It was the next day before I even got a chance to tell the others about the news my father had given me. I had wanted to tell them as soon as possible, but no sooner had we gotten to the Pokemon Centre after leaving Violet Gym, we all changed into some nice clothes and went out for a celebratory meal. I anticipated Scott to feel awkward, even protesting at the fact they were celebrating Elliot's win, which was fundamentally his loss, but he was totally fine with it, even toasting Elliot quite happily at the meal. I even saw him crack a smile as Nikki intercepted the meal's proceedings to toast him for his achievements too. Elliot, who was perpetually modest, denied any praise sent in his direction and instead heaped it on Scott, praising the younger boy for his skills and prowess, before finally telling him that he should seriously consider challenging another League. Scott had a rare moment in which he actually opened up, telling us he still wasn't sure he was ready. Sure, he had strong Pokemon, but he was just waiting for that moment when he knew he was ready. Ready without a shadow of a doubt. His failure at the Hoenn league last year was still prominent in his mind, and it had shown him that it takes more than a strong team to win. It takes a strong trainer too. Both physically and mentally. What he said resonated with everyone around the table and it was a humbling thought.

By the time we left the restaurant, in relatively sober spirits considering it was meant to be a celebration, it was incredibly late. Everyone decided to go straight to bed,m and I realised it was probably best to leave breaking that news until the morning. However, Nikki caught me as I was coming out of the bathroom, took me aside and in a hushed voice inquired "Are you gonna tell them? About… you know?"

"Tomorrow," I said, while stifling a yawn and trying to ignore the stab of terror I felt at the sheer thought. "I don't really want to spoil today… Not with something like that, anyway."

"I suppose…" Nikki said softly. She then let out a sigh. "I really don't think I'm gonna be able to sleep tonight…what with worrying and all that…"

I reached out and pulled Nikki into a firm hug. "Listen don't you be worrying, okay?"

"I'll try not to…"

I smiled and broke off the hug. "Good. Now come on… we should go to bed. It's really late."

"Yeah. Goodnight Sienna,"

"Goodnight, Nik."

I hoped Nikki would listen to my advice to not worry, but ironically, as I lay in bed that night, I found myself thinking I couldn't blame her if she didn't. Even I couldn't take my own advice. I somehow fell asleep though and by the time morning came, I felt I had only closed my eyes for a few minutes before the noise of my alarm clock was invading my heavy consciousness. I heard Jasmine and Nikki also groan as the loud beeping sounded out and they both looked like they could've used a couple extra hours sleep as well…

We went down to breakfast all the same, and it was then that I finally found the courage to break the news to them. Everyone was horrifically quiet as I explained what Dad had told me, and I couldn't even accurately read their facial expressions as I told them the story. When I eventually finished explaining, Scott had a face like thunder, Bailey looked terrified, Elliot just looked horrified and Jasmine looked like she was capable of mass homicide. It took me a long time to convince them that there really was nothing we could do apart from wait and see what, if anything, developed.

With one bombshell successfully dropped, we weren't really prepared for another one when we eventually headed back up to Violet Gym with the intention of challenging Falkner for the next gym badge. The Gym was closed for renovations, the battlefield having been damaged during the tournament, and wouldn't be opened to the public for at least another few days. I was initially disappointed, but as I thought about it, I actually quite relished the idea of anything up to a week of pure freedom just to relax.

We spent the first day lounging around the Pokemon Centre and taking in the local sights. Not that there was much to see and do around Violet that we hadn't already seen, but all the same it was nice to just relax and not stress over battles and tournaments and the like. The day passed slowly and I have to admit, it was a welcome change of pace to just take things easy for a day, and as I snuggled into a warm bed that night, the prospect of a lie-in the following day seeming more and more attractive by the minute, I let out a contented sigh. Against all odds, I felt pretty okay with the direction my life was going right now…

But as always, when it comes to me, I was proven wrong…

Because that night, without any warning, the Violet City Pokemon Centre came under attack.

