There was the heavy thudding of rubber soles against concrete as a trio of men marched on. Heaving a bulky metal crate between them, a momentary jangle of keys punctured the ominous atmosphere as a rusty metal door was unlocked and opened.
"These the ones Jeffords told us about?" The one with the keys asked.
His cohort just nodded gravely. "'Fraid so."
Keys let out a heavy sigh. "What is this world coming to… alright, let's get them in."
One of the men took careful grasp on the crate's front latch while the other two carefully positioned themselves. The latch was lifted, and three Pokémon flopped out of it.
"Okay, quick quick quick…" Keys snapped his fingers, and the three of them started dragging the crate out of the doorway. The smallest of the three Pokémon found its feet and almost immediately dashed for the closing door, squeaking furiously at it.
"Phew! Close one!" Keys wiped his brow. He knelt down by the cage and frowned at the little Emolga, zipping left and right, scratching and biting at the bars for all it was worth. Meanwhile the Kadabra had taken to dragging an injured Furret somewhere more comfortable. He sighed. For a moment he considered making contact, calming the poor thing down, but that thought was crushed into a closed fist as he stood back up again.
"…right, I've got the paperwork," he said. "Who's on call?"
"Coleman and Hamilton." The man on the left grunted.
Keys nodded. "Right, who wants to take watch?"
The two men glanced to each other. Bumping fists softly, they shook three times before one revealed a fist, the other a flat palm.
"Dammit!" The first one groaned. "Looks like it's me, boss."
"Hey, don't look so down." The boss put a hand on his shoulder. "You get the comfy chair."
There was a vague shrug of agreement. Two of the three men disappeared down the hall before the first took a seat behind the desk.
Meanwhile…
"Hey! Hey! Get back here and let us out already! We don't belong here dammit!" Sparky shrieked to no one in particular. She rattled the bars of the cage and loosed a flare of electricity into the metal, causing the lights to flicker.
The human looked up in annoyance, but then just looked back down again.
"Hey! Yeah, hey, you! Get over here and let us out!" Sparky yelled at him. "I can be louder!"
She rattled the bars some more and let out high pitched yelps, which echoed through the room.
"Sparky!" Higgle hissed at her. "Perhaps we should not anger the humans further?"
"Yeah, 'cause that'll work!" Sparky scoffed. "Just you sit back, Higgle. I'll get us outta here before you can-"
"I know you are frustrated," Higgle cut in. "But for now, we will just have to make the most of it. Do you understand?"
"Most of it?" Sparky threw her arms out. "How're we gonna do that, Higgle?! We don't know why we're here, or where here is! We don't even have a TV! And another thing,-"
"Getting angry will not help anyone, Sparky." Higgle said flatly.
"It might!" Sparky shrieked, running her electrified paws along the metal bars and unleashing awful static noises. "If we make all of the noise, they'll have to come check on us, and then we can-"
"Sparky!" Higgle yelled. The little Emolga rounded on him almost immediately, but Higgle met her fury with a single furious gesture to his lap. The rage dissolved from Sparky's face like cotton candy falling into water when she finally took notice of Socks.
"Sorry, Sparky…" The Furret mumbled, her eyes lidded and heavy. "I-I don't like loud noises very much right now, so could you be a little quieter please?"
"Oh gosh, Socks…!" Sparky fell to her knees and wrapped herself around Socks. "I-I didn't mean to hurt you or anything! I-I was just mad at the humans, and…"
Her face crumpled up as she leaned into her two siblings and let out loud, hearty sobs. Had their lives really gone from perfect to this, in just a couple of days?
What even happened to start it all? Why hadn't Miss Holly said anything? Didn't she love them enough? Trust them?
What there anything they could've done…?
"I hate this, Higgle." She sniffled. "W-what're we gonna do now?"
She slowly looked around; it really was that bleak. There was a big bed in one corner, but a patronising litter tray opposite, and one tiny window as their only source of light. Even if they could escape this dump, what then?
"I… believe this is only a temporary means of accommodation," Higgle stroked his chin. "So while we are here, I suppose we should make ourselves as comfortable as possible. There should be a pillow or cushion of some description on the bed behind us, Sparky. Could you retrieve it for me, please?"
