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The heat of the desert was at its usual—nearly unbearable. It took a moment for Wes's lungs to adjust to the hot, dry air as he was shoved out the lab doors and air conditioning into the heat. Once he could breathe properly, he ducked into the shade made by the wall of the building; it was always at least ten to twenty degrees cooler when out of the direct sunlight.
Unfortunately, he didn't have the shade all to himself.
"So you're up." Shady lounged lazily against the wall, eyeing Wes with obvious dislike. Despite the heat, he still wore Wes's blue coat, which told Wes that he was at least a native to Orre—immune to the worst of the heat. "I dumped your friends on the outskirts of Phenac. Think they woke up before they fried?"
Wes decided not to answer. He didn't know enough about this strange look-alike in order to either be wary or cocky towards him. It was safer to be wary, though.
"You got Teleport?" demanded Gonzap, stomping over to them after speaking briefly to a Snagem Grunt stationed at the entrance of the lab.
"Just say the word," Shady drawled, taking a Pokeball from his belt.
"He's coming?" Wes asked, deciding to play it stupid. Gonzap wouldn't buy it for a second—he knew Wes too well to know he wasn't anywhere near stupid—but it would be good to have Shady get cocky if he thought Wes wasn't bright. If he got Shady cocky enough...well, mistakes were made easier that way.
"Yes." Gonzap gave him a wolfish grin. "I know your style, you little shit. As soon as we get to the old Hideout, you'll tell me that you need your little rats in order to get the Snag Machine. And then you'll pull a fast one, just like you did last time. I'll be waiting outside the Hideout, and Shady will go in with you."
Wes kept his face expressionless. "I do need my Pokemon," he said levelly.
Gonzap merely smirked. "You would." He looked to Shady. "Get on with it."
Shady tossed out his Pokeball, and an Alakazam appeared before them, holding its spoons at the ready. "Teleport," Shady ordered. "To the Snagem Hideout."
There was a flash of bright light, and very suddenly the front of the lab was abandoned, save for the Team Snagem Grunt standing guard.
May and Brenden followed Rui to the Phenac Pokemon Center, where she immediately went over to the PC in the corner. May went with her, while Brenden approached the nurse at the front counter. He wasn't sure what kind of shape his team was in, but since it cost nothing and it was fast to heal them up, he figured why not.
As soon as his six Pokeballs had been returned to him, he went over to the corner where May and Rui stood in front of the PC, to see what exactly they were doing.
"—remember his ID number," Rui was saying, looking thoughtful. "Then I could get in to his boxes."
"If you can't, I have plenty of Pokemon you could borrow," May offered.
"What's going on?" Brenden asked, joining them.
"I'm trying to get into Wes's Pokemon Storage," Rui explained. "All I need is his Trainer ID number, and then I could get in to borrow some of the Pokemon he has but never really uses anymore."
"That he Snagged?" Brenden asked skeptically.
"Kind of. They were Shadow Pokemon, and he Snagged them. I helped him Purify them."
"Oh. That's a little more reassuring."
Rui gave him a distracted half-smile, obviously still trying to remember the ID number.
"What was the first number?" asked May, trying to be helpful. "If you remember the first number, the rest might come to you."
"I think—" began Rui, but then her eyes lit. "Wait!" She dug in her pocket and pulled out her PDA. "I have a couple e-mails saved here from when I e-mailed him," she explained, sounding pleased, "so his ID should be saved in here. That's his e-mail address." She opened the device, tapping a few buttons.
May and Brenden watched her silently. In Hoenn, Trainers didn't use PDAs.
"Here it is!" Rui said triumphantly. Turning to the keyboard of the PC, she tapped in a few numbers quickly, reading off the small screen of her PDA. Then she snapped the device shut, slipping it back into her pocket, and hit the "Enter" key.
"We have access," May said with a grin as the screen flashed, admitting them to Wes's Pokemon boxes.
"Whoa," Brenden said, impressed as he studied the little digital figures of the stored Pokemon.
Rui wore a blank expression. "Which ones do I pick...?"
May laughed. "Don't worry, Rui," she said gently, moving the cursor over the first Pokemon, "Brenden and I will help you build a team that'll protect you no matter what."
"Start by looking at their stats," commanded Brenden, leaning in closer to the screen. "It looks like he's got some good ones here."
Rui watched as her two friends studied each of the Pokemon in the box, commenting briefly on each one. She didn't know very much about Pokemon, but after remembering her adventure as Wes's partner and listening to May and Brenden, she slowly began to grasp the basics of the mysterious creatures.
She didn't mind which Pokemon they chose for her. As long as they would help her rescue her friend, they were all fine to her.