I was sleeping peacefully when the attack happened. An explosion that sounded like it came from right outside our door suddenly ripped across the Pokemon Centre, the impact and sound reverberating throughout the entire building. I jerked awake, suddenly not completely sure if I was dreaming or not. A shock of adrenaline hit me, and as I flew out of bed, another explosion came from outside! I turned around in fright and saw the darkened sky suddenly light up with what almost looked like fireworks! Brilliant orbs of light exploded and fizzled and cracked, bursting across my vision, almost blinding me.

"What's going on?" I heard Nikki scream in fright.

"I don't know!" I shouted back, reaching out and grabbing my Pokemon belt. "But we need to go and see!"

I sprinted out the door without a second's thought, with no idea as to whether Nikki and Jasmine were following me or not. But no sooner had I opened the door, thick black smoke hit me in a massive cloud, the foul, charcoal taste forcing its way down my throat. I coughed and retched, before covering my mouth and running straight into the black abyss. I could hear doors banging open and closed, frightened shouting and even more worrying, what sounded scarily like more explosions…

I forced my way into the main hub of the Pokemon Centre, finding it thankfully emptied of smoke. Instead, I saw the Nurse Joy that worked the night shifts, cowering in fear as her Chansey suddenly fell to the ground, taken out by a Skuntank. My eyes darted across to see a group of people huddled together. As I stood there, another person suddenly emerged from behind me, cackling maliciously, locking the door into the dorm corridors as he entered the main room. He stopped in his tracks as soon as he saw me. His Pokemon, a nasty looking Machoke was following in his wake, and it looked so vicious and menacing I immediately backed away.

My mind began calculating. There were at least six or seven trainers here. There was only one of me. The door to the corridor where all the dorm bedrooms were had been locked and bolted, and despite the frantic banging coming from the other side, it wasn't looking likely to open anytime soon… I realised with horror that releasing any kind of Pokemon wouldn't even be worth my time… I'd be overwhelmed within seconds…

I looked the trainers up and down instead. They were dressed mostly in dark clothing, reminiscent of bikers or goths. At least half wore long trenchcoats just shy of trailing the floor. On those whose arms were bare I saw gothic tattoos spiralling up into the sleeves of their tight fitting black t-shirts. They wore heavy boots with thick heels and skin-tight jeans. I saw one lone female with porcelain white skin, contrasting with dark eye-make up, her blonde hair streaked with brilliant flashes of purple and blue. She had a stylized Pokeball belt cinched around her impossibly skinny waist and her boots had spiked stiletto heels. She was clinging onto the arm of a young man. His blonde hair lay loose, almost shaggy, and completely different to the spiked formations the others wore theirs in. He too wore trenchcoat, skin-tight jeans and an intricately decorated t-shirt, but he seemed to wear this similar attire so differently to the others. He seemed so much more intimidating than the others…

"Take what you can,"

When he spoke, his voice was deceptively soft, but it still held a manner of quiet confidence and unmistakable authority. My heart plummeted. I wasn't sure who these people were, but there was a clear difference between this guy and everyone else. If these people had any sort of a leader, this guy had to be it.

My heart sunk further as the other trainers suddenly broke away from him and began ransacking the place. They began tearing apart bookcases, shelves, and the nurse's counter right as I stood there! I opened my mouth to protest, my hand instinctively reaching for a Pokeball.

But my efforts came too late.

The leader suddenly fixed his cold, steely eyes on me and a thin smirk spread across his face. "But first… better take care of that nosy little pest."

"What?" was all that could escape my mouth, before a sharp pain suddenly collided with my lower back. I fell forward, the ground rising up to meet me. I slammed into the floor, pain exploding through what felt like every single one of my limbs. I wanted to cry out but I couldn't! My yell caught in my throat and evaporated away. As I lay there, paralysed, darkness began to cling to my vision. A horrible familiar feeling encompassed me, and no matter how hard I tried to fight it, I couldn't. I simply couldn't and I slipped away into the blackness.

The next thing I knew was pain.