"Uh huh," sparky nodded, scrambling over to the bed.
"Whoa!" She gasped, pulling the pillow away and falling backwards. "W-what the?!"
"Sparky!" Higgle snapped. "Shhh!"
"But!" Sparky cried, her breath short and ragged. "But there's a-"
"Whoa, sorry there!" Another voice called. "Didn't mean to scare ya, eh?"
"F-f-friend or foe?!" Higgle sputtered, craning his body around.
"Noo need to be afraid o' me, buddy!" The voice replied, and the owner slowly waddled closer on soft, padded feet.
Standing a metre or so tall, there was an oaky brown Pokémon on the other side of the bars. With its glossy pelt, huge front teeth and vacant expression, it nevertheless chuckled heartily. "Call me Rufus eh?"
Higgle closed his eyes and let out a heavy breath. How did he not notice another Pokémon sitting just a few feet away from them? It seemed friendly enough at least, he supposed...
"You... may call me Higgle." He raised his head high. "These are Sparky and Socks. Was there… something you wished to say?"
"Aw, naah, I was just sayin' hi." Rufus said. "It's been a while since someone else was here, y'know?"
"Hmm," Higgle tapped fingers together. "Do you know where this is, perchance?"
Rufus shook his head enthusiastically. "Nope! I have no idea!"
"…oh," Higgle deflated. "Do you… know why you are here, at least?"
"O-oh yah, I know that one!" Rufus snorted. "I'm here because I lost my trainer!"
"L-l-lost?!" Sparky shrieked. "So this is a place for bad Pokémon who lose their trainers?!"
"Yah, it was really strange eh?" Rufus chittered on. "We were walking through this forest, and there was a biiiig tree in the way! So I asked Sir 'Do you want me to cut down that tree for you, Sir? Cause I can cut that tree down real good!', and Sir nodded, which meant that he wanted me to cut the tree down!"
Sparky frowned at him, finally remembering to hand Higgle the cushion she had grabbed earlier.
"So I got to work cuttin' down the tree, like Sir wanted me to!" Rufus blinked slowly. "It took a looong time, because it was a big tree, but I cut it down real good like I always did! But then I went to go tell Sir, and he was nowhere to be found!"
"Nowhere to be found?" Higgle frowned. "So your trainer… abandoned you?"
"Aw naah, Sir is too nice to do that," Rufus chuckled. "I just lost track of him, eh?"
Higgle's head was pounding. "S-so how exactly did you end up here?"
"Ohh, some nice humans brought me here! I got a nice ride in the comfy van and everything!" Rufus said. "The best I can figger, it's like a lost and found but for Pokémon as well as things!"
"Lost and found?" Higgle said. "That makes no sense. We most certainly were not lost…"
"I'm sure Sir will find me again and we'll be happy together again!" Rufus sighed happily. "So anyway, enough about me. What brought you all here? It's been a long time since I've had cellmates!"
"Cellmates?" Higgle muttered. His thoughts fogged over. Cellmates couldn't have been just a cutesy name for those who turned up here. Why were they locked in? Forcibly removed from their home? How did the humans know where they to find them?
Higgle's eyes glazed over. Absent-mindedly twirling one side of his moustache, he said no more.
"…y'okay?" Rufus blinked at him.
Sparky poked Higgle in the shoulder a few times. The Kadabra remained unresponsive.
"He does this sometimes," she sighed. "W-we're here because we… also lost our trainer."
"You guys too?!" Rufus' eyes lit up. "Aw, don't you worry eh? You guys're so cute, I'm sure your trainer will come back and find you in no time at all!"
Socks mumbled something despondent, and Sparky grabbed onto her outstretched paw.
"Um, that's not gonna happen Rufus," Sparky sniffled. "You see, our trainer, she… died."
Rufus' oblivious smile crumbled. "Ohh, oh gosh! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-"
His face twisted, as if he'd just smelled something nasty. He frowned and grunted to himself for a few moments, "But wait, that doesn't make any sense. Why're you guys here? You're not lost or anything, are you? O-or did the humans wants dollars from you?"
