Thank you for the kind words. I fixed most of the inconsistencies that Disbanded Crow pointed out in their entertaining review. Also the reason they didn't try to open the ball physically is if it contains something that can survive the Silence, it would be extremely dangerous. Anyway, here's the next chapter:

Chapter 3: A New Quarry

Needless to say, I made quite the entrance into the pokemon center wearing nothing but a dripping lab coat.

I didn't mind the attention as trainers turned to look at me stumbling up to the counter. I wondered what they thought of me, a researcher who's experiment went wrong?

"Is everything ok, sir?" the nurse behind the counter stood up, concern ringing in her voice.

"Yeah, just went for a swim is all," I joked dryly, "do you have any rooms available?" I said rather slowly.

She nodded, "Umm sure? Can I please see your ID?"

I stared blankly at her for what must have been too long as she began to shift uncomfortably. I began to look through my pockets to buy some time, but I was surprised to find a phone in the pocket. I pulled it out and looked at it. It appeared to be quite an expensive model and waterproof at that. I looked around for the power button and noticed it had a charm hanging from it, a small potted cactus. As long as it wasn't locked I could use it to get a room.

"Are you sure you're fine?" the nurse repeated as she gestured for her chancey to take a look at me.

I looked back up at her and realized my vision was fading. I looked around the room in a panic and couldn't make out any details. Looking back at the nurse I opened my mouth to speak but fell forward onto the counter as I lost consciousness.

I don't know how long I was out, but I was relieved to know that I had managed to get a room. I was wired up to various machines but I felt as if whatever treatment I was subject to had already taken effect. I felt healthier and more alive than I ever had since the night at route 203.

I looked around the room and no one seemed to be around me. I laughed to myself as I thought this was usually the perfect moment for a nurse to walk in and tell me what happened. I noticed a newspaper on the table next to me and reached for it.

"Sinnoh Guard Announces Team Galactic Is Not Responsible For The Silence." I looked up, so that's what they're going to call it. After what I experienced I doubt the deaths were silent, more so the aftermath. I continued to read through the paper, the death toll was at 244 humans and uncounted pokemon. The author commented that there was not a single survivor. I sighed, somewhat in relief that my identity had been kept secret and partly at the enormity of the situation. An event like this would redefine the modern world especially if it was a recurring problem. I skimmed through the paper and it seemed the Guard hadn't made any discoveries yet. Or rather, they kept them from the public.

I set the paper down and looked around for my belongings. Not seeing them I reclined back into the bed. A few moments later the door opened and the same nurse stepped in. A more perfect time, if it were somehow possible.

"Are you feeling better?'

"Yeah."

"You were out for quite some time. I don't think you realized, but you were poisoned by a qwilfish and had developed frostbite on your extremities. Fortunately, modern medicine has come a long way and we were able to treat you in time. Now here you are after a night's rest," the nurse summarized politely.

"What happens now?" I asked.

"You would be free to go but we haven't been able to confirm your identity. Well, there's this," she said as she raised the phone and smiled, "but you don't look like a Celine Lucia."

"Oh, that's not my phone," I paused as I gathered my thoughts. She just might lend me a hand. "That's my older sister's, we call her Lucy. I was running an errand for her and slipped into the pond. You can call her if you'd like."

The nurse raised an eyebrow as she looked at me, "How am I going to call her if I'm holding her phone?'

I laughed, "Good point. I could try sending her an email to bring my stuff over. Shouldn't take too long."

She nodded in agreement and led me to a computer. I quickly logged in to my email and was surprised to see an unread message from the Commander already. It read:

Do not touch my phone. Do not look at my phone. Do not think of touching my phone. Do not think of looking at my phone. I'll find you as soon as I have time. In the meantime, do not do anything to my phone.

Two things stood out to me. First was that the Commander and to an extent the rest of the Guard weren't exactly the most professional group; definitely not what I would suspect from some of the most powerful people in Sinnoh. Second was that she was hiding something on her phone. Brushing aside those thoughts for later I typed up an email:

Your phone is safe, if a bit wet. More importantly I don't have any of my belongings and can't leave the pokemon center until you can retrieve, at the very least, my ID for me. Thanks in advance, Lucy.