I let out a low groan as my eyes slowly opened and harsh light invaded my consciousness. For that moment, I had no clue where I was. All I knew was the pain and the light, nothing more. But then, I heard a voice that I only vaguely recognised shouting "she's awake, she's awake!" and a hand was clutching mine.

"Sienna? Are you okay?"

My eyes, finally adjusted to the light, suddenly seemed to be working again and I realised I was staring up at a ceiling. I turned my head, trying to ignore the bursts of pain that went with it, and saw Elliot. His face and glasses were sooty, his hair was all messed up and he had a look of complete and utter panic on his face.

"I'm… I'm fine…" I said weakly, squeezing his hand for reassurance, before trying to sit up. I finally deduced that I was lying on the Pokemon Centre floor and as I looked around, I saw the place was in a complete uproar. The floor was littered with broken glass and books and furniture had been strewn across the floor like a hurricane had ripped through the centre, the walls were black with soot, and the Nurse Joy and the injured Chansey were rushed off their feet trying to calm and console terrified young trainers. I looked around for the others, but I couldn't see them. What I did see however, were several police officers talking with some of the more composed trainers, taking notes on official looking notepads.

"What happened…?" I asked Elliot groggily.

"I have no idea…" Elliot said slowly. He was holding onto me protectively; his arms wrapped tightly around me. I instantly felt safe in his comforting embrace. "I asked the Nurse. She said that a group of people just stormed into the Pokemon Centre… they took out her Chansey and completely overwhelmed the place… They stole all the medicine. The Nurse Joy thinks they may have gotten into the Pokemon they had stored here as well…"

"Oh God…" I said slowly. "Those poor Pokemon… stolen?"

"I feel sorrier for the trainers…" Elliot said, shaking his head. "I don't think it's likely they're going to catch these guys…"

"Really?" I asked slowly.

"Yeah." Elliot said, pulling me to my feet. "These guys were pros… They've obviously done this before. No-one saw them coming. And they knew exactly how to go about this. Smokescreens to cover their tracks, closing off the trainers so they couldn't intervene, working quickly, getting in and out of here in less than ten minutes… Using the move Explosion to get a clean getaway… Yeah… these guys have done this before,"

"Oh God," I was beginning to shake. "You don't think… this could be some kind of… criminal organisation or anything? Like… like Team Quantum?"

"I hardly think we're looking at a criminal organisation of that sophistication," a voice piped up from behind me and I spun around to be faced with a police officer. "It's likely all we're dealing with here are a bunch of kids."

"Kids?" I repeated incredulously.

"Kids." He said with a defiant nod. "Annoying, pesky, kids."

"I think what happened here is a little more than just 'annoying pesky kids', officer!" I said angrily. "Look what they did! They destroyed the place! They stole stuff! They need to be caught!"

"I can assure you the Violet City Police Department will do everything it can to apprehend these criminals, miss." The officer said in a bored fashion, as if he was reciting a line from an over-rehearsed play. "But if these people are who we suspect them to be, catching them could prove difficult."

"Wait…" I said slowly. "Who you think they are?"

"Yes, miss. Unfortunately, Johto has lately been troubled by a gang of rogue trainers."

I hadn't even noticed Nikki, Jasmine, Bailey and Scott had come in behind us until Jasmine demanded of the officer "Rouge trainers? What's a rogue trainer when it's at home?"

"Call it an 'illegal' trainer, Jasmine." Elliot turned around to explain, cutting across the police officer. "They don't own Pokemon licences, so they're not allowed to participate in Gym Battles, Leagues, trades, contests or Elite Four challenges. Technically they're not even allowed to battle their Pokemon."

The officer nodded his agreement as Elliot explained.

"Wait…" Jasmine crinkled her nose in confusion. "So… by that logic, doesn't that mean anyone who doesn't own a Pokemon licence technically can't own Pokemon? But what about little kids who haven't turned ten yet, but still have Pokemon? And people who keep Pokemon as pets?"

