Phenac Colosseum was, true to Es Cade's word, a breathtaking sight. There were cascading waterfalls inside the dome-shaped building made of beautiful marble. In fact, there was only one issue Wes had with the place…

"The challenge has already started?" Wes groaned.

"I'm sorry, sir," replied the receptionist. "It's just started a few minutes ago, and it can go on for a while. I invite you to participate in the next one, of course, but you'll have a considerable wait ahead of you- this is the last one for today, you'll have to come back tomorrow."

"Fine," sighed Wes. "I'll come back, then."

"Sorry you couldn't enter," sighed Rui, who followed Wes out of the building.

"Yeah, me too, it's just- oh, crap," groaned Wes. For as soon as he and Rui stepped outside, they could see a trio of bald men approaching them, each of them wearing the same dark red vest.

"Hey, Wes!" exclaimed one of them. "We finally found you, you filthy, double-crossing traitor!"

"Hello, Wakin," Wes hissed through gritted teeth. "Good to see you, too."

"You little- so, what, wrecking the hideout wasn't enough?" exclaimed a less-than-amused Wakin. "You had to go and rip off the Snag Machine, too? Boy, you got some nerve!"

"Who are these people?" Rui asked. "Are- are they Team Snagem? And… Wes, what do they mean by… by traitor?" she added, her tone of voice suggesting she knew exactly what they meant by traitor.

"Heh, yeah, you're on the right track, pretty lady," smirked Wakin. "Wes here is from Team Snagem, same as us. In fact, he's no ordinary member- he's a Snagger, and he's the best in the business."

"No way!" Rui exclaimed. "Wes… is this true?"

Wes gritted his teeth. He couldn't bear to look Rui in the eyes, genuinely afraid of what look she might have been giving him. He gave a small, imperceptible nod, confirming Wakin's words as truth.

Rui said nothing, but Wakin did not follow her lead. "OK, enough of this. Fork over the Snag Machine, Wes. Now! Hand it over!"

"…Snag Machine?" Rui spoke up again. "Wes, do you really have something like that?"

"He sure does," smirked one of the other Snagem Grunts. "That little machine on his left arm, that's a top-of-the-line Snag Machine. It's built for Trainers. When a Trainer wears the Snag Machine, their Poké Balls are converted. Turns ordinary Poké Balls into Snag Balls that can steal Pokémon from their Trainers in battle!"

"Wh- you blabbermouth!" Wakin hissed. "I know the look on her face is priceless, but keep that stuff secret!"

"So that's why these creeps are chasing after you, Wes," Rui murmured.

Wakin rounded on Rui. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? Who are you calling creeps? OK, you know what? This is getting us nowhere! Fork over the Snag Machine, or we take it back by force!" As he spoke, he plucked a pair of Poké Balls off his belt.

In response, Wes drew Espeon and Umbreon's Poké Balls from his trenchcoat pocket. "Bring it," he challenged Wakin. The two of them stared each other down for a moment, and then all of a sudden, the Poké Balls were flying.

"Go, Corphish! Go, Koffing!" exclaimed Wakin.

"Go Espeon! Go Umbreon!" bellowed Wes. "Espeon, Confusion on Koffing! Umbreon, use Bite on Corphish!"

"Koffing, hit Espeon with Sludge!" retorted Wakin. "Corphish, Vice Grip on Umbreon!"

Koffing, however, was unable to even begin to use Sludge, so quickly was Espeon's Confusion attack delivered. The powerful super effective move knocked Koffing out almost instantly. Meanwhile, Corphish was flailing about, snapping its pincers wildly, as Umbreon gripped the Water-type firmly in his mouth.

Wes smirked. "Espeon, Helping Hand. Umbreon, keep up the Bite."

"Corphish! Bubble Beam!" Wakin shouted, but to no avail- before Corphish could even take aim, Umbreon bit down harder, powered up by Espeon's assistance, and Corphish lost consciousness as Umbreon set it down. "No!" Wakin groaned as he withdrew his Pokémon. "I'm not good enough?"

"Damn straight," smirked Wes.

"Blast you, Wes," grumbled Wakin, glaring at the ex-Snagem member. "Don't think this is over! We'll get that Snag Machine back yet. Just you wait and see!" With that, he wheeled around and led his cohorts away.

