Nori led his assignment out of Veilstone and onto Route 214. It was a place that Nori was quickly growing familiar with. He had done a lot of training on this stretch of wilderness ever since getting the Demon. He would have to cross the length of the city to reach Route 215, whereas the rugged path was around seven blocks south from his home.

After passing by the rest stop at the edge of town, he headed into the hills. There were all kinds of Pokemon up there, with grassy, rocky, and even some wooded areas to prowl around in. It was simply a very good and very quiet spot to train, although a part of him worried that given his fame and followers, many more people were going to discover it.

Today, however, it was relatively empty. There was only one adult male who seemed to be so engrossed in studying rocks that he wasn't aware of his surroundings. Thankfully, he was sensible and had a Girafarig by his side to keep watch. It locked eyes with Pawniard, rear tail twitching. His assignment seemed to take this as a challenge and took a few steps forward, cackling. Their would-be opponent stood its ground.

Nori interposed and shook his head. "Not that one," he urged. "Wild ones."

Pawniard waved a claw and pointed. A gesture that preceded a hunt. The young official huffed and pressed a finger to the bridge of his nose.

"I'm sure it wouldn't be much of a challenge. It's Dark against Psychic, trained killer against…research assistant?" It seemed like one. Even if it had a Fighting-type move or pulled a miraculous evolution out of nowhere, it wouldn't be too tough for them to beat. "And I don't think they'd want to be interrupted."

The bladed Pokemon growled, yet did not press the issue further. Nori led him to the grassy area above.


S/l/i/c/e/1/3: C/u/t/O/u/t/F/o/r/I/t

Pawniard towered menacingly over their opponent. He made mocking gestures while mouthing off, delivering a Torment for no good reason. Despite having a type advantage, the Ponyta was no match for Pawniard. It was struggling to stand after suffering a foot injury courtesy of a Slash. His assignment was going too far.

"Just…" Nori gritted his teeth. Better be specific here. "Back of the blade, Feint Attack."

His assignment begrudgingly grumbled, gathering shadows around his body. The Ponyta scrambled to its feet and turned around. The thing gained a burst of speed as it darted from the scene, jumping over the cliff face and making a clean break in spite of the cut to the tendon.

"Was that the Run Away ability?" Nori guessed aloud. He could hardly blame the fire horse. Pawniard spat some venomous words, followed by a sinister chuckle.

That was their fifth battle. Nori had been experimenting with different ways of acting as a leader for his assignment. He'd quickly found that just being normal with a little leeway worked fine. He tried exact orders again the first time, and the bladed monster behaved as defiantly as before.

Pawniard was listening and had good initiative. He was talented and gritty enough that little healing was necessary between fights. Yet he remained utterly ruthless, and not one of his opponents escaped unscathed. The worst part was he was inconsistent. Sometimes a Slash would be as expected, other times Pawniard would sink his claws in. One time he even seemed about to gouge out a Stunky's eye — if not worse — necessitating a quick recall.

His assignment clanged his claws against each other. He stood before Nori with a devilish smirk, waiting for the next battle. He wasn't restless at all, simply waiting patiently like a predator for its prey.

Nori took out his Official's radio and checked the time on the display. Just after five. "Maybe just one more before we head back," he suggested. His mom usually had dinner ready around six.

Pawniard stood stoically, awaiting his orders. If he had any thoughts on the matter, he didn't voice them.

"All right, let's go." Nori set out further south, the bladed monster dutifully following.

The young official had to admit that the former Blackout Killer's Pokemon was doing better than expected. Yet he had a long way to go. Injuries sometimes happened in Pokemon battles. It was even permissible to do so intentionally to a certain extent, like targeting a quick Pokemon's legs to slow it down. But Pawniard was injuring opponents for the sake of it, and far more than would be considered acceptable. It was almost as if he enjoyed–

"Help me!"

A female's scream cut through the air, cried out in Japanese. Tasukete. Someone was in trouble!

Nori glanced at Pawniard. "Let's go!" He bolted off, not bothering to look if his assignment was following.

Nori knew Route 214 well. He ran over hills, past trees, and through grass. She repeated her plea twice, each more distressed than the last. He followed the sound of her voice, and gasped as he finally caught sight of her below.

She was a pretty young girl around his age, with her leg pinned under a heavy stone. Her cream-colored hair was disheveled and tears were in her ruby eyes. She wore a green, form-fitting yukata with a sunflower pattern. A black canine — her Poochyena? — lay unconscious several meters away.

The young official rushed to the edge of the cliff overlooking the scene, a two-meter drop. "Are you okay?!" he shouted in Japanese, knowing better than to rush in right away. He had to help, but what did this to her?! It could still be lurking nearby, so he knew he had to be careful.

"No. It hurts. Help me…" she replied. Yeah, stupid question.

