Draco: My changing several of the trainers' Pokémon - including Shadow Pokémon - is part of why I described the concocted game as a psuedo-remake. The only Pokédex changes in HGSS/ORAS compared to GSC/RSE are the inclusion of evolutionarily-related Pokémon to existing Johtonian/Hoennian Pokémon, but Orre's big appeal to Pokédex completionists was the availability of Johtonian Pokémon when Generation III cut off Generation I/II for mechanical reasons. With four Generations to give completionists plenty of source, a Generation VI Orre game would be free to choose - and with the origins of Orre and Unova, that's the most reasonable comparison.

Pokémon and all related properties © Nintendo and the Pokémon Company.

Chapter 3: The Rogue Snagger

The door opened before Wes was in arm's reach.

He and Rui quickly stopped in their tracks, stepping back to give whoever was coming out some room. The figure who did emerge was a most ominous figure - a man dressed in tight purples that showed off his musculature, not built but toned, with a spiked skirt of sorts that hung from his waist and a black metal gauntlet of some kind on his right hand. His hair was a much brighter silver than Wes' own, and looked absolutely bizarre - it seemed to extend in all directions in wispy strands, like imitating the rays of a star.

The figure halted outside the door, turning his gaze on them. "Well, well," he mused. "Traveling trainers, are you?"

Wes narrowed his gaze. There was something ominous about this guy. Rui took a step back, holding a hand before her.

The man smirked, his attention on Wes. "I see fire in those eyes," he remarked. "Something tells me you and I will meet again down the road." He raised a hand as he turned away. "I look forward to battling you someday."

He stepped out through the city exit, and Rui lowered his hand. "That was..."

"Worrying," Wes mused.

"You think so too?" Rui asked. "That didn't seem like your usual 'hope we get to fight'."

Wes shook his head. "Anyways. The mayor."

"Right."

The two stepped into the Mayor's house; it was a rather official-looking place befitting of a city official, with a TV set up in a living room that looked like a waiting room, and a desk near the door. The Mayor himself was sitting at the desk - a rather rotund figure, with white hair that seemed oddly averse to growing atop his head, and instead was clumped together at the sides - and on their entrance, he got to his feet and circled the desk with a smile, his eyes seemingly trapped closed.

"Welcome, travelers!" he greeted. "I am Mayor Es Cade. Is there something I may be able to help you with?"

Rui stepped forward. "Well, um... I wanted to ask about a peculiar Pokémon."

Es Cade gave her a look. "Peculiar how?"

"It was... violent," Rui explained. "It seemed like it didn't know how to do anything but fight. It was attacking people, even! And it gave off this... black aura."

Wes gave her a look. Aura...?

"Aura?" Es Cade echoed. "I'm afraid we don't have a terribly great number of Lucario in Phenac City."

"But-"

"Furthermore," Es Cade continued, "Pokémon tend to take on the qualities of their trainers, and obey those trainers faithfully. If a Pokémon that seems like it cannot do anything but fight is attacking people... I'm afraid to say it was most likely belonging to a trainer who has raised it to do nothing but fight, and ordered it to attack people. Concerning, to be sure - but the trainer is of more concern than the Pokémon."

Rui's gaze fell. "I mean... The Pokémon's trainer and his cohort did kidnap me... But they said it was because I saw the Pokémon!"

Es Cade hummed in concern. "That is most concerning," he agreed. "Whether it was because of the Pokémon or the trainer, the fact remains that an individual who would kidnap someone is not an individual we can allow to run free. I will order an investigation at once."

Rui bowed politely. "Thank you for your help, Mr. Mayor," she praised.

"Oh, no need," Es Cade insisted. "We mustn't allow thugs to do as they wish. Especially thugs that endanger a pretty young lady like you!" Rui stepped back as he continued; '"I'll ask that you give me a little time on this matter. I promise we will get some useful information for you." Then, turning to Wes; "In the meantime, Phenac City has a bit of a reputation as a place for Trainers to do battle. Might I suggest you visit the Pokémon Stadium? Besides being a rewarding place for battle, it's a beautiful sight to behold."

"Rather proud of your construction, Mr. Mayor?" Wes accused.

Es Cade laughed. "The Stadium has been in this city since my father's time," he insisted, "possibly even my grandfather's. I can't claim to be responsible for the construction."

"Fair enough," Wes chuckled. Then, turning to Rui. "Will you be coming with?"

"I think so," Rui admitted. "I'd rather not be on my own, just yet."

+x+x+x+

The good news was that the mayor's description was accurate; just the lobby was a beautiful sight to behold, with a brilliant waterfall behind the reception desk against which a giant Poké Ball was projected. The bad news was that Wes didn't have the opportunity to see the battlefield; the Stadium's battle challenge was already underway, and so he couldn't apply until it had concluded.

"Well, that's a bummer," Rui observed as they started out of the Stadium; the sun had set by now, leaving the quarter-moon to illuminate the night.

"No kidding," Wes admitted. "It's getting late, I guess we should look for-"

"Hey, Wes!"

The voice from downhill drew their attention; Wes cursed under his breath as a trio of figures started up towards them. Each of them was dressed the same - a hooded red vest over a tank top, black cargo pants, and combat boots, with a crew cut that made the hood sit close over their heads. The one at the lead, wearing a pair of round-lensed sunglasses, came to a stop at the top of the steps, aiming a finger accusingly at Wes. "Finally found you, you double-crossing traitor!"

"Double-crossing?" Wes retorted. "Big words after the message I got about that Eevee I gave Gonzap. You can't hide something like that from me my whole employment and not expect retribution!"