"Yeah, we'll just see about that!" Wes shouted after them. "It sure looks over to me!" He smirked at this comeback until the trio of Snagem Grunts were out of sight, and then he remembered something fairly important- Rui now knew the truth. Or part of it, anyway. Enough of it to paint Wes in a pretty bad light. As much as it pained him, Wes turned to look at Rui, and involuntarily flinched at the look of disappointment he saw in her eyes.

"So you're from Team Snagem," said Rui, folding her arms. "What… where do I even begin? You steal Pokémon for a living?"

"I did," Wes nodded. "I won't lie to you about that, but Rui-"

"What?" demanded Rui.

"Look, I don't blame you for reacting like this," said Wes. "But at least hear out my whole story before you judge me too harshly, OK?"

Rui's disappointed expression did not change, but she gave a small nod, silently waiting for Wes to start talking.

Wes sighed. "Alright… I suppose it all began when I was, like, seven years old. I grew up in Pyrite Town, and… once my parents died in a house fire, I was on my own, just like that. It was just me, and the family pets- two Eevee. I wasn't much of a Trainer back then, so I wound up resorting to petty theft to get by, rather than prize money from winning battles.

"Espe, Espeon," Espeon nodded, while Umbreon nudged Wes's leg. In response, Wes scratched Umbreon behind the ears before continuing.

"So that was basically my life for the next couple of years. Pretty standard for someone living on the streets of Pyrite Town. And then, one day, I was, like, fourteen or something… I snake this guy's wallet, but he sees me out of the corner of his eye, and catches me. And he was seriously muscular, so I thought he was gonna pound me into next week or something. Instead, he tells me he's impressed since he didn't know I stole his wallet until he saw me trying to sneak away, and next thing I knew, I was being offered a job in Team Snagem." Wes sighed. "I mean, look at it from the point of view I had back then. Homeless youth on the streets in Pyrite Town, had to pick pockets to pay for my food, and steal whatever food I couldn't pay for, and then out of nowhere, I'm not only getting offered a job, but a job that was really compatible with my… unique skills. So yeah, that's how I got into Team Snagem," he sighed. "Gonzap was like a father to me, he taught me all he knew, helped me to become a better Trainer- he even gave me the Technical Machine I used to teach Secret Power to one of my Eevee- the one that evolved into Umbreon, to be exact. Look, I… I'm not proud of the things I did. In fact, that's why I quit," Wes said to Rui. "My conscience was getting to me, and after talking to Gonzap, I realized I wanted out once and for all, but, well, I mean, Team Snagem's not exactly an organization you can just up and quit. Gonzap loathes deserters. Plus, they still had this thing," he added, indicating the Snag Machine on his arm. "And it's supposed to be a really advanced model, too, with all sorts of features. I didn't want to just leave with it still in their possession. So, I, uh… I may have blown up their hideout, grabbed the Snag Machine, and hauled ass away from that place."

At that moment, Wes dared to look at Rui again, only to see that her expression had softened considerably. "Wes… wow," she murmured. "You've had a really rough life, haven't you?"

"It hasn't been a picnic," Wes agreed.

"Well… I've made up my mind," Rui decided. "I… I've decided I'm fine with this. I've decided it doesn't matter to me who you were. What matters is who you're trying to be now. Moreover, what matters is that you stepped in and saved me from those crooks," she added with a smile.

Wes smiled back. "Thanks, Rui," he replied. "That… that means a lot to me. It really does."

"And another thing," Rui continued. "I actually got an idea after listening to those creeps."

"Yeah?" said Wes. "What?"

"Well," Rui smiled. "First off, we should go shopping for some Poké Balls."

"…Right," Wes nodded. "That should be nice and easy to do in a desert region with just about no wild Pokémon whatsoever."

"We can at least try," Rui persisted. "Come on, it's a cool plan, and it'll put that thing to some actual good use."

"… I do like the idea of this thing being used for good," Wes admitted, glancing at the Snag Machine on his arm. "Alright, let's give it a shot. I think we passed a Pokémon Mart on the way to Es Cade's house…"