Banette

A teenaged boy came into the house; he wore a brown jacket over a white shirt with black pants in an almost but not successful attempt to look nice. He smiled nervously at the man who had opened the door. "Good afternoon, Mr. Price. I'm Jacob."

"Afternoon, Jacob," he replied in a gruff voice, while he shook hands with the teen. "Iris should be down in a few minutes. Would you take a seat?" He offered one of the chairs at the kitchen table while he sat in another one.

"All right," Jacob said, sitting down nervously to the inevitable 'are you worthy of dating my daughter' grilling session. He looked around the kitchen and found a strange doll sitting on the kitchen counter.

It was in such poor shape that it was almost a sad thing, if it weren't so creepy. The fabric of its body was visibly old, thin in patches and stained in others. Covering that was a white dress with a rainbow array of polka dots, only it was ripped and apparently chewed at one point. Its red yarn hairs were frayed or missing, while one black button eye was loose, tilting off the face. For some strange reason, it had a red zipper strap for a smile and a wide red ribbon bow around its neck.

Somehow, the doll was watching Jacob. He looked away, but the whole time he spoke with Mr. Price, the teen knew it was still watching him. It made him anxious for Iris to come downstairs so they could leave. Really, the doll made him more nervous than his girlfriend's father. The doll noticed, but stayed where it was.

"Maria!" a girl's voice rang through the house. "Where are you?"

To the boy's surprise, the rag doll lifted off the counter and changed shape. It now had a sack-like black body, with a round head and tubes for pigtails. The Banette still had a zipper for a mouth and a red ribbon bow, though. Making an eerie laugh, she floated to a doorway.

A girl in a blue dress came into the kitchen. "Oh, there you are sweetie." She took the Banette into one arm, then gave a broad smile to the boy. "Hi Jacob! It's good to see you."

He smiled back. "Hi Iris. You look really nice today."

"Thanks. I hope you don't mind Maria coming with us. She's with me everywhere, you know."

"That's fine. Are you ready to go?"

As she nodded, her father added, "Make sure to be back by eight."

"Sure thing," Jacob agreed. "It was good meeting you, Mr. Price."

They went some goodbye exchanges, but as the two teens went out the door, the father mouthed to the Pokemon, "Keep them in line."

Since the Banette's mouth was always zipped into a smile, she blinked, then looked out to the boy's car. It wasn't anything impressive, just a practical vehicle for a young driver. That was a plus for this one's chances at staying Iris' boyfriend, at least with respect to her parents' opinion. And while Maria did belong to Iris, she knew to keep on the good side of the parents.

The date started out with a movie. He paid for the tickets while she paid for the soda and popcorn. For herself, Maria didn't much care for what movie was playing. But she did always like the darkened theater. The Banette sat herself on the back of the chair next to Iris.

"She was a real sorry-looking doll when I came in the house," Jacob commented while the lights were on. "I didn't recognize her until you called her name and she changed to her normal look."

Iris scratched Maria's head, making the Pokemon coo contentedly. "Yeah, she does that from time to time. That little red-headed ragdoll is the one she possessed in order to evolve."

"She had to possess a doll? Weird. My Pokemon just had to get strong enough."

"Shuppets evolve that way, by taking over a discarded doll. And even if they take a nice-looking one, they tend to make it look worse."

"Huh. They're kind of creepy. But then I guess Ghost Pokemon are all that way."

"To most people. But when they love you and give you big soulful eyes, they're just so adorable." Iris laughed and patted Maria.

Interested in the boy's response, the Banette got up and floated forward a short distance. His eyes showed that he still thought it was creepy, but he smiled anyhow. "Yeah, it's great when your Pokemon become friendly with you."

As the lights went dim, they had to stop the conversation. Maria went back to the seat. However, her duty was to supervise them and make sure the boy wasn't trouble. She had supervised dates before and knew many tricks for stopping an overeager boy.

But Jacob behaved himself. At times, the teens held hands, but that was it. Maria was a little disappointed in that. She liked rebuking the bad ones. One time, a boy had tried to sneak his hand on Iris' breast. Maria had gotten back at him by pinning her paws together in such a way that his hands suddenly went cold and numb. Iris had gotten rid of that boy not long after that.

In the middle of the movie, Maria did spot a couple a few rows ahead who were smooching in the dark. They were trying to be discreet, but when the movie characters quieted, they could be heard. And according to Mr. Price, that was a public display of affection, which should not happen. Well if she couldn't punish Jacob, she could at least punish them.

Unseen by the humans, the Banette reached back to her crooked tail and pulled out two long pins. She rubbed them both between her paws, looking at the kissing couple to make an unseen connection with them. Then with great care, she took one pin and gently poked it along her zipper mouth. It had to be in the right spot. Once she had it, she pushed the pin in.

She had done so with such expertise that she didn't feel a thing from the pin. However, there was an audible "Ow," from the woman a few rows down. Maria's curse had struck. The couple made some hushed argument, only to be shushed by someone in front of them. For good measure, Maria then stuck the second pin into her chin. She gave the curse a few minutes to sink in, then removed the pins and replaced them to her tail. That couple wouldn't be interrupting this movie now.

At the end of the movie, Jacob took Iris out to a small sit-down restaurant. It wasn't as classy as some past boys had tried, but it had a kindly relaxed atmosphere, like a family dining room. Several potted plants were placed strategically to give each table a private feel. Of course, Maria was brought along even if she didn't eat like most creatures.

"Sometimes I think I should get a small and well-behaved Pokemon too," Jacob said. "It's nice when you can bring one along wherever you are. All of mine are either too big or too wild to let free in a place like this."

"It's fun to have a companion Pokemon," Iris said. "It's like always having a good friend at your side. Isn't that right, Maria?"

The Banette cooed and clasped her paws together. It didn't bother her to be just a companion Pokemon, not a competitor or fighter. In exchange for love and attention, all she had to do was return the same. Besides, at this point she couldn't imagine being without Iris. They had been together constantly for several years now. Maria could easily resist the Ghostly temptation to lay a curse on anyone who provoked her. Most of the time.

"I'm trying to get mine to be friendlier." He picked up the menu. "So, order whatever you like. I'll cover it."

As the dinner went along at a lazy pace, the two teens chatted happily on whatever subject they came across. Maria watched and listened silently. But then she came upon her own problem. Jacob and Iris were getting along really well. The warmth of their exchanges touched her, even if it was on silly subjects. Maybe this time, there really was love. At any rate, they both seemed happy just to be with each other.

But the Banette was used to solving problems. She could curse boys who made Iris uncomfortable, or tried to take things too far too fast. She could enact revenge against careless or thoughtless boys. However, what did she do to a boy who genuinely liked Iris? What kind of curse could be used to encourage love?

Try as she might, Maria couldn't think of any. She watched and listened for anything that she could object to, as a spy for the parents. But nothing came up. Indeed, all the signs showed that it would be very bad if she tried to curse Jacob at all. Then Iris would be spiteful towards her.

So what could a Banette do about love?

...

Ruby entry: Banette generates energy for laying strong curses by sticking pins into its own body. This Pokemon was originally a pitiful plush doll that was thrown away.

Written for Valentine's Day. Seriously.