"Hey, Vinny?"

Vinny looked at Oliver, eyes asking for his question, "What is your plan of travel, exactly?"

"What do you mean?" He asked, adjusting his bag and making sure Mojo and Sphynx were firmly seated on his shoulders.

"I mean, where do you intend to go? How will you get there? You don't exactly have any money, all you have is the money you've taken from small children right now."

Vinny sighed, "They gave it to me fair and square, alright? But... I guess I'll keep battling people that I come across, maybe I'll get enough money to get a ticket or something. I don't think I'll challenge gyms though."

"Where are you going in this region?" the Glameow pondered, sticking his head out of the bag.

Vinny climbed through the cave at the end of route 203, looking around in case of trainers or Pokemon. "Lets assume I'll go through the routes in numerical order. That also takes the route I would take if I were collecting gym badges. Does that answer your question?"

Oliver scoffed and curled up. Vinny checked the time on his Pokétch, the time nearing 12:30. He looked around, seeing a few campers off to the side. He walked, being as quiet and quick as possible to not attract the attention of anyone, including the hiker who thought he could hide at the end of the tunnel and wait. He jumped through the hole at the other end, finding himself on top of a hill. He went to take a firm step down, but didn't realize there were stairs and fell down, falling down three sets of small stairs before landing a the bottom in a heap. A few pokeballs escaped from his bag, as well as Oliver flying a few feet away, followed by Mojo and Sphynx. The group groaned, Vinny sitting up as his pokémon collected the scattered balls and brought them back to him. He wiped the dirt off his face and stood up, taking off his backpack and setting it down so they could put them in. Mojo, however, didn't put one he was holding in. He handed it to Vinny.

"My ball, never put it in your belt. Was in your pocket," He muttered with a smile. Vinny ruffled the hair on the top of his head and grinned, giving him a thanks and clipping it into the belt.

Vinny wiped the dust off of himself and grabbed his bag after Oliver climbed in. He put it on, scooping up Mojo and Sphynx and once again placing them on his shoulders.

Vinny looked at his Pokédex, noticing that the trio of pokémon he had were low on health, "I think we should go to the Centre, you three are looking a little beat up." With that, he headed for the bright orange building.

Before he could walk in, right at the door a group of three girls ran over to him, one with a camera in her hand and one of the other two holding a pad of paper. The oldest looking one, about 11, giggled and stood in front of the door, "Excuse me sir! You look familiar, do we know you?"

"Are you a champion!?" One shouted.

"What's your name?" Came another cry.

Sphynx whined, his footing lost and he slipped into the back of Vinny's jacket, the backpack preventing him from falling further. Mojo moved closer to his neck and Oliver seemed to shift uncomfortable. Vinny talked as calmly as he could, "I don't think we would know each other, but my name is Vinny, and no, I'm not a champion, not even close. That's not my goal."

The one with the pad of paper wrote down what he said, running off with the other two after one snapped a picture of him, the flash of light blinding him for a moment. He stumbled backwards, expecting the door to be there, but there was none as it was an automatic door. He stumbled, seemingly bringing in a cloud of dust with him. He caught his footing for once and stood in the middle of the Centre, people looking at him as his eyes adjusted from the camera flash and the change of lighting. He sighed, pulling the three pokeballs off of his belt and returning Mojo, Oliver, and Sphynx. He walked to the desk and looked at the lady behind it.

"Hello, welcome to the Pokémon Centre! Would you like me to heal your pokémon?" She asked. Vinny nodded and handed her the balls which contained his only companions. She placed them in the machine behind her, a light flashing overhead as they were almost instantly healed. She removed them and handed them back to him, "Here you go, back in pristine condition! We hope to see you again sometime!" She closed with a smile. Vinny faked a grin and walked out, releasing the three from their balls as the door closed behind him. They each climbed into their respective places and Vinny found a bench to sit down on. He pulled out his Pokédex and flipped to a map feature, managing to find the city he was in and bring up the locations within.

"Alright, so we're in Oreburg. There's a museum here dedicated to rocks or something and there's also a mine we could go to if we felt like it." He said, looking at the two he could see. Oliver crept out of his bag and perched on his head, looking down.

