Mawile skipped along the street, her coat bouncing up and down with each movement. Life was good. She had a new move, a hat that matched her awesomeness, and these funny-feeling glasses.

What more could she want?

Everything, of course. Because why settle for life being good when it could be great? Hmmm, no. Great wasn't enough either. It had to be the best.

Because as Mawile, she deserved nothing less.

She already had the best human. Lil'Boss' actual humanity was irrelevant; the other humans believed she was one of them, so it counted.

Thankfully for the world, Mawile wasn't in any enormous rush to claim it all for herself. That would be boring, but that didn't mean she would sit around and do nothing.

A sly grin came to her face. She'd totally pulled one over Lil'Boss. How could she think that someone as amazing as her, Mawile, could faceplant off a table? No, it was all orchestrated! A carefully crafted ruse to get permission to stalk the city's night. She totally didn't lose her balance and fall for real. That would be so uncool, and Mawile was the coolest.

Thanks to her little trick, she was out here, while Princess was stuck at the base. Which was for the best, as babies needed their rest. It was tough sometimes, having to not only be the big girl but also the favorite. Oh, sure, Princess thought she was the favorite, but that's just because she didn't know any better. Mawile was the one who provoked the most emotion from Lil'Boss; ergo, she was the favorite. She would have explained it to Ralts, however, what type of big girl would argue with a baby? No, it was better to let her think whatever she wanted.

There was huffing behind her, and a voice called out.

"Yo, can we slow down?" Her minion asked. She wasn't sure he knew that's what he was, but he did know the pecking order. Which was Mawile on top, then her team, and everyone else, far, far below.

She considered his request and decided a tired minion was a bad minion. Mawile steadily lowered the power in each bounce, transitioning to a brisk walk. An idea occurred to her, and she started moving her head, searching the alleyways.

"Thanks," Minion A said in an unsure manner. She gave a friendly smile in reply, making sure to display her greater maw's row of teeth.

Mawile was not as bad as Deviant, but she did enjoy the slight hitch in the boy's step at the sight of her alabaster fangs.

Finding what she was looking for, she dashed into an alley. Standing under the fire escape, she bent her legs and gave a light jump, landing on the raised ladder. Using her weight, she bobbed up and down, forcing the metal construct to the ground for her minion's usage.

With that done, she scampered up the rest of it, climbing up to the roof of the three-story building. Stepping onto the flat top, her feet brought her to the edge. Ahead of her sat the city.

Her city, whether it knew it or not. It was pretty, glistening in the night. A tall spire of metal and lights was at its center. She decided that would be a good place for her office in the future. What she would do with an office was a problem for future Mawile.

The groan of the metal railing behind her alerted her to Minion A's arrival. Good, she hadn't climbed up here for no reason. There was an air-conditioning unit, and she hopped on top of it, sweeping a hand over the city.

"Ma, wile, mawile," she addressed her lesser, extolling her greatness and plans for the future. "Wile, ma, wile!"

She finished with a clenched fist raised to the sky. Had she nailed that? It felt like she nailed that. Which was good, as this part was super important. Lil'Boss said so herself, always talking about how organizations had to have clear goals.

"I-." Her minion was, suitably, at a loss for words. "Have no idea what you're saying."

Right, not all humans could be as perfect as hers. It was easy to forget that. She grabbed him, hauling him off the ledge and shaking him a bit.

"Okay, okay!" He yelled out. "Whatever you said goes!"

Hmm, did she believe him? Maybe she shouldn't have left Princess behind. It wasn't that she couldn't get to the truth herself. In fact, the list of things she couldn't do amounted to zero. It was more…how did Lil'Boss call it? Right, comparative advantage. Mawile was amazing at everything, but her time and effort were too valuable to do everything. It was best to stick to what she was super amazing at and let others fill in the gaps for her.

Studying Minion A's face, she determined he was telling the truth. She tossed him behind her, hearing how he hit the roof, and rolled some before coming to a stop. Her eyes scanned the city, looking for something to do.

Any and all obstacles in her path inevitably found themselves destroyed, but some were more stubborn about it than others. In this case, it was the sheer breadth of choices she had.

Her life before Lil'Boss had been simple and extremely boring. Each day had been scheduled down to the minute. She hadn't even realized how stifling it had been until taking off with Lil'Boss. That day was now etched into her memory. It was the day she realized an empirical truth.

