When she woke up, Taylor didn't want to open her eyes. She didn't want to confirm what she already knew in her heart. She could try and tell herself that it had all been a dream but that would be foolish. She hadn't dreamt it and she knew it. However, she couldn't let her disappointment in herself show. No sighing or groaning just yet. All she could do for now was internally scold herself.

Why did she do this to herself? What could have possibly come over her? She knew that going to a party where she didn't know anyone was a mistake but having it escalate to this? This was without a doubt the single most stupid, alcohol-induced thing she'd ever done and it had been completely avoidable.

She rolled over instinctively, pulling the duvet with her. As she nestled on her side, she felt her leg brush against something, confirming her worst fears. She was in bed with a complete stranger. She had no idea whose bed or where she was and that was a rather terrifying thought. She could try and sneak out now but that seemed like a bad idea. There was potential for waking up her partner from last night and then she'd need to find some clothes and find her way home. No, it was better to wait and confront the problem.

Taylor simply laid there for what felt like hours, completely naked and entirely vulnerable just mulling over how she could have ever let this happen. She told herself that she wasn't a tramp and that she had morals and yet here she was after some kind of fling or one night stand just hoping that she wasn't next to some kind of madman. Eventually, her neighbour awoke. The bed creaked as whoever it was sat up.

"Well that's new," the stranger said with a tone of intrigue. Taylor made certain that her breathing remained steady and that her eyes were firmly shut. Whatever information she could gauge from the man whilst he thought she was asleep could prove to be very useful.

"Wha'?" came an annoyed and slightly gurgled voice from what sounded like a phone on speaker mode.

"Tristan, there is a naked woman in my bed." This was an unfortunate piece of information to hear. She was indeed in someone else's room and could be miles away from her own flat.

"Ya pulled?"

"I do believe we may have engaged in coitus." The tone of the man's voice intrigued her and his dialect was very odd. The way that he spoke made everything sound so... formal. It made him sound intelligent.

"Nice one mate! All I go' were a blowie from a righ' slag."

"What do I do Tristan? I think I've followed your instructions correctly so far."

"Well, she fi'?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Is she fit?"

"I'm not really sure what that means Tristan. I'll ask." The bed creaked once again as the man turned to face her. Well, at least she was properly covered up by the duvet. "Are you fit?"

"Oh, she awake?"

"Yes, but she's pretending to be asleep for some reason. I'll call you back." Taylor opened her eyes, aware that she had been caught. Making sure that she had herself covered up, she turned to face her mysterious lover.

"Um, hi," she said, her voice barely even a whisper.

"Hi," the man confidently responded. Despite his overgrown stubble, he looked young, maybe around twenty. His body wasn't particularly well built and he didn't show off any toned muscles. His arms and torso were skinny but covered with odd cuts and burns. However, if nature hadn't been so kind to his body, it had definitely made up for it with his face. His confident smile combined with his rugged beard and sparkling yellow eyes made for a handsome face. Taylor could see why a drunken version of herself could fall into his arms.

"Just so you know, I... I don't normally do this kind of thing."

"I must admit this is my first encounter of the sexual variety. I hope it wasn't too disappointing for you." He glanced over at an alarm clock and cursed under his breath. He ran his hands through his jet black hair for a moment, an expression of contemplation on his face. "Right then, lots to do today. I'm going to go have a shower, you can go in after me and then hopefully we're not too late."

"Wait!" she cried as the man stood up, apparently without care, unintentionally revealing his manhood. Taylor threw her hands over her eyes, clearly uncomfortable with the nonchalant nature of the nudity. "I've only got my skimpy dress from the party last night, I can't wear that. And please cover yourself up!"

"It's not like you haven't seen it before," the man shrugged. "Have a look in my wardrobe. There's probably an old hoodie or tracksuit or something that you can wear."

Without saying another word, he turned and exited the bedroom. Moments later, Taylor heard the unmistakable sound of a shower. It was finally time to let out the groan she'd been holding in. She slumped down onto the bed and let the gargled sound out. She was still completely disgusted with herself. How could she let herself sleep with a stranger?

The more she woke up, the more the haze began to ascend from last night and her drunken side effects wore off. There was a mild pounding in her head but it wasn't unbearable. She sat up and rubbed her head, trying to recall the name of the man she'd woken up next to. The events of last night were slightly blurry but she could just about make out some vague memories.

