Chapter Two
Wes emerged from the tall and white Orre News Broadcast Station building, Umbreon in tow at his feet. With one Pokémon out of commission, waiting to be restored back to full health in Agate Village, Wes knew he couldn't do anything too bold. He wasn't sure how much time he had to prepare for whatever was coming next, and the news he just received from his old friends at the ONBS certainly wasn't very encouraging. Rumors had been spreading of the recirculation of Shadow Pokémon within Pyrite Town, which was unsurprisingly considering the local populace. This place always seemed the first to reintegrate Cipher's plans into their daily lives. Wes sighed. Identifying the Shadow Pokémon was a bit of a problem. While the aggression Shadow Pokémon held was certainly a hint, it wasn't a hundred percent certainty.
He knew if Rui was with him, it wouldn't be a problem. Her strange natural ability to see a Shadow Pokémon's aura was quite helpful in his first battle against Cipher. Wes sighed again. He and Rui hadn't spoken in months, and he found himself apprehensive to try and contact her. He quickly tried to brush her from his mind. Besides, even if he could see the Shadow Pokémon, he couldn't do much without a snag machine, and those weren't particularly easy to come by.
As he walked through the dusty street, he noticed a blonde boy inconspicuously following from behind. He smiled. It had been a while since he had been a mark, but he had been absent from Pyrite Town for quite a few years.
Several feet behind, Oz walked, hands in pocket, working through the best way to cut off the pale-haired man ahead of him. It was as simple as cutting him off, bumping into him, and making a scene while Sneasel did the real work. His black Pokémon moved swiftly across the nearby rooftops, waiting for Oz to line their plan up.
Oz frowned as he observed the man, whose walk had suddenly transformed from purposeful to almost a little relaxed, as though he suddenly had a change of heart as to where he was going. Oz shook his head, and he eyed a nearby alleyway that rounded the building between himself and the man he could use to cut the man off. It was then he noticed the Umbreon was gone, though Oz reasoned he must have returned it to its Poké Ball when he wasn't looking.
There were now a few warning signs that maybe he shouldn't try and rob this guy, but Oz was kinda desperate, and more than a little foolish. So he executed his plan, cutting through an alleyway to end up in front of the man, on his rear for the second time that day, crying out in mock pain.
"Oh, geez, kid," Wes said. "I didn't see you there, sorry."
"Ouch!" Oz cried. "This ground is really hard, you know. How could you not be looking where you're going?"
From behind, Sneasel descended again, claws flashing. It searched the man's pocket as Wes kneeled down to help the teen to his feet.
"I mean, maybe you shouldn't be charging out of alleyways, yeah?" Wes asked as Oz took hold of his hand.
With Wes's aid, he returned to his feet.
"I suppose you're right," Oz said with a smile. "I'll be more careful next time."
And then Oz took off, back to disappearing into an alleyway, watching as Sneasel slowly dropped from the rooftops with their prize. Another wallet. Oz quickly took a peak inside, happy to see the bundle of money.
"Well, well, well," came a deep voice. Oz quickly looked up, seeing two sinister adult men coming his way, sneers on their faces. "Looks like the little Raticate got himself some nice cheese."
"What of it, Fask?" Oz replied, trying his best to sound tough, and not like he was frightened of the thugs.
"Look at that, Fask," the other thug said. "Oz is tryin' to be all brave right now."
"Poor little kid," Fask said, laughing. "Say Gort, we could use some money ourselves, yeah?"
"Yeah," Gort said. "Could always use more money."
"So, go get your own mark," Oz said. He then noticed he had started shaking.
Sneasel hissed as the men stepped closer, but they ignored the little creature.
"Why do that when we can just rob you?" Fask said.
"Yeah," Gort agreed. "Seems it'll save us a lot of trouble. Hand it over."
"N-no," Oz stuttered.
"Well, look at that, Gort. He said no, knowing full well that "no" is my least favorite word, because it ain't yes." Fask had closed the distance between himself and Oz, close enough for the teen to feel his breath. "And if it ain't yes, then what good are you to me?"
"He was about to return that, weren't you?"
The three turned to see the pale-haired man enter the alleyway. He smiled as he saw Oz and didn't falter as he eyed the thugs.
"Forgive me for intruding," Wes continued, "but it seems a bit unfair for two grown men to gang up on a teenager. Surely, you can do better than that."
"You'd rather we gang up on you?" Fask asked.
From the rooftop, a black blur descended and landed beside Wes. Umbreon's rings flashed as the Pokémon growled at the men. Fask reached for a Poké Ball at his belt and pulled it. He pushed away from Oz, taking a few steps toward Wes.
"Just walk away, pal," Fask said. "You don't wanna mess with what I got. It's a super powerful Pokémon."
"Oh?" Wes said, eyeing the ball. "You wouldn't happen to have been sold that Pokémon recently, would you have?"
"What's it to you?" Fask grunted.
"It's a… professional curiosity, I suppose," Wes said. "See, I've been on the lookout for people that've been buying powerful Pokémon. So, wanna tell me where you got it?"
"Get bent," Fask said. He tossed the ball into the air. "Go, Hitmontop!"
The ball opened in the air and a trail of red light flew from inside. It snaked through the air and converged on the ground, where the light disappeared, replaced by a Pokémon. It stood on its head, balancing on a point, three legs dangling above it, ready to kick. Something wasn't right though. As Oz looked at it, he noticed something surrounding the creature. A strange black and purple mist unlike anything he had seen before.