A fairy could not be contained by man. They were free. Free to do what they wanted, whenever they wanted.

She crossed her arms, stomping her foot down.

Why was being free so hard!? She just wanted to go back home and cuddle-eh, watch over Lil'Boss. Mawile shook her head, slapping her cheeks. No, she was a big girl. Which meant she had to do big things.

"Wile, ma," she turned and ordered her minion.

He raised his hands in preemptive surrender.

"I still don't know what you're saying."

She had hit a speed bump. That was to say, nothing she would slow down for. She approached faster than the man could react and grabbed him. Holding his arm, she ran towards the edge and leaped.

The yell he gave was funny, and she hit the next roof. It was a story lower and slanted, causing her to almost stumble on her way. The extra weight she was hauling didn't help either. She didn't let that dissuade her, and her feet ate up the tiles, and she took flight again.

Rooftop from rooftop, she traversed the city.

Her minion's yelling eventually died out, lessening her enjoyment. At a certain point, he started to struggle more than normal, prompting her to stop. She dropped him, allowing him a second to catch his breath. Just a second though, and she kicked him to get a proper answer. Sat on the roof, he raised a finger, still trying to recover. She smacked her fists together, and he finally realized oxygen should not be his primary concern.

"We're about to enter pod territory again. Ralts warned us off there. She wanted to get a better handle on the city before doing anything."

That was like her, planning and plotting for things. Mawile wasn't that kind of girl. A trick or two was fine, but plotting? Way too much trouble for no reward. Why make a big old plan when you can just headbutt them with your jaw?

From her vantage point, she surveyed her future kingdom. It wasn't easy to see, but she could hear some interlopers nearby. It sounded like a group. She didn't know if they were with the people Minion A was worried about, but there was an easy way to find out.

"Hey, what are you-" She grabbed him again and jumped down, landing on the street a little away from the collection of humans. "Doing…"

Mawile released him again and took in the group. They were a motley group of teens or young adults. She could never tell the two apart. They were seated on the steps of a building, smoking and glaring at her.

"The fuck do you think you're doing here?" One of them stood, the Whirlipede by his feet stirring. "Hey, isn't that Faust? I thought Vin and Hue were going to deal with him?"

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The names were unknown to her. They were probably the visitors Deviant dealt with. She examined the three humans and their Pokemon, a Skiddo and a Muk.

Boring. Way too boring.

Lil'Boss' words came to her. These small fries weren't really worth her attention. She needed a real fight, and soon. That Skarmory hadn't been bad, but with Gem by her side, it didn't stand a chance, which made total sense.

She was Mawile.

Alone, she was a threat impossible to ignore. With her team? They were an unstoppable force of pure badass. Mawile made up like 95% of that but the other 5% helped. The only thing she could think of that would put up a meaningful challenge would be going against one of the old ones.

Hmm, now there was an idea…

Alas, for now, she had to punch down.

"Honestly, man," her minion spoke, scratching the back of his head. "I'm not sure what's going on. I'm just along for the ride."

The group's supposed leader, Victim A, got up, hands still in his pocket.

"Sure, you are buddy," he sneered at them. "Then who's in charge?"

A hand pointed at her, earning a round of laughs. Huh, hadn't this happened to Lil'Boss recently? Keeping track of the outside while in her cozy ball was tough, but she thought it had.

Lil'Boss had taken it on the chin. Mawile would take it on theirs.

"Wile!" She declared her intent with a toothy smile. The humans looked at her strangely, but the Pokemon? They understood and shifted, tension flooding their bodies. "Ma, wile, ile."

There. Now if Lil'Boss somehow learned about this, she could say with the utmost honesty that she'd warned them and given them a chance to run. It wasn't her fault they didn't speak Mawile.

"I don't like the look on that Mawile," Victim B, a man to her left, muttered while rising. He was the Skiddo trainer. "Yo Faust, whose P-"

Their meaningless words fell away as Mawile shifted into battle mode, also known as beatdown city and curbstomp central.

Skiddo: Grass type. Average in most areas. Likely moves include Leech Seed, Razor Leaf, Synthesis, Take Down, and Bulldoze. Upper limit strength correlates to Pokemon used in a 3rd gym badge challenge. The threat level is very low.

