Oliver reached the outside of the forest, looking up to the starry sky. He smiled brightly at the sight. They had finally made it out after a few more hours of travelling.
Their first day travelling hadn't been so bad. All they did was take a stroll through a forest, befriend a Pichu, have a life or death fight for the life of a Pachirisu, break an arm, and leave happily.
Okay, maybe their first day had much to be desired.
The Oshawott let out a shaky sigh to himself, finally letting himself calm down. Oliver hadn't exactly been a fan of going against a Charizard on his first day far from Kanet Village, but he knew that it was a good experience for the both of them. He now understood the dangers of being out alone. At least he thought he did.
A familiar Pikachu left the forest after him, his right arm and paw freshly bandaged. It was Jacob, who wore a soft smile as he approached the Oshawott. "Finally, we're out." He sighed. "What's up next?"
Jacob, although being down for any adventure thrown at him, was a little glad that they left the forest before he sustained any more damage. His arm hurt slightly, stinging a bit each time he moved his arm.
"Sleep." Oliver looked over at the Pikachu with an irritated expression. "We have to get some sleep for the night."
"Oh come on..." Jacob complained, "But it's right there!" The Pikachu pointed over at a city that they were overlooking from the cliff they were standing on.
"Woah..." The Oshawott's eyes widened as he looked over at the lights in it. "I know that place. It's... Casteel City."
The lights of the multiple buildings and areas in the city glowed through the night, the areas around it lightly covered by the light. The two Pokémon stared at the large city with wide eyes.
"See? Can't we just head over there?" The Pikachu asked.
"Okay, fine." He sighed, putting a paw on his forehead. "We can go now."
"Yes!" Jacob exclaimed excitedly, springing off of the ground and beginning to run towards the cliff overlooking the city.
"Hey, wait up!" Oliver dashed after him, secretly sighing to himself.
Casteel City, Sinnoh
Late in the night, Oliver and Jacob both walked through the city. They gazed at the various sights and areas, both smiling softly at the lights. Everything in Casteel City seemed to be colorful and bright, a place that Oliver seemed to like especially.
"There should be a hotel around here somewhere..." The Oshawott thought out loud.
"It might be that way." Jacob pointed towards an alley which visibly led to another part of the city.
"No... Not that way..." A figure from the shadows thought. "Damn tourists..." A pebble flew from the shadows, striking the ground in front of the Oliver's feet.
"Huh?" Oliver looked down at the pebble confusedly. "Where'd that come from?" He looked around for a quick moment before shrugging.
Even though Oliver shrugged off his confusion, he was now a bit suspicious of the area around him. He gazed around everywhere in the area, not seeing anyone. When he looked over to the alley Jacob pointed at, he could see a faint figure standing there before fading into the darkness.
"C'mon, Ollie." The Pikachu told him, beginning to walk through the alley. "It should be on the other side."
"Right." Oliver followed behind quickly, trying to shorten the distance between him and Jacob. He looked at the area he saw the figure at when he passed it, but didn't see anything.
The mysterious figure had jumped up, jumping off of the wall before landing on a ledge higher up. The figure looked down at the two, eyebrows furrowing in exasperation. Her exasperated expression suddenly faded when she noticed that both Pokémon were injured.
She saw the Pikachu's right arm, which was bandaged from his paw up to his shoulder. She could see the slight spaces between the bandages where the Pikachu's fur was scuffed and messy.
The Oshawott seemed to be faring better, but not by much. He had various light bruises and scratches spread across his body. His fur was a bit dirty as well, scuffed up by a decent amount of dirt.
The figure jumped down, quietly landing behind Oliver and covering his mouth. The Oshawott let out a muffled gasp, trying to squirm out of the figure's grip.
"You're the smarter one out of you two, am I right?" The figure asked, her green hand covering his mouth. "Then you need to get out of here now."
"Hm?" Oliver quietly asked, his eyes widening as his eyes darted around.
"You don't want to stick around here..." She continued, "Run away before-"
"Sophie!" A voice shouted, startling Oliver. The hand quickly left the Oshawott's mouth as she looked back.
Oliver looked back as well, only to see a feminine Snivy standing there. When he took a good look at her face, he noticed that it seemed slightly panicked, along with a coldhearted glare. She was looking towards the entrance of the alley, where an Umbreon, a Cranidos, a Crobat, a Monferno, and a Drifloon stood.
"You caught them before we could!" The Drifloon whined, "No fair!"
Jacob looked back to see Oliver being held by a Snivy. His eyes widened as he quickly dashed over. "...Hey, let him go!"
The Pikachu's left paw began to glow a white color as he jumped towards the Snivy. "Dynamic Punch!" He swung his paw towards her, only for the attack to be avoided swiftly. His attack hit the ground, kicking up a bit of concrete.