"Doll… ars?" Sparky asked, her confusion bubbling. "What's a dollars?"
"Well, they're these things that humans trade for important stuff like food, a-and nice things like couches!" Rufus put his paws together. "They look like paper mostly, but also they can look like shiny circles too, and-"
"-Sh-sh-shiny circles?!" Higgle suddenly burst out of his trance. "Did-did you say the humans wanted shiny circles from us?!"
"I… think so, yah?" Rufus clicked its teeth. "And when they can't get the dollars they want, they take all of your stuff instead. They must really like those dollars…"
"Oh… oh dear!" Higgle swooned. "That explains everything! Ohh, Lady Holly, why didn't you tell us?!"
"Tell us what, Higgle?" Socks mumbled. "Did T-Trainer not have any dollars?"
Realisation hit her like a ton of bricks, and the Furret bolted upright. Suddenly she was snorting and huffing with fury. "I-is that why all this bad stuff happened?! Because Trainer didn't have dollars!?"
"…I think so, Socks." Higgle muttered slowly, his shame shielded by his arm. "It all… it all makes sense now."
Suddenly the bruise on Socks' forehead was forgotten. With a shriek, she lunged for the iron bars and slashed at them repeatedly.
"Damn those humans!" She seethed, pulling at the bars with all her might. "I-I'll make them pay for hurting Trainer!"
"Socks, do calm down!" Higgle gasped, daring to approach her. "Losing Lady Holly was the fault of no-one, okay?!"
"No Higgle!" Socks fumed, scratching furiously at the concrete wall. "It's their fault! If they didn't want all those dollars from Trainer, she would still be here! All happy, and lovely, and nice, and they're nasty bullies for doing that to Trainer!"
"Please, listen!" Higgle begged, while Rufus and Sparky just looked on with their mouths agape. "Would Lady Holly want you to do this?!"
"Trainer's not here any more, Higgle!" Socks was biting on the bars. "Don't you wanna hurt the people that hurt Trainer?!"
"Vengeance is not the answer, Socks!" Higgle insisted. "If we do that, then we are just as deplorable as them!"
"No one is as deplable as them, Higgle!" Socks screeched. "They hurt Trainer!"
She continued to wrench at the bars, grunting and groaning with the effort. Higgle dared to reach out for her with a comforting hand. Maybe actions would speak louder, he reasoned. But he couldn't even come close before there was a loud metallic snap and the pair were bowled over.
"What the?!" She bounced back to her feet almost immediately. "The hell just happened?!"
She looked down at the section of rusty bar in her paws, her fury slowly dissolving into bemusement.
"Whoooa…" Sparky toddled over. "You broke it."
Socks yelped and dropped the bar. "I'm sorry! It was an accident! I didn't mean to! Please don't be mad!"
"Mad?" Sparky offered a calming handhold. "Why would we be mad, Socks?"
"Because I broke the thing and I'm not suppose to break things because that's baaaaad!" Socks wailed, coiling up into a ball, meanwhile the human across the room cleared his throat loudly. All four Pokémon looked over to him, sat behind his desk.
"That's better." He grunted, looking back at his computer.
"…is he mad?" Socks mumbled.
"He's just grumpy," Sparky blew a raspberry. "But that's okay, because look!"
"Look at what, I can't see it."
"That's 'cause you're still in a ball, Socks. Try unballing."
"Um. Is it scary?"
"Can ya just look already?"
Socks's coils revolved around until there was enough space for her to peek through. "…a hole? Did I do that?"
"Uh huh." Sparky nodded furiously, "And guess what that means!"
"…it'll be really cold in here because there's a whole in the wall?" Socks said.
"What? Nooo, of course not! It means we can escape, silly!" Sparky cried. "D'you think you can squeeze through that and get us outta here?"
"Through there?" Socks slowly uncoiled herself. "…all alone?"
"Yeah! But don't worry, we'll be right here!" Sparky said. "You're the only one who can do it, S-"
Sparky, please." Higgle interrupted sharply. "We do now know what dangers await out there. For one, there is a human whom we have already angered, and secondly, exactly how do you suppose Socks will help us to escape from here?"
