Author's Note: Yeah, I know, short chapter. The next one will definitely be a lot longer, but I hope this one's is enough to satisfy you guys until then. :)

Chapter 8: Suspicious Works

I sighed, probably for the twentieth time that morning. It was a nice day and all, but with Lance and Riley gone at the Gym, things were just a bit too quiet.

"All right Venonat, let's try that again." I said, focusing once more. "Confusion!"

The Bug Pokémon immediately took on a blue glow around his body, hefting a good-sized boulder into the air without lifting so much as a finger (that is, if Venonat has fingers). Almost as soon as it was airborne, the stone was jerked downwards and rammed into the ground, sending up a spray of dirt before levitating once more. Venonat repeated this process several times, strain gradually becoming evident on his face until he dropped the rock with a huff. "Veno-nat…"

"Good job," I praised. "I think that's enough for now." But will it be enough to defeat the Gym? I wondered. I glanced down at Eevee, who was sitting nearby grooming himself without acknowledging my presence. I assumed that the only reason why he hadn't attacked me after I had risked releasing him again was because he didn't see me as much of a threat to him. "Hey, we could really use your help."

The Evolution Pokémon fixed his hate-filled eyes on me, his pelt sparking a bit as he did so.

"Venonat's working really hard, and you could make a big difference in our Gym battle. Isn't that right, Venonat?"

"Veno!" The Insect Pokémon agreed, nodding his whole body.

"Eeee!" Eevee growled, getting to his paws. I took a step back and held my hands up in surrender.

"Fine! Be that way. Just keep your cool…" Eevee turned away with something like a "hmph" and stalked away. I sighed again, shaking my head. Someone's got an attitude.

A moment later, an eerie sensation suddenly settled over my body, kind of like when people say that "someone's walking on my grave". I paused, chills crawling up my spine. Something told me that I was being watched.

I instinctively directed my gaze towards the outskirts of the training grounds, where the rest of Pewter City extended past the low, wooden fence...and froze. There, standing underneath the shade of a tree on the outer side of the fence was a lone boy.

He couldn't have been any older than me, but it was hard to tell since because of the scrapes and smears of dirt that obscured his face. His black hair was a disheveled mess, as though someone had tried to cut it with a chain saw. A beat-up backpack sat by his feet in no better condition than his torn clothes. Even Lance had never looked so shabby—and that was saying something. The boy was staring straight at me, something like disbelief and shock on his tired face. I returned the stare, simply because I didn't know how to react.

Why is he staring at me? And who is that guy anyway?

"Veno!" The Insect Pokémon cried, tugging on the leg of my jeans.

"What is it?" I asked, tearing my gaze away from the strange boy to look down at the Bug Pokémon.

"Veno-nat!" he exclaimed, pointing in the opposite direction with a stubby paw. I followed his gaze, soon spotting what had caught his attention.

A group of four men ran through the streets, pushing past people who got in their way and shouting something that was inaudible from where I stood. I almost cringed when I realized that they were wearing the same black uniforms and red headbands as the people that I had seen only days ago.

Them! What're they doing here?

I watched as their patrol stopped at an intersection, apparently not being able to find what they were looking for. They huddled for a moment, and then they split up and took off in different directions.

I wonder what they're looking for. I thought. They couldn't be up to any good. I considered following them in order to determine what their objectives were, but I couldn't tail four people at once. Besides, I didn't want things to turn into a big mess like last time.

"Hey Venonat," I said, facing the Bug Pokémon. "In case I needed it, would you be able to track down those four guys we just saw?" The Insect Pokémon blinked, then nodded, causing his whole body to bob up and down. "Veno-nat!"

"Good. Thanks." I smiled to myself, grateful that Venonat possessed radar vision. I had a feeling that I would be seeing those four thugs again sometime soon.

I turned and glanced back at the spot where the boy from before had been standing, but he was no longer there. I had a funny feeling that I would be seeing him again too.