"Oliver, let's run!" Jacob grabbed Oliver's paw with his left paw, pulling him towards the exit of the alley. The Oshawott was still stuck in a daze, extremely confused.
Why would that Snivy want to help them? She's a part of that group, too. But why did she sound so serious? And if she had been watching them the whole time, then they would've already been caught. Was she the one to throw that pebble, too?
When the two were about to leave the alley, the Umbreon suddenly appeared in front of them.
"Not so fast." He spoke, turning around and using one of his hind legs to kick Jacob in his chin, sending him flying backwards and into Oliver.
The two tumbled against the ground, letting out a simultaneous groan. Oliver looked over to the Snivy, who was looking back at him with a regretful expression. When she saw that he was looking at her, she looked away, biting her tongue.
The Monferno stepped up, blocking Oliver's sight.
"Lights out, buddy." He smiled, reeling his paw back and punching his face. The impact knocked him out instantly, sending him straight into unconsciousness.
?, Sinnoh
A familiar Snivy woke up from her nap, a feeling of regret in her stomach. She could see the Pikachu and Oshawott's frantic expressions right before they were knocked out. The Oshawott went out easily, Trevor being able to knock him out with a punch to the face. The Pikachu didn't go down as easily.
The Pikachu resisted capture and tried to fight everyone in the group. Especially Trevor, who was being a bit cocky about knocking The Oshawott out. They were only able to take him down after pinning him down and punching his head.
The Snivy shook her head, putting her hand on her forehead. This Snivy was a fifteen year old female named Sophie, who was relaxing in her room. She was trying to shake her unfamiliar guilt off.
Every time her group captured someone, they would look at the Snivy with anger. When Sophie looked at the Oshawott, she could see the panic and confusion in his eyes, even after being attacked.
Sophie sat up from her bed, wondering what would happen to them. She knew that the gang she had been living with had been on edge since they were almost caught by the police a few months back, but taking innocent people and keeping them in cells? That was a little uncalled for in her eyes.
She walked out of her room, immediately being greeted by a familiar Drifloon.
"Good early in the morning, Sophie!" She greeted the Snivy happily, twirling in the air. That Drifloon was a sixteen year old female named Lana. It was also the same Drifloon to complain when Sophie had found that Oshawott and Pikachu before her.
"Early in the morning?" Sophie asked confusedly, looking up to her with a deadpan expression.
"Yeah it's like, two in the morning right now." She answered quickly. "Everything okay?" She looked at her expression. "You seem a little more depressed than usual."
"I was never depressed." The Snivy rolled her eyes, walking past her.
Ever since she was little, Sophie hadn't smiled. Lana had known her ever since Sophie was three, and hadn't seen a smile from her at all. Maybe once or twice, she might've cracked a smirk, but whenever Lana questioned it, it was always denied.
"Then why don't you smile?" Lana slowly floated behind Sophie.
"Because I don't feel like it." She calmly retorted. "Anyways, where are those two tourists we caught in the middle of the night?"
"Well that Oshawott's being held in a regular holding cell downstairs..." The Drifloon looked up to the ceiling. "...The Pikachu's being held in solitary confinement. He's been resisting ever since he woke up."
"Solitary confinement?" The Grass Snake Pokémon lowered an eyebrow in inquiry. "I guess he's done for."
Even though Sophie had a long running history with the gang and their location, even she had no idea where solitary confinement was located. She looked down at the floor, her glare sharpening a bit.
"The Oshawott's still asleep in his cell, so no one's bothered him."
"I'll see you later, Lana." Sophie walked quicker, rounding a corner to the left. "I'm going to talk to Bianca about training."
When she walked through the hall, she crossed paths with a familiar Monferno. It was Trevor, the same Monferno to knock that Oshawott out.
"Yo, Sophie!" He smiled, giving her a friendly greeting. "I thought you'd never leave your room after getting back a few hours ago."
"Mhm."
"Speaking of a few hours ago, that was insane!" Trevor exclaimed, "That Pikachu put up one hell of a fight back there. I thought he was going to escape."
"Mhm."
"So quiet and collected as usual." The Monferno sighed, "I guess it was a bit dumb to be worried about you. You never change."
"Why were you worried?" She looked at him, her indifferent expression remaining.
"I've known you ever since you got here." He replied, "That little emotionless Snivy was like my little sister. I taught her the ropes of this place."
"Right."
"Get some food." He put a paw on her head, "You're probably starving right now, but you're not showing it."
"Well you got that right." The Snivy removed his paw from her head "I'll get some food." She began to walk off. "Thanks."
"No 'prob!"
