Chapter 2 New Friends, New Foes

"That was my personal treasure. It's the only thing of value I posses and it means everything to me. If I lose that…" he suddenly shook his head and looked fiercely determined. "No! There's no time to waste! I have to get it back no matter what! Please, Slash, I'm begging you… help me!" he said. And just for good measure, he gave me the puppy eyes.

I really wanted to say no, I confess. I have no idea where I am and who I am or who this Pokémon even is. But, the puppy eyes have done their job.

"Okay." I finally said. Fang's eyes filled with joy.

"R-really?" Fang said merrily. "You'll help? Th-Thank you! Let's go right away!" So he sprinted off with me at his heels.

So, we followed Scraps and Gassy into a nearby beach cave. Inside, it was damp and humid, like that of a foggy summer morning. The walls were made of stone, smooth and slick. It smelled of the sea and small puddles of seawater were scattered throughout the cave. Some water dripped from the ceiling. Just then, Fang recoiled at something and pinched his nose.

"P.U.! What's that awful smell?" Fang complained. A bit confused, I lifted my snout and took a sniff.

The smell that hit my nostrils almost made me faint. It smelled of sweaty gym socks in a locker that's been left in there for a few days. I too pinched my snout.

"I think that's that Koffing's scent trail. We might have to follow it 'cause the two of them don't have footprints ya know." I said to Fang.

"Wh-What!" Fang whined. "Fine, if it means getting my treasure back from those thieves."

So, with great difficulty, we took our claws and paws off our noses and began following that horrible scent trail. As we scented our way towards the thieves, I was beginning to feel a little sick in the stomach, even Fang looked a bit ill. After what felt like hours of sniffing, we reached the pit of the cave.

Inside the pit, it looked much different than the cave. Actually, it looked like a mini beach. There was crystal blue water surrounding soft, sugar spun white sand, like a mini island. Some small red cliffs dotted the area, with some patches of kudzu vines growing on them. At the end of the "beach" were two very familiar Pokémon. Fang recognized them immediately.

"Uh… hey!" Fang called. The two Pokémon looked up and turned to face Fang. It was those two Pokémon, Scraps the Zubat and Gassy the Koffing.

"Well… if it ain't our good old friend, the chicken." Gassy jeered.

Fang squeezed his eyes shut against the insult and took a step back, a bit scared. Finally, he yelled, "You… give back what you stole from me! That's my treasure and it means the whole world to me!"

Scraps smirked. "Oh, so it really is treasure and not some dumb rock. Must mean its pretty valuable, yes?" he said slyly.

"This could be worth a king's fortune, I'd say. We could try selling it, might get a nice price." said Gassy. "Even more reason not to hand it back. Whoa-ho-ho!"

Fang clenched his fist. "I'll fight for it if I have to, you pieces of crap!" he snapped angrily.

"Fine, if you want it that badly… come and get it!" Scraps snapped back, a bit annoyed by the little black and blue Pokémon's determination.

"Alright, that's it! You quit bullying that Riolu!" I yelled and shot the Koffing and Zubat a Leer attack while Fang prepared himself with Endure.

"Looks like the quiet one wants to fight too! Alright, I'll give ya a fight you won't forget!" Scraps snapped and shot a needle thing out of his mouth at my face. I blocked it with my arm, but began to feel drained. I quickly removed the needle and scratched Scraps' face in revenge.

Fang wasn't doing as good as me though. Gassy kept beating him up with his Tackle attack. Forgetting Scraps for a second, I aimed a Scratch attack at Gassy. That gave Fang enough time to recuperate and hit Gassy with a Quick Attack.

Turning my attention back to the Bat Pokémon, I unleashed a fury of Scratch attacks at his face. Finally, Scraps plummeted to the ground. He had fainted. Now, Gassy was doomed.

Both Fang and I slowly approached the Poison Gas Pokémon. Gassy, noticing his fallen friend on the ground, quickly forfeited the match.

Fang walked up to the Poison type Pokémon and said, "Now cough up what's mine." The terrified Koffing dropped the stone object out of his mouth into Fang's waiting paws.

"Here, take your stupid rock back. Have fun with it." Gassy said bitterly.

"Y-Yeah…." said Scraps, painfully pushing himself up from the sand. I was surprised at how quickly he regained consciousness. His face was bleeding from all the Scratch attacks I gave him as he spoke. "Just remember that your victory was a fluke. You just sit tight, we'll be back and next time we'll show no mercy." said Scraps tightly and, leaning heavily on Gassy, the two thieves raced away.

"My Relic Fragment!" Fang cried jollily and did a little happy dance, despite all the bruises he had. I smiled. Looks like you did the right thing after all, Slash, I said to myself.

xxxxx

Later, at the beach…

"Thanks, seriously!" said Fang. That was like the three-hundredth time he said that as we excited the cave. He placed the stone object that Gassy and Scraps stole on the ground. "This is my Relic Fragment, my most prized possession. Yeah, it does look like a piece of junk, but look closer." I stepped a bit closer.

Fang was right. This was more than a piece of junk. A strange pattern was inscribed on top of the stone. I… I couldn't really describe what it looked like. A bird, maybe?

"I always get excited about legends and lore, ever since I was very little…." said Fang, almost to himself. He was staring at the ocean. "I wanted to discover even more, so I decided to join Wigglytuff's Guild. But, I got too scared…. Slash, if you're not going anywhere, can I ask you something? Do you… do you want to form an exploration team? I mean, we're a great combination and you lost your memory…"

I really didn't know what to say. I could say no but… then what? I mean this Pokémon seemed pretty nice. I guess it wouldn't hurt to stay with this guy a little while. Maybe I could find out something about myself. Okay, it's settled.

"Sure, I'd love to." I said. Fang's eyes widened with shock and delight.

"R-Really? Thank you! Well, we better go to Wigglytuff's guild and sign up. We're going to be awesome, I know it!" the Emanation Pokémon said joyfully. "We will be…"

"VICTORIOUS!" We both screamed together and slammed our fists in the air.

(End of Chapter 2)