Alright - Chapter Three! Finally, we encounter the first Shadow Pokemon in the game, and also the ‘guy with the hair’ - none other than Miror B! *** Chapter 3 - Shadows, Pokeballs and a Lot of Hair. “What do you mean no challenges?” asked Wes. “Sorry, but the current challenge is already underway. I guess you will have to come back later if you want to try the Phenac Colosseum challenge,” answered the receptionist in a matter-of-fact way. “Odd, isn’t it?” commented Wes to Rui as they walked out, with Espeon and Umbreon following behind. “You’d think the mayor would have remembered that the challenge started a day ago…” “I guess he just… forgot,” offered Rui as an explanation. “It IS a nice stadium though, isn’t it?” “Yeah, I guess so…” “So, what do we have here?” a sinister voice…voiced. “Hey, Wes! We found you, you filthy, double-crossing traitor! You wrecked Team Snagem’s base, and stole the snag machine as well? You have some nerve!” The ‘voice’ turned out to belong to one of a few Team Snagem members. “Who are they?” asked an oblivious Rui. “Don’t you know? We’re Team Snagem!” “Team Snagem? Arrgh!!!” screamed Rui. She then proceeded to kick the nearest one on the shin. “Arrgh! What was that for?” asked the criminal member. He was clearly not used to having people stand up for themselves. “For kidnapping me!” cried Rui. “Kidnap you?” asked the confused member. “Pttf. Why would we waste our time kidnapping some nobody? No, our beef is with Wes.” “Umbre…” (Mmm… beef.) Espeon rolled his eyes at his partner’s comments. Meanwhile, Rui finally started to realize something. “And what do you mean by traitor…” she turned to Wes. “Wes, you mean…” “Yep! He was from Team Snagem! Not only that - he was a Snagger! He was snagging Pokemon without fail!” Rui turned to Wes. “IS THIS TRUE!?!” she demanded. “Umm… yes?” answered a nervous Wes. Rui’s face at this answer made him wince - it was a mixture of anger and sadness rolled into one. “Well, well, look what you did now, Wes,” sneered the first member. “I’d love to stay and chat, but we need to get going. Give us the snag machine now!” “What’s a Snag machine?” asked Rui. “Oh, a snag machine is that mechanical contraption on Wes’s arm,” answered one of the Team Snagem members. Wes wondered why Rui hadn’t noticed the snag machine in the first place. It was clearly situated on his arm, and was blatantly obvious. Then again, she probably hadn’t been paying attention. And she had been running off in every direction. Orre was filled with oddities, several stranger than a man with a machine on their arm. No wonder she didn’t mention it. “... It converts Pokéballs into Snag balls, which overrides trainer possession of the Pokemon, and thus allows it to be stolen…” continued the Team Snagem member. “Shut up!” warned another. “Oops.” “Enough talk! We’ll take it by force!” shouted the first Team Snagem member. He sent out a Corphish and a Koffing. Wes smirked. “Espeon! Use confusion on Koffing!” “Espi!” (This is going to be fun!) As Espeon applied his psychic powers on the Koffing, it began shivering violently. “Koffing!” (What’s he doing to me?!?) All at once, the Koffing started expanding. “What the…” wondered the Snagem member. Just then, the Koffing exploded. Corphish fainted from the shock, and the Team Snagem members were sent flying several metres down a stairway. “Blast you! Don’t think this is over! We’ll get the machine!” shouted one of the Team Snagem members, before they limped off. Rui turned to Wes. “What do you know, Wes. You’re from Team Snagem,” said Rui. “That’s ok.” “It is?” replied Wes. “NO! WHY DIDN”T YOU TELL ME?” shouted Rui. “Esp…” (Oh dear.) “HOW COULD YOU HAVE BEEN A SNAGGER?!? DIDN’T YOU STOP TO THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU WERE DOING TO THOSE POKEMON?” “That’s why I quit! Well, partly, anyway. Besides I can’t be all that bad - I did rescue you…” countered Wes. “Well… I’ll give you that,” admitted Rui, who began pacing back and forth, “But still… for all I know, you could be stealing Pokemon for yourself!” “Come on, Rui. Give me a chance. I’ve changed my ways, and all I want is a fresh sta... WATCH OUT RUI!” However it was too late - Rui, while interrogating Wes, didn’t notice that she walked close to the flight of stairs nearby. Too close. Wes, Espeon and Umbreon observed Rui bounce down stair after stair until she came to a stop at the bottom. “Umbre…” (Ouch.) Wes ran down to her. Rui groaned and looked to Wes. “I’m...all right.” Wes breathed a sigh of