Author's note: Sorry for the wait! Here's chapter 1! As promised, it's longer than the prologue. Enjoy.
Sky growled in annoyance. In the darkness of midnight, she couldn't see what Pokémon she was fighting. He was moving too fast for her to even detect his aura!
She heard the sound of the stone pavement crumbling as the mysterious opponent used Dig, and dodged to one side. Something large burst out of the ground right where she had been standing, sending rocks and dust everywhere. She saw a black-and-red blur move past her and felt fur brush against her arm as the Pokémon shot into the sky. Then it plunged back into the street, using Dig again.
This time, the Lucario was prepared. She used Earthquake while the enemy was still underground, causing him to fly back up into the air. Suddenly, another Pokémon leaped gracefully from a nearby wall and used Hi Jump Kick on the unknown enemy. He landed next to her at the same time as the opponent hit the pavement hard. In the flickering streetlight, she glared at him.
"You didn't have to help me, William," she said to the Lopunny. "I was doing fine. I could've handled him by myself."
William rolled his eyes. "You had only hit him twice, Sky." He glared at the ground. The other Pokémon had landed right in the pool of light below the streetlight. It was a foxlike creature with sleek black fur and an unkempt red mane. "So, you were fighting a Zoroark."
"That's what that is?" asked Sky.
William nodded. "Odd. Zoroark are very rare, especially in this area."
The Zoroark snarled as he stood up. He charged an enormous Flamethrower in his mouth and fired it right at them. Both Pokémon leapt out of the way at the same time, avoiding the attack. As the golden flames died down, Zoroark noticed that neither Sky nor William was in sight. He sniffed the air, trying to pick up their scent, but he was too late. Focus Blast and Jump Kick hit him at the same time, knocking him out.
Zoroark coughed up blood and growled as Sky and William slowly approached him.
"Why are you here?" Sky hissed.
"That's none of your business," Zoroark replied coldly.
William grabbed the black fur around his neck and dragged the Dark-type to his feet. "Answer our questions," he demanded.
"Why did you attack me?" Sky asked. "I was on my way home, minding my own business, when you suddenly jumped out of nowhere and used Flamethrower on me! Explain yourself!"
"I thought you were someone else, OK?"
"Who did you think she was?" asked William.
"Do you two ever stop asking questions?"
"Just answer!" both of them yelled at the same time.
"OK, OK! I thought she was the one I came here for." Zoroark smirked.
"Who did you come here for?" asked William, becoming frustrated.
"Well, not either of you."
"Yes, that narrows it down so much," Sky said sarcastically. "Just give us a straight answer already!"
"No."
"Alright," Sky hissed, stepping forward. "If you won't tell us, then we'll just have to beat the answer out of you…"
Naturally, all this commotion had woken up many other Pokémon in the surrounding area. One of these Pokémon was a fellow member of the YPD – well, she wasn't really a member. She was still training. Her name was Jade the Snivy.
Up until about two years ago, she had lived on the streets, stealing small amounts of food to keep herself alive. It wasn't because she was forced to; she could've gotten a job or run errands around the city to earn money, but she chose to steal because it was easier, being quite a lazy Pokémon. However, none of the crimes she had committed were really major, so instead of being sent to jail, she was forced to join the YPD as a punishment. She had never told anybody anything about her family.
Jade climbed out of her bed and crept across the dusty beige carpet to the door. After using Vine Whip to turn the handle and open the door, she crept quietly through the hallway and down the stairs, to the front entrance. In a few seconds, she was outside, racing down the street to the source of all the noise. She skidded to a halt on the wet pavement as she noticed three taller Pokémon.
William heard her and spun around. "Jade!" he cried. "It's not safe here! Go back to the base!"
"Why? What's going on?" the Snivy asked, confused.
It was too late. Zoroark had already noticed her. "There you are! It's about time!" he grinned. While Sky was distracted, he slipped away from her, using Night Slash on both her and William as he passed them, temporarily knocking them aside. While running, he swiped Jade off of the ground, carrying the lighter Pokémon in one hand.
"Hey!" cried Jade. "What do you want? Put me down!"
"We're coming, Jade!" Sky yelled, chasing after Zoroark along with William.
Zoroark leapt onto a high wall, and then onto the roof of someone's house. He swiftly jumped from roof to roof, getting further and further away from his pursuers.
William stopped abruptly. "Great," he sighed. "How are we supposed to catch him now?"
"Hey, we can manage it," Sky encouraged him. "I'm a freaking ninja dog and you're a rabbit, remember? We can jump just as well as him!"
"He's already got a good head start," William observed, "But let's follow him anyway."
They both jumped onto the wall, onto the next roof, and onto the roof after that.
Zoroark glanced over his shoulder. "Great!" he hissed. "They're catching up fast!" He glared down at Jade. "Stop struggling, you!"
"No! Not until you let me go!" Jade shouted. She started trying to slap him across the face with Vine Whip.
"Arianna!" Zoroark yelled.
Out of nowhere, a Mandibuzz swooped down and grabbed Zoroark's paw in her talon, before flying up toward the star-filled sky.
"NO!" Sky and William cried at the same time, lunging at his feet. However, they missed, causing them to both crash down onto the next roof.
"So long, suckers!" Zoroark shouted as he grew smaller and smaller, until he was just a tiny speck in the distance.