Wes and Rui go to Phenac Stadium only to find that the tournament has already started. Then they encounter some members of Team Snagem who try to force Wes to give back the snag machine he stole and go with them back to the hideout. But Wes is not about to give in to those guys.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the characters.

Chapter 3: The Trouble with Team Snagem

Phenac Stadium was inside a large a dome surrounded by more flowing water, which was at the top of a flight of stairs. Inside Wes, Rui, Umbreon, and Espeon were at the registration desk. They were going to register for the tournament but unfortunately they could not participate.

The lady behind the desk said "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid the current challenge is already underway. Please come back again later for the next challenge."

Espeon and Umbreon's ears drooped with disappointment.

"Darn," Wes sighed. "Oh well, nothing we can do about it now."

Then they went outside, and they saw three mean looking trainers standing there.

Bowser! - Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story

"There you are Wes, we've found you." The first one said. "You know Gonzap is not real happy with you after that stunt you pulled. Stealing the snag machine and blowing up our hideout, you've got some nerve."

(Perfect, just who I needed to see.) Wes thought to himself as he gritted his teeth. Espeon and Umbreon growled at the trainers.

Yes, those three guys were the members of the villainous Team Snagem, Wakin, Biden, and Agrev. Wes knew he would run into them at some point but he never suspected how soon.

"Wes, do you know those guys?" Rui asked.

"Hehehe that's right pretty girl." Wakin cackled. "He's one of us, a member of Team Snagem, at least right up until he made the hideout explode."

"No that can't be..." Rui cried. "Wes...is it true?!"

Sweat began to drip down Wes's head. He didn't know how to tell Rui that he had been part of Team Snagem before but then decided to quit after finding out about the Shadow Pokemon plan.

At last he lowered his head and sadly responded, "It's true...I was once part of Team Snagem."

"Oh my gosh!" Rui gasped. "That's...really shocking."

"He was one of the best snaggers too." Biden said. "He was great at snagging Pokemon for us, and he did it with success."

"Enough about the past, what the heck do you want?!" Wes demanded as he glared at the Snagem members.

"Isn't it obvious? We want you to hand over the snag machine you stole. We're also here to bring you back to the hideout." Wakin replied.

"Snag machine, what's that?" Rui asked. Wes showed her the machine he had equipped on his left arm.

"This device here..." The trainer explained. "It's used for snagging Pokemon from other trainers."

"That's right, now give us the snag machine and come with us!" Agrev commanded.

"Never!" Wes angrily replied. Espeon and Umbreon stood out in front to protect their trainer.

"Very well, if you won't give back the snag machine then we'll take it from you by force." Wakin said as he got out two Poke balls.

"Fine by me..." Wes looked at his Pokemon and said "...come on guys let's take him down!"

Espeon and Umbreon nodded and they got into their fighting stances.

Wes vs Wakin

Normal Battle - Pokemon Colosseum

The Snagem member, Wakin, threw his poke balls to summon a lobster-like Pokemon called Corphish and a round floating purple creature with holes called Koffing.

"Alright Koffing use Poison Gas!" Wakin ordered.

Koffing released a toxic gas from the holes on its body and both Espeon and Umbreon became poisoned from the gas.

"Ahhh no!" Wes gasped. It was only a matter time now before they lost all their energy. He had to finish this battle quick.

Rui, who was watching the battle from a distance, cried out "This can't be good!"

"Espeon hurry and use Confusion on that Koffing!" The trainer shouted.

Espeon obeyed and attacked Koffing using its psychic powers. The Koffing barely hung on though and it became confused.

"Umbreon, Secret Power let's go!"

Umbreon shot a beam at Corphish but the attack missed.

"Corphish use Bubble Beam!" Wakin commanded.

Corphish directed the attack at Umbreon, then shot many powerful bubbles. Umbreon took the hit and fell to the ground.

"Umbreon no!" Wes shouted helplessly.

"It's useless Wes, just accept defeat and give us the snag machine." Wakin chuckled. "Koffing, use Sludge Bomb!"