"No, they're okay," I suddenly found myself cutting in. "You don't need a licence to keep Pokemon. You can keep all the Pokemon you want even without Pokeballs or a license. But if you want to battle, trade or compete you need one."

"How do you know?" Jasmine asked immediately.

"Professor Oak told me," I said. "He told me when I… when I…"

My voice trailed off as I remembered the day Professor Oak had taught me about rouge trainers. It had been only a few months after my 16th birthday. I'd gone to Oak's house to return Pokemon breeding books my mother had borrowed from him and I'd ended up chatting idly with the professor for a while after running my errand. One thing had lead to another, one conversation bred another, and I had ended up asking him about Meloi, and who had owned her before I took her in, a question I had been desperate to ask since the day I became her trainer. Professor Oak had then told me a truly horrifying story about the man who had owned Meloi. The man who hadn't been able to deal with her 'spirited' nature, and had ended up beating and abusing my poor Pokemon to within an inch of her life. Even now, my blood boiled just thinking about the horrific treatment Meloi had gone through. And then Professor Oak had told me more about the man who had owned Meloi. Even showed me his picture. A man by the name of Will Brennan.

"Sienna?" Jasmine prompted me.

"Uh, sorry," I said coming down to earth with a crash. I quickly got a handle on myself, cleared my throat and continued. "Um, Professor Oak told me once when I went to visit. Turns out… well, it turns out the guy who owned Meloi before me… he's a rogue trainer too."

"Oh yeah, I remember you saying something about that." Elliot said, turning to look at me. "Will… something, right?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "Will Brennan…"

I lapsed into a furious silence, as I always did whenever I remembered that name. I knew I had a look of abject fury on my face, and judging by the way the stumped police officer was staring at me, he was eager to move the conversation along. He cleared his throat loudly and made a big show of flipping to a new page in his notepad.

"Listen, there's not much we can do here tonight. I'd recommend everyone just goes to bed and gets rest. But you," he suddenly pointed a finger at me. "I believe you were knocked out by the people who invaded here? We'll need to take a statement."

I let out a sigh, before hitting my hands uselessly at my sides. "Fine…"

Thankfully, it took less time than I thought to give my statement. I tried to explain in as much detail as I could remember about the explosions, the smoke, how I ran from my room, a little stupidly, I had to admit in hindsight, to the police officer, feeling I was being judged as he furiously noted down everything I was saying. When it came to describing the people that were the suspected rogue trainers I had seen inside the Pokemon centre, the police officer looked a little perplexed as described their dark, gothic clothing and rough appearances. I'm pretty sure he thought I was making it up…

Eventually, after taking an inventory and discovering that yes, some Pokeballs had been stolen and after logging which trainers had had their Pokemon stolen, the police announced that there was nothing more they could do for the night. They posted a policeman on night watch just for the ease of mind of some of the more restless trainers, and eventually there was nothing more we could do apart from to go to bed.

I didn't sleep of course, and I lay awake until morning, my mind too fixated on the attack that had just happened to even attempt to drift off.

Breakfast the following morning was a sombre affair. There were a lot of reddened eyes around the various breakfast tables, and I assumed that many people had suffered through the same sleepless state I had. Both Nikki and Bailey in particular sported the same red eyes and were struggling to stifle yawns around the table. In fact, Scott seemed to be the only one not adversely affected and seemed totally unbothered by the whole proceedings.

The police came by later on in the afternoon in the middle of the massive clean-up operation. Everyone had pitched in to get the place cleaned up to save the poor solitary Nurse a job. When the police came in, they were immediately swamped by the trainers worried sick by the theft of their Pokemon. They were met with disappointment when the police informed us they had made no further developments overnight. The people they had been hunting had simply disappeared.

"People can't just disappear," Jasmine said huffily, sweeping a broom furiously across the floor to catch the few shards of broken glass still remaining. "They've got to be somewhere. Stupid police are totally useless."

"Not much we can do about it though," I said, while stacking books back into a bookshelf.

"Well I say we should go looking for them!" Jasmine said defiantly.