"Well…" Sparky mused, a hand to her chin. "We saw that guy lock the door, right? That means there's keys here somewhere! If Socks can find that key, we can get the door unlocked and get outta here!"
"But we do not know exactly where that key is, Sparky." Higgle countered. "And what do you suppose may happen if Socks gets caught? She could suffer a fate far worse than ours, and we may be separated for good. We need to think about this, Sparky!"
"I'm the one doin' all the thinking, dammit Higgle!" Sparky yelled back, meanwhile Socks withdrew.
"I-I don't like this anymore Sparky. What if Higgle's right and it's scary out there?"
"Oh great, now look what you've done!" Sparky threw a paw in Socks' direction. "How're we gonna escape now?!"
"You suggest escape as if it is the only viable option!" Higgle raged back. "Say we escape from this chamber. What next? A hypothesis is all well and good Sparky, but those grounded in reality may well realise-"
"-you can shove your hypothesises, Higgle!" Sparky cried. "So what if I haven't worked out all the kinks! At least I'm doing something useful!"
Higgle rose to his feet at a frightening pace. "Useful? How is endangering the remains of our wellbeing useful, dear Sparky? Perhaps your efforts would be put to better use considering your position! Talking back to me like this, ordering Socks around, just who do you think you are?!"
"I'm the one tryna get us outta here, Higgle!" Sparky's face was about an inch away from his. "Socks has given us a chance and all you're doing is complaining about safety and hypothesis. Go and pick the damn lock with your spoon or something if you wanna contrib-"
"Why you insolent!" Higgle raised a hand."
"No Higgle!" Socks shrieked, springing forwards just in time. "Don't do that! It'll be bad!"
Higgle's arm stayed prone. His fist was clenched tightly, and there was a blackened glint in the Kadabra's eye. Sparky finally broke her gaze, sullenly staring at the ground instead. She dragged one foot across the dirty floor, her nose twitching.
"I-I don't like it when you fight," Socks moped, gently letting go of Higgle's arm. "It… it makes me feel like how I felt when I saw T-Trainer…"
The atmosphere softened almost instantly, with both Higgle and Sparky's faces dropping. Even Rufus looked ashen from across the way.
"I know it might be scary out there…" Socks rubbed her paws together. "But we can't be a family if all we do is fight, right? I'll… go out there and see if I can find that key, okay?"
"Socks, wait!" Higgle raised a hand.
"No Higgle," Socks muttered, nuzzling the little gap between the bars. "I can't. We'll all go crazy and start hating each other if we stay in here, so I gotta-"
"Just one moment!" Higgle urged, turning back to face Rufus. "I-is she in any danger out there?"
"Err…" The Bibarel slowly pondered. "Well, the humans check on us before and after night-time, plus there's that one over there eh. He looks busy though, so it should be fine? But there's also the watchy thingies on the walls, so you gotta watch out for those."
"Watchy… thingies?" Higgle frowned at the slang.
"Uh huh, they're really weird eh?" Rufus pointed to the corner of the room. "You see that little box on the wall? It watches what we do, and tells the humans if we do something wrong!"
"I see…" Higgle mused. "Is there any way we can subvert it?"
"Well…" Rufus clicked his teeth together, meanwhile the camera on the wall slowly revolved away from them, facing in a different direction.
"Oh, you mean like that? It does that sometimes."
"Y-yes!" Higgle cried, excitement coursing through him. "Now Socks! Now is your chance!"
"It is?" Socks yelped. "What do I do?!"
"Get over to that wall before the weird box sees you!" Higgle instructed.
Socks squashed her head through the little gap. "I'll try my best Higgle!"
With some determined scrabbling and frustrated squeaks, Socks forced her skinny body through the gap in the bars. She had to rotate herself several times to not get stuck, but a combination of Furret flexibility and sheer stubbornness had her squeezing herself through the gap, popping out of the other side and rolling across the floor with a clumsy tumble.
"Socks!" Higgle gasped. "A-are you okay, dear?!"
"I'm fine!" Socks wrenched herself back to her feet. "W-what next?"
"Up against the wall, quick!" Higgle pointed. Even as he did so, the camera on the wall began to slowly turn back towards them.