I fired off my email and sat back as I waited for a response. "She's usually quite on the ball with these things so it shouldn't be a while," I called out to the nurse who was busy dealing with some paperwork.

I opened a new tab and began to browse the web, catching up on the news about the Silence. Many people suspected this to be the work of Team Galactic despite the Guard's announcement. I couldn't exactly blame them. When something as bizarre as this happens, people want explanations that they can believe in. Team Galactic was a growing threat to Sinnoh so it made sense to blame them, even if it was just for peace of mind.

"You were very careless to be outside last night," the nurse spoke up suddenly.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, with everything going on people have been advised to stay indoors when they can. I've had trainers with several gym badges even checking in to the pokecenter until things settle down. There is safety in numbers."

"I don't think so. Whatever happened at route 203 killed almost two and a half hundred people in a single night. We're no safer here than we are in—" I cut myself off.

"Oh."

"I'm sorry."

She only nodded as she returned to her paperwork.

I wanted to slap myself. Ever since the Silence I found myself running my mouth more and thinking aloud. I didn't mean to make the nurse uncomfortable, she was kind enough to tell a stranger to be safe and this was how I treated her. I felt like shit, but I couldn't help but think that I raised a valid point. Was anywhere truly safe?

Almost an hour passed before I got a response from the Commander.

Here's your ID. Well, your new one, since the old you is dead. Since we're playing this nickname game I took some liberties.

I almost laughed, there was no way the Commander would actually do it, but a large part of me was left unsure. Of course, she had more important matters to attend to than taking some petty revenge on a random kid. The mouse hovered over the attachment, I took a deep breath and clicked on it.

She did it.

My face flushed red. I couldn't believe that the Commander of the Sinnoh National Guard was wasting valuable time and resources on a bad joke like this? This was an abuse of power if I had ever heard of one. I understood that killing off the old me would be convenient for the Guard, but this new name didn't fit in to the picture anywhere. It was a personal grudge of course. The Commander stood to gain nothing from this, and to make matters worse there was a killer on the loose that should have been her utmost priority.

In that one moment, my faith in the Guard fell apart. They wouldn't be the ones to solve this mystery. Not with a clown like that in charge.

I didn't notice the nurse over my shoulder until I heard her try to stifle a laugh.

"I'm sorry I thought I was going to sneeze," she lied lamely.

"T-this is my ID," I stuttered, I wanted to die inside as I said those words.

"Yes, this will do."

Thus, began my life as Spicy Boy.

Even for a dead city, Oreburgh was something else. I'd guess the problem was only made more apparent by the Silence, as people were rightfully too frightened to step outside of whatever crumbling shack they lived in.

Still, walking through dilapidated streets was a wholly new experience for me. Jublife was an immaculate city, you would have to squint to find any flaws. But Oreburgh seemed dirtier than its hallmark coal. Most of the buildings lining the streets rose well into the air, but were boarded up to keep squatters out, or maybe to keep the junkies in. Piles of trash lay uncollected on street corners with the occasionally dirty pokemon sifting through for scraps. It was a sorry sight.

As I walked through the city I ended up at the pond where I was teleported. Taking in my surroundings in the daylight I noticed that it lay directly across from the newly built pokemon gym, a large glass and steel building that stood out from the rest of Oreburgh's uninspired and spartan buildings. A bit further down the path I could make out the gate to the Oreburgh Mines. I noticed an older man sitting on the other side of the pond looking contemplatively at the water, his physique was large but the way he was lost in thought made him seem almost invisible. Noticing nothing else, I made my way towards the mines.

Boasting the largest coal reserves in the world, Oreburgh was once a bustling and thriving city, but ever since the Sunnyshore Accord, an international ban on fossil fuels, Oreburgh was never able to adapt to the times. Several terms of political mismanagement and embezzlement were to blame, but to most people, the city was dead even before these problems broke the headlines. Thousands were left unemployed who quickly left for other cities to find work. The Sinnoh government opened a gym in Oreburgh in hopes of revitalizing the city, but the effects of this initiative were yet to be seen.

And on that note, it was time I decided what exactly I would do from here on out. Now that the Silence existed, circumstances were different than when I originally set out.