relief. “By the way? It’s ok, Wes.” “Huh?” “It doesn’t matter to me who you are. After all, you’re my gallant prince who rescued me…” “Ok…” She probably changed her mind after taking a bump down the stairs thought Wes. “Let’s go rest at the Pokemon Centre.” As Wes and Rui walked off, Umbreon gave Espeon a glance. “Umbreon?” (You didn’t have anything to do with Rui’s sudden acceptance about Wes’s past, did you?) “Espi…” (Well…) *** “All your Pokemon are healed to perfect health. And your friend, besides a few bruises, is going to be all right.” “Thanks, Nurse Joy,” acknowledged Wes. He was a bit bewildered about being in a Pokemon Centre again. He hadn’t entered one for years, and he couldn’t help but wonder why everything was so strange. What with each ‘Nurse Joy’ looking exactly like the other, and one popping up every minute to spoil Espeon and Umbreon non-stop. Not that they minded much… And then there were the people who seemed to live inside the centre. There was an old man that earnestly kept telling Wes that he could use the PC for storing his Pokemon. And then there was a girl who asked every person whether they were Pokemon trainers or not. She even asked a bemused Justy, who had entered the Pokemon Centre to pick up some Pokemon. It was obvious, though Wes, that the best trainer in town, picking up Pokemon, WAS a Pokemon trainer. There was also a kid, who seemed obsessed with the 3-D map of Phenac City. Wes sat down next to Rui. ‘Rui… something is rather odd about this…whole thing,” he began. “What is it?” “Well, firstly… didn’t you think it odd that those Team Snagem members didn’t know anything about your kidnapping? And those people who did kidnap you… well, they didn’t look like Team Snagem. For one, they weren’t wearing the generic ‘I’m-from-Team-Snagem!’ uniform.” “Yes…” mused Rui. “That is… odd. But then who kidnapped me?” “I’m not sure… maybe those people somehow got possession of a Shadow Pokemon, and didn’t want you spilling the beans.” “That’s an idea… that poor Shadow Pokemon…” added Rui to herself. “I mean it looked so… unlike a Pokemon should.” “Which reminds me - what do you mean by seeing a black aura? I never saw any aura around a Shadow Pokemon. In fact nobody I know who worked at Team Snagem could distinguish Shadow Pokemon from normal Pokemon easily.” ‘I honestly don’t know. I guess nobody else could see it… but I’ve seen loads of Pokemon before, so I was pretty spooked when I saw the aura around it. Besides, I came up with an idea,” smiled Rui. “Ok… what’s that?” “We get ourselves some Pokéballs, and then steal back that Shadow Pokemon with them!” “Um… Rui, remember, you bumped your head on the stairs. Your ‘great idea’ may need some reconsideration…” “Why, what’s wrong with it?” “Firstly, that Shadow Pokemon could be anywhere. Secondly, its unlikely Trudly and Folly will show up again so we can find it. And thirdly - where will we get Pokéballs? None are kept anywhere I know in Orre, and Team Snagem imported them illegally from Kanto, as far as I know.” Rui blinked. “Well… it’s still a good idea,” she answered adamantly. Wes sighed. “Ok, whatever. I’ll help you, but I don’t think we’ll get far. Where do you propose we go looking for Pokéballs?” Rui smiled. “Let’s go SHOPPING! *** “No Pokéballs?” repeated an anguished Rui. “Sorry, but we haven’t had any in the last few years - there’s been no need for them,” answered a young shop assistant. “Well, where can we get some?” “Umm, try Silph Co. It’s only in Kanto,” offered the inexperienced and dumb assistant. At this, the assistant received a slap to the face, as Rui marched out, having expressed her annoyance at the shop assistant. Wes came after her, carrying large boxes. “Did we REALLY have to buy all these clothes…?” Wes grumbled to himself. “And don’t say I didn’t warn you…” “Psst!” said a random old man to Rui as she walked by. “They may have some Pokéballs in the Outskirt Stand…” he offered, before tapping his nose exaggeratedly and abruptly walking into the PokeMart. “Huh… um, thanks?” said Rui, to thin air. Wes merely shrugged. “He acted the same way when I asked him where the Mayor’s house was.” *** After Rui deposited her newly-acquired clothes from the PokeMart to her home PC, and a bumpy ride later, they arrived at the Outskirt Stand. A worried- looking Willie greeted Wes. “Oh, I was worried about you…” “Why?” asked Wes “Well, recently some tough looking characters came asking around about you. And it looked like they were from Team Snagem…who’s