katana.

"Go," Katana waved her away, "I'll be here, when you need me."

Maple stepped forward and hugged Katana again, this time without tears.

"Thank you," she told her mentor.

"Anytime," Katana sighed and hugged the girl back.

The two parted a moment later and Maple headed in the direction of Cherry's voice.

Katana watched Maple go, hoping that she didn't just make a very big mistake.

"Did talking to Katana help?" Mark asked Maple as they neared the edge of Palkia's Woods.

"Uh…yeah," Maple answered. Though she was unsure if that was the truth, or not. Katana made it sound easy and natural, but…was it really the right thing to do? What if Katana was wrong?

"Good," Mark nodded, "glad to hear it. We'll need to keep training, after all. There's only another three days before the next match." He would have to check the schedule to see who they would be up against. He only hoped to win one more match. The semi-final would be against either Aurum or RiverofTears. There was no way a Leafeon and Charmeleon would stand a chance. Especially when he remembered that Aurum had been training them for a week.

"Oh, right," Maple nodded. She kept her head down and began to lag behind Mark and Cherry as they approached the city. If she listened to Katana, that meant she had to confront Mark. It would mean another fight, a fight with words and hurt feelings. She hated them so much more than battling…

"What the…?" Mark asked when they were almost to the city.

Maple looked up to see something very strange.

All around the edge of city, along the streets and sidewalk that separated wilderness and concrete, there were men setting up barricades. There was at least half a dozen of them, one every ten or fifteen feet. From the pattern on their clothes, Maple recognized them as Silph Co. employees. Normally, they would be stationed in the stadium or the street. They helped people find where they were supposed to be going, but…what were they doing now?

Her eyes widened when she saw that they were wearing body armor and carrying rather large guns.

"HALT!" one of the guards yelled. He raised his gun and pointed it straight at Mark. Several other guards turned to see what was happening. Two more aimed their guns at Maple and Cherry.

Immediately, the three froze. Mark put up his hands and motioned for Cherry and Maple to do the same. Whatever was happening, he knew it was best to let these men do their job.

"State your names!"

"My name is Mark Diamond!" Mark called out, trying to keep his voice calm, "these two are my human Pokémon: Maple and Cherry!"

"What were you doing outside of the city?!"

"Training!" Mark answered, "Training in Palkia's Woods!" Mark could feel his heart racing. Why were they worried about people going in and out of the city? If these were Silph employees, why were there so many? And, most importantly, why did they carry guns like that? They weren't pistols, they were rifles. Automatic rifles, like a soldier might use.

One of the guards lowered his weapon and motioned to one of the others. Mark guessed that it was his commander. They were still too far away for him to make out what the guard was saying, but Maple could hear a few words. They were talking about what kind of human Pokémon Cherry and Maple were and what attacks they knew. They came to the conclusion that neither Charmeleon nor Leafeon could learn Psychic or Dazzling Gleam.

"Stand down!" the commander told the others. The other guards lowered their guns and Mark breathed an immense sigh of relief as he lowered his hands. Still, he didn't move from where he stood

"You're free to enter the city," the commander instructed them, "you have our deepest apologies."

"What the hell is this?" Cherry asked.

"Shh," Mark shushed her. Whatever was going on, they had just been cleared. He might be able to get some information out of them if he was careful. The guards' mistake of falsely-accusing them was something he could use for leverage, if needed.

Mark led his two Pokémon-girls closer. He looked all around, checking for signs and listening for snippets of conversation. Still, he waited until all three of them were safely beyond the barricades before he said or did anything. The commander was waiting for him, hand outstretched.

"Let me apologize, once more," he said as he pumped Mark's hand, "my name is Patrick Davis. I'm head of security, underneath Alfred Silph himself."

"Don't you usually wear orange stripes instead of body armor?" Mark asked, trying to be as casual as possible. Inside, he was a nervous wreck. No one had ever pointed a gun at him in his life; and certainly not one as big as Davis was carrying.

"Heheh," Davis chuckled, "normally, yes." He did not elaborate, which meant Mark would have to ask him directly. "If you don't mind," he went on, "would you mind signing your name in our ledger?"

"Why?" Mark asked, "What's going on?" He looked around at the security guards turned into soldiers. What could they possibly need it all for?

Davis looked around at his men. Instead of answering, he handed Mark a form and a ballpoint pen.

"Sign the ledger first," Davis insisted.

Mark did as instructed.

"They're with me," Mark gestured to Cherry and Maple before giving the form back.

"They should sign, as well," Davis pressed.

"They can't," Mark almost snapped at him, "they can't read or write." He stared coldly at Davis for a few tense seconds. Mark wasn't going to make Cherry and Maple sign anything until he knew why.

"Sir, they really don't have to," the guard/soldier that had spoken up for them before told Davis, "they didn't do it."

"Do what?" Cherry spoke up.

"Quiet down, now. Grown-ups are talking, little missy," Davis sneered down at Cherry.

"Hey!" Cherry snapped back.

"Cherry, please," Mark put up a hand to keep his Charmeleon-girl calm, then turned to Davis, "it would be much easier for us to co-operate if you told us what's happening."

"Fair enough," Davis nodded, "there's been a murder."

"A murder?" Mark looked around in disbelief, "not to sound heartless, or anything, but…all of this for a murder?" It looked more like there had been a bombing.

"It was a human Pokémon murder," Davis explained, "one human Pokémon killed another. Not an ordinary murder."

"A human Pokémon…murder?" Maple gasped at the thought.

"Yes," Davis nodded, "now, if you don't mind, we'd really appreciate it if you could co-operate."

"Alright," Mark agreed.

"Boss, they really shouldn't have to sign," the second guard/soldier spoke up, again, "if we just register the trainers and check their human Pokémon that should be enough."

