The quiet.

Vinny and Matthias had made it to the town, and had found a hotel that they could rest in for the night. Vinny was in the bathroom, Oliver perched on the sink with Sphynx as Vinny inspected himself in the mirror. He didn't have a shirt on at the moment, due to the fact that there was a rather large burn mark across the front of his body. The explosion at the Windworks caused it, he assumed. He opened the cabinet under the sink and pulled out a first aid kit, taking out the bandages and some other things to treat the burn. He sighed and began to fix himself up.

He was bothered by the silence. Matthias had gone to sleep, curled up on the couch with his Lairon on the floor next to him and the Rotom resting on the back of the couch. It was odd, Vinny thought. He winced as he brushed against a rather sore spot and sighed, earning an upset sound from his young Shinx. He gave the electric creature a soft smile and continued to bandage himself.

Vinny finished up and slipped his shirt and trench coat back on, walking out of the bathroom with Oliver and Sphynx behind him. The door clicked shut behind them, only adding to the odd silence. The black-haired man walked to the window and stared out, watching as the sun dipped over the horizon. He shut the curtains and turned to the beds, one occupied by all his current pokémon. He laughed; that explained why Matthias was on the couch. He glanced over to the boy.

As they were walking, Matthias told him about himself. He was 13 years old, starting his adventure late due to the almost desolation of his region. Several times, in fact. He battled some gyms in his region, showing Vinny he had 5 gym badges, but had no intention of going further until he helped his region with its current issues. The Rotom was for science, though didn't need to be brought back immediately. It left Matthias with some time to adventure though Sinnoh a bit, and maybe find some new companions along the way.

A snore from the Lairon interrupted Vinny's thoughts of what Matthias had said. He walked over to the couch and carefully picked up the boy, carrying him over to the bed and laying him down. He transferred the Lairon and Rotom as well, with some difficulty, but got them both next to the boy from Hoenn. Matthias rolled over and snored quietly, breaking the total silence that had been suspended in the air. Vinny sat on the couch, taking his hat off and pulling his hair out of its tie. With a huff he laid down, Sphynx jumping up into his arms and sleeping. Vinny pet the small creature before his eyes became heavy, and he slept.

...

In another part of the town, where the silence didn't touch, a lone man stood out on the street. He stood at a building, adjacent to the hotel. He was soon joined by three little girls and two older people. The little girls handed him a camera and a pad of paper, running off before he had a chance to say anything. The man sighed and turned around to find three people joining him. The first man, a blonde, turned to them. A man with fiery red hair stepped forward, followed by a female with long flowing pink hair. Standing behind them was a brunette, the man stepping forward next to them all. The blonde looked at them all and finally broke the silence.

"Good to see that you are all here. Mercury, Venus, Craig." He nodded to them all in respective order.

Mercury, the red haired man, stepped forward, his cloak dragging on the ground. "Higgs, why have you called us here?"

"Yeah, I need to go back and have a chat with Jupiter! What's the dealio?" Venus scoffed.

"Shush and be silent. Inside the hotel we are near is the boy I observed." He glanced to the pad of paper and camera, "The triplets have attached the tracker to him, on his bag. We've been listening to his moves and words. It seems that he witnessed the three grunts you sent to blow up the Ironworks and the Windworks. He was knocked out by the explosion at the Windworks for several hours."

"Why do we, like, need to know this?" Venus whined.

Craig hit her in the back of the head, the girl shrieking as he did so, "Shut up."

"Thank you Craig." Higgs sighed, "Its important because he is our key and sacrifice. He has the power."

"Explain," Mercury made a motion with his hands.

Higgs nodded, "He can speak to his pokémon." All three of the others gasped, looks of shock on their face. Higgs scoffed, "Belt up, you three imbeciles. He wears a peculiar outfit, and I believe that one article he wears helps it or causes it. He seems attached to a medallion he wears."

"Boss, how do you, like, know this?" Venus asked.

"While I was listening to him walk, his pokémon were making assorted noises, that he seemed to be listening to and responding to. I believe he can speak to them. He has the willpower that we need for a sacrifice, and can explain the situation to whatever we need. He must join us, as well as the friend he has with him now," Higgs elaborated.