He heard a low growl. Nori looked around, but the only Pokemon in sight was the Pawniard at his legs – the one snarling. The sight of the sadistic Pokemon made the girl gasp and recoil in horror.

"Pawniard!" he scolded with a stomp of his foot. "What's wrong with you?!" Attacking Pokemon was one thing, but scaring injured people?!

She put on a brave face for a second, sneering at the vicious Pokemon. It quickly gave way to a terrified expression. She opened her mouth, but couldn't find any words.

Nori gave the girl a reassuring smile, then glared at his assignment. The Pokemon did not falter, still leering over the cliff. He was about to grab his Poke Ball and throw Pawniard back inside when something clicked. Was there a reason for his attitude?

My blades are yours. Pawniard trusted him as a leader. So he decided to trust Pawniard. "What's wrong?" he repeated, more inquisitively. Was whatever attacked this girl really lying in wait for them?

The Dark and Steel type suddenly jumped down, claws raised and ready to strike. Before he landed, a jet of flame consumed him.

Nori immediately reached into his pocket and felt around for the Great Ball. He found it and had the Demon out in two seconds. A pale blur sped past him as he did so. He glanced back at the girl, only to find that she had vanished. A look in front of him and he immediately realized what was going on.

Before him stood an elegant fox Pokemon. Cream-colored fur, ruby eyes, and many flowing caudal appendages. That was a Ninetales! Since when can they make illusions?!

She barked a three-syllable word. Maybe she was trying to say "Kisama," but was unable to do so with her canine mouth. Whatever what was going on, he needed to fight back.

"Don't hold back," he told his Pokemon. She glanced back, grinning with anticipation. It had been a while since she'd been able to rampage. "We need to stop her, fast."

The Demon understood at once, charging forward. The Ninetales' eyes turned an eerie pink, and the surrounding air started to distort violently. An Extrasensory! But it wasn't enough to stop his Pokemon from slamming into her. Nori clenched a fist and grinned, only to stop when the angry fox's eyes shined blue and fired a sphere of light.

"Confuse Ray?!" Nori complained.

Normally he'd have had the Demon close her eyes to get around it, but that came out too fast. The Demon was fighting through it by sheer force of will, but it was by not an ideal situation.

So he just recalled her. This wasn't an official battle, so he could do things like that. "Calm down, please!" he tried to beg the Ninetales. But she turned up her nose and opened her mouth.

As she reared back, Nori jumped off the cliff while sending the Demon back out. He landed in a crouch as a Flamethrower blasted above his head. The first thing he did was look around. That Poochyena had made tracks, but Pawniard was nearby. Burnt, but standing.

"You all right?!" he asked, as he heard the sound of a Shadow Claw followed by a roar of pain from above. When his assignment hummed lowly, Nori took off his bag and searched the front pocket. He found it easily, a tiny bottle of green fluid. "Hold still."

Pawniard complied. A quick spray over the affected area and the effects started to fade at once. The bladed monster nodded, ready to continue.

A swirling pillar of flame rising into the sky drew their attention. Nori ran to the rockface, jumping and grabbing the ledge to pull himself halfway up. No Demon in sight, which meant she was in the Fire Spin. The Ninetales looked like she'd taken some bad hits herself, however. In particular, the Demon had gotten her right in the muzzle with that Shadow Claw.

"Demon! Earth Power!" Nori shouted as loudly as he could. He wasn't sure if she heard him or not.

Whatever the case, the fox roared and spat a white ball of flame directly at the vortex. The Inferno struck true, and she turned to Nori. As soon as he saw her crouching, he let go.

Quick Attack. She overshot. Thoughts raced through his mind. Wild Pokemon were never this aggressive! Why would a Ninetales…wait! Was this about last week? He didn't have much time to process further as the Pokemon turned around and started to rear back.

Nori dove aside while reaching into his pocket for Pachi, only for the flames not to come. The Ninetales screamed in pain and rage. Pawniard had sliced into her heel.

She roared and scurried five meters away. She turned to hurl venomous words at him. He was the one who had hurt that Vulpix in the deep wilds. More than Nori, he was undoubtedly the greatest object of her hatred. Pawniard gave a cold, terse reply that got her to start forming another Inferno.

"Pawniard, look out! Slash!" he shouted.

His words of warning were not necessary as the flames launched wide anyway, making Pawniard's approach even easier. The bladed monster showed her no mercy; bits of fur went flying as he swung his claws. She answered by throwing her entire body at him, another Quick Attack which managed to send him stumbling away.

"Don't look at her!" Nori warned, thinking he knew what was coming next. "Just Night Slash!"

He looked anyway. The Ninetales' eyes indeed started to shine, ready for a Confuse Ray. But Pawniard was much too quick. He slashed right across the eyes, stopping the attack cold. He leaned back, maybe ready to follow up with an Iron Head.