My original goal had been quite simple, I just wanted to get away from it all. My family life was anything but idyllic, and I did my best to get along by doing exactly what I was told. But as I grew older, I became angry at it all. Call it a childish tantrum, but for the first time in my life I knew what my own heart wanted, and I listened to it.

I left my old life behind simply because I wanted to live life on my own terms. Being a trainer is as free a person can be in this day and age. And once I knew that freedom was what I coveted, I disappeared.

There wasn't any doubt that continuing my journey was the most dangerous option available to me. Even going back had its own problems, especially now that I was officially dead. However, these problems would be easier to overcome than whatever invisible threat was chasing me. But deep down I knew that I couldn't escape the Silence, even if I went back.

I pulled out the dusk ball. It was still cold to the touch and after the Commander's analysis, it seemed to hold nothing but questions. I enlarged the ball and threw it in front of me, hoping it would reveal its secrets. It fell to the ground and rolled a few feet before hitting the gates to the mines.

I had read that the gates were the last thing to be made with the coal from the mines, a final mark of Oreburgh's legacy. The once pristine and coal black gates were now covered with vulgar images and words. Above it all was a tattered banner, "Thank you for all the memories– Oreburgh Mines".

I was never one to believe in destiny, but I knew I would face the Silence again. And if I wasn't prepared I would die. I left home because I wanted a life of my own. Chubbs was dead for this dream, and I would be damned if I would let that go to waste. I simply had to grow stronger and smarter if I wanted any chance at living the life I wanted.

I smiled as I realized that my heart was telling me to keep pushing forward, carve my own path, and fight for my freedom.

But there were many obstacles I still had to face. The world was dangerous and I had no pokemon to protect me. Looking through my person, the only possessions I had were an empty dusk ball, a lab coat, the Commander's phone, and a fresh pair of underwear the pokemon center staff gave me. Seeing as the Commander kindly gave me a new identity, I lost all access to my prior savings and had no insurance to boot, leaving me with a hefty hospital bill. I looked at my feet and saw they were already covered with filth. If I couldn't get my hands on some money I would quickly end up as a street urchin of Oreburgh.

Good thing, I've always had the guile of one.

I had almost forgotten the feeling of having money in my pocket, even though it had been just a day since I lost everything. It felt good, but the feeling was temporary. I had a deadline to solve all my problems, tomorrow noon.

I walked out of the pawn shop with a lure ball and a second-hand fishing rod that came with a box of bait. I was lucky that the phone fetched such a high price as I would otherwise have to settle for a great ball at best. It was still early in the day and I decided to stop by the pokemart to pick up some snacks and a pair of discounted black pants, the shoes had to wait. I didn't see any point in being stingy with my money. If I lost my gamble I wouldn't be able to recover without licking the Commander's boots.

I made my way towards the pond from earlier and as I walked I realized that I had not seen a single person outside ever since I arrived at Oreburgh apart from the other man that had been sitting by the pond. But looking around now he was gone too.

Setting down myself by the bank of the pond, I took off my clothes in case I got wet. It was a rather warm day so the sun was actually quite refreshing on my skin. I hooked the bait to my fishing rod and cast it into the water. I sat still for several minutes. Nothing. Reeling the bait in, I cast the rod again. Again. And Again.

The plan was to catch the qwilfish that attacked me last night. With that I could at the very least leave the city and go be homeless in a nicer city. I had heard good things about Hearthome.

The biggest, and I'll admit it was quite big, flaw in my plan was I underestimated the patience needed for fishing. With nothing to keep me entertained I examined the fishing rod. It was old wood and I could see the name Bessie carved into its side. I never would have thought to name a fishing rod. My attention slowly drifted to the water. It was dirty, disgustingly so. In fact, I was quite surprised that any pokemon chose to live here. Well I guess it wasn't a choice as the pond seemed to be a flooded quarry closed off from everything else. Which begged the question how did anything even get here?

I was pulled out of my thoughts by a strong tug at the fishing rod that nearly pulled it out of my hands. My body quickly filled with adrenaline and excitement as the first step of my plan was in motion. I reeled in the rod as best I could but the pokemon fought back. I stood up on my feet and began to walk backwards. I could feel the tension in the line as it was about to snap. I edged closer to the water to put some slack in it. Satisfied with the slack I began to draw the line back in, and with all my might I pulled the qwilfish out of the water.

