Joey

  Damned be that woman, and his parents, and the flipping mayor of Crescent Town while he was at it. Joey pelted around the corner, colliding into the wall shoulder first. That was the champion chasing him. That had not been part of the deal.

  Inkay had pulled off the Switcharoo perfectly. No one should have noticed the pokeballs were missing until they reached the Pokémon Centre. What the hell was the champion doing with them? At least that woman had given him a plan B. Joey wasn’t suited for physical effort. That wasn’t a problem. Espurr kept his legs moving long after he wanted to give up. Finally, he took the last turn and jumped onto the back of the Pidgeot waiting for him. There was no saddle, so he clung onto the feathers around the neck.

  During the flight to Crescent Town, his heart had time to calm down and his breath stabilised. The pokeballs he’d stolen rattled the whole way, but Espurr kept them locked tight. No one seemed to be following him, and even if they tried, Pidgeot was fast enough to lose all but the most persistent chasers. Shortly, they landed in the courtyard of a mansion. Despite belonging to the mayor of Crescent Town, it was located some distance away. Knowing the character of the mayor, Joey had the suspicion that it was so he wouldn’t have to look at the rabble he was supposed to manage.

  An image of him running accompanied by a sharp pain in the back of his head forced him to slide off Pidgeot and walk to the doorway. It was Espurr’s way of telling him to hurry up. She was smart enough to use basic words but usually preferred sending visual or other sensory information to communicate. Either hurt enough that Joey didn’t care. If he could get rid of her, along with the rest of his Pokémon-

  His knees buckled as a debilitating wave of pinpricks washed over his body. Espurr didn’t like those kinds of thoughts.

  A servant ushered him through the entrance to a lounge where his parents were drinking tea with the mayor. Figured they’d be there. Both of his parents had straw-blond hair, purple irises, and a semi-vacant expression. People said they looked more like siblings than lovers. Joey didn’t listen to that talk. They were messed up in far worse ways as far as Joey was concerned. Besides, with his brown hair and dull eyes, he had plenty of doubts regarding whether he was even their son. He had no interest in finding out about anyone else’s messed up relationships.

  The mayor was a young man dressed in the sharpest fashion. He was spread out on a couch popping grapes into his mouth like an ancient king. He flashed a smile at Joey when he entered, and told him to take a seat.

  “Welcome back. Would you like some tea?” asked the mayor.

  “No, thank you,” said Joey.

  “Juice? Biscuits?”

  “No, thanks.”

  “Suit yourself. I was just catching up with Hans and Greta here. It’s been some time since you’ve seen them too, do you want to have some time with them before we get to business?”

  His mother’s eyes flickered to him before returning to looking at the mayor. His father didn’t blink. Joey stayed quiet. Espurr punished his silence with a blast of mental pressure. The mayor coughed awkwardly.

  “Nevermind, then,” he said. “You got it?”

  “I did,” said Joey. “With some help.”

  That caught the mayor’s attention. He sat up, his smile slipping and his eyes narrowing.

  “Some help? You know how important it is to keep these things quiet, Joey. I thought I told you that. And this being your first real job, which, by the way, I only offered you on the recommendation of your parents, I thought you’d take this advice seriously. You wouldn’t want to disappoint them, would you?”

  “No sir,” said Joey. “I didn’t tell anyone.”

  “Call me Charles, please,” said the mayor.

  “Charles, I didn’t say anything, but she already knew everything and offered to help.”

  “She?”

  “A bounty hunter named Ducky Lette. I met her when I was walking back to Rondo.”

  Joey was sick of that road. Just when he was settling into the tournament, he was called back to Crescent Town so the mayor could give him this ridiculous job. His parents didn’t even have the decency to order him about in person, they had sent a telepathic message to Espurr and she had been the one to tell him what to do. She had been awful smug about it too, especially when she was proved right that hanging around those kids was worth it.

  “Lette, I feel I’ve heard that name somewhere.”

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “They’re a clan of flying-type trainers from somewhere near Povar,” said Hans.

  “I remember. What else do you know about them?”

  “They’re secretive, and mostly keep to themselves. They tend to be strong trainers.”

  “That’s it?”

  “They’re very secretive.”

  “I see. Any idea on if they’re trustworthy?”

  “They don’t generally care about anything outside their clan,” said Hans. “But the ones I’ve met were all strong-willed. This Ducky, I’ve heard of. She has a reputation for being especially... independent.”

  A door slammed and a man began shouting. The person he was shouting at only laughed and from the increasing volume, he couldn’t stop her from approaching. Ducky threw the door to the lounge open and bounced next to the mayor, casually sitting down next to him. The servant that had guided Joey before came in after, slightly red in the face. He began to say something but the mayor stopped him with a hand gesture, and he left the room again.

  “Charles, nice to meet you,” said Ducky.

  “Miss Lette, I presume.”

  “The one and only.”

  “How can I help you?”

  “I’m just here to see the completion of a successful job, can’t I?”

  “Not when the job wasn’t given to you,” said the mayor.

  “Come now, don’t sweat the small stuff. Besides, I was of some help in the end, right Joey?”