"Quick, she's coming!" Rufus hollered from the next cell.
"O-o-okay!" Socks dashed for the corner. Her head was throbbing, but this was more important right now, because it meant they could get out of here and be a family again. Rufus was a silly name for an older brother, she giggled to herself.
She flattened herself against the desk before silently bounding over the gap between it and the next wall. Charging softly down the carpeted hallway, empty rooms and other corridors flashed past her vision. Those keys could've been anywhere in here, but Sparky and Higgle were counting on her, so she was going to have to find them!
"Keys are shiny…"she muttered to herself, scrabbling under desks and behind pot plants. "So if I find shiny, I find keys!"
She searched every plant and spinny chair she could find, but the keys weren't hiding there. These humans must've been really good at hiding keys, she grimaced. Her luck eventually changed when she brushed past a human's coat and it jingled, though.
"Aha!" She squeaked victoriously, practically burying herself in the pocket and snatching the metal keyring with her teeth. Just then though, a bell tinkled. Socks fell out of the pocket to see someone edging a door open.
"To your left," a human voice entered the room, as two burly men heaved a huge box in through the doorway.
"Got it," his partner grunted in response, and the pair of them plonked the box down on an empty chair. "Right," he wheezed, wiping his brow. "That's the last of it?"
"Yup, the rest's in the truck. Found the owner, too…"
"Oh. Bad?"
"Yup. Stupid kid decided to end it all and abandon her poor Pokémon. They're in cell C right now I think."
Something primal surged within Socks. Blood boiling, the metal keyring in her mouth was bending from her rage.
'They're talking about trainer!' she seethed inwardly. Rooted to the spot, her back arched ever higher at the sight of the two men approaching her.
"Whoa, seriously?" The first gasped. "That's just saddening. Abandoning your Pokémon over a few-"
The pair of them stopped mid-sentence.
On the floor in front of them, a Furret was growling. Digging tiny claws into the carpet, its entire face was wrinkling in fury at the sight of them.
"…how'd a Pokémon get in here?" The first asked.
"I think it got out," the second responded. "The how is a pretty good question, though."
Both humans approached Socks slowly.
"Careful now…" One inched closer with his hands outstretched. "It could be hostile."
"No shit, just look in its eyes." The other deadpanned.
Meanwhile Socks continued growling as the hands quivered closer. Did she teach these humans a lesson? Or did she deliver the keys and free her friends?
"Noo!" Socks leapt into the air. "Nasty humans!"
She slipped through the human's enclosing hands and landed smoothly on his head. She sprung from that and dashed back down the hall, one of the humans scrambling after her.
"Quick!" Socks gasped, tumbling to a halt in front of their cell and throwing the keys at Higgle. "We gotta go now! The people are-"
But then an alarm started blaring from nowhere, and the room's lighting was swapped out for a dark, ominous red. The human behind the counter snorted in surprise and stood to attention.
"Oh no!" Higgle gasped. "What happened Socks?!"
"The humans came back!" Socks cried. "But don't worry, I'll go get-"
"Heyyy, you're not supposed to be outside!"
All four of the Pokémon slowly looked up at him. Impossibly tall, darkened by the blood red lights, his intentions were unreadable.
The man stretched a hand forward slowly, and crept closer to Socks, whose back went up immediately.
"It's okay, it's okay…" his words were calming, but his voice was heavy. "We're all friends here…!"
The man swallowed, and made a quick glance to the left. Then the right. With a sigh, he muttered dark words under his breath. But before he could even bend down, the Furret was scampering down the hallway, away from him. He swore loudly and stomped after her.
"Socks, no, wait!" Higgle called after her, his cry quickly falling on deaf ears. "Ohh, bother. Sparky, we must act quickly!"
He scooped up the little Emolga and then propped her as high as he could reach, shaking viciously as she tried to organise the heavy keys.
"Higgle! Quit movin' around so much, okay?! I can't use the damn keys with you shaking like that!"
"S-s-sorry!" Higgle gasped, focusing everything he had into keeping still. A bead of sweat trickled down Sparky's face as she heaved and twisted the set of keys, attempting to fit each and every one into the tiny lock. Five attempts before the metal finally scratched into place, twisting and unlocking the door at last.
