James x Reader | Pokemon | - | REWRITE |

No Time for Introductions

His shoulders raised in apprehension. "Ahm...well..." His brows furrowed while he put on a smile. "Well! Well maybe I was! And I'm sure those birds would come to assist me now if they weren't so insistent in hanging around in those trees forever."

You both stared at each other for a couple seconds, as if you were both waiting for something to happen.

When nothing did, you slightly raised a brow and took a few steps back. "Riiiiiiiiight...well, I'll be on my way then..."

"Now wait just a second," he said. He took steps forward to counter the steps you took back.

"And why should I, exactly?" Even if you wanted to play coy, you didn't want to seem like too much of an easy victim, either. It was hard to get the right balance, especially in the heat of the uncertain situation. "Your invasion of the distance I put between us is uncomfortable." You took a few more steps back. "If you approach me again, I will be leaving."

"As you wish. But I don't think attempting to leave would be in your best interest."

"Attempting to leave" was certainly a way of wording it...

Wow, you thought very sarcastically, how threatening. But you wondered if you should run. It did seem...somewhat threatening, after all, and the fact that this guy was literally a wanted criminal, and that he probably had some accomplices because of those tree voices...well...

Maybe it would be better to comply.

You sighed, seeming out of options. "Do you need something?"

He smirked. "How would you feel about a job? Your attention to detail could be very valuable, you know. As well as your natural stubbornness."

You squinted. A job as a criminal, most likely. "Not interested."

"Well, why not?" he asked. "You haven't even heard my proposal."

"Well, it's just sort of suspicious," you said while kneeling down to pick Totodile up. Didn't want him snatched, of course. "We run into each other in Cherrygrove, and coincidentally we meet again in Ilex Forest, where you've fallen from a tree---not even mentioning a reason as to why you were up there in the first place, which I think I could guess."

He opened his mouth to speak, but you cut him off by continuing. "And now you're offering me a job, because also coincidentally, I seem like the right kind of person for whatever 'job' you have to offer. Kind of seems like you've been stalking me, as I said before." You thought that maybe you were getting too difficult, even though this whole thing was painfully obviously suspicious. So you felt the need to add, "But I'll hear you out, if it's so important."

"Well maybe I have been stalking you," he said, though his expression after that immediately showed that he regretted admitting it. "But! Only a little bit! And I promise I wasn't collecting any of your personal information."

"That's...illegal. But. At least you admitted it??"

"Yes!" he yelled confidently. "So surely you won't be reporting me to the authorities! Anyway! Uhm..."

You heard some rustling near him, and focused on the position of the sound.

You squinted to the distance behind him, where you could make out the shape of a shadowed figure. They grew closer, and remained a mysterious silhouette, until a patch of sunlight protruding from a hole in the canopy and into the forest shined off of their pale face.

It was surely one of the accomplices you had speculated the existence of earlier. You guessed that they had climbed down from the tree that you had heard the voices from. At least you hoped so. You didn't really have any other explanation as to them appearing mysteriously from the trees.

They were wearing a matching outfit, with the exact same design tailored to their body type. Just how organized was this crime? You were getting a lot of mixed signals here.

They glared at you with a sort of detached stare, the kind that you would associate with a criminal more used to their position as one. However, another detail sort of cancelled this initial impression out; their hair was slicked back into a wild spike with a coiled end, and was dyed a flashy, strong red. It got rid of any sense of obscurity in their identity, as it was an unmistakably recognizable detail. You had never seen anything like it, criminal or not.

They put a hand on the man's shoulder and pushed him back while stepping in front of him. They mumbled to him in a tone laced with spite, "Looks like you need some help, James."

A pokeball was in their other hand. They tossed it with a flick of their wrist, making it spin and land back in their palm. They extended their arm straight out. "Weezing," they called.

The pokeball opened with a shine, and the Weezing was summoned. It had a low hum emanating from it, which sort of hinted at it having a high level.

You looked to the Weezing, and back to James' accomplice.

But your attention quickly shifted to James himself. He seemed...sort of confused, strangely. His stare into the distance made it seem like he was dissociating. Once he saw you looking at him, his smile returned and stared into you with a sort of rivalry glare.

You looked back to the Weezing, then to Totodile in your arms, and then back to the accomplice. "I'm...not going to battle you. I'd lose."

The accomplice's smile grew. "I know," they said. They looked over to the Weezing. "Weezing, use smog."

The Weezing puffed up a bit, readying itself for the attack.

You sighed. "I just said...whatever."

The Weezing spewed out clouds of green smoke from its pores, deflating slightly with each puff. The smoke clouds slowly drifted down to the floor, and the ground was beginning to be coated with a yellow-green fluff. It spread out more and more until you couldn't see the ground, and it was up to above your ankles.

The smell began to hit you. It smelled like pool water, only much stronger. This was most definitely chlorine gas.

But if this was actually chlorine gas, and not some battle gimmick...

We are in a populated forest??

You looked to the accomplice with an expression that showed you were almost dumbfounded at their stupidity. "What the hell are you doing??"

James looked down and started kicking and stepping in place, watching the smog. "A-ahm, Jessie, are you sure this is the most---"

"Weezing, use tackle."

The Weezing drifted back, and flew through the air. It hit you directly in the chest, and you immediately fell hard on your back. Totodile sprang out from your arms and landed on his side somewhere in front of you.

"It's the best plan we could have, James. Don't question what's already happening."

The impact forced you to gasp for air. Your eyes were burning immediately, and you felt the poison seeping into your throat. You stumbled to get up, but you couldn't. You couldn't do anything without enough air.

Your eyes and throat were stinging. Your hands instinctively searched for Totodile, but he was nowhere to be found.

Everything was a burning, thick green haze until it wasn't anymore. Until it and you were nothing.