Minor Accomplishments

The ghost’s Cheshire grin curved concave away from its face. Its pointed teeth jutted out past the edges of Gremcar’s body, and its sharp eyes rattled as they inched up its incorporeal forehead. Horns along its back stiffened like Nyaro’s when she was afraid. It floated slightly off the ground despite the stubby, clawed legs under it.

“Oi, Kichi-Kichi-Kichi!” Gremcar clicked, “Oi, get o’er here- get here- get here! A-hah! Hah!”

Pete slowly sat down on the staircase. He yawned, “Mary, shall I?”

“Shut up. I’m mad at you,” She stomped her feet on the ground, “besides, the rules state that Capmon battles are supposed to be one-on-one.”

Pete scratched his head, “We work for the biggest syndicate in the world. What’s your point?”

“The boss made it very clear. Even we follow the rules.”

I hopped aside as Gremcar’s claws flicked down at me. It was a loose, uncoordinated swat. As much as a joke as an attack. The ghost was taller than Zane was, one of the most powerful species of Capmon that people regularly encountered. It was playing with me as much as it was battling.

Zane trained his eyes on the fight, “If you guys care so much about rules, then why…”

“You were trespassing in our laboratory. Of course we’re using force to get rid of you,” Pete scratched his head, “And, you stole our Capture Ball.”

“This one?” Zane held it up, “It doesn’t seem all that special. Why do you care so much? I could buy a few dozen Capture Balls from the market for almost nothing.”

“Exactly!” Mary hissed, “It is completely ordinary. Just hand it over, and I’ll let you go. Even you just said it’s not anything special!” Gremcar sank into the floor, leaving behind a little stain on the poisonous ground where it had been before it dematerialized. I stood perfectly still until I felt a slight chill under me, then I hopped out of the way as it reformed itself under where I’d been standing. I stomped like a toddler, pouting that its trick hadn’t worked.

“It was so easy to catch, I’m pretty sure your friend over there was passing it to me, not you,” Zane smirked, “that means it’s mine!”

Pete snickered, “Kid… No.”

“Really?” Zane scratched his head, “Well, finders keepers, then!”

“You’re really a moron!” Mary leaned forward, “Someone as stubborn and pie-witted as you, are you sure you don’t want a place in the Starlight Gang? I know a crew that would welcome you with open arms.”

Zane clenched his fist, “I’d rather be a dentist. Besides, beating the crap out of you guys was part of Cyan’s journey when she became a champion.”

“Don’t let anyone say Mary didn’t give you a chance, Kiddo,” Pete yawned, “Do I send out my own Capmon yet?”

“This one is mine!” Mary insisted.

“You’re gonna kill him or something anyway. What does it matter if I join?”

Gremcar charged toward me, and I narrowly ducked under a swing of its claws. It screeched, more annoyed than anything. Mary gritted her teeth, “I’m having fun. That’s why.”

“Fun?” Pete rolled his eyes, “It’s a rookie trainer and his Kichi.”

“Exactly. I’m going to win,” She cracked her knuckles, “Gremcar, knock out the lights!”

“I can just turn them off!” Pete protested. Too late. The Gremcar leapt off the ground, levitating toward the ceiling. At its highest, it smashed the overhead lamps with its claws. Sparks fell through the entryway and everything went dark. Mary laughed wildly.

While I could make out the shapes of people in the room in the darkness, Gremcar itself looked hardly more than a shadow in the light. Zane looked around wildly. He quickly reached into his backpack to grab something. Mary’s bag hung from her back screeching and thrashing about behind her. Pete fiddled with something in his hands.

I yelled as Gremcar’s claws appeared directly in front of my face, ripping through the fur just under my eyes. A spark loosed from me reactively as blood dripped over my mouth. Gremcar yowled and disappeared back into the darkness. “Run toward the wall!” Zane called out. Holding one paw over my face, I stumbled toward the wall nearest to him, Gremcar had half as much darkness to hide in there unless it hid within the wall itself. Incorporeal as it was, that would slow it down, slightly. Then, it would be out of position. I held my breath, hoping Zane had a real trap in mind.