That's when the Ninetales whirled around and whipped Pawniard with all of her tails before dashing off. She was hurt badly – she was running with a limp and breathing heavily. For the briefest of moments, Nori thought she was fleeing and it was over.

Then she halted and looked directly at Nori, barking lowly while all of her tails started to take on an eerie purple aura. That wasn't an attack, not a formal one at least. The young official tensed up. He wanted to run from this, but he knew that escape was impossible at this point.

It happened a second later. Pawniard wasn't as deterred by the tail strike as expected. Still in hot pursuit, he briefly glanced between him and the Ninetales. The bladed Pokemon cartwheeled and leaped over their attacker, hovering menacingly at the apex of his jump. Then he ran his right claw directly through the Ninetales' backside, just as she was about to speak.

For three horrible seconds, the world stood still. The glow around the fox's tails had dissipated instantly. Nori could tell something vital had been pierced inside her. The Ninetales' legs quivered, what little life she had left fading fast. She somehow managed to look back and open her maw, but nothing came out of it – no flame, not even sound. Pawniard shook his head and muttered something as they locked eyes. With an evil beam at Nori, he started to retract.

Nori shut his eyes and turned away for good measure. Unfortunately, he still heard the Ninetales fall to the ground with a wet thud. It was a sound far more haunting than he anticipated, yet it was nothing compared to the deafening silence that followed. Even the wind seemed to momentarily halt out of respect for the fallen Pokemon.

When he opened his eyes, the carnage was laid bare before him. A dead Ninetales in a heap, mouth open in a silent scream. A rapidly growing crimson pool beneath her. Pawniard standing over the body, posture devoid of emotion. The Demon, watching from the edge of the cliff in utter shock. Himself, just standing there, alone amidst Pokemon.

If there was any doubt about what was going on, it was erased with a glance over to the tree line. There stood the Poochyena from before beside a Vulpix, tears streaming from the latter's eyes. The red fox let out a primal scream. Nori braced himself, only for the Poochyena to step in and block the Vulpix's advance. The two roared and shouted, pushing against each other. Even the Demon was shouting things. Nori, meanwhile, found himself at a rare loss for words. He was just as silent as his Pawniard, who was simply standing ready while beckoning to the Vulpix.

"I'm sorry!" he eventually let out an anguished shout. "I didn't mean–" He wasn't sure what to say. That its parent attacking him in revenge wasn't right? That he was just defending himself? That he didn't mean for her to die? This was…

With a final push, the Poochyena shoved the orphaned Vulpix back into the forest, where it was dragged away by some unseen Pokemon. The black canine looked back at him. It gave him a frown that could have meant any number of things before heading back into the deep wilds.

The young official fell to his hands and knees, slamming a fist into the dirt. What the hell had gone wrong?!

He looked up to see Pawniard standing over him. He was puffing out his chest, holding his chin high and smiling toothily. There was no regret or remorse about slaying their attacker.

"Did you really have to kill her?!" he cried out, clenching his hands. He crumpled into a sitting position and stole another glance at the Ninetales' broken body. He regretted it almost instantly, turning back and trying to contain the bile threatening to rise from his stomach. Even if she was trying to kill them, even if she was trying to curse him, even if it was self-defense, it still felt wrong!

His assignment–no. His Pokemon crossed his blades. Pawniard's posture stiffened, and he turned his head to the side. For a second, it seemed like he was about to walk off in disgust. Instead, he only belittled him with a snort. Nori peered at the Demon, whose frown and lip biting indicated she was as conflicted as he was.

"But…" Nori trailed off, his throat aching. He squinted for a moment, wiping the tears from both eyes. He breathed in and out, his exhalation coming in many rapid spurts. The adrenaline was wearing off, and it felt like he was going to choke. "But thank you," he managed to whisper. His Pokemon had saved him. Maybe even stopped that curse. That was a fact, no matter what had happened.

Pawniard relaxed and silently nodded. Once more, he stood with his claws slack and pointed at him. My blades are yours. His bloodstained blades. He couldn't bear to look at them any longer.

Breathe in, breathe out. He was still trembling. Those weren't tears of joy in his eyes. "I'm going home, home now. Just rest," he said as he stood and brought Pawniard back to his capsule. He nodded at the exhausted Demon before doing the same for her. With a heavy sigh, he started to limp back to the city.

Nori had so, so many mixed feelings about what had just happened. He was glad to be alive. He was happy to know Pawniard had protected him. But did that Ninetales have to die? Why did she have to try to kill him? There had to have been another way to resolve things. What would people think if they knew?

But it was too late now. All he could do was try to move forward and hope he could get over it. And hope, maybe even pray that nothing bad came of today.


A/N: WARNING! If you want to read Memory of a Ghoul, get up through Chapter 11 before the next chapter of this fic. Bigtime spoilers will be had. If you don't care or think it'll give you a different perspective though, go nuts.