She'd been drinking with the friends who had dragged her along to the party in the first place when a rather ridiculous dancer had caught her attention. Taylor could remember him being a well-dressed man by the name of... Sam, she concluded after several moments racking her brains. They got to talking and then they got to drinking and somehow, he'd captivated her enough to get her into bed. Taylor still couldn't believe how stupid she was.

She stood up, grabbing the duvet as she did and wrapping it around herself as some kind of makeshift dress, tucking the corners under her left armpit. She tiptoed across the bedroom floor, taking great care to avoid a pair of boxer shorts and her own all too revealing dress before she made it to the wardrobe. With her free arm, she swung the door open. She paused for a moment, looking at what seemed to be a brand new white silk suit and a pristine black shirt. She reached out for it, curious about the strange formal wear.

"No, sorry, that's mine," said an almost naked Sam. Thankfully he was at least in underwear. He reached past her and, still slightly wet from his brief time in the shower, grabbed the suit along with some kind of utility belt. "Why are you holding my duvet?"

"Because I don't want you to see me naked," she explained.

"That would normally make a lot of sense but I've already been intimate with you so I've seen everything there is to see." He tilted her head at her in a curious fashion as if trying to read her expression.

"Well I'm just not that comfortable with it," she admitted.

"You should be," Sam shrugged. "Your body is nothing to be ashamed of." Without saying another word, he turned and left the room, still not dressed.

"Thanks," she whispered, a confused smile etched onto her face. She shook the odd conversation out of her head and took what clothes looked suitable from the wardrobe before closing the door and heading for the shower. She finally dropped the duvet and set down the hoodie and jogging bottoms she'd found before stepping through the glass doorway that Sam had left open. After a few minutes, she was finally clean.

Now feeling slightly refreshed, Taylor could at least put some clothes on and properly cover herself up. The hoodie was slightly loose but at least it was comfortable enough. As she was exiting the bathroom, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her dirty blonde hair looked an absolute mess so she made a short trip back to the bedroom where she thankfully found her handbag. Now armed with a hair band, her fingers quickly got to work, weaving her hair into a plait that rested on her left shoulder.

She walked into the main area of the flat and found Sam at the kitchen table with two fingers on his wrist, his face showing that he was in a moment of deep concentration. After a few seconds, he released himself. He then took several pills, placed them on his tongue and took a swig of water before he finally noticed Taylor.

"I made omelette," he gestured towards a plate on the table. She sat next to him and took a nervous bite of the golden brown dish. Her eyes instantly lit up when the flavour kicked in.

"This is delicious!"

"I know," he nodded, checking his watch before glancing back towards Taylor. "It is Taylor isn't it?"

"Taylor Kelly," she nodded. "And you're Sam?"

"I used to be," he laughed. "Not anymore though. I go by Zam now." Yet another odd thing about this odd man. His name sounded similar to a relatively common name but it was, in fact, something different entirely. Something that Taylor had never heard of.

"Zam?"

"Yes, now we can't hang around. Very tight schedule to stick to, come on, let's go." Zam stood up, tucked in his chair and gestured for Taylor to do the same.

"Go where?" Taylor asked once she'd finished her mouthful.

"First things first we need to go to the bank."

"Why would I come with you?"

"Because I need someone to look impressed when I do clever things and Tristan is recovering from a hangover."

"But I've got... plans."

"No you don't," Zam responded, shaking his head. "It's quarter past eleven on a Saturday morning so you've got nothing planned for the morning and given that you went out to a party last night and admitted yourself that it was unusual behaviour from you, I highly doubt that you need to get ready for anything in the evening."

"But..." her voice tailed off, unsure of how to respond to this strange behaviour from this strange man.

"Well come on then!" Without waiting for a response, Zam grabbed Taylor's hand and pulled her up out of her chair and then out of the flat entirely. Eventually, she gave in, mostly just so that she wasn't physically dragged down the stairs and thankfully she was allowed to regain control of her own walking.

"Can't I just go home and get some of my own clothes first?" Taylor asked as they made it onto the street.

"No time, we're already behind." She was almost left behind by Zam's quick strides. He walked with purpose and meaning, swiftly sliding through the busy streets, barging past the many pedestrians who were out and about on their Saturday morning shopping adventures. He didn't even bother waiting for cars to stop for him. It was like he was on some kind of mission and if that meant crossing the street then no vehicle was going to stop him.

"You're with Barclays?" Taylor asked when Zam finally stopped and she caught up. He was standing outside a tall brick building with a slightly out of place glass door. This kind of mismatch was often seen in high street shops as many old buildings were renovated in a modern way but weren't allowed to be knocked down completely. All that had been done to this one was the automatic doors and the blue sign showcasing the bank's name.