"Why are we here? This really has no relevance to your goal Vinny. There's nothing I know that's of your interest here."

He shrugged and continued to stare at his pokedex. After a few moments, a shadow emerged over him, the figure of a blonde man in a strange suit. "Excuse me, mind if I sit down?"

Vinny smiled. "I don't mind at all." He slid over to the far side of the bench and moved his jacket out of the way so the man could sit down. He nodded and sat. Vinny stared at his pokedex, glancing at him every so often.

He wore what resembled a space suit, the colours white and grey, and a giant yellow G plastered onto the front, lined with an odd blue shade. Over it all was a plain black jacket. He looked away, looking at the towns in the region that were close by, figuring he should head to the town above Jubilife; Floaroma. A whisper in his ear interrupted his though process, however, "Vinny, this guy seems a bit off. Be careful of what you do." Oliver was the one who had spoken.

The odd man next to Vinny began to speak, "Say, what might your name be?"

Vinny looked at the man, "I'm Vinny LaCrome sir, why do you ask?"

"No reason, was just curious. Higgs Boson, in case you were wondering," The man responded, sticking his hand out towards him. Vinny looked at it for a brief moment and took it, the two men shaking hands. Higgs turned his gaze to the sky, earning a curious look from Vinny and his trio of pokémon. "Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have your own universe,Vinny?"

Vinny's face twisted in confusion, "No, seems like an unrealistic idea."

Higgs turned to him, an angered look on his face and he turned back, looking at the sky once more, "Well, it is possible, dear child. There are creatures like the ones you keep on your person that have the capabilities to create entire galaxies with the mere opening of their mouths. Some, when their powers have been combined, can create universes, dimensions, and other such things. It seems unrealistic, yes, but it can and will be achieved. I will make sure of it one way or another." Higgs stood up and brushed dust off of his jacket, turning around to Vinny. "I think I will be seeing you soon there, Vinny LaCrome. Very soon indeed." With that, Higgs turned in an about-face manner, walking straight off into the distance, heading for the cave that lead back to Jubilife.

Vinny, Oliver, and Mojo all sat there silent before Sphynx made the most confused noise he could muster. Vinny patted the blue creature on the head, "Yeah, you got that right boy. Well I suppose we should head off, it'll take about 30 minutes to get to Jubilife and then another 30-40 to get to Floaroma." He arose and his pokémon got comfortable in their respective places, waiting for the short journey ahead.

However, as Vinny was walking away, he failed to notice something. One of the girls from earlier that had stopped him outside the Centre had pinned something to his bag. A tracker fitted with a microphone, no lights and blending in perfectly with his bag.

Vinny walked back to Jubilife, and to spare you the boring details, encountered the trainers he was careful to avoid earlier on his way to Oreburg. Oliver nearly fainted and before they had gotten back, Sphynx had ran out of energy for a move and Mojo was poisoned and healed, only to be paralysed by a small child's Budew immediately after. They all barely made it to Jubilife in one piece. After heading to the Centre to heal and stealing something to eat from the back room, the group headed for route 204. They traversed through a small cave and over some rocks, the treck to Floaroma continuing for another 25 minutes before they arrived into the town covered with flowers, Floaroma. The scent lingered in the air, seeming to swirl around them as they entered. Vinny took in a deep breath, enjoying the scent but then gagging a little on the flowery taste it created in the back of his throat, like when you breathe in a could of perfume. Mojo and Oliver laughed at this.

He walked along the cleared path, being careful as to not step on anything. He stood in the middle of the town, near the Centre and took in his surroundings. He went to continue, but was turned around by three people racing past him. After he almost toppled over, he straightened himself and watched as two raced though the flowerbed, ruining the scenery in the process and one other raced further along the road. He ran after the two who ruined the flowers, not thinking to take the cleared path so he himself didn't ruin it. He ran through some trees and saw the duo run across another small field, approaching a river and crossing it with ease. Vinny sighed and began to turn back.

Oliver leapt onto his head and looked down at him, "Vinny, what on earth are you doing?" The grey creature asked.

Vinny shrugged, "I don't know, I was probably going to yell at them or something. I'm not exactly sure."

Oliver growled, "Think about these things before you do them, you could get hurt."