No sooner had she said that, I lost my grip on the stack of books I was holding and they spilled all onto the floor. I swore angrily as I began gathering them up. "Are you serious?" I demanded of Jasmine. "Do you remember the last time we went looking for trouble? Lavaridge? Mt Chimney? Ring any bells?"

"What happened in Lavaridge?" Bailey, who was passing by, suddenly asked.

"Never you mind!" Jasmine told him sharply, before looking back at me, Bailey guiltily moving away in the background. "Technically, Sienna, that was your fault. I was opposed to the idea the whole time,"

"That's why it makes even less sense! If you opposed what we did in Lavaridge so much and you saw how much trouble we got in because of that, why are you suggesting going looking for these guys? We'd basically be going looking for trouble!

"Because!" Jasmine hissed, suddenly coming closer to me. "These guys are rogue trainers, right?"

"Right…"

"And you said the guy that owned Meloi went rouge. Right?"

"Right…?"

"So…" she said, pausing as if for dramatic effect. "What do you think the odds are of this gang of rogue trainers leading you to this Will guy?"

I blinked slowly. "Jazz… there's probably hundreds of rogue trainers out there! Hundreds of thousands even! It's not likely he's gonna be there! I mean, God, I've heard of happy coincidences but that would be bordering on ridiculous."

"I didn't say he was going to be there. But they might know of him!"

"Jasmine, don't be ridiculous." I said, shaking my head. "I'm not going out looking for trouble again. Believe me; I learned my lesson two years ago."

"Chicken." She said, sticking her tongue out at me before sauntering away.

"That woman. Unbelievable." I sighed, slamming the books onto the bookshelf. I must have put more force behind the gesture than I thought as the shelf then promptly collapsed. "Oh, son of a… Really?"

Scott was sniggering at me from nearby so I shot him a glare and mouthed "shut up" before attempting to fix the shelf. I quickly deduced it was impossible. The shelf had broken into two clean bits and no amount of hopeless dithering was going to fix it. I wasn't exactly good at building things. Breaking things, yes, I could do that, but building them back up again was a totally different kettle of Magikarp. So instead I simply tucked the broken shelf behind the bookshelf, hoping to just pass it off like it had been damaged in the attack…

I had to admit though, what Jasmine had said to me had piqued my interest. Despite all my better judgement, the idea of finding Will Brennan by asking around in the rogue trainer's gang seemed like the quickest and easiest way to source him. I knew it wasn't likely, but if there was even a chance, I wanted to take it. I wanted to find Will Brennan, confront him, learn his motives and punish him for what he did to Meloi. Of course, if we could somehow get back those people's Pokemon in the process it would only make the deal sweeter. I knew just how incompetent the police could be sometimes… Especially considering it sounded like the police had already given up and dismissed this whole situation…

Of course I knew the implications of what I was considering too. It was dangerous. Horribly, horribly dangerous. I knew Elliot, Nikki and Bailey would never agree to the idea. They would be completely and utterly against it, Elliot especially. Scott probably just wouldn't care. Even though I knew this was something I shouldn't, and really couldn't, be considering, the thought remained stubbornly at the forefront of my mind all day and didn't diminish even when I went to bed that night.

I evidently wasn't the only one thinking this over. Jasmine tossed and turned all night. I lay still, pretending to be asleep so I wouldn't disturb her, thinking she would just drop off to sleep sooner or later. For a while, she went still and silent and I assumed she'd fallen asleep. But all of a sudden, she slipped out of bed for what I initially assumed was the bathroom. However, then I heard her rummaging around for bit, before I heard her pulling on clothes…

I snapped on the light and she gave a start. She turned around looking like a guilty child caught with her hand in the biscuit jar. "Sienna?"

"What are you doing?" I asked her, sitting up in my bed. Then a thought occurred to me. "Jazz… you're not going after those rogue trainers, are you?"

The guilty look on her face intensified if that was at all possible.

"Jasmine Moore, you are an idiot!" I hissed, pushing the covers back and slipping out of bed. "Why? Why are you doing this?"