"And HOW are we going to do that exactly, sir?" Craig asked.

Higgs laughed and turned to the hotel, "All in due time, my admins. All in due time." He turned back, "Take three steps away and then I permit you to go speak with your battalions on how you're going to get him. You have 24 hours."

The three backed up three steps, then turned to race back to the hidden base of their home.

Higgs turned to the hotel, putting an earpiece in. "Oh, Vinny LaCrome. You will join me, or I'll be taking your medallion and your precious pokémon. Maybe I won't have to kill you."

When Vinny awoke, it was daybreak. The sun had risen over the edge of Mount Coronet, and people could be heard moving around in the other rooms. The black haired man stretched, his back popping as he did so. He stood, his muscles screaming at him as he attempted to move. He looked at Sphynx, who now lay on the arm of the couch. Vinny picked him up and turned to look at Matthias. The younger man had a pillow over his head, holding it down tightly. Vinny was going to question it before he saw the Rotom he had caught dive down onto his head, screaming.

"HEY WAKE UP!" It yelled, attacking the pillow mercilessly. "The SUN has RISEN! WAKE UP!" It rose up, about to dash down once more before something jumped onto the pillow and stopped it.

Oliver was standing, holding the Rotom in his teeth and growled, "You need to cool it."

"NO!" Rotom unleashed a rage-induced Uproar on him.

Oliver spat out the Electric-ghost and hissed, covering his ears. Everyone asleep in the room was jarred awake. Assorted grumbling and such ensued, most in the room upset with the Rotom and began to glare at it. The creature began to discover that it was at a disadvantage and hid, forcing itself into its pokeball and hiding. Oliver scoffed, "Coward."

"You got that right," Vinny responded, pulling out his pokeballs and recalling most of the members of his team. Matthias groaned and threw the pillow. Vinny looked at him, "Good morning sunshine."

"Screw... You..." Matthias groaned, sitting up and stretching. His hat fell off, revealing his scraggy brown hair. He yawned, "Gimme several minutes."

Vinny laughed quietly and nodded, "Got half an hour to wake up or I'm letting your Rotom back out." Matthias glared at him and Vinny laughed, sitting down on the couch and smiling. Matthias eventually forced himself awake and got prepared for the day.

When they were both awake, Vinny and Matthias left the hotel and headed for the southern part of town, towards route 206. They stopped at the bike shop to acquire one, only to find that the store was empty. Matthias adjusted his bag and his Lairon next to him groaned. "Where's the shopkeep? We need a bike to get the next town..."

"That's a good question, but considering he's not here, there's no one in here, and there's no cameras, we could just borrow them. Without asking." Vinny walked over to a bike rack as he said this.

Matthias paled and shouted, "You can't be serious!" Vinny smiled and yanked a bike off the rack, rolling it to Matthias. "He's out of his freaking mind!" The Lairon grunted in agreement. Vinny yanked a bike off for himself and smiled wider.

"Now that that's out of the way, lets go!" Vinny shouted and rode out of the store, Sphynx running fast behind him.

Matthias jumped on after recalling Lairon, "Hey, wait up! Vinny!"

The duo sped out of town and down the Cycling path, skilfully dodging the people who wanted to battle them and only occasionally having to fight. They reached the end of the road, ploughing through the building that signified the end of the path and stopping, bikes in hand. Matthias was panting and flopped over the handlebars on his bike. Vinny laughed and got off the bike, leaning it against the building. He turned to Sphynx, the Luxio purring loudly and he jumped at Vinny. He laughed as Sphynx laid on him. Matthias climbed off of his bike and leaned it next to Vinny's. He watched the duo and shook his head. "Vinny, hurry up, we have to get to Hearthome."

"I know, cool it," Vinny responded, "We'll get there eventually. Maybe we'll get there today, its only about noon."

"Noon!?" Matthias groaned, his stomach growling. Vinny laughed and walked towards a cave in Mt. Coronet's side.

"Just walk, and maybe it won't even feel like you're walked for a long time." The older boy laughed once more and climbed through the side, Matthias shortly going after.