Its small eyes looked at me as it puffed up in size before blasting a jet of water from its mouth sending the hook flying out of it's mouth and me falling backwards.

My heart was racing and I couldn't help but grin at the challenge. After recovering my breath, I cast the rod again, but as I would find out the qwilfish proved to be much more experienced than I was.

I blew through the remainder of my bait over the next several hours until I had only a single piece left. I was getting better, but not nearly good enough to land the qwilfish. It was an extremely clever fish, I had to give it credit, it was always changing its pace and patterns making it impossible to predict. I also felt that it knew exactly what was going on and played along with my game because it knew it would win.

I cast the rod one more time and waited for several minutes. The qwilfish was teasing the bait and I tensed in preparation. It swam circles around it and nudged it gently, it was making itself known. And then it disappeared. I was prepared for a sudden bite, but the qwilfish chose to jump out of the water and towards my face. I stumbled backwards but held onto the rod, before I could even open my eyes again I was yanked harder than ever before pulling me into the water. I panicked and let go of the rod as I swam back to the shore. Trying to catch it in the water would be a losing battle, but it seemed the whole venture was one. Pulling myself back up I noticed that the qwilfish had also snatched the sandwich I was about to eat. Frustrated and hungry, I coughed up some water as I rolled onto my back defeated.

It was almost night time. The sky was darker in Oreburgh on accounts of it being an almost abandoned city. Consequently, I could actually see a scattering of stars next to the waning full moon. It was a sight I hadn't noticed when I was on route 203. I closed my eyes as I reached for the lab coat to warm myself.

"Tryin' to fish up some rocks?" a rough and thickly accented voice spoke up from behind me.

An older man walked into my field of view. Dark brown ringlets of hair fell around his tanned and worn face, scars crossed his skin but he still smiled brightly—even if he was missing more than a few teeth.

"I think I would have had better luck with that," I responded as I sat back up. The man was massive. Maybe it was from years of labour in the mines but his body looked like it had been sculpted out of marble. I recognized him as the person I saw earlier in the day.

"I don't know 'bout that. I been liftin' rocks ma whole life. This one lookin' more like a pebble," with that he waded into the water and picked up my fishing rod and cast it into the water.

"You don't have any bait," I pointed out.

"Don't need it."

The moment the lure touched the water I could see the line grow tense as the qwilfish bit down. I had seen the qwilfish use the same tactic against me and it always caught me off guard. But the qwilfish made a mistake, this time there was a goliath of a man holding the rod. Before the qwilfish could so much as tug on the line, the man turned around and swung the rod as if he were swinging a pick axe, literally flinging the qwilfish overhead and out of the water.

I reacted quickly as I reached for the lure ball and tossed it at the qwilfish. The pokemon turned into red energy as it was sucked into the ball. The ball landed on the ground before it started shaking. Once. Twice. And then it broke free.

"Gee, boy. What now?"

It was a good question.

The qwilfish was far enough inland that it would take it a bit to roll back into the water. Normally a pokemon had to be weakened before it could be easily captured. Except I had no pokemon. Beating it physically was an option but if someone saw me I could be arrested, but in a ghost city like Oreburgh that wasn't much of a problem. The problem was that even a glancing cut could poison me and I also had to worry about its water attacks. I circled around and picked up my lure ball again. I had to keep my distance. The qwilfish's eyes were trained on me as it rolled towards the water, it knew it was in a bad situation and in spite of being much smaller than the other man I was the biggest threat as long as I held the ball.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the dusk ball. The qwilfish's eyes narrowed as it began to puff up in size. I tossed it in front of me but it fell on to the ground without doing anything. The qwilfish, seemingly expecting a pokemon, and responded by blasting at the air where a pokemon should have appeared.

"Boy! You gotta throw the ball at the fish!"

I waited a few moments to see if the ball would do anything before abandoning that plan. I threw the lure ball at the qwilfish again but this time it shot a jet of water at just the right angle to knock it out of the air and into the water.

The grizzled man looked at me confused, and I couldn't help but return the look. We watched as the qwilfish nearly rolled back into the water. Its eyes gave me the smuggest look as it turned around and wagged its tailfin at me to taunt me.

