They say he is a Pokémon… but stranger people have lived here than he.

I heard he roams the borders of the city… yet only by moonlight.

They say that he has powers unlike any other…

Do you want to see him?

At the next full moon; look up at the city’s highest tower, maybe you will spot him there.

Wait… look! There he is now!”

My eldest daughter, Jasmine, cast a pretended fearful glance at the tower; silhouetted by the setting red sun, and gestured furiously. The other two children; much younger by far, shrieked and hid their faces in my blouse.

I chuckled, and gave Jasmine a look. “Don’t tease them, Jazzie. They have more important things to worry about than mysterious shadows and strange creatures.”

Peter; my son; gained enough confidence and curiosity to let go of me. “Have you ever seen the Nightwalker, Mum-ma?”

Sasha nodded, her auburn hair flopping around in her elastic. She was my youngest daughter; yet her aptitude was quite astonishing for a six year old. “Yeah; did you ever see him?”

“No; and I daresay Jasmine is just making fun of you. The Nightwalker is just another legend that you get in such big cities as this one.”

Peter nodded; bemused. “Maybe he’s real though. What if he’s a Pokémon-man! Half human-half Pokémon! That’d be wicked!”

“Well; while we’re walking home, perhaps you’ll see him standing on a skyscraper; looking down on all of us.” I added, getting into the idea.

Sasha shivered, and gripped onto my shirt harder.

I glanced at the red sun; now partially hidden behind a skyscraper. “We’d better get home. If we don’t; maybe the Nightwalker will get us!”

Now it was Jasmine’s turn to roll her eyes. “Take it too far, why don’t you. They’ll get nightmares now!”

We stepped off the grassy embankment and onto the concrete footpath; and set off for our flat; a few blocks away.

The first I knew of our peril was when a lone man in his twenties; unshaven and reeking of stale alcohol; stopped and looked at us walking towards him.

“Brianna,” he murmured; and took a step towards us. Unwillingly; I took a step back; dragging my kids behind me.

Jasmine took a fleeting look at his face and then glared at me; resisting my quick reaction to protect them.

“Hey… long time no see.” the man drawled. As soon as he took another step I recognised him.

“Hello, Darren.” I acknowledged; with a nod of my head, then continued walking.

Sidestepping him neatly; I hustled my kids in front of me and power-walked another few steps; now desperately looking for somebody to notice. Was that a cab? No; just another brightly-painted car.

“Don’t ignore me,” Darren whined, behind me. I felt, if not heard him start walking after me. “Your kids are just too precious.”

The blackmail did not go unnoticed. I froze, and slowly turned around. “What do you want?”

He grinned. “I want just one night; under the stars. Just the two of us.”

“I’ve quit; haven’t you realised?” Behind me, Sasha fretted, tugging at my arm. I cast a look behind me, and with the look on my face, I hope they would realise how in danger they were.

“No-no!” he shook his head. “I don’t mean that. The stars are so pretty nowadays. Like; have you seen the moon? It’s so bright, and so… pretty!”

“You’re drunk,” I snarled. “And I already told you that I quit a long time ago.”

“You need it.” Darren grinned. “You need the money.”

The bastard, I groaned in my head. He knows. I had been struggling to get enough clothes and still put dinner on the table. Peter had just gone through another growth-spurt. His joggers were too small; his school shorts too tight. And Jasmine’s glasses; Sasha’s hospital fees had started the small niggling worries in my head.

Already I was weakening. I grabbed for my bag and handed the house-key to Jasmine. “Get these two home; and I’ll catch up with you later.”

Jasmine gave me a look that spoke a dozen emotions; but reluctantly took the small key anyway. She gestured at my two youngest and then they all took off; jogging. They didn’t look back.

I turned back to Darren. “Where are we going?”

The grass was cool, moist under my feet and very soothing. I took my shoes off and walked a bit; trying to compose myself. Now that I wasn’t worrying so much about my kids; I could worry a bit about myself.

I turned around to look for Darren. He was on his Pokégear. I even caught a few words: “… we’re gonna have some good fun…” before I dashed over, half-screaming, and ripped it from his hands.

