Wes didn't know how far he wanted to ride. All he knew, was that he needed to get away from Pyrite for a while. Seeing Claudia wasn't exactly something he delighted in at the moment. It drove him nuts that she even had the gall to seek him out after everything she'd done  for and with the team. A sigh escaped his lips as he raced across the desert sands. He was starting to calm down, partly due to the wind rushing through his hair and the roar of the engine that drowned out his thoughts. Still, some memories were harder to let go of than others.

"Hang on a second..." Wes said aloud as he came to an abrupt stop.

He thinks that just because he won the Colosseum that he's a hotshot. Then again...he's been tough to beat since. His team is crazy strong...

"Why would it suddenly change directly after winning? I know Pokémon get stronger through training, but last I checked, Colosseum matches are three double battles...there's no way that after one Colosseum win he could be that much stronger. Looks like I'm going to actually need to enter the Colosseum to find out. That sounds oddly suspicious to me..." Wes said to himself, turning his vehicle around and gunning it towards Pyrite Town.

"So you're certain he was here?" Trudly inquired as he spoke to an understandably furious Gonzap.

"Nooo, one of my agents came back with a busted arm and injured abdomen for no reason whatsoever! Of course he was there! My new top Snagger just said she spotted him in Pyrite. And if she had spent less time trying to get down his pants and more time apprehending him, I would have my Snag Machine back by now!" Gonzap thundered.

Trudly put a hand over the phone. "He's pissed," Trudly stated.

"OF COURSE I AM! My best Snagger ditched us, blew up our hideout and took off with our only portable Snag Machine! So tell me, what do you plan to do about it? Because if it doesn't involve beating him senseless and hauling the machine back to me, you'd better think of a different plan," Gonzap snarled.

"Oh the boss has a plan. Rest assured, we will have your precious little machine back in your hands once we find him. He's never met a Shadow Pokémon before. So he won't have a clue how to battle something that has virtually no weaknesses," Trudly grinned.

"That's right...he hasn't fought one of those. Well, hearing that brings me comfort. Just don't underestimate him. There's a reason why he was the best as Wakin experienced the hard way..." Gonzap muttered.

"I'll take your word for it. If he's as good as you say, then this should be entertaining," Trudly smirked.

"Just watch it. He's a seasoned trainer who will punish any mistake you make. As much as it pains me to admit, he's a genius in battle strategy. So don't screw it up!" Gonzap roared, winking out.

"Sheesh, who pissed in his Oran Berry-O's? Seriously, he needs to chill," Trudly muttered as he put away his PDA.

"No kidding. He's got a short fuse. So, how are we gonna go about finding this guy?" Folly inquired.

Trudly stroked his chin for a moment as he thought of a plan. "Well," he said as an idea struck him, "we could scope out the town first and see what we can find out. Gonzap was nice enough to provide visual aide so we know who to look for."

"Just one question Trudly, what if Duking gets involved?" Folly asked curiously.

"That musclebound moron? The boss already took care of that issue. With his precious Pokémon in captivity, Duking has no choice but to adhere to our demands. We have complete control over this city now. And we are free to do whatever we wish with that Colosseum as well. Now, let's go find us a Snagger." Trudly stated with a grin.

Kai walked out of her small, rundown residential housing and stretched. She had been napping for the past hour. The sound of a loud engine caught her attention. A smirk crossed her lips as she saw Wes was now riding back into town. He came to a slow stop in front of Kai's place and pushed his sunglasses back atop his head. He hopped off the motorcycle and took the keys out and slipped them into his jacket pocket.

"Back already? And here I was thinking you'd be back tonight," She said with a hand on her hip.

Wes shrugged. "Change of plans," he said as he walked up to her and looked up at her place.

It wasn't much. It was a small shack of an apartment with a single window, a door that looked as though it had seen better days and a satellite dish on the roof. There was also graffiti on the wall in the shape of "peace" sign.

"I know what you're thinking. It's shabby, but it's roomy," Kai stated, gesturing to her pad with a smile. "Care to come inside?" Kai inquired.

"I guess..." Wes replied, walking to the door as Kai opened it.

Inside was a mattress with red sheets and a burgundy blanket with matching red pillows. A fan was hooked up on a nightstand beside the bed. There was a large refrigerator in the small kitchenette area. It was surprisingly clean, all things considered. And she wasn't lying, it was pretty roomy. Kai plopped down on the bed and patted the seat next to her. Wes quirked a brow before accepting the invitation.

"So...I know you said you don't want to talk about certain things, but can you at least tell me what the hell went on back there? Also, what's with the whole, being part of Team Snagem, or by the looks of things...formerly part of them?" Kai inquired.

"You ask too many questions..." Wes replied, getting a glare from Kai in return. "Fine..." Wes sighed. "It goes like this..." Wes began, throwing himself back onto the bed to stare up at the ceiling.

