Crescendo | Pokémon Short Story

Perish Song

Maimai ruffled her feathers and made a disgruntled noise. "I see nothing wrong with that. Elegance is like the light of a will-o-wisp, like a heart set on fire. It's the bright, burning beauty that resonates with the soul."

At that, Pachi raised her pom-poms and cheered. Then, slowly, she spun on her toes and waved the yellow balls of fluff around. With her eyes closed, she dipped and lifted her head. Taking a few steps to her left, she let the pom-poms brush against pink feathers. Retracing her steps and shifting to the other direction, yellow and purple seemed a more complementary combination than before.

"There, there! Aren't we all cheery berries?" Pachi's soprano voice made the darkening clouds above scatter, brought light to the lost, and allowed the seeds to germinate into trees and flowers, bearing fruit a second later and saplings nearby in a blink of an eye.

"Girls, shall we take to the skies?" José asked and received three nods. Wings unfurled, they cooed and began their flight, the wind beneath their wings. It was a cooling sensation despite the sun's merciless heat against their heads.

If there was something they truly enjoyed other than dancing, it was flying. As birds, they were all meant to be free, not caged like the defenceless, persistently sad Pidgey cawing in jealousy as the four swooped down for a short greeting. The Pidgey's feathers were the dirtiest, in it were all the mud and rain it had ever seen. It saw that mere patch of sky; the four embraced the sky.

Rising again, they came face to face with the sun. José wanted to be at the top of the world, to dance for all. The sky's the limit for now, but he vowed to break limits.

"I hear fear. The spirits are calling." Maimai broke the silence and plummeted down. Watching her dive as if a meteor from space, the three others joined in. Zigzagging, they crossed paths but made sure not to clash into one another.

"Shall we take a break then?" Pachi suggested as their beaks pointed toward the nearing ground, then switching direction to be parallel to the surface of the earth.

"We ought to. I say we return to our home sweet home," Lawe eyed the flamenco dancer for a while before zipping into a labyrinth of tall trees.

"Off we go!" Pachi singsonged and the flock became flashing colours in a sea of brown and green.

The falling feathers were the only mark they made in the dead centre of a forest. Red, black, purple, yellow and pink.

Footsteps crunched upon the sight of the feathers. A quadruped emerged from the rustle of leaves and a few Roseli Berries, each resembling the bulb of a rose, were crushed under his feet. Crimson juice stained its white fur but he didn't bother. Taking a sniff, he knew where the Oricorio flock went. Horn pointing toward the sun, he cocked his head sideways a couple of times before sprinting.

He saw disaster. He saw the cursed notes floating around.

He had to warn the light, even if he was one with the darkness, hoping he had enough time to reach them.

The Absol heard the Perish Song, but he wasn't affected, as he always was immune to it. But the light was vulnerable to the song. Even if the light danced above, it was unlike starlight. The song increased in volume gradually.

"Hurry, I must," he howled. "Before it's all too late."

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Threads of moonlight weaved into the meadow. Hours after their long flight, the four Oricorio had returned to their home. They had rested enough.

"Cheery merry cherry berries, are we doing the usual?" Pachi held her pom-poms high and began hopping around.

"For a while. Beauty sleep is important. Beauty is me." Lawe flapped her wings gently before sidestepping, her hands stretched toward her left, moving in slow wave pulses. She hummed and twirled, embracing the night breeze.

Maimai held back a broken note, lowering her fan to her waist, then twisted and turned, raising her fan. With her eyes closed, she could still see the stars. She could imagine various constellations in her head and join the stars. Bound to human and Pokémon spirits, she had caught the attention of a few Phantump and Gastly. Maimai related more to all the ghostly things in the world.

José was last. As a flamenco dancer, he tried his best to conjure creative choreographies. A spin, a step, spin again, and two more steps. His lethargy brought him to explore simpler combinations. His footwork switched to a slower tempo. Each footing was rightly timed. The breaths came by at perfect timing.

Stars twinkled along. The moon was a smiling crescent. The night breeze was yet another spectator, only that it was restless as it grew late second by second.

The crescendo of passion was short in their dances. Lawe halted after a misstep and grew drowsy. Maimai's concern for the wailing spirits developed a sense of anxiety and the desire to help overwhelmed the want to dance. José paused reluctantly when the two stopped. He watched, mesmerised, at the cheerleader who was highly energetic, chirping and leaping into the night.

But a bullet can pierce even happiness.

The notes of the Perish Song grew in a crescendo. The tempo and fear heightened. None of the four avians fainted. The Absol was a split second late, disappointing as usual. He watched behind a bush the result of his failure. It had been punishment enough.

Blood spurted out. The three other Oricorio fled the scene, hiding behind a bush. Gawking at Pachi, they felt helpless. Intruders appeared in their comfort zone. There was no safety anymore; there was no place to contain any false insecurities.

When the pack of humans, with their sharp claws, grabbed the bleeding Pachi with the crimson trail leading to a stainless steel cage, the crescendo of misery was just as intense as the echoing silence.

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