“Are you crazy?!” I gasped.

He answered by shoving me to the ground and standing over me. “You need it,”

I glared at him. “I don’t need anything from you, Darren. You and your mates can go and get f**ked.”

His gaze softened, and he looked at the last rays of the sun as they disappeared over the horizon, and then looked back at me. “Precisely.”

I screamed as he ripped my blouse from the middle; and hiccuped another lungful of air as his head bent down…

… and exploded in a gory mess of blood, skull fragments and brain. His body slumped over mine; his neck a mishmash of spinal cord, muscle and more blood. Blood gushed over my bra from his neck; still warm.

I screamed until I could scream no more; and then blissful darkness took me as I fainted, only slightly feeling strong arms clasp me from behind. Who?

My mother cleansed my face gently with a soft towel. “Rest easy,” she said. “It has ended.”

“My children?”

My mother’s face contorted; concentrating; then relaxed after a few seconds. “They are sleeping.”

“Safe…” I whispered.

And I woke.

I was lying down on something so incredibly soft that I couldn’t believe it when my eyes focused on hard cavernous rock above my head.

Slowly I turned my head to the right. The cave stretched a good two metres or more. A flickering fire greeted me. And a figure at the fire; sitting.

My eyes were unfocused. I blinked a couple of times; looking at the cave wall; which was fully in focus. Yet shifting my eyes back to the figure; my eyes blurred unintentionally.

I tried a smile. “Hello?”

He stood. I could tell it was a man. It just was. But was he even wearing clothes?!

He was a giant; he had to crouch to evade the cave roof. “Hello,” he replied, and I heard his smile in his words.

I eased my body around into a kneeling position; feeling a bruise on my backside from when I had fallen. “Where are we?”

He turned his head towards the cave face, and again I was struck by how stately he held his body. “Are you…”

“Feeling better?” I finished for him. “Yes; I’m feeling much better. Where am I though?” I noticed the subtleties in the conversation. He hadn’t answered my question. So I asked it again.

He turned his head to the cave mouth. “This is a cave just an hour away from the city.”

The city… Then I remembered; well, really played it over again in my head again. Suddenly nauseous, I thought of my children. But they were… safe…

Then how safe was I? What had happened during those moments when I was unconscious?

“Listen,” I said, suddenly serious, and stood up. “Thank you. I thank you from the depths of my heart for doing what you did.”

He nodded slowly; his large eyes closing at the bottom of the nod; totally relaxed.

“I need to get home. My kids are probably frantic I’m not back yet; they need to eat…”

“I understand. But your children will not wake until you get home.”

This chilling sentence drove a ripple of energy down my spine. I shivered ever so slightly and then with undisguised menace I growled at him. “If you touched one hair of my kids’ heads…”

He reacted differently to what I had expected; and stepped forward, rather than backwards. “I would not harm a child,”

I picked up another hidden message in that innocent statement.

“Yet you would kill a full-grown man.” I said, upfront. “And you did.”

His gaze turned stony. “I am not guilty for the many things I have done in my life; that… unpleasant confrontation is one of them.”

Ah… I breathed, and fell silent. He has a multifaceted history. And believe it or not; I was intrigued to the point of temporary insanity, and so, I sat down again. “So are you going to tell me about the many things you have done?”

“Some are only for my mind to mull over. However…”

I gasped as his eyes misted over; a vibrant blue colour covering them. I no longer heard his voice through my ears; instead it reverberated through my head. The cave surroundings faded slightly and I saw other things briefly where they should not have been.

<I have been gifted with incredible power.>

A flash on a cave wall. Explosions; people screaming. A glowing blue sphere of light, enveloping a whole tower. “This cannot be my destiny!”

I felt it, if not saw it. Surges of powerful emotion. Was this his birth?

<I have challenged many.>

A multitude of shocked gasps. Two identical Pokémon; struggling in combat. Cries of pain. Despair.

<And yet I did not understand. I have met the one that was the reason for my making, yet all I craved was acknowledgment of my powers.>

“Now I will prove that I am better than the original.” A flit of pink. “Why do you flee from me?”

