Chapter 2 - Roughnecks Night

"Great, then! That's all you need to do, if you could please come this way, we'll give you your badge and uniform."

"Thanks, but I'd rather… um, never mind. So, where do I go?"

"Follow me"

"It's good to meet you, boy. I hope you enjoy working with Team Snagem!"

"Thanks, um, sir. So… when do I start?"
"Well, right away, of course! Do you have Pokémon of your own?"
"Well, yeah, but…"

"Great, then! Follow me…"

"Great, then. How much I heard those stupid words…". It was getting a bit late and Wes was traversing the Orre desert looking for a place to spend the night. It seems there wouldn't be any sleeping in the wild; he did not have food and just a little money…

Espeon and Umbreon constantly turned from facing the incoming wind to look at the face of their trainer. "What, guys? I'm just thinking… I'm not sure if we should go over there, but… there's no other place to go right now, I guess".

Wes had one place in mind and that was the Outskirt Stand. An old train that had stumbled in the sand that served as a crossroad for those traveling the dessert. While it was just a place to hang around, it was still visited by many ruffians and crooks from Pyrite Town. Wes thought it would it would be a good idea to spend some time there to chill.

As he approached the border of the dessert, he spotted it. It was an orange train, half sunk in the sand with its wheels taken off and used as a fence to decorate the entrance. "Come on, guys." Espeon and Umbreon jumped off the vehicle and followed Wes inside. Rowdy place, even at night.

Loud music was playing and the place was filled with thugs, all drinking beer and making silly jokes. It made Wes feel a little uncomfortable; after all, he was the youngest in the place. "Meh…" he sighed.

The place was dimly lit, aside from a few lights hanging from the ceiling. He quickly spotted a free chair in the bar and took a seat.

"What will it be, boy?". Wes looked up to see an enormous bartender smiling at him, cleaning a glass with a small sponge. "I… guess I'll just have some orange juice. Not really in the mood for drinking". The man laughed a little and gestured to Wes's Pokémon. "Something for them?" he asked. "Um, just some milk. Here, is this enough for the drinks…"

As Wes examined the place while drinking his juice, he noticed a peculiar pair sitting right next to him and couldn't help but overhear them in their conversation. They had just finished eating, it seemed.

"Oooooh, boy, sure been a while without such a fancy meal, eh?" said one of them. "What the hell, Trudly? You call this fancy?" said the other one. Trudly, who was sitting next to Wes, answered "At least it's better than your usual cheap, work meal. Be thankful we got enough money to cover this, Folly". Folly snickered. "Yeah, yeah. Y'know, it's getting late and this place doesn't hold any staying services, so I reckon we should get on the road. Boss ordered to pick up something from Phenac before we head to Pyrite." "Oh, crap, you're right!" said Trudly and quickly stood up. Wes managed to get a glimpse of his face; he was wearing sunglasses ("at night?") and had blonde hair which he couldn't see from the back because he was wearing a very silly hat. Folly, next to him, had some kind of punk hair-do and his hair was slightly dyed orange. "Mh, just some punks, probably".

Wes was silently drinking his juice while several thugs started approaching him, even though they weren't looking to mess with him. Still, they were getting really annoying with "hey that chick from the Phenac Colosseum's reaaaal smokin'" and what not. They really were invading Wes's personal space. "Hey, you monkey brain. Yeah, you" said Wes as he looked at the most talktaive of the bunch. "I'm really trying to figure out what the heck I'm going to do after I leave this place and I get really pissed when people don't let me think".

"He-hey, the kid's got guts! What do you think you're doing messing with us?" answered the roughneck". Wes did not hold back with his reply: "Looking for a fight?" he asked. "What!? YOU should be the one looking for a fight, not me!" the angry man yelled. "That's it, kid, you're starting to piss me off!". Wes just gave him a cold stare and the man, witha confused face, came charging.

"Graaaah!". The ruffian aimed for Wes's face, but he was soon stopped in his track by Wes's palm, holding him back. "Excuse me... did you just say I am the one looking for trouble?" Country music was playing in the background and many faces were on the young man's hand. He had stopped a ruffian's fist with his own palm, without effort! And they were even more amazed when Wes started forcing the man back with his own strength. "Aaaah, ahhhhhh, stop it! STOP IT! said the man as Wes tightly squeezed his hand. "A-aaaah" he and many others fled from the place after Wes's little exhibition. "Mh, that's much better" he whispered before resuming his drink. Espeon and Umbreon did not lift a paw.

After finishing his juice and Espeon and Umbreon were done with their own, Wes headed outside just in time to catch the glimpse of a Pokémon battle in the midst of the night. "Hey, what's going on…?" he muttered.

From one side, there was a rider. His hair was dyed pink, pretty wild, actually. A Linoone was standing next to him and they were both looking at the face of their opponent. Wes recognized him, it was Trudly and Folly, but Trudly was doing the battling. He was using a Loudred and was just issuing an order. "Loudred, use Hyper Voice!". Loudred let a screeching scream let loose that got Wes and the rider to cover his ears and the Pokémon to struggle against it. "Linoone, use your Fury Swipes!" ordered the rider as Linoone charged against the Loudred. "Mega Punch!" shouted Trudly was Loudred made a fist with his hand and managed to get a clean hit on Linoone, which was sent flying right next to his trainer, unconscious. "Linoone!" screamed the rider as he picked Linoone from the ground.

"Don't mess with us, punk" said Trudly as he and Folly were taking off in their own vehicle. "Dammit!" shouted the rider. Wes ran next to him. "Hey, are you alright? What happened?" asked Wes. "Those guys… they've got a hostage" said the rider. "What do you mean, a hostage!?" shouted Wes. "In their floating truck… did you notice the huge sack? It was wriggling before when I saw it. I immediately took action and tried to stop them, but…" he then gestured to his injured Linoone "they were too much for Ziggy here". Wes watched the kidnappers getting away in the distance and gave a glance to Espeon and Umbreon. "This is it, guys. Time to make things right at last".

"Wait, you're not serious, right?" said the man. "They're too strong and even if you catch them, what will you do with them?"

"I dunno! But I know it's the right thing to do! Come on, guys. Let's go!" Espeon and Umbreon quickly jumped in Wes's vehicle, followed by him.

"I know… they were going to Phenac city. I overheard them" said the rider. "Thanks. I'll get going now. What's your name, again?"

"Wily. Just Wily will do. Good luck, man" said Wily as he gave Wes a handshake.

"Thanks", said Wes and then he was off for the desert oasis, Phenac city.