"No, but this is the place to be," Zam replied cryptically before stepping inside. Unlike most high street banks, this one was large and spacious, with many tables and chairs dotted around. It wasn't particularly busy but there was a queue of maybe a dozen people. Perhaps not wanting to wait in line, Zam scanned the area before moving for a chair in the corner and sitting down, looking out the windows nervously. Taylor sighed to herself and shook her head before joining him, still completely unaware of what was happening.

"Do you always wear that thing?" she asked. She felt underdressed in a hoodie sitting next to someone in a black shirt and white suit.

"Yes."

"Does it get dirty?"

"Not at all. It's coated in a hydrophobic compound so it never stains. Really I'm surprised that more people don't wear clothes like this."

"Well, you do stand out a bit."

"Exactly. It's unique and that makes it exciting," Zam grinned. At that exact moment, a Pokéball came flying through the window, smashing the glass before landing perfectly in the middle of the room. "Speaking of exciting, that's exactly what things are about to get."

"What do you mea-" Taylor couldn't finish that sentence as Zam grabbed her body close and dived underneath the table and it wasn't a second too late.

"Weezing!" The Pokémon cried as it emerged from its ball before instantly exploding. Noise, smoke and chaos filled the room as people and chairs flew everywhere, cries of pain and cries for help rang around the room whilst the workers behind the desks desperately tried to amend the situation.

"Here they come," Zam grinned as he let Taylor go in order to push the table onto its side, giving them some cover, allowing him to then pop out from their relatively safe spot and get a better view. In fact, their position seemed to be the only place in the entire bank that was unaffected.

"Luxray go, go go!" Taylor could barely make out what was happening through the smoke. She saw what looked like five masked men and several howling Luxray blast the doors. A crackling of electricity briefly illuminated the scene, showcasing athletic leaps from the quadrupeds, tackling various people to the ground. Roars of the creatures alerted their masters to the situation and when everyone barring Zam and Taylor, who remained hidden by their table, had been tackled to the ground, the men rushed towards the employees with a purpose.

"You lot! To the vault, now!" One of them yelled, pointing at the bank staff. A moment of fear and hesitation from the frightened people caused the man to pull out a knife. Upon having their life threatened, the poor employees instantly complied and they were soon shepherded by three of the five men through a door at the back of the room. This left two of the masked men and half a dozen Luxray guarding the main room.

"If anyone so much as moves or talks then we will kill you!" one of the remaining men shouted and the Luxray howled in response. They then began slowly patrolling the room. Taylor and Zam probably had five minutes before they were discovered. Taylor's heart was going wild. It hammered against her seemingly frail ribcage, sending shock waves all through her body. She was scared for her life.

"Too simple. Too boring," Zam shook his head, sighing. "I expected something much more sophisticated from such notorious thieves. Although, I'll admit that disabling the emergency alarms that instantly alert the police using Luxray's electricity was mildly clever."

"Shut up!" Taylor hissed. "They'll hear you and then they'll kill us!" Already she had noticed one of the men approaching their upturned table.

"They were going to find us anyway," Zam shrugged, "I'm just speeding up the process." Unbelievably, he then reached into one of his inside pockets and retrieved a box of cigarettes and a lighter.

"Really? Of all the times-"

"Oi!" the man yelled when he eventually reached the pair, shoving the table so that it knocked both Taylor and Zam in the head. "Not calling the cops over here are we?"

"Oh, oh not at all, wouldn't dream of it old chap," Zam stuttered in a strangely quiet, posh voice. "I just haven't had a smoke all day and-"

"I'll take them!" the man cackled as he snatched the box and lighter before striking Zam across the face, hard. He fell to the ground and didn't move until his attacker had walked over to bully some other terrified person.

"Stupid idiot," Zam grinned when he shot back up, apparently unfazed by the assault. "You should never steal another man's fags. You don't know where he got them from and more to the point, you don't know what they might do to you."

"What are you talking about?" Taylor asked as the man gave his partner one of Zam's cigarettes and they both lit them.

"There's a scientist in Unova called Fennel who is researching a mysterious substance known as Dream Mist. I gave her a few theories and helped out with her research and as a favour, she gave me some Dream Mist. When inhaled in gaseous form, it puts you straight to sleep. All I had to do was implement some A-Level chemistry to recrystallise it, roll up the crystals into a cigarette and the trap was set."