"Gotcha!" Sparky cried, wrenching the door open at last. Higgle snatched her up and took off down the hall, throwing the set of keys towards Rufus. "We will return for you, Rufus!"
"Oh gee, that's great!" Rufus cried. "It's fine if you don't though eh?"
Meanwhile, a determined Socks was bouncing around the office, furiously keeping three humans at bay. She dove underneath one of the men while a second lunged for her and missed horribly, and the third swung a net, catching his cohort's head in it instead. Socks ricocheted off an office chair and whipped one of the men in the face with her long tail, landing smoothly on the carpet.
"Guys, you made it!" She cried, a smile breaking across her face despite the steely look in her eyes. "C'mon, let's get outta here!"
"I shall condone the violence just this once, okay Socks?" Higgle almost laughed. "Now let us find an exit!"
"O-oh, that's this way!" Socks chittered, bouncing across tables to reach an open window.
"Oh hang on, what about Rufus?" Sparky suddenly chimed. "We can't just leave him here!"
"…yes of course." Higgle nodded. "We should double back and-"
"Wah!"
There was a swish and a slap, and Sparky found herself trapped inside a net. "Ahhh, get me outta here!" she flailed against the tough netting.
"Sparky!" Higgle cried, but Socks was there first, bounding across the tables. The human was busy fighting with a trapped Sparky, and didn't notice Socks charging headlong into him. He lost his grip on the net and clutched at his nose, meanwhile Socks slashed furiously at the net to free Sparky.
"Sparky…" she nuzzled against the tiny Emolga, but their victory was short lived as a door banged open and several more net wielding humans charged in.
"Agh, there's too many of them!" Sparky cried
"But the door is open!" Higgle pointed, and they charged towards the exit, jumping and slipping out of reach of other humans.
"W-what about Rufus?!" Sparky pleaded.
"We shall have to return for him at a later date!" Higgle yelled, swerving out of the way as a human dove past.
"I guess…!" Sparky muttered, hitting a human in the leg with a charged tackle. She flinched and hit another human in the back of the head with her net, which opened up a bit of room. She scampered around one outstretched leg,
"Sparky!"
And took one almighty leap, barely dodging the swing of another net to barrel roll through the doorway, emerging into fresh air at last!
"Alright!" she cried, throwing her little hands into the air triumphantly. "We made it!"
The fanfare would've been nice, she chuckled to herself. They'd just escaped prison after all. Sure, she had no idea where they were, what they were going to do next, or where they were going to live, but they were together. And free. That was the important bit. She turned around to get a proper look at her two best friends, out of breath and victorious, just like her.
But they weren't there.
Panic avalanched within her. Where were they?
"Guys, no!" She gasped, raising her hands to her mouth.
Socks laid flat on the ground, unconscious, surrounded by several humans wielding nets and angry faces, while Higgle struggled against the snare of another net.
"No!" She cried, tears welling up in her eyes. "But that's not fair! We worked so hard! We were so close! You let my friends go!"
"Sparky!" Higgle shouted to her. "Go! You must escape from here!"
"B-but-"
"There's the other one!" A human yelled, a several of them took off after her. "Don't let it escape!"
Sparky shrieked, rolling out of the grasp of another net, then dashing away from the building and leaving Socks and Higgle behind. Her vision blurry for tears, she scampered blindly through the concrete jungle. Everywhere she turned was either buildings as high as she could see, or unchanging grey pathways that stretched on forever. Short of occasional boxes or trash cans, there was nothing and nowhere she could even recognise.
Scrabbling around a corner and huddling between a dirty cardboard box and an old dumpster, she silently choked for breath as a net wielding human closed in on her. The woman crept quietly, scanning for movement. Sparky flinched when the box next to her was kicked, and had to suppress a scream when an enormous black boot thudded down just a few inches away from her. She glanced around. There was a little gap behind her. Maybe she could squeeze through that and make her escape. Maybe she could-
The human standing above her sighed deeply. The handle of her net smacked the ground with a sharp clatter, and Sparky could swallow her heart again at last, watching the woman slowly trudge away. She pulled a phone out of her pocket and spoke at it for a moment, before turning the corner and leaving.