"Yeah, yeah, just be quiet." Vinny hissed.

Mojo looked at his trainer, "We need you alright. Wouldn't know what to do without you." Sphynx purred quietly, half in agreement, half in argument of the statement.

Vinny smiled and continued walking, trying to forget what had just happened when he heard a scream in the direction of route 205.

"What on earth was that!?" Oliver hissed, claws digging into the top of Vinny's skull.

Vinny cringed and ran, through the rest of Floaroma, crossing over 205 and standing near the Valley Windworks. Smoke was rising out of a window in the top floor, oddly enough no fire was to be seen or heard. Vinny picked up Sphynx, Mojo, and Oliver, setting them all on the ground. "What is going on...?" He quietly asked himself. He took a few steps towards the building and waited, listening as carefully as he could. He waited a few seconds, and heard nothing. He stepped forward, towards the door and turned the knob, finding it locked. He pulled, trying to force it open and then tried shoving it. He took his hands off it, and as he went to attempt to open it once more, the movement around him seemed to stop.

The events looked like they had slowed tenfold to Vinny. His hand brushed the handle before the metal lit on fire, it quickly spreading to the edges of the door and the door falling apart at the intensity of the fire. The air and pressure from within expanded outwardly, a sudden fire ripping through the windows and blowing them out, glass shattering everywhere. The air in front of Vinny from within the door knocked him backwards, sending the black haired man soaring several feet into a tree, the flames licking at his fingertips and his face and torso. He slammed into a tree, the branches catching him as he saw the building collapse upon itself. The building soon fell into ruin, flames rising high out of the rubble and everything extremely bright.

From within the flames, however, he saw something. A small creature, barely bigger than Oliver in size and like Sphynx in stature, but very different at the same time. And with it stood something, presumably a human, and barely visible was a large yellow G on their chest. Another blast of air and gas blew out, causing Vinny to bang his head into the tree quite hard and pass out.

Upon awakening, Sphynx was standing in his lap, mewing and growling loudly, tugging at his shirt. Vinny groaned, his eyes fluttering open and immediately shutting them because of the bright light of the sun. Sphynx nudged him, making an upset sound that would make a grown man cry. Vinny opened and eye and hugged him close to himself, Sphynx letting out a content noise upon contact.

Oliver hurried over, followed by Mojo and a Buizel. Oliver jumped into his lap, "Vinny, are you alright!? You've got burns, oh dear, Vinny!"

Vinny gave a slight smile towards him, "I'm sure I'll be fine Oliver," He said, his voice surprisingly quiet.

"You don't look it," Mojo stated, "Need help, I'm sure."

Vinny waved his hand as if to signal for them to not worry, "I'll be fine, I promise." He opened his eyes fully, slowly getting used to them being in the light. "Who's this?" He asked, nodding his head towards the Buizel.

"This is Julie, she helped put out the fire. She's just a river pokémon," Oliver explained, nudging the Buizel, who giggled in response.

Vinny gave a smile in her direction, "Thank you so much, Julie."

She giggled again and walked over, sitting next to him, "So those men were right, you do understand us." She said, her tails twitching on the ground. Sphynx made a confused noise and she continued, "The men, the ones in the grey alien suits with G's on them. They come around a lot, it's really weird. They talk about people, pokémon, and I hear the name Vinny alot. They talked about how there was supposedly a boy who could talk to pokémon and listen to what they had to say. Someone said it was something you wear and then they talked about that. They want whatever it is."

Vinny looked at his Medallion, the sun glinting off of it and seeming to make it glow. He sighed and carefully placed Sphynx on his shoulder. He slowly stood up, using the tree behind him for support. He looked up into the sky, seeing smoke rising from the destroyed Valley Windworks and seeing a plume of some in the distance. "What's that over there?" He asked and pointed.

Julie and Oliver looked in that direction, "That's the Fuego Ironworks. I think that lit on fire too but we couldn't get over there." She explained.