Zam gestured to the two guards. As if by some kind of miracle of the gods of timing, their eyes widened, they looked at each other and then they turned to yell to their fellow robbers. Unfortunately for them, no sound came out. They simply wobbled slightly before falling flat on their faces, now fast asleep.

"Alakazam! Ala! Alakazam!" Zam cried at the Luxray who were looking at their unconscious masters in bewilderment.

"Lux?"

"Ala," Zam nodded and then in the blink of an eye, the Luxray were gone. Zam whipped out his phone and mashed a few buttons before collecting his stolen goods from the masked men

"Did you just talk to them?"

"I told them they were free."

"But you..."

"Can speak to Pokémon? Yes, yes I can."

"Who are you?"

"Hey!" yelled a gruff voice. "Trouble lads!" Taylor turned and saw one of the masked men in the doorway that had presumably led to the bank vaults and the other two were quickly approaching, still with hostages at hand.

Once again, Zam grabbed her and pulled her behind an upturned table and with not a moment to lose. She glanced upwards to see a knife fly past where her head had been mere seconds ago. In that moment, she didn't know what possessed her to do it. Perhaps it was because he had just saved her life, perhaps it was how closely he was holding her, protecting her in an intimate embrace. Whatever the reason, she grabbed his collar and pulled his face in towards her before pressing her lips firmly against his.

"Get down!" Zam yelled, breaking the kiss only to push Taylor out of the way of a lunging attack. Somehow, one of the thieves had managed to sneak around their makeshift bunker and had dived at Taylor with a deadly blade but once again, Zam was there to rescue her, pointing his arm at the assailant and pressing the button on his watch twice. Two metallic discs whizzed past her ear, both connecting with the masked man, electrocuting him. Zam then leapt at his paralyzed body and produced a pair of handcuffs from his pocket, attaching the man to the table.

"Thanks," Taylor breathed. Now there were only two left.

"Bollocks, I left the spare discs at the flat!" Zam groaned as his utility belt failed to produce what he wanted. "Now I have to improvise." His head darted around, inspecting every element of the room, presumably trying to think of a way out of this mess. When his eyes landed on the dividers, a wide grin appeared on his face.

"You've got a plan?"

"No, but I'm working on one," Zam replied. Immediately, he threw a Pokéball over the heads of the robbers who at this point were standing in the middle of the room. He then ran out of the cover, scrambling towards the metal poles, avoiding yet another deadly knife throw. There was an immense flash of light as a Pokémon emerged from the Pokéball. It distracted the thieves for half a moment but it was long enough for Zam. He reached the dividers and got to work, wrapping the velvet rope around his ankles and gripping the metal poles by his feet, pointing them directly at the masked men.

"Magnezone!"

"Alakazam!" Taylor's jaw dropped when it happened. The Pokémon turned out to be a large floating metallic Pokémon with a golden rod on its head. The screws on the side of its body turned and it pointed its Mudsdale-shoe magnets at the two men. Suddenly, the metal poles that Zam was holding shot towards the men with Zam guiding them. He literally flew at the thieves at incredible speed, giving them no chance of avoiding the brutal attack. A horrible crunching noise filled the room as metal struck against skulls, knocking the two out cold.

"Magnezone!"

"Ala. Alakazam," Zam smiled at his Pokémon as he returned it to its ball before ensuring that all five men were at the mercy of the arriving police by handcuffing them.

"That was... amazing," Taylor breathed.

"That's a good impressed look, you've done very well," Zam grinned. "Tristan does a good impressed look as well although he's never kissed me before which I think was an improvement. I should tell him to do that."

Before Taylor could attempt to explain why that perhaps wasn't the best thing to suggest to a straight man, the doors of the bank opened and police officers began pouring in. One attractive female officer with dark hair made her way over to Zam with a look of amazement on her pretty face. Taylor felt an odd twang of jealousy.

"Apologies Emily."

"What for?" Emily asked.

"I said I'd have them by noon. It's ten past." Zam took Taylor's hand and began walking out of the bank. "Put me in touch with your boss about some pay!" He grinned at Taylor and she felt a warm feeling flow through her. "Ok, we've got about half an hour before our train leaves, want to go get a coffee?"

Taylor could've asked why they were catching a train. She could've asked why she had to come. She could've asked why they had to go get coffee. She didn't bother. Zam was mad. Completely and utterly mad and very, very dangerous. But today he'd brought her adventure and it had been terrifying yet exciting beyond belief. She had been wrong earlier in the morning. She hadn't made a mistake last night. She'd made the best accidental stupid decision of her life.

"Yeah, let's do that."