"It's a long story, so I'll just cut to the chase. I joined Team Snagem when I was ten. I used to think they were the coolest thing around, mainly because they could do whatever they wanted and nobody could tell them otherwise. Growing up in Phenac City, life for me was pretty simple...and also pretty boring. I felt like a caged Tailow that wanted so badly to spread his wings but couldn't due to the bars around him. When I joined the team, I didn't feel that anymore. That's when I met Claudia," Wes stated, placing his hands under his head as he looked up.

Kai fell back beside him and looked up as well. "So what happened then?" Kai inquired. "What was she like?"

Wes frowned. "She wasn't like the Claudia you saw earlier. She was spunky, full of life and just an all around happy person. We used to be on the same team. But as she got older...things began changing. For one, she developed pretty quickly and by the time she was sixteen, she had turned into the woman you saw hours ago. Short, feisty, and I will say it...though I hate to admit it, attractive. And she knew it too. She quickly took note of how the other guys in the group were acting around her and decided to use that to her advantage," Wes said with a sigh.

"So...in essence, she-"

"Slept with just about everyone on the team? Yes. She did all of that and more. Now I know what you're thinking, that's how she got so high in rank right? Not exactly. She was a pretty decent Snagger to begin with. But she wanted the top spot...my spot. She was good, but Gonzap had already made it clear that I was the better of the two of us. We both were good at what we did and we both got results, but I went the extra mile. See where this is going?" Wes said as he took a deep breath.

"She was jealous of you then. She wanted the number one seat and special treatment so she used her body to gain some backing of the group. But where do you come in?" Kai inquired further.

Wes sighed and shook his head. "She made an advance towards me. Now that everyone on the team was practically singing her praises, it still didn't do away with the fact that I was bringing in more than she was. Not to toot my own horn, but I was pretty darn good. She needed a way to get me to admit that she was better. So...she moved on me one night," Wes admitted.

"And what did you do?" Kai asked as she rolled onto her stomach and placed her face in her hands.

"Well, let's just say that no amount of teasing she could do would ever get me to give her what she wanted. And she resorted to some pretty sensually torturous stuff," Wes added with a frown.

"Ah...let me guess, two letters, B and J?" Kai said casually.

"And a slew of other things too. Though it pains me to admit this, she was amazing at what she did. But when you realize that someone you thought was a friend was trying to slowly take you apart, you sort of lose respect for them. And it only got worse from there. On missions, she suddenly became more aggressive and ruthless whenever she would complete a snag. Her squadron resorted to roughing up the opposition and forcing them to hand over their Pokémon. It was like she forgot how things were supposed to work. This trend continued for five more years," Wes sighed.

"Ouch...so basically, she was a sexual deviant who preyed upon the weakness of her male teammates and tried to change the face of Team Snagem to a more sinister one than it already carried? Sheesh, she sounds insane to me," Kai replied, sweat-dropping as she listened. "I know that if my boyfriend ever did something like that, well...he'd be in a heap of trouble with me."

Wes rose a quizzical brow.

"Ah...I didn't tell you that did I? Yeah...so, you see...Willie and I-"

"Are an item," Wes finished.

"Yeeeeaaaah....that," Kai replied. "Anyway! Continue!"

Wes simply shook his head and went on.

"It wasn't until I saw just how wrong it all was, that I decided to plan the day when I would quit. But with Team Snagem, one does not simply just quit. You have to make it out of the hideout by battling EVERYONE or you have to fight your way through. For me? I make my own options...so I blew them the Muk up. Lucky for them, nobody was inside when the explosives went off," Wes said with a smirk.

"You seem pretty proud of yourself for that," Kai said with a grin.

"You could say that. I had a lot of anger I needed to let out and what better way to do it than with explosives?" Wes said with a mischievous smirk.

"Heh...well, you did a good job of it. From what the news captured, I was shocked that some of the place remained intact," Kai stated with a laugh.

"I wanted to make a statement and give them a permanent reminder of how badly they messed up," Wes replied.

"And what a way to do it. Remind me never to get on your bad side," Kai sweat-dropped.

"I wouldn't worry about it. I've got nothing against you," Wes replied as he stood up and stretched. "How do you manage to get out of bed every morning? With a mattress like that, I would never get up."

Kai laughed. "I honestly don't know myself. It's a mystery I guess."

Wes shrugged and began to walk to the door. "I'm gonna take a walk around town. Maybe grab a bite to eat."

"Oh! I know a good place for that. Here, I'll come with," Kai said as she hopped up to follow him. "Willie and I were going to meet up for some chow in a little bit anyway, why not join us?"

Wes thought about it for a moment. It wasn't like he had anything better to do. Coming to a decision he nodded. "Sure, why not? Lead the way," Wes replied, following her as she exited her home.