After a long while, the time now drawing to be around 2:30, the duo of trainers walked out of route 208 and arrived to Hearthome, the two standing at the edge of the city. Matthias' eyes widened and he walked in a few steps. He turned to Vinny, "This is pretty cool! There's things to do here, like go for a walk in the park, visit the steeple, contest, make Pokemon treats!" The boy turned to Vinny, "What should we do first?"

Oliver pawed his way out of Vinny's bag and climbed onto his shoulder. He nudged the black-haired man, "I think you should tell him. You've been together only a short while, but it's pertinent information." Vinny gave a small signal that told Oliver he noticed.

Matthias cocked his head to one side, "Hey, Vinny something wrong?"

"No, no there's nothing wrong. Hey, let's go to the park, there's something I have to tell you," He responded, adjusting his hat and started to walk towards the park, Mojo and Sphynx at his side. Matthias looked at his Lairon and shrugged, walking after Vinny with some speed.

The duo reached the park quickly, the time now just falling to 3:00. To Vinny's surprise, there weren't many people there, but he shrugged it off as it being an off day as everyone has. Vinny sat down and turned to Matthias, who chose to stand in front of the man. "So what did you want to tell me?" He asked.

Vinny looked up to him, "This might sound a little bit strange, and a little sudden. But I think you should know it."

"Know what?"

"Well..." Vinny started, "I can speak to Pokemon."

Matthias froze, his face unreadable to Vinny. Was he confused, doubtful? Did he think Vinny was insane? "You're kidding, right?"

"Absolutely not." Vinny stated.

"...Huh. I'm not so sure I believe you."

Vinny smiled and stood up, "I can show you."

Matthias laughed, but upon seeing the serious look on Vinny's face, he bit his lip, "Look Vinny, you seem cool and all, but that's some A-class freaky that I don't think is true." Matthias started to turn away and walk, "I think I might just continue on my own, always worked better that way. See ya!"

"Matthias, wait!" Vinny yelled, and ran after him. He caught up to him just as someone walked in front of the boy.

The man's voice boomed, "Which of you is Vinny LaCrome?" He asked. Matthias shoved Vinny forward, a noise of annoyance emitting from the black-haired man. "Then both of you are going to come with me, under order of Leader Higgs!"

"What on earth do you-" Vinny started, but before he could finish his question, the man's fist flew at Vinny's face, then at Matthias', knocking both boys out. The large man lugged them over his shoulder and returned their loose pokémon to their balls. From his belt, he grabbed a walkie talkie and began to speak into it.

"Martin here, sir. I have LaCrome and an extra passenger, Macson. ...Both knocked out, yes sir. ...On my way." He spoke into the mic, then placing it back on his belt where it belonged. He whistled and from his belt shot out a Staraptor, hurtling out and taking a sharp turn back towards the man. The large creature lifted him up and carried them away from the park.

Many hours later, Matthias groaned and awoke to a giant headache. He could feel his brain pulsing in his skull. He opened his eyes, finding himself in a dark room, in a chair. He stretched and held his head in his hands. He groaned, and soon realizing that he could get up. He looking into the darkness, then began walking into it. He ran into something; a wall. Matthias' face twisted with confusion, and he followed it around the room until he found a switch.

He pushed it on, the room slowly illuminating and stinging his eyes. He squinted and looked around the room, only to find it empty. Matthias looked next to the switch, finding a door that was, to his surprise, open. He wandered out.

"Hello?" He asked, not getting a response. He was in a long, dimly lit hallway, the lights flickering at the end. Matthias decided to avoid that end if possible and started to walk towards the brighter end. He turned and kept walking. He reached the end of the hall, a single door at the tail of it. He walked to it, grabbing the handle and quietly turning. The door clicked open and Matthias peered inside. Seeing no one in the immediate area and a desk to hide under, he slipped in and ran, hiding under it.

Matthias got down low to try to see what was going on. Four people in lab coats carried a chair across the room with someone strapped to it. Following behind them were three people in odd suits, looking like spacemen, and behind them followed a man in a black jacket. The scientists set the chair down, and Matthias could see the ends of a long blue jacket touch the floor. He sat back quietly as a voice began to talk.

"Mr. LaCrome... So nice to see you. I hope you're enjoying your seat?" A loud voice asked. It was met with a growl. "So, Doc Leron, why don't you tell our patient what you're going to do to him?"

