Mawile and Delcatty

Sonja the Delcatty woke up, stretched, sharpened her claws on an old wooden post, then tended to some cleaning. She had no plans, no obligations. Unlike other Pokemon, she had no Trainer, no Master to give her orders. That was exactly what she wanted. She was free to do what she wanted.

However, she wasn't so sure she wanted to be here. It was a creepy place, an empty fairground. The tents were gone, but a number of small permanent booths remained. Everywhere, there were remains of fairs and celebrations: strings of flags fluttering off posts, some forgotten trash hiding in corners, and signs that were outdated by a few weeks. With the electric lights giving both harsh brightness and deep shadows, it was hard to tell what exactly was out here.

"And I'm hungry," she thought aloud. She should probably leave the fairgrounds and find somewhere else to stay. If not for the creepiness, then for the lack of food.

Sonja still sniffed around, hopeful that there was some forgotten hot dog or hamburger. Or even bread; she'd eat that now, although she wouldn't like it so much. But all the food stalls were empty and cleaned, smelling like disinfectant cleaner. While they might not have gotten rid of all the trash, they certainly got rid of the food trash. She might come check the fairgrounds out in a few days, when another fair was set to start. There would be plenty of food then, and plenty of gullible humans to beg from.

Deciding to leave for certain, she walked along the dirt pathways to the exit. She wondered where she could go for some food and shelter. She didn't want to restrict herself by choosing a home to live in, or a human to live with. There was a store around where she had gotten some good meals from on bad evenings. Could she be a store Pokemon? But then she'd have to stay at the shop. No more wandering around and seeing new things. It was a tough choice.

There was a movement in the shadows that made her freeze. She hadn't smelled anything warning her of someone approaching. After a second, another Pokemon came out into the light. It had a scent of steel, which was why she had ignored it at first. It stood on two feet to be at eye level with her. Outwardly, it had a smooth flesh-colored armor coat covering most of its body. A long gray steel horn came off the top of its head and hung back like a long ponytail. Despite the natural metal armor, it had large black eyes and a small mouth.

"There's nothing going on here now, Mawile," Sonja said. "Might as well go on back home."

"Ko?" the steel creature asked.

"Humans won't be back here for a few days. Go home; you never know what kind of creeps are wandering about a place like this."

"Ko," he said, holding his hands together in a shy frightened manner. His eyes got watery.

Sonja put her pink nose to the air and tilted her tufted ears back. "What's a tough Pokemon like you got to fear? And why've you got to act cute to get help? You're metal; you don't have a cute fur collar, like I do naturally.

The Mawile shuffled closer to her, looking back into the darkness. He may not have had a fur collar, but his expression was cute and harmless looking. Most likely, his wide eyes had something to do with that. "Ko ko?"

Shaking her head, she took a few steps along the path. "I'm not Koko. I'm Sonja. Not too bright, are you? Can you say anything else?"

"Ko…" he said sadly, then started walking after her.

"Figures. What am I supposed to call you then? Ko?"

"Ko?"

"I guess. So then, Ko, know where there's any food about?"

"Koooo… ko!" He stopped, then waved over to another area of the fairgrounds. Then, seemingly rethinking it, he put his hands together and lowered his head. "Koooo."

Why'd she have to run into a coward? But if he knew where there was food, then it would be worthwhile to hang out with this Mawile for a night. "Ah, don't be a sissy. I'm sure whatever's out there, we can handle it. Or at least, I can. Where's the chow?"

Ko waved for her to follow him, then went back down the fairgrounds path. He turned left at a crossing, where more permanent stalls were. As they went along, he kept looking from side to side, as if expecting an ambush at any time. His pace was uneven and his steel horns twitched to and fro. And, Sonja wasn't sure of this, but she thought that the horns, almost grown completely together, seemed to have teeth.

"Geez, don't have a heart attack," she said casually. It made him jump forward and turn towards her. "I don't smell anything worrisome, except maybe a lack of food. And there's nothing I can hear that's bad either."

Although, the lack of any danger signs seemed to be a danger sign in itself. The empty fairgrounds were silent. There should have been some other Pokemon scrounging about in the night. But not even a Flying type was passing overhead. This place hadn't seemed so bad by the morning's daylight, but in this electric lit nighttime, something didn't feel right.

"Kind of lonely out here," Sonja commented. "I really ought to come back when it's lively."

"Ko." Then the Mawile tripped on something, falling onto his hands and knees. His horns made a solid thump when they hit the ground. Fiddling his hands about to make sure he was okay, he seemed embarrassed at his moment of being a klutz.

"Careful," she teased, coming up to see what he had tripped on. There was a small metal square in the pathway. When Ko got off it, it lifted up. Some kind of pressure activated device. "Weird thing to be out in the middle of the walkway."

Without warning, a strange instrument began to play. It was like a flute, but deeper and more mystical in tone. Some chimes accompanied it. While Sonja's ears went back and Ko got even more tense, a distorted voice began speaking in human words. "Do you seek a guide to your fortune? I see past the veils of mystery."

The Delcatty looked to the source of the voice and music. It turned out to be just a mechanical performer for the fair crowds. Within a small glass-walled booth, there was a robotic puppet of a Grumpig. With its native dark pearls around its body, it also wore strands of multi-colored pearls around its neck and dangles of multi-colored pearls from its ears.

Sniffing, Sonja swished her tail. "Just a puppet player. Unless the puppet happens to know where some food is. Where's the chow, robot?"

"Your fortune," the Grumpig puppet said, slowly blinking its eyes. "You must beware of treachery in new ones… that is what your aura defines. With a small payment, I could take a deeper look into this fortune."

Sonja would have just passed this off as weird nonsense, but then she saw a flash of gray steel. Her instincts for battle kicking in, she jumped out of the way to face the Mawile. His horns had separated some, making them look even more like enormous jaws with razor-edged teeth. And he had brought them in front of his face instead of holding them behind.

Hissing, she lowered her poise to something more fitting of battle. "What's this for? Overly superstitious, Ko?"

His eyes narrowed. His shoulders had gone from a pulled-in anxiety to a set-back confidence. "I like to play with my food a bit, ko," he said in a clear and cool voice. "But ko, Miss Fortune Teller had to ruin things tonight."

She began pacing around him. He kept his horns between his main body and her. "As much as I appreciate the concept of play, I am not food. Pokemon don't eat each other."

He put his paws to his chin, but his smile was sly. "I found that I like my food more intelligent than usual, ko." He brought his steel horns up, opening them wide. "This will be the end of ko, Sonja the Delcatty."

When he snapped those toothed horns at her, Sonja rolled to the side. "Fo-or-get it, dearie dangerous demented Ko," she said in a sing-song voice. "You-u won't be-e get-ting me-e."

Ko's eyes started to look drowsy. As the Sing attack kicked him into dreamland, Sonja turned and bolted. If she went as fast as she could, she could get out of the fairgrounds before the crazy Pokemon could catch up. She considered going to that shop after all. While it would be a less adventurous life, there would be less folks trying to eat her.

Ko stumbled back onto the pressure plate that triggered the Fortune Teller mechanism. "Do you seek to avoid disappointment?" the puppet asked. "I can show you the secret ways."

...

Sapphire entry: Don't be taken in by this Pokemon's cute face – it's very dangerous. Mawile fools the foe into letting down its guard, then chomps down with its massive jaws. The steel jaws are really horns that have been transformed.

Ruby entry: Delcatty prefers to live an unfettered existence in which it can do as it pleases at its own pace. Because this Pokemon eats and sleeps whenever it decides, its daily routines are completely random.

Horror's kind of a rare genre from me too. Mawile made it fun, though!