<All I wanted. I didn’t understand; for how could I? I had been cruel, for my makers had been cruel. I only knew of violence and impassiveness as a means to an end; until I was taught otherwise.>

“You gotta stop right now! STOP!”

A death; and a rebirth. Sudden understanding; of compassion. Tears. <Not until they set aside their differences did I see the true power they all shared inside.> I suddenly realised it had ended; and I blinked, feeling the welling tears drop to my cheeks. And yet I had only glimpsed a few scenes.

<I have flown with Butterfree against a sky filled with stars… and the moon.>

There was silence.

“I really think you needed to get that off your chest,” I giggled. It was just a nervous reaction; if my heart was beating any faster it could have even been a hysterical one.

I looked over to where I remembered him to be. He was sitting; hunched over slightly, and staring at the floor. And his outline was clearer now. <Your children,> he prompted.

Had I really overstayed my welcome? “Thank you,” I said again, rising.

<Remember me,> he said deeply. <Remembrance of such things is a gift.>

This struck me as odd, but I nodded. Yes; I would remember. I proffered my hand.

He slowly offered his in return. I clasped it; yet instead of feeling rough calloused hands as I expected, I experienced smooth skin; and softest, softest fur.

My emotions leaped, and with it, my facial expression. I looked up at his face; my mouth open slightly. I felt shock; yet with it, deep understanding.

And from him… I felt, I don’t know. Embarrassment? A tinge of sadness. Gauging from my expression I could understand. He thought I was shocked to the point of disgust.

I gripped his hand tighter; feeling three velvety fingers with strange ends. I looked down at them; seeing the human coloured five-fingered hand. My eyes were tricking me.

Damn it! There were three fingers! I strained to visualise what I was touching.

He flinched ever so slightly; then I felt part of the barrier drop. There was his real hand. Grey coloured; tinged with purple fur.

I took his other hand; and looked up at his face. It was still blurry, yet I didn’t attempt to see him truly. Instead, I stood on tippy-toe and kissed him softly where I guessed his mouth was.

He reacted exactly how I thought he would. He; shocked and with eyes wide, froze for one second. Then, with almost surprising skill; he returned the kiss.

I understand… I whispered in my head.

His kiss deepened as he heard this. How had he heard it though?! There was no logic in this cave anymore.

Slowly I felt his conscious; if that was what it was, well up against my thoughts.

Our bodies pressed to one another; I saw him shed his remaining barriers to me. Slowly his hips widened; became a furred grey and purple colour. I gripped his shoulders tightly and felt his bones, only just covered with a thin skin layer, instead.

My eyes closed; I moved my touch to his jaw and neck. His neck muscles were bunched and heavy with sinew. And there was another cordlike structure that attached both to his skull and his spine.

Slowly, hesitating, he moved his hands to my waist. Tenderly he kissed me; showing not lust, yet a loving attitude. <What is this?> he murmured, before closing his eyes and submitting to his emotions.

This is my gift to you, for saving my children, I replied.

Things got hot and heavy after I led him to the makeshift bed. I won’t go into detail, only to say that his ability far surpassed his supposed innocence.

We merged both in body and in mind...

He slept, I dozed, and I woke again, beside his slumbering form.

Carefully I extricated myself out of his embrace and slid out of the bed. Giving him one last glance and mental thanks, I slipped on my shoes and walked quickly out of the cave.

The brisk walk did me good. I spotted the Pokégear and crushed it with by heel. There was no sign of anything else.

At home, I turned the key to the apartment door and went inside. The rooms were dark. I opened the door to my three children’s room, watching their eyes slowly open.

That day remains as vivid and as clear as it happened a year ago. No children ever came of that fateful coupling, but from coincidence or deliberate action I can’t tell, much less want to know.

My friend was an enigmatic character. Ever since then I have every so often heard stories of the Nightwalker, and wondered whether he has come out of his cave and basked in the blissful sunlight yet. Or maybe it has been too long.

Even so; when debates as to the Nightwalker is indeed a Pokémon, or a human, I laugh and think in my head: “He is more human than he will ever know.”