"Yes sir. Uhm, er, well first we're going to extract some DNA and blood from you and amalgamate it into a test subject to see if your gift is transferred in that way. Hopefully we will be able to replicate the gift and no longer have a need for you." A whiny voice responded.

Matthias grit his teeth in annoyance. They really believed this guy?

"I told you, it doesn't work that way! It's not something I was born with!"

"Oh hush now, boy. They black eye that Pluto gave you really brings out your eyes, did you know that?" A feminine voice snapped. Matthias saw a pair of feet spin around.

"Venus, this isn't the time!" A raspy voice yelled.

The feet stopped spinning, "Oh, Mercury, you're no fun."

"Behave. Doctors, begin whenever you're ready. Prepare as necessary." The first voice said.

"Yes sir. Remove his jacket and hat, draw from both arms. No anaesthesia. I hope you can tolerate pain, kid." A new voice said.

"Just leave me alone." Vinny whined.

Matthias laid down on the floor, looking up at the people in the room. Vinny had been moved to a table, jacket removed and was strapped to it. A machine was rolled to him and a doctor grabbed a tube off of it. He attached a tube to one end, handing the other to a different person. One doctor held Vinny down while they were jammed into his arms. Vinny recoiled, making no noise but clearly in pain. Matthias looked away at this to his belt. He still had all his pokémon with him; a whopping two. He made an aggravated face and stared at the ground.

In the room, Vinny was staring at the table with his vision fading in and out. Blurry and fuzzy, black and white. He had been in a room tied to a chair, his pokémon in a box just out of reach. He had been unsuccessful in grabbing one before the events that were happening now.

A doctor slapped his face lightly, "Ah, ah! We need you to stay with us! Now tell me, how long have you had this power?" He asked. Vinny refused to speak. The doctor furrowed his eyebrows and twisted the needle in his arm.

Vinny shrieked, "Three years! J-Just three years!"

"Good, and can you understand all pokémon?"

"No! N-Not all speak the same version of -Urg- The language!" He suddenly howled in pain and shut his eyes tightly.

"Good, good. And one more thing. We've gotten more than enough from you, but we're going to continue to drain you as we have no more need for you. Thank you for participating in the experiment of Team Neo Galactic." The doctor scowled and signalled to the others to leave. They gathered up the materials they needed and threw Vinny's stuff on the table. But, however, just at they opened the door, they heard a noise.

One looked in the direction of it; the desk. From underneath it, Matthias' Rotom had once again escaped and was about to release havoc on everyone in the area. Matthias quickly tried to hush the pokémon but to no avail. The creature flew out, and upon seeing so many people in the room, let out a massive Discharge.

This shocked the doctors, Vinny, and Matthias alike. The doctors fell to the floor while the tubes in Vinny's arms flew out. Vinny fell off the table and laid motionless on the floor. From under the desk, Matthias let out a screech and recoiled, falling out onto the open floor area. The Rotom's eyes went straight to Matthias and it stopped, making a confused noise. It shrugged and flew out of the room, leaving everyone behind.

Matthias stood up, shaken, and hurried to Vinny. He hurriedly lifted him up, throwing his arm over his shoulder and tried to drag him out of the room. Vinny knocked the box of pokemon over, one popping open to show Sphynx, in all his Luxio glory. He muttered something that Matthias couldn't understand and the pokemon nodded, opening the other balls as Matthias stumbled out of the room. Vinny simply passed out.

Matthias adjusted Vinny's position and looked down the hall. He noticed the Rotom, the electric-ghost rushing into a hallway. Matthias stumbled after, only dropping Vinny three times in the process. The room was not a way to escape, but a dimly lit room that looked like it would have places to hide. Matthias hurried in, Vinny dragging behind him. After a quick scan of the room, Matthias saw something that resembled a broom closet ad quickly stuffed Vinny in, making sure that he was hidden before trying to find a hiding spot of his own.

Sphynx finished opening all the occupied Pokeballs, seeing the entirety of Vinny's pokemon before his yellow eyes. The group in front of him wasn't exactly the best, but he could figure out some way of making it work. He growled at Oliver to do something, but the Glameow shrugged.

