[SWC] The Court

Pokémon: Sandile
CC: 10,051

I had always hated the taste of blood. Ever since my infancy, when I had been fed raw catches, mere minutes after their death, I had never relished the feeling of the tangy liquid running through my sharp teeth and onto my tongue. Eventually, however, my ravenous desire had overcome my disgust and I had put the thought of the red substance out of my mind as I devoured my prey each day. Thus, as I sunk my fangs into the other Pokémon’s leg, I felt no remorse, and dug my feet in, trying to stop my prey’s flight. My quarry was heavier than me, with blue skin, a fleshy physique. Even if it was larger than me it was still an idiot to stray into the Court of Miracles without its parent. As I dragged the Phanpy it wailed through its turquoise trunk, shrieking for help. I was impervious, however, as I leapt onto my prey’s back. Its ending was swift, in some ways merciful, not that it was the intention. It was simply a practical way to dispatch with what had now become my meal. The Phanpy collapsed with a final moan, before exhaling its final breath.

I took a ravenous bite into the flesh before dragging the body away, distinctly aware of the danger that the possession of fresh meat brought in the Court. Dilapidated buildings towered either side of me and cast shadows onto the narrow streets. There were few rules on the street: don’t rely on generosity and don’t pick a fight with someone stronger than you. There was one more law, however: stay away from humans. Few even ventured into the Court, it was almost a nature reserve for urban Pokémon, but those who did always came with their party of slaves, seeking to add you to their collection.

Finally I was out of sight of the street, in the crevice of an alleyway. It was the safest place: there was only one entrance and no threat from rivals sneaking up. From here I tore chunks of flesh from the Phanpy’s carcass, quickly devouring the meal. There was no point in saving for food or storing up for worst of times, in the Court whatever food was not stolen rotted quickly in the squalid conditions. Phanpy had famously tough meat, and the meal was hard work, but within minutes the body was reduced to a mere skeleton sitting among the blood-soaked dirt. Licking the remains of the sustenance from my lips I left the alcove, walking briskly down the street. As ever it was in the Court of Miracles, where the blind could see and where the horrifically disfigured suddenly regained use of their limbs as soon as a patrol came past, I had work to do, doing work for my sponsors, who in return protected me from the larger, more vicious predators of the district. My first stop was my least favourite: to Scizor, the most powerful of my overlords. One of the self-proclaimed “Kings” of the Court, his holdings included a large amount of the quarter, his violent gang had been part of the movement who had largely pushed humans out of this area and made it practically a wilderness in the middle of Castelia City.

Scizor’s den, his pride and joy, used to be one of the busiest buildings in the Court before the humans left. As I entered I noticed once again the smashed windows, the cracked tile floor, the abandoned stretchers, and the great P that still stood grubbily above the doorway. The place had once been used for healing the sick, now it was the hotspot of tyranny. The lobby of the building was now used as an entrance hall for Scizor and his cronies, what had been a desk was turned into a dais, on which the King had placed a chair, from which he stared at me as I came in. Even without the humans electricity flowed through the lights, powered by Electric-type Pokémon strapped into the wires, pumping out energy. The lights swung on fraying wires as I walked in, casting dancing shadows on the floor around me as I entered the lair. I looked up and saw the gang boss sitting on his plinth, his metal body polished till it let out a glaring gleam, his eyes staring down judgementally as I humbly approached him. On either side he was flanked by half a dozen deputies, other Pokémon who had risen up through his circles, a few of them had even been there from the start, when the so-called Revolution had happened and the human oppressors had been thrown out. I cast my eyes down, avoiding Scizor’s stone-cold look.

“Ah, Sandile,” the King said in a condescending tone. “You look in good health.” The deputies laughed at their master’s humour as they observed my scrawniness. Very few Pokémon in the Court were well-nourished, the only ones who were were those who were high-up in one of the gangs.

“Thank you, sir,” I said, bowing in the awkward way that those of my quadrupedal persuasion do, bending all of my knees as I prostrated myself in front of Scizor.

“So far I have been very impressed with your contributions to me. You show more wit than many of my lesser minions,” he said, with a touch of acid in his voice. I had met many of these “lesser minions” and I could not help agreeing with him, some of them, especially the family of Trubbish who I tried to avoid sleeping close to, were particularly dumb. “As a result I am entrusting you with a most important task, which, if carried out well, could lead to your promotion.” I looked up: the prospect of promotion was an incredible one, it would entail having my own clients from whom I could take favours in return for protection. It would also
mean a permanent residence in one of the many rooms of Scizor’s lair, and maybe even permission to evolve.

“Sir, I would be honoured to do your bidding,” I said, honey-coating my words in front of the gang boss.

“In this case I am sure that you will carry out the task well. There’s been trouble stirring up on the borders of my territory for a while, the Fangs are starting to make small raids in, take some of my precious clients and, take them to dinner, as such,” he explained. I nodded my head, recalling someone relaying the information to me that one of the rival gangs had been making incursion.

“Yes, it is truly terrible, sir. I am still shocked over poor Poochyena’s death.” As I spoke Scizor’s lieutenants bowed their heads, mumbling in accordance.