Rui glanced between the group. "Wait, that outfit... You're...!"

"You bet," Wes confirmed. "Meet the grunts of Team Snagem - Orrean Pokémon thieves ordinaire."

"Thieves..." Rui blinked, turning to him. "Um... Don't you mean 'extraordinaire'?

The grunt with the specs, Wakin, shook his head. "No, we gotta own up to it. We're just run-of-the-mill." Then, aiming a finger at Wes. "He's the extraordinaire."

"What?!"

"Best Snagger on the team," Wakin admitted. "This guy's stolen more Pokémon than the three of us combined. Even Boss Gonzap had to vouch for him whenever a tough Snag came up on the list." He swept his hand to the side. "But then, all of a sudden, he turns on us. Sets off the Hideout with enough explosives to be seen from Mt. Battle! Mt. Battle! Blew so many holes on the outside walls it's a miracle the whole place didn't collapse! Completely trashed our mounted model of Snag Machine!"

He aimed a finger at Wes' left arm. "And stole our handheld model in the commotion, no less!"

Rui stepped back, shocked. "Wes... You're...? You mean that's-?"

Wes shook his head. "Tell me you didn't come here, expecting me to hand it back to you," he growled. "After what I saw, there's no way I'm letting you guys keep throwing Snag Balls."

"And what exactly did you mean to do with it?" Wakin retorted. "If you wanted it busted, you would've left it on its mount when you blew the base." He rolled his right arm angrily. "If you're not gonna give it back, we'll trash you and your Pokémon and take it back!"

"Really?" Wes reached for his belt. "Just you try."

You are challenged by Team Snagem Grunt Wakin!

Wakin and Wes threw their Poké Balls at the same instant; Espeon and Umbreon emerged from the light, glaring at Wakin's Corphish and Koffing angrily.

"Smoke 'em!" Wakin commanded. "Pop 'em!"

"No holding back!" Wes warned.

Koffing spewed a cloud of Poison Gas, and Corphish unleashed a bombardment of Bubbles; Espeon took aim, unleashing a Psybeam that tore through the onslaught and slammed into Koffing without relent. As the Poison Gas Pokémon tumbled to the ground, the wide-spread attacks struck the two Eeveelutions in sync; Umbreon hesitated only long enough to make sure the Poison hadn't taken hold before charging at Corphish for a Feint Attack.

The Ruffian Pokémon promptly retaliated, bringing both pincers forward in a Vice Grip that closed on Umbreon's body. He pulled back with a growl as an ephemeral sun appeared over Espeon; its rays eased her wounds as Umbreon brought his forepaws forward in an Assurance to finish off the offending crustacean.

Wakin withdrew his Pokémon, growling angrily. "How-!?"

"How did I beat you last time?" Wes retorted. "Or the time before, or the time before that? It's not that hard." He swept his hand out to the side. "I'm just the better trainer."

The other Snagem grunts went for their Poké Balls, but Wakin warned them down. "Hold off it," he warned. "It's not worth the trouble." Then, glaring at Wes; "Don't think this is over! We're gonna get that Snag Machine back, one way or another!"

The trio took off; with a sigh, Wes turned to Rui.

"So." There was an obvious displeasure in Rui's voice. "You're a Snagger. A Pokémon thief. The best Pokémon thief."

Wes sighed. "Yeah."

"...And?" Rui asked. "The whole defection thing? Was that just greed, or did you mean it?"

"I meant it," Wes insisted. "After seeing what happened to the Pokémon I Snagged, I refuse to be a Snagger anymore."

Rui narrowed her gaze at his arm. "But you've still got a Snag Machine."

Wes shook his head. "I'm fine with trashing this thing." And in the instant he said it, he realized that he meant it. "My days of stealing Pokémon and keeping them away from their trainers are over." He turned to Rui. "What can I do to convince you?"

There was silence for a long moment.

"...You can steal some Pokémon and keep them away from their trainers."

Wes blinked. "I beg your what?"

Rui looked up to him. "You heard what I told the mayor? About the Pokémon with the dark aura? Those two kidnapped me because of what I saw. They know what I saw. And they weren't doing anything to change it." She shook her head. "I don't think it's an isolated case, either. There must be more Pokémon like that. If we can help them somehow, we need to. And if the people who don't know about it won't give up their Pokémon..."

"You want me to Snag them," Wes finished.

"I'm not totally comfortable working with a Snagger," Rui admitted. "I'm not gonna lie. But... you defended me when I was running from those two. I want to believe that you mean well."

Wes closed his eyes. "Alright," he insisted. "Where do we start?"

"If we're going to catch Pokémon," Rui replied, "we need Poké Balls."

"I've got a few," Wes admitted. "A good trainer keeps at least five on hand."

Rui sighed. "That's a start," she observed, "but doesn't leave a lot of room for error. Let's find a place to spend the night. We'll check the Poké Mart tomorrow."

Draco: You know, people compare Nascour to Sephiroth, but when I stopped to describe his outfit, I looked at the texturing and I looked at the skirt, and then I cross-referenced the release dates with Kingdom Hearts I. I swear his outfit is based on Riku's Dark Mode.

Also, I'm pretty sure the only reason that Cipher Peons and Snagem Grunts are given names is to keep track of who has what Shadow Pokémon. I'm keeping Wakin's name because he's got the #LennonSpecs (at least he did in XD, and I'm maintaining that over Colosseum), and I'll probably keep the specific Ciphers who are in unique colors because they get rematches, but other than that I don't think I'm gonna keep naming any Peons except Miror's, for gameplay reasons that will become clear later.