"Look, Sphynx, I know about as much of wht's going on as you do, so I have no idea what's going on." The creature hissed

Mojo stepped forward, "He's in danger. We have to be helping."

"How? We're not the most useful group I've seen. I saw a Seviper and a Zangoose get out of a worse situation than this before," Julie piped up, crossing her orange arms.

Sphynx shook his head and turned to the pile of Doctors on the floor. One started to rise, though he quickly earned a Thunder Fang to the rear to keep him down. The Luxio shook his large head and ran out of the room. "Hey, Sphynx, get back here!" Banshee yelled, him and the other pokemon running after him. Mistakenly, Sphynx turned down a hall and was halted immediately by a large set of burning fangs.

A Houndour. Joined by a brown Mightyena and a large Arcanine. Each of them had a Fire Fang prepared, poised and ready to strike. A voice echoed down the hall, "Get 'em, boys"

The Mightyena howled and looked at Sphynx and his merry band of misfits. All of them were slowly being backed into a wall.

The Houndour laughed, a Taunt seeping into his voice. "Look here, boys. Seems like we found ourselves some escapists. Hey, Nikolai, what should we do with them?"

The Arcanine howled, seeming to get bigger, "I don't know Dmitri, maybe we could eat them."

"Papi said we can't do that. Ivan thinks that we should dispose of them. Forever," The Mightyena perked up, his ears twitching in excitement, "Forever not our problem..."

Oliver hissed from the back and jumped up onto Sphynx's head, all five of them against the wall now, "Now you listen here! We are not going to be your play toys! We are the same as you, only smaller!"

All three dogs howled with laughter, Ivan collapsing to the floor from laughing so hard. Oliver stayed standing on Sphynx. Though he was digging his claws into his skull.

The Houndour Howled, his fur bristling and he turned back to Oliver, "I thought your kind would have learned by now. Cats and Dogs don't mix!" Dmitri lunged at them, Sphynx throwing Oliver off of him as the Fire Fang clamped down onto his muzzle. His knees buckled, but he somehow managed to keep himself up off the floor. The rest of the group scattered. Ivan the Mightyena ran after Oliver while Nikolai the Arcanine ran after Mojo, Julie, and Screech. Sphynx charged his jowls in an attempt to counter with a Thunder Fang, but the Houndour threw him to the side like a play toy.

Matthias had by now found a sufficient hiding spot, and that was behind a group of filing cabinets. He bit his lip as he heard fighting outside, howling and screeching and eventually running. He heard the door burst open and the sounds of two pokemon fighting, though he couldn't quite tell what it was. He hugged his knees to his chest as the noises continued. They continued for a while before Matthias could even bear to look at what was fighting. He glanced and saw, to his surprise, Oliver. The small grey creature was standing below a Mightyena, the creature looking huge and almighty. Oliver was using Scratch constantly, trying to run away at any chance that he got. Sadly, that chance wasn't often. Matthias pulled out his Pokedex to check the level gap between them and was thoroughly surprised that Oliver had managed to last so long. Oliver was at about level 18 whereas the Mightyena was about level 26. Though, he could see that Oliver wasn't going to last much longer. Matthias reached to his belt and threw Lairon silently out into the middle of the room, crouched back down behind the cabinets, and hoped for the best.

0-o-0

Vinny used Burn Heal!

A mysterious meeting occurs outside the Hotel, and it's team Neo Galactic!

Vinny tells Matthias a Secret!

Vinny encounters Pluto Grunt!

Vinny and Matthias Blacked Out!

Vinny is in Danger! Will he escape alive with all pokemon in tact?

0-o-0

End Chapter 3

0-o-0

Vinny Team review:

Chimchar, Mojo: Level 14

Moves:

-Ember-Taunt-Leer-Scratch

Glameow, Oliver: Level 18

Moves:

-Fake Out-Scratch-Hypnosis-Bite

Luxio, Sphynx: Level 16

Moves:

-Tackle-Leer-Quick Attack-Thunder Fang

Buizel, Julie: Level 13

Misdreavus, Banshee: Level 12

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: Hey Matthias! I'm gonna open a new resturant!

Matthias: Oh really? What's it called?

Vinny: TBC.

Matthias: …

Vinny: … It stands for Teryaki Baked Combusken.

Matthias: WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME!?