the chick?” “Excuse me!” exclaimed Rui. “And… why is your hair…” “I’ll explain later,” said Wes hastily, as he dragged Rui into the train. “Hello there, Wes! Brought a stranger?” asked Kirk. “That’s right.” Rui smiled. “My name’s Rui, sir,” she told him. “Well, what can I do for you today?” “Well, sir… we heard you may have some Pokéballs…” “Pokéballs? There’s been no call for these things around these parts for ages… where’d I put them?” he mumbled as he walked off to look in the storage. Immediately, he came back with a whole box full of them. “Here they are! They are a bit dusty, but they should work fine.” Kirk blew the dust off into Wes and Rui faces, causing a mass coughing fit. “Umm...sorry. I’ll give you some for free for that. How about 5?” offered an apologetic Kirk. “Thanks... I think I’ll buy another ten or so, for safety’s sake.” With a significantly heavier bag full of Pokéballs, and a considerably lighter wallet, Rui and Wes made way for Phenac city for lunch. *** Outside the mayor’s house, an old lady stood observing the happenings in the city. She was well known for being a gossip, and spent most of her time spying upon others. Recently, she had turned her attention to the mayor’s house. Something interesting was happening - she could tell. She had the same feeling she had now before. The last time that happened, it turned out Jed’s overcooked apple pie HAD been the source of the burning smell that had caused a mass evacuation of Phenac city. But what was up? The old veteran was thoroughly perplexed by the recent events around the Mayor’s house. First that man showed up in the Mayor’s house, and then the young man and that girl went in too… It was all very odd. Then the lady had observed an explosion of sorts from near the Colosseum. After that three suspicious looking people ran past, looking the worse for wear. Then the girl fell down the stairs without warning… all very peculiar. And then there was the gossip going on about a girl being saved from a kidnapping, amongst others rumours of Team Snagem suffering recently. The senior sighed. Whatever it was, she sensed it wasn’t good, and probably won’t go away as easily as Jed’s apple pie did. Not that anyone else in town seemed to notice much, if at all. Recently she heard a man discussing that he ‘heard that a scuffle was going on at the town’s entrance’, but that he ‘couldn’t be bothered to find out what happened’… That man is as naive as a Slakoth at times, deliberated the old woman to herself. I bet he didn’t notice the explosion either… then again, he wouldn’t even know the time of day. Suddenly, the lady saw a strange shadow upon the ground; bringing her back to the present. It looked like a large circular object… with a head attached to it. Shakily, she turned around, to face… IT. The ‘IT’ in question gave a dazzling smile. “Hello madam! Is this the mayor’s house?” ‘IT’ asked. Unfortunately, it received no answer - the old lady had fainted in shock. “Umm… Sorry?” *** As Wes and Rui entered Phenac city, their attention was grabbed by the lady who was with them during Rui’s ‘kidnapping’. “Oh! It’s you two! Something terrible is happening! Some scary looking men came here - including the two people who kidnapped you!” Rui instantly tensed up. “Where did they go?” asked Wes. “Towards the mayor’s house, I think. Maybe the Mayor is in trouble!” answered the lady. At this Wes nodded. “Ok, I’m going to see what’s going on. Rui, you stay in the Pokemon centre till I come back.” “No! I mean… I’m going with you,” retorted Rui. “What?” “I’m not letting those two away, and I’m certainly not letting you have all the fun,” smiled Rui. “So there.” “Umm, ok then. Be careful though,” answered Wes. As they approached the mayor’s house they noticed a still figure by the mayor’s house. “Hey… that’s an old woman! She’s unconscious!” shouted Rui. “Shh! Can you hear that?” Rui, Espeon, Umbreon and Wes stood quietly for a moment and too. There was a noise coming from the mayor’s house. It sounded almost like… “Music?” asked Rui incredulously. “Umbre!” (And from the sounds of it, good music too!) “Maybe… the mayor’s having a party?” offered Rui, but even she didn’t believe that idea. “Only one way to find out!” announced Wes, barging into the house. Espeon and Umbreon trotted in afterwards. “Wait for me!” cried Rui. She too followed in, only to collide straight into Wes. “Hey, what gives…” asked Rui. Then she realised what Wes was looking at. “What in the name of Ho-oh is that?” The strangest