Zane’s flashlight flicked on, creating a spotlight around me. Mary gawked, “You fool, you’re just making it easier for Gremcar to see!” No, Gremcar could see perfectly in the dark. The light being on me wasn’t helpful, but there was enough light spreading out around me that I saw Gremcar a moment sooner as it flashed toward me. My scratched face reflected back at me in its claws and I ducked aside, shocking it what little I could. Gremcar reeled and disappeared into the wall behind me.

As soon as it did, I dashed directly toward Mary, ignoring the ghost behind me. Zane flicked off the flashlight, hiding me in the darkness, and she stumbled around trying to see where I’d gone. “W-what are you doing?” She called out into the blackness, “Gremcar! Come back!” The subtle chill of it rushed behind me. I jumped off the ground, directly toward Mary’s back as I felt its claws tug on the ends of my fur, barely not cutting me.

Mary screeched and flailed about, “This is illegal! Call it off!” She yelled to Zane as I crawled up onto her shoulder.

Zane smirked as I grabbed the loose strap of her backpack in my paws. He flicked the flashlight over her as I nudged the strap just enough for it to fall off her back. “You’re right, we’re not allowed to attack you, but…” He held the strange Capture Ball in one hand, the flashlight in the other, and sprinted directly at her.

Gremcar appeared just in front of Zane, trying to block him. Zane couldn’t stop fast enough, bracing his arms for impact with the ghost, only to run right through it. I grabbed Mary’s ear as she tried to spin around, and Zane crossed the room as quickly as she could bend over. In a moment, she grabbed the straps of the bag, but Zane shoved his arms inside of it with the strange Capture Ball in one of his hands. There was a loud click, and Zane smiled, “Gotcha!”

Everyone went silent for a moment. I hopped back to Zane’s side and Mary held her breath. She clenched her fist and finally said, “You rotten thieves. I can’t apologize for what I will do to you, now.”

Pete scratched his head, looking around in the darkness, “Hey, uh, what happened?”

“You fool, Pete!” Mary yelled, “Why aren’t you helping me?”

“You told me not to.”

Zane stuffed the Capture Ball in his bag and ran for the exit while they were distracted. We turned out into the night, racing down Main Street. This was Jubilee City, all we had to do was get to an open shop, or even just back to our hotel. I heard footsteps racing after us in the night.

Gremcar appeared in front of us. Zane turned and Mary stopped in the distance, blocking our escape, “Where do you think you’re going?” She sang, “I haven’t won yet.”

“You’re right about that,” Zane tapped his foot on the ground, “I mean… You actually lost!” He laughed. I hopped down to face the Gremcar again. It was moving slower than before, lingering effects of the shock I’d given it.

It vanished as the overhead light flickered. I held my breath and quietly counted to myself. One, two… I sent the largest surge of electricity I could muster all around myself filling the area around me with a vibrant light that flashed across the street and through the windows of houses. Zane and Mary covered their eyes, and right in front of me, the Gremcar appeared. It twitched, having taken the full force of the blast. I directed another shock directly into it before it could react, and its non-solid body broke and scattered.

Mary screeched as she saw it destroyed, “No! No-no!” She reached to her side for another Capture Ball, then spun around. In her rush, she’d left her bag in the other building.

Zane took his chance to grab me and keep running. Without her Capmon, Mary had no option but to retreat. I was sure she’d come running for us again, but we had too much of a head start now.

I twitched. Zane looked down at me funny. My fur stood on end, and I felt a wider electric surge than ever running up my legs. It pinched in my nerves like when it had assaulted me as a human. My back shook and my heart slowed to one tap at a time. Then, an overwhelming white light expanded away from me, far brighter than even the attack I’d made against the Gremcar.

My arms and legs stretched all at once and my tail broadened. The yellowish tones in my fur became a much more vibrant gold. When the light receded, I’d grown by nearly half my size. Still, painfully diminutive. Zane tapped his feet against the ground excitedly, “A Kachi!”