"It ain't over till it's over!" The man cried out as he ran for my dusk ball which was laying in the qwilfish's blind spot now. He picked it up and tossed it to me. Seeing no other option I threw the ball as hard as I could at the qwilfish.

There was a loud cracking noise from the force of the impact and the qwilfish made a strange squeaking noise. It rolled around to face me and began to puff up in size, this time the poisonous needles began to stand straighter. Before it could release whatever attack it planned. But I was distracted by something else.

The dusk ball opened.

It wasn't realeasing a pokemon as I suspected. It was catching the qwilfish. Instead of the regular red energy, black energy laced with flickers of a dark red pulled the qwilfish in to the ball. The ball didn't shake. It stood still for a few moments and then it broke open as the qwilfish landed on the ground.

The qwilfish closed its eyes as it appeared to be in immense pain, it pointed its mouth downwards and blasted water launching itself backwards into the pond. But as the qwilfish flew through the air it began to convulse in the before dropping into the water. Moments later the still body floated back up to the surface.

I turned to face the man next to me and we both had the same expression of utter bewilderment. We stood in silence for a few moments before he spoke up, "This is your chance?" he asked, unsure himself.

"Uhh, maybe I should wait a bit before I go in," I responded.

"Good idea."

The two of us were lost in thought. The old man didn't lie. The ball could clearly keep me safe, but with no apparent pokemon, it was a bit hard to believe, let alone explain what occurred. I cautiously stepped toward the ball and with a nervous gulp I bent down to pick up the ball expecting the same unseen attack against me. Instead I was met with the now familiar cold chill of the ball. I sighed as I picked it up and stood back up. I rolled the ball around in my hand, I felt more confused and frightened about it than I ever had before. I looked out in front of me and saw a red orb floating in the air. I blinked and it disappeared.

"Did you see that?" I called to the man.

"You talkin' bout the dying fish?"

I turned to face the pond and even in the dark I could see a pool of blood forming around the qwilfish. Knowing it was my ticket, I quickly tore off my lab coat and dove into the water. I fumbled around in the dark before finding my lure ball. I swam up to the qwilfish and pressed the ball against it. It turned into red light and was pulled in once more. The ball shook again but this time there was a click.

The first part of my plan was complete. If the qwilfish was still alive anyway.

The man helped pull me out of the water and handed me my lab coat and pants. I dressed myself and we began to make our way to the pokemon center. I didn't want to talk or think about what had just happened so I decided to occupy our minds with some idle conversation.

"What's your name, by the way?" I asked.

He smiled, welcoming the distraction, "I had a name. These days I ain't the same person. Ya could say I ain't got a name."

"What am I going to call you then?" I prodded, not entirely sure what he was getting at.

"Call me what ya want. 'Til I find ma new name."

I nodded as we walked in silence for some time. He was a strange man on a strange quest. Couldn't say we were that different in that respect.

"What's yer name?" he asked suddenly.

"Ah, my name…" I trailed off. There was no way I was going to parade myself as Spicy Boy. But using my real name would only complicate matters. My mind raced to an easy solution. The C and Y in my name were silent leaving me with Spi, pronounced Spy. That was still a cringeworthy name, maybe by some stretch I could argue it was Sai. Fairly standard, if a bit exotic. As for my last name, I would worry about that later.

"My name is Sai."

"It's nice."

I couldn't help but laugh, knowing that I had just made up the name. I looked at the man, eager to continue my conversation, but he seemed lost in thought. I listened closely and I could hear him repeating my name over and over under his breath. After a bit of this he looked at me again and said, "You ain't from 'round here and ya don't look like yer plan on stayin'. What ya gonna do now, Sai?" I noticed that he said my name with a soft care and respect. It was quite flattering and a part of me wished he had said my real name.

"Believe it or not, I have a plan to get out of here and come out with a tidy profit."

"Was catchin' the fish part of your plan?"

"Only the first half."

"Ya sure ya ain't skipping any steps?" he asked with a wide grin.

I laughed at the comment, "I'm sure."

"What's your second step then?"

"I'm going to get my first gym badge before noon tomorrow."