The old Snagem Hideout was just as Wes had last seen it—a wreck of rubble and debris, falling in on itself as the harsh elements of the desert inflicted themselves upon it. He took care to keep a good amount of distance between himself and Gonzap—it was highly likely that his boss still had a sore spot about the destroyed Hideout, and since Wes was the one who had caused its current state...
He wished Shady hadn't come.
"So you're the one who did that?" Shady asked dryly, with a small smirk. It was obvious that he while he was addressing Wes, he was also trying to get Gonzap's temper to snap.
Wes nodded, keeping one eye on Gonzap. The Snagem leader stood staring at the wreckage of the former Hideout, and judging by the expression on his face, his temper was starting to boil.
"I would think that you would've done something a little more drastic," Shady continued, still wearing his little smirk. "You're practically a legend with all the Cipher Admins."
That's because I royally pissed them off when I Snagged their Shadow Pokemon, and defeated them each at least three times in battle by a landslide, Wes thought dryly. If I'm a legend with them, then it's because they curse my existanceevery other sentence.
Aloud, heasked bluntly, "You can think?"
Shady scowled. He opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by Gonzap.
"Enough," he growled, rounding on them. "Get in there and bring me back my Snag Machine." He dug into one of the front pockets of his vest and tossed two Pokeballs to Wes, who caught them reflexively. "Try anything, and Shady shoots you."
Shady's smirk returned, and he pulled out the small handgun he had pointed at Rui only hours before, holding it in one hand lazily.
Wes hid his relief to have Espeon and Umbreon back. He fastened the two Pokeballs to his belt and started for the entrance of the Hideout, aware of Shady following him. The entrance was half-blocked by a pile of twisted steel, with sharp edges jutting out everywhere.
Together, Wes and Shady slipped inside the Snagem Hideout.
By the time Rui, Brenden, and May left the PokeCenter, Rui was ready. May and Brenden had picked out five Pokemon for her to use, judging by what they each though would be useful. The sixth Pokemon Rui had picked out herself—the little Plusle that she and Wes had once rescued from Miror B., before it could be turned into a Shadow Pokemon.
Luckily for Rui, she had helped Purify all the Shadow Pokemon, so they knew her and would listen to her in battle. Unlike Hoenn, the Pokemon of Orre didn't require their Trainers to win badges in order to prove themselves.
"We need to get back to the lab," Rui said once they were back outside. "Once we're there, we can battle our way up to wherever they have Wes."
May nodded, taking out a Pokeball. "Now that I've been to the lab, my Ralts can Teleport us there."
"Let's go," Brenden agreed.
May called out her Ralts, which appeared before them, looking up at her questioningly. "Use Teleport, Ralts! To the Shadow Pokemon Lab!"
Rui was briefly blinded by a bright flash of light, and the ground seemed to swirl beneath her. When the ground settled again and her vision returned, they were standing out in front of the lab; just inside the electrical fence.
"Return, Ralts." May recalled the little green Pokemon back into her Pokeball.
"You should train that thing," Brenden advised. "Its evolve-forms are pretty good."
"I was going to," May answered with a smile, "But I got side-tracked with this little adventure."
"Hey!" A voice called out suddenly, making them all jump. A man dressed in the Team Snagem colors emerged from the shade near the entrance to the lab, holding a Pokeball in his fist.
"Team Snagem Grunt," Rui warned, recognizing the uniform.
The Grunt planted his feet wide, blocking their way into the lab. "You kids get out of here! With the Boss at the Hideout, it's up to me to provide security around here!"
Brenden and May exchanged flat looks.
"How are Teams so terrorizing with such dumb Grunts?" Brenden muttered.
"The old Snagem Hideout?" asked Rui, ignoring the Grunt. "If that's where Gonzap is, then that must be where Wes is! Come on!"
"You know where it is?" asked May.
Rui nodded. "Wes and I went there when the Shadow Pokemon were still out. It's far to the east from here. If we Fly, I could get us there."
"Are you sure Wes'll be with Gonzap?" Brenden asked.
Rui nodded again. "Now that Gonzap has him, he's not going to let Wes out of his sight." She smiled ruefully. "If he did, Wes would be gone in a second."
"Hey," warned the Grunt, who had been ignored for too long. "If you don't get out of here—"
"We're going, we're going," May snapped, drawing a Pokeball. "Go back to your little guard duty."
A few moments later, three bird Pokemon took to the sky, flapping up over the roof of the Shadow Pokemon Lab, headed east across the desert.
Please excuse any mistakes in this chapter...No spell check on this computer.
Thank you very much!