"They're… they're stealing Pokemon, Sienna," she appealed, looking at me with wide eyes.

"I know!" I said in mild exasperation. "But Jazz, there's nothing you or I can do about that. You have to shut up, sit down and let the police handle it."

Jasmine turned away. "The police won't do anything…"

"What?" I said slowly. "And how do you know that?"

She said nothing.

"Jazz! Talk to me." I demanded. "Tell me why you're even considering this!"

"I just… I just can't sit by while these poor people have their Pokemon stolen!"

I stared at Jasmine's back dumbfounded for a few moments. This was highly uncharacteristic of Jasmine. While Jasmine wasn't an inherently selfish person (she was one of the kindest people I knew); there was no denying she had that selfish streak in her. And considering her brash nature, she was one of the most cautious people I knew! That time in Lavaridge when we had heard rumours of trainers disappearing around Mt Chimney, Jasmine had been adamant we not go investigate because it would be too dangerous! And now she was practically running off by herself in the middle of the night to go after a band of likely psychotic rogue trainers! And all for the sake of finding Pokemon for people she hadn't even met before.

"Why, Jazz? Why do you care so much?"

"Because…"

"Because…?" I prompted when she fell silent.

"Because I know what it's like to get my Pokemon stolen from me…"

I sat there dumbfounded for a few seconds. "What?"

"Look, can't we talk outside?" she said, turning around to face me, looking slightly uncomfortable. "We'll wake Nikki."

"Nikki? Please. Once she's out, she'll sleep through anything," I joked.

But the hardened look in Jasmine's eye made it clear this was not up for discussion.

I chuckled nervously, and slipped out of bed obediently. I began pulling on a pair of jeans and a hooded top over my pyjamas and shoved on some shoes whilst Jasmine did the same. We dressed in record time, and just before we left I grabbed my bag and Pokeballs as I always did. I carefully turned out the light, leaving a slumbering Nikki still in bed and none the wiser. We slipped out, and I barely even waited for Jasmine to close the door before I began asking questions.

"Jasmine, what did you mean? You know… when you said you knew what it was like to get Pokemon stolen from you?"

"Jeez, Sienna, let me lock the door first," Jasmine retorted snippily, firmly locking the door and shooting me a glare. She stowed the key away in her pocket and then turned around to look at me, this time with a softer expression. "I mean I've had my Pokemon stolen before…"

"When? How?"

"The same year I left on my Pokemon journey," Jasmine said with a shrug. "You remember me telling you how after I finally convinced my mum and dad to let me go on a Pokemon journey, my father bought me Skittle, Sulphur and Mizu?"

"Yeah…" I nodded.

"Well, you can imagine that having rare Johto and Hoenn Pokemon in Kanto, particularly considering the fact I was still at school back then, made me somewhat of a target…"

"Oh…" I said slowly.

"And I'll admit, back when I was younger, I was kinda careless… Innocent too. I honestly didn't believe people would do that sort of thing. I didn't believe people would steal Pokemon…"

"But they did…?"

"Yeah. They went into my schoolbag and took Skittle and Sulphur's Pokeballs."

"Oh my God… but they found who did it, right?"

"Obviously," Jasmine said with a cocked eyebrow. "But it took them a long time. So long that it delayed me going out on my journey. I've never seen dad so angry with me then when I lost those Pokemon… I thought he'd forbid me going completely… He kept telling me that if I couldn't even keep my Pokemon safe at school that I'd never last two minutes out in the real world."

"So, how did you get them back? The police?"

Jasmine scoffed. "The police did practically nothing. So I took matters into my own hands."

"What did you do?"

Jasmine shrugged. "I did what anyone else would do. I took some of dad's money without him knowing and hired a private detective to find out who took them."

I blinked. "You did what?"

"Yep." Jasmine nodded, as if it were nothing. "And then when I found out who took them, I paid a local trainer who was really strong to be my partner in a double battle with the person who took my Pokeballs. The prize was obviously getting my Pokemon back. And of course, I won. And I got my Pokemon back."