Whirlipede: Bug and poison type. Favors defense. Likely moves include Screech, Pursuit, Protect, Poison Tail, Iron Defense, Venoshock, and Bug Bite. Upper limit strength correlates to Pokemon used in a 3rd gym badge challenge. Lower limit was somewhere between the 1st and 2nd gym badge levels. The threat level is negligible.

Muk: Poison type. Favors physical attack. Likely Moves include Disable, Sludge, Mud Bomb, Minimize, Sludge Wave, Screech, and Acid Armor. Lower limit strength correlates to Pokemon used in a 6th gym badge challenge. Be on alert for signs of the move Dig. If observed, seek higher ground. The threat level is variable.

Mawile sighed. It was exactly as she expected—boring.

She often wished her old trainer had been less zealous in making her memorize everything. Lil'Boss' style was similar but different. They still did the book stuff, even though Mawile knew way more about Pokemon stuff than Lil'Boss did. She kept quiet on that; it was funnier that way. Where they differed was that Lil'Boss was a big fan of practical demonstrations. Which was a dumb way of saying fighting, but she allowed it because Lil'Boss knew a lot about fighting. Fighting with or against her was one of Mawile's favorite things in the world.

Her victims' mouths were moving, discussing something between themselves. None of that mattered and Mawile stomped on the ground, cobblestones flying out in her wake. She appeared at Whirlipede's side, and its buggy little eyes went as wide as they could go. Mawile smirked at the Pokemon; it really should have used Iron Defense.

With her foot planted on its carapace, she pressed down. It spun for a moment before springing into the air like one of those balls humans like to kick around so much. Using the bare minimum amount of energy required, she mentally triggered her Iron Head and performed a hop before twisting her body into a forward flip. Her black jaw trailed behind her, smacking the Whirlipede down. Its body slammed into the ground, ricocheting and catching Victim A in the gut. He flew back, slamming into the brick wall.

Mawile landed on her feet. She dusted her shoulder off, giving the others time to contemplate their life choices.

"Muk! Mud Bomb!" Newly dubbed Victim C yelled.

The sludge-like Pokemon's body bulged, and it spat out a mound of dirt toward her. They couldn't see them on account of the shades, but her eyes were rolling super hard right now. Her right foot slid back, causing her body to be at an angle. It was just enough to have the ball of mud miss her coat.

Lil'Boss' knives were way faster, and she was much sneakier about aiming them. Her eyes didn't give away where she was aiming them.

"Skiddo!" Victim B joined the game. "Leech Seed!"

At its trainer's demand, the Skiddo opened its mouth and small seeds were sent her way. Mawile took the time to consider the best option before standing still and letting them hit her center chest. They came to life on contact, growing into vines that wrapped around her. A draining feeling soon followed, with a blob of green energy going back to the grass Pokemon.

"I still don't know what her plan is," her minion supplied from behind her. She had noticed that Haunter of his hadn't been released. "But I'm pretty sure you guys fucked up with that."

Mawile stretched her arms up before reaching for her toes. She then went upright and twisted left and then right. She punched in place, confirming the loss of mobility was minimal.

"Ma, wile," she said, thanking the Skiddo. "Mawile, wile."

She pointed at the Muk, wondering why it had not used any of his buffing moves yet. Did they want to go down on one hit? It was hard enough to hold back on Whirlipede, and they already looked close to fainting.

No one ever talked about how much of a burden being so amazing was.

"Muk Disable! Jeff, get your Skiddo to Bulldoze!"

A blue glow coated her, holding her in place. It was stronger than Princess' move and yet somehow she found it inferior. Ralts' application came off as more complete.

Skiddo pawed at the ground twice before rearing up and stomping. A fissure formed, rapidly approaching her still form.

Their half-decent teamwork put her in a predicament.

Not.

The lip of her greater maw pulled back, and a black aura surrounded her teeth. It resonated with her new shades, amplifying their power. Her mouth split open wide before snapping shut, the energy dispersing. If the Disable was powered by someone like Monarch, then she would be going nowhere fast. However, it was Muk, and so the residual dark energy was enough to shake the hold and free her.

Mawile ran at the upturned earth, leaping over it and tripping slightly before catching herself with a foot. She froze in position.