Vinny nodded and picked up Oliver and Mojo, carefully getting Oliver into his bag and Mojo onto his shoulder, "Hey, tell me more about the men in weird suits Julie, walk with us." He began walking up route 205, towards Eterna Forest

Julie nodded and started talking, "There's about 20 of them that come through here every other day, gathering around where the Drifloon usually appears. They talk about space and galaxies and universeses. And they talk of the legends, Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, those ones. Like, how they get them, how they use them, and other things. They all have a weird blue haircut too, most of them, all except 4. One of them has yellow, the others have red, pink, and brown hair, like normal brown. Not weird brown that you really should never see... Ew. But they call themselves... Oh what was it... NeoGalactic? Something like that." She stopped and thought for a moment before rushing to Vinny's side, "And they usually attack us in the water and the grass next to the no longer Windworks." She wrapped up her thoughts and looked to Vinny.

He took the information pretty well, though in his mind he was throughly confused as to what they could possibly be doing, or wanting to do for that matter. He shrugged it off. He looked up, seeing the thick trees of the forest before him. He looked down at the Buizel, "I guess this is where we part ways, unless you want to come with us?" Vinny said.

She thought for a moment and then nodded, "Sounds like a great idea! You don't even have to use me, I'll just hang out in the ball you catch me in and that'll be fun!" Julie grinned and opened her arms wide. Vinny reached to his belt and grabbed and empty ball, tossing it at her and watched the Buizel disappear into it. He watched it shake, moving 3 times and then clicking, signifying that she had successfully been caught. His pokedex vibrated to signify that something had happened, but he didn't look at it.

He looked up at the trees to Eterna Forest, and then took his first few footsteps inside. The forest was filled with large patches of grass; some deeper than others, some darker, and the like. Vinny crept through, tiptoeing though the forest to try to encounter as least as possible. Though he did encounter several things, such as Pachirisu, several Bug-types, and even a Misdreavus; a male which he caught as well and named Banshee. They travelled though the forest, experiencing many battles in which two people challenged him at once. He often won, with as little issue as possible apart from his pokémon decreasing in their move energy. He passed though with ease, and after battling a particularly hard trainer, he checked his pokedex just as something happened.

Vinny was standing near the largest tree in the area when Sphynx started to glow on his shoulder. With confusion, he set the small creature down, only to figure out that he was evolving. Vinny smiled as he watched the small creature nearly doubling in size and stature, gaining more muscle and more black to himself, though it wasn't originally noticeable due to the bright evolutionary light. He pat Sphynx on the head, the now Luxio rubbing against his leg as they continued to head through the forest. They neared the end and Vinny looked around, seeing something strange off to his left. A large and decrepit building that he knew as the Old Chateau.

He turned towards the building to face it, Sphynx at his side with Mojo sitting on his back. The group looked at each other, walking towards the building and pushing the bushes in front out of their way and making their way inside the building. The door creaked open before Vinny even touched it, earning a look of unease for all in the party. They stepped in, Vinny shutting the door behind him. Inside was a large open room, stairs on each door and a large chandelier right in the centre. A single door sat on the first floor, three sitting on the second. Not daring to go up the stairs, he approached the first floor door, brushing against a statue that stood proudly next to it. He looked into the room, a dining room connected to a kitchen. The dining room was huge, a large table with many seats at it, all covered in a thick pile of dust. He saw nothing of interest and left, heading upstairs.

He climbed the left set, peering into the empty room before he walked to the centre-most door. Within the door was a hallway, a set of 5 doors in front of him. He glanced to Sphynx and Mojo, who were next to him. Mojo shrugged and pointed to the door as if suggesting to go in. Vinny nodded, opening the door to the centre room.

A set of eyes met him as he opened it, seeming to glow in the darkness of the area. Two terrified screams emitted into the air, Vinny falling backwards and the set of eyes shutting the door as he fell back. Vinny had paled several shades lighter than he usually was and quickly leapt to his feet. He pulled the door open in a slight panic and looked inside, Sphynx and Mojo right at his side.

Inside there was as poor lighting as outside, if not less. And a television screen glowed in the corner, bright enough to show that there was a figure sitting in the far corner. Vinny walked towards it and whispered, "Hello?"

The figure leapt up and stepped back farther into a corner, "I didn't break in, the door was already open I swear!"

Vinny's face twisted in confusion, "What, no, that's not... Ugh, nevermind." Vinny stepped into the room, closer to the new person, "I'm sorry about scaring you earlier, not the best start off to a new run-in."