The Pyrite Pub was filled with the roughest of the inhabitants of Pyrite Town. The doors opened, causing many of the patrons to turn their heads. Wes stood beside Kai and glanced around as the place seemed to suddenly quiet down. All eyes were on them. Kai looked around and found her friends and boyfriend, Willie, in their usual corner of the pub. She motioned for Wes to follow. The chatter in the pub picked up again as the two passed through, though for some, tension ran a bit high as they got a look at Wes. The two made it to the table where the others were and sat down.

"Sup peeps?" Kai said as she plopped down beside Willie and leaned over to lay one on him.

She pulled her lips away from his and nuzzled into him as he put his arm around him.

"Yo Wes, good to see ya!" Willie said as he gave him a wave.

Wes waved in return and leaned back. He glanced around the pub and surveyed the patrons. People from all walks of life were there. Not that it bothered him, considering he was just as intimidating as the rest of them. From the way everyone looked at him upon entry, it was as if he were just another thug walking into the club. Across the table, he noticed one of the members of Kai's group, Valen, holding a magazine that had a rather interesting cover. It had a picture of a woman with long brown, curly hair that kissed her shoulders and showered down her back as well. She was bending over, exposing her cleavage while blowing a kiss towards the viewer. He recognized that woman anywhere. It was none other, than Lady Venus.

Oh Arceus...seriously!? In public? Dude...Wes thought as he shifted his gaze towards the bar. He tilted his head as he caught sight of two peculiar men. One had a blonde and orange faux hawk with blue glasses while the other had a black beanie. I don't know why...but I'm getting some bad vibes from those two...especially the guy with the beanie.

"Looks like our target's here. Saved us the trouble of having to look for him," Trudly said with a smirk, taking one last gulp of his Mago Berry pop before setting the glass down. "What say we head on over and 'welcome' him into town?" Trudly said as he stood up and stretched.

Folly cracked his knuckles and nodded. "Sounds like a plan to me. Though we'll be needing some help considering he's among what appear to be friends," Folly said as he motioned to a few individuals dressed in white ninja-like suits complete with helmets and visors that masked their eyes.

As Wes sat with the group, he spotted movement out of the corner of his eye. The table quieted down the moment they all noticed Trudly, Folly and a few others standing over them.

"Well look what we got here, it's that runaway Team Snagem was talkin' about!" Trudly stated with a grin.

This statement made heads turn. The entire pub went silent as Trudly spoke. Wes shot them a glare. "Who are you, and what the hell do you want?" Wes said through gritted teeth.

"Ooo! Someone's testy. Relax Wes man. We're just here on a little business. See, that thing you've got on your arm doesn't belong to you, so we're just gonna go ahead and return it to your old pal Gonzap," Folly replied.

Kai and Willie blinked while Valen looked up from his magazine. The others dawned slightly confused looks. Wes raised a brow. "And just how do you plan to do that?" He asked, folding his arms, suddenly interested in the sudden turn of events.

"Well Wes, there's two ways this will go down. One, you can hand it over peacefully and we'll be on our way, or two, we teach you a lesson and take it from you," Trudly stated.

"And if I decline?" Wes replied, propping his feet up on the table.

"Then we'll have to take it by force," Trudly said as he snapped his fingers.

The white suited men surrounded the table causing Kai and her group to stand up and prepare to defend themselves. Wes stood up and sighed.

"You know, you guys are rude, interrupting like that. You should really learn some manners," Kai quipped.

"Yeah, I was in the middle of a very important article!" Valen retorted.

"Valen...no you weren't, you were looking at nudes of Lady Venus," Willie deadpanned.

"Shhhh! You're not supposed to tell them that!" Valen shot back.

"You were reading it in public," Willie pointed out, causing Valen to hide the magazine.

"Wait...what edition is that!?" Folly inquired suddenly.

"The latest one, just got my hands on it yesterday," Valen admitted proudly.

Trudly palmed his face. "Not the time or the place Folly!" Trudly scolded as Folly regained his composure.

"Lucky son of a-" Folly cut himself off as he stared blankly at the others.

Wes rolled his eyes and took step away from the group towards Trudly and Folly. "Look, I don't wanna cause a scene here. If we get into a brawl, it'll wreck the place." Wes looked down at the belt Trudly was wearing and spotted a few Poké Balls. "Why don't we take this outside?" Wes stated, snapping a ball off his belt and expanding it.

Trudly grinned wickedly. "Sure, it's your funeral," Trudly added as everyone made their way outside.

And we come to a stop here. Wes is about to face off against Trudly and boy is that going to be a doozy of a battle. Wes is about to have his first encounter with a Shadow Pokémon and if any of you remember how it felt to face them and have EVERY move be super effective...it was ANNOYING. That, and it hit hard too. Anyway, ciao until the next chapter!