“Indeed,” Scizor said. “And it is for Poochyena and many others that we must act. This is why I intent to send a small party of trusted Pokémon into Fountain Street, the very heartland of the Fangs, and strike them in the vitals!” The other deputies present once again shouted in agreement, stamping their feet, tails or other appendages to express the truth in their leader’s words.

“I would relish such an opportunity, Sir,” I said in my most pathetically loyal voice possible. Scizor nodded his head.

“Very well, it will be a pleasure to put you on the team. Luxray shall lead the party, and, until it is fully assembled, I suggest that you wait here,” he said. I looked across at Luxray, one of the more influential of Scizor’s deputies, curled up, full of tension, on the dais. Luxray was a legend among the court, one of the fastest and most agile hunters, I had once seen him catch a fleeing Arcanine and kill it with a single blow. He was a fearsome task-master and a powerful fighter. As his name was mentioned the Lieutenant lifted his jet-black head, shooting a glance at me with sharp eyes. I walked over to the corner as quickly as possible, lying down in wait for the rest of the squadron to assemble.

To say that I was intimidated by my fellow teammates was an understatement. Aside from Luxray, there were a dozen other Pokémon, the most menacing of whom was the Zangoose, another of Scizor’s inner circle, terrifying with his numerous scars and claws honed to perfection. There were a few weaker members in the squad, like the humble-looking Patrat sat next to me, clearly scared beyond its wits.

“Have you ever done this before?” the other Pokémon asked, flicking its tail back to and fro. I shook my head.

“Not yet, but we’ll be fine,” I replied, trying to appear reassuring. It was not a good look on me, and it did little to help the miniscule Normal-type, puffed out his already disproportionate cheeks in exhalation. I felt a pang of sympathy for the Patrat, and was confused as to why Scizor had let him on such a dangerous mission. Even I could tell that he was dead weight, although arguably no more than me. Finally Luxray turned to us, staring proudly at every member of the group.

“Our route in shall be easy. First we’ll leave here, going down Cobbler Street until we come to the border between our territory and the Fangs’ land. After this we’ll turn into Culver Road and then off into Fountain Street. From there we wreck as much as we can before getting out.” His voice was low and ominous, almost as dark as the streaked fur that ran down his smooth, streamlined body. “As surprise is tantamount, I have paired all of the slower ones among you with a faster counterpart.” Our commander read out the list of partners and I noticed that my name had not been said until, finally, turning to me:

“Sandile, you’re with me. Get on.” I leapt onto Luxray’s back, taking a hold of the spiky fur and lying low. “Trust me, it’s nothing personal, I just want to be able to use my electricity on the way around just in case.” I nodded amongst the hair and braced myself as we took off, flying through the hair at a terrifying speed. The wind almost threw me off as we careered down streets and I dared not look up for fear of losing my grip. Luxray turned violently and I felt the tension in his fur as I gripped it tightly going round the corner.

Another turn and the party slowed down, giving me time to jump off. I landed unsteadily, disoriented, and took a few seconds to regain my balance as my comrades immediately leapt into action, causing havoc with their random destruction. The alley was as decrepit as the rest of the Court, once the bustling High Street of the quarter, it was now reduced to dilapidated shop fronts, broken doors and a potholed, dusty road. Zangoose dived into a building, smashing the window in and tearing chunks of flesh bloodily from the inhabitants. I followed the terrifying Pokémon into through the broken pane. A small family of Bidoof cowering in the corner, huddled together in terror, and I blasted sand at them, sending the tightly-packed group flying apart to be snatched and ripped apart by Zangoose. The blood-stained Pokémon nodded its head at me, signalling its approval, before smashing through the thin wall into the next room. I saw a Slaking dozily emerging from the next-door building and shot a cloud of sand at it, knocking the Pokémon off its trunk-like legs. As I jumped on top of the gargantuan creature I started to regret my choice of opponent, but nonetheless kept on acking, sinking my fangs into the Slaking’s arm. The rotund Pokémon let out a cry of pain and its fur bristled as it struck out at me. I nimbly avoided the blow and jumped off the Normal-type as it rose, towering Colossus-like over me. I, in terror, dug down, seeking to escape from the dangerous blows of the chunky Pokémon. The ground quickly swallowed me up, but not quickly enough, as the fist dived down under the surface, slamming into me. I lay in the crater created by the blow, looking helplessly upwards. The Slaking gazed down, teeth gritted in a vicious rage, preparing the killing blow.

I did not think that I would ever be happy to hear the sound of sirens. The high pitched noise almost burst my sensitive eardrums and my assailant covered the sides of his head, bending down. The ground shuddered with the vibrations of Pokémon fleeing the encroaching threat. It happened from time, the local police raided a quadrant of the Court, captured a few of its inhabitants and ran off back again with a few prizes to show off to the press. The Slaking thundered off as quickly as its bulk would allow and I was left, aching in the crater. Soon the figure of my enemy was replaced by a human one, dressed in an officer’s uniform. My heart plunged with despair. I was free! I could not be caught! I moved my legs almost comically in the air as I tried to flip myself over, but it was too late as I felt my body losing solidity, being attracted by the gravitating pull of the opened Poké Ball. My vision spun and I resisted with the last remaining dregs of my energy. All went black.

 

Claiming this, kapow! Sorry you had to wait so long.

 

Graded and deleted for the SWC!