Quick A/N: I apologize for the extremely short third chapter and hopefully this one makes up for it. It would have been up earlier, but I was unfortunate to come down with the flu and miss a week of school, then spent another week staying after to make up work. Then my oh-so-intelligent brother decided to mess around with my computer and screwed it up. *sigh* Anyway, on with the story.

~*~

Night is supposed to be a time of rest, a time for the body to unwind and replace energy lost during the day. Hard thing to do when you are forced to sleep in a room with people snoring loud enough to wake the dead. A quiet sigh escaped the youth perched on a window seat, the gentle breath of warm air clouding the cool glass that bit at his nose and finger tips. Half lidded garnet eyes scanned the murky blue and black sky overhead, the starts twinkling high above the city of Saffron. The reverberating snores of the 'Failure Trio' as Dc called them banished any thoughts of sleep that might be lurking in his mind, slowly grinding his nerves. Finally unable to stand it no longer he slipped into his boots and left the run down hotel they had been staying in without a sound.

The night chill refreshed him more then any amount of food or sleep could, the twilight breezes wrapping around his body and tousling his hair before dying down. The cool zephyrs seemed to bring forth a hidden instinct in his mind, one that made his gaze harden into that of a criminal up to no good. Contemplative eyes scanned the windows of nearby stores, nimble fingers darting into a pocket and bringing forth a small drawstring bag. Adrenaline coursing through his veins Dc ducked into the shadowed alley way next to a clothing store, searching for the side entrance.

Upon finding it, he emptied the drawstring bag of its contents, sliding the thin piece of wire into the lock and somehow managing to pick it open in the dim light that filtered into the alley way. Pushing the door open he slipped inside; time to get rid of those annoying black clothes. Thankfully there were no alarms in the back room, for who would even waste their time sneaking into the backrooms when all the money was kept in a safe near the front of the store and the only thing in the back was inventory? This made Dc's job all the more easier, allowing him to search through the boxes at his own pace. By the time he exited he had a duffle bag full of new clothes that suited him much better then the annoying uniforms classic of the Rockets.

The sound of faint rustling in a nearby alley made him slow up, eyes narrowed as he entertained the thought of investigating, the instinct to steal once again buried deep within his mind now that is had been appeased. The loud clanging of a trash can lid only fueled Dc's curiosity, egging him on until he walked over and peered into the darkness.

A feline hiss greeted him as a pair of gleaming eyes leered out at him from the very depths of the alleyway. When the youth didn't back down then Pokemon slinked out into view. It was nothing more than a half starved Persian, its left ear torn and its shoulders marred by many a scar. Its fur bristled as it advanced on Dc, claws extended and tail lashing from side to side. The albino had disturbed its hunting of Rattata that often scurried about in the trash bins of this particular alley. City life had been hard on the feline, but it wouldn't allow some human to come poking his nose in its business.

Threatened by the prospect of a mauling, Dc's hand dropped to his side. In the blink of an eye Pyro's Pokeball was airborne, releasing the Dark/Fire canine. At first his surroundings confused the Houndour, by a menacing growl from the Persian snapped him into battle mode. Baring his teeth, Pyro crouched until his belly was scrapping against the concrete beneath him. He was more then ready to fight by this time; the instinct to protect his trainer stronger than even he thought was possible. No time to get sentimental now, not with a paw filled with razor sharp claws aimed directly at your face.

Leaping aside, Pyro barely managed to escape the blow that could have removed his eye. He barked a Roar attack, making the Persian falter for a moment. That split second was enough for the Houndour to dart forward and sink his teeth into the massive paw of the feline. The Persian yowled in pain, swatting at the attacking canine with its free paw. Pyro finally let go when the sharp claws were swiped across his nose. He stumbled backwards with a yelp, landing on his back. The Persian moved to Bodyslam him, thereby making itself defenseless to the Ember attack Pyro aimed at its face. Needless to say, the feline backed off and gave Pyro the chance to stand. Lunging forward he used Headbutt, knocking the Persian over onto its side. Enraged by this time, he moved in to finish it off with a second Bite attack, only to be cut off as a Pokeball appeared out of nowhere and struck the fallen Persian.

Dc held his breath while watching the Pokeball quiver and bounce before finally going still. The ball flew to his outstretched hand, bringing home the fact that he had just caught his first Pokemon on his own. Releasing his bent up breath he couldn't help but grin insanely and bend down, scooping up Pyro in one arm and hugging the Pokemon until both were sure that it would be the last of the little canine. The Houndour quickly flicked his tongue across Dc's check and snuggled in the one arm embrace that lessen enough to allow him to breath. Despite the fact that Pyro would forever hold a grudge against the Persian, the elation of gaining a new battle partner was mutual to both trainer and Pokemon.

"Come on. We'd better get back before those bumbling bubble brains wake up!" Dc whispered as he placed the Persian's Pokeball on his belt and set Pyro back on the ground. Together the two friends raced each other back to the hotel where they would rest for the remainder of the night and get properly acquainted with their newest addition to the team tomorrow.

~ ~ ~ ~

A/N: Yes, another short chapter. I'm sorry. The virus that I picked up somewhere is draining my energy and creativity. I know that everybody was voting for Eevee for Dc's first Pokemon, but the Persian idea sorta appealed to me. Don't worry, he'll steal his first Pokemon in the chapter after next. You'll just have to wait and see what will happen ^_^ Anyway, you can stop threatening to hunt me down now 'cause I'm back and writing again! All praise... ummm... sugar and caffeine? And sorry if the battle scene was a bit... short and probably boring. I'm not use to writing such things ^^; Okay, you can review now.