Chapter 3: The Greatest Gift
Seth and his companions, Espeon and Umbreon rode across the desert, his goggles covered his eyes and blocked the spray of dust whilst a bubble of Psychic energy from his partner allowed them to keep their eyes wide. Umbreon in particular was hungry for another fight, his Espeon had always been the calmest, maybe it was the way they fought, Umbreon was always in the fray while Espeon hung back, it was the way things worked. After they'd taken down Willy, he'd recommended they go to the city of Phenac and have a go in the Stadium, Seth could hear the crowd cheering him now. He rolled up at the stone archway that led inside and jumped off, his Pokémon following him gracefully as he stepped through.
A familiar vehicle was parked, almost blocking the archway, its colour was a dark green and it reeked of oil and petrol, the truck that was parked by the Outskirt Stand. Seth stood watching as he saw the two shady figures drag a squirming bag from the top and start carrying it, holding it carefully as they hauled away their prize.
"Heh, our boss'l fix us up good with this catch Folly," sounded the coarse voice of the dark-haired one.
A whimpering noise then a yelling came from the writhing bag, soon, a muffled voice shouted, "h-help, kidnappers! Let me out!"
The dark one kicked at the bag to stop it from struggling, "that tape didn't keep her mouth shut!"
"Maybe we can find some place to fix ourselves up with her before we get," voiced Folly, bending down to let the contents of the sack hear.
"Yeah maybe…" the first one replied, stopping suddenly as he saw Seth, who now had a dark fury in his eyes, "oh crap, oh crap, oh crap! That twerp's spotted us!"
They let go of the bag and dropped it to the floor, a whimpering noise escaping it, before turning on him; Folly approached him, eyes hidden under his tinted shades, "just blame this on your own bad luck!"
Espeon and Umbreon stood at Seth's heels, ready for a fight as Folly drew two Pokéballs and let them loose, energy blasting around them as a pair of Whismur were released, their small purple bodies framed by yellow-tipped ears as their cry made an echoing noise. The brother Pokémon growled in reply, Espeon moving first, unleashing a pulse of energy that started to confuse the Whismur, it collapsed under the strain but just held itself together as it staggered to its feet. Umbreon then threw itself forward and sank its teeth into another Whismur's ear, tugging at it viciously before it was finally thrown off by the thrashing Pokémon, landing perfectly as it skidded across the ground, panting under the heavy scent of blood. The Whismur retaliated, one throwing a pound at the Umbreon for hurting its partner while the injured one yelled out and caused an Uproar, the sound reverberating off the walls and the ground itself. Espeon took the most damage from the Uproar as the sound coursed through its great ears while Umbreon was thrown back, its hip aching under the blow as it lifted itself to face the duo. Espeon's eyes flared as a ring of bright energy surrounded it; Umbreon's body then pulsed with similar energy, as it stood ready. Leaping forwards, Umbreon threw a bite at the injured Whismur, blood spraying from its fresh wound as it fell. Espeon then leapt across and closed its own fang-like teeth around the Whismur; its weakened mind reeling from the pain as it collapsed. Both the Whismur vanished as energy started to draw them back into their Pokéballs as Folly held them out.
"Oh…shit!" Came the dark-haired one's exclamation, Folly stood dumbfounded before snapping back to reality, "wait, that face, you're a member of Team Sn-" He was stopped abruptly by a sudden cry.
A girl in a pink suit held a handbag over her shoulder as she shouted out, her finger pointing accusingly at the two figures "help! Robbers!" A boy in a white and blue shirt suddenly looked at them as they closed around.
"Hey, we're not robbers, we're kidnappers, get it?" Shouted the dark-haired, his voice adamant with the correction.
Folly turned on him and yelled, "there you go! Shooting off your mouth again! Let's get!" Folly ran and barged down Seth as the other followed behind. The two people who'd spotted them gathered around the sack as Seth lifted himself up, Espeon and Umbreon tended to him with their short snouts as he watched.
The girl screamed and jumped back in disgust as she looked back at the bag, "oh yuck, there's someone in there!"
The boy tugged at the knot, attempting to pry it open, "I, I can't get it loose," Seth stepped closer as he looked at the squirming sack.
"Step aside," he called gruffly as he pushed away the boy and drew a knife, he cut the knot and pulled the mouth of the sack open, leaving whoever was inside to get out. A girl lifted herself from it and stood before him, her pale skin and icy-blue eyes were framed by red hair, held in two pigtails by green hair-bands. She wore a blue denim jacket, frayed into pink material at the edges, over a purple tube-top, a white skirt hugged her hips under an equally white belt, black socks just visible under pink travelling boots, she smiled and spoke softly, "Hi, I'm Anca."