Curse (one-shot)

[Dragonfree]

Contains a religious/spiritual theme.

Curse

“Dragonite, Curse!”

He has called this one command in almost every battle we have had since he taught me that move.

I would never disobey. He’s my trainer. We have been through so much together – ever since Dragon’s Den, where the Elders deemed him worthy of training me, we have been through everything. Victories and defeats. Sweet and sour. I could never complain. Besides, other Pokémon use it, don’t they?

Must be something you get used to after a while.

I close my eyes and whisper the words that I don’t know the meaning of. I feel like I know it, but it seems to slip out of my mind just before I can grasp it.

As the tan-colored dragon’s lips stop moving, he seems to stiffen and is suddenly out of breath. He looks exhausted and weak; his head hangs low and his eyes look pained.

“Tyranitar, Rock Slide!”

The other Pokémon in the arena, a huge green dinosaur, roars and raises one of his arms as chunks of the floor start to shake and be ripped out of it to levitate in the air. They hang there trembling for a second but are then flung at the dragon. He doesn’t even seem to notice; he stands like a statue, almost immune to the weight and speed of the rocks.

“Curse again!”

The Dragonite starts to recite the same he did before, but with more difficulty. While he is struggling through the words, the other trainer sees an opportunity:

“Focus Punch!”

The Tyranitar’s fist glows as he leaps towards the Dragonite. The dragon raises a trembling arm and manages to punch the reptile away with a weak-looking push that nonetheless results in the rock-skinned monster flying across the arena like a ragdoll.

The dragon finishes the words and seems to be weakened again. His head hangs limply, his eyes fight to say open, and his legs tremble.

“One more time, Curse!”

As I start saying the words again, the meaning first now comes to me and I realize what I am saying… what I have done…

But it’s too late now, isn’t it?

The Dragonite starts to move his lips faintly one more time while the Tyranitar struggles to stand up.

Dark One, curse me
Take my life
Bit by bit
Take my soul
Take my offer now

The Tyranitar gets up and shakes himself with another ear-splitting roar.

Give me power
Give me strength
I’ll give you my soul

The Dragonite’s eyes close and he falls down on four legs, having to support his weight with his arms.

Give me glory
Give me fame
I will give you me

The dragon screams, jerking himself up and spreading out his wings for a second. He doesn’t look exhausted anymore; with empty eyes he stares at his opponent.

The dragon’s trainer smiles. “That’s it, Dragonite! Extremespeed!”

The Dragonite darts towards the Tyranitar with an almost robotic expression, preparing to tackle him.

The battle is already won.

They will be masters.

Just like promised.

[darktyranitar]

Whoa, that was really scary. Never know how a stat raising attack could be so demonic. While I was reading this, I imagined that the Dragonite and its trainer is a member of some dark cult. Hm, what does it means by "they will be only masters"? My guess is there some demonic power behind all this. Interesting...

[Mew Trainer Rose]

Wow, that's really creepy. Despite the name, that's not the sort of thing I'd picture for the use of Curse. Very nicely written, to get that creepy/evil feel across.
Hmmm, makes me wonder if Ghosts use a differrent chant, since the effect if different...

[mistysakura]

Hmm... it's a very interesting portrayal of Curse, because although there have been a lot of interpretations of attacks, there aren't so many of stat-raising moves. In most fics the user just magically becomes stronger. And moves that raise the stats of the user seem to be very mechanical, like in Curse, attack up, defense up, speed down. Like a mathematical equation. It's really the first time that it's occured to me that these double-edged moves are actually physically sacrificial. But really, I see the move in terms of the game, so I don't quite get the connection between lowering speed and selling the user's soul. The soul-selling thing seems to be more consistent with the attack's effect on Ghosts, because of the loss of HP (life?)

And I guess the fic also calls into question whether the trainer is inhumane, as he is ordering his Pokemon to sell its soul, even if the Pokemon's also willing to an extent. Offering a different interpretation to darktyranitar's, I can't imagine them being part of a cult at all, as that would mean they were acting in the name of some superior being. I see them as acting entirely towards their own ends of fame, power etc.

A very creepy fic indeed.

[darktyranitar]

Hmm, that's a pretty good interpration. But what confused me is, what does it means by "they will be masters"? Some sort of mind control from another superior, dark force; or the devil itself?

[Dragonfree]

"They will be masters" simply means that the "Dark One" does not disappoint those who are loyal to him...

Neither the trainer nor the Pokémon knew anything about what it did - the trainer is just like any casual trainer who obtains the Curse TM and innocently teaches it to his Pokémon.

[Bulbasaur4]

I liked how you interpreted the Curse attack. I really like what you developed the 'chant' to be as well... and how you made the pokemon come to realize what exactly it all meant. I only wonder if the trainer is so obtuse to not notice the dragon's obvious pain before the final outcome... but hey, I guess some are like that. ^^;;

Really interesting!