Sophie walked into the main room, where multiple Pokémon were laughing and talking to each other. Some were drinking excessively, and others were picking fights. The Snivy sighed at their antics before seeing a Dragonite on the other side of the room.
Some of the drunken gang members greeted Sophie happily, to which she only waved back. A few tried to convince her to join them and have a good time, to which she bluntly denied.
She walked over before tapping the Dragonite's back. "Bianca."
The Dragonite looked behind to see a familiar Snivy standing there with a deadpan expression. She smiled at the sight of her disciple. "Oh, hello Sophie. Come here to actually relax for once?"
"No." She replied, giving an exasperated look. "Can we do a little bit of training?"
"Training? But this is your day off." Bianca tilted her head slightly. "You just recovered from Dragon-Type training two days ago."
"I'm feeling like fighting today." She looked up to her. "I'm not really in the best mood, Bianca."
The Dragonite looked at the Snivy's expression before giving her a smile. "Fine, then. Let's do some training."
Outside the gang's large base, which was a whole apartment building, Sophie stood in a grassy field across from Bianca. She had built up a glare on her face, thinking about the events that unfolded the previous night.
The Snivy gritted her teeth as her right eye turned red, the eye taking on a thin black pupil. Her right hand seemed to grow scales and turned a violet color. "...Okay, I'm ready."
"Just make sure you don't overdo it." Bianca took a fighting stance. "You haven't really mastered your transformation yet."
"Got it." Sophie's violet hand extended into glowing purple claws. "Okay... Dragon Claw!" The Snivy lunged at Bianca before swinging her attack at the Dragonite's face.
Bianca quickly ducked the attack before using Dragon Tail on her stomach. Sophie groaned in pain before grabbing the Dragonite's tail and vaulting over it. She extended her Dragon Claw before attacking Bianca's chest.
The Dragonite groaned in pain as Sophie's hand turned to it's normal color. The scales continued to grow up her arm and on the right side of her face. The Snivy groaned, trying to control herself.
"Don't strain yourself." Bianca told her as her right eye glowed brighter. "You'll never control this side of yourself if you keep straining yourself."
"I know..." The Snivy sat down on the grass as Bianca approached her.
She let out heavy breaths, her eyes closed in exhaustion. She gripped at the grass below, her body slumping.
"What's even got you so troubled lately?" The Dragonite sat next to her. "You usually don't lose control of your Dragon Side so easily."
"I'm just wondering about those two Pokémon we caught last night."
"Why would you care about them?" She raised an eyebrow. "Hm... They do look around the same age as you... Has one of them caught your eye?"
"What the-no!" Sophie shouted, a glare forming on her face. "It's just strange to me how they acted when we subdued them."
"How did they act?"
"Well for one... That Oshawott didn't fight back. He was compliant up until the point where that Pikachu tried to attack me." She answered, "And after that, he still didn't try to fight or resist. He just watched everything unfold."
The Snivy looked down at the grass, her glare only slightly sharpening. Why wouldn't he resist? Why was it bothering her so much?
"I just don't know why it messes with me so much." Her right eye began to change back to normal. "Maybe it was because... They were already injured..."
"What?" Bianca's eyes widened. "Injured?"
"Yeah." Sophie sighed, "The Pikachu had a bandage wrapped around his right arm, while that Oshawott had various scratches and minor bruises."
"That's odd..." The Dragonite put her paw on her chin. "...Well you can find out what happened if you want."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I know where that Oshawott from before is being held." Bianca told her, looking up to the sky.
"Wait what?" The Snivy looked over to the Dragonite confusedly. "How and why do you know that?"
"Don't even worry about it." She shook her head slowly. "Do you want to know where he's held or not?"
"Yeah."
"Down in the basement, he's in hall E." She replied quickly. "Go talk to him if you're so concerned."
"Whatever." The Snivy began to walk off, an exasperated glare on her face.
The sun began to rise from the darkness, lighting up the area. Sophie looked back at the sunrise, which Bianca was already watching. The Snivy let out a silent sigh, watching the orange colors of the sunrise.
Sophie could feel the warmth of the sun wash over her body as a warm wind blew by, picking up multiple blades of grass. The grass danced in the wind, one blade briefly touching her face. The scales that were previously on her body finally faded as she relaxed her body.
"Now this is a sunrise, huh Sophie?" The Dragonite asked, knowing that the Snivy never left.
"I guess this is."
"This is the type of sunrise to start a new beginning in a lifetime." Bianca told her with a smile.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, don't worry about it." She spoke dismissively. "You can go if you want."
"Okay...?" Sophie confusedly began to walk off, occasionally looking back at the sunrise. "A new beginning in a lifetime?"
"What does that even mean?"