scene was in front of them. Wes quickly recovered from his shock and surveyed the room - just like he had been taught to while he had been with Team Snagem. There was no short chubby mayor to be seen - but both Folly and Trudly were present. Three other men stood at the side of the room - one clad in green, one blue, and the last in red. But the strangest oddity was in the centre of the room. A tall man was dancing to very loud salsa music. The man was in bright yellow, had odd glasses, and looked like a relic from the 60’s. The man’s height was increased due to the large orb-like thing on his head. Wes first took it to be a Voltorb - but quickly realised that it was actually an afro. One side was dyed red, the other half white - rather like a Pokeball. “Espeon!” (All right, who the HELL is this!) Umbreon however was the only one to take the look of the strange man in his stride, still nodding his head in time to the music. “Master Miror B! It’s him! He’s the one that took the girl from us!” shouted Folly. Suddenly the man seemed to talk notice of the recent entrance of Wes and Rui, and stood straight. Luckily, the ceiling was just high enough to accompany his hair. “Oh, aren’t you two pathetic! You couldn’t beat these infants? Trudly, song change! Something more… ‘suitable’ for the situation.” Trudly grabbed a nearby radio, and changed the music. Now the music was far more sinister sounding. “Umbre!” (Hey, I was enjoying that!) “Darling, did you say your name was Wes?” the man asked. “And you… Miror B?” guessed Wes. “Correct. And, well, I don’t like saying this, but we’re not at liberty to keep you lady friend at liberty.” Rui frowned at both the meaning implied behind the sentence, and the poor wording of it. Nevertheless, Miror B continued. “She sees… things that ordinary people aren’t supposed to see. That won’t do… not at all. If you don’t like pain, like most people, you can avoid pain by keeping you nose out of places it needed be.” Now Miror B turned to Folly and Trudly. “Boys! Oh Boys! I shall return to Pyrite town. Remember, I will wait for you with the little lady, and Wes as well. Am I making myself clear? I won’t accept failure from you two…” Folly and Trudly gulped. Maybe it was strange that a man with a giant Pokeball-themed afro and a snazzy bright yellow outfit with matching shoes was threatening them, but it worked to perfection. “Ye…Yes, sir,” stammered Folly. Clearly this…person holds power of some kind thought Wes. Suddenly Miror B’s attitude changed - from threatening, to friendly and happy. “Good!” He then struck a dance pose that made all in the room cringe. “Let the music play! Let’s get it on!” At this, Trudly went back to the previous salsa song. With that, Miror B ducked down and danced out, so that his afro could fit through the door. The three coloured men glared at Wes, before following Miror B outside as well. Slowly the music faded away. Wes gave a questioning look to Folly and Trudly. “What…who was that, exactly?” Folly smirked. “Why, none other than Miror B, an Administrator of none other than the Team Cipher!” Wes grinned. Then Folly realised that he just revealed classified information. “Damn it! You, you, you! You caught me off guard…” “…again…” added a frustrated Trudly. “… but that won’t happen again! Go! Whismur and Lotad! One of the Whismur that had been sent out appeared. The second Pokemon, a Lotad, took the stage. It was small, green and flat, and looked rather vague. “Whismur!” (I hope I win… not you two again,) it added, catching sight of its opponents, Espeon and Umbreon. “Lotad-ad!” (Yawn… I was sleeping…) “Umbreon! Attack Lotad with Bite!” commanded Wes. “Lotad!” (Arrgh! Hey, what gives?) “Umbre!” (Hey, it’s like a Frisbee!) Umbreon proceed to toss the Lotad through the air to Espeon. Espeon used his physic powers to make the Lotad spin in circles through the air. Suddenly, the Lotad hit the Whismur directly in the face, knocking both out. “Return…” said Folly sadly. “I failed… again.” Trudly stepped forward. “It’s my turn now! I’m not going to end up like Folly - and NOW I have my Pokemon! Go! Duskull and Spinarak! “Espi…” (What, we have to beat these two as well? What a waste of energy,) Espeon made this comment understandable to all in the room. Wes managed a grin. “Okay, Spinarak! Attack with Spider Web!” “Spinarak!” (Web power for the win!) exclaimed Spinarak, before it firing a large clump of web at Espeon. “Espeon! Use Reflect!” commanded Wes. Espeon summoned a force field around