Pokémon: Wings Of Shadow

Only when Corviknight landed steadily beside the Lake of Outrage did Shiro snap out of his thoughts and realize they had finally escaped both the hunters and the Dynamax Den's danger.

"Corviknight..." he murmured as he climbed down, reaching out to touch the steel feathers at the tip of its tail.

The bird now looked like a massive beast. Standing next to it, he had to crane his neck to look up.

Corviknight crouched down, lowering its neck and gently nudging Shiro's clothes with its head, who wrapped an arm around half its face, slowly brushing the solid metal plating on its cheeks.

"You don't even look like the little Rookidee you used to be…" Shiro chuckled softly. Yet in those crimson eyes, there was still that familiar look. It might have evolved, but deep down, it was still that same Rookidee.

"Cor—"

The cry slipped out of Corviknight's beak but was quickly cut short by itself. That rough and heavy sound, like a crow before death, still unsettled it.

After everything they'd been through, Shiro could feel what it was thinking. He patted the bird's neck and said, "It's fine... You're bigger now, stronger too. That cry's perfect for scaring enemies off."

After speaking, he pulled the communicator from his pocket and checked it. Seeing no messages, he frowned slightly.

Then something else in his pocket started to shake. He reached in and took it out. It was the small black box that held the Unown.

For some reason, now that they had left the Dynamax Den, the two Pokémon within had fully awakened. They were shaking nonstop, clearly trying to escape the cramped box.

Shiro turned the container over a few times but didn't find any buttons or switches that could calm them down. It looked like nothing more than a simple storage device.

Inside, the two dark, letter-shaped figures noticed him and trembled even harder.

Their single eyes glared at him, filled with fury.

Then he felt a strange, invisible pulse connect to his mind. Two voices echoed sharply in his head at the same time:

'Human! Greedy human! Let us out now!'

Shiro froze for a second, then quickly realized what had happened. He stared at the black box, eyeing the mysterious symbols inside.

Even through a specially made containment device, they could still use telepathy?

'Human!' the Unown shaped like an A thrashed about violently and yelled, 'You're too despicable! As someone recognized by Zacian and Zamazenta, how could you use such a vile method to trap us? What are you trying to do?!'

"Oh?" Shiro raised a brow in surprise. He hadn't expected the Unown to sense that as well.

He explained, "I took you from a group of hunters. I don't have the ability to capture you myself. You should be able to tell if I'm lying, right?"

Hearing that, both A and G stopped moving. Unown A seemed to be the leader between the two and shouted again, 'You're telling the truth. Then let us out!'

"Let you out..." Shiro repeated, smiling faintly as he looked at them.

Unown A shivered a little. It couldn't explain why, but it suddenly felt uneasy about the human in front of it.

'You... let us out... we…' Unown G stammered, its voice fading as it trembled.

Shiro rubbed his chin, quietly considering how to deal with the two small creatures.

The Unown were clearly the main targets for which the Hunters Guild smuggled into Galar. They must be useful somehow, but it had little to do with him. And since Rose hadn't sent anyone yet, he had no intention of handing them over on his own.

Those fleeing hunters, or maybe even Felix and Dalton, assuming they were still alive, probably knew something about the Unown. But getting that information to Macro Cosmos or Rose would require the right opportunity.

He could just camp near the Dynamax Den's exit and ambush anyone who came out, burying the secret forever…

It was possible, but too much trouble, and here was no reliable way to confirm if all the hunters inside had died.

If one or two of them were cautious and decided to hide inside for a few days, occasionally sending Pokémon out to scout… Shiro wasn't about to waste time hunting them all down.

He didn't know when the company would send people either.

If the hunters might expose things anyway, then forget it. As for the two Unown, since they were now his spoils of war, even if Rose wanted them later, he'd have to offer something in return.

Maybe he could trade for a rare pseudo-legendary with high potential…

'Don't do that! Human! Don't give us away!' Unown A interrupted his thoughts with a loud voice.

Shiro looked down, frowning at the two creatures. "You can still read my thoughts?"

'This... it's just…' Unown G started nervously, but Unown A quickly took over. 'Just a basic application of psychic power. Don't you also have a psychic gift? It's weak, but with training—'

"Me?" Shiro pointed at himself, doubting what A was saying.

He had no psychic talent at all. Even with Zacian's boost, all he could do was vaguely sense a Pokémon's level and ability. Nothing more.

Or maybe… this so-called 'gift' Unown A mentioned referred to that barely useful detection ability?

'Yes. That barely useful ability…' Unown A echoed his thought, then added, 'You didn't have any psychic talent before. It was Zacian that helped you unlock the most basic psychic power. Right now, all you can do is detect things.'

Shiro's eyes narrowed. "So you're saying you can help me train psychic power?"

'That's right.' Unown A shook inside the box. 'The condition is, you have to let us go.'

Letting the Unown go…

Shiro fell silent.

Trading their freedom for a method to train psychic abilities didn't sound like a good deal. And what if they held a grudge after being released?

He didn't really know how strong Unown were either. If he let them go and couldn't beat them… if they came back to take revenge…

'That's absurd!' Unown A yelled. 'Only you humans think in such sneaky, despicable ways!'

"But I don't trust you," Shiro replied calmly. "And with my position now, I could just ask the company how to train psychic power. There are quite a few psychics there. Someone should know."

'You can't possibly—' Unown A protested, but Shiro cut it off by shoving the black box back into his pocket.

"You think it over," he said flatly. "Besides, I'm not even sure if Rose will discover you yet."

**

**

**

Thank you for reading! If you'd like access to extra chapters and want to support my work, you can visit my P@treon:

P@treon/SilverShark769

Vote with Power Stones for Bonus Chapters!

Your support means a lot, thank you!