"Says you, I was perfectly fine," The second voice responded, stepping out of the corner. It was a boy, about 13 judging from his appearance and voice. "So who are you if you're not the police?"

"I'm Vinny LaCrome, you are?"

He stepped closer, his appearance now visible in the dim light. Dark brown or black hair jutted out from under a white beanie of some sort, a red and black hooded jacket and a long white scarf that seemed to move in an imaginary breeze made up his appearance, as well as his piercing emerald eyes. "I'm Matthias Macson, from the Hoenn region. And if you're going to ask why I'm here, it's because of that," He responded, then pointed at the dim television screen. Vinny looked at it, seeing only static and then looked back at Matthias. "There's apparently a Rotom in there, but it only comes out after 9:00 at night. And it's about 5 now. So we've been waiting here for a few hours, me and my Lairon."

Something next to Matthias made almost a mooing noise, and when Vinny looked down he saw the Steel-type looking up at him, a determined look on it's face. Vinny smiled at it, then asked, "Does it have a name?"

Matthias shook his head, "Nope, he doesn't. None of mine back home are named, just didn't seem fitting to me. So I'm assuming yours are?"

Vinny nodded, "Those two are Sphynx and Mojo, and in my bag is Oliver if he ever wakes up. And then Julie and Banshee are asleep in their balls I'm assuming." Matthias looked slightly interested, but Vinny waved that thought away. He checked his Pokétch, the time reading 5:15 pm. A thought struck him: how long had he been knocked out by that explosion? It was almost 1 when he was knocked out, was he really out for that long?

Matthias sighed, drawing back Vinny's attention. He looked the man up and down, then spoke, "So why are you here?"

Oliver snickered in Vinny's bag, and Vinny tried not to roll his eyes, "It's a long story, but our journey is taking us through Eterna right now and I thought I'd stop to look in. Never thought I'd find a real person here."

"Real person, what do you mean?" Matthias asked, crossing his arms.

Vinny looked at him in confusion, "Didn't you know, this place is haunted?"

"HAUNTED?" Matthias shrieked, the same word escaping the mouth of his Lairon, both recoiling in fear.

Vinny nodded, "Yeah, an old man and a little girl died here for some reason and that's why there's lots of ghosts here."

Matthias seemed as pale as his scarf, and his Lairon seemed just as upset and scared. "No one ever told me that, they just said 'You can catch a single Rotom in the Sinnoh region!' Not that this place was haunted!"

"You wanna leave? You seem very afraid."

Matthias, upon hearing those words, regained his composure and put his arms to his sides, "Me, scared? No! I don't get scared!"

Sphynx groaned at this, flopping down of the floor and Mojo leaning over, tired of what was going on. Vinny shook his head. "You're something else, Matthias," He told the boy, stretching his arms, at his sides, "I think I'll be going now, I've seen enough of this place for my needs."

Matthias nodded, both him and his Lairon watching them walk towards the door. Vinny partially opened it when it suddenly slammed in his face, knocking him back a little and causing him to almost trip over Sphynx. He tried the door again, the handle turning in his hand but not moving the door. It popped off and clattered to the floor.

He turned to Matthias, "Small issues here, sorry." He would have continued speaking, but something caught his eye; the Television. The Valley Windworks had exploded, meaning there was no power to this half of Sinnoh. So how could that television be lit? He turned fully and stood next to Matthias, "Hey, remember how you said you were looking for Rotom in here?"

"No, that totally wasn't my plan." He countered.

"Well, the Valley Windworks kinda exploded. There's no power to this half of Sinnoh.

They looked at each other, a worried look on Matthias' face. The television screen grew brighter, the duo turning to the screen and a face appeared on it, blue eyes and the widest smile you could imagine. Matthias stepped back and tripped over his Lairon just as the screen blew out of the television. It was completely dark, except for the dim light of Mojo's rear. Matthias groaned and sat up, looking around as Vinny did. Matthias blinked and in front of him was the pokémon in question, the little Rotom glowing brightly. Matthias shrieked and jumped up, hiding behind Vinny in sudden fear.