"Should be, Seth?" Davis questioned the suggestion.

"Will be, sir," Seth corrected, "human Pokémon don't live apart from their trainers. They can't really take care of themselves." It was only half of the truth, but clearly Seth had more experience with human Pokémon than his boss did.

"Alright," Davis conceded, "it'll make it easier to sort through names, if nothing else." He turned back to Mark. "You have any others?"

"All unevolved," Mark told him, "the Pokéballs are in my hotel room."

"Alright," Davis nodded, "you're free to go, then."

Mark eagerly led Maple and Cherry away from the security guards. So there had been a human Pokémon murder. Did that really explain it? Regular humans would be sorely outmatched in a fight against a human Pokémon. Perhaps if they really wanted to avoid loss of life or even avoid a fight entirely, then they needed that sort of equipment. Anything less would give their enemy a weakness to exploit.

But what were the barricades for? Did they intend to quarantine the whole city until they found who was responsible? And why register all of the trainers and their human Pokémon? Did they have some method for figuring it out?

"Hey!" they were about a block away from the barricades when Mark heard that guard, Seth, call out to him.

The young man was somewhere in his mid-twenties. His face was plain, but he was tall and broad-shouldered. He was built like a guard…like a soldier, too.

"Hey, sorry about that," he thumbed behind him, "the boss isn't all that great at being nice to people. He thinks everybody's an asshole trying to cause trouble."

"You don't say," Mark rolled his eyes, "not you, though?"

"Nah," Seth shook his head, "plus, I've got my own human Pokémon. She's an Azumarill named Bubble, cute as a button, too."

"Aww…" Maple cooed.

"Why isn't she helping you?" Mark asked, "If you're trying to track down a human Pokémon murderer, then shouldn't you have your own?"

"Nuh-uh," Seth shook his head again, "she's not a fighter. I'm a little worried about her, though. She usually stays in town until I get off work. Personally, I'm not looking forward to using this…monster," he looked at the rifle in his hands, "but I will to keep her safe."

"Is that…necessary?" Mark had to ask. Some humans hunted certain kinds of Pokémon for sport without Pokéballs. The practice was mostly frowned upon because Pokémon battles were far more humane. However, even in those instances, anything more than a bolt-action firearm was usually overkill.

"Believe it or not, I think it is," Seth nodded, "I've never done it, but I've heard it can take ten…fifteen hits to bring down a human Pokémon. And that's while they're fighting back with attacks that could kill you on the spot."

"Fifteen?!" Mark gaped. There was no way that could be true. It was outrageous. And with so few human Pokémon in the world, where could a statistic like that even come from?

Seth shrugged. "That's what they told us in training. And I sure as hell am not taking chances when it's a psychic type."

"Psychic?" Mark asked.

"Oh, yeah," Seth nodded, "you guys seem pretty trustworthy, and I want this over with, so let me tell you what I know. About an hour ago, the boss got a report that somebody brought a dead Pokémon-girl into the Pokémon Center, screaming for help. One of the doctors examined the body and could tell that whoever attacked the poor girl had used a combination of Dazzling Gleam and Psychic to kill her."

"Dazzling Gleam and Psychic," Mark repeated. Psychic and fairy attacks.

"Yeah," Seth went on, "that's when the boss decided to kick into high gear. He got permission from Silph to lockdown the city and start questioning people. If you ask me, he probably just wanted to get his hands on all the weapons we never use. Make himself feel like a badass."

"So that's what this is about…" Mark mused.

"Yep," Seth nodded, "once we've checked everybody, it'll get lifted. Shouldn't take more than a day or two. Until then, nobody goes in or out without us knowing."

"I see…" Mark nodded. That was certainly going to make training in Palkia's Woods more difficult. Not to mention, Aurum and half of all of the Four's human Pokémon were still outside of this lockdown. He could just imagine how much of a hassle the grumpy old man would be for Davis. He had to suppress a smirk at the thought.

"So, anything you can tell us that might help would be appreciated," Seth nodded. He turned to leave, as though he expected no answer and saying so was just another way of saying "goodbye."

Mark watched him turn away and thought about Team Deus. Silver had scoffed at Silph's security force, but apparently no one had any idea they were trained as soldiers, as well. But how many of them were there? Two, maybe three dozen? That many men with automatic rifles could certainly be a force to be reckoned with. But what would happen if they were put up against Team Deus?

Mark didn't want to think about that. That sounded like war, not a Pokémon battle.

"Hey, Seth!" Mark called out and the young man turned back, "who was it? That got attacked, I mean."

"Don't remember her name," Seth shook his head, "but, like I said, it was a girl. She was part Meganium. Guy that brought her in was an Absol. I think his name was Silver."

AN: that's more like it. one sitting, maybe with a few breaks here and there. That's how I roll.

Anyway, I got to talk about guns and hunting in the Pokemon world, a bit. that's a fun topic. I realized some time ago that if Pokemon battles are non-lethal, then pulling out a gun and shooting a Pokemon is actually far less humane. Weird, but true. At least, that's how I see it.

What do you guys think? I'd love to hear a few counter-arguments to the typical "Pokemon is basically dog-fighting" thing. The fact that battles are non-lethal and don't have lasting consequences (unless somebody adds it in fanfic) is a huge plus. Hell, most real-life sports are more dangerous.

Generally, I view Pokemon as a healthy mix between boxing and horse-racing. Horse-racing in particular has some wonderful parallels. From time to time, I've kicked around the idea of doing a realistic Pokemon story (regular Pokemon) where there's an industry set up closer to real-life horse racing. And the job of "Pokemon trainer" gets split between several different people. Breeder, trainer, owner, and a battler, like horse-racing with a battler instead of a jockey.

But I digress…

Anyways, I'll cya next time!

Thanks for reading!