Wildscales

Her eyes filled with horror, and her voice was full of terror, but it rang out in Pokéspeech upon deaf ears, "No! Don't touch them! Please... leave them alone. They've done nothing wrong. Please...."

Only a single voice seemed to hear her desperate pleas - the one in her own head. *Silly girl. Nobody is going to listen to you. You're weak.* "No. They'll listen. It's not the same, I'm a Pokémon now. I'm strong." *That's right. You're strong and you know it. You can do anything you want. They should fear you.* "I just want to protect everyone." *Well then, do it! It's not like you haven't done it before. You're a monster and you know it. Nobody will ever know. So just let it out...* "Nobody will know?" *Why, of course not. You just have to make sure there's no evidence. An accident. A wild Pokémon doing what it does best.* "Right. I'm a wild Pokémon, so it's alright.." *My dear girl, you are so much more, and you know it. You are whatever you want to be. And right now, you want to be the hero. People would praise you if they knew it. How you stood up for the weak.* "They're weak?" *They're children, of course, they're weak. That man's dog has already killed one. You should avenge her. She never stood a chance, and yet she was so brave to the bitter end...* "Right. I need to protect them. I need to make sure they never hurt another soul."

With that, a switch seemed to have been flipped in the girl's head. Lillianna stood and let out a deafening roar.

The Gardevoir came first. It was an average Gardevoir with nothing of significance to note, aside from a metal collar. Lillianna recognized it as a tool used by the poachers to control their Pokémon. It's not that it wanted to hurt anyone- this Gardevoir had no choice but to listen.

And yet Lillianna attacked. She didn't even remember doing it. The Gardevoir turned to defend itself, but it was too late. With a single devastating blow, Lillianna hurled the Gardevoir into a tree. The psychic-type crumpled with a sickening crack, bones shattering on impact. She descended, talons ready, and tore through its body with precision born of experience. It wasn't hard- she'd done it before. She knew Gardevoir-its weak points, its flaws. It didn’t stand a chance.

Next was the blonde man. She found herself looming menacingly over her, her eyes alight with fury. Blood welling up from below her talons as she pinned him to the ground. Slowly, methodically, she pressed harder. A little more. A little more. A little more. *pop*

From under her foot, more blood came rushing out. The man's organs were turned to mash from the crushing weight atop them and then pierced by her blade-sharp talons. He did not scream. He couldn’t.

Her attention then turned to the boss, whom she stared at for a moment. In one swift moment, she had picked him up in her jaws and tossed him in the air, catching him and letting out a satisfied rumble as the taste of blood filled her mouth. She sat for a moment, holding the man like a trophy before spitting him into a crumpled mess in the clearing.

Scanning the clearing, her eyes finally rested on the last - a young boy probably around the age of sixteen. He was on his knees and trembling, tears streaming down his face as he pleaded. "I-I didn’t want th-this, I ne-never w-wanted to hurt any-one. I tried to s-stop them. Pl-please…"

She remembered he was the only one to had not attacked her siblings and had even stood up for them. He was innocent, likely as much a victim of the poachers as the family of Pokémon. And yet. One two three. One two three. She slowly circled her prey, her bladed tail tracing red lines into his face as she kept circling and pondering what to do. Should she do anything?

She deliberated and then her voice rang out. It was Paldean but very harsh, hardly recognizable as such. "Go. Never come back here again, and never let me hear of you partaking in things like this again. I will hunt you down. And I will find you and kill you."

The boy nodded frantically, scrambled to his feet, and fled into the trees like a startled Rattata. He would survive to warn the others never to bother them again. Somehow, she trusted him. And yet... the last thing she remembered was watching him run away. Thinking about how he looked like a scared Rattata fleeing from a beast. And then she saw nothing but black. And then there he was, hanging limp from her jaws with eyes full of horror like a piece of fresh meat. The taste of blood on her tongue. Her vision cleared just in time to hear a desperate scraping sound. The man - the boss. He was still alive and trying to drag himself away in terror. She threw the boy to the side and turned her full attention back to the boss.

"Not on my watch. You're the one who killed her. Did you think you'd escape? You didn't give her the chance to do so. You let her suffer, so I'm going to do the same."

Rip and tear. Without even thinking, she was on him, tearing and ripping like a feral animal until the man was hardly recognizable as a person, let alone able to be identified.

Time has passed since the last video, as the sky was bathed in darkness, casting shadows across the forest. Madre had gone out to hunt, leaving the family nestled in a pile with Lillianna at the center, ready for a night of peace.

But that peace was shattered with the snap of twigs and an unfamiliar human voice. It belonged to a tall and skinny male with slicked blonde hair. "My! Would you look at these specimens? They'd certainly fetch a pretty penny. That's what the boss wanted, right? How many should we take?"

A second male voice responds, this one gruff and full of authority. Its owner donned a suit and had greying hair. "All of them, of course."

A third male chimes in, his voice nervous and cracking. He was young and spoke as if he were afraid his voice would kill him at any moment. He was a small boy with raven black hair that clung to his sweaty skin and a trench coat that could swallow him alive. "G-Guys. Are you s-sure that's su-such a good idea...? They're just ba-bies and they l-look so.... so... happy..."

The suited male responds, his voice a sneer. "Spare me. You're such a scaredy-skitty. We do this all the time. Just keep your mouth shut and follow along, kid. "

"But.... wwhy do we n-need to do it this way? There has to be be a bet-ter way to catch the s-sacred beasts. R-right?" The boy mumbled.

"Oh yeah? Why don't you waltz in there and ask 'em real nice- pretty please with a pecha berry on top? It'd certainly save me the hassle if you died in an 'accident'." The gruff man emphasized the word accident as he spoke. It was clear he was debating, throwing the boy to the wolves, no matter what, so to speak.