My head was swimming. "I… I see…"

"I know I'm not gonna get those other people's Pokemon back by paying people off, of course I know that. But I'd like to think I could do something. I'm not a bad trainer now. Certainly not as bad as I used to be. I want to do something to help those people…"

"You can't go after them on your own."

"Who says?"

"Jazz, they're rogue trainers. They're really tough! You saw what they did to the Pokemon Centre!"

"I'm not scared of them."

"Jazz, they'rerouge trainers!" I repeated, hoping for it to finally sink in for her. "They're not like regular trainers! They're illegal trainers! They probably carry loads of Pokemon on them! Really really strong Pokemon! And what's worse, there's six of them and one of you! They'd rip you to shreds before you could even give an order. Jazz, I'm begging you, see sense!"

We were sitting in the Pokemon Centre lobby now. The place was deserted apart from the Chansey nurse minding the desk, and deathly silent apart from the low hum of the equipment and computers. It was dark too. Many of the lights had been damaged in the previous day's attack, and the Centre was running on basically just one overhead light and the faint illumination from the moon outside. There was a peculiar atmosphere too. Tense. I shifted uncomfortably in the chair I was sitting on. For some reason, I felt on edge.

Jasmine looked to be deep in thought. "I guess… I guess when you put it that way…"

"It's madness, Jazz." I told her firmly. "You're just asking to get yourself hurt or killed."

"I still don't like just sitting around and not being able to do anything."

"Believe me, I know how you feel." I said emphatically. "But that's just how life is sometimes. Even if we try our hardest, sometimes… there isn't much we can do. We just have to sit back and let the police handle it. There's nothing we can do apart from to hope it all works out somehow."

"Mm," Jasmine said noncommittally, before stretching and yawning noisily. "Hey… you fancy going for a walk? It's too… stuffy in here… I hate looking at the same four walls all the time."

"Sure," I said, heaving myself off the seat. I was quite eager to get out of the tense, stuffy atmosphere myself, and I welcomed Jasmine's suggestion.

We left the Pokemon Centre and stepped out into the cool night air. Jasmine breathed in sharply as the cold air hit her and I glanced at her, suddenly concerned. She smiled in a reassuring manner and we began walking in an easy, comfortable silence. I followed her lead happily. She seemed to know where she wanted to go. As I walked, I took in my surroundings. I always liked cities at night. I think I preferred them at night actually. Violet City was no exception. The whole city seemed to be caught in a perpetual stillness. There was no-one around. Even the roads were empty. It was silent too. Deathly silent. I couldn't even hear any Pokemon. The only lights were far off in the distance. It was like time had stood still… It was so mysterious and enigmatic that it had me enthralled, my imagination captured, and my breath taken away.

We'd only been walking for a short time when we caught sight of the local Pokemon Mart. Most Pokemon Marts, particularly those in big cities or in faraway towns, stayed open till late in case of emergencies and in case trainers needed to get specific items quickly. The one in Violet was no exception. According to the sign on the window, this particular one stayed open till 2AM. Pretty late by Pokemart standards. I checked my watch out of curiosity. It was quarter past three in the morning. Way past this Pokemart's closing time. But as we walked, even in the inky darkness, I couldn't fail to make out the outlines of people milling around the Pokemart door.

"Oh no, they're too late. The Mart's closed," I said slowly as we both took a seat on a bench nearby. "I hope it's not an emergency or something…"

"But…" Jasmine said slowly as the people stayed where they were even after a good five minutes had passed. "Why aren't they going away…? If the mart's closed, why aren't they just leaving?"

I didn't get a chance to answer as no sooner had she said that, the soft, yet unmistakable noise of glass breaking sounded out into the darkness.

"You cut the power?" I heard a male voice say. It was soft, incredibly difficult to make out from so far away.

"Alarm's totally disabled," another voice said gleefully.

"Good work. How long we got before it resets?"

"Seven minutes."

"Well, what are you waiting for, boys?" a woman's voice, smooth and sultry. "Get in there and clean it out.