  “Joey is capable of this kind of work by himself,” said Greta.

  “Sure?” asked Ducky.

  For the first time since he entered the room, both of his parents turned to look at Joey.

  “Under normal circumstances, I’d be fine,” he said. “One of the people hanging around the target was the champion. I didn’t realise because she had her face covered. That was my mistake. She noticed when I switched out the pokeballs. Thanks to Ducky’s help, however, I was able to escape without being seen.”

  “The champion was involved?” asked the mayor.

  “Unfortunately,” said Ducky. “Still, it was a bit close but we seem to have gotten away with it, so all’s good.”

  “I don’t know. It doesn’t seem smart to underestimate the champion,” said the mayor.

  “It’ll be fine,” said Ducky. “It’s only Elaine after all.”

  “If you say so. I’ve more questions about how you knew about this in the first place, but right now I can’t restrain my curiosity. I would like to see this demon already.”

  They moved to a different room, one with reinforced walls and a tank large enough to fit a Wailord. Espurr levitated the pokeballs over the water and clicked open the one with Wishiwashi. The sparkle in his eyes shone brightly and he swam away to the other side of the tank.

  “What was that? A Wishiwashi?” asked the mayor.

  “A rarity,” said Ducky. “One that can school alone. If you want to see it in action look for the round four match between Darren Walker and Matthew Groggonhollow. It was quite the showing.”

  The mayor frowned.

  “It’s been seen in public already? That’s not good. How do we get it to school?”

  “Fear works,” said Hans.

  “Is that so? What’s in the other pokeball?”

  “A freebie,” said Ducky. “And arguably a better catch.”

  Espurr released Auri who immediately attacked everything in sight with a Rock Slide. Every bit of debris and Auri herself froze. That wasn’t Espurr, she wasn’t strong enough for that yet. Joey looked at his father. He hadn’t seen him taking out his only Pokémon, not that he ever needed another. The Metagross always felt larger than it was. It had its own gravity that pulled everything to it. It flung the rocks away and lifted Auri into the air. With eyes as cold as Joey had ever seen, it dunked Auri into the water until she almost fainted. He raised her out and let her catch her breath before putting her right back in.

  “Alright, enough,” said the mayor. “Return them.”

  Joey returned both Pokémon and handed the pokeballs to the mayor. He called for his servant who took them somewhere they wouldn’t be able to escape. They returned to the lounge where, upon being seated, the mayor leaned forwards, elbows on the table and hands clasped.

  “Now, Miss Lette. I have to ask how you came to know of my little request, and your intentions in ensuring its favourable outcome,” he said.

  “Please, call me Ducky. As for my intentions, they’re plain. I’m looking to make a name for myself around here. It’s tricky when you’re starting out. You wouldn’t begrudge a girl for taking advantage of a business opportunity, would you?”

  “Certainly not, business is business after all. But you still haven’t said how you found out about it.”

  “It was a lucky guess, I’ll admit. I hope I won’t offend the Youngs, but I make it a point of keeping tabs on my potential rivals. I knew they had connections to you. The abrupt withdrawal from the tournament by Joey also seemed a little suspicious. Coupled with the bit of drama that went on here not long ago, it wasn’t an unreasonable guess. Although, naturally, I didn’t get a full picture of things until I met with Joey.”

  “Alright, it seems I must commend you for your entrepreneurial spirit. We can move on to discuss the rewards. Since this was initially an assignment for one person, and Miss Lette acted on her own initiative, Joey, I would like to ask your permission to split the payment with her, I’m thinking seventy-thirty in your favour. You have the right to refuse.”

  Joey flinched at the sudden attention, and again at Espurr demanding she wanted all the money. He couldn’t care less, and he was tempted to accept just to spite her. Ducky interrupted before he could gather the will to open his mouth.

  “There’s no need for that,” she said. “All I want is for you to put in a good word for me with others. And keep me in mind if you have any more requests. Besides, for all the hassle I went through to get involved, I didn’t end up doing anything besides providing Joey with an escape route. He was in charge of the entire operation and, if you’ll excuse my opinion, did a fine job of it. Especially for the first time.”

  “Is that so? Joey, your thoughts on the matter?” asked the mayor.

  “If Ducky won’t claim her share, I’ll accept it. Her aid was essential in escaping, but she is correct that I attempted to complete it alone. The job was for me after all.”

  “Very well then. I’m glad we could resolve that so amicably. Would anyone like more tea?”

  Joey’s parents shook their heads, scarily synchronised. Joey copied them a moment later. Ducky stood up.

  “If you don’t mind,” she said. “I’d like to get back to Rondo. There are some connections I hope to make there too, you know how it is. I’m looking forward to working with you in the future.”

  “Likewise. You may go,” said the mayor. He waited for her to leave, then looked at Hans with an eyebrow raised.

  “I don’t like trusting her,” he said. “But she’s given me no reason to doubt her. Metagross couldn’t detect a lie in her words either, though that doesn’t mean much. Especially if she knew about them beforehand.”

  “I don’t like her,” said Greta.

  “Darling,” said Hans, the first touch of tenderness entering his voice. “You don’t like anyone.”