"R-right... Sorry, sir... You're right, that was s-stupid of me..." the boy replied, looking like he wanted to shrink into his trenchcoat.

As the three men argue in hushed voices, the group of Pokémon doesn't seem to stir from the noise. Aside from one tiny Jangmo-o, whose eyes had opened. Anaana, the runt, slowly slipped from the warmth of the pile. Her body was lean and skeletal, but her spirit burned bright. She crept toward the intruders, eyes locked on the gruff man’s towering form.

And then she bit down, a bright crimson ooze appearing under her grasp. Through her clenched fangs, she mumbled, "Stinky human, be gone! You will not hurt my family!"

"What the fuck?! Where did this little runt come from?" He bit back the pain and shook his leg, sending the tiny lizard flying through the air like a ragdoll. Stopped only by a harsh thud as she made contact with a boulder.

"Hey, be careful with the merchandise. We need them undamaged." The blonde man seemed annoyed at his companion.

"That little pipsqueak isn't going to sell for shit. Look at it, I'd be surprised if it didn't die tomorrow. It's going to pay for that whether you like it or not," The gruff man spat in frustration.

"B-but sir..." The young boy chimed in, his voice barely an audible stutter.

"First rule. Remember who's boss, kid, and never question my judgment." The gruff man shoved his hands in his pockets before throwing out a Pokéball. "Gardevoir, go."

In a burst of white light, the elegant psychic-type emerged, eyes glowing with emotion. "Garrrrrd!"

"Now, take care of that little brat. Make sure it's slow. Wouldn't want it to get off easy." He crossed his arms and spoke smugly, ready to watch the show.

The Gardevoir hesitated, glancing at her trainer as if to ask if she had to do this before she lunged. A moment of silence and then a sickening crunch is heard as the Gardevoir's psychic blade tears through the Jangmo-o's scales and bone alike. One blow is all it took- the Jangmo-o managed to ring the clearing with only one loud cry before another crunch is heard, and it goes limp.

Alone in the forest, a small Kommo-o lay curled up under a shady tree, dozing. Until a soft twig crack jolted her awake with a start. Someone was coming - no. Someone was already here, and she wasn't alone.

"Show yourself! I am a mighty Kommo-o, and this is my territory." She hissed, her tail raising as it began to clang in an instinctual warning.

There was a pause of silence before a face appeared in the brush - another larger Kommo-o. Lillianna let out of hiss and began rattling her tail louder in warning. But this only lasted a moment before she froze, and a single word escaped her throat. "Madre?"

"Lillianna? Is that you? You look… different. It smells like you, but you've - " Before the larger Kommo-o could finish her statement, a small group of six Jangmo-o tumbled out of the brush, swarming Lillianna’s feet. A few more faces peer curiously out from under the safety of their mother.

"It's a long story, but I can assure you, it's me. I had a run-in with the mew." She responded, her attention being caught by a small Jangmo-o peering from behind their mother's leg. It was about half the size of the others and frail - its lithe body showing every muscle and lack thereof. "Enough about that, though. Did you have more?"

Madre frowned down at the tiny Jangmo-o, nudging her further into sight with her snout. "Ah, no. She is Anaana."

She too frowned, knowing what that meant. The little Jangmo-o was a runt, cursed by the Gods not to thrive. If she were lucky, a nice trainer would take her in and manage a miracle before anything happened. If not, try as her mother may. She was doomed to die.

"Ah, I see… I'm sorry." She stammered before putting on a smile and looking down at the other young ones who were lining up around her feet. "Ah, hello, little ones. It's been a while. Have you all grown? I think you've grown!"

A symphony of small voices from the Jangmo-o bombard her almost all at once as the little ones tumbled over each other in an attempt to get their question answered. "Are you really our big sister? Mama says she's not supposed to have any scales!" "You smell funny." "Are you hurt? Our big sister is supposed to be really strong, so why are you hurt?" "You dummy! She smells like a fairy. Mama said we should never go near fairies." "Well then, she's a dummy. She's supposed to be older, so shouldn't she be smarter?" "Do you know any moves? Can we battle you?" "Where are your Pokémon friends? Mama says big sister has lots! Can we battle them?" "You smell like humans. Didn't ya know humans are stinky?" "Did you get caughted?" "Can we just call you Li? Your name is kinda big!" "Do you want to play with us? We're real strong! I bet we'd win. We're pretty strong, though. Don't expect us to run away!"

"Slow down, little ones. You can ask her all about her life with due time. We have plenty of time. I assume you'll be staying, Lillianna?" The larger female spoke warmly, her voice almost pleading.

After a moment of thinking, Lillianna responded with a cheery voice, "If you'll have me. It's not like I've had anything to do as of late."

A pleased rumble escaped the Kommo-o's throat, and she leaned forward, pressing her snout to the younger ones in affection. "Of course. I'm always happy to see you, my child. Our time together is never long, and it ended so abruptly last time we spoke. Honestly, I believed you may have been…"

A chuckle and Lillianna cut the older female off before she could finish, "Don't worry, Madre. I'm doing well for myself. I even managed to make some friends… Well. I had hoped to call them as such, anyway."

The Kommo-o's tail began to wag slightly as her voice filled with joy. "Does this mean you can stay?"

"I suppose I-" Lillianna started to speak, but was cut off almost as quickly as she began.

The babies cut in, speaking nearly in unison with one another. "Yay!! Does this mean you'll play with us?"

Madre cut in before Lillianna could answer, her voice scolding, "Now, little ones. I'm sure -"

"Of course I'll play with you. Give it your best shot now! I won't go easy on you all because you're little." As she finished, she dropped into a playful bow, her tail swaying as the little ones began to appear one after the other, all intrigued by the promise of play.