"You heard the lady," the first male voice came again. "Take what you can. And be quick about it."

And with that, the people surrounding the Pokemon mart began to gradually disappear.

Jasmine suddenly grabbed my arm. Her nails dug into my arm even through the thick fleece of my hooded jumper. "Those people are robbing the Pokemon mart!"

"I know!" I hissed back.

"We have to stop them!"

"I know that too…" I said, grabbing a Pokeball. "You ready?"

"Of course!" Jasmine said, also seizing a Pokeball. "Let's do this!"

The two of us snuck forward, Pokeballs raised, ready to throw them and hopefully engage in battle at a moments notice. But as we stealthily crept forward, a strange silence descended around us, and by the time we reached the Pokemon Mart, the people had totally disappeared. As we peered inside the Pokemon mart through the single broken window the people had smashed, the entire of the inside of the shop was dark. Totally deserted. There wasn't a sound coming from anywhere. It was like the people from before had simply melted away into the night from whence they came.

Confusion hit me like a ton of bricks. "What…? What the hell is going on?"

"Where did they go?" Jasmine whispered.

"I… don't know…" I admitted, lowering my Pokeball.

But then, I heard footsteps behind me. A shot of panic struck me, and before I could turn around, a voice rang out. "Well, well, well…"

I pivoted on my heel and came face-to-face with a figure. At first, I could only see the vague silhouette of said figure, but it was a slim physique. Undoubtedly female. As we stood there, briefly stunned, a Pokeball dropped to the ground, revealing a Rapidash. With a high-pitched whinny and an angered snort, its blazing mane lit up the surroundings, illuminating the woman standing before us in a brilliant orange light.

We saw dark, gothic clothing, blonde hair streaked with varying shades blues and purples, spiked stiletto shoes, and an impossibly skinny figure. My heart sunk. I knew this woman! She turned her eyes, framed thickly with eyeliner, on us and her lips, coloured with purple lipstick, stretched into a thin smile. "What do we have here?"

"That's one of the rogue trainers!" I hissed in fright, backing away frantically.

"You two shouldn't be here," she said, taking a slow deliberate step forward, her heels clacking loudly on the paved stone. It sounded like a gunshot in the deathly silence. "I suggest you leave now, forget anything you saw here… in case something untoward happens to you."

In all honesty, in a shock of complete cowardice, I would have been quite happy to listen to the woman and run off. But Jasmine had a different idea and she shook her head in sheer defiance of the woman. "We're not leaving," Jasmine said firmly, also taking a step forward. "Not until you return everything you've stolen."

"Stolen? Me?" the girl laughed. "Please. I haven't stolen anything. I leave that to the other idiots. You think I would incriminate myself like that?"

"I don't care who stole them!" Jasmine burst out. "Just give the Pokemon back!"

"Forget it, sister." The girl's eyes narrowed into thin slits. "Look, I'm giving you one more chance to get out of here. I suggest you take it."

"I'm not leaving,"

The girl scoffed. "You're a fool." she said, her voice dangerously low. "I guess all that remains is for me to make sure you forget everything you've just seen. Rapidash! Take them out!"

"No!" I cried out in fright.

What happened next passed in what felt like one mad, unbelievable blur. First, there was a blaze of unbearable heat; flames dancing across my vision, searing hot and crackling like fireworks. Someone screamed. I'm not sure if it was me or not. I threw my arms up instinctively over my face as I felt flames licking at my body. Suddenly force collided heavily with my lower stomach and I went sprawling on my back, hitting my head hard against something solid. My vision began blackening and blotting, fading in and out, as I lay there dizzy as the night sky was lit up with wheels of flame and frightened cries.

Author's Note

This one turned out a lot longer than I expected O_o

Well, this is the penultimate arc before I introduce the plot and begin bringing the fic to a climax and an eventual cose. This arc will stand at probably three to four chapters.

Thanks to my reviewers Shadow of Eckhart, twisted diction, WarriorSwift, The Neverending Meep and ArchXDeath

Until next time! And please do leave a review :D