The Rotom looked at them, it's eyes finally setting on Matthias. It dashed at him, grabbing onto his scarf and pulling, dragging the younger boy around the room. Matthias shrieked, "Hey! V-Vinny, help me!"

"Sounds like a personal problem to me..." He retorted.

Matthias grabbed onto his sleeve as the Rotom dragged him near, "Just sent one of your pokémon out or tell Lairon what to do!" He yelled, yanked away once more into a wall. Vinny laughed, looking at the Lairon and shrugging. He pushed it out in front of him.

"You heard your trainer, Lairon." The Lairon made a noise, blowing air out of it's nose and charged head-first at the Rotom and his trainer. It made a sound similar to a growl and the Rotom stopped, snickering as it dropped Matthias on the ground. It spun around, gathering electricity that resided in the air and other places. It clapped, a small bolt of electricity rising off of its body and striking the Lairon in the middle of his back. He shrieked, throwing air out of his nose again. He locked himself in place, something rattling around inside the Lairon's body. The Rotom made a squeak, as if to ask what was happening when a large stream of mud flew out of the Lairon's mouth, knocking the Rotom into the wall behind it. It plummeted to the floor, making an upset sound that didn't translate to Vinny's ears.

Matthias pulled something out of his pocket, the object glowing and showing Matthias the current state of the two battling pokémon, and he made an upset face. From a bag that sat in the far corner he pulled out a green and black ball. He hurled it at the Rotom, the ball opening and drawing it in. It dropped to the floor and rolled around, getting two movements before the Rotom broke out again.

"Oh, come on! Give me a break!" Matthias yelled, watching the Rotom as it began to scream. The sound made everyone cringe as the Uproar was made.

Vinny pulled out his pokedex and looked at the two battling. The Rotom was at near fainting range and Lairon was still barely in the green. He shut it and watched Matthias pull out a black and yellow ball, then proceeded to hurl it at the Rotom. It slipped in with a shriek, the Uproar silencing for a brief moment. The ball rolled around, reaching three and clicking shut. Matthias cheered, picking it up and holding it above his head. "FINALLY!" He shouted, placing it into his bag and throwing it over his shoulder. The Lairon bounced around the room, nearly knocking over Vinny and Sphynx.

"Hey, watch what you're doing!" Vinny yelled, getting the attention of the boy and his Steel-type.

"Oh, sorry 'bout that, forgot you were there. Too excited about catching the Sinnoh Rotom," He laughed, "It's for the Professor back home, Birch. He needed one for an experiment back in Hoenn and we're kinda lacking them there."

Vinny nodded, "Yeah, lets just get out of here and we can talk more in Eterna City, I'm exhausted and it's only 6."

Matthias thought about it, looking at his Lairon. He nodded and looked back to Vinny, "Alright, I'll go with you. House is giving me the heebee-jeebies." And with that, he pushed the door open and ran out, rushing down the stairs and nearly tripping. Vinny shook his head and laughed, following the excited boy to the exit of the home, the forest, and then at Eterna City.

0-o-0

Vinny encounters Mysterious Girls!

Vinny encounters Higgs Boson!

Vinny witnesses explosion at the Valley Windworks and Fuego Ironworks!?

Vinny captured Buizel!

Keep nickname Julie?

Vinny captured Misdreavus!

Keep nickname Banshee?

Vinny encounters Matthias Macson and Lairon!

Matthias captures Rotom!

0-o-0

End of Chapter 2.

0-o-0

Vinny Team review:

Chimchar, Mojo: Level 13

Moves:

-Ember-Taunt-Leer-Scratch

Glameow, Oliver: Level 16

Moves:

-Fake Out-Scratch-Hypnosis-Bite

Luxio, Sphynx: Level 15

Moves:

-Tackle-Leer-Quick Attack-Thunder Fang

Buizel, Julie: Level 12

Misdreavus, Banshee: Level 11

Matthias Team Review:

Lairon: Level 35

Moves:

-Rock Slide-Iron Tail-Metal Claw-Mud-Slap

Rotom: Level 29

Moves:

-Astonish-ThunderShock-Uproar-Ominous Wind

~ViraLayton

BONUS:

Vinny: *Opens door. Eyes see, screams and falls over*

Matthias: *Screams like a little bitch and runs*

Lairon: ._.