Luckily Koffing was still confused. It instead hurt itself and then fainted. Wakin groaned and recalled it back to its poke ball.

Wes saw that Espeon and Umbreon were getting weaker due to the poison. The trainer had to take out Corphish before it was too late.

"Come on guys hang in there, we can beat him." He told his pokemon. "Espeon, Confusion! Umbreon, Secret Power!"

Espeon used its powers and managed to hit the Corphish with its mystical waves. Umbreon then slowly got up and shot another beam, dealing the final blow. Corphish collapsed and Wakin recalled it back.

Battle ends

Music stops

"Blast you!" Wakin shouted. He looked at the other Snagem members and said "Come on guys help me take him out!"

The other members shook theirs heads though and Wakin face palmed.

"You haven't seen the last of us Wes, we'll be back and I mean it!" Wakin shouted, and the three Snagem members walked away.

Rui walked over to Wes and said "That was pretty rough, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, at least I will be." The trainer replied. Espeon and Umbreon staggered towards Wes. They had very little energy left because of the poison.

"Oh no those poor Pokemon. Wes we gotta get them to the Pokemon Center stat!" Rui cried.

Wes recalled them back into their poke balls and responded "You're right, let's go."

...

Pokemon Center - Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver

The Pokemon Center was a place where trainers went to get their pokemon healed up after they've battled. At the counter the nurse would take their Pokemon and put them on a machine that completely restores their energy. Right now there were two Poke balls on the healing machine. Those two Poke balls contained Espeon and Umbreon. Wes and Rui had brought them to the Pokemon Center after the recent battle with Team Snagem Member Wakin. Soon they were fully restored and the nurse took the poke balls off the machine and handed them to Wes.

"There, your Pokemon are all healed." She said kindly. Wes took the poke balls and put them away.

"Come back anytime okay." The nurse said.

"Will do." Rui replied, and then she and Wes went outside. Rui was curious and wanted to know more about this man.

"So you're part of Team Snagem huh?" Rui asked.

"Was," Wes corrected her. "Not anymore though, I've been...having issues with them, so I quit."

"Really? But, how could you be part of such a horrible group of thieves, and what made you decide to quit?" Rui inquired, but Wes didn't say anything. He knew it would be tough to explain the situation to her, especially since they haven't even gotten to know each other yet. The trainer decided he would bring it up later when the time was right.

Rui smiled and happily replied "Oh well, I guess it doesn't matter. After all you are my handsome prince who saved me from those goons."

Record Scratch

"I'm your what now?" Wes said as he turned around and gave her a weird look. Then Rui began to freak out.

"GAAAAHHH uhh...uhhhh...d-d-did I say handsome prince? No no no that's not what I meant, I meant you're my hero! No wait I-I-I meant you're cool uhh I mean I...I, uhhhh...I'm gonna stop now."

Rui was so embarrassed by what she just said that she was blushing madly. It was an awkward moment for her and Wes now as they just stood there not saying anything.

...

...

...

...

"So anyway...I have an idea." Rui broke the silence. "We should go shopping and try to find some Poke balls."

"Uhh...what would we need Poke balls for?" Wes asked as he sweat-dropped.

"I'll explain later but trust me, I think we might need them." Rui urged.

Wes looked up and saw that the sun was going down.

"Well it's getting late, we can do that tomorrow. For now though let's find a place to stay for the night." The trainer complied.

I hope you guys enjoyed this. I'm sorry if I keep ending my chapters off so suddenly like this. Though I do wanna say at some point in this story Wes WILL have another encounter with Team Snagem. Originally in the game the snagem members kind of just disappeared after battling them once, so I want to try to give them a somewhat bigger role in this story. And no Wes and Rui will not be romantically involved with each other here, (sorry Wes x Rui fans.) I say this on my profile that I don't do romance because I don't feel comfortable writing that type of story. I may have Rui show some affections towards Wes throughout the story, but for now, the two will be just friends.