himself. The spider web hit the force field, and rebounded right back into Spinarak, trapping it. A Bite later, it fainted. Shortly afterwards, the Duskull succumbed to consecutive Bite and Confusion attacks. “Looks like you lost again,” grinned Wes. To his surprise, however, Trudly also grinned. “Not quite. Go, Makuhita!” At this, a short, fat fighting-type Pokemon was sent out. “Makuhita!” (Prepare to DIEEEE!) “Espi?” (Come again?) Wes frowned. This Pokemon, unlike the others that Folly and Trudly had offered up beforehand, looked rather capable. But a two-on-one battle shouldn’t be too hard…thought Wes. “Espeon! Attack with… what is it Rui? Stop tugging at my shirt!” Rui’s eyes however startled Wes - they were wide open. She pointed a shaking finger at the Makuhita. “Sh… sha…SHADOW! IT’S A SHADOW POKEMON” she screamed. “Well… you didn’t have to shout in my ear,” winced Wes. “Hang on… shadow?” Wes gazed at the Makuhita. Suddenly, - of course! He remembered this Makuhita. It was the one who had nearly escaped about a month back, and had given Gonzap a sore leg in the process. “Watch out!” cried Rui. Wes brought himself back to the present - to see Makuhita attack him with Arm Thrust. All Wes could do was tense himself and cover himself to lessen the impact. Nevertheless, he was still sent flying towards a wall. Wes remembered that Shadow Pokemon didn’t mind attacking trainers. Fortunately, his crash was softened considerably - unfortunately for Rui. “Umm, thanks Rui…” “Gfttham frmhth nefhte!” “What was that?” “I said get off me!” Wes jumped off (the slightly squashed) Rui. “Wes… That’s the Pokemon I encountered earlier. And I can see a black aura! Can you see it?” “Well… no, I can’t,” answered Wes. “Oh shut up with the yapping. Makuhita! Use Shadow Rush on Umbreon!” ordered Trudly. “Shadow Rush?” inquired Rui. Wes grimaced. “It’s a Shadow move… well basically the only one. Umbreon! Dodge and counter with Bite! As Makuhita charged at Umbreon, it nimbly dodged and bit Makuhita’s arm. “Maku!” (Oww how dare you! You must die!) “Makuhita! Use Arm Thrust!” Makuhita primed its other arm to attack Umbreon. “Espeon! Confusion!” At this, Makuhita stoped focusing on hitting Umbreon, and clutched its head. Then it started bashing its own head in. “Hita! Hita! Hita!” (Die! Die! Die!) “Espeon…” (He must have anger management problems or something…) “Damn! It’s confused… stop that! You stupid Pokemon!” shouted Trudly. At that, Makuhita glared at Trudly, and punched him. “Oww!’ “Wes… look! It’s getting tired!” Wes glanced at Makuhita, who was taking deep breathes in-between shouting insults. “Good.” He smiled. “Now is the time.” With that, Wes grabbed a ball, and put it into the Snag Machine. “What the… NO!!” cried Trudly, realising what Wes was about to do. Wes, with the grace of a Pokemon expert, threw the Poke Ball at Makuhita. As it hit Makuhita in the head, it started sucking Makuhita into the Pokeball. All in the room stared at the lone Pokeball in the centre of the room. It wobbled once. It wobbled twice. It wobbled a third time. “Come on…” muttered Wes under his breath. To be continued… …right now. The Poke ball… wobbled a fourth time. And a fifth time. “Huh?” said everyone. Then it stopped. Umbreon trotted over to the Pokeball, picked it up between its teeth, and walked back to Wes, dropping it at his feet. “You… you snagged Makuhita!” gasped Rui. “My Pokemon!” whinged Trudly. “You’re too good! You snagged my Pokemon!” “What are we supposed to do now?” asked Folly. “Miror B will punish us for sure…” A pause followed. “ESCAPE!” shouted the pair, as they blitzed passed Wes and Rui out of town faster than a raging Taurus. “You did it Wes!” cried Rui happily. “You snagged it!” “Umbre…Umb!” (What about us? We did all the fighting, and all he did was chuck a throw a Poke Ball at it!) “Espeon!” (Keep quiet, and we might get a pat on the head!) “Umbreon,” (Good point.) “But I’m sure there are other’s like it… Let’s get them all from the baddies!” added Rui. Great. NOW she wants us to snag all the shadow Pokemon? thought Wes. *** I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please post your comments, and anything thing you would like to see me 'explain' about the Pokemon Colosseum storyline. I hope you enjoyed my portrayal of Miror B. He will definitely be seen in later chapters… slight mentions of him in the next chapter, but nothing major. However, the next chapter contains a flashback and Pyrite Town - the ‘cleanest’ city of Orre. Ahem.