Yes, that was exactly how she planned to land. Anyone who claimed otherwise was welcome to file a complaint with her. She guaranteed no one would file a second one.

"Muk, what the hell happened to the Disable? Keep that up and I'm not taking you dumpster diving this weekend."

Dumpsters weren't her idea of good eating, no matter how much Lil'Boss called her food junk food, but she sympathized with the Pokémon whose eyes had been filled with undisguised panic. What an evil trainer! Didn't he know treats were one of the reasons they lived

He needed to be taught a good lesson. Pain was a great teacher. By extension, that meant Mawile was as well.

She dashed toward the trainer, his Muk being just slow enough to fail its interception.

"Wile, wile, wile~," she sang as she approached, reaching out with her hands. "Mawile!"

He stumbled back, reacting far too late to make any meaningful difference. His leg was captured in her iron grip, and she pulled him harshly.

"What are youuuuuuuuuuuuu."

His voice extended, melding into a yell as her arm moved in a circle above her. She felt the drain on her again, the energy feeding back to Skiddo who looked ready to bolt.

Her new plaything's screaming was delightful, rising and falling in volume depending on how fast she swung. It hitched for a moment, causing her to frown before his stomach released its contents.

It flew in an arc around her, and she slowed the spinning.

"Are you kidding me? Minion A complained, stretching out his shirt and examining where he'd caught some of her friendly fire. "Second time this week."

Princess would have him fill out an expense report to have it cleaned. Mawile's solution was better. She laughed.

With the speed reduced, she let go of the man who flew out and tumbled across the ground. He didn't look to be moving.

"Whirlipede use Venoshock."

Victim A was back on his feet, ordering his teetering Pokemon.

Was he serious? Didn't this dummy know she was steel?

Hah. This really was bottom-of-the-barrel opponents. She whipped her head around, knocking the globs of purple goo to the ground. That was not getting on her coat. No way, no how.

She fell on her ass next, losing her footing while trying to dodge a Mud Bomb from close proximity. Her success in avoiding the attack was never in question, but she did not appreciate having to drop to the floor like some sort of loser.

Mawile tilted her head down so Muk could see her glare at it from above her shades. Not having access to the move Glare or even Scary Face was an injustice in the world.

The events of today played back in her mind. When Lil'Boss didn't think something was right, she complained to the person in charge and walked away with pretty much everything she wanted. That was something to think about.

She kicked off the ground, barreling toward the Pokemon who had managed to catch her off guard. Its mass moved, trying to get out of her path, but it was far too slow and an Iron Head caught it in the face, or what she thought was its face. His body was heavy, but Mawile was no slouch and she managed to splatter it into the stairs her victims had originally been hanging out in.

Skiddo's hooves clattered on the cobblestones as it charged her, head down. Its trainer had called for a Take Down. Mawile stood her ground, holding her hand out in front of her. She grunted slightly as she tanked the hit head-on, her feet digging into the ground. Holding its forehead in place, she reached out with her other hand for the horn. Once her hand clamped on it, she transitioned her other hand to the remaining horn and threw the Pokémon up. There wasn't much strength in it, and it went a few feet up before falling to her awaiting maw.

"Skid!" It screeched in discomfort as she gently held him aloft, electricity running along him.

Her new move was not effective against him, but that was the only reason she was using it. She felt the drain again, the vines sapping her strength.

"Hey!" His trainer protested with fire in his voice. "Let him go!"

Mawile closed her jaw tighter, eliciting a squeal before shaking and tossing it away.

She took in what was left. The Muk looked fine enough to continue and she could play with the Skiddo once the next drain hit. The people were much less put together; the one she'd thrown was still not moving, and it looked like she had lost the Whirlipede trainer. They must have run while she wasn't looking.

Mawile decided that must have been part of her plan. With any luck, he would draw more toward her. There was only one coherent victim left and Mawile cracked her knuckles, approaching him.

"H-hey Faust!" Victim B yelled, Pokeball in hand. It looked like he was deciding whether to withdraw Skiddo. "Call it off!"

She tilted her head. Was it not obvious she was a girl? Well, it would all be cleared up after he evolved into Minion C.

"I really can't," Minion A said, shrugging helplessly. "Also, fair warning. I'm pretty sure you're about to learn the pecking order."