She gave it a couple more minutes, just to be sure, before crawling out from behind the box. She craned her neck upwards, and could still only really see building. Just endless dirty bricks, stretching as far as she could see. There was light but it was also dark and yet somehow also raining?
Her stomach was gurgling at her; it must've been about lunchtime. What was she going to do about food in a big city? Dumpsters were all dirty and full of garbage, but maybe they had food?
And then there was Higgle and Socks? How was she going to rescue them? Even finding her way back was going to be enough of a mission. Following that human back was way too dangerous, because what if they saw her? She was going to have to go at night time or something and then find a way to break in and then repeat the whole thing but without getting caught, and…
Something deep within her withered and died on the spot. It was impossible, wasn't it? She was lucky enough to escape on her own, let alone with Socks and Higgle as well. And now she was all alone, and lost, and hungry, in a strange city full of boring grey endless buildings that smelled funny.
Sparky sobbed loudly. It was all her fault. It was her who convinced Socks to try and break them out. She should've just listened to Higgle and sat there like a good girl. Maybe then the humans would've seen the mistake they'd made and let them go home again… or something.
She couldn't even go back now. She'd attacked the humans. There was no way they were gonna take her back. She was just going to have to find some way to survive in this dump, and be all alone and miserable and-
"Hey kid," Something spoke. Sparky yelped and spun around, watching as something green and filthy slapped its way towards her.
"You new here?" It said. Little more than a trash bag with teeth, the Pokémon nevertheless narrowed its eyes at her in suspicion.
"Uhh, y-yeah," Sparky sniffled. Talking to strangers was a bad idea – Miss Holly told her this all the time. But Miss Holly wasn't here, and Socks and Higgle weren't either. She was more lost than ever. "I uh, don't know where I am. C-can you help me?"
"Help?" Another voice spoke from the shadows. An orange, lizard-like Pokémon stepped forward. With a baggy yellow outer skin covering most of its body and an intimidating red crest on its head, it looked so much more threatening than the trash bag. "Youse are walkin' into our territ'ry, and you want help? That don't sound too smart, does it Trub?"
"No it don't." 'Trub' agrees, belching a haze of putrid smoke in Sparky's direction. "So unless you're a customer…" it spat, "you're an intruder. And what do we do to intruders, Scraff?"
The lizard pounded took a draught from its cigarette, then crushed it in its hand. "Get the picture, kid?"
"I-I do! I get the picture real good!" Sparky put up quivering paws. "What… kinda things do you guys sell?! I'll be your best customer ever!"
Trub and Scraff smirked at each other. "…yeah, definitely an intruder."
"Wait wait, please!" Sparky begged. "I'll go away, I promise! I just dunno where I am!"
"All the better." Scraff pulled another cigarette out of nowhere. "No one'll miss you that way."
"Noo!" Sparky cried, tearing down dark and dirty streets once again. Crashing into various boxes and discarded trash, running down dead ends and having to turn back on herself, the other two kept up with her easily as she scarpered through the dirty brick labyrinth. She chanced upon a burst of light and emerged into a crowded street full of yet more humans. Stalking forwards and staring at their phones, they didn't even notice the gaggle of Pokémon scrambling between them.
"No no, please!" She gasped, tripping over herself and shuffling down wooden planks, away from her pursuers. "Why're you being so mean?!"
"The world's a mean place, kid." Scraff chuckled.
"But you don't have to be mean!" Sparky glanced over her shoulder. She was running out of pier.
"So innocent…" Trub laughed. Scraff knelt down to her level. Her eyes, brimming with unshed fear, stared back into his empty pupils.
"You know, you're right." He deadpanned. Sparky frowned, only to get a smirk in response. With a puff of his cigarette, he blew the smoke right into her face. "We like it this way!"
Sparky coughed and spluttered, backing away from the smoke. Splintered wood creaking underfoot, she stumbled backwards, and suddenly there wasn't any pier left.
With a shriek of surprise, Sparky slipped from the pier and fell onto something hard.
Scraff just huffed victoriously before disappearing back into the crowds.