Chapter 1
"C'mon, Sheila! I saw a baker pass by not too long ago; he might still be in his shop. We can still snag something to eat this time, if he hasn't closed up for the day." Toffee barked at the Glaceon trudging slowly behind him, only speaking as she came to a stop by his side.
"Keep it down, fool. The only reason I'm still hanging around with you is because you have a better chance than me of grabbing something to eat. So if you want me here, don't alert the humans of our presence." She whispered, her voice quiet but intimidating. She crouched and nimbly leapt over the stack of boxes in front of them, following the scent of freshly baked bread.
The young Poochyena sighed, but didn't reply as they snuck into the bakery. Thankfully, the shop hadn't been locked yet. It had been months since they had been able to get into the town, ever since a heist had taken place and security had been ramped up to the extremes. Fortunately for them, the sewers had been unguarded, providing them easy access to virtually every building in sight. The problem was, it was tough to tell which building was a safe one to explore. Many didn't have guards or security, but many of them did, causing all Pokemon trying to get even a nibble of food and a sip of fresh water to play a game of roulette.
"Look there, some crates! Do you think those have something in them?" Toffee whispered cautiously, careful to not anger Sheila again.
"Hmm, I doubt it. But it's worth a check. Although they don't really smell of fresh food or anything consumable." Sheila replied, padding forward to investigate the old looking crates.
The two carefully approached the crates, sniffing the air around them. Sheila was right: the boxes didn't smell too fresh, and mostly smelled of books. They both assumed that the crates contained old recipes, so they turned around to continue searching.
"Hey, Sheila? Did you see that?" Toffee turned around, staring at the box.
"What? What did you see?" Sheila said, glancing around worriedly. "A human?"
"N-no, one of the boxes… It moved slightly." Toffee whimpered, trembling slightly.
"Moved? Let me take a look. Stand back, pup." The Glaceon growled, creeping forward.
As Sheila crept forward, the box shuddered once more, then fell still. Time seemed to stop for a second as the two froze, watching the mysterious crate. Then, slowly, the lid popped off, and a Rattata jumped out and scurried away.
"Ugh, Toffee! You got us all riled up for nothing!" Sheila hissed, peeking inside the opened crate. Her eyes narrowed as she scanned the insides.
"What's in there?" Toffee asked, sticking his snout in the box curiously.
"Recipes. Old ones, too, by the looks of it. Come on, let's go look for something to eat before the shop closes." Sheila turned away and continued down the hallway, with Toffee at her heels.