"W-what's wrong with it?" Oz asked.
Fask looked over at him. "What're you going on about?"
"What's that weird cloud around it?" Oz asked.
Wes's eyes grew wide. "You can see that?"
Fask grunted. "Bah. Use that… what did she call that move? Shadow Rush, that's it! Use Shadow Rush!"
Hitmontop began spinning furiously in place before rocketing forward toward Umbreon.
The black cat ran at the monster and jumped into the air, landing behind it, as Hitmontop spun to reorient itself at its opponent. Wes frowned as he thought of how to take the creature on. Hitmontop was of the Fighting Type, and Umbreon was of the Dark Type. It meant that elementally, Hitmontop had the upper hand as Umbreon was weak to Fighting Type attacks. If Espeon was with him, he could handle this no problem. Still, Umbreon was experienced and Wes was no stranger to Pokémon battles. This guy was reckless, evidenced by his Hitmontop's relentless attacking.
The spinning Pokémon closed in again as Umbreon nimbly dodged around, bouncing off the narrow alley walls. Wes waited, knowing Umbreon was fully capable of avoiding the Pokémon until they had their opening. It came when the Pokémon hit a wall, momentarily stunned.
"Now!" Wes shouted. "Confuse Ray!"
Umbreon's rings flashed and a wispy flash of energy shot from his mouth, snaking through the air, striking Hitmontop's head, where it disappeared. The Pokémon balanced in place for a moment, slowly turning.
"Shadow Rush!" Fask shouted.
Hitmontop started spinning again, but instead of rushing at Umbreon, it slammed back into the wall, where it came off balance, clearly having hurt itself in its confusion. Again, it tried to move, wildly flailing back and forth. Umbreon kept its eyes glued in case it came near.
"Swift!" Wes commanded.
Umbreon's rings glowed yellow again, and mystical stars gathered around his body. They shot forward, homing in on Hitmontop as it flailed wildly around, each star striking the confused Pokémon. Struck, the Pokémon became enraged.
Oz was stunned as he saw the purple glow (which he slowly realized no one else was seeing) turned a dark shade of red. The Hitmontop roared in anger, spinning ever more violently.
"Get back here!" Fask shouted as the Pokémon spun in place. But Hitmontop did not listen.
"That's the problem with Shadow Pokémon," Wes said. "They're aggressive and powerful, sure. But when pushed too far, they become enraged and become difficult to control."
Hitmontop rushed forward, heading straight toward Umbreon. The lithe black cat leaped over the Pokémon again, and it barreled toward its trainer. Fask's eyes grew wide as he instinctively pulled his Poké Ball, returning the Pokémon to its storage in a flash of red light, moments before it could strike him.
"What the!" he shouted after his Pokémon disappeared. "I was ripped off. Gort, let's get out of here."
"Yeah," Gort cried.
The two bolted.
Wes sighed.
He approached Oz and held a hand out.
"That was a nice try, kid," Wes said, "but I'm no stranger to Pyrite Town."
Oz sheepishly handed the wallet back. As Wes pocketed it, he observed Oz, one hand scratching his stubbled chin.
"So, you saw a weird glow around it, yeah?" Wes asked. Oz nodded. "I see. Did you notice that glow intensify in any way as the battle went on?"
"Yeah," Oz replied. "It started glowing red around the time it lost control."
"Fascinating," Wes murmured.
"What does it mean?" Oz asked.
"Well, I'll say this. I've only known one other person who could see the aura of a Shadow Pokémon without the use of a special device. That's what that was, by the way. I'm sure you've heard of Shadow Pokémon before, yeah?"
"Yeah, though only in stories. I know there was a bit of a problem with them when I was a kid, but I never saw any before now. I thought they were all gone."
"Me too, kid," Wes said with a sigh. "It seems like Cipher is the weed that won't stop growing back no matter how many times we pluck it. Listen, I know this is sudden and a bit of a weird thing to be asking someone who just tried to rob me, but will you come with me for a bit? I need someone who can see Shadow Pokémon to help me identify where they are being distributed from."
"What?" Oz said, taken back. "I can't go with a stranger. I got my own problems."
"Yeah, I'm sure you do," Wes replied. "Though I'm sure ending up in jail for attempted robbery isn't one you wanted to deal with today."
Oz narrowed his eyes. Sneasel, who had been silently perched on his shoulder, glared at Wes as he felt his trainer's emotions.
"Blackmail, eh?" Oz asked, his voice low. "That seems a bit harsh, don't you think?"
"I'm no stranger to these parts," Wes said. "Or to the tactics of the people who live here. I was a thief once too, you know. I pulled much bigger stunts than this. All that aside, though. I could really use your help. If you're not in a position to refuse, that kinda benefits me too."
"How long do you need me for?" Oz apprehensively asked.
"Oh, just for today probably," Wes guessed. "Long enough for me to find where Cipher is operating out of. I have some sources that tell me they're back in Pyrite somewhere. Okay?"
Oz frowned. He considered his options. He considered just running away and hiding until the man gave up the search. He considered using Sneasel to fight his Umbreon, gambling on the Pokémon hopefully being tired. And after deciding these were all bad ideas, he resigned and said:
"Fine."